Etched Advertising on a MacBook Pro
Remember my post a couple of months ago about my plan to put up my laptop lid as advertising space? It worked okay for Sacha Chua, whom I got the idea from. She was able to sell two large blocks for her BarCampEarth event in Toronto. I wasn’t so fortunate, though. But it still seemed a good idea, especially with the prevalence of laptops today, particularly in areas with good traffic, such as cafes and conferences.
But if you don’t have a laptop, you won’t have ad space to sell, right? I guess you just have to be creative. You can get the ads and brand new laptop to boot, just like what Leah Culver did.
When Leah Culver needed a new laptop, but had no money with which to buy it, she got creative. In exchange for $150 toward the purchase of a new machine, Leah offered local companies one square inch of advertising space on the back of the MacBook. What at first looked like a feeble attempt to raise the required funds soon evolved into a successful exercise in the power of the community at large, and Leah quickly had enough cash to buy her laptop.
Of course, one consideration would be that the laptop would seem commercialized, and the ads in this case are permanent, unless you decide to cover the lid with something. But the MacBook Pro has advantages. Firstly, it has relatively more lid real estate than other laptops, with either 15 or 17 inch widescreen. Second, the casing is made of anodized aluminum, so advertisers contributing to the purchase of the computer would be more comfortable knowing their ads would be more or less permanent (a good selling factor).
[via TUAW]
Apple Announces Core 2 Duo MacBook
Following the much-anticipated upgrade of the MacBook Pro to Intel Core 2 Duo, Apple has announced that its upcoming batch of MacBooks (non-Pro) are loaded with upgraded specs: double the standard RAM, larger hard disc capacity, better optical drives, and most important, Core 2 Duo processors.
With prices starting at just $1,099, the new MacBook lineup includes three models: sleek white 1.83 GHz and 2.0 GHz MacBook models, and a stunning black 2.0 GHz MacBook model. With Intel’s latest Core 2 Duo processors, the new MacBook is up to 25 percent faster than the previous MacBook and up to six times faster than the iBook(R), making it even easier for consumers to manage and enjoy their digital content with iLife ‘06.* Consumers will also benefit from the added power in the new 2.0 GHz models, including double the memory and greater storage capacity than the previous generation, as well as a double-layer SuperDrive(TM) for burning professional-quality DVDs.
The new MacBooks sell for the same SRPs as the first-generation MacBooks so if you’re planning on buying a MacBook, it’s best to hold off until you’re sure you get the Core 2 Duo variety. Also, this means there will be cheaper Core Duo (first-gen) MacBooks for sale either on Apple’s refurb store or in the aftermarket.
Mod: Apple Mac Mini Portable - Tablet Edition
Who said Apple had no Tablet portables? Well, by defualt, they don’t. But if you’re on the adventurous side, you can modify a Mac Mini into a tablet Mac, like what Peter Green did with his. He calls it the Mac Mini Portable.
The MMP MkIII is the LIGHTEST Macintosh portable ever made at just 1.9Kg including batteries.
It has a 3 hour battery life, integrated 8″ touch screen tablet, full Blue Tooth, Airport, full SPDIF audio in/out and Front Row capabilities, on screen touch keyboard - no hardware keyboard required!
The MMP MkIII is the same height (or a little slimmer) than the original Mac Mini by Apple, it’s been made a little wider for extra electronics and being ergonomically better to hold.
This mod actually no longer makes use of the Mac Mini’s casing, but only its innards. After all, with a desktop with that small a footprint, you wouldn’t have to wonder whether it’s portable peripherals that Apple has stuck in there, from the logic board, to the hard drive, to the optical drive and more.
[via TUAW]
Core 2 Duo Apple MacBook Pro Now Available
The rumors that Apple will not be able to use Core 2 Duo processors on its laptops because of legal issues did not run true, after all. Apple has announced that all its new MacBook Pros now feature Intel Core 2 Duo processors.
The entire MacBook Pro line of notebooks now includes the new Intel Core 2 Duo processor and delivers performance that is up to 39 percent faster than the previous generation. All MacBook Pro models now offer double the memory and greater storage capacity than the previous generation, as well as a FireWire 800 port for connecting to high-speed peripherals.
The new 15-inch MacBook Pro is already shipping, while the new 17-inch version will start shipping next week.
Almost Half of all Computers Purchased were Macs
While that subject line might seem misleading, it is the truth for Princeton, where upwards of 45% of all computers purchased were Apple computers.
In 2003, when this year’s seniors arrived on campus, just 15 percent of them chose Macs. The next year, a quarter of incoming freshmen did, and the year after that, 38 percent. These statistics aren’t comprehensive, because some students choose not to buy their computers through OIT. Nonetheless, the upward trend is real. Macs are where it’s at.
Again, I feel that if I had known that Apple was going to shift into Intel CPU’s so quickly and Bootcamp was going to come out, I might have waited on getting this ThinkPad, and gone the Apple route. So it is not surprising to me that the popularity of Apple machines are up. What does surprise me is how fast it went from 15% to 45%. In less than three years they almost have half of Princeton students running around with the Apple symbol. I doubt any other single laptop producer can say that about Princeton.
Source: Daily Princetonian
The Stinky Laptop
Hardy Menagh writes an amusing article on Low End Mac about how a used iBook he bought online reeked a sweaty odor. The manufacturer had used an adhesive on the underside labelling and construction of the keyboard that gave out a pungent odor when the laptop heats up.
Apparently an adhesive used in the labeling and construction of the keyboard would begin to out-gas about 12-18 months after the iBook was manufactured. This gas smells remarkably like ripe, testosterone-enriched perspiration, and it only gets worse with age.
Somehow my research into G3 ‘Books had missed this tidbit. Who would’ve thought to add “sweat” or “stinks” to the search terms?
The only complete cure for the stinking defect is to replace the keyboard with a brand-new one at the owner’s expense.
I guess this is one caveat when buying pre-owned laptops online. At least when you can physically examine the laptop you’re buying you can smell it!
I haven’t had any weird olfactory experiences with the laptops that I’ve owned so far–the worst I get is the usual smell of electronics heating up. But I do recall having used LCD projectors that seemed to have garlic breath in the ventilation.
Have you had any weird experiences with your laptops?
MacBook Users Planning Class Action Suit for Shutdown Problems
A group of MacBook users is planning to file a class action lawsuit against Apple for intermittent shutdown problems. Apple Insider reports,
While Apple has publicly acknowledged the ongoing issue — asking affected users to contact AppleCare for support — its repair process has caused many users to lose access to systems for exhaustive periods of time. While some affected users in the U.S. have been fortunate enough to have their repaired MacBooks returned to them within a week, those in other regions have been left waiting weeks, and sometimes months, for their systems to be repaired.
Making matters worse, are widespread reports that Apple’s initial solution to the RSS problem — to replace the MacBook’s processor heat sink — does not completely eliminate the random shutdowns. As a result, many affected users have been forced to request a second or third round of repairs, leaving some without access to a computer for even longer periods of time.
If you have been experiencing these problems with your Macbook, you can have your unit sent in for repairs and Apple will replace the heatsink and perhaps other components (like the logic board, in some cases). But with the reports that problems still persist even with repairs, it might be best to ask for a total replacement.
If you would like to participate in the planned class action suit, you can sign up with ClassAction.com, which will facilitate interaction with a law firm that can act on a class action request.
The Black MacBook: The Best Laptop Ever?
T3 UK thinks the black MacBook may be the best laptop yet. Yes, there are more powerful and better spec’d models in the Mac laptop line (and perhaps other brands), but the blackbook trumps the others in terms of size, functionality and even price. Consider the price jump from the black MacBook to the lowest-spec’d MacBook Pro (a $500 difference), and that the Pro is significantly larger in terms of width and height, then the MacBook might just hit the sweet spot.
OK, that this costs £130 more than the next model down – a white ’Book with an identical spec apart from a 20GB smaller hard drive – is ridiculous. But when has buying an Apple ever been about logic?
Most non-high-end users will find this does everything the MacBook Pro range does for far less. Adobe’s software (Photoshop et al) may run a bit clunkily (until Adobe optimises it for Intel’s processors), and Macs are never much cop for TV-viewing (no built-in tuner) or gaming (er, no games), but who cares? There’s nothing better than a Mac for organising your digital life, and there’s never been a better time to buy a Mac.
One major area where the MacBook is lacking is in graphics, since it uses an integrated Intel 945-based chipset, while the MacBook Pro uses a discrete ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics card. This means you cannot expect to get good performance on 3D and high-end games. Still, if you’d rather spend your time on your mac on productivity applications and work, then the MacBook’s lack of discrete graphics won’t be much of an issue.
Controlling Extended Desktops on Your Mac Laptop
Being able to work on extended desktops out of the box is one of the benefits of using a laptop. With an extended desktop, you can work on two monitors at a time. You can drag your cursor and windows around as if the two (or more) monitors were one continuous space.
With a desktop computer, you usually need to have multiple graphics adaptors or an adaptor with multiple VGA-outputs for this to work. On most modern laptops, however, the graphics card (whether onboard or discrete) is able to handle both mirroring (meaning the display on your LCD screen and the external monitor are the same) and extended desktops.
On Windows machines, you are limited to positioning your extended desktops side-by-side, unless you install add-on applications or if your display driver supports alternate positionings. You still have the option of selecting your external monitor on the left or right side of the screen, though.
With a Mac notebook, however, especially the latter versions of OS X, you can easily position the screens around to approximate the actual positioning of the monitors by just dragging and dropping. I’m assuming you’ve already plugged in your external monitor and clicked on Detect Displays to automatically detect and install the monitor. You must then activate the extended desktop by turning off display mirroring in Display Preferences.
This will then set your desktops to be the default setting: LCD to the left and external monitor to the right.
However, your displays may be positioned differently, and may not be situated horizontally with each other. For instance, the external monitor can be positioned on top of the laptop display. or, the external display is situated beside the laptop’s screen, but at a higher position.
To do this, you choose the Arrangement tab, which will let you drag around your screens to approximate your desired position. Take note that the one with the status bar above is your laptop’s LCD, which is the primary display.
This image below depicts the external monitor being diagonally situated to the left side of the laptop (meaning it’s higher).
Of course, the primary function of this feature is to easily tell your computer on which side your external display is–left, right or top. But being able to position the height relative to your LCD is surely one added bonus, especially if you’re particular about your mouse cursor going exactly where you perceive it should be, even across monitors.
Disabling Dashboard in Mac OS X
One of the supposed wonders of Mac OS X 10.4 “Tiger” was Dashboard, along with those sometimes-useful, sometimes-distracting widgets. Widgets are basically applets that serve simple purposes, which you can call up on your screen in your own organized or cluttered manner.
One problem with Dashboard, though, is that it’s a resource hog. Now if you have the latest MacBook Pro or Mac Pro that might not be much of a problem. But if you’re using an older Mac, like my own PowerBook, then you would surely appreciate any speed improvements, no matter how marginal. And then, of course, there’s the productivity improvement that comes with not having all those distracting pieces of information cluttered on your desktop at a press of a button.
Two steps only
Dashboard is built into the OS X dock, and you cannot just disable it like you would when closing any regular application. Sure, you can just drag Dashboard.app over to Trash, but that might prove to be more problematic, and you would sure find a hard time re-enabling Dashboard when you find the sudden need to use widgets.
Here’s a quick tip from MacWorld. First, you need to open up a terminal session, and then enter the following commands.
- defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean YES
- killall Dock
The first command disables the auto-launching of Dashboard along with Dock. The second restarts Dock–a step necessary so Dashboard would be closed.
If you want to re-enable dock, execute the above commands again in Terminal, but replace the YES with NO.
As the MacWorld article mentions, there may be other reasons you would want to disable Dashboard, such as when it proves to be too much of a distraction, or even for security purposes.
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