If the blazing speed of Apple’s built in SSD for the MacBook Air isn’t fast enough, head over to OWC and check out their Aura Pro Express. Featuring write speeds up to 275 MB/s over Apple’s factory 215MB/s, you’re looking at a 15% increase in face melting performance. At the top of the line, you can nab yourself a 360 GB Express SSD if you still can’t live out of the cloud, though that’ll set you back an easy $1,180. You can nab a 180 GB model at a cooler $500, and you’ll still get OWC’s chip based encryption, RAID-like data protection, and ultra-efficient wear leveling that any good SSD drive should have. I don’t know if I’ll pick one of these bad boys up any time soon, but we’re sure there will be plenty who are willing to grab their torx screwdrivers and empty their pockets for one of these.
Posts tagged with "macbook air"
OWC Aura Pro Express: MacBook Air SSD’s Get Faster
MacBook Air Mods: Composition Notebook, Angry Birds
The new MacBook Air is a thing of beauty. Like I tweeted a few days ago, a friend of mine bought the 11-inch model last week and I’m finding myself constantly trying to reach it to see how much Apple managed to squeeze into that tiny piece of aluminum. It’s thin. It’s fast. But I guess that at this point you’ve heard about that.
What you probably don’t know is that some users are coming up with neat MacBook Air mods that will make you want one even more. From the same guy who created the iPhone 4 Leica skin for the most sophisticated photographer comes the composition notebook MBA skin. You know, just to remember the good old school days. Or maybe not.
If you don’t feel like carrying an aluminum composition notebook around, perhaps some Angry Birds is what you’re looking for. It’s got the birds, the pigs – no slingshot though. It’d be nice to apply this skin once Angry Birds comes to the Mac. Because it is coming, right?
More photos after the break. [via Gizmodo & Flickr] Read more
MacBook Air Runs On Four Screens, Including Apple IIc
Is the MacBook Air just another netbook that can barely run Photoshop? We all know it’s not. Benchmark numbers and stats aside, that thing is fast. I’ve been trying a 11-inch model (a friend of mine bought one) this week, and it literally screams. Instant-on thanks to SSD, strong battery life, responsive…just do yourself a favor and go try one at an Apple Store near you.
Or, if you want a quick example, take a look at the picture above. It doesn’t provide any numbers, but it gives you an idea of what this machine can do. It’s a MacBook Air running on four different screens: a 20-inch Apple Cinema Display, a 7-inch Mimo 720-S USB display and an old Apple IIc which is displaying a Terminal session through serial cable.
Geek stuff.
Mac OS X 10.6.5 Update Fixes MacBook Air Graphic Issues
A few weeks ago we reported of the graphic issues and kernel panics many users were experiencing on the new MacBook Airs. The issues got quickly reporte to Apple, which acknowledged them in a document leaked by BGR. With the latest Mac OS X 10.6.5 update, it seems like the issues have been fixed.
As Apple writes in a support document:
Symptoms
After waking from sleep, your MacBook Air display may flicker or fade from light to dark repeatedly.
Resolution
Download and apply the Mac OS X v10.6.5 update to resolve this issue.
You can go download 10.6.5 from Software Update or Apple’s website, and watch a video of the aforementioned MacBook Air graphic issues below.
Consumer Reports Can Recommend The New MacBook Air
Consumer Reports thinks the MacBook Air 11-inch is a very good computer in terms of ergonomics and display, it’s versatile and has good performances. As The Loop reports, in fact, Consumer Reports gave it a 67 out of 100 rating in its latest “Laptop Ratings & Reliability”, available to subscribers.
As The Loop points out, the highest computer in that category used to be the Toshiba Satellite with a 51 out of 100. Read more
Meet The Chinese MacBook Air 11-inch Clone
Oh, Chinese computer manufacturers. You’ll never grow tired of releasing weird Apple product clones, won’t you? These products are clearly bad rip-offs of Ive’s creations, yet some people are still buying them. It’s a mad, mad world. Read more
MacBook Air: As Thick As The Lid Of The Old PowerBook G4
If there’s a photo that can sum up the old “times change” saying, that’s this one. Patrick McCarron shot a photo with his iPhone 4, realizing how the new MacBook Air is, indeed, just as thick as the lid of an old 12-inch PowerBook G4. Just the lid.
Times change. But thinking of a computer as thick as the lid of the MacBook Air 10 years from now kind of scares me.
Leaked Apple Document Confirms MacBook Air Issues, Software Update Coming
Looks like BGR has managed to find a good source amongst Apple Geniuses: according to a new leaked internal document, Apple has acknowledged the MacBook Air bugs we talked about two days ago.
Apple hasn’t publicly addressed the issues yet, and the document clearly says the information are not to be disclosed externally. The document mentions the display flickering issues many users have experienced, together with colors fading to light after waking from sleep. The suggested solution? Close the lid, wait 10 seconds and open the computer again.
Apple also confirms an upcoming software update will fix the issues.
Ben Brooks’ MacBook Air Review→
Ben Brooks’ MacBook Air Review
The 13 though is more like a sports sedan: it will do most everything that you do in your SUV, but there will be things that it can’t do as well. Things like huge Costco or Ikea trips, off-roading, towing a boat and driving in the snow. Most people though will never use their SUV for such things, making the extra money they paid for it a waste. The few times that you may do those things you seem to always find a way to get by without the SUV.
If you only read one in-depth review today, make it this one.