Think it's too hard for you to upgrade the RAM on your MacBook Pro? Not at all. In this video Dave will show you step-by-step how to disassemble the Pro, pull out the old RAM, insert the new RAM and close it back up. And - most importantly - have it work!

Keywords: MacBook, Pro, RAM, Upgrade, How, To

I'm frequently asked by people for recommendations on computers and while I generally encourage people to always go for the fastest, newest they can afford, I've also started to appreciate the amazing deals you can find with factory refurbished gear. Whether you're an Apple fanboy or a PC person, all the big manufacturers find that they have excess stock when they roll out new models, and those 12-18 month old models can be great deals!

The biggest limitation for modern computing, however, and this is true whether you're running Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows or even Linux, is the amount of memory you have in the system. Known as "RAM" or random access memory, it's what all the running applications use to manage and process data. Have too little and you'll find that you can only run one app without things slowing down, but have a lot and every application you use will run faster, often noticeably faster.

That's why even though I had 4GB of RAM in my mid-2010 Apple MacBook Pro, I was very interested in an upgrade to 8GB from Otherworld Computing, a company that's long been a friend of AskDaveTaylor. My concern was how difficult it would be to disassemble my tightly integrated MacBook, pop out the old memory cards and insert new ones without messing up the rest of the system.

I don't have much spare money, but now when I check the battery status on my MacBook it doesn't just show the remaining time (which is always alarmingly short!) but it says "Replace Now". Yikes. Can I ignore that, or do I need to replace my MacBook battery, and if so, how much does it cost??

The more devices I get that can access the Internet, the harder it is for me to keep track of all the accounts and passwords I've set up for access. I know I don't want to use the same password on multiple sites, but I can't remember what's what. I've heard good things about Agile Software's 1Password app for password management, and I can see that there's a Mac, an iPhone and an iPad version. Cool, but can they sync?

I've been hearing rumors for months about Apple releasing a tablet computer but they give me very odd looks when I ask about it at the Apple Store. Then at Christmas dinner someone told me that it's on the way and it's going to be called the iSlate. What? How could they know, and what's your best information about what an iSlate will be?

I've taken the plunge and installed Snow Leopard (aka Mac OS X 10.6) and was pretty psyched about the fact that it's a 64-bit operating system, until my brother said "yeah, but I bet you're still running in 32-bit mode". How can I tell if my Snow Leopard computer is now running in 32-bit "compatibility" mode or as a true 64-bit operating system?