How to Upgrade my Macbook' s RAM and HD?

They both take place in the MacBook’s battery bay. One of them is the installation of RAM, which is a new procedure that involves two little lever arms. The other is the MacBook’s hard drive, which actually resides in the far left corner of the battery bay! As a result, the MacBook is probably the most easily upgradeable Mac laptop ever.

The Video-> http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/macword/2006/05/macbookvideo/index.php

Two FAQs about the MacBook's Graphics.

I see the MacBook uses the same GMA 950 integrated graphics as the Mac mini—should I be worried?

This is a consumer laptop, and as a result Apple has made some technological sacrifices. One is the MacBook’s lack of a graphics chip with dedicated video RAM. It’s the same graphics as you’ll find in the Mac mini. For most tasks, you probably won’t notice the lack of a video card at all—but if you try to play a 3-D game, you’ll see the difference. And the MacBook’s Core Duo processor can overcome many of the limitations of its graphics system. For example, we played back numerous 1080p high-definition videos with nary a hiccup on both the 1.83GHz and 2.0GHz models. And don’t forget that the MacBook improves on the resolution of the models it replaces.

Why does Apple only sell MacBooks with RAM in pairs that use up both RAM slots? The MacBook Pro ships with one RAM module instead of two.

Like the other Intel-based Macs, the MacBook uses dual-channel memory. Although you can put RAM in just one slot, when installed in matched pairs, the RAM can achieve its maximum throughput. According to Apple, you probably wouldn’t notice much of a difference on the MacBook Pro, which has a discrete graphics card. But on the MacBook, which shares up to 80MB of its main memory with the onboard graphics system, the extra speed you pick up by interleaving two separate RAM modules is vital.

-MacWorld. more details-->http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/gma950/
http://www.macworld.com/

The New iBook, the MacBook debuts

Apple today unveiled the newly designed MacBook, its new consumer notebook featuring the Intel Core Duo processor and a new 13-inch glossy widescreen display. Apple says the new sleek design is up to five times faster than the iBook and up to four times faster than the 12-inch PowerBook. Together with the 15-and 17-inch MacBook Pros, the new MacBook, which starts at $1,099, completes Apple's Intel-based portables lineup and replaces both the iBook and the 12-inch PowerBook. Apple's line of portables now offers Intel Core Duo processors; a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing on-the-go; Front Row media experience with Apple Remote; and several advanced features including DVI with dual display support, optical digital audio input and output, Gigabit Ethernet, Sudden Motion Sensor, Scrolling TrackPad and MagSafe Power Adapter. Three MacBook models are available--two white models for $1,099 (60GB/Combo) and $1,299 (60GB/SuperDrive) and a black model for $1,499 (80GB/SuperDrive).
"Apple began the transition to Intel Core Duo-based notebooks in February with the 15-inch MacBook Pro, and now just 90 days later we have completed the transition with the release of the all new MacBook," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "The complete MacBook lineup leads the industry with Apple's trademark innovative design and advanced mobile features -- from top to bottom it is the best notebook line that we have ever offered."

The MacBook lineup includes three models: a 1.83GHz and 2.0GHz MacBook in a newly designed, sleek white enclosure and a 2.0GHz MacBook in a new black enclosure. Apple says the new MacBook offers performance up to five times faster than the iBook and up to four times faster than the 12-inch PowerBook with a completely new system architecture including a 667MHz front-side bus and 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory expandable to 2GB.

The new MacBook portables are about one-inch thin and 20 percent thinner than the iBook; they feature a new 13-inch glossy widescreen display, which is 79 percent brighter than the iBook and the 12-inch PowerBook and 30 percent larger (1280x800): "the MacBook provides incredibly crisp images with richer colors, deeper blacks and significantly greater contrast."

Every new MacBook comes with a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing on-the-go using Apple's iChat AV, or recording a video Podcast or iMovie using iLife '06. MacBook also includes Photo Booth, Apple's application that lets users take quick snapshots with the built-in iSight video camera, add entertaining visual effects and share their pictures with the touch of a button.

Custom painted Mac mini cases debut

FastMac today announced a full line of custom painted Mac mini cases available for pre-order. Consumers will experience zero downtime, and the company includes all the necessary tools for installation. Colors currently offered include Onyx (black), Chili (red), Bubblegum (pink), Midnight (dark blue), Wasabi (lime), Tangerine (orange), and Retro (beige with an original multi-colored Apple logo). Cases are first cleaned and scuffed with a pre-solvent, followed by a coat of epoxy sealer and four coats of special low solids/high pigmentation aircraft quality paint. A final coat of clear urethane and high gloss completes the process, and all paints are two-part catalyzed. Logos are silk screened on using a special low solids/high pigmentation urethane. The customized cases ship with an installation video and PDF instructions available in English, Japanese, Spanish, French, German, and Italian. Users can pre-order the custom painted cases for $70.

http://www.fastmac.com/ProductPage/spicymini.html

Apple updates cause headache for some

Dozens of users are reporting problems with Apple's latest updates, which appear to be centered around one or more startup items. A lengthy discussion on Apple's threads indicates that latest round of Apple updates, including QuickTime 7.1 and the latest security update, appear to cause random freezes after startup--especially on Intel-based Macs. The problem has been localized to some startup items such as Adobe Version Cue and users suggest removing the startup items from the startup folder (users can disble startup items by pressing shift after the bootup chime), while others have had success by reinstalling the operating system using Mac OS X's Archive and Install command, which will allow users to return to relatively familiar state (with all applications and documents still available). Others, however, have resorted to a clean install of a new operating system to resolve the problems. [updated]