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Review. All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.
News & Opinion
Rumor Roundup
Reviews
Products & Services
News & Opinion
Apple Hires Former AMD Engineer John Bruno
Forbes' Brian Caulfield reports that John Bruno, a key member of a
team of Advanced Micro Devices engineers who helped create the Fusion
line of chips and nearly got AMD silicon inside Apple's MacBook Air has
landed a job at Apple, according to his LinkedIn profile. Caulfield
suggests that if you're AMD or Intel, that could be very bad news, what
with the two dominant processor makers beleaguered by a stagnating
market for personal computers built around their products while sales
of smartphones and tablets (built around power-sipping SOCs designed by
Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Nvidia) are booming.
Bruno left AMD in May 2011 and joined Apple as a system architect in
July, and Caulfield cites former AMD colleagues saying he could be
natural fit for Apple's processor team, noting that Apple has scooped
up other key AMD engineers, including Bob Drebin, chief technology
officer for AMD's graphics group.
Link: Uh Oh: One of
the Engineers Who Almost Got AMD into MacBook Air Joins Apple
USB That Provides 100 Watts Coming
The Register's Simon Sharwood reports that the USB Promoter Group
has a new ambition: Using the ubiquitous connectivity standard to power
your laptop while saving the planet, eliminating the need for
proprietary power bricks along the way.
The general idea, as outlined in the newly-completed USB Power
Delivery Specification (PDF), is to
deliver up to 100 watts over USB to charge notebook PCs and power
external hard-disk drives, devices which previously did not receive
adequate power from traditional 5V USB bus power.
Sharwood notes that a shortcoming in this one-cable-to-rule-them-all
vision is a requirement for USB Power Delivery certified cables, which
devices will detect as capable of handling the higher voltage. Old USB
cables will still work and won't melt, but they won't carry the extra
current.
Link: USB Charges Up to
100 Watts
100W in a USB Port?
Hardmac's Lionel reports that the USB Forum has unveiled an update
to the current USB 2.0 and 3.0 format, the USB power delivery goal to
be able to deliver up to 100W using the USB port, which will require
the addition of two pins and make it possible for the computer to
deliver bus power to more power-demanding peripherals such as external
3.5" hard drives. However, Lionel notes that since 100W is more than
enough for powering such external units, the goal behind this new
format is also to have a bidirectional powering system, i.e.: making it
possible to recharge a mobile computer's battery by simply plugging it
into a powered peripheral, such as an external hard drive or, even
smarter, an external display.
Link: 100W in a USB
Port!
Rumor Roundup
September Release Predicted for 13" Retina MacBook
Pro and New iMac
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a pretty good track
record the past couple of years predicting Apple product releases and
developments, writes in a forecast note to investors for the second
half of 2012 on Tuesday reported by AppleInsider and others that he
expects Apple to unveil a 13" MacBook Pro with Retina Display in
September, possibly accompanied by an iMac refresh, although demand may
outstrip supply due to limited production capacity and assembly yield
rates for Retina panels.
Mr. Kuo projects that the new laptop's price should be "somewhat
similar" to that of Apple's current non-Retina 13"
MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,199.
Editor's note: If that is the case, your editor is of a mind that
Apple will be able to sell as many as it can build for quite some time,
although Mr. Kuo thinks that after an initial spike, sales growth will
be bled off by ongoing gravitation toward iOS devices, particularly if
Apple releases an iPad mini in September. Mr. Kuo projects 1.8 million
iPad mini sales in the balance of the calendar third quarter after
release, and as high as 13 million in Q4/2012. cm
Pubilsher's note: And what of the Mac mini? dk
Link: September Launch
Pegged for Apple's 13" Retina MacBook Pro, New iMac
Link: iPad Mini to Debut in September,
Says Analyst
Reviews
Best Mac Pro GPUs Outperform 2012 Retina MacBook
Pro Graphics
Bare Feats' rob-ART Morgan says:
"The frustration of Mac Pro owners for the lack of new and better
GPUs has given rise to a movement to buy 'Windows only' GPUs and flash
them with 'OS X compatible' code.
MacVidCards sent us some samples to try. We decided to show how
these 'alternative' GPUs compare to conventional OS X compatible GPUs
when running OpenGL based games and benchmarks.
"We were also curious how the 2012 Retina MacBook Pro
stacked up against the best Mac Pro GPUs. We chose 1440 x 900
resolution, since that's the factory default for the Retina MacBook
Pro. And we tested at 2560 x 1440 resolution, the native resolution for
the Apple 27" LED backlit Cinema and Thunderbolt display...."
How did the Retina MacBook Pro do? Morgan says it's the fastest
laptop GPU that Apple has ever offered, but it isn't on par with top
Mac Pro GPUs.
Link: Best
Mac Pro GPUs versus 2012 Retina MacBook Pro Running (Wink) OpenGL
Benchmarks
Products & Services
OWC Mercury Aura Pro: First Available High
Performance Solid State Drive for 2012 MacBook Air
PR: OWC NewsFeed says Other World Computing announced
Thursday that the OWC Mercury Aura Pro, as the industry's first
high-performance Solid State Drive upgrade for 2012 MacBook Air
computers, will be available in four capacities: 120 GB, 180 GB, 240
GB, and 480 GB, starting at $167.99. The Mercury Aura Pro utilizes
award-winning SandForce technologies and Tier 1 Synchronous NAND to
deliver sustained data rates over 500 MB/s.
Provides Future Upgrade Path
The Mercury Aura Pro also offers owners of and those interested in
the 2012 MacBook Air models the ability to upgrade the SSD when they
need more storage and backup capacity. This flexibility is especially
important for owners of the base model 11 MacBook Air equipped with the
Apple's minuscule 64 GB SSD and the base 13 model with its 128 GB
capacity SSD. MacBook Air owners can now add up to 8x more capacity
with a 480 GB Mercury Aura Pro SSD.
The Cost Difference Is Substantial
Adding Apple's $800 factory 512 GB (500 GB usable space) SSD option
to the $1099 128 GB MacBook Air model bumps its price to $1899 and the
owner doesn't get to keep a pulled 128 GB flash module.
Adding OWC's $644.99 480 GB Mercury Aura Pro to the $999 64 GB
MacBook Air model brings the cost to $1643.99 and the pulled 64 GB
factory flash module can be repurposed as an external drive with OWC's
Envoy USB 3.0 bus-powered enclosure that is projected to be available
before the end of 2012.
The new OWC Mercury Aura Pro is compatible with all 11 and 13 2012
MacBook Air models:
- 120 GB Mercury Aura Pro Express with 7% over provisioning &
three year warranty - $167.99
- 180 GB Mercury Aura Pro Express with 7% over provisioning &
three year warranty - $224.99
- 240 GB Mercury Aura Pro Express with 7% over provisioning &
three year warranty - $319.99
- 480 GB Mercury Aura Pro Express with 7% over provisioning &
three year warranty - $644.99
The Mercury Aura Pro is available immediately in the 240 GB
capacity; while the 120, 180, and 480 GB models can be pre-ordered with
shipping expected on/around August 6. All Mercury Aura Pro SSDs come
complete with all required installation tools and instructions claimed
to make this an easy DIY upgrade.
OWC Mercury Pro brand SSDs feature ultra-efficient Block Management
& Wear Leveling technologies are able to eliminate virtually any
reduction in data transfer speeds over heavy long term usage of the
drive and without dependency on less than effective OS TRIM
management.
Up to 100x Greater Data Protection
Utilizing SandForce DuraClass technology, the OWC Mercury Aura Pro
is able to provide up to 100x higher data protection than ordinary SSDs
as well as leading enterprise-class hard disk drives. By combining the
highest level of Error Correction Code (ECC) and SandForce RAISE
(Redundant Array of Independent Silicon Elements) technology along with
7% over provisioning, the Mercury Aura Pro provides RAID-like data
protection and reliability without loss of transfer speed due to
parity.
"OWC was the first independent manufacturer of SSD upgrades for the
MacBook Air and we're pleased to once again be the first and only
upgrade option for the new 2012 machines," says Larry O'Connor, Founder
and CEO, Other World Computing. "Beyond being the only upgrade
available, the Mercury Aura Pro SSD carries on the OWC tradition of
offering best in class performance with significant cost savings
compared to similar capacity factory options."
Link: OWC Announces
Mercury Aura Pro as Industry's First Available High Performance Solid
State Drive for All 2012 MacBook Air Models
Elegant Cashmere Leather Protective Sleeve for 15"
MacBook Pro with Retina Display
PR: Netherlands-based Mujjo, which has designed many
protective sleeve and accessories products for iOS devices, has
officially released its first protective cover designed for 15" MacBook
Pro (Retina screen). 
Due to popular demand and lots of requests for a good looking
MacBook Pro Retina sleeve, they've decided to run limited production of
an addition to their Originals collection, the limited edition 15.4"
MacBook Pro Retina sleeve.
"We're not the first this with a 15-inch Retina screen MacBook Pro
design protective sleeve," says Mujjo founder Remy Nagelmaeker, "but
when we received a lot of customers complaining that they could not
find a favorite protective cover for this notebook, we have decided to
help our customers and design a unique and elegant protective sleeve.
We've launched this limited edition production of this protective cover
for the-15 inch Retina screen laptop."
This protection is limited, but Mujjo does not preclude the
expansion of production capacity if the customer demand warrants. "We
insist on doing a limited edition," Nagelmaeker says. "In future, we
may release a new design demand continues to rise."
"This protective sleeve cut is made by hand," said Nagelmaeker. "Our
design team is led by a group of fashion designers with extensive
experience. Throughout the design process we have been trying different
styles, done again and again in different samples by using different
materials and different techniques, and finally reach a design we like
suited to the design concept of the product.
Dutch Craftsmanship
This snug tailored sleeve combines minimalism with long lasting
elegant accents. Separate yourself from the masses by showing you know
exactly what you're talking about when it comes to style and the
appreciation of high quality materials. Crafted by hand, this sleeve is
made especially to fit the formidable 15.4" Apple MacBook Pro with
Retina Display.
Smart Couture
An outstanding blend of fashion and high functionality. The leather
flap, with one button on the right, provides a simple closure and keeps
your device secure. The snap and rivets are lined to keep your MacBook
from touching anything but soft, thick wool felt. The smart storage
compartment allows you to store documents, earplugs and more!
High Quality, Sustainable Materials
A unique combination of 100% wool felt and high quality leather.
Wool felt is a sustainable and renewable material, offering strength
while remaining a soft touch. The flap is made out of high quality
top-grain 100% vegetable-tanned leather and is hand-dyed using
environmentally friendly dyes. The felt can easily be cleaned; a
special treatment provides excellent anti-peeling properties and makes
the sleeve water repellent.
From Holland with Love
The Originals collection is the company's core, made for all lovers
of Mujjo and fans of Dutch Craftsmanship that understand and embrace
the value of hand stitched couture for their beloved gadgets.
Euro 64.95
Link: MacBook Pro Retina
15" Sleeve Brown
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