MacBook advice while waiting for October

[dreamx]

Hi!

I am one of those that were set to "wait a little bit longer" mode this spring. And this is not bad actually, because I have more time to ask questions and hopefully get some answers that will be highly appreciated. I searched but could not find anything exact enough.

1. If I just want to play some MP3s and don't close the lid, does the LCD switch off after X minutes like on PCs? (To save power). I have read also that I can close it but then it goes to sleep. In this case, it seems, I can simply use an external USB mouse to wake it up with lid closed. Is this really enough? (I mean, with no external monitor attached).

2. Is there any chance of using consumer external USB drives made for PCs? After reformatting them of course.

3. Without dedicated graphic card, does it work well for (not very demanding) games? And same question, but if I install Parallels or Windows?

4. I understand that I can adjust the screen brightness from preferences panel. Don't they have any keyboard F-button like many PCs do?

5. Dells that are sold in Europe go with WiFi card that is made, as Dell claims, for Europe. I thought that WiFi is not like PAL/NTSC thing. Apple doesn't say anything on that. Anyone having problems to use WiFi overseas?

6. For laptops that are say, three or more years old, is it tough to find new batteries? I mean that I heard about ripoffs of iPod owners - anything like that with Macs?

7. Why everyone here is so concerned about exact CPU/whatever temperature? Never did that on PCs. Anything special about Macs that you have to MEASURE it like with a child?

Two questions that are actually software related:

8. Can I share images stored in iPhoto between accounts so that one will be able to load them, and for others, everything will be viewable but read-only?

9. I could not find easily if there exists some good monitoring software to keep an eye on kids. Like a keylogger+screenshots+E-mail/Web logging? (Yes, I am paranoid).

Thank you for your help!

 

[CrzyCanuck72]

1. Settings for turning the screen off after a certain amount of time are in System Preferences... you can customize it however you want.

4. F1 and F2 are brightness controls

5. Wireless is wireless. I've heard of tons of people who use North American laptops overseas with no problems.

 

[Roguepirate]

2. yes you can should be no problem

3. Integrated graphics cards are not meant for games whether its PC or Mac, you might be able to play some old games but no guarantee it'll perform well.

6. you can always buy replacement batteries through apple, it wont be cheap but thats the same with dell as well. you can always try ebay for a lower price if youre daring.

7. Macbooks/pro get HOT, so if you used to have a warm laptop, this may seem unusual until you come here and realize its normal.

8. Should be able to, just change the permissions but im not 100% sure. I dont see why you wouldn't be able to do something that simple.

 

[anothermacaddic]

1. pref's panel

2 Made for pc's, possibly with a little voodo, easily enough if its osx supported (usually they do both no prob)

3 You can play any game on a mb even one thats "graphics intensive" just you may see a little less detail than on a high powered gamer. Very enjoyable none the less.

4. its the key right above the number one and 2

5 no problem you can surf in nyc and 8 hours later surf in buckinham palace (if the queens a friend)

6 As a matter of fact 3rd party vendors have even better batteries available for my 4 year old powerbook. I would assume in 3 years the same would be available for macbooks. I can still buy a retail powerbook battery if id like, however applestore prices tend to be a rip.

7 Temps are a computer geeks pass time. No need to monitor, but these books are powerful and there can be a good amount of heat.

8 Not easily, however you may be able to do some web based viewing as a trade off? Or you can have multiple user accounts for logging into the computer, however im not aware of multiple users for a program. Someone (surely) correct me if im wrong.

9 Im actually a fan of http://www.spectorsoft.com/ its what my work uses
its no net nanny though what i think you are looking for...i dont have a good suggestion there.

 

[dreamx]

Many many thanks!

Regarding iPhoto: technically it depends on whether the software stores *everything* in a user-specific "database", or it just records where the original files are located (which can be any directory, including even network mounts), and stores only thumbnail images in some user-specific directory. In the worst case, you could keep a "master copy" in a common read-only directory, and then each user copies everything into a private one. I currently have about 2 Gb of photos so it's not a problem to have multiple copies, but one day I'll get a newer camera with more MP and then space will become a problem.

 

[bankshot]

Regarding the iPhoto question, you can always setup iPhoto to share your library. Then as long as you leave it running, other accounts will be able to access your shared library as read-only. It just automatically shows up in their sidebar within iPhoto.

For the parental controls, I believe Leopard is supposed to have better controls in this area, so perhaps that alone will suffice. http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/features/parentalcontrols.html

 

[dreamx]

For the parental controls, I believe Leopard is supposed to have better controls in this area, so perhaps that alone will suffice. http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/features/parentalcontrols.html

Yes, I've read about Parental controls, but to my mind it's not enough. Keyloggers are, for example, too much evil to ship as a standard. But I will need it one day. More important now, apart from Internet filtering (easy task - tons of free 3rd party options), is the ability to stop the browser when posting personal information (name, address etc) - this is what kids can do without thinking. I can do that with an easy hack in some scripting language but it won't be as reliable and complete as real software.

 

[siurpeeman]

1. If I just want to play some MP3s and don't close the lid, does the LCD switch off after X minutes like on PCs? (To save power). I have read also that I can close it but then it goes to sleep. In this case, it seems, I can simply use an external USB mouse to wake it up with lid closed. Is this really enough? (I mean, with no external monitor attached).

it seems most, if not all, your questions have been answered. but let me expand on your first. yes, the lcd will turn off after x minutes (you can define the value of x in the system preferences). closing the lid will put the macbook to sleep, but you can't wake it simply with an external mouse. you'd need an external monitor, external keyboard and mouse to wake the macbook from sleep and play mp3s. there is a program, however, that lets you operate a macbook with the lid closed; it's called insomniax. i hope you enjoy your macbook.