Archive for July, 2010

Microsoft guru extraordinaire Mary Jo Foley has retweeted a company employee boasting of a commitment to hand out Windows Phone 7 devices to each and every one of Redmond’s 90,000-plus employees around the world. That’s certainly one way to spread the word — and realistically, the cost to Microsoft is a drop in the bucket if they can really take advantage of the word-of-mouth advertising effect here. Of course, step one in that process is going to be making sure the product is absolutely rock solid by the time those gratis units start getting handed out. 

Microsoft to employees: ‘everybody gets a Windows Phone 7!’ — Engadget

Today the planets aligned for a pretty amazing set of Unibody MacBook Pro updates.  If you want to literally max out your MacBook Pro, both RAM and hard drive have sunk to great prices in the 9to5mac Toys section.  Oh, this works in Mac Minis too but removing the HDD might not be your best move.

• On the hard drive, Dell has the $99 1TB Toshiba Canvio which has a 12.5mm high internal hard drive that can be pulled (According to this thread) and placed into most newer Unibody MacBooks and MacBook Pros (check your specs).  It isn’t a speed demon @5400RPM, but it will likely double or triple the amount of disk space you have.  Bonus: You get a USB enclosure for your current Hard Drive and for transferring your data.
• Updated: A Commenter found 4GB DIMMs at a lower price – 2x$99.  I can’t speak for the RAM manufacturer, but OWC ($28 more total) has been extremely reliable in our dealings with them in the past.  Here’s Apple’s RAM installation instructions.

These upgrades are pretty trivial and even a novice can do them.  There are lots of tutorials out on the net.  But as always, no guarantees – if you don’t trust yourself, take it to someone who you do trust!  Here are a bunch of YouTube videos on upgrading.

How to juice your MacBook/Pro to 8GB RAM and 1TB HD for $299 (w/free USB HD enclosure) | 9 to 5 Mac

Oh, Steve — you should’ve known better. You show up and remove a laptop from a manila envelope, and Earth’s most creative go and create a case fashioned out of one. You go and suggest that Eminem could "come out with a band-aid that goes over the corner" of your controversial iPhone 4, and well… this happens. You could wait for a free case, or you could buy six of these Antenna-aids for five bucks. The choice is obvious.

Antenna-aid bandages your iPhone 4 reception issue, hopes for role in next Eminem video — Engadget