Barney Buoy sent today's list of software updates, Apple TILs & other net news links including Apple TILs covering jittery mouse movement when copying files from the ZIP drive on USB equipped Macs and OS X server IDE slave support. I've also just updated the firewire drive kit article with more large file copy tests and a note that the Firewire Direct Kit will allow sleep with the volume mounted if using the VST 2.1 extension.

Reader Request: Yamaha IDE 8X CDR Bootable? If any readers own the *IDE* 8424 Yamaha CDRW drive let me know if it's bootable. An entry in the Drive Compatibility database noted it worked with Apple drivers as a reader but did not mention if the drive was bootable. Speaking of drives, I've updated the earlier post on HD sales at CompUSA to note that Office Depot has a better price ($259.xx) for the retail box Diamondmax Plus 40GB. (Thanks to Kim Ryder for the tip.)

DivX Beta 3 Update: This just in:

"DivX.Station Releases an update to the DivX ;-) codec for the Macintosh. http://www.divx.st/

May 29, 2000-Thanks to Mr. Stux, our Macintosh DivX ;-) developer, the DivX.Station is proud to present the beta 3 version of the DivX Player for macintosh. With this version you can view your DivX's Full Screen. Movies will play more fluently. Besides that you can now open DivX-files by double clicking them or drag'n dropping them onto the application.

"My kids love the DivX cartoon movies, especially in full screen." said Dirk, the DivX.Station' CEO. (http://www.comic.st/)

The DivX ;-) Source does not want to stop there. Now that we have the Macintosh and the PC version, a linux and BeOS version is our logical next goal. Besides that we are setting up a web-site http://www.ffilms.st/ with fresh DivX ;-) Trailers.

DivX ;-) is an advanced movie format based on the MPEG4 codec. On http://www.neish.com/shootout/index.html you can find a very good comparison between Sorenson and DivX.

The DivX ;-) Source will keep you informed through our web-sites. http://www.divx.st/ (platform independent site)
http://mac.divx.st/
http://linux.divx.st/
http://pc.divx.st/
http://be.divx.st/ "

IBM 75GXP IDE Drive Performance Sets New Highs: I've posted a page with IBM 75GXP IDE drive performance. The page includes results of two reader's tests, one with a 30GB model and the other a 45GB model. Sustained rates were over 35MB/sec with these drives in G4/AGP systems - Impressive! Also included is a G4/400 owner's comparison of the previous 34GXP series to the 75GXP.

More Newer Tech G4 & 95/9600 Owner Problem Reports: This weekend's updates to the Rate Your CPU Upgrade database had another problem report from a 9500 owner with a Newer Tech G4 card. The Newer Tech buffered/dampered ram issue has been noted here for years in the FAQ (Troubleshooting G3 upgrades and Memory sections), but otherwise their past CPU cards were some of the most compatible. Their hardware speculative access solution for older Macs makes them especially attractive for a G4 upgrade in older Macs (pre-Kansas motherboard models at least). However in the last month or so, several 9500/9600 owners with Newer G4 upgrades have reported problems. In fact, if you search the database for 95/9600 and Newer Tech G4 you will find that all entries from 95/9600 owners reported problems of some kind, and most noted returning the card. One owner noted the same issue I saw with a PowerForce G4/350 card in my 9600/350 - having to move a PCI SCSI controller to the upper slots. For now, I'd suggest owners of 95/9500 Macs avoid these cards until this issue is resolved.

Sorensen vs Divx/MPEG-4 Comparison: A reader posted in the forums that he's written a comparison of these two codecs. He has some surprising observations, including a report that MPEG4 compresses 24 times faster than Sorensen (although tests were based on G4 vs PIII)

Deus Ex Preview: Gamecenter.com has a preview of Deus Ex, which is in beta test now for the Mac.

Unreal Tournament Tips Site: Barry's World has created a new site called UT Assimilated - the unofficial guide which has general game and setup/configuration tips. Their preferences page has an explanation of game settings with notes on improving performance. (Thanks to LN2 for the link.)

QPS Firewire CDRW Tip: At least two owners have reported this tip recently, including this entry in the Drive Compatibility Database:

" Firewire CDRW
Que QPCDRW 8432 (8X/4X/32X)
Apple B&W G3 w/OS 9

After initial installation drive would not work, or be recognized. After updating Toast to 4.1 drive still didn't work. After disable the "Que Fire" extension for the drive the drive has worked perfectly."

"After initial installation drive would not work, or be recognized. After updating Toast to 4.1 drive still didn't work. After disable the "Que Fire" extension for the drive the drive has worked perfectly."

FirewireDirect 2.5" Kit Build vs VST Portable Firewire Drive: I've updated the performance page of the illustrated guide to building the Firewire Direct portable HD kit to include more real world tests between the VST and Firewire Direct kit drive. One other note, when using the VST 2.1 extension/driver, the Firewire Direct drive would allow sleep with the volume mounted. If you missed the Saturday post, the article covers the pros and cons of these drives vs. the VST versions, how to assemble the kit, software included and performance comparisons. Also included are RocketFire vs Western Digital PCI Firewire card performance tests in a Umax S900. As noted in the article, Firewire Direct recently announced lower prices and expanded product lines.

Quadmation's Pocket Firewire Drives: Speaking of portable firewire drives, Quadmation has an attractive line of portable (bus powered) drives, but the prices are about as high as VST's. There are no drive case kits available, a pity as I like the case design but at those prices, I'd as soon go with a more proven vendor like VST (with a smaller drive as well).

Evergreen Firewire PCI Card Feedback: I've updated the Firewire/USB Combo card owner comments page with reports from two Evergreen card users. Both report the card works fine with Apple's Firewire 2.3.3 and USB Card Support 1.4.1 drivers. One owner noted the card has the TI chipset also, which seems to be the fastest Firewire controller chip available. (See my comments on the page from last week's news on how the TI chip based RocketFire card was almost twice as fast at writes with a portable firewire drive as the NEC chip based Western Digital card in my S900.)

Kenwood 72X IDE CDrom Drive & OS X DP 4: A reader reported in the Drive Compatibility Database that the OS X DP4 CD will not boot in the Kenwood 72X IDE CDrom drive. As mentioned several times in the news since fall 1999 when the 72x TrueX drives were first released, TrueX 72X IDE drive owners generally reported the drive was not bootable. I have a beta Mac firmware TrueX 72X and it also is not bootable (at least in my attempts with OS 9 CDs). Unless there's been some firmware update to the retail models recently, I'd not expect the drive to be bootable with any CD. Also as a FYI, I noted problems reading CDR discs burned with a Plextor 8X CDR drive in the review of the 52X TrueX model. CDRs burned in my Philips or Yamaha CDR drives were fine though.

Myth World Cup 2000:

"The MWC 2000 team announces today the third iteration in online tournament gaming for Bungie Software's Myth and Myth II series: The Myth World Cup 2000. The Myth World Cup is a large Myth II team tournament including more than 500 players and up to 96 teams, spanning nearly three months.

MWC 2000 is a double-elimination tournament consisting of one qualifying and eight elimination rounds, packed with over 25 different map/game combinations. The MWC web page will include follow-ups to all of these games, including final results, films and statistics, allowing players to examine their enemy or allowing the casual fan to see which team is in the lead.

Sign-ups begin today, and the tournament will begin in June. Teams can sign-up with a roster of sixteen players and may play with up to seven of those players per game. The tournament will limit the teams at 96; sign up today at http://myth.strategy-gaming.com.
--MWC Team"

CompUSA HD Sales: [Update: Today at noon I saw DM Plus 40GB Maxtor drives for $259.xx at the local OfficeDepot.] A reader in PA notes his local CompUSA this weekend had 60GB Maxtor drives for $299.xx and 40GB Diamondmax Plus drives at $279.xx. The 40GB Plus versions should be the same as the Plus40 drive I previously reviewed. One reminder - use the drive jumper info on the Plus40 drive label, not the instruction sheet which may have an error. Several readers followed the printed settings and reported only 31GB formatted drive sizes. The drive ships set to Master or Single Drive setting. If you're installing it as a slave, just remove the single jumper on the drive.

Gnutella for Mac - the next Hotline? I meant to post a note on Friday, but there's a new version V0.6.3 of this internet/networking protocol that allows Peer to Peer file sharing/transfers at: homepage.mac.com/macgnutella/. V0.6.3 adds support for filenames with spaces. Gnutella seems to be taking off like Hotline did years ago; unfortunately it has the same potential for being a source of pirated software.

BTO Petition Status: As of 2 AM EDT Monday, there are 7,030 entries in the 3Dfx BTO Petition. I'd like to have at least 10,000 before I send it to Apple, so spread the word to anyone that wants more choices at BTO. Remember these cards will have full OpenGL (32Bit), large texture support, RAVE hardware acceleration, up to 64MB of RAM and dual processors, Quicktime acceleration and the fastest 2D performance on the Mac to date. This is not just a petition for a gaming card. More BTO graphics card options will attract more sales/more developer support, which benefits all Mac owners.

Review/Ratings Databases Updated: The searchable Rate Your CPU Upgrade, Rate Your Mac Game, Mac Game/Video card framerates and Drive Compatibility databases were updated this morning with new entries from this weekend.

Software Updates/TILs/Other Net News: (Thanks to Barney Buoy)

Software Updates:
• MP3 Rage 2.1.1
• FoldersSync 1.9 PPC
• SMS+/MacOS
• Add to Keychain (manually add passwords)

Apple TILs:

• Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White): Jittery Mouse Movement When Copying Files From Built-In Zip Drive
• Mac OS 8.5: Installing on a Disk Larger Than 21 Gigabytes
• Mac OS X Server: Installation on ATA/IDE Slave Drives
• Mac OS X Server: What Is NetInfo
• Mac OS X Server: Why Some Groups Don't Appear in the Attributes Inspector
• Mac OS X Server: Configure AppleTalk Via the Assistant
• Apple System Profiler: Identifies Video Card Vendor as ATY Instead of ATI

Gaming News:
• Tribes 2 (Sierra)
• Why Mac Versions of Hot New Games are Worth the Wait (Macworld/ZDnet)

Mac Related News Links:
• Music Software Firm Debuts Mac Product (Yahoo)
• The Historical Roots of MacOS X (Applelinks)
• Today's handheld gadgets may give us that 007 feeling but where's Apple? (Macworld/ZDnet)
• AppleScript: The Beginner's Tutorial (holymac)

Other Net News
• IBM to Build Europes's Most Powerful Commercial Supercomputer
• Riding the Web Wave FreeBSD is a relatively unknown operating system playing big role on Internet (SFgate)
• DoJ sticks to its guns, MS sentence looms (the register)
• NexGen Windows - has the trial derailed it for keeps? (the register)
• An Evolution Heard 'Round the World' (LA Times)
• Who wants to be an Internet chatterbox? (Digitalmass)
• Microsoft to unveil Internet initiative (SVtech)
• Dot-com slump crimps marketing (Adage)
• 24-hour Internet doorman (SVtech)
• Government Files Final Order to Split Microsoft (Yahoo)

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

• Apple Hiring (Graphics Card Related Jobs):
• Proformance 3 Driver Update
• RocketFire USB/Firewire Combo Card Tests in S900
• Turbomax ATA/66 & Portable Firewire Drive Sales:
• More Info on Plextor 12x/10x/32x CDRW
• Up to 700MHz IBM G3 CPUs Due this Fall
• CNet Compares OS 9 to Corel Linux
• Option Key Startup Disk Tip
• Sony iLink CDRW Firmware Update Not Needed for 10X Model
• More Ethernet 1.0 Update Feedback
• G3 Upgrade/LaserWriter Select 300/350 Tip
• G3 Upgrade/LS2000 film scanner Tip
• Firewire ORB drives (Costly)
• BTO Petition Status
• Rate Your CPU Upgrade, Drive Compatibility and Mac Game Framerates databases updated.
• Software Updates Listing
• Other Net News (TILs/hardware/general news)

Thursday's News Summary

• Notes on Sony Firewire CDRW/Charismac Post
• CD/DVD Speedtools 5.1 Improvements
• Sony Discribe/Firewire CDRW Updates
• OpenGL Duke 3D Project
• Canon Optura Pi Camcorder appx $480 off list @blol
• Free Personal Firewall for Macs
• DFP to DVI Adapters: Differences in DVI Pinout?
• Anyone 'Upgraded' the HD inside a VST Portable Firewire Drive?
• Results of 3dfx's 'Blind' Voodoo5 vs GeForce FSAA Image Quality Tests
• Sony IDE 10X CDRW Feedback
• PF G3/350 is 10X CPU?
• More Beige G3 Rev A + ROM Dimm Upgrade Reports
• DirectCD 1.04 Hack & Yamaha 8424CDRW
• Sonnet PB1400 G3 Upgrade/Starcraft Tip
• EverGreen Firewire/USB Combo Card Feedback
• BTO Petition Status
• Rate Your CPU Upgrade, Drive Compatibility and Mac Game Framerates databases updated.
• Software Updates Listing
• Other Net News (TILs/hardware/general news)

Wednesday's News Summary

• Bootable CompactFlash Feedback
• Anyone 'Upgraded' the HD inside a VST Portable Firewire Drive?
• OWC BTO Legacy Macs: Only 2 S900's Left/PowerCurve's Now $85
• Plextor 12X/10X/32X CDRW
• Beige G3 & Ricoh DVD/CDRW Combo Report
• More Tips on PCI IDE Card vs. Onboard IDE Formatted Disks
• Canon ZR10 Firewire Camcorder Raves/Discounted Price
• Creative Mac SoundBlaster Live Info
• Booting from CompactFlash Devices
• MoniSwitch Pro LDI w/Formac DVI Card Bundle
• Voodoo5 AGP vs GeForce2
• BTO Petition Status
• Rate Your CPU Upgrade, Drive Compatibility and Mac Game Framerates databases updated.
• Software Updates Listing
• Other Net News (TILs/hardware/general news)

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 3,700+ reports and growing.