How good is OS x as far as gaming compatibility?

I have recently gotten into gaming on my old windows laptop, but the hardware just doesn't cut it. I plan on getting a Macbook Pro, under or at $2,000, but the only thing holding me back is the gaming capabilities. I play a lot of Valve games, but I'd really like to get into , WoW, Skyrim, and some other more resaurce-intensive games. Can the Macbook Pro's hardware handle this, and can these games be ran without running windows also on the machine?

If you are really into games then a PC is the way to go.
Allan

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How good is a Macbook Pro with dual video cards for gaming?

I've been a PC guy my whole life (aside from my iPhone which I love). My gf has been pushing me to try out a mac and considering how my PC laptops have a pretty good track record of dying on me or encountering some other problems after a year or two, I can't help but consider making the investment. The only thing is, I'm a big gamer and usually get the latest games. I'm not super tech savvy though I do my research and get a sense of what kind of specs are better and worse.
In terms of gaming, I always assumed that more ram = better. In that sense, I'm a little put off that even the most expensive MacBook Pro only comes with 4 gigs of ram (which is what my year and a half old laptop has now) especially when it seems most newer laptops have 8 gigs minimum for a fraction of the price (and 16 gigs if you're willing to spend as much as you would on the most expensive macbook pro). Does RAM somehow work differently on a Mac or is it truly that little?
Also, how does the whole dual video card thing work, does that mean I'd be having the power of those two cards put together?
Personally, I've been leaning towards the Asus G53SX-NH71 because I can buy it for less than the cost of the cheapest macbook pro and as far as gaming purposes go it seems to have more power than even the most expensive Macbook which costs over double the price.
Am I missing something here? Do the dual video cards really bring that much to the table or for gaming purposes am I better off with a PC?
Thanks.

I've been watching this forum for years, and I'll have to say that gamers are not a big group around here. A few things. First, getting 8GB of RAM for the MacBook Pro is cheap. Most people either don't care, pay Apple to do it, or, like me, DIY. The max you put in a MBP is 8GB, so no 16GB, unless you were looking at the iMac or MacPro.
Second, there is no dual video card in a MacBook Pro. There is an integrated video card, an Intel HD3000, which shares RAM with the CPU, or a discrete video card, an AMD, various versions on different MBP's. The Intel is for low battery usage. The AMD is more powerful, and it's to be used when you've got power. The video card has more applications than just gaming, but also in video and photo editing.
No one here is going to talk you into one platform or another. If you are only going to game in Windows, then it's a waste to get a Mac. If you're going to game in Windows but want the Mac side to do everything else, the build quality and elegance of the Mac will far exceed most products out there. You can run Windows in Boot Camp natively, and as I understand, gamers love it, because the Mac is actually a better Windows machine than most Windows machines. But I don't play games, so I have no proof.
So the choice is yours. And we could argue all day long about the side by side comparison of a cheap Windows machine vs. the Mac. You are using the price vs. price comparison that is a false dichotomy, ignoring how one values various features. For example, the trackpad on a MacBook Pro far exceeds (and I mean light year exceeds) anything on any other laptop out there.
I spent 10 minutes answering your question. I'm not debating you on x vs. y. The choice is totally on what you're going to do. Most of us are trying to contribute to the world, so gaming is low on the needs list.

How good is password protection in Preview App

I want to open some PDF's in Preview, do a Print command, then when that opens select PDF and then Save as PDF. When that window opens, I will then click on Security Options and enter a password that will be required to open the doc. I need to then email these docs to a person on a PC. They have Adobe Acrobat. I've dropped one of these docs on my Windows 7 Virtual Machine. When it opens using Adobe Acrobat it asks for the password and when entered correctly, the doc opens.
So far so good. But how good is the password protection??? I've been told that Office has had good encryption (128 bit AES) since Office 2007. But what about Preview on the Mac being opened by Acrobat on a PC??? Bad?? Good??
There are reasons why it is not reasonable to try to drop a large number of pdfs into Microsoft Word so I'm leaning instead toward just protecting the Preview PDF versions.
Thoughts???
thanks... bob..

As I tell people in the Reader and Acrobat forums, if someone wants to "crack" a PDF badly enough, nothing (including DRM) will prevent them.
AFAIK, Preview's encrytpion is as good as Acrobat's.
The password rules are the same. Longer and more cryptic = better protection. 12 characters is better than 8... 16 is better than 12... Upper & lower case, numerals and special characters.

IPhone 3GS - Seriously - How Good?

Ok, had a Nokia N97, and if I had any hair, it would have been all pulled out at this stage. Terrible terrible handset, no support from the retailer ( here in Saudi ) and jaw droppingly shocking Customer care from Nokia.
Please don't be offended when I say this, but this an Apple Forum so naturally expect some bias towards the company. I am an Apple fan too, and have had several Mac computers and laptops, currently running a 13" Mac BOok Pro, Snow Leopard.
But I would a truly objective view from iPhone users on the phone. How good is it really?
Things I would use it for?
Phone calls. Obvious I know, but my N97 could not handle calls without freezing / locking.
Interent - Joikuspot usage.
Texting - how good it is the virtual on screen phone.
Stability -
Pics.
Calendar ( and of course seamless syncing with my MBP.
Thanks in advance.
BTW, the the iPhones here in Saudi are sold unlocked, but a lot more pricey than in the UK / Europe / USA.

Seriously?! OK
I am Windows Mobile user for years. Recently I needed an upgrade. The market is full with excellent hardware and I needed a phone with keyboard as I use that a lot. While the hardware is good WM did not catch up with the technology. Nokia do not impress me at all (bad experience with N80 and N85), or any other phone.
I went to O2 and they let me play with the iphone and I liked it. Also, in the UK (don't know anywhere else) I have 14 days to return it back for full refund (other than the warranty) and no questions asked.
I was impressed with how sleek, simple and fast the UI on iphone 3Gs is. As for the virtual keyboard I got used to it very fast and I can type as fast as on a hardware keyboard (not to mention the phone is slim cause of it).
The second important thing is the update I get from Apple. No longer I am at the mercy of my provider or manufacturer. There are a lot more powerful hardware than the Iphone but they are let down by an outdated OS.
I had it now for about 2 months. Not a hitch. Everything just works. Fantastic speed on WiFi. I recharge it once a day (with 30% left over). I use the internet heavily, with occasional (but daily) Youtube, movies and music.
GPS is brilliant and never let me down and it grabs a signal very fast than any other phone I have used before. Faster than my dedicated TomTom software and hardware.
Bluetooth works just fine with my car BT kit.
Camera ... Don't care
As a phone it is crystal clear and I always have good signal and latches well when there is a weak signal and even when there is 1 bar I can still make crystal clear calls.
Text wise, no complaint. once you get used to the keyboard it is child play.
It never let me down stability wise. I am not in an office, I work in the field and I need it to work really good to communicate with colleagues.
I have over 56 apps with about 5 games applications and I am heavy on documents and pdf files which I keep on the phone (as references).
I never ever had to reset the phone so far.
I use WiFi a lot, with O2 i get the BT openzone and the cloud networks for free (not all of them but a lot) and works extremely well.
I am a news freak, and I have 10 apps for news and football and I read them all daily. Plus my facebook update and blogging update right from the phone.
I use it with geocaching and it is great fun if you have the time. The compass is brilliant here.
it fits well in my hand, slim, sleek and very responsive.
I use Windows Vista 32 bit and outlook email client and never had problems synchronizing with them.
I backup once a day (everything) with itunes.
I also manually backup the itunes folder (just in case). All my purchases (except music) are made from the phone itself.
The phone came with 3.1.1 firmware already in it and I only updated it once (as soon as I got it) to 3.1.2.
It does not like synching with other phones (did not investigate as no big deal for me) using BT but great with the car kit (4 years old).
it is not cluttered with buttons and I like that.
I wish it can multitask as not all application get you back to where you left off last time you used it.
I also wish it had a Radio, HSPDA or HSUPA. But no big deal and I am doing fine without them.
I have 6 emails with push or poll, BT always on and so is wifi. I come home with about 30% left and do not recharge till 10 pm, I take it off around midnight. I use it as my alarm clock (**** very loud and I need it ).
it gathers a lot of finger prints - non issue to me and I like polishing it
Hope this helps.

How good is java in linux?

I am a linux newbie and was planning to put linux on computer. I wanted to know how good java performs under linux. Is it faster? Is it slower? Also, I seen many people asking for help installing the 1.4.1 implementation. Is it tough to install java on linux ? Note: I plan on installing YellowDog Linux 3.0 when it's released on cd. YellowDog is for PPC's and I'm installing it because I've never had the chance to develop with the Java2 platform on Mac OS because my computer's G3 just can't handle OS X.
Thanks.

I don't know if there is a Linux-PPC version of Java available. And the versions listed on the download page for "Linux" are i386-based (unless otherwise explicitly specified).
As far as Linux, goes: learn the system first before you try to jump into programming on it. "Raw" Unix-systems are VERY different, especially if you're coming straight from a Mac-OS. Get a good book and work through it. Linux is getting better at being a good "out-of-the-box" experience, but there's a lot of stuff in there...

Dodge and burn plugin, how good is it?

Can some of you that are using the new dodge and burn plugin share some of your experiences. In the tutorial it looks pretty basic, direct and easy to perform. Also it seems pretty close to what I've been doing for the last 25 years in my b/w darkroom. I wonder if someone can say something about it's performance and the results, also on black and white images. How good is it? Could I leave PS out of my workflow as far as this tool is concerned? Thanks.

I've used this plugin many times and really like it especially for knocking down a distracting part or all of the background. I haven't used it so far on B&W images although I shoot quite a bit of B&W. I've found a couple of things - (1) be very careful about the strength setting because at 100% it's dead black and (2) I tend to use the Feathering once I've got my dodge or burn about where I want it. I'll open the brush size and with about a medium strength I'll "dust" the whole area I've worked. The feathering seems to blend everything so you don't have any harsh spots. The feathering does tend to add a small amount of "dodge" to what you've done so you may have to go back and redo the area(s). I would liken this to using a "pantyhose frame" rather than a paddle in the darkroom days. You remember that trick I'm sure. I don't have any reason to believe it won't work as well on B&W. I have found the eraser can save some work if you get a little heavy on the strength setting. Finally, I tend to take a long look at the work in full screen before I hit the save button - although you can go back into the Edit with Dodge and Burn and redo areas until you get what you want. Play with it and I think you'll agree it's a valuable tool.

How good is the mac mini

hello
I am planning to buy a mac
How goof is a mac mini with 2gh processor/ 2gb ram
for applications and leopard os or any future os ?
also will it work well with a full hd 24 inch display?
I think of a mac mini , i wanted an imac
but maybe better a mac mini / a full hd 24 inch screen
and a playstation 3 with the screen on the top
for gaming and blue ray ... i am thinking
so if mac mini would work well with photo editing etc
and leopard would run fast and smooth on it , i would go for my trio
mthx
Message was edited by: anteros27
Message was edited by: anteros27

In a broad sense it's probably best to think of the mini as a full desktop computer, simply shrunk down to a small size - that way you'll get the idea of how good it is rather than risk the impression that it's small size is in any real way indicative of it's performance. It isn't.
The new 2.0GHz mini is very close in performance to the original dual processor G5 computer (advertised as the fastest desktop on earth when it was released in 2003). Leaving aside the advertising hype, it was (and remains) an incredibly powerful system in very extensive use in video, image and publishing industries. Given the mini has as much raw power, just a slower hard drive and no internal expansion options, you can see that it is, in it's own right, a very capable system.
Just how capable depends a lot on the specific uses you have in mind for it of course. It'll cope well with all the normal computing tasks people typically run - word processing, internet, email, photos, etc, and would be suited to a lot of far more intensive tasks, including image editing work. Gaming is a bit suspect though, with the limitations of the on-board video sub-system making some games run well and others less so.
There should be absolutely no problem with Leopard when it is released, though of course it isn't possible to give a definitive statement on it since as yet Leopard is still in development. However, at this time developer builds are being run on existing minis of lower specification, and historically Apple have typically ensured new OS versions are backwards compatible with older hardware platforms - certainly recent ones. Given the newly updated mini has just been announced and is likely to remain on sale for some time as a result without further change, and Leopard is due in a couple of months, it in highly improbable the mini won't run it, and run it well.
It will drive a 24" display since the maximum resolution of the mini is 1920x1200 (DVI) or 2048x1536 (VGA).

How good does it count the steps?

For those of you who owns the Sony Smartband Talk I wonder how good it counts the steps? I've read reviews of Sony's first smart band that says it does not count steps correctly and that there are sometimes large margin of wrongs. How do you feel about it so far? Dare I buy Sony Smart Band if I want it to count steps reasonably accurate?

I wouldnt buy it as a pure step counter if i was you. Honesty think jawbone and fitbit are the best in that area. main part of the smartband talk which apeals to me is that it does a bit of everything else plus gives a good enough view of my activity thoughout the day.

The Intel Mac Mini uses on-board graphics... how good are they?

I'm seriously considering getting an Intel Mac Mini and telling all my friends to get one, too. However, there's one problem - the graphics.
The whole reason I'd want an Intel Mac would be so that I could dual-boot into Windows Vista (when it comes out) in order to play the latest games.
How suitable are the on-board graphics for gaming? Would it be able to play Halo and Command & Conquer Generals well?
Basically, I want to know if it's the equivalent of a 64 MB graphics chip in speed, or if having on-board graphics makes it a bit slower. Does it have hardware acceleration? And is it suitable for smooth casual gaming at an average resolution?

I am very uneasy about finding integrated graphics in the new mini too.
When I first saw the new Mini website on Apple's website I was so excited "intel processor", "4 usb ports", "faster drives" but something was missing from the website; the "graphics" sub-category. I instantly wondering what was up with that, thinking right away obviously the graphics weren't good enough to brag about. I was right. On Apple's MacMini website, on the "Intel Core" sub-category page, bottom of the page, right side there's a weee comment on integrated graphics, "oh." was my only thought.
It's really disappointing to see integrated graphics in the new Mini. That AND the increase in price. The price of the Intel iMac dropped by $100 when it got introduced, but the Intel Mini's price goes up $100 upon introduction, further closing the price between the iMac and the Mini and making the iMac looking more and more attractice in terms of features-performance-price-value. I better run out and buy a Intel iMac before Apple removes the miniDVI-out port (which I'm predicting it will be removed in the next iMac revision)
Hopefully some Intel MacMini review tests in the coming weeks will reveal better-than-expected graphics performance.
I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned this but... doesn't anyone here see that Apple has given us a preview of what's to come by putting integrated graphics in the new Intel MacMini? -- Anyone? I'll tell you -- we're going to see the exact same integrated graphics in the upcoming Intel iBooks, that's what.
Mac Mini Mac OS X (10.4.5)

IPAD 6.0 (MD519C/A) wifi,cellular - how good is this model?

I would like to buy Apple iPad with Retina display (MD519C/A), 16GB, WiFi, Cellular 4G, White from Staples.ca. I would like to know if anyone has used this model and how good is this. Also, whether it's unlocked or not? I want to send the ipad to Bangladesh and the customer representative at Staples was not sure whether that is unlocked or not. I would like to know if it would work there.
I have pasted the URL for this ipad. Thank you.
http://www.staples.ca/en/Apple-iPad-with-Retina-display-MD519C-A-16GB-WiFi-Cellu lar-4G-White/product_105913_2-CA_1_20001

Without checking myself, just be aware that the iPad OS generally only provides error signals that are relevant. It wouldn't seem relevant to report on a missing SIM with Cellular turned off, and I'd therefore expect that you wouldn't see that message after having done so.
Don't turn on Airplane Mode, however (that's what's shown by the "little airplace icon") as that also shuts down your wifi.
And yes, with Cellular off it just says "iPad" there on the status bar, exactly as described in your User's Guide and other locations.

How good is the Collections.shuffle() method?

Hello
I have an ArrayList which I want to bootstrap from. I did not find any method to randomly select an entry from the ArrayList, so I use the shuffle method first, and then get the first entry (which should be random after each shuffle). However, I do get some strange results from this. On average the numbers gotten when I sample small series is lower then the ones I get sampling longer series. There is no aspect with the data that should imply such behavoiur. Does anyone know how good my way of sampling is (using shuffle), and if the shuffle method really is a good way to randomize?
Regards
JT

I think the API docs probably give the best answer to this question. Notice the word "approximately" In the shuffle(List) method. Also note that shuffle.(List, Random) depends on how "good" Random is.
I guess you'd have to construct some form of test to see if either shuffle was good enough for your requirements.
Cheers
DB

How good is the audio jack?

In the past I've connected my iPod to my stereo using a mini to RCA adapter. It gave me a weak signal (even with the volume turned all the way up). How good is the Mac Mini's audio when plugging into a stereo? Thanks.

Optical out to a DAC supports 24-bit (and even 32-bit on the new mini, whatever that is for, I guess DSP). It shares the analogue headphone jack out, but when you put a mini Toslink in it, you get the light out.
You can also use USB out or use a USB/coax converter (which I am messing around with). Others have told me that the USB/coax converter is better because it externally clocks the signal, but I cannot hear any difference between that and the optical out. Optical goes up to 96kHz sampling frequency. To get higher, you need the USB/coax adapter.
The NOVA that I have, linked to above, supports 16-bit output from USB and 24-bit output from optical toslink and coax. I think the USB limitation might be imposed by the software in the DAC, however, not at the mac end.

How good is the 3G arial on the iPad?

How good is the 3G arial on the iPad? For example is it better than the iPhone 4 one?

I'm using the IGP on 2 networked pc's and to be honest have had no problems with it. Runs all my games at ease inc the network games, (some are very power hungry too). Ok not as fast as the latest all singing cards but costs you nothing. You can always stick another card in if you get problems. One thing though, gotta make sure you make use of the Dual channel memory, this really speeds things up with the IGP in use.

How good is the new Adobe Reader IOS for fillable forms and interactive pdfs?

At last adobe reader for ios has been updated so now fillable forms can be completed on ipad/iphone but how good is it?
I've tested a form and reset form/print form and save as buttons do not seem to work.
Form submit seems ok, just wondered what others thought?
Also the new Adobe Reader IOS is now able to display interactive pdfs with buttons such as go to next page etc yet page transitions do not work? Again whats everyone elses opinion on the reader ios update?

My preliminary experience is that Reader does better with forms than with interactivity.
I've written a couple postings on InDesignSecrets.com about PDF readers for tablets. Here's the latest one:
Finding the Best Tablet PDF Reader
You should also check out PDF Expert (US $9.99) which handles interactivity better than Reader if that is important to you.

24bit interface into 16bit GB - how good is the conversion?

I have a Focusrite Saffire LE interface which I'm planning to use for recording into GarageBand. It's a 24-bit interface, but as GB only allows 16-bit recording some conversion must take place...
Do you know how good the conversion is?
Is it a proper conversion with dithering or are the least significant bits just truncated?
Mac Mini + G3 Mac OS X (10.4.9)
Mac Mini + G3 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

hey there alfredo,
what software will you be using? GB3 & earlier will only support 16/44.1, CD quality. the hardware interface will also come into play-what will you be using?
for example-i have a MOTU 828 that does 24/96, but even w/ GB3 it dithers down & goes in as 16/44.1; but w/ MOTU DP4 i can use the 24/96 setting. Logic Pro will support 24/96 & ProTools HD w/ dedicated hardware will support 24/192. iTunes will support 16/44.1. generally the higher bit & sampling rates are for recording, no matter what it goes in as when burning to an audio CD it becomes 16/44.1 the industry standard.

How good is OS x as far as gaming compatibility?

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