If you’ve waited for a new MacBook Pro refresh to ship, then the wait could get shorter if a pair of benchmarks and a rumor about thinner machines prove legitimate.

According to “trusted sources in Apple’s supply chain” the refreshed MacBook Pro models will include a thinner chassis and higher resolution displays, not to mention more powerful graphics and processors and USB 3.0. 9to5Mac reported that their sources told them Apple is testing the new 15″ machines and it will ship later this summer. That might explain a pair of benchmarks that showed up on Geekbench.

9to5Mac posted this interesting mock up of what a thinner MacBook could look like

Geekbench provides benchmarking for Macs and shows those results online in their Geekbench Browser for all to see. A pair of Macs showed up on the site with some awesome results.

The first Mac identified itself as a “MacBookPro9,1″. The computer boasted an Ivy Bridge Core i7-3820QM processor with a 2.7GHz clock speed. It grabbed a score of 12252 or 17 percent faster than the present 15 or 17 inch MacBook Pro running an Intel Core i7 processor.

The second called itself an “iMac 13,2″ and ran an Intel Core i7-3770 desktop CPU and included 3.4GHz clock speed. It included only 4GB of RAM which lowered its Geekbench score to 12183. The scores for the CPU alone grabbed a 9% gain over present generation desktops.

As Engadget noted, these scores don’t necessarily show that someone tested a pair of new Macs. They could show fake scores or something else. However, since we’re waiting on a refresh of the MacBook Pro line, this could indicate that one is immanent. Added to the evidence reported at 9to5Mac of new models referenced deep inside Mountain Lion code, we’ve got a good sign that Apple will refresh the MacBook Pro line soon.

The code in Mountain Lion shows a new MacBook Pro with Ivy Bridge processors, USB 3.0 and an NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M graphics chip.

Most recent rumors said the new MacBook Pro would look more like recent MacBook Air models. If the 9to5Mac “trusted sources” are right, it will look more like present MacBooks on a diet with the a new high res display, possibly matching the retina displays in the new iPad and iPhone 4/4S.

To summarize the new specs will include the following:

• High resolution retina display
• Ivy Bridge Intel processors
• Faster NVIDIA GPU
• USB 3.0 ports
• No more optical disk which allows for thinner design
• Power button on the keyboard like the MacBook Air
• A pair of Thunderbolt ports

Since the new Ivy Bridge chip includes USB 3.0 support, it won’t surprise too many if Apple includes it.  When Thunderbolt first shipped, some of us thought Apple would forgo USB 3.0 and push for Thunderbolt. The slow adoption rate of Thunderbolt and inclusion in Ivy Bridge make adding USB 3.0 a no-brainer for Apple.

Hopefully we’ll know more about this at this year’s WWDC coming in early June. The amazing specs mentioned above might call for a keynote address including an announcement about the new MacBook Pro in lieu of an iPhone announcement, which seems likely to occur in the fall again this year instead of at WWDC as it was before last year’s change. Whenever the announcement comes we will learn whether they will refresh the 17 and 13 inch models. These reports only mention the 15-inch model.

MacBook Pro Ivy Bridge Benchmarks Leak, Point to Coming Refresh is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Apple notebooks have a high starting price compared to the average consumer notebook, but the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air often go on sale.

Dealnews tracks the price of Apple notebooks like the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, sharing great deals on Apple products.

By tracking deals on the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air, we can tell you when the best time to buy a MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air is.

Unlike the savings on the iPad and the iPhone, Apple Notebooks see significant discounts faster, and with bigger savings.

Best Time to Buy a MacBook Pro

Dealnews uses the 15.4 inch MacBook Pro with a starting price of $1,799 as the example, but I expect that similar savings apply to the rest of the MacBook Pro line.

Shoppers who wait just 2 days after Apple releases new models can find deals of nearly $50 off at sites like MacMall and Amazon.com. Waiting 3 months results in access to deals that approach $300 off the MacBook Pro.

Apple users should always look for a good deal before buying a MacBook Pro, as there are countless deals available on these notebooks throughout the year, not just on Black Friday.

Best Time to Buy a MacBook Air

The 11-inch Macbook Air is the cheapest notebook sold by Apple, but that doesn’t mean shoppers shouldn’t look for deals. Just one day after release shoppers can expect to save $49 dollars on the MacBook Air, and four months later, prices can drop to $149 below retail.

Dealnews tracked the 11-inch Macbook Air, but in my experience the 13-inch Macbook Air receives similar discounts.

How long will you wait to save on a new computer?

Best Times To Buy a MacBook Pro and MacBook Air is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Apple will release a 15″ MacBook Air in April that will kill off the MacBook Pro, according to an unnamed accessory maker.

We’ve heard about a larger MacBook Air before, but that rumor claimed it might be a 14″ model. This rumor says that Apple will add a third size to the wildly popular MacBook Air lineup with a larger 15″ screen.

As usual Apple will not confirm the rumor, but according earlier reports OEM suppliers said parts were in the works for a larger MacBook Air. Now an unnamed dock maker claims to know one will come next month.

It doesn’t take a genius to guess that we might see an update in the MacBook lineup this spring. Apple often refreshes their lineup early in the year and then later in the summer. Throw in the sales figures of the Air and you can understand why Apple may want to expand the lineup to hit a new segment of the consumer market that previously avoided the thinner machine due to limited screen size.

This rumor includes three assumptions that all must be true for it to prove accurate.

1. A new MacBook will show up in April.
2. The new MacBook will be a 15″ Air
3. The new 15″ Air will kill off the 15″ MacBook Pro

We dealt with the first assumption above. If Apple follows past practices, then they will likely release a new MacBook this spring. Why not April?

Lets turn to the second assumption.

When Apple updated the MacBook Air in late 2010, sales soared. The form factor became wildly popular, probably for two reasons. First, the $999 price drew people to the machine but Apple had the low-end MacBook at that price point. The ultra thin form factor added to the popularity. Great battery life and the fast SSD sealed the deal because you now have a high-quality ultra-mobile laptop at a reasonable price.

Releasing a 15″ model would not surprise anyone. Why not capitalize on the form factor’s popularity with a third model to grab another segment of the notebook market?

It makes sense, but one alternate view could explain the rumors. Maybe Apple will redesign the MacBook Pro to look more like the Air. That seems more likely.

People love the Air’s form factor, but too many people still need a powerful laptop for gaming, content creation in the video, photo and audio sectors, and for those with needing more storage space than the maximum storage of 256GB available on current MacBook Airs. These people will never settle for integrated graphics or small SSDs. However, if Apple could find a way to make the MacBook Pro look sleeker, more Air-like, while retaining the power of the Pro, then they will.

Wether Apple plans to redesign the 15″ MacBook Pro to look more like a MacBook Air or they plan to release a 15″ MacBook Air, the third assumption doesn’t hold up. I don’t think Apple will leave their creative professionals behind by dropping the MacBook Pro like they did the white MacBook.

The white MacBook died because the Air offered more power at the same price. Even a 15″ Air won’t do all a 15″ Pro will do, so it won’t go anywhere anytime soon.

Source: ElectricPig

Why a 15″ MacBook Air Won’t Kill the MacBook Pro is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Apple will soon introduce a new MacBook Air refresh with new technology and possibly a larger display, according to speculation from AppleInsider. Apple is possibly readying their Asian supply chains to ship a new MacBook Air. AppleInsider cited a report about supplier Quanta Computer, which manufactures the MacBook Air for Apple. The manufacturer will see shipments increase thanks to a new MacBook Air model coming soon.

Reports surfaced earlier saying that Apple would introduce a new 15″ MacBook Air or would redesign the MacBook Pro to match the Air form factor, with the former being the most likely. Users still want larger capacity storage in a mobile computer for video and photo editing on the go. Until SSD storage can match the capacities of optical storage, we will still see the thicker MacBook Pro models. Expensive solid state storage would make a MacBook Pro with a 500GB drive impossible to sell at the sub $2,000 point.

History and Competition

The Ultrabook market heated up when Apple introduced the newly redesigned MacBook Air in November 2010 and then refreshed the line last summer putting faster processors and the new high-speed Thunderbolt port in the ultra-thin notebook. Copycat manufacturers began introducing similar products, including ASUS, Acer and HP.

The current lineup of MacBook Air notebooks start at $999 for the lowest cost 11″ MacBook Air and $1,299 for the entry level 13.3″ model. The Air model likely killed off the old white MacBook, which Apple quit selling last year.

Refresh Wishes

The MacBook Air sells so well that Apple may push the line into a larger variety of sizes to stay ahead of influx of Windows-based ultra-portable notebooks now available. Here’s what I think Apple should include to stay ahead of the competition.

First, in addition to faster processors and other internals, I really hope to see the larger 15″ display. I love my 13″ MacBook Air and my 15″ MacBook Pro. If I could, I would replace both with a new 15″ MacBook Pro/Air that has the same form factor of the MacBook Air, but powered by a beautiful larger screen.

Second, I’d love to see a 1080p resolution with a matte finish as an option on a 15″ model. The 1440×900 resolution of the 13″ MacBook Air gives me decent screen real estate for working with text, but higher resolution with crisper text would be awesome. Also, I hate glossy displays. The glossy Apple displays are better than most, but a matte display would not reflect sunlight when I sit near the window at my favorite WiFi hotspot.

Third, I’d rather have a slightly thicker and heavier computer with longer battery life, along the lines of the iPad’s 10-11 hours. If I could go 8-10 hours without ever worrying about plugging in, the MacBook Air would be even more ultra-portable than it is now. I can get about 5 hours now, but sometimes I need an hour or two more to get though a full day of mobile computing.

Fourth, Apple stepped backward replacing the NVIDIA GeForce 320M video chip in my 2010 MacBook Air with Intel integrated graphics in the 2011 models released last summer. That surprised me. I hope the newer models give us discrete graphics.

Finally, I want a larger capacity SSD that doesn’t cost more than the rest of the computer combined. We hoped that the SSD and success of the MacBook Air would bring SSD prices down, but that hasn’t really happened. If Apple and other best-selling manufacturers would put pressure on OEMs by telling them they will shift to SSD away from optical hard drives, maybe prices would start to come down.

Source: Digitimes via AppleInsider

MacBook Air Refresh Coming Soon, What We Want From Apple is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

XtremeMac announced a new line of MacBook sleeves last week at CES 2012 including the Professional, Vintage and Sport Sleeves for both the 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro and the 13-inch MacBook Air. Your 11″ Air or 17″ MacBook Pro will have to get covered and protected by something else.

The Professional Sleeve covers your MacBook with a black nylon fabric. The zippered sleeve closes to hold your computer and a pocket on the side holds all of your accessories. This sleeve will fit best for people who carry their computer around by itself on occasion but also throw it into another backpack or larger computer bag for protection.

The Vintage Sleeve goes retro with a khaki heavy-weight waxed canvas material accented in brown leather. The case closes with a snap down flap to cover the computer. The pull-tab makes it easy to retrieve from a backpack or bag. You can also carry it around from the looped tab. You’re not going to put a lot of extra accessories inside, so this fits best for this who just carry their computer around by itself.

The Sport Sleeve fits snugly with a slim zippered case offering extreme protection. The interior foam lining keeps your computer safe from short drops and dings or from jostling about as you move around. The black case with textured orange accents looks pretty cool. Like the Vintage Sleeve, it doesn’t have room for extras.

You could carry your MacBook Air or Pro in one of these cases by itself or as added protection in a regular backpack or brief case.

You will be able to get these three new sleeve cases for your MacBook sometime during the Spring of 2012. XtremeMac hasn’t named the price yet.

XtremeMac makes some nice Apple product accessories for the iPad and iPhone too.

XtremeMac Introduces 3 New Cases for MacBook Air and Pro is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

If you create content for a living, you know the value of fast storage, and just how fast you can fill up a GB of storage space.

The new Hitachi powered G-RAID and G-DRIVE external hard drives with Thunderbolt connectivity are aimed at answering this need with a combination of offerings up to 4TB of external storage with a Thunderbolt connection.

G-Technology drives from Toshiba are powered by the 1TB Travelstar 5K1000 and the 4TB Deskstar 7K4000 drives which are packaged into a portable enclosure with a Thunderbolt port and designed to work with Mac products like the MacBook Pro and Mac Pro and MacBook Air.

The drives are ready to go with Macs out of the box, including Time Machine support, and can be used on Windows machines with a short setup process.

The G-RAID is now available with Thunderbolt connectivity.

The new G-RAID and G-DRIVE external hard drive enclosures are similar to the previous models, but thanks to the Thunderbolt connection, Mac users can enjoy much faster file transfers. If you have other ports, don’t worry, you’ll find a full complement of ports including  3Gbit eSATA, FireWire 800 (FireWire 400 via included cable) and USB2.0 ports.

Hitachi shares the following descriptions of the new drives for professional creatives.

G-RAID – The G-Technology G-RAID is a blazing fast, dual drive RAID 0 storage solution with capacities up to 8TB. Ideal for professional content creators, it supports simultaneous playback of multiple layers of HDV, DVCPRO HD, XDCAM HD and ProRes 422 HQ with the leading video editing applications including Final Cut Pro™, Adobe® Premiere® and many more. The G-RAID solution is capable of delivering up to 200 MB/second transfer rate when connected to any Mac or PC via eSATA. Its soft-touch On/Off switch and thermo-regulated “smart” fan keeps the G-RAID reliable, cool and quiet in the editing suite.

G-DRIVE – The G-Technology G-DRIVE is a professional strength external hard drive in a single-drive desktop solution. With capacities now up to 4TB, G-DRIVE is the perfect high-performance solution for storage intensive applications including A/V editing, digital photography, music libraries, and high-speed data backup. The drive features a fan-less cooling system for a quiet operation. The 4TB G-Technology G-DRIVE will be shipping in limited quantities in Q1’12.

Look for the new drives to ship in the first quarter of 2012. The 8TB G-RAID will retail at $899, while the G-DRIVE will retail for $449.99 for 4TB, $349.99 for 3TB, $249.99 for 2TB and $199.99 for 1TB.

Hitachi G-RAID with Thunderbolt Adds 4TB of Snappy Storage to Macs is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Week 4 of NaNoWriMo is about to begin. The home stretch is upon some of us, while others of us are still behind… Anyway, at this point you’re probably either happy with your primary writing computer or are hating it for not being what you need.

Maybe your laptop is too heavy to carry around or too slow to deal with a huge novel file or all the tabs you keep open in Firefox. Is that netbook screen proving too tiny for comfortable editing? That keyboard too shitty for words?

I feel your pain. Trying to find the right computer for writing has consumed much of my writing life. Ever since I started reviewing laptops I’ve become aware of the vast choices available and been exposed to some of the best and most heinous machines in existence.

There is a good laptop for every need. Below are some of my recent favorites. If you don’t see one that fits your needs, let me know what you’re looking for in the comments. You should also check out our Notebook Gift Guide for more favorites.

Ultraportables

These very thin and light laptops fall into two basic categories: affordable ultraportables that don’t cost much and make good companion laptops and traditional ultraportables that are powerful enough to be your only computer and have hefty price tags.

Having a laptop dedicated to just writing is nice, and for that I look to the affordable models. However, if you need a new notebook and have the budget, why not go for one you can carry around everywhere on top of everything else?

HP Pavilion dm1

My top affordable ultraportable right now is the dm1. It has an AMD Fusion processor inside, which means that it performs better than a netbook but won’t be happy with too many heavy duty tasks.

The 11.6 inch display is big enough to fit a good amount of text on screen so both writing and editing will be comfortable. It weighs 3.3 pounds, which is just light enough to carry around all day if you pack light. It’ll last you that long as well.

One nice bonus is the inclusion of Beats Audio, so when you fire up the playlist your music will sound rich, full, and motivating.

Starts at $399 at HP.com.

Ultrabooks

Recently the Windows PC world has decided to join Apple in making super slim and light laptops called Ultrabooks. Right now we’re really liking the Toshiba Portege z835 and the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s. Both are very light and thin, weighing a little more or a little less than a netbook, depending on the configuration, but both bearing 13.3-inch displays.

The Portege has an ultra low voltage Intel Core i5 processor inside, which can handle mainstream tasks easily. If you do something very resource-intensive like edit videos or rock Photoshop for more than just cropping and minor adjustments, then you may be more comfortable with the IdeaPad and the Core i7 CPU inside. But for normal use, the Portege should be plenty of oomph.

Another hallmark of ultrabooks is long battery life. The Toshiba claims 9 hours, the Lenovo 8. We’re still testing them, but it’s been my experience that you can shave about 2 hours off the claimed battery life to calculate what you’d get under normal usage.

Both have comfortable keyboards, but the Portege has an extra that may appeal to those who don’t touch type: backlit keys.

The Toshiba Portege z835 is available for $799 at Best Buy, which is a good price for something this thin and speedy. The Lenovo IdeaPad U300s is hovering around $1,000 – $1,200 right now, but will likely come down as the holiday season gets in full swing.

Samsung Series 9

If a 13.3 inch screen is too big for you, check out this sleek little guy from Samsung. The 11.6-inch Series 9 comes with a Core i3 processor and either a 64GB or 128GB SSD. This ensures you’ll get speedy performance, though if you’re a heavy multitasker it may not be quite powerful enough for your needs.

The Series 9 is made from a strong metal called duralumin that is sturdy but light. The keyboard offers decent tactile feedback and the touchpad won’t get in your way. Due to the size you won’t get a lot of ports. You will get a nice 5 hours of battery life.

This sweet number costs quite a bit of money. However, it comes with a 3 year warranty out of the box, so it’ll be with you that long, at least. If you like the look but need more power, there’s a 13-inch version with better specs.

$1,049 and up at Samsung.com.

Business Notebooks

Don’t skip over this section just because you’re not a corporate type. So-called business laptops are often better for consumers than the stuff you’ll find on the shelf at Best Buy. They’re sturdy, have good keyboards and touchpads, come with a ton of ports, give you robust security options out of the box, and often have useful pre-loaded software.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1

If there’s one thing writers should know about Lenovo’s business laptops it’s that they have the best keyboards around. Even though it looks different from the Lenovo keyboards of old, the new style found on the ThinkPad X1 is just as easy and comfortable to type on as it is attractive. It offers strong tactile feedback, good travel, and just enough dip in the center to keep fingers on the right keys.

The X1 isn’t quite an ultraportable as it weighs 3.8 pounds. Not too heavy, but not super light. It’s also pretty thin, measuring just 0.8 inches thick.

Performance-wise, this is a workhorse machine that can handle Scrivener, MS Office, Firefox, iTunes, and way more without breaking a sweat. Well, not heavy duty games, but you’re here to write, not play WOW.

The only downside to this notebook is a short battery life: around 4 hours of real life usage. You can get an optional battery slice for $150 that will make it last twice as long. However, it adds weight and thickness.

Configurable at Lenovo.com, the ThinkPad X1 starts at $1,199.

HP Probook 5330m

HP has produced some really worthwhile business laptops lately. The ProBook 5330m looks pretty slick for a corporate type thanks to the brushed aluminum casing.

The backlit keyboard is really comfortable to type on and even has a trackpoint, so you can manipulate the mouse without having to move your hands from the keyboard. Inside you’ve got guts powerful enough for mainstream tasks and even some heavy duty stuff.

If you’re concerned about security, this laptop has some heavy-duty options for you. You can register your face for facial login, any of your fingers for one-swipe login, plus add a password. On top of that, you can set it so that not only do you need one or more of these logins, but also a registered Bluetooth device nearby, such as a phone.

It starts at $799 at HP.com.

Mainstream Notebook

Sony VAIO SE

This is another laptop that isn’t an ultraportable, but is designed with portability in mind. It has a 15-inch screen but doesn’t have a 15-inch bulk. For a laptop with this size screen it’s very thin and light, measuring just under an inch thick and weighing 4.4 pounds, making it reasonably mobile.

The screen is not only big, it also has a full HD resolution (1920 x 1080), so you can fit a lot of text on one screen or keep all the different little windows and panels in Scrivener open and still have enough room for your text. It’s also useful for looking at two different windows side by side.

The keyboard is comfortable, though doesn’t have the really strong tactile feedback of a Lenovo. Inside there’s a processor powerful to handle everything up to light video and photo editing and heavy multitasking.

Since it’s such a big system, it probably won’t last more than 5 hours on a charge. However, you can pick up a battery slice that covers and integrates with the bottom of the notebook. This adds some thickness and raises the entire notebook to 5.8 pounds. It’ll get you to 9 hours, though.

It starts at $999 at the Sony store.

MacBooks

You may have noticed a distinct lack of MacBook in any of the categories above. That’s because they deserve their own section.

Many writers swear by their MacBooks and say they can’t write without them. If you’re contemplating a new one or making the switch over from the PC, which should you pick?

MacBook Pro

Don’t be fooled by the “Pro” in the name. The 13-inch model is a pretty basic mainstream laptop at this point, though it is plenty powerful enough for most people.

Thanks to the aluminum casing it’s heavy enough that you will notice it if you carry it around a lot. But it’s not so heavy as to be prohibitive.

The flat keys are well-spaced but don’t dip enough for my tastes. Still, they have a snappy return. And the touchpad is one of the best I’ve ever used, hands-down.

If portability isn’t a concern and you just want a solid, powerful laptop, consider the 15-inch model. Again, because it’s all aluminum it’s going to be on the heavy side. But you’ll get a good keyboard, and nice big screen for editing and writing, and good performance for all your other tasks.

Starts at $1,199 at Apple.com.

MacBook Air

If portability is your main concern then you’re probably eying the MacBook Air. It is wonderfully thin and light and has the same good keyboard and excellent touchpad as the Pro line. You won’t get very many ports, but you will get most of the important ones.

The 11.6-inch model makes a good, but expensive, companion computer. It’s not going to deliver stunning performance, but it’s more powerful than a netbook or even an affordable ultraportable.

The 13.3-inch model is good enough to be a primary computer as it has a good processor and at least a 128GB SSD inside.

You’re going to pay for that power, though. It’s a Mac, so you knew that.

Starts at $999 at Apple.com.

These suggestions represent some of my favorite computers, but I’d love to hear what computers my fellow NaNoWriMo writers are using to get their daily wordcount. Tell us what you love or hate about your computer. What’s your ideal writing machine?

Looking for more tech suggestions for writers? Check out the NaNoWriMo tag over on GottaBeMobile.

NaNoWriMo: Best Notebooks For Writers is a post by K. T. Bradford from Notebooks.com.

Apple has updated the MacBook Pro line of notebooks with a number of small, but appreciable upgrades to speed, storage size and graphics.

The new MacBook Pros have the same look as the previous models, but have updated specs, something we had expected. Updating the specs, and leaving the exterior unchanged is common at this point in the MacBook Pro life cycle.

The new MacBook Pro models are available for purchase today at Apple stores and online. The new models retail for the same price as previous models.

New MacBook Pro Specs, Same Look

The new 13″ MacBook Pro has a hard drive bump up to 500GB and  faster Intel Core i5 2.4GHz or 2.8GHz processor options.

The 15″ MacBook Pro models now have 2.2GHz, 2.4GHz and 2.5GHz quad core Intel processor options. The new models also have better graphics options. The low end GPU is the AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB RAM and the high end offering is the new AMD Radeon HS 6770M with 1GB RAM. There are also new hard drive options, with up to a 750GB 7200 RPM drive available.

The 17″ MacBook Pro also gets a speed bump up to 2.3GHz and 2.5GHz quad core Intel processors. The graphics processor has also been bumped up to the new AMD Radeon HD 6770M GPU with 1GB RAM. There is also a new 750GB 7200 RPM hard drive option.

The new MacBook Pro Models have a number of improvements.

These new MacBook Pro models offer a collection of welcome upgrades. The new 500GB entry level storage option on the MacBook Pro is a nice touch, as 320GB was a paltry amount of storage for a $1,199 computer.

Will you be picking up a new MacBook Pro?

New MacBook Pro Models Bring Speed, Storage and GPU Updates is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Even though the iPhone 4S and iOS 5 fervor has not yet died down, Apple may announce more products this month. 9to5Mac reports that the MacBook Pro refresh that usually happens around this time of year is coming soon. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the skinny Air-esque models rumored earlier this year will come before the end of 2011.

9to5Mac points out that current MacBook Pro stock is “heavily constrained” and their source assures them that new model numbers are in Apple’s inventory system. The numbers indicate minor refreshes — so likely nothing new on the outside, but the latest Intel processors on the inside. Probably Bluetooth 4.0 as well.

But what about the skinny Air-like MacBook Pros we heard about earlier this year, you may ask. MacRumors speculates that those won’t arrive until Intel’s IvyBridge processors are ready. That was supposed to happen this year, but Intel is apparently a little behind.

So if you were about to buy a new MacBook, hold off for now. You may be able to get a more powerful model soon or the current models will cost a bit less.

New MacBook Pros Arriving This Month? is a post by K. T. Bradford from Notebooks.com.

Apple’s big and beautiful 24-inch Thunderbolt display makes a great secondary monitor for your MacBook, but it shipped with a problem for many – a flicker that annoyed users who plugged in their brink new Thunderbolt MacBooks into the thing. Apple just released a fix that should take care of the problem.

You can get the firmware update by following a link that Apple posted in their discussion forums. The direct link offers a DMG file to download and run on your Thunderbolt equipped MacBook.

After applying the file you will likely have to power down your computer and monitor. After a reboot all should be fixed.

Here’s the description from Apple:

The 24-inch LED Cinema Display Firmware Update addresses an issue that may cause intermittent display flickering. This firmware will only install on the Apple 24-inch LED Cinema Display when it is connected to a Thunderbolt-enabled Mac.

IMPORTANT:
This firmware update may not resolve the flickering issue if a Mini DisplayPort extender cable is used.

NOTE:
Some USB and FireWire devices may prevent firmware updates from installing correctly; disconnect non-essential devices and use only an Apple keyboard and mouse to apply the update.

Strangely, this fix won’t show up in Software Update yet. We are not sure why. Maybe it is a beta driver and Apple released it for those really bothered by it enough to post in a forum.

This problem now aside, I’d love one of these. It serves two purposes – not just an external display but also a Thunderbolt hub with USB ports as well. Plug one thing in and you get your external hard drive and any other peripherals. At a grand, they seem a bit out of reach for most average consumers, though.

(Via MacRumors : Mac News and Rumors)

Apple Releases Fix for Flickering Thunderbolt Displays in Forums is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.