" Autodesk Express Viewer for Mac OS X
Autodesk is working with Apple to port the Autodesk Express Viewer, an application for viewing and printing DWF 6 design data files, to Mac OS X. The viewer will allow Mac OS X users to view and print design information created by Autodesk design software. Autodesk also will provide a DWF DeveloperĖs Toolkit for Mac OS X "

See the linked PR at Autodesk for more info but no release date was mentioned.

"ExtendAir Direct (+ 6.5 dBi) and ExtendAir Omni (+ 3.5 dBi) are Apple-certified dual-diversity antennas that enhance AirPort coverage for the Power Mac G5 by allowing access to Base Stations at a greater distance while providing wider and more uniform wireless coverage....
ExtendAir Direct retails for $149.95 and ExtendAir Omni retails for $99.95.
A European version of ExtendAir Direct is now available from Dr. Bott KG"

Although some may have a need for these, personally I'd test with the supplied G5 antenna from Apple first, which probably is satisfactory for most user's needs.

Project Magma's download page now has "the Fallen Levels" solo maps from TFL available for Myth II:

" After working on virtual TFL (vTFL) for Myth II v1.4, and porting the TFL multiplayer maps to Myth II, we began work on porting the TFL soloplayer maps to Myth II. Every level has been ported with painstaking accuracy, including not only the secret level "A Long Awaited Drinking Party", but also the Tutorial level as well. "

Thanks to Jay for the note on these.

" Do the PowerDomain SCSI cards support the new Apple PowerMac G5?

Does Adaptec support the new PowerMac G5 introduced by Apple? These PowerMac G5s have PCI or PCI-X compatible slots and I need to install a SCSI card, do the Adaptec SCSI cards work in these systems. This information applies to the following product(s): - AVA-2906, Power Domain 2930U, Power Domain 2940 series, Power Domain 3940 series, Power Domain 2940U2W, AHA-8945, Power Domain 29160, Power Domain 29160N, Power Domain 39160 - PowerDomain PCI SCSI Card(s)
This information applies to the following Operating System(s): - Mac OS X 10.2.x

Answer:
The Adaptec SCSI Card 2906 (ASC-2906, AVA-2906) and Adaptec PowerDomain 2930 (APD-2930, APD-2930C, APD-2930CU, AHA-2930CU) are 5 V PCI cards and will not fit into the PCI or PCI-X slots in the new Apple Power Mac G5 according to page 75 of Apple's Preliminary Power Mac G5 Developer documentation. Due to this hardware incompatibility the 2906 and 2930 will not function in these system. Adaptec is currently investigating developing a new set of SCSI cards that will be compatible and will update this article as information becomes available.

The Adaptec PowerDomain 29160N (APD-29160N), PowerDomain 29160 (APD-29160) and PowerDomain 39160 (APD-39160) are Universally keyed and will fit into either 5 V or 3.3 V PCI slots, so these cards will fit into PCI or PCI-X slot but have not been tested in the Power Mac G5. Please check back for additional information as it becomes available.

The HotConnect 8945 (AHA-8945), PowerDomain 2940 (AHA-2940), PowerDomain 2940W (AHA-2940W), PowerDomain 2940UW (AHA-2940UW), PowerDomain 3940 (AHA-3940), PowerDomain 3940UW (AHA-3940UW) are not support in any system since the the Blue and White G3."

Also remember the previous news items here on OF mods required for booting from drives connected to Adaptec 29160/29160N/39160 SCSI cards in Quicksilver, MDD and later Macs (a G5 1.6GHz owner reported that OF tweak also worked with a 29160 SCSI card). I'll add this info to the PCI compatibility section of our G5 tech info/updates/compatibility page which has accumulated info from past news pages here.

"Hi, Mike, I thought I would FYI you, and your readers on M-Audio's excellent PCI cards compatibility with the G5s:
From M-Audio tech support:

Frank,
The current line of Delta Series cards are not PCI-X compliant. We are in the process of modifying all Delta PCI cards to fit in G5 PCI-X slots. Until this modified version of the Delta Series is shipped, the only M-audio card that is currently PCI-X compliant is the Revolution card.

Unfortunately, there is no estimation on the release date of the PCI-X compliant Delta Series cards. We appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.
Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.
CK"

I've added this to the G5 tech info/updates/compat. page, which also has previous info on other brands of PCI Audio cards.

" re G5 1.8GHz w/20in Cinema Display owner comments on Strange Behavior
Just FYI, I saw this same behaviour the past two times I went into Fry's (a local computer and electronics chain). They have a 1.6 (I think, but could be 1.8) G5 on display with dual 20" cinema displays, and twice when I have gone in the whole thing was dark and would not come up without a hard restart.
Display models take a lot of abuse, but if more reports like this start trickling in it could be something to watch out for.
*crossing fingers re Panther fixes before our editors get their hands on G5s*
K. Patterson"

(Original reader report follows)

" Got a 1.8 stock config and a 20" Cinema Display last Thursday and have been playing with it all weekend. Pretty nice so far (I stepped up from a G4 Dual 800) but I noticed something very odd: while cleaning the apartment with a vacuum cleaner I looked up to find the system was off! I booted it back up and 10 minutes later when the vacuum was turned on again, the system blinked off again! I have no idea why, it's plugged into a Belkin UPS which is functioning normally.

Have you heard of anything like that? I remember there being issues with Cinema Displays and walkie talkies/radio interference, but not vacuums!
(I wrote to ask if he had tried the Vacuum on a different AC circuit than the Mac/UPS and what the UPS rating (VA) was-Mike)
520 VA - the only thing hooked up to the UPS outputs are the G5, 20" Cinema Display over ADC, and an Airport Extreme base station.
I also tried the vacuum on another circuit and the G5 didn't shut down.
(I'd get a higher rated UPS - the local Sam's club here has APC Backups Pro 1100VA models for $118.xx-Mike)

I do have an active Airport Extreme base station, bluetooth phones, Powerbook 12", cordless phone, etc... but I wouldn't think they would cause the system to blink off.
(he later wrote)
More Oddness:
Didn't use the machine all day Monday - so it was asleep. Went to wake it up this morning and it came up but the Cinema display stayed dark. I waited a minute or two and the fans all started to cycle up slowly, higher and higher. HRM! I held the power key in to shut it down, and when it rebooted the hard disk made very odd grinding noises for at least 3-5 minutes (the screen sat on the wait icon) and I can only assume it was running a disk check. It then rebooted itself and came up normally.

Very odd. Why can't Apple get Sleep to work? My new mantra is "Panther will fix everything."
Matt"

Here's another reader's suggestion regarding the possibility that the UPS may not have enough capacity if the Vacuum pulls down the AC voltage too far. (which sounds like the issue based on the later reply above - a different AC ckt for the Vacuum solved the problem, although I'd still suggest getting a higher rated UPS.)

" About Matt's problems... he may want to check if his UPS is responsible. I had problems with a dual GHz QuickSilver on an older 400VA UPS because the computer used much more power than my previous Mac; had to upgrade to a 600VA, which is still nearly at full load running that computer and a 19" CRT monitor. The G5 is of course even hungrier for power.

The failure sequence I'm thinking of would be that the vacuum cleaner caused enough noise or voltage sag to momentarily trip the UPS, and in turn the UPS inverter circuit detected an output overload condition and shut everything down. Most UPSes will happily supply far more than their rated capacity so long as utility power is available; it's only when they have to switch over and run the inverter that the ratings come into play.

A way to test this is to force the UPS to power the computer through its inverter, either by pulling the plug from the wall or using the test feature (if any). You'll usually find out pretty quick if the UPS is unhappy about an overload. (Not recommended for UPSes without overload protection - but I think most do have it.)
Tim S. "

" Hi Mike, I know now OS X and G4+ is the mainstream. However, here is something Iíd like to share with other readers.

It is about making an alternative Ethernet connection on (Powerbook) 2400c. I just bought a Farallon NetLine USB 10/100 Ethernet Adapter (PN 796 and it is supposed to be Windows compatible "only" before) and it works nicely through a Belkin USB 2.0 PC card I bought from eBay. I downloaded a driver from the company who made the chip in the adapter. The company released MAC OS driver on March and has both OS 9 and OS X drivers available.
Here is the link I bought the adapter
http://www.store.yahoo.com/glob2000/farnetusbto1.html
And here is the link for downloading driver
http://www.admtek.com.tw/index/index/download.htm (Look for "ADM8511".)
(Update - as of fall 2004 the drivers page isn't there anymore and the store page for the item has been removed, but I'm trying to get a copy of the drivers for mirroring here in the FAQ's Networking section.-Mike)

A cost of 6.99 USD USB 10/100 Ethernet adapter is not a bad idea to invest on this Apple legendary model. Also, it is a good alternative for earlier OS X compatible model since it is 10/100 base T. However, I only use it on OS 9.2.2 and haven't try it on OS X yet. Just thought you would like to know
Best regards, rEdmAc "

Note - the FAQ's networking section has some past notes/links regarding wireless (aka Airport) Networking adapters also. I've used a Belkin USB/802.11b adapter with older Macs which has OS 9 and OS X drivers at their website.

CDRW Drives:
• IDE Liteon LTR-52246S (52x24x52x) in B&W G3 (OS X)
  (noted not bootable from CD)
• IDE Liteon LTR-52327S (52x32x52x) in B&W G3 (OS 9.2)
  (no native iTunes burn support, didn't note if bootable from CD)
• Firewire (IDE drive in FW case) Liteon LTR-52327S (52x32x52x) used w/G4 AGP (OS X) (using burn support plugin from FAQ, no Retrospect 5.0 support)
  
  Combo DVD+CDR Drives:
• IDE Toshiba SD-R2412 (24x10x24x + 8x DVD-ROM) in iBook 2002 (OS X)
  (no itunes/db burn support despite ASP report)
  
  DVD-R + DVD-RAM Drives:
• IDE Liteon GMA-4020B in G4/AGP (OS X)
  (no native itunes, etc. burn support, using burn support utility from macwelt which allowed iTunes burn support but he noted problems burning DVDs)
  
  DVD-R Drives:
• IDE Pioneer DVR-105 in G4/AGP (OS X)
  
  DVD+R/RW + DVD-R/RW Drives:
• IDE Pioneer DVR-106 in Dual G4 (OS X)
  (noted problems w/DVD SP 1.5, didn't note OS X version but was using the plugin file from the FAQ for 10.2.6, which solved this problem for another DVR-106 owner w/DVD SP 1.5.2 noted in the Aug. 18th news page here.)
• IDE Pioneer DVR-106 in G4/AGP (OS X)
  (some problems noted)
• IDE Pioneer DVR-106 in G4/AGP (OS X)
  (using modified burn support plugin in FAQ)
  (Illustrated CD drive install guide here covers G4 towers up to the Digital Audio Model, Beige G3 MT, and B&W G3 Macs)
  
  Hard Drives:
• IDE Toshiba MK6022GAX 60GB in PowerBook G4 (OS X)
  (Reader FYI - PowerBook G4 15in. LCD illustrated Hard Drive install guide here
  Powerbook G4 12in LCD illustrated Hard Drive install guide here)
• SCSI Quantum 9GB in B&W G3 (OS X)
  (just a failure report)

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.)

• Giga Designs G4 1.4GHz in (sawtooth) G4/AGP (rated 5)
• Other World Computing G4/1.4GHz in (sawtooth) G4/AGP (rated 10)
• Powerlogix G4 1.2GHz in (gigabit) G4/AGP (rated 10)
• Sonnet G4/800 in 9600/300 (rated 10)
  (My full reviews of G4 and G3 upgrades w/apps/game tests, install info, etc. are linked here.)

(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). For detailed reviews with performance tests and install tips, see the CPU Upgrades page.)

• 1 year ago today
• 2 years ago today
• 3 years ago today