Posts Tagged ‘MacBook’
Is Mac Circling the Drain?
Tuesday, April 24th, 2012
Morning, friends. If any of you have been following Apple blogs over the last ten months or so, there has been a fair amount of hype/rumor/borderline panic about Apple’s push toward the dominance of mobile devices like the iPad and iPhone and therefore iOS, possibly at the expense of Mac OS and the desktop format as we know it. When columnist Dan Lyons first proposed the idea last June that the Mac brand was being euthanized, Steve Jobs wasn’t having it. Lyons published the following claim in Newsweek:
“Dear Macintosh,
I hate to tell you this, but my guess is you’ve probably been sensing it already. I don’t know any good way to say it so let me just be blunt: You’ve been dropped. Dumped. It’s over. The future of Apple is no longer centered around the Macintosh. You Mac guys just got kicked to the curb, relegated to the steaming dung heap of the past. I’m sorry, dear old Mac, but your ex-boyfriend Steve has moved on.”
To which Jobs replied via email, “Completely wrong. Just wait.”
Fast forward to 2012 when dozens of columnists and tech bloggers have commented on the discontinuation of the MacBook (Apple’s best-selling computer of all time), the number of iPad sales vs computer sales (Mac and PC) and, perhaps most telling, the dropping of the Mac name from the OS line. As of 10.8 there doesn’t look to be a Mac OS and an iOS. Just OS. So with Jobs’ push to get the whole world running on the iPad (or whatever looms on the horizon?) it’s easy to see why so many Mac addicts are feeling unsettled.
Last week KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has been known to have seemingly-inside info on the development of Apple’s production process, reported that the 17″ MacBook Pro will be discontinued as Apple launches OS 10.8 Mountain Lion and prepares for back to school demand for new machines. Not that it doesn’t make some sense that they would put a cork in their largest and heaviest portable as the mobile market grows exponentially, but it does seem like if they keep killing off computers as we know them, Lyons’ claim isn’t “completely wrong.” 2012 will be a telling year in that regard. Let’s take a quick look at the introduction of the 17″ MacBook Pro’s predecessor, the 17″ PowerBook G4:So is the consumer market ready for a monumental shift in how we use a desktop OS system? Thirty years ago a lot of users didn’t want to give up the command line for GUI, either. The future may not be certain, but it should be exciting. Stay tuned.
What’s in a new MacBook Pro?
Tuesday, April 10th, 2012
It’s easy to fall into the same routine with Apple products. It goes something like this: Buy one. Love it and use it to death. A few months later read about the “next generation” of said device. Mull over various rumors about it. Watch the keynote. Salivate. Order one. Rinse. Repeat.
Just a month ago it was all about the new iPad. Last fall it was the iPhone 4S. What’s next? I have already read rumors about the iPod Touch receiving a much needed re-vamp. Who wouldn’t like to see that? Here is what I want to see, the next generation iPod Nano have wifi support with iTunes so I can stream some podcasts while I’m out and about. All that aside, here is what many are expecting: a new revision of the MacBook Pro.
Albeit not as high profile as the iPhone, iPod, or even the iPad, this is big news among the Apple devoted community. Schools and colleges in particular are going to be highly affected by the introduction of the newest MacBook Pro. Current rumors regarding MacBook Pro shortages are sure to trigger talk throughout the ranks. And what can we expect in this new MacBook Pro other than the typical bump in processor speed? I wouldn’t expect anything quite as huge as a radical redesign or Apple doing the unexpected and completely discontinuing its line of MacBook Pros in an effort to push the Macbook Air line. What I do expect is a slightly slimmer, thinner form factor.
If I was a prospective college student all over again and had the chance to get a brand new laptop, I’d definitely be excited.
April, No Foolin’. Special pricing on MacBook Pro Screen Repair!
Monday, April 2nd, 2012
Happy spring, everyone. It’s certainly warming up here in Kansas City- I spent a good part of my weekend fighting the lines at Home Depot to get mulch and grass seed. Everyone has yard work and basketball fever this week. In case you didn’t know, Kansas is also playing in the NCAA National Championship tonight, much to the delight or chagrin of iResQ staff, depending on who you ask. No matter who you root for, if you’re like me you love a come from behind victory. Especially when it’s in the form of a defensive smackdown. Take a look at one of Jeff Withey’s seven second-half blocks:
Let’s make a celebratory deal on MacBook and MacBook Pro display glass repairs. Call it April Madness. From now until April 30, you can get your broken MacBook or MacBook Pro glass repaired for just $90. It doesn’t matter if you have a 13″ or 15″ MacBook or MacBook Pro, the glass is repaired by our Apple Certified industry-leading techs for $90. And if there are other issues like LCD or case damage, we’ll diagnose it and get you a quote while it’s here. This offer is only good through April, so don’t wait to get your order in.
Enjoy the final tonight and have a great week, everyone.
iPad 3 (March) Madness!!!
Monday, March 12th, 2012
It’s that time of year again, friends. That glorious few days in the spring when everyone is waiting in anticipation for the start of something big… the new iPad release! What, did you think I was going somewhere else with that? Don’t worry, we’ll get to basketball. But first we’re adding another device to our extensive line of MacBook, iPod and iPhone repairs. As we mentioned previously, we’re sitting on iPad 3 parts just in case you are unfortunate enough to need repair the day you get your new iPad. With the iPad 2 we had a pair of digitizer repair orders come through the day of its release. Sad but true.
Now, on to the competition… between the iPad 3 and other tablets! Seriously, I’ll get there soon. I went to dinner with my wife’s extended family last week and as I walked in the door, one of her cousins who is an IT professional immediately asked, “want to see something that’s better than an iPad 3?” Now, while I’m clearly a big supporter of Apple’s devices in general, I’m not blindly going to swear that the iPad is unbeatable by something else in the consumer electronics marketplace. So I took a look.
He handed me a Samsung Series 7 Slate 700T, and this is what I observed: First, I asked in earnest (not to be clever or sardonic) why it was so heavy. Ok, ok, other manufacturers don’t have Jony Ive and the world’s best designers to make things streamline. I could probably look past a much heavier tablet that has a few extra inches of LCD. Then, I noticed how awkward and irritating the touch screen was. Sure, Apple has hundreds of patents on their digitizers, so the competition probably won’t live up to it. Surely, based on his assessment of the processing power, this thing must be lightning fast. Except that it’s not. It’s running Windows 7 in full, which is nice if you’re not willing to learn a mobile OS, but incredibly frustrating if you want to run a tablet at all without waiting for processor lag. Finally I assumed that the draw must be the price. Since Windows PC laptops can be assembled and sold for hundreds less than Macs, this 2 pound (37.5% heavier than the iPad) behemoth must cost a fraction of iPad’s sticker price, right? Well, nope. In fact it costs twice as much. So, to answer the original question that started this whole rant, yes. Yes, I would like to see something that’s better than an iPad 3. Show me.
Ah, now I’m out of time for basketball. Well, in short: several of our local teams are in the Big Dance. Mizzou at the 2 seed in what appears to be the weakest region, so a first Final Four appearance could be in their future. Kansas, if they can actually play to their ability, might have a chance of taking on UNC and former coach Roy Williams. Then there’s Kansas State and Wichita State who should be able to squeeze out a second round win. The brackets are out, and we’re ready with highlighters. Go Basketball.
iPad 3 is coming…
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
iResQ is blowing up this week with iPhone 4S repairs, MacBook screen repairs, and iPad repairs. But we have pause briefly to discuss some very important ballyhoo. Yep, I just said ballyhoo. March 7 is the date we’ve been hearing this week. Apple’s March 7 Media Event should mark the arrival of a new iPad with Retina display (LCDs with a 2048×1536 resolution according to tinkers at MacRumors). And multiple retailers such as Target and Best Buy are lowering the prices of their iPad 2s, presumably in anticipation. So what does that mean for the fate of the iPad 2? Well, not much really. At least not in the immediate future. There are still plenty of iPhone 3GS in use (we see a plethora of 3GS and 4 iPhones for repair despite the iPhone 4S release last fall), and early indications seem to suggest that, aside from a speed bump and twice the resolution there aren’t necessarily going to be major fundamental differences between the iPad 2 and the iPad 3. You 3D proponents out there are going to have to wait a little longer.
Three Dimensions of iPad? Slow down, Marty McFly.
Just a quick note on the Academy Awards, since I can’t help but dispense my opinions on movie culture. It’s no surprise that Hugo and The Artist cleaned up- both were beautifully stylized without being heavy-handed and both were earnest homages to film history at large. It’s the least I have disagreed with the Oscars in quite a while. What was interesting to me is how the Academy seems to respond when there isn’t a clear frontrunner in a given category, like this year’s Animated Feature. Nothing against Rango (I’m a big fan of Gore Verbinski), but it seems like when there isn’t a heralded Pixar picture then the judges essentially put recognizable names on a dart board and fire away (*cough* Kung Fu Panda 2 *cough*). The lack of a great Pixar film in 2011, and the In Memoriam montage serves as a reminder of, like him or hate him, how influential Steve Jobs was on so many facets of popular culture. Apple is moving forward, and I can’t imagine Pixar won’t as well, but I hope it’s with the same gusto and attention to perfect detail that we’ve come to expect. Ah, now I think I hear the music playing me off. Goodnight, everybody.
iResQ provides 24-hour diagnostics, repair and replacement services for a variety of Apple products and the Sony PSP. Among these are iPod repair (classic, nano, touch) and iPod Screen Repair; iPhone repair (1st-gen, 3G, 3GS, 4 & 4s) and iPhone Screen Repair; MacBook/MacBook Pro/MacBook Air/PowerBook/iBook repair (LCD screen replacement, glass panel, battery, hard drive, logic boards, power jack, SuperDrive, upgrades and more); iPad repair (iPad, iPad2, and iPad 3) and iPad screen repair ; Mac Mini (Intel, Power PC) Sony PSP repair (PSP 1000, 2000, 3000). States And Service Areas. iResQ Coupons.
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