Miscellaneous reader queries

Here are some items from our readers that we're watching. They aren't widespread enough (to judge from the email we've received) to count as big issues, but we'd like to get a sense of how big they really are. If you've noticed any of these phenomena or have some idea about them, could you let us know? Thanks!

• How are you getting on with freezing on your Aluminum iMac? A recent AppleInsider article suggests that the problem is hardware, and that replacing the graphics chip, not recent software updates, is the fix. This seems a very reasonable conclusion. And a recent note from a graphics software developer suggests that the graphics chips in the new iMacs are a big step backwards:

  Vertex shaders working perfectly on the last white imacs, on my new 2.4 20'' just refuse to show anything. Plus VBO (Vertex Buffer Objects) completely crash my machine. For a test, try to download SecondLife (www.secondlife.com) and enable VBO support in preferences. The result will be a total crash of the application with mouse frozen inside it. VBO and SecondLife work perfectly on the old iMacs granting a speed improvement of about 40%.

• Are alarms in iCal in Leopard failing to work for you? They seem fine to me, but my tests have been rather limited, and some users are reporting that they don't work, especially emailed alerts.

• Do you have wake-from-sleep issues, where the computer refuses to awaken, or awakens but the trackpad then doesn't work properly? These problems seem to affect particularly MacBook Pro machines, but this Apple discussion group thread suggests a wider range.

• If you're using Spaces extensively in Leopard, is it misbehaving? Are applications disabling themselves, or when you return to a space, is the wrong window frontmost? We're seeing complaints of this sort; the problem is that no one has provided instructions for reproducing these issues. It may be that Spaces just doesn't cooperate will with applications that put up their windows in an odd way: for example, we've heard from one reader that Photoshop CS3 misbehaves when you switch to another space and then switch back. Also, a reader tells us that if you assign Mail to a fixed space, then when Mail receives mail in the background, the computer automatically rockets you out of the space you're currently working in and switches to Mail's space.

• Have you upgraded to the new version of Retrospect, and if so, can you back up to DVD with it? One reader is telling us that backing up to DVD-R no longer works (in version 6.1.138), and that reverting to 6.1.126 fixes the problem instantly.

• Do you use Boot Camp with a wireless keyboard? Two readers are reporting that even with the Mac drivers installed, when they boot into Windows, the wireless keyboard doesn't work.

• Do you use x11 with multiple monitors? If so, is this working properly? We've a report from a reader saying that it isn't: windows can't be placed on most of the second monitor.

• How are things going with your AirPort USB disk? We still get reports that these aren't working. If this happens to you, can you fix it by reformatting the disk? One reader has told us that this fixed his AirPort disk troubles.

• Remember our article a few days ago where some users were reporting loss of ability to select a portion of a movie, for editing, even though they have QuickTime Pro? Now we are getting some indication that the problem might be the new version of the QuickTime Player application - not the QuickTime 7.3 upgrade as a whole. If you're seeing this issue, try using an earlier version of QuickTime Player if you have one (multiple versions of QuickTime Player can co-exist on your machine without difficulty). Does that fix it?

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