Tag: MacBook Pro

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Ugh! I just heard a loud pop coming from a MacBook Pro MagSafe Power Adapter.

Well, one MacBook Pro MagSafe Power Adapter of mine bites the dust. I was in the middle of using the 15-inch MacBook Pro Core Duo which I bought back in 2006 when I noticed the screen was automatically dimmed. There was no change in the ambient lighting. I noticed the MagSafe connector was no longer lit-up then I heard a loud popping noise coming from the power adapter. I immediately unplugged and inspected the power adapter. I could smell a burning electric component coming from the power adapter. I guess I’d have to head out and get a replacement in the morning. It would be $80 plus sales tax at the Apple Store. I could also buy the 85-Watt MagSafe Power Adapter from Amazon and have it delivered on Friday. Either way, I’d have to spend the money. I do have one that I always leave at home.

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ADATA S599 Sandforce 128 GB SSD is on sale for $199 at Amazon.

ADATA S599 Sandforce 128 GB SSD is on sale for $199 at Amazon. I paid $249 for the ADATA S599 Sandforce 128 GB SSD back in late October and installed it on my 15-inch MacBook Pro Core i7. It has been a great experience so far. The 128GB of storage space is relatively small, but I’ve learned to organize files better. Having an external FireWire 800 drive is really handy.

Forty-five days into using the an SSD on my MacBoo Pro, I highly recommend it to anyone.

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ADATA S599 SandForce SSD and MacBook Pro.

The ADATA S599 SandForce SSD has finally arrived. I’m really thankful to Amazon.com customer service for rushing the second unit my way after the first one got lost in transit. I ended up with another unit which was purchased from Newegg.com.

Hard-drive installation on Unibody MacBook Pro is much easier compared to the previous MacBook Pro models. Eight screws on the bottom plate, two screws on the hard drive bracket and four screws on the hard drive itself. It took about 10 minutes for me to complete the swap, not counting the picture taking time.

Installing Mac OS X Snow Leopard on the SSD-equipped MacBook Pro went smoothly.

I am pretty impressed with the speed improvement. Mac OS X took about 14 seconds to boot. Most applications including Photoshop CS5, Word 2011 and iTunes 10 launch within one second.

I will post more about ADATA S599 SandForce SSD wihtin a week or so.

I also will review G-Skill Phoenix Pro SandForce SSD.

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Back to the Mac: No New MacBook Pro in plain sight.

Apple is set to offer sneak peek on its upcoming version of Mac OS codenamed “Lion” on its “Back to the Mac” event this coming Wednesday October 20th, 2010. In addition to what Apple has hinted on its invitations, many speculates that a new MacBook Air will be introduced at the event. Supposed leaked pictures of the upcoming MacBook Air have surfaced. Another products up for refresh are iLife and iWork suites. Apple is likely to introduced iLife ’11 and iWork ’11 at the event. iLife ’11 is likely to feature a never before bundled application to the suite. iWork ’11 is likely to feature the same application bundle with numbers of new features included.

Many also wonders if Apple would refresh the MacBook Pro lines. According to an source within Apple who shall remain anonymous, there will be no real upgrade to the MacBook Pro lines. The 13-inch MacBook Pro might gain Core i5 at best, while its 15-inch and 17-inch counterparts remain virtually the same. Apple is likely to update MacBook Pro lines in early 2011 with Intel’s Sandy Bridge CPU.

We will find out more about the event starting 10:00 AM Cupertino Time on Wednesday October 20th, 2010. Stay tuned for live coverage links and possibly a live stream from Apple.

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Calling Captain Obvious, 17-inch MacBook Pro is larger than 15-inch MacBook Pro.

I thought that I would never figure this out, but thanks to AppleInsider I finally understand.

Disadvantages of the 17″ MacBook Pro

Apart from being $300 more, the 17″ version is a pound heavier than the 15″ model and 1.1″ wider and 0.7″ deeper (it’s also a hair thicker). It won’t fit into sleeves for 15″ models, and won’t fit into a variety of bags or backpacks intended for “regular sized” laptops.

Once again, thanks AppleInsider for pointing out that 17-inch MacBook Pro is larger and heavier than its 15-inch counterpart. You know how much I hate having MacBook Pro with smaller screen to be bigger and heavier than the one with larger screen. What an observation! Without this information I’d be cursing the day while trying to fit the 17-inch MacBook Pro into a 15-inch MacBook Pro sleeve.