" I think you should remind people that the non/Apple ATTO firmware is not supported with OS X Server. If they plan on using OS X Server, flashing their Apple OEM cards with ATTO firmware renders them inoperable under OS X Server (at least, not without significant difficultly).

The question is, would an Apple OEM ATTO card work in a B&I to boot? On the OS X Server CD, there is a Mac OS X SCSI Card Updater (the path is "Mac OS X Server Install/Upgrader Files/Mac OS X SCSI Card Updater"). It, of course, does not recognize my retail ATTO card. It may flash the Apple OEM ATTO card so that it will boot. Maybe. I would like to know.
..Bill

ATTO OEM ROM Tip: Site Sponsor Other World Computing sent a note with a workaround for owners of OEM ATTO SCSI Cards (Apple ROM) that won't accept the retail Mac model Firmware update:

There is a work around to the ATTO rom issue.
Update with PC version of Rom updater [use the card in a PC and run the ATTO PC version Updater-Mike] and then the Mac Updater will successfully recongnize and update the card. All future shipments from OWC will already have the update to the latest B&W compatible ATTO Firmware in place.

Best Regards,
Larry
Other World Computing "

If it ships with the B&W G3 rev. firmware, that means a name brand fully compatible UW SCSI card for $135, not bad. I've added this tip to the Frequently Asked Questions SCSI topic section.

Game Wizard Driver Update?: After seeing no improvements in performance with the updated driver from a month or so ago (I didn't take note of the revision as I quickly removed it), I went back to the original (1998 shipping) version, but this reader says there was a driver update on the 15th that didn't work for him:

" Mike,
I didn't see anything about this on your site so I thought I'd let you know. MicroConversions released new V2 drivers on the 15th and if what happened to me is any indication, don't bother getting them. (If you already know about these and they work for you then maybe what happened to me was a fluke.) The new version, 2.53r7, don't appear to work at all. 3DFX Quake complains that the "3DfxGlideLib2.x" isn't installed. Unreal starts up into software mode, and then does a nice little nasty crash when going to the advanced options screen that corrupts the resource fork of the System file.(rendering the computer unbootable)

The previous MacGlide.b7 worked fine for me. There wasn't any difference in my setup between the two versions, except for removing b7 and replacing it with 2.53r7.

This is the first actual problem I've had with this card and drivers. [He later wrote he did remove the old driver ]
John W. Cooper, Jr.

A few weeks back there was a promise of SLI enabled drivers soon, but this is the first I've heard of a new driver version. My 3Dfx Message Board is always a good place to check for this type of news/feedback reports. There is an interesting Is OpenGL Really the Future of Gaming thread in the forums now.

Maxtor 5120 HD: I stopped reporting every successful B&W G3 Slave drive report due to getting so many, but am posting this one due to the fact it uses the new series of higher-density (higher performance theoretically) Maxtor drives:

" Mike,
My new Maxtor 10.2gb (91024D4, model 5120) just arrived. I had it installed in 5 minutes. After booting, drive set-up 1.7.2 recognized the drive and I initialized using "zero all data." When initialization was complete, the two partitions mounted to the desktop.

I have captured, played, edited to both partitions with no problems at all.

Thanks for the great set-up guide! It sure made it easy.
Steve"

Although 'officially' IDE Slaves on the primary channel are not supported in the new G3, since my how-to article was posted in January I've gotten hundreds of success stories.

Static Electricity Reminder: A reader reported zapping (DOA) his G3 motherboard with static electricity. As noted in the articles here, always try to touch the metal PS housing to discharge static buildup, use a wrist strap if possible, don't work on carpet or in rubber soled shoes/nylon socks. I use a anti-static mat bought at Sam's club years ago - good insurance. Often you won't feel any discharge, but you can degrade the life of components by improper handling. Most electronic component failures are related to handling issues prior to the failure (either in the mfg or installation stages) according to a study I read several years ago.

Lorenzo Mazzucco wrote asking if the latest 2940UW Mac firmware allowed booting from drives in a B&W G3. The 4.x update linked in the sidebar some time ago was to address this. I tried to respond to Lorenzo by mail but his ISP club-internet.fr apparently is rejecting any mail from my ISP's domain. (Lorenzo - please check with them on this issue as I can't reply to any of your mail currently - repeated bounces.)

Note to Ariel Saulog, I tried to answer your queston today but got the following rejection - possibly AOL is blocking cstone.net mails or you have your mail preferences set incorrectly.
Remote-MTA: DNS; air-zb04.mail.aol.com
Diagnostic-Code: SMTP; 550 [email address at AOL] IS NOT ACCEPTING MAIL FROM THIS SENDER
Contact AOL to for more info if you need help setting up your AOL email preferences.

300MHz G3 Reports: I'm getting so many 400MHz overclock reports from B&W G3s that I'm really beginning to suspect the latest 300MHz models are using the lonestar (lower voltage, 333MHz and up design) CPUs. Possibly IBM/Moto is not producting the old (higher voltage) 300 chip any longer, only manufacturing the new, lower voltage (333 and up) design. Since the original 300MHz G3 was the hottest (temp) G3 ever (highest clock speed of that voltage model), I suspect some new 300s have to be a lonestar design to tolerate the speeds and run at the temperatures that are being reported.

The Diamond Rio MP3 player Special Edition looks a lot like the new Macs don't you think? And today their main page says 'Accelerate Your World'. Copycats...well, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. ;-)

MacTell G3 Sale: Site Sponsor Bottom Line sent a note they have cut prices on their line of MacTell G3 upgrades. For a complete list of models/speeds/prices - Click Here. Free shipping they said on orders over $100 and under 10lbs.

Before sending tech support mail - please check the Frequently Asked Questions - over 240 questions answered there on many topics. The other site topics pages (system, cpu cards, etc. - linked under the logo and in the sidebar) contain reviews or articles that might answer your questions. Due to 100+ mails a day, 7 days a week, I can't guarantee a reply to all mail (it's not humanly possible with all the work I have to do and a full time job) and it could take a week or more, so please take the time to check these resources -thanks! News, Tips or Bug reports are always welcome.

Exclusive First Look! Take a peek at the 64-Bit, dual-channel Adaptec 3950U2B. As reported here previously, these should be appearing soon at the Apple Store as a BTO option. Without a doubt this is the most capable 'data pump' I've seen for a personal computer, and unlike most name brand PCs, the B&W has 64-Bit PCI slots to take advantage of it.

Today is technically the Site's 2nd Anniversary, but I'm so buried in work at the moment I didn't have time to write up a 2nd year in review article. I'll do that early next week and will be giving away an IX3D Road Rocket to some lucky reader in celebration.

UltraATA Cables: As promised, I ran tests last night in the B&W G3 on the primary IDE bus with both a std IDE (ie cheap) cable I'd been using for months, and a custom made to length UltraATA 80 conductor (shielded) cable. Tests in ATTO Tools with a 0-8MB, 4 sample size (avg of 4 test samples/size) showed zero difference in performance. I have the graphs ready to post later today or tomorrow. Regardless of the test results - I highly recommend UltraATA cables due to better shielding and reduced susceptibility to RFI which can improve reliability.

OS 8.6: According to a source I spoke to last night, OS 8.6 is Gold Master now and should be out within a few weeks. He reported that he's running the pre-GM version and it has been rock solid on a PowerBook G3. This reportedly *free* upgrade (windows owners should be so lucky) has a much improved microkernel that has MP/SMP support I'm told. I might have to dust off that old Quad 180 Genesis box.

OS X: A good friend has promised to do a series of Mac OS X Server articles here. He's been trained on OS X and Webobjects, and I know of no better source of Apple tech info. If all goes well, I'm buying a copy of OS X Server today.

Apple LCD: I recently bought an openbox Apple Studio Display flat panel and love it. ($849 at CDW's bargain basement - I just stumbled on the listing the other day and couldn't resist.) I had to attach the Lightwave 3D ADB dongle to the display base, as the monitor could not communicate normally through the dongle (the Flat Panel button never appeared in Monitors and Sound), but thankfully the dongle works fine attached to the display. The display is perfect (no dead pixels) and has that typical Apple substance and style.

OpenGL: Last night I finally found time to install the OpenGL beta Update. Following the readme instructions I removed all ATI extensions and the Conix folder before running the update. However since Lightwave 3D would not run without the Conix Folder - I copied it back to the extensions folder, then ran the LW 5.6D hardware OpenGL patch and in limited tests it seems to run great! Fully shaded previews were very smooth, with light reflections, etc.. My sources say the final release (non-Beta) should be available soon.

LightWave 6.0: A friend at NewTek told me that Lightwave 6.0 is a huge upgrade that will amaze you. It will be previewed at NAB next week. The upgrade is rumored to cost $495 but that's not official. I hope to have more info on it from NAB from my friend Peter Bethke, who is lucky enough to be attending the show.

Timbuktu/B&W G3 modem: The reader that reported the problem in yesterday's news wrote back to say using the 'generic 56k' modem script solved the problem. I've updated the Internal Modem Tips and Compatibility page to reflect this.

" Thanks Mike
I 'solved' it by choosing the Generic 56K. Works well so I gues I'll leave it at that.

Timbuktu uses Windoez INF files to optimize the modems. It does not use the Apple Modem scripts. Not very Mac oriented since they got bought out by Farallon/Netopia.

Since then they don't bother updating their modem scripts for Apple specific modems. The last one they made is the express modem 33.6. Can you believe that?

Anyway, maybe someone will respond to creating the INF file to Optimize this modem.
Cesar"

A reader asked if Other World Computing still offered a trade-in on Apple OEM ZIFs when you bought their 300 or 366MHz ZIF Upgrades. Larry wrote that their website shows the current tradein prices (subject to change in the future) - "$25 for 233, $35 for 266, $75 for 300mhz, $100 for 333mhz trade "

While reviewing the latest entries in the Rate Your G3 Upgrade, I noticed that Bob Waddell reported the switch settings in the manual of his Newer Tech G3/240 upgrade for the Starmax 3000 were incorrect and suggested owners call tech support for an update. He said the upgrade tripled the speed of Microstation but, as expected, OS X server install was a no-go (Crashes).

Advansys SCSI ROM Update: a reader reports that there is a firmware update to the Advansys card:

"Advansys has firmware updates available for their PCI SCSI cards to allow B&W G3 booting. Check it out at www.advansys.com. [he later wrote] I forgot to mention that the Orange Micro Grappler line of SCSI cards use Advansys chips so their firm ware updates may very well add boot capability to the Grappler cards as well... "

I'd very with OrangeMicro that the firmware was compatable. Checking Advansys' Narrow SCSI downloads page shows B&W G3 boot updates (v1.15) for two of their models. They also have a Mac UW News page that details the various firmware versions.

Apple has updated their Quicktime for Java runtime.

DV Tips: In response to the problem post in yesterday's news [frames dropped during playback( but not capture)] with an IDE Slave drive on a B&W G3 a reader replies with some tips:

Hey Mike,
In response to your reader's problem with EditDV/BW G3:
He should try reformatting the drive in the standard HFS rather than HFS+. I use Premiere and Adobe reports many playback and capture problems when using HFS+ drives. Should be the same with EditDV.

Also, Adobe suggests partitioning any drive larger than 10gb. I would break my 20gb into 2 equal parts. Use the first partition to capture, the second as scratch disk.
Steve "

A reader sent a note on default IBM hard drive cache state:

" Hi Mike,
I was told by a IBM supplier that all IBM Ultrastar drives are shipped with the Cache of the harddisk disabled. To enable the Harddisk cache, I am to use EZ SCSI utility. But EZ SCSI utility is only for PC use.

I am using the IBM HDD for Apple Macintosh. My question is, Is the cache on these drive automatically enabled once I format the drive for Mac use.
Best Regards
Patrick "

I assume he's talking SCSI, since there were several comments on IBM 10K RPM drives recently in the news. The HD's driver mode page settings can be changed by the installed driver - for instance Softraid 2 and HDT allow mode page/cache settings changes. I can't say for sure about Apple's driver - but based on the peak rates I saw comparing it to Softraid's driver in Ultra2 SCSI tests, I'd say the cache was definately enabled on the Cheetah and AtlasIII drives as peaks were actually higher than the Softraid drivers, although the Softraid driver had better sustained rates.

Wired is reporting Another Privacy Hole in IE 5.0 saying when users bookmark a Web page with Internet Explorer 5.0, a new feature in the browser notifies the site. Oh [Big] brother...

David Linder wrote that more MPEG video files are availiable at: ftp://ftp.wiredinc.com/mpegfiles/. Wired Inc is the company that sells the Mac PCI DVD Decoder board ($215) Noted in Wednesday's news.

Reader Ideas for Mac Portable: In reply to a post in yesterday's news about IBM's new chip for set-top boxes, Douglas Godfrey sent his idea for using some of their new devices for a low cost Mac portable:

" IBM recently has entered the custom CPU business with it's Blue Logic library of CPU cores and peripherals. The following is a possible combination of IBM's currently available cores that would be perfect for Apple to use in a low cost portable.

This chip would allow a 3 chip motherboard with more features than the current G3 350/DVD/MPEG Tower systems.

EC603E CPU
66mhz 60x CPU bus/memory controller interface
2 independant 64bit memory controllers
1 Onchip Peripheral Bus
64/33 PCI bus
AGP 2x Graphics bus

Bus 1 PLB:
200mhz PPC 405 CPU
32k ICache/32k DCache
66mhz 60x bus interface
66mhz SDRAM controller
8 channel DMA controller
PLB/PLB crossbar switch
PLB/OPB bridge
PLB Arbiter
64/33 PCI bridge

Bus 2 OPB:
Timers
MPIC
GPIO
I2C
100baseT Ethernet
PLB Arbiter

Bus 3 PLB:
66mhz SGRAM controller
8 channel DMA controller
PLB/PLB crossbar switch
C54X DSP coprocessor
400Mbps Firewire
MPEG
MPEG AC-3 Audio
PLB Arbiter
64/33 PCI bridge

             66mhz
            60x bus                           66mhz
             SDRAM                            SGRAM
               |                                |
+==============|================================|==========================+
|          PPC 60x bus                        memory                    
  |
|        Memory contler                       contler                   
  |
|              |                                |                       
  |
| PPC 405 CPU--+----------PLB/Crossbar----------+--C54x
DSP-------{Serial out-
| 200mhz       |<64/66 PLB            64/66 PLB>|  16k dataram/64k
coderam |
| 32k ICache   |                                |                       
  |
| 32k DCache   |          32/33 OPB             +--400Mbps Firewire
{1394 i/o-
|              +----PLB/OPB--+--Ethernet SCP    |                       
  |
|              |             |        |         +--MPEG Video Decoder   
  |
|              |     Timers--+--Ethernet MAL    |                       
  |
|              |             |        |         +--MPEG AC-3
Audio-{Audio out-
|              |     GPIO----+--Ethernet MAC    |                       
  |
|8 channel DMA-+      |      |        |         +--8 channel DMA controller|
|              |      | I2C--+--Ethernet PHY    |                       
  |
| PLB Arbiter--+      |  |   |        |         +--PLB Arbiter          
  |
|              |      |  |  MPIC      |         |                       
  |
|           PLB/PCI   |  |   |     100baseT  PLB/AGP                    
  |
|            64/33    |  |   |     Ethernet  AGP 2x                     
  |
|           PCI bus   |  |   |        |         |                       
  |
+==============|======|==|===|========+=========|==========================+
               |      |  |   |        |         |
          Via xxxxxxx                     ATI Rage 128 GL
          Southbridge                      AGP 2x Video
           Super I/O

The PPC 405 CPU core is equivalent to the PPC EC603E (no FP unit). The FP unit core is not yet available in the Blue Logic library.

PLB: Processor Local Bus, 64bit, 66mhz split transaction on chip CPU bus.
OPB: On Chip Peripheral Bus, 32bit, 33mhz peripheral attachment bus (similar to a PCI bus).
DMA: 2 - 8 channel intelligent DMA controllers with chained discriptors. Timers: 5 multi purpose counter/timers.
GPIO: 32 General Purpose I/O lines.
I2C: I2C serial port for sensing SDRAM confifguration and/or configuring peripheral chips.
MPIC: Imbedded Programmable Interrupt Controller (OpenPIC compliant) with 32 interrupt inputs and 4 interrupt outputs.
SCP: Serial Communications Processor (subset of the 68302 SCP).
MAL: Memory Access Layer (Logical Level API for serial communications).
MAC: 100baseT Ethernet Media Access Controller.
PHY: 100baseT Physical Media Controller.
C54X: C54x Digital Signal Processor, binary compatible with TI C54x (16k data ram, 64k code ram).
Firewire: 400Mbps Fire Wire plus MPEG sequencer (allows playing MPEG encoded video streams from a Firewire DVCam).
MPEG: MPEG video decoder, MPEG audio layer 3 and Dolby AC-3 audio.
AGP 2x: AGP port for video controller.
PCI64: 64bit, 64/33mhz PCI controller (PCI 2.2 compatible)
VIA: Via technologies Southbridge/Super I/O combo chip
ATI Rage: ATI Rage 128 GL or ATI Rage 128 LC (for Digital LCD screens)

Douglas Godfrey "

I'm rushed this morning as I'm hoping to buy a copy of OS X Server at 1PM today. I got to bed at 4AM last night (again) so excuse any typos introduced in the rush this morning. More updates later today or tomorrow.

If you missed any recent daily news a summary is below (details on the past 2 days, and links to the last week). For a blast from the past, read what was on the news page here exactly a year ago.

Friday's News Summary

• Timbuktu 4.8./B&W G3 Modem Problem
• Fuse Driver update
• Edit DV/B&W G3 Playback issues
• 3D Game News updated
• MC Game Wizard $40 rebate
• OWC/Bottom Line sales
• Evanglist being Retired
• PL owner comments on heatsink/guardbit
• Report on new G3s allow taller drives
• OWC 366MHz ZIF reader feedback
• 333MHz iMacs at Frys/BTO delivery comments
• ZIF interchange info
• Microconversion's Ult. Gaming iMac Uprade
• PBZone has guide to DVD desktop trick
• Request for PC DVD drive feedback in BW G3
• G3 CPU Upgrade Ratings database updated
• Other Net News

Thursday's News Summary

• Game Wizard 2D/3D screen switching tip
• XLR8/Japan bundling PPC checker without permission
• 3D Gaming News page updated with OpenGL 3Dx news and more.
• G3 CPU Upgrade Ratings database updated with 400MHz G3/20th Anniv report
• More XLR8/400 owner comments
• Myth 1.2.1 updater
• NT server vs Linux Performance tests
• More on OEM ZIPs In B&W G3s
• Game Wizard driver conflict report
• More Networking Tips for G3s
• OS 8.5 Modem Tip (settings)
• MPEG II Video Clips on the web
• OWC, MacGurus, Mactell G3 Upgrade Prices Drop (listing)
• Other Computer news

For other recent site news/features links, see the Sidebar to the right and the Recent Site Features page.

If you own a G3/300 or faster Mac, make you get our PPC Checker utility that will report if your CPU is copper or aluminum based.

Considering a G3 Upgrade? Check the CPU Upgrade Owner's Survey results and search for owner reports by Mac model and/or card brand. The database is being updated daily for new reports. Also make sure you ask your dealer about any issues with current builds of some models (ie PF G3) as I have gotten several reports of issues with certain mac models in the last few months (Mach 5, PowerBase, 7300). I urge any owners that have had problems to report this via the Survey Form. Always give the most weight to recent owner reports (dated in the listing).

-Show All Topics-

B&W G3 Related:

-MagicScan G3 Updater
(912K G3/Scanner Fix)
OpenGl Drivers
FireWire 2.0
[File Download]
OEM B&W Ultra2 SCSI
[File Download]
Miles/MilesU2 Updates
ATTO ExpressPCI 1.3.4
(U2 & UW cards)
Rage128 Update 1.0 (485K bin)
or Binhex (660K)
ATTO ExpressPro-Tools [2.1.1]
3940UW v4.1b1 ROM
(Get the 4.0 control below as well)
2940UW v4.1 ROM &
2940UW Control 4.0
Formac PowerRaid Updates
[get hqx version]
Jackammer v1.4 Update
VirtualGameStation 1.1
Plaintalk Enabler
[For B&W/iMac]

Other G3 Models:
-Umax MagicScan v4 (912K)
(G3/Scanner Fix)
OrangeMicro 930U Beta
PPC Checker
Int. Modem Scripts
Apple Modem Update
[File Download]
PB G3 Modem 1.0.2
G3 Modem Update (V.90/56Flex)
See VersionTracker's G3 page for others...

G3 CPU Cards:
Vimage PB1400/2400
Vimage G3/240
(Vimage Update Info)
MacTell G3 Cntl
XLR8 Cache Cntl v1.3 [628KB]
PowerLogix SW
 -Cache Cntl 1.5.1
 -Speedmeter 1.3
 -GuardBit 1.0b2
  (Retrospect fix)
MAXpowr G3 1.3.7
XLR8 Cache Cntl 1.2

Misc/General:
Fuse 1.8.1
Virtual PC 2.1.3
OrangeMicro 930U Beta
MP850 v1.01 update (2.8MB)
ATI OpenGl Drvrs
Office98 GUID Patch
NAV 5.03
April 99 NAV Defs
Java Runtime 2.1.1
Drive Setup 1.7.2
USB Overdrive
Mac Mesa OpenGL
USB Drivers
Blue Label Update 1
Mouseworks 5.20 (1.5M)
Inspire 3D 1.0C (7.2MB)
NavCom Cache Cntl 1.3
Logitech MouseWare USB
Yamaha CRW4416 ROM v1.0f
(See Mac Update Utility page)
Apple Displays Software 1.7.1
GV V.90 Flex Preferred Script
IE 4.5 Plug-in Updater
Farallon NIC Update
Lightwave 5.6D GL Update
(7.9MB Download)
MacTell Vision3D Pro/Lite 5.4.0
(ROM update also)

Formac GA 5.4.0
(Graphics Card Driver)
Stuffit Expander 5.1

Games Related:
Joyport Update
(InputSprocket fix)
Myth Updates
Unreal Updates
MacMame(emulator)
3Dfx Checker Util
Descent 3Dfx
FutureCop 101A
MP850 Glide Drivers
CVGS v1.2
T.Raider2 Update

OS 8.5 Related
Check VersionTracker
for other updates.

See also Apple's Software Updates

Apple TIL Updates

Check here for cool Sherlock Plugins