Refreshed MacBooks: “More likely.” No major shape/size changes, but faster laptops at lower prices.

Apple Tablet: “More likely.” Shope wouldn’t be shocked if Apple released a tablet soon to take advantage of its exclusive, multi-touch technology on a product with a bigger screen.

iPhone nano: “Less likely.” It makes sense that Apple would extend the iPhone family the way it’s done with its computers, iPods, etc. And a cheaper, slimmed-down iPhone could reach a broader audience than today’s. Just not so soon after it launched the iPhone 3G, which has strong demand.

Super-cheap laptop: “Less likely.” Eventually, Apple will need to come out with a laptop under $800 to tap into new markets. But Shope’s conversations with Apple “suggest that the company may not be ready for such a drastic change in product strategy in the near-term.”

Super-cheap desktop: “Less likely.” An all-in-one, not the Mac mini, which would expose Apple to the “sweet spot of the desktop market fairly quickly.” Just not convinced Apple is ready to play in the “discount PC market” yet.

Mac TV: “Even less likely,” a “long shot.” Apple could skip the set-top box by building its Apple TV software into a flat-panel TV. While Shope (and we) would probably be buyers, he thinks “this seems a bit outside of Apple’s normal sphere of business for now.”

According to alleyinsider

Make sure you order the right size for your MacBook (13″) and for your MacBook Pro (15.4″ or 17″).

From engadget

“1) Only use the battery as needed. For example the less you use the battery the long it will last. Instead of using the battery only a little and then recharging keep it plugged in.

2) Drain the battery down. Although it is not as need as much, it has shown (on my battery) that by draining the battery down and then doing a recharge it seems to make the battery last as long as possible.

3) Keep your battery cool. Batteries are designed to run at around 15 degrees Celsius. So if you keep your battery really hot, for example using it outside all day, or two cold (inside a fridge). By keeping your battery at a good temperature you may keep the charge longer and more healthy.

4) Calibrate your battery. It keeps it up to date with the maximum and minimum battery capacity and helps you computer work out how to use its charge more effectively.

5) Keep firmware the latest. Download the latest firmwares and it will help. Although you may not see an immediate difference. It will help you keep it in tip top shape.

Finally buy a new battery. If you battery has really died, and has become a lump of metal it might be time to buy a new battery. Until we develop a battery that always keeps its charge you may have to keep replacing them every 18months.”

[via]

[via]

Premier Event: Saturday, March 22, 2008.

Mac Day L.A.
CBS Studio Center — “Radford Studios”
4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City CA 91604
Website: Macdayla (for details and required RSVP)

“Do you remember Charlie? About a year ago, Apple refused to sell her a computer because she had “too many gift cards.” The story became very popular (thanks, digg!) and Apple eventually let Charlie buy her computer.

If you thought this meant that you could use as many gift cards as you wanted in order to buy a computer from Apple, you’d be wrong. Rather than correcting the problem, they simply changed their gift card FAQ. It now reads:

Can I use multiple gift cards when making a purchase?
Yes. You can use up to six cards when making a purchase at a retail Apple Store and up to four cards at the online Apple Store

That’s too bad for reader Rhys. Rhys, like Charlie, has 7 gift cards and no access to the Apple Store.

I have exactly the same problem.
I have 7 gift cards totaling $1250. Apple refuses to sell me a computer despite having $1250 upfront.

As soon as I found I could not enter more than half my gift cards on the Apple website, I used their online chat facility. That didn’t work out so I rang Apple and was passed from Sales to Customer Service and told “no” all the way. I have filed a complaint against them with the Better Business Bureau.

Right now I’m more interested in getting money back on my gift cards than in ever getting an Apple computer, given the stupid nonsense they’ve been giving me. I understand that New York law treats gift cards like cash and states that a refund must be given for them so I might follow that route. Having said that, my next most immediate thing is to look into SC law.

We’re disappointed to hear that Apple is still treating their customers this way, because we thought the issued had been resolved. We know Apple can process this order because they did it for Charlie.

We guess that solution was just to stop all the negative PR.

What a shame! Apple has $1250 of Rhys’ money and Rhys has no computer.

Here’s some Apple people Rhys can send a complaint to:

abarney@apple.com
katiec@apple.com
dowling@apple.com
lfox@apple.com
anuj@apple.com

In addition, he could call Diana at (408 974 6401) or Sam Spoor at 800-676-2775 ext. 46447.”

MacBook Pro – The latest Intel processor, a bigger hard drive, plenty of memory, and even more new features all fit inside just one liberating inch. The new MacBook Pro has the performance, power, and connectivity of a desktop computer. Without the desk part.

MacBook – Faster is just the beginning. The new MacBook features the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, larger hard drives, and up to 2GB of memory standard. Best of all, MacBook still starts at $1099. It’s the same does-everything-you-want notebook but better.

Order one now

MacBook Air users might need to move their new ultra-thin laptops to keep bits moving to and fro, Apple said in a note on its support site, just one of several problems posted now that the new portable has started shipping.

Among the documents that populate the support section Apple unveiled this week for its newest Mac was one that outlined an issue between the Air and some external monitors. “If your MacBook Air is closed and an external display is your only display, you may notice a reduction of throughput for wireless networks that use the 2.4GHz band,” Apple said in a document published on the newly-opened MacBook Air section of the company’s online support site.

To fix the problem and get throughput back on track, Apple recommends that users try another channel on the wireless access point, switch frequency ranges, or move the MacBook Air closer to the base station.

Other MacBook Air wireless issues, according to Apple, involve slow speeds when connected to multiple Bluetooth devices and balky routers that refuse to work the Remote Disc magic. For the latter, Apple suggested that users update the firmware of their non-Apple 802.11n wireless routers to get disc-sharing operational.

Apple also confirmed that MacBook Air users who want to install Windows XP or Vista in a Boot Camp partition must have an…

Read the rest

FYI: There’s a separate RSS Feed for the week’s picks, which I usually post on Sundays. Here’s the RSS Feed for that: Mac Games and More Weekly Picks (RSS Feed)

MacBook Air

MacBook Air Dissected – As soon as we got our MacBook Air, we couldn’t help but want to tear it down to its innards. We wanted to see what made up this beautiful machine, so we grabbed our #00 phillips screwdriver and had at it. Want to know what we found? The sexiest and simplest notebook has the sexiest and simplest construction. [from Gizmodo] Update: They will post videos later.

MacBook Air: First Lab Tests - Macworld Lab releases its first tests of the MacBook Air, detailing just what level of performance you’ll have to sacrifice if you want to take advantage of its small size and light weight.

Americans Don’t Read – During Macworld, Steve Jobs told the New York Times that Apple will not make an e-book reader like Amazon’s Kindle because Americans don’t read any longer.He cited a specific number: 40 percent of Americans read a book or less a year, he said.Jobs may have been referring to a November report from the National Endowment of the Arts, To Read or Not To Read, which found that nearly 50 percent of 18-24 year-olds do not read at all for pleasure. Described as the most complete survey of reading trends, the report says Americans aged 15-24 spend two hours a day watching TV, but only 7-10 minutes reading. This includes reading for school or college.”The story the data tell is simple, consistent, and alarming,” wrote Dana Gioia, Chairman of the NEA.The decline of reading has considerable social, economic and civil consequences, says the NEA, and coincides with the rise of TV and the internet. [from Cult of Mac]

Click here to watch the vid

Like most everyone else, I suspect, I was blown away by the MacBook Air’s reveal Tuesday. As a long-time fan of ultra-small notebooks (we still own and use a 12-inch PowerBook G4 in the Griffiths household), my initial reactions involved reaching for my credit card and loading Apple’s store in my browser. These feelings were reinforced even more by a visit to the Apple booth, where picking up the little machine probably doesn’t even count as exercise. There’s no denying that the design—curves everywhere, with nary a straight corner to be found—and lack of weight in this machine are truly amazing. It makes my 15-inch MacBook Pro look and feel like a lead paperweight by comparison.

But then—rare, for me—reason intervened and started posing questions that I should answer before purchasing the machine. “So what happens, Rob, when the hard drive has an error and you have to reinstall OS X?” OK, that seems easy enough. I’ll just boot off the Leopard DVD…oh wait, no, I won’t do that unless I fork over the extra $99 for the USB-powered SuperDrive. OK, so I’ll use FireWire Target Disk Mode…nope, won’t do that either, as there’s no FireWire port (and I confirmed with an Apple representative that there’s no “USB Target Disk Mode” option.) And I won’t be able to use that cool and oh-so-handy “borrow a drive from another Mac” feature, as the hard drive won’t be bootable. So barring the extra $99 for the SuperDrive, the only solution will be to boot from a USB2 hard drive that’s been prepared with a disk-based version of the OS X installer.

But really, how often does a hard drive get an error like this? Not so often, and $99 is a small price to pay for insurance, so the SuperDrive solves that problem. Time to order! “Not so fast, Griff! What about the hard drive space? 80GB isn’t much by today’s standards.” While that’s true, in a small ultra-mobile Mac, I’m willing to take the tradeoff in drive space. Even on my MacBook Pro, I’m only using 85GB of the 120GB space I have available. So really, this isn’t a major issue—besides, I fully expect that some enterprising soul will demonstrate that Toshiba’s new 160GB 1.8-inch hard drive works just fine in the MacBook Air, and they’ll probably do so within a day or two of the machine’s availability in two weeks.

So it’s time to order, right? I’ve been waiting for years, after all! “Well, just hang on a sec. There’s One More Thing you need to think about. You do realize, don’t you, that the battery isn’t removable?” What?

Continue reading

From Wired:

An Apple insider told Wired today that the company’s new ultraportable, expected to be seen in public for the first time tomorrow, has an extremely thin profile and is shaped like a teardrop when closed — thicker at the top behind the screen, tapering at the bottom behind the keyboard.

“It’s unbelievably thin,” said the source.

The device is made of aluminum and glass, and uses the same design language as recent Apple consumer products: black on silver.

Sadly, we don’t have details on pricing, specs or availability. Expect reality to disagree with our photoshops.

Is this cable-free design the face of things to come? Our own Charlie Sorrel pointed out earlier today that the rumor mill hints of a new MacBook utterly devoid of cables. However, he wouldn’t speculate on its physical dimensions. But now we’ve got the, uh, skinny on what this new ultra slim, ultra portable actually looks like thanks to one source who says they saw this device in the wild.

Steve Jobs is widely expected to reveal a new MacBook at Macworld on Tuesday morning, and with the rumored name being “MacBook Air.”

Most people are expecting a conventional sub-notebook — a super-thin, lightweight laptop that ships without an optical CD/DVD drive. The MacBook Air may also dispense with a wired Ethernet port, according to rumor. It will be a purely wireless device, relying solely on Wi-Fi or other wireless technology for its connectivity — hence the “Air” moniker.

But the Air seems more like a ultra portable with a physical keyboard and multi-touch screen, according to our source (who we promised not to name but confirmed works at an Apple third-party vendor).

We’ll see tomorrow.

Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Yeah, POLLUTION. Sorry. Couldn’t resist. Anyway.

The rumors state that the new, ultra-thin, ultra-light MacBook would sport the name, “Air.”

For more check out live coverage of MWSF.

[via]

This is just wishful thinking but wouldn’t it be totally awesome if Apple reduced the amount of plastic on their MacBooks and replaced it with materials that are more sustainable? And pretty to boot. Wouldn’t you just LOVE Apple even more if they were more ecofriendly? I would. For example, these PC (*cough* *hack* *gag*) laptops have bamboo exteriors. Apple could surely make a version perhaps with lighter color bamboo. It would be totally sleek and wonderful. I would get one immediately!

iPod Touch – The iPod touch features Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch user interface that enables you to find and enjoy all of your music, videos, and more on its gorgeous widescreen display with just the touch of a finger.

MacBook – Stylishly and intelligently designed for your on-the-go digital lifestyle, Apple’s MacBook is the perfect confluence of affordability, innovation, and powerful computing. This latest iteration of the MacBook line is pre-loaded with Apple’s Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system, which adds over 300 new features including easy backup of your most important data via Time Machine, a redesigned desktop that helps eliminate clutter, and the newest version of the fast-loading Safari web browser. It also comes with the iLife ’08 suite of applications, including iPhoto, iMovie, Garageband, and iTunes.

Leopard – From the menu bar to the stunning new Dock, the Leopard desktop isn’t just about design. It’s about enjoying the time you spend on your Mac and getting more out of it.

Apple iLife – Never has it been so simple to get so much out of your photos, video, and music–and to share your memories with friends and family. The powerful new Events feature works the same way your memory does, automatically organizing your photos and video by the events where they were taken. The completely reinvented iMovie collects all your video clips in one library where you can make movies in seconds with drag-and-drop ease. GarageBand makes it simple to produce great music, whether you’re an accomplished musician or you’ve never played a note. You can showcase photos and movies online with a few clicks in a .Mac Web Gallery, create stunning websites, photo books, calendars, DVDs, and much more. All with the new iLife ’08.

Link: Amazon

“Oh?”

Read the whole story