Apple

With new lower-cost Apple MacBooks reportedly on the way soon, it's time to engage in a favorite diversion: what, pray tell, is inside?

(Credit: Apple)

The low-cost MacBooks may appear sooner than expected and would be "the most affordable notebook offerings in the Mac maker's history," according to an AppleInsider report.

The idea that the new models would be unprecedentedly low-cost is intriguing in itself considering the recent appearance of low-cost "ultrathin" laptops from Hewlett-Packard and Asus, among others, that typically range between $600 and $900.

And what powers these laptops? Low-cost Intel ultra-low-voltage "ULV" processors like the SU4100 or SU7300. And what's so important about these processors? They are at the heart of a new wave of laptops that boast extra-long battery life, some claiming up to 10 hours. Will Apple opt for battery life over performance? The current 13-inch white polycarbonate MacBook uses relatively high-performance Intel processors and claims about five hours of battery life.

Another thought: will this be Apple's un-Netbook? With no immediate plans for a Netbook (though a media pad is expected next year), this may be an opportunity for Apple to go at least half way toward addressing the low-end laptop segment.

Along these lines, will Advanced Micro Devices processors be forever ostracized from the MacBook lineup? In a hotel near the Intel Developer Forum that ended on Thursday, AMD was showing off an MSI dual-core ultrathin laptop with ATI graphics that starts at about $500. Not bad for a Netbook-like price. (Yeah, I know, highly unlikely.)

The truth is MacBooks are trending toward low-cost already. Even the once stratospherically priced MacBook Air can be had for less than $1,500 and the 13-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,199. So, a MacBook that comes in lower than $999 (the starting price of the current MacBook) wouldn't be a big surprise. It would be a surprise if Apple went as low as $800. Now that's a cheap MacBook.

Updated at 6:45 p.m. PDT with additional discussion about OS X local search.

I once was a God-fearing Windows user. But when an Apple shrine, uh, store opened in my area, I began to ask myself the age-old question that has confounded even the greatest biblical prophets: Is the Mac better?

I avoided the Mac for years for the usual reason cited by the Windows faithful: a dearth of hardware and software. (The so-called Mac tax was never really an issue for me.) That said, I won't go into a broad platform critique because I risk rehashing Windows-versus-Mac religious arguments that have been repeated millions of times for (digital-age) eons. (Besides, I'll leave that faith-based debate to the digerati of the world.)

Suffice to say, I now use a MacBook full time. Though, in the spirit of complete disclosure, I do have a Vista-based HP tower that I still use when there's something I absolutely can't do on the Mac. And, no, I have not gone the Boot Camp or virtual machine route yet.

So, without getting into an unwieldy philosophical argument, there are some nuts-and-bolts things that make the transition a challenge (and it's different for everyone, as every user has different needs.)

And one more disclaimer: I'm writing this from the perspective of a Mac neophyte/new user. Not as a seasoned Macophile that can instantly troubleshoot issues as they pop up.

Docking stations (lack thereof): This is a biggie. I had grown attached to the convenience of Hewlett-Packard docking stations. Apple should have connectors for docking stations (or port-replicators) built into MacBooks. The ease of popping an HP business laptop--which I had been using for years--in and out of a docking station cannot be overstated.

Microsoft Entourage: This is not the Windows Outlook equivalent. In a word, it's slow. In two words, very slow. (Note: I can't use the OS X "Mail" client because it can't run the email programs that I use.)

Web compatibility: All things should be equal here. But they're not. Like many people, I use both Safari and FireFox. Last week, there was a live video stream that, while it loaded on my MacBook Air, wouldn't run. The applet was there but it wasn't streaming. I didn't have time to figure out why it wasn't streaming. I just needed it to work. Out of desperation, I tried it on the Vista-based HP tower. It streamed immediately. In my book, that's a problem. And generally, on many Web sites that I use, Windows Media Player (that is, WMP v.11) is more adept at streaming video than the applets that come standard on the Mac OS X platform.

OS X local search: OS X local search is great (e.g., Spotlight) but it won't let me exclusively search a folder full of JPEG files. This issue was validated by a Mac "Genius" at my local Apple Store who admitted it was "odd." Let me repeat, an Apple Genius verified that I could not do this. Of course, I can find these files a dozen other ways but there's an application I use everyday that would be a lot easier to use if I could search JPEG files exclusively in that folder.

(Update: After a second visit to my local Apple Store and a separate discussion about changing the user short name--which the Genius did, as this process is a little tricky--I can now do JPEG searches on one of my MacBooks. I do not know how this came to be fixed, however, as it was an unintended consequence.)

The Apple MacBook Air has remained almost unchanged for a year and a half--a testament to the staying power of its design. So, how will Apple respond to the wave of inexpensive, ultra-thin lookalikes hitting the market over the next six months?

The Air is still a stunning design but its novelty and high price will come under assault as lookalikes flood the market

(Credit: Apple)

The Air was a sensation when it debuted in January of 2008. Not that it sold by the boatloads, but the stunning form factor set off an industrial-design frenzy. Ergo, the Dell Adamo and the raft of "ultra-thin" laptops in the hopper as a result of Intel's push to get its "ULV" (ultra-low-voltage) chips in as many glamorous but affordable designs as possible.

The just-announced ultra-thin Acer Aspire Timeline is the writing on the wall. No, it's not the equivalent of a MacBook Air or Dell Adamo but it's close enough to give prospective buyers even more reason to balk at the $1,800-plus price tags attached to those two gorgeous designs.

And other designs are already out there like the 0.78 inch-thick MSI X340 X-Slim, which is, more or less, a photocopy of the Air. And even Lenovo is tempting fate with the 3.5-pound 13.3-inch IdeaPad U350, which will start at $649 and make the $1,900 ThinkPad X301--and the Air--look very expensive.

So, what does an Acer Aspire Timeline get you for $899? Let's take a quick look:

• Intel Core 2 Duo processor SU9400 (1.40GHz, 10 watts)
  
• 13.3-inch LED-backlit TFT LCD
  
• Mobile Intel GS45 Express chipset
  
• 4GB of DDR3 memory
  
• 6-cell lithium ion battery
  
• 500GB SATA hard drive
  
• 3.5 pounds
  
• Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
  

Many of those specifications are a stone's throw away from the Air (and Adamo)--or match it.

So, what will Apple's MBA encore be? Thinner? Lighter? Faster? 3G capable? Dare I say, cheaper? Or a new industrial design that will send all the ultra-thin wannabes back to the drawing board? I'm waiting.

It's been a busy day for Apple.

In addition to quietly updating the consumer-friendly MacBook, Apple on Wednesday also launched an iPod promotion targeted to students.

The iPod Touch

(Credit: CNET)

With the promotion, students, faculty, or staff members can buy a MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or iMac and get a free iPod Touch. Of course, students and educators can also see if they qualify for additional savings through Apple's education store.

There is a bit of a catch. You have to buy the iPod Touch at the same time as the Mac to qualify for a rebate. After the purchase, you fill out the rebate online and wait for the money from Apple.

To qualify you have to be a student or employee of any K-12 or higher-education institution. Parents of a higher-education student are also eligible for the program. Full details are available from Apple's Web site. The promotion ends September 8. Rebates must be submitted by October 9.

Apple has a long history of offering its education customers discounts and incentives when they head back to school. However, this year is a bit different because many students haven't even left school yet.

Typically, Apple starts this type of promotion in the summer and ends it in September. The earlier start date may be a way for the company to try to boost Mac sales over the summer.

Though Apple has yet to offer built-in 3G on MacBooks, pairing them up with phones like the Blackberry Storm provides a decent wireless workaround.

The MacBook Air can use the Blackberry Storm as a Bluetooth 3G modem

(Credit: Brooke Crothers)

In December, I took the MacBook Air (i.e., the designers of the Air) to task for what I thought was a serious technological gaffe: not building 3G into the Air. At the very least, I thought 3G should have been included in the October refresh of the Air.

But I'm not going to rehash those gripes here (or repeat Apple's likely reasons for not including 3G). This time I bring good tidings.

After recently picking up a Blackberry Storm (Verizon), I quickly set it up as a Bluetooth "3G" modem by pairing it with my MacBook Air. The Blackberry uses an EV-DO 3G connection.

The Storm was relatively easy to set up and "tether" to the Air. And the results were better than I expected. Using Speedtest.net, I got download speeds of up to 1,088 Kbps (though it was typically closer to 500-600 Kbps) and uploads of up to 127 Kbps. Not torrential bandwidth but certainly good enough for the occasions when I don't have access to Wi-Fi (or when the Wi-Fi is iffy).

By comparison, on my Hewlett-Packard 2510p ultraportable with a built-in Verizon EV-DO modem, Speedtest.net said I was getting download speeds of up to 1,392 Kbps and uploads of 469 Kbps. (The Air's Wi-Fi connection gets about 2X download and 4X upload more than the Storm.)

As to setup: First, pair the two Bluetooth devices, then configure the phone on the MacBook side, telling it during the configuration process that you want to "Access the Internet with your phone's data connection." In Verizon's case, the account name is yourphonenumber@vzw3.com Then, in the next screen, you select "vendor: other" and "Verizon support, PC5220." (See screen shot of OS X 10.5.6 configuration Network setup.)

Setting up the Blackberry Storm as a Bluetooth modem was relatively easy

(Credit: Brooke Crothers)

Do I still wish Apple would build 3G into the MBA? Of course. But I am pretty satisfied with this solution for now. Particularly when it allows me to extract more functionality out of the Storm. (Which as a standalone 3G phone I like a lot and which I will review in the near future.).

Verizon, however, does charge extra for tethering, particularly if the Storm is connected via USB. I have no interest in a USB connection (at least, not at this time) because that defeats the purpose of having a wireless Bluetooth-enabled phone. As people have pointed out, a Bluetooth modem is much more convenient. Particularly for frequent travelers. I can just attach the Blackberry to my belt and use the Air as though it had a built-in 3G modem.

(Note: A reader in Ireland provided the inspiration to use the Storm as a modem when he correctly pointed out that internal 3G access would start to get expensive if you had a modem in each computer, with each requiring a separate subscription. Or would become inconvenient if you kept having to move SIM cards between computers.)

(Also note that a quick search will yield examples of people who have hooked their Blackberry up to a MacBook.)

The MacBook Air seems a long way off from the original Macintosh. But according to some, there remains some hereditary DNA from its 1984-era ancestor.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News)

What is a Macintosh?

After 25 years on the market, it's a good question, since someone with no knowledge of computers looking at, say, today's MacBook Pro, would not necessarily know that it evolved from 1984's original 128K Mac.

But evolve it did, and on the 25th anniversary of the release of that original machine (which is this Saturday), one might indeed wonder what hereditary DNA, if any, today's Macs retain from their much more humble ancestors.

The answer is some, but not that much, at least not when it comes to specific identifiable hardware features, according to two experts interviewed for this article.

One half of an ad for the original 128K Macintosh from 1984.

(Credit: Courtesy of the Digibarn Computer Museum)

"Very little, in terms of the hardware, remains," said Bruce Damer, co-founder of the Digibarn Computer Museum, "except for the fine-quality industrial design of the cases."

But there must be something linking the earliest Macs with today's models besides the name and company that produces them. Otherwise, the famous Macintosh community known by names like the "cult of Mac" or "MacHeads" wouldn't be such a powerful force.

"At its essence, you look at it where it (is) relative to what it was before," said Raines Cohen, the founder of the Berkeley Macintosh Users Group, and "there's a sense that it's still a machine that you turn on and you do things (easily) with it. It's an interface that stays out of your way."

Basically, Cohen said, the Mac is all about ease of use and simplicity--as well as the continuity of a low-maintenance user experience.

"Recently, I had a chance to go back and use the old Mac," Cohen said. "The essential consistency was still the same. You could take a Mac user who has been on ice for the last quarter century and put them on a modern Mac, and they'd be up and using it within a matter of moments."

Perhaps that's because of a few software elements that today's Macs have that first appeared in the first versions of the computer.

"On the software side, the primary elements left from the original Mac OS come through in the user interface," said Damer. "The single menu stripe--File, Special, etc.--is a vestige of the original limited screen real estate of the 128K Mac."

The original Mac was a simple machine that changed the way everyday people saw computers. The machine helped open up desktop publishing to a mainstream audience.

(Credit: Courtesy of the Digibarn Computer Museum)

Damer said there are a few other recognizable holdovers as well. For one, the arrow-cursor remains almost identical today to its origins, and window-handling also has stayed the same. In other words, he said, today, as in 1984, you can only resize a window from the lower right corner.

Today's Mac OS X got its beginnings at NeXT, the company Steve Jobs built during his years in exile from Apple. When Apple bought NeXT and brought Jobs back, first to consult and then run the company, the NeXT OS came along with him and formed the basis for the future generations of Macs.

But Apple knew that its fans had an idea of what the Mac OS was supposed to look like, Damer suggested, and as a result, it found a way to maintain some of the consistency to which Cohen referred.

"In some sense, to try to keep some of the original look and feel of the old Mac OS, the Apple team 'dumbed down' the NeXT GUI," Damer said, "which was in some ways more powerful and flexible."

But all along, Cohen said, the Mac operating system has kept the basic elements of menu navigation and windowing more or less the same.

And that, aside from the much more abstract notion that a computer built by what is seen by many to be a company obsessed with design and a somewhat pirate-like mentality, may be what really makes a Mac a Mac.

"Apple's UI guidelines have been there all along," Cohen said, "so that programs have to be consistent and have that (high) level of consistency in order to be successful on the platform."

See the rest of our Mac anniversary coverage here.

Apple's MacBook Air doesn't live up to its wireless promise.

To quote an Apple tagline, "without wires, you're free to go anywhere." But the wireless part of the "air" play on words fails to deliver. (The other half its light-as-air weight: here it does deliver.)

As I've written in the past, I like the Air. I got one in February as soon as it was available at retail and have been pleased with the performance, screen, keyboard, build, and, until recently, the battery life (which has dwindled to under an hour). Of course, the head-turning aluminum aesthetics is also a major appeal to many people.

That said, after a spurt of trips including a 10-day stay on the East Coast and a few treks to Los Angeles, the Air's wireless shortcomings have become painfully clear. In a word (or two), no 3G.

Now, before I get slammed, let me say that I fully realize that I'm not the first person to reach this conclusion so I'm not claiming any unique epiphany. There were a number of observers citing this paradox way back in January. Some frustrated users even attempted hacks to shoehorn a 3G modem into the Air. The point is: because of the price and the way it's marketed, 3G should be built in.

But the full brunt of not having 3G hit me on Friday when I made a trip to Qualcomm to get briefed on a new version of the Snapdragon applications processor (more on this in another post). Sitting there in the nerve center of one of greatest wireless companies in the world, I couldn't get a wireless connection. Everyone else in the room had 3G connections of one kind or another. The Air instantly became the proverbial doorstop (or paper weight--choose your simile, or maybe it's more apropos to say it was a dinosaur.)

It didn't take much prodding from me to get the Qualcomm product manager to point out this fatal flaw.

This came after weeks of not being able to use the Air in many situations when I desperately needed a wireless connection. For instance, not all LA airports have reliable Wi-Fi connections. The John Wayne Airport in Orange County being one example. And when I was on the East Coast, one sprawling place I stayed at for several nights had Wi-Fi only in one inconveniently situated area that was inaccessible at night.

In these situations, the Air is nothing more than a slab of beautifully sculpted aluminum.

Hewlett-Packard Compaq 2510p (L) and MacBook Air. The HP comes with a built-in WWAN option, the Air does not.

(Credit: Brooke Crothers)

Which brings me to the cult of Steve Jobs. Apple was brilliant enough to deliver a groundbreaking design like the Air but why wasn't it savvy enough to build in 3G?

Before I get slammed again, let me throw out some reasons (excuses) why Apple didn't build in 3G, based on reports I've read and my own observations. Apple didn't like the fact that 3G modems often made the user commit to one service provider, i.e., Verizon or Sprint or Vodafone. Or, it believed that if users wanted 3G, they could simply plug in a USB 3G modem.

I have serious problems with both of those reasons. Particularly when you're paying typically more than $1,800 (or $2,500, depending on the model) for a notebook billed as a wireless wonder (for Apple ad copy on why the Air is such a wonderful wireless laptop, just cruise over to Apple's MBA page.) And I have even more of a problem when ultrathin Netbooks are coming with 3G at one-third (and potentially a tiny fraction of) the cost of the Air.

For comparison, let's look at another Valley company, Hewlett-Packard. HP has been selling WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Network) modems in its business laptops for at least two years (and probably longer). The HP-Compaq NC6400 laptop introduced about two years ago was offered from day one with WWAN built in.

Granted, the choice of carriers at first was limited but look at HP's offerings today. Models (including those in the EliteBook line) are offered with Qualcomm's Gobi modem. Gobi obviates the need to have unique radios for each carrier. Gobi supports Verizon, Sprint, and others in one device.

Where was Gobi when Apple refreshed the MacBooks in October? I'm sure Apple has plenty of excuses (for example, not enough space in the Air's ultrathin design).

But Apple should have had 3G from the beginning and certainly in the October refresh. In today's 3G world, continuing to call it the MacBook Air brings another meaning to the play on words: lightness of weight with a touch of advertising hot air.

Additional comments::
The point is not that a user can potentially add an external WWAN modem (though even that's not necessarily easy to do), the point is that the Air should come with 3G capability built in considering how the computer is marketed.

Apple has released stabilizing updates for its new MacBook, shown here, as well as other systems introduced in October.

(Credit: Apple)

Apple has released several new firmware updates aimed at solving problems with its latest batch of notebooks.

Updates are available for all three Mac notebooks released in October: the new MacBook Pro, MacBook, and MacBook Air. In usual fashion, Apple didn't provide a whole lot of detail about the issues that are corrected by the EFI firmware updates, other than to note that they "improve the stability" of those new systems.

The company also released firmware updates for the SMC (system management controller) chip inside Mac notebooks, which helps regulate power consumption among other things. Those updates "improve the sensing and accuracy of the MagSafe Power Adapter indicator light, and the battery charge indicator lights" on the new MacBook Pro and MacBook. The SMC update for the MacBook Air tackles just the MagSafe issues.

Several problems have been reported of late with the new notebooks, which also saw a firmware update issued earlier this year to correct a problem with the new glass trackpad design introduced with those systems. The SMC is the same part that would require a firmware update to fix the sleep/wake problems noted by some users, even though Apple doesn't call that problem out in the release notes for that firmware.

The updates should be popping up in Software Update as you read this; let us know if you have any trouble applying the updates or notice any significant changes. Owners of laptops purchased before the major redesign in October need not worry about Wednesday's firmware releases.

UPDATED 3:25pm - The notes accompanying the Software Update notification explain that "this update improves the stability of MacBook computers and addresses issues with sleep-wake, USB, and device compatibility," adding a little more information and suggesting that this batch of updates should fix some of the problems we noted yesterday.

A new carbon-fiber cover for the underside of the MacBook Air could help the notebook lose some weight.

(Credit: Apple)

Apple may be searching for ways to make the MacBook Air even lighter.

AppleInsider reports that the company is investigating using materials enhanced with carbon fibers in some of the parts on a future MacBook Air. Given the time and energy Apple poured into the latest redesign of its notebooks, developing a new unibody chassis milled from a single block of aluminum, it's unlikely that the entire chassis would be replaced anytime soon.

But AppleInsider thinks the company could shave 0.22 pounds off the overall weight of the Air if it used some sort of carbon-fiber material for the bottom cover of the notebook. That may not sound like a lot, but it's within shouting distance of 10 percent, and could make for a really nice marketing slogan at some point in the future.

Apple considers the MacBook Air a sort of halo product for the Mac lineup, a demonstration of its engineering prowess that it knows won't be adopted by the mass market. Given the weight-loss formula could increase the production costs of the system, any future carbon-fiber MacBook Air would likely stay in that category.