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Odds & Ends

a. Increasing disk cache size may fix some Netscape woes Skip Press was getting Type 3 errors in Netscape (running under Mac OS 7.6.1 with 32Mb of physical RAM installed). Increasing the memory allocation for the Netscape application is a common bit of advice for problems such as this. However, Apple tech support instead suggested increasing the size of the Memory control panel's disk cache - from 256K to 1024K (32K * Mb of physical RAM). This seemed to eliminate the crashes and general sped up Netscape's loading or pages.

Playing (MPEG) movies with Apple Video Player

The June 12 Info Alley explains how to get Apple Video Player to play movies from your hard drive and offers some hints about playing MPEG movies:

"Apple Video Player 1.6 (included with Mac OS 7.6.x) lets users set a preference to Look on CDs, Look on Hard Disks and Look on Servers. Users can find this preference under the Setup menu in Apple Video Player.

Apple currently supports the playback of MPEG streams with QuickTime and the QuickTime MPEG extension. MPEG streams can be viewed by utilizing the Apple Video Player, QuickTime Movie Player application, … Read more

Illustrator 7: problem printing EPS files?

Rob Rodgers writes: "Since upgrading from Illustrator 6 to Illustrator 7, I've found that many of my files get Postscript errors when sent to the printer. I've taken several files to my service bureau and they also report Postscript errors with EPS files saved with Illustrator 7 compatibility. When I resave the EPS files with Illustrator 6 compatibility rather than Illustrator 7, the Postscript errors disappear."

Update: Two readers reply with additional thoughts on this matter:

James Magee writes: "We too have been experiencing these same problems. It seems to happen to us when printing … Read more

Safety issue with LaserWriter 12/640 PS and LaserWriter 12/640 PS Plus printers

Jeffrey D. Flamm reports that Apple has noted a "potential, minor safety issue" with Apple LaserWriter 12/640 PS and LaserWriter 12/640 PS Plus printers: Some (not all) of these printers do not disable their power when the top cover is opened. If the user attempts to work with the exposed insides of one of these printers, there is a small risk that it could result a "low level" electrical shock. Also, the user may cause damage due to contact with moving parts of the printer.

If you own a LaserWriter 12/640 PS or … Read more

Dealing with Multi-resolutions control strip problems: a follow-up

The Read Me for the Multi-resolutions Control Strip states: "Since the monitor may not support some of the resolutions, you should be very careful when using this control strip module. After each change of resolution, a dialog will appear to ask you to confirm that everything is OK. If you do nothing within 10 seconds, it switches back to the previous resolution. You may also click on 'No' to switch back immediately."

However (as implied last time), this feature does not always appear to work. In this regard, Geza Fabry expands on the advice offered last time:

1. … Read more

Communicator and CrashGuard disagree about Java

Michael Cucka writes that, when using the latest beta version of Netscape Communicator, any page that used Java would crash - but only if CrashGuard was installed. "With CrashGuard on, the crash message occurred while Communicator was reporting that it was 'starting Java...' With CrashGuard off, the page loaded fine. Thus, it appears to me that CrashGuard is reporting a spurious crash, misinterpreting running Java for an error."

My contacts at Symantec confirm this. However, they add: "It only happens if MacsBug is not installed." In any case, the release version of Netscape Communicator is due … Read more

Drive Setup 1.3 coming soon?

A reader informs me that he "just received a beta version of Drive Setup 1.3 from Apple and it now properly updates the hard disk's driver. I have tried it on the 6100, 7100, and 8100 series Macintoshes."

a. Another Multi-resolutions glitch

The Multi-resolutions Control Strip module lets you select resolutions not officially supported by your monitor. But be careful. When Bruce Hobson used this feature, it was treated to a distorted screen display. In order to fix it, he had to restart with extensions off and then delete the Control Strip preferences file.

b. QuicKeys and Now Menus glitch Larry Anderson reports that CE Software Tech Support confirmed some incompatibilities between QuicKeys 3.5 and the Now Menus module of Now Utilities. This may relate to a general conflict that QuicKeys may have with utilities that manipulate menus, as reported here last week.… Read more