Apple sends mixed signal about new products before 2010
Evidence has surfaced pointing to support for new MacBook Pro models in the latest developer builds of Mac OS X 10.6.2. However, even though Phil Schiller has issued a “final” word on the matter, he hasn’t explicitly ruled out a possible update before we toss out our old calendar and hang up a new one. Still, new MacBook Pros likely won’t launch until early next year.
Apple SVP of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller recently implied to Gizmodo that there would be no more new products announced this year. Indeed, it would make logical sense that this is it for 2009, as we are soon entering November and the beginning of the holiday season. However, Apple was quick to clarify that what he actually said was, “The holiday lineup is set,” indicating that the company doesn’t want to say, specifically, that no more products are coming.
Dev seed points to upcoming MacBook Pro updates
If you’re looking for evidence of new or updated hardware, developer seeds aren’t always the worst place to look. Applesfera (translated link), a Spanish language Apple site, has pointed out two .plist files inside of the most recent developer seed of Mac OS X 10.6.2 that reference two MacBook Pro models, 6_1 and 6_2, that have yet to be released. The current pro models of Apple’s portable line are 5_2, 5_3, 5_4, and 5_5, all of which were released in June of this year.
The current speculation is that the upgraded models will include a quad-core mobile Intel Core i5 processor or an i7 (a version of the i5 processor can be found in the new iMac that was launched last week). While the i5 seems reasonable, it might take some time and a smaller i7 before it makes its way into Apple’s portable line. Remember when two processors seemed like too many for a portable?
It’s difficult to predict when an updated MacBook Pro line may launch, but what we do know is that 10.6.2 will probably make its debut very soon. We learned last week that Apple’s new Magic Mouse relies on the yet-to-be-released operating system for at least some of its features, and that product currently shows a five- to seven-day lead time.
From Mac Portable to MacBook Pro: 20 years of Apple laptops
Sunday marked the 20th anniversary of the first portable Macintosh computer, the aptly-named Macintosh Portable. While it was indeed portable, it was anything but svelte. Apple’s first non-desktop Mac weighed in at nearly 16lb and was a beast at 4″ thick, 15.25″ wide and 14.8″ deep. While the 9.8″ 1-bit, 640×480 display is quaint by today’s standards, it was active-matrix, an expensive rarity in the days of passive matrix portable computers. Unfortunately, it wasn’t backlit.
The Portable sold for a whopping $6,500 when it was launched in September 1989, and it’s hardly surprising that it was never a top-seller. The hardware was modest, even by contemporary standards. It rocked a 16MHz 68000 CPU and shipped with 1MB of RAM, as well as a 40MB hard drive. It was updated in February 1991 with a backlit display, but Apple snuffed out the Portable line in October of that year when it launched its first PowerBook, the PowerBook 100.
In recognition of the 20-year anniversary of the Macintosh Portable, let’s look back at some of the superstars of Apple’s laptop lineup—as well as a couple of duds that should never have made it out of Cupertino.
From Mac Portable to MacBook Pro: 20 years of Apple laptops
Sunday marked the 20th anniversary of the first portable Macintosh computer, the aptly-named Macintosh Portable. While it was indeed portable, it was anything but svelte. Apple’s first non-desktop Mac weighed in at nearly 16lb and was a beast at 4″ thick, 15.25″ wide and 14.8″ deep. While the 9.8″ 1-bit, 640×480 display is quaint by today’s standards, it was active-matrix, an expensive rarity in the days of passive matrix portable computers. Unfortunately, it wasn’t backlit.
The Portable sold for a whopping $6,500 when it was launched in September 1989, and it’s hardly surprising that it was never a top-seller. The hardware was modest, even by contemporary standards. It rocked a 16MHz 68000 CPU and shipped with 1MB of RAM, as well as a 40MB hard drive. It was updated in February 1991 with a backlit display, but Apple snuffed out the Portable line in October of that year when it launched its first PowerBook, the PowerBook 100.
In recognition of the 20-year anniversary of the Macintosh Portable, let’s look back at some of the superstars of Apple’s laptop lineup—as well as a couple of duds that should never have made it out of Cupertino.
Week in Apple: NC data center, Snow Leopard coming soon, iTunes flying high
As September draws near, buzz about a yet-to-be-announced Apple event is ramping up while others speculate about Snow Leopard arriving early. In the meantime, Apple has been busy releasing fixes for the MacBook Pro, and iTunes is on a roll selling the most online music. Need to catch up? Here are the top stories from this week:
Tired of waiting for AT&T to enable MMS on iPhone? Sue! Two lawsuits are claiming that Apple and AT&T misled customers about MMS support in their recently purchased iPhones. Though the iPhone OS 3.0 update promised the feature, AT&T told Ars in June that support wouldn’t be ready until “late summer.”
iTunes sells 25% of all music in the US, 69% of digital: Online music sales have grown to more than a third of all music sold in the US, with iTunes making up a full quarter. CD sales remain dominant, but given the trajectory of online sales, that may not last for long.
Week in Apple: NC data center, Snow Leopard coming soon, iTunes flying high
As September draws near, buzz about a yet-to-be-announced Apple event is ramping up while others speculate about Snow Leopard arriving early. In the meantime, Apple has been busy releasing fixes for the MacBook Pro, and iTunes is on a roll selling the most online music. Need to catch up? Here are the top stories from this week:
Tired of waiting for AT&T to enable MMS on iPhone? Sue! Two lawsuits are claiming that Apple and AT&T misled customers about MMS support in their recently purchased iPhones. Though the iPhone OS 3.0 update promised the feature, AT&T told Ars in June that support wouldn’t be ready until “late summer.”
iTunes sells 25% of all music in the US, 69% of digital: Online music sales have grown to more than a third of all music sold in the US, with iTunes making up a full quarter. CD sales remain dominant, but given the trajectory of online sales, that may not last for long.
MacBook Pros get fixes for Bluetooth, hard drive noises
MacBook Pro owners can look forward to fewer bugs when using Apple’s wireless keyboard and mouse, as well as less noise coming from their hard drives, thanks to the latest updates from Apple. The company released Bluetooth Firmware Update 2.0.1 and Hard Drive Firmware Update 2.0 Wednesday evening, and both should be available via Software Update for affected users.
The Bluetooth update provides “bug fixes and better compatibility with the Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse and Apple Wireless Keyboard.” This affects all Macs with Bluetooth based on the Broadcom chipset, so there isn’t one specific MacBook Pro model that this applies to.
The hard drive update, on the other hand, only applies to drives shipped with the June 2009 version of the MacBook Pro. These machines, equipped with 7200rpm drives, emitted “infrequent noises” that were not only alarming to users, but also somewhat annoying. The update aims to reduce those noises, allowing MacBook Pro owners to sleep better at night once again.
MacBook Pros get fixes for Bluetooth, hard drive noises
MacBook Pro owners can look forward to fewer bugs when using Apple’s wireless keyboard and mouse, as well as less noise coming from their hard drives, thanks to the latest updates from Apple. The company released Bluetooth Firmware Update 2.0.1 and Hard Drive Firmware Update 2.0 Wednesday evening, and both should be available via Software Update for affected users.
The Bluetooth update provides “bug fixes and better compatibility with the Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse and Apple Wireless Keyboard.” This affects all Macs with Bluetooth based on the Broadcom chipset, so there isn’t one specific MacBook Pro model that this applies to.
The hard drive update, on the other hand, only applies to drives shipped with the June 2009 version of the MacBook Pro. These machines, equipped with 7200rpm drives, emitted “infrequent noises” that were not only alarming to users, but also somewhat annoying. The update aims to reduce those noises, allowing MacBook Pro owners to sleep better at night once again.
Apple working on fix for unusual MacBook Pro drive issue
Unusual clicking and beeping sounds, followed by a brief period of unresponsiveness, have plagued MacBook Pro owners that have a Seagate 500GB 7200RPM drive installed. The good news is that Apple believes the issue can be fixed with a software update.
Apparently, MacBook Pros with a build-to-order option for a 500GB 7200RPM drive have a model from Seagate that has its own anti-shock protection mechanism. This mechanism can conflict with Apple’s own Sudden Motion Sensor, which will park the drive heads if it detects that an Apple notebook is falling. Parking the drive heads prevents a possible head crash, which would permanently damage the drive and result in data loss. Whatever conflict exists between Seagate’s and Apple’s systems will cause the heads to park unexpectedly, effectively freezing the affected MacBook Pro for a short while, around 10 seconds. When this happens, the Seagate drive will emit a short beeping sound.
Apple working on fix for unusual MacBook Pro drive issue
Unusual clicking and beeping sounds, followed by a brief period of unresponsiveness, have plagued MacBook Pro owners that have a Seagate 500GB 7200RPM drive installed. The good news is that Apple believes the issue can be fixed with a software update.
Apparently, MacBook Pros with a build-to-order option for a 500GB 7200RPM drive have a model from Seagate that has its own anti-shock protection mechanism. This mechanism can conflict with Apple’s own Sudden Motion Sensor, which will park the drive heads if it detects that an Apple notebook is falling. Parking the drive heads prevents a possible head crash, which would permanently damage the drive and result in data loss. Whatever conflict exists between Seagate’s and Apple’s systems will cause the heads to park unexpectedly, effectively freezing the affected MacBook Pro for a short while, around 10 seconds. When this happens, the Seagate drive will emit a short beeping sound.
