Posts tagged: HARDWARE

From dialog05.com, an exhibit of conceptual USB hardware. Imagine all the email. “WHERE CN I BUY 1 THANX!!!” I trust that the USB Implementers Forum Compliance Committee has been appropriately consulted.

As reported at Gizmodo and elsewhere, the MacBook Pro has gotten a speed bump. The original announcement listed two models, 1.67GHz and 1.83GHz. Now, before even shipping the first one (they reportedly start today), those numbers have been bumped to 1.83GHz and 2.0GHz respectively, with a 2.16GHz configure-to-order option.

That makes the top about 18% faster than before; significant, but not exactly exciting (unless you’re easily excited by this sort of thing).

Apple’s new MacBook Pro doesn’t have a PC Card slot. Instead, the specifications tell us, it has an ExpressCard/34 slot.

What?

If you’re a Windows notebook nerd you probably know all about ExpressCard, as many models already support it, but I suspect most Mac-o-philes have never heard of it before; I hadn’t, anyway. It’s a replacement for the venerable PC Card (formerly PCMCIA card), designed to be smaller, simpler, faster, and more power-efficient. The “/34” suffix refers to the smaller 34mm version. There’s also a /54 version, which is 54mm wide just like the PC Card, with an awkward notch on one side. That size seems to be aimed at transition devices that can’t yet be squeezed into the smaller package.

In case you missed the news, there’s a new laptop in town. It’s supposed to be really fast and stuff. But my favorite feature is the new MagSafe power connector.

On Tuesday morning, before the keynote, one of my students happened to stop by my office to show me what had happened to the power adapter on his PowerBook. His roommate tripped over the power cord while he was working on the couch. Here’s the damage (not covered under warranty, naturally):

Last week I got a Palm TX, a new model released in October. You can check the Palm site for full specs, but for those familiar with preceding models the highlights are: 320x480 screen, non-collapsing case, built-in WiFi, and a $299 suggested retail price.

Some context: I’ve owned about a half-dozen Palm devices, and these comments are aimed at long-term users like me; the TX is replacing a Tungsten T, so this is also my first exposure to the 320x480 screen; I bought now rather than waiting for the elusive Cobalt because my T was at the end of its useful life.