MacGUI Downloads gone

[Crutch]

I think that is a new blog post (nice to see!) and his blogs have always had dates that are far into the past. I wonder if he pre-writes them when inspiration strikes then leaks them out slowly over time (if so, good strategy).

 

[MrFahrenheit]

The site does seem to go up and down like a yo yo. I wonder if its hosted on a home connection or something.

I believe the site is hosted on an Amazon cloud service.

 

[Snial]

I think that is a new blog post (nice to see!) and his blogs have always had dates that are far into the past. I wonder if he pre-writes them when inspiration strikes then leaks them out slowly over time (if so, good strategy).

DogCow makes a curious claim in that latest blog post:

I rank 128K RAM size as the third worst problem because the Segment Loader allowed for program overlays. Also a program could be designed to load only parts of the document or model into RAM at a time, like disk-based MacWrite did.

This is a new one on me. I always understood that the original MacWrite had to load in the entire document into RAM, which meant that on a 128kB Mac, there was only room for about 4 pages or so. Hence, all the chapters (or sections) in Douglas Adams' So Long And Thanks For All The Fish are super short!

 

[Crutch]

That’s true about the original version of MacWrite, but “disk-based” MacWrite came out shortly thereafter (1985? I recall it being a free upgrade that we received in the mail maybe?) and solved this problem. Dog Cow’s point was just that it was indeed solvable.

 

[Snial]

That’s true about the original version of MacWrite, but “disk-based” MacWrite came out shortly thereafter (1985? I recall it being a free upgrade that we received in the mail maybe?) and solved this problem. Dog Cow’s point was just that it was indeed solvable.

OK, I didn't know that "Disk-Based" MacWrite was a different thing to any other 1.x version of MacWrite. MacWrite was used pretty extensively by Computer Science students at the University Of East Anglia, UK (where I studied from '86-'89). We had 512kB Macs, which had plenty of space for all documents and essays (though most of my essays were written on my 128kB Sinclair QL), so it never occurred to me that MacWrite had changed how it managed documents.

What version did that come in with? I guess it would use a piece-wise data structure? Some kind of linked list for the blocks on disk used by the document with a cache of sectors in RAM, because otherwise you'd be continually shuffling blocks up and down on the disk?

 

[Crutch]

Yeah I just checked and there is surprisingly little specific info available online about disk-based MacWrite. It was an important upgrade at the time, and the floppy disks even included the phrase “Disk-Based” printed alongside the original MacWrite “Picasso” style graphic.

I think it may be the same thing as MacWrite 4.5 (which was indeed released in 1985), but am not certain.

Here’s a very brief write up on it: https://32by32.com/disk-based-macwrite/

And here’s where you can buy your very own copy! https://www.ebay.com/itm/3351028041...OlrchesSyG&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[LaPorta]

Hmm I’ll have to see if I have that.

 

[cheesestraws]

I did not know this! Was the file format actually different, or was it just cleverer in how it loaded the files?

 

[Crutch]

I think both.

 

[Iesca]

In my attempt to locate a version of MacWrite that was compatible with Mac•Spell•Right, an add-on spelling dictionary and thesaurus for MacWrite that I had acquired and uploaded to the Garden, I would learn about the "Disk Based" editions of MacWrite and what they entailed. But by 4.5, which was the only other version I could find besides versions 1 & 2, MacWrite already had a built-in spelling dictionary, and so something like Mac•Spell•Right was superfluous.

The documentation stated that it required at least version 3.3, but this was nowhere to be found. However, with the help of MacWrite enthusiast Eric Rasmussen, he pointed me to a download of MacWrite 3.4 on MacGUI, which, wouldn't you know it, actually already had Mac•Spell•Right installed on the disk!

So not only did we locate a compatible version of a disk-based MacWrite, I also got to try out Mac•Spell•Right immediately, without any extra effort!

 

[jkheiser]

We’re digressing quite nicely here, so I’d like to point out another thing about the Mac 512k Blog’s latest post: the guest comment about Infocom’s earliest Mac offerings. According to the Digital Antiquarian, Infocom opted to write their own window manager. These versions appear to be unpreserved. I asked 4am about them. He doesn’t remember seeing any during his recent preservation spree of early Mac software. Does anyone here remember playing them?

 

[Crutch]

@jkheiser I find that Digital Antiquarian comment to be … interesting. I would like to know about more it. I played Infocom games on the Mac in ‘84 and they (appeared to) run in ordinary windows, though I recall the windows couldn’t be moved/resized, had no close box and I’m not entirely sure DAs were supported. I suppose it’s possible that they were just drawing a “thing that looks like a window” on the screen then spewing text into it. One could look at a disassembly to find out. The version of Zork II from macintoshgarden is from 1984, I believe.

 

[jkheiser]

@Crutch Combing through 4am’s work and my own collection of Infocom games from this era, the earliest creation date I’ve found is from June 1984. A couple other 1984 titles are dated August and October. Their “Get Info” dialogs in the Finder say either “Mac ZIP” or “Macintosh ZIP” and they all use Toolbox-based menus and windows. They also have Desk Accessories.

I’m going to post something on the Macintosh Garden to see if one of these non-Toolbox-based Infocom games can be uncovered. If they did exist, they probably weren’t around long. I can imagine Steve Jobs putting Infocom’s senior leadership on blast for defying the Macintosh HIG.

 

[Crutch]

OK. I’ll check my collection too. (I have every Infocom IF game in a box, as well as the earlier folio editions of Witness, Deadline, Enchanter, Sorcerer — if anything I’m guessing these might hold these alleged non-Toolbox versions, of whose existence, for the record, I am very skeptical.)

 

[Crutch]

@Crutch Combing through 4am’s work and my own collection of Infocom games from this era, the earliest creation date I’ve found is from June 1984. A couple other 1984 titles are dated August and October. Their “Get Info” dialogs in the Finder say either “Mac ZIP” or “Macintosh ZIP” and they all use Toolbox-based menus and windows. They also have Desk Accessories.

I’m going to post something on the Macintosh Garden to see if one of these non-Toolbox-based Infocom games can be uncovered. If they did exist, they probably weren’t around long. I can imagine Steve Jobs putting Infocom’s senior leadership on blast for defying the Macintosh HIG.

I tested the floppies from my folio-edition Enchanter, Sorcerer, and Infidel (forgot I had that one). The first two disks have gone bad, but Infidel is just as you describe — created 1/1/1904, modified June 1984, and it runs in a normal draggable window and supports desk accessories.

Now I’m starting to wonder if any of the Infocom games really did come out when the Mac was released, or just months later in summer ‘84? Anyone got a really old copy of Zork I?

 

[jkheiser]

(I have every Infocom IF game in a box, as well as the earlier folio editions of Witness, Deadline, Enchanter, Sorcerer)

Those are the same four folio editions I have! What a coincidence.

My copy of Zork I is from 1985. The only notable thing about it is this bitchin’ StartupScreen. I don’t think Infocom did this for many other titles.

Now we’re really digressing! Apologies.