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April 1997 Power News Archive
Wednesday, April 30
- Hell week continues.. still have three tests to go-- these are midterms,
not finals! I have to deal with those in June! Now, onto some news...
- I've heard from a couple of people that PowerCenter
Pro 210's are actually shipping right now.. .but I'm not believing
that until someone actually has one.. I'm one of those on the list to get
one as well.. the 180's are still holding for a May 5th shipment.
- When hell week concludes, I will be picking a date for our first PowerWatch
chat-- it will be a Tuesday night, probably later in May..
Saturday, April 26
- A bit of warning: Yesterday began my "Hell week" For the
next 7 days, I have one program due, and four midterms. Updates will be
very sparse unless something really big happens. Since many of you are
either college graduates or students you can probably empathize with me
and understand this..
Thursday, April 24
- No more than 30 minutes after I wrote the item below, did I find out
that the solution to Powerbase Level-2 cache/MacOS 7.6.1 problems has
been released! So, Powerbase users -- go ahead and upgrade to MacOS 7.6.1
-- then head on over to Apple's
7.6.1 flash info page to download the fix! Don't forget that you'll
need Diskcopy
6.1 to decode the file.
- I have created the little blue box at the top of the news to carry
important news items that tend to fall down in the news as days go by.
- I'm going to think up an easier way to get accurate Macbench scores
than just emailing me. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, April 23
- Dave Brown reports that Power is once again selling refurbished machines
at killer prices. These are available while supplies last and only to U.S.
buyers, according to Power's online
store. You can call 1-888-689-6227 for more info.
- Refurb PB180LP 16/1.2GIDE/8X/2MVRAM/256K 1095
- Refurb PB200LP 16/1.2GIDE/8X/2MVRAM/256K 1195
- Refurb PB240LP 16/1.2GIDE/8X/2MVRAM/256K 1595
- Refurb PCT120LP 16/1G/4XCD/512K 1045
- Refurb PCT132DT 16/1G/4XCD/1V/512K 1249
- Refurb PCT132LP 16/1G/8X/512/1V 1195
- Refurb PCT150DT 16/1G/4XCD/1V/512K 1295
- Refurb PCT150LP 16/1G/8XCD/1V/512K 1345
- Refurb PCT150MT 16/1G/8XCD/1V/512K 1395
- Refurb PCT166MT 16/2G/8XCD/1V/512K 1495
- Refurb PCT180MT 16/2G/8XCD/1V/512K 1695
- Refurb PT180 64/2G/CD/4V/512K/JAZ 2795
- Refurb PT180E 16/2GAV/SD/8XCD/2V 1995
- Refurb PTP180 16/2GAV/SD/CD/IMS8/1MC 2395
- Refurb PTP225 16/2GAV/SD/CD/IMS8/1MC 2995
- Refurb PW120DT 16/1G/CD/2ATI 1195
- Refurb PW132MT 16/1G/CD/2AT1/512K 1395
- Refurb PW150MT 16/1G/CD/2ATI/512K 1795
- Refurb PowerCurve 601_120/8/850/CD/LP 895
Tuesday, April 22
- Kind of busy for the next two weeks, so be warned of less updating.
One project for now: Let's get some Macbench testing going for various
systems, running MacOS 7.6 or higher, without SpeedDoubler. As many of
you noticed, there is quite a difference in scores between 7.5.5 and 7.6,
and we need to address this. Run your scores, mail
them to me and I'll try to update the Systems pages shortly.
Sunday, April 20
- Thanks to those who commented on the header graphic at the top of this
page over the last few days. I started to hate it after a while.. but then
again, it was only a test..
- For those who have been following my usage of the Roadrunner cable
modem service: Southwestern Cable has added multiple T-1's thus boosting
the speeds even higher. Just the other day I downloaded MkLinux (90mb)
at 135kb/sec.
Friday, April 18
- It's here! My somewhat exciting review of the PowerCenter
Pro 210 -- notice the new look, too! This is the format all Systems
reports will be in from now on! LATE UPDATE: I forgot the benchmarks
when I put up the review; These MacBench 4.0 scores are now in the review!
Thursday, April 17
- PowerWatch ShipWatch, which
keeps track of how long it takes to get that system, has been updated.
Wednesday, April 16
- My review of the PowerCenter Pro 210 should be up towards the end of
this week. It is coming along nicely, and will hopefully prove useful for
those interested in the machine.
Monday, April 14
- We already knew this on Thursday, but Power officially announced the
PowerCenter Pro today. Expect a full review and stats sheet coming this
week. Read the press
release and the PCPro
info page on Power's site.
- Important reminder to those panicked about upgrading to 7.6.1 because
of reports of L2 cache problems: It is an Apple problem, not a PowerCC
problem. In addition, it only effects PowerBases and no other
PowerCC machines.
- PowerTower Pro and PowerBase models should (hopefully) start shipping
this week with 16x and 12x CD-ROM drives, respectively.
- NewerTechnologies is offering a $150 rebate when you trade in your
old CPU daughtercard. Places like MacCPU
and Cyberian Outpost sell these products.
- Also, current PowerCenter owners will be able to upgrade to PowerCenter
Pro's, with a low cost daughtercard upgrading, but pricing hasn't been
set yet.
- I had the pleasure of going to Six
Flags Magic Mountain yesterday, where I rode Superman, the fastest,
tallest, most technologically advanced thrill ride in the world. To make
a long story short, it shoots you out of the station (read: shoots) where
you accelerate to an unparalled 100mph in just 7 seconds. Then you rocket
straight up (read: verticle) a 41 story tower, before freefalling back
down at 100mph again! Wow, what a rush!
Sunday, April 13
- Well, after a day with a pre-production PowerCenter Pro 210, I have
to say I'm quite impressed. Some random thoughts:
- Very responsive.. perhaps more so than my PT 200e. Things like Word
and Excel load very quickly.
- I really love the onboard 3d acceleration (what all those Powerbaser's
get).. Weekend Warrior and Descent II were quite fun.
- The CD-ROM drive is extra cool. 16 speeds-- nice and quiet, and the
tray gets sucked in amazingly quickly.
- Is it still noisy? Well, yes, the fans are loud, but it never really
bothered me.
- It is based on the Catalyst architecture, still.
- Clockometer confirmed a 60/210MHz bus/processor speed.
- I've done some preliminary MacBench scoring which isn't too far from
what I posted on Friday. I'll have final results later this week.
- An interesting Businessweek
article says that Power Computing may have an IPO as early as next
month, and may be selling Intel-based PC's this summer.
Saturday, April 12
- Many people, as well as MacInTouch,
have reported that MacWarehouse (800-397-8508) is unloading PowerCenter
132's for $1099. Quite the deal.
- In MacOS 7.6.1, the Apple CD-ROM drivers are incompatible with Toshiba
CD-ROM drives.
Friday, April 11
- PowerCenter Pro: more bang for the buck. The newest information
is in bold blue.
- Name: PowerCenter Pro
- Processor: PowerPC 604e
- Clock Speed: 180 and 210 MHz
- Bus Speed: 60 MHz (this is very cool)
- Base RAM: 16 megabyte
- Level-2 Cache: 1 Megabyte
- CD-ROM Drive: TEAC 16x speed
(wow)
- Hard drive and SCSI buses: Dual SCSI buses; Internal Fast SCSI;
2gb HD standard
- Video Card: 2mb VRAM, ATI 3-D Rage accelerated
- Misc. Goodies: Ethernet, keyboard, mouse;
- Extra software: Fractal Dabbler 2.0, Corel Gallery Clip Art,
ClarisWorks, NetDoubler (Asante)
- What it will set you back: $2095 and $2395, respectively
- When can I get one?!: May 5th
- New forum created in PowerWatch
Views for PowerCenter Pro!
- Watch for an exclusive PowerWatch review,
coming VERY soon!
- Read a PCPro story from the Mercury News or from News.com, or from MacWeek.
- These puppies give the fastest machines a
real run for the money. MacBench processor scores range from ~530 for the
180 to nearly 570 for the 210Mhz model.
- Same case options that you're used to: prices
listed for low profile case.. minitower is $100 more.
- More new stuff for your Power machine, much courtesy of the above MacWeek
article:
- E4's Arista AV card: Video input, accleration, TV tuner for $275..
ships in May
- Asante's 10/100 BaseT ethernet card, one RJ45 port. $119 in May.
- PowerBase's now get 12x CD-ROM drives; I wouldn't be surprised to see
16x drives in PowerTower Pro's either.
- Asante NetDoubler now ships on both 'Pro systems (PT, PC).
- My apologies to those who only want news: This is for the people interested
in other things.. my entire spring break four corners trip
report is up.. new pictures from Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Las Vegas.
Thursday, April 10
- Ted Landau's outstanding MacFixIt
page has lots of important info on the 7.6.1 problems with Alchemy-based
machines. One important thing to check out: Go to memory control panel.
If the cache is set too low, this could be part of the problem with 7.6.1
-- you should set this, ideally, to 32k times your physical memory amount
(RAM). In addition, he has instructions on how to uninstall 7.6.1.
- Pacific Palisades really sucked, IMHO. (However, I wouldn't mind living
in that kind of place). There was a shot of a PowerCC monitor in it, though.
Wednesday, April 9
- From 4:58pm until 7:08pm EST, there was a complete Bell Atlantic SMDS
outage that prevented any traffic from flowing through the main DS-3 line
(which connects to our server) to Digex, a major Internet backbone. It's
not my fault, so don't complain to me!
- While normally I don't watch such television, I will have to tune into
the premier of Fox TV's "Pacific Palisades", which airs right
after 90210. Why?
"Spelling Entertainment is a Power Computing customer and has been
so impressed with PCC systems they wanted to feature the systems as a product
placement."
Check it out!
- Important update for PowerBase
users thinking about upgrading to MacOS 7.6.1 -- DON'T. It disables
the Level-2 cache thus slowing down your machine down about 30%. Feedback on this issue is welcome.
Tuesday, April 8
- Thanks to all PowerWatch supporters who have brought us over 300,000
visits in six months! I'm very appreciative!
- Another MacOS 7.6 note courtesy of a PowerWatch reader. Installing
7.6.1 installs an older version of the ATI XClaimVR/GA graphics accelerator
software. If it asks, keep the newer. If it doesn't, make sure you're using
the latest version
(1.2.2?).
- Continuing again with PowerTech issues:
If your Powerbase emits a whiny sound from its speakers (external usually),
then Power has a solution and you should contact them for further assistance.
- Toru Shimada is correct in reporting that the recently released IMS
Twin Turbo 4.0 driver is incompatible with the MacOS 7.6 screen capture
system. Upgrade at your own risk (but it is faster...)
Monday, April 7
- Thanks to Power's Chris Heatherly for helping with some PowerTech
issues. While I haven't updated many of them yet to reflect what he told
me, I did update this:
- PowerBase users who have to turn their modems on before startup should
download MacOS 7.6.1
from Apple, which fixes the bug.
Sunday, April 6
- I want to try to knock down a PowerTech
issue every 2-3 days. So, first, I'm going to try to solve this problem
- Are PC Compatibility cards (Apple, Orange Micro, Reply) incompatible?
How can you tell if a card you bought is incompatible? Any info on this
topic is welcomed via e-mail.
Saturday, April 5
- IMS's Twin Turbo 4.0 driver signifigantly increases acceleration. The
link on their page is bad so get
it from me!
- I got clarification from Newer
Technologies that their MAXPowr processor cards are compatible with
PowerTower Pro, PowerTower, PowerWave, and PowerCenter models only.
- Whoops, I blew it yesterday in my mention of changes to info@powercc.com.
What really changed is that Technical and Customer support now have email
addresses listed.
- MacUser online has an interview
with Power CEO Joel Kocher.
Friday, April 4
- Some interesting developments in the Mac world today. Here goes...
- Apple introduced
new 300MHz systems today. Keep in mind that a fast 604e chip is often much
quicker in MacBench scores. Numbers don't say everything....
- Connectix introduced a VirtualPC
emulator. Softwindows95 may have its left foot in the grave with this
one. No more Insignia versions of Windows95.. this new product can run
NT, NeXTStep, even OS/2! With full sound support! (Thanks, MacInTouch
for both of these)
Thursday, April 3
- Another news item from the "I forgot" file: The PowerCenter
180 has been discontinued.
- Alexei Kosut reminded me that Powerbase users and XClaimVR users alike
should download the newest ATI
XClaimVR drivers (v.2.01), which fixes many bugs, including an incompatibility
with ATM 4.0. Powerbasers only need to install ATI Video Memory Manager,
ATI YUV Accelerator, ATI 3D Accelerator, ATI Graphics Accelerator, using
Custom Install. PowerCenter/Curve/Tower users with XClaim cards should
also get the PCI
Timing Update.
- Well, the reorganization of the Views
section didn't last too long. Not too popular, so I switched back to its
previous look.
- I hate to sound defensive (again), but I get really irked by the several
people who put in the survey something like "post less about yourself."
I'd like to think that at least some people might get a bit more enjoyment
from PW knowing that this site is run by a real human being instead of
mindless drones that take care of it. And, if you look at some other major
Mac and clone-related web sites, you'll see a little of that too. As
usual, thanks for your support when I rant!
Wednesday, April 2
- Cyberian Outpost has a killer
deal on Newer's MAXPower 604e/200MHz upgrades right now. The price for
the 200MHz
card is $839 after a $100 rebate from Newer
Tech. No, this isn't an ad, but it sounds like a very good deal for
those PowerCenter, PowerWave or PowerCurve (??) owners wanting to move
up since Power isn't offering any cards yet.
- Thanks to those who filled out the survey! If you haven't done so yet,
please scroll down and do so! Some topics to be addressed in my u>>ating
PowerTech this week: PowerBase SCSI, power
supplies and fan noise, Micropolis drives, MacOS 7.6 and 8.0, modems, Softwindows,
and strange speaker noises.
- To make your browsing easier, I'll now be keeping this page smaller,
hence reducing load times due to it being a table.
- PowerWatch reader Dave Olsen reminded me about an important issue regarding
upgrading to MacOS 7.6
- The 7.6 installer suggests updating IDE drivers on
the hard drive prior to installing the upgrade. Don't do it! The Drive
Set-up 1.1 drivers (on the PowerCC back-up CD-ROM) work just fine. The
Drive Set-up 1.2 drivers on the Mac OS 7.6 CD-ROM interfere with re-mounting
the hard drive during a restart, though cold starts work just fine. At
least, that's how it worked on my PowerBase 180 with a Seagate 1.2 gig
IDE drive.
The only solution for now is to go back and reformat the drive using 1.1
- UPDATE: This may not always be the correct thing to
do. A user who followed these instructions had the same problem after 7.6
was installed.
- The first two days of my Grand
Canyon trip last week is now online! Check out the pictures, taken
with my digital camera! More to come, as well!
Tuesday, April 1
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