Hasta La Gadget!

Most technology companies build their products overseas, particularly in China. Apple for instance uses Foxconn to produce the bulk of its popular products such as the iPhone and the iPad. However, more and more components for some Apple products are being produced in the United States.

Recently Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that Apple would be assembling a Mac computer in the United States once again. Cook didn’t offer a lot of detail on that comment, despite the fact that a flurry of questions were tossed his way when he made the announcement. People want to know where exactly the machine will be constructed, but Cook declined any further details.

All we know at this point is that a Mac computer will be built in the United States and according to Cook, it will be a new iteration of an existing product. That could mean anything from a refreshed MacBook to a new version of the Mac Pro or Mac mini.

Reports indicate that whatever Mac computer is built in the United States won’t just be a collection of parts shipped from overseas. Many of the components used in the assembly of the new Mac will themselves be made in the United States. Some of the components sourced from the US will come from Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, and Texas.

Some of the processors Apple uses in products such as the iPhone are already built in the US. Apple made a significant investment into a Samsung chip manufacturing plant in Texas where processors for the iPhone are produced. It’s nice to see Apple bringing even more of its construction back to the US, though you have to wonder if this will mean any increase in prices.

SOURCE: Engadget

American-made Mac will be part of an existing product line says Cook is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

When Apple’s Tim Cook revealed that his company would once more assemble a Mac line in the US, there was a flood of questions almost immediately: which model? Where would it be made? While the CEO isn’t revealing all his cards quite yet, he just gave us a better sense of those domestic production plans through a Politico interview. The American Mac will be a new iteration of an existing family, Cook says. It also won’t just be a collection of parts shipped from overseas, as multiple pieces will come from Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky and Texas. We’re glad to hear that Apple’s partial shift to US manufacturing is sincere, although the timing of the news isn’t coincidental: Cook is about to defend Apple’s growing offshore cash supply in front a Senate committee, and any visible support for the US economy is likely to burnish his firm’s image.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Apple

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Via: The Verge

Source: Politico

Inhon first attracted attention with its amazingly thin Blade 13 laptop, a 13-inch laptop that weighs in at less than 2-pounds and is only 0.39-inches thin. According to the folks at Engadget, following very closely on the laptop’s heels is the Inhon Tablet, which has an optional keyboard that immediately makes one think of the Surface. The tablet will be launched in Taiwan at an unspecified date.

It’s a rather unique concept – when folded, the device looks and functions like your average everyday tablet running Windows 8. It is portable, and can be used with a stylus, for example. There are bound to be times, however, when you need to do something more hardware-intensive than a tablet can handle. Instead of switching to a laptop or desktop, the Inhon Tablet has a built in sort of Turboboost mode.

On the half of the tablet/laptop hybrid that doesn’t hold the screen, there’s said to be USB 3.0 and Mini DisplayPorts, as well as a cooling fan that is exposed when the device is opened up. As such, the increased cooling is used in conjunction with a TurboBoost of the processor (overclocking?) that gives users a big jump in processing power.

Because it can no longer be used as a tablet once it is unfolded, the Inhon Tablet can be used with an optional accessory that looks very similar to a Touch Cover, functioning as both a trackpad and a keyboard. When it hits shelves, the quasi-tablet will be priced between NT $29,999 and NT $39,999, which is roughly $1000 to $1300 USD.

[via Engadget]

Inhon Tablet has fold-activated CPU boost is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Hewlett-Packard’s chairman, Raymond Lane, has decided to step down from his position in order to “reduce any distraction from HP’s ongoing turnaround”. He, however, will continue to stay with the company and serve as a director. He made his decision based on a recent vote at the annual shareholders meeting held on March 20th. While he was re-elected for his position, he only received 59% of the shareholders’ votes.

Taking over his position, at least temporarily, will be Ralph Whitworth, Founder of Relational Investors LLC. His firm owns $800 million worth of HP’s stock, and he says that his interests “are completely aligned with those of our shareholders”. He will act as interim chairman until HP can find a new, permanent chairman to replace him. As part of his duties as interim Chairman, Whitworth will seek out a “world-class chairman to take my place as soon as possible.” He also states that he will recruit at least 2 “outstanding” directors before the year ends.

Whitworth needs to find at least two new directors because directors G. Kennedy Thompson and John Hammergren have both also decided to step down from their positions. Hammergren and Thompson were both re-elected, but by very narrow margins. They received 54% and 55% of the votes respectively. They will continue to act as directors to HP until the board meeting held in May.

Thompson and Whitworth received a lot of backlash from shareholders due to a series of “HP missteps” that many shareholders felt they were responsible for. The most recent “misstep” would be HP’s acquisition of Autonomy in 2011, which resulted in a write down of a few billion dollars after HP discovered that the company was involved in a series of accounting fraud. CEO Meg Whitman released a statement about the changes. She stated,

“Ray, John, and Ken have invested a part of themselves in HP. A commitment reflected in the early success we’ve had turning the company around.”

[via Forbes]

HP chairman Raymond Lane steps down is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

A low-cost, Android-powered mini-computer has turned up on Kickstarter looking for funding. The machine is called the MiiPC and is designed specifically to help parents keep an eye on exactly what their kids are seeing online and how much time they spend online. The machine runs Android 4.2 and works in conjunction with a special application on an Android or iOS smartphone.

Using the application, parents can see every website their kids visited, how much time they spend online, and block access to specific websites. The app also allows the parent to set a time limit that their kids can spend online or on a specific website. That means if you don’t want your kid to be on Facebook for any more than 30 minutes, you can set that via the app. You can also configure the system for multiple children, each with their own usage rules.

The hardware inside the computer is pretty basic, with a 1.2 GHz Marvell Armada dual-core processor and 1 GB of RAM. The machine has 4 GB of integrated storage, an SD slot, and built-in Wi-Fi. Other connectivity options include an Ethernet port, Bluetooth 4.0, dual USB ports, and an HDMI output. The MiiPC can be pre-ordered via Kickstarter for just $99(USD). They expect to start shipping the system late this summer.