Good news, better news and bad news

[thatcrazycajun]

The good news: I was able to get 2 GB of RAM installed in my Mac mini (a much more complex and risky operation than doing the same to my Dell laptop, as the mini is way harder to open and the RAM installed under the drive assembly), and both I and the mini survived the experience.

The better news: Gonzo the Unethical Bastard (not to be confused with that android from the recent DC Uncle Sam & the Freedom Fighters comic book miniseries) is gone! (See filkertom's page for more and a link.) Now if only Junior Bush can be persuaded for once to put integrity and competence above partisan loyalty in choosing the next AG (not that I'm holding out much hope for that happening; this is Junior, after all).

The bad news: the home DSL line crapped out again, for the second time this month. Likely cause: heavy thunderstorms Friday that downed some power/phone lines. Hoping like hell AT&T can fix it without having to drag me away from work for half a day (or more) waiting for their tech to visit my home. (Can't believe I'm an hourly-wage slave *again*, 22 years into my alleged career.) Grrr. Means I have to do all my Net stuff from outside the home again for the rest of this week at least, the weekend being a holiday one. Oh, well, given Dragon*Con, I was gonna be doing that pretty much the whole weekend anyhow...

UPDATE: Monday, 8:30 pm—After trying six times to call AT&T tech support and losing the connection repeatedly for stupid reasons (cordless phone battery crapped out, hit the wrong button, one tech calling back interrupting the next etc.), I finally managed to get a tech visit appointment for after 5 PM tomorrow. Now to get Comcast to come fix their likewise busted cable wiring...

Comments

[tollermom]

Yay for getting the RAM into the Mini! That _is_ a bit of a delicate task... hazards of making a box that small, I guess. And bummer about the DSL... I hope it's back up quickly!

[thatcrazycajun.livejournal.com]

It's not just that the box is so small; it's also that Apple deliberately made it next to impossible for end-users to open it easily. There are no screws, bolts or anything other than built-in plastic internal clips holding the lid on. (See macworld.com for articles explaining the opening process; it involves one and sometimes two putty knives, a lot of patience and good hand-eye coordination.) And of course, the warranty is voided the second you begin.

Makes me miss my poor old slow G3 Yosemite tower model, which had that lovely latched side panel you could open with your bare hands and several PCI daughtercard slots that let you do just about any internal upgrading you cared to (and I did; added more RAM, an internal modem, SCSI port and extra USB ports).