"John Albert" wrote in message
...
Lorin wrote:
Excellent suggestion. Then you won't have to update chipset drivers,
you'll just have to make sure you have EXACTLY the right combination of
software version and operating system version, because version 6.1.2 of
the
software will work with version 10.2.3 of the operating system, but a
later
version of the software won't work with that version of the operating
system,
and a later version of the operating system won't work on a two-year-old
G4,
forcing you to go out and buy a new computer to support your software
upgrade. WAY better than updating drivers! g
Oh yeah, you will also be assured that all your software is completely
up
to date, because you'll have to replace everything you already own with
Mac
versions.

And Laurence added:
You might have had a point a few years back, before the Mac world
entered
os-version hell. Now, Mac users fervently wish that something as simple
(and
free) as a chipset driver upgrade would fix their compatibility problems.
How
are the mighty fallen :-)

Yes, things are more complicated now than when I bought my first Mac back
in
87. Those days, you could fit both the System and your application on a
single floppy!

But here's an interesting data point to consider:

Got home from work a few hours ago and found a box from UPS sitting on my
back
porch. In it was a Presonus Firebox (along with an Audio-Technica AT2020).

I brought the box inside and unpacked things. Took a firewire cable,
plugged
it into the Firebox, and plugged that into my g4/1.25 dual-processor, then
turned it on.

Got to the Finder, opened up the Sound preference pane, and there's the
Firebox. I didn't install a driver. Actually, there isn't any driver
needed on
the Mac (OS X apparently has some type of built-in drivers [CORE?] with
10.3.7
and later). The Firebox was just "there", waiting to be selected and used.

I _did_ install the "Firebox mixer" application (not a driver), which
allows
you to blend inputs and outputs for zero-latency overdubs.

I opened up Garageband 2, and selected the Firebox from the GB preferences
(again, it was just "there", no drivers needed).

Once I tinkered with the mixer, and plugged in a mic, everything worked.
Fifteen to thirty minutes out of the box, never having used an audio
interface
before, I was recording.

Granted, I still have very much to learn. But going from scratch to
entry-level multitrack recording was one of the easier things I've done
with
the Mac. Perhaps if I'd realized it was _that_ easy, I would have tried it
a
lot sooner!

Again, just a data point.

- John
Unrelated question: The AT-2020 came with a mount that has a considerably
smaller [inside diameter] thread than on my mike boom. Do they have
"down-size" converters for such things?

Thaat's probably an adapter that will screw out leaving a 5/8ths x 28 female
that you are more familiar with.

Steve King