Additional Gigabit Ethernet ports for your Mac

Posted on February 2, 2013 by Vahan

If you need additional Gigabit Ethernet ports for your Mac, there are several options depending on what accessory ports you have on your Mac. If you have one of the latest models with Thunderbolt ports, you can use the Apple’s own Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet adapter.

However, if your Thunderbolt ports are used up for devices that do not support Thunderbolt daisy chaining, you can go with a USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet adapter from StarTech. Requiring an additional driver installation, this adapter is also backwards compatible with USB 2.0 ports too, but your real network throughput will be limited to 480Mbps due to USB 2.0 standard bandwidth limitation.

Alternate “Retina” display for $500

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Vahan

Nixeus WQHD 27″ S-IPS Ultra High Resolution 2560×1440 PC/MAC Monitor NX-VUE27 is on sale on Amazon for $474.99, a whopping $225.00 (32%) off the list price.

This jewel sports some exclusive feats that make it a great alternative choice if you don’t feel like buying an Apple 27″ Cinema Display for $994.00 (saving you almost $500 in the process):

27″ S-IPS 2560 x 1440 LED Backlight Display Monitor
Supports Up To 16.7 Million True Colors with 102% sRGB Color Gamut
Supported Inputs: HDMI 1.4a, Display Port 1.2, Dual Link DVI-D, VGA (D-Sub)
16:9 Aspect Ratio, 6ms Response Time (Grey to Grey), 60Hz Refresh Rate, Brightness 380 cd/m2, Contrast Ratio 1500:1 (100,000:1 DCR)
Hight Adjustable Base Stand with Tilt Forward/Backward by 15° and 90° Pivot for portrait mode.

So, pay the premium or spend that money somewhere else?

I’d pick the latter option and buy a 2Tb Time Capsule + AppleTV Gen 3 with the saved money instead…

iPhone 5 cases, September 2012

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Vahan

Apple’s iPhone 5 is out, and it’s time to go shopping for the protective cases for it.

Here is my selection that I think have a decent look:

Seidio CSK3IPH5-BK Active Case for Apple iPhone 5

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Building an Ivy Bridge Hackintosh with Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H and Intel i7-3770k

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Vahan

With Ivy Bridge based Apple computers and OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion out, it’s time to build an Ivy Bridge Hackintosh! Below is my walkthrough for building a capable workstation that can run both Windows and OS X. But first, meet the components of this build: