inspiretech Blog

A man on Ebay bought an “as is” Macbook Air that upon closer inspection, is believed to be one of the early prototypes of the ultra thin notebook. This progenitor Macbook Air features some noticeable differences from the consumer ready Macbook Airs. The bottom is a dark aluminum and the microphone position near the web cam is off. It is still unknown how this Macbook Air managed to escape from the top secret underground Cupertino lab but rest assured Apple’s fleet of cybernetic “Terminators” is fresh on the trail. Maybe it would be in the owner’s best interest to get rid of the Macbook Air before being slapped with an injunction.

-Derek

Apple has made all sorts of products we’ve come to know and love. The iPod, iPod touch, the iPhone and the Mac. So why doesn’t Apple sell their own brand of Apples? OK maybe that isn’t such a great idea, but an Apple fan in Japan did just that. His Fuji apples feature the Apple logo on them, as well as the outline of an iPod. How’d he do it you ask? Simple, just add sticker to the apples a month or so before harvesting them. Did you hear that Apple growers in Washington?

-Ray

[Source: gizmodo]

Today, Apple has released the next version of Safari, properly dubbed Safari 3.2. For Mac users, it can be automatically updated through the Mac OS X Software Update. Safari 3.2 comes with improved security and it also comes with anti-phishing protection. Safar 3.2 comes in versions for Windows, Mac OS X Tiger, and Mac OS X Leopard. Apple released the following statement regarding Safari 3.2:

This update is recommended for all Safari users and features protection from fraudulent phishing websites and better identification of online businesses. This update also includes the latest security updates.

For detailed information on the security content of this update, please visit this site: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

So once you update your Safari, please remember to come back and leave us a comment about your experience.

- Geoff

[Source: MacRumors]

Apple usually doesn’t have any spectacular deals on Black Friday, they usually offer a $100 off promotion of some sort. Recently analyst at Barclay Capital and the people at Apple Insider are saying that they are expecting an even better promotion this year. This could mean great deals on Macs, iPods and even the iPhone! Apple Insider points out Apple’s back-to-school promotion. They gave away a free iPod touch with the purchase of a new notebook. Nothing has been confirmed with Apple so don’t hold your breath.

-Ray

[Source: gizmodo]

The Apple MacBook Air is pretty darn light at three pounds. The aluminum MacBook Air might get even lighter by using carbon fiber components to bring the weight down even more. A source at AppleInsider claims Apple will use the strong yet ultra light material to replace the underside of the MacBook Air to reduce weight. The underside panel is the second heaviest part of the notebook itself. No changed to the shell or lid are expected however. No word on a release date or pricing has been leaked but do expect to be quite a bit more as the prices of carbon fiber has always been pretty pricey.

-Ray

[Source: electronista]

This is a bad time for business in general, the economic slump means people don’t have the money to be spending on expensive luxuries. Apple and RIM (Research In Motion, the company behind the Blackberry) have both seen falling stocks over 50%. Analysts however tend to be more optimistic about Apple than the competition. A key issue with RIM is the cannibalism of their own sales through their many many products. Essentially, a buyer can walk into an Apple or AT&T store and pick up one one single iPhone where as the same buyer would be bombarded with choices walking into a Verizon store. All the money being put into research and development for Blackberries is basically money that is going towards trying to generate repeated sales to the same customers. The fundamental flaw in that philosophy is the fact that most people will not buy a new smart phone with every iteration. The iPhone on the other hand, is doing surprisingly well despite offering only one choice. It is a lot like when Henry Ford offered the Model T, “you can have it any color you like as long as it is black”. That philosophy worked out pretty well for Ford and it is working out pretty well for Apple.
-Derek

Mark Papermaster, the expert in computer chips and servers formerly from I.B.M was ordered by a court to cease work for Apple Inc immediately. A little while back, Apple managed to convince the former I.B.M excecutive to leave his position for “a once in a lifetime opportunity”. Since then, I.B.M has sued Papermaster upon grounds that he is subject to a non-compete agreement. The agreement would prevent Papermaster from working for Apple for at least one year. I.B.M is fearful that due to his intimate knowledge of I.B.M,  Papermaster would disclose proprietary information to Apple. Apple has released a statement that they still intend to hire Papermaster after the one year injunction.

-Derek

According to its latest report, Apple added over 8000 new full-time employees in fiscal year 2008. That represents a jump in over 35% of Apple’s total employee pool. Most of the additions were to the retail sector of Apple which accounts for more than 6.3 of the 32.4 billion dollars in net sales for the computer giant. None can deny that Apple’s growth has been spurned by the success of the iPhone in recent months. The number of Apple Stores correlates to that growth with its own addition of 50 new locations opening up bringing the current total to 247 stores across the nation. Buying a Macbook is now easier than ever.

Remember the Mac vs PC commercial when Mac claims that PC has spent more on advertising than on R&D for their products? Looks like it’s actually Apple who is guilty of dropping more money on marketing than on improving their products. It’s pretty odd that Apple, a company known to spend huge amounts of money on their image, would even make such a claim against Microsoft. According to WinGeek, Apple only spends .7 cents per $1 of sales less on advertising than Microsoft does and that they also only spend a fraction of what Microsoft actually spends on improving all of their products. WinGeek also went on to say that Microsoft spends 13.9% of every dollar earned on R&D while Apple only spends 3.3%. Maybe Apples marketing team should of done their homework.

-Ray

[Source: thegadgetblog]

Recently purchased a new entry-level Nvidia-equipped MacBook Air? If you didn’t already get the e-mail then we have some bad news for you. The MacBook Air will be delayed for 2 to 3 weeks. This delay will only affect MacBook Airs with the 120GB SATA drive, MacBook Airs with the 128GB SSD should ship out within 3 to 5 days. Looks like you’ll have to wait a little bit longer for your Apple product to break on you.

-Ray

[Source: crunchgear]