hardware

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 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."

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...

One of the MacBook Air's weakest point is the fact that there is only one accessible USB port, leaving you to have an ugly USB hub connected to it should you want to hook up more than a single USB device...

Who will win? MacBook Air vs. Sony VAIO VGN-TZ150N/B, Macbook Pro vs. Sony VAIO VGN-AR790U/B, Macbook vs. Sony VAIO SZ280.

In today’s review we will try to compare almost identical in terms of their specifications notebooks from Sony and Apple brands.

MacBook Air vs. Sony VAIO VGN-TZ150N/B

We’d like to start with much-talked-of MacBook Air and his opponent, Sony VAIO VGN-TZ150N/B. Most people even do not put them in a row, since no one can come up with an ultra-thin Air. This is a market’s novation. Again, it is Apple, which reaches new heights. To begin with, I think, we should address their core specifications:

As one could see from the table, the Sony notebook is much more inferior to the similar device from Apple. In respect to advantages, the MacBook Air has come much more ahead in this category. Almost for all parameters, from processor’s frequency to graphic chipset it holds the leadership. It lost, though, in terms of hard drive capacity, but I think in order to work and play games it is completely enough those 80 Gb which are already supplied with this notebook. In the first test the ultimate leadership received the MacBook Air.

The second test checked which notebook is more compact and comfortable in use, but the most important thing was, how long can it work...

Details of Lenovo’s new ultraportable have been leaking out for nearly a month.

The latest bit of info on the X300 comes from a product page on Best Buy’s business site, which according to TrustedReviews and others listed a $2,744 configuration with a 13.3-inch display, 2GB memory, a 64GB SSD (solid-state disk) and a DVD burner. Meanwhile, a CDW product page states the X300 will be available on February 26. At this rate, there won’t be much left for Lenovo to announce.

Because of its compelling specs, the X300 has been dubbed by some reviews sites as a “MacBook Air-killer.” Never mind that Lenovo already has a loyal business following for its popular ThinkPad X-series ultraportables, while the MacBook Air has been shipping for slightly more than a week to mixed reviews. In any event, based on what has been reported so far, here’s how the two stack up.

Round 1: Performance

Clearly, the MacBook Air destroys the Vaio here, in all features other than RAM and hard drive space. It’s a bit odd that the Sony has a higher-capacity 1.8-inch hard drive, but perhaps that drive is thicker than what will fit in Apple’s design. Overall, the winner in this category isn’t surprising, given that it was one of the Air’s focus areas. It really is impressive, though, how much power Apple has packed into such a thin chassis. Winner: MacBook Air.

The really good news is that the Mac Book Air has the similar battery to the Mac Book Pro's. And it is even reasonably priced at $129. And you CAN change it yourself!