From: jbthoo@ucdavis.edu (John Thoo)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 93 21:20:03 PDT 
Subject: insurance for Mac equipment (report) 


Note to moderators: At the risk of repeating this submission, I'm
sending you this report for the second time.  (The notorious mailer
daemon returned my first submission.)  My apologies if this is, indeed,
reaching you for the second time. --John.
=========================================

Several digests ago, I posted the following query:
>Does anyone own any insurance for Mac equipment?  I've been thinking
>lately that perhaps I should invest in some, perhaps as part of some
>type of renter's insurance; but then something from a company called
>`Safeware' (Columbus, OH) showed up in my snailmailbox yesterday.
>
>What's your opinion?  Is insurance for Mac equipment and programs worth
>getting?  And, if so, what's the best `type' (whatever that means) of
>insurance to get?  And from where?  And how much is considered reasonable,
>and at what cost?


The response has been fabulous.  Not only were there replies posted
directly to the digest, but I also received responses directly from

  Jerry <iscjcw@uccvma.ucop.edu>
  K. A. Graff <kgraff@csd4.csd.uwm.edu>
  Harald Herchen <herchen@navier.stanford.edu>
  Ed Kaszubowski <dlogics!ejk@uu.psi.com>
  Charles Martini <cmartini@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil>
  Tim Richard <Timothy.Richard.Peng@um.cc.umich.edu>
  
Thanks for your help, folks.  I really appreciate your help and advice
in this matter.  Insurance can be a confusing business, especially for
one unschooled in such matters.

I am submitting a compilation of all the responses I received directly,
along with those I cut from the last few digests.  I hope that this
information will serve someone else as well as it's served me.

The upshot is that if you have renter's insurance, then you might
check into adding a rider for computer equipment.  The extent to which
such a rider would cover your equipment/software would, necessarily,
depend on your insurance company.  There are also companies around that
specialize in computer insurance, one of which is Safeware (the company
about which I enquired).  One person compared such companies to those
insurance companies that specialize in insuring motorcycle riders.  Having
one been an avid motorcycle rider, myself, I could relate to that.  Several
folks advised checking the BBB before purchasing insurance from any company
with which one is not familiar---good advice in any case.  Finally, there
was one person who reported that the BBB had nothing bad to say about
Safeware, and that Safeware's been in business since 1982.

What I've summarized above is nowhere comprehensive.
Please check out the compilation of responses I'm posting to read each of them
for yourself.  I've deleted all mailing headers from the responses I received
directly; those that I cut from the last few digests still bear their mailing
headers.

Good luck!
--John.
J. B. THOO, Math. Dept., Univ. of California, Davis <jb2@math.ucdavis.edu>


=============================================================================
MODERATORS: PLEASE CUT HERE

---------------------------------snip, snip----------------------------------

john - your regular household insurance should cover it (even if you
live in a dorm, you can buy renter's insurance in most states).  most
insurance companies require you to add a computer equipment rider on
your policy, and deductibles are usually in the $200 range (a pittance
compared to the cost of mac systems).  this shouldn't be more than
$15 to $25 bucks on top of your regualr insurance, and should cover you
for upwards of $10k.  regular renter's insurance costs around $100 a
year here in ann arbor (a college town with many many burglaries),
and also covers your stereo and cds (perhaps as great a loss as your
computer, if you have a big collection!).

-------------

John,

I had a homeowners policy last year when my Mac SE, DeskWriter, and a
whole bunch of other stuff was stolen from my house. I was advised to
get a policy with replacement value by my agent. It costs more but you
have your stuff replaced instead of getting a cash settlement based on
the depreciated value. It is a good choice if you are low income and/or
are using older equipment for your work. I had everything replaced and
was up and running again in a few weeks.

I am living in a rental unit now and have my computers covered it a renters
policy. Like the homeowners, you want to have an inventory of your stuff
and receipts, etc in a safe place.

I found out that my insurance would cover occasional use of my computer
equipment at school, but if I kept it at work (school) neither the
school's insurance or my own policy would cover it. Also if you take
computers from work home, your policy will probably not cover it and
you may get into hot water with your employer.

Good luck. Stealing computers is big business these days. We had a
$2K notebook with a $5K board for running an air pollution monitor
stolen from one of our labs during spring break last month. A big
killer in my case was that although I had my distribution disks in
a file cabinet in another room and they were not taken, I had just
set the disk file with my backups on the printer that morning. The
backups were stolen with the system, probably for the box they in.
That was probably the greatest loss for me as I had projects for work
and a lot of personal work on them. The theft of something like that
is like having a manuscript for a book stolen. You will get the medium
on which you wrote it replaced as there is no way to put a value on
your creative effort.

-------------

In comp.sys.mac.digest you write:

>Does anyone own any insurance for Mac equipment?  I've been thinking
>lately that perhaps I should invest in some, perhaps as part of some
>type of renter's insurance; but then something from a company called
>`Safeware' (Columbus, OH) showed up in my snailmailbox yesterday.

>What's your opinion?  Is insurance for Mac equipment and programs worth
>getting?  And, if so, what's the best `type' (whatever that means) of
>insurance to get?  And from where?  And how much is considered reasonable,
>and at what cost?

Why not just rely on Renter's or Homeowner's insurance?  Unless there is
some special provision, like you have special "professional uses" for
your equipment, basic home insurance should cover your mac just like
they'll cover your TV, stereo, etc.

It is my opinion that those special computer insurances are a scam.
Easy money for them.  Like selling earthquake insurance in Illinois.

Incidentally, I live in a pretty-high crime-rate area of Chicago, and I
pay $193 a year for $20,000 of coverage with a $100 deductible - basic
renter's insurance from Allstate.

Later.

-------------

Hi John,

Saw your posting in info-mac and thought I chime in with my $.02.

I've had Safeware since I bought my current Mac system (2+ years now).
Before I had an old plus, an imagewriter and a smidgeon of software. Now I
have a IIci, laser printer, CD, Syquest, monitors, and tons of software.
After discussing the insurance (or lack of it) provided by my homeowners
policy, I looked around and selected Safeware's all-risk policy. If memory
serves, I pay aboaut $200/year for $10,000 coverage. The coverage is
all-risk -- including theft, fire, power surge, damn near anything.

I (touch wood) haven't had a claim, but the company has been around quite a
while and I've *never* seen anything negative posted or written about them.

Hope this helps


ps -- most homeowners/renters policies either specifically exclude personal
computers or make you add a very expensive rider. And, many have clauses
that say if you even so much as think business while using it, your PC
becomes a business machine and you lose all coverage. I've heard, however,
that there are some homeowners/renters policies which do cover them. Check
with your agent first, and be sure you find out about all of the excusions
and deductibles.

-------------

Hi, yes, I have insurance for my Mac.  I have about $6000 worth of equipment,
and the insurance cost me $120.00.  It is a little more expensive than
other places, becuase it covers my Mac while I am on the road, i.e., in
my car, even while unattended.  I have driven over 20,000 miles, and
it is worth it.  If you just want coverage for your office, then if it
is your personal machine, you should be able to get away with $80 for
the same amount of Mac equipment.

I don't know about your place, but around here, any Mac that isn't locked
down is immediately stolen, and even if they are locked down, they
sometimes get lifted.  So insurance is essential, only one step below
backups!  I note that '486 PC's sit here blissfully unlocked, and they
have never been lifted!

I can't recall the name of my insurance agency, but they are located
in Ohio, and advertise each month in the back of MacWorld.  If nobody
else tells you, I can look it up for you.

Cheers!

-------------

Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1993 11:09:41 GMT
From: photo@theporch.raider.net (David Anderson)
Subject: insurance for Macs/peripherals/software (Q)

Info-Mac@sumex-aim.stanford.edu writes:

>Does anyone own any insurance for Mac equipment?  I've been thinking
>lately that perhaps I should invest in some, perhaps as part of some
>type of renter's insurance; but then something from a company called
>`Safeware' (Columbus, OH) showed up in my snailmailbox yesterday.
>What's your opinion?  Is insurance for Mac equipment and programs worth
>getting?  And, if so, what's the best `type' (whatever that means) of
>insurance to get?  And from where?  And how much is considered reasonable,
>and at what cost?
>Lots of questions, but I don't know where else to turn for good,
>honest advice on this.  Thanks for your help.

I have insurance on all my computer equipment, but it's wrapped up with my
business insurance policy.  It's not terribly expensive.  Outside of the
business policy, I'm not sure how I'd go about it.

David Anderson
nashville tn

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Apr 93 11:14:00 CDT
From: PULLMANN@VM1.TUCC.TRINITY.EDU
Subject: Mac Insurance (R)

John Thoo asks:

>Does anyone own any insurance for Mac equipment?  I've been thinking
>lately that perhaps I should invest in some, perhaps as part of some
>type of renter's insurance; but then something from a company called
>`Safeware' (Columbus, OH) showed up in my snailmailbox yesterday.
>
>What's your opinion?  Is insurance for Mac equipment and programs worth
>getting?  And, if so, what's the best `type' (whatever that means) of
>insurance to get?  And from where?  And how much is considered reasonable,
>and at what cost?

What did this 'Safeware' outfit offer? Just as a personal opinion, I think
some sort of insurance on computers in the home is a must, but I also
think it's a field ripe for enormous rip-offs. My renter's insurance
covers my equipment if it's stolen or flooded or whatever, and I have
an Applecare policy to cover electrical/mechanical ills. This last is not
cheap, but for me it's the only way to go, because I can budget for it and
know that no matter what mega-$$$$ component of my system fails, I can
get it fixed. For someone with a larger bank account, it might make more
sense to gamble that by not paying premiums you could save enough money to
cover any problems that might come up. Then again, maybe not...
                                                               Pat

Pat Ullmann  PULLMANN@VM1.TUCC.TRINITY.EDU or PULLMANN@TRINITY (BITNET)

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Apr 93 13:59:36 PDT
From: cmartini@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil
Subject: [ANS] insurance for Macs/peripherals/software (Q)

John Thoo <jb2@math.ucdavis.edu> wrote for information on insurance for
Macs/peripherals/software...

I've seen the ads for Safeware, but I don't know anything else about them.
Before you buy a policy from them, I'd suggest the usual caveats:  check with
the Ohio Better Business Bureau, state insurance regulators, etc.

As to buying Mac insurance in the first place...I'm a Lieutenant in the
Navy, and I've had my computer equipment, and all electronics, insured for
years with Armed Forces Co-Op.  While that company's clientele is limited,
other insurance companies offer similar policies to what I had:  full
coverage, with a replacement-cost floater.  This covered me if, for example,
my LC & 12" monitor fell off my desk at sea and smashed to bits.  In this
instance, the company would pay for a new LC III and 13" monitor, since the
original LC and 12" monitor aren't available.  For my money, a policy without
replacement cost coverage for electronics is useless--the going rate for the
LC I bought two years ago is $800.  ACV (Actual Cash Value = depreciation)
coverage for computer equipment is no good.

Now, is any coverage needed?  Depends on your usage.  Is your Mac in a
pilferable spot (ie-your office)?  What are the chances of damage to the
equipment?  Do you have insurance for other high-value items you own?

I've never seen a policy that covers software.  The best policy I can think
of is regular backups.  If your data is especially critical, the best thing
to do is keep one recent backup off-site.  You should always keep your
master application disks locked and securely stored.

The only kind of software insurance policy I can imagine would be one that
guards you against business losses caused by loss of data/software.

Just tossin' out some thoughts...

                                       _____
                                       \   /
Chuck Martini                           \o/
Oak Harbor, WA                           |
cmartini@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil           _|_

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Apr 93 13:16:19 CDT
From: gray@cmgroup.engr.wisc.edu
Subject: insurance for Macs/peripherals/software (C)

I have renters insurance through State Farm and computer equipment
(up to $8000, I believe) is included in that.  It is also replacement
insurance and doesn't shaft me on depreciation.  You can also add a
rider to the policy if you have more than $8000 of hardware/software.

I personally wouldn't be without it.  Computers and their software are
an awfully big investment to let go up in flames or get stolen
without protection.

Best regards,

Gary L. Gray                *  Engineering Mechanics & Astronautics
gray@cmgroup.engr.wisc.edu  *  University of Wisconsin-Madison

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1993 17:03:25 -0800
From: Jerry Wilcox <iscjcw@uccvma.ucop.edu>
Subject: Computer Insurance (R)

I have been most interested in seeing comments in Info-Mac regarding
computer insurance, especially the ones indicating that State Farm renter's
insurance covers computers. I have homeowner's insurance (plus earthquake,
auto, life, and a few others) also through State Farm. When I bought my
system for home several years ago, I turned first to my agent who carefully
pointed out that my policy specifically excluded "business equipment" from
any coverage. He was quite candid with me and said that while the company
would cover a Nintendo, or perhaps even something like a Commodore 64 as a
"home computer," my Macintosh System (which cost > $10K back then) was
clearly for "business" and would not be covered. He offered to write me a
"business" policy, but then was very open about telling me to look first at
the companies which specialized in insuring computers. This caused me to
stop and think about an earlier situation of a similar type -- motorcycle
insurance. Years ago when I was an active rider, I did all the research and
discovered that the "traditional" insurance companies all charged a lot
more for motorcycle insurance than did the companies specializing in
motorcycles.

Suspecting that the same thing might be true of computer insurance, I
checked with several other insurance carriers, in addition to companies
like Safeware. I learned a great deal. Some companies cover computers with
their homeowner's or renter's insurance; many do not, or make the
deductible so high that it isn't worthwhile. Some allow the addition of a
rider to cover extra value or reduce deductibile; others don't.

The bottom line for me is that I bought a policy from Safeware that covers
all of my hardware *and* software against all risks, including even power
surges and the like. One netter commented that s/he had never seen
insurance covering software, and why bother -- just keep adequate backups.
Unfortunately, a fire or earthquake might cause me to lose the
documentation and the original disks, things which a backup cannot replace.
It is a loss to me if I have to repurchase a package because I don't have
the original disks or because I need the documentation.

Your bottom line might be different, but if you think that your computer is
automatically covered by your current insurance, I'd urge you to check
again, carefully, just to make sure it actually is.

Jerry
-----
Jerry Wilcox - iscjcw@uccvma.ucop.edu   All opinions are mine alone

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1993 04:15:01 GMT
From: rik@world.std.com (Rik Ahlberg)
Subject: Mac Insurance (R)

Info-Mac@sumex-aim.stanford.edu writes:

>John Thoo asks:

>>Does anyone own any insurance for Mac equipment?  I've been thinking
>>lately that perhaps I should invest in some, perhaps as part of some
>>type of renter's insurance; but then something from a company called
>>`Safeware' (Columbus, OH) showed up in my snailmailbox yesterday.

I got the same mailing and think I'll fax them for more info... it seems
odd that they cover whatever you have without requiring a specific list of
equipment, just a price range.

But they claim they cover you for complete replacement without
depreciation... and that on my 5-year-old SE would be great if it were
ever stolen or damaged.

And it's a minor premium, only about $70 to cover up to $5,000 worth of
equipment for a year.

You might also want to look into insurance services offered by the large
users groups (BCS, BMUG, etc.) as I was just looking at a flyer on an
extension policy for homeowners insurance from the BCS.

Rik

Sources:  Safeware, 2929 N. High St., PO Box 02211, Columbus, OH 43202
          BCS Insurance Services (COMPASS Associates), 1-800-464-0703

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 15 Apr 93 14:21:08 EST
From: Kenneth Simon <KSSIMON@ucs.indiana.edu>
Subject: Safeware Computer Insurance

 In answer to the recent musings about the Safeware Insurance Company:
I just bought some insurance from them after checking with the
Better Business Bureau: they are a member of the BBB with no complaints
on file.  They have been in business since 1982.

Sounds promising to me!

 ------------
Kenneth Simon, Indiana University
Internet: KSSIMON@INDIANA.EDU   Bitnet: KSSIMON@IUBACS

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1993 08:46:25 -0600
From: bwalls@marvin.msfc.nasa.gov
Subject: Computer insurance (C)

Jerry Wilcox says
>...system for home several years ago, I turned first to my agent who
carefully
>pointed out that my policy specifically excluded "business equipment" from
>any coverage. He was quite candid with me and said that while the company
>would cover a Nintendo, or perhaps even something like a Commodore 64 as a
>"home computer," my Macintosh System (which cost > $10K back then) was
>clearly for "business" and would not be covered. He offered to write me a
>"business" policy, but then was very open about telling me to look first at
>the companies which specialized in insuring computers.

Just wanted to comment that I have State Farm Homeowner's insurance. They
cover computer equipment up to about $3000, and offer a rider for more
expensive things. This is the same type policy as for furs, guns, and coin
collections. Home computers (and other consumer electronics) are much more
common today than a few years ago, so calling any real computer "for
business" may have changed, but I woul…

Showing first 20,000 characters of 21,981 total. Open the full document →

From: DouglasN@eworld.com
Subject: Mass standardizing on Pentiums

There are a few things I would like to make clear. I think the note at 
the end of this message is too harsh, to the point of being rude.
I do not endorse this kind of talk, nor does Moe or anyone else speak for me.

However, I do not think it is right for a state to impose "standards" such as
those to which he refers. I agree that the State of Massachusetts should not
 only "allow" Macintosh computers, but they should also consider how to
encourage or at least better incorporate more of them or to take advantage of
this superior technology.

I have added to this message notes from various people (all included in
address field above) and some other useful information and addresses for the
people of our great state to look at.

I added the letter from Moe at the end of all this.

Doug Nelson


--------------------------------
here are some reasons to consider (from another email source):
(1) Macs cost less to operate.  (2) Some Macs are even cheaper than an
identical PC.  (3) No more worry about a single vendor computer since there
now are clones.  (4) There is a higher percentage Internet connected Macs
than PCs.  (5)  Other than one specific brand of Unix machine, there are
more Macs as Web servers.  (6) Contrary to popular opinion, it does not
cost more to have both Macs and PCs in a single organization. etc.


--------------------------------
Kansas City has quite a large implementation of Macs. You might want to give
them a call.
I don't have names other than the listing of N B (Ben) Nelson, Chief, of
KDOT's Bureau of Computer Services. They list phone numbers in the 95
Kansas Communications Services Directory for
Engineering support  -----(913) 296-4057
Operations Support   -----(913) 296-4258
Administrative Support ---(913) 296-4259
Planning Support  --------(913) 296-3545

"... I'm sorry I don't have an email address for you, but you might want to
talk to Mike Jones. He's in charge of an all-Mac network at a county office
here in Kansas City....
Here's his analog info:

Michael Jones
Director of MIS
Jackson County Prosecutor's Office
415 E 12th Street
Floor 7M
Kansas City, MO  64106
Phone: 816.881.3888"


--------------------------------
"  Reply to:   RE>Massachusetts standardizing on Pe
or, where were YOU when the decisions were being made?

Sounds like more of old Weld's backroom idiocy. Like eliminating licensing,
or eliminating teacher certification (you know, we tried that strict
certification stuff for a year or so). Maybe he's on the early track of
Reagan's alzeimer's.

In 1985 I was at Brookhaven National Laboratory. They standardized on PC/XT
and AT computers. I had to fill out a 20 page form justifying why I wanted to
buy a nonstandard computer. But I did it. Then I proceeded to run circles
around the PCs with my Mac Plus, LaserWriter and 20Mb HD. I tied into the
VAX, pulled down data, analyzed it with spreadsheet and statistics software
on the Mac, programmed models of the data in True Basic on the Mac, and
generated the best looking reports in the department.

So fight it. Argue it. Prove that it is a cost savings for your office to go
with Macs. Prove that they will have a harder time integrating than you will.
Hey, after a year or so, he will probably get over it and throw out the
strict standards anyway. Argue free market with him. Hey, we need competition
so that the best can win out. Argue small government -- get the government
out of the government! I mean, all his own arguments on issues like this work
against him.

I gotta go. But you really got me pissed with that one (not at you, at
Weld)."


--------------------------------
"So typical. I work in a site with a heavy Mac presence, yet despite that I
encounter the same bias in MIS (where these decisions are made). Worst of
all, it is founded on complete ignorance. I have lost all track of the
number of times they knowingly told me (in complete error) that "this can't
be done on the Mac". And then when you show it to them working beautifully,
they are amazed and impressed and agree it's easier than Windows!
ARRGHHHHHH......."     anonymous quote


--------------------------------
"I looked at the URL and it made me puke.  You would think that
Windows was the only desktop operating system in the Universe.  You didn't
say what your area of interest (CAD, DTP, GIS, etc.) so I'll chime in w/ some
insights to my area: Architecture and Planning.

We have several CAD and desktop publishing programs that we go cross
platform with everyday.   We also use a GIS app that interfaces to the
industry standard:  ARC INFO.  The software is called MapGrafix by
CommGrafix out of Clearwater FL.  The city of St Louis uses this software
for ALL their GIS needs.  The reason I'm pushing the GIS issue is that it
is very demanding of systems and a complex to learn and implement.  It also
is something a dos/windows dweeb wouldn't expect a Mac to be able to do.
MapGrafix is the easiest to use GIS package around.  It is also *very*
powerful.

You may want to send Guy Kawasaki some mail at Apple.  He may be able to get
someone to look into why these guys have got their heads in buried in the
sand."

--------------------------------
"This is government?  I think standardizing is a bad idea to begin with, but
that sounds ridiculous.  Call it Evolution, or Devolution, still sounds like
a change involving a lot of people who'd have to relearn how to compute."


--------------------------------
Join EvangeList. Send an email to <macway-request@abs.apple.com> for an
automatic reply. (Any message will work.) Archives are at:
<http://wais.sensei.com.au/searchform.html>.


--------------------------------
I urge you to check out the following web sites to gather some information
for yourselves:

http://www.icsi.net/~crfrank/TableofContents.html
http://www.icsi.net/~crfrank/TableofContents.html
http://redback.cs.uwa.edu.au/Quinn/WWW/HumanInterfaceSubtleties.html
http://wais.sensei.com.au/searchform.html



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The following note was sent to me on December 26, 1995.

begin original text
==============
<<<<<Subj:    Re: Resp. to "Moe Walters"
Date:    Tue, Dec 26, 1995 9:54 PM EST
From:  moe@ultranet.com
X-From: moe@ultranet.com (Moe Walters)
To: kzimmerman@state.ma.us
CC: DouglasN@eworld.com, wweld@state.ma.us

>        Thanks for your e-mail to Governor Weld regarding state computer
>purchasing guidelines.  As you may know, much of the state's computers are
>linked via a LAN/WAN system, and much of our software is used on a shared
>basis, so it makes sense to have a consistent standard for PC purchasing.
>
>        The Department of Procurement and General Services (DPGS)
establishes
>the specifications for state purchasing.  For more information on the
decision-
>making process behind these standards, contact the DPGS at (617) 727-7500.
>
>        Again, thank you for writing.

Dear "Kzimmerman@state..":

Many thanks for you replay.  I assume that you have a name? Small point,
but it is common practice to sign a "e mail" with a name.

You fail to explain exactly why it makes sense to "have a consistent
standard for PC purchasing". Yes, it would make the lives of purchasing
agents easier, in that they wouldn't have to learn about multiple computer
platforms. Please be advised, however that many of us in the private sector
have learned DOS,  MAC  and UNIX...systems. This is not rocket science. It
may come as something of a shock to the governmental system, but there are
LAN/WAN systems in the world which service DOS, MAC and UNIX machines. And
many tax payers resent employing lazy/"computer-challenged" employees.

Surely a state with "accommodations" ranging from Gov. Weld to our Senior
Senator, MIT to Umass. Dartmouth, Dover to Holyoke can accommodate Mac and
DOS computers???????? Surely we can find and employ purchasing agents who
understand both systems? Surely we need not employ chronic idiots and
establish policy with which they secure their jobs?????????

Why should we have to use the telephone to "glean" the DPGS decision making
process?  Surely there is a spare megabyte or 2 for the details available
on a Commonwealth server?

Moe Walters>>>>>
==============
end original text

From: ADHunter@aol.com
Subject: NEC SuperScript 3000M (review)

I got my NEC SuperScript Color 3000M printer and have had a day to play with
it; here's the report--

<you may want to archive the following--it may be a bit long for inclusion in
the digest>

It comes with abbreviated sample dye and wax ribbons instead of the full
sized ribbons that one would buy as stock supplies for the printer.  This
makes sense when you figure that the purchaser will want to see what kind of
output the machine is capable of before committing to it, but it needs to be
taken into account when purchases are made, i.e., you will VERY shortly have
to buy extra ribbons if you intend on doing much printing.  The demo ribbons
are good for (according to the manual) 10 prints each, whereas regular
ribbons are good for 25 sheets (dye-sub) or 107 sheets (thermal-wax); you get
a dye-sub ribbon, a thermal-wax variable-dot ribbon, and a plain-jane
thermal-wax ribbon.  You also get two (not three, but also not just one)
ribbon carrier, which makes it easy to swap ribbons (the printer only holds
one type of ribbon at a time), and you can (apparently) order new ribbon
carriers if you think you will be using the printer in more than two
different modes.

It comes also with abbreviated paper supplies instead of the full sheaf of
paper that you would buy as stock.  Again, you get 10 sheets of dye-sub paper
and 10 sheets of thermal-wax paper.  The plain-jane thermal-wax process can
be used with plain old Hammermill-type photocopier-grade paper, but the other
modes require the special paper.  A regular sheaf of dye-sub paper is 25
sheets, whereas a regular sheaf of thermal-wax (variable-dot) is 200 sheets.

The printer is downright cute in appearance for a printer of its class--it
looks like a StyleWriter's big brother, perhaps because of its predominantly
vertical orientation.  It fits elegantly onto desktops and other surfaces
that would be significantly more swamped by a DeskJet or a LaserWriter.
 Hookup is simple enough to forego a peek at the manual, although when it
comes to hooking up a $1000 peripheral I'm more inclined to look anyway, and
did; and the instructions are clear and uncluttered.  Took 20 minutes to
connect it to the PowerMac including the time it took to open the shipping
box.

Software is a regular Chooser device (rdev) and the Print and Print Setup
dialog boxes are sparse and clean despite an assortment of options (such as
speed versus number of colors, saturation controls, printing mode, etc.).
 Irritatingly, the dialog box that lets you pick the printing mode gives new
and potentially confusing names to the printing modes that are described in
advertisements and other product literature:  to print in dye-sub mode, you
pick "PhotoColor"; to print in thermal-wax variable-dot mode, you choose
"GraphicColor"; to choose regular plain-jane thermal-wax mode, you simply
pick "3-color" or "4-color" or "Monochrome", depending on what type of ribbon
you have in the machine.  The interface for printing mode, however, is an
example of an exceptionally well-thought-out Macintosh dialog box:  with so
many options, instead of cluttering up the screen with radio buttons, for
instance, NEC gives you a pop-down menu like a fonts menu.

Once I was hooked up, I quickly printed up a handful of my own art projects,
things I had been working on in Photoshop and Canvas.  I was impressed with
the speed, even in dye-sub mode, which I first used to print a monthly
community electric bill from Canvas; it ran faster than prints of similar
size and complexity in greyscale had been printing on my old StyleWriter.  My
concerns about long long printing time evaporated, even though the
SuperScript doesn't utilize background printing through the PrintMonitor.  It
ran astonishingly fast when I tried out the low-end plain-jane thermal-wax
mode, processing the printing of a full-page Photoshop document in a couple
of minutes and printing it in less than a minute total.  However, I had
chosen a composite photograph with many gradations of color and people's
faces, and the output in this mode was definitely not useable--not even to
check colors.  The same document that produces such a bad print in plain-jan
thermal-wax mode, however, looked surprisingly good in variable-dot
thermal-wax mode.  Instead of gaping holes in various color areas
("graininess" is an understatement), the output was smooth and the image was
clean and impressive.  You can tell the different between the variable-dot
and the dye-sub prints, but it is less formidable a different than the
difference between plain-jane thermal-wax and variable-dot thermal-wax.  At
least with photographic documents.  I intend to try it out again with some
simple SuperPaint color logos that use continuous color rather than
gradations and see if if plain-jane thermal-wax mode is useful for that.  

The SuperScript comes with a Photoshop Plug-in that lets you bypass some of
the duplicative processing that the main (Chooser) driver uses, and instead
rely on the innate capacities of Photoshop, which speeds up printing.
 However, this looks to be an idea that was released in early beta format.
 You can't print in landscape view (the ReadMe file advises rotating the
image in Photoshop 90 degrees instead); you can't print CMYK documents at
all; and, when I tried to print an RGB document from the Plug-in that had
been resampled to 300 dpi, I was informed that there wasn't enough memory to
complete the task.  I have 35 MB allocated to Photoshop and this was the only
document open at the time and there's not enough memory?  I switched to the
regular Print dialog (which works fine in Photoshop although not as fast as
the Plug-in) and in this manner printed the document I should have printed
first--Adobe's configuration file "Ole no Moire".  

Halfway through the Magenta process (it prints one process at a time and
sucks the sheet back in for the next one, much like the Fargo Primera), bang!
 My Back-UPS blew its button and killed everything.  Check fuse box, reset
the button, restart, reopen document, try it again.  Once again, bang!  So if
you have your system on an uninterruptable power supply, you may need to
split the NEC SuperScript off of it and onto a separate surge-protector, or
else upgrade your UPS to some serious electrical capacity.  Having no other
immediate options, I replugged the SuperScript into a strip outlet surge
protector independent of the UPS and printed a third time (Carmen Miranda has
now eaten three of my sample dye-sub prints!).  Great color saturation!  (I
had been worried after seeing some of my own art printed up; now I have to
worry about my art practices, but the washed-out colors are not a problem of
the printer if Ole no Moire is to judge).  But why are there some funny
pixelated areas around the lettering in the color-sep boxes where it says
"CM", "MY", "CY", etc?  And why does the banana lady seem to have blue under
her eyes and lipstick stains on her teeth?  Uh oh...maybe a printing problem?
 I reopend the document and use the magnifying glass.  Sonuvva...never
noticed this before.  This gal really DOES have lipstick stains on her teeth
and blue marks around her right eye!  Same with the funny pixels around the
lettering in the color sep boxes...they're in the document itself.  Okay, I'm
suitably impressed.  It prints color nicely.

-Allan Hunter
<ADHUNTER@aol.com>
<AHUNTE@ccvm.sunsyb.edu>

Date: Tue, 5 Dec 89 16:36:44 EST
From: zben@umd5.umd.edu (Ben Cranston)
Subject: Serial port document (long)

MIT EE claims it is benign but confusing.  Caveat Solderor...

This document contains notes on the Macintosh serial port and its use, with
concentration on hardware interface issues.

***  DANGER WARNING WILL ROBINSON!!!  ***
The DB-25 on the back of a Macintosh is NOT a serial port!  It is a SCSI
parallel port.  Any attempt to use this connector as a serial port will NOT
function correctly and may cause damage to the Macintosh and/or the equipment
being connected.

The two serial ports of a Macintosh are mini-Din-8 connectors which are
labeled with a telephone (the "modem port") and a printer ("printer port").
This is the pinout of the serial connectors.  We are looking at the back
of the Macintosh (or alternatively at the BACK of a male plug):

             Macintosh Plus Serial Connectors (Mini-DIN-8)

       /------###------\         1 HSKo          Output Handshake
     /        ###        \                        (Zilog 8530 DTR pin)
   /                       \     2 HSKi / Clock  Input Handshake or extern clk
  /     [|]   [|]   [|]     \                     (Depending on 8530 mode)
 /       8     7     6       \   3 TxD-          Transmit data (minus)
|                             |
|                             |  4 Ground        Signal ground
|     ===       ===    ===    |
|      5         4      3     |  5 RxD-          Receive data (minus)
|                             |
|                             |  6 TxD+          Transmit data (plus)
 \----+    ===   ===    +----/
  \###|     2     1     |###/    7 N/C           (no connection)
   \##|                 |##/
     \|                 |/       8 RxD+          Receive data (plus)
       \------###------/
              ###

Note this is a RS-422 interface so the signals come in a balanced pair,
a positive (plus) and a negative (minus), for each data signal.  As we shall
see below, there is an easy method for matching this to RS-232.

We buy the mini-Din-8 connectors at our local electronics surplus store.
They cost just under four dollars each, but are not quite as nice as the
Apple molded plugs (for example, they don't have the nice orienting-D shape).
We are now carefully removing the pins from the connector, soldering the wires
to the pin, then replacing the pin in the connector body.  We fan out the
end of the (stranded) wire into a little umbrella around the head of the pin,
then we solder all around.  A "third hand" reduces this task from impossible
to merely tedious.


On the original 128K and the 512K upgrade machines (which have a DB-9 connector
instead of the mini-Din-8) the Output Handshake line was held in a "marking"
condition by hardware (a small resistor to the appropriate power supply rail).
On later Macintoshes there are logic and a line driver for this line.  This
change introduces the following incompatabilities:

1. SOME of the older terminal programs don't have the code to explicitly
   drive HSKo high.

2. SOME terminal programs drop HSKo when they close down.

3. SOME modems require DTR and will drop carrier if DTR goes away.

If the cable design given below, mapping HSKo to DTR, is used, there are two
recognized pathological conditions which can happen:

A. Cannot use modem at all, because of 1 and 3 together.

B. Modem drops out when switching between terminal programs, 2 and 3 together.

Of course, some people consider B a feature, in that it will hang up the
phone when you switch off the computer.  Personally, I hang up the phone when
I am done and I like to switch from terminal program to terminal program.
If one of the above conditions happen, there are only three alternatives.

I.   If at ALL possible, set your modem up to IGNORE DTR and stay connected.
     Look for a DIP switch for this.  I personally made this choice.
   
II.  Use only terminal programs which "properly" drive HSKo.
     You get to operationally define "properly" :-)

III. Drive DTR from DSR at the modem end of the cable, as described below.


Macintosh to modem (or other DCE device):

       DIN-8 MALE                       DB-25 MALE

       GROUND 4 O--+--------------------O 7  GROUND
  RECV DATA + 8 O--+

  RECV DATA - 5 O-----------------------O 3  RD (Receive Data)
  
  XMIT DATA - 3 O-----------------------O 2  TD (Transmit Data)
  
HANDSHAKE OUT 1 O--+
HANDSHAKE  IN 2 O--+--------------------O 20 DTR (Data Terminal Ready)

Note that in RS-232 the data signals are inverted (marking is minus) while
the control signals are not (marking is plus).  Thus the transmit data
minus signal from the Mac is just right for driving the modem.  Leave the
transmit data plus signal disconnected.  If you ground this you will short
out a driver, and it will probably get hot.  Similarly the receive data
signal from the modem/DCE is inverted, so it can drive the Mac's receive
data minus line, but in this case the receive data plus line is grounded to
prevent any extraneous signals from being induced into the circuit.

Note also that we are driving both HSKi and DTR from HSKo so the problems
described above can happen.  An alternative arrangement would drive these
signals from the modem/DCE's source of DSR, like this:
  
                                     +--O 6  DSR (Data Set Ready)
HANDSHAKE  IN 2 O--------------------+--O 20 DTR (Data Terminal Ready)

Some dumb modems might require Request To Send (RTS) which one would wire
like this:

                                     +--O 6  DSR (Data Set Ready)
HANDSHAKE  IN 2 O--------------------+--O 20 DTR (Data Terminal Ready)
                                     +--O 4  RTS (Request To Send)

Finally, if you have only 3-wire cable and don't need DTR handshake, you
can wire each side to be happy like this:

HANDSHAKE OUT 1 O--+                 +--O 6  DSR (Data Set Ready)
HANDSHAKE  IN 2 O--+                 +--O 20 DTR (Data Terminal Ready)
                                     +--O 4  RTS (Request To Send)


Macintosh to terminal (or other DTE device):

       DIN-8 MALE                      DB-25 FEMALE

       GROUND 4 O--+--------------------O 7  GROUND
  RECV DATA + 8 O--+
  
  RECV DATA - 5 O-----------------------O 2  TD (Transmit Data)
  
  XMIT DATA - 3 O-----------------------O 3  RD (Recieve Data)
  
HANDSHAKE  IN 2 O-----------------------O 20 DTR (Data Terminal Ready)

The same analysis applies with respect to the data signals, except that
in this case the transmit and receive are switched around, since one guy's
transmit should be the other guy's receive and vice versa.  Note receive
data plus is grounded while transmit data plus is left disconnected.

For this particular cable we have wired the terminal/DTE's DTR back into
the Macintoshes HSKi to implement a hardware handshake.  Assume the
terminal side is a printer that is being overrun.  One of the things these
printers can do is drop DTR.  By wiring it through to the handshake input
we make it possible for the Macintosh software to temporarily pause in
sending, until the printer's buffers empty out and the printer reasserts
the DTR signal.

Some terminal devices may need to see DSR (Data Set Ready) or CD
(Carrier Detect) or CTS (Clear to Send), in which case they may be driven
>From an appropriate source.

                                     +--O 20 DTR (Data Terminal Ready)
This is probably appropriate         +--O 6  DSR (Data Set Ready)
for a communications terminal        +--O 8  CD  (Carrier Detect)
in which DTR is a totally static				     
signal and does not move.            +--O 4  RTS (Request To Send)
                                     +--O 5  CTS (Clear To Send)

or

                                     +--O 4  RTS (Request To Send)
This is probably appropriate	     +--O 6  DSR (Data Set Ready)
for a printer that flaps DTR         +--O 5  CTS (Clear To Send)
as the buffer fills and empties.     +--O 8  CD  (Carrier Detect)
				     
The logic is to drive from whichever of DTR or RTS is NOT flapping around
as buffers fill and empty or as the terminal transmits and receives...

To connect directly to an IBM PC we believe CD must be asserted.  That is,
an IBM PC will not accept data unless it also sees the CD signal.


128K/512K MACINTOSH

Somebody on comp.sys.mac.hardware asked for cables for a 128K/512K Mac!
I didn't know there were any more of those out there!!!  :-)  Here are
the corresponding connections, please use these in conjunction with the
analysis and suggestions provided above:


128K/512K Macintosh to modem (or other DCE device):

      DB-9 MALE                       DB-25 MALE

     GROUND 3 O--+--------------------O 7  GROUND
RECV DATA + 8 O--+

RECV DATA - 9 O-----------------------O 3  RD (Receive Data)
  
XMIT DATA - 5 O-----------------------O 2  TD (Transmit Data)
  
 + 12 Volts 6 O--+
  HANDSHAKE 7 O--+--------------------O 20 DTR (Data Terminal Ready)


128K/512K Macintosh to terminal (or other DTE device):

      DB-9 MALE                       DB-25 FEMALE

     GROUND 3 O--+--------------------O 7  GROUND
RECV DATA + 8 O--+

RECV DATA - 9 O-----------------------O 2  TD (Transmit Data)
  
XMIT DATA - 5 O-----------------------O 3  RD (Receive Data)
  
  HANDSHAKE 7 O-----------------------O 20 DTR (Data Terminal Ready)


FINAL CLOSURE

On the DB-25 pin 1 is the FRAME ground and pin 7 is the SIGNAL ground.
Equipment that requires connection to pin 1 is badly designed (IMHO).
As a very last resort you might try a 1 to 7 jumper.

As you can imagine from seeing all these alternatives, an RS232 breakout
box is real handy, since you can try all these patches without having to
warm up a soldering iron.  The only other thing I can say is:

IF IT DON'T WORK, DON'T LEAVE IT TURNED ON LONG ENOUGH TO GET HOT!

Communications driver chips are built very ruggedly and will stand an
amazing amount of mistreatment for a short period of time.  But if you
let two drivers fight for an hour one or both of them will burn out...

I've read this over a dozen times to make sure there aren't any totally
glaring errors, but I cannot be responsible for anybody's smoked hardware.
Let's be careful out there!

Ben Cranston <zben@Trantor.UMD.EDU>
Network Infrastructures Group
Computer Science Center
University of Maryland at College Park
of Ulm

Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1993 10:00:36 +0100
From: Dominique Petitpierre <petitp@divsun.unige.ch>

Lloyd Wood <L.H.Wood@lut.ac.uk> (Receipt Notification Requested) (Non Receipt
Notification Requested),
K A Sturrock <antkasx@gsusgi2.gsu.edu> (Receipt Notification Requested) (Non
Receipt Notification Requested),
John Armstrong <jarmst@kaiwan.com> (Receipt Notification Requested) (Non Receipt
Notification Requested),
Sam Sheng <ssheng@glacier.berkeley.edu> (Receipt Notification Requested) (Non
Receipt Notification Requested)
Subject: SUMMARY: Is the Apple 8*24 GC video display board worth something?


Here is a summary of the answers I received and informations I found out about
my question:  "Is the Apple 8*24 GC video display board worth something?"

In short:

It is not worth buying it.  Acceleration is not compatible with System 7 (my
problem) nor with 68040 CPUs.  24 bit colors works only on 13" monitors.

In long:

Here is my original message:

>From: petitp@divsun.unige.ch (Dominique Petitpierre)
>Subject: Is the Apple 8*24 GC video display board worth something?
>Summary: Why do the MacWorld benchmarks show no real acceleration?
>Should I buy the card?
>Keywords: video display card, 24 bit color, graphic acceleration
>Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1993 13:11:45 GMT
>
>I have the opportunity to buy a second hand accelerated color video display
>board, the Apple 8*24GC, to use in my MacIIx with an Apple 13" monitor.  It
>seems a good deal:  it is sold for $ 400 when the list price is $ 1340.
>
>But then I read the review "24-bit Color Graphics" in the February 1993 issue
>of MacWorld (p 153).  Their benchmark table show no real improvement between
>the non accelerated and accelerated Apple boards:  (+ 10% to + 20% for
>low-level QuickDraw tests, at best +10% in real-world tests, even 6% slower
>for horizontal scrolling). But the boards description claims Quickdraw
>acceleration by a factor 5 to 30?
>
>Where is the mistake?
>
>On the board there are two slots for DRAM.  The description is quite vague
>about their purpose:  some programs can use this memory to store "off display"
>images.  What programs know how to take advantage of this?  Is it worth buying
>the DRAM for it?
>
>I intend to use this card for graphic applications such as FreeHand,
>Illustrator, PageMaker and Photoshop, with images from Kodak CDs and from a
>256 levels of grey scanner (HP Scanjet).  Will this card really speed
>operations of these tools?


Some relevant facts from the specification sheet from an Apple authorized
dealer:

- Name:  Macintosh II Display Card 8.24 GC (I believe this is what appears in
	 the window when you click the "Options" button of the "Monitors"
	 Control Panel.)
- resolutions:
         max 16.7 million colors on a 640 x 480 pixels monitor
         max 256 grays on a 640x870 pixels monitor
	 max 256 grays on a 1152x870 pixels monitor
- video: RS-343 and RS-170 (NTSC, interlaced); only 256 colors with "Apple
         convolution" for flicker free display.
- extensibility:
	 2 SIMMS slots to add up to 8 MB extra memory for "processing
         large off screen graphics" (retranslated back from French :-),
         notice that it won't let you use a larger monitor).

Facts from Larry Pina's book "MacIntosh Repair and Upgrade Secrets", Simon &
Schuster (pp 132, 140, 142,144, 149, 169):

- special software (p 139):
         needs a 32 bit Quickdraw extension in your system on a Mac II/IIx/cx.
- compatibility with Virtual Memory (p 169):
	"Early versions of the MacIntosh Display Card 8.24GC (graphic
	accelerator) don't work unless the accelerator is disabled"
- DRAM upgrade (p 140):
        Official Apple Macintosh Display Card DRAM Kit (part M0505LLA/A, 2
	1MB SIMMS) or generic SIMMS up to 8MB total. 

Vague information:  it seems that the extra DRAM memory is called "GWorld".  I
don't know what it is or what it means.

Answers received by Wednesday October 20th:

>From:       John A. Feinberg <feinberg@acsu.buffalo.edu>
>
>The price of $400 for the 8*24GC + the Apple monitor is a steal; the monitor
>alone is probably worth $300!  The 8*24GC is not as valuable as it once was,
>since it does not work in accelerated mode on a 68040 computer.  Since you
>are using a IIcx, that is not a problem.  The SIMM slots are more likely
>for the purpose of supporting more colours on larger monitors.  You don't
>need to bother filling them if you are going to be using a 13" monitor.  The
>card will have enough memory on it already to support millions of colours at
>640x480.

Just to clarify things:  the prices quoted were only for the board and did not
include the monitor (sorry for my ambiguous English); and I have a IIx not a
IIcx.


>From:        Lloyd Wood <L.H.Wood@lut.ac.uk>
>
>The acceleration on the GC is incompatible with System 7. You have to turn
>it off.

Might be related to the problem with virtual memory mentioned in Larry Pina's
book.  This probably explains also why the benchmarks of MacWorld did not show
any significant acceleration.



>From:        (K A Sturrock) <antkasx@gsusgi2.gsu.edu>
>
>You don't want it.
>
>The Accelerated 8*24GC board is highly buggy and support for it has
>dissapeared since System 7 has arrived.
>
>Many older programs (including Apple stuff like Apple File Exchange) crash
>the machine or work in weird ways (like having your text disappear under an
>older copy of ATM with Pagemaker....). The current init for the board really
>does nothing and acceleration is minimal.
>
>Also, the board won't support 24bit color on anything bigger than a 13"
>AppleColor.
>
>The 8*24GC was the worst purchase I've ever authorized....


Conclusion: I will not buy the board, even for $400.

What I find quite infuriating is that these compatibility problems were not
mentioned by the Apple authorised dealer that wanted to sell the new board to
me; The other Apple authorised dealer that is selling the second hand board
(which they were using it until a week ago) mentioned the incomptibility with
68040 CPUs but not with virtual memory or System 7, he even said that the
extra DRAM could be added to allow for larger monitors which is false.

Moral of the story: don't trust dealers even if they are authorized by Apple!

--
Mr. Dominique Petitpierre / ISSCO, University of Geneva, Switzerland
petitp@divsun.unige.ch/ S=petitp;OU=divsun;O=unige;PRMD=switch;ADMD=arcom;C=ch

From: tu@sumex-aim.stanford.edu
Subject: Summary on IIsi upgrade 
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 1992 23:30:20 GMT 

Many thanks to everyone who answered my query on how to improve the 
performance
of a Mac IIsi. My original query is as follows:

>>A friend of mine has a Mac IIsi with which she does desktop publishing 
and
>>graphic design. She has an Apple 13" color monitor, and the slowness 
>>of the Mac in refreshing the screen is getting to her. She is considering
>>some kind of upgrade.

>>Is it better for her to get (1) an accelerator that upgrades the CPU 
(maybe
>>one with a 50-mhz 68030 chip), or (2) a graphics accelerator that
>>specifically speeds up the video? Are (1) and (2) incompatible (i.e. does
>>getting a CPU accelerator board makes it impossible for her to install a
>>graphic accelerator when she ready to go to 24-bit color?) What options 
for
>>IIsi are there in the market? 

First, a summary of the responses: The first thing to try is to get more
memory, set Disk Cache to 512K, and see what difference it makes. After 
that,
you should analyze the requirements. Because a IIsi lacks dedicated 
videoRam,
using color slows down the Mac. If this is the source of problem, a 
graphics
card that provides memory to the monitor and a co-processor to drive it 
will
help. One netter recommended Applied Engineering 'QuickSilver' Cache/FPU 
card.
On the other hand, the operation of the IIsi may be slow because DTP and
graphic design work are CPU-intensive. Thus, one should find out the 
effects of
COLOR vs CPU processing. One heavy user of DTP programs suggested that CPU 
is
the limiting factor on programs like Quark and PM 4.0, and my friend should
consider CPU accelerators. Among the accelerators, two people recommended
Daystar Powercache. DayStar bundles DualPort adaptor, so the PDS slot is 
still
available for other add-on cards.

Here are excerpts from the responses that elaborates on the summary:

"Dieder B." <UOG11854@vm.uoguelph.ca> wrote:
>>the IIsi/ci are hybrid machines with no dedicated
>>VideoRam...instead, they use a portion of normal memory as the video ram,
>>swapping between the video display and the actual memory. The CPU (68030)
>>has to work pretty hard doing all this swapping, so there is a 
performance
>>hit. To see the difference, just change bit depth from 8, to 4, to 2, to 
1
>>and see how much faster (though less pretty) your applications will run.
..
>>Either way you'll have to get an adaptor board to plug into the IIsi's
>>slot...if you go for as much speed as you can afford, use the 030 PDS
>>option, since there is no NuBus overhead to deal with (NuBus operates at
>>half the speed of the IIsi -- 10Mhz vs 20Mhz). Get yourself the
>>Applied Engineering 'QuickSilver' Cache/FPU card, and then get a 030
>>video card. Sure...it might be a bit more expensive than going NuBus
>>adaptor, and NuBus card...but you'll get more speed (if that's what you
>>really need!). Plus, most of the cache (if not all that I've seen in the
>>mags.) cards for the IIsi only provide a PDS slot to expand...so, for 
cheap
>>acceleration, get the AE Q.S. and an appropriate video card for your
>>monitor. Sure...you'll have managed to take up all the slots for the 
IIsi,
>>but you knew that going into the purchase of it didn't you? :) Why would
>>it be faster than just going with an accelerator?
>>AE Q.S. =>> $279 w/o shipping charges, or about $285 total.

"David C. Roessli" <roessli@sc2a.unige.ch> wrote:
>>I own a IIsi in which i added a DayStar PowerCache 40Mhz w/FPU (Great 
firm
>>and really great product!!). It comes bundled with DayStar's DualPort
>>adapter, so you still have a PDS slot available even though the cache 
card
>>is plugged in. You won't recognize your mac once you turn it back on.. 
(and
>>i don't own the 50MHz ..!).

>>A few words about 24bits display graphic cards/accelerators. One of the
>>problems you'll encounter when choosing your board is that there isn't 
many
>>display boards that plug into a PDS slot .. they're mainly NuBus.. The 
one
>>i tried was Supermac's Spectrum 8/24 PDQsi. I never managed to get both 
to
>>work together .. they both worked fine independently, on either adapters,
>>but once you plugged them in together the whole thing froze!

>>DayStar blamed SuperMac and SuperMac blamed DayStar .. 

>>Apparently, you would need SuperMac's Zero Adaptor (which wasn't shipping
>>at the time i tried..). I suspect SuperMac of not 'respecting' one 
>>requirement or another .. having seen the DualPort work fine with other
>>boards .. Now, this was in October 91 - things must have evolved since.

>>All this to say to be careful when doubling boards in a IIsi .. 

"Eric G. Taylor" <eric@cs.arizona.edu> wrote:
>>    As part of an organization that publishes textbooks in Quark and
>>Pagemaker (8 hrs a day), I can safely tell you that you need to speed up 
the
>>Mac to see real improvements in either Quark or PM 4.0. We have 3 grafix
>>accelerator cards, and while they do provide some improvement, there's 
not
>>enough to make it worth your bother and expense.
>>    As to which accelerator is good, the Daystar Powercache has got my 
vote.
>>I don't personally own one, but MacWeek did a review of it several months
>>back and gave it an absolute rave review. They said they experienced no
>>crashes with it (the 50 mhz model), and also clocked it as being faster 
than
>>a IIfx! I should point out that this is the only "solid" bullet rating 
I've
>>ever seen given by MacWeek. Currently we're working on IIci's at work, 
but
>>theoretically we're all going to PowerCache cards sometime during the 
>>spring.

Again, many thanks to everyone who responded!!

Samson
-------

Subject: Added torque start-up ROMS for old Quantum drives (A) 
Date: Fri, 19 Jun 92 08:19:23 EDT 
From: Ephraim Vishniac <ephraim@Think.COM>


   A few weeks back, someone posted information suggesting that for
   those of us with old Quantum drives which appear to have problems
   starting when cold, there is a ROM update available.
   I would appreciate any specifics anyone has on this...

      SERVICE NOTICE: 20MB/40MB HARD DRIVE REPAIR EXTENSION PROGRAM

		   ( Copyright 1991, Apple Computer Inc.)
 
 
				 OVERVIEW
 
We have discovered that a certain batch of half-height internal 3.5" 20MB and
40MB hard drives and some external 3.5" 20MB and 40MB drives may have been
subjected to disk media contamination. These drives may experience a number of
different symptoms, as fully described later on in this notice. To address this
problem, Apple is offering a 20MB/40MB Hard Drive Repair Extension Program for
customers and Service Providers with drives manufactured four years ago or
later that meet all the criteria below. A new drive, P/N 661-1629, has been
substituted for the problem drives.
 

		     DRIVE IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION
 
		    * Definition of 20MB/40MB Symptoms
 
  * Stiction problems: Platter does not spin up after drive has been powered
    down for period of time.
  * Head crashes: Drive may or may not mount, and data may be corrupted.
  * Soft errors: Disk continually goes in and out of seek mode.
 
			* Model and Serial Number
 
The affected 20MB and 40MB drives were manufactured in Macintosh( SE, Macintosh
SE/30, Macintosh II, Macintosh IIx, Macintosh IIcx/IIci, and Macintosh IIfx
computers. The problem also affects some external 3.5" 20MB and 40MB
configurations. Additionally, these drives were used as Service repair modules
under P/N 661-0612 (20MB) and P/N 661-0464 (40MB). Because of the problem, all
new and existing orders for 20MB drives (P/N 661-0612) will automatically
receive a 40MB drive (P/N 661-1629).
 
If you have any questions regarding qualification of a failed 20MB or 40MB
drive, contact Technical Operations for further clarification.
 

		  * How To Identify Affected 40MB Drives

  1) Symptoms of affected drives (one or more of the following):
     * Stiction problems
     * Head crashes
     * Soft errors
  2) Serial number indicating the drive is less than four years old. See the
     chart below for qualifying dates and serial numbers.
  3) Model number: SRD2040

 
		  * How To Identify Affected 20MB Drives

  1) Symptoms of affected drives (one or more of the following):
     * Stiction problems
     * Head crashes
     * Soft errors
  2) Model number: SRD2020 (Note: All drives with this model number are
     eligible throughout the life of this program. Serial number matching is
     not required.)
 


		   RETURNING AND REPLACING HARD DRIVES
 
			    * Customer Repair

  The program covers free replacement of a customerUs qualified failed 20MB
  (P/N 661-0612) or 40MB (P/N 661-0464) hard drive until August 15, 1993. In
  return, the customer will receive a 40MB hard drive (P/N 661-1629).

 
		 Guidelines for Submitting Repair Claims
 
  Use the following guidelines for determining how to fill out the Warranty
  information area of an Apple Authorized Transaction Form when returning a
  20MB or 40MB drive for repair:
 
  * In-Warranty Repairs:
    Some 20MB and 40MB drives are still under Apple warranty. When returning
    these drives for repair, always claim RIn-WarrantyS on the transaction
    form.
 
  * Out-of-Warranty Repairs:
    - If the drive is Out-of-Warranty and displays the symptoms described
      above, claim this repair extension program on the transaction form.
    - If the drive is ROut-of WarrantyS and does not display the symptoms
      described above, claim ROut-Of WarrantyS on the transaction form. In
      addition, note that if the drive is a 20MB drive (P/N 661-0612), the
      customer will receive the replacement 40MB drive (P/N 661-1629) at the
      current 40MB price.
 
  When replacing one of the qualified hard drives, do the following:
 
  1) Replace the failed hard drive with the replacement module (P/N 661-1629).
     Refer to the Technical Procedures for complete installation instructions.
 
  2) Record the following information on an Apple Authorized Transaction Form
     to obtain Tier 2 reimbursement and Parts Credit for each failed hard drive
     exchanged:
 
     * Customer/company information
 
     * Date the system was received
 
     * The Apple product name the drive was bundled with
 
     * Repair Extension Authorization code 2DS406; (Reference this code
       in the Repair Extension Code area.)
 
     * The part number, description, and Repair Confirmation Code (RCC)
       for the hard drive.
 
  All valid claims must include this information. Refer to the Repairing
  section of the August Service Programs manual for more information on
  completing an Apple Authorized Transaction Form.
 
* Service Stock
  If you have a hard drive in your Service inventory with the serial number
  and/or model number identified above, return the drive to Apple through the
  Service Return Material Authorization (SRMA) process. Contact Apple Customer
  Service to receive the SRMA approval and number. Remember, the SRMA number
  must be written on the outside of each package.
 


		      OUT OF WARRANTY REIMBURSEMENT
 
Reimbursement is offered to customers who paid for Out-of-Warranty hard drive
repairs performed by Authorized Apple Service Providers prior to August 16,
1991. Apple requires that customers submit the following information by
February 29, 1992 to qualify for reimbursement:
 
   * Proof of purchase
   * An Apple Authorized Transaction Form that includes the following:
     - Name of the Service Provider performing the repair
     - Date of the repair
     - Parts used in the repair
     - Cost of the repair
   * Proof of the repair payment (cancelled check, credit card slip,
     or paid invoice)
 
  Customers should submit all of this information to:
 
      Apple Computer, Inc.
      Attn: 20MB/40MB Hard Drive Repair Extension Program
      P.O. Box 172243
      Denver, CO  80217
 
Please advise customers to allow 6 to 8 weeks for processing their returns.
If they have any questions concerning their claims, they should call
(303) 297-2321.
 


			   PROGRAM INFORMATION
 
Repair extension information for this program has been added to this monthUs
Product Notices section of the Service Programs manual. If you have any
questions regarding this program, contact your Customer Service Specialist at
(408) 559-6444.
 
 
Apple Support icon
Service & Support folder
Service Notices folder
This Month's Service Notices - Reseller folder
20MB/40MB HARD DRIVE REPAIR EXTENSION PROGRAM
8/15/91

				  ______

				IMPORTANT!
    CLARIFICATION TO THE 20MB/40MB HARD DRIVE REPAIR EXTENSION PROGRAM
 
		   Copyright 1991, Apple Computer, Inc.
 
 
After additional review of the 20MB/40MB Hard Drive Repair Extension Program
Service notice, there is a point that we need to clarify.
 

			      SERVICE NOTICE
 
In the "Drive Identification Information" section and later throughout the
notice, we state that drives affected by media contamination exhibit "soft
errors." However, soft errors usually cannot be detected by customers, since
in general soft errors are not detectable. But, customers will detect a head
crash, which can be a result of excessive soft errors.
 
As a result of this clarification, the 20MB/40MB Hard Drive Repair Extension
Program will only honor claims for the symptoms described below, which modify
or replace the symptoms in the Service notice:
 
1) Stiction problems, exhibited by the drive failing to spin up after being
   powered down for a period of time
2) Head crashes, exhibited by a loud, metallic scraping noise at spinup
 
If you have a customer with a failed drive that meets the serial number and
model number requirements, but does not meet the symptom requirements stated
above, please call your Technical Operations Representative.
 
There is also some confusion over the age of the drives covered by this Repair
Extension Program.  We state that "drives manufactured four years ago or later"
will be covered. To clarify, this means that drives that are no more than four
years old will be covered by this program. To determine the age of the drive,
please refer to the "Model and Serial Number" section in the Service notice to
find information on reading the date code.
 

			 SERVICE PROGRAMS MANUAL
 
Since the incorrect symptom information is also included in your printed
Service Programs manual update, please manually correct this information until
we send you updated pages. (The AppleLink versions of the August Service
Programs manual update contain the corrected information.)
 
To correct your manual:
 
* Cross out the last bullet under the RDrive Identification Information:
  Definition of 20MB/40MB SymptomsS section of the 20MB/40MB Hard Drive
  Repair Extension Program (page 8.7.1), which is a duplicate of the
  incorrect information in the Service notice. The information that needs
  to be removed begins with RSoft errors.S
 
* Make the same deletion and correction under RHow To Identify Affected 40MB
  DrivesS (page 8.7.1).
 
* Make the same deletion and correction under RHow To Identify Affected 20MB
  DrivesS (page 8.7.2).
 
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. We apologize for any
inconvenience this may have caused you.
 
 
Apple Support icon
Service & Support folder
Service Notices folder
This Month's Service Notices - Reseller folder
CLARIFICATION TO THE 20MB/40MB HARD DRIVE REPAIR EXTENSION PROGRAM
8/15/91

From: "Brian S. Kendig" <bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 92 20:24:11 EDT 
Subject: The Macintosh Secret Code-Name List 

The latest revision of The Macintosh Secret Code-Name List,
a list of the names Macs had before they had names.

-----8<----- cut here -----8<----- -----8<----- cut here -----8<-----

		 The Macintosh Secret Code-Name List
      compiled by Brian Kendig (bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU)
		    Third revision, 16 April 1992.

Please report corrections to me, no matter how insignificant!
You may (of course!) distribute this information freely,
but please keep my name on this list if you pass it around whole.
New info about codenames will be attributed and very much appreciated.

"Code-name" is my term for the names that machines and software get
before they are released with `official' names.  A special subdivision
of Apple has the sole responsibility of naming everything Apple makes,
but until they make up their minds, the developer engineers have to
call their gizmos _something_ while they're working on them...

These names really aren't that important any more, but some of the
names are amusing and interesting, and they might help you think up a
pet name for your new Macintosh.


Apple III:		Sara
Apple IIGS:		Cortland
Macintosh Plus:		Mr. T
Macintosh SE:		Z^2, PlusPlus, Aladdin, Freeport, Maui, Chablis
Macintosh SE/30:	Green Jade
Macintosh Classic:	X.O.
Macintosh Classic II:	Montana, Apollo
Macintosh LC:		Elsie
Macintosh LC II:	Foster Farms
Macintosh II:		Milwaukee, Ikki, Reno, Becks, Paris, Cabernet, Jonathon
Macintosh IIx:		Spock
Macintosh IIsi:		Erickson (sp?), Raffica, Raffika
Macintosh IIcx:		Aurora I, Atlantic (in an aborted 16-MHz configuration)
Macintosh IIci:		Aurora II, Pacific
Macintosh IIfx:		F-16, Stealth, F-19, Blackbird, Zone 5
Macintosh Portable:	Esprit, Malibu, Laguna
  Portable w/backlight:	Aruba
PowerBook 100:		Asahi, Derringer, Rosebud
PowerBook 140:		TIM LC, TIM Lite
PowerBook 170:		TIM
Quadra 700:		Shadow (shadow of 900), Spike (gonna spike NeXT), IIce
Quadra 900:		Darwin, Eclipse (going to eclipse the NeXT), IIex
RISC machine:		Roman, Zorro [not released yet]

Finder:			Furnishings 2000 (a defunct bay area furniture store)
Multifinder:		Juggler, Twitcher
System 6.0.4:		Antares
System 6.0.5:		Big Deal
System 7:		Big Bang, M80, Pleiades
System 7.0.1:		Road Warrior (in reference to PowerBooks), Beta Cheese
32-bit Quickdraw:	Jackson Pollack
Edition Manager:	Diet Coke
Layer Manager:		Glass Plus
Data Access Manager:	SnarfMan
AppleScript:		Cheez Whiz [not released yet]
Sound Manager:		DJ, Party Line
TrueType:		Bass (for Bass-o-matic)
QuickTime:		Project Warhol (an early version, the `warhol' init,
			  had the icon of a Campbell's soup can)
AppleShare 3.0:		Holy Hand Grenade
			(The System 7 File Sharing Extension's creator is
			  'hhgg', which might be from this but also seems to
			  refer to the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".)
FileShare:		Killer Rabbit  (Lots of Python fans work for Apple...)
ATalk Remote Access:	976
speech recognition:	Casper [not released yet]
text retrieval:		Reporter [not released yet]
pen-based computer:	Newton [not released yet]

Apple IIGS video cards:	Gumby, Pokey
			  (one of these became the Video Overlay Card)
Macintosh Plus keybd:	Nimitz
Apple Extended keybd:	Saratoga
			(because it's the size of an aircraft carrier;
			  prototypes were adorned with small model aircraft)
Apple 400Mb hard drive:	Eagle
StyleWriter:		Tabasco
LaserWriter LS:		Nike
LaserWriter IIf:	Kirin Dry
LaserWriter IIg:	Kirin
Apple Two-Page Display:	Kong
Apple OneScanner:	HalfDome
Apple ISDN NuBus Card:  CarCraft

Apple File Exchange:	Renault
HyperCard:		WildCard (hence the creator code 'WILD')
  HyperCard 2.0:	Snow


???			Red Jade
???			Blue Jade
???			Gold Jade
something in the Unix group:	Tylenol


Macintosh 128k ROMs (in the Plus and below) had chip codes which began
with the letters L and H and were therefore nicknamed appropriately
(for example, "Lonely Hearts"), while the chip codes of the
32-bit-wide CPUs use the letters A, B, C, D ("Ala Baster Can Delabra").

The Apple Developer CD's also have interesting names:
  Volume 1: Phil and Dave's Excellent CD
  Volume 2: Phil and Dave's Excellent CD (Release Version)
  Volume 3: A Disc Called Wanda
  Volume 4: Discy Business (The Real One)
  Volume 5: Night of the Living Disc
  Volume 6: Gorillas in the Disc
  Volume 7: Lord of the Files


Thanks to J. D. Sterling Babcock, Chris Barrus, John Cavallino, Philip
Craig, Christopher Davis, Jeff Fritz, Pascal Gosselin, John Kono,
Benjamin Kuo, Mark Lanett, Michael Newbery, Alberto Ricci, Matthew
Russotto, Mike Steiner, Ed Tecot, tim@bio.aukuni.ac.nz, Evan Torrie,
Mark Wilkins, and Dean Yu for the information here.

Date: Tue, 24 Mar 92 12:50:11 +0930 
From: kwmin@convex.kaist.ac.kr (kyoung-wook min)

*To Moderator.
	Please archive the below as technical notes in your sites.
	I'm sorry that I made mistakes. I corrected two lines
	Please take this as the technical notes*
	
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


Subject: Novell Etherport II & Sys7(fixed) 

>From: Tom Miceli <tvm@Shiva.COM>
>To: kwmin@convex.kaist.ac.kr
>Cc: tech@Shiva.COM

>The address is "shiva.com" or 192.80.57.1. ftp with anonymous and guest...TVM

Yes, I fixed it. I really appreciate all others' help.
Since there are good guide-lines to solving the problem, I only notify guys who have the same problems 'IP address' and their Release-Notes.

Thanks to all of you.

		Young-Won Choe (kwmin@convex.kaist.ac.kr)



****************************************************************************



1. This is for one that has national chip sets.(3/4-length)
    /dist/EtherPort/4.2/*.*

--------------------------------------------------------------
1) README for EP42.SEA.Bin and EP42.SEA.hqx

EP-42.SEA.Bin   is a MacBinary of a "self-extracting" Archive
                transferred using InterCon TCP/Connect II
                with Image and MacBinary boxes checked.

EP-42.SEA.hqx   is a "self-extracting" Archive binhex'ed using Stuffit 1.5.1

--------------------------------------------------------------
2) Release-Notes for EtherPort 4.2
						  READ ME FIRST
October 1991
EtherPort 4.2

Dear EtherPort Customer,

Thank you for purchasing a Shiva EtherPort card from Eagle Technology.
This file explains critical information about the EtherPort 4.2
drivers. The installer on this disk will install the correct driver on
Macintosh computers that use the EtherPort boards including the Mac SE,
SE/30, Mac II family, IIsi and Mac LC.

Shiva is responsible for the engineering and development of the
EtherPort boards; however, they are being manufactured and sold by
Eagle Technology, a division of Anthem Electronics of San Jose,
California in a unique partnership arrangement. Eagle Technology now
handles all support of the EtherPort boards. Customers should contact
Eagle support at (800) 733-2453.
________________

IMPORTANT

Because Shiva makes use of the Apple Installer 3.2, if any anti-virus
software is running, such as Disinfectant, Virex or SAM, it is
essential to disable it before installing the EtherPort driver. FAILURE
TO DISABLE ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE MAY RESULT IN CORRUPTING THE SYSTEM
FILE. To avoid corrupting the system file, scan the disk with the
anti-virus software and then disable the software according to
manufacturer's instructions. Once the software has been disabled,
please proceed with the EtherPort driver installation as described in
the Users Guide.
_______________

IF THIS HAS BEEN SOFTWARE HAS BEEN DOWNLOADED

To create an EtherPort Installer disk from the EtherPort Installer.SEA
(self-extracting archive), EtherPort Installer. SIT (Stuff It) or
EtherPort Installer.PKG (AppleLink Package Format) file, please follow
these Installation instructions:

Initialize a floppy disk and name it: EtherPort Installer.

Drag the contents of the ``EtherPort Installer'' folder to the
``EtherPort Installer'' disk. Please note that it is not necessary to
place Macintosh system software on the ``EtherPort Installer'' disk.

Go to the next section to begin installing the Shiva software.

_______________

INSTALLATION INFORMATION

This software uses the Apple Installer version 3.2. Unlike previous
versions of the Installer, Installer version 3.2 allows you to install
onto your current startup disk. Installer version 3.2 will function on
an open, active hard drive.

Before installing the EtherPort drivers, quit out of all applications.

The Macintosh IIfx must have AppleTalk 56 installed on the system,
whether the user is running System 6 or System 7. Without AppleTalk 56,
the IIfx will crash when swapping from Built-in to EtherTalk in the
Network function of the Control Panel. Once the system is rebooted, the
change will be in effect and everything should work properly.

A version of the EtherPort driver with AppleTalk 56 is available by
calling the Shiva Bulletin board at (617) 621-0190. The installer has
been modified to update both the AppleTalk and EtherTalk drivers;
however, the actual EtherPort driver code has not changed.
_______________

COMPATIBILITY INFORMATION

The EtherPort II drivers on this disk are for use with the half length
Novell/Shiva EtherPort II card based on the National chip set. The
EtherPort II drivers on this disk are not compatible with the EtherPort
II cards based on the Intel controller chip.

To determine if the EtherPort II version 4.1 drivers are compatible
with your EtherPort II card, please use the following guidelines:

If version 3.25 of the EtherPort II file is in the System Folder on the
Macintosh, the EtherPort II(n) card is installed. Use the ``EtherPort
Installer'' on this disk to update the drivers for the EtherPort II(n)
card.

If an EtherPort driver is not currently installed on the Macintosh, the
EtherPort II(n) card can be easily recognized by examining it. The
EtherPort II(n) card is a 7-inch long green circuit board that has
either Novell or Shiva stamped on the board. Use the ``EP II,SE/30,SE
Installer'' on this disk to update the drivers for the EtherPort II(n)
card.

If version 2.50 of the EtherPort II file is in the System Folder on the
Macintosh, the EtherPort II(i) board is installed. Do not use this disk
to update the drivers for the EtherPort(i) card. See ``Upgrade
Information for EtherPort IIi Boards'' in this document for information
on options for updating the EtherPort II(i) board.

If an EtherPort driver is not currently installed on the Macintosh, the
EtherPort II(i) board can be easily recognized by examining it. The
EtherPort II(i) board is a 12-inch long blue circuit board that has
Kinetics stamped on it. Do not use this disk to update the drivers for
the EtherPort(i) card. See ``Upgrade Information for EtherPort IIi
Boards'' in this document for information on options for updating the
EtherPort II(i) board.

Shiva FastPath users should be aware that FastPath Manager 5.3 is
available from Shiva Technical Support Bulletin Board ((617) 621-0190),
America Online (Industry Connection Folder) and AppleLink (Shiva Third
Parties Folder). This version of the FastPath Manager is fully
supported in conjuction with the most current EtherTalk drivers. There
may be some problems when older versions of the FastPath Manager is in
use.

Shiva is aware there may be some difficulties with EtherTalk 2.2.2 and
AppleTalk 56 and some 3rd party monitors such as the Radius gray scale
and the new RasterOps monitor. The technical support staffs at both
Shiva and Eagle will do the best they can to help solve any problems
that may crop up.
_______________

UPGRADE INFORMATION FOR ETHERPORT IIi BOARDS

If the older, full length EtherPort IIi card is installed, please use
the separate EPIIi package to install the driver available on the Shiva
bulletin board. The EPIIi driver is a System 7 compatible driver that
will allow the NuBus Mac to run under System 7; however, virtual memory
and 32 bit cleanliness are NOT supported with this driver.

Two options exist for users of the EtherPort IIi Intel Board. The first
option is a software upgrade. The software for the EtherPort IIi Board
is available for free from the Shiva bulletin board: (617) 621-0190.
The second option is a hardware upgrade from IIi to II(n), the NuBus
Ethernet card with a National chip set.

To upgrade the hardware, call Eagle Technical Support at (800) 733-2453
for a Return Authorization number. The charge for an upgrade is $150.
Eagle will send an EtherPort IIn card as replacement for the EtherPort
IIi card. This applies to all EtherPort IIi cards, even those previous
to revision 2323. Please note: Boards returned to Eagle without a
Return Authorization number can not be accepted.
_____________________

Shiva Corporation
1 Cambridge Center
Cambridge, MA 02142

EtherPort(R) drivers are copyrighted programs of Shiva Corporation.
EtherPort(R) is a trademark of Novell, Inc. licensed to Shiva
Corporation. Apple(R), AppleTalk(R), EtherTalk(R) and Macintosh(R) are
registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. The AppleTalk driver,
EtherTalk drivers and Installer are copyrighted programs of Apple
Computer, Inc. licensed to Shiva Corporation to distribute for use only
in combination with the EtherPort software. Apple Software shall not be
copied onto another diskette (except for archive purposes) or into
memory unless as a part of the execution or installation of the
EtherPort drivers.



#######################################################################



2.This is for one that has intel chip sets.(Full length card)
   /dist/EtherPort-IIi/2.6p/*.* 

------------------------------------------------------
1) README for EP-IIi-26p.SEA.Bin and EP-IIi-26p.SEA.hqx

EP-IIi-26p.SEA.Bin

	is a MacBinary of a "self-extracting" Archive transferred
	using InterCon TCP/Connect II with Image and MacBinary boxes
	checked.

EP-IIi-26p.SEA.hqx

	is a "self-extracting" Archive binhex'ed using Stuffit 1.5.1
------------------------------------------------------
2) Release-Notes for EtherPort 2.6
							  READ ME FIRST

October 1991
EtherPort 2.6

Dear EtherPort Customer

This file explains critical information about the EthrPort 2.6 drivers.
The installer on this disk will install the correct driver on Macintosh
computers that use the full size EtherPort II board with the Intel chip
set.
_____________________

IMPORTANT

This software is a PATCH VERSION ONLY. THERE MAY BE SOME PROBLEMS which
we have not uncovered yet.

If installation is taking place on a Macintosh running System 7, System
7 must have been installed cleanly to the hard drive. System 7 can not
have been installed on top of an older operating system.

Because Shiva makes use of the Apple Installer 3.2, if any anti-virus
software is running, such as Disinfectant, Virex or SAM, it is
essential to disable it before installing the EtherPort driver.
FAILURE TO DISABLE ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE MAY RESULT IN CORRUPTING THE
SYSTEM FILE.  To avoid corrupting the system file, scan the disk with
the anti-virus software and then disable the software according to
manufacturer's instructions. Once the software has been disabled,
please proceed with the EtherPort driver installation as described in
the Users Guide.
_____________________

IF THIS SOFTWARE HAS BEEN DOWNLOADED

To create an EtherPort Installer disk from the EtherPort Installer. SEA
(self-extracting archive) file, please follow these Installation
instructions:

Initialize a floppy disk and name it: EtherPort Installer (P).

Drag the contents of the ``EtherPort Installer (P)'' folder to the
``EtherPort Installer (P)'' disk.  Please note that it is not necessary
to place Macintosh system software on the ``EtherPort Installer (P)''
disk.

Go to the next section to begin installing the Shiva software.
______________________

INSTALLATION INFORMATION

This software uses the Apple Installer version 3.2. Unlike pervious
versions of the Installer, Installer version 3.2 allows installation
onto the current startup disk. Installer version 3.2 will function on
an open, active hard drive.

Before installing the EtherPort drivers, quit out of all applications.

The ``Easy Install'' feature will automatically decide what files are
necessary for the target drive and install them. If other features are
desired (ie System 6 and System 7  drivers), select the ``Custom
Install'' feature.
_____________________

COMPATIBILITY INFORMATION

The EtherPort II drivers on this disk are for use with the full length
EtherPort II card with the Intel chip set. The drivers on this disk
will not work with the half length Novell/Shiva EtherPort II card based
on the National Chip set.

To determine if the EtherPort II version 2.6 drivers are compatible
with the EtherPort II in the target Macintosh, please use the following
guidelines:

If version 2.50 of the EthrPort II file is in the System Folder on the
Macintosh, the EtherPort II(i) board is installed. Use this disk to
update the drivers.

If an EtherPort driver is not currently installed on the Macintosh, the
EtherPort II(i) card can be easily recognized by examining it. The
EtherPort II(i) card is a 12-inch long blue circuit board.  Use the
``EtherPort Installer (P)'' driver on this disk.
______________________

UPGRADE INFORMATION

To upgrade from an EtherPort II(i) to an EtherPort II(n) board, call
Eagle Technical Support at (800) 733-2453 for a Return Authorization
number. Eagle is now handling the manufacture and repari of EtherPort
boards. The charge for an upgrade is $150. Boards returned to Eagle
without a Return Authorization number can not be accepted. Eagle will
send an EtherPort II(n) card as a replacement for the EtherPort II(i)
card and will include the latest drivers for the EtherPort II(n) card.
This applies to all EtherPort IIi cards, even those previous to
revision 2323.

______________________

Shiva Corporation
1 Cambridge Center
Cambridge, MA  02142

EtherPort drivers are copyrighted programs of Shiva Corporation.
EtherPort is a trademark of Novell, Inc. licensed to Shiva Corporation.
Apple, AppleTalk, EtherTalk and Macintosh are registered trademarks of
Apple Computer, Inc. The AppleTalk Driver, Ether Talk drivers and
Installer are copyrighted programs of Apple Computer, Inc. licensed to
Shiva Corporation to distribute for use only in combination with the
EtherPort software. Apple Software shall not be copied onto another
diskette (except for archive purposes) or into memory unless as a part
of the execution or installation of the EtherPort drivers.

*END of notes*

Date: Tue, 30 Mar 93 09:03:17 EST 
From: vita@sunny.dab.ge.com (Mark Vita)
Subject: Centris / Quadra 800 video report 

Here is a very informative report on the built-in video capabilities of the
Apple's new Centris 610/650 and Quadra 800 machines.  The report was
written by Dale Adams, the designer of the video hardware on those
machines.  It includes a complete description of the available resolutions
and bit depths, the types of monitors supported, and the video connector
pinouts (including the sense pin configurations necessary to enable the
various display types).

Mark Vita                                  vita@sunny.dab.ge.com
GE Simulation and Control Systems
Daytona Beach, FL


--------------------------------- cut here -------------------------------------

Built-In Video on the Macintosh Centris 610/650 and Quadra 800

There will probably be a number of questions which arise concerning the
built-in video capabilities of the new Macintosh Centris 610 and 650, and the
Quadra 800.  In anticipation of these questions, here is an article (similar to
that which I posted for the earlier Quadra machines) which provides an
description of these video capabilities.  This article discusses a few general
video topics, details how to wire the video connector sense pins to access all
the supported video modes of these machines, and describes the memory
configurations necessary to support each of the video modes at specific pixel
depths.  (I am the designer of the video hardware for the Quadra
700/900/950/800 and the Centris 610/650, you can be reasonably sure this
information is accurate.)


General Video Design Philosophy
--------------------------------------
The video hardware design of the Centris 610/650 and the Quadra 800 is highly
derivative from the earlier Quadra machines.  However, one of the main goals of
these CPUs (and perhaps the #1 goal) was to reduce the cost of the machines
relative to the Quadra 700 and 950, while still providing the same (or better!)
performance.  While it was not possible to significantly reduce cost while
maintaining the exact feature set of the earlier Quadras, most of the Quadra
video features were carried through to the Centris 610/650 and Quadra 800.  The
main exceptions are support for Apple convolution (flicker reduction) for NTSC
and PAL, and support for 24 bits per pixel (bpp).

The video hardware for all three CPUs, the Centris 610 (C610), Centris 650
(C650) and Quadra 800 (Q800), is virtually identical.  The only exception is
that the C610 only requires 100 ns VRAM, while the C650 and Q800 require 80 ns
VRAM.

The maximum supported pixel depth is 16 bpp.  This is not a matter of the
amount of VRAM in the machine - it is a hardware limitation  The RAM/DAC used
by all three machines simply does not include the hardware required to do 24
bpp on any display.  The same is true for the lack of support for Apple
convolution - the hardware necessary to do this is not present in the machine. 


24 bpp support was dropped for a number of reasons: 

  1) Cost reduction.  It is still relatively expensive to provide the 24 bpp
support offered by the Q700 and Q950.  It would not have been possible to hit
the price point of the C610 while still offering 24 bpp.

  2) Marketing research data has shown that a very large percentage of Quadra
users do not use the onboard video, but rather use an accelerated video card
capable of driving a 2-page display at 24 bpp.  Since it was not reasonable to
burden the price of every C610, C650 and Q800 with the cost of a 2-page 24 bpp
frame buffer, the 24 bpp feature was dropped altogether (with a net result of a
substantial decrease in cost).

  3) 16 bpp offers most of the advantages of 24 bpp, without much of the cost
and at a higher level of performance.   QuickTime MooV playback is optimized
for 16 bpp.  Also, for casual browsing of image data (e.g., scanned images or
PhotoCD pictures) 16 bpp is quite adequate and offers better performance with
fewer system resource requirements than 24 bpp.

Convolution support was dropped primarily for cost reasons, and also because it
is very rarely used.  NTSC and PAL timing support are still offered, however. 
The C610, C650, and Q800 do support all the monitor types supported by the
Q950.  This includes support for a 1024 x 768 resolution on 19-inch displays
(which was not provided by the Q700).

One area that was positively impacted was performance.  At the same processor
clock speed, the video section of these new machines outperforms the video
section of the older Quadras.  (I.e., video performance on the C650 is better
than the Q700, and on the Q800 is better than the Q950.)  Due to an improved
video memory controller design, one wait state was removed from many of the
frame buffer access cycles.  This results in reduced memory access time
overall, and therefore improved performance.  The graphics tests in Speedometer
(version 3.11) show an improvement of roughly 6-10% over the earlier Quadra
machines (each running System 7.1).



Supported Display Configurations and Monitor ID Codes
-----------------------------------------------------
The Centris/Quadra frame buffer determines what type of display is attached to
the video connector by examining the state of 3 sense line pins.  The following
chart details how these three pins must be wired for each of the supported
display types.  For each supported display, the screen resolution (horiz.
pixels  X  vertical pixels), dot clock frequency, and the vertical and
horizontal scan rates are listed.

Basically, the Centris 610/650 and Quadra 800 support any display, whether from
Apple or from another vendor, that meets one of the following specifications:

STANDARD SENSE CODES:
 
                       Sense pins       Hor x Vert    Dot      Vert     Horiz
Display                10   7    4      Pixels        Clock    Refrsh   Refrsh
-----------            -----------      ----------    -----    ------   ------
 
Apple 21" Color        0    0    0     1152 x 870     100        75     68.7

Apple Portrait         0    0    1      640 x 870     57.2832    75     68.9
 
12" Apple RGB          0    1    0      512 x 384     15.6672    60.15  24.48
 
Apple Two-Page Mono.   0    1    1     1152 x 870     100        75     68.7
 
NTSC                   1    0    0  underscan-512x384 12.2727    59.94  15.7
                       1    0    0  overscan- 640x480 12.2727    59.94  15.7
(To produce a color NTSC signal, a RGB-to-NTSC converter is required.)

12" AppleMonochrome    1    1    0      640 x 480    30.24      66.7    35.0
 
13" Apple RGB          1    1    0      640 x 480    30.24      66.7    35.0

Extended sense codes will be examined if the following sense code is detected:
                       1    1    1
 
NOTE 1 on above monitors: A sense pin value of 0 means that the pin should be
grounded to the C&VSYNC.GND signal; a value of 1 means do not connect the pin.
 
NOTE 2 on above monitors: sense pins 4, 7, and 10 are referred to as SENSE0,
SENSE1, and SENSE2 in pinout tables for the video connectors.

NOTE 3: The terms 'underscan' and 'overscan' are used to describe the active
video resolution for NTSC and PAL modes.  Underscan means that the active video
area appears in a rectangle centered on the screen with a black surrounding
area.  This ensures that the entire active video area always is displayed on
all monitors.  Overscan utilizes the entire possible video area for NTSC or
PAL.  However, most monitors or televisions will cause some of this video to be
lost beyond the edges of the display, so the entire image will not be seen.
 


EXTENDED SENSE CODES:
 
NOTE for extended sense codes: A sense pin pair value of 0 means those pins
should be tied together (as opposed to grounding the pins to pin 11); a value
of 1 means do not connect the pins.  Do _not_ wire any of these pins to ground.
 
                     Sense pins      Hor x Vert      Dot      Vert     Horiz
Display             4-10 10-7 7-4      Pixels        Clock    Refrsh   Refrsh
-----------         -------------    ----------      -----    ------   ------

16" Color            0    1    1      832 x 624      57.2832    75     49.7
 
PAL
PAL has two wiring options, using the extended sense pin configuration.  To
produce a color PAL signal, an RGB-to-PAL converter is required.
 
PAL Option 1         0    0    0   underscan-640x480  14.75     50     15.625
                                   overscan-768x576   14.75     50     15.625
 
PAL Option 2         1    1    0   underscan-640x480  14.75     50     15.625
                                   overscan-768x576   14.75     50     15.625
Note: This sense code also requires a diode between sense pins 10 & 7, with
anode towards pin 7, cathode towards pin 10. 

 
VGA                  1    0    1       640 x 480      25.175    59.95   31.47
 
SVGA                 1    0    1       800 x 600      36         56     35.16
To enable SVGA, after configuring and connecting the monitor for VGA, open the
Monitors control panel and select Options.  Choose Super VGA from the dialog
and reboot your system.

19" Color            1    1    0      1024 x 768      80         75     60.24

No external monitor (video halted)
                     1    1    1
  


Here are the video connector pinouts:
 
Pin    Signal          Description
-----  -----------     ----------------------------------------
1      RED.GND         Red Video Ground
2      RED.VID         Red Video
3      CYSNC~          Composite Sync
4      MON.ID1         Monitor ID, Bit 1 (also known as SENSE0)
5      GRN.VID         Green Video
6      GRN.GND         Green Video Ground
7      MON.ID2         Monitor ID, Bit 2 (also known as SENSE1)
8      nc              (no connection)
9      BLU.VID         Blue Video
10     MON.ID3         Monitor ID, Bit 3 (also known as SENSE2)
11     C&VSYNC.GND     CSYNC & VSYNC Ground
12     VSYNC~          Vertical Sync
13     BLU.GND         Blue Video Ground
14     HSYNC.GND       HSYNC Ground
15     HSYNC~          Horizontal Sync
Shell  CHASSIS.GND     Chassis Ground
 
 

If your monitor is a VGA type, you can try the following cable pinouts.
 
Macintosh Video                         VGA Connector
DB-15
-------------                           --------------
 
2  ------------------- Red Video ------------ 1
1  ------------------- Red Ground ----------- 6
9  ------------------- Blue Video ----------- 3
13 ------------------- Blue Ground ---------- 8
5  ------------------- Green Video ---------- 2
6  ------------------- Green Ground --------- 7
15 ------------------- Hsync ---------------- 13
12 ------------------- Vsync ---------------- 14
14 ------------------- Sync Ground ---------- 10
10 ------------------|
7  ------------------| Connect 7 and 10 so the sense pin ID will equal VGA
 
There are a few issues to keep in mind with VGA monitors:
 
 * VGA monitors will vary depending on the vendor.  Check with the vendor
   about Macintosh Centris/Quadra compatibility before buying, or better yet, 
   actually try the monitor with a Quadra to see if it works and if the 
   quality is acceptable.
 
 * Vendors have different image quality specifications.  There may be
   significant differences between Apple monitors and the wide range of
   VGA monitors.  Do a side-by-side comparison of the monitors you are
   considering before buying.
 
 * Many third party cable vendors have off-the-shelf cables that should work.
 


Most NTSC devices use an RCA-type phono-connector and the following diagram
uses that as a reference point.  A cable wired as follows may allow many
different brands of NTSC monitors to work on a Macintosh Centris or Quadra.  I
would advise you to test the monitor on one of these machines prior to purchase
to see if it meets your expectations.
 
Adjust the phono-connector side to whatever type of connector is used (RCA,
BNC, etc.).  "Tip" is the pin in the center of the connector (the signal); the
sleeve is flange around the outer edges of the connector (the chassis ground).
 
   Card Connector                     RCA-Type Phono-Connector
   --------------                     ------------------------
   4      MON.ID1  (sense0) --|
   7      MON.ID2  (sense1) --|
   11     C&VSYNC.GND --------|
 
   5      GRN.VID  -----------------> Tip (signal)
   Shell  CHASSIS.GND --------------> Sleeve (ground)
 
By grounding pin 4 and pin 7 to pin 11, the Macintosh Centris and Quadra CPUs
are told that an NTSC monitor is attached.  The actual black and white video
signal is on pin 5 and connects to the center (Tip) of the phono-plug.  The
shell of the card connector connects to the sleeve of the phono-plug.
 
To acquire a color NTSC signal from a Centris or Quadra (or any Apple Macintosh
display card), an RGB-to-composite video converter is required.


VRAM Requirements for Supported Display Configurations
------------------------------------------------------
The frame buffers on the new Centris and Quadra machines support a variety of
pixel depths, from 1 to 16 bits per pixel (bpp).  The supported pixel depths
(1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 bpp) depend on the display resolution and the amount of VRAM
present.  The fully expanded capability of all three machines is the same - 1
MB of VRAM.  As with the Quadra 950, these machines can be expanded using 256K
(i.e., 128K x 16) 80 nS VRAM SIMMs (although the C610 only requires 100 ns
VRAM).  

The following chart lists the Centris 610/650 and Quadra 800 built-in video's
maximum pixel depth supported depending upon the VRAM configuration:
 
Display size                        512K VRAM     1MB VRAM
 
12-inch landscape
384 x 512                           16 bpp         16 bpp
 
12-inch Monochrome
640 x 480                            8 bpp          8 bpp
 
13-inch RGB & VGA
640 x 480                            8 bpp         16 bpp 
 
SVGA
800 x 600                            8 bpp         16 bpp 
 
15-inch Portrait (b/w)
640 x 870                            4 bpp          8 bpp
 
16" Color,
832 x 624                            8 bpp         16 bpp
 
19" Color,
1024 x 768                           4 bpp          8 bpp
 
2-Page Display (b/w)
1152 x 870                           4 bpp          8 bpp 
 
21" Color
1152 x 870                           4 bpp          8 bpp 
 
PAL
underscan-640x480                    8 bpp         16 bpp
overscan-768x576                     8 bpp         16 bpp 
 
NTSC
underscan-512x384                    8 bpp         16 bpp
overscan- 640x480                    8 bpp         16 bpp