Austin Mac Works » Hardware

Reclaim Your MacBook Pro and MacBook Air Battery Life

admin — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:27:13 +0000

Best Practices for Longer MacBook Pro and Air Battery Life

One of the questions we get all of the time at Austin MacWorks has to be how do you get the best performance and make your battery last as long as possible in your MacBook Pro or Air.

The Basics of the MacBook Pro Battery and Battery Calibration

With care, your MacBook or Air battery can last for 3-5 years, or to look at it another way, about 1000 charges. After a while, the total capacity of your battery may become diminished, often lasting an hour less than when your first purchased your machine. If you suspect that your battery has become diminished, you can download the application Coconut Battery to give you a better handle on how much your battery has become compromised.

Calibrate your Battery

Over time due to chemical reactions taking place in the battery, your battery can loose a bit of its punch. Recalibrating your MacBook Pro or Air helps your battery meter correctly read the state of your battery.

The Rule of Recalibration

First of all, charge your MacBook Pro or Air battery to fullest, and then leave it that way for at least a couple of hours. Once the battery is fully charged, unplug your Mac, and set the Energy Saver settings to so the machine won’t shut off or lower the monitor brightness. The point here is to to drain the battery completely, then let your Mac sit overnight once it’s drained. The next morning, charge the batter again to 100 percent.

More Best practices for Longer Battery Life

The rule of thumb is that batteries are like muscles; you need to work em’ or loose them. Use your MacBook or Air unplugged at least once a day. One of the worst things you can do to your battery is to leave your Mac plugged in all the time, doing so will shorten and/or harm your Mac’s battery.

The Battery Rules

Recalibrate your battery once a month
Never leave your MacBook Pro or Air plugged in all the time
Use the Battery even a little bit every day

The Ultimate Protection for iPhone 4

john — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 19:06:12 +0000

You’re not going to find a tougher case to give you the most thorough protection for your iPhone 4 than the Otterbox Defender. The Otterbox Defender is available now at Austin MacWorks and ready for you to wrap around your new iPhone 4. With a special coating on outside of the touch screen membrane that goes out of it’s way to resists finger prints and a new material that eliminates static, bubbles and that “oil slick” appearance. The OtterBox Defender also features an inner felt liner that cushions your device with a textured silicone exterior for improved handling and grip. Included with the OtterBox Defender for iPhone for is a completely redesigned and stronger holster that holds the device either face in or face out that also doubles as a stand for hands-free media viewing.
The OtterBox Defender case also accommodates most 3rd party chargers.

Austin MacWorks is Your Brenthaven Headquarters in Central Texas

john — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:21:00 +0000

We think that Brenthaven Laptop cases are the best cases for your MacBook, MacBook Pro, iPad or iPhone. When customers come in to Austin MacWorks looking for the best protection for their Apple devices that also convey the style that your Apple computer deserves, we steer them towards Brenthaven.

We believe that Brenthaven sets the standard for superior protection from the drops, bangs and bumps of your digital lifestyle. Couple the style and protection of Brenthaven with their lifetime guarantee, Brenthaven is a no-brainer for the discerning MacBook and MacBook Pro user.

Austin MacWorks works hard to keep the latest Brenthaven cases in stock in Austin. Come check out the latest Brenthaven cases including x-ray friendly for the frequent traveler, soft cases, sleeves, backpacks, pro-style slimpacks and the latest iPad cases including the iPad 5-in-1 case.

The Austin iPad Accessory Headquarters

john — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:34:01 +0000

Austin MacWorks is stocking up on all the latest accessories for your iPad. With iPad hardshell, soft cases, screen protectors, fold out cases and much more. iPad cases from Sonix, Nextware, XGear, Marware, iFrogz, Speck, MacAlly, Otter and Brenthaven are in stock now to compare for your iPad needs.

Two of the most interesting iPad cases available at Austin MacWorks are the EcoFlip from Marware and the Otterbox Defender Series for iPad.

The EcoFlip offers an elastic hand strap with a foldaway display stand and the ability for the front cover to be used as a stand for your iPad. The EcoFlip also comes with an elastic closure strap for extra security of your iPad.

The Otterbox Defender case for the iPad is the ultimate in protection for your iPad. The Otterbox Defender gives you three levels of protection that include a removable front cover that also doubles as a stand and includes a military grade screen film cover. The OtterBox Defender for Apple iPad is the perfect companion that gives you the ultimate protection of your iPad. The OtterBox Defender gives you the freedom to take your iPad out to the lake or on the metro without fear of trashing your iPad.

Both the EcoFlip and the Otterbox iPad Defender are in stock and available now at Austin MacWorks, along with a full line of hardshell, sleeves, screen protectors and all of the newest and most sought after accessories available for the iPad. Stop in today and check out one of the most complete selections of iPad accessories in Austin and the Central Texas area.

New iMac 21.5 and 27 Inch Now Available

john — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:42:27 +0000

Apple has upped the speed, processor and video cards in the upgraded line of iMac computers now available at Austin MacWorks. The new 21.5 inch iMac now comes standard with 3.06GHz Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive and an ATI Radeon HD 4670 video card for just 1199.00. The 27 inch iMac standard with a 3.20GHz Intel Core i3 chip, 4GB of RAM, a 1TB Drive and the ATI Radeon HD 5670 with 512MB of cache starting at just 1699.00. The 27 inch is also available with an assortment of upgrades including an i5 or i7 quad-core chip. Stop in today to Austin MacWorks and check out the latest line of the iMac computers from Apple.

iPad Accessories Now at Austin MacWorks

john — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:16:56 +0000

The cool iPad accessories are starting to roll in at Austin MacWorks. We’ve recieved three new iPad items in the last couple of days.

If protection is paramount for your new iPad, check out the new MacAlley Metropad. The Metropad case offers a durable, lightweight mirrored finish protective hard-shell for maximum protection and coverage, all the while giving you open and easily accessable connections to the iPad ports and controls.

If you’re looking for protection with eco-green style, check out the new Bill-Fold iPad case by Brenthaven. It’s made with 100% recycled Billboard material! And no two sleeves are the same! The Bill-Fold features corner protection and a faux-suede liner to help keep your iPad scratch free.

The Nextware Anti-Glare Screen Shield for iPad will protect your screen from those ever pesky finger smudges and cuts down on glare. The tough protectors works by reducing glare and provides protection against scratches on the iPad screen.

These three cool iPad accessories are in stock and available now at Austin MacWorks.

Apple Updates Snow Leopard Printer Drivers

john — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:48:05 +0000

Apple has released printer driver updates with compatibility fixes and additional drivers for printers from Brother, Canon, Epson, HP and Lexmark.

To install the updates, make sure that you have the devices powered on and connected to your Mac or on your network. Now, navigate to: Apple menu > Software Update and launch the Software Update application. If there are newer drivers available for your printer or scanner, the drivers will appear in the available update list.

You can also find a full list of the printer and scanner drivers included with Mac OS X 10.6, or Snow Leopard, on-line at the Apple Support Web site.

The ScanSnap Scanner from Fujitsu Adds Snow Leopard Compatibility

john — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:34:44 +0000

The excellent ScanSnap family of scanners from Fujitsu have had their software updated to the ScanSnap Manager software package, bringing ScanSnap scanning to Mac Snow Leopard users. The software preference patch offers a workaround for Snow Leopard users by temporally disabling the “Quick Menu” and “Scan to Office” functions until Fujitsu offers a full software update for the ScanSnap. The download and instructions for the patch are available here. Essentially, download the .zip file, unzip it and drag the “jp.co.pfu.ScanSnap.V10L10.plist” to your “user/library/preferences” folder and replace the old .plist with the new one.

Apple Announces New iMacs, Mac Mini & Macbooks. Coming Soon to Austin MacWorks.

john — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:59:55 +0000

The Apple Mothership announced this morning a number of new products including a new lineup of iMac’s. The New iMac’s ship with either 21.5″ or 27″ displays. The top of the line iMac includes the new quad-core Intel Core i5 or Core i7 “Nehalem” processors. Wireless keyboards and the new multi-touch Magic Mouse ship standard on all iMacs.

Mac Mini’s get a processor bump up to 2.66 Mhz and 4 gigs of RAM. Apple also introduces a Mac Mini with Snow Leopard Server & two 500 GB drives pre-installed for $999.00

The MacBook also gets a bump and a re-engineer. It’s thinner, lighter and features a unibody polycarbonate enclosure along with multi-touch trackpad. The Macbook ships with an LED-backlit display, built-in lithium-polymer battery for longer battery life, 2 GB of DDR3 memory & 250GB hard drive.

The Livescribe Pulse Smartpen

john — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:30:08 +0000

Living somewhere between the space occupied by PDA’s and note taking on your laptop comes a relatively new player into the computerized note space. The Livescribe Pulse Smartpen at first glance might leave you scratching your head about its usefulness, but after spending a few minutes with the Livescribe, you’ll instantly understand its how it will simplify your data and revolutionize your note taking.

The Livescribe Pulse Smartpen is a combo note-taker and audio recorder. Using special paper (available in a number of formats including journals and notepads), the software tracks your writing and records your notes, syncing them to your Mac the next time you dock your pen. Sure, it’s a neat trick, but the real payoff is using the notes with the built-in audio recording software. Tell the Livescribe Pulse Smartpen to record audio while you’re taking notes and it indexes the audio to your scribbles. Once you’ve docked and synced your notes on your Mac, simply tapping on your notes takes you to the recorded audio that corresponds to the timeline of of your notes.

The audio/notes sync feature will be a boon to anyone who has lots of data to remember and record. Students can record lectures and take notes and have instant access to the corresponding section of the lecture by simply tapping on the notes. Other obvious applications could include note taking for therapists, doctors, business professionals, songwriters, musicians… Pretty much anyone who needs to jot down notes, store them on the computer and have instant access to corresponding audio recordings.

The Livescribe Pulse Smartpen is available in 1 and 2 gigabyte models and comes with 250 MB of online storage for registered users who can share notes and audio as interactive Flash movies or PDF files. Stop into Austin MacWorks today and let us demo this very cool tool that will simplify note taking and data gathering for business professionals and UT students alike.