I greeted 2010 by upgrading my web server hosting this site and blogs.
Apple‘s PowerMac had been my favorite platform since 2004. I had been hosting the site on my very own web server since I got hold of an Apple PowerMac G4 (466 Mhz) and broadband access.
Then, in early 2006, I upgraded to a PowerMac G5 (Dual 2.0 Ghz) after several months of penny-pinching and bringing my own lunch to work. Apple’s products are by no means cheap. With their elegant design and top-notch quality, Apple is the very best in personal computer technology.
In my honest estimation, since early 2004, these two (2), trusty servers had a downtime of, probably, only 30 days. Those were the days when I had to dust-out the internals & fans, upgrade the memory or video or, move their location around the house . These babies just keep on running & running.
Remember your first HP LaserJet? Those brutes just keep on printing since the early days of ‘desktop publishing’ until you get tired of them only because of aesthetic reasons. You hate to put those machines in the landfill. They are still working. Donate and recycle!
So, the PowerMac G5 is now my back-up server. Enter the Mac Pro Dual Quad.
Physically, it looks very much the same as the PowerMac G5’s anodized-aluminum case including the weight (about 40 lbs). But, did I notice that it’s now much sleeker & shinier?. Or, maybe, simply because it’s just a newer model?
It now sports two DVD drives – dual layer but no Blue-Ray capability here, a redesigned board which makes it easy to install hard drives (up to 4) or upgrade the video card & memory.
Upgradeable parts, basically, are on sleds now. Slide out, upgrade, then slide back in.
The installed video card has a dual-link DVI port & a new Mini DisplayPort (a smaller reincarnation of their ADC port). And, of course, there are more USB & FireWire ports.
Simple yet elegant. That’s Apple for the rest of us.
But, I have to bring my own lunch to work…again. Everyday.
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