Processor Upgrade for WallStreet
From AM:
Hello Charles
I am looking for a replacement processor for my WallStreet PowerBook, and in
your 25th anniversary article you mention as a plus the "availability
of the processor upgrades up to 450 MHz, 466 MHz, or 500 MHz". On
eBay I saw a Pismo 400 MHz processor, but the seller says that it
won't work with a Wallstreet or Lombard.
Could you please tell me which are the processors the PDQ will
accept?
Thanks and congrats for the great work.
AM
PS I use the PDQ as my word processor and cannot accept the idea of
giving it up . . . I bought a MacBook 2 GHz which is
running 2.5 GB RAM, but only use it for web-surfing and mail...
Hi AM,
To the best of my knowledge, all WallStreet processor
upgrade products have been discontinued. It may be possible to still
find them on eBay or Craigslist, etc. catch as catch can.
Not much left in Pismo upgrades either - FastMac and Wegener Media still offer them I
think.
However, as you were informed, a Pismo upgrade will
not work in the Wallstreet/PDQ or the Lombard, since they have
completely different motherboard designs, despite the similarity on
looks.
Wegener still lists a bunch of recycled stock
WallStreet/PDQ processor cards
- G3 233 MHz processor card (0k cache) $9.99
- G3 250 MHz processor card w/ backside cache (upgrade for original
233/0k systems) $39.00
- G3 233 MHz processor card w/ backside cache $39.99
- G3 266 MHz processor card w/ backside cache $49.00
- G3 300 MHz processor card 300 MHz 1 MB backside cache
$99.00
I expect one of these would get you up and running
again.
Charles
Buffalo WiFi Problem with Pismo
From Felix:
Dear Mr. Moore,
First off, congratulations on your brand new broadband service. I'm
happy that you're finally enjoying what a lot of people take for
granted, forgetting that far, far more have no access to it - even in
North America.
I make my living as a freelance translator and editor, and I depend
so much on email, Internet, and FTP access for my work that high speed
Internet has been a part of my life for many years now. I count myself
blessed that I have had access to it from Day 1, living in urban Miami.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to do it at all - so kudos again
to you for managing to do all that and much more. It's a testimony to
your talent, your thirst for knowledge, and your unflinching vocation
that you have managed such a successful career writing on technology
while depending on dial-up and trips to the (WiFi enabled) library. It
completely blows my mind, and I sincerely admire and envy you for
it.
Second, you mention that you're having problems with the Buffalo
card in your Pismo
dropping the signal and having to restart the machine. I am having the
same problem with a Belkin card in one of my Pismos - I, too, have more
than one ;-) . Ironically enough, the other Pismo has an
original AirPort Card, and its reception is stable as can be. I would
even say it's a tad speedier, despite the fact that the Belkin card is
G capable, and the AirPort is only B. I am a complete ignoramus in
these matters but can't help wondering if it has something to do with
the built-in antenna for the AirPort Card that runs by the display - it
improves reception for the AirPort slot, but I don't think it does
anything for the PC card bus. I'm sure more knowledgeable people will
chime in.
Keep up the good work!
Best regards,
Felix
Hi Felix,
Thanks for the comments. On my Pismo with the Buffalo
card, things seem fine until the memory heap begins to get a bit
raggedy and swapfile activity ramps up. I have only 640 MB of RAM in
that machine. Upgrading to a gigabyte might help.
Charles
Broadband and Power Outages
From Greg:
If you are using cell-based broadband (sounds like you are), the
cell site will have a generator; nearly all of them do for emergency
communications. A lot of public safety agencies (including fire, EMS)
use cell phones for auxiliary communication, as well as data links to
their in-car computers, so functionality and reliability while the
power is out is a must.
Hi Greg,
Thanks for the comment.
Nope; it isn't cell-based, but a completely separate
proprietary wireless system with its own transmission towers. The tower
I'm aimed at would probably serve fewer than 100 subscribers (this is a
*really* sparsely populated area) and carries no emergency functions. I
hope I'm mistaken, but I'm doubtful that they would have any kind of
UPS.
Actually, cell-based Internet isn't available here at
all - for instance, iPhones don't work here. Virtually the entire
county where I live - one of the geographically largest in Nova Scotia
but sparsely populated - is outside Apple's until recently exclusive
Canadian service provider partner Rogers Communications' GSM/GPRS
coverage range, the nearest fringe of which is about 30 miles away.
Charles
Interesting; what's the company and what kind of transmission
technology are they using?
Hi Greg,
Our wireless is supplied by a Nova Scotia-owned indie
outfit called Seaside
Wireless Communications, based out of Sydney, NS.
I have no clue as to the transmission technology.
Charles
Long Power Outages
From David:
We once had a week-long power outage. Can you imagine snow on the
ground outside and no heat in your house? Much worse than no
Internet?
Hi David,
That's horrible. That's horrible. Where do you
live?
We would be reasonably comfortable, since we heat with
wood stoves and have gravity fed water, but I would be in severe
Internet withdrawal under those circumstances!
Some folks here in Nova Scotia went two weeks without
power after Hurricane Juan in
2004, but it was in the early fall, so nobody froze. That storm's
effect was quite localized, and our power didn't even go off for a
short time, although it flickered at the height of the wind.
Charles
PS/2 Mouse with USB Adapter Causing MacBook
Insomnia
From Mike:
Following up on last week's
posting:
It wasn't the frosty cat's fault: I still had a Walmart PS/2-to-USB
adaptor connecting my mouse to the laptop. (I still can't stand laptop
pointing devices, and PS/2 mice and keyboards are almost free in
secondhand shops.) The adaptor was at the end of a long USB extension
wire, and I just stopped thinking of the mouse on it as a USB device,
but a PS/2 one. Then it occurred to me that Macs don't have PS/2 ports.
Doh! Mostly, I use laptops as desktops; a friend's old hard drive
connected via USB, PS/2 mice, external monitors, gamepads, USB hubs,
and my desk starts to look like the inside of a Borg cube.
That old fashioned mouse is so sensitive to vibrations that it could
be used as a seismograph. It's not optical, but has a ball in it. Maybe
it's Florida's weather or poor quality diode lasers, but optical mice
fail a lot for me, and I actually prefer the old kind. Anyway, just
remembering to yank the mouse solved the sleep problem. Didn't notice
this in the logs, because it showed up only as "reason for wake: USB3"
which just made me say "huh? whatever...."
Also, before Snow Leopard arrived, I was kind of bored with Leopard,
using Linux most of the time, and Ubuntu only wakes when you push the
power button. I'll probably go back to using Linux mostly, since Snow
Leopard didn't really make much difference. Dual booting and installing
Linux really is a lot easier than it used to be. It's so easy that I'm
getting bored with Linux, too. Oh well, maybe it's time to start fixing
my collection of dead, ticking Duo Docks! :)
Hi Mike,
Time to check out Windows 7? ;-)
Thanks for the follow-up and glad you got it sorted
out.
Charles
EU iPod Volume Limit
From John:
Dear Mr. Moore,
I couldn't find any mention of it in your recent Low End Mac compilation,
but Apple has been putting a 100 dB sound limit on their EU-market
iPods since 2003 to satisfy a French law requiring that from the same
year. The new EU regulation is pretty much a non-story for Apple
gear.
After reading a few more articles on the proposed EU regulations, it
appears their main effect may be to add some sort of nag-screen when
you push the volume past 80-89 dB or remove the limit.
Since EU members must harmonize their national laws with EU law, the
proposed regulations should nullify the French law imposing the 100 dB
maximum sound level. I expect the French delegation, however, will get
their limit incorporated into the final EU regulations in one form or
another.
With greetings from John.
Hi John,
Thanks for the further information. Personally I think
it's a sensible law in any case. I've been told by an audiologist that
I have partial hearing loss, although it's not severe, and mine came
from using chainsaws and electric power tools.
Since receiving that information, I've used hearing
protection (usually earplugs) when operating noisy tools, and I keep
the iPod cranked down well below 89 dB I imagine.
Charles
QuickPAD Connectivity
From Kelly:
Dear Mr. Moore,
I read your article on the QuickPAD
IR and the QuickPAD Pro. I really hope you can help me, because
QuickPAD's customer services don't want to know. The QuickPAD IR I have
is in a black case.
I can't seem to upload text to my PC. I'm using a double-ended male
PS/2 cable, like you would with an Alphasmart. I know they say it works
with infrared. Can you tell me if the below would work?
- A USB-to-IrDA adapter.
- A USB-to-PS/2 adapter.
They would really help, because I have USB ports on the front of my
PC and I struggle with mobility. I can't physically turn my PC round to
access the PS/2 port.
I realise you are a very busy gent, but please, please, is it
possible to get this machine going? I need it to work when I can't sit
at the PC due to pain.
Yours,
Kelly
Hi Kelly,
Wow! That's an oldie. 2001, it looks like. I had to
look up the article to refresh my memory. It was basically a news item,
probably based on a press release.
To be honest, I have no recollection. I've never used
a QuickPAD and am totally ignorant of its technical nuances - and
pretty much the same about connectivity issues with Windows PCs, so I
can't offer an opinion as to whether the adapter workaround you propose
would work.
Would it be possible for you to get a PS2 cable
extender that could be led around to the front for more convenient
access?
Perhaps someone else in the audience will be able to
shed some light.
Charles
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