Monday's Mac Gadget by John F. Braun Discover The Secrets Of Your System With TattleTech February 21st, 2000 TattleTech 2.81b14 ($15+ Shareware) Decision Maker's Software, Inc. Sure, you probably know what type of processor is in your Mac, and some details about the various peripherals connected to it. Although the Apple System Profiler included with Mac OS 8.0 and above tells you a lot about your system, there are so many things that it doesn't tell you. To extract the maximum amount of information about your hardware and software, look to TattleTech. When you start the program, you'll see the General Hardware information category, and will already be able to get an idea of some of the additional information made available to you. On our test system, the Machine category reported the manufacturer code as CHRP (guess it didn't die after all) that the manufacture date was 2/5/00, and that our machine was assembled in Elk Grove, CA. We also saw an entry for color, which must be reserved for iMac and iBook computers. General Hardware Information Now for something a bit more useful. Say you need some more RAM. OK, Apple System Profiler does tell you the memory size, location and type of chips, but that's it. That may not be enough information to specify the right chips for your machine. The TattleTech memory report, on the other hand, will reveal the chip size, type, voltage, number of pins, width, speed, part number, manufacture date, and serial number. More than enough info to order up the right chips. Get the Scoop on Your RAM Chips TattleTech includes categories for all sorts of devices, and not just for the latest machines. You can check the status of ADB, ATA/IDE, NuBus/PDS, PCI, SCSI, USB and serial devices. Great if you need to diagnose a hardware problem and want to be sure that the computer is seeing your stuff at all. If TattleTech can see it, then your hardware is OK. Otherwise, start looking for problems on the software end. There are so many other types of information available that it is impossible to cover it all. Suffice to say that if there is a piece of information that you want about the hardware and software that keeps your Mac running, TattleTech will be able to reveal it to you. Have any other Mac OS gadgets you'd like us to look at? Let John know via e-mail, or share it with the rest of us in the Mac Gadget Forum Useful Link TattleTech Home Page Monday's Mac Gadget is here to help you with those cool things that we all just have to have on our Macs. Shareware, Freeware, Postcardware, Emailware, and even commercial apps, Monday's Mac Gadget is here to help you find and use the best of these programs. John is a software engineer who works in the corporate R&D group of a Fortune 500 company, focusing on all aspects of communications technology. He has several degrees that claim he knows what he's doing when it comes to computers. After watching co-workers reinstall Windows, search for device drivers, and experience other horrors during the day, he's glad that he comes home to a Mac (compatible) computer. Have any comments, suggestions, or favorite Gadgets? Drop John a line at You can also Post Your Comments below. Current Monday's Mac Gadget Want to Supercharge Your Dock? Check Out Todos! - August 21st Worried About Your Mac Getting Jacked? Get JackSMS - June 12th Want iChat with Tabs? Try Chax! - April 3rd Visit Monday's Mac Gadget Archives for more great Mac Gadgets!