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MacBook 3G: No WiFi Hotspot Needed for 3G Speeds?

October 31, 2008 By Killian Bell 2 Comments

The new MacBooks are just weeks old and already analysts are announcing what they think will be in the next big update. Strategy Analyst Neil Mawston believes future MacBooks will feature a high speed 3G data connection which will allow users to browse the internet wherever they are, without the need for a WiFi hotspot.

“Bigger-screen or smaller-screen laptops with integrated cellular radios are a logical next step for Apple – and others”, said Mawston, adding that, “many operators in the US and Western Europe would jump at the chance to cross-sell a cellular MacBook to their installed base of iPhone users.”

Although it seems unlikely that the MacBooks would receive such a big update so soon, Mawston believes that the introduction of a built-in 3G modem may come at the January ‘09 Macworld Expo.

[ Source ]

Filed Under Rumors Tagged With 3G, MacBook, Macworld Expo, modem, Neil Mawston, wifi

There’s Something New in the Air

October 31, 2008 By Killian Bell Leave a Comment

The guys over at MacRumors have posted a link to the Flickr page of one of their forum members unboxing the latest MacBook Air.

The MacBook Air was revised, as announced, at their October 14th media event, along with the other notebooks. It now features the new NVIDIA 9400M graphics chip, which has already impressed us all, and the new DisplayPort.

A couple of early XBench benchmarks can be found here and here.

[ Source ]

Filed Under Hardware Tagged With 9400M, MacBook Air, MacRumors, NVIDIA, unboxing

IBM Sues Following Apple’s Recruitment of Top Chip Designer

October 31, 2008 By Killian Bell Leave a Comment

In early November it seems one of IBM’s top chip executives will join Jobs and his team at Apple. However it seems the new recruit will have to fight off his previous employers first.

Mark Papermaster was IBM’s vice president of microprossessor technology development and he produced many papers on chip development at IBM, who used to produce the PowerPC processors for Apple before they switched to Intel in 2005. According to IBM, this is an attempt by Apple to expand its presence in the markets for servers and chips for handheld devices, as stated in IBM’s complaint filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. They also claimes Papermaster to be “IBM’s top expert in Power architecture and technology.” Papermaster’s most recent position at IBM was the running of their Blade server division.

As of yet, Apple have declined to comment on the lawsuit or confirm whether Papermaster will join the ranks at Infinite Loop. However IBM had this to say: “Mr. Papermaster’s employment by Apple is a violation of his agreement with IBM against working for a competitor should he leave IBM. We will vigorously pursue this case in court.”

It is reported that if Papermaster does join Apple, he will work closely with well known CEO Steve Jobs.  “Providing to Apple technical and strategic advice on a variety of issues,” according to IBM’s complaint. But which issues?

[ Source ]

Filed Under More... Tagged With Blade, chip, IBM, Mark Papermaster, PowerPC, processor, server, Steve Jobs

Kensington Locks Not Macbook Compatible

October 31, 2008 By Councillor Wes 7 Comments
The Kensington Lock is located next to the optical drive.

The Kensington Lock is located next to the optical drive.

Owners of the new Late 2008 Macbook and Macbook Pros are reporting that they cannot use their Kensington lock. Users are stating that the aluminum is too thick for the lock to fit. One owner claims this was said by Technical Support for Kensington “we are sorry to inform you that the security slot of your laptop ‘late 2008′ Aluminum MacBook is not compatible with Kensington locks.” Kensington reps are telling customers to use a K-Slot adapter which will require the customer to glue the adapter to their brand spanking new aluminum Macbooks. Kensington is giving no details on their development of a lock made to fit the new laptops, but we should expect it soon.

I don’t lock down my computers but I know for a fact that I would never glue an adapter to such a sleek laptop. Maybe if the laptop cost $200 then I might consider it, but even then its not that expensive to replace if stolen. Are you having problems with your lock? Add some thought into the comments section

[ Source ]

Filed Under Hardware Tagged With Apple, Kensington, MacBook, MacBook Pro

Opera Browser Not Allowed on iPhone

October 30, 2008 By Killian Bell Leave a Comment

Opera Software, developers behind the well-known Opera Internet Browser have developed a browser for the iPhone entitled ‘Opera Mini’. However, don’t expect to be downloading it from the App Store anytime soon — NYTimes have released an article that claims Apple will not allow the browser to be distrubuted through the App Store because it ‘competes with Apple’s own Safari browser’.

It is speculated that the rejection from Apple could be due to the application’s Java script interpreter, or just that Apple is restricting anything that competes with their own applications already built-in to the iPhone. Recently they rejected an application called ‘MailWrangler‘ because it ‘duplicates the functionality of the built-in iPhone application Mail without providing sufficient differentiation or added functionality, which will lead to user confusion.’

Those of you expecting an iPhone version of Firefox or Thunderbird anytime soon are going to be disappointed.

[ Source ]

Filed Under iPhone Apps Tagged With App Store, Firefox, iPhone, MailWrangler, NYTimes, Opera, Opera Mini, Safari

Apple Shipping NVIDIA-based MacBook Airs Ahead of Schedule

October 30, 2008 By Mr. Mayor Leave a Comment

For those of you that purchased the upgraded MacBook Air… it looks like the NVIDIA-based machines are now shipping. They should arrive in the hands of adoring MBA lovers by late this week or early next week. My money would be on next week, but we’ll see (do drop me a line if you ordered one and you receive it today or tomorrow!).

At the original Apple event that unveiled the new MacBook Air among other things, Steve Jobs had said the new Airs would begin shipping in ‘early November’. Some buyers were even given a tentative shipping date of November 5th. Lets see what actually plays out here. It would appear that Apple is going to beat its estimates, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

Expect the new MacBook Air to arrive in stores shortly as well. New devices generally make their way to the stores once the product starts shipping to customers via online store sales. Pop by an Apple Store next week and you’ll probably notice the upgraded MacBook Air with all of its slim-computing goodness.

[ Source ]

Filed Under Hardware Tagged With NVIDIA MacBook Air, Shipping MacBook Air

Document Editing Coming to iPhone

October 29, 2008 By Councillor Wes 1 Comment
Document Editing on the iPhone is coming.

Document Editing on the iPhone is coming.

One of the main features keeping many enterprises away from using the iPhone is the ability to edit documents on the go.  When you need to add a slide to that customer presentation or add a paragraph to that research paper due tomorrow there is nothing for you to do that on the iPhone, until Gizmodo reported that Documents to Go announced their new app.  Documents to Go has created the document editors for Windows Mobile, Blackberry, etc.  and have decided to write an app to let iPhone users edit their docs.

One of the main concerns is the lack of a copy and paste feature in the iPhone.  Apple has tip-toed away from the release of copy and paste, even though most users are begging to get the feature.  Even without copy and paste in the phone this could be a great application for the business user on the go who doesn’t want to carry around a laptop.

Look for this app in the app store soon, there is no release date or set price for the release.  Do you think you would use the features of editing documents while on the run?  Hit the link to head to the forums to start discussing your opinions on the app.

Filed Under iPhone Apps Tagged With Apps, Documents to Go, iPhone, Office

iPhone HD Slider Design Mockup

October 28, 2008 By Mr. Mayor 11 Comments

Ok, I admit that this might be a bit off the mark, but a little birdie had it delivered to my inbox this morning and I just had to post it. The idea of a slider or some sort of iPhone with an actual physical keyboard strikes me as intriguing. It is one of the main differences between the business-leader BlackBerry, and the more lifestyle oriented iPhone.

What do you think… Could something like this work? Would Apple EVER produce a version of the iPhone with a physical QWERTY keyboard?

The thing I think is dead-on about this mock is the HD part. I’d be willing to bet good money that the next gen iPhone will come with an HD display. Physical keyboard?… Ummmm, not so much… But if Apple wants to take a giant step towards chomping into RIM’s market, that might be one thing to consider.

Filed Under iPhone Tagged With iPhone Design Concept, iPhone HD, iPhone HD Slider

New Dictionaries Available for TranslateIt!

October 27, 2008 By Killian Bell Leave a Comment

Users of TranslateIt! will be interested to know that the makers have recently published a new website with free additional dictionaries for the application. They claim to hold about 70 dictionaries with almost 5 million entries. Users can download from the site English, Russain, Spanish, French, Italian and Czech dictionaries.

TranslateIt!, available for Windows and Mac, claims to be able to translate ‘any word, from any language’. It is the mulitlingual dictionary that allows you to look up words on the fly!

You can purchase TranslateIt! on a 1-year license – $25.00, a 2-year license – $35.00, a 5-year license – $50.00 or a liftime license – $100.00.

Current users can access the new dictionaries here, or alternatively you can visit TranslateIt! to purchase or find out more.

Filed Under Software Tagged With dictionaries, dictionary, TranslateIt!

NVIDIA 9400M to Dominate Notebook Graphics

October 27, 2008 By Killian Bell Leave a Comment

The latest NVIDIA integrated graphics chip, as featured in the new MacBooks, is set to dominate future notebooks, taking away Apple’s short-lived graphics advantage.

Acer, ASUS, Dell and HP have all confirmed that they plan to release notebooks with the new chip that is described to be ’substantially faster’ than previous integrated chips. Certain companies claim that as much as 20% of their future Intel-based notebooks will feature the chip which Apple claims will give its new MacBooks up to 5x more performace that its predecessor. It is reported that as many as 10 non-Apple notebooks will ship featuring the GeForce 9400M before the end of the year.

ASUS have confirmed that one of its new notebooks, the F50GX with a 16-inch display, will also feature a dedicated GeForce 9600M just like the new MacBook Pro which allows us to run higher-end PC games.

Filed Under Hardware, More... Tagged With 9400M, 9600M, Acer, ASUS, Dell, F50GX, GeForce, Graphics, HP, MacBook, NVIDIA
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