Intel | MacVintage.com

Lisa OS & OS X Lion 10.7

In 1983, Apple released the Lisa computer system. It ran on it’s own operating system called the Lisa OS. Fast forward to 2011 and Apple is preparing OS X 10.7 Lion for release.

So what else is new in OS X Lion? Marketing materials tout a new feature called Resume that allows applications to resume as it were when you last closed it. Another feature is Auto Save which automatically saves your work solving those annoying situations where a power failure causes data loss on open files.

These features are actually available 28 years ago with Lisa OS. Pressing the power button does not turn off the electricity to the Lisa. It instead sends a signal to the Lisa OS to save and close all applications and position of the desktop before going into a low power mode much like sleep mode on modern day Macs. Turning the computer on again, users are greeted with the same screen just as where they had left it.

It’s interesting how far technology has seemingly progressed. Monochrome screen to millions of colours, megahertz to gigahertz, kilobytes to terabytes and yet fuctionality remains largely unchanged.

Dell 2709w 27 inch LCD Monitor

After getting a new 2010 unibody Mac Mini Server, it was time to look for an LCD monitor.

Having a matching Apple LED or Cinema Display would have been nice. The 24inch LED display has been discontinued as of 26th July 2010 and is available while stocks last. So has the monstor 30inch Cinema Display. Apple currently only offers a 27in LED display.

Due to a limited budget with the purchase of the Mac Mini, a Dell LCD monitor was considered. The are many rave reviews of the Ultrasharp U2410 24 inch LCD display which uses an IPS panel. There is also a cheaper 23 inch model U2311H.

When about to place the order for the 23 inch display, a good deal on the bigger 27inch 2009 model 2709w was found online.

With a resolution of 1920 x 1200, it is similar to the 24 inch U2410 and lower than the newer U2711 of 2560 x 1440. However, it is still higher than full HD resolution of 1920×1080 pixals.

The plus point of this LCD monitor over the 23 inch are the plethora of ports. Almost any vintage of computers that are in use can be hooked up to this display from VGA, DVI, HDMI to DisplayPort.

It also includes a useful media card reader on the left side supporting CompactFlash, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Duo, Secure Digital (SD), MultiMedia Card (MMC), SmartMedia and xD Picture Card. Located below this are two usb ports perfect for plugging in flash drives and other peripherals.

After using it for a month, I have to say there are no regrets. The extra screen real estate allows multiple documents, webpages and pdfs to be open at the same time and is a huge step up from a 13 inch MacBook. As my desk is quite deep, the similar resolution of this 27 inch to a 24 inch makes it easy for my eyes during extended periods of use.

AutoCad On Mac, iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad

A few months ago, AutoCad for Mac beta was released under a code name called Sledgehammer. This marks the return of AutoCad to the Macintosh platform since the last compatible version at AutoCad R12.

With the proliferation of the iPhone and iPad in the business environment, AutoCad WS was released for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad as a free application on 29th September 2010 before the launch of AutoCad for Mac. While Autocad WS is free, AutoCad for Mac will be priced the same as AutoCad 2011 for Windows PC’s.

Mac Mini Living Room Setup

My first Mac Mini was an Intel Core Solo 1.5 ghz model. It was purchased from someone who used for only 6 months. The previous owner also bought a dvi to video adapter for connecting to a LCD television and a set of first generation Apple Wireless Keyboard and Wireless Mouse.

This purchase was actually due to my Black MacBook Core Duo 2.0 ghz giving some problem with random shutdowns. It was a problem that plagued the first generation Intel MacBooks. Having had the MacBook fail on me just before the semester ends left me with unnecessary stress. So the used Mac Mini was a backup system for me as it was small enough to bring along with me to University and takes up little space in the dorm room.

It was particularly powerful compared to the G4 Powerbooks and this was evident when running the iTunes visualiser. It was a lot smoother with faster frame rates. While serving as a backup for studies, it was also used to connect to the television for watching movies. This was particularly useful during parties and gatherings.

Upon starting full time work, the Intel Core Solo Mac Mini was largely left unused. The Black MacBook was also mostly deskbound and used for checking emails and facebook. The Mac Mini was subsequently sold away. The new owner wanted to replace the Core Solo processor with a faster Core Duo. So it’s use would probably be extended for a while longer.

When the Mac Mini was updated in 2009 with a better Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics card vs the old Intel GMA 950 and the Server model introduced, I was really tempted to order one. As I was in the midst of moving to my own apartment, finances were tight and I held of the purchase.

In the middle of 2010, Apple introduced a totally revamped Mac Mini. The form factor was finally revamped to be in line with the rest of the Apple product line. The enclosure was a unibody machined out of a block of aluminium. The memory slots are now easily upgraded with a twist of the bottom cover. This time around, I really wanted a Mac Mini for my living room. I did not have a DVD player and so a Mac Mini was a good choice over other products such as an Apple TV.

In the end, I found a used early 2009 Core 2 Duo 2.0 ghz Mac Mini with 4gb of memory and included a Snow Leopard upgrade disk. It was a good deal and it is now connect to a 42 inch HD Ready Samsung plasma television. I used a Belkin dvi to hdmi cable to link the video output. The dome shaped Airport Extreme wireless base station was retired as the Mac Mini now shared the internet via it’s built in wireless card.

Some of the software installed includes Plex which is similar to Apple’s Front Row but plays a wider range of file types. OSX Mame is also installed for a bit of retro gaming.

The Mac Mini is controlled via VNC (Screen Sharing) through an iPhone or other Macs in the house. With a dynamic IP updater installed, it can also be access over the internet from my office. It is also currently hosting a simple website.

Plans for the future will be a USB TV tuner to record television programmes and an external hard drive for storage of media.

Mac Mini

The Mac Mini was first introduced in 2005 with a G4 1.25 ghz or 1.42 ghz processor and ATI Radeon 9200 graphics with 32 mb of DDR SDRAM. It only had one memory slot making upgrade options highly limited. Towards the end it was shipped with a G4 1.5 ghz processor shortly before it was replaced by the Intel based Mac Mini in 2006.

With the move to Intel processors, the Mac Mini form factor remained but now have a Intel Core Solo 1.5 ghz or Core Duo 1.66 ghz processor with an Intel GMA950 graphics. It uses shared memory up to 64 mb from the available memory in the two ram slots. Both models sold for SGD 948 and 1249 respectively. It was later upgraded to Core Duo 1.66 ghz and 1.83 ghz.

The Mac Mini was the last in the entire Apple line to switch to the faster Core 2 Duo processors with a C2D 1.83 ghz or 2 ghz processor.

In 2009, the mac mini graphics was improved with a Nvidia 9400m chip supporting up to 256 mb of shared memory. It was only available with a Core 2 Duo 2 ghz processor and an optional upgrade to 2.26 ghz.

Within that year, the Mac Mini range widened to became available with a Core 2 Duo processor at 2.26 ghz or 2.53 ghz. A new Mac Mini Server was introduced omitting the optical drive for a second hard disk and came with Snow Leopard Server instead priced at SGD 1588.

After 4 years, the Mac Mini finally got a new redesign. The case was now a unibody with easy access panel to the memory. The graphics was also upgraded to a Nvidia Geforce 320m. Prices for the entry level model was raised from SGD 948 to SGD 1088. The Server edition remains at SGD 1588.

White MacBook Core Duo 1.83ghz

A few months ago, we bought a used white MacBook. It is one of the first models of intel macs and come with a 1.83ghz intel core duo processor.

The hard drive and ram has been upgraded to 160gb and 1.5gb respectively. The only problem with this macbook is a faulty combo drive and a missing apple remote.

Since the combo drive is to be replaced, a search online was done to locate an upgrade to superdrive. In the end, we bought an LG drive on ebay.

The superdrive ships from China and a call to the post office confirmed that it will arrive in two days time.

Moving to a new home

At present, all the Macs are scattered everyone. A few of them are displayed on a shelf while the rest are tucked in the store room and around the house.

The metal framing of the shelf was bought from ikea and the timber shelves salvaged from a shop that closed down.

As we are moving to a new place, it’s time to create a nicer display and work area. New white laminated timber shelves have been ordered and there’s now a small room approximately 1.5m x 2.8m to display the collection.

(Photo Coming Soon…)

Behind the frosted glass is the kitchen. Initially we wanted to have it as clear glass so the Macs were viewed from the kitchen. But knowing that it might get pretty messy at times with Macs taken apart for repairs we decided to keep the glass frosted so that all the mess is contained within the room.

The frost is just a sticker and we intend to remove the frosted sticker over the little window on the right to place an LCD monitor for viewing recipes and catching up on the news or weather from the kitchen. Now if only I could find a cheap Apple Cinema Display.

(Photo Coming Soon…)

While the renovation works are going on, the Macs have been stored in the guest room. The wardrobe is filled with Macs. There’s the two Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh.