SCOOP!

The Mac OS 8.1 CD arrived today. It looks like the white Mac OS 8 CD except that it has the Mac OS logo on the left and startup instructions on the right. The fine print at the bottom says Version 8.1 rather than 8.0. A new color would have been nice--picky, picky. The CD has both a Mac OS 8.1 installer (for those without Mac OS 8 or to do a clean install) and a Mac OS 8.1 Updater (for those with Mac OS 8). Those who have done a clean install of Mac OS 8 and an install of Mac OS 8.1 updater will appreciate the all-in-one v8.1 installer. Here's some of what's on the CD that's not in the downloadable updater:

• Disk Copy v6.2
• Netscape v4.04
• Internet Explorer 3.01 :-)
• MacroMedia Shockwave
• PointCast Network
• MacLinkPlus 9.0.2
• Mac OS Runtime Java 2.0
• PC card drivers for Dayna, Farallon and Global Village cards
• 22 aditional desktop pictures
• More desktop patterns

The Mac OS 8.1 CD will be used to update Macs Only!'s new 9600 ($1,399 from Compu-America) this weekend--a hands-on review will be posted Monday. The 9600 which came with System 7.5.5 replaces the PowerBase 180 as Macs Only!'s work-horse computer. It will house the PowerLogix PowerForce G3 250/250, 64 MB of 5-volt 60ns EDO RAM and 3.2 MB fast SCSI drive from the PowerBase. The Powerbase 180 will become the backup and lower-end PCI test computer along with the NuBus PowerMac 7100/80 and 68K Quadra 605.

Many thanks to all the readers who responded with still-working links to Motorola's LibMotoSh. This extension significantly increases the floating point calculation speed above even Mac OS 8.1 on PowerMacs. Here are the links:

LibMotoSh Link #1

LibMotoSh Link #2