Mac, News/Rumors

Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock for Mac is finally here

The Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock, a docking station, which lets you use a single connection to create high-speed, reliable transfers between your laptop and up to eight other devices, is now available for purchase for $299. It should be noted, that firstly it was announced in January of 2012, more than a year after the Mac accessory was unveiled. At the time, the company said the accessory would become available last September, but it wasn’t launched then. With Thunderbolt Express Dock, all your drives, networking, input and output devices connect to the 8 ports on the back.

In short, eight cables become one cable with Thunderbolt Express Dock. It provides the user with the high speed, that allows to download a film in a short time. Taking your laptop when you go, and bringing it home when you return means connecting with only one cable. Thus, everything is faster, easier and better! The hardware has been upgraded to include three USB 3.0 ports. The firstly announced hardware featured USB 2.0 ports running at slower speeds. Can a single cable really handle all that I/O? Yes, but it’s difficult to beleive until you see Thunderbolt Express Dock with our eyes.

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The BelkinThunderbolt Express Dock includes:

  • One Firewire 800 port
  • One Thunderbolt port for daisy-chaining up to five additional Thunderbolt devices
  • One 3.5 millimeter headphone output jack
  • One 3.5 millimeter audio input jack
  • Three USB 3.0 ports with max data transfer of 2.5Gbps
  • Cable management channel
  • One Gigabit Ethernet port

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Apple, Mac, News/Rumors

Tim Cook about iMac “significant shortage”.

During the Q&A portion of today’s earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked about the number of product releases in the fall of 2012 and whether he wished Apple had done things differently.
Cook said:” Looking back, I would have delayed the release of the new iMac until 2013 to avoid some of the the delays that many customers experienced after ordering a new Mac. I don’t spend a lot of time looking back except to learn from it. If we could run it over, I’d announce the iMac after the turn of the year. We felt customers had to wait too long for that specific product.”
The problem is Apple’s new iMacs experienced significant delays in shipping, due to the thinness of the machine. The displays required a new manufacturing process along with advanced welding techniques, causing some customers to wait for weeks before receiving their orders. During Apple’s Q1 earnings call, Tim Cook admitted that the iMac was constrained for the entire quarter, resulting in a “significant shortage”.

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Mac, News/Rumors

Apple offers iMacs with built-in VESA Mount Adapter

Apple recently updated its online store to reflect availability of a new VESA mount-compatible iMac, with the tweaked version of the thin all-in-one costing in at $40 more than standard models.
First spotted by German Apple blog iFun, the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) compatibility is likely to be a welcome addition for users who are already invested in the mounting standard.

When Apple first announced the redesigned iMac in October, it was discovered that unlike previous models, the new machines could not be used with standard VESA mounts. In response to feedback from users disappointed in the change, Apple said it was taking the idea of adding the capability into consideration, but offered no concrete details as to when a solution would be made available.

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“The iMac with Built-in VESA Mount Adapter is ready to pair with your favorite VESA-compatible wall mount, desk mount, or articulating arm (sold separately). This iMac doesn’t include a stand, so a mount is required. If you don’t already have a mount, you can purchase one when you configure your iMac.”

The VESA models are not highly advertised on Apple’s Online Store, and are nowhere to be seen on the main product page, though a link at the bottom of the iMac configuration tool will take customers to a webpage dedicated to the new versions.

Apple is charging a $40 premium for the ability to use VESA mounts with the iMac. The special configuration is on sale now with shipping estimates starting at 7 to 10 days.

Mac, News/Rumors

MacBook Pro beats Windows 8 laptops in Battery life Test

The 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro beat 18 Windows 8 laptops in a battery-life test conducted by Which?, the UK consumer test organization with a reputation for the most detailed testing in the industry.

In the web-browsing test where most laptops performed best, the Acer Aspire M5-581T was the longest-lasting Windows 8 machine at 358 minutes, while the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro lasted 30 minutes longer. The Which? test was primarily aimed at comparing Windows 8 machines, but they included two non-Windows machines as a contrast. The MacBook Pro topped the list, while a Samsung Series 3 Chromebook came out in the middle of the pack at 224 minutes.

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The longest running Windows 8 laptop for web browsing is the Acer Aspire timeline Ultra M5-581T – a 15.6″ screen, 2.1kg ultrabook. It lasted almost six hours on battery – enough to get you to from London to Middlesbrough and back – and fell 30 minutes shy of the battery life of the 13″ Apple Macbook Pro Retina, but costs around £500 less.

If you switch to watching movies from the Acer’s hard disk, you’d get four hours and 37 minutes of movie viewing time – a little over an hour less than the Macbook. Similar to Consumer Reports in the United States, Which? is known for scientific approach and detail in its testing. For example, product testers hook up laptops to lab gear to measure power consumption, use thermal imaging systems to measure heat and use light-measurement kits to test screen brightness. PC manufacturers still have a long way to run to match the MacBook Pro.

Mac, News/Rumors

MacBook Pros fan speed issue

Apple’s newly refreshed MacBook Pro models with Retina displays may be affected by an issue that causes the cooling fan speed to unexpectedly spike, users say. Apparent problems with the latest Retina MacBook Pros were first highlighted this week by Geek.com. Users have also taken to a growing thread at the Apple Support Communities forum, where numerous Retina MacBook Pro owners say their system’s fan will unexpectedly spin up to full speed while doing basic tasks, then will return to normal.

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The user who started the thread, “jamezmbp,” said they attempted to reset their computer, repair disk permissions, and even ran an Apple Hardware Test, all of which did not resolve the problem.

“It could be something to do with the SSD, as when I am making file transfers the fans kick up, without the temps increasing,” they wrote in one post. “The fans also kick up at other times, but I’ve noticed it when making file transfers also.”

YouTube user “oyinko” believes the issue may lie with the new Sandisk solid-state drive being used by Apple in its latest MacBook Pros. Apple made the switch from SSDs built by rival Samsung to Sandisk, and the change may have caused a conflict in fan management.

Those posting at Apple’s official support forums say they believe the problem could be fixed with a software update. However, customers have had varying success obtaining information from Apple support officials, and some have received replacement hardware in an effort to address the issue. Apple surprised last month when it refreshed its MacBook Pro with Retina display models with slightly faster processors and lower prices. The new models are between 3 and 5 percent faster than their predecessors, but are priced up to $200 cheaper.

Mac, News/Rumors

Futuristic MacBook with disappearing keyboard

“The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 39 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today,” Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple. Purcher reports, “Apple’s patent filing describes a futuristic non-physical MacBook keyboard that only appears when the the user waves their hand over the keyboard area.

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Depending upon the particular electronic device, the manner in which the housing input mechanism is incorporated into the housing may vary. Alternatively, a user may be able to interact with the housing input mechanism without actually making physical contact with the electronic device. For example, in the context of FIG. 9, if the housing input mechanism 100 is used in place of the traditional keyboard of the notebook computer, then pressure waves that may arise from a user waving his hand over the keyboard may provide the user interaction, e.g., waking up the notebook computer 22 from a sleep state.
But this is where it really gets wild. Apple’s patent filing describes a futuristic non-physical MacBook keyboard that only appears when the the user waves their hand over the keyboard area: This ability may allow the housing input mechanism 600 to be implemented as a hidden keyboard, where the illumination devices are illuminated when the user waves his hand over the housing to cause the keys to appear.’”
Embodiments of electronic devices are disclosed that allow a user to interact with an electronic device through their housings. More specifically, in some embodiments, the electronic devices may include one or more input-output (I/O) devices that are integrated into the surface of the housing rather than within the housing. That is, the housing may be part of the I/O system as well as the structural enclosure for the electronic device.

With regard to inputting data via the housing, the housing may include one or more sensors that are capable of detecting a variety of user actions as input to the electronic device. In other words, the housing itself may be used as an input device such that user actions like approaching, touching, tapping, holding, and/or squeezing the electronic device, may be used as input data by the electronic device. In some embodiments, the sensors in the housing also may be combined with one or more additional sensing devices to enhance the housing’s ability to sense user actions. For example, the sensors in the housing may be used in conjunction with an accelerometer.

While conventional housings for electronic devices may be manufactured using different types of plastics, an increasing number of housings are being implemented where the housing is manufactured, in whole or in part, using metal.

Conventional approaches have had difficulty sensing user interaction through metal, especially when the sensors are implemented using capacitive sensing technologies. In some embodiments, the difficulties associated with capacitive sensing may be overcome by forming the capacitive sensor using the housing as a first terminal of the capacitor, using another terminal located within the housing as a second terminal of the capacitor, and separating the first and second terminals to create a cavity or gap to be filled with dielectrics.

Mac, News/Rumors

Mac being a standard PC in business

In the last year, I’ve witnessed a sea change in Macs’ acceptance in business,” Galen Gruman reports for InfoWorld. “To be sure, Macs have been the standard PCs for designers, layout artists, and the like since the mid-1980s, and Silicon Valley developers adopted the Mac as the preferred dev platform years ago (because it runs Unix, Linux, and Windows, too). MacBook Airs became senior execs’ preferred status-symbol PCs a couple years ago as well.”

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The latest is Acronis’s enterprises backup tool and its newfound support this week for OS X and its Time Machine backups, letting IT integrate OS X’s native (and free) backups into an enterprisewide workflow. It’s long been easier to back up Macs than PC, locally via an optionally encrypted backup drive or department ally via OS X Server. Now Macs can be backed up at enterprise scale.
It’s not just Acronis. Because OS X Lion and Mountain Lion use the same management API as iOS, mobile management vendors AirWatch and MobileIron have been able to extend their mobile device management (MDM) tools to Macs. Thus, IT can manage everything from app permissions to encryption and password requirements using the tools they already have for iPhones and other mobile devices.
There are also Mac management plug-ins for Microsoft’s System Center PC management server from JAMF and Dell (Quest), as well as multipatform management tools from Centrify, Dell (Kace), LANDesk, and Symantec (Altiris).
“But for bread-and-butter computing, it has been a Windows-only world. Those creative, dev, and exec Macs were the ‘other’ handled outside the normal IT processes,” Gruman reports. “That’s changing — fast. Gartner says IT will consider Macs to be as valid as Windows PCs next year. The tools to enable that are already coming.”
Gruman reports, “The latest is Acronis’s enterprises backup tool and its newfound support this week for OS X and its Time Machine backups, letting IT integrate OS X’s native (and free) backups into an enterprisewide workflow. It’s long been easier to back up Macs than PC, locally via an optionally encrypted backup drive or department ally via OS X Server. Now Macs can be backed up at enterprise scale.”

Mac, News/Rumors

U.S. Mac sales go up by 31%

Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray believes domestic Mac sales saw such a significant spike in January because Apple likely satisfied some of the overwhelming demand the company had seen for its redesigned iMac in the December quarter. Munster attributes the strong performance to Apple finally being able to roll out orders of the new iMac, even as the company remains significantly constrained with multi-week waits for new orders through its online stores. Apple announced the new iMac in late October of last year, but did not begin taking orders until the end of the November with the larger 27-inch models not arriving until several weeks later.

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“We have analyzed domestic NPD retail data for the month of January which suggests Mac sales were up 31% y/y through the first month of the March quarter. We believe the reason for the significant improvement in the sales data is primarily due to Apple catching up with iMac supply, which the company noted to be constrained in the December quarter. CEO Tim Cook noted that iMac sales were down 700k units y/y in December (we note iMac sales are likely far less impacted by iPad, thus the vast majority of the y/ y unit decline is likely supply).”
The latest NPD data also revealed that iPod sales were up 3 percent year over year domestically in the month of January. Munster’s current projections call for total iPod sales in the March quarter to be down 17 percent. He cautioned that even if iPod sales did surprise to the upside in the quarter,it would mean less than 1 percent upside to Apple’s overall numbers.

Mac, News/Rumors

iPhone 5’s Touch Display Technology rumored to be implemented on Mac

Apple’s In-Cell display patent application has come to light. Yet perhaps the real story here is that Apple has clearly stated that this technology could apply to Macs and went out of their way to list the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and even a future iMac. So contrary to Tim Cook’s adamant position that Apple has no interest in creating a hybrid MacBook-iPad variant whatsoever, today’s patent filing shows that Apple’s engineers were obviously given different instructions that contradict Apple’s “marketing position.” If the new Ultrabook Convertible segment becomes a run-away hit over the next 24 months, it’s clear that Apple has a backup plan, just like they did when the 7″ tablet segment proved to be the consumer’s sweet spot. I personally have my fingers crossed that Apple will surprise us on this front sooner rather than later.

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Embodiments found in Apple’s patent application/invention relate to liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and electronic devices incorporating LCDs that employ in-cell and/or on-cell touch sensor components, such as black matrix material within and/or above display pixel cells. Specifically, rather than employ a separate, overlaid touch sensor panel over an LCD panel, embodiments of the present disclosure may incorporate integrated touch sensor components in-cell within display pixel cells of the LCD or on-cell above the display pixel cells. Among other things, these touch sensor components may include a conductive portion of in-cell black matrix, which also may shield light from one pixel from bleeding into another pixel. By way of example, an electronic display may include a lower substrate, an upper substrate, and a black matrix material that shields light between pixels of the electronic display. At least a portion of the black matrix material may form all or part of a component of a touch sensor of the electronic display. Various in-cell layers and/or other structures may form these in-cell touch sensor components. These in-cell touch sensor components may include integrated display panel components serving a secondary role as touch sensor components.

Apple, Mac, News/Rumors

Culprits on recent Apple security breach

A few days ago, Apple was targeted by the same hackers who breached the security measures of Facebook. The hackers infected some of the company’s computers with malware through Java vulnerability. “Apple Inc. computers were attacked by the same hackers [since traced to China] who targeted Facebook Inc, but no data appeared to have been stolen, the company said on Tuesday in an unprecedented admission of a widespread cyber-security breach,” Jim Finkle and Joseph Menn report for Reuters. Reuters noted the increased tensions between Washington D.C. and Beijing, China, drawing a link between the White House’s concerns with Chinese cyber-theft and the recent spate of attacks on U.S. computers.

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The malware was traced to one website namely iPhoneDevSKD.com. People are advised not to visit the site for it may still be compromised. The site welcomes those involved in mobile technology but also organizations interested in mobile. These latest attacks are not an isolated case and it was no just the OS X being targeted. Earlier this month, Twitter was also hacked followed by attacks on the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

The Reuters source said that “this is the first really big attack on Macs,” and that “Apple has more on its hands than the attack on itself.” Apple said in its statement that it’s working with Johnny Law to bring the hackers to justice. Before these attacks, Mac computers are known to be far more secure than its Windows PCs counterpart. With the current attacks, the golden age of Mac has just ended.