Project - MacBook Upgrade, Part 1 of 2

I love my MacBook but it is getting slightly old so I decided that it is time to think about upgrading. The hard drive is filling up, the RAM is almost always full and the operating system is a version behind. This post lays out my objectives over the coming months to bring my MacBook up-to-date in terms of usability with an eye on judicious spending.

Component: Operating System
Analysis: I currently have Mac OS X 10.4, aka Tiger. The current version of OS X is 10.5, called Leopard. As the computer gets older the chance for disk failure becomes more pronounced. As the main hub for media and documents it is vital to keep the data backed up regularly. While the monthly backups through rsync work it would be more convenient to move to Leopard's "Time Machine" application which would include the ability to make iterative backups for modified files. Also, certain applications no longer support upgrades for my current version of OS X as they move to Leopard. There are also a notable number of improvements in Leopard that would make it a beneficial upgrade, such as Spaces, a new Finder (finally) and upgrades to iPhoto and iMovie. As the the next version of OS X will be coming out in September, called Snow Leopard, it may be beneficial to wait; otherwise I would only have the current version for about two months.
Goal: Upgrade to current version to increase OS stability and make my computer compatible with new/updated applications
When: Pending release of Snow Leopard
Budget: $130
Actual Total Cost: TBD
Item: Snow Leopard Mac OS X 10.6
Result: TBD

Component: Memory
Analysis: With two users 1GB of RAM is not really enough. The computer too often presents us with a "beach ball" while it takes time to free up RAM. This slows us down and is annoying.
Goal: Install enough RAM for everyday usage so that no slowdowns are experienced; 2GB should do it.
When: Immediately. No known dependencies.
Budget: $75
Actual Total Cost: $33.65 (cheap! why didn't I do this earlier?)
Item: 1GBx2, 200-pin SODIMM
Result: Success. Works as expected. No slowdowns since install.

Component: Hard Drive
Analysis: With copious quantities of pictures, movies and music our 120GB hard drive is filling up fast. Also, a slightly faster hard drive would be appreciated. However, we still need to keep an eye on power usage and heat generation. Tom's Hardware had a great article about choosing a notebook hard drive recently and I used that as a large part of my research to find a suitable drive. Note: I can't believe how far hard drive prices have fallen. It used to be $1/GB, now it is in the range of 17¢/GB, even for a 2.5" drive. Wow.
Goal: Upgrade hard drive to accommodate for current and potential storage needs. Drive capacity above 250GB recommended but open to larger drives if a good deal is found.
When: Purchased item but install pending release of Snow Leopard for convenience.
Budget: $75
Actual Total Cost: $84.99 (though, perhaps I should have waited until the dependency is met to see if the price would have come down even more)
Item: Toshiba 500GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache (I admit it might be overkill, and I went over budget)
Result: TBD

Component: Backup Hard Drive
Analysis: I currently have a 500GB external hard drive I assembled from a hard drive and enclosure procured from NewEgg.com but it is currently being used as a backup for my desktop computers. As my desktops hold more information than my laptop it would be convenient to requisition the 500GB for my MacBook which will match it's future drive capacity. This will also afford me to opportunity to replace the exteral hard drive with one more suited for desktop backups, such as a 1TB* hard drive(!). I smile every time I say the word terabyte*.
Goal: Replace current drive with a 1TB* version
When: Immediate
Budget: $150
Actual Total Cost: $99.99 hard drive + $19.99 enclosure = $119.98
Items: Western Digital 1TB* 7200 RPM 32MB Cache installed in a Rosewill 3.5" Black USB 2.0 External Enclosure
Result: Success. Works so well for the price that my brother also ordered one.

That ought to do it. The current total projected cost of the MacBook upgrade project is $375. I will provide an update in September.

* /smile

New Search Engine on the Prowl

Just this week a new search engine was launched into the public space. Instead of focusing on getting you to other places on the web a la Google, it takes questions and gives you answers. Pretty amazing really. You can watch the introductory screencast to learn more about the search engine and what it is capable of performing. Or, simply go to wolframalpha.com to try out a question of your own.

Keyboard in the Dishwasher, Round 3

Just wanted to note that I tested washing a keyboard in the dishwasher again. This time with a Dell keyboard like this one:

The result was a success, which is even more impressive considering that it was washed after having soda accidentally spilled on it. However, certain keys were still not clean and I ended up cleaning the keyboard manually.

Therefore, having tested three times and having three successful attempts I can say that washing a keyboard in the dishwasher seems to work. However, I would recommend against doing for three primary reasons. First, it might not work (keyboards weren't made for the high heat of dishwashers). Second, it takes a week to dry making the endeavor time intensive, albeit, practically labor free. Last but not least, the result is questionable at best. On all three keyboards grimy residue was still leftover. For best results how about using isopropyl alcohol (aka rubbing alcohol) and a q-tip? Alternatively, one could just pop all the keys off and put them in a soapy concoction. Nevertheless, if you come across a dirty, smoke laden keyboard, feel free to drop it in the dishwasher, after all, it can't hurt.

RE: Keyboard in the Dishwasher, Round 2

So, borne out of a stubbornness to keep testing, I took my keyboard to work and tried to plug it in on Monday. Unsurprisingly, the dead keys still didn't work. However, I kept the keyboard, hoping that maybe a few more days would magically set things right. At this point, I had basically given up all hope of a comeback but I was loathe just to throw the keyboard away because I had grown familiar with its distinctive layout and ergonomic comfort. Yesterday, out of an incapacity to admit defeat, I plugged the keyboard in again and, completely unexpectedly, it worked! All the keys are functional again.

I hadn't really expected it to work again since I hadn't let the keyboard fully dry. I was afraid that I had permanently damaged the keyboard by shorting out crucial, electronic components. Since the keyboard is working now I would surmise that there must have been moisture acting as a conduit between circuits and throwing off the output. So, let this be a lesson to you if you try to wash your keyboard in the dishwasher; give it plenty of time to dry. I'd recommend waiting at least five days to be safe.

Keyboard in the Dishwasher, Round 2

As I was leaving work this past Friday, I looked at my keyboard and noticed how dirty it was. So I took it home and put it in the dishwasher (again skipping the heat/dry cycle). This cleaned the keyboard wonderfully, as you can see from the before and after pictures posted below.

Before Overview:


Before Detail:


After Overview:


After Detail:

From Keyboard Cleaning

So, the keyboard was washed Friday evening, taken out of the dishwasher Saturday morning and left to dry until today, Monday evening. The keyboard looked completely dry yesterday so I ventured to try it out. I hooked it up to my computer and typed a test line and this is what came out: "The quck brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs." Uh oh. The "i" wasn't working. After more experimentation I found that neither was the comma, Scroll Lock, or the delete button on the number pad. Curiously enough, however, all the other keys are in working order. Hmm, so with one test successful and one not, that leaves us with an unacceptable 50% keyboard casualty rate.

So what was different this time? Besides using a keyboard I hadn't found in a dumpster, I noted two alterations of the test methodology that may have had an impact on the final result. First, this time I left the keyboard in the dishwasher over night whereas I pulled the other one out as soon as the wash cycle was finished. And second, I optimistically tried to use the computer after only 2.5 days of drying. Last time I let the keyboard dry for 5 days.

In conclusion, I'd be willing to try again the experiment again, with a longer drying period, on another keyboard, but certainly not one I need. As the old saying goes, once bitten, twice shy. As you've read this, is there anything that stands out to you as a factor I could have missed or a variable I should have better controlled? Anyone else have a story to share about cleaning keyboards in the dishwasher?

Cleaning a Keyboard in the Dishwasher Experiment

A friend of mine recently gave me an old ergonomic keyboard. I was excited about this because I wanted to take it to work as a more comfortable replacement for a standard keyboard. It was dirty so I cleaned it with a cloth and ever so light use of Windex. It turned out fairly well but there are still some minor dirt stains. It looks a lot better so the end result was not bad. It took me a lot of time to clean it though so I started looking for a faster way. Online searches for "cleaning keyboard" brought up one interesting method, putting the keyboard in the dishwasher, which I thought was interesting, but I wasn't willing to try it with any of my current keyboards because, one, they are already clean because I take good care of them and, two, I don't want to risk losing a keyboard because the ones I have are quite nice. Coincidentally, as I was taking out the trash one day, I found a keyboard in the dumpster (in plain sight, on the top, within easy reach for those of you wondering). It was an older, standard, Dell keyboard that smelled like smoke. In other words, a perfect candidate; it was caked with grime and expendable. The first test was to see if it worked. I hooked it up to a computer and typed out "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs." a couple times and tested the number and symbol keys. Everything worked, even the special buttons like "Sleep". But, wow, was it dirty:

Perhaps not the worst I've ever seen, but so bad I wouldn't use it.

Then I put it in the dishwasher, top rack, with the end cycle dryer heat off because I heard that was optimal:


Afterward, I took it out, dripping wet, and set it to dry:

Note the whitish colored spots on the cord to the left of the image. After drying, they disappeared. Ideas on what that was?

Already it looked a lot cleaner:


I waited about a week, having turned the keyboard on a different edge every day. After letting it dry, it looked even better and the smoke smell was totally gone:

From Keyboard Cleaning

I plugged it into a computer and the lights flashed. I did the same test with all the keys, including the "Sleep" button and it worked!

So the experiment was successful, washing keyboards in the dishwasher gets the keyboard pretty clean, but not completely. I don't know if you can see from the pictures, but there is still some grime left on some of the sides of the keys and underneath, so it still required a gentle, personal touch to get it to 100% clean, but the dishwasher did most of the work.

The question I'm left with, however, is would I put my own keyboards through the dishwasher? I am leaning towards no. The difference is like taking your car to an automated car wash versus washing and drying it by hand and I like the result of the latter. If you have tried or are thinking about cleaning your keyboard in the dishwasher or have any other thoughts to share, please comment below, I'd love to hear from you.

RE: Downgrading Bandwidth

I don't know if I can take it anymore. It takes four hours to rent an iTunes movie. An average movie is 1.4GB so that means, using the standard d/t = s formula, (1.4GB * 1024MB * 1024KB) / (4hours * 60minutes * 60seconds) = 101.94 kbps. And folks, that's not good enough, at least not when it took us only 45 minutes to download a movie before the downgrade. Using the same formula, you can easily see that (1.4GB * 1024MB * 1024KB) / (20minutes * 60seconds) = 543.71kbps. That means our current download speed is (543.71old / 101.94current) 5.33 slower than what it used to be.

Hmm, while I'm stewing it might do me good to remember that I came from a dial-up connection where downloading a 1.4GB movie would have taken, at a full 48kbps, 2.83 DAYS. So, yes, I should be grateful, grateful that I can afford the extra $14 (with fees) a month for a faster plan, which I will be upgrading to tomorrow.