I've also gotten several mails from ATI Radeon X800 owners complaining that the card's fan runs at higher speed after the update (I've not noticed this either - it's controlled by the ATI ROM Xtender). One reader complaining about G5 system fan noise said sleeping the display reduced the noise (which made me wonder if it was the X800 fan, not the system fan.) Again I've not noticed this problem personally (either X800 or G5 case fan) but I asked some of the readers with this problem if the ROM Xtender was installed, if they tried the usual tips (reinstalling a combo update, RP, resetting nvram, etc.) and a few that replied back said that did not help.
One of the reports on X800/10.3.8 fan noise had comments exactly like one of the readers with system fan speed problems (i.e. he said just moving the mouse spun the fans up) - so I asked them to verify it was the X800 fan they're hearing and not the case fans.
(When I test for video card fan noise I remove the side cover (metal) and tip out the plastic cover (don't remove it or the system fans will spin up to full 'fail safe' mode) and then carefully press on the center of the card fan to stop it for a second to see if the card fan and not the system fans are the source.)
If anyone else has seen the X800 fan speed run faster (noisier) in 10.3.8 let me know if you've found a fix and are sure it's the card's fan. (At cold boot it's normal for the X800 fan to run at full speed but as the OS loads the ROM xtender normally throttles that down in speed.)

I also had one X800 owner report he sees the video corruption issue after waking from sleep (a couple of X800 owners reported this under 10.3.7 - one said reinstalling the 10.3.7 update using the Combo update solved it - but the 10.3.8 user said a combo update reinstall did not help.) I have never had this problem with the X800 in my system under 10.3.7 or 10.3.8.

" Mike, I've just noticed that Apple has removed the 6800 GT option from the BTO PowerMac G5 page. Only the 9600XT, 9800XT and 6800 Ultra remain. I wonder if Apple is making room for the ATI Radeon X800???
-Cadaver
(I asked if the 6800GT was still available separately.-Mike)
Yes, it still appears to be for sale as a separate item on the Displays store page ($499 with a 1-2 day delivery time). The Ultra carries a $599 retail price tag and is listed as a 3-5 week wait. "

I checked the USA Apple store this morning, there's no 6800GT option in the drop-down menu, although as of 9AM Eastern time, it's still in the text at the top of the apple store order page (where you select which model). I suspect that will be corrected soon if it's really a permanent change. (A reader from the UK wrote the BTO GT option was removed there also.)

" I installed this driver on a G4 iBook 1.2 GHz
Downloaded and installed this driver today. I chose the pre-compiled version. I started with the dual mode driver which supports both circular and vertical motions, I found this one a little difficult to use so I opted for the XY only driver. Installing was simple, just replace the ADB mouse driver in System/Libray/Extentions with the downloaded version.
As some people reported bugs with permissions on the new driver, I ran the verify permissions utility before restarting. Sure enough it flagged the driver and repaired its permission. I then restarted the computer and it works like a charm. It is so useful It will soon be one of my "Must Have" items.
-Tom M. "

Previous reports were in Friday's and Thursday's news.

"QuickerTek, Inc. announced the availability of a new Wi-Fi transceiver designed to dramatically increase the effective signal range of the AirPort and AirPort Extreme Base Stations. It will add up to 1/2 mile line-of-sight. This product works by not only transmitting a more powerful signal, but also using a LNA (low noise amplifier) to increase the receiver sensitivity.

The 27db transceiver operates on all 2.4GHz, Wi-Fi systems. The transceiver is Wi-Fi compliant, supporting both 802.11g and 802.11b. and works with both OS9.x and OS10.x systems. This product is designed especially for Apple's Airport Extreme wireless systems and allows the maximum power output allowed by the FCC. Apple wireless products have RF output of 30mW; our product is 500mW.
This transceiver works on Apple Base Stations (Graphite, Snow, and both Extremes models). It comes with a 2.2Dbi antenna, but all other QuickerTek omni and directional Base Station antennas can be added.
The kit comes with mounting brackets, adapter cable, wall mounted power supply and utility software CD. The product does not require any installation software.The 27db Transceiver has a list price of $149.00 and is available from stock to one week."

A reader replied to their PR (mail to Rick at quickertek, cc'd to me also):

" Rick,
I saw your press release on www.xlr8yourmac.com and wish to share a few comments. The intent I believe was to state your Xcvr is 27dBm not 27db. One could get the impression your product has 27dB of gain over Apple's product.
If one uses the formula; dBm=10log(Pout/Pin);
" remember dBm, the lower case ' m ' is 1 milliwatt = 1mW "
so in this case Pin = 1mW
therefore
10log(500mW/ 1mW) ~ 26.9dBm your product
and
10log(30mW/1mW) ~ 14.7dBm Apple's product
Your product has ~ 12.2dB of gain over Apple's product.

This can be verified by;
10log(500mW/30mW) ~12.0dB gain

Also, the antenna should be stated as 2.2dBi not 2.2 Dbi. The reason being is that the ' B ' gets capitalized in respect to Mr Bell. Yes, and I do know the ' i ' means an isotropic dipole.
I am sure these were simple typos and have faith the press releases will be corrected....
v/r, John K. "

" Hi Mike, Just sent an email to Apple concerning several .Mac issues that people like myself are having. Here's what I said to them:
(a copy of his mail to apple follows.-Mike)

I have a serious problem with iSync. When I try syncing (not changed the setup in month on my Mac) I get :
"Syncing with .Mac did not complete. Synchronization with .Mac is restricted to full .Mac accounts only. Your account can be enabled for syncing by updgrading to a full .Mac membership"
Tried lots of times and rebooted too. No luck. I have a large 1GB account (which I want to downgrade to basic 250MB) which is paid through September 2005. I am also getting "blank" emails and people are telling me that they are sending emails to me, with work offers, and I'm not recieveing them. This is a major concern and if it is not fixed I will HAVE to cancel service, which would be real sad as I have had this account since .Mac started. And, a Mac since 1987...
Hope you can assist me...
Sincerely, Bobbi S.
CEO, LTL Records "

I don't know what to say on the iSync issue (I don't use iSync with .Mac) - if you're getting that error on a full .mac acct then Apple should act to correct that.
But the comment on not getting some mails rings a bell. Last year when I registered a phone number with the Fed's "do not call" list and used a .mac email address (to reply to) - I never got the mails. I used another address and got them (quickly). I guessed that .Mac's spam filtering was the cause. (The only other .Mac mail issue I've seen is the intermittent problem getting mail in general (authenticaltion failed error) - seen that at times for years as others have also. Usually resolved within a hour or so though.)

" Has Apple fixed up its .Mac servers to reject RealVideo files?

After having had some Real Video files on my .Mac account for a couple of years, I suddenly find that they stop after a few seconds and the user gets a message about the server being timed out. This happens even on very low-bandwidth video files and I have verified that it is not just something happening with my browser and Internet connection: other users trying to access these videos get the same message. This is a shame because the free Real Export Plug-in for Mac makes it quite easy to export to Real audio and video direct from any Quicktime app. I know some Macintosh users have complained about Real products, but frankly it is very easy to configure your Real media files so the end user only sees a clean player window with no ads or other distractions.

But, it does seem as if Apple has changed something so that Real-encoded video cannot stream from .Mac accounts. Real-encoded audio still seems to work okay. If anyone wants to see what happens, I have an example here:
http://bobhudson.com/MPEGtoMOV/
Clicking on the screenshot brings up the streaming RealVideo - and the problem. One of my CaptyDVD tutorial pages uses RealVideo and yesterday I movie the video file from Apple's server to another server and it once again works okay.
I wonder if this is Apple's way of retaliating against Real for trying to make its Real Networks' Rhapsody online music store tunes play on iPods.
-Bob Hudson
http://www.bobhudson.com "

Note: Here's a reply from a reader here the next day on the cause of Bob's problem: Mark E. discovered the cause of the playback problem and a fix for it.

" (Link to Mark's test .ram file)
http://mabel.antsclimbtree.com/mabelsworld.ram
I am able to play the movie fine using that link, but his link to my movie fails after 13 seconds. The difference in our files is that he adds ?mode="compact" to the end of his link. His movie plays fine if you remove that suffix. Here's a link to his movie that works:
http://mark.antsclimbtree.com/bob.ram
-Mark E. "

I sent Bob a note about this.

" You mentioned our project a few weeks ago.
Anyway we now have an application name, our own domain and a professional site banner logo.
Plus the first demo is due in 2 weeks !!
http://centerstageproject.com/index.php?id=39
As you can see the project is progressing very quickly, the only major decision at moment is the UI design and how it will work.
Thanks, Neil (aka Mr Zippy)
CenterStageProject.com
Project Founder "

Combo DVD-CDR Drives:
• IDE Toshiba SDR-2512 in iBook (OS X)
  (noted native burn support in 10.1.5)
  
  DVD+R/RW + DVD-R/RW Drives:
• IDE Pioneer DVR-K04L in Mac Mini (OS X 10.3)
  (native burn support)
• IDE Pioneer DVR-K04L in Powerbook G4 (OS X 10.3)
• IDE Plextor PX-716A in (MDD) Dual G4 DDR (OS X 10.3)
  (Using Patchburn 3 for iApps burn support.)
  
  Hard Drives:
• IDE Maxtor 160 GB in iMac G4 (OS X 10.3)
  (iMac G4 15in take-apart article here)

You can find full owner reports (latest shown first) by searching the database by drive/brand/interface/mac models (the latest reports are shown first in searches). For guides to installing CD/CDRW/DVD drives or Hard drives in many mac models, see the IDE Articles page. The Firewire articles page also has guides on case kits, installing drives, etc.
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. (If you post an updated entry - make sure you use the same name, etc. as you did before so I can find your past entry. Thanks.)
(Incomplete entries are deleted. Do not post questions in the database, it's for drive reports not questions on what drive to buy - for that try searching the database for reports from owners of your mac model on the drive type/brand/interface, etc. you're interested in.)

• Sonnet G3/375 in 8500/180 (rated 9)
• Updated previous post on Sonnet 1GHz in Beige G3 (for note that OS reinstall solved his problem)
• Updated previous report on Apple OEM Dual 1.42GHz in (MDD) Dual G4 DDR and rating changed to 7 from 5
  
  (Full reviews of G4 and G3 upgrades compared to stock CPUs, including real world apps/game tests, install info, etc. are linked at the CPU upgrades page. OC/CPU module articles are on the Systems page.)

(Warning - Overclocking may not be reliable and could lead to hardware failure or corrupted data.) You can find the 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).