Got the Canadian Android 3.2 wifi OTA update last night, downloaded the package over wifi, then the tablet put itself into a restart loop.

• Restart
• Gets into recovery mode
• Shows Android with the exclamation mark
• Loop

First thought to mind, f##k, bricked it. Took the SD card out, and everything updated fine.

Alright, off to the Apple Store I go, this time I am armed with my MacBook Pro with an empty drive, I managed to copy everything to my backup drive. I will see how everything goes.Got to the Apple Store, and Alex P. helped again, I told him what I did and the symptoms the computer experienced. So he took over, plugged in the Ethernet cable so that the computer can boot over the network.

He tried:

• Visually verify the hardware to see if anything was wrong, and it seems that everything was working
• Install 10.7.2 from the network, which failed on xar_verify
• Install 10.7.2 from the USB key, which failed on var_verify
• Install 10.7.2 from the network, with Apple’s own ram, which failed on var_verify
• Install 10.7.2 from the USB key, with Apple’s own ram, which failed on var_verify

At this point, he said that it is probably a logic board issue, and that the next step would be taking one stick of ram out and test the system, but then again, even if that was the case, the logic board would still have to be replaced, thus more down time for me.

To which I suggested that he replace the machine with a new machine with the same specifications. He thought about it, and agreed to it, since I have already wasted over 5 hours of my time sitting at the bar (it would have been better if they served alcohol.) He asked me about the specs of my old machine, and then told me that since that my old machine is not being produced anymore, I would get a replacement of the same specs but a newer version, so I’m not going to object to that.

My old MacBook Pro was the mid 2009 version with the product code “MC118LL/A” with spec:

• 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM; supports up to 8GB
• 250GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory

Was replaced with the late 2011 version with the product code “MD318LL/A” with spec:

• 2.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
• 4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM; supports up to 8GB
• 500GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm
• Intel HD Graphics 30005 and AMD Radeon HD 6750M with automatic graphics switching

So not a bad replacement, however, now I do have to ask to get the power adapter replaced as well, since it is a 60W, and the new MacBook Pros comes with a 85W charger. Because the charger gets REALLY hot when in use.

I am also going to have to shop for a set of 8GB 1333mhz ram for the machine, since I am a ram hog with all my VMs running on the machine.

In detailed specs:

• Old MacBook Pro
• New MacBook Pro

Since I still have over 10 more months left on my Apple Care, I was offered to either transfer the existing 10 months to my new MacBook Pro, or get a refund, and then buy a new Apple Care for my new MacBook Pro.

All in all, Alex did what I wanted in the end, a new computer with the same specs. Now I have my machine up and running, still in the process of getting all my programs back. At least the money that I spent on my first MacBook Pro was well spent, despite it was a tidbit expensive. (The beauty of it all was that I got a free brand spanking new computer, as well as a free copy of 10.7 on my Apps account.)

So coming back to the bet, it was a memory/logic board/hardware issue!

MacBook Pro 2009
7,975,404 presses
589,880 clicks (not exact, tap to click is enabled)
269.33 miles traveled by the mouse

I brought home a new MacBookPro the other day (well yesterday) It had nothing but a clean install of 10.7.2, I installed Skype, and did a bit of video calling, to my surprise it was using over 300% of the CPU. Unless if it is solving the cure to cancer, that should not happen.

I tried multiple versions of the software, and they were all taking up the same amount of CPU cycles. f##king frustrating!

This was the before picture

This is the after picture:

The fix hack:

I realized that Skype uses peer to peer with supernode peers for call routing. I have a Rogers extreme connection, without a firewall, and my IP for the mac placed in the DMZ.

I enabled the Mac OSX Firewall, and disallowed incoming connections to Skype, so now I can video chat, and as well have the CPU stable at around 60% instead of 300+%

However, I noticed that Skype will automatically switch to HD Video when there is enough bandwidth, and there is no way to limit that, how f##king stupid. 1.2mbps video for an hour is 4.2 gigabytes. Imagine someone in a long distance relationship.

Anyhow, I use a Mac, and using ipfw I am able to limit the bandwidth used by Skype, thus it should not show HD videos anymore, and effectively also lowering the CPU temperature.

The two rules that limits my Skype to only use 70kilobyes per second. (246 megabytes/h)

ipfw pipe 55555 config bw 70KByte/s
ipfw add 55555 pipe 55555 src-port 5665 #the port Skype is using


Skype, What the f##k are you doing?

250%+ CPU usage with video calling?

I’m on a brand new MacBookPro with a i7 CPU, and Skype is making my computer hot enough to cook an egg. What the f##k is Skype doing? Can’t they hire people who can actually write code that won’t cause CPUs to melt?

Part 2 of my lemon Macbook Pro, part 1 is here

I took my computer to the Apple Store in Ottawa, a fellow named Alex P. helped me with the troubleshooting. According to him, it seems that the hardware is still working the way it is supposed to, which was somewhat a relief, however I feel there is still something odd going on.

What Alex did was, he plugged an Ethernet cable into my Mac so that it can PXE boot from a configured image from a backend server at the Apple Store.

They did:

• Stress test: everything passed
• Hardware test: everything passed
• Reset the ACL on my machine
• Replaced my charger, apparently it was broken, odd… (But reading the reviews here… thank god I have the Apple Care?)

However nothing worked.

Then he proceeded to install 10.7 onto my machine, however, at about 20 minutes mark, that failed as well, so now my machine is at a state of:
OSX 10.5, upgraded to OSX 10.6 (all minor version upgrades until 10.6.8), upgraded to 10.7 (all minor version upgrades until 10.7.2), partially downgraded to 10.7.

So now my computer is literally a random mix of 3 different operating systems. Jolly, at least Alex was able to get the machine into a more “stable” environment, and I was able to backup all my files. However the machines experienced a number of kernel panics near the end of my backup operation.

Then I wiped the drive hoping to do a clean install of 10.7 from a USB stick, however, that all went to hell, since the installer wasn’t able to xar_verify the BSD package. (Memory issue?) So now I have a machine, with an empty drive, jolly! Well at least I was able to recover all my files with relative ease (Although I had to delete Starcraft II and WoW since they were taking up 40+ gigabytes of space)

What really befuddled me was how to purchase 10.7 onto my Apple Apps account, since I already have 10.7 installed on my machine, and to my surprise, Apple Store’s employee told me that I had to install 10.6, then purchase the App, and wipe, and install 10.7. Or I can dish out 2 times the amount and get 10.7 on a USB stick.

Yes I understand that MacBook Air does not have a DVD drive, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the MacBook Pro users should suffer as well. I even offered to pay 29.99+ tax and just for them to add the bloody app onto my account. Nope, they can’t do it.

So rather wasting my time installing an older version of the OS so that I can have the latest version, I’m just going to torrent 10.7 and make my own bloody USB installation stick. For a low low price of a 8 gigabyte USB stick. Apple, I am throwing money at you, and you say no because of your stupid distribution method.

Time to head back to the Apple Store and do a clean install. So I wonder if it will succeed this time, and if it will be stable or not, not having a computer pisses me off. I *hope* this is the last time I have to go back to the Apple Store, next time, I am demanding for a new hardware.

PS: When a customer ask you what “segfault” is, try to explain it as a program trying to access a region of memory that the OS has not allocated to the program, (or in the worst case, even the OS can’t access, ie, invalid address), rather than a “memory issue”.

I am willing to bet a lot of money that it is a memory problem.

Today I brought a Macbook Pro 2009 edition in late to replace my broken Dell laptop. As well as an Apple Care warranty for my MacBook Pro (and the 10.6 upgrade DVD). I brought these items to my University campus, which is an authorized Apple dealer and service centre.

Everything started out great, (took a bit to switch to OSX from Windows, but eventually I removed Windows from Bootcamp) However, the problems began to surface…

1. The Superdrive failed to read my disks. Instead, it spun up and down and refused to either read or simply reject my disk, I took it to the campus service dealer to get it fixed. (Not a problem, 1 day downtime and he replaced the drive and the cable.)
2. Then my system management controller started acting up. My battery would not charge even after I had plugged my charger in. The light would be very dim and I was to forced to re-align, plug and unplug the magnetic connector to ensure that it turned a solid green. This happened even when I had made sure there wasn’t anything foreign in the ports. Soon after, I took the computer back to the service agent and let him to take a look at the problem. He suspected that it was a logic board issue, along with the system management controller which needed to be reset. He suggested he take my Mac in for 2 days to see what the problems were. That was fine. After waiting 2 days, everything seemed to be working just fine, however, this only lasted a few short weeks. Of course the problems started arising as suspected.
3. The technician at my university’s authorized campus dealer also mentioned that my charger was not right and that I had somehow “switched my charger with someone”, not sure how you can switch with someone. I guess it happens more often then I think what with everyone using Apple products. I guess it was a little surprising since I am usually very careful with my computer, and I am pretty confident that my 2009 (now ancient in the Apple world) charger would not get mixed up with another charger. As time went on, I noticed that my charger would get really hot. Hot enough that I felt as if I cracked an egg on it, I could have breakfast in a few short seconds. I tried my friend’s Macbook Pro charger (2011 edition), however, with it were a lot of unwanted white noises that blared into the headphones, which I cannot say I had been expecting.
4. I went back to the service agent and upgraded to 8GB (for a cost of course), for the sole purpose of completing a school project that required a lot more memory than what I had. (CS349 UI class, Host > VM > Eclipse + Android VM, just imagine the memory usage…)
5. Now the king of all problems I faced, the problem that rendered my mac to a very expensive paper weight:
   • I turned on my computer, logged in, and Finder suddenly crashed. Absolutely nothing was displayed, no icon was presented, no wallpaper, no dock. No response to my keyboard. Nothing.
   • I turned on my computer for a second time, logged in again, everything started out “fine”, opened up an application. Of course, the application crashed, as well as Finder. Then I received no response from my keyboard. Wonderful.
   • Pretty much anything I did from that point forward, Finder and everything else would crash. Seems realistic doesn’t it? I mean turning on the computer does take a lot out of a computer and can leave it useless, right?

So now my overpriced MacBook Pro is a very expensive piece of CNCed aluminum door stopper, and I have been getting by on my Android Tablet. I love the irony there.

I booted into the system recovery menu, repaired, verified my disk, and as well as fixed the permissions. Everything is fine there.

One thing I did notice is that all the crash results is generated by the SIGSEGV, so something somewhere is causing all my applications and Finder to segmentation fault. (Hint 1, memory, logic board issue)

I also created a new user account to see if it was my user account’s fault, nope, same behavior across the board. (hint 2, that it probably wasn’t a software issue)

It is kinda upsetting, I purchased a Macbook Pro believing that it was better than other laptops, because I am paying a premium for it. As a poor university student I was hoping to have the computer last me until the end of my university career. I have always defended my purchase whenever people bashed Apple for their expensive hardware, but this time it is just plain upsetting, I have upcoming exams that I need to study for, and all my stuff is on my computer. (I really can’t afford to have downtime with it)

I know that you get a sour grape from every batch of sweet grapes. I am going to the Ottawa Apple Store today to see what they can do about my computer. Hopefully, they can either:

• Fix it, and have my data intact
• Give me a new computer of the same specs, and somehow give me all my files back from my hard drive.
• Little or no downtime for me as possible

The most optimal solution would be: For them to give me a working computer of the same specs, and give/sell me the old computer’s hard drive, so that I can copy all my files over. Otherwise I will lose massive amount of time, and have a lot of downtime on my hands.

I talked to my girlfriend about it, shes having issues with her 2011 13 inch Macbook Pro as well. Her Mac’s USB ports wouldn’t work, and it is the second time that Apple has replaced the entire machine, so she lost all her files twice…. and had to go back to backups.

I will keep a post of what happens today, if the Apple Store doesn’t solve my problem, I am going to write to the district Apple Manager, and switch back to Windows, and will in the future to tell my friends to not get Apples. (I was on the verge of becoming a dedicated Apple user until last night. 1 Macbook Pro, 1 Mac Mini, 1 Apple TV, iPhone) Because come and think about it, for the price of a Mac, I could get 2 non Apple hardware and have a backup in case of emergencies like this.

I have posted my issues on the forums at macrumors.com, surprising, and sadly, someone said:

If you’re an attractive female, then you will probably just get a new computer, though.

I honestly hope that isn’t true.

My university, is switching their Learning Management System from Angel Learning to Desire2Learn. This should be an interesting change, I am going to have a lot of fun next term with trying out Desire2Learn’s Learning Management System. (Hi D2L, kinda sad that you didn’t even rank me for one of the interviews that I did with you guys, I’m going to have fun breaking and exploiting, sorry I meant exploring your web application this term.)

What do you think when you see messages like: “This is not a supported browser. The supported browsers are Internet Explorer 7 or 8, and Firefox 2 or 3.”

Update: Today I realized that firefox 7.0.1 is released.

To me, that indicates the signs of a s##tty web application. I have been a web application developer working for companies and myself for 6 years now. You see s##tty websites when you see:

• iframes (as layouts), user refreshes and lose their navigation because of iframes. (ACE)
• New browser compatibility, Angel’s LMS makes me want to install Windows 98 on my computer so that I can use their mailing system. (Ace)
• JavaScript postback, try open js postback links in multiple tabs. (JobMine)
• Ajax navigation in general, it sucks, it breaks the forward, backward, and refresh button. (JobMine)
• Disable JavaScript and nothing works, yes in this day and age most people have JS enabled, but there are still those Power Users that prefers to disable JS.

Update: While UWACE sucked, but at least they have the UI and work flow right. D2L is just terrible. I actually misses UWACE, it was stupid, but it was simple and worked without gimmick.

So in the next 2 years, I will have a chance to get a Green Card or US Permanent Resident. I am in a bit of headache as what I should do.

If I accept, it will mean that I will actually have to **move** to the States and live in the States.

If I don’t, life goes on as usual. Riding dog slides to work, and sleep in my igloo after work.

If I decide to live in Canada, I can always apply for GC in the future, but if I do accept it, then it will make the path of becoming a USC much faster.

Thank God Buffalo is 2 hours away from Canada, bring on the Nexus card. :)

The worst part, if I do hold dual citizenship, and work in Canada then I will have to file 2 bloody income taxes, since, IRS expects “Worldwide income” to be filed.

Greencard

It is that time of the year again, I just want to remind everyone to donate to the local Food Bank.

It doesn’t have to be much, I don’t earn much, but I usually pick up a prepackaged Food Bank donation at the local grocery store every pay check. It is not much, but it sure will allow those in need to have a full stomach during this Christmas season. It is always nice to have food on the table, so why not help out someone in need?

Or if money is tight, why not spend an afternoon volunteer at your local Food Bank?

Really Apple? Google sync will be turned off because my contacts can’t be synced at the same time by two different services? Which idiot designed that? Sorry Apple. But Google wins this round.