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Take Your Mac Pro Eight Ways
You know what they say, if four is good, eight must be better. MacBidouille has a nicely detailed tutorial on replacing your Mac Pro's stock Dual Core Xeons with Intel's new Quad Core Xeon X5355, bringing your up to eight total cores. Needless to say, you'll be kissing your Apple warranty goodbye if you perform this kind of brain surgery, and some earlier tests from AnandTech even indicated you won't necessarily gain in performance (since software has to be optimized to use multiple cores effectively). Nonetheless, if you're the type that just must have the biggest, baddest Mac beast out there you should start looking for a long hexagonal screwdriver. Personally, I think I would just wait until Apple gets around to doing this for me in some future Mac Pro, but I think it's great that's this sort of thing possible.[Via Digg]
GeForce 7300 GT Firmware Update available
Apple released a GeForce 7300 GT Firmware Update today. According to Apple, "The GeForce 7300 GT Firmware Update will update the firmware on all of the NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics cards in the Mac Pro. The updater application will be installed in the /Applications/Utilities folder. Please follow the instructions in the updater application to complete the process."I love the explanation that the Firmware Update will update the firmware. If you're lucky enough to own one of these Mac Pros, check Software Update.
MCE intros Blu-ray burner for Mac Pro, Power Mac G5
Japan's Logitec may have been the first to lay claim to a Mac-compatible Blu-ray burner, but it looks like MCE Technologies gets the bragging rights for the first Mac-friendly internal burner, which also has the added benefit of actually being available 'round these parts. As with the Logitec, MCE's Mac Pro and Power Mac G5-compatible drive will give you 2x reading and writing speeds on Blu-ray discs, as well as the usual less-than-speedy burning times for CDs and DVDs. The key to the Mac compatibility is, of course, Roxio's Toast 8 Titanium software, which first declared its Mac Blu-ray support last summer but so far hasn't been able to put it to much use. While you'll have to crack open your case, you will be somewhat rewarded for your effort, with drive setting you back considerably less than Logitec's external offering, available now direct from MCE for $699.[Thanks, Dave]
Apple confirms: Macs already shipping with 802.11n
No surprises here, but following the launch of the Airport Extreme this morning, Apple came clean about the existence of 802.11n draft-spec hardware in their iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro, and Mac Pro lineup of computers. So just like we thought, Apple will indeed provide a software update for your Mac. Only thing is, you'll have to purchase their Airport Extreme first, since the "enabler software" ships with new base station. Now that you know for sure what your hardware could do (with compatible draft-n hardware), we wonder if you can really wait until February for your update?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Mac Pro, MacBook Pro win InfoWorld 2007 Tech honors
InfoWorld just released their 2007 Technology of the Year Awards, which cover technologies that were the best of 2006, and Apple has made a strong showing. The Mac Pro snagged Best Desktop/Workstation while the MacBook Pro took Best Notebook honors.InfoWorld also has an article up by Tom Yager that chronicles Apple's very smooth Intel transition. When I think about how well Apple handled the transition, and the number of developers who jumped on the Intel bandwagon so quickly, I am amazed.
Getting started with your new Mac
Someone must love you, since there was a shiny new Mac waiting under the tree for you this morning. I know you're excited to get it up and running, and it'll be easier than you think. There are some tips I would like to share with you, oh newly inducted acolyte to the Cult of Mac, that should make your Mac adventure even more fun. Toss aside the included mouse: All desktop Macs now come with the Mighty Mouse (except the Mac mini, of course), which is a multibutton mouse that pretends to be a one button mouse. Toss it aside and get yourself a real mouse (the Logitech MX Revolution Wireless Laser Mouse is currently my favorite mouse of all time). If you received a portable Mac you should also pick yourself up a mouse. The included Trackpad is nice, but a mouse is much nicer. Download Quicksilver and Growl: You might not get why Quicksilver and Growl are awesome. You might not get it for awhile, but when it clicks your Mac experience will become even better. Trust me, would a blogger lie to you? Enable Tabbed Browsing in Safari: Launch Safari, go to 'Preferences,' 'Tabs,' and check the 'Enable Tabbed Browsing.' You might also want to check out many of the Mac only variants of web browsers: Omniweb, Optimized Firefox, Camino (which is still my personal favorite), and Shiira. Drag your Applications folder to the Dock: I wrote a post, about a year ago, detailing how to move your hard disk into the Dock for easy access. I have since amended my setup to include only the Applications Folder in the Dock, since that is where I needed to go most of the time anyway. Follow the instructions in my previous post, but just drag the Applications Folder in the Dock instead of the entire hard disk. Charge the battery, but not too much: If you found a MacBook or MacBook Pro under the tree make sure that you plug it in the first time you use it. Apple has a list of tips for maximizing the battery life of portables, give it a read to ensure many happy cycles on your battery. Read TUAW: I admit that I am a little biased, but we here at TUAW strive to be that Mac geek friend of yours that knows where to find all the cool Mac stuff on the web. Our knowledgeable bloggers (and me!) are always ready with new tips, tricks, and news to share so make sure you come back often.
Mac Pro: the best Windows workstation available
If I weren't completely bedeviled with Apple's portables (I use both a MacBook and a MacBook Pro) I would a Mac Pro user. Richard Hoffman, writing for InformationWeek, has had his hands on a Mac Pro for 2 weeks and has one word to describe it: 'Wow.'That's good.He goes on to say that this machine is the best Windows workstation available, whether you are using Parallels or Boot Camp.So, Mac Pro owners out there, are you happy with your Mac Pro?
Enabling Front Row on your Mac Pro - Bluetooth Mighty Mouse edition
Following up on yesterday's "How to enable Front Row on the Mac Pro" post, Sam Obletz sent us a note alerting us to the fact that the instructions don't work if you're using a Bluetooth Mighty Mouse. Fortunately, Sam included instructions that do work with the Bluetooth Mighty Mouse. The steps trick the Bluetooth controller, receiver, and HID driver into thinking there is IR present.First, read the original tip on on MacOSXHints.The following steps are what you must do after adding the boolean value for M19-0a, M19-0b, and M19-1: Click on the arrow to the left of M6. Click on the first property that appears, whatever it is. Press New Sibling, in the upper left of the window. A new model string will be inserted and rename it to HIDRemoteControl. Locate the new HIDRemoteControl line (it's in alphabetical order). Change the type from String to Boolean. Change the Boolean value to Yes. Click on the arrow to the left of M6-events. Click on the first property that appears, whatever it is. Press New Sibling, in the upper left of the window. A new model string will be inserted and rename it to HIDRemoteControl. Locate the new HIDRemoteControl line (it's in alphabetical order). Change the type from String to Boolean. Change the Boolean value to Yes. Thanks for the contribution, Sam!
Apple releases EFI Firmware updates for Intel Macs
Apple today released EFI Firmware Updates for all Intel-based Macs. The update, in all cases, fixes several Boot Camp, start up, and wake-from-sleep issues. Here's the rundown:iMac EFI Firmware Update 1.1After the firmware update is successfully applied to your computer, your Boot ROM Version will be:IM41.0055.B08 (early 2006)IM42.0071.B03 (17-inch mid 2006)IM52.0090.B03 (17-inch late 2006 CD)IM51.0090.B03 (20-inch late 2006)IM61.0093.B01 (24-inch)MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.2*After the firmware update is successfully applied to your computer, your Boot ROM Version will be:MBP11.0055.B08 (MacBook Pro 15 inch)MBP12.0061.B03 (MacBook Pro 17 inch)MacBook EFI Firmware Update 1.0After the firmware update is successfully applied to your computer, your Boot ROM Version will be: MB11.0061.B03Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.1 After the firmware update is successfully applied to your computer, your Boot ROM Version will be: MM11.0055.B08Mac Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.1After the firmware update is successfully applied to your computer, your Boot ROM Version will be:MP11.005C.B04*This update appears to be only be for the original Core Duo MacBook Pros - not the latest Core 2 Duos. Be sure to check the Read Me for instructions on how to install the firmware - and be sure to let us know how it works out for you!
TUAW Tip: How to enable Front Row on the Mac Pro
MacOSXHints reader posted a tip about how to enable Front Row on your Mac Pro. This trick will get around the problem of no Apple IR remote being detected, which causes Front Row to fail to launch. Front Row is already installed on Mac Pros - it just doesn't work. It just sits there, teasing you...All you have to do is edit a plist file and you'll be up and running. Which plist file to edit is dependant on which mouse you use, but if you don't use an Apple or Logitech mouse you might have to scramble a bit to get it working. For complete details, check out the tip on MacOSXHints. Of course you're still going to need some sort of remote to actually use Front Row, and there are a number of options available for that (a Salling Clicker-enabled cell phone, for example), but being able to activate it is a good first step. I don't have a Mac Pro handy to test this with, so let us know if you get it working on yours!UPDATE: We've added new instructions for users of the Bluetooth Mighty Mouse. See this post.
Apple to release Mac Pro with eight cores?
So now we've gotten word that the gang in Cupertino are working on a Mac Pro that will boast eight cores (call it octo-core, if you must) -- packing two Clovertown quad-core chips. Of course, this doesn't really seem all that much of a surprise given that this was already done over a month ago by our buds at Anandtech. But AppleInsider says that this new bump could happen "any time after mid Nov." for the Mac Pro line. Of course, most Apple rumors should normally be taken with a hefty dose of sodium chloride, but given that we've seen that no additional hardware or software tweaks are required to make the Mac Pro run properly with eight cores, it would seem that this is firmly within the realm of possibility. That is, assuming you have the hefty wad of cash that this will no doubt demand, and that Intel can produce enough supply in the near future.
Apple adds 750GB hard drive option to 24-inch iMac, Mac Pro
We aren't sure if this new option appeared today with the newly-updated MacBook Pro, but it's the first time we've heard of it: reader Mark S tipped us off to the availability of a 750GB hard drive option in the iMac 24-inch and the Mac Pro. The massive drive isn't available in any other iMac (they still cap out 500GB), but with 4 available bays in the Mac Pro, they can now be configured with 3 terabytes of storage straight out the gate. That's a lot of iTS movies.These drives don't come cheap, however: typical of Apple, each 750GB drive (across both machines) is a somewhat expensive $399 upgrade, so that's an extra $1596 just for the bragging rights of having the big bertha of Mac Pros on the block.
How to supersize your Mac Pro's SuperDrive
Oh, those tricky engineers over at Apple; how they love to slip little treats inside their boxes. Recently we found out that Cupertino had surreptitiously included 802.11n chips from Broadcom into its latest lineup of all-in-one iMacs, and now we've learned that many of the SuperDrives in the Mac Pro are even more super than their spec sheets or current functionality would have led us to believe. The good folks over at HardMac decided to find out the real deal behind Sony's DW-D150A DVD burner that ships with most Mac Pros (the others sport a Pioneer DVR-111D), and after disassembling the drive and doing a little research, discovered that this previously-unknown model is actually just a rebadged NEC ND-4570A. Normally such a revelation wouldn't be very interesting, except for the fact that NEC's version of the burner touts superior performance and more features than Apple endowed the Sony with, and a fairly simple firmware tweak is all it takes to make your SuperDrive even more powerful. We won't go into the specifics of the hack here, but after you've successfully followed the instructions laid out in the Read link, your drive will suddenly be able to burn DVD-RAMs and dual layer DVD-Rs, write CD-R discs at 48x (as is, these SuperDrives max out at 32x), and perhaps best of all, read DVDs from around the world (i.e. the new firmware is region-free). Next up for Team HardMac? Getting ahold of some LabelFlash-compatible discs and attempting a firmware update to the ND-4571 -- soon, your Mac Pro may be able to get its label on as well.[Via TUAW]
Hack your Mac Pro SuperDrive for fun and profit
It's not uncommon for computer manufacturers to swap and switch out various components for similar or near-identical parts during a production run, and Apple has been known to partake in this practice in the past. That being said, occasionally a manufacturer will use a part which has a slightly higher build quality or performance than its counterpart in other machines and simply throttle down the performance of the superior part through firmware.Although some of the new Mac Pro towers ship with the familiar Pioneer DVR-111D optical drive, the majority of the systems contain the apparently non-existent Sony DW-D150A. I say non-existent because the ubergeeks over at HardMac noticed that DW-D150A isn't a recognized Sony model number. After some more thorough research, it came to light that the drives billed as Sony DW-D150A are in actuality NEC 4570 mechanisms. You're probably asking yourself right about now why on earth I'm going on about something as innocuous as differing model numbers, and in most cases, you'd be right to question my sanity. However, in this rare instance, I have reached through the haze of confusion that normally clouds my mind, and at least for now I have a firm grip on the real world. The significance is this: The NEC 4570 kicks the pants off the Sony DW-D150A in almost all aspects of reading and writing, and has some extra features to boot.Sony: - DVD -/+R 16x - DVD+R DL 8x - DVD+RW 8x - DVD-RW 6x - CD-RW 32X - CD-R 32XNEC:- DVD -/+R 16x - DVD-R/ DL 8x - DVD+RW 8x - DVD-RW 6x - DVD-RAM 5x - CD-RW 32x - CD-R 48xNaturally, Apple has locked down the specifications of the NEC 4570 to keep things fair, but that doesn't mean we can't do a bit of hacking and regain all that sweet sweet performance. A few simple commands in the terminal, some pixie dust, and a little bit of luck, and you've got yourself one speedy optical drive. Disclaimer, Disclaimer, Disclaimer: Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) this hack is totally unsupported by Apple, and there is no guarantee you won't brick your SuperDrive. Attempt at your own risk.
Mac Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.0
Apple has issued an EFI Firmware Update 1.0 which "fixes several Boot Camp and start up issues on Mac Pro computers." We've been hearing about these problems for a little while now, so here's hoping this 1.8MB update can let Mac Pro + XP owners sleep a little better at night. The updater requires Mac OS X 10.4.7 and is available here.Thanks Robert
Boot Camp updated for Core 2 Duo Macs
Boot Camp, Apple's software that allows Mac users to run Windows XP on a separate partition, has been updated to version 1.1.1. Specific in this release is support for Core 2 Duo Macs (Mac Pro and new iMac), though the Boot Camp page lists other updates, such as support for built-in iSight cameras and improved Apple keyboard support, that actually appeared in Boot Camp 1.1.This release weighs in at 186MB, and is available from Apple's Boot Camp page.Thanks Randy
Clovertown Intel Core 2 quad-core will work in a Mac Pro
Ok Mac fanboys, listen up: if you somehow manage to have two not-yet-released Clovertown Intel Core 2 quad-core chips kicking around and you happen to have recently bought a Mac Pro, you can pop the pair of them right there into your nice little LGA-771 sockets, for some oct-awesome processing power. In fact, that's precisely what the good folks at Anandtech did. They have their silicon-stained paws on some "engineering samples" of the Clovertown chips and dropped them into their Mac Pro. What did they find? Mac OS X didn't hiccup at all, and neither did the other hardware. The CPU Monitor indeed showed all eight processors, but as Anandtech pointed out, there's not much that you can do at this point that will stress all eight processors at once, not unless you're running SETI@Home, Folding@Home and every other distributed processing program you can find -- and even then that probably won't do it.[Via Slashdot]
Iomega rolls out OS X-ready UltraMax 640GB RAID drive
Iomega must really like making hard drives aimed at Apple users, or either its MiniMax for the Mac mini and the new UltraMax 640GB drive are completely coincidental. Whatever the case, this new 640GB HDD rocks dual 320GB SATA drives in a RAID 0 or 1 array, and sports an enclosure that any Mac Pro (or PowerMac G5) owner can appreciate. It comes formatted for OS X use (HFS+), but can be reformatted for PC use, and Iomega apparently made cross-platform setup a breeze with the included "FAT32 format tools." (What, no NTFS?) What differentiates this cheese grater drive from those lookalikes is its on-the-fly ability to turn RAID on and off, as well as offering a few more nifty options not typically found on external drives. Aside from the trifecta of USB 2.0, FireWire 400, and FireWire 800 connections, you get a manual RAID switch that allows you to turn off the RAID and use the drives as JBOD (i.e. where each HDD is treated with its own drive letter). If you've been hunting for flexible external storage options, and you're a huge fan of brushed metal, the UltraMax 640GB can get paired up with your Mac (or PC) for $449.95 later this month.
Apple Mac Pro review roundup
So everyone even remotely in the loop knew that it was just a matter of time before Apple tossed an Intel processor (or two) into its desktop Mac, and now that the deed is done and the Mac Pro is out on the street, reviewers have the scoop on whether the revamped Mac is worth your while. There seems to be echos of praise stemming from the quicker, or shall we say, "snappier," Intel chip versus the 'ole PowerPC-based processors, and the much-anticipated addition of extra hard drive bays and a secondary optical drive helped to improve on those prior limitations. Of course, Rosetta apps still lag behind on the new chips, but this will probably become a non-issue as more programs get that Universal touch. Although there didn't seem to be many complaints, the biggest gripes came from the uninspiring graphics performance versus similar PC-based GPUs (no surprise here), and the disappointing reality that built-in AirPort / Bluetooth modules aren't standard on a "professional" machine. We're sure there's a select few still bound and determined to keep plugging along in OS 9 as long as possible, but for those interested in seeing how this Intel-equipped Mac fared, these guys have done the work for you. Read - Ars Technica Read - Anandtech Read - ZDNet Read - Bare Feats Read - MacInTouch Read - Epic Empire
Apple releases Boot Camp 1.1 beta
Apple has updated Boot Camp to version 1.1 with a number of new enhancements and compatibility fixes, including: Support for the latest Intel-based Macintosh computers (I'm assuming this means the Mac Pros) Easier partitioning using presets for popular sizes Ability to install Windows XP on any internal disk iSight camera support Support for built-in microphones Right-click when pressing the right-hand Apple key on Apple keyboards Improved Apple keyboard support including Delete, PrintScreen, NumLock, and ScrollLock keys Instructions for updating are provided at the Boot Camp site (and I would assume along with the Boot Camp install itself as well), but it's pretty simple: install the new version, burn a new CD of drivers, then flip over to Windows and install them.This might be a long shot, but I wonder if this update might make running Vista - either in its current version or the upcoming RC1 - easier. Anyone have any ideas?Thanks Blair!
