Have Laptop Will Travel

An OSX-enabled ASUS EEE

Originally posted on April 23, 2008 @ 7:13 pm

One of the things that I usually do with my profession is to constantly meet new people who I collaborate with on various projects. Yesterday, I met one of my new teammates and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he is also an avid ASUS EEE user. In fact, “avid” is too light a word to describe him. A fanatic/enthusiast would be a better description, especially when I saw his EEE.

He proudly whipped out his lappie and showed me his EEE running a version of Apple OSX! My jaw dropped when I saw it. It was probably the most bad-ass mod I have seen in ages. He then proceeded to regale me with his story. He said that most of the components of the EEE is compatible with OSX except for a couple of components. I forgot one of the components but he said that the Wi-Fi module is incompatible. He said he removed these incompatible modules and replaced them with compatible ones.

From the way his OSX is behaving, the transition was quite seamless. There was nary a jitter on the OS except for a very perceptible lag in the video for video conferencing (which is more a limitation of the EEE’s processing power). This successful project proves that the ASUS EEE has the capability to become THE enthusiast’s preferred laptop.

Macbook Air tossed with the junk

Originally posted on March 13, 2008 @ 11:49 pm

The Macbook Air is undoubtedly the world’s slimmest laptop. But this extreme portability may not be a good match for people who do not know how to take care of their things.

In a recent column, Steven Levy, a columnist of Newsweek, showed exactly why ultraportable gadgets and being a slob do not make good bedfellows. Levy narrated that his expensive Macbook Air disappeared from his apartment and he couldn’t trace where it went. After scouring his place and even placing a call to an Apple representative (like they could help retrieve a misplaced laptop), he still couldn’t find it. He eventually deduced that it may have been inadvertently thrown away with a stack of newspapers that he was throwing away for recycling.

Hard to believe that a gadget worth almost two grand could be lost in that manner. But apparently it can happen. So let this be a cautionary tale to Macbook Air users or those who love buying those itsy-bitsy gadgets that electronics companies love to put out in the market.

Macbook line gets upgrade

Originally posted on February 26, 2008 @ 8:46 pm

You know it was bound to happen.

Apple has announced that it is releasing new updates to its Macbook and Macbook Pro line.

The new addtions are in are the multi touch trackpad that will now be made available in the Macbook Pro. The Macbook Air was the first Apple laptop product to possess this feature. The multi-touch functionality works a lot like the iPhone’s touchscreen. This allows users to zoom in or out or even rotate images by using basic motions with the finger.

The speeds of all the Macbook line of products have also been bumped up. You can now get up to 2.6 ghz power using the Core 2 Duo chipset. Users can opt to upgrade up to 4GB of RAM and up to 300GB of hard disk storage. The lappies are also now equipped with backlit keyboards that has an ambient light sensor that will automatically adjust the amount of light that comes out of the keys.

The new updated Macbooks are now available.

Macbook Air’s battery problem?

Originally posted on February 21, 2008 @ 11:12 pm

If there’s one thing about notebook specs that you always have to take with a grain of salt are battery capacities. If you believe that batteries will really run through the stated number of hours claimed by the manufacturer you will almost always end up disappointed. Even the venerable Apple brand is not immune from these lofty claims. When Steve Jobs unveiled the Macbook Air, he claimed that it has a a 5 hour battery life. This most probably meant that the actual battery life is closer to 4 or 4 and a half hours when used in the real world.

But there has been a growing number of claims on various forums that some Macbook Air users are actually experiencing a dismal two hour battery life on their new gadgets. And to top it off, it takes 8 to 10 hours to fully charge the battery. This and other battery issues are being aired in various forums and even in Apple.com’s discussion boards.

Have any of you guys bought a Macbook Air lately? Share your experiences with your battery here.

Is anyone else having similar problems? Is your Air’s battery working fine? Let us know in Comments.

Macbook Air released

Originally posted on January 16, 2008 @ 11:53 pm

All laptop nuts are definitely talking about the new Macbook Air, the newest offering from Apple, Inc.

The form factor is just to die for especially with its almost anorexic measurements. Touted to be the thinnest laptop ever, it will really turn heads. The thinness of the laptop though could be a source of some unexpected problems. It’s so wafer thin I wonder if someone might accidentally break it.

The specs of the Macbook Air are a mixed bag though. Although there are some nice features (multi touch trackpad, wireless access to optical drives) there are also new features that I think are a letdown (non user replaceable battery, low clock speeds, no optical drive).

What do you guys think about the Macbook Air?