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[RDreamer]

HEY NOOBS.

https://www.mupromo.com/

get on this deal.

That does look like a pretty good deal. How well does parallels work? Will I be able to play some windows games on it?

And can either of the DVD things that are in that package easily rip only audio tracks from a dvd? I have a few live music dvds that I really love and would absolutely love to have the audio on my ipod. I'd be pretty tempted if this had a quick and easy way to do that.

Divvy looks like it'd help a lot with my graphic design stuff, I suppose, since I usually have a bunch of files open at once and sometimes it's a pain in the butt to arrange them.

Are any of the other programs worth it?

 

[Mustaphadamus]

Lion.

Please explain further about backups in Lion. I am hoping they will allow backups to a network attach storage.
never mind, looked it up. Seems its like windows shadow copy.

 

[JonCha]

Where can I get cheap copies of XP / Vista / Windows 7 (ain't gonna happen) for Boot Camp? Whenever I'm looking for the software it seems to be dead expensive, even XP.

 

[Mustaphadamus]

Where can I get cheap copies of XP / Vista / Windows 7 (ain't gonna happen) for Boot Camp? Whenever I'm looking for the software it seems to be dead expensive, even XP.

If you are a college student you should be able to acquire it via your university. They have a special program for students.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

If you are a college student you should be able to acquire it via your university. They have a special program for students.

is Windows 7 back up in MSDNAA again yet?

that was the greatest hustle in history a couple of summers ago. 7 copies of Win 7 for $30.

 

[LCfiner]

Where can I get cheap copies of XP / Vista / Windows 7 (ain't gonna happen) for Boot Camp? Whenever I'm looking for the software it seems to be dead expensive, even XP.

you can usually get an OEM version from an online retailer. should be around 100 or 150 for home premium? (last time i checked for OEM version prices was for XP)

 

[noire]

deleted

 

[noire]

deleted

 

[todahawk]

Just bought my first mac not too long ago (been using them at work for years, go figure)... got a 27" iMac, quad-core i5 2.8ghz... loving it for my video and audio work.

Steam has been nice on Mac but I'll still need to run either bootcamp or Parallels/VMware fusion for my PC only games. I have an old winxp sp3 build, will I be ok with that or do I need to break down and get win7?

 

[edgefusion]

Where can I get cheap copies of XP / Vista / Windows 7 (ain't gonna happen) for Boot Camp? Whenever I'm looking for the software it seems to be dead expensive, even XP.

Tangentially, what's the best OS for gaming out of XP or 7?

 

[Valkyr Junkie]

I got $750, but I cheaped out because I wanted it to move (it had already been listed for about a month, with me steadily decreasing the price). I could have easily have gotten $800 with a little patience, and I had inquiries about the laptop when the price was $850.

Damn. Those things still go for bank. I've got a 2.4Ghz late 2008 Unibody Macbook.

 

[Mecha_Infantry]

Damn. Those things still go for bank. I've got a 2.4Ghz late 2008 Unibody Macbook.

Same, sitting on 8GB of RAM, almost perfect except 2 little niks, just wondering how much I could possibly get for it with a magic mouse too

 

[RDreamer]

Ok, I've got a big problem. I was messing around with that BetterSnapTool thing from the app store and suddenly I noticed the contrast and colors on my screen went really weird. I restarted and on the login screen things are fine and right when I login its fine and then it quickly switches to really contrasty and bad colors. What's going on? Did I change some setting accidentally?

Edit: Crisis overted... apparently I hit some secret shortcut for the accessibility contrast thing. Wow that freaked me out.


Also, I have to say that the app store has been a godsend to me. Just surfing around there I've found quite a few little apps that have improved OS X for me so much, and I never would have really found them otherwise because I had no idea I even wanted them until I saw the descriptions. Now playing is great, and this BetterSnapTool seems like it'll speed up my productivity quite a bit. Alfred is pretty awesome, too.

 

[mrkgoo]

I'm not sure where to ask this, but I'm messing about with xcode 3.2.6. On the ios simulator, it defaults to iPad. Is there a way I can set it to default to iPhone? I can change it to iPhone, but when I close xcode and reopen, it sets back to iPad.

 

[LCfiner]

How well do OEM copies work with Virtual Machines, since they're tied to the motherboard? Or does using a Bootcamp partition negate that?

you can activate it on the one VM but then you will likely need to call MS and get a 16 digit PIN or something to activate on bootcamp, as well (I had to do this and tell the person i was installing on the same hardware)

I didn't have to install my old OEM version on multiple VMs so i don't know if that causes problems (like if you switch around the number of virtual processor cores or hard drive config).

OEM versions are cheap but hardly convenient if you change hardware.

 

[AbsoluteZero]

Alright ladies and gentlemen, I've got a 15" Macbook Pro (Early 2008, 2.5Ghz C2D/2GB/512MB VRAM/250GB HDD, according to what's printed under the battery) sitting in front of me. It belongs to the boss' wife's son, and basically it's wanged. Looks like he dropped it quite a few times and it just ain't booting up. Apple Store said it'd be close to $1k to repair and she didn't want to pay it, so she handed it off to me to try to get his data from it. I opened it up to get the HDD out so I can drop it into an enclosure and plug it into my iMac at home to get his stuff from the Hard Drive.

So now I've got this dead Macbook Pro. I don't think it's cost-effective for me to fix it myself, as parts will be at least $750 between logic board and case. I guess I should just throw the thing up on eBay, list it as broken, and maybe someone will throw me $150 for spare parts.

Any suggestions?

 

[mrkgoo]

Alright ladies and gentlemen, I've got a 15" Macbook Pro (Early 2008, 2.5Ghz C2D/2GB/512MB VRAM/250GB HDD, according to what's printed under the battery) sitting in front of me. It belongs to the boss' wife's son, and basically it's wanged. Looks like he dropped it quite a few times and it just ain't booting up. Apple Store said it'd be close to $1k to repair and she didn't want to pay it, so she handed it off to me to try to get his data from it. I opened it up to get the HDD out so I can drop it into an enclosure and plug it into my iMac at home to get his stuff from the Hard Drive.

So now I've got this dead Macbook Pro. I don't think it's cost-effective for me to fix it myself, as parts will be at least $750 between logic board and case. I guess I should just throw the thing up on eBay, list it as broken, and maybe someone will throw me $150 for spare parts.

Any suggestions?

Spare parts ma is a good idea. Stuff like the battery, keyboard and stuff can be valuable, especially with DIY sites like ifixit out there. I myself would like some new keys.

 

[Burger]

macsperts, what's the best software for compressing .avi files?

i'm running 10.4.11, btw.

Don't use the AVI container, it's almost 20 years old. Make M4V or MP4 files, using Handbrake, and encode using x264. Your files will work on more devices, and be of better quality at the same file size.

It comes with a bunch of presets to help you out.

http://handbrake.fr/

 

[AbsoluteZero]

Spare parts ma is a good idea. Stuff like the battery, keyboard and stuff can be valuable, especially with DIY sites like ifixit out there. I myself would like some new keys.

To my knowledge the battery should be fine outside of being three years old. Keyboard looks fine, superdrive MIGHT be okay (case is damaged in front where it's situated), screen should be fine, hard drive should be fine and RAM is fine.

Only thing I'm not certain of is the Logic Board. Assuming that the thing doesn't boot up that's likely the problem anyway.

Any idea what's the value of such a computer?

 

[thatbox]

Alright ladies and gentlemen, I've got a 15" Macbook Pro (Early 2008, 2.5Ghz C2D/2GB/512MB VRAM/250GB HDD, according to what's printed under the battery) sitting in front of me. It belongs to the boss' wife's son, and basically it's wanged. Looks like he dropped it quite a few times and it just ain't booting up. Apple Store said it'd be close to $1k to repair and she didn't want to pay it, so she handed it off to me to try to get his data from it. I opened it up to get the HDD out so I can drop it into an enclosure and plug it into my iMac at home to get his stuff from the Hard Drive.

So now I've got this dead Macbook Pro. I don't think it's cost-effective for me to fix it myself, as parts will be at least $750 between logic board and case. I guess I should just throw the thing up on eBay, list it as broken, and maybe someone will throw me $150 for spare parts.

Any suggestions?

What model is it? Look on the internal side of the battery, you should see something like Model A1211 or similar.

 

[AbsoluteZero]

What model is it? Look on the internal side of the battery, you should see something like Model A1211 or similar.

http://i.imgur.com/qWBkX.jpg

That help?

 

[AbsoluteZero]

Hmm. Got an interested party on another message board...any way I can find out the value of this thing?

 

[Splash Wave]

Can someone recommend a new mouse that isn't the magic mouse? I've been using the same two button+scroll wheel, wired, optical Microsoft mouse for about 5 years now, and I feel like I'm missing out by not having more buttons. I'd like something that's fairly simple looking, aesthetically, and not too ridiculous when it comes to buttons. I think I may prefer wired mice, but the last wireless mouse I used was around 4 years ago, which seemed annoyingly heavy. It'd be nice to have something re-chargeable.

 

[LCfiner]

Can someone recommend a new mouse that isn't the magic mouse? I've been using the same two button+scroll wheel, wired, optical Microsoft mouse for about 5 years now, and I feel like I'm missing out by not having more buttons. I'd like something that's fairly simple looking, aesthetically, and not too ridiculous when it comes to buttons. I think I may prefer wired mice, but the last wireless mouse I used was around 4 years ago, which seemed annoyingly heavy. It'd be nice to have something re-chargeable.

logitech mx518. wired or wireless version. i use the wired one for work on windows and it feels great.

my only recommendation on the Mac side of things is not to use the logitech drivers since they're typically shit.

anyway, that one has a few extra buttons and is really comfortable

 

[Ashhong]

Can someone recommend a new mouse that isn't the magic mouse? I've been using the same two button+scroll wheel, wired, optical Microsoft mouse for about 5 years now, and I feel like I'm missing out by not having more buttons. I'd like something that's fairly simple looking, aesthetically, and not too ridiculous when it comes to buttons. I think I may prefer wired mice, but the last wireless mouse I used was around 4 years ago, which seemed annoyingly heavy. It'd be nice to have something re-chargeable.

My favorite mouse of all time is the Logitech MX518. Usually find it for about 20$ after rebates. It's incredibly comfortable to use, and the buttons are all in convenient locations. Love it.

edit: Bah, didn't refresh and see LCfiner recommend the same thing haha.

 

[LCfiner]

don't sweat it. the more people who recommend it , the better. the thing is ace

 

[Meus Renaissance]

Logitech MX518 user too! The best mouse I've ever used

 

[Splash Wave]

Gosh, I can't ignore such strong recommendations. I wish it wasn't so ass-ugly though. Not that my current mouse is anything special, but it has a much simpler design. Regardless, I'll probably get the wired version. Thanks guys.

 

[TxdoHawk]

I have an MX1000 and love it, sadly they are old now, and hard to find reasonably priced + new from what I understand. Does Logitech even make a similar wireless mouse with a cradle like it anymore? I didn't see anything in my searches.

my only recommendation on the Mac side of things is not to use the logitech drivers since they're typically shit.

So are there alternative drivers, or did you just plug and go without installing Logitech's stuff?

 

[LCfiner]

You can just plug in and the buttons can be assigned to key combos or things like dashboard at the OS level. No extra drivers needed

If you want fancier features for mouse acceleration adjustment or the need to activate things like the fancy scroll wheel in the logitech mx revolution mouse, then you need something like steer mouse or to stick with the logitech drivers

 

[Ashhong]

Gosh, I can't ignore such strong recommendations. I wish it wasn't so ass-ugly though. Not that my current mouse is anything special, but it has a much simpler design. Regardless, I'll probably get the wired version. Thanks guys.

I thought it looked pretty good...haha. The color design looks pretty nice in person, and not too flashy. The curves are necessary for the comfort of it.

 

[Bowser]

Personally I like the Logitech Anywhere MX. Great portable mouse that feels like a full-sized one in your hand and "Darkfield" technology that lets you use it on practically any surface.

 

[Jasoco]

My MBP's trackpad has spoiled me for mouse input forever. I can't go back. I actually hate using a mouse now.

 

[charlemagne]

My MBP's trackpad has spoiled me for mouse input forever. I can't go back. I actually hate using a mouse now.

Same here. I'm fine with a mouse on my desktop, but trying to use another laptop makes me feel so sluggish and inefficient.

 

[hiro4]

My MBP's trackpad has spoiled me for mouse input forever. I can't go back. I actually hate using a mouse now.

Me too, if the Trackpad was compatible with windows XP I would buy one right now for work.

 

[JonCha]

Noticed the Logitech mouse is titled as a gaming mouse. Will probably buy it for £35 when I start gaming via Boot Camp / Steam for Mac.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

just thought I'd share because it looked so damn cool.

 

[unrenowned]

Currently reading up on this megathread from my iPhone during coffee breaks at work and such. Thought I'd throw in a question now and I'll hopefully be able to read the answer in a couple of days when I've reached this point of my read-through

I'm currently using AVIAddXSubs through WineBottler for inserting XSUBS into my video files for playing on my PS3 without re-encoding them.
Is there a similar native application with roughly the same features?

 

[Jasoco]

Same here. I'm fine with a mouse on my desktop, but trying to use another laptop makes me feel so sluggish and inefficient.

I can't even use an older style Apple trackpad anymore. Being able to click anywhere has done it to me.

 

[mrklaw]

I just dropped my unibody MBP on the floor. Works ok, but the frame is now bent in two places (it bounced). at the rear there is a slight bend in the screen frame near the hinge, but the bigger one is near the power button - the frame is bent so its pushing the battery cover out.

Is there a way to try and bend it back into place?

 

[Meus Renaissance]

I just dropped my unibody MBP on the floor. Works ok, but the frame is now bent in two places (it bounced). at the rear there is a slight bend in the screen frame near the hinge, but the bigger one is near the power button - the frame is bent so its pushing the battery cover out.

Is there a way to try and bend it back into place?

I wonder how much it would cost to repair something like this, perhaps even by Apple. I was one of their stores today and spoke to one of the guys working there. He said people bring in e.g. iPads that have been dropped or run over by a car. They pay about half the price of a new one to get it replaced

 

[Ashhong]

I just dropped my unibody MBP on the floor. Works ok, but the frame is now bent in two places (it bounced). at the rear there is a slight bend in the screen frame near the hinge, but the bigger one is near the power button - the frame is bent so its pushing the battery cover out.

Is there a way to try and bend it back into place?

Got a pic? I dropped a unibody before and bent the corner of the screen, but could never bend it back.

 

[hoverX]

If I have AppleCare can I upgrade my ram myself using Kingston ram?

 

[Ashhong]

If I have AppleCare can I upgrade my ram myself using Kingston ram?

Are you asking if upgrading Ram will void AppleCare? The answer is no it wont void it. You can use whatever brand you want. Unless of course the ram you installed somehow blew up your computer.

 

[AlexMogil]

I just dropped my unibody MBP on the floor. Works ok, but the frame is now bent in two places (it bounced). at the rear there is a slight bend in the screen frame near the hinge, but the bigger one is near the power button - the frame is bent so its pushing the battery cover out.

Is there a way to try and bend it back into place?

The bottom of my 13" was slightly warped. I asked the ame question at MacRumors and they said 'duh just bend it back.'

So I did. Worked great. I hung the warped *up* side off a table and bent it slightly downwards, now it's perfect..

 

[sykoex]

Hey guys I'm pretty new to partitions and Boot Camp and I had a question. Let's say I make a 50GB partition for Windows 7 Boot Camp, and then over time I install enough programs to where I need more than 50 GB, what can I do? Am I stuck with just the 50 GB? Can I install more programs using the space in the Mac OS X partition? Can I make the partition larger?

 

[The Technomancer]

Jesus christ Apple my one big problem with you is that going home to my parents every break is a living hell, because my mother hates hates hates the forced updating. She wants to run a new app on her iPad, but can't until she downloads new firmware, which requires new iTunes different from the version she's used to, which requires a new version of Leopard that she doesn't want to download because she's tired of them screwing with her stuff.

And I agree with her. Mandatory updating is annoying and stupid.

 

[giga]

Jesus christ Apple my one big problem with you is that going home to my parents every break is a living hell, because my mother hates hates hates the forced updating. She wants to run a new app on her iPad, but can't until she downloads new firmware, which requires new iTunes different from the version she's used to, which requires a new version of Leopard that she doesn't want to download because she's tired of them screwing with her stuff.

And I agree with her. Mandatory updating is annoying and stupid.

Developers like to take advantage of new APIs and bug fixes that older firmwares don't have. New firmwares also contain tons of new security fixes.

Now, how about some details about which firmware version and OS version she needs?

 

[Dreams-Visions]

anyone with a 2011 15" or 17" having these issues?

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2768351&start=0&tstart=0

I am. Seems to be quite the growing chorus.

 

[The Technomancer]

Developers like to take advantage of new APIs and bug fixes that older firmwares don't have. New firmwares also contain tons of new security fixes.

Now, how about some details about which firmware version and OS version she needs?

Eh, we're handling it. But she hates how security patches are bundled in with "feature" patches, because they keep changing the interface and stuff.