Wednesday, October 31, 2007

[OSX News] INSTALLING LEOPARD IN YOUR TREE..ERR MAC

I’ll start off by saying that while we’re still in the process of testing odd configurations, none of this is really set in stone…

We know many folks out there have already installed the newest OS, but for those of you who are still waiting, and unsure if you can, we’ve got some information for you. After checking out many of our different systems, we did find something that was a bit odd. For those folks who’ve got their systems set up a specific way, yet meet the system requirements, Leopard will refuse to install.

So, we’ve found two of these configurations…at two processor speeds that are common out there. If you’re running 1.8 GHz with a bus speed of 100MHz or 1.4 GHz with a bus speed of 133MHz…your Apple profiler can show you what the problem is. If you haven’t, open it up. You’ll see that these two configurations cause an issue with the profiler, because it will list your clock speed at ZERO. Leopard will see this and think to itself, “Wow…not only is this computer not new, it’s apparently missing a pulse!” and then refuse to install on it.

Now this issue has only appeared on the Giga Designs CPUs that we have here, but can easily be corrected by manipulating the dipswitches on the card to change your bus speed. We’re not going to list instructions on how to do that here, but will ask you to reference your owner’s manual for the CPU upgrade and see how the configurations can be inputted. Once Leopard is installed, you can easily change the setup back to what it was prior to the install with no visible effect on Leopard (that we’ve seen).

Also, for those of you using the Giga Meter application that helps to fix this issue for you on your system…there’s an issue you need to be aware of as well. Giga Meter is an extension…so when you boot up the Leopard disc, it’s not going to be active on your system…and therefore won’t be correcting the issue that causes the Apple profiler to misread what your clock speed is.

So, based on this, it seems that Leopard is reading the clock speed as it’s judge of if it can install on a system, not the hardware specifically…and it only checks during the installation. After installing it on these systems we were able to pull the processors from them, and reinstall their older ones (a 450MHz and a 533MHz machine). Yes, Leopard is VERY slow on them, but it can be installed on them with a bit of work.

Lastly, we heard from a Japanese customer of ours the other day who told us that he managed to install Leopard on a machine under 867MHz by utilizing Target Disc Mode. To do this, you’d need a machine that meets the requirements and can then recognize the under 876MHz machine as an optical HD. I also found this note over on Cubeowner.com about it.

And I’ll say again…while we’re still in the process of testing odd configurations, none of this is really set in stone…but it is interesting, yes?


-Mike Leader
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Listening to: Alan Parsons Project - Eye In The Sky
via FoxyTunes

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

[OSX news] LEOPARD'S SUCCESSFUL LEAP

A lot of folks don't understand that I live in two worlds. At work I use Macs exclusively...and have at different jobs for years. At home I have my gaming PC...even my old laptop is a Thinkpad (looking to be replaced as soon as I can save the money). I however am a big fan of the Apple OS. I know that in my work environment, I can count on it to get done everything I need to get done...and make life a bit easier while doing so. (That and using a windows PC at a place called "YourMacStore" would be silly. ;) ) In my opinion, Leopard helps to further ensure that Apple's desktops can be used in an office environment and do what jobs need to get done, with it's creative ways of doing them. From all of the news items I've seen, and general consensus from the sites I visit, Leopard seems to be a success just after it's release. I do know there are some minor tweaks that are needed, but I'm sure the folks at Apple will be on top of those posthaste.

When we got our copy of Leopard in on Friday morning (at 9am in fact!), we were very excited to test it out, and so began our testing. The first round of testing was to ensure to our many Cube-using customers could install it without worry...and what upgrades would do best for them. We can thoroughly recommend that our beloved Cube-fanatics (Cube-heads, Cube-lovers...what ARE they calling themselves?) upgrade their Cubes with the GigaDesigns G4 1.4GHz with the 256KB L2 Cache and 2MB L3 cache. This is normally a hard to find item...but we've got quite a bit of them at $289.95 each!

Just remember that as long as you're meeting the basic requirements of Leopard that Apple has set down, you should be fine. However, if you've been modifying your Mac, you may want to take a close look at what the other fansites out there are saying before diving it. (Some of us like to dive headfirst, and others feet-first...)

If we come across any wacky setups that we have here that may affect some of you out there, we'll make sure to let everyone know through this blog. If YOU have an issue with Leopard and your configuration, you're welcome to post information here in replies, and we'll take a look at it when we're able to. :)

Hasta La Vista!

-Mike Leader

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

[OSX news] LEOPARD POUNCES ON OCT 26! (for some folks...)

Greetings True Apple Believers!

As I am sure nearly all of you have heard, Apple announced yesterday (October 16) that the newest version of OS X, Leopard, will ship on October 26. I know that many of us are happy about this (we're all ecstatic here at the YMS offices), but some harsh reality will be coming down on some Mac users with the advent of Leopard.

"What do you mean, uncle Mike?" (I'm a real uncle now so I can call myself that!) I mean that there are quite a few Mac users out there who'd probably like to upgrade to Leopard, but they don't meet the requirements for the new system. The new requirements are as follows:

An Intel Mac, Power PC G5 or a Power PC G4 with an 867MHz processor or higher, 512MB RAM and a DVD drive for installation

Now I'm sure that there are plenty of Intel Macs and G5s out there to fully utilize the new OS...but what about those folks who are running G4s? They're going to need to upgrade their processors to get on board with Leopard...and we here at YourMacStore are going to do our best to help y'all who need to upgrade. As soon as our software arrives here at the offices, we're going to be testing configurations on different Mac setups to let you all know exactly what you'll need to best perform with Leopard on your G4. So, stick around and check back with us next week when we'll have more answers for Leopard!

Hasta la Vista!

-Mike Leader

Thursday, October 11, 2007

[iPhone] iPhone Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the iPhone Hackers

Ok, so you'd think that we'd all be able to get along, right? I mean, all of the bickering, whining, posturing, and fit-throwing aside, the iPhone is a great little device. It's definitely a gateway product, not only into Apple's fold of products, but a gateway leading into the future of handheld computers.

Granted, consumers should feel entitled to be able to use the items and devices they buy...but when you go out of your way to use them in a way that they weren't intended to, or to violate any use agreement you agreed to when purchasing the product...you the consumer are the only one to blame. Is it fair that Apple had to go with what some would consider a second-rate provider? Is Apple illegally forcing those who purchase the iPhones from them (or AT&T) to only use their programs? I'd say No on both counts.

Apple should have known that out the gate this item would be a hit. However, I think they played very cautious with the iPhone, and shopped it around to get the best deal they could find. In the end you always get what you pay for...they wanted a cheaper contract that made them more money in the long run...so they got that...at the expense of their customers. Apple IS a business however, and it's point is to make money...and they looked at their bottom line and likely said, "Well in 5 years we'll have enough people hooked that when we open it up to other networks, we'll do even better." (Wait...forward planning? Say it ain't so, superman!)

As for the legality of the anti-trust lawsuit currently being issued against them...I can't roll my eyes enough. It's bad enough that our over-litigious society will sue over every little thing...but honestly (and I'm no law expert) this doesn't come across as them forcing anyone to use their software...yet. The item was just released, and when it was released they were telling everyone that they had no plans at the moment for third-party applications on the iPhone because of security issues. They were more concerned about the device being secured than multi-functional to start. Now with talk about them opening things up to their software developers, we'll see how far these lawsuits go. I don't think it'll be further than the distance of the whines of those instigated it could be heard.

Honestly, I'd like to wait until after the release of Leopard at the end of this month to see how things progress. Maybe if people learned to be patient than reactive, this would would be a better place. Hrmph...world is full of flamers, Apple's & Microsoft's fans all need to take a chill pill, don't you think? (I recommend that you take a read of the Macalope's blog. Almost always funny, always informative.)

[YMS News] YOURMACSTORE.COM LOWERS SHIPPING COSTS!

Greetings!

We're happy to say that starting on Wednesday October 17, we here at YourMacStore will be removing the flat handling fee we've been charging for some time now. Due to some great pricing we have been offered on our shipping materials, we are happy to remove that $1.99 fee starting on that date.

If there are any questions, please feel free to contact us via our Contact Page over on our website. :)