Update: The MacBook Pro 2011 refresh is out, check out specs and prices, all Pro models have been updated.

The MacBook Pro 13″ 2011 refresh hardware specs have been leaked. Most notable is the addition of Core i5 processors to the 13″ lineup, and the new Thunderbolt (Light peak) high speed I/O port that doubles as the Mini-Displayport. Despite the rumors, there is no case redesign.

MacBook Pro 13″ 2011 Refresh Specs

These specs are transcribed from the above image:

• 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 Processor with 3MB shared level 3 cache
• 4GB of 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM
• 320GB 5400-rpm hard drive
• 13.3″ LED-backlit glossy display at 1280×800 pixels
• Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor with 384MB of shared SDRAM
• FaceTime camera
• Thunderbolt (Lightpeak) port doubles as high speed I/O and Mini-Displayport
• SDXC card slot, Firewire 800 port, two USB 2.0 ports
• Optical audio shared in/out port
• 10/100/1000BASE-T ethernet
• 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1
• Backlit keyboard and ambient light sensor
• Size & Weight: 12.78×8.94×0.95 inches, 4.5lbs
• Aluminum unibody enclosure

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The Mac defaults to using Safari as the default web browser, but what if you prefer to use Google’s Chrome web browser instead? There’s a few ways to change the default browser, but perhaps the easiest if you’re looking to use Chrome is through the Chrome browser itself. With that in mind, here is how to switch Mac OS X to use Chrome as your full time default web browser, meaning all links opened or clicked from third party apps will open in Chrome rather than Safari.

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The official version of Minecraft is coming to the iPhone and iOS platform later this year according to developers Mojang. Previously, an unofficial version of the popular game appeared on the app store before being pulled.

If you’ve never heard of Minecraft, it’s a sandbox construction game where what you can build is limited only by your imagination. You create things with boxes that represent different materials and elements in a three dimensional grid, and there’s two gameplay variations, one with monsters that are out to destroy your creation, and the other just a classic build mode. The game has become a runaway hit and is considered by many to be one of the best indie game releases of all time.
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Update: iPad 2 has been announced! The ship date is March 11 for USA, and March 25 for some international customers.

Not only is a MacBook Pro refresh due out in the very near future, but the iPad 2 is scheduled to be released next week as well, according to a report from AllThingsDigital. Citing “several sources close to the situation,” AllThingsD claims event invites will be sent out soon and that the date is “confirmed” (by who remains unclear).

The report suggests the event will be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the centers calendar reveals that no events are scheduled for Wednesday March 2:

“There are no programs on Wed, March 2, 2011. The next day with upcoming programs is Thu, March 3, 2011.”

Several other nearby dates have no scheduled events listed either, so this doesn’t really provide much proof of anything.

It seems a little strange for Apple to have two major product releases within just a few days of each other, since the iPad 2 would clearly take the limelight off a significant MacBook Pro update. Maybe this means the MacBook Pro update won’t be as significant as many had hoped?

Update: New York Times and Reuters have chimed in with their own sources saying March 2 is the release date of iPad 2.

Update 2: This is all but confirmed, as event invites have been sent out for an iPad event on March 2.

The next time you get an email with a date mentioned in the body, you can use this neat trick to quickly add that date to your Calendar on iPhone or iPad.

This is easy and it shortens the steps required to add events to a Calendar in iOS. The secret? It’s simple, you can quickly add dates to your iPhone Calendar by just tapping on any date in the Mail client for iPhone or iPad.

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As most modern OS’s go, Mac OS X is generally pretty intelligent with how it prioritizes processes. That said, if you want to give any running task an extra kick in the pants, you can use a free tool called Process Renicer.

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Rumors of a MacBook Pro 2011 refresh are absolutely on fire at this point, and now Apple’s very own online store is showing a shipping delay of 3-5 days for any MacBook Pro order online. This is the strongest indicator yet of an imminent product update, since Apple rarely has a shipping delay on existing products.

Release Dates of MacBook Pro 2011 Refresh: Thursday February 24 or Tuesday March 1?
There are two likely dates of the MacBook Pro refresh, one is this Thursday, February 24, which also happens to be Steve Jobs birthday, and the other is Tuesday, March 1. Apple traditionally releases new products on Tuesdays, but a 3-5 day shipping delay more closely matches with a release this Thursday. Of course, being rumors, it’s possible both days will pass without any product update.

Timeline of the MacBook Pro 2011 Refresh Rumors
It all started with reports from several EU resellers that their existing MacBook Pro inventory had dried up, and then an Intel ad appeared that sparked a slew of speculation and mockups suggesting the next MacBook Pro would have a significant chasis redesign. This was followed up with BestBuy’s internal inventory showing new model numbers and prices. Finally, this weekend, BestBuy.com slipped up and posted SKU’s and prices for five new MacBook Pro models before removing them from their public website.

Adding all of this together and the evidence certainly looks overwhelmingly in favor of an impending MacBook Pro refresh. The question now is whether or not the updated models will feature the same aluminum unibody enclosure that existing models have, or if a significant chasis redesign is in order, taking cues from the MacBook Air, and perhaps even resembling the Mac-like laptop appearing in the recent Intel ad.

You can instantly change file permissions in Mac OS X without getting your hands dirty in the command line by using the Finder instead. All you need to do is access the “Get Info” panel for the file, folder, or application in question. These instructions demonstrate locating the file permissions manager, and how to adjust privileges for items found in Mac OS.
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If you need to rename a folder in iOS on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you’ll find the process to change folder names is a complete piece of cake.

This walkthrough will show you how to rename any folder name in iOS, it works exactly the same on iPhone and iPad.

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Update: This app was intended to be free only on 2/20 but it is now 2/21 2/22 and the app is still free to download. Get it while you can!

If you have a Mac media center pay attention, Mobile Mouse Pro turns your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad into a fantastic remote control, and for today only the app is free to download!

Turn your iPhone & iPod touch into a full featured remote control
Mobile Mouse Pro is great because it gives you an application switcher, full trackpad support, full virtual keyboard access, ability to use the iPhone/iPod as media remote with play/pause/stop/volume adjustment, web remote, and so much more. Seriously this app is awesome, so grab it while you can for free. The other bonus? The app is cross platform compatible, so if your media center isn’t a Mac but a Windows PC, it will still work.

Download Mobile Mouse Pro from the iTunes App store – FREE for today only
The wireless remote app is free to download today only from the iTunes App Store.

• MobileMouse Pro for iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad – Free from the iTunes App Store

After you get the client for your iOS device, grab the free server software for your computer:
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More Mac OS X rumors! An Apple patent has surfaced that gives credence to the idea that the next version of Mac OS X 10.7 will feature some kind of cloud storage capability. Last summer OSXDaily speculated the next version of Mac OS X would feature some sort of cloud support, this was based on a job opening at Apple’s Mac OS X team that emphasized technologies that are critical to cloud support. Will Pearson described how the job opening related to the cloud:

The biggest hint in the job posting is the favoring of candidates who have experience developing with “internet technologies and services” and more tellingly “participated in or lead the architecture of large web scale systems” with HTTP protocol experience. This naturally leads to the assumption that Mac OS X 10.7 will indeed have Cloud features built into the foundation of the operating system. HTTP and XHTML5 are core elements in the Open Cloud Computing Interface (OCCI) spec and are integral parts in most existing cloud computing services and platforms. When you combine this knowledge with recent news that Apple is building a massive 500,000 square foot data center, there is little room left to wonder what Apple is up to.

Now, seven months later, PatentlyApple has discovered a patent that may describe just how last summers job opening and Mac OS X “revolutionary feature” could tie into Mac OS X Lion. Dubbed “Safe Deposit Box”, the newly patented Mac OS X feature describes a way for the operating system to store certain files off-site, safely in a cloud environment and accessible from anywhere. PatentlyApple suggests how this may relate to day-to-day users:

One of the key attributes or selling points of Apple’s Safe Deposit Box Application or OS X feature is that your digital valuables could be stored “off site” or beyond the home computer to safeguard your digital valuables which could be something like a Will or Living Will, agreements, life insurance policies, home insurance policies, a simple home inventory list or video or perhaps something that’s really valuable to most every iTunes fan: a copy of your iTunes Library.

The idea of an iTunes cloud and streaming has been popularized through, of all things, iPhone 5 & iPhone Mini and wireless syncing rumors, which have strongly suggested that wireless syncing and streaming of your iTunes library is coming via a future free version of MobileMe. This creates the obvious question; if your iPad and iPhone with iOS will wirelessly sync to MobileMe, why wouldn’t Mac OS X and your Mac hardware too? It’s just a patent, but it suggests cloud-based streaming and syncing might just make an appearance in a future version of Mac OS X, maybe even Mac OS X 10.7, which is due for release this summer.

Update: Even more evidence of a refresh, the existing MacBook Pro models have a 3-5 day shipping delay.

Yesterday Best Buy’s internal inventory started showing SKU’s for the MacBook Pro 2011 refresh, and now they’re appearing publicly on BestBuy.com. There aren’t any details or specs listed alongside the new units, just the SKU and price tag, which both match yesterdays info, strongly suggesting this is the MacBook Pro update.

We took a few screenshots since these will probably be pulled from BestBuy.com quickly.

The SKU’s and prices are as follows:

• SKU 1535918 – $2499
• SKU 1535845 – $2199
• SKU 1535836 – $1799
• SKU 9755395 – $1499
• SKU 9755322 – $1199

Each entry is listed generically as “APPLE COMPUTER INC. – New SKU” with “Details coming soon” in place of hardware specs.
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Every day there’s a new set of rumors around Apple products, yesterday it was about the new cheaper iPhone with wireless syncing and today it’s about the MacBook Pro 2011 refresh and iPad 3.

MacBook Pro 2011 refresh prices, launch due on Thursday, February 24?

Up until now the rumors of a MacBook Pro refresh have been mostly speculation, much based on the recent Intel ad that showed a nice looking Mac-like laptop. Now several rumor sites are claiming that the Thursday February 24 will be the release date (which just so happens to be Apple CEO Steve Jobs birthday).

Adding some credibility to this claim is that BestBuy is apparently showing the following new MacBook Pro SKU’s and prices in their inventory:

• MC724LL/A-SKU# 9755395 – $1499 – 13 inch
• MC700LL/A-SKU# 9755322 – $1199 – 13 inch
• MC725LL/A-SKU# 1535918 – $2499 – 17 inch
• MC723LL/A-SKU# 1535845 – $2199 – 15 inch
• MC721LL/A-SKU# 1535836 – $1799 – 15 inch

Assuming these numbers are accurate, the pricing for the 2011 MacBook Pro’s will be the same as existing models. Some have took this to suggest the 2011 refresh may not feature the dramatic redesign that has been hotly speculated about (including the cool mockup shown above out of Italy).
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With all the new tools like Twitter for Mac, it’s easy to forget that email is still a dominant form of communication online. I use Gmail constantly and I like to be alerted to new messages coming in without having a dedicated window open at all times, so with this in mind here are three options to get Gmail notifications onto your Mac desktop, plus a bonus usability tip that’s essential for any Mac webmail user.

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This Mac setup does a great job of showing the opposite ends of the Apple spectrum here, with the large 27″ iMac sitting next to the tiny MacBook Air 11″ and an even smaller iPad and iPhone. According to the images Flickr page, the glowing Apple logo box above the iMac is a custom creation. Round it all off with some wall mounted speakers, and you have a great Mac setup.

Finding a decent iPhone to video converter can be a pain, and finding one that the average person finds easy to use can be even worse. Thankfully along with the Mac App Store came Miro Video Converter, a practically foolproof and no frills video conversion utility that can convert just about any video file into an iPhone compatible format with the click of a button.

How to Convert Video to iPhone Format Free with Miro Converter

This is as easy as it gets:

• Download Miro Video Converter, it’s free from the Mac App Store (direct link)
• Launch Miro Video Converter
• Drag a movie file into the app
• Select your output type (I recommend “Apple Universal”)
• Click “Convert!”

The conversion is surprisingly quick, and the newly converted video file will appear in the same directory that the original source video was located. If you chose “Apple Universal” you’ll now have a MP4 file that can be brought onto your iPhone (or iPad, iPod touch, etc) and played hassle free.

The downside to apps like Miro is that the simplification takes away more advanced options that some users require. In that case and you want more control over the conversion and video quality, check out converting video to iOS formats with Handbrake. It’s also free to download and pretty easy to use, but has significantly more options like bitrate, frame rate, subtitle support, and more.

Update: Several commenters have suggested using Evom, which is a great utility we have discussed before in the context of converting web videos to Mp3, it is also free.

The New York Times has apparently confirmed that Apple is working on a cheaper iPhone, aimed to broaden the devices appeal in the face of an increasingly competitive mobile landscape. The NYT also disputes some of the past claims regarding new iPhones from WSJ and Bloomberg, specifically that the cheaper device won’t be smaller than the existing iPhone 4.

Another person who is in direct contact with Apple also said that the company would not make a smaller iPhone at this time, in part because a smaller device would not necessarily be much cheaper to manufacture and because it would be more difficult to operate.

More important, a phone with a smaller screen would force many developers to rewrite their apps, which Apple wants to avoid, the person said.

This is interesting because the language specifically addresses the disadvantages of a smaller screen, to me this continues to suggest the new cheaper iPhone will use the same screen as the existing iPhone 4. Maybe this is a controlled leak to alleviate some of the concerns voiced in the developer community about working with another iOS screen resolution?

The New York Times also specifies that the new iPhone will be ready this summer, perhaps at the rumored date of WWDC 2011 and iPhone 5 launch.

Wireless Syncing via Free MobileMe
Finally, backing up prior reports, a new free version of MobileMe will also be released that allows for wireless syncing, according to the NYT:

“The goal is that your photos and other media content will eventually just sync across all your Apple devices without people having to do anything,”

Wireless syncing and easily accessible cloud storage have long been desired by the Apple community. The New York Times did not specify a timeline for the relaunch of MobileMe, but we assume it would be made available along with the new cheaper iPhone, iPhone 5, and a new version of iOS.

If the 80’s block iPhone case and Cathode Terminal weren’t reaching far enough back in time for you, maybe this will.

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