Category Archives: Hardware

Why I am Loving My Apple Environment

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I mentioned in a previous post that I like using Apple much more than when I was using Microsoft. I am going to tell you what is making the difference for me.

When I only had one intelligent device (PC at that time), the manufacture didn’t make much difference. Microsoft, Apple, or Linux all accomplished what I needed to do and I could have used any of them and did.

The next thing that happened was that cell phones became more intelligent and shared contact information with the PC. I maintained all my contacts on the PC and transferred it to the cell phone.

I started out with a Nokia cell phone and it had to be tethered to the PC to update and share contacts.

Then a couple years ago I bought an iPad and synced my PC contacts with my iPad. It worked pretty well because of Apple, and in spite of Microsoft. Still I fought with my cell to keep it synced with the PC contacts. The Nokia software eventually quit working. Continue reading →

Apple TV

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I may have mentioned that I purchased an Apple TV from the Apple refurbish store.

I had it brought to me by a friend from the US. I have finally gotten to play with it and I am very impressed. At $85, it is a real bargain. It is $109 if bought at one of the local stores such as PanaFoto or PriceSmart.

The connection to the TV is via an HDMI cable so it does require a newer TV that allows HDMI inputs. It will connect to the Internet either by ethernet or by wireless. Mine is close to my router, so I am using an ethernet cable.

My connection to the Internet is with Cable Onda. My service is supposed to be 4GB, but is not always at the contracted speed. However, it is normally good enough to stream movies without having too many interruptions. Continue reading →

First Failure

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It was bound to happen sometime. My new Mac Mini configuration has had its first failure. Actually, I guess the only failure was a USER error. Me being the USER making the error. Let’s pretend that I did it on purpose to produce another technical post.

The uniqueness of the current setup is that the User data files do not reside on the same physical volume as the operating system and all of the applications.

That was by design so that I could speed up my system and have more disk space for the music files, data files and photo files I have. It had not been a problem. Saturday night I didn’t shut the system down as I normally had. Normally I shut down the system and then power off the external drive.

Saturday I inadvertently ejected the external drive and then powered down the system. This effectively lobotomized my system. When I booted it up Sunday morning, it no longer knew where it’s user files were.

It seemed like it should be a simple fix and it eventually was. However, that was after I did all I could to make it a difficult job. I was extremely effective in making it difficult. Continue reading →

Whew!

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The other day I received the upgrades for my Mac Mini that I had mentioned in a previous post. Normally, when I work on PCs I don’t worry too much, because I have always had a spare.

This time was different. Since downsizing, I am depending on my 2010 Mac Mini. The biggest problem I foresaw was that it had a relatively small hard drive and I didn’t think it would hold all the data from the iMac I sold. It also needed a small speed increase.

It took me literally two days to accomplish the upgrade. The installation of the SSD was a little more difficult than I expected. However, I got the SSD installed and installing the Snow Leopard OS that came on the system was no real problem.

With this done, I could see that all components of the PC still functioned. First deep breath taken.

Next I needed to install the Mountain Lion OS. This was my first mental challenge. The previous hardware installation required a little manual dexterity. This one just required mental agility, apparently more than I had after the SSD install. Continue reading →

Downsizing

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I have downsized my PC operations. You may have noticed that I sold my iMac. It was without a doubt the nicest PC I ever had.

It finally became obvious that all of its capabilities were going to waste. My main use for my PC is posting to this blog, which doesn’t require enormous amount of power. Added to that, most of my surfing the web is done on my iPad.

My 2010 Mac Mini has become my only PC.

I had a 23 inch Asus monitor in the closet and have hooked it up to the Mini. It is a nice monitor and while it isn’t as good as to iMac 27 inch, it is big enough for me.

I have ordered a small number of upgrades that should make my Mini equal to any task I will place on it. I had previously upgraded my Mini to the full 8 MB of memory and that is the 2010′s maximum.

It’s main problem is the lack of disk storage space. It came with a 320 GB hard drive and I have enough photos to push me past that limit.

To solve that problem, I am going to use a 1 TB hard drive that I had saved. In searching for a case to mount it in, I came up with THIS.

It perfectly matches my Mac Mini case. Then I saw this configuration.

It adds a 120 GB Solid State Disk, which is more than enough to hold all of my applications and a little room to spare.

My plan is to replace the 320 GB hard drive in the Mac Mini with the SSD and install my 1 TB drive into the new case.

The upgrade is a little complex. However there are several videos on the Internet showing the process. Following is one of the videos I will use to walk me through the steps. Continue reading →

A Little Disappointing

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I watched the Apple announcement yesterday with great anticipation. I purchased the original iPad and really hoped that the new iPad Mini would be an upgrade alternative. Since, I can’t use the latest IOS on my iPad, I miss out on some of the sharing capabilities and benefits of the iCloud, that the new OS offers.

Alas, the $329 starting price, for a device that is only as fast as the iPad 2, sort of eliminates it from my consideration. I would like a second iPad that I could carry more easily, but not at the current prices.

For me, I think I will wait until some of the new iPad 4 devices, the announced yesterday, hit the Apple refurbished area,That is where I purchased most of my Apple products.

I love my iMac and the new one that Apple released is quite an upgrade. The only thing I wished I had on my iMac is the SSD. However, when I bought it, the price to switch to the SSD was out of sight. And with the way Apple builds their products, it is impossible for the average individual to replace the internal workings of any Apple product.

I did upgrade the memory of my original Mac Mini and said that is the last time I will open an Apple product. Still, the elegance and high quality of all Apple products I have purchased keeps me in the Apple camp. Those looking for a new desktop should look at the new iMacs. They appear to be priced well for the quality of the build.

My granddaughters love their MacBook Pros I bought them for graduation and the new MacBooks have improved a large amount.

I was really hoping that a iPad Mini was in my future, but for now I will have to be content with what I have. My original iPad is on from morning till night and is as good as the day I bought it. I expect the battery to go out one of these days and that may be the deciding factor to when I get a new device.

Yesterday’s announcement was a little disappointing from the iPad Mini standpoint. However, Apple made up for it in all other announcements. Microsoft’s product unveiling in a couple of days will be tested to see if Microsoft can get back into growth status or remain in decline.

Neat Stuff

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This is pretty neat. I am doing this post on my iPad which is tethered to my iPhone. I am in a location where I need to access the Internet and my iPad is WiFi only.

While viewing the Internet on an iPhone is possible and I do it all the time, it is really difficult to type much on an iPhone.

Tethering allowed me to connect to the Internet on the iPhone, but use the iPad for all viewing and data entry.

 

Why Do I Need New Technology

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I received this question which was prompted by some of my recent posts. The answer is, you probably don’t if you are looking for someone else to justify it for you.

That being said, I will touch on a couple things. A smart phone will not replace a tablet. A tablet will not replace a desktop/laptop. Each has it place and one size doesn’t fit all.

I can do a lot of things with my iPhone, but I would never consider it a replacement for my iPad. For $33 a month, my iPhone gives me a connection to all services on the Internet within range of a free WiFi server or Claro’s cell service. Lilliam uses it to call her daughter for free in Costa Rica. No telling how much that saves. There is even a MagicJack app. I have it, but don’t use it as I use MagicJack in the house. I have found several apps that I have found to be useful.

The display and keyboard make it more of an emergency device for email and Internet browsing. I admit, I have found that handy in several situations, but if I am on the Internet for long periods of time, I prefer the iPad. Reading a book on the iPhone would not be a fun thing to do either. I question whether the 7inch iPad would be something I would enjoy. Continue reading →

Technology Changes Coming

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This month Apple will release Mountain Lion. The cost will be $19.99 and that will cover all PCs registered to the same person. Bending to competition, Microsoft is trying to get Windows 8 ready for prime time. They are also looking at a cheaper online pricing model as well, but it still will be for only one PC. If you have three, then you are going to pay three times. And Microsoft will still have different versions. From what I read the Windows system will be priced at $40 for the downloadable version.

It is rumored that in two years that Apple will have a larger market share of operating systems than Microsoft. Amazing.

I am currently waiting for Susan to get some legal work done and am writing this on my iPhone using Pages. I use Pages on all of my PCs, the iPad and the iPhone.

When I get done, the article will be uploaded to the iCloud and I will do final editing on my iMac. It was never this easy with Windows. Continue reading →

Apple WWDC Announcements

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If you are not a techie at heart, you may not have paid any attention to Apple’s WWDC that is going on. This is the World Wide Developers Conference, where Apple announces upcoming hardware, software and development kits for developers to use to create new products.

As you may remember, when the iPad came out, I re-entered the world of Apple. At the same time I bought an Apple Mac Mini to connect to a large screen TV for movie streaming.

However, my main PC was a very powerful Gateway running Windows 7. I loved that system too, but soon having different technologies made it more difficult to keep my contact lists up to date and moving information from one device to another.

I bit the bullet and bought an iMac and it replaced my desktop. I had thought if the need arose, I would just add Windows to the system, since it has a built-in feature to dual boot into Windows. To this point, I have never found the need to buy Windows, but that always remains a backup plan. Continue reading →