Tag Archives: air

Octa Whale Tail Vacuum Dock

May 17, 2012IPADair, IPAD, Kindle, Macbook, Nook, octa, Tablet, whale tailJ Powers

If you are looking for a way to hold your iPad, maybe your hand hurts after a while, then this dock might be something you want to look at. Octa has an iPad Vaccum dock that puts your hand in the middle of the iPad. Best part – you can use this for your iPad, Macbook Air, Kindle, Nook, or any other device 3 1/2 inches in circumference.

The Octa is a half-ball with a suction cup affixed to the flat end. Affix the suction cup to the device, and press the button. The suction technology affixes the Octa to the iPad. You can even attach to an iPad case, if the surface is flat and non-porous.

Place the cup on the back side of the tablet, then push the button 5 times. That will create a suction to the device. To remove, you lift the rubber tabs to let air into the surface area (make sure you have a good hold on the tablet).

Octa Whale Tail

Octa on Wall — Affix the Octa on a non-porous wall to hang your iPad

The Octa Whale Tail is an adapter you can connect to the Vacuum Dock. It looks exactly like a Whale tail. This allows your iPad to sit upright. It also lets you set your iPad at a better angle when you are sitting in a reclined or feet up position. You can also reverse the Vacuum dock and use the tail as an iPad holder. Attach the dock to a non-porous wall (or the back side of an airplane tray in its upright position), then bend the tail so it holds the tablet.

I’ve been using the Octa Whale Tail for a couple days now, and I am really impressed. By putting my hand in the middle of the iPad, my hand doesn’t get tired. The tail can also mold around your hand for an ergonomic feel. This would be perfect for someone that has to hold a tablet all day – maybe a poll taker, a wait staff (if they have an iPad POS), a teacher, a speaker and more.

The Octa Vacuum with Whale Tail is $49.95, and available now.

Dock Your MacBook with Henge Docks

January 25, 2012Apple, ces, mac, Special Mediaair, Apple, Docking Stations, Henge Docks, Macbook, proAlan

Henge Docks may be a name you aren’t yet familiar with, but if you’re a MacBook owner then you may want to get to know this company a little better. Henge Docks makes docking stations for the full line of Apple notebooks, including the MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro, and all sizes of each. Since Apple doesn’t provide built-in docking capability it took a third-party company to come up with unique way of getting around that limitation.

Henge Docks was recently at the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas to demonstrate their MacBook docking station and GNC caught up with them to get a look at how their system works. You can see it in action in the video below, including the brand new MacBook Air dock which was shown for the first time at CES, and a few other cool new products in their line. The line of docks range in price from $50-75 and you can check them out at Henge Docks.

Interview by Steve Lee of Netcast Studio.

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OWC — Other World Computing — High Performance Aftermarket SSD Drives

January 21, 2011ces, Hard Drive, mac, Special Media, storageair, Apple, ATA, ces, Grant Dahlke, hard drive, IDE, Macbook, Other World Computing, OWC, solid state drive, SSD, storagetomwiles

Grant Dahlke from Other World Computing aka MacSales.com introduces Sandforce processor-based high capacity, high-performance SSD (solid state drive) hard drives for computers such as Apple’s Macbook Air that are up to three times larger and up to 22% faster than the drive than Apple’s OEM drive. They also have a line of drives for older IDE and ATA machines, which enables much better performance from older computing hardware due to the much faster read/write times of solid state drives as opposed to the performance of conventional spinning hard drives.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

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Macbook Air: OK, I’m a Little Impressed

October 25, 2010Appleair, Air's little brother, Apple, applecare, chicklet keys, garageband, i7, idvd, iLife, iMovie, iweb, mac, Macbook, sledgehammer, trackpadJ Powers

Over the weekend, I got a hands on to the new Macbook Air. At first, I did what everyone else probably did – picked it up at the small point with one hand. The lightweight frame was the one thing that really differed from my laptop. It did get me to stop into the Apple store today and look at it a little closer.

The Specs

The Macbook Air has a height of .68 inches at it’s largest point. It comes in11 inch and 13 inch models. The differences are below:

11 inch: The processor, Core 2 Duo at 1.4 to 1.6 GHz with 800 MHz front side bus. 2GB of memory and a SSD of 64 or 128GB. 35W battery

13 inch: Also a Core 2 Duo, but with 1.86 to 2.13 GHz and 1066 MHz frontside bus. 2 GB of memory, an SSD of 128 or 256 GB and an SD card slot. 50W battery

Both models have: 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1 ready. NVidia GeForce 320M with 256 MB DDR3. Display up to 2560 x 1600 pixels. Keyboard, Trackpad and Facetime camera. They also have 2 USB 2.0 ports, a Mini Display for VGA or DVI output, Headphone jack, microphone (which is not next to the camera?) and MagSafe power jack.

11 inch or 13 inch?

The one I played with over the weekend was the 13 inch model. When I checked out Macbook’s Little Brother, I was pretty much sold on that 13 inch model. The screen was the deciding factor. If I am on a computer, I want more screen. That is why I never bought a netbook.

Of course, the processor speed and Bus speed were factors, along with the SD card option. However, the biggest factor in getting a machine like this is the amount of SSD drive space.

64GB is great for storing smaller documents and pictures, but you might find yourself clearing out the computer every other month. A 256 GB hard drive (that, BTW, you can’t replace without getting a whole new motherboard) makes more sense.

SSD means Speed over the Macbook i7?

I opened a lot of programs with both the 11 inch and 13 inch Macbook Air. I then walked over to the Macbook Pro i7 and did the same thing. The Air took 1/10 the time in opening some programs.

The i7 definitely would outperform in higher process tasks, but when it came to the speed in opening up a program to begin typing, I was pretty impressed with what the Air did.

The Good Air

The Macbook Air feels like an iPad: with a cover and the Mac 10.6 OS installed. Apple did not skimp on Keyboard or Trackpad space, so I am really happy with the oversized chicklet keys.

When you get your Air, you get a reinstall USB drive. You also get the new iLife software, with Garage Band, iWeb, iDVD and iMovie.

Finally, the case was sturdy. I didn’t feel like I had to use kid gloves to use the machine. While I’m not going to beat on it with a sledgehammer, I do feel that with a protective notebook bag, I can get some good use out of this machine.

The Bad Air

Of course, with good comes bad, and the Air does have some bad points to it. The first is the on-board SSD. If I want more drive space, you have to get an external device. If I want to play a DVD, you also have to get an external device or a whole other computer through CD sharing.

Connecting an external monitor will come at an extra price of $29 to $99 dollars. Want to connect an Ethernet cable? That is another $29. No Firewire.

Speaking of price, you will definitely want to get the AppleCare Protection – if anything for the SSD drive you cannot easily replace. That will cost you an additional $249.

Overall

While I don’t see myself buying this machine anytime soon, I do see this being perfect for the college student, DJ or blogger. That is, if they want to spend the $999+ for this.

If you need more, then of course, the Air is not for you. Might as well just get an iPad and a Macbook Pro i7 or other machine.

The 11 inch model might be a waste of money. I would guess that machine will be off the shelves after January. Once again, you might as well just buy an iPad if you are going to do that light of work. They are cheaper.

The Air is lightweight, it doesn’t skimp on the keyboard or trackpad and I don’t feel like I have to treat it like fine china. Those are the qualities that impress me most.