I’ve been a good customer for 25 years, I have written columns, magazine articles, and thousands of blog posts about Apple computers and Apple software. Yet Apple won’t make the computer that I need right now.
I haven’t done it yet, but Apple is forcing me to buy a PC netbook.
Let me explain a bit, I am a professional writer, photographer and internet consultant. I travel all the time and even when I am not traveling, I am on the run. For many years now I have been using Apple laptops as my main computers. As a matter of fact, I am not planning to stop using them, but I also need a computer that can fit into my camera bag without giving me a hernia.
My main computer is a 17-inch MacBook Pro and I don’t mind carrying it on airplanes and to important business meetings, but once I am out in the field doing photography and researching a story, I need something smaller (a lot smaller, a lot lighter and a lot less expensive).
For several years now I have been waiting for Apple to come out with a new sub-compact laptop and I actually believed that it was going to happen this week. Well we got fooled again, as I predicted months ago Apple came out with a uni-body plastic MacBook, but it didn’t get smaller or lighter at all. All it is is the old plastic MacBook with the edges filed down into a smooth curve. And to rub salt into the wound, they kept the price at $999.
I don’t want to imply that there is an Apple conspiracy against “what George wants”, but it sure is starting to look that way.
So does anyone know of a good skin that I can apply to an HP Mini, which will make it look like a MacBook Air.
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Apple Updates MacBook With LED-Backlit Display, Multi-Touch Trackpad & Built-in Seven-Hour Battery
CUPERTINO, California—October 20, 2009—Apple® today updated its popular MacBook® with a new, durable polycarbonate unibody design featuring a brilliant LED-backlit display, a glass Multi-Touch™ trackpad and Apple’s innovative built-in battery for up to seven hours of battery life. Inheriting technology and design features from the MacBook Pro line, the new MacBook is an ideal consumer notebook for students and new Mac® users, and is available for $999.
“The new MacBook includes many of the great features found on the innovative MacBook Pro, such as an LED-backlit display, glass Multi-Touch trackpad and built-in long-life battery,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With the only lineup of notebooks all featuring unibody enclosures, LED-backlit displays and long-life battery technology, there’s never been a better time to switch to a Mac.”
The new MacBook features a unibody, polycarbonate enclosure that makes it lighter and more durable. The new design includes a unique non-skid bottom surface and at just 4.7 pounds, the sleek MacBook slides easily into a backpack or briefcase. MacBook comes standard with a bright, LED-backlit display with the same wide-angle viewing technology used in the MacBook Pro line. The new MacBook has a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and powerful NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics.
The new MacBook includes Apple’s innovative built-in notebook battery for up to seven hours of wireless productivity on a single charge, and up to 1,000 recharges.* At nearly three times the lifespan of conventional notebook batteries, Apple’s built-in battery results in fewer depleted batteries and less waste. Depleted batteries can be replaced for $129, which includes installation and environmentally responsible disposal of your old battery.
The energy-efficient MacBook joins the industry’s greenest lineup of notebooks, with every Mac notebook achieving EPEAT Gold** status and meeting Energy Star 5.0 requirements. The entire Mac notebook line now comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Mac notebooks contain no brominated flame retardants, use internal cables and components that are PVC-free and are constructed of recyclable materials.
Every Mac comes with Mac OS® X Snow Leopard®, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife®, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife features iPhoto®, to easily organize and manage photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use new features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand® which introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar.
Pricing & Availability
The new MacBook is available immediately through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.
The new MacBook, for a suggested retail price of $999 (US), includes:
* 13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display;
* 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;
* 1066 MHz front-side bus;
* 2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
* NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
* 250 GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
* a slot-load 8X SuperDrive® with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
* Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
* built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
* Gigabit Ethernet port;
* built-in iSight® video camera;
* two USB 2.0 ports;
* one audio line in/out port, supporting optical digital out and analog in/out;
* glass Multi-Touch trackpad;
* built-in, 60WHr lithium polymer battery; and
* 60 Watt MagSafe® Power Adapter.
Build-to-order options for the MacBook include the ability to upgrade to 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, or 320GB 5400 rpm, 500GB 5400 rpm hard drive, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan.
*A properly maintained MacBook battery is designed to retain 80 percent or more of its original capacity during a lifespan of up to 1,000 recharge cycles. Battery life and charge cycles vary by use and settings. For more information visit www.apple.com/macbook/features.html.
**EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.
