Isaiah's Tech

Today's the day! It's July 20, 2011 and Apple has released Mac OS X Lion for you Apple users. The new OS has a bunch of new features like Launchpad, Mission Control, and new multitouch gestures. You can check out everything you need to know about it on Apple and go and download it right now via the Mac App Store.

That's certainly not all from Apple. They have also unveiled their slew of refreshes including the MacBook Air, a new 27-inch display, and the new Mac Mini. We'll start talking about the new MacBook Air first which, of course, comes in 11.6 (1,366 x 768 resolution) and 13-inch (1,440 x 900 resolution) models. The smaller model starts at $999 and that'll get you a Core i5 CPU, 2GB of RAM, and a 64GB SSD. There's also a $1,199 model which doubles the RAM and doubles your storage. The 13-inch models starts at $1,299 and features a Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD. If you want to double your storage then there's a $1,599 model waiting for you. All of the MacBook Air models have integrated Intel HD graphics, webcams, two USB ports, a Thunderbolt port, a backlit keyboard, and the new OS X Lion. Oh yeah, the white MacBook is dead.

Alright, Apple has just outed and released their latest 27-inch Thunderbolt Display which packs a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution. The monitor is LED-backlit, has a webcam, three USB 2.0 ports, Thunderbolt, an Ethernet, and a 2.1-speaker. This one will cost you $999 and will be shipping within the next 60 days so you'll have to be a bit patient if you order this one today.

Last, but not least, is the new and updated Mac Mini. This one starts at $599 and packs a Core i5 CPU, 2GB of RAM, and a 500GB HDD. For $799 you get a speedier Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB HDD. For $999 you can get the Core i7 with the Lion Server and it also has 4GB of RAM and dual 500GB HDDs inside. Of course, all of the models are customizable.

New MacBook Air: Redmond Pie
Apple Releases New 27-Inch Display: This Is My Next
Mac Mini Refresh: Slash Gear

DigiTimes is reporting something great for you if you've been waiting for Apple to update their MacBook Air. Apparently, Apple is set to produce eight million Airs for Q3 of this year with the launch set for July. Specs are still unknown for this one right now but it'll be powered by Intel's Sandy Bridge CPU line-up which is pretty speedy.

[9 to 5 Mac]

There's no way to confirm this news right now but there's word that Apple intends to update their MacBook Air notebooks in the middle of this year - sources are saying June. These notebooks will be updated with Intel's new "Sandy Bridge" line-up of chipsets which include Core i3 / i5 / i7 models. This is great news for consumers since the current Airs are using CPUs that are over a year old at this point; these "Sandy Bridge" models should be much, much faster than the current batch of MacBook Airs. If Apple can keep the price of these notebooks the same as they currently are then the PC industry will be shaken up for sure.

[CNet News]

At Apple's "Back to the Mac" event today, they introduced something that we knew was coming. Yes, the MacBook Air is now official and there are two models! The first model will be just 0.68-inches thick and 2.9 pounds so it's definitely portable. It's sporting the good ol' unibody construction so it'll be quite durable. The first model they introduced features a 13.3-inch LED-backlit display (1,440 x 900 resolution), a 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, Nvidia GeForce 320m GPU, a full-sized keyboard, a multitouch trackpad, a built-in webcam (for FaceTime / iChat), 2GB of RAM, WiFi 802.11n support, and, of course, doesn't have an optical drive. It has instant-on connectivity along with 7 hours of real-time battery life and 30 days of standby.

Apple also went on to introduce the 11.6-inch MacBook Air and this one's just 2.3 pounds. It has a smaller footprint with the same unibody design so this one's even more portable. The specs are just about the exact same for this notebook except the LED-backlit display sports a smaller 1,366 x 768 resolution, the C2D CPU inside is clocked at just 1.4GHz, and the battery will last just 5 hours in the real world (still 30 days of standby time though). They're both available right now! Prices are below, those are flash storage options by the way. No hard drives inside of these.

They've also given us a sneak peek at their next version of Max OS X and it'll be called Lion. "Mac OS X meets the iPad" they say. This new version will have multitouch capabilities (on screen), the App Store, a Launchpad (gives you a grid of all of your apps - like the iPad), and things that you'd naturally find in iOS. It really brings the best of both worlds (including Expose and Spaces), so this is actually looking pretty good right now. Look out for touchscreen MacBook's and iMac's next year. Mac OS X Lion will be available in the Summer of next year. And in 90 days the App Store for Mac will be available, yes, on Snow Leopard!

At the event Apple also introduced iLife 11, but you can always read about that somewhere else because it wasn't all that exciting to be honest. iLife 11 is available right now and comes free with every new Mac; you'll also be able to upgrade for $49 if you're interested. Furthermore, they've also introduced FaceTime for the Mac, so that's a pretty big step. FaceTime should be integrated with iChat which would make a bit more sense, but it's not. It's available right now in beta form.

[Engadget]

Could the rumours regarding the MacBook Air be false? Apparently, the photo above has just leaked and it could actually be the new MacBook Air notebook and it's sporting a 13.3-inch display - not 11.6. Apparently, this early prototype (from April) is also running the same old 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU which is the exact same CPU found in the current MacBook Air. Of course, everything could have changed since then so maybe this surfacing right now is to throw everyone off.

Update on October 18th: Many sources are now saying that the model is actually an 11.6-inch model. We'll just have to see what happens in a couple of days.

[Engadget, Apple Insider]

Coming from a bunch of sources, including CNet, is a rumour about the Apple camp. We already know that Apple will be holding an event on October 20th and it'll likely be about their new OS. Well, apparently, they also have a new notebook on the way and it's the 11.6-inch MacBook Air that we've heard a bit about. This notebook is said to have a new storage system called an "SSD Card" which is as small as a stick of RAM but, of course, it'll be for storage. The Air is said to also sport instant-on wake up times which will be great news and hopefully that's because it has something to do with the new OS.

CNet also mentions that this MacBook Air will be "significantly lower" in cost compared to the current model which costs $1,499. This is sounding like it could be big folks, so make sure to pay attention on October 20th. Sadly, the word going around is that this notebook may only feature the old school Intel Core 2 Duo CPU along with a Nvidia chipset. Having everything all in one wouldn't be fair now, would it?

[Electronista, Engadget]

We already know that Apple is looking to update their MacBook Air notebook soon and it looks like it could be coming sometime in September. Apparently, the notebook will be cheaper than the $1,499 price that it starts out with now which would be a big step for Apple. Earlier rumours pointed that the MacBook Air update would feature an 11.6-inch display along with Intel Core ix ULV 2010 CPU options. That's not all though. We're also hearing that Apple may be trying to get rid of their iPod Shuffle line-up by introducing their first iPod Nano without the famous click-wheel. It's starting to look like that small Apple-branded touchscreen display will be the next iPod Nano somehow.

[Slash Gear]

DigiTimes is back at it again, two days in a row, with another Apple rumour. This time we're talking about their thin-and-light notebook and their PMP; I'm, of course, talking about the MacBook Air and the iPod Touch. The rumour states that Apple will be launching a new MacBook Air with an Intel Core 2010 ULV CPU built by Quanta in the second half of this year. This update to the MacBook Air will be the smallest notebook that Apple has since the rumour states that the display with be 11.6-inches.

The other rumour is that the iPod Touch with a 3MP camera will be available in August or September of this year. I'm expecting September, since that's when Apple usually updates their iPod line-up. Also expected is that the iPod Touch will be using the A4 CPU - who knows what it'll be clocked at though.

[Slash Gear]

Apparently, Apple is looking to refresh their MacBook Air sometime in the future. This is definitely expected considering that Intel is launching a bunch of new Core i3 ULV / i5 ULV CPUs in the near future. Sadly, this update could be something less appealing, like new 27-inch LCD monitors. So, since Apple regularly updates their products on Tuesdays, could it be tomorrow or next week or the week after that? We'll have to wait.

[Engadget]

The MacBook Pros have just been pushed out over the past couple of days but it looks like Apple could be looking to AMD for their future chips. It's just a rumour right now, so don't be surprised if Apple sticks by Intel. AMD would give Apple more profit - which is all they're really after - but Intel does have the upcoming Light Peak technology that Apple may have influenced. Of course, with the AMD chipsets these Apple notebooks / desktops will also get ATI discrete graphics. Let's see what happens over the next year.

[Gizmodo]

Apple Daily (here) has just mentioned that Apple is looking to refresh their MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro notebooks later this month. Apparently, all of their notebooks will be getting Intel Core i3 / i5 / i7 CPU options, while the 13 and 15-inch variants will have a battery life of up to 8 hours. They'll also be sporting 640GB HDD and even 256GB SSD options. Of course, these notebooks will feature Nvidia Optimus technology so that you can make your battery last a bit longer. Let's just see if it really happens.

Update: According to Mac Rumors, this update could come as soon as April 13th which is this coming Tuesday!

[Electronista]
Picture Source: 9 to 5 Mac

The Adamo is Dell's answer to Apple's MacBook Air and it had a questionable launch due to its underwhelming spec sheet and its overwhelming price tag. Today, Dell has cut the price of their low-end Adamo, which sports: a 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD, to match the entry-level 1.86GHz MacBook Air. The Dell Adamo is now going for $1,499 USD on Dell's official website. The higher-end model has also dropped to $2,299 USD, but it still costs a chunk more than the high-end MacBook Air model which goes for $1,799 USD. The high-end Adamo model is equipped with a 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, a 128GB SSD, 4 GB of RAM, and 3G support.

[Electronista]

The MacBook Air-like Asus Eee PC 1008HA is now available for pre-orders in the UK - lucky them. The white version (pictured) is now available for £349 on LaptopDirect. Engadget also adds that "Britons with £379.50 ($565 USD) can get in line for the Midnight Blue edition which should be dispatched in around a month or two according to Amazon UK." This netbook looks really nice, but that price tag is pretty expensive. I need a netbook for school, so right now I'm still looking for something with 8 hours of real-time battery life.

On a side note, you can enjoy a MacBook Air owner taking out his anger on the LCD display of his notebook. He did this because there was a damaged hinge. I feel like doing this to my laptop sometimes, but I never have the guts to do it.



[Engadget, Gizmodo (video)]

At the Can SecWest security conference, Charlie Miller (pictured) won $5,000 for exploiting a hole in Safari in just "10 seconds or so." Talk about a fast exploit. It works after the computer user clicks on a malicious URL. Miller is also recognized for hacking a MacBook Air in under 2 minutes, for that he won $10,000. He did this Safari exploit at the "Pwn2Own" contest earlier today. Unfortunately, he is unable to unveil his exploiting secrets, but he did tell Apple how he did it so that they can fix it up. TippingPoint sponsored this contest and they are also offering $5,000 "for each new exploit demonstrated in the major browsers and $10,000 for each successful exploit in the major smartphones, as well." This guy seriously must make a living out of this kind of stuff and I don't blame him. This is only his side job, since he is a principal security analysis at Independent Security Evaluators. I'd make fun of him, but he might start exploiting Chrome to "Own" my computer, so I am not going to do that.

[CNet News]

Dell has just confirmed that the 13-inch model of their new Adamo-branded laptop will be available sometime today. The Adamo is a whole new line of computers similar - but also extremely different - to the Inspiron lineup. The Adamo looks to put fashion and style back into Dell laptops and the first model will be available sometime today for $1,999.99 USD. This Apple Macbook Air competitor is supposed to be more affordable than the MacBook Air, so we could see a more affordable notebook in the future. By March 26 the aforementioned Adamo will be available in 24 countries, including the US. Nice move on Dell's part to place this launch right in time for the iPhone 3.0 OS event today. Details and spec sheet will be available later on today, so just keep in touch.

[Engadget]

This is the Dell Latitude E6400 XFR rugged laptop that looks just about bulletproof. It's pretty thick, 2.2-inches to be exact, and weighs 8.5 pounds. There is no word on the price (Update: starts at $4,299 USD) or the availability, but it is apparently 15% thinner and 5% lighter than the last Dell Latitude XFR laptop. The laptop itself has a sunlight-readable WXGA display and inside you get Intel's Core 2 Duo "paired up with both a 256MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M and an integrated 4500MHD." In Engadget's post, it looks like there are a couple of errors, one being a "265MB" graphics card and also a "1.41 WXGA display". I'm going to guess that the decimal place should be slid over to the right one spot, making it a 14.1-inch touchscreen sunlight-readable display.

New Dell Adamo Teaser Video (and video): http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/10/dells-adamo-teased-sweetly/