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News & Opinion
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News & Opinion
11" MacBook Air Intended to Be Apple's iCloudBook
All Along?
Writing for Macworld, Andy Ihnatko, says that when Apple released
the 11" MacBook Air
(MBA) last year, the question nagged as to why Apple would even bother
making such a niche MacBook with so many tradeoffs, and noting that at
$1,299, the 13" MacBook
Air is too expensive to compete with the base white plastic MacBook or even
the iPad, and not powerful enough to compete with the similarly-priced
(starting at $1,199) 13" MacBook Pro.
However, Ihnatko says he can now belatedly identify the 11" MBA as
Apple's first public salvo in its cloud strategy, and that its 64 GB
drive, which he originally thought was a complete dealbreaker (an awful
lot of early adopters didn't agree), will be a lot more acceptable once
iCloud's 5 GB of free cloud storage are available. So while a 64
GB boot drive is still "pretty damned teeny" if you intend to use the
11" MBA as a real MacBook, he's done the math and pronounces it just
the perfect size for an iCloudBook, as well as being a full-fledged a
Mac OS device, so you won't need to translate files between mobile and
desktop app formats, and unlike with an with an iPad, you can use the
same Mac OS software you've got on your office workstation.
Link: 11" MacBook Air
Intended to Be Apple's iCloudBook All Along?
Apple to Restore Backlit Keyboards in New MacBook
Air?
AppleInsider's Kasper Jade reports:
"With the release of new models later this month, Apple is set to
reinstate a feature to its MacBook Airs that went missing when the
company overhauled the ultra-thin notebooks into more cost-affordable
products late last year, AppleInsider has learned...."
Link: Apple's New
MacBook Airs to Bring Back Backlit Keyboards - Sources
New White MacBook and Mac mini Models
Imminent?
9 to 5 Mac's Mark Gurman says that they've determined that the Apple
part numbers they'd acquired were for an upgraded white MacBook and new
Mac mini, with the price-leader MacBook likely to get Thunderbolt I/O
ports and faster processors, three upgraded mini configurations
(including a server model), and he's also expecting new Mac Pros later
this month or early next month.
Publisher's note: One other possible explanation is that Apple is
changing part numbers because models will be shipping with OS X 10.7
Lion instead of 10.6 Snow Leopard. That said, the MacBook Air, white
MacBook, Mac mini, and Mac Pro are all due for a refresh. dk
Link: New
White MacBook and Mac mini Launches Imminent - Report
Choosing a 'Beater' Mac for Less than $300
Writing on AppleTell, Charles Moore says:
"I'm a fan and proponent of 'beater' hardware. Living in one of the
saltiest environments on the continent - both coastal sea air and
winter road salt - one defence against the indefatigable advance of
rust is to drive a beater car in the winter....
"Similar principles apply to computers, especially laptops, which
can face some challenging environments when you take them
mobile.....
"AppStorm's Adam Williams observes that Macs are expensive, and
there's no getting around the fact that a reasonably late-model Mac
costs a significant amount of money and is a gleaming thief-magnet,
with real potential for being dropped, lost or stolen. And while the
iPad or even an iPhone these days present a less-expensive alternative
for light-duty mobile computing, Williams says that as a freelance
writer he needs a real computer for significant work when he travels,
and that he needs a Mac he can lug around, collecting accidental knocks
without worry, as well as acting a as temporary backup if his MacBook
Pro ever needs repair. In short, an older, expendable Mac he won't have
to worry about. Ergo, a beater....
"Williams proposes the iBook G4 as
an ideal compromise between cost and performance in a beater laptop,
which for him must cost no more than $150, not take too much time to
get up and running, and still be capable of running Tiger or Leopard
effectively.
"Anything newer or more powerful starts to get too expensive to be a
Mac for throwing on a car seat, lending to a friend, and leaving around
clumsy pets, he contends, suggesting you shoot for an iBook with at
least a 1 GHz processor speed, equipped with a wireless card, and
capable of upgrading to 1 GB RAM.
"The takeaway is really that finding the ideal beater laptop will be
more a matter of the individual deal you find or run across rather than
doggedly setting your sights on getting a particular model. Shop the
deal and condition of the machine within a fairly broad range of
alternatives."
Link: Choosing a
'Beater' Mac for Less than $300
Link: Setting Up an Awesome Beater Mac
for Less Than $300, Adam Williams, AppStorm
Products & Services
OWC Data Doubler DIY Kit Allows Up to 2 TB in
MacBook and MacBook Pro
PR: Other World Computing (OWC) has announced the OWC Data
Doubler 1 TB DIY Kit for adding up to 2 TB of internal storage
capacity to Unibody MacBook and MacBook Pro computers.
The $174.99 MSRP OWC Data Doubler 1 TB DIY Kit is available for
immediate ordering and comes complete with the Data Doubler optical bay
converter bracket, a Samsung Spinpoint M8 1 TB 9.5mm hard drive, a
detailed step-by-step Mac notebook model specific installation guide, a
five piece toolkit, free online 'How To' installation videos, and is
fully compatible with the following Macintosh notebook
computers:
- MacBook 13" "Late 2008" Unibody and later models (All)
- MacBook 13" "Late 2009" White Unibody and later models (All)
- MacBook Pro 13" "Mid 2009" Unibody and later models (All)
- MacBook Pro 15" "Late 2008" Unibody and later models (All)
- MacBook Pro 17" "Early 2009" Unibody and later models (All)
"This new, smaller footprint drive provides incredible upgrade
options for every MacBook and MacBook Pro owner," says OWC Founder and
CEO Larry O'Connor. "With our value priced DIY kit, Unibody owners can
have a previously unimagined 2 TB of internal storage that
installs with Plug and Play ease thanks to the included toolkit and
'how to' videos. And now even the earliest pre-'Unibody' model owners
can expand from the factory maximum 120 GB drive with up to 7x more
capacity thanks to this 1 TB drive."
OWC Data Doubler DIY Kit value priced bundles start at $117.99.
Offers Custom Drive Configuration
The custom engineered, blue anodized aluminum OWC Data Doubler gives
Unibody MacBook and MacBook Pro owners the flexibility to uniquely
configure their 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 user installable in a Unibody
MacBook or MacBook Pro optical drive bay. 9.5mm SATA 2.5" hard drives
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&trade backup
drive.
- Formatting one drive for the Mac OS and the other dedicated for
Windows.
SuperSlim Enclosure Converts Optical Drive Into External
Solution
Consumers purchasing the new OWC Data Doubler 1 TB DIY Kit can
receive an instant $10.99 OWC rebate when also ordering the $47.99 MSRP
OWC SuperSlim. This lightweight, USB 2.0 bus powered enclosure is the
ideal solution for "Unibody" MacBook and MacBook Pro owners installing
any OWC Data Doubler DIY Kit. Now while enjoying up to an additional
1 TB capacity in the optical drive bay, users can install the
replaced Apple SuperDrive into the OWC SuperSlim to create an external
Plug and Play CD and DVD burning/playing solution.
New Drive Footprint Adds Over 7x More Capacity
Until now, the only 1 TB notebook hard drives available were
12.5mm high. That meant only Unibody MacBooks and MacBook Pros and 17"
pre-Unibody models could utilize the largest capacity offered in 2.5"
drives and only in the main drive bay. With the arrival of the thinner
Samsung 9.5mm drive at OWC, a full terabyte of storage up to over 7x
more capacity than originally factory offered can now be installed in
the main drive bay of any MacBook and MacBook Pro introduced since
2006.
Link: OWC DIY Kit: Data
Doubler + Samsung 1 TB 5400 rpm Spinpoint M8 Hard Drive
Link: OWC
Data Doubler
Link: OWC
SuperSlim
WD My Book Studio Drive Matches Mac Aesthetics with
Creative Pro Performance
PR: Western Digital has announced that the newest
generation of its My Book Studio external hard drives, designed for use
with Mac computers and Apple Time Machine. Now available with a 3 TB
storage capacity, the new design features a brushed aluminum casing to
match the appearance of Mac computers, and also serves to keep the
drive cool while in use. The aluminum exterior, combined with its WD
Caviar Green drives, eliminates the need for an internal fan to reduce
drive noise and extend the life of the drive. Although formatted for
Mac computers, the My Book Studio external hard drives can also be
reformatted for PCs.
The My
Book Studio drive includes features and benefits including fast and
flexible FireWire 800/400 and USB 2.0 interfaces, user-controlled
automatic backup software and drive management, password protection and
hardware encryption. Shipping in capacities of 1 TB, 2 TB, and 3 TB,
the My Book Studio drive includes the WD Caviar Green series of
internal hard drives with WD GreenPower Technology.
"WD has updated the design of its My Book Studio drive while
providing natural cooling features delivered by the new aluminum
enclosure," says WD executive vice president and general manager of
branded products and consumer electronics groups Jim Welsh, "The drive
will maintain all the features that are important to the creative
community, including high speed FireWire 800 and adding large
capacities up to 3 TB."
WD's My Book Studio is available on the WD store and at select
retailers and distributors. MSRP for My Book Studio with 1 TB is
$149.99; MSRP for My Book Studio with 2 TB is $199.99; MSRP for My Book
Studio with 3 TB is $249.99.
Publisher's note: The WD Caviar Green drives are very energy
efficient and run cool partly by reducing rotation speed as low as 5400
rpm, which means that while they are good performers, they don't have
the same throughput as a full-time 7200 rpm hard drive. That said,
these should be good for storing your media (music, images, videos) and
for backup use. dk
Link: WD My Book
Studio
USRobotics All-in-One USB 3.0 Card Reader/Writer
First to Offer Dual SD Card Slots
PR: USRobotics has introduced the USR8420 All-in-One USB 3.0
Card Reader/Writer. The new device is the first of its kind with
duplicate SD card slots for a total of five card slots that can be read
simultaneously at speeds up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0 card
readers. The USR8420 joins USRobotics USB 3.0 family, which currently
includes a 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub (USR8400), a 2-Port ExpressCard Adapter
(USR8401), and a 2-Port PCI Express Card Adapter (USR8402).
According to USRobotics CEO Bruce Swail, the new card
reader follows suit with the company's goals for its USB 3.0 line,
which focus on improving connectivity speed and productivity while
maintaining backwards compatibility with USB 2.0 devices.
"The new card reader is perfect for photographers and videographers
who use multiple cards and cameras and need to quickly download a large
number of images," says Swail. "The device allows double the number of
photos to be transferred than other available card readers while
maintaining the fast USB 3.0 speed. Everyone from business
professionals to families with more than one camera can benefit from
the time saved through the use of this device professionals can be more
productive and families can get on with their vacations without having
to wait for their photos to download."
The new USR8420 provides a total of five slots, one SD,
one SD/MMC/Memory Stick, one Compact Flash, one Memory Stick, and one
for SmartMedia. The new reader/writer offers blazing fast transfers
with USB 3 interface, so the data flow can be as fast as the memory
card permits. As faster cards become available even greater transfer
speeds can be realized. At the same time, it is backwards compatible
with USB 2.0/1/1 ports.
The reader/writer supports all new card formats including SDHC with
UHS, CF with UDMA, SDXC, and MSXC cards including the separate SD slots
making it convenient for families with more than one camera or
professionals with multiple cards. Like other USR products in the USB
3.0 family, the USR8420 is compatible with Windows, Macintosh and Linux
operating systems. The plug and play device is also hot swappable and
its USB cable can be removed for easy storage or portability.
The new USRobotics USR8420 All-in-One USB 3.0 Card Reader/Writer is
currently available at retail prices starting at $39.99. The products
can be purchased from USRobotics authorized distributors and reseller
partners or directly.
The All-in-One USB 3.0 Card Reader/Writer comes standard with a
one-year limited manufacturer warranty from the date of purchase.
Publisher's note: No Mac built today supports USB 3.0, but it is
completely backward compatible with the USB 2.0 ports in all current
Macs. dk
Link: USRobotics USR8420 All-in-One USB
3.0 Card Reader/Writer
Software
Temperature Monitor Keeps Tabs on Your Mac's
Operating Temperature
PR: Temperature Monitor is an application to read out all
accessible temperature sensors in Macintosh computers released between
August 2002 and March 2011. The program can visualize the history
graphs of the readings, display measured values in a large variety of
fashions, or announce readings by speech output. It can also store and
export values.
Temperature Monitor is the small, free version of the application
Hardware Monitor. Hardware Monitor can additionally display
"non-temperature" sensors and artificial operating system probes, or
control external LCD panels. Temperature Monitor is part of a software
suite of 9 different monitoring applications which can be used for
numerous purposes.
Temperature Monitor is electronically distributed software.
System requirements: Mac OS X 10.4 or later
You can download the product free of charge.
Link: Temperature
Monitor
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