Archive for the ‘Notebooks’ Category

Florida Jocks Get Free MacBook Pros

As part of a new program with Apple, the University of South Florida is giving each of its 460 student athletes free MacBook Pros to keep up with their studies on the road.

In addition to handing out notebooks to jocks, the university is adding new materials to iTunes U, a page in the iTunes Store hosting educational content, such as video podcasts and digitized lectures.

The university declined to comment on the cost of the program, but a spokesman told Fortune that the cost of the notebooks for the spring semester was in the “six figures” — even after a special Apple discount.

To me, this program seems excessive, and I’d imagine the non-athletes are pissed. Which college student, jock or not, doesn’t already own a notebook?

Far more interesting is the pilot program at Abilene University, in which the school is handing out free iPhones to its entire freshman class to transform the classroom experience using web apps.

Press release [USF]

See Also:

Photo: *.*/Flickr

Posted: December 9th, 2009
at 6:57pm by Brian X. Chen

Topics: Apple, MacBook, MacBook Pro, Notebooks, Sports, athletes, education, mac, schools

Snow Leopard Update Fixes Deletion Bug

Apple on Monday released a software update for the Mac OS X Snow Leopard operating system. The free update addresses some major issues, including a bug that erased large amounts of a user’s data.

A small number of Snow Leopard customers in October reported that their primary user folder was replaced with an empty folder after logging in with a Guest account. For some, that resulted in the loss of documents, pictures, music, downloads and other types of files.

“My home folder had been replaced with a ’straight out of the box’ home folder,” wrote user “dubaidan” in a Sept. 3 forum post. “Standard desktop, standard dock, nothing in my documents folder, standard library. My entire home folder is gone.”

Shortly after the issue gained media attention, Apple issued a statement acknowledging the issue and said a fix was in progress. The fix is available in the latest Snow Leopard update, version 10.6.2, according to Apple.

Snow Leopard 10.6.2 also addresses issues with printer compatibility, fonts, the MobileMe internet service and others. Users can download the update by clicking on the Apple icon in the upper-left corner and selecting “Software Update.”

See Also:

Photo: Captain Chickenpants/Flickr

Posted: November 9th, 2009
at 5:54pm by Brian X. Chen

Topics: Apple, Desktops, Macs, Notebooks, mac os x, operating systems, snow leopard, software

Video: Apple Legend Jonathan Ive Talks Design

In the video above, Apple’s senior vice president of industrial design Jonathan Ive offers a rare glimpse into his design process. He discusses the latest line of aluminum products; the iMac, the MacBook family, the iPhone and the iPod Nano each make appearances.

Watching the clip, you’ll understand why Apple seems obsessed with looks. Ive talks about gadget design like an artist would speak about his paintings. He’s one heck of a passionate guy.

See Also:

Design According to Ive

Posted: October 29th, 2009
at 8:22pm by Brian X. Chen

Topics: Apple, Industrial Design, Jonathan Ive, MacBook, Media Players, Notebooks, Phones, Videos, iMac, iPhone, ipod

Quick Look: 13.3-inch Acer Timeline

I know everybody is excited to start their weekend but the bell doesn’t dismiss you, I dismiss you. So before you go, I’m gonna tell you about this new 3.5-pound Acer Timeline ultraportable that just came out yesterday.

First, the keyboard is gorgeous. It’s like looking at a pretty girl but not the kind of girl that’s too good for you, but more the girl who shows up at your party, does a keg stand, and then asks “Who wants to play Madden?” Pretty but accessible, is what I’m saying. It looks nice, but perhaps more importantly it’s easy to type on.

Second, it’s a good deal (I bought it on Amazon for $600). You get a 3.5-pound frame, a 1.3GHz Intel SU4100 CPU, 3GB of DDR3 RAM, 320GB SATA hard drive, Windows 7 Home Premium, and a six-cell battery which Acer claims is good for up to 8 hours.

Thirdly, thusly, and finally, please check out the above video for a quick hands on. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to review this computer because it’s a gift for my mother-in-law’s 60th birthday. I’d like to make it clear that I didn’t spend all $600 of my own money on the computer. I don’t want to get any aspiring bloggers’ hopes up about making enough money to throw down $600 on a birthday present for your mother-in-law. You’ll need to split $600 presents multiple ways for your entire life. But you do get to play with toys a lot.

Acer Aspire Timeline AS3810TZ-4925 [Amazon]

Posted: October 23rd, 2009
at 4:30pm by Doug Aamoth

Topics: Headline, Notebooks, Videos, acer, hands on, netbooks, quick look, timeline, ultraportables, video

Video: Dell Adamo XPS Can Only Be Opened By Rubbing It [Exclusive]

The Dell Adamo XPS isn’t only ridiculously thin, but it opens like no laptop ever seen before. Its propped up keyboard can only be opened by sliding a finger on the lid’s heat sensing strip. See it to believe it…

Did your mouth drop? Because mine did. All I know is that rubbing that strip illuminates it and unlocks the aluminum lid. I also got to hold the system for a bit and it is really really sturdy. I thought it would be more flimsy, but it has strength.

I can’t tell you much more, other than it will be officially annouced in November and production is scheduled to ramp up soon. As for what is inside, I can sleep soundly now that I know that there isn’t an Intel Atom processor (like the Sony Vaio X), but rather will use an Intel ULV chip of some sort. Now back to your regularly scheduled Windows 7 programming. [Dell Adamo XPS]