I was trying to install Debian with a newer version, but that was no success at all.

...ok
opening display /pci@0,f0000000/ATY.WhelkParent@10/ATY,Whelk_B@1 ... ok
copying OF device tree ... done
starting cpu /cpus/PowerPC,G5 ... failed: 00000000
Initializing fake screen: ATY,Whelk_A
Calling quiesce...
returning 0x01400000 from prom_init

…and then silence. Well, not completely, because the fans start blowing after some time… And they can get really loud indeed!

This weekend I was at my parents’, so no playing around with my Mac. Sunday me and my cousins went to Six Flags Holland. I really liked the Goliath which was so… different from what I had experienced before (and that is not much to be honest). It was my first non-Vekoma coaster and what a difference indeed!

Update: Actually, it wasn’t my first non-Vekoma, Big Thunder Mountain (Disneyland Paris) and Bobbaan (Efteling) are no Vekoma rides.

While Vekomas tend to rattle and shake, this one, of Intamin AG was smooth like a snake. Some nice > 90° banks and air time on the bunny hops.

Aw, well, I think Superman the Ride is also funny with its linear motor, but that is more because it is a technical challenge to get something heavy at a high speed in short time and on such a short track.

So, I’m having some problems with my machine, of which I’m not sure it is because of the machine or from external factors.

Firstly, the network is sometimes very unstable, I cannot even watch the AppleExpo keynote at 300kbps (I have a 10MBit connection) and (incoming) ssh connections also suffer from instability.

Secondly, the machine tends to overheat itself and then just go into suspend, of course only if I’m away.

Thirdly, it is a bit loud at night, so I can’t sleep with it on.

After playing around with OS X I must say, I’m impressed. It is something you need to get used to, because it just works a little bit different. For instance, I keep forgetting there is a menubar of the running program all at the top of the screen. Over to the design of the machine itself. The materials used are of very high quality. It is put together very well, everything fits exactly. I only have one single point of critic, the screws of the PCI slots are a bit hard to (un)screw; the frame is in the way.

I looked into the DVD/CD drive bay to look if it is just an ordinary drive, and it is, so you can just put any ATA drive in there.

Oh, and one other thing about the material, it is very prone to dirt ;-)

Well, here I am. Sitting at OS X on a very small screen (14”) and an even tinier resolution (832 x 624). I really need a bigger screen, this is not workable. But I have to for the time.

Yes! What no one ever expected (ahum) has happened. Today, extremely early (8:02), a mailman of TNT came to my parents house with a big box and a bag… Looks like I have to go home now, but I have to work a couple of hours first; my last workday, on Monday university is starting again.

All in all, the G5 made a very interesting route starting from Cork, via Arnhem, Eindhoven, Venray, back to Eindhoven, Rotterdam and only then it was in Breda… It probably was transported from Eindhoven to Rotterdam over the highway A58, which runs directly to Breda. So, once again it was very near its destination… Efficient driving and shortest path can’t be combined or at least not both at their maximum.

Well, I got an E-mail from Apple soothing me that everything still is ok, but that Venray is actually an Apple depot where they reorder all shippings for further shipment. Strangely enough, I get to see this and even worse, I don’t get any confirmation about what is happening. Others might freak out.

All in all, my G5 is still underway and probably will be delivered this week. It’s comforting to know the Macs get to see their makers one last time before they are let loose in the big bad world. They’ve tasted it a little bit on the rough flight from China to Ireland, rest there a bit in the comforting arms of their parents only to be sent on another journey that will take them deeper into Europe. There they will get one last meal and patting before they will meet their adoption parents who will embrace them with all their love they can give them…

Oooooh, Happy Thought!

Hmm, the TNT Consignment Tracker gives me some second thoughts... Although both the tracking number of the and the web order number match mine, the order was going to Venray... And is now even delivered at someone named 'V Leuken'!

At 23:18, the package checked in at the mail warehouse in Eindhoven, just about 500 meters away from my dorm room. Tomorrow, it will go to Breda and then in the evening back to Eindhoven by car…

It is so close and yet so far away!

Today, 8:22, my machine was checked into a TNT Hub in Arnhem. Looks like it going my way in one or two days.

A friend came with a site where I could get more information about my package than I get from Apple’s own tracking site. I can see there that it is already in Europe. Cork, Ireland to be exact. It might be handy for you too if you are ordering.

So my new Mac was due to ship on 20. August, two months after I placed the order like I wrote in the introduction. According to the tracking page, it has been picked up by TNT Express on 20. August. The big wait is finally coming to an end. IBM had some problems delivering enough G5 processors to Apple, so Apple had problems delivering Power Macs to its customers.