• OS 9.04 Update (English-North American)
• OS 9.04 Update (English-International)
• Apple DVD Player 2.2 (English-North American)
• Apple DVD Player 2.2 (English-International)
• USB Card Support 1.4.1
• Quicktime 4.4.1 (use QT updater or QT download page)

Apple also has OS 9.0.4 Developer Technotes here and here.

Current Compatibility Reports Summary (use links for reports/fixes):

These are early isolated reports and may not be common.

Software Related Issues:
• Several Netscape 6 (Beta) problem reports - one severe (trashed drive).
• Mindspring DSL Problem with new OT (1 report - see fix below report)
• IE 5.0 Download lockups (Not a common problem)
• Two readers reported having to reset their modem and TCP/IP preferences/settings after the install.
• Some reports of lower OpenGL 1.1.3/OS 9.04 game performance (i.e. Quake3)
  If any readers have compared performance after the upgrade (make sure you're running a comparable extension set and the same game settings) please contact me. Please include your system details (Mac model, graphics card, etc.). I'd like to start a page to track this. Thanks.

  BTW: See the apps/game performance page of the Pismo review for some Quake2 v1.03 config file tweaks I did that made a dramatic improvement in Quake2 scores. (That review used OS 9.02 with OpenGL 1.1.3.) It may be that multitexturing in OpenGL 1.1.3 has a negative effect on ATI graphics cards in games. (Just a guess.)
  

  Hardware Related Issues:

• Newer Tech MaxPowr G4 owner reported problems (see fix below post).
• TrueX 52X IDE Drive problem report
• Stealth Port and 9.0.4 Incompatible (vendor page link)
• iMac rev C Install Problem (similar to below)
• iMac rev A Install Problem (not a common problem)
• iBook owner reports startup delays seem worse
• File copy problem between SCSI busses (Not a common problem)

Improvements/Problems Fixed by OS 9.04:

• Fixes some sleep issues with new Macs (see this report)
• Fixes some USB device errors on new Macs
• Improved Firewire
• OpenGL 1.1.3 (OS 9.0 shipped with v1.1.2)
• Some older mac owners reported improved performance
• Software Updates more reliable (Although control panel seems to still be v1.1.1)
• Enhanced memory manager performance on G4 systems (OS 9.02 and above)
  (On my G4/450 v2.6 CPU GaugePro doesn't report any real improvements, but my rev of the CPU has errata that affects bandwidth which is fixed in later revisions)
  

  " The Memory Manager routines BlockMove and BlockMoveData have been enhanced to use the Velocity Engine for faster memory copies on machines where it is available. This enhancement appears in Mac OS 9.0.2 and later. "

CPU Upgrade Card/Software Compatibility:

• After a reader email questioning if XLR8's control software was OS 9.04 compatible, I updated the S900 test machine. The XLR8 G4/450 and an very old XLR8 G3/266 card seemed to run fine with OS 9.04 and XLR8's v1.43 control software. I also added an XLR8 USB PCI card in slot 6, running the USB v1.4.1 drivers. I've only used an Iomega USB ZIP 250 drive with the USB card so far, but it worked fine.
• As noted above, a Newer Tech MaxPowr G4 owner reported problems after the update using the 2.2f3 control software. (See later report that v203fc3 fixes the problem)
• An APS 604e clone (Tanzania board) owner with a Vimage G3/240 reports all OK.

Reader Reports and Comments on OS 9.04:

TrueX 52X IDE CDROM Drive:

"Mike,
I've run into a problem with 9.0.4 and my Kenwood 52x True IDE drive. I can't seem to mount disks any longer. I had the old driver that came with 8.6 and dropped it in. Problem went away. I need to get the old 9.0 driver and put it in. I can see the drive just fine in System Profiler. I know you have a Kenwood drive, can you test this and see if you get the same result?
Steve Peterson "

I'm not clear from his comments if the OS 8.6 extension solved this or not. (I've asked) I removed my original TrueX drive from the Beige G3 to test the Toshiba IDE DVD drive (works great) but asked if he had tried Intech's CDTools drivers. They have a free demo/trial version available for download.

iMac Rev C Install Problem: This report sounds similar to the one rev A iMac owner report earlier.

"Hi Mike:
The firmware boot problem just happened to my rev C iMac after a 9.04. I updated ASIP (it's our server) last night and today saw that it requires 9.04. (Though it seemed to run fine without it.) So I did the update and now it's dead.

I'd provide more details, but it's my file server and now I'm screwed! Gotta run. "

Netscape 6 Beta Problem Reports: I'd personally steer clear of NS 6 until the final version based on the first two reports from OS 9.04 users:

"Installed 6 preview yesterday. I have had 9.0.4 for a couple of weeks. I also updated QT yesterday. When I first ran 6 it took forever to start up. Finally did, and I started exploring, excuse me netscaping : ). I hit a site with some Java based games, because they have been giving me fits under IE. Netscape crashed while loading the game. Soft crash bounced to the bug reporting program.

I sent the report, restarted the computer and upped the memory allocation on Netscape. Went to 20 megs from 10 megs. I used the program for a while with no problems, btw the Java games didn't work right under 6 so it must be a problem with MRJ 2.2, I later went to quit Netscape and it bombed the computer hard, still had mouse but couldn't force quit anything. Had to hard restart. Everything came up fine until loading the finder and opening startup items ( I run seti unit manager on this computer) it would freeze before or on opening sumanager. I restarted extensions off, removed Sumanager, and restarted. It came up OK so I ran some repair utilities. Nothing wrong.

Put Sumanager back restarted and am still running OK. Haven't tried Netscape again since and may wait until a new release. I wasn't real fond of the new look.
Chuck
Beige G3 400 rev 2
192 megs VM on 256
MP 850 card OS 9.0.4"

The first report noted even worse problems:

"Hi Mike, This isn't about 9.0.4 as much as it's about Netscape 6 destroying my hard drive. I downloaded and installed 9.0.4 yesterday morning and everything was fine. I liked the update a lot and downloaded Netscape 6 with IE 5. I stared installation of Netscape, which completed and then it appeared to start Netscape, putting up a logo. At this point the computer (Beige G3 233 MHz Rev.3) crashed and no sound was coming out so I waited a few minutes and did the 3 finger restart. The restart resulted in the computer saying my drive was unrecognizable and did I want to initialize it.

Luckily the drive I was using was a Maxtor 10GB drive in the slave position. My old stock drive booted up, although with almost nothing on it. I tried making my Maxtor the Master drive, with no slaves and it would simply give me a ?-disk icon at startup. The Maxtor whirs up followed by two loudish clicks, sometimes more, then spins down. Is this a head crash? What the heck should I do to get my drive back? What the hell is wrong with Netscape these days?

Probably just my computer, but maybe this will help,
Orion "

I suggested booting from CD and trying some disk repair utilities (Norton Utils, TechTool Pro, etc.. Diskwarrior may not work on a drive that won't mount, I'm not sure.) If anyone else has installed Netscape 6 under OS 9.04, please let me know your experience.

Newer Tech MaxPowr G4 Problem Report: (See later report below this for the fix)

"At first, i couldn't download it with IE or Anarchie because IE stops the download in the middle and Anarchie does do but tries to resume and in doing so, corrupts the file. Netscape Navigator downloaded the file.

I have a MAXPowr G4 card installed in a 8600.
When I installed it and restarted, i got a illegal instruction error. I then restarted with extensions off and put in macsbug.

i restarted again and this is what i got in the stdlog in macsbug:

'MacsBug 6.6, Copyright Apple Computer, Inc. 1981-99
PowerPC illegal instruction at 00366054 BlockMoveDataUncached+00160'

It appears that New BlockMoveData routines are the culprit here (incompatible with maxpowr 2.0?)"

This MaxPowr G4 owner wrote that v2.03fc3 works:

"The 202fc3 software would crash the machine after the 9.0.4 upgrade. I emailed Newer and within hours they sent me 203fc3 which fixed the problem.
mark"

I welcome reports on OS 9.04 compatibility from other CPU card owners of any brand. If running a G4 CPU, please note the stepping (revision) of the G4 cpu if you can. (Newer Tech's GaugePro reports this.) Also include the version of the upgrade card's controlsoftware. (I ran a few quick tests of the XLR8 G4/450 upgrade in an S900 with OS9.04 with no problems so far.) Note I have the 4 Altivec OS 9 extensions installed (see my past G4 reviews for a list and how to install them on an older Mac), but not sure that matters however.

Sleep Improvements:

"9.04 seems to have fixed a problem with 9.02 where you would lose your TCP/IP connection after sleeping with "Wake for other network activity" checked in the Advanced Settings of Energy Saver.

With 9.04, I sleep with this setting checked, and upon waking my TCP/IP connection is still active.

Running a G4/350 Sawtooth with a 3Com SDSL modem.
Mark Edwards"

Report of OS 9.04 OT Problems with Mindspring DSL: [See the tip/note below]

"The new Open Transport in OS 9.0.4 is causing problem for Enternet PPPoE Tunnel Builder which is needed to access Mindspring DSL. When I copy the old OT from OS 9.0, it works again.
Ken "

A reader replied to this post with a tip:

"re: todays item regarding OT and EnterNet PPPoE software. I have pacbell internet, they use the same software. it installs over open transport, so somehow whenever you upgrade open transport, it breaks EnterNet. the user can install EnterNet over the 9.0.4 OT parts fine i think, and that should work.
regards,
jonathan"

Another reader wrote a reinstall does solve the problem:

"jonathan, who suggested that reinstalling Enternet 100 after installing MacOS 9.0.4 will fix DSL connection problems, is correct. Every time I have upgraded Open Transport it has broken EnterNet, and re-intallation has always fixed it -- this time's no different. "

IE 5.0 Download Problem Report: Another reader reported after updating to OS 9.04, IE 5 downloads crashed his system. I've used the previous OS 9.04 fine with IE 5.0 here, but have not tested it since applying the update (Powerbook wallstreet main work machine has OS 8.6 installed). [This is not a common problem based on later feedback.]

SCSI File Copy Problem? Another reader wrote of a SCSI file copy problem. (He didn't provide any info on his Mac model, SCSI devices or controller) [Not a common problem based on another reader test results below]:

"Here is something I have not seen anyone mention about the 9.0.4: trying to copy files between volumes on different SCSI buses using the Finder will freeze the machine. I have tried this on two different machines and booting with extensions off. Interesting enough, File Buddy will copy the files with no problem."

A AOK report from a G4 owner:

"I am running a G4/450, OS 9.04, with the stock Ultra2 SCSI card and the stock 18 gig Seagate SCSI drive, running Apple's driver 8.1.4. I copied small files and a large (52 meg) file to a SCSI Jazz 2 on my second SCSI bus (Apple's BTO Ultra SCSI PCI card, Iomega driver 6.0.6f1) without locking up, but it did pause alot it the copy was frontmost.

I did the same copies to a 2 gig Quantum Fireball (Apple driver 8.1.4) and had no problems at all copying either way.
Thomas L. Carey
Macintosh Systems Manager
AccuWeather, Inc."

An 8600 owner also replied saying he'd seen no problems like this:

"Initial testing seems OK... Copying individual small files and then a folder full of mid-sized files worked fine for me.

8600/300 <-- stock, no G3/G4 upgrade 9.0.4 release (downloaded last night, not earlier release)

Copy from onboard SCSI to PCI Initio Bluenote with latest software, no freeze.

Onboard SCSI still has stock 4 gig drive
Bluenote has IBM Ultrastar DCHS drive as only drive on the chain
[both are using the v.8.1.4 drivers installed with the 9.0.4 upgrade...]

Oh, and FYI: IE 5.0 downloads seem to work just fine also.
E-mail with any other questions.
As always, love the site!
Regards,
Michael A. Faurote
WEB DESIGNER
http://www.mafgraphics.com "

I'm trying to finish the XLR8 G4/450 review and can't test this personally, but if readers have tested copying from one SCSI bus to another under OS 9.04 final release (say onboard SCSI to a PCI SCSI card) please contact me with your findings. (Please note your mac model, SCSI card and hard drive/drivers in the report). Thanks!

OS 9.04 Update Problems on Rev A iMac: I've not tried updating the rev A iMac here with OS 9.04, but this reader reported problems [see below for other iMac rev A reports]:

"Apple's recent OS updates have been pretty nasty to me.

Order of events:

Install attempt #1:
Drive Setup tries to update the driver -> stalls -> force quit only quits drive set-up. Installer realizes this and goes back to "start" window. I try to install the update without a new HDD driver. It seems to work. Upon restart, I get punted to open firmware and a prompt. I type mac-boot, but it fails. Diagnosis? Mac OS ROM update did not install on first 8 GB of 40 GB HDD. Cure? Speed Disk. Restart after optimization...no sound source, no control strip, lots of stuff broken...

Reinstalled OS 9.0...successful...

Try #2:
Same thing happens except I do not get punted to the firmware.

Try #3:
I try installing some components of 9.0 and 9.0.4 with a custom install. Control Strip works but still no sound...the volume slider bar sticks to the bottom. There are no sound sources available. The MacOS RAM allocation is also very low (which could have been good if everything worked right)

There's no Try #4. I narrowed the problem down to the "core system software" for the sound source wackiness. I'm not touching 9.0.4 again.
Eugene Chan"

I've asked if he had installed all the previous iMac updates. This iMac rev A owner reported no problems:

"I'm happy to say that my 9.04 update happened without a hitch on my rev A iMac (64mb ram) and other machines.

Software update downloaded the installer into the startup items and the ensuing install occurred without problems after restart. I know I had all other iMac updates in place for some time and that may be the difference from the failed report you received.

I have also updated my other Macs (iMac DV, iBook, G3 blue & white, & 8500) from the downloaded installer. None showed any faults.
I hope this helps!
H. Michael Miley
J.R. Holcomb & Co.
Systems Engineer "

And another all-OK rev A iMac report:

"I installed 9.0.4 just now on my Rev A iMac with no problems. I took a couple of precautions: made sure all the OS9 extensions and control panels were active using Extensions Manager, and turned off all the 3rd party stuff. And, I ran the new Hard Drive Setup app to update the driver before launching the 9.0.4 installer. No hitches at all. Right now I'm downloading the new Netscape v 6.0 while surfing with IE 5.0 and emailing you with Eudora.

I've kept up with the iMac firmare updates and all updates to other software I use regularly. So far so good, though it's been less than an hour since I installed 9.0.4, and problems could still arise.
Bill Garrett -- "

"I have installed Mac OS 9.0.4 update onto a Rev A iMac and the install was faultless. If people are having problems with the install - the issue is with there machine - not the update.

Might be a good idea to run Norton and some other disk check FIRST. Then restart with extensions OFF and run the installer.

Matt Egan "

An iMac rev B owner was able to install the update but noted some slowdowns.

Alpha Centauri (Game) Problem Report: This reader reported OS 9.04 fixed a USB Mouse problem but after the update Alpha Centauri would no longer run:

"I'm happy to say that 9.04 fixed the "sticking" problem with my 3rd party USB mouse. The cursor used to move erratically when an application was starting up, and at other times as well. Unfortunately, Alpha Centauri will no longer work. I do have the 1.4.1 update, but this hasn't helped. The game starts up with the Firaxis screen, then goes black. Several system warning pings can be heard. The only way out is to hit the escape key. The initial spacescape screen with the Alpha Centauri title can be seen for a moment before the game shuts down. Hope this one gets fixed soon ;)
Scott Serna "

iBook Owner Comments:

"I upgraded my original iBook from 9.0 to 9.0.4 last night. The original system had a delay after the desktop came up in system availability, and a delay in response to mouse clicks which was annoying-this is much worse under 9.0.4. I haven't sought help on this problem before, because my main machine is still running 8.6, but now I need to find a fix, because it has become intolerable.
James "

iMac rev B Owner Comments:

"Hi Mike
I've noticed that my REV B iMac/160mb, performance has changed a bit for the worse. It get 3 second pauses w/ a loss of mouse response and 4 to 5 second pauses when closing Control panels and the "About this Computer" window. Somtimes I get along pause before my Apple menu will reveal itself. I had none of the above w/9.0.

P.s. I'am hooked up to an ethernet network to access the internet. I am using Apple Talk only to access some printing devices
William C."

General Summary of Initial OS 9.04 Feedback: Feedback so far is good. One 9600/350 owner reported it seemed much 'snappier' than OS 9. (Disabling Multi-user control panel/extension and other trimming helped on my 9600/350 with the original OS 9.) Roy Shiro reported he had to reselect his modem in the modem control panel after the update. Another reader reported Software Update seems to work properly now.

Ryan Tanaka sent a reminder that OS 9.04 does not include the latest versions of QT, MRJ, or Game Sprockets for those that do not have the latest versions of them. Running Software Update should show any updates you need but given the server traffic currently you may have problems connecting at times or in some areas (I often get that note here, more than 50% of the time when there are new releases). See the software updates section or sidebar below for links to OS 9.04 if you missed last night's update. I welcome other comments on improvements or issues with the OS 9.04 update.

OpenGL 1.1.3 Game Performance Feedback: Mixed reports, with many noting lower performance after the update. Also sluggish cursor movement in Quake3 (main menus) which I noted in my PowerBook Firewire review (very bad in 32bit mode to the point of frustration).

Here are some samples from my request for performance tests in the recent news:

PowerBook G3/400 Lombard
Quake3 demo version @640x480 - 16.9 FPS
"it seemed to be slower after 9.04 upgrade. so i installed OpenGL 1.1.2 on top of 9.04 - no difference. if there is a slowdown in 9.04, it is NOT due to OpenGL 1.1.3..."

The RageProLT chip is probably the bottleneck in this case.

"Hi Mike,
I have some interesting info for ya.
I was running OpenGL 1.1.3 (a friend was cool enough to give it to me from his new machine) under OS 9.0 and tested framerates, then I upgraded to 9.04 and tested frame rates again, and indeed they dropped a bit. However, since I had 1.1.3 on both OS's it might be another factor. I do not notice any slowdowns in other areas... actually seems snappier. Here are my results:

Machine: 350Mhz G4 Sawtooth RevB w cache @233 320 Megs of RAM
Card: Rage 128Pro Rev 0 according to System Profiler

UT 405b tests:(App Given 180MB)
OS 9.0, Open Gl 1.1.3
640x480, Rave, everything maxed out. Dynamic lighting on.
AVG FPS from city intro: 30.5

OS 9.04, Open Gl 1.1.3
640x480, Rave, everything maxed out. Dynamic lighting on.
AVG FPS from city intro: 27.5

Interesting eh?
Juan I. Leon "

" I've tracked down the problem, at least on my system. A while back, I had turned on "sync every frame" in an attempt to get rid of the occasional frame where the top and bottom halves didn't line up. It didn't work, but since it didn't cost me any FPS, I left it on. (At least, I think I remember doing a timedemo to see if it hurt anything. I can't actually test this to confirm it without reverting to 9.02.)

After turning off "sync every frame", my performance in 9.04 is back to what it used to be in 9.02.
Jeff May "

"Hey, Mike...=) Danimal here, I've got both UT and Q3 (both retail) FPS listings in the database, and I did some new tests with 9.0.4/OGL 1.1.3, here it is:

Q3:
Demo1 old: 37.09
Demo1 new: 41.2(!!)

Demo2 old: 37.2
Demo2 new: 39.2

UT:
cityintro old: 37.09
cityintro new: 37.84

I ran Q3 demo1 3 times and averaged the times, and it hovered around 41 all three times. I used the configs given on the database page, and I have the exactly same extensions set. I might have upgraded some of them since, but the only majors ones were the 9.0.4 upgrade. Great job on the site! =)
--Danimal"

" I am not sure if it is OpenGL doing this, but I have a great improvement in at least one of my games.

I have a Starmax (64Mb RAM) upgraded to a 240 Mhz G3 and I have a Rage Orion card. The game is Star Wars Episode 1 Racer.

Prior to the 9.0.4 update, the game did not run well; there were spots of precipitous frame rate drop and stuttery patches. However, after installing 9.0.4 the game sped up by about 50% and no more slow frame rates. I am not sure whether it had to do with the new OpenGL or the fact that the install replaced the Universal 4.2 ATI extensions with ones from Apple.

Whatever the cause, I am happy. I always thought it was the slow bus of the Starmax that kept this game from humming, but I guess it was something else. It was either the new OpenGL or Apple's ATI extensions.
Barrie "

"Mike,
I spoke with you several times (via email of course) last week about my Pismo 400 Quake 2 scores. Well, I looked at my config file and it did not seem to echo your changes (much to my surprise). I have attached it to this email (this is my new home account). Also - I downloaded and installed 9.04 last night and have run Quake 2 tests again on the new OS. I do indeed see a slight slowdown in reported FPS, but on the plus side I see much less interleaving which was noticeable for me on several screen size settings. I tested with VM off, 50mb to OS, 192 MB installed, same extensions as I tested with 9.02. Full screen mode, 16bit, sound quality low, etc. Basically as you advise. My figures are:

640x480: 9.02 = 49.0fps 9.04 = 48.3fps
800x600: 9.02 = 34.3fps 9.04 = 33.4fps
1024x768: 9.02 = 24.4fps 9.04 = 23.9fps

So, basically I lost about 0.7fps, but since the quality seems a little better (is this the normal placebo effect? I dunno). Oh, if you publish my config could you make sure there is nothing personal in it (remove my name and I guess that is about it)
Regards, Grant"

"Hello Mike,
I just upgraded to MacOS 9.0.4, and didn't notice any performance hit when running the Quake III demos (demo1 : 40.6 fps - demo2 : 38.6 fps).

System details:
Power Mac G4/500
ATI rage 128 Pro
512 Mb RAM
Maxtor 40 Mb HD

Quake III (retail) default settings, but with Color Depth = 32 bits.
BTW: you're doing a great job!! "

Grant has always reported very high Quake2 scores on his Pismo 400. Only after tweaking the Quake2 config file was I able to get near those rates on a Pismo 500, not sure why. (see the Pismo Quake2 update for the tweaks and before/after performance).

"PowerMac G3, Yosemite RevB, aftermarket OtherWorld Computing PPC750 (G3) at 400 upgrade, 256 megs RAM, 1 128 meg stock Apple shipped (can't remember the manufacturer), 2 64 meg generic DIMMs, can't remember the info on them. (Cannabalized from my K6-3 when I hadta sell most of it because of heat problems)

Quake2, stock OS9: Couldn't run above 800x600x32 in high quality without some framing problems, 800x600 ran just fine

Quake2, OS9.0.4: 1024x768 gets a barely noticeable amount of framing, but more than playable

Quake3, stock OS9: Very good framerates at 800x600x32, high quality

Quake3, OS9.0.4: Same, haven't tried 1024x768x32 at high quality due to complexity of the game, I doubt my Rage128 can handle it
-Adrianne "

"I was one of the ones who ran into performance problems when upgrading to 9.04. My Quake 3 timedemo (640x480, 16bit display/textures) dropped from about 46 to around 34. Other color depths dropped similarly. The 46 was with a full set of Apple extensions, plus extensions for Virex, TechTool, and Retrospect. Under 9.04, I tried with both a full set of extensions and "9.04 base", and that didn't make much of a difference (i.e. the scores were always around 34).

My system configuration is:

PowerMac G4 @ 500 MHz
256 MB ram
ATI Rage 128 Pro
Peripherals: 15" LCD studio display, EPSON 5700i printer (USB), Logitech Trackman Marble (USB), standard apple keyboard (USB), Gravis Gamepad Pro (USB), powered USB hub.

The interesting thing is that I was upgrading from 9.02, so I was already running OpenGL 1.1.3. I'll try further paring down the extension set tonight, and see if that helps.

BTW, thanks for all your work--I really appreciate your site.
--Jeff"

Don't forget to try the Quake2 v1.03 tips in the PB G3 Firewire review update. It dramatically helped performance in that system which was running OpenGL 1.1.3.

"I did notice a severe slow down after updating to 9.0.4 in MacQuake III. As I only have the Demo version I dont know if this will be of much help, but I the performance hit was big so I thought I would mention it. Before I upgraded MacQuake III ran very well (system 9, OpenGL 1.1.2), it was smooth, fast and fun. After the upgrade it became almost unplayable: very choppy and difficult to control. It was definitely dropping frames.

My system:

B&W G3 rev 1
G3/450 OWC processor upgrade
320MB ram with VM off
stock Rage 128 card

Thanks for maintaining a great site!
Joe Wojdula
Apogee Net Design "

"Hey, I just thought i'd drop a few bits about how quakeIII performed after I installed 9.0.4 on a 350G4 with the Yose/Yikes board.

Before updating to 904, QuakeIII at 640x480x32 would get 42.x fps in demo1. After updating, I am now getting 43.4 consistently, which is slightly faster. On an odd note, 16-bit color only gives me 45fps, where in the past, 16-bit color would usually yield bigger speed increases.

On an odd note, the mouse cursor now moves sluggishly on the title screen, and the QuakeIII logo occasionally pauses. (Just like on my PowerBook with 902 installed.) Must be something in the OS9 updates that QuakeIII just doesn't like.

Beyond that, the OS hasn't given me any problems yet, but I also haven't had much time at the computer since updating, so I can't say much for reliability or speed, but the finder did not seem slow or buggy in my limited experience.

(BTW, the computer was running Q3 with the regular ATi rage128 - not pro - and dynamic lighting, shadows, gibs, and draw3dIcons were all turned off.)
-Rocco J Carello "

I noted the same sluggish cursor in Quake3 on the PowerBook Firewire which ran OS 9.02 and OpenGL 1.1.3. The problem was mainly in 32bit mode, where trying to select menu items was frustrating with the cursor lag.

I still welcome performance comparisons after the OS 9.04 upgrade (make sure you're running a comparable extension set and the same game settings), so please contact me and include your system details (Mac model, graphics card, etc.).

Also don't forget to enter your Game framerates in the FPS database. How to test framerates is in the FAQ's Game topic area and noted on the entry page.

DVD 2.2 Player on OS 8.6: A reader reports he was able to run the latest version under OS 8.6 by using Tomeviewer to extract the files:

"Just to let you know I was able to get the new DVD Player version 2.2 running under OS 8.6 on my iMac DV SE. I just downloaded the image and used Tomeviewer to extract the files. I then put the extensions in that folder restarted and tried out the new DVD player. It worked fine with nothing telling me I couldnít use it. I guess just the installer cares what System you have. It said I need 9.0.1 to install it. I am not sure what the changes are as there is no changes listed and there are no visual differences between this and the previous versions.
-TheTroc"

DVD player v2.2 is said to have some decoding improvements.

I welcome your comments and experiences/bug reports/fixes regarding OS 9.04. Please list your specific Mac model, 3rd party extensions/software and installed hardware (PCI Cards, etc.).