Posts Tagged
hardware
These days news articles about Apple are anything but scarce. Every day there is a fresh new crop of speculation, rumors and discussion regarding the future Apple’s product line and how it will continue to shape the way that we interact with technology.
However, the media hype is largely centered on the exciting and revolutionary products: iOS and its supporting devices. Google “iPad 3″ or “iPhone 5″ and you’ll find no shortage of juicy gossip. If the media gives attention to any Mac, it’s likely going to be the MacBook Air. But what about our favorite desktop machine? Where will the iMac go in 2012?
SSD’s or Solid State Drives are a popular upgrade lately due to the very significant difference they can make to even an older Mac’s performance in real world use. Unfortunately, SSD’s are also still prohibitively expensive for those of us who wish to keep large quantities of media on an internal hard drive.
There are a few workarounds for this, but most rely on an external drive or cloud storage. Alternatively, the following guide will show you how to install an SSD and make use of a larger, standard hard drive in the SuperDrive bay. As far as non-standard upgrades go, it’s not too difficult, but is perhaps not best suited for complete novices and may well void your warranty.
Earlier today Apple made good on their promise to wow us once more with yet another new multi-touch wonder: the iPad 2 (Steve Jobs himself kicked off the presentation).
Rumors have been flying for months about what it would and wouldn’t include, many of which were proven true, though as always Apple still had a few surprises up its sleeve.
Keep reading to see what the hype is all about. We’ll go over all the details of the new and improved iPad so you can see whether or not it’s time to give in and get one!
As we’d expected for a few days, Thursday saw the release of a brand new MacBook Pro lineup. Though these machines look more or less identical on the outside, they come complete with upgraded processors, new graphics capabilities, and the all-new “Thunderbolt” I/O standard.
Today we’ll be providing a quick overview of what to expect in the new lineup, along with a few thoughts on hardware features we’re surprised to see left out!
If you’re anything like most Apple users, you’ll be used to the twinge of excitement that comes around every time Apple announces a new product or gadget. The company has one of the greatest sales pitch records in the history of technology, and it’s hard not to be impressed with pretty much anything that comes out of Cupertino.
But, glitzy sales magic aside, how often are you compelled as a Mac user to upgrade your hardware? Is it something that you see as a rare necessity, or a yearly indulgence to make sure you’re always up to date with the latest Mac lineup?
Personally, I tend to stick with the hardware I have for as long as possible. I usually only upgrade when either my Mac starts to exhibit problems and become unreliable, or when a new form factor/update genuinely means that I’ll be able to do my job better.
The portability of the Macbook Air is close to hitting the second of these, but I haven’t felt the urge to upgrade from my MacBook Pro just yet…
Let us know your own thoughts on the topic, and do share your opinion in the comments!
Wouldn’t you love to have a dashboard for your Mac, similar to the one in your car that alerts you if anything seems likely to malfunction? CheckUp is exactly that. From your hard drive to your OS installation, CheckUp will keep watch for anything that’s wrong with your Mac, and tell you how to fix it.
Today we’ll go into detail with every aspect of this application, and assess whether it’s a worthwhile purchase to keep your Mac running in tip-top shape.
Today’s question is a simple one, but I thought it would be really interesting to see where we all fall on the Mac lineup. I use a MacBook Pro personally, and have been thinking about upgrading at some point over the next six months or so. My dilemma is whether to stick with a notebook, or opt for one of the 27″ iMacs.
I really like the idea of a portable computer, but in reality I very rarely use it for that purpose. Maybe my investment would be better made into a Mac that also comes with a gorgeous screen.
While we’re at it, feel free to leave a comment and let us know what the very first Mac was that you ever bought. Mine was one of the first Mac Minis – the day they were announced, in fact! Up until then, Mac hardware had always been slightly too expensive for me to make the jump.
I’d love to hear when and how you switched to the OS X platform, as I expect many of you made the move long before I did. Big points go to any dedicated readers that were die-hard Apple fans right back in the 1980s!
You don’t need this app. There are good guides available on the Apple website to help you get the best performance and extend the life of your Mac laptop’s battery. You can even download from that page an iCal file that will add periodic reminders to your calendar, so that you’re more likely to remember to calibrate your battery. Follow that advice, and respond to the reminders, and you and your computer’s battery will be fine.
I’m on the second battery in my MacBook (which is coming up to its fourth birthday this week). Apparently it’s in quite good health at the moment, though it’s lost 18% of its capacity. You see, I’m not so good at remembering to calibrate it, and because I tend to use it all over the house, it’s constantly being plugged and unplugged, and is drained completely on most days. I’m not so hot on looking after batteries…
And so, though I know I don’t need it, I think Watts is well worth having. Read on for an introduction to this little app that could make it easier for you to look after your laptop’s battery.
As a follow up to our article on upgrading your Mac’s RAM, this article will outline how to go through the same process to upgrade your hard drive.
We’ll begin with a brief discussion on why upgrading your hard drive will improve your system then move on to the pros and cons of mechanical vs. solid state drives. We’ll conclude with a step by step tutorial on finding and purchasing the right HD for your Mac and point you to some instructional guides outlining the installation process for your specific model.
Today I’ll walk you through the potentially frightening process of upgrading your Mac’s performance through increasing your RAM. We’ll start with a brief discussion of what RAM is and why you should upgrade, before taking you through every step of the upgrade process so you can be confident you’re doing everything right.
This article will help anyone looking to upgrade their RAM but is especially targeted at computer hardware novices. Many of the steps I will go through are to simplify the process of finding the right RAM for your Mac and can be completely skipped if you already know what you need and where to get it. Let’s get started!
