the spec for my future MacBook Pro/Retina

• I would still love to have a 17" display, but apparently they don't want to resp. cannot offer this (for the time being).
• Of course I would love to have as much RAM as possible (esp. for running my Windows and the opensuse GUI virtual machines), but apparently the difference between 8 and 16 GB RAM is just usury ("daylight robbery").
• I think, a 256 GB will do, I don't want to store many huge files long-term, and (the price for) the difference between the 256 and the 512 GB SSD is also quite impressive.

conrad.de offers this spec for € 2050. Apparently you can get that cheaper on eBay, but I need a bill with explicit VAT, that I can use company accounting-wise. The advantage with conrad.de is actually, that they offer 3-years warranties for free for customers holding a conrad customer card. Maybe these warranties don't cover Apple hardware though?

MacBook Pro: successfully upgrading memory [update]

MacBook Pro: How to remove or install memory

Mine is a "MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2009)"

The compatibility list said, I should add "PC3 -8500 DDR3 1066 MHz type RAM", but that wasn't available at my dealer (Saturn Berlin Europa-Center), so instead I installed "2*4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3" (), and that boots nice and still works very nice.

My "About This Mac > Memory" now says:

Your Mac contains 2 memory slots, each of which accepts a 1333 MHz DDR3 memory module.

Funny, isn't it?!!

The 2 new memory bars cost me EUR 100 at Saturn Berlin Europa-Center, not like EUR 140 as at Gravis. Not all screws went in as nice, as they were before this procedure. Otherwise this was really, really easy.

Now I run VirtualBox with WinXP inside (Quicken running inside there), and it feels like walking on air, not like on stones.

MacBook Pro: How to remove or install memory / successfully upgrading …

MacBook Pro: How to remove or install memory:

mine is a "MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2009)"

Update 2011-08-03

The compatibility list said, I should add PC3 -8500 DDR3 1066 MHz type RAM, but that wasn't available at my Saturn Berlin Europa-Center, so instead I installed "2*4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3" (cost me EUR 100, not like EUR 140 as at Gravis), and that boots nice and still works very nice.

My "About This Mac > Memory" now says:

Your Mac contains 2 memory slots, each of which accepts a 1333 MHz DDR3 memory module.

Funny, isn't it?!!

Now I run VirtualBox with WinXP inside, and I still feel like walking on air, not like on stones.

son#1 teaches me mind mapping - I'm so proud!!!

During my last conversation with my lawyer (she is cute and pretty tough, I hope she is not going to take too much money, but we are going to see; she e-mails with me and she sends me the communication with the other party as PDFs, I am amazed!!! she is a digital native!!!), I asked myself, how often I would have to explain her that situation. Afterwards it came to my mind, I should have created a mind map together with her, and just for fun I did a little research and I also involved her there. And you know what: she told me the names of the software, she has already been using. I was embarrassed, at least a little. Alright I installed Free Mind, and I am a little stuck with it.
Weekend comes, son#1 shows up again, ..., I ask him, whether he know the term Mind Mapping, and yes, he knows it, I am kidding with him, asking, whether he can show me (and teach me), how to do it, and you know what: he said: yes. Yes, he will do it. That was last night or so, around our watching Godfather I.
Now today I set up an account for him on my MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard (and of course he loves that, who wouldn't, it is a hot Mac!!!), I dragged Chrome in his dock, removed a lot of the unnessary stuff there, explained him, how to use the "right mouse button" with the mouse pad and how to scroll with the mouse pad, a few things. And now he gets into that, and I am looking forward to son#1 teaching me mind mapping. I am really amazed. That will be good for the two of us.
I'll keep you updated, watch this location!

Update / 2010-07-24 18:28:
Although son#1 and son#2 are actually hard to confuse, this is actually about son#1.
Son#1 is 13 years old (he learned mind mapping at school, I guess with a teache from SW Germany as well), son#2 is 3.9 years old, I am >40.
And another thing I should add:
Whenever they started calling that sort of stuff mind mapping: one of my teachers on high-school actually taught us that sort of stuff ages ago. And I guess they also did at the Agora of Alexandria.
What a luck, this sort of stuff cannot get copyrighted!!!

learning from others – a temporary home-worker's experience

I really enjoyed working with my design profession mate yesterday. He brought his MacBook with him, and I also learned from him, what the MacBook substitute for the scroll-wheel is: a two-finger wiping over the touchpad.

shared synchronised editing with GNU Emacs

I continuously edit my ~/diary on my openSUSE Linux notebook and on my MacBook.
Emacs helps me there quite a lot. In case I changed something on that file on some other computer than the one I am currently sitting in front of, it warns me and also offers me to revert to the last version saved to disk.
I really love that.

my Mac now connects through my UMTS USB modem

I have been using my "XS Stick W12" from 4g-systems.com for almost a year on my EeePC running WinXP and also on my FRITZ!Box 7270.
Now I can also make use of it on my Mac Book Pro. Splendid.
Looks like 4g-systems.com now sell their current model (XS Stick W14) w/o branding and SIM-lock for EUR 100. Not bad, question is, whether the 7270 supports it.

my Mac now prints on the colour laser printer attached to the FRITZ!Box router

The Samsung CLP-315 gets accessed via "HP JetDirect". Yesterday I wasn't able to set it up as network printer and let it find the driver on Samsung's CD. Today I let Samsung's printer installation routine set up a local printer (which isn't actually installed), but at least the driver got installed somewhere on OS X, and then I could assign the right driver to the network printer configuration. Now I successfully printed my 1st page on my very own Mac.
Alright, alright, I admit it: I vaguely remember already having successfully attached my ex's (i.e. "-1") Mac Mini (which isn't officially hers ...) my FRITZ!Box ..., so I knew it would work sooner or later.
Now this is really a nice CUPS printer set up underneath!!!
I wished my openSuSE-11.1 computers would accept the CLP-315 driver as well!
Until then I only create PDF-s on them and print them via Windows or OS X.

I really love this set up: the laser printer attached via USB to my 7270, acting as a network printer.

AVM's description on how to attach a printer to the 7270 through USB was actually very helpful.