Overseas Chinese Web Guide

Tag: macbook pro

  • MacBook Pro with Retina Display Unboxing Photos

    A MacBook Pro with Retina Display showed up this morning.

    First, the top cover of the box was removed. The MacBook Pro was wrapped in a transparent protective film.

    MacBook Pro out of the box.

    The MacBook Pro sits recessed in its box. Below, Apple carefully stored the power cord and other accessories.

    The svelte MacBook Pro with Retina Display resting atop its older cousin, the beastly 17″ MacBook Pro.

    The screen is ajar.

    After pressing the relocated power button…

    The gorgeous Retina Display beckoning its new owner.

  • Chinese Google Maps

    Today, I recognized the connection between literacy and computer literacy when I reset the default language on a MacBook Pro to 简体中文. Within the Language & Text settings under System Preferences, a user can select a language for the computer. I had thought that selecting a language other than English would only alter the language of the drop-down menu items. However, that was not the case.

    Instead, changing the default language also alters the names of certain Apple applications. I discovered this when I struggled with the new Chinese menu. I know where all the menu items roughly are located on Safari, but switching from English to Chinese slowed me down enough that I wanted to switch right back. But, when I searched Spotlight for Preferences, Spotlight did not return the System Preferences application. That’s when I knew something was wrong. Instead, I had to find the System Preferences by browsing the Applications window and finding the right icon. If I only had file names and no icons, I would have been in a really bad situation.

    While using Chinese as the default language, I also discovered the Chinese-version of Google Maps. Americans all know the English name of 北京 is Beijing. But, if someone from China asked about the Chinese name for American streets or cities (outside of the obvious 旧金山 for San Francisco), I’m usually stumped. Instead of making up a name phonetically, I can now point them to Chinese maps of America.

  • MacBook Pro 8 GB Memory Upgrade

    I’ve been using a MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2009) for a few months now. The 4 GB memory that comes standard is usually more than enough if I stick to the Mac side of things: Safari, Firefox, Photoshop, iTunes, iPhoto, Mail, etc. I can open and run as many Mac applications as I want without a hitch. However, if I ever have to use VMWare Fusion and Windows Vista, the MacBook Pro painfully slows down. I finally decided it was time to install more memory. Of course, the falling price of DDR3 memory didn’t hurt. Basically, remove 10 screws and the bottom case, swap the memory, and replace the bottom case. Technically, not a difficult procedure. However, like the 500GB Hard Drive replacement on a different MacBook Pro, I did encounter a few “stuck” screws that required a bit more patience. The bottom case also didn’t exactly pop off as easily as I was expecting. I had to gently pull and tug the bottom case to completely detach it. Now, I’m humming along with 8 GB and no longer dread launching Vista.

    memory

  • MacBook Pro 17 inch 2.8 GHz

    Last week, I picked up a new 17-inch MacBook Pro because the previous one I had caught the black screen flu. Here’s my quick review.

    • Speed. Nothing exciting really happens when moving from 2.4 GHz to 2.8 GHz. Mathematically, the new MacBook Pro has a 16% faster processor, but I cannot perceive the difference. At one point in time, a 400 MHz upgrade would have been good news.
    • Keyboard. I really like the feel of the new keyboard. It provides the right resistance and offers a great tactile response. I was absolutely awed the first time I touched the internal keyboard. That said, I will still be doing 99% of my typing on an external keyboard.
    • Screen. Now that matte screens cost an extra $100, I picked up my first glossy edition instead. The screen is not as reflective as I had previously feared. Totally usable.
    • Hard Drive. Ho hum. Already had a 500 GB drive in my previous MacBook Pro. I’m glad Apple finally decided to upgrade the specs so I wouldn’t have to downgrade to a smaller hard drive.
    • Memory. No change, except that the maximum memory capacity is 8 GB instead of 4 GB. Not willing to shell out $1,000 from Apple or $634 from Other Word Computing for 8 GB. Maybe in a year or so when prices come down. The only time that 4 GB really feels inadequate is when I’m running VMWare Fusion, and I try to run that as least as possible.
    • Trackpad. I guess you get a larger trackpad when it’s not split between the trackpad half and the clickable half. Took me a few minutes to get used to this.
    • Function Keys. In its infinite wisdom, Apple decided to move the functions around. Not better, not worse, just different.
    • Ports. Ugh. Instead of ports on both sides of the MacBook Pro, Apple placed all the ports on the left-hand side. The front-loading SuperDrive is now a right-hand-side-loading SuperDrive. I was not pleased with this development since I previously connected a mouse to my MacBook Pro via a right-hand-side USB port. Fortunately, I still had an open port on my external keyboard or else the mouse would have to take a very circuitous route. That or learn to be a lefty.
    • Latch. I like the magnetic latch instead of the physical latch. The latch on my even older PowerBook G4 is failing so I know those parts can wear out. Who knows how well the new magnetic latch will perform 5 years from now. Have to wait and see.

    Of course, the most amazing thing for me was how Apple was faring during this so-called recession. The mini Apple store at the Stanford Shopping Center was absolutely packed during a weekday. Unbelievable. While other retail stores are closing or offering significant discounts, Apple is still cruising on.

  • MacBook Pro Black Screen

    Earlier this week, I tried to summon my MacBook Pro from its slumber. While the MacBook Pro turned on, the screen remained black. No problem. I know that if the MacBook Pro case is closed and I accidently touch the external keyboard or mouse, the computer will sometimes awaken with a black screen. So, I shut down the computer, restarted, and still saw the black screen. Now, I was worried.

    I reset the PRAM and tried a bunch of other tips offered online, all to no avail. Eventually, I concluded that my MacBook Pro suffered from a defective NVIDIA graphics processor. Although I had purchased my MacBook Pro two years ago, Apple recently announced that it will provide free repairs for this problem for three years from the date of purchase. Actually, before the NVIDIA graphic processor failed completely, the screen did start to behave strangely. Nothing permanent though. I had only noticed in Safari that when the browser was loading certain background images, the colors would be off until Safari had completely loaded the image.

    Anyways, I took a trip down to the local Genius Bar. The Genius saw the black screen and tried to hook up the MacBook Pro to an external monitor. That failed as well. He then took my MacBook Pro to a back room to run additional tests. After 15 minutes, he returned to tell me that my graphics processor was dead and that I would have to leave the computer with Apple for 3-4 days to change out the logic board.

    Well, since I could not work without a computer, I picked up a new MacBook Pro, transferred over my files, and left my old MacBook Pro behind. See you in a week.

  • MacBook Pro Upgrade with Hitachi 500GB Hard Drive

    After I purchased Dora the Explorer, Season One from the iTunes Store, I discovered that it was also time to upgrade the hard drive inside the MacBook Pro. With only 4GB free, I decided that I should not wait any longer. There were only so many file that I could delete without regret.

    So, I headed to Other World Computing and purchased a Hitachi 500GB Travelstar 5K500, which is suitable only for the MacBook Pro 17-inch. OWC also was selling a Samsung 500GB Spinpoint M6, which should fit inside a MacBook Pro 15-inch. I also picked up an OWC On-The-Go Firewire 800 case.

    When the hard drive arrived, I inserted it into the OWC case and connected it to the MacBook Pro. After I formatted the new drive using Disk Utility, I cloned my 160GB Fujitsu internal hard drive with Carbon Copy Cloner. This took about 3 1/2 hours. In retrospect, I think the Firewire 800 case was overkill. I would have been fine with a Firewire 400 case. Anyways, I designated the external drive as the Startup Drive (under System Preferences) and rebooted the MacBook Pro. With the MacBook Pro starting up without any problems, I knew that the hard drive was good to go.

    Next, I followed the instructions on iFixit for installing a hard drive on a MacBook Pro 17″. Just follow the instructions and keep your screws labelled. After each step, I placed the screws on a piece of white paper and wrote down the location and step associated with the screws. The only problem I came across was one screw that I couldn’t loosen. A friend stopped by and used a flat-head screwdriver to remove it. Other than that, it was pretty straightforward.

    Once the MacBook Pro was reassembled, I started it up. System Profiler now shows a Hitachi hard drive with a capacity of 465.44 GB. Not quite 500 GB.