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News & Opinion
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News & Opinion
MacBook Air Now 28% of Apple's Notebook Sales
Citing research by Morgan Stanley based on NPD figures reported by
analyst Katy Huberty, AppleInsider's Daniel Eran Dilger reports that
Apple's MacBook Air models
now make up 28% of the company's notebook shipments, up from just 8% in
the first half of the year, with MacBook Air models lacking now
accounting for more than a quarter of the company's notebook sales.
Dilger notes that the MacBook Air's share of Apple's notebook mix
grew dramatically following the summer enhancements that brought
Thunderbolt, making the new models potentially more expandable than
ever, even though relatively few Thunderbolt devices have yet
appeared.
Link: MacBook Air Now
28% of Apple's Notebook Shipments
MacBook Air's Importance to Apple on the Rise
Cnet's Don Reisinger observes that Apple's MacBook Air has become a
sales juggernaut, according to new research from NPD and Morgan
Stanley, with data compiled by the companies and obtained by Apple
Insider (above) indicating that the MacBook Air accounted for a
whopping 28% of all Apple notebook shipments to the US in October, up
from just 8% in May and June, a watershed being July's release of
updated Airs with Sandy Bridge Core-i CPUs and the Thunderbolt I/O
interface. Reisinger also cites Rodman & Renshaw analyst Ashok
Kumar musing that the MacBook Air is so appealing to consumers, it
might be "cannibalizing the iPad."
Link: MacBook Air's
Importance to Apple on the Rise
MacBook Air a Huge Hit for Apple
Sci-Tech Today's Adam Dickter cites research from NPD Group and
Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty indicating that Apple's MacBook Air
is a runaway hit, now accounting for more than a quarter of the
company's notebook sales - 28% in October.
Dickter also cites the late Steve Jobs 2010 saying (back in) that
Apple had tried to incorporate technology from its successful iPad
introduced earlier that year, asking, "what would happen if a MacBook
and an iPad hooked up? Well, this is the result: We think it's the
future of notebooks."
Jobsian perspicacity, as usual.
Link: MacBook Air a Huge
Hit for Apple
Recycle the SuperDrive from a Unibody MacBook
Hardmac's Lionel observes that more and more users are crossing
the line and replacing the SuperDrive in their MacBook Pro with an SSD
or a second hard drive, but it has been difficult or impossible to find
a case to accommodate the pulled SuperDrive in order to be able to use
it from time to time.
He notes that Macway in France just announced a case (see below) where the SuperDrive will fit perfectly. Offered
for less than 25 Euros, it's much cheaper that the expensive ($79!)
external SuperDrive available from Apple.
Link: How to Recycle the
SuperDrive from a MacBook Pro
MacBook Shipments to Remain Stable in Holiday
Quarter
DigiTimes' Aaron Lee and Joseph Tsai report that despite rumors
about Apple perhaps reducing its shipment forecast for the fourth
quarter spreading around in the IT market due to the company's unibody
metal chassis supplier Catcher Technology being ordered to halt
production and floods in Thailand greatly impacting hard drive supply,
sources from Apple's upstream suppliers are saying that Apple has not
yet downgraded its shipment forecast for the fourth quarter.
With Catcher having ironed out its odor-emission troubles, it is
expected to soon resume its production, Lee and Tsai's sources noted,
and Apple's ODM partner Quanta Computer also achieved notebook
shipments of 5.3 million units in October, and while the company
refuses to reveal its clients' shipment status, insider sources reveal
that the increase in shipments was mainly thanks to Apple's orders,
especially for the MacBook Pro.
Link: MacBook Shipments
to Remain Stable in 4Q11 (subscription required)
Apple Working on Fix for Lion Battery Issues on
Older MacBooks?
AppleInsider's Neil Hughes reports:
"As some users continue to report battery life issues running Mac OS
X 10.7 Lion on older MacBooks, Apple continues to look into the problem
in hopes of finding a solution."
In some cases, users are getting less than one hour of use from a
battery that had provided 8 hours before the upgrade to OS X 10.7
Lion.
Link: Apple Plans
Software Fix for Lion Battery Life Issues on Older MacBooks
Rumor Roundup
Components for Ultra-thin 15" MacBooks May Be
Shipping
DigiTimes' Aaron Lee and Joseph Tsai report that that parts
shipments for the the ultra-thin 15" MacBook rumored to be coming in
March may already have commenced, with Apple's upstream suppliers
having recently begun shipping a small volume of components for a
notebook model that could be either a MacBook Air or a thinner MacBook
Pro expected to appear as early as the second quarter of 2012.
Lee and Tsai also note that Acer is set to launch a 15" version of
its Aspire S3 ultrabook in Q2 2012 at the earliest, with Asustek
Computer also planning to launch a 15" ZenBook model, but as yet hasn't
scheduled mass production or launch.
One operative question is whether these 15" ultra-thins will come
with internal optical drives.
Link: Components for New
15-Inch Ultra-thin MacBooks May Already Be Shipping (subscription
required)
Apple Updates
SMC Firmware Update 1.5 for Late 2011 MacBook
Pros
A new Apple Knowledge Base article says the MacBook Pro SMC Firmware
Update 1.5 resolves an issue where a MacBook Pro being used with a
power adapter may unexpectedly shut down under heavy workload if the
battery charge level is near empty.
To install the update, your computer's power cord must be connected
and plugged into a working power source or your battery must be at
least 25% charged.
When your computer restarts, a gray screen will appear with a status
bar to indicate the progress of the update.
Your computer's fans will run at full speed during the update but
will return to normal speed once the update completes.
File Size: 730 KB
System Requirements
- Mac OS X 10.6.8
- OS X 10.7.2
Publisher's note: Apple does not indicate which MacBook Pro models
this applies to (a bad habit in recent years), but it looks like it's just for the
Late 2011 models.
Link: MacBook Pro SMC Firmware Update
1.5
Video Update for 15" 2010 MacBook Pro
A new Apple Knowledge Base article says that the MacBook Pro Video
Update 1.0 (Snow Leopard) addresses an issue where MacBook Pro (15" Mid
2010) computers may intermittently freeze or stop displaying
video.
File Size: 51.45 MB
System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.6.8
Link: MacBook Pro Video Update 1.0 (Snow
Leopard)
Tech Trends
MacBook Air vs. Asus Zenbook
Blogger Shelly Palmer says he loves his new MacBook Air, which is is
truly everything he ever wanted in a laptop - light, fast, and with
enough horsepower to accomplish even the most difficult computing
tasks. If you're a Mac person, he observes there is nothing about this
computer that you're not going to love.
But what if you're not a Mac person? While you can run Windows on
Macs, that's not always a perfect solution due to the vicissitudes
associated with several operating systems on a Mac, and, says Palmer,
"purchasing a MacBook Air and single booting it in Windows is a crime
against man, God, and nature."
Palmer says the solution could be the new Asus Zenbook Ultrabook, which for all
intents and purposes amounts to a Windows version of the MacBook Air at
similar specs and price points. Both have well-made metal cases, and
the Zenbook is only a little heavier than the MacBook Air, with the
biggest differences being that MacBook Airs run OS X Lion and Zenbooks
run Windows 7.
After running the Asus Zenbook through its paces, Palmer allows that
he's got nothing but praise for it - the Intel i5 processor rocked
every speed and memory test, and as with his MacBook Air, the Zenbook
is powerful enough to be a complete laptop replacement.
Link: MacBook Air vs.
Asus Zenbook
Products & Services
Storeva Slim USB 2.0 Enclosure Case for
Pulled MacBook/MacBook Pro Unibody SuperDrives
PR: Recycle your SuperDrive MacBook/MacBook Pro with
this unibody USB 2.0 enclosure.
The Storeva USB 2.0 Slim Burner Case external casing especially
designed for SATA SuperDrives pulled from MacBook and MacBook Pro
unibodys is is ideal for recycling these drives when you install a
second hard drive or SSD in the computer's optical bay. It features a
rugged finish aluminum look similar to a unibody MacBook Pro.
Installation is simple and requires no screws, and in seconds, the
SuperDrive is transformed into a bootable external USB 2.0 powered
peripheral drive.
Features:
- Used to retrieve the SATA SuperDrive a MacBook/MacBook Pro unibody
turning it into an external drive
- Plastic, aluminum-look finish
- Base black metal incorporating a slip zone
- Quick and easy installation
- Interface: USB 2.0
- Powered via USB, bootable
- Dimensions: 142 x 139 x 18 mm
- Weight: 125 g (without drive)
System Requirements
- SATA SuperDrive from unibody MacBook or MacBook Pro
Compatible systems:
- Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
- Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
- Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion)
Euro 24.90 including 0.03 for green tax
Publisher's note: OWC has a similar enclosure
for $39.99.
Link: Boitier USB2.0
Storeva Slim Burner Case pour Graveur MacBook/MacBook Pro Unibody
(French)
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