We welcome and encourage submissions for this section from colleagues who have information to share on the use of computers. If in the course of your work you discover something about any piece of hardware or software that would be of interest to others in the language profession, please send us a brief note. We will attempt to pass along as many suggestions or announcements as space allows.

For a number of years I have been researching hypertext and hypermedia. I have gathered a comprehensive bibliography on the subject with more than 370 titles, and it is growing fast. As every day more and more people are interested in the topic, I am willing to offer free copies of my hypertext bibliography as a service to the research community. These are not xeroxed copies of outdated material, but actual printouts of a bibliography updated on a weekly basis.

Interested parties may sent $1.25 to cover mailing expenses to:

Professor Servando González
Box 5029
Tulane University Station
New Orleans, LA 70118

People working with HyperCard on the Macintosh could send a blank 3.5'' diskette for a free copy of the stack with the bibliography. Below is a sample card from the stack showing the entry for Danny Goodman's book on using HyperCard.

As shown in the above example, the stack comes with buttons that perform the following functions (from top to bottom): rapid browsing through all the cards, automatic sorting in alphabetical order, returning to the «Home Card», printing the bibliography, and searching for a particular word, phrase, name, title, date, etc. Users could easily add their own entries to the bibliography by using the «New Card» option of Hypercard.

I trust that those who are researching hypermedia will find the information useful.

Servando González
Tulane University

Macintosh users who work with foreign languages should take a close look at Claris Corporation's new word processor, MacWrite II. Although the name suggests that the software is a mere upgrade from the original and venerable MacWrite, in reality it is a totally different program that has been revised from the ground up.

Several of its new features rival those offered by the more expensive programs like Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, or FullWrite Professional, and at a much lower price: $249 retail, $185 from mail order, and a mere $63.50 through schools with educational discounts. Similar to its most direct competitor, WriteNow, the software boasts such capabilities as multiple columns, headers, and footers, single-ruler formatting, automatic footnotes, mail merge, several documents open concurrently, precision control of line spacing and font sizes, a 100,000-word spelling checker, and a true WYSIWYG («what-you-see-is-what-you-get») display. Yet MacWrite II goes even further by offering automatic hyphenation, color support, automatic endnotes, the ability to import, crop, and scale either MacPaint or PICT graphics, a font menu which shows the actual fonts, a fully editable reduced view, on-line help, a 200,000-word thesaurus, and a powerful «search-and-replace» function which can designate attributes like fonts, styles, sizes, wild cards and control characters. Moreover, it can import and export documents in the formats used by earlier versions of MacWrite, WriteNow, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Works, and MS-DOS, plus standard

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ASCII text. It even has frills like automatic «curly» quotes, the ability to add custom font, color, size, and style options to the pull-down menu, and a «stationary» format to generate templates of your most frequently used layouts.

The most attractive feature, however, is that one can order MacWrite II with additional spelling checkers for Spanish, French, and German. The dictionaries cost $53.65 each, and will also work with Claris's sister programs, MacDraw II and MacProject II. As an added bonus, they come with an alternate «international hyphenation file» which will correctly hyphenate text according to whichever language dictionary is currently active.

Installation of the dictionaries is a simple procedure. As is the case with the English version, you first copy them into your System Folder. You can then use the pull-down menu from within MacWrite II to select the dictionary for the language of any given document:

Users will find that MacWrite II checks spelling slower than WriteNow, especially on a Macintosh Plus, which uses the older Motorola 68000 microprocessor. Nevertheless, its performance is still more than adequate, and certainly faster than Microsoft Works, Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, or FullWrite Professional. The process becomes more complicated, however, if a document contains two or more languages. In such instances it is necessary to first check the spelling in the sections written in one language, and then change dictionaries to separately check the other sections. While not ideal, the solution is workable, and the best one currently available.

Since diacritics are, in reality, essential to foreign languages, one would hope that the spelling checker in MacWrite II would be able to distinguish accented from non-accented letters. Users will not be disappointed, as the following illustration shows:

Of course, as is the case with any spelling checker, the software cannot identify misspelled words which resemble legitimate entries in the dictionaries. For example, if you write the adjective solo where you should have used the adverb sólo, or the verb hable instead of hablé, the program will not appraise you of the error. Only you can check for the proper use of grammar.

As a final note, the spelling feature of MacWrite II offers two modes of operation: «interactive» and «batch». The first will check your spelling while you type, and either beep or flash the menu bar if it detects a questionable word. The other method will check the spelling of a selected word, line, paragraph, section, or even an entire document. At the same time it will count the number of words they contain, a useful feature for measuring the length of your documents.

For those of us who work with foreign languages on a daily basis, it is gratifying to see that software manufacturers are finally beginning to recognize our needs. It now seems plausible that others will follow the example of MacWrite II and design future products to serve multi-lingual users.

Mark D. Larsen
Utah State University

Some of you may have been wondering whether you might use your portable computer to access your electronic mail when you are traveling in Europe. On a recent trip, I made preliminary inquiries that may be of some help even though the information is fragmentary.

It appears that the U. S. modems will work with the telephone systems in France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany, where I verified

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the phone plug adapters that are necessary in order to accept our modular plugs. My work did not take me to Spain, but it would be highly unlikely that adapters would not be available there also.

If you plan to attempt telecommunications abroad it is advisable that you have a modem that is Hayes compatible. It will be necessary in Italy, for example, to change some of the settings we use in the registers in order to accommodate the difference in the nature of the dial tone, which sounds very much like our busy signal -to the human ear and to the modem set for use in the U. S. With the help of two Italian colleagues, Domenico Canino and Rolando Bianchi Bandinelli of the National Council of Research at the Computing Center in Pisa, I was able to disable the modem's rejection of the intermittent dial tone and make successful connections. The following are the commands to your modem that will solve the problem:

ATX3	disable the wait-for-dialtone and dial directly
ATS0 = 0	set to originate mode, if not already so set
AT&W	write these new settings to the modem's memory

When you return to the U. S. you will reset these registers by simply sending the command to «go back to factory standards»:

AT&F

Your modem will likely be set to the European communication standard even though you have always used it in the U. S. On some occasions, however, it may be necessary to switch it to the Bell standard. It would be wise to carry directions on how to do this with your particular modem. We discovered that the CCITT standard (European) would not allow us to make direct telephone access to my university computer in Salt Lake City. It was necessary to switch the modem to the Bell setting.

One final bit of information. It is possible for you to access your own university computer and your electronic mail network, e. g., BITNET, through one of the networks available at a node or network center in a European city. I was able to work in my own BITNET mail facility, just as though I were in Salt Lake City and connected to the University of Utah VAX system. By using TELNET and an INTERNET address (e. g., 128.110.8.24), from a personal computer in Pisa, all network connections were transparent, and it was just as though I were working at home, with the exception of slower response and minor delays. You should be prepared, however, for interruption of transmission, because if any of the systems in the various node cities have problems the session will be broken off.

There can be other inconveniences; for example, it may be difficult for you to find a phone with a wall connection and jack that will enable you to plug in your modem, but if you can find one it is very simple to have your modem dial up your university computer and you can then download your messages. But be prepared in advance, and call at the economy hours or the long distance charges may be significant. Wayne Rash Jr. in his short article, «On the Road Again», in the September 1989 issue of Byte, pages 123-4, offers some solutions to these and other problems you can expect to encounter when traveling with your computer.

An easy but expensive alternative would be the telecommunication services at the large hotels where they supply all the equipment and connections -if you are desperate and the cost is one you can bear. Just inquire at the main desk.

With the appearance of new portables that are really portable -between one to three pounds- the convenience of communication increases daily. More carefree and unprogrammed personal travel becomes a real possibility when we are able to establish our electronic mail systems as a readily accessible link to our daily correspondence.

Ned Davison
University of Utah

Since its first appearance, the Macintosh has always been touted as a «transportable» computer. The original model was expressly designed to fit under a standard plane seat, and foam-padded carrying cases were listed among the first accessories available. Computer users who had previously struggled with the monitors, microprocessors, disk drives, keyboards, and cables of other computers were delighted to discover how easily they could take the machine to professional meetings -or home with them over the weekend.

Nonetheless, the Macintosh could never

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compare with truly «portable» or «laptop» models, because it needed an external source of power and was too heavy, too bulky to be used on the meal tray of an airplane or in the back seat of an automobile. Apple engineers have attempted to alleviate those problems with the newest model of their product line, the Macintosh Portable:

With a total weight of 15.9 pounds, the Portable is still heavier than most laptop computers, but almost 50% lighter than a similarly equipped Macintosh SE. The dimensions are likewise greater than many notebook-sized computers, yet manageable: approximately 15'' wide by 15'' deep, with a height of 4'' on the back which tapers off to 2'' on the front when the screen is folded flat. One should not assume, however, that the smaller package means less of a computer. The recommended configuration for the Portable includes 2 megabytes of memory, a 40-megabyte hard disk, a 3.5'' disk drive for 1.4K floppies, an internal 2400-baud modem, a trackball or a numeric keypad, a lead-acid battery pack that will last from 8 to 10 hours on a single charge, a carrying case, jacks for video monitors, scanners, printers, external speakers, modems, mice, and disk drives, plus one of the newest breakthroughs of modern technology, an Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Display (AMLCD). The development of this type of screen reportedly delayed the release of the Portable, but it appears that it was well worth the wait. No other flat-screen currently available can match its fast regeneration rate and crisp, clean images. Most surprising of all, it is actually larger than the original Mac screen: 640 by 400 pixels («pic»ture «el»ements, e. g., dots), as opposed to 512 by 342 pixels on the Plus or SE models. This is wide enough to emulate the 8.5'' width of a piece of paper.

Of particular interest to those in our profession is that the Macintosh Portable is a truly international machine: the power adapter comes with a built-in transformer that automatically senses and adjusts to practically any current in the world, from 70 to 270 volts at 40 to 70 hertz. You can also purchase a second battery with an external charger, for those times when you anticipate being away from a wall socket for longer than the claimed 10 hour limit. Even still, the fact that the computer can function for that long on a single charge is a remarkable feat of technical engineering.

The central-processing unit (CPU) uses a newly designed CMOS Motorola 68000 microprocessor similar to the ones in the Plus or SE, but running at 16 megahertz for twice the speed at only a fifth the power. In addition, Apple put «static» RAM memory chips in the Portable, which supposedly use about one hundredth the power of the conventional «dynamic» RAM chips. The AMLCD screen needs no backlighting, saving even more electricity. And at the heart of the computer is a «Power Management System» which automatically shuts down the hard-disk or puts the CPU into «rest» mode after intervals of inactivity specified by the user. After an even longer time, the computer will switch to a «sleep» mode, in which a standard 9-volt alkaline battery will retain any information in active memory for up to a week. Of course, the system will warn you several times before the power runs dangerously low, and includes a Desk Accessory to monitor the charge in the battery:

As one might expect after reviewing the many advanced features of the Macintosh Portable, it is a relatively expensive computer. Retail prices are running between $6,500 and $7,000, and drop to about $4,800 at schools with educational discounts. Whet her or not the high price is worth the increased portability will depend on how you envision using your computer, and under what circumstances.

One feature that will unfortunately prove frustrating for foreign language teachers is that the Portable's keyboard retains the same layout introduced with the Macintosh Plus. Specifically, in an attempt to attract prospective buyers accustomed to MS-DOS machines, Apple eliminated the right Option key to make room for arrow keys. As a result, you must hold down the left Option key and type «e» with the same hand in order to produce an acute accent -a cumbersome maneuver to accomplish. With time, users can adjust their typing habits accordingly, but it is still lamentable that such an «international» computer would not be more accommodating to multilingual users.

In general, however, the advanced technology incorporated into the Portable places it at the cutting edge of the industry; Apple has once again managed to leapfrog the competition, and others will undoubtedly be quick to follow. For those who anticipate spending a sabbatical in Europe or Latin America, but are hesitant to leave their computer behind, the Macintosh Portable provides a very attractive solution.

Mark D. Larsen
Utah State University

Hispania [Publicaciones periódicas]. Volume 73, Number 1, March 1990