New Macbooks and Macbook Pros

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In article <vNednXrIMY3dh0banZ2dnUVZ_o7inZ2d.DeleteThis@giganews.com>, Lewis
<g.kreme.DeleteThis@gmail.com.dontsendmecopiesofposts> wrote:

> In article <140320081402506562%dogbreath@chaseabone.com.invalid>,
> sbt <dogbreath.DeleteThis@chaseabone.com.invalid> wrote:
>
> > I would love to
> > see models that eschewed the aesthetically-pleasing but
> > function-impaired slotloaders,
>
> function impaired? I what way?

They won't handle "business card" discs or the miniDVDs that so many
newer camcorders use. They're also slower than the current generation
of tray-loading drives (the faster ones are 8x as opposed to the 16x
and 18x that is common in current trayloaders.)
>
> > especially the not-quite-vertical ones
> > (way more susceptible to vibration/errors).
>
> Is that just a feeling you have or do you have anything to back that up
> (and I'm not talking about 1995 CD drives).
>
Just anecdotal experience and a suspicion based upon the physics
involved -- early vertically-mounted hard drives had problems until the
engineering caught up and those were sealed units, machined to much
finer tolerances than optical discs.

Anecdotally, I burned a DVD for my mother and it played fine in her
standalone DVD player and in her (horizontal) Macbook's drive, but got
"skipping" error messages in her brandnew 24" iMac. My neighbor's four
month old iMac also burned a lot of coasters until he switched to
burning in a tray-loading external drive. Another neighbor's iMac drive
works fine, so it's not a universal issue.

> I've never seen any difference in performance from a slot loading drive,
> regardless of orientation.

Performance? I think the speed differences qualify as "performance"
issues, but (as noted above), I've also seen reliability differences in
some units

--
Spenser
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 >> Stay informed about: New Macbooks and Macbook Pros 

In article <vNednXXIMY3qh0banZ2dnUVZ_o7inZ2d.RemoveThis@giganews.com>, Lewis
<g.kreme.RemoveThis@gmail.com.dontsendmecopiesofposts> wrote:

> In article <michelle-0AD573.14141014032008.RemoveThis@news.west.cox.net>,
> Michelle Steiner <michelle.RemoveThis@michelle.org> wrote:
> > When Jobs introduced the Pixar-lamp iMac G4, he said that one reason for
> > that design was because they couldn't find a decent vertical DVD/CD
> > drive. When he introduced the G5 iMac, he didn't mention anything about
> > the drive's orientation.
>
> The iLamp had a tray loading drive. And drives have changed a lot since
> then.

Yes, they have. The tray-loading drive in the MacPro is 16x
single-layer and 8x dual-layer. The top slotloading drive (iMac and
MacBook Pro) is 8x single, 4x dual-layer. And, again, the tray-loader
accepts the miniCD and miniDVD discs that are incompatible with the
iMac and laptop drives.

--
Spenser
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Mike Rosenberg wrote:
> Michelle Steiner <michelle RemoveThis @michelle.org> wrote:
>
>> When he introduced the G5 iMac, he didn't mention anything about
>> the drive's orientation.
>
> Frankly, I think a drive's orientation is none of my business.

He didn't mention anything about the drive's orientation because of the
"don't ask, don't tell" rules :-) :-) :-)
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In article <xt2dnedyz9RO4kbanZ2dnUVZ_qrinZ2d.RemoveThis@giganews.com>, Lewis
<g.kreme.RemoveThis@gmail.com.dontsendmecopiesofposts> wrote:

> In article <140320081809134344%dogbreath@chaseabone.com.invalid>,
> sbt <dogbreath.RemoveThis@chaseabone.com.invalid> wrote:
>
> > In article <vNednXrIMY3dh0banZ2dnUVZ_o7inZ2d.RemoveThis@giganews.com>, Lewis
> > <g.kreme.RemoveThis@gmail.com.dontsendmecopiesofposts> wrote:
> >
> > > In article <140320081402506562%dogbreath@chaseabone.com.invalid>,
> > > sbt <dogbreath.RemoveThis@chaseabone.com.invalid> wrote:
> > >
> > > > I would love to
> > > > see models that eschewed the aesthetically-pleasing but
> > > > function-impaired slotloaders,
> > >
> > > function impaired? I what way?
> >
> > They won't handle "business card" discs or the miniDVDs that so many
> > newer camcorders use.
>
> Neither will the non-slot loading drive on my G4 or my Mac Pro. Apple,
> in fact, does not support those smaller discs at all, last I checked
> (that is, even with a 3rd party drive).
>
> I know I tried to read a disc from an old Sony digital camera and the
> only thing that would read it was the wintendo, even though I had to
> move a drive from teh G4 to the windtendo to do it.
>
> I can't say I've tried one in the MacPro... I think I have, but I
> couldn't swear to this.

The disc (like even full-sized ones) has to be "finalized." I read
these smaller discs (from their Sony camcorders) for my girlfriend's
kids and grandkids all the time and they work just fine in the G4
iMac's drive, the tray-loading drive in my dual G5, the MacPro's drive,
and the external tray-loading drives hooked to all of my Macs. I've
even burned such discs on the G5 (my burning workhouse Mac) usiing
Toast; though I've never tried to do so with the system-supplied
capabilities.

--
Spenser
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In article <slrnftism4.9up.foo RemoveThis @ID-256592.user.individual.net>,
Ian Gregory <foo RemoveThis @prdetfanaaeextna.invalid> wrote:

> On 2008-03-13, Ajanta <ajanta RemoveThis @null.void> wrote:
....
> I got my iMac back in October 2006 and the only problem I have had is
> with the mouse. I got the same problem mentioned in a recent thread
> where the roller ball stops working in one direction. At first I managed
> to free it up but now it seems permanently stuck and I have just got
> used to doing without it. Apart from that I can't really think of any
> way in which my iMac could be improved - it is just too good as it is!
> Anyway, I won't be looking to replace it until at least after AppleCare
> has expired in October 2009.
>
> Ian

I use small pre-packaged alcohol swabs (they come in a box of tear-open
envelopes) to clean the Mighty Mouse's scroll ball, when just turning it
over and rolling it around vigorously on the mouse pad doesn't do the
trick. I've had my current MM for several years now, and that method has
always freed the scroll ball up when it gets balky.

--
Gordon Alley <*>
<mailto:galley@texas.net>
<http://galley.home.texas.net>
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