2/20/99 - And away we go!

       I now posess the fastest personal computer presently available. Somewhere around the 15th of January the machine arrived and I setup what is indeed a fine system. I've yet to get my hands on a USB<->serial converter, so my inability to download images from my digital camera has caused a brief hiatus in my page, and given me time to work a redesign, which is nice. I'm still working on getting ahold of a converter so I can use my QuickTake 200 directly on the Mac, but in the meantime I've setup a roundabouts way of getting my images, so the page marches on! Do wander over to the Gallery section and check out the images of my shiny, new PowerMac G3. While I'm on the subject, let me list for you the specs:

• Power Macintosh G3 400MHz (from the Apple Store, built-to-order)
• 128MB RAM, 1MB 200MHz backside cache
• DVD-ROM drive, internal
• 6GB UltraATA drive (migrating to UltraSCSI w/ MacOS X release)
• Apple 56Kbps modem, internal
• Zip drive, internal
• Apple 17" Studio Display (attached to Rage 128)
• ATI Xclaim 3D (Rage Pro, 4MB) video board (second video board in system)
• Nokia 447Xi 17" Trinitron screen (attached to Xclaim 3D)
• Epson Stylus Color 600 (with USB<->Parallel converter)
• Wired with Bell Atlantic's InfoSpeed ADSL 640Kbps service

At any rate, the system is excellent. Massively swift with two 1152x870 desktops (in truecolor)--that's what I call a system. It's so much nicer a web development platform than my old PC. All the better to further this page with. (Heh...and Unreal smokes on the Rage 128!!)

1/13/98 - Well, they do match!

       Well, I broke down. After much deliberation and strainted rationalizations, I went ahead and ordered the Apple 17" Studio Display. I mean, if I were to set my new (as yet unreceived) G3 400 down next to this beige 17" display that I'm currently using on my PC, well, people might think that while not in thinking jail that at best I might be on thinking paroll. I went ahead and hooked it up to my PC to check out the image quality (1152x864x16-bit desktop) and I must say, the color vibrance and clarity is superb. It looks notably better than the 17" Trinitron-tube screen I'm currently using. Definitely worth the $$$. If you'd like to see some shots of the unit, goto my Gallery section.

12/8/98 - Every system has a new beginning...

        As everyone is almost certainly aware, thanks to many sites' play-by-play coverage of the expo, there's quite a lot going on in the Mac world right now. Among other announcements is the official release of the new Pro Mac G3's (early images of which I posted in my last news entry). (The Gallery section on this page will have some nice shots here, soon.) Having waited for its release with the intention to buy for just over 4 months now, I went right ahead on Jan 5th, the release date, and called The Apple Store and wham!--a Build To Order G3 system will arrive at my door hopefully sooner than later ("about 2 weeks," they tell me). The specs of the system I ordered are thus:

• 400MHz G3 (1mb backside cache @ 200MHz)
• 128mb PC100 SDRAM
• 6GB UltraATA drive (small, as I'll add SCSI later)
• DVD-ROM drive, internal
• Zip drive, internal
• 56Kbps modem, internal


        Didn't order a monitor--I'll harvest my trusty Trinitron-tubed, 17" Nokia from my PC for use on the new system. I can't wait to receive it. It should have about 3x the processing speed of my current machine, which I still consider to be very fast. Maybe I should have waited until I got the Mac to start building this page. Then I could put one of those "Made with a Mac" logos at the bottom. I guess I'll have to craft a "Maintained with a Mac" graphic or something like the same. :-)

1/05/98 - The new Mac!! (1:10pm EST)

        Am I the first to place pictures of the new El Capitan case on a web site? I hope so! Captured from the live feed. Not fun @ 28.8Kbps!! (My ADSL is down today, of all days). Enjoy! Wow--what a case!!

1/04/98 - It's down to hours now!

        Well, this is it. Tomorrow--Tuesday, January 5th, Steve Jobs will give his keynote address at the '99 MacWorld Expo in San Francisco, unveiling to the world a number of new Apple creations. Streaming QuickTime v4 for one. The new "Yosemite" Pro Macintosh line (one of which I will acquire as soon as I locate the first available unit--my mad search beginning tomorrow). Possibly the faster, more powerful iMac will be announced as well. We should see a lot of MacOS X as well. Also, a summary of Apple's astoundingly successful sales record over the past 4-5 months will undoubtedly be conveyed by Jobs as well.

        All reports from those who have arrived at the Moscone center already, report massive efforts being taken to keep the details of all of the above a secret until the last possible second. This is truly going to be an "unveiling." I will provide summary reports of the action as soon as I am able, and you can count on the Gallery section being filled with images of what may be one of the the most distinctive industrial design efforts Apple has ever undergone--the Yosemite Pro Macs housed in the reportedly striking "El Capitan" cases. It's only a matter of hours now.

12/29/98 - The Wire

        Ok. I hit CompUSA today (how I wish they would spiff-up their "Apple Store" a bit) and bought that Epson Parallel -> USB converter (see my Issues & Solutions page) to allow connection of my Epson Stylus Color 600 printer (an excellent printer) to the Pro Mac when I get it. $39. Not bad. Anyway, I was there and was noting the very low price of EIDE hard drives. This is great, as this will be the type of drive that comes with these new Macs. But the new Macs will have FireWire on the motherboard, and we can expect at least 200Mbps performance (25 megaBYTES/sec) performance from it (I don't think the 400Mbps spec is supported right off, on these new Macs). It got me to thinking--which is going to be a better bus for drives??

        Looking at the practically sustainable transfer rates of the UltraDMA HD bus vs. FireWire, the real question is not so much which will allow the greatest data burst speed, but which is less of a hit to the processor. With MacOS X coming soon, and VM being a standard, always-on feature, drive efficency with relation to the processor is quite vital. This is why I've always paid that extra $$ for a nice SCSI system--it's so easy on the processor. I believe that both UltraATA and FireWire lack the logic/processing power to aid the CPU in a big way during data transfer. Perhaps these machines have gotten so fast that assisting the CPU doesn't really matter that much anymore. Perhaps not. My first "real" Intel machine, purchased to run NeXTSTEP for Intel v3.2, had an ISA SCSI board in it, and even on that elderly, slow bus it had higher throughput than systems with local-bus EIDE drives. So--anyone who knows, please tell me:

1. Does FireWire have the processing logic to the data transfer "on its own"
2. Has anyone seen any retail FireWire HD's offered from any vendor?

        ...and that's about all I need to know on this one. It may end up well worth it to many of us to go ahead and shell out ~$200 or so for a nice UltraSCSI board vs. hitting the CPU hard for data transfers. Especially, as I mentioned previously, with MacOS X and it's standard (and quite robust) VM system (which we will thank God for). Time will tell.

12/28/98 - In full force

        Not that it's up-to-the-second breaking news, but I thought I'd mention that sales of the iMac (since it began shipping in August) have been absolutely phenomenal. The best selling personal computer in CompUSA's history, the iMac has doubled Apple's market share from 5% to the current 10%. That's phenomenal. And with the official unveiling of the new Pro Mac series in 8 days at Macworld Expo as well as other new product releases slated for Q1 '99, there seems really to be nowhere but up for Apple's market share to go next year. This confirms all I've said in my "About" page and is super news for, well, society as a whole. Wow. This is going to be quite a year!

12/28/98 - Insanely Great indeed

        Despite my fear of everyone thinking that this is actually a book review page rather than a slick Mac-dedicated page of technological wonder, I must make mention of yet another book which I've found to be quite gripping indeed. Insanely Great by Steven Levy explains just how it is, historically, that the Mac so influenced the very thought process of society. Starting as far as half a century in the past, the development and evolution of myriad elements which came to true fruition in the Macintosh are traced through the 70's and 80's "high-times" of Silicon Valley. Not quite finished with it just yet, I'm picking up many details that I was unaware of which are truly gripping to reflect upon. If you fancy yourself a Mac fan, or a technology fan in general, go pick up this book.

12/23/98 - Find your roots!

        Since I decided, 2-3 months ago, to go ahead and get on the Mac bandwagon when the new Yosemite machines arrive, I've been buying LOTS of Mac magazines to get back up to speed, so to speak, with the software / hardware scene that exists today. I've also purchased a few related books, and I must say that two of them in particular have really stood out for me. The first is AppleDesign, an excellent book which focuses on the work of Apple's Industrial Design Group, which has set Apple pleasantly apart from other computer manufacturers. The book contains a large number of very high quality color photos of many actual and conceptual Apple computers / devices as well as a significant "behind-the-scenes" description of just how each of these creations came to be. Fascinating. The other is The Mac Bathroom Reader which contains a vast array of trivia from here and there, as well as a wealth of little-known facts about the very early days of Apple and even a good little bit about the life and times of NeXT Computer, Inc. Definitely worth picking up.

12/21/98 - The page goes on-line!

        ...the page is born. I've been slowly conceptualizing and laying out this page over the last few months or so, since the end of October, actually, when I decided that I would make the move to the Macintosh as the new Pro Macs (Yosemite/El Capitan) emerge. It won't be long now, thankfully. On January 5th at the San Francisco MacWorld Expo, Steve Jobs will officially announce these new machines and a multitude of rumors indicate that they will be shipping either at that time or extremely soon after. It'll be a nice challenge to see just how fast I can get ahold of one after the keynote speech.

update: Blake's PC to Mac page has been replaced by this page!