TiBooks in a few weeks!!!!!

[mcrain]

Re: CHROME!!! the battlecry of many

Originally posted by AlphaTech
the chrome is still there, and it only added a few thousandths of an inch to the thickness of the material.

I'd buy a chrome powerbook, but I know I'd be completely anal-retentive about keeping it perfectly shiny with no fingerprints. Probably to the point of having to wipe it every time I opened it or touched the outside.

I'm sure that could get annoying and counter-productive at some point.

 

[AlphaTech]

Re: Re: CHROME!!! the battlecry of many

Originally posted by mcrain


I'd buy a chrome powerbook, but I know I'd be completely anal-retentive about keeping it perfectly shiny with no fingerprints. Probably to the point of having to wipe it every time I opened it or touched the outside.

I'm sure that could get annoying and counter-productive at some point.

Hard chrome doesn't care about fingerprints, and unless you have oily skin or just ate a nasty burger, you will be fine. It also takes more then a little effort to scratch the stuff (hence why it is called 'hard'). Use a little car wax (the good stuff) on it and you won't need to worry about much .

That would be the final deciding factor for me getting a new laptop this year, the finish of the case.

 

[jefhatfield]

the posts thing is just in fun...at least it started that way in the early days...we would congrat each other on 100, 200, etc (nobody was at 300 yet for the first year i think)

some of the smartest people who belong here have probably never posted once

if you want computer experts, go to http://www.experts-exchange.com where there are hundreds of thousands of techies on board there worldwide...the mac section is really informative

 

[Jookbox]

Hey mcrain, sorry to be brutally blunt, but who gives a rat's rectum that you just hit 200 posts?? 500 is something to mention, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000.... those are marks that you could mention... But 200??? sheeeesh, talk about easily impressed.

and on the other end of the spectrum, those that have... say... over 1000 posts within a couple months have too much time on their hands or just being a slacker at work.

 

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by Jookbox


and on the other end of the spectrum, those that have... say... over 1000 posts within a couple months have too much time on their hands or just being a slacker at work.

"I resemble that remark!"
Groucho Marx

 

[AlphaTech]

Originally posted by Jookbox


and on the other end of the spectrum, those that have... say... over 1000 posts within a couple months have too much time on their hands or just being a slacker at work.

I think it has more to do with a lack of a woman in my life at the moment. Besides the fact that it is a bit slow at work right now. We have done enough preventative maintenance on the computers that we don't get flooded with calls anymore. We also have completed the major application installs (like updating everyone to orfice 2001 as well as choice others). Major is any time we have to install on more then 20% of the people here (300 users at this location, for two techs, myself included).

 

[cb911]

i don't really care how many posts someone has, as long as they know what they are talking about and are genuinely interested in learning or helping others with Mac stuff.

i was just thinking that if Apple doesn't release a chromed TiBook, i might be able custom airbrush it or someting. does anyone know what sort of paint i would have to use? i was also wondering if anyone has any pictures of customised TiBooks. i've seen some pics of painted iBooks, some of them turned out really good, but no one seems game enough to try it on a TiBook!

 

[AlphaTech]

cb911, I would be very careful about painting, especially with an airbrush, your TiBook. If you are adept enough, consider taking it apart, removing all of the insides from the base, and then painting it. I would also mask off the screen, and the ports/openings.

You would want to scuff the surface, prime and then paint with a high temp enamel. Maybe put a few coats of clear on it too. Not a project for the faint of heart.

I thought that the people that made the skins for the G3 and G4 towers were working on something for the laptops. Has anyone seen/heard anything additional about this??

I'll probably just wait for Apple to come out with something even cooler then the TiBook is now before getting a new one. I just need to get some room on the old credit card before MWNY just in case that is when it happens. Otherwise, come MWSF, I am getting another Mac. Either tower or desktop.

 

[cb911]

AlphaTech, i was thinking of just taking off the top and bottom covers and airbrushing them. there is no way i would go near the screen. so Apple might be working on something for the laptops? come on, someone out there must have some info on this.
i was also wondering, if i stuffed up the covers of the TiBook, just the top and bottom, could i buy replacements? how much would new covers cost?
is there anyone that makes aftermarket TiBook covers? i know that there are companies working on top covers to reduce flex in the screens.

 

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by Jookbox


and on the other end of the spectrum, those that have... say... over 1000 posts within a couple months have too much time on their hands or just being a slacker at work.

it took me nearly two years to hit 1000 and i am amazed at how some people did it in just a few months...but i will admit that all those heavy posters who did it in such a short time know much more about macs than me

i only consider myself a mac user and not a mac artist or mac technician...by default, a lot of mac artists become mac technicians if they stay in the field long enough

...and many technicians, of the computer type or not in the IT biz, if they stay in this brutal field long enough, eventually toss their screwdrivers, soldering irons, and multimeters, and become fledgling picassos

i actually know of a few pale, fat techies who took up sports...maybe they can lose a hundred pounds and get some friggin sunlight for a change...he he

 

[eyelikeart]

Originally posted by jefhatfield
the posts thing is just in fun...at least it started that way in the early days...we would congrat each other on 100, 200, etc (nobody was at 300 yet for the first year i think)

some of the smartest people who belong here have probably never posted once

hey...congrats on 1100 jef!!!

 

[AlphaTech]

Jef, I started off as a graphic designer but was always working on the computers no matter where I was. Might have something to do with the fact that I have been on computers since I was about 8. My parents had the forethought to get a computer as soon as it was affordable (back in 78 we paid about what a top end G4 tower runs now). After that, I was hooked. At college, I was a lab tech for the Mac department. I was able to pick up everything fast enough to be effective in assisting other students, as well as some of the professors. After college (with graphic desing BFA in hand), I set up the network for a small sign shot that I was working at. Since I created the network, I had to maintain it, as well as add more systems onto it as needed. This is all before ethernet took off. Every job since then, I was always working on the computers, both as a designer and as a partial tech.

I have been a dedicated computer tech for over two years now and don't ever want to go back to the design field. I support mostly Mac systems (about 250 of them) with some peecee's (about 40 of them). My main love is still the Mac's but I know that peecee's do have their uses. Unfortunately, there is some software that needs to be used and either only runs on windblows, or does it better.

I am essentially self taught when it comes to computers, with very little formal training. A few classes between high school and college, and that is all. I never bothered with any of the m$ certifications, since I have found them to be worthless in the area I work in. Real world knowledge is worth tons more then something from m$ saying that you know what they want you to. Besides the fact that just because m$ says something, doesn't mean it is true in the real world (as many tech's know).

As for the number of posts I have now... I never go halfway on something. If it is worth doing, go full bore . I might be posting less some days, especially when we have good weather up here. I want to ride the HD as much as possible . I also need to wash it already...

 

[AJW]

Battery life should come before a SuperDrive for the TiBook, otherwise we'll just be burning coasters at $5 a pop because the batteries ar getting killed by the SuperDrive before the DVD is done. And if I'm going to plug in a power cord, I might as well plug in a (probably faster) FireWire DVD/RW as well.

I did hear something (at AtAT???) about Apple and Pioneer demoing a thin, slotload SuperDrive to developers at MWTk...

 

[cb911]

AJW, do you have any figures of how much power a superdrive uses? it might not be anymore than the current combo drive.

and could someone please let me know if there is anywhere to buy replacement covers (top and bottom) for the TiBook? and does anyone know of aftermarket TiBook covers?

 

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by AlphaTech
[B

I am essentially self taught when it comes to computers, with very little formal training. A few classes between high school and college, and that is all. I never bothered with any of the m$ certifications, since I have found them to be worthless in the area I work in. Real world knowledge is worth tons more then something from m$ saying that you know what they want you to. Besides the fact that just because m$ says something, doesn't mean it is true in the real world (as many tech's know).
[/B]

most techs in the field are without certifications or cs degrees because they do not address the real world...do we see any baseball players with a ba/bs degree in batting with a specialty in hitting curve balls?

 

[PyroTurtle]

ok, a single DVD on my tower burns in less than half an hour...
my Ti400's battery with the DVD Drive running, screen brightness all the way up, and copying things to tower via airport, copying stuff to external hard drive, and being on-line via ethernet, my battery still last 2 hours miniumum...i couldn't think of any other ways to drain the battery really...and still, 2 hours!
plus, on top of that, the 867 tower i have takes LESS energy to burn that DVD than i do using an airport card acourding to my power regulator...so, battery problem isn't issue in that respect...
i wish i had a SuperDrive in my Ti, it would be nice...and the last superdrive in a powerbook was an LS-120 SuperDrive which read 740K, 800K, 1.4MB, and 120MB disks...sorry, that was bugging me...
now, just get that form factor down and you'd be set!

 

[jefhatfield]

so there is someone who wants a superdrive in the tibook...cool

well if that happens, six months later the ibooks will have them (and cater to us home users)

and six months later after that, all the pcs will have them and the superdrive will be the common flavor of the day

after apple started with combo drives, the pc world started using the combo drives everywhere

after apple had firewire, sony then took up suit, and then i started seeing firewire, or ieee 1394 as the pc world calls the technology

steve jobs is really talking his innovation over ms style profits without regard to quality role seriously and after its all said and done, steve jobs will be put into the inventors hall of fame right up there with steve wozniak

way to go, my jobs (and i rarely compliment mr jobs since i am a woz fan)

 

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by jefhatfield
so there is someone who wants a superdrive in the tibook...cool

well if that happens, six months later the ibooks will have them (and cater to us home users)

There is still the issue of the thickness or lack of it in the TiPB. If the can get the superdrive super thin that's great. But as it stands right now, it would fit in the iBook. I'm sure Apple would want to put the SD in the TiPB first, but maybe that won't happen.

Ha, 800 baby!

(That was in response to the earlier threads on this page )

 

[mcrain]

Originally posted by dukestreet
Ha, 800 baby!

(That was in response to the earlier threads on this page )

I wonder if anyone will give you a hard time for saying anything about 800 posts, considering some people are so touchy around here.

It's fine to blabber on and on about inane crap, but mention the number of posts you have, and you better have asbestos undies on.

What a silly world.

 

[IndyGopher]

Originally posted by PyroTurtle
..and the last superdrive in a powerbook was an LS-120 SuperDrive which read 740K, 800K, 1.4MB, and 120MB disks...sorry, that was bugging me...

Except Apple never made that drive... it was a third-party thing from VST... and the drives were not called superdrives.. the drives were LS-120 drives, or superdisk drives... the 120 Meg disks were called superdisks. And if they were supposed to read 720 and 800 K disks, then they had the highest failure rate in history... I have never had one work with a low density disk. Same with the PC version, and the USB external version.

 

[Dunepilot]

Tell me about it

Originally posted by IndyGopher

And if they were supposed to read 720 and 800 K disks, then they had the highest failure rate in history... I have never had one work with a low density disk. Same with the PC version, and the USB external version.

I seem to be REALLY unlucky with external drives.

I have an LS120 released a little after the original iMac, and it rarely works at all - the data doesn't seem to be secure, the driver is nigh-on-useless, and I haven't seen any updates for it for a while given that the product seems to have died when faced with the onslaught of cheap optical media.

But no, I'm not even lucky with optical media. I have an Iomega 'ZipCD' (not the predator, the fat purple USB one). It burns a coaster maybe half of the time it burns. This is running under OS 9.2.2 and minimal extensions, nothing else plugged on the bus!

What a piece of junk.

Why do I always get landed with stuff that doesn't work!?

 

[Grokgod]

Get landed with?

hey , dont you actually go out and buy that crap?

Anything by Iomega is total crap. Period!

I just posted that so that I could land on 70 posts.

Hurray! No wait !, i dont care and neither should any one else.

 

[emdezet]

Rumor Mongering

As I keep introducing myself: I work at a local Apple retailer's.

So yesterday I came in early to fix my girl's iMac I had brought along,
it kept booting to the open firmware prompt.
Since everbody else was busy I kept answering the phone while Norton kept munching on the drive.

One call I got was especially funny. A customer with a Ti667-order called in, because he had "heard" the _new_ PowerBooks were just coming up. And he honestly asked me if I knew their features and pricing.

I started the conversation along the lines of:
"Apple have made no official announcements, I have no crystal ball and am not clairvoyant."
But he insisted: "You know what I mean- unofficially - through the grape vine etc."
So I told him what y'all have been chewing on. But when I inquired what application he'd put the 'Book to, he answered with an embarassed smile in his voice:
"Nah, this is not a rational decision. Two years ago I converted from Mac to Windows, and I HAVE HAD IT!!!! I want my Mac back, and I want it to totally KICK ASS! So I just want the best Apple notebook out there."

I guess, this guy is going to cancel his order and wait.
What I don't understand: Why would someone place an order for a notebook, because the price just dropped a couple of hundreds of Euro, and not implicitly understand that a new model was coming, and we are just cleaning out our shelves? That's the way it has been working for decades now!

 

[AmbitiousLemon]

Originally posted by jefhatfield


most techs in the field are without certifications or cs degrees because they do not address the real world...do we see any baseball players with a ba/bs degree in batting with a specialty in hitting curve balls?

ok i see this kind of talk A LOT on this site and ive kept my mouth shut, but hey im in the mood so what the hell...

Yes most techs dont have a degree, but you know what else? Most techs are morons. the reason techs dont have degrees is because the people with degrees are doing more important work. the peopel with the degrees dont want some crappy tech job, and so companies that need a tech are stuck with hiring worthless hacks who typically do more harm than good.

You guys seem to be of the opinion that a degree wouldnt help, or that people who get degrees dont learn anything worthwhile. Sounds to me like someone is just a little bitter. fact of the matter is, people with technical degrees are getting afr better jobs than any technical position.

those of you who are techs shoudl be thankful there are so few educated people that companies are forced to hire unqualified people like you.

And before you critiscize someone with a degree perhaps you should ask yourself why didnt you get one. Chances are you arent smart enough or lack the discipline. I guess people will always knock the people who are smarter and more talented than them... so all you kids who read these thread be sure to listen to these guys and learn you lesson "its cool to be dumb, so dont pay attention in school and dont go to college. college is for nerds."

 

[jefhatfield]

very interesting age old battle

i agree with everything you say, amibitiouslemon...good points

i will play devil's advocate for one moment

i have a technical certification and an associate's degree (liberal arts) and a bachelor's degree (business), i am a computer science teacher, and i am working on a graduate degree in computer science/engineering as well as another technical certification...when it is all over i will hopefully have my phd in computer engineering and my mcse


however, before i even got my first set of letters behind my name, i was in the working world for 16 years...a customer of mine was the co-founder of sun microsystems and he dropped out of school in the first year...silicon valley and the high tech industry is built on computers (by non-degreed steve jobs, then non-degreed steve wozniak) and non-degreed mike dell...it it built on software with non-degreed bill gates, larry ellison, and paul allen...and it is still hopefully built around the internet and commerce (non-degreed shawn fanning)...now these non-degreed people were and are not idiots by any stretch of the imagination and being from northern california, i don't think i just mentioned fly-by-nights here...bill gates came to our local college and talked and no one took him seriously because software was not yet a force in the IT industry but nobody cared if he had a degree or not, we just knew he was a multi-millionaire at the time...in silicon valley, money talks louder than degrees or certifications

but since i do understand the research side of IT since i worked at autodesk and some other companies, many of the products that those above mentioned non-degreed people made trillions on did so on the shoulders of many of the world's bright phds who did the legwork on the motherboard, componenets, and developement...most of these people in the early days of silicon valley had their phds in either electrical/electronic engineering and mathenatics and for the most part, still do today and like yesteryear, they are the unsung heroes of silicon valley...and many, if not most of these brilliant mathematicians and engineers with phds do not speak english as their first language as i have met many from india and china

but when i recieve my graduate degree and have the best certification i can receive from microsoft, i will still realize that people who do not have letters behind their names are just as important in the IT field...my entire business clientele comes from being microsoft certified and one "man" in redmond washington with no degree could yank that away from me any second...bill gates almost did away with the entire concept of an IT certification because he thought it got in the way of speedy sales, his favorite topic

anyway, thanks for the comment and giving me something to say...the IT world is not so black and white as you will realize once you get in the working field of IT and sorry if i gave you the impression that education is a waste of time...i am also a teacher, but i mentioned that already (if i think education is a waste of time, then i just wasted away 14 semesters so far