" I have read the article on smoking G4's.
I am bilingual in English/Japanese so I have provided a translation for that article:

[Mark's translation follows]
"There has been several reported cases of smoke coming out of Apple Computers G4 Cube. Apple has confirmed the problem and is researching the cause.

It seems the heat from the power supply is causing particles (electrolysis material?) to vaporize and to be released into the air. The smoke does not seem to be a fire hazard.

Although rare, there has been multiple incidents reported. If a user experiences similar symptoms, Apple will continue to repair the problem on an individual basis.

The exact cause is still under investigation. Apple is planning to post the results as a TIL file. "

Thanks to Mark for the better translation than originally posted.

"Hi Mike:
I didn't see anyone mention this, so it could be interesting:
I downloaded Oni last night (after 3 times try and failed for PPP is too slow for that) and try it. It's really cool!

But what's even cooler is it runs NATIVELY ON MACOSX~ I didn't read the readme so I don't know if it has been mentioned, but pretty good~

Graphic is smooth and beautiful, under MacOS X, significantly faster than running Quake III on my PowerBook400 (firewire).
Best Regards
Jack Chang from Taiwan, ROC"

The forums here (OS X Beta section) has a discussion on the Oni demo running in OS X also.

" Greetings Mike,
I dl'ed the demo's for Oni, Elite Force and Quake Team Arena yesterday and they all work with my ProFormance 3 16Mb card (not the ProFormance Plus). This card is in a 8600/300 up'ed with a Formac ProG3 400Mhz zif card, 232Mb of non-interleaved memory and twin 4.3Mb Barracudas formatted in a striped raid.

This is what works for me:

OS 9.04
Open Transport 2.6.1 (not sure if this makes a difference or not)
Formac ProGraphics control panel 5.9.3 with version 2.2.0 Eprom
Formac ProFormance III 3D Accelerator Lib
OpenGLRendererFormac 5.9.3
DrawSprocketLib 1.7.5
InputSprocket 1.7.3
NetSprocketLib 1.7.1
SoundSprocketLib 1.7.1 (not sure why these are different versions but I think GameSprockets 1.7.5 installs them this way)
OpenGL 1.1.3 (all 6 inits)
QuickDraw 1.6 (all 5 inits)
QuickTime 5.0a13 (beta)

All OpenGL ATI extensions disabled.

I realize this is going to sound stupid but people need to make sure they have the 'OpenGL' option turned on via the ProGraphics control panel. Actually I was surprised to have all three demo's work because I've had problems with the 'Unable to initialize OpenGL' error issues before. Oni is amazing and runs surprisingly smooth on this system.
-TMD "

If any of these tips solve other Proformance3 owner problems with the Oni demo, let me know. Please include your system and driver/ROM info.

If the editor requires 3d hardware acceleration it will now work under VPC however and the readme file notes that it requires the full PC version to be installed to run, as well as having the original CD in the drive. If you've tried tracks made with the PC editor on a Mac, let me know.

I don't know how Mac friendly this drive is however. (The VeloCD drives do not come with any Mac software, nor does TDK list it as Mac compatible, although there are some reports from Mac owners using previous VeloCD models in the Drive Compatibility Database here.) If any readers do buy the VeloCD 16/10/40 drive, please post an entry in the database.

• Newer Tech G4/400 in 7500 (rated 1)
  (startup problems noted)
• Newer Tech G4/400 in 9600/350 (rated 1)
  (random freezes in games noted)
• Newer Tech G3/400 in 8500/180 (rated 8)
• Other World Computing G3/400 in Beige G3 (rated 10)
• Sonnet L2 G3/400 in PowerBase (rated 1)
  (noted fit and other issues)
• XLR8 G4/500 in B&W G3 (rated 10)
• XLR8 CarrierZIF w/G3/400 ZIF in PowerWave (rated 10)
  (noted using XLR8's ZIF settings for the Formac ZIF module)

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 ROM Drives:
• IDE Hitachi GD-7500 (12x/40x) in B&W G3
• IDE Hitachi GD-7500 (12x/40x) in G4/PCI
• IDE Toshiba SM1402 in Beige G3
  (problems playing DVDs, not sure why since other 1402 owners were fine)
  
  Removable Media Drives:
• SCSI Fujitsu DynaMO 640MB in 9600
  (detailed report on install, performance, etc.)
• SCSI ZIP 100 w/iMac using Formac iRaid/SCSI mezzanine slot card
  (noted it was not bootable)
  
  CDRW Drives:
• IDE Acer 10x8x32 in Beige G3
  (noted working with Toast 4.1.x, but not Jam 3.0)
• IDE HP 9340i in Beige G3
• Firewire Que! Fire 8X4X32X w/G4 AGP
• IDE TDK 12/10/32 veloCD in MacAlly Firewire case w/G4 Cube
  (filed under Firewire interface, includes comments on case bridge chip)
• Firewire Sony CRX145EXI (10x/4x/32x) w/G4 AGP
• SCSI Yamaha CRW8824S w/PowerCenter Pro
  (noted it's not bootable)
  
  Hard Drives:
• SCSI Fujitsu 18GB in 8500
• IDE IBM 75GXP 46GB in 8600 (using PCI IDE card) (playing simple aiff or sound files showed no stuttering, but I asked if he could test with MP3, or QT movies)
• IDE IBM 75GXP 45GB in 8500 (using PCI IDE card)
  (audio stuttering on music files noted)
• IDE IBM Travelstar 20GB in PB G3 Lombard
• IDE IBM Travelstar 20GB in PB G3 Wallstreet 1
  (said PB will now power up from AC adapter, unless battery installed)
• IDE Maxtor 30GB in 6500
• Firewire Maxtor 80GB w/B&W G3 rev 1
  (noted problems recognizing drive, removed it for use as IDE drive)
• IDE Quantum Fireball AS 30GB in G4/PCI
• IDE Quantum 12GB (OEM drive) in B&W G3 rev 1 (as slave)
• IDE Seagate ST310212A 10GB in B&W G3
  (noted running it for 10 months in the ZIP drive bay)
• IDE Western Digital 30GB in 6500
• IDE Western Digital 40GB in Beige G3
• SCSI Western Digital 18GB in 8500

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.

• Quake3 1.27 Beta (640x480, 1024x768) from G4/500 w/Radeon AGP
• Quake3 1.27 Beta (640x480) from G4/450 w/Rage128 Pro AGP
• Quake3 1.27 Beta (640x480, 800x600, 1024x768 ) from Dual G4/450 w/Voodoo3
• Quake3 1.27 Beta (640x480, 800x600, 1024x768) from Dual G4/450 w/Rage128 Pro AGP
• Quake3 1.27 Beta (640x480 using Locki Config) from Dual G4/450 w/Voodoo3
• Quake3 1.27 Beta (640x480 using Locki Config) from Dual G4/450 w/Rage128 Pro AGP

Software Updates:

• Rewind 1.0.3
• Jingle Bells Bark (movie)

Apple TIL Updates:
• Mac OS: -39 or -192 Error Opening Launcher
• Modem Dials Automatically

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

• VST FireWire RAID Array (macaddict)
• eMailman (Email hints & tips)