Apple MacBook batteries hacked to burn or explode

We know that computers can be broken into by hackers for malicious purposes, but who would've thought that laptop batteries could be broken into as well? At the Black Hat security conference next month in Las Vegas, a security researcher named Charlie Miller will be giving a demonstration on how to hack into and control the microprocessor of a MacBook battery.

According to Miller, “These batteries just aren't designed with the idea that people will mess with them. What I'm showing is that it's possible to use them to do something really bad.” Apparently once the controller for the battery has been compromised, it can be manipulated to the point where it is dead or “bricked”, and there even is a possibility for a fire or an explosion to be caused by placing malware on the chip.

Similarly damaging cyber attacks have been proved possible on much larger systems like generators, or other parts of the power grid.

Normally people aren't worried when it comes to cyber criminals - the worse they can do is corrupt your data or use it without permission (which is bad enough). If what Miller says is true, then we might have to worry about our computers exploding on us in the near future (oh great). Hopefully new security measures will be taken to prevent such occurrences from happening.
source: Ubergizmo

PSA: New MacBook Air's SSD performs variously

When you head to Apple's online store to configure your MacBook Air, you'll find options to increase processor speed or SSD capacity — depending on the model you select, of course. There's no mention of flash drive speed, however, though it's now clear that not all SSDs are created equal at Apple — not only when it comes to capacity, but also performance.

Jonathan over at TLD discovered a fairly significant discrepancy when benchmarking both MacBook Air models over the weekend. The 128GB Samsung SSD in his 11-inch Air was able to achieve 246 MB/s write and 264 MB/s read speeds. When he switched to the 13-inch model, however, speeds dropped to 156 MB/s and 208 MB/s, respectively, using that notebook's 128GB Toshiba SSD.

Over at Engadget, they compared speeds on two generations of 13-inch models, and have also confirmed Jonathan's findings. During their tests, the 256GB Samsung drive in our older model achieved 214 MB/s write and 251 MB/s read speeds, while the 128GB Toshiba drive in the new MacBook Air scored 184 MB/s and 203 MB/s during write and read tests, respectively.

This many not be a very noticeable issue for most MacBook Air owners, but still it's an interesting find that their performances varies.
source: 2DayBlog.com

MacBook Pros, Hit the Bench: The Air Is Gaining Muscle

The new MacBook Airs' i5 processor and backlit keyboard make it a speedy, slick machine

If you bought a MacBook Pro last year, it just got outflanked by its slimmer, smaller cousin, the MacBook Air.

According to benchmark tests, the 2011 MacBook Air outperforms every 2010 MacBook Pro.

Laptop magazine reports that the 13-inch Air had a performance boost of 100 percent over last year's Air, scoring 5,860 on the Geekbench test. It boots in 17 seconds, and has a 6.25-hour battery life. The 11-inch Air jumped 149 percent, for a Geekbench score of 5,040, compared to 2,024 for last year's model. It took 19 seconds to boot up, and its battery lasted just over 4.75 hours.

As a direct comparison, the 2010 17-inch MacBook Pro scored 5,423 on its benchmark test — so the new 13-inch Mac Book Air is more powerful than the 17-inch Pro, and the 11-inch Air is on par with it. Kind of mind blowing.

The MacBook Pro line, particularly the 2010 MacBook Pros, have been a big target audience for Apple. Available in 13-inch, 15-inch, and 17-inch sizes, they featured the most powerful processors in Apple's line of portables (the 15 and 17-inchers came standard with a 2.6 GHz Intel Core i5 Chip).

Apple's big performance boost for the MacBook Air illustrates its larger plan. The company in recent years has invested less on products for the professional marketplace to focus on hardware for general consumers, including iPhones, iPads and now, the MacBook Air.

Apple's steady strides away from the professional marketplace are exemplified by the recent release of Final Cut Pro X, a dumbed-down version of the video-editing tool, which angered many professional video editors. Also, Apple in recent years has been slower with releasing upgrades for the Mac Pro.

And here's an obvious tell: Apple hasn't updated its Pro webpage in two years.

Last year's MacBook Airs were lauded for their super-slim .76-inch thickness and less than 3-pound heft. That frame came at a price, though: they housed less impressive Core 2 Duo processors, relegating the Air to niche markets like frequent travelers who were looking for just a decently-performing ultra-portable notebook. Since Apple unveiled their newer, faster MacBook Airs yesterday, it looks like the MacBook Air will be taking the front seat to the Pro.

It looks like size doesn't matter. Well, when it comes to Apple notebooks, at least.
source: Gadget Lab

Updated MacBook Air receives teardown

The brand new MacBook Air has been out only a day, and unsurprisingly the folks over at iFixit have already gotten their hands on one and have given it the teardown treatment we've come to expect. After all, they did it with the previous MacBook Air when it was released, why wouldn't they do it to this one? Judging by what they've uncovered, it seems that both MacBook Air computers are almost identical on the surface and on the inside.

While it is recommended you don't take repairs into your own hands, it's good to know that you'll have a guide for taking your MacBook Air apart if the need arises. But if you don't have the guts to undertake such a task, you can always just look at the pictures iFixit has provided. At least you'll know what's going on inside that machine of yours.
source: Ubergizmo

Are these the specs of the upcoming refresh of the MacBook Air?

Looking forward to the refreshes of Apple's MacBook Air? If you have, you will be interested to know that specs of the upcoming MacBook Airs have been leaked, which could possibly be rumors or the real thing, but we'll let you decide that for yourself.

For starters, most of us probably know that the refresh of the MacBook Airs will most probably be featuring OS X Lion, and some have speculated that the delay in the refresh was due to Apple wanting to wait for OS X Lion to be finalized before installing them on the new MacBook Airs. Other common speculations have also been about how the new MacBook Airs will feature Intel's Sandy Bridge processors, which seems to make sense as the Core 2 Duos are practically ancient. It has also been speculated that the new laptops will feature a Thunderbolt port along with backlit keyboards, a feature that was missing in the previous generation's MacBook Air.

According to 9to5 Mac who quoted Mr X., who is supposedly a reliable source, the new MacBook Airs will feature:

11.6 inch models:

The base model will include a 1.6 GHz processor, 2 GB of RAM, and 64GB of flash storage.
The more expensive standard configuration also includes a 1.6 GHz processor but upgrades the RAM to 4GB and the storage space to 128 GB.
A built to order model will also be available from the online store. This option includes a 1.8 GHz processor (first for an 11.6 inch MacBook Air), 4GB of RAM, and for the first time in an 11.6 inch MacBook Air, 256 GB of flash storage.

13.3 inch models:

The base standard configuration includes a 1.7 GHz processor, 4GB of RAM, and 128 GB of flash storage
The more expensive standard configuration also includes a 1.7 GHz processor, 4GB of RAM, but upgrades the storage to 256 GB.
A built to order option will also be available and this includes a 1.8 GHz chip, 4GB of RAM, and 256 GB of flash storage

Naturally this is merely speculation, and it could be false for all we know. Given that OS X Lion will be hitting the stores today, many seem to think that the new MacBook Airs will not be far behind, but for now, this is pretty much all that we have to go on for now. Since it's impossible to call these facts, for the sake of discussion purposes, what is your take on the supposedly new hardware?
source: Ubergizmo

Newer, Faster MacBook Airs Launched, Old Plastic MacBook Killed Off

As expected, Apple has updated the MacBook Air. The super-portable laptop has now become a serious rival to its big brother, the MacBook Pro. In fact, read the specs and you'll wonder why you would bother to buy a Pro ever again. And if you want a white plastic MacBook, you'd better rush to your local reseller — Apple has discontinued it.

The biggest internal changes are the processor and the new Thunderbolt port. The latter replaces the Mini DisplayPort of the previous Air, duplicating its video-out functionality and adding support for the high-speed I/O protocol which Apple first added to the new iMacs. Right now there are almost no Thunderbolt-compatible accessories to be bought, but that should change soon enough.

The processors have received a serious bump. The older Airs used 1.4 GHz and 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs. Now, you get Core i5 as standard (1.6GHz and 1.7GHz on the 11 and 13-inch models respectively), with an option to upgrade to 1.8GHz Core i7 on both models.

RAM has been bumped to 4GB on the 13-inch, and remains at 2GB on the 11-inch Air, and on both models graphics are now taken care of by Intel's HD Graphics 3000 processor instead of the Nvidia GeForce 320M used previously.

Storage remains the same, with SSDs of 64 or 128 GB on the 11-inch Air and 128 or 256 GB on the 13-incher.

And good news! The Airs now feature backlit keyboards. This sounds like a small thing, but once you're used to light-up keys, it's a real pain not to have them.

Finally, the new Airs ship with OS X 10.7 Lion, which has also launched today and is available in the App store as a $30 download. These Lion-ready Macs have lost the Exposé and Dashboard keys, replaced by Mission control and Launchpad.

Why would you bother to buy a MacBook Pro? Reasons may include wanting a 15-inch screen, or a FireWire port, or an optical drive. Another reason could be that you want a heavier computer, or enjoy less battery life. What it clear is the the Pro MacBooks are on their way out, destined to be the iPod Classics of Apple's laptop line.

The new Airs are available today, from $1,000 and $1,300. The old MacBook is dead, and the Pros continue their overweight existence. For now.

MacBook Air Specs [Apple]
source: Gadget Lab

Apple updates MacBook Airs, and Mac minis, brings big cat Lion from Safari

It wasn't exactly a secret, but now the proverbial big cat is out of the bag. Apple has just updated the company's best-selling computer product, the MacBook Air with a Core i5/i7 option, better storage, Thunderbolt port, and finally, a backlit keyboard (again). Mac minis are updated as well, at long last bringing them up to speed with current processors and features.

The other big story is obviously OS X Lion which is Apple's most iOS-like release yet, and it slowly starts to bridge PC and post-PC devices. Lion is a major OS update with more than 250 new features, and it's available for $29 through the Mac App Store starting now.
source: Boy Genius Report

Apple's OS X Lion and Updated Mac Mini and MacBook Air Now Available

I saw that the Apple store was offline for a while early this morning, so I assumed that today was going to be release day for Lion. When the store finally came back online, I immediately purchased my copy for $29.99. It's been downloading for a while now, and I finally see the slightest hint of color on the download status bar. This is going to take a while.

Apple also released new models of the MacBook Air and the Mac Mini. These computers have the newest “Sandy Bridge” Core i5 or Core i7 processors and Thunderbolt ports. The Airs have 2 or 4GB of memory, 64-256GB solid state drives. Prices start at $999 for the 11? Air and at $1299 for the 13? Air. The Mac Mini has a Core i5 with 2-4GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive. Prices start at $599. The server version of the Mini has a Core i7 and 4GB of memory; price starts at $999. All these new computers ship with Lion pre-installed.
source: The Gadgeteer

WaterField Smart Case protects your MacBook Air

The updated MacBook Air was just launched today and case manufacturers certainly aren't wasting any time in introducing their new goods for the laptop. WaterField Designs has just announced the launch of its new lineup of cases designed for the brand new MacBook Air. Called the Smart Case, it doesn't fold up into a triangle to act as a stand for the laptop, but what it does is protect your MacBook Air while keeping it stylish and sleek looking at the same time.

Available in two sizes (11.6 or 13.1 inches), the Smart Cases are lightweight and protective, features a nylon exterior that is water-resistant, has a padded interior, an Ultrasuede scratch-free liner to keep fingerprints away, eco-friendly distressed brown leather flanks, high-impact, rigid, plastic inserts for additional protection, and a stretch back pocket for holding power adapters and cables.

The WaterField MacBook Air Smart Case is available in six colors and can be purchased now for $79 (for the 11? MBA) and $89 (for the 13? MBA).
source: Ubergizmo

2011 Apple MacBook Air

Apple today released the new 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air. Both models now feature the latest generation of Intel processors, the Core i5 and i7. With speeds up to 1.8GHz and faster memory, the new MacBook Air gains up to 2.5x the processing performance over its predecessor. The 2011 MacBook Air has the Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor that includes an on-chip engine for video encoding and decoding. The new model supports the Thunderbolt I/O port, which is capable of transferring data up to 12 times faster than FireWire 800 and up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0. The display even charges your MacBook Air, so there is no need to unpack and unravel your power adapter. Other specs include Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 800, three USB ports, a FaceTime HD camera, 2.1 stereo sound, and a built-in microphone. The 11-inch MacBook Air starts at $999 (for the 2GB RAM model) and $1199 (for the 4GB RAM model), with the 13-inch model is priced at $1299 (for the 4GB RAM and 128GB storage model) and $1599 for the 4GB RAM and 256GB storage model.
source: TechFresh

Apple refreshes MacBook Air with Sandy Bridge, Thunderbolt, and backlit keyboards

Finally, the highly anticipated update for the MacBook Air has arrived. No ARM processors, no new looks, just some speed bumps, Disney bolts, and trendy backlit keyboard. But that's good, because that's what we like about the MacBook Air. Oh yeah, Lion's tagging along this time!

Apple's gone and freshened up its 13-inch and 11-inch ultraportables — the second such update in nine months. Although the industrial design hasn't changed much since the last generation, both models step up to Sandy Bridge Core i5 and i7 processors, Thunderbolt ports, backlit keyboards, and, of course, OS X Lion.

The 11.6-inch flavor starts at MYR 3,099 with 64GB of solid-state storage, 2GB of memory and a 1.6GHz Core i5 processor. The higher-end of the two configurations costs MYR 3,699, with the extra six hundred ringgit doubling your RAM and storage. Yes, it is expensive to own an Apple, but I'm pretty sure you don't care when you're getting this.

The 13-inch Air, meanwhile, starts at MYR 3,999 with a 128GB SSD, 4GB of RAM, and a 1.7GHz Core i5 CPU. Step up to the MYR 4,999 model and you'll get a 256GB SSD instead. That's a grand's bump for doubling the size of your SSD. Your choice, of course.

Regardless, you're looking at Intel HD 3000 graphics across the board, along with FaceTime webcams, two USB ports (plus an SD slot on the 13-inch version), 802.11n WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.0. The two differ when it comes to resolution and battery life: the 11-incher has a 1366 x 768 panel and is rated for up to five hours of battery life, whereas the 13-inch model has a 1440 x 900 screen and promises up to seven hours of juice. And it's still bloody thin.

As for that 1.8GHz Core i7 CPU, it'll set you back an extra MYR 304 on the 13-inch version, and MYR 457 for the 11-inch version. Whichever size you choose, it's only an option for the higher-end configuration. Hit the source link to view the limited specs to choose from, and buy one to join the Mac gang.
source: 2DayBlog.com

White MacBook killed for consumer, only for educational institute, we salute

Do you notice anything above? New MacBook Air, new Mac Mini, and the Mac OS X Lion screen. But there's also something missing. Looks like Apple may have dropped one important product from its store during today's new product rush. It seems as if there may indeed be some meat to those recent rumors that the company is doing away with its white plastic piece of laptop goodness — at the very least, the thing is nowhere to be seen in its current online lineup. Apple has confirmed that the MacBook has, in fact, been discontinued. However, while the notebook will be discontinued for individual consumers, Apple will continue to make it available to educational institutions. Is the MacBook Air overshadowing its elder sibling, or is Apple up to something else?
source: 2DayBlog.com

Chromium OS running on a MacBook Air, the perfect notebook with the perfect OS? Not quite.

I've to admit, the Apple MacBook Air is indeed a perfect ultraportable notebook, but what about Mac OS X? Some may, but some won't agree. Anyway, does it hurt your brain to look at the picture above? That'd be Chromium OS — running on a MacBook Air! Pretty much the definition of “worlds colliding,” this feat is brought to you by Hexxeh, whose most recent mind-warping project put Chrome on an iPad. The platform-mixing maestro says in this case everything works except Bluetooth, owing to a lack of support. But hearty souls who seek to follow in his footsteps, take heed: there's no dual-boot option, and you will lose OS X — so perhaps this is a job for your now outdated model. Click the source link for 14 easy steps to turning your svelte laptop into Frankenstein's monster. And oh yeah, that thing behind on the left, that's a Chrome pillow. Jelly?
source: 2DayBlog.com

MacBook Air gets Chromium OS port

Remember the early days when we actually saw Mac computers run on Intel-powered processors? Well, weirder amalgamations have happened in the industry since then, those that one would never have thought would happen. Today, we bring you news that the Chromium OS has been ported over to the MacBook Air, which isn't a bad thing entirely. After all, certain quarters claim that the MacBook Air is nothing but an expensive netbook with a starting price of one grand, while Chromebooks from Samsung and Acer are touted to be overpriced netbooks at $349 apiece for the cheapest model. Guess to see your MacBook Air with a Chromium OS port treads middle ground in the argument, no?

This is made possible thanks to seasoned Chrome OS hacker Hexxeh – the wonders of open source. Of course, this does not mean you will get official Chromebook capabilities all the way to the end, since no hardware-specific security features or boot speed optimizations are available. According to Hexxeh, the Chromium OS build on the MacBook Air will boot up in around 22 seconds, which is extremely zippy.

The downside to it? You will need to erase OS X first before Chromium OS is installed onto the MacBook Air's SSD. While dual-booting is an option, neither Hexxeh nor Apple are willing to step forward with official support, so proceed at your own risk if you know how.
source: Ubergizmo

Rumor: MacBook Airs, OS X Lion to Arrive Wednesday

Apple CEO Steve Jobs demonstrates iOS 5, Mac OS X Lion and iCloud at WWDC 2011. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

Apple may be preparing to release two major products simultaneously this week: upgrades for its MacBook Air subnotebook and Mac OS X Lion, the latest Mac operating system.

The MacBook Air refresh and the arrival of OS X Lion will arrive Wednesday, possibly at 8:30am EST, sources told AppleInsider. The tip comes in line with a report last week published by All Things Digital, which also claimed the products would debut sometime this week.

The MacBook Air last got a reboot in October 2010 as a 13.3-inch and an 11.6-inch model with super slim silhouettes (0.68 inches at their thickest point, to be exact). OS X Lion, which was announced at Apple's Back to the Mac event and previewed at WWDC 2011, is supposed to marry iOS and OS X, merging some of the more successful features in iOS into their new desktop platform. (However, early reviews have not been promising.)

The new MacBook Airs will feature backlit keyboards and Thunderbolt ports, like their MacBook Pro big brothers, according to AppleInsider. They'll also include Sandy Bridge processors and come standard with 4 GB of RAM and a minimum of 128-GB storage capacity — the better to run OS X Lion with.

Apple's Steve Jobs last year said that both OS Lion and the super slim MacBook Air are taking lessons learned from the iPad and rolling them into a PC system. Indeed, Lion will incorporate some characteristics from the iPad with new multitouch gestures and a Launchpad for opening apps, which resembles the iPad's home screen. The MacBook Air's long battery life and usage of flash memory also mimic the iPad. These two products symbolize the gradual convergence between PCs and mobile products as traditional laptops become thinner, lighter, more low-powered and more dependent on web-based storage.
source: Gadget Lab

MacBook in short supply, you know what to expect!

We've already seen the MacBook Pro sporting new Sandy Bridge and Thunderbolt, and heard rumblings of a MacBook Air refresh coming soon, and now reports of dwindling supplies of Apple's great white hope have the internet abuzz over a possible MacBook upgrade.

AppleInsider did a little digging earlier today, and found that major online retailers, including Amazon, and at least one brick and mortar store were either running low or completely out of the last of the MacBooks.

A similar fate has befallen stock of the Mac mini, inviting speculation that both machines will likely pop up post-Lion. Have you saved up yet???
source: 2DayBlog.com

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 arrives as corporate rival to MacBook Air

After numerous leaks, Lenovo tonight brought out its first halo notebook in years through the ThinkPad X1. The 13.3-inch system is the thinnest ThinkPad to date at no more than 0.83 inches but promises to trump the MacBook Air by overcoming the usual barriers in the class. A new generation of Lenovo's high-power, low-noise "owl wing" cooling fans lets it use full-power Core i3, i5, and i7 processors while still keeping up to five hours on its regular battery.

Its weight isn't as comparable at 3.7 pounds versus 2.9.

The ultraslim also delivers on a rare ultra-quick battery charge. Much like some MP3 players or phones, RapidCharge can bring the X1 up from drained to an 80 percent charge in just half an hour, or 2.5 times faster than other ThinkPads or most notebooks. Lenovo's Jason Parrish told Electronista that the technique doesn't artificially shorten the life of the battery and that it should last about 1,000 full charge cycles, or about three years of frequent use.

An external battery slice can take advantage of RapidCharge itself and doubles the longevity to 10 hours. In a break from Lenovo's usual habits, though, the main battery is sealed in and will need a qualified technician to swap out, much like Apple's pack. More computers beyond the X1 will get RapidCharge, many of them in 2012, Lenovo told us.

The design is both billed as tough as regular ThinkPads while acknowledging that many users care about using systems for home as much as work. It still uses a magnesium alloy frame with a 'rollcage' to stay strong. Corning's Gorilla Glass also makes an unusual appearance in a notebook and makes the screen more resistant to pressure and scratches than the usual notebook display; Lenovo also vows a much brighter screen at 350 nits instead of the usual 200 to 250. A backlit keyboard is a first for this class of ThinkPad, and video output has dropped the stereotypical corporate-friendly VGA in favor of HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, and Intel's over-the-air WiDi.

The X1 is due to start at $1,399 with a 2.1GHz Core i3 and an unspecified Intel SSD, most likely a 160GB model. Shoppers can get one online through Lenovo and others on May 17.

Lenovo's launch is its second real design attempt at countering the MacBook Air and its first from-scratch model made since the Air existed, the original X300 series having been developed at the same time. The system has always had a loyal base but struggled to match even the Air's relatively low numbers due mostly to price: initially going for $2,799, it was a full $1,000 more than the original Air and almost always cost more.

In discussing the X1 with us, Parrish said he had "seen people make those comparisons" to the Air with the new model but pointed to clear differences between the ThinkPad and its Mac challenger. The full-speed processor, toughened frame and "world-class" keyboard justified getting an X1, he said.

Electronista