I am considering taking my MacBook on an overseas vacation. Am I exposed to identity theft if it is stolen and is there anything to do to avoid this?

>Am I exposed to identity theft if it is stolen<
I think you are in danger of theft even if you are in this country. There are many ways to protect your MacBook from theft but be aware that nothing is absolute.
This is a good overview of hardware options:
http://theandy.hubpages.com/hub/Protect-Your-Retina-Macbook-Pro-MacBook-Air-From -Theft-Part-1-Kensington-lock-alternatives
and software:
http://theandy.hubpages.com/hub/Protect-Your-Retina-Macbook-Pro-MacBook-Air-From -Theft-Part-2-Data-Protection-Tracing-A-Stolen-Computer
Of course remove all personal information from your MacBook and use passwords as noted.
Remove all links to personal accounts that you won't absolutely be needing on your trip.
Depending on your insurance provider it might be possible to extend your coverage just for your vacation. If it were me I might think of pulling my current hard drive and reinstalling a bare bones drive that doesn't have all my normal links to bank accounts, PayPal et al.

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I have an early 2008 macbook pro that is running slow after upgrading to lion. Is there anything I can do? this is what I have,Processor 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Memory 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM.

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I've encountered 4HDD/11/40000000 SATA(0,0). AFTER SOME RESEARCH IN APPLE COMMUNITY, I LEARNT THAT IT'S A HARDWARE ISSUE. SO I WILL BE TAKING MY MACBOOK PRO TO NEAREST APPLE STORE. MY QUE IS, WILL IT BE FIXED IF I UPGRADE FROM OSX 10.8.5 TO MAVERICKS?

I've encountered 4HDD/11/40000000 SATA(0,0). AFTER SOME RESEARCH IN APPLE COMMUNITY, I LEARNT THAT IT'S A HARDWARE ISSUE. SO I WILL BE TAKING MY MACBOOK PRO TO NEAREST APPLE STORE. MY QUE IS, WILL IT BE FIXED IF I UPGRADE FROM OSX 10.8.5 TO MAVERICKS? What other options do I have? What can be an approximate cost for fixing this problem?

Of course not. It's a hardware problem, so it can't be fixed by upgrading software. The only option you have got is to take the MacBook to an Apple Store or reseller.
That error indicates a problem with the hard drive. What you have to do is to make a backup of your files and take the MacBook to an Apple Store or reseller, so they can confirm that the problem is the hard drive and not the SATA connector, which could be worse.
If it's a hard drive issue, it's not expensive (about $100-200, depending on the hard drive). If it's a SATA connector issue, the whole logic board may have to be replaced.
Note that you can replace the hard drive yourself if you want, but the cost between doing it yourself and taking the MacBook to an Apple Store or reseller is similar

I'm taking my Macbook Pro to the Netherlands...

I'm taking my Macbook Pro to the Netherlands. What do I need to bring with me so that I can plug it in/charge it?

Your Charger will be Fine...
Line voltage: 100V to 240V AC
Frequency: 50Hz to 60Hz
All you need is a plug adapter to fit the wall outlet in The Nederlands...
Cheers,

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Photoshop Elements: 13 |12 | 11, 10 | 9,8,7
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Captivate: 8 | 7 | 6 | 5
Contribute: CS5 | CS4, CS3
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HT1349 My one week old iphone 4S went dead and will not turn on even by plugging into wall outlet or MacBook Pro, besides taking back to Verizon is there anything I can do?

I have a week old Verizon iPhone 4S and it went dead and I have tried plugging into the wall outlet and into a MacBook Pro and pushed all the buttons but nothing. Besides taking back to Verizon is there anything I can do?

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Taking a MacBook Pro to Thailand: Power needs

I will be using my MacBook Pro in Thailand. Someone suggested that I need a surge protector. Do I need to use one? Also, do I need an adapter/transformer for 240V? Thanks.

I have been to Thailand (Bangkok) and stayed at a guest house for a few days before heading into Burma (Myanmar). I stayed in a room with a mat on the floor (common) and a light that sometimes worked. Not sure of your travel experiences or actual destinations, but be prepared for the worst when it comes to stability in systems we take for granted (like electricity).
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Hello,
I am not a mac user and am contemplating switching to mac as I am looking forward to get a new laptop.
I am considering getting a Macbook pro 13" the basic model but I also came across a Sony Vaio 'E' series laptop. The Sony has full HD screen, 500 GB, blu ray drive and an i3 processor. The rest of the specifications are similar to the mac.
Moreover the Sony with its better specifications is a bit cheaper than the mac.
I cannot decide on whether to switch to mac or just get the Sony Vaio.
Hope you guys can help me out in making a decision.
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Zane.a,
Welcome to Apple Discussions. I won't go into the specifics of the Sony you are looking at because specifications mean very little, what is important is the experience of using a PC and the experience of using a Mac. Many PC users tend to get hung up on computer specifications, which CPU, RAM, Graphics Card, etc.. One thing you cannot do on a PC is run OS X where with a Mac you can run both OS X and MS Windows. In fact there are several excellent solutions (Fusion, Parallels & Bootcamp) for doing so. In addition Mac's tend to have better build quality and certainly have better resale value.
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and the other is
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Taking white MacBook from US to UK. Do I need a power converter?

I recently purchased a white 13" MacBook for college, which is in the UK.
Am I going to need a power converter for my MacBook when I go to the UK? The voltage in the US is 110V, and the voltage in the UK is 220V.
Thanks!

Your power adapter will work with 110 or 220 V. However, the actual 220 V socket is different. You'll need a little adapter that just converts the standard US outlet into the standard 220 V UK outlet. Apple sells a whole kit, but that's sort of overkill:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB974ZM/A?fnode=MTY1NDEwMQ&mco=NjcxMjczMg
I'm not sure which specific plug you would need. I'm sure someone here can chime on on which one would be appropriate then you can pick up just the plug you need vs. an entire kit.

Advice on taking my MacBook Pro to Guinea (Africa)

Hi all!
I have a dilemma in mind! I need to figure it out before the 4th. of September.
Im gonna be working in Guinea for 1 year (maybe more) and I dont wanna leave my macbook pro behind... however, im scared the conditions will damage the computer. The situation is as follows: I will be living in the middle of the savanah forest with tents, maybe a hut roof... I will have secutrity boxes where I can keep the laptop with a lot of Silica when Im not using it... However, when Im using it it will be exposed to up to 95% humidity (not all year but mostly), the temperatures are not so extreme, maybe can get to 35 degrees in the dry season (but is highlands so its rare)... however im most worried about the humidity. I dont know if for example having it dry on silica and then exposing it to the normal humidity (when im gonna use it) will condense water inside it... or?
I know there are some posts already on this, but they do not talk about extreme conditions such as this...
What do you think? you think is too risky or it can make it? and is there any precautions i could take to make the situation better while Im using it in such environment? like a fan or ... I dont know... something....
I would greatly appreciate advice...
Thanks all!
Alejandra

Very few forum participants have done what you are planning to do. I have had MBPs in hot and humid climates but that has been during the summer months only. They have not suffered any ill affects.
I approve of using a fan and silica gel. Note that the silica gel must be dried out to be effective. If it is saturated with moisture it will not be of any value.
Your greatest enemy is make certain the rain water does not permeate it. Liquids and MBPs do not mix very well.
Though not authoritative, I believe careful use and care would allow the MBP to survive the African trip.
Ciao.

How come my macbook air has so little space. I deleted everything that I don't need and everything that has the most space I'm told NOT to delete. Everything I find is in either KB or very low MB.

How come my macbook air has so little space. I deleted everything that I don't need and everything that has the most space I'm told NOT to delete. Everything I find is in either KB or very low MB.

Check what is in your SSD/ storage on your macbook Apple Icon > about this mac > more info > STORAGE tab on top
recommend handy useful APPS such as :
Disk Expert
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/disk-expert/id488920185?mt=12
Disk Map
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/disk-map/id715464874?mt=12
dont need them, but theyre very useful.
also the best is DAISY DISK
https://itunes.apple.com/app/daisydisk/id411643860?mt=12&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
See here for answer about the OTHER which is taking up space:
http://pondini.org/TM/30.html
and here:
http://pondini.org/OSX/DiskSpace.html
See Kappys excellent note on the rest of “other” files taking up your space:
What is "Other" and What Can I Do About It?
see here:
Your Solid State Drive and having enough space inside your Macbook Air & Pro
Solid State Drive usage premise, or the “more space / upgrade SSD” question
There have been questions posed and positions taken by many people who are trying to use their Macbook Air or Pro’s solid state drive (SSD) as a mass media storage device, for either pictures, videos, massive music collections or all three combined; but this should not be the working premise of a ‘limited’ SSD and its use.
In which, it’s the case of those users with either 128GB, 256GB, or even 512GB of internal SSD space, that have or are running “out of space”, that questions are raised. The immediate premise of some users can sometimes be “(how to / if) upgrading my SSD” when in fact in nearly all instances another approach is the logical and sensible one that needs to be looked into and exercised.
Any Macbook containing a SSD should be idealized as a ‘working platform’ notebook containing all your applications, documents, and weekly or bi-weekly necessary files. All collections of media files such as pictures, music, and videos, unless directly needed should be kept off the notebook and on an external hard drive or likewise. While the ‘working platform’ premise is also the case with larger internal conventional hard drives of 1TB+, its implementation isn't as critical except in terms of data protection.
Realistically, you should at most coordinate roughly 20 to 25% of your total SSD space to all audio-video personal use media (picture / music / video collections), leaving the remaining amount on an external HD.
Nobody should consider any notebook a data storage device at any time under any circumstance, rather a data creation, sending, and manipulation device; and in the case of a SSD, this is more important for purposes of having sufficient working space on the SSD and reducing SSD ‘bloat’ in which cases someone is wrongly attempting to use the SSD space as a large media storage nexus.
The rare exception to the collective usage and premise of SSD use in which a much larger SSD is truly needed are for those in video and photography professions that require both the extremely fast speeds of the SSD and the onboard storage for large and or many video and photography files. However this also falls under the premise of a ‘working platform’ for such peoples rather than the intent of many who are using the SSD as passive and static data storage for media files very infrequently needed or accessed.
All on-notebook data collections should be logically approached as to necessity, and evaluated as to whether it is active or passive data that likely doesn’t need to be on the notebook, allocations of space-percentages to as-needed work and use, apportioning space for your entertainment media, and questioning whether it should it be on the notebook for more than short-term consumption.
Considerations should be made in the mind of any user in differentiating the necessary system data (System hub) comprising the Mac OSX, applications, necessary documents that both must and should be on your internal SSD, and that of the users personal data (Data hub) comprising created files, pictures, music, videos, PDF files, data created or being created and otherwise, that likely unless being used soon or often should be parked on an external hard drive for consumption, or temporarily loading onto the internal SSD.
You both can and should purchase whichever SSD size you need or see fit, but even in the case of the largest of SSD, unless use-considerations are made, and SSD spaces are allocated as should be the case indicated above, one can easily and immediately run into this quandary of “needing more internal SSD space”, in which instance a different approach in usage must then be implemented.
However it is almost always the case, that such large media files are wanted to be stored internally rather than actually needed, in which case the external HD is both prudent as well as necessary. Additionally costs per MB are infinitely less on an external HD than an internal SSD in any consideration of data expansion needs.
A Professional Example
In the case of a Macbook Air or Macbook Pro Retina with ‘limited’ storage on the SSD, this distinction becomes more important in that in an ever rapidly increasing file-size world, you keep vital large media files, pics, video, PDF collections, music off your SSD and archived on external storage, for sake of the necessary room for your system to have free space to operate, store future applications and general workspace.
You should also never be put in the position of considering “deleting things” on your Macbook SSD in order to ‘make space’. This is especially what your external HD is for.
Professionals who create and import very large amounts of data have almost no change in the available space on their notebooks internal SSD because they are constantly archiving data to arrays of external or networked HD.
Or in the case of the consumer this means you keep folders for large imported or created data and you ritually offload and archive this data for safekeeping, not only to safeguard the data in case your Macbook has a SSD crash, or gets stolen, but importantly in keeping the ‘breathing room’ open for your notebook to operate, expand, create files, add applications, for your APPS to create temp files, and for general operation.
Slim USB3 1TB external hard drive
External Hard Drives
External hard drives are both extremely cheap and regardless of the size of your internal SSD (or even internal hard drive if the case), you need an external hard drive with your SSD equipped Macbook for several reasons:
1. Data backup and protection.
2. Redundancy for important data.
3. Necessitated ideal space for large media files for collections of pictures, videos, and music etc.
While ever changing in price, typical portable 2.5” external hard drives in USB3 run roughly $65 for 1TB or $120 for 2TB small portable USB3 hard drives. Such drives range in thickness between 5mm and 15mm, with recent improvements in storage of 500GB drives in 5mm profiles.
There is almost no premise in which a small 12mm thick 1 Terabyte USB hard drive cannot be taken along with any Macbook as an external large storage extension inside any Macbook carry case or pouch. Typically such external HD profiles are not much bigger than a deck of cards.
External hard drives are a foregone necessity for purchase with any Macbook for at the very least Time Machine backups, data redundancies, and ideally for large media storage.

My Macbook Pro was stolen, and I have replaced it with a Macbook Air. New hard drive is too small for a Time Machine restore. How do I restore my more-expensive apps (ie iWorks) on my new Macbook without repurchasing them?

My Macbook Pro was recently stolen, and I have replaced it with a Macbook Air. I attempted to simply do a restore from the Macbook Pro's Time Machine backup, but since the new Macbook Air's hard drive is significantly smaller, a Time Machine restore was not possible. I even tried to choose only settings or only my User Profile (option) when restoring, but the backup was still too large to do a restore onto the new machine. How do I restore my more-expensive apps (ie iWorks) onto my new Macbook without repurchasing them? Also, I reaad somewhere that if you went to the Mac App Store and attempted to repurchase the app and clicked BUY, it would simply alert you that you have already purchased the app (and trigger a re-download)... NOT THE CASE... So I just dropped another $19.99 for a second copy of Pages... Not my intention....
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
LM

you should get a usb backup drive as well. time machine has limited use in my eyes. it saves things. but older things can be errased ad space drops without telling you
nothing beats data redundancy. 2 saves is. 1. and 1 is none
im personally not fond of time machne though i use it only for a recovery parameter for a mac
id never ever myself consider time machine a genuine data backup tool. though most do consider it as such
drive clones such as superduper and carbon copy cloner can clone your entire drive for emergency recovery. and you can boot from them as well o. another mac

I am considering taking my MacBook on an overseas vacation. Am I exposed to identity theft if it is stolen and is there anything to do to avoid this?

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