gregory's Profile

I had the opposite experience. I've always gotten dust stuck during the wet process, probably during the hold up and spray step. While with the dry mount, I could just lay down the protective film directly onto the screen without gathering any additional dust floating in the air. I'll be doing another wet application for another device today or tomorrow, so I'll be able to compare and contrast again...

CALVINNBs: Thanks for the catch...an honest mistake while in Photoshop on my end. I just prefer 1080p so much I typed in the "p" instead of "i". Corrected.

@SAYS: your point about the power button is a very valid one and one I forgot to include in my review (I missed it in my "cons" notes). The first week I kept hitting the button and putting the device to sleep; I've since trained myself to remember to hold it the "right way" in a manner Antenna-gate victims might sympathize with :)

@Funstraw: I believe you're referring to the domestic release (Feb 2012). Samsung had begun selling the Note in Europe, East Asia, and India a couple months prior to the US February release (just after its IFA 2011 in Berlin unveil), so they go a head start on the numbers and the 6 million figure above reflects the worldwide total. Impressive either way.

I love some of the reader recommendations here (Cocteau Twins! Eno!)

I think what we find "relaxing" from a personal perspective may differ from how the study approached the results, as I expect songs which influence our sense of joy/happiness can be equated with feeling relaxed. I personally found some of these songs naturally relaxing, while others (Adele) not so much. But perhaps my physiological response while wired up with reveal otherwise?

Personal choices of musicians/bands I like to listen to before sleep: Startle the Heavens, The Six Parts Seven, Alexandre Desplat soundtracks, select Aphex Twin tracks (weird?), Dustin O'Halloran, RF (Falls album especially), Tristeza, Hatchback (Sam Grawe of Dwell's music)

JIVEMASTERT: your tip is proof our readers are the best resource. Thanks for sharing!

Holiday05: prices range from $1750 to $2150 depending upon model (click each image for prices). There's also an "artist discount" available...

JWINK3101: thanks for sharing your story about your parents and I'm glad they're now better protected!

My own mother had the active system for several years, but wasn't able to ever get the hang of remembering to arm/disarm the system properly. The police came out enough times after false-positives that she realized it was costing more than helping (and stressing her out, affecting her health); English isn't her first language, so some of these issues are related to generational/cultural background, but she's admittedly also a little absent-minded about remembering tech-related procedures.

So for now, everything listed above is going to be setup so she doesn't ever have to worry about turning things on or off, since she lives alone with the hopes all these precautionary measures are enough to make the home a less desirable target.

GWIMBY: Happy to reply to your feedback/comments, as it gives me an opportunity to clarify and explain some of the decisions (and mistakes) made:

1) I didn't install any additional applications, it's a stock OS X machine. The reason being is my mom doesn't require any additional productivity or entertainment applications except those installed off the OS install. My 60-something Korean mom only asked I create a shortcut to the weather report, her Facebook page, and the NASDAQ.
2) The "under $100" is considering most people won't (hopefully) require spending the $41 to replace the top panel like I did; the SSD and RAM are the real stars of this upgrade and can be purchased for under $100 (though, I suspect readers here upgrading their own machines will want/require at least want a 128 GB drive).
3) Top case: I remember contacting Apple years back about a replacement, in which they replied, that for some reason or another the machine didn't qualify (mind you, this was years ago, so all I remember was "no"). I have to admit, after reading about other commenters being able to procure a replacement directly from Apple, even out of warranty, makes me wonder if I should have tried a second time, with more insistence. When I began this upgrade project, I didn't see the part replacement listed amongst Apple's current Exchange and Repair Extension Programs page, so it didn't even occur to me to inquire again; on the bright side, I learned a lot more about the internal workings of the MacBook through taking things into my own hands. But I hope my loss is another's gain, saving others the extra $41.
4) You're 100% correct about ideally pairing RAM (both in spec and also in brand); it was a detail I considered over and over before going with the 2+1 setup, deciding the performance hit was likely minimal considering my mom's computing needs and habits (it was admittedly a small cost cutting decision).
5) Right, yet again. The machine was installed with Snow Leopard, everything stock. 10.6 is remarkably stable and responsive on the MacBook, and I came to the conclusion the extra $29.99 Lion upgrade would have mostly gone unnoticed comparatively. This machine probably will never see another OS or hardware upgrade (alas, my mom caught sight of my new iPad and seems keen on the idea of having one "at a later time").

ELLISB: I didn't use GeekTool, but maybe I should have considering the customization options. I just turned the dock off, bumped up the icon preview size to maximum and snapped them to grid, and set the hard drive icon to "off" in the view options. Not so geeky, but effective.