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13″ Macbook Pro: Finally, A Replacement for the 12″ Powerbook

Aviv — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:15:41 +0000

Not even twenty minutes into Phil Schiller’s keynote speech at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple gave the crowd something relatively unexpected. Every single aluminum-unibody notebook is now considered a Macbook Pro, with the “Macbook” moniker only sticking around for the white plastic model.

Since Apple first unveiled the new unibody designed notebooks, they were received very well by the industry and consumers. The design was refined, and the entire transformation into such an evolutionary defining product was successful. However, when Apple showed off some of the configurations available for the 13″ unibody Macbook model, people weren’t pleased. They had removed Firewire all together, only leaving USB built into the notebook, and it seemed that the higher level Macbook Pro’s were what Apple really wanted you to buy. Even though the Macbook is what consistently delivers Apple’s blockbuster Mac numbers quarter after quarter.

With today’s announcements, any remaining confusion over Apple’s intentions with their notebook family are diminished. By adding the 13″ Macbook to the Macbook Pro family, you can say hello to the 13″ Macbook Pro. Finally, a notebook that can outright replace the 12″ Powerbook G4 so many of us developed a debilitating addiction to a few years ago.

The new 13″ Macbook Pro comes with a built in SD slot (card reader), alongside the welcome addition of Firewire 800! When Apple initially removed Firewire from the 13″ Macbook, consumers were furious, and many people, including myself, who wanted a new unibody Macbook, held off on purchasing one. Apple is correct in their assertion that digital cameras are standardizing across SD cards, and including a SD slot is a great perk if you’re doing any photo work at all. I’m pulling the trigger on one of these bad boys as soon as possible.

iPhone Concept: I Really Wish This Was Real

Aviv — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:30:38 +0000

Between some exciting Steve Jobs reports, iPhone 3.0 and Snow Leopard, things are heating up the weekend leading in to WWDC. Be sure to tune in to Gizmodo’s live coverage here: http://live.gizmodo.com/ on Monday, June 8th at 10am Pacific.

No, it’s not real (sadly). But I really wish it was.

New Apple Flasghip Store in Beijing; Sneak Peak

Aviv — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:55:28 +0000

Apple’s new flagship store will be a two-level store store opening July 19 in Beijing’s Sanlitun entertainment district at 10am, Apple’s first in China and its 219th worldwide. Lucky visitors were given a sneak peak of their new flagship store in China today.

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The store will offer Genius Bar services in Chinese and English with support in some other languages available, including German.

The iPhone will be absent at the opening of the new store. Negotiations between China Mobile the world’s largest mobile service provider and Apple have taken place over the last 12 months, yet no deal has been announced. Apple representatives confirmed the iPhone’s arrival in China but gave no date, and declined to comment on any talks with Chinese mobile operators.

Taking the necessary steps to ensure brand reputability in China, Apple is not rushing anything in this vast market. They can’t just go in and throw their logo around expecting the same “twinkle and shine” they get greeted with here in the states. Not having the iPhone present at a new flagship launch surely results in lost revenue. However, building a new flagship store that can centralize Apple’s brand image in one location (in a new market’s eyes), is the first step. Such as the Apple flagship store in Manhattan, NYC does here in the states. When the iPhone is finally released in China, Apple will have a major flagship open as well, furthering brand reputability and the way this enormous new market will see the American made technology company.

Ron Johnson, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Retail states that “‘This is the first of many stores we will open in China.” Additionally Johnson says that Apple has plans to open stores in “in Beijing, in Shanghai and beyond.” As well as confirmed that another store will open in Beijing’s Qianmen area, a shopping street south of Tiananmen Square that has been renovated ahead of the Olympic Games, which begin next month.

via MDN

Immoral Developer Behavior Threatens App Store’s Integrity

Dave — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:18:04 +0000

A few App Store developers have apparently discovered a highly unethical loop hole to shoot their apps straight to the top of the list by adding a space, or quotation mark or symbol to the beginning of their product’s name. Jirbo, Inc. has been spotted as a primary offender by inserting a space before all of their game titles to be placed atop of the alphabetical list.

One developer who wished to remain anonymous, states, “As a developer myself with my own game on this list, I am extremely disappointed that these companies have essentially tried to step all over everyone else in order to promote their products, particularly Jirbo, Inc. who decided to put a space in front of all of their games’ titles. I would imagine that as a consumer, these tactics would be equally perturbing as they screw up the integrity of the store.”

This is something that Apple needs to address immediately. Developers that are practicing immoral behavior should be reprimanded in some fashion to ensure that this will not be a prolonged issue. The integrity of the App Store is at stake here, and action needs to be taken.

via Macenstein.

[video] The birth of Macintosh.

Dave — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 21:40:04 +0000

In light of the end of this year’s WWDC, we thought you may enjoy this snippet from the vaults of Steve Jobs demoing the first Macintosh in January of 1984. Its amazing to see how far we’ve come in the past 24 years.

The video was captured by Andy Hertzfeld who states “Pandemonium reigns as the demo completes. Steve has the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on his face, obviously holding back tears as he is overwhelmed by the moment. The ovation continues for at least five minutes before he quiets the crowd down,” in his retelling of the event.

So for your Sunday evening viewing pleasure, please enjoy.

Awesome youngster takes notes on his Apple Newton. Still coming in handy after all these years.

Aviv — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:01:09 +0000

Get a glimpse of this AWESOME youngster waiting outside the Apple store here in Portland. In case you couldn’t tell… HE’S USING A NEWTON !!!!! THIS KID ROCKS !!!!

Still waiting for more news. We’ll post everything as we find it out.

Fedex arrives at Apple Store.

Dave — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:54:16 +0000

9:47 a.m., just a few minutes after Apple store employees prove to be of no help, a dolly full of both marked and unmarked boxes rolls past the store front. One employee passed by with a smile stating “it’s nothing important.”

Nothing yet. Apple retail stores still clueless at 9:42am.

Aviv — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:42:00 +0000

We are here at the most visited Apple store in Portland at Pioneer Place. After talking to a few retail employees, it seems as if they have gotten NO sealed boxes, NO information and have ZERO idea when the 3G iPhone, or anything is going to be released.

This may mean that Apple will unveil something today and launch it in the near future. Or, they are planning on an afternoon launch to allow time for deliveries. Who knows. (Only Steve)

We will continue to post updates as we find out any new information.

Be sure to check out the Live WWDC Coverage from our favorite neighboring sites here.

Less than two hours to go! 110 minutes until Steve Jobs takes the stage.

Aviv — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:23:35 +0000

Hello all,

Steve’s Keynote is less than two hours away, and only Steve himself truly knows what will be unveiled, when and how much it will cost.

While we won’t be officially covering WWDC this year, we will be following coverage extremely closely from our favorite neighboring sites. You can find your favorite place to get all the up-to-the-minute news here.

In about 50 minutes we are going to head towards downtown Portland and setup shop outside one of the Apple stores. We are planning to arrive around 9am Pacific which should leave us plenty of time to badger the employees of the store for about an hour before the keynote kicks off.

We aren’t planning on getting any credible information from Apple’s retail employees today (prior to Steve’s keynote), which generally know much less about products than we do. However, when El Jobso takes the stage and graces us with his presence, we want to be within feet from that “possible 3G madness.”

We wish everyone the Best Possible Luck with getting all your wishes (or demands) answered by Apple today. We will be posting video coverage (in HD!) and photos of the insanity here in Portland, OR directly following the event.

Stay Tuned !

More WWDC Photos.

Aviv — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:51:51 +0000

Here are some more photos of the Moscone West getting setup for WWDC, via MacNN.

Check out MacNN for even more photos.