Apple® updated its popular MacBook® with a new, durable polycarbonate unibody design featuring a brilliant LED-backlit display, a glass Multi-Touch(TM) trackpad and Apple’s innovative built-in battery for up to seven hours of battery life. Inheriting technology and design features from the MacBook Pro line, the new MacBook is an ideal consumer notebook for students and new Mac® users, and is available for $999.

“The new MacBook includes many of the great features found on the innovative MacBook Pro, such as an LED-backlit display, glass Multi-Touch trackpad and built-in long-life battery,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With the only lineup of notebooks all featuring unibody enclosures, LED-backlit displays and long-life battery technology, there’s never been a better time to switch to a Mac.”

The new MacBook features a unibody, polycarbonate enclosure that makes it lighter and more durable. The new design includes a unique non-skid bottom surface and at just 4.7 pounds, the sleek MacBook slides easily into a backpack or briefcase. MacBook comes standard with a bright, LED-backlit display with the same wide-angle viewing technology used in the MacBook Pro line. The new MacBook has a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and powerful NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics.

The new MacBook includes Apple’s innovative built-in notebook battery for up to seven hours of wireless productivity on a single charge, and up to 1,000 recharges.* At nearly three times the lifespan of conventional notebook batteries, Apple’s built-in battery results in fewer depleted batteries and less waste. Depleted batteries can be replaced for $129, which includes installation and environmentally responsible disposal of your old battery.

The energy-efficient MacBook joins the industry’s greenest lineup of notebooks, with every Mac notebook achieving EPEAT Gold** status and meeting Energy Star 5.0 requirements. The entire Mac notebook line now comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Mac notebooks contain no brominated flame retardants, use internal cables and components that are PVC-free and are constructed of recyclable materials.

Every Mac comes with Mac OS® X Snow Leopard®, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife®, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife features iPhoto®, to easily organize and manage photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use new features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand® which introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar.

Pricing & Availability

The new MacBook is available immediately through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

The new MacBook, for a suggested retail price of $999 (US), includes:
– 13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display;
– 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;
– 1066 MHz front-side bus;
– 2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
– NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
– 250 GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
– a slot-load 8X SuperDrive® with double-layer support (DVD+ / -R DL/DVD+ / -RW/CD-RW);
– Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
– built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
– Gigabit Ethernet port;
– built-in iSight® video camera;
– two USB 2.0 ports;
– one audio line in/out port, supporting optical digital out and analog in/out;
– glass Multi-Touch trackpad;
– built-in, 60WHr lithium polymer battery; and
– 60 Watt MagSafe® Power Adapter.

Build-to-order options for the MacBook include the ability to upgrade to 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, or 320GB 5400 rpm, 500GB 5400 rpm hard drive, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

*A properly maintained MacBook battery is designed to retain 80 percent or more of its original capacity during a lifespan of up to 1,000 recharge cycles. Battery life and charge cycles vary by use and settings. For more information visit www.apple.com/macbook/features.html

**EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.

Source: Apple


Every year, millions of sensitive data records are exposed due to hackers or stolen hardware, just having confidential information on a computer screen can be risky.(1)

Business professionals who frequently travel or work outside the office and manage confidential information must constantly be on-guard against data thieves and over-the-shoulder snoops, especially since 49 percent of people admit to glancing at strangers’ computer screens.(2) Now, 3M Specialty Display Products, pioneers in privacy protection, is introducing 3M Gold Privacy Filters — the most advanced privacy screen for laptops with increased visual clarity.

Utilizing multiple state-of-the-art 3M technologies, 3M Gold Privacy Filters protect sensitive data on your laptop by revealing a reflective golden screen when viewed from the side. This new privacy screen also features a gloss surface that allows the user to experience sharper and brighter text and images with no blurring or distortion.

“As the first line of defense against ‘wandering eyes’ and over the shoulder snoops, 3M’s privacy products for laptops, desktops and smartphones have consistently delivered exceptional privacy protection for hospitals, banks, government agencies, and any other businesses that handle confidential or sensitive information,” said Danielle Amsahr, marketing manager for 3M Privacy Filters. “The new 3M Gold offers businesses and individuals enhanced data protection with even more visual clarity for an enhanced user experience.”

3M Gold Privacy Filters are widely available at Shop3M.com and other online retailers and range in price from $50 to $100 depending on screen size. For more information, visit 3MPrivacyFilter.com.

(1) According to the Identity Theft Resource Center 2008 Breach List.

(2) Commissioned by 3M Privacy Filters, Global Strategy Group conducted an online survey of 806 adults nationwide between April 14 and April 17, 2009. The margin of error at the 95% confidence level is +/- 3.5.

Source: 3M


New Dell Inspiron Mini Nickelodeon Edition comes complete with 12-month Computrace LoJack for Laptops subscription

Absolute(R) Software Corporation announced that the new Dell Inspiron Mini Nickelodeon Edition notebook will come with a free 12-month Computrace(R) LoJack(R) for Laptops subscription to help protect kids’ computers from theft.

The Dell Inspiron Mini Nickelodeon Edition notebook is a durable and highly portable netbook that joins together excellent technology, content, parental controls and built-in security. Designed to travel with children, the Nickelodeon Edition weighs less than 3 pounds and features entertaining and educational software designed to appeal to both kids and parents. To serve as a theft deterrent and in case it goes missing or is stolen, a 12-month subscription to Computrace LoJack for Laptops will be included with every Dell Inspiron Mini Nickelodeon Edition.

“As any parent can tell you, once you put a highly portable computer like the Dell Inspiron Mini Nickelodeon Edition in the hands of your kids, they don’t want to put it down, let alone lose it altogether,” said Mark Grace, Vice President of Consumer Business at Absolute Software. “That’s why we have collaborated with Dell to include a subscription to Computrace LoJack for Laptops on every Nickelodeon Edition sold. With this protection conveniently built in, parents can feel secure knowing that Computrace LoJack for Laptops will help keep their kids safe by making their computers unattractive to thieves.”

How Computrace LoJack for Laptops by Absolute Software Works

Computrace LoJack for Laptops is powered by patented Computrace technology from Absolute. It is embedded in the firmware of computers from the world’s leading computer manufacturers right at the factory or it can be installed by the customer*. When embedded in the firmware, Computrace can survive operating system re-installations, as well as hard-drive reformats, replacements and re-imaging. The technology is virtually undetectable and calls home to the Absolute Monitoring Center with location information. The Computrace Agent is activated by customers when they purchase a subscription for Computrace LoJack for Laptops ranging from 1-3 years.

All Absolute theft recovery solutions are backed by the efforts of the Absolute Theft Recovery Team. When a computer equipped with Computrace LoJack for Laptops is reported stolen, the Computrace Agent sends a silent signal over the Internet to the Absolute Monitoring Center, allowing the Absolute Theft Recovery Team to forensically mine the computer using a variety of procedures including key captures, registry scanning, file scanning, geolocation, and other investigative techniques to determine who has the computer and how it is being used. Absolute then works with local law enforcement to recover the computer. Staffed by former law enforcement officers, the team finds stolen computers through their relationships with police departments around the world. With over 650 years of combined law enforcement experience, the Absolute Theft Recovery Team recovers an average of 85 stolen computers per week.

Availability

The Dell Inspiron Mini Nickelodeon Edition comes with a 12-month subscription to Computrace LoJack for Laptops. The netbook will be available in October in the United States at Dell.com and on Walmart store shelves and Walmart.com.

* For a list of computers with firmware support visit:www.absolute.com/firmware