How to get the most out of a Macbook Pro?

I'm about to attend Full Sail University for a baccalaureate in Game Design. They'll be sending me a brand new macbook pro with a bunch of software, and I'll be using it 8+ hours per day. I want to have this laptop last at least the 4 years I'll be in college, and then some. What are some things that I can do to make sure this thing stays in top condition?
I've already looked around for some cooling pads, as I know that would be one essential. What are others?

If the school does not purchase it, then you should - Apple Care Protection Plan.

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How do I get the most out of my Macbook pro with retina display?

Hi,
I am new to apple had an Iphone and loved it and was drawn in by the advertisment for the new macbook pro with retina display and decided to get myself one. I have pretty much taught myself everything so far and I think I have a basic enough knowledge now of working my way round my mac and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how I can look to develop as I feel I have got all the gear but no idea!\
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated,
Cheers

http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/

Getting the most out of my macbook

Hi I have recently given my old macbook to my nephew and I want to make sure it's etting the most out of it as it can - It's a 2 ghz Intel Core Duo and is running Leopard 10.5.8 - I can't remember when I originally bourght it but it was probably before 2009 - can I upgrade the OS further?

According to this site you can go up to 10.6.8.
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/specs/macbook_pro_2.0.html

How to get the Serial Number my stolen MacBook Pro ?

Hi Everyone,
Please Help !!
My MacBook Pro was stolen yesterday and it contains a lot of personal & professional data.
I reported to the Police & they asked me to provide them with it's serial number. Unfortuantelly i don't have any paper that has it's serial number !!!
My MacBook is registered with Apple. Is there a way to get it's serial number if i have the userName and password of it's registration ?
Can anyone advice how to get it's serial number other than the usual way ?
Thanks a lot in advance,
Best regards

I'm sorry
You can try calling Apple but I don't think they will give out serial numbers for products, even if you claim to be the owner of them. There's just no way to verify over the phone that you are the original, rightful owner. But you can always try
Also, Do you have credit card receipts from the time you purchased the MacBook? If so, go to the retailer and see if they can produce the receipt of purchase. This should have a serial number on it, or at least a reference.
Good luck!

Need advice on how to get the most out of iDVD.

My wife and I do wedding Photography - Videography as a source of extra income.
My question is: How can I produce the highest image quality dvd for our clients using iDVD.
I dont quite under stand the difference between exporting from iMovie to iDVD and Sharing the
movie from iMovie to the media browser, then opening iDVD and adding the movie that way.
I shoot the movies with my Sony HDR-SR12 Camera and edit the footage with iMovie 09'.
"please explain slowly and clearly" I am good with what I already know, however can quickly get
confused when taking on new methods and or terminology...
Thanks in advance.

My question is: How can I produce the highest image quality dvd for our clients using iDVD.
"please explain slowly and clearly"
If only it WERE simple.....
Your camera shoots HD video in AVCHD format. DVDs use mpg-2 compression and are really 4:3 devices; 16:9 content is anamorphically squeezed to the SD format. DVD players unsqueeze it on playback.
Converting you HD AVCHD video to anamorphically squeezed mpg-2 content offers lots of opportunities for quality loss.
You can try simply 'Sharing' your iMovie '09 movie with iDVD but I expect this will not produce maximum quality.
I probably would choose the Share>Export using QuickTime option and then select the QuickTime Option>Video Setting of Apple Intermediate Codec. This conversion may take quite a while.
For single layer media, if your content is under 60 minutes Best Performance encoding will probably give you the best results; if it's over 60 and under 120 minutes use Professional Quality. Personally, I try to stay away from DL media.
What I suggest you do is create a short (say 15 minute) demo video clip and then try the various output option from iMovie and encoding options in iDVD to see what you like.
When the iApps first came out (about 8 years ago), most prosumer video shooting was done in the DV format (digital video on mini-tape cassettes). DV is an easy format to edit because it is 'lightly' compressed and all the information needed to edit is easily accessible. The newer formats (like your AVCHD) are much more highly compressed and are more complicated to work with.

How to get the most out of my setup...

As most of you know if you've read previous posts, I've recently had trouble with my hard disks, so, after I finish this project I'm ready to 'revamp' my setup, so it's ready for future use and some advice would be really useful...
I have a Mac Pro machine, two years old, Quad-core Intel Xeon, 2.8ghz processor, 8gb memory.
2 internal Hard Disks - 1 Capacity 297.77gb and the other 465.44gb, I've been using the smaller one as bootup disk for apps and os x and the bigger one for capture scratch.
Then I have a USB external hard disk plugged in which is 1TB and backs up all my data with Time Machine.
I also have one more external Hard disk, which is 297.77gb and has more input options (USB, firewire 400 and 800) but I like to keep this space to transport data, however at the moment I'm using it as a temporary startup disk with OS X and Final Cut, to finish my current project.
So, after reading previous posts and knowing I work as a film editor, what do you suggest I do?
My plan is to backup all files from internal disks to external ones, while I perform Disk warrior directory maintenance. I'll try to clear some data and then I'll set it up as it was.
I can't think of a more appropriate way for it all to work?
Ultimately I'd just like to get it back to working to its full potential, so I can do my work with confidence.
Any suggestions?
Thanks.

Rendering times are pretty much based on processor speed if I have that right. Not much you can do about that other than buy a new computer. Your day to day work in the finder and accessing of files would be faster with your boot drive internal. One thing you can do is ensure your FCP System Settings are on the fastest disk you have. If you put a pair of drives internal and made a RAID volume for them you would improve your write speed when capturing and for any other read/write operations. You would have to be sure you kept that backed up properly because you double the odds of a failure when two drives spread the data between them. There are many RAID options.
You could also bump up the RAM but you'd have to look at your processes to see if you are being limited by RAM. I'm guessing not but it's not impossible. If you are accessing scratch disks due to RAM limitations that would be one thing you could do.
I would never bother connecting an external via USB if there was an esata or firewire option. I use an esata card internally to give me access to estata storage. I also keep an external FW800 drive for a mirror backup of my boot drive. All my data and booting is internal with all my backups external. Each internal has an external and I have additional externals that I keep off site to protect against fire and theft.

Can anyone recommend a good "How To" Book. I have switched to a MacBook pro 15 inch. and I woiuld really like to learn the basics and get the most out of my Mac.

I want to be able to get the most out of my MacBook pro. Any suggestions on a good book to read?

Switching to a Mac For Dummies, 2nd Edition

How Can I get the MOST out of my Ipod?

greetings yall!!
Sean Price in the house.. this is NOW my third Ipod..its the Product RED Ipod Nano.. mad nice..
but I feel as if I'm missing something.. I mean all I do is put music on there and JUST NOW i have learned to put my music videos on it..
BUT come on.. I have heard YOU can do SO MUCH more then just that..
I mean its like i have these video Ipods and I'm just using them as SHUFFLE ipods, you feel me?
I mean I also have the red shuffle 2nd generation Ipod as well... and for that one yeah it makes sense all I CAN DO is play music on that one..
but please SOMEBODY please give me the FULL breakdown on how to get the MOST out of my Ipods..
PLEASE do advise!!
I want it all, games!!! hacks, other OS's whatever.. just somebody school me!!
THANK YOU!!!

Click here for information.
(30988)

Get the most out of a Mega PC

Hi. I'm new :D
I recently bought a Mega 651 to make a bit of a media project
[that I don't really need since my internet PC is already next to the TV and stereo]
and now I am looking at how to get the most out of it.
So I'm interesting in knowing what you've done, or know can be done, with this box. Be it software, hardware or modifications. I know there are alot of threads out there, and I've read alot of them, but I wanted to do a new one which focused a bit on possibilities.
I've fitted mine with a celeron 2.4, 1 gig ram, and a 80 or so GB HDD.
The box is as noisy as a 21" industry rack I have to do something about it.
Some of the blame has to be put on the disk and I'm gonna replace it when I have time for two windows reinstallations
So, here are some conversation starters.
Motherboard
MS-6760. Does it conform to any size/form standard?
Are there other motherboards that can be fitted into this box?
Would the boards of other Mega PCs fit? Are they available for sales?
Power Supply Unit
Something is making noise, even when I remove the hard drive.
The PSU in my box is a FSP250-60MS, max 250 W.
However, on a review I saw it to be fitted with an ENHANCE ENP-2920, 200 W.
I understand the PSU is custom made to give power to the HIFI parts. But are there alternatives that will fit? Are there alternatives if I don't need the radio/CD? Or are the dimentions all wrong anyway... (Measured it to roughly something like 7x14x10 cm)
System fans
The PSU, the CPU and the mainboard have fans. Has anyone had any luck in reducing noise by replacing any of these? What is required (screws, soldering...), are the fan sizes standard? Did you burn down your house?
Remote Control Unit
I believe the key word here is "Girder". I've briefly encountered this program before - a program to read the signal of a remote, and assign actions. If I remember correctly, it is not freeware? Is it so, that the remote can be used with Girder? Will Girder read another remote on the same sensor? Are there alternatives to Girder?
Display
From what I've read, this display is no fun what so ever. Or? Anyone done anything neat with it?
TV/Video
I have a ATI all in wonder lying around somewhere, TV tuner and video out. Are you people all using the default TV software or are there alternatives worth playing with?
Radio Software
Anyone using something other than the default MSI software?
Media Center Software
I've never tried anything like Media Portal and frankly I'm a bit uncertain of what makes it different from a media player. What are you using, and why?
Anything else you'd like to mention?
Please do!
It's okay if you point me to another thread that already describes something like this, as long as you leave a hint at what you're finding interesting in the other thread. And you only have to answer the questions you want to
Let the ideas flow.
.t

here are a few replies to your queries about the Mega 651:
Motherboard:
this is a custom built board designed for the mega 651. you might find that the boards in other megas MIGHT work, but they are not available for sale
in any case, i think the 865 and 180 would be different anyway as they use a different LCD display and i imagine the connector might be slightly different
Power Supply Unit:
again this is a custom design for the Mega series, the only way you might quieten it down is by opening it up and replacing the fan for a quiet type
System fans:
having looked inside my mega 651 a few times, there is only one fan for the CPU, the chipset is passively cooled. the cpu fan noise has never really bothered me as it is temperature controlled - when the cpu is under load it does speed up, when it is not it stops! as far as i can see, the heatsink/fan is also a custom design
Display:
forget about it - msi won't release any SDKs for this and probably never will
TV / Video:
you can use any tv card and its software that you are happy with - there is no specific reason to use an MSI card
media center software:
the intervideo software provided with the mega 180 and 865 also works with the 651 (if you can get hold of it anywhere). however it is a load of rubbish, and if you do need anything like that, then media portal is going to be your best bet
find out more at http://mediaportal.sourceforge.net
the trick with these mega pcs is not to expect too much from them!! they are a nice idea, but i think they were rushed to the market too soon in order to steal a march on their other SFF rivals - the next generation of mega PC will hopefully address all the issues we've experienced and make them proper HTPCs!!
good luck!

How to get the most of PowerBook G3 233Mhz

its been a while since I dint post on Apple discussions, about one year ago, I was thinking I would get a PowerBook G3 Pismo, one year later evry thing was diffrent, I ordered a 233Mhz PowerBook G3 Wallstreet (It was the only choice with the money I had) and now I really want to know how to get the most out of it.
I want to do the following
-Browse the web
-Listen to music
-do keynote presentations
-word proccesing
-storage
The powerBook that I am going to get comes with a nice 233Mhz G3 chip, 64MB of RAM a 12 inch screen and running Mac OS 9.2.2 (my favorite).
I have alot of knowledge on old Macintosh, and I know almost anything if some asks me things about acient macintosh, but you know, some times you need a little help from other mac fans and share your thoughts...
So what apps should I get? I do know that if you use the commom low requirements apps, It will run smoothly.

iBook,
Yes, you can add a USB 1.1 or 2.0 PC card to the PCMCIA/CardBus slot. A few suggestions:
-Combo FireWire/USB CardBus PC cards do not work well with OS 9.x; either the USB or FireWire port does not work. This is a software problem in 9.x since these combos work fine under 10.x. My suggestion would be to buy a separate USB PC card and/or FireWire PC card for your connectivity.
-USB 2.0 PC cards will only run at the slower USB 1.1 speeds under 9.x but this is fine for printers, etc. If you wanted to connect an HD, I would use the FireWire interface.
-FireWire and USB PC cards supply insufficient bus power to power a FireWire or USB HD; any device like a printer or HD will have or should have its own power supply.
-Since FireWire and USB are not native to the Wallstreet, the necessary USB and FireWire extensions have not been installed. Open your Extensions Mananger and see if you have these extensions:
USB Mass Storage Extension
USB Support
USB Mass Storage Support
USB Software Locator
USB Device Extension
If the above are not present, I recommend you download this USB extension package from OWC; they assembled various version numbers of the Apple USB extensions to correct a problem OS 9.2.2 has with USB PC cards but they can be used with any version of OS 8.6 > 9.2.2.
http://eshop.macsales.com/tech/ftp/usb/usbextensions.sit
A file titled 'usbextensions.sit' will appear on your desktop assuming you have set the browser to download files to your desktop. Double-click the file to decompress it and you will have a folder on the desktop with these extensions:
USB Support v1.4.1
USB Software Locator v1.5.6
USB Device Extension v1.5.6
USB Mass Storage Support v2.0.4
USB Mass Storage Extension v2.0.4
Highlight all five extensions, then drag them on top of the closed System Folder icon; they will be automatically installed in the Extensions folder. Before restarting, go to Apple menu > Control Panels > Energy Saver > Advanced Settings and uncheck 'Allow Processor Cycling' for •BOTH• the power adapter and battery. If not unchecked (disabled), the powerbook will freeze with a USB PC card.
Now restart to make the USB extensions active. Insert the USB PC card; you should see a USB PC card icon on the desktop. Connect a USB mouse (there is sufficient power for it) and test the USB PC card.
If no desktop USB PC card icon appears, make sure the PC card is fully inserted. You may have to place a hand on the side of the powerbook opposite the PC card slot so you can push hard. If the card fails to seat, the card slot may be in the locked position. Push an opened paperclip into the small hole next to the slot to unlock, then try the card again.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=16167

Getting the most out of Aperture and FCP

I have been unable to find a thread answering my questions so I thought I'd post my own. I'll start off with a little background info. I do a lot of image processing in Raw with 10MP and 12MP images and would like to run Aperture on my future G5 flawlessly. Also, I will be editing in SD with Final Cut Pro and running Motion in SD. Basically, I would like to purchase a system that will allow me to get the most out of these two programs for what I want to do. I want to make sure I get what I need in all aspects, Ram, GHZ, and graphics card, and bus speed. I have read that some of the older like dual 2.5 GHZ machines are better than some of the dual cores because they have faster bus speeds. Now I am not sure if bus speed is a concern with what I want to do hence my questioning. As you can see I currently have a 1ghz G4 PowerBook and to make things simple it is drowning with the work I am trying to do. Running Aperture and apple Motion is not even possible on my current machine.
Thanks!

First, the current Dualcore 2.3 G5 has a 1.15ghz front side bus speed. However a quick look back to previous models shows dual 2.5 and 2.7ghz machines with like 1.25ghz front side bus. So my first question is like a dual 2.5 or 2.7ghz where I should be looking? I think so... Like personally is the dual 2.7ghz you have all you need or could you see a faster machine being better? When it comes to editing Raw in Aperture I'll come in from a sports event with like 100's of images on my plate and I will first knock out the bad ones and then end up with like 100-200 images to do light adjustments that are good enough for proofs. Basically I am looking for what is the "sweet spot" as you mentioned for a G5. Like I am not sure if a Quad 2.5ghz is necessary and I think for what I'm doing it is overkill. You mentioned 4GB is the sweet spot, thank exactly the kind of information I was looking for. And lastly I want a solid graphics card. If I were to buy a new G5 I would be looking at like the 7800 with 256MB. I'm curious to how this compares to like the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro for example. I would assume that newer the better...
Thanks

Getting the most out of SD

I recently bought DSP on ebay. I use FCE to make films for various functions to be played on any standard DVD players. My intention was to be able squeeze a little more quality out of the film rather than having iDVD massacre it at the end of my work flow.
I know the SD export is limited to 720x480, but Im not really sure this really much better than idvd. Does any one have any tips on how to get the most from SD?
(For my work, using SD-DVD is absolutely necessary. Pls no suggestions about getting with the times, hooking up my laptop, or buying a ps3 )

There are 3 things which go into a good encode:
1. The quality of your source is the most important. Lighting, format, color correcton all affect your final output. DV for example is a great codec for home videos and such but would rarely be used in a profesional enviroment (or shouldn't) these days. Its highly compressed so when you compress it again to MPEG2 you notice artifacts.
2. The Encoder itself. DVDSP isn't an encoder, its an authoring tool only. Yes it will encode your .mov file automatically but this uses the same encoding engine as iDVD so you will not get better quality with your DVDSP purchase unless you have Compressor or another third party encoder, such as BitVice. A good encoder can cost $70k.
3. Knowledge is super important. Get online and read up on MPEG 2 technology. Understand bitrates, GOP structures, how audio formats effect bitrates ect. Encoding is just trial and error until you can look at some footage, know the length and immediately decide how you will tackle the job. Its an artform really.
So to answer your question you will need to answer these 3 three questions for yourself based on the budget and how far you are willing to go with alll this. No way you should expect to buy a copy of DVDSP off eBay (which automatically makes it an outdated tool) and expect it to improve your end results.
I love your question because I find it shocking how many talented producers, shooters and editors seem to treat DVD authoring and encoding as some kind of afterthought. In a way its the most important part of the process since everything can fall apart once a client takes a look at their poorly encoded footage they paid for
Message was edited by: Eric Pautsch1
Message was edited by: Eric Pautsch1

Getting the most out my battery

hi all, i am very happy with my MacBookPro, i have said this before but let me tell you all again, I am NEVER EVER going back to Windose.
I would like to get the longest life i can out of my battery, i have had my lap top about 7 weeks and using Coconut i can already see that the battery capacity is getting less slowly, it has been charged up 35 times at least once every two days sometimes once a day. I had someone on here suggest that you should remove it from the mains when it is fully charged and use it on the battery even when at home and only a few feet from the mains.
I have carried out at least two "calibrations", i still dont know how that really helps.
However as the life of the battery is more determined by the number of times it is charged up, than the ammount of time it is used, after it is charged up and still on the mains.
What is best to get the most out of my battery ?.
tim

I had someone on here suggest that you should remove it from the mains when it is fully charged and use it on the battery even when at home and only a few feet from the mains.
This is bad advice. It's unnecessary, unhelpful, and counterproductive, in that a) it will cause your battery to cycle much more often than is necessary and useful, and b) it will typically result in running the battery down to nothing before recharging it, which is very hard on the battery and will shorten its useful lifespan.
As long as you use your computer on battery power for an hour or two every day or two or three to give it the exercise it needs, it's advisable to keep it plugged into AC power as much of the rest of the time as is convenient. There is nothing whatever to gain by unplugging the AC adapter as soon as the battery is fully charged. It can't be overcharged or harmed in any other way by leaving it plugged in 95-98% of the time, as long as it gets a little regular exercise and you calibrate it every two or three months.

I'm relatively new to Mac and want to try and get the most out of the new MacBook Air.   My wife and I have been sharing the same Apple ID. We both have iPhones - she has a 5 and I've got a 4S.   We only have one copy of iTunes and we have been sharing t

I'm relatively new to Mac and want to try and get the most out of the new MacBook Air.
My wife and I have been sharing the same Apple ID. We both have iPhones - she has a 5 and I've got a 4S.
We only have one copy of iTunes and we have been sharing the account. (She doesn't really use the computer for anything beyond writing the odd weekend assignment.)
Would I be better off setting her up with her own and making her as a separate user on the computer? Would this require much work?
In recent times with updates, we have a few problems with the duplication of texts and that sort of thing. Both of our texts are stored on the computer and that sort of thing. Also, sometimes texts I send her are sent through to me from her, if that makes any sense.
Anyway, I don't really want to overly complicate matters when it comes to accounts etc, but I wanted to know if a fresh Apple ID would be the best thing or even a new user?
Any tips etc would be greatly appreciated
Thanks in advance
MacBook
I have this question too (0) Reply

Your question is almost too much a personal one, begging the question "do we (husband and wife) feel comfy sharing one account on the Mac"   maybe thats why nobody answered you.
It doesnt complicate anything, but it adds steps for switching accounts on the Mac/ purchases etc. of course
since your question is mostly personal, ..I wont answer THAT part of it, but creating a new account is easy.....messing with switching back and forth is also a personal preference 'issue' as well.   I prefer to keep things simple, but...........you and yours, I dont know.......
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11468

How to get the most current file based on date and time stamp using SSIS?

Hello,
Let us assume that files get copied in a specific directory. We need to pick up a file and load data. Can you guys let me know how to get the most current file based on date and time stamp using SSIS?
Thanks
thx regards dinesh vv

hi simon
i excuted this script it is giving error..
   Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services Script Task
   Write scripts using Microsoft Visual C# 2008.
   The ScriptMain is the entry point class of the script.
using System;
using System.Data;
using Microsoft.SqlServer.Dts.Runtime;
using System.Windows.Forms;
namespace ST_9a6d985a04b249c2addd766b58fee890.csproj
    [System.AddIn.AddIn("ScriptMain", Version = "1.0", Publisher = "", Description = "")]
    public partial class ScriptMain : Microsoft.SqlServer.Dts.Tasks.ScriptTask.VSTARTScriptObjectModelBase
        #region VSTA generated code
        enum ScriptResults
            Success = Microsoft.SqlServer.Dts.Runtime.DTSExecResult.Success,
            Failure = Microsoft.SqlServer.Dts.Runtime.DTSExecResult.Failure
        #endregion
       The execution engine calls this method when the task executes.
       To access the object model, use the Dts property. Connections, variables, events,
       and logging features are available as members of the Dts property as shown in the following examples.
       To reference a variable, call Dts.Variables["MyCaseSensitiveVariableName"].Value;
       To post a log entry, call Dts.Log("This is my log text", 999, null);
       To fire an event, call Dts.Events.FireInformation(99, "test", "hit the help message", "", 0, true);
       To use the connections collection use something like the following:
       ConnectionManager cm = Dts.Connections.Add("OLEDB");
       cm.ConnectionString = "Data Source=localhost;Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks;Provider=SQLNCLI10;Integrated Security=SSPI;Auto Translate=False;";
       Before returning from this method, set the value of Dts.TaskResult to indicate success or failure.
       To open Help, press F1.
        public void Main()
            string file = Dts.Variables["User::FolderName"].Value.ToString();
            string[] files = System.IO.Directory.GetFiles(Dts.Variables["User::FolderName"].Value.ToString());
            System.IO.FileInfo finf;
            DateTime currentDate = new DateTime();
            string lastFile = string.Empty;
            foreach (string f in files)
                finf = new System.IO.FileInfo(f);
                if (finf.CreationTime >= currentDate)
                    currentDate = finf.CreationTime;
                    lastFile = f;
            Dts.Variables["User::LastFile"].Value = lastFile;
            Dts.TaskResult = (int)ScriptResults.Success;
thx regards dinesh vv

How to get the most out of a Macbook Pro?

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