Minor quirks in Mac OS 8

WindowShade glitch Several readers have now reported this (I get it occasionally, but not consistently): After moving a folder window to the bottom of the screen in Mac OS 8 - so that it becomes a pop-up window, make it a regular window again. The WindowShade feature now does not work - until you close and open the window again. [Philip Saunders claims this only happens if WindowShade has never been used with the folder before.]

Option-copy to System Folder glitch Try this: Drag an extension or control panel file to your System Folder icon. Wait for the message to appear that asks if you want the file to be installed in the appropriate subfolder. Now hold down the Option key and click OK. In Mac OS 8, this will result in a copy of the file created at the same location as the original. Nothing is moved into the System Folder. In Mac OS 7, holding down the Option key has no effect at all. In either Mac OS, if you hold down the Option key immediately, before dragging the file to the System Folder icon, the Mac performs the copy correctly. (Thanks, Michal Palusinski.)

Asante Ethernet-PC card problem Frank Decker reports that, when running Mac OS 8 on his PowerBook 5300, when he inserts his Asante FriendlyNetPC-Card, he gets an alert that says he does not have the "correct software to use the card." There are options to cancel or to eject the card. The good news is thart, after canceling the alert, the FriendlyNetPC Card icon appears on the screen and everything works fine. Asante told him that they are aware of the problem (as is Apple) and that it should be fixed in Mac OS 8.0.1.

Update: This problem is not restricted to Mac OS 8.0. Readers report it in Mac OS 7 as well.

Apple Video Player and 6100 Macs Several readers have reported that Apple Video Player that comes with Mac OS 8 will not play sound from a TV or VCR input - when used on a 6100AV. It resets the sound input to "AV Connector," but there is no such input on these Macs.

Update: Several readers wrote in with more details about the "AV Connector" input. The upshot is that it does exist on these Macs, but you are not likely to be able to use it. In any case, the sound problem also extends to 8100AV models. Downgrading to an older (pre-Mac OS 8) version of Apple Video Player is an effective work-around.

20th Anniversary Mac and Mac OS 8 upgrade Mark Lacas writes: "I just received my 20th Anniversary Mac today and it exceeded my expectations by at least 100%, but. . .it shipped with 7.6 and when I tried to upgrade it to OS-8 the installer told me it didn't recognize the computer type."

Update: John Phelps (of Apple) clarifies this situation: "There is supposed to be a flier in the box that directs owners to a special number to call to get a custom CD of OS 8 that does support that computer."