My MacBook Pro was still an infant at 1.5 months old.

During my honeymoon, I noticed a black dot on the upper right-hand side of the screen. I immediately whipped out my iKlear travel singles and wiped and wiped…with no avail. I changed the background image, played movies over the dot, and dragged windows repeatedly over it.

It was a dead pixel.

Needless to say I was very upset, especially because I knew that Apple (like many other LCD vendors) would not replace an LCD for just one dead pixel.

(Normally, one dead pixel is hardly noticeable and should not cause much concern. However, I do a lot of design work on my MacBook Pro…I need the screen exact to my specifications. My OCD nature doesn’t help either.)

My LCD troubles only grew from there.

Was it the Mediterranean air? The sea breeze? I have no idea.

All I know is that the next day, I opened my laptop to wake it from sleep to find alternating light and dark vertical “stripes” extending from the bottom of the screen.

(This isn’t a picture of my screen, but this is exactly what the problem looked like…
I found this image in this Apple support discussion board, which cites the problem as
faulty LED backlights.)

I panicked and called out to J, who is better at diagnosing hardware problems. He proceeded to calm me down and rebooted the machine.

All better.

…or so I thought.

Over the next couple of weeks the vertical stripes reappeared a few more times. Each time, the problem disappeared upon reboot.

Now, the dead pixel and the occasional backlight problem are more nuisances than real disasters. Everything else about the MacBook Pro was PERFECT.

However, I had never experienced anything like this in my 4-year relationship with my PowerBook G4. In addition, I expect better from Apple.

So today, I headed over to the Apple Store in Chelsea where I had originally picked up my baby. I made an appointment with the Genius Bar and waited.

Derek, the technician who called out my name, was an absolute darling. He was courteous and knowledgeable, never once talking down to me as many tech support guys have in the past.

On my side, I did my best to remain calm and collected, even managing a few smiles and jokes. I tried to be as detailed as possible in my explanations and politely informed him of my disappointment over a machine that was still quite new.

Apple has a strict 14-day return policy. However, I was still under the 90-day complimentary support period so I kept my fingers crossed.

Derek excused himself while he conferred with a manager. He returned with great news: since my laptop was still fairly new, and the problem seemed to be a hardware issue, they will give me a replacement Macbook Pro at no charge! They even switched out the upgraded memory so that my new laptop will have the 4 GB of RAM that I had purchased separately.

Apple…have I told you lately that I love you?

I have a brand new MacBook Pro to play with this weekend!

…my new MacBook Pro!

I constantly have memory-intensive programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Quark all running at the same time….with music playing and Firefox and Safari opened to 12 different pages. As a result my old PowerBook G4 (which is now almost 4 years old) has been suffering a bit in the past year.

I knew I needed to get a replacement laptop since the fall of 2007, but I also knew that updates to the MacBook Pro line were imminent with the annual MacWorld conference coming up in January.

MacWorld came and went with the announcement of the MacBook Air, but not even a whisper about the MacBook Pro. I troweled all the Mac fan message boards and rumor sites to find that a small update was being predicted for February.

Never underestimate the knowledge and fanbase of Mac geeks. As predicted, Apple quietly announced the update to the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines on February 26th.

And I got my spankin-new MacBook Pro last night.

The new Penryn-powered processors aren’t too big of a jump from the previous generation, but it sure is a big difference from my old 1.5 ghz PowerPC G4. My new baby came standard with 2 gb RAM, but I immediately ordered another 2 gb worth from Newegg to max it out at 4 gb. Everything runs so smoothly and lightening-fast, even outperforming the Power Mac I use at work.

Of course, no new large tech purchase is complete without unboxing pictures:

I love how Apple enforces their design aesthetics on all their products, even the packaging.

The first peek inside the box…

There’s my new baby!

I still remember when a friend told me her hometown is Cupertino and I immediately asked if I could visit her…and stay.

About to rip this sticker…

My hands were shaking at this point.

I had to make sure my mouth was closed so I don’t drool all over it.

Every Apple computer comes with these Apple stickers. I’ve read that the old ones (the colored stripe ones) can go for quite a penny on eBay.

Now, for some comparison pictures with my old baby:

The MacBook Pro is considerably thinner than the PowerBook.

A side-by-side comparison. Notice that the trackpad is larger on the MacBook Pro.

The MacBook Pro also has a rubberized cover over the hinge.

My old baby’s melted space bar. Long story. Suffice it to say, I’m a klutz.

The webcam! Now I have no excuse not to webcam-chat…

The infrared receiver for the remote.

Gosh, I love new toys…..

When Steve (THE Steve….Steve Jobs) announced the Apple iPhone during his MacWorld 2007 keynote, geeks everywhere spasmed in joy and set off a maddening ecstasy comparable only to the legendary feeding frenzies of great white sharks.

I admit – I was one of the said geeks. I played the keynote over and over, drooling over Apple’s latest innovation.

However, when the iPhone was finally released after months of anticipation, I did not purchase one. Don’t get me wrong – I love the product. But the lack of 3G on a device touted as the ultimate phone-slash-data retrieval gadget was disheartening.

In addition, I couldn’t forget the cardinal rule of all frugal geeks: never purchase a first-generation gadget. No matter how well-designed and well-tested a device is, a first-generation gadget is guaranteed to have flaws and bugs. The second and subsequent generations will most likely have those flaws fixed, with better and newer features.

As the months flew by, my SE M600i had really started to bug me. I still loved its design and UI, but I just couldn’t get over T-Mobile’s crappy service and slow data transfers. In addition, as I filled the phone with more and more information, the Symbian OS really started to suffer and lag.

What I wouldn’t give to have access to Asia’s cell phone technology, which has already started to migrate to the 4G networks! Alas, moving to Korea was out of the question and I needed to deal with the U.S.’ outdated systems. So after years and years with T-Mobile, I decided to switch to Verizon. After all, Verizon’s EV-DO service is probably the closest thing we have to a full 3G network here in the states.

Plus, Verizon had just released the new LG Voyager.

The reviews were in, and they were mostly good. Some even called the Voyager “the iPhone killer.” In fact, many speculated that one of the main reasons Verizon had refused to carry the iPhone (and give into Apple’s restricting demands) was because they had the Voyager in works.

I was still not 100% sold, and did a lot more research. LG or Apple? Voyager or iPhone?

I think this article probably swayed me the most.

Plus, I gotta support the mother country.

I freakin LOVE this phone!!!

For one, I had never used Verizon before, but the clarity in calls and the reception area is far superior to T-Mobile and AT&T.

I love the Voyager’s tactile touch-screen, the QWERTY keyboard, and fast (well, for the U.S.) data transfer speeds.

I especially love the built-in navigation system.

Although the Voyager is GPS-enabled, Verizon does not have a full GPS system. Rather, they triangulate your position based on their cell phone towers and work with third-party GPS companies to send you the information you need.

After reading this, I was a bit skeptical, but then I took it for a test run. I put it through the mother lode of tests, by using it on the GW Bridge. For those of you who are not familiar, as soon as you exit the bridge you are met with about 10 different options for exits, merges, and transfers to various streets, highways, and thruways.

The Voyager performed beautifully, even discerning lane changes and exits/entrances that were mere 50ft apart.

I immediately texted all my geeky friends and said, “my phone talks to me!”

So yes, I’m very happy with my new toy. I highly recommend the LG Voyager.

When I first watched Casino Royale, I instantly became transfixed by the smartphone used by Vesper Lynd in the movie. Since I had been in the market for a new phone, I decided to bite the bullet and purchase an unlocked version from eBay.

Being a gadget/techie geek, I had done some pretty extensive research before making the decision to purchase the phone. The phone’s OS, UIQ3 running on top of Symbian 9.1, is still fairly new (well, not that new…but very new compared to say, the Blackberry OS) and as a result, buggy. It seems that SE wanted to jump on the smartphone bandwagon a bit prematurely when this phone was released last June. There were some major complaints when the phone first came out with reports of automatic restarts, lagging, faulty applications, etc. However, one good thing about SE is that they provide free firmware upgrades via their website. So by the time I was contemplating getting the phone, the latest firmware was pretty stable.

I must admit that when I first tore open the packaging, I was a bit disappointed with the casing – I had expected a glossy white finish from the pictures I’d seen. However, after some usage, I now applaud SE for choosing the matte, pearly white finish; this baby is pretty damn resistant to scratches (and you know how much of a klutz I am).

I had been considering two other phones: the Motorola Q and the Blackberry Pearl. What made me decide on the M600i? Well, one major pro was the touchscreen with handwriting recognition. Neither of the other two have it. I had also read that the Motorola Q was pretty buggy, and besides, I don’t like Motorola products much after having owned the over-hyped Razr. And while the Blackberry Pearl has the Blackberry name behind it, but I had read that since it runs on a modified OS, it isn’t as reliable.

Believe me – I was tempted when I read that a white version of the Pearl was due to come out “very soon.” However, I also knew that I would be doing a lot of web browsing on my new phone and the Pearl’s screen was the smallest of the lot. And I was right – I’m already wishing my M600′s screen was larger, when it’s only a little larger than the Pearl.

A few more pro’s:

• I’m starting to see more and more Motorola Q’s and Blackberry Pearls these days. I feel special that I have yet to meet anyone else who has the M600i.
• The M600i comes installed with ActiveSync, which uses the Microsoft Exchange Server network to sync data using direct push. So all my work emails, appointments, and contacts are synced simultaneously without having to install anything else or pay additional fees (unlike Blackberry).
• It’s just so pretty! The physical phone itself and the UI are just my style.
• There are just so many ways to navigate and use the phone – I love the integration of the keypad, the touchscreen, and the jog dial.
• While the M600i’s QWERTY keypad looks like the Pearl with two letters to a button, they’re actually different. The M600i’s keys are curved so that you get a different letter depending on whether you press the left or right side. With the Pearl, you have to press the button twice to get the second letter.
• I like how there is a landscape/portrait orientation view option.

Some con’s:

• Like I said, the screen could be larger. But I guess they couldn’t make the phone too large or else it wouldn’t be fashionably slim.
• While the keypad is a pro now, it was a con earlier because it takes a lot of practice to get used to it.
• No camera. This is a big con for many people and the main reason they decide not to get the phone. Well I carry around a camera most of the time so it’s ok.
• No Edge. Again, this is a big con for a lot of people but I don’t really care.
• Although the latest firmware is the most stable (and I don’t have any problems 95% of the time), I still notice little bugs here and there. Hopefully they’ll be rectified with the next update.

I almost forgot – I immediately purchased a screen protector for my new phone, and it’s one of the best out there. Anyone who has an LCD worth protecting should get theirs at Martin Fields – everyone’s amazed when I tell them I have a screen protector on my phone.

One last thing: since I first became interested in the phone after watching Casino Royale, I wanted to make the experience complete by using Vesper’s distinct ”ping” as an alert tone. Upon doing some research, I discovered that
many people had been looking for the tone – several even called SE! They eventually found out that the tone was especially made for the movie and was not available to the public. But did that stop determined geeks? Never! One person get a recording of the tone from the movie, converted it to mp3 format, and uploaded it. And then another person put it through various filters to clean the sound. And now I am the proud owner of the famous “ping.”