On The CultCast, our listeners ask us all the time whether they should go for the Macbook Pro or the Macbook Air. I say be a real Apple fan — get both. But if that’s not an option, we’ll tell you when which model makes more sense than the other, and which Macbook will be right for you on our latest episode.
And then, Faves and Raves! The fun but poorly-named segment where we pitch our favorite apps and gear then vote on which is best.
Don’t miss this stupendous new episode of The CultCast. Subscribe now on iTunes, or stream new episodes right on your iPhone or iPad with Apple’s new Podcasts App.
Remember that early iPad prototype we showed you yesterday, built between 2002 and 2004, which looked like an old white iBook with a touchscreen? Now some new shots have surfaced that show a comparison between this and the iPad 2, and there are some interesting differences.
First of all, Apple originally built the iPad with a 12-inch display, and it was huge.
If you use your MacBook with a Thunderbolt Display at home or at the office, and you don’t use your MacBook’s display as a secondary monitor, then a Henge Dock is a great way to keep your desk neat and tidy.
Available for all recent MacBooks, MacBook Airs, and MacBook Pros from 11 to 17 inches — with prices ranging from $55 to $75 — it provides you with a place to dock your MacBook in a vertical position so that it takes up as little space as possible. Its integrated ports mean you can still all of your notebook’s USB ports, its MagSafe connector, audio jack, and more.
The Henge Dock promises to be the “first truly comprehensive docking station solution for Apple’s line of notebook computers” There are some things it could do better, however.
This early iPad prototype looks a lot like a MacBook with a touchscreen.
Apple’s iPad, with its sleek aluminum casing, large 9.7-inch display, is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful tablets currently available. But there was a time when it was as thick as a cheap Dell notebook and made from tacky white plastic — as these images of an early iPad prototype prove.
Found is a lightning-fast search tool for your Mac that can also search across your cloud services like Google Docs, DropBox and Google Drive. It makes searching for files ridiculously easy with it’s gorgeous interface. This entire week we’ve given readers a chance to try out the new free app and win a MacBook Pro with Retina display at the same time. If you haven’t taken Found for a spin yet you should hurry up and get on the ball. Today is the last day of the giveaway, so if you’re dreaming of a new MacBook Pro with Retina display entering your life, hurry up and enter and you just might be our lucky winner.
Toys are just lifeless pieces of plastic completely devoid of feelings – orarethey? It’s not like they could just walk around with an iPhone taking pictures of pretty sunsets and duckface self portraits for Instagram, right? Since science has yet to prove that toys are just just like us, Instagrammer Santlov provides fantastic images of toys playing with their iPhone, iPad, and Macs. Want to know what Scarface or Boba Fett would look like snapping Instagram pics? Take a look –
How badly will fallout from Apple's decision to remove its products from the EPEAT registry affect it?
Just days after word broke that Apple had decided to withdraw its products from the EPEAT registry, San Francisco announced that the city would will stop procurement of Apple’s Mac desktops and notebooks. The move may be the first of many such announcements as many local, state, and federal agencies mandate purchases of only computers that meet the EPEAT criteria.
Apple’s decision to remove 39 of its products from the registry is puzzling to many considering that Apple is very vocal and transparent about the environmental friendliness of its products and processes. Apple was also one of the companies that helped create the EPEAT standards in 2006.
Apple is clearly working towards making solid-state storage a standard for its MacBook line, which means our notebook computers have never been speedier. The only problem is, the flash storage Apple uses is still pretty expensive, and so most of us have to settle for less of it when we’re buying a new MacBook.
That means we either need to come up with ways to decrease our data consumption, or add cheaper external storage for things like our iTunes libraries and torrent archives. If you’re going for the latter (the easier option) then you need the Nifty MiniDrive, an SD card specifically designed for MacBooks that you’ll hardly ever notice.
With a new iPhone just months away, Apple doesn't want to be stuck with too many old models.
In what has to be one of the most ridiculous scams in recent memory, a crook in the UK is selling unsuspecting buyers boxes of potatoes and bottled water, claiming that they are receiving an iPhone.
A gang leader who orchestrated the production of counterfeit credit cards and then used them to purchase over $1 million worth of iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks from Apple Stores throughout the United States has been sentenced to up to nine years in prison.
Apple’s attention to detail, its subtle understanding of the way we interact with our machines, just never ceases to amaze. Case in point: did you know that Apple precisely angles all of the screens on its Apple Store display units to encourage you to walk up and touch them? It’s true!
I’m still sitting at my desk wiping the froth from my mouth dreaming of how much better my life is going to become once I get Apple’s new MacBook Pro with Retina display. It’s totally the most beautiful laptop computer I’ve ever seen, and I haven’t even really seen it in real life, but I know I want it. All my friends want it too, so of course after the keynote we talked about who’s going to get it, who’s not, and why not.
And then we all realized that there’s really no reason for any of us to buy it, and there might not be any reason for you to get it either. Here’s why:
Apple is expected to resurrect the MacBook, but kill of the MacBook Pro. What?!
As we patiently wait for Tim Cook to kick off Apple’s WWDC keynote in just under five hours time, the last of the WWDC rumors and reports are spilling in. One of the more questionable pieces comes from KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who believes the new MacBook Pro won’t get that thinner, lighter, MacBook Air-like form factor we’ve all been hearing about. But that a resurrected MacBook will instead.
A hardware bomb! That’s what CultCast special guest and Ars Technica writer Chris Foresman thinks is about to go down at next week’s WWDC. I think he’s right, and on our brand new CultCast we’ll tell you why Apple might be about to refresh every Mac they make. Plus, there’s iOS 6. We’ll tell you what to expect from Apple’s new mobile OS too.
And don’t miss our winner of Faves and Raves, the game where we pitch our favorite hardware/apps and then vote on which is best.
All that and too many LULZ on our brand new CultCast. Subscribe now in iTunes and read on through for our show notes.
Cheap and fairly cheerful: The Matrox DS1 Thunderbolt dock.
Love the idea of a Thunderbolt docking station but hate the idea of paying $1,000 for an Apple Thunderbolt-equipped display? Then why not save yourself $750 and opt for the Matrox DS1?
We all know that the best cable management system is a Thunderbolt-equipped cinema display, but it is also just about the most expensive way to wrangle all the wires you need to support the life of your MacBook. So Rockpool Designs’ CableStrip might be the next best thing, and it costs just $10.
Apple's ditched iPod white and piano black from their Mac line, but luckily, there's the iGlaze.
Ever wish your MacBook Air came in carbon fiber black? Or maybe you just miss the classic old iPod white Apple used to ship its MacBooks in, and wish your Air was as clean and ivory?
Moshi’s got you covered. They’ve just announced the iGlaze, an ultra-slim case for your MacBook Air that adds maximal protection, minimum thickness and lets you have your Air in any color, as long as it’s black or white.
How many does pixels does a Mac really need to qualify as Retina, anyway?
It’s looking increasingly likely that when Tim Cook takes the stage at the annual WWDC keynote on June 11th, Apple will announce new MacBook Pros and possibly iMacs, and if the rumor mill is to be believed, these new machines won’t just be slimmer and ditch their optical drives… they’ll be the first Macs with Retina displays.
What everyone widely expects from Retina display Macs is an iPhone or iPad-style resolution doubling. So if the current 15-inch MacBook Pro has a 1,440 x 900 display, the Retina 15-inch MBP would have a 2,880 x 1800 display.
What the rumor mill is missing is that there’s no benefit to Apple handling a jump to Retina display Macs this way. The reason the iPad and iPhone going Retina was such a big deal was because they had really pixellated displays. Before the iPhone 4, the iPhone had a display that was only 53% close to being Retina. The iPad was slightly better, at 61%. Roughly, both the iPad and iPhone were only about halfway there, which made the easiest fix to just double the amount of pixels per inch.
But Apple doesn’t need to do this with its line of Macs. In fact, it’s likely that most “Retina Quality” Macs will have fewer pixels than your new iPad. Here’s why.
An old PowerBook with an upside down Apple logo on Sex and the City.
When you open up your MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro, the glowing Apple logo on its hood sits upright so that everyone in Starbucks knows that you’re using a Mac. However, it hasn’t always been that way. There was a time when Apple logos were upside down on the lid of Apple notebooks, until Steve Jobs realized his mistake.
Retina displays will be more expensive for Apple to put into new MacBook Pros.
Apple’s upcoming lineup of MacBook Pros are expected to feature a slimmer design, Intel Ivy Bridge architecture and jaw-dropping ‘Retina’ displays. Like the last two iPhones and newest iPad, Apple’s new MacBook Pro and iMac models are supposed to flaunt a screen like you’ve never seen on a computer before. And if iOS device marketing is any indication, such a display will likely be the flagship feature in new Macs. Apple is expected to unveil the new MacBook Pros at WWDC next month, according to multiple reports.
If the next MacBook Pro and iMac really do come outfitted with gorgeous Retina displays, then the new screens will cost Apple more to make.
The iMac could join Apple's MacBook Pros with a Retina display upgrade.
With Apple’s entire family of iOS devices now kitted out with high-resolution Retina displays, it’s time for the Cupertino company’s Macs to get the same treatment. We’ve speculated about Retina display MacBook Pros for some time, but there’s been little mention of a high-resolution display for the iMac.
But fear not. Those of you with a love for Apple’s all-in-one won’t get left behind when the Retina display upgrades begin their rollout.
In what might be a move to clear out current inventory to make room for the upcoming line of Ivy Bridge Macs, Best Buy has slashed prices on all current generation Macs. Every single machine has been reduced in price, and while most discounts aren’t astounding, the extra $100-$200 saved on a new MacBook, iMac, Mac Mini, or Mac Pro, might be enough to entice customers who can’t wait another minute for a new Mac.
These type of discounts usually don’t happen without some involvement by Apple. It’s not uncommon for Apple to notify vendors of expected supply shortages before a transition to a new product line. Apple is expected to release new Macs this summer that utilize Intel’s new Ivy Bridge processors, so buy with caution. You can purchase the discounted Macs at your local Best Buy, or online.
Here’s a break down of the discounts you’ll find online:
The Notebook Case for iPad is pretty... until you get up close.
The Notebook Case from CPeel is a plastic keyboard case for the iPad that’s designed to transform your tablet into a mini MacBook for €85 (approx. $111). It adds a full QWERTY keyboard that includes 13 function keys and connects to your iPad via Bluetooth.
But it’s not only its looks that make this case desirable. It also features an integrated 4,000 mAh Lithium-ion battery and a built-in USB port, which allow you to charge almost any device via a USB cable while you’re on the go.
Liquidmetal iPhone concept by NAK Studio • http://bit.ly/ITBqrf
Rumors have been flying about Apple’s next-gen iPhone featuring a liquidmetal alloy casing, unlike the glass backing that currently cradles the iPhone 4 and 4S’s precious internals. Liquidmetal would assumedly create a lighter iPhone that’s also more durable and scratch resistant. There’s also been rumors that the next-gen MacBooks will be made of liquidmetal, but no hard evidence has surfaced to support the speculation.
Two years ago Apple bought exclusive rights to use material from Liquidmetal Technologies in its products, but we have yet to see a liquidmetal iPhone. The only liquidmetal material to be incorporated was the pin used for ejecting the iPhone 3G SIM card. Will 2012 be the year Apple’s product line goes liquidmetal? Sadly, the odds don’t look good.
This "urinating mischief child" was seen fleeing the scene of the crime clinging to the back of a mud flap.
We can all surmise that urinating upon your Mac will not be covered by your AppleCare, but here’s an interesting question: if you stand up right this second, unzip your fly and hose off all over your MacBook, can you even pay Apple to service the machines?
The answer is no, because Apple looks at micturated-upon MacBooks as a biohazard. Along with an obnoxious 11-year-old’s full bladder, the obscure fact above is what ended up costing a Pennsylvanian school district upwards of thirty-six thousand dollars to replace a cart full of thoroughly soaked MacBooks.
