As Apple's MacWorld Expo draws near, more reports have been made regarding mysterious versions of MacBooks sporting a new "metallic-grey color" and were described to be distinctively  "thinner" than the laptop's usual models.

Is this our first glimpse into Apple's introduction for the MacWorld Expo next year? More details at the full article.

FastMac, a company specializing in upgrades for Apple products, announced that it plans on releasing the first 2X Blu-Ray burners for the Powerbook, iBook and MacBook Pro, iMac, and MacMini computers.

The new optical drives can read, write, and re-write to single and dual layer Blu-ray media up to 2x speed. The new component can also read and burn DVDs at 8x speed in single layer and 2.4x speed in dual/double layer modes.

In addition, it can rewrite both DVD-R and DVD+R at 4x speed. If for some reason you need to burn a CD or CD-RW, the new drive can also burn at 8x. Here's a short list of the different systems it is compatible with:

• iBook G4
• iMac G5
• iMac Intel
• MacBook Pro (17-inch)
• Mac mini
• PowerBook G3 Pismo
• PowerBook G4 Titanium (667 Mhz or higher)
• PowerBook G4 Aluminum

If you plan on picking up the FastMac Blu-Ray Drive, it is going for US$ 999.95. It comes with a one year warranty and a 30 day money back guarantee. If you want to know more, click on our Read link below.

The Danish government through the Consumer Complaint Board is applying pressure to Apple to have the California-based company cough up some compensation for owners of the iBook G4 who experienced trouble because of design flaws in the laptop.

Frederik Navne, lawyer for the CCB, describes the model's flaw as "it is a bit like a person dying a little bit every time he breathes because the cells break down." Thousands of customer testimonies claim that their iBook abruptly powered down after an average of a year's use, then never booted back up.

The CCB points to the problem as that of a defective logic chip's breakdown. According to independent electronics examiner Delta, the chip has flawed solders that deteriorate with activity. Once the solders wear out, power is unable to pass and what's left of the computer is a blank screen of death with a noisy fan.

Denmark now demands that the company admit that the product is defective in and out of the country and apply measures to correct it in the soonest possible time.

Holy rainbow fruits, Batman! It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's... Uhmm... A finely customized, ever-so-versatile, color-changing, glowing Apple logo!

If you are getting pretty iBummed with the Apple iLogo at the iBack of your iLaptop, you can get it iCustomized for CAD 3.99 (~USD 3.60) with iColours' newest project. And that's worldwide shipping too! For that price, you can get a colored filter of your choice. It could be a normal color, or a design, like a rainbow or tiger-skinned logo. For a little more money, you can buy them in packs of three, six, or a dozen. Their website also provides detailed installation instructions (speaking of tutorials, you might also want to check this out) for placing the colored/designed filters onto your iBook, PowerBook, MacBook, or MacBook Pro. It's a very simple concept but altogether quite ingenious.

However, there remains that one question... are you willing to void your iWarranty? Maybe, maybe not. Whatever the case, it still looks iCool. Personalizing your iLaptop was never this iLovely!

Both Dell and Apple had issued a recall for their defective batteries as a response to the never-ending saga of the exploding batteries these past month.

For Dell, a recall of notebook batteries for models which includes Latitude D410, D600, D610 and D620. Under rare conditions, these batteries could possibly overheat, and are being replaced by Dell. As for Apple, they confirmed that a number of lithium-ion batteries containing cells manufactured by Sony Corporation of Japan pose a safety risk that may result in overheating under rare circumstances. The affected batteries were sold worldwide from October 2003 through August 2006 for use with the following notebook computers: 12-inch iBook G4, 12-inch PowerBook G4, and 15-inch PowerBook G4.

However, the next issue would be how long before these battery replacements arrive? One customer with a Dell D810 and an Apple Mac Book Pro commented that Apple was able to deliver the battery replacement less than 3 days after the request was filed (considering the request day was a Sunday). Not too bad. But he can't say the same thing with Dell. The guy is still waiting for the replacement. It's been 16 days or so since he filed for a request.

We wonder how long it took before other affected laptop owners receive their replacement batteries - or are they still playing the waiting game?

As a result of the Sony Laptop battery scandal, Apple have recalled up to 1.1 million Laptop batteries that might be in Apple iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 Laptops sold October 2003 through to August 2006. Apple is voluntarily recalling the affected batteries and has initiated a worldwide exchange program to provide eligible customers with a new replacement battery, free of charge. The program is being conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

The CPSC are known for calling this the"the biggest recall of electrical products in history", effecting Sony, Dell, Apple and many other brands of Laptop. Want to know if your Laptop is affected? Here's the lowdown straight from Apple:

Please use the chart below to identify the battery model and serial numbers that apply to your iBook or PowerBook. If the first 5 digits of your batteryÂ?s 12-digit serial number fall within the noted ranges, please order a replacement battery immediately.

To view the model and serial numbers labeled on the bottom of the battery, you must remove the battery from the computer. The battery serial number is printed in black or dark grey lettering beneath a barcode.

For more information, please visit Apple's Battery Exchange Program website, and don't hesitate to contact them if you have any questions about your laptop. And don't just think that your laptop will be okay if it has been effected. After all, you wouldn't want your laptop to end up like this Dell now would you?

AirPort is a local area wireless networking system from Apple based on Wi-Fi and is certified as compatible with other 802.11b devices. Now of course, products from a major company would be costly. There is just no way around it. An AirPort Express Base Station would cost you $129.00, while it would be $70 more for the AirPort Extreme, add to that tab the AirPort Extreme card coming in at $79.00. You don't have to say it. A hefty price tag, I know.

Thankfully, there are daredevils like Mark Hoekstra from Geek Technique, that is willing to go the extra mile to look for cheaper alternatives. In this tutorial that he made, all that you need is a Lucent WaveLAN Orinoco Silver card and a lot of patience.

Those that want to try this how-to, just make a note that Mark's iBook is a dual-USB with 600MHz G3 and 384MB with a modified keyboard. Now that you have the bulk of what you need, let's get to it.

This would be the first of the things to go in your card. Remove the black plastic from the card. According to Mark, he wanted to do it with care but unfortunately, the only way to remove it is to pry it open.

Check out the rest of the steps after the jump!

iBook owners, who may have been feeling a bit neglected after Apple turned its attention to the MacBooks, will find comfort with this announcement. FastMac has begun shipping TruePower laptop batteries for G3 and G4 iBooks. Priced at $99.95, the batteries offer up to 50% more capacity than the original, which means more quality time together with your iBooks while on the road.

Designed using high-quality, high-capacity Lithium cells, TruePower batteries are individually tested and include safety features to protect against overcharging, short circuit, and power surges. All batteries come with a one year warranty and 30-day money back guarantee.

We earlier featured an article about Maine's Laptop Program with Apple, wherein an iBook could be bought for as low as $48 bucks. The state of Maine sure do love their Apple laptops because the state  has signed a $41 million contract with Apple Computer Inc. to provide new laptop computers to more than 30,000 seventh- and eighth-graders and their teachers, extending the laptop program for another four years.

Maine was a pioneer in equipping their students with laptops and they intend to sustain this kind of program for a long, long time. The deal is pretty similar with the first Laptop Program that was launched in 2002. It works out to an annual cost of $289 per laptop.

Aside from providing the laptops to approximately 32,000 students and 4,000 teachers, the four-year contract also includes warranties and perks like professional development for each of Maine's 241 public middle schools. The program is aimed at eliminating the so-called "digital divide" between rich and poor student and it has been deemed a success by administrators.

The new laptops are of course improved with greater memory, faster processors and built-in DVD combo drives. On one hand, the older laptops are being kept instead of discarded. Those computers are being upgraded with fundraising support from former Gov. Angus King, who initiated the laptop program, and school districts are redeploying them in other grades or for other purposes.

Maine's Department of Education announced in March that Apple had been chosen over CDW Corp.'s unit that provides technological services to government, education and health care. CDW's proposal called for Lenovo ThinkPads in partnership with other vendors.

When you press that start key and nothing happens, it's more than an inconvenience.

If you're like a lot of Mac users, it's a betrayal. Suddenly, this faithful friend and servant that has worked with you for so long has decided to "check out" on you.

Remember, however, that Apple has traditionally taken very good care of its treasured customers. If your machine is still under warranty, they'll even send someone to your domicile to correct the problem. But even if its out of warranty, the Apple has been designed to be extremely user-friendly - and there are very few problems that the user can't often solve on his/her own.

The folks at Creative Techs in Seattle have come up with a  handy four-step process to get you back up and running, read the Full Article to start on the path towards recovery.