" A post dated 12/15/00 from Graeme at Id on the QuakeWorld Mac bulletin board noted the release of the Q3A 1.27 point release, Q3:TA demo and Q3:TA tomorrow morning!

"I'll post complete beta apps in the morning for TA Demo, TA and the point." -Graeme

See the thread here:
www.quake3world.com/ubb/Forum21/HTML/000613.html

Glad I bought my copy of the Q3:TA CD today!
Jeff Nelson"

Any comments on the purchase of 3dfx assets/products?

NVIDIA and 3dfx have signed an agreement for NVIDIA to purchase the core graphics assets of 3dfx. Those assets include all the patents, pending patent applications, trademarks, brand names and chip inventory related to the graphics processor business of 3dfx. The agree does not include their products. This is a purchase of their core assets and not their current product line. The remaining 3dfx entity is responsible for their current product lines and retail channel. Check those details with 3dfx.

We are very excited about getting an instant influx of award-winning graphics technology and to end the litigation between the two companies.

Will you continue to sell Mac voodoo cards?

The remaining 3dfx entity is responsible for their current product lines and retail channel. It is best to check those details with 3dfx management. I do not know their plans. NVIDIA is not announcing any future plans related to the Macintosh market at this time.

Any other comments?

The combined expertise and technology of the two companies will give NVIDIA even more technical strength than we have today.

Brian Burke
Senior PR Manager
NVIDIA Corp."

There were rumors a month or so ago about Nvidia buying 3dfx, but this is still a shocker (and a disappointment).

A reader sent a note that Grame Devine's latest plan file at PC site Blues News notes that beta versions of Mac Team Arena are in testing. (The plan file noted seeding another beta version tonight, which may have been misinterpreted as a public release.) As of 6PM I didn't see it at ID's Team Arena Demo page or at www.fileplanet.com. [Update - see this InsideMacGames article for more info on Mac Team Arena as well as info on the long awaited update to Mac Quake3.]

Several readers replied they have gotten their cards from the last auction. Here's a sample comment:

" Mike:
We bought 2 of the Radeon cards you noted on eBay about a week back, they arrived today very professionally packaged, and exactly as described. He appears to have another 8 on eBay this week. Might be worth passing the info along... Thanks for the heads-up on the auction listing,
Steven Wineberg
Service Manager
Computer Renaissance"

The current auction ends Dec 19 at 06:22:28 PST. The current minimum winning bid as of 4PM EST today is $101. (That can change of course.)

I noted in this Tuesday's news item that Digit-Life had an Nvidia Roadmap showing Macs supported. My Nvidia contact refused to comment on rumors however.
Update: - for performance tests of the Mac GeForce3 (NV20) - see the Video articles page, Graphics card section. (tested in G4/733 system in spring 2001.)

" I believe that Apple is referring [in DFA 8.6 readme-Mike] to a HFS Wrapper problem. My advice to people is to run DFA 8.6 on all non-Mac OS X partitions, especially system partitions. Mac OS 9.0.x introduced a bug (surprise) in the HFS wrapper boot code. DFA 8.6 is supposed to fix that bug."
(name withheld by request)

After this reader's comments, I ran DFA 8.6 on my original G4/500 DP disk (which shipped with OS 9.04 installed) and it also found (and repaired) a wrapper system file problem. (In fact, every OS 9.04 disk I've tried, even Firewire drives, had the wrapper problem, which DFA 8.6 reported and repaired.)

If you missed last night's news, there are English-North America and English-International versions available.

" I upgraded my wallstreet woth a 20 G Fujitsu hard disk and have had no problems with battery life. I assume you have tried Apple's battery reset utility, which I have also used for problems (before I replaced the hard drive).
[I was not the one reporting the problem, but the battery reset Apple util. was noted in yesterday's news-Mike]

I had battery charging problems that turned out to be caused by a short-some of the metal foil in the power plug recepticle in the rear of my powerbook was touching the power plug.
good luck
Richard Hoopes"

See yesterday's news story for other tips such as the Battery Reset utility, checking/tweaking battery contacts, etc. (Note: Lithium Ion batteries don't have a memory effect like NiCad or NIMH types.)

Yesterday's news had a story on an adapter for going the other way (VGA or DVI to ADC, which requires a separate power supply for the 28V monitor power source).

"Mike;
Whoopee! The Epson "Stylus Driver Updater v1.0cEs" has worked. After a quick installation and restart of my G4/450 the Remote Access conflict no longer occurs. I printed a page with my Stylus Photo 1270, then got on line and surfed, then got off line and printed again WITH NO FREEZE in Remote Access...
Sincerely - H. Mike Casper"

The driver update was listed in yesterday's Software Updates listing.

The Sony case uses an Initio Firewire/IDE bridge but has a label noting Sony firmware. Perhaps the bridge is programmed to only work with Sony drives.

• Four new modules: Clock, Iconifier, Flash, and Tunnel
• Full multiple monitor support, allowing multiple faders to run simultaneously across all displays
• New option to fade on startup
• Faders now run at the same rate independently of machine speed
• Fixed crash opening preferences window if OpenGL not present
• Fixed memory leak in Slide Show and Image Cube

Setting Sun requires Mac OS 8.1 or later, with QuickDraw 3D and OpenGL recommended. BTW - Based on docs I've seen, Apple does not reccommend using screensavers with LCD displays, preferring to use the builtin energy saver options to turn off the display. (Extending the life of the LCD backlight.)

• Newer Tech G3/330 in 6100/66 (rated 9)
• Newer Tech G3/300-330 in 6100/66AV (rated 10)
• Powerlogix Z-Force w/Apple OEM G3/300 ZIF in 8500/180 (rated 10)
• Sonnet G3/400 in 7300/166 (rated 10)
  
  
• Apple G4/500 OC report (would not run even 50mhz over)

You can find these full reports by searching the database selecting the indicated Mac model and upgrade card brand/type. If you've upgraded the CPU on your Mac, please post an entry in the database. Search the database for entries from most every upgradable Mac model *before* you buy. (Searchable by mac model/upgrade brand)

DVD RAM Drives:
• IDE Matshita DVD-RAM LF-D211A (4.7GB) in G4/AGP
  
  DVD ROM Drives:
• IDE Pioneer 105S (16x/40x) slot loading in G4/AGP
  
  CDROM Drives:
• SCSI NEC 32x SCSI CDR1910a in 8600
  (filed under "other" brands)
  
  CDRW Drives:
• SCSI Plextor 12x/4x/32x in B&W G3 (not bootable)
• Firewire/SCSI Adapter with SCSI Plextor 12x/4x/32x (not bootable) used w/PB G3 2000
• IDE Sony CRX140E/CH2 in Beige G3
  (problems noted as slave, perhaps a rev 1 Beige G3)
  
  Hard Drives:
• Firewire (case) with IBM 75GXP 45GB (used w/G4 Cube)
  (notes drive was bootable)
• IDE Quantum Fireball Plus LM 30GB in iMac
• IDE Maxtor 40GB in Beige G3 w/PCI IDE card
  (noted problems with VST IDE card, Sonnet (aka Acard) OK)
• IDE Maxtor 15GB in Beige G3
• IDE Maxtor 45GB in Beige G3
  (comments indicated wrong jumper settings, as noted in the FAQ, some owners mistakenly used old PC jumper settings that limit the drive to 32GB.)

You can find these full reports by searching the database with the drive/brand/mac models listed above selected (the latest reports are shown first in searches).
If you've added a IDE, SCSI, Firewire or USB hard drive, CDRW, tape drive, etc. make sure you add a report to the database.

• Unreal Tournament (512x384, 640x480 ) from iMac G3/233 (onboard video)
• Unreal Tournament (1024x768) from Beige G3/250 w/Voodoo3 card
• Quake2 (640x480) from 4400 w/G3 320MHz & MacMagic card

Software Updates:

• Intech CD/DVD SpeedTools 5.6
• Kaleidoscope 2.3 (direct download link)
• ConceptDraw (Carbon)
• IRCmagic 1.6
• Morphon XML Editor Suite

Apple TIL Updates:
• Ethernet: Crossover Cable Pin Out
• iMac: SDRAM DIMM Take Apart Instructions
• IMac: AirPort Card Take Apart Instructions
• Macintosh: 3COM OfficeConnect Dual Speed Switch Interoperability Condition
• Power Mac G4: Startup Disk Error Message
• Mac OS: Usage of the Term Desktop
• Power Mac G4: Supported Digital and Analog Resolutions
• iMac: Speaker and Headphone Port Specifications

Mac News: (Note: Regurgitated press releases, etc. are not listed)

• 3dfx to sell to NVIDIA, dissolve business (also see today's main news page)
• Market Watch - Apple Computer (marketwatch)
• Will OS X Save The Day? (techweb)
• Pentium IV versus G4 (macwelt)
• Apple's Lack of Courage (OSOpinion)
• Powerbook G3 Corrective Collective
• Wrappers for Your G4 Cube (resexcellence)
• Mac OS X Open Source Petition (macinsite)
• MacDirectory Ten Awards (macdirectory)
• Apple's endgame? (yahoo)

Mac Gaming:
• (See today's Game News Page)

Misc. Hardware Related:
• Are cell phones hazardous to your health? (MSNBC)