Thanks, mm. I must say these look rather interesting..
well.. after reading that.. there's only $16 difference between a 1 and a 2 gb ram. I may as well put two 2s in there (instead of the official 2 and a 1) and get a little more speed. - Thanks mm !!

From what i have read it seems some Apps will use the full 4 GB and some only 3 GB but it will only show 3 GB in Apple profiler, but have an idea some 3rd party apps will show 4 GB - Good luck with it.

Yeah thats what I read too mm.

Hey got a newsletter from 'techsupportalert'.. They mention a free security site that will help if your pc (mac, win or linux) gets nicked. It can take a snap using the inbuilt cam of who ever is using it.

Wonder how good that is.. and if there are any unwanted factors..

Following is part of it..

'..Here's how you use it, and what it does. First, go to www.preyproject.com and download the client application. You can install it on a Windows, Mac or Linux computer, or on an Android smartphone. Next, sign up with the web site and register your devices. Although you can install the client on desktop PCs, it really works best with laptops...'

BB have a look at the comments here and then you may decide if u need to go down that path;
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/20425/undercover
FWIW i Have a double Kensington Lock on the 2 home iMacs and carry another on MBP if on the road.

Ha - had to laugh at the guys whose pc started screaming it was stolen while he was on a train.

Well dont think that one I mentioned did any of that.. just used any built in cams or gps to send you info and locked down data.

Actually a few years back I did a check on kensington locks as we were using them on staff laptops while overseas. I found a web site that showed you how to unlock them using the inner tube from a roll of toilet paper...(though any bit of card board would do.) I guess they would have improved on them since then (though could be handy to know if you ever loose the key.)

Same old story eh - some joker builds a tank.. someone else builds an anti-tank gun.

Anyway locks are just there to help keep the good folks honest, eh.

Well no - locks are there as a challenge - u know, you hide the key in a safe place, then 6 months later when u need the key comes a major search exercise, where u end up blaming the wife for shifting it.

Heck.. that sounds oddly familiar for some reason.

Hey notice how when you go to the 'apple menu - Mac OS X software' that they have changed it to 'Apple downloads' web page layout ie:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/

I preferred the old layout with software categories which I cant seem to find anymore. (Thought I had saved a link to it somewhere..)


That first one seems to be more geared towards the App store which seems to be a bit like the itunes store. I guess that may be a sign of things to come.

What I dont like about the itunes store is even if there is free stuff they expect your credit card details before you can download it.

(I've tried some of the 'work arounds' posted on the web but couldn't get them to work... though that was a while back.)

Actually in relation to software down loads.. heres one:

http://www.freesmug.org/start

For others reading thus far, with regard to the link i would have this suggestion - for Tiger and Panther give it a shot.
For Leopard or Snow Leopard i would;
1/ Do a bootable back up to Ext HD
2/ Download and install software and give it a good test.
3/ If any issues arise then u can always copy back your bootable backup.
Seems to me that Leopard and Snow Leopard are a bit more picky about 3rd Party Apps. If u can search MacUpdate and Version Tracker first to see what is being written about the App before loading it.

Well that would be 'playing safe'.

I've used tiger and leopard and have not yet had any issues with 3rd party software. Freesmug has been around for a while and I think they'd quickly 'pull the plug' on any software that played up. (They dont have a massive range anyway - its mainly the stuff thats been around for a while.)

I think there were some probs with snow leopard when it first came out but most good software has been updated with a new (snow) version to fix that.

Of course I haven't tried every program that freesmug have - just some of the office and graphics stuff.

I rang a local mac store this week which listed an 0800 number. The call went through to renaissance in auckland..who seem to be a major mac supplier in NZ.

I asked them about installing OS x10.6.3 and even they suggested doing a back up as well.

I thought that was an issue only with windoz. I got caught out with that once when a new install wiped out the contents of my hard drive. Mind you that was quite some years back..

BB - My take is that if one were adding 3rd Party software to a pristine installation of Leopard or Snow Leopard, then invariably, it would be bullet proof, where the process can become unstuck is if one has installed and partially removed other bits of 3rd party software.
Files can remain which invoke routines that no longer have all the pieces to allow completion of the sequence, then the latest 3rd party addition gets the blame for hanging or causing other issues.
If all that wrote software followed Apples dictates to the letter it would not be an issue but that does not happen. Unsanity Haxies for example can and still do give a bit of grief depending on what else is in your system and what OS u are running.
For my money having a bootable backup is bullet proof protection in case of Hardware Failure or a PEBKAC moment.

I have just spent a coupe of hours hunting down and removing such dregs out of my system - one was a PPC widget from 4 years ago - and now my MBP is booting much more quickly. Long overdue housework as it were!!

Now my upgrade procedure - if u are on Leopard 10.5 and installing Snow Leopard 10.6 i would;
1/ do a bootable backup
2/ Erase computer HD and do a clean install of 10.6
3/ go and download 10.6 Combo updater then install that.
4/ go to Apple/Software Update until all is current
5/ Use Migration Assistant in /Applications/Utilities folder and import from bootable back up any Users that you need but not any Applications
6/ Download and instal latest copy of any 3rd party Apps that u plan on using
7/ Once that is all go then start with a new bootable back up to save having to go thru that dance again.
8/ Or you could make a .dmg of the New OS on HD before importing any User stuff, then you can do a quick install after any hardware failure.