Tyler Perkins sends a follow-up to his earlier post on incorrect disk types at Ubid:

" In reference to the hard drive I got from uBid, they have told me to ship it back at their expense, but they have nothing to give me in return, so I'll be getting my money back. This leaves me without a hard drive. They still haven't fixed their page. The url is

http://www.ubid.com/auction/static/showauction_AuctionID_8700_CategoryID_5.asp

It describes an Atlas II, but it gets you a Fireball ST.

Thanks for having an awesome site. "

I just checked that page, and they still call it an Atlas, but the specs area of the page shows the connector type as "EIDE", not SCSI. They still show 7200 PRM which is only available in IDE drives from Seagate at the moment. Atlas II drives are 7200 RPM SCSI, so the page is still not correct.

Houston Hall writes with notes of problems with Adaptec's firewire card and Retrospect backups:

" Mike,
Thanks for the reply. Hope your wife is better soon! I also find that I have not been able to do video capture with premiere 4.2.1 or 5.0 and firewire, using Adaptec card with either the 275/275 or 300/300 cards from PowerLogix. Have you heard of this before?

[Since the Adaptec SCSI cards generally have problems with PowerForce cards, this does not surprise me.-Mike]

I've been in touch with ProMax and they tell me video capture is impossible with the PowerLogix or Newer cards. As long as I run 305/305, I have been able to use SpeedDoubler 8.1 for backup, but not Retrospect 4.0. It was fine with my 275/275 card, but not the 300 Mhz card. Kind of curious. Thanks, again.
Houston"

Some software seems to have problems with speeds above 300mhz, but as soon as I can buy a external scsi case for my internal Seagate CTT8000 tape drive I'll be able to report on how well it works here (300+ Mhz G3 cards and Retrospect).

I'm suprised at the comment about video capture being impossible with the Newer Tech cards - I thought they were compatible with most capture cards and even the Media 100. I know that the Fuse is being run with Newer Tech G3 cards based on comments from Aurora Design (makers of the Fuse). Kay's illness has prevented me testing the card with a PowerForce card but I will be doing that later today as part of my review.

It appears Apple's Refurbished warranty policy must have changed recently (see my story in Saturday's News). Apple told me last Friday they do not perform on-site warranty on Refurbished units, but a reader said that was not true last year.

" Mike, I very sorry to hear of your trouble with Apple's Service. Last year I purchased a refurbished Performa 6400/200. When I set it up, the control knob for the sub-woofer broke off in my hand. I called Apple and they also referred me to another number.

Here's where my experience differs from yours.

The second rep placed a service order to a authorized repair center in my area. In a few days the part arrived and a service rep drove out to my house to replace the knob. NO CHARGE! He even helped my wife move a television set while he was there! I told my PC buddies about this and they turned green with envy.

I hope you wife feels better soon...

Christopher Chew "

I guess things have changed recently. It's all needed to keep Apple healthy I guess and they do seem to be doing much better recently financially. I'm still happy with the 8600/250 and think it was a great buy for the money.

Another reader sent a frustrating tale of his attempts to order a refurbished Apple machine via phone direct from Apple.

Rhapsody DR2/G3 CPU cards Feedback: I received many mails in response to Sunday's post regarding problems with DR2 running with a G3 upgraded Mac (DR1 had worked fine). Here's a sample of some replies:

" Mike,
According to an Apple employee on omnigroup's Rhapsody mailing lists, DR2 works on his 8500 with G3.
Ken Lui"

" Mike, I've had no problems installing DR2 on my G3 upgraded 7600 (PF 220/110 @ 315Mhz.) It has worked on both internal and external drives. I also installed it on my G3 266dt at work without a hitch. I've been running it for a few days on both machines and have found no real problems.

The speed increase is pretty incredible over DR1 and the "integrated" Blue Box is really fast (faster than running MacOS without Rhapsody.) I'm pretty impressed with this release so far.
-Andy Fenner "

" DR2 works just great on a Newertech G3 250. I have had no problems at all.

However, DR2 does not work at all with Ultra Wide drives. It must have a plain SCSI drive."

Based on this feedback, there must be some other incompatibility (wide drive, etc.) that caused the problem reported yesterday.

Klaus B. Piontek writes in reply to an earlier post regarding printing problems with large files in Photoshop when using the Initio Miles SCSI card:

" HI Mike,
I've a comment to the post regarding the Initio Miles and printing files 10 MB from Photoshop 4.0.1 to an Epson 800 printer. I have such a combination (PowerMac 8500, RailGun 250 card, Initio Miles, UltraSCSI/Wide drive, AtlasII 4.3 GB, two drive array with Conley Softraid2, 144MB RAM). The 4.3GB drive is formatted with HarddiskToolkit 2.5, partioned in 4 partitions (2 HFS+, 2 HFS), one HFS partition (100MB) is the scratch disk for Photoshop but I use now the RAID array (2 AtlasII 2.2GB drives) as my primary scratch disk ( all connected to the Initio card).

I don't have any problems printing files larger than 10MB via Photoshop. I'm using the PowerPort, though, since I have a LaserJet 6MP, but I want to use the faster print speed of the Epson printer via a standard serial cable. Before the G3 upgrade, I used a Adaptec 2940UW card with the AtlasII 4.3GB drive without problems, same setup. I have also drives (CD-R, Jaz and Magneto-optical drive, Scanner and Zip) connected to the external normal SCSI. I actually would have to look whether I'm using SCSI ID5 anywhere, I try to avoid it but it could be possible by now.
Klaus"

Other Miles owners had reported this is not a common problem.

Shervin Shahrebani wrote with a note on a PC support survey, in response to my comments on Apple refusing to send me a cover replacement in Saturday's news:

" Hi Mike,
When you have time, you might want to read Spencer F. Katt's latest PC-Week article. It mentions some interesting tidbits about the quality of service people have been getting from Dell and Gateway (and I can vouch personally for Compaq's bad service).

http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/spencer/spencer.html

I point this out because I read your story about the refurbished 8600 you got from Macwarehouse. I don't think it is too much to ask for Apple to replace the cover and while I don't want to make excuses for Apple, the truth is these days, most companies are like this. Even Micron I am sure has some dissatisfied customers. This is the case with most companies and those who bend over backwards to help you out don't always stay in business because their competitors are slashing costs wherever possible.
Regards,
Shervin."

I stand by my original comments. Micron replaced an entire refurbished computer with only one phone call (in December), Apple refused to replace a simple user removeable cover after over an hour on the phone and calling at least two different numbers. And I also think Apple should offer the same 3 year warranty on new purchases that the PC big three do (in fact their refurbished units usually carry a full 3 year warranty). I guess there are some penalties for owning the best computer on the planet (the Mac). ;-)

Michael A. Byczkowski replies to yesterday's post regarding a problem with a Apple Drive Setup running on a PowerForce 220/110 card.

"...Drive Setup D1-1.4 (the German version is called "Laufwerke konfigurieren") runs fine with my PowerForce G3 220/110/512k @ 312.7/125.1. I can test all drives and update the drivers. The System is MacOS D1-8.1.

Hope this helps!
With best regards, Michael"

With the hundreds of raves from PowerForce 220 owners I didn't think this was a common problem.

Reader Requests: Dan Kuraisa writes with concern over hardware support in future OS versions. I replied that I've read that OS X will support all PowerPC Macs. But I also hear disturbing rumors and rumblings in the industry regarding future upgrades.

" Mike,
I think that the only reason DR2 and the coming OSX will not run on G3 or older machines is to remove any threat of these 3rd party systems. I honestly believe that apple will jam all of us that have 604 PCI machines, let alone those with G3 upgrades, just to screw the past clones.

I see this; because DR1 could run on these systems, even those with a G3 upgrade. I keep saying this is a software issue and not a hardware one! These OS's will now not run on these systems (After they did at first!) because apple doesn't want them too, and is purposely removing this ability. This shall leave all of us with running OS 8+ and that will be it!

Mark my words on this...

Here is an email address I think you should post, to have EVERBODY ask apple about this question! Mike, this is a major issue for all of us that bought a Mac PPC PCI for the promise of a modern OS.

If your not going to post this address and push this issue, then please tell me why!

Dan"

Russell Brady
PR Manager
Products, Platform & Technology
Apple Computer Inc.
Tel. (408) 974 6877
Fax. (408) 974 6412
email: brady2@apple.com

Ok Dan - I posted it.

Travis Olson sends news of his 6400 specific site at http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/6349. I've added it to my Links page as well. (Travis - did Macintouch post your site and add it to their links page? ;-)

I've gotten several bounced mail messages ("host unknown"). In case you don't get a reply be aware that I tried.

3D Column Logo Contest: I've gotten about 6 offers so far, but I'm still asking for all 3D artists out there to submit their creations for our new 3D Column Logo/Banner. The winner (and any other interesting entries) is also invited to write an article (complete w/screen captures if poss.) showing how it was done. I'd like to have all entries by June 15. Resolution should be 200H x 500W (Maximum size - smaller is fine).

If you'd like to submit a 3D Logo design (full credit given of course), please contact me.

If you missed this weekend's news here's a summary:

Sunday's News:

• Build Your Own 3DFx Fan
• MacsOnly DC User Group Meeting
• Unreal Screen Shots
• Lightwave 5.6 Patch
• Portdoubler/Epson Printer FB
• Rhapsody DR2/G3 CPU/SCSI Disk Problems
• Sonnet Cresendo (Nubus G3) FB
• PowerForce 220/Apple Drive Setup FB
• Voodoo II News/Carmageddon 2

Saturday's News:

• ProRez Review Posted
• Mac Speedup Tips (IE4/Duo/ramBunctious
• Newer Tech G3/DIMM Buffering Issues
• Apple Refurbished Warranty Story
• Shared Lib. Extension Notes
• 8600/250 Refurb Notes
• G3 A/V and CU-SeeMe
• Compaq FB
• Bungie Myth II
• (almost) Free Macs
• UMAX loss ($$) Comments

Please check your bookmarks - make sure you are using www.xlr8yourmac.com.

PowerBook Duo System for Sale:

• PowerBook Duo 270c with 2300 logic board upgrade (100mhz 603e)
• 16MB RAM/240MB HD (OS 8.1 installed)
• 14.4 internal model
• Apple MiniDock
• External Floppy drive
• Dual Charger and AC adapter

The Duo needs a motherboard battery replacement (battery is included) and the 3 included batteries don't have a lot of life in them but otherwise it's in excellent condition. If you're interested, make me an offer. (Top Offer so far is $525)

We need your G3 info! Reader "Oz" has offered to help with collecting data on Apple G3 system compatibility issues (hardware and software) of all types. Please send him any Apple G3 system compatibility info/issues you have or are aware of at: oz@bbdoperu.com

Search Tip! For searches on product names with mixed capitalization, use keywords like PowerBoost Pro (not Powerboost Pro or powerboost pro) and MaxPowr (vs maxpowr or Maxpowr). It seems that capitalization within the word on the site pages is throwing off the engine. Keep that in mind when searching for some of the odd product names.

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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