Check the Apple store in the middle of the night for a few days. Their best deals get posted in the wee hours and are snapped up quickly.
I got stupid. The money was too good.
Jayne ,'Objects In Space'
Buffistechnology 3: "Press Some Buttons, See What Happens."
Got a question about technology? Ask it here. Discussion of hardware, software, TiVos, multi-region DVDs, Windows, Macs, LINUX, hand-helds, iPods, anything tech related. Better than any helpdesk!
NoiseDesign - Jul 12, 2008 11:06:37 am PDT #7044 of 25501
Our wings are not tired
Pete, Husband of Jilli - Jul 12, 2008 11:17:57 am PDT #7045 of 25501
"I've got a gun! I've got a mother-flippin' gun!" - Moss, The IT Crowd
Huh, didn't know that ND.
On the subject of Mac refurb reliability; I was once told by someone with good ties to Apple that the refurbs get a little bit extra attention and preening by the engineers to ensure they're functioning properly. This can sometimes mean they're actually a safer bet than a new Mac.
I've not yet bought a refurb, but I thought I'd share.
NoiseDesign - Jul 12, 2008 11:20:40 am PDT #7046 of 25501
Our wings are not tired
I tend to put my machines through the wringer and they've held up quite well for me. The machines are clearly gone over, the drives wiped, and latest OS is installed. I'll most likely be buying a couple of reconditioned iMacs in a month or so.
sarameg - Jul 12, 2008 11:26:08 am PDT #7047 of 25501
Thanks for the tip! Lord knows I stay up too late anyway.
beth b - Jul 12, 2008 3:08:32 pm PDT #7048 of 25501
oh joy! Oh Rapture ! I have a brain!
anyone use a bluetooth speaker in their car? I don't really use the cell phone in my car -- but a visor mounted speaker looks like a good Justin Case plane for me. decent sound quality , easy buttons --anything else I should be looking for?
mothra - Jul 12, 2008 5:13:37 pm PDT #7049 of 25501
Mothra, benevolent winged goddess, protector of the earth.
I'd like advice about upgrading a 17" MacBook Pro that I've had for two years. I do a lot of audio files and photos and have not only run out of room, but the computer has gotten really slow.
The local Apple-authorized store is recommending that I go with a Hitachi 200GB 2.5" 7200 RMP drive because it's fast and add a Kingston 1GB PC2-5300 SODIMM Memory iMac (2007) in my empty slot. And I'm also going to finally switch to Leopard. Btw, it's not like I know what I'm talking about. I'm just copying from their quote.
What I want is more storage -- this about doubles what I've got, and faster speed. I think this will work, but I also have the option of a 250GB or 320GB hard drive. I do have two large (250GB and 500GB) external hard drives for storing the audio files and photos I don't need as often and for backing up.
Thanks!
mothra - Jul 12, 2008 5:13:47 pm PDT #7050 of 25501
Mothra, benevolent winged goddess, protector of the earth.
DCJensen - Jul 12, 2008 8:33:55 pm PDT #7051 of 25501
All is well that ends in pizza.
Mothra,
Get as much hard drive as you feel you can afford without breaking your budget.
Some alternatives: [link]
I take it your MacBook Pro has SATA?
mothra - Jul 13, 2008 8:54:48 am PDT #7052 of 25501
Mothra, benevolent winged goddess, protector of the earth.
Thanks, Daniel, and thanks for the links. So you're saying size matters and it's more important than speed? Apple does restrict what size drive can go in the MacBook Pro. I think the max is 320GB.
I do not have SATA. I have two external hard drives and each is connected directly to the computer by USB cable.
DCJensen - Jul 13, 2008 9:19:45 am PDT #7053 of 25501
All is well that ends in pizza.
I find it hard to believe there would be a max drive capacity for the MacBook pro. Maybe a max physical size, but not a max HDD GB size. There may be some limitation I am not aware of.
Hmmm. See if you can find your model at everymac for us: [link]
Anyway, speed does help. 7800 rpm will feel faster, but not double fast. It all depends on the Gb/s rate.
Also a 7800 rpm drive would probably run hotter and use more power.