A reader (Strobe) posted the following in the OS X on Pre-Beige G3 Macs Forum here:

" From: Ryan Rempel

It had appeared that there was no sound support in MacOS X public beta for awacs sound controllers, such as in the 7300 (which was my particular interest). Awacs had been supported in Darwin and DP4, but the sound drivers had been moved to loadable modules in public beta, rather than being compiled into the kernel. It appeared that the awacs driver had not yet been converted.

So I figured I would root around in the cvs archive and see what it would take to convert the awacs driver from xnu-1-1 to be a loadable module. After fiddling for a while, I compared the old awacs driver to the AppleScreamerAudio driver in public beta, and it looked very much like the AppleScreamerAudio driver was in fact a conversion of the awacs driver to a loadable module. The only problem was that the kernel wasn't loading it.

So I edited /System/Extensions/AppleScreamerAudio.kext/Info-macos.xml
[Note - a reader who said this hack worked on this 7600 noted the correct path is
/System/Library/Extensions/AppleScreamerAudio.kext/Info-macos.xml -Mike]

to add <string>awacs</string>

just after the line that reads <string>davbus</string>.

I rebooted, and voilla--sound!

I thought that some of you folks might find this to be helpful. I would also be interested if anyone knows whether there is something in the AppleScreamerAudio driver that might cause problems on a 7300 or another machine with the awacs chip. "

I'd be surprised if adding sound was this easy, but if anyone has tried this please let me know.

One interesting note is that the OEM Radeon card in the Tower does not have a fan, only a short finned heatsink. The Cube Radeon card has a fan, due to the confined Cube case with no fans I presume.

I installed two OWC 512MB Dimms, replacing the original 64MB dimm. (For those that are wondering, I'm paying the same price as readers do - $467.50.) I always wanted a Mac with 1GB of RAM. When I checked to turn off Virtual Memory, I noted it's disabled automatically when you have 1GB of RAM installed. I'll have some initial test results later today or tonight.

" hi mike
here's some os x beta quake3 notes for you:

my setup:
g4 dual 450mhz
384mb ram
standard ati rage128pro (agp of course)
mac os x public beta (and mac os 9.04)
quake3 117 beta for mac os x

a few things i noted during testing: i had to change the keyboard layout to "us" to even get access to the console. i'm usually working with swiss keyboard layout, and switching to the us layout never was necessary for the mac os 9 version of q3.

when my second monitor was attached to a voodoo3 2000 pci card, fps scores where quite a bit slower - while still playing on the ati rage128pro of course. dunno why that is, but it happened. for example: 640x480 with standard settings, rage128pro only: demo1: 46.7, demo2: 45.3. with a second monitor attached to the voodoo3: demo1: 43.9, demo2: 42.0. again, i was NOT playing on the voodoo3 card (don't think that's possible), it was just there and running.

the annoying resolution switching delay is gone in the mac os x version of q3. it now switches instantly to the new resolution and stays there - in mac os 9 it always switched back to 1280x960 (my standard res) and then to the resolution i actually wanted. 2 seconds wasted... ;)

i've entered all my scores to the fps database already, but here they are again:

when there's no special note i used your suggested settings (i deleted the q3config.cfg file first to let it create a new one - i guess that has the same effect as hitting the "default" button within q3).

with ati rage128pro in mac os x with q3 117 beta (Demo1, Demo2)

640 x 480: 46.7, 45.3
800 x 600: 37.2, 37.9
1024 x 768: 24.9, 25.1
1280 x 1024: 16.7, 17.0
1600 x 1200: 11.8, 11.9
640 x 480: 62.3, 65.4 <--- these scores are with locki-1.3.cfg

with ati rage128pro in mac os 9 with q3 117 (no vm-fix)
640 x 480: 40.3, 38.7
800 x 600: 38.2, 37.4
1024 x 768: 30.8, 31.6
1280 x 1024: 19.7, 20.5
1600 x 1200: 12.8, 13.1
640 x 480: 71.5, 72.6 <--- these scores are with locki-1.3.cfg

with 3dfx voodoo3 2000 pci (b11 drivers) in mac os 9 with q3 117 (no vm-fix)
640 x 480: 38.5, 36.4
800 x 600: 37.5, 36.2
1024 x 768: 33.0, 33.3
1280 x 1024: 22.6, 23.5
1600 x 1200: 15.7, 16.4
640 x 480: 74.1, 73.8 <--- these scores are with locki-1.3.cfg

btw, locki's config is available for download here: http://guides.barrysworld.com/quake3/Configs&Bindings/Locki-1.3.zip (it's also used and linked in my Voodoo5 Review game tests page-Mike)

looks like the mac os x version of q3 is faster in 640x480 res only, but it's still very impressive for a beta. hopefully radeon drivers will be available soon, as i'm planning to get a radeon as soon as possible. i bet voodoo3 scores under mac os x would be quite nice, too, but i don't think there will ever be drivers for mac os x.

with my default config (800x600, 32-bit color, 16-bit textures, fov 110, no gibs/blood and some tweaks) i get:
voodoo3 (os 9): demo1: 65fps <--- very playable indeed
rage128pro (os 9): demo1: 51 fps
rage128pro(os x): demo1: 43.2 fps
during my last test i noted some more things: when you want to see 32bit q3 be sure your general colors is set to millions in the "system preferences" monitor panel, as its default is thousands. here are some interesting results with different bit-depths:

mac os x at millions of colors:
q3: 16bit color, 16bit textures: demo1 fps:
43.2fps <--- no typo
q3: 32bit color, 16bit textures: demo1 fps: 43.2fps
q3: 32bit color, 32bit textures: demo1 fps: 37.8fps
note: the second two look really good

mac os x at thousands of colors (default):
q3: 16bit color, 16bit textures: demo1 fps: 46.8fps
q3: 32bit color, 16bit textures: demo1 fps: 43.1fps
q3: 32bit color, 32bit textures: demo1 fps: 41.1fps
note: every setting looks real ugly

btw, i think you should change the standard colordepth in your fps database for quake3 (or other 3d games) to 32bit (but still 16bit textures), even though the voodoo3 cards are not capable of doing that. i mean nobody would want to play on an ati card in 16bit, and voodoo3 16bit (22bit) looks almost as good as ati's 32bit, and everything is much sharper. have you ever noticed that the cursor & textures are very unsharp when using an ati card compared to a voodoo card? anyway, i thought setting the default color to 32bit would maybe make it more like a "real world test". i do see your points for the 16bit settings, though. how do other graphic cards look like in 16bit, say a formac card?

that's it for now. feel free to reply for any questions, thanks for your great site and keep up the good work!
cheers, oliver"

The reason the 16bit settings were 'standard' in the FPS database is the fact that the Voodoo1, Voodoo2 and Voodoo3 all can't run 32bit mode (and many other past cards/chipsets can't run 32bit very playable), so all their scores are 16bit and for 'fairness' of comparisons other cards were suggested to use that mode. 32bit test results are welcome also, just note that in the comments of your entry in the database.

Oliver later posted tests of how long levels took to load:

" there's one more thing: level loading is faster, too!

time to load q3dm11:
g4 450 dual, mac os 9: 20 seconds
g4 450 dual, mac os x: 14 seconds
athlon 800, win 98: 11 seconds

my g4 has got a fast maxtor diamond max plus 40 harddisk, my friend's pc has got a mediocre maxtor 20gb harddisk.

note on the time measure method: i started the map by typing "/map q3dm11" in the console. did it three times and took the fastest time.
oliver "

" intial testing of quake 3 os x ver.
i clicked on the default button to clear any settings i had before. if this really doesn't return the quake 3 to original settings, i apologize.

okay i kept the res. at 640x480 since my aim was to only test the effect the cpu and os had together, not the video card which we already know is fillrate limited.

my system is an apple g4/450 (OC), [single CPU G4] mac os x PB with rage 128 pro (AGP) card. in other words basic computer setup i got orginally.

fastest - 43.6fps
fast - 37.4fps
normal 36.8fps
HQ - 34.2fps

just to make my self clear:
i set quake 3 to default settings, sound on, all res are 640x480, and i did not change anything other then what i listed.
*by the way, with fastest and fast, at 512xwhatever res. quake 3 would return to the finder and i would get a message that my computer does not support those lower res.
(9600man)"

I welcome feedback and comments from OS X Beta users on game performance (esp. G4 dual processor users. (and enter your results in the FPS database here - see sidebar for entry page, note OS X as your OS version).

" The web page for our Quake 3 port is http://www.omnigroup.com/community/freeware/quake3/, but right this second it still describes our older port to Mac OS X Server. (I'm updating it now.) [The info should be there by the time you read this-Mike]

For those who want to get a jump on the downloading competition, the Quake distributions are already available at http://www.omnigroup.com/ftp/pub/software/MacOSX/PublicBeta/.

Ken"

I welcome feedback and comments from OS X Beta users on game performance (esp. G4 dual processor users.

" Hey Mike,
Here they are....complete tests from Quake 3 v117 at the same settings you used on the Voodoo 5 review.

Texture Detail (all the way up) [Note- I test with the slider one notch down from max-Mike]
HQ Audio
HQ Geometric
All game options on

32-Bit:
1024x768
Demo1 - 38.4fps
Demo2 - 39.0fps

640x480
Demo1 - 49.1fps
Demo2 - 49.1fps

16-Bit:
1024x768
Demo1 - 42.3fps
Demo2 - 44.6fps

640x480
Demo1 - 49.5fps
Demo2 - 48.9fps

I also ran the G4 time demo at suggested settings and got the following: 65.8fps

My config is as follows:
G4/500 Cube
30GB Stock drive
ATI Radeon AGP Card (fan noise is barely noticeable)
768MB 2-2-2 RAM (3 256MB DIMMs; Gauge Pro reports 211/215MB/sec memory transfer)
Cheers,
George"

I've asked that any Radeon owners please send an email with results and also enter their benchmark and game results in the Mac Game/Video Card Performance Database. (Instructions on Benchmarks like Cinebench 2000, Throughput, many games, etc. are listed on the entry page.)

"Mac Components Engineered (MCE) Xcaret Pro Media Bay CD-RW for PowerBook G3 1998 (WallStreet).

Drive: Bootable.

System: PowerBook G3/300/DVD, 128Mb RAM, 14Gb IBM TravelStar (upgraded), MacOS 9.0.4.

Description: This drive is a media bay drive. It goes into the right side of your PowerBook G3, replacing the DVD module that was there before. (You can't fit it in the left side, since it's too wide). They also sell a version for the 1999/2000 PowerBooks. VST only sells a CDRW that works with the 1999/2000 PowerBooks. As far as I know, MCE is the only company making a drive bay CDRW for a 1998 PowerBook.

Likes:
* Drive bootable. In a pinch, you could boot off the drive instead of the DVD drive that came with your Mac.

* Not having to hook up power, FireWire or SCSI connections, nor having room for all that hardware on a desk or in your laptop bag is just too sweet to explain. Pop the drive bay module in the side of the computer & reboot (so Toast Reader loads), and you're up and burning CDs at 4x! Fun at parties. :)

* Module feels very sturdy. Unlike some drive bay peripherals that I've purchased that have chintzy feeling plastic cases, this case is metal with a plastic overlay; it has an exterior look & feel similar to Apple's own drive. It feels heavy in your hand. Between the drive and the carrying case (see description below), I hope to have few problems with this setup over the years.

* It works. I've already burned a couple music CDs, and played them in the MCE drive, Apple's DVD drive, and a car music CD player. Burning CDRs at 4x in the field, with no major hookup hassle, is awesome.

Dislikes:
* The manual claims that inserting the module into the PowerBook should end with a soft "click" like the one when inserting the Apple DVD drive bay module. I don't get a click. I just keep pushing until it stops. It's a little disconcerting, because I get no feedback that the drive is all the way in the mechanism. I don't know if I got one where the tolerances weren't perfect, or if this is a common issue.

* The button on the face of the unit (which opens the drive so you can insert a CD) feels hard to push. There's no feedback you've even pushed it. You just keep pushing it until something happens. I like Apple's button - you feel it push in, so you know when you can release it.

* The drive carrier (where you stick a CD on the spindle ala Apple's DVD drive) feels like shaky junky plastic; much more rickity than Apple's DVD drive carrier. It feels like if I messed with it enough it would snap off. Complete contrast vs. the sturdyness of the outer metal cabinet of the drive. I hope if I'm careful I'll have no trouble.

I bought the complete kit, which comes with a carrying case, a CDRW disc & CDR disc (generics), Toast 4 OEM, and the drive. I was pleansantly surprised by the case -- it's got a very rugged feel, with non-bendable, padded front and back sides, even though it's fairly light. It seems like it will give the drive very good protection in my laptop bag, and it's even large enough to carry a few CDRs inside it. Considering how cheap most product carrying cases feel, I'm glad I bought it.

Overall, this product works as advertised. I'm satisfied. When I mention to my PC using friends that I can burn CDRs with that bay module, I have to pass a hankie to 'em so they can wipe the drool from their chins. :)

- Adam"

I reviewed their Expansion Bay HD Kit for hard drives (I wrote a guide to installing a drive in the kit as well as performance tests). I just wish it was less than $149.xx (at least when i bought) since there's not a lot to the kit really.

"Hi!
It is very easy to see which nonG3-models Apple actually supports by opening the System disk utility with ResEdit.

The Resource "OFtc" contains the names and machine codes of machines with special scrips to prepare the machine hardware before booting from the MacOS X install CD.

The actuall scripts reside in the resource "OFpt" that are fitfully named "PowerSurge", "PowerExpress", "Gossamer" and so on. They can easily be read by opening them.

The resource "OFtb" containes a default script for PPC604e machines. If the machine id here is changed (or elsewhere) your machine will try to boot MacOS X partitions with the according hardware preparations of that script.

The MacOS X installer program on the MacOS X intaller CD (both DP4 and PB) works simply by telling the System Disk 3.3 utility to switch to itself as startup device and reboot. For unsupported machines it will do the exactly same thing except that it gives you the wellknown message that you have an unsupported machine. It is the System Disk utility that tells you it will not change to boot from the MacOS X CD if your machine ID isn't in the list of resources "OFtc" or "OFtb".

Having tried all present scripts on my PM5500/275 with Sonnets Crescendo L2 300/512, some scripts actually try mounting disks both IDE and SCSI, but none will engage the screendrivers.

As a summary of the above, it is the System Disk utility that prepares the different machine types to be able to boot a MacOS X partition. The special driver settings are somehow stored in PRAM.
Regards
r.kroc"

" I just installed the full version of Office 2001. Everything seems fine, except that when I click a hyperlink in an Entourage email message, it begins loading IE 5, but hangs, forcing me to hard restart. Outlook Express still works fine, so IÌll be using that till I can discover an answer...
Shawn"

" I'm currently using Microsoft Entourage. I find this PIM to be a very useful and extremely well written piece of software. Features are very easy to use and very powerful. After taking the tour (which is launched from the help menu) I was able to discover quite a few nifty features of this great program. I think just like OE 5.5, it is able to have a direct link with my hotmail account which is very useful for managing my hotmail. I really like the entire feel of Entourage and will definitely use it as my default mail & news client. I have yet to play around with the other components of the office suite so I cannot comment on that yet.
Marc "

" Initial Office 2001 notes:
I seriously have got an overall system speed increase. Very minor but noticeable. Assuming its because of replaced MS extensions. IE, got a definite speed increase. Snappier. Launches quick now w/o splash screen after having been launched previously in session.

Some intermittent problems launching web links from Entourage email.

More when I get a chance to do proper testing.
-JB "

" Hey, I also have a copy of Office 2001. Ive experienced one major problem with it. M$ Entourage freezes my whole system when I open it while IE 5 is running. The whole screen freezes and I have to reset using the reset button on my Blue G3 350. Very annoying.
Sam "

Friday's news also had another reader's comments on Office 2001. I welcome other Office 2001 user comments, especially regarding performace and new features.

"I don't know if anybody would be interested, but I decided to buy a logitech cordless i-touch keyboard and cordless mouseman wheel despite the fact that the tech guy who I called actually laughed at me when I asked about Mac support. It works just fine. I have usb overdrive installed, but I'm not sure if that makes a difference b/c I haven't tried w/o. I cannot use the shortcut keys to the internet and even tried to use the microsoft intellitype software. I am on an 8600 mach with an xlr8 usb card.

The freedom of cordless is great. In fact as I'm typing this I'm sitting with my legs on the desk and the keyboard in my lap. I could probably type from across the room if I want. It's beatiful because it uses RF technology so no worries about line of sight.

If anybody else has had experience with this keyboard and could figure out a way to use the special keys at the top it would be a great help.
Rich "

If anyone has any tips for Rich, let me know.

• MetaBox JoeCard G3/250 in 7300/200 (rated 8)
  (listed under 'other' brand)
• Newer Tech G3/300 in 6110 (rated 9)
• Other World Computing G3/400 (running 466 - the one OWC guaranteed to do so) in Beige G3/266 (rated 10)
• Other World Computing G3/400 (running 466 - the one OWC guaranteed to do so) in Beige G3/266 (rated 6)
• Powerlogix G3/300 in PowerCurve 601/120 (rated 10)
• Powerlogix G3/375 in 8500 (rated 8)
• Sonnet G3/400 in Umax J700/180 (rated 9)
• XLR8 CarrierZIF w/XLR8 G4/350 ZIF in 7300/180 (rated 9)
• XLR8 CarrierZIF (MAChCarrier G3/333) in 7300/200 (rated 9)
• XLR8 G3/266 in Umax S900/200 (rated 9)

• B&W G3/400 OC report

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 of over 4,600 entries from most every upgradable Mac model *before* you buy.

The Drive Compatibility database had new 20 entries posted today (current total 1568). (Note - I welcome OS X reports in the database from users of non-Apple CD/DVD/CDRW/Firewire drives - select OS X on the entry form)

CDROM Drives:
• Plextor UltraWide SCSI Ultraplex 40x in B&W G3
  (notes 24x audio extraction and 12x audio CD burns to Plextor IDE 12/10/32 drive)
• Plextor SCSI PX-32TS in Beige G3
  
  CDRW Drives:
• MCE Xcaret Pro Media Bay CDRW for Powerbooks
  (Includes detailed comments on pros/cons)
• Iomega IDE ZIPcd 8x4x32 in G4/AGP
  (noted drive is bootable and had the following tip:)

  "it appeared that it was having the drive eject problem that many wrote about. I thought this was odd as the first one with the identical config didn't do this. Upon closer inspection, I found that the drive door latch thingy was barely touching the button on the drive which was causing it to open immediately after inserting a disc. I fixed it by making sure the drive was as far back as possible before tightening the screws on the drive cage. It's only about a 1/16" leeway but that's all it took."

• Que! 8x4x32 FireWire CDRW with iMac
  (problems noted,drive was returned)
• Que! 12x10x32 FireWire CDRW with G4/AGP
  (Also noted Audio DAO issues)
• Que! 12x10x32 FireWire CDRW with B&W G3
  (Audio DAO problems noted)
• Yamaha IDE CRW8424EZ in B&W G3
  (drive is not bootable)
  
  Hard Drives:
• IBM 75GXP 30GB in iMac
• IBM 75GXP 30GB in 7500 w/PCI IDE card
  (audio stuttering, etc. noted)
• IBM 75GXP 15GB in S900 w/PCI IDE card
  (notes no audio stuttering on MP3 files)
• IBM Travelstar 20 GN DJSA-220 (20GB) in PB G3 wallstreet
  (see article here on PB WS HD install and performance)
• Maxtor Diamond Max Plus 20GB in B&W G3 (using PCI IDE card)
• Maxtor DiamondMax 80GB in ADS Pyro case
• Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 20GB in G4/AGP with PCI IDE card
• Maxtor 20GB in B&W G3 rev 1
  (no tests yet for data corruption)
• Quantum IDE Fireball Plus LM 15GB in Performa 5200CD
• Quantum IDE Fireball LCT 20GB in iMac
• Western Digital Caviar 20GB in G4/AGP (running OS X)
• Western Digital WD Caviar 450AA 45GB in iMac

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.

Software Updates:
• Intego VirusBarrier v1.0.1 (direct download link)
• FoldersSynchronizer v1.9.5 (direct download link)
• Lotus Notes Domino 5.0.5
• MacSSH 2.1d9
• DECK 2.7 (bias)
• Idem v. 2.1
• Peak Le Powerbook Edition
• Peak 2.5 VST Powerbook Edition ($999.00 MSRP)
• Introducing Peak 2.5 VST
• MacExplorer v1.1
• SimCoupe/MacOS
• FreeBase (Windows Airport Configurer)
• Java-Based AirPort Base Station Configurator and Modem Utility
• System Disk Utility for MacOS X Server 1.2
• MacCDSpeed
• Tri-BACKUP 2.22 & Tri-CATALOG Lite

Apple TILs:
• Power Mac G4: Display Compatibility
• Macintosh Server G4 with AppleShare IP: Technical Specifications
• Macintosh Server G4 with Mac OS X Server: Technical Specs
• FireWire: Testing Ports on Desktop Computers
• Power Mac G4 (Gigabit Ethernet): Ethernet Standards Compatibility
• Mac OS 8: Internet Applications Require Certain Extensions
• Mac OS: Minimizing Memory Fragmentation
• Macintosh Manager: Recovering an Unusable Database