Finally! Jumping the gun and going straight to the news: the Macbook Pro line has been refreshed featuring Core i5 and Core i5 processors. The basic Macbook Pro 13-inch comes with 4GB of RAM, 320GB, and a 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo processor, but the 15-inch and 17-inch models are Core i5 and Core i7 for the record. Also, the higher-end models grab the Nvidia GeForce GT 330M graphics with Optimus switching, meaning that web browsing will be the lightest load of all time, and graphics speed will only be called in when you actually need it. While the 2.4Ghz and 2.66 Ghz Core 2 Duos with a claimed 10 hours of battery life in the 13-inch model definitely are to impress (hey, no Core i5 in the 13?), it’s the 15-inch and 17-inch ones that really count: Core i5 2.4GHz (520M), Core i5 2.53GHz (540M), and Core i7 2.66GHz (620M) processors come in the larger models, as well as the faster Nvidia 330M instead of the 13-inchers 320M. Also, Apple claims that you’ll get between 8 and 9 hours of battery life on these bad guys.

All models come with 4GB of sweet DDR3 RAM, 320GB hard drives and 500GB in higher-end ones, you have the stellar and tempting option of a 512GB SSD for $1,300. So to shoot it all down, the 15-incher gets the Core i7 and the 17-inch gets the Core i5. But let’s go to what this will all cost you, right? It’s $1,799 for the 15, $2,299 for the 17, and $1,199 for the 13. And Apple’s not done with you yet: a 1440 x 900 “glossy” display comes basic on the 15, a 1680 x 1050 glossy display goes for $100 more, and an anti-glare hi-res display for another $50 on top of that (making it $150 for a matte display). Everything’s up at the Apple Store with a shipping date of “24 hours” while the 13-inch model is delayed “2-4 days”. Awesome stuff, if you ask us. (Sans not having Core i5 in the 13, but still a great refresh).

Source: Apple

Talk about Israel acting like a bully. Young traveler heads to Jerusalem, gets questioned, then waits and hears gunfire, which hit her 13-inch Macbook Pro. Fortunately she was able to retreive her hard drive, and is currently being told she will be compensated. According to airport security, it was “suspicous passenger luggage” that they were shooting. Here’s a tip by the way: Backup your data and be careful with your laptop in Israel. Blockquote and more destruction pics after the break.

[Via Lily Sussman]

Moments later a man came outside and introduced himself as the manager on duty. And then, “I’m sorry but we had to blow up your laptop. “ What….all my client case notes and testimony, writing, pictures, music and applications. Years of work. NO!!!! What?? Are you insane?? What were you thinking? THAT’S ALL MY WORK!? After much yelling, crying and frantic phone dialing (don’t be alarmed if I called you repeatedly this morning), he took me outside to see the wreckage. It turned out it hadn’t been quite blown up, but rather shot through with three bullets. We were able to extract the hard drive, seemingly unscaved. Thank goodness…

The Seagate Momentus Thin. The world’s slimmest hard drive is — wait for it — 7mm. That’s right, 7 millimeters, and it will ship in pretty big sizes too. 160 GB and 250 GB versions will be shipping out to OEMs for use in netbooks next month, and will appear at the CES in the same month. Pricing is expected to be much cheaper than 1.8″ hard drives, and because of that you might see this 5400RPM, 8MB cache, SATA 3Gbps hard drive in the netbook sitting on your desk. Check out the press shots below. [Hot Hardware]