Tech help needed...

[ilikewisco]

I'm gonna dual boot to start unless I really hate Windows 8. I got the Lenovo H520, it has an Intel Petium G5020 64 bit dual core processor with Intel HD integrated graphics. It only has 4GB RAM but I can upgrade like you said. It was only $280 so I thought the price was right. I plan on getting a MacBook after I graduate from college in May and get a job.

 

As far as programming, I have had very little exposure to HTML and C++. I am a complete novice with Linux as well. I really have no idea how I will go about learning, so any advice would be appreciated. I know I will get some exposure with Linux. I plan on attending some meetings for the Linux club at school and hopefully meet some people who can point me in the right direction. My major is chemistry, but a basic understanding of programming I know can only help.

[1992casey]

Just so you know once it's time to shop again, there's only one MacBook model left with owner-upgradable RAM (the legacy 13" MacBook Pro). That model wasn't upgraded this year; that's likely a signal that it'll be discontinued in the coming months.

 

Also, if you're using an external hard drive for storage, remember that you need a backup plan for it just as you would for your internal drive.

[ilikewisco]

Is the legacy the non-retina display with 500 GB hard drive? And so I understand, flash drive MacBooks can't have their RAM upgraded, right? I was looking at getting the 13" air but having the ports would be nice, as would the option to upgrade. I don't think the retina display would be a big issue for me either way, except it's gonna increase the price. I guess I would rather have flash drive just for the less moving parts aspect. Should I want a flash drive or doesn't it matter? I will probably post again this summer when I'm looking to buy.

[LouisEly]

Just looking for recommendations for a graphics card. My desktop is old (2009) but does everything well except for HD video. I don't "game", and my Windows Experience ratings are >5.0 for everything except for graphics and gaming graphics (3.6 and 3.0). Will something basic like this do the trick:

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00847TOLC/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=OUSWX9DPPEZU&coliid=I3KHQV3PK4FNTB

 

Or do I need more than that or can I get away with less than that? And dumb question, but does it matter that the memory on this card is GDDR3 when my RAM is DDR2?

 

Thanks!

[ilikewisco]

I think as long as it will fit it should work with DDR2. I did a google search and some forum answers said it should work fine. The manufacturer website says you need a minimum of 300W power supply though.

 

EVGA http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=01G-P3-2615-KR

 

might wanna wait until someone answers that knows for sure though.

[1992casey]

Is the legacy the non-retina display with 500 GB hard drive? And so I understand, flash drive MacBooks can't have their RAM upgraded, right? I was looking at getting the 13" air but having the ports would be nice, as would the option to upgrade. I don't think the retina display would be a big issue for me either way, except it's gonna increase the price. I guess I would rather have flash drive just for the less moving parts aspect. Should I want a flash drive or doesn't it matter? I will probably post again this summer when I'm looking to buy.

"Legacy" refers to the 13" MacBook Pro with the non-retina display. RAM is upgradeable. The base configuration has a 500GB hard drive. Options are a 1TB hard drive or 128, 256, or 512GB SSD (flash) storage. This computer also includes an internal DVD burner, which is hardly necessary anymore. Apple's external SuperDrive costs $79 if you really need a burner. Third party options would cost a little less.

 

MacBook Airs and Retina MacBook Pros all have SSD (flash) storage and non-upgradeable RAM. Comparing base costs for 13" models:

 

• 13" MacBook Air: $1099
  
• 13" Legacy (non-retina) MacBook Pro: $1199
  
• 13" Retina MacBook Pro: $1299

 

By summer, there'll probably be some new models available, depending on when Intel releases its next generation of processors. I don't know what the next generation might offer, but the last bump included a huge upgrade in battery life. The legacy MacBook Pro still has the previous generation processors.

[LouisEly]

I think as long as it will fit it should work with DDR2. I did a google search and some forum answers said it should work fine. The manufacturer website says you need a minimum of 300W power supply though.

 

EVGA http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=01G-P3-2615-KR

 

might wanna wait until someone answers that knows for sure though.

And that is exactly what I have, a 300W power supply... Thanks!

[logan82]

I have multiple Outlook calendars and would like to view them on my android phone. How can I do that without using the web browser?

[nate82]

Have you tried synchronize your phone with outlook?

 

http://www.androidtapp.com/how-to-synch-your-outlook-calendar-google-calendar-and-android-phone-calendar/

[logan82]

I can get my main calendar to sync with my phone. I have other calendars in that same Outlook account that will not sync. The web searching I did seemed to indicate that at some point last year Google dropped support of multiple Outlook calendars.

[ilikewisco]

Do you know what programming language(s) you would like to learn?

 

I got Ubuntu running, with some effort. Windows 8 was a real pain in the butt in that regard. I like the things you can do with the terminal but I don't know enough about or how to operate it to be beneficial. What I wanted to ask though is if you use Linux, is there any software you would reccomend to start learning some programming?

[RightFieldCoder]

I only used Linux in school, and that was just to familiarize us with the system. All of my coding has happened on Windows.

 

I would look into Eclipse. It is a free and open IDE. There is also an Android version for writing phone apps.

 

If you want to jump in the deep end you can use any text editor to write your code. You can then use command line tools to compile and run your code. This is how we learned C++ in school. No debugger, no syntax error highlighting, no intellisense.

[giffted1]

I'm gonna dual boot to start unless I really hate Windows 8. I got the Lenovo H520, it has an Intel Petium G5020 64 bit dual core processor with Intel HD integrated graphics. It only has 4GB RAM but I can upgrade like you said. It was only $280 so I thought the price was right. I plan on getting a MacBook after I graduate from college in May and get a job.

 

As far as programming, I have had very little exposure to HTML and C++. I am a complete novice with Linux as well. I really have no idea how I will go about learning, so any advice would be appreciated. I know I will get some exposure with Linux. I plan on attending some meetings for the Linux club at school and hopefully meet some people who can point me in the right direction. My major is chemistry, but a basic understanding of programming I know can only help.

 

I can't speak to what's more likely to be used in the Chemistry field, but if you're going for just a high level understanding of programming, I'd recommend starting with Java. C++ has some complexities that Java takes care of for you, and it's easier to find documentation for Java, IMO.

[ilikewisco]

Thank you all. I've used eclipse before when I had a class in C++. I might start there and start to familarize myself with Java as well. And I have used a text editor for HTML, but it was just to create a simple webpage.

[1992casey]

How important is Java going to be moving forward? With all the issues over the past couple of years, I refuse to install it.

[giffted1]

How important is Java going to be moving forward? With all the issues over the past couple of years, I refuse to install it.

 

Being the primary development language for Android and with it's wide use in enterprise applications, I think it'll be relevant for a while.

[RightFieldCoder]

It will still be used. It is also a good teaching language because it is free and it is managed code. There is less concern about memory leaks in Java than C++. It is also much harder to brick your computer with Java.

 

If you don't mind Windows, C# is Microsoft's answer to Java. The Express version of Visual Studios is free.