All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.
General Apple and Mac desktops is covered in The Mac News Review. iPod, iPhone, and Apple
TV news is covered in The iNews
Review.
News & Opinion
Reviews
Apple Updates
Products
News & Opinion
Fujitsu to Ship First 7200 rpm 320 GB Notebook
Drive
Macworld's Martyn Williams reports:
"Fujitsu plans to begin selling in late June a new range of
high-performance hard-disk drives for laptop PCs that offer more
storage space than current models.
"The 'MHZ2 BJ' series of drives have disks that spin at 7,200 rpm
(revolutions per minute) - faster than the 5,400 rpm common on most
similar drives - and will be available in capacities up to 320 GB, the
Tokyo company said Monday.
"Fujitsu already sells a range of 2.5-inch drives at 7,200 rpm but
the highest capacity model in the range can accommodate just 120G bytes
so the new range is a big jump in capacity terms."
Editor's note: At present, the highest capacity 7200 rpm notebook
drive on the market is 200 GB, so this is a huge increase in capacity.
dk
Link: Fujitsu
Plans Speedy 320 GB Laptop Drive
More USB Ports Discovered Inside the MacBook
Air
Hardmac's
Lionel reports:
"If you find that the MacBook Air lacks connectors, John
Maushammer has tried to discover those that Apple did not wire in the
MacBook Air, and they are numerous. The MacBook Air Chipset is indeed
capable of handling many more devices than those available to us. Of
special interest would be USB ports and even a SATA port.
"He has already successfully located and tested 3 USB ports."
Link: First Opening Up of the
MacBook Air Motherboard Discovers More USB Ports
MacBook Air Makes a Great Vista Ultraportable
Ars Technica's
Chris Foresman says:
"X-bit labs, who last month replaced Mac OS X with Vista on a
MacBook Pro and concluded that 'The MacBook Pro is better in almost
every objective and subjective parameter, including design and the
status of the brand,' is at it again. This time, however, X-bit has
replaced OS X with Vista on a MacBook Air and gave the svelte
computer a thorough workout. After kicking the tires and driving around
the block a few times, it had a lot of good things to say."
Link:
MacBook Air Makes a Great Ultraportable . . . for
Vista
TSA Examines MacBook Air, Declares It 'Completely
Different'
Ars Technica's
Justin Berka reports:
"Going through airport security isn't normally one of life's
more enjoyable experiences (no frisking jokes, please), so I would
imagine that missing your flight due to your new, $3000 MacBook Air
would be even less pleasant. The firsthand account of one flyer's
Air-induced delay was quickly posted on the TSA's Evolution of Security
blog, and Blogger Bob was on the case. To see what all the fuss was
about, Bob got his hands on a MacBook Air, ran it through the X-ray
machine, and even posted video of the test."
Link:
TSA Examines MacBook Air, Declares It 'Completely Different'
Super Talent to Ship 256 GB Laptop SSD (but You
Can't Afford It)
Macworld's Martyn Williams reports:
"Super Talent, a San Jose-based developer of memory devices, will
soon begin commercial sales of a solid-state disk (SSD) drive for
laptops that can store 256 GB of data....
"The new drive from Super Talent is the same size as a
12.5-millimeter-thick 2.5-inch laptop drive...."
Editor's note: Exciting news? The article says that the drive will
sell for - are you sitting down? - US$5,950. cm
Link: Super
Talent to Ship 256 GB Laptop SSD in April (but You Won't Want
One)
Laptop Vendors Burned in Battery Plant Blaze
Channel Register's Kelly Fiveash reports:
"Some of the world's leading computer vendors have admitted that a
worldwide shortage of laptop batteries will impact prices, shipments
and sales.
"Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Asustek have all grumbled about the dent
in the supply chain caused, in part, by a fire at a Korean factory
earlier this month where some laptop batteries are manufactured....
"LG Chem, which is South Korea's second biggest battery vendor, said
its factory will be out of action for up to three months."
Editor's note: There is no indication whether this might impact
Apple. dk
Link: Laptop
Vendors Burned in Battery Plant Blaze
Reviews
Axiotron Modbook: Impressive Engineering
Cnet's Dan
Ackerman and Matthew Elliott report:
"Axiotron aims to fill some of the gaps in Apple's lineup with the
Modbook, a 13-inch MacBook reworked into a
slate-style tablet PC. It's a clever bit of engineering, taking the
guts of a MacBook and removing the lid, omitting the keyboard and
trackpad, replacing the display with a Wacom-enabled LCD and digitizer,
and adding a scratch-resistant magnesium shell to the top."
Link: Review: Axiotron
Modbook
New 2.6 GHz MacBook Pro 18% Faster than Previous
BTO Model
Macworld's James Galbraith reports:
"We've seen what Intel's next-generation of Penryn chips can do to
the performance of both MacBook Pros and MacBooks. But that testing
focused on the standard configurations of Apple's revamped laptop
offerings - there are also build-to-order configurations. And now we've
gotten our hands on such a system, a customized MacBook Pro, to see how
optimizing the hardware translates to performance gains.
"Specifically, we received a 15-inch MacBook Pro
with a speedier processor, faster (though smaller) hard drive, and more
memory. Our build-to-order laptop sports a 2.6 GHz Core 2 Duo processor;
the standard MacBook Pro tops out at 2.5 GHz. We've also swapped out
the standard 250 GB, 5,400-rpm hard drive for a 200 GB model that runs
at 7,200 rpm. And our customized MacBook Pro has been maxed out to
4 GB of memory, up from the 2 GB that ship with the standard
version.
"This souped-up MacBook Pro costs $3,199 - $700 more than the
15-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.5 GHz Core 2 Duo chip. But that extra money
gets you the fastest portable Mac we've ever tested."
"Opening up the configure to order system also bested a 2.4 GHz iMac
meaning that using a portable Mac no longer means a necessary trade off
in performance - as long as you're willing to spend the extra money,
that is."
Link: Optimizing
MacBook Pro
MacBook 'Slick and Polished'
PC Pro's
Matthew Sparkes writes:
"The Mac versus PC divide used to be so unbridgeable that switching
seemed as likely as a lifelong Everton fan deciding Liverpool was the
team for them, but no more.
"Ever since Intel processors became standard across Apple's range,
there's been little architectural difference between a MacBook and any
given PC laptop. What's more, Mac OS X and Windows coexist happily;
there's no issue with sharing files with PC users and most popular (and
non-gaming) software is available in a Mac version.
"And this latest MacBook looks set to lure even more Windows users
to the other side. Like the MacBooks that have gone before it, it
manages to feel slick and polished in a way that only Apple can
achieve. By designing the software, hardware and everything in between,
it ensures that things look and run just the way that it intends and,
it goes without saying, it all works beautifully.
"The Special Sauce is ZiPhone
"The application that does all the heavy lifting for you is a free,
open source, cross-platform application called ZiPhone, and it can do
everything from quick and simple iPhone and iPod touch jailbreaks to
unlocking the iPhone for unofficial carriers (i.e., not AT&T). I'm
going to cover the very basic jailbreaking of the iPhone and iPod
touch, but the process is the same no matter what device you're
jailbreaking and what level of unlocking you want."
Link: PC Pro
Reviews MacBook
MacBook: 'I'm Impressed'
Blogger James Ashberry review of the MacBook says:
"First, the bad stuff. Sadly, there are 1 or 2 dead
pixels on the glossy wide-screen, but a quick look around the
Internet and I've realized there's not a lot of point taking it back
because low end TFTs can suffer from dead pixels. It's only when you
pay more for a 'pixel-perfect' display that there is a return policy on
dead pixels. Oh well.
"That aside, it has all the trade marks of a classic Apple product.
The packaging was superb, and minimal....
"Once out the box, the MacBook looks simply stunning....
"The first noticeable thing is how bright the 13.3 inch display is
compared to my old 12 inch PowerBook. I
can see me having to turn the brightness down to avoid headaches. The
keyboard, which I was worried about, turns out to be almost as usable
as a standard keyboard, with lovely positive feedback. Again, a
definite improvement over my PowerBook."
Link:
An Apple Fan's Review of the MacBook
Apple Updates
Swap the MacBook or MacBook Pro Battery
Using Safe Sleep
A new Apple Knowledge Base
article says:
"In order to swap the battery on your MacBook or MacBook Pro when a
MagSafe adapter is not connected, power down or put the computer into
sleep mode.
"As the computer goes to sleep, it will save the contents of the RAM
(Random Access Memory) to the computer's hard drive. When you remove
the battery, the sleep light will go out and the computer will power
off.
"After you've inserted the new battery, open the lid and press the
power button. The computer will start up and, using safe sleep, your
system will resume where it left off when you put it to sleep."
Link: How to Swap the
MacBook or MacBook Pro Battery Without Using a Power Adapter
MacBook Pro: Display Issue Related to
'Hot-plugging' Symptoms
A new Apple Knowledge Base
article says:
"When hot-plugging an external display into your MacBook Pro, you
may notice the external display occasionally stays dark, or the
internal display of the MacBook Pro appears to flash or turn black.
"Sometimes, when switching from an S-Video to a DVI connection, the
internal display may appear black or display only the mouse
cursor."
Link: MacBook Pro:
Display Issue Related to 'Hot-plugging' Symptoms
About LCD Display Pixel Anomalies
An updated Apple Knowledge Base
article says:
"This document defines the term 'pixel anomaly', explains why such
anomalies occur, and describes what to do if you feel your active
matrix LCD panel has more than an acceptable number of pixel
anomalies....
"There are typically millions of these subpixels on an LCD display.
For example, the LCD panel used in the Apple Cinema HD display is made
up of 2.3 million pixels and 6.9 million red, green, and blue
subpixels. Occasionally, a transistor does not work perfectly, which
may result in the affected subpixel being turned on (bright) or turned
off (dark). With the millions of subpixels on a display, it is quite
possible to have a low number of faulty transistors on an LCD.
Therefore, a certain number of subpixel anomalies is considered
acceptable. Rejecting all but perfect LCD panels would significantly
increase the retail price for products using LCD displays. These
factors apply to all manufacturers using LCD technology - not just
Apple products."
Link: About LCD
Display Pixel Anomalies
Products
Voltaic Generator Solar Laptop Bag
PR: The Voltaic Generator is the first solar bag
powerful enough to charge a laptop. It uses high efficiency solar cells
to generate maximum power in the limited space available. It includes a
battery pack custom designed to efficiently store and convert the
electricity generated. It can also charge cell phones and most other
hand held electronics.
Voltaic
Generator's Solar panel generates up to 14.7 watts, powerful enough to
fully charge a typical laptop from a day of direct sunlight.
The included battery pack efficiently stores the equivalent of a
typical laptop charge and automatically delivers the required output
voltages.
- Common adaptors are included for easy connection to laptops, phones
and other handheld electronics
- Other devices can connect via USB or car charger
- Will hold up to a 17" PowerBook inside a protective case
- Fabrics made from recycled PET (soda bottles), which is tough,
water resistant and light weight
- 150D lining all made from 100% recycled PET.
- Weight: 4.5 lb. (2,050 grams) including solar panel and
battery.
- Dimensions: 17" x 12" x 3.5" (43 x 31 x 9 cm)
- Volume: 700 cubic inches (12 liters)
- Indicator light inside the handle shows when the panels are
generating a charge
Colors
- Silver
- Orange
- Green
- Charcoal
Voltaic Generator sells for $599
Shipping Spring '08
Link: Voltaic Generator
Solar Laptop Bag
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.
PowerBook, iBook, and MacBook profiles linked in our Portable Mac Index.
Each model comes with an Apple one-year warranty, and ground
shipping is free. Changes this week are the addition of a 2.33 GHz
Core 2 Duo 15" MacBook Pro for $1,499.00 (my 2 cents: go for the 2.2 GHz
Santa Rosa unit for fifty bucks less and get the LCD backlight), and a
2.6 GHz 17" MacBook Pro for the same price as the 2.4 GHz unit. Only
two MacBook models in stock this week. cm
- refurb 2.16 GHz Core 2 MacBook,black, 1 GB/160/SD, $999
- refurb 2.16 GHz Core 2 MacBook, black, 1 GB/160/SD, $1,049
- refurb 2.2 GHz Core 2 MacBook, white, 1 GB/120/SD, $999
- refurb 15" 2.2 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/120/SD, $1,449
- refurb 15" 2.4 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD, $1,649
- refurb 17" 2.33 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD, $1,899
- refurb 17" 2.4 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD, $2,149
- refurb 17" 2.4 GHz hi-res Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD,
$2,349
- refurb 17" 2.6 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD, $2,349
- 12" iBook G3/700, 256/20/Combo, $379.99
- 15" PowerBook G4/667 (VGA), 256/30/Combo, $619.99
- 15" PowerBook G4/667 (DVI), 256/30/Combo, $629.99
- 17" PowerBook G4/1 GHz, 512/60/SD, $999.99
- 15" PowerBook G4/1 GHz, 256/60/Combo, $599.99
- 15" PowerBook G4/1.25 GHz, 256/60/Combo, $629.99
- 15" PowerBook G4/1.33 GHz, 256/60/Combo, $679.99
- 15" PowerBook G4/1.5 GHz, 512/80/Combo, $699.99
- 15" PowerBook G4/1.5 GHz, 512/80/Combo, $709.99
- 15" PowerBook G4/1.67 GHz, 1 GB/80/SD, $739.99
- 15" hi-res PowerBook G4/1.67 GHz 512/80/SD, $799.99
- 12" iBook G4/800, 640/30/Combo, $379
- 12" iBook G4/800, 640/30/Combo, APX, $410
- 12" iBook G4 1.07 GHz, 640/30/Combo, APX, $505
- 12" iBook G4 1.2 GHz, 512/30/Combo, APX, $599
- open box 2.0 GHz Core 2 MacBook, white, 1 GB/80/Combo, $979
- open box 2.1 GHz Core 2 MacBook, white, 1 GB/120/Combo, $1,049
- open box 2.16 GHz Core 2 MacBook, white, 1/120/SD, warranty started,
$1,099
- open box 2.16 GHz Core 2 MacBook, black, 1/160/SD, warranty started,
$1,129
- open box 2.16 GHz Core 2 MacBook, white, 1/120/SD, $1,179
- open box 2.2 GHz Core 2 MacBook, black, 1 GB/160/SD, $1,299
- open box 1.6 GHz MacBook Air, 2 GB/80, $1,749
- open box 15" 2.16 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/120/SD, $1,599
- open box 17" 2.33 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD, $2,288
- open box 17" 2.4 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD, warranty
started, $2,399
- 17" 2.6 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD, $2,699
- clamshell iBook G3/300, Blueberry, 64/3/CD, $149.95
- clamshell iBook G3/300, Tangerine, 64/3/CD, $169.95
- clamshell iBook G3/366 SE, Graphite, 128/10/CD, $199.95
- clamshell iBook G3/366, Key Lime, 192/10/CD, $259.95
- 12" iBook G3/500, 256/10/Combo, $279.95
- 12" iBook G3/600, 256/20/Combo, $319.95
- 12" iBook G3/800, 256/30/CD, $249.95
- 12" iBook G4/1.2 GHz, 768/30/Combo, $579.95
- 14" iBook G4/1 GHz, 768/40/Combo, $579.95
- 14" iBook G3/700 MHz, 640/30/CD, Screen Spot, $299
- 14" iBook G4/1.33 GHz, 384/60/SD, APX, $599
For deals on current and discontinued 'Books, see our 13" MacBook and MacBook Pro,
MacBook Air, 13" MacBook Pro, 15" MacBook Pro, 17" MacBook Pro, 12" PowerBook G4, 15" PowerBook G4, 17" PowerBook G4, titanium PowerBook G4,
iBook G4, PowerBook G3, and iBook G3 deals.
We also track iPad,
iPhone, iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod nano, and iPod shuffle deals.
