i am huge in japan

Saturday, June 30, 2007

The rise of the Mac.

Bit of a shuffle has happened with my work setup. I gained a Core Solo 1.5 GHz Mac Mini with 512 RAM to use for iCal and general better Mac familiarity. This made 3 computers on my desk, a bit crowded. I decided to try using the Mac as my primary computer for a week. On day 4 I decided to stick with it. I wiped my Windows computer which was faster than my current Linux one, and installed Ubuntu Feisty + VMWare Server to run XP in. I hooked up the 17" LCD which came with the Mini.

My Mini needed more RAM though so I had the adventure of popping open the case with wallpaper scrapers and tackling the tiny screws to access the RAM chassis. It was a success and I was happier. The RAM was bumped up to 1 GB. I configured Synergy to share a single keyboard + mouse across both screens. I edited startup scripts so that the Synergy server and client would start at the login screen. The only issue I have is that I can't send the Shift or Caps Lock key to the VMware XP for some reason.

When sorting out the backlog of Mac Mini inventory, I found we actually had some Core Duo 1.66 GHz models.I had just grabbed mine at random so I had no idea. I got the OK to swap mine out with a faster one. I also gained a bigger hard drive and a super drive. So the wallpaper scrapers came out again and I shuffled some RAM around.

Since I now had a bluetooth enabled computer, I tried out syncing my cellphone, the Motorola E398. I was pleased to find it an easy process and I soon had my various iCal calendars on my phone.

I may get fed up with OS X eventually, as I am prone to do with desktop environments, but perhaps not being able to change much will stifle that need to tinker. I am looking forward to trying out the new Finder in 10.5 Leopard because the current Finder leaves something to be desired...