July 1997: Performance
(or How I Learned to Speed Up My Mac)

by Scott Rose, President of ScottWorld
(Note: This editorial was updated in October 2000 with current information at that time.)

Hello everybody! Can you believe it's summertime again? Every summer, I promise myself that this is the year I'm gonna pry my little fingers off of the keyboard, log off of the Internet for good, unplug my Web Site, and go back to my roots: taking children under my wings as their fun-loving camp counselor.

Of course, since I haven't left my computer hutch in over 8 years now and have no recollection of what foliage looks like anymore (not to mention that my metabolism has slowed to a crawl), I'm afraid that all those young whipper-snappers would out-swim me, leaving me gasping for a tall glass of lemonade and a waterproof iBook. Now don't try throwing your iBooks into the pool — they're not really waterproof! (Can you tell my lawyer had an expensive little chat with me about this last paragraph?)

But hey, if you're like me and you can't get back up-to-speed anymore competing against those feisty 10-year olds, don't worry. You certainly won't ever be asked to be in the Olympics, so your secret is safe with me. And better yet, you can make up for your lack of speed by increasing the performance of your Macintosh instead!

Which brings us to the topic for this month's newsletter: increasing your Mac's performance without spending a lot of money.

I was gonna call this the "Speed" issue, but considering the failure of the lackluster sequel starring Sandra Bullock and the shifting of Keanu Reeves' energy to "The Matrix" trilogy, I decided to steer clear from any association to that movie. Except for this paragraph, of course.

Take Your Family Camping on the Autobahn

So you just bought a brand new Ferrari. You're on the Autobahn. You're ready to blast off. What's the very first thing you do? You pull over and attach a 40-foot RV Trailer to your Ferrari, right? Of course not.

Well, what you may not realize is that right now, no matter how fast your new Macintosh is supposed to be, you may have a 40-foot trailer attached to your computer, preventing it from ever reaching its peak performance! You may have spent thousands of dollars on your machine, only to have it operate at a fraction of its potential speed, without you even knowing it!

Understand the Truth about Megahertz

First of all, let's clear up some myths about Megahertz. Let's say you just bought yourself a brand new iMac DV, and it's got a fast 500 MHz G3 processor. Of better yet, you've got yourself a brand new PowerMac G4, screaming with DUAL 500 MHz G4 processors! Your machine feels incredibly fast, you're surfing the Net at record speeds, and you're happy as a clam. Which is unusual, because I don't know if scientists have ever measured the happiness of clams. But I imagine that they're pretty damn happy — considering that they just sit at the bottom of the ocean and eat & sleep all day long.

But then you see a commercial for a 800 MHz Pentium computer. And then your friend brags to you about a 1 GHz (1000 MHz) machine that he just purchased! Wait a second! Have you been had? Is your machine slower than these other machines?

No! In fact, chances are that your machine is actually FASTER than those other machines with higher Megahertz ratings. Using Megahertz to rate the speed of your computer is like comparing apples to oranges. Megahertz is only one indication of speed. What really matters is the processor inside your machine (G3, G4, Pentium III, etc.), and a combination of other factors such as backside cache and hard drive speed.

But as far as processors are concerned, the G3 and G4 processors are both FASTER PROCESSORS than the Pentium III, so running a machine with a 500 MHz G3 is actually FASTER than a 500 MHz Pentium III. And running a dual-processor 500 MHz G4 machine is the equivalent of a 1500 MHz Pentium III machine, and they don't even make Pentium machines that are that fast yet!

Get Faster Internet Access

If you're like most computer users, you spend a large percentage of your time on the Internet. And if you're still using a dial-up connection to the Internet (that is sooo 1997, dude), you are throwing away all the speed that your machine can provide to you.

The bottlenecks (i.e. slowdowns) while you're surfing the Internet are NOT your machine, but rather your 56k modem! I highly recommend that you upgrade to a cable modem or a DSL line, so you can have blazing fast Internet access on your machine.

Call your cable company to see if they offer cable modems in your area. If they do, you'll get speeds that are up to 4 times faster than DSL but it can slow down tremendously when many people in your neighborhood are on the Internet. If you'd like to get DSL, I recommend using Linkline, one of the greatest DSL providers that I have found over the last several years.

Upgrade to the Latest Browsers

Another potential slowdown for your Internet journeys is the browser that you're using.

In this day and age, you should never use Netscape. Netscape is a slow, buggy, and non-compliant browser that provides no time-saving features while surfing the Net. Netscape the corporation has been bought by AOL, yet the Netscape browser itself is on life support. This is a true shame, since it can be successfully argued that Microsoft illegally caused Netscape to die, by giving away their own browser for free and integrating it so tightly within their Windows operating system.

Okay, enough of the death knells. What browser should you be using? The ONLY browser that ScottWorld recommends is Internet Explorer 5 for Macintosh (current browser as of October 2000). This browser is fast, it's stable, it's got tons of features, it's standards-compliant, it's beautiful, and it's powerful. If you're using any earlier version of Internet Explorer, be sure to upgrade to the latest version.

We're talking major speed benefits while you're surfing the Internet, just by you choosing the right browser!

Scott's Memory Tips To Speed Up Your Computer

Memory (or RAM) is another key to speediness — or eternal sluggishness — on your Macintosh. Almost every Mac user is misusing memory on their computer, and I'm about to change all that right now!

Turn Virtual Memory off.
No matter what you've heard from any other source, virtual memory always degrades system performance. Period.

What is virtual memory? Virtual Memory tricks your computer into thinking it has more memory than it actually does, by using your slower hard drive as a work area instead of the speedier memory chips that are installed inside your machine.

How do you turn off virtual memory? Go into your Memory Control Panel and you'll see an area to turn virtual memory on or off. You'll need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

(The next-generation Mac OS X has advanced virtual memory built into the system, so these virtual memory rules don't apply to those using Mac OS X. But if you're using Mac OS 9 or earlier, these notes are for you!)

Upgrade to at least 128 MB of memory, if not more.
Now is the time to purchase more memory. Memory is the most cost-effective computer investment that you can make to increase the performance of your Mac. Purchase as much memory as you can afford. It will make a significant difference in your computer's speed.

How much memory do you have right now?
You can find out how much memory you have by pulling down from the Apple Menu to "About This Computer" when you first start up.

How do you know how much to purchase?
If you're an average computer user, 128 MB of memory should be enough (for now at least). If you're an intermediate-advanced user, you'll want at least 256 MB of memory. And if you're a really advanced user, or you use powerful programs like Adobe Photoshop and Final Cut Pro a lot, you'll want lots more memory. I personally am an advanced user, and I have 448 MB of memory on my machine. This is plenty for me... at least in the year 2000.

Where can you buy more memory?
I like the memory offered by Outpost.com (and it comes with free overnight delivery), but any of your favorite Mac resellers will do just fine.

Where can you bring your computer to get your new memory installed?
Nowhere! Forget the days of yesteryear, when you had to back up your entire hard drive, disassemble your whole computer, bring it down to the local shop, and wait for hours (or days) to get more memory installed. Every single new Macintosh has an amazing new innovation to enable quick memory installation: a DOOR. Simply open the door on your machine, pop in your memory, and bam! You're ready to go!

Allocate Your Memory Properly

Okay, so let's say you've upgraded your system to 128 MB of memory, 256 MB of memory, or more. Your computer is now going to run faster, right? Wrong. (Unless you're using Mac OS X, in which case the answer is "Right. Skip to the next section.")

That is the biggest misconception about memory. You can completely stuff your computer to the gills with memory, yet you won't notice even one iota of speed improvement unless you manually re-allocate your applications to take advantage of your new memory. This is actually a limitation in the current Mac OS that has been eliminated in Mac OS X.

How do you re-allocate your applications to run faster?
Make a list of all the applications that you use regularly. For example, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Word, Outlook Express, Quicken, FileMaker Pro, etc. Manually locate each one of those applications inside your hard drive. Instead of double-clicking on the program to launch it, simply single-click on it to darken it.

Once the icon is darkened, pull down from the File menu to "Get Info" and choose "Memory". Increase the minimum size to at least the suggested size (if not 4,000k to 5,000k more), and increase the preferred size to at least 5,000k more than the minimum size. Repeat this process for all of your favorite applications. (1 MB = 1,024 k)

If you are unable to change the memory requirements of a certain application, that means that the application is currently running. You must quit out of that program before you can change its memory requirements.

Upgrade to the Latest Versions of Your Programs

The newest versions of applications are not always necessarily faster than their predecessors, but as a rule of thumb, it's a good idea to upgrade to the newest versions of whatever programs you use on a regular basis. In the case of Adobe Photoshop and Final Cut Pro, for example, upgrading to the newest versions can sometimes DOUBLE YOUR SPEED! (The newest versions of those programs take advantage of the G4's dual processors.)

The best source on the Internet to keep track of the latest versions of programs is VersionTracker. You can also subscribe to their updating service, so you're always reminded when your favorite programs have been updated.

More Speed Tips To Share Around The Campfire

Rebuild, Restart, and Reduce.
There's a few other simple things you can do that will almost always bring an additional speed boost to your Mac:

1. Rebuild your desktop, once a month by holding down the command and option keys while your restart your computer.

2. Reduce the number of 3rd-party control panels and extensions in your system folder. What I mean by "3rd-party" is anything that wasn't part of your original system folder. You can use Apple's Extension Manager (inside your Control Panels Folder) or Casady & Greene's Conflict Catcher to effectively manage your use of 3rd-party extensions. Next time you start up your computer, you may be surprised at how much quicker it runs!

3. Archive your unused fonts. If you're like most people, you have tons of fonts to choose from... most of which you never use. Too many fonts inside your system folder can sometimes slow down your computer to a crawl. To archive your old fonts, go into your System Folder, open up your Fonts folder, and remove any fonts you don't regularly use. You can put all these fonts into another folder on your hard drive, and when you're ready to use one of them again, you can simply move that particular font back into your Fonts folder again. Or you can use a program like Suitcase to effectively manage your fonts.

4. Defragment your hard drive. You can do this with a program like Norton Utilities.

5. Don't quit out of programs. So your computer is running faster, because you've taken all the memory tips in this newsletter. Now don't go sabotaging all of your hard work by quitting out of applications when you know that you'll be using them again very soon! This will decrease your performance, because you'll be waiting for those applications to launch again! As you are well aware, it takes a few seconds for applications to load up when you're ready to use them. Well, since you now have more memory, you can now leave more programs open simultaneously. Instead of completely quitting out of programs, simply "hide" them (or "minimize" them) when they're not in use, and "reveal" them when you're ready to use them again.

6. Give Your Mac A Spring Cleaning. The best way to optimize your Mac, once you've taken all of the memory tips in this newsletter, is to do a CLEAN INSTALL (not a regular install) of your operating system. A "clean install" is one of your options when you run the Mac OS installer. This will optimize your computer's performance greatly, because it puts a BRAND NEW system folder on your hard drive, with NO 3rd-party extensions, NO corruption, and NO bloat! (But be careful: You must be an advanced user to use the "clean install" function, because many of your programs may need to be reinstalled and reconfigured after the clean install. Microsoft programs will reinstall themselves correctly after a clean install, but most other programs will not.)

Summer Camp?

Well, maybe next year. There's too many reasons for me to spend this summer glued to the computer screen once again. Please send beautiful pictures of nature to my e-mail address. I'll send back photos of barbeques and bug spray.

Happy camping,
Scott