MacWorld 8404 April 1984 premier

Premier Issue $4.00 Canada $4.75 Macintosh wee Apple's Remarkable New Personal Computer “a | B43 Sf The Macintosh Magazine An Exclusive Look Inside the Macintosh Word Processing Tips for Mac Writers MacPaint’s Amazing Electronic Easel Steven Jobs, Chairman of the Board, | ! | | Apple Computer Programming Preview Macintosh Art Gallery ~~ The Making of the Macintosh are now playing on Macintosh. ath Treasury bills Set Completion Test Select Completion Test CHART. The first truly sophisticated and flexible graphics system for personal computers. file fait Find _charact ¢_file_tat_form_ote_eecors MINIS THE WORD YOUVE BEEN MAUTING FOR, Iv tne writing system that ives you thebestof both worlds As easy to 3 {sr38 se: Asrd st: Sel 'Sae De igpeeriter More Hexbie tnd povetel than tke mom expensive dedated ors prossors. With teatres tite ‘See what you get character formats ~ botdtace, serine. “raics even PeTxipt an aanstpl, eplayed onthe seeen WIDOML Contra characters «undo ~ pve: you the freedom to experiment and the abit to recover fom rat mista ‘Simpson Peters wooden + fuditionel formatting capabilities ~ weslaa, Keanr, et aps pus multipe fonts ana sizes. “support ~ an cay o-se and eticient pointing device tat word process ask fe you tan ae and eat mode than one document at FILE. Finally, a data manager advanced enough to be simple. Microsoft was founded on the idea that computers should ; be simple, easy and intuitive. The new Macintosh environ- Move Ns i ment gives us a great opportunity to prove that idea. We'll start with four of our high performance programs to make the most of your Mac. And there are more to come. Lots more. Pioneering like this is nothing new for us. We wrote the first microcomputer BASIC in 1975 and developed the operating system for the IBM* PC. If you'd like to make the most of your Mac, call 800-426-9400 (in Washington state, call 206-828-8088) for a free brochure and the name of your nearest Microsoft dealer. MICROSOFT" BASIC. The industry standard. Plus special commands for the mouse and bit-mapped graphics. Microsoft and Multiplan are tered trademarks of Microsoft Corpor: IBM is a registered tradematk of Inter Business Machines Corpor Macintosh is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc \ (TECMAR’S CANDY" BEGINS HERE WITH APPLE JACK™ WINCHESTER Relax with more disk storage. 5 MByte Removable Cartridge Winchester. APPLE FRITTER™ MODEM A delicious addition to your Apple. 300 or 300/1200 baud modem with touch- tone decoding, pulse/tone automatic dialer and full voice interface so all the features of a full-feature telephone and modem are provided in one MacIntosh peripheral. APPLE COBBLER™ PRINT BUFFER To sweeten the end of a job. The user no longer needs to wait for a print- out before beginning to program again. CANDY APPLE™ IEEE488 Interface to the GPIB. For use in industrial control applications. “Trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Above products will be available in the spring of 1984. TEQWAR secs TecmarInc. 6225 CochranRoad Solon (Cleveland), Ohio 44139-3377 Phone: (216)349-0600 Telex: 466692 MACWORLD The Macintosh Magazine i State of the Art fA Review 16 A Tour of the Mac Desktop 50 MacPaint: the Electronic Easel Lon Poole Jeffrey S. Young An introduction to the Mac’s uniform The Mac's versatile graphics program working environment. allows even beginners to draw upon 28 A Mouse in the Hand their creativity. Daniel Farber 62 Word Processing’s New Look Meet the electronic device that Andrew Fluegelman communicates your commands to An extensive review of the capabilities the Mac. of MacWrite, the Mac’s native word 34 Inside the Mac processing program. Matthew Douglas 72 Multiplan Meets the Mac A close-up look at the hardware that Andrew T. Williams gives the Mac its amazing power and The Macintosh teams up with speed. Microsoft's venerable spreadsheet 42 Polishing the Mac program. David Bunnell 80 Apple's Imagewriter Printer Microsoft's Bill Gates discusses the Lon Poole development of the Macintosh. What you see is what you get with the Imagewriter. 86 Macware News 2 Volume 1, Number 1 Edited by Janet McCandless Announcements of the latest developments in Macintosh hardware and software. Premier Issue W, Hands On 9: 4. 104 110 116 122 Investing with Multiplan Andrew T. Williams Constructing a simple stock portfolio valuation worksheet. Tips for Mac Writers Andrew Fluegelman Twenty-five word processing hints to help you use MacWrite more efficiently. SimpleSketch Lon Poole Programming the Mac in BASIC and Pascal. The 64K Treasure Chest Lon Poole The Macintosh Toolbox units provide application programmers with a flexible, standard user interface. Open Window Edited by Andrew Fluegelman An exchange of Macintosh discoveries. Photo/illustration credits: Apple Computer, 37, 38, 127; David Bishop, 11, 17, 30, 35, 73, 80, 117: Susan Kare, 29, 57, 136-140; Ed Kashi, 10, 13, 14, 42, 44; Will Mosgrove, cover; Phil Schermeister, 128-135; Mick Wiggins, 51 @ Community 126 136 The Making of the Macintosh Edited by Andrew Fluegelman Reminiscences of the people who created the Mac. Macworld Gallery Edited by Jeffrey S. Young An exhibition of Macintosh graphics. Columns 10 ANew World Andrew Fluegelman 13 ALetter from the Publisher David Bunnell 14 NotePad Index 142 Jeffrey S. Young Zooming through the Macintosh Window Advertisers Index Macworld = 3 MACWORLD Editorial Editor-in-Chief: Andrew Fluegelman Associate Editor: Daniel Farber Editorial Manager: Janet McCandless Contributing Editors: Steve Lambert, Jonathan Littman, Lon Poole, Jeffrey S. Young Copy Editors: Jeffrey Bartlett, Erfert Nielson, Evelyn Spire Art & Production Associate Publisher: Jacqueline Poitier Designer: Marjorie Speigelman Senior Production Manager: Frances Mann Assistant Production Manager: Lee R. Trevino Art Director: Bruce Charonnat Editorial Production Manager: Ellyn Hament Associate Designers: Dennis McLeod, Monica Thorsnes Design Associates: Darcy Blake, Molly Windsor-McLeod, Donna Sharee Telecommunications Manager: Att Wilcox Advertising Traffic Coordinator: Clare Bouey Publishing & Sales Publisher: David Bunnell Advertising Sales Manager: Penny Rigby Circulation Associate Publisher: Cheryl Woodard Director Single Copy Sales: George Clark Subscription Director: Carma Winfrey-Hayes Dealer Sales Manager: Bill Cox Communications Manager: Noreen A. Browning Special Projects Director: Susan Keller Administration Director: Janet McGinnis Corporate PC World Communications, Inc. David Bunnell Chairman Bartlett R. Rhoades President Andrew Fluegelman Vice President Jacqueline Poitier Vice President Cheryl Woodard Vice President Volume 1, Number 2 May/June, 1984 Macworld™ (ISSN 0741-8647) is published 6 times a year: February, May/June, July/August, September/October, November, and December by PC World Communications, Inc., 555 De Haro St., San Francisco, CA 94107. Effective November 1984 Macworld will be published monthly. Subscription rates for the US. and Canada are $30 for 12 issues, $50 for 24 issues, and $70 for 36 issues. 4 May/June 1984 Canadian orders must be paid in US. funds Outside the U.S. and Canada subscriptions must be prepaid in US. funds with additional postage at $12 per 12 issues for surface mail or $60 per 12 issues for airmail. For subscriber service questions call 800/247-5470 (in Iowa 800/532-1272) or write: Subscriber Services, PO. Box 20300, Bergenfield, NJ 07621. Application to mail at Second Class pending at San Francisco. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Macworld, PO. Box 20300, Bergenfield, NJ 07621. Editorial and business offices: 555 De Haro St., San Francisco, CA 94107, 415/861-3861. Macworld is a publication of PC World Communications, Inc. Macworld is an independent journal, not affiliated in any way with Apple Computer, Inc. Apple and Mac are trademarks of Apple ‘Computer, Inc. Macintosh is a trademark licensed to Apple Computer, Inc. The following are trademarks of PC World ‘Communications, Inc: NotePad, Macware News, Open Window, Macworld Gallery, Macworld View. Macworld is a member of the CW Communications/Inc. group, the world’s largest publisher of computer-related information. The group publishes 42 computer publications in 18 major countries. Nine million people read one or more of the group's publications each month. Members of the publication group include: Argentina: Computerworld/Argentina; Australia Australasian Computerworld, Micro Computer Magazine, Brazil: DataNews, MicroMundo; Denmark: Computerworld! Danmark, MikroData; France: Le Monde Informatique; Germany: Computerwoche, Micro Computerwelt, PC Welt; Italy Computerworld alia; Japan: Computerworld Japan; Mexico: ‘Computerworld/Mexico; Norway Computerworld Norge, MikroData; People’s Republic of China: China Computerworld; Saudi Arabia: Saudi Computerworld; Spain: Computerworld! Espana, MicroSistemas; Sweden: ComputerSweden, MileoDatorn, Min Hemadator; United Kingdom: Computer Management, Computer Business Europe; United States: Computerworld, Desktop Computing, Hot CoCo, InGider, InfoWorld, Micro Marketworld, Microcomputing, PC World, 80-Micro, Printed in the United States of America Copr. ©1984 PC World Communications, Inc. ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° SELLING MR. JR. ° WHAT TO EXPECT: You will find many interactions with Mr. J.R. difficult. You are involved with plans and ideas. Mr. o J.R. is concerned with his own inadequacies. You perform well under stress while his performance © deteriorates markedly. You think up projects and use initiative to carry them through. He will worry excessively over difficulties and be unable to take action. You welcome the opportunity to be creative and work independently. Mir. J.R. prefers to work under an authority with daily routines involving concrete details. You enjoy status and monetary rewards. © He prefers to be recognized for hard work. Exercise caution when dealing with this person. Behave in a reserved manner, use a soft voice and always avoid threats or criticism. Remember, Mr. J.R. is uncomfortable in groups. He is a hard worker, ° but needs quiet praise. CUSTOMER PREPARATION STRATEGY ° PREPARE INFORMATION IN DETAIL: You tend to focus on the "big picture" while Mr. J.R. is more concerned with details. Prepare to 0 give a relatively detailed Presentation. The actual amount of detail you present depends on the ° level of detail Mr. J.R. introduces in the needs analysis phase of your meeting. CUSTOMER CLOSING STRATEGIES IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS: Get your customer to agree on the details and minor points of the sales agreement. It is not necessary to ever mention tl itself. Focus on delivery, and color choice as a way to close the deal. The reason for using the "it’s the little things” strategy with Mr. © J.R. is that he is very sensitive to establishing a sense of agreement. By agreeing, even on a relatively small aspect of your business, he will feel more secure and more ready to closi Additionally, because Mr. J.R. becomes over~anxious in response to ° major decisions, working on peripheral details will help him be more relaxed... Personal power in a printout. That’s what Human Edge™ Software gives you ° (see full story at right). é This typical excerpt from The Sales Edge™ gives you specific strategies to make » every sales call count. The complete printout is a detailed 3-10 page analysis © of your business situation. ° The Sales Edge is available for the Macintosh® computer. ™Human Edge and The Sales Edge are trade- marks of Human Edge Software Corporation. "Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple © Computer Inc. Introducing Business Strategy Software: Personal power with a stroke of genius. It takes more than hard work to stay on the fast track. It takes personal power. Power to communicate. Negotiate. Manage. Power to be a leader. Personal power isn’t just a job-skill It’s a career necessity. Tactics, not numbers. Introducing Human Edge™ the first soft- ware family.that-builds-your. personal. power. Because it helps you manage people, not just words and numbers. Guided_by.a-vast-bank of research-on people management, Human Edge asks perti- nent questions about you and those your business.decisions-will involve.It-can-actually- evaluate the human factors that affect your decisions. And give you the best tactics to stack those factors.in-your favor. Can software get you a raise? It even lets you practice with simulated situations, testing different tactics and com- paring their outcomes. For the first time, your IBM® or Apple® personal computer becomes.an-expert-consultant,preparing-you to get exactly what you want. Whether it’s asking for a raise, negotiating a contract, or boosting employee-performance: You can't get personal with a cassette. Human Edge isn’t just the floppy disk version of a one-time seminar, management text.or.cassette. It’s a highly creative career tool you tailor to your Own management style, your own real-life problems.To guide-you through the business jungle with step-by-step strategies. In plain English. Inminutes. Human-Edge Business Strategy Software. Because personal power is the way to make your mark. Call-(800)-624-5227, .in-California (800). 824-7325, for the dealer nearest you. It’s the next step on the fast track. [él] HUMAN EDGE Human Edge Software Corporation, 2445 Faber Place, Palo Alto, CA 94303 The Leadership Edge™ Improve powers of group leadership and motivation: Edge™ Find strengths and weaknesses, improve performance. skills The Management Edge Evaluate and improve supervisory 4i ig RDO TOA The Sales Edge™ Sharpen techniques, sensitivity to prospects. ase a : a ed The Negotiation Edge” Analyze critical factors. Develop “how to” plan. ERE BEE ES bf Congratulations Macworld from the Macintosh Team qapple Macintosh isa trademark licensed to Apple Computer, In How to get your Macintosh programs to market. Quickly. = STS ES eros: a See ate COMPUTERS Call Data Encore. We're already = Wee | duplicating 32” microdisk soft- ware for the Apple® Macintosh™ system. So we're up to speed f and ready to go. As a subsidiary of Verbatim, the world’s leading producer of flexible disks, we're one of the few compa- nies with 31” duplication capa- | bilities. From raw materialsto | [ disks to packaging to delivery | to your customers. This total | responsibility ensures you of a |, quality product you'll be proud to call your own. Why not call us toll-free at 800-872-8778. In California or outside the US,, call collect (408) 720-7400. Or write us at 585 N. Mary Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94086. Because if you want to harvest profits from the new Macintosh faster, you'll want to get your - software to market fast. Data Encore a Verbatim Company ©1984 Data Encore. Apple and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. The Apple Macintosh Book SHARE THE MAC EXPERIENCE! Whether you already own an Apple Macintosh or are thinking about buying one, The Apple Macintosh Book provides you with a unique insider's view to this historic advance in computer technology. Cary Lu, formerly executive editor of High Technology magazine, takes you behind the scenes with this step-by-step guide to how | the Mac and its software work. You see exactly what get—all in the friendly Coming in March to your local book and computer store. Andrew Fluegelman A New World 10 Imagine how the fifteenth-cen- tury explorers felt as the first news from the newly dis- covered Western Hemisphere trickled back to Europe. That is the only analogy that approxi- mates the excitement and won- der that I feel about the launching of the Macintosh computer. As a computer journalist and adventurer, I've had the good fortune to serve as an explorer, historian, and guide during the recent unprecedented expan- sion of the personal computer world. When I had my first ex- perience with the Macintosh, however, I realized that all my previous explorations had cov- ered only one continent. No machine has ever been scaled so perfectly for the indi- vidual user and for the adven- turesome spirit in such an accessible form. I confidently predict that the Mac will change forever our ideas about work and creativity—as well as the way we think about com- puters. The Mac represents a new frontier in computing, and it’s open for all of us to explore, whether we're computer novices or experts. Volume 1, Number 1 We've created Macworld to guide us in our journeys of dis- covery. In each issue we'll or- ganize that guide in four sections. In State of the Art we'll take a look at the technol- ogy that makes the Mac such a remarkable machine and re- port on new developments that make it even more capable and useful. This issue begins with Lon Poole’s “Tour of the Mac Desktop” and Dan Farber’s re- port on the Macintosh mouse. Matthew Douglas’ “Inside the Mac” describes the ingenious engineering that enables the Mac to be so compact and powerful, while Microsoft's Bill Gates offers his perspective on the Mac’s place in computer history. Our Review section presents in-depth evaluations of Macin- tosh application programs. In this issue I put MacWrite, the Mac’s first word processor, through its paces, and Andrew Williams describes how Multi- plan, a well-known electronic spreadsheet program, fares when translated into the Macin- tosh idiom. There is almost no precedent for MacPaint, the Mac’s innovative drawing pro- gram. Our review of MacPaint is by Jeffrey Young, who brings the perspective of a perceptive computer novice to bear on this unique program. As with all Macworld reviews, you'll see that we're not embarrassed at expressing enthusiasm nor inhibited from making criticisms. At the end of the Review sec- tion you'll find a preview of three programming languages and “Macware News,” a Mac- world department that in- cludes descriptions of new hardware and software prod- ucts for the Mac. Hands On, the third section of Macworld, shows you how to be more productive and cre- ative with your Mac. In this is- sue we present some tips for streamlining your word pro- cessing, a short tutorial in for- matting spreadsheets, and some easy exercises in BASIC and Pascal. Aregular part of the Hands On section will be “Open Win- dow,” which provides a forum for readers to contribute their applications tips and other computing insights. In this is- sue Lon Poole shows how he created a custom letterhead using MacPaint and MacWrite. We're looking forward to the “Open Window” expanding as you, our readers, extend the limits of what is possible with the Mac. Our final section, Commu- nity includes reports on the ways in which Mac owners make use of their machines and the ways in which the Mac changes the way we work, study, and express ourselves. For our inaugural issue, we've taken the opportunity to pre- sent the story of “The Making of the Mac,” as told by some of the people on Apple’s Macin- tosh development team. A regular part of the Com- muinity section will be “Mac- world Gallery,” a continuing exhibition of Macintosh art contributed by readers. Our first exhibitor is Susan Kare, the resident Macintosh artist at Ap- ple who designed many of the graphic images and type fonts that are part of the Macintosh environment. We encourage everyone to take mouse in hand and send us your creations. Does all this sound exciting? Frankly, I think we've barely established a beachhead in this new world. Beyond the beach are forests to clear, mountains to cross, and wonders awaiting us that we can hardly imagine. In practical terms, I suspect that there are going to be more people using the Mac more creatively to enhance their lives than any computer yet invented. That's what's got me so excited about the Macintosh and the rare opportunity of bringing it to you through the pages of Macworld. Macworld i Learn to use your Macintosh almostas fastas you can eatone. 8Es qi =e ia Soon after Macintosh joins the Apple Congratulations Macintosh! Together family tree we'll have an ATI training we’ ll help users- and dealers- bear fruit fast. program ready to teach you how to use it. Contact ATI, 12638 Beatrice Street, ATI’s “How to Use Your Macintosh” Los Angeles, CA 90066 (213) 546-5579. training disk and handbook will join our Dealers: Call (213) 546-4725. rapidly growing “how-to” series. We'll also have training programs for all the best software available for Macintosh. All ATI training programs take you through the basics, step-by-step. Our interactive simulation method lets you ; practice as you learn. It’s simple and fun! ATI Training Power" isa trademark of American Training International EY ATI Training Power" Learn software the natural way. David Bunnell Letter from the Publisher Dear Reader, Welcome to Macworld and to anew dimension in personal computing. Ideally, computer technology should serve the practical and intellectual needs of people. The Macintosh takes a major step toward that goal. It is an in- triguingly elegant machine to which users become attached almost from the moment they switch it on. The Mac reflects the people-oriented perspec- tive of the individuals who cre- ated it, and it will have a revolutionary impact on the in- dustry in terms of both hard- ware and software design. Not since the introduction of the IBM Personal Computer (and the Apple II before it) has the personal computing scene been so strongly stimulated by anew computer. Before long, there will be thousands of Mac programs and hundreds of pe- ripherals as well as books, training programs, user groups, and even Mac trade shows. We believe that the only way to provide you with the high- quality publication you deserve as a participant in the Mac revo- lution is to participate fully ourselves. For the staff of Macworld, this is an oppor- tunity to explore the uncharted potential of the Mac, to share our expertise with Mac users, and to join what surely will be a huge Mac support industry. Macworld, the magazine for Macintosh users, will be your guide through the world of Macintosh computing. We are an autonomous part of the world’s largest group of com- puter publications, including 32 personal computer magazines around the world. As such, we are independent of Apple Com- puter and have absolute free- dom to report both the good and the bad experiences of Mac users. We'll tell you when prod- ucts don’t work as advertised as well as when they do, and we'll keep you up to date on the latest developments in Macintosh technology and applications. In fulfilling this assignment, we need your help. As much as possible we want Macworld to be a reader-interactive maga- zine. Not only will we be providing you with hands-on tips, product reviews, profiles, and other informative features, we'll also invite you to partici- pate in Mac polls, telecom- munication conferences, and other special events. We wel- come your letters even when you blast us for something we said or how we said it. The bottom line is that we are producing this magazine because we believe in it. Thus, if we get lots of letters from you, we'll know we're doing our job, and that can only spur us on to serve Mac users better. Sincerely, Tine met Publisher Letters should be mailed to Letters, Macworld, 555 De Haro St., San Francisco, CA 94107, or electronically to CompuServe 74055, 415 or The Source STE908. Macworld 13 as NotePad: Jeffrey S. Young Zooming through Note Pad the Macintosh Window First impressions of the Mac by a computer novice Let me start by presenting my credentials for writing this col- umn: I’m a novice when it comes to computers. Sound odd? Perhaps, but only if you've never encountered Apple’s Macintosh computer. They've done their job so well at Apple that within five minutes of sit- ting in front of the Mac, I was creating documents, pulling down menus, and opening win- dows on top of windows. And not only that, I was having fun while I did it. That's right, fun. For me, an outsider to the computer gen- eration, the word fun seems more suited to the world of ar- cade-style computer games, not to a computer capable of per- forming serious applications. Well, the first time you use the FatBits feature in the Mac- Paint graphics program, see your drawing expanded on screen to the dot-by-dot level, and watch a reduced image of the entire drawing in the cor- ner of the window change as you replace each dot, I guaran- tee that you'll be having fun. Or maybe you'd prefer to select one of the many type fonts available in MacWrite to write your next memo—I can’t wait to send someone a memo in Old English. And perhaps you'd like to place a drawing of your dog or cat in the middle of a Volume 1, Number 1 note. Whatever your prefer- ence, the horizons of what is possible with a computer have suddenly expanded. Most computers I've seen that are capable of useful ap- plications are “solemn ma- chines,” with a busine ike look and no-nonsense ap- proach to life. You have to be extremely motivated (usually by a job, or perhaps by a pro- found fascination with gadgetry and technology) to memorize the multiple commands and procedures necessary to make the machine work. And maybe once in a while you can runa clunky imitation of a video-ar- cade game, pretending that you are having fun while knowing that if this entertainment were from the not-too-distant past, it would have come packaged in a nice cardboard box with the ominous phrase “fun for all ages” emblazoned upon it. You don’t need an en- cyclopedic manual to get started with the Mac. Basic word processing operations, such as changing the line spac- ing of a document, are so sim- ple and efficient that even the most computerphobic people will feel less intimidated by the machine. With other computers I’ve used, changing the line spacing of a document involves typing a series of cryptic commands. Forget those nightmares when you use the Mac. With the Mac- intosh mouse in hand, you just drag the pointer across the screen to the small icons above the document that graphically depict either single-, double-, or line-and-a-half spaced text, and click on the icon with the spacing you want—the docu- ment is instantly formatted ac- cording to your selection. Don't like that format after you're through with the letter? Want to go from double to sin- gle spacing? No big deal—you select the text by clicking the mouse button at the start of the letter and dragging the pointer to the end of the letter. Next, drag the pointer to the icon showing the format you now want and click the mouse but- ton. The entire body of text is rearranged before you can blink. Perhaps you don’t like the new arrangement once you see it. No problem, just click the mouse button on the icon representing the original for- mat or choose the Undo com- mand from the Edit menu, and the document instantly reap- pears in its original format. Sound too easy? Maybe, but I for one always figured that some of those brilliant com- puter people would eventually come up with a way for all of us noncomputer types to use these machines without dras- tically changing our lives—that is, without learning some new language of keyboard hieroglyphics. The Macintosh concept of the desktop environment, with files and folders, windows on top of other windows, and commands that can be acti- vated with a simple action of your wrist and the mouse, is a powerful analogy to the way those of us still living in the precomputer age organize in- formation. I have files in draw- ers and others scattered across the top of my desk (more on top than I care to admit). I have a large collection of pens, pen- cils, scissors, glues, paper clips, thumbtacks, cellophane tape, erasers, rubber bands, and di- verse notepads cluttering my desk. I open or close files as they are needed, take informa- tion from one file and put it into another, create new files, and throw files in the trash. The overall organization of the Mac desktop is similar to my work habits, and it replaces many of those archaic desk ac- cessories with more efficient electronic devices. I feel more organized and comfortable with my “electronic” desktop, especially the way in which I can control the entire set of op- erations on the screen with the mouse and one hand—I lean back, stretch out my arm, and edit with ease. No more hunkering over the keyboard and typing draft after draft of not-quite-perfect prose. And perhaps more impor- tantly, I feel in command of the Mac. I don’t think I can make that point strongly enough: from the moment I switched on the computer (without the aid of any instructions) and en- countered its desktop-like screen, I knew that I was in the presence, not of an enemy ma- chine to be saddle broken and conquered, but of an intellec- tual friend that was going to take care of certain heretofore monotonous and unwieldy tasks. What I didn’t know (and cer- tainly didn’t expect from a computer) was that the ma- chine would also stimulate my creative juices in a way I hadn't encountered since I first dis- covered the opposite sex in the eighth grade. For me, using the Mac is like wandering into an overstocked playpen of the mind, where each path leads to another path and each discov- ery produces more avenues to explore. By expanding the skills I have at hand and the tools I use, the Mac has expanded my artistic and intellectual bound- aries. For instance, I haven't drawn a picture for years, pri- marily because I'm so hopeless an artist. Using MacPaint, how- ever, I'm rediscovering the lan- guage of graphic images—I feel like an electronic Picasso. What will be the final result of that new perspective? I don't know, and the ingrained habit of thinking in mostly verbal terms will take time to reverse. But I'll venture a guess that within a year I'll be thinking “visually,” taking into account the possibilities for graphics in all my work. That expansion of my “mental palette” is an excit- ing prospect. Where it will lead is the kind of open-ended question that the Mac asks so well—and so far refuses to an- swer with any finite limit. The Mac may become the first truly mass-mar- ket computer. The Mac may become the first truly mass-market com- puter simply because it doesn’t take any special language to make it work. Whoever you are, whatever you do, you don’t need to be computer literate to use it. And yet the simplicity of the Mac hides a more advanced computer than has ever before made it to the personal com- puter consumer marketplace. What do the innovations of the Mac portend for the future? What are kids going to be like when they never have to learn how to use a pencil or an eraser? Will the Macintosh or its successors make any lasting difference, or is the Mac just an- other mutation of the glorified electronic beast of the late twentieth century? These are questions that will be answered in the years to come. However, my intuition tells me that the Mac will change the way people think about com- puters. There are millions of people like me who don’t want to have to go very far out of their way to use a computer. The Mac will work for us be- cause at its root, it’s more powerful than most of those other personal computers (sim- ple elegance, such as the ease with which the Mac works, is always the most difficult thing to produce), and it reflects the practical needs of people, not technically oriented designers. Let’s see, if I select the paintbrush from the tool pal- ette, choose that herringbone pattern I love so much, and start to fill in the series of con- centric circles I just created... well, I don’t know if it will give Picasso a run for his money, but it is certainly all mine. Drag the pointer, open a new window, and take a look out into the future. Maybe even climb through that window. The Macintosh computer has arrived. Macworld 15 G7 If State of the Art: Systems BZ" (Our Of the BB '#s ~ NAC. LCSKtO Lon Poole With the Macintosh, Imagine driving a car that has no steering wheel, ac- Apple bas added a celerator, brake pedal, turn signal lever, or gear selec- new dimension to tor. In place of all the familiar manual controls, you computing. Based have only a typewriter keyboard. on the concept of Any time you want to turn a corner, change lanes, a desktop working slow down, speed up, honk your horn, or back up, you environment, the have to type a command sequence on the keyboard. Mac allows you to Unfortunately, the car can’t understand English sen- do more with a tences. Instead, you must hold down a special key with personal com- one finger and type in some letters and numbers, such puter—and more as “S20:TL:A35,” which means, “Slow to 20, turn left, importantly, do it and accelerate to 35.” more easily and If you make typing mistakes, one of three things naturally— than will happen. If you type an unknown command, the ever before. car radio will bleat and you will have to type the com- mand again. If what you type happens to be wrong but is nevertheless a valid command, the car will blindly obey. (Imagine typing A95 instead of A35.) If you type something the manufacturer didn’t anticipate, the car will screech to a halt and shut itself off. No doubt you could learn to drive such a car if you had sufficient motivation and determination. But why bother, when so many cars use familiar controls? Most people wouldn't. Most people don’t bother to use a personal com- puter for the same reasons they wouldn't bother with a keyboard-controlled car. Working on a computer isn’t a natural skill, and the benefits hardly seem worth the hassle of learning how to get work done in an un- familiar environment. If you make a typing mistake, the computer may do nothing, tell you it doesn’t un- derstand, do the wrong thing, shut itself down, or de- stroy all the work you've done and then shut itself down. Who cares if the machine is theoretically thou- sands of times more efficient than pencil and paper? If using the machine rattles you so much that you can’t get anything done, it is in fact less efficient and may waste more time than it saves. 16 Volume 1, Number 1 sunseeeoeee The Mac desktop con- tains small pictures, or icons, that represent the programs and doc- uments stored on the disk inserted in the Mac’s disk drive. Macworld = 17 IB State of the Art What if a computer could let you work in a famil- iar environment, similar to the way you work at your desk? You could put things you wanted to work with on top of the “desk,” move them around, put documents into folders or files, and even throw things into the trash. This description accurately fits the working en- vironment of Apple’s Macintosh computer. The things you work with on your desk appear not as words and numbers in regimented lines, but as graphic objects located on the Mac screen. "@ File Edit View Special Icons The Mac desktop, being somewhat smaller than the average desk it models, doesn’t have room enough for life-sized objects. At first, objects appear on the Mac desktop as small pictures called icons. On the Mac, an icon is a symbol for some concept or object. Figure 1 For example, when you switch on the Mac and inserta — The Mac desktop. The Write/Paint disk icon represents the doc- disk, the screen shows two disk-shaped icons and a uments and programs stored on the current disk; the Alter- trash can (see Figure 1). As a graphic image, an icon nate Disk icon is used for copying files from one disk to can remind you about what it represents better than another; and the trash can icon holds discarded documents. words alone. " @ File Edit View Special Each icon represents a specific collection of infor- mation. To avoid ambiguity, icons also have labels. The disk icon (labeled Write/Paint in Figure 1) represents the documents and programs stored on the disk in- serted into the Mac’s disk drive. The dimmed disk icon labeled Alternate Disk is used for copying files from one disk to another, and the trash can icon labeled Trash holds documents and programs waiting to be purged from the disk. Pointers and the Mouse On a real desktop, you move things around. You may work with one document or file for a while, switch to another, do some minor calculations, check the time, and then create a new file. When you finish working on something, you want to put it away some- where convenient (such as ina file drawer) so youcan Fégure2 retrieve it later. The Mac lets you do all these things, Dragging an icon. As you hold down the mouse button and but the things you work with exist as graphic images move the pointer, an outline of the selected icon moves across on the Mac’s electronic desktop. the screen Since you can’t touch things on the Mac desktop, you need some form of remote control. The mouse is " ¢ EFM eait view special the key to working on the Mac desktop. Sliding the ue mouse on a smooth surface moves a pointer on the Getinfo #1 screen. Slide the mouse in any direction—up, down, Hur eek sideways, or diagonally—and the on-screen pointer Close will move the same distance in the same direction (see Close All “A Mouse in the Hand” for an in-depth view of the Mac- pant intosh mouse). Eject Moving the mouse moves the pointer, but press- ing the mouse button makes things happen. For exam- ple, you can move an icon by placing the pointer over it, pressing and holding down the mouse button, and then dragging the icon to a new location. The moment Figure 3 The File menu. To select a command, drag the pointer down the menu and release the mouse button when the command is highlighted. 18 Volume 1, Number 1 @ File Edit View Special Oi: Write/Paint 11 items 322K in disk 68K available Write /Paint Mac'write a0) a System Folder Empty Folder a Drafts MacPaint ba Map Pictures Memo 1/24 Letter bre a Figure 4 The disk window. The icons represent the documents and pro- grams on the current disk. you press the mouse button, the icon is highlighted. As the pointer moves, it drags an outline of the icon and its label along. The outline shows you where the icon will appear when you release the mouse button (see Figure 2). Moving the pointer over an icon and pressing and releasing the mouse button highlights the icon. This mouse action, called clicking, selects the object but does nothing except highlight it; you still must specify an action. In other words, you must give a command. Menus On most computer systems, you issue a command yping arcane words or symbols on the keyboard. Remembering such commands is difficult enough from day to day. Go to Hawaii for a week, and you can plan on a session with the manual when you return. The Mac never forces you to remember command words or type commands on the keyboard. All Mac commands are listed in menus, and you choose them with the mouse. Don't let other menus you have seen or heard about prejudice you against Mac menus. Most people say menus are great when you're learning something, but they slow you down too much when you know the ropes. Not on the Mac. Most people com- plain that menus take over the screen, making the in- formation they're acting on invisible. Not on the Mac. Most people say even with a menu you still end up typ- ing in a code number or letter. Not on the Mac. Mac menus are unobtrusive and fast, and require no typing. The Mac desktop has five primary menus—Apple, File, Edit, View, and Special—that stretch across the top of the screen. These menus provide all the com- mands for organizing and working on the desktop. You can do everything from opening and closing files to rearranging icons. The Mac hides its menu commands under the menu titles. When you move the pointer over one of the menu titles and press the mouse but- ton, a list of commands drops down from the menu bar, temporarily overlaying a small part of the screen. The Apple menu (represented by the apple sym- bol) contains a selection of desktop accessories and controls (see “Desktop Accessories” for a comprehen- sive look at the Apple menu options). The File menu lists commands for working with files (see Figure 3), Macworld 19 @ State of the Art Desktop Accessories Daniel Farber " @ File Edit View Special na You've probably noticed the apple in the upper-left corner of the desktop menu bar and wondered what it does. If you press and hold down the mouse button on this icon, a list of options will appear instantly These are the soon-to-be-well-known Mac O Clock Thu, Dec 15, 1983 06:03:05 Prt Puzzle intosh desk accessories, which are manipu- lated with the mouse and are available as part of any application program for the Mac. The desk accessories provide a num- ber of useful functions similar to those performed by objects on your “real” desk- top. The Mac also allows you to create your own desk accessories. The following are brief descriptions of each accessory. The NotePad, Clock, Puzzle, and Calculator have functions © Calculator. The hand-held cal- similar to those “real” objects on your desktop. culator rose to prominence in the 1970s, joining pencil and paper as necessary tools of every student, consumer, and bus nessperson. The Mac partially replaces those “concrete” objects, not only by re- ducing the need for pencil and paper, but also by providing a basic four-function, hand-held calculator. You can use the mouse to click on the numbers and func- tion symbols, or you can perform calcula- tions using the keyboard or the numeric keypad. Results of calculations can be cut and pasted into another desk accessory or into any document, and numbers from a document can be pasted into the calcula- tor's display. © Clock. We live in a time-conscious era; we have clocks on our desks, walls, Key Caps displays the Mac’s optional character set. stoves, cars, and wrists. The Mac also has a clock that can be placed on the desktop. It gives you the current date and time and has S File Edit View special an alarm that can be set with the mouse. You can copy the date and time and paste SSS 0 2 | them into other documents or accessories. @ Key Caps. The Macintosh comes with a set of optional characters. The Key This speed torrent Caps accessory shows the characters you can type while holding down either the Option, Shift, or Caps Lock key, To get the character you want, you can click it while you are in the Key Caps accessory or type the particular key combination on the key- board. Characters typed in the Key Caps window can be edited, and you can cut and paste them into any document or desk je Edit View Special The Scrapbook stores images or text that you use frequently. 20 Volume 1, Number 1 © Puzzle. When you need some re- lief from a difficult computing task, you can select the Puzzle option. The Apple menu puzzle is an electronic simulation of the fa- miliar plastic tile number scramble. You click on the “titles” to move the numbers into sequential positions. Whenever you close the Puzzle the titles are rescrambled. © NotePad. Taking notes or memos has become an essential action in our fast- paced society. People carry around scraps of paper covered with phone numbers and financial figures, and appointment books stuffed with daily reminders. You may not be able to carry your Mac around, but you can keep your notes and messages in the NotePad. It holds up to eight numbered pages of text that are automatically saved on the disk in a special NotePad file. Note- Pad text is editable, and you can cut and paste text into and out of it. Clicking on the turned-back corner of a page brings up the next page, and clicking on the bottom-left corner brings up the previous page. This accessory is handy for jotting down notes that you want to keep separate from a doc- ument you're working on. If you are in the midst of a spreadsheet application and sud- denly get an idea for the final chapter of your mystery novel, jot it down in the NotePad. © Scrapbook. People often use a graphic image or a portion of text for sev- eral purposes. The Mac has a Scrapbook file for collecting images and text you want to keep available. For example, if you have a standard letterhead or logo you use fre- quently, you can copy or cut it into the Scrapbook. When you want to paste that el- ement into a document, scroll through the contents of the Scrapbook file until the im- age you want appears and then click the Paste button in the window. © Control Panel. If any feature typ- ifies this machine's design as a user-scaled computer, it’s the set of custom options available in the Control Panel. Calling up this subprogram permits you to control nine system functions at any time. Two of them are fairly straightforward; one lets you adjust the volume of the internal speaker, and another resets the time and date on the Control Panel clock. Some of the other controls are truly innovative. You can specify both the rate at which the keys repeat (clicking the lower clock mouse tracking desktop pattern speaker volume command blinking insertion point blinking keyboard repeat rate keyboard response rate double-click speed The Control Panel allows you to control nine system functions at any time. numbers causes a slower repeat rate) and the keyboard response rate (the length of time a key must be held down before it produces a repeating character). Clicking a low number means you'll have to hold down the key longer to get a repeating character; clicking 0 disables the character repeat feature. You can also control the blinking rate of the insertion point (vertical bar) and the command selection bar. When you drag the pointer over a command in a pull- down menu, for example, the command is highlighted. When you release the mouse button, the highlighted command blinks according to the level set in the Control Panel. (Setting the blinking rate at 0 dis- ables the feature.) These two options help users to control the visual cues on the desktop. ‘wo controls govern the actions of the mouse. The mouse tracking control deter- mines whether the movement of the mouse on the desktop will produce a corresponding one-for-one, dot-by-dot movement of the pointer on the screen. Setting the mouse tracking control at 0 maintains a constant, dot-by-dot pointer speed. Setting the control at 1 causes the pointer to move farther, skipping every other dot on the screen, but only when you speed up the mouse movement. Having the faster mouse tracking speed in opera- tion facilitates taking action on the screen The other mouse control determines what time span qualifies as a double-click. This may sound like an abstract concept, but being able to control double-clicking speed lets users adjust the computer to their styles, rather than vice versa. The set- ting with the arrows closest together is the most rapid double-clicking speed. The desktop pattern control feature has a purely aesthetic function. It allows you to specify the pattern used for the desktop. The default setting is a neutral, 50-percent gray pattern. You can scroll through more than 30 patterns, ranging from solid black or white to crosshatch- ings, brick patterns, and wave forms. You can even customize your own pattern by editing the pattern in the FatBits portion of the pattern window. The Macintosh might well have been successful without the Control Panel. The fact that Apple programmer Andy Hertzfeld took the time to design it—and that Apple put his creation into the final product—re- flects the overall concept of the Macintosh style of computing. aene wana Daniel Farber is the Assistant Editor of Macworld. Macworld = 21 "@ File Edit Hl State of the Art and the Edit menu contains basic editing commands. The View menu lets you organize your files by icon, name, date, size, or kind on the desktop. The Special menu includes two options: Clean Up arranges the icons in orderly rows and columns, and Empty Trash deletes files permanently from the disk. Menus operate as if they were spring-loaded. As long as you hold down the mouse button, the menu choices (commands) stay in view; when you release the mouse button, the menu choices disappear back under the menu bar. While you hold down the mouse button, you can drag the pointer down the menu. Each menu choice is highlighted temporarily as the pointer passes over it. You choose a command from the menu by releasing the mouse button when the command you want is highlighted. Also, some of the menu com- mands have keyboard equivalents, which are listed next to the corresponding command. All of the available commands appear in black type. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to use some of the commands. Commands that are out of context in any particular situation appear in gray, or dimmed, type. They are not highlighted when you move the pointer over them, and you cannot choose them. In the File menu, for example, you cannot Close or Print a document unless you first Open it. View Speci es ——r | “44K available H ry Figure 5 A window showing the contents of a folder. Each folder contains documents and pro- grams, which in turn can contain other documents and folders. 22 Volume 1, Number 1 Windows When you want to look at the information that one of the icons represents, you open a window. To open the disk icon, for example, you first select the icon by clicking the mouse button while the pointer is over the disk icon. The icon is highlighted to confirm that you have selected it. Next, you choose the Open command from the File menu. An outline zooms out of the icon and the screen almost fills up with a rectangu- lar “window” containing icons that represent the docu- ments and programs on the disk (see Figure 4). The selected icon becomes hollow (all white) to show that you have opened it, and the disk icon’s name appears ina title bar at the top of the window. The line below the title bar gives information including the number of files, the amount of disk space they take up, and the amount of disk space available. Amore efficient way to open an icon is to double- click the mouse button (quickly press and release it twice); this action selects the icon and opens a window. Some of the icons represent folders that can con- tain other programs and documents, similar to file folders on your office desk that combine separate files. You can see the contents of a folder by selecting and opening that folder. A new window will appear on the desktop, displaying the icons that represent the files stored in the folder (see Figure 5). You can store folders within folders and use them to organize your files so that windows don’t get cluttered with too many documents. @ File Edit View Special Write/Paint 340K in disk LB Miscellaneous Index Draft 1/17 Deaf Draft 1/24 Draft 2/3 Figure 6 Overlapping windows. You can open several windows at once; the topmost window is the active window, The Mac lets you open several windows simul- taneously. Select another icon, choose the Open com- mand from the File menu or double-click on the selected icon, and another window zooms into exis- tence. Each new window you open overlaps the exist- ing windows. You may see the edges of existing windows sticking out underneath the new window, or the new window may completely hide everything un- der it. Windows can also cover up the icons on the Mac desktop (see Figure 6). The window on top, or frontmost window, is called the active window. You can bring any window to the top and make it the active window by putting the pointer anywhere on it (even an edge that’s sticking out behind another window) and clicking the mouse button. You can remove the active window from the Mac desktop by choosing the Close command from the File menu. The icon that the window came from sucks the information back, the window disappears, and the icon resumes its normal appearance. You can also move windows around on the Mac desktop. If you place the pointer over the title bar of a window, press and hold down the mouse button, and slide the mouse, a flickering outline of the window is dragged on the desktop. Let go of the mouse button, and the window jumps to the new location. When you move a window by this method, it becomes the top- most window. However, holding down the 3 key while you drag a window allows you to move the win- dow without disturbing its relative position in the pile. This feature is an example of an “advanced” desktop management skill that you soon learn after a few work sessions with the Mac. Sometimes windows get buried. Unfortunately, there’s no way to get a side view of the Mac desktop to see what might be under the frontmost window. But you can always relocate windows or change their sizes to uncover the ones underneath. Window Controls Think about the appliances you use. They have pushbuttons, knobs, dials, and other types of controls. Because the Mac desktop is a general purpose infor- mation processing appliance, it needs many different controls. You've seen the way elaborate stereo systems bristle with knobs, buttons, and dials. Imagine adding a television, telephone, and pocket calculator to that collection. Pretty intimidating, but nothing compared to what the Mac would look like if it had séparate con- trols for everything it did. Most computers handle the control problem by overworking the keyboard. A few add some so-called function keys, but you have to be a double-jointed NASA rocket control specialist to use them effectively. The Mac displays controls to suit the situation. You use the mouse to activate buttons and adjust control knobs displayed on the screen. For example, the disk win- dow, like most windows, has several controls built in (see Figure 7). The Mac displays the controls only when the window is active, however. To close an active window, you can click the mouse button while the pointer is over the close box at the left side of the title bar. Clicking in this displayed box has the same effect as choosing the Close command from the File menu. (Savvy Mac users will quickly discover many time- saving shortcuts. ) The small box displayed in the lower-right corner of most active windows gives you control over the size of the window. To make the window narrower, use the mouse to drag this size box to the left. To make the window wider, drag the size box to the right. Drag the size box up and the window gets shorter; drag it down and the window gets taller. Drag the size box on a di- agonal to change both height and width simultaneous- close box title bar =e Write/Paint 11 items 323K in disk ‘69K available | /UP arrow & Maswrite — MooPoint Meme 1/24 Letter bre | ‘scroll COORD YT” System Folder Empty Folder invite Loge Drafts Piotures | | down Ly arrow size left arrow right arrow’ bor Ll | horizontal scroll bar Figure 7 Window controls en- able you to change a window's size, scroll vertically or horizon- tally within it, or close an active window using the mouse. Macworld — 23 € File Edit View Special i State of the Art ly. Changing the window size does not change the size of what’s displayed, it just changes the amount of infor- mation you can see at once (see Figure 8). Sometimes a window doesn’t show all of its con- tents, even if you've fully extended its size. Fortunately, the scroll bar controls let you scan back and forth over the available information. Most windows have two scroll bars. One, located on the left edge of the win- dow, controls up-and-down movement. The other, lo- cated at the bottom of the window, controls side-to- side movement. Of the many ways to use scroll bars, the simplest is to click the arrow that points in the direction you want the window to move over the information. (Actu- ally, the window stays put on the screen and the infor- mation moves under it, but the effect is the same as if the window had moved in the direction of the arrow used.) If you press and hold the mouse button instead of just clicking it, the window keeps moving. As the window moves, a small white box, the scroll box, also moves. The scroll box gauges the window’s position relative to the top and bottom, left and right edges of the screen. Write/Paint i 11 items: ‘340K in disk 44K available s Write /Point Drafts = a items 24K in folder 44K Memo 1/24 Letter geo Miscellaneous MocWrite aoe System Folder Empty Folder Mop ie OO Drafts MocPoint Pictures Figure 8 Small and large win- dows. Changing a win- dow’s size affects the amount of informa- tion visible at one time. 24 Volume 1, Number 1 Dialog and Alert Boxes The Mac takes the unexpected in stride. When something unusual happens, it displays a special win- dow to inform you of the exceptional circumstances. You may have to click some buttons to cancel or con- tinue an action, manipulate some other controls, or even type a name on the keyboard. These special win- dows, called dialog boxes, appear only for the pur- pose of getting supplemental information from you, information needed to proceed with the task at hand (see Figure 9). If the special window appears because of some potentially dangerous situation (such as when your disk is almost full), it is called an alert box (see Figure 10). The appearance of an alert box may be ac- companied by one or two beeps from the Mac’s speaker. "MBB cait_search_Format_Font_styte Draft 2/3 Chapter IV TH] Seve current documentas | write/Pai... || years to a time Draft 2/4 wl | Cate) tha in ctimate- Cave) u ern HEntire Document Tent Only hosely or as some kind of electronic Einstein that put man into space. The development of personal computers has somewhat modified that Figure 9 A dialog box appears when the Mac needs additional informa- tion to proceed. Application Programs The commands available from the menu bar and the controls displayed on the screen vary depending on the program you use. Every program has an icon, and opening that icon starts the program. Starting a program opens a window in which you can display a document of your choice. You can create a new docu- ment or call up an existing document from the disk. The program also displays its own menu bar and con- trols that you can use to inspect and change the document. Generally speaking, you can also start a program by opening a document that you created with it. You can start the MacWrite word processing program, for example, by opening a letter you wrote using it. You do this by double-clicking on the icon representing that document. On the Mac, however, you can run only one pro- gram at a time; you can’t open a MacWrite window at the same time you have a MacPaint window open. Ap- ple had to leave something for the Lisa to do better. (You can, however, open and use a desk accessory pro- gram while you are using another program, and you can place MacPaint drawings into MacWrite docu- ments as explained below.) "«¢ Fite MEZIM search _Format_Font_ style Draft 274 dehumanized society by monitoring tax returns too closely or as some kind of electronic Einstein that put man into space. The Almost out of memory! Is it OK if you can't Undo or repeat Paste? Figure 10 Analert box warns of a potentially dan- gerous situation. The Universal Interface Although the specific commands and controls are different from one program to the next, all Mac pro- grams adhere to certain conventions, including the use of icons, windows, menus, and the mouse. Once you discover a way to do something in one program, you can apply the same principles in other Mac pro- grams (see “The Mac Way” for more information about the Macintosh user interface). For example, the method for moving information from one part of a document to another is uniform, no matter what kind of information is involved. That procedure, called cut and paste, is done entirely with the mouse and the Edit menu (see Figure 11). The steps are as follows: 1. Select the information to be moved. 2. Choose the Cut command from the Edit menu 3. Select the insertion point. 4. Choose the Paste command from the Edit menu. "@ File BTM view special Undo z 88S | on pag Write/Paint copy mal 247K in disk Paste eu > Clear Select All A Memo 1/28 RB Loge Letter tee Show Clipboard fystem Folder Empty Foiser =: Co Pictures Drotte Figure 1 The Edit menu. The Cut and Paste com- mands are used to move text or graphics from one part of a document to another. Macworld = 25 Il State of the Art You can copy information by choosing the Copy command instead of the Cut command in step 2. Copy and paste is completely analogous to cut and paste but does not delete the original information. Either way, the procedure works if the information comes from one document and goes to another, even if the docu- ments were created by different programs. It doesn’t matter whether you transfer text to text, text to a draw- ing, a drawing to a drawing, or a drawing to text. A Personable Computer The popular notion of computers dates back 15 or 20 years to a time when computers studded with flash- ing lights hunkered in climate-controlled rooms. People viewed computers either as a force that de- humanized society by monitoring tax returns too closely or as some kind of electronic Einstein that put man into space. The development of personal comput- ers has somewhat modified that perception. Progres- sive thinkers now regard computers as impersonal machines, just so many keys to press and commands to remember. Rudeness is probably the only characteris- tic anyone would anthropomorphically attribute to them. The Mac, on the other hand, is a responsive, ac- tive, engaging information processing appliance that is incidentally a computer. It doesn’t intrude. It is quiet, takes little space, and doesn’t ask you to remember anything. When you insert a disk, the screen fills with icons representing objects you find on or around your desk. These graphic images soon become very famil- iar to you, like the actual papers, folders, trash can, and documents they imitate. You copy a document, choose a command, drag an icon, cut and paste a para- graph, sketch an illustration, sum a column of num- bers, all by manipulating objects on the screen with the mouse. You tell the Mac what to do and it reacts, not the other way around. You think, “This electronic desktop may not be so absurd or useless after all” Finally, a computer that doesn’t act like one. aonen Macintosh Apple Computer, Inc. 20525 Mariani Ave. Cupertino, CA 95014 800/538-9696; in California 800/662-9238 List price: $2495 (includes Macintosh, keyboard, mouse, owner's manual, system disk, blank disk, power cord, programmer's switch, two Apple decals, and tutorial disk and audio cassette) 26 Volume 1, Number 1 The Mac Way Most computers don’t have a uniform working environment, or universal inter- face, like the Macintosh. Consequently, every application ends up with a different way of doing the same thing. Trying to re- member those various ways can be very frustrating. All of the applications currently available on the Mac share the same work- ing environment. If you learn how to edit text using MacWrite, for example, you can expect the same basic techniques to work in MacPaint and Multiplan. Of course, MacWrite will allow you to do more with text than will MacPaint or Multiplan, but all Mac applications have a uniform ap- proach to fundamental tasks. Exploring a new application will not be an intimidating or frustrating experi- ence because you will be able to apply what you already know from working with other applications. You may start by learn- ing how to draw using MacPaint and find it so entertaining that you will actually pro- duce something useful, such as a map to your house or a letterhead for your per- sonal stationery. That success will encour- age you to try writing letters and memos using MacWrite. Because that experience was so painless, you'll brave Multiplan to create a budget or an expense account. The working atmosphere is so familiar and con- sistent from one application to the next that you will find yourself doing things you never thought you would even try, with or without a computer. All this talk may seem a bit odd or even pointless if you already use another personal computer and feel comfortable with it. You probably have some handy ref- erence cards listing all the commands for the programs you use, so if something should slip your mind, you can easily look it up. But admit it, aren’t there times when you growl in anguish as your computer deletes the wrong file because of a typo- graphical error? (Such errors are impos- sible on the Mac because you never need to type commands.) Don’t you wish you could move the cursor diagonally, not just up, down, and sideways? (With the mouse you can move quickly from one point di- rectly to another.) Wouldn't you like to get rid of the pencil and paper you use to re- mind yourself of which seven cells you want to add together for a total in a spread- All of the ap- plications currently available on the Mac share the same work- ing environment. sheet? (All you do on the Mac is point at each cell or at a range of cells, and the pro- gram remembers for you.) And suppose you had a word processor you could use without having to remember dozens of control codes. Who knows, you might be tempted to type your own letters and memos, rather than writing them out long- hand and having someone else type and retype them. (You never have to use a con- trol code in MacWrite. ) Switching to the Mac from another computer will be far less trouble than try- ing to remember the multitude of com- mands for the applications you have already learned. You have a head start over computer newcomers because you know word processing concepts such as word wrap, page headers, boldface characters, and justified margins, or spreadsheet con- cepts such as column replication, summing a range of cells, and dollar formats. All you have to do is learn how to get around on the electronic desktop. (Don’t forget that what you learn about in one application will stand you in good stead in another.) It's not surprising that the first applica- tions for the Mac use consistent methods and can share information. What about the applications to come? Apple is encouraging independent program developers to create new applications for the Mac. It will be up to the programmers who develop new ap- plications to observe the rules and provide Mac users with a consistent, familiar work- ing environment. Fortunately, they have at least three good reasons to do so: ® Mac owners will be more likely to buy software that they find familiar and consistent and hence easy to learn. Given the choice between two programs with comparable features, people will always pick the one that is similar to the programs they already have. MacPaint, MacWrite, and Multiplan will set the de facto stan- dard working environment against which all other programs will be measured. © Program developers will not have to invent, describe, and justify their own unique operating environment. Apple has already put years of research, development, and testing into the design of the Mac desk- top model. It is general and flexible enough to work in almost any application. © The tools that programmers need to create the prescribed settings and trap- pings of the desktop environment are built into the Mac. It costs programmers nothing to use them. In fact, using them means less programming, not more, and a more reli- able program that uses less memory can be finished and bring in revenue sooner. If program developers use their imag- inations to come up with innovative ap- plications while staying consistently within the Mac working environment, Apple’s dream of a universal interface will become a reality, and the computing power of the Mac will be accessible to a wider range of users. Macworld 27 SS A WS State of the Art: Hardware Daniel Farber The Macintosh desktop en- vironment was designed to make working on a personal computer easier and more productive. And the key to working in that environment is the mouse. This little, hand- held device puts you in con- trol of all the Mac’s unique features. 28 Volume 1, Number 1 The juxtaposition of a mouse and a com- puter on a modern office desktop or your cozy office at home might seem strange in- deed. Is it some kind of marriage between high technology and the rodent popula- tion, or an example of the arcane Silicon Valley sense of humor? Actually, the mouse is not new to com- puters. It has been around since the early 1960s when Douglas Engelbart, an associ- ate at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI), created a small, mouse-shaped device with three protruding control buttons that looked like ears and a cable connect- ing the device to the main unit of the computer that looked like a mouse tail. Engelbart’s objective was to design interac- tive computer aids that made using the machine more natural and less alienating. Basically, the mouse works as a com- bination cursor-movement and all-purpose function key that allows you to operate a computer independent of the keyboard. With the Macintosh mouse, for example, you slide the device over a smooth surface with your hand, and the graphic pointer on the screen precisely follows its movement. Asingle button on top of the mouse allows you to select information or objects and ac- tivate commands. Essentially, the keyboard is a supplement to the mouse in the Macin- tosh desktop environment. The Desktop Mouse Most people's first reaction to the mouse or even the idea of a mouse-driven menu system is skepticism; they are leery of the mouse and cannot conceive of a computer without the noble keyboard and the familiar alphabet, numerals, and other symbols engraved on the keytops. No crea- Mouse in the Hand ture from the lower end of the evolution- ary tree (or a mechanized gimmick) can replace the human intelligence embodied in a typewriterlike machine. But after you spend a few minutes moving the mouse around and performing simple operations on a computer like the Mac, the thought of a standard cursor and the familiar keyboard seems less appeal- ing. At first you may have problems coordi- nating your hand and eyes as you move the mouse and simultaneously watch the pointer move on the screen. You may end up playing “chicken” with the mouse and the end of your desk as you try to figure out how to reach the topmost cell of a worksheet without sliding the mouse off the desk (just pick up the mouse and try again, and you'll get your bearings). But after a few hours, you'll feel like an expert as you edit a letter or work on your budget with newfound ease and speed. Using a mouse draws on an innate human skill: pointing. It’s as natural as throwing a ball, but more importantly, it in- creases your productivity and frees you from the constraints of the keyboard. Be- cause the mouse minimizes use of the key- board, you can concentrate on what’s happening on the screen, and you won't have to memorize or look up all sorts of keyboard command codes to do your work. For tasks that don’t require extensive typing, a mouse in the hand is an efficient device. A MacPaint portrait of the Macintosh mouse Mouse Lingo As with other practical tools, specific terms are used to describe the actions of a mouse. Initially, you will focus on sliding the mouse on the desktop. However, once you get accustomed to working with the mouse, your reference point will be the screen. Rather than concentrating on slid- ing the mouse, you'll be thinking in terms of selecting or dragging objects on the screen; if you press and hold down the mouse button when the pointer is over an icon, you can drag the icon to a new loca- tion. Clicking (pressing and releasing) the mouse button selects a location within a document or activates an object. Double-clicking (pressing and releas- ing the mouse button twice in rapid suc- cession) is a shortcut method you'll quickly master; for example, instead of selecting an icon and then moving the pointer to the File menu to choose a command, you can double-click the mouse button in most instances. This action cuts down on the amount of mouse movement and the num- ber of steps you need to complete certain tasks. Anatomy ofa Mouse The plastic casing of the mouse hides a rather sophisticated piece of technology. If you look at the bottom of the mouse, you'll see a small rubber-encased steel tracking ball surrounded by a circular ring. When you slide the mouse across a desk, the ball mechanically stimulates two orthogonal shafts that drive signals in two corresponding channels: an x channel that monitors horizontal movement, and ay channel that monitors vertical movement. The movement of the mouse is ini- tially detected by optical sensors on each channel. There are two light-emitting sources and two light-detecting sensors for each channel. An optical wheel at the end of each shaft has slots, or apertures, in the optical signal paths. When the wheel ro- tates, it breaks and releases the beams of infrared light. The optical signals are in turn converted to electrical quadrature signals (x1, x2, y1, y2) by means of the sensors. These electrical pulses generate interrupts in the computer. Depending on the status of the x and y quadrature signals, the interrupt handler will either increment or decrement the x and y locations in memory. The computer picks up the speed of the mouse by the number of times the in- frared beam is broken or unbroken. The Macworld — 29 NW State of the Art maximum speed that you can move the mouse without losing pulses (interrupt sig- nals) is ten inches per second. That speed is very quick; however, if you exceed that limit, the pointer may not perfectly track the movement of the mouse. The Mac allows you to modify certain aspects of the mouse’s operation. The Con- trol Panel option in the Apple menu has two mouse-related control features. You can choose from among three settings to determine the length of time between clicks that will effect a double-click. The other mouse control feature, scal- ing, involves the relationship between the speed of mouse movement and the dis- tance covered by the pointer on the screen. You can set the mouse scaling so that the The Macintosh mouse 30 Volume 1, Number 1 pointer addresses each dot on the screen, or you can speed up mouse movement by setting the mouse scaling so that the pointer skips over every other dot on the screen. However, the scaling feature will not work unless you move the mouse rather quickly; moving the mouse slowly will address each dot no matter which op- tion is selected. Apple's research showed that the one- button configuration makes it easier and less confusing for people learning to use the mouse. For more expert usage, the mouse can be used in conjunction with the keyboard. In MacPaint, for example, hold- ing down the Option key while you drag a selected part of a drawing will “stretch” the image. The mouse is a sturdy beast, but don’t let it fall off the table or allow your dog or cat to chew on it. Having your workspace as free of dust as possible helps to keep the mouse in good working condition. You should also clean the mouse periodically. The Macintosh owner’s manual gives detailed instructions for this simple procedure. The bottom of the mouse. The two rollers within the tracking- ball shell rotate when the mouse (tracking ball) moves, sending signals down two channels that monitor mouse movement. It’s in the Software The mouse will come of age in the 1980s because the software developers at Apple have created a working environment that superbly implements mouse technol- ogy. The mouse did not become a part of the Mac system as an afterthought, but, as in the design for the Lisa, was part of the overall concept from the beginning. The Mac's mouse-driven, uniform working en- vironment allows users to concentrate on their tasks, rather than on memorizing the keyboard commands and eccentricities of various application programs. As the community of Mac users multi- plies, and as other computer manufactur- ers adopt similar mouse-based working environments, the mouse will become a constant companion of the keyboard, tak- ing over many of its functions. The mouse may not be the ultimate device for interfac- ing with computers, but for the time being it’s the best system yet devised for making computers more compatible with the people who use them. seeseeneeee Daniel Farber is the Assistant Editor of Macworld. The tracking ball is easily removed for cleaning the mouse. Guess what Microtek is doing for the Mac? Just ask us! Microtek, the company that has been supporting the II-++ and Ile for nearly 5 years. After all... Look what we did for the lle... Printer Interfaces Parallel Printer Card Serial Printer Card Graphics Printer Card Buffered Printer Card Disk Emulation 128K Disk Emulators CP/M Disk Emulators PASCAL Disk Emulators Video Expansion 80 Column Video Cards for the Il-+ 80 Column Video Cards for the lle 80 Column w/64K Memory Color Enhancement 46 Color RGB Drivers 256 Color Programmable RGB Drivers Communications Serial Interfaces for Modems Memory Expansion 46K Memory Expansion Cards 64—128K Memory Expansion Cards 512K Memory Expansion Systems with software support Utilities & Software Memory Management VisiCalc Expansion Color Monitor Programming CP/M Enhancers PASCAL Enhancers Bundled MAGICALC by ArtSci For information and to get on our "Mac Mailing” list Call Toll Free (800) 854-1081 or write to: SLOTWARE Dy MICROTEK 4750 Viewridge Avenue, San Diego, CA 92123 (619) 569-0900/TLX: 910-335-1269 Congratulations Apple!...Mac! | Introducing MACWORLD The Macintosh Magazine The Exciting New Magazine for the World’s Most Creative Personal Computer—the Macintosh At Special Charter Subscriber Rates Save Up to 54% Off the Newsstand Price* (*when you subscribe for 3 years) Personal computing took a giant leap into the fu- ture when Apple introduced the Macintosh. We've created Macworld as your passport into this in- credible new realm of computing. Each issue we'll bring you everything you need to explore and get the most out of your Macintosh. From the latest product news to innovative business applications, from amazing graphics to personal productivity tools and games, each issue of Macworld will be packed with interesting, practical, readable informa- tion written by skilled, perceptive writers. Each month we'll be creating a Macworld com- munity; sharing ideas, problems, and creative solu- tions while we explore the world of Macintosh together. So why take a chance on missing a single exciting issue? For a limited time only you can subscribe to Macworld at special Charter Subscriber rates of only 4 $24 for 1 year (12 issues) That’s a savings of 20% off the regular $30 subscrip- tion rate and 50% off the newsstand price! And you can save even more by subscribing for 2 or 3 years at Special Charter Rates. Don’t Wait ...Subscribe Today and Save! ———ThinkTank——\_— YOU'LL NEVER LOSE A GOOD IDEA EVER LOST A GOOD IDEA? With ThinkTank it's almost impossible. Sit at the keyboard and brainstorm. When an idea comes, put it in your ThinkTank. Relax, then think some more. Another idea comes to mind, then another—but you're prepared. Elaborate as much as you want on any particular idea. ThinkTank will store it on-screen or “collapse” it into memory off-screen. If, at a later time, you want to edit your “collapsed” information, you can simply “expand” the heading, bringing the detail back into view. AN ENTIRELY NEW CATEGORY OF COMPUTER SOFTWARE Idea processing—fragmented thinking, expanding, revising, deleting . . . limitless changing and updating of data; this is how the human mind conceptualizes, creates and stores its refined data. ThinkTank, available for Apple and IBM personal computers, is a tool which you can use to capture and organize ideas. It adds to your efficiency as a thinker, and helps you refine the presentation of ideas. YOU NEED FLEXIBILITY Thanks to ThinkTank, personal computers from coast to coast are helping people get the most out of their ideas. ThinkTank will be your file cabinet, your daily planner, your elec- tronic secretary . . . Flexible, accessible, and constantly updated, ThinkTank js the first IDEA PROCESSOR. WHAT DO THE PROS THINK? We didn't have to ask. They told us in glowing reviews nationwide. INFOWORLD (July 25, 1983): “an amazing tool” . . . “your screen becomes a dynamic arena for your ideas.” SOFTALK (August 1983): “get more out of your thinking” . . . “limitless permission to change your mind.” THE NEW YORK TIMES (May 17, 1983): “ThinkTank is so easy to use, and so rela- tively errorproof that even a first-timer feels as if he’s in control of the computer, instead of the other way around.” SCIENCE DIGEST (August, 1983): “you may well find yourself hooked.” Available for Apple’s Macintosh early in the second quarter of 1984. See ThinkTank performing on the revolutionary new Macintosh at SOFTCON, Booth A931. ThinkTank and “the first idea processor” are trademarks of Living Videotext, Inc. Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. IBM and IBM PC are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. Living Videotext Inc., 1000 Elwell Court, Palo Alto, CA 94303 (415) 964-6300 THINKTANK The First Idea Processor Matthew Douglas The Macintosh’s hardware is every bit as marvelous as its software. You're probably not surprised. But this fact may surprise you: any competent hardware engineer could have designed the Mac's hardware. Simply take a Motorola 68000 micro- processor, throw in 64K of ROM, add 128K of RAM, slap on a couple of high-speed se- rial ports, cram in a few additional good- ies, and voila—a Macintosh computer. Such a computer would have only two flaws: it would be the size of a large win- dow air conditioner and would cost thou- sands of dollars more than the Mac. The Art of Design Good design, whether in buildings, bridges, or computers, is a combination of craft and art. Great design is great art, and great art seldom comes from a team pro- duction. One man, Burrell Smith, is pri- marily responsible for the awesome speed, amazing size, and low cost of the Mac. Hardware engineers are fond of saying that anything can be designed if you're willing to pay the price of high-cost com- ponents and mammoth power supplies. Just divide the engineering problem into sections, and then “throw chips” at each section. Four-voice sound? Throw a big glob of chips on the board. High-resolution monitor? Cram a bunch of chips on a big card and shove it in an expansion slot. Disk drives? Add another big card full of chips. Serial ports for the printers, modems, or networks? More chips, more chips, more chips, and crank up the power supply. The result? Bigger size, greater power con- sumption, greater cost to manufacture, and bigger price stickers for buyers. Brilliant engineers, on the other hand, take a different approach. They create de- signs that squeeze maximum function 34 Volume 1, Number 1 @ State of the Art: Hardware Inside the Mac A close-up view of the Mac’s internal hardware from a minimum of chips. The result is small, fast machines that sip few watts, are simple and inexpensive to build, and offer great reliability. When hardware engineers gather to pore over the Mac’s hardware specifica- tions, they are invariably impressed—and with good reason. Until Burrell Smith de- signed the Mac, no one believed it was pos- sible to fit this much computer onto two small circuit boards stuck into a compact, lightweight case. The 68000 The heart of the Mac is the digital motherboard, home of the 68000 micro- processor, read-only (ROM) and random- access (RAM) memory, and six amazing chips called PAL (Programmable Array Logic) chips. The motherboard is located horizontally at the bottom of the main unit, in line with the connectors at the rear. An analog board, containing the power supply, speaker, and circuitry needed by the video monitor, is placed vertically along the left, inside edge (when viewed from the front) of the main unit. The monitor tube takes up the inside-middle area, with the Apple/ Sony micro-floppy disk drive tucked underneath The motherboard is where the actual processing takes place. At the center of this activity is the Motorola 68000 micro- processor, a 16-bit minicomputer on a single chip. If you could peek inside the 68000, you'd notice that the chip can easily work with 32-bit chunks of information, what Motorola calls a ong word of data. By comparison, the Apple Ile, the Ap- ple III, Z-80 computers, and most CP/M ma- chines are 8-bit machines. Their internal unit of information consists of eight binary digits: 00100100 The 68000 thinks nothing of processing data chunks like this: 11001100101011001101010111001010 Processing bigger chunks of information means larger numbers and more complex instructions can be held within the micro- processor and then swapped and manipu- lated between on-chip data and address registers. The 68000 has 17 on-chip regis- ters to hold addresses, results, and inter- mediate calculations. The 68000 communicates with every- thing else along an address bus 16 bits EERE The 68000 chip can easily work with 32-bit chunks of information. wide. Data is slammed in and out 16 bits at a time, unlike the 8-bit maximum for 8-bit microprocessors. The key word is throughput; throughput for the 68000 is about double that of 8-bit processors, or 8/16-bit processors crippled by only eight lines to the outside world. Microprocessors do their work in fre- quency cycles, similar to the ticks of a met- ronome. For most 8-bit microprocessors, Inside the Macintosh system unit 1 CRT (cathode ray tube) 6 Power switch 2 Yoke 7 Power input 3 Disk drive 8 Sound jack 4 Analog printed circuit hoard 9 Serial ports 5 Clock battery 10 External disk drive connector 11 Mouse connector 12 Digital printed circuit board Macworld 35 @ State of the Art the metronome thuds away at 1 or 2 mega- hertz (MHz). The 8088 processor within the IBM Personal Computer steps along at 4.7 MHz. The 68000 within the Mac sprints at an impressive 8 MHz. The combination of wide data, a 16-bit bus, 17 registers, and a fast clock speed translates into a chip that processes from one to two million instructions each sec- ond. That's some fast thinking. Memorabilia The Mac comes to life fairly intelligent, even when the disk drive is empty. That in- telligence is contained on two high-density chips that hold 64K of ROM—memory that contains almost 500 separate programs, many of them accessible by other software. The ROM contents are frozen on silicon; they can be used or read by other pro- grams, but can't be written to or changed. Most microcomputers have between 2K and 32K of ROM. While the Mac's 64K of ROM is impressive, it might be more accu- EEE While the Mac’s 64K of ROM is impres- sive, it might be more accurate to imagine it as 96K or even 128K of ROM. rate to imagine it as 96K or even 128K of ROM. The reason is the incredible optim- ization of program segments within ROM. Apple's software engineers put enormous effort into making each Mac routine as small and fast as possible, coding, recod- ing, squeezing, polishing, and refining every routine until it was lightning fast and incredibly small. It's the type of work that high-level language compilers aren’t smart enough to do; you've got to get down to the gritty level of assembly language and thrash it out with the BSETs, RORs, and SUBQs of assembler. The ROM chips are a treasure chest for programmers. Inside are some of the tradi- tional operating system components such 36 Volume 1, Number 1 as interrupt handlers, device drivers, an asynchronous I/O system, a memory man- ager, a file system, a segment loader, and various utilities. Other parts of the Mac’s ROM are taken up by Bill Atkinson’s Quick- Draw graphics programs and the Macin- tosh User Interface Toolbox, a group of “managers” and services intended to help program developers conform to the Mac way of doing applications. The Toolbox includes routines for handling windows, menus, dialogs, text editing, controls, and system resources (see “The 64K Treasure Chest” for an overview of program devel- opment on the Mac and the Toolbox units). The Mac’s RAM is comprised of two banks of 8 chips each: 128K of RAM on 16 chips. Like the ROM chips, the RAM chips are “late-model,” high-density integrated circuits. Although memory can't be ex- panded (yet), programs are free to use ROM code. In effect, application program- mers will find that the tedious parts of their programs are prewritten for them by Apple’s programmers. The attitude of “making it easy for application programmers” should result in Mac programs that look and behave like all other Mac programs. The mass of ROM programs takes the pressure off the Mac's 128K of RAM. Since the routines to create menus and dialog boxes, handle files, and open windows are already written in ROM, the 128K of RAM can be used for more specific purposes. Is 128K enough RAM? Of course not— there’s no such thing as enough RAM. A Mac with 256K would be better, 512K bet- ter still, and even a full megabyte of mem- ory would certainly be fully consumed by RAM-hungry programs, help files, RAM disks, integrated programs, and innumera- ble crafty utilities. Expect the 128K limit to be stretched and pulled in a variety of ways: programs that shuttle chunks of code in and out of RAM, files in RAM merged and overlaid on other files, and virtual memory, which fools the Mac into believing that disk space is just so much more RAM. Another chip, the 6522 Versatile Interface Adapter, handles the Macintosh mouse, keyboard, and real-time clock. The clock is powered by a pen-light battery accessible from a small panel at the rear of the main unit. Even when the Mac is turned off or unplugged, the battery keeps the time and date constantly updated. PALs Possibly the most magical aspects of the Mac’s hardware are contained in the six special PAL chips. The PALs achieved a measure of fame from their starring role in Tracy Kidder's Soul of a New Machine (Avon, New York, 1982), in which they played a crucial role in the development of a minicomputer. The PALs also play a crucial role in the Mac. They are the equivalent of entire circuit boards placed on a single chip. Hardware designers determine the pro- gramming of a PAL much like they go about designing entire boards of chips. Each PAL takes the place of several discrete components. How many? Again, it depends on the skill of the designer. The 6 PAL chips on the Mac motherboard replace, conservatively, 30 or more conventional in- tegrated circuits. The PALs work with the 68000 pro- cessor, generate different bus and timing signals, and mediate between the mother- board and the video display. It’s safe to say that without the PALs and Burrell Smith’s inventive PAL programming, the Mac would have had a radically different appearance. A Graphic Display Appearances can be deceiving. Most computers display text on one of 24 or 25 “invisible” horizontal lines on the screen. This display is called text mode. To display graphics, the software switches to graph- ics mode, and the display becomes a field of dots. Each dot, or pixel, is either off (in- visible) or on (visible). Of course, a com- puter may have more than one text mode or two or more graphics modes, or it may be a mixed mode of graphics and text. The Mac display has only one mode: graphics. The entire screen is made up of dots: 512 dots horizontally and 342 dots vertically, a total of 175,104 dots that com- bine to display everything you'll ever see on a Mac screen. (Now you know the secret behind the incredible range of type fonts, attributes, and type sizes.) ver The heart of the Macintosh: the digital motherboard © 1se3 SNAWAGN A CLD @appie’tomputer 630-0108 Video counters System timing and control (PALs) 15.6672 MHz oscillator Reset ich Interrupt switch Sound-out jack RAM address multiplexors 68000 microprocessor 9 Imerters 10 row pas 12 13 14 15 16 17 ideo connector Serial port RAM array (64K X 16) ROM (32K X 16) Serial receiver Serial driver Disk controller Internal drive connector 18 External drive connector 19 keyboard connector 20 Video shift re 21 Bus control 22. Sound/disk speed control 23 Serial communications controller 24 6522 versatile interface adapter 25 Real-time clock 26 Mouse connector fers Macworld 37 Wl State of the Art Zapplie comput ces Fy The Macintosh analog User-accessible brightness control Width coil 12 Powe switch circuit board Speaker Power transformer 13 Video connector Voltage adjust 8 Processor connector 14 Battery bolder Height control 9 Flyback transformei 15 Focus control Yoke connector 10 Line filter components 16 Cut-off control 11 Power input 38 Volume 1, Number 1 Serial Speed The main link between the 68000 and the Mac’s two high-speed serial ports is the serial communications controller, the 8530. These serial ports link accessories, such as a printer, to the main unit. The se- rial ports are side by side on the rear panel; one is marked by an icon representing a telephone receiver, the other by a printer icon. But don’t be misled, the ports are identical; you can plug a printer or a mo- dem into either port. ‘Typically, computers have either a par- allel port, a serial port, or one of each. The serial ports are usually termed RS-232 se- rial ports. The RS-232 designation refers to a communications convention detailing how to send electronic pulses down a line. Unfortunately, RS-232 comes from the days of slow, clunky teletype machines that were linked to slow computers. Imagine blowing big peas through a small straw. Parallel ports are faster but more com- plicated. Using a parallel port, you can transmit data in chunks instead of as a EERE The Mac display has only one mode: graphics. stream of individual bits. Until now, you needed a college degree (or an excep- tional salesperson) to determine the proper serial or parallel printer that would work with the proper serial or parallel port and the proper serial or parallel card. Don’t forget trying to find the right cable. The Mac does away with the confu- sion by adopting a new serial convention: RS-422. The beauty of the RS-422 is four- fold: it is fairly uncomplicated; it has a high bandwidth (which, loosely speaking, means it can pack lots of information, in- cluding voice, into a cable); it is the new national standard for serial communica- tions, meaning that other computers will eventually have RS-422 ports; and it is fast. Just how fast is difficult to pinpoint. In most cases, the serial port handles data faster than the computer can process it, which is very fast indeed. Roughly, the RS-422 hardware can transfer 4 megabytes of information per second—more than enough for typical (and untypical) uses. Four megabytes per second is the hard- ware limit; software slows the rate down a good deal. Still, it leaves the old RS-232 ports eating dust. At the top of the soon-to-come list is networking—a Mac on every desk, each with the ability to send messages, mail, programs, and documents to other Macs. When networking arrives—and it won't be long—making the connection will be mostly a matter of plugging a cable into an RS-422 port. Sony’s Contribution The Mac’s 3%-inch micro-floppy disk drive adds another chapter to the speed and storage story. Apple buys its Mac disk drives from Sony. Although 3%-inch disk drives are somewhat new to most buyers, Sony disk drives have been available in computers from Hewlett-Packard (HP), and they've proved to be fast and dependable. The micro-floppy disks are also sturdy, but they’re not floppy, despite the “Micro Floppydisk” label on the package. Each disk is contained in a rigid plastic cover. A spring-loaded shutter opens when the disk is inserted to expose the disk’s delicate recording surface. You'll never have to worry about getting fingerprints on the surface of your disks. Micro-floppy disks are so small that six or seven will fit easily into a shirt pocket. They are sturdy enough to survive being dropped onto the floor, and sail with ease through the hazards inflicted by the US. Postal Service. If the Mac is your first com- puter, you're going to like these disks. If the Mac isn’t your first computer, you're going to love them. The HP disk drives, like those in the Mac, are Sony single-sided drives. The HP/ Sony drives store 270,000 bytes on each disk, while the Macintosh/Sony drives have a formatted capacity of 410,000 bytes. The difference is in the hardware. The Mac uses an Apple-designed, variable-speed disk controller. Depending on what disk area is under the read/write drive head, the disk motor spins the disk at between 400 and 600 revolutions per minute (rpm). The varying speed increases reliability and sim- plifies the analog read/write electronics. Most 5%-inch disks, by comparison, poke along at 300 rpm, hold from 80K to 320K of information, and are noisy. Disk ejection is automatic—no little doors, no fumbling inside the drive. Go to the File menu, drag down to the Eject com- EEEREE Macintosh/ Sony drives have a Jormatted capacity of 410,000 bytes. mand, and release the mouse button. A good two inches of the disk pops out of the slot. “But what if I can’t make the software give me the disk?” you ask. Apple thought of that. In the absolute worst case imagin- able, you can switch off the Mac, hold down the mouse button, and switch on the machine again. This procedure always ejects the disk. For additional storage, an external disk drive can be plugged into a connector alongside the serial ports. Currently, Apple supports only one additional disk drive. The operating system software, however, supports up to four disk drives and will also support double-sided disk drives when they become available. Double-sided drives would allow not 410K, but 800,000 bytes per disk. Analog Bored Analog electronics are often over- looked. They're just not as glamorous as high-speed microproces S| snazzy disk drives. But they're important nonetheless. The Mac’s analog circuit board contains the power supply, power Macworld 39 i State of the Art Janet McCandless You don’t need any technical knowledge to operate the Mac- intosh. You can design compli- cated electronic spreadsheets, write memos and letters, or create an elaborate drawing without being bothered by the computer's bits, bytes, RAM, or ROM. However, if you want to know how the Mac is able to perform your computing tasks, you'll need a basic understand- ing of the technical jargon. The following glossary briefly ex- plains some of the terms re- ferred to in “Inside the Mac.” © Address bus: a transport and identification system whereby circuits route (bus) information from a memory location where information is stored (an address) to another location. © Analog circuit: a circuit that handles information as a continuous range of physical values such as voltage, light, or temperature. © Bit: a contraction of bi- nary digit. The computer iden- tifies each unit of information as on or off voltage in a circuit. Bits are grouped together to form larger units of informa- tion such as a nibble (4 bits) or a byte (8 bits). © Byte: an 8-bit unit of infor- mation that represents one character of data. © Chip: an integrated circuit formed by thousands of elec- tronic components etched onto the surface of a silicon wafer. 40 Volume 1, Number 1 Computer Jargon © Digital circuit: a circuit that handles information as distinct, separate values, most frequen