free video calling....
skype allows for video calling between mac users, mac and windows, mac and whatever.
its great.
and its free
basically its like msn, except that msn does not seem to support video calling on macs... which is a letdown, as its great on windows msn.
but hope is still here.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Moving large files in Mac
Fat32.... Has its flaws.....
im trying to run a program. now im running it from an iso. and its a dvd iso... so 4.6GBs in size... and so im having some trouble.
i have to move it from one operating system to the other for bootcamp. problem is... as mac is only FAT32, it cant move or write files that big...
so... the only option i have found to get this to work is to use winrar for mac, and hope i can get it down in size... sigh...
and compressing a 4.3GB file... is going to take a while... sigh
im trying to run a program. now im running it from an iso. and its a dvd iso... so 4.6GBs in size... and so im having some trouble.
i have to move it from one operating system to the other for bootcamp. problem is... as mac is only FAT32, it cant move or write files that big...
so... the only option i have found to get this to work is to use winrar for mac, and hope i can get it down in size... sigh...
and compressing a 4.3GB file... is going to take a while... sigh
Monday, October 15, 2007
Gaming
now, i did not buy the macbook for gaming... well not really. i bought it for uni, however me and my friends to enjoy a good game from time to time.
so, with bootcamp, i am able to play games in windows.
now... this is not without snags, as the graphics card in the macbook is not amazing, however it is decent.
despite some people telling me i have know hope of running some games, it has pulled it off and pulled it off nicely.
the following games can run very smoothly at high settings:
Counter Strike 1.6 (CS1.6)
Battlefield 1942
Halo
Starcraft
Mafia
some games had some issues:
Dawn of war DC.
worked full spec, but not so smooth, however on low to medium specs runs well and smooth. the problem is when there are alot of units on screen, but even then i havnt seen a computer run it smoothly yet... even my friends hard core desktop.
Painkiller
would not load on macbook, however with 3danalyzer, it was able to run. the weird thing was it lagged a bit with lots of enemies, but it didnt matter what settings i had the graphics on, even full spec it lagged just as much...?
GTA: San Andreas
ran realy well on medium settings, but a little sluggish full settings, i believe due to the smoke. graphics card doesnt quite have all the power for that. however on medium settings it looks great and runs fine! dam good game.
and so far there is only one game that doesnt want to run...
Battlefield 2.
graphics card was not supported, and so the drivers wernt up to scratch, and so it loads but then flashs a black screen then goes back to desktop...
however, try youtube, and you will see that it can play some new games damn well...
so, with bootcamp, i am able to play games in windows.
now... this is not without snags, as the graphics card in the macbook is not amazing, however it is decent.
despite some people telling me i have know hope of running some games, it has pulled it off and pulled it off nicely.
the following games can run very smoothly at high settings:
Counter Strike 1.6 (CS1.6)
Battlefield 1942
Halo
Starcraft
Mafia
some games had some issues:
Dawn of war DC.
worked full spec, but not so smooth, however on low to medium specs runs well and smooth. the problem is when there are alot of units on screen, but even then i havnt seen a computer run it smoothly yet... even my friends hard core desktop.
Painkiller
would not load on macbook, however with 3danalyzer, it was able to run. the weird thing was it lagged a bit with lots of enemies, but it didnt matter what settings i had the graphics on, even full spec it lagged just as much...?
GTA: San Andreas
ran realy well on medium settings, but a little sluggish full settings, i believe due to the smoke. graphics card doesnt quite have all the power for that. however on medium settings it looks great and runs fine! dam good game.
and so far there is only one game that doesnt want to run...
Battlefield 2.
graphics card was not supported, and so the drivers wernt up to scratch, and so it loads but then flashs a black screen then goes back to desktop...
however, try youtube, and you will see that it can play some new games damn well...
Kernal Panic
now, when you use headphones, you may encounter the problem of the audio stuffing up after you remove the headphones.
this is called a "kernal panic" apparently, and occurs when the headphones are removed too slowly. the computer freaks, and the sound is stuffed for a wile, until you reinsert the headphones, or shut the pc down.
simple fix.
put the headphones back in and pull the jack out quickly.
my macbook did this when i first got it, although the problem has now gone for reason?
but yea
this is called a "kernal panic" apparently, and occurs when the headphones are removed too slowly. the computer freaks, and the sound is stuffed for a wile, until you reinsert the headphones, or shut the pc down.
simple fix.
put the headphones back in and pull the jack out quickly.
my macbook did this when i first got it, although the problem has now gone for reason?
but yea
Mac Ox Network Bug...
Macs operating system seems to have an issue... click on the desktop, then menu bar, "go", "Network"....
know when you first start the macbook in Mac Ox, and do this, the network finder box will launch, then quit out to the desktop. Any further attempts to open this way will result in nothing... nothing at all...
I have no idea what causes this, and by the sounds of things no one on the internet does, however, the solution of creating a new user and logging in under there name, go network, and it should work in there user. Log out, and try it again in your user and it should be working again....
again i have no idea why it does this
know when you first start the macbook in Mac Ox, and do this, the network finder box will launch, then quit out to the desktop. Any further attempts to open this way will result in nothing... nothing at all...
I have no idea what causes this, and by the sounds of things no one on the internet does, however, the solution of creating a new user and logging in under there name, go network, and it should work in there user. Log out, and try it again in your user and it should be working again....
again i have no idea why it does this
Is heat an Issue?
now, there is talk about the insulation paste around the motherboard being overapplied, causing overheating.
now iv read that there seem to be a number of people with the issue of the macbook overheating.
now in comparison to the vaio, the macbook is alot cooler, and does not seem to be having any issues.
when i herd about the overheating issues, i found a measure for the temperature, in the form of a widget from the mac website, istatpro
this is an great little program if you are a little concerned as it gives you constant read outs of temperatures, memory usage, cpu usage etc.
if your still concerned, there is a program that iv been using that allows you to change the default speed of the fan, allowing you to increase it when you need to to cool the pc.
smcFanControl:
http://homepage.mac.com/holtmann/eidac/software/page5/page5.html
this should fix all concerns about heat.
now iv read that there seem to be a number of people with the issue of the macbook overheating.
now in comparison to the vaio, the macbook is alot cooler, and does not seem to be having any issues.
when i herd about the overheating issues, i found a measure for the temperature, in the form of a widget from the mac website, istatpro
this is an great little program if you are a little concerned as it gives you constant read outs of temperatures, memory usage, cpu usage etc.
if your still concerned, there is a program that iv been using that allows you to change the default speed of the fan, allowing you to increase it when you need to to cool the pc.
smcFanControl:
http://homepage.mac.com/holtmann/eidac/software/page5/page5.html
this should fix all concerns about heat.
Bootcamp vs Parallels
What sealed the decision to get the macbook was the fact it could run both windows and mac ox.
my home pc has always been windows based, but my primary school used macs and so i could kind of remember how to use them.
now, in running both there are two options available.
Bootcamp or Parallels:
here is what i have learnt about each:
Bootcamp
basically, on boot up it allows you to decide which operating system to run.
the problem with this is you have to restart the computer everytime you want to switch between them.
Also, it partitions the drive into 3 drives. one mac drive, one windows, and one for bootcamp files (200mb)
Now if you partition the windows part to more than 32gb, it becomes alot harder to move files.
on the NTFS system (<32gb) the only way to get files into mac is to restart in mac and copy and paste into the mac harddrive. however, you cannot remove files from the windows drive, infact they cannot be changed at all, only copied.
on FAT32 (=>32GB) you can move files from windows to mac by simply dragging it from the windows to the mac folder in mac. both harddrives can be edited in the mac os. however, you can still only see the windows harddrive when in the windows operating system.
with bootcamp, it makes things easy, by alowing you to set the size, and also by burning all the mac drivers onto a cd during the instillation process. so when you run the new operating system, all you have to do is insert the cd, and it will automatically install all the divers for the mac in windows, so that the macbook components run smoothly.
Parallels
Basically emulates the operating system in a window.
it also allows you to determine how much of the systems, cpu, memory etc you wish to devote to each operating system.
it is allot easier to switch between the two operating systems though, and you dont need to reboot.
Conclusion:
i used the bootcamp, as i do tend to play games regularly, also, to fully utilize the battery, you realy need to run mac ox, as windows only runs for 2 hours on batt, where as iv had mac ox run for 7 hours. basically mac is just more efficient.
also, with the games, bootcamp devotes the whole computer to the operating system. iv been told it is almost impossible to run graphically demanding games in parallels, due to the graphics card being used by both operating systems, and also the ram being used by both.
although, there have been some rumors that it is possible to run both bootcamp and parallels, which would be very interesting.
although i have the black macbook with the 160gb hard drive, and even now im not sure about how much space i can aford.
my home pc has always been windows based, but my primary school used macs and so i could kind of remember how to use them.
now, in running both there are two options available.
Bootcamp or Parallels:
here is what i have learnt about each:
Bootcamp
basically, on boot up it allows you to decide which operating system to run.
the problem with this is you have to restart the computer everytime you want to switch between them.
Also, it partitions the drive into 3 drives. one mac drive, one windows, and one for bootcamp files (200mb)
Now if you partition the windows part to more than 32gb, it becomes alot harder to move files.
on the NTFS system (<32gb) the only way to get files into mac is to restart in mac and copy and paste into the mac harddrive. however, you cannot remove files from the windows drive, infact they cannot be changed at all, only copied.
on FAT32 (=>32GB) you can move files from windows to mac by simply dragging it from the windows to the mac folder in mac. both harddrives can be edited in the mac os. however, you can still only see the windows harddrive when in the windows operating system.
with bootcamp, it makes things easy, by alowing you to set the size, and also by burning all the mac drivers onto a cd during the instillation process. so when you run the new operating system, all you have to do is insert the cd, and it will automatically install all the divers for the mac in windows, so that the macbook components run smoothly.
Parallels
Basically emulates the operating system in a window.
it also allows you to determine how much of the systems, cpu, memory etc you wish to devote to each operating system.
it is allot easier to switch between the two operating systems though, and you dont need to reboot.
Conclusion:
i used the bootcamp, as i do tend to play games regularly, also, to fully utilize the battery, you realy need to run mac ox, as windows only runs for 2 hours on batt, where as iv had mac ox run for 7 hours. basically mac is just more efficient.
also, with the games, bootcamp devotes the whole computer to the operating system. iv been told it is almost impossible to run graphically demanding games in parallels, due to the graphics card being used by both operating systems, and also the ram being used by both.
although, there have been some rumors that it is possible to run both bootcamp and parallels, which would be very interesting.
although i have the black macbook with the 160gb hard drive, and even now im not sure about how much space i can aford.
Tough Decisions:
why a macbook?
i was faced with this decision, after my vaio began to crash and burn...
the vaio was a great laptop, although very big and heavy for a laptop, it had all the power needed.
- 2.8ghz pentium cpu
- 1gb of Ram
- 40gb hard drive
- cd Burner
- Ati graphics card (not sure what it was, but not a great one.)
i purchased it second hand at the beginning of the year, to use for uni. however, as it was second hand, the battery life was... well... minimal.
i could go for about an hour on battery, before needing to be plugged in. and the beast had 3 fans just to keep it cool.
then it started to have random CPU spikes. at first i thought it was a virus, however after formating the computer, and still having the cpu spikes i was stumped.
we came to the conclusion it must simply have over heated and cooked the components.
with it costing me 1000, it wasnt worth trying to fix and repair it. so i started to look for a new laptop.
Im a uni student, and so i needed something i could take places easily... rather than the vaio which tore bags and sholders under its weight.
it needed to be small, light, but still powerful enough, and i didnt want it to over heat....
The conclusion: the macbook.
Light, small, and with a long batt life.
the perfect laptop for the situation.
i was faced with this decision, after my vaio began to crash and burn...
the vaio was a great laptop, although very big and heavy for a laptop, it had all the power needed.
- 2.8ghz pentium cpu
- 1gb of Ram
- 40gb hard drive
- cd Burner
- Ati graphics card (not sure what it was, but not a great one.)
i purchased it second hand at the beginning of the year, to use for uni. however, as it was second hand, the battery life was... well... minimal.
i could go for about an hour on battery, before needing to be plugged in. and the beast had 3 fans just to keep it cool.
then it started to have random CPU spikes. at first i thought it was a virus, however after formating the computer, and still having the cpu spikes i was stumped.
we came to the conclusion it must simply have over heated and cooked the components.
with it costing me 1000, it wasnt worth trying to fix and repair it. so i started to look for a new laptop.
Im a uni student, and so i needed something i could take places easily... rather than the vaio which tore bags and sholders under its weight.
it needed to be small, light, but still powerful enough, and i didnt want it to over heat....
The conclusion: the macbook.
Light, small, and with a long batt life.
the perfect laptop for the situation.
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