Go figure. Apple makes an enormous stink about downloadable movies and tweaked iPods, but just a month later lets slip what is quite possibly the most anticipated product announcement of the year with nary a press release: Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro portables.

That’s right, the oft-rumored MacBook Pro upgrades slinked out the back door like a whipped cur. Sometimes I wonder if Apple remembers that for many of their customers (the ones willing to fork over thousands for just one product), the Mac is still where it’s at. And we’ve all been waiting… and waiting… and waiting for them to get the Core 2 Duo into a portable. (more…)

It feels like I’ve been waiting forever for Apple to introduce a Core 2 Duo-based MacBook Pro. But once again, Apple didn’t deliver.

I’d just about given up hope when I stumbled across a notebook with everything I need: A stock ticker, a laser printer, a desktop computer, a desktop, even a blow-up doll. Check it out here, or in the YouTube player below (may not be visible in some browsers.)

Apple’s had it’s big “It’s Showtime” press event just a couple of hours ago, and I’m still struggling to figure out what the hoopla was about. Modestly upgraded iPods, adding movies and TV shows at higher resolution to iTunes, and iTV – which is basically Airport Express for video. Uh-huh. Okay. That’s nice and all. But where’s the other stuff, the more important stuff, the stuff we’ve been waiting for Apple to deliver? (more…)

Open the matte silver lid of the VAIO VGN-FE570G, and the best thing about this mid-range notebook hits you right in the retinas: a brilliantly clear, 15.4-inch widescreen LCD display with those rich, saturated hues that have lured a legion of diehard Sony fans. Beyond that, you’re looking at a very nice – and on some levels, rather ordinary – laptop computer at a premium price. (more…)

Imagine a PC notebook that’s a little over an inch thick and about the dimensions of a piece of letter-size paper – but with the power and features of a full-sized portable – and you have the remarkable Averatec 1150-EW1.

Weighing in at a mere 3.6 pounds, this laptop is ideal for students or on-the-go professionals who prefer their computers not require a weekly trip to the chiropractor. And while it may not pack the performance for graphically-intensive applications like gaming, it’s more than fast enough for mainstream use and even the occasional Photoshop session. (more…)