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MacEdition ProNews : 8th March 2002: Encores, Liliputians, colorful coverings, and gaming antiquities

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Sonnet’s Encore firesale

Get ’em while they’re hot! (but not this hot!) Sonnet has recently announced a sizeable price drop on its 500MHz Encore/ZIF G4 upgrade, from US$399 to $299.

As of March 1, 2002, Sonnet Technologies has dropped the price on the Encore/ZIF G4 500 processor upgrade to $299.95 (was $399.95). This is a significant $100 price decrease on one of the company’s best-selling products. Sonnet’s aggressive pricing on the fastest G4 ZIF processor upgrade available is now affordable for virtually anyone in the market for such an upgrade.

The Encore/ZIF product line is compatible with the following Macintosh models:

Power Macintosh G3 All-in-one
Power Macintosh G3 Blue & White
Power Macintosh G3 Desktop
Power Macintosh G3 Minitower
Power Macintosh Server G3
Power Mac G4 (PCI Graphics)
Macintosh Server G4 (PCI Graphics)

For more information on this product, check out www.sonnettech.com/product/encore.html.

One can only speculate whether this firesale is in anticipation of Sonnet stocking upgrade cards that finally break the 500MHz barrier, or simply feeling the pressure of Apple’s new gigahertz offerings. Regardless, for someone running Mac OS X on a system san AltiVec, this is probably the cheapest way of making Aqua feel less like it’s molasses.

Dr. Bott focuses on the (really) little things

In what seems to be Dr. Bott’s neverending quest to become distributor of the largest plethora of eclectic third party add-ons for your Mac, Dr. Bott is now distributing ProScope. What’s a ProScope, you ask? Well, the press release explains it best:

The ProScope is a bus-powered handheld USB microscope that allows you to display and capture microscopic images with your computer.

The ProScope comes in a robust package that brings its own light source directly to the object and makes microscopy a point-and-shoot technique much like digital photography. Simply connecting a ProScope to an iBook creates a fully mobile field kit for previewing and immediate archiving of results!

ProScope is perfect for education, law enforcement and any other profession or individual who wants a window to the microscopic.

[...]

Pricing & Availability:
The Proscope is available immediately for $229.00 with a 50x lens and Mac OS 9 software. Other accesories including 1x to 200x lenses are also available. Mac OS X software will be available soon.

Dr. Bott – something for everyone...

Dr. Bott has you covered

... Well, your iPod and your laptop at any rate, after becoming distributor of Marware, Inc.’s iPod and Macintosh laptop cases. As the announcement states:

... Dr. Bott is announcing an exclusive distribution agreement with Marware, Inc. Marware offers quality, elegance, and ease-of-use across their entire product line. Marware’s SportSuit Sleeve for iPod has been wildly popular with Macintosh resellers and we’re eagerly anticipating the release of their new SportSuit for iPod.

[...]

Pricing & Availability:
The iPod SportSuit Sleeve is available immediately for $19.95. Marware’s SportFolio and SportFolio II will be available through Dr. Bott in March for $39.95.

They come in colors (where have we heard that before?) – check out the Marware range here.

Mac gaming on a budget

Mac gaming is always a case of two steps forward, one step back. Some Mac fans may be smarting over the most promising Macworld ’99 demo of the year becoming console game of the year for ’02 at the Fifth Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. Yes, not for Mac, and yes, that does smart. It is, however, coming for the Mac Real Soon Now (no, really). But, for those who can’t wait, check out Gameporium. Whether you want to relive a flashback of a slew of mid-nineties games re-released at bargain prices or preorder the latest releases, Gameporium has something for you.

Check out its Golden Age of Mac gaming, where you can pick up titles like, ooh, the original Myth: The Fallen Lords. (For under $8 – bargain!) There’s hundreds of Mac games all under $20 as well as a comprehensive system requirements and troubleshooting section.

So, until Halo for Mac is released, why not spend a moment or two reflecting upon games of the past?

Looking for old ProNews segments? Check out our index at www.macedition.com/news/. Do you have news releases or tidbits of interest to the Macintosh professional? Send them to pronewsnotes@macedition.com.

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