QT Out of Date Fix: A reader responds to the reader request earlier today (now removed) asking how to fix the 'QT components out of date' startup error message:

"I had the same problem with this error message. I'm running a beige G3 266 minitower w/ 8.6 (if that makes any difference) I downloaded the stand alone full installer from apple's website... http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/support/
The automatic installer seemed to not update stuff properly. Use the "full install" option and this should take care of the problem.
-Shawn "

The Game News page has an update from Graphic Simulations on Mac Descent 3 status. Remember to support companies that make Mac games to let them know there is a Mac market for quality games like Descent 3. See my article on programmer Duane Johnson and Descent 3 for an example of the amazing graphics in the game.

Apple G4 Software DVD Player Tests in non-G4 Macs: Many readers have asked recently if the Apple G4/AGP system's software DVD player will work in other Macs (with a DVD ROM drive of course). As a test I installed a retail Rage128 Orion PCI graphics card in my B&W G3 with DVD drive (removing the OEM Rage128 with mpeg piggyback card). I copied over the G4's DVD player and DVD extensions (requires DVDruntimeLib extension as well as the Region and Navigation manager). The software DVD player would not work however, reporting the player was "not compatible with this machine". (A reader correctly noted that since the player works on an iMac DV system, it must check for a system ID, not a G4 CPU.) As noted in yesterday's news, the player requires an ATI card to even run in the G4/AGP system. It did work with a PCI Rage128 Orion (retail) card so an AGP graphics card is not required.

ATI VR 128 Status: [Update: Deanna Perkins of ATI just confirmed they have shipped cards to distributors and that all backorders should be filled in the next few weeks.] I almost hate to mention it without a dealer confirming they are arriving - but the latest info I have is that Mac Rage128 VR cards are shipping to dealers now (see ATI's Pricing Page). If anyone gets one or finds one in stock (really) let me know.

Mac Half-Life Cancelled? the latest update to the Game News page has info that Valve is pulling the plug on the Mac port of Half-Life. Valve's comments indicated that 'cutting corners' (no PC/Mac networking, automatic updates, Team Fortress) needed to ensure profitibility in the smaller Mac market would have resulted in a disappointing game. Personally I'd have bought any version of Mac Half-Life, despite these omissions.

I updated the post on the PS 5.5/Altivec bug with a sample image showing the unwanted color bars seen in a JPEG file after applying the Twirl filter.

Photoshop 5.5/Altivec Bug: A reader notes an odd problem with the Altivec G4 extensions enabled (see the update below for the latest feedback on the problem):

"Mike,
I've got a G4/450. I was wondering if you have Photoshop 5.5, and if so, whether you can confirm this glitch:

With AltiVecCore enabled (either by having it or its alias placed in the Adobe Photoshop 5.5:Plug-Ins:Adobe Photoshop Only:Extensions folder), open any JPEG on your hard drive. Select an area and use one of the distortion filters (say, spherize or twirl).

I get distorted green bands overlaying the selected area, visible both in the preview window and in the actual image.

Disabling AltiVecCore eliminates the problem.

The problem does not seem to manifest itself on other types of graphics, even with the plug-in enabled.

I'd be interested to see if anyone else is having this problem. I don't believe this is a third party extension issue, as the same thing happens when booting off of the Power Mac G4 CD.
--Todd "

I tested this here on my G4/450 with PS 5.5 and saw the problem with the 'twirl' filter (horizontal color bars in the image - see sample). I hope this is just a Photoshop bug (or video driver issue) and not due to G4 chip errata.
Update: Andy Watters reported his Yikes G4/400 system (not AGP) does not seem to have the problem. This seems to indicate it's a Sawtooth system releated issue (extensions/drivers/ROM/CPU chip speed related?) but I welcome other owner comments. This Yikes G4/400 owner's report is especially disturbing for us G4/450 owners:

"Mike,
Your reader with the G4/400 PCI reported that the Photoshop bug did NOT appear on his G4 machine. This is the confirmation I feared. My G4/400 PCI never showed the Photoshop problem either...until I overclocked it to 450 MHz. Then the bug appeared.

I'm not suggesting that the overclocking itself is responsible for problem - the machine runs fine otherwise, and the Photoshop problem disappears when I reduce the speed back to 400 MHZ. It seems that once the G4 chip hits 450 MHz, the Photoshop bug appears. Sounds like we have a chip errata associated with speed. It's definitely NOT a motherboard design problem, since it happens consistently on my 450 MHz PCI bus G4 and on other readers' 450 MHz AGP boards.

My guess is that the Velocity Engine is kicking out errors under certain conditions when speeds reach 450 MHz.
steve "

Premiere 5.1c Comments: A reader asks for tips on his Premiere/Sony Camcorder problems [Wednesday's news had a tip that might help]:

"You may not be aware but Adobe has posted Premiere 5.1c and a new device control plugin. This was to address issues concerning the inability of G4 systems and OS 9 - to use Premiere to import/export DV video to Digital camcorders.
www.adobe.com/support/downloads/prmac.htm
My initial experience with Premiere 5.1c (on a G4/400) follow.

I have updated Premiere to 5.1c, and have added the new Premiere device control plugin (which replaces "DV Export" and "Device Control").

G4/400 now controls my Sony TRV310 camcorder, and I can input DV footage to a QT file and create a Premiere project.

However, when outputting a Premiere project (using "DV Export to Tape") ...while the Sony TRV310 goes into record mode... no DV footage is transferred from the G4/400! The recorded tape is blank!!

Anyone else having trouble outputting DV footage to a Digital 8 camcorder from a G4/400, using Premiere 5.1c?
"

If any readers have a solution, please contact me.

While on the subject, iMovie/iMac DV owners might want to check the tips on the Apple iMovie Gear page that has workarounds for some Firewire Camcorder problems by brand name and model.

Adjustable CPU Time Utility: Unlike CPU Charger which is not adjustable for foreground CPU time, a reader sent a note on another utility that is:

"Hi Mike,
Re: CPU Charger. Clarkwood software makes Peek-a-Boo ST, which allows you to look at how much CPU time your various apps/processes are using and, with the "ST" extension, to change their priority.

So it's kind of a manual version of CPU charger, but what it lacks in automation, it makes up for in flexibility b/c you can precisely set how much CPU time each open process uses.
http://www.clarkwoodsoftware.com/peekaboo/
Matt Ruben"

I welcome feedback for readers on how well this works (especially in OS 9) to perhaps get back some of the lost performance readers are noting in applications and benchmarks.

Reminder: UltraSCSI & Audio: A recent reader mail from a PowerCenter Pro owner made me want to post a reminder that disabling UltraSCSI or lowering the clock speed on UltraSCSI cards (common fix for Initio Miles cards) solves the audio stuttering problem often seen when playing back files from connected hard drives. This was noted in back in 1997 in my PowerCenter Pro review compatibility section and has been listed in the FAQ's Audio section for some time. Another reminder to always check the FAQ first (it might save us both some time :-)

Also note that as mentioned by Promax and in my TurboMax IDE card review, audio/video playback issues (dropouts/stuttering) will occur with IDE drives connected to the card if it is installed in pre-Apple G3 systems. There is no known fix for this if the card is used in other than Beige G3 or later systems.

OS 9 VM Tests: The latest update to the Game News page has a series of tests in OS 9 from a PB G3 owner with Virtual Memory Off and On (with 2 VM settings). Also included there is a note on Quake 1 sprocket problems under OS 9.

Modem Scripts: My Internal Modem Tips page has some alternative scripts as well that some readers said helped with reliability and performance.

Yikes ROM Update: A reader scolded me (in fun) for missing the fact Apple posted a Power Mac G4 ROM 1.8.1 update yesterday. This update is for PCI based G4s only and is said to fix data or file corruption with Virtual Memory on and Photoshop crashes when Extensis Photo Tools are installed. The lower sidebar here has links to Apple's Software updates and TIL updates pages every day, but I was very busy yesterday (off the net) and missed it.

DVD Section Added to FAQ: I've added a separate DVD topic area to my Frequently Asked Questions database. In the past I'd had some DVD questions covered in the CDROM section, but the new area covers only DVD topics such as Troubleshooting, DVD decoder cards, Mac Software DVD players, and drive kits for IDE or SCSI Macs and more. The FAQ has answers to over 450 questions from CPU upgrades to USB. The FAQ should be your first stop when you have a question. Thanks to those that do use it.

Speaking of DVD, I'll be testing the G4's Software DVD player in a B&W G3 with Rage128 Orion card today (no mpeg card on the retail Rage128). I suspect the player requires a G4 CPU, but will verify this since many readers are asking. Remember that as mentioned here previously, there is a shareware Mac Software DVD player (beta) at http://fred.elma.fr/Soft_DVD/soft_dvd.html. This is noted in the FAQ's DVD topic area for future reference.

More Power Computing Failure Tips: Dick Moore wrote that his sudden DOA problem turned out to be a Power Supply failure. I've added his full story to my Power Computing Failures page.

iMac DV/iBook Overclocking: Several readers sent a note that the famous japanese overclocking site (http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~t-imai/) has updates on how to overclock the iMac DV and iBook models. Surprisingly the iBook was overclocked to 400MHz he said. Did you know the iBook is reported to use an IBM 10X ratio G3 CPU? Interesting as this is expensive and not really needed with the fast bus speed of the iBook. What's also odd about this is the fact that I've never heard of a 10X G3 CPU that wasn't a 450MHz or higher rated model.

-Freq Asked Questions

Check VersionTracker
and Apple's Software Updates
(especially their Recent Updates)

Apple TIL Updates

Apple Forums