Happy Tuesday,

Apple today announced revisions to the whole MacBook Pro line, adding substantially faster processors and graphics cards to the line. Of note is the auto-sensing graphics system.

The MacBook Pros for some time had dual graphics systems: one was a more energy-efficient integrated system that shared main RAM, and the other was a dedicated graphics processor with its own dedicated memory. Users had to change the setting manually, then log out and back in, to affect the change. That’s happening transparently now, which is a relief!

The energy efficiency gains come not only from this graphics system, but also from the battery itself. Apple continues to refine its batteries, which are advertised as lasting between eight and ten hours on a single charge. Most remarkable is their 1,000 charge/discharge cycle lifetime. Most all other laptop batteries on the market today will begin show severely degraded performance at 300 cycles.

This is a big environmental win, and also lowers cost of ownership for everyone over the long term. Of course, it also means fewer toxic substances winding up in landfills or needing proper recycling.

Ed has a full write-up in this issue. As always, keep in touch.

Matt
matt@smalldog.com