My current main desktop system was a 4 year-old iMac 23-inch, running Mountain Lion since it was the only OS which can connect to my P1 dongle for internet connection. Not ideal, but that was the best I could do in Gombak.
At the apartment, I have a 30Mb fibre connection and it seemed that all the bandwidth being utilised only on iPad and Mac Book was rather a waste. I decided to get a new desktop permanently stationed at the apartment. I thought about a new iMac, but I decided to go a step further than that. A system which could easily last me for another 4 years.
Walla, I ordered the Mac Pro and I received the delivery last week. I spent the time since then tweaking the peripherals and decided on which monitor to use. The main one was easy, I also ordered an Apple Thunderbolt display which also served as the main speakers, camera and microphone. I got a second similar-sized monitor from Dell. And I also installed a third monitor in the form of a Wacom Cintiq tablet. That provide touch interface for photo editing as well as an input mode for the whole system if needed. The dual graphics card system sorted the resolution out with minimal effort.
I also installed Parallels for running Windows 7 concurrently. No issues. I could run Windows on one screen while keeping Mavericks on the other monitor. And I was able to play games at maximum resolution and setting on the Windows part.
I also bought a Thunderbolt WD external hard drive connected to the Mac Pro. The on board SSD was only 256 Gb, hence I save space by using the external drive for my Aperture and iPhoto library. The 10Gb/sec transfer time meant that there was no lag even when I opened the photo for editing on Photoshop. I decided against wifi storage mainly for speed. When I have time, I might dabble into video editing - in 4K maybe.
A lot to discover still with the new system and it would take a while before I realise the real potential, as only a handful of the current crop of apps were able to utilise more than couple of processor cores, 64 bit operation and dual graphic processor. The system was no slouch ….
So far, I have yet to encounter any hardware issues with the system. I might add on more memories to the system in the future, but that would be about it.
Thursday, May 1, 2014 at 12:32PM 
Moyes Out
Even though the news was finally out, it was still hard to swallow. United was not your typical sacking club but at the end of the day, results on the pitch and the money men had spoken. Moyes was given the marching order.
As a fan, I had always stayed loyal to players who came to United, didn't quite hit the mark and left. Some of them went into obscurity, while others - like Forlan, Rossi in particular - moved on to greater things. But I wasn't sure if the same applied when it came to the manager?
I have always been a fan of David Moyes when he was the manager at Preston North End in the 90s. He was young and had a drive. He would have made a great assistant to Ferguson and would one day go on to replace the great man.
He did this, but via the wonderful job he did at Everton for 11 years. But his fate was sealed when he was schooled at his old stomping ground by his successor.
The fact that Roberto Martinez proved to be more than an able replacement at Goodison did not go unnoticed by the United hierarchy. Maybe, that kind of flair was what the Glazers craved in the first place. And by that very point, Ferguson choice on who to replace him was a flawed one.
Moyes did not endear himself by bringing in his own backroom staff to Old Traffic the day he checked in. Retaining some of the old guard would have helped in. Checking in late, on the 1st of July to this big job also meant that his pre-season was restricted.
To put it mildly, he did not plan his start well, and had been playing catch up ever since.
I felt that he should be given more time. The management thought otherwise. Maybe they wanted the new manager to be given time to plan for the next season. And as a result, Moyes had to leave, less than a year in the hot seat.
David Moyes had handled himself with dignity and I wished him the best for the future. The experience managing United would have been seen as a failure in his otherwise decent CV, but he could only learn from the experience. He was simply found out and didn't have the time or the opportunity to adapt.
Who would replace him? Well, I was sure that Mourinho had it written in his Chelsea contract that he would take on the customary stance of leaving the club straight after winning the Champions League. Maybe Chelsea would go on to become the European Champion and the Special One would end up in Manchester .... Watch this space ...