Category: Technology

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I may well regret this…

OSX El Capitan

But I’ve got backups.

Yeah, There’s a new OS X afoot and as I type this it’s downloading to my computer.

Many claims have been made about this iteration of the OS, I’m hoping just a few of them are true.

One of the claims is that the your computer will seem faster. Well I suppose that it actually could be faster because the OS isn’t as computationally intensive. This update is a mostly “Under the hood” kind of update. I’m looking forward to the new Metal features. Metal is supposed to put more of the rendering into the GPU and free up the CPU for other tasks. Fine by me!

If I can get another couple of years out of my computer I’m a totally happy camper.

I’ve backed up all my data, Freed up a memory stick, and done all the checking I can, to make sure this is a smooth upgrade. 

Fingers crossed and all that! 

On the other hand… If this all goes to hell in a hand basket I’ve got a fall back plan. Reload and restore. No, it’s not likely to be R&R but I’m up to the challenge.

This is going to take a while, the update is 6.08GB And I’m seriously damaging the monthly data allotment. On the other hand I’m downloading the update and sticking it on a thumb drive for later use by the other member of the house, and perhaps one or two clients that are afraid to click on “Upgrade”.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Posted on

Lucky!

Power Now

I got lucky, my computer cleared the bad battery message.

So I don’t need a new computer and I can put off spending the cash on a new battery.  As I was investigating the issue I confirmed that I was correct in my assessment that If I was going to be in the machine it made sense to replace the drive and the battery at the same time.

The battery is getting tired, but it’s not damaged. 

Maybe if I wait a little longer, the prices will continue to fall. 

HardDrive

Yeah, I’ve been looking at a drive upgrade for a while. The model I’ve had my eye on has fallen in price by about 100.00 over the past few months. Next year perhaps I’ll be able to do the drive and battery upgrade for 400.00 or less.

Ok Ok I’m cheap.

If there are any of you who are having similar issues, you might try just cycling the hell out of your system.

Make sure that you’ve got the latest OS updates. Sometimes Apple releases SMC updates that optimize both your power utilization and battery maintenance.

Once you’re sure of that, just run the hell out of your computer. Kill the battery, recharge it, kill it, recharge it and see what happens.

I was experimenting with run times on my machine to see just how long the battery would last. I’ve got a couple of client meetings coming up and wanted to pick locations where I could plug the machine in if I needed to. Then I figured if the machine lasted a couple of hours I’d be good.

macbookair

While I was trying to figure out the battery life, suddenly, the “Service Battery” message disappeared and I got nearly normal run time, just over 5 hours. Brand new, this machine ran 7 hours on battery.

I’m glad I didn’t place that upgrade order!

I’m wondering if this is a case of “Use it or lose it” When I’m around home I tend to keep the machine plugged in to the adapter while I’m using it. Maybe I should be running unconnected more often.

In anycase, It’s a GOOD DAY!

I hope you have similar luck in your world.

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This can’t be good…

Service Battery

Saw this message this morning on my beloved Macbook Air. I’m hoping it’s a lie and that cycling the battery completely will make it go away.

This usually means the battery is getting to the end of it’s useful life and is due for replacement. Sometimes it means you’ve got a glitch in the power management system that can be corrected. 

Fingers crossed that it’s correctable.

macbookair

If it’s not, well it looks like batteries are about 100.00 so it won’t be too expensive to repair.  This got me thinking though, “How old is this computer?” I pulled up the receipt and DANG! this little puppy was purchased 6/2012. Not too shabby if the battery is just now saying it’s getting tired. 

So now comes the question. Do I replace the battery or the computer? A quick search tells me that another Macbook Air similarly equipped would cost $1749.00. The specs on the newest machines aren’t substantially different from what I’ve got. The new machine would give me Thunderbolt 2, 802.11ac, and a longer battery life, 12 hours instead of 7.

SSD

On the other hand for about $600.00 I could put a lower power, faster, bigger(1TB) SSD (Solid State Drive) in this machine and replace its battery with a larger capacity version and probably achieve some system wide improvements that would be on par with the brand new machine. This would extend the life of my current computer easily another three years.

It would be nice to have Thunderbolt 2 and it would be nice to have faster wifi. But those items don’t justify the additional cost. The display on the new Macbook Air isn’t substantially different and in all other respects the new machine would be a duplication of the old.

battery

So if I’m going to have to replace the battery in this machine, the question is do I spring for the new hard drive at the same time? Since I’m going to have the machine open in the first place maybe it makes more sense to do all the surgery at once.

We also have a new operating system release coming up. Humm…

In for a penny, in for a pound.  or more modern… Go big or Go home.

I’ll wait for the results of the battery drain and recharge and then decide but I think I’m going to have some interesting computer stuff going on in the near future.

Pray to the computer gods for me.

Posted on

Can’t take it anymore…

IBM PC XT

I’ve been pointedly ignoring all the bullshit about Trump, the billion or so goofball Republican candidates, Megan Kelly (Who the hell is she?) And Hillary freakin Clinton.

I can’t remain silent anymore.

Hillary Clinton should be in Leavenworth, in a deep dark hole of a cell, shackled and awaiting trial. The FBI should have picked her happy ass up wherever the hell she was on the campaign trail the moment it was discovered that she had sent classified material over her private little server.

Hillarys Email Server

I’m not talking about material that has since been classified, or material that has been declassified, because there is no distinction. The business of the State department of the United States of America, should by default be considered Confidential if not Classified from the get-go. That’s why the United States has a whole bunch of Operational Security specialists, and requires employees and contractors to be re-certified in Operational Security every six months to a year, (Depending on the materials employees are handling,) just to keep it straight. And the rule of thumb is ASSUME a document is Classified and you’ll never go wrong. 

Classified

Which means this private email server should never have been allowed to exist. Innumerable agencies within the government who are charged with maintaining the security of the United States had to know about this server, its location, and its security status. They were told to “ignore it” because… why?

If I’d done what Hillary did… I’d be lucky to be sitting in Leavenworth. I think it’s more likely I’d have been sent someplace really nasty, provided the government didn’t put me on trial for treason then shoot me.

Leavenworth Penitentiary

I don’t think treason can be proven but the government tends to “over charge” in this kind of litigation because they want to make sure you don’t get off on a technicality.

One only has to look at the case of Aaron Swartz as example.  

Aaron Swartz

Swartz was simply making academic articles available via a P2P network from JSTOR and the issue had been settled between JSTOR and Swartz when the Federal Government stepped in.  Once involved, the Feds slapped Swartz with 13 criminal charges carrying a potential 35 years in prison and 1 million in fines. The case was pending when Swartz killed himself. By the way, most if not all, of the information Swartz distributed, was free, and still is today. I think the majority of Swartz’s crime was that he used the P2P distribution system to bypass JSTOR’s requirement for you to be a registered subscriber. I’m not clear on if he was costing JSTOR money.

So here we have a guy who’s maybe costing someone a little cash.

Hillary Clinton

Then we have Hillary who, for her own convenience hired a company that appears to have been unvetted by the US government, whose employees were apparently not subject to background security checks, to set up a server outside the control of the US government, handling Classified material and emails from one of the highest levels of the US government.

As the onion got peeled Hillary denied that classified emails were on the server. (Turns out there were classified emails on the server.) Hillary then said SHE decided what was important to turn over to the government, and deleted the rest of the information. Uhh that’s not how this works ma’am.  Now we’re finding out that the security of the server is in question. (Was there encryption? Who had physical access to the machine?)

Hillary Clinton

Hummm. IS IT JUST ME?

I thought rules and the law were supposed to apply equally to everyone. Yet here we have a clear example of someone who is not only above the law and social constructs, but they are still running a campaign to become President!

For God’s sake people, we’ve burned other politicians down for far less.

It’s well past time to force Hillary out of the Presidential Race.

This is not the kind of elitism we need in our government. We don’t need another liar in the White House. We don’t need yet another person in office who doesn’t understand and obey the rules.

I admit, I look forward to Hillary’s arrest for Contempt of Congress. That will be a day to be watching CSPAN.

 

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Kudos to Microsoft

Office 365

I’m now the proud owner of an Office 356 subscription.

Generally speaking I”m not real thrilled about the subscription software model. Adobe’s Creative Suite for example, is obscenely priced.

Most of the virus software packages are likewise obscenely priced on a year by year basis. There are exceptions, but in general the well known vendors are overpriced for what you get. Not to mention that their updates and scans are ridiculously slow.

So imagine my surprise when I found out that for $100 a year I can buy Office 356 from Microsoft and have a five seat package that includes iPads and iPhones too.  Add to that the value that for as long as the subscription is current, you get the latest and greatest version of the Office suite, plus an online version that works very well. 

Needless to say, I was skeptical. You know the old saying,  “If it’s too good to be true it probably is.”

But after reading the fine print, I dropped the hammer and now have burned 3 seats of the five seat license. Don’t get any ideas, I’ve got plans for those last 2 seats…

I’d been using the “Preview” version of Office on my Mac for a while and was very impressed. The final version of Office for the Mac is a pleasure to work with. I’ve been impressed that the Windows version and the Mac version work so much alike that it’s easy to forget which machine you’re working on. 

What am I saying here? 

WELL DONE MICROSOFT!

You’ve done a good job bring the two platforms together and the price is absolutely right.

Thank you!

If you’re reading this and have been sitting on the fence about a subscription to Office, just pony up the money.

You’ll be glad you did.