Mobile-Dog.com has some pictures from the MW Tokyo show (text is in japanese, but the photos are nice).

New PowerBook G3s with Rage128 Mobility Video Chip: M. Isobe posted the following info in my G4 forum:

" iBook (same design, colors and price) with 64MB memory and 6GB HDD

iBook SE: G3/366 and graphite color, 218,000 yen.

New PowerBook G3: UMA mother board disign (100MHz FSB, U-ATA66 and FireWire x2), G3/500MHz , Rage Mobility 128, DVD-ROM, 64MB/6GB HDD and same price with previous models.

PowerMac G4: 400MHz, 450MHz and 500MHz "

Looks like all the predictions were true. The Rage128 Mobility graphics chip should be a real shot in the arm for video performance. I don't think any PC notebook has used that chip yet. [The Apple store now has the new models listed, 400MHz/1MB Cache is now the low end. DVD standard on all. Still 14.1" TFT. No mention specifically of the Rage128 Mobility chip (still 8MB Vram) but it was noted in the PDF specs file. Good news is they still look like the Lombard (don't mess with a good thing).

• PB G3/500, 12GB, 128MB RAM is $3499
• PB G3/400, 6GB, 64MB RAM is $2499.

MW Tokyo Show Tidbits: A reader reports that the rumors on iBook rev 2 were true. There's even a special edition in graphite. 366MHz, 6GB drive, 64MB of RAM. The standard iBook now will also have 64MB of RAM standard and 6GB drive.

I guess the ZD/Net story earlier today titled Few surprises likely at Tokyo Mac show was way off base ;-)

One reader said he is attending the show and has a Nikon digital camera for photos. I'm still awaiting a report on what new products will be announced there. I'll be posting his photos and commentary when it is received.

Commotion G4/Altivec Update: Sean sent a note that Puffin Design's Commotion v2.2 is G4 Altivec (Velocity Engine) accelerated. See their Commotion Upgrade page for more details (free upgrade for owners of version 2).

3Dfx VSA100 Cards at MW Tokyo Show Posts at 3dfxgamers.com says that the new Mac VSA100 cards may be shown at the show.

B&W G3 Heatsink/Fans: I've personally never had to use a fan cooled heatsink in an Apple G3 (Beige or B&W) but I get many mails asking for sources of one that would work. The problem is the heatsink in these models is a close fit when the case is closed (almost rubs the ZIP drive metal chassis), so it's hard to find a fan/heatsink combo that fits. If you're not having cpu temperature problems (overheating results in Finder errors very quickly in my experience) - then leave well enough alone and don't waste your time or money on coolers you don't need.

Although I've not personally tried one, I suspect PC Power and Cooling's low profile pentium heatsink/fans might work but read the notes below for other possible issues. Their Z1C coolers (the 1.9W lowest profile model) looks like it would be the best candidate (it's only 0.6 inches high - others are 1.1 inches high). It lists for $17.00 according to their current pricing. Unlike many low-cost Pentium Coolers, the fans in these models are ball bearing/long life versions warrantied for up to 5 years. Cheaper fans often go bad after only a few months.

Note: Mac ZIF CPU modules have the cpu off-center from the heatsink as well as a very small CPU/heatsink contact area (the small raised square in the center of the PowerPC G3) which poses some additional potential issues. The stock retaining clip for the heatsink has an off-center bend (pressure point) to ensure better contact against the CPU. Pentium cooler retainers would not have this feature. I don't suggest anyone get the thermal tape secured heatsinks, since unlike the Pentium CPU, the contact area of the PowerPC is very small (about 1/4"). And remember in a tower case the CPU is vertically oriented (on its side) so this would only make matters worse for the tape secured heatsinks. The metal torsion wire retainer may work fine, but I can't say without trying one.

Beige G3 owners be aware that the case has a metal spring clip that presses down on the stock heatsink when the case is closed - which may cause problems by pressing on the fan on top of the heatsink unless the clip was removed.

Finally, also remember any fan you add will likely increase noise. (The amount varies by the fan blade pitch/design, bearings and RPM.) Many folks complain about hard drive and/or the stock power supply fan noise so I wanted to mention this.

Due to yesterday being Valentine's day I didn't get to complete my page on IDE RAID performance. I'll be updating the Installing IDE RAID in a Blue & White G3 or Apple G4 system article with performance test results as soon as possible.

New System Rumors: I'm sure everyone is expecting new Powerbooks (Pismo) to be announced soon (MW Tokyo) but there are also rumors of an iBook rev 2 and G4 system changes (speed bump perhaps?). One reader noted he was told to wait for a few days instead of ordering a new G4 system now:

"I have a source at work that said don't buy that G4 just yet. ...I then proceeded to try and order the G4 today. I called my sales rep and they told me they would call back because of another call. I got the call back minutes later and this is what they said: "If I were you I would hold off buying a new G4 right now, wait at least till after the weekend. Something BIG is going to happen soon with apple." They also stated that they are getting rid of all the current G4 stock to prepare. "

If there are any readers that will be attending MW Tokyo I'd welcome reports from the show and pictures if you have a digital camera.

OS X DP3 on 9500 w/G3 Upgrade: A reader sent a note that he's running OS X Developer Preview 3 fine on his older Mac with G3 upgrade:

"Hey Mike!
I've installed Mac OS X DP3 on a 9500 with a G3 upgrade, no sweat!

A screenshot is attached, note the little stripes at the bottom of the icons in the 'dock'. Yellow means that app is active, white means it's running. Not too obvious is it?

Just thought you'd like to be the first with a screenshot of your page with a true OS X browser - OmniWeb 3.1rc1
- Anonymous Speed Phreek "

Although 'officially' OS X only supports Apple G3 systems and later, the FAQ's Operating System Software (not OS X server) section has a list of motherboard/model support found in DP2.

TurboMax IDE Card Network File Copy Performance: [Update: the article has been revised to include later tests with other systems which seems to indicate the 10/100 Network card, not the Turbomax is a factor.] A reader sent an interesting mail on slow network upstream file copy performance with his Turbomax IDE card. He also has an interesting comment on dual IDE cards increasing peak R/W performance in RAID vs. one card. (To offload the main news page I created a separate article with his comments.)

More on #9 RevIV Graphics Cards/Mac Firmware: The latest reader comments since the post last Friday on the SGI factory return sale on 17.3" Flatpanels which the #9 Rev. IV card supported. Note that one reader said he had two PC #9 Rev IV cards fail after trying to flash them. Another reader commented he was told the PC card design was different than the Mac version. (My suspicions were that perhaps the PC's flash ROM was not large enough for the Mac firmware, a problem noted with some PC Matrox Millennium/Mill. IIs in the past). Buyer/Flasher beware - but here's the latest info from a reader on subject:

"A little more information on the #Nine 32mg Revolution IV card for mac, Flash BIOS. GA11-ROM 1.8.6 This is a flash BIOS upgrade for the Revolution 4 for the Macintosh only. To install it, move the Hawkeye control panel from the Control Panels folder and reboot with an analog monitor plugged into the analog interface. You cannot install this BIOS with the SGI Flat Panel plugged into the digital interface. Run GA11-ROM 1.8.6. Click on the Update button and the BIOS will load. Move the Hawkeye control panel back into the Control Panels folder and reboot.NOTE : You will also need to Use CardManager to update the flash ROM. Click on the CardManager folder once to open it. Drag and drop the flash ROM on top the "UpdateAllCards" con. After the EPROM Action status bar, click "Save" then "Verify". Quit CardManager and restart your computer.

http://www.nine.com/support/drivers/rev4mac.html
http://www.formac.com/new/products/graphic/driver.html

HawkEye is the control panel from #Nine, no support for OpenGL GA 5.7.1 is the control panel from Formac with support for OpenGL and it work's with the # Nine Card. The GA11-ROM 1.8.6 is the equivalent of the GA12-ROM 2.1.1 same number of words, lines, and characters. Both support OpenGL, GA11-ROM 1.8.6 for #Nine, and GA12-ROM 2.1.1 for the ForMac. The GA12-ROMs will not flash the #Nine card and may do damage, although the error message is no ForMac card found. Hope this is some help
Thanks
Pete
[Pete later wrote when I asked if he had flashed a PC or a Mac #9 card:]

I think the two cards are different. This is only for the mac #9 Rev IV card, and you can smoke that card too. 3/4 of the screen will be garbage until you turn off QuickDraw acceleration in the control panel.It will run Q3T on the big screen but has a sluggish mouse with Kensington TroboMouse only in this combination. "

More on Razer Boomslang/USB Overdrive: In reply to the reader post on the Razer mouse in yesterday's news, Don Tipton writes:

"Hi Mike,
I've had a Razer Boomslang since they first started shipping, and it does indeed work fine with the Mac. The CEO of the company and I exchanged a few emails about how it worked both during their internal testing, and once I received one. They seem to be conscientious of the Mac market, and want to have Mac drivers as soon as they can.

To enable all the buttons when using it for general tasks in the system, simply use USB Overdrive (www.usboverdrive.com). It handles /any/ USB mouse, and allows key assignment for all buttons and scroll wheel, even on a per-application basis.

I bought a $20 Kensington scroll wheel mouse while I was waiting on the Razer, and it also worked via Overdrive, as did a Logitech MouseMan wheel. The freedom that USB Overdrive allows makes it a necessary consideration for anyone on a reasonably recent machine wanting to upgrade their input device, or anyone unhappy with the standard drivers.
Don"

USB Overdrive was mentioned here last year and is still linked in the sidebar here but I'm not positive how it works with OS 9 and/or the latest USB card support drivers from Apple.

SCSI to IDE Adapters: A reader sent more info on the Blackfire SCSI/IDE adapter noted here in Dec. 1998.

"Mike,
The specs for the IDE-SCSI adaptor that Blackfire are selling in Australia can be found here -> http://www.iodata.com/products/idsc/idsc21e/IDSC21-E.htm

It seems that it is designed for CD, DVD & CD-R devices. Which gives us non-IDE Mac owners a few more DVD options. Now what I want to know is will the Ricoh CD-RW/DVD drive function fully with this card?
Mycle."

I've not seen any CD-RW/DVD combo drives at retail yet, but if anyone has used this adapter to run any CDR/CD drive I'd welcome comments on it.

PixelToy 2.1: On the lighter side of software, Bob Friede wrote that there's a new PixelToy beta at http://www.lairware.com/pixeltoy. He said it's "so outrageously good I had to email you about it.". PixelToy is sort of an interactive lava lamp with an "endless variety of beautiful, mesmerizing moving images". If you play an audio CD, PixelToy's patterns will dance to the music.

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.

Latest Forum Topics: A small sample of the latest discussions going on in the message boards as of early this morning:

G4/Upgrades Forum:

• Video Capture on a G4?!
• I have a rev. 2.8 G4
• WOOHOO!! Overclocked my G4 Sawtooth (350 to 500MHz?)
• 2930CU SCSI problem
• PCI slots in G4 Sawtooth
• monitor ghosting
• LinkSys Router
• G4 Yikes: Starts up and then shuts off.
• Trading G3 to G4
• SCSI - Male/Female Connectors
• Replacing Sawtooth DVD with CD-RW
  and hundreds of other messages/threads

3dfx/Gaming Forum:

• Unreal map editor?
• heehee... myth2 uninstall on Pee Cees... *grin*
• xlr8 mouse and UT demo
• Weird Quake 3 Error
• voodoo 3 beta 11 driver d/l error
• Getting Q3 Mac to run on a PC
• Marathons speed problems, and...
• Quake 2 and Voodoo2 Problems
• How do you get the mouse wheel to work in UT?
• Adaptoid (N64 controller adapter) works great!
• Pinouts on the mezz slot?
  and hundreds of other messages/threads

Monday's News Summary

• ZD/net article cites 63,000 'defects' in Win2K
• Software updates
• Misc. Net News
• How To Install an IDE RAID Setup in your B&W G3 or G4
• More ClubMac FireWire/IDE Case Comments
• Razor Boomslang Mouse Works On Mac
• Holywars Mod for UT
• HP8250i CDR in G4 System
• Flashing Mac Firmware in PC #9 Rev. IV Card
• Quad CPU Genesis Comments
• More Appletalk Epson printer drivers
• Rate Your CPU Upgrade, Mac Game Reviews and Mac Game/Video Card Performance databases updated.
• Bottom Line's latest weekly specials
• Latest topics in G4 Forum and 3Dfx Forums.

Friday's News Summary

• Free Studio Vision Pro 4.2->4.5.1 Upgrade
• TransIntl Ram/PB G3/iBook HD Sales
• $1100 'Factory-Returned' SGI 17.3" LCD Displays
• Mac #9 Rev. IV Note
• Note on Formac/#9 Digital Video Outputs
• $80 USB to IDE Cases + How-To Guide
• Beige G3 IDE Upgrades
• Mac PCI Graphics Cards with Digital LCD Outputs
• ATTO U2 SCSI Cards/G4 System Compatibility
• USB External HD Cases
• Quake2 Update w/Better Voodoo3 Support
• Apple G4/450 Benchmark Analysis Reports
• Sonnet to show upgrades at MW Toykyo
• Latest topics in G4 Forum and 3Dfx Forums.

Thursday's News Summary

• Connectix wins decision in Sony suit over CVGS
• More on OS 9/E100 Powerlogix Novram Fix
• $282.99 40GB/7200PRM Maxtor (OEM) HDs
• $113 Firewire External Drive Enclosure
• $307 Maxtor 40GB/7200 RPM (Retail Box) Drives
• Cheap iMacs in UK
• Yamaha 8X CDR/Toast Support Patch
• Face Intel Site
• Beige/B&W G3 Install Tip
• GaugePro Update
• BTV Video Software Update
• Phase 5 Woes
• Rate Your CPU Upgrade, Mac Game Reviews and Mac Game/Video Card Performance 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.