1993Q3

Serving the AlliedSignal Aerospace Company Macintosh community

Third Quarter, 1993

Premiere Electronic Issue

Welcome to the first electronic issue of the ASACMUG Newsletter! ASACMUG has been in existence since 1988 and our newsletters have been printed and distributed in the traditional manner. With the worldwide expansion of the AlliedSignal's electronic network, we hope to reach more Macintosh users out there, from Morristown to Tokyo, and bring membership benefits to all AlliedSignal Macintosh users.

With electronic distribution, we hope to increase the frequency of this newsletter from quaterly to twice-monthly. Feel free to print out this newsletter and make as many copies as you need. We also welcome articles and tips which relate to the Macintosh and its uses in AlliedSignal.

Please bear with us for the next few issues. We are trying to find the best way to distribute this newsletter to all our members. We will try to bring issues of relevance to all our members, and feedback is greatly appreciated at any time. Questions, comments, and articles can be sent to ASACMUG (Microsoft Mail) or by mail to Mike Quan, ASACMUG, AlliedSignal ASE, Torrance, CA, 90509.

Table of Contents

Floppy Safety
Star Trek - The Screen Saver
ASACMUG BBS
Engineering email
IBM mainframe access

Are Our Floppies Safe for Your Data?

The use of IBM pre-formated floppies in Macintoshes is believed to be responsible for many instances of corrupted data in ASE Engineering. The symptoms are that the disk seems to reformat properly and work satisfactorily but will suddenly become unusable. In most cases, the data has been recovered using Norton but in a least one instance, the data was lost.

It is believed that the problem is that the Macintosh SuperDrive is not able to completely eliminate the heavy pre-formatting and that the traces that remain corrupts data written on top of them. The best advice is to avoid pre-formatted IBM floppies wherever possible. Where this is not possible, try reformatting the disk at least three or four times before using. Multiple reformatting is not a necessarily a cure but it cannot hurt. In ASE Engineering, either unformatted or Mac formatted floppies are being ordered in addition to the IBM formatted disks. Be sure to ask for the right preformatted disks for your machine. (For those in ASE Engineering, the Mac-formatted disks are availabe from Pie Reed or Bob Jamarillo in the Convex mainframe room, Bldg. 36, Level 0)

Star Trek: The Screen Saver
Adam Engst (from TidBITS)

This set of After Dark modules from Berkeley Systems should be an instant hit with Star Trek fans, what with modules like one that displays detailed technical information from "Scotty's Files," a Starfleet Final Exam that you can actually take, a Planetary Atlas manual, displays of various ships panels, a display of the tunnelling Horta, a screenful of tribbles, and Spock walking around messing with things. In this respect, there's little wrong with the $40 package.

To play the devil's advocate, I can't recommend Star Trek: The Screen Saver to anyone who isn't a serious Star Trek fan. Sure, the graphics are the correct licensed versions, as are the sounds, but too much of the package feels like a grade B remake of "Captain Kirk Meets The Flying Toasters." In some ways, the fact the hokey graphics aren't a problem; much of the original show's sets were equally as crude. However, I think the displays suffer from translation into another medium - like cartoons of TV shows or stuffed animals based on comic-strip characters, they always feel slightly wrong.

Overall, then, Star Trek: The Screen Saver is a must for the serious Star Trek fan, but not necessarily appropriate for your average After Dark module collector. Note that unlike the More After Dark module package, After Dark itself (and the MultiModule and Randomizer modules) comes with Star Trek: The Screen Saver. This is convenient and also convinces me that Berkeley correctly identified their audience. Berkeley Systems -- 75300.1376@compuserve.com

ASACMUG BBS Grand Opening

A common activity of Macintosh user's groups is the maintenance of an electronic bulletin board system (BBS). The BBS is a focal point for exchanging information between between users. Here, files and messages are stored for members to download (transfer from the BBS to their own computer) and upload (transfer to the BBS from the members). The files may consists of system software, public domain/shareware software, informational articles, databases, graphics, and even forms or templates.

Traditional BBS's are accessed through telephone lines by way of modems and dedicated telephone lines, BBS software, a dedicated computer, and storage space as a minimum. Callers also require a modem and appropriate telecommunications software. An important issue is long distance costs if the BBS and caller are at distant locations. This did not seem feasible for ASACMUG, particularly if ASACMUG wanted a graphical users interface (GUI); going back to a command line interface seemed almost anti-Mac.

After great consideration, a network BBS using Apple System 7 file sharing seemed the near perfect solution. The GUI software was part of every Mac and using the AlliedSignal network eliminated the need for discrete modems. As a bonus, the transfer speed is much higher than even the fastest modems. Unfortunately, only hub sites can access the BBS but this is much better than serving only members who are local and have access to a modem. I believe the hub locations include Torrance, Arlington, Dallas, Morristown, Paris, and Tokyo. If there are other sites that can see our BBS, let me know.

To access the BBS do the following:

Select Chooser from under the Apple Menu.
If you do not see AppleTalk Zones, you cannot access the BBS so stop here.
Select AppleShare and the zone marked "TOR-ASA-ENG-ETHERTALK".
Select the file server called "Engineering KeyServer" and click "OK"
Sign-on as a guest and double click on "ASACMUG BBS". Do not check the box to the right of ASACMUG BBS or you will be automatically logged on to the BBS every time you restart.
You should now have the volume "ASACMUG BBS" on your desktop near you hard disk icon. Open it and you'll be on the BBS. The BBS volume operates like any other Mac hard disk, you copy files by dragging them to your own hard disk.
To disconnect from the BBS, drag the "ASACMUG BBS" icon to the trash.

Once your open the BBS volume you will see areas including our software library which includes some Apple system software (up to 7.0.1) and authorized extensions and additions. There is also a collection of PD/Shareware software and other useful items. An important folder is our IN basket where you can submit items for posting to the BBS. You can also submit questions and the user group "experts" will try to help you out. We'll also have an area where you can see the questions asked as well as responses. If you can contribute to the question or answer, drop a message into the MUG in basket and so we can add it the Q&A section.

One last items regarding the BBS and the information from the user's group in general. We will assume that everyone has access to Microsoft Office software so files may be in either Word, Excel, or Powerpoint format. Files may also be self-contained which will require no other software. For fonts, please try to have both Times and Helvetica in your system. If you need either of these fonts, they are available from the BBS in the fonts folder.

Finally, what about members who cannot directly access the BBS over the network. We're going to try to occasionally send a catalog of the BBS through the mail to members. They may then order items that they need through the mail.

E-mail Comes to ASE Engineering

For several months now, the Macs in engineering have had E-mail using their own mail server located on the zero level of Bldg 36. The Macs will not only be able to send messages and files within engineering but will also be able to communicate with other Macs and other E-mail system within AlliedSignal worldwide. Since the Mac is the predominant platform for Marketing/Field Sales, direct communication with AS offices in places such Europe, Asia, Australia, and all over the United States via the wide area network (WAN) is not uncommon. The WAN also includes gateways to PROFS, most of the E-mail systems within AlliedSignal, Internet Mail, and even a FAX service.

The E-mail system is a valuable resource for ASE engineering in general and Mac users in particular. Kevin Elwell, ASAC Field Sales, stated that E-mail has been an invaluable tool for field sales and will be even more valuable with the addition of ASE engineering access. Elwell expects that better communications with engineering will result in better response times and thus better customer satisfaction.

At the present time almost all of the Macs in Engineering have the client software installed with the remainder expected to be completed soon. A training session on the E-mail system was conducted last month by Earick Ward of ASAC. Engineering personnel can request access from Kelly Berger of ASE Engineering. Email access for those using PCs is scheduled for completion by April 1994.

The E-mail system has already demonstrated its value on the Hermes program which is a joint effort between ASE and AlliedSignal Germany. Rapid document transfers between the two locations were being accomplished by a long distance telephone link using modems for file transfer at both ends. Due to the time difference, the transfers required extended workdays at both ends to provide a time overlap since both Macs had to be operated concurrently. The transfers required 20-40 minutes of time due to inconsistent levels of line quality and 2400 bps modems. The last exchange was accomplished by attaching the files to an Email message transmitted from the Frankfurt sales office directly to the ASE Engineering mail serve. This required just a few minutes during the California early morning hours where it was available at the start of the business day.

IBM Mainframe access via Ethernet

The Financial Shared Services (FSS) IBM mainframe in Tempe, Arizona is now accessible via the corporate network. The mainframe allows access to many programs from around the company, one of which is electronic expense reporting. All of us were (hopefully) trained a few months ago but had limited opportunity for a hands-on tutorial. Using the FSS program reduces paperwork and gets you that check sooner!

Currently, only Macs directly connected to the corporate TCP/IP network can use this service. Access for LocalTalk Macs is currently not available; we hope to have this capability by the beginning of next year.

To run the program, a 3270 terminal emulator is required. A good 3270 emulator is available on the ASACMUG BBS, courtesy of NCSA. To obtain the software, logon to the ASACMUG BBS as Guest and copy the tn3270 [[florin]] folder to your hard disk.

Open the folder and double-click on the tn3270 application. You may have to type cmd-O to open a connection. In the Host Name: text field, type the IBM's IP address (137.19.80.9). Press return and you should be immediately connected to the IBM mainframe. All 3270 functions are available from the keyboard or menu bar.

ASACMUG newsletter is an independent publication not affiliated or otherwise associated with or sponsored or sanctioned by Apple Computer Inc. The opinions, statements, positions and views stated herein are those of the authors or publisher and are not intended to be the opinions, positions or views of Apple Computer Inc.