Isaiah's Tech

fscklog and Mac4Ever (along with MacGeneration) are big on the leaks today. The first is coming from the picture above which actually leaks, pretty much, the full spec sheet of the upcoming 13-inch MacBook Pro. It says that the notebook with a dual-core Intel Core i5 2.3GHz CPU, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 320GB HDD, a 13.3-inch LED display with a 1,280 x 800 resolution, Intel HD 3000 graphics, a SuperDrive, an HD camera for FaceTime, WiFi 802.11n / Bluetooth 2.1 support, a backlit keyboard, an SDXC card slot, FireWire 800, and two USB 2.0 ports.

The leak above and Mac Generation are saying that the Light Peak implementation may actually be called Thunderbolt. Interesting. The photo below coming from Mac4Ever shows up a picture of the supposed 13-inch MacBook Pro that should launch tomorrow and, yes, it comes with a larger trackpad.

[Mac Rumors, Slash Gear]

Intel has announced something that could be pretty great and it's a sign of the future - and also a sign that new Apple MacBooks and MacBook Pros could be refreshed with something big soon. Intel has announced that they're going to be holding an event for their Light Peak technology on Thursday of this week. This is also the same day where Apple is expected to refresh pretty much their whole notebook line-up. Everything will finally be cleared up on Thursday - which is actually tomorrow.

Update: According to Electronista, the white MacBooks may actually be dead after Thursday. The MacBook Air will satisfy the low-end consumer while the MacBook Pro will come in the standard 13, 15, and 17-inch models. Specs can't be confirmed right now but the 17-inch model may actually get a new Intel Core i7 CPU as a standard. Prices for these notebooks may actually be the same as they currently are but they'll be faster this time around. It seems like a pretty good move.

[Electronista]

Coming from Three Guys and a Podcast is word on the next-generation MacBook Pro and that it will likely be launched in April 2011. Apparently, Apple will be opting to go with SSD storage options that will go up to 512GB, which sounds great if they can keep the prices down to what they are right now. Other changes are said to be no optical (CD/DVD) drive), Intel's upcoming Sandy Bridge CPUs, and the introduction of Light Peak. We don't know if FireWire will still be on-board but USB 3.0 should be. This is all sounding like great news right now but everything's unconfirmed for the moment.

Other improvements could include a touchscreen display since you may be able to upgrade this to "Lion" when it ships in the Summer.

According to the latest news, Intel could be launching their Light Peak starting in early 2010. I wonder who will be the first one to utilize this technology seeing how Apple will coincidentally release their iTablet in early 2010 as well. We'll just have to wait and see what happens next year.

[Electronista, Gizmodo]

It looks like those rumours above Apple "influencing" Intel's Light Peak are false. "The unnamed sources for CNET believe that Intel had already been developing the technology and that the semiconductor firm had simply asked Apple for feedback as part of its usual requests for outside input." Keep in mind that this has the potential to be the next "industry standard" so we could see it on a couple of devices next year - including Apple devices.

"Intel has acknowledged that Light Peak can simply route data from other standards and could implement DisplayPort, FireWire, USB 3.0 and other technologies on a single connection." It seems like it will be pretty awesome and will be capable of delivering 10 gigabit per second data speed.

[Electronista, Crunch Gear]

Late last week, Intel showed off "Light Peak" which is believed to be due to Apple's request. This could and probably will be used in Apple's future devices if everything works out as planned. You can view the pretty lengthy article at Engadget here. Apparently, Apple could be utilizing "Light Peak" in their new systems which are set to launch in Fall 2010 and we could even see it in the so-called Apple iTablet.

[Engadget]