The biggest company at CES this year is Apple. No, Apple isn’t giving keynotes, hosting a booth or even taking meetings, as far as I know. But Apple dominates CES like cheesy hotel casinos dominate the Las Vegas Strip.
A consumer electronics show without Apple is like an Internet search show without Google, a social networking show without Facebook or a, er, MacWorld Expo without Apple.
But that’s not why Apple’s presence is so large at CES. The reason is that half the initiatives, product directions and announcements are responses to Apple, or anticipation of what Apple might do in the future.
Apple’s new 11-inch MacBook Air is simply incredible. Of course you probably already knew this puppy was light, and gorgeous, but the power that this tiny machine packs is truly breathtaking. Optimized for speed and portability, the new MacBook Air improves on its predecessor to prove that it’s the best notebook computer Apple’s ever made.
We went bonkers last week and gave out more free hardware in seven days than we ever have before. To mix things up this week we’re going to be giving out some beautiful software to enhance your Apple experience. Today we’re teaming up with the great people behind StackSocial who have given us three promo codes for their latest Mac Essentials Bundle. With eleven Mac apps worth $333 that we’re giving away for free, this is one of the best software giveaways we’ve ever had. You’ve got to play to win though, so here are the details on what you’ll win and how to qualify for the giveaway:
The New York Times offered up a classic piece of long-form Sunday reportage with an article on how people around the world are creating “Internet in a suitcase” projects, in part funded by the U.S. State Department to detour repressive regimes.
If you’re someone who has even the smallest regards towards fashion, then you’ve probably given some serious thought as to which bag to use for toting your precious MacBook around. What you wear says just as much about you as your MacBook does. If you’re looking for something that looks great for casual occasions but can also feel dressed up enough for business meetings, then you need to consider the Arnald Work Bag from The Property Of. We were lucky enough to receive a bags from the Amsterdam based company and here’s our take.
Thieves broke into an Apple reseller to swipe 22 laptops, leaving behind iPads and iPods.
Police in Brattleboro, Vermont believe the perps may be professionals who worked on commission, especially since they left behind two iPads on display and a box full of iPods.
“It’s definitely about the desirability of the product — iPods, iPads and Macs,” said Patrick Brown, owner of Brown Computer Solutions, who found his store stock a lot lighter after the 10:30 pm break-in. “If [thieves] can get 50 cents on the dollar, it’s pretty good money, and they are probably getting a lot more than 50 cents on the dollar,” he said. “If they were trying to sell Dell machines, they’d get 10 cents on the dollar.”
Now that Consumer Reports has deemed pretty much the entire line of Apple notebooks the “Best in Class” in every configuration, it stands to reason you may be seeing more and more of them wherever you go. And not that you’d let your own far enough out of sight to risk its possibly getting mixed up with someone else’s, but there is something to be said for personalizing your Mac. And certainly lots of options exist for doing so — from getting laser etched engravings to getting artful skins to getting brightly colored cases, and more.
Here’s a gallery of a dozen artful, yet subdued decals that make interesting use of the Apple logo and express a bit of whimsy and personality, all of which are available from Etsy. The website has literally thousands of decals to choose from, offered by a wide range of artists, at prices ranging from a couple of bucks to about $15. As always, click on each image for a larger view.
Be sure and let us know in comments about your own favorite decal artists and other outlets for personalizing your Apple gear.
A recent teardown of the new MacBook Air today revealed that the pretty little notebook is unsurprisingly laden with a bevy of proprietary engineering making it one of the most difficult notebooks on the market to repair. Highlights of the full break down can be read after the jump.
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