" Hi Mike
I have a dual monitor setup running an ATI Rage 128 Nexus and a VooDoo3 2000 (both PCI) on a PowerTower Pro (with G3 400 MAXPowr daughter card). I was most interested in the OpenGL drivers, not for games, but my primary hobby - 3D modeling. I use Animation Master by Hash, Inc. (www.hash.com). Its a great product, and for the price $200, it really does some simply incredible things (things that thousand dollar apps can't!). Any way, A:M will do hardware assisted shaded preview render using OpenGL (if the hardware supports it). Up to this point, that's only been the ATI cards. Up until last week, I had an Xclaim VR (not the Rage, but the older card)...this got replaced by the VooDoo3. Well, when I found out that OpenGL drivers were released, I was psyched! I installed them last night and tried it out. Sure enough, it worked - they accelerated the shaded views of my models on the monitor being driven by the VooDoo card. And in fact, the app has a window where you can check the OpenGL drivers, and the VooDoo 3dfx driver was listed! Incredible. Speed is comparable to the Rage 128 Nexus, and definately faster than the older Xclaim VR it replaced. There are some minor glitches, but overall I'm pleased.

In general use (like right now), the VooDoo card runs flawlessly, with other apps. In fact, the new OpenGL drivers offered more settings to drive the monitor (15 " SVGA), although they exceed what the monitor is capable of.
- steve

The 'All' settings normally show all resolutions the video card supports, where the 'recommended' list option will show what the card thinks the monitor supports (based on DDC sensing if available). Always verify that your monitor supports the resolution and refresh rate you select with any card.

$100 USB Tape Drives: [Update: Bill Morlitz wrote to say Aiwa closed their computer division recently, but it is expected they will meet all parts and service issues. The drive does not come with a tape and one G4/450 owner reported lockup in use and a very loud fan. (These drives sold out quickly.) Several readers noted AIWA's USB Travan TR4 Tape Drives are selling for $99.95 (plus tax) at Microcenter (limited supply/closeout). Originally these drives sold for over $200. TR4 tapes are 4GB uncompressed, up to 8GB compressed (assuming 2:1 compression rate). I hear that AIWA is not making these anymore but at this price they look like a real bargain. A USB cable and Dantz Retrospect (v4.1 according to the CD) backup software is also included in the box a friend said. Retrospect alone normally sells for more than the cost of the cost of this tape drive.

MS office 98 OS 9 Installer Fixed Although several readers sent workarounds for the updater issue noted in Wednesday's news - it's probably easier and faster to just download the current installer. I just did and it works fine now (the previous download would not work if you had applied previous updates). Get the new version of the update at the MS Office 98 OS 9 update page.

PC IDE CDRs in Macs: [Update: for literally thousands of reports on PC CD/CDRW/DVD, etc. drives in Macs - see our searchable Drive Compatibility Database.] I've received many reports in the past of PC IDE CDrom recorder drives working in Macs but never heard of an MP3 encoding issue noted by this reader:

" Hey again Mike,
I purchased a CenDyne boxed 8x4x32x CD-RW from Fry's Electronics in Fountain Valley, CA. last week, and then returned it. The reason being that everything worked, except that SoundJam and N2MP3 would not read audio CD data correctly. Everything else worked, except that. The best thing was that the drive was actually a Plextor PX-W8432T, but was OEM and in a CenDyne box. That drive is Plextor's newest EIDI/ATAPI CD-RW, and I was really disappointed since it cost only $257, with a $30 mail in rebate bringing the price to $227!!! But, sadly, it just didn't work.

Startup with the C key held down booted the OS 9 CD flawlessly. It mounted regular CD-roms perfectly once booting was complete also. All of this with the Apple CD/DVD driver from OS 9. My roommate hacked me a Toast 4 device file to get Toast 4 to recognize the drive, and I was able to burn a CD a 8x perfectly also. Everything worked, except reading audio CDs correctly. I have included a window capture of the SoundJam window upon mounting a regular audio CD.

An interesting note is that the Apple CD player worked fine, and I was able to change tracks and all perfectly well with that. So I don't know if it's a problem with the drive and the apple drivers, or just with SoundJam and N2MP3. Note that using CD Speedtools 4.1 did not solve the problem.

Here are the system details:

CenDyne 8x4x32x CD-RW (8x burn, 4x rewrite, 32x read), actually a Plextor

Blue & White G3 300/512K, with 256 MB RAM, OS 9.0, 3dfx Voodoo3 2000 PCI card, 6GB and 27BG Maxtor Diamond Plus drives, internal ZIP. This is a Rev.B., no doubt because of the new IDE controller chip, HD drive bracket, and larger heat sink for the CPU.

Hope that this can be of some help.
-- Hunter Murfee "

I've added this to the FAQ's CDRom/CDR and Audio Topic areas. Julius Lenski wrote his Yikes G4/400 works fine with an HP CD Writer HP8210+ [update - he says Soundjam MP works fine]. Two other readers reported ACER 4x4x32 CDRs worked as well (but required selecting them as the startup disk one said, vs just using the 'C' key to boot from CDROM). Note all IDE CDRs need either Discribe or Toast 4 to support them as noted in my FAQ. Here's a report of a Sony IDE CDR working in a B&W G3 (I've asked both readers if they can try Soundjam or N2MP3 and report their results)

" Mike,
The Sony CRX-100E IDE CD-RW works fine on the B&W G3's onboard IDE Bus 0 Device 0, Bus 0 Device 1, and Bus 1 Device 1. I didn't try running it on Bus 1 Device 0 (where the hard drive normally resides). The stock Apple CD drivers from OS 8.5 to 9.0 work fine (I haven't tested any older versions of Mac OS).

Attempting to use this particular CD-RW on a TurboMax card will NOT work. I forget what the results of this combination were, but I know that they are definitely incompatable with each other... The stock Apple IDE CD-ROM, however, will work with the TurboMax.
Edmond Lai "

[Ed later reported he was able to use Soundjam MP fine with the Sony CDR] Officially the Turbomax card does not support any CDROMs but I have had some mixed results with the TrueX drive as noted in my Turbomax review.

3Dfx Driver Tips from Ken Dyke: I updated my www.Mac3dfx.com site yesterday afternoon with Ken Dyke's comments/tips on using the new drivers for Voodoo3 and Voodoo2 (including gamma fixes and dual monitor tips).

SCSI ORB Drive Benchmarks/Driver Tests: Sean Collins has posted a page of SCSI ORB drive benchmarks and notes some surprising results. The best driver performance was seen with Intech's drivers. In the past using ATTO Tool's benchmark I saw good read speeds (10MB/sec or so) but only 2MB/sec writes with an IDE ORB drive (regardless of driver used).

780MHz/1GHz PowerPCs: Tony Wong posted the following in my G4 Forum:

" Excerpt of program from y2k IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference. Note that 3 of the 7 presentations are from IBM (2 are PowerPC) and 1 of the 7 is from Motorola (PowerPC as well). It looks as if Motorola's (5.3) is the only one that will make it to Apple's desktop systems as the IBM PPCs are 64bit apparently. The remaining presentations are from Alpha consortium, HP, and Intel.

HIGH-FREQUENCY MICROPROCESSORS
5.1 A 1GHz Alpha Microprocessor
5.2 A 660MHz 64b SOI Processor with Cu Interconnects
5.3 A 780MHz PowerPC Microprocessor with Integrated L2 Cache
5.4 A 1GHz Single-Issue 64b PowerPC Processor
5.5 A 600MHz PA-RISC Microprocessor
5.6 760MHz G6 S/390 Microprocessor Exploiting Multiple Vt and Copper Interconnects
5.7 A 1GHz IA-32 Microprocessor Implemented on 0.18 µm Technology with Aluminum Interconnect

ISSCC 2000 Advance Program (MP5 High-Frequency Microprocessors) "

Altivec Extensions Info: I posted the info on how to get the 4 Altivec OS 9 extensions from the OS 9 CD (not installed normally on anything but G4 Apple macs) in the past weekend news and my XLR8 G4/400Z review but saw a post in my G4 Forum on another source - Apple's developer site AltiVec downloads summary page.

USB Speakers Tip: I saw this posted in my G4 forum and thought it might be of help to someone else:

" I just found a fix for getting your 'unsupported' USB speakers to work under OS 9. ZAP THE PRAM!

That's all it takes, and the next time you go to the sound control panel, the sound magically comes out of the USB speakers. I'm using the Yamaha YST-MS55D with sub and they work great! Just wanted to let everyone know. "

I've never been a big fan of USB speakers as they can saturate the entire USB bus based on the first PC USB speaker reports I'd read. For $79.99 the 5 speaker (w/subwoofer) Altec Lansing deal I mentioned recently at Sam's Club doesn't require USB and is a great bargain for low-cost Mac audio enhancement in my opinion.

Reader Request: Audiowerks/Logic Discovery and G3 upgrades A reader asked which upgrade cards are compatible with these Mac audio products. I suggested he contact the upgrade card mfrs as well as the makers of the audio products but welcome any reader feedback if you are using them with a G3 CPU upgrade. (Please include mac model/card/OS specifics on any reports - thanks.)

512MB RAM in Wallstreet PB G3: [Note - I also ram 512MB in my PB G3/250 during the Newer Tech G3/466 CPU upgrade review.] Steve Weisel called me over the holidays about his trip to Transintl and I asked him for a written summary for posting. Steve writes:

" Bought an Initio BlueNote from TransIntl.com where Mike, Ken and Sid treated me to Taco Bell that one of them had picked up and where they used my Wall Street to test a product they are coming out with in early Dec.: 256 MB RAM modules that are small enough to fit in the smaller, lower slot thereby allowing a total of 512 MB in a Wall Street, Lombard or an early iMac.

We tested the RAM in my Wall Street using Tech Tool Pro, Photoshop, and QuickTime, plus I opened as many large apps, plus movies and several 25 MB files in Photoshop. But "About This Mac" still reported that I was only using about half of the half a Gig they had installed!

Unfortunately, after the test, they remembered to swap out their two 256 MB modules and re-installed my now paltry seeming 160 MB of RAM. ; - )

This RAM is designed and manufactured to amazing specifications by TI in order to get it to fit into the very tight space of either the more cramped lower or more roomy upper slot. Ken showed me the CAD program and the blueprints he uses to design both the RAM and the machines that manufacture it right there.

There are many Macs including a a box or two from Power Computing, a 7500, a 9500, a Beige G3, a Blue & White, a Lombard, several iMacs (a G4 soon), and an iBook which selflessly splay their guts open on the factory bench so that each RAM module which goes out to a customer can be tested in the appropriate machine.

Once again, they gave of their time generously, helping me with some other (Blue & White and PowerWave related) hardware issues I had and feeding me lunch instead of charging me for that help. You just don't meet people like this every day.

They plan to send you a sample module to test in your Wall Street soon.

For RAM and hard drive needs, I can unconditionally recommend Trans International. I witnessed how they dealt with customers on the phone, and a few who walked in and they always strive to go above and beyond to satisfy.

1-800-783-2120 or www.transintl.com
Steve Weisel "

I used Transintl RAM before they were a sponsor and have always had great service with them. They really seem like a great company to deal with.

Top 500 SuperComputers: Jim Downs wrote with links to two articles on supercomputer ratings:

" http://www.netlib.org/benchmark/top500/top500.list.html

Mike,
Notice that #2 is an IBM w/ 604e technology. Sure, the Intel is tops, but only 11% better performance with 65% more processors! Can you say "RISC"?

I could hook up, say, 20 million Mac Pluses and have a great supercomputer...
See also:
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,32706,00.html
JD "

CPU Owners Ratings Database Updated: Last night I posted about 30 new entries in the Rate Your CPU Upgrade database. There are now close to 2,700 entries in that database (searchable by mac model and/or upgrade brand). Included in the recent entries was the following tip that may help readers from Germany with HP printer problems:

" 6100/60/72MB/4GB w/Sonnet G3 Upgrade
German users of PM 6100 with Sonnet„s Crescendo G3 250 MHz/512k, who are unable to print on their old Deskwriter 550c printers using the german printer-driver v6.0, should try out the american-english printer-driver DW 500 Series v6.0.4, available at Hewlett-Packard. I personally have wasted a lot of time finding a way to make my printer running with the german driver - no way! Use v6.0.4 - it will work.
peter heinemann "

For a link to H-P's Printer Driver updates page see the Printers or Operating Systems page of my FAQ. (From the recent H-P OS 9 updates posting here).

Sonnet Cresendo v1.4 Update Feedback: Speaking of Sonnet upgrades, this reader reported their recent v1.4 software update for OS 9 solved his stability problems:

" Version 1.4 has made the Nubus version of the card stable on my Power120 using MacOs 9.0 at last!!! I've been using it all day and it hasn't choked yet!...
Steve "

The production model Powerlogix Z-Force arrived Friday afternoon. I will post my bus speed tests in 3 macs here on Monday. Also in the queue is a Powerlogix G3/500 CPU card, XLR8 G4/350 CPU card (working perfectly in the 9600/350), a Newer Tech G4/400 CPU card, Newer Tech G4/400 ZIF upgrade

For a blast from the past see what was on the front page news here one year ago.

[I took Thursday off for Thanksgiving except for night work on the databases and email replies]

Wednesday's News Summary

• Unreal Tournament Rave Updater
• Problems w/MS Office 98 OS 9 Updates (updater revised now)
• Game News page updated with new 3dfx driver test results
• New Proformance3 Beta Drivers
• DV Tips for Older Macs (PCPro owner reports OS 8.1 best)
• Reader Request: Bootable IDE CDRs?
• OS 9/PCMCIA Card Compatibility
• New 3Dfx Voodoo2/Voodoo3 Driver Feedback
• Sonnet updates G3 Cresendo software to v1.4 for OS 9
• Glidehack 1.2 update for Voodoo3 screenshot capability
• Other Net News

Tuesday's News Summary

• 3Dfx Voodoo2/Voodoo3 Updated Drivers w/OpenGL
• Update from FirmTek on Mac IDE Cards
• Quake3 Performance Tweaking (game news page)
• XLR8 G4/400Z Review updated for Photoshop 5.5: Athlon 600MHz vs G4
• Promise IDE Controllers - Write for Mac Support
• USB Video/Keyboard/Mouse Switcher
• Game News page updated with Quake3 FOV Tip and other tweaks
• Rainbow Six Gamers Wanted

Monday's News Summary

• iBook #1 U.S. Consumer Portable
• Game News Updated
• USB Mouse Axis Problems
• Alsoft Software Updates
• OWC $325 Copper G3/450 ZIF Upgrade
• Update on XLR8 G4 Upgrade Memory Bandwidth
• XLR8 G4/400Z Review
• Sonnet and XLR8 Lower CPU Upgrade Prices
• 3Dfx Hires ATI Programmer
• PowerBase G4 Upgrade
• Miles U2W/Sawtooth Tip
• Quake3 Demo Texture Loading Tip
• Quake3 Arena Goes Gold
• Mac Game/Video Card Performance Database Updated
• Getting Answers Faster

Weekend's News Summary

• USB 1.3.5/VR 128 Tip
• Updated ORB Tools 1.2.6
• Newer Tech Lowers Prices
• Thanks To Readers
• Airport User Comments and Tips on Setup
• 3Dfx Driver Update Soon?

For links to older news pages see the Archives page.

The recent features page has a lists reviews/articles you may have missed.

For a guide to finding answers to questions - see my Site Guide page.

Considering a G3 Upgrade? Check the CPU Upgrade Owner's Survey results and search for owner reports by Mac model and/or card brand. Readers post new entries daily and the database is updated several times a week. I urge any owners that have had problems to report this via the Survey Form. Always give the most weight to recent owner reports (dated in the listing) as in many cases problems are later found to be due to settings errors, slow L2 cache, etc.