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Review. All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.
News & Opinion
Products & Services
News & Opinion
The Horror of Diet Coke on a MacBook Pro
Keyboard
The Houston Chronicle's Dwight Silverman says:
"When you spill a liquid into a desktop computer keyboard, in most
cases it's no big deal. At worst, you must replace the keyboard, a
relatively minor expense. But spilling a liquid into the keyboard of a
notebook computer is another matter.
"So that's why, when I spilled Diet Coke onto the keyboard of my
13-inch MacBook
Pro on Wednesday night, my heart nearly stopped."
Editor's note: One issue highlighted by Silverman's account of this
incident that I hadn't previously pondered was that he wanted to remove
the battery as well, but of course the 13" MacBook Pro, like all Apple
laptops today, has a non-removable battery - another strike against the
built-in battery configuration, which I've never been enchanted with.
Silverman says he's now decided that this is not a good design
feature.
Silverman says that so far, after drying it out, the MacBook Pro
appears to be working fine, but he was told by an Apple service tech
that any liquid that made it inside could corrode the laptop's
circuitry over time, so he's holding his breath. cm
Link: Diet Coke on a MacBook Pro
Keyboard: The Horror!
$37 Netbook: Yes, It's for Real
eBay has posted a 7" mini laptop netbook computer notebook with
WiFi running Windows CE for the princely sum of $36.98.
Sourced in Hong Kong, these are new, unused computers claimed to
have absolutely no signs of wear, although they may be missing the
original packaging. Possibly they're factory seconds.
The cheapie netbooks have 300 MHz VIA ARM 32-bit processors with
integrated graphics, 7" TFT HD 800 x 480 resolution displays, 128 MB of
DRAM, and 2 GB hard drives.
Connectivity-wise, these little rock-bottom priced laptops put
the iPad or even a MacBook Air to shame, with three (count 'em and
weep) USB 2.0 ports, a SD Card slot, an RJ45 port, integrated
"Quadraphonic" Speakers, analog 1/8" (3.5mm) line-out headphone and
microphone input ports, Fast Ethernet, and IEEE 802.11b WiFi.
The pointing device is a trackpad, and there's a 1800 mAh smart
lithium-ion battery with a 9 volt AC adapter.
Three colors are available: black(default), white, and pink. If you
want white or pink, you're instructed to leave message on PayPal.
With a CPU frequency of 300 MHz and just 128 MB of RAM, this little
box is not going to be any rip-snorter, and note well that Windows
doesn't support Java by default, so some websites won't load properly,
unless you install Java and certain other necessary plugins. However,
for 37 bucks, you can hardly complain.
Add $39.99 for shipping. Payment by PayPal only.
Link: 7" Mini Laptop Netbook Computer
Notebook WiFi Windows CE
Lenovo and Toshiba Preparing to Launch Dual-Core
Smartbooks
DigiTimes' Yen-Shyang Hwang and Joseph Tsai report that Japan-based
Toshiba and China-based Lenovo are preparing to launch new "smartbooks"* by the end
of August and the end-of-year holidays, respectively.
The report says Toshiba will launch a smartbook, the
AC100, under its Dynabook line, featuring a 1 GHz dual-core
ARM Cortex-A9 processor, Nvidia's Tegra 250 graphics processor,
Google's Android operating system, and a 10.1" display. It will be
available initially in Japan, gradually expanding to Europe, the Middle
East, and Africa. Toshiba also plans two ARM-based tablet PCs for debut
at the end of 2010.
Lenovo has already unveiled its two smartbooks, the Skylight and
IdeaPad U1 Hybrid, but Hwang and Tsai note that the company
recently decided to upgrade their specifications from Qualcomm's
single-core 1 GHz processor to its new dual-core 1.5 GHz
processors, and to switch the operating system to Android, which will
delay official launch until the end of the year.
Link: Lenovo and Toshiba
Prepare to Launch Smartbooks (subscription required)
Products & Services
Carry Handles for Unibody MacBook, MacBook Pro,
MacBook Air
PR: QuickerTek announced that they are shipping carry
handles for all models of the Apple Unibody MacBook - aluminum and
white - and MacBook Pro Unibody 13", 15", and 17" laptops. Along with
the MacBook Air carry handle that was announced this past March, this
completes coverage of the entire Unibody Mac laptop family. This new
lightweight carry handle is made from sturdy non-flex aircraft quality
aluminum for strength and weight savings.
The new QuickerTek Carry Handle is priced at $79.95 and is available
through QuickerTek's web store.
The Carry Handle ensures that the Mac laptop doesn't slip and
hit the floor. The lightweight handle is made from sturdy aluminum with
captive screws and it attaches with a bracket mount that uses the
existing screw holes on the back of the computer.
The unique design lays the handle out and the bracket elevates the
MacBook, MacBook Pro or MacBook Air when it's resting on a horizontal
surface, which allows better airflow underneath the laptop for more
efficient convection cooling which means a cooler-running laptop. This
slight angle adjustment also keeps the keyboard at the slightly
forward-raked angle that many users prefer [although it's less
ergonomically correct than a flat orientation or even a "wrong-looking"
forward-raked one that would angle the user's wrists down in a more
relaxed and natural pronation, rather than up, which is stressful on
the Carpal Tunnel. cm].
The QuickerTek Carry Handle doesn't alter your Apple laptop and is
completely reversible. It is styled to match your Mac, so it goes with
all out your cool Mac stuff. Like most QuickerTek products, the Carry
Handles for the Unibody Family is backed with a one-year warranty on
parts and labor.
Link: UniBody
Mac Carry Handles
64 GB Crucial RealSSD C300 2.5" SATA 6 Gb/s
PR: If you're looking for unhindered speed, Crucial's RealSSD
C300 is here. This new 2.5" Crucial RealSSD C300 drive offers mobile
and desktop users scorching-fast read speeds of up to 355 MB/s. And
because it has no moving parts, you will also enjoy a quieter, cooler,
and more durable storage solution - and a better alternative to a
traditional notebook hard drive.
Improved Data Transfers
Designed with high-speed synchronous MLC NAND, advanced controller
technology, optimized NAND management, and the new SATA 6 Gb/s
interface, these drives dramatically improve data transfers for
bandwidth-demanding applications like audio and video.
Push Your Performance
The improvement in boot time and application load times push
performance to new levels at the desktop too. You will experience
improvement across a variety of common tasks such as viewing and
editing photos, video, music and other media, gaming, communications,
productivity and security.
The Crucial brand of memory has long been synonymous with
reliability and high-performance. Our expertise in NAND process
technology enables us to optimize the performance and durability of
Crucial solid-state drives.
Guaranteed Compatible
Crucial RealSSD C300 series employ a standard hard drive interface
and dimensions, so it is an easy storage upgrade for most
notebooks.
Features:
- Read speeds up to 355 MB/s
- SATA 6 Gb/s interface
- High-speed Synchronous NAND
- Limited three-year warranty
$149.99
Link: Crucial
Solid-State Drives
Other World Computing Data Doubler for MacBook,
MacBook Pro
PR:
Other World Computing (OWC) announces the OWC Data Doubler, an optical
drive bay mounting solution for MacBook or MacBook Pro notebook
computers that enables users to add a second hard drive or SSD for up
to an additional 640 GB of internal drive capacity, internal RAID, or
other user customized internal data storage configurations.
The $79.99 MSRP OWC Data Doubler comes complete with all required
hardware, a detailed step-by-step Mac notebook model specific
installation guide, available online OWC installation videos, and is
immediately available for the following Apple notebook computers:
- MacBook 13" "Late 2008" 'Unibody' and later models
- MacBook 13" "Late 2009" 'White Unibody' and later models
- MacBook Pro 13" "Mid 2009" 'Unibody' and later models
- MacBook Pro 15" "Late 2008" 'Unibody' and later models
- MacBook Pro 17" "Early 2009" 'Unibody' and later models
The custom engineered, black anodized aluminum OWC Data Doubler
gives MacBook and MacBook Pro users the flexibility to uniquely
configure their notebook computer's internal drive array. Any SATA 2.5"
hard drive or SSD of up to 9.5mm (Super Slim) height can be mounted
onto the bracket with the entire assembly then installing into the
notebook's 5.25" optical drive bay. 9.5mm SATA 2.5" drives, currently
available in capacities of up to 640 GB, are fully 'Plug and Play'
recognized via the Apple Disk Utility program with standard
configuration options just like any typical drive including, but not
limited to:
- Creating an individual volume with its own desktop icon.
- Combining a new drive with the existing internal drive for one
larger volume (SPAN).
- Combining a new matching drive with existing internal for
high-performance RAID-0 Stripe volume.
- Configuring a new drive as a Time Machine™ backup drive.
- Formatting one drive for the Mac OS and the other dedicated for
Windows.
"The OWC Data Doubler kit is a cost effective and well documented
solution for MacBook and MacBook Pro owners to attain more capacity,
performance, and/or redundancy - all right within their existing laptop
with nothing additional to carry," says Larry O'Connor, Founder and
CEO, Other World Computing.
The US$79.99 OWC Data Doubler comes complete with all required
hardware, a detailed step-by-step Mac notebook model specific
installation guide, available online OWC installation videos, and is
immediately available for the most MacBook and MacBook Pro models
released in late 2008 and afterward.
High Performance Hard Drives and SSDs Available
In addition to the Data Doubler optical bay drive solution, OWC
carries a full line of 2.5" notebook drives up to 1 TB with 500 GB
hard drives from $74.99 and Solid State Drives (SSD) from $129.99. For
the fastest and most reliable drive available on the market, OWC also
offers its own award-winning Mercury Extreme Pro SSD line in capacities
from 50 GB to 480 GB starting at $199.99.
Link: OWC Data Doubler
Bargain 'Books
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.
