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| Apple - Macbook Air - 13.3-inch display, 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 64 GB SSD |
| MacBook Air |
| product code; part number; part no; model number; model no Z0FS0LL/A |
MacBook Air ▪ Apple ▪ Z0FS0LL/A ▪ P/885909100228 1 year limited warranty
Updated 3/5/2009 1:08:31 AM UTC (120 days, 20 hours, 3 minutes ago) | |
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Product Release Date: January 15, 2008 Time in Market: 1 year, 5 months
This product is old (available used/aftermarket) This product is 1st generation
In product area: Home / Office & Workspace
| MSRP: $3,098.00 Retail: Units purchased: 2 Prices (Ave/High/Low): $3,098.00 / $3,098.00 / $3,098.00 Prices (Ave/High/Low): $3,098.00 / $3,098.00 / $3,098.00
Used: n/a
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| Batteries in new Mac laptops offer “excellent” results |
| | How do the batteries in the new MacBook Pro laptops measure up? Walt Mossberg (ptech.allthingsd.com) wanted to know, so “using my own harsh battery test,” he assessed the performance of new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro models. “The results,” he reports, ”were excellent. These two new Apple laptops scored among the highest battery lives between charges of any laptop I have ever tested.”
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| | 7/01/2009 4:25 PM (2d 4h 46m ago) |
| The Pine Tree State orders 64,000 MacBooks, with more to come |
| | Filed under: Hardware, Education, MacBookThe Associated Press released an article today noting that the Maine Department of Education has placed an order for more than 64,000 MacBooks. The MacBooks are being purchased from Apple as a part of Maine's Learning Technology Initiative, which has provided MacBooks to all middle school students in Maine since 2002.The new order expands the program to high school students who did not receive a MacBook in middle school, and also provides the laptops to faculty for grades 7 through 12. Maine is expected to place an additional order for about 7,000 more laptops within a few weeks. The laptops can also be used as an economic development tool for parents as well, providing software that links the computers to the Maine Department of Labor resources, including career centers. Does your state, country, or school district provide laptops to every student? If they do, and they're providing Macs, let us know.TUAWThe Pine Tree State orders 64,000 MacBooks, with more to come originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 7/01/2009 4:18 PM (2d 4h 52m ago) |
| Apple blows past other hardware web sites in May |
| | Filed under: Apple Corporate, Internet, Surveys and PollsWow. It isn't even close. Apple blew by HP, Dell and even MagicJack (!) with the most visits to a website in May. According to the people who compile such statistics at Nielsen, Apple drew 55.7 million unique viewers, more than double what next ranked HP did. Much of that may have been driven by anticipation of the new iPhone. Here's the chart.
Also interesting is that Nielsen computes the average visitor stayed on the Apple site an average of 1 hour and 14 minutes. That's a lot of reading and watching demo videos.Nielsen also took a look at blog mentions of the iPhone in early June, and the numbers are pretty striking there too. You can see the peak as the release date approached, with another peak on release day June 19.
They say if people are talking about you it's a good thing. By that measure things are really great at Apple.
TUAWApple blows past other hardware web sites in May originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 7/01/2009 1:16 AM (2d 19h 55m ago) |
| Apple Confirms: Steve Jobs Back at Work |
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Bloomberg has received confirmation from Apple that Steve Jobs has returned to work at Apple following his liver transplant, currently working part-time at the company's headquarters in Cupertino and part-time from home. Jobs reportedly returned to ...
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| | 6/29/2009 5:55 PM (4d 3h 15m ago) |
| MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update addresses SATA interface speeds |
| | Filed under: Software Update, Apple, Macbook ProWhile most of the focus of WWDC fell on the iPhone 3GS, the MacBook Pro line got some love from Apple last week as well, with several upgraded features on the 15" model and a re-branding of the 13" model from MacBook to MacBook Pro.The Achilles' heel of the new upgrades, as reported last week, was that the MacBook Pro's SATA interface was limited to 1.5 Gbps in the latest models, down from 3.0 Gbps in previous models. Although this wasn't likely to be an issue unless you replaced the hard drive with a high-speed SSD, it still seemed like somewhat of a boneheaded move to downgrade the SATA interface without sufficient cause.Today Apple has released MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.7, which makes the issue moot. The update allows the SATA interface to work at full speed once again.If you have one of the affected models of MacBook Pro, grab this update either via Software Update, or else go here (requires OS X 10.5.7). More info on the firmware update can be found on its support page.Thanks to reader Joachim Bean for sending this in.TUAWMacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update addresses SATA interface speeds originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/24/2009 6:18 PM (9d 2h 53m ago) |
| Methodist University Hospital confirms Steve's liver transplant |
| | Filed under: Steve JobsLate last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Steve Jobs had a liver transplant in April. As of this morning, however, we still hadn't received confirmation from either Apple or any of the hospitals at which the procedure might have been performed. That's changed. Earlier today, Methodist University Hospital in Memphis released a statement confirming the surgery, with Steve's permission: "I am pleased to confirm today, with the patient's permission, that Steve Jobs received a liver transplant at Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute in partnership with the University of Tennessee in Memphis ... Our one-year patient and graft survival rates are among the best in the nation and were a dominant reason in Mr. Jobs's choice of transplant centers." James D. Eason, M.D., Program Director at Methodist University Hospital's Transplant Institute, composed the statement and explained that Steve went through the typical transplant eligibility process; in order to receive a donor liver, he had to be the sickest person on the list when the matching organ became available. This statement stands in contrast to the theories considered in today's New York Times piece about Steve's surgery, which noted that past preferential treatment for celebrities and wealthy patients has largely been ended but there are still ways in which someone with Jobs's resources could try to game the system. The Memphis transplant center has one of the shortest waiting periods in the US for liver patients. Let us extend a "Well done" to the medical team and "Speedy recovery" to Steve.TUAWMethodist University Hospital confirms Steve's liver transplant originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/24/2009 6:14 PM (9d 2h 56m ago) |
| WSJ: Jobs had liver transplant, on schedule to return to work in June |
| | Filed under: Apple Corporate, AppleThe Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs had a liver transplant two months ago in Tennessee, but is still expected to return to work by the end of the month. Jobs, who went on a medical leave from Apple in January, has had continuing medical issues related to a bout with pancreatic cancer. The type of pancreatic cancer that Jobs has will often metastasize in other organs, particularly the liver. According to the WSJ article, it is expected that Jobs will work part-time upon his return to the company in order to speed his recovery. The 54 year-old Jobs missed the Apple shareholder meeting in February, and hasn't been flying in his corporate jet (one of the perks he receives along with his US$1 annual compensation) as much as he had in the past. The TUAW staff, along with many of our readers, is looking forward to the return of the Steve Jobs to the company he helped to create.TUAWWSJ: Jobs had liver transplant, on schedule to return to work in June originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/22/2009 8:39 PM (11d 32m ago) |
| Apple moves one million iPhone 3G S units in a weekend -- just in time for Steve's return |
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Worried that Apple might not be doing so well? Concerned the company will have to start breaking open the collective piggy banks to keep the lights on? Well rest easy, friends, as the folks in Cupertino have just issued a compelling piece of PR that will surely put your mind at ease -- one stating it managed to move a million iPhone 3G S units over the weekend. That's right, in a fashion not completely dissimilar to last year's iPhone 3G launch (though with far less hiccups), bucketloads of happy buyers flooded Apple's coffers with sweet, delicious cash money for the new smartphone. The buying frenzy was apparently even exciting enough to rouse recovering CEO Steve Jobs from his convalescent state. The seemingly-now-returned honcho is quoted (for the first time in months) in the press release as saying "Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning." Winning indeed Steve... and welcome back.Filed under: CellphonesApple moves one million iPhone 3G S units in a weekend -- just in time for Steve's return originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/22/2009 8:32 PM (11d 39m ago) |
| iPhone 3G S Launch Day: Photos from 5th Avenue |
| | Filed under: iPhoneGood morning! All day today we'll be updating with reports from iPhone 3G S purchasers around the country, both here and on Twitter. So far the lines seem modest and activation is reportedly going smoothly. Victor notes that AT&T store lines are short where he is and if you are not the primary account holder on your cell plan, you have to go to AT&T anyway to upgrade.
Morning schedules and slow subways kept me from the 7 am store open at 5th Avenue (since Apple moved it earlier from 8 am due to AT&T opening its stores at 7), but by 7:30 the line was still active and purchasers were beginning to emerge. NYPD reports that about half the barricaded area was full at 7 am.
Gallery: iPhone 3G S launch, 5th AveTUAWiPhone 3G S Launch Day: Photos from 5th Avenue originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/19/2009 6:07 PM (14d 3h 3m ago) |
| Apple announces Snow Leopard Up-To-Date program |
| | Filed under: OS, Apple, Snow LeopardIf you purchased a new Mac or Xserve on or after June 8th, Apple just announced that you'll be able to take advantage of the Mac OS X Snow Leopard Up-To-Date Program.
Under the terms of this program, if you purchase a Mac or Xserve on or after the cutoff date, and Snow Leopard is not included in the box, you'll be eligible to receive an upgrade DVD for only US$9.95 (shipping is included in price).
The program web page is currently stating that additional information will be posted tomorrow (June 16th), and we'll be sure to keep you in the loop if any changes or additions to the program are announced.TUAWApple announces Snow Leopard Up-To-Date program originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/17/2009 4:13 PM (16d 4h 58m ago) |
| Java vulnerability in Mac OS X finally patched |
| | Filed under: SecurityIt's been a long wait. Fire up Software Update and you should see Java for Mac OS X 10.5 (or 10.4) update 4. This update closes a vulnerability first discussed in August of last year; it was patched by Sun and most other JVM developers months ago.Apple's sluggishness on fixing this security issue could have allowed attackers to run arbitrary applications or processes on your machine if you visited a webpage hosting a malicious Java applet. The vulnerability was pointed out in graphic fashion by security researcher Landon Fuller. Fuller took the exploit code that was circulating in the wild and built a proof of concept page that would run an innocuous program (the command-line 'say' utility) from a rigged Java applet; after the ensuing publicity, less than a month later, we have a patch.Once you've updated, if you took the precaution of disabling Java in your browser settings, you can feel free to go ahead and turn it back on... although, if you haven't missed it, no need to change anything.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.[via Glenn Fleishman / TidBITS]TUAWJava vulnerability in Mac OS X finally patched originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/17/2009 4:11 PM (16d 5h ago) |
| Snow Leopard offers more Automator "purrfection" |
| | Filed under: AppleScript, Snow Leopard
If you know me, then you know that I love Automator and scripting things on the Mac. I believe that Automator should be something that everyone can take advantage of, not just the select few that already know how to use it well. That's why I've been working on the TUAW Mac Automation and AppleScript series for over a year now (we're going to have more coming soon, so stay tuned). I was watching the WWDC '09 keynote, desperately waiting to see if anything new was announced for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard in regards to automation, and specifically Automator.app. Nothing was said at the keynote, but when I looked on the newly updated Snow Leopard page on Apple's site, I was ecstatic. One of the refinements listed was that Mac OS X Services would now be a feature of Automator. Services let you use features of one application while you are inside of another. In the Automator instance, you would be able to use workflows while you are inside of any Mac OS X application that supports the use of Services. In addition to updating Automator for Services, Apple has also added more starting points for workflows. You can now choose between a standard workflow, application, service, folder action, print plugin, iCal alarm, or an image capture plugin. We will have more information about Automator and Services in Snow Leopard when it launches in September.TUAWSnow Leopard offers more Automator "purrfection" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/15/2009 3:13 PM (18d 5h 57m ago) |
| Is the Mac OS X 10.5.7 update causing you grief? |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, OS, Software Update, LeopardAgainst my better judgment, I always download and install Mac OS X updates immediately. That has never caused an issue with any of my Macs until now. Since I installed 10.5.7 literally minutes after hearing about its release, I have been experiencing sporadic issues with USB on my first-generation Intel iMac.
A look through the Apple Support discussion forums showed that this isn't an isolated issue. A number of people have reported losing connectivity to USB hard disks and peripherals. What's rather discouraging to see, however, is that USB issues aren't the only problem that 10.5.7 hath wrought. Other frustrations reported in the forums include:
Loss of connectivity to Bluetooth peripherals including keyboards, mice, and phones
Monitor resolution issues (former resolution settings missing, colors "off", screen redraw oddities)
Mac crashing as it goes to sleep, having problems waking from sleep
No sound, or sound quality is bad
Intermittent problems with WiFi connectivity
Spontaneous shutdowns
Older MacBook Pros overheating
The list goes on and on... Some forum regulars report that the problems go away after downloading and installing the 10.5.7 Combo Updater (available at http://support.apple.com/downloads/), while others are still experiencing frustrating crashes even after attempting this fix.
TUAW wants to hear from readers who have experienced issues of any sort since updating a Mac to 10.5.7. If you have, what kind of problems are you seeing? What, if any, fixes have worked for you?
TUAWIs the Mac OS X 10.5.7 update causing you grief? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/15/2009 3:13 PM (18d 5h 58m ago) |
| iPhoto 8.0.3 updater bug bites many |
| | Filed under: iLife, Software, TroubleshootingYesterday I tried to open up iPhoto '09, and was greeted with a screen telling me that my iPhoto library needed to be updated. This was sort of odd, since I had run the program many times since the software update of June 4th bringing the program to version 8.0.3, but what the heck. I clicked on upgrade and the program crashed displaying one of the wonderfully unclear error screens of hex numbers.After trying all the usual things like rebooting, resetting the PRAM and saying 'Candyman' three times in front of a mirror, I sheepishly gave up and called Apple. It turned out that this has been happening to many people. Up until two days ago, Apple had been capturing reports to find the source. I was told that they stopped capturing reports when they numbered around 3,000. What Apple found was a bug in the 8.0.3 updater, and apparently the bug could bite just about anytime since it didn't necessarily rear its head directly after the update. The bug, in various incarnations with various solutions, is to be cursorily found in the support forums, but here is the authorized Apple fix:Hold down the option key as you boot iPhoto and you'll see a screen like the one displayed here. Just choose your library (there should only be one) and iPhoto will boot normally. Problem solved! As of now the problem hasn't resurfaced for me, and according to Apple tech support, it shouldn't. This bug will be squashed in a future iPhoto update but for now it's easy to get around. TUAWiPhoto 8.0.3 updater bug bites many originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/15/2009 3:08 PM (18d 6h 3m ago) |
| Multi-touch coming to older MacBooks? Not so fast. |
| | Filed under: Hardware, Hacks, Macbook Pro, MacBook, MacBook Air, Snow LeopardMac Life and Gizmodo are both reporting that Snow Leopard will add multi-touch gestures to all older MacBooks and MacBook Pros. This has gotten a lot of people's hopes up that three- and four-finger multi-touch gestures will be back-ported to all Apple portables that previously did not have them.
Unfortunately, this is incorrect. Apples own information on Snow Leopard's enhancements reads, "All Mac notebooks with Multi-Touch trackpads now support three- and four-finger gestures." (emphasis added)
This raises the question, what's the difference between a multi-touch trackpad and a regular one, and which models have it?
The multi-touch trackpad was introduced with the first MacBook Air in early 2008. Not only does it allow two-finger scrolling like older models, it also allows advanced three-finger gestures like swiping to go back in Safari.
One month later, the early 2008 MacBook Pro received the same trackpad, with the same gestures. The multi-touch trackpad gains this new functionality because it has an embedded controller chip, identical to the one in the iPhone and iPod Touch, which allows advanced input from more than two fingers at once.
Later, the unibody MacBooks and MacBook Pros debuted with multi-touch trackpads, but also introduced new four-finger gestures, which will not be officially supported in the older MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros until Snow Leopard's release.
The original MacBook Air and early 2008 MacBook Pro are the only machines which will gain additional gestures via Snow Leopard. The only reason these notebook models are able to gain these gestures via software updates, while earlier MacBook Pros and all plastic MacBooks are not, is because they possess the multi-touch controller chip in their trackpads.
Just to break it down, this is a list of the only, and I mean only, notebooks that support multi-touch gestures, either now or after Snow Leopard:
MacBook... |
| | 6/15/2009 3:06 PM (18d 6h 5m ago) |
| Safari 4 Tops 11 Million Downloads in First Three Days |
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Apple today announced that the final version of its Safari 4 browser, officially launched Monday after the company's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address, has been downloaded over 11 million times in the first three days of release. Notab...
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| | 6/12/2009 3:35 PM (21d 5h 36m ago) |
| Apple's new MacBook Pro family unboxing and hands-on! |
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What would you call this? A "fleet" of MacBook Pros? A "catch?" A "murder," perhaps? In any case, Apple just dropped off the entire line -- including the newly-status-bumped 13-inch MacBook Pro -- at Engadget HQ, and while we'll have some in-depth impressions and benchmarks soon, we thought we'd throw up the unboxings and family photos for you right away. We're sort of struck by how amazingly similar these are in person, but we're eager to see how the internals stack up -- and whether that integrated NVIDIA GeForce 9400M in the 13-inch can handle a professional workload. Anything else you want to know?Update: We just noticed that the 13-inch has lost its dedicated audio input jack, we're guessing because of space constraints with the addition of SD and FireWire 800 -- but we're told the new single jack supports both input and output. We're testing it out, we'll let you know.Gallery: 13-inch MacBook Pro unboxing and hands-onGallery: 15-inch MacBook Pro unboxing and hands-onGallery: MacBook Pro 17-inch unibody unboxing and hands-onGallery: MacBook Pro family photosFiled under: LaptopsApple's new MacBook Pro family unboxing and hands-on! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/11/2009 4:00 PM (22d 5h 11m ago) |
| 13-inch MacBook Pro gets torn apart |
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We've only just started playing with our new 13-inch MacBook Pro, but the cats at iFixit have different ideas -- they've already torn one open for your morbid viewing pleasure. Interestingly, battery replacement involves only the removal of a couple tri-wing screws and a sticker, so the situation isn't totally dire, although we'd obviously prefer if Apple had left well enough alone. Other than that and the addition of FireWire and the SD slot, things seem to be about the same as the original unibody MacBook, but don't take our word for it -- hit the read link and feast your eyes.Filed under: Laptops13-inch MacBook Pro gets torn apart originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/11/2009 3:57 PM (22d 5h 14m ago) |
| Expanding Apple's Pro line of 'Books |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Macbook Pro Long ago, before Intel had stolen Apple's heart, there was a time when a certain company's line of "Pro" notebooks consisted of three model lines. These three PowerBooks were differentiated by screen size and, at the time, they were 12-inches, 15-inches, and 17-inches. Fast forward a few years to Monday's WWDC '09 keynote, Apple surprised us all and moved the 13" aluminum MacBooks up a few notches in the product line. As we reported Monday, the 13" aluminum MacBook now has a little "Pro" attached to the end of it. Thus, the differentiating factor between the MacBook and MacBook Pro line is (again) based on building material (plastic or aluminum). With the disappearance of the ExpressCard slot from the majority of the Pro line (except the 17"), even the expandability story becomes similar across the model lines. Some will try to tell you that Apple has muddied the waters and tarnished the "Pro" branding by re-badging the 13" aluminum MacBook as a professional model. I, however, disagree; I believe that up until yesterday, the MacBook waters were muddy and Apple has finally cleared things up. It makes perfect sense that Apple would include the 13" aluminum MacBook in the Pro line -- it fits right in with the Apple "rule of threes" -- given that there were previously three models of professional notebooks. It has been said that one of the differentiating factors between the professional and consumer laptops was the presence of a dedicated graphics card. If you'll recall, however, the 12" PowerBook G4 actually featured an NVIDIA graphics processor with shared virtual memory from the main system. This is extremely similar to the 13" MacBook Pro and the entry-level 15" MacBook Pro. These two models also feature NVIDIA processors with shared virtual memory, although they do lack the dual graphics chip capabilities of the higher-end models. My belief is that Apple was wrong for ever releasing the 13" aluminum 'Book as anything... |
| | 6/11/2009 3:48 PM (22d 5h 23m ago) |
| Apple WWDC 2009: the good, the bad, and the ugly |
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Sure, Apple didn't really shock anyone with the announcement of the iPhone 3G S this morning at WWDC, but there was no shortage of news at the Moscone Center -- we also got new MacBooks, final Snow Leopard details, and a release date for iPhone OS 3.0. On the other hand, it wasn't all good news either: AT&T's iPhone upgrade pricing and service levels leave a lot to be desired, and Apple's unfortunate penchant for sealed-in batteries has finally hit the 15-inch MacBook Pro. Apple's posted its stream of the keynote if you want to relive things in real-time, but here's a quick rewind in case you missed anything:The good
Current iPhone owners will get iPhone OS 3.0 for free, although some features like video recording and voice control are limited to the iPhone 3G S. It's not perfect, but we don't really complain about free.
Snow Leopard upgrades will cost just $29, instead of the usual $129.
The original 8GB iPhone 3G is now only $99 for new AT&T subscribers. That's definitely going to make some waves in the smartphone market.
We'd have loved to see some external design improvements and maybe some more surprising features that weren't rumored, but overall the iPhone 3G S is definitely in the "good" column -- it's a solid set of improvements to an already very good platform.
MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (including the new 13-inch Pro) specs have increased while prices have come down, and glory be, FireWire is back on everything but the Air.
The bad
As usual, iPod touch owners are going to get dinged $9.95 for the iPhone OS 3.0 upgrade. Hey Apple -- maybe switch these guys over to subscription accounting as well?
Let's face it, "iPhone 3G S" is a pretty clunky name.
Sure, it's nice that the MacBook Pros now have an SD card slot, but losing ExpressCard hurts. And why not a multicard reader? Pro DSLRs still use CF.
The ugly
Sure, new customers and qualified upgraders are getting some sweet pricing on iPhone... |
| | 6/09/2009 8:45 PM (24d 25m ago) |
| Apple releases Safari 4 |
| | Filed under: WWDC, Internet Tools, Software Update, Apple
One of the early announcements in this morning's keynote was that Safari 4 is now out of beta! You can download Safari 4 for yourself (Mac or Windows) from Apple's site. Apple is touting Safari 4 as the fastest web browser around, besting IE 8, Firefox and Chrome in speed tests.As with the Safari 4 betas, Safari 4 passes Acid 3 tests with a 100/100 -- the first (and only cross-platform) browser to achieve this level of standards compliance.The big news for users of the Safari 4 betas is that the tab orientation has been changed. In the beta, tabs were on the top of the application window, now they are below the URL field, just like in previous versions of Safari. I'm a fan! I also like the snazzy updates to the "loading" notification and the RSS indicator.Safari 4 has way too many features for me to list, so I'll just point you to Apple's page that details everything. The HTML 5 media and offline support, CSS 3 web fonts and CSS animations are some of my favorites. Safari 4 is fast, thanks to the new JavaScript engine. It also integrates with both your Mac or with Windows, and the new Cover Flow History View for viewing your web history, or Top Sites for seeing what sites you visit most are totally, totally slick.Download Safari 4 here and then come back and tell us what you think! Remember, any third-party InputManagers like Saft will need to be updated if you want to use them with Safari 4.
TUAWApple releases Safari 4 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/09/2009 8:43 PM (24d 28m ago) |
| Apple unveils Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server, cuts price in half |
| | Filed under: Enterprise, Software, Education, WWDC, Mac OS X Server, Snow Leopard
If you have Mac servers in your business, you weren't left out of the Snow Leopard fun during the keynote earlier today. Apple also announced that Mac OS X Server 10.6, A.K.A. Snow Leopard Server, will be shipping in September. Like Snow Leopard, the server version of the OS provides 64-bit support, and many of the Apple applications have been updated to take advantage of that. For example, SMB file server performance is 2.3x faster than Leopard Server, and AFP file server performance is now 1.3x faster.
New features include:
iCal Server 2 -- This upgrade to Leopard's iCal Server now provides push notification, wireless accessibility to your calendar from any iPhone, a new web-based calendaring interface, and updates to CalDAV that now allow you to invite colleagues to meetings via email.
Podcast Producer 2 -- Podcast Producer, which was added to the server mix in Leopard, is now improved with Podcast Composer. This new feature lets you create your own workflows for automating completion and publishing of podcasts. There's also a new Setup Assistant in Server Admin that can set up Podcast Producer 2 in a manner of minutes, even if you're setting up a cluster of servers.
Wiki Server 2 -- Workgroups wishing to collaborate now have a little bit more to love from Wiki Server. The only real new feature is iPhone support; users can securely log into confidential wikis and content, and even review content and comments from the iPhone.
Mobile Access Server -- The piece that I'm probably the most excited about as an Xserve admin is Mobile Access Server. This new feature is like a custom VPN for Mac and iPhone users. As long as they're set up in the server's directory service, users can get secure, encrypted access to the server and network with very little hassle.
Mail Server -- The engine running Mail Server has been totally redesigned for much faster service, and now provides... |
| | 6/09/2009 8:41 PM (24d 29m ago) |
| Apple updates MacBook Air |
| | Filed under: WWDC, MacBook Air
It's one of the most overlooked product refreshes of the day, but the MacBook Air still deserves some credit. Not only did the Air get a drastic price drop (specifically with the SSD model), but it also gained a few specs. The base MacBook Air now starts at $1499US with a 1.86 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, 120GB SATA drive (runs at 4200 rpm), and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics card. The second model, which adds a 2.13 Ghz Core 2 Duo processor and 128GB SSD drive will only run you $1799US. That's a huge difference considering the last SSD model cost $2499 -- a difference of $700!It is also worth noting that the MBAir now comes with a USB Ethernet Adapter in the box. You can also choose a keyboard format in either: English, Western Spanish, French, or Japanese. If you have been wanting a MacBook Air, but let the price hold you back, then there's no reason for you to complain any longer. You can see all of the specs on the new MacBook Air models by visiting either the product page or the Apple online store.TUAWApple updates MacBook Air originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/09/2009 8:41 PM (24d 30m ago) |
| Microsoft releases Office 2008 12.1.9 to patch Word vulnerability |
| | Filed under: Software, SecurityThere's a new patch in town. Microsoft Office 2008 was updated today to protect against two privately-reported vulnerabilities in the handling of Word files; these security risks could have allowed an attacker to execute arbitrary code on your machine. The update also patches Entourage 2008 to prepare for the Web Services edition of the mail and PIM app.
The 154 MB/268 MB (delta or combo) update is available through Microsoft's AutoUpdate tool or via direct download.TUAWMicrosoft releases Office 2008 12.1.9 to patch Word vulnerability originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/09/2009 8:39 PM (24d 32m ago) |
| QuickTime X leaps forward in Snow Leopard |
| | Filed under: Multimedia, Software, Video, Software Update, Snow LeopardSeems like only yesterday that QuickTime was at version 7. Oh wait, that was yesterday. Among the many announcements surrounding Snow Leopard we saw a little more of QuickTime X, Apple's next-generation version of the venerable media player/technology/doohickey. While the interface has been totally overhauled, the changes are more than skin deep.QuickTime X is a significant update. For consumers, there won't be a Pro version. Any version will allow simple editing, video/audio capture, and allow you to "publish your media to MobileMe or YouTube -- without worrying about codec formats or resolutions." We're not sure if you'll be able to save as a QuickTime movie or source file as before, but the removal of some previous limits will make QuickTime the snappy iMovie substitute it could be. Plus, QuickTime X will allow you to use any web server to stream live video over HTTP. Can't wait to see what people do with that.In addition to the visible changes, QuickTime X looks like a fundamental rewrite of the application and its underpinnings. Support for Core Audio, Core Video and Core Animation could mean some really interesting things for the future of media playback (not that we weren't promised as much a few years ago, of course). All of this comes wrapped up in Snow Leopard, and takes full advantage of the speed-tuning tech therein.Continue reading QuickTime X leaps forward in Snow LeopardTUAWQuickTime X leaps forward in Snow Leopard originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/08/2009 9:09 PM (25d 2m ago) |
| Snow Leopard is out of the bag |
| | Filed under: OS, Software Update, Apple, Snow Leopard
For the ultra low price of $29 (for existing Leopard users), Apple gave a deeper look into the upcoming Snow Leopard release -- slated for some time in September."We've built on the success of Leopard and created an even better experience for our users from installation to shutdown," said Bertrand Serlet, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "Apple engineers have made hundreds of improvements so with Snow Leopard your system is going to feel faster, more responsive and even more reliable than before."Here's the highlights of the Snow Leopard releaseContinue reading Snow Leopard is out of the bagTUAWSnow Leopard is out of the bag originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/08/2009 9:08 PM (25d 2m ago) |
| Re-defining "Pro": The 13" MacBook Pro |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Macbook Pro, MacBookOnce again, Gruber called it (aside, I wish I had his sources); the naming distinctions between the unibody 13" MacBook and the 15" MacBook Pro are now gone: say hello to the 13" MacBook Pro. Complete with a lower price (starts at $1199 and goes to $1499 in stock configurations), and more features (SD card slot, FireWire 800, 7-hour battery), the 13" MacBook Pro will likely continue to be Apple's best selling laptop.This is an interesting reversal of branding. When the unibody MacBooks were released last fall, it appeared nearly identical to its the larger, "Pro" labeled companion. The two big differences (aside from screen size) were the video card configurations (integrated for the MacBook, as opposed to integrated and discrete in the MBP) and the lack of a FireWire on the "amateur." edition. Many of us speculated that the removal of FireWire was done primarily to distinguish between the two lines and try to move consumers up to a pricier model. There was a lively debate in the posts about FireWire's exodus from the unibody MacBook about what constitutes a "pro" machine from something that shares the same design but is smaller in size. Without rehashing the whole debate, it pretty much mirrored those "my dad is richer than your dad" fights that always seemed to break out at high school parties in my district. In my experience, when arguments essentially become "you're only a pro if the label says so," the real-world distinction is gone.Continue reading Re-defining "Pro": The 13" MacBook ProTUAWRe-defining "Pro": The 13" MacBook Pro originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/08/2009 9:07 PM (25d 3m ago) |
| File under "This won't last": new white MacBook benchmarks faster than unibody model |
| | Filed under: MacBook
In a thorough review of the new speed-bumped white MacBook, Macworld notes an intriguing fact: the 2.13GHz model of the $999 entry-level laptop actually outperforms the base unibody model. The magazine's benchmarks show a 4 percent advantage for the new white MacBook over the $1299 2GHz aluminum laptop; the white model even outlasts the next-generation machine on battery life by more than 30 minutes.
Unless you absolutely have to have the new industrial design on your laptop and you're willing to pay an extra $300 for the privilege, it does seem that the new white model is the better buy... for now. A performance gap like this is a strong hint that the unibody models are due for a processor bump sometime soon, if only to restore the proper order of things: faster should equal more expensive. Right?TUAWFile under "This won't last": new white MacBook benchmarks faster than unibody model originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/08/2009 3:33 PM (25d 5h 38m ago) |
| Apple delivers Airport Utility Update |
| | Filed under: Airport, Software UpdateIt has been a busy few days for Apple in the software update domain. iWork '09, iTunes, and Quicktime have all been updated, along with GarageBand.Today, Apple is pushing out an Airport Utility software update. With the usual great and patented Apple detail, the update:"..includes general fixes and compatibility updates for the following applications: AirPort Utility and AirPort Base Station Agent. The update also installs AirPort Disk Utility on Macs running Tiger." There is also an update of the Airport Utility for Windows.The new software is 18.9 MB, and does not require a restart. Hooray.Thanks to Mikey for the tip.TUAWApple delivers Airport Utility Update originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/05/2009 3:51 PM (28d 5h 20m ago) |
| WSJ: Steve Jobs return is on track for end of June |
| | Filed under: Apple Corporate, Cult of Mac, Steve Jobs, Apple, One More ThingIn its sometime role as a broadsheet hybrid of Us magazine and the New England Journal of Medicine, we have an update tonight from The Wall Street Journal on the condition of everyone's favorite iCEO. Steve Jobs, according to the story (subscription required on the web, free to read on your iPhone), is recovered from his health crisis and on track to return by the end of June. While some speculate that he might choose to surprise the audience at WWDC with a One More Thing moment, two sources for the WSJ story say that the plan is to wait a bit longer.Steve's return is likely to be coordinated with a product launch or other public event later in June, say the sources. That event probably won't be the announcement of the next-gen iPhone, which the paper pinpoints for the keynote address on Monday with availability close to the two-year anniversary date for the original iPhone purchasers (pretty sensible; anyone who bought a first-gen for the premium price is a likely candidate to shell out for a replacement). The WSJ cites someone who has seen the new phone in person, reporting a faster processor and the expected video editing capabilities.Equally importantly, the story points out that the long Steveless months with Tim Cook at the helm have shown investors and customers that the Apple train is still on track. AAPL is up 68% since Steve announced his leave of absence in January, vs. a 24% uptick for the NASDAQ index. Granted, Apple stock took a bit of a hit around the announcement of the leave, dipping to a low of 78.20 on 1/20, but it's up at 143.74 as of today's close.[via Macrumors]TUAWWSJ: Steve Jobs return is on track for end of June originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/05/2009 3:48 PM (28d 5h 22m ago) |
| Google Chrome developer preview (unofficially) released |
| | Filed under: Internet Tools, Beta BeatDigg's Kevin Rose, perennial purveyor of information that just "fell off the back of the truck" shared a link early this morning to Google's new, supercharged, Webkit-based browser -- for Mac.
The new browser, Chrome, is clearly marked as a developer preview, and not meant for general browsing. In fact, as a good Mac citizen, it will refuse to set itself as your default browser.
It scores a 100 on the Acid3 test straight out of the box, but doesn't pass: it fails something called the linktest, which involves interacting A tags and IFRAMEs. A little research suggests that it could be a bug with Webkit. If that's true, then it's a bug that Safari 4 beta has fixed.
Chrome appears to have Flash (and other plugin) support disabled as well. JavaScript support, however, is fully functional. While Chrome performed much better than Firefox on this cursory test, it still didn't beat Safari 4 by a long shot. While only a beta, its performance is respectable and sure to improve.
Again, Google Chrome isn't for everyone, but if you're a web developer who needs to keep up with the bleeding edge of browser development, then this preview should be stable and reliable enough for you to test what you need to.
Read through for the full JavaScript test details.
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!Continue reading Google Chrome developer preview (unofficially) releasedTUAWGoogle Chrome developer preview (unofficially) released originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/05/2009 3:48 PM (28d 5h 23m ago) |
| MobileMe control panel for Windows helps with proxy servers |
| | Filed under: Software Update, MobileMeYesterday, Apple released MobileMe Control Panel for Windows 1.4, recommended for users on corporate networks that use proxy servers.
Some users were reporting errors when trying to sync contacts and calendars, or were unable to log into the MobileMe control panel at all. This update sorts that out.
According to Apple technical note on the subject, supported proxy server types include:
Web proxy servers (HTTP)
Secure Web proxy (HTTPS)
SOCKS proxy servers (see note below)
HTTP/HTTPS proxy servers that require authentication
Proxy bypass lists
Proxy auto-configuration (PAC) files
The update is available on the MobileMe website, and is also included with iTunes 8.2 for Windows. TUAWMobileMe control panel for Windows helps with proxy servers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/03/2009 4:20 PM (30d 4h 50m ago) |
| New York's flagship Apple Store doing great business |
| | Filed under: Apple Corporate, Retail, Apple FinancialNew York City's flagship Apple Store, located on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, is doing tremendous business. According to The New York Post, that store raked in $440 million in one year. Of course, the location doesn't hurt. It's right by Central Park and the huge, glass cube is a real tourist draw. The Post also notes that the SoHo store pulled in $100 million, but didn't provide any stats on the West 14th Street store. In the meantime, construction has begun on what's rumored to be a fourth NYC store, expected to open at the corner of 67th and Broadway on Manhattan's Upper West Side later this year. If that store and a rumored Brooklyn store are opened, NYC would boast six stores total (including the Staten Island store).Apple intends to open 25 new stores for fiscal year 2009, half of them outside the United States.[via AppleInsider]TUAWNew York's flagship Apple Store doing great business originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 03 Jun 2009 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/03/2009 4:20 PM (30d 4h 51m ago) |
| Apple stores roll out revised One to One support & training program |
| | Filed under: Retail, AppleIf you have purchased a Mac from Apple's online or retail stores in recent years, then you probably were offered a membership in an exclusive club known as "ProCare." ProCare's most valuable assets were advanced placement in the in-store repair queue and initial setup for new Macs, as well as free hour-long training sessions. The service, which debuted in 2004, was changed in 2007 when "One to One" was introduced, effectively splitting ProCare's training benefits into a separate service.While ProCare is not changing, One to One is being beefed up to offer some new features as well as some new limitations. ProCare's complete Mac setup & data transfer is now included with One to One. Previously, One to One only included a "simple" setup.Other changes for One to One include exclusive workshops only available to One to One members as well as the new "Personal Projects" session for larger blocks of time. Now members can reserve a session for up to a three hour block of time to create, with an Apple trainer's assistance, "anything ... you can dream up." Similar to workshops, Personal Projects are a group activity in that several members will be present; while a workshop includes members working on the same topic, a project session includes members working on individual and unrelated tasks.One to One is also now only available with the purchase of a new Mac at an Apple store; this is in contrast to the previous One to One and current ProCare services which could be purchased at any time. One to One memberships are also now only renewable two times for a maximum membership duration of three years. Existing memberships (beginning prior to June 2, 2009) in One to One will be renewable only one time.You can purchase a new One to One membership along with a new Mac at any Apple Retail store now. According to Apple this service's availability will expand to Apple's online channel in the near future. The question, One to One members, is this: are you... |
| | 6/03/2009 4:19 PM (30d 4h 51m ago) |
| WaPo: DOJ preparing antitrust probe for Apple, among others |
| | Filed under: Apple Corporate, Bad AppleApple, Google, Yahoo! and Genentech are subjects of a fresh antitrust investigation surrounding hiring and recruiting practices among companies in the tech industry, according to Washington Post staff writer Cecilia Kang.
"By agreeing not to hire away top talent, the companies could be stifling competition and trying to maintain their market power unfairly," antitrust experts said in the article. Hiring and recruiting can sometimes be a touchy affair, as Apple found out late last year when trying to hire Mark Papermaster. The investigation may suggest some kind of written agreement among large tech firms to not hire away each other's top talent.
According to the New York Times, Justice has only requested documents for the ongoing investigation. Neither the Justice Department nor any of the companies mentioned in the story had any comment.
This comes in addition to another Justice investigation into ties between the boards of directors of Apple and Google, and whether or not having Google CEO Eric Schmidt on both (and Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson on all three) constitutes antitrust violations. Some consider Apple and Google to be competitors in certain areas such as phone handsets.
The Obama administration is stepping up efforts to investigate anti-competitive activity among high-tech companies, and is already investigating Google's deal with book authors to republish their work via Google Books.
[Via AppleInsider]TUAWWaPo: DOJ preparing antitrust probe for Apple, among others originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/03/2009 4:19 PM (30d 4h 52m ago) |
| iTunes 8.2 in Software Update, supports iPhone 3.0; QuickTime & GarageBand also patched |
| | Filed under: iTunes, Software Update, iPhone, iPod touchiTunes 8.2 just became available in Software Update. According to the update notes, "iTunes 8.2 now supports iPhone or iPod touch with the iPhone 3.0 Software Update. iTunes 8.2 also includes many accessibility improvements and bug fixes." The update weighs in at 79.3 MB.
QuickTime 7.6.2 and GarageBand Update 5.0.2 also became available at the same time. In keeping with Apple's policy of full disclosure, there's not much information for users about what's in either of the updates, although subscribers to Apple's security notification list got an email with a list of 10 fixed vulnerabilities in the QT update (soon to be posted at Apple's security site and reproduced in the second half of this post). The GarageBand update "addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and fixes a number of other minor issues [including] Improved purchasing experience for Artist Lessons in the GarageBand Lesson Store [&] Accessing installed Jam Packs in the loop browser." The update is required if you are purchasing lessons from the Lesson Store.The iTunes update is one more clear sign that iPhone 3.0 is just around the corner. Be sure to stay tuned to our coverage of the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference next week for all your iPhone news!Continue reading iTunes 8.2 in Software Update, supports iPhone 3.0; QuickTime & GarageBand also patchedTUAWiTunes 8.2 in Software Update, supports iPhone 3.0; QuickTime & GarageBand also patched originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/02/2009 5:04 PM (31d 4h 7m ago) |
| Apple Releases iTunes 8.2 and QuickTime 7.6.2 |
| |
Apple today released iTunes 8.2 via Software Update. The update adds support for iPhone OS 3.0, which is expected to be featured at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference next week and be released in the near future.iTunes 8.2 now ...
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| | 6/01/2009 8:44 PM (32d 27m ago) |
| Spot the SPOD: Mac OS X rainbow cursor shows up in Pixar's "Up" |
| | Filed under: Humor, OS, Odds and endsBeing the Disney-Pixar fanatics that we are, my wife and I went to see Up Saturday night (in Disney Digital 3D, of course) at our local theater. Remembering the appearance of the Mac startup sound as Wall-E's waking noise in last year's Pixar epic, and the brief shot of an Apple-themed racer in Cars, I decided to look for Apple-themed Easter eggs in the movie. By the time we were at the end of the film, I was beginning to think that there weren't going to be any love letters to Apple in Up. The credits, featuring Russell's Wilderness Explorer merit badges floating by on a typed page, began to look somewhat promising. Sure enough, I spied a stylized and stationary "Spinning Pizza of Death," the dreaded Mac OS X wait cursor, on a merit badge just about at the end of the credits.
For those of you who are either Windows users or have been lucky enough to have never seen this infamous Mac icon (seen 3 times lifesize above), it's the Mac OS X equivalent of the hourglass in Windows. The SPOD (officially known as the Spinning Wait Cursor, A.K.A. the Beach Ball of Death or the Marble of Doom) appears when an application is not responding to events.
digg_url = 'http://www.tuaw.com/2009/05/31/spot-the-spod-in-up/';
If you go to see the movie (which you should; it's funny, action-filled, and great for absolutely any audience) be patient and sit through the credits. You'll be rewarded by the sight of a SPOD on the big screen (it's after the two nuclear merit badges). If you're an Up-aholic, you can also check out the Mac game or the $4.99US iPhone game (link opens iTunes).Update: Slashfilm has a photo of the SPOD (BBOD, MOD, take your pick...) merit badge in a detailed post about all of the Easter Eggs in Up.TUAWSpot the SPOD: Mac OS X rainbow cursor shows up in Pixar's "Up" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 31 May 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink ... |
| | 6/01/2009 4:33 PM (32d 4h 38m ago) |
| Some Macbook Pros are updated along with iWork '09 |
| | Filed under: Software Update, Macbook ProApple pushed out a couple of software updates late this afternoon. One is for regulating the fan speed under heavy loads on older MacBook Pro laptops.The other is a more general 42.7 MB update for iWork '09. This is the second software revision for the word processing, spreadsheet and presentation package. The update says it improves reliability when saving some iWork documents. It also fixes some issues when Keynote sessions are played back multiple times.Update: Users of Apple's pro video editing, photo and audio apps will also see the ProKit Update v4.5, which "improves reliability for Apple's professional applications and is recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Express, Aperture, Logic Studio and Logic Express."Your software update option under the Apple menu should get you one or all updates. The MacBook Pro update is a firmware update, and it will start up automatically after a download. If you don't see this update, your laptop doesn't require it.Here are the included update instructions:To update the SMC firmware on your MacBook Pro:Your computer's power cord must be connected and plugged into a working power source.1. Quit all other open applications.2. Click Restart in the MacBook Pro SMC Firmware Update window and wait for your computer to restart.The SMC firmware update starts automatically. A status bar indicates the progress of the update. During the update your computer fans will run at full speed, but will return to normal once the update completes.Important: Do not interrupt the update.Your computer restarts automatically when the update is completed and opens the MacBook Pro SMC Firmware Update.3. Click OK. The SMC firmware is now up-to-date.If these instructions appear on your screen again, the SMC firmware update was not successful. Repeat steps 2 and 3.Thanks to Matt for the MacBook Pro tip!TUAWSome Macbook Pros are updated along with iWork '09 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple... |
| | 5/29/2009 7:52 PM (35d 1h 18m ago) |
| Businessweek puts Apple at top of Most Innovative list |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Corporate, Hardware, Odds and endsBusinessweek has posted a list of what they call the top 50 most innovative companies in 2009, and guess who is sitting right at the top of the list. Sure enough, it's our favorite computer maker -- according to the survey, taken by "senior executives around the world," Apple is number one, and the reason listed by 47% of respondents is the products. Not that surprising, no? From the iPhone to the unibody MacBooks right up to the new Shuffles, Apple's products ooze new concepts and features and ideas.
Then again, Microsoft comes in at number four, and Wal-Mart is not far behind at number 10, and I don't know too many non-executives who would call those companies out for being "innovative," necessarily. But then again, both of them are being recognized for their "process," not their actual products. In terms of product, Apple is followed by Nintendo (no arguments there), Blackberry's RIM, and then Nokia.
So maybe Businessweek is just asking the wrong people. At any rate, congrats to Apple for topping the list (for the second year in a row), and we can't wait to see what's new in the next year.TUAWBusinessweek puts Apple at top of Most Innovative list originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 28 May 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/28/2009 4:13 PM (36d 4h 58m ago) |
| Apple quietly updates $999 MacBook, again -- goes back to school with free iPod touch |
| |
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Apple_Quietly_Updates_999_Macbook_Again'; Shh, don't tell the press but Apple just bumped the specs on its entry-level white MacBook again. The bump measures in at just 0.13GHz on the processor, 133MHz more oomph from the DDR2 SDRAM, and an extra 40GB of disk space. Still more is more better especially when it's free $999. Apple also took the wraps off its back-to-school deal which nabs a decent discount on Macs (up to $200 off MacBook Pro) and tosses in a 8GB iPod touch (after $229 on-line rebate) to sweeten the deal.[Thanks, Jasper K. and Daniel]Read -- MacBook whiteRead -- back to schoolFiled under: Gaming, Laptops, Portable Audio, Portable VideoApple quietly updates $999 MacBook, again -- goes back to school with free iPod touch originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 May 2009 06:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/27/2009 4:45 PM (37d 4h 25m ago) |
| Apple building server farm, secret lair in North Carolina |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Odds and ends, Xserve, AppleAs Mike mentioned in the news roundup yesterday, word is going around that the corporate overlords at Apple are planning to build a massive server farm in the state of North Carolina within the next decade or so. How do we know? Because the company is working on getting a few nice tax breaks to go along with the deal, eventually worth about $46 million if Apple fulfills their end of the agreement. Their end of the agreement being a huge investment of a whopping $1 billion (that's over 333,000 Xserves, if that is indeed what they're installing -- and we bet not) into an economy that could probably use it. What exactly will go in there? We aren't sure -- lawmakers say the investment is worth it, and obviously Apple isn't showing their cards.
[Note: the $1B investment figure is not an upfront number, but rather a total investment over the first 9 years of operation. -Ed.]
But the facility, once up and running, will start by employing at least 100 people, so that's a nice start. Google has apparently gone through the same deal with North Carolina recently, though their deal was a little smaller: $600 million investment for a server farm that opened last year.
More backend for Mobile Me? More power for the App Store or a project like it? A giant building full of Cubes running 24 hours a day? Or something we haven't even dreamt of yet?TUAWApple building server farm, secret lair in North Carolina originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 25 May 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/27/2009 3:35 PM (37d 5h 35m ago) |
| White MacBook specs quietly bumped |
| | Filed under: Hardware, MacBookApple released a stealth upgrade of the entry-level MacBook this morning. The white MacBook, still priced at $999USD, now has a 160GB hard drive, a 2.13GHz processor and a slight increase in RAM speed -- 2GB of 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM.
The previous version, released back in January, had a 2.0GHz processor with a 120GB hard drive and 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM. Other features on the revised MacBook remain the same, including the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics card that we wrote about a few months ago.
Thanks to all those who tipped us about this!TUAWWhite MacBook specs quietly bumped originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 27 May 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/27/2009 3:32 PM (37d 5h 38m ago) |
| Apple's back to school promo about the same as last year's |
| | Filed under: Education, DealsApple announced the details of its back to school promotion today, and it looks almost the same as its deal last year: A free iPod touch with the purchase of a qualifying Mac.
Every Mac except the Mac mini qualifies for the deal. Parents now can qualify for the promotion when buying for their children, as well.
Education pricing can save you up to $200, depending on the model you choose, which you can use to fill that iPod with tunes or put toward AppleCare. According to MacNN, qualified students can opt for other iPods as well with varying rebate amounts for each.
Apple is also running a similar promotion in Canada, and will probably offer the program in other countries later in the year, according to MacRumors' Eric Slivka.
Last year's promotion was the "largest ever," and expectations were high for this year, too. One rumor claimed Apple would offer free iPhones with a qualifying Mac purchase. Yet again, the Internet made promises that Apple couldn't keep.
This also starts the rumor mill going about what Apple is trying to clear out of inventory before the end of the fiscal year. New products are always just over the horizon: What's coming next?
The promotion ends September 8.
Thanks, Nicholas!TUAWApple's back to school promo about the same as last year's originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 27 May 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/27/2009 3:31 PM (37d 5h 39m ago) |
| Wintek pegged as panel supplier for rumored Apple tablet |
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We've always heard that most things come in packs of three, so just as soon as some other dodgy source affirms that Hulk Hogan will actually be replacing Steve Jobs in August, we'll be set. Shortly after seeing a 32GB iPhone placeholder over at T-Mobile Austria, we're now staring at a comically brief report from Digitimes that pegs Wintek as the "panel module supplier for Apple's upcoming e-book form factor netbook product." If you'll recall, Wintek was already independently confirmed as said panel supplier for said product back in March, but obviously Apple has remained tight-lipped on the whole netbook / tablet / e-reader thing. That said, we do find it interesting that this report clarifies that whatever's purportedly cooking in some dark, highly guarded lab in Cupertino looks more like a tablet with a netbook-sized display rather than a conventional netbook. Whatever the case, we wouldn't expect it at WWDC, but any Tuesday morning after that is fair game.Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCsWintek pegged as panel supplier for rumored Apple tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 May 2009 06:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/22/2009 5:07 PM (42d 4h 4m ago) |
| Munster: Apple suppliers negotiating parts deals for sub-$700 tablet |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, RumorsIn a research note to clients, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster suggested that Apple is developing a 7-to-10-inch tablet priced at $500 to $700, perhaps ready for the public in 2010.
According to AppleInsider, Munster's contacts in the supply chain haven't seen a prototype of the device, but are in discussions with Apple to supply components for something at that size and price point.
Munster believes that Apple could adjust the iPhone SDK to allow for multiple display resolutions. Apps like Safari and Mail, he says, would benefit from the additional screen real estate. He also mentions that with the larger screen, more than one traditional iPhone app could be run at once.
As for timing, Munster suggests that the device could be ready next year, and possibly be subsidized by a wireless carrier.
As with most analysis of this kind, this is two parts hearsay, one part "interpretation of conference call statements," and seven parts wishful thinking. In providing technical details about a product that may not exist, Munster is writing checks that Apple might not be able to cash.
Is this something you'd buy? Is it even going to happen? Sound off in comments.TUAWMunster: Apple suppliers negotiating parts deals for sub-$700 tablet originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 21 May 2009 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/21/2009 10:32 PM (42d 22h 39m ago) |
| OS X 10.5.7: The hidden fixes |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, OS, Software Update, Bad Apple, LeopardI really didn't have any complaints about the latest Mac OS update. It went smoothly on 3 Macs, and I didn't hear any complaints from friends or associates. While many people moan about things that didn't get fixed, I'm somewhat concerned about the things that the 10.5.7 update DID fix that I didn't know about.A bit of background: For about a year I've had a Logitech Webcam. It was designed for the Mac, and was meant to replace the iSight firewire webcam that Apple unceremoniously discontinued. The Logitech unit, a Quickcam Vision Pro for Mac, has a wonderful crisp image and a nice wide angle view. It is plug and play. That's the problem. As some other users have seen, its internal aperture adjustment sometimes goes haywire, and you have to unplug it, and re-plug it in again to get a picture that is not really, really dark. It's kind of plug and play, then unplug or don't play. Then plug it in again.Continue reading OS X 10.5.7: The hidden fixesTUAWOS X 10.5.7: The hidden fixes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 19 May 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/21/2009 4:30 PM (43d 4h 40m ago) |
| Mac OS X Java security hole exposed |
| | Filed under: Bad Apple, SecurityYou know, it's fine to make the argument that "Macs are safer than Windows-based PCs," because in real-world usage, this is generally true. Nothing does more to undermine that argument, however, like a five-month old unpatched Java vulnerability.
As Landon Fuller has pointed out, a potentially nasty Java exploit remains unpatched in Mac OS X, including last week's OS X 10.5.7 update. Essentially, this exploit can allow malicious code to run outside of the confines of Java, and run arbitrary commands with whatever user permissions the logged in user has. So just by visiting a website, you could be allowing malicious software access to running commands on your system. Not cool. Not cool at all.
Although the exploit was initially discovered and filed back in August of 2008, Sun issued its own fix addressing the exploit back in December.
So, five months, two point OS updates, one Java update in February and stil, Apple hasn't patched the exploit on their end.
Can I just say, "WTF?" I mean, seriously, get on the ball Apple. You only have $20 billion in cash, maybe investing in a bunch of full-time security patchers for your operating system would be a worthwhile investment!
Julien Tinnes has some excellent commentary on the exploit here. As Landon says on his blog, all users are advised to disable Java applets in their browsers and disable "open safe files after downloading" in Safari. You should also consider using a SSB (site-specific browser) for any Java-crucial web work (see below).
Of course, being forced to disable Java applets just so one can ensure safety kind of puts Mac users who, I don't know, use a web-based SSL VPN client to connect to work systems or e-mail in a bind.
And, let the flogging from the Apple-haters commence.TUAWMac OS X Java security hole exposed originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 May 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | ... |
| | 5/21/2009 4:26 PM (43d 4h 44m ago) |
| Unibody MacBook Pro catch a fire, owner want no more trouble |
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As if you needed further proof that Apple is the favorite company of firebugs everywhere, unibody MacBook Pro owner Ken Brinkman has snapped some pics of his spontaneously combusting MagSafe cable. Apparently, he was fast asleep at 1:30 AM this morning when the smell of burning plastic caught his attention. Luckily, the young man is safe as of this post -- but the condition of his data has yet to be determined. Once again, we implore you: does your MagSafe cable look like this? If so, get it replaced. And while you're at it, you may want to make sure you don't have any first gen iPod nanos laying around. We hear those things can be dangerous! Trust us, you'll be far better off listening to Natty Dread on your Zune. One more pic after the break.
Continue reading Unibody MacBook Pro catch a fire, owner want no more troubleFiled under: LaptopsUnibody MacBook Pro catch a fire, owner want no more trouble originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 11:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/21/2009 4:15 PM (43d 4h 56m ago) |
| Alleged Snow Leopard screenshots and video |
| | Filed under: OS, Rumors, Snow Leopard Mac Magazine has posted (English translation) what they're claiming to be several screenshots and videos of Snow Leopard, the forthcoming major update to OS X. Some of the goodies on display include a slider that allows you to adjust the size of icons in a Finder window (much like iPhoto does), new Stacks behavior and a peek at Quicktime X, which has a black border in this build.In the video above, we see some cool smart quotes, smart dashes, smart dates (add to iCal; view date in iCal) and auto-correction of spelling errors.We first saw screenshots last year, and Apple issued a code freeze on the APIs last week. I, for one, am looking forward to this tidied up version of Leopard.For more, check out this video.TUAWAlleged Snow Leopard screenshots and video originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 18 May 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/19/2009 4:55 PM (45d 4h 16m ago) |
| We get it, Windows means cheap hardware |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Corporate, AppleMicrosoft's latest advertising campaign, while more stimulating than the Seinfeld/Gates spots, has one goal and one goal only: sell PCs. Microsoft's endgame, it seems, is to persuade people into purchasing Windows-running PCs by leveraging the fact that Macs are more expensive than PCs. I'm not going to get into this argument because a) it's been done before, and b) the answer always comes out with just a little bias. In my opinion, the hardware comes out costing the same (with negligible differences) no matter how you run the numbers. What I would rather discuss is how Microsoft is making its attack and what it is actually doing to help Apple.Let's first focus on what Microsoft is not doing. Microsoft, as you will notice if you have watched any of the commercials, is not talking about Windows, at all. This is interesting given the fact that Microsoft is a software company first and foremost. It is also interesting when taking into consideration that Apple's wildly popular "I'm a Mac" campaign knocked Windows' flaws and shortcomings without holding anything back. Windows Vista is capable of some pretty impressive stuff and Microsoft is not touting any of it.Windows and OS X are very similar in terms of what they allow users to accomplish and yet, in many ways, they are very different in how they allow users to accomplish varying tasks. I'm not saying that one OS is necessarily "better" than the other (at least not now, I'll say that later). The two camps are different, though, and it is surprising to see Microsoft not point out the areas in which Windows is (or is perceived to be) better than OS X.However, what Microsoft is throwing some pretty hard punches by pointing out one glaring fact: Macs are not inexpensive. This is not to say that Macs are too expensive; I'm not going to get into this argument. What I will say, however, is that the numbers are close. Maybe not exact, but close enough. Given that Macs are... |
| | 5/18/2009 4:56 PM (46d 4h 14m ago) |
| Mac OS X Pro Tip: Really Empty the Trash |
| | You may already know that in addition to dragging unwanted items to the Trash, you actually have to select Empty Trash from the Finder menu in order to delete those items from your Mac. But do you know why Mac OS X Leopard offers another option, Secure Empty Trash, in the Finder menu? Read the latest tip to find out.
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| | 5/15/2009 5:01 PM (49d 4h 9m ago) |
| Early Builds of Chromium Browser for the Mac Available |
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The Chromium web browser project which serves as the basis for Google's Chrome has started releasing early builds of the Mac version. While not complete, the builds work well enough to get an impression of the browser. CNet took a quick look at a b...
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| | 5/14/2009 4:13 PM (50d 4h 58m ago) |
| MacBook Pro journeys to the top of the world |
| | As Gerry Moffatt and his high-climbing team prepare the ascent to the summit of Mount Everest, Final Cut Pro and MacBook Pro allow them to create and post video dispatches on the team’s First Ascent website. The “trusty MacBook Pro” has “been functioning superbly all the way up — we’re at about 21,000 feet.” And when they’re not enjoying the view, the team get a lift from their iPod “entertainment kits.”
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| | 5/13/2009 3:23 PM (51d 5h 48m ago) |
| Video: Apple responds to Microsoft's Laptop Hunters... with a Megan |
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digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Apple_responds_to_Microsoft_s_Laptop_Hunters_with_a_Megan'; According to Apple, there aren't any PCs with fast processors and big screens that work without viruses, crashes or headaches. But folks, this isn't reality, this is advertising. In fact, this is Apple's first jab since Microsoft took off the gloves with its Laptop Hunters series of pokes against Apple. So grab a Coke (or Pepsi) and check the ad after the break.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Continue reading Video: Apple responds to Microsoft's Laptop Hunters... with a MeganFiled under: Desktops, Misc. Gadgets, LaptopsVideo: Apple responds to Microsoft's Laptop Hunters... with a Megan originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 May 2009 00:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/13/2009 3:21 PM (51d 5h 50m ago) |
| Apple confirms WWDC keynote time, Phil Schiller leading the way |
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digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Steve_Jobs_will_NOT_keynote_WWDC'; The anticipation is palpable, sure, but those hoping for a Steve Jobs comeback at this year's WWDC should be prepared for disappointment. Apple just affirmed that this year's Worldwide Developers Conference will indeed kick off on Monday, June 8th, and the keynote address will be given at 10:00AM PT (so 1:00PM here on the right coast, and 7:00AM on the gorgeous isle of Maui). The big news, however, isn't that we'll be there live for every last word ('cause you already knew that, yes?) -- it's that Philip Schiller and company, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will be manning the address, offering devs an "in-depth" look at iPhone OS 3.0 and OS X Snow Leopard. In fact, attendees can expect a "final Developer Preview release" of the forthcoming OS, but you'll have to wait a few weeks yet to get details beyond that.Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, LaptopsApple confirms WWDC keynote time, Phil Schiller leading the way originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 May 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/13/2009 3:18 PM (51d 5h 53m ago) |
| Security Update 2009-002 available for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger |
| | Filed under: OS, Software UpdateThe updates keep coming from Apple today. Security Update 2009-002 for Tiger is now available, both Intel and PPC. According to Apple, this update "...is recommended for all users and improves the security of Mac OS X. Previous security updates have been incorporated into this security update." It's nice to know what's being installed on your Mac, isn't it?The Intel download is 165MB while the PPC version is just 75MB. As usual, if you notice anything especially good or bad after installing this update, please let us know.TUAWSecurity Update 2009-002 available for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 12 May 2009 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/13/2009 3:27 AM (51d 17h 43m ago) |
| New Safari beta update |
| | Filed under: Software Update, Leopard, Beta BeatGee, quite a day for Apple software updates. Apple has put out an update to Safari beta 4, and the Leopard version requires OS X 10.5.7 which was just released today. There is also a version for Tiger that requires OS X 10.4.11 and security update 2009-002.Here is a download link. As is often the case with Apple, no details on what this brings. I installed and used it for awhile and nothing new jumped out at me. The installer also comes with an uninstaller in case things get ugly. Let us know what you see, or don't see.Thanks to Barry for spotting this update.TUAWNew Safari beta update originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 12 May 2009 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/13/2009 1:39 AM (51d 19h 31m ago) |
| Mac OS 10.5.7 update now available |
| | Filed under: OS, AppleApple just dropped 10.5.7 on us (a little late by some guesses), via Software Update (you can get to it under the Apple menu). Here's the blurb:The 10.5.7 Update is recommended for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac. For detailed information about security updates, please visit this website.I notice a lot of sync-related "reliability" fixes here, some nice additions to the parental controls, a Gmail login fix, and widget updates (yeah, some people use those). Full details here. Enjoy!TUAWMac OS 10.5.7 update now available originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 12 May 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/13/2009 1:39 AM (51d 19h 32m ago) |
| Code freeze on Snow Leopard APIs issued |
| | Filed under: OS, Rumors, Snow LeopardWe're getting close to Mac OS 10.6 release time, I can feel it. MacNN is reporting that Apple has issued a code freeze on Snow Leopard APIs. What that means is developers who are using the current build, number 10A354, are able to write code assuming all major components of the OS are in place. Minor changes in this build include Chinese handwriting recognition for multi-touch trackpads.For now, your guess is as good as ours as to when Snow Leopard will be released. In the meantime, you can browse Apple's Snow Leopard web pages (which went up in June of '08 believe it or not) or catch up on other rumors.TUAWCode freeze on Snow Leopard APIs issued originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 12 May 2009 00:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/12/2009 4:36 PM (52d 4h 34m ago) |
| Carry your Wi-Fi with the Verizon Mifi |
| | The Mifi takes your Wi-Fo on the go(Credit: Verizon Wireless)
Verizon Wireless on Wednesday announced a new portable hot spot device that creates a Wi-Fi connection for wireless devices. The MiFi (get it...MiFi?) will deliver the carrier's 3G wireless network to up to five gadgets including laptops, ... |
| | 5/07/2009 4:08 PM (57d 5h 3m ago) |
| Lawsuit claims MagSafe power cord not so safe |
| | Filed under: Accessories, Macbook Pro, MacBook, MacBook AirIt was just a few days ago we were talking about hacked MagSafe connectors, and now a lawsuit seeking class action status claims the innovative connectors are a fire hazard and a risk to life, limb, and property.As an example, here's a link to some Flickr images of what is claimed is a melted MagSafe connector. The complaint, filed last week in San Jose, California says that eventually the cord will fray from heat or wear, with a resulting danger of fire and injury. The suit, filed by plaintiffs Tim Broad, Naotaka Kitagawa and Jesse Reisman says Apple is aware of the problem and has done nothing about it. The suit also claims when people demonstrate the problem to Apple, the company suggests they buy another $80.00US cable. Actually, we reported in August that Apple was replacing damaged or worn cables if they were not subject to abuse.Apple has not commented on the lawsuit. It will be interesting to watch this one wind through the courts.The power connector was introduced at Macworld in January, 2006. It has not always received positive reviews, even at the Apple Store.TUAWLawsuit claims MagSafe power cord not so safe originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 06 May 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/06/2009 9:36 PM (57d 23h 35m ago) |
| OS X 10.5.7 Due for Release on Friday? |
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Mac|Life claims that OS X 10.5.7, the next update to Leopard, will be released on Friday.If you've been champing at the bit for the magic of 10.5.7, according to a super-secret Apple source, your champing can cease on Friday. The new...
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| | 5/06/2009 4:01 PM (58d 5h 9m ago) |
| Consumer Reports still hearts Macs |
| | Filed under: Hardware, Portables, Surveys and Polls, Macbook Pro, MacBook, MacBook AirConsumer Reports continues to shower praise on all things Apple it seems. In a report in the June issue, the Magazine says Apple won the top three places in the 13 inch laptop derby. The unibody MacBook was in first place, followed by the MacBook Air, with the white plastic MacBook in a solid third place.CR also named the 15-inch MacBook Pro as top laptop in the 14- to 16-inch group, and the 17-inch MacBook Pro walked off with the honors in the 17- to 18-inch category. The HP Pavilion publicized in the first Laptop Hunters ad from Microsoft came in 4th in the category behind Dell and Lenovo laptops. The Sony VAIO FW370 that was the star of the 3rd Microsoft ad came in 5th in the 14- to 16-inch category.Apple also took the honors for best in tech support.This won't bring smiles to the folks in Redmond, who are going all out to convince people that Apple computers are not a good value. It should be noted that none of the Apple laptops were rated a best buy, but they all scored the highest in each category and were recommended by the magazine. Of course Apple has repeatedly said they are not trying to win on price, but on quality, and Consumer Reports seems to accept that as the case.I generally don't put a lot of stock in CR for some of its testing, but these high ratings for Apple laptops are just one of a continuing chorus of approval from the press and generally happy Mac owners.TUAWConsumer Reports still hearts Macs originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 05 May 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/06/2009 3:54 PM (58d 5h 17m ago) |
| Newton among "Biggest Cults in Tech" |
| | Filed under: Hardware, Portables, Apple HistoryI'm proud to count myself among InfoWorld's Tech cult No. 7: The Tao of Newton. I'll confess that my 2100 has seen less action since I bought my iPhone, but it'll never be relegated to my basement wasteland where various Palms, Visors and even a 3Com Audrey dream of more useful days.Newton ownership is definitely not for everyone. it's big and takes some doing to get it to cooperate with contemporary hardware and software. But for the faithful it's a terrific piece of hardware. For more Newton information, check out The NewtonTalk mailing list. People either have the love or they don't. You can have mine when you pull it from my cold, dead hands.TUAWNewton among "Biggest Cults in Tech" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 06 May 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/06/2009 3:52 PM (58d 5h 19m ago) |
| External battery packs for Mac laptops |
| | Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, Peripherals, Portables, Macbook Pro, MacBook, MacBook AirIn what looks like a first for the Mac laptop line, support of MacBook and MacBook Pro owners everywhere, a 3rd party is offering external battery packs for MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook air models.The batteries, from Sanho in California, are available in 4 different capacities, 60Wh, 100Wh, 150Wh and 222Wh, giving a computer like the MacBook up to 32 hours of battery life. The company is also offering a car charger. These items are all available for pre-order and will ship later this month. Prices are $149.95US (car charger), $199.95 (60-watt-hour battery), $299.95 (100Wh), $399.95 (150Wh) and $499.95 (222Wh). The batteries also come with a USB power port so you can charge an iPhone at the same time or separately. The first thing I thought of when I saw this announcement was how the company was able to offer a charger with a MagSafe adapter, because that design is protected by Apple patents. I checked with the company president, Daniel Chin, and he told me: "What we did is obtain the MagSafe connector and cable from the original MacBook AC adapter, remove the adapter and splice in our own charger plug, which interfaces with our battery and car charger products. Since we are using the original Apple MagSafe plug and did not modify the actual plug (which the patent in question covers) in any way, we are still respecting Apple's IP and in no way infringing upon their patent."That might or might not satisfy Apple, but it did allow the company to offer these chargers which are likely to be highly desired by some customers. At the very least, I'm surprised Apple has not offered a car charger for laptops. I can think of many times such an adapter would have been handy.Update: Several commenters have pointed out the QuickerTek and MikeGyver power solutions for the MBP line, which predate the Sanho offering and use the same approach of sacrificing a MagSafe adapter to provide the... |
| | 5/05/2009 3:46 PM (59d 5h 25m ago) |
| WWDC 09 is a sellout -- time to call your ticket scalper |
| | Filed under: WWDC, Apple, DeveloperLast year, the limited number of registrations to the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) sold out on May 14th. This year, the seats at Moscone Center didn't even last until May. A tweet from @polarbearfarm alerted TUAW to the sad/happy news that WWDC sold out today. It's sad news, because there are a lot of procrastinating developers who didn't even have a chance to register. But it's also happy news, because this once again shows the vibrant and active life in the Apple development community. As with last year's non-attendees, you'll be able to purchase session videos shortly after the conclusion of WWDC on June 12th, 2009. Next year, when you see our post saying that WWDC 2010 has opened for registration, get out there and get registered ASAP!TUAWWWDC 09 is a sellout -- time to call your ticket scalper originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/01/2009 4:27 PM (63d 4h 44m ago) |
| OS X 10.5.7 Build 9J58 Seeded to Developers |
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Earlier this week, Apple seeded a new version of OS X 10.5.7, termed Build 9J58, to developers. World of Apple publishes the seed notes, which list only a pair of changes related to compatibility fixes between the CFNetwork framework and VPN, iChat,...
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| | 5/01/2009 4:22 PM (63d 4h 49m ago) |
| Reasons Behind Apple's Strategic Shift Into Chip Design |
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The Wall Street Journal explores the reasons why Apple has been moving towards designing their own chips rather than using off-the-shelf components. This strategic shift was first revealed when Apple acquired chip-designing company P.A. Semi last ...
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| | 4/30/2009 3:58 PM (64d 5h 13m ago) |
| Mac shipments lowest they've been in 1.5 years |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Desktops, Hardware, Apple Financial, AppleApple reported amazing earnings in its conference call last week, but SwitchtoaMac.com says not so fast -- while it's true that there was a lot of sun shining in Apple's report, there is one small shadow that they obviously didn't mention: their shipments of new Macs have started to drop off for the first time in 5.5 years. And they're the lowest they've been in a year and a half.A problem? Not a terrible one, but as you can see from the chart over there, there is a definite downturn in new Mac shipments. That might actually be good news for Apple, though -- with the economy doing a nice downturn lately, less inventory might shore up sales a bit, and keep their budgets in line with estimations. Of course it would also mean fewer Mac sales (and despite the recent popularity of the iPhone and the iPod, Macs still make up the majority of Apple's revenue), but if customers aren't there, that's better than having warehouses full of computers paid for but not actually sold.It's definitely not a sign that the company is going down in flames (in fact, all evidence says exactly the opposite), but it may be a sign that Apple's amazing growth is slowing down a bit.Thanks, Larry T!TUAWMac shipments lowest they've been in 1.5 years originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/28/2009 6:10 PM (66d 3h ago) |
| Steve Jobs' Thoughts on Accepting Apple's CEO Position and More |
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Last week, Forbes published the full text of Steve Jobs' deposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission. While a number of stories have been circulating around the internet about Jobs' take on the stock options scandal, perhaps most interestin...
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| | 4/27/2009 4:30 PM (67d 4h 40m ago) |
| Snow Leopard 'Screen Recording' Feature Allows Desktop Video Recording |
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AppleInsider reports on one new feature that has been found in the latest Snow Leopard developer seeds: screen recording. Similar in many ways to a feature long offered by Ambrosia Software through its Snapz Pro X utility, the option...
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| | 4/27/2009 4:30 PM (67d 4h 41m ago) |
| Snow Leopard QuickTime X Player to Offer Integrated Video Sharing Features? |
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AppleInsider reports that QuickTime X Player, slated for release as part of OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard later this year, will feature integrated uploading of supported video files to YouTube and MobileMe.In particular, the application wil...
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| | 4/27/2009 4:29 PM (67d 4h 41m ago) |
| OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Build 10A335 Seeded to Developers |
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AppleInsider reports that Apple has seeded a new version of OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard to developers. The documentation for the new version, termed Build 10A335, reportedly does not carry notice of any significant changes since the last developer seed (...
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| | 4/26/2009 4:43 PM (68d 4h 27m ago) |
| New Snow Leopard beta build includes screen recording capabilities, a certain je ne sais quoi |
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If you're keeping track of Snow Leopard's progress, you'll be pleased to know that a new build (10A335) has been released into the hands of devs (and consequently, the world). Most interestingly, however, is that it seem this new iteration has a handy screen grab feature that hasn't made an appearance until now -- namely, the native ability (under QuickTime) to "record" your on-screen activities. There are other third-party apps that handle this duty, like the classily-named Snapz Pro X, but the inclusion in this latest beta will almost certainly mainstream the function. It should come in handy if you're constantly trying to tell you parents how to change their network settings, or if you're thinking about producing your own version of You Suck at Photoshop.
[Via Mac Rumors]Filed under: Desktops, LaptopsNew Snow Leopard beta build includes screen recording capabilities, a certain je ne sais quoi originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/26/2009 4:26 PM (68d 4h 45m ago) |
| Apple Q2'09 results round-up |
| | Filed under: Apple Corporate, Apple FinancialToday was a landmark day for the good ol' boys (and girls) at 1 Infinite Loop as they again posted record-breaking quarterly results. Profit was a svelte $1.21 billion for a grand total of $8.16 billion in revenue; or, as the guys in Wallstreet see it: $1.33 per diluted share. All of this is apparently good news as after-hours trading has shares of AAPL up about 4 points from the days close of $121.51. If you haven't already, you can check out some of our highlights of what drove those numbers as well as the full press release from Apple here. Also, MacJournals did a fantastic job covering the call via their Twitter feed, which can be found here.One continuing theme through the course of the call was the economy's overall effect on Apple's numbers. One noticeable effect was that professional and education sales were down during the March quarter. Even with the release of an entirely refreshed line of Mac desktops, the quarter saw an overall decrease in Mac marketshare. It wasn't all bad for Apple, however, as iPod sales (particularly the iPod Touch) were up enough to seemingly offset the bulk of the lagging Mac sales.While the results themselves are always nice to hear, the most interesting section of the quarterly call is the question and answer section that follows. The answers, while somewhat scripted, give the listeners a chance to hear Apple execs think and speak on their feet regarding Apple's results and plans for the future. One of the more notable topics during this discussion was Apple's opinion on the netbook market. Tim Cook took the question and in an answer that was truly Apple said, that netbooks are "junky ... not a consumer experience that we would put the Mac brand on," while quickly following-up with a good, old-fashioned "If we can find a way to deliver an innovative product ... then we'll do that." If you remember the days before the video iPod, then this conversation should be very familiar to you. For... |
| | 4/26/2009 4:23 PM (68d 4h 48m ago) |
| Full text from "Legal Copy" ad isn't quite PC-specific |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, OS, Retail, Odds and ends, AppleYou've probably seen all of the new Get a Mac ads we posted about on Sunday, and if you haven't yet, go ahead and watch them now. We'll wait. Just let us know when you're back, we'll be playing a little Zen Bound. Done? If you saw the Legal Copy ad, you know that's the one where as PC makes crazy and crazier statements about PC reliability, the screen fills up with unreadable legal copy. Unreadable, that is, if you're watching on a computer, and not so much if you're watching on a huge HDTV.And so yes, MacJournals has actually retrieved and reprinted all of the text that appears in that ad. When Hodgman says "PCs are 100% trouble free," there is a long paragraph about how computers are targeted by spyware and malware, and how you have to install software drivers if you want to use any peripherals, how PC users should back up their systems, and how if they are not under warranty, they are not guaranteed a refund or replacement.But wait a minute, says MDJ, don't those last few notes apply to Macs as well? Are Mac users able to avoid requiring backups, and is Apple trying to say that even after their warranties expire, they'll be giving out refunds and replacements (actually, they sometimes do that, though it's definitely not guaranteed)? Still, if the PC faithful wanted to nitpick -- and where exactly are the PC faithful these days, again? -- there's definitely plenty of nitpicking to do here. It seems like Apple needed to fill out the text for the joke of the ad, but it's too bad they couldn't just stick with PC problems (and there are plenty of those) rather than include some common computer issues in there as well.[via Aulia Mastna]TUAWFull text from "Legal Copy" ad isn't quite PC-specific originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/21/2009 3:37 PM (73d 5h 33m ago) |
| Apple releases 4 new 'Get a Mac' ads |
| | John Hodgman (left and center) and Justin Long reprise their roles as PC Guy and Mac Guy in four new Apple ads.(Credit: Screenshot by Tom Krazit/CNET)
Apple released four new Get a Mac ads Monday, continuing its nearly 3-year-old campaign tweaking Windows PCs weeks after Microsoft began firing back at Apple.
The new ads are available on Apple's Web site, and will no doubt flood the airwaves in due course. Apple is following its old playbook with the new spots, tweaking PC guy as played by John Hodgman as virus-prone (Conficker), unstable, and difficult to use.
Microsoft's recent ads have focused on price comparisons with Macs, and Apple makes a brief reference to that line of thinking in the "Stacks" ad, in which Mac guy (Justin Long) responds to PC guy's observation that the facial-recognition technology in the new iPhoto must be expensive by noting that it comes free with every new Mac.
But otherwise it's the same old strategy of pushing the Mac as an easier-to-use and more reliable computer, with few references to price. One new twist is that a controversy has already sprung up over some of the claims in the "Legal Copy" ad.
... Originally posted at News - Apple |
| | 4/20/2009 9:14 PM (73d 23h 56m ago) |
| New Get a Mac ads after "Laptop Hunters" |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Corporate, Apple Financial
Tonight Apple released four new Get a Mac ads that feature the same, and ever so lovable, PC and Mac characters. In the first new ad, "Time Traveler," PC travels into the future to see if PCs still crash. In the ad called "Stacks," PC is shuffling through thousands of photos to find the one he is looking for; Mac then tells him about the facial recognition in iPhoto '09.In "Legal Copy," PC starts telling how "easy to use" he is, but as he talks, his disclaimer copy appears at the bottom of the sceen. The final new ad, "Biohazard Suit," PC explains his biohazard suit as he tells Mac about all of the recent viruses going around for Windows. While these ads are funny, you can't help but wonder if this is Apple's response to the recent "Laptop Hunters" Microsoft ads, although with the production schedules involved it's likely that the new Apple ads were already in the can or at least well underway when Lauren and her pals hit the screen. You can watch all of these new ads by going to the Get a Mac page on the Apple site, and we'll be talking about them on the talkcast in just a few minutes.Thanks to everyone who sent this in! TUAWNew Get a Mac ads after "Laptop Hunters" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 19 Apr 2009 21:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/20/2009 5:54 PM (74d 3h 16m ago) |
| Apple tops Forrester satisfaction survey |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Corporate, HardwareWhile Microsoft pushes a series of ads that prompt customers to focus on the in-store price (remember, the price is not the cost), Apple customers are expressing satisfaction with the ownership experience. Research firm Forrester conducted a survey of 4,600 people about their experiences with several brands, including Apple, HP, Dell and Gateway. Apple received a "Good" rating, meaning 80% of respondents rated their experience with the company's products highly (the actual measurement system isn't in the article's description). Gateway was next with an "Okay" rating (66% satisfaction), followed by HP at 63% (Lauren's choice!) and Dell bringing up the caboose at 58%.This illustrates the tough spot Microsoft is in. They don't manufacture the hardware that their product, the OS, requires. Yet, people use "PC" -- which actually stands for "Personal Computer" -- synonymously with "Windows." It's unclear the article's summary where those customers' dissatisfaction comes from, the hardware or the software. While it's easy to say that Microsoft should switch focus from price to quality, it would be very difficult for them to implement, as they only control half of the equation. [Via Electronista]TUAWApple tops Forrester satisfaction survey originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/20/2009 5:53 PM (74d 3h 18m ago) |
| Apple to Release Q2 2009 Financial Results on April 22nd |
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Apple today issued a media alert announcing details for the April 22nd release of its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2009. The results will cover sales from December 28th, 2008 through March 27th, 2009, and will be released a...
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| | 4/20/2009 4:36 PM (74d 4h 34m ago) |
| Aperture, iMovie, Server Admin Tools updates available |
| | Filed under: iLife, Software, Software UpdateYesterday Apple pushed out three updates via Software Update. According to Apple, iMovie 8.0.2 "...fixes an issue with projects having a size of 0 KB." That's a problem all right.Aperture 2.1.3 is also available now and "...addresses minor issues in a number of areas, including the display of thumbnails on import and image rotation." Finally, Apple has also pushed out Server Admin Tools 10.5.6v1.1 which is required to administer Mac OS X Server version 10.5.6 from a remote Mac client. These updates weigh in at 24.1MB, 48.11MB and 92.7MB respectively. The interesting thing here is that Apple was actually a bit forthcoming with exactly what these updates address. Not totally, mind you, but better than the "bug fixes" we usually get.TUAWAperture, iMovie, Server Admin Tools updates available originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/16/2009 10:38 PM (77d 22h 32m ago) |
| Reports: Mac OS 10.5.7 release imminent |
| | Filed under: OS, Rumors, LeopardSeveral outlets are reporting today that Mac OS 10.5.7 is due to drop any time now. Build 9J47 was released on Friday, less than a week after 9J44, and build 9J50 is said to have been distributed on Tuesday. Until now, these updates have been delivered weekly. This accelerated distribution, along with a shortening list of fixes (the latest build only addresses three) are clues that 10.5.7 is nearly ready.Additionally, some customers have reported that the ATI Radeon HD 4850-equipped iMacs that they ordered have had their ship dates bumped up to this week (there's a rumor that the graphics card requires 10.5.7).We'll let you know when this shows up, and report any changes (or problems) we experience after installation.TUAWReports: Mac OS 10.5.7 release imminent originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/16/2009 10:38 PM (77d 22h 32m ago) |
| Microsoft Office rolls up to 12.1.7, trial edition downloadable |
| | Filed under: Software
There's an update in town, and it's all about locking it down: the 12.1.7 update to Microsoft Office 2008 (available within the suite via the software update tool, or downloadable from Microsoft) closes two security holes present in multiple versions of Microsoft Excel and first acknowledged by the company in February. These vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to create a specially-configured Excel file that, when opened, would allow full control of the target machine.
The update package also bundles up all the previous patches to Office 2008, which lends it heft (it weighs in at over 150 MB) but simplifies matters if you're a few revs behind. Note that there is no 12.1.6 update in the sequence; the previous patch level was 12.1.5.
If you haven't made the leap to Office 2008 yet (perhaps you're on a PPC Mac; perhaps you feel that you get better interoperability with Office 2003 users on Windows; perhaps you have to have Visual Basic support for macros), Microsoft is giving you the chance to consider moving up with a full-featured 30-day demo of Office 2008, now available for download in the USA. The package includes all the Office apps and can be upgraded to a paid license in the field without purchasing a boxed copy and reinstalling. Upgrades from previous editions of Office start at $240... of course, there are some less expensive alternatives out there.
[h/t Ars Technica]TUAWMicrosoft Office rolls up to 12.1.7, trial edition downloadable originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/16/2009 10:38 PM (77d 22h 32m ago) |
| Nambu native Twitter client for Mac |
| | Filed under: Freeware, Internet Tools
In the most recent Ask TUAW, we addressed a question about Twitter (follow TUAW!), and asked readers for their favorite clients. Several users suggested Nambu, and having just put it through its paces, I can see why it's so popular.Nambu is a native Mac application designed for multiple social networking services, but in practice it seems like its primary strength is as a Twitter client. It offers support for multiple Twitter accounts, which can in turn be viewed in several different ways. It also integrates support for the tr.im URL shorting service and the pic.im image service.There's the standard list view which will automatically integrate tweets from multiple accounts into a single timeline. There's a three-pane view, somewhat similar to Mail, with a sidebar allowing you to choose between accounts, and finally (my favorite) there's a multi-column view reminiscent of the Adobe AIR-based TweetDeck and you can, of course, choose what appears in each column: main timeline, replies, sent messages, searches(!), etc.. In addition, replies are automatically threaded so they appear indented under the most recent tweet from the person to whom you are replying (as well as within the normal timeline). Another nice feature is that it automatically displays the domain of shortened URLs that appear in your timeline.In short, I think I've found my new Mac-native Twitter client. Nambu is a free download from The Nambu Network.TUAWNambu native Twitter client for Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/16/2009 10:38 PM (77d 22h 33m ago) |
| 16 hours of battery life for the MacBook Air |
| | Filed under: Accessories, MacBook AirI have a MacBook Air. Although I can get about 5 hours of mobile use out of it by dimming the screen, turning off all wireless, and only running one app at a time, there are times I'd love to be able to stay unplugged for much longer. I could always get a solar charger, but that won't work well when it's dark out.QuickerTek has announced the MacBook Air External Battery, a US$350 external box designed to let you run your MBA for up to 16 hours before plugging in. It's relatively small (7" x 3.5" x 1" -- 17.8 cm x 8.9 cm x 2.5 cm) and adds 1.2 pounds to the weight you'll have to lug around. In order to connect the external battery to your MacBook Air, you'll either have to send your existing MagSafe cable in to be converted for use (US$25) or buy a modified cable from QuickerTek (US$100). The final bill for the MacBook Air External Battery and the cable is almost as pricey as that solar-powered charger, but it's going to give your MacBook Air much longer battery life. Now if QuickerTek could just come out with a battery to let me play Monopoly (click opens iTunes) on my iPhone for 10 hours straight...TUAW16 hours of battery life for the MacBook Air originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/14/2009 4:59 PM (80d 4h 11m ago) |
| Backblaze for Mac officially launches |
| | Filed under: Software, Productivity, Internet, Security
Back in December, online backup company Backblaze launched a private beta of its service for Mac users. Like its Windows counterpart, the Backblaze subscription service is $5 US a month (or $50 US a year) for unlimited backup space. Today, the company is officially launching its service for Mac users, along with an updated client, better support for external drives and enhanced recovery options. Configuration and setupJust like in the beta, Backblaze remains extremely easy to set-up and use. You just install the program (by default it will run in the background, though you can change this), enter in your e-mail address and password, and it will start backing up your files. The default setting has Backblaze running any time it finds an available internet connection. The backup process is constant and Backblaze stores multiple versions of a file for 30 days (so if you are frequently changing a document or spreadsheet, 30 days worth of revisions are saved to Backblaze).If you want to remove Backblaze, the company has made the uninstall process easier and more intuitive. There is now an uninstaller built into the install DMG image, just double-click on Uninstall (right next to the install option) and you can take Backblaze off your system. If you trash the DMG, just download it again off the Backblaze web site for easy removal.Backblaze won't backup your Applications (thought it WILL backup stuff in your User/Library folder, so many of your application settings will remain backed up), but it will backup your photos, movies, audio files as well as things like your iPhoto or Aperture database, various documents, and more. By default, .ISO, *.exe and *.DMG files are excluded from the backup file type list, but you can remove those extensions if you want to backup that information.The maximum single file size is still 4 GB, but keep in mind this doesn't mean your iPhoto or Aperture databases won't be safe. Those databases... |
| | 4/14/2009 4:53 PM (80d 4h 18m ago) |
| CNBC: Apple beating recession |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Financial, iPhone A panel on CNBC's Fast Money was recently remarking on AAPL's apparent invulnerability to the recession that's currently affecting the United States, noting that it's jumped 40% so far this year, outperforming the NASDAQ. J.P. Mark of Farmhouse Equity Research suggests that the excitement that persists among Apple's retail employees customers is a part of that performance.As for the stock's immediate future, the panel and Mr. Mark point to this summer's concurrent release of iPhone OS 3.0 and a likely new iPhone model as a powerful stimulus. Finally, Mr. Mark notes that it isn't often that an electronic gadget becomes more useful and valuable over time.I definitely agree with that. My iPhone is now almost two years old and it does much more than it did when I first opened its box. Also, if a new iPhone does appear this summer just as my current contract is expiring, I'll almost certainly buy it.TUAWCNBC: Apple beating recession originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/13/2009 4:48 PM (81d 4h 22m ago) |
| Apple fixing cracks in white plastic MacBooks |
| | Apple service representatives are apparently now acknowledging cracks in the 13-inch white plastic MacBook.(Credit: CNET)
Apple has apparently begun to acknowledge the existence of small white cracks in older plastic MacBooks, according to a report.
AppleInsider says Apple service providers started receiving notices last month that the plastic chassis ... Originally posted at News - Apple |
| | 4/09/2009 9:13 PM (84d 23h 58m ago) |
| iTunes 8.1.1 showing in Software Update |
| | Filed under: iTS, iTunes, Software UpdateCheck the old Software Update, folks: there's a 68 MB iTunes 8.1.1 upgrade awaiting, or you can get it direct from Apple's site. The notes on the new version are as follows:iTunes 8.1.1 adds support for renting HD movies and provides a number of bug fixes, including addressing issues with VoiceOver and syncing with iPhone or iPod touch.The recent influx of HD movies onto the iTunes store (full list of titles here) promised but did not deliver rentals for HD titles; this update should take care of that detail. Let us know your mileage if you update.Thanks Bruce!TUAWiTunes 8.1.1 showing in Software Update originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/07/2009 4:42 PM (87d 4h 29m ago) |
| Google Chrome run natively (most of it, anyway) |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Freeware, Open Source, Developer
After much lamenting and a few attempts, Google Chrome can finally be run natively in OS X. Kind of. Don't get us wrong, it works: it starts up fast and runs one process per window, just like the Windows version. But there are a few glaring holes, the lack of plugins (and therefore Flash, which means no YouTube) being one of them. The History, Bookmarks Bar, and Preferences screens don't work either, which makes this not much more than a proof-of-concept still: it can run natively, but you wouldn't really want to.It's too bad Google hasn't gotten this working themselves sooner. Maybe they've just been too busy lately taking care of panda-obsessed AIs.TUAWGoogle Chrome run natively (most of it, anyway) originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/07/2009 4:41 PM (87d 4h 30m ago) |
| Snow White and her Apple (MacBook) |
| | (Credit: bookofjoe)
In what could possibly be the coolest MacBook cover ever, Flickr user LubeckerJung put a picture of Snow White holding the Apple logo. For those not familiar with this fairy tale, Snow White bites into a poisoned apple and falls into a coma, awakened only by some prince ... |
| | 4/05/2009 8:00 PM (89d 1h 11m ago) |
| Microsoft at it again with 2nd ad tweaking Macs |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Cult of MacMicrosoft is really working hard to get potential Mac customers to either buy or stay with Windows-based PCs. After the initial "Lauren" ad -- see BusinessWeek's take on her choice of a poorly-rated HP model, and TechFlash & Apple 2.0 on her oddly extensive acting career for someone who supposedly answered a Craiglist ad for market research -- a new ad [YouTube link] in the series launched today.
Our new shopper, Giampaolo, looks at a Mac at a computer store and says it is "so sexy," but then adds that "Macs are more about aesthetics than they are about computing power." [Check Harry McCracken's detailed side-by-side of 17" laptop hardware comparisons to debunk the "Apple Tax" and performance arguments.]
He winds up with an HP laptop which is within the $1500 dollar budget Microsoft gave him. The model he chooses is a Pavilion HDX 16t. We hope he enjoys it!
It's a strange campaign. Microsoft is spending a lot of time and money promoting HP, while saying not much at all about the advantages of Windows Vista... which is, after all, the product Microsoft sells.
Is it effective? Is it giving you second thoughts about buying Apple products, based on cost considerations? (Is this a rhetorical question?)TUAWMicrosoft at it again with 2nd ad tweaking Macs originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 04 Apr 2009 20:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/05/2009 7:55 PM (89d 1h 16m ago) |
| Snow Leopard in September, Xserve in June, Mac Pro Speed Boost, and More? |
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HardMac posted a collection of rumors they've received. They don't seem particularly confident about the information but do provide some believable tidbits:
- Snow Leopard will not be ready before September. Significant amounts of wo...
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| | 4/02/2009 3:55 PM (92d 5h 16m ago) |
| Apple's Newest Snow Leopard (10A314) Shows Steady Improvements |
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Apple seeded developers with the latest build (10A314) of Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) today. The latest beta version of Snow Leopard is said to be more stable than previous builds. Specifically, QuickTime X is said to have made significant strides...
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| | 4/02/2009 3:55 PM (92d 5h 16m ago) |
| Rob Janoff and how he made the Apple logo |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple, Apple History, Graphic DesignZLOK has re-posted an article (originally meant for the defunct Sync Magazine) about Rob Janoff, a designer who's credited with coming up with the iconic-as-they-come Apple logo. It's actually a really short piece, but he does talk pretty candidly about where he got the idea: by buying a bag of apples and slicing them up in different ways.And the original design was just a single color Apple (which, of course, Apple has used versions of since), but Jobs thought the design should be more colorful, so the logo got its familiar colored bands. Janoff says he just threw the colors in where he thought they might fit, which makes sense -- they don't match up with the physical spectrum at all, they're just sort of in there.Cool to see that something now so well known started off so simply. Janoff did the work for a design firm, and says that nowadays, he gets "not even a holiday card" for his invention. Apple does take their time recognizing inventors, though -- maybe the card's in the mail.[via Cult of Mac]TUAWRob Janoff and how he made the Apple logo originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 3/31/2009 4:01 PM (94d 5h 10m ago) |
| Apple announces WWDC 2009 dates; iPhone, Snow Leopard countdowns begin |
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digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Apple_announces_WWDC_2009_dates_2'; Here we go: Apple's just announced that its Worldwide Developers Conference will take place June 8-12 in San Francisco. If you'll recall, last year's WWDC was where a little gadget called the iPhone 3G made its appearance, and we'd say chances are good we'll see new hardware this year as well -- especially since there'd be no bigger way for Steve Jobs to make his planned June return to the company. Also on the list of expected attendees? Snow Leopard, possibly with a revised interface. It should be a big one -- you know we'll be digging for all the info we can get in the leadup, so keep it locked.Update: Jobs said he'd be out until the "end of June," of course. Still, we've got a feeling he'd want to be involved in any iPhone hardware announcements. We'll see!Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, LaptopsApple announces WWDC 2009 dates; iPhone, Snow Leopard countdowns begin originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 3/27/2009 4:02 PM (98d 5h 9m ago) |
| iApp updates ready for download |
| | Filed under: iLife, iWork, Software UpdateEarlier today, Apple released updates for iWork '09, iWeb, iMovie, iPhoto and iLife Support. As usual, the cryptic descriptions of each disclose very little about their contents. Along with the usual "...overall application stability improvements," the iWeb update fixes FTP issues (what those are we don't know) and iPhoto fixes issues with Faces, Places, photo sharing, and slideshows.You can grab them now via Software Update. They range in size from 1.4MB (iLife Support) to 88.8MB (iPhoto Update). A restart will be required. As usual, let us know if anything goes wonky after installation.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!TUAWiApp updates ready for download originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 3/27/2009 3:45 PM (98d 5h 26m ago) |
| Apple WWDC 2009 Dates Set: June 8-12 [Apple] |
| | Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, where we're likely to see all of Snow Leopard's spots and maybe a new iPhone to go with iPhone 3.0 OS, will take place from June 8-12. [Apple - Thanks Justin!] |
| | 3/26/2009 6:23 PM (99d 2h 48m ago) |
| Apple drops to number two in reliability |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Desktops, HardwareRescueCom is a company that provides tech support and help from a 1-800 number, and they've released the latest version of their computer reliability report. This thing is actually pretty well done -- it examines just which brands and makes of computers are getting the most support calls, and then compares it to the average US market share for each brand. For example, if XYZ brand computers are getting a lot of calls, but they're also selling like hotcakes, it won't rate quite as high as ABC brand, which is only selling a few computers, almost all of which are breaking down.There's bad news, however, for Apple, in this quarter's report: they've fallen to spot number two. For the overall year of 2008, Apple reigned supreme in terms of reliability. But in the first quarter of this year, Asus and IBM's Lenovo have had their numbers rise above -- both of their shares of the US market are smaller than Apple's 6%, according to this report, but Apple's 2% of calls to RescueCom still means Asus and IBM/Lenovo have them beat in overall reliability. Unfortunately, they don't show us the fun side of the chart: HP/Compaq end up in the fifth spot, but their 17.9% of all the calls to RescueCom is only the fifth most reliable, not the worst.Apple still probably doesn't have too much to worry about -- as Wired notes, these are only quarterly scores, and don't forget that this is the quarter in which many people were still learning how to use their iPhones, iPod touches, and the App Store. But this might be an early sign that as Apple grows, it'll be tougher for them to guarantee reliability in their products.TUAWApple drops to number two in reliability originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 3/26/2009 4:57 PM (99d 4h 14m ago) |
306 more news items (406 total); click to see all >  |
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| c|net Video Review |
| | Take a look at C|net's video review. |
| MacBook Pro (mid 2009) in-depth impressions |
| |
Let's be straight here: we're a little perplexed by the new MacBook Pro line. On one hand, Apple didn't really make enough changes to warrant a whole new review of the unibody lineup, and minor speed bumps aside, briefly using one of the new machines feels pretty much like using most any recent Mac: it's OS X on a really nice, albeit extremely glossy screen. On the other hand, after a week in the trenches, it's clear that all those seemingly minor changes will have a big impact down the line -- especially the move to sealed-in batteries across the board, which is a decision with decidedly mixed consequences. What's more, we think these changes impact the 13-inch and 15-inch models very differently -- the $1,199 13-inch configuration might have a shiny new Pro label on it, but even Apple admits that it's an entry-level consumer machine, and consumers and professionals don't have the same needs.So while this isn't going to be a full-on review, we think just slightly more than just our usual bullet-pointed impressions are in order -- and we think it's important to actually break things down by model. How do Apple's latest laptops stack up? Read on for more.Continue reading MacBook Pro (mid 2009) in-depth impressionsFiled under: LaptopsMacBook Pro (mid 2009) in-depth impressions originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/19/2009 6:16 PM (14d 2h 54m ago) |
| 13" MacBook Pro Teardown and Unboxing Galleries |
| |
iFixit posts the first teardown images of the new 13" MacBook Pro. iFixit notes the following changes from the previous 13" MacBook:
- No access door for the battery on the bottom.
- The addition of an SD card slot (and...
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| | 6/12/2009 3:35 PM (21d 5h 35m ago) |
| Macs still cheaper when you look at TCO |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple, Macbook Pro, MacBookWith all of the iPhone news lately, some of you may have worried that we're forgetting what got us here: Apple computers, not the other gadgets and doohickeys they sell. But worry not -- we're still Mac-crazy, which is why we'll still link to a Grade A smackdown on the old argument that Macs are more expensive than PCs. After a few analysts question whether or not Macs are worth it (as if buying a powerful and easy-to-use computer was ever not worth it), MacsimumNews' Dennis Sellers pulls out the big guns, and shows that report after report will make it clear that when you compare the quality vs. cost that you get with an Apple to what you get with a PC, the Mac will almost always win.Sure, if you compare a new MacBook Pro with the bargain laptops you'll find on the shelves at Best Buy, you'll be seeing a smaller charge on your credit card. But when you compare the total cost of ownership due to what's actually in those laptops (and the experience you'll have with each computer), the Mac is cheaper than ever.[via MacBytes]TUAWMacs still cheaper when you look at TCO originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 13 Mar 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 3/14/2009 2:08 AM (111d 19h 3m ago) |
| TUAW Review: The Haptique hard shell case |
| | Filed under: Accessories, Reviews, MacBookAs someone who usually likes to go "commando" with his tech, I was highly skeptical as to the usefulness, at least to me, of the new Haptique hard shell case for the 13" aluminum MacBook. Made by the good folks at Uniea out of ABS plastic and designed to be hard on the outside, but soft and protective on the inside, this product is made to help keep your precious laptop from getting any dents, scratches or other blemishes that a somewhat soft and shiny Mac can get while in use.After using the product for a couple weeks and it most-definitely providing protection for my MacBook in several situations, I'm happy to say that my reservations about it were completely unfounded. In fact, this product has the virtue of being not only very useful, but rather unique in that it works exactly as advertised -- not something you always see with products these days.Removing the Haptique from the packaging and attaching it to my shiny aluminum MacBook could not have been easier. You just slide the MacBook into the bottom piece, then attach the top piece and that's it. Once done, your MacBook fits snugly inside its hard protective case ready for the bumps and grinds of your daily life.The designers have, of course, seen fit to include spaces for all of the ports on the side of the MacBook and for the optical drive. Plus, they've made sure to provide ample holes for ventilation in the rear so your Mac doesn't have a problem with overheating. All in all, the Haptique hard shell case is a great product made all the better by its simplicity. Much like Apple products, it just works. And really, that's all you can ask.The Haptique from Uniea comes in several colors including blue, green, black and pink and retails for $49.95. That may seem like a lot to some, but to protect your investment in a MacBook that sells for at least $1299.00, its a rather small price to pay for this level of protection. Check 'em out.TUAWTUAW Review: The Haptique hard shell... |
| | 3/08/2009 4:58 PM (117d 4h 13m ago) |
| Chances are, you can't use Apple's new LED display yet |
| | (Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)After a little teasing, we finally have the full review of the Apple 24-inch LED Cinema Display.
The most disappointing thing about the display is that unless you own a MacBook with a Mini DisplayPort connection, you won't be able to use it. That ... |
| | 12/28/2008 4:29 PM (187d 4h 41m ago) |
| Stocking stuffers for your MacBook--two new Targus Mac mice reviewed |
| |
Need a quick stocking stuffer for the Mac addict on your holiday gift list? We just reviewed a pair of new mice from accessory maker Targus that are specifically being pitched for use with MacBooks, iMacs, and other Apple computers.
A healthy side industry has popped up for accessories that ... |
| | 12/01/2008 9:51 PM (213d 23h 20m ago) |
| New MacBook Trackpad not Working for Some Users |
| | The new glass trackpad introduced on the MacBooks unveiled by Apple last month appears to be giving some users fits.The trackpad on the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros does away with a separate button, turning the whole trackpad into the mouse button. It also supports several new multitouch gestures for rotating pictures or scrolling. But The Register notes that some users are running into problems where the MacBook doesn't register clicks on the trackpad.Read Apple Discussion. |
| | 11/05/2008 3:19 PM (240d 5h 51m ago) |
| MacBook vs MacBook Pro: Hardcore Graphics Death Match [Apple] |
| | Here they are, the MacBook and MacBook Pro graphics benchmarks you've been waiting for. Our basic Mac-only benchmarks used in our dual review were great at showing how close the CPU performance was,... |
| | 10/30/2008 3:51 PM (246d 5h 19m ago) |
| The MacBook Pro is HOT, HOT, HOT! |
| | My MacBook Pro is hot, hot, hot! And I mean hot as in boiling hot. I love my new Macbook Pro but the thing runs terribly hot. Two areas get exceedingly hot: the bottom towards the back and front panel right under the screen. I cannot use it as a laptop with shorts, I'd burn my legs!I've checked with others and I am not alone (this is not an example of a single faulty product). Its ashame because its about the only thing I don't like about the Macbook Pro.True my old Dell Latitude ran hot and many other notebooks do as well, but frankly I can't believe how hot this Macbook gets. I am afraid to leave it lying on the couch "on" (obviously shutting the lid puts it to asleep and it cools quickly).Nothing is perfect, so I live with it. |
| | 8/14/2008 10:15 PM (322d 22h 56m ago) |
| PDN names MacBook Air “the ultimate travel companion” |
| | After testing it on a trip to Europe, technology editor David Schloss (pdn.com) found MacBook Air an “incredibly powerful computer in the world’s cutest package.” He “was really impressed with the glossy screen,” proclaims the keyboard “the best I’ve ever used, period,” and calls its real-world performance “naturally perfect.” He also touts its performance browsing and editing images in Aperture. |
| | 5/29/2008 12:58 AM (400d 20h 12m ago) |
| TUAW Faceoff: Screenshot apps on the firing line |
| | Filed under: Multimedia, Software, Features, Reviews, TUAW Faceoff
Whether you want to post something to a web page or blog, or show off an application element in a presentation, taking quality screenshots is becoming an increasingly common task for lots of different Mac users. Although OS X comes with its own built-in screenshot utility, Grab, and onboard F-keys for the task, there are lots of third-party options as well. Contrary to popular belief, not all screen capture applications are created equal.
So what program is the best for taking quality screenshots off of your computer? To find out, I put five screen capture programs through their paces to try to find the "ultimate" screen-capture program.
The programs I used:
Grab - built into OS X
Skitch - free (at least while in beta)
Snapz Pro X - $29 for image capture only, $69 for image and motion capture
InstantShot! - free
QuickSnap - $14.95
Read-on for my analysis and take a look at the gallery for screenshots from each program, as well as head-to-head comparisons.
Gallery: TUAW Faceoff: Screenshot apps on the firing lineContinue reading TUAW Faceoff: Screenshot apps on the firing linePermalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/05/2008 4:04 PM (424d 5h 6m ago) |
| “I now lust for this laptop” |
| | When Elizabeth Mateo (cnnmoney.com) put three ultraportables through their paces, only one stole her heart. MacBook Air. “Using the Air,” she says, “is like Christmas, your birthday, and Valentine’s Day all rolled into one.” In fact, Mateo was so impressed with its looks, size, weight, and performance that the 20-year PC users says “I now lust for this laptop and will switch to a Mac as soon as possible.”
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| | 5/01/2008 5:38 AM (428d 15h 32m ago) |
| There is More Than Meets The Eye... ThinkPad X300 vs. MacBook Air... |
| | There are two hot ultraportable computers on the scene now-a-days: the MacBook Air and the ThinkPad X300. Some clever Lenovo lover created this MacBook Air ad parody which points out the key differences between the Air and the X300: number of ports and an internal DVD drive (only available on some models).Judging by pure aesthetics alone the Air wins, but ThinkPads are time tested workhorses so I wouldn't count out the X300. Either way, this parody is one of the better ones I've seen. |
| | 4/30/2008 3:26 PM (429d 5h 45m ago) |
| Notebook Company Tech Support Comparison |
| | Computer problems can be one of the most frustrating situations any person can go through, especially if it is your primary computer for school or work. Downtime can cause missed assignments, projects, or worse if you manage all of your finances through a computer and can't pay a bill on time. We decided to call up Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo, HP, Gateway, and Apple to see who was the easiest to deal with, and how long the average call was.
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| | 4/22/2008 2:12 PM (437d 6h 58m ago) |
| Life with the MacBook Air |
| | A good review on TUAW by Chris Ullrich. He reviews the MacBook Air after living with it for 2 months. |
| | 4/05/2008 7:30 PM (454d 1h 41m ago) |
| MacBook Air: The proof's in the packing |
| | After using a MacBook Air, Dan Frakes has changed his tune. He's now convinced the Air's appeal goes beyond road warriors and use as a second computer.
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| | 3/26/2008 5:34 AM (464d 15h 36m ago) |
| MacBook Air “a pleasure to use” |
| | Phil Baker (sandiegotranscript.com) calls MacBook Air “the sleekest, thinnest and most beautiful notebook ever.” He admires its construction: “Fit, finish, and workmanship are superb,” he says. “Whether sitting back in a lounge chair outdoors or at a desk indoors, the brilliant, sharp and high contrast screen has no equal in brightness or readability. Its comfortable full-size backlit keyboard is a pleasure to use, and the housing never gets hot as other Mac notebooks sometimes do.
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| | 3/12/2008 5:06 AM (478d 16h 5m ago) |
| MacBook Air “will turn heads” |
| | A major step forward in portable computing,” MacBook Air, writes Eric M. Strauss (abcnews.go.com) “is a mega-desirable computer that blends aerodynamic styling with serious innovations in an itsy, bitsy three-pound package that is a blast to use.” Strauss suggests that “if you are a student or worker-bee who is often on the go and wants your email, Internet, and access to your music, photos and movies, you’ll love MacBook Air.”
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| | 3/11/2008 5:57 PM (479d 3h 13m ago) |
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| Fantasy features of an Apple tablet |
| | Apple seems almost ready to bridge the gap between the iPhone and the MacBook with a new type of mobile computer. What will it look like? (Credit: Tom Krazit/CNET News)
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Fantasy_Features_of_An_Apple_Tablet';
Apple is rumored to be working on something bigger than an iPod Touch, but smaller than a MacBook. Past patent applications filed by the company and whispers from contract manufacturers point to a midsize gadget with a screen of 7 to 8 inches in the works, perhaps scheduled to debut early next year. It's been variously described as a tablet-like device, a "media pad," and an iPod Touch on steroids.
But the middle ground between handheld device and traditional laptop has historically been a hard sell to mainstream consumers. Apple has some experience reinventing what were thought to be staid or failed product categories, and is known for its stringent product review process, so if anyone has potential to make something compelling for this "tweener" category, it's the company to do so.
For Apple, this could be its answer to the Netbook craze--20 million of those scaled-down PCs will be shipped to retailers this year, doubling last year's output. Apple has been fairly clear in its distaste for them, using descriptors like "junky," and the average selling price of around $400 wouldn't allow Apple to keep its margins as high as it's used to.
But there is clearly a market, particularly given the current state of the economy, for a device in that middle range between a smartphone and a laptop. Interim CEO Tim Cook recently admitted that Apple has "some interesting ideas in this space."
Let's say it does make one. What exactly should a tablet from Apple do and what kind of features does it need to sport to avoid the pitfalls of every other failed tablet PC, ultramobile PC, and mobile Internet device now gathering dust in the basements and desk drawers of early adopters?
Some suggestions:
... Originally posted at News - Apple... |
| | 6/01/2009 4:44 PM (32d 4h 27m ago) |
| Apple Tablet Coming in 2010? |
| |
Silicon Alley Insider reports on a note from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster claiming that Apple's rumored "media pad" or tablet computer will not arrive until sometime in the first half of 2010. Munster also claims that the device will be more d...
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| | 5/21/2009 4:16 PM (43d 4h 54m ago) |
| Apple prototyping "iPhone lite" and MacBook Mini / media pad for Verizon? |
| |
Hot on the heels of yesterday's reports of Apple and Verizon dealings comes some tantalizing, but still unconfirmed, new details from BusinessWeek. According to the publication, the gang in Cupertino has prototyped two devices for the carrier. The first one is a smaller, less expensive device that's been dubbed as "iPhone lite" by someone who's apparently seen it in person. The other is called a "media pad" (Joggler, anyone?) for music, photos, HD video, and placing calls over WiFi. Details are scant beyond that, and while that pad sounds a lot like an iPod touch to us, we can't help but wonder if it has something to do with those 10-inch displays that Quanta's rumored to be manufacturing. Don't put too much stock into this, as the reports could end up being all for naught, but one thing's for sure: you can bet the suits at AT&T are keeping a very, very close eye on this. In other, even sketchier and likely unrelated rumors, a listing for "MacBookMini" has popped up in Adium's statistics. While we wouldn't normally think anything of this -- as TUAW correctly notes, anyone can edit their computer IDs -- it was from these pages that we first heard the name MacBook Air. Chances are this is nothing, but with all this talk of 10-inch screens and media pads, it kind of makes you wonder.
[Via TUAW; image courtesy of Frunny]Read - BusinessWeekRead - Adium statsFiled under: Cellphones, Laptops, Portable Audio, Portable VideoApple prototyping "iPhone lite" and MacBook Mini / media pad for Verizon? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/28/2009 6:07 PM (66d 3h 3m ago) |
| More Apple Netbook Rumors Pinpoint Foxconn as Manufacturer |
| |
The Inquirer recaps the latest netbook rumors coming out of the Commercial Times. The Chinese-language publication is citing sources from within the component supply chain that Apple has already signed a netbook deal with Foxconn: T...
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| | 4/20/2009 4:37 PM (74d 4h 34m ago) |
| Steve Jobs still involved in 'key aspects' of running Apple, testing out that iTablet you so desire? |
| |
According to those ever-quotable "people familiar with the matter," Steve Jobs is still "closely involved" in "key aspects" of running Apple, reports the Wall Street Journal. While Tina Fey's favorite keynote-giver has remained incognito ever since he took a medical leave in January, the WSJ has learned that he's been working hard from home, involved in strategy and key products -- including some nitty gritty of the new interface elements in iPhone 3.0. The article also makes mention of a jumbo-sized iPod touch of sorts (an iTablet, if you will), but it's hard to tell if that word is from these same people familiar with the matter, or if the WSJ is just picking up that perennial rumor from less reputable sources. Apple's of course remaining tight-lipped, merely stating that "Steve continues to look forward to returning to Apple at the end of June." All we know is that we're looking forward to putting all this rampant speculation behind us, and an Apple-involved Steve seems like a great step in that direction.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Filed under: Misc. GadgetsSteve Jobs still involved in 'key aspects' of running Apple, testing out that iTablet you so desire? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/13/2009 4:37 PM (81d 4h 34m ago) |
| From Russia with love: MacBook Mini con? |
| | This Apple Netbook is most likely fake--but it's fun to dream.(Credit: 9to5mac.com)
When it comes to anything Apple--and especially anything Mac Netbook-related--you can blog virtually anything and get a huge response from readers.
Well, Monday's Apple Netbook entry comes to us from a Russian magazine that printed up what's almost assuredly fake concept art for a MacBook mini (it's not quite April Fool's Day, but we're close). What's amusing is that it all looks pretty real on the surface, with a price tag ($899), a release date (sometime this year), and detailed specs that have some folks drooling:
10.4-inch WXGA display
1280x768-pixel resolution with LED backlighting
Nvidia MCP79 chipset
Intel Atom Z740 1.83GHz CPU with 1MB L2 cache
2GB DDR3-800 memory
Nvidia GeForce 9400M GPU
64GB solid-state drive
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR connectivity
Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n connectivity
1 USB 2.0 socket
1 Mini Display Port
Lithium ion 5100mA battery
Looks too good to be true. Or does it?
9to5 via Gizmodo.
See another photo after the jump.
... |
| | 3/30/2009 4:31 PM (95d 4h 39m ago) |
| Will Snow Leopard's UI be darker, slimmer? |
| | Filed under: Rumors, Apple, Snow LeopardWe're just a few months away from WWDC (I guess, Apple hasn't announced dates yet, and the delay might stem from pinning down a release date for iPhone OS 3.0) but the speculation on Snow Leopard is in full swing. Developers have had builds of Snow Leopard for a while now, but according to AppleInsider there are some interface tweaks that have yet to be unveiled.
VentureBeat posits the new look in Snow Leopard might already be in place with some apps -- take a look at the scroll bars and darker trim in iTunes 8 or iPhoto '09. This could be a harbinger of UI's to come, or it could be the sort of UI schizophrenia Apple has suffered from in the not-so-distant past. AppleInsider goes further, creating a mockup of what QuickTime in Snow Leopard might look like. To me, it looks a lot like Windows Vista.
As always with Apple, we'll just have to wait until they show us to be certain. Even then it's a bit of a moving target. No doubt they will announce all the features and shiny new look of Snow Leopard to much fanfare, and there will be much rejoicing.
[Via VentureBeat]TUAWWill Snow Leopard's UI be darker, slimmer? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 3/26/2009 4:57 PM (99d 4h 13m ago) |
| Apple touch-screen Netbook rumors heat up |
| | Concept art for an Apple touch-screen Netbook. (Credit: Gizmodo)
Updated at 4:09 a.m. PDT March 10 with new information from Dow Jones Newswire. This story was originally posted at 9:44 a.m. PDT March 9.
Take this for what you will, but the Apple rumor mill is ... |
| | 3/12/2009 3:42 PM (113d 5h 28m ago) |
| More netbook rumors from Asian manufacturers |
| | Filed under: Hardware, Portables, Rumors, AppleThe rumor of an Apple-branded netbook just won't die, and Digitimes has reportedly found more evidence. This is a bit convoluted, so follow closely.Taiwan-based manufacturer Wintek has supposedly been selected to produce touchscreens for the still-theoretical netbook, which Digitimes corroborates with the following quote from another publication called Commercial Times:"Wintek revealed that it is currently working with Apple to develop some new products, but it said it does not know what applications the new products are for."How we go from "...does not know what applications the new products are for" to an Apple-branded netbook is a mystery to us. Still, if you're the type who enjoys thin rumors, there's a nice one for your Monday morning. Enjoy.[Via MacDailyNews]TUAWMore netbook rumors from Asian manufacturers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 3/09/2009 4:38 PM (116d 4h 32m ago) |
| Touch Panels for Apple Netbook Ordered? |
| |
Digitimes relays a Commercial Times report that Taiwan-based Wintek will supply touch panels for "Apple's new netbook" due in the 3rd quarter of 2009.Wintek revealed that it is currently working with Apple to develop some new product...
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| | 3/09/2009 4:35 PM (116d 4h 35m ago) |
| Apple rumor Monday, late edition: leaked specs, model numbers, announcement tomorrow? |
| |
The flood of Apple hardware rumors just won't let up -- not only did commenters dig through those Airport Extreme and Time Capsule FCC filings and find evidence that the new models will indeed support simultaneous 5GHz and 2.4GHz operation, we've got iMac model numbers and leaked specs for Mac mini and Mac Pro, all of which are said to be arriving as soon as tomorrow. Of course, given the conservative / obvious nature of these updates, all of this information could be coming from some fanboy lair deep in a parents' basement somewhere and still sound plausible, but hey -- we'll find out soon enough, right? Here's what we know so far:
The iMac will apparently come in an entry level MB147 20-inch model, as well as three 24-inch SKUs: MB148 "mass-market," MB149 "high-end," and MB420 "ultimate." All models will go to mini DisplayPort and feature Core 2 Duos up to 3.06GHz.
The Mac mini will indeed feature five USB ports and that funky dual mini-DVI / mini DisplayPort configuration, but it's also apparently going to an NVIDIA chipset like the MacBooks and iMac. The base MB463 model will start with a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, and there's also a "high-end" MB464 configuration.
The Mac Pro will come in eight-core configurations from 3.0GHz to 3.6GHz and 16-core configurations in 3.6GHz and 4.0GHz flavors, and it sounds like it's going to be even funkier on the video tip -- our tipster says it has two regular DVI ports and a mini DisplayPort. Sure, okay. It's also apparently a bit lighter than the current model, at 35 pounds instead of 42.
Tipster Tom noted that the Airport Extreme and Time Capsule FCC filings contain direct references to simultaneous 5GHz and 2.4GHz operation, so that's looking even more probable.
Obviously we'll let you know if all this stuff slips out with no fanfare tomorrow, but with PMA and CeBIT both going on right now, we think that March 24 date is more likely -- Apple does like to hog the attention, after all. Anyone else have any... |
| | 3/03/2009 2:31 AM (122d 18h 39m ago) |
| Screenshots of Latest Snow Leopard Seed |
| |
World of Apple publishes screenshots from the latest Snow Leopard developer build revealing some of the changes we've detailed over the past few weeks. Specifically, the site shows off the new ability to drill down into sub folders in Stacks and al...
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| | 2/24/2009 8:57 PM (129d 14m ago) |
| Apple Answers Questions About Low-end iPhone and Mac Netbooks |
| |
During Apple's financial results conference call today, the company responded to questions about both a low end iPhone as well as the possibility of an Apple "netbook". Both topics have been the subject of speculations and rumor over the past few mo...
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| | 1/25/2009 1:16 AM (159d 19h 55m ago) |
| Intel Atom-Based Mac Mini Due in March? |
| |
Tom's Hardware reports that the expected Mac mini refresh will be coming in March and will be based on NVIDIA's new Ion platform utilizing Intel's dual-core 1.6 GHz Atom 330 processor. The Ion platform, announced in mid-December, also utilizes the G...
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| | 1/19/2009 10:58 PM (164d 22h 13m ago) |
| Macworld San Francisco 2009 Rumor Roundup |
| |
With Macworld San Francisco 2009 (MWSF) beginning next week, MacRumors provides this Rumor Roundup as a summary of major rumors circulating around the Mac Web before the event.
The biggest news about Macworld came early when Apple anno...
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| | 1/05/2009 5:43 PM (179d 3h 28m ago) |
| Rumors abound, Apple working on media server? |
| | Filed under: Rumors, Mac OS X ServerJust when we thought we were done with rumors for the day, another one pops up. 9to5 Mac is reporting that Apple could be working on a media server that might rival HP's MediaSmart Server. They suggest the server will be similar to a Time Capsule, only with more functionality. According to 9to5, the new product will include a Dynamic DNS system to tie in with MobileMe; this will provide username.me.com domains for easier access across the Internet. In addition, the device will include AFP filesharing and Time Machine backup stores. The device will not run off of Mac OS X Server, as you might suspect; rather, it would run the same system and processor that the Time Capsule does. You can read more about this rumor, and read more details about the rumor on the 9to5 Mac website. Do you think Apple is about to jump further into the NAS market with a supercharged Time Capsule?[via MacRumors]TUAWRumors abound, Apple working on media server? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 1/01/2009 9:49 PM (182d 23h 21m ago) |
| Apple to take iWork '09 online? |
| | Filed under: Rumors, iWorkWith just under a week left before Macworld 2009, the rumor mill is turning out many rumors. One new rumor, proposed by 9to5 Mac, suggests that Apple may be taking their iWork suite of software online. iWork is Apple's answer to an office suite, and combines a word processor (Pages), presentation software (Keynote), and spreadsheet app (Numbers). Just as Apple took mail, calendars, and contacts online with MobileMe, 9to5 believes they might do the same with Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. Apple definitely wouldn't be the first company to take office applications into the "cloud," but they might be the first to make web apps that tie into MobileMe. Google Docs (formerly Writely), Zoho Office, and Microsoft are just a few of the companies currently offering web-based solutions for office products. [via MacRumors]View PollTUAWApple to take iWork '09 online? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 1/01/2009 9:43 PM (182d 23h 28m ago) |
| Leaked Snow Leopard image potentially indicates a 32 / 64-bit divide |
| |
Apple's said it's taking a break from adding flashy features to OS X to focus on the foundations and stability of the system with Snow Leopard, and this latest leaked screenshot might indicate that those foundations are moving to 64 bits -- it shows System Preferences saying it needs to restart in 32-bit mode to open the Network panel. That's certainly interesting, given the rumors that Apple's dropping support for non-Intel machines and maybe even 32-bit Intel processors with this release, but it could also just mean that whoever took this screenshot doesn't have a 64-bit-friendly version of that preference pane installed. (We're guessing the latter, since there are a lot of 32-bit only Core Duo Intel Macs out there.) Restarting apps to change modes seems pretty clunky, though -- shades of System 7 and the 32-bit Enabler, for the olds -- so we're hoping Apple's got a more elegant solution in the works. Macworld's just around the corner, we're sure we'll hear more from Steve Phil soon.Filed under: Desktops, LaptopsLeaked Snow Leopard image potentially indicates a 32 / 64-bit divide originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Dec 2008 14:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 12/28/2008 8:45 PM (187d 26m ago) |
| New Mac Mini at Macworld San Francisco 2009? |
| |
Wired claims that Apple will be launching a new version of its Mac mini computer at Macworld Expo San Francisco in January.
Wired cites an Apple corporate employee as the source who could only confirm a release date at Macworld Expo. T...
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| | 12/17/2008 5:09 PM (198d 4h 2m ago) |
| Mac OS X 10.5.6 Release Imminent... Friday? |
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Apple has seeded yet another build of Mac OS X 10.5.6 (9G55) to developers. This latest seed reveals no known issues and has addressed a few outstanding issues.
Beyond this, we have heard that Apple has started distributing this parti...
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| | 12/12/2008 4:42 PM (203d 4h 29m ago) |
| Latest Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Builds Still Have Work to be Done |
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AppleInsider reports that new seeds of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard were recently distributed to developers.
The newest seed of Mac OS X 10.6 is said to offer new additions to Grand Central, which provides developers an easier way to har...
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| | 12/04/2008 2:49 AM (211d 18h 21m ago) |
| MacNN: Snow Leopard could ship 1Q 2009 |
| | Filed under: Macworld, Rumors, Snow LeopardSnow Leopard could ship as early as January, according to comments made by the director of Apple's Unix Technology Group.
Jordan Hubbard said at the Large Installation System Administration conference last week that Mac OS X 10.6 will ship in the first quarter of 2009, according to MacNN.
This primes the Macworld Expo rumor pump: Scheduled for January 5, Steve could debut new quad-core iMacs in addition to showing off this new version of the operating system.
This is not to be confused with Mac OS X 10.5.6, a minor update, which could be available as soon as Friday.TUAWMacNN: Snow Leopard could ship 1Q 2009 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 11/20/2008 4:35 AM (225d 16h 35m ago) |
| Mac Pro Suitable Nehalem (Core i7) Processors Due in 1st Quarter 2009 |
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Digitimes reports that Intel is planning on launching the Xeon 5500 and Xeon 3500 series of server CPUs in the first quarter of 2009. These new processors are based on the Nehalem architecture which has been officially branded as Core i7.
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| | 11/17/2008 12:19 AM (228d 20h 52m ago) |
| Mac OS X 10.5.6 Development Wrapping Up? |
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According to the most recent seed notes at HMBT.org, Apple may be trying to wrap up development of Mac OS X 10.5.6.
The latest Mac OS X 10.5.6 seed (9G38) provided to developers today lists no remaining issues. It's always difficult...
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| | 11/17/2008 12:16 AM (228d 20h 55m ago) |
| MacBook with Blu-Ray and Networked HDTV from Apple? |
| |
More rumors are trickling out in the days before Apple's notebook media event scheduled on October 14th, 2008.
EdibleApple reports that Kevin Rose revealed a new rumor at a live recording of the Diggnation podcast (not yet available). ...
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| | 10/12/2008 6:34 PM (264d 2h 36m ago) |
| Higher Quality MacBook and MacBook Pro Case Photos Leaked |
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MacX.cn has posted a series of higher quality images of the new MacBook and MacBook Pro cases that were originally posted last week. While there had been some doubts about the details of the blurry photo, these new images show every angle of both th...
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| | 10/12/2008 6:34 PM (264d 2h 36m ago) |
| More 'Brick' MacBook Case Images? |
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An Apple.Pro blog has posted three small images of what appear to be a new MacBook case. The casing resembles the MacBook Pro case image leaked earlier today, but clearly represents a smaller screened laptop. Absent are the speake...
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| | 10/09/2008 4:10 PM (267d 5h ago) |
| New product announcement cancelled? (updated) |
| | Filed under: RumorsAccording to one of our tipsters, the "kickoff webcast" that Christina mentioned over the weekend has been either delayed or cancelled.
A link distributed to webcast participants is, according to the tipster, no longer working. The webcast was scheduled for 10 a.m. Pacific time.
What does this mean for the rumored "Brick"? It's difficult to say. Apple does tend to make product announcements on Tuesdays, but I suppose there's no reason why Apple couldn't deliver the webcast anytime between today and the product's scheduled launch date.
Also, it could be that our tipster is just suffering network problems. If you know more about the webcast, please tip us! Your anonymity is our guarantee.
Thanks, Matt!
Update: Another anonymous tipster wrote in to tell us that the webcast did proceed as scheduled, but did not discuss new products (only things like metrics for the next quarter, and marketing strategies for Black Friday in the United States). The tipster said the password for the webcast was changed a day or two ago, which was probably why Tipster Matt couldn't connect.
Thanks, Apple Reseller!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 10/01/2008 3:41 PM (275d 5h 30m ago) |
| Rumor: Is 'The Brick' a wireless hybrid handheld-slash-Mac? |
| | Filed under: RumorsThere's a substantial amount of whispering about an anticipated "October Surprise" around the corner, but it's not the usual sort -- multiple sources have suggested that there is an Apple product introduction due on or about October 14. This hinting, combined with the refresh clock ticking away on the laptop line, leads us to suspect that new MacBooks and MacBook Pros are coming up soon -- but what of The Brick?If another Apple product announcement is coming on the heels of a mid-October laptop refresh, and if it's the "product transition" mentioned in the earnings call last quarter, where Apple's margins will be squeezed enough to merit a warning to analysts, it's going to have to be something different. A TUAW source has passed along the following (unconfirmed) details on a possible new product -- and several of our commenters may be on the right track.Continue reading Rumor: Is 'The Brick' a wireless hybrid handheld-slash-Mac?Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 9/27/2008 6:22 PM (279d 2h 49m ago) |
| Aluminum MacBook and MacBook Pros Spotted? |
| |
AppleInsider provides some reassurances that MacBook and MacBook Pro updates must be imminent with the new models having reportedly been spotted by sources.
The new 13" MacBooks, 15" MacBook Pros and 17" MacBook Pros are said to share ...
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| | 9/25/2008 5:27 PM (281d 3h 44m ago) |
| MacBook Shipments Have Begun? |
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Barrons reports on an analyst note from Citigroup's Richard Gardner who claims to have received confirmation that new MacBooks are shipping.
The report cites "field checks" as the source of the information and describes the new MacBook...
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| | 9/16/2008 4:25 AM (290d 16h 46m ago) |
| Apple Notebook Updates on October 14th? 120GB MacBook Air HDD? |
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Apple's "Let's Rock" media event yesterday refreshed their entire iPod line. When asked about the lack of Mac news in an interview, Jobs pointed out it was a music focused event. Many readers, however, are anxiously awaiting the new notebook revis...
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| | 9/12/2008 3:57 PM (294d 5h 14m ago) |
| iPods, Notebooks, and... iMacs before the Holidays? |
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AppleInsider recaps many of the circulating rumors which expect both iPod and Mac notebook updates in the coming months. Some rumors have pegged September 9th as the possible day for at least some of the updates.
The iPod Nano and iP...
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| | 8/28/2008 7:20 PM (309d 1h 51m ago) |
| Apple Event for September 9th? |
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As rumors continue to build of upcoming Apple product updates, more hints are starting to suggest that Apple will be holding a special event in September to launch these new products.
A rumor over the weekend originating from Kevin Ros...
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| | 8/27/2008 3:44 PM (310d 5h 27m ago) |
| Resellers Getting Signals for a Wide Range of Apple Updates? |
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While rumors have focused on iPod Nano and iPod Touch updates as early as September 9th, the fate of the MacBook Pros and other updates have been less clear.
It appears, however, that Apple could be prepping for a wide range of produc...
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| | 8/27/2008 3:43 PM (310d 5h 27m ago) |
| New iPod Nano, iPod Touch, iTunes 8.0, and Blu-Ray in OS X 10.5.6? |
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Digg.com's Kevin Rose has posted a new blog entry and YouTube video claiming to have knowledge of upcoming iPod updates with a significant number of details:
- Revamp of entire iPod line.
- Small cosmetic changes to Touc...
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| | 8/25/2008 9:35 PM (311d 23h 36m ago) |
| MacBook Air to get 'imminent' speed bump? |
| | Filed under: Hardware, MacBook AirPhoneNews claims they can "confirm" that Apple will speed-bump the MacBook Air with a Penryn-class Intel Core 2 Duo processor, increasing the clock speed to 2 GHz and up. The story also notes that, since the processor requires more power, the Air will ship with a higher-capacity battery and 60-watt power adapter.
Engadget goes further, noting that clock speeds could (theoretically) reach 3.06GHz. Also, they speculate that the Air could feature improved integrated graphics if it adopts the Intel Centrino 2 chipset.
Alternatively, Engadget notes that Intel plans to release several flavors of low-voltage Penryn chips in September, which might indeed be slated for the MacBook Air. Using these chips, however, would decrease the power requirements noted by PhoneNews, not increase them.
PhoneNews says national retailers have been alerted "to be prepared for the upgrade." This may be part of several laptop announcements rumored to be happening in September.
[Via IGM.]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 8/15/2008 2:02 AM (322d 19h 9m ago) |
| Apple's Sub-Notebook 'Delayed' Until 2009, iPhone Colors in 2008? |
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A financial analyst at UBS Investment Research publishes his outlook for Apple's product line in 2008 and 2009, as reported by AppleInsider.
The analyst Maynard Um also cites "industry checks" to confirm that the MacBook and iPod will ...
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| | 8/05/2008 7:39 PM (332d 1h 32m ago) |
| Leaked MacBook Pro Casing Confirmed? [Update] |
| |
Top and bottom casing of MacBook Pro
AppleInsider reports that the leaked MacBook Pro case photo published over the weekend is, in fact, legitimate.Although the enclosure shown in the photo appears to be a slightly dat...
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| | 7/10/2008 1:29 AM (358d 19h 41m ago) |
| Apple: iTunes 7.7 available "in a few hours" |
| | During an Apple Sales Web webcast earlier today discussing MobileMe, Apple employee Maxime Veron mentioned that iTunes 7.7 would be available "in a few hours."Keep checking iTunes and Software Update for more info.Update: As of 6:05 PM EDT, no update was available. If this is tied to the MobileMe push starting at 9:00 PM EDT, we may begin seeing iTunes 7.7 at that time. This is, of course, pure speculation. |
| | 7/10/2008 1:27 AM (358d 19h 44m ago) |
| Resolution Independence Support in Snow Leopard? [Update] |
| |
Roughly Drafted claims to have knowledge of some of the possible new features coming in Snow Leopard. Unfortunately, the article appears to include some degree of speculation making it difficult to tease out what might be actual features.
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| | 6/24/2008 3:15 PM (374d 5h 56m ago) |
| Apple to Release an 'iSight HD'? |
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One reader has found references to an unreleased High Definition USB iSight in Apple's QuickTime system files. The line is specifically labeled "Next Generation USB iSight" in QuickTime's localizable.strings and also carries a reference of 'i...
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| | 6/16/2008 4:26 PM (382d 4h 45m ago) |
| iPhone 3G and Video Calling |
| | UPDATE: Sorry, not this time.The iPhone 3G will be announced on June 9th. The rumor mill tells us that it will have 3G capabilities courtesy of the Infineon Gold chip. This means that we get HSPA 3G supporting 1.4Mbps downstream/800Kbps upstream speeds on AT&T’s recently upgraded HSPA 3G data network (to be completed in June here in the US). But what do with all that bandwidth? Better browsing? Well, sure. But what’s really in store is video calling. Apple has a big opportunity here to revolutionalize voice/video calling on mobile devices, as well as, “fixed” devices (Macbooks and iMac). The key to this is perfect iChat interoperability and cross-over cellular network voice/video data to Internet voice/video data. iPhone to iPhone video calls and iPhone to Mac video calls, cool! The HSPA 3G network is fast enough (or should we say “fat” enough) to support high-res video at a good frame rate (say 30+ fps). And of course when wi-fi is active the iPhone can support the video call (or video portion of the call) on wi-fi. And because we are talking Apple here, a seamless interface is expected. Some interesting questions arise on the 3G iPhone’s video camera. Obviously the video camera lens needs to be on the front side of the phone, but the existing snapshot camera needs to be on the back (to see the photo you are taking, like today’s iPhone camera design). Expect Apple to situate a lens on both sides, supporting video/snapshot on both. Imagine sitting at your MacBook and initiating an iChat call to your friend’s iPhone. The interoperability is the holy-grail of video calling. Imagine a three way call, MacBook/iPhone/iPhone. This is the future and expect Apple to deliver it soon. |
| | 6/07/2008 4:00 PM (391d 5h 11m ago) |
| Worldwide Developers Conference 2008 Rumor Roundup |
| |
With the 2008 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) beginning next week, MacRumors provides this Rumor Roundup as a summary of major rumors circulating around the Mac Web before the big event (previous roundups: 2007, 2006).
The 3G i...
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| | 6/07/2008 10:44 AM (391d 10h 27m ago) |
| Mac OS X 10.6 Called 'Snow Leopard', All Cocoa? |
| |
Arstechnica reports on more details about the next major version of Mac OS X (10.6). According to the news site, the next version of Mac OS X will indeed be an Intel-only release and that it is code named "Snow Leopard".
Ars can also...
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| | 6/05/2008 3:49 PM (393d 5h 22m ago) |
| Rumor: Mac OS X 10.5.4 to be released 2nd week in June? |
| | Filed under: OS, Rumors
digg_url = 'http://www.tuaw.com/2008/06/05/rumor-mac-os-x-10-5-4-to-be-released-2nd-week-in-june/';
There's action on the Leopard update front. We've been told by reliable sources that the next point release of Mac OS X Leopard (version 10.5.4) will be released on June 12th. This update will include the usual bug fixes as well as support for the to-be-announced Mobile Me service.In addition, we have reason to believe that this update will also include support for a new piece of Apple hardware. What is this mysterious computer? We have no idea, but we're hoping all will be revealed during WWDC.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/05/2008 3:48 PM (393d 5h 22m ago) |
| Rumor: Mac OS X 10.6 to debut at WWDC 08? |
| | Filed under: OS, Rumors, Leopard
digg_url = 'http://www.tuaw.com/2008/06/03/rumor-mac-os-x-10-6-to-debut-at-wwdc-08/';
TUAW has received some information that suggests Apple may be working to seed developers with an early build of Mac OS X 10.6 at this year's WWDC. 10.6 will not include any new significant features from 10.5; instead, Apple is focusing solely on "stability and security."We have also learned that OS X 10.6 may go gold master by December 2008 in an effort to start shipping it in January '09 at Macworld Expo. Mac OS X 10.6 will be a milestone release for Apple, as it will leave the PowerPC behind: a fully 64-bit clean, Intel-only Mac OS X.This information makes us wonder about universal applications -- how much longer will they exist? With Apple leaving pre-Intel Macs behind before the end of the decade, this could mark the end of the Intel transition, as Apple (and presumably many third-party developers) will be focusing only on the newer Mac architecture.Of course, this leaves open a critical question -- what will this new OS version be codenamed? We've got our hunches, but we can't leave you out of the guessing game.View PollRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/04/2008 5:12 AM (394d 15h 59m ago) |
| Tablet Mac Coming in Fall 2008? |
| |
Jason O'Grady revives rumors of a tablet Mac in his 'The Apple Core' blog today with claims that the long-rumored Mac Tablet would finally be arriving later this year.
Specifically, he believes that Apple will announce a 12" or 13" tab...
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| | 5/24/2008 11:23 PM (404d 21h 47m ago) |
| Apple's Next MacBook Due in Q3 2008? |
| |
Marketwatch relays a Commercial Times report that suggests we will see the next MacBook revisions in Q3 2008 (July-September).
According to the newspaper, AU Optronics Corp.and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. received orders for flat-pan...
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| | 5/16/2008 1:31 PM (413d 7h 40m ago) |
| Apple Denies Rumors of Selling Off Pro Apps |
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TVBEurope quotes Richard Townhill, Apple's director of marketing for professional video applications, regarding some recent rumors that Apple might be trying to sell off its "Pro Apps" (Final Cut Pro and associated applications) to another company. |
| | 5/07/2008 3:10 AM (422d 18h 1m ago) |
| Apple Seeds First Mac OS X 10.5.3 (9d10) Version |
| |
Apple issued the first Mac OS X 10.5.3 seed (9d10) to developers yesterday. The latest update to Apple's Mac OS X Leopard addresses dozens of outstanding issues.
Fixes range from Dashboard, Parental Controls, iCal Synchronization, mem...
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| | 3/29/2008 6:30 PM (461d 2h 41m ago) |
|
| Spring clean your Mac with smart folders |
| | Filed under: Productivity, TUAW Tips
digg_url = 'http://www.tuaw.com/2009/05/04/spring-clean-your-mac-with-smart-folders/';
Call it what you will, but "Spring Cleaning" is just as important on your Mac as it is in real life. From cleaning out old files to organizing music/movies/TV shows that you "threw" into iTunes over the past few months, spring cleaning is a necessary evil. One way to find large files that might be eating up space on your Mac is with a smart folder; it's easy to set one up right from the Finder. To create a smart folder that will find large files on your hard drive, simply follow these directions:
Open a new Finder window and select File > New Smart Folder.
In the resulting window, select "Other" from the first drop-down menu (the default selection is "Kind), and search for the key word "size." If you wish this item to remain in the menu, select the "In menu" check box. Select the OK button once you select the "Size" item.
Select "is greater than" from the next drop-down menu.
Type in the size that you would like to search for files. I would suggest searching using 1 GB, but you can use any size you wish.
Finder will immediately begin searching your Mac for any files that match the description that we just specified. When you are ready to save your smart folder, select the "Save" button from the top right of the Finder window. You will then be asked to specify a save name and location. Now whenever you want to look for large files that might be hogging space on your system, just open this smart folder, and let the search begin!Beyond this tip, if you are looking for utilities that can help you keep your storage lean and free of bloated, legacy files, you may want to check out GrandPerspective, WhatSize or OmniDiskSweeper.TUAWSpring clean your Mac with smart folders originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 04 May 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | ... |
| | 5/04/2009 4:39 PM (60d 4h 31m ago) |
| Mac 101: How to set a default printer |
| | Filed under: Mac 101
Over time you may wind up with several printers set up for your Mac. This results in a list of available printers every time you go to print. If the default (the first one selected) isn't to your liking you can always change it. To do so, bring up System Preferences and go to Print & Fax. Now right-click (you can hold the Ctrl key down if you don't have a 2-button mouse) on a printer in the list and choose: Set default printer. There you go!Note the plus and minus signs below the list of printers. If you're just getting started, click the plus to add a printer. If you've sold a printer, click the minus to delete one after selecting it. Apple has an excellent 101 of their own about setting up a printer on your Mac.Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 section.TUAWMac 101: How to set a default printer originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/16/2009 10:37 PM (77d 22h 33m ago) |
| Beta Beat: Grape, a new way to manage your Desktop clutter |
| | Filed under: Software, ProductivityGrape, just released as a beta, is a new take on desktop file management. I've seen several attempts at innovative user interfaces for file management in my day, some better than others, but this is the first one I've been really excited about. In the words of the author -- Stéphane at docklandsoft.com -- "Grape is a visual and spatial way to classify and organize temporary files." I use my desktop as a sort of Inbox, saving all of my working files, PDFs of web pages and other random bits there during the day, and then tagging and bagging the collected mess once or twice a day. It's not a bad system, but I love anything that might make my life simpler and/or more interesting.
Grape takes all of the files on your desktop and puts them into a kind of three-dimensional workspace where you can pan and zoom, group files and perform various functions, including filing them to folders anywhere on your hard drive. You can zoom in and out with your scroll wheel or by holding command-space and dragging a rectangle. You can pan around the space by holding space and dragging. Once you've started organizing, you're able to create boxes and text labels to highlight groups of interest or provide highlighted areas for sorting. You can also Quick Look files, as well as choose the preview image for movies and multi-page PDF files. You can't descend into folders, but if you have a Quick Look plugin for folders, it's really easy to identify previously grouped files without jumping back to the Finder.
At this point, Grape is interesting (and fun), but lacks some much-needed functionality. Among the list of things I'd like to see: more mouse-only navigation, droppable folders, the ability to create functional drop-boxes to send files to specific folders, OpenMeta tagging (or AppleScript access to selected files for apps like Tags) and a more customizable interface (I find the default blue gradient a little overwhelming). It's a great start, though... |
| | 4/14/2009 4:57 PM (80d 4h 13m ago) |
| MacBook secondary LCD mod instructions available, napkin not included |
| |
If you, like many, lurved the secondary LCD MacBook mod then why not give it a go? Eddie Zarick has posted a tutorial listing everything you need including the $200 Century Plus One sub-monitor. The instructions are by no means exhaustive, but if your deftness with a soldering iron is equaled only by your Apple fanaticism then this is the job for you.Filed under: LaptopsMacBook secondary LCD mod instructions available, napkin not included originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 06:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 4/02/2009 3:39 PM (92d 5h 31m ago) |
| Quick Tip of the Week: Take a Quick Look at the files in Trash |
| | Ever drag a number of files into the Trash, only to realize that you actually meant to keep one of them? Everyone has. In the past, finding the file you wanted to keep meant dragging them out of the Trash — one at a time or enmasse — and opening them. But Mac OS X Leopard offers an easy way to review such files without removing them from the Trash. See how in the latest Quick Tip of the Week. |
| | 3/24/2009 7:55 PM (101d 1h 16m ago) |
| Ask TUAW: home routers, S-video on the unibody MacBooks, a Mac as monitor, setting up a headless Mac mini and more |
| | Filed under: Features, Troubleshooting, Ask TUAWIn this edition of Ask TUAW we've got questions about routers, S-Video / composite out from a new unibody MacBook Pro, using a second Mac as a second monitor, setting up a Mac mini without a display and more
As always, your suggestions are welcome. Questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you're running and which version of Mac OS X (we'll assume you're running Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions!Continue reading Ask TUAW: home routers, S-video on the unibody MacBooks, a Mac as monitor, setting up a headless Mac mini and moreTUAWAsk TUAW: home routers, S-video on the unibody MacBooks, a Mac as monitor, setting up a headless Mac mini and more originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 3/18/2009 3:02 PM (107d 6h 9m ago) |
| Install Windows 7 on a Mac |
| | Filed under: OS, SoftwareRaise your hand if you remember when a Mac was a Mac and a Windows machine was a Windows machine, and never the twain shall meet. I sure do. Change has come.Our own Christina Warren has written an exhaustive set of instructions for installing Windows 7 on a Mac over at our sister site, Download Squad. Windows 7 is in beta, so don't try and use it for any mission-critical tasks. Meant to be an incremental update to Vista (Snow Vista?), the current iteration of Windows 7 includes changes like a redesigned taskbar, enhanced touch performance and improvements when run atop multi-core processors.While Intel Macs can run Windows 7 via Boot Camp, Christina points out that virtualization is probably the best bet for most users. She described how to set up an installation with VMWare Fusion 2.0, Parallels 4.0 and VirtualBox 2.1.2 (and the VMware team has posted a guide of their own for Win7 on Fusion).If you're a Mac user who keeps Windows around for compatibility testing or that one proprietary Windows app you can't do without, and you're just itching to try Windows 7, this is the tutorial for you. If you're wondering what the fuss is about over on the Microsoft side, Engadget's deep dive on Windows 7 is a good place to start.TUAWInstall Windows 7 on a Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 1/25/2009 1:06 AM (159d 20h 4m ago) |
| Quick Tip of the Week: Managing multiple email accounts |
| | Many of us have multiple email addresses: one at work, one on MobileMe, one at Google or Yahoo, and perhaps one or two others. So how do you keep track of the messages sent to all those accounts? Use Mail. The email browser that’s part of Mac OS X Leopard is both powerful and versatile. Watch the latest Quick Tip of the Week to see how easily you can set up and manage multiple email accounts on your Mac. |
| | 1/19/2009 10:56 PM (164d 22h 14m ago) |
| iPhoto, iMovie guided tours available |
| | Filed under: Macworld, iLife, MultimediaWith new software from Apple comes new guided tours hosted by clean cut, well-dressed Apple employees in the requisite uniform.The iPhoto guided tour can be found here and features John, whom we've seen in other guided tours. It's a fun way to check out the new features that were demonstrated during the keynote, as well as others that didn't make the presentation.The iMovie tour can be found here, and again features our friend John. We must admit that the animated map is pretty cool, even though we expect it to be heavily abused in the next few months.Additionally, you'll find tutorials for the new versions of iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb and iDVD here. Check them out and decide if you're willing to pay the $79US upgrade fee.TUAWiPhoto, iMovie guided tours available originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 1/07/2009 4:32 PM (177d 4h 39m ago) |
| Mac 101: Enter directory paths when in open/save dialogs |
| | Filed under: Mac 101 Last week I told you about easily switching directories (folders) while in an open/save dialog. This was great when you knew where a folder was located in a specific place, and you could drag + drop it on the dialog. But what if you want to type in a directory path (i.e. ~/Desktop)?While in an open/save dialog, pressing Command + Shift + G will allow you to type in a directory path. For instance, if I wanted to open my Documents directory for my user, I would type ~/Documents. The tilde (~) tells the computer to look in the current user's home directory.Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 section.TUAWMac 101: Enter directory paths when in open/save dialogs originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 1/01/2009 9:48 PM (182d 23h 22m ago) |
| Put Leopard on a diet while waiting for Snow Leopard to be released |
| | Filed under: Software, Leopard, Snow LeopardWe've all been there; we've all had that sickening feeling that comes from seeing "Macintosh HD" with less than 1 GB of available space. If you're staring at your Finder wondering where you can find some additional space without having to swap out the hard drive or buying a new Mac altogether Computerworld is here to help. They have an article up on the many ways it is possible to get rid of unnecessary files in Leopard as well as disable features you may not be using all in an effort to slim down and speed up your Mac while you wait for Snow Leopard.Many of the tips involve using software that we have previously mentioned, some of which are free and others are not. The list of tools used include such gems as Xslimmer for removing PowerPC compatibility, Monolingual for stripping out languages that are non-native to you, as well as DiskInventoryX for getting a graphical representation of where all your hard drive space went. The article also discusses improving performance by disabling 3D effects that use up GPU cycles for those users who prefer fast to pretty as well as increasing the amount of RAM installed in your system.While Snow Leopard may still be some time away the tips provided are a great collection of steps that can be completed to help any Mac squeeze out some better performance and additional hard drive space. If you have any tips that aren't mentioned add them to the comments!Finder icon courtesy of FHKE's Flickr streamTUAWPut Leopard on a diet while waiting for Snow Leopard to be released originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 12/15/2008 4:56 PM (200d 4h 14m ago) |
| Mac 101: Drag-n-Drop your way to a new Mail message |
| | Filed under: Mac 101
Do you find yourself constantly copying/pasting text from other applications into a new Mail message? If you do, then you'll enjoy this tip. Instead of copying and pasting, just highlight the next you want to appear in a new Mail message. Drag and drop the text on top of the Mail icon in the Dock. A new message will be created with the text you just dropped on it in the body. Just type in a subject and address and send it off ... easy as 1, 2, 3. Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 section today!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 10/01/2008 3:42 PM (275d 5h 29m ago) |
| Monitor your Mac's health with CheckUp |
| | Filed under: SoftwareGeeks love to try out new applications, but hardcore nerds (like me) like installing new utilities.At first glance, CheckUp by App4Mac is a system monitor. Use it to keep track of your processor(s), RAM, disks, network activity and processes. But that's just the beginning.The UI is very nice. Each set of functions gets its own window. For instance, the "Profile" pane displays information like your machine's serial number, OS, processor(s), IP address, MAC address and more. The "System" pane lists all installed applications and their version numbers, plus all operating systems that your machine will support, including Windows and Linux. A drop-down menu lets you switch between installed applications, fonts, drivers, Internet plugins, preference panes and login items. The re-sizable window moves from pane to pane with a snazzy 3-D transition (either cube or swap) and is very easy to read. I especially like the "Processors" pane which lets you pop out the meters measuring processor activity.Here's the cool part of CheckUp. You can use it to monitor a remote computer, either on your LAN or across the internet. This is very handy for IT pros who could use a quick-and-dirty glance at a far-away machine.The purchase fee of $29US includes lifetime updates. If you're looking for a stylish system monitor that's actually fun to use, give CheckUp a try.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 9/06/2008 7:39 PM (300d 1h 31m ago) |
| Twelve reasons to choose a Mac for your college student |
| | “Issues are the last things a kid needs at college and Macs have fewer issues with viruses, malware, and icky stuff like that,” explains Bob LeVitus (chron.com). He recently sent his own daughter off to college with — what else? — her own Mac, and to help fellow parents make the right choice for their undergrads, LeVitus lists the twelve reasons “why your student should take a Mac to college.” |
| | 8/18/2008 10:13 PM (318d 22h 57m ago) |
| Mac 101: Spotlight, your application-launching pal |
| | Filed under: Mac 101More Mac 101, our series of tips and tricks for new and returning Mac users. Love it or hate it, Spotlight's ubiquitous search has changed the Mac OS X experience; quick and (mostly) reliable full-text indexing is now part of the landscape. It's not just for finding files, however; did you know that Spotlight makes a handy application launcher too?You can launch most any application by hitting the Spotlight hotkey (?-Space by default), then typing the first few letters of the application's name. Chances are it will be the "top hit" for your search, so go ahead and hit Return or Enter to launch it immediately. This approach doesn't have the power-user moxie of third-party launchers like QuickSilver, Butler or LaunchBar, but it's helpful for applications that don't live in your Dock when you want to reach them quickly.If you've got ideas, suggestions or questions on the Mac 101 front, just let us know below.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 8/14/2008 4:46 AM (323d 16h 25m ago) |
| iTunes 7.7 and Windows, trouble getting the update? |
| | Trouble getting iTunes 7.7 for Windows?
Two problems you might encounter:
1. The Check For Updates (Help menu) from your current version of iTunes “Download Update” button doesn’t do anything. You click it, but nothing happens.
2. Apple Software Update says there is new software available, but a check says “all up to date”.
The solution is easy, go to http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ and download and install manually. I know obvious but not so obvious…
Apple - iTunes - iTunes(iTunes)
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| | 7/10/2008 7:18 PM (358d 1h 53m ago) |
| 3 ways to enjoy your vacation with your Mac |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, AppleIt's time to toss the kids into the back of the family truckster and drive to the shore, acquire a debilitating sunburn on the first day and pay $19 for a hamburger and a soda (not to mention the $100 you spent on gas in the first 24 hours). Summer vacation ... I'm lovin' it!We hope you brought your Apple goodies. Aside from providing a much-needed geek-out at the end of the day, your Mac can actually make your vacation more enjoyable. And nothing says "That week we spent at Clearwater Beach" like the sand you can't extract from your iPhone's headphone jack.Read on for our Mac vacation tips!Continue reading 3 ways to enjoy your vacation with your MacPermalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 7/10/2008 1:26 AM (358d 19h 45m ago) |
| Mac 101: Back up Address Book, iCal, iPhone before MobileMe |
| | Filed under: Mac 101Being the paranoid person that I am, it occurred to me that it would be a good idea to back up Address Book and iCal before all of the syncing madness begins between Macs, MobileMe, "the cloud", and iPhone/iPod touch. Here's how to do it (Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard only):Backing up Address Book
Launch Address Book
Select File > Export > Address Book Archive
Find a location to save the Address Book archive, then click the Save button.
Backing up iCal
Launch iCal
Select File > Backup iCal
Find a location to save the iCal backup, then click the Save button.
Backing up iPhone / iPod touch
Just sync it
Ahhh, don't you feel all safe and happy now? And remember, if you're running Leopard and Time Machine, your backups are going to be backed up, too!Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 7/10/2008 1:26 AM (358d 19h 45m ago) |
| Problems with iChat? Go to port 443. |
| | My new MacBook is awesome except when it isn't. Like iChat. Since I got this computer, I can't keep iChat connected. What happens is this: iChat will connect and then, after about 1 minute, it will disconnect and retry about 5 times until it complains. After a little research, turns out the default port 5190 is the problem. It needs to be switched to 443. No kidding. Out of the box it doesn't work, news to Apple fans everywhere: Apple isn't perfect.Here's what you do: in iChat preferences, select Accounts. Then under the Server Settings tab, change port 5190 to 443. Close the prefs window. You may need to quit and relaunch iChat. On port 443, mine stays connected now!Apple - MacBook Pro - 17-inch: 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR2 memory (PC2-5300), 250GB Hard Drive, 8x SuperDrive - MB166LL/A(MacBook Pro) |
| | 6/29/2008 11:32 PM (368d 21h 38m ago) |
| Mac 101: Get that "stuck" disc out of your Mac |
| | Filed under: Mac 101Welcome to another Mac 101 here at TUAW. Mac 101 is our recurring feature where we point out some tips and tricks for folks new to the Mac. Remember, if you're a Mac expert this post isn't for you.Have you ever tried to unmount a disc in Mac OS X, but it simply wouldn't come out of your Mac's drive? Here are three ways of removing discs from your Mac's drive. If your Mac is currently using the disc you won't be able to eject it, so make sure that isn't the case first. If the disc isn't in use and you still can't eject it, give these a try.Step 1: Drag the disc to the trash canFind the disc on the desktop and drag its icon to the Mac OS X trash can. As you start dragging it towards the trash, the icon will change to an eject button, release the mouse button when the disc's icon is directly over the eject button. Step 2: Try some command line goodnessIf you have tried to eject the disc by dragging its icon over the trash bin, then why not try a simple Terminal command to eject the disc. Open Terminal.app (found in /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app; or use Command + Shift + U to in any Finder window to move to the Utilities folder). Once you have Terminal opened, type (or copy/paste) the following command: drutil eject Step 3: Restart your Mac while holding mouse button downIf you've tried the other steps to no avail, then why not reboot your Mac while holding down the mouse button. Upon loading the Apple boot screen, your disc should be ejected. Please note that if you have a disc that is actually physically stuck in the drive, this will not help. Stuck discs may need the assistance of an Apple Genius or certified Apple repair professional.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/24/2008 3:17 PM (374d 5h 54m ago) |
| Take Control of Back to My Mac / Screen Sharing in Leopard |
| | Filed under: Software, Internet Tools, Leopard, .Mac, MobileMeGlenn Fleishman of Macworld, Wi-Fi Networking News and TidBITS fame has written two new Leopard ebooks, both published today by Take Control Books. The new titles, Take Control of Back to My Mac and Take Control of Screen Sharing in Leopard, are part of the popular Take Control ebook series. Take Control of Back to My Mac provides many tips on how to get .Mac's MobileMe's problematic remote access service up and working for you, while Take Control of Screen Sharing in Leopard discusses the many tools available for sharing your Mac screen with others. The books are $10 each, but if you purchase both ebooks and enter CPN006780611BUN as a coupon code, you'll get an immediate $5 discount. There's no excuse to suffer in silence with Back to My Mac anymore!In the interest of disclosure, I've written two titles for Take Control Books, neither of which are discussed in this post.[Via TidBITS]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 6/13/2008 4:03 PM (385d 5h 7m ago) |
| Mac 101: Right-click on a laptop |
| | Filed under: Portables, Mac 101Oh, the one-button mouse. You either love it or you hate it. Veteran Mac users adore the elegance and simplicity; switchers bemoan the loss of a second (or third) mouse button. Of course, the problem is easily fixed by either holding down the Control button or -- wait for it -- buying a two-button mouse.On a laptop, you've got another option. MacSupport points out this simple method of using a "two-finger tap" in place of a right click. To set things up, follow these steps. In the Keyboard & Mouse preference pane, select "Trackpad Gestures" under the Trackpad section. From there, select "Tap trackpad using two fingers for secondary click" and you're all set. Now, tapping the trackpad with two fingers will execute a right click.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/29/2008 12:57 AM (400d 20h 14m ago) |
| Two new eBooks focus on Apple's Mail.app |
| | Filed under: Tips and tricks, Odds and ends, Troubleshooting, Leopard, BooksTake Control Books, the digital delivery brainchild of long-time Mac authors Adam and Tonya Engst, has announced the publication of two new ebooks in their Take Control series. Author Joe Kissell has written a 95-page tome titled Take Control of Apple Mail in Leopard that describes the 14 new features in the latest version of Apple Mail, details how to use its hidden power, and provides troubleshooting tips in case things don't work just the way they should. Joe's companion ebook, Take Control of Spam with Apple Mail, helps you to keep the wave of ED pharmaceutical ads in your inbox to a minimum.The ebooks are $10 each and are downloaded immediately for your reading pleasure. In the interest of full disclosure, I have authored two Take Control eBooks -- not this particular pair, though.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/16/2008 1:33 PM (413d 7h 38m ago) |
| Macworld Offers Its New Rules for Buying a Mac |
| | The world has a lot of unwritten rules: In social etiquette. In baseball. And in buying computers. For years, we have unquestioningly followed numerous unwritten rules when buying a Mac. Like many customs, these rules were once based on a foundation of facts and reason. But in the past few years, many longstanding Mac truths have been upended. All Macs run on multiple-core Intel processors now. iMacs are no longer hobbled by crippling feature limitations. And speedy external peripherals have drastically lessened the need for add-on cards.In other words, the old rules no longer apply. If you’re planning on buying a new Mac, you need facts about the modern lineup—so you can choose the computer that’s right for you.In this article, Macworld takes a look at some common assumptions and explain whether they align with today’s realities. |
| | 5/14/2008 2:45 PM (415d 6h 26m ago) |
| Macworld offers up new rules for Mac buying |
| | Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware
Buying a new Mac is often a complicated business. Sure, there are only a few models to choose from, but do you need a laptop or a desktop? Can you get away with a consumer machine, or do you need to spend the money and get one of Apple's pro offerings? These are not easy questions to answer, but there have long been some simple 'rules' of Mac buying. Macworld takes a look at the current Mac landscape and offers up some updates for those rules of yore.Take a look at the article, and you might find that the Mac you think you need isn't the Mac that you really need.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/14/2008 2:22 PM (415d 6h 48m ago) |
| Photoshop and trackpad gestures |
| | Filed under: Portables, SoftwareI'm not a trackpad fan, but I will admit that gestures are cool. Ivan at Creative Bits has identified the gestures available in Photoshop, including
Alt (Option) key + double finger track to zoom and out within a document
Hold the Apple (Cmd) key to zoom the whole screen
There's more, of course, and you can read the full list here. We recently wrote about some fun you can have using trackpad gestures to zoom and pan images in a Quick Look window.Ivan also wishes for user-defined gestures, something that only seems logical for Apple to implement.What's on your "Gestures Wish List?"Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/13/2008 4:12 PM (416d 4h 59m ago) |
| Mac 101: The desktop in dialog windows |
| | Filed under: Tips and tricks, Mac 101You want to open a file on the desktop from within a given application. Let's say Microsoft Word (it could happen). So, you select "Open" from the File menu. However, it selects the directory you last accessed with this method - the Documents folder. Don't reach for that mouse! A simpler solution is to hit Command-D to jump to the Desktop's files. Note that this works in Save dialog windows, too. "How long does it take for me to move to and from the mouse?" you ask. The answer is just a second or two. But those seconds add up over the course of a day, a week, a year. Now, what will you do with all the extra time?Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/13/2008 3:40 PM (416d 5h 31m ago) |
| Mac 101: system-wide thesaurus at the touch of a hotkey |
| | Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Mac 101As a Mac switcher, my Mac's built-in spelling and grammar checking has been a huge productivity boon for me. I'm someone who often gets stuck on a word, and since nothing's ever good enough for me, I've often wished that Leopard also included a built-in thesaurus. While that's not currently in the cards, there is an alternative. How many ways are there to say "Whoops?" Of course, Leopard does include a built-in thesaurus via Dictionary.app. See the continuation of this post for a screenshot. Thanks to everyone in the comments for keeping me honest.
If the Apple offering isn't to your liking, Nisus Thesaurus, a free app from Nisus Software, works as a standalone application and a system service. This means that it installs in the Services sub-menu of your Mac and is accessible from any program you use that is able to interact with the Services sub-menu. These applications include Mail, TextEdit, Safari, MacJournal, and countless others.
Once installed, using your new thesaurus is as simple as highlighting a word that you would like to look up, and pressing the Nisus Thesaurus Services sub-menu hotkey (Command -<). This will pop up the Nisus Thesaurus window with your word options only a click away. Select the word you would like to use as a replacement, press Command->, and voila; your new choice has replaced the original word. Continue reading Mac 101: system-wide thesaurus at the touch of a hotkeyRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/10/2008 9:23 PM (418d 23h 48m ago) |
| Bugs & Fixes: Desktop items MIA |
| | If items you’ve tried saving to your Desktop are disappearing without a trace, Ted Landau feels your pain. Here’s how he solves the problem.
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| | 5/09/2008 5:35 PM (420d 3h 36m ago) |
| Mac 101: Back it Up |
| | Filed under: Software, Leopard, Mac 101If you're like me, you probably spend a great deal of time using your Mac. From checking email, working with photos, surfing the web and paying bills to writing posts just like this, my Mac serves me well in so many ways. Using it every day as I do, I tend to create a massive amount of files, photos, emails and all of the other items that go along with daily Mac use.The items that are created, modified and used every day are very important. So, to make sure I have access to them and that nothing bad happens to them, they need to be backed up so they're safe no matter what. But even though I know these files, folders and more need to be backed up, how do I do it in the most simple, effective and least time-consuming way? Fortunately, there are several solutions available to Mac users to help ensure that their precious data is preserved. Most are simple to use and all provide an automated backup solution that once set up, doesn't rely on the user to make sure it works -- it all happens automatically on a particular schedule.But which solution to choose? Here are the three simplest, cheapest and most reliable backup solutions for your consideration:Continue reading Mac 101: Back it UpPermalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/09/2008 1:44 PM (420d 7h 27m ago) |
| Mac 101: Quick Mac info |
| | Filed under: OS, Mac 101Here's a quick and unobtrusive way to grab some information about your machine. As you may know, you can select "About this Mac" from the Apple Menu to produce a small window which lists your version of the Mac OS, your processor type and speed plus the amount of memory installed. You could click "More Info..." to launch System Profiler and gain more information, or try this.Click the version number field and it changes to the OS X build number. Click it again, and your machine's serial number is displayed. But the fun doesn't stop there! You can gain even more information from the login window. Clicking the same field reveals
Your computer's name
The OS version
Build number
Serial number
IP address
Any available network accounts
Date and time
Don't you just love Finder tricks?We tested this under Mac OS 10.5.2, so if your experience is different, let us know what version of the OS you're using as well as what you found.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/08/2008 2:20 PM (421d 6h 51m ago) |
| Pro Tip of the Week: Browsing privately in public |
| | If you’re browsing the web on a public computer, the last thing you want to do is leave personal information about yourself behind for others to discover. Of course, if you use Safari, you have a number of ways to safeguard your privacy while browsing publicly. Read about them in this week’s Pro Tip of the Week. |
| | 5/08/2008 12:10 AM (421d 21h ago) |
| Quick Tip of the Week: Using iChat to transfer files |
| | A great way to text, set up video conferences with multiple parties, or host remote Keynote presentations, iChat also offers a fast and simple way to exchange large files with clients or colleagues. Find out how by watching the latest Quick Tip of the Week. |
| | 5/07/2008 4:01 PM (422d 5h 10m ago) |
| AppleScript: Delete old folders |
| | Filed under: Features, How-tos
digg_url = 'http://www.tuaw.com/2008/05/04/applescript-delete-old-folders/';
If you work like I do, then you have a hierarchy of folders contained in a single folder that allows you to manage project files, notes, etc. Well, when it comes time to chunk those old files, normally you have to manually go through and remove them; this task can become daunting if you have multiple project folders. I am going to show you an easier way. In this how-to, we'll cover how to create an AppleScript that will allow you to remove folders that are older than 30 days. Continue reading to learn how to create this AppleScript.Continue reading AppleScript: Delete old foldersRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 5/05/2008 4:02 PM (424d 5h 8m ago) |
| Quick Tip of the Week: Reading PDFs in Safari |
| | When you find a link for a PDF while surfing the Web, Safari lets you open it right in the browser with a single click. In Mac OS X Leopard, Safari also offers new PDF controls that let you zoom in, zoom out, save that PDF file, or open it in Preview. Find out how by watching the latest Quick Tip of the Week.
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| | 5/01/2008 5:41 AM (428d 15h 30m ago) |
| Pro Tip of the Week: The latest word on Word editing |
| | A friend or colleague sends you a Word document and asks you to give her some feedback. Don’t have MS Word on your Mac? Not a problem. You’re running Mac OS X Leopard, so you have an application on your Mac that will let you open the Word document, edit it, then save it as a Word document again. What application could that be? Read the latest Pro Tip of the Week and find out. |
| | 5/01/2008 5:40 AM (428d 15h 31m ago) |
| Moving Mail accounts offline |
| | Here are a couple of options for moving specific Mail accounts offline.
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| | 4/29/2008 3:53 AM (430d 17h 18m ago) |
| Mac 101: uninstalling applications |
| | Filed under: Switchers, Mac 101This time around in Mac 101 I thought it would be good to talk about uninstalling applications on the Mac, especially for the recent switchers out there. Unlike Windows, Mac OS X does not have a native utility for uninstalling applications. Most (though not all) applications are installed just by dragging and dropping them into the Applications folder, and most are similarly got rid of by dragging them to the trash. However, when you do that you often leave behind preference and support files, especially in your user Library folder hierarchy (/Users/yourname/Library, as distinct from /Library which is "owned" by Mac OS X). While you can root these files out yourself, it's sometimes far from obvious where they are. To resolve this, a new class of uninstallers have appeared on the scene to address the problem. One of the first was AppZapper ($12.95), but many more have arisen like AppDelete (donations requested), SuperPop ($15), and CleanApp ($10). With most of these you choose the application you want deleted by dropping it on the uninstaller (or choosing it from a list); hit a button and the application plus its support files are sent to the trash. Taking a slightly different approach, Yank ($19.95) actually monitors your system while you are installing applications and creates a "Yank File" that records the location of everything created by the application. You then uninstall by running the Yank File. Finally, there are uninstallers that integrate with the Trash itself, requiring no separate interface. Into this class fall Hazel ($21.95), which also does other automatic file management tasks, and AppTrap (donations requested). What's great about these last two is that you can just drag an application to the trash and they will automatically look for and offer to delete the support files. Indeed, this seems to me to be the most Mac-like and elegant approach. For my own part I mostly just use Hazel, though I still throw things at AppZapper... |
| | 4/29/2008 3:47 AM (430d 17h 23m ago) |
| Terminal tip: easy email attachments |
| | Filed under: Terminal Tips
If you're looking to automate the sending of emails with attachments quickly and easily (and aren't too concerned with having some glamorous stationery), Terminal is once again your friend. It's possible with Mail.app and AppleScript, but there are a few pitfalls and, for most purposes, a simple shell command will do the trick:
(echo "This is the message body";uuencode Desktop/yourDoc.doc yourDoc.doc)|mail -s "Test attachment" someone@adomain.com
The magical command in this one is uuencode, which is used to encode and decode binary files and can be used on just about any file type. The two arguments in the command above define the name and location of the source file and the name the file should have when it's received. The parenthetical statement at the beginning combines the results of the echo and uuencode commands which are then piped (|) to the mail command. The mail command, having received the body text and attachment, is told to append a subject (-s "Subject") and send it to the address specified. If you wanted to send a longer text file - with line breaks, perhaps - as the body, you could save the text in an external file and replace the echo statement with cat myfile.txt.
By adding a little complexity you could make a shell script that takes arguments, making the automation a little more flexible. But TUAW reader Adam was wondering how to send a photo he'd taken automatically using AppleScript (triggered by a Mail Rule). So here's an AppleScript implementation that doesn't require opening Terminal or dealing with Mail.app scripting:
set msgBody to "This is the body of the message" set msgSubj to "Message subject" set mailDest to "someone@adomain.com" do shell script "(echo '" & msgBody & "'; uuencode /Users/you/Desktop/pictosend.jpg pictosend.jpg) | mail -s '" & msgSubj & "' " & mailDest
Make sure you remove any line breaks from that last line. This obviously requires a predetermined image name, but that... |
| | 4/20/2008 6:54 PM (439d 2h 17m ago) |
| Tips & Techniques: How To Sell Your Old Notebook |
| | Sooner or later everyone ends up with an old laptop that they desperately want to get rid of. Your choices are generally limited to giving the old notebook away, throwing it in the trash, or recycling it at a proper facility. Of course, the best option is selling it. Why not make a few extra dollars from that junker laptop? Continue reading this guide to find out how.
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| | 4/16/2008 3:09 PM (443d 6h 1m ago) |
| Quick Tip of the Week: Leopard’s Powerful Dictionary |
| | In Mac OS X Leopard, Dictionary has evolved into an even more valuable resource, letting you not only quickly search the built-in Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Apple Dictionary on your Mac but also search Wikipedia, the expansive online encyclopedia. There’s more. You can now access the Dictionary from Mail, Safari, iWork, and most other Mac OS X applications. Find out how by watching the latest Quick Tip of the Week. |
| | 4/15/2008 11:05 PM (443d 22h 6m ago) |
| How To Improve Notebook Battery Life |
| | Anyone with a notebook or tablet PC knows that at the end of the day, battery life is still the key mobility factor when using a notebook on the road. Some users might turn to extended batteries, while others already have one and are looking to squeeze out handful of minutes before they run out of juice somewhere. An area that many notebook users overlook is the software that is running in the background on many notebooks that acts as a leech, sucking away at your power and making your notebook work harder than it should. With a few minutes worth of simple changes, you can easily crank out some more time from your notebook following our guide.Most of this guide will target notebook running Windows Vista, but many of the same tweaks hold true for Windows XP.-Keep your processor working at a walking pace-Tune your radio dial-Change your viewing habits-Don't be tempted by movies-Kill unwanted background activities-Clean up after yourselfsee TablePCReview post for details on each above |
| | 4/14/2008 7:12 PM (445d 1h 59m ago) |
| Leopard Love: QuickLook App Launch |
| | Last night, Mike Rose pointed me to this great Leopard tip that allows you to turn your Application folder into a full-screen launcher. Here's what you do. Navigate to /Applications and select the entire folder (Edit > Select All or Command-A). Next, tap the space bar, click the full-screen arrows and click the Index Sheet button. Bingo: instant full-screen launchiness goodness.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 3/31/2008 4:48 PM (459d 4h 23m ago) |
| Tips & Techniques: A Common Sense Approach to Internet Safety |
| | Google and Common Sense Media have teamed up to create this video of common sense tips and rules for families to help keep their children safe online. For these tips and additional information about online safety, check out the Common Sense Media website. Read More... |
| | 3/28/2008 8:35 PM (462d 36m ago) |
| SoundAsleep 1.0 |
| | Filed under: Software, FreewareI know many TUAW readers keep their Macs on, and awake, over night for a variety of reasons. If your Mac is in your bedroom, then you have probably been rudely awoken by an errant alert from your Mac. Your sleepless nights are now over, because SoundAsleep is here to guard your slumber.SoundAsleep is a very simple app that sits in your menubar (above you see SoundAsleep's preferences). Simply set the time you want to start muting your Mac, and when you want to unmute it. That's it. SoundAsleep will take care of it.It would be nice if you could set a number of different 'muting schedules,' but that's the concept of a version 2.0 was invented.SoundAsleep is freeware produced by Nullriver.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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| | 3/26/2008 8:25 PM (464d 46m ago) |
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 | MacBook Air SuperDrive User's Guide | Product Manual Posted: 01/15/2008, 8 Pages, 482KB |
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 | Apple Macbook Air User's Guide | Product Manual Posted 01/15/2008, 76 Pages, 3.7MB |
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 | Apple Recycling Program | Purchase any qualifying Apple computer or monitor and receive free recycling of your old computer and monitor — regardless of manufacturer. |
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 | Apple Customer Service | Apple Computer Phone numbers and support email addresses. |
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 | Quicktime 7.1 User Guide | This document includes instructions for using Quicktime Pro |
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 | Product Warranty | Apple 1 Year Limited Warranty |
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►You must be a member to add to the Community sections ►If you have a question on this product, add your question to the FAQ Forum and a member of the Personafile community will answer it |
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| Compare to Sony VAIO TZ150 |
| A good quick comparison between the MacBook Air and Sony VAIO TZ150 |
mnut  |
| 1/17/2008 8:56 PM UTC (533d 15m ago) |
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| Q. What is the expected battery life on the MBA? |
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set4 ; posted 1/16/2008 7:53 PM UTC (534 days, 1 hour, 18 minutes ago) |
| A. I hear 5 hours, which is great. Bad news is that the battery is not replaceable. Like the iPhone, thin doesn't allow for a replaceable battery. |
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pav ; posted 1/17/2008 6:48 AM UTC (533 days, 14 hours, 22 minutes ago) |
| A. Isn't it true that you can no longer carry a spare battery on board a plane in the US. If that's true, then having a spare battery options is useless... you can't use it on the plane and you can't get it to your destination. I suppose you can check it in your baggage but how pissed would you be sitting above your bags in need of a battery that's inaccessible? |
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mnut ; posted 1/25/2008 12:29 PM UTC (525 days, 8 hours, 42 minutes ago) |
| A. 5 hours. Gizmodo reports that the battery can take up to 8+ hours to charge though but I don't believe it. I think they have a unit with a faulty battery |
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scolbert ; posted 1/29/2008 5:37 AM UTC (521 days, 15 hours, 34 minutes ago) |
| Q. Why such a strange model number Z0FS0LLA? I don't know of other Apple products with this kind of model #.? |
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set4 ; posted 1/16/2008 8:44 PM UTC (534 days, 26 minutes ago) |
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| 1 Review; updated 1/17/2008 8:40 PM UTC (533 days, 31 minutes ago) | |
| MacBook Air vs. Sony VAIO TZ150 |
A good comparison can be found on: http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/01/15/macbook-air-sony-vaio-tz150-feature-comparison/ In summary: So while getting set to unveil the new MacBook Air, Steve made a rough comparison to the Sony VAIO TZ series of notebook computers. Let’s take a look at the cheapest model, the VGN-TZ150N/B and see how it and the new MacBook Air really stack up. Thinness: MacBook Air It’s true, the MacBook Air has the Sony VAIO beat handily. At it’s thickest, the Air is 0.76-inches. The Sony is 1.17-inches thick. Weight: Sony VAIO The VAIO weighs in at 2.7-pounds versus the MacBook Air’s 3-pound weight. In the portability game, every ounce counts. It’ll be interesting to see if the MacBook Air “feels” lighter since it’s so thin. Processor: MacBook Air Both have Intel Core 2 Duo processors. The MacBook Air’s runs at 1.6GHz with 4MB of L2 cache and an 800MHz frontside bus, standard, while the Sony’s runs at 1.06GHz with 2MB of L2 cache and a 533MHz frontside bus. Price: MacBook Air Sony’s site has the VAIO listed at $2099 but you can currently get it at Best Buy for $1849. The MacBook Air is $1799. RAM: MacBook Air Apple’s comes with 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM. Sony’s comes with 1GB of 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM. Hard Drive: Sony VAIO Sony’s got 100GB standard as opposed to the MacBook Air’s 80GB drive. Both are 4200-rpm PATA drives. Screen: MacBook Air, unless you’re really into total pixel count As far as inches are concerned, the MacBook wins here. It’s got a 13.3-inch screen versus the VAIO’s 11.1-inch screen. The VAIO has a slightly higher total resolution, though, if that’s what you’re into. It’s 1366×768 versus Apple’s 1280×800. Both screens are LED-backlit. Graphics: Toss up, too early to tell Sony’s got the older Intel GMA 950 but it’s running 224MB of total shareable memory. Apple’s got the newer Intel GMA X3100 but it’s running only 144MB of total shareable memory. This would really come down to the specific programs you’re running. The Mac’s got more total system RAM and a faster overall processor but the Sony’s got more video RAM allocated to less system RAM. My inclination is to say that the MacBook would perform better but it’s hard to tell yet. Connectivity: Sony VAIO The MacBook Air has wireless and Bluetooth. The VAIO has wireless, Bluetooth, Sprint EVDO, Gigabit Ethernet, and even a modem if you still remember how those work. Battery, Battery Life: Sony VAIO Sony goes from 4.5 to 7 hours and there’s an extended-life battery that you can buy. Both are user-replaceable. The MacBook tops out at 5 hours and isn’t user-replaceable. Ouch. Keyboard and Mouse: Probably MacBook Air Without trying the MacBook Air’s keyboard, I can tell you that if it’s anything close to full size, as Jobsy says it is, it’s got the Sony beat. The keyboard on the VAIO is tiny. The raised keys help a little but, hey, Apple’s got that too and its keys are bigger. Plus, add in the multi-touch gesture thing from the MacBook’s trackpad, and we have a winner. I used to have an older MacBook and the thing I miss most is the multi-touch. Extras and Intangibles: You decide Sony’s notebook comes with a built-in DVD writer. The MacBook has no internal optical drive but it does have that cool iffy, new Remote Drive feature. The Sony comes with Windows Vista Business (I’m running it on a Sony VAIO SZ series notebook and it’s been finicky at best) and the MacBook Air comes with OS X. The Sony comes with an integrated fingerprint reader (which I’ve found way more useful than I thought I would), while the MacBook comes with both DVI and VGA connection options (the Sony only does VGA). Conclusion The VAIO, as an ultraportable machine with long battery life, is impressive. Plus the connection options, especially the built-in Sprint connection, are great. The integrated DVD drive is a plus, too. Also, if you’ve ever seen the Sony in person (or if you own one), you know how tiny it is. That can be a good or bad thing depending on what you’re looking for. If you’ve got huge fingers, it’s not so good. The MacBook Air, on the other hand, will be an impressively portable, basically-full-size computer. It won’t feel small and tiny like the VAIO but it likely won’t weigh you down much either. Plus, most of the stuff I’ve read from the VAIO’s users has been that the VAIO TZ series is slow and underpowered. The MacBook has it pretty well beaten in the speed department. Of course, the ultimate decision is up to you and none of us have actually used the MacBook yet so we can reserve final judgment for a later day. But if you took notice during the recent keynote when Jobs compared the two and wondered what a more thorough comparison might look like, hopefully this has helped a bit. |
mnut ; posted 1/17/2008 8:40 PM UTC (533 days, 31 minutes ago) |
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| 2 News Items; updated 1/28/2008 6:50 AM UTC (522 days, 14 hours, 20 minutes ago) | |
| Release Date |
| I hear the Macbook Air will be in stores this Tuesday, Jan 28th. |
mnut ; posted 1/28/2008 6:50 AM UTC (522 days, 14 hours, 20 minutes ago) |
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| Relevant Keywords | apple store apple announcements ultrathin notebook |
| Product Aliases | macbook ultrathin thin |
| Search term visit log (top 30 shown): |
| Search Term | Visits | Last Visit |
| macbook weight | 1,285 | 7/2/2009 9:57:57 AM |
| MacBook air release date | 973 | 6/22/2009 11:00:12 PM |
| macbook air weight | 838 | 7/2/2009 4:03:10 PM |
| MacBook Air | 328 | 1/26/2009 2:14:30 AM |
| macbook battery life | 148 | 5/27/2009 4:50:59 AM |
| macbook air release | 147 | 4/2/2009 3:56:41 AM |
| mac air release date | 145 | 5/26/2009 4:32:03 PM |
| macbook weight comparison | 135 | 6/26/2009 1:35:14 PM |
| weight of macbook | 134 | 7/3/2009 12:03:10 AM |
| weight macbook | 88 | 6/24/2009 10:53:24 PM |
| macbook air service manual | 85 | 6/18/2009 11:44:29 PM |
| old Macbook weight | 84 | 7/3/2009 4:50:02 AM |
| macbook air serial number | 77 | 7/1/2009 10:06:08 AM |
| new macbook weight | 74 | 5/29/2009 3:27:55 PM |
| mac book weight | 67 | 6/21/2009 7:32:55 PM |
| macair weight | 62 | 5/15/2009 5:41:21 PM |
| mac air weight | 55 | 4/24/2009 3:46:54 AM |
| macbook air model number | 53 | 6/30/2009 8:55:28 PM |
| product | 49 | 6/7/2009 8:06:14 AM |
| macbook air keypad lights | 35 | 3/17/2008 12:34:19 AM |
| weight of macbook air | 33 | 6/24/2009 4:44:08 PM |
| weight of old macbook | 30 | 6/29/2009 8:15:24 AM |
| macbook air manual | 29 | 6/17/2008 1:56:44 PM |
| release date MacBook Air | 28 | 3/17/2009 7:35:49 AM |
| release date for macbook air | 27 | 11/13/2008 3:01:23 AM |
| macbook wieght | 27 | 5/8/2009 1:01:50 PM |
| mac air release | 25 | 6/16/2009 12:51:24 PM |
| macbook weights | 24 | 5/22/2009 2:02:49 AM |
| MACBOOK AIR model numbers | 22 | 7/1/2009 12:22:28 AM |
| release date of macbook air | 22 | 4/20/2008 10:10:23 PM |
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| Google: 91%, Yahoo!: 4%, Live: 3%, MSN: 1%, Ask.com: <1%, AOL: <1%, Other: <1% |
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