The 'Book Review

10 Top Spills that Kill Laptops, Less Explosive Notebook Battery, Next Gen Atom CPU, and More

This Week's MacBook, PowerBook, and iBook News

Compiled by Charles Moore and edited by Dan Knight - 2009.12.24

This is the last 'Book Review of 2009. We wish our readers a blessed Christmas and a safe New Year's holiday. Site updates will resume on Monday, January 4, 2010.

General Apple and Mac desktops is covered in The Mac News Review. iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV news is covered in The iNews Review. All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.

News & Opinion

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News & Opinion

10 Top Spills that Kill Laptops

PR: Liquid spills are the root cause of most (60%) laptop repairs, according to laptop repair company MicroReplay. The company lists their Top 10 list of liquid spills that damage laptops and notebook computers, and offers advice to laptop owners on what to do if they spill liquid on their computer.

Liquid spills on laptop computers generated some 60% of repairs sent to MicroReplay in 2009, according to company CEO Joe Kouyoumjian: "On any given morning, 20 to 30 broken laptop computers arrive at MicroReplay, needing to have various liquids extracted from their lifeless corpses. Many shiny new, Black Friday purchased computers are sure to meet one of these liquids."

The average cost to fix a dead-on-arrival laptop computer from a liquid spill? About $600. And while liquid spills represent fully 60% of laptop computer repairs, these Top 10 liquid-culprits may surprise you.

We recommend laptop users drink their coffee black. No sugar, means less corrosion.

  • #10: Nail Polish Remover (less than 1% of spills). This liquid is designed to dissolve lacquer, so it easily dissolves the coating on your notebook computers' internal logic board, faster than you can accidentally change lanes while painting your toenails.
  • #9: Bodily Fluids (1% of spills). Yes, one woman claimed breast milk killed her laptop. Most common bodily fluids that kill laptop computers cannot be listed here - way too gross.
  • #8: Hard Liquor (2% of spills). Hard liquor runs the gamut from pure ethyl alcohol (Grey Goose or Kettle One vodka) to syrupy, sugary goodness (brandy, White Russians, Piña Coladas, and other drinks served with an umbrella). The more sugar in the drink, the worse the corrosion that occurs to laptop's internal parts. The sugar, usually sucrose, dries to form a natural bridge across circuits, assuring a very sweet short-circuit.
      Expert lush tip: The more likely the drink is to be served with an umbrella (you tough guy) the more important it is that you keep it away from your laptop.
  • #7: Hot Tea (3% of spills). The tannic acid is again a effective conductor that will bridge circuits, create shorts, and burn out components.
  • #6: Sea Water (5% of spills). Salt water is among nature's best conductors, and one of the most corrosive liquids known to man. It's the NaCl (Sodium Chloride) that works the magic. Ever wonder why most ocean going vessels not painted faithfully look like floating buckets of rust? Dear Lord, leave your computer in your hotel room on vacation. Ocean versus laptop? Ocean wins. Every time.
  • #5: Beer (6% of spills). Beer drinkers can't seem to hold their liquor around their laptops, either. Beer is part water, part sugar, part brown goo. American lagers, as well as Mexican beers such as Corona or Dos Equis, are lighter than many imported brands, and may do less damage to laptops.
  • #4: Wine (10% of spills). It seems laptop owners drink even more wine than beer. Wine is the double-fisted Kung Fu punch of liquid spills - sugar and acid combine into a corrosion stew. Like the hard liquors mentioned above in #9, wines contain ethyl alcohol (12-20%), along with remnants of the processing including yeast, sugar, sulfite preservatives, grape parts, and acetaldehyde. Together, these work as both a corrosive soup and a circuit shorter.
      Tip for wine-lovers: "If you plan to drink and surf the web, may we suggest a nice white instead of red," suggests Kouyoumjian. "A light Pinot Grigio or gentle Chardonnay does slightly less damage than a rich, tannic Cabernet Sauvignon in our experience.
  • #3: Soda (12% of spills). Coke drinkers seem to spill a lot of drinks on their laptops. Perhaps it's the caffeine? Soft drinks are extra-corrosive due to the sugar and acidity (dissolved CO2) of the liquid, which we are told works well in cleaning rust off of bicycle wheel rims...
  • #2: Water (20% of spills). Ironically, it's not the water that's the problem - it's what's in it. Laptop boards are often completely immersed in a liquid called "ultra-pure" to clean damage from liquid spills, including water. Tap or bottled water contains minerals which account for its conductivity and its ability to cause corrosion, leading to the death of your laptop. You may recall from your high school chemistry days, that distilled water will not conduct electricity, but add a few grains of salt or other mineral and voilà, we have a short circuit.
  • #1 Coffee. (40% of all spills). Perhaps it's because we drink coffee to wake up and sometimes we're still clumsy in the mornings? Perhaps it's because our hands are shaking from all the caffeine? Either way, spilled coffee on laptops is a computer killer. A complex brew of exotic chemicals, caffeine, cafestol, caffeic acid, and myriad additives like dairy cream, powered cream, sugar, Aspartame (Equal), saccharine, sucralose (Splenda), and more.
      Expert tip: "For whatever reason, drinkers of Starbucks Coffee lead in incidence of spilling the black magic liquid into their laptops, followed closely by drinkers of Dunkin Donuts coffee," according to Kouyoumjian. "We recommend laptop users drink their coffee black. No sugar, means less corrosion."

Kouyoumjian advises that if you've spilled liquid on a laptop:

  • Unplug the computer and remove the battery: Your computer uses electricity, even when the main power is off. The presence of that electric current accelerates the corrosive process that damages the circuit boards inside.
  • Ship it overnight or go immediately to a qualified repair facility: Liquid spills that are cleaned professionally within days can save your computer 90% of the time.

MicroReplay provides complete mail-in laptop computer repair services for Apple and other laptop computers, including bona fide component-level repair of failed and damaged logic boards, difficult to fix liquid spills and tough abuse cases such as dropped/immersed systems and broken laptop screens. MicroReplay offers the best service using knowledge developed from over 24 years of experience in the industry. Using the-highest quality parts, highly skilled technicians, and the latest test and repair equipment, MicroReplay diagnoses and repairs even the most difficult problems, including those which others have said cannot be fixed. The company serves all types of customers, from individuals to large companies to schools and institutions of all sizes. MicroReplay is located in Billerica, Massachusetts and can be reached at: 978-262-1340

FireFound Firefox Add-on Can Help Locate Lost or Stolen Laptops

PR: FireFound by Christopher Finke is an add-on for Firefox and Fennec (mobile Firefox) that helps your find your computer (or mobile phone, in the case of Fennec) if it is lost or stolen. Every time your computer's location changes, FireFound sends a secure message to a central server with its current location. You can then log into the server and see your computer's current location.

All of the location data is encrypted, so no one can find out where your computer is without your password.

If you lose your computer, you can tell FireFound to clear your personal data (saved passwords, browsing history, etc.) if anyone starts your browser before you can retrieve it.

You can even run your own FireFound server; all of the code is open-source.

Note: All geolocation data is approximate and should only be used as a guideline. If your computer has been stolen, don't try to retrieve it yourself - alert the police.

After installing FireFound, you'll be asked to choose a username and password for your account. You can use that username and password to log in at the FireFound website and view the latest locations of your computer.

Developer Comments

FireFound is completely open-source. The extension is open-source by nature, and the server-side code is available at http://code.google.com/p/firefound/ (Both are built in such a way that users can run their own FireFound servers if they are uncomfortable with the idea of a single centralized server collecting data.) The user has the option of downloading all of the data collected by FireFound; the user can also choose to remove their data from the FireFound server at any time. Even the name FireFound was chosen in an open manner.

New in version 1.0.3: Added client-side encryption of location data.

System requirements: Firefox: 3.5 - 3.6

You can also download the FireFound browser add-on from Mozilla Add-ons. The next time you restart your browser, you'll be asked to choose a username and password for your account. You can use that username and password to log in at this website and view the latest locations of your computer.

Panasonic Releases Higher Capacity, Less Explosive Laptop Battery

The Register's Tony Smith reports that Panasonic has begun mass-producing a lithium-ion battery for laptops that features more capacity than current offerings - 3.1 Ah versus the currently popular cells that typically have a capacity of up to 2.9 Ah, a 7% increase in the same size unit, plus an insulating metal oxide layer between cathode and anode which Panasonic claims, "prevents the battery from overheating even if a short circuit occurs".

The new battery is built in the "18650" form-factor, the standard size (65mm long, 18mm diameter) for the cells laptop power pack makers build into the battery packs that most notebook users are familiar with.

Editor's note: Just speculation, but I wonder if the push for development of lithium-ion battery technology for hybrid and electric cars may be spurring research focus on better lithium-ion battery safety. cm

Intel Announces Next Generation Atom Netbook CPU

First Intel chips to integrate graphics and memory controller in CPU; enables power reduction, smaller systems, and performance improvements. Higher level of integration plus 45nm manufacturing enables significant power reduction, performance improvements and smaller package size. Average power consumption down 20% over previous generation, enabling longer battery life in netbooks. Next-generation Intel Atom systems available Jan. 4.

PR: Intel Corporation announced new Intel Atom processors, which feature integrated graphics built directly into the CPU, enabling improved performance and smaller, more energy-efficient designs in a new generation of netbooks and Atom-based entry level desktop PCs. Major OEMs have committed to having systems on the new Intel® Atom™ processors and a new companion chipset available within the next few weeks.

"We're excited to be delivering the next-generation Atom platform and working across the industry as we head into a second phase of growth, powering innovative new system designs with better performance, smaller footprints and better battery life."

The newest Intel Atom platform for netbooks consists of a new Intel® Atom™ processor, the N450, and a new low-power Intel® NM10 Express Chipset. For entry level desktop PCs, it consists of either the Intel® Atom™ processor D410 or the dual core D510, also paired with the Intel® NM10 Express Chipset. The Atom processor was designed from the ground up for small devices and low power, and remains Intel's smallest chip, built on the company's 45nm high-k metal gate manufacturing process. The overall package, including chipset, just got smaller due to the increasing integration and 45nm manufacturing, which means smaller, more compact system designs, lower costs for OEMs and improved performance.

Broad Industry Momentum

Intel continues to see broad industry support for the Atom platform as netbooks in particular have been hot sellers during a recessionary year due to their affordability, function and small size (7-10.2" screens). Additionally, Intel is expecting to see broad channel adoption for Atom in a variety of small form factor entry-level desktop PCs at low price points, including ultra-small designs (less than 1-litre chassis), fanless designs, and low-cost all-in-one designs.

Since Intel announced the first Atom processors for netbooks and entry-level desktop PCs in June 2008, the market has expanded rapidly. Since introduction, Intel has shipped over 40 million Atom chips for netbooks to every major OEM around the world. In the same timeframe, netbooks ramped faster and sold more units than Apple's iPhone or the Nintendo Wii. According to ABI Research, total Atom shipments for all segments are expected to continue to grow into the 100s of millions by 2011. Intel is not letting up, offering the next-generation platform for OEMs to continue to innovate around.

"The Intel Atom processor has fueled an entirely new category of computing over the last year and a half and we think the growth will continue for devices like netbooks and entry-level PCs built around basic computing and Internet usage models," said Mooly Eden, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of Intel's PC Client Group. "We're excited to be delivering the next-generation Atom platform and working across the industry as we head into a second phase of growth, powering innovative new system designs with better performance, smaller footprints and better battery life."

Intel has over 80 design wins to-date for the new Atom platform from such leading OEMs as ASUS, Acer, Lenovo, Dell, MSI, Toshiba, Samsung and Fujitsu. While the bulk of the systems will feature the new Windows 7 Starter or Home Basic operating system, consumers will have a choice when it comes to selecting an operating system, with some OEMs offering Moblin™ Linux v2 as an alternative for customers who desire a customizable and differentiated user interface.

Worldwide netbook shipments by telecommunications companies such as T-Mobile, Vodafone, Orange and others are also growing and expected to fuel another round of expansion. Intel has been working closely with mobile operators and modem vendors to advance 3G capabilities in netbooks in established and emerging markets. To-date approximately a dozen service providers offer netbooks in various markets, and the numbers are expected to grow with the newest platform.

Improved processor and graphics performance

One of the most significant features of the new platform is the integration of memory controller and graphics into the CPU, a first in the industry on x86 chips. That means two chips (CPU+chipset) instead of the previous three (CPU, chipset, I/O controller hub), a lower TDP, and substantial reductions in cost, overall footprint and power. The netbook platform features a 20% improvement in average power and a smaller package size over the previous Atom platform. This translates into smaller and more compact system designs and longer battery life. Because of the integration, the total footprint for the netbook platform has decreased by approximately 60%. For entry level desktop PCs, it's a nearly 70% reduction in footprint and about 50% lower TDP than the previous generation.

About the platform

The N450 is a single core Atom processor with 512k of L2 cache and a 7 watt total kit TDP including chipset. The D410 for entry-level desktop PCs is a single-core Atom processor with 512k of L2 cache and a 12-watt total kit TDP including chipset, and the D510 for entry-level desktop PCs is a dual core Atom processor with 1 MB L2 cache and a 15-watt total kit TDP including chipset. The new chips all run at 1.66 GHz. Pricing and availability will be announced in January as systems become available from OEMs.

Editor's note: Whether we'll see this in an Apple product is uncertain. Earlier this year, Intel sued Nvidia, which makes the GPUs used in most Macs and many PCs, and Nvidia responded with a countersuit. In the US, the FTC is now suing Intel over noncompetitive practices and monopoly abuse of AMD (which makes ATI GPUs) and Nvidia by providing financial incentives for Dell, HP, and others to use Intel CPUs and GPUs rather than incorporate other brands of GPUs in their products - and now Intel has CPUs with built-in GPUs, making it that much more difficult for other GPU makers to compete. In the interim, Nvidia has ceased work on new GPUs designed to work with Intel's new CPUs and chipsets. Apple obviously considers Nvidia's GPUs superior to Intel's, using the GeForce 9400M across its range of consumer Macs. How this will impact future Macs remains to be seen. dk

Nationwide Laptop Rental Company Celebrates 30 Years

PR: Rentex, a leader in the laptop rental industry, is celebrating thirty years of service to top businesses across the country.

Rentex, based in Boston, Massachusetts, is celebrating their thirtieth year of proving top quality laptops and supplies to small and large businesses across the United States. The company has been providing daily, weekly or monthly laptop rentals to a wide variety of businesses since 1980, and is poised to increase the popularity of their service in the future.

Rentex President Richard Flaherty explains, There is more need for laptop rentals today than ever. Many companies have enough of their own laptops for their employees on a routine basis, but there are many instances when they may need additional laptops for a brief period of time. Conventions, business travel, peak workload seasons and trade shows are all instances when a business will typically need to significantly increase the number of laptops they have on hand. It doesn't make sense to buy extra machines when you ll only be using them for a few weeks, which is why laptop rentals make good business sense. Rentex can provide your business with laptops for whatever time frame works for you.

Rentex can provide your business with laptops for whatever time frame works for you. Businesses are increasingly using laptops at trade shows, conventions and for company training, and Rentex provides a cost effective solution to these temporary needs. The company carries top of the line laptops by Apple, Lenovo, HP Compaq, IBM, Dell and Panasonic. Included with all laptop rentals are 24/7 technical support and free maintenance. Rentex makes it easy with a dedicated technical support line and quick swap-out of any computer with an unresolved issue, guaranteeing businesses reliable laptop rentals year round. On site personnel are available when needed to ensure proper setup and turnkey usability.

Director of Marketing Marcel Maillet says, "We're very proud of what we have to offer. Whether an accounting firm needs a few extra laptops to get through tax season or an international pharmaceutical company needs several hundred laptops for a week long convention, we can meet their needs. We can ship our laptops anywhere in the country with overnight delivery, and in many cities we can provide same day service. With locations in Boston, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Orlando, and Washington, DC, we cover the country.

"There are other computer rental services out there, but none of them can compete with Rentex for great prices and personal service. Every one of our laptop rentals includes a dedicated sales representative that is available by pager twenty four hours a day. It's this kind of attention to the needs of our customers that has made Rentex such as success in laptop rentals."

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Rentex is a full service laptop rental company. They currently have over 13,000 clients and provide large monitor, audio-visual, laptop and LCD projector rentals to businesses of all sizes. They guarantee the lowest price in the industry backed by exceptional technical support.

Products & Services

iFixit Releases Repair Guide Library to Creative Commons

PR: iFixit's Kyle Weins says:

"My team has invested thousands of hours in documenting how to repair Apple hardware. Starting in 2004 with our very first set of repair guides for the venerable PowerBook G3 series (God bless the Pismo), we have steadily, inexorably, carefully, taken apart every single Mac we could get our hands on.

"We now have manuals for 91 Mac models, 34 iPods, and a couple of iPhones. Together, our media servers currently host 154,556 images (including revision history and thumbnails) and over 1,000 step-by-step guides.

"Today, we are giving all that content to the world. Effective immediately, we are licensing all iFixit repair manuals under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. To my knowledge, this is the largest free release of repair documentation ever. We are committing to make our repair manuals available to everyone in the world, forever, for free.

"When we told Creative Commons what we were planning, they got really excited. 'iFixit manuals provide users the information they need to extend the life of and add value to their hardware without involving the manufacturer. Similarly, it's great to see iFixit offer users the legal right to add value to iFixit manuals - to share and remix in any medium, notably including translation - by publishing under a Creative Commons license,' said Mike Linksvayer, Vice President of Creative Commons.

"Lawrence Lessig, cofounder of Creative Commons and a longtime iFixit user, has also given his blessing. 'iFixit is one of the most important community driven technology resources on the net. It is wonderful to now see them build their community by giving back to the community what the community helped build. As iFixit extends beyond the world of Mac, that community will only grow, and strengthen the practical knowledge which repair content provides. I am extraordinarily proud that Creative Commons can help make this innovation possible.'

"If you meet the conditions of the license, you can reproduce, modify, and redistribute our repair content to your heart's content - including photos, text, and PDFs.

"Why are we doing this? Because we must. Because the world cannot continue wantonly manufacturing and consuming devices without a plan for their long-term lifecycle. Because individuals need the ability to take control of their devices and their environmental footprint. And because it's the right thing to do.

"All future content posted to iFixit, either by us or by our users, will be open-licensed. You are welcome to copy them elsewhere and modify them, but the improvements will reach more people if we pool our efforts. We will be allowing anyone to edit and improve our repair manuals on iFixit.com very soon.

"We will be providing a XML data dump of our repair manuals sometime in the middle of next year. We are in the process of finalizing a new repair manual XML schema (if you want input on the process, please contact us). We hope to host the data archive at the Internet Archive as well as seed it via BitTorrent.

"The Creative Commons organization was created by a team of legal scholars including Lawrence Lessig, a legal genius (and longtime iFixit user!) who solved the need to provide a gradient for content licensing in situations like ours, where we want our content to be as free as possible.

"We admit it - we have to pay the bills. Selling parts is how we do that. We have parts competitors that would prefer it if we weren't around. (In fact, one of those competitors rebranded our manuals, publishing them as their own without attribution.) We want to be able to afford to write new manuals, and the noncommercial requirement allows us to do that.

"The Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license does not have specific support for journalists, but we are very willing to freely license our content to journalists. Reporters are free to use up to three attributed photos per story without contacting us. More generous licensing is readily available by contacting us, and we are almost always willing to grant journalists the same rights as noncommercial users."

Luxury Leather SurfacePad Protects Your MacBook Pro and Your Wrists

SurfacePadPR: Twelve South introduces SurfacePad, a super soft, ultra-thin layer of luxury leather that dresses up and protects the keyboard deck/wrist rest area of MacBook Pro from scratches, dirt and discoloration. SurfacePad is available now in Smooth and Pattern styles for the 13" and 15" MacBook Pro. The retail price is $39.99 for both sizes, and the product is available immediately.

Along with protecting the surface around the keyboard, the rich black leather SurfacePad completely transforms the look of a MacBook Pro, making it a standout in coffee shops, classrooms and boardrooms. SurfacePad is available in either a napa Smooth finish or an embossed baroque Pattern. It also beautifully coordinates with the black keys and black screen bezel on MacBook Pros.

SurfacePadThe SurfacePad for the 13" MacBook Pro is a one-piece design that covers the keyboard deck, with an opening for the trackpad and keyboard. The SurfacePad for the 15" MacBook Pro is a two-piece style that also integrates the speaker grills into the design of SurfacePad. Each of the pieces can be used independently of one another, depending on user preference or personal style.

"SurfacePad adds a sophisticated layer of protection, style and comfort to MacBook in the form of a thin cushion of top-grain napa leather. It gives your MacBook a fresh new look and makes working for hours more comfortable," says Andrew Green, Head of Creative for Twelve South. "With two distinct styles, the classic Smooth leather and the embossed baroque Pattern, it gives our customer the choice of which version best fits their personality."

SurfacePadSurfacePad 15" with Pattern

The SurfacePad for the 15" MacBook Pro comes in two sections. Use both for the complete SurfacePad look, or use just the bottom for wrist pad protection.

SurfacePad 13" with Pattern

The SurfacePad 13" fits both the 13" MacBook Pro and the new unibody-based MacBook. The addition of a SurfacePad dramatically changes the look of your MacBook Pro while at the same time making it more comfortable to work on. SurfacePad 13" is available in both Smooth and Pattern versions

SurfacePad 15" Smooth

The SurfacePad adds an undeniable touch of style to an already beautiful machine.

SurfacePadA Whole New Look

SurfacePad covers most of the exposed surface of the MacBook, while adding a new black look that perfectly matches the black keyboard and the black surround of the monitor.

Comfort for Your Wrists

The SurfacePad is less than 1mm thick and allows the MacBook to close and go into Sleep Mode, just as it normally does.

A Touch of Personality

A "barely there" subtle pattern is lightly debossed into the leather - adding a bit of interest and personality to your MacBook. If you prefer a simpler classic look, SurfacePad is also available in a pattern-free Smooth version.

SurfacePad

Premium Notebook - Luxury Comfort

When you want to make a desk more comfortable you add a soft leather desk pad. That's exactly what SurfacePad adds to your MacBook. Your wrists will feel much better resting and working on a super soft padded leather surface. SurfacePad makes hours on the keyboard more pleasurable and comfortable for your hardworking hands. When work is over, SurfacePad will not get in the way of your MacBook closing and going into Sleep Mode, like it always has.

SurfacePad installs easily and remains in place using a special adhesive that leaves no trace or sticky residue. More importantly, the adhesive allows you to reposition your SurfacePad, or even remove it entirely for a period of time and then reapply it. Not a drop of glue or sticky residue will be left behind. Simply peel up the luxury leather pad and you will find nothing but the like-new surface of your MacBook. This keeps your machine in top condition for Craigslist or eBay when it's time to upgrade. At a mere 0.7mm thin, SurfacePad does not interfere with your MacBook closing and going to sleep.

  • 15" MacBook Pro (unibody)
  • 13" MacBook Pro (unibody)
  • 13" MacBook (white unibody)
  • 13" MacBook (2008 unibody)

$39.99

Twelve South is a company dedicated to making one-of-a-kind accessories exclusively for the Mac. The company was formed in 2009 by former executives from the fashion and consumer electronics industries, and its design team includes the original designers of landmark products like the Griffin iTrip and iCurve, and the DLO HomeDock and DLO Relaxed Leather cases.

BookArc Stand Turns Your 'Book into a Minitower Desktop Computer

BookArc StandPR: BookArc is a simple, elegant way to operate your closed MacBook while at home. It literally turns your laptop into a minitower desktop computer.

Carved from strong, heavy gauge steel, BookArc vertically holds any MacBook from MacBook Air to the 17" MacBook Pro. Park your BookArc-cradled MacBook next to your LED Cinema Display and you'll have the coolest desktop/laptop setup your desk has ever seen.

Clear off your desk

BookArc helps you free up valuable real estate on your desk, giving you a cleaner, less cluttered, Zen-like workspace. With a footprint of 10-by-4 inches, BookArc takes up a fraction of the space your MacBook wastes just lying around. And while it takes your MacBook to new heights, BookArc rests on soft, silicone footpads that keep it from leaving any unwanted marks or scratches on your desk.

One Arc fits all

To ensure the perfect fit, BookArc includes three different sized scratch-free, silicone cushions. These gently grip the various MacBook and MacBook Pro models and ensures the perfect fit right out of the box. Cushions are super easy to install and remove making it easy for BookArc to switch from one MacBook model to another.

Can a stand speed up your MacBook?

Along with a attractive design and improved ergonomics, BookArc can actually boost the performance of your laptop. When your MacBook is running closed in the BookArc, your machine will automatically dedicate 100% of its video memory to the external display - instead of splitting it with the internal display. You'll enjoy a noticeable speed increase when working in Photoshop, Aperture, iPhoto and other graphics-intensive applications. So can a notebook stand really speed up your MacBook? If its a BookArc, the answer is yes.

BookArc StandAccording to Apple, all MacBooks, MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs, and PowerBook G4s can work in Closed Clamshell mode.

Product Specs:

  • Height: 3" (7.6 cm)
  • Width: 4.5" (11.4 cm)
  • Depth: 10.12" (25.7 cm)
  • Weight: 1.2 pounds (.54 kg)

Compatibility

  • MacBook Pro (13", 15", or 17")
  • MacBook (black, white, or aluminum)
  • MacBook Air
  • PowerBook G4 (15" or 17")

$49.99 - Free shipping

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