Filed under: Analysis / Opinion , Hardware , OS , Software , Apple It’s a common theory that Apple is a “hardware company” not a “software company.” What does that mean? Doesn’t it actually sell both ? The idea is that Apple uses software to push more hardware sales. If Apple was a software company, you wouldn’t see the fantastic and very useful iLife bundle of applications included for free on every new Mac , including the el-cheapo Mini . Instead, they might decide to charge $99 for it, or worse, break it up into pieces and distribute it as separate packages, each with its own price. Snow Leopard’s price also seems to support this theory, especially when contrasted to Microsoft’s pricing model. Any “dot-oh” operating system upgrade priced at $29 is simply amazing. And given the fact that you can upgrade a whole home or small office full of Macs for less than the price of an Xbox 360 game…well, that’s just a special kind of awesome. The main OS competitor, however, has graciously offered its upgrade, similar in “just fixing stuff and making it run better” nature to Apple’s update, at the low, low price of $129. Ouch! At least you can save a substantial amount by buying Microsoft’s family pack at a tick under 150 bucks, but that discount will only get you three copies instead of Apple’s five. And it’s still three times the price of Snow Leopard’s bundle! But I realized something interesting about the whole “hardware company vs. software company” argument. As a Mac convert, I’ve noticed that I think quite a bit less about the hardware than I do the software. In the PC world I still live in, we talk about processor benchmarks, motherboard options, frontside bus speeds, and other Ambien replacements. However, when I talk Mac, I’m often concerned much more with the software it’s running, what OS version is installed, and where I can find a free app to do what I need

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What Apple fan of small-and-light computing doesn’t remember that Macworld Expo Keynote? The one where, uncovering Apple’s then-latest laptop and holding it aloft, Steve Jobs declared it “the smallest full-featured notebook in the world.” By the self-satisfied smile on his face, you knew Apple was back in the ultra-portable market for good. Two years and change later, it was canceled. That would be the 12” PowerBook G4 of 2003 that met its demise in 2005, but what happened then seems eerily familiar in 2009. Since the manila-envelope unveiling at Macworld Expo 2008, the MacBook Air has gotten less Apple Event love than the time it takes Yael Naïm to sing “New Soul.” Phil Schiller spent about 30 seconds detailing a spec bump and a price drop at WWDC 2009, the same event at which the MacBook Pros saw major redesign. It was that seeming indifference to the Air that led me to ponder the history of the smallest PowerBook in relation to the fate of the thinnest MacBook.  Comparative Updates: 12" PowerBook G4 vs.

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Our old 700 MHz iBook G3 passed away quietly on Saturday evening. My wife had used it to check her email that morning, and all had seemed well, but when she tried to wake it for a late-night check just before retiring, it refused to respond. Over the next several hours I tried every method of resuscitation I could think of, plus some more than I looked up on the Internet, but no joy. The screen remained black; No start-up chime; no hard drive sound; indeed no sign of life at all other than a hum (normal) from the power manager when the AC adapter was plugged in. I tried the reset sequence for this model (Control + Option + Shift + Power) several times, also reset the PRAM, tried removing the battery and unplugging the power adapter and letting the machine sit for several hours, and eventually overnight. Nada. Perhaps a motherboard failure. I’m doubtful that the problem is the hard drive, since the screen remains dead. Evidently, this sort of failure is not unheard of, or even terribly uncommon with the G3 iBook, which was not one of Apple’s better efforts in terms of OS reliability, and this one being past its sixth anniversary in service was probably overdue, although up to now it had been a trouble-free machine. I bought the iBook — the first iteration of the “opaque white” dual USB model, on the last day of 2002, just under the wire for a tax deduction on that year. I was very happy with it. I loved the look and size, interestingly quite similar in the squared-off lines and footprint dimensions to my first Apple laptop, a PowerBook 5300, although much thinner and lighter in weight. I also loved the bright, razor-sharp 12.1-inch display with its tight pixel density (for the time). On the other hand, I’ve never much cared for the keyboard or trackpad — the former having a cheap and clunky feel, and the latter being exceptionally “jumpy” and hypersensitive. Neither was a problem for this iBook’s primary role during the first three years of my ownership, during which it served me faithfully and well as my production workhorse, sitting on a laptop stand and connected to an external keyboard and mouse

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A tip of the hat to fellow TheAppleBlog contributor Clayton Lai in his recent column NVIDIA Killed My 2007 MacBook Pro , and the people who commented with similar tales of premature hardware failure woe, for finally convincing me to cross the late 2008 MacBook Pro off my short list of candidates for my next system upgrade. Clayton’s ‘Book fell victim to what evidently is a not uncommon defect in the NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT graphics processor units in May 2007 and Early 2008 revisions of the MacBook Pro, combined with a simultaneous hard disk issue which rendered the machine unbootable. The good news is that Apple came through with a repair that involved replacing the entire logic board under a recently announced extended service program for these models even though Clayton’s computer was out of warranty. The bad news is that it seems many owners of these MacBook Pro models are experiencing similar difficulties to such a degree of frequency that Apple announced in October: “In July 2008, NVIDIA publicly acknowledged a higher than normal failure rate for some of their graphics processors due to a packaging defect. At that same time, NVIDIA assured Apple that Mac computers with these graphics processors were not affected. However, after an Apple-led investigation, Apple has determined that some MacBook Pro computers with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor may be affected. If the NVIDIA graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has failed, or fails within two years of the original date of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty.” Apple and NVIDIA stepping up and taking some responsibility for this defect is a good thing as far as it goes, but it almost certainly does not go far enough. There seems not much probable cause to believe that (a) this problem will not eventually afflict most examples of those MacBook Pro models if they are used long enough, and (b) that once repaired there’s any guarantee of the issue not repeating itself after the two-year extended service eligibility or even three years of maximum AppleCare extended warranty coverage. I expect my computers to provide reliable service much longer than two or three years. My present main workhorse Mac is a model originally debuting in September 2003, and I have a couple of more than eight year old Pismo PowerBooks in daily service as well, none of which have ever been troubled with hardware defects. With devices costing as much as Apple notebooks do, one should expect nothing less.

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DON’T try this at home — unless “home” is somewhere in the Mekong Delta. Some enterprising iPhone hackers based in, of all places, good ol’ Vietnam have mastered the art of unlocking your handset.  And not by software methods, either — that’s for running-dog imperialist lackeys!  No, they prefer a hardware -based approach… The process involves opening up the iPhone case and extracting the baseband chip (which controls the connection between the phone and the mobile network) from the motherboard. Disregard the fact that said chip is glued to the motherboard, and removing it incorrectly would turn your iPhone into an iPaperweight… Next, the chip code is read into a hex editor.  The locking data is removed, and the revised code is programmed back into the chip.  Finally, the chip is reattached to the motherboard and the phone is put back together.  Seamlessly, I might add.  (Then again, those black-pajama-clad Cong always could sneak into and out of places without detection to do their dirty work…) The cost for this unique procedure?  1.5 million Vietnamese dong.  Get your mind out of the gutter, that’s the local currency — and at present exchange rates, about eighty bucks Yankee. [Via BoingBoing ]

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Emoji .  They’re the bastard offspring of Pokemon and Hello Kitty: graphic emoticons that are all the rage amongst the Land of the Rising Sun’s tween population.  And for the longest time — possibly for good reason — Japanese iPhones didn’t offer Emoji support.  Well, that’s not entirely true: it was included in the iPhone 2.2 firmware on the SoftBank network, but not for anyone else. Turns out a simple patching process will give you access to something on the order of a gazillion Emoji emoticons: You need to edit the file /User/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Preferences.plist on the device -> whether you use a jailbreak to achieve this or merely some iTunes backup editor is up to you. Add the following boolean key as ‘true’: KeyboardEmojiEverywhere Then merely go to the Keyboards section of the Settings app, hit Japanese, and turn on Emoji. Will work for any text field/view in the OS, including on websites, AND including the titles of items on SpringBoard (e.g. if you save a bookmark to the home screen). The easiest way to do with will probably be to run your iPhone as an SFTP server, which is as easy as installing a package or two on your jailbroken phone.

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The Apple Mac is one of the most famous and easily recognizable personal computers ever manufactured. In this “Cracking open” photo gallery, TechRepublic examined just what went into a Mac Classic–and what technology was like in 1991.

Lets go!
Photos by CNET Networks/Mark Kaelin, caption text by Mark Kaelin.

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion , Rumors , Apple , Mac mini A distraught Mac mini fan (it wasn’t me, though I would be distraught to hear that the mini was really, truly dead — which it isn’t yet) apparently called Apple to get the story on the little computer that could, and apparently was told to “be patient.” If you believe AppleInsider’s interview of an unnamed guy who claims to have spoken to an unspecified Apple representative who may have overheard some unclear plans for an unspoken time in the future, then the Mac mini may be getting a revamp soon. Still, a little something (whatever it means) is better than nothing — the mini hasn’t seen an update or even been mentioned by Apple since last year . Part of me just kind of wants to leave it all alone — maybe if Apple forgets they’re even still selling the mini, they won’t ever kill it. But I guess if an upgrade is coming, that’s good news, too. Apple to mini fans: “Be patient.” originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Apple to mini fans: “Be patient.” originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:00:00 EST.

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Section: Apple News , Rumors , iPod + iTunes , iPod Family , iPhone + Communications , iPhone , Mac + Computers , Desktops , iMac , Mac mini , Mac Pro , Peripherals , Keyboards , Mice Everyone who was holding their breath for a new Mac Mini , iMac, Mac Pro or Apple TV (myself included), can stop. Bill Evans, an Apple spokesman, killed the rumors, and possibly our hopes and dreams along with them. “Our holiday line-up is set,” Apple spokesman Bill Evans told Macworld. And just like that, all the rumors are smashed. No November 10th/11th event, no new desktops, no secret netbooks, no nothing. But I’m not discouraged, and I don’t plan on wasting any time as far as rumors are concerned. All this means is that no new products or refreshes can happen earlier than 2009. So, now I ask the obvious question.  What does Apple have in store for January? Obviously, Apple has to do something about the Mac Mini. I’m very sad to hear it won’t be refreshed before next year. The product is far past due for an update, and only Apple knows why they are yet to do something about it. I think the consumers want a new Mac Mini, so I’m doubting that Apple will kill it. Not updating the iMac is a little understandable, seeing as its style already conforms to the brushed aluminum with black look. The only obvious updates are minor number bumps across the board, along with a new black-keyed keyboard. And, as for the Mighty Mouse that comes along with the iMac, I’m really not sure if Apple plans to transition away from or keep their old favorite, white plastic.

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion , Hardware , Rumors , Apple , Mac mini I think that at this point, the Mac mini has moved up into the ranks of the TRS-80 and the Apple IIe as one of my favorite computers of all time. Though it’s been rumored dead more times than disco , it’s still puttering along as the tiny little computer that could, racking up (we assume — the mini doesn’t carry with it any of the sparkle of the iPhone or the raw beauty of the MacBooks, and so Apple is relatively mum on info) enough sales to keep moving. And there might even be new life in store: Peter Cohen over at MacWorld suggests that after the recent MB and MBP updates, the mini is last in line to ditch the old Intel integrated motherboard design. Sounds great to us. The mini’s so under the radar that you wouldn’t even expect Apple to announce an upgrade for it — it just sort of slipped up to Core Duo 2 the last time it got upgraded, like a cute little baby bear following the family. And it’s a versitile little cubby, too, from taking it out to sea to turning it into a Mac Pro mini . What a great little computer. We hope that the Nvidia GeForce 9-series motherboards do find a home in there, and (more than anything else) that Apple sees fit to remember their roots and keep creative computing with the tinest Mac alive. GeForce 9-Series motherboards maybe coming to the Mini originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . GeForce 9-Series motherboards maybe coming to the Mini originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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