I think we all remember that pivotal day when Ronald Reagan uttered those famous words: “iFixit…tear down this laptop.” Don’t worry, they obliged. Elsewhere, the Verizon iPhone 4 has an unfortunate resemblance to its AT&T sibling, but Verizon says sales are still good! And Apple buys some music streaming insurance. Fortunately, the remainders for Friday, February 25, 2011 are protected against fire, flood, hurricanes, and alien invasion.
MacBook Pro 15” Unibody Early 2011 Teardown (iFixit)
Those fine gentlemen at iFixit have already taken apart one of Apple’s new Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Pros and found a few interesting tidbits. For example, the Thunderbolt controller is the fourth largest chip in the MacBook Pro. And it’s powered by actual thunder. Personally, I just hope that iFixit never decides it wants to know what makes me tick. *shiver*
Verizon iPhone 4: Mind the gap, our tests show (Consumer Reports)
We know it’s what’s inside that counts, but Consumer Reports still seems fixated on exteriors—specifically, the exterior antenna on the iPhone 4. Having now tested the Verizon model, CR has deemed it has the same signal attentuation issue as the AT&T version. As a result, the publication says it cannot recommend the phone, even though it offers “great multimedia functionality, a sharp screen, and the best MP3 player we’ve seen on a phone.” You know, this sounds a lot like the iPhone 4 review I got from a friend of mine.
Verizon Wireless CEO Says iPhone Sales Strong (Wall Street Journal)
Speaking of the Verizon iPhone, we can think of many possible reasons that it didn’t spawn the enormous lines of its AT&T equivalent. Despite people not queuing up around the block, Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead says sales have been strong, especially online, which apparently accounted for 60 percent of phones sold. Having waited in three iPhone lines myself, I give that a resounding “duh”.
Apple shares Mac OS X Lion with security experts (CNet)
Cupertino has butted heads with security researchers in the past, but it’s extending an olive branch by inviting several experts, including Charlie Miller and Dino Dai Zovi, to check out its Lion developer preview. I look forward to what should basically be the software security version of Will it Blend?.
Apple’s Lala purchase appears to have been “insurance” (Ars Technica)
Apple bought music streaming service Lala in 2009, but it doesn’t seem to have done much except shutter the site. According to a story in the Financial Times (registration required), the purchase was for “insurance” that its download model would survive. Rumors continue, however, that the company may use the technology to allow users to stream tracks they’ve bought from iTunes. So, I guess this is one of those insurance policies that says something to the effect of “Nice industry…it’d be a shame if something happened to it.”