technology

[Chinorlz]

$1800 is totally reasonable. I was just going by the photo posted.

[dji]

for a 40" Samsung TV?

[Arkady]

It's reasonable if you care about that shape just like Apple's 200% margins are reasonable if you care about their design / os. But yeah kind of hilarious, I think the top line Samsung is around $570 for a 40 inch.

[SuE]

Before getting a TV I´d have to figure out how to place it inside the living room without having a layout where every furniture faces the screen. It should not be the center of attention.

Put the TV on a wall or get a projector

[t3hg0suazn]

Report:

Just downloaded Photoshop CS5 on the 12in.
Boots up super fast. Editing is very quick, has no real issues with intense spot healing thus far. Therefore, does exactly what I need it to for what it is.

The only slowness I've experienced is bulk image importing/exporting through the new iphoto (Photos). Not a big deal though, only adds a few more seconds.

The fact that it's only 2lbs is crazy. It's like a useful tablet XD

You're really pushing me over the edge. I was leaning towards the 13" macbook pro retina because I want a laptop that can serve all my needs when travelling, which mostly just consists of multi-tabbed browsing, fast file searching, mass photo upload/editing. Does the macbook really do the job with the new processor? Hard to believe when it's so light...

[Faust]

Can anyone recommend GOOD software that converts .FLAC to .MP3 or better yet, .AAC? VLC makes everything sound like shit.

[MJRH]

With the rather significant caveat that I'm none too picky about high fidelity, I've used NCH Switch Audio before and found it pretty handy.

VLC's been buggering out on me on a lot of things lately. I fear it's going the way of the bloat.

[SuE]

Can anyone recommend GOOD software that converts .FLAC to .MP3 or better yet, .AAC? VLC makes everything sound like shit.

VLC is primarily designed for video. Try Vox instead for audio (.flac etc):



If you still prefer to convert then check out X Lossless Decoder:

[Arkady]

Can anyone recommend GOOD software that converts .FLAC to .MP3 or better yet, .AAC? VLC makes everything sound like shit.

This is excellent: http://www.mediahuman.com/audio-converter/

[Chinorlz]

If you would like to maintain *.FLAC, I use the Audirvana app on my computer to play everything in that format. Using it to pipe the audio through a McIntosh system results in high quality output, or you can just connect some headphones and enjoy as well!

[Ahimsa]

You're really pushing me over the edge. I was leaning towards the 13" macbook pro retina because I want a laptop that can serve all my needs when travelling, which mostly just consists of multi-tabbed browsing, fast file searching, mass photo upload/editing. Does the macbook really do the job with the new processor? Hard to believe when it's so light...

Forgot to respond to this…

For mass photo downloading/uploading , I'd definitely say puts a lot of strain on the processor and slows it down a bit. (found this out whilst doing the seasonal collections downloads/uploads)

[Hedi]

If you still prefer to convert then check out X Lossless Decoder:

If you would like to maintain *.FLAC, I use the Audirvana app on my computer to play everything in that format. Using it to pipe the audio through a McIntosh system results in high quality output, or you can just connect some headphones and enjoy as well!

+1 XLD and +1 Audirvana Plus

Essential audio apps on a mac system.

[Calm]

You're really pushing me over the edge. I was leaning towards the 13" macbook pro retina because I want a laptop that can serve all my needs when travelling, which mostly just consists of multi-tabbed browsing, fast file searching, mass photo upload/editing. Does the macbook really do the job with the new processor? Hard to believe when it's so light...

I have the new (at least, early 2015) 13" MBP w/ Retina and have never experienced processor lag when compiling some serious programs. It takes time but it never feels like it's overloaded or bloated. Despite the heavy pricetag, I can't recommend these laptops enough. It's really a great experience, even if you could edge it out stats vs. price wise with some of the Windows OS machines.

[t3hg0suazn]

I agree - macs are the only laptops I've bought for the past 9 years (jeez has it been so long?). Everything else is cheaper but I end up dissatisfied and upgrade way more often (there's an analogy to fashion somewhere in here).

Thanks for the info above. I plan to get a 13" MBP w/ Retina, but try to hold out for the 2016 release with the new Skylake processors. I know waiting for technology is a slippery slope, but the mbp seems overdue for a processor upgrade.

[Faust]

So, I did a fair amount of research and it looks like we are on the horizon of significant price drops and improvements for things like 4k and OLED. I think I will wait a year or two to replace my TV.