Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with laptop and mac

Is mac really better than pc? Help me buy a decent student computer.

Miss Mitz — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:27:51 -0800

I've been a happy Pc-er for the last couple years. That is, until a few months ago when my AVG failed me and my pavilion got all virused up... Twice. Ultimately I had to d-ban the poor thing. Since I was only 'mostly sure' I still had the original operating system disks, I have since been using my mom's mac. While I've been slowly getting used to the system (on a casual basis, no work yet, just internet) I still miss the windows format. My old tower is past it's prime, even with a new system. I'm about to become a student in English and am highly discouraged by previous Windows failings. Should I release the ghost and go with the more 'secure' mac? Or stick with my roots? I would like some advice on my next computer purchase. I'm looking for a laptop that can handle a students workload for the next... lets face it, many years, with minimal extras. The only thing it needs, is to be fast. I break things that go slow. I'm not looking to game (much) or download + store music (at all), I just need to research crap at high speed. All suggestions are greatly appreciated. Cheers!

Music-making: Suggest a capable laptop, please!

Cantdosleepy — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:33:57 -0800

Which laptop computer for making music? It's PC vs Mac with the usual provisos... I'm going to be getting a computer in the new year for making music. I'll most likely be using Reaper on it, perhaps Reason as well if latency isn't a killer, otherwise with a variety of VSTi and VSTs running simultaneously.

It'll be my main computer for my other roaming surfing listening to music needs so it has to be a laptop.

So the first question: Windows or Mac? I'm not interested in the ideological war - I have owned and used both in the past and am happy with both systems, so not interested in design or useability arguments. The software I'll be using is available on both, so that's not an issue, either.

Macs are A LOT more expensive - firewire (is that a must these days for musical stuff?) doesn't start on a Mac for less than £1000 (that's for a refurbed Macbook Pro with a poky 13.3" screen). Also if I get a refurb I can't choose my spec, so might have further costs there - if I'm recording audio I'll need a 7200rpm drive (presumably external). £1000 is the absolute limit to what I can spend, really.

But if I get a Windows computer will I have to spend a couple of hundred on an ASIO card/breakout box to deal with the horrible latency issues?

I could get a Lenovo for 2/3rds the MBP price with what seems like a pretty good spec: http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/gbweb/LenovoPortal/en_GB/systemconfig.runtime.workflow:LoadRuntimeTree?sb=:000000F0:00000082:&smid=2BD61D210D4B420DB4A05F15220AEEF7 which includes a faster HD and the same amount of RAM.

I realise that this won't be as fast as the Pro, but I'm not interested necessarily in system-wide speediness. I want something that can handle simultaneous recording of audio and MIDI, and that won't fall over and die if I want to play with delay and reverb on four or five audio tracks with a couple of drum machine VSTIs and softsynths, as well as lasting as my lug-around-town regular computer for the next five years.

Any advice greatly appreciated - and if there are issues I've forgotten don't hesitate to flag them up!

If it makes a difference, I'll most likely be picking it up in the January sales.

How to restore a glossy laptop screen?

bashos_frog — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:22:31 -0800

Is there any way to restore the glossy coating on a Macbook Pro screen? It seems that my keyboard has has transferred enough oil to my screen to permanently damage the glossy coating in spots (especially the line caused by the bottom edge of the keyboard). Is there any way to reapply some kind of coating, or restorative that will make the screen look new again?

I just accidentally broke my friend's ridiculously fragile brand new laptop. Please help me fix it.

iamkimiam — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:14:58 -0800

My good friend just purchased a $3k Apple laptop, which she received today. I spent four hours this afternoon installing software and setting it up for her. Once we were all done, and ready to go out and celebrate good times, new laptops, and Friday nights, we high fived, and I shut the laptop gently...with the tiny, clear, flexible, plastic charger cap unknowingly inside. Now the screen is completely cracked, fractalled, damaged, and very sadly colorful. What can I do? I am planning on going to the Apple store first thing tomorrow morning. What should I say? How can I make this right?

Additional info: I have been a loooong time Apple customer and purchaser. I am also currently extremely poor, but I will do whatever it takes to make sure my friend is good to go and happy. Please help me!

WHYOHWHY aren't the charger caps, A) fluorescent-colored, and B) attached to the cord!?!?

Pick the Perfect Mac Laptop

misha — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:52:16 -0800

Which Mac laptop should I buy? Needs and specs inside. So I need a new laptop, and serendipity is on my side, as the Apple store has just updated! Well and good. Which model should I get, though, that's the question.

I am replacing this:

Model Name: MacBook Pro 15"
Model Identifier: MacBookPro1,1
Processor Name: Intel Core Duo
Processor Speed: 1.83 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per processor): 2 MB
Memory: 512 MB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz

What I use it for: blogging, word processing, some photoshop creation (illustrations for the blog, mostly), saving pics from the digital camera, social media, lots and lots of email, light gaming of the Flo's Diner and Tower Defense variety.

What I liked: speed, powerhouse of a laptop.
What I didn't like: heavy, bulky, heats up fast.

I'm thinking that I could go down to the 13", but are the new 15" versions significantly lighter than my version?

Is the Macbook Air a bad buy (meaning not cost-effective) because of the one-piece construction? In other words, does pretty much any repair mean the whole thing has to be taken apart, thus costing more in the end?

Is it significantly slower or less powerful than the Macbook Pro that I would notice it with my modest needs?

I DO want Apple Care, right?

Thanks in advance, hive mind!

DHCP giving clients addresses with prior DNS record

jmd82 — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:47:26 -0800

DHCP giving out IP address leases with pre-existing DNS entries for the wrong machine causing network chaos on a mixed windows & mac environment, and it's the macs who are having the problems. We have DHCP & DNS on a Windows 2003 server. Apple laptops (leopard) are bound to AD. The clients get a DHCP lease easily enough, but then at some point in the future (usually a few weeks, maybe less), they cannot log in or won't get settings from the server.

Have Apple support, and their response is the machine account is not authenticating with AD, so no log in. OK, so...

Upon investigation into DNS, it turns out that these client's DNS entry is actually tied to another PC's IP address. For instance, maclaptop.mydomain.com gets 192.168.1.1. However, the DNS record for 192.168.1.1 on the network is actually pc.mydomain.com. This is causing maclaptop.mydomain.com to try authenticating as pc.mydomain.com, which they are not and getting rejected. I am led to believe this from Console messages stating pc@mydomain.com cannot authenticate with kerberos.

Any thoughts or ideas on how to prevent this from happening? I can delete those individual DNS records and the clients can log in then properly, but at some point in the future, it'll loose its lease and get the address with a wrong DNS entry at some point.

Updating OS on a New Mac...While Keeping it Virginally New

jimmyjimjim — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 10:24:09 -0800

I'm donating a Mac laptop, and it's loaded with 10.6.0. I want to upgrade it to 10.6.1, but then still have the computer start up for them "virgin" (i.e. with the "welcome to macintosh" rigamarole and with no other accounts appearing). [NOTE: you may believe that's a silly thing to desire. Your disdain has been pre-registered, but I stupidly persist in hoping for this result]. Is there any way to update the OS and then completely erase my own footprints? One way to do this would be by using another computer as the startup disk, attaching the gift computer via firewire disk mode, and updating the OS that way. But I'd want to repair permissions after the updating, and I've read that you're not supposed to repair when started up from another disk. Also, I'd like to use "software update" to check as to whether any other files need updating......and I think that only works from the startup disk, as well.

Thanks!

Best time to buy a MacBook Air?

mosk — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:19:42 -0800

Best time to buy a MacBook Air between now and mid November? Are there any speed bumps or price reductions on the horizon? Dad is turning 70 in mid November. Dad wants a base model MacBook Air. We (his kids) want to get him what he wants, since we love him and since he's turning 70 and all.

I'm not in touch with the Apple product cycle these days, and I don't remember if, historically, there will be another speed bump for laptops before the holiday buying season, so if anyone has an insight into either of those things, I would appreciate hearing it. I was hoping something would be announced yesterday, but no such luck.

So...any Apple tea leaf readers out there? Any opinions on whether the MacBook Air lineup will get a bump or price cut in the next couple of months? Also, any personal experiences with the MacBook Air? I know it doesn't come with a built-in optical drive or Ethernet port, but those shouldn't be an issue for him. Dad was at the Apple store and fell in love with the MBA's form factor, which is perfect for his "needs." Now, his needs are squarely in netbook territory, so I know this is more computer than he will likely ever use, but this is a milestone birthday for him and we'll be splitting the cost multiple ways, so the difference between a $1200 MBP (his second choice) and the $1500 MBA isn't a big deal, at least in this instance.

Other data points: He's a dyed-in-the-wool Mac user with a fairly limited set of technical skills, so it's no use suggesting a Hackintosh or a Windows or Linus-based netbook. He wants a Mac laptop, and he specifically wants a new (NOT used, NOT refurbed) MacBook Air. We're happy to get him what he wants, but if the product line is getting nudged, I'd like to take that into account before we order something.

Uh oh! Why did my Mac stop working?

soviet sleepover — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:05:15 -0800

My four year old Mac PowerBook suddenly (after behaving perfectly for this long!) won't run any programs--won't even open up system preferences or terminal. Help! What should I do？ It starts up normally, though date and time are the 1969 defaults that show up when the battery's run all the way down. When I try to open a program, it hangs/beachballs, and attempting to force quit the program does nothing.

It's a PowerBook running 10.4. It hasn't been behaving out of the ordinary at all before this (I've noticed it's running a little hot, and it's slower than I'd like, though completely reasonable for a four year old laptop! Otherwise it's been behaving perfectly the whole time I've owned it).

Any suggestions on what happened? How to bring it back to life? Or at worst, how to save the past few weeks of un-backed up files? (And in case my levelheaded tone doesn't convey this: Help! Yikes! I'm too broke to afford a computer in the next 6 months, and I'll be in a really difficult situation without one! #!$#@&!)

MBP driven to tears?

uaudio — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:59:51 -0800

I bought a MacBook Pro in June 2007. Since then, its needed a new hard disk drive, right cooling fan, and DVD read/write drive. Is this normal wear and tear? I've had different Mac desktops before for work, but this is my first personal Mac laptop. This is a family PC and it roams around our house. My wife and my son (just educational games, 4yo) also use it and it stays on 24/7. The battery needs replacing as well; we usually just have it plugged in.

Does this usage pattern just destine me to go through components quickly or is this just chance?

Powerbook: No Logo

DiscourseMarker — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:41:28 -0800

Powerbook G4 won't boot up. I hear the chime, get a gray screen, but NO apple logo or spinning wheel. This is a circa- late 2003 1.25GHz PB running OS 10.5. something. Yesterday, my husband was trying to open some Word 2008 docs he had saved on this laptop. Word would not open, it just kept bouncing in the dock, and we could not get it to force quit, so he did a forced shut down of the computer. Ever since then I cannot get the computer to boot past the gray screen.

I have tried resetting the PRAM, but it still sticks at the gray screen, same with resetting the PMU and trying a safe boot. It never progresses to the Apple Logo, just stays on the gray screen. When I pressed my ear to the keyboard I heard a few clicks from the HD after trying to start up, but now there's no sound.

Any suggestions?

Which laptop should I purchase?

Four-Eyed Girl — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:20:17 -0800

I need to get a new laptop. I'm considering a Mac or a Lenovo (based on what I've read on AskMe), and I am in need of some advice. My current laptop is a Dell Latitude D410, and after 3 years, I need to replace it. It is overheating every time I use it, the wireless connection is constantly up & down, it's incredibly slow, it doesn't have much memory, and the battery has no life in it.

I primarily use my laptop for Internet browsing, music files, & preparation for my classes (lots of documents, Power Points, and spreadsheets). I need a laptop with the following characteristics:

--long battery life
--dependable wireless connectivity
--speed
--light to medium weight
--longevity

Which computer should I go for, a Lenovo or a Mac? Please be specific about the type of Lenovo or a Mac if possible. The type of operating system is not important to me, and I would like to keep the price below $1500.

Which MacBook?

joshuaconner — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:10:07 -0800

Which MacBook should I get? I've saved up a bit of money working so far this summer and I'd like to buy a new Apple laptop. Right now I pretty much use my current computer (a 2002 Dell) for basic stuff - internet, word processing, DVD's, Hulu, etc. - and I don't really see that changing.

But I feel like I made a mistake when I bought the Dell of not getting enough computer; I went for a pretty basic model, and it started to feel pretty slow after just a year of having it. As the internet got more complex and you could do more stuff with a computer, using my computer became more and more of an exercise in patience.

So one of my primary objectives is to buy something that's still going to feel relatively snappy for basic computing in 2-3 years.

Looking at probably a 13" (though I might be able to be talked into the 15") and I really like the look of the unibody design, so I've kind of narrowed it down to the two models of the new 13" MacBook, a refurb 15" of the last gen MacBooks, or (splurge!) a new 15" Macbook.

Does this sound about right? And if it does, which do you think will fit my needs best?

Does Not Compute

misha — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:17:42 -0800

Please help me find the best laptops for our teens! Specifics inside. We have decided to get new computers for our teens--the younger is entering high school and needs it for school, while the older is really into animation and we want to encourage that interest.

I was originally looking at the Mac mini. We decided on laptops because we like portability and assume they will as well, they want webcams AND their high school prefers the Windows setup to Mac.

I'd still be up for Macs, because I feel they are more secure against viruses and the like, if we could get below $1000 each. The basic white 13" Macbooks at the Apple store are $999 and we're hoping to get under that price. I know we can run Windows programs on them with the right software.

Here's what we want:

Memory--lots of it. Can't get too much of this. Would rather have more than the 4GB the Macbook starts with.

Graphics-- Is the NVIDIA Ge Force 9400M the best choice for animation and gaming? Could we do better?

Preferably under $999 each!

Here's what they want:

High-speed--both love to chat on Google and have complained about speeds with the ancient models we have now (an old desktop and a G3 iBook).

Webcam--yes, we know all about internet safety, thanks!

Incredible sound--the oldest is really into music and his friends are in a band, so he wants the best audio he can get, even if this means peripheral speakers. Would love recommendations for these as well!

Software

If we got a Mac, we'd need to be able to run Windows programs on it as well--what software would we need, and how much is that going to cost?

We do not qualify (damn it) for educational discounts from Apple for the free iPod Touch promotion, as kids have to be accepted into college OR a parent needs to be a full-time teacher.

Thanks so much for your help!

Re-purposing laptops: I want more than a picture frame.

alexherder — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 08:30:15 -0800

When it comes to re-purposing old laptops, it seems like the only option people really talk about is to turn it into a picture frame. There's got to be more that an old iBook can do... right? My girlfriend has a 5-year old iBook G4 running OS 10.3 (Panther) which has simply outlived its usefulness as an every day, primary computer. It's got 256mb RAM and a small-ish hard drive but can't handle Office, iTunes, or Firefox (let alone any 2 of those at once) without breaking out the color-wheel-of-death.

I bought her a new MacBook last month which she loves but she is refusing to get rid of her old iBook. I have a slightly newer (about 4-years old) iBook of my own that I am selling on eBay but she is not interested in parting with her "old friend." I don't understand her need to hold onto this old laptop, nor do I seek to dissuade her of the notion. I asked her if we could possibly try to figure out some way to re-purpose it rather than let it sit on a shelf gathering dust and she agreed, now the question is, what to do with it?

I've seen threads about this in a number of places (including here and on lifehacker) but it always seems to come down to file server or picture frame. Our house has a server (Ubuntu 8.04, reasonably speedy) and we have no need for a digital picture frame. I was thinking about using it as a firewall (but it only has one NIC) or as a thin client but I'm not sure where to start. I used to run Ubuntu PPC on my old iBook but kept running into issues due to the x86 vs PPC architecture. The other idea I had was as a "kitchen" computer for recipes and watching TV/streaming radio while cooking, but we already use her new MacBook to do this and that seems to work fine.

In the end, I think we've got enough computers in our house, but she wants to keep this one. So... I turn to you, dear readers. What possible use can we squeeze out of my girlfriend's "old friend"??

My computer is having some difficulties.

Brachiosaurus — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:16:26 -0800

Is my iBook G4 dying? The most pressing problem is that, while working on it, without the power cord, the computer will abruptly turn off, with no warning. It can even be when the battery indicator on the top of the screen isn't even that low, maybe a quarter left. Afterwards I can just plug it in and turn it back on with no problems. This is happening more and more regularly.

The next biggest problem is that the front (closest to me) left corner gets super hot sometimes. I'm guessing that this is hard drive. I've backed up my data recently but I should probably again- maybe right after I'm done typing this.

Also, the wires within the power adapter may be starting to fray. It isn't too touchy but to keep the indicator light illuminated I have to keep it still. Also the box thingy that goes to the wall will get really, really hot while it's charging- but not if it's just plugged in. I don't know if it's always done this.

The only other problem is that four keys no longer work on the keyboard thanks to my cat spilling a martini on the computer about 2 years ago. I should have replaced it then because I can do it myself and I've heard that the replacement keyboard would only be about 50$. All of the letters still work (though I imagine that it would be funny if I had to avoid words with certain letters) and only one of the keys that I tend to use has been effected. I called Apple to ask them once but they said they don't sell just the keyboard.

So I'm looking at about 300 in replacement parts (outside of the hot hard drive problem, 'cause I don't know what that's about) and I'm thinking that even if I repair these and the thing lasts 8 months my utility per dollar wouldn't improve that much because I'm spending 20% of the cost to get another ~15% of life from it.

I choose 8 months because it would be awesome if I could get this thing to last until I finish school in Dec.

So it sounds like I should just replace it but I don't think I'd be able to swing that for another 2 or so months and I kind of need it (what I mean by need is that my roommate lets me use his spiffy iMac but having a laptop [and my own computer] improves my productivity).

So I guess my questions are, can this thing last 2-3 months without putting money into it? 8+ months without repairs? 8+ month with the repairs listed above? And how much would a new 100gb HD cost? Has anyone had this battery problem before? I know that none of you can predict the future but I just need some reasonable advice.

I haz a Macbook, now what?

nmaster64 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 09:56:36 -0800

Got a new Macbook, but not sure where to go from here... So I just purchased a new Macbook, as I'm planning to go into iPhone application development soon. However, I am completely new to Macs. It's really strange, because for years I've always had a sort of filter on my brain to ignore any stories and articles I see about Mac stuff (and jeez is there a ton of it), and now all of a sudden I start to care. So after years of blocking out all of the Mac stuff on Digg, Lifehacker, and other tech sites and whatnot, I feel I'm kind of behind. I was wondering if anybody had some suggestions for things to look at for helping me get started with it, learn some of the helpful tips and tricks, and point me to some of the great free software available for it. Thanks for any help.

(Also, if it's helpful for any reason, I own a XP desktop and Vista laptop as well. I'm just finishing up my degree in Computer Science, so I'm pretty tech-savvy, just not-so-much with Macs.)

Help me get the most Mac for my buck.

kimdog — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:02:57 -0800

I'm buying a new Mac iBook, iPhone, and accessories in a couple of weeks. How can I get the best deal(s)? I'm a Mac loyalist, but not super tech savvy. I buy them and use them until they (nearly) croak. With my tax return, I am looking at buying the new 13 inch MacBook 2.4GHz with Apple Care, Airport Express, an iPhone 3G, and phone accessories. So far it looks like my best bet is to get a refurb Macbook from Apple ($200 off plus free shipping) and a refurb iPhone from AT&T for $150. Are there any better deals or freebies out there that I am missing?

What fun things can I do with my old iBook Clamshell?

gonzo_ID — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 05:34:30 -0800

I've got a iBook G3(i think) blueberry clamshell which can just about handle running photoshop 4 and appleworks on it. think it has OS 8 on it too. The battery is pretty much shot on it and so only runs off the mains power supply. Currently it is sitting on my shelf doing nothing. Give me some fun / interesting / unusual ideas with what I could do with it. The more creative the better.

In search of my new best friend...

fogonlittlecatfeet — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 20:32:37 -0800

What New Laptop should I buy? I know there are probably a bazillion threads on this topic, so I apologize now for being redundant. But with the rate that technology changes and upgrades itself, I figure you can never be too up to date on this stuff and those other threads don't deal with what I want.
I am in the market for a new laptop. I am open to any and all ideas. I have about $1200 or so to spend. I would use it for your typical joeschmoe computer stuff: internet, digital photo and mp3 storage, and organizing simple documents and spreadsheets for work. I have been given the money as a gift "for a new laptop" so while i realize this is quite a bit of money for what I would be using it for, I might as well go all out.

I am currently using a mac and am enjoying it, and definitely see why some people won't use anything else. But, as of right now, I am kinda of leaning toward going back to Windows, since that is what I am most comfortable with. Anyone care to convince me otherwise?
What if I was dead set against a Mac? then what would you suggest?

Here are a few negotiable specs -
i don't want it to be too heavy as I take it everywhere. That said, I am not the most careful person. Gimme something that can take a licking.
I would like a nice big screen, but would rather it be light, and for it to fit in a backpack type computer bag.
I am tired of my cramped keyboard on my iBook. A nice big keyboard with back lit keys would be great.
I also HATE the speakers on my iBook. is there a laptop with good built in speakers?

Thanks in advance.

Okay, so plate spring on vocals only?

Cantdosleepy — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:22:48 -0800

Please help get my old iBook to be as fast as possible! Hey all,

I've had an iBook G4 14" 1.42GHz for a few years now (bought it about a month before they switched to Intel chips). I haven't treated it super-kindly (the day-to-day account is also the admin account, since I didn't realise you were meant to make yourself a limited user account; I've installed and uninstalled all sorts of software of varying quality; and I've made it a bittorrent packhorse for days at a time) and the battery was on the point of dying. I recently put a new battery in, and now that I'm not permanently tethered to the wall I'm enthused about fixing the machine up to get it as fast as possible.

I've been using the DAW Reaper for a few months now and like it a lot. Unfortunately my computer isn't fast enough to do any audio effects work - every channel has to be clean or the program judders and overloads.

My goal for this project is to be able to use Reaper and Reason ReWired together for recording sketches in my bedroom. Nothing too ambitious - I'm not talking about running bitcrunchers, choruses and delays on dozens of channels - I'd just like the ability to use panning, compression and reverb on four or five tracks to make things sit nicely together.

So how do I squeeze out the speed? Will reinstalling the OS help? I've already got the maximum amount of RAM that this computer will hold. What processes run in the background that I don't need? Does the Quicksilver launcher eat up a lot of memory (I currently use it)? Would installing Leopard be a bunch faster, or would that money be better spent elsewhere? Can I tell the computer to prioritise one program at the expense of others? Should I set up a separate user account for recording that has almost everything disabled that isn't needed for ReapsonWire?

Aside from music making I'll be using this machine to cruise the internet, watch '.avi' files and write bits and pieces - so nothing too demanding.

Any and all tips considered. Thanks!

Turn John Hodgman into Justin Long

lukemeister — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:39:51 -0800

What are the Mac equivalents of great Windows software? This was a great question about what a Mac person should install on a Windows box. I'm going the other way, as my office kindly bought me a new MacBook Pro. I'm a scientist and haven't used a Mac since OS 7.5. For the past decade my machines have been Windows, Linux, or dual-boot. Freeware/shareware programs I use a lot under Windows: Cygwin, Essential PIM, FLVplayer, IrfanView, Maxima, Openoffice.org, Scilab, Winamp, Xemacs, Xplorer2 pro. Commercial software: Mathematica, IDL, occasionally Microsoft Office. I'm mostly interested in freeware or shareware such as great text and image editors, tex/latex, and other nerdware. Thanks! Naturally, the new laptop runs Leopard.

Finding the right laptop to use with Photoshop

mizrachi — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:16:14 -0800

My girlfriend needs a laptop with Photoshop to do her freelance design work on the road. She uses an iMac at home and is worried about compatibility. Must she continue using a Mac? Or can she use a more affordable pc laptop? Options:

Buy a new mac laptop (which model?)
Buy a used mac laptop (ebay?)
Buy a pc laptop (which one?)
Rent one (from where?)

I'm a PC

jak68 — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:04:58 -0800

mac purchase advice: I'd like to pick up a used mac laptop on ebay for under $400. What specs or models should I look for that will give me the least buyers regret? ie, how fast a processor do i need? Should I choose a g3? g4? intel processors? how much memory do i need? etc.

I dont need usb 2.0, i dont need pc card slot, just wireless and a cdrom drive.

Mainly my concern is to not pick up something that is dog slow. I guess i'd like it to be able to run the latest OS (is that possible on older macs?)

I dont know diddly about macs by the way. I"m a pc guy all the way (and will remains so ;) but I want to experiment with macs a bit to prepare for a school-related project that will involve some macs.

What is the likelihood of recovering data that has been deleted inside an OSX account that also has been deleted?

skylar — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 01:53:11 -0800

I know there are dozens of data recovery question on here, but nothing that appears to address my specific question. I have an Apple Powerbook G4 laptop running 10.4.1. In preparing to sell the machine I transferred a bunch of files across to an external drive, then deleted them, emptied the trash and deleted the entire user account (while telling it not to store a disc image of that account.) Since then nothing has been written to or deleted from the disk. Now I find that not all of my files were successfully copied to the external drive so I've lost a lot of data. In particular I would like to save just one folder full of Excel spreadsheets - my past few months of accounting. What is the likelihood of being able to achieve this, either myself or using a data recovery company?