The Beanster Blog

I'm thinking up a new project... My partner's 2012 MacBook Pro 13in aka "MD101 ", has been having constant Beach ball of Death issues for the longest time. I suspect it's bad RAM or a bad HDD. Since she will be upgrading to a different machine, I am thinking of salvaging her old machine and upgrading some components. Specifically the 500Gb 5400rpm HDD to 480Gb SSD, and the RAM from 4Gb to 16Gb. 2.5" 480Gb SSD 6Gb/s SATA3 8Gb x2 PC3-12800 DDR3L 1600MHz SO-DIMM 204 Pin CL11 True, it is an old machine but it is also one of last MacBook Pros that can be easily upgraded . With these upgrades I am hoping to have a workable machine with better performance. I am also toying with the idea of having dual storage drives (replacing the built-in SuperDrive with a second HDD) but for now I am retaining the optical drive. I plan on running both MacOS Sierra and Windows 10 via BootCamp. I have already made inquiries on the components and hope to have some id...

Dong~~~!!! Each time I boot / re-boot my MacBook Pro I hear the garbled chime because of my busted speakers. I re-boot multiple times a day because I use Windows on Bootcamp. I am really tempted to trade-in this 2012 Retina MacBook Pro 15inch and up & downgrade (basically compromise) to a 2015 Retina MacBook Pro 13inch. I've ruled out the MacBook Air 13inch as I really love the Retina display on my current system and can't see myself going back. Why not the 2016 MacBook Pro 15inch? Well I've pretty much convinced myself that USB-C might need a few more years before it's mainstream. And the cost, oh the cost. For the spec I want it's going to be 2x as much as the 2015 rMBP 13inch I'm eyeing. I do believe that my computer usage has changed quite a bit since 2012. I really haven't been playing that much games on my computer anyway. No change:  Retina display  8Gb RAM  USB-A x 2  SDXC  HDMI  MagSafe 2 Pros:  Smaller & Light...

I have been thinking... It might be a good idea to wait until 2017 to revisit the MacBook Pro upgrade issue. I am hoping that Apple will cut the price next year 2017 once the pent up demand for the super expensive notebooks starts to subside. Besides, it will be more economical to wait for USB-C to become the present rather than the future. Maybe "dongle hell" can be minimized. By the way, if the next iPhone and iPad comes out with USB-C, I think it will force other companies to adapt USB-C faster. I'm not sure if Apple is ready to replace lightning tho. Let's see how courageous they really are. I will just have to make do with my 2012 Retina MacBook Pro which is still working well apart from the annoyance of busted speakers.

Should users be forced to live in "Dongle Hell" while Apple forces everyone to evolve & adapt into the USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 era? Why did we have to lose MagSafe, USB, HDMI, SDXC, all at the same time? Why is the system RAM limited to 16Gb? Why is the GPU not NVIDIA? Why can't you plug your 2016 iPhone 7 or 7+ to a 2016 MacBook Pro without purchasing a USB-C to lightning cable or USB-C to USB dongle. BTW your 2016 Lightning EarPods  also won't work with the best laptop ever. Why do we need to use dongles? Would it be less painful if the 2016 MBP had two USB-C and two USB? Apple Inc., is anorexic. The obsession w/ thinner & lighter is unhealthy. Making EVERYTHING thinner & lighter means sacrifices. Sacrifices that users must pay high prices and endure until such time that what ever they think is best, becomes the norm. For the first time since the iPhone 3GS, I am thinking of not updating because they got rid of the 3.5mm jack which I use daily. I switc...

Surface Pro 3:  the tablet that can replace a notebook The new Surface Pro 3 [ link ] is the third installment of Microsoft's tablet/notebook device.  MSFT is positioning their newest device, the Surface Pro 3 vs MacBook Air first, iPad second. Targeting business professionals first, consumers second. I think this is a good move as it plays to their strengths. It would have been nice to get LTE built-in on the device though. The stylus is a nice addition for artists and note taking.  I wish they picked a different genre of EDM. The pricing is kinda steep though, it starts at US$799 and goes up to US$ 1,949 and that is sans the Surface Pro Type Cover which is US$ 129. I guess they want to make enough money to cover that Surface RT write off [ link ] ;-) 

So I finally caved and got a new notebook. This time I have decided to go with a full notebook instead of a netbook. Basically I needed more horse power than what the crippled ATOM systems were offering. The ACER Aspire 4740G has these specs. 14” 16:9 HD LED LCD Screen Intel Core i3 2.13Ghz 2Gb DDR3 RAM Nvidia GeForce 310M 512Mb VRAM 320Gb HDD WiFi / BT / Webcam / Card reader DVD-RW HDMI + VGA output Linux OS Coming from using a netbook for a little over 2 years I certainly felt the difference in the screen size, the weight and of course the keyboard. I did not bother with the Linux OS since I had just purchased Windows 7 Home Premium retail box a few weeks ago. I decided to install the 64bit version so I could take advantage of better security, 64bit apps (if ever) and of course more system RAM (4Gb max). Not the most accurate gauge of system performance but this is the Windows Experience Index Report as always it’s the Aero performance ...

My friend’s dad is selling his 1 year old VAIO because he has crossed over to the dark side [read: he went APPLE]. Kidding about the dark side, serious about the VAIO. He’s taken really good care of it.  Color: Silver 15.4 inch 1280x800 Xbrite Intel Centrino Duo 1Gb DDR II RAM Intel GMA950 250Gb HDD Windows Vista Home Premium Webcam ===================== Asking price is: 55,000.00 PhP =====================  

I am helping a friend recover a stolen MacBook Pro. It was stolen last Friday (09-Jan-09) evening at Puregold Shaw Parking Lot in Manadaluyong City. There is a reward of PhP 25,000.00 for any help recovering the system. More info: 15.4in 4Gb RAM 320Gb HDD Superdrive 512VRAM S/N: W8845BW01GA If you have any info please contact me via comment or email. Thanks a lot!