OS X Kernel Panic

So, the grass is always greener. My new MacBook Pro has been having problems resuming from sleep on occasion. It is somehow less annoying then the Windows “Blue Screen of Death”, maybe because Apple is a little more stylish with their error message?

I made my first call into Apple’s technical supoprt Monday afternoon. One of the nice things about the way Apple handles their technical support calls is they give you an option to schedule a call back in lieu of waiting on the phone. Since this wasn’t a critical issue I opted for the call back on Tuesday morning at 9:15. This Tuesday, my phone rang promptly at 9:15AM, it was Apple. I was advised that a technical support represenative was waiting to assit me. After I pressed a button on my phone I was connected. The experience was pretty positive overall, while this is one of those issues that’s difficult to troubleshoot the tech made a valliant effort, although a little misguided in my opinion.

I attempted to re-create the issue I was expeirencing without success, and after the call I tried a few more times. I thought, maybe it was fixed. However Wednesday afternoon (yesterday) I received the same error. Last Night, while working on a report, I was greeted with the Update icon jumping in my dock letting me know there were updates available. Sure enough, new Apple EFI updates for reliability and sleep issues. Awwww yeah. Applied it last night, and let her go into sleep mode. This morning, resumed with out a hitch, maybe that was the fix? We’ll see… In any event, here are the deatils from MacWorld on the release of the patches.

Apple on Wednesday released updates for its newest line of notebooks. Separate downloads are available for the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air computers.

The MacBook Pro 15-inch SMC Firmware Update 1.2, MacBook SMC Firmware Update 1.2, and MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update 1.1 all address the same issues. The update improves the sensing and accuracy of the MagSafe Power Adapter indicator light, and the battery charge indicator lights.

MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.6, MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 1.1, and MacBook EFI Firmware Update 1.3 all fix several issues to improve the stability of the MacBooks.

The proper update for your machine will automatically show up in the software update mechanism when it’s run. You can also visit Apple’s download section and choose your update.

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Apple In-Ear Headphones

I’ve always found the stock iPod/iPhone ear buds to be amazingly uncomfortable, they’ve always sounded great but I could never stand to wear them. The diamater seemed a bit on the large size and I had to shoehorn them into my ear canal. Like much of Apple’s design, despite complaints they continuted to manufacture them that way for years (much like the “we don’t need to mouse buttons” argument). It’s refreshing to see them correct some of these flaws.

I already invested in a Shure headset for the iPhone (really awesome set and good quality) so I probably won’t get to try the new Apple headset out, however I’ll update if I find any reviews out there.

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OS Market Share

Computer World has an article that illustrates the shift of clients moving away from the Microsoft Windows platform while Apple’s OS X has gained a considerable amount at %0.66 (8% total market share). And, ccoincidentally, I should be running OS X full-time before the end of today. Woohoo!

OS market share data is available at hitlink’s site.

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via Engadget

Few have been spared the satire of Matt Groening’s long running animated sitcom. Last night, The Simpsons took on Apple, or uh, Mapple for a full 6 minutes of lampoonery — a pretty harsh ride at a two-joke per minute pace. It all starts when the Springfield mall gets its very own Mapple store, “it’s so sterile,” gasps Lisa upon entering. Perhaps the best exchange comes from Bart’s dubbing of a Steve Mobs’ product announcement in front of a crowd of gaping nerds, “You think you’re cool because you buy a $500 phone with a picture of a fruit on it. Well guess what? They cost 8 bucks to make and I pee on every one!” A Mapple store employee then angrily responds, “Who dares question the boss we fired 10 years ago and then brought back!” Yuk yuk.

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