Mac tidbits: 17-inch MacBook Pro shipping, new iMacs soon?

Apple's new 17-inch MacBook Pro is shipping on schedule.(Credit: Apple) A couple of tidbits surfaced Friday related to Apple's current and future Mac lineup. First of all, the 17-inch MacBook Pro introduced at Macworld 2009 is now shipping, MacNN discovered. Apple is quoting a 7- to 10-day lead time for shipments from its online store, which means it won't arrive until February, but Apple had only promised to start shipping the notebook by the end of January. It doesn't seem to be available in Apple's retail stores yet; at least, it wasn't available at the downtown San Francisco store as of Friday. Secondly, AppleInsider reports that Apple resellers are being told to expect limited quantities of 24-inch iMacs in the coming weeks, which generally means that the current model is being phased out. There have been several signs that Apple is planning to tweak the iMac in the coming weeks, most recently via an analyst report suggesting Apple was weighing whether to use dual-core or quad-core processors in the new models.

Thanks: cnet.com

• Trusted Computing Group spec to be foundation of storage encryption
• Intel said to be prepping eight- core Xeon for launch next month

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.

Thanks: Engadget

• Microsoft to unveil Windows Mobile 6.5?

How would you change Apple's unibody MacBook / MacBook Pro?

Now that you've had well over a month to toy with Apple's latest MacBook and MacBook Pro, we're just dying to know what your impressions are. Has the glass trackpad turned you off (or just turned you off to every other trackpad on the planet)? Is the inability to order the MBP with a matte display still grating your nerves? Are you happy with the performance? Is your "S" key randomly popping off at the most inopportune times? You just spent a load of cash on what essentially amounts to a first-generation product -- you've every right to make your voice heard. Do just that in comments below.

Thanks: Engadget

• Switched On: REDFLY seeks your green before Halloween