Appleworks and OS X

[Charles Martin]

> From: Anne Keller-Smith <earthpigz at earthlink.net>
> I could actually stay with Excel 98, except that I don't own it (a
> friend gave it to me)

I'm not going to lecture you about piracy. I'm simply going to say that 
the basic version of MS Office is very reasonably priced, and you've 
been using the thing for what appears to be a long time without paying 
for it. Don't you think they deserve the same consideration any other 
software developer?

> So if my
> system bites the dust, so do my files, as I will have nothing to read
> them with ...
>

Other than Appleworks, ThinkFree Office or OpenOffice, all of which can 
open, manipulate and re-save Excel files.

> I do need a permanent solution at some point, though.
>
I would strongly recommend getting legal if you're going to continue to 
depend on Excel.

> Will I
> lose my programs?

No, unless you choose to erase the entire hard drive.

> How do I copy back invisible files with the visible ones?

The OS installer handles all that. If you're talking about restoring 
from a backup HD, then you use Carbon Copy Cloner to handle the 
invisible files, symbiotic links and so forth. Works a charm for me.

>  Should I
> partition and how do I do it?
> Etc.
>
That's a question that has nothing to do with reinstalling or restoring 
a system, and everything to do with your usage needs. There's no reason 
you HAVE to partition -- OS X and OS 9 can live happily together on the 
same partition.

> Am I likely to lose any peripheral functionality after this update?

No.

> Will I have to reinstall programs
> and drivers?

No.

>  Is anything likely to not work anymore for good (older
> Palm, older scanner)?

If it works under 10.2.x, it will work under 10.2.8.

>  How
> do I answer these questions?

You ask! :)

>  Looks like I ought to do the update for
> the security fix alone.

Yes.

>  But
> I need my scanner, too. It is an HP4400c, and I notice from their site
> that they have no OSX
> drivers at all.
>
Well then how is it working now? Through Classic? If so, it will 
continue to do so.


> Also, I should update the OS9 to 9.2.2, but on a dialup this is
> frightfully slow, so prolly
> need to get my brother to d/l on his fast connex on Windows and mail me
> a CD. Will
> this work?

It might IF his system doesn't try to automatically decompress the 
files.

>  It did for OS9.1 for the laptop. Will this work for the
> 10.2.8 update?
>
I don't understand this question, and thus cannot answer it.

_Chas_

"[Our brave servicemen and women] serve so that we don't have to. They 
offer to give up their lives so that we can be free. It is, remarkably, 
their gift to us. And all they ask for in return is that we never send 
them into harm's way unless it is absolutely necessary. Will they ever 
trust us again?"
-- Michael Moore

Frank Rich reviews Farenheit 9/11:
http://www.iht.com/articles/521066.html