"Mike, Lovin' your site everyday I can get to it. On the recent Dantz topic: After getting an Aiwa USB Travan lately I was disappointed to learn that it came with a "crippled" version of Retrospect (but a great deal anyway!) Yesterday I found that they offer a full version download of 4.2 for all 4.1 English version users including the Travan buyers. Check the 4.2 upgrade link at the site you referenced to today . Thanks for all your hard work, Todd McNett "

The Retrospect update noted in yesterday's news is here.

$199 Imation 8X External CDR: [Update - the sale on these drives has ended according to a reader reply today. The Richmond VA. Best Buy had the internal model at a few pennies under $200 back in December, but I suspect they have sold out.] A reader notes a great price on the Imation 8x20 (Plextor drive) kit at CompUSA:

"Mike-
I picked up an Imation external 8x20 CD-R at COMPUSA last week for $200 - minus a $50 mail in rebate making it $150. It's a fast drive and works great - but took some hacking to turn it from external to internal - the dimensions of the drives are identical to all other CD drives but the button and draw placement is different.

Anyway - it clearly states on the box that it is Macintosh Compatible and includes Adaptec Toast. As an installation verification I ran Apple System Profiler and it stated the firmware was at version 1.03. I could not find anything on Imations site about firmware upgrades - but Plextor, who makes the Imation mechanism, showed they were at version 1.07 firmware but the flasher was for PC only.

I emailed Imation and they sent me a link for version 1.06 of their flasher. Unfortunately only a PC flasher is available and they told me I would have to connect it to a PC if I want to upgrade.
Oh well - another partial attempt at Macintosh compatibility.
Dan Hines"

This drive is can't use CDRW discs, but at $150 after rebate seems like a bargain, especially for an external drive (which I prefer for the ability to use with several Macs and to extend the life of the drive since you can keep it off until needed).

FWB CDT 4.01/Turbomax card Issues: A reader replies to the reports of incompatibility with VPC 3.0 posted in yesterday's news with another problem report:

"Hi, just a quick note as I know how busy you are. I recently tried out FWB's CD-ROM Toolkit version 4.0 and 4.0.1 in my Genesis MP 400 with a TurboMax card. The driver itself works fine, but when I try to open the CD-ROM Toolkit application and it scans my SCSI buses, the program crashes as soon as it reaches the TurboMax card ("SCSI" bus 3). I reverted back to version 3.02 and it works fine. I was curious if this is actually a common problem or specific to my setup. If you could post this in the news, maybe someone could help me out. I've included my full configuration just in case.
Thanks
Aaron

Genesis MP 400 (two 200MHz 604e's)
OS 8.6 (tried with 8.5.1 also)
128mb RAM

PCI cards:
slot 1: Digidesign Audiomedia III pro audio card
slot 2: Initio Miles UW card running a 9.1 gig UltraWide Seagate
Barracuda slot 3: Voodoo3 3000 PCI
slot 4: empty
slot 5: ATI Xclaim VR Rage Pro
slot 6: TurboMax card running a 27 gig UltraDMA Maxtor DiamondMax "

He didn't note what CDRom drive he's using (officially the turbomax card doesn't support them, and I saw problems with booting CDs and Audio CDs with a 52X drive in my 9600 w/Turbomax combo last year). Since I had seen lockups in OS 9 with CPU upgrades on both a PCI SCSI and Turbomax card if used in the lower 3 slots of my 9600, I suggested moving the Turbomax card to an upper PCI slot.

Aqua Archives: My G4 forum had a 'off-topic' post that listed this page of Aqua skins for Soundjam and the previously mentioned here Aqua Kaleidoscope Scheme as well as a link to IE5 (beta I assume).

Rainbow Six BF Arsenal Update: The author of the Rainbow Six BF Arsenal mod sent a note he'd updated it, so I've updated the file which is linked on Issue #4 of our Mac Rainbow Six column. (The version number is the same but apparently he made some improvements.)

Mac DSL Story at MSNBC: A reader sent a note that MSNBC has an article on Mac DSL.

Quicktime Poll on CNN:

" Hey! Love your site! I was just surfing on the cnn.com site and, on the COMPUTING section, they had an article called RealPlayer vs. Windows Media: A streaming shootout at:
[link expired and removed]

It included a poll asking which format you prefer. (Including QuickTime of course, even though the article doesn't mention it!!!) As of 6:30 P.M. on Friday QT was at 30%, but I'm SURE with your help, it can do MUCH better!!! ; p
Thanks for your time,
Shaughn Schmidt"

My vote is already in :-)

Reader Review Databases Updated: The Rate Your CPU Upgrade, Mac Game Reviews, and Mac Game/Video Card Performance databases were updated yesterday afternoon.

If you don't check the news here daily, check the summary of past news below for info/articles you may have missed. The recent features page also lists articles posted (most recent first). 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 a blast from the past see what was on the front page news here one year ago.

Friday's News Summary

• Tips For Retrospect Express 4.1/Yamaha 6416S CDR
• VPC 3.0/FWB CDT 4.01 Issues
• 8500 to PC ATX Case Conversion
• Copper IBM vs Alum. Motorola G3/450s
• Cinema Display/Widescreen DVD Workaround
• More Que USB CDR Tips
• Yamaha 6416S CDR/CDT 4.01/Retrospect Express 4.1/VPC Problem Report
• 2940UW/Sonnet G3 Upgrade Comments
• Rate Your CPU Upgrade, Mac Game Reviews, and Mac Game/Video Card Performance searchable databases updated
• More OWC Sales
• New topics in G4 Forum and 3Dfx Forums.

Thursday's News Summary

• Scansoft Aquires Kai Low-End Line
• OS 9 Software Update 1.1.1 released (sort of)
• Apple TIL on QT 4.1 problems
• OWC Bonus Carrier/ZIF Bundle
• Griffin USB/ADB Adapter/Studio Display Notes
• More on Que USB CDR/Toast 4
• Apple $788 ADB LCD Displays and Griffin USB/ADB Adapter
• Acer 10X DVD Drive Report/Tip
• More iMac DV/CVGS Reports
• Toast 4 and USB CDRs
• Rainbow Six Column Issue 5
• XLR8 comments on Interex Chapter 11 Filing
• PowerForce G3/500 ZIF 10X Setting
• Sawtooth G4 CPU Design Page Correction
• Sawtooth G4 CPU Module Details Page Correction
• Reminder: Web Page Language Translator
• Software Updates: List Pad and Apple USB DDK
• Nikon 990 Digital Camera preview
• New topics in G4 Forum and 3Dfx Forums.

Wednesday's News Summary

• $788 Apple 15" LCD Displays
• TIL on Apple G3/G4 RAM and Powered USB Devices Issue
• $699 iMac 333's/ $113 Maxtor 17GB drive sales
• More on iMac DV/CGVS Issues
• iMac DV/CVGS Problems
• Turbomax/OS 9/Maxtor 27GB
• More OWC/Beige G3/450 Reports
• BF Arsenal Mod Download File Fixed
• Grim Fandango on VPC
• Raves for Lightwave 3D v6 (Beta):
• List of Software Updates
• Canon 3.3 MegaPixel Digital Camera
• Download links for G4 optimized Peak 2.10 update
• 3dfx updates Voodoo2 and Voodoo3 Drivers
• New topics in G4 Forum and 3Dfx Forums.

Tuesday's News Summary

• Audio Update 1.2 Pulled
• Powerforce card substitutions/reasons for low speeds
• PF G4/350 review updated to note Unreal test res.
• BitBoys 3D News
• Another Slower Win OS?
• Maxtor 40GB IDE Drive Feedback
• Latest ACard ATA/66 News
• TurboMax Support Feedback
• iMac DV Questions - see the review
• More B&W G3 Rev 1 Slave Drive Feedback
• $139 Sony 4X SCSI CDR
• Bias Peak Software Update Adds Altivec Support
• CarrierZIF 1.0 and G4 Upgrades
• Notes on OWC G3/450s
• Rate Your CPU Upgrade, Mac Game Reviews, and Mac Game/Video Card Performance searchable databases updated
• Misc Net news
• Forum Topics in G4 Forum and 3Dfx Forums.

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? Check the CPU Upgrade Owner's Survey results and search for owner reports by Mac model and/or card brand. Readers post new entries daily and the database is updated several times a week. The current database has more than 3,100+ reports and growing.