WHEN IT RAINS...
My computer is dead. I don't know how or why. I don't even know when, only that now it won't even boot up. I rose early this morning and all was well. I started up the system and worked for hours on my new project. It started up just as well after breakfast. Somewhere during the course of the day's work, though, evil befell the system without my knowledge. Having taxed the RAM as I often do using my paint software, I went to restart. The system never came back.
You may remember from a previous post that this is a "hackintosh" clone of a Mac Pro. It uses the same mother board, CPU and parts as the Apple systems and it is one chip that makes all the difference between it being a Mac Pro or just another computer. That chip must have gotten fried at some point, likely during one of the many power spikes or brown outs we have here. In order to get back up and running, at least we think, we need to reflash the firmware on said chip. Unfortunately, the software updater runs on the Mac! this has apparently become quite a big problem for many users of this product. You also need to update the firmware to run OS 10.5.7, but if you're already running it, your system won't boot. I stayed with 10.5.6 for this reason. Now I need to update anyway.
I'm not totally offline or our of the loop. I thank God that I have my iPhone and that I recently updated it to OS 3.0. In fact, I'm getting to know it real well now. I finally spent some quality time with the App Store. First up was the Skype application, so I could keep in touch with Pucc... I mean Jerry. That worked like a charm. I also found numerous language tools for learning Japanese and Korean, some free and some pay, but all seem quite cool. I always wanted to have the dictionaries for each language on my phone. The store even has multiple translations of The Holy Quran or the Bible.
Books were one of the more interesting items in the store. Some of the Amazon titles were priced as high as $9.99. I would have thought digital books would be cheaper since there's no paper or printing costs involved. More interesting, though, were the comics. I saw only big name stuff like Transformers, a prequel to the recent movie, or Frank Frazetta's Death Dealer, which was free so I downloaded it. The comics seem to work exactly like what I was attempting on my iPhone Alchemy website when I just got my phone. Most seem to run $0.99 for 64 screens. They are big name titles though, linked to established franchises. I can't imagine an indie breaking in.
So while there's a lot explore, the reality is I have no idea what I'm going to do! I will certainly call my buddy in China and see if he's ready for me to head out there. The money from that gig would likely get another Mac and leave plenty left over for some serious adventure! In the meantime, though, I'm going to relax! That's what the Philippines is made for. If you've ever read Fred Grazton's Lazy Way to Success, you know there's always a reason for incidents like this. Then again, Dylan suggests the reason might be so that I'll get outside, see the city, catch swine flu and die. Hehehe... Whatever the reason, I am certain this is but a small step leading to a larger adventure!
You may remember from a previous post that this is a "hackintosh" clone of a Mac Pro. It uses the same mother board, CPU and parts as the Apple systems and it is one chip that makes all the difference between it being a Mac Pro or just another computer. That chip must have gotten fried at some point, likely during one of the many power spikes or brown outs we have here. In order to get back up and running, at least we think, we need to reflash the firmware on said chip. Unfortunately, the software updater runs on the Mac! this has apparently become quite a big problem for many users of this product. You also need to update the firmware to run OS 10.5.7, but if you're already running it, your system won't boot. I stayed with 10.5.6 for this reason. Now I need to update anyway.
I'm not totally offline or our of the loop. I thank God that I have my iPhone and that I recently updated it to OS 3.0. In fact, I'm getting to know it real well now. I finally spent some quality time with the App Store. First up was the Skype application, so I could keep in touch with Pucc... I mean Jerry. That worked like a charm. I also found numerous language tools for learning Japanese and Korean, some free and some pay, but all seem quite cool. I always wanted to have the dictionaries for each language on my phone. The store even has multiple translations of The Holy Quran or the Bible.
Books were one of the more interesting items in the store. Some of the Amazon titles were priced as high as $9.99. I would have thought digital books would be cheaper since there's no paper or printing costs involved. More interesting, though, were the comics. I saw only big name stuff like Transformers, a prequel to the recent movie, or Frank Frazetta's Death Dealer, which was free so I downloaded it. The comics seem to work exactly like what I was attempting on my iPhone Alchemy website when I just got my phone. Most seem to run $0.99 for 64 screens. They are big name titles though, linked to established franchises. I can't imagine an indie breaking in.
So while there's a lot explore, the reality is I have no idea what I'm going to do! I will certainly call my buddy in China and see if he's ready for me to head out there. The money from that gig would likely get another Mac and leave plenty left over for some serious adventure! In the meantime, though, I'm going to relax! That's what the Philippines is made for. If you've ever read Fred Grazton's Lazy Way to Success, you know there's always a reason for incidents like this. Then again, Dylan suggests the reason might be so that I'll get outside, see the city, catch swine flu and die. Hehehe... Whatever the reason, I am certain this is but a small step leading to a larger adventure!
posted by - Terrence at
5:47 AM
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