hardware

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which I answer Mac-related questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week, readers wrote in with questions on the possibility of false positive results from Apple's Hardware Test suite, how to locate lost files in iTunes libraries, and how to script a Mac to enter repeated keyboard button presses. I welcome views from readers, so if you have any suggestions or alternative approaches to these problems, please post them in the comments!

Question: False positives with Apple's Hardware Test suite MacFixIt reader Javier asks:

Backblaze, a startup offering online backup service, has released the designs for its newest Storage Pod, a low-budget storage server with 180TB of capacity.

It was something of a PR stunt when the company shared its first-gen Storage Pod design back in 2009, but the 67-terabyte system proved useful to organizations including the Vanderbilt University Institute of Image Science, which stores medical imaging data, ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, and and the Geographic Information Network of Alaska. Netflix was inspired to share its Open Connect Appliance Hardware design, and Backblaze also showed its Storage Pod 2.0 design, which could … Read more

Nintendo's current corporate structure separating consoles and handhelds will be replaced, according to a new report.

Japan-based news outlet Nikkei is reporting today that Nintendo plans to combine its handheld and console divisions by February 16. The combined team will have 280 employees, made up of 130 employees from the console side and 150 from handhelds.

According to IGN, Nikkei reported that the team members will be organized by their specialties, including circuits and design. Engadget reports that it contacted a Nintendo spokesperson, who apparently confirmed the news.

Nintendo has faced some trouble over the last couple of years … Read more

Is the Consumer Electronics Show a waste of time?

According to some critics, it is. They say that the world's largest hardware show has lost relevance in a a software-dominated world. And as Buzzfeed correctly points out in its thorough takedown of CES, the world's most innovative technology isn't at CES anymore. It debuts at individual press events put on by Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Samsung, and the other titans of technology. Of that group, only Samsung has any official presence at CES 2013.

"The fact is, hardware doesn't really matter," argued Wired's … Read more

It's a little late for Christmas presents, but if you throw a little time-machine action into the mix, this might be the perfect gift for the hacker kid in your life: Circuit Playground plushies.

The plushies are the newest product from Adafruit Industries, a leader in the open-source hardware world and the maker of a wide range of products for hackers young and old. Led by Entrepreneur magazine's entrepreneur of the year Limor Fried, Adafruit has a long history of promoting the do-it-yourself movement, and giving those who play and work in it the tools they need. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, start your programming engines: Lego Mindstorms EV3 is here.

The third full generation of Lego's programmable robotics platform, EV3 is aimed at both enthusiasts -- young and old -- and educators, and blows past the previous generation with a long list of new features that add speed and power, intelligent programmability, and more ways to communicate with the robots. Lego expects to begin selling the product, which includes 594 Technic pieces that can be used to make five different robots, this summer at a retail cost of $350. It will also release … Read more

Microsoft's Xbox 360 has once again topped the U.S. game hardware market.

During November, Xbox 360 was the top-selling hardware platform, research firm NPD said yesterday. That was somewhat surprising, considering the Wii U, which is sold out nationwide, made its debut on store shelves last month. However, it's worth noting that the Wii U was launched about halfway through the month, giving it fewer days to rack up sales.

According to Microsoft, it sold 1.26 million Xbox 360 units in November, giving it the top console spot for the 23rd-consecutive month. According to NPD, the … Read more

Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime has some sharp words for Microsoft and Sony: you react to us, not the other way around.

Speaking to CNET in a telephone interview today, Fils-Aime brushed off an assertion that the Wii U could be faced with irrelevancy issues if Microsoft and Sony launch their new consoles in the coming year, as expected.

"In the end, our competitors need to react to what we're doing in the marketplace and need to figure out what their innovation will be," Fils-Aime told CNET. "It's likely that faster processors and pretty … Read more

Why exactly is Apple's former hardware chief Bob Mansfield sticking around, despite announcing plans to retire?

When this occurred in late August, Apple didn't provide an explanation. A new story claims some of the company's top employees did not believe Mansfield's replacement was ready for the job, something that led to infighting within the company's top ranks.

In a piece looking back at Apple's past year without former CEO Steve Jobs, who died one year ago on Friday, Bloomberg Businessweek throws in a tidbit about the situation, saying that some of Apple's senior … Read more