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12-inch MacBook could return as a budget model, suggests leaker

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There has been speculation of late of Apple considering the launch of a “low cost” MacBook of some kind, and a leaker today suggests that it could take the form of a 12-inch MacBook – as well a 13-inch one specifically geared to the education market.

There have been similar suggestions from other sources, though all have been vague, and all of the sources have rather variable records …

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You can now easily turn an old Mac into a Chromebook – but you probably shouldn’t

Mac into a Chromebook

Although it’s been possible for some time to turn an old Mac into a Chromebook, Google has now made the process easier than ever. You can even run Chrome OS from a USB key if you’re not sure whether you want to remove macOS.

Chrome OS is designed to be an extremely lightweight operating system, which can breathe new life into older hardware that is struggling to keep up with today’s demands. That’s true, but I’d still suggest that most owners of older Macs shouldn’t do it …

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Google was inspired by Apple, designing its own chips for phones and Chromebooks

Google was inspired by Apple

It appears that Google was inspired by Apple when it comes to the benefits of custom-designed chips. The company had already confirmed that the upcoming Pixel 6 smartphone will have a Google-designed System on a Chip (SoC), and a new report today says that the company is taking the same approach for future Chromebooks.

Google’s decision is said to have been prompted by Apple’s success with its M1 Macs

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9to5Toys Last Call: iPad Air 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular $449, GoPro HERO3+ Black $262, Power Bank $6, more

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Last Call Updates:

Apple iPad Air Wi-Fi + Cellular 128GB in Silver: $449 shipped (Orig. $929)

GoPro HERO3+ Black 4K Action Camera (refurb) $262 shipped (Reg. $280), 33-piece accessory kit $15

RAVPower Portable 3,000mAh Battery: $6 Prime shipped, Lightning cables under $6

$50 iTunes gift card for $40 w/ email delivery from PayPal (20% savings)

The best lawn games to make your 4th of July cookout a success

Look like a real American hero at your 4th of July BBQ with this over-the-top USA garb

Giveaway: Owen & Fred’s Desk Essentials collection ups your work game while looking good, $250+ value

More new gear from today:

Daily Deals: XYZprinting Da Vinci 1.0 3D Printer $350, HP x3000 Wireless Optical Mouse $8, more

Home recording bundle: ATH-M50x over-ears, Focusrite Scarlett interface and mic kit $269 shipped ($410+ value)

More deals still alive:

JayBird BlueBuds X Sport Bluetooth Headphones for $110 shipped (Reg. $170)

RAVPower FileHub Travel Router w/ 6000mAh Power bank $35 Prime shipped (Reg. $60)

New products & more:

Bricasso scans any image and then 3D prints it using LEGO bricks as ink

Five bizarre kitchen gadgets you need to add to your cooking arsenal

9to5Toys Last Call: iPad Air 2 $75 off, Monoprice’s new $200 Action Camera, App Store sale, more

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Last Call Updates:

Daily Deals: iPad Air 2 all models $75 off w/ prices from $424, Logitech K400 Wireless Keyboard $20, more

Monoprice’s $200 Action Camera matches GoPro on specs & has a slick viewfinder

App Store sale – Amazing Fantasy Games at least 50% off: Badlands $2, more

App Store Free App of the Week: Warhammer Snotling Fling ($4 value)

The 5 biggest iOS and Android games announced at this year’s E3 Expo

Beats by Dr. Dre Powerbeats2 Wireless Bluetooth Headphones in multiple colors: $150 shipped (Reg. $200)

Quick Review: Kano’s Raspberry Pi 2 computer kit shines as a learning tool for kids and DIYers alike

More new gear from today:

Get a free game of your choosing when you buy an Xbox One next week

More deals still alive:

Ondesoft Mac Bundle with X-Mirage, iTunes Converter, Audiobook Converter and more: free ($146 value)

DJI Phantom 1.1.1 Quadcopter with GoPro Mount $299 shipped (Orig. $349)

New products & more:

DxO One pairs with your iPhone to snap DSLR quality RAW images

V-MODA’s new 3D precious metal headphones dwarf the cost of your gold Apple Watch Edition

Super Smash Bros. updates, Star Fox rolls onto Wii U, more

Limited edition PS4 accessories celebrate PlayStation’s 20th Anniversary

New games & hardware announced at E3 make Xbox One deserving of a second look

Sony shows Last Guardian, Final Fantasy VII remake, Uncharted 4, Star Wars, more

Microsoft unveils new hardware, 360 compatibility + Forza 6, Halo 5, more

Bethesda’s real life Pip Boy for iPhone/Android, Dishonored 2, Doom, more

Xbox Live Gold Members can enjoy EA Access for free this week

Microsoft unveils iPad-priced $499 Surface 3 as Google shows sub $100 Chromebit HDMI stick, $149 Chromebooks

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Microsoft shifted its focus when it introduced the Surface Pro 3 last year to target both the iPad and the MacBook, but today the company announced a more consumer level iPad-like version of its tablet simply called the Surface 3 with the same $499 starting price as the iPad Air 2.

Google also unveiled a collection of new competitively priced hardware including new Chromebooks and a Chromebit HDMI running Chrome OS for under $100 …
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2TB Mac mini quietly made its return over Christmas holidays

Following the launch of the current Mac mini in October of last fall, we noted that Apple had removed an option to purchase the entry-level Mac with 2TB of storage. It appears Apple has listened to feedback, and now users can, once again, buy a Mac mini with 2TB of storage. According to our digging into web archives, the 2TB option returned for the priciest Mac mini model in mid-December, right around the Christmas holidays. The 2TB Fusion Drive upgrade costs a $100 more than the 1TB drive, and it requires the machine to be built-to-order. Thanks, Bartosz for the initial find. 


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9to5Toys Last Call: SanDisk memory cards up to 70% off, Klipsch KMC3 $155, Xbox One price drop ending, more

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the brand new 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Amazon Gold Box – up to 70% off SanDisk memory cards: microSD 32GB $13, 64GB $25, $128GB $90, more

Klipsch KMC3 Portable Bluetooth Speaker w/remote: $155 shipped (orig. $400)

PSA: this is your last chance to get in on the official Xbox One price drop

Giveaway: Henge Docks Gravitas iPhone 6/Plus dock made from solid zinc alloy ($69 value)

More new deals:

Last Call updates:

  • New! Samsung 11.6″ Chromebook 2 1.9GHz/4GB/16GB: $240 (Reg. $300)
  • New! Games/Apps: Nintendo 3DS XL $130 (Reg. $180+), iOS freebies, more
  • New! Daily Deals: Onkyo A/V Receiver: $255, Logitech speaker system w/sub: $29, more
  • New! Home: Cocktail Kingdom metal ice ball maker $83 (Reg. $150), more

More deals still alive:

New products/ongoing promos/info:

Opinion: Will the next Mac mini be a lot more mini than ever before?

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When it first launched in 2005, the Mac mini was almost unimaginably small. The original aim of the machine was to convert owners of desktop Windows machines. Because those people already owned monitors, keyboards and other peripherals, selling them just the computer itself would enable them to switch to Mac for far less than the cost of buying an iMac.

The typical Windows desktop box of that era looked like this:

A system unit that measured just 6.5 inches square and only 2-inches thick was an incredible feat of engineering. Today, however, it looks rather less impressive … 
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iPad takes top spot in 2013 tablet market, but MacBooks lose out to Google-powered Chromebooks

Editor’s note: As noted in the graph above, the numbers in this article refer only to the commercial channel, as NPD does not measure direct sales. Some of the language below has been updated to clarify this point.

A new release from the NPD Group indicates that notebooks running Google’s Chrome OS have gained significant ground in the past year, with Google’s free operating system managing to overtake Apple’s entire lineup of MacBooks for the first time. According to the statistics, Chromebooks outsold Apple’s notebooks in the consumer channel at an over five-to-one margin.

Of course, it should be noted that the numbers presented don’t take built-to-order machines into account, instead relying on sales of pre-configured options, but even with custom orders included the numbers indicate a significant shift in consumer notebook selection. Luckily for Apple, the biggest hit seems to be to Microsoft, whose notebooks lost a significant 8% of the market to Google.


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9to5Toys Last Call: Save up to $400 off 15″ Retina MacBook Pro + Free Apple TV, app deals galore, Hulu Plus / Amazon Prime free trial offers, more

From 9to5Toys.com:

A large majority of the deals we cover each day come from a variety of ‘Daily Deal’ websites or are so popular that they don’t even last 24 hours. We know you can’t be at your computer every second, so we’re going to round up the best deals each day to make sure you have a fair shot at the deals you want. Be sure to follow 9to5Toys.com so you never miss a deal... Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+.

Also check out the latest 9to5Mac Happy Hour to hear the latest 9to5Toys segment. During the show, there’s a mention of $50 video conversion software currently available for free and the VPN service proXPN.com available at a 20% discount.

Today’s Featured deals:

Save up to $400 off 15″ Retina MacBook Pros + Free Apple TV at Best Buy

iOS App Deals:

Bad Piggies: FREE, XCOM Enemy Unknown: $15, freebies, more

Readdle iOS Apps up to 70% off: Calendars+: $2, PDF Expert: $5, Printer Pro: $2, more

Trial Offers:

Free 2 month
Hulu Plus trial for new customers

Get a free $10 gift card when you sign-up for an Amazon Prime membership

Other great deals we love:

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9to5Toys Last Call: $170 Samsung Chromebook (Refurb), $78 Brother WiFi printer, app freebies, more

From 9to5Toys.com:

A large majority of the deals we cover each day come from a variety of ‘Daily Deal’ websites or are so popular that they don’t even last 24 hours. We know you can’t be at your computer every second, so we’re going to round up the best deals each day to make sure you have a fair shot at the deals you want. Be sure to follow 9to5Toys.com so you never miss a deal... Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+

Today’s Featured deals:

Sold out Samsung Chromebook 11.6″ WiFi/2GB/16GB Flash (Refurb.) $170 Shipped (Reg. $250 new)

Gamers’ Deals & Free iOS EA Games: Dead Space, Mirror’s Edge, The Sims Medieval

Apple App Store 5th Anniversary Sale: Infinity Blade II, Over, Badland, Where’s My Water?, Traktor DJ, more

Civilization V enters a Brave New World with release of expansion on Mac & PC

Brother Compact Laser Printer w/ Wireless Networking and Duplex $78 Shipped (Reg. $150)

Other great deals we love:

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Google’s new Chromebook Pixel Thinks Different about vertical touch surfaces, puts touch on the display

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=j-XTpdDDXiU

The rumors were true: Google just announced the Chromebook Pixel. It’s a 12.85-inch touchscreen Chromebook with a 2,560-by-1,700 display that packs in “the highest pixel density (239 pixels per inch) of any laptop screen on the market today.”

Let’s start with the screen. This Chromebook has the highest pixel density (239 pixels per inch) of any laptop screen on the market today. Packed with 4.3 million pixels, the display offers sharp text, vivid colors and extra-wide viewing angles. With a screen this rich and engaging, you want to reach out and touch it—so we added touch for a more immersive experience. Touch makes it simple and intuitive to do things like organize tabs, swipe through apps and edit photos with the tip of your finger.

Go to 9to5Google for all the details.

As for the chances of Apple ever making a touchscreen notebook, Steve Jobs made it very clear at the 2010 MacBook Air refresh event that Apple did “tons of user testing” and concluded “it doesn’t work. It’s ergonomically terrible.”

We’ve done tons of user testing on this and it turns out it doesn’t work. Touch surfaces don’t want to be vertical. It gives great demo. But after a short period of time you start to fatigue, and after an extended period of time your arm wants to fall off. It doesn’t work. It’s ergonomically terrible. Touch surfaces want to be horizontal. Hence, pads.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmlH59yKpqY&start=690]

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