You know, the one thing I've not done properly since I got into all this is actually use a Mac as a Mac, rather than as a new experimental toy. All I've done is modify them, mess with the various versions of the OS, read things on here, and ask (mainly fairly dim) questions. So I've decided to just USE the damned iMac as a personal computer.
To that end, I've OCLP'd it to Monterey, removed Firefox and Thunderbird, and just got on with it. So far, so good.
So wait… this is a 4K monitor displaying at a (magnified) 348x240?
Speaking of, what is the smallest-resolution, standalone colour flatscreen display (TFT-minimum) — any decade — that you’re aware of which connects via DVI, mini-DisplayPort, DisplayPort, S-Video, or even 15-pin analogue VGA?
In my mind, I swear there must be something, maybe sold only in the Japanese domestic market, to enable a display extension for a portable device — maybe along the lines of “doubling” a handheld gaming console. Any nominees?
Yesterday i successfully burned a DVD (remember those?) for a neighbor who is a cave-person.
and make a thumb drive of that movie using my MacBook Air 2010 using Mountain Lion included software
because the newer M1's failed to do so.
this is good because i own that ripped dvd
and bad since others can still perform this task
I continue to purchase DVDs and Blu-rays. Whilst I certainly do watch a great deal of content via VOD sites, they're no replacement for what's offered to me with a physical copy.
Having recently replaced a SuperDrive in my Late 2008 unibody MacBook it was time to do the same for my 2012 13-inch MBP.
Now that I think of it it is possible that the "failure" was just a moving arms inside got stuck in the wrong position that prevented the drive accepting the discs. This issue probably could have been solved with unplugging and plugging the SATA connector from the motherboard but I was clearly on a mission to make use of my spare parts and did not look for an easy solution.
I am wondering if people have experience in troubleshooting SuperDrives in their MacBooks and how often do these drives completely fail(become unrepairable)?
I am wondering if people have experience in troubleshooting SuperDrives in their MacBooks and how often do these drives completely fail(become unrepairable)?
It will depend, generally, on the model of DVD-RW (SuperDrive) with which the Mac was bundled. Overall, many of the laptop and Mac mini variants use differing models of Matsushita (Panasonic), but sometimes Sony, LG, and Benq models are used.
With the later SuperDrives in the later models bundled with them, like MBPs, there are only a couple of models with spec changes between them being fairly few (most of these have model numbers of UJ-8xx). My sense is these later units — say, the SATA variants, post-2009 — probably rely on much, if not all of the same mechanical components< with all having been refined and miniaturized over earlier units.
As to repairability, I’ve only opened a couple of these, mostly to clean them out. I’ve not made attempts to repair a faulty one. The most I’ve done, whilst being inside an opened unit, is to inspect the nylon/plastic gears (and lubricate them, as needed), lens assembly tracks, and belts, as well as inspecting the lens itself. That should probably be done anyway if one happens to use a particular SuperDrive regularly.
I am wondering if people have experience in troubleshooting SuperDrives in their MacBooks and how often do these drives completely fail(become unrepairable)?
Out of 8 MacBooks, only two have developed problems which isn't too bad I suppose. To elaborate, I've had two SuperDrives fail in my 2006 MBP - its stock unit (which as supplied by Apple couldn't even burn dual-layer discs in 2006!) and in more recent years its replacement - which can no longer read/write DVDs. The drive in my 15" 2012 MBP died on me after three, maybe four years and that incensed me no end because the computer was purchased new and I have iBooks that are approaching the 20 year mark whose SuperDrives continue to work without issue.
As to repairability, I’ve only opened a couple of these, mostly to clean them out. I’ve not made attempts to repair a faulty one. The most I’ve done, whilst being inside an opened unit, is to inspect the nylon/plastic gears (and lubricate them, as needed), lens assembly tracks, and belts, as well as inspecting the lens itself. That should probably be done anyway if one happens to use a particular SuperDrive regularly.
Speaking of, what is the smallest-resolution, standalone colour flatscreen display (TFT-minimum) — any decade — that you’re aware of which connects via DVI, mini-DisplayPort, DisplayPort, S-Video, or even 15-pin analogue VGA?
If it doesn't have to be TFT, the Sega Game Gear has a horrible 160×144 passive-matrix LCD and accepts Composite input via the optional TV tuner accessory.
If it doesn't have to be TFT, the Sega Game Gear has a horrible 160×144 passive-matrix LCD and accepts Composite input via the optional TV tuner accessory.
I continue to purchase DVDs and Blu-rays. Whilst I certainly do watch a great deal of content via VOD sites, they're no replacement for what's offered to me with a physical copy.
Speaking of optical media, I decided to take things easy tonight and check out a film for the first time. What did I choose? The 2004 film Night Watch. I got hold of the original version from Russia courtesy of eBay after learning that the Western releases have been re-edited and dubbed. Presumably because Hollywood execs think that things have to be simplified for Western audiences.
This is a job for VLC and my 13" 2011 MBP with High Sierra.
I don't understand much Russian, so I'll make an educated guess that the highlighted text in the menu means "watch film."
Great! Time to select English subtitles and maximise the window to full screen.
Brilliant. Fingers crossed that I actually enjoy the film.
after learning that the Western releases have been re-edited and dubbed. Presumably because Hollywood execs think that things have to be simplified for Western audiences.
The list of films for which Hollywood execs did that is infamous.
Since your post notes a ’00s flick, two to come to mind are 2008’s Låt den rätte komma in, later re-filmed, inexplicably, as 2010’ Let Me In. Just… no… Lordt up on high, no.
And even without Hollywood playing the “they speak foreign, it’ll tank here in ’Muricaland, unless… unless we dub it to death or just do it up better, with special f/x from our Hollywood CGI team” card, is when 20th Century Fox had the temerity to re-release 2001’s Donnie Darko as a 2004 “Director’s Cut” — what I refer to as the “Dumbing Downko” release.
Thing is, when it was given a limited release in May ’04 to small, independent cinemas, I was excited and showed up to a matinée showing in Seattle. What I remember mostly is leaving the cinema house around rush hour and wondering whether what had just hit me was a motor vehicle. From the opening song being completely different, to the gratuitous CGI interstitials, I still get super-cranky thinking about it, as it was like the cinematic version of “paint by numbers” or “connect the dots and call yourself a sketch artist”.
“Why cranky? It’s but a film!” I was cranky because the original cut surprised me as one who’s extremely keen noticing props and setting idiosyncrasies/anachronisms. It’s the rule that period films cut period-correct corners for any number of reasons: budget limits, time constraints, poor dramaturgy, poor continuity editing, and so on. The exceptions are noteworthy and unforgettable for very good reason. (It is also why I refuse to ever watch a second or any subsequent season of, say, Stranger Things, which revealed itself as anachronistic of a trainwreck as seeing a theoretical biopic of The Beatles’ travelling to the U.S. for the first time in 1963… in a Concorde jet. Don’t get me wound up about Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses at Night” in s01, heard on the radio, inexplicably, in November 1983*… 😤)
The original Donnie Darko, almost to a fault, captured a Zeitgeist of October 1988 to an uncanny tee, down to the songs chosen. (The ’04 version, with all the cheese-ball CGI interstitials, wrecked that suspension of disbelief.)
There were two or three extremely trivial inconsistencies — two of which being seen at the same moment — and I forgave them for those: when Donnie opens the medicine cabinet to grab his prescription, the typesetting with his name on the label wasn’t really being used yet in ’88, and the bottle of Secret deodorant next to it featured the branding used from the early ’90s (as finding a pre-1990 bottle was probably too tall an order). The third was the inconsistency of Virginia looking too much like SoCal and the angle of the sun being too high for that month, but well…
Anyway, I hope the original of Night Watch, with sub-titles, is every bit as good as you hoped it would be! 🎥
• that song was recorded in Montréal, in November 1983, released in Canada December 1983, but wasn’t released in the U.S. until well into 1984 (May), and only becoming a U.S. and worldwide hit single during and after the boreal summer of ’84… ain’t no way they were hearing that on the radio in November 1983!)
I remember when you bought the camera! Have you come up with a means to export the images to a Mac?
Game Gear's appear frequently on eBay but unless they've been refurbished by a trader, they'll always require some level of attention with soldering work. If I could find one at a relatively decent price then I might be tempted just for the sheer challenge.
The list of films for which Hollywood execs did that is infamous.
Since your post notes a ’00s flick, two to come to mind are 2008’s Låt den rätte komma in, later re-filmed, inexplicably, as 2010’ Let Me In. Just… no… Lordt up on high, no.
La Haine is another egregious example - there's a subtitled version that's laden with travesties such as renaming a character "Wallmart" and substituting Asterix and Obelix for Snoopy and Charlie Brown, even though you can hear the correct names/terms being uttered in the French dialogue. All because of the assumption that viewers beyond France/Europe are insular ignoramuses who wouldn't be able to understand references involving another society.
It was certainly interesting and a nice change from the perpetual franchises of Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th etc. I'll have to re-watch it, along with the sequel - Day Watch.
As a pleasant surprise, I did find an addition for the Mac Spotting thread!
Update: Increasing the horizontal blanking to compensate for the reduced width, I got 4 × 240 = 960 pixels working. Increasing the vertical blanking doesn't allow heights <240 though. The mouse pointer doesn't work at a width of ≤112, so here's a shot at an utterly unusable 128 × 240.
Today I moved all my iCloud data to the macbook air 2010 mt lion
after losing a file I was working on yesterday via numbers, iCloud.
(I had a back up on the newer MBA&Mini)
mountain lion is good because we can't lose files like this.
I continue to purchase DVDs and Blu-rays. Whilst I certainly do watch a great deal of content via VOD sites, they're no replacement for what's offered to me with a physical copy.
Given that Paramount+, the self-professed "Home of Star Trek", has taken down all of the TOS and TNG movies, it's a clear signifier that owning physical media will never be truly replaced by streaming services.
Given that Paramount+, the self-professed "Home of Star Trek", has taken down all of the TOS and TNG movies, it's a clear signifier that owning physical media will never be truly replaced by streaming services.
Update: Increasing the horizontal blanking to compensate for the reduced width, I got 4 × 240 = 960 pixels working. Increasing the vertical blanking doesn't allow heights <240 though. The mouse pointer doesn't work at a width of ≤112, so here's a shot at an utterly unusable 128 × 240.
Which battery did you buy and where from? I have a few A1181's that either need - or will soon need replacement units so it would be nice to have a recommendation that comes from personal experience.
For a while I used to go with an eBay seller local to me (parts4apple), but this time around I decided to try "Dr. Battery" on Amazon, since their prices are better and I've had good experiences with their batteries with other laptop restoration projects I've done. So far so good - the battery actually feels like it has weight to it, unlike some third-party A1185 batteries I've dealt with that have felt suspiciously light (but for all I know maybe this battery just has lead weights in it).
When "hypermiling" (shift-starting for no background/startup apps, using ShadowKiller, minimum possible brightness, no WiFi/Bluetooth) I think I can squeeze out around 2-2.5 hours on a single charge, which is about the best I can expect from an old third-party battery of questionable repute. In the end, all I'm really asking for it is to keep my MacBook powered while I move it from one location to another, and to prevent it from both downclocking the CPU and developing (what I believe to be) a short circuit-related startup issue that seems to happen when running off of dead batteries.
I'm curious, what are you writing and with which word processor? Whilst your MB 4,1 is no match for a PS5, it can still play a decent selection of games and handle elements of the modern web but I'll refrain from examples because I know only too well the danger of distractions when you're trying to focus on productivity related goals.
I write lyric non-fiction essays, which sometimes requres complicated formatting. For anything involving images, I'll (reluctantly) trot out Word, but for the most part I wind up using Nisus Writer Pro. But I have built up a tidy little collection of odd and obscure word processing/text editing and creative writing software that still runs on Lion.
In the past I've turned older model A1181s into retro gaming computers by stuffing them with as much RAM and (for the time) higher-end SSDs as I could afford and going to town with Wineskin Winery and various open-source builds for older games found on obscure corners of GitHub and the like. Nowadays though I just don't have the time/money and mental bandwidth for projects like that. Though I will say, it was really fun turning an old 32-bit 1.86 Ghz Core Duo A1181 into a powerhouse by maxing out the RAM, and putting Samsung SSDs in the HDD bay and ODD bay. I basically loaded it up with nothing but GOG games self-ported over with Wineskin, and all of the IDtech-based game ports I could find. I think I even got BuildGDX running on Lion by finding the right version of Sun's Java JRE to use (I know I definitely was able to get it running well on El Capitan).
And yes, the only real challenge is find web browsers that work well-enough on the modern web. So far, Pale Moon and Waterfox Classic have worked for me, though I'm looking to switch to wicnix's SeaLion.
Having recently replaced a SuperDrive in my Late 2008 unibody MacBook it was time to do the same for my 2012 13-inch MBP.
Now that I think of it it is possible that the "failure" was just a moving arms inside got stuck in the wrong position that prevented the drive accepting the discs. This issue probably could have been solved with unplugging and plugging the SATA connector from the motherboard but I was clearly on a mission to make use of my spare parts and did not look for an easy solution.
I am wondering if people have experience in troubleshooting SuperDrives in their MacBooks and how often do these drives completely fail(become unrepairable)?
To add to what others have said, out of the countless A1181s I've worked with, I'd say about a third of the optical drives I've worked with had issues with reading or recognizing disks. Given how more complex and fragile thin-form factor slot loading drives are, and how often the MacBooks they live in get roughed up, it sadly doesn't surprise me. Especially since the chunky tray-loading drives I've seen on contemporary-era Dell and HP/Compaq laptops still work just fine after all this time, and in quite a few cases were the best-condition part in the entire machine.
I've opened up SuperDrives to extract stuck disks, but in my experiments with cleaning lenses, lubricating gears, and cleaning out debris with compressed air I haven't yet been successful in resurrecting a dead disk drive.
I write lyric non-fiction essays, which sometimes requres complicated formatting. For anything involving images, I'll (reluctantly) trot out Word, but for the most part I wind up using Nisus Writer Pro. But I have built up a tidy little collection of odd and obscure word processing/text editing and creative writing software that still runs on Lion.
Nisus Writer! Furnace blast from the past: wonderful on a chilly day.
(I like to think it’s named Nisus Writer because it’s the nicest writer.)
I think I’ve only ever run upon Macs running Nisus Writer a couple of times in my life, and all of those times were, squarely, deep during the Old World Macs PPC era. Which is to say: the last time I remember seeing Nisus Writer launched and running anywhere was on someone’s PowerBook running a greyscale (or maybe early colour) display, whose LCD pixels were large enough to be seen easily by bringing one’s face close to the screen. The system was very likely running some iteration of System 7, possibly as late as Mac OS 8.
Now I feel like digging up some Nisus Writer abandonware to see whether I can get it running on OS 9.2.2, via my key lime running Classic mode (which also happens to be the only Mac I own capable of OS 9).
Various and sundry, some of it quite considerable and stretched across several months (not, however, fit for sharing on a public message board… though, worry not: all of it, topically, would be both safe for work and safe for kids).
I updated my MR forum signature, removing the $25 PowerBook G4 A1138 mule, the one I used for testing SL-PPC (not put on sale just yet, but pulled from use). In its stead, I added in the free, turn-up-the-base-(model) A1224 I got last spring which, since, has been put into service for that fake FM radio station project I hope to keep working on.
I think I’ve only ever run upon Mac running Nisus Writer a couple of times in my life, and all of those times were, squarely, deep during the Old World Macs PPC era. Which is to say: the last time I remember seeing Nisus Writer launched and running anywhere was on someone’s PowerBook running a greyscale (or maybe early colour) display, whose LCD pixels were large enough to be seen easily by bringing one’s face close to the screen. The system was very likely running some iteration of System 7, possibly as late as Mac OS 8.
I got into Nisus Writer Pro while in grad school, mainly because I needed a writing environment that was more than just TextEdit, while avoiding the excessive bloat and complexity of Microsoft Word (I was using v.X at the time, and I found it was just awful - IMHO 2011 on an Intel Mac was when it finally became genuinely usable for me). I stuck with it over the years, thanks to a) Nisus Software making past versions of their apps easily accessible to their customers, b) Nisus putting a lot of time and effort into supporting major releases with bug fixes and feature updates, and c) I was able to get a couple of major release versions on the cheap via MacHeist bundles.
(a) and (b) are the same reasons why I also really like Mellel a lot – and arguably from what I recall, Mellel was actually better suited to the type of writing I was doing at the time. But for some reason, my mind just took to Nisus Writer Pro a lot more quickly. I still think Mellel is great though; their update policy, much like Nisus Software's, remind me of the "good old days" of Mac shareware where you'd buy a product and own it, and count on it being supported and backed by real people (I just wish they made old versions more easily accessible). It's a shame that a lot of the more well-known small companies (like Mariner Software, Cassidy & Greene, Ambrosia Software, etc.) are all but distant memories now.
I was able to snag the last 10.7-compatible version of GottCode's Focus Writer, which doesn't even support the Mac anymore. Then there's also Fountain Pen, one of the original versions of OmmWriter, and Write Room (and it's tongue-in-cheek freeware rip off, Wrong Room), which were all part of the boom of distraction-free writing apps that flooded the Mac shareware market in the late 00s-early 2010s. I also still have my old copy of MyTexts, from the wonderfully eclectic MOApp Software Manufactory. Plus there's Scrivener 2 (2.9 seems to work on Lion, even though it's stated as being 10.9+; 2.5 is sadly still DRM-locked to Literature and Latté's old defunct ecommerce backend, making it effectively inoperable) and Ulysses (1.x and 2.x were available as freeware for a time).
There's Bean of course, plus Growly Write, inspired by MacWrite and from the same person who apparently was responsible for MS Word before Word 6 (which was "that version of Word" that everyone seemed to hate back in the day).
