Archive for: macbook
Yup folks, you heard that right, it’s giveaway time. November is upon us and it’s time for giving thanks, and well it’s also time for food. And what better to eat your food next to than a brand new stand for you laptop or iPad! After using these for a short while and testing em out, we’ve decided it was time to shower you – our readers – with goodies.
After the break you’ll have a short review on both as well as instructions that will net you something to lay your gorgeous MacBook Air on!
To some Macs of any type are nothing more than a status symbol, showing others you like to flaunt your money. But nothing quite says “I expel monetary notes from my rectal cavity” like a 24-karat gold plated MacBook Pro. Starting for a cool $5k, Computer Choppers will take your 13″, 15″ or 17″ MacBook Pro and turn it into the super shiny, uber expensive (perhaps) piece of art you see above. Choppers claims the finish is scratch proof and that no extra care is needed. We on the other hand would recommend at least two 300+ lb. body guards, a couple 9mm, and perhaps even a ninja for those ultra dangerous scenarios.
Build time is 3-4 weeks. Though if you just can’t wait, there is a rush shipping option available for an extra fee. Any takers…?
The sources smuggling information to the MacRumor crew have released some neat little tidbits into the future of our beloved MacBook family. Apple is rumored to be in the late testing stages of an ultra thin 15″ MacBook Pro. We aren’t sure if this will have the Pro branding or get the sexy Air brand, but we can all agree this is a good step by Apple.
Over the past couple years we’ve seen many updates to the entire line of MacBooks – most recently the Air line which in turn gave us the loss of the plain ‘ol white MacBook. All in all, even with the current lineup we have, they are all pretty. But with ultra portability and sexy design at the forefront of our minds when purchasing, Apple has to keep up. After releasing the beauty that is the 2011 Airs, we’re left wondering what’ll happen to the bigger beefier older brother. With the last update for the Pros being back in February – it can definitely be time for some changes come the Holidays, which is when the new releases are rumored to happen.
Apple is speculated to take design tips from the Air and drop em into the MacBook Pro line – which would give the MacBook line design change, something we haven’t seen in years. We are hoping to see the notebooks slimmed out, utilize a SSD drive but also elevate the optical drive. It’s 2011, soon to be 2012, no one uses compact discs anymore – especially for software. If Apple can create an Air like notebook with Pro like guts – we’ll be all over em.
TUAW chimes in saying that these will fall into the Pro branding – along with a 17″ model.
We’re not going to lie. We’re still going through the honeymoon with our new 11.6″ and 13.3″ MacBook Airs. And even though we look forward to new Apple hardware releases to see what the company intends to keep us customers for another year, more frugal shoppers looking to save a few dollars can walk away with quite a deal. But for those who are looking to spend a little less for that Apple fix — the previous generation 11.6″ MacBook Air powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor can be had for as low as $834.99 via Best Buy and $749 from Apple’s own online store. Moving up to the 13.3″ Core 2 Duo-powered MacBook Air raises the cost a bit to $999. Still, that’s considerably cheaper than what these units went for just a few short days ago.
While we can certainly understand the draw an OS X powered machine for a shockingly low $749 may possess, we see the new Core i5 and i7 processors, backlit keyboards, and Thunderbolt port as reasons that far outweigh the $100-$250 savings. Sometimes it’s just worth spending that little extra bit…
Fans of the MacBook Air and Mac Mini are no doubt cartwheeling around their living rooms right now as Apple just took the wraps off of newly tweaked hardware featuring among other things, the latest version of OS X (Lion) pre-installed. However, if the plastic MacBook was the gem of your eye, things are taking on a much more somber tone this morning — your entry-level jewel is now dead.
In the age of sexy aluminum Apple hardware and ever falling prices products such as the MacBook Air touching the plastic MacBook’s price point, the aging beauty simply wasn’t needed.
But fret not, dear plastic MacBook lover. You do have one last saving grace — refurbs. They may not be brand spankin’ new anymore, but it’s something, right?
- February 23, 2011 7:05 am
We haven’t said much about the various MacBook Pro refresh rumors thus far, but with this morning’s more legitimate claims from an ever growing list of sources we can’t hold off any longer. First up, the 16GB SSD OS/boot drive rumors are all but confirmed. This dual-mode solution gives you a super fast boot/shutdown times and over OS responsiveness while the second HDD will allow you to store heaps of files. We’re hearing that Apple will also allow customers to swap out the Superdrive for a second SSD.
Display options include a new, higher resolution 1440 x 900 option for the 13″ MBPs along with a matte-screen choice for the higher end MBP baby. The 15″ MBP will gain a 1680 x 1050 resolution panel (1920 x 1080 still available as an upgrade). Finally, the 13″ and 15″ MBPs will ship with 4GB of RAM standard with the 17″ getting a nice boost to 8GB out the door.
Even better than the above goodies comes by way of a claimed 12 hour battery life for the 13″ MBP and still plenty respectable 11-hour battery life for the 15 incher.
But the one rumor that has most people in an uproar currently is that these latest MBPs will feature Intel’s new LightPeak technology (rebranded “ThunderBolt”), which offers 10Gb/s transfers rates — double that of USB 3.0. Further adding fuel to the fire, an image leaked showing a new mysterious port on a MBP. Whether it is Light Peak (or even a MBP) are still unconfirmed.
Of course, it will take a bit of time for hardware manufacturers to build peripherals and accessories for the new technology. But having it standard on Apple hardware moving forward could provide very fruitful for adoption. Intel is holding a Light Peak even on Thursday, with Apple’s unveiling supposedly happening later the same day.
Stay tuned as we’ll be all over it!
Update
German Apple site fscklog has what they claim to be a snapshot of the 13″ MBP spec sheet. Looks like these “rumors” are getting more real as the morning goes on.
In other news, I have a MBP for sale…
The funky-looking “Pentaglobe” screws that Apple started using in 2009′s MacBook Pro are continuing their assault on our iDevices. A video (after the jump) from iFixIt details Apple’s current plans of replacing the stock phillips screws with the newer, more tamper proof pentaglobe screws whenever customers bring their iPhones in for service. To most iPhone users, this change doesn’t mean much as they’ll never crack open their phones. But to those who do for whatever reason, you’ll want to pick up some new screwdrivers to get past Apple’s latest anti-tampering attempts. And wouldn’t you know it, iFixIt has just the solution for $9.95.
Is your drool cup full after weeks of waiting for any new news regarding Core i5/i7 updated Macbook Air/Pros and Mac Pros? I just as much as anyone love a well put together computer with beastly internals to match. But a $400 premium for Intel’s “latest” Core i5/i7 chips? Ya, no thank you. The image above was captured from Austrailian site, PC Authority. Whether the prices listed are USD or not I’m not sure, which could explain the price discrepancy. If these are an early look at the new pricing however, it’s pretty disappointing.
The current Macbook Pro for instance jumped from a starting price of $1,499 to $1,899. If the only real changes are the Core i5/i7 chips, “rip-off” would be a good place to start with the descriptions. I mean, it’s not like a Core i7 980x is going in this thing. The Mac Pro could see the 980x and is of course an option with a heavy pricetag, but that shouldn’t effect the starting price much if any.
I’m still eager for the official new systems none the less. I’m just hoping (along with millions of other people) that Apple didn’t jack up the prices by $400 or more just for the new processors. If they do, will it change your purchasing decision one way or the other?
Update: After taking a quick job through the inter webs, it’s not Australia alone that’s displaying weird pricing. New Zealand is also getting in on the pricing inconstancies. At this point, I’m going to say it’s nothing more than a few people (myself included) forgetting about the whole price difference from land mass to land mass for a few seconds, getting all riled up. Though we should know the truth soon enough.
Engadget > PC Authority
So it looks like thieves rappelled down into a Best Buy from a hole they cut into the roof. With not one alarm or motion sensor being set off during the entire heist, it leaves law enforcements stunned at the “High level of sophistication.” The stealth team of *amazing* burglars used a saw to cut through the rubber and metal of the roof, rappelled down to where the Apple products were being stored, grabbed around 20, without touching the ground, concealed by numerous banners from all security cameras, yanked up 20 or so Apple MacBooks, and were able to escape on a 3 inch gas pipe that runs from the roof to the ground. Upon arrival by employees the next morning is when the products were seen as missing.
I’m amazed at the pure dedication and craftiness of these guys. This is an amazing *movie* type heist, that people from the same area as those in ‘Jersey Shore’, were able to pull off. I mean, really? How the hell does this happen, who the hell does this type of stuff? This isn’t a Hollywood blockbuster, this is New friggin Jersey. An expert in security was quoted as saying, “I would say they were a professional crew,” who is based in Atlanta, Ga., but does work throughout the nation.” DUH! No one is ‘that’ talented in New Jersey!
Either way, I am impressed in the extremely high level of planning this might have taken, I have always been a big fan of ‘heist’ movies, so this story really caught my attention. If anyone in the Northern Indiana area would love to attempt this with me, please post your comments below 
New Jersey Real Time News
