Odds & Ends

Mac OS 8.1 Disk Tools disk for 68040 Macs: a follow-up Regarding our report last time about no online Mac OS 8.1 Disk Tools disk for 68040 Macs, Apple's John Phelps replies: "There is no need to post such a disk - the only reason we posted the PPC Disk Tools disk was in case a user wanted to use Mac OS Extended Format on their startup disk. Since 680x0-based computers are not supported by this format, this need for a startup disk does not exist." The Mac OS 8.1 CD, when it is released, will boot from all Macs that can run the new OS. It may also contain a disk image for a 680x0 Disk Tools disk. Meanwhile, 68040 based Macintosh users can still use the existing Mac OS 8.0 version of the Disk Tools disk for 68K Macs.

Ultra Wide SCSI-3 bus warning Apple's TIL file #24330 (noted here last time) has this surprising tidbit: "Warning Do not connect any SCSI devices to the external 68-pin SCSI-3 connector...Connecting even one external SCSI device to the external 68-pin connector extends the overall cable length of the SCSI bus beyond the limit for which error-free operation can be guaranteed; the combined length of the internal cable and the external cable reduces the reliability of all the devices connected to the Ultra Wide SCSI-3 bus." (Thanks also to Bob Schulze.)

Quark Troubleshooting Having a problem with Quark Xpress? Check out the QuarkTech Online Forums.

Sub-$1000 Mac coming? MacUser UK reports that Apple will launch a new Mac model "at Macworld Expo, New York, retailing at under $1000. According to a source who has seen the machine, the G3/233MHz Mac is already in beta." (Thanks, MacSurfer.)