Appletell

According to the Taiwan area newspaper Economic Daily News, every MacBook released in 2009 will use an LED backlight. Backlight manufacturer Kenmos Technology was Apple’s chief supplier of the more color-accurate and efficient screen hardware for 2007, and is expected to have an even more dominant role next year as Apple switches its consumer models to LED lights. Kenmos is said to be shipping as many as five times more LEDs this year, at 1.5 million, although it is not known what number of these are destined for Apple or other customers.

The Mac designer’s chief executive, Steve Jobs, has promised as part of an environmental initiative that Apple’s computer line will switch to all LEDs when possible, but hasn’t set out a specific date for the transition. Recent reports have suggested that the next revision of the MacBook will undergo a major redesign that will transform the notebook from plastic to aluminum, and should also introduce a number of other technical improvements, such as Intel’s Centrino 2 platform and accompanying Core 2 Duo processors.

Read [Gizmodo]

According to Henry Milan, owner of patent number 6,991,483, Apple is infringing on his patent for a method to connect a Flash memory device to a connection port on another device, such as a computer.  This would affect devices such as the iPod Touch and iPod Nano, but Information Week has mentioned that, surprisingly, the iPhone is not mentioned in this report although it could be added.  The lawsuit wants to receive damages for the infringement as well as an injunction against the sales of the devices.  However, the law firm, Butzel Long, is not sure whether or not they want to pursue the injunction yet.

I’m sure Apple’s lawyers are busy over in Cupertino trying to get this straightened out, and I hope the lawsuit is settled quickly and efficiently for both sides.  I find it highly unlikely that the iPods will have to stop being sold, but that’s fairly obvious.  What are you thoughts on this patent dispute?  Is Mr. Milan on to something here?

Thanks to a leaked presentation slide belonging to Intel, there is much speculation on the rumor that the iPhone may be destined to switch from its current Samsung-based roots to Intel’s Atom architecture in the near future. However, since Intel’s Atom architecture is only in its first generation, the evidence suggests that the transition will not take place until the second revision of the ultra-mobile Atom platform, code-named “Moorestown,” is released.

This would see the speculated third-generation iPhone pick up Silverthorne’s smaller, and more refined successor sometime in the future (possibly 2009), while the Silverthorne chip itself serves an initial and important role in Apple’s tablet-like extension of the iPod touch platform, frequently referenced as a reincarnation of Apple’s discontinued Newton MessagePad.

Along with many other things, the move to Intel’s Atom architecture will allow Apple to better solidify the codebase of its handheld devices with that of its remaining business segments, mainly its Macintosh computer line and digital media products, such as Apple TV. It will also serve to help Apple form a tighter shield around its intellectual property, preventing information leaking through the press and the Internet as it has many times in the past, given that the company’s disclosures and future product plans will be in the hands of one less partner.

During Intel’s Fall developer forum last year, its executives mentioned an unnamed “Moorestown” processor, describing it vaguely as the “chip the iPhone would have wanted.” Expect the future of the iPhone to be based on Intel’s Atom architecture.

As always, early adopters will find issues that Apple needs to fix - especially with new hardware. The 2008 Mac Pros were an unexpected release, as they came before the Macworld keynote. The new Mac Pros didn’t have a new casing - in fact, they look exactly the same as 2007 Mac Pros from the outside. The difference is on the inside: All the models are 8-core, and new upgrades were introduced. Everyone was pleased to see higher-end video cards like the NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT. This was a necessary move by Apple, and is the only way they are going to be able to push gaming on their platform.

The entry level card of the new Mac Pro is the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT, the same card that higher model iMacs use. A MacUser reader states: ”I called Apple and they claimed to have no reports on this, even though people already have had their machines replaced over this. This is also affecting me with a brand new 2.8 model. Users are also widely reporting problems with waking from sleep mode.” On the Apple support forums, people are complaining about this issue too. Hopefully Apple will come out with a fix for this soon. Let us know if you have a 2008 Mac Pro and are experiencing these problems by commenting.

Via [MacUser]

I replaced the RAM in my MacBook after reading about it. It’s true that Apple really do overcharge for RAM upgrades, whether it’s a build-to-order computer from the online store, or an existing computer. Buying RAM from a place like Crucial is quick, easy and cheap - and apparently Micron Technology (the parent company of Crucial) supply the RAM for Apple anyway. Upgrading the hard drive in the MacBook is pretty much the same as RAM, you just open up the battery, remove a few screws and replace the drive in the slot; although you will have to re-install Mac OS X.

MacBook Pro owner Max Millon replaced his hard drive in around 40 minutes. He used the instructions at ifixit to place a massive 320GB drive into his MacBook Pro. After watching this time-lapse video, you will understand how to go through this process yourself. It’s definitely a lot harder to do than in a MacBook. I hope the next MacBook Pro will adopt the new system that the MacBook uses; because it takes less than half the time of this. Watch the video after the jump.

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Because of the firmware leak of iPhone 1.1.3, hackers from the iPhone Dev Team and iPhone Atlas have hacked and jailbroken 1.1.3 already. They apparently have Installer.app working on the latest iPhone firmware, but will not be releasing the hack yet, because they don’t want Apple to patch it before the SDK comes out. At that point, it may be worth it to just wait for the official Apple solution to third-party apps. And I don’t know if you really want to hack your 1.1.3 iPhone. Apparently, it involves some sort of “hardware modification”. Doesn’t sound pretty. The hacked 1.1.3 youtube video is after the jump.

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Personally I wouldn’t attempt this, but then again I have very little interest in an iPhone, and what interest I do have can wait until they actually bring out one worth having. Still if you live in an area that doesn’t have AT&T, or you just plain hate them but must have an iPhone, then you will probably know all about the hardware hack anyway.

The good news? Well the method from the Israeli hackers doesn’t require soldering and if you are careful opening your iPhone, you won’t void the warranty - or so they say. It´’s totally up to you - personally I don’t really see how it can’t.

“The only thing you will need to perform this hardware unlocking hack is a couple of metal pins, cork and a piece of cable. The procedure in the web page is straightforward enough for anyone with enough patience to follow it.”

Via [Gizmodo]