Take a look at Kodawarisan (link below) for just how easy (and brave you have to be) taking a MacBook apart is.
It seems that as well as the memory, users will be able to easily upgrade the hard drive from the underside of the machine.
Link:
http://www.kodawarisan.com/macbook/macbook001.html
It goes without saying that you would see an entry following Apple's new product announcement.
The MacBook was released on Tuesday and wow, was I happy to see what they have done. A nice revision (albeit small) to the design, nice new magnetic clam type closing design, with a 13inch widescreen display.
The keyboard looks ultra-cool, with keys that pop up through the moulded casing. This might take some getting used to, but I do like the look of it.
On the spec front, DUAL CORE all the way (excellent), integrated graphics, nice HD CTO options, superdrive on the two top models, oh and the BIG news is the top model comes in a Matt Black colour. This is great news, finally an option of black, I just hope Apple or third party manufacturers will come out with black remotes and cables etc.
A full review of the MacBook will be posted here in about 7-10 days time, so come back soon...
OK, so the 'Donate' button is up on the site. Now for me to tell you how it works and what I am looking to do.
Well the project is two-fold really. Firstly, I want to post more onto Geekanoids and for me to spend more time on the site, I need to ask for a little funding. Any money donated will be used to purchase kit that will be reported on the site.
Two main areas of development for the site and two items that I need to purchase.
Area One - To look at developing a new design for a UK based radio control four wheel drive car, along with a system to track the cars lap times, speed etc. For this the purchase of a four wheel drive car for research is necessary, the build etc will be reported to the site.
Area Two - Well the second item required will be a Mac Mini, Intel based. This will be used for development and deisgn of the new car, but also leads to the second area for the site. All things Intel Mac based, speedmarks, new Universal software, running Windows XP on the Mac under BootCamp and Parallels software. All reported on, with full comments on each post, so we can discuss the pros and cons.
So hopefully, in return for a small donation, I will deliver an area with a useful resource of information and findings for those interested in the Mac, the Mac and Windows, the Mac and Design, and Radio Controlled cars, buggies, trucks.
To donate (and it is optional, but appreciated), just click on the PayPal Donate button in the top right corner of the website. This will open a new window, where you can enter an amount (in GBP British Pounds please). You can either donate via your own PayPal account, or if you do not have PayPal, click the button next to "If you do not currently have a PayPal account" and you can donate using another method.
Thanks in advance and enjoy the site!
I was happy to learn that Apple have released the 17" MacBook Pro, with some nice additions, such as the 8x SuperDrive and the re-introduction of the FW800 port.
What I was more interested to learn (of which news will no doubt filter through next week), is if the whining noises that have plagued some 15" users have been rectified or are still present in the new 17" model.
If anyone would like to email in if you have a trouble free 17" MacBook Pro, then please do.
OK, so time is very precious to me at the moment, thus the short posts...
Having had time to take in all the specs of the new Intel Based Mac Mini, I am a lot happier with the specification. The Dual Core version is the one to go for and from what I have read about the integrated GPU, I think that if you load up your mini with 1Gb or more of RAM things should move along sweetly.
I do not think for one minute Apple would have released this if it was going to bog down the system with paging to the main RAM for graphics use, so I would not worry about it.
The Mac Mini was NEVER designed for high end games playing anyway, so this is a good move on Apple's part.
So, news has just started to filter through of Apple's new announcements.
Mixed feelings from me, the iPod Hifi looks good, but limited appeal I think. Having not yet looked into the complete specifications I will reserve judgement at the moment. Full review to follow.
The Intel based MacMini is another story, nice to see another Mac make the transition. Nice specification, nice to see FrontRow, but again a couple of early reservations, the first being the graphics chip, the second being the price increase. Again, more details to follow.
One of the big shames with the MacBook Pro and the only real negative thing I can say on the subject is that it only has a Single Layer DVD Writer, whereas previous offerings had a Dual Layer Drive.
Not really a big deal as if you really needed it, you could always buy an external drive.
If you are bothered take a look at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/MacBook/petition.html
Wow, what a day for news on the Apple front, with one BIG surprise that I did not expect.
The big surprise was the update to the iMac, so soon after the recent updates to iMacs with the iSight camera built in. Today, Apple announced two new iMacs, both remaining the same form factor as the previous generation, but with new Intel Dual Core processors.
The 17inch has a 1.83GHz Dual Core, 160Gb Hard Drive and 128Mb VRAM, the 20inch has a 2.0Ghz Dual Core, 250Gb Hard Drive and option to upgrade to 256Mb VRAM. On the memory front, they both sport 512Mb RAM.
They are also bundling iLife 06, which sports some changes... more on this later.
I was right with my other prediction - NEW INTEL POWERBOOKS.
Two models, both sporting 15.4inch screens, extra bright displays, built in iSight camera, new power supply magnetic connection, superdrive, ethernet, FW400, USB2, Bluetooth, Airport. What separates the models. Well here goes;
1.67GHz Dual Core Processor, 512Mb RAM, ATI Radeon X1600 with 128Mb VRAM, 80Gb SATA Hard Drive.
1.83 GHz Dual Core Processor, 1Gb RAM, ATI Radeon X1600 with 256Mb VRAM, 100Gb SATA Hard Drive.
Both have options to upgrade various components, both come with iLife 06.
Sorry, it has been such a long time since I last posted any updates.
It has been very hectic of late with so many Apple updates as well as new StickiT skins for the Apple iPod Video.
So what have we got from Apple, to top out the awesome Nano.
First up is beefed up spec PowerBooks. The 12" unfortunately gets nothings, whereas the 15" and 17" get higher resolution and higher brightness displays, dual layer superdrives, DDR2 memory, better (and faster) choice of hard drives, as well as some minor internal changes and a new sleep mode feature. The sleep mode feature takes a snapshot of your current work when you put the PowerBook to sleep, so you can change batteries without losing data.
...So not a massive update for the PowerBook, but still worthwhile.
Then there was the announcement of Dual Core PowerMacs and a Dual Core Dual Processor BEAST OF A MACHINE which will really fly. New max memory and superb graphics cards will certainly see this latest revision keep people happy until MacTel next year.
Aperture next, now this sounds exciting, Professional RAW image management and processing. Definitely not a Photoshop competitor, but something for pros to add to their digital workflow that looks the business. I will take a more in depth look at this in a separate article.
Almost forgot, the iPod Video, or as Apple put it "iPod with Video". Superb (if a little small) screen, nice and bright, new slimline cases with flat front (similar to the Nano) and available in black and white.
Just quickly before I sign off, StickiT skins (as previously posted for the Nano) are also now available for the iPod Video, so head on over to ebay to get your order in now.
Everyone who buys an iPod Nano is going to want to keep it scratch free.
The trouble with putting it in a case is that you cannot see the awesome design of the Nano and it also adds to the overall size of the iPod. Well, head on over to ebay and bag yourself a StickiT.
This new product from Europe Digital (seller name on ebay europedigital) sells a thin plastic skin that covers the front, back and screen of the iPod Nano. The click wheel, top controls, dock connector and headphone socket remain fully accessible.
All for a very reasonable cost of £4.99.
The StickiT is available worldwide and looks like a very wise buy.
Very quick post here, with an iPod Nano on the way, I keep seeing forums with users giving various meanings for the word 'Nano'.
Now, I know this is not entirely correct, but I thought Mork (aka Mork & Mindy) used to call Orson (excuse the spelling) with 'Nano Nano, Mork calling Orson, come in Orson'.
Now if I was Robin Williams I would be straight onto the lawyers for a cut of Apple's profit :-)
Hello and welcome to the first posting to Geekanoids. This site has been published to bring you news and reviews of all the latest, greatest (and not so greatest) gadgets. Anything remotely resembling a gadget, console, or game will appear on these pages. Where possible, as well as the latest news, we will try to offer up some full reviews too. So here goes with a very short review of Apple's New Mighty Mouse.
Ever since the birth of Apple, users (of which I am one) have been given the choice of a one button mouse, or, errrrr, a one button mouse. PC users sneered, savvy Mac users maybe gave in and bought a two (or more) button PC mouse, and so it was written that if you wanted to use an Apple mouse you had to use your keyboard to modify the type of click.
Now with the mighty mouse, we have a choice. The top of the mouse still only has one button, which is made up of the complete top of the mouse. There is also what I would describe as a nipple, which acts as a all-way scroll ball.
Back to the buttons, well this is the clever bit. The top of the mouse is touch sensitive, so depending on which finger pushes the button down, this determines if you get a left or right mouse click. In theory and in the main this works very well, but if you do one left click and then a right click (without slightly lifting your left finger first) the mouse actually gets it wrong. This is because it thinks you are still holding the left mouse button down.
The nipple works very well and allows for vertical, horiztonal and DIAGONAL scrolling, it is superb, and the mouse even emits a small clicking ratchet type noise from its' speaker. Yes, you heard me correctly, Apple's new Mighty Mouse has a mini piezo speaker built into it. Superb or what !?!
Finally, there is also two side buttons on the mouse. The unfortunate part is that do not work independently, they act as one button, which can be assigned various functions.
Overall thought, the Mighty Mouse is a giant leap forward, it feels great, very smooth, and with a few software tweaks, I am certain it will be a real winner. Buy this item with confidence, but put aside a little time to adjust to it.
