Mac

Apple's blow to Microsoft may be glancing

Apple made a few jabs at Microsoft during Tuesday's notebook event, but if I were a Windows executive today, I'd probably be breathing a sigh of relief.

Although Apple did revamp its entire Mac product line on Tuesday, it didn't hit the $800 price point that the rumor mills had projected.

The new laptops seem nice enough, and they might be enough to keep Apple on a roll, but Apple didn't take the Mac into any new segments of the market.

Clearly fearing that Apple was on the brink of such a price move, Microsoft launched … Read more

Live blog: Apple notebook event

CUPERTINO, Calif.--At Apple's headquarters here at 10 a.m. PDT on Tuesday, the company held an event focused on its laptops. A redesigned MacBook and MacBook Pro were announced, as well as upgraded graphics. And as expected, Apple is releasing its first sub-$1,000 notebook. Here is how it all unfolded.

9:57 a.m.: We're here, and the event should start momentarily.

10 a.m.: Steve Jobs enters, wearing the standard outfit. He says he's going to cover the "State of the Mac." Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook takes the stage to … Read more

Apple notebook event: Live blog at 10 a.m. PDT Tuesday

It's that time again: Apple has invited reporters down to its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters for a special notebooks event, which means CNET News will be there to live-blog the whole thing.

The fun starts at 10 a.m. PDT Tuesday at this link.

Apple says the focus of the event will be on notebooks. A redesigned MacBook and MacBook Pro are all but assured, but there are likely to be some other surprises too. Will Apple opt for Nvidia chipsets? Will there finally be a Mac sold for less than $1,000?

Come back here Tuesday morning to find … Read more

The Apple notebook guessing game

As with any Apple event, there's plenty of rumor and speculation to go around. The lead-up to Tuesday's event in which "the spotlight turns to notebooks," according to the event invitation, has been no different.

The Mac maker has invited journalists down to its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters to get a look at its new round of notebooks Tuesday morning. But what exactly Apple CEO Steve Jobs will unveil is anyone's guess.

We have a few clues in the form of purported "spy shots," or leaked photos, of the redesigned notebooks that have made … Read more

More MacBook rumors and pics surface

Corrected at 2:45 p.m.: This report misidentified one of the MacBook Pro's rumored features; it is a mini-DVI connector. The report also misidentified the Web site attributed to the original report. It was AppleInsider.

Despite the tanking economy, Apple's new MacBooks due to be unveiled Tuesday are creating some buzz (see Techmeme) and propping up Apple's stock price. The latest alleged pictures in the wild are of the new aluminum case (above) of the forthcoming systems posted on MacX.cn.

According to AppleInsider.com, the new higher end MacBook Pro will include a mini-DVI connector … Read more

Apple to repair MacBooks with faulty Nvidia GPUs

An investigation by Apple shows some MacBook Pros may have faulty Nvidia graphics processors after all, despite Nvidia's earlier assurances to the contrary, the computer maker has announced.

Apple said it will repair at no charge MacBook Pros where the Nvidia GPU has failed, or fails within two years from the purchase date. Problem signs include distorted or scrambled video, or no video on the screen though the computer is turned on. Models that might be affected are 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pros with Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors. The computers were made between May 2007 and September … Read more

It's official: Apple to talk laptops on October 14

The official invite just popped up in our mailboxes for Apple's long-rumored October 14 press event in Cupertino, Calif. The big picture of a laptop and the headline, "The spotlight turns to notebooks," leaves us with a pretty clear idea of what Steve Jobs and company will be talking about. Not mentioned here is the most persistent rumor--that at least one of the new systems will hit a meltdown-friendly price of $800.

Here's the invite itself, for the curiosity seekers out there.

Apple granted patent on Mac OS X Dock

It took quite awhile, but Apple has finally received a patent on one of the most recognizable features of Mac OS X.

The Dock--the panel that holds launchers for Mac OS X applications--has been deemed patent-worthy by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Apple first applied for the patent in late 1999, and AppleInsider notes the concept itself dates back to Apple CEO Steve Jobs' work at NeXT Computing.

Since there's really not much else to note about this announcement, let's do a quick survey: right Dock? Left Dock? Center Dock? I'm a center Dock … Read more

Apple says no evidence of Mac Pro benzene emissions

Claims that Apple's Mac Pros emit benzene are being denied by the company.

A French newspaper called Libération.fr published the results of a study by a researcher at France's INERIS claiming that odors stemming from certain Mac Pros are the result of benzene emissions. Complaints have surfaced in the past about some sort of weird odor coming from Mac Pros, but it was thought the odor was related to small strips of plastic or material around the heatsink on the processor, depending on where you looked.

The study claims that the benzene fumes won't … Read more