"Transintl Weekend specials (Sept 14th-16th, 2007) for xlr8yourmac readers.
Trans Intl offers IceCube desktop FireWire 400 + USB 2.0 External Hard Disk Drives with Oxford 911 FireWire Bridge controller and a Data Xfer Rate of 20-35 MB/s. IceCubes are 1.5 inch High x 5 inch Wide x 9 inch Deep with dual 6-pin FireWire ports and One USB 2/1.1 Port . Includes FireWire 6-pin Cable/USB Cable, Intech SpeedTools Disk Utility and Dantz Retrospect Express Back Up Software.

IceCube 750GB (7200RPM,16MB Cache): $279

IceCube 500GB (7200RPM,16MB Cache): $179

IceCube 320GB (7200RPM,16MB Cache): $159

IceCube 250GB (7200RPM,16MB Cache): $119

IceCube 160GB (7200RPM,16MB Cache): $109

IceCube 80GB (7200RPM,16MB Cache): $99

Memory Specials:

DDR1 PC3200 For G5:

2GB Kit (2X1GB): $96

4GB Kit (4X1GB): $188

DDR2 PC4200 For G5 Quad Core:

2GB Kit (2X1GB): $68

4GB Kit (4X1GB): $132 "

"Prior to the update, using the Highlights / Shadows filter in Aperture resulted in the creation of strange banding as shown in the photo (in this screenshot)

Another user on Apple's forums claimed to have the same issue with a G5 tower and was only able to remedy it by replacing the graphics card. Thankfully for me, as I can not replace the graphics card, after todays update the problem is gone!
Patrick
www.patrickpikefilms.com"

Some owners also said it fixed an odd issue with the iTunes store:

"This update fixes an issue with the iTunes Music store causing a computer lockup when viewing the TV Show section on an aluminum iMac:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1095847
(Titled "iTunes store crashing my iMac?")
-Brian "

Several replies in that thread said the update solved the problem.

CineBench Scores:
Based on several reader's results, CineBench scores for OpenGL Shading dropped appx. 5% after the 1.1 update. This could be due to a function being fixed (and working), a non-optimal path used by the software (as happened before) or just increased overhead for some things in the new driver. If anyone hasn't already updated yet - when you run Cinebench, watch the scene playback carefully to see if there's any scene/image quality or bug fixes after the update.
Regardless, overall I think the benefits reported so far are worth more than a few % lower benchmark performance which wouldn't be noticed in actual use. (Of course any new update can also have some bugs or non-optimized code.)
  

"Mike, AMUG has posted a review of the ICY DOCK Hot Swap eSATA/USB 2.0 Mobile Enclosure model MB664US-1S. The ICY DOCK MB664US-1S provides an amazingly easy installation option for mounting external 3.5" SATA hard drives. The direct backplane interface and the eSATA/USB 2.0 data connections provide users with the ability to connect to a variety of computer systems.
Have a great weekend, TEAM AMUG"

"I have a tragic tale for you. bought an 8GB iPhone on launch day, but had it stolen last month. So, like any other apple fanboy, I went out and got a replacement.
Then, this whole rebate mess comes out, and guess what... I CAN'T GET A REBATE ON THE LOST PHONE!! I have the box (with serial number), and the receipt. But, according to Apple, you have to have a WORKING iPhone to get the rebate!...
(Do you have anything like a police report on the stolen phone? If so have you taken that to a local apple store and shown them/talked to them about it?
Did you have any insurance that would cover the theft? Sometimes a homeowner's policy or auto policy can cover it although not sure where/how it was stolen.-Mike)
I didn't bother with a police report, but I did check with my insurance. Unfortunately, they didn't cover it. My point is that why is the rebate only valid for "working" phones? What if I had dropped it and broke it? This rebate, while a great idea seems to have some implementation problems. I did contact Apples Corporate number, but all they would do was take down the comment for further review. Any idea why they wouldn't want to cover a rebate for broken/lost phones?

(I'd have taken the box/receipt into a brick and mortar Apple store and talked to them in person. I don't see why if the original purchase qualified that you'd not get the credit.-Mike)
I'll try that tomorrow. I did call the closest store, but they didn't seem to think they could help. Maybe I can talk to a manager. I'll let you know how it goes.
-Naveed "

If the stolen/lost phone and the new phone have the same phone#, a reader (Eli) suggested entering the stolen phone S/N in the form page to see if the code would be sent (to the new phone w/same number). Naveed wrote that didn't work:

" Yep, tried it with the stolen serial number again, and got the attached page.
(he sent a screenshot of the page which said:

"You may not be elible
We're sorry but we can't locate a record of your iPhone. It would be that you entered the requested information incorrectly. If the information is correct there are several reasons why you could have received this message.
1.Your iPhone was purchased as the new, reduced price...
2. You have not activated your iPhone...
3, You recently activated your iPhone... It may take up to 24hours after you register your iPhone before we can process your request...

(Assuming the S/N was correctly entered (no O vs 0, etc.) I can only think that they require the phone (S/N) to be currently shown as activated/used (database record check). Or could whoever stole it already have gotten the credit? Or is it because 2 different S/N phones have the same phone number?. The phone was activated before it was stolen correct?-Mike)
Yep. Apparently, the Apple rebate site treats lost, stolen, broken, and returned phones the same. Unless it is currently activated, you can't get the rebate through normal means.
I ended up calling the nearest Apple store and speaking to a manager. Apparently this is a known issue, and she referred me to iphonestorecredit@apple.com. I'm keeping my fingers crossed here.
-Naveed"

That's the same email address as listed in the "You may not be eligible" page you sent. Good luck with it. I would have thought after actually speaking with a mgr they could have helped solve this directly.

"Mike, Below is a link to Apple on how to get an Apple iPhone Credit:
http://www.apple.com/iphone/storecredit/
William R."

There's also an FAQ on the store credit offer.

FYI Regarding Game/Benchmark/Apps tests:
What complicates comparing performance numbers (FPS or Scores) with new vs. old drivers is the fact the new drivers have fixes for some functions which did not work in the previous version (such as anisotropic filtering). Any tests with older drivers that use an OpenGL function that was broken will not be a fair comparison since with the updated drivers the GPU may be doing more work than before (higher scene/image quality usually costs some performance). Even some OpenGL benchmarks may use features that were broken before and working now (and therefore "score less" than before). Take the time to examine/compare more than just framerates and benchmark scores.
I welcome feedback on this update from 2007 iMac owners, including an notes on before/after changes/improvements. Thanks!

"SoftRAID LLC announces the release and immediate shipment of SoftRAID 3.6.4.

SoftRAID 3.6.4 is a minor update to the SoftRAID 3.6.3 software RAID application. This version of SoftRAID fully supports startup volumes under Leopard, the forthcoming major update of Mac OS X. Users will be able to migrate SoftRAID volumes to Leopard machines, update their SoftRAID boot volumes to Leopard, and install Leopard onto SoftRAID volumes seamlessly.

"SoftRAID worked very hard with Apple engineers to make SoftRAID boot reliably under Leopard", said Timothy Standing, Vice President of Engineering at SoftRAID, "We are very pleased to release a fully bootable version of SoftRAID before Leopard actually ships, which is expected to be later this year."

The SoftRAID 3.6.4 release is a free electronic upgrade to all 3.x owners. The SoftRAID 3.6.4 electronic download is $129 and the retail CD is $149, both available from the SoftRAID website and retail outlets worldwide. All registered users will receive a free upgrade via email.
Demo version download URL: http://www.softraid.com/demo.html"

• QuickTime Bug (when paired w/Firefox) Gives Hackers New Drive-by Attack
• VisualHub 1.28 (adds iPod Touch presets)
• Adobe Lightroom 1.2 (demo available)
• Nisus Writer Pro 1.0.1
• Nisus Writer Express 3.0
• DeutscheTelekom to sell iPhone in Germany
• 768kbit bandwidth cap for Europeans? (Apple forums)
• Former Apple Execs Join Palm
• Fire, smoke...do you smell gas? Yup, Verizon's here again
  
  New/Updated Apple Support Docs
• iTunes repeatedly prompts to authorize computer to play iTunes Store purchases (Apple)
• iPhoto '08: Subscribing to your own Web Gallery may overwrite the original photos with smaller, Web Gallery versions (Apple)
• How to use the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store (Apple)
• iPhone unexpectedly disconnects during sync (Apple)
• iPhone and iPod touch: Tips when using Wi-Fi (Apple)
• iPhone: Charging the battery (Apple)
• What to do when Windows XP or Vista computer displays a blue screen error message when syncing the iPhone (Apple)