Western Arab

Lenovo X201

I finally did it. Saying goodbye to my macbook. I ordered a Lenovo ThinkPad X201. The macbook is great but it was time for change again!

ThinkPad X201

Here are some specs:

Intel Core i5-480M Processor  2.66GHz, 3MB L3, 1066MHz FSB

Windows 7 Pro 64bit

12.1″ WXGA LED

8 GB PC3 – 8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM

Trackpoint with Touchpad

500GB Drive, 7200rpm

X200 9 cell Li-Ion Battery

Only thing is Lenovo won’t ship it until mid February. :/ Hoping it actually ships much sooner than that.

Completed MacBook

Ok so apple released a new macbook. Wait let me rephrase that, apple released the completed macbook, adding the features that were missing from the incomplete. The new macbook which is now macbook pro has a firewire 800 port, an SD card reader and a back-lit keyboard. In addition, the CPU is 2.26 instead of the 2.0 and the price is lower at $1199. I think the battery may also be better. So it seems Apple does it again. They have been doing the same with the iPhone, releasing incomplete products and then selling what they call new or various generation products when really it is the same product but more complete.

Apple get your act together. I am not upset about the macbook, but clearly leaving out firewire caused a big outroar that apple finally caved in and corrected it. I would like to have the firewire but don’t necessarily need it. SD card reader is nice and so is the back-lit keyboard. But there is no way I am going to buy another macbook which also happens to be cheaper even though I got mine for about the same price or less for the original macbook aluminum. Now the new iPhone is out and I have to still decide between it and the blackberry storm. I have a few more months to decide, blackberry hasn’t released a new storm yet, just a big software update with many fixes. So in a few months I will decide if I make a change to either phone but possibly neither.

I looked at the new 13 inch MacBook pro some more, from what I see in the picture above, they removed the audio in port and made it so in/out are the same port. Odd! The 15 and 17 inch have separate in/out for audio. They also moved the Kensington lock slot to the other side right next to the dvd slot.

Got my 4 gigs of RAM for the macbook. Ended up going with xp 32 bit on vmware fusion. Working great so far. Installing the RAM was a major pain in the ass. Eight tiny screws. I got my box of cheap small screw drivers I had bought a few years back at the dollar store. So I managed to get six of the screws out and I ended up with a blister on my finger. I cursed apple for making it so hard to open the machine up. I finally managed the seventh screw, when I finally remembered I had a screwdriver on my keychain meant for eyeglasses, tried that on the final screw that would not loosen and isnstantly turned. It was only then that I realized, it is not the macbook but my shitty screwdrivers.

Tax guy, after two weeks, I called for two days to get a hold of him. Tells me he is working on my taxes and will try to finish them up next day by afternoon. Again I say you will call me when they are done? He says yes. Day goes by, no call. Arab to Arab all over again. Not using his services again, or lack of services. Will see if he calls tomorrow.

We changed the green/yellow parakeet last weekend for a female green/yellow one. She is a little older than the blue male one and has long wings. She flies good … kinda. She doesn’t seem to avoid walls. She flew into the wall twice. So I let her out in the screened patio now only. She flew into the screen at least three times but I think she will get better over time. Maybe I will post a video of them later when they are out on the patio.

Finally, the apple mini-display port to vga adapter arrived today. I am using the macbook right now my 24″ monitor. Apple used the worst possible shipping method. What genius thought that shipping thru DHL to USPS was a smart idea? Why didn’t they just ship it via USPS in the first place? I would have received it much sooner. So what this means is I started using my macbook as my main computer. I setup my work applications on it today and used it for work. So far so good. I installed VMWare Fusion with Windows XP 64 bit. I am hoping I don’t regret the 64 bit choice with software issues later, but for what I need so far, 64 is working. I will also have to buy Fusion since I am running their demo right now.

So for the transition and because I will still need my windows machine (especially for gaming), I installed a USB/VGA KVM switch. I also had to buy a USB keyboard, yes I was still using a PS2 keyboard! So I am switching between them easily and I have a shared folder on a third machine I use as a server for work. I also ordered 4 gigs of 1066 DDR3 RAM to replace the 2 gigs the macbook comes with. Mac OS X runs just fine with the 2 gigs but I will be assigning the virtual machine 2 gigs for XP, and OS X will be awesome with 4 gigs when the virtual machine is not running. The RAM should arrive later this week or so I am hoping. So yes a geeky post here, but it seems I have converted to mac. And now when I travel, I won’t have to synch up my work files anymore.

The new macbook is a winner, and today is the day that I converted to mac. But I will still have to use windows as well.

My Macbook

It is here. The macbook has arrived. I am writing this post on my new macbook. Woohoo. I have to admit I feel like a total mac noob, trying to figure out how to set things and use the mac OS in general. But atleast I have a friend to ask how to do things in mac. I just learned that safari has it’s issues on mac and I am using firefox which is what I normally use anyway

Apple sure does do a great job with making their products look nice and function well, but it is still too early to say how much of a mac user I will be. I still plan on installing windows with bootcamp so I can switch in to windows when needed. But I am excited about the new machine! yay yay yay

The macbook, I have walked into the apple store at the town center many times, each time trying to convince myself to get the new macbook, my very own piece of aluminum. I have never owned a mac book or any mac computer. I did have an apple I got from a friend to use for web development testing for macs, but I never really used it. Every time I go in the store, I try out the macbook, and everytime my intial rejection comes when I go to click the CLOSE button on the top right, except it isn’t there. It is on the left! And that just makes me feel everything is backwards. So why am I interested in the macbook?

13" Macbook

I have been wanting to get a new laptop for some time, my old toshiba sits around collecting dust. I work on a desktop I built myself with a nice glossy 24″ LCD monitor. My work is all done here, on this PC I am using right now writing this up. I rarely need a laptop, but it is needed when I travel. What I would like to do is actually use a laptop and dock it at home, so there is no synching to do. One machine to use at home and travel. But I am not sure if I can pull it of. I play my video games on this machine, they require a good video card, which most laptops don’t have. So I think I would still have to work with two machines.

My initial reason for wanting to get the macbook other than apple making it look so pretty and cool in their advertising, was to learn OS X, to learn the apple side of things, including programming. I went back and forth trying to decide. I can either get a Lenovo laptop and install OS X on it as well (illegal) or I can get a macbook and install vista on it as well (legal). Lately I have been leaning towards the macbook, every visit to the apple store I get closer to getting it. I made a trip to the apple store one time with intention of buying it but clearly I backed out of it. But I am almost there, I am almost convinced to spend the $1300 on it, and maybe I will cross over somewhat.

I was actually thinking today, by the end of the year I will be considering a new phone, and I will have to choose between the blackberry storm and the iphone. But if I got the macbook, will I just have to get the iphone? Will I be loyal to apple? I love gadgets!