macbook

Extending MacBook Pro speed and capacity with dual drive upgrades

There is no doubt that when compared to a mechanical hard drive, the new solid state drive (SSD) technology is by far superior in terms of speed. Data access and throughput can be well above 4x faster than a contemporary mechanical drive, and using it as your main boot drive widens a major bottleneck, resulting in exceptionally quick boot-ups, application launches, sleep and wake events, and shutdowns. Beyond speed, the drives also have a number of additional perks, including cooler operation than most mechanical drives, power efficiency resulting in longer battery life for laptops, silent operation, and higher tolerance for … Read more

Analyst: New MacBook Air with Lion due in July

Apple's refresh of the MacBook Air should come in July packing Apple's newest OS X Lion operating system, a Deutsche Bank analyst said today.

"Our checks suggest a forthcoming MacBook Air refresh in July where we believe units could ramp to as high as 1.5M units per [quarter] or 50 percent of the MacBook business," analyst Chris Whitmore wrote in a research note distributed via e-mail.

If the MacBook Air garnered half of all of Apple's MacBook business, that would be a significant milestone, as early versions of the Air, dating back to January 2008, were not that popular compared with other MacBook offerings.

The most significant upgrade to the Air is expected to be the switch to Intel's new Sandy Bridge processors. Less certain is whether the new models get the high-speed Thunderbolt port, though it has been widely reported that they will.

Whitmore's note continued: "We also believe Lion will drive a strong upgrade cycle due to: 1) low ASP; 2) significant enhancements/feature upgrades; and 3) arrives in conjunction with MacBook Air refresh."

Whitmore also commented on OS X Lion, saying that among its 250-plus new features, the most important improvements include iCloud, multitouch gestures, "mission control," and "resume." These will "spur a large part of the 54 [million] Mac installed base to upgrade," he wrote.

OS X Lion also benefits Apple because it is available only through Apple's App store, which means no retail distribution costs for Apple, Whitmore said. … Read more

A MacBook with Apple inside? Intel begs to differ

Rumors about Apple developing a MacBook with one of its own chips--not Intel's--were advanced on Friday, based on a post at a Japanese-language Web site. An Intel executive had some thoughts on the subject.

Let's get right to the post on the Japanese Web site Macotakara Kanteidan about the rumored MacBook Air test vehicle packing a Thunderbolt port. In a Japanese-language post entitled "Is an A5-equipped MacBook Air being tested?" the site claims that "according to someone who has seen a model running with [Apple's] A5 processor, the performance is better than had been thought."

Assuming the report is credible, that's a pretty big leap from a frantic rumor about Apple "dumping Intel" to a real system running on the A5, the Apple-branded chip--based on an ARM design--that's used in the iPad 2.

To date, Apple's ultrathin MacBook Air has run exclusively on Intel processors. And that's expected to continue when Apple announces new Airs based on Intel's "Sandy Bridge" processors this summer, based on my own sources who are familiar with Apple's plans.

I asked Intel's marketing chief Tom Kilroy about this latest report early today.… Read more

Lenovo: USB 3.0 mainstream in 2012

Lenovo's top product manager for the popular ThinkPad line says USB 3.0 will go mainstream in 2012, while Intel sees the new Thunderbolt interface gravitating to some high-end nonmainstream laptop models.

This week, Lenovo began selling its ThinkPad X1, a 0.85-inch thick (thickest point), 3.8-pound design based on Intel's "Sandy Bridge" Core i5 and i7 processors.

Beyond the obvious attractions of a svelte, high-powered laptop, the X1 also sports an increasingly popular USB port based on the "SuperSpeed" 3.0 specification. USB is one of the most widely used connection technologies … Read more

Track any Mac

If you've ever wanted to expand your Mac's capabilities, you probably wondered what--and how much--your machine could handle. This free utility eliminates the guesswork, providing current, comprehensive, and accurate technical specifications on every Mac known to man, from Cupertino's latest right on down to the vintage Macintosh 128K, along with technical information on servers, other Apple devices, and OS software stretching back to System 2.0.1.

Mactracker maintains data on everything from maximum RAM and processor speed to performance benchmarks, expansion slots, firmware, built-in hardware, and more--all in a clean, newly redesigned interface that provides strong … Read more

This Day in Tech: Twitter followers help recover stolen MacBook

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Monday, May 16.

Tired of being tracked online by Google and Facebook? Before total exposure, check out some private communication and browser options.

Folks, don't try this at home: watch an iPad 2 get run over by a car and...survive! The durable tablet was protected with a G-Form "extreme" sleeve.

Growing up in the age of digital cameras and Facebook must be hard: you always know what the picture looks as soon as you take it. … Read more

5 Thunderbolt Mac peripherals we'd like to see

Speed matters. It's why faster 4G data networks are gaining in popularity; it's why we buy new computers with better processors. This is the appeal of Thunderbolt, the Intel-developed high-speed data port that's popping up on new Macs in 2011. So far, it's in 2011 MacBook Pros and iMacs.

Thunderbolt is lightning-quick, as the name suggests. Transfer speeds are 10Gbps--twice as fast as USB 3.0--and it works both ways, into and out of your computer. HD video and data can be carried back and forth over the same tiny cable, with a connection port that'… Read more

Apple issues several Thunderbolt-related updates

Apple has updated several machine models with Thunderbolt-related enhancements. Included are brand-new iMacs and MacBook Pro models, each with general Mac OS X fixes and improved stability and performance for the new Thunderbolt technology.

The updates can be downloaded via Software Update for qualifying machines.

MacBook Pro Software Update 1.4 This update fixes graphic stability and other issues relating to external displays and 3D performance. It also includes an update for Thunderbolt support.

MacBook Pro EFI Update 2.1 This update includes a fix for Turbo Mode in Boot Camp as well as the Thunderbolt update.

iMac EFI Update … Read more

Apple releases MacBook Pro and iMac EFI and software updates

Apple has released a few updates for the firmware and operating system software for the latest MacBook Pro and iMac models that address problems with Boot Camp, graphics stability and external display support, and also some bugs with the new Thunderbolt I/O connection technology.

These updates are specific to the new MacBook Pro and iMac models released this year that have the Thunderbolt technology, so if you have an older MacBook model then you do not need to download these updates. If you are unsure whether or not you need the update, just check Software Update on your system (… Read more

Macs that await refreshing: 2011

We're several days into May, and another Mac has gotten upgraded to 2011 Intel processors. MacBook Pros, check. iMacs, check. Now that two of Apple's most popular lines have gotten necessary upgrades, it's time to look at which Macs still haven't gotten updated...and wonder when those updates will occur.

In order of our best guess as to when they'll be refreshed, here are the Macs we're still expecting.

The white MacBook (last updated: mid-April 2010) Apple's lone white laptop has survived for years, and now that white's the new black in … Read more