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01/09/99 - Saturday's News:	Current News Page
Yosemite G3/400 Unreal performance: Check out the new Yosemite Game Performance page for results of tests in Unreal with identical INI files and my analysis of the results. If you're an Unreal fan, Don't ditch that older Mac with Voodoo2 card yet. [Note: for results of game tests with B&W G3 (yosemite) systems with CPU upgrades, later graphics cards, etc. see the CPU Upgrades page.] = 9:00 PM Update = Virtual Game Station Performance Tip: Rob Thiemann writes with an important performance tip for owners of the Connectix Playstation emulator: " Hi Mike, Regarding the comments of people saying VGS does not run properly on their machines w/ VM OFF. They're right. The easiest thing to fix it w/o turning it on is to increase the memory allocation of the emulator to a point that makes it run better. Case in point: On my Pmac 9600/300 w/ VM ON and 128 RAM, FinalFantasy 7 played perfectly fine with the default 9MB allocated to VGS.. On my G3/333 w/ VM OFF and 280 RAM FF7 was extremely jerky with inconsistent sound. Cranking the memory allocation up to 32MB cleared up all performance problems. I probably could have done less, but I just picked an arbitrary round number. Just so people know. Rob Thiemann " People often forget to allocate more RAM to applications as a way to increase performance. There are points of diminishing returns but checking the finder's "About" box will show info on how much RAM each application is using of its allocation. The Yosemite page has an update on Initio Miles/Miles2 PCI SCSI cards. Also a reader reports the DVD RAM drives and Gigabit Ethernet are now options at the Apple Store as well. = 4:00 PM Update = IXMicro Banshee: According to some inside sources I checked the card is for real. I'll post any updates I hear in the news. See today's earlier post for a pix of the card at Macworld. [Update - later IXmicro went out of business. For a review of the Game Rocket (Villagetronic card based), see the Video articles page.] I've also just gotten a report from a new G3/400 owner that Unreal did not look good or run well on this new G3. If the game does not look good then it may not be using Rave, as screenshots of Rave mode on the RagePro ATI card looked as good as 3Dfx to my eyes (see our Unreal 3D card appearance page). I've sent him some tips and things to check and will post any other info I get here. I'll have a full, accurate report on my own test findings when my 350MHz model arrives. [Note -this may have been due to driver bugs but also note the Rage128 and later ATI chips do not have good image quality if run in 16bit color modes. See later graphics card articles on the Video articles page.] = 3:00 PM Update = Yosemite FireWire Problem Report: Here's the first report of problems with the new PowerMac G3's Firewire interface: " Hi Mike, Remember me? Did your graphs for Raid a while back... Anyway, I'm the proud owner of a Blue G3 350/DVD std configuration. I don't so much lament the loss of the zip, but the modem seems to be a hinderance. Having to do e-mail from another machine. Anyway, it looks like the modems are on generally short supply. I do have a problem which I'd be interested in whether anyone else is experiencing. I cannot move DV from my Sony TRV9 into the Blue G3 via the built-in Firewire. I previously was using a Radius MotoDV card and software. This still works when I move the Radius Firewire card into the G3. This seems superfluous, due to the built-in Firewire. The Apple notes say to use Premier, and I've tried that (version 4.2.1), but it does not see the camera. The MotoDV software, without the MotoDV card also does not see the camera when connected to the Apple Firewire ports... is anyone successfully moving DV into the G3 via the built-in Firewire? [if so please contact me-Mike] Many thanks. I believe your site continues to be one of the best sources of real, experimentally verified information. Keep up the good. -- Glen Speckert http://www.DogDisc.com " If you have a workaround or comments on other FireWire issues please contact me. I've added this post to the Yosemite page for future reference. Carmine's MiM News Feed [links may not work in the future] AppleTIL Updates (SATURDAY.1.9.99)  Mac OS 8.5: Connectix Virtual PC Compatibility  Asante Technologies, Inc.  Mac OS: Upgrading from Older OS Versions  Adaptec 6x60 SCSI Chipset OPENSTEP Driver Overview ATTO ExpressPCI FC Firmware Version 1.10 (1/6/99). ExpressPCI-FC Firmware Updater for Unified Bios(Mac & PC) (Atotech.com) 'Apple World' Still A Relatively Small Planet (Yahoo) STREAMING VIDEO Apple Computer Launches New Products At Macworld Expo (Yahoo) Imagiworks Wins 'Best of Show' Award At Macworld Expo For Innovative Palm Computer-Based Data Acquisition Product (Yahoo) Altamira Group Takes Top Honors Genuine Fractals Printpro(TM) Wins MACWORLD 'Eddy Award' As Best Publishing Utility of 1998 (Yahoo) SAS Institute's StatView 5.0 receives Macworld Editor's Choice Award (Yahoo) Apple Aims At Business Power Mac G3s Get New Look, SNMP (TechWeb) Embrace of 3-D graphics API squarely targets mainstream games market - Apple taps OpenGL in latest multimedia bid (TechWeb) Apple debuts copper-based processors First to use advanced metalization process in desktop units (TechWeb) Graphics Firms Repledge Allegiance To Mac (TechWeb) Experts Say iMac Colors Are Safe Bets (TechWeb) Linux Not Out To Replace Mac OS (TechWeb) CES 99 SPECIAL REPORT The VCR is going digital (ZDNet) Pentium III draws readers' fire (ZDNet) The Unreal page has been updated with today's gaming news. == 2:00 PM Update = Sorry news is late today. To start off I want to remind readers that I'll still be covering all the older mac upgrades - at least those that fit the macs I have (PowerTower Pro, PowerCenter Pro, 8600, 9600, Apple G3 rev 2, Genesis (9500 based) and PowerBook G3. The new G3's are getting a lot of attention and yes I'm excited by them but there are many new products coming (hardware and software) that are of interest to all Mac owners. Faster and lower cost G3 upgrades, new video cards, storage devices, and later this year perhaps G4 CPU upgrades will arrive. Not to mention all the happenings on the sofware arena. It's going to be a great year! It just occurred to me the reason they might have left the ADB port in the new G3s. Many apps have had ADB dongles, such as LightWave 3D. From what I hear so far that may be the best use of it, as there have been some reports of high latency on the ADB from keyboard users so far. MacWorld in Pictures: Miss MacWorld SF? Thanks to Ryan Tanka you can get a feel for being there with the many photos he sent from the show. I've created a page of. Due to the weather it's unlikely I'll get my 350/DVD Yosemite today. Althought the roads are fine here and temps are to reach the mid 40's the weather elsewhere yesterday closed airports in some cases, affecting shipments all over the country. The Yosemite page has an update on the internal Modem. It's said to be the same one as in the iMac and PowerBook G3 (hopefully not with the same disconnect problems). IXMicro Banshee Game Rocket?: I wonder if it's for real as I had no other reports of it from Show attendees, but Frank Bernier sent a link to a picture that shows what is labelled as a IXMicro Game Rocket 16MB 3dfx Banshee based card shown at MacWorld. [Update - later IXmicro went out of business. For a review of the Game Rocket (Villagetronic card based), see the Video articles page.] No IR port on Rev C iMacs?: I knew the rev C iMacs didn't have the Mezzanine slot but Steve Weisel just mentioned they don't have an IR port either. I think the IR port was nice - beaming files to/from a PowerBook G3 for instance without wires. Another reason the Rev 2's might be a better buy if you can live with one color. Steve also mentioned he heard some 400MHz Yosemite's are shipping from the BTO store and should arrive by 1/14. Mine was still shown in "the factory" (step 2 of 5) when I cancelled it yesterday. Had it been at the next step "being built" I think you can't cancel the order. As I told Steve, the 350/DVD is the best value I think, as I suspect I can get 400MHz from the CPU. I'll have project articles on adding a 250MB ZIP (blue faceplates will be available I hear) and other items in the future. More Keyspan Serial Port PCI Card: Jim Stoneburner comments on the Keyspan card mentioned recently as a way to add serial ports ot the new G3: " Mike: I saw something on your site about using the Keyspan card for serial peripherals such as modems and printers with Yosemite. Unfortunately, you can't count on that card to work with many peripherals. I spoke with a Keyspan employee at the MacWorld show, and he told me that the 2- and 4-port cards will only work with applications that are comm toolbox aware. That means modems, but not printers, he told me. I asked about APC PowerChute (shuts down the computer if power fails in conjunction with a UPS), and he didn't know. But he said to try the software and "if it has buttons for printer and modem, it won't work; but if it has a scrolling list of ports, it should." I can't be sure I'm completely accurate in my quotes, but I wanted to warn people before they purchase a Yosemite assuming that the Keyspan card will make all their peripheral dreams come true. In my case, I use a PowerCenter with 2 serials ports for printer and modem. I'd like to add PowerChute. I could do this by using a Keyspan port for the modem, and modem port for PowerChute. However, I'm not sure that $200 (cost of the cheaper Keyspan card) to enable auto-shutdown in a power failure is worth it to me. And, it certainly isn't cost effective to save a serial modem from obsolescence (unless it is a USR Courier V.Everything, or unless you are very attached to your GlobalFax softare). Best wishes, Jim " As noted yesterday, officially Keyspan's web page says the card does not support MIDI, Localtalk or Geoport devices. A $99.95 USB Modem or USB to Serial adapter may make more sense and save a PCI slot. See the Yosemite page for comments on these. Sony Suing Connectix?: It would be a travesty in my opinion but one reader sent a link to an rumor article that Sony may be filing an injunction and lawsuit against Connectix over the Playstation Emulator. Regardless if this is true or not I'd snap up a copy of the software asap. The same reader also sent a link to their GameStation review of the Connectix software. [Thanks Robert] IE 4.5 Feedback Mixed Bag! Although I and many others seem happy (very happy) with IE 4.5 as noted here recently Frank Bernier (of our Unreal page) said his Mac did not run Java properly after the IE 4.5 upgrade. Frank writes with more info on the issue: " Mike, I read MacFixit and several other users are reporting having problems with IE 4.5 and Java like I had. quote: `Java issues Several readers reported problems with Java. One reader could not get Explorer to retain that Java was enabled after quitting and relaunching. Steven Massey reported that Explorer would shift from the Microsoft Java toApple's MRJ whenever it encountered a site that used Java. Jeff Faus reported a similar problem. Don Bright could not get any form of Java not work. Could any of this be related to Microsoft's decision to drop support of its Java engine from Explorer (as noted here before)?` Now the weird thing is that is that IE 4.5 recognizes java on my Powerbook Wallstreet but not in my 7600 G3 Upgraded Mac. I will let you know if I find anything else. Best Regards, Frank Bernier " I've had good reports in general but there are some problems being reported in some configurations and systems. I'll keep you posted as reports roll in. So far on the PB G3/250 it's been fine and fast. Japanese Pricing: Frank also sent comments on Mac product pricing in Japan: " Mike, I thought I'd drop you a note on Mac product pricing here in Japan. Believe it or not, the MacMagic Villagetronic Voodoo 1 is priced at 24, 800 yens! (about 220 $). Japanese Mac business are making royal profits here since so few Japanese can speak English fluently and order from USA via the WWW. See this retailer`s page here for an example: http://www.gate.co.jp/list/MacMagic/MACMAGIC.HTM At first, people at work were wondering where I was taking all this money to buy my hardware until I showed them how and where to buy affordable products. Not later than this month, a Mac Magazine here just seemed to have discovered Cyberian Outpost ! They had a 3 page article on the web site ! For Mac games pricing for example at my local C-You computer store: Diablo: $80 (this one is funny since the box said it is an hybrid CD..in the PC section it was $39), Unreal: $70, Myth II: $80 That is again twice the price as the US. In the PC section though, games are priced just like games in USA. Since the Mac market size is also larger than the one in USA (proportionally), this is again an abnormal situation. Fortunately, Macintosh hardware from Apple are priced just like USA. (Imac rev B here around $1150 now). The good news is that we pay a small 5% duty taxes on imports. Frank Bernier " [For a later review of the MacMagic card, see the Video articles page.] More on Playstation Emulator: One anom. reader made a comment that readers should consider the reports of 'success' on non-Apple G3 machines with a grain of salt. What may be 'acceptable' as far as gameplay/speed to one owner may not be to another. " I'm somewhat sceptical on peoples claims that CVGS runs 'just fine' on upgrade cards without ATI, and even on non-upgraded Power Macs. I would lump all of these into the category of "Have you seen it run on the recommended configuration?". To give a similiar example, check out the 'Incomplete Virtual PC HomePage'. Some people will report that 'game x' runs just fine on 'configuration y', and others will state that it's completely unacceptable on the same or even better configuration. Try to keep in mind that 'acceptable' performance is subjective. I was able to get CVGS running on my 7600, upgraded with a PowerLogix 220/110 card without any ATI card, but having seen CVGS run on even a rev. A iMac, I wouldn't consider this acceptable. The two games I tried dropped frames, and sound stuttered a fair amount. I did not dare try running Gran Turisimo, which pushes PlayStation performance to its limit. " Hidden CPU Upgrade: John Hickey reports his G3/233 actually contained a 266MHz CPU: " This may my parents bought me a G3 233mhz rev 1 as a gradduation gift. I have had my eye on overclocking for a while now, and I recently decided to research the subject by going to motorolla's homepage to look at things like specs for the MPC106... On one of the pages I found the Part Numbering Scheme for the powerpc family (http://www.mot.com/SPS/PowerPC/teksupport/chips/partnum.gif). Upon comparing what was on this with a sticker on the one of the backside cache chips I found to my delight that a 266mhz, not 233, was sitting there in the socket. So, it is possible that other 233mhz users might possibly have a 266mhz cpu. It seems to run at about the same temperature as when it is at 233. Just though you would like to know this. John Hickey " The G3-ZONE has more info on jumper settings and overclocking (at your own risk). If you missed yesterday's Ton-O-News, it was updated as late as 6PM. A summary is below. Yesterday's News Summary Yosemite page updated with USB Modem compat., Ram timing info, USB/Firewire audio news, $99.99 external USB Modem source and more. Reader before the sale tip on buying PF G3 Reader report on G3/400 in Europe Carmine's TIL Updates and News Feed Apple's G3/DVD has no TV out I cancelled my BTO order - went with MW deal instead Think Faster: 466MHz ZIF Upgrades in the works Wonder what a G3/400 CPU Costs? Answers are here Thad Brown comments on coming USB and Firewire Midi/audio products Why the new G3/300 is slower in MacBench that the prev. G3/300 Tons of Playstation Emulator feedback (reports on 603e and 604 machines!) Keyspan Serial port card - doesn't work with MIDI, LocalTalk, or GeoPort? More MP850 (banshee) feedback Yosemite (Blue and White G3) sales Vimage info on their new PowerBook 2400 320MHz G3 upgrade. Unreal news page updated with exclusive new level screenshots, Falcon 4.0 and our MythII FPS Toolkit and Playstation vs GameStation screenshots Other Net News For other recent site news/features links, see the Recent Site Features page. Note: Before sending tech support related questions please check the Freq. Asked Questions, Site Contents, CPU Card reviews/articles, SCSI reviews articles, Graphics card reviews, Tips/Misc, Message Boards and Help pages - in many cases the answers to your questions are there and they have far more detail than I can list in an email. For Apple G3 system info - see the G3-ZONE. For links on recent articles, see the Recent Features page. Please try the Men in Mac Help page as an alternative on requests for tech support to help me be able to spend more time on reviews. Thanks. Make a Difference: Be the Difference Randy Mita, Brad Lau and I came up with a new slogan and theme for Mac advocacy - "Make a Difference: Be the Difference". We're asking that all Mac owners take advantage of every opportunity to let others know the Mac advantage. It's a grass-roots approach that will surely help.