How the MacBook Air Stacks Up

As a recent college grad (i.e. poor), I was a little disappointed when I heard the price point for the new MacBook Air. The Air would actually be my dream laptop to supplement the iMac that sits on my desk, but at $1799, the Air seems out of reach.

It would be easy to jump to the old stereotype that Apple is over-priced (which turns out to not be true if you compare the specs), but if you compare the MacBook Air to the other ultra-light laptops it turns out to be a pretty darn good deal.

I grabbed that chart from the Apple Insider. See all that blue in the MacBook Air column? Those are features that beat out the other notebooks. Turns out the Air is high on features and low on cost. That chart doesn't change the contents of my wallet unfortunately, but I can pretty confidently call the MacBook Air a good buy and I can't wait for them to ship so I can play with one in our store.

~Ben

Unofficial: 1.1.3 Update Restores Bricked iPhones

This may be good news for you hackers out there who attempted to unlock your iPhones only to have them rendered completely useless after installing firmware updates. Several users have reported their iPhones being restored to working condition by the 1.1.3 update. From what I gather, you should take these steps:

1. Put the iPhone into recovery mode.
2. Connect the iPhone to your computer and perform a restore/update with iTunes.
3. Activate your phone with your original AT&T SIM card.
4. Restart the iPhone.

NOTES:

• I have not tested this myself as I do not have a hacked iPhone.
• The 1.1.3 update also reportedly breaks hacks that previously allowed you to install third-party apps and use the iPhone with other providers.
• Apple does not officially state that the update will unbrick a hacked phone, but rather maintains that this is an unfortunate side-effect of having to rewrite the iPhone's firmware.
• Neither Apple nor the Illini Apple Center recommends breaking your EULA by hacking your iPhone in any way.

~Ben

Sources: Gizmodo, ars technia, TUAW

Another MacWorld....

... come and gone.

Big thanks to Tim for the live updates, great photos, and insiders look to the floor. Thanks ryan for being to ultimately awesome! And of course thanks Ben, and everyone else who helped make this possible.

That being said, please come back and visit! We're planning a lot more for this site in the coming [insert amount of time here]! Everything from upcoming specials and sales at the Illini Apple Center, Ask a Tech (email service@illiniapplecenter.com with questions!), tips for proper computer and Mac OS X maintenance, and fun hacks and shortcuts. We hope to be your source for both general and C-U local Apple info!

Speck

Speck is one of our favorite case vendors. They had this impressive booth full of cool new stuff. Look for more from them in our store soon.

Creative PlayDock

This is the best iPhone friendly speaker dock I found. It won't be out for about three more months, but works so perfectly with the phone that it's worth the wait. No digital static, beautiful interface, and great sound. It does great with the other dock connector ipods, too.

ModBook

By special request, here's the Axiotron ModBook, a MacBook that's been converted to a tablet with the display on top. Seems decent for people who need to draw or sketch a bunch, but I didn't like the text input on this. Because this is an aftermarket rebuild of the computer, it ends up being kind of expensive. Still, for now, it's the only Mac tablet.

Show floor from above

Melty

Here's an iMac that DriveSavers was able to recover all the files from. They had an entire room of success stories like this. We're going to be partnering with them for more difficult data recoveries, where the disk is physically damaged beyond our capabilities to deal with it.

I heart LightSpeed

This one is mostly for the staff of our store. Here I am with Dax Dasilva, the creator of LightSpeed and President of Xsilva. He even recognized my name!

My favorite accessory

For an iPhone user like me, this is the best idea ever. A headphone extender cable with a mic and button to replace the one on the included earbuds. With this, you can use any set of headphones you want and still have all the hands-free phone and remote control capabilities of the original earbuds.

Cool Sonic Impact Speaker Dock

This thing had impressively loud and clear sound, even on the noisy show floor. Plus it looks way cool.

Other Worldly

Here's one of our favorite vendors, Other World Computing. If you want anything from them, ask us. We can order, install, and support all sorts of great products from them.

Build a fort with your data

This one has been around for awhile, but it's the first time I've seen it in person. These are three hard drives stacked like Lego blocks, also from LaCie

Hub Monster!

This is one of the craziest USB hubs I've ever seen, from LaCie.

Daylight and LightSpeed

Two of my favorite high-end business Mac apps now work together. If you're interested in either Point of Sale or business grade contact management, I can guide you to the right people.

The iRack is smoking!

For everyone who loved that MadTV keynote parody, there is actually a product called an iRack. It's much less exciting than the one from the show, just a power supply for a rack of servers, but I still couldn't believe someone used that name.

See ya tomorrow!

I'm heading out to the Macworld Blast party at the Warfield now, even though I have a bunch more to post. By the time I get back, I will have been up for about 21 hours, so I'm signing off the blog until midday tomorrow to get some much needed sleep. One final post, an item we will NOT be carrying, the strangest thing I've seen all day - a miniature tent for your laptop, to protect it from the sun and elements. They really do have everything here.

MacBook Air Continued

Notice how well the power supply cable tucks in under the curved left edge. I think it's much safer there than with previous designs

MacBook Air Power Supply

Small, sleek and round, this goes very well with the laptop. Note the very sturdy neck where the cable meets the MagSafe connector

MacBook Air Demonstration Table

Dumb joke

Here's a crazy display of MacBook Airs held up by a thread...... almost like they were floating in air (get it?)

Moscone South

Yes, this thing is so big that it fills two multi-level buildings entirely. The south hall has most of the exhibit space, including the Apple Booth full of MacBook Airs and freshly updated AppleTVs, iPhones, and iPod touches.

Preview from the show floor

I only went onto the show floor for a few minutes after the Keynote, but I'll be heading back real soon to play with all the new Apple stuff in person, and scope out other great products for the store. Check back here later today for pics and updates.

Homer Pod

An iPod ad-style Homer Simpson silhouette listening to a donut with headphones behind Fox's CEO. (or is it CE d'oh?). Steve is off to the left. Next time I'll take a better camera and maybe position myself better around the video screens in order to get good Steve shots.

Reality Distortion Field is the best feeling ever

Some pics from the keynote while I collect my thoughts and upgrade my iPhone

Oops

I had anonymous comments turned off. sorry all! fixed.

I'm currently downloading the new iPhone software. I'm excited.

Just talked with Tim and h'e sback at his hotel, where he was some internets. he will be updating soon

And it's done.

No one last thing?

Oh well! the Air is awesome. According to Tim, the Reality Distortion Field is the best high ever!

And now, if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask here on come on in to the Illini Apple Center. I'll be the one drooling.

encore? (reload often! individual posts updated every few seconds)

Special Treat... guest.....

Randy Newman on stage

movie music writer

performing

Item 4: In the air

MacBook Air (!) - The world's thinnest notebook

[

MacBook

MacBook Air

MacBook Pro 

]

 (and everyone fell silent on the internet)

13 inch display, full sized keyboard

.76" to .16" back to front

hes pulling it out of a document envelope..... it's aluminum!

unrecognizable port on the right side...

magnetic latch

LED backlit 13.3 display

Built in iSight Full size backlit keyboard

and.. .Multi-touch gesture trackpad! move windows, rotate photos, pan, zoom, pinch....

Really nice! (from tim: "I called it Oren! 1.8 inches? heh")

80 GB hard drive standard, 64 GB flash optional

tiny logic board

inte core 2 duo 1.6/1.8 GHz

bottom comes off for service. look very tech friendly (yay!)

intel CEO on stage.. credits apple for inspiration for smaller core 2 duo

processor is "thick as a nickel and wide as a dime"

MagSafe on the left, with USB, micro DVI, and audio out on right

$99 external SuperDrive

don't see firewire or ethernet....

steve explaining lack of optical drive...

Remote disc to use mac or pc optical drive

can install mac software from windows optical drive.

Just install a bit of software in any mac or pc andallow the Air to take control of its optical drive and mount discs wirelessly on the air's desktop as if they were local

battery life: 5 hours

weight: 3 pounds

2gb RAM standard

802.11/n + Bluetooth

$1799

ships in 2 weeks!

Order today!

there's an envelope TV ad.... very cool

environmental: mercury and arsenic free : )

main boards are bromide and PVC free

recapping... prepping for "one more thing" encore??

remember: reload often!

Apple TV take 2! (item 3)

no computer needed.

rent directly from the TV

DVD and HD qualaity rentals with Dolby 5.1

photos from Flikr and .Mac

Buy tv shows and music on your Apple TV, and sync them back to your computer

 HD movie rentals: $3.99 and $4.99 (library / new release)

All new apple TV interface

"every HD TV needs this"

Free HD previews, built in reviews and recommendations

ready to play in seconds... demo of this... does start very fast. (of course he has a fast connection...) 

The interface is 'beautiful... must see' according to tim

Also has a podcast browser

Video, HD video, music, all streamed free and live

Apple TV uses a live photo stream from .mac or Flickr as a screen saver, or browse live, from your couch, without a computer

you can connect to your Flickr contacts and friends

oops! steve's video died!

you can buy music form your Apple TV

free software upgrade for current Apple TVs. Everything new for all Apple TV owners. Software  upgrade will come out in 2 weeks

New Price for Apple TV: $229

He's bringing the Fox chairman onstage...

more ways to watch. DVD with included iTunes content

steve's back....

item 3: iTunes

Movie rentals! from EVERYONE! even Universal! all major studios! 

Library titles and new releases! 1000 releases by the end of February. 30 seconds to start watching once you click.

Movies rented for 24 hours. you can transfer the movies between devices (!)

Prices: $2.99 for "Library"

$3.99 for new releases

30 days to start watching. once you start, you have 24 hours

you can watch them on the Mac, PC, all current gen iPods....

... and the new Apple TV take 2!

iPod touch

5 new apps for the iPod touch: mail, maps, stocks, notes, weather.

Maps uses wifi hotspots (Skyhook) for location, even on the Touch.

all these for $20 to upgrade your current iPod touch. free for all new ones

here goes!

No wireless, but I'm getting a good stream from tim via his iPhone.

Steve is on stage right now doing a recap of 2007.
He has 4 main points:
1.Leopard
been a great release. over 5 million copies
Time machine.
Companion.... Time capsule...
Airport extreme & hard disk in one
back up all your macs. 500 GB for $299 (new product!)

item the second: iPhone. 20,000 sold per day for 200 days (!)

new updates to the iPhone: you can change the location of your buttons on the home screen. you know have webclips. the SDK is coming out in february.  Maps has been updated. Your location on maps is a big improvement (I look forward to pictures of this!). You can drop a pin on any map to remember it's location.

Finally! multi-recipient SMS text messaging!

Web clips on the iPhone allows you to add up to 9 web pages (or parts of web pages) to your home screen

The leak about the "wiggle" for customizing your homescreen has been confirmed. more info later. I'll get picks or video.

Find your location automatically! iPhone uses wifi hotspots and cell towers to triangulate your location!

Chapter guides on videos, lyrics on songs, all free today, for every iPhone!

let's hope they have wireless : )

They're finally starting to seat people for the keynote. Go Tim!

Line moved inside

Latest update from the line...... everyone here seems as excited as kids about to open their presents on Christmas morning

In line

The line is actually great fun, a chance to hang out with fellow Apple lovers.... I'm on the right.

In line for the Keynote

As of 3:20AM PST I've joined the faithful in line for the Keynote. The
line is nearly a block long, and there are satellite trucks all along
the street. I've done the show floor before, but never the Keynote.
I'm very excited.

introducing: the apple razr?!

Not sure about this one, but it come's from the folks at Wired, who tend to try to publish things that are reliable. Check out their last minute rumors!

possible leaked photo, and let's remember to call tim this morning!

I'm not sure of the validity of this photo, but it's a purported leak of the new Macbook Air.
Sure looks lightweight! Let's hope Apple's release is a little more developed, however.

And let's all remember to try to call Tim tomorrow morning, so he wakes up in time to make it to the Keynote! (N.B. his alarm is set for 2:30 am PACIFIC TIME)

But don't worry if he can't make it (HE WILL!!)... a live feed from Apple Education will be differently awesome, and at least as pertinent to everyone here at the UofI.

Either way, I'll remind everyone that we will have a live chat in the store tomorrow during the keynote. If anyone has any questions they'd like to ask our man on the scene, please stop by!

'twas the night before Macworld

I finally made it down to San Francisco, checked in to the hotel, and registered for the conference. These hardy souls are already forming the beginning of the Keynote line. They warned me that if I was not in line by 4 AM that it wasn't even worth trying. That free breakfast and live feed at Apple Education sure sounds tempting, but I've had dinner, set a 2:30 wakeup call and will be in line half the night and into the morning to be sure I'm there in person.

Apple.com Update

Apple.com has just updated their website with a teaser for tomorrows keynotes. The teaser confirms the "There's something in the air" campaign, and promises to allow you to watch the keynote on their website. It is a pre-recorded - not live - keynote, however.

Rumors!

Many of you may have heard the rumors about Apple releasing an ultra-portable notebook this year at MacWorld. Well, the rumors may be born out: we had heard rumors about the new notebook being called the Macbook Air, and there's definitely something in the air!

There are a few technical considerations for an ultra-portable that have generally kept them from being too popular. I'm looking forward to seeing how Apple engineers have addressed these issues. For one, optical drive tend to take up a lot of room. Don't be surprised if it uses an external DVD-RW/CD-RW drive.

As far as making a notebook thinner, the hard drive is an important factor. The current 2.5" SATA drives used in Macbook's and Macbook Pro's force those machine's to their current depth. We know, however, that Apple has considerable experience with the 1.8" hard drives they use in their iPod classics, and the capacity of those drives just keeps getting bigger.


As for the rumors about a multi touch trackpad: I'd love to see one, but i'm not going to hold my breath.

Getting ready to head down to San Francisco

I'm getting really excited for Macworld. I've been out in California for a few weeks now, for the Rose Bowl and then visiting friends in Sonoma County.

But anyways, my vacation is over, and it's nearly time to head down to San Francisco for my helping of Apple flavored Kool-Aid. I've been reading all the rumors like everyone else (AppleInsider has the best ones, though MacRumors is good too). I'll be checking into my hotel, registering for the show, and crashing out early tonight. I've gotta be up ridiculously early to try and get into the live keynote. If that doesn't work out, I've got reservations at a live Apple Education feed and brunch, so I'll be able to relay stuff either way. I'm going to try and run a live chat with Ryan at the Illini Apple Center during the keynote, where everyone in the store can ask their questions and I'll relay as much of the experience as I can. Tuesday evening there is the Macworld Blast! party at the Warfield, a legendary venue in San Francisco that I'm very eager to see. On Wednesday afternoon there are a bunch of tech workshops and talks I'll be going to, so I'll know how to take care of all of the new stuff they'll be introducing this week. Thursday there are presentations by David Pogue and Andy Ihnatko, two of my favorite Apple-centric writers. Mixed in during every spare minute will be the enormous show floor, where they have basically every product available for Macs and iPods. I'll make sure to get all the best ones ordered as soon as I'm back in Champaign, so stop by the store over the next several weeks to check them out yourself. But first, keep checking back right here for all the latest updates!

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