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News & Opinion
Apple Updates
Tech Trends
Products & Services
Software
News & Opinion
Will Apple Merge the iPad and the MacBook Air?
AppleMatters' Bakari Chavanu, writing on his new MacBook Air, says
that he held off purchasing a new laptop for months, because he wanted
to see how far he could get using his iPad as a laptop device. He found
that while it's an excellent content consumption device, the iPad just
doesn't hold up as a laptop replacement, even after iOS multitasking
features were added. App switching, he notes, is not the same thing as
being able to have two more applications running side-by-side or
several running in the background, and the iPad's missing Finder slows
down productivity.
Nevertheless, he acknowledges that many users want the iPad to serve
as a notebook substitute, and a solution would be for Apple could build
a tablet can runs both the iOS and OS X - an "iPad Air" if you
will. Chavanu thinks this convergence is virtually inevitable, although
he observes that in terms of profit, Apple probably does better selling
both devices. However, consumers want fewer devices, not more.
He concludes that the MacBook Air can't replace the iPad, or vice
versa, but the question is, "can they be combined and still retain
their distinctive purposes?" Food for thought.
Link: Combining the iPad
and the MacBook Air into One: Possible?
When Should You Replace Your 'Book's Battery?
Mac Support Central's Michel Munger answers a query regarding when
to replace a Mac notebook's battery when its runtime life begins to
drop off, noting that the answer is not that simple.
A tutorial outlines a sequence of measures to try before determining
that the battery needs replacing.
Link: When Should You
Replace Your Mac Notebook's Battery?
Guessing at Specs for Sandy Bridge-based Macs
Hardmac's Lionel says that based on rumors, information, and
specifications from Intel, he knows enough to try to define what sort
of Sandy bridge-based Macs are coming near future.
Lionel lists his projections for iMac, MacBook Pro 15" and 17",
MacBook Pro 13", and MacBook Air.
For the larger MacBook Pros, he predicts Core i3, i5, and i7
variants clocked at from 3.1 GHz dual-cores to 3.5 GHz quad-cores, and
with AMD Radeon discrete GPUs, presumably switchable from the Core i
CPU's integrated Intel HD graphics.
For the 13" MacBook Pro, which is still using 2008-vintage Core 2
Duo silicon, he suggests that we can expect Core i3 and i5 CPUs clocked
at 2.1 GHz and 2.6 GHz, with HD Intel 3000 650-1100 MHz integrated
graphics only, which would be a step down in graphics performance from
the current Nvidia 320M IGPU chipsets used in the 13" Pro. Lionel
speculates that to compensate, Apple might go with Core i5 processors
only in the 13" Pro.
He says information is very sketchy about Sandy Bridge and the
MacBook Air, possibly the low voltage Core i3 + HD 3000, or even
according to another rumor, a processor from AMD.
Link: Specification
Guesses for Future Sandy Bridge-based Mac Models Posted
Apple Updates
MacBook Air (Late 2010) Software Update 1.0
Apple MacBook Air (Late 2010) Software Update 1.0 fixes a few
graphics issues including:
- Resolves an issue where the system becomes unresponsive while
playing back a movie trailer in iMovie.
- Resolves an issue where the system becomes unresponsive after
waking from sleep when an external display is connected.
This update is recommended for users of all MacBook Air notebooks
manufactured in late 2010.
System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.6.4 or later
Download at https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1319
Link: About MacBook Air (Late 2010)
Software Update 1.0
Tech Trends
Fast Solid State Drives Stay Fast Utilizing SSD
Optimizer
PR: Solid state drives (SSDs) are capable of delivering
outstanding speed, but sometimes only for a time, with the the speed of
a new SSD-equipped laptop or netbook degrading during the first months
of use.
It's because most PC operating systems (including Mac OS X) have
logical files that were designed for hard drive use. They really aren't
optimized to exploit the potential of SSD or NAND Flash. For these
devices, drive performance falls off dramatically over time, and the
main factor at work is fragmentation.
Where there are free spaces scattered through a volume, the file
system will break up the file and write it in fragments to those open
spaces.* NAND Flash is very vulnerable to write speed degradation and
increased I/O when the free space is moderately to heavily fragmented.
In tests of SSDs from a wide range of manufacturers, Diskeeper
Corporation found that such fragmentation will degrade write
performance by as much as 80%.
With NTFS, by far the most-used Windows file system, if users don't
curtail fragmentation they will degrade their write speed and increase
I/O significantly and rapidly. NTFS fragments free space rather
aggressively over a few months, and fragmentation continues to grow
thereafter. Write speed in such a system will decrease in direct
relationship to the increase in fragmentation.
Consequently, a new SSD device may offer write performance in the 80
MB/s range to start, but after a few weeks of use, performance will
quickly deteriorate to 35 MB/s. Over the span of a few more months
write speed will drop still further to a dreary 10 MB/s. To compound
the problem, this dropped write performance will make bootup times
longer for the SSD NAND Flash device. Also, the excess write activity
caused by fragmentation will overwork it and shorten its lifespan.
Defragmentation has been automated for years by Diskeeper
Corporation's applications for Windows systems ranging from individual
workstations to enterprise servers. In response to the particular
fragmentation weaknesses of SSDs, Diskeeper Corporation has recently
developed HyperFast SSD optimizer technology.
HyperFast technology uses Windows file system controls originally
co-written by Diskeeper Corporation and Microsoft. It delivers 100%
safe automatic maintenance of the file system, keeping a low level of
free space fragmentation through specific optimization techniques that
force the file system to write sequentially rather than randomly.
Because NAND Flash drives have limited erase-write cycles, any
optimization program intended to increase performance won't be worth
doing if it increases erase-write because its performance improvement
will be done at the expense of reduced drive life. With HyperFast
technology, tests showed that the net result is reduced erase-write
activity on the Flash drive, resulting in greater longevity.
In benchmark tests where HyperFast SSD optimizer was enabled,
performance gains were automatically realized with 5.9x faster reads,
19.5x faster writes, 3.9x faster random reads and 9.0x faster random
writes. Performance improvements for write I/O created a bonus result:
faster boot ups. In fact, HyperFast technology improved even
out-of-the-box boot times and maintained them at the improved
level.
HyperFast technology makes it possible to optimize SSDs to deliver
extended life, greater performance and faster system bootup for NAND
Flash storage devices.
HyperFast creates and maintains optimized free space, increasing the
controller's ability to write sequentially and thereby enormously
increasing the peak speed and life of the SSD.
HyperFast operation requires no scheduling or maintenance thanks to
the Diskeeper Corporation proprietary InvisiTasking processing
technology. InvisiTasking employs only unused system resources to
operate with zero overhead on the system, therefore transparently
increasing the speed, performance and reliability of the SSD.
To demonstrate this fact, Diskeeper says benchmark tests were
performed on an 8 GB SSD in a simulated real world scenario to
depict a customer's environment over 6 months, and with HyperFast SSD
optimization enabled, performance gains were automatically realized
with 5.9x faster reads, 19.5x faster writes, 3.9x faster random reads
and 9.0x faster random writes (higher numbers indicate higher
performance).
Windows only.
- Diskeeper 2010 Home with HyperFast sells for $49.95
- Diskeeper 2010 Professional with HyperFast sells for $69.95
30 day demos available
* Editor's note: Since version 10.3, Mac OS X has been designed to
find sufficient space to keep a document contiguous, which avoids the
problem SSD Optimizer addresses. Hence, there is little need for a Mac
version. Further, the optimizations built into Panther and later
versions of OS X will actually reduce fragmentation over time, because
when fragmented files are modified and resaved, they will be saved as
contiguous, non-fragmented files whenever possible.
This 2004
article found that under 2.5% of all files on four representative
Macs (all used with OS X 10.3 Panther for at least six months) were
fragmented. "When a file is opened on an HFS+ volume, the following
conditions are tested:
- If the file is less than 20 MB in size
- If the file is not already busy
- If the file is not read-only
- If the file has more than eight extents
- If the system has been up for at least three minutes
"If all of the above conditions are satisfied, the file is relocated
- it is defragmented on-the-fly."
One more reason Macs don't slow down over time like Windows PCs tend
to, whether using hard drives or SSD. dk
Link: Diskeeper 2010
Products & Services
Popular Use of Aluminum Laptop Cases Doing More
Than Protecting Dropped Computers
PR: Mezzi, a briefcase manufacturer, is finding that
customers are buying aluminum laptop cases for more than simple
protection from an occasional bump or dropped computer. Solid aluminum
laptop cases are adding a sense of security for business and leisure
travelers.
"While it's true that an aluminum laptop case provides sturdy
protection against day-to-day dings, nicks and scrapes that nearly all
laptop cases succumb to," explains Mezzi President David Mezzi, "we're
hearing from our customers that being able to lock their computer
inside their case gives them greater peace of mind when traveling with
their computer for business or leisure."
One insurance company recently reported that over 500,000 laptop
computers are stolen in the United States every year. Unfortunately,
ease of access can contribute to theft, so in order to reduce the risk
of losing a laptop to a thief it must be harder to access. This is how
lockable aluminum laptop cases provide increased security.
And though it is unlikely many laptop briefcases are stolen directly
out a person's hands when they are being carried, there are times
during business or leisure travel when people assume their laptops are
safe. Whether left unattended in hotel rooms or in a colleague or
client's office, laptops can be susceptible to theft.
Another possible contributor to the sense security Mezzi customers
have toward their aluminum laptop case is the image Mezzi cases has in
mainstream media. Aluminum Mezzi cases have been used to safely and
securely transport many high-value items in movies, television shows,
and music videos. Most recently, a Mezzi case will appear on ABC's
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. A Mezzi case also hit the big
screen in 2010 with an appearance in 13, starring Jason Statham,
50 Cent, and Mickey Rourke. Mezzi cases have always been a staple on
NBC's Deal or No Deal.
With this exposure, aluminum cases are becoming iconic symbols of
safety and security, especially for business travelers who find
themselves in unfamiliar places frequently.
In addition to security from theft, says David Mezzi, our customers
are buying aluminum laptop carrying cases for the superior damage
protection they offer over any leather or vinyl case. In the end, it's
hard to beat a well-constructed metal laptop case to guard against what
the world throws at our valued electronics.
Link: Mezzi
Software
Power Manager and Power Manager Professional Energy
Saving for Mac OS X
PR: Power Manager is an energy saving and automation solution
for Mac OS X.
Power Manager 4.0.3 and Power Manager Professional 4.0.3 are now
available. These updates include a few bug fixes and improvements.
With Power
Manager you can:
- Power on and off your Mac;
- Sleep your Mac after inactivity;
- Launch scripts and tools;
- Automate complex tasks;
- Share your schedules with friends and colleagues;
- Manage your schedule with your iPhone or iPod Touch
Power Manager reduces the running costs of your Mac. And not just
electricity costs. With this software installed you will be able to do
more, automate more, and make your Macs a breeze to manage.
Power Manager works by providing a state of the art energy saving
engine, and by helping you automate away time consuming tasks. By
combining these two approaches, you will save time, energy, and
money.
Power Manager will save you time by helping you automate routine
tasks. Power Manager provides Mac OS X with a missing essential; the
ability to run scripts and applications to a schedule. With Power
Manager you can launch AppleScripts, perform back ups, and take control
of your Mac without being in the room.
Power Manager will save you energy by reducing the power needs of
your Mac. Power Manager's improved energy saving capabilities extend
Mac OS X's abilities and remove the standard restrictions.
Power Manager will save you money by reducing your bills. For over a
decade, Power Manager has been helping customers around the world
reduce their running costs. The savings come directly from reduced
energy bills, reduced training costs, and improved productivity.
Power Manager Professional
Power Manager Professional is a stand-alone application for creating
and managing events, and administering networked Macs running Power
Manager.
Professional includes:
- Create Sophisticated Events:
- Multiple triggers
- Multiple conditions
- Sequences of actions
- Edit event behaviours
- Create and Manage Multiple Schedules
- Create and Manage Licence Groups
- Manage and Monitor Remote Macs
- Deploy Schedules Over the Network
- Create Installers and Ready to Distribute Disk Images
Power Manager Remote lets you control your Mac from your iPhone or
iPod touch.
With Remote you can:
- Control Power Manager on your Mac via WiFi or the cellular/mobile
network
- Trigger on-demand events
- View your energy saving schedule
- Adjust, delay, and cancel queued triggers
- Enable and disable events
- View notifications from pending triggers
- View the client and legal state of Power Manager
System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.4 and up (Universal Binary)
Power Manager includes an automatic software update feature.
Version 4.0.3 is free for users of Power Manager 4. Existing users
can update using Power Manager's automatic software update.
Link: Power Manager
Accordance Bible Software Releases Historic Views
of the Holy Land
PR: Accordance Bible
Software has released a fully-searchable collection of over 4,000
historic photos of the Holy Land. The American Colony and Eric Matson
Collection contains photographs taken in Israel prior to the
establishment of the modern nation-state and the growth of its major
cities. As such, it enables people to view the lands of the Bible much
as it appeared for thousands of years.
"Picturing the world of the Bible has always been something of a
challenge," explains David Lang, Vice President of Development for
Accordance Bible Software. "Earlier artistic depictions are often
inaccurate, and modern photographs are marred by high-rise buildings,
asphalt roads, electric wires, automobiles, etc. The photos in this
collection let us travel back in time to see the Holy Land when it
still looked much as it had in Biblical times."
Made available through a partnership with BiblePlaces.com, the
Accordance edition of The American Colony and Eric Matson Collection
can be searched by a variety of criteria and integrates seamlessly with
all other Accordance-compatible Bibles and study aids. The images it
contains can easily be exported to a word-processing document or
slideshow program like Keynote or PowerPoint.
The American Colony and Eric Matson Collection costs $149 and can be
purchased and downloaded through the Accordance website.
Link: Accordance
Bible Software: Historic Views of the Holy Land
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