• AppleTIL Updates (Monday_03.08.99)
   NEW 58293 'File Server Uses Incompatible Version of the AFP Protocol' Error Resolution
   NEW 58294 Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) AV Bundle: Description
   NEW 58295 Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) AV Bundle: Technical Specifications
   MOD 26184 Support for Apple Scanners
   MOD 14724 Where to Find Apple Software Updates
   MOD 20631 PlainTalk 1.5: Read Me
   MOD 26173 Apple/GV 56K Modem Updater Read Me
   MOD 20081 System 7.5.3: What Updates Do I Need for System 7.5.5?
   MOD 20112 LaserWriter Toner Cartridges: Covered by Warranty?
   MOD 16530 PhotoFlash 2.0: Description
   MOD 71774 NeXTSTEP 3.3 Driver: Canon ObjectStation Display
   MOD 26185 Support for QuickTake Digital Cameras
   MOD 58278 Apple Displays Software 1.7.1 Read Me
   MOD 58052 iMac: At Ease 3.0.3 Compatibility
• Insignia SoftWindows 5.0.5 [for Win 98/95 versions of the emulator] (Insignia ftp)
• Microsoft Will Fix Privacy Problem [MS has acknowledged that its latest version of Windows generates a unique serial number within electronic documents that could be used to trace the authors' identities.] (Yahoo)
• Netscape fights browser bug [The company is moving to patch a security hole in Communicator that exposes a variety of information on users' hard drives.] (News.com)
• Monitor Vendors Make Improvements In Ergonomics [A Swedish organization focuses on users' health.] (TechWeb)
• Why The FTC Gave Up on Intel [Now that revenues aren't what they used to be, the feds have nary a leg to stand on.] (Wired)
• Windows 2000, or Whenever [IT managers say they're going to wait for Microsoft to iron out the kinks in its upcoming OS before installing it on their systems.] (Wired)
• Creative's New MP3 Genius [The head honcho in the PC sound market is getting into MP3 players. Think tiny silver box, think big sound.] (Wired)
• RealNetworks to play MP3 [The company's keeping mum, but MP3 arrangement would add content in its format.] (ZDnet)
• MP3 Stores Branching Out [What makes a successful MP3 music store? Right now, that's anybody's guess. Two new vendors try to carve niches in the marketplace.] (Wired)
• MP3.com looks to be next MTV (News.com)
• Apple slices PowerBook Prices (News.com)

Bryce 4: I just received an upgrade notice from Metacreations regarding Bryce 4. MSRP is $249 for the hybrid Mac/PC CD, Upgrades from any version are $99. For more information see the Bryce 4 product page.

Wanted: Beige G3 in PC ATX Case Info: [Update: - see the SYSTEMS page, G3 Macs section for an article on Beige G3 to ATX Case conversion.]
Ryan Grimes is asking for reader comments from anyone that has tried mounting a beige G3 motherboard in a PC ATX case. If I remember correctly, last year a reader who submitted a CPU Overclocking study for the G3-ZONE mentioned he had done this but case mods for the AV/Personality module (and ADB ports, etc I suspect) were required. Ryan writes:

"I have been wondering if this is possible because I have found some really cheap(50-100 bucks or so) ATX cases that would be killer to have my G3(beige) mounted into. Think about expansion. I have 2-hard drives, cd-rom, and a floppy drive in the external bays and I'm out of space. There are ATX cases that have 8 external bays! Since the G3 has a mini-atx motherboard I was wondering if anybody has successfully done this swap? If anyone has, they can email me directly and I will compile the results into a report for others to use."

Copy me in email (newsNOSPAM@xlr8yourmac.com) on any experiences as well for posting here.

DT Friedman of Vimage sent a note they have cut prices again on G3 CPU upgrades. The Vpower G3/300/512K for PCI Macs is now $399, the Vpower G3/240/512K for 4400/7220 and Starmax 3000/4000 is now $299 and the Vpower G3/240/512K for 54xx/55xx/64xx/65xx Macs is now $399. See www.vimagestore.com for more details on their upgrades. Their online store as of 4PM Eastern Time did not reflect the lower pricing yet.

Rene Trost replies to the post below on a possible trojan horse:

" Hi Mike,
I just read David's info about the memory patch for System 8.5.x. I have also downloaded and applied 'this' patch and it works fine! I don't have any of the problems David had and the patch I used does really optimized the memory allocation with MacOS 8.5.x.

I have downloaded it from: http://aardvark.magnet.at/software/patches.html#membug
I don't think it's a Trojan Horse.
Bye, Rene Trost "

The version Dave downloaded on a Hotline server could still have been infected (accidental or intentional). As a general rule, I'd still suggest extreme caution on patching system files with non-Apple software. Although personally I'd not use this type of patch, if you do at least scan it with the latest Norton or equivalent anti-virus software. The author's web site also has links to text files with user's experiences and a freq. asked questions (esp. important for B&W G3 owners) regarding the patch.

David Myers says beware of any memory leak patches/updates you may find on Hotline:

" I recently downloaded a file called "OS 8.5/8.1 memory bug/fix" off of a Hotline site (stupid i know). The read-me claimed that this was the fix to the notorious memory leak problem that has been plaguing the MacOS (Turning [on] virtual memory actually fixes the problem I think). I couldn't find anything suspicious about the file with ResEdit so, being the adventurous type, I ran the patch program and it patched a copy of my system file. It seemed to work for a bit. Virtual memory was off and it seemed as if my memory was where it should have been. Then the problems- unexplained shutdowns on restarts, files coming up missing and then returning after a restart, programs quitting- things that had never happened before. I have replaced my System file since and am contemplating reinstalling MacOS.
david myers "

Josh Lewis wrote a note that the MS Word/Excel privacy flaw (reported to be Win98 only) may affect the Mac as well. His mail states that a similar GUID scheme (Globally Unique IDentifier) seems to be used on the Mac with Office 98.

B&W G3/Monitors Issues: A reader responds to today's earlier post:

" I have no idea if this will fix his problem but it did fix mine. I have a G3 Smurf, I mean B&W G3 300 and a Sony 200ES monitor with the ATI updates. My monitor would go black and the machine would lock up at least once a week. Depressing the power key and hitting return does little good. Resetting is the only out, as the G3 will freeze. The fix, which has worked so far for me, was updating to Kaleidoscope 2.1.2 (recent release).
Kevin"

Kevin later noted that one of the changes in Kaleidoscope 2.1.2 was to 'Fixes crashes and video problems on the new Blue & White Power Mac G3s'. David Glen later replied that he was not using Kaleidoscope however, so the cause is still a mystery (and there were no problems using a Dell monitor, only with the two Apple studio displays). He also said he had tried the DDS mode in the FAQ displays area.

A reader replies to today's earlier post on video conferencing problems:

" hey mike, long time no speak... Anyway I don't have a B+W G3, but I do have a UMAX S900 with Rail Gun G3 and a Keyspan USB PCI card, and I have done audio and video conferencing with the Logitech Quickcam Pro using CUSeeme 3.1.2 an have had absolutely no problems with it. I'm on cablemodem and have seen 15-20fps with friends...... Dont know if this helps any.....
Hope all is well and as always, www.xlr8yourmac.com is #1!
Jeffrey"

The 3D Gaming News page has another update from Frank with notes on Descent 3 and Might and Magic Mac petitions, Tomb Raider 2 update and FAQ, an Unreal online strategy guide, Aliens vs. Predator and Descent 3 previews, new USB gamepads from Microsoft, Nanasaur cheats and more.

B&W G3/video conferencing: A reader wrote this weekend to say that he's seeing choppy video on his B&W G3 with Logitech USB Quickcam pro and having crashes in CUSeeme. Anyone out there doing video conferencing on a B&W G3 that would like to comment on what works best?

CVGS/B&W G3 Tip:

" I figured out an answer to a problem that I've not yet heard any other reports of. Thought I'd pass along my knowledge; I'm sure others could benefit...

I have:
B&W G3
RAGE 128 and Apple's updated drivers
CVGS 1.1

I'd stick in a Playstation CD and play it. Everything works just fine. If I quit VGS and try to run it again, it tells me I need newer drivers to run VGS. I realized I got this error whenever running VGS after an app has used the 3D card. Restarting fixed the problem. So every time I wanted to use VGS a second time, I'd have to restart.

I checked my extensions folder and saw I had both an 'ATI 3D Accelerator' file and an 'ATI Rage 128 3D Accelerator' file. Removing of the 'ATI 3D Accelerator' extension fixed the problem. I wonder if that caused any other glitches.
JBR "

NewtonGL: A reader writes that someone has implemented OpenGL on the Newton.

" Okay, this guy is either a genius or just incredibly bored. He has made an OpenGL implementation for the Newton!

http://members.aol.com/NewtsPrism/NewtonGL/NewtonGL.html

I expect a prompt port of Quake to the Newton as soon as the source code is made freely available. ;) - Kevin Harrison "

Check it out. The Newton's Prism homepage has links to other Newton goodies as well.

$49 3Dfx Update: Larry of OWC wrote to say they are now providing a Mac/VGA adapter with the OEM 3Dfx cards starting Monday and that anyone that order the card previously will be provided an adapter free of charge if they need it.

" We are including the adapter and also providing them free of charge to those that already have the card. It was an oversight on our part. ... Best Regards,
Larry
Other World Computing
800-275-4576 www.macsales.com "

Jeff Miles also wrote that Techworks was willing to send him an adapter with proof of purchase of the card. If your Mac has a VGA connector on the Monitor and Video card you don't need adapters.

2400 CPU Upgrade: Kim Brennan has an excellent illustrated guide to installing a PB 2400 CPU Upgrade.

IGNITER™ Announced: Aurora Design, makers of the Mac-only FUSE video capture card have announced a new pro-class product called the IGNITER™

" Aurora Design is pleased to announce the introduction of IGNITER™- a PCI based digital video editing solution specifically for the Macintosh. IGNITER™ is a CCIR 601 based video capture card supporting 16 bit 48kHz stereo audio. Capture rates up to 13.3 MegaBytes per second will be possible on PowerMac G3 Series and Blue & White G3 systems. This 1.5:1 compression ratio can be scaled down to 50:1 to match your system's capabilities.

Four different upgrade options will be available:

• Component I/O with balanced audio and a breakout box
• DV Hardware codec
• Serial Digital Interface
• Digital Audio

Each of these upgrade options will be in the form of a daughtercard and will not occupy a PCI slot.

IGNITER™ will be available in late spring for an MSRP of $1299. More information can be obtained at the following URL: http://www.auroradsgn.com/Pages/PRIgniter.htm
Timothy McMahon
Aurora Design, Inc.
www.auroradsgn.com
F U S E R O C K S! "

Full product Specs are available at the IGNITER product page.

Game Software 'Tip': Rob Grabendike writes with a reminder and suggestion for shoppers:

" Mike,
This is a different kind of trick. This trick has to do with just finding the game at your local CompUSA or Best Buy. I went looking for Mac games at my local CompUSA and Best Buy tonight and found that it was slim pickins to say the least. Then I realized that some of the HOT titles like Future Cop and Riven are hybrid CDs. There were tons of both of those titles stocked over in the PC section (even a $10 rebate for Riven). There was not even one box of either one in the Mac section, even though it's technically a Mac game.

I was hoping you could tell the newbie Mac gamers out there (and everyone else) that sometimes the titles they're looking for may be over in the PC section if they're hybrid disks. As a true Mac loyalist I took the liberty of grabbing a handful of boxes of these games and relocating them to the Mac section.
Rob Grabendike "

Smart move Rob - thanks for the tip. And remember to note on hybrid CDrom registrations that it was bought for the Mac.

B&W G3 - Check Heatsink: This is the third report I've gotten that a new G3 did not have the heatsink secured (retaining clip):

" I just bought a new G3 Blue and white and after the second day I opened the case to find a dangling heat sink ( processor heat sink attached to ground but not the processor). I called tech support to find out this has happened before. After two weeks of calling I got a replacement.

I think it would be helpful to post a warning, and advise new owners to check the inside before powering on.
Bob Kreuter "

B&W G3/Apple Display Problems: A reader with repeated display problems asks if anyone has a fix/workaround:

" Mike,
I wrote to you about 3 weeks ago talking about a problem I was having with my Studio Display 17.. occasionally it would just drop into sleep in the middle of using it, and the only way I could wake it was to press the reset button on my Yosemite.

Well, anyway, I had the monitor replaced by Apple (took them forever, and was a big hassle). So.. I get the new display and it looks like this one will have to go back also.

1. It won't hold its geometry. It just seems to change when it wants to.
2. I'm having a very similar problem to the one I was having with the first display..

.. instead of going into power saving mode, the display just turns gray. Now.. the odd thing is, it seems to freeze the Yosemite.. because I can't hold down the power key and then hit restart or shutdown (unless it's just locking up the USB). Anyway, again the only way out is to hit the reset button. What makes this weird is that it didn't happen at all for the 3 weeks I was using a Dell monitor that I borrowed from work. I can't tell if the problem is the Studio Display, my Yosemite's hardware (when hooked up to a Studio Display), or Apple Display software when a Studio Display is present.

I'm going to give Apple one more shot at this before I ask for a refund and just go buy a third party display, but I was wondering if you could see if anyone else is seeing this behavior or has a fix.
Thanks,
-Dave "

If anyone has any suggestions for Dave please contact me. I assume he's using the latest Apple Displays software 1.7.1 (linked in the sidebar). The FAQ display topic area also has a tip on disabling DDC that might be worth a try.

More on G3 ZIFs Waking from Sleep: John Garde sent a note on a possible solution:

" Mike,
I also had the problem with not being able to wake up from an extended sleep..I solved the problem with the shareware piece called "Sleeper" I think.. It was more robust than Apple's extension, but the best part was it worked :-)
John Garde "

I found Sleeper (by St. Clair software) at: Macdownload.com.

More TurboMax Feedback: Greg Depp warns to not use Turbomax formatted drives on an Apple IDE interface, reporting he lost data from doing that:

" I too, have feedback on the Promax ata controller pci card. I got mine with no instructions, but plugging things together isn't too taxing. The fun begins if your drives won't mount on startup. SCSI probe 5 is a must to look at the scsi bus, but it wouldn't mount the drives 'as' is either. An e-mail to the company confirmed that one of my drives (a Quantum 4 gig) was supported by Apple drive setup an it was. I initialized it with drive setup & it was up and running. My Maxtor 6 gig was a different story. It was unsupported by drive setup. Promax recommended I use Remus (A raid setup program that costs WAY more than a drive & a card ! I tried the demo, but it wouldn't recognize the card. I finally used APS Powertools 4.1 to initialize the Maxtor. It doesn't make HFS+, but after Powertools is done, you can use erase disk from the (Sys 8.1 & up) special menu & make it HFS+. Both drives boot a system folder, copies every which way work fine. Both have been up & running several days now, & I'm happy with the card.

There is a severe caveat, however, related to the lack of instructions with the card (Promax told me they are working on a manual) I plugged my drives into the card & away I went, discovering the 'no mount without re-initialization' Before I initialized them, I plugged them back into the main ide bus, to evaluate whether to offload any data (They were largely backup data) When I tried this, I was shocked to find that after being just plugged into the card, the main ide bus wouldn't mount them anymore, & drive setup said they needed to be initialized. I had lost all the data on them. (Not a biggie in my case, but you can see this could cause a lot of people problems if they aren't forewarned.)
-Greg Depp "

Thanks again for all you that are entering your G3 CPU card/ZIF upgrade info in the CPU Upgrade Survey. Readers/prospective buyers can check the Results page and search for owner reports by Mac model and/or card brand. The database is being updated daily for new reports.

Other Net News:

• iMacs on the Mark Down Aisle of Best Buy (theiMac.com)
• 3Com Palm III: The Ultimate Portable Computer? (PBCentral)
• Microsoft admits Win98 privacy problem, plans fix - 'Applications such as Word and Excel generate unique identification numbers that include information about users' personal computers that are then transmitted during the Windows 98 registration process, Rob Bennett, a Windows product manager at the company, confirmed. Bennett said the transmittal of the information is a flaw and will be fixed.' (News.com)
• News.com Week in Review

Saturday's News Summary
(No Sunday update)

• U2 SCSI Card Review page updated with graphs
• Note on $49 3Dfx cards from OWC
• Reader comment on PC Wacom drawing pad works with USB/serial adapter
• Reader comments on ZIF CPUs waking from sleep
• House of Coins Flash web page
• OS X readme file only (for now)
• Adam's feedback on Flashcom ADSL
• Reader complain letter to Heat.net on Mac game support
• G3 Upgrade Owners Survey going well
• Other Computer news
• Summary of previous day's news

G3 CPU Card Owners Survey: If you've bought any brand of G3 CPU upgrade (for any Mac model) - take our new G3 CPU Card Survey and let us know how you rate it, how fast you're going and the Mac type you're using it in and a paragraph of your comments on it (problems/compatibility/observations). It only takes a minute and your experience could be valuable to other Mac owners. This is an on-going, constantly updated database of actual owner reports. Prospective upgraders can check the Results page to list reports by Mac model and/or card brand.

For other recent site news/features links, see the Recent Site Features page.

-Show All Topics-

B&W G3 Related:
Rage128 Update 1.0 (485K bin)
or Binhex (660K)

ATTO ExpressPro-Tools [2.1.1]

Adaptec 2940UW
Bios v4.1b1 &
2940UW Control 4.0

Formac PowerRaid Updates
[get hqx version]

ATTO ExpressPCI 1.3.3

Jackammer v1.4 Update

VirtualGameStation 1.1

Plaintalk Enabler
[For B&W/iMac]

Other G3 Models:
PB G3 Modem 1.0.2

G3 Modem Update (V.90/56Flex)

See VersionTracker's G3 page for others...

G3 CPU Cards:
MacTell G3 Cntl

XLR8 Cache Cntl v1.3 [628KB]

PowerLogix Updates
 *G3 Cache Cntl 1.5b1
 *Speedmeter 1.3
 *GuardBit 1.0b1
  (Retrospect fix)

MAXpowr G3 1.3.7

XLR8 Cache Cntl 1.2

PL AutoCache Beta

Misc/General:
NavCom Cache Cntl 1.2.1

Logitech MouseWare 3.0b7

Yamaha CRW4416 Firmware v1.0f
(See Mac Update Utility page)

Java Runtime 2.1 (7.9MB Bin)

Apple Displays Software 1.7.1

GV V.90 Flex Preferred Script

IE 4.5 Plug-in Updater

Farallon NIC Update

Lightwave 5.6D GL Update
(7.9MB Download)

MacTell Vision3D Pro/Lite 5.4.0
(ROM update also)

Formac GA 5.4.0
(Graphics Card Driver)

Virtual PC 2.1.2

Stuffit Expander 5.1

Games Related:
T.Raider2 Update

Unreal 1.02B4

Descent 3Dfx 1.09

Check VersionTracker
for other updates.

See also Apple's Software Updates

Check here for cool Sherlock Plugins