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Sony Alpha A55 and A33 official: translucent mirror, Full HD video, continuous autofocus
We told you August 24 would be a significant day for Sony, and sure enough, the company has let the translucent mirror cat out of the bag nice and early today. The A55 and A33 offer Sony's brand spanking new Translucent Mirror Technology, which allows for such fine things as continuous phase-detect autofocus while shooting at up to 10fps (7fps on the A33) or recording Full HD AVCHD video. A newly developed 15-point autofocus system is also included, with 16.2 and 14.2 megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensors for the A55 and A33, respectively. Both shooters come with a fully articulated, 920k-dot, 3-inch LCD screen, while 3D panoramas, automated HDR shot creation, and an Auto+ mode fill out the software goodies. Prices are set at $750 for the A55 in October and $650 for the A33 in September -- you can figure out if they're worth it by checking out the early previews below.
Steam on Mac preview roundup: all but identical to PC
With that hotly-anticipated May 12th release date just around the corner, you might be wondering how Steam on Mac will perform. You're in luck, because some of our favorite Mac news sites have just finished testing the software's closed beta. The verdict? It's practically the exact same as the Windows version, except there's almost nothing to buy. Save for the Growl-like notifications at the top of the screen, the UI is all but indistinguishable, and as promised,data and purchases (if playable) automatically carry over in their entirety from your Windows Steam account. Team Fortress 2 even has cross-platform capability, allowing Mac users to play online with their Windows counterparts, though several journalists noted you might want to invest in a two-button wheel mouse if you don't want to be found out. Source Engine performance on Mac wasn't quite as good as on Windows in tests using the exact same hardware (thanks, Boot Camp), but admirably comes close nonetheless; Electronista was able to maintain a similar framerate in Portal just by disabling two levels of anti-aliasing. Not all Mac users will be able to partake in these games, however; though a MacBook Pro with a discrete 512MB GeForce 8600M card could run them well and a GeForce 9400M laptop managed on low settings, those with only integrated Intel graphics chips might find themselves in for a painful surprise. Read - Electronista Read - MacRumors Read - MacWorld Read - AppleInsider
