Retailer MonoPrice.com are promising a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter cable by the end of January 2009, suitable for connecting the new video port on the unibody MacBook and MacBook Pro to an HDMI-equipped display. It’s the first such adapter confirmed as coming to market, with Apple themselves still delayed in delivering their own Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI cable.
Today Apple released a number of new updates for their new “Late 2008” MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. For those of you who are wondering this firmware update comes in two pieces, an EFI update and an SMC update.
The Inquirer has published the result of their investigation regarding the new 15-inch MacBook Pro that may inherit faulty NVIDIA graphic chip. This report suggests that the “black screen of death” during gaming usage could be related to the faulty chips in the MacBook Pro.
Of all the decisions Apple made with their most recent MacBook refresh, probably the most controversial has been its decision to use Mini DisplayPort as the sole video connector. The 24-inch LED Cinema Display, then, has a doubly-tough challenge: not only does it have to follow the well-respected Cinema Displays of the past, it’s also the only monitor that will work, without adapters, with the new unibody MacBooks.
We may be a least a day or so away from Black Friday, but the cut-price Apple hardware-fest is already underway. The Cupertino’s own sale is for one day only, and we won’t know exactly what’s on offer until Friday, but Best Buy have been selling discounted Macs since Monday and MacMall have just kicked off their own promotions. Rather than wade through the deals yourself, MacRumors have put together a summary of where the bargains are.
Best Buy have begun selling MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops with $100 discounts from the list-price. The deal is not limited to the older plastic MacBook, but the new late-2008 unibody aluminum version and its more powerful Pro sibling. According to some sources, Apple stores will be matching the Best Buy pricing “for the next few days”.
Now this is just plain strange. Apparently the latest Apple MacBook line is showing off some seriously unusual behavior. In fact, the entire system gets bogged down when the battery is removed. How’s that for strange?
Apples decision to go with Mini DisplayPort on their new MacBook and MacBook Pro machines, and not include the adapters free, initially frustrated many whose existing monitors simply lacked the connection. Now there’s a whole new level of annoyance, as it becomes clear that Apple have made use of HDCP (High-Definition Content Protection) which renders any display not supporting the encryption technology unable to show a growing amount of content bought through iTunes.
It seems quite a few people were having trouble with unrecognized clicks on their glass trackpads on the new MacBook and MacBook Pros. As promised, Apple has now released a firmware for the trackpad to help in fixing the problem.
If the newest Apple MacBooks and MacBook Pros stock memory size aren’t enough for you, then you can crank up their capacity with the new Other World Computing DDR3 4GB and 6GB module kits. Now, you can get the most out of your notebooks without having to wait.
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