Apple is constantly making “under-the-hood” improvements to its consumer-oriented MobileMe service. These tweaks include faster and more reliable calendar synchronization, webpage display, and iPhone integration.

For those who haven’t checked out MobileMe in a while, it is Apple’s comprehensive remote services offering for the home user. MobileMe’s core components include:

On June 7th, 2010, at the sold out World Wide Developers Conference, Steve Jobs announced a slew of improvements to the operating system that runs on iPod Touch devices, iPads, and iPhones. Many of those updates were specifically designed for the highlight of his keynote address: the new iPhone 4.

While a few specifications of the new iPhone were previewed during the infamous Gizmodo episode, many of the new features weren’t obvious out of context. Here are a few of the important iPhone 4 and iOS 4 (the new name for the iPhone operating system which runs Apple’s family of mobile devices) improvements…

After six MacBooks arrived at our bench with liquid damage in just one week (and it’s only Wednesday), we thought it was time to write a guide for what to do if this happens to you.

Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth at least $1,000. Try to keep your computer away from wet places like kitchen counters, sinks, and swimming pools. And—this may be the hardest thing of all—make it a habit never to place your beverage container next to your laptop. All it takes is one strategically placed droplet of water to turn your MacBook into a very expensive paperweight. We know this is common sense, but it bears repeating.

Now…what to do when the unthinkable happens?

Today I was confronted with a situation not unlike many I deal with on a regular basis: How can one of my clients use a media file of a particular format, in a specific application that does not inherently support working with files of that format? Working through the solution to the problem reiterated to me the fact that many people are confused about what media files really are, what a codec is, and what a wrapper or container-format is.

Folks use these terms incorrectly, interchangeably, and vaguely, but it’s really not all-too-difficult to understand. I’ll go about trying to explain it to the best of my ability and then I’ll describe how I had to attack the issues of both codec (essence) and wrapper, to address my client’s specific workflow requirement.

- Nick Gold

If you followed the rumors that circulated around Apple’s mythical post-Newton tablet computing device for almost a decade, there was something surreal and sublime about the moment when Steve Jobs finally unveiled it on stage. But now that everything’s out in the open, what is most interesting is how few people understand just how profound, indeed radical, the iPad is.

I’d like to talk a bit about why the tablet—err, iPad—impresses me so much, and why you need to give Apple the benefit of the doubt on this one. This is something much bigger than it might seem on the surface, and is in fact a hint at the future of computing in general. To see where we may be headed, however, it would serve us well to take a look at where we’ve been.

- Nick Gold

As I began to write up the next segment of the Storage Primer, discussing external Direct-Attached Storage (DAS) options for the Mac Pro, I realized that I was starting to talk a lot about RAID solutions on the market, without having discussed in more general terms what exactly “RAID” means, and why it’s important. While I have talked about RAID 0 striped volumes and RAID 1 mirrored volumes in past installments, there is quite a bit more to RAID than that, and it really calls for its own article. Please read on to get a more thorough understanding of RAID storage technology!

Keep in mind that some of my explanations here veer toward using layman’s terms, rather than complex technical language, and that is every bit the intent. For more in-depth information, a simple Google search using the term “RAID” will net you more results than you could ever hope to review. With that said, let’s review the various RAID levels, as well as software-based versus hardware-based RAIDs.

Chesapeake Systems has seen an exciting 2008. On top of this being our most successful year ever, we have also made major investments in our infrastructure and staffing.

If you visit our office, you will notice that our greeting area has been enhanced by complimentary hot and cold beverages for guests, including glasses and mugs that are free for the taking. Slightly less obvious is the addition of our “tech lounge,” a slick area where our technicians meet, brainstorm, prep systems, conduct R&D on new technologies, do paperwork, and yes, sometimes relax.

We’ve also finalized the location of our check-in and check-out areas for hardware repairs, so that is finally streamlined (and out of my office! -Nick)

The end of 2008 is upon us, and we thought it would be a good time to take a look at what did and did not happen in the world of professional Apple products during the course of the year. We’ll also review interesting decisions and announcements Apple has made during the year, and explore what we have to look forward to in 2009.

Apple’s professional desktop computer system, the Mac Pro, was updated in January of 2008, and has remained available at the same specification since then. Not much to report on! As an 8-core 64-bit system clocking in at 2.8GHz through 3.2GHz, it still represents a powerful system. However, many users would like to see more powerful graphics card hardware become available. We will see what Apple reveals in 2009.