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News & Opinion
Frustrated 2011 MacBook Air Users Struggle with
Diskless Lion System Restores
Cult of Mac's David W. Martin says Apple's decision to not include a
USB stick containing a copy of OS X
10.7 Lion for system recoveries with the new Mid 2011 MacBook Air might be
causing the company a bit of a public relations issue, with a fair
number of new MacBook Air users venting their frustrations over the
matter on Apple's Support Community forums.
Martin cites one forum complainant saying, "AppleCare support told
me that they'll send out a thumb drive installer of Lion which in the
first place Apple should have included in the package!"
Editor's note: Hey, d'ya think! To paraphrase David Pogue's
Missing Manuals slogan, it's the installer that should have been
in the box. cm
Publisher's note: If you're using Lion, be sure to see Apple Releases Lion Recovery Disk
Assistant and Lion DiskMaker
Facilitates Burning a Bootable Lion Installer to DVD, USB Drive, or SD
Card in today's Mac News Review to learn how to make an emergency
boot disk or flash drive. dk
Link: Missing Lion
Install Disks Cause Frustrated MacBook Air Users to Struggle with
System Restores
MacBook Air Fans Run More with Lion
T-GAAP's E. Werner Reschke says that as an owner of a 13" MacBook Air, one of the
surprising benefits of upgrading to OS X 10.7 Lion was the speed
difference. OS X 10.6 Snow
Leopard was nice, but Lion took opening windows, using Spotlight,
launching apps, and so forth to entirely new level, speed being one of
the best things about Lion in his estimation, especially for owners of
the older Intel Core 2 Duo processor Airs.
However, he reports that there's a price to be paid for that speed
improvement: fan noise.
Reschke notes that with OS X Snow Leopard, his MacBook Air hardly
ever used the fans to cool anything, offering silent running with no
hard drive spinning and very seldom fans doing anything but standing
by. However, with OS X Lion, fan racket is a daily occurrence.
Editor's note: I've had a similar experience moving from OS X 10.5 Leopard on my Core 2 Duo aluminum MacBook to
OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Running in Leopard, the cooling fans very
rarely cut in. With Snow Leopard, they're running more often than not,
even with an original model Targus Chill Mat's two mercifully quieter
fans scavenging away some of the heat.
Link: MacBook
Air - Fans Whirl with OS X Lion
Intel HD 3000 Graphics a Surprise Hit
Intel's integrated graphics haven't garnered a whole lot of respect
over the past few years, taking a back seat to Nvidia's IGPUs, but
Hardmac's Lionel notes that many people don't realize that Intel is the
biggest graphics solution manufacturer in the world, and with the
launch of the HD 3000 IGPU, which is used in all of Apple's current
notebooks, Intel's market share jumped by 21% during Q2 2011 as many
companies, including Apple, deemed it powerful enough to install in
midrange computers such as the MacBook Air and the 13" MacBook Pro.
Link: Intel's HD 3000
Graphics Solution Is a Market Hit
Upgrading a MacBook with SSD and a 1 TB Hard
Drive
Automated Home says:
"In a quest to make our MacBook last out until next year's
rumoured major redesign (carbon fibre anyone?) we decided to do the
trendy thing and install an SSD.
"However we've always been used to having a big hard drive so the
128 GB SSD we chose wasn't going to allow us to hold our entire
LightRoom library and video files on the laptop like we're used to. The
solution? Removing our un-used optical drive and replacing it with one
of the recently launched 1 TB 2.5" 9.5mm hard drives. SSD speed
plus a capacious spindle to store all our stuff on, does it get much
better than this? It's an easy project that anyone can follow. Here's
how we did it."
Link: Upgrading a
MacBook to SSD Plus a 1 TB Hard Drive
2010 Core i7 MacBook Pros Kernel Panicking
Kernel panics used to be pretty common in the early years of OS X,
but in our experience they've been a rarity since about the middle
revisions of OS X 10.4
Tiger. However, MacFixIt's Topher Kessler reports that a number of
people with 2010 MacBook Pro systems configured with Core i7 GPUs and
Nvidia graphics are reporting an issue where the systems periodically
crash with a kernel panic. The screen shows the classic kernel panic
message instructing users to hold down the power button to restart the
system.
Link: Core i7 MacBook
Pros Kernel Panicking with NVRM Read Error
2010 MacBook Pro Crashes, Kernel Panics, and Black
Screens in Lion
OS X Daily says a fair number of 2010 (and some 2011) MacBook Pro
users with 15" and 17" machines that have Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs and
the switchable Intel HD 3000 and Nvidia 330M GPU are reporting
stability issues with their Macs and OS X 10.7 Lion, with problems
including kernel panics, random system crashes, blank or black screens,
inability to wake from sleep, external displays not working, and
assorted other headaches.
A potential fix is suggested.
Link: MacBook Pro 2010
Crashes, Kernel Panics, & Black Screens in OS X 10.7 Lion
Reviews
13" MacBook Air Is 'Apple's Crown Jewel'
MacStories' Federico Viticci says his new MacBook Air is the best
Mac he's ever owned, contending that it's the machine that is shaping
the future of OS X, both as an operating system and a bridge between
iOS and the desktop.
Viticci waxes philosophical, asking himself why, if the MacBook Pro
he bought three years ago was the best computer he'd ever had, he came
to the conclusion that he needed a new one, whilst with a few repairs
and tweaks that MacBook Pro could have served him well for a few more
years. Surprisingly (or perhaps not), he credits the iPad, which he
says changed the rules.
However, he's happy he didn't upgrade to a new Air when the updated
models were released in October 2010, since waiting for the revision B
netted him a beefier processor, a Thunderbolt port, and backlit
keyboard, although he observes that the truth is, if you follow tech
rumors, you're never going to buy anything.
Viticci purchased a 13" Air with 4 GB of RAM, 128 GB of flash
storage, and Intel Core i5 dual-core processor clocked at 1.7 GHz, and
says that over the past months he's come to realize that a 13" display
is the sweet spot for him, noting that while a 15" display gives you
more choice over how you can rearrange your apps on screen and move
things around, the new MacBook Air's 1440 x 900 screen resolution on
the 13" version makes the difference between the two sizes a matter of
quality, rather than space.
He reports that he's more than impressed with the Air's design and
build quality - a premium product sporting solid specs, built upon
Apple's best innovations and advancements in portable design with
topnotch materials and, most of all, deep focus on users
engagement.
"The MacBook Air truly is Apple's crown jewel," says Viticci,
"unifying the company's best and most recent accomplishments into a
featherweight design with stable OS foundations."
Link: 13-inch MacBook
Air Review
11" MacBook Air the Perfect Portable?
The Inquirer's Khidr Suleman says the MacBook Air epitomizes the
term "shiny toy", and the Air's design and light weight are major
attractions, drawing praise from all corners of the Inquirer office,
including from staunch anti-Apple users, and noting that the latest
revision's switch to Intel Core i5 and Core i7 chips pretty much
ensures that the majority of users will find little to complain about
performance-wise.
Suleman tested a fully tweaked high-end 11" MacBook Air powered by a
1.8 GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor, 4 GB of DDR3 SDRAM
soldered to its logic board, and a 256 GB SSD drive, and notes that
with its trim dimensions of 300 x 192 x 17mm and weight of 1.08 kg, the
11" Air remains the most portable laptop despite stiff competition from
Windows-based offerings such as the Samsung Series 9 and Asus U36.
Belying its tininess, build quality is superb and the feel. The
functionality and power of the high-end 11" MacBook Air meaning that it
can conceivably double as a desktop replacement, and that he would opt
for the 11" model over the 13" Air, being that the very nature of the
MacBook Air is to have a machine that's as portable as possible.
He also suggests that users considering an iPad 2 might look at an 11" Air as an
alternative, since it's not much bigger, offers more functionality,
will outlast the iPad, and the additional weight is pretty much
negligible.
Link: MacBook Air 11in
Review
13" MacBook Air: Excellent Performance and
Portability
ARN's Ross Catanzariti notes that while Apple's latest MacBook Air
may look virtually identical to the previous model, most of its
improvements lie "under the hood" - and faster Intel Core i5 and
optional Core i7 processors give Apple's ultraportable notebook a huge
performance boost, with Apple claiming the processor upgrade makes the
Air up to 2.5x as fast as the previous model.
Reviewing a top of the range 13" model with 4 GB RAM, an Intel HD
3000 Graphics processor, and a 256 GB SSD hard drive, Catanzariti says
Apple's "instant on" feature is particularly impressive, the Air waking
from sleep in less than three seconds, and booting up from power-off in
just over 10, giving it immense appeal as a grab-and-go computing
device. He also observes that the MacBook Air has no trouble running
multiple applications and felt fast and snappy throughout testing,
although the lack of serious graphics power means it will never be a
gaming machine, but has plenty of grunt for serious business or power
users.
Link: MacBook Air -
Excellent Performance and Portability
11" MacBook Air 'Frankly Unbelievable'
PC Advisor's Andrew Harrison notes that in October 2008, many laptop
makers were falling over themselves to rush out cheap netbooks, but
Apple had decided that this race to the bottom wasn't for them and
already had a can-do mini laptop in the svelte shape of the original MacBook Air, released
nine months earlier. But it was only when Apple launched its mini 11"
Air late last year that people started to perceive the MacBook Air as
Apple's overpriced netbook.
However, he says that unlike technologically hamstrung Wintel
netbooks, the MacBook Air is a powerful tool to use for daily computing
jobs, and with the new revisions launched last month, the Air has been
upgraded to second-generation Intel Core-series Sandy Bridge
processors, giving it a performance boost that Harrison calls "frankly
unbelievable . . . for such a sliver of portable computing,"
and counsels that if you'd prefer your next compact computer be a
long-lived lightweight laptop with supremely typable (and backlit)
keyboard, high-resolution screen, dual-band WiFi, next-gen Bluetooth
4.0, the fastest desktop I/O interface in Thunderbolt, and a multitouch
and gesture-driven interface, you ought to look very closely at Apple's
new entry-level MacBook Air.
Link: Apple MacBook Air
11in (Mid-2011) Review
Tech Trends
Acer Founder: Ultrabooks and Tablets Are
Short-term Fads
DigiTimes' Aaron Lee and Joseph Tsai report that Acer founder Stan
Shih has commented that ultrabooks and tablet PCs will both be
short-term fads, and urged that companies in the notebook supply chain
focus on developing more value-added products through innovation. Shih
acknowledged that Apple achieved its remarkable success with iPad
through its outside-the-box thinking, which is an attitude that all
notebook players should learn.
Commenting on Apple bringing tablet PC and smartphone products into
the PC market to compete with PC players and creating a great impact on
PC demand, Shih pointed out that PCs are the base of the IT industry
and tablet PCs are also developed from the base; therefore, in the
future, products will still need to go through the PC platform to
create even more add-on value.
Link: Ultrabooks and
Tablet PCs Are Short-term Fads - Acer's Founder (subscription
required)
Shortage of Metal Milling Capacity Pushes
Ultrabook Vendors to Fiberglass
DigiTimes' Aaron Lee and Joseph Tsai report that Intel and PC
notebook brand vendors have recently been beating the bushes for new
ultra-thin laptop chassis materials due to much of the available
magnesium-aluminum milling capacity, which requires requires dauntingly
expensive CNC lathes, being dominated by Apple, and that surprisingly,
fiberglass has recently appeared as the new top choice material among
vendors, according to sources from chassis players.
Taiwan-based fiberglass chassis maker Mitac Precision is cited
explaining that a fiberglass laptop chassis is produced through RHCM
process and combined with plastic to allow a toughness and price
competitive against magnesium-aluminum chassis, and since each segment
of a fiberglass chassis is $5-10 cheaper than a magnesium-aluminum one,
the cost of a fiberglass-based notebook will be $20 cheaper than
magnesium-aluminum models with the end market price to be $50-100
cheaper.
Link: Shortage of Metal
Laptop Chassis Milling Capacity Pushes Ultrabook Vendors to Adopt
Fiberglass (subscription required)
Products & Services
OWC Data Doubler for MacBook or MacBook Pro
Unibody Offers Up to 2 TB Onboard Storage
PR: With the recent announcement of the new 1 TB capacity for
the OWC Data Doubler Kit, MacBook and MacBook Pro Unibody users can now
enjoy an unprecedented 2 TB maximum of internal storage
capacity.
Until now,
the only 1 TB notebook hard drives available were 12.5mm high; but with
the arrival of the thinner Samsung 9.5mm drive at OWC, this new,
thinner drive provides expanded upgrade options for every MacBook and
MacBook Pro owner. With OWC's value priced DIY kit, 'Unibody' owners
can have a previously unimagined 2 TB of internal storage that
installs with Plug and Play ease, thanks to the included toolkit and
OWC's 'how to' videos.
And now even the earliest pre-'Unibody' model owners can expand from
the original factory maximum 120 GB drive with up to 7x more capacity
thanks to this 1 TB drive.
Link: OWC Data
Doubler
DriveSavers Data Recovery Services Available for
New Apple MacBook Air
PR: DriveSavers data recovery services has announced the
company's data recovery services are available for the newest version
of the Apple MacBook Air. DriveSavers Data Recovery Advisors are
available 24/7 to help users recover files from a MacBook Air, should
data loss occur.
DriveSavers was the first company to successfully perform iPhone
data recovery. Like the iPhone and iPad, the newest version of the
MacBook Air uses Flash-based memory technology, which improves speed,
uses less power, is more resistant to shock and decreases the weight of
the device. However, Flash-based technology can be compromised by user
error, mismanagement and software or hardware failure making a users
precious data such as documents, videos, digital photos and music
vulnerable if the MacBook Air hasn't been backed up.
Claiming to offer the most technologically advanced data recovery
service to Apple users, DriveSavers says it has successfully completed
more recoveries on Flash memory-based solid-state devices than any
other data recovery company. With over 25 years of experience
recovering data for Apple products, DriveSavers data recovery engineers
are able to recover data from MacBook Air, iPads, iPhones and iPods
that have suffered common and catastrophic data loss.
"The MacBook Air is yet another popular Flash-based device from
Apple that has changed how consumers create and store their precious
data," says Mike Cobb, director of engineering at DriveSavers Data
Recovery. "As the MacBook Air continues to gain popularity and become
more entrenched in consumers everyday lives, the vulnerability of these
laptops also increases accidents happen. With over 25 years of
experience successfully recovering data from Flash memory-based
products, including the MacBook Air, DriveSavers is an expert in data
recovery for Apple products."
DriveSavers claims to be the only data recovery company in the world
that posts proof of annual, companywide SAS 70 Type II Audit Reports,
the Corporate Industry's standard for an overall control structure.
Every iPhone data recovery process adheres to stringent data security
protocols and is conducted in the safest data recovery environment
available. High Security Service is also available for customers who
require extra precautions.
DriveSavers Data Recovery Advisors are available 24/7 to help users
recover files from the new MacBook Air, should data loss occur.
DriveSavers MacBook Air data recovery services are now available to
consumers worldwide. To learn more about DriveSavers and our data
recovery services, visit drivesaversdatarecovery.com or call
800.440.1904
Link: DriveSavers
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