Macbook Air i7 3.3 Ghz Vs Macbook Pro Retina i5 3.3 Ghz, Which more suite the engineering student?

Hello everyone, i would like to get an opinion on wether i should get the MacBook Air 13'' i7 3.3 Ghz 8GB Ram 128GB SSD Vs the MacBook Pro with retina Display 13'' i5 3.3 Ghz 8GB Ram 128GB SSD? I would used it for engineering study stuff, looking up to be using with solidwork and etc.
Which of these MacBook would suite me better for my used? Help me out Guys....

So here is the thought process I used to buy:
1. Memory soldered on the motherboard so buy the max. I dont plan to upgrade this computer for years.
2. Faster CPU is just not necessary unless you are doing computaional tasks. Even if so, cI an see no reason why the base model i7 cannot handle just about anything
3. The 256GB SSD is plenty big. Can see no reason to shell out BIG $$$ just so I can carry around media that I am not watching. With USB 3 and TB there will be ample opportunities to get a far less expensive, and very fast external harddrive. Something that is easy to carry around. I expect something like the g-drive slim will be available in USB 3. Right now I use an external 6gps drive to backup on my Win system via USB 3 and its fast. I expect the same performance on the Mac.
4. I have 2 external monitors and so I bought 2 TB to DVI adapters.

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Macbook pro retina samsung panel, lg panel, which one is better?

macbook pro retina samsung panel, lg panel, which one is better?

grim992 wrote:
So are the macbook pro retina early 2013 version with LG panel having IR issue?
Mine hasn't yet but time may tell. At the same time I asked a question on the endless IR thread and never got an answer: to what extent is how the rMBP being used driving image retention?
I'm sure there are other variables but the one that comes to mind first is how bright is the screen run? I would imagine that a monitor set to full brightness (as one user who complained about IR did) would accelerate any tendency toward IR and the closer to "full-on" it's set, the sooner that would happen. I have mine set to "5" of the available range and for the first week, I ran the Image Retention Test in all its variations repeatedly without a hint of IR. We also don't know whether the LG at full brightness can illuminate an auditorium while the Samsung can only light up a room or vice-versa.
Other variables could be: is the screen saver used; how long before it kicks in; is the rMBP the only computer so it's used constantly; is it ever powered off or is the monitor just allowed to sleep?
Based on those thousands of posts, the original LG's appear to be more prone to IR than the Samsung, but there hasn't been the same flood of complaints with the LG SJA2's, at least not yet. At the same time, there hasn't been any attention I could find about contributing factors either.
And notably, way back when the Samsung started to be the Holy Grail, I don't remember complaints about color problems; that seems to have cropped up recently.

Hi, Hi, Hi I have the old MacBook Pro. Upgraded to Mountain Lion which completely wrecked the system. So downgraded to Snow Leopard. The updated the combo update. Now stuck on blue screen at start-up. Need help. Greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hi,
I have the old MacBook Pro. Upgraded to Mountain Lion which completely wrecked the system. So downgraded to Snow Leopard.
Then updated the combo update. Now stuck on blue screen at start-up.
Need help. Greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Downgrade Lion/Mountain Lion to Snow Leopard
1. Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer Disc. After the installer
      loads select your language and click on the Continue
      button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the
      Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the
      mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status
      of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then
      the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART
      info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on
      the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions
      from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS
      Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the
      partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on
      the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Quit DU and return to the installer. Install Snow Leopard.
This will erase the whole drive so be sure to backup your files if you don't have a backup already. If you have performed a TM backup using Lion be aware that you cannot restore from that backup in Snow Leopard (see below.) I suggest you make a separate backup using Carbon Copy Cloner.
If you have Snow Leopard Time Machine backups, do a full system restore per #14 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions. If you have subsequent backups from Lion, you can restore newer items selectively, via the "Star Wars" display, per #15 there, but be careful; some Snow Leopard apps may not work with the Lion files.

My 1-year old MacBook Pro Retina shuts itself without giving a warning when the battery is at 5-15% of capacity. Idk what to do about it.

My 1-year old MacBook Pro Retina shuts itself without giving a warning when the battery is at 5-15% of capacity. Idk what to do about it.

KarnPS,
start recharging your battery when it gets down to 20% — you’ll shorten your battery’s lifespan by running on battery power beyond that.

HT3986 I got a macbook pro Retina and I installed a windows 7. The problem is I can't find drivers for the Macbook pro retina hardware which work for windows 7

I got a macbook pro retina and I installed windows 7. How can I get the windows 7 drivers for the Macbook Pro Retina?

Read the Boot Camp Instructions, you have to download the drivers using Boot Camp Assistant
If you missed that I suggest that you read the instructions again.

HT3986 when installing win 7 pro on my macbook pro retina and win drivers that download from bootcamp the USB ports not works

please som eone help me to make the USB ports on my macbook pro retina works, as its stopped just when using win 7 pro after complete installing the win drivers

I catch the point;
I was opned device manager on windows then found devices unlnown ( USB3) as the boot camp downloaded from the internet not define this USB3 port, so, I installed it by searching online for this drivers.

I have recently noticed that my MacBook Pro Retina keeps freezing. I first noticed that the track pad would not work for short periods of time. Is anyone else having a problem?

My MacBook Pro Retina keeps freezing up. It seems that it is happening more often as time goes on.
I first noticed that the track pad would freeze then whole computer would completly freeze.
Most annoying.
Is anyone else having a similar problem?

Hey B-bram,
For issues with video resolution not being consistent, I would start with resetting the NVRAM on your MacBook Pro. That will reset the resolution to its default as well as resetting other default settings like sound volume and start up volume. Take a look at the article below for more information about that and how to perform the NVRAM reset.
How to Reset NVRAM on your Mac
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063
Take care,
-Norm G.

My new macbook pro retina recognizes, but can't transfer data from the Time Machine Volume

I back up my old 2008 MacBook Pro to a Time Machine volume sitting on a very new 2 TB drive that is connected to a Time capsule via USB. I got that new drive from OtherWorld Computing about 2 months ago.
I just received a brand new 2012 MBP (retina).
Pondini's page on setting up a new mac says that it's easiest just to transfer everything over the first itme you start up the new machine. (ref: http://pondini.org/OSX/Setup.html)
So, I took my new 2012 MBP, plugged it into the Time Capsule directly with ethernet (I have the Thunderbolt-to-USB connector).
Then turn it on.
The 3rd page into the startup sequence gives me a choice to "Transfer Information to this Mac". It offers 4 options
"From Another Mac"
"From a Windows PC"
"From Another Disk"
"Not Now"
I chose "From Another Disk"
Then it offers "Select the Source"
The sources are 4 blue icons. 2 of them are backups of other machines, ones that sit on the Time Capsule's internal drive. 1 is a small "media storage" space I saved on the internal drive of the Time Capsule.
The important one is "Macbook Pro backup ("StefanTimeCapsule")
This is the one physically parked in the external USB drive.
So.... I select it. It asks me to log on with user ID and password, and then says an endless "Connecting" message
It never gets to the next menu.
If I arrow "back" in the startup window sequence to the "Select the Source" windo, the 4 blue volumes are again displayed, with the word "Connecting" next to the backup I want, strongly suggesting that the "connection" is never fully established.
Just for fun I plugged that external USB drive directly into the USB port of the new Retina MBP, but it was not recognized at all.
I tried different ethernet cables.
At this point my thoughts are perhaps
(a) I need a powered USB hub
(b) I need to somehow have Apple service the Time Capsule (but for what? I don't know)
I could potentially just transfer from the Old 2008 Macbook Pro Directly, but it seems to me problematic not to be able to access the primary backup.
Any ideas out there?

A picture of a screen that suggests my new MBP Retina never connects to the "Macbook Pro backup ("StefanTimeCapsule")
This is the one that has the files for the backups procured by the Time Machine program. But it can't "connect"-- You 'll see int he sideways pic (sorry!) that the options STILL says "connecting"
Do i have to make these Time Machines more open to connection?

What should I do; My Macbook Pro Retina 13" performing worse after a visit to the Genius Bar.

To give a little background; my MacBook is my baby. I keep it as safe and clean as I possibly can. The only damage that has come to it is a tiny dent in the left corner of the screen, when my little sister took it, ran, and dropped it on a wooden floor. It's my pride and joy, and I would never mistreat my computer. I don't loan it to friends, I always know where it is, and I do my best to keep it from dying. The only thing I do which is problematic is not shutting it down often enough; I usually keep it on for days at a time, I don't sleep much and spend a lot of time on my computer, but for such a high price, I was expecting that it could handle it. Onto the problem.
My computer was having minor problems with the trackpad and keyboard and had been since I'd bought it, but I hadn't been noticing it much until recently. I remember my mom pointed it out when I first got it and I told her she was crazy. I suspected a little hardware problem that my AppleCare would cover. When I went in to the Genius Bar, they opened up my computer and told me I had serious water damage. I was shocked as I'd never brought my computer close to water; I don't bring it in the bathroom, so no condensation, I have never spilled on it, I don't usually eat or drink around it, etc. I was given very minimal detail or explanation, simply told over and over that it was water damage, and they told me my AppleCare had been deactivated, which made me even MORE upset. The store told me it would cost almost $1000 to fix, at which point I was about to cry since that's almost the cost of my computer. I was going to wait until I got home to get an opinion from my hometown Apple Store, as they've known me for a long time and I was upset with the unhelpful service at the Genius Bar around my college.
My current problem is that I don't think I can wait until May. My computer has been acting up ever since the Genius Bar visit earlier this month, my screen is shaking and the color is going in and out, sound is acting strangely, and I'm really, really upset since none of these problems existed before my visit. I didn't feel it was a problem until recently, since it was pretty scattered and I felt like if I ignored it until I got home in mid-May, I could get it fixed then. Now, I feel as though something was jostled or screwed with while they were checking my computer and it's causing me a lot of problems, problems that are interfering with my use of this otherwise awesome device. I really love my MacBook, it's the best computer I've had, but I am at my wits end.
AppleCare is insurance, and I don't understand how they could take it away for something that I have no control over. When I bought AppleCare, I was told it would cover any damage that happened to the hardware or software of my computer, which is the whole reason I bought it! I wouldn't have wasted money on it if I knew this was a way to take the responsibility of fixing my computer away from Apple! I am beyond angry with the service I received, the "rules" of AppleCare, and the performance of my computer after the visit. I can barely type this since my screen refuses to stay still or one color! I was having absolutely no screen problems before this visit!!!
This is my last resort; I may return to the Genius Bar sometime next week for a reassessment. I am extremely upset with the service I have received and the new problems arising. This computer is barely seven/eight months old. It should NOT be having these problems. I can't help but think it was a manufacturing error and I was given an incorrect diagnosis. As a final, desperate cry for help, I thought I'd turn to the support forum for advice; is there anything you guys think I should be doing or any way I can possibly fix this problem myself/without Apple since apparently I have no insurance even though I paid $250 for problems like this to be covered?

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
Hold the Power button until your Mac turns off, and turn it on again. As you tried to install a firmware update, plug the MacBook to its charger before turning it on.
Note that firmware updates are installed in the next startup, so don't worry about this, as the update hasn't been installed yet.
Respecting to other freezes, it may indicate a hardware problem. Check if the same freezes happen in the future

MacBook pro retina display is not turning on even though the computer is on.

My Mac book pro retina display has a solid black screen. I can hold the power button down to turn it on and off, but the screen never activates.

   Restart.
   Press F2 key couple of times.
   Reset PRAM.   http://support.apple.com/kb/PH18761
Reset SMC.     http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Choose the method for:
"Resetting SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own".
Best.

Macbook Pro Retina (late 2013) & 10.10.1 cannot detect the external monitor is turned off

I connect my MBPr (late 2013) to a 24" Dell monitor via HDMI using a high quality audioquest hdmi cable.
When I turn off my Dell monitor, the MBPr did not detect the monitor is being turned off.
Let's say I opened a chrome browser and I move it to the external monitor. If I turn off my Dell monitor now, the chrome browser will not automatically move back to the MBPr screen.
I have the same scenario if I just power on my MBPr now and not power on the Dell monitor. I will do this if I need to do some small stuff (like typing this post) int he middle of night and I don't want to turn on my Dell monitor.
I am not sure if this is a problem or this is a normal behaviour of the MBPr. I was like this when I was on Mavericks.
PS. If I connect my Lenovo laptop to the same monitor and I turn off my monitor, the opened applications will go back to the Lenovo screen.

The hardware supports DP1.2 and MST but unfortunately at present OS X Mavericks does not.

Those, who have owned macbook pro retina for half an year or more please share experiences

what problems have you encountered with it so far? please include any serious software/hardware issues.

ds store wrote:
The anti-glare screen is really nice, use the machine in any location just about and see the screen fine.
Glossy screens are terrible, reflects the overhead lights and windows, makes one want to use them in a dark room.
Mac buying and maintenance advice
This depends on the person. Some people's brain just seems to find any distraction on the glass intolerable. I have always used glossy screens on the Mac portables and have never had an issue with overhead lights and even using it outdoors. When I received a matte screen by accident from work I thought it was terrible compared to the glossy. The entire screen looks washed out (since there is an entire layer of material on top of the glass that does not exist on the glossy). The retina version of the glossy display is also noticeably less reflective then the non retina glossy displays.

Performance of HDS in AIR on Macbook Pro Retina is terrible

Hi
My client provides online streaming with the technology of Adobe HTTP Dynamic Streaming (protected by FlashAccess). The client is build with Adobe AIR. Recently, we've found the playback performance of HDS on Macbook Pro Retina is terrible. We see choopy all the time during the playback. The same streaming plays well in the browser and other Macbook Pro (non-Retina) computers.
I'm wondering if the latest AIR doesn't support Retina display well. Does anyone know if there is a workaround or when the updated AIR runtime can support Retina display well?
Thanks.

Could you please open a new bug report on this over at bugbase.adobe.com? Please post back with the URL and I'll also follow up internally.
Thanks,
Chris

New MacBook Pro retina 13" arrived - first impressions and questions!

My new MacBook Pro retina 13" arrived today, two weeks earlier than the promised delivery date. My version is the 2.6 GHz i5, 512 GB SSD and I maxed the RAM out to 16 GB, since there is no upgrade later. I also customized the keyboard, since I live in Japan but prefer the US keyboard.
I posted unpacking photos and initial comments to my blog: http://lerner.net/new-macbook-pro-arrived/
I want to talk about some of those points, and ask some more detailed questions here. I hope others find the questions useful.
1. The keyboard is extremely nice. I like it better than the Bluetooth keyboard I have for my iMac right now. It has a nice feel to it.
2. No dead pixels! As some of you might now from old messages, I get really paranoid about new Apple notebook computers. If I find even one dead pixel it gnaws at me and I call Apple and complain until they exchange it for a perfect screen. Well I’m happy to report that I went through thorough pixel tests in white, black, red, blue and green and all the pixels seem 100% perfect. Yay!
4. The speaker seems quite nice. I played some music, and it sounded very beautiful to me, with good volume. I know some reviews of the MacBook Pro criticize the speaker quality, but it sounds as good or better than any of the speakers I currently have. I was quite pleased with that.
5. The retina display is very beautiful of course. I don’t need to have it turned up anywhere near the maximum brightness. There is a very good illumination range.
6. Because of the SSD drive, start up is very quick. Also it makes no noise at all. And it’s very light. I’m glad I went for the 13 inch pro model. It was just a little bit more expensive, and just 200 g heavier. I can see this replacing my iMac with the external monitor I bought.
Some questions:
Q1. Do I need protection pads for the hand rest to prevent discoloration over time? My old MBP 17" would get black-blotchey after a while. Eventually I got the top case replaced under AppleCare and protected it with pads. That was the late 2006 model. Is the construction material the same? Will my nice metal body lose its metallic finish and show dark blotches over time without protection?
Q2. What are the best practices for battery use and sleep? My iMac is on all the time and only the display sleeps. I hear it's not best for the lifetime of the MacBook Pro to leave it connected all the time. Yet I need to run my daily CCC (Carbon Copy Clone) complete bootable backup, which runs at 3:30 am every day. So it seems I need to keep it plugged in all the time. Any suggestions here, regarding both battery charging and also turning it off vs putting it to sleep vs power nap vs leaving it running all the time like I do with my iMac?
Q3. Is the "put hard disk to sleep when possible" meaningful at all for SSD?
Q4. Is there a sleep indicator when the lid is closed? I didn't notice any.
Q5. I notice I can view my iMac's music and TV library and everything plays instantly. That’s just wireless right? Because I have sharing turned on on my iMac I suppose. It seems as fast as if it were on my MacBook Pro though.
Q6. A strategy question: I wonder if I should migrate from Time Machine and carry along years of garbage and wasted disk space, or just install and move things as needed. I'm tempted to do the latter and start afresh. Especially since a lot of stuff is in the cloud already: Evernote, Dropbox, etc. Initial installation of some apps, like Parallels Desktop and Office might take some time, but I bet I would save a huge amount of disk space. Yet the Migration tool which uses Time Machine is supposed to be good.
I guess that's it for now.
Thanks,
Doug

hands4 wrote:
Q6 (Migrate using Time Machine?)
If you don't want to automatically bring over everything, I would use CCC to clone the old system drive and then use that clone to drag the wanted files onto the new machine. I would treat that CCC clone as a read-only archive until you were sure there are no additional files you want to migrate.
I use a combination of CCC and Time Machine to backup my Mac. CCC provides the reliability of simplicity and quick booting should the internal drive fail. Time Machine's incremental backups have saved my bacon several times when a file "disapeared" or I saved a modificaton that I needed to reverse. However the complexity of Time Machine during full restores can be a problem. I have had Time Machine full restores fail at which time I was very happy I had a second backup to fall back on. It is prudent to maintain more than one backup.
I agree completely about using the combination of CCC and Time Machine and it sounds like you and I use it the exact same way, and for the exact same reason. I hae also had Time Machine full restores fail (particularly with Apple Mail) and was very glad to also have the CCC backup.
The only thing I'm concerned about is making sure I grab everything I need for particular applications. For example, I'm not quite sure what all needs to be copied over from CCC to the new computer for Office 2008, which I am still running. It might be easier in that case to re-install certain software.
Thanks,
Doug

Average lifespan of a Macbook Pro Retina ?

I am just wondering what would be the average lifespan of daily use , wear and tear on a Macbook Pro Retina ? I have known macs to be the most durable things on the planet. I have just purchased a referbished october 2013 13" i5 , 8GB RAM , Iris Graphics … (no nvidia option for the 13" was looking for small size mac packed with power, then limited to my money stash) , 512 GB SSD storage model to replace my 2012 i3 Lenovo laptop that has 1GB nVidia graphics 8GB RAM,500GB storage , which would be given to my parents for Christmas, because they are needing a new computer, and my late 2008 2GHz Intel Macbook, that had been upgraded to 8GB RAM, which i flashed its firmware, since the RAM was somehow maxing out at 4GB… but now uses the full 8GB, to a friend as a gift at the art studio I work in.
I do a variety of artwork , ranging from drawing in manga studio to photoshop and some 3D manipulation, modelling and rendering, creating music, to editing film, which may include rendering 3D character animations. I am wondering if I am going to max out this little beast, or it would follow the average lifespan of a Macbook ? Then if I consider upgrading it in the future to 16GB RAM, looks like I would have to update the entire logic board, since the RAM is soldered on, do the apple stores compensate for this option that is provide logic board upgrades ? What if they change the design of logic boards in the future ? Extra storage is not a problem, because I can always get a bigger external drive, and SD cards are becoming more capable in storing more stuff..

Here is information on my upgrade from my previous work machine… which is a pc to the mac… as I also had/have a late 2008 macbook, which was actually good bait lol, was impressed by how it ran for an 2008 model of a computer..
1)Lenovo Think Pad/idea pad (21/10/2011 - release date)
£800
Intel i3 CPU 2 cores/4 threads. 2.3 GHz
Intel Intel® HD Graphics 3000 +
Nvidia GeForce GT 520M
RAM 8GB
Storage 500 GB (normal hard drive)
Heavy to carry with bad back from home and to the studio and back.
New Machine:
2)Apple Macbook Pro
£1099
(xx/10/2013 -release date)
Intel i5 CPU 2 cores/4 threads. 2.6 GHz
Intel® Iris™ Graphics 5100
RAM 8GB
Storage 512GB flash storage (SSD)
lighter than late 2008 Macbook and easier to carry...
The two old machines are still running and looked after them well, and giving them away as gifts… to those who don't have computers. I always worked with them on a desk surface, so they would not overheat when rendering still 3D artworks and animations, so it should last on average life span then...

Macbook Air i7 3.3 Ghz Vs Macbook Pro Retina i5 3.3 Ghz, Which more suite the engineering student?

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