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Lindows--a Linux for PCs that will run Windows apps. December 28, 2001 -- A startup called Lindows.com, Inc., is promising to deliver a Linux-based operating system for PCs called Lindows OS that will run Windows application as well as Unix applications. According to a press release, a Lindows OS Preview Release will sell for under $100. The company said the preview would ship at the end of this month, and that Lindows OS 1.0 would ship during the first quarter of 2002.

The Lindows OS concept is reminiscent of Mac OS X, which can run BSD Unix applications and Macintosh apps. However, it took Apple a decade to come up with OS X, and it owned the Mac technology. Still, PC Magazine's John Dvorak called the Lindows name "genius," saying that "It's software that combines Linux and Windows without violating any trademark or copyright." However, Microsoft disagrees. Microsoft is not seeking to prevent Lindows OS from shipping, but it is asking a U.S. court to order Lindows.com, Inc., to stop using the Lindows name and to award Microsoft monetary damages, according to ZDNet. (Perhaps they should gone for "Winux"...)

Suggestions for Password change problem with Outlook 2001. December 28, 2001 -- Several readers offered suggestions for our December 18 report about problems changing passwords with Outlook 2001 for Exchange Server. Gary Simpson points to Microsoft Knowledge Base articles that describe the problem:

There are two articles that address this. Check out Knowledge Base Articles Q236111 and Q156182. I haven't tried these yet so I do not know if they will fix the problem.

The second of these articles says that a Registry edit is required.

Daniel Foshee has some other suggestions:

Costas might try one of several things:

1) Get the Server Administrator to activate the 'Allow users to change password on workstation' option. I *think* it's in the Services for Macintosh section of the 2000 file server, and there might be an similar option in the Exchange Server.

2) Make sure the server (regular server or Exchange) has the latest SP.

3) Install the latest MS-UAM client (up to version 5.9, methinks), instead of using Apple's User Authentication Module. This purports to be able to allow users to do what Costas wants, albeit on the domain level.

I'd like to point out that I'm testing the last option right now; I've already found that if you try to do it ahead of time, it doesn't work, so I'm waiting for my time to expire naturally, and see if a message pops up.

Outlook 2001 issue when viewing mail messages. December 28, 2001 -- Gary Simpson reports another problem with Outlook 2001:

Has anyone there seen with Outlook 2001 a problem with view mail messages in a window? When using the up/down arrow to go to the next or previous message, after view several windows, the whole Mac will freeze. I've upped he memory allocated to Outlook but it still does it.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Mac OS X 10.1.1 upgrade fixes Word X crashing with Mac logged on to NT. December 28, 2001 -- Dan Clark reports that a Mac OS X update fixes his problem of Word X crashing when the Mac is logged on to Windows NT SFM server:

A guy at Microsoft eventually found the 10.1.1 update which fixed it. Then they posted 10.1.2 which I also installed. Word X still crashes on occasion but I can access the volume without problems.

Cisco Aironet 2.0-- OS 9 and OS X drivers of wireless network cards. December 28, 2001 -- Cisco has posted Aironet 2.0, new Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X drivers for its PC340/350 wireless LAN cards. The download includes drivers for both PCMCIA and PCI adapters. (This is the first OS X driver for a non-AirPort wireless card that we've heard of.)

Airport network with D-Link DI-714 DSL modem. December 28, 2001 -- Bill Moses reports a problem a D-Link DSL modem and wireless AirPort networks:

I purchased a D-Link DI-714 (Cable/DSL Router with 4-port switch) for use in my home network (two desktop Macs, one Titanium with an Airport card, and a printer). The wired-hub portion of the router worked perfectly and I was able to make a wireless network connection to my laptop. However, I was unable to see the printer or do file sharing using the wireless connection. After over a week attempting to get through to the D-Link technical support, I received a message saying that the DI-714 was not WiFi compliant, and therefore didn't forward AppleTalk packets properly. I asked whether future firmware releases would address this issue but received no reply.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Palm desktop for OS X goes beta. December 28, 2001 -- Palm has posted a beta version of Palm Desktop for Mac OS X, the personal information manager and synchronizing software for Palm OS handheld devices.

IBM may dump the IBM PC. December 28, 2001 -- PC Magazine's John Dvorak says that IBM may soon get out of the PC business, as personal computers are a billion-dollar-a-year loss for the company.

An acknowledgment. December 28, 2001 -- We'd like to thank Joerg Erdei, a frequent contributor to MacWindows on Windows server issues. Erdei sent us a list of over a dozen typos, duplications, broken links, cross references to other MacWindows articles and Knowledge Base articles, as well as minor problems around the pages of MacWindows. We've now implemented these fixes, links, and suggestions.

Cyan releases MacServerIP 8 beta: improved performance, XP support. December 27, 2001 -- Cyan Soft Ltd. has made available MacServerIP 8 Beta, a new prerelease version of the AFP-over-IP file server for Windows NT/2000, and with this release, Windows XP. (An alternative to Services for Macintosh.) Other improvements include:

• "Significant" file transfer performance improvements between Mac clients and the server when using IP
• Faster folder browsing from Mac clients
• Optimizations for Windows NT Clusters and Windows 2000 Datacenter in MacServerIP 8.0 Cluster Beta

We don't have any information as to when the release version of MacServerIP 8 is expected to ship.

(For reader reports on older versions of MacServerIP, see our AFP-over-IP for Windows Servers Report page.)

A note Xinet's K-AShare AFP server for Windows. December 27, 2001 -- Speaking of AFP servers for Windows, Bernard Becker noticed that our AFP-over-IP page mentions that Xinet has an AFP server for Windows, K-AShare, but the company doesn't offer it. K-AShare for Windows is as part of Xinet's FullPress production system. Becker said that "Microsoft bought the original AFP server in Windows from Xinet."

Update and tip on Cisco VPN3000 VPN. December 27, 2001 -- Zack Fisher sent an update to his December 6 report on using Mac OS X with the Cisco VPN3000 virtual private network system. He solved one problem by turning off checksum using Unix commands:

I sent in an email a little over a week ago about attempting to connect my iBook running OS X 10.1.1 to the PC network at work from home - The IS guy here and I have been in contact with a Cisco rep and he has suggested there is a bug in the current software - He did give us a work around idea. He suggested turning off the hardware checksum on the computer - this is done through the root commands

sysctl -w net.link.ether.inet.apple_hwcksum_rx=0

and

sysctl -w net.link.ether.inet.apple_hwcksum_tx=0

(to turn hardware checksum back on, replace the 0 with a 1)

After we typed in this commands, and restarted the computer, we were able to access drives! However, not ALL of the drives. While we were always able to ping IP addresses, after turning off the hardware checksum we were also able to ping some drive names - but seemingly only random ones. We tried around 10 drives, and 4 were able to be located with a ping command and opened through the go: connect to server: address name

Using the tip given in the response to my original post, I assigned the "servernames" IP addresses in Netinfo Manager. This yielded successful connection to any and all drives.

Only semi-problem is that even with the IP address assigned, it takes around 30 seconds to connect because it does not use the assigned IP address from the beginning. It tries to resolve the name first by itself (perhaps 30 seconds waiting for a ping) then uses the assigned address and connects.

Is there a way to change this setting?

TIP: How to create a double-clickable app for Citrix Java Client for OS X. December 27, 2001 -- Glyn Seal has sent us a detailed procedure for creating an OS X application icon for the Citrix Client for Java for Mac OS X. Currently, you need to launch the Terminal to run the Client. Seal uses the Developer Tools for OS X, which are included on a CD with the Mac OS X retail package. You can read Seal's report on our Citrix and Macs Special Report page.

Mac OS X apps quiting when logged into Win NT Server SFM. December 27, 2001 -- John DeMillion responded to our December 7 reader report of Word X quiting when Mac OS X is logged into Windows NT SFM. DeMillion sees a similar problem with the Finder:

FYI, I have Word X, Mac OS X v10.1.1 and NT Server 4 SP6a, also with NT volumes mounted. I haven't seen the behavior mentioned by Dan Clark.

I *have* seen "Finder quitting" in Mac OS X when browsing certain NT volumes, where the Finder silently quits, the desktop pattern and all desktop windows and icons disappear, then return in a few seconds. This is reproducible and Apple is aware of the issue. My hope is that Mac OS X 10.1.2 will fix the problem. Perhaps Dan's particular use of the NT volume is triggering this bug, and Word X is just incidental as a cause.

OS X Server Authentication. December 27, 2001 -- Jacob Grisley asked use if we know anything about doing authentication of users on OS X Server using Active Directory? He asks:

I have seen tantalizing hints that it can be done using either LDAP or Kerberos, but have not been able to find clear information on how it is done, if it is possible.

Unfortunately, we don't know the answer. If you do, please let us know.

Mediafour releases XPlay Technology Preview 2 --iPod for Windows. December 27, 2001-- Mediafour has released another prerelease version of its software that enables Windows to use Apple's iPod MP3 player. XPlay Technology Preview 2 adds the ability to copy MP3, AIF and WAV files to iPod using Windows Media Player and Windows Explorer. This beta version will cease operation on February 1.

RagTime available as free download for home use. December 27, 2001-- RagTime GmbH has released the full commercial version of its RagTime office software as a free download for private, noncommercial use. This applies to both Windows and Mac OS versions. RagTime includes word processing, spreadsheet, pictures, and drawing and charting.

New AIM instant messenger version adds AppleScript, OS X 10.1, other features. December 27, 2001 -- America Online has posted AOL Instant Messenger 4.5.494 for Mac OS 9 and for Mac OS X. New features include compatibility with OS X 10.1, support for AppleScript, a file transfer feature, secure passwords, and other features. (AIM is a free cross-platform messaging program.)

Correction: MS UAM version numbers. December 27, 2001 --Brian Little corrected a our December 20 report below in which a reader gave an incorrect version number for the latest Microsoft User Authentication Module (UAM) for accessing Windows servers:

Regarding Dan Foshee's comments on 20 Dec, I just thought I'd let you know that the MS UAM for Classic is currently at v5.0.9, rather than 5.9. The edition of the UAM for OS X 10.1 is now at v1.0. Also, just in case anyone needs to know, the X version resides at: /Library/Filesystems/AppleShare/Authentication/

Suggestions for Password change problem seen with Outlook 2001. December 20, 2001 -- Our December 18 report password problems with Outlook 2001 was old news to Daniel Foshee, who has seen the problem and offers several suggestions:

AFAIK, it's just one of the many problems with Outlook 2001, Exchange Server, and 2000 Server, similar to how the Mac users here never get advance notices that their password is about to expire. Costas might try one of several things:

1) Get the Server Administrator to activate the 'Allow users to change password on workstation' option. I *think* it's in the Services for Macintosh section of the 2000 file server, and there might be an similar option in the Exchange Server.

2) Make sure the server (regular server or Exchange) has the latest SP.

3) Install the latest MS-UAM client (version 5.0.9), instead of using Apple's User Authentication Module. This purports to be able to allow users to do what Costas wants, albeit on the domain level.

I'd like to point out that I'm testing the last option right now; I've already found that if you try to do it ahead of time, it doesn't work, so I'm waiting for my time to expire naturally, and see if a message pops up.

Good luck, young Jedi's.

Readers confirm Windows Media Player X auto-update problem. December 20, 2001 -- Two readers confirmed yesterday's report of problems with the auto-update feature of Windows Media Player X. Ed Dyer said "Confirmed. Clicking "check for upgrades" sends me to the WMP 7.0.1 page for Mac OS 9." Kevin Ashbridge said: "Yes, I see the same thing. It recommends 'updating' from version 7.1 (OS X) to version 7.01 (Classic).

Non-network Outlook 2001 problem running in Classic. December 20, 2001 -- Scott Ackerman has a problem with Outlook 2001 running Mac OS X Classic:

Having an interesting problem with Outlook 2001. I am running OS 9.2.2 in classic mode under OX 10.1.1. When I am in the office, connect to the network, and running Outlook online all is fine.

When I run Outlook offline, I have a problem. If I try to open an e-mail, by double clicking it or using the Open command, the system behaves as if it opened the e-mail but it is no visible. There is a selection for the open e-mail under the window menu, but I cannot see the e-mail. The same occurs if I try to create a new e-mail.

All else seems to work fine. I can successfully connect to our exchange server remotely. I can view e-mails via the preview. I have tried deleting the preference file. I have tried creating a new profile. I have tried reloading Outlook 2001.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

TIP: Using WEP with non-Apple wireless hardware. December 20, 2001 -- Jarrod Hager sent us this detailed report about using WEP security with non-Apple branded wireless hardware. We've posted his report on our Cross-platform AirPort special report page.

Suggestion for reader can't save to Win 2000 server. December 20, 2001 -- Aaron Wayman suggests a permissions issue for Karlen Guy's problmewith saving from a Mac to Windows 2000 Server, which we reported on December 12. Wayman sas:

The obvious problem here is that the file is opening read-only. My guess is a permissions issue. MACs are as foreign to me as Venus, but with Win2k, you need to check two sets of permissions. The first on on the network share (which is most likely full access, as stated.) Secondly, you need to go to the server and look at the permissions on the actual folder. Even if you share the folder with full access, the folder on the hard drive may only have read access for everyone (as if they are at the local machine.) Make sure both sets of permissions match, and that may solve your issue.

Strange answer to problem with Windows Clients on ASIP. December 20, 2001 -- Mark Miller reports that he solved his problem with Windows Clients on AppleShare IP servers, which we reported on December 12.

We solved this one today. Strange, but true. Unbelievable, actually.

Months ago, we had upgraded a fiber link from 10BaseFX to 100BaseFX active elements. The fiber link was of unknown quality, but it seemed to work just fine at 100 Mbs, and in fact worked fine for months. In fact, the following ALL worked fine:

- Web browsing from both Mac and Windows platforms
- Chooser access
- Saving files from any Mac application including Word '98.
- Mapping network drives, browsing server files and folders
- Saving files from almost any Windows application (including Excel and PowerPoint)

The ONE exception was that nobody had been heavily using Office on Windows and saving to the server, yet. Turns out, WORD files saved from Windows would fail,freezing the client computer and causing the user to lose their work. When we reduced the speed of the fiber back to 10 Mbs, our WinWord problem disappeared! So that fiber link must have been just slightly borderline for 100 Mbs, but the only manifestation of its flakiness was in Word for Windows.

Where else but Redmond would someone whose job it was to implement a word processing application be allowed to bypass the normal APIs and screw around a low levels in the TCP/IP protocol stack, thereby causing such a bizarre anomaly?

Most of your readers will think I was hallucinating when they read this story. But it is absolutely true. Appleworks doesn't exhibit the problem, either. Just winword.

Netatalk 1.5 Release Candidate 1--AFP server for Linux--now available. December 19, 2001 -- There's a new build of Netatalk, the open source AFP (AppleShare-compatible) file server for Linux and BSD Unix. Netatalk 1.5 release candidate 1 adds encrypted logon and fixes some bugs. Daniel Lautenschleger says this:

It's been working real well with OS < 10 and can be compiled to incorporate a database that keeps track of DIDs. This fixes dancing icon and lost alias issues found in older versions the past. Encrypted logons are possible as well instead of cleartext.

Macworld says ExtremeZ-IP twice as fast as Win2K SFM over IP. December 19, 2001 -- In a short review of Group Logic's ExtremeZ-IP server for Windows servers, Macworld magazine reports that Group Logic's AFP file server is twice as fast as the Services for Macintosh that comes with Windows NT or 2000 Server. Macworld says "Group Logic's ExtremeZ-IP 2.01 more than doubles TCP/IP file-transfer speeds for Mac OS 9 and OS X users and makes server access easier as well."

TIP: Using shortcut files in DAVE. December 19, 2001 -- Thursby Systems reported am "undocumented tip" for DAVE for Mac OS 9 than enables you to make use of shortcut files on mounted Windows servers:

1) Open the File Exchange control panel.

2) Click the "Add…" button. The Add Mapping dialog should appear.

3) Enter the three letters LNK in the Extension text box.

4) Click the Select… button. The "Select An Application" dialog should appear.

5) Navigate to the DAVE folder found on your System drive (the one that holds the DAVE utility). Open the folder, then open the DAVE application.

6) Click on the File Type: popup menu and select "shct".

7) Click the Add button and then quit File Exchange.

Your Macintosh can now handle Windows shortcut files! Shortcut files are like aliases on the Macintosh. You may come across them on a mounted volume, or PC users may e-mail them to you. If you click on one of these files, DAVE will try to figure out where the file is stored, then mount that volume on your desktop and tell the Finder to open the file. A shortcut must be for a file in a shared folder. If it is not, you won't be able to access it from your Mac (and neither will other PC users).

Adobe will offer Acrobat Distiller Server 5 for Unix and Linux. December 19, 2001 -- Adobe is announced Acrobat Distiller Server 5.0 for Red Hat Linux® 6.x and 7.1 and Sun Solaris 2.6, 7 and 8, as well as for Windows NT 4 SP5/6 and Windows 2000/XP (US $5000 for 100 users). The new server will provide high-volume PostScript to Portable Document Format (PDF) file conversion. Adobe says it will ship Acrobat Distiller Server 5 at the end of January 2002 in English, French, German, and Japanese versions.

Illustrator X problems with Win NT 4 Server. December 19, 2001 -- Michael White reports some problems with Adobe Illustrator X and Windows NT 4 Server:

After extensive testing using G4 systems running Mac OS 9.1, 9.21 and 9.22 connected to an NT 4.0 file server we have discovered a MAJOR problem with Illustrator 10. When saving an EPS (formatted for Illustrator 10, 9 or 8) it saves an AI temp file to the same folder as the file (not to the scratch disk). The temp file is the same size as the visible saved file. This is a problem for anyone that doesn't have unlimited disk storage space (all of us). But the problem doesn't stop there. It assigns permissions granting administrator full control and everyone else special (no delete) access (even though. This results in the inability to save the document without renaming it (which created a new temp file). It also will not be able to be saved without renaming. This test was done by launching Illustrator 10, creating a NEW document, simply typing some text, saving as Illustrator EPS to the NT server in a new folder, typing in additional text and attempting to save (either apple+s or save as the same filename. This returns a file busy or locked error. NOTE: This does NOT happen when saving to the Mac desktop, HD or remote Mac HD. It does not create a temp file on an NT server when saving as an AI document either. Adobe was supposedly NOT AWARE OF THE PROBLEM.

We have also tested this saving an Illustrator 10 EPS to a Win2K server using MacOS 9.21 and OS X (and the same methodology as above) had the same problem occur at our affiliate in San Francisco. This problem will prevent us from implementing Illustrator X at this time.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Wintel emulator from OpenOSX is not new--performance slow. December 19, 2001 -- Two readers have written to say that the OpenOSX, Wintel PC emulator for Mac OS X, which we reported on December XXXX, is actually not a new emulator. Bother readers say that WinTel 1.0 Pre-1 for Mac OS X is actually the Bochs emulator, an open source PC emulator for Unix that has been repackaged for Mac OS X. Dennis Keller reports:

I just thought I would let you know that WinTel is not a new emulator (its MacBochs for Mac OS X). I let you know on Nov 27th about MacBochs for Mac OS X. The OpenOSX people (one person it particular) is rebundling software and and simply giving it a new name. OpenOSX also takes credit for other software which utilizes Fink and have never given proper credit to its creator(s).

Etienne Beaule also reports slow performance:

I installed Bochs earlier on my PowerBook G3 500 and dropped it very rapidly. This thing is slow and it is really not mature enough (compared to Virtual PC of Blue Label, which I have tried also). I think it would be wise for anyone planning to buy this WinTel package to try the open source Bochs before they do.

VPC 5 is lightening fast on X compared with Bochs (not kidding - DOS is slow on Bochs! - at least on my machine). The guys at OpenOSX may have been able to optimize things a bit (that bit about AltiVec seems to suggest this).

Windows Media Player X update problem. December 19, 2001 -- Richard Knuckey reports that the update feature of Windows Media Player for OS X has a problem:

The auto-update doesn't work. Microsoft's website can't differentiate between Macintosh and Mac OS X, so it recommends I "Update" to the Classic version when checking for updates.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Basilisk II on Win XP--Trashing prefs file does the trick. December 19, 2001 -- Dr. Peter C. Yih reports that suggestion supplied by a reader works for running the Basilisk II 68000 Mac emulator on Windows XP: "Trashing the prefs file and re-config seemed to do the trick." You can read about the problem and the fix on our Mac Emulators for PCs page.

Universal audio CDs to become incompatible with Macs. December 19, 2001 -- The San Jose Mercury News reports that Universal Music Group's new copy-protection scheme for CDs will render CDs incompatible with Macintoshes. In addition to preventing the CDs from playing on Mac's, the copy protection technology will disable the CD from playing on stand-alone DVD players, some CD players, and game consoles.

Joliet 2.0 gives Macs ability to read RockRidge CDs. December 18, 2001 -- Yesterday, Thomas Tempelmann released Joliet 2.0 (US $15), a new version of the Mac OS 8/9 software for mounting Joliet-formatted CDs created on Windows PCs. The new version adds a number of features, including:

• Support of the RockRidge format
• Full access to multisession and hybrid CDs, mounting any ISO volume on them
• A Control Panel to set options on how CDs are viewed and handled
• Support for additionally installed script systems, such as the Cyrillic Language Kit

(The older freeware version 1.4.2 is still available at Tempelmann's site.)

Solutions update: Netlock VPN Client for Cisco. December 18, 2001 -- We've added the Netlock VPN Client for Cisco (US $100) to the virtual private networks product listings on our Network Solutions page. Netlock VPN Client for Cisco is a Macintosh client for the Cisco VPN 3000 Concentrator Series.

Mac OS 9.2.2 seems to fix Outlook 2001 for Exchange time zone issue. December 18, 2001 -- Jim Howard has found a fix for an Outlook 2001 problem with appointments that display an hour early:

It looks like from the simple tests that I have done, that Mac OS 9.2.2 fixes the problem of appointments showing up an hour early when running Outlook 2001 under Mac OS 9.2.2 Classic and Mac OS 10.1.1. This occurred in time zones that never changed time zones (Arizona, in my case).

Outlook 2001 attachment problem goes beyond Office X attachment. December 18, 2001 -- J Vasquez responded to our December 10 report about problems with receiving Office X attachments in Outlook 2001:

I don't know if this is specific to having Office X installed, but... I've had this issue happen with other applications... specifically Illustrator 10, I'll click on the document, Illustrator will launch and open a blank document, I'll have to go back to the document and click on it again to open up in Illustrator...

Password change problem seen with Outlook 2001 . December 18, 2001 -- Costas Manousakis reports that he has see a problem with changing passwords with Outlook for Exchange Server. (We don't know of this is related a known problem with changing passwords for Windows 2000 Server.) Manousakis says:

We have this problem with the ability to change passwords on a Mac clients using Outlook 8.2.2 or 2001. Whenever it is time for users to change their passwords (it has expired, or new user and needs to change it for the 1st time), they are not able to change it. After they enter all information in the dialog boxes (username, domain, old password new password twice) they just get a response 'The NT domain password could not be changed. A required action was not successful due to an unspecified error.'

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

How DAVE works in OS X. December 18, 2001 -- A Thursby Systems customer newsletter had some details on how DAVE works on Mac OS X. (DAVE 3.1 implements Windows file and printer sharing on Mac OS 8.6/9.x and Mac OS X 10.1) The article compares DAVE to Apple's built-in SMB client and other systems. We reprinted parts of it on our DAVE special report page.

Windows Media Player for OS X shown trade show. December 14, 2001 -- Nate Caplin reports that Microsoft is giving away Windows Media Player for Mac OS X at a New York trade show:

I'm at Streaming Media East in New York, and although Microsoft made no official announcement of it, they are handing out CDs at a small station at their huge booth of Microsoft Windows Media Player for Mac OS X, the final code, not a beta. Just completed. It clearly will be released publicly (my guess) at MW Expo next month.  

Windows Media Player X is also included on the Office X CD (in the Value Pack folder, not the default install), but has not been available to other users.

XPlay (iPod for Windows) Technology Preview 1 now available. December 14, 2001 -- Mediafour has posted the first beta of XPlay, Technology Preview 1, Windows software to enable PCs to use Apple's iPod. This early version lets you mount the iPod and map a drive letter for it, and let you read and write files to the iPod. Mediafour also says the this version "does not yet enable you to add songs to the iPod in such a way that they are accessible when the iPod is used on the go (this feature is the next to come, and will be introduced in Technology Preview 2, yet in December 2001)."

Suggestions for running Basilisk II on Win XP. December 14, 2001 -- Two readers responded to yesterday's report of a problem running the Basilisk II 68000 Mac emulator on Windows XP. Both say Basilisk II is compatible with Win XP, and offer some suggestions. Graeme Bennett offers this:

Usually, throwing away the Basilisk prefs and the PRAM file and rebuilding a configuration by reselecting the ROM file, hard disk image, etc., will solve the (extremely rare) problem he describes. Sometimes, simply switching from 68040 to 68020 emulation mode will do the trick. Basilisk rocks under Windows XP!

I've posted a detailed Basilisk compatibility list.

Ed Glassgow suggests:

I would first assure that he is using the NT4/Win2K port version. Since XP is a Win2K variant, this is most necessary. Other than that, I would look at video settings and ROM issues (make sure that the all the settings are configured correctly).

More info on server volumes not mounting after crash. December 14, 2001 -- Marty Czachor responded to yesterday's reader suggestion regarding the problem of aliases not working after Windows servers crash, which Czachor originally reported. He says:

I saw a response from someone, and want to clarify our network environment. We are using NT 2000 Servers, Mac ALWAYS connect using TCP/IP. We have actually unloaded the AppleTalk protocol.

The aliases do connect to these servers. But the aliases do NOT find their password stored in the keychain. All our Macs are running OS 9.04 or 9.1.

Still hope someone can shed some light. I am going to explore "Volume Mounter 3" that was just described on your site.  

Agfa to distribute ExtremeZ-IP. December 13, 2001 -- Imaging provider Agfa Corporation will be selling Group Logic's ExtremeZ-IP (US $295) software, the AFP-over-IP file/print sharing software for Windows 2000 Professional and Server that enables PCs to support Mac clients. Agfa will offer ExtremeZ-IP to new and existing customers worldwide, and will sell it with Agfa's Apogee Series3 PDF-based digital workflow system. (See also the press release.) ExtremeZ-IP offers print service superior to that of Win 2000 Server Services for Macintosh, and enables Win 2000 Workstation to support Mac file sharing and print clients.

New PC emulator for Mac OS X: WinTel 1.0 Pre-1. December 13, 2001 -- A company called OpenOSX is now offering WinTel 1.0 Pre-1 for Mac OS X (US $30), a new PC emulator for OS X. WinTel comes with FreeDos, Linux, and OpenBSD operating systems. You can install your own copy of Windows on it. The company says WinTel has so far been tested with Windows 95, with Windows 98 and NT in progress. WinTel emulates a Pentium, and is OS X native software accelerated for AltiVec.

(Thanks to Ed Dyer and Marcel St-Germain.)

More directions for configuring hosts files in Mac OS X. December 13, 2001 -- Adrian Spiegel points us to a page at MacWrite.com that describes how to set up a hosts file in Mac OS X. (Hosts files are useful for resolving DNS address and are often useful for getting Macs to connect to Microsoft Exchange Servers using outlook.)

For more on configuring hosts files in Mac OS X, see our Mac OS X Report page.

Mac utility automounts AFP servers. December 13, 2001 -- Bryan Schappel has written Volume Mounter (US $15), a Mac utility for managing the mounting of volumes. Schappel described it to us:

It is a simple utility that manages a small database of the mounting information for AppleShare volumes and can be used to mount those volumes...

It's super handy for OS X as it can mount servers that the "Connect To..." command can't. It does not mount SMB, NFS, etc. ONLY AFP.

It's been tested with Mac OS X 10.0.4 through 10.1.2 beta and with Mac OS 9 and higher. This is a carbon application and therefore requires CarbonLib.

Author of Mac UnAce utility makes it available. December 13, 2001 -- Taking note of our report that the Mac Unace decompression utility for the Mac was no longer available, the utility's author, Gwenole Beauchesne, made it available at this web page. He says of the software:

Note that those are only 68k binaries. I will have to rebuild the source tarball if people would like to build their own. Also note that this is still a quick and dirty port that happens to work on a few test archives I had. Henceforth, I no longer support/maintain that.

MacOS X users will have better chances to directly rebuild unace from sources available here: (I don't know about newer source releases)

(For more utilities that work with non-Mac formats, see the product listings on our Cross-Platform File Compression and Encoding Solutions page.)

Another OS X SMB problem: Win NT 4 SP 6. December 13, 2001 -- Matthew Brown describes a problem copying files form Mac OS X to Windows NT 4 Server:

We an not successfully copy up/down from Mac OS X/NT 4 SP6 (using Mac OS X 10.1.1 and its native SMB client)

It will begin to copy much faster to WinPC or MacPC OS 9, but it will stop and display, "The operation could not be completed because on or more needed files can not be found (-43)"

Although, I've uploaded from OS X to NT 4 (AFP IP Services) 23.45GB within one hour over 100BaseT I had to use AFP IP Services to do so.

I was successful once copying down from server using the SMB client, but the files were not usable on Mac (could not find file and no associations).

This occurs on all NT 4 Servers and Mac OS X 10.1.1

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Citrix and MacOS 9.2.2 problem. December 13, 2001 -- Chris DeMorell notes a problem with the Citrix Mac client running on Mac OS 9.2.2:

We are running version 4.1 of the Citrix client for Macintosh which has been running well in our Mac environment of about 100 users. One of our techs installed 9.2.2 and tried to access the C: drive through Citrix which points to the local hard drive on the Mac. Upon doing this, the Citrix server crashed and needed to be rebooted. Doing this on any earlier version of the Mac OS works fine. We also noticed this same issue when using version 6 of the Citrix client with any version of MacOS 9.

(For previous reports on Citrix clients and Macs, see our Citrix Report page.)

Explanation of Server alias not mounting after Win Server Crash. December 13, 2001 -- Simon Boyle comments on the problem of aliases not working after Windows servers crash:

Regarding the Server alias not mounting after Win Server Crash, this has been the case with aliases to NT4 SFM volumes ever since the service pack that caused NT to recreate/reindex each volume after a reboot. The aliases don't work because the volumes receive new IDs. I'm fairly sure that I originally learnt this from MacWindows...

Using Windows 2000, if the aliases refer to TCP/IP mounted volumes, things work (not to mention the benefits of faster file copying, less network chatter, and better error handling of stalled services on the Mac end).

We may already have this information somewhere at MacWindows, as Boyle says, though we haven't been able to locate it. (We just passed our 4th year online last month, by the way.)

Basilisk problem on Windows XP. December 13, 2001 --Dr. Peter C. Yih could not run Basilisk II, the 68000 (Mac) emulator for Windows, on Windows XP.

I have tried running Basilisk II, the latest build on Windows XP Home and Windows XP Pro, and it hangs on both, with the sound of the disk churning. I think it puts up the grey Mac screen, no happy Mac, and no booting.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know. (For more on Basilisk II, see our Mac Emulator for Windows page.)

Check Point VPN-1 Client for MacOS released. December 12, 2001 -- Check Point has released and posted a VPN-1 Client for the MacOS for MacOS 8 and 9. Customers with password access to the Software Subscription download site can obtain at the link above.

Fix for long delay in Win SFM logon verified; problem not just with multi users. December 12, 2001 -- Gil Davis reports having long delays with Macs logging on to Windows 2000 servers, but without using the Multiple Users feature of OS 9, as was previously reported. Davis also verifies that the problem is cleared up when deleting the aliases in the System:Servers folder.

Update on performance problem saving from apps to NT servers. December 12, 2001 -- Peter Lennon adds some more thoughts to his report from last week about performance problems saving files to NT servers:

I've thought a bit more about it. It would probably NOT affect a site which shared every user's folder as a volume, i.e. so that the folder appeared as the root volume, in the way that they appear under Windows.

However, if the NT server shared a folder CONTAINING a lot of user folders, and as I understand it, that's what you have to do if you have a lot of Mac users under NT, where the users have r/w permission on their own folders but not at the top level of the share, then this solution probably applies - but it only affects MacOS 9.x users - well, at least AFAIK. I don't have any MacOS X clients yet.

Reader can't save to Win 2000 server. December 12, 2001 -- Karlen Guy reports that he can't save a file to a Windows 2000 server when the file is open:

We have Windows 2000 with Mac Services, sharing directory with full access for everyone. When Mac clients (newest G4) open a document open a document, edit it and try save it under the same name, an error message is displayed: "Error saving file -61". The procedure:

1. Create a new document.
2. Save it on the Win2K server with the name: this is a test file
3. Close the file
4. Open the file. Now on the Win2K server we see, that under "open files" the document is opened with read only access.

5. Save the file under the same name: we get the error.

Guy further report that he can save file with another name (he adds a dot "." to the name). 

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Windows client problems saving to AppleShare IP. December 12, 2001 -- Mark Miller reports a problem with Windows clients saving to AppleShare IP from Word:

Server: ASIP 6.3.2 on MacOS 9.0.4. Rock solid.
Client: Windows 98se with Office 2000

Some work just fine. But some cannot SAVE Word documents. Instead, the user gets "logged in" numerous times and the save times out and fails with a message about not enough memory and/or not enough disk space. (Server has many gigs free.)

No problems with WordPad, Excel, Word 98 on Macs, or any other programs. Not a permissions issue. To all appearances, the machines which work are identical to the ones that do not.

Also, you can save to the desktop or My Documents folder on C: and then drag the file over to the server. If you then go to a Mac with Office '98, you can open the document, no problem.

Any ideas? This is not the same as the problem with Win2K clients which can be solved by upgrading to 9.1/6.3.3, and we'd prefer not to do that, because we have had stability problems with that release.

[Note: We've also had a recent report of similar problems with Mac clients and AppleWorks.]

PC MACLAN 7.2.1 for Win 95/98/Me adds OS X support. December 12, 2001 -- Miramar has released PC MACLAN 7.2.1 Release 3 for Windows 95/98/Me (US $199; upgrade US $69-$99), an upgrade to its networking software that puts Windows on Mac filesharing/printer networks. The new version adds support for SLP, a directory protocol for TCP/IP used by Mac OS X. The software allows Windows 95/98/Me users to access files and printers on Macs, and lets Macs access files and printers on Windows. PC MACLAN implements the Apple File Protocol over TCP/IP or over AppleTalk. (There is also a version of PC MACLAN for Windows NT/2000.) PC MACLAN for Windows 95/98/Me includes the PC Migrator, A.K.A. and DataViz's MacOpener file compatibility utilities.

Fix for slow performance of Mac IE 5 client from IIS 5 servers. December 12, 2001 -- Stephen Chiang sent us a workaround for a problem we reported on December 6 with Internet Explorer 5.0 Mac talking too long to load pages from Microsoft's IIS server:

The problem: IE 5.X for Macintosh loads pages sluggishly on IIS 5.0 servers.

A page with about 30 thumbnail .jpg images on it was taking about 11 seconds to load in IE 5.0 on several Mac workstations. In Netscape 4.x, 6.x on that same workstations, the page took between 2 and 4 seconds to load. IE 6 and Netscape 6.1 on PC were loading between 2 and 4 seconds as well.

Solution: Well, it looks like by enabling content expiration and setting it to expire immediately, this resolves the problem. However, it makes Netscape 6.1 on PC take load in 11 seconds vs 2-4 prior to the fix. Upgrading the PC to Netscape 6.2 fixes this issue.

Cisco VPN OS X client: DNS resolution on Mac OS X. December 12, 2001 -- Responded to a report of a problem with the Cisco virtual private network client on our VPN Report page, Ed Dyer describes one method of setting up DNS resolution of hosts in Mac OS X:

I know, from just doing this myself, that OS X can be configured to resolve server names from additions in the Net Info manager, but it does not pass on this information to the Classic environment, should Zack be attempting to use Outlook.

A successful DNS resolution is realized when you are able to ping "servername" from the Network utility without putting in the IP. Net Info additions are described here.

I know there is another method to add hosts, but I've stuck with the NetInfo way and it works fine.

If using Outlook or needing to access drives in Classic, updates on Classic Hosts file syntax (from your Outlook/Exchange page in fact-your site rocks!) are here http://www.consultdifferent.com/vpnpdf.html

I don't have any specific experience with the Cisco client, though.

Keychain may play a role in problem w/Win server alias not mounting after Win server crash. December 12, 2001 -- Marty Czachor suspects the Keychain playing a role in a problem of aliases to Windows servers not working after a server crash (reported on our Windows 2000 Report page):

I seem to be able to "more narrowly" define this issue. Seems to be an issue in the Keychain. After the entire network crashed, the alias to the file server's volume DOES connect to the server bringing up the standard "Log in" screen. But the issue seems to be with the Keychain not returning the "Saved password", so automatic log-in cannot occur. Even though the password entry is still in the Keychain.

(And the keychain was automatically unlocked at system startup using Keychain AutoUnlock).

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Update on Macintosh Manager and Office 98 problem. December 12, 2001 -- A pair of readers responded to our December 7 report of a problem with Windows 2000 Server, Mac Manager, and Office 98. Scott Barber offers a simple suggestion:

The big question here is what version of Macintosh Manager and the Mac OS is he using on the workstation(s) in question? The answer is different depending on the different combinations...

The easiest solution is, of course, to turn off the option to remember the recently used items in the preferences for the various Office 98 applications, then force that preference to all logging-in users by using the Forced Preferences folder.

Thomas Koons has a simple suggestion:

I have not see the problem but a quick fix would be to turn off the show recent items feature for Office. Then they cannot select recently accessed documents.

Tony Gentiles doesn't see the problem at all, and discusses the operation of Mac Manager with OS X:

We've have a Macintosh Manager setup and we don't see this issue. What is not mentioned is the version of Macintosh Manager and level of user access. We're running Macintosh Manager 2.1 on OS X 10.1 in "Restricted Finder" mode for authentication and Windows 2000 sp2 for datastore. 

Each user preference folder is stored in their home directory, as setup by Mac OS X admin. Windows 2000 rights are set so that only the user has access to their home directory, full rights within it. Even if a user had full access to everyone's home directories I don't see how their own preference file stored in their own folder can utilize a pref from somewhere else.

Example:

Mary logs in and works on a file called "Bill is Stupid", saving it in her home directory. She logs out. Bill comes along and logs in. He fires up Word and gets his own Word/Office prefs from his home directory. He does not see that a file called "Bill is Stupid" was worked on in the recent file list. He only sees his own list. For instance, his "I like Mary" file. Even if Mary managed to save her "Bill is Stupid" file on the local drive, Bill's Word/Office prefs still do not show that file. Additionally even if you manually move Mary's Word/Office prefs from her home directory to Bill's, he will see it in the recent files list, but will not have access to open it, provided it is in Mary's home directory and rights and privs are setup as described above.

Solutions update: Objectbar makes Windows really look like Mac OS. December 10, 2001 -- We've added Objectbar (US $19.95) from Stardock to the product listings on our User Interface Solutions page. Objectbar is Windows software that can make Windows look like Mac OS, or other operating systems. For instance this screen shot shows a Windows 98 machine with a control strip in the lower left and an application menu in the upper right. Objectbar lets users create interface widgets ("bars") that can replace the Windows Start bar. Additionally, Mike Goodine of Emaculation.com says that "the program can remove the menu bars from common applications and puts them in the bar itself. (Emaculation.com has some discussions and information about Objectbar in its forums.)

Microsoft Entourage X for Mac: fix for MSN Hotmail. December 10, 2001 -- Microsoft has released Entourage X 10.0.1, which enables Entourage X to access MSN Hotmail. Some changes were made to Hotmail that prevented Microsoft email apps from accessing the service. We've previously reported the problem as well as Microsoft's updates for Entourage 2001 and Outlook Express 5.0.3.

Suggestion for Outlook 2001 time zone 'Server Unavailable' error. December 10, 2001 -- Daniel Foshee reports having the "time zone" problem of Outlook 2001 in Mac OS X, as well as a way to get rid of it:

I've seen the Time Zone error described in other posts... Also, I can start up the Exchange app, log on, and it will say the Exchange Server is unavailable, with a Cancel or Retry button. Hit the Retry button and it logs on.

It turns out that you have to go a bit further than just reinstalling and recreating a profile, although most might do this anyway; 'reinstall' means different things, perhaps.

When I deleted the Exchange Preferences and everything in the Exchange Profiles folder (found in the System Folder's Preferences folder; I suspect you could just throw away the Exchange Profiles folder altogether, or perhaps just the Profile Registry), and THEN double-clicked the newly installed Outlook, then both the Time Zone and Server Unavailable problems went away after I created a new profile.

Problem with Office v.X attachments in Outlook 2001. December 10, 2001 -- Jay Rolls reports an odd problem with Office X attachments in Outlook 2001 for Exchange Server:

With the new Office X, whenever I click on a Word/Excel/PPT attachment in Outlook, it properly launches the appropriate X based application, but defaults to a blank document. If I switch back to Outlook, click on the attachment again, it pops back to the open application and properly opens the document. Be interested to hear if any of your other readers have experienced such behavior.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

NEW TIP: DAVE 3.1 in OS X connection problem and workaround. December 10, 2001 -- Leland Jory reports a problem connecting to servers with DAVE 3.1 in Mac OS X, and found a workaround:

I've had an issue with Dave 3.1 for OS X a couple of times where I all of a sudden cannot connect to any Windows networks. The DAVE Network does not show up in the "Connect to Server" dialog, and I cannot log in from the DAVE Network pref pane. I think I may have found a workaround, however.

First, kill the cifsd process (if it's running). Then, browse to /System/Library/Filesystems/DAVE/ and launch cifsd.app (it's the only item in there). You should now be able to log into the Windows network and access shared resources.

Fixes for SMB, Samba X, or Dave related problems. December 10, 2001 -- Responding to reports of SMB file sharing problems with Mac OS X, Tony Kalf says the problem is with OS X 10.1.1. He also offered some solutions:

I noticed the mentioned problems, but it's really not a DAVE problem. The point is that there is still trouble with file, directory and drive(share) naming and translation, despite the improvement for SMB within OS X 10.1.1. Long names are not fully supported !

Also when Dave is installed before the update 10.1.1 or installing Samba X 2.2.2 those problems appear too.

Some solutions :

• - Use only alphabetical naming:
  (ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ-0123456789) those (uppercase and lowercase), including "-" are valid.
• - Keep on a NT-machine the share naming (directories and drives) at max 12 characters (no space !)
• - For files the 8.3 naming format
• - Directories with repeating names like ..\TOOLS\TOOLS\etc needs to be avoided.

  Now all should work fine.

Cisco 3002 and Mac. December 10, 2001 -- Scott Ripley reports good Mac support with the Cisco 3002 VPN (virtual private network) server:

I am the VPN administrator (among other things) at a major government site, and we have been using the 3002.

Since it's hardware, it'll work with anything. You just need the $1000 or so to buy it.

XDarwin 1.0.5: X Window on Mac OS X. December 10, 2001 -- XDarwin 1.0.5 is a and open source port of XFree86, a free implementation of the X Window System, to Darwin and Mac OS X. (The X Windows System is a basis for creating graphic user environments in Unix systems.)

RH Linux 7.1 with Gnome on VPC 5. December 10, 2001 -- Derek Sorrells has been runing RH Linux 7.1 on the new Virtual PC 5.0:

Just a short note to let you know the above configuration works fine on my TiPB G4 400 MHz.

Not too snappy at this point, but at least it runs.

Microsoft Hotfix for UAM password problem. December 7, 2001 -- Microsoft KnowledgeBase article Q306485 describes a hot fix for Windows 2000 that fixes the problem of Mac users who can not log onto Windows 2000 SFM if they change their Windows domain passwords using the Apple UAMs. (This problem is described on our Windows 2000 Report page.) The hot fix is available by calling Microsoft Product Support Services. (Thanks to Jay Brummett for the tip.)

Tips on accessing and using the Cisco VPN3000 client. December 7, 2001 -- Matt Ostiguy explains some of the limitations and steps required for using the Cisco virtual private network VPN client for Mac:

Anyone thinking of using this needs to update the concentrator. Cisco always supports older revs of the client vs newer concentrators (i.e, PC clients 2.5x thru 3.5 work against a 3.5 concentrator), but the opposite is not usually expected. I haven't gotten around to borrowing a OS X laptop to play with this yet.

Also, Cisco generally offers new features (full or half point version releases) only for people with a CCO login. Software updated for security reasons, not increased feature sets, is generally offered to the public as a bug fix. I haven't fully come to grips with how one obtains a CCO login - I have one as we are basically an all Cisco shop.

(Previous Cisco comments are on our VPN Report page.)

Word X crashing with Mac logged on to NT. December 7, 2001 -- When Dan Clark connects his Titanium PowerBook G4 to NT Server Services for Macintosh, Word X crashes:

When I open the server volume, the window opens and immediately disappears. When the volume is active on my desktop, using Word X crashes when doing just about anything. If I throw the volume in the Trash, Word no longer crashes.

Running Mac OS X v. 10.1, NT Server 4 with the latest service pack 6a.

I get around it by going to Classic for file transfers.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Server alias not mounting after Win Server Crash. December 7, 2001 -- Marty Czachor reports the following problem after his server crashed:

Each of 40+ Macs connects to three NT/2000 Servers, and each server has a single volume. We connect using AFP over TCP-IP. Each system (Servers included) are assigned static IP addresses. We have also turned OFF the AppleTalk protocol on each NT/2000 Server.

Had an electrician working on our APC Symmetra Power Array. Accidentally killed it, and every system in our office, including our network switches, crashed immediately. When power was restored, our Macs were not able to automount these server volumes. For each Mac, the username and password were successfully stored in the Keychain. And the Keychain is the first thing opened upon system startup. (We use Keychain AutoUnlock v1.2)

We had left alias's to these three servers' volumes on each Macs' Desktop. Upon startup, the user would click to open these server volumes. It should lookup the username and password from the keychain, and this had always worked in the past. But NOT today. (Actually we use KA v1.2, but it does this step automatically, and failed as well)

Instead of automatically mounting these volumes, each system displayed the "standard AppleShare Login Screen". It's like there was NO matching entry in the Keychain (but there was).

It almost seems like my network was somehow being ID'd differently.

To solve this problem, I had to manually mount each servers' volume, and then repenter this servers' volume into the keychain with the same username and password that used to work. And that solves the problem, but there's got to be a better way.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Office 98 and Mac Manager. December 7, 2001 -- Jonathon Blissenbach reports a problem with Windows 2000 Server and Mac Manager in a school:

I have an issue with Office 98 for Mac and Mac Manager. On occasion if a student logs in and opens one of their documents that they worked on in Word, there is a problem. The problem occurs when the student can click on the File menu and see recently worked on documents by students on that machine. If they click on one, it opens it up with full access.

Not only is this a major problem, but it then mounts the shared volume from our Win2k server that the file was stored on with administrative access. Student documents are stored on our Win2k servers, with a separate volume for each grade level.

Example. If a senior logs in with their username and password, Mac Manager authenticates them, then mounts the 'seniors' volume with access to their home directory only. If they open a recently worked on document by a junior, they now have the 'juniors' volume mounted on their desktop, with administrative access to every students home directory.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Utility helps with MultiUser logon delay with Win servers. December 6, 2001 -- Dan Schwartz (of the Mac-NT list) found a utility that helps with the login delays to Windows SFM file servers with the Mac's Multiple Users feature.

A quick solution to "Multiuser Macs login delay problem with Win server" is the Freeware "Empty Servers Now!" Just be *Sure* to use the "skip" feature for the original alias.

Yesterday, several readers said the problem is caused by the alias that the Mac AFP client creates in the Servers folder of the System folder.

OS 9.2.2 Update to improve Classic in OS X. December 6, 2001 -- Yesterday, Apple released Mac OS 9.2.2 Update, which the company says "improves Classic compatibility in Mac OS X and delivers updated support for Macintosh systems that are based on the PowerPC G3 or G4 processor." The update is also available from the OS 9 Software Update control panel.

Mac OS X SMB: no file name translation when connected to Windows shares. December 6, 2001 -- Lonnie Bear noticed that when Mac OS X doesn't remove illegal Windows charactors when doing SMB file sharing with a Windows machine:

It appears that no name translation occurs when copying files with special characters from Mac OS X to Win 95 over the network via OS X's built-in [SMB] Windows networking. When a file copy is made with a name containing a forward slash, Mac OS X returns the error "The operation cannot be completed because one or more required items cannot be found. (Error code -120)." If the file is grouped with other files in the copy, the error does not appear until OS X attempts to copy the offending file. When this happens, the entire copy procedure stops and the remaining files are not copied. When creating a new file or folder directly on the Win95 volume, the forward slash is automatically replaced with a dash.

This doesn't make for easy backups when you have lots of file names with forward slashes, like "1/2 page" and "b/w".

Reports on Cisco VPN3000 beta for OS X. December 6, 2001 -- Several readers responded to yesterday's query about the Mac OS X virtual private network (VPN) client for the Cisco VPN 3000 for the most part, it works. Jeff Hokit explains why some MacWindows readers have been unable to download the client:

I think that downloading the Cisco Mac VPN software requires a full Cisco web account, not just a guest account. It's a pretty confusing web site. I don't know how you get a full account, I asked an IT technician at my company with a Cisco account to download it for me.

By the way, the new Cisco "Universal" VPN software is working well for me, despite it's primitive user interface.

Zack Fisher describes how well it works:

We got a copy of the VPN3000 for my little iBook at work (the entire school is Dell, I'm the only Mac.) The IS guy got a copy from Cisco's website . We have installed the program (very difficult process - you have to access the hidden files through a root login to get everything where it needs to be - all done through command line, too) - We have successfully connected, but we are still unable to actually access drives, yet. We think it may be because we need to update the actual concentrator (using 3.0, the Mac client is 3.5) to the 3.5 version. It may also have something to do with OS X not correctly reading hostnames (it doesn't recognize the same Go: connect to server: address I use when I am directly connected - perhaps the VPN loses something in the translation - we are looking into hostfile names now, and how we can assign them addresses in OS X)

If others can get the client and let me know how everything worked, I would much appreciate it.

Of course, you can always let us know. (We've added these comments to our VPN Report page.)

Slow Mac IE 5.02 client access to IIS 5. December 6, 2001 -- Stephen Chiang noticed that Internet Explorer for Mac was significantly slower than Netscape Communicator when accessing Microsoft IIS servers:

I have recently done some speed tests with various browsers and several IIS 5.0 machines and noticed that Mac IE 5.02 clients are about 5 times slower than Netscape 4.7 browser on the same computer. The PC version of IE 5 doesn't do this either. This happens consistently on all of our IIS 5.0 servers. We also loaded the same page on a Webstar 4 server and did not notice the same variation in load time as we did on the IIS server.

OS X/DAVE file sharing prolems with Windows XP. December 6, 2001 -- Steve Jones says his problems with Mac OS X with DAVE and Windows XP file sharing are similar to other problems reported last week on our Mac OS X Report page:

I read with interest Hanz Makmur's comments - I have experienced similar problems with files & folders in mounted volumes dissapearing when selected. Only unmounting/remounting makes the files re-appear.

I have not tried the built in Apple support for SMB - these problems have occurred using DAVE.

If you've seen this problem--with DAVE or with the OS X 10.1 SMB client--please let us know.

Linux and Blue Label emulator? December 6, 2001 --Jon Kleiser

Can anybody tell me if it's possible to install and run Linux on an old (orange) iBook (OS 9.x) using the Blue Label PowerEmulator 1.6 SE? If it is possible, I'd be pleased to get some advice.

I tried to install Red Hat 6.2 yesterday, but I got an exception in the Red Hat installer after having answered some of the dialogs. From what I read at MacWindows, it may seem that Slackware could be a candidate.

Virtual PC 5.0 ships: supports Win XP, runs on both OS 9 and OS X. December 5, 2001 -- Today, Connectix shipped Virtual PC 5 for Macintosh, a major new release of the PC emulator. The new version is the first release version to run on Mac OS X, but it also run in Mac OS 9. Among the new features:

• Will run Windows XP on a Mac
• Supports DVD-ROM
• A new "Virtual Switch" increases networking capabilities.
• "Undoable" drives, which give users the option of leaving the original drive image file unchanged and easily backing out of any Windows session.

Virtual PC 5.0 is currently only available with Windows 98 preinstalled (US $199) or with PC-DOS preinstalled (US $99; free if VPC purchased since Nov. 1). An upgrade is also available (US $79). VPC 5 with Windows 2000 or with Windows XP Home preinstalled will be available later this month and early January, respectively. Connectix OS Packs-- preinstalled versions of Windows operating systems for adding to Virtual PC, are now available for Windows 2000, Windows 98, and Windows Me. Connectix says it will ship OS Packs with Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home in late December 2001.

MacDrive 5 adds Win XP support, OS X compatibility, performance. December 5, 2001 -- Mediafour has released MacDrive 5 (US$50; upgrade US $20) the latest version of its Windows software that enables PCs to use Mac storage disks. The new version, which run on Windows XP as well as all previous Windows versions back to Win 95, includes a new user interface in "XP-style." Other new features include:

• Taskbar notification icon providing shortcuts to MacDrive features
• Faster copying of multiple files
• A read-only mode
• The display of Mac icons on property pages
• New extension maps supporting Office X
• Support for Mac OS X long file names.

MacDrive 5 now comes with the full version of Aladdin's StuffIt for Windows, a cross-platform compression/decompression utility.

Apple muscles Mediafour into dropping "XPod" name for Win-enabling software for iPod. December 5, 2001 -- At Apple's insistence, Mediafour had dropped the name XPod for it's upcoming Windows software to enable Apple's iPod MP3 player to be used with Windows. (Currently, iPod can only be used with Macs.) Mediafour has renamed the software XPlay. The company explained the decision at its web site:

Apple Computer, a company with which Mediafour has always had an amicable relationship, has expressed concern over our use of the name XPod. We believe that we have a legal and ethical right to use the name, so we're disappointed by the situation. We have chosen to change the name to XPlay at this point, rather than risking damage to our relationship with Apple.

Mediafour also notes that it's MacDrive software (see item directly above) already allows Windows PCs to use Apple's iPod as a hard disk.

Outlook 2001 hanging with Time Zone in OS X Classic: problem and workaround. December 5, 2001 -- Darryl Zurn reports another problem with Outlook 2001 hanging while running in Mac OS X Classic. He also provided a workaround:

I've been running OS X occasionally with Outlook 2001, and now since upgrading to 10.1 or 10.1.1 (I didn't use Outlook between the two upgrades!) I've been getting an odd hang.

Starting Outlook 2001 in OS X used to give a small dialog asking to set the Time Zone. That went away with one of the OS X upgrades, I don't remember which one, but now that dialog is back and won't take "OK" for an answer!

The dialog would pop up incessantly preventing any work from being done, and selecting any of the 4 dialog time zones (for Central time, either Central America, US Central, and 2 others) didn't make any difference, the dialog would pop back up within a second.

My solution was to reinstall the Outlook 2001 program and create a new profile. This seemed to fix the never-ending dialog, but I would be able to dismiss it after only 2 or 3 tries.

So reinstalling Outlook and creating a new profile seemed to help this problem.

We've had previous reports of Outlook 2001 hanging Mac OS X for other reasons, listed our Outlook Report page.

Multiuser Macs login delay problem with Win server tied to aliases. December 5, 2001 -- We've had a several more comments on the problem of login delays to Windows SFM file servers with the Mac's Multiple Users feature. David Stone presents a solution that was offered before, but goes into more depth explaining it:

Mac systems newer than sys 8.6 have a new AppleTalk client that saves options for connecting to servers at startup as alias's in the servers folder of the system.

I have found on all Win NT systems that connections form Mac clients to the same server duplicate so that some workstations have upwards of 40 alias's to the same server. Each of theses alias's try to resolve on startup - hence the slow down. This effects single and multi user Mac setups! The solution is to periodically delete theses alias's.

Victor Wise also ties the problem to aliases in the Recent Server folder:

I've seen this problem before especially after a move where there are a number of alias's in the Recent Server folder. It seems the MacOS is trying to verify each of those servers and it takes a while for it to time out. If they check their recent servers folder for unused/old shares it may speed up log in.

Problems getting Cisco VPN 3000/5000 Client for Mac OS X. December 5, 2001 -- Several readers have reported being unable to access the Mac OS X virtual private network (VPN) client for the Cisco VPN 3000 and 5000 system. If you've been able to download it and can shed some light, please let us know.

Saving problems with AppleShare IP 6 and AppleWorks. December 5, 2001 -- A couple of readers report having problems similar to the problem we've been reporting with Macs saving from Word to NT Server -- except with AppleShare IP servers. David Jorgenson reports on having a problem with AppleWorks:

This year in our Middle Schools we upgraded our client machines to Mac OS 9.1 (from 9.0.4) and moved to AppleWorks 6 from v.5. The server are all AppleShare IP 6.2 servers, running Mac OS 8.6, which was completely rebuilt before the start of the school year.

Mounting, searching and looking through the mounted volume is no problem, with no delays. However, when opening or saving a file in AppleWorks 6, it takes a long time to display the folder contents, and navigate to where you would like to open or save a file. There are also some MacOS 8.6 machines with AppleWorks 6 that are displaying the same symptoms, just not as severe.

AppleWorks 5 on the same machine screams, it does seem to be limited to AppleWorks 6. And if AppleWorks 6 is open, some (but not all) programs exhibit the same tendencies. I have tried updating one of the machines to 9.2.1 and tried the latest Apple Ethernet Update to no avail.

Peter Lennon from the UK says the problem of saving from applications is known with AppleShare IP:

This was reported on the AppleShare IP list and may affect NT machines, though I can't confirm it. The model for sharing is different, the permissions structure is different, and I don't use NT for file sharing in my school - Macs and PCs share from ASIP.

However, it seems that some apps require an invisible "Temporary Items" folder on the volume to which they are saving - not simply on the boot volume of the local HD. The user must have R/W permission to this folder.

It is a pain in the neck, but not difficult, to fix on ASIP and I have posted a solution on the relevant list. It involved using ResEdit to make the folder visible - actually creating the folder or duplicating it in some instances - and then setting the privs. Can be done from a client.

As I say, I don't use NT in this mode, but it may be worth someone in this position following up.

If you've seen these problems, please let us know.

(For previous reports on AppleShare IP, see our AppleShare IP Reports page.

More delays when Macs connect to Win2K server. December 5, 2001 -- Daryl Toops reports another instance of logon delays for Macs and Windows 2000 Servers:

I have 2 Macs connecting to Windows 2000 Server for almost a year now. Usually when the passwords get changed, Windows can take up to 10 minutes to log-in the Macs. For some bizarre reason, after the Macs have logged in about 20 times, they start to log-in to the Windows Server in under 5 seconds. It's like the software suddenly remembers that the Macs are allowed to log in.

Blue Label PowerEmulator crash on quit. December 5, 2001 -- Pascal Desmond has a problem quitting the Lismore System's Blue Label PowerEmulator running Windows 95 on an iBook:

I can't seem to quit BLPE properly. Oddly, it worked very well for the first 5 days.

Generally I run BLPE with all Mac programs shut down. I shutdown Windows 95 correctly and get the message advising that it is now safe to shut down your computer. Pressing Command Q or Command Esc locks up the computer. I have to crash start it (Command, Control, Power button) to get it going again.

I have an iBook with Mac OS 9.1 and 128 MB memory. BLPE is allocated 48 MB memory.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

SMB, AFP problems persist with Mac OS X 10.1.1 upgrade. December 5, 2001 -- The Mac OS X 10.1.1 upgrade was supposed to fix some problems with SMB file sharing (access to Windows file servers). Reader Shawn Christie did not solve any SMB or AFP problems.

StuffIt 6.5.1 ships for French, German, and Japanese. December 5, 2001 -- Aladdin has shipped the French, German, and Japanese versions of StuffIt 6.5.1, the cross-platform file compression/decompression utility for Mac OS 8/9 and OS X. (The English version has been shipping.) Upcoming VPC patch may fix Win 2k modem problem. December 3, 2001 -- Ed Dyer received an email from Connectix tech support confirming the Virtual PC 4 problem of failure to detect a modem, which we reported earlier in the year. The message also says the problem will be address in an upcoming upgrade:

I regret to inform you that our development team has reported an issue with Windows 2000 detecting modems in VPC 4.0. The problem is being addressed and a fix should be available in a VPC patch. This patch will be posted on the Connectix web site (http://www.connectix.com) when it is released in the next couple of months.

I apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused.

Mary Stoner
Connectix Technical Support

Ed also found the workaround we reported last May verified by Warwick Teale, who found it on the Connectix web site:

In the settings when you click on COM1 Port there is a check box for Non-modem device. The secret is to either check or uncheck that box. (If the box is unchecked you need to check it and if it is checked ... Uncheck the box.)

Suggestions for Multiple Users delay in logon to Win Server SFM logon. December 3, 2001 -- Several readers responded with suggestions to last weeks' report of delays in accessing Windows 2000 server with Mac OS's Multiple User feature. Mike Brady (of Trinity College Dublin) suggests the following:

John, this is a little off what you want, as it's probably a slightly alternative approach to Kyle's problem, but we have been using Multiple Users together with a Windows 2000 server running SFM for some time now (and we were using NT server before that). We use Multiple Users on Mac OS 9.1 and 9.2.1 set up to allow only local users - of whom there are only two, "Admin" and "User" to log on. The "user" has limited privileges. When a "user" attempts to log on to Multiple Users, a custom program displays a login dialog (picture attached), gets a name and password from the user and validates it by trying to mount the volume, on a W2K Server volume, that contains the user's personal folder. If successful, the desktop and Documents folder on the Mac are cleaned up, an alias to the user's personal folder is put on the desktop and the volume it is on is also mounted. Finally the user gets access to the machine.

Tim Mallon has another suggestion:

Tell Kyle Crawford to double check his System Folder / Server Folder, and to make sure he doesn't have any "old server / share" alias in there. This will cause very long mounts, i.e. the Mac spins it's wheels looking for something that it's there. It could take several minutes before the Mac gives up, and moves on.

Workarounds for problems saving files on NT SFM. December 3, 2001 -- A number of readers responded to last week's report of a problem with saving files to NT SFM volumes from Mac applications. David Theoharides, who sent the original problem, reports with his workaround:

With further testing we have narrowed the problem down to the new dialog box that is used for file opening and saving with AppleWorks 6 and Word 2001. In an experiment with an OS 8.6 machine and an OS 9.1 machine we used Word 98 which uses a different file dialog box.

These dialog boxes open instantly. When using AppleWorks 6 on these two machines and opening the file dialog boxes, they take a long time to "settle down" and let the user save or open the file. Apparently these new Dialog boxes have extra features and code that is not efficient in a Network situation. We have shut off recent items and servers in an effort to get these newer dialog boxes to respond quicker.

Today we took the Volumes and instead of having 120 folders - 1 for each student - we created folders like A-F, G-O, etc... and placed the individual student folders in them. These dramatically improved the response time of the newer Dialog file save/open boxes.

F. Stuckey can said Microsoft told him it was a bug:

Been there...done that.

While serving as the IT Director for Texas Lawyer we determined a need to install SP6a on our NT4 PDC. Immediately, our Mac users noticed the "sorting." On some occasions the "sort" would take >10 min, as we had approximately 100 gigs mounted for Mac and some of the folders were extremely large. Shortly afterwards, we noticed an even larger problem. When a user would save a large file (over 3 MB), it would spawn a memory dump on the NT4 SP6a box. I immediately called Microsoft, and was told that it was a known issue, and to call another number (at a cost to us of $245.00).

Derek Smith changed some Finder settings:

In our setup we realized a performance gain a few years ago when I set the server folders to List view and show only the name of the folders: no date, size, kind, etc., and made sure that Calculate Folder Sizes was unchecked. (We migrated from NT SFM to 2K SFM this summer & the technique is still valid.)

Also, these settings must be made when logged in as the Server Administrator if they are to stick for all users.

Patrick Exner has another suggestion for the Mac side:

Try to delete (completely) the folder named "Servers" inside the System Folder. This may help.

For more general suggestions for NT SFM performance, see our Windows Server Tips page.

Cleaner 5.1 multimedia converter adds Sorenson, XP support. December 3, 2001 -- Two weeks ago, Discreet released Cleaner 5.1 (US $599), the latest version of the "transcoding" software for Mac and Windows that can covert between streaming video formats, including QuickTime 5, Windows Media 8, and RealSystem 8.5.1 codecs. (See also the press release.) The new version adds Sorenson Video 3 codec support, improved MPEG output and Windows XP support. Cleaner 5 was previously known as Media Cleaner 4 from Terran Software, which Discreet recently acquired.

We've updated the product listings on our File Solutions page to reflect these changes.

Mac UnAce to merge with MacRAR. December 3, 2001 -- In response to our November 26 report of the apparent disappearance of Mac UnAce compression utility from the web, Ian Warwick informs us that it will be "merging" with the MacRAR compression utility in some form. The MacRAR web site says that this merge will occur in a few weeks, and that there will be a new Mac UnAce web page up them.

MacWindows maintenance updates. December 3, 2001 -- Over the weekend we updated product links on our Network Solutions page. We also updated our selection of book recommendations on our Books page.

eWeek says OS X 10.2 delayed until summer. December 3, 2001 -- An eWeek story quotes unnamed sources that Apple is delaying the release of Mac OS X 10.2 (code-named Jaguar) until next summer. eWeek says that Apple was planning to release 10.2 in January. Apple has not verified the report. As we have reported before, a 10.1.2 upgrade is expected within a few weeks.

August updates ODBC OverDriver for MacOS. December 3, 2001 -- Last Friday, August Software today shipped Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) OverDriver 3.51 for Macintosh, a new version of its ODBC connectivity software. OverDriver works with August's ODBC Router to enable Mac application, such as File Maker Pro 5.5 and Microsoft Office, to access SQL database systems, such as MS-Access, ORACLE, SYBASE, Pick, DB/2, Rdb/VMS and hundreds of others. Users can download the upgrade. Neither the web site nor the documentation mentioned what is new in this upgrade.

November 2001

Microsoft releases UAM for Mac OS X. November 28, 2001 -- Microsoft has posted updated Microsoft User Authentication Modules (UAM), offering a version for OS X (v10.1) for the first time, as well as one for Mac OS 8.5-9.2. (The Microsoft UAM provides increased authentication encryption when logging on to Windows 2000 Servers running Services For Macintosh.) In addition to OS X support, the new version adds support for NTLMv2 128-bit encrypted authentication.

Multiple users causing long delay in Win SFM logon. November 28, 2001 -- Kyle Crawford reports a problem with using the Multiple Users feature of Mac OS to log on to Windows 2000 SFM:

We are trying to use multiple users to implement some basic access security, but we are having trouble connecting to a Windows 2000 server running Services for Macintosh.

We get a very long delay when trying to connect to the server when logged in as any user except the owner. The Mac appears to be frozen for 7 minutes or so, but eventually the server volume will mount.

This does not occur when using an Apple server, but that is not an option for us until Apple releases some real server hardware. It is similar to an issue with the Microsoft UAM in your Window 2000 report, but we get a long delay and then the volume mounts.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Solutions update: Bochs PC emulator available for Mac OS X. November 28, 2001 -- The open source PC emulator Bochs 1.3 pre1 has been ported to Mac OS X. This is a prerelease version written by Kevin Lawton--Bochs previously ran only on other Unix systems. (There was a MacBochs port for OS 9 and earlier from someone else,but this has not been updated in several years.) We've added Bochs to the list of emulators on our Operating Systems Solutions page. (Thanks to Dennis Keller for the tip. )

School principal reports performance problem with saving files to NT. November 28, 2001 -- David Theoharides reports this problem:

We have come across a new problem using iMacs and iBooks w/ OS 9 and a NT Server 4 with latest Service pack 6a. The server has 512 MB of memory and does file sharing for the Macs. The problem does not appear with Macs using OS 8.x or lower.

When a user using Os 9 or 8.x opens a mounted network volume on the Desktop from the NT server they can quickly look at all the the folders and files on the volume. This works well in both OS 8 and 9.

But when a user is using an application such as Word 2001 or AppleWorks in OS 9 and tries to SAVE to the network volume, the new file management window that opens in the application takes several seconds (and at times up to a minute) to "settle down" before the user can actually type in a file name and save. "Settle down" means the file save window appears to be SORTING the folders- they actually appear to be being put in order. There are 5 main folders on this network volume (from the NT machine), with about 120 student folders in each of those folders. There are likely 10-30 files in each folder.

When we use Word to save a file on a machine using OS 8.x, the file save window performs quickly with no delays.

Apple suggested upgrading the service packs on NT... we had already done that. We also tried upgrading one machine to OS 9.2. No difference.

My Tech guy also says that when using Word 2001 on an OS 8.6 machine that the file saving window is the same window style that is used in OS 9 and that file saving using a Word and OS 8.6 with this window is noticeably slower then using AppleWorks 5 on the 8.6 machine. On the iMacs with Airports it is unbearable and essentially unusable in the classroom.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Apple says Microsoft antitrust settlement is anticompetitive. November 28, 2001 -- A CNET story reports that Apple has criticized the settlement to the Microsoft antitrust suit by the Justice Department. The settlement would have Microsoft distribute $1 billion of free software, training, and services to schools, eating into Apple's education marketshare. The story quotes Apple CEO Steve Jobs as saying that the settlement that encourages Microsoft to "unfairly make inroads into education, one of the few markets left where they don't have monopoly power." A spokesperson for the Computer and Communications Industry Association said that "by allowing Microsoft to flood the education market with free software--at virtually no cost to the company--the court will be virtually assuring that no other competitor will be able to charge for its products."

Clarification on fix for Win Server/TrendMicro 5006 error. November 27, 2001 -- Responding to yesterday's reader comment of the inability to locate the update for TrendMicro ServerProtect that fixes the 5006 error problem, Ken Truesdale clarifies the issue:

The Trend Micro Server Protect Scan Engine for NT has a version 5.63. This should not be confused with the version number for the Management console which is at 5.31 (I wasn't clear on that in my original post).

I received the updated scan engine directly from their support staff, so it may not yet be posted. I'm sure if you call in, they'll forward it to you.

OS X AppleTalk file sharing problem with NetWare. November 27, 2001 -- Shawn Christie has a problem accessing NetWare volumes with Mac OS X:

Under OS X 10.1 and 10.1.1 I've been having a problem copying files via AFP over AppleTalk to our NetWare 4.11 server (SP6 I believe) at my place of business. Copying multiple files or a file larger than a couple megs always results in the never ending spinning wheel. A force quit of the Finder is the only way to end it. Sometime OS X recovers, other times in takes the whole OS down (nice!). I should add that the NetWare Server is running the AFP service and Mac clients running OS 8.0-9.2 do not have this problem. This problem has been seen on multiple Macs running OS X 10.1 or 10.1.1.

In addition to this I noticed this problem at home transferring files to Windows 2000 server SP2 running SFM with AT and IP transfers. The sad part is I didn't have this problem when running OS X 10.0 through 10.0.4, at least with using AT over IP.

This is a very frustrating issue and is preventing us from moving forward with OS X on the company LAN.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

More OS X file sharing problems: SMB and AFP. November 27, 2001 -- Hanz Makmur also reports on problems with Mac OS X file sharing with the Apple File Protocol (AFP), as well as another problem with SMB (accessing Windows PCs).

I notice other problems with SMB and AppleShare (AFP) on MacOS X 10.1.1 too.

SMB.

• I mounted Win 98 folder on MacOS X 10.1.1
• Add more files in the Win 98 folders in the PC
• Look for the files in the mounted volumes on the Mac.
• Could not find the newly added files. Closing and reopening the mounted volume does not reveal the new files.
• Unmounting and remounting shows me all files.

  AppleShare (Apple Filing Protocol)

• I mounted a personal fileshare volume on MacOS X 10.1.1 from OS 8.5 Mac.
• Run Claris HomePage 3, edited a file on the mounted volume.
• Save the edited files and system error. Can not write error.
• Edit the file on BBEdit, everything works. With previous 10.1, this works but I get disconnected error once and a while.

  Others: I see my AppleShare volume (of Personal fileshare of MacOS 8.5) get disconnected on OS X 10.1.1 but I can not reproduce how it gets disconnected.

If you've seen any of these problems, please let us know.

Another NetWare Mac user can't get into folders. November 27, 2001 -- Byron Duvall adds to our reader reports the inability to get into NetWare based folders:

We have the same problem. We just installed new NetWare 5.1 servers and started migrating users to them. On the Macs with Prosoft's client version 5.13 installed, whenever we use an application that uses the newer style "Navigation Services" dialogs, drilling down to a folder causes us to be booted back to the "Desktop" menu.

We have narrowed it down to NSS volumes only. The SYS volume (which is traditional) on the same server works correctly under the same circumstances. We are running dual-NICs on the new servers using Cisco Fast EtherChannel. We disabled this, and even forced the NIC into 10 Half with no luck. We have also tried running MACFILE.NLM on the server, but had no luck there either. We installed the latest NSS update for NetWare 5.1. We are running the latest service pack as well.

Our next thought was to try Native File Access Pack (NFAP), but now that it's out of beta, it can't be downloaded from their website. I just noticed today that there is a version 5.14 available from Prosoft via e-mail, but I'm not holding my breath that it will fix this problem.

Conflict between DAVE 3.1 control strip module and Action GoMac. November 27, 2001 -- Yesterday, MacFixIt reported a conflict between the DAVE 3.1 control strip module and GoMac running in Mac OS 9.x. (Action GoMac is a Windows-like Start menu and TaskBar for Mac OS.)

WebMerge 1.9 adds faster web page generation for Mac and Windows. November 27, 2001 -- Yesterday, Fourth World released WebMerge 1.9 (US$69), software for Mac OS and Windows that generates static Web pages from database files. The new version improves performance, adds an ability to choose between generating detail or index pages, and provides more detailed feedback for user errors in templates. WebMerge 1.9 can work with any database that exports in Merge or tab-delimited format, including FileMaker Pro and Microsoft Access.

Word X cannot handle long filenames. November 26, 2001 -- The recently released Microsoft Word X (part of Office X) for Mac OS X cannot save files with names longer than 31 characters--even though Mac OS X can handle long file names. If you try to save a file with a long file name from within Word X, and error message tells you that you must use a name with 31 characters or less. You can rename files with long file names in the Mac OS X Finder. Word X will open these files, as well as files with long file names created on Windows, but will display a 31-character truncated file name in the title bar.

Word X also prevents you from saving a file with a name containing a slash (/ or \)--illegal characters in Windows, but allowed by Mac OS X.

DigiTunnel--New VPN client in the works for Mac OS X. November 26, 2001 -- Gracion Software is working on DigiTunnel, a virtual private network (VPN) client for Mac OS X. (Last July, we reported that Gracion was interested in hearing from readers if such a product was needed.) Gracion says that DigiTunnel will support the PPTP protocol to enable Macs to use the VPN server running on Windows 2000 servers. IPsec will not be supported in version 1.0. DigiTunnel will support the MS-CHAP v2 and MPPE authentication protocols. Gracion says that DigiTunnel will support Classic applications as well as Mac OS X native application. Gracion has not announced a ship date, but has said that there will be a public beta. (Thanks to Stephen Dampier for the tip.)

TunnelBuilder VPN client won't be ported to Mac OS X. November 26, 2001 -- An Efficient Networks web page says that the company will not port the TunnelBuilder virtual private network Mac client to Mac OS X. TunnelBuilder was one of the first VPN clients for Mac, supporting Microsoft's PPTP protocol.(Thanks to Bryan Diegnan.)

Using the Apple Pro Keyboard with Windows. November 26, 2001 -- A reader named John reports:

The Apple Pro Keyboard works great with Win2K (no driver needed). I'm using MS IntelliMouse and Apple Pro Keyboard on both Mac and IBM (they are connect to a USB hub).

A discussion forum at Computing.net describes several other people using the Apple Pro Keyboard with various versions of Windows.

Mac Unace disappears from the net. November 26, 2001 -- Rob Bester noticed that a link on our our Compression Solutions page to Mac UnAce no longer worked. Mac UnAce is (or was) a free Macintosh utility for decompressing .ACE archives from PCs. Several searches of the Internet on our part did not turn up a new location for Mac UnAce. If you know where Mac UnAce can be located, please let us know.

WEP Key Maker -- Airport/WiFi Solution. November 26, 2001 -- Developer Mark Chally has created a free utility, WEP Key Maker, a Mac utility that generates a hexadecimal WEP key from a pass phrase for use with Airport cards and third-party IEEE 802.11b wireless access points and routers.(See also screen shot.) Chally describes it:

WEP Key Maker generates a hexadecimal WEP key from a pass phrase. IEEE 802.11b (aka Airport, Wi-Fi) uses a 104- or 40-bit (aka 128- and 64-bit) key to encode packets with WEP encryption. Third party devices typically use a hexadecimal key, which WEP Key Maker helps create. Generating such a key from a pass phrase makes it easy to create and reproduce a key without writing it down. The key can be copied from WEP Key Maker's dialog and pasted directly into Airport dialogs and third-party software. WEP Key Maker also creates keys of other lengths.

NetWare and OS X--client in the works. November 26, 2001 -- A source who wishes to remain anonymous passes this on about Mac OS X access to NetWare networks:

Prosoft has been hired to create an OS X client and their original time frame was IP client by end of Q4 2001 and IPX by end of Q1 2002. Unfortunately due to some problems they ran into, the time tables have been shifted back at least one quarter.

Also, If you are running Novell 5.1x or higher, it is possible to authenticate using Windows authentication (SMB). 5.1x you need a patch and 6.x is native.

As for 5.13 client not working in classic, it won't work because Classic can not touch the physical layer (network card).

Update on Win 2000/delete TrendMicro ServerProtect file deletion problem (5006 error). November 26, 2001 -- Joerg Erdei send an update to his report on the Windows 2000 Server conflict with TrendMicro's ServerProtect:

I just have upgraded a Win 2000 SP1 server that has no problems to SP2 only (that is: w/o any additional updates). The -5006 problem immediately appeared on that one when realtime scanning of TrendMicro ServerProtect (v5.31) is enabled, so I can excluded any security updates, IE 6.0, etc as part of the problem.

As to Ken Truestale reporting the problem being fixed with v5.63, I cannot comment on this for according to Trend ServerProtect Management Console, v5.31 is the most recent one. Also TrendMicro web and ftp site do not know of anything more current.

Microsoft UAM for OS X may be in the works. November 26, 2001 -- Brian Little reports that Microsoft is working on a Mac OS X version of a user authentication module for accessing Windows servers:

I emailed a while ago asking if you'd heard anything on the MS UAM (or equivalent) for OS X. Well, I finally persuaded one of our network geeks to call their MS inside sales folks. As usual MS was a little vague about exactly WHAT the solution would be, but they did say it would release with .NET, which they cited as "in 1Q 2002."

Microsoft releases Hotmail fix for Entourage 2001. November 21, 2001 -- Microsoft has posted a fix for Entourage 2001 to enable it to access Hotmail. The Entourage 2001 Hotmail Updater fixes a problem caused by a change in the Hotmail authentication method, a story we first reported on November 5. The problem also affected Outlook Express -- Microsoft released Outlook Express 5.0.3 to fix that problem. Entourage X still has the problem, but Microsoft says it is working on a patch for it as well.

Mac OS X Server 10.1.1 update improves SMB printer sharing, WINS registration. November 21, 2001 -- Apple has posted a Mac OS X Server v10.1.1 update, which improves services for Windows clients, among other improvements. From the Apple readme file:

This update delivers improved improved reliability and performance of Apple file services, Apache web and Mail services under heavy load. Enhancements have also been made to improve server administration, SMB printer sharing, WINS registration and system clock accuracy.

Office Mac OS X ships; FileMaker copromotes. November 21, 2001 -- Microsoft shipped Office X for Mac OS X (US $500; US $299 upgrade; $149 upgrade until Dec 31). Overall, it's a welcome effort. (See also the CNET review). From a cross-platform perspective, not much has changed from Office 2001. Excel X now can open FileMaker files and Word lets you open AppleWorks 6 files. We would have liked to have seen the ability to open Microsoft Access in Excel, however. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files are still compatible with the Windows versions.

FileMaker, Inc., is doing a copromotion with Microsoft, offering US $100 ($150 CDN) off the price of FileMaker Pro 5.5 for Mac OS X for people who purchase Office v. X (full version or upgrade).

Problems with SMB support in Mac OS X 10.1. November 21, 2001 -- Peter Thompson reports of these problems with Mac OS X 10.1's SMB client:

SMB connection is a welcome additional to Mac OS X but it does have problems (even in 10.1.1). The main one being it's loose connection between the real file and it's hidden file providing Mac OS specific info. For example, I created a ZIP file with DropZip, before DropZip had finished, I renamed the file. The Mac OS correctly reported that the file was still in use and the file name wouldn't change. However the hidden file had been renamed! So after DropZip finished, I tried to rename the file again, to which the OS replied that "a file with that name already existed." Now I have the invisible file with the new name and the actual file with the old name. Since Mac OS X will not show me the invisible file, I had to delete/rename the invisible on a Windows box so that Mac OS X could get back in sync.

On a separate occasion, the OS pulled me out of a file rename in such a way that the file was rendered useless. Even Windows NT utilities could not access the file, though it was listed on disk. It seems like the SMB implementation could have done with some more testing before release.

If you've seen these problems, please let us know.

Response to AppleTalk printers/Win 2000 cluster issue. November 21, 2001 -- Dan Schwartz (of the Mac-NT Mailing List) responded to our reader report of a problem with AppleTalk printers and Windows 2000 Clusters with some advice:

In reference to Irina Ruvinskaya's "AppleTalk Printing Devices monitor with Win 2000 Cluster" problem, there are three salient points:

1) Print spoolers use almost no CPU resources to begin with. In fact NT4 running on a Pentium 200 can easily spool 60 to 80 PostScript® printers; so I would be leery of trying to add the complexity and headaches of clustering. On the other hand, two separate NT spoolers can target to the same printer, simply requiring a change in the Chooser if one NT box goes offline;

2) Since CPU resources are so small, you can also use NT4/Workstation or Win2K/Pro as an AppleTalk spooler, stashing it on the receptionist's PC. Although the Pro/Workstation flavors of NT lack "Services for Macintosh" they *do* have AppleTalk as an option;

3) Unlike IP, AppleTalk (and NetBEUI, for that matter) does not like to share addressing. Clustering is "sort of" the reverse of NIC "teaming" where multiple NIC's on a single server are combined to increase throughput into a switch. Several months ago, I wrote a "recipe" where two or more i80559 NICs are "teamed" with only IP bound to them; while another NIC - A different brand using a different driver - has only AppleTalk (& NetBEUI, if applicable) bound to it. Intel had a tech note about teaming vs NetBEUI; and AppleTalk behaves essentially the same way.

In short, if you see NT/2000, exotic NIC setups, and NetBEUI, you can pretty much assume the same applies to AppleTalk.

However, don't throw the baby out with the bath water: AppleTalk's Printer Access Protocol (PAP), which spans OSI layers 4 (transport) & 5 (session), was designed from the ground up for network printing. The alternatives are a limited length parallel cable, the unidirectional LPR, and the flaky JetDirect.

XPod Software will let Windows use iPod. November 19, 2001 -- Mediafour Corporation is developing XPod, Windows software that will enable owners of PCs to use the new Apple iPod portable MP3 (and AIFF and WAV) music player. As is the case with Apple's software, the new XPod software will enable Windows owners to use the iPod as both a hard drive and portable music device. Mediafour describes the software:

XPod makes the Apple iPod appear to Windows users as a typical removable disk for the sharing of data files. It also provides a simple Explorer-based interface and plug-in Windows Media Player functionality for the transfer of music. The iPod will appear as a removable disk under both Windows and Mac OS, making it a powerful tool for the cross-platform sharing of files of any type, including music.

XPod requires Windows Me/2000/XP and a FireWire (IEEE-1394) port for the iPod. Mediafour did not provide a release date or estimated cost, but did say that a public beta would be released soon.

New TrendMicro Server Protect build fixes the 5006 error. November 19, 2001 -- Ken Truesdale says that TrendMicro has a fix for the 5006 error with empting Windows 2000 trash:

I too was experiencing the 5,006 error when trying to delete files from our Win2K server. We also have TrendMicro Server Protect installed. I contacted Trend Micro and after working the problem for a bit, they provided a new scan engine (version 5.63). Initial tests show that this has fixed the problem.

Meanwhile, Joerg Erdei confirms that the Trend Micro ServerProtect is the cause of not only this problem but of two other errors posted at MacWindows in recent months:

I can confirm that Trend Micro ServerProtect is the culprit. It is the cause of error -5006 (and -1805) as well as of the problem I posted back in October ('Apple Menu Options problem--and workarounds--with Win Server SP2. October 2, 2001').

Erdei also sent us a table of test results on the problem as it varies with the version of Mac OS and other variables. You can read his full report on our Windows 2000 special report page.

Anyone need NTFS for Mac? November 19, 2001 -- Thomas Tempelmann, developer of the Joliet Volume Access, would like to know if anyone would use software that would Macs access to NTFS-formatted FireWire disks (not network volumes). He is considering creating this software. If you would be interested, you can email Tempelmann. He asks that you let him know how much you'd pay for such a product, and whether you'd need it for Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X.

TunnelBuilder VPN client does not work with Mac OS X--no native version in sight. November 19, 2001 -- Nadine Bailey reports that the TunnelBuilder virtual private network client for Mac does not work with Mac OS X Classic:

Just thought I would let you know that TunnelBuilder does not work with OS X not even through the Classic environment. I did try to contact Efficient Networks and ask if there was going to be anything developed to use with OS X and got a "I don't know" response. Too bad since it is a good product.

Update AFP issues with Mac OS X 10.1.1 November 19, 2001 -- Rick Zeman responded to our November 9 report of NT server files that would not delete:

This also happens with X connecting to a Netware 5.1 SP3 server running the AFPTCP.NLM. I suspect that this fix (Mac OS X 10.1.1) may cure it:

* Fixed problem with AFP attributes corrupting 1024 byte zones.

On another note, there is an acknowledged problem with X and network-based Trashcans not working (all files must be deleted immediately). No mention of any fix for that in the notes unless it's covered by one of the other AFP fixes.

Adrian Fry, who reported that QuarkXPress hangs when he accesses files on AFP servers notes that 10.1.1 and a disk repair fixes the problemL

[After installing 10.1.1] I have had time to play around with Quark a bit, and it seems that bug HAS been squashed - I had some hard drive errors to fix with fsck-y!

Outlook 2001 in OS X Classic. November 19, 2001 -- Daniel Foshee reports some more errors with Outlook 2001 when run in Classic mode in Mac OS X:

It works well enough in Classic mode, though I get the Time Zone change window every time I switch Startup disks (from OS X to OS 9.2.1), and now I'm getting an 'exchange server is unavailable' error message, with a retry or cancel button; hitting the retry button fires up Exchange as if the error message had never shown up.

(For more on Macs and VPN, see our VPN special report page.)

AppleTalk Printing Devices monitor with Win 2000 Cluster. November 19, 2001 -- Irina Ruvinskaya asks this question about a Windows 2000 Cluster and AppleTalk printers: "Has anybody found a way to modify the registry to allow creation of AppleTalk printers on the virtual node?" Ruvinskaya sent us a detailed report on registry edits and what was attempted. You can read this report on our Microsoft Cluster Server special report.

Cross-platform flat panel display. November 19, 2001 -- Tim Brown reports on a flat panel display that works with Macs and PCs:

The Sony 15" Flat Panel LCD (Model SDM-N50) can be used with both Macs and Windows machines, it even has a built in switch and comes with a Mac adapter. The monitor actually has two SVGA inputs on it and a little button that lets you switch from input one to input two. And seeing as it comes with a mac adapter it would be perfect for anyone looking for a PC/Mac compatible monitor.

Fixes for Word 2001 file corruption on Win servers. November 15, 2001 -- From the Netherlands, Bas ter Beek writes with a pair of suggestions to prevent Word 2001 file corruption on Windows NT and 2000 Servers:

The mystery "Word 2001 file corruption on NT4 volumes" located on your NT Unsolved Mysteries page might be due to read-only permissions on the directory. If the directory is set to read-only, that would cause the problem described, as Word won't be able to create the temporary files that it needs for every file.

After upgrading to Office 2001 we were receiving problems when Multiple "limited" users 9.2.1 saving directly on NT4 and Win2K file servers. During save the following error message appeared: "Word cannot complete the save due to a file permission error". Resulting in corrupted Word Work files on the server. Some other applications received errors while saving on our NT servers.

Solution 1: When turning of Multiple User or when using the owner account we received no errors.

Solution 2: After Turning off realtime "antivirus" scanning on our NT4 and Win2K file servers the problem went completely away.

We use OfficeScan form TrendMicro. After this saving was much faster, Open dialogs were faster and file corruption errors where gone.

Found similar solutions on Microsoft's website regarding NAVirus realtime scan resolving in the same error for Windows clients.

Update on Outlook 2001 mime encoding problem. November 15, 2001 -- Matthew Wallis sent an update to his July 6 report abou