Now that the white, plastic MacBook has reached End of Life status and its production and sale to educational institutions is no more, Apple has chosen another MacBook model to take its place. Instead of going with an existing MacBook Air or Pro models, Apple has decided to create a 13-inch Air model specifically designed and targeted for sale to educational institutions.

It’s unlikely that the white MacBook will be greatly missed. The iPad is a more economical solution for education users, and the MacBook Air is a more than worthy replacement for those who continue to prefer a clamshell laptop form factor. However, the MacBook’s termination does mark the end of the era of plastic-bodied Apple notebooks, which extends back to the original PowerBook 100 in 1991.

Although the MacBook has been dead since last July for consumers, it remained available as a cheap option for educational institutions…until now. Apple has just completely killed off the old Mac model. The company has now classified the white MacBook as “End of Life,” indicating it will no longer be produced or sold whatsoever. It is likely production for the MacBook stopped a while ago, and Apple made the move to only sell the MacBook to educational institutions in order to rid itself of the extra inventory.

The original 13″ aluminum unibody MacBook Pro form factor, which debuted as a plain MacBook in October 2008, is getting a bit long in the tooth. But sometimes they get things right on the first try. I would argue that the 13″ aluminum unibody is one of the best, if not the best, all-round Apple laptop design(s) ever. If it ain’t broke, why fix it?

With my current MacBook closing in on its third birthday, it occurred to me the other day that it might be prudent to check out the condition of the battery. Happily, there are several utilities for doing that, and I downloaded a couple of freeware examples to check out their comparative usefulness, as well as that of the MacBook battery.

Hex doesn’t simply release new bags and sleeves, they release new lines of bags and sleeves. Such is the case with their Fleet Collection, a 12-piece laptop and tablet accessory line making its debut at CES 2012. Each Fleet bag features charcoal and white pinstripe canvas fabrication, custom-printed lining and contrasting tan genuine leather zipper pulls and leatherette trim detailing.

Rumors have been pointing to a higher resolution display in the iPad 3, set to arrive in spring of 2012. Now, word is surfacing the technology will propagate to the Apple’s Mac computers, as well. Reports from DigiTimes say Apple may have plans to incorporate into their MacBook Pros Retina Display-like resolutions of 2,880 x 1,800 (261ppi), starting at the very first few months of the Q2 in 2012.

We’ve seen a few leaks this week on Apple’s annual one-day-only Black Friday sales event. The savings on Apple products were accurately slight, but as in years past, Apple is offering significant savings on compatible third-party products. Save over $100 on Bowers & Wilkins speaker docks and various laptop bags, and you can get fun accessories like the Parrot AR.Drone for under $250.00.

If you’re looking for the perfect bag to carry your MacBook and all of its gear, then look no further than the Incase Nylon Sling Sleeve for Macbook Air. It’s a bag that has everything you want and need in a notebook bag. There’s a handle, shoulder strap, two front pockets and a pocket for papers. In short, it’s about as close to perfect as notebook bags come.

Black Friday is tomorrow, and Apple will be joining the big retailers for a Black Friday sale extravaganza. According to reports, Apple will be offering great deals and big discounts on products ranging from iMacs, MacBook Air / MacBook Pro, iPod nano / iPod touch to iPads. To give you an idea of what Apple has in store for this year’s Black Friday sales event, we’re looking at $101 off on Macs, iMacs, the MacBook Air, and the MacBook Pros; $41-$61 off on a new iPad 2; $11 off on a 16GB and 32GB iPod nano, and $21-$41 off on an iPod touch.