Well today I was reading a NASA article on its recent speculation that their probe mentioned in the title has stopped working due to the very low temperatures of the martian winter. They will attempt contact using the Odyssey which is a satellite orbiting Mars.

The article also mentions that the probe lasted two months than its three month life expectancy. Space guards many secrets which are only made available to us by this technology that we send out, and since there are some restrictions on the technology we use, we cannot make it last as much as we hoped for. But 3 months life expectancy?

We need to work in other type of technology that can last longer and will have more functions (which would also include a bigger budget) in order to discover what other planets or even space have to offer. It is amazing though everything we learn from our environment.

Maybe mankind sees Mars as the next place to be at, but the Moon would be a more viable thing right now. Anyway, going back to the main subject, the Odyssey will do a couple orbits around Mars and try to see if the Phoenix probe is still working, if not, it will determine what functions are still operational and decisions will be made based on those results.

Here’s the link for that article:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/news/phoenix20100111.html

So… to make this interesting, I bought a Mac Mini like a week ago and I thought it would be nice to do a small DIY to help people that want to do this but are not sure how. Well here is what you will need:

1) Apple Mac Mini (duh!).
2) RAM modules to which you will upgrade.
3) Putty knife, you can get them at Home Depot from $1-6 dollars.
4) #00 Phillips screw driver, make sure its magnetized, trust me it WILL help.
5) Flashlight (it helps if the light from the room is not enough).

Attempt this at your own risk!! I had no problem with my installation since I have experience dealing with electronics and computer hardware, so if your not sure, have this upgrade done by a professional. Also make sure you discharge your static electricity on a ground source (i.e. window frame or door frames/knobs), if its possible use an anti-static wrist band.

Picture of all the material you will need:

First you need to insert the putty knife in between the outer cover and the inner cover. I didn’t take any pics for that step since I was too busy doing it, but if you see the picture above you’ll notice there is a separation between the vents and the edge of the case, well you will insert it in between there and gently but firmly pry the case open. Don’t be scared if you hear cracking noises, those are the clips being released. (Make sure you push the handle of the putty knife outwards from the cover in order to do it right).

This is how it should look like after you remove the top cover (image of a mid-2007 mini):

Ok, the next pic shows the area where you will see an antenna (green electronic board) that I have already removed… Its pretty simple just unclip it from below and remove the spring just so you wont lose it.

After removing the antenna, you have to remove 4 screws that are located in each corner of the computer, note that the front right screw is bigger than the rest, so remember where it goes so you can put it back later. Here are some pics:

Rear right screw:

Rear left screw:

Front left screw:

Front right screw (the bigger one):

After that, make sure you disconnect a little black connector that’s located in the front which connects the main fan to the motherboard. Then you’ll be able to lift the optical/hard drive assembly upwards, you gotta be careful with the small flex connector, so as you can see in the next pic, I used some books to lay the assembly on while i worked on the upgrade.

You can see the pic above that I already took out the RAM modules I just placed the used one on top so that you could see where they go. To remove the RAM its pretty simple, just push the tabs that hold them outwards, they should lift up in a diagonal and all you have to do is pull them out.

Close up to the old module:

To add the new RAM you pretty much have to align it properly, insert it in a diagonal and push down (make sure its all the way in before pushing down). Do those steps for the second module and you should be done. Now piece everything back together, I’m assuming you now know how to, if not, just do the above steps but in reverse.

That’s it for this DIY if you have questions or just want to give your opinion, leave a comment. Hope this easy DIY helps, and thanks for reading.

Yeah yeah, we know we havent really posted lately, but we’re preparing something nice for those people who want to be free phone-wise… so stay tuned because this week we will post something very useful…

Well today I was spacing out at work (yeah right) and thinking about how dependent humans around the globe have become to cellphones. I remember back in 2000 mobile phones weren’t that popular, you could go out of your house for a couple days without worrying about missing a call or being isolated from others you knew.

But now, it seems like most people cant go out of their house without their phones (I include myself). We use them for so many things nowadays like checking our e-mail, taking pictures, recording video and whatnot; these things that we didn’t need to do on the go before, are now necessary for some. Does anybody remember when we used to memorize the numbers of all of our friends and relatives? Now we rely on a device to tell us those couple digits, and we don’t even look at the number anymore, we just look for the name and click dial (touch for some of us).

Do you think this will impact human intelligence and ability to survive in the long run?

*Note: Feel free to post your thoughts on this matter in a comment.

Well, this is the second time it happens, and I think bugs just love sitting on electronic boards. This time it wasnt caught inside the machine, but outside of it. I dont know what it is exactly but it sure looks like a wasp thats just chillin’ while I do my job. I was just in time to take the picture right before it flew away and right before the owner of the company passed by. This image has been posted for entertainment purposes ONLY and its property of their respective owner(s) which identity will not be disclosed to protect their privacy.

A bug's life

Hey everybody (whoever reads this) LV Studios along with eNVy Comics will launch pretty soon a joint project, it will be a comic which you will be able to read here. All we can tell you so far is that it will be called “Crappa da Rappa”, and yes you kinda need to be a gansta (not really) to put the sentence toghether. Well, will post more info about this soon, stay put for more.

Welcome everyone to our new blog which will be used to publish updates made to the site, post progress on our projects or just for random chat. Feel free to sign up. Thanks.

LV Studios