Would you recommend an imac for a student ?
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Mac Hardware and Software |OT| - All things Macintosh
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Would you recommend an imac for a student ?
CrudeDiatribe
Member
I've read that it'll feel really weird for two weeks. You're going to have at least one post complaining about what the green window control button does/doesn't do, and then another about how you can't cut files (you can, it just works differently).
Drivers? They're around, of course, but leave them the hell alone. Just trust me on this for now.
System Profiler can be used in the same way someone might use Device Manager if they were just looking.
Applications are in /Applications.
You've either got the toolbar hidden, or you're in "column view". Totally unlike anything you've ever seen before. Put it in "list view".
Anyway, keep asking questions.
PS: Start using drag and drop - it works everywhere.
It's a solid all-around computer. As for recommendations--I know I preferred using my laptop around campus, but an iMac will give you more horsepower for cheaper.
jts
...hate me...
If I tap on my MacBook Pro near the headphone jack, I can unstuck it from digital mode and hear sound again, but it's only temporarily at best, then it gets on digital mode again.
Anyway, new day and I have 3 plans of action thought out to remove the screw:
1) Mechanical plan: Very THIN crochet needles with a hook on the tip - or just an extra thin set of plyers
2) Magnetic plan: depending on the kind of magnet I get, try to pull out the screw with by either inserting it in the jack, or sliding it along the jack (through the motherboard). Don't worry, I will be careful not to get near the RAMs or the SSD (although I'm not even sure they are sensitive to that)
3) Chemical (?) plan: get a strong copper wire with a drop of solder on its tip, insert it in the jack, then heat up the wire to melt the solder again and bond it together with the screw as well, then pull out.
What do you think it's my best option?
And just about how much can I fuck up my computer through the headphone jack?
Anyway, new day and I have 3 plans of action thought out to remove the screw:
1) Mechanical plan: Very THIN crochet needles with a hook on the tip - or just an extra thin set of plyers
2) Magnetic plan: depending on the kind of magnet I get, try to pull out the screw with by either inserting it in the jack, or sliding it along the jack (through the motherboard). Don't worry, I will be careful not to get near the RAMs or the SSD (although I'm not even sure they are sensitive to that)
3) Chemical (?) plan: get a strong copper wire with a drop of solder on its tip, insert it in the jack, then heat up the wire to melt the solder again and bond it together with the screw as well, then pull out.
What do you think it's my best option?
And just about how much can I fuck up my computer through the headphone jack?
jts
...hate me...
An iMac and a 11" laptop for taking to the library/lectures is a great combination.
Or an 11" MBA + a Dell or other brand IPS monitor.
"Student" says nothing about what you need it for.
But generally, no. The biggest problem is that it's not a laptop and you can't carry it around. The iMac has a load of other issues that make it not a great choice for a lot of people. Its price to general performance ratio is bad, and its price to graphics performance ratio is absolute shit. It has substandard ergonomics. These are because it's optimized to look as cool as possible, usability and performance are an afterthought.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
Which brand was that?Well I'm pretty sure this was a knock off cable. But be careful out there, this could have started a fire in our house. The end piece was laying on the carpet, other end in the power adapter/wall.
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
I've bought one of those third party lightning cables before just cause I wanted to save money and man... Just bite the bullet and pay the full price. The knock offs are awful. They technically work, but apparently the chip inside the cable still isn't legit and your phone will recognize it, as it will periodically display "this accessory isn't supported blah blah blah", and the cable works for about 3 months before it cuts in and out cause the strain relief is total crap
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
Command + C for copy, Command + R for reload. Command's a very suitably named button, and I like most Mac shortcuts because they make sense as shortcuts you can guess rather than shortcuts you just have to learn from somewhere. Shift and Alt/Option usually work as shortcut modifiers in mostly expected ways, too.
I am a student and I love my iMac. I didn't buy it because I am a student though.
But then again if I'm using a computer I'm sitting at home 90% of the time. So if this is your usage scenario, then yes, it works very nicely. An iMac obviously does not offer portability if you need it. Personally, after using a 27" screen I hate having to use something smaller to do anything (productive or not). You could get a nice laptop and a monitor for use at home, of course. I didn't because I hate having to unplug things because I am that lazy (and because money).
Also it's really beautiful and quiet.
This is the perfect college combo imo.
I had a 15 Macbook Pro and a mac mini all through college, I needed to be able to do editing/compositing on my laptop though for classes.
But if you can afford the imac/laptop combo go for it!
Take it back to them.
Edit: if they told you it was the HDD and it wasn't then I would hope at a minimum they would refund the repair cost. But who knows? They might try to tell you that your HDD was on the way out and your computer has multiple problems I guess...
Did you check to see if your computer boots and runs fine from an external start disk?
Team Filler
Member
Hi Apple-GAF!
My current laptop (Alienware m11x) is reaching the end of it's life, and after tinkering with one at work for a little bit, I've decided to hop aboard the 13" Macbook Air train, with primary uses being media consumption/internet & maybe chipping away at old-ass games in my backlog (I have a stand alone desktop I use for modern PC games). Does anybody have any advice as far upgrades go in comparison to heat/reduced battery life/etc.? I'd like to go with the upgraded CPU and RAM, but have been having a creeping feeling that the upgraded CPU's gains might not be enough to be worth the increased heat/reduced charge length.
This would be my first personal non-iOS device, so I feel pretty noobish as far as this is concerned, and apologize for missing the answer if it has already been posted in the thread.
My current laptop (Alienware m11x) is reaching the end of it's life, and after tinkering with one at work for a little bit, I've decided to hop aboard the 13" Macbook Air train, with primary uses being media consumption/internet & maybe chipping away at old-ass games in my backlog (I have a stand alone desktop I use for modern PC games). Does anybody have any advice as far upgrades go in comparison to heat/reduced battery life/etc.? I'd like to go with the upgraded CPU and RAM, but have been having a creeping feeling that the upgraded CPU's gains might not be enough to be worth the increased heat/reduced charge length.
This would be my first personal non-iOS device, so I feel pretty noobish as far as this is concerned, and apologize for missing the answer if it has already been posted in the thread.
I always max out the CPU and RAM. It's worth it for future proofing. Never had a problem with heat. Never worried about the battery life as it was always long enough.
Team Filler
Member
Thanks for the reply, that's good to hear! I've read several times here that the apple care plan is a must, so I assume that'd get a hearty recommendation as well...
Hopefully I'll have this ordered and shipping to me in the next couple weeks, during which I'll peruse over the OSX thread for protips on essential software to grab (AVG and whatnot).
Hopefully I'll have this ordered and shipping to me in the next couple weeks, during which I'll peruse over the OSX thread for protips on essential software to grab (AVG and whatnot).
OSX thread... essential software... AVG... haha
Team Filler
Member
No antivirus software, huh? I've heard it before, but I must admit it's a little difficult for me to wrap my head around that, having spent almost my entire life with the MS OS's (MS-DOS, Windows 3.1 onwards).
Is OSX really that secure? Genuine question, I haven't used an apple OS (excluding iOS) since the macintoshes we had in high school.
Is OSX really that secure? Genuine question, I haven't used an apple OS (excluding iOS) since the macintoshes we had in high school.
Yeah I have never used any of that anti virus software. Been an Apple-Mac user since the Apple IIgs. When my job installs it, I just erase it. The default security settings on OS X Mavericks require developers to register with Apple before their software can be installed. If you are slightly careful about when you input your administrator password then you will almost certainly stay virus and Trojan free.
Team Filler
Member
Damn, that's pretty nice to hear. Even when browsing GAF sometimes, Avast on my maching starts to go apeshit.
Yep, viruses are a non-issue, the only vulnerability is mistakeningly installing a trojan. Probably if you're a GAF user you'll want to disable the AppStore/ID developers security setting (many small freeware apps I use aren't signed) but as long as you don't go clicking on things you don't remember downloading, questionable torrents and the like you should still be fine 
It didn't for me, but the shop said they could boot from an external which is how they determined the HDD was at fault.
Will take it back today.
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
Okay this may be a dumb question but is there any way to keep the rmbp running when you close the lid? I've. I've checked the settings under options and I can't seem to find anything. Like say when I output video to an external display I'd like to shut the lid to turn off the primary display, or say when I go to sleep and leave something downloading I'd like it to actually resume with the lid closed
You can't prevent it from going to sleep when closing the lid, as far as I know, but mouse/keyboard input should wake it up as usual. So use an external input device.
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
Seriously? I almost can't even believe that :l what is the justification for this?
CrudeDiatribe
Member
Because most people expect it to go to sleep when you close it.
Plug in an external input device and wiggle it and it will happily run in clamshell mode.
Plug in an external input device and wiggle it and it will happily run in clamshell mode.
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
Ugh, this kinda pisses me off that you can't even adjust such an obvious feature. I'll look into the external thing. Thanks. Maybe just plug in a mouse receiver and see how that works :l
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
Pardon my ignorance but when would you ever want the machine not going to sleep when the lid is closed and without a keyboard or mouse attached? I can't think of a single situation in normal use where this option is even needed. When it's closed you can't use it without an input device anyway. So obviously it's gonna make sense to sleep. Because that's what you expect it to do when the lid is closed.
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
Watching PC people adjust is fun.
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
Like say when I output video to an external display I'd like to shut the lid to turn off the primary display, or say when I go to sleep and leave something downloading I'd like it to actually resume with the lid closed. I guess I just want the display off while these things take place. I tend to do the overnight download thing cause I've got slow ass DSL and I don't want my bedroom flooded with light. I see that you can just lower the screen brightness to the point where the display shuts off, so that works.
I googled a bit and came across this:
http://osxdaily.com/2011/09/14/disa...n-a-macbook-pro-or-air-in-mac-os-x-10-7-lion/
I guess they curbed the ability to operate in clamshell cause the vents are right where the hinge are at and closing the lid would restrict airflow.
Apple also removed the eject button
Add fn to that shortcut and it'll still work.
Yeah I use this all the time too. Love it.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
Yeah. I just turn the brightness down to 0. It performs the same function.
CrudeDiatribe
Member
The hinge is designed to allow it to vent open or closed, and given that clamshell mode works, I'd hardly described it as 'curbed'.
FWIW, when I want my MacBook Air to do shit with the screen off, I turn on Caffeine and turn down the brightness.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
Apple laptops can already do certain things when in sleep mode. It's called Power Nap. Where it will periodically wake up just the parts it needs to do some background tasks then puts it back to sleep. It is also configurable on a per power source basis.
Not the same thing as having the laptop actually awake with the lid closed of course, but if you're just watching a movie on an attached display/TV then just turn the brightness down to 0 and it'll be fine. Or attach a keyboard and/or mouse/trackpad and wake it up.
Not the same thing as having the laptop actually awake with the lid closed of course, but if you're just watching a movie on an attached display/TV then just turn the brightness down to 0 and it'll be fine. Or attach a keyboard and/or mouse/trackpad and wake it up.