Just bought a shiny new MacBook? Ready to slap a 3rd party memory upgrade in it? Not so fast, sunshine.

Turns out that some of the users on the Apple Support Discussion forums are finding out that the approved 3rd party memory upgrades are causing instability and lock-ups. Reports seem to indicate that only Apple brand RAM is working properly. Which is fine, if you are drinking the cider and don’t mind paying the premium for the Apple logo (as much as double the street price for DIMMs).

Of course, at the moment you can’t even buy the official Apple memory since they are out of stock.

So the best thing to do at this point is to sit and wait, or keep swapping out RAM until you find a set that will work (not dangerous at all). Either way, probably not the user experience Apple wants you to be having. Or is it?

[via jkOnTheRun]

It has come to pass that HDCP – High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (or, in this case, DisplayPort Content Protection) – is now built into the new MacBooks to protect iTunes Store media. Most of the content is not protected but it seems some newer videos are, which means you can’t play them over a non-HDCP compliant TV or monitor.

While many of us just use the screen or iPods to watch the potentially protected films, this could have ramifications for those wanting to connect their laptops up to TVs without HDMI or DVI ports – namely TVs with only VGA or component/composite ports. It could also have ramifications on the Apple TV in situations where users have odd TV set-ups.
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Well isn’t that nice: 33% of people surveyed by ChangeWave who intended to buy a laptop in the next 90 days would pick an Apple. Most interestingly, they’d probably pick up a MacBook Pro rather than an entry level machine.

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If you really like explaining things to strangers, you’ll love having one of these. Because every passer-by will stop, think, and then ask the obvious question. And you’ll have to talk about where you got it and how much it cost and why hasn’t Apple done this yet, blah blah blah. If you’re prepared for that, this looks pretty hot. They’ll take the brand new aluminum MacBooks (not MBPs yet, I think) and turn them into the kind of tablet you wish was already on offer.

It’ll cost you $1300 for the privilege, though — and that’s not including the laptop you have to buy. I guess that’s the price you have to pay to be the coolest kid on the block. That is, until the real multi-touch sub-$1000 Mac tablet hits the market. So basically forever.
[via the Register]

Back when we announced ahead of time that Apple was switching to an NVIDIA chipset, you might have taken a look at what was then already suspected of being the new laptops’ GPU. Notice if it promises anything the MacBook Pro doesn’t have? Like say some major selling points like Hybrid SLI and on-the-fly switching between the two GPUs? That’s funny; other laptops can do it!

Apple has confirmed that the chipset and GPU are capable of working together, and of switching between modes without logging out, as well. They can’t yet, though, and no explanation was really given. Did it not work right but shipping time was upon them? That’s my guess, as a solution that requires the user to log out is incredibly annoying and very unlike Apple. Let’s hope they fix it with a firmware upgrade — you know, like they enabled my MacBook Pro’s H.264 hardware decoding.

Let me preface this by saying that I have a first generation MacBook Pro that has endured like a champ, going around the entire world with me, twice. It’s survived heat, cold, humidity, and when I left my bag in a bush somewhere in the hills of Luxembourg during a rainstorm, it shook off the wetness like a Portuguese water dog. So this isn’t about the durability of Macs in general. But this new generation seems to carry a little more risk with it. So here are a couple reasons why you might want to be a little more careful with that new Mac.
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How exciting! I’ve always been skeptical of the actual popularity of netbooks, but I think this makes them out to be actual successful products and not just industry darlings. I don’t think anybody is surprised at the new MacBooks being on the top 10 in computers and hardware, but I am surprised that the white ones and the last-generation MacBook Pros are still selling better. I expected a lot of opportunistic buying of the old models, but more than the new ones? I’ll list the top ten here, you know, just in case all our traffic takes Amazon down.
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If you’re wondering about those new MacBooks and what exactly it is that NVIDIA contributed, they’ve got you covered. There’s not a lot of testing yet (we’ll cover it as soon as it happens), but it’s enough for them to say that the 9400M is a huge improvement over the last generation MacBooks’ integrated graphics. “Industry-Changing” is, I think, somewhat of an exaggeration considering laptops have been doing high-powered graphics and gaming for years, but the 9400M certainly is a good solution for a MacBook-type computer.

Apple has provided video in case our hands-on and previews didn’t hit the spot. You get a look at the manufacturing process, the multitouch stuff you may not be familiar with, and a lot of floating MacBooks. Like, a million of them.

If you want more hi-def stuff, there’s more here or you could just order one and get it in super-hi-def.

Update: Watch today’s press conference here.

Love it or hate it, the time before an Apple announcement is a time for rumors. They flutter about the flame of credibility, at the very boundary of reasonable doubt, and then, come the event, are cruelly incinerated by the harsh heat of truth. Actually, it’s not nearly so picturesque; it’s more like “people want pageviews so they propagate the most fanciful BS ever to hit the tip line.” So in the wake of Apple’s eventful announcement today, let’s see what was floating around in past weeks that did not come to pass.
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By now you must all have seen the Chinese MacBook body spy shots, generally agreed upon by the internets as being genuine. The shot above has generated a flurry of speculation as to what that little taped-up port could possibly be.
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Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but if your MacBook is equipped with an Intel GMA 950 graphics chipset then you’re SOL. If you’re unsure then go to “About This Mac” and trickle down to the “Graphics/Displays” tab. If you have a GMA X3100 or a MacBook Pro then you’re okay. However, if you’re running Boot Camp then things seem to be fine. Just thought you should know.
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Good show, old bean! Everyone knows that Apple is gaining market share in pretty much every sector, but even in their niche (the luxury market) who knew they had such a commanding lead? Fortune reports via Apple Watch (or vice versa) that Cupertino has increased their share of the $1000-plus computer market from 15% in January of 2006 to 66% by last count.

What could have precipitated this incredible growth over the last two years? If you ask me, or any child on the street, you’d be told “It’s the MacBooks, stupid.” Yes, the phenomenally successful MacBook was launched in May of 2006, priced at near enough as to be exactly $1000, and its big brother the Pro was released several months earlier.

I tend to give Apple a lot of flak for their cooler-than-thou marketing, heavy markups, and absurd fan base, but they make great computers and I’m glad they’re reaping the benefits (of fools and their money).

Intel doesn’t want you to know, but the FCC made this public anyway. That company they call Chipzilla is releasing a new Wi-fi/WiMAX combo card with the same form factor as the one in current MacBooks — you know, the ones due for a refresh soon. Coincidence?

At the moment, these cards have no way of functioning in OSX because there are no compatible drivers. That can be fixed quickly by Apple and Intel, and my guess is that a driver release is how we’ll find out whether the new MacBooks will have ‘em.

I like a company that says “not everyone’s going to need or even understand our product” and is up-front about it, especially if it’s a product I really don’t get. The MagStay Pro is just such a product.

I think the MagSafe power adapters Apple built into its portables is just great, but some people apparently find themselves unplugging their laptops when they don’t mean to. Sure it’s a little annoying, but some folks just get livid. This the MagStay.

It attaches to the USB port next to the power port and holds the power cable firmly in place, so you don’t accidentally unplug it.

Kudos to ThoughtOut for coming up with this, and also for not talking down to those of us who don’t “get it”.

MagStay Pro [Thoughout.biz]

OptiBay [Product Page]