World of Apple

Apple has begun a MacBook Repair Extension Program for Hard Drive Issues to repair or refund owners of black or white MacBooks sold between approximately May 2006 and December 2007 who have suffered faulty hard drive issues.

Symptoms are described as a flashing question mark on the screen at which point Apple will “examine the hard drive to confirm if it is eligible for a replacement, free of charge, under this program.”

More specifically the issue that seems to effect MacBooks with Seagate hard drives is said to only prevail on 13-inch MacBooks with a processor speed of 1.83GHz, 2GHz, or 2.16GHz and one of the following hard drive capacities 60GB, 80GB, 100GB, 120GB, or 160GB.

AirPort Client Update 2009-00 – 13MB

This update is recommended for all Macintosh computers running Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.2 and includes fixes for the following:

• Inability to turn AirPort on or off in some cases after upgrading from Mac OS X Leopard
• An occasional loss of network connection when using Wake on Demand
• Inability to create a computer-to-computer network, or share the Internet connection on some MacBook, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini computers

SuperDrive Firmware Update 3.0 – 18.4MB

This update will eliminate the noise made by the optical disk drive during system startup and wake from sleep on your Mac. This update works with the following EFI updates:

• iMac EFI Firmware Update 1.4
• Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.2
• MacBook EFI Firmware Update 1.4
• MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.8

MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.8 – 3.4MB

This update eliminates the noise made by the optical disk drive during system startup and wake from sleep on MacBook Pro computers. When installation is complete, please run Software Update again, and install SuperDrive Firmware Update 3.0.

MacBook EFI Firmware Update 1.4 – 3.1MB

This update eliminates the noise made by the optical disk drive during system startup and wake from sleep on MacBook computers. When installation is complete, please run Software Update again, and install SuperDrive Firmware Update 3.0

iFixit has posted complete galleries of tearsdowns for all the Apple products released earlier this week.

As with most teardowns, iFixit has discovered some key points about the products released this week.

27-inch iMac

• 27-inch iMac must be fully powered on to make use of the video in feature
• CPU and GPU situated on opposite sides of the machine, both with large heatsinks
• AirPort antenna is routed towards the large plastic Apple logo on the back, giving better signal strength
• Power supply is 310 watts, the largest used in any iMac ever

MacBook

• Battery offers 9% more capacity than previous generation 60wh vs 55wh but Apple claims a battery life of 7 hours versus the previous 5.
• Hard drive is no longer easy to replace, but can still be done.
• Bluetooth antenna is routed through the display housing.

Magic Mouse

• Touch area is from the Apple logo forward.
• Top of mouse is translucent.
• Uses the Broadcom BCM2042 “Advanced Wireless Keyboard/Mouse Bluetooth Chip.”

Mac mini

MacminiColo offers several side by side shots of the new Mac mini and Mac mini server introduced on Tuesday.

Apple today updated the MacBook with a new polycarbonate unibody enclosure featuring a brilliant LED-backlit display, a glass Multi-Touch trackpad and Apple’s innovative built-in battery for up to seven hours of battery life. The new MacBook is still available for $999 (£799).

“The new MacBook includes many of the great features found on the innovative MacBook Pro, such as an LED-backlit display, glass Multi-Touch trackpad and built-in long-life battery,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With the only lineup of notebooks all featuring unibody enclosures, LED-backlit displays and long-life battery technology, there’s never been a better time to switch to a Mac.”

The new MacBook features a unibody, polycarbonate enclosure that makes it lighter and more durable. The new design includes a unique non-skid bottom surface and at just 4.7 pounds, the sleek MacBook slides easily into a backpack or briefcase. MacBook comes standard with a bright, LED-backlit display with the same wide-angle viewing technology used in the MacBook Pro line. The new MacBook has a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and powerful NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics.

The new MacBook is available immediately.

Following months of rumours surrounding new iMac and MacBook computers, today brings new rumours that point towards the release of updated computers and potentially new peripherals today.

John Gruber of Daring Fireball has briefly mentioned in a post that today will see the release of:

• Redesigned polycarbonate MacBooks
• “Impressive” new iMacs
• Updated Mac minis with one model shipping with Mac OS X Snow Leopard server
• Multi-touch Magic Mouse
• “Multi-touch trackpad gadget”

Additionally HardMac reports that a distributor of consumer electronics has confirmed the existence of two new product references in its database.

Despite being open to interpretation HardMac speculates that this could be new iMac and Mac mini models appearing in the system.

AppleInsider over the weekend published a collection of screenshots showing Google ads which advertise products not currently available; a sign that Apple’s rumoured refresh of the iMac, Mac mini and MacBook could be imminent.

The ads which were spotted mainly in European countries read as follows:

“Apple’s Nieuwste MacBook®”
“store.apple.com/nl/macbook Dunner, lichter en krachtiger! Gratis bezorging. Bestel vandal.”

“Apple Store: New iMac”
“store.apple.com/nl-store Ultradunne 20 & 24 inch modellen. Vanaf slechts €1099. Apple Store”

“Apple’s Nieuwe Mac mini”
store.apple.com/nl-store Sneller en betaalbaarder dan ooit. Vanaf slechts €499. Bestel meeten.”

Translated to:

“Apple’s Newest MacBook”
“store.apple.com/nl/macbook Thinner, lighter and stronger! Free delivery. Order today.”

“Apple Store: New iMac”
“store.apple.com/nl-store Ultra thin 20 & 24 inch models. From only € 1099. Apple Store”

“Apple’s new Mac mini”
store.apple.com/nl-store faster and more affordable than ever. From only € 499. Buy assay.”

AppleInsider points out that currently the cheapest Mac mini available is €599 as opposed to the advertised €499.

Following rumours of iMac updates the MacBook also appears set for a refresh in the near future. The iMac which is rumoured to be refreshed in the next few weeks could be revealed alongside the MacBook.

The new MacBook refresh is said to be another push by Apple to reveal even more affordable notebooks with AppleInsider reporting that they will be the cheapest notebooks Apple has ever introduced.

Limited details were offered by AppleInsider apart from the rumour sites states that the MacBook will retain the white polycarbonate shell.

Analyst firm Wedge Partners has released a note to clients predicting updates to both the iMac and MacBook in the near future. The note details that the iMac will see a significant design refresh and MacBook will see limited design enhancements.

The note also adds that Apple will be looking to lower the prices of both the iMac and MacBook to make them more competitive.

Despite being an analysts prediction the report echoes previous rumours that the iMac will see a significant redesign and price drop.

AppleInsider is today reporting that Apple’s polycarbonate MacBook notebook range is set for a “visual tuneup”. The sources familiar with the matter say that Apple is preparing to refresh the MacBook within the next few months with a “slimmer, lighter enclosure and restructured internal architecture to boot.”

The report also suggests that the MacBook will also see multiple models under the current $999 price point. Details are slim on how Apple will achieve this but AppleInsider speculates that by using last season processors and removing features such as FireWire connectivity will help Apple compete with other budget notebooks.

AirPort Client Update for MacBook and MacBook Pro – 1.68MB

This update is recommended for some Intel-based Macintosh computers running Mac OS X v10.5.8 and addresses an issue with AirPort performance while running on battery power. It may only be installed on:

• MacBook (13-inch, Late 2007)
• MacBook (13-inch, Early 2008)
• MacBook (13-inch, Late
• MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2008)
• MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008)
• MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2008)