Dilemma Advice Needed!

I have an 20" iMac that is starting up with 2 beeps followed by 3 beeps 3 beeps... I've read that this is a RAM issue. This is the original RAM that came with the machine.
I called Apple support and they advised me to take it in to a Genius Bar. The nearest store is 2.5 hours from where I live. So, a 5 hour round trip. If it's the RAM, then I can go home with it same day. If it's the bays the RAM go into, or something else I'll have to leave it and come back. Another 5 hours in the car.
I'm tempted to buy new RAM online and see if that does the trick before spending that much on gas and time. I thought I would ask here to see if anyone else had any experience with this.
Kinda bummed. This is my first sour Apple. Thanks in advance for any insight.

Yes I would certainly call them back and ask. I must say that I had the extended Applecare warranty that I purchased when I had them come out. Don't know for sure whether or not the regular one year included warranty offers the same service but I would assume so. Both breakdowns I had were on one of those early flat panel iMacs, the one with the half basketball sized base (sometimes called the iLamp). And the first breakdown was exactly what you are experiencing. It was the Apple RAM that came with it that tanked for some reason. It happened about a month after I bought it, again just like you. The second was a year or so later and was the Combo optical drive. In both cases I requested and got in-home service. Very nice! That's why I have the extended warranty on this iMac also . . . just in case.
Hope it works like that for you.
Good luck,
Rick

Similar Messages

Advice needed on buying iphone as gift

I went to apple store, they do not want to sell iphone to me unless I sign AT&T 2 years plan. I thought AT&T has locked the phone and users must subscribe in order to use it. Why Apple store still not allow me to buy?
Please advice, if I want to buy online iphone for my brother, do I or my brother have obligation to sign out AT&T plan?
One more advice needed, I found the shipment takes weeks, do I have option to arrange for self-collection?
My brother birthday is coming soon, I need above advice urgently.
Thank you very much

Tamara wrote:
I'm guessing English is not your first language. It's possible that you misunderstood them. Apple Store employees won't refuse to sell you an iPhone and you don't have to sign up for service in the store.
Well that's not entirely true.
Apple Stores have been instructed not to sell you an iPhone if any of the following is true:
You state that you will not be signing up with AT&T.
You do not have an ID from a US state, also indicating you will not be activating with AT&T
You do not have a credit card
For example, I've seen US Apple Store managers refuse to sell iPhones to European residents because of the AT&T lock-in.

Video intensive work on Mac Pro? Advice Needed

Hi everyone,
I've been originally saving up for a while now for an iMac 24" as it offers the best specification price wise. But now I leaning on the Mac Pro and therefore need some advice.
I know that there are alot of posts on advice - need to buy mac etc. so therfore I would really appreciate if I am afforded some help.
I am mostly going to do ALOT of video encoding (via handbrake) and I am looking for the best configuration available to achieve lowest waiting time.

I think you should go back and look at the other threads with advice, your budget. There is "ideal" and "affordable."
Will it pay for itself in 24 months so you can afford the next revision at that time?
Start with an 8-Core 3GHz.
Add a Port Multiplier controller and two drive cases, 5 drives each, nearly 400MB/sec RAID.
Throw in 8GB RAM.
Add in costs for software upgrades, two sets of backups, four internal 500GB drives.
Seagate has 750GB, as does WD. Hitachi has their $450 1000GB monster.
Give yourself time to build, test, and optimize your setup, and expect to change it over time as you learn more.
Can't afford that? then trim the 8-core. But Apple has shown how efficient next generation applications already are for video when it comes to 3GHz 8-core Mac Pro.

Had to have a rebuild of my laptop....advice needed!

Had to have a rebuild of my laptop....have now lost all my music from my itunes, but I can't transfer back on from my ipod. Also had to register my laptop (same) as another computers, so now no music showing as purchased, though I have. Also have hours of uploaded music from my own purchased, legitimate CDs, but won't transfer from ipod...it says it will erase. So very frustrated....thanks mr technician! PLEASE ....help, advice needed!

I believe that if you do a clean reinstall from your HD's recovery sector (D) or Recovery disks, the hard drive sector C is wiped clean. Everything goes, apps, data, address books, music, pix, viruses
Is that what you did?

I am using InDesign CS5. I have a body of text which is ranged left with tabbed indents. My client now wants the copy to be justifed, keeping the tabbed indents. Help and advice needed please!

I am using InDesign CS5. I have a body of text which is ranged left with tabbed indents. My client now wants the copy to be justifed, keeping the tabbed indents. Help and advice needed please!

Hi
That screen grab helps a lot. There’s a much easier way of doing what you’re doing.
Remove all your tabs and set the text in justified paragraphs.
I’ve typed in dummy text in the example I made below, but after “19.1” put in a space and put your blinking cursor after the space and before the ’N’ of ‘Notices'.
Then hold down the Command key and hit Backspace (on Mac at least - it’s the key between the Inverted commas/ apostrophe key and the return key).
The text will jump into place the way you want it to.
Hope that helps
Paul
PS You can set a tab, instead of using a space, in the description I gave above. So, after 19.1 or 19.2 or 19.185 etc etc insert a tab, then hit the Command Backspace after every paragraph number and they'll all line up exactly together. You'll find that editing text within the paragraphs
after you've set it will be LOADS easier this way.
You can put the tab anywhere you want it to be using 'Command-ShiftT' and putting a 'left align' tab just after the number. Just type the Command Backspace after the paragraph number and it'll work

MOVED: Various advice needed to overclock cpu using my MSI k8n platinum sli

This topic has been moved to Overclockers & Modding Corner.
Various advice needed to overclock cpu using my MSI k8n platinum sli

what HSF for cpu/ cooling for the case do you use? And also, where are the flashing lights?

Advice needed on Mac Air or Pro?

As my faithful HP laptop of 9 years is now on it’s last legs, after reading so many positive reviews about the Macs, I am considering purchasing one of these.
I would really appreciate some advice on some concerns/reservations I have:
My first dilemma is which is more appropriate, I personally like the look of the air because it is smaller & I was reading that the SSD is better than what is on the Pro (sorry I am not very technical! ).
My use:
Mainly internet browsing
Itunes
I don’t do any gaming
Photo editing (hobby not professional)
Small amount of work in word & excel (minimal)
To give you idea of my current usage I looked on my current PC settings and my usage on my C drive is 99.3gb of a 148gb. Most my photos I have backed up on an external hard drive, but would like to have them back on my laptop.
Questions:
Would I be able to use this external hard drive on a Mac? (it’s a Cirago)
Would I be able to open Excel & Word documents on a Mac?
I currently use Opera for my internet which I really like, would I be able to download this on a Mac?
Sorry if some of these questions seem a little dumb, but I am a complete novice & know nothing about the Macs!
Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Either the MacBook Air or Pro would suit your needs. The MBA's greatest assets are its extreme portability and SSD while the MBP's greatest assets are its internal DVD and expandability. I have both (one is mine and one supplied by work) and given a choice of just one I'd choose the MBA. i seldom need a DVD drive.
OGELTHORPE's advice to go for the 256GB drive (even though it might seem that you don't need it) is spot on. A very large percentage of customers who buy the 64 & 128gb models come back to the store where I work part time within 6-18 months with full drives.
Mac Office 2011 is very similar and will take care of your Office needs - LibreOffice is an open source product (and free) which will open and let you edit your documents. And assuming your drive uses USB (and I'd assume it does) you'll be able to use it with your new Mac. There are two common Windows disk formats - the Mac can read both but can only write to FAT. You may or may not want/need to reformat it.

Multiple device syncing advice needed and appreciated.

Hey everyone, happy holidays to everyone
I need some advice from you Apple lovers out there if you can spend some time replying. Thanks alot in advanced
My devices and current status
13" Macbook Pro with 8gig RAM with lion OS - Mosty used for word processing, DJing, low Internet usage now that i have Ipad, photo management, DVD ripping etc etc - i use this as my main device to organise emails and i purchase most apps, music and films on this device too
Ipad2 - Mostly for media content, web browsing, Youtube, playing games, FB, watching films. I use this device for fun not functionality or work related things
Iphone 4 - Usual phone usage, I use my phone as my main device for iCal, contacts, checking emails/messages on the move
2GB time capsule - brand new in the box as yet unused
Generally speaking i get confused or change my mind frequently about what to sync to which device, i started off using icloud but then things got confusing and i had things real messed up, multiple same contacts, apps on differnet device, differnet music on all 3 devices so now for the moment i think of my Macbook as the main device with both my iphone and ipad backed up to the Macbook. I then back up all of this on a regular 500g external Hard Drive.
So my questions are as follows
1. Can and should i use icloud to back up my devices and if so how should i do this effectivly
2. What syncing procedure would suit me best
3. How should i integrate Timecapsule to my devices
Any other suggestions would really be apreciated
Thanks again

The second part puzzles me - excuse me (but i honestly don't know) do both units give off a wifi signal of roughly equal 'amounts'?
Yes. Since both are connected by "Ethernet" each base station is its own wireless network and you have a few options on how best to configure them.
One of those options is to give both wireless networks the same Network Name (or SSID) so that you can, for example, "walk" a laptop from one to the other and stay connected. This is known as a roaming network.
If this is something that you don't desire or have a requirement for, then leaving them as two separate wireless networks would work just as well.
So what i am asking - i guess - is can i increase the distance the wifi signal reaches of the second unit (the time capsule - that is wired to the airport extreme)
To extend the wireless range of the Time Capsule (TC) you would need another 802.11n AirPort, like the AirPort Express Base Station (AXn). This should get a stronger signal out to the garden. Of course, it would really depend on the distance from the TC to where you would like to place the AXn to get the best results.
Let me know if you need help configuring the base stations.

I have constant K8N Neo2 problems advice needed. (long) Update

I need some advice on what my problem might be and if I need to RMA the motherboard or power supply.
I have a new Athlon 64 3500+ processor, MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum BIOS v1.3 motherboard, with 2 512MB DIMMs of Corsair Value Select Memory. I have had and am still having a series of crashes and lock-ups I will list below. FULL SYSTEM SPECS BELOW AT BOTTOM.
I initially installed the motherboard with a SINGLE 120GB hard drive from the old machine and the installed the memory in memory slots 1 & 2 to try dual channel memory mode. I then formatted the C partition and did a clean install of Windows XP Professional with SP2, installed the MSI drivers on the installation CD that came with the motherboard (Nvidia nForce3 Version 5.03 System Drivers, Realtek gigabit ethernet driver, Realtek AC97 audio driver) & the GeForce v66.93 video driver. I then got my first blue screen "MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION" crash, I ignored this crash and rebooted. I shortly got a black screen crash which I also ignored.
I then installed a new 200GB hard drive and a old 120GB so I could transfer the data from the old 120GB to the new 200GB drive. The data transfer went fine. As I was preparing to install some applications I then got my second blue screen "MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION" crash. Suspecting the Corsair Value Select Memory could not handle dual channel I ran Memtest-86 for 2 passes and got NO errors with the memory in dual channel mode, so I left it.
With my data backed up on the 200GB new drive I removed the new 200GB and the second 120GB hard did another clean install of Windows XP Professional with SP2, this time with Nvidia’s nForce3 Version 5.10 system drivers, the Realtek gigabit ethernet driver and Realtek AC97 audio driver from the motherboard installation CD & the GeForce v66.93 video driver. I downloaded the latest version of Core Center and installed it and got it working. CPU temperatures were showing a low of around 29C, average of about 44C, and spikes at full loads of about 55-57C. I then ran Ghost to back up the boot partition. I installed all my applications, reinstalled the 200GB and 120 GB hard drives moved some data around with no crashes.
I then installed Rome Total War and played for about 2 hours and had one black screen crash after the reboot played for 4 more hours with no problems so I shut down and went to bed.
In the morning I got up started the computer let it run for awhile the CPU temperatures were in the low 30Cs to low 40Cs I tried to copy some files from the D partition to desktop and the screen freezes I waited about 5 min. with no change and no drive light activity so I hit the reset button. Upon reboot I got a ‘no system disk found” error, I went into the BIOS and checked the drive set-ups and boot priority, everything was correct. I tried for a half hour to get the system to boot with on luck. I used the Ghost to restore the partition image I had made earlier and still no boot. I finally decided to reinstall XP again put in the installation CD and when I got to the screen where you decide where to install Windows I changed my mind quit and bingo the machine boots into the restored Ghost partition???? I started to reinstall my applications got one more blue screen"MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION" crash and another screen freeze that I had to reset.
So I decided to start from real scratch I removed the new 200GB and the second 120GB hard drive ran Killdisk on the boot drive, made a new clean 20GB C partition and did another clean install of Windows XP Professional with SP2, this time with Nvidia’s nForce3 Version 5.10 system drivers, the Realtek gigabit ethernet driver and Realtek AC97 audio driver from the motherboard installation CD & the GeForce v66.93 video driver. I installed the latest version of Core Center and installed it and got it working. CPU temps were as before.
I tested the memory with Memtest-86 again 2 passes no errors. Just in case I then moved one of the memory DIMMs to memory slot 3 out of dual channel mode and to a slower speed and ran Memtest-86 for about 20 hours with 21 passes with no memory errors, so I think memory can be ruled out as the problem.
Next I installed my applications I got one screen freeze that I had to reset. I reinstalled the other 200GB and 120GB hard drives. After I got all my applications install and Ghosted the boot partition. I have had one more one screen freeze that I had to reset.
I have a problem I simply cannot figure out. The memory is obliviously fine. While I have seen CPU temperatures spikes as high as 57C the CPU temps as reported by Core Center averages in the high 30Cs or low 40Cs and most of crashes/lock-ups don’t seem to occur during high CPU load/temp. The power supply might be a little light for the system but many of the crashes have occurred with only one hard drive in the system. The fact after one for the lock-ups the system would not boot for awhile and then magically just booted gives me concern there might be a motherboard problem.
Any solution ideas would be appreciated. Should I RMA the power supply, the motherboard, or both.
Full system specs:
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3500+, Socket 939, 0.13 Micron, with retail heatsink and fan.
Motherboard: MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum BIOS v1.3
Memory: Corsair VS1GBKIT400 1GB (2 x 512MB DIMMs) Kit DDR400 PC3200 CAS2.5 Value Select Memory - one 512MB DIMM in memory slot 1 and one 512MB DIMM in memory slot 3 running at DDR333 speed.
Video Card: Chaintech GeForce4 Ti 4600
Drives:
Maxtor 6Y120L0 120GB hard drive as master on IDE channel 1. 3 partitions C (boot partition), D, & E.
Seagate ST3200822A 200GB hard drive as slave on IDE channel 1. Single partition.
Maxtor 6Y120L0 120GB hard drive as master on IDE channel 2. Single partition.
Sony DRU-500AX DVD-RW as slave on IDE channel 2.
SATA disabled in BIOS.
No PCI cards.
Case: Antec SX 835
4 80mm case fans (2 fans in front blowing in, 2 fans in rear of case blowing out).
Power Supply: Thermaltake W0008RUC Silent PurePower 420W w/Active PFC
Power Supply Specifications:
Maximum Power: 420W
PFC: Acitve
Power Good Signal: 100-500ms
Hold-up Time: > 16ms at Full Load
Efficiency: > 65%
Over Voltage Protection: +5V trip pointInput Voltage: 100 VAC / 240 VAC
Input Frequency Range: 47-63 Hz
Input Current: 8.0A
Output: +3.3V@30A;+5V@40A;[email protected];+12V@18A;[email protected];+5VSB@2A

Quote
I then installed Rome Total War and played for about 2 hours and had one black screen crash
Great isn't it (although not without the occasional crash)
Would you say it's better but not there yet ? or the same ?
I thought the same as Ibn Quote
Your PS unit is a little weak for that much hardware, but I doubt thats your problem as well
re your PSU, given youv'e got a less hungry Graphic Card, thought it was at worse marginal, have seen worse.
To investigate further it may be worth diconnecting one of your HD, maybe the 200gb for a time.
It's a small thing but it may be slightly better to have both your maxtors together on IDE channel 1, given their identical.
good luck - keeo us posted

Mid 2010 MacBook Pro - Logic Board Failure - Advice Needed

Hello all,
I could really use some advice.
I have a MacBook Pro that I bought through the Apple Online Store roughly around September of 2010. A couple of weeks after buying it I had to take it to the Apple Store in London's White City due to a keyboard backlight issue. About a week later I collected the MBP and the following day had to take it back as the technician that worked on it had not tightened the display brackets up leaving it a bit floppy.
Now I have serious issues with it. Recently the MacBook has been suffering from freezing up, booting issues and the display randomly shutting off (going black, no pixelating or anything) to the point the machine has become unusable. 2 days ago I took the MBP along to an appointment at the Genius Bar at London's Regent Street Apple Store, I also took along a copy of an Apple knowledge base article regarding this very issue. The knowledge base suggests that on any OS below Mountain Lion a software update is required, for ML or Mavericks an appointment with a service agent is required. During the appointment the Mac Genius suggested it may be a software issue, they would wipe the system and re-install Mavericks then test the machine, I told him I had done this a few days earlier but I guess they have to follow process. He then went on to suggest the display may be faulty, I told him I had no reason to suspect that was the case and moved the screen forwards and backwards at varying speeds without a glimmer of a flicker. At this point after reading about this issue on various forums prior to the appointment I felt that the guy was trying to imply anything maybe at fault but deliberately steering clear of suggesting the logic board, this is just my gut feeling however and i'm perfectly capable of being wrong but I do not feel I am! Anyhow I then proceeded to demonstrate the issue whilst the machine was on, warmed up and right in front of him. I gently and slightly lifted the front left corner of the machine a little way off of the counter, just enough to obviously flex the logic board by a minuscule amount and immediately the display went into a frenzy of going off and on.
So I left the MBP with them for the guys to do their thing. Today I received the following email:
"We have attempted to repair your machine by erasing all the data off your machine and reinstalling the latest operating system, Mavericks. This has not resolved the issue of the screen going black when in use. The issue has occurred again for a very short and brief few times once the machine had fully turned on and after testing the issue did not appear again.
I'm sure the issue will more likely occur again, to repair the machine we would need to replace a part known as the main logic board. This repair is very expensive and will come roughly to £418.80."
£418.80 GBP, that's pretty much 25% of the original purchase price of the machine new, a Premium 'Pro' labelled machine just 3 years old at that. I cannot possibly afford to pay for the repair. I really despair.
This MBP has done no work hard enough for it to get stressed. It is used for some web surfing, online shopping, email, online flash based games but mostly for my kids homework. It has spent it's entire life on a table in our living room with the exception of it's Genius Bar trips.
I love Apple products, it's why as a family we own so many off them. Too many to list on a public forum as I don't want would be burglars inviting themselves around sometime. This issue has tainted my perception of both Apple and it's products. Not so much because of the fault, machines become faulty. No because it's a premium machine that cost me £2100 new and is little more than a paperweight at present just 3 years down the line. Some part of me if i'm honest was wishing but more than that expecting a company like Apple to say along the lines of "This has happened, it shouldn't have and will be repaired at no charge". There are many people suffering this kind of problem with this model and the existence of the knowledge base article must mean Apple knows it too. Just 3 years, £300 PCs last longer than that i'm sure. It does seem to be a very short lifespan for such a high end machine.
My apologies for droning on but I can neither afford the repair or do without the computer, my son is in his final GCSE year at school and my daughter in her pre GCSE year so a computer is critical for school homework research etc. I just do not know how to move forward, I haven't even picked the machine up yet!
This isn't a stomping Apple, one man crusade. I just need my MacBook fixed.
If anyone has had this problem and had it satisfactory resolved, knows who to speak to that may help resolve the issue please let me know.
Any other advice will be more than welcome.

Ive repaired 1000s of laptops over the years (translate: diagnose and replace parts).
Its not that old, Ive owned 100s of laptops (most were free) ....some I still have are nearly 13 years old and still perfect, ....some extremely expensive ones died in under a year.
other than becoming obsolete at some point, there isnt really any "will spoil on" data like Milk for solid state computer parts, ....alas.
You can have a $5000 laptop die in 4 months, and a junker one keep kicking after 10 years.... Ive seen that firsthand countless times.
Common logic dictates that "very expensive = long life" in computers,..... but all the repair people will tell you just the opposite.
I know you have a gripe, I get that all too well honestly .

Advice needed regarding Database design practice

OK, here is my situation. I've started working for a company about 6 months ago. I'm a .NET developer with 12+ years of experience. Most of my experience with databases is with SQL Server. Recently I've discovered an design change with our Oracle database that our DBA made that I completely disagree with.
We had a single Event table that holds records that pertain to all HTTP traffic on a network as HTTP Usage Event. There are multiple hardware units called 'Sensors' that monitor the network and report these HTTP events to the database. At some point not long ago, the table was holding just over a million records. Performance was suffering so the DBA decided to make a change to the database to accommodate. The change she made was to create a separate Event table for each sensor. Each sensor has an integer value as a unique identifier, so our database went from having a single Event table to now having Event_100, Event_101, Event_102, etc...
So, we now have over 200 Event tables in our database. Anytime a sensor is added to the system, we need to add another table (actually two as there is a 2nd table that was duplicated in this same fashion).
How do I present this to my boss and to the DBA in a way that I don't embarrass my boss (he approved the change) and without pissing off the DBA? I can't imagine that the table couldn't have been optimized as it was to take care of the issues with performance without so dramatic a change.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Edited by: jreddy on Dec 15, 2010 6:51 AM

There is a job to purge old data. Events are kept for 3 months. These jobs were actually part of the problem, as well as removing sensors from the system. In either of these cases, the deletion of the data (more so with the removal of a Sensor i.e. DELETE FROM EVENT WHERE SENSORID = X, was taking too long).
I'm surprised that there have been people agreeing to this design. So, now we have 208 sensors, so 208 Event tables and another table named DATA_HASH duplicated 208 times. There may be a time when our database will be handling data from over 1,000 sensor units. Maybe even double that. Can anyone argue that having 2,000 event tables is the way to go? What if we need to add a new field to the table? Do that 2000 times?
I've been looking at bit more at the data today. I found some event tables haven't got any data (0 rows) while others range in row counts of 2 million up to as much as 30 million? I've talked to SQL DBA's and they all think that Oracle should be able to handle billions of rows in a table.
Also, just out of curiosity, I looked up the max size for a table in Oracle 10. I know the number of rows isn't the determining factor for this, but size of the data. I was astounded to find out the max size for data storage for a single table. 127 TB (yeah, tera bytes). Based on this size, it seems our data could be handled by 1 table, but then maybe I'm wrong.

Advice Needed for Coding FCP Plugin's

This will be my first attempt at coding anything for FCP and I am hoping to get some advice on how to proceed and where I can get technical information.
Project 1: Create a plugin to add a selection to the Canvas/Viewer Overlay windows - just under "Show TimeCode Overlays", or there abouts. The option will allow the visual display of the embedded DV Date/Time stamp on the tape, in the same fashion as Time-code is overlaid. As far as I have been able to find, this plugin does not exist yet, so I thought I would give it a shot.
Project 2: Create a plugin to enhance "DV Start/Stop Detect" to label markers with the embedded DV Date/Time code. i.e. Instead of "Segment 1" the marker would be labeled "20070131 19:15:45", assuming of course, a valid date/time existed, otherwise default back to "Segment xx".
But, I guess my first question would be, would these be "legal" projects to pursue. i.e. Is there an API to modify the functionality of FCP in this manner?
I know the DT is available as CatDV has no problem reading it, so I figure FCP should be able to as well.
I figure I will need:
1. Info on how the DT is encoded (hex) in the stream
2. FCP API info
3. Editing app to put the code together.
4. Forums that deal with Mac and FCP coding discussions.
5. Any other advice ANY ONE would like to give.
I have a BSc in Comp Sci and coded on the Main Frame for 15 years, so I have "basic" coding skills, but I have not coded on the Mac yet. I have registered for the FREE Developer Account, but haven't had a chance to explored the service yet.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
ASIDE: I have been editing in FCP since v1 and I shoot events with multiple cameras, sometimes hiring additional cameramen (with their own gear). Because, the events I shoot are usually live "one-of" events like weddings, sports... etc, there is a lot of ON/OFF recording. As such, I find the best way to sync up tapes is to match up Date/Time codes. I accomplish this by playing back the captured video through Firewire back to a Panasonic PV-GS400 which displays the DT on the pop-out display. I then MANUALLY update the previously created "DV Start/Stop Detect" segments with the appropriate DT.
This is a very time consuming process, and if I can get FCP to display the DT directly, it would knock hours off my work flow.
I hope this all makes sense.
FYI I will also be posting this in the 2-pop forums, so if I get any advice there, I will update my post here.
TIA
Gary

Hi Gary
Regarding both your proposed projects afaik there is no API to directly allow you to do this.
However a few options spring to mind: analyzing midi control /mackie control data as provided to a control surface (check out Digital Heaven's BigTime for an idea of how this could work); similarly you could create a virtual DV output device that would appear in the external video outputs list whereby the output video stream would be passed through your code to extract and display the info; perhaps simplest although the least dynamic would be simply to write an FxPlug filter that could be dropped on the clip ... the user could then populate the filter with static display data by manually scavenging the clip for the info with a "button" in your filter (see the options dialog example in the FxPlug SDK)
Good luck
Andy

Advice needed for a mess of ipods

the goal: get all music stored in one place, preferably my new ipod.
1) i have a third generation ipod which has the bulk of the music i have listened to for the last five years.
that music is in iTunes on a pc laptop that has died. (there's a chance that i can get those files off the dead computer and onto an external drive; still waiting to find out. but all those files are on the ipod anyway.)
2) I have a new laptop that has new music in iTunes. (Those files are also on an ipod nano.) the new iTunes files on this laptop do not overlap with the first set of files.
3) i have a new ipod that i want to get everything onto: the old (1st set) files on the old ipod, the new files on my new laptop (& nano), and ... i'd like to convert all of my old cds and get them on the new ipod as well.
Problems:
* how do i join the two sets of files (without losing any) if the old ipod won't work with my new laptop b/c the computer doesn't recognize it.
--What's the actual process for getting the files off the old ipod?
--would it be best to store everything on an external drive (point iTunes to it while it's attached to the laptop?)*
-store everything on the new ipod only?*
** what's the best way to get cds (their data) onto a laptop that doesn't have a cd drive?
The first issue about combining the sets of music onto a new ipod i really have no idea how to do. so any step by step kind of advice would be appreciated. especially because of the old ipod/new laptop incompatibility.
the second issue about the cds: i have a feeling i just have to pay some service to convert them for me. any cheaper ideas?
Thank you!

Right there are many ways to get your Music off your ipod and on to a computer the best thing to do is to take the files off your ipod and put them on a external disk (like you said) but you need to take it to a computer that recognizes your ipod and then once you have coppied the music across, add it to an external disk.
The best ways to do this is...
1.(the cost option)
download this program at http://www.findleydesigns.com/ (ipod Access for Windows), the free version copy's five songs at a time to your computer. But the registered version (£14 (not sure in $)) copys all of your music, playlists, videos etc across directly to itunes.
2. (The Free way) (this is for XP, but i should be the same with vista) (im not really familiar with Vista) but the principles are the same.
You need to be able to view hidden files on your computer , you need to go to the control panel and find folder options. (i believe that you could change the settings on in the windows explorer by clicking view at the top menu bar. you need to click it so that you can see the hidden files. (i think this explains simply what i said Tools -> Folder Options -> View, and then check (enable) the option “Show hidden files and folders.”)
Next find your ipod now if you have enabled hidden files you need to click on your ipod and find a folder called ipod control. the folder itself will look different maybe a bit transparent because it is hidden. Next you will go in and if you explore further you will see loads of files (transparent like ipod control) with things like F34 F01 (or F1) etc.
They are the files with your music on it and if you click on them, they will show music files but they wont have names. they are encrypted with file names like AKLY (basically four letters or 3 letters put together in capitals) so to get the names and other suff back simply drag the music files into itunes or import them individually (the folders) into itunes by clicking file, import into itunes and by folder.
Then once you have done this the names should be correct in Itunes.
*Alternitavely you can drag all the files in 'ipod control' into an external Hard Drive* if you go into itunes prefrences you can let itunes put all your music on your computer into organized files of album names.
Hope that Helped
Alex
And sorry the easiest ways to convert the CD's is to import them yourself into itunes Although it may take some time.
If you dont have an external hard drive then burning all your music onto CDs always helps although with a few Gigabytes of music it could take quite a lot of CDs. You might need some blank DVDs to burn on to
Message was edited by: Alexander Richardson

Advice Needed

After finally being disenchanted by PC's and being engrossed by my iPhone I am looking to buy a 13" macbook pro (restricted to the 13" for cash reasons). I occasionally use 3D modelling for my work (teacher), but nothing too advanced. The majority of tasks I will be using it for will be DTP, photo editing, some movie editing etc. Will the 13" macbook be powerful enough? As I said I am new to Mac's so any advice would be appreciated.

As long as you don't need your 3D work and video editing done at professional speed, the 13" MBP should serve you adequately.

Advice needed: Efficient way to scan users

Hi all,
I wish to know the efficient way to scan users in Lighthouse. I need to write a workflow that checkout all the users and perform some updates. This workflow should run everyday at midnight.
I have created a scanner myself. Basically what It did are:
1. call FormUtils.getUsers method to return all users' name into a variable.
2. loop through this list and call a subprocess workflow to process every user. This subprocess checks out a user view, performs updates, and then checks in view.
This solution is not efficient at all since it causes my JVM to be Out of Memory. (1G RAM assigned to JVM with about 78,000 users)
Any advice is highly appreciated. Thank you.
Steve

Ok...I know understand what you are doing and why you need this.
A long, long, long time ago (back in 3.x days) the deferred task scanner was really bad. Its nightly scan would scan ALL users each time. This is fine when your client had 4k users...but not when it has 140k users.
Additionally, the "set deferred task" function had problems with two tasks with the same name "i.e. disable resource" since it used the name as the xml object name which can not be duplicated.
soooo, to beat this I rewrote the deferred task handler to allow me to do all of this. Part of this was to add a searchable field called 'nextTaskDate' on the user object. After each workflow this 'date" is updated so it is always correctly populated with the users "next deferred task date"
each night the scanner runs and querys all users with a nextTaskDate of today. This then gives us a result set that we can iterate over instead of having to list each user and search for tasks. It's a billion times faster.
Your best bet is to store the task date in miliseconds and make your query a "all users with next task date BEFORE now"...this way if the server is hosed you can execute tasks you may have missed.
We have an entire re-usable implmentation framework that we have patented (of which this code is a part) that answers most of these types of issues you are bringing up. It makes these implementations much much simpler, faster, scalable and maintainable.
this make sense?
Dana Reed
AegisUSA
Denver, CO 80211
[email protected]
773.412.3782
"Now hiring best-in-class IdM architects. Inquire via emai"

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