Re: Just venting (totally OT)

real-address-in-sig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Rowland McDonnell) wrote in
news:1ibfvgk.1xldkai1qg2zm8N%real-address-in-sig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:

Mandy <mandy2uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

real-address-in-sig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Rowland McDonnell) wrote in
news:1ibeclg.1j7gom7k1mnb9N%real-address-in-sig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:

Mandy <mandy2uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

real-address-in-sig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Rowland McDonnell) wrote:

Mandy <mandy2uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

real-address-in-sig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Rowland McDonnell) wrote:

Mandy <mandy2uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

fergus <ferguscapewrath@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Mandy <mandy2uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

fergus <ferguscapewrath@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
[snip]
[snip]

Okay, I'll simplify it.

When you're typing on a computer and you hit `return', the
computer
makes a mark in the file to say `this is where they hit return'.


Okey dokes...

All sane computers use a single special invisible character for
that job. MS-DOS and MS-Windows use two special invisible
characters (mostly). I've never been able to find out why.


Right...

And Chris's problem happens because of this `putting two special
invisible characters in when only one is needed'.


Okey dokes

The special invisible characters are standard and make sense, and
the bit that confused you was me trying to explain all about them
in detail as well as the basic `what's going on', I suspect.

(CR, ASCII 13; and LF, ASCII 10. So there. ;-) )


That's where it doesn't compute any more :o)

What, the bit where I said CR, ASCII 13; and LF, ASCII 10?


Yep!

That's easy to explain. Letters - in fact, everything - stored in
computer files are held as numbers. For example, a number 65 means
`A', 66 means `B', and so on. 32 is space. All the numbers less
than
32 are special characters that don't print but were meant to have
special meanings. Number 8 is `BEL', for example - if you try and
print that, it rings the bell on the teleprinter. Oh, you don't
have
a teleprinter? Right - well, all this stuff is *ancient*. It goes
back to the 1960s but it's still with us.

Blimey!

Argharghargh <cringe> Why did I say ASCII 8 is BEL? It's not: ASCII 7
is BEL.

btw, you can get a lot of 1970s and early 80s home computers to
generate
these special `non-printing' ASCII characters using the ctrl key -
ctrl-a gives an ASCII 1, ctrl-B gives ASCII 2, so if you type `ctrl-g'
(G being 7th in the alphabet) on a lot of early home computers, it'll
go
`bong' back.


You're starting to loose me now... sorry!

Anyway, the character represented by the number 13 is `carriage
return'. The character represented by the number 10 is `line feed'.
And the name of the encoding scheme that defines `13 = carriage
return' and `10 = line feed' is ASCII.

Gotchya now!

ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange.
It's old, and it's not used precisely as it used to be, but if I
tried
to explain you would get horribly confused, I'm sure.

*nodding*

[snip]

What's needed is to persuade the Windoze software to save the
file in a portable way, or throw it at an end of line
converter
on the Mac. There's probably a built-in command line converter
somewhere, and there's definitely software built in to let you
write a suitable converter very easily (really! - and they're
the sort of thing that your Steve could pick up and use in
about
half an hour, assuming that he's not already learnt how to use
them which he might have), but that's not what I'd look for
first.

You're giving me more and more to tempt Steve with! lol

Perl, bash, and any number of other standard Unix goodies are all
built in. ;-)

Cool! Maybe I'll look for a laptop with a bigger hard drive then
'cos I can see Steve gobbling it all up in a nanosecond! lol

External storage might be a thing to think about. Could work out
cheaper, more useful, and more reliable.

Where do I look for one that is Mac compatible though?

Macs work with the same peripherals as Windoze machines these days.
You
don't generally have to worry too much about that.

Back in the old days, IBM-type PCs had very slow interfaces which
weren't good enough for Macs, so Mac peripherals were all different.


Ah right!

Put it like this: the original IBM PC could have a serial port added to
it as a special optional extra. The serial port was the `already
obsolete in 1981 when they were launched' RS232C standard, and it could
run at up to 19,200 bit/s.


Now you're loosing me... sorry!

All early Macs had two serial ports as an non-optional standard
fitment,
using the backwards compatible standard designed to replace RS232C, and
they could run at up to 230,400 bit/s (or 920,000 bit/s with a bit of
help) - call that 12-48 times faster than the IBM PC serial port. Not
only that, but you could use the Mac serial ports for local networking
-
standard, built in, not optional. I've used Mac serial ports that way
-
making a home network with a handful of Macs and a printer all talking
to each other and very, very, very easy to set up, it was.


That's just gone flying over my head! Sorry!

Since then, the interfaces used on Windoze boxes have been replaced
with
much better ones that work faster. They're still not as fast as the
interfaces that Apple would rather use, but they'll do. So Macs don't
have the old serial ports any more: they've got USB2 and many have
Firewire.

(Firewire was originally designed by Apple for Macs: the only
Apple-designed interface Macs have ever used, btw. It is now an
official industry standard with its own industry standard number: IEEE
1394. All other interfaces Macs have ever had have been industry
standard ones that Apple didn't design, but always the new improved
industry standards that the MS-DOS/Windoze world decided it didn't want
to use because people like to stick with what they know rather than get
the new improved stuff - bah!).


Like me you mean?

So the only things you need to check for are:

1) Is it the right interface? - USB2 works on all current Macs;
Firewire
works on a lot of them.


So where should I be looking for this information?

FireWire One FireWire 400 port (8 watts)
USB Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)

Is what it says for the laptop I mentioned earlier... which line should I
be looking at?

2) If you need special software, like for a scanner, can you get it for
a Mac? - not usually an issue with disc drives, but you'll most likely
want to re-format any disc drive you do get using the utility software
that Apple supplies with the Mac OS.


Okey dokes

3) Has anyone reported any specific problems using this gadget on a
Mac?
- do a Web search and ask on uk.comp.sys.mac, 'cos some strangeness are
sometimes reported.


*nodding*

Basically, any USB external hard disc drive - pretty much - will work
with any Mac made in the last diddly-ump years. If you get a Mac with
a
Firewire interface, that'd be significantly faster - but Firewire
external hard disc drives are less common. Still, they're faster and
people report fewer problems with Firewire than USB generally. btw,
Firewire is an Apple trademark - the interface is available for
non-Apple computers, but in that case it's called:

IEEE 1394 (generally)
i.Link (Sony)
DV (Panasonic)


Now it's going over my head... sorry!

Firewire is popular for professional video work, btw. Speed! They
like
the speed! (oh yeah, and there's Firewire (normal) and Firewire 800,
which is twice as fast. Even normal Firewire leaves USB2 in the dust,
speed-wise despite the fact that on paper, it's got an allegedly lower
speed: 400 MBit/s against 480Mbit/s. The thing is that Firewire can
actually run at full speed all the time, whereas USB2 can't - not
anywhere near).


Right...

But every now and then, a firm comes out with a really odd disc drive
that some people finds doesn't work right with a Mac. Someone reported
a problem like that recently on uk.comp.sys.mac.


Right...

And here's the saga - please excuse his slightly dodgy English; he's
called Joerg and I'm fairly sure he's German:


Okey dokes!

=================================================================
A WD My Book Pro EditionII connected via fire wire to a G4 Mac mini
serving for File sharing under Leopard for two Intel Mac minis Clients
caused my headache. Only the very first time I could connect from the
Intel Mac to the My Book attached to the G4 Mac. Then never ever ...
since I read Peggy Lynn's Posting here!

Believe it or not! Renaming the "My Book" simply to "MyBook" without
blank solved the Issue.

Just for shure I detached the WD device, disabled File Sharing,
rebooted
every Mac, connected the WD device again and enabled File Sharing in
Preference Pane again. After that I could connect to the MyBook from
both clients! Even still after rebooting all three Mac's. See what
happens tomorrow!
=================================================================

That's the sort of thing you need to check for - it's where Google and
uk.comp.sys.mac come in very handy.


That's too technical for me to understand! Sorry!

Rowland.


--
Stay Safe, Mandy
Money talks, chocolate sings
http://tinyurl.com/2s8nu6 and http://tinyurl.com/2khdnm
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.

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