Channels
 Power Macs
 iMac Channel
 iBook/PowerBook
 MacInSchool
Computer Profiles
 iMac
 Power Mac
 PowerBook/iBook
 Performas
 Mac Clones
 Older Macs
 LisaNeXT
Editorial Archive
Mac Daniel's Advice
Email Lists
LEMchat (uses AIM)
Online Tech Journal
Consumer
 advice, reviews
 guides, deals
Software
Apple History
Best of the Web
 Best of the Mac Web surveys
Miscellaneous Links
 Best Used Mac Buys
 Used Mac Dealers
 Video Cards
 Mac OS X
 Mac Linux
 Macspeak
 RAM Upgrades
About Low End Mac
Site Contacts

Open Link

Support LEM

Affiliates

The Apple Store
.mac
iTunes Store
Club Mac
MacMall
MacResQ
ExperCom
eBay
Amazon.com
PayPal
PCMall
PC Zone
Crucial Memory

Our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For detailed price quotes and advertising information, please contactat BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2008 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.

 Radius Rocket

Rocket II (68040) in Mac II

Low End Mac Reader Specials

Memory To Go Special: New 2008 iMac 2GB $42 / iMac Intel Core2 DUO & MacBook Pro 2GB $36 - 1GB $20. MacPro 8 Core Memory 8GB kit $286 / 4GB kit $143 / 2GB kit $93 -- Free shipping available. LIfetime warranty.

Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com

LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.

OWC: Top Quality Memory for Faster Mac Performance 1GB/2GB/4GB Kits from $23.99/$47.99/$94.99 Expert Support, Free Installation Videos & Guides, Lifetime Advance Replacement Warranty - www.MacSales.com

Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.

David Emmons reports:

A Rocket only works on a Mac with full size NuBus slots, and is running at least system 7 but no system later then 7.1 (I use 7.1.3 which has the scriptable finder). It is ideal for a Mac II or IIx/cx whose processors are barely usable with todays software (though I did get the II's 68020 to run MS Office 4.2 ).

If you can install memory and a video card then you can install the Rocket. You will also need to install the Rocket's Software, RocketWare, which you can get at Radius's site on the web. If your Mac's ROMs are 32-bit dirty you need Mode32 (Mac II, IIx, IIcx, and SE/30).

Compatibility: The Rocket hates sound.* The system tricks it uses to run make handling sounds a pain (if not impossible). Do not install Sound Manager 3.0 or later! It can handle SM 2.0 for some programs, and I never have had problems with Finder Sounds, but many games will not work, most notably Ambrosia games, but you can still use the mother board processor for those.

The Rocket also dislikes fax software. Again run off the motherboard.

Install MacsBug. It seems to make the system fairly stable and I even can get Escape Velocity to play but none of the sounds work. But this game needs a fast processor.

Install at least 12 megs on the Rocket (I have 20). It's barely usable at 8.

Remember this machine is a Jekyll and Hyde kind of thing. Your motherboard is fully compatible with most things but is slow. The Rocket is very fast but also very temperamental.

I've been using this Rocket II for almost 2 years now and it has served me very well.

Here is what I run:

  • Netscape 3.02
  • FirstClass 3.5 (with all sound resources removed)
  • Excel 5.0a and Word 6.0a (these actually work great)
  • Escape Velocity (just hit cmd+G when the debugger comes up)
  • Marathon (all versions...sound is spotty)
  • Kaleidoscope 1.7
  • Text to Speech (works great)
  • Many shareware games (most though need to run on the motherboard)
  • More extensions then you can shake a stick at.

What you can't run

  • Anything that requires System 7.5 or a PowerPC.

But the thing to remember is that this Mac is 10 years old and it's system software is almost 5, yet I'm running some things that are brand new (Netscape for one).

Experiment. It's still fundamentally a Mac so you can always recover without extensions.

My final view is that the Rocket is not for everyone. In some ways it's more like a PC then a Mac, but if you keep in mind it's limitations you will have a very fast and very cheap system.

I am always willing to help or answer questions.

Support? What support? This is a Mac! I don't need support. :-)

Dave

P.S. The Rocket sound it makes at launch is very cool. :-)

* The Radius Rocket doesn't have any sound hardware. It relies on the main CPU to handle all sound. dk

Go to Mac II profile or Radius Rocket page.

Links for the Day

  • Mac of the Day: Power Mac G3, Nov. 1997 - The first G3 Power Mac and the last Mac in a beige enclosure.
  • List of the Day: Mac OS 9 List covers Mac OS 9 as both a freestanding OS and as Classic mode in OS X.

Recent Content on Low End Mac

  • The October 2008 MacBook Value Equation, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 10.15. Apple changed the entire MacBook lineup on Tuesday. How do close-out prices compare to the new ones?
  • G3 and Low End G4 Mac Performance Comparison, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 10.15. Factors that impact performance are the version of CPU, the size and speed of the Level 2 cache, and how much RAM is installed.
  • The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Apple Design, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.15. Apple has produced some beautiful computers and iPods over the years, but also a few of the ugliest and most ungainly computers ever seen.
  • 3 Reasons to Use a Mac, and Pismo Troubleshooting, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.15. Why one Windows user is also a Mac user, a Pismo that can't see its AirPort card, and sources of kernel panics.
  • Best MacBook Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.15. Used 1.83 GHz, $649; 2.0 SD, $750; refurb 2.1 GHz, $849; 2.4, $1,049; black, $1,099; new 2.1, $869 after rebate; 2.4, $1,175 a/r; black, $1,194 a/r.
  • Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.15. Used 2.0 GHz Core Duo, $1,000; 2.16, $1,100; refurb, 2.4, $1,349; new, $1,444 after rebate; refurb 2.5, $1,499; new, $1,644 a/r; refurb 2.6, $1,799; new, $2,594 a/r.
  • Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.15. Used 1.6 80 HD, $1,200; refurb, $1,349; new, $1,549; 1.8 120, $1,999; 1.6 128 SSD, $2,299; used 1.8 64 SSD, $1,800; new, $2,100.
  • MacBook (Unibody), 10.14. The MacBook gets the same aluminum treatment as the MacBook Pro - and dedicated GeForce 9400M graphics.
  • 15" MacBook Pro (Unibody), 10.14. The new MacBook Pro's case is carved from a block of aluminum for increased strength.
  • MacBook White, 10.14. Entry-level white MacBook gets a SuperDrive, retail price reduced to US$999.
  • MacBook Air (GeForce), 10.14. More storage, a video port, and GeForce 9400M graphics improve the MacBook Air.
  • Death of the iPod 'Way Off in the Future', Tim Nash, Taking Back the Market, 10.14. Someday Apple will decide that the iPod is no longer profitable and discontinue it, "but that day looks to be way off in the future."
  • Best Intel iMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.14. Used 20" 1.83 GHz, $599; 2.0, $730; 2.16, $800; 24", $950; refurb 17" 1.83, $699; 20" 2.0, $949; 2.4, $999; 2.66, $1,299; 24" 2.4, $1,299; 2.8, $1,549; 3.06, $1,899; rebates on new.
  • Best iBook G3 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.14. Used 300 MHz clamshell, $150; 366, $199; 500 CD, $149; 800, $190; 600 DVD, $200; CD-RW, $240; 700 Combo, $250; 900, $369; 14" 600, $230; 900, $449.
  • Best Classic iPod Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.14. Used 60 GB color, $150; used 30 video, $140; 80, $170; refurb 80 classic, $169; new 120 GB, $240; refurb 160 GB, $249; new, $280. New & refurb include shipping.
  • Will Apple's Rumored $800 Notebook Be a Netbook?, Charles W. Moore, 'Book Value, 10.13. Netbooks are hot, and with the economy in turmoil, Apple needs to offer a netbook for the OS X crowd.
  • Best Titanium PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.13. Used 667 MHz Combo, $480; 867 MHz, $530; 1 GHz, $590; SuperDrive, $900.
  • Best Classic Mac OS Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.13. System 6, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5.1, $4; Mac OS 7.6, $13; 8.0, $13; 8.1, $48; 8.5, $25; 8.6, $20; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $20; more.
  • Best Xserve Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.13. Used G4/1 GHz, $999; G5/2 GHz, $1,499; new 2.0 4-core Xeon, $1,900; refurb 3.0 4-core, $2,299; 2.8 GHz, $2,599; 3.0 8-core, $3,499; 3.2, $3,699.
  • More links in our archive.