Hot off of software update is a firmware fix for those glitchy trackpads in the new MacBooks that would completely stop responding after a certain number of clicks. Apple released the Firmware Update through Mac OS X's Software Update Utility. Be warned, there are still reports of dead trackpads despite the update.

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Okay, it might be 200Mbps, and it might do it without a 50ft Cat5 cable, but I really wouldn't trust this to not screw with my power, nor do I really believe in the technology -- BUT, I do believe in Netgear. So I'm a little on the fence if I want to go pick 2 of these things up and see the output. Could be neat.

The new Powerline HD Plus Ethernet Adapter Kit ($170) and Powerline AV Ethernet Adapter Kit ($150) have now become widely available.

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High Definition Content Protection—the annoying, and somewhat.. retarded thing that's supposed to stop people from copying hi-def stuff as it travels over a card-display connector— has apparently, and unfortunately, come to Apple's MacBooks. HDCP is now included on new MacBooks to protect iTunes Store media, though it seems that only some of the content is actually HDCP-aware. A high school teacher was unable to play Hellboy 2 on his classroom's projector with his new aluminum MacBook, but other purchased media (such as Stargate: Continuum and Heroes episodes) worked just fine. Perfect. Because copyright protection is all about inconveniencing those who actually bought their stuff legally?

According to "the_sidewinder":
"That's all DRM has ever been able to do. Anyone who wants to get around DRM can and will. Those that DRM is meant to stop, aren't even affected by it, as the source that they are using doesn't have any.

DRM only hurts the honest non tech savvy people."

Which I can honestly agree with. DRM'ing software, fine. DRM'ing music, fine. DRM'ing *hardware*? That's a little too far for my taste.

The new MacBook Pros better not have said HDCP, because I want one.

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Everything in my RSS feeds have been dull and boring, nothing really OS X-wise, anyway. I gotta start posting some beefy regular tech news again, because waiting for just OS X stuff makes the forum dead, apparently...

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Firstly, I would like to thank my pals at Gizmodo for the bulk of this review. Hope you enjoy, and please give them a visit at http://gizmodo.com/

This is going to be a long post, so get your reading glasses ready! We have a lot to cover.

Let's start with something I've been dying to finally see -- new Cinema Displays!

New Cinema Displays

The latest 24-inch Cinema Displays now look like the the iMacs (and by extension, the latest MacBook and MacBook Pros) with a glossy black front and a silver back. The glass display looks great, but the cool innovation is the three-prong connector that we talked about during the liveblog. One goes to the MagSafe, one goes to USB and one goes to the Mini Display Port. $899 is a bit more than other comparable 24-inch displays, but nothing else comes bundled with that MagSafe. Aesthetically, it's the only one that matches with the design features of your MB or MBP, so if that's important to you, you've got a new monitor.

Apple's Cinema Displays are now known as LED Displays, for reasons that you can probably figure out yourself . The new displays come with a built-in iSight camera, mic, and speakers.


Essentially, Apple just made their screens propriatary to their own wires, which, I guess sucks, but if you don't lose the wire that Apple gives you, you should be fine. What's really cool to me about this new adapter, is that it will charge a MacBook Air, MacBook, or MacBook Pro when connected to the display, which of course, saves you a 3-prong!

LED advantages

All this talk about LED technology. What’s so great about it? A lot. LEDs are solid-state light sources that light up very quickly, so there’s no waiting for your display when you connect your new MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air. You experience full screen brightness instantly. And because LEDs are mercury-free, this harmful toxin isn’t released during recycling or disposal.

Height:18.84 inches (47.84 cm)Width:22.57 inches (57.32 cm)Depth:7.76 inches (19.71 cm)Weight:21 pounds (9.5 kg) And, still Apple still has something about their displays that still hasn't been addressed. Can you guess what it is?

Display

24-inch (viewable) LED-backlit thin film transistor (TFT) active-matrix liquid crystal display

• Supported resolutions:
  • 1920 by 1200 pixels
  • 1280 by 800 pixels
  • 1024 by 640 pixels
• Display colors (maximum): 16.7 million
• Viewing angle: 178° horizontal; 178° vertical
• Brightness (typical): 330 cd/m2
• Contrast ratio (typical): 1000:1
• Response time (typical): 14 ms

That's right, the response time is STILL a whopping 14ms, which is painful to watch while gaming or watching videos.



For more info on the new LED (Cinema) Displays, see here: http://www.apple.com/displays/features.html


So let's move right along, shall we?






New MacBooks





It defies Apple convention. MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs and PowerBooks—those systems don the silver finish of aircraft-grade aluminum. iBooks and MacBooks? They can settle for plain old white.

That was, until today when Apple presented their redesigned MacBooks featuring the new "unibody enclosure" manufacturing process. So is a new finish and more rugged build enough to make the budget laptop feel like its premium counterparts? In one word, yes.

The new MacBook feels exactly like the new MacBook Pro, just smaller. Literally, if there was not a "MacBook" label on the front, you could not tell the difference without closely examining the ports. The same buttonless trackpad, the same glossy black frame, the same beveled edges, the same keyboard with back-lit keys and the same optical-drive placement make this look a lot like the fabled 12-inch MacBook Pro we've been waiting for...even though it technically isn't.

Let's talk about that buttonless glass trackpad for a moment. It's really fantastic. The finish is just right, providing that perfect balance of tactile resistance generally reserved for the MacBook Pro trackpad.

The feeling of physically clicking the trackpad (like a mouse button), while it sounds awkward for sure, is something I unconsciously adjusted to in seconds. The only oddity was when I used a two finger press for right clicking. On my current MacBook Pro, right clicking is a simple two finger tap and I caught myself tapping as opposed to pressing frequently when I right clicked. (If you can't adjust to the clicking pad,

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