AppleInsider This is one of the more extensive and active Apple/Mac online forums I've found.
Has anyone found the new Airport Extreme base stations or cards? My new 12-inch PowerBook is ready. I can't believe how frustrating it is not to be wireless. I usually sit in front of the fireplace each night and clean out the day's e-mail on my laptop, using my home Wi-Fi network to connect. Meanwhile, Apple's new upgrade of the iLife applications are not shipping as scheduled and reportedly on a short hold for final tweaking, says Mac News Network.
The 80 sixth-graders at Detroit's Malcolm X Academy are more eager
than usual to head to school these days. So is teacher Jeffrey Robinson.
Over the next couple of weeks, the kids will start learning about the
Apple iBook computers they'll soon be using in the classroom -- the ones
they'll eventually be able to take home.
This really is a significant story. It's all part of the pilot phase of a
statewide effort called Learning Without Limits, which has the goal of
setting up a wireless Internet network for every school building in
Michigan and then equipping every student with a computer.
The program is funded by $3.5 million from the state and $6 million in
federal education funds channeled through the Michigan Department of
Education. Administered by Michigan Virtual University, it's being
implemented in 13 school districts this year.
last year, I visited the Henrico
County school district in Richmond, Va. That district issues every
high school and middle school student a wireless laptop. The kids,
teachers and administrators I talked to had incredible things to say
about how helpful this program is and I
wrote a column about it.
Now Michigan hopes to duplicate the experiment. Read
my Detroit Free Press column on this.
New
Power Macs faster, cheaper - Tech News - CNET.com I bought a new G4
Power Mac a month ago and already it's obsolete???
Naw, not really. But in a keep-'em-coming execise of new products, Apple
introduced new Power Macs with faster processors and lower prices
today. The company also released a new wide-screen monitor.
The high-end system tops out with twin 1.42GHz PowerPC G4 processors, as
Apple seeks to close the gigahertz gap on Windows-based PCs. At the
same time, the price of the high-end model has dropped from $3,299 to
$2,699.
The new low-end Power Mac costs $1,499--a $200 reduction on the previous
starter system--and packs a single 1GHz processor. But the megahertz
boost and price cut represents a trade-off, as the previous entry-level
Mac packed dual 867MHz processors.
Meanwhile, the price of a midrange model has dropped from $2,499 to
$1,999. That's the one I bought. Sigh.
I also bought - a month ago!! - a 17-inch Studio display for $999. You
guessed it: Today Apple slashed the price on that model by $300 as it
introduced a new 20-inch Cinema Display monitor for $1,299.
Oh well.. I've had a month's use of all this great gear. It's been worth
it.
This new Macintosh addiction has no end. I just bought one of the new
12-inch Mac G4 PowerBooks. It came with the Apple Super Drive that
plays and records both DVD's and CD's. All I need now is the Airport
Extreme card, which should be available any day now so I can use it with
my Wi-Fi network.
I picked it up Saturday from the Apple
store in Troy's Somerset Collection which was was packed with
customers checking out new products. In the half-hour I was there, I saw
one man buy a new G4 desktop system, a family buy a 17-inch iBook and a
woman who read my
switching story in the Free Press told me she was taking Mac
classes at the store and was about to buy a new iMac to replace a
Gateway desktop.
The new PowerBook I picked up did not have the new software upgrades of
iPhoto, iDVD and iBook that were announced earlier this month, though
I'm told I will qualify for a free upgrade when they're available next
week or the week after. I had to download Apple's new Safari Web
browser, too, as only Microsoft IE was on the PowerBook.
I know I'll want more memory than the standard 256MB but my initial
impression is it's very small and very fast. The 867MHz processor really
zips along with Apple's OS X operating system. I also like the feel of
the distinctive-looking grey keyboard - much more solid than other
iBooks and PowerBooks I've used.
The 12-inch screen on the PowerBook G4 is crisp and clean and draws
fast. The one surprise is the amount of heat that it generates through
the very conductive brushed aluminum case. It noticeably warms up your
lap.
That's not too bad when the temperature is below zero - as it was in my
part of Michigan this morning. But come August, I wonder if that heat
will be a problem.