Wednesday, December 31

• I want to wish all of you a very Happy and Successful New Year! Thanks for putting up with all the goings on over the last 15 months! We won't be going anywhere soon!
  

Sunday, December 28

• Live from Texas, I bring you these two stories from the Austin American-Statesman:
  • The first story sort of retells the story of the company, including many of the problems they suffered: inventory control and support problems, and their eventual downfall.
  • The second story tells of a bizarre ceremony that took place under Joel Kocher's regime.

Friday, December 26

• After many false promises, I finally have put up the DecisionOne report, and as I said last week, it's not good. Hopefully they'll learn from what our readers have to say.
  
  
• I officially closed down the PowerTech section, which will eventually house our FileMaker Pro powered TechTalk and PowerSource databases. Hopefully (big hopefully here) it will be ready by mid-January.
  
  
• By popular demand, I've added the Powerbase 3D v3.3 software to PowerFiles (will these also work in PCPro systems?)
  
  
• With traffic slowing down, I'll be lowering advertising rates at the beginning of the year. If you want to get a head start, just ask Jeff!
  
  
• PowerWatch Chat has been tentatively rescheduled for Tuesday, January 6th at 7pm Pacific. Figuring out this date made me realise that vacation is almost over.
  
  
• I'll be out of the state until December 29th. Hopefully everything will keep running, but just in case, I'll be with my 3400 to keep an eye on the web sites. I'll also try to complete the redesign by the new year. Thanks for your support-- it's been fun, and we're not done yet!

Wednesday, December 24

• Many users have been asking me where to find the PowerBase 3D Software v. 3.3, which I commented on last week. Well, after I looked again, it's no longer there. I'm not sure where it went.
  
  
• I still have some games left to unload.. and I've added a few more and dropped the prices on some others. If you are interested, let me know.
  • Interplay Descent II - $25 LOWERED PRICE
  • Shivers (Mystery/Puzzle game from Sierra) - $25 NEW
    
    

Tuesday, December 23

• I know I promised to have that DecisionOne stuff up soon--but it'll take another day, sorry. Also, I'll be acquiring Filemaker Pro 4.0 soon so we'll hopefully have PowerSource and TechTalk added by the middle of next month.
  
  
• An anonymous friend passed this on:
  • "As we get closer to the end of the year the end of Power Computing is becoming more and more evident... The NOW SHIPPING sign on the the front of PowerMart now reads "NO SHIPPING". The sign that once read POWER TRIP now reads POWER R.I.P. And, last but not least the Intel inside sign has been modified to say "Sad people inside". Yesterday was another very sad day at Power Computing."

Saturday, December 20

• Just two days before I was going to post a report about how much trouble our readers have had with DecisionOne, I was directed to a page how DecisionOne is handling (and not handling, due to volume) cases given to them by Power Tech Support. Readers have been reporting horrid phone delays of several hours leading to voice mail systems, among other problems. This page helps to explain some of the problems they've had, and how to go about getting the best service. Kudos to Power and DecisionOne to filling us in on the details-- I'll still try to post those reader complaints this weekend so they know just what's going on.

Friday, December 19

• Here's the problem that is preventing us from having our chat: When we upgraded to WebCrossing/Multi (which powers PW Views and the DCRP Message Boards), we lost our 100 client chat license. When we received a new one Wednesday night, the program would crash when it was entered. This is a bug that we are waiting to have fixed. It could be ready today, so stay tuned.
  
  
• The PowerSource and TechTalk databases we've acquired will be a big help to Power customers. However, we need a copy of FileMaker Pro (preferably 4.0) to be able to serve this information. (Also note that this service--at least for the time being-- will have to be hosted on my machine at school-- meaning NOT 24 hours, but close to it). If you can help in any way, shape, or form, do let Jeff know.
  
  
• Keep those DecisionOne reports coming in! So far the news is NOT pretty.
  
  
• I have started work on the new look for PW.. just messing around at this point.. but it'll be ready by the new year!
  

Thursday, December 18

• A variety of problems prevented chat from occuring last night. We may try again tomorrow night.
  
  
• MacCPU has the Newer MAXpowr Pro G3/250 for only $979 after $100 rebate, the lowest price we've seen (starting to sound like deal-mac) ;-)
  
  
• Excellent news for all Power users! We will be acquiring PowerComputing's TechTalk and PowerSource databases, so PW readers will be able to search the vast amounts of information they contain! This will be the replacment for the PowerTech section on this site. However, setting it up will be quite a technical feat, so it will probably debut in mid January.
  
  
• Allan J. Landwer has a review of the PowerLogix PowerForce G3/275 in a PowerTower Pro.

Wednesday, December 17

• I'd love to hear about your experiences with DecisionOne (Power's new repair company).. drop me a line if you have anything you'd like to share!
  
  
• Also, has ANYONE had ANY success getting a PC Compatibility Card to work in a Power system, more specifically a PowerTower Pro? I have become frustrated with the software emulators and was looking at hardware options, including the Radius Detente offerings. Anyone?
  
  

Monday, December 15

• Power's Support Site is now officially at Apple. You can download lots of software (including the much sought after PowerBase 3D v.3.3 update) as well as schematics of logic boards and hard disks. As noted last week, the technical info library has moved over as well. Heck, PowerWatch is even listed as a resource (uh oh..). (Thanks, MacInTouch)
  
  
• PowerLogix has a G3 Performance Guarantee saying that their PowerForce G3/250 cards will run at 275MHz or better. PowerBase users should read Bill Fox's extensive review of this card a PowerBase 180. I'll be updating our upgrades section this week!
  
  
• Don't forget to join us for PowerWatch Chat, this Wednesday at 7pm Pacific, 10pm Eastern Time. We'll be discussing upgrades! Just bring a Java-enabled browser with you to this page at that time for further instructions!
  
  
• We broke 900,000 visitors over the weekend! Thank you for your continuing support! I know things have been slow on the news front lately, but I'll be working on making this page a little more current while I'm on break, so don't stop coming back yet!

Sunday, December 14

• Okay, I've moved back home for Winter Break, so I will be beginning updating of these pages shortly. Thanks for your patience. After a grueling 3h10 final on friday, I headed up to (where else) Disneyland to check out the holiday scene, and I took some nice pictures, too.
  
  
• An interesting Austin American-Statesman article gives a behind the scenes look at Apple's buyout of Power.

Thursday, December 11

• Newer Technologies is giving PowerComputing owners their MAXpowr Pro 250 card for only $999! There's a 30 day MBG and they say it works in everything but the Powerbase! Here's all the info you need to know! You heard it here first!
  • Telephone Number: 1-800-600-9245
  • Source Code: NEWERG3
  • Product Code: MAXpowr G3 250 SKU No. 50042
    
    
• Power Computing's Technical Info Library has resurfaced on Apple's TIL site.

Wednesday, December 10

• We'd like to welcome MacBase as our newest advertiser. They just received over 500 refubished systems from PowerComputing, and they'll be going fast. Power systems are more affordable and may be more reliable than Apple G3 systems, and they can be upgraded to seriously faster G3's if you desire.

Tuesday, December 9

• Apparently both the Power 604e/200 card from OWC, and the MAXpowr card from Bottom Line will NOTwork in low profile cases. I apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
  
  
• Power is trying to auction off two all kinds of stuff, from DEC AlphaServers, to phones, routers, and printers. Also, their support pages have moved slightly, to here.
  
  
• My two hardest finals are over. After I return home to the Bay Area next week, PW will begin getting remodeled to reflect our new mission: Tech support for existing Power users, lively discussion forums for all MacOS users.

Friday, December 5

• In my continuing quest to find you good deals: Bottom Line Distribution has a special on Newer MAXpowr 604e/200MHz processor cards for only $219.99! (wow) Newer says these cards will work in the PowerTower Pro, PowerTower, PowerCenter, PowerCenter Pro, PowerWave, and PowerCurve. They come with Selectable Bus Timing, as well as SpeedDoubler 2.0 and RAMDoubler 2.0. Be sure to write the special price in the comments field of your order! (Telling them where you heard about it wouldn't hurt either ;-)
  
  
• New: A friend notes that DecisionOne is still new to PowerComputing machines, and feedback about how they're doing should be sent to rparr@powercc.com.
  
  
• New: The PCI Timing Update 1.0 and SCSI Manager Update 1.2 have resurfaced on Apple's site. The former is for incompatibilities between ATI XClaimGA and XClaimVR cards with Catalyst based hardware (PowerTower, PowerCurve, PowerCenter, PowerCenter Pro), which resulted in choppy sound. The latter is for those with Powerbases and external SCSI hard drives, in which the machine would not boot.
  
  
• Finals start on Monday!! <gulp> As a reminder, watch for a totally updated and remodeled (yes, that blue bar may be leaving us) later this month!
  
  
• New: This weekend also brings the first big El Nino-powered storm of the winter, according to some reports. So, we'll be loading everything onto this big ark we built out in front of our apartments.. if things get cool (waterspouts, tornadoes, etc) I'll be sure to take a picture for you all.

Thursday, December 4

• We will have a PowerWatch Chat two weeks from today: Wednesday, December 17th at 6:00pm Pacific time. We'll be chatting about upgrades, as well as how we can keep PW running into the new year. We may have some special guests, so stay tuned.
  
  
• The news page got toasted by Pagemill last night, and I had to leave a placeholder at www.powerwatch.com until 8:30pm Pacific time, when I finally got things back to normal. Pagemill loves to screw up table-based pages, and it got me big time. However, all is well now. Also, the server seems a little slow (at least to me) lately, so please be patient if the message boards lag a little bit.

Tuesday, December 2

• MacBase has special prices on PowerWave 132 ($1199), PowerCenter Pro 210 ($1699), and PowerTower Pro systems ($2299). A PowerWave plus a G3 card makes for a potent combination. Update: A few other systems were added, including an attractive price of $1299 for a PowerCenter Pro 180LP 16/2gb/16X system.
  
  
• Other World Computing has genuine PowerComputing 604e/200MHz daughtercards for $235. These should work in every upgradable PowerCC system, except for PowerBase (will need confirmation from users on this one though!)
  
  
• Meanwhile, MacCPU is having a PowerLogix blow-out sale. These are Powerboost Pro daughtercards, which offer adjustable speeds, and compatibility across the PowerCC line (again, sorry Powerbasers!).
  • 166MHz PowerBoost Pro $219
  • 180MHz PowerBoost Pro $279
  • 200MHz PowerBoost Pro $359
  • 225MHz PowerBoost Pro $409
  • 233MHz PowerBoost Pro $459
    
    
• A reader reports that Power is already referring people who need their machines repaired to DecisionOne. This has been confirmed by several users. If you have anything to add, let me know.
  
  
• As many of you know, Jeff is a full-time college student, in addition to working on this page and now the Digital Camera Resource Page. At certain times, school becomes hectic, and updates become less frequent. With finals right around the corner, now is one of those times. News will still be posted as it happens, but updates elsewhere on the site will not occur. Look for a full updating and remodeling by the end of December. Thanks for your support! - Jeff