Don Lee sent a warning about the Pioneer drivers mentioned earlier today:
"Mike:
In reference to the reader who is having problems with his Pioneer 32x
CD Rom Drive, I have found that the drivers which are available from
Pioneer are quite old and have a number of problems associated with
them. Primarily their set of drivers do not recognize certain CD's which
are on the market.
Your recommendation to use FWB's CD Toolkit is right on the money. This
is the software which I'm using with my Pioneer 32X drive and it has
solved a lot of problems. As far as I know, it is the only set of
software which gives you full function with this drive.
A little surprise which is included when you register your software is
the fact that they offer you the full version of HDT 2.5.2 for $50 as a
special offer.
BTW: GOOD LUCK with the specialist for Kay today.
I hope she gets better soon
don"
Spent half the day at the specialist with Kay, more blood tests and x-rays. She is feeling a little
better and actually worked out in the garden yesterday. The doubled dosage of anti-inflammatory/pain relievers
helped the knee a lot, but the toes on her other foot don't show much improvement. I hesitated mentioning things like this
here, but a lot of readers have asked me to post her status. Thanks to all who write to ask about her. This whole episode has made me realize more than ever that the Mac community is like one big family.
[4:00 PM Update]
WebAuction will have 3 PowerCenter Pro 180's on the block starting at 5PM Eastern Time Today:
POWER COMPUTING POWER CENTER PRO POWERPC 604E 180MHZ 16MB 2GB 16X CD-ROM 2MB VRAM Brand New.Go to: http://www.webauction.com/productpg.html?LOT=47807
For a inside look at the PowerCenter Pro see my review on the Systems page.
[12:30 PM Update]
Adobe's PDF file get's the nod over PICT as the next Mac native image file format
according to this Anchordesk story.
The page also talks about the new PuppetTime for Apple developers, Apple's financial outlook and more.
[12:30 PM Update]
MacPC has a new URL: http://www.macpconline.com and has
a just posted a review of the OrangeMicro 620 PC card.
[12:30 PM Update]
MS Support Updates: Here's the latest info I've received on Mac MS products:
[12:30 PM Update]
Fuse Review: It is not as complete as I would have liked but...
check out Aurora Design's Fuse Video Capture card Review.
Sonnet Nubus G3 Review: Robert Richardson did a fine Guest Review of the upgrade
for posting here. Check it out!
Techworks Password Protection: As noted in yesterday's news,
Techworks has password protected their drivers download page. The password scheme seems a little weak according to this reader
feedback: "
I was disappointed to see the first message at the top of your page, mentioning Techworks password protected their drivers! I confirmed this. You CAN hack into the system though. I just clicked on your link to the Techworks drivers page - the page loaded and was password protected. I just clicked on the 'Cancel' button - and it let me in!
BTW, I think you've got a great site - I usually stop by twice a day. I hope your wife is feeling better.
"
In other Techworks news I hear they may be working on a Voodoo II card. Hopefully like the Microconversions
Voodoo II card, it will pass the monitor sense lines and not be another PC clone.
V.90 Feedback: Just as I've seen here with two USR X2 modems, the V.90 upgrade seems
to be boosting connect rates for most everyone:
"
Related to your mention of your USR X2 flash ROM upgrade; Last week I flashed my
Teleport from X2 to V.90, and even though I am still connecting to a X2 ISP, my
connect rates went from a max of 50.666k to regular connects of 53.333 and
54.666 [I thought the FCC limit was 53K-Mike], plus the transmission rate seems much more consistent. The link for that upgrade is
http://www.globalvillage.com/support/readme/ReadMe_V.90_x2_TelePort.html and the
file is available directly at:
ftp://ftp.globalvillage.com/pub/software/mac/TP_x2_ROM_Upd_114.704.2.sea.hqx
The funny thing is, before I ordered the modem (from Small Dog
Electronics, with OS 8 for $115!), I connected to USR's line speed tester
(instructions at:http://www.3com.com/56k/need4_56k/linetest.html) which
reported that my line was insufficient to support 56k speeds. [Only good enough
for 54.6k apparently-Mike ;-] Well, I
ordered the modem anyway and haven't regretted it ;).
Regards,
Rob Berthold "
"
I upgraded the flashrom in my Global Village 2X 56K 3 days ago and it really rips! No dropped connections and the slowest connect speed has been 50K, the fastest 52K (before it ranged from 42 to 46K). I assume from the slower speed reports I've read that the phonelines are above average in Honolulu.
Peter Frary
"
My connect rates increased 7K with V.90, but William Russell reported he lost a few K.
Panasonic 32X Cdrom Feedback: In response to yesterdays Reader Request Rick Davis sent a note that Panasonic Mac drivers are available:
"
Has Nick tried the drivers available from Pioneer's web site?
http://www.pioneerusa.com/tec.html
Is Kay doing any better?
Thanks
Rick Davis "
Don Lee warned that the Pioneer drivers are old and that it may be better to use a more
updated 3rd product like FWB's CDROM Toolkit (my original suggestion to Nick).
Mechwarrior Feedback: Merbil Gonzalez sends a tip on the MW install routine:
"
After several attempts at installing MechWarrior in my 7300/180 I was
able to accomplish it by installing it clean, making a copy, upgrading
the copy to version 1.2. This step requires that you tell the installer
what folder MW2 is in,a step which I find a little odd. Then use the
application version 1.0 with the updates files (1.2). Hope some people
can go back to playing MW2 with this tip.
Don't forget to turn most of your extensions/control panels off.
Merbil Ricardo Gonzalez
"
Reader Request: Hoping my Japanese readers can help with this one. Ben Chi needs
ordering information for a 240mhz 603E upgrade for the PB 2400 that was offered by
a Japanese company:
"
Hi Mike:
What i'm looking for is a 240mhz 603ev card like the 2400c/240 in Japan. I
can't justify spending $850 on a G3 CPU upgrade. I'm hoping I can get a 240mhz
603ev card for much less.
Yes, I did upgrade the RAM from the stock 16 to 80 via a 64mb SO-DIMM. RAM
install is very simple. No torx screws used, only philips screwdriver. Taking
apart the whole machine however is a whole different story altogether. It
looks deceivingly simple, but after you remove about 20 screws, the real trick
is to be able to put them back. Good thing though the threads are of a
different pitch so you can sort of figure out where they go.
This is a US model with a US keyboard, and right now for a CD-ROM drive, i'm
using my Yamaha CDRW4260 CDR drive. I too have a 4x CDROM external Panasonic
drive with PCMCIA interface and it didn't work on first try, but I haven't
installed CDROM toolkit 3.0 yet. I'm hoping that will work. Right now, my main
concern is the hard drive.
regards,
ben chi "
If you know the name of the company or a source he can order the upgrade, please
contact me.
G3 CDROM Freezes/Hangs: Mitch Brandwin sends an update on the story:
"
Hi Mike,
Regarding my sys hangs I had when i mounted a cd on my G3 using apple's
cd-rom driver.
I tried the charismac anubis cd driver instead. The hang on CD insert is now reduced to the 1/2 sec or so it takes to display the cd &
its directories on the desktop and with no intermittent hangs after
mounting. With the apple driver the system would hang at insert until
display (seemed like seconds) and would intermittently hang while a CD
was inserted.
As to Nick's probs with a 32x pioneer. It seems the apples driver will
load up for any mounted cd at boot regardless of the drive that holds
it. I've noticed this behavior on a yamaha rewritable CD.
Sincerely,
Mitchell Brandwin
"
PowerBase/PowerForce Feedback: Charles Cusumano writes about his recent PowerBase upgrade: "
Bought a PowerLogix PowerForce 220/110/512 for my Power Computing PowerBase 200. After installation, I got some funny behavior from my computer. I was about to give up thinking this thing doesn't work w/ mine BUT this was THE ONLY CPU upgrade card that PowerLogix made for it. I was creeping along at 240mHz. I decided to do a clean install of 8.1 and voila! I read your review of this card (on another PC machine) and right now I'm cranking along at 300mHz/Bus 40/2.5:1BSC at 120mHz. I'm glad I didn't give up.
Thanks for your site. It saved my life and validated my purchase.
charles cusumano
"
Glad to help!
CompUSA Hawaii: Jonathan Sugai sent a report on the new CompUSA Store in Hawaii.
Miss the Weekend News? If you did, check out Saturday's and Sunday's pages.
Video conferencing with new G3s?: Still looking for verification that Video conferencing (CUseeMe, etc.) works in the Rev 2 G3 systems (RagePro models) with the 4MB or 6MB video upgrade. Martin Kaufman reports that his rev 1 G3 with 4MB Vram upgrade locks up after a minute or so (with Video input) unless he removes the
Vram expansion. If you have tested a Vram expanded Rev 2 G3 system with CUSeeME or iVisit, please contact me.
CPU Card Survey: If you're running a G3 CPU card upgrade (Nubus or CPU slot)
I'd like to know the details. I've created a feedback form that will take you only a few seconds to complete and I'd be very grateful for the information. Feedback is pouring in, I've got about 300 more to add to the current CPU Survey Results pages. Currently I need more input from MacTell G3 CPU card owners. The Newer Tech page even has a PowerBook
section for owners of the 1400 and 2400 G3 upgrades, so if you've just bought one of these upgrades
I'd like you to take the survey.
3D Column Logo Contest: I'm still asking for all 3D artists out there to
submit their creations for our new 3D Column Logo/Banner. The Logo should include
the site URL (www.xlr8yourmac.com) but otherwise the design is up to you. Please
keep file size down to 25K or so if you can, and use your name as the file name to
help me keep track of who submitted the image (I get so many mails a day I need all
the help I can). Thanks!
The winner (and any other interesting entries) are invited to write an article
(complete w/screen captures ) showing how it was done. I'd like to have all entries
by June 30. Resolution should be 200H x 500W (Maximum size - smaller is fine). GIF
(animated OK, but try to keep file sizes small) or JPEG format for the final image.
If you'd like to submit a 3D Logo design (full credit given of course), please
contact me.
This site is 100% Intergraph free - no persons working on this web site have
ever been on the payroll of any PC manufacturer.
Please check your bookmarks - make sure you are using www.xlr8yourmac.com.
We need your G3 info! Reader "Oz" has offered to help with collecting
data on Apple G3 system compatibility issues (hardware and software) of all types.
Please send him any Apple G3 system compatibility info/issues you have or are aware
of at: oz@bbdoperu.com
Search Tip! For searches on product names with mixed capitalization, use
keywords like PowerBoost Pro (not Powerboost Pro or powerboost pro) and MaxPowr
(vs maxpowr or Maxpowr). It seems that capitalization within the word on the site
pages is throwing off the engine. Keep that in mind when searching for some of the
odd product names.
Need Help? Before you send email for tech support, please check the Troubleshooting page or
try searching
the site (use quotes for exact matches! i.e. "mach 5" vs mach 5 which will
match machine, 5, etc.) and to check the FAQ,
Performance Basics and Links
for solutions to your problems or answers to tech support questions. They have a
lot of good info and are a great source of help. If you're curious as to how a G3 CPU card
would perform in your Mac, look at the results hundreds of readers have reported in the
G3 CPU Card Survey Results page.
Yesterday's News
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Thanks to my wife Kay, the ultimate computer widow
for allowing me to work so much on this site. | 
