John Paczkowski

Recent Posts by John Paczkowski

Apple Unveils New MacBook Air, Next-Generation MacBook Pro

Apple’s MacBook line, particularly certain portions of it, have been overdue for a refresh. Today, it finally got it. During the opening keynote of Apple’s WWDC event Monday morning, Apple’s Phil Schiller unveiled updates to both the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro, as well as an entirely new next-generation MacBook Pro with a Retina Display.

The new MacBook Air features third-generation 1.7GHz Intel Core processors, a new 512 gigabyte flash-storage option, 60 percent faster graphics, and USB 3 support via a dual USB 2/USB 3 port. It also has a new price point that’s $100 cheaper than its predecessor.

The new MacBook Pro features Intel Ivy Bridge chips, running at up to a 2.7GHz, with faster graphics. It, too, has been given a USB 2/USB 3 port. The 13-inch model comes in $1,199 and $1,499 versions; the 15-inch model is offered in $1,799 and $2,199 versions.

Also debuted this morning, Apple’s new “next-generation MacBook Pro.” “It’s the most beautiful computer we’ve ever made,” Schiller said, before listing the device’s impressive specs. The machine is 0.71 inches thin, a quarter-inch thinner than the current MacBook Pro; it weighs under 4.5 pounds. And yes, it boasts that rumored Retina Display. The screen is 2880 pixels by 1800; that’s four times that of the prior MacBook Pro, and more than five million pixels total.

The next-generation MacBook Pro’s innards are equally impressive: An Intel quad-core i7 processor, up to 2.7GHz; up to 16GB of memory; Nvidia GeForce GT 650M graphics; up to 768GB of internal flash storage; up to seven hours of battery life; SD card slot, HDMI, USB 3, a new MagSafe 2 connector and, finally, two Thunderbolt ports.

Legacy connectors like Ethernet and FireWire have been abandoned, but can run over Thunderbolt via an adapter.

Price? The basic model starts at $2,199.

The entire notebook lineup is available for purchase today.

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The problem with the Billionaire Savior phase of the newspaper collapse has always been that billionaires don’t tend to like the kind of authority-questioning journalism that upsets the status quo.

— Ryan Chittum, writing in the Columbia Journalism Review about the promise of Pierre Omidyar’s new media venture with Glenn Greenwald