HTC boss: College kids don’t want an iPhone ‘because their dad has one’

Martin Fichter, the acting president of HTC America, has a daughter down at Steve Jobs’ alma mater, Reed College, where he conducted the very scientific focus group:

On the iPhone 5 hype: “Apple is innovating. Samsung is innovating. We are innovating. Everybody is innovating. And everybody is doing different things for the end consumers. I brought my daughter back to college — she’s down in Portland at Reed — and I talked to a few of the kids on her floor. And none of them has an iPhone because they told me: ‘My dad has an iPhone.’ There’s an interesting thing that’s going on in the market. The iPhone becomes a little less cool than it was. They were carrying HTCs. They were carrying Samsungs. They were even carrying some Chinese manufacture’s devices. If you look at a college campus, Mac Book Airs are cool. iPhones are not that cool anymore. We here are using iPhones, but our kids don’t find them that cool anymore.”

They also have no interest in dad’s Porsche.

*thanks 9to5mac*

I don't know what college students he talked to but all I see are iPhones, iPod touch, and iPads all over. iPod touch for those who use prepaid phones such as Metro pcs, Virgin mobile and others. iPads for textbooks and iPhones for everything else.
On the MacBook Air front, I have seen more airs than pros recently, however I have seen more iPads than any Mac.

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- Posted using my iPhone 4

Intel not dismissing rumors of Apple’s notebook transition to ARM chips

Earlier today my colleague Jordan Kahn told you about a story ran by the Japanese hit-and-miss blog, Macotakara, which in a nutshell calls for a brand new Mac product family. It is being described as radically “different from current products”, so much different in fact that Apple might market the mysterious products under a new product name. Well, Intel’s hearing those rumors as well! Their Ultrabook director Greg Welch specifically told CNET they’re very well aware of the reports involving MacBook prototypes rocking Apple’s own silicon based on ARM’s processor blueprints:

We hear the same rumors and it would be remiss of us to be dismissive. We endeavor to innovate so they’ll continue to look to us as a supplier.
We wouldn’t bet on the “continue to look to us as a supplier” part. So thought IBM until Apple ditched the PowerPC architecture and made a bold switch to Intel processors in 2005. So, is 2012 going to be like 2005? Only time will tell, but it’s intriguing that an Intel executive would actually comment on the rumors, don’t you think?

That, in and of itself, is significant enough to warrant a post for the sake of the discussion. If you do believe your rumors, Apple’s testing ultra-thin MacBook prototypes that sport ARM chips and might not contain Intel’s Ivy Bridge platform at all. The benefits?

Think thin, really thin, and power-savvy. ARM Holdings, a UK-based fables silicon firm, is known for power-efficient CPU designs they license to other companies. The vast majority of today’s mobile devices are based on ARM blueprints rather than Intel’s inefficient mobile processors. The world’s largest processor maker is very well aware that it fell behind in the mobile race. The company has not anticipated an explosive growth of smartphones and missed out on an opportunity to make up for lost ground with tablet chips. Today, if you’re building a tablet or a smartphone, you’re either Apple and therefore use in-house designed processors, or buy your chips from Nvidia, Samsung, Qualcomm or Texas Instruments. All those suppliers share one thing in common: The CPU part of their system-on-a-chip package is based on ARM’s blueprints. Apple, an early investor in ARM in the late 1980s, has a lot of experience incorporating those designs into their products, from the Newton PDA which was based around the ARM6-based ARM 610 architecture to the A4 and A5 chips. The A4 chip sports a single-core ARM Cortex-A8 CPU core paired with a PowerVR SGX 535 graphics processor built on Samsung’s 45-nanometer silicon chip fabrication process. The A5 has a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU with Neon SIMD accelerator and a dual-core PowerVR SGX543MP2 graphics unit. Both chips are believed to benefit from performance enhancements developed by chip designer Intrinsity, acquired by Apple in 2010.


*thanks 9to5mac*

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Apple was this close to releasing a 3G MacBook Pro

It’s a glaring hole in Apple’s MacBook line:The ability to access 3G (4G?) networks without tethering or using a 3G hotspot. Apple CEO Steve Jobs told the USAToday in 2008 that the reason that he didn’t want to build that functionality into MacBooks was that it invited complexity and locked users into a carrier.



Air does not come with the built-in ability to connect to a speedy wireless data network run by various cellular carriers. Jobs told me last week that Apple considered it but that adding the capability would take up room and restrict consumers to a particular carrier. Through a USB modem, he says, you can still subscribe to wireless broadband with your favorite carrier.
When Jobs says “considered it”, this is what he means:

An Ebay auction today (via MacRumors) shows that Apple was getting ready to release such a MacBook Pro – all the way back in 2007.
.
The prototype Santa Rosa MacBook Pro has a SIM card slot which is identified as a Dynastream ANT2USB card. In the US, that would have worked on T-Mobile or AT&T as well as many international GSM carriers. The seller originally bought it from a Craigslist ad as a non working machine for parts. Upon opening it, he realized that this was no ordinary MacBook Pro (if the huge antenna didn’t give it away!). He got the machine into working order (thought 3G is not tested) and is selling it as-is, “no guarantees”.

It isn’t certain why Apple never opted to go with a 3G option in any of its Macbooks. Perhaps the complexity and the numbers never made sense. Now that almost everyone carries a Personal Hotspot capable phone in their Pocket, it may not ever make sense.

Full Gallery and seller story below:








History and Details:

This laptop was originally purchased from Craigslist as a non-functional parts machine. Upon removing the top case it was immediately clear this was no normal Macbook Pro: the circuit boards inside were bright red as opposed to the normal blue! Further inspection found multiple differences from the stock version, most notably a feature never seen in a Macbook laptop of any kind: what appears to be a fully integrated cellular modem and SIM slot. There is an extendable cellular antenna located at the right top side of the display assembly (The antenna is marked with “Tyco Proto / #006″ when slid out), and a standard size SIM card slot located underneath the memory cover on the bottom of the machine. The SIM card board is connected to the logic board via a connector not found on production machines. The solder footprint for it is still present on the production boards and not populated, which is interesting. This would seem to suggest that it was a last minute decision to remove the cellular functionality before going into mass production. The optical drive is marked as a “Sample for Evaluation”. Rather than a normal EMC Number the specifications lapel simply says “XXXX”, and the serial number does not show up in Apple’s online database. Rather than use the machine for parts I of course had to put the time into repairing it to its original condition and see what happened!

After repairing the original red logic board and adding RAM, a hard drive, and battery the machine was again fully functional. It installed the OS without any problems, and behaves as any other Apple machine. I have used and tested it extensively and everything seems to be in excellent working condition. It is installed with OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard, and as it identifies itself as a normal Macbook Pro it should also run Lion without issue. Physically the machine is in surprisingly good condition, though it does have normal signs of wear from being used (minor scuffing and scratches, etc). There are no major dents or dings or scratches and from the outside the only thing that distinguishes it from a normal Macbook Pro is the antenna. Please note that the hard drive, battery, ram, and Magsafe adapter are not the original ones that came with the machine, as I received it without them present. The battery is third party rather than Apple original, though identical in form and function. It holds excellent charge. The hard drive and ram were purchased brand new for this machine.

The biggest question of course is the cell network data functionality. I have unfortunately been unable to get it working with my SIM card, though it is seen by the operating system and recognized as a modem device usable to connect to the internet with various configuration options. It is entirely possible it can be made to work by someone with more software and driver experience than myself but I can make no guarantees. It could be that there was an additional board originally that was not included with this machine, or that Apple could not work out a contract with a carrier for data service (Perhaps AT&T did not want something sure to be a bandwidth hog on its network), or simply that no driver exists. There are too many unknowns . . . . it is entirely possible it never worked, and there is no way to know without finding someone directly involved in the development of the hardware and not under an NDA. According to the seller (whom I contacted again after realizing what the machine was) he used to work as an engineer at Apple and received the machine for software development work. He was allowed to keep it when he left, and since had used it as a personal machine until it stopped functioning and he sold it to me. He says that he never personally saw the cellular data functionality working and does not know any more about it, as it was not related to his work. All my conclusions are solely speculation based on the hardware present and OS response and should not be taken as fact.

*thanks 9to5mac*

The idea of adding the external antenna with a MagSafe type connection would be amazing on an iPad. The iPad has a weak wifi antenna and it's located in the worst place( the charging port), if you cover the antenna you will loose your signal. An external antenna would do wonders on a iPad.

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- Posted using my iPhone 4

Ruling Whittles Down HTC’s Patent Case Against Apple

If HTC thought its acquisition of S3 would be a handy club with which to beat down Apple’s patent infringement attacks, it best think again.
A U.S. International Trade Commission judge has ruled that some of Apple’s Mac computers do infringe two of the four patents S3 asserted against the company. But it also ruled that Apple’s iOS devices do not and that Macs running Nvidia GPUs have an implied license to use them.


In other words, the iPhone and iPad are no longer at risk for an importation ban if things go sideways for Apple in this case. And neither are any Macs protected by that implied license I mentioned earlier. Really the only infringing products at issue in the case are Macs with Intel GPUs. So worst case scenario, if the ITC’s initial ruling should be upheld, Apple could presumably switch its Mac line over to Nvdia GPUs and dodge an ITC ban. Which significantly blunts S3′s helpfulness to HTC in its ongoing IP war with Apple, as Litigating Apple’s Matt Macari suggested last week.
“As S3 goes, so goes HTC — at least when it comes to using the S3 acquisition as leverage against Apple,” Macari, an IP attorney, wrote. “Such a turn in events would effectively put HTC back where it was before it purchased S3, forcing HTC to face Apple’s initial ITC win head on.”




*thanks All things Digital*

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- Posted using my iPhone 4

How to Show the User Library Folder in Mac OS X Lion

Apple has hidden the user Library folder by default in Mac OS X Lion. These are instructions on how to make it visible again.



Step One
Launch a new Terminal window from your Applications:Utilities folder.



Step Two
Type in chflags nohidden ~/Library/ into the Terminal window and press Enter.



Step Three
Voila, your Library folder will now appear in your Finder window.




NOTE: If you don't want to permanently make the Library folder hidden you can also just hold down Option and click the Finder Go menu to reveal a quick link to the folder.



*thanks iclarified*

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- Posted using my iPhone 4

Apple is Working on an Ultra-Thin 15-inch MacBook?

Apple is reportedly working on an ultra-thin 15-inch MacBook, according to MacRumors. The site is unsure if it will be released as a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro but says it is already in late testing stages.

It's expected that Apple will drop the built-in optical drive as it has done for the new MacBook Airs and the new Mac Mini.

The timing of an ultra-thin 15" Apple notebook remains a mystery to us as Apple just revamped the MacBook Air with new 11" and 13" models. Meanwhile the MacBook Pro line was refreshed in February, likely pushing the next release out to at least very late in the year.

Back in February, iLounge predicted the next update for the MacBook Pro would be a milestone redesign.





*thanks iclarified*

Could this possibly be the new Liquid Metal MacBook we have been waiting for?


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Apple secretly upping optical bay on 2011 MacBook Pros to SATA3 6Gb/s as a production change

When this February Apple rolled out the new MacBook Pro family with Sandy Bridge chips and Thuderbolt I/O, the company surprised many with a SATA3 interface for the hard drive and disappointed at the same time by leaving the Superdrive in SATA2. SATA3 allows for theoretical data transfer speeds of 600 megabytes per second versus 300 megabytes per second for SATA2. Real-life numbers, as always, are lower and dependant on a number of factors, such as the speed of both your processor and the peripheral attached to the SATA interface. Initially, all 2011 MacBook Pros shipped with the SATA2 in the optical drive bay and the SATA3 in the main bay.

That appears to be changing as we’re hearing from multiple sources that Apple has upgraded the units delivered lately to SATA3 connectivity in the optical bay. However, this in no way implies that the latest SATA3 SSDs will work in the optical bay due to some compatibility problems with the SATA interface. Resolving them will likely require an EFI update, Snow Leopard 10.6.8 (which is currently in beta-testing) or even another quiet hardware adjustment…

Other World Computing observed on its blog last week that “units we’ve purchased over the past month indicate that Apple seems to be changing over to having 6Gb/s connectivity in both the main drive bay and in the optical bay”. Users on the Hardmac forum spotted the change as well and sites like Mac Performance Guide reported about Apple slipstreaming SATA3 6Gb/s ports across the entire MacBook Pro family. Note also that a new 2011 MacBook Pro OWC received this week “was back to 6Gb/s in the main bay and 3Gb/s in the optical”. It’s probably an isolated incident because the vast majority of web reports suggest a production change across all three MacBook Pro models (13/15/17″) enabling dual SATA3 connectivity. To see whether your MacBook Pro supports SATA3 in the optical bay, examine the Serial-ATA entry under the Hardware tab of the Apple System Profiler app on your Mac. If the Link Speed on both bays reads 6 Gigabit, you’re in luck (see below).



*thanks 9to5Mac*

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- Posted using my iPhone 4

iPad to send Windows into negative growth for the first time ever?

SAI:

Microsoft’s consumer PC sales growth has pretty much never declined. Not even when Microsoft released Vista. Not even when the economy went in the toilet. But suddenly, the growth of sales is about to go negative, says Citi analyst Walter Pritchard.
If Windows starts to decline in numbers, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer might actually be in trouble. If things weren’t bad enough, Microsoft also has to contend with a ChromeOS from Google and maybe even some ARM powered laptops from Apple.

*thanks 9to5Mac*

This is why Microsoft is giving away xbox360 with any windows 7 pc purchase of $699.99 or more, more details here.
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- Posted using my iPhone 4

Apple to Announce Back-To-School Special at WWDC? iPad Discount?

Apple will reportedly announce its Back-to-School special at WWDC which will bundle a free iPod touch or possibly a $200 iPad discount with the purchase of a Mac.

One of our Apple sources has informed us that they’ve been hearing Apple’s yearly back-to-school special will be announced at WWDC next month. We have been told Apple will continue to offer educational discounts on computers and either a free iPod touch, or $229 towards the purchase of any other iPod. Our source also let us know that there might be something new in the works, as well… they heard that it’s possible Apple might offer students up to $200 off an iPad with the purchase of a new Mac. If true, this would be pretty great deal.




*thanks iclarified*

You can see how this along with amazing iPad sales are destroying Microsoft and windows sales. Microsoft didn't want to feel left out and came out with their own promo for students, buy a windows 7 pc and get a xbox360 free and it can be seen here.

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- Posted using my iPhone 4

New MacBook Pros default boot in 64-bit mode

Here’s an interesting little tidbit we didn’t notice until just now: Apple boots those new MacBook Pros into 64-bit Snow Leopard rather than 32-bit, like every other Mac out there save the Mac Pro (which the MacBook Pro certainly competes with and juice up to 16GB of RAM). We’re sure some people noticed it before but we hadn’t seen it elsewhere.



Also of interest, the new MacBook Pros have 6Gb SATA III which was benchmarked pretty spectacularly by BareFeats. Unfortunately, the optical drive only has 4Gb SATA II for you SSD-in-optical-bay modders.

To switch between 64 and 32-bit modes on your 64-bit supported Mac, you can use either of these methods:

Method 1: Startup key combination (for current startup only)

If your Mac uses the 32-bit kernel by default, but supports the 64-bit kernel, you can start up using the 64-bit kernel by holding the 6 and 4 keys during startup.
If your Mac uses the 64-bit kernel by default, you can start up with the 32-bit kernel by holding the 3 and 2 keys during startup.
Your Mac will revert to the default kernel the next time you reboot it.

Method 2: On-disk setting (persistent)

To select the 64-bit kernel for the current startup disk, use the following command in Terminal:

sudo systemsetup -setkernelbootarchitecture x86_64

To select the 32-bit kernel for the current startup disk, use the following command in Terminal:

sudo systemsetup -setkernelbootarchitecture i386

Note: This setting is stored in the /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist file and will take effect every time you start up from this disk. If you start up from a different disk, the setting on that disk, or the hardware default, will take effect.



*thanks 9to5Mac*

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iPad 2 Beats MacBook Pro in iMovie Speed Tests

AppAdvice has performed several iMovie speed tests comparing the iPad 2 to 10 Mac devices including the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac Pro, and iPad 1.

They tested the time it took to copy a movie to the device, the time it took to encode an unedited 2 minute movie to 720p, and the time it took to encode an edited movie to 720p.

In the first test, the same 2 minute video was imported into iMovie on all the devices. Surprisingly, the iPad 2 smoked even the Mac Pro taking only 25.5 seconds to import the clip. The Mac Pro took 56.5 seconds and the fastest MacBook Pro took 1 minute 12.5 seconds.



In the second test, the iPad 2 smoked the other devices yet again encoding an unedited 2 minute clip to 720p in 1 minute 56 seconds. The Mac Pro took 2 minutes and 15 seconds and the fastest MacBook Pro took 2 minutes and 20 seconds.



Finally, the iPad 2 performed well on its last test as well. It came in third place just behind the Mac Pro and the fastest MacBook Pro. This time the two minute video was encoded after adding a title overlay, music in the background, and a start and finish image. The iPad 2 finished encoding in 2 minutes 5 seconds; whereas, the Mac Pro took 1 minute 48 seconds and the MacBook Pro took 2 minutes.



We were shocked by these findings. The question we wanted to answer is this: If I am going to be shooting video on the road, what portable machine do I bring to edit/encode videos? We think the answer is pretty clear. For most people, the iPad 2 has more than enough power for editing and encoding videos on the road. Yes, the edits you can do on the iPad are simpler, but they are sufficient for most of us.



*thanks iclarified*

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Secret Firmware Update Lets Late '08 MacBooks Use 8GB of RAM

OWC has discovered that a 'secret' firmware update has enabled access to 8GB of RAM on late '08 MacBooks.

In late 2009, an EFI Firmware Update was released to address the buzzing noises coming from the optical drive. However, it seems that somewhere along the line, Apple changed this update without notating it anywhere.

Whether any other elements were affected by this change is undetermined, but it did change memory addressing; with the later version of the update installed, you could address a full 8GB in Snow Leopard. Unfortunately, Software Update doesn’t show this version as being different from the previous one, so users wouldn’t be notified if they had already updated their firmware to the older version.

This discovery applies to the following MacBook models:
● MacBook 13.3" 2.0GHz and 2.4GHz
● MacBook Pro 15" 2.4GHz (All)
● MacBook Pro 15" 2.53GHz model w/ExpressCard Slot (Late 2008)
● MacBook Pro 15" 2.8GHz model w/ExpressCard Slot (Late 2008)

Check your BootROM version in System Profiler and make sure its MBP51.007E.B05 for MacBook Pros and MB51.007D.B03 for MacBooks.

If your BootROM doesn't make the numbers above, download and install the "secretly" updated firmware from here:
● MacBook Pros (MacBookPro5,1): MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.8
● MacBooks (MacBook5,1): MacBook EFI Firmware Update 1.4

Finally, make sure you are on Snow Leopard 10.6.6 then upgrade your RAM to 8GB. I'll be doing this first thing tomorrow morning!




*thanks iclarified*

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Bootcamp Drops Support for Windows XP and Vista on New MacBooks ***UPDATE***

Bootcamp no longer offers support for Windows XP and Vista on the new MacBooks just released last week, according to ZDNet.

An Apple support documents says,

MacBook Air (Late 2010) and MacBook Pro (Early 2011) computers support 32 and 64 bit versions of Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, or Windows 7 Ultimate.

Note: Windows XP and Vista drivers are not supplied for these computers and are not supported.

To use Boot Camp with with Windows 7, you need the following:
● An optical drive (MacBook Air computers require an external optical disc drive to install Windows 7).
● A blank CD or USB storage device to contain the Windows Drivers created by the Boot Camp Assistant.
● For 32-bit versions of Windows, at least 16 GB of free space.
● For 64-bit versions of Windows, at least 20 GB of free space.
● Boot Camp Assistant, which is pre-installed in /Applications/Utilities/ .
● An authentic, 32-bit or 64-bit Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate disc.





*thanks iclarified*

***UPDATE***

• You are chatting with Gabriel R, an Apple Expert

• Hi, my name is Gabriel R. Welcome to Apple!
• Good afternoon! How may I assist you today?
• hi, i have a question about bootcamp on the new mbp
• Hello.
• Yes. Any new Mac lets you install and natively run Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP with the built in Boot Camp feature. Additionally, if you need to run both Mac and Windows applications simultaneously, we recommend VMware or Parallels software.
• so there is support for windows xp?
• Yes, correct.
• Will this be your first Mac?
• i have read online on many sites that apple had stopped support for windows xp...
• no second..
• Great.
• How will you be using your Mac, for example what programs will you be using on the Mac?
• well i use Photoshop, Final cut pro, and a few others on OSX and Auto desk inventor and autocad on the windows xp partition....
• Excellent!
• Will you store all of your music, video and photos on your Mac? Or maybe as well use an external hard drive?
• i am a mechanical engineering student and need support for windows xp, i have the previous model of the mbp 15.4 i7 and would love the thunderbolt upgrade, and the boost in the fsb...
• Yes, it is amazing!
• The 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro now feature quad-core Intel Core i7 processors. And the 13-inch models jump to dual-core Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. All models are up to 2x faster.
• New Thunderbolt technology lets you connect high-performance peripherals and high-resolution displays to one port — with data transfer rates up to 10 Gbps.
• thank you for the info, now i have to sell my current mbp and buy a new one... ;-)
• Do you need to have something like Word, Excel or PowerPoint on your Mac?
• i have office 08 on my mac and iwork...
• Which screen size would you prefer?
• 15.4
• Based on your needs I recommend for you the new MacBook Pro 15" 2.2GHz. With 4 GB RAM and 750GB hard drive. That will give you great speed to run all your applications and enough space for your files and programs. Will that MacBook Pro work for you? How does that sound?
• I also recommend iWork 09 and AppleCare. For Macs, AppleCare offers 3 years of unlimited calls to our technical support team, it extends the original coverage from 1 year to 3 years. And you get global repair coverage for your Mac — both parts and labor — through convenient service options. You can add them to your Mac and get more details on them in the configuration page.
• i was just wondering do you have any info on the previous models pricing? i dont remember what i paid for it...
• is there a family pac for apple care?
• I'm sorry we no longer carry new ones previous generation just refurbished section.
• i just needed the price...
• pack*
• There is not since AppleCare is based on the product serial number.
• Click here for the refurbished section.
• Let me know if the link works fine.
• Now for the new Mac I will stay online with you and leave this chat open while you place the order, in case you have any questions.
• Once you place the order, you can type in your order number here so i can verify our order went through fine.
• well i cant buy a new one until i sell my current mbp..
• We currently offer two credit options: The Barclaycard Financing Visa card, which is offered through Barclays Bank Delaware, and Bill Me Later, which is offered through CIT Bank.
• thanks for the info and for confirming that windows xp and vista are still supported...
• Is there anything else I can assist you with today?
• You are welcome.
• Thank you for visiting the Apple Store. We appreciate your business. If you would like more help, please chat with us again.
• is there any way i can get a transcript of this conversation?
• You can just copy and paste to save it.
• Have a great day.
• thank you, and have a great day too..
• Thank you for visiting the Apple Store. We appreciate your business. If you would like more help, please chat with us again.
• Thank you for choosing the Apple Store. If you have any additional questions, please chat us again.

It may seem Zdnet is wrong! windows xp and vista are still supported by bootcamp in the new macbook pro and air models.

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New MacBook Pro Benchmarks Show Amazing Performance Improvement

Benchmarks of the new MacBook Pro show amazing performance compared to previous generation devices, according to PrimateLabs.

The performance of the new MacBook Pros is amazing. The slowest MacBook Pro performs on par with the fastest previous-generation MacBook Pro, and the fastest MacBook Pro is 80% faster than the fastest previous-generation MacBook Pro.

In fact, if you look at our Mac Benchmark charts, you'll see that the fastest MacBook Pro is faster than a lot of Mac Pros (including the current generation of Mac Pros). The new MacBook Pros truly are portable workstations.

Take a look at the chart below...



*thanks iclarified*

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iFixIt Teardown of the New MacBook Pro

iFixIt has posted their teardown of the new MacBook Pro ranking it a 7 out of 10 for repairability.

We got our hands on Apple's newest MacBook Pro 15" on February 24, 2011. This is Apple's first laptop to sport a quad-core processor, and also adds a brand-new I/O technology with a Thunderbolt port.

Notes:
● You can chain up to six Thunderbolt devices. That's not a problem today as we're not even aware of six products that support Thunderbolt yet. If the connection becomes widespread, the six device limit might be a problem for some people. In comparison, FireWire supports 63 devices and USB supports up to 127 devices.
● The wireless card received a makeover and now includes four antennas instead of three.
● Broadcom BCM4331 wireless chip provides "three transmitting and three receiving streams of data in both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands. Increased number of streams and antennas results in faster speeds, longer range, fewer dropped connections, and better overall wireless coverage."
● AMD Radeon HD 6490M GPU (labeled as AMD 216-00809000)
● Samsung K4G10325FE-HC04 1 Gb (128MB) GDDR5 SGRAM graphics memory, a total of 2Gb (256 MB)

Repairability Score: 7 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair).
● Easily removable bottom panel and readily accessible battery connector allow for easy repair of most components without touching the battery screws.
● Unibody design allows for easy access of most components with minimal amounts of extra work needed to get to them.
● Absurd amounts of pre-applied thermal paste may cause problems down the road.
● Tri-wing screws limit the average person from replacing their own battery.
● LCD replacement is still very tricky, which could easily result in shattering the front glass panel.




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You have to hand it to Apples computer engineering department, they can cram so much into a small space...

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Hands on Demonstration of Thunderbolt in Action [Video]

Check out this hands on demonstration from Engadget of how Thunderbolt works and just how fast it really is.

You can learn more about the technology here.



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Apple Updates the MacBook Pro With Thunderbolt, FaceTime HD

Apple today updated the MacBook Pro family with next generation processors and graphics, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology and a new FaceTime HD camera. Featuring the very latest dual-core and quad-core Intel Core processors, the entire MacBook Pro line is up to twice as fast as the previous generation.

"The new MacBook Pro brings next generation dual and quad Core processors, high performance graphics, Thunderbolt technology and FaceTime HD to the great design loved by our pro customers," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Thunderbolt is a revolutionary new I/O technology that delivers an amazing 10 gigabits per second and can support every important I/O standard which is ideal for the new MacBook Pro."

Starting at $1,199 the new 13-inch MacBook Pro offers amazing value and performance in a compact design. The highly portable 13-inch MacBook Pro features Intel Core i5 and Core i7 dual-core processors up to 2.7 GHz and Intel HD Graphics 3000. The powerful 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models feature quad-core Core i7 processors up to 2.3 GHz and AMD Radeon HD graphics processors with up to 1GB of video memory for high performance gaming, pro video editing and graphics intensive applications.

MacBook Pro is the first computer on the market to include the groundbreaking Thunderbolt I/O technology. Developed by Intel with collaboration from Apple, Thunderbolt enables expandability never before possible on a notebook computer. Featuring two bi-directional channels with transfer speeds up to an amazing 10Gbps each, Thunderbolt delivers PCI Express directly to external high performance peripherals such as RAID arrays, and can support FireWire and USB consumer devices and Gigabit Ethernet networks via adapters. Thunderbolt also supports DisplayPort for high resolution displays and works with existing adapters for HDMI, DVI and VGA displays. Freely available for implementation on systems, cables and devices, Thunderbolt technology is expected to be widely adopted as a new standard for high performance I/O.

The MacBook Pro now includes a built-in FaceTime HD camera with triple the resolution of the previous generation for crisp, widescreen video calls. With Apple's innovative FaceTime video calling software, the new camera allows high definition video calls between all new MacBook Pro models and supports standard resolution calls with other Intel-based Macs, iPhone 4 and the current generation iPod touch. FaceTime is included with all new MacBook Pro models and is available for other Intel-based Macs from the Mac App Store for 99 cents. The MacBook Pro lineup continues to feature its gorgeous aluminum unibody enclosure, glass Multi-Touch trackpad, LED-backlit widescreen display, illuminated full-size keyboard and 7-hour battery.

As the industry's greenest notebook lineup, every Mac notebook achieves EPEAT Gold status and meets Energy Star 5.0 requirements, setting the standard for environmentally friendly notebook design. Each unibody enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Mac notebooks contain no brominated flame retardants, are PVC-free and are constructed with recyclable materials.

Pricing & Availability
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro, 15-inch MacBook Pro and 17-inch MacBook Pro are available through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The 13-inch MacBook Pro is available in two configurations: one with a 2.3 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 and 320GB hard drive starting at $1,199; and one with a 2.7 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 and 500GB hard drive starting at $1,499. The new 15-inch MacBook Pro is available in two models: one with a 2.0 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6490M and 500GB hard drive starting at $1,799 and one with a 2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 750GB hard drive starting at $2,199. The new 17-inch MacBook Pro features a 2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 750GB hard drive and is priced at $2,499.

Configure-to-order options include faster quad-core processors up to 2.3 GHz, additional hard drive capacity up to 750GB, solid state storage up to 512GB, more memory up to 8GB DDR3, antiglare and high-resolution display options and AppleCare Protection Plan.





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MacBook Pro Box Photo Leaks Specs, New Thunderbolt Port!

The specifications for the new MacBook Pro have been leaked via a photo of the 13-inch model box and a photo of ports on the new notebook.

Here are the specifications of the 13" MacBook Pro:
● Core i5 processor dual core 2,3 GHz with 3 Mo of cache
● 4 Go of DDR3 1333 MHz
● Hard Drive 320 GB 5400 rpm
● Glossy 13,33" display 1280x800
● Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 384 Mo of RAM shared with the main memory
● FaceTime HD video camera
● Superdrive 8x
● Thunderbolt port compatible with I/O peripherals and high speed Mini Displayport
● SDXC card reader, one Firewire 800 and two USB 2.0
● Numeric audio out
● Integrated Ethernet
● Backlit keyboard
● Dimensions and weight: 32,5x22,7x2,41 cm; 2,04 kg




The new Thunderbolt port is one with the Mini Displayport. You can see the new logo for thunderbolt and the thunderbolt markings next to the port in the images below.





Remember these are specifications for the low end MacBook Pro. The 15-inch and 17-inch models could have more surprises in store.

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New MacBook Pro Specs Leaked Again?

Specifications on the new MacBook Pros expected Thursday have been leaked again this time from MacGeneration.

MacRumors summarizes the rumors:
● no more white MacBook (Apple goes back to two lines of 13" inchers)
● 16 GB SSD mSATA drives on all models to store the system
● Core i3 and third USB port on the 13" model
● Matte screen option on the higher-end 13"
● Option to replace the SuperDrive with a SSD on the 15 and 17" models
● HD screens on all models : 1440x900 on the 13", 1680x1050 on the 15"
● 200 to 300 grams lighter : 1.8 kg for the 13", 2.3 kg for the 15", 2.65 kg for the 17"
● Better battery life : 12 hours on the 13", 10 hours on the 15"
● 8 GB of RAM on the 17"

MacGeneration again mentions a new technology that may very well be Light Peak.

Finally, we spoke of "new technology" that would make his first steps in these new MacBook Pro: Integrating Light Peak in the third USB port? New battery technology? New materials explaining the drop weight? Impossible to know for now, but the wait will last only until Thursday.




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Apple Could Launch New iMac Alongside New MacBook Pro

Apple could launch new iMacs alongside the new MacBook Pros expected to arrive later this month, according to a DigiTimes report.

In addition to notebooks, the supply chain sources also pointed out that Apple may also launch its new iMac along with its MacBook, and the company may also make some changes over the screen size to allow panel cutting to reach its optimization.

The latest rumors have the new MacBook Pro featuring a larger trackpad, an 8-16GB SSD that the operating system will run off, a better battery, an improved display, a modular drive, and more.

The earliest expected release date is Thursday, February 24th.




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