Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited by
Dan Knight
- 2005.09.30
This Week's PowerBook, iBook, and Notebook News
General Apple and Mac desktop news is covered in The Mac News Review. iPod news is covered
in The iNews Review. News about
Apple's transition to Intel CPUs and other Intel developments is
covered in The Macintel Report.
All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.
News & Opinion
Review
Products and Services
Windows Watch
News & Opinion
iBook G4 Logic Board Petition Started
Deep Thought's Thomas Davie reports:
"There is currently a petition on PetitionOnline.com calling for
Apple to extend the iBook Logic Board Repair Extension Program to
the first generation iBook G4s (800 MHz 12", 933 MHz 14"). The
petition states that the original iBook G4 suffers from the same
scrambled video issue that afflicts many iBook G3s....
"Full disclosure: The writer owns an iBook G4 1.2 GHz and has
owned a 900 MHz iBook G3 that had four fried logic boards. The
writer's iBook ownership in no way influenced the writing of this
article."
iBook G4 Logic Board Petition
To: Apple Computer
It is our wish that Apple Computer acknowledges that iBook G4s
produced between October 2003 and April 2004 (12" 800 MHz, 14" 933
MHz, 14" 1 GHz) commonly have a manufacturing or design fault
causing the graphics card to fail and requiring the logic board to
be replaced. We ask Apple to extend it's logic board repair program
for iBook G3s to cover these models.
The symptoms of the failure are:
- Scrambled or distorted video
- Appearance of unexpected lines on the screen
- Intermittent video image
- Video freeze
- Computer starts up to blank screen
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
Hard Drives Are Here to Stay
BusinessWeek says:
"Chang Gyu Hwang is chief executive of the world's largest
supplier of flash memory chips, South Korea's Samsung. Over the
last few weeks, he has been quoted as hailing the start of the
'Flash Rush Era.' Flash memory chips - specifically, a type of
flash known as NAND, which is used to store data in devices such as
music players and digital cameras - will in time challenge and may
even replace small hard drives.
"To Bill Watkins, chief executive of Seagate Technology, the
world's largest manufacturer of hard drives, that sounds like a
challenge. Samsung also manufactures hard disk drives, but in much
smaller quantities. 'It's kind of funny,' says Watkins. 'I see so
much opportunity that I would be more than willing to take his hard
drive unit off his hands.'
"...Watkins isn't worried about hard drives becoming obsolete
anytime soon - not with a market of 380 million units this year and
420 million next year, according to market researcher IDC. The CEO
of the $7.5 billion company says that flash memory and hard drives
will coexist for some time."
Review
What EVDO Card for Your PowerBook?
gigaom.com says:
"If you are looking for a EVDO card for PowerBook, I will
recommend, Sierra Wireless Aircard 580, which after some hacking
gives you better performance than any other PC card. However, it
doesn't work as well with Windows Laptops. It was giving me about
350 kbps on Mac and 115 kbps on a PC laptop. Novatel's Merlin v620,
however is a solid and brisk performer on Windows Machines, with
average speed of about 270 kbps. It got 115-120 kbps on a Mac."
Products and Services
MACh Speed G3 & G4 WallStreet Upgrades
PR: The XLR8 MAChSpeed G4 & G3 WallStreet upgrades
with their superfast 250 MHz backside cache and exclusive MAChSpeed
Control software transforms your PowerBook G3 into an AltiVec (G4
only) energized supercomputing laptop. This is a factory installed
upgrade.
Fully compatible with Mac OS X. The XLR8 466 MAChSpeed G4
WallStreet upgrade with its superfast 1 MB cache (twice the
size of the G3 900) and exclusive MAChSpeed Control software
transforms your Apple PowerBook G3 WallStreet into a G4 AltiVec
energized laptop. Great for graphics, video and games, it's an
absolute necessity in Mac OS X, Jaguar, Panther, and
Tiger.
For the G3 options, simply select the correct speed choice in
the product options.
Mac OS X and all native Graphics applications are now optimized
for the G4's Velocity engine. You'll experience bursts of speed
that are up to 7x faster than your current system. Even Mac OS X's
Finder is snappy, with windows popping open immediately. The system
is fully compatible and runs faster than a 400 MHz PowerBook G4.
This is the only no-compromise upgrade solution. Factory
installation and testing ensures that you'll be running at full G4
speeds with no upsets - just power-up and go!
This is an exclusive Daystar product, and backed by Daystar's
unique 90/728 Warranty program.
The Ordering Process
Please make sure to choose the correct system and system status
when placing your order. Choose your shipping options, and any
other options you desire. Your serial number is required. This can
be found on the bottom of the system, or via the System Profiler
(in Applications/Utilities).
- All shipping costs are configured on this page. No additional
charges are added during checkout.
- Once your order is placed, you will receive an order
confirmation via email.
- Depending on your choices, you will receive either a
pre-shipment box in a couple of days, or instructions via email
within a short time.
- You can login to the site anytime to check your status. The
login is your email address.
- International customer should contact Daystar direct via email
at sales@daystartechnology.com.
- For Weekender service (in on Friday, back on Monday) just
choose the 1-day service and the 1-day Weekender return. Your
upgrade will be performed Friday night and shipped after testing on
Saturday.
Upgrade Process
This upgrade is a 24-hour factory installed system upgrade. The
complete process is handled by Daystar's Apple Certified
Technicians.
- Price - $199
- G3 500 MHz - $20
- G3 400 MHz - $50
- Link:
MACh Speed G4 & G3 WallStreet - PowerBook CPU Upgrades
Kyocera Router Lets Older Macs Use Wireless
Broadband
PR: The Kyocera KR1 Router is almost available. This
$200 EVDO router will allow iBooks, 12" PowerBook, and any desktop
computer to hook up to wireless broadband using Verizon or
Sprint.
The Kyocera KR1 EVDO Router allows you to insert a Verizon or
Sprint EVDO card and access the EVDO via WiFi/AirPort or ethernet.
This $200 device is great for allowing devices that do not have a
PCMCIA slot (iBook, 12" PowerBook, iMac, etc.) to access high speed
wireless broadband (which they couldn't access affordably before
this product). This router also allows desktop computers to access
high speed wireless Internet via the built-in 4 port ethernet
hub.
Windows Watch
TechRestore Launches Overnight Repair &
Upgrade Service for PC Laptops
PR: TechRestore, Inc. has begun offering an overnight
repair and upgrade service for PC Laptop customers located in the
continental United States. The new service expands TechRestore's
overnight repair and upgrade programs for PowerBooks, iBooks, and
iPods to all major brands of PC Laptops. LaptopRestore offers
customers a fast and hassle-free repair and upgrade service from
virtually any location.
"Our new LaptopRestore program builds on our experience
repairing Apple PowerBooks and iBooks over the last decade," said
Shannon Jean, Founder and President of TechRestore. "With the
launch of LaptopRestore, PC laptop owners can now experience both
the high speed and unmatched customer service that TechRestore has
become known for."
LaptopRestore is a complete, door-to-door overnight repair and
upgrade service for U.S. customers. Customers schedule service by
calling 1-877-34-Repair or by visiting TechRestore.com. Once a
repair is scheduled, a custom laptop RestoreBox is sent via
overnight courier to the customers home, school or office where
their system is picked up and brought back overnight to
TechRestore. Within 48-hours of receipt, the customer is contacted
with a complete diagnosis and a repair price for their approval.
Approved repairs are completed within 72-hours and the repaired
laptop is sent back to the customer's location via overnight
courier.
The cost for the LaptopRestore program is just $79, which
includes all overnight shipping charges, the RestoreBox and the
complete diagnosis. Laptop LCD Screen repairs are available for a
flat-rate, including overnight shipping and installation.
"Our customers and our Resellers have been requesting PC Laptop
service for some time now," said Jean. "We're very excited to add
repairs for all major brands of PC Laptops to the TechRestore
family of services."
- TechRestore 80 GB 7200 rpm Nationwide Overnight Laptop Hard
Drive Upgrade Service with installation and data transfer -
$319.99
- TechRestore 120 GB 5400 rpm Nationwide Overnight Laptop Hard
Drive Upgrade Service with installation and data transfer -
$359.99
- TechRestore 100 GB 7200 rpm Nationwide Overnight Laptop Hard
Drive Upgrade Service with installation and data transfer -
$449.99
- Link: Overnight Hard
Drive Upgrades
Panasonic Toughbook CF-51 Semi-rugged
Notebook
Trusted Reviews reports Riyad Emeran reports:
"Panasonic has been making notebooks for a long time, but you
may not have come across the Toughbook brand before. The reason for
this is that Toughbooks tend to attract a buyer who is more
concerned with durability than design and performance. To get an
idea of who the Toughbooks appeal to, next time you see a BT
engineer working on a junction box in the street, take a look over
his shoulder. It's a near certainty that he'll be working on a
Toughbook.
"As the name suggests, Toughbooks are built to be, well, a bit
tougher than your average notebook. In fact, the fully rugged units
sported by field engineers are built to withstand impact, water,
dust and just about any other environmental hazard that mobile
computers might be subjected to. But not everyone wants to carry
around a large, heavy, metal and rubber clad notebook, no matter
how strong it might be. With this in mind, Panasonic created
semi-rugged Toughbooks."
World's First Dual Core AMD Mobile
Workstation
PR: Eurocom Corporation, a leader in the Desktop
Replacement notebook technology since 1989 has launched a more
powerful than ever before Mobile Workstation. Eurocom has taken the
next step in the evolution of the desktop replacement by combining
workstation like features, power and flexibility with Eurocom
desktop replacement technology and AMD Dual Core and FX Single Core
Processing Power.
Dual Core Processing Represents
the next step in computing evolution and Eurocom already has
announced a mobile system supporting the technology before many
desktop manufacturers have reached this goal.
Professionals using desktop based workstations are limited today
to large expensive systems complicated to operate, fixed locations,
lack of portability, and the need to work and maintain with at
least two computers systems, one in the office and one outside,
resulting in high operating cost ($6000 USD per system yearly cost
of support). They are unable to work outside of office with
customers due to lack of sufficient power and flexibility of
traditional notebooks currently available on the market. With the
creation of the new class of notebooks, producers, designers,
engineers, architects, programmers, animators, film editors and
special effects gurus can go mobile and practice their craft
anywhere they see fit equipped with mobile systems capable of
running 3D modeling and engineering software with a single computer
solution.
AMD Dual Core Technology
Advantage As stated by AMD, "In today's digital world the demands
of complex 3D simulations, streaming media files, added levels of
security, more sophisticated user interfaces, larger databases, and
more on-line users are beginning to exceed single-core processor
capabilities.
Multicore processors enable true multitasking. On single-core
systems, multitasking can max out CPU utilization, resulting in
decreased performance as operations have to wait to be processed.
On multicore systems, since each core has its own cache, the
operating system has sufficient resources to handle most compute
intensive tasks in parallel. Multicore technology can improve
system efficiency and application performance for computers running
multiple applications at the same time."
Definition of Mobile Workstation
Mobile workstations are designed with a professional user in
mind. With unrivalled power, unsurpassed features and unmatched
style, the Mobile Workstation is the ultimate evolution of the
Desktop replacement notebook. Mobile Workstation is the most
powerful notebook on the market. It is engineered for the highest
quality, best performance, long-term stability and latest computing
technology. Mobile workstation features the most innovative
computer technologies such as:
- the fastest processors on the market - AMD Dual Core and FX
64-bit, Intel Pentium 4 Prescott up to 3.6 GHz (FSB800)
- dual-channel memory DDR 400 MHz and DDR2 533 MHz up to 2
GB
- high-end upgradeable graphics with 256 MB of DDR2 video with
ATI and Nvidia chipsets certified for OpenGL
- large capacity notebook hard drives up to 160 GB or 320 GB of
storage with multiple drives
- data integrity solution with RAID 0 and 1 in a notebook (RAID 5
coming soon)
- mega wide displays such as 17-inch widescreen LCD with the
highest resolution of WSXGA+ (1680x1050) or WUXGA (1920x1200) and
Super Clear Glossy Surface
- 1 Gigabit LAN and wireless 802.11a/b/g or 802.11b/g LAN and
Bluetooth
- multiple optical drives including 4x DVD+-RW (DVD Burner) and
multi DVD Burner
- 102-key full size keyboards with a separate numeric keypad
- internal TV tuners, dual monitor support via DVI-I port
- internal PC cameras for video conferencing
- internal subwoofer and, card readers and more...
Mobile workstation market trends and opportunities
In considering the types of people that require large amounts of
processing power in order to be productive, several groups come to
mind. The mobile workstation market encompasses design
professionals such as engineers and architects who require high
performance computers and are thus limited to working on multiple
computer systems. Using mobile workstations on a job site or as a
sales tool for live demonstrations of virtual walkthroughs and 3D
modeling will give edge to firms who wish to appear tech savvy.
Digital Content Creation (DCC) is one area that is growing daily
along with the growth of the Internet. DCC also can make use of
portable processing power. With the instantaneous nature of the
Internet, having a mobile workstation on hand for real time image
capture, video editing, sound mixing and graphic work will allow
companies to bring all kinds of services and information to the web
in real time (shareholder meetings, press conferences etc.) Digital
Content Creation is not just limited to web work either but to all
kinds of design work for marketing, advertising, writing, coding,
Flash design, Photoshop work etc.
Another market for the mobile workstation lies of course with
gamers. No other group demands the latest and most powerful
hardware and has been willing to pay a premium for it. This group
is looking more and more at mobile systems that allow them to come
together at LAN parties and compete en-masse for prizes and pride.
This group also is heavily into customization of their hardware,
and very knowledgeable about the latest equipment. Eurocom hardware
has found much success with this group already.
There is another trend in the market that makes the portable
workstation ideal for a growing section of the workforce;
outsourced, freelance and teleworkers. The finance and accounting
outsourcing market alone is expected to generate $37.7 billion
worldwide by 2004, according to research firm Gartner Inc. Some
estimates price the global outsourcing market at $300 billion
annually. All kinds of jobs are being outsourced, including
engineering, design, marketing, accounting and more. These jobs are
being done by people that need to be mobile, but also demand a high
degree of productivity from their equipment.
Eurocom D900K F-Bomb notebook
Introducing the D900K F-Bomb, the world's first notebook with a
Dual Core AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor for blistering application
performance. From artwork design to video editing and gaming, the
dual core processor will make sure that your system stays
responsive when taking care of the most complex multiple tasks. The
Xtreme 64 delivers true multitasking, allowing you to switch from
one program to another without waiting for the computer to catch
up. The D900K F-Bomb features fully upgradeable video technology
with 256 MB GDDR3 and 16-pixel pipelines to ensure that even the
latest applications and games look their best wherever you are. It
supports the most powerful mobile graphics accelerators available
from ATI and Nvidia including ATI's Mobility Radeon X800 XT
Platinum Edition, Nvidia 6800 Ultra or Nvidia's Quadro FX1400. Take
the optional AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 to boost your fps even further.
Our unique UltraBright Glossy screen technology comes as standard
giving a wider viewing angle and improved colour brilliance. Choose
your D900K F-Bomb with Windows XP Professional x64 Edition for a
fully 64-bit capable notebook and take advantage of new 64-bit
applications and games which will harness this increased power
now.
Technical Specifications
- Fully 64-bit capable super notebook
- Processor: socket based, fully upgradeable, single or dual
core, 64-bit - up to 4800+ AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core; 939-pin;
1 MB cache - up to 4000+ AMD Athlon 64 FX57; 939-pin;
1 MB cache; single core
- Memory: up to 2 GB DDR400 SODIMM; 2 sockets
- Choice of Video with Eurocom upgradeable VGA technology: - 256
MB GDDR3 Nvidia Quadro FX 1400
- 256 MB GDDR3 Nvidia 6800
- 256 MB GDDR3 Nvidia 6800 Ultra
- 256 MB GDDR3 ATI Mobility Radeon x800
- 256 MB GDDR3 ATI Mobility Radeon x800 XT Platinum Edition
- up to 240 GB of HDD space with 2 physical PATA or SATA HDDs and
RAID 0,1
- 2 physical Optical Drives; up to 8x Dual Layer Multi
DVD-RAM/+-RW; 2nd DVD Burner optional
- Internal MCE TV Tuner available
- Virtual 8-channel audio output; SRS WOW support; 7.1 Surround
Sound Output
- Standard DVI-I port; 4 x USB 2.0; 2x IEEE 1394a ports
- Standard 10-in-1 card reader
- Integrated webcam for video conferencing
Mobile Workstation technology
1. Power Processor technology
- AMD 64-bit Dual Core and FX processors for greater stability
and higher performance for today's demanding users, wireless
mobility, and long battery life and built-in support for next
generation AMD64 software.
2. Memory
- High-capacity memory up to 2 GB of Dual-Channel DDR2 PC4200 533
MHz (4 memory sockets and 2 dual-channels) offers the path to
higher bandwidth memory solutions
- DDR2 is the next logical progression for memory standards and
speeds. It incorporates several new designs and specifications
which play a part in its increased speed. DDR2 allows higher
processing speed due to higher density of the memory chips
3. Display technology / Video
- upgradeable video module with 256 MB DDR2 Nvidia two next
generation graphics cards with OpenGL and HDTV output - the most
powerful video chipset with Open GL standard, that is necessary for
high-end 3D design and modeling applications; in the future there
will be other modules available for D900 model
- 16x PCI Express supplying up to 150W of power to Nvidia
graphics card. The Eurocom D900 F-Bomb is the 1st notebook with PCI
Express architecture. PCI Express architecture provides for
extremely high bandwidth at low cost. PCI Express can offer up to
70 times the bandwidth of today's PCI architecture and is scaleable
for the future
- 17' mega wide WUXGA (1920x 1200 pixels) with clear glossy
finish for reduced glare give perfect clarity and 16:9 aspect ratio
- provide plenty of room on a desktop for menus, toolbars and
palettes in graphics applications, and limit scrolling from the
left to the right when working with spreadsheets and financial
applications; for widescreen DVD movies
- internal TV tuner supports both NTSC and MultiPAL systems
4. Storage
- 2 physical high capacity and high performance hard drives for
maximum storage up to 240 GB
- support ATA or regular IDE ATA drives
- support SATA - a new interface development that runs in a
serial mode instead of the parallel mode of the older IDE standards
which allows for greater bandwidth (1.5 GB/s) and smaller cables.
SATA transfers data in a single stream (serially) in comparison to
PATA that transfers in multiple streams
- fault tolerance RAID 1 and RAID 0 setup
- RAID level 0: Level 0 is disk striping only, which interleaves
data across multiple disks for better performance. It does not
provide safeguards against failure. RAID 0 is widely used in gaming
machines for higher speed.
- RAID level 1: Uses disk mirroring, which provides 100%
duplication of data. Offers highest reliability, but doubles
storage cost. RAID 1 is widely used in business applications.
- Portable storage: Standard internal 10-in-1 card reader
supports all major memory cards such as: Secure
Digital/MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, SmartMedia,
CompactFlash.
5. Optical drives
- 2 optical drives to allow CD or DVD duplication
- Choice of drives such as: DVD-ROM, COMBO drives (DVD-ROM and
CD-RW), dual 2x, 4x DVD Burners (DVD+-R/+-RW) and 4x Slot Super DVD
Multi Drives (DVD-RAM/+RW/-RW; CD-RW; DVD/CD-ROM).
6. Communications
- Wired: 1 gigabit LAN and 56K V90/V92 WinModem
- Wireless: 802.11a/b/g or 802.11b/g wireless LAN and
Bluetooth
- video conferencing with internal CCD camera (1.5 Megapixel
webcam positioned just above the LCD)
7. Surround Sound
- High performance SoundBlaster Pro compatible audio system with
virtual 6-channel audio output; S/PDIF Digital output (5.1 CH), 4
internal speakers and optional subwoofer offer home theater-like
experience
- Audio on D900 model: AC97; 3D stereo; virtual 6-channels; SB
Pro
8. Full size Keyboard
- full size 102-key 25-inch long desktop-like keyboard with a
separate non-embedded numeric keypad makes typing and number
crunching easy and very comfortable
9. Interfaces/Ports
- 2 x onboard FireWire IEEE 1394a (400)
- MDC module
- 1x RJ45 - Internal LAN Interface
- 1x S-video In with TV Tuner option
- 4x USB v.2.0
- 1x S-video Out for TV/HDTV
- 1x External Monitor DVI-I with max resolution 1600x1200
dpi
- 1x parallel LPT1; ECP/EPP
- 1x serial
- 1x IrDA FIR/SIR/ASKIR
- 1x dual for keyboard and mouse PS/2 Port
- 1x Kensington port for Security Cable and Lock.
Price - Cdn$3,299
We live in a stressful world, and nothing is more stressful than
knowing you have no control over the environment in which you work.
Eurocom wants to give more people the opportunity to make use of
the latest technology where they feel the most comfortable. For
some people that is in the office environment, but for many and
increasingly - it is at home, at a friends' house or at the coffee
bar. Can you imagine lugging a bulky 200 pound workstation into
Starbucks? By offering a new complete mobile computer solution such
as mobile workstation, Eurocom invites people to empower themselves
and decide when and where they are at their most productive.
Eurocom Corporation: Eurocom Corporation is a leading innovator
in the notebook industry. The company has produced many firsts,
such as manufacturing the first notebook with a 15.1-inch LCD panel
and a full-size, 102-key, keyboard. Since 1989, Canada-based
Eurocom Corporation has led the Desktop Replacement Notebook™
industry with over 950 dedicated resellers and agents
worldwide.
Bargain 'Books
Bargain 'Books are used unless otherwise indicated. New and
refurbished units have a one-year Apple warranty and are eligible
for AppleCare.
There are two different versions of WallStreet running at 233
MHz, the cacheless MainStreet
version and the later Series II
with a level 2 cache. It's not always possible to determine from
the vendor's listing which is being offered, so we've included
links within this paragraph to the two models. The same goes for
the PowerBook G4/667 (VGA) and
G4/667 (DVI), the titanium vs.
aluminum 15" PowerBook G4 at 1 GHz, and 1.25 GHz to 1.5 GHz 15"
PowerBooks.
- refurb 12" iBook G4/1.2 GHz, 256/30/CD-ROM, $699
- refurb 14" iBook G4/1.2 GHz, 256/30/Combo, AirPort Extreme,
$749
- refurb 14" iBook G4/1.33 GHz, 256/60/Combo, AirPort Extreme,
$899
- refurb 12" PowerBook G4/1.33 GHz, 256/60/SuperDrive, AirPort
Extreme, $1,299
- refurb 15" PowerBook G4/1.33 GHz, 256/60/Combo, AirPort
Extreme, $1,449
- refurb 15" PowerBook G4/1.5 GHz, 512/80/Combo, AirPort Extreme,
Bluetooth 2.0, $1,699
- refurb 17" PowerBook G4/1.5 GHz, 512/80/SuperDrive, AirPort
Extreme, $1,949
- used 15" PowerBook G4/500, 256/20/DVD, $599
- used 15" PowerBook G4/867, 512/40/Combo, $879
- used 12" iBook G3/700, 256/20/Combo, $499.99
- used 15" PowerBook G4/667 (VGA), 256/30/Combo, $849.99
- used 12" iBook G3/800, 256/30/CD-ROM, $399.95
- used 12" iBook G4/1 GHz, 256/30/CD-ROM, $649.95
- used 12" iBook G3/300, 96/6/CD-ROM, $279.99
- Order with AirPort Card installed - 89.99
- Upgrade to 320 MB RAM - $39.50
For more deals on current or recently discontinued models, see
our best aluminum PowerBook G4
deals, best titanium PowerBook G4
deals, best iBook G4 deals,
best PowerBook G3 deals, and best iBook G3 deals.
