Rarch Tech

Start at the Apple Online Store

Laptops:

(Image Source: Apple.com)

• The White ‘Plastic’ MacBook: If you are a student and want to spend less, and may use the laptop roughly, then this one is for you. It’s polycarbonate shell can take the abuse and run Windows as well (all Intel Macs can).
• Unibody Aluminium MacBook Pro: So you think you are a Pro? Yes, then do the right thing; the budget is right and features are plenty. If you have enough bucks, you can soup up the laptop to your hearts content. The 13″ version has the right balance of power, grace and mobility.
• The MacBook Air: If you want to conserve your bio-fuel, and hate carrying any extra weight on your shoulders, then travel as light as the air, with the thinnest laptop in the town.

Desktops:

(Image Source: Apple.com)

• The All-in-One Wonder iMac: Desktop with 20″ and 24″ size ultra crisp LCD. Space saving design and all the features in a compact, elegant form factor. Think “a big MacBook Pro”. Can be upgraded up to 8GB Max RAM. The jump in RAM from 4GB to 8GB is still prohibitively expensive, but is bound to ease up in coming months.
• The Mac Mini: The entry level ‘headless’ desktop, for users with less intensive work loads. That said, some tech savvy users have deployed the Mini as a server as well. 4GB Max RAM and plenty of power to convince you to transition from a PC to a Mac for good.
• The Mac Pro: Calling it a Desktop is a just wrong! It’s the Best in Class Workstation!  Server Grade Hardware, starting from a single Quad core, all the way up to a Dual Quad Core (8 cores total), with 32GB RAM, 4 SATA drives that can be setup in RAID configuration, choice of multiple hi-end Graphics cards and optional fibre channel connectivity. If you are hungry for power and performance, nothing else will satiate you more.

If you are on a tight budget, here are your options:

1. Buy Refurbished directly from Apple. Do get Applecare!
2. If you have a Student ID, then go via your Institute’s Storefront to get a deal.
3. If you are a business or corporate, talk to the Business Team.
4. Check out other retailers for a Good Deal. (MacMall, MacConnection, Amazon, etc)

Collaboration within an Office or between multiple offices/parties is a Challenge.

Here are the pieces of the puzzle:

• Scheduling a meeting: Each person using different calendars, and needs to share availability and get notification about changes.
• Audio or video conference, and Room/space (Resource) availability.
• Sharing Documents, before or during the conference.
• Web based conferencing: for live presentations and white boarding.
• File sharing. Remote desktop access. Collaborative editing.

Calendaring is a big beast to tackle in any organization, specially if there are multiple sites and platforms involved.

Do you host it in house? Or use hosted services? Or use web based solutions?

Google has a great, free to try and use, calendaring solution for small businesses. Once setup for your organization, Google (Apps) can bring in much needed collaboration tools. Now, you can use any flavor web browser to use the services, irrespective of the OS platform. You can also use it on many handheld devices as well.

The challenge comes in when you try and integrate it into your existing desktop applications like Outlook, iCal, Sunbird etc.

Need Help? Email or Call me:

I love playing with Hardware, be it Computers, Electronics, Gadgets, Power Tools, etc…

To have a good experience with anything that you hold and work with, it’s design plays a crucial role.

Why is Design important? Here’s why Apple’s stock is rising:

Apple’s Design Mantra: “Really good ideas wrapped up in other really good ideas”;
…in other words, great software in fabulous hardware in beautiful packaging. (Source)

My tested Intranet platforms of choice:

A. Wiki based systems

1. Twiki
2. Mediawiki
3. Dekiwiki from Mindtouch

B. Portal systems

1. SocialText
2. Liferay portal
3. Jive

HINT: Checkout our Marketplace !

Spec 1: Apple Mac Pro

• Intel Quad Core Processor (Single/Dual)
• 8-12 GB RAM (FB-Fully Buffered)
• 512 MB Dedicated Video Card
• Vista 64 Bit OS (running via Bootcamp)
• Revit 2009 (64 bit)

Spec 2: Dell Precision 390 (Older spec)

• Intel Dual Core Processor
• 4 GB RAM
• 512 MB Dedicated Video Card
• Windows XP Pro 32 bit
• Revit 2009 (32 bit)

Any application becomes light weight and cross platform, as soon as it becomes web accessible.
It becomes a server-client model with browser front end. I’m waiting when the leading desktop BIM applications transition to that model, making instant collaboration across physical boundaries a possibility.

An RArchitect’s Apps:

• Google Earth (free)
• Units (free) - Unit Conversion Tool
• Public transport schedule: iBART
• Google Mobile App (free) - Voice activated web searching, domain app login
• A Free Level (free) - an onscreen bubble level with ticks for both centimeter and inch on the edges.
• Cooliris (free) - Image Browser, view Google, Flickr, and other site’s image results smoother
• Wikiamo (free) - Wikipedia Viewer, reformats Wikipedia pages to look better on the iPhone
• Pandora Radio (free)

How can you start BIMifying your practice? Start with an intranet.

Welcome to RarchTech. A place were you can seek your niche between technology and design.