(Part 3) Top products from r/apple

Just looking through my Amazon history, I have the same ssd the 250gb Samsung evo.

I thought it was busted but I changed the actual ssd/hdd cable and it is working a dream so if you have any issues try that before replacing your drive/ test your drive in another machine if you can

My ram is Crucial 16 GB DDR3 1600 MT/s CL11 SODIMM 204 Pin, 1.35/1.5 V Memory Module Kit https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007B5S52C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_r6ftxb3B8692N
Hope that link works well

Those two upgrades gives the 2012 MBP a real second life and it can handle lots of browsing, apps open, plenty of different programming environments etc.

I've never had an OS X machine before and I think I might still prefer a Windows desktop but for a laptop it's been amazing, I'm still debating the merits of a iPad Air / iPad mini vs. an ms surface.

This is the fastest method.

It's also one of the safest methods and the easiest method. Plus, you get to verify that the new drive is working before putting it into your Mac. That's not really such big deal on a MBP 2011 since the drives are so easy to swap, but on other Macs making sure the drive is working properly can be a really good idea.

Also, you can get an external drive cable/adapter for like $13. This works great if you don't want an enclosure for the drive, but not advisable if you want a portable drive, in which case you want an enclosure.


Another option if the OP no longer wants the optical drive is to remove the optical drive and swap it with a HDD bracket and the old HDD drive. Then they can just clone from the old HDD drive internally to the new SSD.

You can also get an enclosure for the old optical drive making it a portable external optical drive.

I upgraded my 2011 MBP with a 120gig Corsair Force 3 SSD and it was one of the best upgrades I I've done. I removed the Optical Drive and took out the 500gig drive that came with the Mac and put it into the leftover space with the help of this HDD caddy. This caddy required a lot of modification, you can read my review here.

My MBP boots up in 17 seconds flat right now, just a bit slower than my friends i7 MBA that boots at ~16 to 16.5 seconds. Final Cut Pro 7 loads in about two seconds, compared to my schools i5 iMac's that load FCP7 in about 5 to 6 seconds. Photoshop loads in about 1 to 2 seconds. Starcraft II runs phenomenally, and on all ultra settings. I am not a huge gamer, but I like to boast about that to my friends who rag on Mac's ;)

If you are interested in hearing more about my upgrade just let me know and I'd be glad to ellaborate for you. The moral of the story is, upgrade that shit!

edit: Spelling

Most Objective-C books are written for a person who already knows how to program. I would recommend Steven Kochan's book because it teaches you how to program while teaching you Objective-C's syntax. After you've completed that get the Big Nerd Ranch, or some other book.

Truthfully, programming is hard. It's not hard in the "you're not good enough" sense, but maybe it is in the "you can't learn this goofing around one or two hours a week" sense. It takes practice and perseverance. Sometimes you have to deal with inscrutable errors. Sometimes things just don't work and you want to cry. But when they do you feel like you're on top of the world.

I couldn't teach myself how to program in my spare time like some people have, so I went through the CS program at my local state school. External motivation was a big help for me. I may not be a great computer scientist, but I am a very good Objective-C programmer. It took a long time to get here, but it was totally worth it.

I just got the Logitech Solar K750 for Mac and I absolutely love it. It has all the function keys you need, wireless (with Unifying receiver), and best of all, no batteries required!

The keys feel great and the thing apparently holds a charge in darkness for 3 months. Charges from either sunlight or indoor lighting, so if you are in a decently lit area, it shouldn't be a problem keeping it fully charged all the time.

$49.99 at Amazon. Great price, I think.

> What did you use to learn how to write the code?

I read this book to get started: Programming in Objective-C by Stephen G. Kochan

I highly recommend it for starters, since it provides lots of easy explanations, exercises and guides.



And since you need a 2D physics framework to program a game, I decided to use Apple's native framework called SpriteKit. I learned SpriteKit's basics with YouTube tutorials and this free online course.
I also recommend everyone to google some open source games/apps to learn some programming methods & techniques.


> What tool was the app built in? XCode? Unity?

Xcode.

I've been using the Incase neoprene sleeve.

It's not as heavy duty or robust (plugging in) as that Thule, but it's not quite as expensive either.

If it's just scuffs you're worried about, and you plan on keeping it in a backpack or something, the incase one worked fine for me for the past few years.

There are also those options where it's more like an actual hard case that you generally leave on all the time. This list is what I mean. I haven't used one personally, so I couldn't really tell you what to do on that front. I've seen people using that Speck though, and it seemed pretty clean.

You can also sacrifice your DVD player for another hard drive. My 2011 MBP has a 256Gb SSD & a 750Gb WD Black for storage. Is awesome.

That seems like a fine choice. You don't actually need a mac specific drive (it only takes a minute to reformat a windows drive using Disk Utility), but for this price you might as well save yourself the hassle of reformatting.

Your mac doesn't support USB 3, so this drive, along with every other USB drive, will be fairly slow. If performance is a concern you'll need a thunderbolt drive, or a thunderbolt to USB3 adapter. See this or this.

I use a Case Logic sleeve for my 13-inch. It's really nice, and provides excellent protection for when my laptop is in my book bag. Also really cheap.

15-16 inch sleeve: http://amzn.com/B004NY9UXM

Buying the Apple earbuds is basically straight up saying "I want everything to sound like ass". Apple's earbuds are AWFUL.

If you actually care about quality as opposed to having "Apple" stamped on it, I suggest these or these or my personal favorite, these.

The hub that I am using right now at home for the USB 3.0 works perfectly:

http://www.amazon.com/USB-3-0-2-0-7-PORT-Hub/dp/B004UU4U6G/ref=sr_1_23?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1344465469&sr=1-23&keywords=usb+3.0+hub

Which is odd because I tried it on multiple controllers and motherboards in Windows 7 32bit and 64bit and had nothing but trouble. I think more is going on in software land when it comes to USB 3.0 compatibility than Microsoft would like you to believe.

I bought the Logitech Easy Switch keyboard thinking it might be cool to switch between my iPad and MBP and it ended up being my favorite keyboard I've ever used. It feels really nice, is similar to the Apple Wireless but has just enough extra consideration and lighted keys to take it over the top. I will actually go out of my way to use it over my MacBook keys.

I might also look into getting a case/sleeve for it like this and maybe a pocket mouse like this.

I've had that mouse for a few years now, and after having burned through a couple others i can attest that it's thoroughly solid. Part of my feels dirty because its Microsoft but they make a good mouse.

So i did a quick search on amazon and found a couple deals. What do you think of the results below? Did I find a good deal or are there better ones out there?

8GB Kit

I know I said 8GB, but after seeing the price of 16GB, its actually not that bad. I thought it would cost more.

16GB Kit

It may be reasonable, but it won't be cheap.

Reaspmable still means something like $2,000 or $3,000 since we're talking about a 4k display. Look at this one on Amazon…

Ok guys so given the following, which would you choose in terms of performance/price ratio?

• Klipsh s4i
  
• Sony XBA-C10IP
  
• Sennheiser MM 70 iP
  
• HiSoundAudio HW2 Wooduo 2 IEM
  
• Shure SE215

I'm surprised you've blasted both so concretely without ever having owned or even tried one.

On Amazon the Logictech keyboard scores 4.6/5.0 from people who've actually used one. The Moshi keyboard scores as highly, though with fewer reviews.

In fact both Keyboards score higher than Apple's own keyboards on Apple Store.

Or since he took out his superdrive just get the external SATA bay to house the superdrive, like so: http://amzn.com/B005RFOJT6

They're cheaper in the MBP (2.5") than the MBA (1.8"), or at least that's what I found when I purchased my MBA SSD.

Seriously, for anyone that's complained of lag in they're older Macbook, I've pointed to upgrading to an SSD first. Makes a big difference in speed and battery. And I've always used Carbon Copy Cloner. Clone old HDD to new SSD, boot in target mode, verify SSD cloned successfully, replace HDD with cloned SSD.

Also, RAM is better handled in OSX Mavericks with Compressed Memory.
http://m.imore.com/os-x-mavericks-preview-compressed-memory-gives-your-mac-room-run

Samsung 840 Series 2.5 inch 120GB SATA III internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7TD120BW
http://amzn.com/B009NHAF06

Samsung MZ-7TD250BW 840 Series Solid State Drive (SSD) 250 GB Sata 2.5-Inch
http://amzn.com/B009NHAEXE

For anyone curious, it's from the book Design for Hackers.

I just bought this exact keyboard to replace Apple's wireless keyboard and it works a dream. Cheaper, too.

Buy one or two of these for photos and music and you will be fine.

This one.

And also where you buy it from. It's a $2000 monitor, not $3000.

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-PQ321Q-31-5-Inch-4K-Monitor/dp/B00DJ4BIKA

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236338

LG-27UD88- 4k Monitor with an embedded docking capability.

https://amzn.com/B01CDYB0QS

These are the main ones I saw other than the 2 that Apple sells

• $470 http://amzn.to/2eMYyO2 Acer H277HU 1440p
  
• $640 http://amzn.to/2feD4Oy LG 27UD88-W 4k

You'll probably need this if you're going to find anything under $100.

http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Thunderbolt-to-FireWire-Adapter/dp/B008RXYOKY

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008RXYOKY

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-MM-30i-MM30i-Headphones/dp/B004HD4L2E/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1347505658&sr=1-2&keywords=sennheiser+remote+control

I've had a padded InCase sleeve since I bought my MBP almost 5 years ago. It hasn't let me down yet, but it isn't waterproof or anything.

I have this, assuming this is fine to put in the pocket.

I have the Sennheiser MM70 which I kinda like. The sound is good with excellent shielding from outside noise but the pause/ffw/etc button is frustratingly shaped.

G-Tech 1TB G-DRIVE mobile Thunderbolt/USB 3.0 Hard Drive

The BUFFALO hard drive that you were looking at with macsales is just a tiny bit cheaper on amazon by the way (in case you didn't know).

http://www.amazon.com/BUFFALO-MiniStation-Thunderbolt-Portable-Drive/dp/B008D4X9UI

Everything else can be a bit pricey since I'm trying to keep it within your price range. If you wanna chunk up some more and you're looking for durability/portability, check out LaCie!

The Logitech K811 is bad ass.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0099SMFP2/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_IQeyub068K9RN

Yup, designers throughout history have been following specific ratios because it means nothing. The golden ratio and fibbonaci ratios have nothing to add in design.

The above 3 examples are garbage because he wasn't really using this grid to create them. I was explaining what following a grid design means, which you obviously don't understand. If the play button was bigger (in the ham-fisting the grid on top of the shuffle), how the hell would it have stuck to the grid layout when it would obviously be outside of the inner ring?

Read this and learn something: http://www.amazon.com/Design-Hackers-Reverse-Engineering-Beauty/dp/1119998956

http://www.apple.com/it/shop/product/HKMY2ZM/A/monitor-lg-ultrafine-4k

https://www.amazon.it/LG-27UD88-LCD-Monitor-27/dp/B01CDYB0QS/

Price went up lately, but if you see past prices with keepa.com you'll see that they did cost the same.

Also the Ultrafine is on sale until 31st december, so later the apple offering will be even higher

Also the lower priced LGs should have the same 4K IPS panel, but less other stuff (es. no usb-c etc.) but cost far less, like this: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B01LBQ3QCA/

No, it is expensive. Most high quality coffee table books cost about $100.00

Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion and Architecture (https://www.amazon.ca/Louis-Vuitton-Modern-Luxury-Updated/dp/1419705563) ~ $80.00 CAD

Chanel: Collections And Creations (https://www.amazon.ca/Chanel-Collections-Creations-Daniele-Bott/dp/0500513600/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CZCPW99HJRV9QE40PMJ7) ~ 45.00 CAD

GUCCI: The Making Of (https://www.amazon.ca/GUCCI-Making-Katie-Grand/dp/0847836797/ref=pd_sim_14_10?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=T705DG6XV6G513FBXBZZ) ~ $75.00 CAD

People keep linking to books that cost several hundred dollars and saying "Look see there are more expensive books," but they are all limited edition and rare.

This is a mass market book. It's very expensive. I don't care if people buy it but it's seriously ridiculous listening to people say it's priced normally. It isn't.

It's fun not giving sources when you make stupid ass comments.

From /u/zlex:

No, it is expensive. Most high quality coffee table books cost about $100.00

Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion and Architecture (https://www.amazon.ca/Louis-Vuitton-Modern-Luxury-Updated/dp/1419705563) ~ $80.00 CAD

Chanel: Collections And Creations (https://www.amazon.ca/Chanel-Collections-Creations-Daniele-Bott/dp/0500513600/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CZCPW99HJRV9QE40PMJ7) ~ 45.00 CAD

GUCCI: The Making Of (https://www.amazon.ca/GUCCI-Making-Katie-Grand/dp/0847836797/ref=pd_sim_14_10?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=T705DG6XV6G513FBXBZZ) ~ $75.00 CAD

People keep linking to books that cost several hundred dollars and saying "Look see there are more expensive books," but they are all limited edition and rare.

This is a mass market book. It's very expensive. I don't care if people buy it but it's seriously ridiculous listening to people say it's priced normally. It isn't.