Comments on David Alison's Blog: Second Impressions - adjusting to a MacBook Pro

@AJ: When you hook up an external display to a MBP...

2008-06-18T11:05:00.000-04:00

@AJ: When you hook up an external display to a MBP (or MacBook for that matter) the external display can either be a clone of your primary display or an extension (split) that effectively increases your screen real estate.

You can use the preferences to determine which of your two displays is the primary and contains the menu bar and dock so I know you can do what you want to do. You should really look at playing with Spaces though; it's excellent for giving you a parking space for those seldom referenced but often running applications like iTunes.

The most common scenario that I've seen is that you use your external display as an additional work area and use the built in display as your primary. That way if you go mobile and disconnect you won't feel like you are working on a different machine. If you don't go mobile very often it may be better the way you want to do it though.

Thanks David, I will research more into it, I have...

2008-06-18T10:20:00.000-04:00

Thanks David, I will research more into it, I have read about these but I think they support it as 1 big monitor unlike Windows where you can split the display.

Another thing on your display setup, do you use Macbook pro screen along with the external monitor or is it just one screen which is usable?

What I want is to be able to leverage the external monitor as the primary one (with the menubar and dock) and the laptop screen for bits like itunes and other windows... so is that doable?

@AJ: The MBP only supports a single monitor extern...

2008-06-18T10:07:00.000-04:00

@AJ: The MBP only supports a single monitor external monitor directly. It does however support resolutions on the external monitor of up to 2560x1600. I don't know if there is a splitting technology that you can use that would allow you to add another display to that mix. If you really need two external monitors on a MBP you may be able to pull it off with one of EVGA's USB based solutions, though I don't know if they are Mac compatible or what the actual performance would be like. Good luck!

Hi David, I have been following your blog for a wh...

2008-06-18T09:24:00.000-04:00

Hi David, I have been following your blog for a while as my Macbook Pro is coming next week and going to be my first Mac after spending 10 years on PCs.

I wanted to know if you connected to 2 external displays from MBP? I am going to buy external monitor as well, but to go for 2 1600x1200 displays instead of 1 1902x1200. It does work well but dont know if MBP supports it?

Thanks.

Actually, the plastic cases like a Speck or Macall...

2008-06-17T18:37:00.000-04:00

Actually, the plastic cases like a Speck or Macally case look quite nice on a white Macbook. The Apple shows thru very well. My 80-year old mom has a red Speck case on her white Macbook, and people always comment on it when she's at Panera or Starbucks.

@Col. Austin: Well, from a performance standpoint ...

2008-06-17T17:10:00.000-04:00

@Col. Austin: Well, from a performance standpoint I haven't seen that much of a difference to be honest. I expected the dedicated graphics card to make a bigger impact but I haven't hit the applications that make use of it yet. It's a 2.4GHz vs a 2.2GHz so there is a very slight performance difference.

The bottom line is that both machines work really well. The main reason for my move was that screen, which I find wonderful and worth the additional money. I've been using the MBP throughout the day and haven't even noticed the heating issue. It does seem to be getting better or I have really adjusted well.

@FAMF: Thanks again for that tip - I really do lik...

2008-06-17T17:04:00.000-04:00

@FAMF: Thanks again for that tip - I really do like the iPod Touch, it's a nice little change up to lugging the MBP everywhere in the house.

I did get the Macally case, right after I turned the MacBook over to my youngest daughter. She took one look at it and said "ick". "You can't see the Apple logo...!" She is much more image conscious than I am and the white MacBook case is far too fashy for her not to want to show it off.

I haven't even pulled it out of the plastic yet because I may just sell it off. I tried offering it to a friend but he said it would make his MacBook look like a 70s era naugahyde couch.

I did take a quick look at MobileMe (and .Mac before that) and decided to pass. Even though I could have bought it for $60 for the year I didn't really see that much value in it for me. All I really need is the ability to synchronize my bookmarks, address book and 1Password contents between machines. I'd probably pay $20 / year for that capability. In the mean time I'll just move the file manually for now.

I'm glad everything worked out with the macbook pr...

2008-06-17T17:02:00.000-04:00

I'm glad everything worked out with the macbook pro. my girlfriend has one and hates the fact that it is so much bigger than my macbook and how much hotter her comp gets. i'm curious as to how you feel about how the mbp stacks up against the macbook performance-wise. My girlfriend has a mbp with the same specs as my macbook, and my computer runs better and faster.

(This is probably obvious. If so, please ignore, t...

2008-06-17T15:52:00.000-04:00

(This is probably obvious. If so, please ignore, thanks!) If your monitor has a DVI (or HDMI) port, use that instead of the DVI-to-VGA adaptor. You avoid 2 analog-digital conversions, and there are no analog-induced geometry concerns.

I'm glad you got the Touch like I recommended, it'...

2008-06-17T14:41:00.000-04:00

I'm glad you got the Touch like I recommended, it's a pretty sweet piece of technology. It will be even more so when the software update comes out for it in July. Also, have you investigated Mobile Me at all? If not, go check it out. It starts in July, but all the info is up on apple.com. It's going to be a great way to sync all your devices.

Also, have you gotten the Macally case yet? Like it or not?

-Female Anon Mac Fan

For a dock try bookends. They are great, expensive...

2008-06-17T14:40:00.000-04:00

For a dock try bookends. They are great, expensive but great. You plug all your cables into it and then there is a lever that slides the dock parts in and out. It make getting on the go from an office setup real quick.

I am using my MBP as my main machine and have it s...

2008-06-17T14:18:00.000-04:00

I am using my MBP as my main machine and have it sit on a Griffin Elevator stand next to my 24" monitor most of the time. Works great. I just wish that Apple had a docking solution. I kind of suspect they might come out with one eventually as they seem to be taking aim at the enterprise market now.
As it is I have 6 cables to unplug when I want to take the laptop with me.

I found that putting the form fitting plastic casi...

2008-06-17T12:05:00.000-04:00

I found that putting the form fitting plastic casing sold at the Apple Store reduced the heat issue and also keeps my 15" MacBook Pro in top resale condition. It was like $40 bucks. Speck SeeThru for 15-inch MacBook Pro at the apple store

I think it would be worth trying going without the...

2008-06-17T11:21:00.000-04:00

I think it would be worth trying going without the fan control for a few days and seeing if you have any heat issues. Your initial heat problems may have just been from spotlight indexing going full tilt for an extended period of time.

when i get my mbp back from applecare, i will chec...

2008-06-17T11:14:00.000-04:00

when i get my mbp back from applecare, i will check out the fsn utility. i just received my refurb mbp on saturday and there was a slight divot on the plastic seal between the top face of the keyboard and the front face. i wouldn't have cared except my left wrist passes on the divot when using the mbp and it's uncomfortable. so, my new mbp is gone for a week - i'm sad. i'll just live vicariously through your posts and use my crappy acer until it returns.

I've been using smcFanControl 2.1 (http://homepage...

2008-06-17T09:56:00.000-04:00

I've been using smcFanControl 2.1 (http://homepage.mac.com/holtmann/eidac/) and it works just as well.