By Gary Kirchherr
Hi, all. I'm back.
Those of you who read my column when I was with The Holland (Mich.) Sentinel know I took a couple of months off to adjust to my move of nearly 3,000 miles to Anchorage, where I now work at the Anchorage Daily News. That I'm writing again indicates I've settled in enough to resume writing this column. And not a moment too soon! So much to write about, and so little space!
Unfortunately, the airplane ride up here took its toll on my beloved Performa 577. I learned the hard way that shipping fragile equipment like that on a commercial airliner is risky business.
I'd read enough how-to computer books to remember the ominous warnings about packing your computers properly when taking it with you on an airplane. Regardless, I packed it without special padding in a plain cardboard box with a few other doodads.
When I unpacked it, I knew something was wrong when I saw a chunk of the plastic casing was chipped off. But I didn't realize how bad the damage was until I took it into the local Computerland, where the service guy gave me a four-figure estimate for repairing it. And he couldn't guarantee that possible additional, hidden damage wouldn't require more repairs! And to top it off, Delta is resisting compensation, claiming that as sensitive electronic equipment not in its original packaging, my computer isn't covered. Great.
I can't possibly cope without a computer, so I bought a new Motorola Starmax. While my id was thrilled to have an excuse to buy a PowerPC, my ego was annoyed that I couldn't follow my original game plan and wait a while, after which for the same amount of money I could've bought a real screamer.
The moral, kids, is not to trust the airlines with your computer. Pack it in its original packaging, or at least let someplace like Mailboxes Etc. pack it up snug in Styrofoam peanuts for you.
Converting from a 68K Mac to a PowerPC was a headache. I had to deal with some software that suddenly didn't work (Conflict Catcher 3 was the most painful loss). But more insidious is software that appears to work on the new computer, but doesn't, resulting in hours of tracking down the problem. I had this happen with FreePPP 2.5v3. As the package that connected my computer to the Internet, FreePPP was some of the most crucial software on my computer, and so I couldn't let it slide.
FreePPP's annoying bug is that on the new computer, you can sign on to the Net only once per computer startup. If you got on and off the Net, you have to restart the computer before logging onto the Net again. Compounding this puzzler was a separate problem -- the external modem has to be on before booting the computer, or the modem wouldn't work.
Fortunately, I stumbled across the solution in Usenet while doing a keyword search in Deja News -- get Apple's new OT/PPP software. And it worked. OT/PPP is not as feature-rich as FreePPP -- you can't save multiple accounts on the former, for one thing -- but I reboot the computer a lot less, too. OT/PPP and FreePPP will co-exist if you still want to keep both on your computer.
Maybe I should search Usenet for answers more often. The only reason I did this time is because I goofed. When I did the Deja News search, I actually meant to call up AltaVista, the Web search engine. I'd already started the search before I realized I was on the wrong site. Not that I'm complaining now, of course.
Two more quick suggestions and an invitation before I wrap up for the month:
Suggestion No. 1: cookies. The mainstream media has done an amazingly poor job reporting recent privacy concerns related to these information-compilers that some Web sites put on visitors' respective hard drives. The Associated Press in particular is guilty of dumbing-down the explanation of what a cookie is to the point where one would think no personal information on your computer is safe. Even the normally sensible U.S. News and World Report warned ominously in a June 23 article that cookies can tell what ISP you use and track your movements within a site. Well, duh. No matter what you do online, your computer passes along what ISP you use. If this bothers you, get off the Internet. As for tracking movements within a site, that is the whole point of cookies. This is a bad thing because ... why?
Much to MacUser's credit, its July issue had an excellent column that explained exactly what cookies are and what they do, and dispels the misconceptions that the national media is fueling. "Big Brother Meets the Cookie Monster" by Jason Snell is available online on MacUser's Web site. The article is a must-read for those who want facts, not hype.
Suggestion No. 2: OS 8. Apple very soon will release the first major update to its system software in years. While it won't be as groundbreaking as next year's Rhapsody will be, OS 8 will offer many tremendous improvements over System 7. But I wouldn't rush out and buy it as soon as it comes available. The initial releases of the previous two major system-software updates -- systems 6 and 7 -- both had major bugs. Personally, I'd rather let others find the bugs in OS 8. An updated version should come out later in the year.
Finally, an invitation, to talk to me online. If you have a Java-compatible Web browser, point it to http://www.talkcity.com/chat.cgi?room=Kirch 10 p.m. Eastern on Thursdays. You also can use an IRC program; set its server to chat.talkcity.com and the port to 6667, and then type /join #kirch. Hope to be speaking with you soon!
Back to the Computer Curmudgeon index.