News & Announcements

Apple updates Mac mini with Thunderbolt, 2X graphics and CPU power
Apple on Wednesday updated the Mac mini with next generation Intel core processors, new discrete graphics, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology and Mac OS X Lion at entry-level pricing starting at just $599 (RM1899). At just 7.7-inches square and 1.4-inches thin, the new Mac mini maintains its compact aluminum design while delivering twice the processor and graphics performance of the previous generation. Customers can choose from three different configurations of Mac mini with the latest dual-core Intel Core i5 or Intel Core i7 processors, AMD Radeon HD 6630M discrete graphics, or a quad-core Intel Core i7 powered server configuration. Designed without an optical disc drive, Mac mini can access the optical drives on other PCs and Macs, and works with the MacBook Air SuperDrive. Configure-to-order options include up to 8 GBs of memory, a faster 7200 RPM hard drive and a 256GB solid state drive. [ Read more.. ]

Apple's iPad dominates across all 13 geographies tracked, accounting for more than 89 percent of tablet traffic across all markets. Research firm comScore announced a Device Essentials analytics service earlier this week reporting on digital traffic by device. The study uses "census-level information from tagged web page content" to reveal device usage.

Source: comScore

Apple "rebuilt from the ground up" the new Final Cut Pro X, the company said in a statement, rather than adding a few features to the familiar interface from Final Cut Pro 7. For the digital-only release on Tuesday via the new Mac App Store, Apple reduced the price to $300 from $1,000. An Apple statement described the new version, in its signature grandiose marketing style, as "revolutionary."

But some outspoken video producers, who rely on the Apple program in their daily work, are staging a revolt. The backlash is not unlike what was seen when Apple released another retooled video-editing program, iMovie '08. In a flood of online postings, people who took an early dive into the program griped about the lack of important features from Final Cut's predecessors. For example, users can't easily edit multi-camera shots, layered audio tracks or projects started on older Final Cut versions, they say.

An Apple spokeswoman says the company plans to eventually add multi-camera and more advanced audio features. [ Read more.. ]

Apple has announced prices and deployment plans for its education and business customers installing Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server, with licenses starting at $29.99 in volume. Apple notes that the new OS minimally requires a Mac with a Core 2 Duo; Core i3, i5 or i7; or Xeon CPU and at least 2GB of RAM, and must be running Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.6 or later. This excludes 32-bit Core Duo and Core Solo Macs introduced in 2006.

Amongst the 250 new features include:

Multi-Touch Gestures Multi-Touch gestures transform the way you interact with your Mac, making all you do more intuitive and direct. Now an even richer Multi-Touch experience comes to OS X Lion. Enjoy more fluid and realistic gesture responses, including rubber-band scrolling, page and image zoom, and full-screen swiping.

Full-Screen Apps OS X Lion offers systemwide support for gorgeous, full-screen apps that use every inch of your Mac display. You can have multiple full-screen apps open at once — along with multiple standard-size apps. [ Read more.. ]

Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs wants to build one building that will hold 12,000 Apple employees on a former Hewlett-Packard property in the area between Tantau North Wolfe, Homestead and the 280. According to Jobs, ”It’s a little like a spaceship landed.”

Apple the area from Hewlett Packard in 2010 which is about 100 acres. Jobs says he has corralled “some great architects… some of the best in the world” to come up with a design that puts 12,000 people in one four story high building.

[ Read more.. ]