Yeah, I just discovered when my Mac was built. I already knew where it was built (Tiawaan, I believe), but I've found that it was built during week 24 of this year, by looking at the serial number:
From System Profiler:
Hardware Overview:
Machine Name: MacBook
Machine Model: MacBook1,1
CPU Type: Intel Core Duo
Number Of Cores: 2
CPU Speed: 2 GHz
L2 Cache (shared): 2 MB
Memory: 768 MB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MB11.005F.B00
Serial Number: 4H6246WFU9E
SMC Version: 1.4f10
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled
See the Serial Number? The 4th and 5th numbers determine the build week.
Now, I have to track down any issues that all week 24 systems have had in recent months, but maybe I shouldn't be opening up Pandora's Box, eh?
Friday, August 25, 2006
More RAM please!!
I just added RAM maybe 1/2 hour ago. It was easy, IMO. It certainly wasn't as easy as adding RAM to my Toshiba or Dell, but after doing it (and considering the fact that its all over forums everywhere that this is a difficult task), it wasn't as hard as people tend to make out.
I didn't have to push as hard as others, I believe, but I didn't swap out both chips, just one. Since I left one in, I could judge how far I had to push it in by observing the one that was already installed. I pushed once, let go, then looked over and compared the two and saw that I hadn't pushed it in far enough, so I pushed one more time and kept pushing until it moved. I let go and compared them again, then put the L-bracket back in.
I spent more time putting the L-bracket back in than anything else. I started at the screw closest to the bend. I had a jewel flat-tip screwdriver, so I used it to push the cushioning material in while I was pushing the bracket. It helps to screw the two screws closest to the bend about halfway before messing with the cushioning material and dealing with the last screw. The last screw was the kicker...I kept screwing and having to back off because the screw was attempting to bind. I found that if I pushed the bracket upward a bit, it would align the bracket's hole with the case's hole and help keep the screw aligned when screwing it in.
I added 512MB from New Egg. Talk about pissed. I ordered 1GB...I actually clicked on a link for 1GB, saw that 1GB was added to my cart, made the purchase and the next day, I checked my e-mail and found that there was 512MB that was being shipped to me. I contacted a sales rep but they wouldn't halt the shipment because it was already in progress. I told them that I wasn't going to purchase from them again and I'd been buying from them since '97. 4 days later, I checked and saw that the shipment hadn't shipped yet! So, I sent them a nastygram e-mail and then checked again 8 hours later. I found that they voided the shipment and reprocessed it as a new shipment as express delivery. Since the order was only in 'step one' of their process, I was able to cancel it. I called and spoke to a rep and she was able to verify that it was cancelled. So, guess what showed up via UPS on my doorstep today (not an express shipment)?? The ORIGINAL order that was voided along with the second shipment. I decided to put it in the Mac anyways instead of shipping it back, but those guys have their heads up their butts. Never again will I order from them!
So now, I've the option of purchasing 1GB again, but I think I will do it locally...sure, it'll be more expensive but if you factor in shipping and hassle of online orders, they balance out, plus I'll have instant gratification if I purchase locally AND if the RAM is bad or the wrong size, I can always return locally instead of RMAing something.
I'll give NeoOffice a spin to see how it reacts to the RAM.
Also, I've got the recent fan firmware update on my Mac now. To be honest, I don't notice a huge difference, then again, I haven't had it on my lap yet. One thing that does bug me a bit is that I notice the fans being on. Some people complain too much about these laptops, especially the fact that they run hot, but EVERY dual core laptop runs hot. That's the price you pay for power. It's similar to cars and motorcycles. If you've a 300 HP car, you're certainly going to have less gas mileage than a 200HP car, even if you drive with the intention of saving fuel. The laptops are actually only hot because of the case, as there isn't much room for cooling management in these ultra-thin notebooks. A lot of people need to face the fact that they can't have their cake and eat it too...just because its a Mac doesn't mean that it can achieve the impossible.
I'm finished. Ta ta!
I didn't have to push as hard as others, I believe, but I didn't swap out both chips, just one. Since I left one in, I could judge how far I had to push it in by observing the one that was already installed. I pushed once, let go, then looked over and compared the two and saw that I hadn't pushed it in far enough, so I pushed one more time and kept pushing until it moved. I let go and compared them again, then put the L-bracket back in.
I spent more time putting the L-bracket back in than anything else. I started at the screw closest to the bend. I had a jewel flat-tip screwdriver, so I used it to push the cushioning material in while I was pushing the bracket. It helps to screw the two screws closest to the bend about halfway before messing with the cushioning material and dealing with the last screw. The last screw was the kicker...I kept screwing and having to back off because the screw was attempting to bind. I found that if I pushed the bracket upward a bit, it would align the bracket's hole with the case's hole and help keep the screw aligned when screwing it in.
I added 512MB from New Egg. Talk about pissed. I ordered 1GB...I actually clicked on a link for 1GB, saw that 1GB was added to my cart, made the purchase and the next day, I checked my e-mail and found that there was 512MB that was being shipped to me. I contacted a sales rep but they wouldn't halt the shipment because it was already in progress. I told them that I wasn't going to purchase from them again and I'd been buying from them since '97. 4 days later, I checked and saw that the shipment hadn't shipped yet! So, I sent them a nastygram e-mail and then checked again 8 hours later. I found that they voided the shipment and reprocessed it as a new shipment as express delivery. Since the order was only in 'step one' of their process, I was able to cancel it. I called and spoke to a rep and she was able to verify that it was cancelled. So, guess what showed up via UPS on my doorstep today (not an express shipment)?? The ORIGINAL order that was voided along with the second shipment. I decided to put it in the Mac anyways instead of shipping it back, but those guys have their heads up their butts. Never again will I order from them!
So now, I've the option of purchasing 1GB again, but I think I will do it locally...sure, it'll be more expensive but if you factor in shipping and hassle of online orders, they balance out, plus I'll have instant gratification if I purchase locally AND if the RAM is bad or the wrong size, I can always return locally instead of RMAing something.
I'll give NeoOffice a spin to see how it reacts to the RAM.
Also, I've got the recent fan firmware update on my Mac now. To be honest, I don't notice a huge difference, then again, I haven't had it on my lap yet. One thing that does bug me a bit is that I notice the fans being on. Some people complain too much about these laptops, especially the fact that they run hot, but EVERY dual core laptop runs hot. That's the price you pay for power. It's similar to cars and motorcycles. If you've a 300 HP car, you're certainly going to have less gas mileage than a 200HP car, even if you drive with the intention of saving fuel. The laptops are actually only hot because of the case, as there isn't much room for cooling management in these ultra-thin notebooks. A lot of people need to face the fact that they can't have their cake and eat it too...just because its a Mac doesn't mean that it can achieve the impossible.
I'm finished. Ta ta!
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Lastest Installed Software
I've installed a few software packages in the last few days:
Chicken of the VNC
CyberDuck
Google for those ... they are easy to find. Both are pretty solid. I've yet to ferret out any underlying issues with those tools (or any user-error issues :o) ).
Currently, I'm working on aliases for certain commands, specifically SSH commands so I can log into my remote hosts with one typed word. I've gotten the aliases to work but I'm still working on getting them to be sticky (or permanent). It appears that most web pages out there are focused more on pre-Tiger. It should be long before I have it working though.
I also bought a book, "Mac OS X Tiger for Unix Geeks, which is a pretty good read and appears to be very practical, although it's not as granular as I need it to be, so i may go back out and get another OS X book to assist me in my learning.
One of the book's highlights is firewalling. I had no idea OS X was using ipfw behind the scenes. I shall take advantage of that soon! :o)
OK, it's late and I've to work tomorrow (first time in a week). Laters!
Chicken of the VNC
CyberDuck
Google for those ... they are easy to find. Both are pretty solid. I've yet to ferret out any underlying issues with those tools (or any user-error issues :o) ).
Currently, I'm working on aliases for certain commands, specifically SSH commands so I can log into my remote hosts with one typed word. I've gotten the aliases to work but I'm still working on getting them to be sticky (or permanent). It appears that most web pages out there are focused more on pre-Tiger. It should be long before I have it working though.
I also bought a book, "Mac OS X Tiger for Unix Geeks, which is a pretty good read and appears to be very practical, although it's not as granular as I need it to be, so i may go back out and get another OS X book to assist me in my learning.
One of the book's highlights is firewalling. I had no idea OS X was using ipfw behind the scenes. I shall take advantage of that soon! :o)
OK, it's late and I've to work tomorrow (first time in a week). Laters!
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Recent Software Installed
I've recently installed Chicken of the VNC (COTVNC) and XChat Aqua. While I've installed COTVNC, I haven't used it yet, but I've been using XChat Aqua since last night and it is a very good representation of the GTK-version of XChat. In fact, it actually appears better. I shall hopefully be installing some of my oper scripts from my *nix boxes onto the Aqua version on the Mac Book...hopefully they work.
I've given up on trying to get my Lexar JumpDrive working with the Mac Book, as to get the security software to work on the Mac appears to be convoluted...I'm a bit depressed.
Also, hopefully next payday, I'll be getting at least a gig of RAM for the Mac Book. I can't really afford 2GB so 1GB will suffice. I've been getting the spinning ball, indicating I've maxxed out my RAM usage for what I currently do with the Mac Book (lots of web browsers open at once, and a few other windows).
I've given up on trying to get my Lexar JumpDrive working with the Mac Book, as to get the security software to work on the Mac appears to be convoluted...I'm a bit depressed.
Also, hopefully next payday, I'll be getting at least a gig of RAM for the Mac Book. I can't really afford 2GB so 1GB will suffice. I've been getting the spinning ball, indicating I've maxxed out my RAM usage for what I currently do with the Mac Book (lots of web browsers open at once, and a few other windows).
Monday, July 03, 2006
Difficulty using Lexar JumpDrive
I've been trying to access my Lexar JumpDrive on my Mac Book. I've two partitions on the drive, a public one and a secure one. Lexar has software called JumpDrive Secure that will let users access their secure partitions on the drive in a Mac environment. I haven't gotten it to work on the secure partition, only the public.
What I may do is just access the secure partition on one of my Linux machines (or maybe even the Windows machine) and copy the secure partition to my Mac machine using SCP.
I can't find any other websites that show a fix, so I'm stuck for the moment. I'll use my work-around for now.
What I may do is just access the secure partition on one of my Linux machines (or maybe even the Windows machine) and copy the secure partition to my Mac machine using SCP.
I can't find any other websites that show a fix, so I'm stuck for the moment. I'll use my work-around for now.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Installed three new software packages:
coconutBattery
coconutIdentityCard
coconutWiFi
I can tell you now that coconutIdentityCard is pretty much useless, as it doesn't really do much. It'll tell you if your Mac is possibly stolen and also your unit's build date (estimated). coconutBattery will also tell you how old your machine is, amongst other things. coconutWiFi is also useful, as it will tell you how many WAPs it sees and will make a sound everytime it detects a new WAP.
coconutBattery and coconutWiFi will stay installed, but coconutIdentityCard will be removed.
You can get these three apps at http://www.coconut-flavour.com
coconutBattery
coconutIdentityCard
coconutWiFi
I can tell you now that coconutIdentityCard is pretty much useless, as it doesn't really do much. It'll tell you if your Mac is possibly stolen and also your unit's build date (estimated). coconutBattery will also tell you how old your machine is, amongst other things. coconutWiFi is also useful, as it will tell you how many WAPs it sees and will make a sound everytime it detects a new WAP.
coconutBattery and coconutWiFi will stay installed, but coconutIdentityCard will be removed.
You can get these three apps at http://www.coconut-flavour.com
Apple to start addressing white Mac Book discoloration issues
Apple has reportedly attributed the discoloration on and around the palm rest of some MacBook models to a manufacturing defect. See the link below. You can also read many, many complaints at http://www.forums.macrumors.com and http://www.forums.macnn.com:
http://www.macnn.com/articles/06/06/30/macbook.discoloration/
I have to mention that I've owned my Mac Book for a bit over 2 weeks and I haven't seen any discoloration (yet). I'm hoping this is an isolated issue with certain lots of Mac Books.
http://www.macnn.com/articles/06/06/30/macbook.discoloration/
I have to mention that I've owned my Mac Book for a bit over 2 weeks and I haven't seen any discoloration (yet
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Ran Into My First Issue
I've a problem viewing encrypted web pages using Safari (v 2.0.4). I need to view one of my company's web portals and can't get in, as the webpage complains that I'm not using a 128-bit browser.
Yes, I know that Safari is 128-bit capable. Yes, I know I'm using an older version. I've installed Safari Enhancer (per an archived MacRumors.com post), hoping the issue would be resolved. Safari Enhancer supposedly lets you change the user-agent of an HTTP browser, yet I've changed the user-agent from Safari to IE 6 to Firefox to no avail.
I'll work on this further either tomorrow or Friday. It's very late here and I've 6 hours of driving ahead of me tomorrow.
Yes, I know that Safari is 128-bit capable. Yes, I know I'm using an older version. I've installed Safari Enhancer (per an archived MacRumors.com post), hoping the issue would be resolved. Safari Enhancer supposedly lets you change the user-agent of an HTTP browser, yet I've changed the user-agent from Safari to IE 6 to Firefox to no avail.
I'll work on this further either tomorrow or Friday. It's very late here and I've 6 hours of driving ahead of me tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Received My New Mac Book 13"
YES!
I've been dying to get a Mac for about a year. Everytime I saved, something came up to where I had to spend the money. Finally, though, I got one.
Let me tell you that it was very hard to pick which I wanted. Last year, I was going to get a 17" G4 Powerbook, then changed my mind and was interested in a friend's 12" G4 Powerbook. Then I became interested in the Mac Minis. THEN Apple went crazy with their new Intel-based products. At that time, I was still interested in the Intel Mac Minis, but soon after, I got a glimpse of the Mac Book Pros (15"). A friend gave me a presentation of his...VERY nice. He told me to hold off until the "iBooks" were released...I almost didn't. I'm glad I did. I read the Apple pages on it then the whole family visited the Tyson Corner Apple Store. I got a look at them all and fell in love with the Mac Book.
I really wanted the black Mac Book but couldn't justify the price difference between the 2.0GHz white and black, so what I did was build a machine to order, upsizing the drive from 60GB to 80GB. With the military discount (my wife is in the US Army), and the fact that an extra 20GB was only $40 USD, I was very happy. Even with the Apple Care Plan, this laptop was the cheapest I've ever spent on a new notebook.
I'm not going to spew out the specs of this machine, as it is advertised at http://www.apple.com and is all over the 'net. I shall take pics soon and post them.
I've been dying to get a Mac for about a year. Everytime I saved, something came up to where I had to spend the money. Finally, though, I got one.
Let me tell you that it was very hard to pick which I wanted. Last year, I was going to get a 17" G4 Powerbook, then changed my mind and was interested in a friend's 12" G4 Powerbook. Then I became interested in the Mac Minis. THEN Apple went crazy with their new Intel-based products. At that time, I was still interested in the Intel Mac Minis, but soon after, I got a glimpse of the Mac Book Pros (15"). A friend gave me a presentation of his...VERY nice. He told me to hold off until the "iBooks" were released...I almost didn't. I'm glad I did. I read the Apple pages on it then the whole family visited the Tyson Corner Apple Store. I got a look at them all and fell in love with the Mac Book.
I really wanted the black Mac Book but couldn't justify the price difference between the 2.0GHz white and black, so what I did was build a machine to order, upsizing the drive from 60GB to 80GB. With the military discount (my wife is in the US Army), and the fact that an extra 20GB was only $40 USD, I was very happy. Even with the Apple Care Plan, this laptop was the cheapest I've ever spent on a new notebook.
I'm not going to spew out the specs of this machine, as it is advertised at http://www.apple.com and is all over the 'net. I shall take pics soon and post them.
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