Welcome to the "World’s Thinnest Notebook!"

With Apple’s latest release of the world’s thinnest notebook (about .76 inches thick, tapering to .16 inches at the ends), a new trend has started in the Mac/PC war.

To see how the MacBook Air compares against its PC rivals
( the 11-inch Sony VAIO TZ150 and the 12-inch Toshiba Portege R500) visit CNET’s review article.

According to the reviews, “Pros” of the MacBook Air are:
- an incredibly thin design (0.16-inches at its thinnest point)
- sturdy case
- beautiful look
- lovely wide LED backlit screen
- comfortable-to-type-on full-size keyboard with a built-in ambient light sensor
- spacious track-pad with support for multi-touch gestures
- a decent battery life.

Its “Cons” are:
- a weak performance, the notebook claimed to be “the slowest Apple machine”
- limited hard drive storage space
- expensive solid state drive option, no performance boost with the SSD
- only one USB port, USB 3G modems won’t fit in the MacBook Air
- no Expansion slot (ExpressCard or PC Card), no media card reader, no firewire
no built-in Etnernet LAN port
- no user-replaceable battery
- “belches out heat like nobody’s business”
- price may be an issue with students and other consumers

This is a photograh of the envelope from a letter from Teodor Markow (Marków) in Skałat to brother Jacob Markow (Jakób Marków) in New York City on December 27, 1929.  Jacob and Teodor were brothers of Michael Markow, our great-grandfather who arrived at Ellis Island in 1908 from Skałat (region of Ukraine).

• Solar Observatory at Chankillo, Peru

• Nebo-Sarsekim Cuneiform Tablet

• New Dates for Clovis Sites

• Early Squash Seeds, Peru

• Ancient Chimpanzee Tool Use

• Urbanization at Tell Brak, Syria

• Lismullin Henge, Tara, Ireland

• Polynesian Chickens in Chile

• Homo habilis & Homo erectus

• Greater Angkor, Cambodia

According to Wired Magazine, Apple is due to release a software development kit (SDK) for its iPhone in late February.  This is an important step for developers interested in creating desktop-like applications for the iPhone.  Apple hasn’t released any official details yet so we’ll see what comes out in the next few weeks…

Skating Competition

Started the 2008 season with an icy trip to the Berkshires for the Gold Ladies event on Saturday, February 2. Took 3rd place this year in Gold with the debut of the new Pirates of the Caribbean program.  Next event is the Eastern’s Event in New Jersey next month.

Results are posted online. 

Views from the January storm that hit New England in the early morning.  The blue tone is natural from the light conditions outside at the time.