Speedmark 6: Macworld Lab's new benchmark suite

The Macworld Lab has been hard at work tweaking Speedmark, our overall system performance testing tool, to better accommodate Snow Leopard and to test the Macs on which it runs.

Jitouch adds new gestures to Multi-Touch trackpadsJitouch is a simple program that adds eight new sets of gestures to the Multi-Touch trackpads on recent Apple portables.
Review: 13-inch MacBook/2.26GHz (Late 2009)In bringing the unibody treatment to the white MacBook, Apple has added many pro features while removing FireWire and the infrared port.

Product	Score	Price
13-inch MacBook/2.13GHz	198	$949.95
15-inch MacBook Pro/2.53GHz	237	$1,678.99
15-inch MacBook Pro/2.8GHz	260	$2,238.99
15-inch MacBook Pro/2.66GHz	242	$1,948.99
MacBook Air/2.13GHz		$1,728.99
MacBook Air/1.86GHz		$1,438.99
13-inch MacBook Pro/2.26GHz	213	$1,169.00
17-inch MacBook Pro/2.8GHz	256	$2,398.99
13-inch MacBook Pro/2.53GHz	239	$1,474.00

Product	Score	Price
Mac Pro/Quad-Core Xeon 2.66GHz	348	$2,388.00
Mac Pro/8-Core Xeon 2.26GHz	343
24-inch iMac Core 2 Duo/2.66GHz	270	$1,475.00
24-inch iMac Core 2 Duo/2.93GHz	297	$1,769.00
24-inch iMac Core 2 Duo/3.06GHz	308	$2,183.60
120GB Mac mini Core 2 Duo/2GHz	189	$598.00
20-inch iMac Core 2 Duo/2.66GHz	256	$1,434.12
320GB Mac mini Core 2 Duo/2GHz	202	$798.00

Power and the international Mac No, you needn't purchase a power converter when you take your Mac traveling.
Upgrading a MacBook Pro's hard drive Laptop in one hand, replacement raw drive in the other. No, you needn't reinstall everything when you install the new hard drive.
Automatically mute sound before meetings Use a couple of very simple AppleScripts and iCal to mute your laptop before (and unmute it after) you head to meetings, lectures, or other scheduled events.
Resurrecting the MacBook's number pad With the unibody MacBooks Apple removed the ability for you to use the keyboard as a number pad. Here's how to restore that ability.
Can an SD card startup disk be used on any Mac? Can an SD card startup disk be used on any Mac? Roman Loyola does a little bit of testing, and finds the answer may be yes.

The Macalope Weekly: Lies, damned lies, and statistics This week the Macalope considers the many types of lies, including, but not limited to, lies, damned lies, lies of omission, statistics, and, of course, advertising.
Get me rewrite: Microsoft alters Laptop Hunter ads A Microsoft executive may have crowed about Apple's complaints over its TV ads, but according to Advertising Age, Microsoft has tweaked at least one of the commercials to reflect the lower pricing of Mac laptops.
MS Exec: Apple complained about Laptop Hunters ads Microsoft’s COO says that Apple called him to complain about the Redmond, Wash., company's Laptop Hunter ads.
Opinion: Reassessing the 'Apple Tax' PC World's Michael Scalisi is rethinking the so-called Apple tax after Monday's changes to the Mac laptop lineup.
The case of the missing ExpressCard slot The changes to Apple’s laptop line means the elimination of the ExpressCard/34 expansion slot, at least on the 15-inch models. And Peter Cohen thinks that will leave some mobile Mac users in the lurch.