Although as noted in past news/articles here (see the Misc. Articles page software section), VPC v4 has no 3D hardware support and is not a good upgrade for gamers, I'm very happy with it so far with the PowerBook. It's noticably faster than VPC 3 in use.

" I have an XrouterPro and have no problems hosting Quake and UT games over my cable modem. The thing has worked awsomely for months and I love it.
Andy D

[he later wrote:]

I don't remember the (firmware) version but as of a few weeks ago it was the most current version. At times I run a Q3 server, UT Tournament server, WWW, FTP, Filemaker and Tunnel into it with Timbuktu. Never had any real problems that wern't caused by my screw-ups from not opening the right ports. I'm also baffled that xsense says there is a problem. "

I wonder if this issue could be firmware related. The MacSense software downloads page lists 2 versions ( 1.17d and 1.19b) of the firmware for the Xrouter Pro. The most recent dated 10-23-2000.

" Hi Mike,
Your article [Ruffin Bailey is the author-Mike] "How To Setup Your Own Quake Home Gaming Network" reminded me of my own experience with a Quake Lan on an XRouter Pro. While the router overall is an EXCELLENT choice, it had problems with hosting Quake 2 and Quake 3 games. I emailed Xsense Connectivity and this is their reply:

"This is a problem that we've noticed with Quake as well. Some machines seem to be more stable than others, but we do think it has something to do with the router. We are looking into it.

Other (FPS) games do not seem to be affected (Half-Life, Unreal Tournament), and you can host those games through the router.

Sorry, I wish I had something more positive to say, but hopefully we'll have an update before too long.

John Dell
Xsense Connectivity, Inc."

When you host a game, clients who connect to you get disconnected after a short while. This problem only occurs when hosting, NOT when playing as a client. Hope this helps any would be gaming buyers.
- Kanxer"

[Kanxer later wrote to say he was using the latest firmware for the router.] If anyone knows a fix or workaround, please let me know.

" I ordered one from JAPAN, IT arrived in 5 days. I plugged it into my external CDRW YAMAHA and it even comes with a FIREWARE CABLE.

The Software that it comes with
a full version of storagemaster and I have burnt quite a few CDs with TOAST 4.1.2. WORKS GREAT BUY ONE. TOAST PICKS IT UP AS A FIREWARE CD ROM.

I am running 9.0.4 with all the latest patches.

As a matter of face It seems more reliable than using the scsi card. (IE Termination, etc..) the FIREX gets its power from scsi termination on the external cdrom. it says rev 1.0 firmware does NOT SUPPORT SCSI DAISY CHAIN, PD - DRIVE, SCSI PRINTER, SCSI SCANNER, IT ONLY WORKS RIGHT NOW WITH SCSI STORAGE. IE IT DOES WORK WITH HD, JAX, ORB, CD-ROM, CDRW, MO, etc.

It also works great with windows 2000 as well. I purchased a fireware card with for my beige box and voila plug the 1394 cable into my winblows 2000 box and burner on my IBM too. RATOC IS A REALLY COOL CLASS SETUP.

Kevin
London, UK"

Another reader commented on a limitation of the adapter:

" Mike -
One thing you may want to mention about the Ratoc FireRex1 Firewire->SCSI converter is that it doesn't work with daisy-chained SCSI devices (according to their literature). This means you can only connect 1 scsi device to the adapter - a major downside compared to a PCI SCSI card.
- John"

www.fwdepot.com announced a Firewire/SCSI adapter recently that supports up to 7 devices but I've had no feedback on it. Still looking for reports on Ultra-SCSI Tape Drives with the Ratoc adapter (or other Firewire/SCSI adapters).

(The reader that asked for comments on Ratoc's adapter didn't want to use up a PCI slot for even a low cost SCSI card, which normally would be the preferred way to use a SCSI device.)

" The past two months have seen a major shakeout in the Free ISP market, with many major national providers shutting down their services. At the outset of Free ISPs, the number of providers which supported Macintosh clients was small, but had grown to an embarrassment of riches during this past summer. These recent closures, however, have made Mac users' choices almost non-existent. The following information details the closures, the current situation, and the future possibilities for free nationwide ISP access.

The Shakeout
------------
Freewwweb.com shut down in July and was acquired by Juno. Freeinternet.com shut down in October and was acquired by NetZero. 1stup.com, which provided access for AltaVista and Excite Freelane (and others) shut down last week. Spinway which provided access for Bluelight.com (a joint venture between K-Mart and Yahoo!) and others also shut down last week.

This represents nearly 100% of the free nationwide providers that offered Mac support this year.

Current Offerings
-----------------
Bluelight.com acquired key assets of Spinway to continue offering free access. They continue to offer Mac support and represent the only nationwide (Hawaii, Alaska, and Canada excluded) free ISP solution for Mac users currently. http://www.bluelight.com/freeinternet/

Future Prospects
----------------
AltaVista has discontinued its Free ISP service.

Excite Freelane has continued its service through WorldShare.com which does not have Mac support.

Juno does not offer Mac support, nor has it expressed any interest in doing so at any point in its five year existence.

dotNow.com claims that Macintosh support is "coming soon". http://www.dotnow.com/download.shtml

NetZero.com does not currently support Macs, but encourages us to "express your interest in having a Mac version by sending an e-mail to macdemand@netzero.net"

Todd"

DVD ROM Drives:
• SCSI Toshiba SD-M1201 in Umax S900
  
  CDRW Drives:
• IDE HP 9150 8x/4x/32x in Beige G3 (AIO)
• IDE Iomega Zip650 8x4x32x in B&W G3
• IDE Matshita CW7586B 8x4x32 in G4/AGP
• SCSI Sony CRX140 (8x4x32) in 9600
• USB Sony Spressa CRX-100E w/Umax C600 (PCI USB card)
  (problems burning at 4x noted)
  
  Hard Drives:
• IDE IBM 75GXP 45GB in G4/AGP
  (same drive used in my 2nd drive install guide)
• IDE IBM 75GXP 30GB in ADS Firewire case (used w/G4 AGP)
  (listed under Firewire interface)
• IDE Quantum 30GB in MacAlly USB case (w/PowerCurve)
  (listed under USB interface, issues noted in report )
• IDE Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 45GB in B&W G3 (rev 1)
  (problems noted, sounds like typical rev 1 IDE chip issues. See systems and IDE articles page here for more articles on rev 1/rev 2 B&W G3s.)

You can find these full reports by searching the database with the drive/brand/mac models listed above selected (the latest reports are shown first in searches).
If you've added a IDE, SCSI, Firewire or USB hard drive, CDRW, tape drive, etc. make sure you add a report to the database.

• Formac Pro G3/450 in Beige G3/266 (rated 10)
• Metabox Joecard G3/333 in 7600/132 (rated 9)
• Newer Tech G4/400 in 8600/300 (rated 10)
• Other World Computing G3/450 in Beige G3/266 (rated 10)
• Powerlogix G3/366 in PowerBase 240 (rated 10)
• Powerlogix G3/350 in 8600/250 (rated 10)
  (6 month updated report running at 400/200)
• Powerlogix G3/350 in 8500/120 (rated 10)
  (6 month updated report running at 450/225)
  
  
• Apple G4/400 OC report (running 450)
• Apple G4/400 OC report (running 500)

You can find these full reports by searching the database selecting the indicated Mac model and upgrade card brand/type. If you've upgraded the CPU on your Mac, please post an entry in the database. Search the database for entries from most every upgradable Mac model *before* you buy. (Searchable by mac model/upgrade brand)

Software Updates:

• Microsoft Office Manager 9.0 [Launches Office from the Menu bar] (direct download link)
• Palm OS Emulator 3.0a8 (direct download link)
• Sim Theme Park 1.0
• .mail.it
• VolumeRocker 1.5 (direct download link)
• QuicKeys 5.0 Plug-in Suite
• Font-a-log 1.0
• OmegaWindow+
• Interarchy 4.0 [FTP client] (direct download link)

Apple TIL Updates:
• iMac: Connecting Audio Equipment

Mac News: (Note: Regurgitated press releases, etc. are not listed)

• Jobs Is Nimble Enough to Put Apple Back on Track (businessweek)
• Macintosh G4 Cube a beauty (sun times)
• Apple Profile - Andrew Santangelo (apple)
• Apple's innovations welcomed by creative types (union tribune)
• Son Of Evangelist Mailing List (macevangelist)
• Speech-tech firm's assets frozen (macworld UK)
• The Age of Everyman Tech: It's Like a Little Office (OS Opinion)
• WallStreet? More like Skid Row [WS hinge/clutch issues]

Mac Gaming:
• Sim Theme Park 1.0

RumorMongering:
• 'CubeBook' reports prime Mac rumor mill (zdnet)