New MBP, new battery~

Is it necessary to charge a new battery for at least 24 hrs for best performance in the future? Also, is it necessary to leave the MBP alone while charging for the first time?

Apple's directions state that you should use the computer on ac power for two hours after it shows full charge, and then disconnect from electricity and use it on battery until low battery warning, then save your data and close applications, use the computer until it goes to sleep, then either let it sleep for at least 5 hours (preferred) letting rest on battery (not ac til five hours) or shut it down and leave for at least 5 hours without electricity.
To use the computer after that, first reconnect to electricity, then open the computer to wake, or press the power button to wake, then wait for it to come out of hibernation, then use.
The initial use til charged can be divided but the rest needs to be done in good order.
Yes, the five hours rest before ac power is restored is essential.
Message was edited by: Rhyd

Similar Messages

  • Got new MBP 17" Battery - any special way to install/break-in this battery?

    Hello there all,
    So, I kinda realised that I have the original MBP, and subsequently posted a battery query in the new MBP section....doh(!)
    So, I mananged to get a brand new battery, (a1189) for my MBP.
    It's right here, in it's box.
    I wanted to know if there was a special way to install this battery, or do I just fit it in and let it charge and then perform a 'calibration'? Really want to keep this batteries life as long as possible!
    Any advice please?!
    Regards,
    Rik

    Probably the best treatise on the care and feeding of Apple notebook batteries is this user-submitted tip:
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1764220
    Here is the Apple how-to on calibration:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490
    This article:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3557
    includes these instructions:
    To get the longest running time from an Apple portable computer with a removable battery—such as an iBook or non-unibody MacBook Pro lithium ion battery—you should calibrate the battery during the first week of ownership and repeat the process occasionally to keep the battery functioning at its fullest capacity.
    The bold is mine. So yes, you should calibrate soon after you receive the new battery.

  • New MBP 2.6Ghz, can not keep battery life when shut down

    Hi
    Just got my MBP 2.6Ghz, 2Gb Ram yesterday (waited more than 4 weeks on it), and already i got a problem..
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    I think you did the process wrong. Try follow this:
    1) Plug in the power adapter and fully charge your PowerBook's battery until the light ring or LED on the power adapter plug changes to green and the onscreen meter in the menu bar indicates that the battery is fully charged.
    2) Allow the battery to rest in the fully charged state for at least two hours. You may use your computer during this time as long as the adapter is plugged in.
    3) Disconnect the power adapter with the computer still on and start running the computer off battery power. You may use your computer during this time. When your battery gets low, you will see the low battery warning dialog on the screen.
    4) Continue to keep your computer on until it goes to sleep. Save all your work and close all applications when the battery gets very low, before the computer goes to sleep.
    5) Turn off the computer or allow it to sleep for five hours or more.
    6) Connect the power adapter and leave it connected until the battery is fully charged again

  • I've installed 10.8.1 on new MBP w/ retina display and battery starts at 8 hr charge and drops to 7 hr in just 30 minutes of run time. This is not what I expected from Apple!!

    I've installed 10.8.1 on new MBP w/ retina display. Fully charged battery shows 8 hrs at 100% then drops to 7 hrs after only 1/2 hr of use. I was hoping that 10.8.1 would have fixed a obviously well publicized defect.

    jemham wrote:
    I've installed 10.8.1 on new MBP w/ retina display. Fully charged battery shows 8 hrs at 100% then drops to 7 hrs after only 1/2 hr of use. I was hoping that 10.8.1 would have fixed a obviously well publicized defect.
    Sorry pal, not this time.  The release notes for 10.8.1 do not discuss anything about battery issues.  I do know Apple is aware of the problem thought and are working on a fix, hopefully in the forthcoming 10.8.2.

  • Will leaving the charger in hurt the battery on the New MBP 17"

    I rarely need to unplug my new MBP 17", but with all the talk about battery problems, I wonder if I should unplug it from time to time and not just leave it plugged in.
    Right now its been plugged in for a 1.5 weeks... While I don't think this could hurt the battery, I thought I would ask...

    http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html
    "For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. *Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time.* An ideal use would be a commuter who uses her MacBook Pro on the train, then plugs it in at the office to charge. This keeps the battery juices flowing. If on the other hand, you use a desktop computer at work, and save a notebook for infrequent travel, Apple recommends charging and discharging its battery at least once per month."
    http://batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm
    " A lithium-ion battery provides 300-500 discharge/charge cycles. The battery prefers a partial rather than a full discharge. Frequent full discharges should be avoided when possible. Instead, charge the battery more often or use a larger battery. There is no concern of memory when applying unscheduled charges."
    "Although lithium-ion is memory-free in terms of performance deterioration, batteries with fuel gauges exhibit what engineers refer to as "digital memory". Here is the reason: Short discharges with subsequent recharges do not provide the periodic calibration needed to synchronize the fuel gauge with the battery's state-of-charge. A deliberate full discharge and recharge every 30 charges corrects this problem. Letting the battery run down to the cut-off point in the equipment will do this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate."
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1764220
    This last link is the best summary of good advice on maintaining lithium-bsed batteries that I have ever seen.

  • New MBP - Best way to care for battery?

    Not sure if this is necessary anymore, but I am receiving my new MBP in the mail later today. What is the best way to care for the battery? Should I plug the MBP into the wall for an amount of time before turning it on, or at least wait until it is fully charged before turning it on for the first time? Is anything like that even necessary anymore?
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    Keith

    Here's what Apple recommends:
    http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html
    Best use is frequently and lightly. Be sure to calibrate your battery every two months or so:
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86284
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  • Intriguing about the battery in my new MBP

    Hi everyone
    I got two days ago my first mac wich is a macbook pro 13" from 2010. I've red all there is to read about the use of the battery on the Internet and on the Apple website and so far I have only done complete charges with it. (I wait until the battery is to 0% and then i plug it until the battery is at 100%).
    I can use my macbook for about 6 hours without using wifi (ethernet, plus some videos watching).
    I have downloaded the widget istat nano to see how is my battery and apparently with 6 cyles, I have a battery health of 100% and 5802m).
    First of all I wanted to know if the numbers are ok ?
    Finally I wanted to know if I use the battery correctly so far ? Should I let it plug longer ? Some people are also saying that it is not good to let the battery fall under 5% before plugging it. Is it true ?
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    Thanks

    Eh, batteries are fickle things, gooey chemistry and all that. Factors include time since the battery, not the battery pack was manufactured, temperature, temperature variance the battery's been exposed to and any thermal shock, drain amount and cycles, quality and purity of chemical batches used in manufacture, and for all I know phase-of-the-moon! IMHO the only thing more "voodoo science" in electronics than batteries is antenna design!
    But you're right I seem to have lucked out on the battery in my new MBP 17", the one that came with my late-2008 Unibody MB lost 5% of it's health in the first few days of use and then got on the expected decline thereafter. Expectation and usually specification is 70-80% of capacity after 3 years. The annoying thing with Lithium batteries is that the clock starts ticking on their capacity as soon as they roll off the production line, no matter if they get used or not! Tip: Make sure any replacement Lithium battery you get is "fresh" and definitely not used (I'm looking at you eBay!)
    James

  • Hi everyone! New MBP Battery issues!

    i just bought a mbp 15" 8GB recently online from apple  ( 4/13/2011)  BTW-  i just switched from being a pc user to mac and am in looove with macs now! My issue is that my mac has been plugged in all day. i unplugged it to watch a 2 1/2 hr net flix movie. I started with 98% battery but after watching the movie and replying to a few emails I ended up on reserve battery? Apple advertises the 2011 MBP to have 10 hrs of battery life. Did I get a lemon? Is anyone else having this kind of an issue? Oh am I'm not running a bunch of programs at once I double checked that.
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    Kristin

    Hi Kristin,
    I've attached a screen shot (taken directly from Apple's website) regarding the 15" MBP's battery life. A couple of differences from what your machine is capable of and what your expectations are:
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    2.) It's up to
    3.) It's 7 hours, not 10 hours
    Earlier generations of this machine did advertise more, I suspect Apple realized that only their test lab machines under less than typical conditions were routinely getting that. Streaming Netflix, especially over WiFi is going to give you significantly reduced battery life, definitely better than 120-150 minutes but you won't see near 7 hours either.
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  • New MBP - wireless/internet access networking problem - a summary!

    Greetings!
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    1. Xmission errors: seem to be - at least in my case - a constant factor, regardless on how close/far i am from my wireless router. For example, I would be attempting to dwnload an upgrade (large)QT or MacOS file. i am barely into the dowmoad, and I already have several Read/Send errors. By the end of the download, I will have probably about 15 Rcv and 5 Send errors. Never gets quite that bad in my Win machines, I must mention. Anything to do here (I know, there are such things always affecting wireless com). AND, MOST importantly, how that this affect the effectiveness of the upgrade (I spotted same thing with MacOS 10.4.10 and Safari Beta 3 upgrade downloads!). Would it be likely that applying upgrades in such circumstances would screw up the OS??? Could OTOH such errors be automatically "compensated" by re-xmits from the source, and eventually the download would be OK? Because quite frankly, I do NOT know if my important upgrade download was OK to apply to the system, given those errors!!!
    Also same thing with PING errors. Quite frequent when pinging another device on my network.
    2. Quite often, accessing a site will proceed somehow OK, and then things will get stuck twd the end, as if some buffer somewhere gets overloaded??? Of course, as elsewhere reported, same can often happen with com getting stuck right over the "www" part of the URL!
    3. AND, of course, the often reported "NO connection to the Internet", but computer shows good signal level and connection otherwise.
    4. Strangely enough, seems that the Airport Extreme wifi card sort of "warms up the the internet" as one proceeds to start using it. It eventually picks up on a network, and often "improves" its connection over time!
    5. Built in Airport Extreme seems to not exhibit up all immediately surrounding networks. Sensitivity issue?? iStumbler does.
    6. iStumbler permanently posts noise level of 9% regardless of how close to my wireless router/broadband modem I am. Anyone uses iStumbler to monitor network traffic?
    This is getting longuish: I just want to get over all those p*ant issues and get into putting my a/v stuff together!!
    - Roger T
    Thanks for just reading all this!. I am not sure it is all fixable (back to the Win "features" terminology, really meaning "bugs"??)

    Thanks, BDaqua. This support forum is quite well stocked: I have been perusing all its nooks and cranies!
    On the www.dslreports.com - All things Mac - forum, I spotted a couple of mentions of the following type of infromation:
    link: »www.hardmac.com/news/2007-07-27/#7039
    - The first TechNote provides information concerning the Airport problem affecting the MBP Santa Rosa (but also other Mac Intel). When used on battery, the wireless connection drops and one can even experience kernel panic. Apple Centers are asked not to exchange affected notebook as this is due to a unidentified bug in the Atheros driver, and should be fixed in the future with a simple Airport system update. So for the moment, unfortunate users are asked to directly power their notebook when using wireless network, or using Ethernet connection when running on battery... in other words, turn your notebook into a desktop
    to forum · permalink
    I am wondering if you and folks on this close-to-Apple forum know anything about this. At least, we could just await remedy instead of messing around endlessly looking for solutions and... pondering as to whether it was a wise thing to purchase an expensive machine which happens to have trouble communicating online. After all, seems that the Mac folks are prone to spend MORE time online uploading/downloading music and videos instead of my being normally doing with the rest of my (Win) computers, i.e. work on customer lists, correspondence, inventories, accounting, data bases, etc....
    So, seems to me we do have a pb and Apple might just save a few $$$ on silly ads and get to work on com instead. if nothing else to avoid the appearance of further - admittedly rather funny - ad-spoofs!
    So back to your further inquiry. I run a wireless network from a HughesNet satellite modem, thru a Linksys WRT54GL wireless router, into some nearby office LANed desktops and point of sale equipment, to another neighbouring facility via wireless bridge, and to my Mac laptop. Distance from the laptop to the router: 50 ft max.
    It all works surprizingly very well: up to 200kbps up and 1000 kbps down (in prime time, 150 up and 600 down). OK, my set up looks complex and incurring LOTS of activity. Actually, online activity is quite minimal and well scheduled - right now I am the only machine on the network online. Otherwise, our office processes online money wiring for customers among other things.
    I'll try your DNS server choice on the Mac settings first. Will report accordingly.
    Thanks for everything!
    - Roger T

  • UPS lost my new MBP

    Yesterday, I finally received my new 17" HiDef 4G 250G HD Mac Book Pro after UPS lost it for 24 hours. They delivered it to another address and then insisted that they delivered it to my home! The next day it showed up with no explanation of where it had been.
    I've run the machine for the past 24 hours with absolutely no problems. The transition is the easiest I've ever had, going all the way back to the Apple IIE. I opened it up and it immediately logged on to my wireless system.
    Observations:
    I got it from MacMall this time to save state sales tax. Also MacMall offered an installation package of bootcamp and XP Pro for less than I could buy the XP Pro by itself. Additionally, they sell a warranty extention for about the same price as Apple Care that does everything Apple Care does AND includes damage protection. In the past, I've had Apple Care and almost never had to use it. The one time I tried to use it when paint boiled off the bezel on my Titanium Power Book from heat, they refused to do anything because it was "cosmetic".
    The Hi Def non-glare display is absolutely stunning. It is so bright that it makes the display on my aluminum G4 Powerbook look dirty grey. The large format does do some funky things to some web sites, such as the opening pages here on Apple's discussion page. Even though the window is wide, the displayed page is narrow and forces some of the text to be displayed in columns.
    The battery is HUGE, but the mag safe connection is brilliant.
    The lighted key board is just right as opposed to the Powerbook where it was useless.
    I bought a Targus back pack this time around instead of the brief case I have been using for ten years.
    Despite the many compaints here of the new MBP running hot, it had been cooler than my Powerbook. I am going to install a fan utility on the Powerbook to make sure they are working right.
    Using the migration utility, I was up and running within 15 minutes. The included software is very extensive. The only thing I added was an upgrade to the newest Photoshop from my existing one. I already had MS Office and removed the demo. iWorks is impressive and I will probably buy it. The only thing that took time after that was figuring out how to transfer bookmarks, my address book, and songs from iTunes.
    After closely monitoring some of the problems people have had with the MBP, I have had a tremendous feeling of relief and elation at such a flawless transition.
    Phil
    powerbooks & powermac   Mac OS X (10.4)   MBP 17" Hi Def 4G 250G HD

    Nice to hear that you’re happy with your new MacBook Pro. BTW: Unless you really need it, you may want to hold off on iWorks since it’s been awhile since the last upgrade. As you may know, Apple doesn’t offer any discounts on iWorks upgrades and based on history, I would expect to see another revision in the not so distant future.
    ...Boy, can you imagine what UPS would have to pay if they had truly lost it?!
    Regards,

  • I Would Like a "Expert's" config. of a new MBP

    I was offered by my parants that they will but me a new MacBook Pro.  As much RAM as I want, the (solid stae) newer kind of HD, but about a year ago it was getting a bad rap from a lopt of comments I read on here.  I can't remember the exact name fo the HD, but I think it had solid state in it.  and I took a look at the new MBPs and there is a lot that is new to me.  My last MPB was about 4 years ago and did not have half as much of the functions and special parts as the newest one I could see online.
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    this may sound stupid like a lot in this post, but is Lion the best and the lates OS.  I am getting the iPhone 4S from my sis so if there is anything I should get with the  MPB that I might use for the phone or visa-vera, I would like that.  I loved the Verizon MiFI2200 3G I had with this MBP, but it stopped working and no Verizon tech could get it to work, they suggested I go to the 4G.  I hear Verizon says they have 4G but they really don't.  somepone told me I could get a set-up that would turn the phone into a mobile hotspot but that may be beyond my mental ability.  I was thinking about just getting wither the Verizon Samsong 4g mobile hotspot or what replaced the MIFI22003G but in the 4G category.  the 3 G MIfi woked grest with my MBP but I have not read anything about the 4G that Verizon has out.  Both of my contracts ae up from my verizon phone and the MIFI2200 4G so they have a $50 NEw Every Two (which they stopped) but are still offering it to the people that had it coming so I have 2 of the $50 New Every Two rebate type $$ that I just subtract $50 from the any 2 devices.  I am using one for either the Samsong mobile hot spot or the MIFI 2200 4G (not sure if this is the right nae for the MIFI2200 3G replacement)
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    My final question, I am still using a CAT5 long kind of fryed ethernet cable.   A was reading a post on here that talked about the Blekin CAT6 ethernect cable is better if you take your machine to hotls that use the ethernet connection to get the internet, it will give you a slightly fast speed, independant of the speed the internet is gettting from the hotel.  Any thought on this or is still the basic CAT5 just as good?  I would like a little shorter one and more quality so the thing does not crack off from the main cable, the platic tab has a less chance of breaking off.
    I think that is it.  It is a gift and I do not want to get anything and everything I can think of but I would like to get the best MacBook Pro the Experts would suggest.
    I am hoping at least one or two experts will take uy questions seriously so I have some standard to go byt because there are so many new names for the latest MBP, I do not think I would know most of the devices I was selecting are.
    Not sure if it possible, but does Mac come with USB 2.0 yet?  if so, I would like as many as those as I could.
    Thanks.  I really do appreciate it.

    There is no configuration of a MBP that will satisfy the needs of all users.  The variables are too many for the tasks that are required for the MBP to perform.
    If cost is no object, the fastest CPU is a given as well as RAM.  Needs for same may be few and not often if ever used, but certainly will do no harm,
    Storage is an issue of a HDD with greater capacity compared with the speed offered by SSD with lesser capacity.
    Size can be important.  The convenience of portability of a 13" MBP with the larger and heavier 15" and 17' MBPs.
    In the final analysis, you have to make these decisions.
    Ciao.
    (I'm not an expert)

  • Hey i bought a brand new MBP like 6 months ago and now it won't charge

    i bought a brand new MBP like 6 months ago and now it won't charge. I tried using a friends MBP charger of the same year as my computer but it still says not charging at the top right corner of the computer screen where the charging symbol is. This problem just happened out of nowhere because it was working the day before then the next day it just stopped working saying it is not charging. I tired doing all of the suggested techniques to fix it but not luck.
    This is the battery report is when my MBP is either connected to my charger or my friends charger which works perfectly on her computer.
    Battery Information:
      Model Information:
      Serial Number:          W013*****3BA
      Manufacturer:          SMP
      Device Name:          bq20z451
      Pack Lot Code:          0
      PCB Lot Code:          0
      Firmware Version:          201
      Hardware Revision:          000a
      Cell Revision:          158
      Charge Information:
      Charge Remaining (mAh):          3137
      Fully Charged:          No
      Charging:          No
      Full Charge Capacity (mAh):          5751
      Health Information:
      Cycle Count:          126
      Condition:          Normal
      Battery Installed:          Yes
      Amperage (mA):          0
      Voltage (mV):          11528
    System Power Settings:
      AC Power:
      System Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10
      Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10
      Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10
      Wake on AC Change:          No
      Wake on Clamshell Open:          Yes
      Wake on LAN:          Yes
      Current Power Source:          Yes
      Display Sleep Uses Dim:          Yes
      PrioritizeNetworkReachabilityOverSleep:          0
      RestartAfterKernelPanic:          157680000
      Standby Delay:          4200
      Standby Enabled:          0
      Battery Power:
      System Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10
      Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10
      Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):          2
      Wake on AC Change:          No
      Wake on Clamshell Open:          Yes
      Display Sleep Uses Dim:          Yes
      Reduce Brightness:          Yes
      RestartAfterKernelPanic:          157680000
      Standby Delay:          4200
      Standby Enabled:          0
    Hardware Configuration:
      UPS Installed:          No
    AC Charger Information:
      Connected:          Yes
      ID:          0x0000
      Wattage (W):          0
      Revision:          0x0000
      Family:          0x0000
      Serial Number:          0x00000000
      Charging:          No
    As you can see where it is labeled "AC Charger information" it states that its connected but there is no Wattage and says its not charging .
    What is wrong with my mac? Is it serious and does Apple Care cover it?

    Have you done a SMC
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
    Items include
    Power
    The computer doesn't respond to the power button when pressed.
    A portable Mac doesn't appear to respond properly when you close or open the lid.
    The computer sleeps or shuts down unexpectedly.
    The battery does not appear to be charging properly.
    The MagSafe power adaptor LED doesn't appear to indicate the correct activity.

  • My take on the new MBP

    Hi all,
    I thought I would give you guys and gals my opinion on the new MBP.
    Firstly let me explain that I bought my MBP to replace my old PB G4 17" 1.67Ghz model, so as you can probably imagine it's a fairly big upgrade for me.
    I have also been using Apple stuff for 20 years and have spent a small fortune on their products.
    I am a web designer and a photographer, an amateur photographer I hasten to add!
    The main software I use on my machines are Flash, Photoshop, Aperture, Dreamweaver, Final Cut etc. Without these I am lost.
    Okay down to the nitty gritty, I have been reading forums all over the net and heard a lot of people moaning about these new machines, I do appreciate it may not be to some people's liking for whatever reason but please note this is just my opinion on the new MBP's.
    I have the 2.4Ghz version with no RAM upgrade as yet.
    My first opinion when getting it out of the box was 'Wow', these machines really do look nice, the colour of course is the same as old and it's difficult to explain why they look so nice, maybe it's because they are thinner, maybe it's because they are moulded, I really don't know but I do know that with most Apple products you cannot appreciate them until you've seen them in the flesh.
    Opening the lid, well this was a revelation it looks absolutely stunning, simple, elegant and the screen (I know what most people think) is absolutely superb. Let me talk about the screen a little, now I know why there are different complaints about this and it generally boils down to calibration issues for pro photographers and people who need to print professionally. I of course had the matte screen on my 17" PB and can tell you now that it really used to annoy me when I was outside as I could not see the thing at all. On many occasions I wanted to sit out in the garden during the summer and do some work but was unable to. I have a computer upstairs in my office and use my MBP downstairs in the living room, this allows me to carry on doing work and still chat with my girlfriend downstairs. One of the major problems I do have is that the sun (especially in the winter months when it's much lower) shines directly through the window and beams nicely onto my MBP. With my PB I used to have to close the blind (much to my girlfriends annoyance) otherwise it was impossible to work with but with my new machine I can see the screen perfectly without closing it. In fact I am sitting in that very position now with the sunlight beaming through and it's no problem. I'm not going to say there is no reflection at all but it's hardly noticeable and I can definitely say with hand held on my heart that the screen is fantastic whether you are in direct sunlight or night. My girlfriend has the MB (the previous model) and she has a glossy screen, I'm not sure what Apple have done but the glossy screens on these new ones are much better.
    The Keyboard.
    I know some people don't like the chicklet keyboard but I have no problems with them. I actually prefer them to the older style but I guess that's personal preference. The backlight is absolutely fantastic, it's one of my favourite things on this machine. My old PB had a backlight keyboard but due to the silver keys and white lettering it was near on impossible to see at certain angles, even when looking at it directly it was nothing to write home about. The new backlight on the MBP is just fantastic, I can't say enough good things about it, you have to see it for yourself.
    Trackpad.
    Mmmmm, really love the look and the size, it makes other trackpads look totally archaic. However I'm not too sure about the whole clicking thing. I am not having problems that others have mentioned about the click not registering or taking time to register. To me the click works as well and as efficiently as a standard button but it is harder to press down and noisier. Apple mentioned that they spent many many hours just getting the click sound right but I think they could have done much better with this. It's the only thing on the machine I am not totally convinced about and could definitely be improved but it's certainly not a deal breaker.
    Battery Life
    Seems okay at the moment, I probably get around 3 hours with it but as with most Apple products this improves over time.
    General Use.
    I have had it since launch and am over the moon with it. The speed is fantastic and it does exactly what it sets out to do. Whatever anyone says (and yes it is expensive) this IS (in my opinion) a brilliant piece of kit. It's fast, it's responsive and it looks fantastic. You would be hard pushed to find a better laptop on the market but of course you'll have to pay the price.
    I urge you all before passing comment on these new MBP's to go and check one out and see for yourself how good they really are. I know there's nothing like testing one at home when doing your own work but I'm sure that you will be surprised at just how good these machines are and that some of the comments you may have thought originally will soon be forgotten.

    Sweet! I cannot wait for mine to arrive this week. i actually went
    to the apple store to check it out i can not wait for its arrival. i was very impressed
    Im going from a 1.25ghz PB with only 512mb ram to the new MBP with 4gb
    of ram. Talk about a major upgrade (yes!!) As a fellow web/multimedia designer
    I know I will benefit from this upgrade. I really hope to be more productive
    with having dreamweaver,photoshop,flash etc all open at once. A sImple RAM upgrade
    could have solve some of my problems wIth my current PB...but this new machine is just
    beautiful and durable and will really help me work easier. My current PB will be my side project and back up for now. 5 years I've waited to upgrade........ and glad i did.

  • When should I buy a new MBP?

    I'm leaving for college in the fall and I would like some help deciding when it makes sense to buy a new computer.  I'm planning on buying a new MBP with Retina display, but I'm not sure if it's totally worth updating yet.  I currently have a Late (October) 2009 White Macbook (2.26Ghz, 8GB RAM, 250GB HD), that works decently, but isn't wonderful--it's slowing down.  I would appreciate some ideas and thoughts on when it makes sense to upgrade:  now, before I leave for college; sometime during the fall semester, after I really know my computing needs (my least preferred option); or, this Christmastime?  If anyone has some advice, it would be much appreciated.
    Cheers!

    ccshaw wrote:
    Wouldn't it just make sense to put the money for the 7200rpm drive towards one more upgrade on the MBP?  I could just cut that up front cost.
    You can choose to forgo the hard drive upgrade, however 250GB is quite small, meaning your likely using a great portion of the second 50% of the drive, which the read/wrire performance is substancially reduced.
    7,200 RPM doesn't make that much of a battery life dent that one will notice it, but one will notice the speedier response.
    S0 by incrreasing the RPM's and the storage size, plus newer drive with better read/write speeds through technology improvments combined with a zero erase + fresh install of 10.6.1 (your original disks) and Software Updated to 10.6.8 (10.7 is slow) should make a dramatic improvement on that model.
    However a erase + fresh install of 10.6 on that present 250GB can do the job well too, 10.7 is slow and you likely have other problems the 10.6 install will also cure.
    How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6
    How to revert your Mac to Snow Leopard
    I'm not sure where I can get a copy of 10.6.8.  Do you know where I could obtain that?
    Your computer came with 10.6.1 install disks, hold c or option key down and boot off the disks, use Disk Utility to erase the entire drive (select the drive makers name and size on the left) with Security Option > Zero all data, wait, then when finished quit and install 10.6.1 and Software Update fully to 10.6.8.
    If you no longer have the 10.6.1 disks, call Apple for a machine specific replacement disks for your 2009 Late 13" White MacBook.
    You can also use the $29 10.6.3 white Snow Leopard retail disks sold here
    http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A
    f it turns out that I do need Windows for class applications, do I install it on a partition by using disk utility and partitioning my HD (also, how big does that partition for windows need to be)?
    There are two methods to use Windows on a Mac.
    1: Apple's Bootcamp, which takes the bottom free space on your boot drive (250GB isn't much if you have a lot of OSX data) and allows you to direct install Windows 7 (only) there.
    2: Virtual machine software, which allows one to run Windows (any flavor and Linux's) in a window in OS X.
    You can read about both (pro's and cons) here:
    Windows in BootCamp or Virtual Machine?

  • I'm in need of help deciding which power setup to use with new MBP

    Hello all,
    So - after using an original 1.83 MBP for many years w/Aperture... I've recently acquired a new MBP!
    and initially I had the power setup for better battery life... and often found myself wondering, "hmmm...considering this thing has way more juice under the hood - it sure doesn't run much quicker than the old one?!?!"
    And then I realized - I had the lesser video chip running!
    When I turned on the better performance - and then ran Aperture (likely my most demanding process) holy Crap! Does this thing Fly!!!
    Now the problem; hence my question - is:
    "is there a way to set it up so that while under battery power it runs on the better battery life option, yet when plugged in to endless power - it will run on better performance?" it would be much nicer - let alone make much more sense if this option was clear-cut & simple to select... or am I just missing it some where in the menus? Seems that you can only have one or the other, despite battery or plugin power. And to switch means logging out and the re-logging back in...?!?!?!
    Any thoughts?

    "is there a way to set it up so that while under battery power it runs on the better battery life option, yet when plugged in to endless power - it will run on better performance?"
    No, there isn't. You're right — it would be nicer if there were.
    Seems that you can only have one or the other, despite battery or plugin power. And to switch means logging out and the re-logging back in...
    That's correct.

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