Mac Memory Test
I recently purchased 8GB of RAM from Amazon.com for my Macbook Pro. So far the upgrade has been terrific. No hardware conflicts to speak of and the performance boost to VM-Ware Fusion running Windows 7 has been terrific. There is no longer any noticeable lag in either OS. I had read a few reviews about RAM upgrades that had gone bad so I went on the search for something to test the hardware. I found a great application called “rember” [http://www.kelleycomputing.net/rember/]. Rember provides a nice GUI for running a battery of memory tests. The tests ran successfully and all appears to be running well now after a few weeks with the new hardware.
Here is what I ordered:
Corsair CM3X8GSDKIT1066 XMS3 8 GB PC3-8500 1066Mhz 204-pin SODIMM Laptop Memory
I should mention that this was a considerable savings over the Apple upgrade price of $600.00.
Safari Extensions
A while back Apple introduced extensions for the Safari 5 web browser. Fortunately, they also provide a one-stop shop for acquiring new extensions here [https://extensions.apple.com/]. I tend to want to run a lean system with as few extensions and software as possible, but I may make an exception or two for extensions like Firebug and Delicious.
Apple Event on October 20, 2010
Just a reminder that Apple has something planned for October 20, 2010. Based on the invite, it looks like it is going to be an operating system related event. Possibly Mac OS 10.7 “Lion”?
My predictions:
- A preview of the “Lion” os to come in early 2011.
- iLife ’11 available by end of October 2010.
- Macbook Air revisions available by end of October 2010.
Game Changers: Steve Jobs
Just in case you missed it, Bloomberg has posted their special on Steve Jobs. It’s a must see if you want to learn more about Mr. Jobs and the success story of Apple.
Mac Maintenance Tips
The Mac OS is a different animal than windows so maintaining it is also a bit different. For example, most places you look will tell you that there is no need to defragment your hard drive when running on a Mac. I remember reading something years ago about how there are some routines you can run to help tidy things up a bit. A quick google search took me to this excellent resource called “the x lab“. [http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/maintscripts.html] I tend to steer away from additional software if possible so my preferred method is “The Terminal Way”. The article provides the instructions and the reasons why you should perform this maintenance.