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Posts Tagged ‘New Hardware’

Apple about to drop new hardware, raise prices?

Filed under: Hardware, Rumors

A reader at Engadget has spotted new Apple ads on the Australian tech site PC Authority that show higher prices for the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Pro. Apple’s Australian online store lists the most affordable versions of the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Pro at A$1599, A$1999 and A$3599, respectively, but the ads show significantly higher “starting at” prices of A$1899, A$2399, and A$4499.

While Engadget points out that clicking on the ads leads to Apple’s currently priced machines, it is possible that this is another case where online ads have predicted imminent announcements. Despite the rumors, no new Mac Pro’s appeared yesterday but are still expected soon as they haven’t seen a major upgrade in over a year. The rise in MacBook Pro pricing could be attributed to the cost of the i7 chipset, but it seems unlikely that in a recovering economy Apple would increase their prices significantly without having a cheaper baseline model available. Is this ad a sign of things to come? Only time and a “We’ll be back soon” sticky note will tell.

TUAWApple about to drop new hardware, raise prices? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 06:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Astro pleads for street cred with $150 A30 Cross-Gaming headset

Ah, Astro Gaming. It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? After going on a year-long hiatus from crafting new hardware, the company is hitting back with an all-new headset based around the same DNA found in its A40. Rather than cranking out yet another pair of mic-infused headphones that do users little good outside of the LAN party setting, the A30 Cross-Gaming actually boasts a street-style design that enables them to double as vanilla headphones. The boom mic is removable (though an in-line mic allows for communication in any situation), and you’ll find interchangeable speaker tags if you’re scouting a way to “be yourself.” It’s up for order today at $149.95, but if you’re looking to pick up a Dolby-powered Astro MixAmp — which is said to “seamlessly blend voice and game sounds” — you’ll be looking at a grand total of $229.95.

Astro pleads for street cred with $150 A30 Cross-Gaming headset originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How would you change Palm’s Pre Plus and Pixi Plus?

We aren’t trying to lump these two together or anything, but we figured we’d give those of you who opted for Palm’s second set of webOS handsets an opportunity to pool your thoughts in order to make the smartphone landscape an even better place to survey. We personally didn’t find too much new to laud on Verizon’s Palm-branded twofer compared to the original Pre and Pixi, and those of you who were hoping for all new hardware from the company at CES were undoubtedly let down. Still, there’s something to be said about a webOS product on America’s “largest 3G network,” and frankly, we’re interested in hearing how you’d change things. Would you have overhauled things more drastically? Expanded the screen size? Bumped the resolution? Enlarged the keys? Go on and tell Jon exactly what you think in comments below — who knows, the Pre Plus Plus might just carry your calling card.

How would you change Palm’s Pre Plus and Pixi Plus? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TiVo turns the DVR into a Flash-based app platform

TiVo may have pioneered the home DVR market, but its leading position hasn’t helped it stave off competition from cable providers, who have offered bundled services that integrate with their broadcast offerings, and avoid the up-front investment in hardware. Tonight, the company has announced a revamped hardware and software combination that it hopes will help it regain some momentum. The new products feature greater integration with Internet content, increased interactivity, and better support for HDTVs, all run by an interface developed using Adobe Flash.

The new hardware comes in 320GB and 1TB capacities, and features cable card and coax inputs, plus a standard array of video outputs, along with support for a nice range of resolutions: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p. Both of the new units included optical audio out, but the Premier XL, in addition to the larger drive, is THX certified, and comes with software that enables fine-grained adjustment of the home theater experience. Ethernet, USB 2.0, and eSATA connectors allow communication with a wide range of additional devices (a wireless N adaptor will be sold separately).

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Apple OS and the new A4 chip could be headed to new gadgets

Filed under: Apple Corporate, Hardware, OS, Developer, iPad

Apple appears to have plans for the iPhone OS beyond the iPhone, and iPad. A report in Computerworld notes a new Apple job posting for an Engineering Manager that can bring the iPhone OS to new platforms.

The Core Platform team within Apple’s Core OS organization is looking for a talented and inspired manager to lead a team focused on bring-up of iPhone OS on new platforms. The team is responsible for low level platform architecture, firmware, core drivers and bring-up of new hardware platforms. The team consists of talented engineers with experience in hardware, firmware, IOKit drivers, security and platform architecture.

What could those new products be? Maybe a thinner, friskier Apple TV. Maybe smaller and lighter versions of laptops that get into netbook territory. And it is a pretty good bet that the next iPhone will be using the Apple designed A4 chip that is at the heart of the iPad. Apple could also be thinking about creating products or technologies for other products that are not Apple branded. The sky is the limit here.

With a considerable investment in the new A4 chip, it would be foolish of Apple to not be looking for other opportunities. Let your minds run wild.

TUAWApple OS and the new A4 chip could be headed to new gadgets originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo’s Miyamoto casually references new hardware, MotionPlus games

Do you think non-disclosure agreements apply if you’re one of the guys who built the company you represent? Probably not, as evidenced by Shigeru Miyamoto, who recently took the opportunity — while receiving an award, no less — to blab about forthcoming hardware and games based around the MotionPlus peripheral. There wasn’t much content to his mentions, beyond us now knowing that he’s actively engaged in the design of multiple games outside of the next Zelda iteration, but this is the firmest confirmation yet that the Wii is set for a Wiiplacement. Parsing this with earlier comments from Miyamoto-san would suggest the company will be looking to optimize its present formula (maybe with a touch of HD?) rather than revolutionize what is already a wildly successful console. Until then, let’s just be happy that one of gaming’s patriarchs is still going strong and dropping crumbs of knowledge for us undeserving earthlings.

Nintendo’s Miyamoto casually references new hardware, MotionPlus games originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PC prices may rise, reversing six-year trend

Your next PC may cost you a bit more than expected if you buy later this year. Market research masters Gartner say that the price of building PCs will climb this year, reversing a six-year trend, due to component scarcity. That’s going to pose a bit of challenge to manufacturers who have focused on pumping out cheap netbooks during the economic downturn.

The biggest driver of the likely price increase is memory. The DRAM industry is in the midst of moving from DDR2 to DDR3, which means less of each type of RAM is being produced. DDR3 spot prices are up 23 percent over the last month; with memory comprising about a tenth of a PC’s overall cost, that’s a significant cost for OEMs to absorb.

It’s not just RAM: LCD panels and hard drive prices are on the rise, with the cost of the former expected to jump by as much as 20 percent. Optical drives are also suffering from supply constraints.

As a result of the recession, component manufacturers reduced capacity and delayed building additional plants. While investment is on the way back up, it takes time for new facilities to come online. In the meantime, OEMs face a dilemma: how much of the additional costs can they pass on to consumers and businesses without scaring them away from new hardware?

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Ask TUAW: recovering deleted files, encrypted backups, cheap scanning, and more

Filed under: Features, Troubleshooting, Ask TUAW

Welcome back to a new year of Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we’ve got questions about cheap scanners, encrypting backups, recovering deleted files, troubleshooting new hardware, and more.

As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you’re using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we’ll assume you’re running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don’t specify), or if it’s an iPhone-related question, which iPhone version and OS version you have.

FunFred asks

I am looking for a scanner similar to a ScanSnap or NeatReceipts for my dorm. I get a lot of handouts from classes (among other things), and keeping track of them all is a hassle (and makes studying more difficult). However, ScanSnap and NeatReceipts mobile scanners run along the lines of $200… perhaps you know of a cheaper alternative, or a place to get them for less?

It hasn’t been released yet, but there’s been some buzz around the net for the Doxie Scanner at $129. Now you’d have to ask yourself if you could really stand the pink hearts, but it does seem like it might work out for you. That said, I recently picked up a ScanSnap 300M on eBay for $150 and love it (it works great with Evernote), so you might also be able to score one that way.

Matthijs asks

Is it possible to make an encrypted backup using Time Machine? I am worried that if I make a backup on an external drive and lose the drive (or it gets stolen), all my data will be accessible. I would really like to make use of Time Machine.

Ah, possible is one of those tricky words. I have found a tutorial for creating an encrypted Time Machine sparsebundle, however it’s frankly quite a bit of a hack. My suggestion is a bit different. Do you really need your whole backup (music, videos, etc.) to be encrypted? For most people I would think that there are actually only a few things you’d need encrypted (e.g. financial documents, etc.). In that case, what I would do is create an encrypted disk image to store the sensitive stuff and then just let Time Machine do its normal thing. Keep in mind that any change to the contents of the encrypted disk image means that the whole thing will get backed up again, so don’t make it any bigger than you need it.

If you happen to have a hard drive that does encryption in hardware (like this one), then you don’t need to worry; your Time Machine backups will be uncrackable along with any other data on the drive.

khirbat asks

I have an early 2009 Mac mini that I use as my regular computer and and also as an HTPC. I have a 17″ 1280×1024 LCD on my desk connected via a mini-DVI-to-DVI adapter. My 720p (1368×768) TV is connected via a DisplayPort-to-DVI adapter. I am considering getting a bigger monitor for my desk. What would be the maximum resolution I could go that will allow me to continue to use my TV the way I am using it right now?

Another reader helpfully pointed to this Apple Tech Spec for the mini which reveals that the mini “simultaneously supports up to 1920 by 1200 pixels on a DVI or VGA display; up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on a dual-link DVI display using Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter.” In other words, you can pretty much get any monitor you want to replace the 17″ up to and including a huge 30″ dual-link. Now I wouldn’t expect much 3D performance out of it, but it should get the job done for normal usage.

phillpafford asks

I accidentally delete my video files on my external hard drive, how do I recover these? Running two machines, one with Snow Leopard and the other Leopard. Any solution that’s FREE?

In a case like this the first thing to do is stop using the drive immediately. There is a free command line tool that you could try first: Photorec. It may be a bit tricky to use, but the price is right. Traditionally the go-to application for data recovery on the Mac is Data Rescue III from Tech-Pro ($99). They do have a demo that should at least tell you if it’ll work for you before you buy.

Steve asks

Santa brought me a new 500GB HDD and 4GB of RAM from OWC for my black MacBook 2.4 running Snow Leopard. I used SuperDuper! to clone the drive and I noticed when I was done the original drive had 224.49GB on it while the new cloned drive had 221.49. I contacted the folks at SuperDuper about the 3GB lose and they said it was normal to loose files so I went ahead and installed the new drive and RAM and it booted just fine but now Safari, iTunes, Handbrake and others crash constantly. I can’t have multiple applications open without crashes. Syncing an iPhone will cause iTunes to crash. I get notices of plug-ins missing like Flash for Safari, etc. I don’t know if the problem is with the HDD, the new RAM (which seems slower than the 2GB I removed) or with the cloned made with SuperDuper!. Any thoughts before I reinstall everything to original and return the gifts?

Here’s what I would do: I doubt it’s the RAM, but it should be easy enough to switch your old RAM back in and see if you’ve still got the problem. If so, what I would do is get a cheap USB to SATA adapter (like this one) and try booting from you old drive to see if you still have the problems (or just get a cheap USB or FireWire case and then you can use the old drive for backups). If the old drive still works as the boot disk, you could try cloning that drive to the new drive one more time, perhaps this time with Carbon Copy Cloner, just to see if it might help.

George asks

When I got my new MBP 17″ I used Time Machine to move my apps and files over from my old MBP 15″. Since then, I have upgraded to snow leopard, and cut the cords and went all Intel apps, and didn’t install rosetta. This has been fine for months, but all of a sudden, I am getting the message “To open Microsoft Sync Services, you need to install Rosetta. Would you like to install it now?” I don’t know what application/service is prompting me for this, but I would like it to stop!

It’s almost certainly Microsoft Entourage that’s causing the problem. Are you trying to use Office 2004 perhaps? If not, perhaps there’s some crud (technical term) from an older upgrade of Microsoft Office? If that’s the case it might be helpful to re-install Office 2008 to get rid of the problem.

In any event, it’s fine to go ahead and install Rosetta automatically — it won’t slow you down.

lewis asks

I was wondering if there is a program out there for organization that would be a kind of mind mapping meets Spotlight (for documents, images, keywords, whatever) meets Voodoo Pad meets Tinderbox. I would love to be able to jot notes down and have a program organize it based on other information it had in live updating, whether it’s other notes or information I’ve linked to it. Is there anything out there like that? The best would be if it gave it in a visual medium much like a mind map, but linked through multiple bubbles.

It’s not a visual mapper, but I would point you toward DEVONthink Pro. It features some automatic sorting and filing technologies that sound somewhat similar to what you’re trying to do. That said, it doesn’t display these relationships in a visual way like Tinderbox.

I’ll enlist the help of our resident mindmap maven and see if there are any other suggestions to add.

TUAWAsk TUAW: recovering deleted files, encrypted backups, cheap scanning, and more originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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