iSight on older machines: iGlasses

MacInTouch Home Page: "iGlasses 1.1.3 makes it possible to control iSight video settings from within iChat AV and other programs and also activates the iSight on G3 computers which fall below Apple's minimum requirement of 600 MHz. This release adds settings support for iMovie HD, QuickTime 7 Pro recording, ohphoneX, Delicious Library, ineen, BTV, BTV Pro, and SecuritySpy, plus fixes to improve compatibility with ShowMacster and EvoCam, and other changes. iGlasses is $8 for Mac OS X 10.2 through 10.4 with QuickTime 6.4 or later."

Ric Ford (Macintouch) on MacTel

Macs on Intel (Special Report)

I agree with Ric, except for the wild card of Intel's universal platform. It reminds me of OS/2. OS/2's Win32 emulation was so good that no-one could make money selling OS/2 applications. Then Microsoft broke the Win32 emulation. For Microsoft, it was like mugging a baby.

Why won't that happen again? Forget Adam Osborne. Remember OS/2.

In the days immediately following Apple's big announcement this week, we've seen typical waves of speculation and reaction throughout the Mac community, representing the full range of viewpoints. It's an interesting and necessary part of the process, but there is much about this change that's simply out of our hands and outside our purview, including Steve Jobs's specific plans for future Apple products and strategy. We can guess about them, and we can offer our suggestions and requests, but we can't discuss any specifics that we don't have because they're still secret.

... * Don't hesitate to invest in good Mac computers today, but things may get a little tricky as Apple gets closer to abandoning the PowerPC platform in 2006. We might see some big discounts, but Apple might also run out of stock, as it typically does before new product introductions, before it lets prices drop.

Decide whether you want to invest in long-term or short-term PowerPC Macs, considering that the first Intel Macs are likely to have teething problems and that the first Intel Power Macs aren't even due for another two years.

We love the Mac Mini for its low cost and good performance, and the iBook G4 offers the same thing on the laptop side. With Intel versions of Minis and laptops due first, these low-cost options are an ideal bridge between aging Macs and the future.

The Power Mac G5 is our recommendation for long-term power running your existing applications. It's reasonably priced (well under $1500) at the low-end, and even that model has plenty of power, plus the major advantages of dual-disk RAID capability and upgradable graphics. Obviously, the high-end models give you more power, and that's what we'd choose if we were compressing media all day long.

The iMac G5 - second revision - is probably the best bet in the middle. It does everything pretty well; the price is attractive; and it's wonderfully serviceable....

... What about the reverse, running Windows applications on Intel Macs? That seems far more likely, but not yet in a clear, well-defined way (considering that Intel Macs aren't even designed yet). This possibility represents an enormous disincentive to the creation of Macintosh applications, to the point where we have to question the whole strategy Jobs pitched to us this week. With Mac OS X running on Intel hardware hosting Windows applications, what's left of the Macintosh? Tiger's Finder and Spotlight? This makes no sense. A Mac-only digital video distribution system? An all-encompassing Apple application suite? We just don't get it.

Why Firewire ports fail (and USB too)

Macintouch: FireWire Part 5

At some point during this past Minnesota winter I'd plug a USB cable into the front of my PC and the machine would reboot. Turned out it was a static charge effect (the machine seems ok, but it's incredible how much voltage was traveling into that machine). I started grounding myself on the metal case and the problem stopped. It sounds, though, as though I should have grounded the cable as well.

This is a significant problem for Firewire and USB port designers:

Michael Johas Teener

I read Ron Doerynck's experience (and numerous others over the years) about FireWire port reliability ... and I wish there was a simple answer, but it's actually quite complex:

1) The static discharge protection on most FireWire ports is actually quite good and meets all industry standards (basically, it meets the 'body model' ... the expected amount of energy delivered by a charged-up human body when it touches the computer). Indeed, the FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 sockets and plugs have special features to intercept the spark and send it to chassis ground rather than let it get into the FireWire silicon. Unfortunately, the 'body model' is a bit optimistic if you live in Alberta (or Montana, or Wyoming, or ... especially in the winter), so you can deliver some truly huge jolts.

2) The other big problem is that frequently it's the FireWire *cable* that builds up the big charge (just walk across the rug in an Alberta winter holding that cable) ... the cable is *NOT* body model ... it's a really big, long capacitor and can build up an even bigger charge ... and the spark can be delivered right to the FireWire interface when you plug it in. The protection against this is to touch *BOTH* the computer *AND* the plug with your finger, or to touch the plug to the chassis before plugging into the socket.

3) There have been some devices (computers/boards/peripherals) with 'suboptimal' FireWire protection circuits, particularly when the cable is a bit out of specification and fails to make a good solid ground connection. The systems that shipped in the last few years all have pretty robust interfaces (although I haven't looked at the Mac Mini, so I can't comment on it). The interfaces on the Xserve are particularly robust.

If you have a ground nearby, ground your USB or Firewire cable prior to plugging it in during high-static weather. This is harder for laptops, I wonder if that's the reason laptops seem most vulnerable to port failure.

Configuring fans to cool a system

PC Cooling and Power

I've been adding fans to cool my tower system -- too many drivers. I think I've configured them incorrectly!

If my power supply is indeed exhausting air (I hope it is) I need one pusher fan up front and on the side, and set all the rear fans to exhaust. I'll try it ...

A quieter pc - some easy steps

Easy Steps for a Quiet PC

Yes, WD drives sure are noisy ...

Hard Drives

Hard drives are constantly rotating at extremely high RPMs....

If you care about noise, then that 10K or 15K RPM screamer is just out. Instead, you'll want to look at a quiet 5400 RPM or 7200 RPM hard drive with some kind of acoustic management and fluid drive bearings. The reference quiet hard drives are the older Seagate Barracuda IV and V models. I've seen comments that the newer 7200.7 models aren't as quiet, but I don't know if that means "these are loud" or if it just means "they're not perfect". The current king of high-capacity drives with good, quiet performance are the newer Samsung SpinPoints. I have a mix of Samsungs and Barracudas and I'm happy with both of them. I also have a newer Maxtor model with fluid drive bearings, and while not silent, it's definitely better than the older Maxtor I used to have. The only manufacturer I adamantly refuse to use is Western Digital -- their drives are just painfully noisy.

iMac G5 and the new MacTel machines: it's about heat

The sad story of the iMac G5 is one of the best illustrations of how badly IBM's chip design has gone (I'm still planning to buy one....).

Macintouch iMac G5 (Part 10)

Rob Porter

Is there a specific number of imac G5 users that have had these various problems mentioned on this site? I browse through this and many other sites that touch on the problems of the imac G5 but, I have failed to see a number that shows the comparison of imac G5s sold to the imac G5s returned for problems. I am an IT person at a large company (100 machines) and all but 14 of our machines are imac G5s and G4s, the rest are powermacs and 4 wintel machines. As of yet we have had no problems nor symptoms. Is there a specific run of machines that were affected?

[We have] 28 total imac G5s in a fairly cool large building but only 2 are used for graphics or photo editing and they are on automatic setting for the processor. All the machines stay on all the time and the only thing I have seen is were the sleep light stays constant instead of pulsing and only pulse when put to sleep by the power button.

[Ric Ford, MacInTouch]

The problem appears to cross a wide range of iMac G5's, occasionally affecting even the second revision now shipping, although some components have been changed. Previous statistics from repair depots and multiple-unit purchasers were not encouraging - well into the double digit percentages.

I'm fairly sure that it's a heat-related issue, which in turn relates directly to processor loads and modes. If you run your systems in a cool environment at low processor loads, I think it's less likely you'll see failures. I'm currently running my own very-early 20' model at 'Reduced' processor speed to try and keep it healthy, since I don't have any hours to waste on repair hassles. This makes it slower than a cheap eMac, but it's also quieter, and I seldom need high performance, plus I've still got the beautiful big screen.

Gordon's Tech: Why the name change

Very few people read this blog -- it's where I keep notes for myself on tech issues. The design is for desperate searchers, not readers. Still, here's why the name has changed:

Gordon's Notes: Why the name change?