Apple MacBooks
We all knew it was coming and we had a pretty good idea about what form it would be arriving in. The announcement was supposedly delayed for a week, and the tension building up to its actual release was thick despite the overwhelming amount of information readily available, albeit rumored, on certain websites. Once the MacBook was announced, Apple shut the door on PowerPC portable computers, completing a chapter of the transition to its Intel-powered future.
On May 16 2006, the MacBook replaced ... read morethe nearly seven-year-old iBook and brought with it a new era of consumer-grade portables from Apple. For the first time since the clam-shell style iBooks were discontinued at the beginning of 2001 is an Apple portable available in more than one color. Apple has been toying with the idea of offering both black and white devices since the iPod nano and subsequently the video-capable iPod, and now they’ve begun offering their consumer-grade portable laptop, the predictably named MacBook, in similar glossy black and white models.
The MacBook is based on the Intel Core Duo processor and is available in three configurations: 1.83 GHz and 2.0 GHz with a white polycarbonate enclosure, and a 2.0 GHz model in a matte black case. Every model has a built-in iSight webcam, and a magnetic latch mechanism. The MacBook line is the companion to the higher-end MacBook Pro line.
Powered by a 2.0 or 2.16GHz dual-core Intel engine. Up to five times the speed of the PowerBook G4. Eight times the graphics bandwidth. With built-in iSight for instant video conferencing on the move. Front Row with Apple Remote to dazzle everyone in the room.
Performance squared
MacBook Pro is built upon the revolutionary Intel Core Duo — which packs the power of two processors (up to 2.16GHz) inside a single chip. It provides 2MB of Smart Cache, L2 cache that can be shared between both cores as needed. It delivers higher performance in 2D and 3D graphics, video editing, and music encoding. And the new engine is only part of the story. MacBook Pro has a frontside bus and memory that, at 667MHz, runs faster than any previous Mac notebook. It’s the first Mac notebook with PCI Express, a Serial ATA hard drive, and the ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 for superfast graphics performance.
iSight to behold
Sit down. Click on someone’s iChat icon. And video conference from anywhere in the world. Though you can barely see it, there’s an iSight camera built into the thin bezel just above the display. So now you can conference with associates during the day and chat with the kids at night. iChat AV lets you video chat with up to three other people simultaneously. And when you go head to head, you’ll see your colleague more clearly, thanks to the VGA resolution made possible by the superfast Intel Core Duo. MacBook Pro also comes with Apple’s Photo Booth application, a fun program that lets you take warped and Warholesque snapshots. With the new iLife ’06 (included, of course), you can even record movies with iSight right into iMovie, then use the new iLife’s newest application, iWeb, to create a video blog entry or podcast in just a few clicks.
Road show
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