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One of the big gripes that most people have with Mac machines is their price tag. Anyone that can afford one usually loves the interface, and the security that Mac’s generally provide. An upstart company, Psystar , is releasing its’ own version of the Mac experience. Their machine is called the, “”OpenMac”, and has a much more affordable price tag than most Macs, at $399.99.

The system comes with Leopard pre-installed onto the system. The machine runs using PC-parts that are compatible with the Mac’s OS. It’s able to run the OS, using an EFI emulator (scroll to the bottom of the Wiki page). It should be noted that the use of Mac’s OS on a non-Apple system is prohibited.

It will be interesting to see how Apple deals with this. They could easily take the lawsuit road, and try to keep Psystar from releasing their Leopard powered machines. Or they could try and turn this into a business opportunity, and try to make Psystar pay some kind of royalty fee. They will more than likely, go with the first option, but it will still be interesting to see how this turns out.

The idea of going “green”, is really heating across major companies. You can’t go through a commercial break on TV, without seeing an ad about how some company is becoming greener. It looks like Apple wants to join in on the revolution, and it looks to start with the next release of the Macbook series.

The major updates for the Macbook line are being reported by numerous sites across the web. It looks like the notebook will be receiving significant physical upgrades. The Macbook will be gettin an aluminum redesign, taking inspiration from the iMac and Macbook Air models. It’s being reported that the large track-pad used for the Macbook Air, will be seen on the Macbook, Pro line.

The switch to aluminum is the major advancement in Apple’s “green” evolution. Aluminum is an easily recyclable material. Also, with the Macbook switching to aluminum, it will be a more cohesive look along with Apple’s other hardware series.

Today, Apple announced the release of it’s wireless networking hub, “Airport Express”. A quick glance at the Airport Express and you might mistake it for the power block for the MacBook charger, but this thing is definitely a Wifi device.

The AirPort Express can handle up to 10 users through it’s wireless network. You can use the AirPort Express to connect to the internet, or setup your home or small business as a cohesive network.

Probably its’ most “cool” feature is the program AirTunes that works with AirPort Express. With AirTunes, you can take the AirPort Express and plug audio cables from it to any speaker setup. Then AirTunes can then send your music library through the Airport Express and the music through the speakers.

The AirPort Express, will not only work with Mac equipment but allow PC users to be used as well. So for all your people rich enough to own a Mac and PC, the AirPort Express will work with both of your setups.

So with all of these features, and networking powers, probably the most impressive feature of the AirPort Express is its’ size. You can hold it easily in the palm of your hand, use it at any electrical outlet. The AirPort Express currently retails for $99 and can be bought from the Apple Store.

(Photo Credit: Apple.com)

Robert Scoble posted a quick tip the other day on enhancing the sound quality of a MacMini:

Dave Winer gave me a little tiny adapter for my MacMini. What does it do? It plugs into the audio-out port of the Mini and converts that port into an optical out one. So, now my optical cable plugs into that adapter instead of my headphone jack. My receiver has optical ports. If you have a recent receiver your receiver probably has optical ports too…

A commenter notes that you can get an optical cable for about $15 that comes with an adapter for each end.

Has anyone else tried this?

The MacBook Air wasn’t the only cool mobile device showcased at MacWorld.  Axiotron showed off an updated version of it’s Mac Tablet - the Modbook which it introduced last year.

The tablets are aimed at artists and designers and are made by Axiotron with Apple’s permission out of MacBooks the company purchases from Apple.

Features included on the tablet are:

• Mac OS X Leopard
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
• Built-in iSight
• Apple Remote
• Wireless 802.11b/g/n & Bluetooth
• 1.0GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
• AnyView 13.3″ Wide Screen
• ForceGlass Screen & Camera Cover
• WACOM Penabled Digitizer
• 512 Levels of Pressure Sensitivity
• Axiotron Digitizer Pen
• WAAS enabled GPS Built-In

Notice that keyboard is absent from that list. If you want that, you’ll have to buy it separately.

There are 2 versions of the Modbook with either a 2.0GHz or a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 processor pricing at $2,279 and $2,479 respectively.

Today at the MacWorld Expo, Steve Jobs introduced the Macbook Air, allegedly the world’s thinnest notebook.

It weighs in at around 3 lbs.  with a thickness of 0.16-0.76 inches.

Andru Edwards at Gear Live notes that “the thickest part of the Air is thinner than the thinnest part of a Sony TZ series notebook.”

The environmentally conscious notebook features a 1.8 inch 80gb hard drive (64gb SSD drive optional) with a 1.6GHz (1.8GHz optional) Intel Core 2 Duo chip.

Other notable features of the Macbook Air are:

- a 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display
-  a built-in iSight webcam

- full sized MacBook-style keyboard (backlit with ambient light sensor)
- iPhone-like multi-touch trackpad capability

Preorders for the Macbook Air are available  now, and they will hit stores in a couple of weeks. It will retail at $1799.