"OWC and NewerTech Announce High-capacity Replacement Battery for 4G iPods
750mAh battery replaces Apple's 620mAh battery for the low cost of $25.99 and provides 20 percent more capacity than the original battery. Available immediately for $25.99, this new NewerTech NuPower 4G 750mAh battery model offers the maximum capacity possible with 20 percent more capacity than the factory-installed battery shipped with 4G iPod models. Also available are NewerTech's 2100mAh and 1800mAh iPod batteries, which offer up to 70 percent more capacity for First and Second Generation models, and the 850mAh iPod battery, which offers 30 percent more capacity for Third Generation models.

As with all of the NewerTech iPod batteries, non-scratch installation tools and instructions are included with the 4G version. An installation video also can be found in OWC's online tech center at www.macsales.com/techcenter.
NewerTech products are available from Other World Computing and other fine retailers. More information on the full line of NewerTech products is available at www.macsales.com/NewerTech, by calling 1-800-275-4576, or by e-mail at sales@macsales.com."

" Just got my copy of the Elgato EyeTV Wonder USB2 device that started shipping recently. I also own the EyeTV USB version, but wanted to replace it with the better quality and lag-free connectivity of the EyeTV Wonder.
Specs:
Mac OS X 10.3.8
PB G4 1.33GHz / 768MB RAM
EyeTV 1.7.1

1) First off, installation: the install CD comes with EyeTV 1.7.1, and requires an activation key when launching the EyeTV app. In the EyeTV setup screen, it requires installation of a kernel extension and a restart. One annoyance is that compared to the USB1 version, auto-tuning is very slow.

2) Since this is an analog cable tuner, I didn't expect any problems to come up just as I've had no real problems with the EyeTV USB1. No problems so far, but I have yet to do extensive testing on the export capabilities.

3) AV Quality is YUV video from the unit with raw 48khz PCM audio. Video resolution ranges from 352x240 to 720x480, and while it warns that you need a dual G4 or a G5 to record in DVD standard (and a G5 for DVD high), you can get away with decent single G4 system as long as you don't mind dropping a few frames regularly. There's also the 352x240 VCD mode, which also performs well for slower systems.

4) A great new feature is the ability to hook up a game console to the EyeTV Wonder (due to the reduced latency of not encoding the video for playback) and use your Mac display. I have used it with my PS2 and there is very little, if any at all lag, and the gaming experience is much improved compared to regular televisions- no more flickering hell when trying to read text.

5) This is currently Elgato's cheapest EyeTV offering, and some may ask how it compares to the EyeTV USB1:
EyeTV Wonder USB2:

+ Excellent picture quality (given that it's analog cable / s-video in)
+ Cheaper by $20
+ Has s-video in (USB1 has composite RCA only)
+ Ability to record to MPEG2, and to also export to other QuickTime formats.
- Requires power supply (USB1 is bus powered)
- Auto-tuning very slow
- Non-dedicated recording makes it of less use for slower Macs
- Requires USB2 (less use for slower/older Macs)

For a DVR with the added ability to play console games and digitize analog cam footage, I'd recommend it as a well-priced product especially if you can find it below the MSRP.
-Ken "

" SoftRAID, LLC today shipped its new release, SoftRAID 3, version 3.1.3. Version 3.1.3 fixes bugs and also incorporates several changes which bring the product closer to full Tiger compatability.

The SoftRAID electronic download version is $129 and the CD package retails for $149, plus shipping and handling. Both versions are available from Apple resellers worldwide and through SoftRAID's website, www.softraid.com. All 3.1.2 owners will be automatically updated via email...
Demo version download URL: www.softraid.com/demo.html
User Testimonials: www.softraid.com/testimonials.html "

" Mike,
Though it's not out until March 14, Maccentral has posted some initial benchmarks of Doom 3 running on a Dual 2.5GHz G5 with a Radeon X800 as well as some "mid-range" systems. It also looks like people will need at least a Radeon 9800 to reach 30 fps.
http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/03/02/doom3/index.php
-Mark "

We all expected steep system requirements for High Quality settings, although there are other lower quality settings/options (but you'll still want a fast system/graphics card). I'm glad to see it come to the Mac and will definitely buy a copy. On a homebrew AMD64 3200 system with OC'd 6800GT, I was getting around 70FPS at HQ settings (but no FSAA) at 1024x768 IIRC. (At the time that was the max res on the 15in LCD display connected to the system.)
I never ran the PC version with an ATI card, but with the 6800 the first timedemo run always stuttered (slowed to a crawl) during a couple of early spots in the demo run. This hurt the FPS rate on the first run. A 2nd run did not show the problem. (Not tested it again with later Nvidia drivers, etc. but nothing I tried helped that pause - disabling fast writes, card clock speed/doom 3 config tweaks, etc. didn't seem to help - and the system had 1GB of RAM.) Not a big deal but just a FYI on what I saw on the first timedemo run on that system and wondering if the Mac version will show the same thing.

• RealPlayer 10.0.0.331 (addresses security issues)
• Short review of MotionBuilder Pro
• Graphic Converter X 5.5.1
• First Look: M:Robe Tries to Do Too Much (Music player/photo viewer/digital camera)
• 'AB Transfer' simplifies conversion and import into OS X address book

DVD+R/RW + DVD-R/RW Drives
• IDE Matshita UJ-845-B in PowerBook G4 (OS X 10.3)
  (includes notes on burn rate tests with CDRs and DVDs)
• IDE Pioneer DVR-109 in iMac G4 (OS X 10.3)
  (Using Patchburn 3 for iApps burn support. iMac G4 15in take-apart article here)
  
  Hard Drives:
• IDE Maxtor 160GB in eMac (OS X 10.3)
  (has native big drive support)
• IDE (using SerialATA PCI Card) Maxtor 200GB in G4/AGP (OS X 10.3)
  (Illustrated guide to adding a 2nd HD here in B&W G3 rev2 and G4 towers up to the QuickSilver models. IDE articles page RAID section has an illustrated guide for adding 2 more drives in the side bays.)
• IDE Seagate ST3120026A 120GB in iMac G4 (OS X 10.3)
  (iMac G4 15in take-apart article here)

You can find full owner reports (latest shown first) by searching the database by drive/brand/interface/mac models (the latest reports are shown first in searches). For guides to installing CD/CDRW/DVD drives or Hard drives in many mac models, see the IDE Articles page. The Firewire articles page also has guides on case kits, installing drives, etc.
If you've added a IDE, SCSI, Firewire or USB hard drive, CDRW, tape drive, etc. make sure you add a report to the database. (If you post an updated entry - make sure you use the same name, etc. as you did before so I can find your past entry. Thanks.)
(Incomplete entries are deleted. Do not post questions in the database, it's for drive reports not questions on what drive to buy - for that try searching the database for reports from owners of your mac model on the drive type/brand/interface, etc. you're interested in.)

• Giga Designs Dual G4 1GHz (at 1.2GHz) in (Gigabit) G4/AGP (rated 9)
  
  (Full reviews of G4 and G3 upgrades compared to stock CPUs, including real world apps/game tests, install info, etc. are linked at the CPU upgrades page. OC/CPU module articles are on the Systems page.)

(Warning - Overclocking may not be reliable and could lead to hardware failure or corrupted data.) You can find the full reports by searching the database selecting the indicated Mac model and upgrade card brand/type. If you've upgraded the CPU on your Mac, please post an entry in the database. Search the database for entries from most every upgradable Mac model *before* you buy. (Searchable by mac model/upgrade brand).