Current Apple Hardware

The 2011 Mac mini received performance upgrades involving new Intel Dual-Core i5 or i7 processors. With this upgrade, Apple transitioned its entire product line away from the older Core 2 Duo architecture, and embraced the newest offerings from Intel.

Review of the 27-inch 2011 iMac: The 27-inch iMac received a generous update from Apple that brings new processors, graphics cards, memory, and I/O. That would seem to make this update more of a major upgrade, except that the iMac chassis remains fundamentally the same.

Review of the 21.5-inch 2011 iMac: Apple's latest version of the 21.5-inch iMac brings updates to the processor, graphics card, memory, and I/O. That would seem to make this update a bit more than a speed bump, and it certainly is.

Review of the 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro 2011: The 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro 2011 models are destined to be the workhorses of the 2011 line of MacBook Pros. Both models offer quad-core Intel processors and dual graphics processors that will keep these laptops zipping along. To ensure the MacBook Pro has access to necessary data, both models...

Review of the 13-inch MacBook Pro 2011: The 13-inch MacBook Pro is Apple's entry-level pro notebook, but don’t let the 'entry-level' fool you. The new MacBook Pro for 2011 combines faster processors, a new ultra-fast I/O port, and a new integrated graphics chipset from Intel that performs on par with or better than the previous NVIDIA 320M...

MacBook Pro 2011 Review: The 2011 MacBook Pros received new Sandy Bridge processors from Intel, and the very first use of Thunderbolt, Intel's I/O implementation formerly known as Light Peak. The new MacBook Pros concentrate on performance, with Intel i5 and i7 processors based on the new Sandy Bridge architecture. And to ensure that you can...

The 2010 MacBook Air from Apple is now available in two different sizes, with 11-inch and 13-inch displays, and four standard configurations. With the latest MacBook Airs, Apple has lowered prices while providing new features and capabilities that road warriors, who are the target audience for the MacBook Air, will enjoy.

Mac Pro Review: Apple last updated the Mac Pro in March of 2009. The 17-month span between the 2009 and 2010 Mac Pros was the longest wait for an update in the Mac Pro's lifetime. With that much time to spend on designing the 2010 version, Apple should have been able to wow us with new features and capabilities.

Summer 2010 Mac Pro Review: Benchmarking and conclusions

Mac Pro 2010 Initial Benchmarks: I received my new Mac Pro 2010 in late August, and set about recording some basic benchmarks. The question was: How well will the latest incarnation of the Mac Pro perform? I expected a nice boost in performance, especially since I'm used to a 2006 Mac Pro, which has greatly restricted memory bandwidth that just...

Magic Trackpad Review: Apple's Magic Trackpad brings the wonderful glass trackpad that MacBook Pro users have been enjoying to desktop Mac users. Now laptop users can be envious of desktop users, because along the way, the tracking surface was magically enlarged to 5-1/8 x 4-1/4, an 80% increase over the trackpad surface in MacBook Pros.

Mac Pro Review: The Summer 2010 Mac Pro replaces an aging model that hasn't been updated since March of 2009. In the sixteen months that have transpired since that last update, a lot has changed. Processors continue to evolve, with more power and better efficiencies. Graphics cards are no longer just for graphics; their GPUs can now be leveraged...

Review of the 2010 Mac mini: The 2010 Mac mini is easily the best of the mini series. It offers user upgradable RAM, a first in the mini, as well as improved graphics, an HDMI port, and an SD card slot. Apple has also kicked up the processor speeds, making this Mac a mini power dynamo.

When Apple introduced the spring roundup of MacBook Pros we knew it would only be a short time before the MacBook got the same type of treatment: new processor, graphics, and long-lasting battery. We didn’t have to wait long. Apple introduced the new MacBook in late spring.

Apple’s Magic Mouse is the first offering from Apple to mate the capabilities of a Multi-Touch surface with a movable mouse. The result may be the best mouse Apple has ever made or the worst, depending on your expectations. The Magic Mouse has good points and bad points, but it has great potential, especially if Apple makes a few minor changes to future releases of the mouse software.

Time Capsule provides network storage capabilities for home networks, allowing Mac and/or Windows computers to access and share its internal hard drive. Designed for use with Time Machine, the backup service included with OS X 10.5 and later, Time Capsule is an elegant solution to home backup needs.