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TheAppleBlog
News, reviews, walkthroughs, and real-life application of Apple products
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New MacBooks and MacBook Pros Just Around the Corner?
If you’ve been sitting there twiddling your thumbs while Apple announced the iPad, then just recently began talking about iPhone OS 4.0, then news of what’s going on with the Mac line (yes, Apple still makes computers) will probably come as a welcome surprise. A Taiwanese newspaper has a new report (Google translation) up that details some imminent changes bound for the MacBook line of notebooks.

If the reports are reliable, then it would mean that the MacBook lineup will be using Intel’s line of i3, i5 and i7 chips, as some earlier rumors speculated. The reason we haven’t seen them yet, according to the Taiwanese publication Apple Daily, is that supply has been short thanks to a large order including all three of the models from computer maker Acer.

The report claims that all of Apple’s MacBook computers, from the MacBook itself through the Pro line and to the Air, could see updates in April, with the Intel processor change the most significant alteration. That’s not all, though. New MacBook Pro systems will reportedly have 640GB drives installed by default, with the option to upgrade to a 248GB solid-state drive. If pricing remains reasonable, it could mark the first time SSDs represent a viable alternative to standard HDDs for the average consumer.

All-day computing is another detail the report claims for the upcoming computers, with a reported eight hours of battery life. Better power management might be due only to the increased energy efficiency offered by the i3, i5 and i7 chips, rather than through any major advancements in battery technology by Apple.
More on Mac
Apple’s MacBook line is definitely in need of an update. The last time any of the computers was updated was in October 2009, and that was a fairly minor update to the base model MacBook. MacBook Pros haven’t seen any changes since June of last year, when I purchased mine. The MacBook Air was updated at the same time.

Since then, the iPad has essentially hogged the entire Apple product spotlight. Rumors of its impending arrival fomented for months and months, and its official announcement and release schedule has all but occluded Apple’s other offerings. I’m glad Apple’s doing well in the mobile market, since it means my iPhone’s software will not fall into neglect anytime soon, but I fear there’s too much at risk if Cupertino continues to stake its future on mobile tunnel vision.

Some of us were Mac users before the iPod, and will continue to be even if Google wins the battle for mobile market supremacy. Let’s hope Apple remembers that and rewards us with its next salvo of MacBook updates.

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Sponsor post: Sponsor post: Atimi Software and Its Global Pursuit of Talent
Recently Scott Michaels of Atimi Software Inc. accepted awards on behalf of the company from the Information and Communications Technology Council for its dedication to seeking, supporting and cultivating the talents of new Canadians. Finding Atimi-caliber team members whose skill sets include that right mix of technical experience, commitment to innovation and affable qualities sometimes requires going beyond a domestic search. The ICTC recognition is a great honor for a company that prides itself on promoting diversity, professionalism and a commitment to technological advancement in the realm of software development.

Atimi is proud to be a part of the ICTC initiative and its commitment to developing and integrating internationally educated professionals to the Canadian labor market.

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The iPad's Not So Revolutionary Inside
The inner workings of the iPad reveal that Apple has learned much from its iPhone development, using many of the same components and cramming those chips onto a pretty small board behind the device’s 9.7-inch screen. Today, I managed to snag a few minutes with David Carey, VP of technical intelligence at UBM TechInsights, to talk about his experience tearing down the iPad.

He said that so far, the only big surprise was the new processor inside, but he couldn’t yet tell me if it was a new CPU using engineering that Apple acquired via its PA Semi acquisition or a a souped-up ARM Cortex A-8 processor. But he did point out some interesting design choices that Apple has made with its machining, and showed off all the insides. Enjoy.

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How I Migrated My Mac Life Into the Cloud
Toward the end of 2009, I began to notice that my computing needs had changed quite a bit. I’d begun to do a lot more heavy duty work in video, requiring Final Cut Studio and a large screen for editing, so I purchased a 24″ iMac for the office. At the same time, I had been traveling for business much less than before, and began to grow weary of toting my laptop (a rev A MacBook Air) back-and-forth each day. I decided a new strategy was in order and determined that I could make my life much easier if I could just leave my laptop at home on most days. Then I’d be able to carry it only when needed it for a local presentation, traveling, or if I knew I’d be mobile for a good part of the day. Subsequently, I’ve ordered an iPad, and hope it can replace my laptop in many cases.

As I tend to work at home during early mornings and evenings, the biggest challenge in this new strategy quickly became how to keep files and app data in sync across the two computers. Now, to be fair, I didn’t approach this in any strategic way, but over the ensuing few months, I have migrated much of my Mac life into the cloud (for those interested in cloud computing or data centers, check out our Structure 10 conference in June). Here are a few of the key ways I made this happen.

Mailplane + Gmail

I have several email accounts for various projects and my personal needs, and they are all either Gmail or Google Apps accounts. Previously, I set them all up as IMAP accounts and used Mail.app as a client. Even though I accessed most accounts on a daily basis, Mail.app — despite its superior UI — quickly became an untenable solution. True, I can sync accounts, rules and other data using MobileMe, but I noticed some inconsistencies in the way messages were displaying, and I was using precious disk space on duplicate mailbox files, caches, and temporary files.

Mailplane is the perfect solution for me. As a direct view of the Gmail web interface, Mailplane ensures that there aren’t any inconsistencies. And nothing gets stored locally unless I choose to download it. Like Mail, I can easily switch between accounts, and I also have direct, integrated access with Address Book.

MobileMe for Address Book and Bookmark Syncing

Speaking of Address Book, Google’s contact manager is pretty weak, and despite integration with Gmail, I am not ready to turn my contacts over to Google’s less than desirable product. So I keep Apple’s Address Book as my primary contact manager, and sync it across MobileMe among my Macs and the iPhone. Syncing only certain contacts with others — my wife, for example, for our shared social contacts — is the next step for me. I am also using MobileMe to synchronize Safari bookmarks. Having the same bookmarks across devices has proven to be a lifesaver from time-to-time.

Google Calendar (including Mobile Sync) + Fluid for Calendars

As I described earlier, I have several Gmail and Google Apps accounts. With Mailplane, you get to see a list of accounts in a sidebar, and easily switch among them without having to enter your username and password each time. I’ve even combined some accounts by using one to send and receive mail from another, and deleting the account in Mailplane. To my knowledge, there isn’t a similar solution for Google Calendar. So I’ve set all my calendars to be shared with my primary account, then used Fluid to create an app-specific browser for the consolidated Google Calendar. As a result, I have one calendar app that displays all my various calendars but allows me to keep them separate (different colors, turn on/off, etc.).

SugarSync for File Synchronization

I have longed for Mac OS X features that allow file and folder-level synchronization across computers, to no avail. Many in the Mac community swear by DropBox, but I chose SugarSync for a couple of reasons. First, with SugarSync, you can add any file or folder on a computer to your sync profile, regardless of where that file lives. At least when I looked at it previously, DropBox required you to set up a special sync folder and move your files there, forcing me to reorganize my files, not something I wanted to do. And there’s always price: SugarSync is $5/month less than DropBox at the 100GB storage level. I now often save a file on my office computer as I’m leaving the office, then open it at home with those changes reflected.

Google Docs for Collaboration

More and more, I find myself working with others on projects that require collaborative editing. Google Docs is a great solution, as it allows multiple people to access and share documents, spreadsheets and presentations. The user interface and available styles aren’t exactly aesthetically pleasing, but Google Docs works really well. Google recently added the ability to entire folders, not just documents, which made it even more valuable to me and my collaborators.

OmniFocus and Evernote

I’ve got a lot going on (probably too much), and I’ve started and stopped using various task management applications multiple times. I love Things, but I can’t live without hierarchical organization of my information and the Wi-fi based syncing with iPhone is tedious. I also really dig The Hit List, but after many months Potion Factory is still taking pre-orders and hasn’t released an iPhone app. I’m worried that it has stalled. I keep returning to OmniFocus from The Omni Group, which has some powerful organization and management capabilities, and also syncs perfectly among Macs and the iPhone. Lastly, I’ve recently rediscovered Evernote, whose web-based syncing has proven effortless and reliable (more on Evernote in a future post).

My Mac Life in the Cloud

I haven’t yet bothered syncing media, as I tend to simply use my iPhone for music, photos and more when I’m away from home. In the meantime, it seems like I can be anywhere and have access to all the files and data I need.

So, how are you keeping multiple devices in sync and using the cloud to make your life easier and more efficient?

Related GigaOM Pro Research: Report: How Mobile Cloud Computing Will Change Tech

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