Not Good: My MacBook Pro’s nVidia 8600M Video Failed
Posted by Stephen in Apple, Personal on 05. Dec, 2009 | View Comments
The nVidia 8600M GT graphics chip in my late-2007 (Merom/Santa Rosa) MacBook Pro has failed. Apple has promised to repair affected machines for three years regardless of warranty status, but that doesn’t make it any easier to live with. Let’s hope everything goes smoothly and my trusty notebook is back in action quickly! I’ll be updating this post with the status of my nVidia repair adventure.
Got Excess Money? Upgrade Your 2009 Mac Mini RAM To 8 GB!
Posted by Stephen in Apple, Terabyte home on 22. Oct, 2009 | View Comments
Are you the kind of person who always wants the best? Does an upgrade that costs as much as the original item sound like a good investment? Are you the owner of a 2009 Mac Mini? Then you’re in luck! Apple’s latest firmware update allows nVidia-based Mac Minis to be upgraded to 8 GB of [...]
Mac OS X 10.6 “Snow Leopard”: In Our Hands August 28!
Posted by Stephen in Apple, Personal on 24. Aug, 2009 | View Comments
Apple’s bizarre online store reboot this morning revealed that the next point-update for Mac OS X will be in the hands of the faithful this Friday, August 28! Many speculated on the purported September availability of the operating system upgrade, but today’s information clears the air.
Although Apple’s web site clearly states that Snow Leopard “Delivers [...]
A Concrete Reason Macs Beat PCs: Intel VT
Posted by Stephen in Apple, Computer history, Terabyte home, Virtual Storage on 07. Aug, 2009 | View Comments
There is a lot of FUD flowing between Apple Macintosh true believers and the rest of the PC world. This is especially true now that Macs use Intel CPUs, NVIDIA chipsets and graphics, and so much more commodity PC parts. Lots have argued that a Mac is just an expensive PC with a flashy case [...]
Upgrades Give New Mac Mini a Whole New Attitude
Posted by Stephen in Apple, Terabyte home on 17. Mar, 2009 | View Comments
It may seem odd to buy a computer intending to upgrade it right out of the box, but so it was with me when I snapped up a new 2009 Nvidia-powered Mac Mini. I had been waiting for Apple to update the aged Mini line, saving up my pennies, but the out-of-box specs for RAM and hard drive space were underwhelming.
New Mac Mini Is A Diamond In The Rough
Posted by Stephen in Apple, Everything, Terabyte home on 10. Mar, 2009 | View Comments
After a very, very long wait, Apple has finally updated their entry-level “bridge” Mac, the Mac Mini. It’s amazing that, after 19 months without an update, Apple’s new Mini looks exactly the same as the old Mini. But what’s under the hood matters, and Apple delivered a mixed bag there. The new Mini is an excellent home server, which is how mine will be used, but some poor choices limit its abilities out of the box.
Switch Day 58: Ten Pros and Cons of the MacBook Pro
Posted by Stephen in Apple, Personal, Terabyte home on 11. Aug, 2008 | View Comments
I’ve now been a Mac user for two months. Since I switched primarily to get access to Apple’s excellent hardware, I thought I would issue an update on my observations about it at this point. I should note that I’m limiting this post to the hardware (maybe I’ll cover OS X some other time), and [...]
