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MacBook on Willem's Blog

Offline Music

Streaming Music Alternative

July 17, 2022
People sometimes act suprised when I tell them about my music hobby, manually converting CD's to lossless audio files; there is some reason to this madness however!

Music has the universal power to move people. Different rhythms, emotions and vocals enable us to enjoy music very personally. Music is very close to my heart and I don't like anything to get in between. Therefore I don't rely on streaming music services, but manage my own offline music library.

Why Apple Silicon is a big deal

Blown away by a MacBook Air

Dec. 15, 2020
Never have I been so blown away as by the new MacBook Air with M1 processor. It is a big deal.

Apple now designs its own processors and I had a chance to work with the very latest from Cupertino: a brand new MacBook Air with M1 processor. Never ever have I been so blown away by a MacBook Air, pun intended. Let me share some thoughts why I think Apple Silicon is a big deal.

Building a professional 72TB NAS

Configuration and installation of an HPE ProLiant DL380 server

Nov. 22, 2019
This month I installed a professional HPE ProLiant DL380p server in a datacenter in Amsterdam, read this post to see how this was done!

Over the past few years I have been moving my data and work from local computers (mostly laptops) into the cloud. Cloud computing is done by servers in a datacenter, powerful computers that do the hard work. As my company grew, I needed more capacity. It was time to add some power to my cloud!

Saving a MacBook Air with exploded battery

Don’t try this at home - but I did

Sep. 14, 2017
Saving a MacBook Air with a swollen battery pack.

Last night I had a nasty surprise: my original MacBook Air was swollen due to an exploded battery. I immediately had to take action, for reasons of safety and to preserve this piece of modern computer history. Don’t try this at home, but if you do... read along for some practical tips.

Building the blog... in style!

Developing on a 20-year old computer with 16MB RAM and Windows 98

June 23, 2016
Find out if it is possible to turn a computer from the 90s into a modern development machine.

One must be a bit crazy to come up with the idea to build a blog (as in: actual programming) on an old 486 laptop with just 16MB RAM. I happen to be that crazy: I took my very first laptop from the 90s and decided to find out if it was possible to turn it into a development machine.

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iLO:
iLO: "sea of sensors" enabling an extensive remote insight in the server
My private concert hall: Shure SE846 earphones on the DreamDuet crystal cable, no need for active noise reduction as these earphones isolate perfectly
My private concert hall: Shure SE846 earphones on the DreamDuet crystal cable, no need for active noise reduction as these earphones isolate perfectly
Digitising CD's using iTunes running on an old MacBook Air
Digitising CD's using iTunes running on an old MacBook Air
I had to remove the original disk because it didn't work... or so I thought!
I had to remove the original disk because it didn't work... or so I thought!
Driving to the internet: visiting XS4ALL / KPN in Amsterdam
Driving to the internet: visiting XS4ALL / KPN in Amsterdam
Server (top left) connected to the computers on my desk (lower right) during installation inside my office
Server (top left) connected to the computers on my desk (lower right) during installation inside my office
Toshiba T2130CT laptop with a 75Mhz Intel 486 processor and a whopping 16MB RAM (that is megabytes!)
Toshiba T2130CT laptop with a 75Mhz Intel 486 processor and a whopping 16MB RAM (that is megabytes!)
Computers on my desk powering the installation from left to right: ThinkPad X1, iPad Pro and MacBook
Computers on my desk powering the installation from left to right: ThinkPad X1, iPad Pro and MacBook
Original iPod ad from 2005 - advertising pure emotion, not any technical specification
Original iPod ad from 2005 - advertising pure emotion, not any technical specification
The original MacBook Air: Groundbreaking due to its thinness and lack of ports
The original MacBook Air: Groundbreaking due to its thinness and lack of ports
MacBook connected to the server in the datacenter through VMWare ESXi - installing GRUB boot loader on a virtual Debian GNU/Linux server
MacBook connected to the server in the datacenter through VMWare ESXi - installing GRUB boot loader on a virtual Debian GNU/Linux server
Opening the MacBook Air is possible by removing the bottom lid.
Opening the MacBook Air is possible by removing the bottom lid.
The 486-development machine!
The 486-development machine!
The new M1 Apple Silicon in the MacBook Air blows me away
The new M1 Apple Silicon in the MacBook Air blows me away
Make sure to remember what screw went where...
Make sure to remember what screw went where...
This battery is dead.
This battery is dead.
HPE ProLiant DL380p server powered on, green lights indicate the drives are working, monitor is connected and showing the boot process
HPE ProLiant DL380p server powered on, green lights indicate the drives are working, monitor is connected and showing the boot process
Never thought I would be happy to see this: the Windows 98 boot screen!
Never thought I would be happy to see this: the Windows 98 boot screen!

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