The inside of a Macbook. Nice. Apple product battery life I have to say suck. My ipod barely last a year before the battery dies on me. Still, I do love Apple product. I want a Macbook Pro!!!!! I so want!!!!!!!!!
Actually i think the battery life for my iBook lasts longer than most PC laptops. Been eyeing MacBook Pro for a long time now, but just can't justify buying another Mac when i still have 2 perfectly working iBook. Truth is the MacBook itself is a good choice for everyone; instead of the Pro, because it's smaller and lighter and works just fine for "normal" use.
Actually i think the battery life for my iBook lasts longer than most PC laptops. Been eyeing MacBook Pro for a long time now, but just can't justify buying another Mac when i still have 2 perfectly working iBook. Truth is the MacBook itself is a good choice for everyone; instead of the Pro, because it's smaller and lighter and works just fine for "normal" use.
oops...why the duplicate postings...???
I usually lose data due to disk failure. For virus, never had a serious case b4 (coz I'm using dual OS, when one had virus, use the other one to backup data, the format the partition which have virus). Oh, BTW, i use Norton also (but didnt update the virus definition files for 6++ months now). My PC still safe though, by not recklessly open suspicious email attachments or programs, rarely download freebies (like flash games), didnt use Ares, Veoh etc, and be extra careful when accessing external storage (like thumbdrives, portable HDD)
holy crap that looks complicated. i've never been the unfortunate victim of a virus wiping out content in any of my PC's. However, one 5G 60 gig iPod which i used as a backup drive had its entire memory wiped by a nasty worm which came (RavMon.exe). Got pissed off because it held a lot of my digital art (.psds and jpegs). Right now I have a 500 gig and 1 TB WD acting as backup drives for all my stuff. I also use all 3 of my iPods as data storage.
No more complicated than changing the HD in any laptop. Maybe a few more steps (Most PC laptops have the drive stored behind the battery, so by removing the battery you can slide the old HD out) but not that complicated. As for using a Mac, I have not switched. I use PCs, despite the Windows problems (I am still on XP, though.) And there are free anti-virus programs out there for Mac. AVG (http://free.grisoft.com) is a good one. I've also heard good things about avast!, but have never used it.
On the contrary, I'll never use AVG ever again. I've been hit twice with viruses and in both times I had to reformat the whole drive. I had AVG installed in both occasions. No harm done actually, but backing up was a pain. I was using the windows version though (still on XP). I'm now using NOD32 and liking it.
This is the first time I have seen a MBP taken apart. Personally, I would never use one in a corporate environment because replacing that drive would be a huge hassle. If one of our thinkpads goes down it takes less then 2 minutes to move the user to a new machine. My first day working at my last job and our servers got hit by msblast. That was a very fun first day. I never back up my data at home which is funny because I always yell at my coworker to change the backup tapes.
On my Mac I use Time Machine. On my XP laptop I use Acronis TrueImage for backups. On my Linux server, it's for testing and practice so I don't back it up. On my Vista box, well, I've come to loathe it so I use it for tinkering around with databases, programming (before I do the work on the other three OS's), gaming, etc. Deciding if I want to buy an MBP or a Toshiba laptop and slap Linux on it for my next major upgrade/hardware replacement
I switched on the Time Machine just to try it on a iBook with a 500GB external HHD and in only 2 days, I'm down to only 100 over GB left. The worst part is i don't even have anything on the iBook in the first place. I download some movies and they go straight to the EX-HHD. After switching it off and downloaded quite a number of HD movies now, i still have 300 over GB left. I guess there must be some settings i can tweak to limit the Time Machine use but so much space in just 2 days... Anyway back to the main topic about backing up data. I do use RAID 0 on my PC. Some how, having 2 copies of the same thing written on 2 different HHD automatically make me feel safe when i sleep at night and not afraid that my harddisk would crash while moving files and deleting some other at the same time... Bad experience....cried over it for a while...then found some data recovery software and saved everything again and was so relived I was singing and dancing over it.
I switched on the Time Machine just to try it on a iBook with a 500GB external HHD and in only 2 days, I'm down to only 100 over GB left. The worst part is i don't even have anything on the iBook in the first place. I download some movies and they go straight to the EX-HHD. After switching it off and downloaded quite a number of HD movies now, i still have 300 over GB left. I guess there must be some settings i can tweak to limit the Time Machine use but so much space in just 2 days... Anyway back to the main topic about backing up data. I do use RAID 0 on my PC. Some how, having 2 copies of the same thing written on 2 different HHD automatically make me feel safe when i sleep at night and not afraid that my harddisk would crash while moving files and deleting some other at the same time... Bad experience....cried over it for a while...then found some data recovery software and saved everything again and was so relived I was singing and dancing over it.
Macbook White here, first gen. Mine had issues at first, called up Apple they took my information, the next day I had a box to ship it back in. Took about a week to get it back. Been running like a champ ever since. I'll NEVER go back to Windows, hell I don't use any of microsoft's products. Macbook air is first gen and the issue it sounds like it's having was the same I had.
i used to do design work at a company and went thru 4 macs in 3 1/2 years(one of them was a cube, i kno, ancient times). i prefer to work on pc. i don't really like anything apple except for the ipod, never had one die on me (on my 3rd one now, the second is still running, and the first was traded up).
and i nearly never back up anything important, like work <_< i only move the animu to external hds to save space.
I usually backup my webserver every month ever since the whole thing got wiped out by a hacking incident, although I do backup my work server twice a day. ^^ regarding macs and windows, would love to switch to mac, unfortunately none of the system database and programs at work would run on it. ^^;
Since I'm using a windows machine I don't have much to say except "sucked like a chicken with lips"? LOL... wtf? My sis uses Mac though, so I am familiar with Mac components. She does alot of backing up. At the moment we have an airport extreme for Wifi, but she's lookin to get the time capsule for easy backup capability. She gets pissed off when I steal her bluetooth keyboard to type on my PS3. Only Mac product I own is the Ipod touch, and you know I love it to death. Have anti-virus, firewall, spyware checkers etc... I've been lucky, and haven't been terribly zapped by a virus I couldn't recover from. Also, I haven't had a HDD crash yet (knock on wood)
bluetooth keyboard for PS3??? How does it work??? What is it for?
I used to back up my data until my worst nightmare occurred. I was using the IBM Thinkpad and had all my data backed-up on an external HDD. The Thinkpad was about three years old and started to get cranky which was the reason why I spent a great deal of effort and time to back-up all my photos (3 friggin' years' worth of travel photos in both the States/Europe!) and all my music and movies. Only to find that... on my way back home to Singapore, my mom dropped my Thinkpad at the Airport (it obviously died after that) and when I got home, found that my HDD was corrupted for no particular reason. T.T Now I can't be bothered to back-up my data anymore... even though I say that, I do intend to burn important files into CDs but I just haven't gotten down to doing it.
I've had problem with my HDs, blue screen of death or otherwise. I always run a chkdsk in DOS before deciding whether or not the disk has truly died. The only way know how to get into DOS to do so, is by running the installation disk and selecting recovery (I've haven't had the need to do this in a long time however, so I can't remember details ^^;) [I'm running XP pro btw]
what external hd casing is that?
@soju: you're asking me? Ehhh... I cannot really remember. All I know is that it was a 40Gb external USB HDD. Eh... And got some fella to rescue the stuff in it, but apparently the reading head was the culprit and if they opened the vacuum-tight casing(?) to fix the head, the data would be lost anyway... Honestly, I don't know what I've just tried to convey... not too good with specifics...
I've got myself a macbook earlier this year and I quite like it ^^ I still use a windows PC and bascially I've got no preference between Mac and Windows. Like Danny said, you can probably do anything on the mac that you can do with windows.
i want this pc how much cost u.s dollar?
The Macbook Pro starts at $2000 U.S Dollars.
Which is at it's all time best Price for a MacBook Pro now i guess.
I bought my first mac about a month ago and I love it so far. It's perfectly fine for my "everyday use" machine - email, web, music, etc. I'm still going to keep building my own Windows PCs for gaming though. ^^ I also built a machine to use Debian Linux on as my server. Downloads, file storage, web hosting, typical server stuff. :D Danny, the "egg shaped" Sony branded item on top of the Mac Mini in the first photo - what is that? It looks like some sort of speaker.
Its a rolly http://www.dannychoo.com/adp/eng/1334/Rolly.html
My faithful 12" PowerBook had a drive failure earlier this year. Fortunately I was able to save all my data and upgrade a a new, twice as spacious hard drive. Was not a fun time, though. Before that, I had sent the same machine in a couple years ago (when my AppleCare warranty thingie was still in effect) to have the track pad replaced. Service was outstanding, like perfectly cooked chicken you could suck off the bone. Yum. As for backups, since the drive death incident, I've backed up everything but my music onto my iPod once a month. Much of my music is on the iPod anyway, but I also figure since most of it was... *ahem* "easily" acquired, I shouldn't be too sad if it should be as easily lost. In the future I'd like to get a serious external drive and keep more complete backups. Glad you got your machine fixed successfully, Danny, and thanks for putting in an authoritative word on the whole "but Macs can't XYZ" argument. I've been fighting that off since 8th grade.
I have been using windows since 2000. I just bought my first mac last month. I have used my windows desktop less and less these days. I still have my windows desktop for torrents and dvd recoding. I have been backing up my data on an external seagate 750gb drive. I also back my macbook on another 250gb external drive. Im paranoid of backing my data, since I had my drive die on me last year and loosing almost have of the data on the drive.
my first couple personal computers were actually macs. I think I had 1-2 macs before it got too expensive to own ^^; I did have my macs die on me before and replacing it was so costly for a student =_= I use macs at my last office job. Then my last macintosh died and I used a laptop PC as a desktop for the longest time until I got a 2nd hand PC CPU I dare say macs are pretty idiot proof tho, was scared to use windows PC for the longest time until I met some PC users thru work lol up to know I still don't dare to install a PC OS ^^;
Oh, Danny was wondering doesn't opening up your macbook pro voids the warranty? I know the macbook have manuals from apple on how to replace the hard drive and the memory.
it only voids the warranty if you break something along the way ;]
Good point ;)
Penryn Macbook Pro user here, took some time to get used to Mac OS X but after you get used to it, it feels comfortable. I'll also be upgrading the internal HD when the 500GB 7200RPMS are out.
Macs also come with web server Apache and scripting language PHP installed as default. Oh I didn't know that, could be useful. ^^ (+1 pt for Mac)
My motherboard died on my MBP too, I had no video on the screen, but it still booted up in OSX fine. Apple replaced the motherboard, and my DVD drive too, all for free. 1200$ for parts, replaced for free = happy me. I'll probably end up getting Apple Care, just incase something happens again in the future. Time machine is also a lifesaver, makes backing up really easy, and saves a lot of time. Lastly, I never actually saw good photos of replacing the HDD inside, so I'm pretty happy you showed them, was kinda skiddish about replacing mine, but I'll probably give it a go sometime soon with s 7200rpm drive. Oh and btw, that type of cable you were wondering about is called a ribbon cable.
Oh nice, you can use enter now, and make new paragraphs, finally :D And the external drive cases you got are really nice, makes me wanna get matching equipment and stuff too ;p
i had an iBook that crapped on me (the screen started acting funny). now my MBP is acting funny, too...the battery dies even though it's not all the way drained. i should probably send it in and get the screen fixed, too (i have some dead pixels from my trip to japan).
Danny, always get the Apple Care protection, especially if you are buying a Mac Book. Best insurance you can buy. As for backing up data, I should do it more often. Lost a 250GB Lacie Porsche last year. Had about 30-40GB of bootleg music that I can’t get anymore.
Still hoping to get a mac in the near future...hope my ipod touch lasts...>.<
Danny,i am glad you finally fixed it ,you have great skill
Very informative post, Danny! I'm too scared to open my own pc, for fear of breaking it. I used to back up but, it just got troublesome after a while >.< My pc is most lovable, it's only had one virus wipeout and one USB freeze.. beyond that, I have next-to-no problems with my pc. I run windows XP, have yet to mess with a Mac.
I always prefer windows systems for the game support. True Macs don't need much anti-virus, but virus for Macs does exist...just not used. Weird, I thought only windows have the major hardware issues... I have like 3 sources of back up, one external hard drive for my anime and other critical or hard-to-get software, one online storage site for easy access to time critical files, and one USB stick for documents and contacts.
Only time I had major issues with a computer is when viruses attacked my first computer 4 times (killing it every single time) and then my laptop (which had neat files on it). Those 5 times really annoyed me and virus makers who waste their time making the viruses, had a few things deleted that I wanted to keep. My Toshiba Laptop (that i had for a few years) still holds up well and has AVG on it. I'm not taking those chances again. As for my PC I have AVG 8 on it since I found Norton to be crap. Computers can be a blessing and a curse.
I can only "see" what people like about a Mac, they do look pretty. Is the function really there? I just can't wrap my mind around a one button mouse?
You just activate multi-touch support for the trackpad, tap with two fingers = right click.
Mac also support a left and right click.. I use a Logitech MX without any problem.
I attended the opening of the new Apple Store in Sydney yesterday. Its the 2nd biggest Apple store in the world (London the biggest) and its the biggest Apple store in the southern hemisphere. Considering the line was long and I got there a few hours after the official opening time, I still managed to get one of their special Apple t-shirts. There had 2,500 as originally announced for the first 2,500 customers but I'm sure they had more. Immense all the hype, I was tempted to leave there with an iTouch and/or a Macbook after learning a bit about the hardware and its functionality but considering the expenses I had due, I had to hold back. T_T Still, I'm interested in learning about new technology and considering I need a laptop soon, I might as well get a Mac to fulfill that.
I wanted to stay~! I showed up around 3:30 but I had church so I left around 4... line wasn't as long as I expected (I should have stayed u_u~)
I do sort of backup. I currently have a Windows 2k3 fileserver, and it has a 700GB RAID5 array in it (4x 250GB HDDs), and so if one goes I can replace it with no data loss. I do also have an external 320GB HD that I will regularly back things upto. My Debian mailserver has a cron job set to backup all the email off to the fileserver every Sunday night as well. I do also have a DDS3 tape drive, and a DLT drive but I dont really use them (yes, i should). In my main workstation (Kubuntu 8.04) I have a couple of large drives, but they are temporary download locations before going to the fileserver, or they are for my virtual machines/extra space for ripping/encoding DVDs. I'am planning on getting 3x 1TB drives to replace several of the single drives in my fileserver and create another RAID5 array, just waiting for the cost to come down a bit.
Hate to be the open source biget but what about Linux. I use it for my web development environment. And Uinux for the web server. May I also remind you that your belovid Mac OS X is based on Uinux (Thoe its not open source).
"Unix" not "Uinux" :P
Uinux..........hmm....BSD perhaps...Mac is based on BSD Unix.
