1 sec PowerBook

1 sec PowerBook
Originally uploaded by CameronMagee

My Apple 12" PowerBook G4 sold on eBay today around 5pm. I was very excited to get to sell it on eBay. For some reason, I get an incredible joy out of selling things on eBay. Even small stuff, that doesn't really matter. The concept of "one man's garbage is another man's treasure" just excites me I guess.

I had been watching some of the similar laptops on eBay sell for about $450. Mine was in much better condition, so I was hoping for $500. I thought at the absolute MOST I would touch $600, but that would be a miracle, and would never happen. My brother Caleb's rule #1: "Low Expectations are the Key to Happiness" told me to keep my expectations low. I told myself that if I reached $500, I would be a very happy eBayer. Well, it sold this afternoon for $600. Praise the LORD! Awesome! I was so excited! I ship it off to Texas Monday morning, and I CAN'T WAIT! GO EBAY!  I hope the person that gets it treats it as good as I did. I really loved that computer...

A Solder Monkey Saturday

el King of de Solder Monkeys
Originally uploaded by CameronMagee

I've been itching for another soldering lesson from Mr. Phillip Johnson. I dreamt up a rather impossible cable, something that I couldn't do on my own, that got the ball rolling real quick. I convinced him to come eat lunch with the Magee Boys, and then the soldering came quickly there after.

I wanted a second USB cable for my iPod Shuffle. The iPod shipped with one, but I keep it wired in tight down at the dorm, leaving me with no way to charge the iPod when I come home for weekends. I ordered the wire and the connectors a few weeks ago, so we were all set to go today. The supplies for 4 cables ran me about fifteen bucks. We'll call it $4 a cable.

Well, my soldering iron ain't too hot. Ignore that expression, I mean it's a piece of junk. The real problem is that my soldering iron it TOO hot. It's WAY too hot. The heat it pushes out is fine for most stuff, but this tiny iPod Shuffle delicate cable stuff was going to be way to much for it. I needed a much cooler, much sharper-tipped, fancy iron for this job. Something neither Phillip or I could supply of course, so we went without.

Horrible idea.

The excessive heat from the iron, combined with the fat, sloppy tip, successfully ruined all of our supplies, one after another. The fat tip put heat where it wasn't supposed to be, and the heat melted everything it touched.
 
We wanted four nice custom-length iPod cables. All we got was a big fat mess, and $15 down the drain. But it was still a blast. We just spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing, and hanging out. It was a nice change from our typical, "OK, we'll meet from 1pm-3:15pm, for the soldering, then, it'll be see you later". It was nice to just spend some chill time with one of my best buddies.

Phillip Johnson is the man when it comes to Audio, just so you know. He took me under his wing when I was just a young media-punk kid who had no idea what he was doing, but acted like he knew everything.

That actually wasn't last week for me, that was 7th grade. Thanks for a fun afternoon, buddy.

Upgrading Computer Memory

MacBook Memory Upgrade - 13
Originally uploaded by CameronMagee

Computers have a couple of basic components under the hood. You've got a Processor, a Hard Drive, and some Memory (RAM). Each of the three components works together (with a lot of other tiny parts) to make the computer you're reading this on right now work. Basically, the processor determines the overall speed of the computer, the hard drive holds all your files, and the memory determines your computer's multi-tasking speed.

I multitask computers to the max. I never just have one or two things open. I'm typically running five applications, all actively, at once. This means that more than processor speed, more than storage, I like a lot of memory. Each computer can only hold so much memory though. My PowerBook, for example, maxed out at 1.25GB of memory. Memory is also known as RAM, by the way. My MacBook arrived with 2GB of RAM, but is capable of holding 4GB. So, I looked into upgrading it.

Typically, you can upgrade the specs of a computer directly off the manufacturers website. But, since I did not order my MacBook a conventional way, I had to take what I got. Upgrading a MacBook on Apple's site from 2GB to 4GB costs somewhere around $150. Not too bad. You're basically doubling your computers speed (multitasking speed, that is) for $150. To me, that's important. To my "big blue E only" parents, it's not. The just use the internet, one thing at a time, they could care less about RAM.

I checked out www.NewEgg.com, my favorite computer parts site. I found 4GB of memory on there for $75. Hey, not bad! Then, they ran a $40 mail-in rebate. I ordered, I ordered real quick. Doubling my computer's speed for $25?! hahaha, is this a joke?

It arrived, and I realized why they charge you $150 to do it. I don't know the first thing about ripping my computer apart to add newer faster parts. I was scared. Turns out, all you do is pop out the battery, unscrew three (tiny) screws, and you're in. The entire process of personally doubling my computer's specs took me about 10mins, and $25.

If you're running an Apple machine to read this right now, post a comment or shoot me an email. We could probably double your mac RAM for close to what I doubled mine for. Most of their machines only ship at half capacity. If you're not a "big blue E only" person, let's upgrade your computer. I can't describe to you how fun it would be for me to upgrade your RAM for you for free. Order that RAM, and let's go!

Apple 12" PowerBook G4

Apple 12" Powerbook G4 02
Originally uploaded by CameronMagee

I'm selling my beloved Apple 12" PowerBook G4 on eBay right now. The auction ends tomorrow night, Saturday, at 5pm Arkansas time.  If you're already an eBay-er, like myself, great!  If not, you should really look into opening an account.  If you stick around here long enough, I'll have you set up with my top 5 best sites online, and eBay is one of them.  Don't be afraid to jump in.  It's easier than you think.

Here's the auction link.

I love that PowerBook. About a month ago, I found a really great deal on an Apple MacBook online. As much as I loved the portability and aluminum-ness of my PowerBook, I took the deal. I'm loving my new MacBook.

Maybe it's faster speed will allow me post blog entries faster. :D

Anyways, the auction ends tomorrow night. If you are in the market at all for a laptop, this thing is an absolute powerhouse. Honestly, this is a perfect computer for anyone, unless you're editing tons of multi-camera videos in Final Cut Pro, or processing thousands of photographs daily. But if that's the case, I bet you're already covered on laptops. Oh, and if that's the case, call me if you need a helper. Mom always said I was a good helper.

my Elliott Christmas

the Christmas Boy
Originally uploaded by CameronMagee

After all the Magee Christmas festivities were completed just before 5pm, I joined up with the Elliott family. They open their home to me daily, as if I'm part of the family. On today, Christmas Day, the most wonderful day of the year, a day for families, I was invited into their home.

Mrs. Stephanie got a Wii and a digital camera. The Wii was in use when I arrived. I'm just going to put it out there; I've never played on a Wii before. That thing is pretty sweet. They set me up a character cartoon person, and got me some sort of fitness test going. At the end of all these trials and tribulations, it tells you your estimated age, according to how physically fit the game thinks you did on the virtual sports.

Apparently I'm over 60 years old.

Aaryn got me a pretty sweet hat, and a super-nice tie. I got her some nerd cables.
Mrs. Elliott got me a stuffed-animal pug, that breathes. That'll be fun for the pug-free dorm room. I'll be missing Lilly. I got her some coffee an egg shaker, and some acc. for her new camera.
Mr. Elliott got me two dang-nice shirts. Both orange. That's a man who knows how to get things. I got him 100 9mm bullets. We're going shooting together sometime soon.

Now it's time for the good stuff. Aubrey's gift. I thought I did pretty good this year. We've got a movie to-do list a mile long, and so I went with that theme. Unlike the typical college couple who just sits around and watches movies, we never get to watch a movie. We've got a list of about 20+ films we want to see, but don't own, or don't have time.

I got her the top six on that list, bundled with mighty-good popcorn, and her favorite candy. Topped off with a gift card to The Rave (a theatre in nearby Little Rock) and a hip-and-stylin' purse.

I thought I was doing pretty good, then I opened her present to ME. Dang. She had taken this cool, round hat box, and covered it in photos of us. Not just photos of us, but about 37 stickers, and her handwriting saying things like the lyrics to our favorite song. SMOOOOOTH. I'm already beat there. She even wrote the verse in Corinthians about love. I'm sitting there taking in how much time it must have taken her to put together this box, and what cool camera stuff I can keep in it, and I realize I haven't opened it.

Inside, stuffed and crammed and packed in tight, is a brand spankin' new, top of the line, sweetest, nicest, coolest... North Face Jacket. whoa. I love it. It's grey and black, and it... (see above picture). Anyway, this thing ROCKS. I can't wait to go somewhere outside and get cold, just so I can bust it out and get warm. This thing really really rocks, I'm so pumped that she went so all-out. I'm gonna need to step up my game for next year.

Thank you, Aubrey, if you're reading this, for this awesome, sentimental gift. It was the highlight of my Christmas this year, and I am very proud of it. I can't wait to show it off!

Merry Christmas everybody, even though we've officially passed it as the 1am rolls around the clock.

I've gotta go to bed. There's a pug over there completely out of it at this point, it's going to be a wrestling match to get me some covers at this point.