The word “innovative” has been thrown around a lot in the aftermath of Microsoft’s Surface announcement, but how innovative is the design, anyway? The thickest part of a MacBook Air is the keyboard, which allows you to balance it on your lap to type on it; where as the Microsoft Surface is just an Air flipped upside down, with the thickest part the screen, making it the first thing to go flipping off your lap.

Okay, we admit, this image is a little exaggerated, but it’s funny, and it does raise a good criticism of the Surface: ostensibly, the Surface is a tablet with a keyboard cover that allows it to be used as a notebook, but its form factor makes it impossible to type on unless you’re at a desk or a table.

Image: 9gag

The MacBook Air has never been a slouch in terms of performance, but with the 2012 model, SSD performance is scoring a whopping 217% higher than ever before.

In tests run by OSXDaily, read speeds reached a maximum of 461MB/s, and write speeds hit 364MB/s, a dramatic increase over the 2011 model, which scored just a modest 145MB/s read speed and a 152MB/s write speed.

Maybe you were exploring the nether reaches of a Venezuelan jungle yesterday and missed the news that Microsoft announced that they’re making a cool looking tablet called the Microsoft Surface for Windows RT.

Despite some huge holes in the announcement, some people like Gizmodo’s Jesus Diaz have gone on to claim that Microsoft’s Surface just made the iPad and MacBook Air obsolete.

We’re actually kind of excited about the Surface and think it looks like an intriguing product, but saying that it’s better than the iPad and MacBook Air at this point is absolutely absurd.

Don’t care about USB 3 or the latest processor? Head on down to your local Best Buy to get nearly $400 off the last-gen MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.

So, a mere two days after Apple quietly released an update for its brand-spankin-new MacBook Pro, the magical company is doing it again. This time, the as-yet-released MacBook Air is the target of a new software update.

From the Apple Support site:

About MacBook Pro (Mid 2012) Software Update 1.0
This update is recommended for MacBook Pro (mid 2012) models.

The update includes fixes that improve graphics stability, external display support, and USB 3 device support.

Sound familiar? That’s because these are the same fixes that Apple reported for the MacBook Pro model. Sounds like someone announced these babies just a bit before they were totally ready? Ah, well, at least it’s all fixed. Right, Apple?

Via: MacNN

Noting that everyone tries to copy the MacBook Air, Phil Schiller says they’re updating their ultraportable line.

The MacBook Air will now feature:

• Updated CPU — Ivy Bridge, up to 2.0GHz dual-core i&.
• Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz
• Up to 8GB RAM
• 60% Faster Graphics
• Up to 512GB SSD
• USB 3 Support!
• 720p FaceTime camera
• No retina!

Prices now start at $999 and $1099 for the 11-inch, $1199 and $1499 for the 13-inch

(This story is developing.Check back for updates.)

Image: The Verge

Following those specifications for the new Mac Pro and the new MacBook Pro that we reported on earlier, the specifics for the Retina display MacBook Pro and the new MacBook Airs have now also been leaked. In addition to Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors for all models, highlights include up to 8GB of RAM and up to 512GB of SSD storage for the MacBook Air, and up to 768GB of storage for the MacBook Pro.

The wedge design of the MacBook Air has been patented by Apple, meaning that the Cupertino company now owns the rights to “the distinctive wedge or teardrop profile” of the sexy notebook. Apple’s D296 patent means that the MacBook Air has solidified the tapered, wedge-like design for its class of computer.

Instead of focusing on concrete details, the new patent covers the general aesthetic of the MacBook Air’s design. Over the past year or so, dozens of laptops, dubbed “Ultrabooks,” have been copying the metallic look and feel of the Air. Could this new patent mean that Apple is setting its legal sights on Ultrabook competitors?

The last two days we’ve given away two MacBook Airs to lucky readers, but if you haven’t been lucky enough to win yet, don’t fret, here’s your last chance.

Even though we have this really cool internet technology thing called the “cloud” that stores all of our pictures, music, documents, videos, and anything else we want to throw at it, searching for stuff inside the cloud still sucks. Most people use Gmail, DropBox, iCloud and Google Drive to store certain things, but the problem is that they’re not connected, so files become fragmented across multiple services. Found is a brand new app that just launched on the Mac App Store, and it’s ready to change the way you search for files by making them easy to find regardless of which cloud service you stored them in.

Not only is Found a deliciously simple app for finding stuff, but it works across multiple services at once and is completely free. Best of all, to celebrate the launch of their app, Found is giving away one last MacBook Air today. So not only are you getting a sweet new app that will make your life easier, but you might win a new MacBook Air to run it on.

Here’s How To Enter:

TwelveSouth is a company as known for their fantastic innovations (for example, the PlugBug) as their curiosities (the BookBook case). The SurfacePad for MacBook doesn’t fall in either category: it’s a strictly utilitarian accessory, a thin leather sticker for the keyboard of your MacBook Air that makes it feel more pleasant to type on by putting an almost imperceptibly thin layer of dyed cow flesh between your palms and the cold unibody aluminum.