This is a good news, bad news story. Let's start with the good news!
DisplaySearch, a market research firm, is reporting that Apple's sales of notebook computers are up 61% from 1st Quarter, 2007 to 1st Quarter, 2008. In that fiscal quarter, Apple shipped over 1.4 million notebooks, compared to almost 900,000 the year before. That puts Apple just behind Asus in terms of growth year-to-year, as the Taiwanese board and component maker saw a 67% growth rate. Most other notebook manufacturers saw growth rates in the 20 - 40% range.
The bad news? Apple's still in seventh place in overall notebook market share at 4.6%, trailing behind leaders HP (20.8%), Dell (15.1%), and Acer (14.7%) but still ahead of Asus (4.3%) and Sony (4.2%).
My personal speculation is that Asus is seeing huge increases due to the Eee PC subnotebook, which has been extremely popular with geeks wanting tiny Linux or Windows computers. If trends continue, Apple's notebook market share numbers should continue to grow into 2008.
Have you ever thought about upgrading your MacBook's scrawny 2GBs of RAM that Apple ships to something a little more deserving? Well, ChannelFlip has a very cool video showing you how to upgrade the RAM in either a MacBook or MacBook Pro. In addition they tested the performance of the 2GB and 4GB Apple RAM and the new Corsair 4GB low-latency Mac RAM. They show off the results in the video.
MacBook / MacBook Pro owners, are you suffering from SSD envy?
There's no need to fret, since ExperCom has just announced immediate availability of SSD upgrades for your favorite Apple laptops. If you already own a MacBook or MacBook Pro, you can send it to ExperCom's Logan, Utah office and have your hard drive replaced with a 60GB ($599) or 120GB ($899) SSD. ExperCom moves your data to the SSD so your MacBook is ready to roll when it is back in your hands, and returns the old HD to you for use as a Time Machine drive (enclosure not included).
If you've been thinking about purchasing a new MacBook Pro or MacBook, ExperCom is selling those laptops pre-configured with SSDs. A 15" MacBook Pro with the 2.4 GHz processor and a 120GB SSD is $2649, compared to $1999 for a stock Apple MBP with a standard 200GB hard drive. Want a white MacBook with a 2.2 GHz CPU and a 60GB SSD? It's yours for $1649, $550 over the price of a white MacBook with a 120GB HD.
Since the SSD upgrades are not covered by Apple's warranty, ExperCom provides service or can re-install the old drive prior to Apple service.
Here's a very cool tip we first saw at Lifehacker. Jeff Kelley is a MacBook Pro user who, like many others, connects it to several displays, depending on context and the task at hand.
If you've done this, you may be familiar with the same irritation that has bothered Jeff. Namely, application windows re-sizing themselves across displays. The difference between Jeff and the rest of us is that he did something about it.
Here is a great AppleScript that notices his screen resolution and sizes his application windows according to his likes. Now, Mail, iCal and so on will appear just where they ought to. Very cool!
Here's the situation. You're sitting with a friend when she gives you some great information that you want to write down. Or, you want to share something with her, but your Mac is not running, and it seems like a hassle to wait for it to boot just to complete that simple exchange. What's a nerd to do?
How about cover the lid of your MacBook Pro with chalkboard paint? That's exactly what Russell Davies did, and the BlackBoard Pro was born. It's got a certain "Little House on the Prairie Schoolhouse" charm, and as Russell says, "...there's something very satisfying about crossing off a to do by licking your finger and smearing it out."
Like many women (and men), I'm pretty excited about the upcoming Sex and the City movie. While the show was awesome for a myriad of reasons (the humor, the fashion, the catch-phrases), what often gets overlooked is that Carrie Bradshaw was a Mac girl. From 1998 through 2004, Carrie almost always started and ended each show typing on her Mac. It makes sense; can you really imagine someone that fashion and style conscious using anything else?
In season one, she used the original Powerbook G3, if I'm not mistaken (it was either Kanga or the 3400c), but she moved up to a WallStreet and then a Pismo until the series concluded its run.
The official website for the movie has added a new feature, "Carrie Bradshaw's MacBook Pro" that allows fans to "explore" the virtual desktop of our favorite fashionista, answer trivia questions in "chat" windows with other SATC characters, based on clues found on the desktop, to unlock bonus content/videos and for a chance to win a Sex and the City movie poster.
I'll admit, the whole thing is a total novelty, but it's still kind of cool. I especially like that the default browser on the "desktop" is Camino. It's always fun to see Apple products integrated into other promotional campaigns.
(New Line Cinema, like TUAW, is ultimately part of the same media conglomerate, Time Warner).
FastMac announced a new line of Mac notebook chargers today. FastMac found a work around for Apple not licensing the MagSafe chargers. TruePower U-Charge allows you to charge your notebook's batteries externally. Note that this does not power the Mac, it only charges batteries.
This charger will charge iBook G3/G4 12", PowerBook, MacBook, and MacBook Pro batteries without skipping a beat. FastMac also has plans for a 14.4V charger that would charge batteries for the clamshell iBook, iBook G4 14", and Ti PowerBook 15".
The TruePower U-Charge comes in 2 different colors (black and white) to match your machine better. The prices for these chargers start at $69.95. You can purchase the U-Charge on the FastMac website.
Up until a few years ago, I had a 12" PowerBook G4 that I absolutely loved. It was truly portable (although the screen was a bit on the small side for me), relatively fast, and lightweight. Many of my consulting clients have asked if Apple had plans to replace the 12" PowerBook with a MacBook or MacBook Pro in the same form factor, but I've pointed them towards the 13" MacBook or MacBook Air instead.
There's still a vocal group of former PowerBook G4 users who would like to see Apple come out with a new MacBook Pro -- complete with SuperDrive, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and Multi-Touch trackpad -- in that tiny 12" PowerBook case. If you're in their camp, visit and participate in the MBP12.com forum and add your voice to the people clamoring for a small, powerful MacBook Pro.
Do you think a 12" MacBook Pro would be a winner in the market? Take our poll!
If you're a Del.icio.us fanactic like I am, then you have hundreds, going on thousands of bookmarks. How do you view your 1,000+ bookmarks? If you use a web browser, then you're living in the dark ages. I am going to show you a better way to view your bookmarks that may leave you speechless.
Delish is a completely new way to view your Del.icio.us bookmarks. You may ask, "What's so special about this. Can you not do this with other applications"? Well, no, because Delish is a way to view your bookmarks similar to the way you view your iPhoto images; as a matter of fact, the user interface is almost identical to that of iPhoto. When you load your bookmarks, Delish will automatically download a new snapshot of the page and use it as a thumbnail which can be enlarged for your viewing pleasure. You can also search through your bookmarks and view all of your tags in the left sidebar.
Another killer feature is reserved for those of you with one of those fancy new MacBook Pros or MacBook Airs, because you can zoom into your bookmarks by "pinching" the Multi-touch trackpad -- the very same way you can in iPhoto. The only thing missing from the application is the ability to add bookmarks directly from it, although this software is currently in beta and definitely has time to add this support later on.
Delish is currently free while in beta and can be downloaded from the Pine Point Software website.
You may rememberSteve Ballmer (CEO of some other company) criticizing the iPod and iPhone on several occasions. Something that he definitely cannot criticize is the Mac, mostly because he was seen using one for with one at the podium while he gave a presentation. MacLife pointed us to this Flickr picture showing what really powers the other Steve's presentation. What's there? You guessed it, a MacBook Pro. We imagine that it is running Windows via BootCamp, proving once again that the best Windows machine money can buy is a Mac.
I guess Microsoft is staring to "Think Different," eh?
Update: As noted by several Flickr commenters, Ballmer didn't actually use the Mac to present; all that was displayed was his title slide, most likely driven by backstage gear, and presumably the MacBook Pro was left at the podium by the conference organizers or a previous presenter. Still a pleasant thought to imagine him slaving away over his PowerPoint (or Keynote!) presentation on the MBP, but it doesn't look like that's how it went.
Today, Apple updated the EFI Firmware for the entire notebook line. MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air all received the EFI update. Here's what Apple says about the updates:
This update fixes several issues to improve the stability of [MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air] computers.
You can download this update by opening Software Update on your notebook (Apple menu > Software Update) or by downloading the installer package from Apple's support website.
Apple also notes: To complete the firmware update process, please follow the instructions in the updater application (/Applications/Utilities/MacBook EFI Firmware Update.app). The updater will launch automatically when the Installer closes.
David Beckham recently received a snazzy gilded iPod touch from his teammates. That's nice and all, but this guy is a superstar. He needs some seriously togged out Apple goodies. With that in mind, we're offering the following shopping list:
The golden MacBook Pro. This sucker features gold-plated casing, a keyboard painted to match and "...your logo in diamonds." Try opening one of these at Starbucks.
The $39,750 MacBook Air. Twelve thousand hand-applied Swarovski crystals decorate its 24k gold casing. For forty grand, you would think you get a solid state hard drive.
The golden iPhone. You knew this one was coming. Unfortunately, the pricing is still "to be announced."
Golden "classic" iPods. Why stop at the touch? You can just as easily get your 160GB or 80GB classic dipped in gold, as well as the nano.
Here's hoping someone special in David's life reads our list and makes a purchase. While you're at it, a buffing cloth would be good, too.
The interesting thing is that he's using it to replace his Mac Pro. Most tech professionals have a primary machine (often a desktop) and a secondary (usually a laptop). After living with this setup for some time, Shawn noticed that the laptop had become his main machine: "I don't need the Mac Pro. The loss in horsepower is negligible for what I do, and the gain in simplicity cannot be expressed with words. I'm selling the tower and going back to being a one-computer consumer, and connoisseur of fine laptops."
The same thing eventually happened to me. My MacBook Pro is the machine I use most often, and my iMac is the machine I use to sync my iPhone, make iTunes purchases and upload photos. Other than that, it pretty much just sits around.
Shawn goes on to describe setup, migration of his older data and (much, much) more. The whole thing is written in Shawn's comprehensive and readable style. Check it out.
The MagStay Pro is a little plastic clip that holds in your MagSafe power connector on a 15" or 17" MacBook Pro. Basically, it's a retainer that plugs into the USB port next to the MagSafe to keep it from being disconnected. It also allows you to store the little plastic cap that comes with the MagSafe power adapter. Obviously, this completely undermines the point of the MagSafe, but if you find it accidently coming out when using it on your lap, etc., and you're not worried about the cord tripping problem, then it might be worth a look.
The MagStay Pro is $11.99 and is available from thought out.
The multi-touch feature that's been added to the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air is pretty cool, but rather limited (for now, at least). Wouldn't it be cool to have gestures across applications, like Safari and iChat?
Check out MultiClutch. It's a preference pane that lets you assign your own keyboard shortcuts to a given gesture across applications. Switch Safari tabs with a flick. Zoom in on email with a pinch. That kind of thing.
MultiClutch lets you bind gestures to a Cocoa app, including swipe, zoom and rotate. If you want to test this out, understand that it's beta. With that in mind, have fun!
This is a good news, bad news story. Let's start with the good news! 
MacBook / MacBook Pro owners, are you suffering from 
Here's a very cool tip we first 
Here's the situation. You're sitting with a friend when she gives you some great information that you want to write down. Or, you want to share something with her, but your Mac is not running, and it seems like a hassle to wait for it to boot just to complete that simple exchange. What's a nerd to do?
Like many women (and men), I'm pretty excited about the upcoming 
Up until a few years ago, I had a 12" PowerBook G4 that I absolutely loved. It was truly portable (although the screen was a bit on the small side for me), relatively fast, and lightweight. Many of my consulting clients have asked if Apple had plans to replace the 12" PowerBook with a MacBook or MacBook Pro in the same form factor, but I've pointed them towards the 13" MacBook or MacBook Air instead.
If you're a 
You may 
Today, Apple updated the EFI Firmware for the entire notebook line. 
David Beckham 
The 
