PowerBook 1400, Flash Memory, and Netscape 7
From Pete:
Hello, Charles:
In response to various items posted lately about 1400s - I have found it possible not
only to run virtual memory but also boot off MMC cards with a PCMCIA
multi-format card reader. However, my better 1400 has a NewerTech CPU
upgrade, and I find the machine runs warmer with the PCMCIA card
reader. Additionally, the better 1400 (I have two . . . for
now...) also has a fast Toshiba 20 GB hard drive in it. I do not see
much improvement in performance using MMC over the hard drive.
In other items - I find Netscape 7.0 to be the most compatible of
the modern browsers on OS 9, even given that it is a resource hog.
iCab just doesn't cut it for me on a fair number of sites. Now if
someone would just port the open-source Flash-compatible player over to
OS 9, we'd all be set! :)
Thanks for humoring my two cents,
- Pete
Hi Pete,
Thanks for the experiential info on various
alternative boot modes. Life in those old 1400s yet.
I agree about Netscape 7 being the best trip in a
Classic Mac OS browser. I love the new, OS X only iCab 4.x, but I
agree that the Classic version of iCab, much as I appreciate it still
being available, is not up to the standard of Netscape 7, which I also
prefer to Mozilla 1.3.
Charles
Compact Flash Faster than Hard Drive in PowerBook
1400
From Tom:
Hi, Charles.
You're absolutely correct about the speed advantage with Compact
Flash, especially over the old, slow hard drive that shipped with the
PB 1400.
I have not timed it, but copy and save operations are noticeably
faster, as well as silent. Startup takes a while in any case, though
Marc Moini's Startup
Doubler control panel has helped shorten it, even when starting up
from the hard drive.
Tom
Pismo Graphics Upgrade: VTBook
From Carl:
Hi Charles,
I too loved my Pismo
but decided to buy an iBook in the end only because of the graphics
limitations. I don't regret my decision, since I was able to sell it
for $500 and then buy my iBook G4 for about $1,600.
Shortly thereafter, I saw this product: The VTBook. If I still
had my Pismo, I think I would have gone for this. 32 MB of video for a
Pismo!
Probably the least marketed product in the world I think, at least
to the Mac world.
Regards,
Carl
Hi Carl,
Yes, the VillageTronic VTBook PC Card add-on provides
PowerBook users with as high as 1920 x 1440 resolution at millions of
colors on an external monitor, and it supports both OS 9 and
OS X.
The drawback, of course, is cost ($249), combined with
the fact that it doesn't help you with video support on the PowerBook's
built-in monitor.
I think if they had been able to get the cost down out
of the stratosphere, they could have sold a lot of these,
My iBook has now been passed on to my wife (who loves
it), but I'm still using my Pismos ;-)
Charles
Editor's note: VTBook supports one or two displays on
PowerBook G3 and G4 models with CardBus - that's WallStreet and newer. It
works with Mac OS 9.x as well as OS X 10.2 and later (exception:
not compatible with Mac OS 9.x and the original PowerBook G4 when
USB devices are connected). In the US, you can order it online from
Club Mac,
MacMall,
Small Dog
Electronics, We
Love Macs, and
Harmonic Inversion Technology, among others. dk
Network Solution for 2 Macs, 1 Monitor
From Marcel:
Hi, you give switch for answers . . . but the simple way
to go is to put all computers in a network and use VNC for accessing
the others computers....
I use my panthers iMac silver to connect to my old Mac and to my old
PC. Just dedicate a space for VNC and very simple to use one monitor
with the 3 computers....
Just a way to go....
Marcel
Hi Marcel,
Sounds like a plan if you have access to a
network.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Charles
MacSpeech Dictate Hardware Requirements
From Jim:
Charles:
I am thinking about purchasing MacSpeech
Dictate.
Do you have an opinion on how useful and effective it is?
Thanks,
Jim
Hi Jim,
I'm still using a PowerPC based Mac, so I haven't been
able to check out Dictate yet, since it only supports Macs with Intel
chips, but everything I've heard about Dictate is pretty positive. It's
built on the Dragon
NaturallySpeaking speech engine, which is acclaimed
as the best voice recognition software in the industry.
My colleague at MacOpinion, Marc Zeedar reviewed
Dictate a couple of months ago, and you might find checking that out
helpful. The two parts of the review are Writing
With Speech and Dictate,
Round Two.
I have been using MacSpeech's PowerPC dictation
product since the early betas nearly ten years ago, and have found it
very good, but by all accounts Dictate is even better.
You can find
my review of the latest 1.8 version of iListen on Applelinks.
I don't recall which model Mac you have. Apple started
releasing transitional models in January 2006. If it's older than that,
it's definitely a PowerPC and can't run Dictate. Make sure which
platform you have before you purchase.
I'm hoping to be able to upgrade to a new Macintel
system later this year and look forward to switching from iListen to
Dictate.
Charles
Thanks for the prompt reply, Charles.
Here are the specs on my G5:
- Machine Model: iMac
G5
- CPU Type: PowerPC G5 (3.0)
- Number Of CPUs: 1
- CPU Speed: 1.6 GHz
- L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
- Memory: 512 MB
- Bus Speed: 533 MHz
- Boot ROM Version: 5.2.2f2
I guess, from what you say, I do not qualify for dictate.
Do you know if there an inexpensive way for me to upgrade this
machine?
I suspected possible limitations when it would not run this year's
version of Turbo Tax.
Thanks again,
Jim
Hi Jim,
Your G5 is one of the last of the PowerPC Mohicans, so
you're in the same boat as I am with my PowerBook and unable to run
Dictate.
While Apple's customary backward compatibility (for
example, the copy of MS Word 5.1 that I bought for my prehistoric
Mac Plus back in 1993 still
runs fine in Classic Mode under OS X 10.4.11, which was released
last November!) has made the Intel transition mostly painless for us
PowerPC holdouts, there is an inevitability that we are going to be
getting shut out of more with the passage of time, now nearly 2-1/2
years into the Macintel era.
Actually, Dictate is the first piece of software I've
wanted to run but couldn't. The reason is that the Dragon speech engine
was never ported to PowerPC. MacSpeech's other speech recognition
product, iListen, is based on the Philips speech engine, which is a
completely different piece of software.
Unfortunately, there is no hardware upgrade path to
convert PowerPC Macs to Intel machines, so the only recourse is to
trade up.
In the meantime, iListen is still available and should
run great on your G5. Dictate is a superior product, but might not be
enough reason to change computers if the G5 is otherwise serving you
satisfactorily, although if you're serious about using dictation
software, I would strongly recommend that you upgrade to at least
1 GB of RAM and preferably more than that. I have 1.5 GB and could
use more.
Charles
Thanks for all of this very useful information, Charles.
I am beginning to see where our government rebate check is likely to
go.
Jim
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