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Mac Hardware and Software |OT| - All things Macintosh

X-Frame

Member
I'm thinking about getting the Rain Design laptop stand for my 15" MBP, and then use a wireless Apple keyboard and trackpad. I want to raise my screen to be more towards eye level which should help with my posture.

Does anyone use a similar setup? The trackpad is exactly the same as what I have in my 2010 MBP right?
 

Furyous

Member
I caved and bought a 64 GB Wifi rIPad Mini. I wanted the 128 but realized the device is due for a PPI bump later this year. <---- based solely off common sense logic. Hopefully this holds me over the financial aid office stops bullshitting and cuts the check so I can buy the rMBP.

What are some good productivity, GTD, and file system-like apps for the rIpM?
 

Deku Tree

Member
I caved and bought a 64 GB Wifi rIPad Mini. I wanted the 128 but realized the device is due for a PPI bump later this year. <---- based solely off common sense logic. Hopefully this holds me over the financial aid office stops bullshitting and cuts the check so I can buy the rMBP.

What are some good productivity, GTD, and file system-like apps for the rIpM?

GTD?
 

Deku Tree

Member
Get things Done. Basically, it's a system or set of apps that automate work in some fashion and improve productivity. For example, IFTTT has an option to email information to evernote and automatically sort it in notebooks with hashtags.

I like Good Reader. This is the Mac thread. You might also try one of the iPad threads. Or the iOS apps thread.
 

Baconbitz

Banned
I'm trying to determine what the issue is here. I don't know if it's hardware or software. So, I was using my iMac when it shut down. The only way to power it on and keep it on was to unplug everything except the power cord and, Ethernet cable. My question is, how do I figure out what's causing it? Can USB make a computer shutdown? Also, I have had all of these USB devices except for one plugged in for a long time and, this issue has never happened. The newest thing has been plugged in for a few days. It wasn't happening when I first plugged it in.
 

TxdoHawk

Member
I'm trying to determine what the issue is here. I don't know if it's hardware or software. So, I was using my iMac when it shut down. The only way to power it on and keep it on was to unplug everything except the power cord and, Ethernet cable. My question is, how do I figure out what's causing it? Can USB make a computer shutdown? Also, I have had all of these USB devices except for one plugged in for a long time and, this issue has never happened. The newest thing has been plugged in for a few days. It wasn't happening when I first plugged it in.

I have seen plugged-in USB devices do all sorts of weird things. My best guess, though, is either a damaged USB port on the iMac, or something wrong with one of your USB devices (probably whatever the new thing is). What's the new device?

Anyway, what you want to do, basically, is figure out if it's a port or a device. If one specific USB device causes this behavior no matter where on the iMac you plug it in, it's probably that device (or possibly something related to the driver it's trying to use). If the problem happens when you plug anything into one specific port, it's probably that port. You're going to have to use process of elimination by plugging different things in different ports to test this.
 

Baconbitz

Banned
I have seen plugged-in USB devices do all sorts of weird things. My best guess, though, is either a damaged USB port on the iMac, or something wrong with one of your USB devices (probably whatever the new thing is). What's the new device?

Anyway, what you want to do, basically, is figure out if it's a port or a device. If one specific USB device causes this behavior no matter where on the iMac you plug it in, it's probably that device (or possibly something related to the driver it's trying to use). If the problem happens when you plug anything into one specific port, it's probably that port. You're going to have to use process of elimination by plugging different things in different ports to test this.
Well, I did the reset test of letting it sit with everything unplugged for about 20 to 30 minutes last night.

Plugged everything back in and, it stayed on for about an hour. Then, I left the computer to eat dinner and, it happened again.

Also, I left it on last night with nothing but the Ethernet cable plugged in and, it stayed on. That's leads me to my suspicion that it's hardware based.

Finally, the usb thing I mentioned in my previous post is a usb charger for the jawbone up.
 

TxdoHawk

Member
Also, I left it on last night with nothing but the Ethernet cable plugged in and, it stayed on. That's leads me to my suspicion that it's hardware based.

You're probably right, although in theory having the Jawbone Up plugged in could be activating some driver or software that is freaking OS X out.

Since this wasn't happening until your new device, I'd try plugging everything except that charge cable in and see what happens.

If everything stays up, try plugging the cable in a different port than you were using before and leave the port you were using before empty.

If everything STILL stays up, it may be that USB port.

If everything goes down again, the cable may be defective (could be causing a short) and you may have to contact Jawbone for a replacement, since by the pictures I've seen it looks like a proprietary cable.
 

Baconbitz

Banned
You're probably right, although in theory having the Jawbone Up plugged in could be activating some driver or software that is freaking OS X out.

Since this wasn't happening until your new device, I'd try plugging everything except that charge cable in and see what happens.

If everything stays up, try plugging the cable in a different port than you were using before and leave the port you were using before empty.

If everything STILL stays up, it may be that USB port.

If everything goes down again, the cable may be defective (could be causing a short) and you may have to contact Jawbone for a replacement, since by the pictures I've seen it looks like a proprietary cable.
Everything is not shutting down the computer. I just plugged in the up charger. Going to bed. Will see what happens when I wake up. Last time it seems it shutdown when not in use.

Edit: Nothing happened. Now, I'm going to add a 2nd USB device.

Edit: plugged back everything in. Went to dinner. Nothing.
 

Furyous

Member
I'm returning the retina ipad mini because it doesn't suit me.

I settled on a 13 inch rMBP then ran into a problem. Apple charges sales tax....

WTF

I refuse to pay sales tax AND shipping. I want the 16 GB RAM desperately but am not looking to lay more than the $180 for it. Of course I can't find anywhere else besides Apple willing to sell me a 13 inch 2013 rMBP with 16 GB of RAM for a reasonable price. I want the 15 hour battery life and the future proof 16 gigs. Are there any suggestions on where I can buy this device from?
 

Fuchsdh

Member
I'm returning the retina ipad mini because it doesn't suit me.

I settled on a 13 inch rMBP then ran into a problem. Apple charges sales tax....

WTF

I refuse to pay sales tax AND shipping. I want the 16 GB RAM desperately but am not looking to lay more than the $180 for it. Of course I can't find anywhere else besides Apple willing to sell me a 13 inch 2013 rMBP with 16 GB of RAM for a reasonable price. I want the 15 hour battery life and the future proof 16 gigs. Are there any suggestions on where I can buy this device from?

You can configure it online and pick up from a store to save yourself shipping. Paying sales tax on online transactions is the way of the future so I'm afraid there's not much point complaining about that.
 
So I'm thinking of buy a 15'' MBP in a few weeks. Should I hold off until around Sept. when they announce new models? Will there be much of a difference?
 

Talon

Member
I'm returning the retina ipad mini because it doesn't suit me.

I settled on a 13 inch rMBP then ran into a problem. Apple charges sales tax....

WTF

I refuse to pay sales tax AND shipping. I want the 16 GB RAM desperately but am not looking to lay more than the $180 for it. Of course I can't find anywhere else besides Apple willing to sell me a 13 inch 2013 rMBP with 16 GB of RAM for a reasonable price. I want the 15 hour battery life and the future proof 16 gigs. Are there any suggestions on where I can buy this device from?
I don't understand this ethos of not paying sales tax. You realize that you're supposed to be reporting online purchases that were not taxed as an addendum, correct?
 

Fuchsdh

Member
I don't understand this ethos of not paying sales tax. You realize that you're supposed to be reporting online purchases that were not taxed as an addendum, correct?

To be fair I don't think you still have to do that everywhere. I know my state (VA) does and bizarrely wouldn't let me go through my online taxes without saying I'd spent at least $1 on food online (even though I only ever buy my tech online.)

Where I'm less clear now is that some places do actually charge the tax so you don't have to worry about it, and other places let you report it yourself, which is frustrating to the nth degree when it comes to tax time.
 

The Real Abed

Perma-Junior
So I'm thinking of buy a 15'' MBP in a few weeks. Should I hold off until around Sept. when they announce new models? Will there be much of a difference?
The current ones are amazing as it is so whether you wait or not it's a damn good machine. Especially if you go all out and get the highest end model with the dGPU and iGPU in one.

I don't remember but I thought Intel was going to have delays for this years processor tick/tock so I don't know how that would affect the next generation.
 

Furyous

Member
I don't understand this ethos of not paying sales tax. You realize that you're supposed to be reporting online purchases that were not taxed as an addendum, correct?

Really? But, but, but Amazon doesn't charge sales tax on anything That's why I'm pissed. Amazon Prime has spoiled me. It wouldn't be so bad if threw in two years of Applecare AND left out shipping charges. Now I understand somewhat how my fellow earth sharing Australian friends feel. Apple products last a long time but to hell with paying sales tax on any Apple product. $112 in sales tax is too much.
 

Deku Tree

Member
Really? But, but, but Amazon doesn't charge sales tax on anything That's why I'm pissed. Amazon Prime has spoiled me. It wouldn't be so bad if threw in two years of Applecare AND left out shipping charges. Now I understand somewhat how my fellow earth sharing Australian friends feel. Apple products last a long time but to hell with paying sales tax on any Apple product. $112 in sales tax is too much.

Not true. Depends upon where you love, where are their warehouses, and what the relevant laws say.
Amazon always charges me full sales tax.
 

giga

Member
Here's what the very accurate Ming-Chi Kuo says&#8230;

screen-shot-2014-04-09-at-7-07-19-pm.png


- iWatch: Kuo believes the iWatch will ship during the end of the third quarter, offering biometric functionality, integration with the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and a "fashionable appearance." As has been previously suggested, he predicts the device will come in two sizes, with a 1.3-inch and 1.5-inch flexible AMOLED display. It will also include a sapphire cover lens, biometric recognition, an NFC chip, wireless charging, a 200 to 250 mAh battery, and a slim and light design. Kuo also believes that Apple will offer the iWatch at multiple price points, with the most expensive version costing upwards of $1,000.

- iPhone 6: Supporting previous iPhone 6 rumors, Kuo believes the device will come in two sizes: 4.7 and 5.5-inches, with resolutions of 1334x750 (326ppi) and 1920 x 1080 (401 ppi), respectively. Both models will come with an A8 processor, 1GB of RAM, LTPS display panels, optical image stabilization, and Touch ID. Kuo points to a 10 to 20 percent narrower bezel, a 6.5&#8211;7.0mm thickness, metal casings, and NFC integration. Mass shipments of the 4.7-inch version are expected in September, with the 5.5-inch version shipping later. Kuo suggests that only the 64GB 5.5-inch version will use sapphire displays.

- iPad Air 2: The second-generation iPad Air is expected to adopt Touch ID, an A8 processor, and an improved camera with a resolution of eight megapixels. Kuo believes the second iPad Air could come earlier in the year than the previous iPad Air, which was released in October.

- iPad mini with Retina Display: Like the iPad Air, a new Retina mini could gain an A8 processor and Touch ID, but Kuo believes it will retain the same form factor. He also suggests that the older iPad mini with Retina display could be sold at a lower cost.

- 12.9-inch iPad Pro: Kuo believes that Apple is indeed working on a 12.9-inch iPad, but he does not expect it to be launched in 2014.

- 12-inch MacBook Air: As rumored, Apple is believed to be preparing an ultrathin MacBook Air that incorporates a touchpad without buttons and functions without a fan. It is also expected to include a higher-resolution display.

- iMac: A lower-priced iMac is believed to be on the horizon, which Kuo says could help boost iMac shipments by up to 23 percent. It could be Apple&#8217;s first product launch of the year.

- Apple TV: Apple is not expected to launch a full television set this year, but an upgraded set top box with an App Store and motion control technology is expected.
 

Fuchsdh

Member

Once you strip out the obvious and the part leaked stuff, I dunno how much better than guessing he's at.

Regardless I expect that whatever SKUs they have of Apple wearables they won't make screen size the differentiator. After all witness how they've held to the same screen dimensions in the iPhone for so long.

I'm guessing we get our usual refreshes, including the mini this year. I'm most interested in if they'll be updating the Mac Pros come the end of the year given the issues with Intel and the fact they are still trying to ramp up production to meet demand. Seems like by the time they do that they'll be 6 months away from needing to do it again.
 
I'm really surprised there hasn't been a Mac Mini refresh yet. Maybe that's what a low cost iMac would replace? But how do you do a low-cost iMac when they should be going Retina?
 

Blackhead

Redarse
Once you strip out the obvious and thepart leaked stuff, I dunno how much better than guessing he's at.

Regardless I expect that whatever SKUs they have of Apple wearables they won't make screen size the differentiator. After all witness how they've held to the same screen dimensions in the iPhone for so long.

I'm guessing we get our usual refreshes, including the mini this year. I'm most interested in if they'll be updating the Mac Pros come the end of the year given the issues with Intel and the fact they are still trying to ramp up production to meet demand. Seems like by the time they do that they'll be 6 months away from needing to do it again.

List the the obvious and leaked parts from his 2013 predictions

I recall some Apple fan site was tracking all the analyst predictions and marking out the most accurate. Anyone remember the link?
 

TxdoHawk

Member
But how do you do a low-cost iMac when they should be going Retina?

Easy. You either make retina an optional upgrade on the smaller model, or make it exclusive to the larger screen size. The kind of market that wants a cheaper iMac won't care about the loss (although they probably won't care anyway, Apple's idea of a low-cost price point for an iMac would probably be $999.)
 

Fuchsdh

Member
List the the obvious and leaked parts from his 2013 predictions

I recall some Apple fan site was tracking all the analyst predictions and marking out the most accurate. Anyone remember the link?

Take, for example, calling that the iPhone would have a fingerprint sensor. Even before we got all the widespread leaks of the revised assemblies, there was the AuthenTec aquisition and the patent that spelled it out months earlier. http://www.techradar.com/us/news/ph...nt-sensor-for-biometric-iphone-unlock-1104176

Apple is so scrutinized these days and many of their suppliers can't keep their mouth shut, so it's not really that hard to come up with reasonable ideas of what their next products are going to be. The big surprises that show these people don't have any real deep hooks into Apple proper are that Apple kept internal things like the 64 bit SoC a surprise while we basically knew everything else about the phone months ahead--gold color, fingerprint sensor, et al.

Easy. You either make retina an optional upgrade on the smaller model, or make it exclusive to the larger screen size. The kind of market that wants a cheaper iMac won't care about the loss (although they probably won't care anyway, Apple's idea of a low-cost price point for an iMac would probably be $999.)

Yeah I don't see the retina versions instantly supplanting the old ones, or the old ones just being left to rot like the non-retina MBP. There's just too many costs involved. And Apple certainly has offered BTO screen options before on its laptops (you could get anti-glare matte screens, or higher-density 1680x1050 screens on the 15" compared to the default 1440x900) so it seems entirely possible.
 

Deku Tree

Member
Take, for example, calling that the iPhone would have a fingerprint sensor. Even before we got all the widespread leaks of the revised assemblies, there was the AuthenTec aquisition and the patent that spelled it out months earlier. http://www.techradar.com/us/news/ph...nt-sensor-for-biometric-iphone-unlock-1104176

Apple is so scrutinized these days and many of their suppliers can't keep their mouth shut, so it's not really that hard to come up with reasonable ideas of what their next products are going to be. The big surprises that show these people don't have any real deep hooks into Apple proper are that Apple kept internal things like the 64 bit SoC a surprise while we basically knew everything else about the phone months ahead--gold color, fingerprint sensor, et al.

Yeah I was really surprised in retrospect that the 64 bit SoC didn't leak, especially considering that Samsung was manufacturing it.
 

Chris R

Member
12-inch MacBook Air: As rumored, Apple is believed to be preparing an ultrathin MacBook Air that incorporates a touchpad without buttons and functions without a fan. It is also expected to include a higher-resolution display.

Touchpad without buttons? Does he mean it simply won't click down any longer? Also, my MBA spits fire WITH a fan already, can't imagine how toasty these things would be without one...
 
So I'm thinking of buy a 15'' MBP in a few weeks. Should I hold off until around Sept. when they announce new models? Will there be much of a difference?

The current ones are amazing as it is so whether you wait or not it's a damn good machine. Especially if you go all out and get the highest end model with the dGPU and iGPU in one.

I don't remember but I thought Intel was going to have delays for this years processor tick/tock so I don't know how that would affect the next generation.

I remember reading that they could be delayed this year, don't count me on it though.
 

Furyous

Member
I settled on the high spec rMBP 13 with 8 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD.

How bad is gaming performance?
Will I need 16 GB of RAM without using photoshop, illustrator, and Final Cut Pro?

I made an impulse purchase at 6 AM using next day air through Amazon Prime.

Is the $1705 I spent worth it in comparison to the offical price of $1991? Keep in mind the official delivery date is one week out and Apple uses Fedex.

I tried to cancel but couldn't after noticing the 16 GB RAM model for $1529 in the refurb store.
 

Water

Member
I settled on the high spec rMBP 13 with 8 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD.

How bad is gaming performance?
Will I need 16 GB of RAM without using photoshop, illustrator, and Final Cut Pro?
As always, Apple doesn't give a shit about GPU performance, and equipped the 13" rMBP with run-of-the-mill Intel integrated graphics. So gaming perf is bad.

8GB is enough for 99% of people, with the 1% doing highly specialized work (heavy content creation like you list, running virtual machines, etc).
 

Deku Tree

Member
Always max out the ram for the future. Apple computers last usually. They last longer if you put in more RAM. Even if you don't need it right away, it is short sighted to go cheap on RAM IMO.
 

Chris R

Member
What is the cost of a replacement battery at the Apple Store for a '11 13" MBA? I got a "Service Battery" warning today :| I thought these things were supposed to last 750 cycles. 350 is bad (battery life has been shit since the 200 cycle mark).
 

Fuchsdh

Member
What is the cost of a replacement battery at the Apple Store for a '11 13" MBA? I got a "Service Battery" warning today :| I thought these things were supposed to last 750 cycles. 350 is bad (battery life has been shit since the 200 cycle mark).

See if they're willing to change it out for free if it didn't last at all to its estimated time. I've been able to do that before.
 

Bumhead

Banned
Wanting to pick up a new iPad Mini.

Is there any noticeable difference between the Retina Mini and the launch model? Any reason why I absolutely have to go for the newer version? And does iOS7 work OK on the old model or is it gimped and slow like tends to happen with older iPhone models?
 

Blackhead

Redarse
Take, for example, calling that the iPhone would have a fingerprint sensor. Even before we got all the widespread leaks of the revised assemblies, there was the AuthenTec aquisition and the patent that spelled it out months earlier. http://www.techradar.com/us/news/ph...nt-sensor-for-biometric-iphone-unlock-1104176

Apple is so scrutinized these days and many of their suppliers can't keep their mouth shut, so it's not really that hard to come up with reasonable ideas of what their next products are going to be. The big surprises that show these people don't have any real deep hooks into Apple proper are that Apple kept internal things like the 64 bit SoC a surprise while we basically knew everything else about the phone months ahead--gold color, fingerprint sensor, et al.



Yeah I don't see the retina versions instantly supplanting the old ones, or the old ones just being left to rot like the non-retina MBP. There's just too many costs involved. And Apple certainly has offered BTO screen options before on its laptops (you could get anti-glare matte screens, or higher-density 1680x1050 screens on the 15" compared to the default 1440x900) so it seems entirely possible.
Bookmarked
 

kennah

Member
Wanting to pick up a new iPad Mini.

Is there any noticeable difference between the Retina Mini and the launch model? Any reason why I absolutely have to go for the newer version? And does iOS7 work OK on the old model or is it gimped and slow like tends to happen with older iPhone models?

Giant difference. The Retina is basically an iPad Air and the old version is an iPad 2.
 
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