Ad: Manage updates with the Download App
ie8 fix

mac

Microsoft: It's a scary world out there without us

Reading through Ina Fried's excellent interview with Microsoft's Brad Brooks, I can't help but wonder how Microsoft cornered the market on chutzpah. Microsoft has become so dominant in markets like the desktop that its best argument for consumers and enterprises avoiding the Mac and open source is, "But it will cost you so much money to leave Windows."

Now there's a ringing endorsement. Brooks doesn't argue that his product is better. He doesn't argue that Windows is competitive with the Mac. He argues, rather, that consumers are fools for not understanding just … Read more

Migrating and resizing a Boot Camp partition

Monday, I wrote about the process of upgrading the hard disk on my Apple MacBook Pro, and the as-yet unsolved problem of migrating the 20GB Boot Camp partition on the old hard disk--along with its Windows Vista installation--to a 32GB partition on the new drive. (See "Another new hard disk...and an unsolved problem.")

Well, it's all working now. As I've always said about the Mac, most things are either easy or impossible...and this one turned out to be easy.

My thanks to my friend EDN senior technical editor Brian Dipert who provided half of … Read more

Photos of new MacBook Pro leaked?

As we wait for Steve Jobs to take the wraps off what many expect to be a new Apple MacBook Pro, Engadget has posted a blurry photo of what appears to be that rumored laptop.

While the site does not go so far as to pronounce it the real deal, it does note that the photo shares similarities with other photos of laptop cases that leaked on to the Web over the weekend. Engadget also reports that the MacBook Pro will sport two Nvidia GPUs in possible a "hybrid SLI setup" it called "pretty wild."

Meanwhile, … Read more

Microsoft: Mac buyers pay Apple tax

Apple may offer lower-priced machines on Tuesday, but one top Microsoft official said Monday that Mac buyers will still be paying an "Apple tax."

In a lengthy interview, Brad Brooks, vice president of Windows Consumer Product Marketing, argued that Mac buyers face hidden costs if they try to add Windows to their Mac or if they decide to forgo Windows compatibility.

"It's really a definition now between choosing something that is limited, and somebody chooses for you, basically the 'i' way, or actually taking it to a much broader scope, which is 'your' way, and defining … Read more

Apple notebook event: Live blog at 10 a.m. PDT Tuesday

It's that time again: Apple has invited reporters down to its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters for a special notebooks event, which means CNET News will be there to live-blog the whole thing.

The fun starts at 10 a.m. PDT Tuesday at this link.

Apple says the focus of the event will be on notebooks. A redesigned MacBook and MacBook Pro are all but assured, but there are likely to be some other surprises too. Will Apple opt for Nvidia chipsets? Will there finally be a Mac sold for less than $1,000?

Come back here Tuesday morning to find … Read more

New MacBook chassis pics--the real deal?

We all know that Apple is gathering the chattering classes together Tuesday in Cupertino, Calif., to unveil the latest MacBooks. But unlike many previous Apple product debuts, the Interwebs have been awash recently with reasonably believable-looking leaked spy shots of the laptops, or their component parts.

The latest comes from Chinese site MacX.cn, which purports to show the new aluminum chassis of the 13-inch MacBook. Interesting to note that the side view (pics are after the break) seems to omit the FireWire port currently found on the standard MacBook. … Read more

Another new hard disk...and an unsolved problem

I bought my 2.33GHz MacBook Pro about two years ago, shortly after it was introduced. It came with a 160GB hard disk, but that wasn't really enough for all my stuff, particularly when I wanted to add a Boot Camp partition for Microsoft's Windows Vista.

So last July, I upgraded to a 250GB drive, a process I described here ("A new hard disk for my MacBook Pro").

That drive started feeling a little tight within just a few months, chiefly due to videos downloaded from the iTunes Store. Although I rarely buy videos from iTunes, … Read more

The Apple notebook guessing game

As with any Apple event, there's plenty of rumor and speculation to go around. The lead-up to Tuesday's event in which "the spotlight turns to notebooks," according to the event invitation, has been no different.

The Mac maker has invited journalists down to its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters to get a look at its new round of notebooks Tuesday morning. But what exactly Apple CEO Steve Jobs will unveil is anyone's guess.

We have a few clues in the form of purported "spy shots," or leaked photos, of the redesigned notebooks that have made … Read more

Digital City: Episode 2

It's the highly anticipated second episode of Digital City, our ongoing conversation about technology and urban spaces. Look for a new episode every Monday, available here at digitalcity.cnet.com or on iTunes. Listen now: Download today's podcast Digital City rundown Episode 2

Market Meltdown continues!!! World Stock Markets have lost $26 Trillion since the peak of almost exactly one year ago.

Apple -- $92 -- was north of $160 a couple of weeks ago Sirius -- 39-cents! Seriously! GameStop $27 -- was $60 last Xmas season Take-Two -- $11 -- was $25 or so for most of … Read more