Do You Really Need an Apple Tablet?

If you visit any tech websites regularly, you probably know Apple is getting ready to unveil its new iTablet computer. Rumors and speculation about the computer's details have been going on for weeks, especially lately. Most people are anxiously awaiting to get their hands on the device. After all, it is Apple and everything that comes from the company is darn near perfect, right? Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but you know how Apple fans are.

Turns out not everyone is excited about tablet. ABC reporter David Francois has come up with a list of reasons as to why you shouldn't rush right out and get one when the time comes. For starters, the iTablet will have a short battery life. If you have an iPhone or a current slim MacBook, you know exactly what to expect when it comes to the battery. This means keeping the device that is supposed to be ultra-portable plugged in more often than not.

If you can get past the battery life, you may not be able to get past the lack of comfort. You can't hold it in your hand like an iPhone and you can't rest it in your lap like a laptop. You can't adjust the screen - it IS the screen - and it doesn't have a rubberized back. Also, tablets have surprisingly been around for about 20 years but as you might have noticed, they haven't exactly caught on. Sure, the technology is better this year than it was in say, 1995, but you dont hear people talking about how much they want to run out and get a tablet.

So, you don't care about comfort, battery life, or popularity? Fine, but why do you even need the device? You've already got your laptop, netbook, and cell phone. The tablet won't do anything those things don't already do. Maybe it will end up with some tablet-specific apps but in the long-run, unless you're just a gadget-freak, what purpose will it serve to have one? Make that a gadget-freak with a big budget. Rumor has it the tablet is going to have a 3G data connection that's definitely going to cost you.

Personally, I'd say wait until the device comes out before you decide whether or not to buy one. Apple didn't get where they are by making brainless moves and who knows what they have in store, but so far, the tablet isn't winning me over.

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Many Laptops Fail Within 3 Years

According to a new study by Squaretrade, about one third (31%) of all laptops will fail within three years of being purchased. This includes both malfunctions and accidents, but malfunctions alone make up 20% of laptop failures. While the survey should be taken with a grain of salt - Squaretrade sells extended warranties - according to PC World, their last annual survey returned similar results. In addition to the number of unreliable laptops, Squaretrade also found that Asus, Toshiba, and Sony laptops were more reliable brands than MacBooks.

The study had many other findings that related to laptop durability. For example, the amount of time you spend on your laptop correlates to how likely it is to have problems, with Netbooks giving people the most trouble. The Netbook finding was surprising, considering the computers really just have one good year's worth of data to rely on, but Netbook users experienced 20% more malfunctions than those with more expensive laptops. According to Squartrade, Netbook malfunctions are likely to hit 25% in the next three years, compared to 21% for entry-level laptops, and 18% for more expensive notebooks.

When the study was broken down by brand, Asus had the best malfunction rate at 15.6% with Hewlett Packard the worst with a 25.6% malfunction rate within three years. Toshiba came in second, followed by Sony, and Apple. According to Squaretrade, failure rates are so high because of the sophisticated and delicate parts that make up a laptop, as well the amount of abuse portable computers receive. With numbers like this, it's no wonder more and more people are relying on inexpensive Laptop Rentals for their computer needs.

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New Apple Tablet

Steve Jobs is back to work at Apple, just months after having a liver transplant, and sources say he is spending most of his time focused on the company's new tablet device. According to the Wall Street Journal, the team of people working on the tablet are under much scrutiny from their company's CEO. The article also states that this is the third attempt at the tablet, the first one failed due to a low battery life, the second one due to insufficient memory. Jobs, himself, has confirmed that most of that information is correct, but didn't specify any details. There is still no word on when an Apple tablet might actually become available to the public or what kind of impact it will have but if the success of Jobs' last pet project - the iPhone - is any indication, the tablet could change the way many people view technology.

There have been many rumors about the Apple tablet in recent months. Some say a September unveiling is in the works, others say November and some say not until 2010. A report from Barron's claims the device will be marketed for mostly media play (with an Apple TV tie-in) and gaming. Regardless of when and what, there is no doubt the rest of the industry is waiting to see what exactly Jobs and Apple have planned.

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MacBook Pro Goes Green

Everybody wants to be green these days in everything they do. They need all of their tools, clothes, food, and other things to be enviornmentally safe. Well thanks to Apple, now their laptops can be green as well.

Apple's MacBook Pro is designed with the enviornment in mind. First of all, the MackBook Pro is built with mercury-free LED technology and arsenic-free glass. The circuit boards, internal cables, connectors, insulators, shock mounts, adhesives, and other parts are all free of brominated flame retardents and polyvinyl chloride.

Th MacBook Pro is also highly recyclable. It uses a precision unibody enclosure that is formed from a single piece of recyclable aluminum. The display, as forementioned, is also recyclable. Since most batteries are designed to be replaced every couple of years, most of them are discarded. The battery in the MacBook Pro, however, lasts up to 5years or an amazing 1,000 charges!

EPEAT is the Electronic Product Enviornmental Assessment Tool. It evaluates the enviornmental impact of a product based on how recyclable it is, how much energy it uses, and how it is designed and manufactured. Every MacBook Pro has earned the EPEAT Gold rating, which is the highest. Few products recieve this rating and barely any are notebooks.

The MacBook Pro is also ENERGY STAR certified. The hard drive on the Pro spins down automatically when inactive and also decides whih processor, either CPU or GPU, to use that will work the best for a task which reduces energy. Other systems that reduce energy is the LCD screen, which dims when you enter a drakened room, a processor that throttles down between keystrokes, and it uses about one-third the power of a single lightbulb.

Needless to say the MacBook Pro is green to the extreme. Its so green even its packaging is enviormentally friendly. The boxes are made smaller. This may seem like a little detail but because the box is smaller it means that more can be put on a single shipping pallet which lets more pallets fit on a plane or boat which means less planes and boats have to go out resulting in less C02 emissions which makes the Earth just that much greener.

If your an enviornmentalist, a "green freak", or just want to make a difference then you should definatley check out Apple's MacBook Pro, the greenest notebook on the market.

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MacBook Air Hinge Defects: Warranty Covered?

Now everybody knows that nothing in this world is perfect, but when you buy a computer, and pay good money for on, then you excpect it to be pretty close. You also expect for its little imperfections to at least be covered by a humble warranty.

The MacBook Air is no stranger to problems. Upon its realease, the MacBook Air was experiencing overheating problems which was not covered under the warranty. But now, the MacBook has an all new problem, one that is causing alot of people some severe frustration.

On each and every laptop there is a thing called a hinge. The hinge is the main piece of equipment that allows you to raise and lower your screen and holds the screen in place when you adjust it to where you want it. Now, if this hinge becomes damaged, our screen won't stay in place, rendering your computer basically useless to you considering it we don't have enough arms to type, use the mouse, and hold up a screen at the same time.

Reports have confirmed that with first-generation MacBook Airs, the hinges become loose over time and eventually catch and crack under normal use, meaning there was no repressed rage forcing the omputer screen around. Now while this is a mojor problem, you would think that Apple would have your back and help you out by covering this with its warranty. Nope! While looking at Apple reports about this problem, Apple claimed the broken hinge as an "accidental" occurence and would not support it under its warranty. If you call Apple and report this you will find out that Apple will fix it for you.......at a cost of around $800 - $900! For that much you're better off buying a new laptop. Apple is refusing to accept this as a manufacturing error and insists that the damages are caused by the individual owner. Needless to say if problems keep arising with the MacBook Air, Apple could suffer in profits.

Check out these videos to see exactly what I'm talking about.

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