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News & Opinion
Unfixable Computers Threaten the Planet's
Future
iFixit's Kyle Wiens says he didn't expect the scale of the public
response when he argued recently that consumers should choose the
hackable, fixable,
non-Retina MacBook Pro over its sleeker-and-shinier-but-locked-down
Retina Display stablemate. He says he's been accused of Ludditism
and advocacy of old-fashioned inertia dragging down forward progress,
with some critics contending that repairability doesn't matter and that
the vast majority of consumers just don't care.
Wiens agrees that the proponents of locked-down devices are right on
some level - if something breaks, most computer owners won't grab a
screwdriver but will instead take the machine to a specialist or just
replace it with a faster one.
However, he argues that sending your difficult-to-repair computer
off to a trained technician doesn't protect you from the consequences
of difficult-to-repair hardware, noting that about one-third of
computers break by the fourth year, and that AppleCare doesn't cover
accidental damage and only lasts up to three years in any case, so less
repairable designs guarantee that fixing stuff will be more expensive
and complicated no matter who does it.
However, Wiens contends that an even bigger point is that the future
of the planet depends on the quality of our electronic devices and how
long they last, and that the way we're doing it now hurts people and
permanently damages the environment, citing the devastating
environmental and social impacts of electronics hardware manufacturing
and disposal. He says he's visited electronics scrap yards in Ghana,
where children burn electronics to mine them for raw materials, and
spent a lot of time studying the aftermarket of the consumer
electronics industry, where repair, reuse, and material recovery
happen, noting that "there's no such thing as a completely green cell
phone or computer," and pointing out that only a small fraction of
electronics produced are recycled - usually ham-fistedly.
In Wiens' vision, an ideal world would be one in which technicians
would continue to repair, salvage, and refurbish old hardware that
would move on from owner to owner rather than being thrown in the
trash, which is why he's eager to promote hardware that lasts and call
out products that don't. "It's critically important that we fix things
when they break," he maintains," urging consumers to demand products
that aren't just light and thin, but can also stand the test of time,
because our future depends on it.
Publisher's note: That fits right in with the Low End Mac philosophy
of using your Mac as long as practical, then repurposing, redeploying,
or keeping the old Mac as a spare computer or parts mule, and
responsibly disposing of it when it's finally all used up. And it's at
that point that Apple's "green
cred" means recent Macs are very recyclable due to their use of
aluminum, arsenic-free glass, mercury-free backlighting, PVC-free
cables, etc. The key with a MacBook Air or the Retina MacBook Pro is to
buy for the future, making sure you get all the system memory you're
ever going to need at the start, because you can't upgrade it later on.
dk
Link: Unfixable
Computers Are Leading Humanity Down a Perilous Path
Retina MacBook Pro: I Wanna Love You, but You're
Bringing Me Down
Digital Trends' Brad Chacos observes that Apple's MacBook Pro with
Retina Display hits every high note in both performance and design -
"until you open it up, where a monstrosity awaits."
Backstory: Chacos, a longtime Windows devotee, is definitely not
enchanted with Windows 8, which has driven him to consider various
Linux options. "Then," he says, "the MacBook Pro with Retina Display
happened, right in my moment of weakness," noting that he's a massive
fan of high-resolution displays, and here is a laptop with twice the
resolution of the best-looking Ultrabook - and packing a ton of
desktop-like firepower to boot.
He says he was teetering, but then iFixit tore down the Retina
Display MacBook Pro, "and it was like Apple spit in my eye
. . . She ain't so purdy on the inside."
No sale. Chacos admits he had Apple fever for a few days, but
iFixit's teardown snapped him back to reality.
Link: MacBook Pro with
Retina Display: I Wanna Love You, but You're Bringing Me Down
Apple Posts Retina MacBook Pro FAQ
In a new Apple Knowledge Base article, Apple proudly brags that the
MacBook Pro with Retina display has a pixel density so high that your
eyes can't discern individual pixels at a normal viewing distance- it
packs four times the pixels of the standard 15" MacBook Pro
display.
They've posted a new FAQ that addresses the following topics:
- How do I adjust the resolution of my Retina display?
- What applications currently support the Retina display?
- I'm noticing functional or visual issues with an application. How
can I make it work better?
- I notice that some applications have "Open in Low Resolution Mode"
already enabled. It this normal?
- My application wants to take over the screen and use it own
resolution settings. Which setting works best?
- What happens when I use an external display with my MacBook Pro
with Retina display?
- I need a resolution for my external display that is not appearing
on the list. Is there a way to get more resolutions to appear?
- Is Windows 7 using Boot Camp supported on the Retina display?
- Windows 7 starts up with a lot of space and small icons. Is this
normal?
Link: MacBook Pro: Frequently Asked
Questions About Using a Retina Display
Apple Delays Retina MacBook Pro Orders for Some
Business Customers
MacRumors' Eric Slivka reports hearing from several customers who
have received emails from Apple indicating that their launch-day
purchases of Retina MacBook Pro machines through Apple's enterprise
sales channel have been delayed by up to a month "Due to an unexpected
delay."
Link: Apple Delaying
Early Retina MacBook Pro Orders for Some Business Customers
Some Problems Reported Mounting USB 3 Drives on New
MacBooks
ZDNet blogger David Morgenstern reports that based on a rash of
recent posts in Mac discussion boards, something appears to be up with
connecting external USB 3 drives (or cables) and the new Mid 2012
MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with Retina Display.
Link: Problems Reported
Mounting USB 3.0 External Drives on New MacBooks
Reviews
AnandTech: MacBook Pro with Retina Display 'The
Best Mac Apple Has Ever Built'
AnandTech's Anand Lal Shimpi has posted a characteristically
thoroughgoing review of the new Retina MacBook Pro, noting that the
personal computer as we knew it for so long, is changing - getting
thinner, lighter, more integrated and more appliance-like, and with
even Microsoft finally entering the PC hardware business, something it
threatened to do for years but hadn't until now. He predicts that lines
delineating different form factors will continue to blur.
He says that after using a Retina MacBook Pro for the past two weeks
he can honestly agree with Apple's Jonathan Ive and Phil Schiller's
contention that its the best Mac Apple has ever built.
Lal Shimpi acknowledges that this is the first "Pro appliance" Apple
has ever produced, with the CPU, GPU, DRAM, battery, display and, for
now, the SSD either non-removable or at best not user-upgradeable, but
points out that we've long-since given up on upgrading mobile CPUs or
GPUs, and more recently abandoned the removable battery in favor of
increasing capacity and reducing form factors.
Lal Shimpi pronounces the Retina MacBook Pro's internals as "easily
the best collection of parts Apple has ever assembled," its
connectivity "near perfect," and the Retina Display easily the most
beautiful display he's had the opportunity of using.
Link: The Next-gen
MacBook Pro with Retina Display Review
Mid 2012 MacBook Airs 'Easily the Best Airs
Yet'
Macworld's Dan Frakes says that with its latest refresh, Apple's
ultralight laptop line edges closer to pro territory, noting that in
4-1/2 years, the MacBook Air has gone from being an expensive technology
demonstration to a successful product firmly established as the
heart of Apple's laptop line, and that this year's updated models improve
the Air's appeal with enhanced performance, enhanced expansion
capabilities, and lower prices to the point of encroaching on MacBook
Pro territory.
Frakes notes that even on the 11" MacBook Air you get the
same low-profile, backlit keyboard found in Apple's current desktop
keyboards, a large multitouch trackpad that's ideal for using gestures,
and an LED-backlit, widescreen, glossy display with sub-Retina (but
still high) resolutions of 1366 x 768 pixels on the 11" model and 1440
x 900 on the 13-incher
with outstanding colors and viewing angles.
Then there's the (unfortunately non-user-replaceable) battery that
gives the 11" Air a claimed battery life of up to 5 hours - and the 13"
Air up to 7 hours runtime.
The latest Airs get a 720p FaceTime HD webcam that can record video
at 1280 x 720 resolution. The erstwhile FireWire 800 port is gone from
the 13-incher, but Apple says a Thunderbolt-to-FireWire 800 adapter is
coming, and the Air's two USB ports now support USB 3, with each port
getting its own bus capable of up to 5 Gbps throughput and
backward-compatible with USB 2.0 peripherals. The 13" MacBook Air still
has an SD Card slot.
Power-wise, the 2012 Airs use Intel's latest Ivy Bridge Core i
processors - the 11" Air getting a 1.7 GHz dual-core Core i5 processor
with 3 MB of shared level 3 cache, while the 13" Air uses a 1.8
GHz version, both upgradable to a 2.0 GHz i7 processor with 4 MB
level 3 cache as a build-to-order option, and both models upgraded to
Intel's latest HD Graphics 4000 IGPU, which Apple claims the 4000 is up
to 60% faster on graphics-intensive tasks than last year's 3000
IGPU.
And in what constitutes huge progress, all four MacBook Airs models,
including the $999 entry-level model, now ship with a minimum 4 GB
of faster 1600 MHz RAM and can be upgraded (but only at the time of
purchase) to a new ceiling of 8 GB.
Frakes also notes that Apple claims the Airs' SSDs used in the 2012
Air line are twice as fast as the ones used in 2011, although the $999
model still ships with a laughable 64 GB capacity. In general, the Mid
2012 revisions are easily the best Airs yet.
Link: Mid-2012 MacBook
Airs Offer Improved Performance and Connectivity
Macworld Checks Out Ultimate Mid 2012 MacBook Air
Configurations
Macworld's James Galbraith notes that Apple usually offers optional
specification upgrades that facilitate tailoring a
standard-configuration system to your particular needs, and Macworld
Lab ran performance benchmarks on two MacBook Air build-to-order (BTO)
models
The tested 11" MacBook Air had a dual-core 2.0 GHz Core i7 CPU with
4 MB of shared L2 cache ($150 option), 8 GB of RAM (100), and
256 GB of flash storage ($300), totaling out at $1,649 - 50% more than
the stock high-end model - and boosting overall performance by 21%.
The 13" MacBook Air tester started out with the high-end stock
($1,499) dual-core 1.8 GHz Core i5 model upgraded to the dual-core 2.0
GHz Core i7 ($100), 8 GB of RAM ($100), and 512 GB of flash
storage ($500), bringing the total cost $2,199, which incidentally is
the price of the 39% faster overall entry-level 15" Retina display MacBook
Pro, albeit the latter comes with only 256 GB of storage capacity.
However, Galbraith reports that on the 13-incher, the BTO upgrades only
yielded an 11% overall performance improvement, although it was 21%
faster overall than the $1,499 2.9 GHz Core i7 MacBook Pro.
Much food for thought here for anyone in the hunt for a speedy
MacBook.
Link: Ultimate MacBook
Air 2012 Models Put to the Test
Inside the Difficult to Repair MacBook Pro with
Retina Display
InformationWeek's Larry Seltzer reports that UBM TechInsights did a
partial teardown of the new Retina MacBook Pro and a separate
teardown of the solid state drive (SSD) in the MacBook Pro,
including x-ray images.
Concurring with iFixit in their Retina MacBook Pro teardown,
TechInsights says it's immediately clear that the MacBook Pro is almost
impossible to repair and probably quite difficult to recycle, what with
many components, such as RAM, soldered to the motherboard, and other
parts, such as the display and battery, glued in, making access to
other components difficult or impossible.
Link: Teardown: Inside Apple
MacBook Pro
Tech Trends
Acer Sees Gloomy Ultrabook Outlook in Europe
The Register's reports that Acer has downgraded sales forecasts for
Ultrabooks in Europe, citing the stiff price tag and smaller screen
size as factors limiting adoption. The report notes that Acer had
expected Ultrabooks to account for between 25% and 35% of total
notebook sales globally by the end of this year, but quotes Acer EMEA
president Oliver Ahrens observing, "Overall the Ultrabook segment is
developing much slower than projected by Intel and we have already
adjusted our strategy on this in the last quarter" - projecting that
Ultrabooks will be roughly 10% of the market by year-end 2012. Price is
evidently the main sticking point for buyers. Another stumbling-block
is the typical 13.3" Ultrabook form factor, which has never been as
popular in Europe as in Asia.
Link: Acer Bigwig Sees
Gloomy Future for Ultrabooks in Europe
Products & Services
Turbocharged Doxie Go Mobile Scanner
PR: Apparent today announces Doxie Go, a major upgrade
to its tiny mobile scanner that makes going paperless easy. Doxie scans
anywhere with no computer required, then syncs scans to your favorite
devices, creates searchable PDFs, sends to the cloud, and more. The
next generation Doxie Go cordless paper scanner delivers enhanced
scanning features, new cloud apps, document signing and faxing,
Basecamp integration, two all-new accessories, add-on WiFi with iOS +
Android sync, and more.
"There's something in the new Doxie for everybody," says Paul
Scandariato, Apparent's vice president of marketing. "Doxie Go delivers
true mobile scanning you can take anywhere - no computer required -
making it easy to get organized and go paperless."
Doxie is tiny and cordless, with a rechargeable battery and built-in
memory that lets you scan anywhere. Just connect via USB to sync scans
and recharge. Doxie's custom-designed desktop app intuitively organizes
multipage documents, creates searchable PDFs with award-winning ABBY
OCR technology, and sends to the cloud for easy sharing. When equipped
with an add-on wireless SD card, Doxie can transmit scans directly to
iPhone, iPad, and Android via WiFi.
New Features:
- Scan longer, scan legal: Doxie now scans paper up to 15" (38 cm) in
length, handling US legal documents and long receipts, plus standard
sizes like business cards, photos, and US Letter/A4 sheets
- Enhanced Dropbox mobile integration: Use Doxie and Dropbox together
to share your documents - now Doxie lets you save searchable PDFs to
any folder in Dropbox in one step. And on iPhone iPad, select scans to
save to any Dropbox folder for access from any device.
- Sign documents, deliver faxes: Provide digital signatures and send
faxes with the newly integrated HelloFax. Just select your documents,
create a signature box, and send automatically via fax or e-mail.
- WiFi now just $30, now with Android: Doxie offers optional WiFi for
syncing scans wirelessly, now for just $30. Send scans wirelessly to
your computer, iPhone, iPad, Evernote, and now Android
smartphones.
- Basecamp project management: Manage projects and share tasks with
Basecamp from 37signals. The new Doxie Go uploads business docs
directly to any Basecamp project for sharing and commenting.
- Two all-new accessories for scanning anywhere: Introducing two new
add-on Doxie accessories. The new Doxie A4 Case is a premium microfiber
carrying case for Doxie, with a padded gray interior and magnetic
clasp. And the new Worldwide Power Adapter lets you charge and scan at
any wall outlet.
Apparent's next generation Doxie Go is available now for the
same price as its predecessor - $199 - in the United States, Canada,
and throughout Europe and Southeast Asia. To find Doxie near you, visit
the Buy Doxie section online. For more information on the next
generation Doxie Go, visit the Doxie website.
New and updated Doxie Go accessories:
- Doxie A4 Case - $29 - Premium microfiber carrying case for Doxie
Go. Contains no animal products.
- Worldwide Power Adapter - $10 - New power adapter accessory lets
you charge and scan simultaneously.
- Wireless SD Card - $301 - Doxie's optional Eye-Fi branded wireless
SD card makes Doxie not only cordless but wireless. Send scans via WiFi
to computers, iPhone, iPad, and now Android. Now just $30.
Link: Doxie Go (currently
$199 shipped from Amazon.com)
2 New Macally USB 3 Enclosures
PR: Macally has announced two new USB 3 hard drive
enclosures for 3.5" SATA HDD to complement Apple's newest MacBook Pro
series.
Users will benefit from blazing fast USB 3.0 speed ten times faster
than USB 2.0 - up to 4.8 Gbps, which is why USB 3 is dubbed
"SuperSpeed"!
It's also backwards compatible with USB 1.1 & 2.0.
Two new Macally USB 3 drive models are offered.
- USB 3.0 Plastic External 3.5" SATA HDD Enclosure XTR-S350U3, MSRP
$69.99
- USB 3.0 Aluminum External 3.5" SATA HDD Enclosure NSA-S350U3, MSRP
$69.99
Both are now shipping.
Link: Super-Speed USB 3.0 Storage
Enclosure (currently
$64 shipped from Amazon.com)
Link: Super-Speed USB
3.0 Aluminum Storage Enclosure (currently
$57.99 shipped from Amazon.com)
OWC Releases 960 GB Mercury Electra MAX 3G 2.5"
Serial-ATA 9.5mm SSD
PR: The OWC 960 GB Mercury Electra MAX 3G SSD provides
serious capacity for video editing, home office, gaming, and personal
photography.
This internal 2.5" SATA SSD uses the latest SandForce 2181 Processor
and DuraClass technology to deliver high transfer speed, durability,
and performance:
- DuraWrite extends the endurance of your Solid State Drive
(SSD).
- Intelligent Block Management & Wear Leveling automatically
distributes data evenly across the entire SSD.
- Intelligent Read Disturb Management spreads the active read/write
across the flash components eliminating data corruption caused by
constant use.
- Intelligent "Recycling" for advanced free space management
gradually rewrites data across the SSD over time to ensure data never
gets corrupted.
- RAISE (Redundant Array of Independent Silicon Elements) protects
the data on your drive similar to having a RAID setup.
- ECC Protection for enhanced data retention and drive life.
- Ultra-efficient Block Management & Wear Leveling
- No Risk, No Hassle 30-Day Money Back Guarantee
With sustained reads up to 254 MB/s and writes up to 250 MB/s,
up to 100x greater data protection than enterprise class Hard Disk
Drives, and RAISE technology for RAID like data protection and
reliability, the OWC 960 GB Mercury Electra MAX 3G SSD line is designed
and built in the US from domestic and imported parts and backed by a
three year warranty.
Replaces your conventional laptop hard drive. Unlike traditional
hard disk drives, OWC SSDs have no moving parts, resulting in a quiet,
cool, highly rugged storage solution that also offers near
instantaneous system response.
Price: $1,269.99
Link: 960 GB Mercury Electra MAX
3G SSD
Kensington Introduces New Security and
Productivity Products for MacBooks
PR: Kensington Computer Products Group has created the an
extensive selection of physical security solutions for Apple devices.
With a range of solutions for the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro,
Kensington has the security needs of Apple business and education users
covered. Security accessories designed by Kensington for specific Apple
computers, with specific uses in mind, provide an important first line
of defense against device theft and loss.
The average cost of device theft and liabilities associated with the
resulting loss of important business data is estimated to be $49,000,
according to research from the Ponemon Institute. Companies also risk
reputation or regulatory consequences if sensitive customer data is
lost, particularly in healthcare and financial businesses. One of the
easiest and most cost-effective ways to guard against device and data
loss is to use physical security, such as laptop locks and security
cases.
"As more companies adopt Apple computing products, its important
they also adopt an essential first line of defense to protect both the
devices and the data they contain," says George Foot, Kensington Vice
President of Global Marketing and Product Development. 
"Kensington's 30-year heritage in providing
security products gives us a solid understanding of the need to
carefully match the security accessory to the use and the design of the
device. Whether people are using their Apple computers to primarily
view content, create content or to display information, Kensington
knows how to design physical security that works alongside them
seamlessly."
New Kensington Physical Security for MacBook Air
Kensington SafeDock MacBook Air Security Dock & Keyed
Lock (13 MacBook Air-K67759AM; 11 MacBook Air-K67758AM; SRP
$99.99)
The Kensington SafeDock MacBook Air Security Dock & Keyed Lock
offers security in one sleek solution. Slide your MacBook Air into the
SafeDock and flip up the security gate and attach the ClickSafe lock in
one easy click to secure your MBA.
Built-in ClickSafe Security Anchor secures in a
click with the included ClickSafe Lock- Brushed aluminum security bar matches the MacBook Air
aesthetics
- Preserves access to all ports
- Thin and portable design easily fits in sleeve or travel bag
- Tilts keyboard for more comfortable typing
- 4 stand or VESA mount available for ergonomic viewing
New Kensington Physical Security for MacBook Pro
Kensington ClickSafe Keyed Laptop Lock (K64637WW;
SRP $44.99):
The Kensington ClickSafe Keyed Laptop Lock is designed for
effortless protection of computers and your business most important
data. Locks attach to Apple computer in a single step. Just one click
and its secure. There's no need for employees to insert a key or follow
multiple steps. ClickSafe combines a cable made from superior materials
with a tamperproof disc-style lock to deliver the strongest security
available in a cable lock.
Currently
$32.99 shipped at Amazon.com.
These products are currently available for preorder at
Kensington.com, Amazon.com, and major resellers.
Link:
Apple Security Solutions
Software
Free Utility Gives You Control Over Retina MacBook
Pro Display Resolutions
PR: Wineskin's doh123 notes that with the new Retina Macs not
having a way to truly change the screen resolution, he threw together a
little app that uses the WSReso command line tool made for older
versions of Wineskin for changing resolutions before RandR was added to
XQuartz. It uses WSReso, and it's just an AppleScript GUI front-end
that lets you change resolutions, including knocking that Retina
Display MacBook Pro up to a true 2880 x 1800. doh123 says the little
hack works on any Mac for changing resolutions - very simple, but
effective.
You can download it for free here: http://wineskin.urgesoftware.com/Special/Change
Resolution.app.zip
If you want to just have an app that automatically goes to your max
resolution that you can put in your startup items, you can try this
one: http://wineskin.urgesoftware.com/Special/SetRes.app.zip
Link: Resolution
Changing App
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