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The 2.4Ghz refurb that's been available for $1349. This is a gift from my father, who wanted to do something nice for me when I lost my job a couple of weeks ago. He knew I'd become attached to that other laptop. Getting ready to buy RAM for it and maybe a some add-ons.
I hemmed and hawed for quite a while between this and the new 13" MBP. Like I said earlier, I don't care so much about ExpressCard/34 or SD slots or dedicated graphics, or even the bigger screen. Truth be told I was interested in the better battery life on the new 13" as much as I was a larger screen on the one I got. But there's no denying this one has some things going for it no 13" has, and so I'll take that advantage.
It comes down to this. These things are kinda like cars. No matter what you get, there will always be some that are nicer, some less so, some that are on balance about the same. For me this late '08 15" and the new 13" MBP are like that; both have advantages over the other. Either way, you use it to the best of what it offers.
As much as I've dominated the previous computers around here over the years, this laptop will also be the first computer that's really all-mine in terms of normal use. Like another new "box of lights." This thing exudes class.
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Congrats!
P.S. Be sure to get a nice external HD for your TM backup.
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deckeda wrote:
This thing exudes class.
It sure does!
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Just like mine! Great computer.
Watch out for keys that don't respond readily. On mine, it's caps lock. I always have to look at it after hitting it, to see if the touch took.
If you use an SD camera card, consider a slide-in SD adapter to leave in the ExpressCard slot and turn it into an SD reader. $12 - $15.
Consider downloading the free Applejack and installing it. That way, if you're off somewhere and hang up your laptop, and don't have the start-up disk to save you, just start holding command-s, run Applejack, and it will run the built-in clean-up utilities that may get you started again.
Keep a watch for these potential defects before AppleCare runs out:
1. Vividly imperfect lighting of the screen lamps, making the bottom of the screen look like the stage lights in an old movie -- i.e., streaks of light and shadow going halfway up the screen.
2. Defective video card (motherboard) that produces erratic visual artifacts like this one: You try to move a window and pieces of it move before other pieces do.
Resetting Power Manager (hold down power button 10 secs) and PRAM (restart holding cmd-optn-p-r, hold for about four chimes then release) provides a temporary fix for one or both of these, but they could indicate underlying problems that will come back. Hard to tell.
Good luck and enjoy!
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Interesting stuff, thanks.
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deckeda wrote:
This is a gift from my father, who wanted to do something nice for me when I lost my job a couple of weeks ago.
Awww. I wish I lost my job.
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what4 wrote:
Just like mine! Great computer.
Watch out for keys that don't respond readily. On mine, it's caps lock. I always have to look at it after hitting it, to see if the touch took.
If you use an SD camera card, consider a slide-in SD adapter to leave in the ExpressCard slot and turn it into an SD reader. $12 - $15.
Consider downloading the free Applejack and installing it. That way, if you're off somewhere and hang up your laptop, and don't have the start-up disk to save you, just start holding command-s, run Applejack, and it will run the built-in clean-up utilities that may get you started again.
Keep a watch for these potential defects before AppleCare runs out:
1. Vividly imperfect lighting of the screen lamps, making the bottom of the screen look like the stage lights in an old movie -- i.e., streaks of light and shadow going halfway up the screen.
2. Defective video card (motherboard) that produces erratic visual artifacts like this one: You try to move a window and pieces of it move before other pieces do.
Resetting Power Manager (hold down power button 10 secs) and PRAM (restart holding cmd-optn-p-r, hold for about four chimes then release) provides a temporary fix for one or both of these, but they could indicate underlying problems that will come back. Hard to tell.
Good luck and enjoy!
I got mine last Nov-Dec 08. Haven't thought of purchasing Apple Care. Haven't experienced any of the symptoms mentioned here ... knock on wood. Downloading AppleJack ... Thanks for the tips!
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Always purchase AppleCare for a laptop.
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what4 wrote:
Just like mine! Great computer.
Watch out for keys that don't respond readily. On mine, it's caps lock. I always have to look at it after hitting it, to see if the touch took.
If you use an SD camera card, consider a slide-in SD adapter to leave in the ExpressCard slot and turn it into an SD reader. $12 - $15.
Consider downloading the free Applejack and installing it. That way, if you're off somewhere and hang up your laptop, and don't have the start-up disk to save you, just start holding command-s, run Applejack, and it will run the built-in clean-up utilities that may get you started again.
Keep a watch for these potential defects before AppleCare runs out:
1. Vividly imperfect lighting of the screen lamps, making the bottom of the screen look like the stage lights in an old movie -- i.e., streaks of light and shadow going halfway up the screen.
2. Defective video card (motherboard) that produces erratic visual artifacts like this one: You try to move a window and pieces of it move before other pieces do.
Resetting Power Manager (hold down power button 10 secs) and PRAM (restart holding cmd-optn-p-r, hold for about four chimes then release) provides a temporary fix for one or both of these, but they could indicate underlying problems that will come back. Hard to tell.
Good luck and enjoy!
Yikes, I have an early 2008 15.4 MBP (Pre Unibody) and about a month ago I had some screen artifacts but a quick reboot solved everything and haven't had that problem since. I also noticed that the lower left of my screen "DOES" have a little brighter area down there... hmmmm. Should I worry about this yet? I have 3 years of applecare and have only had the system a few months.
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