The written musings of a long-time Apple //e and Macintosh tech nerd. Opinions are my own.
Today, Apple released Mac OS X Lion 10.7.1 as a maintenance update the latest version of the Mac operating system.
Even with today’s minor bug fixes to Lion, many Mac users are waiting for OS X Lion 10.7.2 to arrive. It is widely expected that OS X 10.7.2 will include the updates necessary for using upcoming iCloud software.
To download and install the software, simply use the Software Update control panel in Mac OS X Lion.
Mac OS X Lion is “go for throttle up” today in the Mac App Store. It’s a 3.7GB download once you purchase the $29.99 upgrade. My installer just finished downloading and I’ll be upgrading some of my software over the next few days. Check back here for updates as the week progresses.
During today’s quarterly earnings report to investors, Apple confirmed that the next major release of the Mac operating system, OS X Lion, will be arriving in the Mac App Store for $29.
OS X Lion is unique in that you won’t be able to buy it on a disc. Instead, the new OS will be purchased and downloaded from the Mac App Store as a 4.0GB file. To upgrade to Lion, you will need to be running Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard with the 10.6.8 update applied.
In addition to purchasing the software from the Mac App Store, you will be able to upgrade every other Mac that you own without having to purchase another copy of Lion. Simply sign in to the Mac App Store with the Apple ID you used to purchase Lion, and you will be able to download the software again to a new Mac.
I just saw this over on Boy Genius Report and thoughts of playing Halo on my Mac (without Parallels) started dancing in my head.
“Programmer Andrew Russell is working on a project that will undoubtedly pique the interest of game developers around the world. Dubbed ExEn, Russell’s open source software allows devs to port XNA games to iOS, Silverlight and in the near future, Android and OS X as well. In practical terms, this software gives developers a much easier way to take games they have built for Xbox 360, Windows or Windows Phone 7 using Microsoft’s XNA framework and port them to the iPhone or iPad, the Web (Silverlight), and soon to Android devices and Mac OS X!”
[Via BGR.com…]
Mac OS X 10.6.8 is available now for all Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard users. Aside from the usual bug fixes and enhancements, Mac OS X 10.6.8 is a requirement for upgrading to Mac OS X 10.7 Lion next month.
Use the Mac OS X Software Update control panel to download the update now.
iTunes 10.3, available now for Mac OS X and Windows PC, brings some of the new features unveiled yesterday at WWDC to you now – no waiting until the “fall.”
iTunes 10.3 adds Automatic Downloads, Download Previous Purchases, the ability to browse and purchase books for iBooks from iTunes, and our first taste of Apple’s new iCloud service which seamlessly syncs music purchases to all of your devices regardless of which device purchased the music.
I’m interested in playing with the iCloud sync feature on my iPad, MacBook Pro, and Windows 7 PCs (one at home and one at work). I also want to play around with the Download Previous Purchases feature because somewhere along the way, I upgraded Documents To Go on my iPhone 2G, and since it is running iOS 3.1.2 (yes, it’s jailbroken/unlocked so I can use it as an iPod touch) I can’t install the current release on it. I’d like to install the older, compatible version again if possible because I did not manually make a backup of the old software.
The new features of iCloud, iOS 5, and Mac OS X look really cool, and I can’t wait until September to have all of this cool software. At least we can get Mac OS X 10.7 Lion next month.
Apple is packing 250 new features into the next version of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, and most prominent among them are muli-touch gestures.
With iOS, we have been taught how to interact with a computer through touch. With Mac OS X Lion, Apple is bringing all of the same core concepts to our MacBooks, and desktop Macs via the Magic Mouse and Magic TrackPad.
Interestingly, Apple reporting that well over 60% of their Mac sales are MacBooks, so if you feel that all this muti-touch stuff favors the notebook family — I’d have to agree with you. I’m not sure how how well these new features will play out, say with a Magic Mouse which looks to have about half of the surface area as the track pad on my 17-inch MacBook Pro.
Regardless, of how you interact with your Mac, I’m less worried that Apple is trying to “dumb down” Mac OS X to work more like the iPhone. I think today’s announcement of new Mac OS X features are impressive and that I’d most of them.
In addition to Multi-Touch, Apple demoed nine other tent pole features, including: Full-Screen Apps, Misson Control, the new Mac App Store, Launchpad, Resume, Auto Save, Versions, AirDrop, and a redesigned Mail application. Mac OS X 10.7 Lion will go on sale in July for $29.99 and will be sold exclusively via the Mac App Store. Once you purchase Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, you will be able to install it on any Mac that you own and have setup your Apple ID account on. Additionally, for those people who need it, Mac OS X Server is now a separate applications bundle you buy from the Mac App Store. The server bundle is expected to cost about $50 and it is no longer a separate operating system that you have to purchase.
Today Apple announced that their annual developer’s conference, World Wide Developer Conference, will be held June 6 – 10 in San Francisco this year.
Tickets to the iOS and Mac OS X developer conference sold out in less than 12 hours.
For fans, however, today’s announcement might disappoint. Apple is clearly sending us a signal to set our expectations as we head into the summer event: this year’s WWDC will not feature any new hardware announcements. The tag line for this year’s event is, “Join us for a preview of iOS and Mac OS X.”
No new Macs. No new iPhones. Nada.
This year’s event will feature Mac OS X and iOS. Some rumors circulating around the Internet say that Apple may expand on their future plans for iOS 5 and the revamp for MobileMe which could include new streaming options for iTunes and a digital document “locker” for Mac OS X and your iTunes purchases.
Those of us who were expecting to buy a new iPhone 5 this June or July, should reset their expectations for new iPhone hardware between late September and the end of the year.
Today, Apple has released Mac OS X 10.6.7, the latest service pack update for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
In addition to numerous minor bug fixes, Mac OS X 10.6.7 also improves the reliability of the Back to My Mac feature (requires a MobileMe account, $99/year and rumored to be going free later this year), corrects an issues with transferring files to Windows PCs and Servers using the SMB protocol, and lastly, corrects some Mac App Store bugs.
Mac OS X 10.6.7 is available now by running the Software Update control panel in the Settings application.
Earlier today, Apple has released the iOS 4.3 update for current model iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch mobile devices. iPad 2, which will go on sale at 5pm on Friday (3/11/11) will come pre-loaded with iOS 4.3 from the factory.
Interestinly absent from the iOS 4.3 part is the new CDMA Verizon iPhone 4. The Verizon iPhone 4 will not receive an update along side it’s GMS counterpart on rival wireless carrier, AT&T.
iOS 4.3 provides some new features, including iTunes Home Sharing (streaming between your Mac or PC and your iOS device), iPhone 4 Personal HotSpot (Mi-Fi like cellular Internet connection sharing), and a new preference to allow iPad owners to chose the function of the slider switch (screen rotation lock or mute switch).
In addtion to the new features, iOS 4.3 also enhances the Safari browser and the AirPlay feature, which requires a second generation AppleTV, first introduced in iOS 4.2. ComputerWorld.com also reports that iOS 4.3 patches some 59 iOS bugs.
iOS 4.3 supports all current model iDevices, include: iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 GMS, iPad, and iPad 2, iPod touch (2009), and iPod touch (2010). There is no world on when iOS 4.3 will be coming to the Verizon iPhone 4 or the second generation AppleTV.
To install iOS on your device, first upgrade iTunes to the latest release, and then connect your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your computer and follow the on screen upgrade prompts.
Update
Apple has released a software update for the second generation AppleTV to bring it to version 4.2. Click the Read More link for details.
AppleInsider.com reports that Apple has updated the second generation AppleTV software version 4.2.
New features of the update, as highlighted by Apple, include:
To update the software on your second generation AppleTV, use the software update feature in the settings menu.
[Via AppleInsider.com…]