G4 iMac? [Update - in Summer 2000 I reviewed a Newer Tech G4 CPU upgrade for iMac 233-333mhz models. See the G4 reviews listing for the link to the review.
In Jan 2002, Apple released flat-panel iMacs with G4 CPUs standard.]
Barney Buoy sent a note about a MacUser UK article reporting that Apple may roll out a G4 iMac later this year. (This is old rumor news I'm sure). Makes perfect sense of course. I know we're all waiting for a new PowerBook G3 to be announced at MW Tokyo (or at a 'media event' soon). I just hope they don't spoil the classy design of the current PB G3s.
Another MS PC USB Keyboard Hack: Bob Friede wrote that Resexcellence has an article
on Using a Windows USB keyboard on a Mac and remapping the modifier keys by Robert Hiller. I'm not sure if this is different from the utility at http://www.mit.edu/~kshakir/msnatural/ (noted last week here in the news). I've updated the MS USB Keyboard info in the FAQ's USB Questions topic area to include the Resexcellence article URL for future reference.
= 5:00PM Update Follows =
PowerLogix Altivec Enabler Update: the Software Updates/News below has been updated with notes on a new Powerlogix (G4 upgrade) Altivec Enabler 1.1b2 (beta) update. (The same page has the E100 Umax SCSI card Enabler fix for G3 upgrades noted earlier today.) Also added to the list is a link to XLR8's Interview USB video capture device v2.0 beta program.
To ease the load on my ISP's server the search engine has been disabled. When the new dedicated Mac server is brought online it will have a sherlock based search engine far better than the one originally here. Use the FAQ as a first stop for answers to questions. 80% or more of emails I get are already answered in the FAQ or the topics links/databases here so check these resources first. Thanks.
= Noon Update Follows =
IDE Raid First Impressions: [Note: for the latest Mac IDE card/IDE RAID related articles, see the IDE articles page. comments below were from early tests and IDE RAID generally shows no benefit in pre-G3 series macs which have lower memory/PCI performance.]
I've been doing some tests of ATA/66 cards and IDE Raid
recently for an article here. The exercise has often been frustrating as some cards don't support
Apple's drivers (at least with my two Maxtor 27GB drives) and after setting up a Raid stripe (2 drives), switching controller cards would prevent the system from booting (at least in the 9600/350 which currently has a G4/350 upgrade card). Zapping the PRAM, etc. did not help. The results in the 9600/350 with a G4/350 upgrade at least, may surprise and disappoint many of you. Perhaps the lower memory performance of that Kansas motherboard is one reason why (I'll be testing in a G3 or G4 Mac as well to verify this). For instance in the 9600/350 system with G4 upgrade I saw no gain in the following tests with a single IDE 27GB (7200 RPM/2MB Cache ATA/66) drive vs a two-drive Raid stripe (two of the same drives with an ATA/66 controller card):
- Time to duplicate a 30MB file showed no improvement
- Sustained R/W rates in ATTO's benchmark showed no real improvements
- Macbench 5's Disk and Pub Disk showed no improvement.
(MacBench's disk mix often doesn't show any improvement from RAID, or shows disappointing results
even with some fast SCSI RAIDs, due to stripe size or just the mix of small files
perhaps.)
I mention the above since they are common tests that readers will run. What did show a big gain was copying a huge folder (700+MB/5000+ files) from an Ultra2 SCSI disk to the IDE drives. The IDE RAID setup completed this test in half the time. One other advantage of IDE RAID is that it does allow you to have a single volume of huge size (50+GB). However with 40GB or larger IDE drives available now consider the overall cost of two drives vs a single large drive.
Maxtor 27GB Drive Temps: One other thing I noted that some recent Maxtor 27GB drive owners had commented on recently was drive temperatures. For these tests I had the two Maxtor 27GB drives sitting just outside the case (case cover off for these tests temporarily). The Maxtor 27GB models ran warmer than most IDE drives I've seen recently, but not has hot as some older SCSI drives I've used like the 2GB Barracuda models. Perhaps inside the case, airflow would have reduced their temperatures. I didn't see any problems from the very warm drives, but thought I'd mention it. They did seem to run hotter than the smaller Quantum or WD drives I have in my G3 and G4 systems. However those case designs have a large fan and good airflow which help I'm sure, and perhaps with the drives inside the 9600 case temperatures would have been lower.
E100/PowerForce G3 Beta Enabler: Stephen Chu sent a note that Powerlogix has released
a beta version of an E100 Enabler to address the Networking issues with the E100 and G3 upgrade cards that use 'virtual firmware' (first noted here in my E100 Compat./Feedback page). Get the update at http://www.powerlogix.com/support/softwarebeta.html
More LW300/G3 Printing Tips: A reader replies to the recent post here on a fix for LW 300 printing problems with an Apple G3 system:
"
Hi Mike,
Just a short addendum to the reader tip on the LaserWriter 300. As was
pointed out, Apple has a TIL article on the issue -- the article
acknowledges that the problem is exhibited even on Apple G3 machines (not
just G3 upgraded ones).
I faced the same problem a while back with my 7500/300 w/ NewerTech card in
combination with the LW 300 (OS 8.1 and 8.5.1). I found the same remedy . .
. but, like many other folks, was less than thrilled at having to use
Virtual Memory in order to print. I didn't want the performance hit or
problems with A/V apps, so a reboot would be necessary.
**I did find another work around:
The NewerTech Control Panel allows one to set the speed of the backside
cache or to completely disable it. I found that I could disable the cache,
print without problems, then simply re-enable the cache -- no reboot
necessary, and I don't have to live with VM on all the time. I assume a
similar option is available in the XLR8 software. This is, I guess, an
advantage to third party upgraded Macs that allow software disabling of the
cache (can't do this on apple branded G3's, right?).
Anyway, I thought this might be helpful . . .
Best to you and yours,
Taylor Sinclair"
The cache disabling option is in most G3 upgrade cache controls (XLR8, PL, etc.)
- but beige G3 and B&W G3 owners would need to download a software control however.
(Powerlogix's G3/G4 cache profiler is free.) I had also forgot about the reader tip on using the 'G3 throttle' utility to reduce speeds which solved the printing problem (as well as some other compatibility issues with 603e Macs upgraded to G3s - noted here previously and in the Rate Your CPU Upgrade database). There may be another G3/G4 control strip that allows disabling the cache but I can't seem to remember the exact name of it it now.
More USB Game Controller Tips: Several readers replied to the post in yesterday's news with more tips:
"Hi Mike
I also had problems with the Gravis GamePad Pro USB. The solution
for me was to upgrade to the latest InputSprockets 1.7.3 which also
updates the HID Library to 1.7.3 and fixes all the issues you
mentioned. You no longer need a separate Gravis GamePad USB
extension.
will perez
"
Another reader comments on Inputsprocket versions:
"Hi Mike
Just a reminder. Using Inputsprocket 1.7.2 and newer is the ONLY inputsprocket you need to have installed. You don't need the Gravis USB driver or any other driver for most if not all USB controllers. In fact installing the older (and they are old) specific drivers is a bad thing when having Inputsprockets 1.7.2 or newer installed as they might interfere with how Inputsprockets 1.7.2 works. If people which installed the Inputsprocket 1.7.3 would read the ReadMe file it says clearly which devices are supported by the sprockets. And that includes all the older device specific drivers which are now included with the one single Inputsprocket file. That includes Gravis USB Pro pad. USB Overdrive has also some conflicts with the latest Inputsprockets. They both trying to access the device which results in a non working device. Disabling USB Overdrive is the only solution.
If having a USB card installing the 1.3.5 or newer USB drivers will also resolve some issues like the Not enough power error after a startup. Highly recommended.
Rob
"
FYI: Sprockets 1.7.3 has been linked in the software updates sidebar for awhile. The Game News page a few weeks back had the Readme file listed, but I removed it recently as the page was getting heavy and figured it was old news.
Jacob Luck reported he had to disable the HID extension (yesterday's tip) to get his Gravis
Xterminator gamepad working even with the new Sprockets (I asked what USB card support version he was running):
"Disabling the HID extension made my Gravis Xterminator Gamepad work
perfectly as well. MacOS 9 on a USB Card-outfitted g3 here.
By the way, the Gravis inputsprocket extension from their website is
outdated, as the latest GameSprockets support any USB device.
-Jakob"
Software Updates/Other Net News (latest updates first):
Reader Review Databases Updated: Last night I added new entries in the
Rate Your CPU Upgrade, Mac Game Reviews and Mac Game/Video Card Performance databases. When looking for info on CPU or Video card upgrades search these databases for owner reports, comments and performance ratings.
If you don't check the news here daily, check the summary of past news below for info/articles you may have missed. The recent features page also lists articles posted (most recent first) as does the sidebar links here. The site topics pages (systems, cpu upgrades, etc. - see top and sidebar links on this page) also are places to check as well as the FAQ.
For a blast from the past see what was on the front page news here one year ago.
Monday's News Summary
- Long list of net news stories
- G4 2.8 Revision Shipped in Early January
- Gravis GamePad Pro USB Controllers Tip
- DirecPC USB on VPC 3.0 working
- More Epson Printer AT/Network Drivers
- MS USB Pro Keyboard Feedback
- IBM Working on 3-4GHz Chips
- Quake3 Fortress Mod News
- Z-Force Bus Speed Tip
- Newer Tech 366 ZIF/Carrier Card Settings
- Software Updates/News
- Popular Science OS Poll
- Rate Your CPU Upgrade, and Mac Game/Video Card Performance searchable databases updated
- Latest topics in G4 Forum and 3Dfx Forums.
Saturday's News Summary
Friday's News Summary
- Villagetronics beta OpenGL driver released
- Apple TIL on creating streaming MP3 files
- Apple updated Ethernet Speed and Duplex Tool 6.2.1a4c1.
- Article on Meta Creations selling off some software titles
- Star Wars Episode 1 Racer update
- Apple Revises iTools Terms
- PowerLogix Price Cuts
- Acard ATA/66 vs Turbomax IDE card tests
- $109 Turbomax Cards
- NoFinderZoom for OS 9
- More USB Keyboard Reports
- More Copper G3/Beige G3/Ram Issues
- Rate Your CPU Upgrade, and Mac Game/Video Card Performance searchable databases updated
- Latest topics in G4 Forum and 3Dfx Forums.
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 CPU 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. The current database has more than 3,200+ reports and growing.
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Answers!