Apple Expo 1996; File Management

This month MacOS evangelist Martin Russ reports back from the recent optimistic Apple Expo show, and dishes out some more tips on file management.

This year's Apple Expo was a stunning contrast to the doom and gloom of a year ago. With a re‑invigorated Apple and a host of exciting products, the show was noisy, frenetic and crowded. In fact, it was so busy that I never actually managed to bump into one of the people that I had arranged to meet there! Sorry, Paul.

On the music front, Lars from MCMXCIX was busy demonstrating Opcode and Coda music software, and a number of new releases from Opcode caught my eye: Studio Vision 3.5; MusicShop 2.0; Overture 2.0 and Max 3.5 (more on these when I have a chance to look at them in detail). Lars also gave me a sneak preview of the new Studio 64X MIDI interface. The leap in numbering from the Studio 4 and 5 does not mean that this is a truly huge interface, but instead, the name of the device refers to the number of MIDI channels it offers: 64 from four input ports or six output ports. With MacOS and Windows cross‑platform compatibility, programmable patchbay and SMPTE synchronisation features, the Studio 64X might well bring Bill Gates lovers and haters together for once.

A few feet from Lars's corner, there was a large monitor around which a skilled and voluble demonstrator was extolling the virtues of music software packages. In marked contrast to just about every other stand, MCMXCIX were making a brave attempt to let people know that MacOS computers are an excellent choice of platform for making music. Full marks to them for not hiding all of the music stuff in a quiet backwater!

Clones

Each year, the Apple Expo has a fascinating tendency to theme itself. In previous years, large colour printers, CD‑ROMs and the Internet have been the predominant subject. I don't think this is planned: it just seems that technologies have a tendency to cluster. This year the unplanned theme was very obvious: clones. For a computer which has only been available from one company until very recently, the sudden appearance of half a dozen or more alternative sources is quite stunning. Although the big names like Power Computing, Motorola and UMAX (SuperMac) were all represented, there were also some smaller manufacturers announcing MacOS clones (see the 'Clone Ranger' box). I bought an excellent bargain‑priced 2Mb AV hard disk from one of these alternative clone‑assemblers — they hailed from an industrial unit in Leeds and had one of the smallest stands at the exhibition. I can't think of a bigger change from the 'no clones' attitude of only a couple of years ago. It can only help the MacOS platform when small enthusiastic companies are willing to put together 'Mac' clones.

If there was a sub‑theme to the show, then it had to be the sudden price wars for MacOS computers. Combined with ever‑higher clock speeds, the combination of computing power and low prices should encourage more people to buy MacOS computers. Don't forget that a PowerPC chip running at 180MHz can do more processing work than a Pentium Pro chip running at 200MHz!

Some people might argue that the really predominant feature of the Apple Expo were the low‑cost colour printers. For the sort of price that buys a cheap black and white printer, you can now get a cheap colour printer that also prints in black and white. But I'm still waiting for the flashing ink so that I can print out some World Wide Web pages!

Pippin

One of the most significant events for me at the Apple Expo was seeing a Pippin (first mentioned way back in March 1995's Apple Notes): an Apple person even held one up in a presentation to show to the crowd. Pippin seems to have evolved from being a superior games console, as was originally envisaged, into a mix of audio CD player, multimedia station and Internet console — a home computer without the complexity or the high price. Whereas all previous Apple products have had an Apple symbol on them, the Pippin's technology is licensed to other manufacturers. Cynics might well say that Apple should have done this with the Mac years ago...

Finally, amidst all the clones and licensed technology, there was the BeBox: a computer based on the PowerPC chip (several at once, which is something which Apple is rumoured to be introducing next year) but which doesn't use MacOS. But what is interesting about the BeBox is the operating system that it does run — it's a true pre‑emptive multitasking, multithreaded software system with protected memory, true virtual memory, shared application libraries and modular code architecture. Now if this was a Mac, then all that technospeak would describe System 8, aka Copland. Some people are predicting that with all the difficulties that Copland's gestation seems to be causing, a complete change to a new, legacy‑free system may be a distinct possibility.

How It Works: Pointers

I was somewhat intrigued when someone recently attempted to sell me a piece of software which I already had — an Alias! Actually, the piece of software in question was quite a neat idea: it kept track of where all your files were so that you could find them at a later date. If you keep everything on a hard disk, the Find option in the Finder's File menu will do this, but if you have any files stored on removable media like floppy disks, removable hard disks or optical disks, you need something a little more sophisticated. Which is where this little database comes in — it stores the locations of all the files you've used so that when you need a specific file, it can tell you that it is on the floppy disk marked 'Temporary Junk August 1994', for example.

But it is possible to use Aliases to provide much the same sort of functionality — at the price of a little bit more effort. All you do is create a folder called 'Pointers' on your fixed hard disk (the one you boot up from) and then place Aliases to all your essential files in it. You can now use the Find option to search the 'Pointers' folder for the Alias to the file you're looking for. Double‑clicking on the Alias when it comes up will produce an alert box asking you to insert the piece of removable storage media containing the file — which will then open. Provided, of course, that you don't call everything 'Untitled' — and you don't do that, do you...?

By the way, I haven't forgotten the ongoing 'Absolutely Essential' series, but this Alias tip seemed much more like a late Christmas present than details of which Extensions to disable.