Hardware Upgrade Tip of the Day #38


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Hardware Upgrade Tip of the Day

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*1. HARDWARE UPGRADES AND THE IMAC--PART 1 OF 3          
  
Some USB-based peripheral devices for the Apple iMac include a file 
called iMac Update Version 1.0 on the installation CD. This file 
updates the USB driver software for the iMac so the peripheral and the 
iMac can communicate. Unfortunately, only the original blue iMac 
running Mac OS 8.1 requires this update. In fact, if you run this 
update on a later iMac--such as an iMac DV, which comes preinstalled 
with Mac OS 8.5 or later--you'll crash your computer. Check Apple's 
online technical support database at  

http://www.apple.com 

for more information about these USB updates.


*2. HARDWARE UPGRADES AND THE IMAC--PART 2 OF 3          
  
The iMac DV comes fully equipped to support FireWire interface 
devices, but when you're shopping you may become confused over what 
products use the FireWire interface. For example, many DV cameras list 
i.link capability in their specs. This actually connotes FireWire 
support, as does IEEE 1364. Your best bet as to what products have 
undergone iMac compatibility testing is to check the technical support 
section of the Apple site at  

http://www.apple.com


*3. HARDWARE UPGRADES AND THE IMAC--PART 3 OF 3          
  
The Iomega Zip drive offers an easy and ubiquitous medium for 
removable storage needs, but Zip drives are not all that fast. 
Fortunately, Iomega has just announced a Zip 250 USB FireWire adapter 
that iMac DV owners can use to soup up their Zip 250 USB drives. The 
$79.95 adapter connects your 250MB Zip USB interface drive to your 
iMac's FireWire port, instead of to the usual USB port--and allows the 
drive to transfer data at up to 2.3 MBps, or twice as fast as it does 
when connected to the USB port.


*4. WEB APPLIANCES--PART 1 OF 3          
  
Add Intel's new Dot.Station at

http://www.intel.com 

to the list of Internet-Web appliances for the home. These new 
products make a great addition to a home with no computer and can even 
work in a home with one or more other computers. 

The two most important features of a Web appliance are e-mail and Web 
browsing. If you already own a PC connected to an ISP and you've just 
purchased a Web appliance for general family use, find out if you can 
consolidate your ISP service with the one your new Web appliance will 
use. You will save money every month if you can use one ISP for all of 
your home's Internet-Web needs.


*5. WEB APPLIANCES--PART 2 OF 3          
  
What operating system does your new Web appliance use? Intel's new 
Dot.Station at 

http://www.intel.com 

uses Red Hat Linux, but Dell's WebPC at 

http://www.webpc.com 

runs on Windows 98. Before you decide on a Web appliance, investigate 
whether you'll be able to share files between your other computers and 
the Web appliance. You'll get more use out of a Web appliance if you 
have software compatibility or at least translation capability between 
all your computers.


*6. WEB APPLIANCES--PART 3 OF 3          
  
Few new Web appliances offer anything in the way of expansion bays or 
open add-in card slots. But some, like Dell's WebPC at 

http://www.webpc.com 

come with USB ports. If your new Web appliance offers USB (or 
FireWire) ports, you can use your current USB (or FireWire) devices on 
it, as well as on your other PCs. Also, you may be able to leverage 
the simple networking capability that USB-to-USB network cable 
connection products offer.


*7. IMAC TIPS--PART 1 OF 3          
  
When Apple Computer at 

http://www.apple.com 

transformed the old Macintosh computer into the new iMac, that 
evolution left behind a lot of old Mac hardware looking for ports. You 
see, the iMac has no serial port, no parallel printer port, not even a 
floppy drive. 

If you own old Mac products based on serial or parallel ports, you'll 
need to purchase a serial-to-USB or parallel-to-USB adapter. Belkin  
at  

http://www.belkin.com 

offers such products. To find other companies, browse the USB 
developers site at 

http://www.usb.org


*8. IMAC TIPS--PART 2 OF 3          
  
You won't find it easy to hook up your existing Mac floppy drive to 
your iMac--Apple didn't design either the old or the new iMacs for 
addition of extra internal drives. However, you can still leverage 
your old Mac floppy disks on your new iMac. Imation's SuperDisk USB 
drive at 

http://www.superdisk.com 

is iMac compatible, and it reads and writes both Imation 120MB 
SuperDisks and Mac floppies.


*9. IMAC TIPS--PART 3 OF 3          
  
The iMac's lack of documentation may shock hardware upgraders. It has 
no manual to speak of--just a four-page foldout showing how to plug 
the unit into the electrical outlet and the phone jack. Fortunately, a 
new series of books called "The Missing Manuals" available at  

http://www.missingmanual.com 

has come out. This series tells techies everything they want to know 
about hardware and software for the iMac and the latest version of its 
operating system (OS 9).


*10. NEW DIGITAL FRAME          

Cevia at

http://www.cevia.com  

has a new competitor for its Picture Frame digital frame 
product--Digi-Frame at  

http://www.digi-frame.com  

Digi-Frame offers two types of products: a small 3.9-inch (diagonal)  
display and a larger 5.6-inch (diagonal) model.  

Like the Cevia product, Digi-Frame products display your digital 
images as a kind of slide show. While Cevia connects to a Web site 
(where you post and organize your images) via a phone line, the 
Digi-Frame products either connect to your PC (for image download) or 
accept CompactFlash and SmartMedia cards as input. None of these 
products are cheap, however. Digi-Frame units start at $399.
