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Apple has quietly introduced a new MacBook model, labeled MC240. This is the second time this year the company beefs up its legacy, White polycarbonate MacBook, this time shipping the system with faster RAM (2GB DDR2, now runs at 800MHz) and bigger storage capacity (160GB HDD), as well as a faster processor (2.13GHz Core 2 Duo).

The laptop in question is the same White polycarbonate model Apple touts as being its most popular Mac. Thanks to the bump in RAM and processor speed (and probably some additional under-the-hood changes), Apple has stamped this model with a “MC240” label, as revealed in the laptop’s Environmental Report. The White MacBook is at its second upgrade of the kind, following the inclusion of an updated graphics card (the NVIDIA 9400M) earlier this year.

As noted above, Apple has done the upgrading quietly (again) for what is the most attractive standard configuration ever to come out of Cupertino. We are taking orders effective immediately for this model.

MacBook (Model MC240) standard configuration

· 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB on-chip shared L2 cache running 1:1 with processor speed;
· 1066MHz frontside bus;
· 2GB (two 1GB SO-DIMMs) of 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 4GB;
· 160GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive;
· 8x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
· NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory.

The system comes preloaded with Mac OS X Leopard, which includes iLife ’09 (iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb, and iDVD).

“MacBook has more than enough power to get you through your day — at home, at school, or at work — thanks to its impressive Intel Core 2 Duo processor,” Apple says on its website. “Powerful NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics provide outstanding performance for playing the latest 3D games and creating and enjoying media with iLife,” the company adds.

Visit Gadget Grocery here for a closer look at the company’s most popular Mac, and to place your own order immediately.

The Olympus Stylus Tough-8000 looks like a tank – especially with its stainless-steel case (appropriately enough, black and blue bodies are also available). The camera looks strong, with metal edges and screws that look like bolts scattered on the front, and feel just as sturdy thanks to some nice heft. It camera measures 3.7 x 2.4 x .85 (W x H x D, in inches), and weighs 7.4 ounces with battery and card in place.

The lens, which is a nice wide-angle 3.6x zoom rated 28-102mm, does not extend from the body when you power up. A metal lens cover slides up or down so the camera can confront the elements. And, boy, can it do just that. The Tough-8000 can handle a drop of 6.6 feet, go 33 feet underwater, withstand 220 pounds of pressure, and operate down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit. Also on the front is the flash, an LED illuminator for focus, and a two-pinhole microphone. The logos and nomenclature were very subdued in our stainless version. It looks rugged and definitely stands apart from the competition. Just have a cloth handy, since fingerprints really stand out.

On the top you’ll find the shutter, a power button, and an underwater sensor, which will tell you how deep or high you are when engaged. On the right side is a compartment with a sturdy lock for the multi-use connector (for charging the battery, watching images on a TV or transferring photos and videos to a PC). Below it is a small speaker.

The back also has a rugged look, with sturdy metal keys and a quality 2.7-inch LCD screen rated 230K pixels. The monitor worked well in a variety of lighting situations, including direct sunshine. The controls are similar to those found on almost every point-and-shoot digicam. On the top right are the wide/tele keys and below them is a mode dial. In keeping with a big trend for 2009, there’s an intelligent auto option, where the camera decides the proper settings for the subject it believes is in front of it (sports, portrait, landscape and so on). Strangely, the camera icon, which typically means auto, is actually P for program automatic exposure. Here you can change the ISO, white balance and shadow adjustment; in iAuto, you can’t adjust anything, it’s totally aim-and-forget. You cannot change shutter speed or aperture in any setting, so if you’re looking for these controls pass this one by. Other dial options include SCN for scene modes, which include several for underwater shots, movies (only 640 x 480 at 30 fps), playback and beauty. This is a strange one: The camera picks a face, and smoothes that countenance, creating a 2MP still. Forgive us but something got lost with this one in translation during the trip from Japan to the States.

Below the mode dial is the classic four-way controller with center set button. We don’t know why Olympus duplicated playback here as well, but there’s delete, menu and display (no grid lines, unfortunately). On the bottom of the made-in-China camera is a tripod mount and a compartment for the battery and xD picture card slot.

Along with these controls, the camera also features something called tap control, which allows users to touch parts of the 8000 to engage select commands. It’s nothing like an iPhone touch-screen (more in the performance section).

The Tough-8000 comes with everything you need other than the memory card – body, battery, wrist strap, A/V and USB cable plus an AC adaptor for recharging the battery in-camera. You also get an 86-page printed owner’s manual and Olympus Master 2 software for handling files on CD-ROM along with a microSD card adaptor if you want to use that media instead of xD.

To check our price on this item:

http://gadgetgrocery.com/shoppingcart/product_info.php?products_id=245

Apple’s new laptop, the MacBook Air, may not be the true ultraportable that many had hoped for, but it still easily breaks new ground for small laptops. Mimicking the 13-inch silhouette of the current MacBook line, it’s only 0.76 inch thick at its thickest, and Apple calls it the “world’s thinnest notebook.”

The MacBook Air includes an iSight camera and mic, and an LED-backlit display that works with an ambient light sensor to adjust the screen brightness in response to the light in the room.

The revamped trackpad is large, measuring nearly 5 inches diagonally, and it works with new multitouch gestures. Other MacBooks let you do things like use two fingers to scroll through documents–this one lets you use three fingers to go forward and back in your Web browser history, and use your thumb and forefinger to zoom in and out of documents and photos–much like on the iPhone. The three-finger forward/back gesture was immediately useful.

Another noteworthy new feature is the remote disc function. Since the Air lacks an optical drive, you can instead remotely use the optical drives of other systems, PC or Mac, as long as they’re on the same network.

The good: Incredibly thin yet surprisingly sturdy; new trackpad gesture controls are very useful; remote optical drive makes living without a built-in drive much easier.

The bad: Very limited connectivity; SSD hard-drive option is expensive and standard hard drive is small; battery is not user replaceable.

The bottom line: The design is revolutionary, but Apple’s MacBook Air will appeal to a smaller, more specialized audience than the standard MacBook, thanks to a stripped-down set of connections and features.

Check Specs and Prices at http://gadgetgrocery.com/Apple%2013%20MacBook%20Air.html