MacBook Pro refresh
Apple quietly refreshes the MacBook Pro family with new Intel processors and a new I/O that promises to be fastest and most versatile. Find out more.
loving the Apple (in a Beta'ish way)
Apple quietly refreshes the MacBook Pro family with new Intel processors and a new I/O that promises to be fastest and most versatile. Find out more.
The MacBook Pro family was recently updated to bring more power and battery to these mobile workstations.
Apple® today updated the MacBook® Pro line with faster processors, powerful next-generation NVIDIA graphics and even longer battery life. The popular 13-inch MacBook Pro features the new NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor for up to 80 percent faster graphics and a groundbreaking 10-hour built-in battery.* The new 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models feature Intel Core i5 and i7 processors and Apple’s new automatic graphics switching technology that toggles seamlessly between powerful NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and energy efficient Intel HD Graphics processors.
*Testing conducted by Apple in March 2010 using preproduction 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo-based 13-inch MacBook Pro units with NVIDIA GeForce 320M and production 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo-based 13-inch MacBook Pro units with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M.
If you are looking out for a good deal to get a Mac or iPod this festive season and wish we had a Black Friday or Cyber Monday to get those discounts, look no further then the Refurbished section at the Apple Store.
The refurbished are pre-owned products that were returned and had underwent stringent checks and replacements of faulty parts, thoroughly cleaned, inspected and repackaged for sale – with large discounts. They all come with a one-year limited warranty and are eligible for AppleCare Protection for extended warranty.
The products available varies depending on availability but usually you can find MacBook Air, MacBook Pro , iMacs and various members of the iPod family. The discounts you get can range from 15% up to 51% – but in this case that is for an older generation of MacBook Air.
So don’t wait – the offers are ever changing, depending on availability! Check out the Apple Store’s Refurbished Mac and Refurbished iPods and get your Macs or iPods at a discounts.
As reported in AppleInsider (must be amaze how they pick up such changes), if you have bought a MacBook Pro 15-inch or 17-inch between May 2007 and Sep 2008, before the Unibody MacBook Pros, that uses NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors, you are covered for three years from the date of purchase should there be any problems arising from the graphic chip.
Those visiting Apple’s support page for the video corruption and failure issues suffered by this portable generation have noticed that Apple has quietly added an extra year to its coverage, giving owners of the affected MacBook Pros free replacements as late as September 2011 depending on the date of purchase.
I have one of the listed machine but thankfully, my screen is still working fine and hopefully need not have to send in for replacement.
It has been coming for a while but Apple released new updates across the whole Mac Desktop family, starting from the smallest Mac mini to the powerful Mac Pro. In between there are updates to the iMac, Airport Extreme Base Station, Time Capsule and also a new Apple Keyboard.
The “star buy” (for me at least) must be the new Mac mini – coming in at a low S$988. Sporting new 2.0GHz (upgradable to 2.26GHz) Core 2 Duo processor, DDR3 SDRAM from 1GB to 4GB (BTO), SATA HD ranging from 120GB to 320GB and the new NVIDIA GeForce 9400M that first appeared in the new iMacs. As shown in the rumor photo, the Mac mini comes with 5 USB 2 ports, 1 Firewire 800 port, Mini DisplayPort and mini-DVI output to support up to two external displays.
The Mac mini is definitely good for families looking for an entry level Mac suitable not just for its computing features, but also as a good media centre beside your new LCD TV. Definitely something I’m looking at for my new house even though there are much lost opportunities to make Mac mini a kick ass computer for your TV.
The updated iMac is now available in 4 basic configurations – ranging from S$1,948 for a 20-inch model right up to S$3,488 for a 24-inch 3.06GHz model. As it is, the entry iMac is more than sufficient for most users who wants to have a machine fast enough to handle most basic requirements to do photo and video editing, productivity work and non-productivity work like surfing and social networking.
The premium model boast the highest speed available across all Macs – a whopping 3.06GHz quick. With its beautiful 24-inch screen and the powerful NVIDIA GeForece GT 130 (or ATI Radeon HD 4850) with 512MB GDDR3 memory, this is more than sufficient for professionals to do their creative work without having to purchase the workhouse Mac Pro.
The new iMacs are also equipped with the new Apple Keyboard which is without the Numeric Keypad, giving you back more space on your desktop. This is packed with two USB 2 ports on the side giving you a maximum of 6 USB 2 ports. It is also has a FireWire 800 port, iSight, Mini DisplayPort to allow you to connect to the new Apple LED Cinema Displays. Whether removing the Numeric Keypad to save space will sit well with users, we will have to wait and see.
Last but not least, is the Mac Pro – the powerful workhorse used by those who requires raw power. The new Mac Pro is running the new Intel Quad-Core Xeon “Nehalem” Processors … what a mouthful. Even though numerically the processors seem “slower” than those for the iMac, each being Quad-Core, means you get twice the processing power in one chip. For a low price of S$3,988 you get one 2.66GHz (upgradable to 2.93GHz) Quad-Core processor, 640GB hard drive and 3GB of RAM, upgradable to 8GB in total.
If you seriously new more processing horses, you can opt for the 8-core Mac Pro that starts from S$5,288. You get two 2.26GHz Quad-Core (upgradable to two 2.93GHz processor), 6GB of memory with the option to upsize all the way to 32GB of memory. The graphics option is mind blogging too – from one NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB up to 4, yes you read that correct, 4 NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 graphics chip.
As the beauty of the Mac Pro is its expandability, with 4 SATA Drive Bay, you can get up to 4 TBs of HD space. That is ALOT of HD space. With its new internal redesign, getting access to these bays and slots makes it easy for one to upgrade the Mac Pro yourself.
However, for all the money you spend on the Mac Pro, it doesn’t come with an AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi card – a S$78 option. Weird.
Basically the Mac Pro is something you’d want to have if you are filming and editing a Hollywood blockbuster – one that can give you much raw processing power.
Just for the fun of it. You can built-to-order, a Mac Pro with two 30″ Apple Cinema HD Display and the bestest of the bestest options for a nice total of S$29,120.71. Do let me know if you are considering that option.
Also mentioned in the beginning, the AirPort Extreme Base Station (S$268) and the Time Capsule (S$448, basically an AirPort Extreme Base Station with storage) were also updated. Now it has simultaneous dual-band Wi-Fi – 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands – that will allow better usage of the wireless bandwidth for devices that can tap the higher band but not neglecting the slower devices.
There is also an option to have a separate network for your guest that can only be accessed with a password for your visitors so that they can tap onto the Internet but with no access to your own network. Apple sure make us friendly and generous people. Too bad the Time Capsule were not updated with the higher 1.5TB capacity hard drives.
There is also a new feature that allows you to remotely access your Time Capsule or external Harddisk connected to the Airport Extreme via Internet when you access it with MobileMe.
“Say you’re traveling and you need a file on your Time Capsule back at home. If you’re a MobileMe member using a Mac with Mac OS X Leopard, no problem,” Apple says. “You can now access all the files on your Time Capsule drive over the Internet. Simply register your Time Capsule with your MobileMe account, and its drive appears in the Finder sidebar of your Mac just like any other attached drive. It’s like having your own personal file server wherever you go.”
Read more at the AppleInsider
Bucking the trends of having keyboards with more keys and more functions, Apple’s new Keyboard is much more compact as it removed the Numeric Keypad from itself. It comes with two USB 2.0 ports on the sides for you to attached a mouse and can be used for plugging your iPhone or your external storage device. It is available at S$78.
Buried beneath these updates to the Mac Desktops, Apple also slipped in updates to the 15″ MacBook Pro with new 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors, upgradable to 2.93GHz.
All in all, these updates across the whole Mac product line will benefit everyone, from students, to families to professionals who wants a machine that give them maximum value for every buck they spend.
I for one, is looking forward to getting a new Airport Extreme to replace my DLink router and the Mac mini to replace my now obsolete QuickSilver PowerMac that served me well since 2000.
Will you be getting any new Macs soon?
iFixit recently got their hands on the new 17-inch MacBook Pro, the mammoth laptop which Apple recently started shipping.
Besides the amazing design of the new aluminum unibody enclosure, the other feature that gets much attention is the new battery for the MacBook Pro which Apple boasts a long 8 hour running time per charge. To achieve that feat, Apple had to custom-designed lithium-polymer cells to create the largest possible battery, and boy it is huge – it weighs around 570g, about 20% of the total weight. It even comes with its own warning sticker to prevent removal. But it wouldn’t be long before third party companies produces replacement batteries.
Besides the battery, the innovative and compact design also allows easy upgrading of RAM and harddrive. To see more, go read it at ifixit.com
Catching up on news the past week – pricing for battery replacement on the 17-inch MacBook Pro, new Google Quick Search application and 3rd party browser appearing in the App Store.
So the last Apple keynote address, or Philnote, ended with improvements in iLife and iWork, a new 17-inch MacBook Pro and a DRM-free iTunes Music store. Nothing earth shattering. So what’s next?
We know that Jobs won’t be there (to give the keynote), but there is still a Macworld in January to look forward to. Here are some news and rumors about Macworld 2009 that I’m keeping track.
TUAW brought to attention this knowledge base article on how to reset the SMC chip on your Intel-based MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.
The System Management Controller is an integrated circuit (computer chip) that is on the logic board of the computer. As the name implies, it is responsible for power management of the computer. It controls backlighting, hard disk spin down, sleep and wake, some charging aspects, trackpad control, and some input/output as it relates to the computer sleeping.
So some possible symptoms when the SMC becomes unstable are your machine not turning on, waking from sleep, not charging or like the article from TUAW, the battery not showing the correct run time even though it was freshly charged.
But do note that resetting the SMC should be your last resort after restarting the machine to clear the problems. It did solved the problem posted in TUAW, hopefully it will solved yours next time.
(via TUAW)
If you own the recently released MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, there should be a notification to download two firmware updates for your machine. These include the EFI and SMC Firmware updates that improves stability and improves the sensing and accuracy of the MagSafe Power Adapter indicator light and the battery charge indicator lights respectively. Not much details from Apple, as usual, about such updates. But always good to apply them.
As always whenever you do such updates, make sure you are connected to the AC Adapter and remove any external devices that are connected to your machine. Lastly, close all applications and ensure you have your data backed up before you do the updates.
During the EFI Firmware update, do note the following:
For the MacBooks:
For the MacBook Pros:
For the MacBook Airs:
Do let us know if you observed any improvements or problems doing this firmware updates.
