Apple Still Using SSDs With Varying Speeds on New MacBook Air

Several months ago, we noted that Apple appeared to be using two different suppliers, Samsung and Toshiba, for the solid-state drives (SSDs) on its MacBook Air models. Notably, the Samsung SSDs registered significantly faster read and write speeds than the Toshiba SSDs. User reports indicated that Apple was indeed using both suppliers simultaneously, rather making it a luck of the draw as to which SSD a user received in a given machine.


Engadget now points to a new video produced by TLD Today indicating that Apple is continuing to employ this dual-supplier strategy for SSDs in the new MacBook Air, with the Samsung SSDs continuing to provide substantially better performance than the Toshiba drives.
Jonathan over at TLD discovered a fairly significant discrepancy when benchmarking both MacBook Air models over the weekend. The 128GB Samsung SSD in his 11-inch Air was able to achieve 246 MB/s write and 264 MB/s read speeds. When he switched to the 13-inch model, however, speeds dropped to 156 MB/s and 208 MB/s, respectively, using that notebook's 128GB Toshiba SSD.
The report indicates that users are unlikely to notice any difference in day-to-day usage between machines running the drives, although the substantial performance difference does suggest that it may be noticeable for certain high-intensity tasks.


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Source: http://www.macrumors.com/2011/07/26/apple-still-using-ssds-with-varying-speeds-on-new-macbook-air/

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MacBook Airs using SSDs from both Toshiba and Samsung

Not all the new MacBook Airs are created equal. TLDToday discovered that Apple is yet again using two different manufacturers for the Air's SSD drives. Some MacBook Airs are shipping with Samsung SSDs, while others are shipping with SSDs made by Toshiba. The issue that arises with this is that the Samsung SSDs are faster than the Toshiba ones.

TLDToday found that the MacBook Air with a 128 GB Samsung SSD produced speeds of up to 246 MB/s write and 264 MB/s read. On paper that's a lot faster than the 156 MB/s write and 208 MB/s read speeds that the 128 GB Toshiba SSD-equipped MacBook Air achieved.

To find out which SSD your newest MacBook Air has go to the Apple menu and select About This Mac. Click the More Info button, then click System Report. Select Serial-ATA from the Hardware header in the source list. Look for where it says "Apple SSD." If the letters after that are "SM" you have the Samsung SSD. If the letters are "TS" you have the Toshiba SSD.

Unfortunately there's no way to check which SSD drive you have before buying the Air, unless the Apple store lets you open the box and power it on before you buy it. However, even if you have the Toshiba SSD, you aren't likely to see a real-world difference in the speed of your Air. Normal everyday tasks will run just as fast on the ultra-slim laptops no matter which SSD you have.

[via ZDnet]

MacBook Airs using SSDs from both Toshiba and Samsung originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.tuaw.com/2011/07/26/macbook-airs-using-ssds-from-both-toshiba-and-samsung/

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10.7: Unbind your Spaces Key

Your 10.6 Spaces key gets redirected to Mission Control automatically, but there is no option in System Prefs to unbind that key or cleanly reassign it.

To do that, you'll need to edit your symbolichotkeys plist:

defaults write com.apple.symbolichotkeys AppleSymbolicHotKeys -dict-add 75 "{enabled = 0; value = { parameters = (65535, 96, 0); type = 'standard'; }; }"  defaults write com.apple.symbolichotkeys AppleSymbolicHotKeys -dict-add 76 "{enabled = 0; value = { parameters = (65535, 96, 131072); type = 'standard'; }; }"
Log out/in and your key should be free.

[crarko adds: I haven't tested this one. The com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist file is in ~/Library, and you may wish to back it up (Time Machine or otherwise) before making any changes.]

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Dear Aunt TUAW: How do I edit that Reading List thing?

Dear Aunt TUAW,

I've been trying to figure out if there is a way to add a URL to Reading List from outside of Safari, i.g. right-clicking a link in a Twitter post and using an Automator action from the services menu, etc... I don't see ANYTHING in Automator or AppleScript about Reading List. This seems very stupid to me being that the only way Reading List has a chance of getting used instead of Instapaper is to throw things into it from every possible browsing location. Have you come across anything yet?

Your loving nephew,

Dan B

Dear Dan,

Auntie hasn't had much opportunity to explore the new Reading List under the hood but she did find that the standard Safari bookmarks property list has been expanded. In ~/Library/Safari/Bookmarks.plist, Auntie found references like this:

ReadingList = {
DateLastFetched = 2011-07-12 23:21:06 +0000;
PreviewText = "SCHEDULES RTD SYSTEM INFO RIDER TOOLS FARES & PASSES BUSINESS CENTER INSIDE RTD SEARCH View the entire RTD system at a glanc";
};
URIDictionary = {
title = "http://www3.rtd-denver.com/elbert/SystemMap/";
};
URLString = "http://www3.rtd-denver.com/elbert/SystemMap/";
WebBookmarkType = WebBookmarkTypeLeaf;
WebBookmarkUUID = "EBC18578-DF36-46B3-86A5-561DBCB0D7AC";
},

She hasn't had much luck discovering where the local files are cached yet, but surely one of her many TUAW nieces and nephews may be able to help out here in the comments, possibly explaining if setting items in the ReadingList here is alone sufficient to make them cache out.

Hugs,

Aunt TUAW

Dear Aunt TUAW: How do I edit that Reading List thing? originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.tuaw.com/2011/07/27/dear-aunt-tuaw-how-do-i-edit-that-reading-list-thing/

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Humble Indie Bundle 3 announced, includes Cogs, VVVVVV, And Yet It Moves

The Humble Indie Bundle is back at it again, offering five new indie gaming titles for one low choose-your-own price. This time around, they've got Crayon Physics Deluxe, 3D puzzler Cogs, the excellent retro platformer VVVVVV, Hammerfight, and the award-winning puzzler/platformer And Yet It Moves. They're all solid games designed by talented indie artists, together in this one bundle.

As before, the price is pay-what-you-will -- while there's a suggested value of $50, you can donate whatever you like, and you can split your donation any way you want, giving the money direction to the developers, or donating it to either the EFF or Child's Play nonprofits. You even get Steam codes from the purchase, so it'll be as if you picked up the games from Steam, even if you give the money to a charity.

You just plain won't find a better gaming deal on the Internet than this one -- the Humble Indie Bundle is always a very generous proposition, and the fact that all the games are Mac (and Windows and Linux) compatible is an added bonus for us Mac users.

Humble Indie Bundle 3 announced, includes Cogs, VVVVVV, And Yet It Moves originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.tuaw.com/2011/07/26/humble-indie-bundle-3-announced-includes-cogs-vvvvvv-and-yet/

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10.7: Different Desktop Picture on Each Space

Lion allows you to set a different desktop picture in each space.

All you need to do is open System Preferences in the first space whose desktop you want to change, open Desktop & Screen Saver, and select a picture.

Then enter Mission Control, drag System Preferences to another space, and go to it. Change the desktop picture here, and you'll find it only affects the current space. And these changes are maintained between restarts, even if you choose not to 'Reopen windows when logging back in.'

Simple and somewhat intuitive, yes, but not necessarily obvious.

[crarko adds: That's actually pretty slick, and useful.]

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