Open Source Typical Mac User Live
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Welcome to the Typical Mac User Live show. My name is Victor Cajiao and I am your host this evening. My regular Podcast Typical Mac User Podcast can be found at www.typicalmacuser.com and that shows is released bi weekly on Tuesday nights and Sunday nights.
If you are listening to the Talkshoe stream and want to be an interactive part of the show. All you have to do use the web client or legacy client to be part of the chat or better yet you can call using your free cell phone minutes, Skype , Gizmo or just about any other IP based telephone. Just
Call The Phone Number: (724) 444-7444
Talkcast ID: 3097 you will be asked top put in your talkcast ID and then you can put in the number you choose for your talkcast ID.
It's time to hear a word from our show sponsor today Ambrosia sofware
This evening my Guest Co-Hostess is Katie from the MacCore Podcast http://themaccore.com/
Welcome back to the show Katie
Questions or comments from the live listeners
A: Tips On Buying A Mac (Victor is this too basic?)
I get asked all the time about where to get the "best deals" when buying a new Mac and what types of things should they buy to go with their Mac.
What to Buy
- First Question: Laptop or Desktop; Answer depends on your lifestyle and needs
- Second (more difficult question) which Model Mac - Lots of discussion here, maybe get the listeners take. What do they do with their Mac and how does it work for their needs?
- More geeky but important questions
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- Why do I care about how many Gigahertz the processor has?
This is known as the clock rate of the CPU. The clock rate according to Wikipedia, "is the fundamental rate in cycles per second (measured in hertz) at which a computer performs its most basic operations such as adding two numbers or transferring a value from one processor register to another."
So the differences in clocks speeds today generally don't vary that much in the big scheme of things
Some comparisons
Slowest: MacBook Air which clocks in at 1.6GHz
MacMini: 2.0GHz
MacBooks: 2.1GHz and 2.4Ghz
MacBook Pros : 2.4GHz and 2.5 GHz
iMacs: 2.0GHz, 2.4GHz and 2.8GHz I think this is where there pretty big differences a 2.0GHz iMac is not going to be nearly as fast as the top end 2.8GHz
The MacPro comes either with one quad core 2.8GHz processor or they offer a 2.8GHz, 3.0GHz and a 3.2GHz 8 core processors.
So yes the top end MacPro is twice as fast from a clock perspective as the MacBook Air but generally speaking the differences in clock speeds are very minor when we are talking about the difference between a 2.0GHz mac and a 2.4GHz Mac
Also, from a practical concern, what do you use your Mac for? For most basic tasks even the slowest of the current Macs will be more than enough power. Many people want to buy the fastest and the greatest mac out there, but very few people actually need it.
- Why is more ram better?
Memory Primer
"no one would ever need more than 640KB of memory." Well guess who said that? Well of course our buddy Bill Gates. It's not the first time he has been wrong but without a doubt when buying a new desktop or laptop one of the best investments you can make is to buy more memory.
The basic reasons are
- Programs run faster
- Less waiting time for programs to load
- More programs can be run at a time
- Overall speed is increased
But why? Because Memory is a electronic storage, it is used as a fast temporary forms of storage. If your the Macs CPU had to constantly access the hard drive to retrieve every piece of data it needs, it would operate very slowly. When the information is kept in memory, the CPU can access it much more quickly.
-How big of a hard drive do I need?
Well I always compare this question to why we always ask about how much closet space there is in a house as we are looking at new homes. The question becomes HOW MUCH STUFF DO YOU HAVRE.
If you are a person that todays has a ton of photos in your current mac or PC , and you just bought that brand new Nikon camera that shoots raw, and you also want to start shooting movies of the new baby from birth to age 18, then guess what... the more hard drive space you buy upfront the better.
The reality is that the use of memory is increasing each day with everything we do, photography, new media, bigger programs etc. So on this one my first answer is simple buy as big of a hard drive as you can afford, but be aware that adding space store more stuff these days is very easy and very cheap , adding closet space in your home may not be easy but this is.
Also, keep in mind the speed of the drive itself. These days, the hard drive is usually the bottleneck that will slow down your performance speed. Hard drives speeds typically range from 4200 to 7200 RPM. Though the bigger the drives get, the slower they tend to run.
Where to Buy
- Apple Retail Stores- Have the basic "stock" models which are great for most people, can do some upgrades in store at time of purchase.
- Apple online Store- Has build to order options but typically upgrades (i.e. memory) cost much more than doing it yourself.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore
- Apple Refurb Store- Big Savings on refurbished Macs or previous generations. Still eligible for full warranty.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=44BD9AA6&node=home/specialdeals
- Bigger authorized resellers such as MacMall sometimes offer special deals or bundles.
- BestBuy is getting into the Apple selling business too, has a section devoted to Apple products at many locations. Circuit City also sells Macs, but typically through their online store, very few stores have Macs at this point.
- Amazon.com sometimes has the best deals by offering rebates and free shipping and no tax for most buyers.
What "extras" do you need to buy?
- You'll want at least 2GB of Memory (look at Crucial.com or OWC)
- AppleCare - you have up until 1 year after your purchase to buy.
--Allison's "trick" for saving 30% negotiate with the Apple store, telling them you'll buy it later.
--Consider buying AppleCare from a third party retailer, check Dealmac.com
- An external hard drive for Time Machine
- If getting a laptop, you'll want a good functional case - Any recommendations from the audience?
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B: Where do we go to find out how to fix our Macs
- Sometimes a simple Google search is best - you'd be amazed how quickly you can find answers to many problems.
- Katie's a part of two MUGs and we have mailing lists where members can troubleshoot problems with each other. We actually have a few professional Mac technicians who chime in.
- Forums are another great place, in addition to the Apple Support forums, there are many great communities out there.
- Don't forget the developer's website if you're having a problem with a specific program.
Also I wanted to cover some great support and "Fix it sites"
Of course The MacAttack Podcast with Steve Stanger www.themacattack.us
- iFixit -- http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/ - an awesome site for visual guides on repairing your mac. they also sell replacement parts.
- Maxfixit.com - http://www.macfixit.com - a subscription service for old articles, but they give recent stuff free. Also good tutorials.
- O'Reilly Mac Dev Center -- http://www.macdevcenter.com/ -- sometimes you need to dig around, but its chocked full of apple tech stuff.
- Mac Geekery -- http://www.macgeekery.com (for the geek) --
- Macosx.com -- http://www.macosx.com (free help)
- TheXLab.com -- http://www.thexlab.com (very detailed articles).
- OSXFaq.com -- http://www.osxfaq.com
- Mac 101 -- http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/ (first place I send a new user).
- Mac Support documents via RSS -- http://www.apple.com/support/rss/ (to help keep me up to date on new stuff).
How do you guys in the live audience find cool stuff
C: Apple products in movies TV and more.
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I don't know if it's becuase I'm an Apple FAN boy now but Mary and I see so many Apple products today in all kinds of movies, TV shows, commecials etc. Today we were watching I am Ledgend and I counded at least 6 apple products including 2 MacPros 2 cinema displays and one or two MacBook Pros.
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In 2005 Robert Ebert said "Macs turn up in the movies all the time -- not so much because of product placement, but because so many movie people use them and like them. A historian of the future, counting all the on-screen computers between 1983 and today, would likely conclude that Macs represented 90 percent of the computer market. Yet the Mac's role in the actual making of movies is far larger than the PC's. Macs are in editing suites, sound studios, and musicians' mixing rooms. Writers use them, agencies create ads and trailers on them, Web pages are designed on them -- and movies are literally made with the Mac."
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Some Examples
Seinfeld featured several Macs during its run. Let's see... started off with a compact Mac, probably an SE/30
On 24 the good guys use MACS and the evil ones use PC :)
Jurassic Park bad guys used PC too , others used Macs
Ross and Chandler both had powerbook g3s on friends, and Scrubs uses the TiBook.
on Independence Day Jeff Goldblum uses a powerbook.
I believe that sarah jessica parker uses a powerbook in Sex in the City
Whenever the Simpsons use a computer it has the Mac look--the interface anyway. When Homer did his "work from home" thing his computer "gonged" when he turned it on.
Austin Powers Goldmember - Austin uses a TiBook
Two brothers Kobi and Ron Shely are producing MacHeads.
According to their site
"MacHeads is a documentary about fanaticism and unconditional devotion to a corporate brand. The film reveals the fascinating characters that make up the Macintosh community. Their stories take us on a journey through Mac history leading up to the Apple revolution and to its present day popularity to pose the ultimate question: Is Apple losing faith as a community and becoming just a…brand?"
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- From Allison left over from last week. Thanks Allison
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Fun fact - if you see a Mac with no logo showing - that means Apple didn't PAY to have the Mac showing. I have a friend who works in product placement so she goes around selling the placement of products to the movies and tv shows.
Questions or comments from the live listeners
SHOW ENDING:
I want to thank Katie from the MacCore podcast found found at www.themaccore.com
if you don't subscribe to her podcasts please go over right now and subscribe today.
The Typical Mac User Podcast can be found at www.typicalmacuser.com and that shows is released weekly on Tuesday nights. This show will be release in my sream late tonight. If you haven't subscribed to that show yet, head over to the web site at www.typicalmacuser.com and hit the ONE BUTTON iTunes subscription.
For now this is your Host Victor Cajiao saying, enjoy the rest of your Sunday
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