Pismo G4 Upgrade
From Jim Dickey
Hi Charles,
I just read your Low End Mac
reader's column where you mentioned:
- "My precious Pismo is about to be shipped the way to Georgia
for a 550 MHz G4 injection. I already have a reasonably fast G3 in
my iBook."
I am very interested in how this goes for you; I also have a
Pismo, the 400 MHz model, 768 MB
RAM, 30 GB hard disk, 10.2.6. Since I live in Japan, I will wait
until this summer when I return to my home in, yes, Georgia! I
might even personally take my Pismo to the DayStar office for the
upgrade. Anyway, I will look forward to your report on this upgrade
to a G4 in the Pismo. I've had my Pismo for 2-1/2 years now, and it
is about the best PowerBook/iBook I've ever had; especially the
durability, easy access to hard drive, etc., plus the expansion
bays.
Looking forward to your report...
Jim Dickey
AGMF Japan
- Hi Jim,
I will definitely be reporting on it.
My Pismo is definitely my favorite Mac that I've ever had, and I
thought hard about it before sending it off for the upgrade. I'm
hoping that the performance boost will extend its useful lifespan
by a couple of years.
Charles
iBook/eMac Display Spanning
From Eric Matthieu
Charles,
A belated Happy New Year to you! I saw this on MacInTouch today and
thought it was quite interesting...
"Our recent links to several eMac hacks turned up a very useful
utility, as Christian Volk notes:
- "You published a link to a website that talks about hacking the
eMac with various upgrades and tweaks, but the real revelation was
the mention of a free (donations accepted) Applescript called
Screen Spanning Doctor that can allow your recent-model iBook to
span dual displays rather than just mirror.
I've tried it and it works conveniently and flawlessly on my iBook
G4, allowing me to drive my 21" VGA monitor at 1280 x 1024 in
millions of colors alongside my iBook's own 1024 x 768 LCD
display!
Think about it: This simple Applescript removes one of the key
unique selling points of the 12" Powerbook over the
much-lower-priced iBook G4, and I imagine Apple's marketing won't
be happy if this easy-to-use hack becomes common knowledge to
potential buyers trying to decide between those two models.
The link for Screen Spanning Doctor is <http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/ibook_e.html>.
Eric
- Hi Eric,
Yes, I checked that out.
My inference is that monitor spanning is deliberately disabled in
the iBook for marketing reasons, and that there is no technical
impediment to supporting it. Guess that's what these hacks work
around.
Charles
iceKey Redivivus
From Terry McCune
Hello Charles
My wife spilled water on my standard Mac keyboard, and I thought
it would be a simple job with a hair dryer to sort things out.
Being follicularly challenged, I had no idea that hair dryers put
out the amount of heat that they do. I bent the spacebar.
I tried heating it more and rebending it. I broke the spacebar.
I bought a new iceKey keyboard as a replacement and loved it. One
day, while I was using canned gas to clean up the keyboard, the
escape key did - escape that is.
Sleuthing turned up the fact that my four-year-old grandson had
been using it as a quit key when he became frustrated with whatever
CD game he was playing.
On a whim, I wrote a nice email to the Macally folks, and lo and
behold, in the mail, free of charge, came the fixin's for not one
but three keys.
MacAlly has vaulted past Apple and Hewlett Packard on my list of
great people to do business with!
Terry McCune
- Good to hear it, Terry.
I have always had good luck with MacAlly products, including
keyboards, mice, and USB/FireWire upgrade cards - both CardBus and
PCI.
Charles
If I Spill Something Corrosive on a
Keyboard...
From Peter da Silva
If I spill something corrosive on a keyboard and I care about it
at all then it gets washed. Right away. Distilled water by choice,
but shoving it under a tap or running it through the rinse cycle
[of a dishwasher] by itself is the next best thing, and if there
isn't any distilled water handy, don't wait until you get some.
I mean, if there's anything in there that'll be hurt by the
treatment, it's already too late!
- I agree, Peter.
Charles
Questions, Questions...
From Gary
I found your recent
article helpful, but I'm not sure your link answered the
question:
- "If a used G4 15" PowerBook costs roughly the same as one or
the other 12" new iBook/PowerBook, but the 15" used model is out of
warranty, should buying used be considered an alternative, given
the probability of an expensive potential repair?"
I'd like to hear the answer. My situation's a little similar,
I'm shopping for a new, used or refurb 'Book of one sort or another
another. I don't need a high end machine with lots of features,
just a reliable 400+ MHz G3 or G4 with FireWire, and cost is
a factor.
After all of the logic board problems I've read about, I'm
ruling out the iBook - they're cheap, but AppleCare seems
mandatory, and I can't stomach going through some of the repair
hassles I've heard about. Right now I'm leaning towards a used
Pismo - I've seen them for $599 and lower, they seem easier to
self-repair if necessary (e.g., screens are cheap and easy to
install), and if there's a $3-400 problem along the way, it would
still be cheaper than a refurb iBook with Applecare.
Am I missing something? Are used TiBooks (which are also rapidly
falling in price) a good bet, reliability-wise? Or is the iBook not
the guaranteed lemon I think it is - and is there a dual iBook that
isn't as problem prone (e.g., the original dual 500 MHz doesn't
seem to come up that much on Blackcider's site or in
Apple's discussion threads)
Thanks. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
- Hi Gary,
Personally, I would rather have a Pismo (and do) than an
early-generation TiBook. Just got my Pismo upgraded to a 550 MHz
G4. The Pismo is a great machine. However, it doesn't support
OS X Quartz Extreme, and the mid to late variant TiBooks do,
are faster, and have a higher resolution screen. On the other hand,
they will be expensive to repair when something goes wrong, and
they're relatively fragile.
I wouldn't rule out the G4 iBook. I think there's cause for
optimism that Apple has the logic board failure problem under
control, and they have just announced an extended repair program
for the G3 iBooks. My G3 iBook is 13 months old and hasn't missed a
beat.
The 12" PowerBook is a very nice piece and has has no major
reliability issues.
However, if you're really strapped for cash, a nice Pismo is still
a great computer - with the caveat that they're getting a bit
old.
Charles
OS 9 Booting Benefit
From Jim Dickey
Hi again Charles,
I forgot to mention, but I noticed that the Genius Bar guy
booted the 14" iBook into OS 9 to do diagnostics on it. Makes
one glad to have 9 booting ability... Hopefully, X only booting
will come along to take up the slack and eliminate the need to boot
in 9; but as you have been saying, glad to have 9 booting for
now!
As always, I really appreciate your work for us.
Jim Dickey
- Hi Jim,
Yup, I wouldn't want to be without it yet.
Charles
Linux on a Mac Laptop?
From Peter da Silva
Someone's been smoking wacky-weed.
The Apple laptops are prettier, maybe, but the IBM Thinkpad has
a better keyboard, a higher resolution screen, better fit and
finish and (by all reports) reliability, and it costs less.
The low resolution screens on the Apple 'Books are particularly
frustrating for me... my aging 14" thinkpad has 1400 x 1050
resolution, but a 14" iBook is only 1024 x 768, a 15" Powerbook is
only 1280 x 854, and even the 17" iBook is barely competitive at
1440 x 900.
I wish Apple would get IBM to make a professional quality 'Book
for them. In the meantime, running Linux on a 'Book is a sinful
waste of a Power PC that should be running Mac OS X - now that
the Mac OS is Unix-based, I can't think of a single thing I'd want
to do on a notebook that OS X doesn't do at least as well and
generally better.
- I can't argue with you on this, Peter. You're right.
Charles
iTunes Libraries: From iPod to Hard Drive?
From: Guenter Plum
Hi Charles
I wonder if there's any way to save the music I had previously
downloaded from a few CDs of mine to my hard drive and iPod to a
new hard drive - the old one crashed. I can still listen to that
music on my iPod but can't find a way of getting it into a new
library I'm setting up with iTunes; all it seems I can do is wipe
what's on the iPod when I connect it to my iBook.
Since my iPod is also set up as a hard drive, I was wondering if
there was some way of overcoming Apple's limitation? I can't see
any of the music files, so they're obviously invisible. The
"Advanced: Consolidate Library..." command doesn't seem to address
this issue. (I'd re-download those CDs, except that they're in
Sydney in storage, and I'm in Chiang Mai in Northern
Thailand...)
As I recently lost the music I had downloaded to my hard drive
due to an irreparable disk crash, is there any way I can save the
same music from my iPod to the iTunes Library I'm now creating from
a different set of CDs on my new hard drive?
iTunes also gives me the option of updating the iPod, which
results in everything on it under iTunes being wiped. My iPod is
also set up as a hard disk, but of course there's no obvious way of
seeing the music files on it, except under iTunes.
Many thanks for any tips.
Many thanks
Guenter
- Hi Guenter,
I don't know. My son has told me in casual conversation that there
is a way, but he didn't elaborate.
Perhaps I can talk him into doing a column on the topic.
Charles
OS 9 and Panther
From Alvin Chan
Thank you for your time. I've just upgraded to Panther, first
time I used OS X. I did a complete erase on the disk, no
partition, and updated Panther. I've tested, adjusted everything,
tried out stuff for days. Like everything ease of use is an
illusion, it's really if you're used to it, lol, though once you've
gotten used to it it's easier than Windows (even if you've mastered
that as well). Then I was gonna' install Appleworks 6 Carbon, which
was the installer that came with the iMac 350, but it said there's
no OS 9 or something?
How can I install Appleworks on Panther?
God bless,
Alvin
- Hi Alvin,
Appleworks 6 should run in Clasic mode at least with Panther. It
may not be supported in OS X 10.2.3 natively.
To install it, I would suggest booting into OS 9 and running the
installer there. Once it's installed, you should be able to bring
it up in Classic mode, or if you're lucky even in Panther.
Charles
Bible Software for the Mac
From Brian Smith
Hello
I have been using a PC for years and have only recently become a
Mac user. To my surprise, Quickverse does not work on
my system. I do not want an online service, because I do not want
to have to be online in order to use it. Can you please steer me in
the right direction. I am looking for a consolidated Bible program
along the lines of Quickverse.
Sincerely,
Brian Smith
- Hi Brian,
Welcome to the Mac community.
There are several good Bible software programs for the Mac. I
recently did a column on the topic, Bible
Software For The Mac, which you can read on
Applelinks.
Charles
6320 Upgrades
From Stuart Bell
Dear Charles,
This issue has been well researched by people putting PPC
motherboards into Colour
Classics.
The answer is this:
- 5400 and 6400 boards need a 3.3v supply and therefore
cannot be used to replace 63xx boards, unless the PSU has a 3.3v
output. Some late model 63xx models did. The 6360, being effectively a 6400 in a desktop
case, is fine.
- 5500 and 6500 generate 3.3v on-board from the 5v line
for their own internal use, so they can be used in 63xx machines
whatever the PSU. Note that PCI cards that need 3.3v may well not
work. Comm Slot II cards seem to work in many situations.
The fact that x500 boards don't need a 3.3v line, but x400
boards do, confused many of us for a long time until a Japanese Mac
enthusiast alerted us to this fact!
best wishes,
Stuart
Host of the Colour Classic
Forum.
- Thanks for the report, Stuart!
Charles
Daystar 550 is Really an Upclocked
500
From Avakil
Charles
Just thought you should check on this info before sending your
Pismo off.
- Hi,
Yup. I was aware of that. As Daystar says in their FAQ:
Motorola doesn't list a 550 G4 7410. How do
you ship it?
We purchase the low-power, 5th generation of the 7410 CPU at its
highest rated speed. This is the an improvement of the mask used on
the 550-600 higher-power, 4th generation of the 7410
CPU version of the 7410 CPU. We spec the CPU to the 550 MHz
core power and multiplier as recommended in the Motorola PowerPC
settings for 550 MHz. This chip actually performs well at 600 MHz.
We ship at 550 MHz.
Charles
FW-800/USB-2 Combo PCI
From John Helms
Hi Charles,
I know this is out of left field and not really your cup of tea,
but here goes. Why doesn't anyone manufacture a FW-800/USB-2
controller on a single PCI or PCMCIA card? There are tons of
USB-2/FW-400 cards and tons of FW-800 cards out there. It seems to
me that there are huge numbers of computers out there (like all
three of mine, for example) that have USB 1.1 and FW 400 built in,
so what we really need is a USB-2/FW-800 card. What gives? Is this
a market driven issue or a technical thing? That is to say: Is
there a reason that you can't make such a card, or is there just no
profit making motive for doing so.
Respectfully,
John
- Hi John,
I'm a computer engineering dunce, but I'm doubtful that there is
any technical impediment to making a card like that. It would be a
matter of market demand, as you specualte. There aren't a whole lot
of FW800 peripherals out there yet.
Charles
Re: 7x00 + Upgrade Card versus Beige
G3
From Peter
You wrote:
"I don't dispute your point about the 9600 vs the Umax S900. With these old machines,
availability is always part of the equation. The old S900 is still
a pretty impressive piece of work, now of available cheaply (about
60 dollars), but a 9600 would be even more desirable, I
agree."
I think you're looking at the wrong side of the question. I
wasn't trying to put down the S900 compared to the 9600. I just had
to question the wisdom of spending real money on a pre-G3 Mac.
Since you can get a Beige G3 for
less than an S900 or a 9600, I don't really see any point to buying
a machine that doesn't have a G3 in it unless you can get it pretty
close to free. Sure, you can use an S900 as a server, but you can
buy a cheap used PC for less money and stick Darwin on it and get
an even better server.
"I think probably the next cutoff for OS X support will
be machines that shipped with FireWire. That will eliminate the
early iBooks, the Lombard
PowerBook, early iMacs, and whatever Power Mac towers didn't
have FireWire."
According to MacTracker, the only towers
without FW were the beige boxes, and they're already out of the
running.
Pity, I'd like to upgrade to a B&W or Yikes.
Did you see the article on overclocking the eMac?
Me, I think 800 MHz G4 is plenty fast. What's holding me
back from the eMac is that really crummy CRT. Why couldn't they
have sprung for a Trinitron?
- Hi Peter,
I've seen S900s advertised recently by Baucom Computers for
$69. It seems that it is easier to get Panther working on a Tsunami
Mac than the beige G3 with XPostFacto,
but I'm not speaking from experience.
I did see the article about eMac overclocking. The eMac is built to
a price, and I expect a quality CRT like a Trinitron would be too
expensive.
An 800 MHz G4 would be a step up for me.
Charles
Editor's note: I use a 700 MHz
eMac as my main production machine, and I find it plenty fast
unless there's something processor intensive going on in the
background (like another user leaving iTunes set to a radio
station). The quality of the CRT is excellent, and I only wish
Apple supported 1280 x 1024 in addition to the 1280 x 960 setting
that I use. dk
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