Life of Andrew

Replacing a MacBook Hard Drive

January 5, 2009 – 8:48 pm

My first-generation MacBook laptop had only one problem - its first generation 60 gig hard disk. Actually it used to have two problems, but I installed more memory in it ages ago. 60 gigs doesn’t go far in today’s world of movies and huge software packages, so I felt it was time to upgrade. One trip to the store and a $167 EFTPOS transaction later and I am the owner of a new 320 gig hard disk, which seems to be the current sweet spot for price vs. capacity for 2.5 inch drives.

Thankfully Apple have made the job of replacing a MacBook’s hard disk extremely easy, and they provide step by step instructions. All you need is a 10c coin, a Philips #1 screw driver, a piece of stiff card, and a secret tool not mentioned anywhere in the instructions!

The surprise turns out to be a manner of fastening of which I was hitherto unaware - a TORX screw. TORX screws are used to hold the metal shield surrounding the drive in place, with the screw heads slotting into the bay runners - these must be removed from the old drive to fit the shield to the new drive.

Luckily I happened to have a #1 TORX bit in my tool kit, but finding an unfamiliar screw while a $3000 computer lies in bits on the dinner table is not an experience I wish to repeat.

After replacing the drive, I booted from the Leopard install disk, ran the Disk Utility to format the drive and then restored my data from my Time Machine drive. The end result is that my computer is set up exactly the same way as it was before, except I now have 250 gigs of free space to play with. Much better.

Posted in Computer | 2 Comments »

See State Servers Serving State Services

December 16, 2008 – 7:34 pm

I did not know how seriously the government was taking the whole e.govt.nz thing. My brief reading of the site reveals that there is a lot of good thinking on display - it is important that government takes the lead (or at least doesn’t stuff up too badly) when it comes to implementing web standards and maintaining privacy. It is also nice to know that they practice what they preach, the government sites I regularly visit are clear and helpfully laid out. Even the IRD site is easy to navigate.

Of course, the main reason I am mentioning all this is that a brief exchange I had with an employee of The National Library of NZ is being used as an example of state servants responding to blog posts. I feel that I have contributed in my own small way to the advancement of e-government in New Zealand.

And if anyone in power is reading this - word around the bloggosphere is that a government subsidy on jellytip ice cream would further the e-government program. I’m just throwing it out there, the ball is in your court.

Posted in Culture | No Comments »

The Art of Diversion

December 13, 2008 – 2:07 pm

I am actually supposed to be doing some work at the moment, but as usual I need a diversion. You are probably in the same situation yourself - why else would you be reading this page?
Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Culture, Links | 4 Comments »

The Robocop Rap

December 12, 2008 – 6:21 pm

I like Robocop. I like it a lot. But not as much as this man, who sounds a bit like the guy from The Streets, but probably isn’t.

Super secret bonus: The Predator Rap

Posted in Culture | No Comments »

New Zealand Web Harvest 2008 Update

December 2, 2008 – 7:29 pm

A couple of months ago I wrote about the National Library’s New Zealand Web Harvest project and now they have released a short report on how it all went. I think this is a fantastic undertaking and I am looking forward to the full findings.

In additional NatLib news, they have started uploading some cool historically interesting photos to the The Commons photostream on flickr.

Posted in Culture | No Comments »