getting the most out of my MBP - what do u do.. what shall i do?

[aoaaron]

My MBP is coming tommorow so I'm excited.

As a background, I'm currently a medical student. I will be using my MBP for itunes, torrents, watching movies, browsing the internet and thats about it.

I feel I need a hobby or something which can hopefully utilise my MBP. I'm interesting in music, poker, learning languages etc. but at the moment, I'm really open minded to anything.

Any suggestions on programs or stuff I can do? My friend does photography but the money involved for that is too mcuh atm. Thanks!

 

[daneoni]

Sounds like you could've gotten by with a 13" MBA

Edit: As for apps;

Transmission
VLC
Perian
Rosetta Language apps
Chrome/Firefox
AdBlock

 

[barkomatic]

You can use handbrake(free) to rip DVD's you own for playback on various Apple devices. Even if you only play back those files on your MBP, it takes a lot less power than using the optical drive to watch a DVD.

 

[ICutWithMacs]

I recommend a 7200rpm 500gb drive....maxing out ram with 8gb DDR3 1333...and dual booting Ubuntu and W7.
Oh and get COD4 for when you are bored

 

[vincenz]

I'm sure you'll discover the different uses as you go along. Don't let other people tell you how you should use your computer.

Oh, and get Transmission for you know, downloading things you also already legally own.

 

[aoaaron]

lol thanks guys.

i was looking for suggestions on what else i could utilise it for.

i used my PC desktop for gaming but I'm thinking of quitting it or atleast only using it on my PC for every one in a while a game strikes my fancy.

this is basically a "please help me find hobbies to do with my MBP!" . i just wonder what you guys all get up to and if i might be able to pick them up. for example, DJing/music production seems really amazing but do you need professional decks or is the software available good enough?

 

[Aquaporin]

Get Papers for Mac. Makes research a breeze.
Get Paralells because your hospital probably has apps that only work on Windows.

Get Dropbox. If you have an iPhone, I've attached a helpful guide.

 

[jvmxtra]

I cannot believe I am writing this again on behalf of someone who wrote it long time ago but it went something like ...

"go to starbucks and sit in where everyone can see that you have mbp."

There.

 

[Rhyalus]

My MBP is coming tommorow so I'm excited.

As a background, I'm currently a medical student. I will be using my MBP for itunes, torrents, watching movies, browsing the internet and thats about it.

I feel I need a hobby or something which can hopefully utilise my MBP. I'm interesting in music, poker, learning languages etc. but at the moment, I'm really open minded to anything.

Any suggestions on programs or stuff I can do? My friend does photography but the money involved for that is too mcuh atm. Thanks!

Are you a first year? Do you have time for all of this other stuff? My guess is that you might use the MBP for work?????

R

 

[aoaaron]

i do have time for other stuff than work.

also any work related apps to improve productivity would be helpful.

 

[Rhyalus]

i do have time for other stuff than work.

also any work related apps to improve productivity would be helpful.

Mac Office 2011
VLC - video player
Flip4Mac
Parallels - for windows use if needed
Chrome
Skype
Mac DVD Ripper Pro
DVD Remaster Pro
uTorrent
1Password
Steam for games, then Left 4 Dead 2
Maintenance (or Onyx)

Tip: Learn how to use Expose and Spaces as soon as you get the MBP - it will help you get from screen to screen faster on the laptop.

R

 

[Chazn]

-

Unlike some people who under-utilize their Macs only for making small word documents, facebooking and Youtube
(not to be sexist but mainly chicks)....do some Photoshop =p although Arperture might be a bit tad expensive but you could always get it elsewhere *wink*

Other than that do some graphic intensive gaming so that the sweet graphic card inside the 15inch doesn't rust. (I know...it won't rust)

 

[Vook]

Learn to use iMovie (very easy), it just sucks when you run out of film to edit

 

[FOX160]

I cannot believe I am writing this again on behalf of someone who wrote it long time ago but it went something like ...

"go to starbucks and sit in where everyone can see that you have mbp."

There.

LOLOLOL I done this in MC Donald's before a one2one appointment
Sick

 

[ZombieZakk]

My MBP is coming tommorow so I'm excited.

As a background, I'm currently a medical student. I will be using my MBP for itunes, torrents, watching movies, browsing the internet and thats about it.

I feel I need a hobby or something which can hopefully utilise my MBP. I'm interesting in music, poker, learning languages etc. but at the moment, I'm really open minded to anything.

Any suggestions on programs or stuff I can do? My friend does photography but the money involved for that is too mcuh atm. Thanks!

You can try just photo editing using some free software or a light version of photoshop and just get a taste for it.

You can also buy a cheap handheld camcorder and do some video editing using imovie which can be a lot of fun i do this in my free time.

i also like to make web pages using iweb.

My best recommendation is to try free software browse the app store as most hobbies (music/photo/video) require an investment to try so i would say try free software and mess with it get a feel for it before investing.

 

[blevins321]

One big battery helper is the program GfxCardStatus. Totally free. It lets you manually specify which graphics card to use in case something makes it switch inadvertently.