I'll be giving away at least 50 of the winning design on the site anniversary (April 17th). Thanks to all who voted today! (Hint: just put the number of the design in the subject line). [10:00 PM update]

New MacBuzz Polls: MacBuzz has two new polls :

Poll : Newton Is Dead, should Apple Sell It?
Forum : http://www.webflier.com/wfboards/newton/

Poll: Would You Buy Rhapsody Tomorrow if you Could?
Forum : http://www.webflier.com/wfboards/rhap/

Let MacBuzz and Apple know your opinion in the Poll and Forum at MacBuzz! [9:00 PM update]

MicroConversions Voodoo II card Update: I just received mail from Microconversions that states the card has been delayed until June. Just as I expected (and posted in the Video card forum), the allocation of Voodoo II chipsets is the reason for the delay (Diamond and Creative seem to be getting all of the initial supplies). Here's a quote from MicroConversion's mail I just received:

"Dear Michael,
Thank you for your interest in the Game Wizard, our new 8MB Voodoo2 card for the MacOS.

First, I must apologize for our error in stating it would be available in April... As it now appears, production units will not ship until June. (We are still working on the Mac drivers. This and chipset allocations account for the delay.)"

June seems like a long way away, but at least we have a commitment. Their mail also contained a small list of questions and answers on the card. [3:00 PM update]

In case you're not on their specials mailing list, Bottom Line has a special price on a limited supply of Apple PowerMac 8600 300Mhz 604e 32/4GB/24x/Zip for $1979.99

http://www2.blol.com/bld_desc.t?edp=22042&level=l

George Cole of Bottom Line says:

" *The 8600 will take a G3 upgrade card, and it has more RAM slots then any of the G3 systems. For those of you who want more expansion options than the G3 has to offer, this system is for you. Supply is very limited, and we expect to be sold out today. This is a one shot deal! Remember to mention the special price in the order comments.

You might want to call 1-800-622-3475 since there are so few left.
-George"

Hint - if you're on the XLR8YOURMAC mailing list read your latest specials mail. [2:30 PM update]

Misc News:

Key Vaidya just told me that MacMall also has the MicroConversions Voodoo II card listed. (I'd call 800-328-2790 to verify stock).

I'm getting a lot of reports that recent Apple G3/266 systems can use the PowerLogix G3 Cache Utility to run the backside cache at 1.5:1 ratio (vs. the stock 2:1). One reader reported that all 25 of his recent machines ran fine with it. I assume from this that the recent builds use faster cache than the early machines (my 266 MT here locks up at boot with any setting faster than 2:1).

Greg Laughlin asked for assistance on problems he's encountered with his Mac Syquest Syjet drive and sends a long tale of problems. [12:30 PM update]

Amelio talks about his part in Apple's comeback in this ZD/NET Amilio: Bitter but Wiser story. [12:30 PM update]

MacZone Voodoo II update: Rick Williams of Mac Gamer's Ledge sends a note regarding today's earlier post:

" Mike,
After some browsing at Mac Zone, I found a listing for the Voodoo 2 Mac card at:

http://207.153.163.131/Mac_Zone/Hardware_Mac/Boards/Video_Boards/

Scroll down until you see "Micro Conversion Inc," beside it says "Game Wizard PCI 8 MB Voodoo 2 Video Card." Cost is $299, but no description was available, and you must call Mac Zone to find out about stock. "

I sincerely hope that the card is shipping, but wonder why MicroConversions does not say so at their web site. MacZone shows no stock at the moment (I called to place a backorder) but said they could have just arrived. If you order mention you saw this on Accelerate Your Mac! [10:00 AM update]

Just a note that I'm getting some bounces recently on some mail addresses (Dan - even your hotmail account bounced my last mail!). I always respond to mail within 24 hours so if you've not gotten a response it mail be a mail server problem. [8 AM update]

Mac Voodoo2 Shipping? A post in the video card forum said that MacZone indicated yesterday was the day the MicroConversions Voodoo2 was shipping. I could not connect yesterday to MacZone and there was no new info at MicroConversions web site. If you have any verified info on this please contact me. I repeatedly sent MicroConversions mail with no response yet.

Elvis Lives: If you missed this weekend's news, you missed the news of repeated problems with the Genesis (bent PCI slot pins, motherboard alignment, SCSI connector problem and dead battery). It's all in Saturday's and Sunday's news.

I've got it running now, but I didn't expect this much work to get a $1300 case running. The fact no PCI cards could even be inserted with the motherboard tray adjusted as shipped was also disturbing. I'm still waiting on the missing CPU bracket as well. I have sent repeated mail and left messages with GTDS on this, let's see if they do the right thing (replace the defective motherboard, battery, etc.). However many hours of my time were wasted on things that should have been caught before it left their facility.

Mike Fayman sent this week's installment of "the Devil's Advocate" titled "Wake Up Apple!".

T-Shirt Designs Take a look at the sample images sent for consideration. Then vote for your favorite!

Speed Doubler triples copy speed: Michael Gordner send his test results of file copy speed with and without Speed Doubler 8:

" Hi Mike,
just to confirm your opinion that Speed Doubler is a 'must have utility', especially with System 8 and the snail like copying, some real world results:

Copying 1.9 GB (14500 files) from my stock HD to my Cheetah on a (8500/260 w/disk cache of 4096 KB)

without Speed Doubler 85 minutes
with Speed Doubler 33 minutes

Maybe they should rename it to Copy Tripler? "

As I've said many times here and in reviews, Speed Doubler is the first software I install on my Macs.

Mail of the Day: Here's one of the more common questions asked regarding the RagePro based Nexus GA vs the lower cost 3D and VR models:

Joseph Choo confided

>Hello,
>
>Thank you for your great reviews and advice on cards. Your site has been a
>great reference for making upgrade decision.
>

Thanks, that's my prime purpose and it will only get better his year.

>I was wondering if you could tell me if there is a big difference between the
>Nexus GA and the other Rage Pro cards. I am interested in good 2d and 3d
>performance without too much compromise, but I don't afford to buy a nexus
>GA. Is the Acclaim 3D using the Rage Pro almost as good? What is the major
>difference/weakness?
>

Unless you work in resolutions over 1152x870, get the 3D or VR cards. They are just as fast up to that resulution (even I don't go higher than that). This will be shown in my review soon of the RagePro 3D/VR and Vision 3D cards.

Bottom Line is the 3D or VR cards are my Best Buy picks. If you don't need the video capture get the 3D card. It also has VGA and Mac monitor connectors, due to all the video in/out connectors on the VR card, it has only a Mac monitor connector. Both can be expanded to 8MB and the VR also takes ATI's amazing TV tuner (I just bought a used one - it's impressive!). Watch the site for a review soon.

Later this week a comparison review of the ATI Xclaim VR, 3D and MacTell Vision 3D will be posted barring any unforseen delays.

Apple Info Alley Updates: The latest Info Alley has updated information on:

• ClarisImpact 2.0v3: Updater Information
• AppleShare Client 3.7.4: Read Me
• Claris Software Updates posted to Apple Web Site
• US Apple SW Updates: Available Online

In order to raise money for a 9600 Mach 5 based test system for the site, I've sold the 8500 and still have the following items for sale as well:

• Twin Turbo M8 (8MB Vram) [like new - came with the PowerTower Pro]: $250

If you're interested in any of these items please contact me. I think the PowerTower Pro 1 MB cache, the 256K cache and Imagine 128 S2 8MB card are sold, but if not I'll post them again next week.

Site T-Shirt Artwork Wanted: As mentioned Tuesday, I'm asking for readers to submit ideas for a 1st anniversary T-Shirt design for the site. I can't pay those that submit designs anything but a "thanks", credit for the design and a free T-Shirt of course. If you are a creative type who has an idea for a design, please submit a sample. All input is welcome.

Need Help? Don't forget to check the FAQ, Performance Basics, Links, and Forums for solutions to your problems or answers to tech support questions. They have a lot of good info and are a great source of help.

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