![The 486-development machine!](/blog/2016-06-23_building-the-blog-in-style/images/i_04_The-486-development-machine_500px.jpg)
![The damage to the battery pack is clearly visible](/blog/2017-09-14_saving-a-macbook-air-with-exploded-battery/images/i_07_The-damage-to-the-battery-pack-is-clearly-visible_500px.jpg)
![iLO:](/blog/2019-11-22_building-a-professional-72tb-nas/images/i_06_iLO-sea-of-sensors-enabling-an-extensive-remote-insight-in-the-server_500px.jpg)
![Inside a HPE ProLiant DL380p Gen8 server (LFF)](/blog/2019-11-22_building-a-professional-72tb-nas/images/i_01_Inside-a-HPE-ProLiant-DL380p-Gen8-server-LFF_500px.jpg)
![The original MacBook Air: Groundbreaking due to its thinness and lack of ports](/blog/2017-09-14_saving-a-macbook-air-with-exploded-battery/images/i_01_The-original-MacBook-Air-Groundbreaking-due-to-its-thinness-and-lack-of-ports_500px.jpg)
![Never underestimate the bandwidth of a car with 72TB in its trunk (72TB in my Smart Roadster)](/blog/2019-11-22_building-a-professional-72tb-nas/images/i_08_Never-underestimate-the-bandwidth-of-a-car-with-72TB-in-its-trunk-72TB-in-my-Smart-Roadster_500px.jpg)
![The M1 processor is the first Apple Silicon available in a Mac](/blog/2020-12-15_why-apple-silicon-is-a-big-deal/images/i_00_The-M1-processor-is-the-first-Apple-Silicon-available-in-a-Mac_500px.jpg)
![MacBook acting as monitor and keyboard of the server](/blog/2019-11-22_building-a-professional-72tb-nas/images/i_05_MacBook-acting-as-monitor-and-keyboard-of-the-server_500px.jpg)
![Make sure to remember what screw went where...](/blog/2017-09-14_saving-a-macbook-air-with-exploded-battery/images/i_06_Make-sure-to-remember-what-screw-went-where_500px.jpg)
![... apparently it needed a little encouragement from its modern cousins...](/blog/2016-06-23_building-the-blog-in-style/images/i_02_apparently-it-needed-a-little-encouragement-from-its-modern-cousins_500px.jpg)
![Integrating chips inside the processor reduces the need to transfer data hence and forth to other (external) chips](/blog/2020-12-15_why-apple-silicon-is-a-big-deal/images/i_02_Integrating-chips-inside-the-processor-reduces-the-need-to-transfer-data-hence-and-forth-to-other-ex_500px.png)
![MacOS X correctly concluded that there are no batteries available, it works fine using a Power Adapter.](/blog/2017-09-14_saving-a-macbook-air-with-exploded-battery/images/i_13_MacOS-X-correctly-concluded-that-there-are-no-batteries-available-it-works-fine-using-a-Power-Adapte_500px.jpg)
![Toshiba T2130CT laptop with a 75Mhz Intel 486 processor and a whopping 16MB RAM (that is megabytes!)](/blog/2016-06-23_building-the-blog-in-style/images/i_00_Toshiba-T2130CT-laptop-with-a-75Mhz-Intel-486-processor-and-a-whopping-16MB-RAM-that-is-megabytes_500px.jpg)
![VIM running on the 486 through PuTTY](/blog/2016-06-23_building-the-blog-in-style/images/i_05_VIM-running-on-the-486-through-PuTTY_500px.jpg)
![Original iPod ad from 2005 - advertising pure emotion, not any technical specification](/blog/2022-07-17_offline-music/images/i_01_Original-iPod-ad-from-2005-advertising-pure-emotion-not-any-technical-specification_500px.jpg)
![Once removed the deformation in the battery pack is clearly visible](/blog/2017-09-14_saving-a-macbook-air-with-exploded-battery/images/i_10_Once-removed-the-deformation-in-the-battery-pack-is-clearly-visible_500px.jpg)
![The keyboard and casing is deformed](/blog/2017-09-14_saving-a-macbook-air-with-exploded-battery/images/i_03_The-keyboard-and-casing-is-deformed_500px.jpg)
![This laptop is not supposed to have a bobble...](/blog/2017-09-14_saving-a-macbook-air-with-exploded-battery/images/i_02_This-laptop-is-not-supposed-to-have-a-bobble_500px.jpg)
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.