Apple MacBook Air

There are actually some details you didn't know about the MacBook Air's tiny CPU: The shrinkage tech behind it had been collecting dust on Intel's shelf for a couple years since no PC manufacturer was interested in it. When Apple ordered a tiny chip, Intel thought what Apple wanted was years away, before re-discovering the concept—a year later they had it refreshed and ready to go. Which is the usual breakneck speed Apple moves, Intel's Tech Cheif Justin Rattner told. He also mentioned that they're collaborating on more breakthrough stuff that's "equally aggressive."

Samsung has introduced a 256GB solid-state drive that promises to kickstart the industry with twice the storage and twice the speed of earlier disks while also costing less to manufacture than past models - and having a chance of placing in future Apple notebooks.

Simply called the 256GB FlashSSD, the Serial ATA drive reads in-order data at 200MB per second, or double the rate of Samsung's past 128GB drive. It also boosts write speeds, often a bottleneck on solid-state drives, from 70MB per second to 160MB.

We all know that the MacBook Air is the thinnnest laptop ever, but some Apple users in Germany are claiming that the edge of the laptop is not only sharp - but downright dangerous. According to "Apple Talk" reader Bajuware, his MBA went kill-crazy all over his elbow while he was cold-chillin' on his couch.

We are still hearing reports of MacBook Air overheating woe, well after an EFI update in April that was meant to address some of those problems. While hot computers are nothing new, the MacBook Air starts shutting down cores and offloading processes when things get bad, which means users are faced with aggravating stop-start freezing until they can manage to cool the computer off - or just put it to sleep and let it "rest."

Here’s a new celebrity using the Macintosh hardware: Jessica Simpson. Really hoping, that doesn't mean MBA's going to become a 'blonde' laptop.

The MacBook Air has become the best example for why companies should use LED (light-emitting diode) backlights in notebook screens, and is driving adoption, according to market researcher DisplaySearch.

LED backlights in display screens are an improvement technology for several reasons, including a stunning picture due to more vibrant contrasts, better power savings, and they’re easier on the environment because they contain no mercury and last longer.

They helped make the MacBook Air a marvel of thinness because they take up less space inside a screen - LED backlights are about half as thick as CCFL backlights.

The only problem with LED backlights is still cost, but prices are coming down.

The MacBook Air didn’t start the trend to using this technology, but its stunningly thin design will probably prompt other companies to put out similar notebooks...