Air

School is back in session, meaning students have folders full of syllabi, schedules, and other paperwork you're likely to reference as the semester goes on. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to carry all of it around with you all the time, without overloading your backpack?

Thanks to a handful of iOS apps, you can scan whatever paper documents you might need easy access to and store them on your iPhone, in the cloud, or on your computer with just a few taps.

I've found five apps that will help you quickly scan and organize documents. … Read more

Both Twitter and Facebook have offered vanity URLs personalized to users' accounts for years -- something that has been glaringly vacant in Google Plus' URLs. But, that's about to change.

Google's social network announced today that vanity URLs for profiles and pages are on their way. It has even begun rolling out a few for celebrities, like soccer player David Beckham and pop singer Britney Spears, along with brands like Toyota, Delta, and Hugo Boss.

Here's what Google product manager Saurabh Sharma wrote in a blog post today:

Some say that printers are soon to be extinct. Others rant about their hate for the dead-tree format. And most recently, research has shown that printer companies are, in fact, experiencing a slow and steady demise.

But if you're a student, connoisseur of Pinterest printables, or just appreciate hard copies, the printer still holds a very important place in your home or office.

Thing is, you might not necessarily be at your desktop computer when you realize the need to print something out. If more of your time is spent on your iOS device, like an iPhone or iPad, … Read more

Apple didn't make any big design changes to the 2012 MacBook Air, but the company did upgrade the machine's hardware. In this week's episode of Cracking Open, I take you inside this year's 11-inch Air and show you what's changed.… Read more

Whether you have been using Apple's latest operating system for the Mac, OS X Mountain Lion, for a while now, or you are just installing it, you'll benefit from reading through some of the tips below. Some of them are ways to improve on the overall experience, while others will bring back past functionality. Let's get started, shall we?

Preparing your Mac When upgrading the operating system, no matter your platform of choice, it's always a great idea to not go into it blindly. Be prepared, and more importantly, make sure you computer is prepared. Some … Read more

When a hot Apple product hits the market, it has a tendency to spur a cottage industry of accessories. The MacBook Air is no exception, with several companies making MacBook Air cases and covers.

Since the Air's design hasn't really changed in the last couple of years, most of the cases, covers, and sleeves that worked for the older 11- and 13-inch 2010 and 2011 models should work with the updated 2012 MacBook Air versions.

As always, feel free to make your own suggestions for cases and covers you like and we'll consider adding them in the next update.

Click on any image to start slideshow. Cases are listed in alphabetical order.

Updated August 8, 2012 with four new cases.… Read more

NASA said today that its experimental X-48C hybrid wing-body airplane took flight for the first time.

A remotely powered prototype that's housed at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave Desert, the X-48C is thought to be the future of efficient, long-haul aviation.

The plane is known as a hybrid wing-body because it's essentially a cross between a flying-wing design and a conventional plane. NASA and its partners in the U.S. Air Force, Boeing, and Cranfield Aerospace are confident the aircraft will offer users long-term fuel efficiency, fuel capacity, … Read more

Analysts are not kind to ultrabooks. Add Tim Bajarin to that long list.

Though the Creative Strategies president offers plenty of reasons for ultrabooks' woes, one of the more intriguing is that Apple products are boxing ultrabooks into a pricing dead zone.

The mid-range, between $799 and $899 -- where an increasing number of ultrabooks are priced -- "may be going away," Bajarin wrote in a recent post.

That's the upper end of the pricing range of Apple's very popular iPad. And above that, it's a MacBook market -- which Bajarin says consumers will pay … Read more

Apple's latest 2011-2012 MacBook Air and 2012 Retina MacBook Pro systems support a new power-saving mode called PowerNap, which allows the systems to perform a number of background tasks when in Sleep mode, thereby maintaining low power but preventing a flurry of synchronization and update activity when the system is woken up.

When activated, the system should go into Sleep mode as usual, but periodically you should see activity with an attached Time Machine drive, and also see received e-mail messages, updated contacts, iCloud content, and also be able to use Apple's Find My Mac remote access features. … Read more