iParadise Lost

Reports in the US have confirmed that Apple has hired the dean of the Yale school of management and he will join the company as the Vice president of Apple University in 2009. Both MccDonalds and more specifically Pixar offer educational outlets where in the later students take animations classes.

As usual Apple have declined to comment at this stage but I can just see it MacBook check..ipod check...Airport express check..Cinema display check...iphone check

What happens to students who want to use their Android phones and Sony laptops perhaps they'll be asked to leave them at home for the day... interesting.

Delve inside the latest sales and profit statement you will find a few gems of future paths and interesting breakdowns on the state of the Apple machine.

On netbook - Apple sees the iphone in this arena as it does so much more than phoning, but they are watching how it develops Steve Jobs noted - Apple have some interesting ideas in that area.

On iPhone 10m sales passed in September now account for 39% of Apple revenue. Pointed towards no extra new models in development at the moment.

3rd largest mobile phone seller in terms of revenue beat RIM last quarter.

Biggest non-holiday ipod quarter ever.

Extraordinary possibilties exist for Apple with over 25 billion in cash in the bank - Are Apple shopping for companies ?

Difficult to see ahead clearly does not think Apple will see heavy downturn in sales cheap PC market not created by any economic hardship.

With many computer hardware systems now coming in pro and consumer variants it has made looking at each system in detail a must when comparing value vs price. Indeed it is so important to look through the tech specs and see the computer in the flesh still before buying - I myself would take it one step further and fire up the screen and look at the whole thing before leaving the shop. Take for example the new MacBook and MacBook Pro now they virtually look alike you have to look inside for the differences and even more closely at some of the structures. The MacBook Pro keyboard for example keeps a more rigid feel to it than the more flexible MacBook variation but the big difference is in the screens.

For a time now I have wondered whether the actual screen build quality in Apple's pro range is simply just better than the consumer line and with a quick check in an Apple store this seems true once again. Granted both are LED back-lit now but NOT two sizes of the same entity. The pro machine has warmer and deeper colour hues than the MacBook version and much better black levels. Add to that better clarity when viewed from a few steps back and as always better side angles of view to boot.

Perhaps the beauty of the new consumer Macbook range is only skin deep ?

I am sure this can be replicated in other PC manufacturers offerings and I would be glad to hear your thoughts on this too, what in your opinion are the best 15 inch laptop screen on the market? And do you really need pro systems for small businesses- that is something I am going to pick up on tomorrow.

Under the cover of a new aluminum skin the Apple consumer MacBooks are now up to £200 more than their previous versions.Even the announced price drop of the newly christened MacBook white is £20 more in the UK than the previous £699 version - so my question is what happended to the $100 price cut that was announced in the States ?

The only winners in the latest refresh were people who want a new MacBook Air that is now £100 less than before- odd though no glass screen and new trackpad for that refresh ?

It now really pays to study the which MacBook are you questions as the differences for pro/consumer are much less than before with the pro machine basically getting a extra graphics card (read gaming, video/still pics edits) two inches more screen (read design) and a firewire 800 (read video), for that feature set you now pay £450 more than getting a MacBook.

Ps Just checked the Apple store and if you buy the lower spec aluminum macbook + the new 24 inch LED screen it's only £200 more than the lowest spec MacBook Pro not a bad combo and no need for extra cables...

Whoa - the new silver beasts sure are a solid release. I popped into the apple store in Cambridge on the first afternoon after the keynote and there they were all lined up with the MacBook Pros all out of stock already. And picking them up you can see how they have really improved the construction of these models, tight finish good lid closing and sleek lines abound. Given a I am Macbook Air user these days the weight of the Pro machine was very noticeable as unlike the new MacBooks the pro machine gained a little weight.

What a buyer has to choose from now is more broad range of options as Apple are still selling the MacBook White as they now call it for £719 pounds, the new Macbook Silvers are from £949 and the new pro are £1399 which is now £100 more than an Macbook Air. Be aware though and Apple has a habit of doing this that quietly that you no longer get :

Video out cable now mini port to VGA or DVI
Apple Remote

So that adds another £35 pounds to the cost and the cable for the mini ports are not out for a while so if you use your new Mac for presentation you wont be able to hook it up to a screen/projector just yet.

PS Avoid the new 17 inch if you can it has still to be refreshed and is priced the same wait till new year for the new 17 inch black and silver incarnation.