• Intro
• Quick Tip: Must Read Pioneer DVR-107 Tip!
• Great Buys & Special Deals - Just for Readers!
• Music on the Mac - Visit the Archive
• Closing
• The Fine Print

Intro:

Hello from Other World! It's our first June 2004 newsletter and smack dab in the middle of a ton of new stuff to touch on. Mother Nature is finally kicking the temp up and all the while, Apple stock has heating up too with a hot new product and anticipation no doubt of more to come!

Introducing Apple's $129 Airport Express, a totally new and cool wireless solution! About the size of a Powerbook AC power 'brick', this all in one solution supports up to 10 Airport or Airport Extreme(or compatible 802.11b/g) equipped systems stand alone, or it's a simple plug and play range extender for an existing Airport network. Connect this to your Stereo System or powered speakers (it offers both Analog AND Digital Audio connectors!) and Airtunes will crank through your iTunes Music! You can also plug in a USB printer, it's a print server too. This thing is totally cool, and portable too! Check it out and maybe back order yours today. :)

Talk about at long last, they're finally here... The new ATI Radeon 9000 Pro MacEdition 128MB AGP Video Cards have arrived! It's been nearly 3 months since all the 64MB 9000 cards dried up and we are happy to finally again have Mac AGP video upgrade cards to offer. These cost $10 less than the old MacEdition 9000 while doubling the Video Ram too. Get high speed 3D/2D performance with one or two displays connected, full Apple OS X Quartz Extreme video acceleration support, just great video performance in general when you upgrade from that older 16MB or 32MB AGP Video you might have now. It's been a long wait, and if you've been waiting - you need wait no more.

Xpostfacto 3.0 Beta is NOW released. Out of alpha and in the final stages before non-beta release, this is what you want for installing up to Apple OS X 10.3.x on models Apple doesn't. Just because Apple never supported or stopped support of at a certain version does not mean it won't work A-Ok on your Mac, especially if you've got 'er upgraded. Xpostfacto lets you make the most use of what you've already invested in so you don't have to buy the latest to use the latest OS. Check it out, it also allows OS X Booting from a FireWire PCI Card. Xpostfacto makes it happen for your Legacy PowerMac or PowerBook!

While FasterMac.Net, IMHO, offers an incredible value for dial-up service, it is understandable that sometimes it's hard to switch from your current ISP - especially if you've got an established e-mail address. The good news is that now can keep your current ISP and still take advantage of our TurboMac Acceleration, that'll give you up to 6.5 times faster web browsing, without switching ISPs. It's only $2.99 per month or $24.95 a year. Does pop-up ad and banner blocking too. Try it and if you don't like it, you can quit and get a full refund within 30 days. And as long as I am mentioning e-mail, I just might mention that FasterMac.Net Nationwide Dialup offers seriously powerful and customizable anti-spam tools as well as virus blocking. The Anti-Spam tools are incredible and make it possible to effectively toast spam for good. They say that like 90% of e-mail sent now is SPAM, we make it easy to block the 90% you don't want without missing the e-mails that matter. You can try a month of our accelerated nationwide dialup service for just $7.50. Give us a shot, you won't be sorry and I'll bet you'll be saving a good bit of green vs. your current ISP too. Might just be worth checking out.

Here's something that's pretty neat, the Roadstor Portable -Stand Alone- All-In-One CD Burner/DVD Player/Media Reader/MP3 Player. Totally portable, self-contained, standalone and Rechargeable battery powered, the Roadstor will read from 8 different media types and is perfect for burning CDs of Photos without having to lug the computer along. It does a whole lot more too - connect it to a TV or other video display to view pictures or watch DVDs, burn or play MP3s, and still more. It's got easy to use one-touch operation and even a remote control that's handy for the TV playback. This is brand new to our site just last week and for a limited time they are on special at $239, $30 off the normal $269 retail you'll see them going for at Best Buy, etc. This is a really superb solution for on the road.

Got some MAJOR price drops on processor upgrades this month. PowerLogix G3 ZIF Upgrades now start from $199 for the 800MHz, about a 10% drop. Sonnet G4 ZIF Upgrades now start from $249 for G4/700, up to $395 for the G4/1GHz - drops of up to 20%. Sonnet AGP G4 Upgrades now start from $199 for the G4/800MHz... But don't miss the OWC Mercury Extreme G4 that runs 933MHz for $229, Extreme G4 running 1.4GHz at $395, and the top end G4/1.5GHz at $489. In addition to some price drops, GigaDesigns just introduced a new Dual 1.0GHz Upgrade with guaranteed 1.2GHz operation for $579, one of the best dual values around! Upgrading your Mac is easy and really makes the difference. With upgrades getting faster and cheaper, it's ever easier on the pocketbook too. And don't forget - our Benchmarks Reporting System lets you compare different upgrades and see the difference vs. stock those upgrades make.

Now wrapping up about two weeks of voting, we've got the name for our sponsored pup. The name will be made final once they confirm it doesn't mess with any of what will be trained. In two weeks, we'll have an new picture to show the puppy growing up and also announce the official accepted name. Thanks for voting and thanks too for helping us come up with all those names the final 'candidates' came from.

There's a few bases covered and still more to come. Jamie did a GREAT new Quick Tip on DVD Burning, Music on the Mac is taking a break this week, but got new Reader Specials updated for ya. Please enjoy. :)

Some Quick Links
Always bargains to be found on the OWC Clearance Page. PowerMac G3 B&Ws just added too....

Use Apple OS 9.2.2 & Apple OS X 10.3.x on Macs Apple doesn't support - OWC Supports you with OS 9 Helper and Xpostfacto!

Something the Government got right, the FTC's Do Not Call List puts a stop to annoying telemarketing calls!

Burn at 8x Speed, 100% reliable, onto 4x Media - which is a lot cheaper.

Update the DVR-107 to read all DVDs at 12X instead of the 8X Limit.

Use your Mac to install the latest Pioneer Firmware Update.

And one more that is a tad controversial, but good for legitimate use.

Check out this Quick Tip Online, written and posted by OWC's Jamie Dresser. It's well done and I'm sure you'll appreciate it if you now own or are considering one of the excellent DVR-107s!

See past Quick Tip topics online in the Quick Tip Archive

Find all the deals reserved just for Readers on your Tips n' Deals Exclusive Specials Page. What follows next is just a sampling of this week's highlights.

Featured Deals and then some..

Replace a Bad iPod Battery with a longer lasting new one
NewerTech 1600mAh internal batteries for the Apple iPod 1G and 2G are the longest lasting internal batteries available for the iPod. With 30% more capacity than the battery Apple offers, you'll be jamming all that much longer between charges. Get just the battery for $31.99 or, bet the battery bundled with an OWC Pod Protector Leather Case w/swivel belt clip for $39.00, just $8 more. We include a non-scratch iPod opening tool so you can do the replacement quick and easy too.

The Fastest in FireWire Reader Specials
Our OWC Mercury Elite 800 Pro drives offer the fastest FireWire 800 Performance EVER. Using the fastest hard drives, featuring 8MB data buffers, and our custom tuned bridge solution - these Elites deliver for the most demanding power user! All Elite Drives include Dantz Retrospect Backup, Intech Speed Tools, FireWire 800 and FireWire 400 cables, 2 Year OWC Warranty.
200GB Elite 800 Pro 7200RPM Solution $249.00 250GB Elite 800 Pro 7200RPM Solution $295.00

2-Port FireWire 400 Card for any PowerMac with a PCI Slot - $9.95

2-Port FireWire 800 + 1-Port FireWire 400 PowerMac PCI Card - $47.50

Browse our full line of FireWire 400/800/USB, hubs, cables, etc online. Solutions by EzQuest, Lacie, OWC, SmartDisk, and others in stock and available.

Upgrade to a new 'Superdrive' to burn CDs and DVDs
The new Pioneer DVR-107 'SuperDrive' is compatible with any PowerMac G3 or G4 and will burn DVDs at up to 8X and CDs at up to 24X. Use Apple iDVD, Discburner, iTunes, Roxio Toast, Etc.
Get just the Pioneer DVR-107 'Superdrive' by itself for $109.00 or
that + 5 DVD-Rs & 10 CD-Rs with Jewel cases and Dantz Retrospect Backup for $115.00
More Pioneer SuperDrive Bundles with Apple iLife, Discribe, etc. now online here.

-See all the options we offer internal and external for CD/DVD drives, including internal CDRW/DVDRW drive for G4 PowerBooks and Cubes in our dedicated online section-.

We've now got the reader deals on Apple OS X starting from $7.50.
Apple OS X 10.1.x Full Install Set $7.50

Apple OS X 10.2.x 'Jaguar' Full, stand alone, Installer Set $29.99

Apple OS X 10.2.x 'Jaguar' with Apple iLife '2003' Bundle $35.00

Apple OS X 10.3.x 'Panther' Retail Box Full install Set $99.75

Upgrading the Mac you have can be Better than buying a New Mac!
Featured Processor Upgrade for AGP Graphics/Sawtooth, Gigabit Ethernet, Digital Audio, and QuickSilver PowerMac G4 Models:
OWC Mercury Extreme G4/867-933MHz, 2MB L3 Cache is $229.00

For G3 Beige, G3 Blue & White, G4 'Yikes' PCI PowerMac Models:
OWC Mercury G4/450-533MHz 1MB L2 - $149.00; G4/500-600MHz 1MB L2 Cache $209.00

Visit our Acceleration Section for our full upgrade offering for Macs new and old. G3s and G4s, Single and Dual Processor, for PowerBooks and PowerMacs - available by Gigadesigns, NewerTech, OWC, PowerLogix, and Sonnet. G3 upgrades start from $99; G4s from $149.

More storage, that's Quieter and Faster too
For PowerBook & iBook G3-G4 models
30.0GB Hitachi/IBM 5400RPM 2.5" with 8MB Data Buffer, now $99.97
80.0GB Hitachi 5K80 5400RPM 2.5" with 8MB Data Buffer, now $225.00

For PowerMac G3/G4, Cubes, eMac, iMac Desktop & Tower models
160GB Hitachi Deskstar 7K250 7200RPM 3.5" with 2MB Buffer $ 99.00
80GB Western Digital Caviar 7200RPM 3.5" with 8MB Buffer $79.99

See our full line as well as high-speed ATA/133 and SATA PCI Controllers online.

Memory Specials & Price Trend Report:
06/08/2004 Memory 'Watch': Actually been a little boring the last week or so. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. Prices are holding pretty steady, doesn't seem to be any supply weakness, but no over supply either. This report was a pretty easy one.

Memory Deal Highlights:
256MB SDRam for all PowerMac G3 Models and PowerMac G4 'Yikes PCI $39.50

PowerMac G5 1GB Upgrade Set, 2x512MB Matched PC3200 DDR400 now $187.50

512MB PC133 CL3/PC100 CL2 168 Pin SDRam Module for G4 Cube, eMacs, iMac G3/350-700MHz models, PowerMac G4 AGP Graphics(aka Sawtooth)/Gigabit Ethernet/Digital Audio/QuickSilver now $98.00

Mac 128MB 5V 168 Pin 60NS Dimms for 7300-9600 Models & Clones, $16.99

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.

Total Digital Media Control - Video, Music, Etc!
El Gato's new 'EyeHome' lets you control your Mac to play Movies, Music, even Access the Internet via your home entertainment system. You Mac has the content, Eyehome puts it all where you want it. On special for $329, check it out. :)

That's just a small sample of the many deals you'll find on your Tips 'n Deals Reader Specials Page, check it out!

Have a question related to audio or producing music? Don't hesitate to make a visit to our Online Music/Audio Forum! There you can learn from the questions and answers posted by others and post and get an expert's answer to your own questions. It's a great resource and it doesn't cost a dime either. :)

We encourage you to visit our Mac Music/Audio Forum at to share your questions and info with all! 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, Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal. He also appeared in and played on the soundtrack for the popular movie "Groundhog Day" starring Bill Murray. He is Music Director/composer for the TV show "Wild Chicago", now in its 15th season on WTTW Chicago. He has played on over 1000 TV commercials as a guitarist and provides music for many corporate clients such as Amgen, Pepsico, Philips, Dermik Labs and many more! As always, we encourage you to visit our Mac Music/Audio Forum to share your questions and comments!

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 travelled 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.