Apple talk

[isoS]

Yeah, the last shuffle was basically perfect for what it was in my mind. They will be making an "adapter" (more $) and there will be third-party compatible headphones (more $), but you should just get a nano if you need more than 1GB. What confuses me: wasn't there a 2GB shuffle? Where'd it go? They clearly didn't want that mid-level, because then the 1GB would have to be cheaper than $49 (which is too much for that size). the 2GB should be $49, and the 1GB either shouldn't exist or it should be $29.

I happen to like Apple's earbuds, but I need to put the little foamy things on them to get them to stay in my ears (you know, the little foamy things they stopped including with every iPod a couple of years ago).

[Itslikeimsayin]

wasn't there a 2GB shuffle? Where'd it go?

Yes. It went away apparently, but there is still this.

[Darryl]

the 2GB should be $49, and the 1GB either shouldn't exist or it should be $29.

Both of your wishes came true. Looks like they cleared them out at $29 a couple weeks ago, and now it doesn't exist.

[Cameron]

My new Macbook arrived this morning.

I love it.

That is all.

[Popinjay-Z]

I got a new iMac last week (the $1499 model). Deal of the century in the Apple world. The 2nd tier model never gets the screen space, RAM, etc. of the upper-tier models. If you've been waiting to get a Mac and have been fortunate enough to avoid being screwed by the recession (fingers crossed), this is the one to get. A+ machine.

[aenemaTron]

My black macbook had a fatal HD seizure the other day, and since I am in LA I was about to freak out, but I was able to get a same day appointment at a genius bar (not possible in NYC, where there are three mac stores as opposed to California's thirty or so) and convince the guy to get someone to replace it in an hour. Beautiful. Plus, I think they forgot to charge me anything.

Although I was hoping to have an excuse to get a new aluminum baby... come on, track pad, fall off!

[pissedpissedofferson]

Is there a compelling reason for a web designer to buy a Macbook over the new Mac mini?

99% of the Mini's specs are identical to the Macbook, and I can grab a nice, big monitor from Newegg for about $200. As far as I can tell I can have the same exact machine sans portability (not really necessary) for about 1/5 the price of its laptop cousin.

What am I missing here?

[theodoric]

Is there a compelling reason for a web designer to buy a Macbook over the new Mac mini?

99% of the Mini's specs are identical to the Macbook, and I can grab a nice, big monitor from Newegg for about $200. As far as I can tell I can have the same exact machine sans portability (not really necessary) for about 1/5 the price of its laptop cousin.

What am I missing here?

You must be referring to the 17" MacBook Pro. The white MacBook is $999; the aluminum MacBook is $1299.

I have a Mac Mini running my music server, and it performs admirably in that role. What it is, is laptop guts in a desktop case.

You can run dual-boot (Windoze) on the Mini if you like. If the Mini works for you, go for it.

[isoS]

Yeah, I think the white MacBook is the best Mac deal in town these days (esp. since they updated the graphics card). But if you want a bigger screen and don't need any portability ever, mini is good stuff.

[I love nny]

figured this would be as good a place as any to post this question/problem. Recently my ipod of 2 years has started to have the sound cut in and out. i have tried many different head phones and it always cuts out like it has a bad connection. If i twist the headphones it will work until they are ever so slightly jostled.

what up with that? anyone else have this problem? is there anything i can do? or am i SOL?

[MrDys]

I'd try cleaning the contacts of the headphone jack with some rubbing alcohol. Don't pour it in or nothin'. Use a Q-tip.

[Meen Bellpeppers]

Yesterday I saw a douchebag walking around using his Macbook as an MP3 player.

[I love nny]

Yesterday I saw a douchebag walking around using his Macbook as an MP3 player.

WTF that is rediculous. Reminds me of my friend who used his laptop as his car stereo until a dog ran out in to the street and his brand new laptop got rocketed into his dashboard.

[isoS]

Yesterday I saw a douchebag walking around using his Macbook as an MP3 player.

If it was Yao Ming with an Eee PC I would fully support this.

[Cameron]

Yesterday I saw a douchebag walking around using his Macbook as an MP3 player.

I actually used my laptop for this for a brief period of time a few years ago. My ipod was broken and for some reason I couldn't be without music walking to and from class. But the laptop was in my bag completely out of sight.

[Itslikeimsayin]

Can anyone explain why my iMac ceased accepting audio CDs? It's exactly one year old. The drive still works for DVDs and for burning blank CDs, but when I insert an audio CD, it makes noise for maybe 10-15 seconds and then spits it right back out. I've searched online and found isolated incidents of the same thing happening to others, but haven't seen any response and/or solutions from Apple or anyone else.

Advice?

[isoS]

You might have to Apple Store that one... Very weird. Maybe try a CD lens cleaner tho. Too easy?

[Cameron]

I think it's just telling you to stop buying/using CDs.

[pissedpissedofferson]

Can anyone explain why my iMac ceased accepting audio CDs? It's exactly one year old. The drive still works for DVDs and for burning blank CDs, but when I insert an audio CD, it makes noise for maybe 10-15 seconds and then spits it right back out. I've searched online and found isolated incidents of the same thing happening to others, but haven't seen any response and/or solutions from Apple or anyone else.

Advice?

I had this same issue with my old iMac a couple of years ago. If you're really lucky you just have some kind of bizarre driver issue, but more than likely your drive has started to fail.

If you have AppleCare you should definitely take in your iMac and ask the geniuses to perform a hardware diagnostic, I think that's free and it should give you a definitive answer.

The cheapest fix (if your drive has indeed failed) is to figure out what kind of drive your computer takes, buy a replacement on Newegg.com, and install it yourself. If you're not comfortable installing a component then go ahead and buy your replacement drive from Newegg anyway and just take it in to the genius bar and have them do it for you.

In either case I wouldn't recommend buying parts from Apple. Apart from the huge mark-ups chances are you'd just be paying for the exact same failure-prone drive, whereas if you shop Newegg you can sometimes land a cheaper, better-reviewed product.

[nathansmart]

this weekend, after six months of having the same problem, I decided to take my computer into the genius bar. My AppleCare ran out a while ago and so I thought it would cost me money just to have them look at it - but it didn't so I decided to take it in. I have been sitting on this problem - hoping to fix it myself - but by chance I called and decided to do it all on Saturday. In fact, if I hadn't been able to get a reservation the same day (which is rare here) I probably would've just said forget about it.

So, anyways, I take it in and they decide the problem is the logic board (like all mac problems) and when I told them I didn't have applecare they gave me that, "Oh, yikes" look. That's around a $600 repair (which I definitely don't have and won't have for a long time) but, almost immediately his look changed to a surprised look and he said, "Actually, your applecare runs out on June 1st."

!!! - what a freakin' lucky occurrence.