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Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Xcellon Wired Mac Keyboard Review

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I was sad when Apple stopped producing the old standard A1234 (MB110LL/A) wired keyboard a couple of years ago. If I’m using an iMac, Mac Pro or Mac Mini, I prefer a wired keyboard. You can still buy some used and refurbished Apple wired keyboards; however, their days are numbered.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve gotten by with a cheap Macally keyboard in a pinch but they are very plastic and just don’t look or feel right with the modern aluminum Mac builds. There are tons of knockoffs and lookalikes but everything is a compromise, which brings me to the new Xcellon keyboard that I’m typing on right now. [Read more…]

 

Apple Updates MacBook Pro w/ New Processors & Faster Graphics

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Apple updated the MacBook Pro this week, along with a number of other products in its lineup. The notable upgrade points include a Intel’s faster seventh-generation Kaby Lake processors, along with updated graphics.

The graphics bump from the Intel Iris 540/550 to the Intel Iris Plus 640/650 in the 13″ models. The MacBook Pro 15″ models jump from the AMD Radeon Pro 450/455 to the Radeon Pro 555/560.

Overall, the jumps appear in specs and performance seem to be rather mild. Geekbench shows up to a 20% jump over the 2016 model performance in dedicated tests; however, the difference in real world benefits are likely negligible.

The 13″ MacBook Pro starts at $1,299 (or $1,799 if you want the Touch Bar), while the 15″ MacBook Pro starts at $2,399. You can order the new models now on Apple.com or here at B&H Photo.

Corel AfterShot Pro 2 Now Available in Mac App Store

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AfterShot Pro 2 Mac App Store

Corel continues to make progress with AfterShot Pro 2. Now the RAW file processing program is available in the Mac App Store for $79.99.

Corel is attempting to capitalize on the demise of Apple Aperture by making AfterShot Pro 2 available in the same customer portal at the same price point. To Corel’s credit, AfterShot Pro 2 looks like a nice upgrade to the first version of AfterShot Pro. You can read more about the improvements in the AfterShot Pro 2 announcement post.

Of course, you can also still pick it up from B&H for $69.99 right now.

Crucial SSD Upgrade Made My Old MacBook Pro Better than New

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Crucial SSD MacBook Pro Swap

I had an aging MacBook Pro. It’s a 2011 model, which I believe is the first model with Thunderbolt. And while the Thunderbolt connectivity has been great, the internal 5400RPM hard drive has gotten slower and slower over the years.

After hearing plenty of reports on the benefits of upgrading to an internal SSD drive in these MacBook models, I finally bit the (surprising affordable) bullet and picked up a Crucial 512GB SSD for a little over $200. [Read more…]

Apple MacBook Air Updated with Faster Processors and $100 Price Drop

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Apple MacBook Air Spring 2014

Apple quietly rolled out an update on the MacBook Air yesterday. Both 11-inch and 13-inch models received updates with new Intel Haswell processors and slightly better battery specs. The models also received a $100 price drop for the standard configurations.

The 11-inch 128GB base model is now $899, while the 256GB model is $1099. Likewise, the 13-inch 128GB model is $999 and the 256GB model is $1199.