Pismo/Tiger Modem Issues
Re: Tiger
10.4.4 Update Cripples Pismo's Internal Modem
From Joan Hallberg
"At this writing I have successfully updated my OS X 10.4.0
install, which seems to have fixed the .pkg file mounting problem
(whatever that was) and run the 10.4.1 updater. The modem is
working properly, and I will stick with this system version for at
least a couple of weeks to see how things unfold."
Charles - I'm running 10.2.8 on a Pismo and was just thinking about
upgrading to Tiger when I ran across your article. Did you ever
find a fix? Any idea if the modem works ok with 10.4.6?
Thanks for any info.
Joan
Hi Joan,
Since I posted the paragraph you cite, I have
downgraded my Pismo to OS X 10.3.9, and everything has been
working smoothly now for three months or so.
However, I wouldn't want to dissuade you from
upgrading to Tiger if you want to experience Spotlight or the
Dashboard, etc. Many people are running Tiger happily on their
Pismos, and the issues I had were very likely idiosyncratic to that
machine or system install.
I may upgrade to Tiger again, but I find Panther
quite satisfactory in most respects, and it has livelier Finder
response than Tiger on the Pismo, I suspect due to video support
issues.
I would definitely recommend upgrading to at least
Panther. The performance improvement is significant.
As for 10.4.6, I'm still running 10.4.4 on both my
iBook and my 17" PowerBook, and I have held off updating because
both 10.4.5 and 10.4.6 seem to have had more than their share of
issues, while 10.4.4 has proved very stable and trouble-free on
both computers.
Charles
Best Mac Keyboard
From Dana
Is it too late to beg to differ with you on what you wrote about
the best Mac keyboard on 2005.01.10 (see The Best Mac Keyboard? I Beg to Differ)?
For about eighteen months I had a Matias Tactile Pro keyboard. In
many ways I really liked it, but my experience turned out to have a
very unhappy ending.
In the first place, the Tactile Pro is loud. How annoying
you find that is a matter of personal taste, but even if you can
live with it, you may make enemies out of the people around you.
Surely, if Matias had not been so hell-bent on making this keyboard
physically resemble the current Apple keyboard they could have
figured out a way of damping the sound, perhaps by adding a layer
of sound-absorbing material under the faceplate (feasible if it
were a solid color and not transparent).
Second, like the contemporary Apple keyboard it imitates, it is
a real dirt-trap (and that transparent faceplate makes the various
gunk that gets under it as conspicuously visible as a museum
exhibit). With all its nooks and crannies, it's a bugger to keep
clean. In fact, it's impossible. After eighteen months of
admittedly very hard use (I'm a full-time professional writer), it
had collected so much gunk of the kind that only a CSI team could
love that a couple of keys were beginning to go wonky because the
switches could no longer make proper contact.
In view of their five-year warrantee and their
"built-like-a-tank" advertising copy, I sent it back to the
factory. Whereupon they declined to honor the warrantee - because
it was so dirty. My protest that it had got dirty because its
design is so unreasonably dirt-friendly cut no ice at all.
What to do? Buy another one? A strong temptation, because the
keyboard is admittedly a fine one to use. But in the intervening
eighteen months the price had gone up to $149.95, which is a lot of
moo for a keyboard. While dithering I visited the Matias site and
happened to read the first paragraph in their ad copy, "the Matias
Tactile Pro Keyboard is built from the same premium keyswitch
technology that Apple used in its original Apple Extended Keyboard,
widely viewed as the best keyboard Apple ever made."
Right, I remember the old "Saratoga" with all the nostalgia that
Matias seeks to conjure up. Hey, wait a minute: Why not try to lay
hands on an actual Apple Extended Keyboard and use it with an
[ADB-to-USB] adapter? A couple of minutes on the Web, and I found
out about the Griffin Technology iMate adapter (which requires a
special driver you have to download from the Griffin site), street
price slightly above $35. But with a little more Googling, I found
a used-Mac store in Colorado which sold me the keyboard and the
adapter for the unbelievably low price of $27. Worked like an
absolute charm
Using the Extended Keyboard, two things were immediately
obvious: First, it is very quiet. Apple's engineers did indeed
worry about damping the noise of the switches, with remarkable
success). Second, its faceplate is solid and smooth, a breeze to
keep clean. Dirt is not going to be a problem.
So my personal story has a happy ending (except that I still
think Matias owes me a keyboard, and the more I think about this
the madder I get). If you want to get the best Mac keyboard on the
planet, I think this is the way to go. Not a Matias. Never a
Matias.
Dana
Hi Dana,
Not at all too late. I must clarify, however, that
the "The Best Keyboard Apple Ever
Made" in the article title appeared in quotation marks (it's a
Matias slogan) and with a question mark after it. It did not
express my personal opinion of the keyboard.
I do like the appearance of the Tactile Pro, but
I'm not a fan of the noise (although Matias claims that some people
are), and the key action is too stiff for my chronic peripheral
neuritis.
Matias does make some quiet keyboards - their OS X
Keyboard and their USB 2 Keyboard. My daughter uses one and
professes to like it a lot.
You can read my review of both keyboards: Matias OS X and USB 2.0 Keyboards
Reviewed.
For more information, see http://OSXkeyboard.com or http://matias.ca/osxkeyboard/
I actually have an old Apple Extended Keyboard II
and an iMate adapter. I agree that it's an excellent keyboard and
somewhat quieter than the Matias Tactile Pro, but the key action
still doesn't agree with my physical disability.
My current favorite keyboard is marketed by (at
least) Kensington and i-Rocks; it's a wonderfully comfortable,
short-travel, quite quiet laptop keyboard like design. You can read
my reviews on Applelinks:
However, those old Apple keyboards are overbuilt,
and you'll probably be able to get years out of the one you're
using.
Charles
Re: Best Mac Keyboard
From Dana
Dear Charles:
One footnote to what I wrote about keyboards last week: The
place I work had a couple of extra Extended Keyboards in the back
of the supply room; I snagged them as insurance against a rainy
day. Wow! I was surprised at the difference between them - one of
them is a good deal louder and has a more "typewriter" feel to it
than the others I now have, which are considerably more quiet and
feel a lot more like modern keyboards that use rubber dome
switches, membranes, etc. I never noticed this before, but quite
clearly not all Extend Keyboards are equal. Apple must have
introduced some changes during the production run, perhaps by
changing switch suppliers at some point. So I guess it's more
dangerous to make generalizations about these keyboards than I had
realized (except for your observation that they sure are
rugged!).
Dana
Lombard/Pismo Screen Swapping
From Jacek A. Rochacki
Dear Charles:
With regard to post/question titled: Frankenpismo? from Shane Young and your
answer, precisely the part of it quoted below
...On the other hand, the screen hinges are to the
best of my knowledge the same, and I think (but am not sure) that
the screens are the same as well. The hard drives are definitely
swappable, and the RAM should work as well in either
machine....
let me add, that by the occasion of upgrade of my Pismo I, I have investigated the
problem myself. I have bought my first Pismo with the top part -
whole lid including the matrix/screen, which was obviously coming
from Lombard - not just the
matrix/screen, but the whole screen unit (subunit). It fitted and
worked perfectly with Pismo, except the lack of antenna, and I
wanted WiFi.
The Lombard, not being AirPort ready, doesn't have the antenna.
So I found another, original Pismo screen with burn marks made by
some vandal distinguishing cigarettes at the lid/top case - of
course just at the outer shell. We have completely disassembled
both screens, have kept the Lombard shell of the lid, and my Pismo
was finally given the screen with antenna, etc. assembled from
parts coming from both models. It has been and still it works
perfectly.
Perhaps I should just say much shorter: IMO the screens,
although not exactly the same in some details (lack of antenna,
another construction and details - for example: the left hinge of
Lombard doesn't have this grove for thin wire coming from antenna;
this doesn't prevent in any way the substituting, universality of
the hinges), definitely can substitute one for another. In case of
Pismo screen used for/at Lombard - there will be no use for the
antenna; in reverse situation - Pismo with Lombard screen will be
not having the antenna for Air Port card. Beside these, in both
combinations/variations machines will work very well.
As always
Jacek
Jacek A. Rochacki
PUC - Pismo Users
Club
Thank you, Jacek,
That should clear up any confusion (including
mine) and be helpful to Shane.
Charles
Re: Frankenpismo?
From Shane Young
Thanks very much for your valuable insight. Seems a shame to
toss the Lombard, but c'est la vie.
Before I do toss it, do you have any clues as to why it would
suddenly be so cranky to wake from sleep?
Thanks again.
Shane
Hi Shane,
It could be several things, however on a machine
that old I'm inclined to suspect it's a hardware problem, perhaps a
motherboard or hard drive issue.
However, a clean system reinstall might be worth a
(long) shot.
Charles
Re: Frankenpismo?
From Shane Young
Hello again, Mr. Moore.
I hope you're not beginning to hate me for the questions.
After your previous suggestions, I decided to do what I could to
salvage my Pismo at the sacrifice of Lombard. The power plug of the
Pismo was loose, so I thought I'd try swapping the one from the
Lombard.
As it turned out, I managed to get Pismo fired up, no problem.
However, it seems the one and only drawback is that the internal
speaker are not working. I messed up the inverter plug in the
process, and had a couple of loose wires that go into the
motherboard, which I carefully pushed back into their holes, and
figured if the screen worked I was home free. Now I'm not sure if
the sound card is not compatible after all - or if the wires aren't
seated properly, which is allowing the screen to work, but not the
speakers.
I was wondering if you think the inverter cable could be the
problem, or is it the power/sound card, which 'works' but not
'entirely' compatible? Any idea??
And, I promise, this is my last question . . . at
least regarding Frankenpismo. Thank you again very much, for your
great help and expertise.
Sincerely,
Shane
Hello again Shane,
No need to apologise about the questions.
However, anything I could volunteer on this one
would be a pure guess. Could conceivably be either of the issues
you suggest. I don't know.
Charles
Pismo Processor Upgrades
Re: Pismo Processor
Upgrades
From Michael Gambuzza
"Personally, I would recommend, especially since
your Pismo is in good condition, one of the several 550 MHz G4
processor upgrades available for the Pismo. I'm into my third year
with the Daystar 550 MHz G4 upgrade in my own Pismo, and I have
essentially no complaints. It has been a rock of stability, and a
lot better performer than the original 500 MHz G3 CPU was."
Charles,
I had a Ti 400 for quite some
time, until one of our pets got caught up in the power cord causing
a flying laptop and ultimately destroying the screen and case in
the fall.
I was forced back to my previous Pismo 400, which ran well - but
definitely not as quick as the G4. I began looking at G4 upgrade
options and went with the G4 550 kit from Wegener Media. I
must say so far it was money very well spent! Installation was a
snap and within 15-20 min. of opening the box I was back in
business with Web pages and applications loading much
quicker than the old G3 processor.
I did have one question on the heat sink installation, and the
tech support at Wegener was excellent! Highly recommended
economical upgrade which will allow me to reuse my faithful Pismo
once again!
Regards,
Mike
Thanks for the report, Mike.
I'm delighted to hear of your positive experience
with Wegener and their G4 Pismo upgrade. The price is certainly
hard to argue with.
Now to keep Fido or Kitty away from it.
;-)
Charles
Re: Pismo Upgrade
From Michael Gambuzza
Charles,
I will definitely keep them away - both Fido and Kitty. They can
be a handful at times.
www.dogdreamery.com
Mike
PRAM Reset May Fix Lombard
Re: Best Dead Lombard
Replacement?
From Chris Daley
Hi,
I had the same problem with my Lombard when I upgraded the hard
disk, and I found resetting the PRAM was all that was needed to get
the machine booting again.
HTH
Cheers
Chris D
Thanks for the tip, Chris.
Charles
Lombard Still Dead
From Lee
Dear Charles
First, let me thank you for replying to my mail. I know how busy
you are. Like one of the other editors on Low End Mac, I have CFIDS
(20 years), so I am not the brightest bulb on the tree.
I have tried three different drives:
The 12 GB, the OEM 6 GB both IBM and the 6 GB from my
MainStreet, A Fujitsu. The latter had OS 9.2.2 on it. The 12 GB
runs in an external case; the OEM is toast. I tried DiskWarrior and
TechTool Pro v. 2 and v. 4 - and as a last resort NUM v. 5.0.
I was able to wipe the drive using DW. I can boot from an
external Winchester drive, an EZ 230 with OS 8.6 on it. With this
the hard drive icon shows up, but I cannot get an OS Installer disk
to continue past the licensing accept pane. I have 10.2 CDs and two
10.3 versions, both DVD. Thinking that the only thing left that
might be bad I took the PRAM battery in to be checked. This has 4
lithium button cells in it.
All good.
I am stumped.
I would have gone into debt for an original Mac mini, a very good deal at London
Drugs when they closed them out, but my Lombard was OK then. I
purchased a 40 GB Seagate to have on hand for when the drive did
die, but the drive died before it came. This in an external case
USB 2.0 and FireWire [case] with a power supply, as there is not
enough power at the ports of the Lombard to drive it.
I would appreciate Any thoughts.
On the Alberta Advantage: As a Person with CFIDS (PWC) in a
province with a conservative government, there is no advantage.
After fixed costs for many years, I had $40 left for everything
else.
Again Thank you very much.
Lee
Hi Lee,
I'm stumped, too, but I'm beginning to suspect
that you probably have a motherboard problem. perhaps the boot ROM.
If so, my advice would be to move on, perhaps to a Pismo, and use
the Lombard as a parts mule.
I have fibromyalgia and/or myofascial pain
syndrome, plus a bunch of autoimmune distempers, so I can empathize
with your CFIDS travails and your frustration with the public
health care system. Nova Scotia has had Liberal and Red Tory
governments through my lifetime, and I would guess that it's no
better than what you have in Alberta. I get the most satisfactory
and effective treatment from my naturopath, but he's expensive and
it's entirely out of pocket (mine).
Charles
FM/CFS & Lombard Won't Boot
From Lee
Dear Sir
There are few individuals who are my peers (men with CFIDS and
FM).
There was a researcher from Brussels, Belgium, in Calgary a few
weeks ago. Dr Kenny De Meirleir. I no longer travel, so I did not
hear him. However, he is working with some American researchers,
and for the recently diagnosed or suspected has labs done in the
US. Their address is www.redlabsusa.com. I attempted to
send blood to Huntington Beach for PCR, but even having a sample
drawn at either Calgary airport or Great Falls, MT, it would not
get there in the 24 hour period required.
Dr. Garth Nicholson's daughter came back with Gulf War
Syndrome.
Have had a couple of bad days.
On Lombard:
Now it won't boot from the EZ Winchester drive. I thought to try
and install new ROM. Also tried a FireWire drive with OS 9.2.2 on
it.
Spent a couple of hours on-line trying to get a handle on Boot
ROM, etc. It's beyond me.
Should the Bronze be able to boot from an external drive? I have
a 12 GB in a USB case, but I don't think there is enough power from
the Lombard to drive it.
Is there a Canadian laptop service center. The locals are really
PC geeks - only one with an interest in Macs, and he is way too
busy looking after schools. Much more lucrative. Budget tight.
TTFN
Lee
Hi Lee,
Sorry to hear about the bad days. I'm familiar
with that dynamic.
I know of no Canadian Mac laptop service centers
other than the service departments of local resellers. You could
try a stateside repair service, such as TechRestore, which I have personally
found to be good folks to deal with.
However, I question the economic wisdom of
spending serious money on an ailing Lombard. A used or refurbished G3 dual-USB
iBook can be had pretty cheaply these days, and even the oldest
500 MHz units will handily outperform the Lombard. Another
alternative would be to buy another Lombard and use yours as a
parts mule. Wegener Media has
some for $319, and you can probably find one even cheaper on
eBay.
Booting from USB drives is not supported even on
newer PPC Macs. The Lombard should boot from an external SCSI drive
with proper connections and termination.
Best wishes,
Charles
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