“Oh, neat.” Thus spoke Nicholas Deleon when he saw these MacBook keyboard decals, and it was Good. → Read More
This MacBook-spying story could be the creepiest story in quite some time. We already know the allegations: that the school district provided MacBooks to its students, but then took photos of the students without their knowledge or consent. Now we’re getting numbers. One student claims he was photographed more than 400 times, and now it has emerged that, over a period of two years, school district officials took some 56,000 photos in total, with many of those including students in the frame. FIFTY-SIX THOUSAND! You know, you send your kids to school expecting them to learn a little bit of math, maybe about evolution and the Big Bang, but you do not expect them to have their privacy violated as if we’re living in East Germany. → Read More
It’s pretty great that people are just now realizing that Planet Earth isn’t some sort of static strip mall. There are volcanoes, and earthquakes, and hurricanes, and tornadoes, and tsunamis—objects from outer space regularly invade the atmosphere. This planet is alive, brother! So, idea: you know how certain laptop models, like ThinkPads and MacBooks, come with built-in accelerometers? They’re there in order to protect the hard drive from a devastating fall, but what it you could use said accelerometer to detect an earthquake before it happens? → Read More
Oh, this school district is totally boned. You’ll recall that the Lower Merion School District, in Pennsylvania, had given students MacBooks so they could do their schoolwork. Fun. What wasn’t fun, though, was that the school is alleged to have snapped photos of the students without their consent. The whole kerfluffle is wrangled in the legal system now, and one of the district’s employees who had access to the images called it a “little LMSD soap opera.” Replied another: “I know, I love it.” Oh boy, not good for the school district. → Read More
MacBooks have great battery life for a few reasons, including, but not limited to, GPU switching. However, as Ubergizmo discovered, when you run Windows 7 in Bootcamp the GPU stays on all the time, essentially sucking down battery like a fiend. The 2009 MBP also had issues – the screen was too bright and the keyboard backlight was always on – but otherwise there wasn’t much of a problem. → Read More
The flaymasters at iFixIt have torn down the MacBook Pro 15-inch Unibody, revealing all of its terrible secrets including, but not limited to, a motherboard, an AirPort Express card, and some other stuff. Come to think of it, there are no terrible secrets. Just a bigger battery and new wireless antenna. → Read More
Nicholas just voiced a valid question in the always-entertaining but private CrunchGear chatroom, “Why would I pay $1,500 for a Core 2 Duo in 2010?” He then answered it by saying, “I wouldn’t.” Well said, sir. Apple’s current crop of notebooks are a slap in the face to its customers, but maybe Apple will finally catch up to HP, Dell, Acer, Gateway, Lenovo, Alienware, Asus, MSI, Sony, and Toshiba next week if this rumor pans out. → Read More
What’s most surprising about this next story is that it took so long to emerge. Presenting… someone’s MacBook 3D mock-up! “See 3D, make 3D.” Yes, that’s very Apple-like indeed. → Read More
Apple recently filed patent for a pico projector to be integrated into their notebooks. Like the sun-lit display we wrote about a few days ago, it’s probably too early to expect much. Nonetheless, this is an interesting idea and I can see it being useful for projecting presentations or pictures when you don’t have access to an external projector. → Read More
Avengers unite! [ → Read More
Finding a case for your computer is easy. Finding one that unique and still protects your computer can be a whole different story. Sure, leather is nice. Neoprene protects really well, and there are assorted other products that will protect your Mac Book, but they all look the same. Here’s your chance to use something that’s custom and unique – the BookBook. Based on the concept of hiding in plain sight, the BookBook case resembles an antique leather bound book, aged and distressed by years of contact. → Read More
Not sure why this suddenly came up and I’m not going to get into the politics of this, but Israeli security, in an apparent fit of pique, shot a young woman’s laptop at the airport. → Read More
For weeks – months even – analysts have been telling Apple to make a netbook for the masses, a $299 junker designed for those who surf the web on the couch, their Cheeto-stained hands scrabbling for the TiVo remote while they incessantly refresh Reddit and hope against hope that their Craigslist Missed Connection emails them back. The Air, they said, was too expensive, designed for the frou-frou quiche-eaters of Silicon (V)alley while the MacBook Pros were too overpowered for the likes of Flyover Sally and her sad-eyed brood of younglings. They needed to sell something to the masses, something solid, American, and corn-fed. Well, now Sally, the quiche-eaters, and the Cheeto dude – and the rest of us – have the new MacBook. It offers a bit less power and peformance than the Pro line, a little more of the styling of the Air line, and sells right at $999, a magic marketing number that is neither North of $1000 (before taxes) and South of corporate financial suicide. [UPDATE - Added battery test.] → Read More
Here’s a quick look at the new MacBook. Look for a full review later this evening. → Read More
Imagine if it were your job to race to the Apple store whenever anything came out, and then as soon as you step outside, to just hurl it against the wall and take pictures of the fragments. Well, that’s pretty much iFixit in a nutshell. Sure, they use screwdrivers and stuff, and take it apart all neat-like, and have nice cuticles, but basically they’re exploding the latest and greatest device for your entertainment.
Hey, it’s not like I have a problem with it. Otherwise I’d never know what those new MacBooks look like on the inside. → Read More
Gadzooks, a new MacBook! Yup, Apple has re-designed the entry level MacBook, and it’s now made of “rugged polycarbonate that withstands the rough and tumble of everyday life.” LED backlit, too. → Read More
Apple has apparently told its direct-sales partners like the Apple Stores not to order new iMacs or Mac Minis and don’t expect any more shipments either. This can mean only one of two things: Apple is going bankrupt or there are new models coming real soon. → Read More
Now that the new iPods have been announced, it’s time for the next round of everyone’s favorite game, What’s Apple Got For Us Next? This time research firm Wedge Partners thinks that we will see new iMacs and new Macbooks “in the next several weeks.” O rly? → Read More
Geeks.com has a wheel of a deal on a refurbished Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo 2.16GHz notebook at just $599 when you use promo code SAVENB at checkout. The machine itself carries a 90-day warranty and includes 1GB of RAM, 120GB hard drive, slot-loading DVD burner, web cam, Bluetooth, and Mac OS X 10.4 preinstalled. Not too shabby for $600, eh? The deal’s good until the end of the month. Apple MacBook [Geeks.com] → Read More
