Just in case you didn't have anything else to do this fine Thursday afternoon, you may want to check out this x-ray image of a MacBook, which is exactly as cool as it sounds.
Jason de Villa (I'm assuming no relation to Joey de Villa) recently had his "brother the vet" borrow his x-ray machine to scan his MacBook, and this is the result. There's a hard drive, and various spinny things, and some ports over on the left side.
What else can you make out?
[via Gizmodo]
What’s a company to do when it has no leg to stand on for making knock-off products? Why, retaliate, of course. The best defense is a good offense, and Psystar aimed to get all offensive by accusing Apple of violating antitrust laws.
Unfortunately for the boys from Miami, U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup has told Psystar to stick it, dismissing the company’s monopoly allegations against Apple. Alsaup points out that the company can not both have its delectable baked goods and consume them as well:
“Indeed, Psystar’s allegations are internally contradictory. Psystar alleges that Mac OS is, by definition, an independent and unique market. That is, Mac OS, by definition, admits no reasonable substitutes,” Judge Alsup wrote in his ruling. “Psystar further avers, however, that Apple engages in the alleged anti-competitive conduct “in order to protect its valuable monopoly in the Mac OS market and, by extension, Apple-Labeled Computer Hardware Systems from potential competitive threats,” and that Apple’s “unreasonable restraints on trade allow APPLE to maintain its monopoly position with respect to the Mac OS and Apple-Labeled Computer Hardware Systems submarket.”
Well, unfortunately for Psystar, if that was their best defense, then they’re going to have trouble with the next round; they’ve got twenty days to amend their complaint and bring it before the judge. After that, the case moves ahead with a proposed trial date of November 9th, 2009.
Geez, we’ve got to spend another year with these guys? Please shoot me now.
While Aayush was getting all misty-eyed over the departure of the 23-inch Cinema Display from the Apple Store, Apple's web elves quietly flipped a switch making the new Apple 24 inch LED Cinema Display available for purchase at the price of $899 (though with a ship date of 'November,' which might ward off those not into uncertainty. This intrepid blogger placed an order for one despite the vague ship date).
You might recall that these new monitors have built in iSights, a glossy screen (which I am a fan of, feel free to disagree in the comments though know that I am correct and you are wrong), and an integrated MagSafe cable that makes this monitor the perfect new MacBook accessory.
It should be noted that at the moment only Macs with the mini DisplayPort connector can use this monitor (which means only the most recent MacBook Pros and MacBooks need apply) but I wouldn't be surprised if that changes come Macworld Expo.
People keep asking me about my new MacBook. The machines came out about a month ago, but that clearly hasn’t been enough time for people to get their fill of Apple’s latest portable lineup. I have to remind myself that these are, for the most part, civilians: people who don’t eat, drink, breathe, and immerse themselves in all things Apple. Still, I’ve fended off envious looks and an assortment of questions, ranging from whether the performance is a huge improvement to whether the screen is too reflective.
In the week that I’ve been using the new MacBook, it’s been my full-time all-purpose computer, just like its predecessor, and I’ve had to learn its ins and outs, collecting observations the whole while. What follows is a catalog of my assorted thoughts and musings on the experience. There are a lot of them. Like, “brew a cup of coffee and settle in a for a long winter read” lot. You have been warned.
Let’s start with the baseline here. My previous laptop was an original MacBook acquired way back in May 2006, shortly after the line was introduced. After two and a half years, I decided it was time to trade up. I could tell you it was the lure of the 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor, or the 4GB of RAM (twice as much as my old MacBook), but those would be foul, foul lies.
It’s the shiny case.
No, really.
LCDs are in nearly every piece of electronics these days. If it doesn’t have a shiny, colorful, light up display, it’s not worth owning (and that’s why Lite-Brites are still a great gift). The prices of these panels have been steadily dropping for a long time. People actually used to buy CRTs for price reasons. Crazy.
Despite the speed with which these prices have dropped, it turns out that they likely would have dropped faster if not for the efforts of three companies.
LG Display of South Korea, Sharp of Japan and Chunghwa Picture Tubes of Taiwan pleaded guilty and agreed to pay a total of $585 million in criminal fines for their role in fixing the price of liquid-crystal display panels.
Everyone Chunhwa tonight! LG is paying $400 million. This is the second largest antitrust fine in history. Other countries are investigating the companies and private class action suits are in motion in the US. In fact, Dell, Apple, and Motorola have been named as possible victims and could possibly launch their own lawsuits. Now, how do I get in on one of these so I can get that tiny check (gotta take out lawyers fees after all)?
We’ve seen our fair share of knockoffs of Apple products, usually produced in Asia where attempts to track them down for legal reasons would probably be less successful than trying to round up outlaws in the Wild West. But this one has to be my favorite in a long while. Look, if Apple doesn’t make the netbook that you desperately believe they should, why not just go make it yourself?
Hence, the MacBook Nano. That’s right: combining the great flavor of the MacBook with the tiny package of an iPod nano. Done and done! Some creative vendor has modded an MSI Wind netbook into a “MacBook Nano.” You can check the entire unboxing at this Flickr stream for the full effect. Meanwhile, let’s give the pluses and minuses a quick rundown:
Plus * Compact 10” screen—it’s the tiny Mac laptop we’ve all wanted! * Backlit Apple logo on the case. * Runs Leopard. * Comes with a two-wheel scroll mouse. * They even got the font right.
Minus * Keyboard looks ugly and PC-like. * 1995 called: It wants its VGA port back. * Construction looks cheap. Plastic is so out. * Seriously, what’s up with plastering Apple logos on everything? Do you think you can magically convince us that this is an Apple product?
I’ll admit it: as thrilled as I am with my new MacBook, I long for something even smaller and lighter. MacRumors thinks that this “shows possbilities”—personally, I think it just shows how much attention goes into an Apple product. I believe, as far as Apple is concerned, the Air is its lightweight notebook, so don’t hold your breath for a MacBook Nano.
[via MacRumors]
No, we’re not campaigning for an award for Mr. Floofle, our pedigree half-chihuahua, half-Rottweiler—though he deserves it, the poor fellow, passed over three times in a row. No, we’re talking about the prestigious Best of Show awards passed out by our big brothers and sisters over at Macworld, and awarded at Macworld Expo in January.
Well, if you’re a developer who’s exhibiting at Expo and you want your product considered for this highest honor, then you should know that you’ve got until December 13th to submit it to the Macworld team. This year, for the first time, iPhone software applications are eligible for consideration as well. If your product isn’t going to be released until the show itself, editors will honor confidentiality agreements.
The annual one-hour ceremony for the show’s best products takes place on January 7th at 3PM Pacific in Moscone, where Macworld’s editorial team will present the winners. As for Mr. Floofle, we’re afraid that he’ll have to wait until he manages to put the finishing touches on his new iPhone app: “Mr. Floofle’s Walkies for Big Dogs and Small Dogs.” It’s a surefire winner.
You might recall that one of the things I don't like about my new MacBook Pro is the glass trackpad. The clicks, when they work, are very loud. The loud clicking I can get used to (and I already have), but when I click I expect the MacBook Pro to...well...register the click. Judging by this discussion on Apple's Support Web site it would seem I'm not the only MacBook user to notice this most bothersome issue.
One person decided to do something about the issue, rather than just complain about it. This blogger did what any normal Mac user would do when confounded by an Apple related hardware quirk: emailed Steve Jobs. Steve didn't reply, but an Apple representative did call the blogger and let him know (off the record, one assumes, but hey all is fair in love and blogging) that Apple was looking into the problem. A fix isn't forthcoming, but here's hoping that it is just a simple firmware issue.
So, readers, do any of you have new MacBooks? How is the trackpad treating you? Let us know in the comments.
[via Ars]
Look, we don’t have anything against older model Macs: some of our favorite Macs have entered the world of the discontinued. We’re all in favor keeping them running well for as long as possible. It’s unfortunate when you have to go all the way to court to make that happen, though.
That’s just what Giorgio Gomelsky has done, though. The New York resident is filing a class action lawsuit in the Northern District Court of California which says that Apple failed to properly address issues with some PowerBook G4s’ defective RAM slots. While Apple did acknowledge that some G4s had the problems and subsequently issued a warranty extension, the complainants contend that the range of serial numbers that Apple agreed to cover did not extend to all affected units—Mr. Gomelsky’s included.
The suit is asking for damages, the refunded cost of the PowerBooks, and the attendant costs and fees that come with launching a lawsuit of this kind. Will it pay off or just turn into a long and costly legal battle? We’ll have to sit back and see.
[via Infinite Loop]
