booking

Sure, the MacBook Air can't spin a DVD or connect to a FireWire device, but did you know it possesses the ability to slice though a loaf of bread? If the photos on this translated-from-the-German forum post are to be believed, the Air can easily make its way through an oatmeal dinner roll. So, if you've been putting off an Air purchase because its features are too few for the price, add bread knife to the list and recalculate.

Before you get too concerned about the safety issues here (and it can't be too long before we … Read more

Chip designer Via Technologies unveiled its OpenBook Mini-Note reference design on Monday, in a move that throws some open source into its core business of developing chips for mobile devices.

The OpenBook design aims to aid PC makers in creating ultra-small notebooks based on Via's Ultra Mobility Platform. Last year, the company trotted out its Via NanoBook reference design, a prototype designed to compete against rivals in the small-computer market but at a lower cost.

"By making the CAD files of the external panels for the OpenBook available for download, Via has simplified design customization. You can now … Read more

The original MacCase is back. Nine years after releasing its first case, which had an unusual rounded shape that matched the contours of the iBook, the company is reissuing the clamshell briefcase.

Owing its success to the "'anti-status quo' element within the Apple community," MacCase calls the new version the "Classic Case" and pretty much kept everything from the first design, though it adds some practical elements such as rubber corners and a mesh lining to help the laptop cool down. It comes in five colors that read like a menu from Jamba Juice, including tangerine, … Read more

Microsoft's Live Search Team is ending its book search efforts, according to a blog post Friday. Its Live Search Books and Live Search Academic sites will be discontinued next week, and books and academic publishings will show up in regular search results rather than separate sites.

"We recognize that this decision comes as disappointing news to our partners, the publishing and academic communities, and Live Search users," read the blog post by Satya Nadella, senior vice president of search, portal, and advertising.

Prior to its swift end, Microsoft's book digitization project had indexed the contents of … Read more

Of all the copycat accessories that can be produced, the "AirMail" case for the MacBook Air has some unfathomable popularity. Started almost on a whim, it was followed by the higher-end "Air Manila" in hand-stiched leather, and now there's yet another pretender to the envelope throne.

Japan's curiously named Bird Electron, which has long been known for its odd products, apparently decided to take a safer route in this case and follow what appears to be a popular design. (The original version has been sold out for months.)

This one is leather too and, … Read more

With so many e-book readers coming on the market, it was only a matter of time before someone decided to build the technology into another type of media device. And what better way to complement a good book than music?

Iriver's new P10 portable media player does just that, though it's headed only for the Korean market so far. It has 33GB of built-in memory, handwriting recognition, and a 4.3-inch LCD with a 800 x 480 resolution.

If that's a tad small for reading the classics, you can still use it to watch the Simpsons because … Read more

Most of us charge our laptop batteries by simply plugging in our laptops, but there are times when you need to have a spare battery or two ready to go at a moment's notice. For Mac users, accessory maker FastMac now has a universal Apple laptop battery charger, called the U-Charge (imagine the lawsuit if they tried to call it "iCharge"), that connects to a pretty huge list of current and classic Apple laptop batteries.

The $69 battery charger includes several different adaptors for connecting to your Apple battery, and while it's not available just yet, … Read more

My MacBook Air has been down to about 2 hours of battery life and I finally looked into what the problem might be. At the same my friend who had the same issue took her MBA to the Apple Store and the guy there "fixed" hers. He didn't explain what he did but after some digging we figured out that he reset the System Management Controller.

After doing a full backup I reset mine and now the machine says I have 3 hours 40 minutes of battery life available, though I do have wifi turned off, which … Read more

MARIN HEADLANDS, Calif.--This is very surreal.

I'm sitting on a bench on top of a cliff here, overlooking the Pacific Ocean and looking straight at the Golden Gate Bridge.

For the last 15 minutes, there has been a steady stream of sirens from emergency vehicles, and I can see that all traffic on the bridge is completely stopped. I Twittered what I was seeing, and almost immediately, one of my followers replied with details of what seems to be a multiple-vehicle accident blocking most of the lanes on the bridge.

Before this happened, I was planning on starting … Read more