GeekSugar

Are (Were) You an Apple Student?

GeekSugar — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 06:00:31 -0700

Last week at the Apple Event in Cupertino, CA, Apple Chief Operating Officer, Tim Cook, announced an interesting fact; that Apple had surpassed Dell to become the top supplier of notebooks in colleges and universities. In previous years, fifteen percent of students had Apple notebooks, now the number is closer to fifty percent. Tim then popped this pic up on the big screen and challenged the audience to find a PC. I myself was a Dell Inspiron girl in my early days of University, and I rarely lugged it to class with me - still a paper and pen note taker back then. What about you? Did (or do) you take a laptop to class with you? And if so, was it a Mac or a PC?

How Do You Like Them Apples?

GeekSugar — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 04:00:20 -0700

Were you following all of our Apple coverage this week? Did you miss some of the juicy details about the new notebooks that Steve unveiled on Tuesday! Well, it certainly was an "all about Apple" kinda week, with the debut of stylish, lighter and much cheaper MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and MacBook Airs. To check out the MacBook Mania coverage, click "start slideshow" below!

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Enviro-Mac: How Green Are Those Apples?

GeekSugar — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:00:42 -0700

In case you missed it (and if you did, where have you been?), Apple announced their newly "refreshed" line of MacBooks, MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs at the 2008 Apple Event on Tuesday. Although I'm stoked about the new trackpad, super-sized hard drives, and upgraded graphics cards, I'm a big fan of how green these new laptops are - and I'm not talking about the color.

Apple seems to have put some hard work into making sure this line of portable computers is the easiest it can be on the environment, and have been able to cut down their excess waste from start to finish. In fact, these are Apple's first products to make EPEAT Gold status - the highest standard you can get for your environmental and energy conservation efforts. To see other eco-friendly facts about this line of MacBooks, just read more.

All of the MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and MacBook Airs are made with highly recyclable aluminum and glass, which is free from mercury and arsenic. On the inside, the circuit boards and electrical components are all made without PVC and BFR (Brominated Flame Retardants), which are toxic to the earth, and you!
All new models use their energy wisely: The 15-inch MacBooks consume only 18 watts of power while in idle with the display on. That's 30 percent less than your standard household light bulb!
The MacBooks backlit LED display uses 30 percent less power than before.
Because of the new unibody enclosure, Apple can reuse more materials for other products, reducing the amount of overall material needed.

Since Apple has always strived to be eco-friendly, and has made some impressive energy advancements this time around, I guess my question has been answered: those Apples are pretty darn green!

Apple's New Black Glass Screen: Better or Worse?

GeekSugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:03:31 -0700

It sounds like everyone is universally excited about the new pricing and specs for the new MacBooks, but one area where I'm hearing different things is in the design. The new MacBooks look like the new Pros, with black glass corner-to-corner around the screen, and black keyboards like the Air has always had. This is obviously different than the old version (still currently available as the $999 entry-level MacBook) that's all white plastic.

I try not to get too attached to any Apple design since it's inevitable that they get tweaked a little, and I'm also curious to see the changes they make, like the slick black edges and keyboard, but I've already heard a lot of dissent.

Tell me, do you think the new black design is better or worse?

Spotted: Steve and Laurene Jobs at Apple!

GeekSugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 06:01:54 -0700

Yes, after the new MacBook Pros, new MacBook Airs, and new MacBooks were announced at the Apple Event in Cupertino yesterday, who else, but none other than Laurene Powell Jobs, decided to sit down on a bench right next to me. As she chatted away on her sleek white iPhone, I instantly knew it was her - especially after our "Geek Love: Tech Giants and Their Ladies" story which featured her and her hubby looking oh-so-adorable. Within a few minutes, Steve decided to join his blond beauty for some one-on-one time, which I'm guessing turned into a lunch date or a ride home together. All together now, ahhhh!

To see more pics of Laurene chatting on her iPhone before Steve joined her, just read more.

Up Close and Personal: New MacBooks and Displays

GeekSugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 02:00:27 -0700

After the Apple presentation yesterday, we all got a chance to get up close and personal with the new line of MacBooks, MacBook Pros, Airs, and the new Cinema Displays that will be hitting stores this season. If you've missed all of our roll out coverage, check it out here, but don't miss these drool-worthy pics from my time with the new laptops in this gadget laden slideshow!

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The New MacBooks Part Two!

GeekSugar — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:10:35 -0700

More about the new MacBooks from Apple!

The New MacBooks Part One!

GeekSugar — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:02:00 -0700

Now that the new and improved MacBooks are here, here's a sneak peek of its new design with an intro by the senior vice president of design at Apple, Jony Ive.

Getting the Scoop From Steve - Q&A Session

GeekSugar — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:45:48 -0700

We got a chance to talk directly to Steve and his crew during a Q&A session at the end of the presentation. Here are some insights to the new MacBooks as well as some other burning questions the group had for him:

Q: What is the status of 17-inch MacBook Pro?
A: The 17-inch MacBook Pro is still available, and is in the process of being refreshed.

Q: Will there be an option for matte screens or are you going with glass screens all the way?
A: Glass all the way. We ran into hesitation with iMacs, but it's just so much better. It's like night and day.

To see what Steve has to say about Blu-ray compatibility, weight updates, and the new graphics card, just read more.

Q: What about Blu-ray compatibility?
A: "Blu-ray is a bag of hurt," Steve said. Unfortunately, licensing of Blu-ray technology is complex, and Apple is just waiting for Blu-ray to take off in the marketplace and lower cost of drives. Solution is iTunes HD.

Q: Is the new Nvidia graphics card exclusively yours?
A: Apple is the first to take it to market.

Q: Weight differences in the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros?
A: The new MacBook is 4.5lbs, and the MacBook Pro is 5.5lbs.

Q: Will there be any Netbooks on the market soon?
A: We'll see how it goes.

Q: Did Apple design the motherboard for these products in-house?
A: All in-house. It's pretty high-tech stuff.

Q: In regards to the new touchpad: Do touchscreens not make sense on laptops?
A: We've experimented with it, but so far it hasn't made a whole lot of sense for us to have a touchscreen on a laptop.

Apple's New MacBooks

GeekSugar — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:43:33 -0700

It's clear that Steve and Apple are psyched on the new details of the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, but they're the most proud of their MacBooks.

It's not only the best-selling Mac ever, but it's "one of the best ever products in the industry," says Steve - and it's about to get better. Where to begin?

The price point of the MacBook is coming down! The entry price of the MacBook dropped from $1099 to $999! The 160 GB version is $1299, and the 250 GB is $1599.
The body will be available in aluminum, just like the MacBook Pros and Air.
They'll be built brick-style - that is, out of one piece - and will be half a pound lighter than the earlier MacBooks.
They get the one-button glass trackpad and the corner-to-corner black glass display (hot!) like the new Pros.
It's made and packaged in an environmentally responsible way; it finally got EPEAT Gold certification and is made with 42 percent less packaging.