Archive for the ‘Mac’ Category
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 |
My wife had been dropping hints for quite some time about how badly she wanted a Mac and I knew that I had to get her one. She had tinkered around on my MacBook and had decided for herself that her Toshiba Satellite would no longer cut it. Once the decision between getting a MacBook or an iMac was made, we were ready to make a purchase.
We did some preliminary research before making our purchase. We went to the local Mac reseller and I asked one of the sales reps what the cons of buying a refurbished iMac would be. First he said, “I’ve never seen an Apple refurb, we don’t sell them,” then he said, “plus, a new one is only a couple hundred more. If it were me, I’d fork out the extra dough and get a new one.” Of course he would get a new one, that would give him his commission!
I have seen a couple of refurbished Mac products. I have a few friends who have purchased refurbished MacBooks and I have been pleasantly surprised when their refurbed Macs look and function just as well as a new Mac. Place a new Mac and a refurb next to each other and you’d never be able to tell the difference. So as far as I’m concerned, there is no significant difference between a new Mac and a refurb.
Here’s what you get when you buy a refurbished Mac product:
Apple Certified Refurbished Products
- Quality products/great prices
- Stringent refurbishment process prior to sale
- Covered by Apple’s One-Year Limited Warranty
- AppleCare Protection Plan can be purchased
- Supplies are limited
from Apple.com
And here’s what you get when you buy a new Mac:
New Apple Products
- Quality products/premium prices
- Covered by Apple’s One-Year Limited Warranty
- AppleCare Protection Plan can be purchased
The decision is up to you, but I was very happy to purchase a refurbished iMac at a 17% discount!
Posted in Mac, Radical | 4 Comments »
Thursday, March 6th, 2008 |
I recently purchased a T-Mobile Dash (a.k.a. HTC Excalibur) and I have been pretty happy with it, not because it is the fastest or coolest smartphone on the market, but because it is has a ton of cool features for not a lot of dough. I really wanted an iPhone for all of the same reasons you do, but I didn’t get one and here’s why:
- 90% of the people I call are on T-Mobile’s network. Mobile-to-mobile calls are free with a family plan, so it just makes cents for me to stay with T-Mobile.
- The Dash only set me back $99 after rebates, that’s like $300 cheaper than an iPhone.
- I can tether the Dash to my MacBook via a Bluetooth PAN and then broadcast my phone’s internet connection through my MacBook’s AirPort. Future post forthcoming…
That last feature was the real clincher for me, not only am I able to use my phone’s internet connection on my Mac, but I’m also able to use my MacBook as a router to broadcast said internet connection over a wireless network. Pretty cool, eh?
I do think that an iPhone ranks way higher in degrees of sexiness and innovation but if the iPhone follows the trend set by it’s cousin the iPod, then the next iPhone will be the one I’ll want to get. Maybe Apple will make the second-gen iPhone 3G compatible and maybe they’ll add the Bluetooth PAN feature just for me! And maybe Mike Huckabee will win the Presidency.
One major drawback of the Dash is that Windows Mobile 6 does not work with ActiveSync!
Posted in Mac, Radical | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 |
A friend of mine hooked me up with a new MacBook sleeve made with memory foam. Up until now, I was happy-go-lucky using my Neoprene MacBook sleeve (also from Isis Dei) for toting my MacBook to and from work but now I know the glory that is memory foam and I’ll never look back.
The case I got looks just like the one you see here and it’s just about as cool as they come, it has stellar graphics screen printed on it for style points and dual memory foam layers lined on the inside with velour (softer than a baby’s diaper) for crazy amounts of MacBook pampering and protection. My favorite part of the whole deal is that these things sell for $26, that’s cheap enough for me to feel comfortable recommending these MacBook covers to anyone and everyone! Also, Isis Dei releases new designs every couple of months and they let you trade in your cover for 50% off a new one. Very rad.
You’re supposed to be able to keep the MacBook in the cover while you use it, but I haven’t quite figured how to do that. The part of the sleeve that covers the top half of my MacBook just falls off because there is nothing to attach it to my computer. It’s probably not the best idea to use your MacBook resting in a sleeve for extended periods of time anyway, due to poor ventilation, but maybe you’re not as paranoid of overheating your MacBook as I am.
You can pick one up for your MacBook or MacBook Pro on Isis Dei’s website. Grab yourself a keyboard jimmy while you’re there, they are muy excelente!
UPDATE: I figured out how to get the cover to stay on my MacBook, you just don’t unzip it all the way and it stays just fine!
Posted in Mac, Radical | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 |
Problem: Downloads Folder Filling Up With MP3’s
I find new music everyday with the help of sites like The Hype Machine, I download mp3’s on a daily basis. My downloads stack in Mac OS X Leopard quickly turns from a stack, pile, to a big mess of mp3’s. I needed a way to keep it clean and organized without having to manually move my mp3’s from the downloads folder into my iTunes folder.
Solution: MP3 Cleanup
I created an Automator application that imports audio files from my downloads folder to my iTunes library and then deletes the audio files from my downloads folder. Please feel free to download MP3 Cleanup and give it a try. After downloading, just unzip the .zip and run the MP3 Cleanup Automator application.
This is my first time offering something like this to my readers, so I expect some criticism. Please leave comments below and let me know how you like the program.
Posted in Downloads, Mac | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 |
Thanks to Buy.com, I just painlessly upgraded to 2 GB of RAM in my MacBook. They were offering some sort of promotional discount through Google Checkout ($10.00 off the order if I used Google Checkout for the first time) and they offered free ground shipping so my grand total came to $49.99!
Installing the new memory in the MacBook was a breeze and the difference in performance was instantly noticeable. I should be ready for the Leopard release on Friday. I ordered a family pack on Amazon.com for $189.00 (that’s a whole $10 cheaper than you can get it on Apple’s website).
Posted in Mac | 1 Comment »
