Yeah, so that black MacBook you bought a couple of years ago with an 80 GB hard drive isn't lookin' so hot now, is it? You know things are bad when you have to delete your pr0n videos to make room for incoming email. You'd like to swap out the hard drive, but your tech skills are sucky. What do you do?
Advance note to commenters: yeah, we know this isn't exactly rocket science, but for those who might be a little squeamish about actually yanking the hard drive out of their MacBooks, these step-by-step instructions should put their minds at ease.
According to a Knowledge Base article posted last week, Apple is now replacing (free of charge) frayed, discolored and deformed MagSafe power adapters for MacBook and MacBook Pro.
But -- and there's always a but -- they will only replace it if there's no sign of "abuse." So if you've been doing the right thing and holding the hard plastic connector to disconnect the cable, you might not have to pay another $80 for a new power adapter.
If your connector looks like the one pictured, and has been babied its entire life, then take it back to an Apple-Authorized Service Provider or an Apple retail store for an evaluation and replacement. It doesn't matter if the warranty has expired.
Also -- bonus points for the greeked copy at the bottom of Knowledge Base article page. I'm sure that counts for a shot in some obscure Apple website drinking game.
A Taiwan-based Mac site, Apple.pro, has posted what purport to be spy shots of the next MacBook. If they're real (always the big if) the big change appears to be a move to an all aluminum enclosure for the low-end Mac portable bringing it into line with its big Pro (and little Air) brothers. The shot of what appears to be the screen bezel clearly reads "MacBook." If this pans out it would mean the end of an era, with the elimination of last Macs to sport the previously iconic Apple white plastic design.
Like virtually all mobile computer manufacturers, Apple recommends that users calibrate their laptop batteries every few months, as Scott pointed out a couple of years ago. Unlike many manufacturers, however, Apple does not include a utility to automatically perform a calibration. Given Apple's uncanny ability to make things user-friendly, this seems like a bit of a glaring oversight.
What are the benefits of calibration? Primarily the goal is to ensure that the microprocessor in your battery provides an accurate estimate of how much time you have left on the battery. Over time it can lose track of just how much juice your battery has in it, and calibration gives it a very accurate reading on the battery's health.
Older battery technologies also benefited from a process called conditioning, which was typically performed the same way as a current battery's calibration process. In a nutshell, you fully charge the battery, fully discharge it, then fully charge it again. It's unclear whether modern lithium batteries gain anything in an actual capacity perspective from this process, or if it is simply a calibration of the microprocessor for the purpose of providing accurate time estimates.
AppleInsider reported today that Apple is advising resellers to stock up on the better-selling iPods and MacBooks, as factory supplies are expected to slow to a trickle in August. There's speculation that this could be due to a release of new models.
For 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pros and the standard MacBooks, Apple was recommending that channel partners place orders that would give them a 3-week supply. For iPods, a 4-week supply was advised.
Apple usually notifies resellers via bulletins like this when they're getting ready to refresh a product line. This points to a product introduction for the new laptops and iPods (most likely the iPod touch and nano) in late August or September. While this is late for the school buying season, it could mark an early entry into the holiday buying season with an agressive launch of new products.
This is a good news, bad news story. Let's start with the good news!
DisplaySearch, a market research firm, is reporting that Apple's sales of notebook computers are up 61% from 1st Quarter, 2007 to 1st Quarter, 2008. In that fiscal quarter, Apple shipped over 1.4 million notebooks, compared to almost 900,000 the year before. That puts Apple just behind Asus in terms of growth year-to-year, as the Taiwanese board and component maker saw a 67% growth rate. Most other notebook manufacturers saw growth rates in the 20 - 40% range.
The bad news? Apple's still in seventh place in overall notebook market share at 4.6%, trailing behind leaders HP (20.8%), Dell (15.1%), and Acer (14.7%) but still ahead of Asus (4.3%) and Sony (4.2%).
My personal speculation is that Asus is seeing huge increases due to the Eee PC subnotebook, which has been extremely popular with geeks wanting tiny Linux or Windows computers. If trends continue, Apple's notebook market share numbers should continue to grow into 2008.
Have you ever thought about upgrading your MacBook's scrawny 2GBs of RAM that Apple ships to something a little more deserving? Well, ChannelFlip has a very cool video showing you how to upgrade the RAM in either a MacBook or MacBook Pro. In addition they tested the performance of the 2GB and 4GB Apple RAM and the new Corsair 4GB low-latency Mac RAM. They show off the results in the video.
Quite a few users were frustrated to discover that the recently released Spore Creature Creator won't run on Macs with Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics (basically Mac minis and older MacBooks). An enterprising TUAW reader has come up with a solution. Clancy posted the following instructions:
download trial
click show package content
open resources folder
open tginstall.plist in Property List Editor (Having xcode installed helps)
Clancy reports that the Creature Creator is running fine on his Core2Duo Mac mini with this modification. I'm not sure how well this will hold up on the full game (though the GMA 950 is supported on Windows), but if you have an unsupported Intel Mac and would like to have a look it might be worth it.
Update: It seems clear from the comments that this is only working on the Mac mini and not on the MacBook.
Korg is introducing the nanoSeries line (Japanese link, Google translation) of digital music controllers. There will be three USB-powered models: a 25-key velocity sensitive mini keyboard (nanoKEY), a 12-pad mini drumpad (nanoPAD), and a 9-fader mini mixer (nanoKONTROL). As you can see they're clearly intended for use with a laptop running the Korg Legacy Collection synthesizer software or similar, and nicely integrate with the white MacBook.
The Korg nanoSeries is expected in October for around $100 - $120 each.
MacBook / MacBook Pro owners, are you suffering from SSD envy?
There's no need to fret, since ExperCom has just announced immediate availability of SSD upgrades for your favorite Apple laptops. If you already own a MacBook or MacBook Pro, you can send it to ExperCom's Logan, Utah office and have your hard drive replaced with a 60GB ($599) or 120GB ($899) SSD. ExperCom moves your data to the SSD so your MacBook is ready to roll when it is back in your hands, and returns the old HD to you for use as a Time Machine drive (enclosure not included).
If you've been thinking about purchasing a new MacBook Pro or MacBook, ExperCom is selling those laptops pre-configured with SSDs. A 15" MacBook Pro with the 2.4 GHz processor and a 120GB SSD is $2649, compared to $1999 for a stock Apple MBP with a standard 200GB hard drive. Want a white MacBook with a 2.2 GHz CPU and a 60GB SSD? It's yours for $1649, $550 over the price of a white MacBook with a 120GB HD.
Since the SSD upgrades are not covered by Apple's warranty, ExperCom provides service or can re-install the old drive prior to Apple service.
Are you looking for a tiny portable hard drive for doing Time Machine backups on the road? I do a lot of traveling with my MacBook Air and don't often get a chance to back it up to the 1 TB monster at home. Although there are several other diminutive hard drives on the market, when I saw the My Passport Studio line of portable drives announced today by Western Digital, I ordered one. After all, the case matches my AirBook!
Available in 160 ($129.99), 250 ($189.99), and 320 GB ($219.99) flavors, My Passport Studio drives are about 3.2" x 5.0" x .71" (81mm x 127 mm x 18 mm) in size and weigh a featherweight 6.4 ounces (.18 kg). The drives are bus powered -- USB 2.0 or FireWire 400 -- so there's no need to tote a power brick when you're traveling. They're formatted as HFS+ Journaled, requiring Mac OS X 10.4.11+ or 10.5.2+.
The drives are available from Western Digital, and through a variety of online and brick-and-mortar stores. The 250 and 320 GB drives are showing back-order status.
Thanks to Denver pal Mike for the phone call tip this morning!
FastMac announced a new line of Mac notebook chargers today. FastMac found a work around for Apple not licensing the MagSafe chargers. TruePower U-Charge allows you to charge your notebook's batteries externally. Note that this does not power the Mac, it only charges batteries.
This charger will charge iBook G3/G4 12", PowerBook, MacBook, and MacBook Pro batteries without skipping a beat. FastMac also has plans for a 14.4V charger that would charge batteries for the clamshell iBook, iBook G4 14", and Ti PowerBook 15".
The TruePower U-Charge comes in 2 different colors (black and white) to match your machine better. The prices for these chargers start at $69.95. You can purchase the U-Charge on the FastMac website.
Up until a few years ago, I had a 12" PowerBook G4 that I absolutely loved. It was truly portable (although the screen was a bit on the small side for me), relatively fast, and lightweight. Many of my consulting clients have asked if Apple had plans to replace the 12" PowerBook with a MacBook or MacBook Pro in the same form factor, but I've pointed them towards the 13" MacBook or MacBook Air instead.
There's still a vocal group of former PowerBook G4 users who would like to see Apple come out with a new MacBook Pro -- complete with SuperDrive, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and Multi-Touch trackpad -- in that tiny 12" PowerBook case. If you're in their camp, visit and participate in the MBP12.com forum and add your voice to the people clamoring for a small, powerful MacBook Pro.
Do you think a 12" MacBook Pro would be a winner in the market? Take our poll!
There are plenty of Mac portable stands and cooling devices out there, but few can rival the moshi zephyr for good looks. This cast aluminum stand incorporates a "high-thermal conduction interface compound" that contacts the bottom of the Mac and draws heat away to the heat sink and an "USB-powered ultra-silent fan (<20db)." The company claims around 10 degrees F of heat reduction on both the MacBook and Air.
The moshi zephyr seems to be designed for the MacBook and MacBook Air only and is available in silver or black for $75.
According to a recent posting on Phillip Elmer-DeWitt's Apple 2.0 column over at CNN, JPMorgan analyst Mark Moskowitz has issued a "cautiously optimistic" report on Apple based primarily on "stronger-than-expected" MacBook sales" for the quarter ending in March. According to Moskowitz, computer sales usually fall-off after Christmas, but Apple has actually had a sales increase -- albeit a small one at only 0.2%.
However, that increase is still better than sales for other PC's, which according to the report, fell 9% in the same quarter. In spite of the sales increase, there still may be other issues that have an effect on Apple's bottom line this year. According to Moskowicz, there may be some difficulty for Apple if the company is not able to deliver a 3G iPhone by Summer.
"As long as there is nothing to suggest that a summer launch of the 3G phone is not a possibility, we would expect investors to look past any near-term disappointment in iPhones," said Moskowitz in his report. The report doesn't specify which MacBook model is responsible for the slight increase in sales for Apple. But with the MacBook Air having just been released during the last quarter, perhaps it deserves the credit?
Apple will release its quarterly earnings report on April 23rd.
Yeah, so that black MacBook you bought a couple of years ago with an 80 GB hard drive isn't lookin' so hot now, is it? You know things are bad when you have to delete your pr0n videos to make room for incoming email. You'd like to swap out the hard drive, but your tech skills are sucky. What do you do?
According to a 
AppleInsider
This is a good news, bad news story. Let's start with the good news! 
MacBook / MacBook Pro owners, are you suffering from 
Are you looking for a tiny portable hard drive for doing 
Up until a few years ago, I had a 12" PowerBook G4 that I absolutely loved. It was truly portable (although the screen was a bit on the small side for me), relatively fast, and lightweight. Many of my consulting clients have asked if Apple had plans to replace the 12" PowerBook with a MacBook or MacBook Pro in the same form factor, but I've pointed them towards the 13" MacBook or MacBook Air instead.
There are plenty of Mac portable stands and cooling devices out there, but few can rival the 
According to a 
