![15 Previous Deals Of The Day, Nest Learning Thermostat [Deals]](https://img.gawkerassets.com/img/1989ykzvwgsn2jpg/ku-xlarge.jpg)
Many of the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals continue to be available at their discounted prices today, so hopefully you're not sick of saving money yet. In fact, the following items have all been Commerce Team lead deals in the past:
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MacBook Pro with Retina display buyers guide: Choosing between the light 13-inch and the top-of-the-line 15-inch
You're going to buy a new Mac, and you've narrowed your choice to one of Apple's new sleek, speedy MacBook Pros with Retina display. Seems like an easy choice, doesn't it? Just decide which screen size is right for you: 13-inch or 15-inch, then pull the trigger. Not so fast. There are other considerations you should make, as well. Because screen size isn't the only different between the two machines. This guide should help you iron out some of them.
First of all, what makes a Retina display "retina?" It isn't a specific resolution or color gamut - it is, instead, a somewhat subjective determination. Apple coined the term "Retina display" to describe any display that, held at an average operating distance, produces imagery with indistinguishable pixels.
Both MacBook Pros with Retina display use screens with similar pixel densities - that is the number of actual pixels displayed by the screen within a single inch (pixels per inch, or PPI). The 13-inch model's pixel density is about 227 PPI while the 15-inch model's is about 220. While that's lower than the iPhone, for example (326 PPI), it's almost twice the density of "regular" MacBook Pro models. Set side by side with "standard" resolution displays, MacBook Pros equipped with Retina displays show sharper text, richer color and more image detail.
It's worth noting that both Retina MacBook Pros have significantly higher native resolutions that what you'll normally see. The 13-inch model's display has a native resolution is 2560 x 1600 pixels, though 1680 x 1050 is the highest resolution accessible through the Display system preference. Likewise, the 15-inch model has a 2880 x 1800 native resolution, though the scaled resolution is limited to 1920 x 1200 pixels - the same as the native resolution of the discontinued 17-inch MacBook Pro.
Apple does that for legibility - truly native resolution would produce almost unreadable text and really tiny pictures. But if you want to give native display operation a try, you can install a third-party utility that unlocks custom resolutions like SwitchResX.
Starting at $1,299 ($200 less expensive than the previous model), the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro comes equipped with a 2.4 GHz dual-core i5 processor, 4 GB RAM and 128 of PCI Express-based flash storage. It uses Intel Iris integrated graphics.
The 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro measures 12.35 x 0.71 inches closed and weighs about 3.46 pounds. That's about two ounces lighter and just a skosh thinner than last year's Retina MacBook Pro; it's also narrow and shorter than the standard 13-inch MacBook and more than a pound lighter.
A $1,499 Retina MacBook Pro model doubles storage capacity and memory, and for $1,799 you can get a system equipped with a 2.6 GHz i5 processor, 8 GB RAM and 512 MB storage. You can configure to order systems with up to 16 GB RAM and 1 TB of flash storage if you prefer.
The 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro starts at $1,999. For that you get a processor that's only clocked at 2.0 GHz, but it's a quad-core i7 processor instead. 8 GB RAM and 256 GB flash storage come standard. Intel Iris Pro graphics come standard. A 2.3 GHz system with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB flash costs $2,599. That premium model is also the only Retina MacBook Pro to include a discrete graphics chip - the Nvidia GeForce GT 750M, with 2GB of dedicated VRAM. Like past models, that system will automatically switch graphics from the lower-power Iris Pro to the higher-power Nvidia chipset depending on what's needed.
Closed, the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro measures 14.13 x 0.71 inches - same height as the 13-inch model - and weighs just a pound more. There's no longer a "standard" 15-inch MacBook Pro to compare against - this year, Apple's offering only the 15-inch Retina display model.
Apple's standard suite of application software is included on both MacBook Pros; you get the iLife (iMovie, iPhoto, GarageBand) and iWork (Keynote, Pages, Numbers) apps, along with Safari, Mail and a number of other apps and utilities. OS X Mavericks is also standard issue. Both iWork and iLife got a major overhaul in October; the new apps have been designed to work in tandem with their iOS counterparts much more easily. Some interface changes and some feature limitations have caused long-time users of iWork apps, in particular, to complain.
iLife has long been standard-issue with new Macs, but iWork only started being included with new Macs this October. Also worth noting is that GarageBand in its factory release is limited - it has only a small subset of instruments and lessons. A $4.99 in-app purchase unlocks the full suite of instruments and piano and guitar lessons.
In 2013 the Retina MacBook Pro was refreshed with Intel Haswell microprocessors - the same chips used in the MacBook Air. Haswell chips are more power-efficient than their predecessors, which nets some improvements in battery life - up to nine hours per charge for the 13-inch model and up to eight hours per charge in the 15-inch model.
The clock speeds of early 2013 models are actually higher than the Haswell versions. But other efficiencies, such as improved SSD throughput and better integrated graphics, mean the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pros are quite a bit faster than their predecessors. It's a bit murkier for the 15-inch models. Some operations that don't rely on graphics processors are faster, which some graphics-intensive operations perform better only on the Nvidia-equipped high-end 15-inch model.
It's important to note that the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pros come standard with quad-core Intel i7 processors. Their lower clock speeds notwithstanding, they're very powerful when running software that's optimized for multi-core processors.
Most general users can get away with a dual-core processor and not suffer any problems. But if you're doing graphics or video work, rendering 3D or other seriously processor-intensive work, consider a quad-core processor. More cores means the processor is able to juggle more balls at once without skipping a beat - great for ripping video in Handbrake, for example, or running computationally-intensive operations (often used in math, science and engineering software). For graphics-intensive stuff, also consider the discrete graphics chip on the higher-end 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro - more on that in a bit.
One way or the other, unless you have a real edge case, it's probably not worthwhile to invest a lot of money in processor upgrades for your Retina MacBook Pro - go with one of the pre-configured systems unless you really need some incrementally improved horsepower.
The 4 GB included on the low-end 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro is adequate for now to run Mavericks and application software; it's the minimum RAM configuration for all MacBook models across the board (the MacBook Air similarly comes equipped standard with 4 GB RAM).
Having said that, 4 GB is skimpy, especially if you plan to run memory-hungry apps like imaging software (such as Photoshop). It'd be a wise investment to bump it up to 8 GB, especially since the RAM is soldered to the motherboard and is not upgradable after the fact, unlike non-Retina MacBook Pros.
Higher end configurations come with 8 GB or 16 GB (or can be configured to 16 GB). That should give you sufficient breathing room for the next few years.
Retina MacBook Pros eschew conventional hard disk drives for Solid State Drive (SSD) instead; the net result is that they're able to be thinner and faster, with better storage system reliability than before.
Another carryover from the MacBook Air refresh is an update to the Retina MacBook Pro's storage system. This year's crop replace Serial ATA (SATA) with PCI Express (PCIe)-based flash storage. The new Retina MacBook Pros perform file-based operations much faster than their predecessors.
There is a downside, though - the actual interface used for these SSDs appears to be a proprietary Apple design, which may make it difficult to upgrade them down the road (unlike RAM, Retina MacBook Pro SSDs are daughtercards that can be removed, though they're not easily user-accessible).
So it's probably a good idea to configure your Retina MacBook Pro with as much storage as you can reasonably afford right off the bat (as with RAM, the 128 GB standard SSD on the $1,299 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro is skimpy, but it's the lowest-priced model).
A benefit of the Retina MacBook Pro's switch to Intel's Haswell microprocessor is faster graphics. The 13-inch MacBook Pro features Intel Iris graphics - the next step up from the Intel HD Graphics 5000 found on the MacBook Air, which itself was much faster than the integrated graphics found on last year's processors.
Iris graphics differentiate themselves from the 5000 by having a higher clock speed, so you're able to get more done in less time. Iris Pro, standard on the 15-inch model, gains a 128 MB cache of embedded DRAM to speed things up further.
The $2,599 Retina MacBook Pro adds Nvidia GeForce GT 750M graphics. This graphics subsystem is ordinarily only activated when an app or process launches that demands extra graphics horsepower. Games are an obvious example. So is Adobe Photoshop. Even Apple's own iPhoto will force the faster graphics to come on. When that discrete graphics processor kicks in, battery efficiency drops like a stone. But that's the price you pay to have extra graphics oomph when you need it.
Bottom line: the more you spend, the faster your graphics get. If you need the fastest possible graphics in your next laptop, be prepared to shell out for a 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro.
All current Retina MacBook Pros come identically equipped with two USB 3 ports, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, a headphone jack, dual microphones, an HDMI connector and an SDXC card slot.
These are the first Apple laptops to sport Thunderbolt 2. In fact, the only other 2013 Mac to feature Thunderbolt 2 is Apple's forthcoming Mac Pro, which is expected to be released in December. Thunderbolt 2 offers twice the bandwidth of the original Thunderbolt - 20 gigabits per second - which means even faster peripheral connectivity than before. Thunderbolt can be adapted for a wide variety of applications, including fast RAID drives, Gigabit Ethernet or more exotic networking options like Fibre Channel, and more.
Perhaps the most frequent application for Thunderbolt, however, is the use of external displays (Apple sells Thunderbolt adapters to fit different display interfaces like DVI, VGA and HDMI). And the Thunderbolt 2 ports on the Retina MacBook Pro are capable of driving two external displays at up to 2560 x 1600 resolution with millions of colors. What's more, that HDMI interface can drive a 4K display.
Retina MacBook Pros also come with 802.11ac Wi-Fi networking, the faster Wi-Fi standard first introduced with the MacBook Air's refresh earlier in 2013. Called "gigabit Wi-Fi," the faster standard works up to three times the speed of 802.11n, though it requires pairing with an 802.11ac-compliant base station (like Apple's new towering AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule). Both systems also come standard with Bluetooth 4.0 and full-sized backlit keyboards.
At this point, the base-model Retina MacBook Pro is only $200 more than the base-model 13-inch MacBook Air, and comes similarly equipped for RAM and storage. While it weighs more, it's a lot more powerful under the hood - faster processor, better expansion and a dramatically better screen.
For most general users, the 13-inch Retina MacBook Air is the sweet spot between performance and price, and it should be a great replacement for older laptops - one area where it's particularly better is in battery life, which will be a welcome respite for you if you're used to carrying your power adapter around with you.
I'd argue that you should spend the extra money to get the $1,499 model that includes 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB flash storage - that'll hedge your bet a bit about what the future might hold for OS X system requirements and application needs.
The 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro is the no-compromises king of Apple's laptop line. It has the most capable processors, the fastest graphics and the highest resolution. It's superior to the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro by just about any measure except for battery life (and comparing apples to apples, the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro is better than the system it replaces). But all that capability has a price - starting at $1,999.
Apple's decision to excise discrete discrete graphics from the low-end 15-inch model left me scratching my head. Iris Pro is certainly an improvement over what came before, and it's fine for low-power work. But the benchmarks I've seen show that the $2,599 15-inch model blows away its lower-priced sibling in graphics tests by as much as two to one.
So if you're a content creator, especially if you're working with video or high-resolution graphics - and you're looking for the best system to get your work done, I think the high-end 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro is worth the money. You get a faster machine, double the RAM and half a terabyte of flash storage for another $600.
If you still can't decide with Retina MacBook Pro is the right one to choose from, I'd recommend dropping by our MacBook Pro discussion forum and posting a question there. iMore has a great online community that can help answer questions and offer advice based on their own experience. You're also welcome to post comments here.
I've had my say, now I want to hear from you. Which Retina MacBook Pro do you currently use? Which one do you want? Or have you ruled the Retina MacBook Pro out all together? Please post your comments, critiques and questions.
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Android and iOS users have long been using their Facebook account for single click logging in to apps, and soon Windows 8 and Windows Phone users will be able to do the same. While the feature's is still in its early stages (on WP8, it's still in beta) Microsoft has announced that Foursquare, Adobe (Revel, Photoshop Express) and iHeartRadio are the first to get in on the action. Similar to Facebook Login on other platforms, using it will make it easier to share content from within the app, and connect your account info without punching in the credentials yet again. Foursquare will post your check-ins, the Adobe apps will let you upload photos easily, and you can share the station you're listening to on iHeartRadio. Facebook users will probably want to keep an eye on their privacy settings to avoid oversharing, while holdouts from the social network can remain assured that Microsoft's own account system is still positioned as the primary way to log in on the platform.
Filed under: Mobile
Source: Microsoft (1), (2), Facebook
Apple has updated the beta of iWork for iCloud. This update focuses on collaboration. You can view a list of collaborators that are currently in a document, as well as the cursors of their collaborators. Clicking a collaborator's name from the list will cause you to jump to their cursor in the current document. You can also see when a collaborator moves images and object in a document. Keynote also gives you the ability to skip slides by right-clicking any slide in the navigator during playback. Numbers will let you reorder the sheets in your spreadsheets.
This update also adds support for printing directly from the Tools menu, and organizing your documents into folders.
Source: iCloud.com, via The Loop
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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 31-Oct-2013
ShareContact: Cynthia O'Carroll
cynthia.m.ocarroll@nasa.gov
301-286-4787
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Understanding Earth's dynamic climate requires knowledge of more than just greenhouse gases. One of the key measurements scientists measure is reflected solar radiance, or the amount of outgoing sunlight energy scattered from Earth's surface and atmosphere. Watching solar radiances over time helps scientists gauge and better understand environmental changes like global warming.
Earth-observing satellites have provided measurements of solar radiances for many years, but recent technology advances could lead to new measurements with a higher level of accuracy from those currently available. The next generation, higher-accuracy data would enable climate predictions and trends that could be clearly seen using data sets that are much shorter in duration than the current data sets needed for these types of studies, thus enabling faster detection of climate trends and more timely results.
NASA's Earth Science Technology Office is supporting the development of a new generation of scientific instrument that may one day orbit Earth. The HyperSpectral Imager for Climate Science (HySICS), developed by Greg Kopp of the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), is a testbed demonstrating improved techniques for future space-based radiance studies.
HySICS made its inaugural engineering balloon flight from Fort Sumner, N.M., the morning of Sept. 29. Balloon flights provide realistic, space-like conditions at a fraction of the cost of launching an instrument into space, so is an ideal means of testing new technologies. A 60-story tall balloon lifted HySICS to an altitude of nearly122,000 feet, far above the majority of Earth's atmosphere, heights where the sky is nearly as black as in space. From this vantage point HySICS, aided by the pointing precision of NASA's Wallops Arc Second Pointer (WASP), was able to make measurements of Earth, the sun and the moon during both daylight and night hours.
The hyperspectral imager, which spans a 10 kilometer field of view of Earth from the balloon's altitude, collected radiance data for nearly half of its eight and a half hour flight. The instrument periodically calibrated itself by performing highly accurate radiance scans of the sun and moon. This calibration ensures that the radiance measurements collected of Earth are able to reach the high-accuracy data needs of climate researchers.
After landing safely south of Wheeler, Texas, HySICS was recovered and returned to LASP. The data collected during the engineering flight will be used to improve the instrument over the next year and to further advance the science algorithms used to process the data.
HySICS images scenes onto a single focal plane array at wavelengths between 350 and 2,300 nanometers, covering the extremely important solar and near infrared spectrum containing most of the sun's emitted energy. Using only a single array allows HySICS to be smaller and lighter than many imagers, a feature necessary for cost-effective space-based Earth observing missions.
A second balloon flight is planned for September 2014. During that demonstration flight, HySICS should be able to reach its goal of collecting the most accurate solar radiance measurements (calibrated to the sun to better than 0.2 percent radiometric accuracy) that have ever been made of Earth. In addition, the HySICS lunar observations should provide the highest accuracy radiance measurements ever of the moon, having great value to lunar calibrations for other instruments.
The data HySICS collected on the engineering flight and will collect on the following demonstration flight help to refine the instrumentation needed for radiance and other hyperspectral studies. Not only is HySICS able to act as a space-based radiance testbed, but the measurements the instrument can make will be of great benefit to both the Earth and lunar science communities.
###
For more information on NASA's Earth Science Technology Office, visit:
http://esto.nasa.gov
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Share
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 31-Oct-2013
ShareContact: Cynthia O'Carroll
cynthia.m.ocarroll@nasa.gov
301-286-4787
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Understanding Earth's dynamic climate requires knowledge of more than just greenhouse gases. One of the key measurements scientists measure is reflected solar radiance, or the amount of outgoing sunlight energy scattered from Earth's surface and atmosphere. Watching solar radiances over time helps scientists gauge and better understand environmental changes like global warming.
Earth-observing satellites have provided measurements of solar radiances for many years, but recent technology advances could lead to new measurements with a higher level of accuracy from those currently available. The next generation, higher-accuracy data would enable climate predictions and trends that could be clearly seen using data sets that are much shorter in duration than the current data sets needed for these types of studies, thus enabling faster detection of climate trends and more timely results.
NASA's Earth Science Technology Office is supporting the development of a new generation of scientific instrument that may one day orbit Earth. The HyperSpectral Imager for Climate Science (HySICS), developed by Greg Kopp of the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), is a testbed demonstrating improved techniques for future space-based radiance studies.
HySICS made its inaugural engineering balloon flight from Fort Sumner, N.M., the morning of Sept. 29. Balloon flights provide realistic, space-like conditions at a fraction of the cost of launching an instrument into space, so is an ideal means of testing new technologies. A 60-story tall balloon lifted HySICS to an altitude of nearly122,000 feet, far above the majority of Earth's atmosphere, heights where the sky is nearly as black as in space. From this vantage point HySICS, aided by the pointing precision of NASA's Wallops Arc Second Pointer (WASP), was able to make measurements of Earth, the sun and the moon during both daylight and night hours.
The hyperspectral imager, which spans a 10 kilometer field of view of Earth from the balloon's altitude, collected radiance data for nearly half of its eight and a half hour flight. The instrument periodically calibrated itself by performing highly accurate radiance scans of the sun and moon. This calibration ensures that the radiance measurements collected of Earth are able to reach the high-accuracy data needs of climate researchers.
After landing safely south of Wheeler, Texas, HySICS was recovered and returned to LASP. The data collected during the engineering flight will be used to improve the instrument over the next year and to further advance the science algorithms used to process the data.
HySICS images scenes onto a single focal plane array at wavelengths between 350 and 2,300 nanometers, covering the extremely important solar and near infrared spectrum containing most of the sun's emitted energy. Using only a single array allows HySICS to be smaller and lighter than many imagers, a feature necessary for cost-effective space-based Earth observing missions.
A second balloon flight is planned for September 2014. During that demonstration flight, HySICS should be able to reach its goal of collecting the most accurate solar radiance measurements (calibrated to the sun to better than 0.2 percent radiometric accuracy) that have ever been made of Earth. In addition, the HySICS lunar observations should provide the highest accuracy radiance measurements ever of the moon, having great value to lunar calibrations for other instruments.
The data HySICS collected on the engineering flight and will collect on the following demonstration flight help to refine the instrumentation needed for radiance and other hyperspectral studies. Not only is HySICS able to act as a space-based radiance testbed, but the measurements the instrument can make will be of great benefit to both the Earth and lunar science communities.
###
For more information on NASA's Earth Science Technology Office, visit:
http://esto.nasa.gov
[
| E-mail
Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Tornado Kills at Least Five in Oklahoma
Obama Gets Firsthand Look at a Tornado Damage
Tornado Kills at Least Five in Oklahoma. Very long title. Long long long. Tornado Kills at Least Five in Oklahoma. Very long title. Long long long.
Tornado Kills at Least Five in Oklahoma. Very long title. Long long long. Tornado Kills at Least Five in Oklahoma. Very long title. Long long long.
Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2013/10/how_to_roast_pumpkin_seeds_video_the_secret_to_amazing_pepitas.html
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