Macintosh Operating System Research Articles

Using HyperCard and Apple events in a network environment: Collecting data from simultaneous experimental sessions

HyperCard is a useful tool available to teachers and researchers who have access to Macintosh computers. Version 2.1 of HyperCard, in conjunction with the Macintosh Operating System 7, includes some significant new capabilities for users with multiple computers in a network, as is common in many teaching laboratories. This paper describes a HyperCard stack that allows users who wish to run HyperCard-based experiments on several computers simultaneously to conveniently retrieve experimental data from those remote computers onto one program, and to perform several other useful tasks in a computer network.

An Interactive Program for Pharmacokinetic Modeling

Abstract DA computer program, PharmK, was developed for pharmacokinetic modeling of experimental data. The program was written in C computer language based on the high-level user-interface Macintosh operating system. The intention was to provide a user-friendly tool for users of Macintosh computers. An interactive algorithm based on the exponential stripping method is used for the initial parameter estimation. Nonlinear pharmacokinetic model fitting is based on the maximum likelihood estimation method and is performed by the LevenbergMarquardt method based on χ2 criterion. Several methods are available to aid the evaluation of the fitting results. Pharmacokinetic data sets have been examined with the PharmK program, and the results are comparable with those obtained with other programs that are currently available for IBM PC-compatible and other types of computers.

Book Reviews : MacWeek Guide to System 7 Don CrabbPublisher: Ziff-Davis Press, 5903 Christie Ave., Emeryville, cA 94608 Year of Publication: 1992 Length: 296 pages Price: $24.95

MacWeek columnist Don Crabb provides a manager's view of the impact of Apple's new version of the Macintosh operating system. His comments on the strengths and weaknesses of Apple's and other vendors' hardware and software are especially insightful. This book would be a valuable resource for anyone who is concerned with the care and feeding of a group of Macintosh systems.

News Briefs

Apple Ships System 7. Apple Computer, Inc. announced that it is shipping System 7, the much anticipated upgrade to the Macintosh operating system and the most significant enhancement to Macintosh since its introduction in 1984.

Macintosh Potentials

In a sense Macintosh developments, as of late August when this is being written, are in a static mode that reflects, perhaps, the supposed indolence of summer. MacWorld Expo in Boston was similar to the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco that I attended: more a showcase for existing ideas and a sales‐room than a place for startling new innovations. Perhaps the sense of ennui results from Macintosh users waiting for delivery of three important products: System 7.0, the new Macintosh operating system that has been promised repeatedly during the year, new and less expensive Macintosh models scheduled for production and delivery by the early fall; and implementation of the new HyperCard upgrade that is available now to developers in a Beta test version. This column notes the promise of these developments, continues the series describing Macintosh software, and illustrates the application of HyperCard to library procedures.

Mach: A system software kernel

The Mach kernel has been ported to a large collection of uniprocessor and multiprocessor systems and has been used to implement commercial operating system environments such as Unix in a performance competitive way. This paper describes the Mach operating system, the way it was used to implement both 4.3BSD Unix and the Macintosh operating system, and the implications of this technology for real-time and secure programming environments.

A compact scanning tunneling microscopy control and data acquisition system based on a Macintosh II workstation

A compact system based on a Macintosh II workstation for scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) control, data acquisition, and image display and processing is presented. To access the versatile analog electronics and the piezo scanner of our STM, a multifunction board (MacAdios II) is employed as an interface. The on-board timer/counter permits well defined time intervals between each tip movement and subsequent data acquisition. For on-line control and image display of scanning processes an efficient code was written in Pascal and C. To achieve simple and user-friendly operation, the program takes advantage of so-called mouse–window–desktop techniques supported by the Macintosh operating system. The entire code has a modular structure and therefore facilitates easy replacement of existing modules or implementation of additional ones.

Millisecond timing on the Apple Macintosh: Updating Drexel’s MilliTimer

In 1986, we published inBehavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers a small library of assembler code for the public domain that permitted accurate millisecond timing for Apple’s Macintosh computer. That version of MilliTimer used the Versatile Interface Adapter chip’s Timer 1 (VIA T1), which is part of the standard Macintosh hardware configuration. The VIA T1, however, is also used by the Sound Manager, and thus the use of sound and accurate millisecond timing were incompatible. We offer for the public domain a new version labeled MilliTimer 2.2, which permits psychologists and other researchers to use the full capabilities of the Macintosh. MilliTimer 2.2 is compatible with popular teaching, research, and clinical tools such as Hyper-Card and MacLaboratory. MilliTimer 2.2 employs the Macintosh Time Manager, which is a part of the Macintosh operating system and is supported by Apple for the 512KE, Plus, SE, and Macintosh II machines. MilliTimer 2.2 is hardware-independent and automatically self-corrects for other operating system activities that also use the Time Manager. The self-correcting function is limited, however, and can result in a nonaccumulating error averaging about −3 msec. To preserve compatibility with earlier machines that do not contain the Time Manager, a simple mode parameter allows MilliTimer 2.2 to use the older, more accurate timing method.