iPhone 3GS
It’s faster, comes with an updated camera, 3MP with video, voice control, a digital compass, remote wipe.
The hardware remains looking the same so that old case of yours will still fit.
Details
There was also a lot of iPhone software demoed.
Find My Phone allows you to find where you put your phone down even if it’s in mute.
TomTom are releasing an app taking advantage of the built in compass and GPS turning the iPhone into a proper turn by turn satnav.
MacBook Updates
Updates include:
New 15” MacBook Pro with the controversial built in battery but now has a built in SD card slot which is no doubt a lot more useful than the PC card slot was.
So does the new 13” which now also brings back FireWire! Which puts me out of date. It happens.
The MacBook Air and MacBook (White) both got a speed bump. The 17” also got an update but kept its card slot.
You can look at the full specs here
iPod Shuffle
Apple updated the iPod Shuffle, making it smaller, removing all the controls to the headphones.
It’s not going to win any design awards (well, it will of course), but it’s smaller, lighter and still has a little clip on it. It’ll all be in the headphones eventually.
I’d have to try the voice controls to see how well they work. I know at the moment it’s a pain to dig the iPhone out of my pocket to check what’s playing, so it might be a great feature (and perfect for anyone visually impaired). All the tapping does remind me of the MacTini.
At the moment you’re stuck with Apple’s headphones, but no doubt better ones will come and nobody is forcing anyone to run out and buy a new shuffle until they do.
Comes in Black or Silver - 4GB £59
MacBook
I had some early niggles which may’ve tainted my initial excitement, blame the problems I had with my previous Black MacBook which made me paranoid. Talking of which; it has the same static noise issue. After some research it seems the problem is the sound-card sleeping, the static blip is the sound it makes when waking. C’est la vie.
There was an initial problem with the trackpad not always responding when pressed, fixed in the Trackpad Firmware Update. Two other updates fixed some problems I’d not had: MacBook EFI Firmware Update and MacBook SMC Firmware Update.
The lack of Firewire hasn’t been a problem. The one drive I had which used Firewire also could be connected via USB. It’s a pity there’s no way to use Target Disk Mode, even if used infrequently it was a useful feature.
It’s a beautiful computer, feeling lighter and more solid than the Black MacBook, due to the new unibody design, with none of the problems with greasy finger marks. It’s fast, easily capable of virtualizing Windows when I need to (blame 4oD, which is still Windows only). I’m using the cheap as free VirtualBox.
The new glass multi-touch trackpad features are great, even if I don’t use them all. Swiping back and forth in a browser, or four fingers for Exposé just feels natural. I’ve even got used to just tapping instead of pressing the trackpad (which itself is one big clunky button). It makes for a much quieter computer experience. It’s also nice to know it being glass it hopefully won’t end up all shiny like most trackpads.
Overall, I’m enjoying it more now than when I first unboxed it.
One other thing, it also has a very satisfying thhhud when you close the lid, it feels engineered like car doors.
iPhone iPod Interface
via Daring Fireball.
Nokia N73 & Bluetooth/iSync
The N73 isn’t a bad phone, it works with iPhoto and iTunes with the Nokia Multimedia Transfer software that Nokia provide. This makes it quite easy to drag and drop music and photos onto the device and get photos off directly into iPhoto. It also can use iSync to simply sync your Address Book, Calendars etc. I think I will need a new Sim to use 3G.
You could do this either with the USB cable, or more simply with Bluetooth.
That’s the good news, now the bad:
I found the operating system very laggy (slow). So, I checked here to see if there was a newer version of the firmware.There was,version 4.0735.3.0.2.
Annoyingly, you are unble to update the firmware on a Mac, and must use a Windows PC to use Nokia Software Update (this is a story in itself, having to set up an old PC of ours purely to do this update).
I managed to update the phone which sped it up, but found it no longer worked with Bluetooth/iSync on the Mac running Mac OS 10.5.4. The phone will pair, but you get the following error in iSync (the phone is named Stuartea):
You are also unable to browse the device using Bluetooth (from the menu).
It still works with the USB cable, but you no longer have the convenience of wireless transfers.
After some searching it appears I am not the only one with the problem, there is a thread on the Nokia forums dating back to October 2007, and there is no fix from Nokia. It appears the problem is between the 4.0735.3.0.2 firmware and Mac OS 10.5, as it appears it will work with Mac OS 10.4. The older version of the firmware 3.0704.1.01 works without any problem with Mac OS 10.5, which suggests a Nokia firmware problem. The Bluetooth on the Mac works fine with the Sony Ericsson K750i.
I mailed Nokia, they suggested making sure I had the latest plug-in for iSync and to reboot the N73, and restart the Mac. I pointed out there is no plug-in for the N73, it should just work according to their own site. Neither rebooting or restarting solved the problem.
Their next response was to contact Mac [sic] at “http://www.apple.com/macosx”. Two things worried me, first they called Apple “Mac”, and secondaly they gave me an Apple product page link.
I don’t care who’s to blame, Apple or Nokia. I would expect them to work together to find a solution. Also, Nokia need to give their front-line customer teams more support, or an ability to esculate problems to their software developers, rather than through lack of knowledge try to fob customers off and give them the runaround.
Update: Okay, the latest reply from Nokia may as well have said “Thanks, we’ve filed your messages in the bin”.
There may be a solution! I just read at TUAW, that Missing Sync for Symbian has just been released. The Nokia N73 is listed as being supported.
It does add more features than you’d get with just iSync. Including Proximity Syncing, which automatically syncs your phone when it’s within Bluetooth range.
I mailed them, and they let me know there’s a demo available here.
Sadly, it didn’t work. I get the following error after it pairs:
OBEX error fileTransferServicesDisconnectionComplete kOBEXSessionTransportDiedError| kOBEXSessionNoTransportError| kOBEXSessionNotConnectedError: -21880.
The Bluetooth icons on both the phone and menu indicate it’s attempting to do something, but gets no further.
This is what Mark/Space makers of The Missing Sync have told me:
“There is an issue with this device and with that new firmware.
It seems with the new firmware and Leopard there is an issue.
However with Tiger and the new firmware it works fine.
We are currently documenting this behavior and will
be posted in our Knowledgebase...”
Which they have done, here.
Maybe it might shame Nokia/Apple into fixing it? (but I doubt it).
Update: According to a post by uiterlix on the Nokia forum. There is a new version of the firmware available that does work with Mac OS X 10.5. Version 4.0839.42.2.1. However; I’ve not found where to download it. 17th December 2008
MacBook Black & Blues
It matches my
clock
Eventually I bought the
MacBook from John Lewis in March, taking
advantage of their extra 2 year guarantee (which
you’d have to pay extra if you bought direct
from Apple). I’d recommend, if you’re
not a student, not buying direct from Apple. Buying
from a John Lewis meant that if something goes wrong
you have someone else who can moan at Apple first
before you have to.
Talking of things going wrong, they did:
My first impression of the MacBook Black was how dirty
it gets, any smudge finger print on the black is just
far too obvious. Apple do provide you with a handy
cleaning cloth, and you’re going to need it.
Unless you’re less anal than me, and deal with it
looking a mess. My second impression was it being a
speedy machine, just what I needed. Had things not gone
awry, I’d’ve kept it.
However; after a few weeks it started to make some
strange static sound from the left speaker area. The
sound was audible just before the start-up chime. A
static blip (bip, pip, difficult to describe a static
sound) followed by the chime. The sound also occurred
just before any other warning sound. e.g. turning up
volume, received email sound, incoming iChat message
etc. Each sound was preceded by the static blip,
followed by the standard sound for that application. If
the blip had just occurred, it didn’t do it again
for a few minutes.
What seemed more odd, was the static blip could be
heard even if the MacBook was muted.
Unplugging headphones would cause the Mac to do three
static blips in concession, whilst flashing the red
optical light inside the headphone port.
The sound wasn’t very loud, but loud enough to be
very distracting, especially when you knew it was
coming. It wasn’t the hard disk, I know the noise
a hard disk makes, even a failing one which is more
like a ball bearing dlrrrr.
I tried resetting PRAM/PMU, no change. I reinstalled
the OS, Mac OS X 10.5, no change. I even started the
MacBook in Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) using external
FireWire drive and still it made the static noise.
I gave up and took it back to John Lewis. I tried
demonstrating the problem, which was difficult due to
the ambient noise of the shop, but the assistant did
manage to hear it. He pointed out that Apple could be
rather difficult repairing small issues like this but
said he’d talk to their main Mac guy, I also had
a brief chat with him and eventually my guy came back
and said they’d just replace it. That was great
news and a relief.
I picked up the replacement machine the next week when
they had stock. I got home and turned it. Running
through the welcome to Mac animation, the music was
scratchy sounding from the left speaker, uh oh. It also
made the exact same blip sound before the start-up
chime. This did not bode well, but it appeared not to
make the blip noise again whilst running, I held my
breath. The next day it started to behave just like the
first, just slightly quieter, not for long. It then
started to make a louder static sound from the right
speaker area, which stopped, but then came back again,
but even worse, alternating from the right to the left
speaker whenever you turned the volume up (or as stated
above, whenever any "single" sound was made). Just to
add, I’d not installed anything or copied my data
across.
That was it for me and I returned the MacBook for a
refund which John Lewis gave back without any
questions. Thank you John Lewis!
This appears to be a manufacturing fault, as it
happened on two machines. I made a recording using my
camera.
The noise could be replicated simply by clicking on the volume bar in System Preferences which is shown in this video clip. The sound once made would not occur again for a minute.
I recorded it a few times with my camera (hence it being wobbly, I was trying to keep it’s mic near the speaker area). - First with the sound on, which may be hard to hear, then muted. I cut it off a bit early so I did it again a few times with the mute on. You may want to put on headphones or be in a quiet room & turn up the volume.
Some may just think it normal, which it isn’t - neither my PowerBook 12”, PowerBook 17” or my girlfriends White MacBook (a 2007 model) made the odd noise. Maybe some have less sensitive ears and are willing to live with it. It drove me bonzo.
Thankfully I’ve been loaned an iMac G5. I’ll wait for Apple to make a real MacBook update, hopefully a new case or something. I may wait for a month even then to see if anyone has any problems.
Update: I now have a late 2008 Alu MacBook and it has the same issue. After a little more research it appears the problem is the soundcard. What apparently happens is, your soundcard goes to sleep after a certain period and it makes the noise when it comes back on, if you have headphones on you can also hear a sort of hiss noise. So it looks like something you just have to live with. At least I got the better MacBook in the end. 17th December 2008
Apple Defects
MacBook Air - Macworld 2008
The big news from this
years Macworld Expo was the
MacBook Air, a super lightweight
super thin notebook. It weighs just 1.36 Kg or just
3 pounds, for comparison the previous smallest
notebook, the PowerBook 12" weighed 2.1 Kg.
If you travel a lot, or
as my girlfriend says, find MacBooks too heavy for her
lady like arms, then this is the machine for you. It
may not be a super-sub-notebook, but I find it's the
weight more than the size of a notebook that puts my
back out and this way you still have that 13.3 inch
widescreen.
It has a couple of unique features, other than the
weight & how thin it is. The trackpad now
supports gesturing, like you'd find on the iPhone,
pinching to zoom, three finger side swipe to go back
and forth on a web page. It also has an option for a
solid state hard drive, 64 GB or a standard drive at
80 GB.
The Air comes as a 1.6 Ghz £1,199 or an optional 1.8
Ghz £2,028 with 2GB of memory, built in 802.11n wifi.
Behind a cool flap hides the Audio Out, USB 2.0 and
Micro-DVI for external monitor support and of course, a
built in camera. Full specs can be found
here.
What's missing is the optical drive. This reminds me of
when Apple removed the old floppy drive when
introducing the iMac, people got all hot and bothered
about it, but now who uses floppy drives? Apple will
sell you a USB optical drive (or buy a 3rd party
device), but what's clever is, they've introduced some
clever software, Remote Disc, which allows you to
use an optical drive of another PC or Mac, just as
if it were attached to your machine wirelessly. The
whole point of this machine is to go wireless.
Some have complained about the built-in-battery,
probably the same ones who complained about the iPod, I
don't see it as much of an issue when Apple won't
charge to replace it, plus it's bound to have some
third-party battery replacements for those who don't
mind using a screwdriver, just like the iPod. You just
need to think about what you want, and if the Air ticks
all your boxes, it's for you, if not there's always the
MacBook and Pro.
Apple have put together a handy video tour to explain a
lot of the features here.
Update: Reviews of the MacBook Air
The Ars Technica
Review
MacWorld US
MacWorld US - Fitting files
on
MacWorld US - Migrating
Mac Pro & Xserve Updates
Apple has started the year early, before the MacWorld expo. next week, announcing updates to their Mac Pro and Xserve lines.
The Mac Pro now has 8 cores, that's two Intel Quad-Core Xeon 5400s running up to 3.2Ghz, up to 4.2TB of ram and can fit 4 terabytes into those 4 storage bays. Also new graphics and faster front side bus. Full tech specs.
The Xserves also gain the Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5400s up to 3.0GHz. Full specs.
Updated MacBooks
Apple have updated their MacBook line with intel's
Santa Rosa chip set, so if you have been waiting, now's
the time to buy.
Clock speeds haven't changed that much, frontside bus
has increased to 800mhz.
13" White 2.0Ghz Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 80GB hard drive,
GMA X3100 Graphics chip set, Combo drive £699
13" White 2.2Ghz Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 120GB hard drive,
GMA X3100 Graphics chip set, Superdrive £829
13" Black 2.2Ghz Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive,
GMA X3100 Graphics chip set, Superdrive £949
The MacBook Pro now has a 2.6Ghz option £160 and
5400rpm, 250GB hard drive £100 (7200rpm 200GB
£130).
iPods
New Shuffle colours, a squarer larger screened nano, higher capacity iPod Classic (as it's now known) and to top it off, the iPod Touch, which is like a cut down iPhone without the phone, so it's an i then, ahem. It has wifi and Safari. You can now also download music from Apples new iTunes WiFi store straight to the iPod Touch or iPhone.
Check them out.
Mac Mini
Combo Drive - 1.83Ghz , 1GB memory and 80GB hard drive £399
SuperDrive - 2.0Ghz, 1GB memory and 230GB hard drive £499
AirPort Extreme
Oddly, the UK tech page mentions nothing about the Gigabit Ethernet hmmm.
Keyboards
There are two models
of keyboard; wired and wireless,
both are reminiscent of the keyboards on the
MacBooks. Wide spacing of
keys etc. and made from, you got it, Aluminium!
The USB 2 wired keyboard is now much thinner than the
plastic trough
keyboard it
replaces, I think this can only be a good thing, but
why no wireless version?
The wireless Bluetooth keyboard has shrunk down,
missing the numberpad, the thought behind this is
you're more likely to use a wireless keyboard on your
lap. Although Apple seems to have missed a trick here:
What could've been an ideal keyboard for using with a
MacMini under a television, or just using your iMac at
more a distance has been let down due to them missing
any form of pointing device. Why didn't they include a
trackpad on it? So you're stuck with still needing a
wireless mouse, presumably to rub on your leg?
I'd have expected something like the
Keysonic ACK-540 RF, but perhaps more
Apple looking.
There's been some rearrangement of keys for some
functions like expose, brightness, volume etc. I'm sure
that'll be something to get used to, and I expect the
arrangement will find its way onto the MacBook
eventually.
The other supposed controversial thing is the removal
of the
- Apple symbol on the
Command key, and instead the use of the words Command
with the Command clover leaf symbol. I'm glad it's
gone, it's done nothing but confuse people, you can
read some history as to how it got there
here. There is
some confusion here as to whether they've removed it
on the UK keyboard, the Apple still appears on the
UK iMac page, but not on the US one, but; the Apple doesn't appear
on the UK Keyboard page. I do hope we've not
been left with the Apple, it'll just create even
more confusion. It's the Command key
dammit!
Update: It appears the Apple has vanished from the UK
page as well, must've been a photo error.
New iMac
`
Ah a new
iMac, it's not so
different from the last one really in looks. It's
thinner and now made from Aluminium (or Aluminum)
and Glass, although I'm sure there's plastic in
there too, but it's got great recycling
possibilities Steve Jobs said. I just thought Macs
went on forever, recycle a Mac? It looks perhaps
more solid than the previous white plastic model and
I'm sure it'll have its instant haters and lovers, I
think the complainers will just be nitpicking, I'd
describe as handsome.
There is now no longer a 17" model; instead, two 20"
and two 24" models.
20-inch 2.0Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB memory
250GB HD
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT / 128MB Memory
£799
20-inch 2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB memory
320GB HD
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro / 256MB Memory
£949
24-inch 2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB memory
320GB HD
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro / 256MB Memory
£1,149
24-inch 2.8Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB memory
500GB HD
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro / 256MB Memory
£1,459
Prices from the Apple Store, and full tech
specs here.
Overall
machines are now faster and expandable to 4GB of memory
and 1 Terabyte of internal storage. Memory is easily
upgraded via a slot at the bottom of the machine. All
the screens are now glossy and also include Firewire
800.
They come with a Mighty Mouse and the new wired
keyboard. I'd have thought they'd enclose the remote in
aluminium as well, seems a strange oversight.
You can watch the new ad here.
MacBooks Updated
Coloured Shuffles
Airport Extreme etc
Something that didn't get a mention at the Keynote and
was quietly introduced was Apple's new
AirPort Extreme
base-station (Wifi router). It replaces the old domed
spaceship looking one with a new Mac Mini style
enclosure.
It now supports 802.11n, which Apple claim is 2.5x
faster than the previous AirPort*. As well as being
able to connect a printer to it via USB, you can now
add a hard drive that will be available to share on the
network, with zero configuration needed. You could also
add a USB hub and connect multiple devices. So you'll
be able to print wirelessly as well as access a hard
drive for backups etc. I suspect that the the connected
hard drive will work with Mac OS X 10.5's
Time Machine
back-up solution. AirPort Extreme will cost £119, the
AirPort Express is down to £65 (I had one of these, it
blew up).
There was no other Mac news, there was no super slim,
smaller MacBook. They're probably having a rest having
only just got all the Macs to intel. They did announce
that many of the new Macs shipped support
802.11n.
The other news, Apple Computer is no more, they will
now be known as Apple Inc to reflect their product
line.
* A note on the speed of 802.11n. It's meant to be 5X
faster and if you compare the
US
&
UK
sites you'll notice the difference. Apparently the UK
doesn't allow wide-channel operation, hopefully this
will change. It's also unsure if different models will
be made for Europe & the US, if there is one model,
it may still be possible to circumvent the low speed in
the UK by using a US firmware.
Apple TV
iTV has now become
Apple TV,
that's going to save a lot of confusion in the UK.
First off, no, Apple haven't made a TV. Apple TV is a
box that'll sit under your TV. Again, to get the idea
watch the
keynote.
Apple TV makes it easy to stream via Wi-Fi (using
802.11n) your computer's media content to your TV.
It'll play your movies, podcasts, music and show your
photos. It has a 40GB hard drive inside and will sync
with one Mac and allow streaming from another five.
Making them all easily accessed via simple interface
and remote control.
Sadly, in the UK we still can't buy TV shows or films
from the iTunes store, of course you can import ones
you've got from other sources into iTunes and then play
them via Apple TV.
It's not a PVR, you can't use it to record TV
like
Elgato's eyeTV.
Of course, this sort of recording device will become
standard with Virgin/NTL and SKY already have Sky
Plus. The Apple TV is really doing something
different, it's making that big widescreen HD you
have slightly more useful.
Apple are really (at least in the US) trying to change
the way we watch TV content. Eventually I'd imagine the
idea is that you no longer pay a cable/sky/freeview
type provider and instead (via iTunes) you just
purchase the programmes/season of programmes/ films
that you want to see. Will that be cheaper in the long
run? Who knows, it might make us watch a lot less crap.
It's moving from a push to a pull from the internet
what content you really want to see rather than just
being a couch potato. I'm sure there's room for the two
to coexist.
Apple
TV costs £199 and is available to
buy now.
The phone is dead, long live the iPhone
It's worth watching the
Keynote
of the iPhone introduction, it helps explain exactly
how it works and funny to see Steve prank calling
Starbucks and telling an old story of him and Woz. With
the internet, iPod, Phone, Widgets, Google maps your
photos, widescreen video etc all on one phone, even my
girlfriend is thinking of getting one.
Of course the negative nellies of this world looked at
it and instead of being impressed went for "yeah, but
it doesn't do.....". Ok, so what's missing?
No iChat/Skype or instant messenger integration. Why?
Probably to keep the mobile carriers happy, so you pay
for SMS. One can only hope it will come, as the iPhone
runs OS X, there's no technical reason why it couldn't
run it, and as it's running the Safari browser, perhaps
you could use an online messenger?
Other complaints, the camera isn't on the front? and
it's not 3 mega-pixel. People always want more. There's
no nipple on the five key? Handy if you're blind, then
and no offence to the blind community, I don't suspect
the iPhone is really one for you. People also want more
memory, to fit more on. more more more. The battery is
sealed, I'm sure like the iPods there will be a
workaround for this.
Who will partner with Apple in the UK? They're only on
Cingula in the states, Orange? Virgin/NTL? Vodafone?
Will we be duped out of the cool visual voicemail
feature? Let's hope not.
The iPhone will come in two models, a 4GB $499 and an
8GB $599. It will be available in the US in June and
Europe by the last quarter of 2007. The phone is a
quad-band GSM phone with EDGE, but not 3G yet, Steve
said they would come. It's a multi device so the price
point may seem expensive for a phone, but, it's clearly
not just a phone. how much would you pay for an iPod
and a cool phone? which many people do.
No matter what you feel about the iPhone, it really is
a revolutionary product and one the other mobile phone
makers are hardly going to ignore, pst, it also makes
the Zune look even more like the first generation
iPod.
* Yes, I know many won't
It's all gone 2 Duo
Apple
have updated the
MacBook,
following on from the
MacBook Pro.
The MacBook now sports the intel Core 2 Duo chips.
Apple claim they're 25% faster than the previous
model.
13-inch: White 1.83Ghz/512Mb/60Gb Combo - £749
13-inch: White 2.0Ghz/1Gb/80Gb SuperDrive - £879
13-inch: Black 2.0Ghz/1Gb/120Gb/ SuperDrive - £999
Mac Book Pro Core Duo2
Apple today released updated versions of the
Mac Book Pro,
they now boast the new intel
Core Duo 2
chip. It pretty much means they're faster, Apple claims
39% faster than the previous models.
Prices:
15-inch 2.16Ghz £1349.01
15-inch 2.33Ghz £1699
17-inch 2.33Ghz £1899
Support for more memory, up to 3GB, increased storage,
standard double-layer SuperDrive and ATI Mobility
Radeon X1600 graphics processor (up to 256mb Ram).
They've also added Firewire 800 to the 15-inch models.
iPods
First up, the iPod Shuffle has now shrunk down, reported to be the smallest MP3 player. It's essentially now a handly clip. 1GB £55.
iPod Nano, the form has changed, and looks much more like a thinner version of the mini. Colours make a return too! 2GB (£99) , 4GB (£129) and 8GB (Black-£169) are available. The new advert is quite pretty.
Lastly, the iPod, which still remains the 5th generation has increased capacity to 80GB. The screen is brighter, has longer battery life. 30GB (£189), 80GB (£259).
You'll also be able to download (at a cost) new games for the iPod, available via the iTunes Store (it's no longer the iTunes Music Store for obvious reasons). The iPod also now has quick search and ability to use the scroll wheel to enter letters, so you can find music more easily.
iMac's Updated
17" now comes with a 1.83Ghz (£679) or 2.0Ghz (£799) Intel Core 2 Duo
The 20" (£999) and new 24" (£1,349.01) both have a 2.16Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, with a build to order option of a 2.33Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo.
Full Specs can be found here.
The Mac Mini now sports either a 1.66Ghz (£399.01) or 1.83Ghz (£529) Intel Core Duo (Not the Core 2 Duo). Full Specs here.
Prices include VAT, from Apple's UK online Store.
Total Recall 2
Check the Apple site to find out if yours is affected, and what to do to get a replacement.
Seems mine is fine.
Mighty Mouse
Apple have updated their
Mighty Mouse
by releasing a bluetooth version, that means wireless.
It's also now uses a laser, so it's more accurate. The
rest is still the same, the nice little scroll ball and
the awkward squeeze buttons on the side.
I'm not much of a fan of the Mighty Mouse, bar the
scroll ball and much prefer Logitech's mice. They've
also recently released a new wireless keyboard and
mouse combination, the:
Logitech Cordless Desktop S
530.
Sadly though it's not Bluetooth, so you have to plug
a stupid adapter into your USB port, which seems
dumb. Still, you'd be using it at a desk so wouldn't
matter too much.
Book your Mac
They come in Black & White and 3 models, all with
13" widescreen.
£749: White 1.83Ghz Intel Core Duo, 512mb/60GB, Combo
£899: White 2.0Ghz Intel Core Duo, 512mb/60GB,
SuperDrive
£1028.99: Black 2.0Ghz Intel Core Duo, 512mb/80GB,
SuperDrive
Available now
The black one being the top
of the range, which just means it has a larger HD it
seems, though oddly, if you order a White MacBook with
the same size hard drive, it'll still cost less than
the black one. So you're paying about £90 for the
colour black? Spray can anyone?
They also weigh in slightly heavier than the 12" iBook.
Apple could do with a true super light portable, but
you're getting a larger widescreen and they're thinner,
so can't really complain? Here are the weights, old and
new:
MacBook Pro 17" Weight: 6.8 pounds (3.1 kg)
iBook 14" Weight: 5.9 pounds (2.7 kg)
MacBook Pro 15" Weight: 5.6 pounds (2.54 kg)
MacBook Weight: 5.2 pounds (2.36 kg)
iBook 12" Weight: 4.9 pounds (2.2 kg)
PowerBook 12" Weight: 4.6 pounds (2.1 kg)
(Red replaced)
There's some good photos here
The first thing I think everyone will notice is the
'glossy' screen. This may take some getting used to,
but is meant to give improved colour and also work better
outside (because I often run outside with mine) and
might cause a headache.
I've seen a glossy screened PC laptop before and wasn't
to sure, it could double up as a mirror? The other
thing is the new keyboard and built in iSight camera
and remote control, but it's not a radical new design.
I would like to see something 'new' and innovative, but
if it's not broke?
One of the other cool new features I thought is the
ability for a user to replace the internal hard drive,
without having to take the whole thing to bits,
finally getting a bigger HD will be like replacing
memory. (As some older PowerBook models will know,
you used to be able to slide hard drives out willy
nilly)
This chap was one of the first to get his
hands on one, it's a very Mac thing to take photos
of unpacking your Mac but, It didn't take long for
those crazy Japanese to take one apart.
I'd like one, be a lot faster than my 12" PowerBook.
With the introduction of the MacBook, Apple also
increased the speed on the MacBook
Pro.
Update: MacWorld US, have a nice article on
the new machines, and a great photo showing the size
difference between the PowerBook 12" and the new
machines.