TidBITS#788/18-Jul-05
=====================
Macworld Expo in Boston just wrapped up, so Adam reports on the
highlights and mood of the show, and we cover the Best of Show
award winners. Geoff Duncan, meanwhile, triumphs over a noisy fan
in his Power Mac G4 without breaking the bank. Speaking of the
bank, Apple last week turned in a record successful quarter and
also released a slew of updates: Mac OS X 10.4.2, AirPort 4.2,
iPhoto 5.0.3, Final Cut Pro 5.0.2, DVD Studio Pro 4.0.1, and
Soundtrack Pro 1.0.1. Lastly, Apple topped 500 million iTunes
Music Store songs sold.
Topics:
MailBITS/18-Jul-05
Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.4.2 Update
AirPort 4.2 Software Supports WPA2
Macworld Boston 2005: An Intimate Affair
Macworld Boston 2005 Best of Show Awards
Starting My Very Own G4 Fan Club
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/18-Jul-05
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MailBITS/18-Jul-05
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**Apple Revenue Balloons to $3.5 Billion in Third Quarter** --
Apple released its financial results for its last fiscal quarter,
recording a staggering $3.52 billion in revenue with $320 million
in earnings. Both numbers were substantially higher than analyst
expectations. The same quarter a year ago produced $2.01 billion
in revenue and $61 million in earnings. The company reported
selling over 6.1 million iPods last fiscal quarter, which ended
25-Jun-05. Apple also sold nearly 1.2 million Macintosh computers,
a 35-percent increase over a year ago.
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/jul/13results.html>
Two interesting side facts: gross margins are up from around 28
percent to nearly 30 percent, which is magnificent in a commodity
market in which all competitors are seeing shrinking margins.
The second is that international sales were 39 percent of revenue.
In its SEC filings, Apple broke out sales, showing 495,000 laptops
sold and 687,000 desktops. Retail sales accounted for 144,000
computers and $555 million in computer sales (not including other
items). The company expects to produce similar revenue and
earnings next quarter. Apple now has $7.5 billion in cash and
short-term investments on hand, and about $7 billion in assets
when considering all assets less all liabilities. [GF]
**iPhoto 5.0.3 Fixes Bugs** -- Apple last week released iPhoto
5.0.3, fixing a few issues in the photo management program.
Two improvements involve books: layouts no longer change when
moving an image, and a problem that caused some book orders
to be cancelled has been fixed. Smart albums also now appear
correctly in other iLife programs. And lastly, with Mac OS X
10.4.2 installed, editing an image no longer shifts its colors,
a bug that had caused significant consternation. The iPhoto 5.0.3
Update is available from Software Update as a 41 MB download,
or as a stand-alone 39.2 MB download. [JLC]
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/iphoto503update.html>
**Final Cut Studio Updates Available** -- Apple's professional
line of video editing applications saw updates last week to fix
bugs and improve performance. Final Cut Pro 5.0.2, DVD Studio Pro
4.0.1, and Soundtrack Pro 1.0.1 are each available as separate
downloads. If you own the entire Final Cut Studio (which also
includes Motion 2), you can download a 46 MB updater that
applies the fixes to each affected program. [JLC]
<http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/finalcutpro502update.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/dvdstudiopro401update.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/soundtrackpro101update.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/finalcutstudioupdates.html>
**Apple Sells Its 500 Millionth Track** -- Apple announced that
it sold the 500 millionth track via its iTunes Music Store on
17-Jul-05: the song was "Mississippi Girl" by Faith Hill, and
Apple's giveaway winner is Amy Greer from Lafayette, Indiana.
She'll receive 10 iPods of her choosing, an iTMS gift card for
10,000 songs, and a free trip for four to see the band Coldplay
perform. For the interminably curious, Apple launched the iTunes
Music Store over two years ago in late April 2003, but just
crossed the 300-million-downloads mark in March of this year.
If iTMS's sales remained flat, Apple could expect to sell its
one-billionth track in about a year; however, the iPod's still-
growing sales and popularity will probably bring that date much
closer. [GD]
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/jul/18itms.html>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=08166>
Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.4.2 Update
-------------------------------------
by Jeff Carlson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
In a week that saw a spate of Apple updates, the company's
largest was Mac OS X 10.4.2, which incorporated a number of fixes
to improve reliability and compatibility. As with earlier system
updates, several built-in Apple applications were changed or
replaced, such as Address Book, iCal, Safari, Mail, Automator,
and Stickies. According to Apple's release notes, Core Graphics,
Core Audio, and Core Image also gained updates, with updated ATI
and Nvidia graphics drivers thrown in.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301722>
iChat sees improvements in video performance under certain
circumstances, and can be set to log out of one computer
automatically if you log in on another. Dashboard also gets a
new feature, a Widgets widget that helps you manage your widgets;
I know, that sounds like looking at a mirror in a mirror, but
it's actually a widget that lets you activate or deactivate
installed widgets, and optionally send third-party ones to the
Trash. This update also includes a variety of AirPort-related
updates, including WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access version 2) support
for AirPort Extreme Cards (described elsewhere in this issue).
Mac OS X 10.4.2 is available via Software Update as a 21.5 MB
download when upgrading from version 10.4.1, or as a 57.5 MB
download for a Combo Update when upgrading from version 10.4.0.
You can also download stand-alone installers: a 44 MB update
from 10.4.1, or a 58 MB combo update.
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosxupdate1042.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosxupdate1042combo.html>
AirPort 4.2 Software Supports WPA2
----------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
A few days after Apple pushed out Mac OS X 10.4.2, which includes
client-side changes to AirPort software to support a newer,
stronger encryption system, the company released AirPort Software
4.2, incorporating the necessary base station support. Separate
versions are available via Software Update or as stand-alone
downloads for Mac OS X 10.3.3 through 10.3.9, 10.4.2, and Windows.
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/airport42formacosx1033.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/airport42formacosx1042.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/airport42forwindows.html>
This update adds full support for WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access
version 2), which provides an access point the capability to
offer AES (Advanced Encryption System) encryption keys. Only newer
hardware sold starting in late 2002 can handle the computation
required, so original AirPort cards and base stations cannot
be updated to handle WPA2.
The original WPA, which appeared as an update to Panther, offers
a superior encryption algorithm and other improvements for Wi-Fi
security for AirPort Cards, AirPort Extreme Cards, and AirPort
Extreme and Express Base Stations (see "AirPort Firmware Updates
Fix Major Bugs" in TidBITS-760_). WPA2 is a further refinement -
technically, it's the full ratified version of IEEE 802.11i - that
works only with AirPort Extreme Cards when connecting to WPA2
Personal- or WPA2 Enterprise-configured networks. AirPort Cards
cannot support WPA2 because of limitations in silicon; WPA was
designed to be backward compatible with early 802.11b cards,
such as the AirPort Card.
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07932>
Some businesses have been waiting until WPA2 was released before
deploying their Wi-Fi networks because of its government-grade
encryption. WPA2 also has a few features that add to WPA, such
as fast reauthentication, which allows a laptop using WPA2
Enterprise - a system that uses a unique login that produces
a unique session key - to roam without a long delay when moving
from base station to base station.
AirPort 4.2 includes new versions of AirPort Admin Utility and
AirPort Setup Assistant, and firmware updates for both AirPort
Extreme and AirPort Express Base Stations.
This update brings Apple current with the rest of the industry.
Interestingly, older WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) encryption
is all that is available for the software base station created
through the Create Network command in the AirPort status menu.
WEP is cryptographically broken; one hopes Apple will eventually
offer at least WPA for improved security of ad hoc networks.
Macworld Boston 2005: An Intimate Affair
----------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Apologies in advance if my title either had you hoping for a
hot and steamy tale of nookie behind the trade show floor curtains
or caused you to think of an awful made-for-TV movie starring
out-of-practice celebrities. No, the joke is merely that whenever
someone came up to me at Macworld Expo last week in Boston and
said, "I can't believe how small the show is!" I'd always reply,
"It's not small, it's just an intimate gathering of a few of our
closest friends."
Seriously, Macworld Expo again shrank to new lows in terms
of the number of exhibitors and attendees. I'd put the number
of exhibitors at under 60 and the rumblings I heard place the
attendance figures slightly lower than last year, when 8,000 to
10,000 people were expected. (In contrast, January 2005's Macworld
Expo in San Francisco saw nearly 36,000 attendees). As always,
IDG World Expo did a good job managing the perceived size, so
the aisles on the first day felt crowded and busy, and the
session rooms were small enough to seem full, even with fewer
people in the seats.
The choice of Boston's Hynes Convention Center was an inspired
move, since it's far more appropriate for a show the size of
Macworld Expo than last year's site: the cavernous Boston
Convention and Exposition Center (BCEC). Navigating the Hynes
Convention Center never took more than a few minutes compared
to some of the hikes necessary in the BCEC, during which you
started wondering if you should have brought provisions. But even
more enjoyable was the fact that the Hynes Convention Center is
on Boylston Street in the heart of Boston, one block from the
shops and restaurants on the trendy Newbury Street and within
walking distances of numerous hotels. It's all too common to go
to a trade show and see no more of the host city than the streets
to and from the airport.
Also successful were the special productions: Andy Ihnatko's
keynote was hilarious as always, and it was enhanced by the guys
who signed his talk for anyone in the audience who was deaf;
even though I don't know American Sign Language, I was at times
torn between watching Andy and watching how the guys doing the
signing translated his jokes into an uproarious combination of
facial expressions and body language. The Mac Brainiac Challenge
was once again a hoot, even if my team lost in the end (though I
was pleased that my Classics degree came in handy for answering
the question of the source of Lorem Ipsum, the dummy text that
designers use to test the look of new layouts: it's from Cicero).
The Geeks & Gadgets stage on the show floor was popular too,
particularly for the iPod sessions, all of which were mobbed.
<http://www.lipsum.com/>
On the downside, the changed hours enjoyed mixed reviews at best;
starting at 11 AM on Tuesday and Wednesday worked well for letting
people sleep off the previous night's events, but keeping the show
floor open until 7 PM was awful. It ran through dinner time for
many people, the floor was nearly bereft of attendees, and the
people working the booths were even more exhausted than normal.
On Wednesday, when I spoke to the Boston Macintosh Users Group
after the show ended, I talked straight through until nearly 9 PM.
Despite the small size, most people I talked with weren't unhappy,
unless they were expecting a show more along the size of Macworld
San Francisco. The cost of exhibiting was on par with Macworld
San Francisco, so at least some vendors selling products at
booths found the reduced number of attendees problematic, even
if the people present were buying at the usual rate. Similarly,
attendees were disappointed mostly if they had anticipated
spending a lot of time browsing through booths of products they
hadn't seen before. With only five or six aisles (there were six,
but some weren't full) of booths, it didn't take long to work
the floor, and relatively little was new to anyone who has been
paying attention to the world of the Macintosh of late. As with
other recent shows, a number of the vendors were showing iPod
accessories.
**Expo Notables** -- This will be the first time in ages that
we're not doing a superlatives article calling out the most
notable products and happenings at the show. Put bluntly, there
just wasn't much that warranted mention, and our friends at Mac
Publishing pretty much pegged it with their Best of Show awards
(see Geoff's "Macworld Boston Best of Show Awards" elsewhere
in this issue), although a few other booths and products caught
my attention.
Rimage had guys outside the Hynes Convention Center handing out
entry forms to win their Rimage 360i (a CD/DVD recording/printing
device); the cool bit was that they were wearing 35-pound (16 kg)
backpacks containing laptops and LCD screens on arms that
projected over their heads advertising the company's products.
We may one day see cloth that can display moving images, but it
won't be nearly as eye-catching as a guy with a monitor suspended
over his head.
<http://www.rimage.com/>
Tonya and I were also impressed by the stylish iPod-holding purses
and backpacks from the amiable wife-and-husband team of Joallyn
and Dave Cartwright (Delarew Designs). Joallyn put a lot of
thought into designing bags that protect the iPod while allowing
the user to see and control it through a clear plastic window that
faces inward to avoid advertising the iPod's presence; the earbud
cable feeds through another opening. Then there was Cableyoyo,
with a slim plastic device that you use to wind up your cords;
it's elegant, but essentially a fancy twist-tie. Lastly, Quark
was once again present, and I couldn't resist chuckling at the
sign they had posted with their presentation schedule, which
laid out, in great detail, in case you were confused, just to
be absolutely clear, that they would be discussing QuarkXPress
6.5 every hour on the half-hour.
<http://www.delapod.com/>
<http://www.cableyoyo.com/>
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/788/quark-sign.jpg>
The booth that most surprised me, though, was the Apple
Specialists Pavilion, co-produced with HP, so it featured lots
of current Macs along with HP printers that use a new ink-based
printing technology. I've been hearing the Apple Specialist term
for years, and I knew that TidBITS sponsor Small Dog Electronics
was an Apple Specialist, but I'd never internalized what is
special about them. It turns out that the Apple Specialist
program collects over 160 independent Macintosh dealers and
service centers like San Diego's Crywolf and New York's Tekserve,
all of which have survived by earning the undying loyalty of
their customers over the years. About 50 Apple Specialists were
represented in the largest booth on the show floor, and the
technical know-how was amazing. But even more interesting is
that the Apple Specialists have banded together to form the Apple
Specialists Marketing Co-op (ASMC), which has negotiated (and in
some cases helped design) exclusive products like the miniG series
of hard drives from Transintl, the iListen MX voice-recognition
and headset/microphone bundle, and more. The ASMC also held a
one-day "best practices" meeting on 11-Jul-05 that included
presentations, round-table discussions, a table-top vendor fair,
and a "vendor speed dating" event that must have been hilarious
("You have 3 minutes to introduce yourselves and generate the
rough outline of a reseller agreement. Got your business cards
ready? Go!").
<http://www.applespecialists.com/>
<http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2005/050711a.html>
<http://www.transintl.com/store/minig.cfm>
<http://www.macspeech.com/news/pr.html?id=105>
**More Like a Soiree** -- The fact is, Macworld Boston 2005 simply
wasn't a news event. Few new products were introduced at the show,
and nothing that happened really qualified as news. The small
press room was never full when I happened to stop by, and I
saw almost no mainstream press in attendance.
All that said, it was a fine show, even if it has become more
of a limited regional event aimed at networking local vendors
and attendees. Given the shrinking size, the question of whether
it will happen again comes down to whether IDG World Expo earned
enough money to make it worthwhile. IDG World Expo has said that
it is committed to future shows in Boston at the Hynes Convention
Center, though at press time no announcements of dates for next
year have been made.
<http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/07/15/idg/index.php>
Assuming it was profitable enough to continue, or could be further
refined to be profitable, I'd encourage IDG World Expo to consider
replicating the concept of a small regional show in a variety of
cities. With the expectation that such a show wouldn't have tens
of thousands of attendees, the big name exhibitors wouldn't feel
the need to attend every show (or have their presence missed, as
was the case at Macworld Boston), and a lot of people who would be
unlikely to travel to either San Francisco or Boston could still
take advantage of the training sessions and the opportunity to
see and talk with vendors. Such an approach would also acknowledge
the reality of Macworld San Francisco as the most important event
in the mainstream Macintosh world, rather than pretending that
Macworld Boston will ever regain the equal status it held in
the glory days of yesteryear.
Macworld Boston 2005 Best of Show Awards
----------------------------------------
by Geoff Duncan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Our friends at Macworld magazine and Mac Publishing announced five
Best of Show winners at the IDG Macworld Conference and Expo 2005
in Boston. To be eligible, products had to be introduced at the
show itself (or recently enough that they generated excitement
amongst attendees) and be available for hands-on evaluation by
the Macworld editorial staff. Not surprisingly given the success
of Apple's iPod, winners included products aimed at the digital
music market.
<http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/07/13/bestofshow/>
The winners are:
* Harman Kardon's Drive + Play, scheduled to be available in
September for $200 (plus several hours of installation time
if you want to hide the cables, or an estimated $100 to $150 in
installation costs), is an in-car iPod music system featuring a
backlit LED display which lets users see the contents of their
iPod and control the "Brain," the interface which connects to
the iPod (and charges it while driving). Most interesting is the
LED-illuminated controller, whose rotating wheel and four buttons
mimic the iPod's click-wheel. A 3.5 mm output jack plugs into a
car stereo, although the Drive + Play can also broadcast to any
unused FM frequency as well as route audio from other devices
such as a satellite radio. It demoed well in a fancy BMW,
though many people were also quite taken by the car's color
LCD navigation screen.
<http://www.harmankardon.com/drive>
* Parliant's PhoneValet combined hardware/software product turns
a Mac into a call center, with features like voicemail and call
history (see "PhoneValet, Can You Get That?" in TidBITS-699_
for a review of the initial release). Two new enhancements take
PhoneValet two steps further. The PhoneValet Anywhere server
software enables PhoneValet Message Center 3.0 users to access
voicemail messages, reports, logs, and phone books from anywhere
via the Internet. PhoneValet Podcast is an extension to PhoneValet
Message Center 3.0 which includes tools for recording phone
conversations and later editing them via VST-enabled editions
of BIAS's Peak Express and SoundSoap 2, creating a powerful
solution for podcasters and others who conduct phone interviews
or record events via phone for later broadcast or publication.
<http://www.parliant.com/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07380>
<http://www.bias-inc.com/>
* The inexpensive The Print Shop for Mac 2.0 from Software MacKiev
will be shipping this August, and it starts to take on the big
boys of page layout by introducing new tools like gridlines,
rules, and snap functionality, plus a new project window which
enables users to group items into four predefined categories.
The Print Shop also gains drag & drop functionality with Apple's
iPhoto, Mail, and other programs, and draws on the capabilities
of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger's Spotlight and Core Image technologies.
<http://www.mackiev.com/print_shop.html>
* SketchUp 5.0, from Last Software, is an architectural design
tool for Mac OS X. The new version expands libraries, offers
augmented sketching tools, improves file import/export, and
adds a collection of "sandbox" tools for landscape designers.
<http://www.sketchup.com/>
* Transpod for iPod shuffle is an FM transmitter for Apple's iPod
shuffle portable music player which can tune to any available FM
frequency. It plugs into a car's cigarette lighter or accessory
jack, simultaneously plays music and charges an iPod shuffle
via USB, and offers a 3.5 mm stereo output. The small size of
the iPod shuffle may make the Transpod for iPod shuffle more
successful than the previous Transpod, which was awkwardly
designed and clumsy to use.
<http://www.dlodirect.com/>
Starting My Very Own G4 Fan Club
--------------------------------
by Geoff Duncan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Amongst the TidBITS staff, I'm a bit of an anachronism: my main
Mac is an ever-aging Power Mac G4 Quicksilver I bought (cheap!)
in early 2002. The machine originally shipped with dual 800 MHz
processors, and last year I installed a Sonnet Encore/ST G4 Duet
processor upgrade, taking the CPUs to 1.27 MHz. (See TidBITS-754_
for a review.) I currently have no plans to replace the machine,
since I regularly use professional audio software which can't
run under Classic and hasn't made it to Mac OS X.
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07884>
However, the QuickSilver has had one problem since they day
I bought it: it's _loud_. Later I realized - and thanked my
lucky stars! - it wasn't nearly as loud as the Mirrored Drive
Door G4s (the so-called "Windtunnel" G4s) that replaced it in
Apple's product lineup. Apple eventually instituted a power
supply replacement program for the Mirrored Drive Door models
to quiet them down, but those machines are still an industry-
leading example of cacophonous computing. [Speaking as an owner
of one of the aforementioned Power Macs, I can say with some
assurance, "Eh? What was that?" -Adam] However, no such noise-
dampening replacements were made available for my system,
and I just counted myself lucky the sound was tolerable
most of the time.
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07230>
**A Harley Under the Hood** -- Things changed in mid-2004 when
the QuickSilver began emitting an occasional loud, vibrating hum.
The first time, I admit I gently kicked the machine: that solid
bump seemed to make the sound go away. But over the next few weeks
the new noise gradually became both louder and more frequent, and
I noticed it seemed to happen during heavy processor loads or
during days my office was particularly warm. I figured my Mac had
developed some sort of vibration problem when one fan or another
kicked into high gear to dissipate heat. But the Mac lives under
my desk, so isolating the cause meant crawling around and probably
running the machine for a long while with its case open: that
might delight my cats, but wouldn't be a good idea in general.
Loud and annoying as the new sound was, I let things be.
Last year while I was reviewing the Sonnet CPU upgrade, I once
happened to be under my desk when the loud, vibrating noise
started up. Ah ha! From my lower vantage point, I could easily
determine that the noise wasn't from the large fan in the power
supply, as I'd feared, but originated in a smaller (60 x 60
x 25 mm) fan which moves air directly across the processor heat
sink. (You can see this fan labelled "1" in the first picture
I took documenting the Sonnet CPU upgrade.) My sound level meter
happened to be on my desk above me at the time: holding the
device under my desk about three feet from my computer, the
sound level measured over 60 dB. That's as loud as typical
spoken conversation, and louder than some washing machines
and refrigerators!
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/754/duet-installation/>
<http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/01-104.html>
I didn't fuss with the fan while I tested the Sonnet CPU upgrade,
hoping that removing and re-installing it might cure the noise
problem. However, TidBITS reader J.J. Tiger noticed I said the
fan was blowing air _out_ the back of the machine. He contended
it should be pulling air _into_ the machine, and cited Apple
service documents backing him up. Another "Aha!" moment: my fan
had been blowing the wrong way for over two years! I opened the
machine and changed the direction of the airflow by reversing the
fan in its plastic shroud - no rewiring needed. I hoped that would
be the end of my phantom noise.
Alas, no: within a few days I had the loud hum again. I completed
the Sonnet CPU upgrade review, then took a more direct approach
with the fan: I peeled off (but saved!) a sticker identifying
its make and model and put a small drop of mineral oil into the
exposed spindle. Success! The humming went away... for a month.
By that time I was less charitable (and in more of a hurry):
the fan got a squirt of WD-40. Success... for a few weeks. As my
frustration grew, a few Google searches revealed other QuickSilver
owners who experienced perhaps-similar sounds: none of their fixes
seemed to apply to my situation, so my fan kept getting squirts
of WD-40, and I'd occasionally remove it and try to clean its
inner workings. I also tried dampening the shroud with bits of
foam and using small clamps to hold the fan more securely in the
shroud - but the sound always came back. I had to face facts:
it was time to replace the fan.
<http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/quicksilver_CPU_fan_mod/
quicksilver_cpu_fan_noise.html>
<http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/quicksilver_noise_2/
quieting_quicksilver_3.html>
<http://homepage.mac.com/cycline3/pc-to-mac/index-mac-mod.html>
**Full of Hot Air** -- Plan A: I tried to locate new or
refurbished CPU cooling fans for Power Mac G4s. The closest
thing I found online was offered by We Love Macs, which advertises
a fan with a white plastic shroud very different from my own.
No dimensions, power requirements, or part numbers were listed
for the fan itself, so I couldn't immediately determine if that
would work in my Mac. But I could have missed some specs because
I was aghast at the price tag: $75! Yow!
<http://store.yahoo.com/lovemacs/9224357.html>
So: Plan B. I decided to play like I was a non-technical Apple
customer and investigate what I felt was likely to be the
worst-case scenario: replacing the part through Apple. Even
though my computer is long out of warranty - and I didn't
maintain AppleCare coverage on it - I called three local
Apple-authorized service providers about replacing the fan.
The technicians who spoke with me were uniformly knowledgeable
and polite (and even returned calls promptly!) but their proposed
solutions were essentially equivalent: $45 to $80 for the fan
itself (they couldn't tell me for sure until I brought the machine
in), plus about $45 for the minimum half-hour labor charge to
install the fan. Moreover, the fan would have to be ordered from
Apple, typically a 2-4 business day process which they couldn't
begin until they had my machine. Although one service center said
they didn't need to hold on to my machine while they were waiting
for the part, the cost of replacing the part through Apple would
be $90 to $125 (plus tax!), as well as potentially losing the use
of my machine for at least a few days.
**Cooler Heads Prevail** -- Still a little aghast, I switched
to Plan C. Although I'd never looked into it, I knew that folks
who build and modify their own PCs often buy and upgrade cooling
systems separately from power supplies and processor cards.
Sure enough, I found a vast number of Web sites which cater to
these do-it-yourselfers. Armed with the sticker I'd peeled off
my noisy fan, I searched several online vendors for the same brand
and part number used in my Mac, as well as CPU fans with the same
size and power ratings.
The results were much more satisfying: prices for appropriate
fans ranged from $4 to $10 each, varying by site and manufacturer,
although some vendors required minimum orders of 5, 8, 10, or even
100 units. However, none of the sites I initially searched carried
the exact fan Apple used in my G4.
I was confident I could use my collection of screws, clamps, and
dampening material to install a new fan in the existing shroud,
but I preferred to purchase the original part if possible. I'm
comfortable replacing many electronic components, but I'm not
an engineer and I'm not sure I can successfully select substitute
components when I don't have any particular expertise with the
items. (Magnetic guitar pickups, yes; cooling fans, not so much.)
The last thing I needed was inappropriate wiring or power mismatch
to prevent installation or cause problems further down the line -
especially since I need to keep this machine running as long
as possible. So I pulled my trump card and contacted Bobby
Orozco, a casual acquaintance out on the Olympic Peninsula
who is a marine and ham radio aficionado. (These folks are
often electronics experts.) Bobby recommended contacting Allied
Electronics, which has been in business since 1928 and offers
a dizzying array of parts, components, and tools. And darned
if I wasn't already familiar with Allied! I haven't ordered
from them in years (they may not even have had a Web site,
it was so long ago) but I maintain my solid-state instrument
amps using components originally ordered through their catalog.
And sure enough: Allied had my exact fan for $5.22. I ordered
two: one to install, and one in case I goofed up.
<http://www.alliedelec.com/>
<http://www.alliedelec.com/cart/ProductDetail.asp?
SKU=997-0037&SEARCH=KDE1206PTV1&ID=&DESC=KDE1206PTV1+MS>
**A Breath of Fresh Air** -- The fans arrived as promised from
Allied with no connectors attached. This is a perfectly reasonable
way to sell generic components (after all, Allied doesn't know how
I'm using the fan or what connector I might need!), but it could
make powering the fan via the connector on the Mac's motherboard
a bit of a challenge. Fortunately, I already had appropriate
crimp-on quick disconnects for some of my music equipment; they
cost about $1.50 from Radio Shack. Four squeezes with needlenose
pliers and I was ready to install the fan. However, users without
the appropriate parts could easily splice the connector from the
original fan onto the leads from the new fan. Installing the new
fan was a cinch: after all, I'd already removed the old one half
a dozen times for cleaning and lubrication.
I'm happy to report the results are worth every penny. The
Quicksilver G4 was substantially quieter on first starting up
with the new fan, and after six weeks I've yet to hear the old
obnoxious vibrating hum, so this saga may finally have ended!
I'd love to use my sound level meter to report how loud the
machine is now, but it only measures accurately down to 50 dB:
under my desk from three feet away, the Mac doesn't make enough
noise to generate an accurate reading. It's still not a _quiet_
system, but its noise level is very much improved.
The bottom line is that while keeping an aging Mac running can
be a losing battle and sometimes isn't cost-effective - especially
going through Apple-certified channels! - sometimes simple repairs
can give these machines a new lease on life for a few dollars and
a bit of electrical tape.
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/18-Jul-05
------------------------------------
by TidBITS Staff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The second URL below each thread description points to the
discussion on our Web Crossing server, which will be faster.
**Roomba: a Robot Underfoot** -- Tonya's review of the Roomba
vacuum-cleaner robot prompts feedback from TidBITS Talk users
that own Roombas or have questions about it. (9 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2648>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/500/>
**Squeezebox** -- A reader uses several Squeezeboxes (the music
streaming component from Slim Devices) to set up a Pluto home
audio system. (3 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2649>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/86/>
**'Evil' Widgets in Dashboard** -- Readers discuss the potential
security vulnerabilities in Dashboard, and how the Mac OS X
10.4.2 addresses a problem (or, in some people's opinions,
fails to address it). (11 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2593>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/448/>
$$
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