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01/29/99 - Friday's News:	Current News Page
EtherPeek & Yosemite: " The current version of EtherPeek, 3.5.3 and prior versions will crash when running on a G3 99 with a bundled UltraSCSI card when EtherPeek looks for SCSI-Ethernet devices. As no one with a G3 99, or any modern Macintosh would use a SCSI-Ethernet device, we will be removing support for SCSI-Ethernet devices from EtherPeek in 3.5.4 which should be available by the end of February. -Joshua G. The AG Group, Inc. " More Yosemite Slave Drive Feedback: [Note - see the later info on the Systems page regarding data corruption issues with B&W G3 rev 1s and modern drives, even when used as a single drive. See the FAQ Apple G3 section also for a data corruption tester. The IDE articles page also links to the FAQ and has more info.] " Mike, I successfully installed a Maxtor DiamondMax 10gig in my G3 B&W 350/DVD , the Master is an IBM. Installation was flawless using your directions. Thanks Jeff Lewis JL consulting " After learning more about the rev 1 system's IDE chip issues with modern (faster) drives, I cannot recommend you run a slave drive (or even a modern single drive) with the onboard rev 1 IDE primary controller. (Options are a Mac PCI IDE card, or 3rd party drivers from FWB or Intech that have adjustable driver modes to reportedly solve the issues.) Carmine's MiM News Feed (links may not be valid in the future) AppleTIL Updates (FRIDAY.01.29.99)  NEW 24798 Language Kits: Underlined Text Using Japanese, Chinese And Korean Fonts  MOD 26160 Apple Modem Updater 1.2.1 Read Me  NEW 30896 Claris Emailer 1.1: Year 1999 Issue  NEW 30897 Power Macintosh G3: Rebuilding the Desktop can disable Iomega Driver extension  MOD 16355 ARA & Express Fax Software With Express Modem & GeoPort  MOD 15272 Apple Remote Access 2.0.1 Client: Read Me File  MOD 15273 Apple Remote Access 2.0.1 Personal Server: Read Me File  MOD 17466 ARA 2.0 & MS Mail 3.1d: Remote Server Connection Issue  MOD 58073 Mac OS 8.5: System Requirements for Install and Use  MOD 16389 ARA MultiPort Server: Using ISDN  MOD 18781 Apple Remote Access MultiPort Server 2.1: Description  MOD 15266 ARA 2.0.1 Personal Server: Specifications  MOD 16402 ARA 2.0 MultiPort Server: A/ROSE Extension Is Necessary  MOD 24782 Hard Drive Matrix  MOD 21029 Apple VideoPhone: Read Me  MOD 56883 ClarisWorks: Using with WorldScript  MOD 24526 AppleShare Memory Manager INIT  MOD 22070 ARA 3.0: "Starting Network Protocols" Status Does Not Change  MOD 72672 OPENSTEP and the Year 2000  MOD 72641 NeXTSTEP And the Year 2000 Virtual PC 2.1.2 (Connectix) Apple ClarisWorks 5.0.3 (Apple) Connectix plans to ship product despite Sony suit (Yahoo) Viking Components Expands Memory Upgrade Options for Apple's New Power Macintosh G3 Minitower Series (Yahoo) The Battle Over Online Music (Wired) Diamond Launches MP3 Portal (Wired) Eudora on the Block? (Wired) Connectix fights back with upgrade (ZDNet) Court orders release of Gates video (ZDNet) = 4:30PM Update = Yosemite/File Exchange Issues: Eric Gold wrote that all his children's CDs from the Learning Company bombed on the new B&W G3. The problem was a registration application on the CDs that is called by the install script and also by the program if the registration has not been performed yet. The solution was to disable File exchange [PC Exchange], as Eric said he was told by L.C. there was a long standing conflict between the registration software and PC Exchange (known as File Exchange in 8.5.1). I've added this info to the Yosemite Compatibility page. Virtual PC 2.1.2 Connectix sent a note on the update indicating that it adds support for USB floppy drives (Imation and VST) and fixes numerous bugs. The updater is available at www.connectix.com/html/vpc_updates.html. Due to demand on their server from this and the CVGS update posted yesterday you may want to wait a few days or try during non-peak hours (late night or early morning). = 1:00 PM Update = More on XLR8 Cache Control 1.2: MacGurus responded to my question regarding verification that the latest XLR8 control panel works with Adaptec SCSI cards and wide drives: " [Did you try the XLR8 1.2 control with an Adaptec card to see if it fixed the wide drive mounting issue?] yes. We just stuck a 233 XLR8 G3 in our server, and it is running a 3940UW with several drives: Barracuda 19171W's, and some UW WD 9GB. We installed the control panel, shut down, installed the daughtercard, and restarted. Plug-and-play. Haven't messed around with Retrospect yet, but expect no problems there. [a reader reported yesterday it did work with Retrospect-Mike] We never really had problems with Retrospect and XLR8 boards, though some customers did. it's a harmless and apparently benign upgrade that just happens to fix a longstanding incompatibility. No doubt these are some great boards: at our current prices, they are superb values. We just dropped prices on the 400 to $1289.99. " The v1.2 control panel is available at http://www.xlr8.com. ProMax PCI IDE Card: Miguel Chavez wrote with an update on his order: " Hey Mike, I ordered the new ProMax $99 IDE card back at Macworld and was told it was going to ship by the end of the month. So 2 days ago I called to see when I would receive my new card. Their immediate response was (I'm paraphrasing) "What machine is this card going into? We're not shipping a card to you until we ask you this question" I thought that was strange! I replied I wasn't sure but probably my G3. They then responded that the card will work on 8x00, 9x00 and G3 models but can only support hi speed transfer rates (for video work) on the G3's. I'm assuming that at the show they were claiming it would do video on all those models, but now they're pulling back and only certifying video on G3's. I asked if the reason was the bus and they confirmed. I'm sure that's going to be a bummer for most folks, but I only wanted to card so I could add more storage to my rev A G3. When I get it I'm going to run some tests, I'm curious how it stacks up against the built-in IDE on my G3. I don't have the tre-cool Maxtor DiamondMaxPlus, just a regular DiamondMax, but I think the results will still be illuminating. I should be getting my card by Tuesday next week. No update on their website about this discrepancy, BTW. Nothing on their home page, news page or support page. You would think SOMEBODY would make an announcement on something this important :-/ If anybody else ordered the card and you haven't received a call from them, give em a call (800-977-6629) so you can let them know what machine you're buying the card for so they'll release the card for shipment. WEIRD! - Miguel Chavez " [Update - for later reviews/info/tests on faster IDE controller cards for Macs, see the IDE articles page.] Miguel also joins me in my boycott of Sony products in protest to their suit against Connectix noted in yesterday's news. He sent a copy of his comments to Sony: "(this has also been posted on the Sony Playstation feedback page) This lawsuit is ridiculous. Because of the new Connectix VGS program, I am now the owner of Crash Bandicoot, Turbo Off Road 2, and Abe's Exxodus. Games I would have NEVER purchased if not for the CVGS. Now my son is getting hooked, and eventually, I will have to PURCHASE a Sony Playstation to get my machine back. So who's winning here? Sony of course! Based on Sony's Lawsuit, I am now boycotting SONY products. I will cease to purchase SONY products for my company (Sony LAPTOP that I was looking into, DAT's, floppies, etc) and Sony electronics for home (I was thinking of buying a Sony DVD player, but not anymore, and forget about getting my son a Playstation, he can keep using my machine) I urge you [Sony] to rethink your position on this, I am not alone with my thoughts on this matter. - Miguel Chavez President, C&C Computer Factory" Frank Bernier noted that Micro Conversions has removed their Voodoo2 Game Wizard drivers from their site due to the release of a patcher program that (illegally) modified the drivers to disable the check that the card was a Game Wizard. There is a thread on this at my 3Dfx Forums. I recently purchased another Game Wizard, as I think it is important to support Mac vendors to ensure future MacOS support. (Please do not ask for the patch, I do not have it or condone its use.) [Update 3dfx later released Generic Voodoo2 drivers and even Voodoo3 card drivers with firmware flasher to allow using PC cards in Macs. See the Video articles page (Graphics card section) for reviews/articles, etc. on these drivers and even reviews of their later Voodoo4 and Voodoo5 Mac specific retail cards. 3dfx however closed their doors in early 2001. My mac3dfx.com site also has news/info/reviews/drivers linked in the sidebar.] Frank also sent another massive daily dose of Mac Gaming News. Note since the Unreal news page has covered game news of all kinds, the page is now called 3D Gaming News, but it still has a major focus on Unreal with tons of utilities, performance comparisons in Unreal and more. The new page logo is a 3D design by Mark Dhand that was submitted during a 3D logo contest last year. Julian Y. Koh sent a detailed Open Note to Apple Shareholders with his personal opinions and recommendations on BOD candidates. = 12:00 PM Update = Back on the 25th, I placed an online order at the Apple Store for a Yosemite internal modem and have been checking it every day (still shown as 'being reviewed'). Last night I just noticed the order status page shows the order date as the 28th (yesterday)? [Update - See the Systems page (G3 Macs section) and CPU Upgrades page for later tests/info/reviews using my B&W G3.] Initio, manufacturers of the Miles and Miles2 PCI SCSI cards have announced a new MacNotes area of their website with product and MacOS information, industry news and more. Trevor Harveaux of Headgames Publishing (an Activision company) wrote that he saw the same disabled Rave function that I did with an Initio Miles SCSI card installed in the Yosemite. However he reported disabling a Raid extension (? I assume he means the Softraid monitor extension) solved his problem. For the record I had no added extensions at all and still saw the problem. Only removing the card restored Rave. This was noted in my Yosemite page some time ago. He commented he could boot from the Miles *if* he had a CD inserted (??). ATTO Firmware Update: I've asked him to make sure the USB extension cable is not the cause of his booting problems (ref: past problem reports): " I updated the ATTO card I scrounged up to their latest firewire and it almost works. Occasionally it stops the machine from booting when it is first powered on. This could be a flaky card as it is old. The ATI Graphics Accelerator disabled problem comes and goes depending on what extension and control panels I use. I desperately hope that ATI/Apple gets new drivers out as I suspect much of the problem is with the ATI drivers. I also get the impression that the ATTO drivers are going to tweeked again. I'm reserving judgement on this one for a while. The 2906, on the otherhand, works flawlessly with their new Mac drivers. The only downside as I can see it is that you don't get any disks that are attached to it to mount automatically - the controller is effectively unknown to the booting process and the bus is not polled for devices. There are several utilities to do this so this isn't a big problems and ADAPTEC themselves have started that their scsi probe utility will be updated to provide this functionality. mark " Lonnie sent a copy of a mail from Palm Computing Support regarding OS 8.5 compatibility and USB connections. [Note: Palm later released a USB kit for Macs, but I can't remember the minimum OS version supported.] " Dear Lonnie, Thank you for contacting Palm Computing(R) Online Support. Unfortunately, Pilot Desktop 1.0 and Mac OS 8.5 are not compatible. Testing has concluded that Pilot Desktop 1.0 will not launch under Mac OS 8.5. The MacPac 2.0 has been fully tested with Mac OS 8.5 and is compatible. The Palm MacPac 2.0 public beta is currently available for download on our website at http://www.palm.com/macintosh/index.html Unfortunately, Palm Computing has no plans to provide a USB solution at this time. There are some USB adapters available from 3rd party manufacturers. uConnect adapter from Momentum. (Mac only) http://www.momentuminc.net/ Peracom USB Serial Converter http://www.peracom.com/products/serial_converter.html Keyspan USB Serial Adapter (Mac only) http://www.keyspan.com " Audio News: Thad Brown wanted me to pass this on to readers: " Since all the audio sites are covering NAMM, and I never did get a contact on the floor for xlr8yourmac, I'll do a recap early next week instead of telling you things you can find out a dozen other places. Although a good chunk of it is things I have already covered, check out coverage on Harmony Central. Also, some manufacturers are posting news on their pages or having entire NAMM sections. Emagic is one of the latter, and they include info about a new card and Yamaha DSP Factory support, and many others are doing similar things. Stop by your fave audio soft page and I bet they have some news. Thad Brown www.xlr8yourmac.com/audio/ " 85/9500 HD Coolers: Several readers have asked about drive coolers for 85/9500 machines. There is one from APS listed in my Illustrated Cheetah Upgrade article posted last year. There are many more I'm sure, check dealers like MacGurus for other models. Other Net News: Is Apple Really Innovative? (MacOpinion) Miscellaneous Ramblings: Rumors And News From The Dark Side (MacOpinion) PowerBook Support Issues, Part 4 (MacOpinion) N64 Users = Mac Users? (MacOpinion) Apples Market Share (iteens) The Ultimate: iMac (iteens) Review: StarCraft Yesterday's News Summary Sony Playstation Feedback Page URL Virtual Game Station 1.1 update Comments on Sony's suit against Connectix over VGS PowerLogix says PF220 cards are _not_ discontinued Carmine's TIL Updates and News Feed (Includes ATTO PCI SCSI Firmware Update for Yosemite) Toast update due in early Feb 3Dfx Voodoo3 comments, screenshots and preview More Yosemite IDE slave drive reports IXMicro's dual monitor IX3D card Details on Initio Miles product advisory/upgrade program More on Palm Pilot/USB adapters Yosemite report from 400 to 450MHz overclock Source of 17GB Maxtor drives for $295.95 and comment on new Western Digital 13GB ATA/66 drives Other net news Summary of prev. days 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.