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Apple Nerds, I need some help

 
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ohsix
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PostPosted: Dec 23, 2013 9:23 am    Post subject: Apple Nerds, I need some help Reply with quote

I bought my wife a 15" Macbook pro for Christmas. What are my options for docking stations and dual monitor setups?

She will mostly use the computer for useless activities like browsing facebook and shopping, but she does use Adobe Elements for photo editing, which is where I hope this gift kicks ass.

For the 1% of my computing (Excel, e-mails, forum browsing, in that order) I do on our home PC, which is a Dell, POS, Sam's Club special, desktop running Vista, I would like to set this fancy Mac on a docking station that automatically hooks it up to dual monitors, a normal mouse, and keyboard like I have my Lenovo laptop setup at work.

I talked to the guy at the Apple store for a few minutes trying to fish out a docking station or monitor suggestion from him before giving up after being shown how you can run multiple desktops from the laptop without needing external monitors. Fortunately, there is wakeboarder.com where I know guys like chavez study this kind of stuff just in case someone starts a topic asking for electronics help in between Okie's conservative propaganda "news" stories, pictures of half-naked girls, or one of the 3 hockey threads for the 3 people that care about hockey.

I see Apple makes monitors in any size you want, as long as it's 27", which are comparable in price with nothing at $1,000 a piece. Please tell me there are better options than a bunch of wires plugged directly into the laptop and $2,000 worth of monitors.
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PostPosted: Dec 23, 2013 9:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

if my dev group was working this week, i could just walk upstairs and ask them. they all have the exact setup you want - apple laptop w/ 2 or 3 monitors and a wireless keyboard/mouse.
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PostPosted: Dec 23, 2013 9:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Chavez wrote:
Waiting for Henge or Zen to get their docking solutions working. Got a Displaylink certified Dock that uses USB3 but its definitely not ready for OSX despite their claims to the contrary. For now I, just going to wire direct to the tbolt ports to get my dual 27's on at my desk.


http://www.hengedocks.com/

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PostPosted: Dec 23, 2013 10:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

wakeboarderdave1, thanks for the website. I guess I should mention that my wife's Macbook is a retina display. It looks like Henge only makes docks for non-retina Macbooks.

Edit: This is exactly what I'm looking for, but it's not ready to ship:
http://www.hengedocks.com/order_horizontal_dock.php

I assume I can run any type of monitor from the 3 video ports on the docking station. Any reason I couldn't run Apple monitors from those ports, or any reason I shouldn't run a brand other than Apple?
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PostPosted: Dec 23, 2013 11:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ohsix I just bought a new Imac on the weekend, old one crapped out.

I have a question. My apple is what we use to download all the movies and music. The music just goes into the iTunes file, but we would always burn the movies onto a DVD disk and watch them on the blue ray player.

The new Imac, which I didn't realize doesn't come with a DVD burner. I know I'm old school. What kind or wireless connection would I need from my computer to my reciever or blue ray player for me to skip the dvd burning process?

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PostPosted: Dec 23, 2013 11:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bambaski, get a apple tv. They're only $100 and you're already well connected to the Apple ecosystem.
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PostPosted: Dec 23, 2013 12:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I thought apple TV only worked if the movies were legit..... and not downloaded through a bit torrent site?
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PostPosted: Dec 23, 2013 1:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh, I assumed you had bought them all through itunes. Can you look up the model of your blu-ray player?
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PostPosted: Dec 23, 2013 1:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i'll look when i get home. Would you plug something into the blue-ray player or the reciever? i suck at technology... i'm the only person in North American that doesn't have a net flicks account as well...
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PostPosted: Dec 23, 2013 2:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

panasonic dmp bd80

denon avr 2312ci

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PostPosted: Dec 23, 2013 9:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can play bit torrent downloads via Apple TV. The Apple TV just mirrors your monitor.
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PostPosted: Dec 24, 2013 5:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bambaski, if your Denon is hooked up to the same network as your mac you could use the DLNA technology. You'll want this program running on your mac http://www.ps3mediaserver.org/

http://www.youtube.com/topic/ob3taCHsafE/ps3-media-server

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PostPosted: Dec 24, 2013 6:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

wakeboarderdave1

Just pretend you're talking with someone that has no clue of how to set up anything related to networks, technology, ect ect.

"the same network" as my computer? I do have a wireless router, it's about 6 years old now. That's about all I know about it though.

My TV set up is pretty basic. I have a Satellite and Blue-Ray player hooked into my Denon that goes through the TV. Nothing in that set up is connected to the router/computer ect ect. I said above I don't have netflicks or anything like that. I've never ordered a movie off of my satellite dish.

Really what I want is for my Mac to be able to send a signal to my recieiver so I can watch movies that have been downloaded onto the computer without using a cord.

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PostPosted: Dec 24, 2013 7:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Your denon receiver will need to be connected to your internet somehow (wireless or via a ethernet cable) to be able to send data from your iMac to the receiver.

EDIT: How did you figure out how to download torrents?

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PostPosted: Dec 24, 2013 8:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

haha my son in law gave me step by step instructions.
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PostPosted: Dec 24, 2013 1:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

FWIW: The apple tv will play back any videos that can be imported to iTunes on your computer. So if you torrent the files in and add them to iTunes, they will play back. Alternatively, you could play them on the mac and mirror it to the apple tv.

ohsix, sign up for their pre-order. I was invited to buy one last week but passed for now. for now I am using the two thunderbolt ports to output to my monitors, and I have a usb3 hub under my notebook stand. So, when i get to the office, i plug in 4 wires total, and I'm "docked". Works fine for me. I have the wires neatly attached to the my stand, so everything is tidy when in place.

As for monitors, just grab a couple of 1080p monitors of your desired size and rock it. Bonus points if the monitors use HDMI or DisplayPort inputs. For what your wife is doing she might like IPS monitors. I've seen these as low as 150 for 23".

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PostPosted: Dec 24, 2013 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ohsix, if you are in the buying mood, you will likely not see a deal like the one at Woot right now.

2560x1440 HP IPS monitors for 349. It's a SMOKING deal, factory recon or not. These are top of the line panels for an unreal price.

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PostPosted: Dec 26, 2013 7:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

chavez, I missed the monitor deal. I've never bought anything from woot, but it looks like this monitor has come up on woot on 11/29, 12/10, 12/19, and 12/24. Can I just check daily to see if it comes up again, or is there some way to request that woot send notice when if/when it comes up again?
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PostPosted: Dec 26, 2013 7:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You might check out these acer's as well. I've had good luck with the acer monitor's I've bought.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009460

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PostPosted: Dec 26, 2013 10:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ohsix, I don't know of any trackers that will do it. You could just sign up for their daily newsletter/ad.
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PostPosted: Aug 25, 2014 12:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

chavez wrote:

ohsix, sign up for their pre-order. I was invited to buy one last week but passed for now. for now I am using the two thunderbolt ports to output to my monitors, and I have a usb3 hub under my notebook stand. So, when i get to the office, i plug in 4 wires total, and I'm "docked". Works fine for me. I have the wires neatly attached to the my stand, so everything is tidy when in place.


I signed up for the pre-order that day. Still no news on the horizontal dock. Have you heard anything chavez?
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PostPosted: Aug 25, 2014 12:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ohsix, I've not seen anything more than "late 2014"
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PostPosted: Aug 27, 2014 7:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have the vertical dock and am very happy with it. It took forever to get from pre-order to production for that product too. I would rather have the horizontal, if for any other reason to centralize my USB cabling.
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PostPosted: Nov 05, 2015 7:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ohsix wrote:
wakeboarderdave1, thanks for the website. I guess I should mention that my wife's Macbook is a retina display. It looks like Henge only makes docks for non-retina Macbooks.

Edit: This is exactly what I'm looking for, but it's not ready to ship:
http://www.hengedocks.com/order_horizontal_dock.php

I assume I can run any type of monitor from the 3 video ports on the docking station. Any reason I couldn't run Apple monitors from those ports, or any reason I shouldn't run a brand other than Apple?


Henge Dock Update:

I ordered the Henge docking station on 12/23/13 and it just arrived on 11/3/15. They did send e-mails every few months giving development updates, and my wife still uses her MacBook, but I'm amazed that they advertised the docking station almost 2 years prior to it's release. With the pace of changing technology, they're lucky their docking station isn't obsolete by now.
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PostPosted: Nov 06, 2015 9:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ohsix, that is way too long to wait. That MBP will be outdated in just a few years, and the dock will be useless.

Still, how do you like the dock? Thoughts on build quality?

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PostPosted: Nov 06, 2015 9:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

chavez wrote:
ohsix, that is way too long to wait. That MBP will be outdated in just a few years, and the dock will be useless.

Still, how do you like the dock? Thoughts on build quality?


I'll let you know next week. It's still in the box. I plan to hook it up this weekend, but the monitors won't be delivered until Monday.
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PostPosted: Nov 06, 2015 1:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I so feel left out of the apple talk. I have apple phones, TV and pads...just never converted to a laptop.
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PostPosted: Nov 10, 2015 1:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

chavez wrote:
Still, how do you like the dock? Thoughts on build quality?


I hooked everything up last night. Build quality on the dock seems good. Packaging was nice and well thought out. The dock has a cradle that you set the laptop in then push a button and the dock engages the side ports. It's a lot easier to line everything up with the cradle compared to the HP and Lenovo docking stations I've used, but the dock is more complex with all the moving parts.

I'm trying to figure out how to use two external monitors with the dock. The dock has 1 Thunderbolt 2 connection, 1 mini DP connection, 1 HDMI connection, and 6 USB connections. I'm using 3 of the USB connections for printer, keyboard, and mouse, so I have the remaining connections available. I'm trying to connect to Acer monitors which have HDMI, DP, and DVI inputs. Any idea what I need to use 2 external monitors (with the computer docked and not using the laptop display)? I've sent an e-mail to Henge asking the same and they replied that they will send another reply within 2 business days.
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PostPosted: Nov 10, 2015 9:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Going to copy past two posts from another thread, but this is Apple, so advise me...

So I need a new computer for this house. My daughter is starting to get homework when she needs a word processer and printer, we don't have either. Thinking about getting an iMac.

Does an iMac come preloaded with a Word type program or do I need to purchase office?

Is it worth the $200 to go from the 1.6GHz to the 2.8GHz processer? I have ZERO knowledge of computers.....ZERO. In fact, other than thinking that means "faster"....don't even know what that means.

This will be something to do homework on, surf the net, process photos, listen to Pandora. We do not game.

Only reason I'm thinking Mac, which appears to be significantly more, is that we have obviously gravitated to Apple products. All of us have iPhones, have 2 iPads ect.


It was a done deal(kinda thinking the entry 27" is the best bang for buck, right?) then got the BOOM.

My son, who is a monster student and a gamer, ask me why would I do it. Said he hates his MacBook Pro and would give that to me, if I'd buy him a PC laptop. Said he's gone his life working on PC and now learning a new way is meh. Still runs a gaming PC. Not terrible, but like an itch. Said, "Why make her learn everything twice, at the same time."
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PostPosted: Nov 10, 2015 10:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is basically how I have my work MBP connected:

Monitor 1: HDMI (dock) to HDMI (monitor)
Monitor 2: Mini DP (dock) to DP (monitor) using this cable - http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-32AWG-Mini-DisplayPort-Cable/dp/B0034X6SCY

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PostPosted: Nov 11, 2015 8:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

E.J., she should learn both OS'es. It will only benefit her down the road. Your son would benefit from learning both OS'es as well. Shoot, I flip back and forth all day long on my MacBook via Parallels.

As for Office. Don't bother. School age kids DO NOT NEED a full copy of Office. The basic version is available online for FREE. Parents who pay for Office for their children to use are, to put it bluntly, SUCKERS. Totally uneccessary unless your kid gets is going to write a novel, or is going to create custom VB scripts (both extremely unlikely).

For example: https://office.live.com/start/Word.aspx

You could also use Google Docs, which offers their product with the same functionality for FREE as well.

OSX does have modest built in word processor. It's called TextEdit. If you want additional functionality, you can purchase Apple's word processor called Pages. It's $19.99 on the app store.

Depending on what your "photo processing" needs are, you could just get a Chromebook for $200 or so, and it should do everything you just noted, and do it well. If you are hell bent on a desktop machine, you are looking at major overkill with an iMac based on what you described above.



ohsix, if that were mine, I'd get two miniDP to DP adapters to hook up the monitors. Use both Thunderbolt/miniDP ports. The cables are cheap - just use the link Scott posted. This is how I have my setup with dual externals. Works perfectly, keeps the cabling consistent.

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PostPosted: Nov 11, 2015 9:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm too lazy to do the whole quotey thing.

Learn both OSes.

iMac is overkill for basic needs. You don't need to upgrade the processor, but if you plan on keeping it for 3-4 years then it might be worth $200.

iMac comes pre-loaded with Apple's version of Microsoft Office, and Pages is included - http://www.apple.com/imac/built-in-apps/



I sort of wonder how well an iPad pro would work. Perhaps Chavez will have a chance to play with one soon. I see it also comes pre-loaded with Pages (scroll halfway down to "Free Apps from Apple" - http://www.apple.com/ipad-pro/specs/). But at this point you'll need to buy a keyboard + mouse + wireless hard drive. Probably not much cost savings, even if the whole family is more comfortable using the OS. Some day soon this will be the answer, but I'm not sure if we're there yet.

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PostPosted: Nov 12, 2015 3:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i put ms office on my new macbook because i needed to access my documents on nonmac computers at work. from what i can tell, pages uses a unique file type that word or word perfect (ha!) wouldn't open. or maybe i didn't even look into it. i just know it was weird opening .docs in pages and converting between file types was a pain in the ass. this leads me to my point which is... if he were so inclined, LM can probably download a copy of ms office from his college's software site fo' free to whatever new computer you end up with at home so the whole ms office v. free office equivalent apps is probably moot.
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