HP is doing its part to help you feel good — or bad — about your carbon footprint with its new Eco Highlights label. The sticker will list a product’s enviro-friendly “ingredients”, much like those FDA labels you see at the grocery store that tell you how much fat and sugar you’re consuming. The program’s launch products will include printers such as the Deskjet D2545 ink-jet printer, LaserJet P4015x, LaserJet P4515x and LaserJet P4515xm which are made mostly of recycled parts. Other Eco Highlights label attributes will include recycled cartridges, recyclable packaging, and auto-on/auto-off with deep-sleep modes. Finally, a new HP Carbon Footprint Calculator for Printing and HP LaserJet Power Calculator will most likely make you feel really bad about the printer you’re currently using, send you into a shame spiral, and ultimately force you to buy an HP Eco Highlight printer.

[Via News.com]

written by Jose Castillo

From AppleInsider:

The images, which were passed on to MacRumors by an eagle-eyed viewer, largely match descriptions of new MacBook and MacBook Pro designs recently detailed by AppleInsider in a report on notebook makeovers due out from the Cupertino-based company a little later this year.

Specifically, the renderings show a 13-inch multi-touch MacBook clad completely in aluminum with the exception of the keyboard, which is black to match that of the one that recently began shipping on the MacBook Air.

Meanwhile, a new MacBook Pro depicted in the images appears to share the same kind of display bezel as Apple’s current iMacs, completely with black trim that frames the notebook’s LCD display.

Earlier this month, AppleInsider reported that the existing MacBook and MacBook Pro would be the last of their breed, as both product families were destined for major design changes upon their next refresh.

It was reported that the 13-inch MacBooks would undergo the most significant metamorphosis, shedding their plastic enclosures for ones constructed from more eco-friendly materials such as aircraft-grade aluminum and stainless steel.

Meanwhile, the 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro were also reported to see aesthetic revisions, which like their upcoming MacBook counterparts were described by those familiar with the products as borrowing several design cues from the August 2007 aluminum iMacs and all-new MacBook Air.
Some of these design cues were believed to include instances of matte black on portions of the casings, oversized multi-touch trackpads, and the adoption of the MacBook Air’s keyboard by the MacBook — all of which are depicted in the recently revealed renderings.

Boosting confidence in these design changes are reports out of Taiwan this week that Apple has placed a substantial order for new aluminum 13-inch MacBook casings with one of the larger Taiwanese case makers.

Another image included on the .Mac website and forwarded to MacRumors appears to be a teaser for iTunes 8 and includes the date of June 10th, around the same time Apple chief executive Steve Jobs is due to present his opening keynote at the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Update: Looks like MacRumors got duped by its own forum members — these are fan-made mockups. Oh well, at least we can dream.

written by Jose Castillo

While browsing through the Inside the Magic Forums, I came across this post showing some new Oswald the Lucky Rabbit merchandise at the Disney Store. They’re pretty cool!

written by Luke Manning

LOS ANGELES - The Walt Disney Co. said on Friday it has signed Chief Executive Robert Iger to a new five-year contract that will pay him an annual salary of $2 million plus bonuses and stock awards that could be worth millions more. Under terms of the deal, Iger could receive an annual incentive bonus of $10 million or more, along with an annual equity award valued at $9 million or more, if Disney meets certain performance goals, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The deal also calls for the executive to receive a stock option grant for the purchase of 3 million shares of Disney common stock at the exercised price of $29.50 a share. In addition, the compensation package includes perks and benefits in line with what Disney gives other senior executives, according to the filing. The executive’s previous contract was set to expire Sept. 30, 2010. His new contract runs through Jan. 31, 2013.

In a statement, the Burbank, Calif.-based company’s board of directors praised Iger’s job performance, noting the executive has presided over record revenues, net income and earnings per share since being named CEO on Sept. 30, 2005. “Bob is a talented and visionary leader, under whom Disney has posted increases in growth and profitability that have consistently exceeded expectations,” said John E. Pepper Jr., Disney’s chairman.

Disney, which operates film studios, theme parks, TV cable channels and other businesses, ended fiscal 2007 on an upswing, posting annual profit of $4.69 billion, or $2.25 per share, compared with $3.37 billion, or $1.64 per share, in fiscal 2006. Its revenue rose to $35.51 billion from $33.75 billion in the same period. Iger, who also holds the title of president, received a compensation package in fiscal 2007 valued by the company at $27.7 million, according to an analysis of documents by The Associated Press. Iger received a salary of $2 million, non-equity incentive plan compensation of $13.7 million, other compensation of $745,177, and profits from stock and option awards that had an estimated value of about $11.2 million when granted. Disney shares rose 82 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $30.66 on Friday. The stock has ranged between $26.30 and $36.79 over the past 52 weeks.

[Via WDW News Today]

written by Luke Manning

Well, the holidays were pretty happy down Cupertino way this year — Apple just posted its Q108 financials and they’re impressive. Spurred by sales of 2.3 million iPhones, 22 million iPods, and 2.3 million Macs, Steve and the boys raked in $9.6 billion in total revenue, which translates to $1.58 billion in pure, glorious profit. That represents Apple’s latest best quarter ever, with a 35 percent jump in revenue year-over-year — a $2.5 billion increase from last December. The $1.76 profit per share also beat consensus analyst estimates of $1.63 a share, and, as Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster pointed out in his notes, Mac sales have increased 43 percent since last year. All in all, quite a quarter for a fruit company — we’ll let you know what else we find out during the conference call later today.

[Via Engadget]

written by Jose Castillo