Digital Lifestyle

Lesser men would have included a more powerful adapter, but not The Steve.

Does this mean if I'm playing a graphics-hungry game while on AC, it will be sipping from the battery too, and will it automatically reduce battery power when the battery runs dry? If not, then when WOULD it hit the battery for extra power? Either they're lying to cover up a bug, or there are some nasty surprises waiting for power users. I mean, if I could get up after a day of using the MBP while plugged in, and the battery is partially or totally drained, then I am screwed next time that I try to work off AC.

I'm not normally moved to Bahamut level rants, but this seems like a big deal to me.

Pretty sure they are lying in the first part, and honest in the second part, though that does not really explain why they programmed the thing to reduce clock speed w/o battery. I will bet dollars to donuts it was an attempt by somebody to piss off /get back at a spouse or mate: "Honey, you know what happens when you run off the adapter with no battery! But dear it is so much lighter in my lap that way... BUT then the CAT steps on the cord and you yell at ME, your handsome genius Apple engineer about how I can't design a better computer. ...."

Question-how is best buy getting away with 10% off of some apple products?

Is apple becoming more lenient? Or are sales off that much?

CS edited the sale prices.

Someone else asked me about this today. I don't have any visibility into that part of the business so I have no idea how that works.

Pretty sure this is something Apple approved as part of its desire to cultivate a relationship with Best Buy.

Anybody can sell Apple products for what ever they like. Apple can choose to resond to MAP violations or not. What they say to us that violating MAP will resulat in loss of our back-end dollars. I'm guessing Best Buy either gets those up front or isn't afraid that Apple will do that.

But Apple violates MAP themselves all the time.

Apple may finally be on the verge of understanding how big Best Buy has become. When I worked there in high school, there were about 30 stores and they were just starting to open a bunch more. There are now about 1080 stores in the US alone. They've bought Future Shop which gives them another 180 stores in Canada. We're in the process of opening a handful of stores in Mexico. They bought Five Star Appliances giving them 150 stores in China and they bought Carphone Warehouse giving them over 1700 stores across Europe... and there's more stuff on the horizon that I'm not allowed to talk about.

The only way Apple could get broader penetration from a reseller would be to cozy up to Wal-Mart and they know better than to go that route. Quality doesn't live long at Wal-Mart.

Maybe that has nothing to do with their relationship with Best Buy but I'm sure it doesn't hurt.

Last time I bought a TV it was 2003, and I got a 27" tube on sale for $350! Now the Ol' Battleaxe has expressed an interest in Blu-Ray cartoon movies. I can't afford a Pioneer Kuro (and I've seen one, and they are awesome... imagine a Cibachrome that comes to life. That's Pioneer) and I don't want a WallyWorld "Black Friday" special LCD.

Anyone have any input on a Panasonic Viera TH50PZ80U vs. TH50PZ850U vs. a Samsung PN50A550? Is the Nicer Panny worth $200 more than the Samsung, and are they both worth the $500 premium over the baseline 50" Panny plasma? I can't find anyplace that lets me view them all side by side.

While we're at it... Is a 50" really worth that much more than a 46"? Does anyone know where I can find a new, in-box warrantied Pioneer Kuro 46" 720p? Is Costco's "Two-Fer" Sharp Aquos special worth eschewing Plasma for LCD? (And shelling out for a costco membership)?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/2008 06:24PM by SoupIsGood Food.

As someone who uses flat panels on shows quite a bit, I'd say I really don't like plasmas. They are heavier, hotter and more fragile than LCDs and you can easily burn in an image.

If you are looking at LCDs, Samsung is a great brand, and the Vizio's are really good for the price.

If you go LCD, make sure to get one with the LED backlight, because it will last that much longer.

Agree a tom

if you trust pc mag: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2335521,00.asp

ddt

We are still very much on the 'steeply declining price and significant quality advances' portion of the LCD curve -- I have seen the top of the line Sony KDL-55XBR8 vs Samsung LN-55A950 and both are very very very nice, but priced to compete with Kuro Elite. Bad mistake in market of DEVASTATION, tweeter is going going gon...

My guy who owns a shop has said that the Brightside / Dolby HDR patents should bring the same kind of "perfect black & superior color" to a lot more sets at a lot better price some time in the coming model year -- business side has to decide if the investment makes sense given the weakening consumer spend. Weigh against this is the looming death of analog TVs and the whole ugly BluRay mess...

Bargins will be had.

I am keeping my powder dry and hoping the ol' CRTs last until the the "quality curve" hits a plateu and the price a trough...

So, has there been any consensus on the AC adaptor for the MacBooks? Is it just that they're too weak? (Could this be related to them being the new fancy "mag-safe" ones?)

Will this mean the battery gets worn out far more quickly? I'm with you JW, this really bugs me.

The AC thing is NOT NEW. All intels have had this.

I guess that they periodically "sip" some juice during spikes in power usage. Maybe they make up for it by charging during lulls. But why not just ship more powerful adaptors?

They'll be too big for Steve's taste...

Have you seen other brand's adapters?

They are just too weak. I'm finding it takes way too long to charge up the last 10% of my Macbook. It's weird. Strange recharge curve.

>They'll be too big for Steve's taste...

>Have you seen other brand's adapters?

Ah, the triumph of style over substance.

The intel based portables have always slowed down when the battery is pulled, This was covered back in '06 when the macbooks first came out. They can run at full speed without the battery, but it's a safety thing that Apple throttles it down without the battery. It will pull power from the battery in extreme demand situations. Without the battery, this can cause a shutdown. In normal operation they won't pull from the battery when connected to ac.