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All posts tagged "laptop"


Thursday, July 19, 2012

How to Buy a Mac Laptop

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Laptops" @ 04:00 AM

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_...d&subj=MacFixIt

"If you are planning on purchasing a used MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air, then it is recommended you thoroughly test it to ensure it works properly."

Some great ideas in this article, should you be looking for a used (not refurbished from Apple) Apple laptop. It also gives you a list of equipment and programs to take along with you to test it and make sure it is working properly.


Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Decorate Your Mac, It Is The Holiday Season Right?

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Software (OS X)" @ 01:00 AM

http://www.maclife.com/article/howt...ur_mac_holidays

"The first of December is here, and while your neighbors may have already overdone it with the Christmas decorations, you might want to join in on the holiday fun."

If you really want to get into the Christmas spirit, then you might like to try some of these ideas to spruce up your desktop. Personally, I don't get too much into altering my screen since I have it how I like it now, but if you like to change it up for the holidays, here ya go!


Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Let's Run Through the Evolution of the Apple Laptop Shall We?

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Classic Apple" @ 03:00 AM

http://www.maclife.com/article/gall..._laptop#slide-0

"Word of an imminent MacBook refresh of some sort appear every day. Whether it be a new MacBook Air or the revamping of Apple's most popular laptop, it's interesting to take a look at how the design of the portable Mac has evolved over time."

The iBook G3 pictured above was the first one I ever had any hands on time with, as one of my co-workers brought hers in one night to work. I was still on the fence until they came out with the G4 Titanium in slide 10. Sold! Interesting retrospective of all the laptops over the years and it is fitting with all the rumors lately of a MacBook Air refresh. Which Apple laptop was your first?


Saturday, February 26, 2011

Wondering Why the New Macbook Pro's Seem to Offer Less Battery Life?

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Apple Laptops" @ 02:00 PM

http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/24/ma...o-battery-life/

"Now that the news about the new MacBook Pros is out there, one thing that may disappoint someone just reading the spec sheet is battery life. Across the board, the Pro is now rated at 7 hours. While still very solid, this is actually a step down from the previous versions which were rated at 8 to 9 hours for the 15 and 17-inch models, and 10 hours for the 13-inch model. So what gives?"

When I was looking at the battery life on the new Macbook Pros, I noticed something curious: they're all listed as "up to 7 hours". I couldn't recall what the exact battery life specs were for the previous Macbook Pros, but I knew it varied from model to model. As the above text shows, Apple had quoted the battery life on previous Macbooks from 8 to 10 hours. Sandy Bridge processors are supposed to be even more power-friendly than the first-gen Core series processors. So what gives? Read more...


Thursday, February 24, 2011

Anyone Else Underwhelmed by the New Macbook Pro Line?

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Other Laptops & Netbooks" @ 04:00 PM

Apple announced a new line of Macbook Pro hardware today (buy 'em from our Amazon.com store), and I have to admit I was underwhelmed. Yes, they have Intel's rocking new Sandy Bridge CPUs that offer insanely great performance. Yes, they've switched from NVIDIA to AMD (ATI) graphics that offer up to 3x graphics performance. And, yes, there's the impressive Thunderbolt connectivity and an HD camera. Read more...


Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Apple's Macbook Air 13 (2010 Model): The Future of Laptops?

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Apple Laptops" @ 01:30 PM

This is my review video of the Macbook Air 13 (2010 model). This version has the 2.16 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, 4 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce 320M GPU, Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n WiFi. It has no CD/DVD drive. The unboxing video can be found here; I kept this laptop for the full two weeks before returning it to Apple. Returning it was a hard decision, because there were so many things I liked about the Macbook Air. Read more...


Thursday, December 23, 2010

Track Your Stolen Mac With Hidden, Free Until January!

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Software (OS X)" @ 09:21 AM

http://www.tuaw.com/2010/12/22/stol...-until-january/

"Hidden is an app that claims to help you track down and find your Mac -- it runs in the background of your desktop computer, completely invisible, and only starts to send out location information when you actually go to the Hidden website and choose to flip it on. That way, if your Mac is ever stolen, you can log on from any computer and immediately get updates on where your stolen computer is, helping you track it down as quickly as possible. Getting it back is up to you, but just finding a stolen or lost computer is often all you need to do to provide proof that it's yours anyway."

And now this normally $20.00 USD program is free until January 1st, 2011. All you have to do is go to their website, register a user name and password, and download the program. Simple as that. And since it follows it's name, there is no trace of the program on your computer once you install it and restart your computer. It doesn't show up in the applications folder and there is no preference pane associated with it. If your laptop is stolen, all you do is log in at the Hidden website, mark the laptop as "stolen" and wait for the tracking to start. Their FAQ page is pretty thorough if you have questions. All in all, not bad for free.

UPDATE: Apparently they had such a great response they have ended this promotion as of today. I suppose it is within their rights to do so, but it certainly doesn't do much for goodwill when all of the printed material you put out says January and you end it a week early.


Monday, December 13, 2010

Apple's Macbook Air 13 (2010 Model) Unboxing & First Impressions

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Apple Laptops" @ 07:00 AM

This is an unboxing and first impressions video of the Macbook Air 13. This is the maxed-out model has a 2.16 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, 4 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce 320M GPU, Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n WiFi. It has no CD/DVD drive, two USB ports, no Ethernet port, a built-in microphone and Webcam, and a headphone jack. The slender (0.11-0.68 inch) profile weighs in at 2.9 pounds. The full specs can be found on the Apple site. Read more...


Monday, November 15, 2010

What is Your Laptop Choice?

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Laptops" @ 09:00 AM

http://www.digitalhomethoughts.com/...-do-i-have.html

"OK readers, here's the deal: I'm on the hunt for a new laptop, and I have certain specs that I want the laptop to have. Shockingly, the new 13.3" Macbook Air seems to come closest to the mark...but, given a choice, I'd prefer to not give Apple more of my money. I have no plans to run OS X regularly on it, so something that's built specifically for Windows 7 is more to my liking (rather than using Boot Camp on the Air)."

Interesting discussion over at our sister site, Digital Home Thoughts, regarding the question of which laptop the readers are suggesting for Jason. I'm kind of in the same boat, although my choices are limited to two, a MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro 15 inch, so I started reading through the thread and the MacBook Air was suggested by several readers as their choice for Jason. I'm leaning to this as the improvements have really piqued my interest and fills some of my need for speed in a laptop. Coincidentally, this article from Macworld came out about that very topic.


Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Consumer Reports Rates MacBook Air Tops

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Laptops" @ 09:00 AM

http://www.macworld.com/article/155...l?lsrc=rss_main

"Consumer Reports may not like the iPhone 4 much, but it loves loves loves the MacBook Air."

It was pretty much across the board though, as not only did they give top ratings to the 11 and 13-inch MacBook Airs, but they also bestowed top honors on the 13, 15 and 17-inch MacBook Pros. The Consumer Reports blog link is here, but you have to either be a subscriber to go further, or just go with what Macworld is reporting. I doubt Macworld would lie about something like this though.


Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Macworld's Take on the MacBook Air

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Laptops" @ 07:33 AM

http://www.macworld.com/article/155...html?lsrc=top_1

"You can forgive Steve Jobs for a bit of hyperbole when he's on stage introducing new products to an audience of thousands of people following along via a live video stream and countless liveblogs. 'It's like nothing we've ever created before,' Jobs said when introducing the new MacBook Air. 'We think it's the future of notebooks.'"

And while Macworld likes what Apple presented, they were not too wowed by the 13.3 inch MBA, saying it was basically an improved version of the original. But when it comes to the 11.6 inch version they were impressed, calling it the "most novel new Mac released since the Intel Mac era began." The most interesting piece of the review for me was the benchmark section, in which you can see that the flash storage really make a difference when it comes to the speed of the new MacBook Airs. Granted, these tests were against the previous versions using the Core 2 Duo (the newer MB 15-inch and 17-inch use the i5 and i7 processors) but it does show you what a difference the flash storage makes. The review is thorough and if you are considering a new laptop like I am, or just plain curious, this is good information.

If you are really curious, you can also read what MSNBC has to say about them, or what the "most beloved Mac pundit" Andy Ihnatko thinks. Tech Crunch even has an opinion on the MacBook Air.


Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Refresh for the MacBook Pro Line

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Laptops" @ 09:04 AM

http://www.gearlog.com/2010/04/appl...t=Google+Reader

"Last weekend, Apple oversaw a relatively successful launch of its new iPad tablet. On Thursday, the company made waves with a much publicized unveiling of iPhone OS 4.0. And today Apple has even more big news: The company is releasing updates to its Macbook Pro line. The 13-, 15-, and 17-inch versions of the laptop have all been upgraded."

On the heels of the iPad comes a refresh for the MacBook Pro lineup, with upgrades for each version. The 13-inch model gets a bigger hard drive as well as a boost in speed, and a battery life approaching 10 hours from some other reports that I've read. The Intel Core i5 and i7 processors found their way into the 15 and 17 inch versions, as well as a 256-MB Nvidia GeForce GT 330M graphics chip. All the versions come standard now with 4GB of RAM and bigger hard drives. I'm liking the increased battery life of the 13-inch model, but what is more important to you, more battery life or faster speeds? What are your thoughts on the update?


Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Got Any Old PowerBooks?

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Laptops" @ 09:00 AM

http://craziestgadgets.com/2010/02/...erbook-laptops/

"Is this the ultimate Apple mod? It's certainly one of the most unusual snowboards we've ever seen. And probably the least functional."

Surprisingly it works, sort of, although it doesn't get them very far down the hill. You can see the video here


Monday, November 23, 2009

Apple Comes in Fourth

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Laptops" @ 08:00 AM

http://www.electronista.com/article...pple.4th.place/

"Apple is fairly reliable, but not the most reliable company of all when it comes to notebooks, according to a new study by research firm SquareTrade. The top honor goes to Asus, which surprised me, but I suppose shouldn't have when I consider the build quality of my fairly inexpensive Eee PC. Toshiba and Sony rank next most reliable, with Apple coming in a close fourth."

Netbooks suffer higher failure rates than regular or "premium" laptops however, failing 25.1%, 20.6% and 18.1% respectively over a three year period (the one year figures follow same pattern). They also note that overall, during a three year period, laptops in general will fail roughly 30% of the time because they are portable thus subject to more abuse either intentional or accidental.


Thursday, November 12, 2009

Macessity's NX Stand for Laptops

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Laptops" @ 12:00 PM

http://www.macnn.com/articles/09/11...al.hard.drives/

"Macessity has released a new product for its line of laptop accessories, the NX stand. The notebook stand features steel construction with an aluminum-color powder coat, with a design enabling users to stand their laptop vertically within a cushioned slot."

An option for you if you have an external display you want to use your laptop with, and need to conserve space. This retails for around $60.00 USD. I like the addition of the USB ports and the form factor is very nice.


Friday, October 30, 2009

Viper Rush from Booq Bag

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Laptops" @ 10:00 AM

http://www.gearlog.com/2009/10/lapt...ke_you_to_w.php

"Take a look at the Viper Rush, a laptop bag released today. If the name alone doesn't get your adrenalin pumping, consider that this is a "work-in" case. It's for busy professionals who don't have time to remove their notebooks from their bags, thank you very much; just open the top and start computing."

I like the concept, all in one bag you don't even have to take the laptop out of to use. Sounds like it would be perfect for travelers or if you are limited in space where you work. Retails for $129.95 USD, more info at the Booq Bag site.


Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Apple Store Opens With Redesigned MacBook

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Laptops" @ 11:00 AM

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...ur_battery.html

"Apple Tuesday released a newly redesigned MacBook with a polycarbonate unibody design, LED-backlit display, multi-touch trackpad, and built-in battery with 7 hours of run time."

This makes the lineup all uni-body, all the time as the old saying goes. Glossy display on this one as well, with the options of "4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, or 320GB 5400 rpm, 500GB 5400 rpm hard drive, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan."

Here is the Apple link.


Thursday, August 13, 2009

15-inch MacBook Pro Gets Anti-Glare, For a Price

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Laptops" @ 07:30 AM

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...acbook_pro.html

"Confirming an AppleInsider exclusive tip from less than a month ago, Apple has restored the antiglare upgrade option -- at a cost of $50 -- for its 15-inch MacBook Pro line."

The only MacBook Pro model left without this option is now the 13-inch version. All my laptops have the glossy screen, but I can see that there is definitely a difference that might be bothersome depending on the type of work you do with your Mac. I haven't been bothered enough to pay extra for the anti-glare, but it is always good to have options!


Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Laptop Magazine Gives Apple an A

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple News" @ 12:00 PM

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-1...subj=News-Apple

"If a top-notch customer support program is high on your list of features when buying a new computer, you should be looking at a Mac, according to a new ranking."

For 2009, Laptop Magazine awarded Apple an overall score of "A" for both phone and Web support. According to the magazine, "Apple has consistently offered some of the best Web and phone support of any computer vendor, and this year was no different," the magazine said in evaluating Apple. "Its Web site is brimming with well-ordered FAQs, query-based search, and PDF manuals, the latter of which quickly answered our external monitor question." This follows the same rating for 2007 and 2008 when it rated the tech support aspect. In comparison, ASUS received a B-, HP a C- and Sony a B+. Not bad Apple.


Friday, July 24, 2009

High End Computers? Apple is the Leader

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Laptops" @ 11:00 AM

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-1...subj=News-Apple

"More good news for Apple this week: if consumers are going to buy an expensive computer, they're choosing the Mac maker."

According to the NPD Group, Apple has 91% of the market (up from 88% in May of this year) for computers over $1,000.00 USD. Not surprisingly the drop in price recently of the MacBook line didn't hurt. According to NPD, for Apple to continue it's sales trend, they will eventually have to price more of their products below the $1,000.00 USD mark (currently only the Mac Mini and white MacBook are under this price point). I'm not so sure, they don't seem to have any trouble selling product at the levels they are currently priced, and as long as they remain innovative I think they will continue the trend. I guess it boils down to what market they want to be in, what do you think?


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