Author Archive
Parallels desktop 4 - Don’t waste your money
A couple of years ago I sold my PowerMac G5 and purchased an Intel iMac, the Power Mac was just too much machine for what I was doing and I wanted to run Windows and MacOS on the same machine.
Shortly after I got it, I picked up a copy of Parallels and used it through version 3. It was useable and reasonably fast, but I still found myself switching to Boot Camp (starting with the beta version) when I wanted to do anything with video or graphics.
About a year ago I found out about VirtualBox.
VirtualBox is a free, cross platform virtualization application that worked at least as well as Parallels 3 did. I’ve been happily using that for close to a year now.
Then I read some articles about Parallels 4 and how it has smooth video, supports some 3D games and is 50% faster than previous versions.
I downloaded the demo of it and found that has a conversion program to convert from other apps, including VirtualBox.. sweet! 
I ran the program and it converted my VirtualBox PC just fine and I was able to boot in it. During the conversion it asks to install the Parallels tools and I thought it was odd that it took a REALLY long time to install them, but just let it go while I watched some TV.
Coming back about an hour later, it had just finished up so I loaded up my machine to check out the new speed and… it was REALLY slow.
I loaded up some video and it darn near locked up the machine it was so slow and jerky, dropping frames all over the place.
I did some research online and tried some tweaks that improved things a bit, but not much.
Not willing to write off the software just yet, I reloaded XP from a fresh install, installed the tools and… same exact thing as before. I’d have to say the software is slower than the previous version on my machine.
There are none of these issues with VirtualBox.
I don’t think I can play 3D games on in Windows in VirtualBox, but I never have a problem with speed or framerate in my virtual machines… plus I that’s what I have my Wii and Xbox360 for. 
My advice, if you’re thinking of upgrading or purchasing Parallels 4, is don’t. Save your money and go download a copy of VirtualBox
OSX Leopard on my Acer Aspire One A150
About a week and a half ago I got a new toy; an Acer Aspire One A150.
This ‘Netbook’ is just awesome, it’s very quick, has wireless, USB, external monitor, 1.6Ghz Atom processor, 160GB HD and 1Gig of RAM.
The version I got comes with XP pre-loaded on it, but the main reason I got it is that it’s a very good candidate for loading OSX86 on it.
I’ll post more details on that later, but long story short is that I now have a fully functional dual boot between Windows XP and Mac OSX Leopard 10.5.5!
Leopard is an AMAZING OS so if you’re going to research and do this project, PLEASE go out and buy a copy of Leopard… technically you’re not supposed to load it on any machine other than an Apple machine and you’ll still have to download a hacked version, but at least pay for the operating system.
Here’s an embeded video I posted on YouTube to show how it runs on my machine:
Here are some links to some of the tutorials I followed:
Battery and Audio source auto-switching now work… see this post:
http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.ph…
OSX86 install:
http://forum.insanelymac.com/lofivers…
Cracking it open to replace the wireless card:
http://www.aspireoneuser.com/forum/vi…
Dual boot with Windows:
http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/ind…
Changed policy for replying to comments.
Thanks to the lame-ass spammers, I’ve changed the policy for the site.
You must now be registered and logged in to comment on any of the posts.
I know this is a pain for some, but even with the spam filters it’s a full time job keeping on top of the crap.
Mac & Windows backup - Mozy or iDrive
A while ago I used the trial of Carbonite for online backups of my Windows machine, I liked the software, but didn’t like the fact it didn’t have Mac backup.
After doing some research for a while, I’ve decided to focus on Mozy and iDrive as they seem to have the best support for both Mac and Windows.
Here’s the setup at home:
Windows XP machine - Acts as file & media server as well as remote DVR server.
Intel iMac - Primary machine, what we do all the day to day stuff on
All our important files are stored on the XP box, which does not have direct access to the Internet.
I’m backing things up via Backup on the Mac and the Windows Backup in XP, but wanted something offsite as well in case the backup media goes bad, is stolen or the whole house burns down.
Both Mozy and iDrive seem like very good options and here’s some of the things I’ve found during my testing, I’m formatting this as a comparison between the two and this is strictly the residential version of the service, not business (which both provide):
- Both offer a free trial of 2 GB
- Space:
- Mozy has a pro version with unlimited space
- iDrive offers pro version with 150GB
- Pricing:
- Mozy - $4.95 / month or $54.45 a year (one month free)
- iDrive - $4.95 / month or $49.50 a year (two months free)
- Speed, based on my testing:
- Mozy I average around 800Kb/s with throttling set to 100% usage, but it drops to 0 frequently
- iDrive I averaged around 1,500Kb/s with throttling set at 70% usage.
- Convenience:
- Although you have to pay the fee per computer, Mozy lets you manage them under 1 user account.
- With iDrive you have to pay the fee per computer, but you also have to create two separate logins as they claim they technically can’t do it under one.
I’m still testing and was leaning toward Mozy because of the unlimited space and the convenience of having them under the same account.
The speed is starting to be an issue for me though, there’s really no point in having unlimited space if you can’t use it because the transfer is too slow.
If anyone have experience with either, or both, please post your results.
How to win at BlackJack
I’m getting ready to leave Vegas after a conference for work.
I did what most people do, played a few slots here and there and, of course, not winning anything.
So I decided to put all the Blackjack practice and tweaking I’ve done to the test and… Came out $55 ahead. The next day I tried it again and $55 bucks ahead and tomorrow I’ll try it again.
First, don’t play slots it’s 100% chance. Play a table game, others may give better odds, but blackjack is my game.
Here are my tips:
1) LEARN TO PLAY! If you do stuff like hit on 16 when the dealer has a 5 showing, or split 10s… These hints won’t help. There are LOTS of the little cards that show you how to bet. Learn the chart and practice for free on the computer, your phone, online, whatever. Learn the chart!
2) Always have AT LEAST 10 times the amount of the minimum bet.
For instance, if the table is $10 minimum, make sure you have AT LEAST $100.
You’re going to lose some hands, no way around that, you need to have money to float until you start winning.
3) Come up with a betting strategy. DO NOT double your bet when you lose to try and make your bet back. Here’s my method that works well:
- Bet the minimum
- Next bet (win or lose) bet the minimum again.
- next bet, if you won twice, double the bet. If you lost, bet the minimum.
- keep adding the minimum to the bet (if you win) but don’t get greedy, you’re going to lose eventually. I usually keep adding up to four bets in a row, then will reset to minimum bet.
- any time you lose, reset your betting.
For instance, let’s say it’s a $5 minimum and I keep winning hands, here is my betting:
$5 - $5 - $10 - $15 - $20 - $25 - $5
This way, after that second minimum, you’re playing with their money.
If you get a blackjack, count it as a regular win.
4) Dont get scared! Stick to the betting method, even if you’re low.
5) if your money is gone, walk away. You can’t win every single time so only bet with what you can afford to lose and don’t fall into the trap of trying to win it back, save it for the next day or next trip.
6) SET AN UPPER LIMIT! Your lower limit is zero, but make sure you set an upper limit as well. A good rule of thumb is to stop when you’ve won 1/2 the amount you started with.
For instance, if you sit at the table with $100, walk away when you have $150.
Some do not dos:
Don’t get greedy, walk away at your upper limit.
Don’t try to win your money back if you’re out, walk away.
Don’t Drink when playing, I know it’s fun but you’ll start doing dumb things.
That’s about it, again you have to learn to play first. Go find one of those charts.
Good luck!
I wrote this on my iPhone, so if it needs editing I’ll fix it when I get home.
** update 9/26
Another $50 this morning, that’s 3 days in a row.
