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News & Opinion
Quad-Core Chip Makes Sense for MacBook Pro
Cnet's Brooke Crothers says:
"If the speculation about a new MacBook Pro is on the money, the
step up to Intel's quad-core mobile technology would have a profound
impact on this vaunted line of Apple laptops.
"So, why would Apple adopt a Core i processor in a laptop? The short
answer is OS X Snow Leopard. The new operating system is designed to be
better at wringing more performance out of multicore processors - and
the Core i chips pack four cores.
"The long answer is the Core 'i' chips themselves. The Core i,
a.k.a. 'Nehalem,' is a brand new Intel microarchitecture brimming with
performance improvements over the current Core 2 design...."
Link: Quad-Core Chip
Makes Sense for Apple Laptop
Late 2009 MacBook a Direct Descendant of Unibody
MacBook
Hardmac's Lionel (tr. by Crispin) says that by analyzing technical
documentation of the new
Polycarbonate MacBook they note a striking similarity in the the
shape and placement of components of the new MacBook's motherboard
compared to the former Unibody MacBook.
He notes that the shape, position of the CPU, and of the chipset are
identical. There are some differences at the level of the connectors,
the power supply, and the stabilization of the current, but nothing
significant other than the obvious - that Apple eliminated certain
components to reduce the cost of the motherboard.
He suggests that those who can get along without FireWire, this
entry-level MacBook is an excellent machine with plenty of power for
the majority of users in the market for low-cost portables.
Editor's note: I don't disagree on the point, but I still think
dropping FireWire, at least before USB 3 is available, is a dumb and
regressive move. cm
Link:
Polycarbonate MacBook a Direct Descendant of the MacBook
Unibody
Snow Leopard Causing MacBook Pros and MacBooks to
Overheat, Run Fans Hard
CNET MacFixIt's Joe Aimonetti reports that several users are
reporting having experienced their systems running inordinately hot
after upgrading to Mac OS X
10.6 Snow Leopard, causing their machines' cooling fans to work
exceptionally hard with accompanying cacophonous noise. The issue
reportedly afflicts MacBook Pros in particular, although there are some
similar reports from MacBook owners as well, with the correspondents
saying their laptops run extremely hot, causing the fans to cycle at a
high rate, batteries to drain more rapidly, even with only a few
programs running, in some instances getting so hot that the screen
begins showing colored artifacts all over and Internet support spotty
and erratic.
As usual, MacFixIt provides some workaround suggestions to try.
Hopefully version 10.6.2 will address this issue.
Editor's note: Another reason why I'm thanking myself for holding
off on switching to Snow Leopard until more bug fixes are implemented.
My MacBook runs reasonably cool under OS 10.5.8, and I'd like to keep
things that way. Hopefully version 10.6.2 will address this issue.
cm
Link: Snow Leopard
Causing Overheating and Loud Fans Issues with MacBook Pros and MacBooks
- Reports
OWC Video Shows How to Add More RAM to the Late
2009 MacBook
OWC Blogger Chris S. says that Apple has made upgrading the memory
in the new MacBooks incredibly easy to do: Just remove the bottom
cover, replace the memory, and then close it all up. In no time at all,
you'll be able to upgrade the stock 2 GB of memory to 4 GB or
even 8 GB (even though Apple officially endorses a maximum of
4 GB for this machine, presumably for marketing purposes - greater
differentiation with the 13" MacBook Pro)
You can check out the video in OWC's Tech Center or on OWC's YouTube
channel.
Link:
Video Shows How to Add More Memory to the October 2009 MacBook
Power Connection Issues When Going International
with Your Mac
Macworld's Christopher Breen notes that people who take their Macs
abroad are often confused about wall current connectivity issues,
noting that Macs and their power adapters are built to support 110V to
240V, so you can plug your Mac mini or MacBook into just about any
outlet without fear of a meltdown - but the sticking point is the sort
of plug connector you need to tap into local juice.
To that end, Apple sells the $39
Apple World Travel Adapter Kit. This kit contains six power
adapters that slip on to a MagSafe power adapter and older USB iPhone
and iPod power adapters.
Link:
Power and the International Mac
Reviews
Late 2009 MacBook 'a Great, Well Rounded
Upgrade'
AppleInsider's Prince McLean says that Apple's new 13-inch MacBook
brings the company's "white plastic" model in line with the rest of its
notebook offerings, but remains distinguished from the 13-inch MacBook
Pro by its slightly larger and heavier polycarbonate body, limited
upgrade options for CPU and RAM, and a few significant missing
features: no FireWire, no backlit keyboard, no SD card reader, no
external battery level indicator, and no IR receiver for using an Apple
Remote.
Link:
Review: Apple's Redesigned, Late 2009 13-inch MacBook
Late 2009 MacBook 'a MacBook That Thinks It's a
Pro'
T3 says:
"Let's get one thing straight from the off. When will Apple make up
its mind about FireWire? Originally supported across the entire Mac
range, when it was dropped from the 13-inch aluminium unibody MacBook
in late 2008, it seemed the writing was on the wall for Apple's
proprietary* connectivity system. Mac users were up in arms. The next
revision of Apple's laptop range saw the aluminium MacBook join the Pro
range, and much to the relief of the Apple faithful, FireWire was
restored. Yet now, with the release of this new entry-level white
polycarbonate 13-inch MacBook, the FireWire port has disappeared
again.
"Thankfully, most of the new MacBook's revisions are far more
welcome than its dropping FireWire support."
* Editor's note: There's nothing proprietary about FireWire; its
an IEEE
standard that Apple initially developed. dk
Link:
Apple MacBook Late 2009 Review
Tech Trends
New 18.4" Acer Aspire Notebook Offers Intel Core i7
Quad-Core Power
PR: Available "in time for the holiday" is Acer's new Aspire
AS8940G-6865 notebook PC, featuring the new Intel Core i7 Quad-Core
720QM processor and preloaded with Windows 7 Home Premium, a monster
18.4" widescreen HD display, 4 GB DDR3 Dual-Channel 1066 MHz
Memory, Nvidia's GeForce GTS 250M graphics with 1 GB dedicated
DDR3 VRAM Blu-ray, a Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader, Intel
Wireless WiFi Link 5100 802.11a//bg/Draft-N, 5 USB 2.0 Ports, 1 HDMI
Port, 1 eSATA Port, an 8-cell Li-Ion Battery (4800 mAh) high-quality
audio output, a large standard hard drive and ample memory, making it a
mobile powerhouse.
The Intel Core i7 processor allows users to multitask between
applications quicker and enjoy faster performance overall, featuring
Intel's Turbo Boost Technology which accelerates processor clock speed
up to 75 percent to match workload demands, and Intel's Hyper-Threading
Technology that allows applications to work better in parallel, making
multitasking quick and easy.
The 18.4" full HD widescreen CineCrystal LED backlit display offers
1920x1080 resolution for true HDTV with a 16:9 aspect ratio in a new
edge-to-edge design that's ideal for widescreen movies, and certified
Dolby Home Theater Audio Enhancement technology combined with Acer's
CineSurround sound system with five built-in speakers and the Acer Tuba
CineBass booster bring clear tones and deep bass beats.
Nvidia GeForce GTS 250M graphics maximize the gaming experience by
providing plenty of computing muscle, with 1 GB of dedicated video
memory allows buffering capacity for seamless graphics and visuals.
All this for an amazingly modest MSRP of $1,349.99
Link: No information
about this model on Acer's site as we post this.
SanDisk's Modular SSD Adopted by Sony's Ultra-Thin
VAIO X Laptop
PR: SanDisk Corporation says that the 64 GB1
SanDisk pSSDTM Gen 2 solid state drive has been selected by Sony as the
SSD of choice for its new VAIO X ultra-thin laptop.
Because Solid State Drives (SSD) use no moving parts, they offer
improved durability that helps prevent data loss resulting from drive
failure. They also run quieter and cooler, and use less power than
conventional hard disk drives. The SanDisk pSSD drive's small size
complements ultra-thin laptops with small form factor requirements.
The SanDisk pSSD offers several features that contribute to the
extreme thinness and long battery life of Sony's lightweight Windows 7
notebook. The pSSD's compact size (weighing only 7.1 grams and
measuring 54mm x 32mm x 4.4mm) and LIF PATA interface are well-suited
to Sony's particular form factor requirement. In addition, the drive's
power consumption (average power of 0.15W2) is significantly
lower than that of a traditional hard disk drive.
SanDisk's modular solid state drive, SanDisk pSSD, offers 9,000
vRPM3 of performance and has the added benefit of employing
nCache technology, a large nonvolatile write cache technology that
boosts burst random write performance up to three times over steady
state performance and up to 20 times faster than pSSD Gen 1 to further
enhance the user experience4. nCache technology improves
user responsiveness and helps prevent incidence of drive
"stalling".
"The release of Sony's VAIO X symbolizes a market shift towards
pioneering flash-based laptop designs, eliminating the weight and size
constraints of the legacy hard disk drive," comments Doreet Oren,
director product marketing, solid state drives, SanDisk. "The SanDisk
pSSD drive enables laptops to be thinner and lighter, while eliminating
the mechanical slow downs and malfunctions most commonly attributed to
the hard disk drive."
"The selection of SanDisk pSSD drives by tier-1 OEMs for the newest
small, thin, and lightweight laptop designs is a vote of confidence for
not only SanDisk solutions, but also for the potential of SSDs to move
the computing market light years forward," said Jim McGregor, analyst
at In-Stat, a Reed Business independent industry research firm. "PC
OEMs understand the performance and power consumption benefits of SSDs
and are working hard to bring these solutions quickly and affordably to
the end user."
SanDisk pSSD Gen 2 drives support Windows XP, Linux, and Windows 7,
the OS of choice for the Sony VAIO X laptop. SanDisk pSSD Gen 2 comes
in a variety of PATA and SATA interfaces and is available to OEMs in
capacities that range from 8 GB to 64 GB. More information about
SanDisk pSSD products is available online.
- 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes
- While running MobileMark and average (typical) power
- vRPM (virtual Revolutions Per Minute) - a metric to compare SSD
performance in client PCs with the HDD and with other SSDs. vRPM = 50 /
((0.5 / 4 kb random read IOPS) + 0.5 / 4 kb random write IOPS))
- Performance based on internal testing and projections may vary
depending on host device.
Link:
SanDisk pSSD
Link:
Sony VAIO X
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