New and Noteworthy: Verizon's EVDO For MacBook Pro: Almost Too Easy; Dell Precision more than twice price of Mac Pro; more

Verizon's EVDO ExpressCard For MacBook Pro: Almost Too Easy GearLog reports on installation of Verizon's EVDO ExpressCard in the MacBook Pro. "This is the way things are supposed to work. I took Verizon Wireless' new V640 EVDO ExpressCard down to the Apple Store in SoHo, installed the drivers from the included CD, and popped it into a MacBook Pro. Within a few seconds, I had high-speed, go-anywhere Internet access, completely integrated into Mac OS 10.4.7 - check out the photo at left. (Click on it for a bigger image.) A reception indicator appears in the MacBook Pro's task bar; you pop a menu down to connect, and then you're online. It couldn't be easier." More.

Dell Precision more than twice price of Apple Mac Pro PC Advisor has some further price comparisons between the Mac Pro and similarly configured machines from Dell. "I configured a Dell Precision 690 to match the tech specs of Apple's base Mac Pro. In fact, I even paid to add more RAM to the Mac to exactly match the Dell. And the saving was still £2,046! Enough for me to add a second DVD-R drive and Apple's iLife suite of creative apps, and still be less than half price. Dell Precision 690, dual Xeon 2.66GHz, 2GB RAM, 250GB hard drive, 256MB nVidia graphics: £3,975 (inc. VAT). Apple Mac Pro, dual Xeon 2.66GHz, 2GB RAM, 250GB hard drive, 256MB nVidia graphics: £1,929 (inc. VAT). More.

Weighing a Switch to a Mac The New York Times has a brief article about switching to the Mac. "I spoke with a number of Windows users who had recently switched to Macs. Their reasons varied, but their experiences had some notable similarities. In many cases, since they had mastered Windows long ago, learning the Mac interface, essentially from scratch, took more time than expected. [...] Danielle Wang, 26, of Austin, Tex., bought her first Mac six weeks ago. She took the advice of a friend and decided to buy a MacBook to replace her Windows-based laptop, a Sony Vaio, which she said had been stolen.[...] Over all, Ms. Wang is glad she switched. She likes the Mac interface and says she is likely to remain a Mac owner for the foreseeable future. 'It was the right decision,' she said. 'I really love my Mac right now.'" More.

Previously on MacFixIt:

• Security Update 2006-004 for Mac Pro released
• Mac Pro (#3): RAM specifications and clarifications; Noise levels; RAM shipment delays; Take-apart pictures
• Xcode 2.4 released: Stability and performance enhancements
• Motorola cable modems slower with some Macs than with PCs (#2): Workarounds; Word from Motorola; more
• Apple CHUD Tools 4.4.2 released
• Microsoft Office 2004 11.2.6 released: Plugs security holes

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