MacBook Pro 15" Custom

[yearoftherat]

A few added features in the update...nice to see that the developers are listening to the users.

[zedtech]

Just downloaded and installed Firefox 3 Beta 3. So far I'm liking it! Safari 3.0.4 still renders pages a little quicker but FF3b3 is so much faster than FF2 and isn't as big of a resource hog.

I'm finding OSX 10.5.2 to run smoother and quicker as well. My Airport Kernel Panics seem to have gone away now. Love the Stacks List view, much needed functionality that I missed from Tiger.

[jstro]

I'm finding OSX 10.5.2 to run smoother and quicker as well. My Airport Kernel Panics seem to have gone away now. Love the Stacks List view, much needed functionality that I missed from Tiger.

Agreed that 10.5.2 is great so far - I like the option to have the solid menu bar at the top instead of just the translucent one.

However, it takes forever to repair permissions using disk utility on my powerbook (I wish I had a fancy new MBP!) compared to Tiger. It's taking at least 20 minutes on Leopard - I thought disk utility had crashed. Anyone else having this problem?

[Dreamliner]

I had a MBP 15" for 2 years and then the video card died. In that time I had to beg Apple to replace my DVD burner (half a year after the warranty was up). I'm done with Apple now. Their products are build so flimsy too.

[philipfreire]

Hey, I got a MacBook Pro last christmas. The same model you have.

My specs consist of 2.5 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB 677 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, 6MB L2 Cache and 800MHz Bus Speed.

It has never given me issues. It's been amazing compared to windows. As a designer, its the only way to go.

[HBP]

I had a MBP 15" for 2 years and then the video card died. In that time I had to beg Apple to replace my DVD burner (half a year after the warranty was up). I'm done with Apple now. Their products are build so flimsy too.

Pretty much all laptops have the same reliability. http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9938550-1.html
(There is no significant difference between any brand)

Apple has by far the best customer service though (I'm sure you noticed this when they replaced a part for you, after the warranty was up). No other company would do that.

If you had bought AppleCare (everyone should buy extended warranty for any laptops, since they get moved around so damn much), you would be happy right now. Applecare can be bought from eBay for dirttt cheap.

I had Applecare on my last white macbook, macbook had a hard drive problem, complained a little bit and received the new 13" unibody macbook (March 2009, before the 13" MBP came out). Damn good deal IMO. Bought that AppleCare for $120 too.

[Auroraboy]

Agreed - for any laptop, its probably worth buying extended warranty. For Macs - Applecare via eBay is definitely cheaper. Buying a refurbished Mac (or iPod) from Apple.ca is also a lot cheaper in my opinion - and comes with full warranty, just like new.

IMHO, I think other manufacturers build some good laptops, but advantage of Mac is the OS, and if you need to, you can still run Windows.

Pretty much all laptops have the same reliability. http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9938550-1.html
(There is no significant difference between any brand)

Apple has by far the best customer service though (I'm sure you noticed this when they replaced a part for you, after the warranty was up). No other company would do that.

If you had bought AppleCare (everyone should buy extended warranty for any laptops, since they get moved around so damn much), you would be happy right now. Applecare can be bought from eBay for dirttt cheap.

I had Applecare on my last white macbook, macbook had a hard drive problem, complained a little bit and received the new 13" unibody macbook (March 2009, before the 13" MBP came out). Damn good deal IMO. Bought that AppleCare for $120 too.

[1flycdnM3]

I have tried running windows beta 7 (when it came out), but i prefer the Mac OSX! Also thinking about upgrading the RAM because i don't have the Pro (just regular 2 GB) and this would make things run a lot smoother, especially since it is split so really only have 1 GB (still not sure i understand this as it's my first laptop). Anyways, other than that, I am very impressed with the Macbook and will never go back to PC, especially with all the problems using windows! I am running FF3 as well and Mac OSX 10.5.7 now!

[Iceman_F1]

I have tried running windows beta 7 (when it came out), but i prefer the Mac OSX! Also thinking about upgrading the RAM because i don't have the Pro (just regular 2 GB) and this would make things run a lot smoother, especially since it is split so really only have 1 GB (still not sure i understand this as it's my first laptop). Anyways, other than that, I am very impressed with the Macbook and will never go back to PC, especially with all the problems using windows! I am running FF3 as well and Mac OSX 10.5.7 now!

It's not split. Memory is added. 2 sticks of 1GB each is still 2GB.

[philipfreire]

Anyone install OSX Snow Leopard yet? I have, but notice its still running on 32bit. Apparently to get it to 64 you must reboot and hold down "6" and "4" keys.

It will switch it to 64-bit. But I hear they didn't do this because there maybe programs not compatible with the 64-bit yet.

[-cj-]

Wow, when I first saw the first post in this OLD thread, I was about to rag on Xenon for trying to pass his old Macbook Pro as a recent version... (I thought he was trying to sell it)... But then I looked at the date

I'm installing Snow Leopard on my oldest work Mac: iMac... I'll tell you how it goes After that, I'm upgrading my MBP, then my Mac Pro at home (Better to test on the work systems before taking a chance on your home computer

I heard it only boots into 32-bit mode on SOME older models, but newer ones should run 64 out of the box. That 6-4 trick is for the older models... I expect my iMac to need this trick, but my newer MBP and MP will most likely run 64 out of the box... (Or they better

[cwp_sedan]

Be careful with Snow Leopard. Some apps won't work 100% or at all with the update. Make sure your apps are good to go before updating!

[philipfreire]

There's very subtle changes to Snow Leopard. The new Quicktime logo is horrible! Yuck!

My entire CS4 suite is working alright, suitcase is working fine, time capsule, well... its doing its first backup since its a new OS, its actually faster.

I havent noticed much changes with Mail... It seems smoother...

1Password didn't work with the new update, had to get the new beta version.

But all is smooth and well. Time will tell how much "refinement" done to this OS will actually speed up my performance. I'm not complaining tho. Only paid 14 bucks for this update.

It also freed up some space on my HD with the install. Good thing!

[cwp_sedan]

There's very subtle changes to Snow Leopard. The new Quicktime logo is horrible! Yuck!

My entire CS4 suite is working alright, suitcase is working fine, time capsule, well... its doing its first backup since its a new OS, its actually faster.

I havent noticed much changes with Mail... It seems smoother...

1Password didn't work with the new update, had to get the new beta version.

But all is smooth and well. Time will tell how much "refinement" done to this OS will actually speed up my performance. I'm not complaining tho. Only paid 14 bucks for this update.

It also freed up some space on my HD with the install. Good thing!

How did you get it so cheap? Supposedly even corporate isn't supposed to get a discount.

[philipfreire]

How did you get it so cheap? Supposedly even corporate isn't supposed to get a discount.

Check out this link on apples site: http://www.apple.com/ca/macosx/uptodate/

If you buy your mac between the date of June 8th 2009 and after, you qualify for a 9.95 USD upgrade.

Canadian, its 13.00 + Tax which ends up being $14.69

It's a pretty good deal but again only to those who recently bought a mac. I bought my mother a Mac mini so it qualified.

[cwp_sedan]

Check out this link on apples site: http://www.apple.com/ca/macosx/uptodate/

If you buy your mac between the date of June 8th 2009 and after, you qualify for a 9.95 USD upgrade.

Canadian, its 13.00 + Tax which ends up being $14.69

It's a pretty good deal but again only to those who recently bought a mac. I bought my mother a Mac mini so it qualified.

Oh yeah forgot about that option.

[yearoftherat]

Here's a list of programs that Snow Leopard may have issues with

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3258

[cwp_sedan]

Here's even a better list

http://snowleopard.wikidot.com/

[-cj-]

Things seem snappier... Had to force the kernel into 64-bit mode though. Apparently only the XServe's default to 64bit. Quite a few broken apps... Mail seems a little weird, can't put my finger on it yet. I'll probably wait a few weeks before upgrading my main work computer...

[bluntman]

I don't think my Santa Rosa MBP (no multi-touch) can run in 64-bit mode, I've tried the "6" and "4" trick as well as editing the boot plist, but I am still in 32-bit mode. It's OK though, all-round performance has improved and the start-up and shut-down times are just a fraction of what they were with Leopard.

[philipfreire]

I think mine is defaulted to 64bit.

B/c when I go into system preferences and try to boot up Suitcase fusion, it tells me it needs to reopen and relaunch the program, and when it does it says System Preferences (32 bit) just like that...

so i dunno.. i could be wrong!

[cwp_sedan]

I think mine is defaulted to 64bit.

B/c when I go into system preferences and try to boot up Suitcase fusion, it tells me it needs to reopen and relaunch the program, and when it does it says System Preferences (32 bit) just like that...

so i dunno.. i could be wrong!

Mine does the same.

Yours is definitely running 64bit. If you run Activity Processes in the utilities folder it will tell you what is 32 and what is 64.

[philipfreire]

Mine does the same.

Yours is definitely running 64bit. If you run Activity Processes in the utilities folder it will tell you what is 32 and what is 64.

Your very right sir!