Education iBook Deal, LapCop Aids 'Book Recovery, Bluetooth from IOGear, and More

Compiled by Charles Moore and edited by Dan Knight - 2002.12.20

Except as noted, prices are in US dollars.

• Apple Offers Education Customers Leftover 600 MHz iBooks for $899
• LapCop 1.0 Sends a Stealth Email if Your Mac Is Stolen
• IOGear Bluetooth to USB Adapter
• KlearAdvantage Overlays for PowerBook G4 Palm Rests
• Willow Announces Portable iBook Mac Lab Carry Case
• Booq Folee Messenger Bag
• TiStick and SnowSeal Laptop Bags from Santa Cruz Digital Styles
• Bargain 'Books

Apple Offers Education Customers Leftover 600 MHz iBooks for $899

Education customers can get a qualifying 600 MHz iBook with 128 MB of memory, a 20 GB hard drive, a CD-ROM drive, and a 12.1" TFT screen for $899 while supplies last from The Apple Store for Education.

Customers must purchase qualifying promotional products from December 2, 2002, through December 23, 2002.

LapCop 1.0 Sends a Stealth Email if Your Mac Is Stolen

Computer theft has reached epidemic proportions worldwide: there were 591,000 laptops stolen in the USA in the year 2001, and, according to a recent FBI report, 97% of all stolen computers are never recovered. Macintosh laptops are especially popular among thieves, because sometimes, even thieves have good taste.

LapCop's developers say:

"We are iBook and PowerBook users ourselves and we could not live one day without our books. To help recover your iBook or PowerBook in case it gets stolen, we have developed LapCop. LapCop is an innovative stealth software application that secretly transmits an electronic beacon to an email address of your choice, allowing you to track & locate your Mac, anywhere in the world."

LapCop strategy

• LapCop monitors your system.
• If your Mac is stolen, LapCop sends a stealth email to your designated email address as soon as your lost or stolen Mac is connected to the Internet.
• The stealth email contains all information needed for the local authorities to recover your Mac. As a side benefit, any other items of your property that might have been taken at the same time, may also be recovered.
• Send us a copy of the stealth email, and we will help you locate your stolen Mac.

System requirements: Mac OS X 10.2 or higher

LapCop is $15 shareware.

IOGear Bluetooth to USB Adapter

IOGear's Bluetooth to USB Adapter allows any computer with USB to become a Bluetooth enabled computer and communicate with other Bluetooth enabled computers and devices without cable connections. It complies with Bluetooth 1.1 and USB 1.1 specifications and provides users with a 723 Kbps data rate at ranges up to 330 feet. It also enables wireless Personal Area Network (PAN) connectivity to Bluetooth enabled devices such as PDA's, printers, cellular phones, computers, etc.

GBU301 is compatible with both PC and Mac. It is easy to install and use, and very portable. It suits for both home and mobile networking needs.

Hardware requirement: available USB port and CDROM drive

Operating systems:

• For PCs: Windows 98 or later
• For Macs: OS X or later

In The Box

• 1 Bluetooth to USB adapter
• 1 5' USB extension cable
• 1 Driver CD
• 1 User manual
• 1 Warranty registration card

Price: $ 9.95

You can check it out at the Applelinks Store.

KlearAdvantage Overlays for PowerBook G4 Palm Rests

Klear Advantage Micro-thin clear Overlays for PowerBook G4 palm rests are:

• Durable    
• Water resistant
• Temperature resistant up 275° F    
• Abrasion resistant
• Easy to apply and remove

Price: $24.85

Willow Announces Portable iBook Mac Lab Carry Case

Willow Design has announced a carry case to make carrying a portable iBook curriculum lab an easy operation. Designed for the Surrey, British Columbia school board, the Mac Lab case is configured to carry up to six 12" iBooks in individually protected compartments, an AirPort hub, and all the power supplies, cords and accessories needed to set up a mobile iBook lab.

The Willow Design 12" iBook Mac Lab case offers a compact, convenient and very protective solution to carrying up to six iBooks plus the AirPort and accessories needed to operate a Macintosh lab. The Mac Lab case offers a convenient and comfortable system for carrying your entire iBook lab.

The District Curriculum Coordinator, Glenn Young, who requested the custom case, was particularly impressed with the compact size and protection of the case. Commented Young, "the Mac Lab case fits everything perfectly - and we can count on Willow's durability as we still have old cases still in use from back in the early '90s". With the case, the Surrey school board will be able to set up flexible Apple labs without the large financial outlay of setting up dedicated desktop lab facilities.

iBook Mac Lab Case Features:

• great protection for up to six iBooks plus the AirPort hub, power supplies, cables, and some other accessories afforded by 1.2 cm (0.5") foam reinforced by corrugated plastic on five sides with 4 mm (1/8") hardboard on the bottom.
• internal protection provided by separated corrugated plastic dividers for all the iBooks, the AirPort, power supplies, etc.
• convenient elastic CD-ROM pockets for your operating system CD-ROMs.
• elastic band pocket for conveniently securing power supply cords to avoid a tangled mess.
• horizontal top divider and storage space for manuals or other items.
• convenient front organizer pocket for pens, pencils, calculator etc. plus room for legal sized paperwork.
• external business card pocket to identify the case or set it up for shipping.
• reflective strips on the front and sides of the case for nighttime carrying safety.
• quick released buckled web strap to easily strap the case to roller carts for easier transportation.
• luggage feet riveted through the hardboard bottom of the case which actually keep it up and off the ground when you want to set the display down whilst entering and leaving your vehicle.
• secure wrap handle straps with padded hand grip.
• contoured, thickly padded shoulder strap with heavy duty snaphooks for secure carrying.
• lifetime guarantee against defects in materials or craftsmanship.

Available Colours: Black

The Mac Lab cases will not be available until the first week of January, but Willow is offering a special introductory price of US$170 instead of the standard US$185 to complement its year-end sale currently on its full range of Apple related cases. The Mac Lab Carry Case will feature, as do Willow's 30 other Apple cases, Willow's lifetime guarantee against defects in materials or craftsmanship.

Booq Folee Messenger Bag

The Folee laptop messenger bag is the state-of-the-art in messenger bags for laptops and other mobile technology. More than just a sleek laptop briefcase offering optimum protection for even the largest (16" screen) laptops, this computer bag combines unsurpassed storage options, among the highest quality of materials and details, and most durable construction.

The Folee Messenger Bag is ideal for the PowerBook G4 and all iBooks, since it features a fully adjustable padded laptop compartment in a sleek design. The bag is nothing short of a major design revolution, combining solid laptop protection and full adjustability into a cool messenger-style bag that offers plenty of storage compartments for other Apple accessories (iPod), Palm and documents.

With its both bombproof and lightweight 1680D ballistic nylon exterior and its adjustable floating laptop compartment to protect virtually any size laptop from shocks and rough handling, neither the harshest weather nor the most abusive wear can harm this tough and tech-loving computer briefcase or its cargo.

Designed to be the perfect computer case with tons of storage options for your laptop and gear, MPEG Player or CD player, media, digital camera, and documents, this laptop messenger bag leaves plenty of space for all your other stuff you'll need on your next trip. This multi-padded case for laptop computers can organize a number of folders, envelopes, all those gadgets, and even multiple compact laptops!

Folee Messenger Bag Features:

• Laptop Messenger bag with fully adjustable floating laptop compartment for any size notebook
• Securely stores your large or small laptop or notebook (up to 14.0" x 11.5" x 2")
• Cool Messenger-style design made from tough, lightweight weather-resistant 1680D nylon
• Large side pockets hold cables, pens, cell phones, zip drives, water bottles etc.
• Multifunctional frontal interior pockets neatly store disks, cell phones, flash cards, wallets, business cards, pens, keys, PDAs etc.
• large, breathable, and non-slip shoulder strap pad
• Padded reinforced top carrying handle set into metal-reinforced main flap
• Adjustable, removable hip strap for secure active wear
• Large back and front document pocket with dual internal organizers/dividers lets you neatly store large folders, magazines, many shipping envelopes and documents
• External front pocket in outer flap designed for airline tickets, passports etc.
• Sized to stay within FAA carryon requirements
• Equipped with high-quality Booq™ zipper pulls
• Built with the toughest nylon straps and webbing
• Seatbelt nylon shoulder strap

Price: $149 (introductory offer, includes 2-day UPS)

For more information, visit booqbags.

TiStick and SnowSeal Laptop Bags from Santa Cruz Digital Styles

SnowSeal is designed to protect the Snow iBook from the elements and almost anything else that might cross your path. SnowSeal is constructed of durable, weatherproof Antron-Cordura "Police Cloth" lined with soft-brushed blue Microsuede, cushioned with full-surround padding and sealed with a hidden, water-repellent zipper. Clear outer pocket for individual effect, plus six more and a clip-on pouch. Includes contoured, padded shoulder strap. Seal it and sling it it with you wherever you are.

TiStick is the place to locate your G4 TiBook on the journey between destinations - from one island of connected resources to the next, TiStick carries the tools. TiStick is constructed of durable, weatherproof Antron-Cordura "Police Cloth" lined with soft-brushed orange Microsuede, cushioned with full-surround padding and sealed with a hidden, water-repellent zipper. Clear outer pocket for individual effect, plus six more and a clip-on pouch. Includes contoured, padded shoulder strap. TiStick it and go!

Santa Cruz has also launched a "1% for the Future" initiative through which they will donate 1% of pretax profits to help bridge the digital divide.

As part of a commitment to social justice, Santa Cruz Digital Styles supports universal access to information and opportunity, including the need to help bring the power of computers and the Internet to the underserved communities of our world through organizations like:

• World Computer Exchange
• Plugged In

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Bargain 'Books

There are two different versions of WallStreet running at 233 MHz, the cacheless MainStreet version and the later Series II with a level 2 cache. It's not always possible to determine from the vendor's listing which is being offered, so we've included links within this paragraph to the two models. The same goes for the PowerBook G4/667 (Gigabit Ethernet/2001) and G4/667 (DVI).

Wegener Media

• PowerBook Pismo 500, 128/12 GB/DVD-ROM, $1,099.99
• Add a 30 GB hard drive, installed for $89.99
• Add 1 GB of RAM, $119.99
• Add 512 MB of RAM, $64.99

General Cybernetics

• PowerBook G4/667, 256 + 256/30 GB/Combo, new, $1,900

Baucom Computers

• PowerBook 3400/200, 144/2 GB/CD-ROM, $325

Power Max

• PowerBook G4/667, 256/30 GB/Combo, refurbished, $1,888
• PowerBook G4/667 (DVI), 512/30 GB/Combo, refurbished, $2,088
• PowerBook G4/800, 512/40 GB/Combo, refurbished, $2,099
• iBook 600 12", 128/20 GB/CD-ROM, refurbished, $799
• iBook 700 14", 256/30 GB/Combo, refurbished, $1,399

Get a free Epson C42UX Printer with any new or refurbished Mac from Power Max after dual rebate! Plus get a free carrying case with these iBooks.

MacResQ

• PowerBook G3/333, 64/4 GB/CD-ROM, $749.99. Free shipping if ordered by 12/31/02.