During Macworld 2008 keynote, Steve Jobs made some announcements for the forthcoming Apple products, itunes and some statistics for the previous year.

First of all iTunes will offer from now on the opportunity to rent movies. Movies can be rented for 30 days (playback should be started up to 30 days after the rental) and when you begin watching them you have 24 hours to see the movie once or as many times you want. Movies will be available in iTunes for renting 30 days after their DVD release. Movies from all major studios are featured and HD movies will be available in a while. When you rent a movie, you can watch it on your pc or mac or on your ipod/iphone.

Apple TV is upgraded to Apple TV take 2 and integrates completely with iTunes, offering the ability to rent movies straight from your HDTV. Time Capsule is also a new device that offers back-up solutions to Mac an PC users. Time Capsule features a server hdd and an airport extreme wireless solution, which means that you can backup everything without having to plug any kind of cable. Time capsule is offered in 500GB and 1TB capasities.

Last but not least, Steve Jobs announced a new member in the MacBook family, called MacBook Air (”there is something in the air” was the slogan of Macworld 2008). Macbook Air is extremely thin (0.16″ to 0.76″) and offers an Intel Core 2 Duo processor (1.6 standard and 1.8 Ghz optional), 2GB of RAM (not upgradeable), an isight camera, a touch pad with advanced capabilities similar to the ones for ipod touch and iphone, 13.3″ LED backlight display, 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. There only one USB port, a DVI port and the MagSafe port for the power cord. MacBook Air is equipped with a 80GB hdd drive as standard. Also there is an option for replacing the standard drive with a 64GB SSD drive (no moving parts) for $1000. There is no DVD combo drive so if you want to uses CDs or DVDs you have to purchase the external one which needs the only-offered USB port (the external combo drive is powered via the usb cable so no power cord is needed). Prices for the new Macbook start at $1700. Although if you want a MacBook Air with the SSD drive and the 1.8Ghz Core 2 Duo, you have to pay near $3000.

In general -as a geek- I love the design and the portability of the new MacBook. The only problem is that a portable notebook should have the option for manual battery replacement. MacBook (as most Apple products, like ipods and iphone) does not offer that option. Battery (according to Apple) lasts for 5 hours, but with wireless on I think that it should be around 3.5 hours. So as Paul Stamatiou said:

For a notebook so perfectly poised at being the ultimate travel computer, not being able to have spare batteries is a huge turn off.

RAM is also not upgradeable but MacBook Air is an ultra-portable notebook and not a desktop replacement. 2GB are ok for most cases and everyday uses.
More photos from MacBook Air can be found here.

Microsoft Mobile Memory 8000 mouse is a pointing device designed for notebook users (I purchased it for my notebook as I dislike touchpads ). This mouse features also 1GB flash memory, which can be used as a usual portable flash drive. Apart from this, this device features a rechargeable NiMh battery, so you do not need to carry extra batteries.

As you see on the image above, the pack contains the pointing device, the reciever which is also a 1GB usb flash drive, a magnetic cable which is used for charging your battery, a case for carrying the mouse and a poor leaflet with instructions on how to install the mouse alongside with the IntelliPoint driver cd.

Microsoft Mobile Memory Mouse 8000 can be connected to your notebook via Bluetooth if your notebook supports it. If you choose to connect it via bluetooth, you do not have to plug the transceiver, so you have one more free usb port on your notebook. Changing interface between 2.4Ghz and bluetooth can be easily done via a button on mouse’s bottom. A button for turning the device on and off is also located there.

Charging the mouse is really easy. There is a led light near the tilt wheel: if the led glows red, it needs to be charged. You have to plug the magnetic cable to the transceiver and to the mouse. When the cable is connected, the indicator light becomes green and solid green when its fully charged (needs up to 5 hours for a full charge). You can continue using the mouse while it is charging, but the computer must not be on hibernate mode or turned off.

Mobile Memory Mouse 8000 uses laser technology. The pointer is accurate enough and well responsive. IntelliPoint software lets you customise buttons’ behaviour and point speed. If you would like to use the mouse under Windows Vista and want the tilt wheel to support Flip 3D function, you have to update IntelliPoint to version 6.2 (the mouse is shipped with version 6.1). Tilt wheel features 4-way scrolling and there are also two customisable buttons on the right which by default are used as “back button” and magnifier.

The device’s design is great. Touch feeling is nice, solid and very ergonomical even for people with big hands. Although the mouse is small and lightweight, so it can be carried easily using the included carrying case. The transceiver is bigger than many others in the market, but is as big as a usual usb flash drive.

Overall
Microsoft Mobile Memory Mouse 8000 is an elegant device, with nice design, easy-to-carry which features also 1GB flash memory built in the transceiver. To pros should be considered that it can be charged straight from notebook by connecting the transceiver with the mouse via the magnetic cable without stopping working or having to change battery every so. Its package should be considered full, although its price is high (€ 98 here in Greece).

Recently I purchased a new notebook: a Sony Vaio VGN-FZ21E. FZ series come with 15.4″ wide displays. VGN-FZ21E features: Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 2Ghz processor, 2GB DDR2 SDRAM, 160GB DD, WiFi (802.11 a/b/g), DVD RW and a Nvidia GeForce 8400M GT GPU with 64MB RAM. Its operating system is Windows Vista Home Premium.

The package contains the notebook, a rechargable battery, the power cords and the guides. That means that there is no Windows Vista recovery disk. In case of operatin system crash or if you want to format your notebook, there is a hidden partition containing the operating system and sony vaio’s preinstalled programs. The hidden partition makes the HDD looks smaller (around 140GB) in Windows Vista.

The design is minimal with the big vaio logo on the back. The keyboard is black except the media buttons on the top as long as the on/of button which are silver. Built-in speakers offer medium quality sound, but loud enough (except if you use the battery life profile). The fans cooling the gpu and the cpu are quiet and even under high cpu load, the notebook remains cool which makes it a great and quiet portable solution, especially if you usually use your laptop on your knees.

FZ Vaio series offer wide connectivity solutions. The built in WiFi offers stable and fast data transfers. The are audio outputs, a card reader (reads sd cards and memory sticks), iLink port for camcoders and digital cameras, 3 usb 2.0 ports, ethernet, modem, and an HDMI port for full High Definition (1080p) output.

The keyboard is elegant and provides great feeling when typing. Charging the notebook takes about 45 minutes with the vaio turned off and 1 hour and 30 minutes with the vaio turned on. Although battery lasts only for 1 hour and 20 minutes with medium use (WiFi enabled, internet surfing). With hard use (3d graphics, gaming) the battery lasts for 40 minutes, which makes it necessary to buy a second battery if you need your laptop on whenever you are.

The display is one of the best I’ve seen on laptops of tha price range. Colors are vivid and bright and watching HD videos (720p) is exciting. The built-in motion camera offers only the basics. The picture quality is low and pixelates but it will cover your needs for basic video chat.

Vaio VGN-FZ21E costs 1100 euros (around $1500). There are more expensive laptops in the FZ series, which offer blu ray drives instead of the DVD-combo and graphics cards with more memory. In general this Vaio will cover everyone needs. Its not ideal for hardcore gamers though. People who travel a lot should consider buying a second battery. Its weight is 2.7kg, so this laptop can be called portable for its display category.