MacBook - page 28

While Screen Sizes Are Getting Bigger Apps Sizes Are Becoming Obese

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Each time Apple’s made a significant update to a device this year it’s received a significantly larger screen size or resolution. First the iPad came out with a Retina display along with the MacBook Pro, and now the iPhone 5 has a bigger display as well.

That’s great for your eyeballs, but it also means that the average size of apps is growing too, which may end up costing you more in data fees in the long run.

Just Mobile’s Minimal New Stands Will Mount Your MacBook In Style

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The AluRack mounts your MacBook in style and out of sight.
The AluRack mounts your MacBook in style and out of sight.

Just Mobile is one of my favorite third-party accessory makers for Apple products. They make beautifully minimal stands, chargers, styluses, and other random accessories for iPhone, iPad and Mac. What makes Just Mobile’s stuff great is that most of their products look like they were designed by Apple itself, and that’s no exaggeration—just take a look at their catalog. It’s all great.

A couple of the newest products to be announced by Just Mobile include the AluBase and AluRack MacBook mounts.

The Man Who Fell From Space Yesterday Used A MacBook In Mission Control

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Yesterday, sky adventurer Felix Baumgartner hurled himself out of a 30 million cubic foot helium balloon hovering at the edge of outer space and fell 24 miles down to the earth, making him the first human outside of a vehicle to break the sound barrier. What else is there to say except the man has balls of steel?

Well, maybe this: Felix Baumgartner uses a MacBook. And like everything else he does, he does it like a boss.

13-inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display Should Launch In Q4 [Rumor]

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Apple's latest EFI update for the Retina MacBook Pro should be avoided if possible.
Apple's latest EFI update for the Retina MacBook Pro should be avoided if possible.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro has been rumored to be in production phases recently, but we’ve yet to see any reasonable leaks of the new Apple laptop. According to a new report though, the 13-inch MacBook Pros with Retina display are indeed on the way, and they should be in mass production sometime in the fourth quarter of 2012.

It’s not clear when the new MacBook will hit stores, but analyst Richard Shim of DisplaySearch speculates that it should be released sometime after the iPad Mini announcement that is rumored to take place on October 17th.

A Squad of Bad-Ass Backpacks to Keep Your iPad or MacBook Safe Through The Coming Mayan Apocalypse

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Pelican's S140 Elite Tablet Backpack with its waterproof/crushproof/apocalypse-proof compartment

Pelican made a name for itself making tough cases for the military, firemen and other hazardous sorts who generally place their delicate gadgets in harm’s way. Now they’ve taken their extreme-environment case technology and built four new backpacks around it — two of which have crushproof/waterproof compartments.

Modbook Pro Brings OS X To The Tablet, Pre-Orders Start October 3

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The closest you'll get to an iPad running OS X.
The closest you'll get to an iPad running OS X.

Have you ever looked at your iPad and wished it ran OS X, Apple’s desktop operating system? I have — like when I attempted to use WordPress in mobile Safari. But a Mac-powered tablet is no longer just a dream, thanks to the Modbook Pro. The Modbook Pro comes with all the benefits you get with an iPad, such as a touchscreen and excellent portability, but it runs Mountain Lion. And you can pre-order yours from October 3.

Apple’s Phil Schiller Says Chips & Scratches On Black iPhone 5 Are ‘Normal’

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Some iPhone 5s are being delivered with chips like these.
This is normal, apparently.

While the vast majority of us couldn’t be happier with our new iPhone 5s, a number of users who decided to purchase the black & slate model have noticed that its anodized aluminum finish is prone to chipping and scratching. Unfortunately, it’s not an isolated issue affecting a certain batch of black devices, either — it appears to be affecting them all.

Could this be an issue Apple quickly needs to address? No. Apparently not. According to the company’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, those chips and scratches are “normal.”

The Best Bags [Best Of]

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Man-bag. Murse. He-purse. Call it what you like, but you need one. Finally men in the U.S are following the European example and carrying their day-to-day gear in a bag instead of stuffing it all into a wallet, and then jamming that into a back pocket.

Cameras, iPads, iPhones, chargers, e-books and — yes — even wallets need a place to go, and what follows is our roundup of the best bags to put them in.

And who knows? Maybe one day your adult males will stop wearing baseball caps and shorts and start dressing like grown-ups instead?

Bloomberg: iPad Mini To Launch This October With 7.85-Inch Display From LG

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It's looking increasingly likely the iPad mini will get its own launch event in October.
It's looking increasingly likely the iPad mini will get its own launch event in October.

Sources for Bloomberg have corroborated recent iPad mini rumors by confirming that the device will launch this October with a 7.85-inch display supplied by AU Optronics and LG Display. This will be the first time AUO, which supplies displays for Apple’s MacBooks, will supply a display for one of the Cupertino company’s iOS devices.

Want To Use Your iPhone Or iPad During Takeoff? The FAA Wants To Hear From You

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The FAA forces us to turn off our electronics during takeoff and landing. Tell them you want that rule changed.
The FAA forces us to turn off our electronics during takeoff and landing. Tell them you want that rule changed.

No one likes turning off their portable electronics on a flight during takeoff and landing, especially if they’re as harmless as an iPod or an e-reader. And the rule if often the subject of debate as we all become more reliant on these devices on a daily basis.

Thankfully, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is now ready to reconsider the rule, and it’s asking passengers, flight attendants, airlines, and the makers of electronic devices for their opinion. Tell the FAA you think the rule is silly and you could help towards getting it abolished.

Developer Confirms OS X 10.8.1 Update Significantly Improves MacBook Battery Life

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OS X 10.8.1 could give your MacBook another 4 hours of playtime.
OS X 10.8.1 could give your MacBook another 4 hours of playtime.

When Apple released OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) back in July, one of the few things users complained about was its impact on MacBook battery life. The software seemingly contains a frustrating bug that causes some of Apple’s notebooks to lose around 38% of their normal charge.

Apple has been working on a fix that will be distributed with the OS X 10.8.1 update. And according to one registered developer who’s currently testing the beta, it significantly improves battery life by adding up to four hours.

Apple Patents Illuminated Touchpads That Could Appear In Future MacBooks

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Your keyboard lights up, so why shouldn't your trackpad?
Your keyboard lights up, so why shouldn't your trackpad?

If you’ve got a fairly recent MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, you’ll know that typing in a dark room is a breeze thanks to its backlit keyboard. It now seems as though Apple is looking to extend this feature to the trackpad as well. In a new patent filing entitled “Illuminated Touchpad”, the Cupertino company describes a new touch-sensitive input technology that doesn’t just light up, but also provides an “improved feedback mechanism.”

Back To School: Every App & Gadget You Need To Survive College [Buyer’s Superguide]

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Going back to school? Then let us help.

You lucky thing. The summer’s over, or nearly over, and you’re already planning on heading back to school. Just like last year, you will begin this year fresh and full of energy and enthusiasm, only to be ground down by the man. Luckily, we’re here to help with advice on the best apps and gear to get you through the year and into next year’s summer vacation with the least effort possible.

So sit back, relax and take a look at the Cult of Mac back to school/college superguide.

Count Again: The iPhone 5’s 8-Pin Dock Connector Really Has 9-Pins

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That 8-pin dock connector is really a 9-pin one upon closer inspection.
That 8-pin dock connector is really a 9-pin one upon closer inspection.

Will the next iPhone have an 8 pin or 9 pin dock connector? The iOS 6 beta says 9, but if you count the pins on the leaked dock components, there are only 8. Which is correct? Both: according to a new report, the new dock connector’s aluminum shell teams up with the 8 gold pins to make a ninth pin, resulting in 60% less real estate than the existing 30-pin connector, and better transfer rates with a fraction of the electrical contacts.

NASA Used A Lot Of MacBooks To Get The Curiosity Rover To Mars

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NASA's heroes in the Mission Control room working from their Macs

Did you hear that we touched down on Mars? Again. Late last night NASA’s rover Curiosity successfully carried out a very challenging landing on Mars so that it can explore the red planet and send data back to Earth.

How’d it get there? First there was a bunch of rocket science stuff that we don’t really understand, but the landing sequence was guided and watched by a bunch of NASA brainiacs on their MacBooks Pros. Who says hipsters are the only ones that use a Mac?

Here’s another picture of the NASA MacBook setup:

Pro Vs. Air: It’s A Battle Of The MacBooks On The CultCast

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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.

Show notes below!

Apple’s Early iPad Prototype Had 12-Inch Screen, Was 3 Times Thicker Than iPad 2

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This early iPad prototype was a mammoth.
This early iPad prototype was a mammoth.

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.

Henge Dock For MacBook Air: Keeps Your Desk Neat & Tidy, But Could Do More [Review]

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Please excuse my dreadful wallpaper.

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.

Jony Ive Deposition Reveals Very Early iPad Prototype From Around 2002

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This early iPad prototype looks a lot like a MacBook with a touchscreen.
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.

Last Day To Enter: Try Found For Mac And Win A New MacBook Pro With Retina Display! [Giveaway]

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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.

Here’s How To Enter:

If Toys Used Instagram On Their iPhones, It Would Look Like This [Gallery]

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Toys are just lifeless pieces of plastic completely devoid of feelings – or are they? 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 –

San Francisco Is The First City To Riot Over Apple Rejecting Green-Friendly Rating System

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How badly will fallout from Apple's decision to remove its products from the EPEAT registry affect it?
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.

The Nifty MiniDrive Is An SD Card Designed To Go Unnoticed In Your MacBook [Kickstarter]

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See — the Nifty MiniDrive is almost unnoticeable.
See — the Nifty MiniDrive is almost unnoticeable.

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.