My MacBook shipped with the standard 2GB of memory. I had the idea of adding the additional 2GB myself since Apple charges you more money than needed. Downside is that the new MacBooks are kinda sensitive about the memory you use. Regular Kingston / Sandisk memory could result in kernel panics (or other strange behaviour).
After some googling I read some forum posts on OCZ memory and the new aluminium MacBooks. Today I added 2 * 2GB of OCZ memory to my MacBook, and it runs fine (at the moment).
As long as there aren’t any updates on this post it probably means that I’m not having any problems with the new memory.
Memory details:
OCZ SO-Dimm 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-8500, 1066Mhz
It’s been a while since I used the MTK software for getting GPS logs from my QStarz GPS BT Q1000 travel recorder. This weekend I was surprised to see that the developpers had updated the application interface (among other things). The new version is a JAVA applet, which can be installed in your Applications folder, or it can be run online (’no’ installation required).
No installation is not entirely correct, because you still need the USB drivers AND you need to create a directory and set certain filesystem rights.
In short:
sudo mkdir /var/lock
sudo chmod 777 /var/lock
It’s possible that there’s a prompt for an admin password.
- Run the Application (or install it).
You need to trust the signed JAVA application. If you don’t, the application will not run.
- Launch the application and switch the GPS logger on (log-mode)
- Press connect, and you’re good to go.
I’m definitely looking forward to the maps integration (development version only at this moment).
The LX3 is in my possession for a couple of weeks, and last weekend I noticed something annoying. When I imported the photos in Adobe Lightroom, some of the photos were imported as RAW, and some as JPG.
By default I set my cameras on RAW (if they support it). When I purchased the LX3 there was no RAW importer for Lightroom or Photoshop, so I shot in RAW+JPG. This way I could see the photos and could work with the RAW files when a proper RAW converter (Adobe Camera RAW) cae along.
I checked the format settings and these were set at RAW, so where did those JPG’s came from?
After some searching I found that the iA mode of the camera (intelligent Auto) decides which image quality setting to use. Something I didn’t find in the manual (or I read over it).
Anyway, it’s annoying as hell.
Recently I bought a new MacBook (late 2008 edition). Since Apple charges the world for options I got the cheapest one available, and decided to upgrade the hard disk and/or memory when I saw the time fit. Well, that time has come.
Today I got a new Western Digital Scorpio Black 7.200rpm 320GB () for €85.00 to replace the default 160GB 5400 rpm drive. Read more…
While in the mids of my Juniper exam preparation I ran into a problem with my Apple equipment. Managing the Juniper firewall (SSG5 in this case) with SSH was not possible from OSX. The connection itself would work, but after entering the password the connection was closed by the remote host (the firewall).
Trying this from a Windows laptop (with SecureCRT) everything worked as expected.
Some searching revealed that this is an OpenSSH bug. To manage your Juniper with SSH from OSX you need to add a parameter to the ssh command (or edit the SSH config file).
Parameter to add:
-o ControlMaster=auto
e.g. ssh willem@127.0.0.1 -o ControlMaster=auto
Or add the following line to the global SSH config (/etc/ssh_config) or the user config (~/.ssh/config).
ControlMaster auto
Juniper has a knowledgebase article (KB12409) on the issue.
The new aluminum MacBook arrived this week. This time no Pro verion but the cheaper (and smaller) MacBook. Initial impressions are good… really good.
The only drawbacks are directly related to the fact that I was too cheap to buy the more expensive version. The keyboard color is white letters on black keys (this was black letter on ’silver’ or white keys). This makes it harder to read them in low light conditions. So not having the backlit keyboard is a bit annoying.
Also, the lack of an USB port on the right-side of the MacBook is annoying. The cable of my mighty mouse is too short to get from the left-side USB port to the right-side where I use it.
MacBook for Lefties
Best (free) configuration option is the US keyboard. Finally a ‘normal’ keyboard on the MacBooks.
Panasonic Lumix LX3
After a long and extensive search for an additional point and shoot camera (P&S) I bought the Panasonic Lumix LX3.
The reason for buying the camera were:
- Image quality
- RAW capabilities
(RAW format not yet supported by the normal Adobe product)
- Relative large sensor with only 10 MPixels
- Size (not too small)
- Extensive control over the settings in the camera
- Hotshoe (for an external flash or a 200 euro ViewFinder…..)
The LX3 with a Nikon SB-600 flash… not that well balanced 
- 24mm (35mm equivalent) wide angle lens.
- Macro setting
- Good quality movies (in 720p HD format)
- And not to forget; the design of the camera.
Panasonic Lumix LX3 test image
When you’re used to a semi-pro dSLR it takes a while getting used to. Most of the camera functions are hidden in menu’s.
One question for Panasonic-crew; Why the absurd prices on the optional accessories? The optional ViewFinder is HALF the price of the camera.
Guess I’ll be waiting for the cheap Asian knock-offs.
The new MacBook lacks the (oh so) familiar FireWire port, so how am I supposed to migrate from my MacBook Pro to a new MacBook? Copy everything over the network? Or are they providing special tooling?
MacBook 2008 Ports
The advantage of the firewire port was that you can access your Apple hardware as a external drive. Quite handy if your laptop/desktop fails to boot. Just hook it up with FireWire to another Apple and you can try to fix the problem (and get to your data).
We might be heading to a Windows Migration Assistant kinda feature….
UPDATE: It seems that migration is available via ethernet, or by mounting a diskimage (which you created on the other machine)
UPDATE 2: Apple to the rescue with the Migration and DVD/CD Sharing Update.
Apple announced (or released) three ‘new’ MacBooks;
The biggest surprises (apart from the new housing) is that the MacBooks come in two flavours; the ‘old’ white MacBook (which is also a sub-thousand dollar/euro laptop), and an aluminum version.
Every MacBook (Pro/Air) has the possibility of having solid-state harddrives, and, as usual, there are several upgrades available (CPU, Memory, and tons of accessories). The thing that keeps bothering me is the price that Apple wants for its memory upgrades are most likely ridiculous (as usual). Problem this time is that Apple puts DDR3 DIMMS in the notebooks, and I can’t seem to find these in the regular webshops.
Anyway, after getting the Popcorn Hour this week there’s no reason for getting an Air or Pro version of the MacBook (if my MBP dies, or gets sold for a decent price). But first…. Wait to see wait the initial problems are with the new MacBooks, because there always is something…….
We’ll see a new MacBook (Pro) tomorrow if all the rumors are right. My current MacBook Pro (MBP) is one of the first releases (the Intel 1.0 version so to say), and is working just fine. I even used it to view HD content on my TV (720p max, but without DTS decoding).
The last year I was having this idea of upgrading my MBP so that I’m able of watching full HD content on my TV. But now with the arrival of the Popcorn Hour that necessity is gone. Now I can ‘upgrade’ my MBP to a new (sub $1000 ??) MacBook when the time comes. All I do on the laptop is a bit of;
- browsing
- e-mail
- basic photo editting
- webdev
No need to spend extra for watching HD content. It’s like ’spending money to save money’.
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