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2011 MacBook Air Shipping with Faster and Slower
SSDs
ZDNet's Jason D. O'Grady reports that in the past Apple used two
different OEMs for the SSDs in its MacBook Air, Samsung and Toshiba,
with the Samsung benchmarking faster, and the same is true for the
2011 MacBook Airs, with the 128 GB Samsung SSD able to achieve 246
MB/s write and 264 MB/s read speeds while the Toshiba SSD is only
capable of 156 MB/s and 208 MB/s, respectively.
O'Grady says you can check which SSD module you have by going to
About this Mac > More info > System Report (the new name for
System Profiler) and clicking on Hardware > Serial-ATA in the left
pane. If the entry for APPLE SSD is followed by SM, you have the
Samsung, if its followed by TS you have the Toshiba module.
Publisher's note: Bare Feats has done more in-depth testing and
reports one area where the Toshiba SSD outperforms the Samsung, so each
has strengths and weaknesses - see the results
below.
Link: 2011 MacBook Air
Shipping with (Fast) Samsung and (Slow) Toshiba SSDs
Core i5/i7 MacBooks Gain Battery Life with Lion,
but Core 2 Duo Models Lose Up to 20%
Hardmac's Lionel, citing
AnandTech's recent in-depth report on OS X 10.7 Lion, says one
aspect that particularly caught his attention was Lion's effect on the
battery life of portables.
On a 2011 i7 MacBook Pro he notes a gain in battery life in the
order of 5% vs. OS X 10.6.8, but on a 2008 Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro there
is a clear loss of battery life - up to 20%, which is significant and
thus far unexplained.
Publisher's note: This is probably due in large part to improved
energy management in the Intel Core i family of processors, which has
been a priority in its chips intended for netbooks and notebooks, and
it seems Apple has optimized performance for the newer CPUs rather than
the older ones. dk
Link: Lion: Gain in
Battery Life for Recent Portables, Loss on Older Models
Legacy White MacBook Remains Available for
Education Buyers
AppleInsider's Neil Hughes notes that while Apple removed its
white entry-level
MacBook from its website and online store, signaling that the
five-year-old notebook has been officially replaced by the $999 MacBook
Air, the machine will continue to be available for eduction
institutions only at $899 for the time being.
Link: Apple's White
Legacy MacBook Remains Available for Education Buyers
3 Ways to Install Lion on a Blank SSD
ZDNet's Jason D. O'Grady ordered his new MacBook Air with a 256 GB
SSD but says that's not nearly enough primary storage for him, and he's
going to upgrade to a 480 GB SSD from OWC now that they've been
confirmed to work in the Mid 2011 MacBook Air. That got him to thinking
about how he'd actually install Lion onto a brand-new, blank SSD, since
Apple includes no recovery media with the new Airs, instead relying on
a recovery partition and Internet booting to bail you out should
trouble arise. As it turns out, there are three ways to install Lion on
a new, blank SSD in the MacBook Air.
Link: How to Install
Lion on a New MacBook Air Blank SSD (Updated)
Intel Unveils Refreshed Core i7 Mobile CPU
Processors Likely for Fall MacBook Pro Update
Hardmac's Lionel says that since Intel's Ivy-Bridge CPU platform
will only arrive in March 2012, it's more than probable that Apple will
make a minor update of its MacBook Pro in a few months to keep interest
up, projecting that there will be four upgraded Sandy Bridge mobile
processors, with three likely to find their way into the MacBook Pro
come October or so.
- The Core i7-2640M will have 2 cores, 4 threads, 4 MB of cache, a
base frequency of 2.8 GHz and a turbo mode of 3.5 GHz, and will likely
cap the high-end of the 13.3" models.
- The Core i7-2760QM will have 4 cores, 8 threads, 6 MB of cache, a
base frequency of 2.4 GHz and a turbo mode of 3.5 GHz, and is likely
destined for the base 15" Pro.
- The Core i7-2860QM will have 4 cores, 8 threads, 8 MB of cache, a
base frequency of 2.5 GHz and a turbo mode of 3.6 GHz, and will most
likely be fitted into the high-end 15" and 17" Pros.
The i7-2640M has a TDP of 35W and the other two 45W, similar to
current Sandy Bridge silicon. Another Core i7 will be offered at 2.7
GHz and 4 cores, but with a TDP of 55W runs too hot for a MacBook
Pro.
CPU World's Gennadiy Shvets notes that it's been quite a while since
the introduction of the first Sandy Bridge mobile processors from the
Core i7 family in January of this year, and since then Intel has
launched Sandy Bridge CPUs from other families, with Core i3s and i5s
introduced in February, and says we can expect faster Sandy Bridge CPUs
to launch in the second half of the year and in the 1st quarter 2012,
with the Core i7 first up in refreshed Q4 2011 with four new models:
Core i7-2640M, i7-2760QM, i7-2860QM, and i7-2960XM.
Core i7-2640M will have two CPU cores, and four threads, operating
at 2.8 GHz with turbo-boost as high as 3.5 GHz when the second core is
idle. That's 100 MHz higher than the current fastest dual-core
i7-2620M. The CPU has 4 MB L3 cache, 35 Watt TDP, and supports
DDR3-1333 memory.
Core i7-2760QM and i7-2860QM will be quad-core chips with locked
clock multiplier, running 200 MHz higher than their predecessors, Core
i7-2720QM and i7-2820QM. The 2760QM and 2860QM CPUs have 2.4 GHz and
2.5 GHz clock speed respectively, boostable in single-core tasks to 3.5
GHz and 3.6 GHz respectively. The i7-2760QM gets a 6 MB L3 cache, while
the i7-2860QM will have an 8 MB L3 cache. Both CPUs support DDR3-1600
memory, and have higher (45 Watt) power requirements than Core i7
dual-cores.
A Core i7-2960XM Extreme Edition will be the only upcoming Core i7
model with unlocked multiplier. Running at 2.7 GHz, it can go as high
as 3.7 GHz in turbo mode. It will have an 8 MB L3 cache, 55 Watt
Thermal Design Power, and support DDR3-1600 memory.
The new Core i7 CPUs will incorporate all Sandy Bridge features and
integrate Intel's HD 3000 graphics controller with 650 MHz stock
frequency and 1.3 GHz turbo frequency, and will be available in the 4th
quarter 2011.
Publisher's note: Apple has released new MacBook Pro models in Jan.
2006, Oct. 2006, June 2007, Feb. 2008, Oct. 2008, June 2009, April
2010, and February 2011, which averages 9 months between revisions.
Thus, October 2011 is a reasonable guess, followed by another
generation in the April-June 2012 range. dk
Link: The Processors for
the Next Update of the MacBook Pro Are Unveiled, Hardmac
Link: Intel to Refresh Core i7 Mobile
Family in Q4 2011, CPU World
MacBook Air Style Ultra-Thin 15" and 17" MacBook
Pros Coming?
AppleInsider's Katie Marsal reports that with Apple's new family of MacBook Airs
gaining considerable traction in the marketplace over the past nine
months, the company is believed to be working on designing ultra-thin
15" and 17" MacBook models to capitalize on the trend towards
ultramobile computing, with the new notebook's rumored to be in the
late testing stages, according to a MacRumors report. Marsal says it's
unclear at this point whether these machines would be marketed as the
next MacBook Pro or as larger models of the MacBook Air, but suggests
that Apple might choose to test the waters, as it were, by first
introducing a 15" MacBook Air, and suggests that going cold turkey by
abandoning traditional optical and hard disk drive equipped MacBook
Pros could prove too much of a functionality sacrifice for those who
use their laptops as serious computing platforms.
This all sounds plausible, and I do hope the ease of transition part
is the way Apple will proceed. The current MacBook Pro line's aluminum
unibody design is now closing on its third anniversary, which is a
relatively long time in the PC industry, although far from
unprecedented for Apple, which stuck with the same basic professional
laptop form factor from January/September (15") 2003 to October 2008 in
both PowerBook and MacBook Pro iterations, and the dual-USB iBook
design from May 2001 to May 2006 - then essentially continued it with a
modest facelift as the original polycarbonate MacBook in white and
black versions until October 2008 as well. Viewed from that historical
perspective, the late 2008 unibody design is a relative spring's
chicken, and my hope would be that it will be continued for some time
yet - the 13" version in particular rivaling the
2000 PowerBook Pismo as my favorite Apple notebook model ever.
I like the MacBook Air, but I have misgivings about giving up
onboard optical drives yet, and while I might be able to struggle along
with just a 256 GB SSD, the latter are still prohibitively expensive,
and 128 GB is just plain inadequate for this very tentative cloud
computing user. I want my important data under my direct stewardship
where I can get at it without the intermediary medium of the
Internet.
That said, I'll concede to the inevitability that the
next-generation MacBook Pro is going to be strongly influenced
design-wise by the MacBook Air, the operative question being how much
of the traditional Pro model functionality and connectivity will
survive the transition.
As for timing, the MacBook Air just got a substantial refresh, and
the MacBook Pro's were revamped in February (possibly the definitive
traditional laptop iteration for users who prefer that and want OS X
10.6 Snow Leopard compatibility for legacy software and conventional
user interface conventions), so I'm skeptical that we'll see a Pro
redesign before early 2012, although an add-on 15" MacBook Air model
could be a possibility before Christmas - still an unlikely prospect I
think.
TUAW's Michael Rose suggests that chances are the ultra-thin 15"
notebooks purportedly being tested now will be MacBook Pros and not
larger Airs, and says there's also a 17" model in the works, hoping for
an affordable SSD of decent capacity and retention of a relatively full
suite of ports (or at least a Thunderbolt breakout dongle).
Last October, Steve Jobs said the then-new redesigned MacBook Air
was the future of notebook computing, and I don't doubt his prescience.
Thinner MacBook Pros are a given. The only imponderables are when, and
how much Pro capability will be sacrificed to ultra-thin design.
Publisher's note: I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the MacBook
Pro line lose built-in optical drives within the next two versions.
After all, you can carry a bus-powered USB SuperDrive if you need one,
but most users never will. I would be surprised if the next MacBook Pro
update didn't include connectors for the same SSD modules used in the
MacBook Air, and I would be surprised if the next MacBook Pro model
doesn't have at least one hard drive bay, albeit limited to 9.5mm thick
hard drives to keep the form factor as slim as possible without
eliminating the hard drive option. dk
Link:
Apple Rumored to Be Working on Ultra-thin 15- and 17-inch
Notebooks, AppleInsider
Link:
Apple Finishing Up Work on an Ultra-Thin 15" Mac Notebook,
MacRumors
Link: Rumor: Apple's Next 15" Laptop
Refresh Will Be Air-like, TUAW
2011 MacBook Air 'the Best Laptop Apple Has Ever
Made'
BGR's Jonathan S. Geller says that after a week of using the new Mid
2011 MacBook Air, he's persuaded that it's an entirely different beast
from the spitting-image
preceding Core 2 Duo models, which in his experience were slow,
easily bogged-down by normal tasks, and would heat up at the drop of a
dime. Happily, he says, all that has changed with the latest MacBook
Air, which he maintains is what an Apple laptop should be in 2011 - a
light, travel-ready laptop that is now also a full-fledged mobile
workstation capable of replacing your current laptop and doing
everything better (and sexier) - in his estimation the best laptop
Apple has ever made with the cost of entry lower than it has ever been
before.
Link: Apple's New
MacBook Air 'the Best Laptop Apple Has Ever Made'
11" MacBook Air 'The Best Laptop I've Ever
Owned'
ZDNet's Joel Evans says he thinks the 11.6" MacBook Air is the best
laptop ever, with its best attributes being portability and battery
life. Not only can it last more than 5 hours on a single charge, he
says but with only 10 minutes of charge remaining, a simple hook to
power for 30 minutes brings you 3 hours of computing fun again.
He further enthuses that anticipated negatives were quickly turned
to positives either by usage or by finding some workarounds. For
example, if the screen size seems too small, enlarge the font or change
the screen resolution, and Mid 2011 update brings a faster processor,
more storage space, a backlit keyboard, and more, all with the same
form factor.
Link: 'The 11-Inch
MacBook Air Is The Best Laptop I've Ever Owned'
2011 MacBook Air the Best Laptop That Apple Has
Ever Made?
AppStorm's Joshua Johnson says that there are plenty of doubts to be
had about the overall direction Apple has taken for its line of
MacBooks: Is the MacBook Air an acceptable replacement for the plain
old MacBook? Have the risk-takers at Apple stripped off too much, or
have they created the best MacBook ever?
Johnson observes that Apple is a company completely dedicated to not
caring about what you think you want, instead focusing on the core
principles underlying customer demands and combining them with
up-and-coming technology - the MacBook Air being a perfect example -
and that after a slow start with the original Airs, the MBA has morphed
into an extremely portable and impressively powerful machine, noting
that its standard solid state drives (SSDs) are a thing of beauty whose
speed you really can't appreciate until you've experienced it yourself.
And now performance is enhanced further by incorporation of Intel's
latest Sandy Bridge CPUs, which boast speeds up to two 2.5 times as
fast as the previous generation Airs.
However, Johnson says it's still not a slam-dunk to call the new
MacBook Air the best MacBook ever, and if you're on a $1,200 budget for
a new laptop and compare the 11.6" MacBook Air with 128 GB flash memory
and 4 GB RAM to the 13" MacBook Pro at that price point, the Pro gives
you a 2.3 GHz dual-core i5 vs. the Air's 1.6 GHz dual-core i5, and a
320 GB hard drive with more than 2-1/2 times the capacity of the Air's
128 GB flash drive.
Link: Is the New MacBook
Air the Best Laptop That Apple Has Ever Made?
13" MacBook Pro Still Has a Place in an Airy
World
forkbombr's Stephen M. Hackett says that when he reviewed the
13" MacBook Pro back in 2009, he was impressed how good of a fit it
was for his needs as an IT professional, and the same remains true
today. In fact, Hackett says he's picking up the high-end
13" MacBook Pro as a replacement for the
15" Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro he currently has at work, observing that
the littlest Pro is a great cross between power and portability, noting
that pro users need FireWire 800, ethernet, and more onboard, and he
knows he can't live with a MacBook Air as his primary work
computer.
Link: The 13" MacBook Pro's
Place in an Airy World
13" MacBook Pro 'One of the Best Portable
Computers an IT Professional Could Ask For'
EggFreckles' Thomas Brand says the 13" MacBook Pro is stuck between
a rock and a hard place in Apple's current portable Macintosh line up -
the rock being Apple's upgraded MacBook Air with competing performance
and rockstar good looks, and the hard place being Apple's 15" MacBook
Pro with twice the number of cores and a hard-to-beat high-resolution
display.
Customers who want portability are going to choose the MacBook
Air.
Brand predicts that customers who want performance are going to
choose the 15" MacBook Pro, the cool kids will choose the Air, and the
13" Pro only the choice of cost conscious serious computer users who
need a compact, low-priced platform with all of the legacy ports and
optical drive the MacBook Air lacks.
Brand thinks the 13" Pro is on the bubble, and Thunderbolt adapters
will soon make its legacy I/O ports obsolete, while the App
Store/iTunes has already made the optical drive a thing of the past
[editor's note: not if you have expensive software programs that
require CD or DVD installs and/or libraries of data backups on optical
disks].
"So," says Brand, "given the 13" Pro's 4.5 pound figure, lackluster
screen resolution, and legacy compatibility, who would buy one
today?"
Well, for one - him, citing the upgradable performance the 13" Pro
offers over the MacBook Air, and the legacy ports he still needs to get
the job done, and noting that while the 13" MacBook Pro may not have
the quad-core processor of its larger siblings, it does have a
respectable 2.7 GHz dual-core i7 CPU that is noticeably faster than
anything available on the MacBook Air, with the additional and
substantial advantage of upgradability. Brand's 13" Pro is equipped
with a 6G 559 MB/s OWC 120 GB SSD, which he says is 295 MB/s faster
than the standard SSD available in the MacBook Air, and is also capable
of taking up to 16 GB of RAM - four times the amount soldered to the
non-memory-upgradable 13" MacBook Air's logic board.
He concludes that it would be sad to see the 13" MacBook Pro go,
because it makes one of the best portable computers an IT professional
could ask for.
Link: 13" MacBook
Pro
Apple Said to Add Macronix as Supplier of
Flash Memory for MacBook Air
DigiTimes' Josephine Lien and Jessie Shen report that Apple has
added Macronix International as another supplier of NOR flash memory
for the new MacBook Air in order to support strong sales of the
recently-launched ultra-thin notebook series, according to industry
sources.
Macronix reportedly is also the NOR flash supplier for Apple's
Mac-series desktops.
Link: Apple Said to Add
Macronix as Supplier of NOR Flash for MacBook Air (subscription
required)
Reviews
Flash Storage Shootout: 2011 MacBook Air
with Toshiba, Samsung, and OWC Aura
The 13" Mid 2011 MacBook Air ships with either a Samsung or Toshiba
flash drive. Bare Feats wanted to see if there was any difference in
performance - and wondered how both compare to the OWC Aura Pro Express
SandForce based module.
Tested SSDs include 128 GB and 256 GB Toshiba modules, a 256 GB
Samsung module, and OWC's 240 GB Aura Pro Express. Excerpts:
"The Samsung flash storage is faster than the Toshiba flash storage
for large sequential transfers. However, the Toshiba was faster doing
small random transfers. The 'tie' is broken by our Finder Duplicate
test. Winner: Samsung . . . unless . . . you
upgrade to the Aura.
"The OWC Aura Pro Express SandForce based flash storage is
significantly faster than both the Samsung and Toshiba in the small
random test. And though the Samsung keeps up with it in the large
sequential test, the Aura has key features missing from the Samsung
such as over-provisioning. Big Winner: Aura"
Link: Flash Storage
Shootout: 2011 MacBook Air with Toshiba, Samsung, and Aura
iFixit's 13" Mid 2011 MacBook Air Teardown
PR: iFixit's Director of Technical Communication Miroslav
Djuric tells us that while the new MacBook Air is visually very similar
to the last revision, there are more changes "under the hood" than are
is evident at first glance, including of substantial improvements to
the chipset and IO controllers. Djuric notes that moving to Intel's
built-in Intel HD Graphics 3000 IGPU from the Nvidia GeForce 320M
chipset in the previous model freed up "tons of room" on the logic
board and allowed Apple to squeeze a new Platform Controller Hub with
Thunderbolt support onto the board.
On the downside, Djuric says that Wednesday's Apple hardware
announcements, while exciting in one context, also marked a sad day for
consumer repair, with Apple deciding that the entry-level model of the
"svelte and sexy" MacBook Air will replace the "simple and serviceable"
white plastic MacBook as Apple's price-leader laptop, with the
consequence that while users' backpacks will be significantly lighter,
future repairability and upgradability will suffer tremendously. He
notes that unlike the plastic MacBook, the Air has a proprietary SSD,
soldered (non-upgradeable) RAM, and replacing the LCD panel on it is
"incredibly challenging," with iFixit giving it the same dismal 4 out
of 10 repairability score as the previous-gen Air.
You can check out iFixit's Miroslav Djuric talking about the new
MacBook Air on
YouTube.
Teardown highlights (13" MacBook Air):
- The lovely USB reinstall stick from last year's model is
nonexistent. So if your Lion starts getting hiccups, you'll have to
take it to an Apple Store to get it resolved, or pony up $69 for a Lion
installer on a USB thumb drive that Apple says will be available next
month.
- A Broadcom BCM20702 chip on the wireless board adds Bluetooth 4.0
support with BLE. BLE chips hold many advantages over classic Bluetooth
including 128 bit AES security, 6 ms latency (classic Bluetooth is 100
ms), and less power consumption.
- A Broadcom BCM4322 Intensi-fi Single-Chip 802.11n Transceiver gives
this Air the ability to get Internet... through air.
- Just like in the mid-2010 MacBook Air, the SSD is not soldered on
the logic board. Thankfully this means you can upgrade the SSD for more
storage, but you're still out of luck if you need extra RAM.
Removing the SSD
Other than a larger plate to accommodate the bigger die face of
the Core i5 processor, the heat sink looks nearly identical to the one
used on the Core 2 Duo Airs of last year. Djuric says iFixit will do
some testing to see if temperatures are any higher in this
machine.- Surprisingly, there isn't too much excess thermal paste between the
processor and the heat sink. This is a nice departure from Apple's
recent trend of assaulting processors with gobs of thermal paste.
Big players on the logic board include:
- Intel Core i5 Processor-2557M with integrated Intel HD 3000
graphics
- Intel E78296 01PB10 / E116A746 SLJ4K Platform Controller Hub.
They're guessing this includes an integrated Thunderbolt controller.
It's not this part, but it's similar.
- Hynix H5TQ2G838ZR 4 GB RAM
- SMSC USB2513B USB 2.0 Hub Controller
Shifting to integrated graphics on the processor freed up a lot
of room on the board - enough for Apple to add the sizable
Thunderbolt-capable Platform Controller Hub.- A new addition to the upper case is the network of LEDs attached to
the keyboard backlight cable. A couple LEDs transmit light through
fiber optic channels to evenly illuminate the keys on the
keyboard.
- The thickness restrictions of such a thin display were the deciding
factor in not equipping the Air with a FaceTime HD camera.
Link: MacBook Air 13"
Mid 2011 Teardown
This Is My Next Reviews the New 13" MacBook
Air
This Is My Next's Joanna Stern says that while the new 13" MacBook
Air doesn't look any different than its predecessor, she doesn't think
anyone is going to complain, noting that the Air's aluminum unibody
construction has proved to be incredibly sturdy, and compared with
Sony's new VAIO Z's carbon fiber housing, the Air's metal build
certainly feels more rigid, and alongside the Sony's flimsy screen
panel, Apple's is like a brick wall - the rigidity of the hinge is
downright impressive.
Stern acknowledges that the three-pound 13" MacBook Air does weigh
0.4 pounds more than the VAIO Z, but assures that you won't notice the
difference on your shoulder. On the downside, there's no onboard
ethernet port, which can be frustrating when traveling, so don't leave
home without Apple's $29 USB-to-Ethernet adapter. Stern also observes
that while the MacBook Air's 13.3" 1440 x 900 resolution display is
nice, with the Sony VAIO Zs matte, 1920 x 1080 resolution screen.
In actual use, Stern says the new Air feels twice as fast as the
model it replaces, and worries that she once internalized about using
an Air as her primary system have gone away in a few days of heavy use,
and thanks to the prodigious power of the Core i7 CPU even the
much-maligned Intel integrated HD 3000 graphics render performance
roughly equal to that of the Nvidia GeForce 320M IGPU in the preceding
model, although again the VAIO Z is faster when plugged into its Light
Peak-based AMD Radeon HD 6650M GPU.
Stern observes that while this this new version of the MacBook Air
might just a minor spec-bump over the old one with a new processor and
a Thunderbolt port, in reality, it's much more than that: In her
estimation this is the first Air that's capable of replacing not just
the old white MacBook but even the MacBook Pro for some users - and
selling for less than $1,300, it's cheaper than most high-end Windows 7
ultraportables while beating them in battery life and ergonomics. At
last a grown-up laptop with enough horsepower and battery life to make
lot of users very happy while still able to fit in a manila
envelope.
Link: Apple MacBook Air
Review (13-inch, Mid 2011)
The Register Reviews 13" Core i5 MacBook Air
The Register's Stephen Dean reports that the lightweight,
streamlined design of the MacBook Air is undeniably attractive and
leaves most of its ultraportable PC rivals looking like a chaotic
collision of metal and plastic. However, it comes at a premium price,
given the relatively modest specification of its processor and other
components, with this latest update receiving no price cut but at least
getting a very decent speed bump, with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i5 CPUs
and faster 1333 MHz RAM displacing last year's Core 2 Duo processors
and 1066 MHz memory, plus a Thunderbolt port doubling as an external
display connector a backlit keyboard.
Dean also observes that 13" model has put on a bit of weight,
increasing from last years 1.32 kg to 1.35 kg, and thinks that at the
price Apple should include an external SuperDrive as a standard
accessory - and there's still no built-in ethernet or FireWire.
Link: Apple MacBook Air
13in Core i5 Laptop
Apple Updates
Apple Cautions Against Snow Leopard Install
Attempts on Mid 2011 MacBook Air
If you were harboring faint hope that
OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard might run on the new revision MacBook Airs
so that you'll still have access to legacy applications containing
PowerPC code, it's an official no-go. A new Apple Knowledge Base
article says that if you try to install a version of OS X (Snow
Leopard or Lion) that was released before the Mid 2011 MacBook Air, the
following symptoms may manifest:
- The computer begins to start up normally to a gray screen with the
Apple logo, then switches to display a progress indicator (a spinning
gear) for a few seconds. Then the built-in display changes to black and
the LCD backlight remains lit. This symptom usually appears when you
attempt to start up with a version of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or
earlier.
- A prohibitory sign (a circle with a line through it) appears on the
screen. The computer then powers off after about a minute. This may
occur if you install a version of Lion other than the version
originally installed on your MacBook Air.
Products Affected:
- MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2011)
- MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2011)
To resolve the problem, reinstall the proper operating system build
by restarting the computer while pressing and holding the Command and
"R" keys. The right revision of Mac OS X for this computer should
be available for installation through the Mac OS X Utilities pane
that opens.
You can verify if the wrong version of Lion is installed (as in the
second symptom) by starting the computer in verbose mode:
- Shut down the computer.
- Restart the computer while you press and hold the Command and "V"
keys.
- The text on the display should say, "This version of Mac OS X is
not supported on this platform!".
- Exit verbose mode by pressing and holding the power button until
the computer shuts down.
Not the happiest news for Mac veterans, but Apple appears bound and
determined to push us into OS X 10.7 Lion - and soon iCloud as well. Of
note, however, is that the Knowledge Base article makes no mention of a
similar issue on
the new Core "i" Mac mini models, but we would recommend getting
clarification about that before proceeding with an attempted Snow
Leopard install.
For additional information about how to reinstall OS X Lion, refer
to the Users Guide included with the computer or About Lion
Recovery.
Link: MacBook Air (Mid 2011): Gray
Screen, Black Screen, or Prohibitory Sign on Screen at Startup
Products & Services
2.5" SanDisk Ultra Solid State Drive Ships to
Retailers
PR: SanDisk Corporation has introduced the SanDisk Ultra
solid state drive (SSD) for the retail market. The new SSD can extend
the life of desktop and notebook PCs and offers greater performance,
durability, and power efficiency than a hard drive.
The SanDisk Ultra SSD is a convenient drop-in solution for
technology enthusiasts looking to upgrade their own PCs for an enhanced
user experience. The new SSD features:
- Fast performance: the drives up to 280 MB/sec1
sequential read and 270 MB/sec sequential write speeds deliver fast
data-transfer rates; up to 3 Gb/s random speeds surpass other SATA II
SSDs and enable faster system boot and application launch times
- Power efficiency: the drives low power consumption extends battery
life, and with no moving parts, the SSD offers silent operation
- Long-term reliability: Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF)2
of up to 1,000,000 hours
Replacing a computer's hard drive with the SanDisk Ultra SSD is more
cost effective than buying a new PC, says Kent Perry, director, product
marketing, SanDisk. Our new SSD delivers greater speed and reliability
than a hard drive at an affordable price.
The drive comes in 60 GB3, 120 GB, and 240 GB capacities
carrying MSRPs of $129.99, $219.99, and $449.99, respectively.
Consumers in the United States can order the drive now from online
retailers such as newegg.com.
- Based on SanDisk internal testing; performance may vary depending
upon host device, OS and application. 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million
bytes.
- Based on parts stress analysis.
- 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes. Some capacity not available for
data storage.
Link:
SanDisk Ultra Solid State Drive
Purchase link:
120 GB SSD, currently $179.99 from NewEgg
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,
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We also track iPad,
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