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legal

Where there’s smoke, there’s class action payments

Posted on May. 9, ’08, 8:19 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Hardware » Legal

Yo-Yo AdapterAh, the yo-yo power adapter. I always though it was a bit of a misnomer, since if you ever tried to actually use it as a yo-yo, you quickly discovered that it was worthless. Frankly, it wasn’t much better as a power adapter, either. Though I appreciated the built-in cable management, I was far more distressed by the fact that it often seemed to spark and flash when I plugged it in. I ended up burning through a couple of these suckers while I owned a Pismo and later a G3 iBook.

And apparently, I was not alone. A story in this morning’s Los Angeles Times says that Apple has agreed to pay refunds of $25 to $79 to as many as 2.3 million Mac users who ended up buying replacement power adapters for certain PowerBooks and iBooks because of faulty power adapters. A class action suit was launched in 2006, contending that Apple had misrepresented problems with its power adapters after recalling just 570,000 of them in 2001.

I really like the current era power adapters over the yo-yo, but they have their share of problems too; I had to buy a replacement a month or two ago after MagSafe cord frayed where it connected to the brick. Still, at least they haven’t caught on fire yet.

Anyway, there’s a final approval hearing scheduled for September 8th, so I imagine we’ll have details on where you can queue up for your cash after that.

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hardware

Hawking takes 802.11n into the mini-space age

Posted on Apr. 24, ’08, 11:29 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar
Category | Hardware » Hardware

Just in case you’re still in the dark ages and are running your WiFi on 802.11b or some such nonsense from 2001, you might consider throwing down a little scratch ($110) to get your N on.

Just pop down to your favorite electronics store and say that you want the new Hawking HWDN1A Hi-Gain USB Wireless-300N Adapter. They’ll know exactly what you mean—provided you don’t trip up over all those letters and such provided by Creative Naming Corp.

Plus, when you bust this out in a public place, you can tell people that you’re looking for aliens. Really tiny aliens.

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accessories

Got a lot of peripherals? Dock your MacBook with a BookEndz docking station

Posted on Mar. 25, ’08, 6:00 PM PT by David Dahlquist
Category | Hardware » Accessories

bookendz.jpgIf you’re like me and use your MacBook as your primary computer, complete with a constant arse-load of peripherals attached to it, then it makes sense to use a dock. A dock provides you with one place to keep your desktop peripherals plugged in, so you don’t need to do the plug-unplug shuffle with 5 different peripherals each time you want to mozy your MacBook down to the coffee shop. It also relieves your desk of the clutter that comes with keeping 4 or 5 peripherals separately attached to your laptop.

And so, BookEndz inc., has stepped up and released a docking station for the 13” MacBook, which, according to the MacNN review, is not half bad. It’s custom-fitted for the MacBook, and offers five USB ports, a full size VGA and DVI port, and a special gap that allows room for the MagSafe adaptor. The downside: there is only one FireWire port, so you won’t gain anything on that end.

It will run you $159, so if you have the cash, and a desire to declutter and simplify the peripheral aspects of your life, check this bad boy out.

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accessories

QuickerTek seeks to extend your Time Capsule’s reach into uncharted territories

Posted on Mar. 17, ’08, 10:00 AM PT by Aayush Arya
Category | Hardware » Accessories

QuickerTek TriBand Time Capsule AntennaIs your Time Capsule an under-performer in the WiFi department? Have all your vitamins failed to bring it up to scratch? Does it feel threatened when an AirPort Extreme is brought near it? Then you, my dear friend, need a QuickerTek TriBand Antenna to help you with your woes.

This little doohickey has a coaxial cable that needs to be plugged into your Time Capsule’s security slot (it’s definitely not the best use for that slot, let me tell you). Once you’ve done that, it can do magical things, or so the company claims. The WiFi range will increase by 50% and you will witness an unprecedented boost in speed.

We’re not sure how necessary an accessory this is but if your Time Machine backups have been taking their own sweet time, it might be worth a shot. Prices start from $129.95 and go up to $700 (and that includes a 1TB Time Capsule too, in case you were wondering).

Do let us know whether any of you feel the need for this add-on. And that salesperson imitation in the first paragraph was pretty sweet, huh?

[Via The Mac Observer]

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accessories

It’s a Monday and AirPort Express now does 802.11n

Posted on Mar. 17, ’08, 6:07 AM PT by Aayush Arya
Category | Hardware » Accessories

AirPort Express 802.11n launchedSurprise, surprise! Apple just launched an updated AirPort Express, bumping the wireless capabilities of the mobile base station to the spiffier and faster 802.11n. It still looks exactly the same as its previous avatar and is available for the same price of $99.

Apple claims that the pint-sized WiFi access point is now five times faster and covers twice as much area. Apart from the upgrade of the wireless networking standard though, the rest of it is exactly the same as it used to be an hour ago.

This is hardly out of the blue and I have to say that I’m pretty miffed by Apple’s antics here. They clearly went out of their way to prove my prophesy wrong and released it today, instead of tomorrow as we would usually expect them to. Ah well, one down, one more to go (they’re not going to be proving that one wrong any time soon).

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accessories

Huckleberry 3 is a sweet upgrade

Posted on Mar. 11, ’08, 8:31 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Hardware » Accessories

HuckleberryOur buddies over at Ecamm (hey, guys) have taken the wraps off the latest revision for the Huckleberry, the innovative device that lets you use your MacBook or MacBook Pro’s as a video or still camera for all those interesting things on the other side of your notebook.

We gave an earlier version of the device some love back in 2006 (agh, embarrassing video link), but we’re psyched to see that the new version offers some significant improvements, most notably: two—count ‘em, two—mirrors. Clearly, the Huckleberry 3 is twice as good as its predecessor.

Actually, the practical use of the two mirrors means that the screen image ends up being flipped a full 180°. And, as always, you net yourself a free copy of Ecamm’s swank $10 iGlasses software with the purchase. The $30 Huckleberry 3 also comes with a cloth carry bag (ooh, spiffy), but we have just one question, which I’m sure the Ecamm team will answer in our comments below: what of a version for the MacBook Air?

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huh

MagStay Pro is a marvel of modern inconvenience

Posted on Mar. 6, ’08, 9:29 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Hardware » Huh?

MagStay ProI’m not precisely sure why you’d want to, but if you’re frustrated by your MacBook Pro’s MagSafe adapter coming unplugged when you trip over the cable, and would like to return to the carefree days when said act would cause your laptop to fly through the air with the greatest of ease, all it’ll cost you is a mere $12.

That’s how much Thought Out’s MagStay Pro will run you. This little plastic doohickey plugs into the USB port adjacent to your MacBook Pro’s MagSafe connector. Fit your MagSafe plug through the hole (with a convenient window so that you can still see the chargin light), and it won’t budge. There’s even a handy little nub for you to store the MagSafe connector’s dust cap. Sadly, it won’t work with the MacBook or MacBook Air, due to their port configurations.

Again, I’m not sure why you’d want to neuter one of the MacBook line’s most useful features and use up one of your USB ports to boot. Spite, perhaps? Self-loathing? Then again, if that’s what’s driving you, then you’re probably better off buying some epoxy; that’ll make sure that MagSafe connector goes nowhere. There; I probably just saved you some serious shipping & handling charges. No need to thank me: not buying this stupid thing is its own reward.

[via Gizmodo]

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accessories

The Time Capsule gets taken apart

Posted on Mar. 3, ’08, 12:00 PM PT by Aayush Arya
Category | Hardware » Accessories

Time Capsule internalsIf you thought the Time Capsule would escape the stripping treatment by sheer virtue of its non-hotness, you, my dear friend, were mistaken. Sure, unlike the MacBook Air, there isn’t much to see in there, but we geeks aren’t too fussy. As long as it involves circuits, wires and screws, we’re onboard.

This take apart is brought to you by Flickr user nakedmac and reveals/confirms three things for us: (a) Time Capsule is equipped with a fan to help keep the temperatures low; (b) It uses the same Hitachi Deskstar drives that Apple outfits its Xserve line with; and (c) Some people just don’t care about the warranty as long as they are the first on the block to upload pictures of their newest gadgets torn down to the barest essentials.

That’s pretty much it, but if you’re anywhere as crazy about the internals of Apple’s shiny gizmos as we are, this one probably made your day. We just hope we don’t hear reports a few days from now that claim to be able to reconstruct the same product at a lower price because Apple has used way too many wires in this one. It’s only funny the first time, you see.

[via Gizmodo]

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accessories

What is…Febtoday? Time Capsules now shipping.

Posted on Feb. 28, ’08, 8:10 AM PT by Aayush Arya
Category | Hardware » Accessories

timecapsuleshipping.jpgJust a couple of days ago, we witnessed Dan go ballistic about the Time Capsule’s failure to show up along with the updates MacBooks and the iPod shuffle. When he starts talking about dying kittens, you know he’s in panic mode.

Therefore, it was music to his ears when he heard today that those much vaunted backup devices have not been forgotten by Apple in all the February excitement. Apple has now confirmed what we’ve been hearing from those who have pre-ordered, that the status of Time Capsule orders—which they’ve been trying to change by sheer willpower ever since the Macworld Expo—have finally budged and are now showing “preparing to ship.” We presume that means they are, in fact, being loaded into bullock-carts and dispatched all over the world as we speak. If you’ve ordered one, give us a shout below to tell us of your (presumably good) fortune.

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accessories

SuperDrive replacements for your broken or outdated Mac

Posted on Feb. 14, ’08, 4:19 PM PT by David Dahlquist
Category | Hardware » Accessories

owc superdrive.jpgSo you want to burn DVDs, but you’re stuck using that old iBook or Power Mac G4—at least until that next bonus comes in. Or maybe your SuperDrive crapped out the week after your AppleCare expired. Either way, Other World Computing (OWC) has your back on this one.

They’re offering replacement drives such as the Panasonic-built 16x DVD Dual Layer and Pioneer 20x DVD Dual Layer drives for $29.99 and $34.99 respectively. These models are tray loading drives meant to replace internal drives in Mac Pros and PowerMacs. OWC is also selling slot-loading drives that work as replacements for laptops like the iBook and PowerBook, but these are priced at a heftier $109.99 to $119.99.

The OWC drives work with iLife, Roxio Toast, NTI Dragonbum and other standard CD and DVD authoring software, so if you don’t have the cash to drop on a new Mac but still want the ability to burn copies of Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle for your buddies—which you’d never do, of course—pick one of these bad boys up.

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