Dvorak Adoption Notice
From Mark McKenney
Dear Charles:
The Dvorak piece (see Will
Apple Adopt Windows?) is not worth the time it takes to read
it.
My MUG buddies discussed it over beer and chips. Dvorak is a
rabble rouser (i.e., just wants to make people upset).
Someone needs to come up with a parody at Low End Mac
called:
Will Microsoft Adopt Dvorak
He has spent a lot of time complaining about Apple, that
Microsoft should just adopt him as there next operating system.
Mark McKenney
Yo-yo Power Supply Advice
From Geoffrey Peters
Sad to say, but I agree that the Yo-yo style power supplies
(which I've taken to calling UFO's - Unusable Frying Objects) are
pretty woeful. However, I do have a tip for users that can extend
their usable life-span.
I'm a service tech. I've worked for dealers, authorised service
centres, and schools. One thing I've seen so often is that people
don't full unwind the cords of their power supplies!
It is vitally important, especially with the UFOs, to
fully unwind the power fly-lead from the spooler before
powering up.
It is vitally important, especially with the UFOs, to
fully unwind the power fly-lead from the spooler before
powering up. If you leave a few loops wrapped in the spooler, the
current flowing through the lead - coupled with the reduced airflow
- result in the innards baking themselves into an early grave. And
as they're a sealed unit, they are essentially irreparable.
Another tip: If you can find a power-brick from the PowerBook 1400, this can be used as an
alternate or backup power supply for all of the black PowerBooks.
It's output voltage is the same, and it uses the same style of
J-connector. The bricks' current-load output is not rated as high,
officially, but the circuitry in them is better than that in the
UFOs - they can withstand the extra pull from a G3 'Book as long as
said 'Book is not maxed out or running continually under high
processor load.
Geoffrey
Hi Geoffrey,
Thanks for the tips.
Charles
'Pismo Up in Smoke' Update
From Laurie Russo
Hi Charles,
It's been a long time (see Pismo Goes Up in
Smoke, 2006.02.06) so I thought I'd update you. I still don't
have the Pismo back, though.
This is apparently what happened (the seller's words):
The good news is that it was neither of us that caused this
"meltdown." It was, for lack of better words, "a freak event." It
appears that a very small piece of the case must have broken off in
shipping (I went through the entire computer before putting it up
for sale and nothing was amiss) and lodged in the spot where the
burn mark is after being moved around until it lodged there. It
shorted out and destroyed the logic board, battery, and more than
likely most of the rest of the electronics as it shorted long
enough to burn. Other good news is that the hard drive is alive and
well and your information is secure. Also, the AC power supply is
OK. Beyond that, only time will tell.
He's been collecting parts to put the thing back together, and I
am still waiting.
I'll update you again when I receive the "new" computer!
Best,
Laurie
Hi Laurie,
Sounds like a good guy.
As I noted in earlier correspondence, this sort of
thing is almost unheard of in Pismos, so a freak occurrence sounds
about right.
Hope you get your Pismo back soon.
Charles
Lombard Up in Smoke
From John Phillips
Charles / Laurie
The same thing happened to my Lombard about two years ago (see
Pismo Goes Up in
Smoke), burnt a hole right through the bottom of the case. It
was the ribbon going to the hard drive that shorted out. Had the
ribbon replaced and it works fine. Still going strong (10.3.9).
John P
Thanks for the report, John.
Perhaps that's what happened to Laurie's Pismo
too.
Charles
Old iMac a Good Value?
From Krista,
I am not really sure where I came up with your address, but my
situation is this. I have purchased an iMac G3 333 MHz with OS 9.2.2 from
someone on eBay.
This is my first experience with Apple. I don't know if this is
a good purchase or not. I am looking for some advice. Here are the
specifics which mean nothing to me!
- Power PC G3
- 333 MHz
- 512-L2 Cache
- 64 MB RAM
- Network - Ethernet Built In
- CD ROM
- Video is ATI RAGE PRO C
- Hard Drive - Quantum Fireball 6 GB
- Apple Talk Installed
- Open Transport Installed
This system seems to have a 2nd Hard Drive Installed. I am not
familiar with Macs, so I am not sure, but it says "MAC 03 Extended
6 GB"
That is what the eBay item description said, which means
absolutely nothing to me.
I don't know if my current PC modem will work with this computer
- or does it need a different one? Or is this not a smart buy?
All I do on my computer is surf the Web and download and listen
to music. Is this the computer for me. I am basically computer
illiterate. I bought the thing 'cause it was pink, so that should
tell you something about who I am! I really appreciate any help you
can give me.
Krista,
Hi Krista,
That's an old, fairly slow Mac, but it should be
serviceable for light duty stuff like email, word processing, and
casual Web surfing. A contemporary version of iTunes should run
fine for music listening. Running Mac OS 9.2.2, it should be
reasonably lively, but 64 MB of RAM is only marginal.
The iMac does support OS X, but I wouldn't
recommend it with less than 512 MB of RAM and a bigger hard
drive.
It's worth maybe $150 in good condition.
The G3 iMacs did not support multiple internal
hard drives, and that 6 GB unit sounds like the original
configuration.
Your PC modem will not work, as the cabling is
different, but the iMac includes an internal modem, so you're
covered.
My daughter uses a 450
MHz G3 iMac and gets along reasonably well running OS X
10.4, but she has 640 MB of RAM and a 20 GB hard drive.
Hope this helps.
Charles
Re: Old iMac a Good Value?
From Krista,
So if I understand correctly, I can just hook up this computer
to my cable connection and be good to go, right? If I wanted to add
more memory or whatever it's called, that is possible, right? Is it
compatible with Morpheus or
Kazaa?
I really appreciate all the information. I don't know one person
that is Apple friendly.
Krista,
Hi Krista,
It should work fine with your cable connection.
You'll have to configure your user name and password, etc., in the
Network settings. Your cable Internet supplier's customer service
should be able to walk you through that for Mac OS 9.2.2.
You will need different file-sharing software. Two
free ones that work well are Poisoned (currently
requires OS X 10.2. or later) and iSwipe. iSwipe has an OS
9.2.2 compatible version. I'm not so sure about Poisoned, which may
be OS X only.
RAM upgrades are definitely possible.
Try ramseeker.com or macsales.com, to name two of many
sources.
Charles
Editor's note: The 233-333 MHz iMacs are a challenge to get
inside, and they require a fair bit of disassembly before you can
upgrade RAM. Also note that some iMacs work with 256 MB memory
modules while others won't recognize more than 128 MB. There seems
to be no way to predict this in advance. dk
Lombard Upgrade Options
From MoraHish
Dear Moore,
I found your email address on Low End Mac and wondered if you
could help me. I have a PowerBook
G3/333 MHz (I guess it is called Lombard) and am desperate to
upgrade it. I need a faster processor, a larger RAM, a larger
storage, a R/W internal CD, and maybe a FireWire port. I would be
appreciate it if you could let me if you could do this for me and
how much would it cost you.
Best wishes,
H. Mortada
Hi H. Mortada,
I'm a writer, not a computer tech, but the
upgrades you want can certainly be done.
DayStar offers a
466 MHz G4 processor upgrade for the Lombard for $229. You ship
the computer to them, and they could also upgrade the RAM in your
Lombard at the same time - and possibly do a hard drive upgrade as
well. Price would depend on several variables.
Wegener Media has 24x Combo
Drive expansion bay modules that fit the Lombard for
$149.99.
My son used a Keyspan FireWire PC Card adapter
with his Pismo several years ago, and it worked well. I checked the
Keyspan Website, and it appears that these cards have been
discontinued, but you may be able to find one at an online reseller
(do a Google search) or on eBay.
Charles
iBook G3 Logic Board Problems and Possible CPU
Upgrades
From Matthew McNaught
I've been reading around on Low End Mac for
quite some time. I've been a Mac user since I knew what a computer
was. I've heard of the iBook logic board problems (see G3 iBook a Risk Due to Logic Board
Problems?) and had a friend that recently had to replace his
board. But I just ordered a used iBook - I guess I decided to take
my chances. So I was wondering if you know how widespread this
logic board problem is. Should every iBook G3 owner expect to
replace their board. Also, I've seen around the Web processor
upgrades from various manufactures for Apple towers and PowerBooks,
are there any known for iMacs, eMacs, and iBooks?
Thanks for your time.
Matt
Hi Matt,
It's hard to draw a bead on how widespread the
iBook logic board issue is. Apple is close-mouthed on the
topic.
However, the 700 MHz
iBook I'm using right now is 37 months old and has never missed
a beat - essentially zero problems in more than three years of
intensive use. The hard drive is still whisper-quiet.
There are processor upgrades for some G3 and G4
iMac models. I don't recall ever seeing any for the eMac, and the
iBook is for all practical intents and purposes not processor
upgradable, since its CPU is soldered to the motherboard. That
doesn't make processor upgrades technically impossible, but highly
unlikely.
The practical processor upgrade for an iBook is to
buy a faster one.
Charles
EPS Images with PICT Preview
From John Frizzo
Charles,
I saw the article you wrote about ToyViewer (ToyViewer, a Cool Free Graphics Tool for
OS X), and thought you might be able to help me. You
mentioned some [things] I hadn't heard of, and I'm hoping you could
point me in the right direction. I've been pulling my hair out
trying both PC and Mac utilities, but none have been quite
right.
I'm looking for a software solution that pulls in various
graphics files and pumps out an EPS with a PICT preview. We have
software that requires that format to allow end users to view the
preview while working.
What would make the setup even better would be a watched/hot
folder. End users could take a variety of image types, place them
in a folder, then look in the output folder for the correctly
formatted version. I'd even be able to live with the cost of
Photoshop, if that's all there is, but even that doesn't do watched
folders.
I couldn't find a live location for downloading ToyViewer and am
quite frankly at wits end. Would you have any ideas?
Thanks for your time.
John Frizzo
Hi John,
I think ToyViewer might do at least some of the
things you describe. I find it the slickest file-conversion
utility, and it supports both EPS and PICT.
The developer moved servers several months ago.
The new one is http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~ogihara/software/OSX/toyv-eng.html
I just checked, and it's up and running.
Charles
Download Demo of VueScan Scanning Software
From Robert C Mehaffie
Dear Mr. Moore,
In a review you made for VueScan software (see VueScan 8 Makes Quality Scanning Easy,
2004.06.21) you mentioned that "Classic Scanning VueScan" software
only went to 7.6.64.
I am using a 7500 Macintosh and an
Epson 1000C scanner. I had Scantastic software, but after I changed
to PhotoShop 6 it stopped working. My OS is 9.1
Is it possible to get a demo of VueScan ver. 7.6.64 and info how
to use it? I could download it to save shipping and handling.
Sincerely,
Bob Mehaffie
Hi Bob,
You can download VueScan for Mac OS 9
(7.6.64) from Hamrick Software.
The Getting Started Guide contains step-by-step
instructions for using VueScan, and it can be downloaded as a PDF
file from that same link.
For best results I would also suggest downloading
Apple's free system updaters from their software support site to
take your system up to version 9.2.2.
Charles
Wangwriter Appreciation
From jb royal
Charles,
I was researching some old Wang history and came across your
statement below [in The Mac Plus, my
first Mac, Turns 20].
The Wang was actually a very decent tool, with the
most user-friendly command line/menu-driven interface I've ever
used and an excellent keyboard. It had a decent daisywheel printer
built in. I still have it, and it still works, running off 5-1/4"
floppy system disks.
Thanks for the kind words. As the primary software designer and
code writer of the original Wangwriter, I'm glad to see that
someone noticed what a decent little tool it was. Did you know what
hilighting a word and pressing the underscore key does?
I can't believe it still works?
jb royal
Hi jb,
It is indeed a very nice interface. Beats the
whizz out of MS-DOS.
I, of course, don't use it much any more - only
for accessing stuff archived on floppy disks. I may have one time
known what hilighting a word and pressing the underscore key does,
but if I did I've forgotten.
Charles
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