username wrote:

quick question: my laptop has a loose USB port causing it to not be able to read anything i plug into it. is it easy to fix/tighten those?

USB Ports are held in place by machined placed solder on pins. If those connections broke, you will need to resolder the connection without crossing it. I haven't met anyone who has been successful at doing this with a microchip/port that doesn't use solder as a regular tool in their job. I know I suck with it, and would fuck it up.

If you have another USB port, you can buy a hub and split the connection. Just get a powered one if you want to use larger devices such as scanners or hard drives.

Also, lets not do the Jeebus suggestion of merging tech questions in to one thread. Just start another thread. This shit will be impossible to track in about 3-4 more posts.

Optimist With Doubts wrote:

So some people have suggested getting the SSD.What say you GEPEE

SSDs are great for speed, but honestly, for most average use, you won't know the difference. The main Bennett in a laptop is how resilient they are. They just don't break if you drop them. Other hardware failing is much more likely.

So I would use the following equation:

p = tcdx

t = Days Per 3 Years = 365*3 = 1095
c = Carries Per Day = 2
d = Chance of Dropping Per Carry = 1/1000
x = Chance of Damage on Drop = 1/4
p = % Chance of Damge over 3 years

With my math:
55% = 1095 * 2 * (1/1000) * (1/4)

I honestly don't know the chance of damage per drop, but I'd say about 1/4 of drives I have seen dropped are unrecoverable with 3 foot drop.

In any case, you make the determination, is p > $

Douche McCallister wrote:

I've had a laptop since I was 18 and I have yet (knocks on wood) to drop mine in any regard. How does one drop a laptop?

I drop one every few years.

It depends how much you move around with it in your hands. Unlikely events are more likely over time. How often do you bump into someone, or someone bump into you?

For those who don't use a laptop as a stationary desktop computer, the chance is there.

Douche McCallister wrote:

Are you talking about someone bumping into you while using it or when you are carrying it? If it's while carrying I carry mine in a bag that goes over my shoulder. The only way im dropping it is if the strap breaks which is a lot less likely then 1/1000.

You have to put it in the case.

Also, I'll admit that I drop mine way more than 1/1000. I have to use it so often that it is everywhere all the time. I don't expect others to understand, but think about it this way. I have a computer available to me about as often as most people have smart phones. Do people drop phones? Yes.

While others wouldn't likely drop their computer as often as I do, they would most certainly run the risk at a reduced rate. The equation can be modified however you see fit based on your own personality. In the end though, drops happen.

Optimist With Doubts wrote:

Btw I see people at school carrying laptops partly opened all around school. It's weird.

I use DropBox for my important files, I use Xmarks for my bookmarks, all of my mail is cloud based, and I have copies of all of my pictures/music/movies on backups at home. The laptop is nothing more than a shell of a computer. If it blew up, I would be frustrated, but not due to data loss. So, convenience of use overrides safety of equipment... and yes, that means I walk around with the laptop open sometimes. It is only terrible when I am holding hot cocoa, the laptop, and my dirty martial arts gear going up the stairs at night... Liv'n on the Edge! You can't help yourself from fallin'!

Optimist With Doubts wrote:

Ok it took forever but I finally bought it. Now what do I do when it gets here?

* Download Chrome & Firefox
* Ditch Safari
* If it doesn't come with Lion, then figure out how to get the free update (contact the Apple Store).
* Download the latest Flash updates
* Download Perian
* Download Flip4Mac - http://www.telestream.net/flip4mac-wmv/overview.htm
* Download Dropbox
* Get Flux.app - http://stereopsis.com/flux/

username wrote:

Beach Bum wrote: I use two browsers. Chrome for web surfing, and Firefox for Chatzilla. same here

Same,

but also...

Webkit can't render certain proprietary content. For example:
http://helpnet.flexerasoftware.com/

I would like to be clear, if your web app doesn't run in Chrome, you are doing it wrong.

However, that is the way it is, and just like IE before it, Firefox became a major player and people wrote hacked code directly for the browser.

This will begin to go away over the next few years as HTML5 becomes a bigger deal.

Perian is like K-Light: http://www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm or cccp http://www.cccp-project.net/
Except it is for quicktime on the Mac.

It is a codec embedding utility that allows you to play almost all media formats through Quicktime, and since quicktime is embedded in most Mac video tools, it means those formats work in almost all video apps on Mac computers.

Also, I missed one.
Java - http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1421

Edit: You should also get STEAM for the Mac. And then go buy the Humble Bundle for more than the average price to get the Humble Bundle #3 & #2. You will then have a bunch of games for your Mac.

Optimist With Doubts wrote:

I have the macbook pro first model is that powerful enough for games?

Yes. All of the humble bundle games will work. My 3 year old Macbook Pro runs them fine.