just got my MBP. not too impressed...

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So I bought the Macbook Pro primarily to use with Pro Tools 8, since I've never heard anything bad about running PT with Mac. However, I'm deployed with the US military and don't have the installation disc for the Mbox 2 so I've had to find other things to do with the Mac. When I got here I had a cheap Toshiba that did just fine for what i used it for (internet pretty much). now they have a free internet service which is really slow and one thats a little faster (Watinaya) that you have to pay for. both networks show up, however I CANNOT connect to the Watinaya that I paid for. It says I have connected but when I upload Safari, it says I have no internet. I've done everything I can through Help and other suggestions over the internet and still cannot figure out how I'm having this problem with a 1700$ computer when my other 600$ computer managed fine without a question.
Another thing I've noticed is that it won't play my video files at all. They're mostly .mpg files which Mac says it can play just fine in the Help section, but claims it's not a video file when i try to open it. once again the Toshiba can play these files without a problem. Do i have to convert everything i have on my external hard drive just to work them? It also seems to take awhile to show any files when i click on the external hard drive.
I'm really trying to like the Mac Book Pro, but so far haven't been loving it. any suggestions? thanks
 
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MacBook Intel 2.4, 10.6.1, XP Partition | 1st Gen Time Capsule | 5th Gen 30GB iPod
I'm sorry your not impressed. You can fix each one of these problems rather easily. Just take it one at a time. I on the other hand am highly impressed. This is the first time I've heard of Wataniya, looks like the comcast of the middle east. Call me small minded all you like but I think the sales pitch of Arab-Anglo unity and the welcoming phrase "We'd like to spend this ramadan with you!" has got to be the funniest thing I've seen since Miss Teen South Carolina said something about maps.

Your an American, can't you just offer something in exchange to an Iraqi kid to fix it for you? Like, a goat? You think you can get a goat over there? I hear if your an American you get pretty much whatever you want. After all you got a Mac and high speed internet. Certainly you can get a goat, or something.
 

dtravis7


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MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
I am not sure what the issue is with Watinaya but I will do some searching and see if I can find anything.

Once you get internet working, Google Flip4Mac and Perian. Fiip4Mac is for Windows Media and Perian is like a Codec Pack was on Windows.
 

cwa107


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First off, I'd like to say 'thank you' for your service to this country. I know you probably don't often hear it from a complete stranger, but we appreciate the sacrifices you're making to help protect our way of life here.

As to your questions - can you tell me a little bit about your Internet service?

Is it wireless or wired? If the former, does it use any kind of encryption (i.e. do you have to enter a password/passphrase when you connect?).

If the latter, open Network Utility (Applications => Utilities). Look at device 'en0' and see what the 'Default Gateway' is set to. Then open Terminal and see if you can ping that address. If you can, then try to ping Yahoo!. If it doesn't hit anything, it's probably a DNS issue and can be sorted out by switching to a different DNS server (like OpenDNS).

If you need clarification on those steps, let me know.

As to your issue with mpg files, be aware that mpegs can be encoded in several different ways. You may need to install a codec package like Perian, VLC media player (which comes with many different codecs) and/or DivX.
 
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21" iMac * 2.8 Ghz Intel Core i7 * 16GB 1333 Mhz DDR3 * 1TB HD *AMD Radeon HD 6770M 512 MB
What have you tried opening your mpeg's with? I think the new Quicktime Player should be able to handle them. If you want to view them with Quicktime Player 7, you'll need to buy the plugin here:

Apple - QuickTime - MPEG-2 Playback

or you can download VLC player, which is free, to view mpegs. MPEG Streamclip is a free app which can convert mpeg's to other formats. Personally, I have Final Cut Studio and Compressor handles mpegs and all kinds of other formats, but I realize you probably don't have this.

As for connection issues, another poster was just saying how their Macbook picks up wireless signals that other PC's don't, and I've heard of Macbooks having trouble picking up signals that other computers get so it's hard to say what the problem is.

Does your MBP pick up the free internet? Free signals usually don't require a password, but pay signals usually do. Some wireless networks require you to download a certain app to connect, but I don't know much about that except that when I wanted to get online while visiting my boyfriend at Boston University, I had to install something I'd never seen before in order to connect to their network. You might want to want to check with the provider to see if there are special steps you need to take. Is there a wireless signal of any kind appearing in your menu bar?

In any case, if you aren't going to be using the MBP for Pro Tools, you might as well just get your money back and stick to a computer that better suits your needs. A MBP is definitely overkill if you just want to surf the net.

You might also have gotten a defective machine, which does happen occasionally. Is it a new or used computer?
 
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VLC is like a super program...any video file I have ever tried works perfectly 1st time every time and its free!

I must also say that I am thankful that people who are risking their lives on a daily basis are finally getting the support of people and wish you and everyone over there a very peaceful time and I hope that everyone returns safe and with all body parts attached!
 

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