Vivi’s New MacBook Pro

Vivi's New MacBook Pro

Here it is. The MacBook Pro we ordered came yesterday night just before 10PM. It took a week to reach here from Apple’s factory in Shanghai.

It is a 2.4GHz model and came configured with 4GB of DDR3 memory with everything else stock. The screen resolution is 1440 x 900 and things look pretty nice and sharp on the gorgeous 15 inch glossy screen. It is much easier on the eyes compared to my 17 inch MacBook Pro with a 1920 x 1200 resolution which makes everything look small. The new glass trackpad has a much larger surface area than the older models which makes tracking easy and effortless. The only thing we find it hard to get used to is the no-button design. It is a great idea but for those who are used to navigating the trackpad with a thumb on the button, this design will take some getting used to. The overall construction and build quality is top notch. Holding the MacBook Pro, it feels thin, sturdy and solid, unlike the creaky, plasticky flex you get with older models like my 17-inch one.

Vivi's New MacBook Pro

Here it is side by side with my 17-inch MacBook Pro. I planned to convert all the computers in the house to Macs early this year and now it is reality. We now have 3 Macs, including Vivi’s old 13-inch MacBook which is now serving as a print server.

The Future of Robotics

FESTO is a German company that specializes in pneumatic and electric drive automation technology. On their website, they showcase some of their innovations such as the Air_ray and AquaJelly robots. Mesmerizing stuff.

Air_ray

AirArm

Airic's Arm

Airmotion Ride

AquaJelly

Humanoid

The Sound Machines

Link FESTO

A New Notebook for Vivi

My first notebook computer was a 13-inch white MacBook which was bundled with my broadband internet subscription plan. It was in 2006 and had served me well, despite 2 trips to the Apple service center for a faulty battery and MagSafe power adapter.

Early this year I bought a 17-inch MacBook Pro for serious work and gave the old MacBook to Vivi. We are not delicate users so after 2 years of abuse, the white MacBook which I gave Vivi, though is still working fine has shown signs of age. The screen has started to develop a yellow tinge and looks a lot darker compared to the higher end MacBook Pro. So I decided it is time for Vivi to own a new and better computer, something that is more joyful to use and useful for her music composition work.

Yesterday, I made an order at Apple Store online for the new and recently launched 15-inch “unibody” MacBook Pro for Vivi. And here’re the juicy specs she will be getting.

MacBook Pro

Processor: 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 4GB 1066Mz DDR3 SDRAM-2×2GB
Storage: 250GB Serial ATA @ 5400
Optical Storage: SuperDrive 8X DL

The extra memory is the only upgrade I configured, the rest are all default. I reckoned we could use our external hard drives if we need more storage capacity.

MacBook pro
Look at how thin it is. It’s even thinner than my current 17-incher.

MacBook Pro
Simply… a work of art.

I am an INTP – Engineer, Intellectual, Visual Intrapersonal

Click to view my Personality Profile page

Want to know something about my personality type?

“INTPs are relatively easy-going and amenable to most anything until their principles are violated, about which they may become outspoken and inflexible. They prefer to return, however, to a reserved albeit benign ambiance, not wishing to make spectacles of themselves.”
- INTP Profile (TypeLogic)

“The Architects’ distant goal is always to rearrange the environment somehow, to shape, to construct, to devise, whether it be buildings, institutions, enterprises, or theories. They look upon the world — natural and civil — as little more than raw material to be reshaped according to their design…”
- The Portrait of the Architect Rational (iNTp) (Keirsey)

“The INTP is above all a thinker and his inner (private) world is a place governed by a strong sense of logical structure. Every experience is to be rigorously analysed, the task of the INTP’s mind is to fit each encountered idea or experience into a larger structure defined by logic.”

“INTPs contribute a logical, system-building approach to their work. They like being the architect of a plan, because of the scheming and thinking involved, far more than being the implementer of that plan. Implementation tends to be drudgery. They are content to sit back and think about what might work, given their view of the situation. INTPs may ignore standard operating procedures. The hours that they spend are not what is important to them, but rather the completion of their thought process”
- INTP - The Wizard (Lifexplore)

“INTPs live in the world of theoretical possibilities. They see everything in terms of how it could be improved, or what it could be turned into. They live primarily inside their own minds, having the ability to analyze difficult problems, identify patterns, and come up with logical explanations. They seek clarity in everything, and are therefore driven to build knowledge. They are the “absent-minded professors”, who highly value intelligence and the ability to apply logic to theories to find solutions.”
- Portrait of an INTP (The Personality Page)

“likes solitude, not revealing, unemotional, rule breaker, avoidant, familiar with the darkside, skeptical, acts without consulting others”
- Jung Type Descriptions (INTP) (similarminds.com)

More information the the INTP

My T-Shirt for atheists just arrived

RDF

I order the Richard Dawkins Foundation T-Shirt more than a week ago for 20 dollars and it arrived today. Check it out, it’s a nice navy blue. The words read “Richard Dawkins Foundation – RDF – For Reason and Science”. I’ll be wearing it tomorrow and very often.

Anyway I’ll use this opportunity to say this to any religious person who might be reading this blog post. By the way atheism is not the kind of “ism” that speaks of a religion. Atheism is the absence of religion as opposed to theism. We do not worship Satan or any monster. Atheist are just ordinary people who chose to think rationally and question the world and therefore decided to not believe in crap due to the absolute lack of evidence that can support ridiculous theistic claims, such as the one that says the world is about 6000 years old, according to the Christian bible. Anyone with a right mind will know that is bullshit.

For Reason and Science!