December 1996 Power News Archive

Tuesday, December 31

• Continuing with the 3d acceleration story below, Bungie Software's Weekend Warrior will come with your 3D upgrade software! Cool!
  
  
• Update about PowerBase 3d acceleration- if you install Quickdraw3D 1.5, and the XClaimVR drivers (thanks to Tony Delgrosso for having this!) then Powerbases are ready to go! This is not supported by PowerComputing (yet), but it may be a worthy temporary solution.
  
  
• While to my knowledge no price cuts have been announced, a user sent me the new PowerTowerPro pricing:
  • 32MB ram/ 2G HD/ 8MB video
  •  
  • PT Pro 225 $4295
  • PT Pro 200 $3795
  • PT Pro 180 $3895 NOT a TYPO!
    
    
• MacWorld starts next week.. I'll be there, and so will many of you! Together I think we can build up a good area on Macworld--look for it in PowerWatch Views next week!
  
  
• If you visit the Disney section of my web page, I need your help!
  
  

Sunday, December 29

• If you live in the Bay Area and have found a place with the new MacTech magazine (BeOS edition), or if you want to send me your CD, please let me know!
  
  

Friday, December 27

• PowerWatch reader Sean Stevens says that installing the ATI XClaimVR software on a PowerBase enables QuickDraw3d acceleration on the PowerBase. If someone wants to send that software up, someone can try it out.
  
  
• Price cuts again? A user reports that PowerTower Pro 225's are now $4395 direct from Power. Remember, that's with 32mb of RAM now too.
  
  
• I have fixed a few things on my Jeff's Journal page; I will be running the full suite of MacBench 4.0 benchmarks when I get the CD at Macworld.
  
  
  

Wednesday, December 25
Mele Kalikimaka! Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!

• Well, my week of relaxation here on Maui is over, and not it's time to head back! Holiday wishes to all!

Monday, December 23

• You know, I could get used to this life of sitting on a leather sofa, door open, Powerbook in hand, listening to the rain and the ocean less than 50 feet away. But I can't afford to ;-)
  
  
• MacUser has a special preview of the upcoming PowerCenter 240/270/300 systems. These are 603e based (why are they called PowerCenters then?) systems, with the 300mhz system running about 5% faster than a PowerTower Pro 225. All for well under $3000. Wow. I still hope to do a PowerWatch preview of one of these, but it's up to Power Computing.
  
  
• I have laid the groundwork for PowerWatch's Upgrades section. It's pretty empty now, though I expect that you and I will be filling it with reviews of various upgrade and acceleration solutions soon. It can be found on the PowerWatch Systems page.
  

Saturday, December 21

• In case you've been living under a rock, yesterday Apple bought NeXT for $400mil. I'm not quite sure why NeXT got chosen over Be, but I suppose Dr. Gil knows best. Details are on every other webpage out there, such as MacInTouch.
  
  
• Aloha from Maui! After a grueling 14 hour travel day yesterday (one plane problem after another... first fuel indicator problem.... got a new plane.. leaking toilet .. carpet had to be replaced... ended up arriving 6 hours late). It's beautiful here--right on the oceanfront!
  
  
• The PowerTower Pro price decrease has been confirmed by several users. They now ship with 32mb of RAM as well. Mahalo to those who helped out on this one.
  
  
  

Thursday, December 19

• Well, I'm off to Maui. Hopefully I'll be able to report in.. having Powerbook modem troubles, but I'm working on it. If I'm not heard from, and there are no plane crashes, I'll be back Christmas day!
  
  
• PowerTower Pro's are cheaper, reported by two different users. All three models come with 32mb of RAM now. The 225 is now $4595, the 200 is $4095. That's all I know -- so if you find out, do tell!
  
  

Wednesday, December 18

• MacWeek has yet another story about Power's upcoming 300mhz box being shown at Macworld (perhaps they'll give me a personal tour of it...); Am I the only one who is seeing another Powerbase problem? Fantastic new system announced, nobody actually sees one for months. Now, I'm no psychic, but..
  
  
• Jeff's Sony 200sf monitor update- took it back only to find that it works fine on their 7600 mac. Moving computer and monitor ONLY to another part of the house eliminated the interference. Looking for ideas-- Power conditioners? Fancy surge surpressor? Help!

Tuesday, December 17

• Uh oh, we've got some competition now: Power's Official Support Page is up at http://support.powercc.com.
  
  
• Ted Landau is covering stories of interest on his MacFixIt page:
  • Micropolis drive problems (we remember those..)
  • Powerbases and external SCSI devices
    
    
• Lots of stories related to an upcoming Power 300mhz system are popping up. A News.com story hints that it'll be introduced in MacWorld next month, and runs on a 300mhz 603e chip (then again, they also said that the fastest system currently offered is a 240mhz 603.. my 200mhz 604e begs to differ). A MacWorld story hints that the price will be around $2500 as a PowerCenter model. All I can say is that I'd like to get my hands on one for a preview.
  
  
• I have added a new forum to PowerWatch Views: It's called MacOS and Power Systems and is pretty self-explanatory.
  
  
• Idea: What would you think about having an online chat with some folks from Power? You know, kind of like when celebrities visit AOL and they have a big chat. Nothing has been arranged, and I'm waiting for
  WebCrossing 2.0, but I'd like to hear some feedback first.
  
  
• Two more days 'til Maui!

Sunday, December 15

• I moved the animated graphic off all the other pages except this one, to conserve bandwidth.
  
  
• Regarding yesterday's items: Today I bought a Kensington Thinking Mouse and a Sony 200sf monitor which is flickering quite a bit.

Saturday, December 14

• Over on MacInTouch, Ric has a link to a new Softwindows 95 update. Does it fix our CD-ROM problems? I couldn't get it to install, and someone else said it didn't help.
  
  
• Greetings from San Francisco! I have returned to my "winter home" and will be here for a few days, and then off to Maui! Today's notes:
  • Chief Executive Moron (that's me) broke my two month old Power mouse while it was moving with me back up here. I basically destroyed the adb connector on the mouse. The keyboard side is okay though. Since acts of stupidity aren't covered under warranty, it's off to buy a new mouse.
    
  • Thanks to a generous friend, I will be bringing a modem equipped PowerBook to Maui with me-- I will be able to do some updating from there!
    
  • My friend Stephen Booth along with J. Nathaniel Sloan has written a Shared Library called Power Set which facilitates the transition to the Apple Grayscale Appearance and then to the Appearance Manager- if you are a MacOS developer, check it out!

Friday, December 13

• I was able to successfully install MkLinux DR2 with the PCI patch. I'm having some trouble setting up PPP (apparently serial ports don't work on PCI machines yet), and it wouldn't boot with my Flightstick Pro plugged in, and X11 seems incompatible with the old IMS Twin Turbo, but otherwise, wow! I partitioned a Jaz disk to store all the partitions of MkLinux (what a chore that was.)
  

Thursday, December 12

• I'd like to thank Ben Keszler for his cool holiday lights on the banner at the top of the pages. (Ben will be graduating this June and will be looking for a job in graphic arts).
  
  
• 100,000 visitors!! Yes, in 2.5 months, we've had 100,000+ unique hits to this home page! Thanks!!!
  
  
• Finals are over at last--thanks for your support. You know, I sure hope Power hurries up with a notebook. I'm feeling the need to get a PowerBook. Donations are welcome ;-)
  

Wednesday, December 11

• Going to the sale in Austin this weekend? Bill Fergerson provided some directions to the Palmer Auditorium:
  • Simple directions: Go south on I-35 until you get to the Riverside exit. Take a right (going west) and continue for about 2-3 miles. Palmer Auditorium is just after South 1st. St. and is a large dome shaped building in the middle of the parking lot there at the southwest corner of Riverside and South 1st. St. There's plenty of parking there and in the immediate area.
  • If people are coming from the south, then they just need to switch directions accordingly for Riverside and make a left at the light after going north on I-35.
    
    
• Two random things for today...
  • Our new address is now resolving, at least here. So now use http://www.powerwatch.com
  • Disturbing trend = calling me Jake instead of Jeff. E-mail address slightly misleading, but remember who you're talking to! ;-)
    
    
• MacBench 4.0 is out and available from the ZDnet web site-- let's see if our benchmarks are different...
  
  
• We helped sell a lot of computers yesterday ;-) Though you can't buy directly from Power anymore, you can go to the Palmer Auditorium in downtown Austin this weekend and get systems there! We've got a price list for what's available--what deals! Don't forget these are refurbished!
  
  
• Yesterday was easily the biggest day in PowerWatch's 2+ month history! 56,000+ raw hits! Amazing! Boy, if I had a dollar for every hit.... I wouldn't be taking finals, that's for sure! Thanks to those who have been sending good luck messages! Only one more to go!

Tuesday, December 10

• Can't make it to the big sale in Austin next weekend? Fear not! If you call before Tuesday afternoon, you can still get these deals! PowerCenters range from $995 for the 120 system to $1295 for a 150 desktop. PowerTower 166MT are $1795. PowerTower Pro models are $2995-3495 for 200 and 225 systems respectively. Monitors, speakers, and modems <giggle> are available too at low prices. Direct orders are over-- you need to go to Austin this weekend!
  
  
• Today I have two finals back-to-back-- gulp! Wish me luck!
  
  
• PowerWatch is pleased to be the exclusive site for Newer Technologies Clockometer 1.9.5 -- It's available from the PowerWatch ftp site!
  • It has a new method for determining the bus speed that works on all the current 603's and 604's, and doesn't rely on the Gestalt speeds in any way.
  • Thanks, Steve Hyman!

Monday, December 9

• Greg Pacek tells me of price cuts on PowerTower Pro 225 models:
  • Now only $4795 with 32mb of RAM instead of $4995 with 16mb.
    
    
• More info on the big sale (see below):
  • The Palmer Auditorium is in downtown Austin, at 1st and Riverside.
  • "Badge-carrying" employees of Apple, Dell, AMD, and Motorola employees get "better deals" supposedly. This turns out to be $100.
    
    
• A few notes about why updates here may be sparse:
  • This week is finals week, at least until Wednesday evening.
  • I'll be in Maui December 19-25. No updates at all unless someone's donating a notebook with a modem ;-)

Sunday, December 8

• Oh baby! Power is having a big sale next weekend at their Texas location. They will have Powercurve 120, Powerwave 120/132/150, PowerCenter 120/132/150/166/180, PowerTower 166/180, and PowerTower Pro 200/225. They are refurbished models-I don't think they are new. Prices range from $995 for a PowerCenter 120 16/1000/CD to $3495 for a PTPro 225 16/2000/CD/IMS Twin Turbo. Up to 47% off. Some more notes:
  • It's at the Palmer Auditorium, which I assume is near Austin.
  • You get a 90 day warranty with it.
    

Friday, December 6

• PowerBase users: Both Power and ATI (makers of the onboard video system) have admitted that you cannot get millions of colors on a PowerBase at 1024x768, even with 4mb of VRAM. More to come.
  
  
• The first PowerBase shipment has gone out to MacMall -- they should be there next week! <cheers throughout Macville>
  
  
• I've put in an order for a domain name for us-- so we should be www.powerwatch.com in a few weeks!
  
  
• We've got an update on our ShipWatch page for lead times on machines. Many waits are less than 2 weeks, but watch out for PowerTower systems.
  
  
• If you ordered an ethernet card with your PowerBase, a compatibility problem with them is possibly holding up the delivery of your machine! Brian Combs tells me that this was due to a NetDoubler disk image issue, which has been resolved, and that the cards will ship next week.

Thursday, December 5

• If you've had trouble with your Power system, you may be interested to hear that Starmax owners are having many problems including with the SCSI bus. Reading comp.sys.mac.hardware.misc will enlighten you with stories of poor technical support. Just remember that Power isn't the only company who is having growing pains.
  
  
• Thanks for all your good luck wishes for my finals week next week! If you'd like to come take the tests for me, that's fine too. My motivation is a week in Maui before Christmas. ;-)
  
  
• I'm looking for someone with a good knowledge about doing business in California, especially with respect to taxes. If you fit this description, drop me a line.
  
  
  

Wednesday, December 4

• Looking for a PowerBase and want it now? Steve Rosen tells me that ClubMac has quite a few PowerBase 200 low profile and 180MT models in stock now. This has been confirmed-- MacMall patrons take note!
  
  
• Steve Holzworth points out that many of Power's software bundles are changing. For example, PowerTower's no longer come with Quicken, ClarisWorks, Groliers, and the Netware client.
  
  
• My finals are next week, so be warned of less time to work on the page...

   

Tuesday, December 3

• Something strange is going on down in Texas. Apparently, Power Computing has been sending out non-disclosure agreements to users returning their computers, as first noted in the PowerWatch Views message boards. Mac the Knife has some info on MacWeek's site.
  
  
• Peter Spina from Clone Central pointed out a Forbes article which says Apple will buy Be Inc. shortly after December 4th. Only time will tell! It also mentions that Power will introduce multi-processor (MP) machines for $1500!
  
  
• Don Crabb's TipWorld newsletter has an interesting story about bad PowerComputing service. Thanks to Dave Brown for passing it on.
  

Monday, December 2

• I have returned from the long weekend; Hope yours was good! I'll be disppearing later this month (the week before christmas) when I'm in Hawaii.
  
  
• I'm pleased to announce that mushkin memory is our first advertiser! Great!

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