Mac LC 520 modem
From Jeff Hampton
I just read your article on Low
End Mac about the wonderful Mac LC
520. I've recently acquired one myself and would like to know of
a good modem that I could use with it. Since I figured you'd have one
yourself, I thought you might have a suggestion or two. I appreciate
any help.
Thanks
Jeff Hampton
- Hi Jeff,
Most any good Mac serial port compatible modem will work with the
LC 520. I've used a number with ours over the nearly 11 years
we've had the machine, including a Global Village TelePort Gold II
14,400; a Global Village Platinum 33,600, and a US Robotics
Sportster 28,800.
I prefer the GV modems because of the excellent fax software that
shipped with them.
If you live in an area with decent phone lines, a 56k modem would
be worthwhile. I've never been able to get any modem to connect
here at more than 28,800, so for me the older, slower modems are
adequate.
Charles
G4 'Book speculation?
From Timothy E. Larson
Mr. Moore,
Would you care to speculate on the near future of the PowerBook
line? Are we going to see the G5 'Book anytime soon? If not, will the
15" TiBook be revved to a AlBook similar to the 12" and 17" models?
If so, might it feature a faster bus and memory (like the new G5s) so
that it's G4 will finally reach full potential? Is a staggered
release schedule like this sustainable, or will Apple sync up the
features of all three sizes?
You're very knowledgeable about Apple's notebook offerings, so I'm
hoping to gain some insight into what Apple might be thinking. We're
all waiting for something to happen on this front (Apple
clearing out the 15" channel is a good indicator), but we don't know
what it will be. How soon do you think we will?
Shalom,
Tim L
- HI Tim,
Apple doesn't confide in me, so this is pure speculation, but I
see the near term PowerBook/iBook future unfolding something like
this:
We should see an aluminum 15.4" PowerBook replacement for the Ti
soon, possibly with a 1.2 GHz G4.
Speed bumps of the 12" and 17" machines will likely be announced
along with the new 15.4" machine. I'm guessing 1 GHz for the
LittleAl and 1.2 GHz for the BigAl.
The crystal ball is murkier where the iBook is concerned. IBM has
announced new G3 750GX chips up to 1.2 GHz, but not to ship before
very late in the year.
Don't look for a G5 laptop before 2004, and I'm skeptical that
we'll see one before May, earliest, and maybe not even then.
However, Macworld Expo would be the extreme long shot earliest
date we might see one (IMHO).
Charles
RE: g4 'book speculation?
From Timothy E. Larson
Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule, Charles. Your
guesses reinforce my own.
I've really been contemplating buying a new PB as my primary
machine. (I only just bought my first ever, a used 3400
now running Linux, last month.) Until the G5s were introduced, which
completely blew the doors off the G4s, a G4 notebook made sense as
primary computer. Portable and almost as fast as desktop machines.
Now with dual 2 GHz G5 desktops, a 1.2 GHz G4 laptop seems a
very weak substitute, especially given that the slow bus has so far
hobbled the G4 more than anything.
Based on this analysis, I'm beginning to rethink my decision to
get a new PowerBook at this time. I don't know if the extra
portability is worth such a substantial performance hit. If the PB
gets revved to 1.5 or 1.6 and includes a faster bus so the processor
speed isn't wasted, that would be reasonable, but I'm not
optimistic.
Tim
- Hi Tim,
I don't disagree with your analysis. The G5 has altered the
landscape drastically, and the gulf between desktop and PowerBook
performance has never been wider than it will be in August.
(Interestingly, it was narrowest about the time your 3400 shipped
new).
However, I speak as one who works on a 700
MHz G3 iBook and finds it more than adequately speedy, so it
really depends on your needs. I'm a computer professional of sorts
who spends 8-12 hours a day on my computer, and for the sort of
work I do, the iBook is quire satisfactory. Indeed I spend a
couple of hours most days drafting and editing text on a 117 MHz
PowerBook 1400.
;-)
Charles
re: Unmountable SCSI drive
From Steve Goodwin
Hello Charles! Like your column! In re: the gentleman who could
not mount his external SCSI HDs after replacing his PRAM battery, he
might try SCSI
Probe.
I have used it many times to mount recalcitrant drives. I have a
huge (physically, that is, only 20 GB storage size) Seagate
drive that I just couldn't get to mount from a cold start (because I
had the jumpers set wrong. <g>) After Drive Setup found the
drive, SCSI Probe mounted it every time. I have mounted all kinds of
drives with it, internal and external bus. (On a StarMax
3000/180, both before and after a G3 upgrade)
I think it would be worth a shot. It's freeware, only 30.2 KB, and
it has saved my bacon (well, data) on numerous occasions.
Keep up the good work.
Steve Goodwin
- Hi Steve,
Yup, SCSI Probe has saved my bacon more times than I can count.
Well worth a try.
Glad you like the columns.
Charles
UPS
Form Katherine
Hi Charles,
I have exactly the opposite problem here in the US. The USPS and
UPS have never given me any major problems. In fact, I once had such
good and competent help from UPS that I called their main office to
let them know how happy I was.
I've had nothing but grief from FedEx including:
A package with $700 of artwork missing for several days.
A package dropped off at the Homeowner's Assn. Office, but they
failed to tell me this on the slip. (BTW, the office in question was
open 9 am to 4 pm, I work from 8 am to 5 pm.)
Digging through FedEx office trash cans to help find important
paper work thrown away by the incompetent person on the other side of
the desk.
In the ten times I've had something sent to me by FedEx (never at
my request), 9 of 10 times I've had to go down to the local office
and pick it up myself.
I'm so fed up with them that I refuse to take any packages sent to
me FedEx.
Katherine
PS. Amongst my friends, FedEx is called "Incompetence
Overnight."
- Hi Katherine,
It would be hard to imagine that UPS got to be as big as they are
without offering somebody good service. Unfortunately that
somebody isn't us Canadians. I've never heard any Canadian who's
done business with them say a good word about them.
At least here in the Great White North, FedEx offers substantially
better service (although there's room for improvement with them,
too).
Charles
Re: Hosed by UPS
From Ryan Coleman
Tom Wyrick wrote:
- "The last 3 times I tried to ship packages with them, I was
turned away. They've gotten so they have an incredible number of
rules and regulations on how an item must be packaged up before
they'll accept it. For example, they refuse to accept any music
synthesizers for shipment unless they're actually in the original
manufacturer's box or a several-hundred dollar 'flight case'
(which you'd be crazy to use to ship an instrument in, unless the
receiver wanted to pay you for the case too)."
I must disagree with this. Here in Minnesota, UPS has been nothing
but good to me (I am a business account holder), and I have never had
problems with them in the past. I shipped a computer to Washington,
DC, in 1998 when I was going away for school, and it took some
harassing, but they did ship my monitor and computer (a Q610)
in plain brown boxes.
UPS's standards have loosened since then, and I have noticed that
they rarely object to damage claims. My recommendation is find a
company that will ship your items out for you and have a daily pickup
you will save yourself at least $2 for a ground shipment and around
$5-15 for a Next Day/SonicAir? package.
Ryan Coleman
System Administrator, lemlists.com/lowendmac.net
Http://www.lemlists.com/
http://www.lowendmac.net/
- Hi Ryan,
Ever ship anything to Canada by UPS? As I said to Katherine
above....
Charles
NoSleep v3.0
From Ben Brenker
Hi there, I had been looking for something along the lines of
NoSleep for
OS X, and when I read your
article I was excited, to say the least. I've always wanted to be
able to play my MP3s while driving (my Subaru has an audio in!), but
I didn't want my display flopping about.
With a good amount of enthusiasm, I set about the install, sans
backup, and got to it. After finding not much in the way of
documentation, I threw caution to the wind and installed the app.
After checking the menu item, it has you download a patch that swaps
your kernel. Well, holy nervous Batman, I wasn't thrilled to hear
about that, but considering the reputation of your site and authors,
I gambled, and it paid off handsomely.
So far so good; it's working on my WallStreet
266. Now I can drive and enjoy my Mac at the same time! Keep it
up!
Ben Brenker
- Hi Ben,
Glad to hear that NoSleep is working well for you.
However, I am constrained to advise that the brief in The 'Book
Review was based on information from the developer, and I have not
personally tested the software.
Thanks for the report.
Charles
FlexUSB
From Peter da Silva:
I've had something like this for a year now. It's not as cute, but
it's just as practical - it's just a little 2" USB extension cable,
came free with my Kanguru hub.
- Hi Peter,
Do you know whether it's sold separately?
Charles
Temperature sensors
From Peter da Silva
You can add the Sonnet Crescendo to your list of processors with
temperature sensors. I use ThermoInDock rather than Temperature
Monitor, and it's always just worked.
- Thanks for the report, Peter.
Charles
New G5s
From David Stein
Beside the advanced architectures, the most promising improvement
to me is the hard-wired audio input/output, something missing since
the Beige G3 AV card. I have tried
two USB multiport audio devices already, and neither has worked well
in a Beige G3 or Blue & White.
Not mentioned so much in first reports, but welcome.
Regards,
DFS
- Thanks David.
Charles
Virex for OS 9?
From Alvin
Thank you for your time. Is there anyway to download the OS 9
version of Virex.
The only one available in the .mac is the one for OS X, which I
don't have. I should have backed up the the Virex installer for
OS 9.
God bless,
Alvin
- Hi Alvin,
Apparently not from Apple. Have you checked with the
developer?
Charles
Editor's note: Has anyone running antivirus software on their Macs
detected any Mac viruses in recent years? I wonder if the paranoia of
the Windows world is infecting us. I can't recall the last time there
was a new Mac virus. dk
Time to save up for G5
From Alvin
Thank you for your time. Looks like we're gonna get everything
before the this year, G5, rumored iWorks bundled for 100%
compatibility with PC files, fuel cells, probably OLED LCD, etc. It's
the time of Apple, the up slope, it's heaven for this year.
Do LCD screens become white at the bottom, which is about 1
1/inches thick from below? Sometimes it tries to get the color back
but are just stripes. Anyway this can be fixed?
God bless,
Alvin
- Hi Alvin,
I've never seen an LCD screen do that, and it is definitely a
malfunction. If it's a freestanding monitor, try it on another
computer. If the same phenomenon manifests, you've ruled out
software or video card issues. Could also be a connector cable
issue (common on laptops).
I know of no way to repair defective LCD monitors if the problem
in in the monitor itself.
Charles
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