Using Laptops in Direct Sunlight

Walt answers readers’ questions on laptops under the sun, the iPad vs. the Kindle and using iTunes as a data backup.

Upgrading to the iPhone 3G S

Walt Mossberg answers readers’ questions on AT&T’s upgrade policy for the iPhone 3G, importing data on the new Palm Pre and the glare on Mac Books.

Cleaning Out Windows XP

Walt answers questions about cleaning up a sluggish install of Windows XP, the new keyboards on the unibody MacBook Pros and alternatives to the Windows Mail application in the upcoming Windows 7 operating system.

Macworld ’09: 17-inch MacBook Pro With 8-Hour Battery

Next up, the new and expected 17-inch MacBook Pro. Before introducing it, Schiller notes that the MacBook has been the No. 1 notebook computer in the states. The new machine is largely as predicted. It boasts Apple’s new unibody chassis and a glass touch trackpad. At 6.6 pounds, it’s the world’s lightest notebook. It has a hi-res backlit display. “The best display we’ve ever shipped in a notebook,” says Schiller, with a 60 percent greater color gamut than other machines.
 17-inch MacBook Pro

Apple Polishes Popular MacBook for a Higher Price

Apple’s MacBook laptop, the company’s low-end portable computer aimed at average consumers, isn’t just any old product. It’s the best-selling Macintosh in history, at a time when Mac sales are growing much faster than sales of PCs in the U.S. overall. And, according to the sales-research organization NPD Group, the midrange model of the MacBook has been the single best-selling laptop of any brand in U.S. retail stores for the past five months.
macbook

Apple Notebook Event: Jobs on Touchscreen Notebooks

In a short video, senior designer Jon Ives and other members of Apple’s industrial design team explain the new unibody enclosure. Machining enables a level of precision unheard of in the industry, says Ives. In many ways, these notebooks are more beautiful on the inside than they are on the outside. There’s lots of emphasis at this unveiling on environmental concerns, reducing the footprint for manufacturing the new notebooks.