Category Archives: Hardware

Apple recently announced a small but significant upgrade to the Mac Mini line: in addition to dropping the low-end Mac Mini Core Solo 1.5GHz and lowering the price of the Mac Mini Core Duo 1.66GHz model to $599, Apple released a new top-of-the-line $799 Mac Mini powered by a 1.83GHz Core Duo processor.

Although the Mac Mini does have some limitations, it’s an impressively full-featured system. In addition to built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0 wireless features, it supports Gigabit Ethernet networking. The top-of-the-line model comes with a DVD-burning SuperDrive, and all Mac Mini models are powered by an internal Serial ATA drive.

You can read in-depth reviews of the updated Mac Mini at

• MacWorld
• Engadget
• ThinkSecret

Mac-using lawyer Ed Siebel has written an article, “Tech Counsel: Solo on a Mac,” which explains how he integrates techology into his home-based practice. Mr. Siebel details how his network is set up and also what hardware and software he uses in his practice. His article was recently published in Law Technology News, and it’s worth checking out.

Some highlights from his article:

• I’ve stayed with Macs for a single reason — they just work. Simply, consistently and at a high quality. They help me work solo or in a small office without worrying about my computer, essentially without the need for tech support.
• The server in my office is a 12-year-old 120 MHz PowerMac with 80MB of RAM and a 500MB hard disk running server software… I would venture to guess that not many law offices could survive with a 12-year-old server at the center their operations.
• I haven’t had a system crash in perhaps a year on my desktop machine. Oh, occasionally one of the applications will crash, but it doesn’t affect the others.
• Any document from any application can be saved into Adobe’s PDF format. You print to a PDF file, instead of a printer, using a drop-down menu — just like selecting different paper trays. Makes electronic filing or eliminating metadata a snap.
• Because Apple controls both the hardware and the software, all applications use the same conventions. For instance, access to the Print dialog window is always in the File menu of every application, which is always the second menu from the left edge of the menu bar at the top of the screen. The same keystrokes bring up the Print dialog in all applications. So when you learn one application, you already know the basic functions in every other program.
• One of the best advantages of using Apple is that you can just about forget about viruses, because there aren’t many that can penetrate Macs.

Thanks to Grant Griffiths of the Home Office Lawyer blog for his post about this article.

In case you haven’t already heard, Apple issued a recall today for 1.8 million notebook batteries because they pose a fire hazard. Although none of the affected batteries have exploded (as was reported with a Dell (PC) notebook), there have reportedly been nine reports of batteries overheating, including two reports of minor burns, but no serious injuries.

The affected lithium-ion batteries were manufactured by Sony and were used in 12-inch iBook G4, 12-inch PowerBook G4, and 15-inch PowerBook G4 notebooks sold between October 2003 and August 2006. Apple issued the following statement: “Consumers should stop using the recalled batteries immediately and contact Apple to arrange for a replacement battery, free of charge. After removing the recalled battery from their iBook or PowerBook, consumers should plug in the AC adapter to power the computer until a replacement battery arrives.”

To find out if your battery is affected by the recall, request a replacement battery, or get more information about this situation, you can visit the Battery Exchange Program webpage Apple has created.

Source: “Apple Recalls 1.8M iBook and PowerBook G4 Batteries” published at AppleInsider.

Apple recently released its Mac Pro desktops, which feature two Intel Dual-Core Xeon processors running at speeds of up to 3.0 GHz. With this release, Apple has completely transitioned its line from Power PC chips to Intel chips.

The reviews have generally been positive, and you can read several reviews of the new Mac Pro at the following sites:

• Ars Technica
• Anandtech
• ZDNet
• Bare Feats
• MacInTouch
• Epic Empire

Source: “Apple Mac Pro Review Roundup” published at Engadget.