Channels
Power Macs
iMac Channel
iBook/PowerBook
MacInSchool
Computer Profiles
iMac
Power Mac
PowerBook/iBook
Performas
Mac Clones
Older Macs
Lisa • NeXT
Editorial Archive
Mac Daniel's Advice
Email Lists
LEMchat (uses
AIM)
Online Tech Journal
Consumer
advice, reviews
guides, deals
Software
Apple History
Best of the Web
Best of the Mac Web
surveys
Miscellaneous Links
Used Mac Dealers
Video Cards
Mac OS X
Mac Linux
Macspeak
RAM Upgrades
About Low End Mac
Site Contacts
Support LEM
Affiliates
The Apple Store
.mac
iTunes Store
Club Mac
MacMall
iResQ
ExperCom
eBay
Amazon.com
PayPal
PCMall
PC
Zone
Crucial
Memory
Our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For detailed price quotes and advertising information, please contactat BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.
Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.
Radius Rocket
Rocket II (68040) in Mac II
Low End Mac Reader Specials
Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core 8GB kit $232 / 4GB kit $116 / 2GB kit $72. New Macbook 2GB DDR3-$65. HARD DRIVES available -- Free shipping / LIfetime warranty.
Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com
LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, MacBook Pros and more. Optical Drives for Apple iBooks, Powerbooks, MacBooks, MacBook Pros in Stock. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.
OWC: Premium Memory for Mac without the Premium Price. DDR2 4GB from $47.99, DDR3 4GB for Unibody $79.99, Mac Pro 4GB $97.99. Expert Support, Free Installation Videos & Guides. www.MacSales.com
Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how
to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full
Tilt Poker Mac.
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.
Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.
David Emmons reports:
A Rocket only works on a Mac with full size NuBus slots, and is running at least system 7 but no system later then 7.1 (I use 7.1.3 which has the scriptable finder). It is ideal for a Mac II or IIx/cx whose processors are barely usable with todays software (though I did get the II's 68020 to run MS Office 4.2 ).
If you can install memory and a video card then you can install the Rocket. You will also need to install the Rocket's Software, RocketWare, which you can get at Radius's site on the web. If your Mac's ROMs are 32-bit dirty you need Mode32 (Mac II, IIx, IIcx, and SE/30).
Compatibility: The Rocket hates sound.* The system tricks it uses to run make handling sounds a pain (if not impossible). Do not install Sound Manager 3.0 or later! It can handle SM 2.0 for some programs, and I never have had problems with Finder Sounds, but many games will not work, most notably Ambrosia games, but you can still use the mother board processor for those.
The Rocket also dislikes fax software. Again run off the motherboard.
Install MacsBug. It seems to make the system fairly stable and I even can get Escape Velocity to play but none of the sounds work. But this game needs a fast processor.
Install at least 12 megs on the Rocket (I have 20). It's barely usable at 8.
Remember this machine is a Jekyll and Hyde kind of thing. Your motherboard is fully compatible with most things but is slow. The Rocket is very fast but also very temperamental.
I've been using this Rocket II for almost 2 years now and it has served me very well.
Here is what I run:
- Netscape 3.02
- FirstClass 3.5 (with all sound resources removed)
- Excel 5.0a and Word 6.0a (these actually work great)
- Escape Velocity (just hit cmd+G when the debugger comes up)
- Marathon (all versions...sound is spotty)
- Kaleidoscope 1.7
- Text to Speech (works great)
- Many shareware games (most though need to run on the motherboard)
- More extensions then you can shake a stick at.
What you can't run
- Anything that requires System 7.5 or a PowerPC.
But the thing to remember is that this Mac is 10 years old and it's system software is almost 5, yet I'm running some things that are brand new (Netscape for one).
Experiment. It's still fundamentally a Mac so you can always recover without extensions.
My final view is that the Rocket is not for everyone. In some ways it's more like a PC then a Mac, but if you keep in mind it's limitations you will have a very fast and very cheap system.
I am always willing to help or answer questions.
Support? What support? This is a Mac! I don't need support. :-)
P.S. The Rocket sound it makes at launch is very cool. :-)
* The Radius Rocket doesn't have any sound hardware. It relies on the main CPU to handle all sound. dk
Go to Mac II profile or Radius Rocket page.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 'Yikes!' Power Mac G4, Aug. 1999 - The only Power Mac G4 with PCI graphics was built on a modified G3 motherboard.
- Group of the Day: Tiger List is for anyone using Mac OS X 10.4.
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content
- iPhone 3GS Overheating, Battery Life App, 240 GB Upgrade for 5G iPod, Total Baby App, and More, iNews Review, 07.02. Also low cost international calls, U-verse remote DVR control, Sync Blocker USB-to-Dock cable, Rocket Taxi improved, and more.
- MacBooks Top Amazon Sales, EFI 1.7 Problems, Pros and Cons of Built-in Batteries, and More, The 'Book Review, 07.02. Also make a bootable SD Card, Leopard on a 9" Dell netbook, MacBook Pro and Air reviews, triple WiFi range, bargain 'Books from $179 to $2,300, and more.
- Apple Tops in Satisfaction Again, Slim Profits on Mac mini, Ultimate Photo Setup, and More, Mac News Review, 07.02. Also tips for cloning hard drives and moving files from old Macs, Clickfree Transformer turns USB drive into a backup drive, maximum Mac Pro RAM, and more.
- Refurb MacBook Pro Deal, Fastest Mac Browser, 256 MB Modules for WallStreet, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 07.01. Also more Safari 4 feedback, praise for Camino, MacBook cracks, looking for Craigslist software for Macs, and more.
- Amazon.com v. Interstate Sales Tax: Everyone Loses, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 07.01. Amazon.com is standing up to states that are trying to have it collect sales tax on interstate commerce, which most see as a violation of federal law.
- Introduction to Autofs in Mac OS X, Keith Winston, Linux to Mac, 07.01. "Autofs is often used in enterprise environments to set up network-based home directories and other network mounts for users at login."
- Optimized Software Builds Bring Out the Best in Your Mac, Dan Knight, Online Tech Journal, 06.30. Applications compiled for your Mac's CPU can load more quickly and run faster than ones compiled for universal use.
- Checking Out Safari 4 on an Old PowerBook, Charles W. Moore, 'Book Value, 06.30. Safari 4 is the fastest it's ever been, but it's not without some frustrating drawbacks.
- Intel's Promise Fulfilled: More Processing Power per Processor Cycle, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 06.30. Apple promised improved CPU efficiencies when it announced the move to Intel in 2005. Three years of MacBooks show the progress.
- Is Steve Jobs' Health Essential to Apple's Future?, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 06.30. Steve Jobs' health is an important thing, but Apple has demonstrated that it can be profitable without him.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Mac Pro Deals, 07.02. Used 3 GHz 4-core, $2,000; 3.2 8-core, $2,900; refurb 2.8 8-core, $2,399; new 2.66 4-core, $2,290 a/r; 2.26 8-core, $3,070 a/r; 2.66, $4,499; more.
- Best Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' Deals, 07.02. Full version DVD, $140; 5 user family pack, $370; 10-user Server, $299.
- Best 17" PowerBook G4 Deals, 07.02. Used 17" 1 GHz PowerBook, $689; 1.67 GHz, $749; hi-res, $1,029.
- Best Xserve Deals, 07.02. Used 2 GHz single G5, $800; dual, $1,000; refurb 2.8 GHz 4-core Xeon, $2,100; new 2.26 4-core Nehalem, $2,888; 8-core, $3,449; 2.66, $4,799; 2.93, $5,999.
- Best iPod touch Deals, 07.01. Refurb 2G/8 GB, $179; 16 GB, $259; iG/32 GB, $279; new 2G/8 GB, $215; 1G 16 GB, $210; 2G, $275; 2G/32 GB, $369. Prices include shipping.
- Best 13" MacBook & MacBook Pro Deals, 07.01. Used 1.83 GHz, $595; 2.0, $629; new 2.0, $889; 2.13, $925 after rebate; refurb 2.0 Unibody, $949; 2.4, $1,099; new 2.26 MBP, $1,119 a/r; more.
- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 07.01. Used 867 MHz Combo, $400; 1.33 GHz, $448; 1.5 GHz, $599; 1 GHz SuperDrive, $509; 1.33 GHz, $599; 1.5 GHz SD, $679.
- Best Apple TV Deals, 07.01. Refurb 40 GB Apple TV, $199; new, $220; refurb 160 GB, $279; new, $320. Prices include ground shipping.
- Best G4 iBook Deals, 06.29. Used 12" 800 MHz Combo, $290; 1 GHz CD, $299; Combo, $370; 1.33 GHz, $428; 14" 1 GHz Combo, $399; 1.2, $465; 1.42 GHz, $500.
- Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 06.29. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $39; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
- Best Mac OS X 10.0-10.3 Deals, 06.29. Mac OS X 10.0, $30; 10.1, $20; 10.2, $60; 10.3, $50; 10.3 Server, unlimited users, $130.
- Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, 06.29. Close-out 500 GB Time Capsule, $199; 1 TB, $350; AirPort Extreme Base Station, $130; refurb AirPort Express, $85.
- More deals in our archive.