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6:26 pm, July 1st, 2009, Leander Kahney
Despite touting its green credentials, Apple is ranked fairly low in Greenpeace's latest survey of green electronics.
Despite touting its green credentials in new TV ads, Apple is ranked fairly low in Greenpeace’s latest survey of green electronics.
Greenpeace’s quarterly green scorecard was released on Wednesday, and while Apple got high marks for reducing toxic chemicals, it got low marks for not supporting global recycling initiatives or using more recycled plastics.
Overall, Apple scored 4.7 out of 10, putting it in the lower half of a pack of 18 electronics manufacturers. Nokia came top with a score of 7.45, and Nintendo came bottom with a score of 1.
Apple has been advertising the green credentials of its new MacBook line in TV ads — proclaiming them the greenest laptops ever.
Greenpeace’s 12th Guide to Greener Electronics ranks tech companies on three main criteria: reducing overall environmental impact, eliminating toxic chemicals, and recycling efforts.
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Posted by Leander Kahney in Apple, Hardware, News, Top stories | 14 Comments »
11:59 pm, June 30th, 2009, Leander Kahney
Fake iPhones are getting much better. This iPhoney is almost identical to the genuine article, until it's booted up. It was bought by Steven Fernandeez of Toronto. CC-licensed picture by Steven Fernandez.
Counterfeit iPhones have come a long way. They’re now almost identical to original iPhones, fooling bargain hunters on sites like eBay.
Look at the video below from Dana Stibolt, founder of MacMedics, who was given a fake iPhone bought on the auction site.
At first glance, it’s almost identical to current models, from the touchscreen to the volume switches on the side and the dock connector on the bottom.
“It looks EXACTLY like an iPhone,” says Stibolt. “But it does not work very well, and when it does work, it is very slow.”
Last year, knockoff iPhones were easy to spot. They were thicker, bulkier and often had extra buttons or keyboards.
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Posted by Leander Kahney in Hardware, News, Top stories, iPhone | 30 Comments »
8:41 pm, June 30th, 2009, Nicole Martinelli
Image © David Hockney
In a move that’s a bit like thumbing his brush at the lawyers who sent a nastygram when we mistakenly reported David Hockney’s gallery artworks were created on his iPhone, the artist is offering free downloads of three wallpapers made on his device.
The unsigned trio of flower paintings from the 72-year-old pop artist maestro — painted with the Brushes app on his iPhone (it’s revealed for certain this time) — do sort of look like something you could do yourself.
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Posted by Nicole Martinelli in Top stories | 4 Comments »
10:23 pm, June 29th, 2009, Pete Mortensen
Remember when Lonnie told you about an easy, fool-proof way to turn on iPhone tethering in the US? Well, there’s a way, way easier method, and it’s much, much more foolproof.
Simply point Mobile Safari to http://help.benm.at, select your country, download the profile for your carrier, and install. The settings menu will add an Internet Tethering toggle in the Network section. Then just pair with your computer over Bluetooth or plug in via USB and go. No restart required. It’s really that easy.
Performance has been rock-solid in my experience, both for tethering Mac and Windows machines. Performance is terrible on EDGE and very nice on 3G, with battery life not noticeably worse than just browsing on Safari. And maybe a little bitter once the display goes to sleep. But I’m not running BitTorrent through the thing, either.
AT&T should have a killer offering on their hands once this actually ships. It would also be nice if AT&T tweaks the interface so you can turn on tethering without pulling your phone out of your pocket. Honestly, the only complaint I have. Anyone tried it outside the US? Really seems like something that should fly under the radar so long as you’re not downloading the whole Internet over it…
And, it goes without saying, this is use at your own risk and Apple will laugh at you if you brick your phone.
(And yes, I know we’re late, but I never recommend running something risky on your hardware if I haven’t done it myself. This is as close to safe as it gets.)
Richard Lai via Engadget
Posted by Pete Mortensen in Hardware Hacks, Top stories, iPhone | 17 Comments »
11:55 pm, June 26th, 2009, Leander Kahney
After using the iPhone 3GS for a week, here’s five of my favorite, non-obvious tricks I’ve picked up.
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Posted by Leander Kahney in How tos, Software, Top stories, iPhone, iPhone 3G S | 14 Comments »
9:49 pm, June 26th, 2009, Leander Kahney
- Is the iPhone 3GS waterproof? This one kept recording, even after its owner dropped it in a swimming pool.
A Parisian iPhone owner was videoing friends in a backyard swimming pool when he accidentally dropped it in the water. Amazingly, the iPhone kept recording and was working fine when he fished it out.
“It still frickin’ works,” he says amazed into the still-recording camera. Watch the video of the entire episode below.
And it still works fine, says the owner. “Phone still working fine with no issues whatsoever,” he says in the comments to the video. “I’m probably the luckiest guy alive!!”
Although the iPhone 3GS is an exceptionally well-made piece of hardware, it is NOT waterproof. This iPhone had a rubbery condom cover on, which probably helped it survive the dip in the pool.
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Posted by Leander Kahney in News, Top stories, iPhone 3G S | 24 Comments »
12:18 pm, June 21st, 2009, Leander Kahney
Steve Jobs's private Gulfstream jet on the runway at TK. Photos reproduced with the kind permission of Rich Snyder.
Jobs has blocked the FAA from officially tracking his jet’s flights (a routine request; some simple paperwork with the National Business Aviation Association). But his 15-seater Gulfstream 5 has a distinctive tail number — N2N — that makes it easy for aviation buffs to track its movements on the Internet.
And while it looks like he flew to Memphis on March 23, possibly for a liver transplant — as CNBC claims to have independently confirmed — his jet made many more flights in April.
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Posted by Leander Kahney in News, Steve Jobs, Top stories | 19 Comments »
9:35 am, June 20th, 2009, Leander Kahney
There’s plenty of naysayers pooh poohing the iPhone 3G S. It’s a minor upgrade, they say. Not worth the money, especially for 3G owners.
But after buying one on Friday morning and playing with it all day, I can say with 100% certainty that that’s complete and utter rubbish.
The 3G S is a major step up from the iPhone 3G, worth every penny. Sell the car; sell the house; sell the kids: you must have this phone.
The full review after the jump, plus plenty of test photos and video shot in sunny San Francisco.
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Posted by Leander Kahney in Reviews, Top stories, iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3G S | 7 Comments »
11:59 pm, June 14th, 2009, Jonathan Zschau
Before you rush out and buy that brand new iPhone 3G S, consider the suggestions here. For some iPhone 3G owners, the 3G S may be unnecessary. For those who simply cannot wait read on, because there are ways to minimize the overall cost of the upgrade. In fact, you may even turn a profit.
The iPhone 3G S will be subsidized by AT&T for qualified customers ($199 for the 16 GB model and $299 for the 32 GB model). Unfortunately, if you currently own an iPhone 3G you are not a qualified customer because you entered into a two-year contract with AT&T last year. Unsubsidized, the iPhone 3G S is priced at an exorbitant $599 and $699 (plus the $18 setup fee).
AT&T is probably not going to alter its stance on the matter because, like it or not, offering subsidized phones only to new customers is standard industry practice. If you are an existing iPhone 3G owner, and do not have money to burn, consider all your options after the jump.
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Posted by Jonathan Zschau in Apple, How tos, News, Retail Stores, Top stories, iPhone, iPhone 3G | 18 Comments »
12:03 am, June 14th, 2009, Leander Kahney
Last fall I bought a 13-inch unibody MacBook, and I fell in love. For the last seven months I’ve been head-over-heels with the machine. But now there’s a new love in my life: a brand new 13-inch MacBook Pro, which is shaping up to be the perfect laptop.
Released last week, Apple’s MacBook Pro 13” is an amazing machine. It’s priced as a starter, but it’s now truly a “Pro” laptop. It’s worthy of real work. It adds many of the “Pro” features previously reserved for its higher-end siblings, but costs hundreds of dollars less.
It now has an awesome, all-day battery; a bright, energy-sipping screen; and a backlit keyboard. Firewire is back, and there’s an indispensible SD Card slot. And yet it starts at just $1,200. For a computer of this quality and power, that’s a steal.
Full review after the jump, including real-world benchmarks and tons of pics.
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Posted by Leander Kahney in Apple, Hardware, MacBook Pro, Reviews, Top stories | 85 Comments »
12:08 pm, June 12th, 2009, Nicole Martinelli
image courtesy blog idiomorphic.
This mini Time Capsule Candle is the handiwork of a Japanese Apple fan, and, as far as we can figure out with google translate, was cast from two aluminum shells.
Not quite a DIY for dummies project, but love the end result. Burning your candle at one end never looked so good.
Via Blog! Nobon
Posted by Nicole Martinelli in Cult of Mac, Top stories | 4 Comments »
7:31 pm, June 10th, 2009, Leander Kahney
The “sealed” battery in Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Pro is easily replaced with standard screwdrivers, a teardown by iFixit shows.
The MacBook battery is not supposed to be changed by the user. Sealed inside the case, Apple encourages customers to pay Apple $130 to change the battery and dispose of the old one.
However, the battery is easily accessed with a standard Phillips screwdriver, and the battery removed with a tri-wing screwdriver, iFixit found when dissassmbling the device on Tuesday.
In addition, iFixit notes that the single audio jack (see post below) is innapropriate for a “Pro” machine. The jack supports analog and digital audio-out, and analog audio-in, but not digital audio-in.
“If you need digital audio-in, this is not the machine for you.” said iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens in an email.
Wiens also said the MBP’s new SD card slot is “rather unimaginative.”
“Half the card hangs outside the computer,” said Wiens. “Apparently, Apple couldn’t free up enough space for a slot that would make the card completely captive.”
Wiens notes the battery is beefier (360 grams, about 60 grams heavier than the old one), but is rated 60 Watt-hours, compared to the older battery’s 45 W-h. Apple claims the battery will last for 7 hours. The previous MacBook’s battery was rated 5 hours (yeah, right!)
More details and pictures from iFixit after the jump.
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Posted by Leander Kahney in Apple, Hardware, Hardware Hacks, How tos, Macintosh, News, Top stories | 12 Comments »
