20GB/7200RPM Maxtor IDE HD $129.94 This is the lowest price I've ever seen for a 20GB ATA/66 7200RPM drive and it's a retail boxed version. Sale price good until 2/26/2000 at Stapes ($30 off their normal price).

(Note: If your local CompUSA is out of stock on the $249.99 sale - perhaps Staples/Best Buy will price match.) Staples and Best Buy both have Maxtor's new 40GB 7200 RPM/2MB Cache ATA/66 IDE hard drives for $299.95. These are full retail boxed models with ATA/66 cable and free Adobe Photoshop 5LE in the box. The 40GB/7200 RPM model box label notes it's 27% faster in Winbench tests than their previous DiamondMax 5400 RPM 40GB model. I'll be testing to see how much faster the drive is than their 27GB 7200 RPM model on the Mac.

Barney Buoy sent a list of Apple links (below) and a note about a Yahoo article titled US secret agents work at Microsoft: French intelligence report.

Apple TILs/Software Updates:

• Macintosh Management Server v1.2 software update

• About Sound Manager 3.6.3 explains the update is only for certain models but doesn't give a specific list. As noted in the Saturday post below, after updating my Software Update control panel to v1.1.1 the Sound Manager 3.6.3 update would install on both my rev 1 G4/450 and iMac DV systems. Many previous OS 9 Audio Updates were only for onboard USB Mac models.

• Mac OS X Server: Macintosh Manager Theory Of Operation

• QuickTime 4: Installer Download Requires Cookies

Barney Buoy sent a few net news links of interest:

• Apple hopes to set desktop video trend (Dallas News)
• Any Color as Long as It's iMac [commentary on iMac colored devices] (PCworld)
• Dark Platinum & Aqua Theme (scroll down to see a comment on an Apple cease and desist request)
• Betting on FCP (Final Cut Pro) (2pop.com)
• EMI go full digital (Music) download (C/Net)

Software Updates (Sound Manager 3.6.3/Virex 6.1):

• Eli Block wrote that Apple Sound Manager 3.6.3 is now available via OS 9's Software Update control panel. (It's not listed at Apple's recent software updates page.) There's a related thread in my G4 Forum. One reader said the update is only for 'newer G4s' and it would not be shown for other models. Note: Until I downloaded Software Update (Control Panel) v1.1.1 on my G4/AGP rev 1, the Sound Manager 3.6.3 update and the Aladdin Software update did not show up. It does now. (It also appeared on the iMac DV after installing the v1.1.1 Software Update Control Panel.)

• Virex 6.1 has been officially released. [ Some readers expressed frustration attempting to get the download file saying they were bounced back and forth between severs at least with IE 4.x. The direct download file is ftp://licensed:321@ftp.nai.com/licensed/antivirus/mac/virex/Virex_61.hqx. ]

The news is light today as I have some other commitments to take care of. Have a great weekend!

If things go as planned, I should receive a PowerBook G3/500 by the end of next week for a review. I can't wait to see how the new model performs.

More Info on CarrierZIF 1.0 to 2.0 Upgrade: Although the details are not finalized, I asked Gary Dailey of XLR8 for any info he had on the 'no penalty' upgrade mentioned in their CarrierZIF 2.0 MP press release earlier this week.

"Mike,
On the upgrade. The plan includes an MP upgrade being marketed through normal channels for CarrierZIF 2.0 owners that includes a MP Riser Card and 2nd CPU (ZIF daughtercard) at a yet to be determined price (and speeds).

While it is early to define the exact program, I can commit that users purchasing CarrierZIF 1.0 in 2000, then purchase their MP Riser with 2nd CPU (when available in July) from XLR8 will be upgraded from CarrierZIF 1.0 to 2.0 at no additional cost. So effectively users that purchase today, with plans to go MP are actually better off purchasing CarrierZIF 1.0, since it is about 20% less expensive.

I hope this provides the clarification that you need.
Regards,
Gary Dailey "

$103/128MB 222 DIMMs: I noticed that 128MB 222 SDRAM Dimms for G3/G4 systems are now $103 on the OWC xlr8yourmac specials page. That's the second price drop this week. Transintl also lowered prices again recently to $110/128MB and offers 256MB dimms for $256. Both vendors guarantee Mac G3/G4 compatibility and have a lifetime warranty.

Bryan Speece Comments on Voodoo5 Demo: My 3dfx/gaming forum has comments from 3Dfx's Bryan Speece to clear up some confusion over the demo at MW Tokyo. See the thread titled "Can This Be True?" for his comments. Although no Mac Voodoo5 (dual chip) PCI model has been announced, there is a Voodoo5 PCI card at 3dfx. Initially the Mac SKUs may be limited to a Vooodoo4 (single chip) PCI card and Voodoo5 (dual chip) AGP card but I don't think the final decision has been made yet.

There are two pictures of the Tokyo Voodoo5 demo on my MW Tokyo Show photo gallery page.

More on IDE RAID/Onboard Controllers/G4 Drive Bays: In case there are other readers not clear on why IDE RAID requires a PCI IDE controller, here's a edited copy of my reply to a reader mail asking about using IDE Raid with the onboard G4 controller. (I've updated the IDE RAID How-To article with an explanation as well. It was to be on the intro/performance page of that article, but after receiving new Acard firmware this week (i.e. - retesting required) that page has not be posted yet):

Mike,
I just got done reading your article on installing an IDE RAID setup on G4s/G3s. I have a G4 on order and am planning on setting up an IDE RAID on it, but had a two questions:

1. The sales rep at Club Mac said that the G4 ships with a 'dual channel IDE controller' that will enable me to hook up 3 additional IDE devices without the need for any additional cards. He also said that there was room inside the G4 for 3 more HD's aside from the front expansion slots. But from reading your article, it seems like an ATA card is *required hardware* for this setup. Can you clarify? (I'm having the G4 shipped with DVD-ROM and internal Zip drives.)

My answer:
All Mac RAID software is made for SCSI drives, not IDE. IDE drives connected to the motherboard IDE controller will not appear in the RAID software list of devices. As noted in my first PCI IDE controller review (TurboMax), The PCI IDE controller card (and the IDE drives connected to it) 'look' like SCSI devices to the MacOS. That's why the RAID software will install on PCI IDE controller connected drives but won't install on the onboard IDE drives - since the software scans for SCSI drives only.

Reminder on available IDE drive connections:
The G4 and G3 systems come with onboard IDE dual-channel controller but remember that's a total of 4 maximum IDE devices attached (master and slave each on the two cables).

The boot disk (in IDE models) is the master on the primary channel and the DVD/CDROM drive is the master on the 2nd channel. If you get a ZIP drive (standard on most models) that's the slave on the 2nd channel. So you only have one free IDE drive connection on most new G4s

There are 3 free internal drive bays in the new systems as they ship. (With a ZIP drive installed there are no free external bays.)

• One open space above the boot disk
• Two drive trays adjacent to the boot disk

However there is one way to add one more drive to a B&W G3 or G4 system - see my March 1999 illustrated guide to installing the Proline HD bracket (about $10 or so). It's linked in the sidebar here under B&W G3 articles and on the Storage topics page as well.

2. Can I use the 10 gig ATA/66 7200 rpm drive that will ship with the G4 with an existing 20 gig ATA/33 7200 rpm drive for the RAID setup, or do they both need to be ATA/66? (i.e., make a 20 gig RAID and use the extra 10 gig from the 20 gig drive as an additional non-RAID volume)

My answer:
I like to use matched drives in any RAID (IDE or SCSI) but it's not required. Of course you'd need to attach any IDE drives to a PCI IDE controller to allow RAID. With SCSI RAID, I've even seen stripes that used two drives from a PCI SCSI card and one from the onboard SCSI, although I can't say I'd prefer that method.

Personally, I'd not suggest IDE RAID for most users, as the total cost (RAID Software, PCI Card, etc.) is not a great value. For less money (and work), you could simply add a very large, very fast IDE drive to the onboard IDE and get more than adequate performance (comparing well to a mixed/smaller drive RAID setup I'm sure - probably faster). I'd like to see how the new 40GB 7200 RPM/2MB cache Maxtor's perform. As noted here last week or so, they were available at egghead in OEM version for under $300 and should start appearing now in retail outlets like CompUSA.

PowerBook Graphics Card/Chip Options: An owner of a PB 3400 had asked if there was any way to upgrade or add a 3d graphics accelerator for better game performance. There's really no 3D accelerator upgrades for PowerBooks that I know of. The IXmicro Road Rocket, previewed here in 1998 required a cardbus slot which pre-PowerBook G3s didn't have to my knowledge and was not really a gaming card. (The Road Rocket article was only a preview, not a full review as usual with my other video card reviews.)

The Road Rocket's value was for dual monitor use with a larger desktop. As noted in the preview, the Road Rocket was based on the IX3D chip, (used in their ultimate rez, game rocket, etc.) that as most folks know and is mentioned in my reviews of those cards, was one of the poorest 3d/game cards I tested. There was never any OpenGL support for the IX3D chipset (OpenGL is used by many of the latest 3D games and 3D applications and is now Apple's standard 3D API).

Rave is also a 3D API supported in some games (3dfx video cards have their own API, but that's another story) but as noted, the lack of 16bit RAVE hardware acceleration in the IX3D chip meant the card was not really suitable for most RAVE games.

I have high hopes for the new Rage128 Mobility chip in the new Powerbooks and encourage any owners to post an entry in my searchable database of mac game/video card performance - there are some wallstreet and lombard PowerBooks entries there now.

One other requirement for 3D games now is a lot of ram. Many new 3D games want near 100MB of RAM, plus the OS and Opengl need free memory as well. Even with 128MB of RAM installed, VM still needs to be enabled in most cases.

Note on PowerBook Graphics Chips: In Thursday's news I had commented on iMac/Powerbook CPU upgrades (titled 'No Magic to iMac/PB G3 CPU Upgrades') that detailed what would be required for upgrading these modules. Several readers noted my comments that the RageLT graphics chip in PB G3 Wallstreet 1 and the RagePro LT in Wallstreet2/Lombards are pin compatible (according to the original datasheets). However to answer some reader's questions, I'm sure the Rage128 Mobility chip is a totally different pinout/package and would not be possible/practical to upgrade in a previous Powerbook G3.

Summary of This Week's News Items: Since many readers don't check the news daily, I thought a summary of some of the topics covered in the last week's daily news might be of help:

Friday's News Summary

• Price Increase Warning on OWC G4/450 Upgrades
• Sonnet Clocker Util
• Quake3 Mac PointRelease 116Beta
• Acard ATA/66 Firmware Update
• SANcube Firewire Storage Area Network
• Ixmicro closes doors
• Intel Demo's USB 2.0
• Dragon holds off on Mac naturally speaking
• Adaptec 39160 SCSI card 'review' (very thin...)

Thursday's News Summary

• CarrierZIF 2.0 MP Uses 2 Standard G4 ZIFs
• Clarification on G4 CPU Upgrades for B&W G3s
  (misleading ad)
• Toshiba 8X IDE DVD Drive Report
• TIL on new PB Software DVD Decoding
• RAM Prices Dropping Again
• Apple/AOL veterans working on Linux w/friendly GUI
• APC Mac UPS Survey
• Seti@home Performance - PCs vs Macs
• Tech Docs on New Macs
• No Magic to iMac/PB G3 CPU Upgrades

Wednesday's News Summary

• Comments on new PB G3 features/value
• New PB G3/G4/iBook Free RAM Offers
• TILs on new PB G3 models
• NAMM Show Report #2
• IE 4.x Browser Speedup Tip reminder
• MW Tokyo Photo Gallery
• Reader comments on OS X japanese fonts
• Internal PowerBook CDRW Drives
• 3Dfx Voodoo5 Demo at MW Tokyo pix/comments
• Low End G4 has 7200 RPM Drives
• Powerlogix Firewire/USB PCI Card

Tuesday's News Summary

• Mobile-dog has MW Tokyo show pictures
• New PB G3 specs incl. Rage128 Mobility Video Chip
• MW Tokyo Show Tidbits
• Commotion G4/Altivec Update
• 3Dfx VSA100 Cards at MW Tokyo Show
• B&W G3 Heatsink/Fans
• OS X DP3 on 9500 w/G3 Upgrade
• TurboMax IDE Card/10-100 NIC Card Network File Copy Performance
• More on #9 RevIV Graphics Cards/Mac Firmware
• More on Razer Boomslang/USB Overdrive
• SCSI to IDE Adapters

Monday's News Summary

• ZD/net article cites 63,000 'defects' in Win2K
• How To Install an IDE RAID Setup in your B&W G3 or G4
• More ClubMac FireWire/IDE Case Comments
• Razor Boomslang Mouse Works On Mac
• Holywars Mod for UT
• HP8250i CDR in G4 System
• Flashing Mac Firmware in PC #9 Rev. IV Card
• Quad CPU Genesis Comments
• More Appletalk Epson printer drivers

Reader Ratings Databases Updated: The Rate Your CPU Upgrade (owner's ratings/comments - over 3,300!), Mac Game Reviews and Mac Game/Video Card Performance databases this morning.

Latest Forum Topics: A small sample of the latest discussions going on in the message boards as of early this morning:

G4/Upgrades Forum:

• G4 Yikes w/ OSX Installation
• Cable Modem Driving Me Crazy
• Re: speculative addressing disabled on G4?
• I was thinking about overclocking my G3/266
• Apple Sound Manager
• Quickcam Pro
• Running Applications in RAM
• Overclocking of the new G4's; how far can you go?
• Difference between Rev. A motherboard and Rev. B
• CarrierZIF -> CarrierZIF 2: No penalty upgrades?
• upgrade g3 with infrared?
• Help-many crashes with new G4
• Applications disappearing
  and hundreds of other messages/threads

3dfx/Gaming Forum:

• new quake 3 maps--no textures
• Does Voodoo 3 require video adapter?
• voodoo3 3000 & sleep
• ixMicro gone... and still no support
• Best Deal on a Voodoo 3 card?
• Can this be true??? (Voodoo5 demo)
• Help! Can't get Voodoo 3 to work in G3 233
• Mac ZIP in a PC?
• Skipping levels in Quake 2 (to be spec)
• quake3 console command
• Infiltration mod for UT
  and hundreds of other messages/threads

For a blast from the past, see what was on the main news page one year ago today and two years ago.

The recent features page also lists articles posted (most recent first) as does the sidebar links here. The site topics pages (systems, cpu upgrades, etc. - see top and sidebar links on this page) also are places to check as well as the FAQ.

For links to older news pages see the Archives page.

The recent features page has a lists reviews/articles you may have missed.

For a guide to finding answers to questions - see my Site Guide page.

Considering a CPU Upgrade? Search the CPU Upgrade Owner's Survey results and search for owner reports by Mac model and/or card brand. The current database has more than 3,200+ reports and growing.