A MacroMaker utility and a CloseView screen magnification facility are key features of the new 6.0 version of the Macintosh System Software, announced by Apple Computer Inc on Friday: the company also says 6.0 increases the processing speed on the Mac to give faster taskhandling performance. Under the MultiFinder multi-tasking extension, application documents can now be opened directly from the desktop and the MultiFinder notification manager has been improved with more alerts to notify users that background tasks, such as printing, may need attention. Repetitive tasks that take several steps or movements can be automated with a new MacroMaker that creates macros of mouse and keyboard actions. MacroMaker can be used to assign or reassign keyboard commands, automate opening and closing folders, launch applications, open files, or record lengthy amounts of text using an interface resembling a tape recorder: commands include record, play, store, load and erase. CloseView is a screen utility to magnify an area of the Macintosh screen display from twice to 16 times its normal size aimed primarily at people with poor sight. The new release is $50 in the US and requires a Mac with 1Mb memory and it and HyperCard 1.2 will be bundled with every Macintosh it sells from now on.
Apple has had to backtrack on its promise that the majority of applications written for the Mac System Software would run unchanged as tasks under its A/UX implementation of Unix for the Macintosh II. According to Computer Systems News, the company didn’t realise how many applications bent the rules, and is now committing to support existing Macintosh programs under A/UX only in some future release of the system.
