MacPro 3,1 on 10.15.2

I have no intention to upgrade to the latest 10.15.4, at least not now or maybe ever.  The system has been solid, that's until a few days ago.  If I could recall any changes it would be the updated Xcode.  Ever since that, I experience some wake up issue.  Given that my keyboard and trackpad are bluetooth only.  Plus my GPU is PC based without the EFI rom or some shit like that.  But I swear, once in a while I do see the Apple logo booting up, that the weirdest shit.

Short of updating the software or removing the Xcode as a trial and error, I proceeded to change the button battery inside.  I don't know but I think this little guy was there from day one so I just changed it now.  Maybe that would help with the sleep wake up issue as the battery is supposed to keep the state of some ROM, or whatever it's called.  I have some faith not a lot that it might just take care of the problem.

Well this whole thing is a hack on borrowed time anyway.

UPDATE:  Well it didn't help...

MacPro3,1 and Catalina macOS10.15.2

Everytime there is an update pushed out by Apple I tend to apply it and update my system.
My system being a MacPro3,1 early 2008 with a half ass supported or not quite supported graphic card is really a pain in the rear end when it comes to upgrade.  Mainly, I can't get in all those necessary reboot modes without the EFI or boot rom for the graphics.  So I have to pull the card and plug back in the original card which is mildly painful.  Everything adds up.  And in the end, what seems like a rather straight operation invariably ends up like life or death, at least for the system, operation.  Usually it spans for hours to get it done.

Again, it's a dosdude1.com patch.
download the patch
download the full Catalina install from Apple via the patch
create a Catalina bootable USB finger using the patch
reboot from the USB
And good luck.

Somewhere along those steps something will happen I guarantee you that.

I am not on macOS 10.15.2 after hours of patching ...

Apple notebook butterfly keyboard debacle

This has been pretty much well documented.  From 2016 till 2018, the butterfly keyboard has nothing but trouble.  The latest being a Wall Street journalist did a piece on the keyboard and Apple acknowledged that there is a small number of keyboards that exhibit problems.

I was burned once by an iBook screen many years ago.  After that it took me like maybe a decade or so to buy another laptop from Apple.

Can you imagine people, well I can, or can I imagine myself spending $2,000 or $1,000 to buy a MacBook and ends up having problems with the keyboard all the time?  The keyboard is the major interface between the machine and the user, how can you screw it up?

Nobody ever asked for a new keyboard design.  Apple, come on, do better.  Fix that keyboard once and for all.

Apple Wireless Keyboard 2011

This is essentially a Bluetooth enabled keyboard.  I do find it magical.  I do enjoy typing it.  It's the major interface where I interact with my MacBook Pro.

There are certainly a few iterations of this keyboard.  But I would say they are somewhat minor.

The version I have is I believe the second iteration or could it be third I am not sure.

This version needs two AA batteries to run.  And they basically keep running.  The latest version is powered by some internal rechargeable battery that can be charged by a lightning cable.  I supposed it's good and bad.  When the internal rechargeable battery can't hold a charge what are you going to do?

I like the tactile feel of the keyboard, which is of course subjective by and large.  The more important issue is is this tested and proven to be durable.  I have heard enough horror stories of the new butterfly keyboard.  One of the things I like is this Apple keyboard also allows you to control your audio from the top row kind of function keys there.

My function key F3 has the mission control icon on it.

The connection is fantastic and I experience absolutely no lag as I type.

Things I don't like is it doesn't have illuminated keys.  I would like to have it so I can turn it on when I feel like it.  Also the battery chamber can be somewhat leaky or losing some spring to it.  You have to be careful and make sure that the AA cells don't leak.  And if the spring loses its bounce, you lose connection because of bad contact.  The remedy can be simple and yet quite effective, make tiny disc of ball out of aluminium foil and drop it inside the battery chamber.

I do some digging so you don't have to.  My version is the 2011 version.  It uses two AA cells and the F3 and F4 function keys have the Exposé and Launchpad icons there whereas the 2009 version the F4 key has the Dashboard icon, otherwise they look the same.  Of course if you go shop eBay, you have to be careful, some sellers don't know what they are selling and worse they don't really care.  Fortunately most of my experiences are positive and if it was wrong, they make it right.

Apple wireless keyboards

Apple Broadcom BCM94360CD 802.11ac mini PCI-E WiFi WLAN Bluetooth 4.0 Card

This is the board, together with the adapter, I got to upgrade my Mac Pro 2008.  An eBay find from a seller called miraclelove, what a name.  It takes more than a week to reach here all the way from China.  But the items seem good quality.  The guy could use a box to better protect the item but mine survived the long distance odyssey just fine.  The cards appear brand new and in protective plastic bag, probably static proof or something.  It seems like miraclelove is a decent seller who wrote me right away when he shipped the item and emphasized in case something something happened, contact the him or the seller first.  I always appreciate an eBayer who is open to communication.

This has WiFi and BlueTooth together.

In my old 2008 Mac Pro (MacPro3,1) there are four antennae with paper flag marked 1 to 3 and one marked BT which has been attached with the BT module that came with the Mac Pro 2008 system.  I removed the old BT module and set free the antenna for later use on the new module.  I read somewhere regarding the antenna placement it says the BT antenna should be placed on the 3 position and the 3 antenna should go to the 0 position on the board.  I guess something  must have changed or this wire attachment simply is not for this card.  So the first time I did it,   the BT wasn't working.  It wasn't working at all.  It was like it didn't exist.  WiFi was great though.

The second time, I just followed what the Broadcom card says and attached the antenna accordingly with the BT antenna attached to the 0 position on the board, and bang, it worked.

WiFi is very strong, it's the AC standard.  BlueTooth I can't really tell as my attached devices aren't all that new.  The BT magic keyboard is the second iteration that uses two AA batteries.

I have to say with poor eyesight it's a miracle that I can attach the four antennae, it's just very very difficult to feel your way to the connector.  Using the wireless magic keyboard is such a breeze.  Got to pay attention not to let any battery leak to the battery compartment though.

MacBook Pro 2012

Once upon a time I owned a 12" iBook but then the screen died and I felt like I got burned.

Then in October 2014, I ordered a refurbished 2012 15" MBP directly from Apple.  My research says that that is the last MBP model that allows user upgrades.  My experience is I upgraded the RAM from 4GB to 16GB and have removed the SuperDrive for another hard drive storage.  For the boot drive, I upgraded the stock 500GB 5400rpm hard drive to a SSD.  I have since then upgraded the SSD from 240GB to 480GB and have swapped in new harddrive when the existing one was full a few times.

It's not retina display but I am OK with that.  It can drive an external display at 2560x1080 at the same time.

The keyboard gives me no problem and neither is the trackpad.  I like the keyboard and the trackpad right where they are.  I mean the trackpad is right there I don't like to move my hand to grab the mouse for a walk.  For a desktop I opt for the keyboard and trackpad combo as well.  I never like the mouse that much.

Fast forward to the current 2018 MacBook or MBP.  I am somewhat leery of their butterfly keyboard.  Even the latest third iteration of that design.  Apple just started selling the 2018 models refurbished.

Officially, the 2012 MBP is the last MBP hardware that Mojave supports, anything older is not supported.  So my 2012 lives another year or two.

iOS5 Upgrade And Miscellaneous BS

I never like iTunes and I never bother to understand the iTunes sync.  It's like you plug in the thing to your computer and then make sure the thing doesn't sync anything.  Or all your pirated music will go up in smoke.  Or something.

I updated some of my iOS devices to iOS5 not because I have to but because I can.  I just plugged them in and did something and then something happened--updated iTunes then iOS5, frictionlessly smooth until I wanted to try the iCloud backup which came with 5GB free storage per iCloud id, after that the price goes ridiculously high just like everything that's Apple.  Like most other Apple BS, it simply doesn't work, at least for the first n times.  I don't know why it didn't work the first n times but if I were to guess I would say:  the server had been too busy?  It doesn't make a whole lot of sense.  Anyway, after much verbal threats and exposing its suckiness on twitter (see my twitter feed on the right)--, iCloud backup all of a sudden started to work.  I was able to back up my device for free which is all that is important, free as in I don't have to pay.  Not that I really needed to back up anything, I did it because I can and it's free.  I never backup any of my iOS devices.

And oh yeah, like most computer stuff I did, I just did whatever to make it work without knowing how or why. Woohoo.

My first impression of iOS5 is yeah, twitter is now deeply integrated (fb being the illegitimate social bastard doesn't get the deeply integrated treatment in iOS5 and so are all others), just like Android is and gets a bit more or too literal: it actually makes a tweet sound or a whistle when you post a picture which is enchanting and at times annoying or even endangering as your boss doesn't need to hear the tweet sound.  Essentially Apple iOS gets just a tiny bit more social that before.  The new pull down notification is like Android's.  And of course iOS looks a bit more refined in the execution, to me, at least.  Eye candy and all.  iCloud is kind of iffy on the first few dozen tries.  And in the end, to make it really work you need to pay Apple because 5GB is hardly any storage at all--iCloud is very conscientious to remind you your storage is running low and to pay up.

Next: Ubuntu 11.10.

Albert Watson

Any work of art is a reflection of the artist himself.  I feel this is as much a portrait of Mr. Jobs as it is of Mr. Watson himself.  The analog picture was taken with a 4x5 view camera in 2006.

Picture taken from Apple's web site for illustration purpose.  Copyrights belong to its rightful owner(s).

Jobs: "I wanted my kids to know me."

via 9to5mac
From Isaacson’s upcoming Essay in Time Magazine:

A few weeks ago, I visited Jobs for the last time in his Palo Alto, Calif., home. He had moved to a downstairs bedroom because he was too weak to go up and down stairs. He was curled up in some pain, but his mind was still sharp and his humor vibrant. We talked about his childhood, and he gave me some pictures of his father and family to use in my biography. As a writer, I was used to being detached, but I was hit by a wave of sadness as I tried to say goodbye. In order to mask my emotion, I asked the one question that was still puzzling me: Why had he been so eager, during close to 50 interviews and conversations over the course of two years, to open up so much for a book when he was usually so private? “I wanted my kids to know me,” he said. “I wasn’t always there for them, and I wanted them to know why and to understand what I did.”

iOS 4.2.1 And Ubuntu 10.10

Despite whatever people say, iOS 4.2.1 (8C148) is not working on my Ubuntu 10.10 AMD64.  It's able to mount, to see everything that is there (i.e. read only) but I simply can't sync it.  No way no how.  This is the conclusive reference for me as of now.  Based on what I read, it's because of libgpod.

Apple

Apple tops expectations and proves once again you pay a premium for anything that has that shiny Apple logo. Anyway, it's all about the iPad now. As iPad is underperforming in the market, it kind of sends the stock price on a tailspin in after market trading. But, I am sure the stock will bounce back very quickly. Because Apple just rules in the stock market.

Apple on Apple

For people who prefer to get their news in the form of cartoon, Apple Daily Taiwan of Nextmedia gives you the no nonsense bit on the latest Apple iPhone 4 blunder.  Ridiculously entertaining.



via 9to5mac.com

iPhone 4 News Latest

Latest:  Jobs is dishing out goodies to solve what the company thinks a non issue or what most others think an antenna issue.  Buyers can get a bumper case, roast pork fried rice, beef chow fun, or General Tso's chicken (only one of them not all, personally I like roast pork and duck over rice but it's not part of the options) if they bought an iPhone 4.  So I think that's fair.  But Apple goes further if the non issue bothers you and you don't like greasy Chinese (who wouldn't?  Really?), you can simply return the damned phone.  After all it's just a damned phone there is no need to get all worked up.  Let's move on to iPhone 5 already.

iPhone 4: the Inauspiciously Named iPhone

iPhone 4 just can't have a break, can it?  Apple has nobody to blame but itself.  Why bother naming the iPhone 4?  Nobody in his right mind would call it a 4.  And look what happened?  Workers were jumping off the roof in abundance, some college kid, in a moment of greedy confusion sold an iPhone 4 prototype and now both he and Gizmodo, the buyer are under police investigation.  The iPhone 4 since its debut is plagued with issues, yellow tinted glass, very breakable back glass, reception issue, proximity sensor issue and now the latest:  Consumer Reports confirms what we already know, iPhone 4 has antenna issues.  Apple doesn't like it and according to one of Engadget's blogposts, Apple is starting to delete support threads that mention the Consumer Reports report.  I think that's low.  Apple considers issues if any are software related as opposed to hardware, i.e. placement of the antenna.

4G iPhone: Theft, Extortion and Sex

Jobs on D8 Conference with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher

Jobs thinks they ought to make a movie out of the missing 4G iPhone prototype because it involves stolen property, extortion and probably sex somewhere.  At some point he says he got a lot of advice that "they shouldn't go after a journalist because they bought stolen property and they tried to extort you."  Then he goes on to say he would rather quit than let it slide because something to do with the core values of Apple, so on and so forth.  Even though the case is pending and as he put it it's up to the DA, but I think he really believes or wants to sway the public to believe that it was indeed a theft, sale of stolen property and extortion were involved.  That should keep the Gawker legal department busy

Adobe Loves Apple

In a move that can only be characterized as awkwardly stupid, Adobe takes out a full page print ad, on B9 in The New York Times, proclaiming its love for APPLE.  What a pussy!  After getting slammed by Apple's CEO, don't they have any shame at all?  Why can't they act more like HTC, just sue Apple already or at least shows some backbone.  The fawningly submissive ad title is just repulsive and no amount of counterattack in the last sentence can savage the lameness of this ad.

Jobs Absolute Disdain on Adobe

Jobs goes on record expressing his absolute disdain for Adobe and Adobe's Flash.  It's a great read and a revelation on how Jobs picks his technology, at least on the record.  I have to go check Adobe's stock price now .... down 70 cents while Apple ups more than 2 bucks.

Apple Hits $250

I told you so.  Back in December 2009, I already predicted Apple's stock price would hit over $250 in mid year.  And here it is, not even mid-year.  The stock is at $258.  OKAY, I am going to be a day trader from here on now.  See you guys.

Gizmodo Did Get the Next Gen iPhone

Gizmodo is on fire.  Tech gossip, rumor and fun site Gizmodo scored big when it got its hand on the next iPhone prototype.  See it for yourself at their site.  The latest being Apple actually sent a letter to Gizmodo to claim back the lost iPhone prototype, confirming that it is indeed an Apple property not any knock-off iPhony from China or the like.  Above anything else, Gizmodo seems to be pleading with Apple not to fire the engineer, Gray Powell who supposedly lost the super secret phone on his birthday after much partying and German beers.  I think that was very thoughtful and kind of Gizmodo.

iPad Saving World Economy

iPad is saving the world economy, that is, in addition to the lice specialists I mentioned several posts earlier.  Even bad news is good news.  International delivery of this shiny newish device is delayed due to strong demand in the US market--Apple says it has shipped more than 500,000 of them and has a large number of pre-orders on its soon to be released 3G versions.  Everybody pretends to hate America or American consumerism, but nothing induces so much worldwide adulation like a good piece of shiny ware designed in Cupertino and manufactured in China by a Taiwanese company.  Apple stock goes up more than $2 on the delivery delay.