Appletell

Backlight producer Kenmos Technology, the company that makes the LED backlit displays for Apple’s MacBooks, will now have their technology in every MacBook by 2009.  This technology not only helps save battery life, but is better for the environment as it rids of the mercury in older displays.  These advantages don’t come for a price in performance as they offer the same brightness and color range as older displays while not even needing time to warm up.  It’s great to see Apple, as well as other technology companies, moving to help the environment.

You can find all of the ways Apple is becoming more “green” over at their environment page on their website.  There you can find tons of interesting facts about what they are doing to help.  For example, did you know that “Apple reduced packaging for many software titles by more than 50% in 2006 — eliminating hundreds of thousands of pounds of packaging waste”?  Great job, Apple, and keep up the good work.  We love it when environmentalists are happy with our favorite fruitful company!

If that brief news tidbits coming from Commercial Times of Taiwan is any indication of what may come for the MacBooks, we may well be looking at a new MacBook model soon. According to the report, AU Optronics (AUO) and Chi Mei Optoeletronics are splitting up their orders of LCD panels from Apple. Those LCD panels are apparently for Apple’s “new MacBook consumer notebook PCs.”

The report also mentioned that the said new MacBooks are slated for release in the third quarter of 2008 and are expected to shoot up MacBook shipments this year by around 3 million units.

I know this may not be enough reason to get excited about a new MacBook, especially since we haven’t heard any slight hint coming from Apple about this the past few days. Aside from the fact that Apple has been busy prepping up the rumored release of a 3G iPhone. But if ever a new MacBook will come out later this year, I wonder how Apple will brand it this time? MacWind?

Via [Digitimes]

In what is perhaps the coolest thing I have ever seen, Troika has created a “virus” for Mac, though its status as a virus is debatable. It lives on a USB key, and you have to have physical access to the computer to install it. The virus was created in an attempt to get back to the tme when viruses were just amusing little programs run to make the user chuckle. Nowadays, viruses are used for malicious intent, but back in the advent of the personal computer, “viruses [were] born out of the wit of early computer adopters, viruses whose sole purpose was to surprise and amuse.”

Troika says that they “chose to do it for mac as the platform is still a virgin territory.” If this is what Mac viruses will look like, I will download and install every suspicious looking thing that comes my way. The “virus” causes the menu bar to crack in half and fall, along with all desktop icons, to the bottom of the screen. Then, by turning the computer around, the icons and menu bar halves respond just as they would if they were really in a box.

The only problem? You can’t actually get it. If anyone can figure out how to get this, please comment. I want it really badly. Now, to see it in action, look after the break.

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Late Tuesday night, in an interview with Forbes.com, an Apple spokesman shed some light on their recent acquisition of PA Semi, a small PowerPC computer chip manufacturer.  This buy out is a very interesting one indeed, as Apple ditched PA Semi’s PWRficient processors for Intel’s x86 design back in 2005.  Steve Jobs’ reasoning behind the move was although PWRficient was, you guessed it, very energy efficient, it had no where near the processing power Apple was looking for.  This purchase is also a huge blow to Intel, as Apple was one of their biggest customers.  With the recent acquisition, Intel’s recently released Atom chip, which was targeted at the iPhone, may take a back seat to the versatile PWRficient chips.  The adapted PWRficient chips could be used in every from a MacBook Pro to an iPod Nano, and Apple prefers to get everything from the inside- no third parties are best.

The decision to center the iPhone design around a chip that Apple could own marks a significant strategic choice by Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs, and is aimed at ensuring Apple can continue to differentiate its flagship phone as a raft of competitors flood the market. According to a source affiliated with the chip company, Jobs and Senior Vice President Tony Fadell led the tiny group of executives who spearheaded the acquisition, which included negotiations that took place in Jobs’ home.

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According to an undisclosed Taiwanese worker at an undisclosed Taiwanese case company, Apple is planning on a redesigned case for their MacBooks.  On a Taiwanese Apple forum, the worker wrote about Apple’s recent order for Aluminum casing for the MacBook.  Citing a non-disclosure agreement, he refused to answer further questions about the order.  This move to anodized aluminum cases would unify the entire Macintosh computer line, with everything from iMacs to MacBook Airs in sleek aluminum coverings.  When talking about a partial redesign of the Apple computer line, Appleinsider writer Kasper Jade reports that “13-inch consumer MacBooks will undergo the most significant metamorphosis, shedding their plastic enclosures for ones constructed from more eco-friendly materials such as aircraft-grade aluminum and stainless steel, people familiar with the matter say.” Some of the other possible changes to the line up include thinner computers across the board.  All of these changes are highly anticipated, as the MacBook and MacBook pro have looked the same and have been built the same since 2006.  It will hopefully be coming soon, as Apple’s average design cycle (18-24 months) is up for the MacBook and MacBook Pro.

Via [Appleinsider]

The problem that has plagued me personally, and seemingly evaporated, has finally been acknowledged by Apple. Graphical “tearing” when scrolling webpages and flickering when watching video seems to be rather common place on new MacBooks and MacBook Pros. Apple has said that they know about it and are looking into it.

The issue does not render the computer unusable, just annoying for watching videos. Scrolling through webpages or emails in Apple Mail gets you distorted pages as seen above. YouTube video especially shows large white bands that flash up for less than a second, then flash again, making for an annoying experience.

One user got back a reply: “Apple has received reports similar to the behavior you are describing and we are investigating those reports. Further information will come in the form of a Knowledge Base article, Software Update, or Software Release.” The fix may come in Mac OS X 10.5.3, seemingly coming soon.

Via [Ars Technica]

According to Reuter’s, a recent jump in MacBook sales has done Apple a little good.  J.P. Morgan Securities predicts a fairly sizable rise in Second Quarter profit, along with 2008 profit.  After an eighty dollar drop in value between December 28th and February 22nd, and the subsequent slow rise in price, this is good news for Apple and its shareholders. 

Apple reports that, yes, they have had a spike in MacBook sales, with Apple increasing its estimates from 1.97 million units shipped to 2.11 million.  Although this part is good for Apple, they have also said that their focus on the MacBook and the huge amounts of shipments has lessened sales of the iPod and iPhone.  Although ATT and Apple deny it, Munsters, among other people, believe that the decrease in iPhone inventory points to the imminent release of the highly anticipated 3G iPhone. 

Here’s another rumor to add to the June speculation - not only will 3G iPhones be supposedly released, but Apple will apparently redesign their notebook line. If you take a look at the MacBook and MacBook Pro - their designs have been around for quite some time now. The MacBook Pro even shares an almost identical design to that of the PowerBook G4. According to AppleInsider’s sources, brand-new redesigned MacBooks and MacBook Pros will be released in the third quarter of this year. The newly designed notebooks will sport the same sized enclosures as the current models: 13-inch MacBooks, and 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pros. MacBook Pros are expected to use Intel’s Montevina chips that are being released in June. The new designs will most likely be inspired by the current iMacs and the MacBook Air.

Via [AppleInsider]

Apple, we know you want this gaming market. You showed us numerous iPhone game demos and now have over 20 games for the iPod, but what about the MacBook and computer?

Apple has sold about 5.7 million laptops since the beginning of 2007. MacWorld predicts that a large percentage of the total are MacBooks. More games are appearing on the Mac and when games come to the iPhone with the SDK in June, do you want the halo effect? If the games on the iPhone and iPod Touch are really as good and better when iPhone 2.0 comes out it will be a huge hit in the gaming market. Users may then buy Macs, and will be disappointed, especially with the MacBook. The Mac Mini, MacBook and Macbook Air’s GPU, Graphic Processing Unit, memory is shared with the rest of the system. Integrated graphics on these computers keep them thinner, the weight and price lower - but also the performance. An upgrade to the hardware would definitely help and keep developers happy. Peter Cohen writes that “they’ve moaned and groaned about the system’s inability to run the games they’ve developed or have in the works.”

Will Apple be mainly focusing on iPhone and iPod Touch for gaming?

Via [MacWorld]

Corsair is well-known for its high-performance memory for PCs. It has just released an exclusive new model of RAM, designed for the MacBook and MacBook Pro. Corsair claims that this memory can make your MacBook or MacBook Pro up to 28% faster - because it uses a special SPD (serial presence detect) that enables Macs to self-configure for better performance.  The memory has been tested in programs such as XBench, Photoshop and VMware Fusion - all of which are ram-hungry applications.

It surprised me that the RAM is only clocked at 667MHz, but I guess that’s the highest MacBooks and MacBook Pros can take. It’s currently only available in one version: 4GB. You can purchase it from Corsair’s website.

Via [MacNN]