MacBook

Lenovo IdeaPad U110 released

Mehan Jayasuriya — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:15:33 -0400

Last week, we introduced you to Lenovo's MacBook Air alternative alternative, the IdeaPad U100. Lo and behold, the thing has popped up on Lenovo's website today and is ready to be ordered. Here are the final specs: a 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo with 4MB of L2 Cache and an 800MHz FSB, Intel X3100 integrated graphics, up to 3GB of RAM and up to 120GB of storage. Not too shabby for a machine with an 11" footprint. It's on sale now for $1,899--$100 less than we initially suspected.

For more on the U110:
- see Lenovo's website

Linux survives "PWN 2 OWN"

Mehan Jayasuriya — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:27:01 -0400

As you might recall, the aptly-named "PWN 2 OWN" contest kicked off with a bang last week, when a MacBook Air was "PWNED" in 2 minutes flat by hacker Charlie Miller. While that might have been the beginning of the end, the contest was far from over: both Windows Vista SP1 and Ubuntu 7.10 remained in the last-man-standing contest. On Friday, however, Shane Macaulay finally cracked the Fujitsu laptop running Vista SP1; he claims that the extra security measures in SP1 made the machine harder to hack and forced him to seek out help from VMware researcher Alexander Sotirov. As for the Linux machine? While hackers tried throughout the contest to compromise the Sony Vaio laptop running Ubuntu, none had succeeded by the contest's end. "I was surprised that it didn't go," said Terri Forslof, manager of security response for TippingPoint.

For more on the conclusion of PWN 2 OWN:
- see this PC World article

ALSO NOTED: Microsoft admits knowledge of Home Server data corruption; IBM and Hitachi collaborating on chip research;

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:59:50 -0400

> Microsoft admits knowledge of Home Server data corruption problem. Article
> IBM and Hitachi collaborating on chip research. Article
> HP sets its sights on digital printing. Article
> Kingston: OEM server memory priced too high. Article
> Microsoft and Sun to setup joint Interoperability Center. Article
> D-Link unveils new Green Ethernet switches for SMBs. Article

And finally... A spanking new MacBook Air draws more attention than it should, resulting in a missed flight. Article

ALSO NOTED: Intel unveils embedded 45nm Xeons; Apple's new MacBook Pros get reviewed;

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 06:59:50 -0500

> Intel unveils embedded 45nm Xeons. Article
> VC firms invested $3 billion in clean tech last year. Article
> Apple's new MacBook Pros get reviewed. Article
> Google moves further into productivity software with Google Sites. Article
> Wyse thin clients aimed at virtualized desktops. Article
> Secret APIs in OS X? Article

And Finally... 20 years of HP Deskjet printers. Website

ALSO NOTED: Microsoft posts record Q2 results; Palm hires yet another former Apple exec;

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:59:51 -0500

> Bill Gates pledges $306 million to farmers in developing nations. Article
> Palm hires yet another former Apple exec. Article
> Microsoft posts record Q2 financial results. Press release
> 3G modems won't fit in the MacBook Air's USB port. Article
> The ultimate goal of green IT: extending the PC's lifespan. Article
> Ultimate Eee PC mod calls modder's motivations into question. Article
> Everex Cloudbook gets delayed. Article

And Finally... Data center cabling can be a work of art. Photos

MacBooks shipped with faulty drives?

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

Are certain MacBook hard drives chewing up data unexpectedly? Apparently so, if you believe U.K. data recovery firm Retrodata. They say that 2.5 inch Seagate SATA drives that were manufactured in China and which bear firmware revision 7.01 are prone to failure and what's more, have proven impossible to recover in many cases. Apparently, the problem lies in the drive head, which can become detached from the read/write arms, resulting in "deep scratches" in the face of the disk. What's more, unless the user stops using the disk immediately, the damage can make data recovery impossible. At the moment, Apple is "looking into" the issue but in the meantime, you might want to fire up that Apple System Profiler and check what kind of hard drive you're packing--just in case.

For more on the possible defect:
- see this InformationWeek article

Apple quietly upgrades notebooks

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 07:59:54 -0400

Just a few short weeks ago, Think Secret reported on a rumor that Apple's MacBook line of portables would soon see a speed bump and upgrade to Intel's latest, the Santa Rosa chipset. Looks like they were right on the money: without any fanfare, Apple has gone and upgraded all of the MacBooks to Santa Rosa, while also throwing in an integrated Intel GMA X3100 GPU and a few moderately faster chips. Meanwhile, the MacBook Pros got two new configurable options: a 2.6Ghz Core 2 Duo and a 250GB hard drive. Can we expect more incremental upgrades like these from Apple as we approach the holiday season? Not if the original Think Secret piece is right in every regard; the rumor site's sources said not to "expect any other Mac hardware to see a revision before the holidays." That's bad news for folks waiting on a Penryn-based MacPro in time for Christmas. There's always MacWorld in January, right?

For more on the upgrades:
- see this story from Mac Rumors

ALSO NOTED: Google to announce mobile plans soon; MacBook drives prone to mechanical failure?;

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 07:59:51 -0400

> MacBook 2.5" Seagate drives prone to mechanical failure? Article
> OMG: Google to announce mobile plans "soon." Article
> Asus firms up plans for U.S. launch, just what we expected. Article
> An iPhone mod for the old-school Apple fanboys. Article
> Federal regulators want more cable/phone competition in apartment buildings. Article

And Finally... Just in time for Halloween: the Mac-O-Lantern. Article

ALSO NOTED: iTunes DRM-free tracks drop to $0.99, as expected; HTC to ship 50,000 Google Phones this year?;

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:59:51 -0400

> iTunes DRM-free tracks drop to $0.99, as expected. Article
> Linus Torvalds' own family uses Windows. Article
> HTC to ship 50,000 Google Phones this year? Rumor
> Acer-Gateway deal is official. Press Release
> When will your iPod die? Article
> MySpace, Skype hook up. Article
> Ultraportable MacBook on the 26th? Rumor

And Finally... Astrophysicist replaces supercomputer with Playstation 3s. Article

ALSO NOTED: HP looking to acquire Kodak?; Treo 500v to sport new Windows interface;

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 06:59:51 -0400

> Palm Treo 500v to sport new Windows interface. Article
> HP looking to acquire Kodak? Article
> Fabrik announces Pro hard drives, online backups. Article
> AT&T to reduce early termination fees for some subscribers. Article
> A new video of Microsoft's Surface shows off some new features. Article
> AMD prepping major launches for next month. Article
> Slim MacBook, tablet in 4-6 months? Article
> First look: Ubuntu 7.10 "Gutsy Gibbon" RC1. Article
> iPhone coming to France on November 29th. Article

And Finally... Greenpeace threatens to sue Apple over hazardous chemicals in iPhone. Article