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Brand new Macbook (and Mac) Owner! Questions Round 1 :)

odinsride

odinsride

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Apr 11, 2007
1,149
3
I decided to buy a Macbook last night to tide me over while I wait on the next revision of MBP/Leopard.

I bought the Mid range one - White 2ghz 1gb Ram 80gb HDD

I have a couple of questions about it.

1) I plan on doing a couple upgrades - first being the Ram to 2gb, and second being the HDD to a 7200rpm model. Does anyone have any recommendations on memory type/HDD model to buy? Also does replacing the HDD void any warranties? Is it pretty easy to replace it? I mean just put in the new one and reinstall OSX?

2) Is there any software that will play WMV streams in safari (or any other browser) and let you full screen them. I tried Flip4Mac and it will play streams but won't let you go full screen or anything like that.

3) I need a decent KB/Mouse setup for it - I would like to go BT if possible to keep my USB ports free. Any recommendations here? Also I would like for the keyboard to have Prev/Next/Play/Pause (media controls)

4) What are some other essential apps that you guys couldn't live without on the Mac?

That's all for now, I'll be back later with more questions most likely :)

Thanks
 
Welcome to MR! :) I hope you really like your new computer.

For items (1) and (4), there are a lot of threads discussing these topics...

(1) Lots of RAM and HD brand recommendation threads to search for. As for warranty, Apple provides the instructions for changing the hard drive; as long as you follow them, you should be fine. Link. Both of these operations are very easy on a Macbook if you have any comfort level with computer hardware.

(2) Three suggestions:

a: You can either get QT Pro or try this for fullscreen.

b: Get Perian, another set of codecs; between Perian and Flip4Mac, you should have everything you need in terms of codecs.

c: Also consider vlc; on both Windows and Mac, it's popular as the "back-up" option for playing fussy videos. Excellent software.

(4) You can search; I can also try to help and search.
 
odinsride said:
1) I plan on doing a couple upgrades - first being the Ram to 2gb, and second being the HDD to a 7200rpm model. Does anyone have any recommendations on memory type/HDD model to buy? Also does replacing the HDD void any warranties? Is it pretty easy to replace it? I mean just put in the new one and reinstall OSX?
Click to expand...

Check out OWC at http://www.macsales.com Their prices are good, customer service great, and their products are guaranteed to work for the mac. I generally shop there for upgrades.

The macbook has a user replaceable HD, that's easy to swap and no it won't voice any warantees.


Check out products from logitech. I still like the Apple BT keyboard above all others, but for mice, I use the Logitech V270: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104003

It's great. i replace the batteries about once every few months and it comes with a neat little case, great for traveling.


odinsride said:
3) 4) What are some other essential apps that you guys couldn't live without on the Mac?
Click to expand...

For instant messaging, I use adium:
http://www.adiumx.com

I have a sony ericsson and I have salling clicker (http://www.salling.com/Clicker/mac/) which lets me control presentations in powerpoint and itunes, etc. The iTunes remote only does Keynote, from what I heard.

That's about it for me when it comes to software. Everything else is boring: word excel......
 
I second the recommendation for the Logitech V270 mouse. It's the one I decided on since it is one of the few out there that I could find with standard Bluetooth. A lot of the other wireless ones that Logitech makes have a messed up communication protocol that isn't strictly Bluetooth compliant, which means dongles and using a usb port. It's nice since it has a simple on/off switch so it doesn't strictly rely on sleep mode. It just sips the batteries. I got it at Christmas and have yet to replace the batteries.

So far it works great. The reception is awesome. The only time I lose connection to it is sometimes when I take my MacBook 2 rooms away and forget to take my mouse. I could probably use it to control it through at least one wall if I wanted to...but I'm not sure how well I'd be able to find the stuff I wanted to click on.
 
Thanks for the recommendations, although I'll have to say that any notebook mouse is ruled out for me, as I have very large hands and need something large that won't cramp up my hand after extended use.

I'm currently using my MX1000 for now and noticed I can't get the side buttons to work - would like to have them do back/forward in safari. Are all non-apple mice plagued with this problem in OS X? I installed the Logitech Mac drivers hoping that would fix the problem but I still can't figure out how to set those buttons.
 
odinsride said:
Thanks for the recommendations, although I'll have to say that any notebook mouse is ruled out for me, as I have very large hands and need something large that won't cramp up my hand after extended use.
Click to expand...

The V270 isn't really small. I had a macally ice jr. or something before and that thing was tiny. While it's certainly not as large as the MX1000, it fits my hand fine.

Unfortunately the V270 is the only bluetooth mouse from logitech, so you might as well stick with the MX1000 if that's what you prefer. :)
 
jng said:
The V270 isn't really small. I had a macally ice jr. or something before and that thing was tiny. While it's certainly not as large as the MX1000, it fits my hand fine.

Unfortunately the V270 is the only bluetooth mouse from logitech, so you might as well stick with the MX1000 if that's what you prefer. :)
Click to expand...

What about getting the side buttons to work? Possible?
 
odinsride said:
2) Is there any software that will play WMV streams in safari (or any other browser) and let you full screen them. I tried Flip4Mac and it will play streams but won't let you go full screen or anything like that.
Click to expand...

And here's another method for playing videos full screen, *when all else fails*, like when it's an embedded video that you cannot save the source for some reason. Play it in normal non-full screen mode, put it in the lower corner of your screen and then "zoom" your screen to that area (done with CTRL-scroll). Putting it in the lower corner allow you to have the zoomed-in mouse cursor on the side, not in the middle of the video. I know it's not the nicest way to do, but it sure works when there is no alternative! You can also do that in fullscreen mode when there is a lot of "black lines" all around your video, to get rid of them.
 
Macbook Mice

yeah i have tried Logitech V270, works simply great.

But anyone here tried Apple's very own Might Mouse with BT ? If yes how is it ?
 
I'll also recommend the Logitech v270. I have two of them, one paired with my dell and one paired with my iBook, and they're both great. Batteries last 2-3 months for average use.


If you're going to buy upgrades, I'd suggest newegg.com Great prices, great service, and extremely fast shipping. I believe Crucial is one of the best brands of RAM, and Corsair is also good.

As far as hard drives, I'd go with a Seagate or a Western Digital. One thing you might want to consider with the 7200rpm hard drive is that it will drain your battery quicker than a 5400rpm. I'm not sure which kind of hard drive comes standard in the Macbook, but I know that the 5400rpm Seagate's that have perpendicular recording are just about as fast as a regular 7200rpm drive, but you'll save battery power.
 
Zoomaster said:
yeah i have tried Logitech V270, works simply great.

But anyone here tried Apple's very own Might Mouse with BT ? If yes how is it ?
Click to expand...

I bought the Wireless Mighty Mouse for my MBP, despite all the warnings I got that it's not the best mouse in the world, especially for gaming. But so far, it's been good. The only real problem I have are the two side buttons. Hard to use, hard to press, not practical at all. When pressed together, they're suppose to display all windows, but I just resort to Hot Corners or I just press F9 for that.
Some of the other complaints, is that the mini scroll wheel accumulates dirt and will stop working, but Apple supposedly fixed this with silent updates and I haven't had any problems with this so far. Then again, I only bought my MBP half a month ago so...
 
Well I bought some upgrades today from newegg since they were the cheapest on everything.

I got 2x1gb sticks of G.SKILL ram @ $54 each
Seagate 7200.1 100gb sata 2.5" HDD for $110
Vantec 2.5" external sata enclosure (for the stock HDD) $25
D-link 7 port usb hub $15 after MIR

Also bought a keyboard cover from radtech.us to protect my screen while the lid is closed..I'm about to buy the mini DVI to DVI adapter and DVI cable so I can hook it up to my 37" 1080p westinghouse :)

Still need to hunt down a nice KB/mouse and then I think i'll be all set :D
 
3.) As it seems money isn't an issue, I would recommend the Apple wireless keyboard and mouse. I think you'll find there are much easier ways to control iTunes, and other media apps, than using dedicated keyboard keys.

4.) Quicksilver, Growl, MenuMeters
 
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