macbook

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

This week people wrote in with questions on text highlight color turning gray, memory running low on a Macbook system, an optical drive no longer reading some discs, and iTunes unable to locate original song files. We continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present answers here, we welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Text highlight color turning gray MacFixIt reader Emory asks:

We discuss our personal tech hits and misses of 2011; what we loved, hated and was overrated. Also, Scott and Ty weigh in on what will most likely be going on at CES 2012; the who, the what, and the why.

… Read more

HP open sources WebOS as the fire sale on the TouchPad burns out in minutes; Apple announces that 100 million apps have been downloaded from the Mac App Store; and Amazon promises a software update to the Kindle Fire to alleviate some of the user interface issues.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Best Buy is doing its part to make MacBooks more affordable--and also offering decent deals on Windows laptops.

11.6-inch MacBook Air: In the shadow of Apple's Black Friday deals, Best Buy is striving to stand out with better deals. And it's succeeding in some cases. For instance, the retailer is selling the 11.6-inch MacBook Air with an Intel Core i5 chip, 2GB Memory, and 64GB solid-state drive (model: MC968LL/A) for $849--that's about $50 less than Apple's Black Friday $898 sale price. (And note that MacMall has been selling a 2010 11.6-inch MacBook Air for $799.)… Read more

With Apple likely forgoing optical drives across all or most of its MacBooks, and ultrabooks doing the same, it's no surprise that the venerable whirring drive will spin away, albeit gradually, into obscurity.

Next to go driveless at Apple is the 15-inch MacBook Air. 9to5Mac says Apple almost brought out a 15-inch Air in late 2010 (but didn't because of a problem with the hinges). Apple now has plans to make this happen next year when Intel's graphics-centric Ivy Bridge processor ships.

Ultrabooks will do their part to hurry the otherwise slow demise of the optical drive. … Read more

Would Apple eschew its thinner-is-better ethos in the name of new hardware features? That's what might happen with the next iPad, if a report in iLounge is to be believed.

Citing "our most reliable source," the Apple news and reviews site said today that the third-generation iPad could be thicker than the existing model, but not by much. That's to incorporate the recently rumored dual-light bar backlighting system that's needed to brighten up a higher-resolution display. Accessory makers may be able to breathe a sigh of relief though, with iLounge claiming it will be a … Read more

Apple's MagSafe connections for its laptop power adapters allows the connections to be quickly detached from systems, the benefits of which are obvious to anyone who has ever caught a foot in the power cord of a charging device and yanked it to the floor from its resting perch.

The MagSafe adapter is a great idea, but a number of people complained that its first iterations did have a couple of flaws that resulted in the cable getting twisted and bent (a situation called "strain relief"). In some instances this strain would cause the cable components to … Read more

More details have emerged on Intel's first system-on-a-chip for mainstream PCs.

That chip, codenamed Haswell, is due by 2013 and will be the first high-performance Intel processor to approach the same level of integration used in smartphones and tablets. Today, Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, and Nvidia are the major suppliers of smartphone and tablet SoCs (system-on-a-chip) derived from the ARM design.

What does Haswell mean for future Macs and PCs? Even more powerful ultraslim MacBooks and laptop PCs will emerge--as well as hybrid laptop-tablet designs.

Imagine, for example, a future 15-inch MacBook Pro as skinny as a MacBook Air but … Read more

Apple has released an update for its latest MacBook Pro systems that resolves an issue where systems running under wall power may unexpectedly shut down under heavy workload if the battery is at low levels. Apple does not specify exactly what revisions of the MacBook Pro this update is for, but it will only install on those for which it applies.

The update is a small 730KB download either from Software Update or from the Update's Web page, and requires OS X 10.6.8 or OS X 10.7.2 or later. The update will require you to … Read more