Hosea הוֹשֵׁעַ

Category: Mac

  • Get More RAM The Merrier

    Get More RAM For Your Mac
    Upgraded my Macbook Pro memory from 1.5GB to 3GB, Doing so, I shifted the bottleneck to the harddisk. My Mac was now running at it best. When I had 1.5GB of memory, my Mac could only open about four to five heavy duty applications like Adobe Photoshop before it lagged my machine. Now with 3GB of RAM, I could open more than ten applications as intensive as Photoshop and database driven application like iPhoto and iWeb.

    Increasing my RAM also doubled my machine performance. Everything was so much faster and smoother except sometimes when it had to write huge swap files to the harddisk. The magic of 3GB RAM also made my Windows in Parallels ran seamlessly and faster without stressing the swap disk like before.

    I was glad with my RAM investment. Worth every penny spent.

    Talking about memory, RAM module for Mac, I would recommend to use Crucial module. Please avoid Kingston brand. Kingston module would not run well on Mac. Crucial was the recommendation in our workshop.

    Go! Get More RAM The Merrier!

  • What Is PRAM?

    MagSafe connecting to Macbook Pro
    PRAM stands for Parameter RAM. PRAM stores certain system and device settings in a location that The Mac OS can access quickly. The information is store in a small area of non-volatile RAM (NVRAM).

    What does PRAM stores? Zapping your PRAM? How to do it? Exactly which settings are stored in the computer’s PRAM varies depending on the type of computer as well as the types of devices and drives connected to the computer.

    Some information stored in PRAM includes:
    • Display and video settings such as refresh rate, screen resolution, number of colors
    • Time zone setting
    • Startup volume choice
    • Speaker volume
    • Recent kernel panic information, if any
    • DVD region setting

Note: Mac OS X stores your preselected DVD region choice in PRAM for easy access. Resetting PRAM does not allow you to change the DVD region.

    Unlike prior versions of the Mac OS, Mac OS X does not store network settings in PRAM. If you experience a network issue, resetting PRAM will not help.

    If PRAM is reset, you may need to verify your time zone, startup volume, and volume settings using System Preferences. Certain firmware updates may reset PRAM as a normal part of their installation process.

    When to use PRAM? There are times when the computer faces some problems. Instead of rushing the computer to the service centre, you may try these resuscitation methods for the computer. The few problems that PRAM could help,

    1. Computer has no startup chime, and the sleep light may or may not be turned on. You can still hear the computer has something running inside, which means there is power in the computer.

    2. Screen is distorted or flickering, or resolution of the screen is not right.

    3. External devices are not able to be detected.

    Usually PRAM is ran for 3 cycles, which means you hold the 4 keys simultaneously (Command, Option, P, and R) until you hear 3 startup chimes. Another thing that we should note is that zapping PRAM should not be used unnecessarily.

    When ever the PRAM is used, zapping PRAM, you will reset your clock setting to 1970. And this will disrupt the proper flow of power to into the computer. If PRAM does not solve the problem, do not keep trying too many times, it is really time to send the computer for servicing.

    Co-author with Puat.

    This article is based on Apple Support, http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1242

  • NAS For My Home

    After Setting Up A Wireless Router, Airport Extreme glows in the dark

    Got myself a 802.11n compatible router, the new AirPort Extreme.

    Beside running my network on N version, faster speed and covering longer distance, another cool reason was I could run a NAS (Network-Attached Storage) on it.

    The new hardware is cool. I just plugged in my USB harddisk to the Extreme and I had my storage over the network. I could configured to access the harddisk over the internet through Apple File Protocol (AFP). The Extreme could be enabled for Wide-Area Bonjour too but I could not find any in-depth documentation on the topic so I did not configure it.

    Great! After setting up a wireless router at home, now I had my own NAS. My friends could do big files sharing with me when I was offline. This also benefited my mac clients for not lagging and hogging my network bandwidth.

  • iSight in Parallels

    iSight in Parallels
    The first thing I wanted to test when I got my Macbook Pro was iSight running in Parallels. Googling the web, I found the extract of iSight driver for Windows. To run the iSight Windows driver, I need to have Parallels Build 3188 and above.

    It was fantastic, iSight worked perfectly in Parallels after I installed the driver. I could run the webcam in QQ.

  • Hello! Mac

    Apple Mac User And Lover - Mac Power On Button
    This section is dedicated to all Apple Mac user and lover. There are already many sites out there sharing about Mac. We will not be duplicating their contents. This site is more of a hobby than a geek playground. Puat Wei and I will be sharing our own tips and related insights.

    Update 25 Nov 2009: Our Mac blog is now merge with hosealim.com.

  • My New MacBook Pro

    This Is My New MacBook Pro

    Finally, I got myself a MacBook Pro after five months without any computer.

    I went to Hong Kong and purchased because it was cheaper than in Singapore. I got it SGD$600 cheaper off the retail shelf.

    My new MacBook Pro was similar to my previous MacBook but with more powerful processing power, high definition screen, illuminated keyboard with ambient light sensor, etc. I could go on and on with all these cool features but you could read them on the Apple website.

    The coolest thing to do on my mac was to run Microsoft Windows through Parallel in coherence mode. So what was this? I was to run Windows application without the Windows Desktop. It gave you the feeling of running Windows application in the OS X.

    What I did not like was the 15” screen that was too big for me. It made the unit form factor too big for me to carry around. The power adapter was slightly bigger than my previous PowerBook.

    For now, I was happy with this machine and hoped it would be a good companion and as faithful as my PowerBook. Loving my new MacBookPro.

  • My New Macbook

    This Is My New Macbook

    I have been using my MacBook for almost a month. In fact it is a good performance and portable notebook. However for a guy like me that have been using high performance and ultra portable computer, I need something small and powerful as my pervious PowerBook.

    The machine that comes close to it now is MacBookPro. And of course MacBookPro is the successor of PowerBook. My problem of owning it, is the smaller size is 15” and is consider too big for me to travel around with it. Although there are rumors on the web that there may be a 12” MacBookPro, I will not put my hope in it.

    I am not saying that MacBook is not a good machine. Another good fact is, Macbook runs Windows better and faster than any other Windows based machines. It is a computer above the rest of all IBM compatible computers. The only hardware that comes close to its performance is Compaq Armada series.

    As for now, I am happy with my new MacBook.

  • In Remembrance Of My Powerbook

    In Remembrance Of My Macintosh PowerBook

    The time has almost come for me to retire my Macintosh PowerBook. I really cannot bear to let it go.

    Although it gets weird once a while it has been faithful to me and my best travelling companion among all my portable devices.

    I am replacing it with the new macbook.

    In remembrance of my powerbook, I have taken pictures of it and exhibit here. So this page is dedicated to my powerbook for keeping me company during my solitary time.

  • My iFriends

    Friend at iShop

    My last trip back to Singapore, I chanced upon the opportunity to work with Apple products. I was working in one of the authorised Apple Service Centre, providing Macintosh support and repair. It was a great experience to join the workforce again since I stopped working a few years back.

    I learned a lot about Apple products, iPod, iTunes, iBook, iMac, and most importantly are my iFriends. iFriends are the people I worked with in the technical department.

    Although it was a short attachment, I was very happy to work with the team because we shared our fun while serving our nasty customers. Although all of us came from different places and philosophies, we worked in unison to give Apple customers a unique Mac experience.

    But sad to say, Mac customers suck! Just like Windows users. Because of all these sucky customers that where we found our fun and joy.

    Keep up the good works my iFriends, the Macintosh support team. Without you guys, we would not have the unique Mac experience, Be Different!