New MacBooks Could Follow Intel Thunderbolt Announcement, And Yerba Buena Doesn’t Match Up

MacRumors suspects that tomorrow’s new MacBook Pros would be officially launched after Intel’s event starting at 9.00 Am Pacific Time. Apple would likely introduce their products as the first to feature Thunderbolt, which isn’t an Apple technology: Thunderbolt is an Intel trademark that can be used across any platform. So what’s the deal with Apple’s mini DisplayPort standard? On Twitter, Arnold Kim writes,

So interesting theory on why mini Display port for LightPeak/Thunderbolt, and not USB…

…basically, USB committee didn’t seem pleased that Intel was going to their port.  But guess who designed mini DisplayPort?  Yep, Apple.

To differentiate Thunderbolt from USB products, it will feature a new standard connection type which conveniently fits the bill for Apple to step with their port. The mini DisplayPort is freely licensed by Apple, and would explain this afternoon’s speculative images.

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V-MODA Vibrato Noise-Isolating Headphones

It’s tough being a music affectionado isn’t it? There’s so many headphones on the market right now, but I bet you a solid dime you wouldn’t be disappointed with V-MODA’s Vibrato noise-isolating headphones. Let’s face it: you’re probably looking at a pair of Apple’s In-Ear headphones. Apple certainly makes a nice pair of plugs, but who goes so far as to wrap your headphones cables in Kevlar, or create a truly eccentric earbud made out of Zinc Alloy? Four pairs of earbuds, sport hooks, and leather carrying case are included with your purchase for the perfect balance preferred comfort and style, and it doesn’t stop there. On top of a two-year warranty, V-MODA offers a sweet *Replay Replacement Program. If you finally wear out your headset from those endurance sprints of heavy metal thrashing, you can replace your next pair for 50% off the purchase price. You’re not just buying a pair of great headphones: you’re also getting V-MODA’s complimentary customer service which exists to save you a few buckaroos. If you’re ready to step up from the standard white, visit the Apple Store and check out the Vibratos for the new black. They’re $129.95, built to last, and they just plain look badass. (Did I mention you could take calls on these things too?)

*As one of our readers points out, the Replay Replacement Program is for US customers only. “As of today, this incredible program is only available to US customers.”

MacStories Product Giveaway: The AViiQ Portable Laptop Stand

Nothing should be more flexible or more comfortable than your mobile lifestyle. That’s why AViiQ created the Portable Laptop Stand which I had the pleasure of reviewing. It’s designed to be portable, light, yet strong enough to withstand the stress of everyday computing. The AViiQ Portable Laptop Stand compromises on none of these things: imagine slipping a curious fine sheet of aluminum into your laptop bag, only for it to unfold on the table as something uniquely striking. The thin, brushed style of the stand, combined with its sharp looks, simply disappears underneath your MacBook. Inverted or upright, folded opened or closed, we’re giving away a truly fine product from the folks at AViiQ so you too can enjoy the comfort and mobility of the world’s thinnest laptop stand.

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Joystickers’ Classic Will Put Buttons On Your iOS Device

If you’re a hardcore iOS gamer and you’ve always felt like your iPhone and iPad could use some hardware button love in certain games (coughshooters and platformscough), you should take a look at this new Kickstarter project by a Chicago-based startup called Joytstickers, which aims at improving the quality of your gaming by putting physical buttons on the shiny glass surface of your iOS device of choice.

Question is: how? The Classic, a product that’s been in development for 9 months, is a set of buttons that can stick to an iPhone’s screen thanks to a special “micro-suction cup material imported from Japan” that’s invisible to the naked eye but allows the material to stay put on the screen without damaging it or leaving any sign of attachment. As you can see in the promo video, they really just stick. The reason why Joystickers is doing this is to overcome the lack of tactile feedback when playing iOS games. Personally, I can say this sounds extremely good for games like Pizza Boy or shooters that require a “fixed” control position on a glass screen that, admittedly, doesn’t usually make gamers so excited. The only major problem for now is that there’s no solution for directional (D-Pad) controls, meaning that you’ll either have to stick 4 buttons on screen and forget about diagonal input or just use a Classic for non-directional virtual buttons.

The startup is also promoting a brush and a stylus for iOS, but we think The Classic is the most interesting product available on Joystickers’ Kickstarter page. You can back the project here by pledging $1 or more, and it will be funded if $25,000 is pledged by March 24th. [via MobileCrunch] Read more

An Interview With The Designer Of The Apple Logo→

Craig Grannel posted a transcript of his interview with the designer of the original Apple logo, Rob Janoff. Sorry to destroy all the theories about the logo:

What was the thinking behind the colour order of the stripes, and the ‘bite’?

There wasn’t a whole lot of hidden meaning behind the colours. The logo predates the gay-pride flag by about a year, so that wasn’t it—and there also goes the whole Alan Turing myth! The religious myths are just that too—there’s no ‘Eve and Garden of Eden’ and ‘bite from the fruit of knowledge’ symbolism!

I didn’t have much of a formal brief on the logo assignment, other than “don’t make it cute”. But I did know the selling points of the Apple Computer, and one of the biggest was colour capability. To me, that looked like colour bars on a monitor, which became the stripes in the logo. The order of the stripes, I’m sorry to say, had no particular grand plan other than I liked them that way. And, of course, the green stripe would be at the top where the leaf is.

The bite is really about scale and the common experience of biting into an apple. It was a happy accident that ‘byte’ is a computer term.

It’s just an Apple. [via The Brooks Review]

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New Design for MacBook Pros in 2012? Next Week’s iPad 2 Actually an iPad 1.5?

Following today’s leaks of the upcoming MacBook Pros and the official iPad 2 event announcement by Apple, iLounge has posted more information on the next-generation MBPs and iPads we’re going to see tomorrow and next week. According to iLounge’s sources, this year’s MacBook Pro refresh is turning out to be an incremental upgrade / speed bump, but a major redesign for the line is planned for 2012, and it’s already in development at Apple’s manufacturers in Taiwan.

Next year is the year when Apple will introduce an all new design for the MacBook Pro product family, which is already under development at Quanta in Taiwan. It’s being described as a big, “milestone” release for the Pro family, as compared with the speed bump features that will be introduced in tomorrow’s models.

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Ignition: iTunes, MobileMe Services To Launch In NC Data Center This Spring

Folks, we have blast off! During yesterday’s annual shareholders meeting, Apple revealed that iTunes and MobileMe services are ready for takeoff in Apple’s North Carolina data center. It’s been suspected that Apple would be utilizing their half million square foot facility to support a growing number of users on MobileMe, for iTunes cloud services, or both. Apple has all but confirmed their data center could very well be the backbone for Apple’s most notable digital programs. AppleInsider reports:

Talk of Apple’s potential future cloud services has picked up steam again recently, with a new rumor that the company plans to enhance its MobileMe service with a digital online “locker” that would store users’ personal files, such as music, photos and videos. It was also said that Apple has considered making MobileMe, which currently costs $99 per year, a free service.

We don’t know enough yet about future additions to OS X such as an encrypted locker or music streaming services to further speculate on what Apple’s data center could be used for in the long haul, but it’s purported that Apple will build a second facility at the same location, in parallel with the first data center.

Now for a fun thought: If Apple’s Headquarters at Cupertino is lovingly referred to as, “The Mothership,” can we call this NC data center, “The Brain?” Or should we shoot for some Lost references?

[via AppleInsider]

Does Amazon Really Care About In-App Purchases?

Amazon has yet to publically comment about the recent heated discussions regarding Apple’s App Store and In-App Purchase discussion wars. Chuck Toporek of Addison Wesley/Pearson has posted on his personal blog explaining why this may be so.

Amazon’s Kindle for the Web (beta) has been around since September 2010, giving users an alternative to a Apple’s iOS app. Toporek writes that his Kindle for Web tests worked great for the Mac desktop and the iPad, while the iPhone “takes a little extra work, but it can be done.” Because it’s still in beta, full book texts are not yet available but if Amazon were to leave the App Store, it has a solution already set up. Read more

Most Realistic iPad 2 Mockup To Date?

Japanese parts vendor iLab.cc [Google Translation] has posted some photos of a physical iPad 2 mockup built using information from case vendors and manufacturers near Apple’s facilities in Shenzen, China. The mockup, which you can see above and after the break, looks like the most realistic we’ve seen so far as it groups all the rumors we’ve been hearing about the second-gen iPad into one: flat back, tapered edges, front and rear-facing cameras, huge speaker grill. Compared to a current generation iPad, the mockup looks a lot thinner and, overall, flatter. It’s also very similar to other mockups we’ve seen before.

We wonder if Apple will really abandon the slightly curved design that made it easy for many people to hold the device on their lap while writing, reading, etc. Personally, I’d like a flat back much better as I hate when my iPad “moves” due to its design on my desk. What do you think? More pictures below. [via 9to5mac] Read more