Low End Mac will be closed for the holidays from Christmas through
New Year's Day. Site updates will resume on Friday, January 2,
2009.
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
Apple Updates
Tech Trends
News & Opinion
Mac OS X on Netbooks: What Works, What Doesn't
Wired's Brian X. Chen
reports:
"Netbook hacking is becoming increasingly trendy - especially
installing Mac OS X on the dinky things since Apple refuses to
offer its own Mac netbook. Our friend Rob Beschizza at Boing Boing
Gadgets slapped together a pretty
useful chart . . . rounding up all the netbooks that can
be hacked to run OS X - and which features work fine and which
don't."
Link: Mac OS X
on Netbooks: What Works, What Doesn't
Fast Intel X25-M SSD Benchmarked in a MacBook
Pro
Hardmac's
Lionel reports:
"Hereafter are the benchmarks performed with the Intel X25-M. As a
reminder, this 80 GB SSD is still expensive, with a retail price around
650€.
"If you want to compare it to the 128 GB Samsung SSD installed by
Apple as a BTO, the corresponding benchmarks are below."
"...if both SSDs obtain similar results in writing mode, the Samsung
SSD is almost 2.5 times slower than the Intel model in reading
mode."
Link: Intel SSD X25-M in a
MacBook Pro: Some Benchmarks
Steve Wozniak Joins Axiotron's Board of
Advisors
PR: Modbook manufacturer
Axiotron has announced that Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple Computer
and designer of the pioneering Apple I and Apple II personal computers,
has joined Axiotron's Board of Advisors.
A trailblazer at the dawn of the personal computing revolution, Mr.
Wozniak is widely admired for the ingenuity of his designs for the
home-built Apple I machine and its enormously popular successor, Apple
II. As an engineer, inventor and entrepreneur, Mr. Wozniak gave shape
and form to the notion of personal computing - making the power of the
computer accessible to millions and helping to launch an entire
industry.
"We're thrilled to bring Steve onto our Board of Advisors. His deep
knowledge and experience are an invaluable resource for Axiotron," said
Andreas E. Haas, CEO of Axiotron. "Steve's forward-thinking and
nonconformist approach, his incredibly creative engineering designs and
his emphasis on the human aspects of technology have always been an
inspiration to me."
Mr. Wozniak, the son of a Lockheed engineer, started his career
designing scientific calculators at Hewlett-Packard. While there, he
was able to design and build the ingenious Apple I computer during his
spare time. After first offering his invention to Hewlett-Packard, he
cofounded Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) with Steve Jobs in 1976 and
designed the hardware and software for the Apple II. With its elegant
internal architecture and high-resolution color graphics, the Apple II
became a massive commercial success that established the template for
the company's subsequent smartly designed and user-friendly
products.
In 1985, Mr. Wozniak was awarded the National Medal of Technology
(now the National Medal of Technology and Innovation), the highest
honor for achievement in technology bestowed by the president of the
United States. He is also the recipient of the prestigious Heinz Award
for Technology, the Economy and Employment, and a 2000 inductee into
the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Mr. Wozniak in recent years has devoted himself to various business
and philanthropic ventures, as well as pursuing his passionate lifelong
interest in education with a particular focus on educational
technology.
"Axiotron is designing user-focused innovations such as the Modbook
that improve and advance our digital lives," said Mr. Wozniak. "I look
forward to working with Andreas and his team to further this
vision."
In his capacity on Axiotron's Board of Advisors, Mr. Wozniak brings
a network of personal and professional contacts and offers his insights
into market trends and Axiotron's product initiatives, such as the
award-winning Modbook, Axiotron's pen-based tablet Mac solution, and
Modservice™, the
new service enabling customers to transform their existing Apple
MacBook computer into an Axiotron Modbook.
Link: Axiotron
Apple Updates
Multi-Touch Trackpad Update for Windows &
Vista
This update improves the
performance of the Apple Multi-Touch trackpad when running Microsoft
Windows XP and Windows Vista on an October 2008 MacBook using Boot
Camp.
For additional information about this update, visit this
website:
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT3336
For more information about bootcamp, visit this website:
http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/
Trackpad patch v 2.1.2.100 will be installed as a result of applying
this update.
File Size: 3.7MB
System Requirements: OS X 10.5.5
Link:
Multi-Touch Trackpad Update for Windows & Vista
Tech Trends
Nvidia Offers Intel-thrashing Netbook GPU Tech
Register Hardware's
Tony Smith reports:
"Nvidia is clearly in with Intel: it's announced a netbook
integrated-graphics chipset designed to work with the Atom CPU.
"Enter the GeForce 9400 - codenamed 'Ion' - which essentially knocks
the socks off the Intel integrated graphics Atom-based netbooks have
thus far shipped with."
Editor's note: The GeForce 9400M is already being used in the
October 2008 MacBook,
MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro.
dk
Link: Nvidia
Offers Intel-thrashing Netbook GPU Tech
Nvidia Offers the First Netbook GPU
Internetnews'
Andy Patrizio reports:
"The company manages to get the same Graphics Processing Unit used
in the MacBook to run in low-power netbooks, giving them some needed
graphics performance.
"Nvidia has launched its GeForce 9400M 'Ion' graphics chipset for
Netbooks and small desktop designs, putting the same graphics chip used
in the current generation of Apple MacBooks into the fast-growing
netbook market."
Link:
Nvidia Offers the First Netbook GPU
Intel Ships 160 GB Solid State Disk Drives
Computerworld's Lucas Mearian reports:
"Intel on Monday announced it is expanding its X25-M 2.5-inch and
X18-M 1.8-inch SATA solid-state drive (SSD) family with a 160 GB drive
in a 2.5-inch form factor.
"The X25-M product is shipping now, and the 1.8-inch 160 GB version
will be available next month."
Link: Intel
Ships 160 GB Solid State Disk Drives
Toshiba Launches Industry's First 512 GB Solid
State Drive
PR: Toshiba Corp. (Toshiba) and Toshiba America Electronic
Components, Inc. (TAEC)*, its subsidiary in the Americas, have
announced the expansion of their line up of NAND-flash-based solid
state drives (SSD) with the industry's first 2.5" 512-gigabyte
(GB)1 SSD and a broad family of fast
read/write SSDs based on 43 nanometer (nm) Multi-Level Cell NAND. The
new drives provide a high level of performance and endurance for use in
notebook computers, gaming and home entertainment systems, and will be
showcased at International CES 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada from January 8
- 11, 2009.
In addition to the 2.5", 512 GB drive, the 43nm NAND SSD family also
includes capacities of 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB, offered in 1.8" or
2.5" drive enclosures or as SSD Flash Modules. Samples of the new
drives will be available in the first quarter (January to March) of
2009, with mass production in the second (April to June) quarter.
Toshiba's second-generation SSDs bring increased capacity and
performance for notebook computers. They utilize an advanced MLC
controller, which is also compatible with further advanced processes,
that achieves higher read/write speeds, parallel data transfers and
wear leveling to optimize performance, reliability and endurance. The
drives enable improved system responsiveness with a maximum sequential
read speed of 240 MB per second (MBps)2 and maximum sequential write speed of 200 Mbps
enabling an improvement in overall computing experience, and faster
boot and application loading times. The drives also offer AES data
encryption to prevent unauthorized data access.
"The solid state drive market is evolving rapidly, with higher
performance drives to meet market requirements, and differentiated
product families targeted for appropriate applications," said Mr.
Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Vice President of Toshiba Corporation's
Semiconductor Company. "This new 43nm SSD family balances
value/performance characteristics for its targeted consumer
applications, through use of MLC NAND and an advanced controller
architecture."
Toshiba and many market analysts expect SSDs to begin to gain
significant traction in the market in 2009, growing to approximately
10% of the notebook market by 2010, and 25% of the notebook market by
2012. Toshiba expects the value/performance of its MLC NAND-based SSD
lineup to help speed the acceptance of solid state storage.
Toshiba will continue to promote innovations that widen the horizons
of the NAND Flash market and support its continued leadership in that
market. The company will spur demand for SSDs in notebook PCs,
netbooks, laptops and digital consumer products by enhancing its
lineup, offering products with different densities and interfaces in a
range of packages, while advancing device performance. For more
information on Toshiba SSDs, please visit ssd.toshiba.com.
Outline of the new products
Form Factor / Capacity / Product Number / Samples /Start of Mass
Production
- 2.5" Serial ATA-2 / 512 GB / THNS512GG8BB / Q1 2009 / Q2 2009
- 2.5" Serial ATA-2 / 256 GB / THNS256GG8BB / Q1 2009 / Q2 2009
- 2.5" Serial ATA-2 / 128 GB / THNS128GG4BB / Q1 2009 / Q2 2009
- 2.5" Serial ATA-2 / 64 GB / THNS064GG2BB / Q1 2009 / Q2 2009
- 1.8" Serial ATA-2 / 256 GB / THNS256GG8BA / Q1 2009 / Q2 2009
- 1.8" Serial ATA-2 / 128 GB / THNS128GG4BA / Q1 2009 / Q2 2009
- 1.8" Serial ATA-2 / 64 GB / THNS064GG2BA / Q1 2009 / Q2 2009
- 1.8" Flash Module 256 GB / THNS256GG8BM / Q1 2009 / Q2 2009
Serial ATA-2
- 1.8" Flash Module 128 GB / THNS128GG4BM / Q1 2009 / Q2 2009
Serial ATA-2
- 1.8" Flash Module 64 GB / THNS064GG2BM / Q1 2009 / Q2 2009
Product specification
- 2.5" Serial 1.8" Serial 1.8" Flash
- ATA-2 ATA-2 Module Serial ATA-2
- Size 69.9 (W) x 9.5(H) 54.0(W) x 5.0(H) 53.6(W) x 3.0(H) x x100(D)
mm x78.5(D) mm 70.6(D) mm
- Mass 66g (Typ.) 44g (Typ.) 15g (Typ.)
- Interface Serial ATA-2/(3 Gbps)3
- Voltage 3.3V (Module, 1.8" type), 5V (2.5" type)
- Reading speed Maximum speed 240 Mbps (sequential mode)
- Writing speed Maximum speed at 200 Mbps (sequential mode)
- Temperature 0 to 70 degrees Celsius
- MTTF4 1 million hours
Link: Toshiba
Bargain 'Books
Bargain 'Books are used unless otherwise indicated. New and
refurbished units have a one-year Apple warranty and are eligible for
AppleCare.
PowerBook, iBook, and MacBook profiles linked in our Portable Mac Index.
New this week: first unibody MacBooks in the refurb channel!
- refurb 1.6 GHz MacBook Air, 2 GB/80, $1,149
- refurb 1.8 GHz MacBook Air, 2 GB/80, $1,399
- refurb 1.8 GHz MacBook Air, 2 GB/64 SSD, $1,699
- refurb 2.1 GHz Penryn MacBook, white, 1 GB/120/Combo, $849
- refurb 2.4 GHz Santa Rosa MacBook, black, 2 GB/160/SD, $949
- refurb 2.4 GHz Penryn MacBook, black, 2 GB/250/SD, $1,049
- refurb 2.0 GHz Unibody MacBook, 2 GB/160/SD, $1,099
- refurb 2.4 GHz Unibody MacBook, 2 GB/250/SD, $1,399
- refurb 15" 2.5 GHz MacBook Pro, 2 GB/250/SD, $1,499
- refurb 15" 2.6 GHz MacBook Pro, 2 GB/200/SD, $1,799
- refurb 17" 2.4 GHz Santa Rosa MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD, $1,799
- refurb 17" 2.5 GHz Santa Rosa MacBook Pro, 2 GB/200/SD, $1,899
- refurb 17" 2.5 GHz Penryn MacBook Pro, 2 GB/250/SD, $1,999
- refurb 17" 2.5 GHz hi-res Penryn MacBook Pro, 2 GB/250/SD,
$2,199
- refurb 17" 2.6 GHz hi-res Penryn MacBook Pro, 2 GB/200 @ 7200
rpm/SD, $2,299
- 1.6 GHz MacBook Air, 2 GB/80, $1,199.99
- 2.0 GHz Core Duo MacBook, white, 1 GB/80/SD, $699.99
- 2.0 GHz Core Duo MacBook, black, 1 GB/80/SD, $749.99
- 15" 1.83 GHz Core Duo MacBook Pro, 512/80/SD, $949.99
- 15" 2.0 GHz Core Duo MacBook Pro, 1 GB/80/SD, $989.99
- 2.0 GHz Unibody MacBook, 2 GB/160/SD, $1,199.99
- 15" 2.4 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD, $1,299.99
- 15" 2.4 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/200/SD, $1,443.99
- 15" 2.4 GHz Unibody MacBook Pro, 2 GB/250/SD, $1,768.97
- 15'' 2.5 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 4 GB/250/SD, $1,549.99
- 15" 2.53 GHz Unibody MacBook Pro, 4 GB/320/SD, $2,248.99
- 2.1 GHz MacBook White, 1 GB/120/SD, $999.99 less $50 mail-in rebate
= $949.99 shipped
- 12" iBook G3/500 MHz, 128/10/CD, $169.99
- 12" iBook G3/600 MHz, 128/15/CD, $249.99
- 12" iBook G3/700 MHz, 128/20/Combo, $329.99
- 12" iBook G3/800 MHz, 256/30/Combo, $399.99
- 12" iBook G3/900 MHz, 256/40/Combo, $489.99
- 1.83 GHz Core Duo MacBook, white, 512/60/Combo, 60 day warranty,
$594.99
- 2.0 GHz Core Duo MacBook, white, 512/60/Combo, 60 day warranty,
$659.99
- 2.0 GHz Core Duo MacBook, black, 512/80/SD, 60 day warranty,
$719.99
- 2.0 GHz Core 2 MacBook, white, 1 GB/80/SD, 60 day warranty,
$769.99
- 2.0 GHz Core 2 MacBook, black, 1 GB/120/SD, 60 day warranty,
$799.99
- 15" titanium PowerBook G4/867 MHz, 256/30/Combo, $549.99
- 15" titanium PowerBook G4/1 GHz, 256/60/Combo, $699.99
- 15" aluminum PowerBook G4/1.25 GHz, 256/60/Combo, $599.99
- 15" aluminum PowerBook G4/1.33 GHz, 256/60/Combo, $639.99
- 15" aluminum PowerBook G4/1.5 GHz, 1 GB/80/Combo, $679.99
- 15" aluminum PowerBook G4/1.67 GHz, 1 GB/80/SD, APX, $729.99
- 15" hi-res aluminum PowerBook G4/1.67 GHz, 512/80/SD, APX,
$799.99
- 15" 1.83 GHz MacBook Pro, 512/80/SD, 90 day warranty, $899.99
- 15" 2.0 GHz MacBook Pro, 512/80/SD 90 day warranty, $979.99
- 15" 2.0 GHz MacBook Pro, 512/100/SD 90 day warranty, $1,099.99
- 15" 2.16 GHz MacBook Pro, 1 GB/100/SD, 90 day warranty,
$1,179.99
- 2.4 GHz Penryn MacBook, white, 4 GB/160/SD, $1,049
- 15" PowerBook G4/1.5 GHz, 1 GB/80/Combo, $640
- 15" hi-res PowerBook G4/1.67 GHz, 1 GB/80/SD, $715
- 15" hi-res PowerBook G4/1.67 GHz, 1.5 GB/100/SD, $805
- 12" iBook G4/1 GHz, 512/30/Combo, $499.95
- 12" iBook G4/1.33 GHz, 768/40/Combo, AP, AppleCare, $599.95
- 15" PowerBook G4/1.5 GHz, 1 GB/80/Combo, APX, $799.95
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.
