Information on Power Macintosh Computers, Related Hardware & Software
Notice: This article's development is on hold - This article is in reference to
older Motorola MC680X0 CISC CPU up through IBM G5 PowerPC CPU Macintosh computers,
and primarily in regards to pre-OS X software, NOT in reference to post-PPC Intel
Xeon and Intel Core 2 Duo, and later Intel CPU Macintosh computers, that since
OS X 10.7.0 "Lion" can't even run OS X programs that require any PowerPC code, as
the QuickTransit technology "Rosetta dynamic binary translator" (that was included
with the January 10, 2006 OS X 10.4.4 (8G1165) Intel "Tiger" release up through the
July 25, 2011 OS X 10.6.8 (10K549) Intel "Snow Leopard"release) is no longer
provided with OS X 10.7.0 "Lion" and above; Backwards software compatibility isn't
something Apple Corporate deems important; Whomever is the equivalent of Raymond
Chen and company inside of Apple, they didn't win the software compatibility and
API battles at Apple.
INTRODUCTION
As some people profess to not know where to get information on Power Macintosh Computers, Related Hardware, and Softwares, this Article is to provide some information and assistance on those topics.
Note: The absolute URLs listed in this Article may change; such is the way
of many Webmasters and Administrators. If you do get an error message, try typing
just the first part of the URL into your Web Browser; for example like:
http://www.applelinks.com/ or:
http://maccentral.macworld.com/, or:
http://www.macfixit.com/mfiprologin.shtml
(Note: MacFixIt now is a paid service; An annual subscription to MacFixIt Pro is
currently $24.95 per year) and then search the Site from there. Many Sites will have
Search Function Buttons or Search URLs listed, although how well Keyword Searches work is solely determined by how
well the Sites are set up and maintained.
PART ONE - Hardware-related
RE: G4 (aka PowerPC 7400) CPUs:
The original G4 Power Macintoshes:
The "Graphite" G4 "MiniTower" Power Macintoshes began shipping in the final Quarter of 1999; 3 available PCI Slots on these Desktop models, 2 available PCI Slots if purchased with the SCSI option; Originally with Ultra ATA/66 EIDE or Ultra2 SCSI Hard Drive options. CPUs shipping with these models use the Motorola "AltiVec" multimedia addition.
The original three versions were (contrary to APPLE's earlier statements of available CPU speeds): a 350 MHz lower-end version (which is basically a modified G3 Motherboard, with a G4 CPU), a 400 MHz mid-range version with DVD-ROM, and a high-end 450 Mhz version with DVD-RAM with recordable DVD functions (both the 400 MHz and 450 MHz models were a new Motherboard design). USB & "FireWire" Ports; Unfortunately, no ADB Port (needed for "Dongles").
APPLE then later upgraded all G4 configurations to using the ATI Rage 128 Pro graphics card, and upgrading the lower-end model to using the same architecture as the high-end G4s (including AGP graphics card support, DVD-ROM Drives and AirPort support). The CPU speeds were also upgradedto 400 MHz, 450 MHz and 500 MHz. Most Vendors now have these as their regular stock. The ATI Rage 128 Pro card kit is also supposed to be available, for a suggested retail price of US $99 for customers with previous AGP-based Power Mac G4 systems, but be forewarned that it is supposed to require Mac OS 9 (not known for sure if it also works with Mac OS 8.6), which is ATI "shooting themselves in the foot".
G4 Minitowers:
APPLE's "QuickSilver" G4 Desktop machines
In July of 2001, APPLE announced new models (believed to be using the using the Motorola G4-Plus aka PowerPC 7450 aka MPC7450 PowerPC) running at 733MHz, at 867MHz or dual 800MHz (like the previous generation, no longer mounted on a ZIFF Socket; It may or may not be possible to upgrade CPU). Very strangely, it appears that the new G4s no longer have a CD/DVD eject button on the case. To eject a CD, you will have to use the Eject button on the keyboard. If the Eject button key fails to work, as it can do at startup if you are having startup problems, you can try the Open Firmware alternative, that www.macfixit.com has posted: http://www.macfixit.com/archives/april.01.b.shtml#odds-04-20.
The "QuickSilver" G4 Desktop machines also very strangely appear to lack any direct sound input jack.
The specs are listed at: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n58839
The following standard internal hard disk drive configurations are available:
20GB 5400-rpm Ultra ATA/66 (lower E.I.D.E. standard)
30GB 7200-rpm Ultra ATA/66
40GB 7200-rpm Ultra ATA/66
APPLE'S Build-to-Order (BTO) Options also include:
36GB Ultra160 SCSI (10K rpm)
72GB Ultra160 SCSI (10K rpm)
180GB Barracuda Ultra160 SCSI drives from Seagate (upcoming; not yet available
via THE APPLE STORE)
Update: APPLE just announced a newer configuration of "QuickSilver" Mini-Towers:
Dual 1-GHz and 933 MHz models with the NVIDIA GeForce4 MX AGP Graphics card (64MB of DDR
SDRAM) and 800 MHz models with the ATI Radeon 7500 AGP Graphics card (32MB of DDR SDRAM):
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2002/jan/28pmg4.html
http://developer.apple.com/techpubs/hardware/Developer_Notes/Macintosh_CPUs-G4/PowerMacG4/
Issues raised with G4 MiniTower, previous Cube models, and the Flat-Panel iMacs:
While there are a number of postive things about the newer APPLE machines, there are still issues raised and/or unresolved:
The lack of Industry Standard (hello, APPLE: "We are going to be using Industry Standard Computer Hardwares"... remember that promise?) PCI Slots or ways to add them, made the G4 "Cube" (now discontinued by APPLE, due to low sales), and now the G4 iMac not as good a choice as the G4 "Mini-Tower", which still lacks a 6 or 8 PCI Slot high-end model available at the top, like some of the high-end "Windows" machines makers now offer, as a Customer custom built-in option for about $800 to $1,000 extra (as opposed to $1500 to $3500 for an external PCI Expansion System).
The "Cube" also recalled Steve Jobs' NeXT Cube computers, which sold fewer than 40,000 models, as well as the fact that the G4 Cube was over-priced, and requires a special adapter to use most Monitors.
Note: Before the "Cube", APPLE's previous Low-End and Mid-Range Desktop machines (other than iMacs) always had 3 three Industry Standard PCI Slots, since APPLE dropped NUBUS Slots.
In the Music and Sound Recording Industries alone, the lack of needed PCI Slots, or any way to either add or connect to them, was a big minus for the G4 "Cube".
Had they even put one PCI Slot in (and remember Steve Jobs admitting a while ago that adding one PCI Slot to even the original iMac design would have been a good idea; He just seems hostile to a more PCI Slots design in the high-end models, which could push some high-end users towards Bill Gates, MS, and INTEL), it would at least have been possible, to add an external PCI Expansion System to the G4 "Cube". There is no "FireWire to External PCI Expansion System" available.
The newer (Flat-Panel) Apple G4 iMacs:
Apple iMac "800" G4 features an 800 MHz PowerPC 7440 (G4) processor with the AltiVec "Velocity Engine" vector processing unit and a 256k on-chip level 2 cache, 256 MB of RAM (PC100 SDRAM), built-in 10/100 Base-T Ethernet, a 60.0 GB Ultra ATA hard drive (5400 RPM), internal cooling fan, a tray-loading 2X/6X/4X/24X DVD-R/CD-RW SuperDrive, internal NVIDIA GeForce2 MX graphics acceleration with 32 MB of DDR RAM. The internal components are housed in a 10.5" half-sphere, ice white case with a chromed stainless steel neck that supports a 15" TFT Active Matrix Flat-Panel LCD display. Ice white Apple Pro Keyboard and Mouse. External Apple Pro Speakers. Mac OS X (default boot) & Mac OS 9.2.x.
Apple iMac "700" (Flat-Panel) features a 700 MHz PowerPC 7440 (G4) processor with the AltiVec "Velocity Engine" vector processing unit and a 256k on-chip level 2 cache, 128 MB or 256 MB of RAM (PC100 SDRAM), a 40.0 GB Ultra ATA hard drive (5400 RPM), either a tray-loading CD-RW drive or DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo Drive, and NVIDIA GeForce2 MX graphics acceleration with 32 MB of DDR RAM. The internal components are housed in a 10.5" half-sphere, ice white case with a chromed stainless steel neck that supports a 15" TFT Active Matrix LCD display. Ice white Apple Pro Keyboard and Mouse. Mac OS X (default boot) & Mac OS 9.2.x
Unfortunately, Apple still did not add a single PCI slot to the new design, which still makes a BTO G4 Mini-Tower a much better design, and a better machine to get.
Recall that MacCentral's Poll about PCI Slots and G4s, showing 48% of Mac Users Mini-Tower G4s needing more than 3 PCI Slots; Many of these users want 6 PCI Slots (like they could get from the 9600 series) or 8 PCI Slots, like they could get from the high-end UMAX and/or POWER COMPUTING "Clones", which sold like hotcakes, over APPLE's 3 PCI Slot machines for that very reason, back in the "Cloning" Days.
Note: In professional recording studios PCI Cards are used:
1) to add large capacity 10,000 rpm Ultra2 SCSI Hard Disks for recording, mixing, etc. Professional Musicians and Sound Recording Engineers strongly recommend that you get and use Computers with high quality SCSI Hard Drives, not ATA EIDE Hard Drives, due to the several seconds lag in the ATA EIDE Hard Drives, which can cause great headaches while recording and mixing in particular;
2) to add up to eight mixable Stereo In and Out Channels using standard quarter-inch sound jacks per PCI card (the standard jacks used by Electric Guitars, Electronic Pianos, Amps, etc., etc.);
3) to add serial ports (or additional serial Ports, if the machine already has serial ports) needed for use with MIDI Keyboards/Controllers and other MIDI devices (the majority of which do not support USB or FireWire currently); Note that not all PCI cards that add serial ports support MIDI;
4) to add an Orange Micro "OrangePC", APPLE, or Radius DOS Card, so as to be able to run Music Softwares that are only written for DOS (yes there are issues of support for these, but you can get one for less than buying an entire DOS-compatible system; See: "pcSetup" by Randall Venhola & Fraser Valley Distributed Computing Systems Inc. (FVDCS), which is a subsidiary of Discovery Software Limited at: http://www.pcsetup2x.com/, and: Network 54: DOS Support for Macintosh http://network54.com/Forum/30406, and John Rizzo's "Apple PC Compatibility Card and Mac OS 8.5, 8.6, 9.0" at: http://www.macwindows.com/emultips.html#85patch for support and information for APPLE and Reply DOS and PC Compatibility PCI Cards for Mac OS 8.5, 8.6 and 9.x);
For Example: Programs such as "AURICLE: The Film Composer's Time Processor" aka "The AURICLE" {http://www.webcom.com/~auricle/}. "The AURICLE" cannot be written to run under the Mac OS, due to the Mac OS's "stealing" of timer tics, which results in the Mac OS's System Clock running slightly fast, so that it can't function as a "real time" machine. This makes "wild" movie film soundtrack "syncing" impossible for Orchestras and large Ensembles (and the VirtualPC software maps to the Mac OS System Clock, so no help there...); or to run Music Softwares only available for MS Windows (like ACID) inside the Power Macintosh, instead of having to buy an entire high-end "Win-Tel" machine and monitor;
5) To add RCA-type audio inputs and outputs, for use with certain recorders and devices;
6) to add certain needed specific PCI cards that come with high-end Macintosh Music Softwares (some of which use 4 or 5 PCI Cards).
The 9600/233 through 9600/350 Power Macintosh series, with their five available full-sized PCI slots (and certain 6 or 8 PCI slot Power Macintosh clone machines that were once made by Power Computing and Umax) are much beloved by many recording engineers I know. These high-end users (many of whom stuck with APPLE through the hard times) have been quite frustrated by having future OS support for their machines dropped, combined with the fact that they couldn't purchase a 6 or 8 available PCI slot "Blue & White" G3 previously, or a 6 or 8 available PCI slot "Graphite" or "QuickSilver" Mini-Tower G4 machine more recently.
It would behoove smart management of a Company to listen to their Customers, rather than having APPLE's Management getting stuck in "Tunnel-Vision" (to quote the Vice-President of dBug, speaking about the PCI Slot issues, and the Mac OS 9 & X software compatibility problems).
Note: Many high-end users have continued to ask APPLE over and over to again provide one model with 6 or 8 full-sized PCI Slots, for Musicians, Sound Engineers, Graphics Artists, and Publishers (similar in concept to the previous Power Macintosh 9600 Series for high-end users). MacCentral ran an Online Poll on users wanting more PCI Slots with results posted at: http://www.maccentral.com/poll/?pollname=20000421.pci.poll.
Note that the move to 4 PCI Slots in the newer "Mini-Tower" design is a good step in the right direction.
The dropping of the "Audio In" input doesn't in the new models, also doesn't make good sales sense for keeping Musicians and/or Sound Engineers as customers, that have long bought from APPLE (yes, I'm aware of the iMic, but THE APPLE STORE isn't pushing it much, and isn't bundling it with machines). Contrary to what some have thought, Musicians have always used the "Audio In" that was traditionally built into all Macintoshes in the past.
APPLE also has weirdly and prematurely eliminated their CRT "Apple Studio Display" CRT Monitors; with ColorSync hardware technology. As a majority of Apple's customer base is focused on content creation, and new applications (most especially from APPLE) are requiring more screen area. Even we were to spend $2500+ for the large Cinema displays, LCD is still a new technology, and still has unresolved resolution and color display problems (such as the inability to scale smoothly to different resolutions and problems with color fading at different viewing angles, zooming issues, which is why many choose the 21-inch CRT instead).
We are now stuck now needing to use third party hardware for our large CRT display needs. People were NOT complaining or asking APPLE to get rid of their CRT 21-inch Monitors. When I was buying some hardware at WESTWIND COMPUTING here in Seattle some months back, I saw stacks of boxes of the 21-inch "Apple Studio Display" CRT Monitors stacked to the ceiling, that customers had ordered.
Note: Like on all G3 & G4 CPU machines with USB, the dreaded "Complete Functionality of USB Devices is not available when starting up from this CD" message is something you have to live with, if you are needing to boot up off the Mac OS Install or Restore CD-ROMs, that ship with these machines. Note: This isn't a type of problem that happened with the Traditional Mac Serial Ports and/or SCSI; So it's certainly not a headache that long-time Macintosh users are used to.
It is confirmed that the DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, and/or DVD/CD-RW drives in APPLE's various models are 1-Zone (generally the Region purchased in only), rather than being 7-Zone (International) compatible. As they do not have the permanent 7-Zone (International) compatibility, then users will not be able to play International DVD-Movies in their G4s, or install International softwares from DVD-ROM Disks on their G4s, etc (just like many "Win-Tel"-type Computers, same problem there with DVD Drives). Detailed information on this issue is of great importance, if you want to do those things with your Personal Computer(s). A 7-Zone (International) DVD Player and a good Television is currently much better than DVD on any Computing Platform. See: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n60183 for APPLE's stated DVD Region code compatibility information.
Another issue is that APPLE is using a DVD Software solution, rather than a Hardware DVD solution on G4s and on iMacs, with some Video/Audio problems resulting (see: http://www.maccentral.com/news/0001/28.update.shtml/ and related Postings on that Page). APPLE could resolve some of these issues, simply by going the DVD Hardware route, and perhaps adapt something like maybe the Wired, Inc. "Wired4DVD" PCI card (see information at: http://web.archive.org/web/20010406025042/http://www.wiredinc.com/wired4dvd.html), or build one of their own to either be an Onboard Card, as well as increasing the number of available PCI slots on the G4s to use that type of card in conjuction with the DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, and/or DVD/CD-RW drives, and add a couple PCI Slots to all future iMacs. For some strange reason, APPLE doesn't even use or enable the MPEG decoding of DVD playback on the ATI Cards that some of their current Models ship with.
For those getting the "Wired4DVD" PCI cards, note that "Wired4DVD" allows 5 region changes before it gets locked out. After the fifth change, the card is locked in the last region selected and cannot be changed. Hopefully, someone will make a true permanent 7-Zone (International) compatible solution will someday be made available to those wanting to buy it (witness that permanent 7-Zone compatible DVD Players made for use with televisions are selling quite well).
Note that "Wired4DVD" PCI cards are unfortunately being discontinued, following the
Media 100 merger with Digital Origin Inc. (formerly known as "Radius"), after Media 100
acquired Terran Interactive and Wired, Inc.
http://www.media100.com/
There is a new URL for DVD-related issues; The Mac DVD Resource at: http://www.wormintheapple.gr/macdvd/
Note: The newest G4s (and the newest Powerbooks, iMacs, and/or iBooks) cannot run Mac OS 8.6; Due to the fact that approximately 1/4 of all traditional Mac OS Softwares are "broken" under Mac OS 9, and and even more are broken under the "Classic" Environment of Mac OS X (Client), this issue is of great concern, as many users were hoping to have an updated Mac OS 8.6, Mac OS 9, and Mac OS X all installed on the newest G3 & G4 machines, for the greatest possible software compatibility (and use a System Picker-type program, or a Start-Up Control Panel to choose which to boot from). The amount of older Mac OS software that can be updated to run up to under Mac OS 9.0.4/9.1/9.2.2 has increased recently; However, for those needing to run more than one version of the OS for needed software compatibility (especially in Music-related Fields), note that the Updates may leave the programs unable to run under Mac OS 8.6 or earlier. KEYBOARD Magazine currently strongly recommends against Musicians using Mac OS X at this time, and reports that many Mac OS Music Softwares also will not properly function under Mac OS 9.1 currently, and that most don't work right above Mac OS 8.6 or 9.0.4; KEYBOARD Magazine also reports that none of the sequencers/recorders currently available for Power Macintoshes will run under Mac OS X. There is a huge lack of Native Mac OS X Music Softwares announced (only 19 Mac OS X Music-related Softwares, most of them Utilities, listed at APPLE's Site), especially compared to the number of Music Programs compatible with the Traditional Mac OS 7.5.5 through Mac OS 8.6, as well as Hardware support issues with 9 & X.
APPLE has stated that the only major support difference/issue between the second generation of single Processor "Sawtooth" G4s and the original "Sawtooth" G4s that shipped with the *special* Full Install Build of Mac OS 8.6 for "Sawtooth" G4s, is support for the ATI Rage Pro 128 Graphics Card's VGA and DVI outputs (even though only one output is active at a time). The new Apple Display Connector (ADC) is the only major change (multi-processor Power Macintoshes are not new, and several CPU Upgrade companies have come out with, or are coming out with dual-processor upgrades for the majority of older PCI Power Macintoshes). The only other change previously noted is that the Ethernet controller has moved from the 66MHz PCI bus to the 100MHz system bus in those models (now apparently part of the UMA chipset?).
Another issue is the appearance of new Memory allocation problems under Mac OS 9; For more information see: http://www.macfixit.com/ultimate/Forum14/HTML/001115.html.
The PowerPC G4 and G4-Plus CPUs are the latest result of the Alliance between APPLE, Motorola and IBM, and is the first personal computer microprocessor that can deliver a sustained performance of over one gigaflop (There are modern large Mainframe Supercomputers that are still faster, of course). It has a theoretical peak performance of up to four times that speed.
Detailed information is posted at: http://www.apple.com/powermac/.
G4 Portable Models (no internal Floppy Drives either)
APPLE Titanium PowerBook; The G4 version of the PowerBook.
The specs are posted at: http://www.apple.com/powerbook/specs.html
APPLE has annouced that they will be moving up to a new model called: "PowerBook G4 (DVI)". Note: The new model also restores an analog audio input jack; A 3.5mm mini stereo input jack for line-level stereo signals, or for a stereo-to-RCA mini adapter (adapter not included). Information on the "PowerBook G4 (DVI)" is posted at:
http://developer.apple.com/techpubs/hardware/Developer_Notes/Macintosh_CPUs-G4/PowerBook_G4/
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=88371
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=16168
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=14449
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=12345
http://www.apple.com/powerbook/
David F. Bills has a Web Page called "PowerBook DVD Source" that covers various APPLE-related DVD issues for Powerbooks, G3s & G4s issues at: http://www.dfbills.com/powerbook/dvd.html
G3 to G4 CPU Upgrade Issues:
The PowerPC CPU upgrade vendors have stated that the G4 processor upgrades will run in "Blue & White" G3s with the older Version 1.0x ROM Firmware. However, "Blue & White" G3 Users who had Version 1.0x ROM Firmware, that then downloaded and installed the APPLE ROM Update/Fix for a PCI timing bug issue (which updated them to Version 1.1 ROM Firmware), are stating that now they have found that they now could not use G4 CPU upgrades in their "Blue & White" G3s. Hopefully this was not deliberate act by APPLE's Management, (and APPLE should have had Universal Patch to fix this issued). Otherwise APPLE may find itself getting the same kind of Legal problems that Microsoft (via the Civil Actions from Caldera DR-DOS, and from Sun, plus the Federal Department Of Justice's Anti-Trust Legal Actions) and Intel have gotten themselves into. It doesn't matter if APPLE promised or not that the G3 machines would be upgradeable, if any deliberate actions were taken to try to make sure that no third-party Vendor could successfully create a functional G3 to G4 upgrade; Intel learned a similar Legal lesson with changing their CPU Board designs and then withholding information from other vendors.
PowerLogix R&D, Inc. (http://www.powerlogix.com/home.html) has stated that that they have found a way to "get around" APPLE's disabling feature; their software apparently "patch" only works with their own G4 CPU upgrade. Sonnet Technologies has also issued a similar statement.
The previously out-of-business, and now back in business Newer Technology (see: http://www.newertech.com/) had announced that its first shipping MAXpowr G4 ZIF upgrade worked in the "Blue & White" Power Macintosh G3 systems (http://macweek.zdnet.com/2000/12/24/1229newer.html). The MAXpowr G4 ZIF processor upgrade was both a hardware and software solution regarding the ROM issues; The MAXpowr G4 installer provides a "fix" to restore the "Blue & White" Power Macintosh G3 ROMs to their original state (defeating the APPLE Block) prior to the MAXpowr G4 upgrade installation - therefore a complete G4 solution. A "Blue & White" Power Macintosh G3 upgraded with the MAXpowr 400 MHz G4 provides slightly faster performance and compatibility than the original lower-end 350MHz Power Macintosh G4s. Newer Technology had posted an update that allowed most of its "MaxPowr" line of CPU upgrade cards to work with Mac OS 9 (the information is also available via mirrors of the original Newer Technology site: http://web.archive.org/web/20010803081142/newertech.technojunkie.org/. http://www.MosaicComputing.com/newertech/
NOTE: It appeared that some of the G4 upgrades for the "Blue & White" Power Macintosh G3 systems might not be able to run later versions of Mac OS 9, because of the Firmware updates from APPLE, according to what the AppleCare article #60643 stated; http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n60643. The Article indicates that if you get a message during installation of Mac OS 9 that says your computer's firmware is out of date, you must install the Firmware update before installing Mac OS 9. This certainly sounds like the G4-block Firmware Update for the "Blue & White" Power Macintosh G3 systems is required to run Mac OS 9, on those models.
However, all CPU upgrade manufacturers have worked to find more functional
solutions, and have posted information and software as they figured the issues out.
RE: G3 (aka PowerPC 750) CPU Power Macintoshes
Desktop Models
RE: APPLE "iMac":
The CRT iMac is much like a modern Mac Plus, or Mac SE, or Mac Classic; a lower-end All-In-One machine that is generally good for entry-level users, or Home use, or Small Business use. It's a good machine for those type of users, who simply replace their machine(s) every couple years, instead of upgrading their existing machine(s). However, like the IBM APTIVA, the CPU and the ROM Chip are soldered on, so CPU upgrades for an iMac are not easy, but are now possible for the earlier iMac models, originally via a CPU upgrade from Newer Technology. Also the iMac has no external SCSI Port (so unlike most Macintoshes of the past, you can't create an external Emergency Boot Volume, on a SCSI Drive with your Utility and Repair softwares installed), uses USB Ports (instead of traditional Mac Serial Ports), and you also have to add an external USB Floppy Disk Drive, if you need or want to use Floppy Disks.
APPLE had added 2 "FireWire" Ports to the iMac DV (Digital Video) models (for more detailed information see: http://www.apple.com/imac/ for specs). If someone will now manufacture a "FireWire to SCSI II Narrow Adapter", iMac DV users would then be able to use their older SCSI devices with the iMac DV models, and hopefully at better speeds than the current USB to SCSI Adapters.
The other hoped-for features most requested by Mac users in future iMacs were:
a) a 17-Inch or 18-inch built-in Monitor (APPLE would need to make the iMac have two handles to lift this);
b) a full-sized PCI Slot (so that PCI SCSI cards, PCI Expansion Systems and/or more Graphics support could be added).
c) A dedicated AGP 2x (or higher) graphics card slot.
APPLE didn't listen to these requests for regular iMacs.
The new eMac (a CRT "Educational" iMac) does finally provide a 17-Inch CRT built-in Monitor; It originally could only be purchased by students, teachers and schools, but the demand is so high for this product, that APPLE decided to make it available to the general public. The eMac currently uses a base configuration of a 700MHz PowerPC G4 processor on a 100MHz system bus, 128MB of RAM, 40GB Ultra ATA hard disk, two IEEE 1394 FireWire ports, three USB 1.1 ports, built-in 10/100Base-T Ethernet, AirPort slot and antennas, built-in microphone and 16-bit stereo speakers, analog audio input, a mini-VGA port as found on the iBook (Dual USB) for display mirroring only, the white models of the Apple Pro Keyboard and Apple Pro Mouse, World Book for Mac OS X, PCalc, and FAXstf software. Different models provide a CD-ROM drive and no modem, or the Combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive and the 56K V.90 internal modem. There is no internal SuperDrive DVD option currently offered, so any DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, or DVD SuperDrive must be added externally (with no PCI Slots, FireWire would be the only way to get decent speed). Differing base RAM configurations are provided with different models.
http://www.apple.com/education/emac/
http://www.apple.com/education/store
http://www.store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/72/wo/8yLKe0Ph2WagRCiEWW/15.3.0.3.30.25.0.1.3.1.3.1.1.0?94,72
However, don't ignore the higher-end users, who generally aren't using iMacs or eMacs.
There are many Musicians, Sound Engineers, Publishers, Graphics Artists, and others, who
are using the older 604 & 604e (from the 7600/132 MHz, up to the 8600/300 MHz &
9600/350 MHz) CPU machines, and are adding G3s (and now G4s) along the way.
RE: APPLE "Blue & White" G3 Desktop Models
(which have now been phased out; The G3 Server Models were needed for quite some
time, due to a bug in the Mac OS X Server Software that prevented it from running on G4s.
The only real grumbles are that:
1) Just like in the current "Graphite" & "QuickSilver" G4 CPU series of machines, there was not an 8 PCI Slot "Blue & White" G3 Machine available, for the really high-end users (that would be 6 available slots, after the VRAM/Graphics, and SCSI PCI cards), so people who need extra slots have to get external PCI Slot Expansion Systems from Magma (http://www.magma.com/), or from SBS Technologies, Inc. (http://www.sbs-bit3.com/).
2) We still really do need external SCSI and USB (and hopefully "FireWire", in the Future) Floppy Drives, that are compatible with Mac OS 6.0.8 through Mac OS X, and that can also read 400 and 800 KB Mac OS Floppy Disks, primarily for Software Installation of older Mac OS Programs (Unlike many DOS and/or Windows programs of the same generations, many older Mac OS Programs work just fine, at least up to Mac OS 8.1 through Mac OS 8.6, and many do run under 9.0.4 & 9.1, IF you can figure out a way to mount the Disk Images and install from them...). APPLE should note that Power Macintosh users often get the freeware "VirtualMac" (aka "vMac") Emulator (http://leb.net/vmac/) and transfer their Mac PLUS's ROM image, so that they can continue to use certain old beloved 68000-compatible programs, all in one machine.
3) Unlike the older "Beige" G3 models with the 66 MHz Internal System Bus Speed (which also do have the built-in APPLE "SuperDrive" Floppy Disk Drives), the "Blue & White" G3 (and also the newer "Graphite" and "QuickSilver" G4) models don't appear to be able to run Mac OS 8.1. Many businesses and users really want to be able to partition their Hard Disks and install Mac OS 8.1, Mac OS 8.6. or Mac OS 9, and Mac OS X, and choose which one to start up from when they turn on their machines. APPLE should pay attention to this issue; Note that on the "Win-Tel" Side, it is common to see machines in businesses with their Hard Disks partitioned and set up with: IBM PC-DOS 7, MS Windows for Workgroups 3.11/MS-DOS 6.22, MS Windows 95, MS Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, and Windows 2000 all installed (so that they can run all their various Programs as needed), and they choose which OS to boot from, via a Startup Manager-type program.
4) Actual G3 models do not appear to be able to sustain the contents of a RAM Disk during reboots, thus rendering a bootable RAM Disk useless (no reports on if G4s are different in this regard, but it is quite likely that the same problem exists with G4s).
Otherwise, the 450 MHz "Blue & White" G3 Mini-Towers, with Ultra-Wide
SCSI II via Adaptec's "Adaptec 2940U2W" PCI Cards (http://www.adaptec.com/products/solutions/macintosh.html
& http://www.adaptec.com/products/guide/macintoshscsimatrix.html)
are the most popular among the high-end G3 machines. Note that the "Blue & White" G3s have a 100 MHz Internal System Bus Speed, 1 PCI Graphics
Card Slot filled with an custom ATI RAGE 128 PRO Graphics Card with 16 MB of VRAM; the ATI RAGE ORION card
is the most similar to the custom PCI graphics card in the G3s; see ATI's Site
for more information:
http://www.atitech.com/na/pages/products/mac/rage_orion/index.html
&
http://www.ati.com/na/pages/products/mac/mac_index.html),
3 PCI Slots for other uses (2 available if you go for the Ultra-Wide SCSI),
built-in 10/100 BASE-T Ethernet, 1 ADB Port (thank goodness), 2 "FireWire"
Ports, & 2 USB Ports (and like the iMac, no internal Floppy Drive).
Optional Zip Drive. An internal DVD-ROM Drive is available upon customer
request; Note that no information (just like on other Platforms) appears
to be available as to if the DVD-ROM Drives have the 7-Zone International
compatibility or not.
Portable Models (no internal Floppy Drives either)
APPLE PowerBook G3 models
There were two versions of the APPLE PowerBook G3 models (nicknamed "Lombard" in the Industy; APPLE came out with a newer model nicknamed "Pismo", that runs at 500 MHz).
Both models use a 14.1 inch active-matrix display. Both have two USB Ports, a hot-swapable expansion bay, and a Peripheral Connection (aka PC) Card Slot to let users connect to storage, video and "FireWire" Peripherals. A 10 GIG IDE internal Hard Disk option was available as custom configuration.
PowerBook G3 Accessories listed at APPLE's Site include:
a) APPLE HDI-30 SCSI Disk Adapter for SCSI disk mode (Part Number: M2539LL/A),
b) APPLE SCSI Peripheral Interface Cable for SCSI-to-SCSI connection
(Part Number: M0207),
c) APPLE HDI-30 SCSI System Cable for PowerBook-to-SCSI connection
(Part Number: M2538LL/A).
The 333 MHz G3 CPU model comes with: a 512 KB Level 2 Cache/133 MHz "Backside" Bus Speed, 64 MB of RAM (SDRAM)/384 MB maximum & 8 MB VRAM (SDRAM), and ATI RAGE LT PRO video controller, a 4 GB internal IDE Hard Disk, a 20X internal CD-ROM Drive, built-in 10/100 BASE-T Ethernet, and an internal 56K bps modem.
The 400 MHz G3 CPU model comes with: a 1MB Level 2 Cache/160 MHz "Backside" Bus Speed, 64 MB of RAM (SDRAM) & 8 MB VRAM (SDRAM), and ATI RAGE LT PRO video controller, a 6 GB internal IDE Hard Disk, a 2X internal DVD-ROM Drive, Built-in 10/100 BASE-T Ethernet, and an internal 56K bps modem.
Note: Newer Technology sold it's popular Powerbook "BookEndz" Docking Station
to Pilot Technologies, Inc. (http://www.pilot-tech.com/)
RE: APPLE "iBook":
Note: A new version of the iBook is shipping from APPLE, the iBook "600" (14-Inch); The specs are at: http://www.apple.com/ibook/specs.html
Note: Like the other new APPLE machines, there is NO built-in Audio In (very
unusual for any Power Macintosh personal computer in the past). Griffin Technology
(http://www.griffintechnology.com/),
known as the makers of the popular "NE Mic" microphone/line input adaptor for
standard Macintoshes, has come out with the USB "iMic" microphone/line input
adaptor to meet that need. You can also add USB Video-Output with the AVerMedia
"USBPresenter" (http://www.aver.com/press/usb_pr.html).
"FireWire" (http://www.apple.com/firewire/) aka "i.LINK" aka "IEEE 1394":
With the advent of the "Blue & White" G3, and the new G4 Personal Computers, APPLE's "FireWire" Interface appears to be growing in popularity in the Visual markets, the Desktop Publishing markets, and the Music markets.
a) VST Technologies Incorporated (http://www.vsttech.com/) is marketing external "FireWire" Hard Drives ranging from 2 GB to 14 GB in capacity.
b) Digital Origin (http://www.media100.com/ )
(http://www.digitalorigin.com/products/compat/dvqualified1394.html)
offers the "1394 Interface PCI Card" (aka Radius 1394 PCI Card), for use with
Digital Origin DV Softwares.
c) Add "FireWire" to older PCI Power Macintoshes, via the Orange Micro, Inc. "HotLink FireWire PCI Board" (http://www.orangemicro.com/firewire.html & http://www.orangemicro.com/firewirepci.html);
d) or the Evergreen Technologies, Inc.'s "fireLINE" PCI Card (http://www.evergreennow.com/products/fireLINE/).
e) Add both "FireWire" and USB to older PCI Power Macintoshes, via the Orange Micro, Inc. "OrangeLink FireWire/USB Board" (http://www.orangemicro.com/firewireusbpci.html);
f) or via the Evergreen Technologies, Inc.'s "Evergreen fireLINE ComboCard" (http://www.evergreennow.com/products/fireLINE/). NOTE: Both the Orange Micro & Evergreen PCI Cards require Mac OS 8.6 or higher to function currently (It would be really nice if either or both Companies also added functionality under the Mac OS 8.1 Build {for PCI Power Macintoshes} and up).
g) Add Digital Video capture to PCI Power Macintoshes via the Sony DVBK-2000, DV Still-Image Capture Board (PCI Card) (http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer/camcorder/dvbk_2000b.html)
h) An external "FireWire" Hub is available: the MacWorks "RocketFire" 6-Port FireWire Hub (http://www.macworks.com/html/firewire.html)
i) BellStor Storage Solutions; A subsidiary of Bell Microproducts Inc. (http://www.bellmicro.com/bellstor/) is putting out the BellStor Endeavor Plus External 4x4x16 CD-RW FireWire Drive: http://search.zones.com/search/bin/searchinterface.dll
j) LACIE (http://www.lacie.com/) is adding
FireWire Hard Drives to their current range of Drives (SCSI, USB, etc.):
http://www.lacie.com/scripts/press/PR.cfm?index=209&p=releng &
http://www.lacie.com/scripts/harddrive/drive.cfm?which=30
l) Some of the "FireWire"-compatible Digital Cameras and Camcorders available are:
Canon Elura Mini DV Camcorder
(http://www.canondv.com/elura/)
Canon Optura Mini DV Camcorder
(http://www.canondv.com/optura/prodinfo/prodinfo.html)
Canon Vistura Mini DV Camcorder
(http://www.canondv.com/vistura/)
Canon XL1 Mini DV Camcorder
(http://www.canondv.com/xl1/prodinfo/prodinfo.html)
Canon ZR Mini DV Camcorder
(http://www.canondv.com/zr/)
JVC GR-DLS1U Mini DV Camcorder
(http://www.jvcpro.com/dvprod/gr-dls1u.htm)
Kodak Professional DCS 315 Digital Camera (http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/cameras/dcs315/dcs315Index.shtml)
Kodak Professional DCS 520 Digital Camera (http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/cameras/dcs520/features.shtml)
Kodak Professional DCS 560 Digital Camera (http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/cameras/dcs560/features.shtml)
Kodak Professional DCS 620 Digital Camera (http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/cameras/dcs620/dcs620Features.shtml)
Panasonic PV-DV910 Mini DV Camcorder
(http://www.prodcat.panasonic.com/shop/product.asp?sku=PV-DV910)
Phase One LightPhase digital camera back
(
http://www.phaseone.com/brochures/lightphase/lightds.shtml)
Sony DCR-PC10 DV Camcorder (http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer/ss5/office/camcorder/digitalvideoproducts/dcr-pc10_specs.shtml)
Sony DCR-TRV900 DV Camcorder
(
http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer/camcorder/dcr_trv900b.html#av)
Sony DCR-PC1 DV Camcorder
(
http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer/camcorder/dcr_pc1b.html#av)
Sony GV-D900 Video Walkman
(
http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer/camcorder/gvd900.html)
"FireWire"-compatible Digital VCR:
Panasonic PV-HD1000 D-VHS Digital VCR
(
http://www.prodcat.panasonic.com/shop/product.asp?sku=PV-HD1000)
"FireWire"-compatible external Computer Speakers:
SoftAcoustic Speakers - Connects via FireWire ports on G3s, G4s, iMac DVs, or
on older PCI Power Macintoshes or Windows PCs that have a PCI Card adding FireWire
Ports.
(http://softacoustik.com/products/sa20.html)
NOTE: Mactell Corporation (http://www.mactell.com/)
has gone out of business, due to old debts from several years back; Therefore, the
MacTell "FireWire DAT" and "Fire CD-RD" external Drives are no longer available, (as well
as their PCI Graphics Cards based on 3dfx's Voodoo chipset, and their PowerPC CPU
Upgrades).
USB Products
Note: When buying an iMac, a "Graphite" or "QuickSilver" G4, a "Blue & White" G3, "Lombard" PowerBook G3, "Titanium" G4 PowerBook, or an iBook, I strongly recommend that you also get a USB Hub; Companies like ADS, Asante, Belkin, BellStor, CompuCable, Freecom, Entrega Technologies, Interex, Macally, and a number of other Companies manufacture USB Hubs, that are also marketed through the Mail Order Companies listed in the "In conclusion: Vendor Information" Section, at the end of this Article.
As there are so many USB 1.x-compatible products currently coming out that it's hard to keep track, I will mention just a few:
1) While there were complaints about the original version, the final version of the Imation (http://www.imation.com/) SuperDisk USB 2x External Floppy Drive (http://www.superdisk.com/) currently appears to be the most popular of the external USB Floppy Drives; The SuperDisk drive supports Mac OS 1.4 Floppy Disks, RLL encoding for only the SuperDisk media, and MFM encoding for 1.44 and 720 (IBM format) media. It can also read 1.68 MB DMF or "Distribution Media Format" floppy disks (Microsoft uses DMF 2048 for the floppy versions of some of their softwares), and both 1.2 MB (3 1/2 inch) Japanese formats. Imation has stated that they have worked on resolving some of the previous issues complained about, including the problems with Multi-Floppy installs. Imation may discontinue the SuperDisk Drive; See: http://www.maccentral.com/news/0011/28.imation.shtml.
There are two SuperDisk limitations that prospective buyers should be aware of:
a) Since the entire Computer Industry (all Platforms) has not been willing to establish a Standard, currently not all types of Personal Computer on any Platform can boot off of any external USB Peripheral (except on the newer machines from APPLE);
b) Since the The SuperDisk drive does not have a Floppy Disk Controller built into the drive (Imation says that it uses an IDE/ATAPI drive with a USB interface adapter connected to it), it cannot read the old Mac OS 400 and 800 KB Floppy Format. Imation states that the old Mac OS 400 and 800 KB Floppy Disks use what is called GCR data encoding (Group Code Recording; a particular code of the RLL or "Run Length Limited" data encoding method often used on data cartridge drives. The code combines high data density with relative ease of decoding). So, GCR encodes the data so 4 bits of data become 5 bits on the disk. Imation also stated that this was: "Less efficient than MFM (aka "Modified Frequency Modulation") data encoding, but GCR had much more decode margin..." (Some experts would disagree that MFM is more efficient than GCR). In addition, the old Mac OS 400 and 800 KB Floppy Format is recorded on the disk in four zones, and these zones sometimes required the disk to be spun at different speeds to compensate for frequency differences. The old APPLE internal "SuperDrive" Floppy Disk Drives had a modified Floppy Disk Controller that varied the motor speed to stuff more data onto the disks.
ADVICE: Keep your older machines; If your model(s) support it, run Mac OS 7.1 with Update 3, for mounting 400 KB Mac Floppy Disks. Run Mac OS 7.5.5, or 7.6.1 on them, if you have problems mounting older 800 KB Floppy Disks under Mac OS 8, 9, or X. With the older machiness' APPLE "SuperDrive" Floppy Disk Drives around, you can also tranfer files via Ethernet, or on to an Iomega Zip Disk, etc., if you own lots of older programs that have to be installed off 400 and 800 KB Floppy Disks (besides, if they are Power Macintoshes, most of them can be good Servers using MkLinux or LinuxPPC, if you desire). While I understand the desire to eventually cease using Floppy Drives, is a pity that APPLE didn't choose to make the APPLE "SuperDrive" Floppy Disk Drives available as an customer option in the form of external USB and SCSI models, so that the phase-out of Floppy Drives was a gradual thing, rather than a sudden jolt.
Many people also now use SCSI and/or USB Iomega Zip Drives and Iomega Jaz Drives
(http://www.iomega.com/), instead of Floppy Drives
for backups. Be forewarned that there have been some complaints posted Online about
Iomega. Iomega Corporation itself has posted information about proposed Settlements to
Legal Actions at:
http://www.iomega.com/champod_notice.html.
2) Compucable (http://www.compucable.com/se_ip_body.html) has entered the market with iMac-related products like the "iDoc", which combines a USB Hub with 3 USB Ports, 2 traditional Mac Serial Ports, and 1 Parallel Port in a Swivel Base that holds an iMac. Compucable has now put out an "iDoc II" that will has 4 USB Ports, a 1.4 MB Floppy Drive, 2 traditional Mac Serial Ports, and 1 traditional ADB Port. They also make a number of various USB Devices like USB Hubs, USB to Serial Port adapters, USB to ADB adapters, and a two-button Mouse. They now also make a "GDock" USB Hub for G4s; Note that most of their newest models require Mac OS 9 (it is unfortunate that they are not also all Mac OS 8.6 compatible).
3) The previously out-of-business Newer Technology, Incorporated (http://web.archive.org/web/20010803081142/newertech.technojunkie.org/. http://www.MosaicComputing.com/newertech/ http://www.newertech.com/) had put out:
a) The "uDrive" external USB Floppy Drive, which reads 1.4 MB Mac OS Floppy Disks, and 1.44 and 720 (IBM format) Floppy Disks;
b) The "uHub", which is a 7 Port USB Hub;
c) Newer Technology had discontinued its "uSCSI" adapter and directed customers to Microtech International (http://www.microtechint.com/qs-usbscsi.html) for USB to SCSI adapters.
4) Teac America (http://www.teac.com/) Data Storage Products Division has put out "Teac FD05PU, USB Interface Floppy Disk Drive" which reads 1.4 MB Mac OS Floppy Disks.
5) Winstation (http://www.winstation.com/)
has put out both SCSI II (micro 50 pin connection), and USB versions of a SuperDisk
External Floppy Drive. They only read and write the 1.4 MB Disks and the new 120 MB
Disks. The SCSI models work with any Macintosh which is running with Mac OS 7.1 or
higher. Winstation states that the drives come with software for both Mac OS and Windows OS
(no UNIX?), so that their product can be used on either of those Platforms.
IBM/MOTOROLA-based "PowerPC 750" (which have come down over $1,000 in price from last year) and "PowerPC 7400" RISC CPU Upgrades:
a) The previously out-of-business Newer Technology Incorporated (http://web.archive.org/web/20010803081142/newertech.technojunkie.org/. http://www.MosaicComputing.com/newertech/ http://www.newertech.com/) had manufactored a range of G3 & G4 RISC CPU Upgrades for older, and current Power Macintoshes (except for the new G4 "Sawtooth" Motherboard machines). Depending on the upgrade type, CPU Speeds started at 240 MHz and went up to 500 MHz.
Newer's upgrades for pre-G3 and pre-G4 machines also added needed additional code to the Open Firmware dealing with speculative processing, via an onboard ROM chip, so that the added information can't be accidentally deleted when Zapping the PRAM. Unfortunately, no one else offered or offers this built into their upgrades.
Newer stated that Upgrades were available for the following Series of APPLE Models (Some of the Power Computing, Radius & Umax Mac OS-Compatible"Clones" Models were also covered):
Power Mac 6100; Performa 61xx; Power Mac 7100; Power Mac 8100; Power Mac 7300; Power Mac 7500; Power Mac 4400; Power Mac 5400; Power Mac 5500; Power Mac 6400; Power Mac 6500; Performa 5400; Performa 5410; Performa 5420; Performa 5430; Performa 5440; Performa 6360; Performa 6400; Performa 6410; Performa 6420; Power Mac 7600; Power Mac 8500; Power Mac 8600; Power Mac 9500; Power Mac 9600; Power Mac G3/233; Power Mac G3/266; Power Mac G3/300, all "Blue & White" G3 Mini-Towers, earlier versions of the iMac, and for the "YIKES" Motherboard G4s (no upgrades for "Sawtooth" G4s).
Newer had announced new MAXpowr G4 upgrades for some of the upgradeable Power Macintosh models, including the APPLE Power Mac 7500, Power Mac 7600, Power Mac 7300, Power Mac 8500, Power Mac 9500, and Power Mac 9600 series.
Note that Newer Technology's software (MAXpowr version 2.0.5 by Ben Mickaelian;
Copyright 1997-2000 Newer Technology, Inc.) for their upgrades only officially
supports Mac OS 7.5.3 through Mac OS 9.0.4. The Sonnet Technologies"PCI X Install
1.1.2" update for Mac OS X 10.1 compatibility
(http://www.sonnettech.com/downloads/osx_upgrade_sw.html#installer),
is an Open Firmware modification; It does not appear to include any update for the
MAXpowr Control Panel and Extention for direct Mac OS 9.1 support. So whether you
can boot directly under Mac OS 9.1 and have the full enabling of the Newer
Technology CPU upgrades is not known. Sonnet "PCI X Install" does not current
support Mac OS 9.2.x for Mac OS X's "Classic" Emulation Environment, or in any
other way. However, you must have Mac OS 9.1 already installed on a different
hard disk or partition than you plan to install Mac OS X 10.1 on. The hard disk or
partition that you install Mac OS X 10.1 on must also be smaller than 8 GB (this
limitaion does not appear to apply to the other hard disk or partition you have
installed Mac OS 9.1 on). If you have the North American version of Mac OS 9.1,
you must update (it can be downloaded from APPLE's Site) your Startup Disk Control
Panel to the North American English Version 9.2.1, before installing "PCI X Install
1.1.2". http://downloAd.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English-North_American/Macintosh/System/Mac_OS_X/Startup_Disk_9.2.1.smi.bin
The update is ONLY for Mac OS X 10.1 compatibility for Newer Technology
CPU upgrades installed on the following machines (that originally shipped with 604
or 604e CPUs):
Power Macintosh 7300, 7500, 7600, 8500, 8515, 8600, 9500, 9515, 9600
Workgroup Server 7350, 8550, 9650
DayStar Genesis and Millennium Series
MacTell XB-Pro
Power Computing PowerTower Pro and PowerWave
UMAX J700, S900
TechnoWarehouse, LLC (http://www.TechnoWarehousellc.com/), and Other World Computing (http://eshop.macsales.com/Accelerators/index.cfm) have been selling the Newer Technology products.
With Newer Technology re-opening, it will be interesting to see what they come out with:
Will they continue their previous practice of providing the needed additional code to the Open Firmware dealing with speculative processing, via an onboard ROM chip, so that the added information can't be accidentally deleted when Zapping the PRAM?
Will they come out with faster G4 upgrades for at least the PCI Power Macintosh 7300, 7500, 7600, 8500, 8515, 8600, 9500, 9515, 9600 series of machines, that supports Mac OS 7.5.3 through Mac OS 9.1, and maybe also a patch that enables support for Mac OS 9.2.x and Mac OS X?
b) XLR8 by Interex (http://www.xlr8.com/)
and Sonnet Technologies (http://www.sonnettech.com/)
are strong competitors for the upgrade Market. XLR8 has come out with the very
popular XLR8 CarrierZIF "Upgradeable Upgrade" Card, which lets users use new ZIF
Socket G3 or G4 CPUs in their 7500 through 9600 series of machines, and supports
Mac OS 7.6.1 through Mac OS 9 currently. PowerLogix R&D, Inc.
(http://www.powerlogix.com/home.html)
is also making strong inroads into the CPU upgrade market.
SCSI:
SCSI still retrieves, stores and transfers information faster than any other I/O (Input/Output) technology. SCSI offers around two and a half times the raw performance of IDE. SCSI is also multi-threaded; This means that it can execute multiple commands at the same time, while IDE can only execute one command at a time. SCSI provides connectivity for internal and external devices while IDE currently only supports internal devices. You can generally boot up from higher-end SCSI Drives, which you still can't do from "FireWire" Drives, or most USB Drives. In the Music & Sound Engineering Fields alone, SCSI is far more preferable to EIDE drives, even with the seven SCSI Devices per chain limitation (EIDE Drives are often limited to two devices per chain).
Since SCSI is now currently comes only on the APPLE G4 machines (via Adaptec Ultra2 SCSI PCI Cards, ATTO Technology, Inc. "ExpressPCI UL2D" Ultra2 SCSI LVD PCI Cards), or Ultra160 SCSI (via PCI cards) on Server models, or IF requested by the Customer when ordering, with Ultra ATA-33 EIDE Drives on most lower-end and mid-range models, the Orange Micro (http://www.orangemicro.com/) "Grappler" SCSI PCI Cards (available in Fast Narrow, Ultra, and Ultra-Wide versions) are a good low-cost alternative to continuing to use your SCSI Peripherals, especially if you've moved up and not kept your older Machine(s).
Adaptec (http://www.adaptec.com/products/solutions/macintosh.html) and Formac Electronic, Inc. (http://www.formac.com/) are among other good SCSI card providers (but more expensive). Adaptec now also offers Ultra3 SCSI PCI Cards (via a new Standard called Ultra160 SCSI); and now APPLE will start offering Ultra3 SCSI, as a Customer-requested option.
Note: Professional Musicians and Sound Recording Engineers strongly recommend that you get and use Computers with high quality SCSI Hard Drives, not ATA EIDE Hard Drives, due to the several seconds lag in the ATA EIDE Hard Drives, which can cause great headaches while recording and mixing in particular
You can add what is called "Thin SCSI" to only the first two versions of the iMac (the 233 Mhz A & B "Bondi Blue" iMacs) via the "Mezzanine Slot on those iMac models' Motherboard. Formac (http://www.formac.com/), which is the German company that designed the Vision 3D Pro graphics cards sold in the United States by Mactell, has two products for those iMac models:
Formac "iProRaid" SCSI Card
Product Features:
Bus Master Card with Direct Memory Access (DMA)
SCSI-1, SCSI-2 and SCSI-3, Fast, Wide and Ultra
Inputs for 8 and 16 Bit SCSI-Devices
No Jumper
SCSI Manager 4.3 compatible
HD connection, CD-ROM, DAT, Scanner, and Removable Drives
Manager 7.0 with Raid Level 0 +1
Note: A review of the Formac "iProRaid" SCSI Card can be found at: http://www.theimac.com/news/excl/154.shtml
and:
Formac "iProRaidTV"
(aka FORMAC IPRORAID TV TUNER FOR IMAC)
http://www.target.vol.at/datasheets/Formac/iProTv.pdf
Recommended Add-On: Formac SCSI ULTRA HD68-C50 3' Cable for I/PRORAID
Formac strongly suggests that customers have a qualified technician install these products, rather than trying to put them in themselves. Be forwarned that APPLE states that customers may void their One Year iMac warranty if they use these products.
Formac Online Store: http://www.formac.com/html/shopformac.html?cid=shop_pr_specials
ClubMac (1-800-258-2622 or http://www.pacbus.com/formac/) and MacMall (1-800-328-2790 or http://www.pcmall.com/macmall/) currently offer sales of Formac products. Because these products have to be shipped from Germany, it is my understanding that can take a while to get them.
Other Formac info:
British Contact (German Web Site and Email Contact Address are in German,
of course): info-uk@formac.com
To buy Formac products outside of the U.S.A. Contact: susan@saul-international.com.
Other information is at:
http://www.formac.com/usa/html/products/index.html
&
http://www.formac.com/usa/html/products/pre_products.html.
Traditional Mac Serial Ports:
a) Musicians can now add backwards-compatibility for older MIDI devices in the "Blue & White" G3s, the 233 through 333 MHz versions of the iMacs, and in the G4s, with the Gee.Three.com (http://www.geethree.com/stealth.html & http://www.opcode.com/products/stealthport/) new versions of the "STEALTH Serial Port", which you have installed instead of the APPLE internal 56k internal Modem, in the internal modem slot in aforementioned computers. Thus far, this hardware product appears to have complete backwards-compatibility for all Mac OS Serial Port devices.
b) Griffin Technology (http://www.griffintechnology.com/) has come out with the "gPort" Universal Serial Adapter for "Blue & White" G3s, which also installs in the internal modem slot.
c) Keyspan (http://www.keyspan.com/),
makes PCI Cards for adding Serial Ports to G3s, or additional Serial Ports
(as well as PCI Cards for adding USB Ports) to older PCI Power Macintoshes;
Note that these cards currently do not always support all devices, or AppleTalk
(LocalTalk), and users are advised to research carefully before purchasing.
Keyspan also makes the "Keyspan USB Twin Serial Adapter" for use with Plugs
into a USB port on an iMac, iBook, "Blue & White" G3s, PowerMac, or
"Lombard" PowerBook G3.
Audio In Options:
Griffin Technology (http://www.griffintechnology.com/)
has come out with the "NE Mic Audio Adapter" (aka Universal Macintosh Audio
Adapter). Instead of being limited to only APPLE's "PlainTalk" Microphones,
this inexpensive adaptor allows you to connect and use any unpowered microphone
to your APPLE Macintosh, Power Macintosh, or Power Macintosh clone computer,
and it is compatible with the "Blue & White" G3 and iMac models (no
word on G4 compatibility as of yet...). It's small size and universal applications
make this a very useful Macintosh accessory, especially for Musicians and/or
Sound Engineers). This adapter works by amplifying the Mic Level signals that are
outputted by all unpowered microphones and converting them to Line Level signals
used by these computers.
PowerBook G3 add-on:
Newer Technology, Incorporated had put out the "BookEndz Docking Station" for the 1999 "Lombard" PowerBook G3s.
Monitors:
APPLE has limited choice of their external Monitors to only flat-panel LCD displays:
A 15-inch flat-panel LCD Apple "Studio Display" (active matrix 15.1-inch viewable image size Liquid Crystal Display)
A 22-inch flat-panel LCD Apple "Cinema Display" (22-inch viewable image size Liquid Crystal Display {aka LCD} flat panel with the same viewing area of a 24-inch flat CRT display, and features a letterbox format; )
Besides APPLE's previous 17-inch (16-inch viewable image size) and popular 21-inch (19.8-inch viewable image size) CRT "Apple Studio Displays", (and be forewarned that no one has tested or verified if they work with other Computers than the "Blue & White" G3s & "Graphite" G4s, and "QuickSilver" G4s):
The Sony "GDM-G520" 21-Inch Monitor
(http://www.sonystyle.com/computing/prd.jsp?model=CPD-G520l),
the Sony "GDM-F500" 21-Inch Monitor
(http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/products/displays/fseries/gdmf500.html)
and the Sony "GDM-F520" 21-Inch CRT Monitor with USB
(http://www.sonystyle.com/computing/prd.jsp?model=GDM-F520)
are currently the highest rated CRT 21-Inch Displays,
followed by the Mitsubishi "Diamond Pro 91TXM" 21-Inch Monitor
(http://www.mitsubishi-display.com/products/dp91txm.html).
The Mitsubishi "Diamond Pro 900u"
(http://www.mitsubishi-display.com/products/dp900u.html)
with an 18-inch viewable image size, is the big favorite among the newer 19-Inch Displays.
The 17-inch Iiyama "Vision Master Pro 410"
(http://www.iiyama.com/)
is currently one of the highest-rated 17-Inch Displays.
(The Radius 19-inch Displays haven't been rated yet, that I know of...).
There is an Article stating that APPLE is dropping all CRT Displays at: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/cn/20010503/tc/apple_thinks_flat_not_fat_with_monitors_1.html
As noted before, LCD is still a new technology, and still has unresolved resolution and color display problems, besides being more expensive, so dropping CRT Monitors may not be to the graphics professionals who are Mac OS users' advantage.
There are a host of other Monitors available, including from the following companies:
EIZO Nanao Technologies
(http://www.eizo.com/)
MGC Technologies
(http://www.mgcusa.com/)
NEC Technologies
(http://www.nectech.com/)
Nokia
(http://www.nokia.com/)
NSA/Hitachi
(http://www.hitachidisplays.com/index1.htm)
Optiquest
(http://www.optiquest.com/)
Panasonic
(http://www.panasonic.com/)
Philips Electronics ("Brilliance" Monitors)
(http://www.pcstuff.philips.com/)
Radius Displays, now owned and marketed by Miro Displays, a subsidiary of KDS-AMERICA DAISHINKU (http://www.mirodisplays.com/Product/products.asp)
Samsung Electronics
(http://www.samsung.com/)
ViewSonic
(http://www.viewsonic.com/)
Scanners (many are not yet supported under Mac OS X...):
UMAX
(http://www.umax.com/)
Microtex
(http://www.mteklab.com/)
Epson
(http://www.epson.com/)
AGFA
(http://www.agfahome.com/)
Nikon Electronic Imaging
(http://www.nikontechusa.com/)
LinoColor
(http://www.linocolor.com/prods/scan.htm)
Visioneer, a subsidiary of Primax Electronics Ltd.
(http://www.visioneer.com/dynahome.html)
Polaroid
(http://digitalimage.polaroid.com/products/scanners/ss35plus/faq.html),
and several others are competing in the various Macintosh Scanner Markets.
Printers:
Laser Printers
Besides APPLE's traditional "LaserWriter 8500" (which some expect to be discontinued), the gray-scale Markets appear to be a contest between the well respected GCC Technologies (http://www.gcctech.com/), who are now also entering the USB Market, and XANTE Corporation (http://www.xantecorp.com/).
In the color Markets, Epson (http://www.epson.com/),
and Hewlett-Packard (http://www.hp.com/), are the best
known, but QMS (http://www.qms.com/), Brother
Industries, Ltd. (http://www.brother.com/),Newgen
Imaging Systems, a subsidiary of Imaging Technologies Corporation (http://www.newgen.com/),
and Tektronix, Inc. (http://www.tek.com/Color_Printers/)
are also competing in the Printer Markets.
Ink Jet Printers
Epson dominates this field, but it appears that Hewlett-Packard and several other
companies are putting much more effort into regaining ground. Cannon Computers Systems,
Inc., is clearly working hard to compete as well.
Modems
External Modems:
U.S. Robotics, now a subsidiary of 3Com (http://www.3com.com/) has put out the "Courier V.Everything Corporate Modem", which is the highest rated Serial Port Modem currently available, but it is expensive. Note that it doesn't ship with a Serial Cable for any of the Platforms it supports. It is hoped that a USB version of this Modem is also forthcoming.
Diamond Supra (http://www.diamondmm.com/) has put out the "SupraExpress 56E v.90 Modem" and the "SupraExpress 56K USB Modem".
Global Village, a subsidiary of Boca Research (http://www.globalvillage.com/) has put out the "TelePort 56K v.90 External Modem" and the "TelePort USB 56K Modem"
Best Data (http://www.bestdata.com/) has put out the "Smart One 56K external data/fax modem for Mac w/speakerphone (Model #56SPSMAC)" and the "Smart One 56K USB external data/fax modem for Mac (Model #56USB-MAC)"; apparently their USB Speakerphone version is upcoming...
Zoom Telephonics (http://www.zoomtel.com/)
has put out the "ZOOM FaxModem 56K Dualmode" (although, be forewarned the
word is that it also doesn't come with a cable to connect to your computer,
so that you have to go buy a cable), and the "Zoom/FaxModem 56K USB (Model 2986)".
Internal Modems (for "Blue & White" G3s & G4s. other than APPLE's):
Global Village, a subsidiary of Boca Research has put out the "TelePort Internal 56K".
Mouse and Keyboard Issues
Until recently, APPLE Computer's (http://www.apple.com/) provided "compact" Keyboard and "Puck" Mouse were NOT what folks were used to (and there had been reports of Quality Control issues) as:
We all had gotten used to the old full-sized ADB (APPLE Desktop Bus) APPLE Extended Keyboard II. Most of us had replaced the APPLE one-button Mouse with the various programable two or three-button Mouses or Trackballs from the Kensington Technology Group (http://www.kensington.com/products/pro_c1018.html/), or two-button Mouses from Macally Peripherals (http://www.macally.com/), or the three-button Mouses from MicroSpeed Incorporated (http://microspeed.com/mice/mousedmac.html).
APPLE listened, and just put out a new USB Keyboard & USB optical Mouse (the disliked "Puck" Mouse is gone, and this One-Button Mouse has no MouseBall to ever clean); To add the well-loved, but missing from the new Keyboards, Start-up Button, get the "onCue, USB Start-Up Key for APPLE Pro Keyboard" http://www.Compucable.com/se_iCue.html.
Unfortunately, APPLE states that these both the New Keyboard & Mouse require Mac OS 9.x (but perhaps they will also work under Mac OS 8.6, if you can unlock the needed Extensions from newer Install disks?). URLs with Images are at:
http://www.apple.com/keyboard/
Several companies (including some of the above-mentioned) are now putting out new Keyboards and Mouses to meet the needs of Power Macintosh users;
Among the many new Mouses just coming out, the Kensington Technology Group's
Kensington "M-i-a-B USB Mac" (one-button Mouse), and Kensington USB
"Mouse-in-a-Box Scroll" for USB/PS2 (two-button with scroll wheel), Group
"Contour Design" USB "UniMouse", and the Macally Peripherals USB "iMousePro"
appear to be quite popular for use with "Blues & White" G3s, "Graphite" G4s,
and iMacs.
SMPTE and MIDI Devices for Macintosh:
SMPTE is a time code synchronization protocol; the name "SMPTE" (pronounced"Simp-tee") is an acronym for the "Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers". SMPTE is primarily used to synchronize computers and other devices for video and/or audio sound-track editing in the Television and Motion Picture Industry. A number of Macintosh-compatible SMPTE and/or MIDI devices are made by:
Mark Of The Unicorn (aka MOTU)
http://www.motu.com/
and are also marketed through:
Sweetwater Sound, Inc.
http://search.sweetwater.com/
PART TWO: Software-related
Operating Systems and which machines (including pre-PowerPC CISC CPU Macintoshes) run which version(s):
Note: If you don't know what kind of CPU is inside your CISC CPU Macintosh(s), and/or your RISC CPU Power Macintosh(s), get the Freeware Utility "TechTool 1.2.1" by Bob Sanders, Tristan Harris & Jeff Baudin. ftp://ftp.micromat.com/tt121.hqx http://www.yourmacguy.com/ftp/TechTool1.2.1.sit It works on any machine running Mac OS 7.0 (aka "Blue") through 9.0.4 US and 9.0 International). Or the newer "TechTool Lite 3.0.2" ftp://ftp.micromat.com/tl302.hqx which works on any machine running Mac OS 8.0 through 9.2.2 US & International. This wonderful little Program can tell you what CPU you have, as well as other very useful information, and were written by MicroMat Computer Systems, Inc. http://www.micromat.com/.
Mac OS 1 through Mac OS 7.5.5 (aka "Son of Buster") had previously had their status changed to Freeware, by APPLE. Several Web Sites, and several Hotline Servers posted them on the Web, and some Macintosh Publications then included them on the various CD-ROMs they ship with their publications. However, since the return of Steve Jobs as APPLE's CEO, APPLE began threatening any Site that had posted the old OSes, and APPLE has now limited the availibility to Mac OS 6.0.8, 7.0, and the 7.5.3/7.5.5 Update.
Why APPLE wants to make it so hard for owners of old CISC CPU Macintoshes, and/or the original Power Macintoshes, to get copies of the OSes that their machines shipped with, when their Floppy Disks and/or CD-ROMs have become damaged, or those who have bought second-hand those machines, can only be based on trying to force everyone to get new machines, and/or certain well-known attitudes of Steve Jobs.
Mac OS 6.0.8 (aka "Terminator") is best for the old MOTOROLA 68000 CISC CPUs for speed, from the Mac PLUS (aka "Mr. T") on up (the original CISC CPU Macintoshes can't run aything above Mac OS 3.3/Finder 5.4). You can run Mac OS 7.5.5, if you have enough RAM, but be advised that it won't be as fast as Mac OS 6.0.8. There is a Mac OS 6 Resource Page called "Welcome to the System 6 Heaven" at:http://www.euronet.nl/users/mvdk/system_6_heaven.html. This Site should also be of use for things to use with the "VirtualMac" (aka "vMac") Emulator.
Mac OS 7.5.5 is best for the old MOTOROLA 68020 CISC CPUs, if you have enough RAM.
Mac OS 7.6.1 (aka "Ides of Buster') is the highest version the old MOTOROLA 68030 CISC CPUs can run. Mac OS 7.6 (aka "Harmony") and/or Mac OS 7.6.1 are still available from some vendors; If you get Mac OS 7.6, make sure to download the Mac OS 7.6.1 Update from: http://asu.info.apple.com/swupdates.nsf/artnum/n10492, before you install Mac OS 7.6, and after you install Mac OS 7.6, immediately install the Update to fix a couple bugs.
APPLE Mac OS 8.1 (aka "Bride of Buster") is the highest version the old MOTOROLA 68040 CISC CPUs can run, and can still be gotten from APPLE and several other vendors.
APPLE Mac OS 8.5.1 update (aka "Allegro Update" or "The Ric Ford Release"), is available from APPLE and some other vendors.
Mac OS 8.6 (aka "Veronica") is the next step up from Mac OS 8.5.1; Very strangely, APPLE now refuses to sell, and/or allow other vendors like Sun Remarketing (http://www.sunrem.com/nosoftware.html) to sell or install the full release, of the *Special* 8.6 Build for "Sawtooth" G4s (with the ROM in Software Install the "Sawtooth" Motherboard needs to run) aka Mac OS 8.6 for PowerMacintosh G4, iBook, and iMac (Slot-loading) computers. Only the Update file to update Mac OS 8.5.x to Mac OS 8.6 is now available from APPLE via download, or on CD-ROM (to the great dismay of many users).
You can get information on Mac OS 8.6 from:
http://www.macfixit.com/reports/macos8.6-a.shtml
Information on repairing the "Mac OS 8.6 Corrupt FOND Bug" can be found at:
Mac OS 9 (aka "Sonata ") was released in October of 1999 from APPLE, and is available through APPLE and other vendors.
Note: Be forewarned that quite a number of current versions of very popular Mac OS Softwares, are not yet compatible with Mac OS 9.x, so be careful when you install (and back everything up first)!
APPLE sources have stated that Adobe, as well as other Mac OS software developers, have been relying on access to the Mac OS's "File Control Block" (aka FCB) system method for tracking all open files. APPLE had warned developers that APPLE was going to change the structure of the FCB, and had even created "Mac OS System Error 119" to flag incursions, so as to prevent System damage.
You can get more detailed information on Mac OS 9 through 9.1 compatibility issues (a host of new bugs with OS 9.1) at:
http://www.macfixit.com/reports/macos9.shtml &
http://www.macintouch.com/m90_compatibility.html
http://www.macfixit.com/reports/macos9.0.x.shtml
http://www.macfixit.com/reports/macos9.1.shtml
StimpSoft, Inc. (http://www.users.uswest.net/~johnnycat/StimpSoft/stimpsoft.html) has posted some useful Utilities for dealing with the Mac OS 9.0/9.0.4 bug where the Mac OS 9 Finder fails to "clean out" any leftover files in the invisible "Temporary Items" Folder (Dennis Sellers calls this: "Case of the diminishing hard disk space"), similar in what they do to the "Eradicator" Utility Program from Scott Crick & SearchWare Solutions (http://www.radiks.net/~search); NOT to be confused with "Eradicator 1.0.3" by Uptown Solutions Ltd., which is one of the first Anti-Virus Programs for dealing with the Autostart Worm.
MAC OS 9 UPDATE NOTE
Note: Do NOT use the "Software Update Control Panel" to update your Mac OS 9 Software, large numbers of Mac OS Users are reporting severe problems (postings on these issues at MacCentral & MacFixIt); Use the direct Download URL. Caution: Install the Update(s) with Extensions OFF.
Mac OS 9.0.4 Update direct Download URL:
Mac OS 9.0.4 is an update to Mac OS 9 for all APPLE Power Macintosh computers. It should provide additional FireWire and USB support, enhance networking and power management, and improve audio, video, and graphics functionality.
IMPORTANT: Before installing Mac OS 9.0.4 on an iMac DV (Slot Loading), Power Macintosh G4, or PowerBook (FireWire) computers, it will be necessary to download "Apple DVD Player 2.2" (ONLY for use with Mac OS 9.04 & iMac DV, G4, PowerBook {FireWire version}:
Apple DVD Player 2.2 direct Download URL:
Note: A previously installed version of Apple DVD Player 2.x MUST be also downloaded and installed first, before installing Mac OS 9.0.4 Update and then Apple DVD Player 2.2:
http://asu.info.apple.com/swupdates.nsf/artnum/n11558?OpenDocument
QuickTime 4.1 or higher must be also downloaded and installed first:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/
Note that the "Sound Manager" Extension that installs from QuickTime 4.1.2 is newer than the one that installs with Mac OS Update 9.0.4, and should be kept.
OS 9 can reportedly be made to boot up faster:
a) Hold down option and command and go into the memory control panel. Deselect "Startup Memory Tests". This should let the machine boot much faster, especially if you have a lot of RAM, at the expense of skipping RAM checking on startup. As long as your RAM is of good quality this shouldn't cause problems.
b) Make sure you have your startup disc selected in the Startup Disk control panel. It won't have to search for one.
c) The startup hang can sometimes be eliminated by selecting Remote Only in the AppleTalk control panel.
MAC OS 9.1 UPDATE NOTE
Mac OS 9.1 is an update to Mac OS 9 for all APPLE Power Macintosh computers, It adds additional support for Multiple Users and iTools services, and Sherlock 2 has a new channel, "Entertainment". It is available as a Full-Install CD-ROM, or as a downloadable update file (a self-mounting Disk Copy compressed image of 70 MB). If you use a Language Kit, the Full-Install CD-ROM is required to upgrade your language kit at the same time as you are upgrading to Mac OS 9.1. Mac OS 9.1 is not compatible with the Mac OS X Public Beta release and should not be designated in the beta as the version of Mac OS 9 to run your Mac OS 9-compatible applications in the "Classic" Emulation mode. Third party PowerPC CPU upgrade cards are not officially supported. Note: The 6100, 7100, and 8100 class Apple computers require a Mac OS 9.1 Full-Install CD-ROM to upgrade to Mac OS 9.1. The downloadable Mac OS 9.1 update available from Apple Software Updates is not compatible with the original (NuBus-based) Power Macintosh computers.
Mac OS 9.1 Update; US Export Compliance Agreement Update URL:
http://www.info.apple.com/validate/agree.taf?item=91
MAC OS 9.2.x UPDATE NOTE
Mac OS 9.2 Update has been released. Contrary to APPLE's promise that all versions of Mac OS 9 would run on older Power Macintoshes, Mac OS 9.2 only officially supports machines that were released with a G3 or G4 CPU (not older machines that have been upgraded with a G4 or G4), and that are officially capable of running Mac OS X.
Mac OS 9.2 "Moonlight" (the original 9.2) was the first generation of 9.2 and the one that went Gold Master. It was quickly replaced by "Starlight" & "Limelight".
Mac OS 9.2 "Starlight" (9.2 updated) is the version that APPLE stated shipped with the Summer 2001 CPUs (QuickSilver, etc.). It was a special build that was designed only to work on these Macs.
Mac OS 9.2.1 "LimeLight" released; This the version that originally shipped with OS X 10.1 It contains more bug fixes than Starlight. It is the one Apple "certified" for all supported G3 & G4 Macs, not just the Summer 2001 CPU ones. Mac OS 9.2 & 9.2.1 updates require Mac OS 9.1 if you are performing an auto or manual update.
Mac OS 9.2.1 Update URL; US - Export Compliance Agreement:
http://www.info.apple.com/validate/agree.taf?item=921&lang=&geo=us
Online information on 9.2.x:
APPLE KnowledgeBase Article 120030: Document and Software
http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n120030
APPLE KnowledgeBase 106082 Article: Mac OS 9.1, 9.2, and 9.2.1: Hard Disk Space
Requirements
http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n106082
APPLE KnowledgeBase 106436 Article: Mac OS 9.2.1: System Requirements
http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n106436
Mac OS 9.2.2 "Limelight Update 1" or "LU1" released; Requires Mac OS 9.2.1.
http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English-International/Macintosh/System/Mac_OS_9.2.2_Update/Single-File/Mac_OS_9.2.2_Update.smi.bin
APPLE KnowledgeBase 75186: Mac OS 9.2.2: Document and Software
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75186
Some problems with data corruption issues reported under Mac OS 9.2, 9.2.1 & 9.2.2 at AppleLinks by Charles W. Moore; Other issues also appearing are detailed at MacFixIt:
MacFixIt: Troubleshooting Mac OS 9.2.x
http://www.macfixit.com/reports/macos9.2.shtml
MacFixIt: Forum on Troubleshooting Mac OS 9.2.x
http://www.macfixitforums.com/php/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=OS92