Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited by
Dan Knight
- 2005.08.19
PowerBook, iBook, iPod, and other portable computing is covered in The 'Book Review. News about Apple's
transition to Intel CPUs and other Intel developments is covered in
The Macintel Report. iPod news is
covered in The iNews Review.
All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.
News & Opinion
Advice
Reviews
Products and Services
Software
News & Opinion
Dell Falls, Apple Gains in Customer
Satisfaction
Bloomberg News reports:
"Dell Inc.'s customer satisfaction fell this year as consumers
complained of long-wait times for help and trouble getting
questions answered.
"Customer satisfaction at Dell, the world's largest
personal-computer maker, declined 6.3 percent, based on the
University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index. Dell
fell further behind Apple Computer Inc., which grabbed the top spot
in 2004.
"Dell's 'dramatic' decline may be a sign the company is poised
to lose sales, said Claes Fornell, marketing professor and head of
the university's National Quality Research Center. Apple's customer
satisfaction rating was unchanged at 81; Dell's declined to 74 from
79 last year..."
Some Mac mini Owners Report Dim Analog
Video
Accelerate Your Mac reports:
"If you've used a mini with a VGA (analog) display, let me know
if you've noticed dim video or not. (Include info on your display
brand/model as some VGA/Analog displays seem to show this more than
others.) Also note if you're using a KVM switch (if so try a direct
connect although most noted this didn't help). Thankfully not every
owner saw the problem with their specific VGA display. (If you have
another Mac or PC system - try comparing the VGA display
brightness/contrast to the Mac mini. Some monitors apparently don't
show the problem. Note: Apple has posted a kbase doc on the issue
with some general things to check first.)"
ATI Radeon ROM Update - Aug 2005
Supported ATI Graphics Cards
Mac OS X
- Radeon PCI Mac Edition
- Radeon AGP Mac Edition
- Radeon 7000 Mac Edition
- Radeon 8500 Mac Edition
- Radeon 9000 Mac Edition
- Radeon 9200 Mac Edition
- Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Edition
- Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Special Edition
- Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition
Note: The firmware update will replace any previous versions of
the Radeon graphic card's firmware. When you launch the update
application and click the install button, it will identify which
Mac Edition Radeon card(s) you have installed and proceed only if
necessary. If no update is needed, or if no Radeon card is found,
nothing will be flashed and the application will prompt you to
quit. It is safe to leave other PCI or AGP cards in the system when
flashing the Radeon cards. This update will only flash Built-by-ATI
Retail Radeon Mac Edition products.
Configuration Requirements
- Bootable Mac OS X 10.3.6 or newer system
- Retail Radeon Mac Edition graphics card (installed in AGP
and/or PCI slot)
- Firmware Update application file
- The computer MUST NOT be interrupted (shut down or power
failure) during firmware update
New in this version:
This update brings the retail Radeon board firmware up to date
with the latest enhancements and bug fixes
Radeon PCI
- Fixed a bug where Formac panels would hang on boot
- Fixed possible blank screen on bootup with some non-ddc
displays
- Fixed a hang when reporting AAPL, VRAM-memory property
- Fixed a cursor hang when selecting Detect Displays from System
Preferences
- Fixed a bug where some non-ddc displays were incorrectly
identified
- Fixed a bug where ADVANCED settings were not saved to NVRAM on
beige G3 (and earlier systems)
- Fixed a bug where a dead cursor may appear after Detect
Displays
- Monochrome modes are no longer supported
Radeon AGP
- Fixed a bug where Formac panels would hang on boot
- Fixed possible blank screen on bootup with some non-ddc
displays
- Fixed a cursor hang when selecting Detect Displays from System
Preferences
- Fixed a bug where some non-ddc displays were incorrectly
identified
- Fixed a bug where a dead cursor may appear after detect
displays
- Monochrome modes are no longer supported
Radeon 7000
- Added Advanced display controls - requires ATI Displays
4.4.x
- Fixed black screen display for ratiometric modes
- Fixed a bug with SONY DVI HDTV going black when switching
modes
- Fixed a bug where Formac panels would hang on boot
- Fixed possible blank screen on bootup with some non-ddc
displays
- Fixed a cursor hang when selecting Detect Displays from System
Preferences
- Fixed a bug where some non-ddc displays were incorrectly
identified
- Fixed a bug where ADVANCED settings not saved to NVRAM on beige
G3 (and earlier systems)
- Fixed a bug where a dead cursor may appear after Detect
Displays
- Fixed a bug where only native mode appears on some panels
- Fixed a bug where enabling GTF timings would provide less modes
on bootup than if GTF was off
- Monochrome modes are no longer supported
Radeon 8500
- Added Advanced display controls - requires ATI Displays
4.4.x
- Added VERSAVISION display rotation - requires ATI Displays
4.4.x
- Fixed infinite hang when TV was connected
- Fixed second display falsely detected during hot plugging
- Fixed non-DDC monitors only showing one display mode in display
mode list
- Fixed display shutdown when TV connected using ATI
Displays
- Fixed a bug with SONY DVI HDTV going black when switching
modes
- Fixed a bug where Formac panels would hang on boot
- Fixed a bug where TV was not always being sensed on bootup
- Fixed possible blank screen on bootup with some non-ddc
displays
- Fixed wrong cursor movement when rotated 270 degrees
- Fixed a cursor hang when selecting Detect Displays from System
Preferences
- Fixed possible blank screen on boot, or wake from sleep
- Fixed a bug where a dead cursor may appear after Detect
Displays
- Enabled DDCCi support and added higher refresh rates
- Support NDRV replacement in OS 9
- Fixed a bug where only 1 mode is available after rotation
- ATI ROM Extender required for complete feature support
(included with installation)
- Monochrome modes are no longer supported
Radeon 9000 Pro
- Custom ROM to restore clock speeds back to original settings on
64 MB version
- Added Advanced display controls - requires ATI Displays
4.4.x
- Added VERSAVISION display rotation - requires ATI Displays
4.4.x
- Updated memory detection and support
- Fixed mirroring/unmirroring bug with two panels
- Fixed hotplug bug with 20", 23", and 30" DVI Apple Cinema
Displays
- Fixed a bug with SONY DVI HDTV going black when switching
modes
- Fixed a bug where Formac panels would hang on boot
- Fixed possible blank screen on bootup with some non-ddc
displays
- Fixed wrong cursor movement when rotated 270 degrees
- Fixed a cursor hang when selecting Detect Displays from System
Preferences
- Fixed possible blank screen on boot, or wake from sleep
- Fixed a bug where a dead cursor may appear after Detect
Displays
- Fixed a bug where only 1 mode is available after rotation
- Monochrome modes are no longer supported
Radeon 9200
- Fixed a bug where possible desktop corruption may occur
- Fixed a bug where Formac panels would hang on boot
- Improved second display detection
- Fixed a bug where a dead cursor may appear after Detect
Displays
Radeon 9800 Pro
- Improved TV detection.
- Fixed a bug where Formac panels would hang on boot
- Fixed a rotation bug where the OS believes the display is
mirrored
- Fixed hotplug bug with 20", 23", and 30" DVI Apple Cinema
Displays
- Fixed a hang when running Photoshop and Quake 3
- Fixed a bug where a dead cursor may appear after Detect
Displays
- Fixed a bug where only 1 mode is available after rotation
- Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Special Edition
- Fixed a bug where Formac panels would hang on boot
- Fixed a rotation bug where the OS believes the display is
mirrored
- Fixed hotplug bug with 20", 23", and 30" DVI Apple Cinema
Displays
- Fixed a hang when running Photoshop and Quake 3
- Fixed a bug where a dead cursor may appear after Detect
Displays
- Fixed a bug where only 1 mode is available after rotation
Radeon X800 XT Special Edition
- Fixed a rare occurrence of corruption or hang for a few
specific instances involving certain games using FSAA
- Fixed fan control to be implemented within the card's firmware
to maintain full fan control with or without the presence of the
ATI ROM Xtender file
CAUTION: All Macintosh graphics cards require a valid and
complete firmware (also known as ROM-Image or BIOS) to boot. Do not
turn off your computer while the firmware update is being
applied.
OS X 10.4.x Tiger: Safe Boot is required to use this ROM Update.
Hold shift during boot to Safe Boot.
System requirements: Mac OS X 10.3.6 or later
Advice
Turn Your Old Mac into a Backup Server
Dedicated server makes life easier, data safer
Macworld's Joe Kissell says:
"If your home, like mine, has more than a couple of Macs,
backing up each one individually can be quite a chore. You can make
your life easier - and keep your data safer - by setting up an old
Mac or a Mac mini as a dedicated backup server. It'll do all the
heavy lifting of backing up every computer regularly, without
requiring your constant assistance.
"....For this project, you'll need a Mac with FireWire or USB
2.0 ports, at least 256 MB of RAM, and OS X 10.1.5 or later.
This Mac (and the other machines) will need a network connection.
An AirPort network will work, but for faster backups, connect the
computers to a wired Ethernet switch or hub."
Add Still Images to Your Media Player
IBM DeveloperWorks says:
"The Mac mini offers a viable platform for embedded multimedia
development. In this article, Lewin Edwards shows how to make
efficient, direct use of the framebuffer to display JPEG files and
discusses the issues involved in deciding between direct
framebuffer access and using the X server as a graphics driver.
"In the previous article, you gathered together and installed
all the pieces required to develop your Mac-mini-hosted multimedia
application. This article shows you how to build the first stage of
the media player software. It will still handle JPEG images only,
but will be easily extensible to handle other media types."
Reviews
More Ports for the Mac mini
PC World's Tracey Capen says:
"I love my Mac mini, but it has one really dumb design flaw - it
has just two USB ports. My solution was a cheap four-port USB hub,
but I am not happy with having yet another small box sitting on my
desk. Which is why I was really pleased when Belkin - a company
that has many interesting computer accessories - sent me its new
(take a breath) Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and FireWire 6-Port Hub for the
Mac mini (four ports are USB 2.0; two are FireWire). What makes
this $59 hub better than most is its shape: It has the same
footprint as the Mac mini, and being only three-quarters of an inch
high, tucks nicely underneath the Mac. This really seems like a
no-brainer buy for Mac mini owners."
Mighty Mouse: I Love It
Washington Times' Mark Kellner says:
"It seems doubtful there will be much of a middle ground among
those who try, and use, Apple Computer's $49 Mighty Mouse, recently
introduced to Mac lovers, but also usable on a Windows PC.
"You'll either love it or hate it, I suspect. And, if you're not
using the latest version of Apple's Mac OS X, dubbed Tiger,
some features won't be available.
"Having Tiger installed helps put me in the 'love it' category
for now. As I play with the mouse, and understand a bit more of the
design philosophy, it's quite impressive. This is one of the
fastest mice - in terms of scrolling - that I've ever used. The
scroll feature isn't a wheel, as found on many mice, but a small
button that can scroll in many directions. Getting through Web
sites or spreadsheets can be a breeze."
Mighty Mouse More Pixar than Terrytoons
PowerPage's Bob Snow says:
"Apple's new Mighty Mouse while long overdue, is unique and
better in a number of ways than my current favorite, the Logitech
MX510. Aesthetically minimalist, it loses the transparent outer
shell of the old optical mouse gaining side buttons and a tiny
track ball. Functionally it has some unique strengths and
quirks.
"The trackball or trackpea, as it has been called, is a
tremendous feature and is especially slick when using Apple
programs. It seems a bit small, kind of a Dinky Duck, and requires
a delicate touch. It takes getting used to and this is usually a
sign that it could have been done better. I find the tactile
feedback very well done...."
Products and Services
Stylish Stand for Mac mini
123macmini.com reports:
"Princeton of Japan has introduced the Stylish Stand for Mac
mini. The Stylish Stand is an acrylic enclosure designed to protect
and hold the Mac mini either vertically or horizontally. The stand
is made out of 3/8" thick flame polished acrylic and stands (W)
7-3/8" x (H) 8-11/16" x (D) 2-15/16". Open slots on the front of
the Stylish Stand provide ventilation and access to the Mac mini's
optical drive whichever side it is turned on...."
Free 3-Way Shipping with Daystar iMac
G4/1.35 GHz Upgrade
[PR] Daystar Technology has announced an introductory
special promotion on its newly announced 1.35 GHz iMac Flat Panel
Upgrades - the XLR8 1350 MAChSpeed G4 iMFP.
The introductory special provides free shipping (up to three
ways, including the custom box) for US customers. International
customers are allowed to send their logic boards, for upgrading.
They then receive free international return shipping. Users that
already upgraded are entitled to a shipping refund, and can request
to have a check sent via mail.
This is a limited time offer, expiring September 15, 2005.
The iMac MAChSpeed G4 upgrade uses the fastest 7457 CPU
available. With a double size cache (512K) and double CPU speed
(1350 MHz), the upgrade provides over 2x performance for iMac 700
and 800 MHz systems.
Like the MAChSpeed G4 Pismo and Lombard upgrades, the iMac Flat
Panel upgrade is a full system upgrade. The user orders on line,
then sends their system to Daystar via Daystar's custom shipping
container.
The Total Cost of the Upgrade is $ 548 - All US shipping
included, until September 15th.
"While we've already completed a substantial number of iMac
upgrades . . . the industry demanded a lower price," said
Gary Dailey, president of Daystar. "We can't compromise on the
top-of-the-line, expensive components, but we can cut the shipping
. . . so we did!"
Additional information on Daystar Technology and XLR8 can be
found via the Daystar website.
Single and Dual PowerForce G4/1.6 GHz
Upgrade Cards
[PR] PowerLogix has immediately available 1.6 GHz Single
and Dual Processor PowerForce G4 7447A processor upgrade cards.
The cards utilize the latest Freescale PowerPC 7447A and include
512K of onboard L2 cache. They are available now from Other World
Computing, master distributor for PowerLogix, for the following
prices:
- Single CPU 1.6 GHz - $299
- Dual CPU 1.6 GHz - $499
"These cards are high-performance, cool-running, low
power-consuming and one-of-a-kind," said Larry O'Connor, president
of OWC. "These provide a great speed bump for an incredible
value."
As with all PowerForce G4 7447A cards, the new models feature an
onboard thermal sensor and real-time thermal monitoring, and
support Dynamic Frequency Switching (DFS). PowerLogix is the only
manufacturer to offer all these features in one high-quality
package.
CPU Director, PowerLogix's proprietary software utility, ships
with all 7447A card upgrades. This software provides the user
real-time graphical temperature data.
The 1.6 GHz Single and Dual PowerForce G4 7447A cards are
available for Power Mac G4 AGP Graphics (Sawtooth), Gigabit
Ethernet, Digital Audio, Quicksilver and Quicksilver 2002
models.
The cards are compatible with Mac OS 9.x and Mac OS X 10.3.5 and
higher (Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher is required for thermal
monitoring and DFS features).
OWC also has available a 7447A 1.8 GHz and 2.0 GHz for $339 and
$399. Dual 7447A cards in speeds of 1.2 to 1.8 GHz also are
available from $419.
PowerLogix products are available immediately through Other
World Computing via its website.
Combo FireWire/USB 2.0 PCI Card
[PR] U2FWEIDE02 is a USB 2.0 & FireWire (IEEE 1394a)
to IDE (ATA/ATAPI bridge board. It is ideally suitable for
tailgating removable-media devices such as CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW,
DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, tape drive, and hard disk drive. It allows IDE
drive (master or slave) to connect to USB 2.0 serial bus in a
plug-and-play fashion.
Both ATA and ATAPI devices are supported with the same
firmware.
USB: USB 2.0 to ATA Native Bridge Controller
- USB 2.0 interface: one USB B-Type connector
- USB bus transfer rate: high speed (480 Mbit) or full speed (12
Mbit)
- USB bus power: self-powered mode operation
- Complies with T13's ATA/ATAPI-6 draft specification
- PIO Mode 0, 3, 4
- Ultra DMA mode 2, 4
FireWire (IEEE 1394a): FireWire (IEEE 1394a) to ATA Native
Bridge Controller
- Number of Ports: external x2 (FW-6pin)
- 1394a PHY: Ti's TSB41AB2 1394a-2000 400Mbps PHY
- 1394 Bus Transfer Rate: 100/200/400 Mbps
- Complies with T13's ATA/ATAPI-6 draft specification
- DMA Mode 0 - 2
- Ultra DMA Mode 2, 4, 5
Self-Access
- Connect U2FWEIDE02 to the resident PC's USB or FireWire port
through either a USB or FireWire cable.
Price: $99.99
New Maxtor FireWire 800 Drive
Storage Pipeline reports:
"IT professionals who rely on Apple Macintosh for any of their
storage, backup or recovery got a few new options this week to
improve speed and management.
"Maxtor Corp.'s newly unveiled OneTouch II drive has a FireWire
800 interface that delivers up to 800 megabits per second of data
transfer. Users can can connect the drive to their systems using
the FireWire 800, FireWire 400 or USB 2.0 interface to quickly
transfer and store high-resolution graphics, digital audio and
video and dense multimedia files....
"The new Televaulting software will be available in the fourth
quarter; pricing starts at $11,250."
Software
SteerMouse Driver for Mighty Mouse,
Other USB Mice
[PR] This is a useful mouse driver. It supports Tilt
Wheel and Multi Button Mouse.
You can customize buttons, wheels and cursor speed freely.
SteerMouse supports the Mighty Mouse.
SteerMouse has convenient and unique functions that Apple's
driver doesn't have. SteerMouse makes best use of the Mighty
Mouse.
- You can assign various functions, such as a shortcut key input,
a cursor movement for the default button, etc.
- You can customize the scroll ball.
- You can adjust the cursor speed and the cursor acceleration.
(Apple's driver allows you to adjust only the cursor
acceleration)
- You can customize the Mighty Mouse in each application.
All functions can be used on Tiger and Panther. Please
experience true ability of the Mighty Mouse. Apple's driver doesn't
provide it .
SteerMouse supports the USB Mouse of all manufacturers.
- SteerMouse can support not only the Mighty Mouse but also the
USB Mouse of all manufacturers. Of course, SteerMouse doesn't ask
for the USB Mouse for Win and Mac.
SteerMouse supports the Tilt Wheel.
- You can assign a horizontal scroll, a vertical scroll or a
shortcut key input. In addition, You can adjust the scroll
speed.
SteerMouse supports buttons up to 8.
- You can make the best use of the wheel, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and
8th button.
SteerMouse allows adjusting the cursor speed and
acceleration.
- You can adjust the cursor speed and acceleration. (Apple's
driver allows you to adjust only the cursor acceleration) You can
make the sense of your hand of a cursor movement.
SteerMouse moves the cursor automatically.
- When a window is displayed, SteerMouse moves the cursor to the
target, such as OK button, close button, etc... You never lose the
cursor, because the cursor performs animated movement.
SteerMouse has a lot of convenient and unique functions, and
customizes your mouse greatly.
- Assign a shortcut key. It is possible to allocate a shortcut
key to the rotation of the scroll ball and the wheel.
- Moves the cursor to the target, such as OK button, close
button, etc. You never lose the cursor, because the cursor performs
animated movement.
- Scroll vertically or horizontally. You can adjust the scroll
speed.
- Assign click, double-click, modifiers+click etc.
- Display the process window for switching the application.
SteerMouse is customizable in each application.
- You can customize your Mouse in each application. Please find
best settings for you!
You can easily uninstall SteerMouse from the help menu.
Feel free to try!
System requirements: Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later. (We plan to
support Intel Mac)
SteerMouse doesn't work on the Bluetooth Mouse.
If you've installed the third-party mouse driver, you must
uninstall it before installing SteerMouse. You don't have to
uninstall Apple's mouse driver.
SteerMouse is $20 shareware.
Desktop Mac
Deals
Low End Mac updates the following price trackers every two
weeks:
For deals on laptops, see our Week's
Best PowerBook G4 Deals, Week's
Best iBook G4 Deals, and Week's
Best iBook G3 Deals. For deals on iPods, see our Best iPod Deals.
