Soompi Mac User Group

[j79]

prob leopard since her MBP didn't come with a remote.

Oh wow, I didn't know the new MBP don't come with the remotes? Are they supported still? Is Apple just requiring people to buy them now??

[Guest trashstar]

it's a white macbook, that's all i know lol got it from my college

[Guest erure]

Oh wow, I didn't know the new MBP don't come with the remotes? Are they supported still? Is Apple just requiring people to buy them now??

Yeah It costs $19 for a remote now. The funny thing is I had the last version of MBP with the free remote for 10 days... Then the new MBP came out and I wanted to exchange for the new one so I paid the 10% restocking fee for the new laptop (no regrets though -- I needed that MBP 10 days earlier for a reason)... I was surprised to find that there was no remote in the new MBP box and wondered if I could have exchanged it without the remote

I don't feel like shelling out 20 bucks for the remote though ._.

[Guest eatadandelion]

Those are probably on the DVDs that were included with your MacBook. If you pop in the "Mac OS X Install" DVD, you'll probably see an icon for "Install Bundled Software Only"

If not, I'd take it back to the store and explain the situation. I've read other people had similar issues and they installed iLife right then and there...

And so.. I took my macbook to the apple store today and they installed iLife right back onto it ( the guy was really nice and updated me with iLife '08 instead of '06, which is the one I initially had). I didn't notice until today that Photo Booth disappeared! Turns out that the technician at the apple store forgot to install it back on when my harddrive was restored. I had to wait about 2 hours for them to figure out why photobooth would not work on my mac, it wouldn't open at all. Anyway, I am extremely happy that everything is good and dandy now and that my macbook is back to normal.

invest in an external drive and use time machine. that way if it happens again you can just restore your drive like nothing happened.

What would be a good external drive to get?

[Guest Millou]

yeah, turn off your macbook, you can use a firewire cable to connect it from your imac to the macbook.

How hold down the T key on your macbook and turn it on. Keep holding down the T key until you see your drive on the imac desktop.

is it also possible to use an usb cable? i don't want to buy a firewire cable just to use it once or twice...

[Guest Xarthan]

Oh wow, I didn't know the new MBP don't come with the remotes? Are they supported still? Is Apple just requiring people to buy them now??

Yes, they just want you to shell out more $$ to buy it if you want it.

What would be a good external drive to get?

if you can afford it apple's time capsule is very user friendly plus you can backup over wireless. 1TB in size is 499 dollars. It's one of those things to set it, and forget it.

Else just get any old external drive that has 750GB or more space.

is it also possible to use an usb cable? i don't want to buy a firewire cable just to use it once or twice...

oh i don't remember, it should. give it a try.

[j79]

is it also possible to use an usb cable? i don't want to buy a firewire cable just to use it once or twice...

Hey Millou,

When you're transferring files (either Mac to Mac or Mac to External HD), you should really stick with FireWire. While the cables are a few extra bucks, compared to USB cables, the sustained throughput of FireWire (vs USB) is definitely worth it. USB 2.0 might be 480mbps, but it's a short spike, and actually drops a lot, as you continue sending data. Plus, there other devices (my scanner, printer, and externals all have FireWire ports) and if you have a friend who has a MacBook/Pro and needs to transfer a file quickly, that extra FireWire cable will be handy

This is the results of a test comparing FireWire to USB 2.0

Read Test:

5000 files (300 MB total) FireWire was 33% faster than USB 2.0

160 files (650MB total) FireWire was 70% faster than USB 2.0

Write Test:

5000 files (300 MB total) FireWire was 16% faster than USB 2.0

160 files (650MB total) FireWire was 48% faster than USB 2.0

[Guest Xarthan]

Look at what I just got!

Airport EXTREEEEEEEEEEME

Looks hot! I found out on the internet I can hook up a USB Hard Drive and use it with Time Machine! Woohoo! Wireless Backups BABY!

[j79]

Look at what I just got!

Airport EXTREEEEEEEEEEME

Looks hot! I found out on the internet I can hook up a USB Hard Drive and use it with Time Machine! Woohoo! Wireless Backups BABY!

Haha! Nice I have one as well! It's so much better than any Netgear/Linksys I owned in the past. I have it running in "N" mode only (for my MBP) and have my Mini and G5 hooked up via gigabit. Everything is SOOO fast. When I wake up my MBP from sleep, it takes less than a second to jump on the network.

Also, you can plug in a USB hub, and throw multiple HDs or even printers! (Wireless printing )

Gotta love it!

[Guest Millou]

ok thanks for the explenation J79.

But i have another question (it's my first time using a laptop). It's about the battery, what's the best way to preserve it? Some people it's better not to charge it when using the MBP, but others say it's ok to charge the battery while using the laptop.

And can someone explain what Apple means with the cycle thing, about charging battery's...? I don't really understand what they are saying...When does a new cycle begins? When i charge the battery till 100%?

[j79]

ok thanks for the explenation J79.

But i have another question (it's my first time using a laptop). It's about the battery, what's the best way to preserve it? Some people it's better not to charge it when using the MBP, but others say it's ok to charge the battery while using the laptop.

And can someone explain what Apple means with the cycle thing, about charging battery's...? I don't really understand what they are saying...When does a new cycle begins? When i charge the battery till 100%?

In the past, laptop batteries used NiMH technology. With these, you had to fully charge and then fully drain the battery to extend the life. If you charged the battery, and then recharged the battery at half drain, the battery could develop a "memory" issue. This was actually a hardening of the material inside the battery (the battery would crystalize) - Almost all new batteries use Lithium Ion (or Li-ion) which does not suffer the NiMH memory issue (no hardened crystals.) Inside a Li-ion battery is a microchip that basically tells the computer how many times the battery has been charged, the remaining life of the battery, etc.

There are some people who will say you shouldn't charge your battery if it's full - but, this stems from the days of NiMH - it's okay to charge your battery while using your laptop with Li-Ion batteries.

However, with Li-Ion batteries, you do want to re-calibrate your battery at least once a month. While it doesn't suffer from the NiMH-type "memory" issue, the microchip inside can become "confused" and start reporting inaccurate numbers to your laptop. Re-calibrating is easy, and Apple has a page explaining here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?pa.../en/mh2339.html

One thing, though: Li-Ion batteries begin degrading the moment they're manufactured. So, if you bought a laptop that was sitting on a shelf for a year (doing nothing), there's a good chance it's lost anywhere from 4 - 15% of it's charge (depending on battery charge and temperature)

Even worse! The hotter it gets, the quicker your battery will die. So, you can probably imagine the effect laptops have on Li-Ion batteries Especially after a year of using it in a MBP! Haha...

[Guest `tsochi_foo]

When I was using the video in Photo Booth with Macbook, it said it was recording and when I stopped only a few seconds came out.

Like it would say 4:30:24 and then when I clicked the button it would say 9 seconds.

Is there something wrong with my photo booth or is that just how it is?

[Guest dorkiee__ness]

i am a mac user! since july 07 =)

hmm..lets see i bought the Middle mac book. you know there's one with no dvd writer and then there's the middle one which is white and has a dvd writer and then there's the black one. i updated to leopard a while back ago too.

[j79]

When I was using the video in Photo Booth with Macbook, it said it was recording and when I stopped only a few seconds came out.

Like it would say 4:30:24 and then when I clicked the button it would say 9 seconds.

Is there something wrong with my photo booth or is that just how it is?

I didn't know you could record video in Photo Booth???

[Guest `tsochi_foo]

Yeah it does. Its the same quality as the camera..its good just that tiny time issue.

[Guest -js-]

hehe wow this is like my first time in the tech section..

i have a macbook in white!!

also, i posted one of the problems that im having with my macbook in the troubleshooting section..

would it have been better if i posted it here? >_<

well here is the link for it.. it would be great if someone could help me out!

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=214972

[Guest coffee.princessx3]

I'm currently working with an iBook G4 (v. 10.4.11)

with 1.33 GHz PowerPC G4, 768 MB DDR SDRAM, 80GB HDD... etc.

but next year summer, I will have a macbook!T_T hopefully,

they come out with a new and improved macbook by then.^^

[Guest erure]

Oh my God I want the new iMac so bad... The education discount saves me $200 which is awesome...

By the way, is it pointless having both airport extreme and time machine? I don't know if I should just get time machine or get airport extreme and an external hard drive from elsewhere. I haven't heard good things about time machine ._.

[Trungy]

My PowerBook died recently. The hard drive just crashed and whoosh, everything was gone. Luckily, sometime during the fall, I backed up many of my important files. Now, I may not be updated with my music, but the programs that I've used for years now are backed up, as well as the majority of my pictures. I would have been greatly depressed if I had lost my pictures. Oh so precious pictures. As I shuffled through my old files on my "backup hard drive" (also known as my old 3G 30GB iPod), I couldn't help but to mutter to myself, "Oh you are so smart. So, so smart. SO, so smart." Hah!

So I jumped the gun and purchased a new MacBook. I love it thus far. Of course, the two greatest challenges for me right now is: A. Trying to adapt to the new operating system. I went from 10.3 (What is that, Panther?) to 10.5. According to some Mac enthusiasts, the jump is monumental. I don't disagree. B. Trying to figure out how to change the fricken time zone. For the past hour, I've been keeping track of what time it is in pacific time zone. That's great for when/if I move there, but currently, it is a pain to keep thinking, "Oh wait, it is only 2. Whew~"

Mac OS X 10.5

2.4 GHz

4 GB SDRAM (Woo!)

130 GB Hard Drive

I'm glad that with the student discount, purchasing the extra 2 GB of RAM was actually worth it. It feels nice that my computer just flies by now whereas merely two weeks ago, I would have to smack my forehead in disappointment that merely turning my laptop on is a chore.

[Guest darkmafiaguy]

Oh my God I want the new iMac so bad... The education discount saves me $200 which is awesome...

By the way, is it pointless having both airport extreme and time machine? I don't know if I should just get time machine or get airport extreme and an external hard drive from elsewhere. I haven't heard good things about time machine ._.

Well most of the time, you want an External Harddrive if you are gonna use Time Machine anyways.