A black MacBook Air or just a wish list

Apple enthusiast site MacRumors scored the MacBook rumor of the day with this intriguing prospect.However, don't take the rumor too seriously yet as MacRumors throws in more than the usual rumor qualifiers and a report on 9to5Mac states that "a reliable source has told us that they haven't seen any black in the new MacBook Air materials." Another thing to keep in mind: Be careful what you wish for. Black can be a vexing color on metal.The Dell Adamo--an all-metal ultrathin design that competed with the Air--also came in jet black and was a magnet for fingerprints.I used a black Adamo for a few weeks, and after a day of heavy use its pristine black exterior became a fingerprint mosaic. And that may be one of the reasons Apple has yet to release a black Air or MacBook Pro. That said, this hasn't stopped Samsung.Its Series 9 is both black and metal. So, Apple could possibly offer this as an option for those with Samsung Series 9 envy, considering the rivalry between the two. And it wouldn't be unprecedented.Remember the black MacBook

A6 chip to reach iPad 3 later in 2012, says analyst

Getting new processor technology out the door (remember, Apple is also in the chip design business) is a Herculean task for even seasoned chip manufacturers like Intel.It will certainly be no different for Apple, whose next chip, dubbed the "A6," may not make an appearance in the iPad 3 until later in 2012, said The Linley Group, a chip consulting firm. If Apple keeps to its schedule and launches an iPad 3 in the first quarter of 2012, the initial version of the iPad 3 "will have to use the same A5 processor as the current iPad 2, relying on the rumored new high-resolution 'Retina' dis­play to drive the upgrade cycle," Linley Group senior analyst Kevin Krewell said this week in a research note. Krewell adds that he expects the quad-core A6 will be competitive with next year's best mobile processors, including an expected quad-core offering from Nvidia. That Nvidia chip is expected to power both Android and Windows 8 devices, including tablets and laptops."Fabricating Apple's A6 in 28nm (instead of the 40nm process Nvidia is using for its quad-core part) will reduce both die cost and power, yielding a much better product," he said. Updated on October 26 at 10:25 a.m. PST: with clarification about Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).It is not clear now whether TSMC will make Apple's A6 processor.Samsung may continue to make Apple A series chips.