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Mac Hardware and Software |OT| - All things Macintosh

dofry

That's "Dr." dofry to you.
Im in canada

So apple is all out and directed me to resellers

Im looking at $100-$200

Can I just buy this:

EGOWAY 65Wh/6000mAh MacBook Pro 13" Battery for Apple A1322 A1278 (Mid 2009, Mid 2010, Early 2011, Late 2011, Mid 2012 Version) - 18 Months Warranty https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01DMCGBF0/

Just general advice:

If you look at the underside of your Mac, you can find the model number for your Macbook.
E.g. "Designed by Apple....Model number: A 1234"
If it matches those A1322 or A1278 you posted, then you can buy that battery.

I have some Chinese battery from 2013 and it has been working so far. Not a lot of juice left in it anymore but when it was new, I got a solid 4-5 hours work from it. Nowdays it's 40 minutes.
 
A question about iCloud, and remote desktop/controlling.

1. Can I purchase apps, icloud and manage things for my mom?

It would be easier if I could just pay for her icloud space and it would update on her iPad.
Currently I have Famlily sharing on and my credit card pays for everything.

2. Can I remote control her iPad somehow with her permission when I need to do the monthly/yearly maintenance. Usually she calls me and says "I am running out of space" or "My ipad is slow" or "Where is that Netflix app?"

Easier to quickly organise things and change settings myself instead of trying to explain to her over a ipad video chat.

I assume icloud would solve the problem of her taking a shitload of pictures that fill up the ipad fairly regularly.

iCloud by itself is going to make it tricky to manage that stuff, but it can be done. But you may also want to look into an MDM for that stuff

1) Even with Family Sharing, iCloud space is separate. So what you could do is set your card as the purchasing card for iCloud space and do it like that. So your card would be on her iCloud account but since it's on Family Sharing it wouldn't make anything different for you

2) There's no way to relinquish control to a different entity from iOS. That's where you may want to look into MDMs but I don't know if even they can do real-time control from someone else. It just may not be in iOS at all

iCloud can definitely help with space/photos management. After you get her more iCloud space go into the iCloud settings and turn on iCloud Photo Library and Optimize Device Storage. Full resolution photos will be stored in iCloud and as space gets constrained on the iPad they'll shrink further and further down, but when she goes to view a photo it pulls the whole thing from iCloud. She'll never run out of space because of photos. Keep in mind she can run out for OTHER reasons, just not photos
 

dofry

That's "Dr." dofry to you.
iCloud by itself is going to make it tricky to manage that stuff, but it can be done. But you may also want to look into an MDM for that stuff

1) Even with Family Sharing, iCloud space is separate. So what you could do is set your card as the purchasing card for iCloud space and do it like that. So your card would be on her iCloud account but since it's on Family Sharing it wouldn't make anything different for you

2) There's no way to relinquish control to a different entity from iOS. That's where you may want to look into MDMs but I don't know if even they can do real-time control from someone else. It just may not be in iOS at all

iCloud can definitely help with space/photos management. After you get her more iCloud space go into the iCloud settings and turn on iCloud Photo Library and Optimize Device Storage. Full resolution photos will be stored in iCloud and as space gets constrained on the iPad they'll shrink further and further down, but when she goes to view a photo it pulls the whole thing from iCloud. She'll never run out of space because of photos. Keep in mind she can run out for OTHER reasons, just not photos

Thanks man. Might be just easier to do it the old fashioned way. Takes a bit of time to expalin, and hopefully she learns how to do it herself. Next I'll call her and explain how to buy that iCloud space for her.
 
Trying to copy over a bunch of files from my Mac to my PC and am getting different readings.

My Mac reads 1.85 TB but when copied over to my PC it only shows 1.65 TB.

that's not normal is it?
 

Deku Tree

Member
Gurman continues to write articles for Bloomberg about Apple with a major Microsoft bias.


Apple Plans Laptop Upgrades to Take on Microsoft

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...an-laptop-upgrades-as-microsoft-enters-market

The MacBook refresh would also come at an important time for the iPhone-maker. This month, Microsoft Corp. debuted the Surface Laptop, which boots up in seconds, has a touch screen and runs on a more stable version of Windows. Microsoft’s first real laptop is widely considered a viable rival to the MacBook Air.
 
Gurman continues to write articles for Bloomberg about Apple with a major Microsoft bias.


Apple Plans Laptop Upgrades to Take on Microsoft

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...an-laptop-upgrades-as-microsoft-enters-market

Dude's losing it

I'm going all in on Things 3. These kinds of apps are what i buy macs and iPhones for. Invcredibly
polished.

https://culturedcode.com/things/

20% off for launch.

That looks incredible but $80 for all three of my platforms is 😩
 
$64. Remember the 20% off. And I really do want to support fair prices for amazing indie software development.

Fuck I just read the feature list and it looks AMAZING

I think imma do it. I need organization in my life

Edit: I'm trying the free trial on the Mac right now. This is DOOOOOOOOPE

I wonder what other great software I'm missing out on
 

giga

Member
Fuck I just read the feature list and it looks AMAZING

I think imma do it. I need organization in my life

Edit: I'm trying the free trial on the Mac right now. This is DOOOOOOOOPE

I wonder what other great software I'm missing out on
Check out ms office 2016.
 

The Real Abed

Perma-Junior
Trying to copy over a bunch of files from my Mac to my PC and am getting different readings.

My Mac reads 1.85 TB but when copied over to my PC it only shows 1.65 TB.

that's not normal is it?
Could be because macOS report disk space in Base-10 while Windows still does it in Base-2. Or whatever it was.

You know what I mean, like how a HDD you buy claims 3TB capacity but when you got it installed it's only like 2.8TB back in the day. Now macOS reports it as what the disk manufacturer is reporting it as, by using the same measurements they are. Base-10. Windows still does it in the old Base-2 style which reports it looking slightly lighter even though it's not. It's the disk manufacturer that is reporting it higher. Apple switched years ago to much debate but in the end did it the best way. AFAIK Windows hasn't switched yet.

http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/172191en?language=en_US

Math!
 

Fuchsdh

Member
Gurman continues to write articles for Bloomberg about Apple with a major Microsoft bias.


Apple Plans Laptop Upgrades to Take on Microsoft

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...an-laptop-upgrades-as-microsoft-enters-market

I want what Gurman is smoking, because he's either denser than salt water or just stoned out of his gourd.

I guess we've moved on from the "Apple must be failing with the next big thing" type articles to "let's cheerlead the 'underdogs' " type stories.

Also, this line cracks me up:

The Mac lineup generates just 11 percent of the Cupertino, California-based company's $216 billion in annual sales, with the iPhone accounting for almost two-thirds of the total. But Macs are key to retaining the business of loyalists and the creative industries -- the cornerstone of Apple's resurgence at the turn of the millennium under Steve Jobs.

The loyalists and creative industries are what saved Apple in the 1990s and dark days before Jobs. Apple became Successful with a capital S through consumer electronics, not because of its Mac users.
 

The Real Abed

Perma-Junior
Apple and Microsoft's ideas about what computers should be are completely different. Apple likes to keep mobile and desktop separate while using software features to unify them and make them feel similar. But Microsoft is all about one OS for everything and just change it when it needs to. Apple's solution to touch on the Mac was a touchbar on the keyboard. Microsoft's is make the OS UI touchable. So unless Apple is planning on some big macOS UI change where Macs suddenly have touch screens and the OS can change between touch and normal UI, something that would cannibalize their iPad sales, then it's not going to happen.

Maybe eventually if it gets to the point of desperation where Macs are selling so badly they have either two choices, adapt and make macOS and Macs have a touch screen UI, or port Xcode to Windows/Linux and let the Mac die off. Who knows what they'll do in that situation, or if they're currently preparing for it like when they had people working on Intel Mac OS X for years "just in case". It's Apple. I could see them secretly being prepared "just in case". But it'll have to be a really dire situation for the Mac in order to push that red button. Right now I think Macs are still doing pretty well. The market will have to force them by demanding all OS user interfaces have touch screens. That hasn't happened yet.
 

Lo-Volt

Member
I want what Gurman is smoking, because he's either denser than salt water or just stoned out of his gourd.

I guess we've moved on from the "Apple must be failing with the next big thing" type articles to "let's cheerlead the 'underdogs' " type stories.

...

The loyalists and creative industries are what saved Apple in the 1990s and dark days before Jobs. Apple became Successful with a capital S through consumer electronics, not because of its Mac users.

I think the Gurman article's title is really referring to the Microsoft Surface, which has a lot of high-quality notebooks and convertibles in the lineup. I think it's meant to be a siren call for people who like Macs for their hardware characteristics. The recently announced Surface Laptop seems really competitive fit and finish and compactness, too.
 
I think the Gurman article's title is really referring to the Microsoft Surface, which has a lot of high-quality notebooks and convertibles in the lineup. I think it's meant to be a siren call for people who like Macs for their hardware characteristics. The recently announced Surface Laptop seems really competitive fit and finish and compactness, too.

Except that sales of the Surface don't provide evidence for this line of thinking that it's the future that everyone wants. It's a view that many tech pundits keep trying to push though. I don't know whether Gurman is in that camp, or whether Bloomberg is "encouraging" him to write pro-MS stories, but either way he's way off-base with his characterization.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
Except that sales of the Surface don't provide evidence for this line of thinking that it's the future that everyone wants. It's a view that many tech pundits keep trying to push though. I don't know whether Gurman is in that camp, or whether Bloomberg is "encouraging" him to write pro-MS stories, but either way he's way off-base with his characterization.

...and as I detailed, the idea of the Surface as a MacBook competitor doesn't wash either.
 

Blackhead

Redarse
Except that sales of the Surface don't provide evidence for this line of thinking that it's the future that everyone wants. It's a view that many tech pundits keep trying to push though. I don't know whether Gurman is in that camp, or whether Bloomberg is "encouraging" him to write pro-MS stories, but either way he's way off-base with his characterization.

...and as I detailed, the idea of the Surface as a MacBook competitor doesn't wash either.
Ugh.

While Apple was publicly proclaiming that iPhone 4/5 was the perfect size, they were presenting private internal slides that said bigger phones were what the customer wanted. Samsung has never made as much phone profit as Apple. No single Galaxy has sold more than an iPhone model. Yet Apple privately recognized those bigger phones as a threat.

I really don't understand why Apple fans regard these Gurman articles as bias. I don't understand why Apple fans can't believe that Apple might consider the Surface a threat. I certainly hope Apple is taking the Surface line seriously.

A decade ago Apple had '90% of the premium PC market'. That's precisely where Micrsoft has been targeting so any Surface sales is a threat to Apple imo
 

Fuchsdh

Member
Ugh.

While Apple was publicly proclaiming that iPhone 4/5 was the perfect size, they were presenting private internal slides that said bigger phones were what the customer wanted. Samsung has never made as much phone profit as Apple. No single Galaxy has sold more than an iPhone model. Yet Apple privately recognized those bigger phones as a threat.

I really don't understand why Apple fans regard these Gurman articles as bias. I don't understand why Apple fans can't believe that Apple might consider the Surface a threat. I certainly hope Apple is taking the Surface line seriously.

A decade ago Apple had '90% of the premium PC market'. That's precisely where Micrsoft has been targeting so any Surface sales is a threat to Apple imo

Because Gurman's articles only make sense in a reality not our own? Microsoft made a shittier version of a Mac laptop that's priced the same. Their previous attempts at Surface products have been a bust. So the underlying "Apple better shape up because Microsoft's coming" message is ridiculous. Their failed with the Zune, they failed with Windows Phone, they failed with Surface RT—Microsoft showing up late to the party with at best comparable hardware has never succeeded. Why would it now?
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Try out the free trial and see if it's for you.
Can't purchase it for my Mac without my MacBook. I'm on holiday so I didn't bring it. Ugh. I'll miss the sale. Can't I buy it from a web store?
 

giga

Member
Can't purchase it for my Mac without my MacBook. I'm on holiday so I didn't bring it. Ugh. I'll miss the sale. Can't I buy it from a web store?
Hmmm don't think so. Maybe email them and see if they can do anything for you. Sale ends in a week.
 
Things looks nice. $50 for a to do app is quite high but no Windows access or hell even WEB access (for work use) at this pricing is insane.

Too bad. I was looking for a good to do app too.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Hmmm don't think so. Maybe email them and see if they can do anything for you. Sale ends in a week.
That's what I did. Here's hoping it works. I bought it for my iPhone. Really slick app.
 
I'm using the demo on my Mac and I love it. But still hard to swallow the $64... anyone can compare it to 2Do/other reminders apps? I've never used anything but reminders.app
 

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
I got an iPhone 7 but the battery was super low when we turned it on, so the girl in the store skipped all the first-time setup things to make sure the activation would take. Is there a way to repeat the first-time setup process without doing a factory reset, which I feel may mess up the network activation?
 
I got an iPhone 7 but the battery was super low when we turned it on, so the girl in the store skipped all the first-time setup things to make sure the activation would take. Is there a way to repeat the first-time setup process without doing a factory reset, which I feel may mess up the network activation?

Not without doing a factory reset. But I promise you it won't mess with any activation at all
 

hirokazu

Member
The loyalists and creative industries are what saved Apple in the 1990s and dark days before Jobs. Apple became Successful with a capital S through consumer electronics, not because of its Mac users.
I don't think he's necessarily wrong - he says turn of the millenium, which to me is late 90s and early 2000s. The iPod started hitting it big and taking over in the early 2000s.

Their failed with the Zune, they failed with Windows Phone, they failed with Surface RT—Microsoft showing up late to the party with at best comparable hardware has never succeeded. Why would it now?
How many years ago was Surface RT, bruh? I think they've managed to carve out a niche for themselves with the Surface Pro since then. If I were Apple, I'd absolutely see it as a threat.
 

hirokazu

Member
I got an iPhone 7 but the battery was super low when we turned it on, so the girl in the store skipped all the first-time setup things to make sure the activation would take. Is there a way to repeat the first-time setup process without doing a factory reset, which I feel may mess up the network activation?
All the first time setup stuff can be found in the Settings app, but it's dispersed all over the place. If you really want to go through the process, just do a factory reset. Network activation just checks that that the correct carrier SIM is inserted if it's locked to a network. If it worked the first time, there's no reason it wouldn't later on.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Thinking about my second USB C port on the new MacBook hope: It's not that they don't support a 2nd port but that it would be confusing. If you run a 4K display at 60Hz refresh rate on the Macbook on one port, then the other port will have its speed dropped to USB 2.0. This is because there are not enough data lanes.

The situation may not change, either, when processors come out that support a single Thunderbolt 3 because when you use one port as Thunderbolt 3, the other port may drop down to USB 3.0 or even USB 2.0 speed.

In short, only one port can run at maximum capacity at any random time. It's pointless to have two when the other port is botched. You might as well use a hub with the single port because you'll get the same thing anyway.

The situation may change in the future when Intel produces processors for the Macbook that will support more data lanes, but there is no such thing in their current roadmap, all the way up to the Cannonlake.
 

XMonkey

lacks enthusiasm.
Hmm, for the 15" MBP Apple has an entire separate TB3 controller to allow all the ports to run at high speeds. Could they do something similar for the MacBook to add lanes? The motherboard is so small it's unlikely I guess, but I'm sure Apple would like to do it.

At any rate, seems to me that 2 also makes for a better experience if you want to charge with one and use the other for data at the same time.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Hmm, for the 15" MBP Apple has an entire separate TB3 controller to allow all the ports to run at high speeds. Could they do something similar for the MacBook to add lanes? The motherboard is so small it's unlikely I guess, but I'm sure Apple would like to do it.

At any rate, seems to me that 2 also makes for a better experience if you want to charge with one and use the other for data at the same time.
Is that right for the 15? If so, I hope it happens. The MacBook Pro 13" is a different situation.

The 4 ports technically do support up to full USB 3.1 specifications at any random time, no matter what is plugged into them. So there is no confusion there. USB-C is technically "at least" USB 3.0/3.1.

On the MacBook, it's different. The 2nd port will drop to USB 2.0 speed as soon as you plug a 4K/60Hz display into the other. Note how other Core M devices on the market (up to Kaby Lake) also do not do things any differently. Some of them do not even sport USB-C, and instead, they sport USB 3.0 along with HDMI, or USB 2.0 along with Mini DisplayPort that may support 4K/60Hz. This is a limitation of the chipset.

Specifically, Core M 5th gen had PCI-E 2.0 data lanes... that was barely enough for 4K/60Hz. Core M 6th gen, on the other hand, has PCI-E 3.0 so it has much more bandwidth at its disposal and could support 4K/60Hz more easily, along with HDMI 2.0. But there still isn't enough bandwidth for more than USB 2.0. If we're going into more technicality, yes, I concede there are devices that sport 2 USB-C ports, one running at full USB 3.1 specs along with delivering DisplayPort, and the other only delivers USB 2.0 speed, and is mostly used for charging, but the problem really is that your layman won't read the manual, so they'll plug their display into the other port and find out it's not capable of outputting to a display. Then a lot of trouble ensues.

This is not the case with the MacBook Pro. All ports can output to an external display, and/or be used with USB 3.0/3.1 devices in any scenario, although only 2 of them can do Thunderbolt 3.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Also, the Bloomberg report is interesting because it's clear the MacBook Pro update will just be a spec bump. But it reads like the MacBook update could be more.
 

XMonkey

lacks enthusiasm.
Ya Apple gave the 15" an extra controller chip to get around the limitations for better TB3 support. It's a nice bonus over the 13" for sure.

The chipset limitations are definitely an issue on the Core M series and I agree with you that it'd be potentially confusing for a customer to have to remember which is the "high speed" port. Hopefully Apple comes up with a graceful solution to the problem if they go with 2 ports (as I hope they do). The MacBook could definitely see some bigger changes, I think it's time.
 
Ya Apple gave the 15" an extra controller chip to get around the limitations for better TB3 support. It's a nice bonus over the 13" for sure.

The chipset limitations are definitely an issue on the Core M series and I agree with you that it'd be potentially confusing for a customer to have to remember which is the "high speed" port. Hopefully Apple comes up with a graceful solution to the problem if they go with 2 ports (as I hope they do). The MacBook could definitely see some bigger changes, I think it's time.

There's an official protocol for labeling USB-C ports with what capabilities they have

type-c-markings.jpg
 

Fuchsdh

Member
Really a second port is all I think the MacBook needs to totally replace the Air; the only other component missing is the price. I know some people still want the Air form factor because it's still a more powerful system than the MacBook, but really the Air being so capable was a fluke rather than where Apple ever was going to target it.

The TB3 issue is something I think Apple will eventually address, but I expect the road to still be bumpy. I wouldn't be surprised if the MacBook stayed with USB3 Type C for a bit longer, but then again with the 13" TB MBP they decided less-than-optimal performance was still a better option than removing the ports entirely.

The number of people driving 4K displays is still pretty minor. Apple might think that a support doc for those use cases is still a win when most people will just prefer the extra port.

Mostly I'm just interested in the desktop side of things and how fast they'll switch over to Type-C.

(And the decision to have USB 2 as a Type C option was terrible.)
 

The Real Abed

Perma-Junior
Spoiler alert: My 2010 Mac Pro is more powerful than most of Apple's current laptop offerings too. Computer processor speeds have been stagnating faster than prices get cut.
Spoiler alert: Even my 2013 rMBP still feels brand new. (In the speed department.) I've had it for 3.5 years. I'd hope by the time I need to replace it there'd be some really nice options out there to make it feel like an upgrade.

At any rate, seems to me that 2 also makes for a better experience if you want to charge with one and use the other for data at the same time.
Agreed. That's all I'd want 2 for. (If I had a MacBook) Charging and one device. It's all we ask really.

Really a second port is all I think the MacBook needs to totally replace the Air; the only other component missing is the price. I know some people still want the Air form factor because it's still a more powerful system than the MacBook, but really the Air being so capable was a fluke rather than where Apple ever was going to target it.
Second port, price and speed really. I could be convinced to downgrade to a MacBook if the price was more in the Air area. Make it a real Air replacement and it'll be perfect to replace it. (Though they'll probably keep an Air around at the bottom of the ordering page for a few years like they did for the old optical MBP just for the people who really want those extra ports.)

The MacBook One is already lighter, thinner, better resolution options and comes in more color options. It's failings are that it's slower, less battery life (Because of the display no doubt.) and less connectivity without dongles.

Most of that can be fixed with an update. Give it a second port and a better processor and you've got a good start. Next give it a 16GB RAM option, get that price down to Air levels and you got your replacement.

Oh, and replace Space Grey with the iPhone 7 Black option (Not Jet Black of course, though how amazing would that be? Why not just go all the way and coat it in Vantablack so it can literally never be seen in a dark room.) and it would be perfect. Man, a black MacBook or black MacBook Pro would be wonderful.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Most of that can be fixed with an update. Give it a second port and a better processor and you've got a good start. Next give it a 16GB RAM option, get that price down to Air levels and you got your replacement.
Yep. I agree. Two ports is fine. Price drop would also make it a good fit for the market. I can see a price drop happening.

But 16GB ram right now is unlikely. LPDDR3 can be 16GB if Apple would "stack" it, but it'll be more prone to failure -> much more expensive. Kaby Lake doesn't support LPDDR4, I think.
 
Ya, but Apple doesn't like to label the ports anymore. Not sure they'll start doing it again now..

I feel like they felt they didn't need to on the 2016 Pros since they were ALL Thunderbolt. In the future if they have different USB-C ports with different capabilities labeling would be required. Plus they labeled (some) ports on older MBP models
 
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