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MacBook Air Specs

January 15, 2008 in MacBook, apple, laptop, mac, macboo, macbook air, macintosh, portable, software, specifications, specs | No comments

Backlit 13.3″ widescreen display

Instant-on

1.8″ hard drive – 80GB

Option for 64GB solid state drive

Full size keyboard – backlit

Weight – 3.0lbs

Thickness – 0.16″

1.8Ghz Core 2 Duo

Optional 99$ optical drive

2GB RAM

802.11n Wifi

5 hour battery life

Parallels 2.2 Workstation Features

October 11, 2006 in G4U, G5, Intel, Leopard, Mac Pro, MacBook, MacBook Pro, Microsoft, OS X 10.5, OSS, Open Source, OpenSource, Panther, Parallels, PowerBook, PowerPC, SP2, Tiger, USB, Windows XP, Windows XP SP2, XP, eMac, g4, iMac, ibm, laptop, linux, mac, mac mini, macintosh, operating system, os, os x, pc, software, virtual machines, virtualization, vista, vm, windows, workstation | No comments

Parallels announced today the updated features of the newest iteration of Parallels Workstation.

Big new all around for Windows, Mac and Linux users.

Here’s the breakdown (from the newsletter):

Parallels Desktop for Mac is the first solution for running Windows and OS X at the same time – without rebooting!

The Desktop for Mac Official Update includes a number of powerful new features, such as:

  • Works on ANY Intel-Mac with ANY memory configuration with no system modification. This includes Mac Pro towers with up to 16GB of RAM, and the full line of Core 2 Duo iMacs
  • Support for Windows Vista as a guest OS
  • Support for Mac OS X 10.5 “Leopard” as a Primary OS
  • Better USB support, including support for isochronous devices and Windows Mobile 5 devices

Parallels Workstation 2.2 for Windows & Linux is a powerful, cost effective virtualization solution which boosts productivity and lowers IT costs by letting users run multiple OSes simultaneously – without rebooting – on any Windows or Linux PC.

The new version includes a variety of new features and improvements:

  • Full support for AMD Secure Virtual Machine Technology, and stronger support for Intel Virtualization Technology
  • Support for Windows Vista as a Guest OS
  • A new shared folder utility lets users share files and folders between OSes
  • Better networking
  • Better USB support, including support for webcams and Windows Mobile 5 devices

Where’s my Mac BIOS? (How to get into OpenFirmware Easily)

September 20, 2006 in ADC, Apple Developper Connection, BIOS, CD, G5, PowerBook, PowerPC, apple, boot from cd, eMac, g4, iBook, iMac, keyboard, laptop, linux, livecd, mac, mac mini, macintosh, openfirmware, operating system, os, os x, tip, tutorial | 18 comments

A lot of people these days appear to be under the impression that Macs have a BIOS, which is unfortunate because they actually have something much better – Macs have OpenFirmware. This is true for G4 Mac Minis, PowerBooks, iBooks, iMacs, eMacs, and Dual G5s… I could go on and on.
I got most of this info from experience and the Apple Developper Connection – if you’re not a member yet, sign up, it’s free.

You can get into OpenFirmware using this key sequence:

CMD-OPT-O-F

In detail, this means using two hands, holding “command”, “option” and “f” on the left and “o” with your right hand. Do this while booting your computer and you well hear two chimes. At the end of the chimes you will be greeted with an

On my G4 Mac Mini, for example, I can hold down the power button for roughly 10 seconds and I will hear the chimes – this should work for iMacs as well.

The OpenFirmware prompt that looks like this:

ok

0>

Congratulations, you’ve accessed your “BIOS” you switcher!

Now that we’ve passed this glorious milestone, we have some work to do. After all you came here for a reason right? (and not just to click on the ads, wink-wink nudge-nudge)

Some useful commands that save me time and time again, and enable reparation of the G4 Mac Mini:

Boot your Apple computer using the default boot device:

0 > mac-boot

Boot your Mac using the inserted CDROM at the yaboot directory for linux CDs:

0 > boot cd:,\install\yaboot

To eject a CDROM from your Mac:

0 > eject cd

If you have any other OpenFirmware tips to share, feel free to comment!

Access Your Computer’s BIOS

August 31, 2006 in BIOS, Microsoft, Uncategorized, award, boot from cd, compaq, dell, hp, ibm, laptop, phoenix, phoenix bios, reinstall windows, tip, windows | No comments

UPDATE – Many people have asked me to write an article about accessing a Macintosh BIOS, so here it is!

I helped a friend out today who wanted to reinstall Windows on his Dell laptop. When he inserted the CD into the drive and rebooted, the computer still booted into Windows and would not boot from the CDROM drive for him. Having seen this many times before, I told him to change the boot order so that he could boot from the Windows installation CD. Since he was unsure of how to do this, I have a feeling that most people would be stuck were they in the same situation. Here are the most common keystrokes that will get you into your BIOS. Once you are there, change the “boot order” or “boot sequence”, so that the CDROM is the first item. Once that has completed, save the changes and exit. Presto! you can now start the installation and proceed with glee.

Phoenix BIOS (older)

  • Ctrl+Alt+Esc
  • Ctrl+Alt+F1
  • Ctrl+Alt+S
  • Ctrl+Alt+Enter
  • Ctrl+Alt+F11
  • Ctrl+Alt+Ins

Award BIOS

  • Ctrl+Alt+Esc
  • Esc
  • Del

AMI BIOS (most common)

  • Del

IBM BIOS

  • Ctrl+Alt+Ins F1

Compaq BIOS

  • F10

Dell BIOS

  • F2