OS 8.1/G3 Audio Fix!: Geoff Peterson sent news of a
fix for the audio problem:"
Apple has released a "fix" for the G3 sound problems I keep bitching
about. It is called Audio Tune Up 2.0 and IT WORKS (PRAISE THE
LORD!!!!!!)(Click here to download it, the URL is too long to display on one line.)
Please pass the info on--I can finally record sound with my video!"
Geoff Peterson
Finally!
[2:15 PM Update]
OS War to Cure Cystic Fibrosis: There is a fund raising drive to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation currently at:
www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/network/5601You vote for your favorite OS and donate $1 per vote to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. All you have to do to cast your vote is visit the OS War website and follow the simple directions.
[2:00 PM Update]
Apple has a new $30 rebate offer on OS 8.1 in conjunction with a Office 98 purchase. Details are at: www.apple.com/promo/.
ZD/Net has a story on the new Mac OS 8.2 (Allegro) coming this summer. [2:00 PM Update]
PowerTools Remembered: Victor Wong, CEO of PowerTools sent a short mail after reading a comment in my year in review article: "
Mike,
Just wanted to drop you a short thank you note for remembering. It makes me sad also. Keep up the good work.
Best Wishes,
Victor Wong
CEO, PowerTools"
Good to hear from Victor and I hope he and his employees are doing well. In the end I read that PowerTools actually bought retail Umax units to fill customer orders. Not many companies would have done that.
When I think of the number of people affected by the shutting down of Mac clone makers it makes me very sad. Many people lost their jobs. Think of the impact on your life if suddenly a corporate move that had nothing to do with your performance put you out of work. It's a sobering thought and a reminder to big business that there is a human cost associated with their actions. [12:00 PM Update]
MacGurus sent info on a limited time sale of SCSI related items:
"
THE GURUS ARE THE KINGS OF REAL-WORLD ULTRA SCSI!
For one week only, the Gurus are running unprecedented specials on Initio Miles Single-Channel Ultra SCSI cards, excellent boards that bring faster I/O within reach of the masses at a lower price point:
Initio Miles, Board-Only No Cable, w/ SoftRAID $179.99
SC Miles w/ any Seagate Drive Incl Cable & SoftRAID $169.99
Miles, Cable & Software Incl Cable & SoftRAID $194.99
2 Board Bundle, No Cables No Cable, w/ SoftRAID $338.99
2 Boards, Cables & Software Inc Cables & SoftRAID $368.99
All Gurus customers who purchased boards online after 6PM EST April 24,
1998 will receive this special pricing!
Single-Channel boards are appropriate for single devices, whether SCSI,
SCSI-2, Ultra narrow or Ultra wide, or multiple Ultra wide drives striped as a Level 0 RAID. SC boards also support up to 15 separate SCSI devices, making it much easier to handle multiple mixed SCSI devices: get your scanners, drives, Jaz, Zip, MO and tape drives under control! Conley SoftRAID 2.02 is included with every board, a $149.99 (SRP) value in itself. SoftRAID is generally acknowledged to be the fastest RAID 0
software currently available on MacOS, and works great with single
drives.
Pairs of SC boards enable dual-channel RAID using two PCI slots, best
when using two or more drives per channel, up to a max of four drives per channel, a total of eight separate drives striped in a Level 0 RAID. The Gurus offer dual-board bundles for those folks who want utterly beastly thru-put, economically.
The Gurus also offer industry-best pricing on HammerStorage Ultra
JackHammers, the acknowledged King of SCSI boards!
Single-Channel JackHammer No SW, No Cables $349.99
When Bundled w/ any Seagate Drive No SW, No Cables $329.99
When Bundled w/ Drive & Granite Cables No SW, No Cables $319.99
Conley SoftRAID can be included for an additional $89.99. The
JackHammer/SoftRAID combination yields the best Ultra SCSI performance
currently available on MacOS.
The Gurus thank you for your support!
Helpful links:
Initio Miles:
http://www.macgurus.com/graphics/mgscsiinitioboards.html
JackHammers:
http://www.macgurus.com/graphics/mgfwbjackhammers.html
Secure Order Form:
https://secure.magpage.com/macgurus/graphics/temporderform.html"
[12:00 PM Update]
Today at ResExcellence, learn how to edit the mini-icons used in Open/Save Dialogs and Finder List views, so that they can match a favorite Kaleidoscope Scheme. There is also more discussion about Finder memory allocation, and conflicts between colored cursors and Photoshop.
ResExcellence: http://www.ntsource.com/~coyle/index.shtml
[12:00 PM Update]
Thad Brown, I keep getting my replies to your mail bounced back,
but please go ahead with the Audio pages as we discussed. I don't know what the problem is but it seems every reply I send is returned
with a note that the DNS records for the
destination computer could not be found. [12:00 PM Update]
Budget Video Card Trio Review: I finally made time to finish my comparison review of the ATI RagePro based Xclaim 3D, VR and MacTell S3 Virge based Vision 3D graphics cards. Next up are the PowerForce G3 300/150, Bottom Line RailGun CPU card, Fuse video capture card and G-Rex 3D graphics card. Please limit mails for tech support for at least the next week so that I may focus on these reviews. Tips and news related mail is always welcome.
PowerBook Duo Battery Replacement: In response to my note last week, Jake Williams wrote with instructions on how to replace the small lithium battery inside the case: "
Its not that difficult. I assume that the case is very similiar to the 2300 as well.
5 steps:
- remove the power adapter,
- remove the main battery,
- remove th keyboard,
- remove the end clutch covers,
- remove the top case.
more detail:
to remove the keyboard first remove the four screws under the case. two towards the back and two more in the middle/front. the should be torx screws. (t-8) make sure that the duo is closed.
turn it around and open the duo, the keyboard should come out easily, turn it over and rest it on the palm rest.
a small flat head screw driver should release the cables on the keyboard from the Logic board. Just set it aside.
The end clutch covers the display hinges a small screw drive should also be able to push them off. (these are fragile -- apple calls them disposable, but be careful and they can be preserved.)
the track pad cable should be removed next with your fingers.
the top case is removed by undoing the snap on the bottom left hand corner (just raise it until it snaps) then slide it off the tabs.
the battery should be accessible now.
hope that helps you."
Thanks Jake! Due to repeated disk problems and a very stiff/sticky keyboard I think I'm returning the Duo. At $750 it's not a very good value now
with the 1400 and 2400 dropping to the $1400-$1700 range.
I like the size but so far I've spent more time fixing it than using it. I can't afford that with all the work and mail I have every day.
With only 16 MB of RAM and a 14.4 modem I suspect most browers would
be an exercise in frustration as well.
Peter Mengaziol wrote asking about support in other operating systems for G3 cards since they require a extension to turn on the backside cache. If you boot from the other OS, I'm not sure how you enable the backside cache since there is no software/extension to do this. I have no
experience with this, but wanted to post his message in hopes that
some reader may have an answer or experience to share. Peter wrote: "
A bud told me that when he booted his Newertech G3'd 8600 sans the
extension the box took a very, very, very long time. This fact is
upsetting when you want to run a non-extended OS. Can any cards work as
acelerated cards without added software??? [All cards I know of require a extension or control to enable the backside cache - without it performance suffers severely-Mike]
Does anyone know which G3 cards work with alternate Mac-based OS's like
mkLinux, PPCLInux? As a corrolary will the new Apple OS versions (like
8.2 and Rhapsody) be able to take advantage of an added G3 card.
If the answers are "NONE", "NONE" and "NO" is is possible to start a
campaign to get 1 Infinite Loop to start supporting the cards that
allow them to advertise how upgradeable their boxes are (or were)?
Thanks for you wonderful site!"
I don't have much hope of Apple support for any other OS but theirs,
but I suspect Rhapsody will have G3 Card support (it better!). If you know of any alternate OS that will run with G3 cards and allow enabling the backside cache, please contact me.
Ryan Tanaka wrote in response to the latest Devil's Advocate column with another
anti-Apple press release from DataQuest. It seems Apple can do no right in their eyes.
X-Plane OpenGL ScreenShots! As mentioned in yesterday's news,
the new X-Plane Beta has OpenGL drivers (at least for the ATI cards).
Here are a few links to screenshots from the game sent in by Jeffrey Brick.
For more screenshots, check out the Laminar Research screenshots page (warning - it is very image heavy!).
You can download the a beta of X-Plane, get tips/hacks and see links to other X-Plane sites at: http://www.picketfence.com/x-plane/default.html. The price is not cheap ($149 on sale now I hear) but my boss (a flight sim nut) says it is the most realistic flight sim available. It's great to see OpenGL getting more use on the Mac. Let them know you saw this at www.xlr8yourmac.com! They also have a
Mac 3D video card information page, and suggest 8 MB versions of
the ATI RagePro based XClaim VR (and 3D I assume) or Nexus GA. For reviews of the ATI XClaim VR and 3D, see my latest review.
If you missed this weekends news, you might want to read it now. I posted some preliminary info on the G-Rex 3D and Railgun products that
arrived here late Friday for review. See Sunday's news for details.
More news later in the day.
Need Help? Before you send email for tech support, please check the Troubleshooting page or try searching the site (use quotes for exact matches! i.e. "mach 5" vs mach 5 which will match machine, 5, etc.) and 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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