Tablet PCs never really caught on, did they? And yet, nearly every laptop sold today has a touchpad / trackpad thingie. Wouldn’t it be cool to use that for the few tablet-y things you’d like to do, like signing your autograph on a document, or making a doodle? Well now you can, with Autograph! → Read More
The plastic MacBook that I’m typing on right now has been around for three long years now, but if you believe certain Barclays Capital analysts it’s about the be completely redesigned. About time! → Read More
In case you didn’t know, Apple refreshed its notebook lineup a few weeks back and rebadged the 13-inch unibody Macbook as a Pro model. Apparently the masses like it as that model now occupies the top spot in Amazons best selling laptop computer list and number four overall. It wasn’t that long ago that netbooks ruled that second list and the white 13-inch Macbook was the top selling Apple computer at number 14. → Read More
When it came time to deciding which Apple laptop to get a few months ago, the choice was pretty clear to me: The 13-inch MacBook. While I had previously had a last-generation MacBook Pro, the new MacBooks built with the sleek unibody process (carved out of one piece of aluminum) offered more than enough power for what I needed, in a smaller package. I didn’t really see an advantage is paying more just to get a “Pro” model — and now Apple apparently doesn’t either.
Today at its WWDC event, Apple has decided to rename its 13-inch unibody MacBook line, to MacBook Pros. Alongside this it and the other MacBook Pros have gained some new features. The biggest of these is the new built-in lithium polymer battery which can last for up to 7 hours. That’s a 2 hour increase over the current battery life — a 40% increase. This battery features 5 years of recharges before it starts losing its charge. Normal laptops get 300 recharges, this one gets 1,000. → Read More
When Apple updated the white, plastic MacBook a couple weeks back, we noticed that it was now more powerful than its unibody, and more expensive, counterpart. The benchmarks are now in, and it seems that it is indeed a better deal as it outperforms the $299 more expensive model almost across the board. → Read More
Just in time for graduation shopping, the $999 white 13-inch MacBook is now a bit more powerful. This is the second time that Apple has updated the least expensive Mac notebook. This round of updates isn’t as impressive, but we’ll take anything we can get. → Read More
This, without the keyboard Harry G. Frankfurt wrote a great essay on the concept of “bullshit,” explaining that it is the locus of truth and and falsehood, the “deliberate making of false claims about what is true.” “In fact, bullshit need not be untrue at all,” he writes. Well, the boys at BBG just picked up on a little pet peeve of mine: analysts and their various prognostications. To wit: Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray who has been predicting an Apple tablet “coming very soon” since 2007. → Read More
Praise Jeebus! Today in Sunnyvale, CA, Sanho announced the world’s first external battery pack for all MacBook laptops. The HyperMac is available in 60Wh, 100Wh, 150Wh and 222Wh capacities with built-in variable power tech that adjusts output based on the MacBook model that’s being charged. You can also plug in your iPhone or just anything else via a USB port. Each HyperMac model is rechargeable up to 1000 times and comes with a one-year warranty. → Read More
As Apple’s WWDC gets ever closer the rumors begin to hot up. Today’s drivel: the MacBook and MacBook Pro may see slight upgrades there. Apple may throw in built-in 3G support, along with the usual speed bumps; it may also make the battery more difficult to remove, in the interest of aesthetics. → Read More
The bottom casing cracking issue that some folks have been experiencing in their 13-inch white MacBooks is real and Apple is willing to replace your MacBook if it happens to you, so sayeth the latest Apple service bulletin.
This is similar to the iPhone cracking syndrome that was eventually accepted as truth but don’t try to take your MacBook back if you dropped it out the window. → Read More
Eddie Zarick, the guy who stuffed an LCD into the little cut out Apple logo on his Macbook. While you’re not going to get much overall usability value out of the mod, it’s still quite cool.
Ed has published a full tutorial on how we worked his magic and it doesn’t look hard as long as you don’t mind cracking open your MacBook. → Read More
Whoa, now here’s a patent that’s actually worth discussing. (The majority of patents are boring, that’s the implication.) Apple filed a patent last September (but just now made public) that would turn give your iPhone or MacBook the ability to determine your identity, thereby increasing its security. That is, the device would have a built-in scanner, biometric or otherwise, that would determine if you’re really you, if that makes any sense at all. You touch the iPhone’s screen and it recognizes your fingerprint; hello, world! You place your palm on your MacBook’s palm rest and trackpad and the computer recognizes you; no password needed anymore! → Read More
Cupertino designers, eat your apple out. This guy hardwired a LCD to run as a second display on his MacBook which means the chap can display anything he wants on the Apple – including a iSight feed. Looks great! Video after the break of the screen in action. → Read More
You don’t need that old SuperDrive, do you? Just pop it out of your MB or MBP and pop in this OptiBay hard drive for unibody laptops. You can use the system as a pair of separate drives or as a RAID drive. The upgrade uses SATA and comes in 250GB, 320GB, and 500GB versions. → Read More
This is by no means a real Apple product, nor are we trying to pass it off as one. The notebook above is simply a clever mock-up of what a an Apple MacBook Mini (read: netbook) could look like. The touchpad/wrist rest folds on top of the keyboard and then the screen folds down. Plausible? Sure, but it’s also plausible that Microsoft will upgrade Windows Vista suckers for free to Windows 7; extremely unlikely, but still plausible. → Read More
If you could care less about the unibody MacBook, Apple has packed the same innards into the old, white plastic models. Sure, the unibody supposedly gives you a more stable construction and adds the button-less glass touchpad, but the plastic option is 300 bones less. That’s a lot and should result in numerous buyers to sit back in their chairs and think about which one too buy. Our thoughts after the break. → Read More
A third-party Mac repair company will now slap a matte screen on your 15-inch MacBook Pro. You’ll remember that when the MacBook Pro was introduced in October, plenty of people freaked out because Apple didn’t offer a matte option. → Read More
Welcome to our live coverage of Phil Schiller’s MacWorld 2009 keynote. We are hoping and praying that the server holds out so we’re no trying any special tricks this time – just good old fashioned blog posting. To see updates, please hit F5 to refresh. → Read More
MacWorld is going to be amazing this year because, get this, there will be a new MBP announced. 9to5Mac reports that the 17-inch MacBook Pro will come in the unibody aluminium design and include a long-life battery pack that is not removable. D’oh! → Read More
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