In case you missed our last Buzz post, we now offer the holy-grail of hard drive upgrades - 1 terrabyte!
It's my opinion that only bad puns and visual hyperbole can convey the awesomeness of having this amount of storage inside of your laptop, so here ya go...
Of course, if you have a MacBook or MacBook Pro unibody system or a 17" Aluminum MacBook Pro, you won't notice any difference in the size of your laptop when you get it back from our Apple Certified Techs. :)
OK, to say we're excited about this is the understatement of the year. After extensive testing, we are please to release our new 1 Terabyte (that's 1000 Gigabytes in case you are keeping score at home) drive upgrade for MacBook and MacBook Pro unibody systems.
Simply put, this drive rocks. With the latest drive technology and same-day or overnight installation that includes data transfer - we're ready to max out your Mac whenever you are. Read the complete press release here.
Should I take my Mac laptop to Apple for out of warranty repair?
So, your MacBook, MacBook Pro, PowerBook or iBook is having a problem and your system is no longer covered under the original Apple warranty. You have some choices to make about where and how you get your system repaired. Here's some information that may assist you in making that decision.
If you take your broken MacBook, MacBook Pro, PowerBook or iBook to Apple for out of warranty repair, there are some pros and cons to consider:
Pros:
Trusted source
Proximity (if you are close to an Apple store)
Uses original factory parts
Apple Certified Technicians
Cons:
High prices
Delayed turnaround time
Only 90-day warranty period
Alternatively, you can consider an independent source to get your MacBook, MacBook Pro, PowerBook or iBook repaired. And since we are writing this article, we get to pick the independent source, so you won't be surprised when we pick our company, TechRestore. Here are the pros and cons to consider when deciding between taking an out-of-warranty repair to Apple or to TechRestore:
Pros:
Trusted source (over 50,000 repairs completed)
Proximity: over 4000 local pickup locations across the U.S.
Uses original factory parts
Apple Certified Technicians
24-hour typical repair turnaround time
1-year warranty
Cons:
You won't get to browse the Apple store when dropping off your repair
TechRestore has fixed tens thousands of MacBook, MacBook Pro, PowerBook and iBook systems. Our most frequent repairs are broken LCD screens, hard drive replacements, SuperDrive replacement, logic board repair, case repair and data recovery. Learn more about our services, our people and our company by calling 1-888-572-7372 or by visiting TechRestore.com
Augmented reality used to be a term that applied to head mounted displays and, more recently, iPhones and PDAs - displaying information about the world around you or otherwise enhancing your vision. Now, however, there is a new breed of AR that employs projectors.
The Magic Projection system uses a standard desktop projector, connected to a Mac. Here is a video of a Unibody MacBook Pro driving a display which projects on to a blank canvas which has embedded spatial sensors.
Even more practical is the Sixth Sense system, which employs a wearable computer and projector. This video shows how such a system can be used to provide product ratings and book reviews, or even turn any surface into a calculator or web browser!
An example of augmented reality already put into practice is provided by Lego. In this video, an electronic 'mirror' shows what you can create with the bricks included in any box of legos.
TechRestore's HD revolution continues! Here's the HD remaster of our second most popular video, the unibody MacBook Pro disassembly. The image quality in the embedded player below looks good, but it still doesn't show all the detail. Click here to watch it full size (and don't forget to click the 'watch in HD' option!
Here are some more photos of the matte finish screen upgrade for the 15" unibody MacBook Pro, starting with a side-by-side comparison of our new matte finish next to the stock glossy screen, reflecting the same fluorescent overhead light. Click on the images to see them larger.
It's been a fantastic week exhibiting at MacWorld Expo!
We've seen a record number of people coming by the booth each day and one of the most popular items we are displaying is the Glossy to Matte finish screen replacement service for the 15-inch MacBook Pro Unibody models. We have our prototype at the show, and it's incredible how many people have come by to thank us for coming out with this service. Seems like there's a large population of MacBook Pro users that don't like using that shiny screen.
Once we got mentioned by MacWorld magazine, where their reviewer said "Personally, I feel like the TechRestore guys do a better job with their matte treatment than Apple did" , our phones started ringing off the hook for this new service. If you can't get to the show to see the samples of the MacBook Pro with a non-shiny screen, here's some quick answers to some common questions that have come up:
What does the screen replacement include?
In order to replace the super-shiny screen with a traditional matte (anti-glare) screen, we remove the glass screen cover (you know, that mirror-like glass you have been seeing your reflection in), then we remove the glossy LCD (LED backlight) screen. We then replace the glossy screen with a matte-finish screen that has the exact same specifications as the original; same resolution, same color depth, same LED backlight...you get the idea. We install a custom black bezel around the edge of the screen that matches the finish of the MacBook Pro and looks great. The bezel has all the required holes in it for the iSight and other items that sit at the top of the MacBook Pro screen housing.
Are you just putting an anti-glare screen cover on the screen?
No. Our beta testers on this service have told us they do not like the anti-glare covers since they tend to distort images and make color matching very difficult. We will be replacing your entire LCD panel.
Will you post some photos on your website, already!?
We will be posting some actual before-after photos on our site next week for your review.
How long does the service take?
The screen replacement is completed within 24-hours (M-F) of receipt to us.
What about my warranty?
We provide a 1-year warranty on your new screen. Our technicians have performed tens of thousands of repairs on in-warranty laptops since 1994 and we have never had a warranty declined by the manufacturer due to our service. Of course, the manufacturer will not cover any parts we install on your laptop, we take care of that for you. In the unlikely event that you have a problem getting warranty service on your laptop after we perform any repair or upgrade, simply give us a call so we can provide you with assistance. We are here to help.
What other products will you be offering this service on?
We've had a tremendous response to this new service. Watch for new products being added during the coming weeks. To get an alert about new service offerings, sign up for our Specials newsletter.We have one more day of the show, which ends at 4PM on Friday. I'll then be driving the Time Machine out of the Moscone Center and taking a couple of days to recuperate from being on our feet talking non-stop for four days. It's been a great show and we hope that MacWorld Expo continues to be such a great resource for Mac users everywhere.
Here's our latest animated tear-down video: a look inside the brand new MacBook Pro! As an added bonus, by popular request, I got footage of Chet putting it back together.
These new MacBooks Pro are amazing! The whole trackpad is a button, which doesn't seem all that much better than tap clicking, until you go to drag stuff, which is sooo much better this way! The four-finger Expose controls are wicked too.
Ah, good things come to those who wait. It's finally here, the long rumored and even longer waited for 1/2 Terabyte laptop hard drive that will fit in all MacBook and MacBook Pro models!
Our first batch of drives is here and we've just made this hot product live on our website. You'll get 500 Gigabytes of storage, installed overnight with data transfer from your old drive. It's a beautiful thing.
I'm sitting in the Seattle airport, catching my connecting flight to Chicago for some business meetings - but I couldn't wait to share this news with you. Since my current 250 Gigabyte drive has been acting up, I'll be having our guys swap in one of the 500 Gig drives for me when I return. Really, it's acting up, I promise.
