At the centerpiece of Apple’s mass hardware refresh is a brand-new unibody Macbook. The 13-inch notebook features a new glossy-white plastic body, which uses the same unibody technology as those Macbook Pros. The computer has a glass multitouch trackpad, a built-in 7-hour battery, and a backlit LED screen.
The new Macbook packs a 250GB hard drive, a SuperDrive, a 2.26-GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM (upgradable to 8GB), and NVIDIA 9400M integrated graphics. The notebook weighs in at 4.7 pounds and meets Energy Star 5.0 and EPEAT Gold requirements. It ships with Snow Leopard and the iLife Suite.
The new Macbook starts at $999, and is available today from the Apple Store.
Looks like it’s “full steam ahead” for Japanese electronics juggernaut Sony as far as 3D visual technology is concerned. Shortly after announcing the company’s interest in such displays during the recent Germany-based IFA trade show and Japan’s Ceatec, Sony is back on the tech radar …
Alongside refreshes to the its Macbook and Mac Mini lines, Apple today made yet another attempt to get the whole mouse thing right, with the Magic Mouse. The latest Mac mouse follows the not especially well received Mighty Mouse and its much-hated predecessor, the single button Round USB “hockey puck” mouse. According to Apple, the new Magic Mouse is “the world’s first multi-touch mouse.”
The mouse doesn’t feature physical buttons, instead relying on touch, taps, and swipes. As Apple puts it, “the mouse itself is the button.” Users can scroll and flip through Web pages and photos, and can click or double-click anywhere on the mouse’s surface. The mouse also utilizes laser-tracking for increased efficiency without the need of a mousepad.
The Magic Mouse is Bluetooth-enabled and is customizable via Apple System Preferences. Users must have Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later and the Wireless Mouse Software Update 1.0.
The new mouse ships with new versions of the iMac or can be purchased separately for $69 from the Apple Store. It’s available now.
You’ll always know how to dress when you’ve got the Ambient Flurry on your nightstand. This alarm clock automatically tunes in two-day weather information for 150 U.S. locations, and displays it in soft amber. The weather data doesn’t require a computer or a wireless home network, since the Flurry connects to InfoCast’s wireless network. Weather data includes two graphics, temperature highs and lows, and a 25 character text display. The report is automatically updated through the day.
Besides weather, the Flurry offers two different alarms so you can set one for weekdays and one for weekends. It lists for $129.99 and is available at Best Buy. The company already sells a similar model called the Mist, which includes a radio and lists for $179.99.
Apple’s unexpected hardware refresh on Tuesday included an update to the Mac mini, a piece of hardware some thought Apple had forgotten about.
The new addition is a server option, which includes a pair of hard drives and Snow Leopard Server, to allow consumers, enthusiasts and small businesses to host an email server.
The new minis, priced starting at $599, feature the option of either a 2.26-GHz or 2.53-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and either 2 Gbytes or 4 Gbytes of memory. An additional options page lists an optional 2.66-GHz Core 2 Duo option, available only as an online upgrade for an additional $150.
Specifically, the 2.26-GHz processor/2-Gbyte RAM/160-Gbyte storage option costs $599.00, while the 2.53-GHz/4-GB RAM/320-Gbyte storage option costs $799.00. The mac mini Server configuration costs $999.00.
Today's Beck's Beer Audio Draft Pick is the Works Progress Administration (WPA)
(Credit: WPA)
Back in April of 2008 BJ (before Justin), motivational speaker James Arthur Ray guest-hosted The 404 Podcast and Jeff, Wilson, and Randall spoke to him about how to grow your own meat–no lie. Anyway, the show left a sour taste in The 404’s collective mouth, and more than a year later it turns out that Mr. Ray is a big phony, not unlike Balloon Boy Sr.
Turns out that three people died in Arizona at a spiritual retreat “sweat lodge” organized by the self-appointed guru. It’s a very sad story, and our hearts go out to the families of the victims. And James? Shame on you.
Oh, and surprise! The personal information you put up on the Internet is no longer private. According to this Wired Danger Room blog, a branch of the CIA has begun heavily investing in Visible Technologies, a software firm that monitors social media, including blog posts, Internet forums, online videos, radio reports, and so on. Luckily, Facebook is currently immune to such companies due to its closed architecture, but Twitter, Amazon, and YouTube are all fair game.
This report is definitely worth reading, but we’re not surprised. Actually, we thought there was already a system set up to spy on our Web activities: it’s called GOOGLE, and it’s not doing such a great job at keeping our information private. The company is under suspicion of accidentally posting transcribed voice mails from its Google Voice service. Although this issue might actually concern me if my entire voice mail box weren’t filled with concerned messages from my mother…
Today's Beck's Beer Draft Pick is Works Progress Administration (WPA).
(Credit: WPA)
We’re doing three Beck’s Beer Audio Drafts this week to make up for the one we skipped last Friday due to Wilson’s absence, and Wilson’s pick for today is Works Progress Administration, a country outfit comprised of some of the most recognizable names in country music, including Glen Phillips from Toad the Wet Sprocket, Sean Watkins from Nickel Creek, and Benmont Tench from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
The songs of the day are called “Good as Ever” and “Always Have My Love,” and although Jeff and I aren’t huge fans of the country music genre, we can definitely appreciate the musical talent of this supergroup, and Wilson chimes in to explain the difference between country-pop, country-rock, and a million other sub-genres. The band is currently on a West Coast Tour, so be sure to check out the WPA Web site for more details.
Like a bat out of hell, Apple has just shuttled a new, unibody MacBook in the gadget world’s direction. The new model — which looks like an arctic, glossy version of the familiar 13-inch MacBook Pro line — will be landing in stores today (yes, today), with a familiar price tag: $999. In terms of changes, besides the new, high-test plastic casing (built in the same fashion as the aluminum MacBook Pros) the 13-incher boasts a LED-backlit display, new glass multitouch trackpad, and a built-in, “7 hour” battery. Inside the single SKU will be a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM (upgradable to 4GB), an NVIDIA 9400M GPU, 250GB hard drive and the old standby SuperDrive. We had a chance to play around with the laptop, and it’s pretty snazzy for a hunk of plastic. The surface is super slick (AKA super fingerprint friendly), though the base of the laptop utilizes a soft-touch, non-slip surface that’s nice to handle. The display certainly is brighter and better looking than the previous model, though the one on the desk we saw was slightly dimmer than we would prefer — in its defense it was sitting right next to a super bright iMac. As stated, the new model can be picked up right this very second at stores around the globe, and we’ll have a much closer look very soon — so stay tuned! A full spec breakdown is after the break.
Ready for some more Apple news? Good. Say goodbye to the Mighty Mouse (for reasons beyond those legal entanglements) — the Magic Mouse has arrived. Hate buttons or moving parts? So does Apple, and nothing exemplifies the company’s march towards a buttonless future more than this “two button” laser mouse, which has one button and no scroll wheel — just a multitouch surface (a hard acrylic) across the top. With the Magic Mouse you’re able to do familiar gestures from the Mac trackpad playbook such as two-finger swipes, but you can also do single-finger horizontal and vertical scrolling, complete with a software-based inertia (see a video here). Sorry kids, no pinch zoom. The wireless device boasts a four-month battery life, and will be available today for $69. Full press release is after the break.
After months of speculation, Apple has unveiled some completely new iMacs, featuring 21.5-inch and 27-inch 16:9 displays and all-aluminum enclosures. The new widescreen IPS panels are LED-backlit and have 178-degree viewing angles — the 21.5-inch iMac has a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, while the 27-incher comes in at a staggering 2,560 x 1,440. Ports are the same as the outgoing model with the addition of an SD card slot and video-in on the 27-inch (via a special cable), and the wireless keyboard is now standard (as is the all-new Magic Mouse). Pricing tiers haven’t changed much: there’s a low-end $1,199 21.5-inch model with a 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB drive, a $1,499 model that bumps things up to 1TB of storage and ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics, while the base 27-inch config starts at $1,699 with the same bumped specs. All of those can be custom-configured with up to a 3.33GHz Core 2 Duo, but it’s the top-end $1,999 27-inch model that’ll bring the real heat when it ships in November; it’s packing a 2.06GHz quad-core Core i5 processor (with a 2.8GHz Core i7 available for $200 more) and Radeon HD 4850 graphics. Not a bad little refresh — but it looks like all you Blu-ray fans are going home alone again. Check the full specs list after the break.
Apple’s high-noon extravaganza is touching just about every aspect of the company’s consumer lineup today, and considering just how long it’s been (okay, so maybe not that long) since the Mac mini saw any love, we’re thrilled that it’s amongst the crowd seeing updates today. The new $599 Mac mini configuration gets fitted with a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo CPU (up from 2GHz), 2GB of RAM (up from 1GB) and a 160GB hard drive (up from 120GB). The $799 build features a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB of memory (up from 2GB) and a 320GB hard drive (same as before), and both machines sport the same GeForce 9400M GPU and 8x SuperDrive as they did in March. The most intriguing news on the mini front, however, has nothing to do with the standard rigs.
Apple is today introducing an all new machine in the Mac mini server, a system that’s formed in the exact same enclosure as the standard mini but without an optical drive of any kind. Instead, there’s room for an additional hard drive, and the $999 model ships with two 500GB HDDs. It also includes Snow Leopard Server (unlimited clients), a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of RAM, a GeForce 9400M GPU and the same port assortment (meaning no mini-DisplayPort) as found on the other guys. It’s hard to say just how well something like this will do, but we’re guessing Apple doesn’t much mind if it remains a niche product. Catch Apple’s official blurb after the break.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
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