#HighSierra

Definitely a refinement. The system seemed to be running faster and the only problem we had was having to update the apps still incompatible with this new Mac OS.

The upgrading process was straightforward although it may depend with your internet bandwidth. Once the software were downloaded installation would take another 30 minutes and a couple of boot up after which everything should be up and running.

So far, I have yet to come across any major glitches. The apps, including my EVE Online game seemed to be running great. The old Aperture - which was rendered obsolete - was OK as well.

I have managed to get all the computers upgraded yesterday except for Anita's Mac Book. That may come later then. So far, so good.

The Replacement

So, it was finally here! The new MacBook Pro to replace my 5 year-old MacBook Pro. And the new unit will also be replacing my MacBook Air which was almost equally as old. The old MacBook Pro was still working and now it would be occupying the space on Idlan’s desk. A kind of a hand-me-down scheme!

The main drawback would be to get the dongles and connectors for the new laptop. That would be during the weekend after I decide on which connectors were needed. I already bought a mini-hub for starters. I would in the future need another charger for the office, one which connects to the projector for my presentations. I may also get myself a small mouse but at the moment it was kinda difficult to get a USB-C ones. A trip to Low Yat might just solve that!

The keyboard was actually better than I hoped. Reading from the reviews I thought it would be a major drawback. In fact, I thought I could type faster with it. It was kinda noisy though.

Enough for the early impressions. Time to take it for some proper test in the coming week ....

The Sixth Edition

I first started playing the Civilisation series during my first year in University. I remembered the network had the program installed and one just had to go out searching for a clean one to start playing. Failing that, I always had a copy of it in my bag but installing it could be a pain. It was fun times especially after my end of year exam while waiting to return home for the summer break.

Then came the second version - aptly called CIV 2 - which was even better. New instalments came every few years and about 5 years ago I remembered playing Civilisation IV on my Mac.

The creator if the series, Sid Meier had always been my favourite designer. It stemmed back from his 1988 release, Pirates! I remembered spending many weekends at home for break from MRSM enjoying it, sometime playing it through the night.

Then came Railroad Tycoon which I played while waiting for my SPM results and Colonization. Then came the spin-off Alpha Centauri which I played in between my calls as a Houseman in England. All were great franchises and I must say were my favourite games.

Civilisation VI was a big jump from the previous version. Very detailed and as result time-consuming. I have yet to complete a game. I spend a few hours last weekend after the instal exploring the game and it was huge! I wished that I have more spare time to play.Mayne in one of those spare weekend I could binge on it ….

El Capitan!

Apple makes major update to their main Operating System every year, and for the past few years, it came as a free update. It didn't use to be so before.

When Leopard was introduced, I remembered having a meet-up at an Apple shop in Great Eastern Mall when it was released. Since it was released at midnight an San Francisco, the shop were only able to hand the disc - yes, disc - to us at around 3 pm Malaysia time. And there was a group of about 20 of us turned up, having a quick drink and snack which the shop provided.

It used to be a big thing since Apple and Mac was not mainstream back then. That didn't stop me from staying up to watch the Apple keynote, something that Anita was wondering about until years later she learned who Steve Jobs was.

Time have moved on. Even the shop at Great Eastern Mall has since closed - although a new dealer came in recently. Nowadays, the OS is free and one just downloaded it through broadband.

6Gb was the size of the file and since today was the first day of the release of El Capitan, the server had been really slow. I left the download on when I left for work this morning and when I reached home, only 1.2 Gb was on my disc. It would probably be tomorrow morning before I would be ready for the install. Hopefully it would be worth the wait!

And we are good!

The Replacement

My Zeppelin Air has packed up in the last few months. We enquired about repairs, but the service available locally was pretty limited and it would take a couple of weeks to get feedback. To make matters worst, it was still using the old iPhone connector rather than lightning. It was of a previous generation.

We had been mulling over its replacement for quite some time. Initially I wanted to go with a Sonos system. It lacked AirPlay capability, and the sound coming from it was rather tinny to say the least. It needed a separate subwoofer for it to really sing.

I auditioned the Bose system last month, and was quite smitten. It was a wifi streaming system and it would suit our apartment nicely. There was also a satellite unit with a built-in rechargeable battery that can be placed anywhere in the apartment as long as it could be reached by a wifi network. That would be for Anita's use.

My children were not into music yet, but should they be, we just need to buy some new units and connect them into the network. It would be expandable.

Setting up was much easier than I thought, and once hooked up, it seemed to be pretty stable. Not much to tweak in terms of sound quality. The bass was really booming, and I would need to place it properly in the room. It filled up our main bedroom with music effortlessly, although the bass could be overwhelming in the expense of the midrange.