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MacBook and MacBookPro suffer performance anxiety once the battery is removed
Are you one of those thrifty-types who's always looking for an angle, always trying to stretch every last penny? You know who we're talking about: Montel Williams bases whole episodes around you, the kind of person who reuses tea bags and separates sheets of triple-ply paper towels. Unfortunately, it now looks like you now have one less trick at your disposal. According to Zach Honig over at Gearlog, running your MacBook or MacBookPro without its battery (trying to squeeze out an extra month or two of battery life) will cause a significant performance decrease: we're talking upwards of 40 percent. When he checked Apple's knowledgebase, it turns out that this is by design -- processor speed is reduced when the machine detects that its relying solely on A/C to prevent it from demanding more power than the adapter alone can provide (and any nasty shutdowns that would result). We don't know if we buy this line of reasoning, but one thing is certain: if you know what's good for you, you'll leave that battery where it belongs.
Gearlog interview clears up iPhone and Touch details
Gearlog scored an interview with Apple's Greg Joswiak that shines a light on some outstanding questions about the iPhone and iTouch. In a nutshell, the key points are: No Bluetooth on Touch. Internet pictures implying otherwise are errors. Touch will run iPhone software. Same hardware as the iPhone, same OS. Software should port without problem. Apple makes no accommodations for hacking. Software updates will continue to "reset" iPhones and Touches. Apple does not actively oppose 3rd party hacks but they will not support them either. No SDK. I'm reading between the lines here, but Joswiak's "not hate" and not "support" indicates that Apple has no plans for open 3rd party development.
Wii quit: Taiwanese company making LCD shield
Looking for the perfect gift for the man who has everything, but still wants the world to know that he's a clumsy bastard? Allow us to introduce the Wii shield, a big, dumb piece of plastic that protects LCDs from 30" to 46" from flying Wiimotes. We assume it would protect from other things too (God knows we're totally throwing a TiVo remote if Blake loses tonight) but we're a gaming site, so let's just roll with it.Ready to buy one? Well, you can't, and not just because we'll punch you in the face if you try. Taiwanese manufacturer LCDArm isn't selling them yet, thought they promise Gearlog that they're on the way, much to the delight of sweaty-palmed gamers with cash (and dignity) to burn.[Thanks, Brigham]
