Mac Mini is here and few other things...

Mac Mini is here! It looks like new, no scratches, nothing. In fact I am typing on it right now!

Another surprise, Apple is giving away (for the cost of shipping) the new system that's coming out next week. Leopard, the next iteration of Mac OS X (10.5), will go on sale on 10/26/07 for $129. I'm getting it for $9.99+tax since I bought this refurbished Mac Mini after October.



Pretty sweet, especially when you compare to Microsoft. Microsoft giving away Vista because you bought a computer 2 weeks before it was out? HA!

I am using the 'pre-Leopard' setup to do some before and after benchmarks so I can publish at xlr8yourmac.com. While installing things, I came across a very intersting installer. Its for Adium X, the best instant messaging software there is. Its lightyears ahead of Trillian and very resource efficient to boot. Enjoy the pic!

Dissapointing package

The Wii is here! I'll be so happy, or not. After opening the package, the Wii turns out to be a worn out one. It said specifically in the description that its 'rarely used' but one of the hinge was very loose. And it is missing 2 parts to boot. This is NOT worth $100+ over retail. He'll get my email soon... On the other note, I went to Radio Shack and bought myself flux to aid my soldering. Flux basically creates an attraction to solder so its easier for the solder to stick. Pretty useful thing to do when dealing with fine electronics.

Thanksgiving surprise: Wii!

Hello again. I was thinking about my next trip to Indiana and how to make the most of it. The weather probably won't be too great to go barbeque or play outside, and lets face it, I don't want to go anywhere when my stomach is filled with lots and lots of turkey. Sorry Wasil, the turkey legs are mine!


So I went ahead and bought a Wii. Wasil and his 2 nakama (Luqman and Hamzah) wanted the 360 (obviously) but that leaves Hana and Muhsin with nothing. So to also accomodate them in the equation, I thought Wii would be perfect. Given the fact that Wiis are selling like hotcakes ($10 if you can find it in store right now) and its wide range of consumers (even Mak can play!), its a perfect solution to my Thanksgiving wish.

Actually I bought one at Wal-Mart (sold out in 1 day) right after they stocked it. Opened it, played it for a couple of hours. Took about 10 minutes to get used to the well-designed controls before I started enjoying the console.

There's another reason behind why I wanted a Wii - so I can do a little modification to it. I want to be able to run back-ups in case the original games got scratched (who knows when you have 5 little siblings... anything could happen). The modification requires an older 06-early-07 model to accomplish such feat without risking a "Wii-brick". On a side note, check out my e-bay sniping program. 2 seconds left... SNIPE.


I sold the new Wii to a fellow Cerner associate for $250. I figure I played the game enough to justify the +tax cost. I paid close to $270 when I bought it at Wal-Mart. So you think $380 is expensive? Sure. It came however with 2 additional controllers, valued $60. Well I view it like this: It will pay itself off. Oh yeah. Kinda funny how overpriced it is, but for such a high demand product, adding to it its value for being old, it's worth it.

Below is the magic chip. Shipment came as a '10% off coupon' in a small yellow envelop from Canada. Man those people sure knows how to be tricky! Check out how small it is!


Find Waldo! Where's Waldo? Look! There!

El chippo costed me $23 Washingtons, a little less than a genuine Wii game... good investment! Its as big as my thumbnail!


I'll definitely update on the progress of this project when the Wii gets here. Soldering iron here I come! Until then, cheers!

Pictures of our Subaru!

First of all ~

Selamat Hari Raya
Maaf Zahir Batin

After such a long break (sorry), here some the pictures of the Subaru! Currently the Subaru have about 500 miles on it. After further thinking, I decide to have its oil changed when it hits 1,000 miles. Although we're not supposed to until 3,000 miles, the car has been sitting at the lot for who knows how long (since 06) and hey, better be safe than sorry! Oh and the car also celebrated the raya with us (sorry Ford Focus!).





To be honest, we had our eyes on a Mitsubishi Lancer '08 GTS. But the dealership didn't want to sell it to me. They didn't even let me test drive! I came to Jack Miller just so Aishah can test drive a Subaru (to compare with my dad's Forester) and we were treated like kings. They deserve my money, I told myself... Hence the impulse decision of buying the car! Its a good decision, I could tell Aishah's confidence went up 1000% after 3 weeks of owning the car. That's the whole point of the whole purchase anyways.

The pictures are a little outdated as the Subiru (new nickname) wasn't tested under extreme conditions and looked clean and innocent. It went through a lot and is very dirty at the moment (it got rained out during the Raya weekend).