AppleCare – Is it worth it? I think so.

27 11 2009

Have you ever found yourself wondering whether that AppleCare you purchased was worth the money — I know I would have if I’d had to pay the full price (fortunately as a student it was only around £40). Or perhaps you’re about to buy a mac and you’re wondering whether you should get AppleCare for it.

Before I get started, I should mention that AppleCare is just Apple’s name for the 3 year guarantee extension (giving you a total of 3 years protection) offered for Mac computers.

From my mac experience, getting AppleCare was definitely worth it; and that would still apply if I had to pay the full price of (£273) here’s why:

I’ve had 2 replacement batteries – they would have cost nearly £200; and just recently I had the logic board of my MacBook Pro replaced due to the video card being defective and something else that was wrong with the EFI firmware. That last repair would have cost me a whopping £870.70! I could buy a new mac for that much!!

As I pointed out on twitter, after this last repair my mac came back looking a whole lot better than when I took it in. I had replaced the hard drive myself (which with my model isn’t a user-servicable part) and not really put the case back together properly. In fact, I had broken a section of the case above the DVD drive and it bulged out.
Rather nicely, that’s been fixed, and the screw I lost during the process has been replaced. Also, one of the feet that keep the laptop off of a table had come off at some point.
That hadn’t been replaced when I picked up my computer, so I mentioned it before leaving. The guy popped out to the back of the store and my computer came back with all 4 feet. Awesome.

So yeah. To sum up…. it’s definitely worth getting AppleCare. And by the way, you can get it at anytime during your mac’s first year of standard coverage; you don’t have to get it at the same time.

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Windows 7 x64 on a MacBook Pro – Guide

11 01 2009

As I expected, installing the 64 bit version Windows 7 on my MacBook Pro wasn’t as easy as perhaps it should have been.Apple Logo

You can’t just burn the x64 image to a disk and expect it to work. My MBP didn’t boot from the disc presenting me with the same stuff as it did with Vista (choose option 1 or 2, but the keyboard doesn’t work!).

There are even some new issues introduced by Snow Leopard which I deal with at the end.

However, I’ve had further time to research better methods of getting around this issue since I wrote the Vista x64 article.

Note: I wrote this guide using my MacBook Pro which I got in Summer 2007. (Apple identifies it as “MacBookPro3,1″; It’s the Santa Rosa 2.4Ghz model). Some steps may not be required for your Mac. By deduction, I have already determined that some people are able to boot straight from the DVD. I wasn’t able to.

Ok, here we go:

Follow the instructions here to build a compatible iso file.

Burn that iso image to a DVD (I’ve tried with a USB flash drive but it wouldn’t boot :( )

Put it in your MacBook / MacBook Pro / iMac…. and install like normal! :)

Driver support in Windows 7 is okay for my MacBook Pro; certainly a lot better than it was with Vista x64, but you’ll still want to install some stuff especially if you’re on a laptop (to get the brightness adjustment, bluetooth, touchpad etc., working). So:

Put your Snow Leopard disk in, if you have one. And follow the instructions below if you see that message.

Otherwise:

If you don’t have Snow Leopard,  try your Leopard DVD and run the setup from there (Mine doesn’t have the 64 bit drivers on, yours may. Who knows….)

Or finally,  you can download the individual driver files from the above package which should save some time waiting for Rapid Share. They’re here. You won’t see any application run, maybe just a UAC prompt,  but they do work.

Now you should have a completeish install; but, be sure to check Windows Update (there’s a better video driver) and apply security updates / install antivirus….

Oh, and to get sound working you can just run the RealTekSetup.exe from any of the above packages in Vista compatibilty mode and it’ll work.

Whichever method you choose: you should update to the latest version (3.1 at time of edit) which can be downloaded here. You have to install a previous version before that though.

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EDIT: to improve your hard drive’s windows experience rating, look at the solution I posted in the comments below.

Snow Leopard edit: Now that Snow Leopard is out, all the disks have x64 drivers on them. So, if you can, use that. However, if you have an oldish Mac like mine, you may see the following message (Boot Camp x64 is unsupported on this computer model)

After installing the drivers from the disk, you should update to Boot Camp version 3.1 from here.

Boot Camp x64 unsupported on this model

If you do see that, it’s no big deal. Just open up command prompt as an administrator (in the start menu type cmd, right click on it and select Run as Administrator, click yes on the UAC prompt).

In the command prompt window, change to the DVD’s directory by running

cd /d D:

(assuming your Snow Leopard disk is in the D drive).

Now type

cd Boot Camp\Drivers\Apple

And then finally, type

BootCamp64.msi

This circumvents the installers check of your computer model and installs all the relevent drivers properly.


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Stop your MacBook / MacBook Pro from waking when you plug in the power adapter under Windows

15 09 2008

OK, so…. When you’re in Windows on your MacBook / MacBook Pro and your computer is asleep, if you plug in the power adapter, it wakes up; in lots of cases, this is annoying and it certainly doesn’t do that when you’re in Mac OS X.

Follow these steps and you’ll be able to stop it from doing so:

  1. Click start
  2. Right click on My Computer / Computer
  3. Click properties
  4. Click Device manager (in XP, you have to go to to the Hardware tab to see this option)
  5. Click the + next to Batteries
  6. Double click on “Microsoft AC Adapter”
  7. Click Power Management
  8. Untick the “Allow this device to wake the computer” box.

Note: I’ve only tried this on Vista; it should work the same on XP but the position of the AC adapter in device manager might be different. Comment if it is and I’ll try to help.

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Is the iPod Classic dead?

10 09 2008

Yes, I know it’s just been ‘updated’ along with the iPod nano & touch. But you can’t surely say that that was an upgrade?

It’s exactly the same! WITH LESS SPACE.

Prior to today you could buy an 80GB or a 160GB iPod Classic in black or white. Now, it’s 120GB (in black or white) or nothing.

And it’s no different; the nano got all the newness: the new software, the accellerometer, the new design….

The software on the iPod Classic seems to be exactly the same as the previous one; it doesn’t even appear to have been given Genius like the touch, nano & iPhone. Admittedly, it could be added later with a software upgrade but it seems weird that they didn’t want it as a launch feature.

Jobs admitted that the iPod Classic is the one that started off the iPod range and that in itself probably means it is here to stay, but perhaps it is not the highest priority because the other models sell more?

Only time will tell whether the iPod classic will stick around; the only selling point that I think it has at the moment is the larger storage space (I’m sure many have more than 32GB of music or want to use it as portable storage) and the fact that it is by far the cheapest per GB.

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EDIT: According to this, the iPod classic will “eventually get an update to enable Genius playlists”


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iPhone to iPhone 3G – Was it worth it?

25 08 2008

iPhone vs iPhone 3G

So, I, like many others have had my iPhone 3G for about a month and a half now….. I think that’s long enough to decide whether the upgrade was worthwhile – was it worth the money? oh no, that isn’t a valid point for me; I’m £100 up from the upgrade to 3G :)

Let’s see now; there’s only really 2 major differences between the original and the 3G: the latter has a 3G modem (go figure) and a GPS receiver. Of course, firmware 2.0 brings 3rd party application support through the excellent App Store; I’m not going to count that though, since that upgrade is offered for the iPod Touch and original iPhone.

The design has changed a little – the back is now made of plastic rather than that MacBook Pro style aluminium; it’s offered in two colours: black and white (16GB only) and the back is curved (so it tapers out from the sides) rather than being flat. Overall, these design changes make it feel and look better than the original, as usual with Apple.

3G - two colours available

3G - two colours available

So principally, the new model should offer faster internet access and the ability to locate you more accurately. The question is, does it?

First, I feel I have to explain that my experience with the original iPhone was ummm average – I loved it… but almost everywhere I spent time there was no Edge coverage, only GPRS; I very rarely saw Edge. So, to be frank it was very very slow. Something upon which I blame O2 for.

Almost everywhere I spend time with my iPhone 3G has very good 3G coverage and it’s pleasantly fast. I can’t be sure that it is as fast as it should be (and I don’t really care for the most part) because it is so very much faster than GPRS.

I see people complaining about how they thought the speed increase would be much bigger; those people went from Edge to 3G rather than GPRS to 3G like I experienced – I’m happy with the speed increase it yielded.

Though, with the amount of complaints I’ve seen on the internet about it not being as fast as it should be; it probably could, and should be faster than it is.

Overall though, I’ve been very fortunate; I’m yet to experience a dropped call, I’m satisfied with the speed and in other ways, it’s the same as the original – brillant!

Pro’s:

  • Faster data access
  • GPS
  • 3rd party applications (not really a pro for 3G, but 2.0)
  • Looks & feels better

Con’s

  • Compatible with less accessories; chargers, speaker docks….
  • Laggy response in some applications (mainly down to 2.0 as it is the same on the iPod & original iPhone & should be fixed by future software updates)
  • Same old camera – still a 2 mega pixel model from 2005; without the autofocus! It’s adequate, but disappointing for 2008.

To conclude, I think the upgrade to 3G was definately worth the -£100 I spent on it. Ahh, scratch that….. I made £100 out of the upgrade and I got a much better phone for it -  It was definately worth it!

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    Sound glitch in Boot Camp, x64

    19 08 2008

    I have known about this issue for a while and as of yet I haven’t found a good solution (though, admittedly, I am yet to look for one!) and the reason as to why I’m posting this now is that I know I’m not alone in having this problem — I got two hits from someone searching “no sound macbook pro vista ultimate 2008″

    The problem occurs randomly, but I’m pretty sure that I see it more after my MacBook Pro has resumed from sleep in Vista (Ultimate 64 bit).

    The problem is that no sound will play out of the speakers even though the system is unmuted and should be playing sounds!

    The only way I have found to get around this is to insert some headphones/speakers into the headphone jack and then remove them. This always restores the sound for me….. But, I will get on to finding out if there is a better solution than this and I’ll update this post if I find anything.

    Does this work for you? Or have you found some other way to restore sound? If you have found another way, please comment.


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    Categories : Apple, Computers, Microsoft

    MSN on Mac is annoying

    15 07 2008

    Both Microsoft “Messenger for Mac” and Adium offer far fewer features than the Windows MSN client – Windows Live Messenger — Why is that!?

    For instance, just now I was signed into MSN in Adium and I wanted to send a link to a friend, but he wasn’t online; fine, I thought – I’ll just send the message now and he’ll get it when he comes online.

    But no! Adium informed me that the contact wasn’t online and gave me two choices – to send the message now and that it would only go through if the contact was appearing offline or send it later.

    I tried the first option – but he wasn’t online… So, thinking that it would work the other way, I chose the second option – to send the message later. Little did I know that this doesn’t work in the same way as on Windows; In order for the message to get through later, both the contact and I have to be online (and I would have to be using Adium; rare for me, the person who bought an MBP for Windows :p).

    So, frustrated with the offering from Adium, I downloaded Microsoft’s offering – Messenger for Mac and I was immediately disappointed – just clicking on an offline contact presented me with a dialog saying they were offline and “Would you like to mail this contact?” NO, I JUST WANT TO SEND AN OFFLINE MESSAGE!

    So, are there any MSN clients for Mac that can offer this feature and preferably others i.e. Shared Folders (which is absent from Messenger for Mac)?

    Is the fact that Adium (which seems to be a fairly well featured IM client) isn’t able to send offline messages through MSN Microsoft’s doing? If so, they should at least implement it in their own client!

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    A new iTunes version coming soon…..

    9 06 2008

    The requirements for the iPhone 3G list iTunes 7.7 as a requirement.

    I sincerely hope that it is a release that provides some fixes rather than just an upgrade to support the new phone.

    For as long as I can remember now, iTunes hasn’t closed properly and I have to kill it’s process from task manager. And as of a couple of days ago, it won’t start up at all! I really need to get onto fixing that….. or rather, Apple do; Lots of people experience this problem when using the iPhone / iPod touch apparently….

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    Edit: have now fixed iTunes *touches wood* well, at least it opens; for the last two attempts it has closed properly too! I hope it continues. Was something to do with Symantec i.e. Norton’s LiveUpdate service (which I had disabled)…. Will have to investigate that link when I can.


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    Good luck, smartphones. The better, cheaper iPhone lands July 11th with 3G & GPS…

    9 06 2008

    Apple finally revealed the iPhone 3g!

    Software is the same but it has

    • 3G Data Speeds
    • GPS (which also combines cell-tower and WiFi positioning from before)
    • Awesome battery life (see pic below)
    • A very good price

    I think the phone market just got dominated.

    More details to follow.


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    CAPS LOCKE! (OH, AND THE APPLE ALUMINIUM KEYBOARD FIRMWARE UPDATE)

    6 05 2008

    I AM CONSTRUCTING THIS POST JUST BECAUSE I CAN!

    APPLE HAS FIXED THE PROBLEM WITH THE CAPS LOCK KEY WHICH USED TO RESULT IN THE KEYBOARD RANDOMLY LOCKING UP AND CONTINOUSLY SENDING BUTTONS.

    IT WAS FIXED WITH THE ‘ALUMINIUM KEYBOARD FIRMWARE UPDATE 1.0′ WHICH CAN BE FOUND HERE

    THERE IS NO WINDOWS VERSION UNFORTUNATELY (FOR THOSE WHO ARE JUST USING THE KEYBOARD WITH A WINDOWS MACHINE) SO IT SEEMS THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO LIVE WITH THIS PROBLEM OR BORROW A MAC TO UPDATE YOUR KEYBOARD.

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