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OWC Tips & Deals 04/15/2005
Intro: Greetings from your friends at OWC! What a difference a couple of weeks can make! The grass is green, trees are budding, magnolias blooming - it really is Spring! Having survived tax day, will be getting out to enjoy this nice weather over the weekend. This week wasn't just about the taxes, thankfully some good stuff to focus on too! Apple: OS X 'Tiger' 10.4 will begin shipping on April 29th. With over 200 new features, OS X 'Tiger' 10.4, has been touted by Jobs as the"most profound operating system we've had since the original Mac in 1984." The new OS X works on any Apple computer that came from the factory with FireWire built in and will retail for $129.00. But, from now and until the release date, you can Pre-Order Tiger from us at OWC for just $99. Also, if you are a Teacher or Student, get it for $72 via the Apple Education offer. Oh... And rest assured, Ryan will be on task for making Tiger work via XpostFacto for the latest and existing orphan systems. Apple Posts Q2 Earnings. Apple posted a strong increase in it's Q2 2005 sales which included significant gains in both CPU and iPod sales/shipments. Despite beating their own guidance as well as analyst's estimates, doesn't seem to have been enough for investors judging by the drop in their stock this week. Whatever - we're just happy seeing Apple cruising forward. Time for PowerMac G5, iMac G5, & eMac G4 Speedbumps? It's seems about the right time for the next speed bump to happen for the Apple Desktops... Especially with Tiger to start shipping end of the month. Perhaps before, on, or shortly after April 29th - we'll see something official concerning this. Think Secret, who broke the Mac mini story a good couple weeks ahead of time is also the source for this latest 'rumor'. Processor Upgrades: PowerLogix now shipping up to Dual 1.8GHz Upgrades. The new PowerForce 7447A Dual Upgrades for Apple PowerMac G4 AGP Graphics/Sawtooth, Gigabit Ethernet, Digital Audio, and Quicksilver Models are a Dual 1.8GHz for $749 and Dual 1.7GHz for $659. For the G4 Cube, they are Dual 1.7GHz for $749 and Dual 1.6GHz at $659. These upgrades are fast, reliable, run super cool, and bring performance to a whole new level! PowerLogix G3/1.0GHz ZIF for PowerMac G3 now $229.95! Thanks to it's 1MB L2 on-chip cache that runs at the same 1.0GHz as the processor, the PowerLogix is really a great bargain given is actually faster than Sonnet G4/700 and G4/800MHZ + equal or faster in most realworld tests vs. the $400 Sonnet G4/1GHz ZIF Too! OWC Mercury Extreme G4 Upgrade Prices reduced. G4/933-1.0GHz was $229, now $195.00 G4/1.0-1.2GHz was $299, now $289.00 G4/1.3-1.4GHz was $389, now $349.00 G4/1.4-1.5GHz was $459, now $429.00 GigaDesigns ships G4/2.0GHz Processor Upgrade. From Giga, we now have Single 7447 G4 processor upgrades that run up to 2.0GHz from $439.00 and Dual 7447 G4 processor upgrades that run 1.8GHz for $739.00. That said, we have good reason to recommend the Powerlogix 7447A upgrades over those from Giga. #1, we have confirmed that the Giga upgrade has a major sleep problem - simply put, you can't put a PowerMac with a Giga 7447 upgrade to sleep as it will crash at wake due to it not properly carrying a register value during sleep mode. #2, whereas the PowerLogix 7447 upgrades run super cool, staying luke warm to the touch - our tester BURNT himself on the Giga upgrade's power supply when he went to remove it from the computer. #3 - while PowerLogix has chosen to remain very conservative in terms of the clocking of the processors, Giga is pushing the processors quite a bit more. PowerLogix Dual 1.8GHz upgrade uses two 7447A/1.6GHz factory rated processors vs. Giga that is pushing 7447A/1.42GHz up to 1.8GHz on their equivalent product. #4 - We back the PowerLogix upgrade with a 30 Day 100% Money Back as well as fully back the PowerLogix 3 year Warranty on their 7447 based upgrades.... We offer the Giga upgrades because people ask for them, but we're not offering the 100% 30 day nor in a position to assist with the Giga Warranty. That said, they are in our benchmark results - just sharing our thoughts. We always leave the choice to you, our customer. New Processor benchmarks for PowerMac G4 Upgrades are now online! With all these new 7457, 7447, and 7455 upgrades out there - need a good way to compare them... And with 16 different real-world and utility test results, we think our info should help. Note - this is still a work in progress - results are posted so far for 1 stock machine and 15-16 of the different single and dual processor upgrades. The data is complete for what is posted and just a few more upgrades yet to do as well as getting results from the various speed/model G4 and G5 systems too - all of which is in progress and we expect added to the result options by late next week. Compare upgrades for PowerMac G4 Digital Audio & Quicksilver Models. Compare upgrades for PowerMac G4 AGP Graphics/Sawtooth & Gigabit Ethernet Models. NewerTech: On March 24th, a Macintouch Reader published the results of his comparison between our NewerTech NuPower Batteries vs. rival BTI's. He purchased six NewerTech NuPower and six BTI batteries to be used in G4 Titanium PowerBooks. Now, six months later, he reports that while all the NewerTech Batteries are "still doing fine", all of the BTI batteries have either died completely or are starting to. This certainly goes to show that all batteries are not created equal. NewerTech NuPower Batteries for PowerBooks, iBooks and iPods are definitely built to be the best and longest lasting battery you can buy! OWC: We are now officially offering a Mac mini professional installation service. For those that would prefer not to install Memory, Hard Drive, and/or Optical drives into their mini - OWC will do the upgrade installation of any combination of or all three upgrades for $99, including FedEx Overnight pickup and return delivery. We also fully support you for doing this upgrade yourself, which we hope our free online viewable video helps with. Info on all the upgrades, the installation video, as well as info on our installation program are available online. Of Interest and/or for Fun: Google's new Map/Directions finder may just be in beta, but even so - it's already pretty darn neat. What's even cooler is the Satellite imagery available. After searching out your address, hitting the satellite button brings up a satellite shot of the location. It's almost frightening what's available! And now, the latest unsubstantiated rumor and 'spy-shot' of what may be the upcoming Motorola Cellphone w/Apple iTunes! Intro Closing: I always start thinking it's going to be a short intro, but there's just too much happening for that to be. No complaints as times are exciting for us Apple folks with ever more new stuff to talk about. No new Quick Tip for this week, but definitely have some new Reader Exclusive Specials, and the latest Music on the Mac by Roger Adler. With tax day pretty much history, for this year anyway, hope you and yours have a fantastic weekend. Thanks for reading our OWC Tips n' Deals! Brief Messages from our 'sponsors': Quick Links Just what do we do with Trade Ins, Open Box, discontinued items, etc? That's what our 'Bargains' page is for! First Come, First Served. A better Apple/Macintosh ISP at a better price - FasterMac.Net From $8 a month, get nationwide dial up or DSL just for Mac Users - that includes 24/7 1-800 support, anti-virus blocking, powerfully effective and fully customizable anti-spam tools, web space, 5 e-mail accounts, and more. You get more and pay less with FasterMac.Net. Upgrade the Mac you have or get a new one? OWC's exclusive Benchmark Reporting System helps you answer your own question. Compare various stock Macs vs. New Macs vs. Upgrades - you pick the Macs to compare and from up to 15 different tests we've completed. Use Apple OS 9.2.2 & Apple OS X on Macs Apple doesn't support because OWC does with OS 9 Helper and Xpostfacto! Quick Tip: Quick Tip Archive See past Quick Tip topics online in the Quick Tip Archive Great Buys and Featured Exclusive Specials for OWC E-Mail Subscribers: Find all the deals reserved just for Readers on your Tips n' Deals Exclusive Specials Page. What follows next is just a sampling of the latest highlights. Memory Specials & Price Trend Report: 4/15/2005 update: DDR memory pricing remains at an all time low. Adding memory is one of the best upgrades you can do and such low prices definitely ease the resistance. As I say over and over, don't buy memory for the sake of buying memory... But if you have less than 512MB or 768MB, it's worth it to add more - just as it's worth adding memory regardless of what you have installed if you've got some memory hungry Apps that will use it. OS X is especially efficient with extra memory you feed it.... No crystal ball - but prices are pretty stable and don't see indication to suspect a sudden jump. For iMac G5, PowerMac G4 Mirrored Drive Door, Mac mini, eMac G4 1.25GHz: 512MB PC3200/2700/2100 184 Pin DDR DIM Module now $47.99 For Mac Mini & eMac G4/1.25GHz, eMac 1.0GHz 'Education Model': 1GB(1 x 1024MB) PC2700 DDR 184 Pin Module - $125.00 For all PowerMac G5 Models, iMac G5: 1GB Matched Pair (2x512MB) PC3200 DDR 184 Pin - $95.00 2GB Matched Pair (2x1GB) PC3200 DDR 184 Pin - 249.00 1GB PC3200 DDR Module for iMac G5 Only (PowerMac G5 requires Pairs!) $129.99 For All PowerBook G4 'Aluminum' 12/15/17"; iBook G4; iMac G4/1.0 & 1.25GHz: 512MB PC2700/2100 DDR SO-DIMM 200 Pin Module - $59.00 1GB PC2700/2100 DDR SO-DIMM 200 Pin Module - $189.00 SPECIAL - For PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12/15/17" - 1.5GHz & 1.67GHz, iBook G4 1.2/1.33GHz ONLY! 1GB PC2700/2100 DDR SO-DIMM 200 Pin Module - $175.00 For PowerMac G4 Sawtooth/AGP Graphics, Gigabit Ethernet, Digital Audio, QuickSilver; eMac G4; iMac G3 350-700MHz Models: 256MB PC133 CL3/PC100 CL2 168 Pin SDRam DIMM Module - $32.50 512MB PC133 CL3/PC100 CL2 168 Pin SDRam DIMM Module - $79.00 For PowerMac G3 'Beige', G3 Blue & White, G4 'Yikes' PCI Models: 256MB PC100 CL2/PC66 168 Pin SDRam DIMM Module - $25.00 Visit our Mac Memory Section to browse the full selection of memory we offer and/or use our online memory guide to get the right memory for the Mac(s) you have. Internal Hard Drive Deals For PowerBooks & iBooks: 80GB 5400RPM 8MB Buffer Hitachi 5K800 Notebook HD $149.00 100GB 5400RPM 8MB Buffer Seagate Momentus Notebook HD $199.00 For PowerMac G3/G4, iMac G4, eMac G4:* 400GB 7200RPM 8MB Buffer Hitachi 7K400 3.5" ATA/6 HD $295.00 300GB 7200RPM 8MB Buffer Seagate 7200.8 3.5" ATA/6 HD $205.00 250GB 7200RPM 8MB Buffer Seagate 7200.8 3.5" ATA/6 HD $139.00 *Speedtools HiCap Software or PCI ATA Contoller needed for Pre-2002 models. For PowerMac G5, iMac G5: 400GB 7200RPM 8MB Buffer Hitachi 7K400 3.5" SATA/150 HD $299.00 300GB 7200RPM 8MB Buffer Seagate 7200.8 3.5" SATA/150 $215.00 Apple OS X Deals Pre-Order Apple's OS X 'Tiger' 10.4 Retail Box Version for $99, or Get the full Apple Panther 10.3.x DVD Installation Set for just $49.00 Get a Faster Superdrive for Reading/Writing DVDs & CDs Put a new SuperDrive in your Mac, or replace one you already have with something faster! Burn DVDs & CDs with Apple's iDVD, iPhoto, iTunes Internal for For G3/G4/G5 PowerMac, eMac G4, iMac G4 Models: Apple Genuine DVR-106 4X DVD Superdrives - $75.00 Pioneer DVR-A07XLA 8X DVD Superdrives - $77.99 Pioneer DVR-109D/BK 16X DVD SuperDrives with Dual Layer(8.5GB) - $79.00 Special Value Bundles with Software & Media available from links above too! Get up to 8X Burn Speeds for Mac mini, PowerBook G4, iMac G5, Cube G4 from $149.95 Plug and Play FireWire/USB2 External for up to 16X DVD Burn Speeds too - From $129.99! El Gato Eye200 TV/DVR Deal Watch TV, Digitally Record, Edit, and playback at will - all on your Mac with this great FireWire Solution! Normally $309.00, $289 for Readers And... another $30 Rebate from now till June makes the net just $259.00! Watch TV, Digitally Record, Edit, and Playback with an internal PCI Card. Compatible with PowerMac G4 and G5, Miglia Alchemy TV DVR, with remote control - $125.00 Import Audio/Video & Playback through with plug & play FireWire device - ADS Pyro A/V FireWire Device for most any A/V Source - $149.00 FireWire Hot Deals 60GB 4200RPM OWC Mercury On-The-Go, Reader Special $150.00 80GB 7200RPM OWC Neptune FireWire 400 Solution, Special $109.00 250GB 7200RPM OWC Mercury Elite 800 Pro 800/400 Solution, Special $239.00 OWC Mercury Elite Oxford911+ 3.5" FireWire 400 Enclosure Kit - $65.00 Processor Upgrades Mercury G4 Extreme for all PowerMac G4 AGP Graphics/Sawtooth, Gigabit Ethernet, Digital Audio, and Quicksilver models. 30 Day Money Back + 3 Year OWC Warranty Extreme @ 1.2GHz, $289.00 Extreme @ 1.4GHz, $339.00 Extreme @ 1.5GHz, $425.00 PowerLogix PowerForce55 G4 Upgrade for all PowerMac G4 AGP Graphics/Sawtooth & Gigabit Ethernet Models. Reliable, low cost speed bump with 2 Year PowerLogix/OWC Warranty + 30 Day Money Back! PF55 @ 1.0GHz, $179.00 Video Card Deals The best prices ever are now available for ATI 9000/9200/9600/9800/x800 MacEdition Video Cards. The full line is now in stock and starting from $99.00. Listen to your iPod on the Road from $9.99 NewerTech RoadTrip! FM Transmitter really works - and works GREAT. Doesn't cost a lot, but it delivers clean, dynamic audio that smokes products costing 3-5 times as much! Instead of lowering the price, we might have been better to increase it - as a lot of you have a hard time believing something so cheap really works. Well, it really works! RoadTrip! FM 87.9MHZ and 107.7MHz in stock for $14.99 You can still save when you purchase any RoadTrip FM! and one of our NewerTech Batteries using coupon code 'HighRoad' too. Save $5 with purchase of 3G 850mAh or 1G/2G 1800mAh, $10 with 1G/2G 2100mAh. Power Up your iPod, PowerBook, or iBook with NuPower! NewerTech internal battery for 1st and 2nd Generation Apple iPods: 1800mAh version, 46% more capacity - $29.95; 2100mAh for over 70% more $39.95 NewerTech internal battery for 3rd Generation Apple iPods: 850mAh version with over 30% More capacity vs. Apple's - $25.99 From $119.99, check out the longest lasting NuPower Batteries by Newertech four your PowerBook or iBook too! As much as 50% more capacity vs. others. You'll find more great deals, updated regularly on your Tips 'n Deals Reader Specials Page, check it out! Music on the Mac 4/15 - Drum and Bass & iGuitar too Greetings from www.macsales.com/music M-Audio makes fantastic products for working musicians, home studio owners and music enthusiasts! I am constantly amazed at what they come up with...all at amazing prices too! They recently released quite a few new products and this week we are looking at a software package called Drum & Bass Rig. This really knocked me out for several reasons. First and foremost, the sounds are truly inspiring. That is the point really and they nailed it. Imagine a virtual rack with real bass guitar samples that are as totally convincing as a live player, There are many types of basses played with fingers or pick, slapped & popped, acoustic bass, etc. The RD-5 drum module features great sounding recordings of meaty, punchy drum samples. Each drum kit features the ability to fine tune the pitch, decay, panning and level of each sample. You can also adjust the amount of room ambience, amount of overhead mics and effects. I was just thrilled at how great these drums sounded and with the ability to tweak the sounds and recorded room sound in detail. The drum kits are GM (General Midi) compatible and various standard percussion instruments are included. These drums sound very convincing--no "canned drums" here!! Next, the LC-7 Loop Creator starts you off with 250 loops which can be sliced, diced, manipulated and mutilated for some totally unique and fresh sounds to add to your tracks. Mindbending and loads of fun! The Bassline Module is a monophonic bass synth that gets you absolutely PHAT bass for dance, trance, deep house, electronica and Old Skool sounds. There is an arpeggiator and step sequencer too...just like the early days with real hardware. There are two effects processors for each module with fx such as Chorus, Delay and Phaser. There is also a Master effects section in the included MIDI /Master section. You can create splits so that, for instance, you have bass on the bottom half of your keyboard and drums on the top. Total flexibility means you can even use this stand alone so all you have to take to a gig is a midi keyboard, laptop and this software. Of course you can use these sounds within GarageBand, Logic, Pro Tools, Cubase, Live and more! This virtual module. along with the similar "Key Rig" are true values in the marketplace and are totally unprecedented at under $100. Highly recommended! ----- In recent weeks, we have announced with some enthusiasm that we now carry the iGuitar by Brian Moore Guitars. This has sparked some discussion out in Mac land. Many people seem unclear that the MIDI capability of the guitar is intended to play the sounds typically played by a midi keyboard controller. This would include the "virtual" instruments found in Garageband, Logic, Reason, etc. These guitars also have a regular guitar output that can be plugged into you Mac directly or via a simple USB audio interface and this more traditional signal can "play" through the guitar amp simulations available. The iGuitar also has a piezo pickup in the bridge and the output from that can also be played in via USB and it has an "acoustic/electric sound. ALL 3 of these streams of sound/output can be used very effectively by a guitar player to connect with the new software today. I would describe it as a fantastic CONVERGENCE of capabilities that are intersecting and really exciting to get involved with. Many people miss the point that they can use their "guitar player" skills to play sounds such as piano, synth, cello, drums, etc from their guitar. As someone who plays guitar better than keyboard, I can verify that this is very cool indeed. We want to be your resource when it comes to understanding the possibilities that today's tools present. We will continue to bring you the hardware and software as it evolves and see this as an opportunity to empower you with the "bleeding" edge of technology. It's true, midi guitars are not new, but today's version works very well indeed and is a load of fun to use with GarageBand and other applications. We are also busy adding new products to our music department in the coming months so you will have everything you need to realize your creative goals. Check out our Mac Music/Audio Forum for all your musical needs and to share your questions and info with all! Also, visit our website to view all of Roger's other OWC Music on the Mac articles online! And... Check out Roger's Commercial CD Album at www.thegaragealbum.com where you can also download the GarageBand tracks for each song and find out about the fantastic OWC Mercury Extreme Firewire drive, OWC Processor upgrade and OWC RAM used when creating the album. About our Music Guru: Roger Adler is a 4 time EMMY nominated composer/producer/performer. You may have heard his music in his role as Music Director for the A&E TV Series "The BEST of COMIC RELIEF" starring Robin Williams, Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg. He also appeared in and played on the soundtrack for the hit movie "GROUNDHOG DAY" starring Bill Murray and Andi MacDowell. He is the Music Director for the popular TV Series "WILD CHICAGO" now in it's 15th season on WTTW in Chicago. In 2001, he traveled to Antwerp, Belgium to produce and perform in the annual meeting for Philips Electronics. He recently composed and performed two TV commercials for WRANGLER JEANS, currently airing on ESPN. Closing: So there ya have it... Not only did we get our taxes dealt with this week, a new newsletter published to boot. You can guess which of these was the more fun of the two. :) Glad to have the totally non-fun one out of the way for another year - and I'm always looking forward to the next newsletter since that is actually fun to do. One of the things that I believe makes OWC good in general is that those of us here really enjoy what we're doing. We're Mac Users who look forward to finding ways and helping others to help others get more from their Macs and while using Macs to do it. I think it makes a big difference that we're not just selling the stuff, but are actually hard-core Mac users too. Hope all went well with your Taxes and that you and yours can enjoy a nice weekend. As always, hope you've enjoyed our latest newsletter and thanks for being a subscriber! We Support our Troops The 'fine print': Contact Information+ ++++++++++++++++++++ Sales: sales@macsales.com or 800-275-4576, International 815-338-8685 Customer Service: custserv@macsales.com or 800-275-4576 / 815-338-8685 Tech Support: Online Tech Center or 815-338-8685 Please feel free to e-mail any comments or suggestions to:suggestions@macsales.com You may ALWAYS reply to our OWC Tips and Deals e-mail at owc@macsales.com with any questions or comments as well - PLEASE change the subject to reflect your e-mail question/comment to ensure a speedy reply! Other World Computing div. of New Concepts Development Corp. 1004 Courtaulds Drive Woodstock, IL 60098 815-338-8685 This is an free subscribed E-Mail Newsletter that can be joined via or website. This e-mail is only received if you have joined our list. Notification is e-mailed to your address when you join as well as if you choose to cancel, which you may do at anytime, no hard feelings. :) To change, remove, or add an e-mail address for our newsletter, you can visit our online subscriber page anytime. If you'd just like to unsubscribe, that can also quickly be done with the link at the end of this e-mail. Prices & availability subject to change without notice. New specials go up and old specials updated everyday. We Apologize for typographical errors. This e-mail may be freely distributed in its original form, complete and without any modification, alteration, insertion, or anything else that would make this different from the original intent. If you would like to 'reprint' just a portion you may make a request by e-mail to: larry@macsales.com. All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2000-2005, Other World Computing - Since 1988 |