Barney Buoy sent a long list of other net news/til updates/software updates. Included are links to updates to Hotline client/server (v1.8) and Metacreations' Carrara (v1.01).

Pismo PC100 SODIMM Reports: After yesterday's report of a Beige G3 owner having problems using a generic PC100 128MB Dimm from ASR (even at 66MHz bus speeds), another reader replied he saw problems with a generic PC100 SODimms in a new Pismo:

"Your site has helped me quite a bit so I thought I'd contribute my $.02 to see if other people had the same problem.

I bought 128MB PC100 RAM for my Pismo 500MHz from MemoryToGo since they had a good price $128. It ran for 1 week then I first noticed strange artifacts on the background picture I use, next clue was that Netscape quit out of the blue with no usual warning about the program performing some illegal action. Then the machine wouldn't boot unless I turned off all extensions. I went through the trouble of reformatting and reinstalling the whole hard drive/ system software. Nothing. Until I removed the chip then everything was fine.

Now I must say this was my first experience with that company. But like they say you never get another chance to make a first impression. Maybe it was a 1 in a million defective chip but I have a feeling it's another case of you get what you pay for.

The lesson here I think is price is not everything when it comes to RAM.
Thanks
Mike Melkonian"

Agreed, RAM is critical to reliable operation but perhaps you just got a bad sample. I've ran a Pismo G3/500 with a 128MB SODIMM from OWC ($119 as noted in the specials in yesterday's news) and have seen no problems so far during tests of apps, DVD and games. This is the first report of Pismo RAM upgrade problems I've had, so I assume they are rare. There have been a few reports of startup problems but I didn't assume they were RAM related. One Pismo owner reported his system went DOA shortly after a RAM upgrade, but he noted no errors during use after the upgrade until the system went DOA.

More Reports on Low-Cost Generic PC100 Dimms: Also in reply to the post in yesterday's news this ASR customer noted he had problems with his first 64MB dimm, but the 2nd one worked. As I noted in that original sale post, results may vary by batch/mfr on generic ram, and there's no way to tell what you'll get from many high-volume online sources as stock can vary from day to day. Overall, problems are probably rare.

"Mike,
I bought a a 64 meg chip from ASR a while back for $28, $42 after all the shipping. I had to send the first one back and tell the guy I had an Apple machine. He wasn't at all happy and it took alot of talking but I finally convinced him that I wasn't going to buy a Techworks chip for $30 more. He said he would send me chips until one worked. I had to pay all the return shipping ($2). The second chip worked and is still working. It all depends on the batch of generic ram that they get. Some will work in Macs, some won't.
Kevin "

Another ASR buyer reported he had no problems in a Beige G3:

"Hate to disagree with that guy who wrote in, but the cheap generic ram I got (from ASR-Online and Crucial) works great in my Mac Beige G3 (originally 266 now 400mhz). He must've gotten a bum dimm or something. Making blanket statements like "cheap ram doesn't work in a Beige G3" isn't a very productive statement for him to make.
My 2 cents.
John"

The post was a warning of what can happen, not a blanket statement. As noted in the post most PC100 generic RAM should work, but there's never a guarantee. And note the report below that even 'name brand' PC100 in some cases can have problems in Beige G3s.

More Info on PC100 Dimms in Beige G3s: Here's the latest comments from Beige G3 owners on using PC100 dimms:

"Mike,
Saw this post [ the one in yesterday's news-Mike] and wanted to respond since I am a beige G3 owner. I have 4 128MB PC100 SDRAMs in my system [ I assume the 4 dimms is a typo - as the Beige G3 has only 3 dimm slots-Mike] that I got from OWC (got a nice deal) and they work perfectly. They are also small enough to fit into a desktop G3 system so that is not an issue. I ordered some PC100 SDRAMS from a competitor (Mac company) before I started at OWC and they are way to tall to fit in a desktop system, however they did also work fine in my minitower Beige G3.

Point is, IMHO Mac users should buy RAM from a Mac reseller to ensure that they work properly. Plus what is the deal with $20.00 for ground shipping?
-George"

The $19 shipping was on ASR's ram sale awhile back, so it's important to note the total delivered cost when comparing prices.

It's not only 'generic' PC100 that can have issues, as Rod Paine from Aztec (VAR) notes an issue with Techworks B&W G3/G4 PC100 RAM in Beige G3s:

"Mike,
...Actually, even premium priced high quality SDRAM may have a problem in beige G3 units. We've always tried to use components that can support upgrades, so during the process of installing additional RAM in beige G3 units, we use product that will also work in a newer model, such as the current G4, since our clients will be upgrading this year.

We experienced some problems in doing this with TechWorks SDRAM for G4 units, specifically the PC102NDU128-4 (available from OWC) and the 12349-0002 which was the Apple 128MB SDRAM B&W G3 upgrade offer of last year. In discussing this with TechWorks Tech Support, we were advised we actually needed to use the 12377-0002 part number, if we needed SDRAM that will work in the beige G3, as well as the B&W G3 and G4. Typical of TechWorks excellent support, the SDRAM was exchanged for the 12377-0002 part number.

We've tested this SDRAM in Rev.2 beige G3 266 units, PowerLogix and Newer 466 ZIF equipped Rev.2 beige G3 units, a Rev. 2 B&W G3 450 and Rev.C 400MHz G4. No problems what so ever.

I would note that we've been working with TechWorks since 1988 and their tech support with various issues over the past 12 years has always been EXCELLENT. You get what you pay for. ;-)
FWIW.
-Rod "

I asked Rod if Techworks had commented on what the differences in the two part numbers were and he replied:

"No, only to indicate that they were tested in those machines. In looking at the SDRAM modules, there are differences in the circuit board components and layout, so they are clearly different, but TechWorks did not specify what it is.
-Rod "

Airport Performance Tips/Comments: I was copied on a rebuttal sent to C/net regarding their performance comments on Airport noted in their review listed in yesterday's news:

"To: feedback@computers.com
Subject: Re: C/Net Airport Base station Article

If c/net wants to have objective reviews on products, then they should hire people who at least have a clue on networking technology. No one runs raw ethernet networking so their performance chart is useless. Most people run some protocol that's encapsulated within ethernet frames, which generally on the Mac is the Appletalk protocol.

The fact of the matter is that the Appletalk protocol does not map efficiently into the 802.11 protocol and as a result appletalk throughput is not as fast as expected. *HOWEVER* In my tests where an airport equipped Mac is accessing an AppleShare IP server using the IP protocol, the Airport speed is very close to the theoretical maximum of the 11 Mbps.

If you don't have an ASIP server handy but are running Mac OS 9, I would recommend you access any servers using the OS 9's File sharing over IP. Even in this arrangement you should notice better throughput. "

If you missed yesterday's news, here's the link to Cnet's airport review.

OS X DP3/Jackhammer SCSI Card Feedback: I'm not sure what firmware version is in the Jackhammer (I've asked) but this reader notes an OEM card did not work with OS X DP3:

"Hi Mike.
I've been following your reports about SCSI cards and DP3. I have one of the FWB Jackhammer cards (that was OEM with some Apple Power Macintosh 9500 and 9600 systems I believe) and it absolutely will not work with OS X DP3. It is also not recognized with OS X Server 1.0 and 1.2, and didn't work with OS X DP2 either. Seems funny that a card included with a Mac will not work. I bought this from OWC a while back as a pull.

However, I picked up an Adaptec 2930CU card from OWC a while back, and that card works perfectly with DP3 and with OS X Server 1.2. I currently have a few old 9 gig Seagate drives chained off it, and DP3 sees them all fine.

BTW, the Jackhammer card still works great with Mac OS 8/9, so I guess I'll pop it in my 8500 and use it there, since OS X DP3 won't boot on that Mac for some reason. (DP 2 did work on the same computer.)
Adam"

I seem to remember that some of the OEM Jackhammer cards may have had a firmware update before they were shipped, to address some issue that I can't remember now (perhaps the 1.4 update for B&W G3 compatibility noted last spring). I seem to remember that OWC was doing the firmware update before shipping the cards last year but I could be wrong.

19" Rack Mounts for Mac Systems: Just a reminder that Marathon offers rack mount adapters for many Mac models (including 9600s, Clones, Beige G3, B&W G3 and G4 systems). I posted a note on this company a year or so ago but forgot the URL. Several readers since the first post asked where to find rack mounts for Macs so I'm adding this to the FAQ's Apple G3, G4 and General Mac topic areas for future reference. (Thanks to Peter Bethke for the link.)

Bottom Line sent their latest list of weekly specials good until 3/17/2000 or while supplies last.

A reader sent a note about a huge grant to a local school district from Intel:

"Mike,
I wanted to relay you a little info I learned today. I work as a photographer here in Arizona. I mainly take photos of school district activities, and such. So basically a lot of kids. Well it never fails to walk into any school here in the Phoenix Valley, from elementary to high school and to see new iMacs, and G3's, even an iBook. It really is cool. Well as I was at Chandler school districts pep ralley for teachers, ironically Intel has a big plant in Chandler, Intel gave the school district a 5 million dollar grant. To a single school district!!!!! It makes for speculation. Wintel systems hitting the education sector harder? I guess. I am not an Intel fan by any close means, but it does make you wonder about the future."

That grant should cover the support costs for at least a year or more ;-).

The Owner's CPU Upgrade Reviews and Mac Game Reviews searchable databases were updated at noon today.

Other Net News/TILs/Software Updates:

News
• Diablo II simultaneous release rumor unfounded (MGL)
• iMac DV makes home video editing simple (CNN) - If you've not read it already, I posted a full review of the iMac DV SE last fall that's more detailed than any I've seen in print or web so far.
• Canvas goes to Linux (Macweek)
• MS undergoing 'Millennium' meltdown? (ZDnet)
• The First Glimpse of Xpress 5 (Macwelt)
• Making Animation Child's Play (Wired)
• The Internet's New Revolution In Photography (Fortune)
• AOL or Earthlink? (Fortune)
• Making waves with Aqua (ZDnet)

  TILS

• Mac OS 9: Some Options Dimmed in General Controls Panel
• iBook (Japan): Internet Setup Assistant Issue
• iBook, PowerBook (FireWire): Sleep Issue With Preserve Memory Contents On
• Mac OS 9: Taking A Snapshot Picture Of The Screen
• Mac OS 9: "Add to Keychain" Checkbox Is Dimmed (Gray)

  Software Updates:

• Hotline 1.8 - Client & Server
• Carrara 1.0.1

The recent features page also lists articles posted (most recent first) as does the sidebar links here. The site topics pages (systems, cpu upgrades, etc. - see top and sidebar links on this page) also are places to check as well as the FAQ.

Friday's News Summary

• Cheap Generic PC100 RAM Fails in Beige G3
• G4/AGP w/EditDV Unplugged Report
• Techworks 256MB Dimm Sale
• Cnet previews OS X, reviews Airport (slow performance)
• $109 Zforce/$105.75 Miles UW SCSI w/Softraid
• OWC weekly specials include $119 128MB SODIMM for Pismo, $379 8X Firewire CDRW
• Pismo vs Sony Vio
• EditDV/MotoDV & Apple G4/AGP Compatibility
• List of OS X DP3 SCSI Card Support
• PPC Checker 2.0
• VGA to DVI Adapters
• Control Strip CPU Usage
• More Pioneer 10x DVD Drive Reports
• Hard Times for Disk Drive Mfrs
• Stella900 review revised for pricing
• Owner's CPU Upgrade Reviews and Mac Game/Video card Performance searchable databases updated.
• Other Net News/TILs/Software Updates

Thursday's News Summary

• PB G3/500 DVD playback comments
• More on OS X Retail SCSI Card Support
• RedHat Linux Install Guide for VPC
• Final Cut Pro/Pismo Firewire Capture Issues
• MaxPowr Beta/RamDoubler 9 Tip
• OS X DP3 hangs at boot w/Retail SCSI 2940UW Adaptec card
• Reminder on Sony Spressa USB/iLink CDR Patch
• New Mac OS ROM Versions
• Mac N64 Emulator Gets New Name/Features
• Stella900 review revised for pricing
• Reminder on $99/128MB SDRAM sales
• Owner's CPU Upgrade Reviews and Mac Game/Video card Performance searchable databases updated.
• Other Net News/TILs/Software Updates

Wednesday's News Summary

• More $99/128MB SDRAM Sales
• Stella9000 Review (Audio)
• New G4/500s Have Speculative Processing Enabled?
• Comment on Toast 4 & Ricoh DVD/CDRW
• ATI to Unveil 'Revolutionary' 3D Graphics Technology
• 3dfx at GDC
• Update on Ricoh DVD/CDRW Combo Drive in Macs
• iSub Owner Solves Audio CD Skipping
• iSub Raves
• Ramdoubler 9/PDS Maxpowr 1.1b4 Conflict?
• IBM Solved G4 Higher Speed Production Problems?
• Early Sawtooth/DVD Player 2.1 Report
• Final Cut Pro & Firewire PBs
• Owner's CPU Upgrade Reviews and Mac Game/Video card Performance searchable databases updated.
• Other Net News/TILs/Software Updates

For links to older news pages see the Archives page.

The recent features page has a lists reviews/articles you may have missed.

For a guide to finding answers to questions - see my Site Guide page.

Considering a CPU Upgrade? Search the CPU Upgrade Owner's Survey results and search for owner reports by Mac model and/or card brand. The current database has more than 3,300+ reports and growing.