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Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Haggins posted:

Should I give these guys a shot, go with Apple, or DIY?

These guys have a youtube video on how to do pretty much anything you can think of. Here's an LCD video. you may have to search around for the other videos to get the machine to that state. That should give you an idea on how hard it is to do yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbAkoxjViho

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Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

movax posted:

Yeah, I mentioned that in the last thread, getting a new MBA with Lion and 2GB of RAM and immediately dropping to 1.7GB usable is the height of madness. I don't think Apple should have even offered a 2GB option knowing drat well that user experience will suck.

If all you need is a little portable machine to check email / surf / do simple office apps, it should be perfectly usable. I'd much rather write on something like that than an iPad.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Drum combo locks like that are the easiest thing in the world to pick. I used to be able to do one in about 30 seconds.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Rabid Snake posted:

Anyone know any good external portable hard drives that can be used cross platform (PC and Mac)? I want to store Movies and the bulk of my Music on it for my Macbook Air. 500GB would be enough, portability is a must.

Look for USB drives that are powered off the cable. Very small, no need for a power brick.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Jeratain posted:

I ordered an iMac through a friend who works at Apple (for the discount). The iMac is being shipped to my name/address, but the original purchase was done by said friend. I realized late in the process that I had mistakenly ordered the Magic Mouse instead of the Magic Trackpad, so it was too late to switch. Once the order is delivered to my home, is it possible to take the Magic Mouse to an Apple store and exchange it for a Magic Trackpad (I will not open or use it before exchanging), or is this going to be difficult because I was not the person who placed the order?

The mouse will be bundled with your keyboard and disks. The only way to "not open it" is to not unpack your Mac.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

SERIOUS posted:

It's still not amusing to have to actually go through the efforts to get one, considering I need this computer for work quite often, but I appreciate your sarcasm, I guess? :confused:

I'm sure it's a hassle, but they'll make it as smooth as possible. Make sure you have a backup and bring it into an Apple store. I'm sure they'll even transfer the data.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Wikipedia Brown posted:

Since the iPad came out, it has been my primary machine for writing, and... it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. I just ordered an 11 inch MacBook Air, because I'm tired of carrying an iPad and a bluetooth keyboard around all the time. Serious typing on the screen is not feasible.

Anyone who wants to try writing for any stretch of time on an iPad needs to get iA Writer. The screen keyboard in that program makes writing bearable. I'm not going to lie and say it's as good as a real keyboard, but I've written for hours on it, and it works 100 times better than Apple's lovely screen keyboard.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Is there a way to tell from the box, or do you have to get system properties once you open it?

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Doc Faustus posted:

Refresh: The MacRumors guide says the MBP has gone about 150 days since its last update, and claims it's approaching the end of the cycle. The last two updates were each 300 days apart, though. I'm OK with waiting a bit before buying, but if it's another 150 days, then that puts us into late December. I know nobody here is psychic, but is the consensus on SA any different than MacRumors? Mac users I know have said that apple tends to refresh products in time for back-to-school; any idea if that's the case?

The new MBPs came out in February. There's almost no way they'll get refreshed in the fall.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

As a person who has to support Macs in an environment with lots of projectors, I seriously want to give a huge hug to whomever finally decided to standardize the drat video ports on the Mac laptops. I gave it even odds that the new Airs would have yet another specific adapter.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Mu Zeta posted:

If your computer boots up and the RAM is recognized then you're good to go.

If you're really worried, hold down D on start-up and run the memory test.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

kingfet posted:

I believe apple computers come with a diagnostics disc. Would not be a bad place to start.

Again, you get to the diagnostics by holding D on boot up.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

movax posted:

X220, I think you can even add a little mSATA SSD if you so desired. The 13" has horsepower, yeah, but that screen...goddammit Apple.

The screen's really not that bad.



until you see a 15" hires screen :shobon:

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

SERIOUS posted:

Obviously, I'm having a tough choice picking between 2 and 3. I'm leaning toward 3 though, since there's the chance I'd get the computer fixed quicker if I did that. Goons, I beseech thee: which option would YOU go with?

Which ever way you go, make sure to stress to Apple Corporate how unsatisfied you are with how that store treated you as an Apple customer (ie. rude, unresponsive, etc.).

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Residency Evil posted:

What's the cheapest way to get Applecare? I'm looking at Amazon and found this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000JZ76LM/ref=sr_1_5_olp?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1312149320&sr=1-5&condition=used

Would this work for a MBA?

You didn't read through the first few posts, did you?

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Star War Sex Parrot posted:

Now that I'm back from my 10 day vacation: someone give me a reason not to stop at an Apple Store on the way into work and buy a new 13" Air. :ohdear:

I hear the Apple store is surrounded by crocodiles.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

flyboi posted:

Lacie it's August where's my little big dick :negative:

:raise: I didn't know they made those.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Doc Faustus posted:

So, on the Apple site, the Hi-Res screen is described as "useful when you’re working with HD content in pro applications, like Final Cut Studio". I don't intend to do any of those things. Is the upgrade still worth it for general usage/occasional movie playback, or will most people be perfectly happy with the standard screen?

You could very well be happy with the standard but the hi-res screen (it's not a bad screen) is well worth the extra Franklin, and it looks a lot better. I'd get it.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Holy poo poo, I just set up an 11" air for someone at work and this thing is awesome. It would make a great portable writing machine. It's also only 4 ounces heavier than my iPad1 with case. :psyduck:

Man, if I ever get an extra 1k ...

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

I dunno. There's a pretty big leap in performance from the old Air and the new ones.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Specialbear posted:

What is the scam?

I figured I could use the receipt and the serial number and verify proof of purchase through Apple. Would this be the way to go to ensure all stats are accurate?

Either they talk you into accepting a forged cashier's check, or they ask for the money up front and tell you they'll ship it (uh huh), or when you go to pick it up, they knock you out and harvest your kidneys. Either way, it's probably best you avoid.

Don't try to think you can manage to turn it into a legit deal - you can't. You'll end up getting ripped off.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

MEET ME BY DUCKS posted:

I really want to take advantage of this deal but what's the verdict on the hi-res display for the 15"? It seems so silly to me to buy the 15" without the higher resolution. Also, what's the matte v. anti-glare consensus? I compared them and anti-glare seemed nice. Glossy looks cheap to me, but is there any empirical data comparing the quality when viewing videos and reading a lot of documents of such? Eye strain is going to be a major concern.

Glossy vs. matte is a personal thing, really. There's nothing empirical about it unless you want to use it in bright sunlight all the time, then don't go glossy. If you have an Apple Store, I recommend going in and checking them out.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

MEET ME BY DUCKS posted:

How hard is it to replace a MBP optical with an SSD? Does it void the warranty? Is there a downside compared to using the Apple packaged SSD?

I am in no way picking on you, but I think we need this in the OP. It gets asked every page.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

UndyingShadow posted:

Basically, if your desktop is a hobby, you won't ever feel right about the closed offness of a Mac. If you just want your computer to loving work (like when you get old) then you'll love it.

This is my experience entirely. If you still find fiddling with your computer and ripping it apart and struggling with some horrible 3rd party driver for hours to be fun, then the Mac won't scratch that itch. If you're sick of all that just want to use the drat thing, the Mac is great.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Star War Sex Parrot posted:

I work in a lab doing black-box testing with several thousand computers, swapping components and often installing dozens of OSes a day in every flavor of Windows, Linux, and OS X that you can imagine. The last thing I want to do when I get home is have to fight with my computer. So yes, this was another reason I switched to Macs. When you work all day with computers, I just want poo poo to work.

Yep, bingo. I work in support, so I get my messing with things quotient during the day.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Tab8715 posted:

Does anyone make some kind matte screen cover for the macbook air? I hate glossy screens.

Are you talking about the new ones? The new ones aren't high glossy like the iMacs and MBPs.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

I looked through the OP and the last couple pages and didn't see anything. I got a shiny new rMBP with an SSD at work and am totally in love with it. At this point however it's probably wiser financially to extend the life of my late 2011 MBP 8,2 and I'm thinking a new SSD might be the best bang for the buck for pepping up the performance.

Is there a significant difference between Crucial and Samsung SSDs? Samsung seems slightly higher price wise but I'm not sure if there is something that might make that worthwhile.

Also, I could upgrade to 16gb ram from 8 but I think getting rid of my fairly old mechanical drive would do more for me.

Now I just have try not to long for the retina display when I fire up my home machine. :sigh:

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Thanks everyone for the SSD advice. I ended up getting a samsung 512gb and holy living gently caress my machine is screaming fast now. Absolutely worth every drat penny. :woop:

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Hulk Krogan posted:

I mostly use my laptop for normal web browsing stuff, GuitarPro, and some moderate gaming - mostly stuff like Diablo, XCOM, and Civ which tend to be less demanding. Am I really shooting myself in the foot 2 or 3 years down the line by not getting the extra ram, or should 8GB be fine?

With the exception of Guitar Pro, I do all that with 8Gb without issue. As others have said, go for an SSD instead of you can afford it. Unless you're doing rendering or something, that will probably give you the better performance increase.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

I leave my mac plugged in most of the time and after a couple years, Coconut Battery places me at 101% for my battery's age. :shrug:

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

withak posted:

Basically you are supposed to make sure to burn through a cumulative 100% per month. So theoretically unplugging it long enough to go down a few percent every day is all you need to do to keep it working right, which practically everyone does without trying.

The only thing you can really do wrong is to keep it plugged in all of the time. Literally all of the time, not just almost all of the time.

Ah okay I see then. I don't leave it plugged in literally all the time. I do unplug it and move it around, but I leave it plugged in overnight and when I'm not using it. :ms:

Kingnothing posted:

When was the last time you fully cycled your battery? If you fully cycle it once I image that will change quickly.

It's been a while, I admit. I guess I should.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Evis posted:

I took in my rMBP and they replaced the power adapter. It was charging fine in the store after that. I returned home and it won't charge again. :/ I guess something is wrong internally. Have an appointment set up again for tomorrow. Thankfully I'm still under warranty.

Silly question, but you never know. Have you tried plugging it in to different outlets in your place?

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

shrughes posted:

How well does Outlook run on it?

About 100% better than on a windows machine.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

shrughes posted:

The real reason Apple products aren't enterprise-ready, aside from the fact that they come with OS X, is that they have terrible low key travel keyboards, it's like typing on granite and your fingers will hurt if you do it all day.

Here you go.

http://www.amazon.com/Keytronic-E03600U-Keyboard-beige-cable/dp/B001150KDK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399064925

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Pivo posted:

I wish... FNG with a $3k computer? Stranger things have happened I suppose.

Depending on where you work, $3k for a development machine is pocket change.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Is there a drive that will play blu Ray discs on my 2012 Mpb?

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Pivo posted:

Yes, there is, and you'll have to connect a BR drive over USB and then you'll have to buy some BR software, none of which is really any good.

So I thought I'd be cheeky and say "sure, but why would you want to?" but gently caress it, I mean it. Why would you want to? If you have a legal copy of whatever the hell, just download it off Pirate Bay or whatever and don't feel bad about it. You can even download the drat BR rip and play it in VLC.

But yeah, you can connect a BR drive to a Mac and play BR movies, if you REALLY want. Apple's been like, really against it and avoiding it for a number of years, because their idea of media consumption is streaming or digital downloads, so the whole thing is a third-party solution. But you can do it. Or you can just boot into Windows and do it if you don't like any of the OS X solutions. But yes you can buy an external BR drive that will work with your Mac. Any will do.

Thanks. I was more curious than anything. I was thinking I'd like to bring some movies with me on trips instead of rebuying them on itunes. It's kind of funny I have rebought movies on physical media without hesitation (vhs>dvd>blu ray) but I balk at spending a few more bucks to get the streaming version that I'd probably actually watch a lot more than my discs.

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

Cyrano4747 posted:

Sure those are all limitations, but not exactly crushing, and the guy said he was talking about his large collection of physical media. If you already own it, why re-buy it? Why would lovely internet at home prevent you from ripping and storing things locally, incidentally?

If someone wants to lug around an external blue ray player and a CD wallet full of disks to watch movies on an airplane, go for it. I'm just saying there are alternatives that aren't exactly burdensome and don't involve throwing down for another copy of something you already own.

edit: the storage issue is also less pressing when we live in a world of TB-scale external HDs that cost $100. Personally I'd rather throw that in my carryon than an external blue ray player.

Oh I guess I misread the original reply as being hinky to do and something to avoid. I don't really have an unreasonable amount of discs but enough that rebuying will be a decent chunk of change. I don't mind ripping what I own but downloading torrents is not something I want to do. I do have a couple of nice small external drives that would be better than bringing the discs themselves.

Thanks!

Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

My gen 5 AirPort Extreme somehow lost power during firmware update and bricked. Brought it into the fruit stand and that was the verdict. It had lost power randomly before but I thought the cats loosened the plug. Maybe it was on its way out. Regardless does anyone know of a way I can try to recover it? They claimed it wasn't possible, but I guess it's worth asking.

On the bright side I've been trying to decide whether to replace my 2011 15" MbP with the new model or the last one. After playing with both side by side in the store the new touch bar, screen, weight (or lack of), keyboard and touch pad all absolutely do it for me. A gorgeous machine. Definitely going with the new one.

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Doctor Zero
Sep 21, 2002

Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

EconOutlines posted:

My GF finally became frustrated enough to potentially upgrade her old MBP but not buy a new one. Googling upgrades has given me different answers, so I'm just here to clarify. If I can, I'd like to add more RAM and an SSD.

MacBookPro6,2 // Core i7" 2.66 15" Mid-2010 with an i7 2.66Ghz and 4GB of RAM. Seeing what I can do from there. Or maybe Apple's "Total Repair" policy would be better? She states it has no water encounters, so would that fly?

edit: On the RAM, I'm guessing she would need to purchase 8GB vs 4 since unlike desktops, they don't have 4 slots?

An SSD will make that will be like a whole new machine. I put one in my 2012 MBP and it was like night and day.

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