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DISCUSSION Apple has been informed by Symantec, the company that owns Norton Utilities, that the reason for the error you experienced is that they did not have the correct Gestalt call implemented in their software for this Macintosh PowerBook computer when they wrote the latest version of Norton Utilities. This is why Norton Utilities reports the wrong speed for your PowerBook 5300 computer and some other new PowerBook computers like the Powerbook 190. A Gestalt call is implemented in many software applications by programmers to allow the application to find out if a certain feature is available on the computer on which it is running. In your case, Norton Utilities was checking the processor speed, but did not send the correct Gestalt call to get the right answer. So, for example, if a programmer is writing a program that requires a Floating Point Unit (FPU) they can do a Gestalt call at the beginning of their program and the computer will tell them whether it has one or not. That way they can tell the user sorry you have no FPU this program requires one, instead of making a direct call to the which would generate an error since the machine does not have one. NOTE: This article provides information about a non-Apple product and is posted for informational purposes only. No endorsement by Apple Computer, Inc. is either declared or implied. Apple Computer, Inc. is not responsible for its content. Please contact the vendor for additional information. The Tech Info Library article titled "Locating Vendor Information" can help you search for a particular vendor's address and phone number. Support Information Services |
| Document Information | |
| Product Area: | Computers |
| Category: | PowerBook |
| Sub Category: | PowerBook 190 Series, PowerBook 5300 Series |
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