To get the grime and dirt (or coffee rings in our case!) off your Macbook, use Vanish. Her Macbook is now gleaming!

Then use a vacume cleaner to get the crumbs out!

Now that I'm back and have a chance to settle in a bit, I've had some time to pick up and play around w/ the Macbook again, and I must confess, it's starting to lose it's appeal. I made a conscious effort to switch over my work to my Apple notebook and for a while it was manageable. Expose & Spaces are still cool, but w/ most of my work Internet and web browser related, my Macbook and Safari just weren't cutting it out for me.

Mac Office 2004/2008 both have their issues compared to Office 2003 for the PC, more specifically w/ certain functions in Excel. I don't like Safari. It's slow, it doesn't have mouse gestures. There are some pages that take forever to load on Safari and that load right away w/ Firefox and IE on my PC. Don't know why this is. Opera has it's problems too. Slow for some sites. I predominantly used Firefox but IE is useful too. It comes in handy.

So for now I think I'm going to switch back over to my HP Pavilion dv6000 PC. Going to use that as my primary computer again. I'm more efficient and more productive on my HP. I have everything that I need for work while at the same time I can use it on the side for casual use. The Macbook is reverting back to my play toy. Sigh.

A thought just came to mind. Will this be like my honeymoon? After my wife and I settle down, after the honeymoon phase is over, will I be bored? Is my Macbook honeymoon phase coming to an end?

     On September Ninth, 2008, we are going to make history, with the Real Steve Jobs.  Steve.  I want a new iPod.  

From Macrumors.com

from Engadget.com

iLounge.com

Photo from San Francisco, CA.  Let's rock event.  [From http:gizmodo.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/09/letsrock.jpg]

     The New iPod Touch just takes a few design q's from the iPhone 3G, and adds a volume rocker.

     Idk about blutooth.  I hope so, but I won't be getting a new touch, i'm getting an iPhone.

-KM

     If you think multiple things are going to be announced on WWDC, your wrong.  Wait until Macworld.  WWDC is a developers conference, its for the people that make your Mac and iPhone worth it's while.  I expect they will sell out of tickets this year.

     Not a regular visitor?  Please stick around and subscribe VIA rss...  Thanks to you I am close to more articles like this.

В общем, приключения с работоспособностью Мака не закончились проблемами сгоревшей сетевушки (см. пост про Ethernet)

Начал прилаживать Time Capsule. Настроил сеть, подключил диск Time Capsule в Time Machine, запустил бэкап. Надо отметить, что на разных форумах предупреждали, что первый бэкап будет делаться очень долго, но чтобы так ДОЛГО, не ожидал.

В общем, запустил бэкап через WiFi (n) по причине сгоревшего Ethernet. Сижу жду, курю, опять жду, курю....

На вторые сутки вижу, что забэкапилось примерно 49Гигов из 203Гб. Тихонько офигеваю, но делать нечего - жду. Смотрю, а скорость бэкапа не поднимается выше 700кб/с. ну думаю, мало ли что - сеть теряется, wifi фонит, или точка доступа далеко (бук на кухне на первом этаже, а точка доступа на втором).

Курю, пиво...Звонок... "ать-тудыть-$%##$, все пропало, нужен диск с фильмом про наши зимние приключения, позарез".

Надо помочь, думаю. Подмонтировал NAS, скачал образ DVD - кстати, 1,5 Гига скачались через WiFi Time Capsule достаточно быстро, не знаю уж чем там был так занят Time Machine. Засунул образ в тостер, жгу...

Verify диска прошел успешно, вставляю диск обратно для проверки тот ли фильм, все ли записалось и пр... Звонок "Ну и...?", Ответ "Ща..."

оборачиваюсь и вижу на маке классический зависон:

1. Анимация меню диска стоит на месте
2. курсор диска не двигается
3. мышь (тачпад) не реагирует
4. клава мертвая

Хмм, выключаем - жмем выкл. 10 сек.

Включаем - жмем вкл:

1. Монитор чЁрен как ночь
2. внешний монитор тоже ничего не показывает
3. индикатор на лицевой стороне загорается (тускленько так...)
4. винт не шуршит
5. CD даже не пробует стартовать
6. клава мертвая (Caps Num Lock не реагируют)
7. CMD-s, t, Shift не помогают.
8. сброс PRAM - не помогает
9. сброс SMC - не помогает
10. USB - мертвые (загрузиться с внешнего диска Mac Os не получается)

погуглил - был похожий случай, починилось сервисом (http://community.livejournal.com/ru_mac/2409049.html)

Посоветовался с ребятами, общий вывод "мруть кони с перегреву..". В общем, сильно пахнет "жареной материнкой" за 1300уе. Комп лежал на столе, на кухне, на тряпочной салфетке. Сам бук уже год как одет в прозрачный пластиковый чехол (кстати отличная вещь - сколько царапал, ронял, и пр. - хоть бы хны). Вскрытие назначено на выходные, будем посмотреть....

Вывод предварительный - не только вы любите холодное пиво :) Но и маки любят прохладу.

P.S. видимо мак уйдет на запчасти, так что пишите кому что надо. буду ждать новую линейку MacBookPro.

Found an interesting comment in my earlier thread regarding the Macbook Conspiracy from someone who calls themselves "Tinkerbell".

i think they get their MACs during the season. i saw in last year’s tv guide booklet from the tour that blake and chris r both have macboks. i also remember sligh talking about his. think i saw sanjaya with one too. so yeah, i believe they get them during the season.

and for the 2 tards, fuck off. YOU guys will be the ones using food stamps with all the gifting you are doing for these idols.

Hmmm...

Well, lookie here. I was engaged in a similar activity this morning at the butt crack of dawn. Seems David Cook and I just happen to share the same taste in sleek, portable technology -- as was evidenced by Geek Sugar on August 6th.

Regardless of what gaming toys he has tucked away, it's obvious that he really is a Mac boy, which I didn't know for sure, even though contestants were decked out with Apple gear during the last season of AI.

Now it's rather likely Cook as always been a "Mac Guy", as his college major was graphic design. But that Macbook Pro looks rather shiny and new...I bought mine in January and it does not seem to glow in such a fashion, perhaps b/c I have my grubby little fingers on it all the time. Meh. Who knows...but...I still think all those Idol contestants received these shiny bad boys at some point during the competition.

Apple also may used this event to possibly introduce new laptops but that may not come until October.

MacBook: 2.4GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 160GB Hard Drive, CD/DVD Burner, Integrated Graphics, 13.3" display (1280X800) 

MacBook Pro: 2.4GHz Processor, 2GB RAM, 200GB Hard Drive, CD/DVD Burner, nVidia Graphics 256MB, 15.4" display. 

With the $600 left over from the MacBook, I would be able to buy 4GB of RAM to max it out. What should I do?

Engadget just broke a new story about an Apple event for the 9th. I always like to write something up before the event, and make some predictions and see if they come true one week from now. This is what I think His Steveness will bestow upon us next Tuesday:

The Expected

A New iPod Nano: This is I think a no brainer. The net has been a buzz with leaked photos and case designs for the new nano. The shots show the alleged new nano going from the chubby short version (that I once hated until I held it in my hand) to a longer, narrower design with a vertical wide screen. It is almost a little Zune like. I doubt they will hold more than 8GBs.

Refreshened iPod Touch: This I think is coming too. The new iPod Touch would probably refreshed a bit to maybe jive with the iPhone a bit. Most important, rumor is Apple is going to debut the 2.1 update on the touch first...then on to the iPhone, so definitely pay attention for that. I would like to see a large capacity iPod Touch (64GB or higher). Though the only way I would consider an upgrade is if it exceeds 160GB (my current iPod Classics's capacity) which I doubt highly. I do expect however, the Touch will see a major price drop (along with the nano and iPod Classic)

The Not So Expected

iTunes Subscription Service: There has been some buzz on this. I am still sitting on the fence whether I think this will be coming or not. For every reason I think Apple might go for this, there is a reason I think they won't. At the same time, having access to the iTunes store would be great, I like to keep my music. And I HATE DRM subscription services. I think a lot of Apple users feel the same way, so this may not be so popular.

New MacBooks & MacBook Pros: These are highly expected, though I don't think they'll pop up tomorrow. Again, they might so they can take advantage of the holiday season, however I would think to save this for a MacWorld Expo type event. However, if they did debut tomorrow they would be welcomed. I think they will jive to match their new sibling the MacBook Air (my preferred daily driver). I guess only time will tell.

One More Thing...

Steve is notorious for dropping something crazy on us. I have no idea what it could be. It may be the new MacBooks, the subscription service, or maybe even an Mac Tablet (hmmmmmm)? Anyway, if you'd like weigh in. I'd like to see what you all think might go down on Tuesday.

P.S.

One more quick thing. I am in math class so I am typing this out on my iPhone so forgive the typos. I am pretty optimistic that the iPhone notification server will show itself in some way on the 9th. It might not go live but I think we definitely will be getting some details and a hard release date. That would be great...AIM sucks without it.

The first method is Boot Camp. Would require you to have OS X Leopard running. This method lets you run Windows at native speed. If you want to play graphic intense games it's best if you have an iMac or Macbook Pro. iMac, Macbook Pro and Mac Pro support Windows Vista 64-bit version. The low end Macs even though has a 64-bit processor supports only Windows Vista 32-bit version.

The next method to run Windows on a Mac is to install a third party software that enables virtualisation. Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion are two great softwares available. The software is worth every penny you spend on it. I currently use Parallels Desktop 3.0 and I am very happy with it's results as I do not have to boot Windows to run it. Just double click Parallels and viola, you are on Windows.

So give this software a try and leave a comment.

Resta il fatto che sono sempre più convinto che il mondo open source, sia quello più forte! [Perchè l'unione fa la forza!]
D'ora in poi aggiornerò il mio Blog, con News, Eventi, Gossip che tratteranno il mondo della Mela e di Zio Steve, magari con quel aroma di Open che non guasta mai. Un saluto ai miei più affezionati lettori!

Marco

Feeling rather broke now... I just bought a MacBook Pro for myself at the Comex fair at Suntec. I took the 15 inch one with a 4GB ram upgrade and extended Apple Care Protection. Damage to my wallet = S$3287. I also boughta desktop PC from Acer for S$548 for my dad's use. I think the latter is quite a steal - cheap and good.

Total damage = S$3835 (heartache!)

Nonetheless, the upgrades were necessary. Both the desktop PC and my eMac were down, as mentioned in a previous blog entry. I had the PC for almost 7 years, and the eMac for almost 5 years.

Technorati Tags: emac, macbook pro, apple, singapore, comex 2008, acer pc, acer desktop, alvinology, comex fair, apple care protection

I was really excited to get my new Plantronics 365 in the mail; the sound is so crisp, and I had previously been using an 8 year old pair of Sony headphones that only had sound in one ear with my built-in mic! I am really glad that Kilat recommended me this model. Imagine trying to figure out where someone's footsteps are coming from in CS when you can only hear through one ear... it was pretty lame!

Somehow, though, the recording quality didn't seem to change, and luckily Moeb, another mbp owner, was able to tell me what the problem was. My hardware knowledge isn't the strongest, but what I understand is that my mic doesn't have sufficient output to connect to the audio port.

The solution to fixing the problem is either buying 1) a usb headset 2) a flippin' expensive headset with good output or 3) an iMic. Since my Plantronics have been serving me well I decided to buy an iMic from NCIX, which is a usb audio adapter. It was a bit pricy, but I am hoping that it will do the trick, and that I will soon get to help out with the TF2 Casting. Wish me good luck :)

Apple Support: How to connect an external microphone

El pasado día Jueves 21 del presente mes, compre mi Macbook pro de 15" 2.4g en Net- Computación- Viña del Mar.

Esta semana el equipo a estado en perfectas condiciones, salvo el día Martes 26 que el equipo tuvo un caída de sistema operativo, me llamo bastante la atención ya que una de las cosas del porque me cambie a Mac es por su estabilidad en el S.O. Ese día estuve trabajando en mi oficina desde las 09.00 enchufado a la corriente eléctrica hasta las 18.00 cuando fue el suceso, el día el equipo estuvo en constante uso entre Photoshop, Illustrator y Dreamwaver, a eso de las 18.00 conecte el cable de red y fue en ese instante que el computador se cuelga sin poder ejecutar ningún comando para que el equipo reaccionara. Concluyendo el equipo fue forzado al reinicio. Luego de eso el equipo a funcionado sin ninguna complicación.

Destaco además. 1 Semana, 6 ciclos de batería.

Citing unnamed "people familiar with the situation," AppleInsider's Kasper Jade ticks off a schedule of release for a batch of new iPods, overhauled notebooks and refreshed iMacs, confirming several rumors that have been floating around for weeks and adding a few of his own.

Taken alone, none of these announcements sound quite big enough to account for the sharp drop in the company's gross margins -- from 34.1% to 31.5% -- CFO Peter Oppenheimer warned analysts to expect this quarter, citing a mysterious "future product transition." But together, they might do the trick.

Here they are, in the order Jade expects them to be released:

• New iPods in September. Digg founder Kevin Rose, an Apple watcher with a track record considerably more checkered than Jade's, predicted last Friday that Apple would soon revamp its entire iPod line, cutting prices sharply, making cosmetic changes to the iPod touch and introducing a significantly redesigned iPod nano with a long thin screen (link). Over the weekend Rose specified a date on which all this would occur: September 9 (link). Without endorsing that particular Tuesday as the date, Jade's sources confirm that Steve Jobs himself will headline a special event tentatively scheduled for the second week of September in which "cheaper and slightly modified iPod touches players and new iPod nanos and related service announcements are expected to take center stage." (link) One thing that will not be announced at that event, according to Jade's sources, is the long-rumored Newton-like handheld multi-touch device.
• New MacBooks and MacBook Pros in September or October. Jade's sources are cagey about the timing here, but they were explicit in saying that new versions of Apple's hot-selling notebook computers would not be available until some time after the new iPods are introduced. Whether that means they are announced at a separate event -- perhaps in October -- or whether they will be announced at the same event and shipped some weeks later is one of those mysteries that may not get cleared up until the event actually occurs. Among the changes expected: a MacBook clad in aluminum (like the Pro) rather than plastic; tapering around the edges (a la MacBook Air) to produce a slimming effect; a mysterious new chipset (but still with an Intel (INTC) CPU); and a newly designed battery cover and latch that offer easier access to the hard drive.
• Refreshed 20-inch and 24-inch iMacs in November. This is a brand new rumor, rather than a rumor confirming old rumors. According to Jade:
  • "People familiar with these plans have described the refresh to consist of 'speed bumps' rather than major internal or external changes. Based on the roadmap presented to AppleInsider, these systems would debut later this fall following the release of the new MacBooks, making their way to market with little fanfare."

Not expected before the end of the year are refreshes of the Mac Pro or the Mac mini, although Jade's sources report that the latter, once given up for dead, is getting a "major overhaul -- the most significant in the mini's short history."

[Timeline and photos courtesy of AppleInsider.]

I'll give you a hint ... if your planning on purchasing an ipod or a mac in the next couple days or weeks, WAIT!!! Updates coming soon for nano and macbook pro-