Macintosh
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Apple updates Mac mini: Core i5 and i7, Thunderbolt, AMD Radeon HD, no SuperDrive
Need a miniature desktop to match that petite MacBook Air that Apple just refreshed? Well, there's a Mac for that. The new Mac mini packs an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, Thunderbolt, AMD Radeon HD graphics, and Mac OS X Lion. Notably absent, however, is that familiar front-facing SuperDrive slot. Starting at $599 with a 2.3GHz Intel Core i5, the new models include Turbo Boost 2.0, letting you crank up the speed to 3.4GHz when using processor-intensive applications. Apple also announced a $999 server version that ships with a Core i7 processor and OS X Lion Server. As with the previous generation, the mini doesn't sacrifice on connectivity, including gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 800, HDMI, SDXC, audio in and out, Thunderbolt (with support for up to six devices), and four USB 2.0 ports on the rear. There's also 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. The Mac mini is available for purchase online today, and in Apple retail stores tomorrow.%Gallery-128765%
Andy Hertzfeld, 'former Macintosh wizard,' designed the Google+ Project
Google+ looks... a little different. Almost as if it didn't even come from Google. And those drag-and-drop circles? Luscious. Turns out, there's a reason for everything, and he goes by Andy Hertzfeld. According to an investigative piece put up by Wired, Andy's actually credited as being the "original Mac guy," responsible for software and user interface design while working for Apple between 1979 and 1984. He picked up a new role at Goog in 2005, but according to the report, "he had previously felt constrained because its design standards didn't allow for individual creativity." That all changed with Emerald Sea, a diddy that would eventually become known as the search giant's most ambitious foray yet into the wide world of social networking. It's bruited that Andy was given the freedom to go wild whilst designing Google+, and it shows -- the interface throughout is about as intuitive as one could ever hope. 'Course, it takes more than good design to seal a project, but there's no doubt that this is one heck of a start. The rest of the story? Tucked away in that source link, just south of here.
Google+ design credited to original Macintosh team member Andy Hertzfeld
You may have heard about Google+, the hot new sharing product from Google that went official today, and it sounds cool (sounds cool, but remember how cool Wave and Buzz sounded? Let's just say we're reserving excitement so far). But one exciting thing about the new project is how cool and smooth it looks, and TechCrunch has noted the reason for that look, based on Steven Levy's reporting: it's designed in part by Andy Hertzfeld, one of the members of the original Macintosh team back in the 1980s. Hertzfeld now works for Google, and supposedly he was let free to exercise his creative influence as he liked on the new Google+ system, creating something for the folks in Mountain View that looks like it might have come from the early days of the Cupertino company. Hertzfeld even credits some of his influence at Google to Apple's own resurgence lately, saying that Apple's sky-high relevance in the tech and mobile industry may have "had a little bit to do" with his chance to help create Google+. In other words, when you finally get one of those invites that are starting to float around, and finally log in to the system to see what it is and what it's like, take note of any Macintosh-related influences you might see. Odds are, they're Mr. Hertzfeld's work.
Everything is a Remix 3 features Apple, Macintosh history
If you haven't been watching Kirby Ferguson's video series, Everything is a Remix, go watch it now. The highly intelligent and well-researched series challenges modern views of creativity by pointing out that nearly all critically-lauded works are built upon the foundations of works that preceded them. For the third video in the series, Ferguson offers up a great modern-day example: the Mac. It's a well-known bit of computing lore that much of the innovations of the original Mac OS drew inspiration from work done at Xerox, but Ferguson goes one step farther and points out the inventions and ideas that laid the foundation for Xerox's fledgling OS in the 1970s. Ferguson's thesis is that truly revolutionary ideas never spring fully-formed from the ether, and his example of the original Macintosh reminds us that all the gadgetry we use today, whether we take it for granted, complain about it breaking or accuse one company or another of ripping off the other's ideas, is a product of a steady stream of evolutionary steps rather than revolutionary thinking. Whether you're talking about Mac OS X Lion, Windows 8, iOS 5 or the latest sugary snack-named version of Android, all of them are simply remixes of what came before when it comes down to it.
Amazon launches Mac Download Store with more than 250 titles
Yes, it's another store within a store at Amazon, this time a Mac Download Store. While software downloads certainly aren't anything new for the online retailer, the Mac store does actually boast a wider variety of titles than Amazon's Windows download section, including games like Dragon Age: Origins and Civilization V, and applications like Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop Elements. All told, there's more than 250 titles currently available -- not exactly a rival to Apple's own Mac App Store, but a more than respectable start. Of course, no store launch is complete without a sale, and Amazon has kicked things off with two: a free download of Airport Mania, and $5 off your first paid download. Hit up the source link below to check it out.
Ryzom now available on Apple Store
Good news for all citizens of Atys and Mac users! Fresh on the heels of Ryzom's recent port to Linux, Winch Gate has just announced that its open source MMO is now available in the Apple Store. Boasting the title of "the first and only MMORPG available in the Mac Apple Store," Ryzom recently went free-to-play, allowing players to progress to skill level 125 without paying a single red cent. And now you can do that on a Mac, too! If you're in the market for a unique MMO with a strong emphasis on open-ended leveling, story, and even roleplaying but just couldn't find one that would cooperate with your fancy Mac, now's your chance to get your feet wet with Ryzom without even opening your wallet!
iPhoto 9.1.2 released
Along with the Snow Leopard Font Upgrade, iPhoto 9.1.2 has just shown up in Software Update. Outside of the usual bug squashing, it brings a few new features and tweaks including new card themes and some enhancements to making photo books. Here's what you'll find in this sizable update: • Addresses an issue that prevented the Zoom slider from being accessible in Magnify (1-Up) view • Fixes an issue where Toolbars were not auto-hiding in Full Screen view • Search field now correctly performs an "includes" search when searching by text string • Fixes minor formatting issues with book, card and calendar themes • Message Size of emails now correctly updates when changes are made using the Photo Size menu • Addresses an issue that prevented some iPhoto 5 libraries from upgrading correctly • Multiple book pages can now be drag-selected when in All Pages view • Design tools in print project panels are now accessible via separate Layout and Options buttons • Photo backgrounds applied to a book are now preserved when book type is changed • Tab key can now be used to navigate through all text fields in a book project The update is recommended for all all users of iPhoto '11, whether you bought it with iLife '11, or got it with a new Mac. It can be downloaded either here or through Software Update.
Aza Raskin shares Jef Raskin's 1981 memo on the genesis of the Macintosh
If you don't already know Jef Raskin's name, you should spend some time getting to know his work. His son, Aza Raskin, turned out to be a bit of a prodigy, eventually doing important and amazing work at Mozilla in the Labs department. Aza's latest endeavor is a company called Massive Health. His dad, Jef, was a true visionary in user experience and wrote a book called the Humane Interface, a must-read if you design interfaces for human beings. Oh, and Jef is largely credited with this whole "Macintosh" thing, often called the "father" of the Mac, even though he opposed the use of a mouse! So if you're steeped in Mac lore, it's a wonderful thing to see his son Aza posting Mac origin-story documents with the man's comments inline. Jef was quite opinionated, and it's worth reading comments he added to "Macintosh Project Genesis and History" -- a document he wrote in 1981. Read the story of the document, excerpts and the full thing at Fast Co.Design or check out the full thing with Jef's handwritten notes on the next page (sorry, a Flash embed from Scribd, so it won't work on iOS). The document makes clear why Apple chose to rigidly control the hardware in the Macintosh platform and sheds some light on key design considerations. The integrated monitor, for example, made it much easier to design a standard user interface, legible fonts and maintain consistency throughout the OS and third-party applications. Aza notes that Android currently suffers from issues similar to those that the Apple II line suffered from then: fragmentation. Although it's weird to think about now, I do remember radical display differences when going from my Apple II to my Laser 128 to my dad's Apple //c. Also, a standard set of hardware made everything from manuals to marketing easier. As the guy behind many manuals at Apple, Jef understood how good that would be. But the marketing? To quote Raskin: "The secret of mass marketing of software is having a very large and extremely uniform hardware/software base." I think anyone can understand how that fits into the current iOS strategy at Apple.
Happy 27th Birthday, Macintosh
Apple unveiled its first Macintosh-branded computer 27 years ago today. Steve Jobs introduced the Apple Macintosh on January 24, 1984 and received wild applause from the crowd of 3,000 people. The original Apple Macintosh was the first personal computer to be powered by the Mac operating system, then lovingly called System 1.0. The all-in-one beige case included a 9-inch monitor, a convenient handle and an accompanying keyboard and mouse. It also featured an 8 MHz processor with 128 KB DRAM, 16-bit data bus and non-upgradeable internal components. It was originally introduced simply as the Apple Macintosh and was re-branded as the Macintosh 128K when its big brother, the Macintosh 512K, was introduced in September 1984. The history-making computer debuted with a price tag of US$2495. For those that want to relive a piece of history, Steve Job's unveiling of the Apple Macintosh is above, and the famous "1984" Ridley Scott TV commercial, which aired during Super Bowl XVIII, is after the break. Enjoy!
Macintosh Plus celebrates 25 years by becoming ultimate DJ headgear (video)
Don't have $65,000 and / or seventeen months to build yourself a Daft Punk helmet? Here's the next best thing: crack open a Macintosh Plus, add an iPad, an old bicycle helmet and some electroluminescent gear, and get to soldering. Originally a school project for design student Terrence Scoville, this visualizer helmet now sits atop the cranium of DJ Kid Chameleon. Because there's nothing like a few digital fireworks to celebrate an old computer's birthday. Video after the break.
Bodega expects to thrive along side Mac App Store
Competition is a good thing, and the leads behind Bodega say they'll be there right alongside the Mac App Store when it debuts tomorrow. "Bodega is not going anywhere," product designer Phil Letourneau told The Loop. "It will continue to grow in terms of developers and customers coming into Bodega." Bodega recently updated to version 1.3, and Freshcode is promoting the software as an approval-free alternative to the Mac App Store -- unless submissions are offensive or contain illegal content -- with no restrictions to APIs. Developers will also incur more revenue -- 93 percent with Bodega versus 70 percent for Apple. We wish the folks behind Bodega good luck and look forward to what Apple will reveal on the 6th.
Apple stock hits a new intra-day all time high and Gene Munster weighs in
Apple stock (AAPL) has hit a new all time intra-day high by a mile, rising 7.25 percent as of about 11 AM. At last look, it's sitting at $329.81 and is happily ringing in the new year on the first day of 2011 trading. It may be totally coincidental, but our old friend Gene Munster, analyst for Piper Jaffray, has announced a few predictions for 2011. The first non-surprise is that he (and just about everyone else) believes that the iPhone will come to Verizon, but he thinks it won't be until the March quarter with a 95 percent probability. I think he's betting low on that one. He gives a 90 percent probability to iTunes offering a cloud-based service and an 80 percent probability that cell phone providers will begin subsidizing 3G iPads (since this is presently happening in other countries, so why not here?). Gene also has some predictions that he considers rock-solid, including new laptops coming soon, a refresh of the Mac Pro in the first half of the year and new iMacs in the second half of 2011. The iPhone 5 will rear its head this summer (I'd bet the house on that one), and the iPad 2, if that's what it winds up being called, will flower in the spring. Another no-brainer will be that new iPods will be out in the fall, but then again, new iPods are always out in the fall. [via The Mac Observer]
iPhoto 101: How to delete photos
Whether your Mac contains a mechanical hard drive or an SSD, everyone needs more space. We're all used to dumping Finder's trash frequently to reclaim drive space, but what some of you might not know is that when you delete pictures from iPhoto, they remain on your computer since iPhoto has its own trash. If you've never done this, you may have hundreds (or for that matter, thousands) of pictures or videos in iPhoto that are just clogging up your drive. There are two ways to delete the iPhoto trash. One way is to just right click on the word Trash in iPhoto's menu bar, and select Empty Trash. The other, and possibly more telling way, is to single click on the word Trash in the menu bar. You'll be presented with all the unnecessary photos and videos along with the total number held in trash. On the top right is an Empty Trash button that will delete them completely. In both cases, you'll be presented with a warning message asking you if you really want to do this. Click OK, and you'll get back some space. If you've never done this, the amount reclaimed can be dramatic, but if you are in the habit of doing this, you won't get back all that much. I deleted 82 pictures, and my hard drive space increased from 97.23 GB to 97.26 GB. See how much you can get back. [via Lifehacker]
Flickr Find: Say hello to the Mac-in-craft
You can make a lot of things in the gigantic sandbox game Minecraft, including a gigantic floating Macintosh computer. Flickr user Caius Durling put together this floating replica on his own Minecraft world, assembled pixelbrick by pixelbrick, along with a floating "Hi" to match. It's pretty impressive. The "resolution" on the Minecraft materials isn't quite good enough to show the Mac OS running on the machine, but he got the dimensions right, and he even got the handle built into the back. All it needs now is a one-button mouse, right?
The current state of Mac use in higher education
Apple used to own the Higher Education market throughout the 80s and early 90s. Apple eventually took a back seat to the lower-priced Dell product line, but all of that is changing. According to a Group Logic Inc. survey of IT professionals at 125 North American colleges and universities, use of Macs on campuses has risen and will continue to rise. Between 2009 and 2010, Mac usage increased by 18 percent and is expected to rise by another 20 percent over the next five years. The reason most often given for the recent sharp increase was as a reaction to Microsoft's Vista operating system, which was considered problematic (to use the nicest word I could think of) by students and IT alike. The survey was collected from fairly large institutions, averaging about 16,500 students. On average, 31 percent of students and 24 percent of faculty are currently using Macs on campus. An August report by Student Monitor stated that 27 percent of laptops found on campus were Macs, 24 percent were made by Dell, and 15 percent were Hewlett Packards, easily giving Apple the lion's share of the Higher Education laptop market. The study also found that nearly half of students in the market for a laptop said that they would buy a Mac. Compare that with a survey done in 2005, where only 14 percent of students queried were interested in a Mac laptop, and about half said they were buying a Dell. Windows is still the most prevalent operating system, but the gap is closing. Student Monitor reported that in 2003, over 2500 institutions were using Windows, while only 200 used Macs. By 2008, the gap closed dramatically, with about 2000 institutions using Windows and 1100 using Macs; only a year later, 1700 schools were using Windows compared to 1400 using Macs. What wasn't mentioned in any survey (and seemed a rather obvious thing to leave out): the "halo effect." A major motivating factor in students buying Macs is that so many of them have iPods, iPhones, or iPads and have been impressed by them, making Macs a much easier sell. %Gallery-107378%
Could AMD Fusion chips be coming to Macs?
Ever since Apple finally abandoned the PowerPC platform in favor of the x86 architecture, Macs have been exclusively powered by CPUs from Intel. Throughout that time, however, there has been speculation that Apple could dual source and use some of AMD's chips as well; that may have just been posturing in order to get a better pricing deal from Intel, though. So far, AMD's only inroad at Apple has been through its ATI graphics division, which has supplied Radeon GPUs for an array of Macs over the years. The AMD speculation has flared up again in recent days following an analyst meeting to discuss the company's new Fusion chips. Fusion is a platform that AMD has been working on ever since it bought ATI several years ago. The Fusion chips combine the CPU and a GPU onto a single die, and one of the slides in the AMD presentation featured a lineup of iMacs and a Mac Pro. The slide apparently went by without discussion, and neither Apple nor AMD has made any announcement about Fusion chips appearing in future Macs. AMD has begun providing Fusion samples to hardware partners for testing, with full production due to start in early 2011. It would be a shock if Apple doesn't at least test AMD chips, but seeing them in production will likely require a very positive combination of performance, power consumption, and pricing. We'll just have to wait and see. [The source on this was incorrect, and the speculation is merely that -- there is no mention of AMD powering the CPU's of future Macs in this presentation - Ed.]
Free Realms now available for your Mac
Mac users rejoice, you've got another option when it comes to MMORPGs thanks to SOE and Free Realms. While OS X fans have seen their list of available titles grow in recent years, AAA games are still fairly scarce, with World of Warcraft, EverQuest, and Fallen Earth being a few of the more notable exceptions. Free Realms isn't dumping you on a Mac-segregated server either, but rather the same shards inhabited by the free-to-play title's PC users. With fourteen million registered players, you're bound to find someone to hang out with, so head over to the official website to download the client and get started. Free Realms features a large virtual world, customizable avatars, and a huge variety of minigames designed to provided hours of safe online entertainment for kids and whole families. Check out Massively's in-depth look at the game for more information.
No Apple products in the house of Bill
Last March, Melinda Gates told the world that though there were "very few things that are on the banned list" in her household, the iPhone and iPod were definitely not allowed. Today, we're learning the house of Gates has expelled Apple computers for good. The philanthropist's better half told the New York Times Magazine that when one of her children asks for an iPod, the reply is, "You may have a Zune," and that the rumors of Bill himself using an Apple laptop are completely false. "Nothing crosses the threshold of our doorstep," she declared, opening up a plausible loophole -- perhaps a family member will one day taste the forbidden fruit while comfortably seated on the porch.
John Sculley gives an epic interview, says he was the wrong choice for Apple CEO
Comfy? Good. John Sculley has given one beast of an interview to Cult of Mac, and it's all about Steve Jobs. It's a follow-up of a sort to the candid words Sculley gave The Daily Beast in June, where he talked about how he wished things had worked out differently between him and Steve. In this new interview Sculley takes it all a step (and several thousand words) further, talking about the genius of Steve Jobs with obvious admiration. In fact, Sculley says that after Steve was ousted he basically attempted to run the company within the template for design and innovation that Steve had set down, and that Steve merely returned the company to his own original model when he came back in 1997. Outside of the very interesting examination of Steve's methods and talent, Sculley offers a multitude of tidbits. One particularly interesting story is of the Newton, which Sculley says actually saved the company from going bankrupt. Apple owned a 47 percent stake in the fledgling company that build the ARM processor for the first Newton, and when finances got tough Apple got $800 million out of selling its stake -- which easily offset the $100 million Apple "burned" on building the Newton. Of course that stake would be worth billions today, but let's not dwell on the past. We won't spoil any more of the interview for you, just hit up the source link and enjoy!
Axon Logic's Haptic tablet can run a desktop's OS, has a desktop's price
Half a year ago, you'd have been forgiven for expecting that today both Windows 7 and Mac OS X would have flagship tablets representing them, in the shape of the HP Slate and the Apple iPad. Alas, one of those devices ran away to enterprise land and the other opted for a mobile OS. It's against this backdrop of disappointment that Axon's Haptic tablet enters, with confirmation that its Atom-based innards are fully compatible with Linux, Windows and Mac operating environments. With a 10.1-inch resistive touchscreen, 320GB HDD, 2GB of RAM, and a trio of USB ports, it's another of those devices you could classify as a keyboard-less netbook, but at least its OS versatility will give it a leg up. Then again, with a pre-order price of $750 and no bundled OS licenses, we suspect it might need a little more than that to succeed where so many have failed.
