Dear Peter:
I know that you occasionally write articles about the latest versions of various Macintosh software that users should have on there (sic) Macintoshes. I haven't seen anything recently; can you do something like that again? It would be a a big help.
Thanks. M. F.(Whenever you see a columnist or someone doing testimonials using a person's initials, you can bet that it's a made-up question or testimonial. However, I would never stoop to making up bogus questions and, in fact, would stop writing these articles altogether if I had to resort to such a tactic. :-)
Well M., you are in luck. Since this is the September issue then it must be time for our annual "latest versions" article. First of all I just want to say "welcome back" and I hope everyone had a great summer, whether you were away or stayed in New Haven. Those who weren't here missed some very exciting events over the break, especially the Special Olympic World Games. It gets a little easier every year writing the first article of a new academic year. I just take out last year's'first article of the new academic year', change a few version numbers around, and there you have it, this year's new'first article of the year' article. (To those of you writing your senior thesis this year, get started now, its not as easy as that).
We begin our review of software systems and applications with the Macintosh system itself. The most up-to-date version is still 7.5 which I'm sure everyone has heard a lot about. C&IS has obtained a site-license for members of the Yale community so it is available to everyone who wants it. That's the good news. The downside is that not everyone will be able to install it or make use of it. System 7.5 requires at least 8MB of memory on 68K Macs, and 16MB of memory on PowerMacs. Most applications now have versions of their software that are compatible with 7.5, but not all so you have to make sure before you upgrade. The good thing is that there is now an installation option called a "Clean Install" where you can have a complete, separate System 7.5 System Folder built on your existing hard disk. In this way you can easily switch back to your existing system if you encounter any difficulties with running under 7.5. Also, I would caution against installing either the PowerTalk or QuickDraw GX components of 7.5, at least initially, as these require considerable amounts of memory and disk space, and their usefulness is limited in most environments. For those folks who are not running System 7.5 or don't wish to upgrade, or can't upgrade, you should be using version 7.1 of the Macintosh system. System 7.1, and 7.5 are both available to members of the Yale community over the network.
For those who have upgraded to system 7.5, you should make sure that you also install the System 7.5 Update. The latest version of the 7.5 update will bring your Mac/OS to version 7.5.2.
Regardless of which Macintosh software system version you are running, you should try to run the latest Network Software Installer to update your Macintosh to the most current version of AppleTalk. Right now, version 1.5.1 of the Network Software Installer will bring your AppleTalk to version 58.1.5. System 7.1 users should also run the "System Update 3.0" to upgrade all of their system files and utilities to the very latest versions. Also available is the version 8.3 level of Apple's "LaserWriter 8.0" printer driver.
QuickMail users should be using version 2.6v1, and if you use Meeting Maker then you can be up to version 2.5. If you have a CD-ROM on your Mac then get the "Macintosh CD-ROM Setup" package which is version 5.1.1. If you want a simplified front-end for doing FTP, then fetch "Fetch 2.1.2". Connecting to other hosts from your Mac? Then it is a good bet that you will soon want to have Brown's "tn3270 2.4a7" or NCSA's "telnet 2.7b4". To use them make sure you have "MacTCP 2.0.6".
This was a quick look at some of the more common software packages. Most of the software mentioned above is available from the AppleShare file server "ASHD server" found in the "CIS file servers" zone. Some software is available freely, some as ShareWare, while some is only available commercially. If you have questions about these or other applications, write. (If you try installing any of this software and encounter problems, don't write. In other words, only try installing new software on your machine if you: a) are experienced with installing software applications, and b) know how to undo what you have done, and c) feel comfortable with the backup/restore software you have been using regularly. You have been backing up regularly, right?)
Below is a table of common user software, all of which is available from the "ASHD server" mentioned above. Also listed is the current version, and the volume and path of how to get to where the software is located. Hope this is useful and again, welcome back.
Common User Software available from the "ASHD server" Macintosh System Software 7.5 /System 7.5 CPU Upgrade/ Macintosh System Software 7.1 /System 7.1/ Network Software Installer 1.4.5 /ASHD1/Apple software System Update 3.0 /ASHD1/Apple software Apple HD SC Setup 7.3.2 /ASHD1/Apple software DiskCopy 4.2 /ASHD1/Apple software Express Modem 1.5.5 /ASHD1/Apple software LaserWriter 8.2 /ASHD1/Apple software CD-ROM Setup 5.0.1 /ASHD1/Apple software SimpleText 1.1.1 /ASHD1/Apple software MacTCP 2.0.6 /ASHD1/MacTCP 2.0.6 System Enablers * /ASHD1/System Enablers Folder HyperCard player 2.2 /ASHD1/HyperCard Player 2.2 Disinfectant 3.5 /ASHD1/Virus Stuff Fetch 2.1.2 /ASHD1/Fetch 2.1.2 ph 1.2 /ASHD1/ph f Mosaic 2.0.0 /ASHD1/Mosaic Mosaic extras * /ASHD1/Mosaic extras Netscape 1.0N /ASHD1/Netscape Netscape extras * /ASHD1/Netscape extras MacWeb 1.00a3 /ASHD1/MacWeb TinCan 5.0.2 /ASHD1/TinCan tn3270 2.4a7 /ASHD1/Telnets NCSA telnet 2.6 /ASHD1/Telnets InterNews 1.0.5 /ASHD1/netnews clients Nuntius 1.2 /ASHD1/netnews clients NewsWatcher 2.0b22 /ASHD1/netnews clients TheNews 2.36 /ASHD1/netnews clients GopherApp 1.3b60 /ASHD1/gopher clients GopherApp++ 2.2b43 /ASHD1/gopher clients PNLInfo Browser 1.05 /ASHD1/gopher clients Sextant 1.0 /ASHD1/gopher clients TurboGopher 2.0b7 /ASHD1/gopher clients Anarchie 1.4.0 /ASHD1/Archie clients InterSLIP 1.0.2d2 /ASHD1/SLIP MacPPP 2.0.1 /ASHD1/PPP Chat 2.0.6 /ASHD1/Chat clients HomerIRC 0.94.4 /ASHD1/Chat clients ircle 1.5.1 /ASHD1/Chat clients Communicate Lite 1.0.2 /ASHD1/terminal emulators Mac Kermit 0.991 /ASHD1/terminal emulators ZTerm 1.0b2 /ASHD1/terminal emulators
If there are things that you would like to see discussed in this column in the future (and would like to see your name in print), please send your suggestions, comments, questions, complaints, or observations to <peter.furmonavicius@yale.edu>.