iMac buyers can now opt for a solid-state drive
Apple buyers eyeing an iMac now have a choice between a conventional hard drive and a solid-state drive.Speedier than their mechanical counterparts, solid-state drives are available as options on both the 21.5-inch and the 27-inch iMacs. The 21.5-inch iMac offers a 256GB SSD for an extra $300 and a 512GB SSD for an extra $600. The 27-inch model presents the same options and throws in a 768GB SSD for an additional $900.If those figures seem too pricey, buyers can stick with a regular serial ATA hard drive. Apple includes a 1TB hard drive in the overall price of both model iMacs and offers a 3TB drive option on the larger-screen model for an extra $150.Customers who can't decide between conventional hard drives and SSDs can taste both worlds through Apple's Fusion drives. A Fusion drive combines 128GB of flash storage with a mechanical disk drive of either 1TB or 3TB in size. A 1TB Fusion drive costs an extra $250, while the 3TB option for the 27-inch iMac brings the price up another $400. Correction 9:36 a.m. PT: An earlier version of this story had the incorrect price for the 1TB Fusion drive. It costs an extra $250. Correction 11:49 a.m. PT: An earlier version of this story misstated the size of the regular serial ATA hard drive on the iMacs. The hard drive is 1TB.
Monday, March 23, 2015
iFixIt and Chipworks offer Apple A4 chip teardown
iFixIt and Chipworks offer Apple A4 chip teardown
The A4 has three layers: two layers of RAM (Samsung K4X1G323PE), and one layer containing the actual microprocessor.This Package-on-Package construction gives Apple the flexibility to source the RAM from any manufacturer it wants; it's not locked into Samsung.Samsung's 1Gb mobile DDR SDRAM (x2), with part number on each die being K4X1G323PE.Decoding this part number shows there is 2Gb of memory inside. This translates into ~128MB of memory per die, for 256MB total.There's not much revolutionary here. In fact, the A4 is quite similar to the Samsung processor Apple uses in the iPhone. It's clear from both hardware and software that this is a single-core processor, so it must be the ARM Cortex A8, and not the rumored multicore A9.In addition to looking at the details of the A4 chip, the teardown takes a peek at other components of the iPad, including the Broadcom and Texas Instruments controllers for the touch screen, as well as the audio, I/O, and power management units in the device.If you like close-up pictures of circuit boards and semiconductors, check out the full teardown.For the original iPad teardown from iFixIt, see this article.Questions? Comments? Post them below or e-mail us!Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums.
The A4 has three layers: two layers of RAM (Samsung K4X1G323PE), and one layer containing the actual microprocessor.This Package-on-Package construction gives Apple the flexibility to source the RAM from any manufacturer it wants; it's not locked into Samsung.Samsung's 1Gb mobile DDR SDRAM (x2), with part number on each die being K4X1G323PE.Decoding this part number shows there is 2Gb of memory inside. This translates into ~128MB of memory per die, for 256MB total.There's not much revolutionary here. In fact, the A4 is quite similar to the Samsung processor Apple uses in the iPhone. It's clear from both hardware and software that this is a single-core processor, so it must be the ARM Cortex A8, and not the rumored multicore A9.In addition to looking at the details of the A4 chip, the teardown takes a peek at other components of the iPad, including the Broadcom and Texas Instruments controllers for the touch screen, as well as the audio, I/O, and power management units in the device.If you like close-up pictures of circuit boards and semiconductors, check out the full teardown.For the original iPad teardown from iFixIt, see this article.Questions? Comments? Post them below or e-mail us!Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums.
Ideo's David Kelley talks design, Steve Jobs
Ideo's David Kelley talks design, Steve Jobs
Meet one of the most innovative thinkers of our time. He is a man who has had an enormous impact on our everyday lives.David Kelley is the founder of the Silicon Valley global design firm Ideo. His company has created thousands of breakthrough inventions, including the first computer mouse for Apple, the standup toothpaste tube, and a better Pringle for Procter & Gamble. Ideo may be the most influential product design company in the world.Kelley was a longtime friend and colleague of Steve Jobs -- "He made Ideo," Kelley tells Rose -- and he is a pioneer in something known as "design thinking," an innovative approach that incorporates human behavior into design.David Kelley: "The big thing about design thinking is it allows people to build on the ideas of others. Instead of just having that one thread, you think about it, I come up with an idea, and then somebody from somewhere else says, 'Oh that makes me think we should do this,' and then we could do that. And then you get to a place that you just can't get to in one mind."If you follow David Kelley around Ideo, you can see how he has infused that thinking into the legendary Palo Alto firm he founded more than 20 years ago. Breakthrough ideas happen every day here. Read more of "How to design breakthrough inventions" at CBSNews.com.
Meet one of the most innovative thinkers of our time. He is a man who has had an enormous impact on our everyday lives.David Kelley is the founder of the Silicon Valley global design firm Ideo. His company has created thousands of breakthrough inventions, including the first computer mouse for Apple, the standup toothpaste tube, and a better Pringle for Procter & Gamble. Ideo may be the most influential product design company in the world.Kelley was a longtime friend and colleague of Steve Jobs -- "He made Ideo," Kelley tells Rose -- and he is a pioneer in something known as "design thinking," an innovative approach that incorporates human behavior into design.David Kelley: "The big thing about design thinking is it allows people to build on the ideas of others. Instead of just having that one thread, you think about it, I come up with an idea, and then somebody from somewhere else says, 'Oh that makes me think we should do this,' and then we could do that. And then you get to a place that you just can't get to in one mind."If you follow David Kelley around Ideo, you can see how he has infused that thinking into the legendary Palo Alto firm he founded more than 20 years ago. Breakthrough ideas happen every day here. Read more of "How to design breakthrough inventions" at CBSNews.com.
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