macbook

MacBook Pro notebooks get a boost, Sprint ends unlimited 4G for non-smartphone devices, and we learn more about the man behind Apple with the release of the official biography of Steve Jobs.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Apple has refreshed its MacBook Pros with small but noteworthy bumps in speed, storage, and graphics power, and all prices remain the same.

Unveiled this weekend, the upgrades run across the board to include the 13-inch, 15-inch, and 17-inch models.

The entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro now sports a 2.4GHz processor, inching up from 2.3GHz previously, while its hard drive capacity has been upgraded to 500GB from 320GB. The $1,499 13-inch MacBook Pro is now powered by a 2.8GHz processor, from 2.7GHz previously, and the hard drive has been beefed up to 750 gigabytes from 500GB.… Read more

Just when you thought it was safe to buy a new Apple product. New MacBook Pros may be on the way, according to a pair of Apple enthusiast Web sites.

9to5Mac kicked off the speculation last week when it claimed new MacBook Pros may be launching soon.

And Apple Insider is now chiming in, saying the launch date may be later than 9to5Mac's wager on next week.

Apple Insider adds that the shutdown of facilities at Catcher Technology--which makes the aluminum chassis for MacBook Pros--isn't helping matters.

Whatever the timing turns out to be, updates to all … Read more

Apple MacBook Pro shipments might be hobbled by the unexpected closure of some of Catcher Technology's manufacturing plant facilities in Suzhou, China, according to a new report.

According to a Catcher filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday, local authorities in Suzhou over the weekend closed some of Catcher's computer chassis production facilities after local residents complained of "odors" emanating from factories. In the note to investors, Catcher said yesterday that it plans to fix the machines causing the problem, and expects them to be back up and running by the end of this month.

However, … Read more

An issue that has been plaguing some owners of MacBook Pro systems is a black-screen bug where systems will suddenly show a black and unresponsive display after performing specific tasks that may be as simple as moving a window, resizing screen elements, or when waking the system from sleep. The problem may show a kernel panic, but generally just displays the black screen and requires users to press the power button to restart the systems.

This issue was first widely noted when OS X 10.7 was released, but it soon became clear that the problem was present (albeit less … Read more

For laptops or any portable device, perhaps obviously one of the more important features is battery life, and how to get the most time out of the device without needing to plug it in.

Apple ships its laptops with an advertised 5 to 7 hours of battery life, but depending on how you use your system you may find the battery life to be well below that. For instance, my 2009 MacBook Pro gets about 5 to 6 hours of battery life instead of the advertised 7 to 8 hours. This is remarkable battery performance given the battery's age … Read more

Our guest today is Robin Yang of Toy Studio, one of Barnes & Noble's premier gaming publishers for the Nook Color tablet. She'll help us out with the rundown that includes stories about the real 53 percent, the long-awaited Facebook app for the iPad, MacBook Air competitor Ultrabooks from Asus, and how to run Android apps on a PC.… Read more

Dell is going to go after Apple's MacBook Air again, part of its broader strategy to take on the entire MacBook line.

The new ultraslim laptop could come around the CES time frame, according to industry sources familiar with Dell's plans.

There was also a separate report this week that said Dell is prepping an Ultrabook--the Windows camp answer to the MacBook Air. Whether the rumored Ultrabook is the same laptop that Dell sources are referring to is unclear.

Whatever the case, it is all part of a broader Dell push to take on the MacBook line. This week, the Round Rock, Texas-based company announced the XPS 14z, aimed squarely at the 13-inch MacBook Pro. (Dell claims its bezel-less display design makes it close to a 13-inch MacBook Pro in size.) And, in May, Dell brought out the XPS 15z that targets the 15-inch MacBook Pro. … Read more

IDG's news service reports that Intel is reassuring owners of current-generation Thunderbolt devices about the future of the cutting-edge input standard. Indirectly quoting Intel's Dave Salvator, IDG reports, "Thunderbolt ports on Apple's current Macintosh computers will be compatible with upcoming fiber optic cables, which should be ready by next year."

The current generation of Thunderbolt ports on Apple's most recent MacBook Air, iMac, Mac Mini, and MacBook Pro computers all rely on a first-generation copper-based Thunderbolt design. While certainly fast--offering 10Gbps data throughput both in-coming and outgoing simultaneously--copper-based Thunderbolt ports were more of a … Read more