New Apple Lust Objects

i mean, i want to know too, not that max should be cleaned out of anyone's library

this home folder dates back to 10.1. hadn't thought about that before, woah.

i would like to know about the Library as well

w7 running much faster than snow leopard on my Mbp. would like to know too

fonts you don't use in ~/Library/Fonts (or /Library/Fonts, but not /System) is the main thing ime (although this can be done with a font manager if you are a nerd)

if you have the energy, you could create a new ~/Library and move stuff back in, which is much quicker than a clean install and, unless you did something weird to the rest of your disk, will likely fix 90% of the problem.

tbh though, i really don't bother with this. e.g. preference files for apps you no longer use make no difference. shit can get out of hand, but it's always for a reason, unlike windows.

i use AppTrap (like a free AppZapper): i assume it gets most stuff lying around, but i guess maybe there's application support stuff in my library? would that slow things down?

in principle stuff like that, unused preferences, etc. should make no difference.

caches can get huge and fucked up; you can dump most of them. Your next boot will be slow as hell, but it'll be faster after.

unless you actually use the corresponding application, all anything in ~/Library/Preferences and ~/Library/Application Support/ should be doing is taking up disk space

o were supposed to listen to u mr 10.5 pffft

rebuilding itunes was O_O

I have never done a complete reinstall except for the time I had a hard drive failure and even then, i think I copied my previous home directory over. I've even copied my home directory (~/Library intact) from laptop to laptop.

BTW, installing all your apps to ~/Applications unless they're ones that use an installer or need to be installed system-wide makes app management easy

"o were supposed to listen to u mr 10.5 pffft"

mr 10.5 is smart! snow leopard broke so much of my stuff it felt like bush administration. ZING

i am "mr. i wrote shitty code that depends on 10.5 and i need it to finish my phd", butthead!

u know what version i run, 10.6, because i am awesome

Dammit where's this tablet already

This guy who tangentially works on some apple stuff let slip a while back of some new apple stuff coming down soon, then got all secretive, then I said, oh, dude, you're probably talking about the tablet -- that's no secret at all! -- and he seemed like he never heard of the tablet. later, I asked him, "that cool apple stuff you were working on, it's the tablet right?" and he goes, 'yeaaaaah, tablet. that must be it.' then he changed the subject.

If it turns out that it really is just the tablet, I'm gonna be all, dude what the hell?

"Tangentially" works on apple stuff? I doubt he'd know anything that was really under wraps, because the project teams aren't just under NDA, they're all Apple employees and typically kept secluded from other employees when they're working on a project like that. Either he's a good bullshit artist, he's working on something different, or he's just blowing smoke up your ass.

*Talking about this tablet thing, in a radio interview in France, this guy from Orange (CEO iirc) was asked if the new Apple project was a tablet, and he replied yes and that Orange was in deals with them about it. He obviously backtracked like hell later on.

He works at a company subcontracted by apple and is probably working on some exotic component that he might not even be able to identify as being part of anything (or recognize as being part of a tablet or not), but for example, if it was some new kind of waffle-shaped heating element, then it's not a bad guess that apple might be coming out some crazy magic waffle maker.

I really hope it's a waffle maker.

A waffle maker would go well with my usb blender.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2007/10/brando-usb-blender.jpg

so...

tell us all you know, cz.

http://images.ucomics.com/comics/db/2010/db100125.gif

Where the heck are the new MacBook Pros? I mean, my current laptop is fine (and has 100 days of AppleCare left) but I've been shuffling my feet around kind of hoping for something new for a couple weeks now.

me to. months. I don't always wait, I'm pretty good at jumping in and buying something, but when there's been this many reports and it's clear from the technology that an update is coming any day... I also think it's become an unhealthy obsession, a way to focus on something other then what really matters. Every day it's engadget, daring fireball, tuaw, macrumors etc. I just want to be able to do work while sitting in the living room and maybe do some laptop DJing.

dan i love your existential technology dilemmas

what's the preferred laptop DJ/VJ'ing software for mac?

I do the same thing, and fell into the rabbit hole of macrumors' forums. They're getting thousands of posts, all of them completely clueless. I ended up registering for a throwaway account to bitch out a couple people who were propagating idiocy about AppleCare.

traktor

cutty-this started in high school. "I'll start writing music soon as I get a sampler!"

laptop dj'ing depends on the style, like what sort of hardware, if hardware. But generally it's Serato vs. Traktor. I was really into the idea of Serato Itch, which is the Serato for use with dedicated hardware controllers and interfaces, but I don't think they've been very good yet. Last year before I embarked on a season of wedding dj'ing I did a lot of research and the idea of bringing a laptop and a Vestax VCI-300 to an event was appealing, but I read too many reports of hardware issues, and the one floor model at the local guitar center was busted in the same way. If Pioneer or Rane ever made something like the VCI-300, or if Vestax stepped up their game (as they're usually pretty dependable), I'd be into that. I have two CDJ-400s which can natively control Traktor, meaning you don't even need the audio CD, so that could be fun, but for most mobile events (not something I do very often anyway), I'll just stick with the 400's USB sticks.

I thought about applying for a job to engadget or someone like that but in the end, I really don't know enough or care enough about the back-end details of the technologies, just the practical side.

new macbook pros coming real soon now - deffo in march.

just in time for my birthday.

mh-so you think apple care is a good idea? It makes sense for laptops, I've heard of too many issues. I've just never had it, I've always had desktops and have never had any problems that I didn't cause or couldn't fix. I had a Mac Plus from 89/90 or so for a few years, got a beige G3 tower in 97 after college, had that until I got the first G5 in 2003, which lasted me until 2008 when I got a Mac Pro. Never really spelled that out, but looks like I'm getting a solid 5 years out of my macs.

ive never had an apple product where i didnt end up using applecare, so its automatic for me. they just replaced my iphone for free a couple weeks ago. and im gonna send this laptop in cuz the plastic is cracking on the sides

tho i couldnt use it with my last laptop cause i dropped it :(

i think you have been exceptionally lucky, dan

Get the Applecare. Even on iMacs its only $130-ish. Wish I'd gotten it when my HD died.

Certainly. I'm not sure about desktops since I haven't run the numbers, but I just had the logic board die on my current MBP and it still has 100 days or so of AppleCare left. I had it dropped off at the store at noon, and they somehow had the replacement part in stock and it was repaired by 9PM for me to pick up the next day.

I've heard variations in service, but for me, it's always been as easy as saying "this is failing, I have done these three actions, and it's definitely dead." The guy at the genius bar usually doesn't even flinch and just gives me an estimate of when they'll have it done. I swear I have had laptops in three times but can only think of the last two, with a dead hard drive and the one this week.

There's a lot of gnashing of teeth among the crazies about how you have to buy AppleCare immediately, or you need to buy it from the Apple Store since others are unscrupulous, but it's all bullshit. I usually am lazy and buy it as the first year is about to run out. I recently figured out that buying off ebay from someone with good feedback is a good idea since Apple has resellers of AppleCare and the markup is huuuge. Just got iPhone AppleCare off ebay for like $35, and I think it retails for $70. I was able to register it online with no issues.

With desktops, I think you have less of a problem with failing components because they're not being moved around, have more heat flow, and so on. Laptop components are smaller, subject to more abuse, and more expensive. That said, with iMacs and Mac Minis they're using a handful of laptop-style components, so it's more of a level field.

Case in point, it looks like iMac AppleCare policies are selling for around $80 on ebay.

Nhex, it's a pain in the ass to pop open an iMac but there are guides:
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Browse/iMac

Hard drives are reasonably inexpensive, and you can probably end up with a larger drive than you started with. It might just take a lot of patience, a careful hand, and a cheap tool set.

am I lucky, Cutty, or just such a Mac PRO that my computers are awesome?

I'll tell you one thing and open a can of worms. I NEVER turn my computer off. I rarely did in the past but twice I went away on vacation during the summer, shut off my computer and came back to a failed hard-drive. In one case I just replaced it, in another it ended up being fucked directories or whatnot, so I pulled all the data off, reformated and kept on using it. My theory was that it was so extraordinarily hot that something went screwy with the drives, or when spinning back up after a while directories got screwed or something. I don't know, all I know is now I even leave the computer on when I'm away for a week and haven't had any problems since.

The one other time since was when my computer froze and I got impatient and I force restarted and had a similar situation with the start-up disk not working, but by this time I had a good back-up system going so I was able to wipe the drive, restore from the night before's clone and was up and running in minutes.

I'm going SSD with my macbook.

If they don't release a new MBP soon, I might do the SSD-as-boot-drive trick that some people are doing, if mine isn't too old to do it. I guess there are ExpressCard SSD drives, and if your MBP is of the right vintage you can set it as the boot drive.

I'll echo Dan's experience in that I've always pretty well gotten a solid five years out of each Mac I've had -- hell, even the one Mac clone! But getting AppleCare is simply key for me too -- I'd always much rather have it than not.

We figure we get ave of 6 years out of our company desktops. The old grey 450s and everything since the metal G5s have been awesome long life. Quicksilvers and MDDs in between not so much

My 2002 MDD dual 867 is still doing just fine. Runs Tiger. Only thing I've had to replace is the dvd drive.

I forgot to get applecare and my warranty expired last month ;_;

i think the geniuses might give you a deal on the length of the applecare MINUS how long you've already had it.

no official apple store where I live. I'm only a month out. applecare for my mbp costs $350 from the apple store. wtf

It's $300 from LA Computer Company, still a big chunk though. But since you're using a portable does that make it more worth getting?

Re: iMac HD replacement above, I was happy to take it to a local service place, buy an upgraded HD from newegg and have them take care of it - no way I'm removing the glass with suction cups and hoping dust doesn't get in and all that, ain't got the courage!

Worse yet the machine was only 2-3 months out of warranty. Still, before finding the local place I took the iMac to my local Apple store to get quoted a ridiculous figure, and on top of that it would take weeks to get back. The local shop got back to me in 3 days and cost about half as much, inc. my HD purchase. And most of the shops in the area were comparing themselves vs. the inflated Apple service price, too - I got lucky.