MAC Book Pro

[DodgerKing]

I found that the 4GB of ram for normal stuff, word processing, web, email, was fine. It was only when I started heavy multi-tasking, running Parallels in conjunction with SPSS and all of the above, that I wanted the extra boost from the 8GB of ram. But I am not an ordinary user by any means. When I got the machine last week, my initial reaction was that this machine runs very smooth, memory wise it seemed more than up to the task.

I would think you would want a machine with 4GB, I would not pay Apple for the 8GB version - they charge too much, and I bought the 8GB ram upgrade for $78 from Amazon. I have never seen the mbp run face to face with an Air, or indeed, with any other mbp's, so I am probably not able to make any comparisons. I suspect the machine Ilya got, for $1000, with an i5, would be great for her. The Macbook Air is really neat in terms of how thin and light it is, but it really is the Apple version of a netbook from what I have seen.

Dodger, you know I have never been an Apple fan, but I have been eating a bunch of crow this week -- I really like this hardware and the OS, while it has things that irritate the hell out of me, runs smooth. Initial boot is something like 20 seconds, and when you wake it up from sleep mode, the darn thing turns on instanteously, and 5 seconds later, once wi-fi connects, it is good to go.

SO, in the end, I think I'd probably go for a mbp; much more memory, faster architecture than the mac books and mac book airs.

Can you just go to your local big box store and buy RAM for a MAC and put it in yourself like you can with a PC?

For me, I used MACs before PCs and still have one in my classroom.

I simply do not like the UI of MAC OS, and the difficulty in changing certain aspects of the MAC itself (Is it even possible to overclock the processor?). With that said I have tried out snow leopard and I do have to say I am much more impressed with this OS over the other older versions of MAC OS. Also, the latest version of Office on a MAC is much better than the older ones. At least with the new version you can lock the toolbars within the window instead of having the things floating freely and always in your way. It is also now possible to do a true full screen (which is something else that used to annoy me)

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Can you just go to your local big box store and buy RAM for a MAC and put it in yourself like you can with a PC?

For me, I used MACs before PCs and still have one in my classroom. I simply do not like the UI of MAC OS, and the difficulty in changing certain aspects of the MAC itself (Is it even possible to overclock the processor?). With that said I have tried out snow leopard and I do have to say I am much more impressed with this OS over the other older versions of MAC OS. Also, the latest version of Office on a MAC is much better than the older ones. At least with the new version you can lock the toolbars within the window instead of having the things floating freely and always in your way. It is also now possible to do a true full screen (which is something else that used to annoy me)

I found the ram I needed, ordered it from Amazon (that is my big box ), spent an hour trying to find a Phillips #00 screwdriver, unscrewed the back of the mbp (8 screws), popped out the two ram sticks (just like in a pc); popped in the new ones, closed the cover, put the screws in, booted the machine, and 20 seconds later I was back in business. It recognized the memory automatically, and seemed pretty zippy with the extra memory.

Easy as any PC.

If you used a MAC a long time ago, I suspect Snow Leopard is a lot different. Not a lot of floating windows. My only complaint is the Finder; I don't like how it can't sort folders by sub-folders first; but I installed an alternative, Forklift, which works great to do that; and I have learned how to better use Finder; by creating shortcuts to my most important folders in the "places" part of the sidebar, and it is much better.

Btw, right now I am multi-tasking out the ying-yang, 9 browser windows open, 12 programs lit up in my Dock (FInder, forklift, chrome, apple mail, itunes, word, spss, numbers, pathfinder, echofon (twitter), DEVONthink, Parallels, and Activity monitor). Parallels is taking 1GB, and I have 1.51GB of ram free, with 3GB "active," 1.38 GB "inactive". The machine is running quiet, and as fast as at bootup.

I just stopped XP and quit Parallels, and now I have 2.62GB free, 2.45GB active, and 1.44 inactive.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I have no idea if you can over-clock a mac, but given the way hardware cooling is on this puppy, I doubt I would ever even try. But I'm told that these machines are inherently hackable.

 

[DodgerKing]

BTW, The first laptop I had and used was given to my by my school, was an aluminum Powerbook G4 in 2003 running both OS 9 and OS X. The aluminum cover was way too hot to actually use it on your lap. I gave it back to them after a couple of years of frustration for a bottom of the line Compaq laptop, which I still use and is now running Windows 7 with the memory upgraded to 2 gigs from 512 meg, on a dual core Intel, and the thing still runs smoothly.

 

[DodgerKing]

I have no idea if you can over-clock a mac, but given the way hardware cooling is on this puppy, I doubt I would ever even try. But I'm told that these machines are inherently hackable.

There is probably no reason to do so anyway. Plus, I know my wife would never let me hack or tweak her computer. She still won't let me JB her iPhone. She likes things to run exactly as they are made.

She reluctant to let me tweak my motorcycle (rejet the carburetor, put in a bigger air-kit to allow more air in, and put Cobra pipes to let more air out). Now I want increase the airflow in my truck (cool air intake, dual exhaust, and reprogramming the fuel injector). She is very reluctant to allow me to spend money to improve my products.

 

[JAG72]

I have no idea if you can over-clock a mac, but given the way hardware cooling is on this puppy, I doubt I would ever even try. But I'm told that these machines are inherently hackable.

Remember that the aluminum case is part of the cooling of the MacBook's. I purchased a cover for my MacBook and don't have issues with how warm the case gets. The plastic stays pretty cool.

 

[JAG72]

Forgot to mention, she doesn't want a large laptop; she wants one around 13"

I really love the 13" form factor. My next one will most likely be the 13" one again. Even though it may be a couple of years before I upgrade as my MacBook runs just as fast today as when I purchased it.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Remember that the aluminum case is part of the cooling of the MacBook's. I purchased a cover for my MacBook and don't have issues with how warm the case gets. The plastic stays pretty cool.

Mine is in a clear plastic case too, and the heat isn't a problem except when it is right on my lap for a long time. But I suspect in the winter, it will keep me nice and toasty.

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[DodgerKing]

Remember that the aluminum case is part of the cooling of the MacBook's. I purchased a cover for my MacBook and don't have issues with how warm the case gets. The plastic stays pretty cool.

Just out of curiosity only, is one able to overclock the processor on a MAC? If so is it as easy as on a PC? Are you even able to access the BIOS (Does a MAC even have BIOS)?

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[diogen]

Just out of curiosity only, is one able to overclock the processor on a MAC? If so is it as easy as on a PC? Are you even able to access the BIOS (Does a MAC even have BIOS)?

Yes, you can overclock. At least models before Sandy Bridge.
No, it's not as easy as PCs. Much, much harder.
They do have a BIOS but nothing even remotely resembling PC's.
You have no access to FSB, ratios, memory timings, multipliers, etc.

Macs are not for tinkerers. Even upgrades might become problematic (they start using proprietary power connector on hard drives).

Diogen.

 

[JAG72]

The Mac does not have a traditional BIOS. They have an EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface). From what I have seen, you are not able to access it in the traditional fashion. There are 3rd party tools to access the EFI if needed (rEFIt). You have to be very very careful as you could brick you Mac and have no way of bringing it back to life without taking it to Apple to fix.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

The Mac does not have a traditional BIOS. They have an EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface). From what I have seen, you are not able to access it in the traditional fashion. There are 3rd party tools to access the EFI if needed (rEFIt). You have to be very very careful as you could brick you Mac and have no way of bringing it back to life without taking it to Apple to fix.

I see no reason to even mess around with it. I was impressed that when I installed new ram, it simply recognized it and did not miss a beat. While I used to tweak the BIOS of my desktop computers, I have usually avoided that with laptops anyways.

It was interesting when I installed the ram that I saw that IF the battery were to go bad, it would not be a difficult job to replace it - that and the hard drive -- although I am happy with a 500GB HDD (just wish it was 7200 rpm, but I'll live).

I just used my Toshiba and after 8 days with the mac, the I found myself struggling with the track pad on it.

 

[JAG72]

I 100% agree that there is no reason to mess with the EFI. I have not touched it in the 3 years of using my MacBook. It was very easy to replace the HDD and memory. I did upgrade my drive to a 750GB 7200 RPM drive this year. It made a difference in how it ran with the faster drive. I almost only went with a 500GB drive but for the extra $10 the 750 was a good deal.

 

[Ilya]

A quick question:
I have found how to hide the Dock, but how do I maximize the Safari browser window to occupy the entire screen width?
When I click on the green Plus sign, the window gets bigger, but still leaves big margins on both sides.
I can drag the window corner to make it bigger, but is there a short-cut to maximize it to the full width?

 

[JAG72]

You can make the window larger by selecting and dragging the bottom right corner of the window. I have noticed that the green + only makes the window as large as needed by the application. Very odd but I have learned to live with it.

 

[DodgerKing]

You can make the window larger by selecting and dragging the bottom right corner of the window. I have noticed that the green + only makes the window as large as needed by the application. Very odd but I have learned to live with it.

Which is one of those annoying things about MAC OS, IMO. The inability to do actual full screen on many APPs. Although I think snow leopard can now do this.

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[Ilya]

That's rather annoying, especially on a 13" screen, where every inch counts.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

You can make the window larger by selecting and dragging the bottom right corner of the window. I have noticed that the green + only makes the window as large as needed by the application. Very odd but I have learned to live with it.

I was bugged by that too. Easy to minimize, not so much for maximizing.

I did find the setting to allow you to double click the title bar of the app to minimize it; although I have no idea where I found that. LOL

 

[JAG72]

I was bugged by that too. Easy to minimize, not so much for maximizing.

I did find the setting to allow you to double click the title bar of the app to minimize it; although I have no idea where I found that. LOL

System Preference - Appearance

This is the location for what you did.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

System Preference - Appearance

This is the location for what you did.

Yeah, that's right! I have tweaked so much I have forgot. I also had NO IDEA that OSX was SO keyboard-centric. I always envisioned the Mac as the device that began the GUI with the mouse. I have forgotten as many "short-cuts" this week as I have learned.