• apple,  mac os x,  macbook pro

    Apple Updates MacBooks, Lowers Prices

    February 16, 2013 /
    CUPERTINO, California—February 13, 2013—Apple® is making the MacBook Pro® with Retina® display faster and more affordable with updated processors and lower starting prices. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now starts at $1,499 for 128GB of flash, and $1,699 for a new 2.6 GHz processor and 256GB of flash. The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now features a faster 2.4 GHz quad-core processor, and the top-of-the-line 15-inch notebook comes with a new 2.7 GHz quad-core processor and 16GB of memory. Apple today also announced that the 13-inch MacBook Air® with 256GB of flash has a new lower price of $1,399.
    The MacBook Pro with Retina display features the world’s highest resolution notebook display. Whether you’re reading emails, writing text, editing home movies in HD or retouching professional photography, everything appears vibrant, detailed and sharp, delivering an unrivaled viewing experience. The MacBook Pro with Retina display features flash storage that is up to four times faster than traditional notebook hard drives, and delivers improved reliability, instant-on responsiveness and up to 30 days of standby time. 
    Pricing & Availability
    The updated MacBook Pro with Retina display and MacBook Air models are available today through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. Pricing details, technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/macbook-pro and www.apple.com/macbookair.
    This is uncharacteristic for Apple.  I wonder what’s going on here.
    [Via Apple PR…]
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  • apple,  mac os x,  macbook pro,  mountain lion

    Apple Introduces 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display

    October 24, 2012 /

    Today’s Apple event wasn’t just about iPads.  Nope.  Apple also introduced new Macs too, including the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display.

    SAN JOSE, California—October 23, 2012—Apple® today introduced an all-new version of its popular 13-inch MacBook® Pro featuring a stunning Retina™ display and all flash storage in a new compact design. At a mere 0.75 inches and 3.57 pounds, the remarkably portable 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is 20 percent thinner and almost a pound lighter than the current 13-inch MacBook Pro. 

    “The 13-inch MacBook Pro is our most popular Mac, and today it gets completely reinvented with a new thin and light design, fast flash storage and a gorgeous Retina display,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With vivid colors, razor sharp text and more pixels than anyone else’s 15 or 17-inch notebooks, the Retina display completely changes what you expect from a notebook.” 

    The new MacBook Pro packs more than 4 million pixels into its 13-inch Retina display, nearly twice the number of pixels in an HD television. At 227 pixels per inch, the Retina display’s pixel density is so high the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels at a normal viewing distance, so images look sharp and text looks like it does on the printed page. With four times the pixels of the current 13-inch MacBook Pro, you can view and edit video in pixel-accurate 1080p and see a new level of detail in high resolution images. The 13-inch Retina display uses IPS technology for a 178-degree wide viewing angle, and has 75 percent less reflection and 28 percent higher contrast than the current generation.

    Pricing and Availability

    The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is available with a 2.5 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1 GHz, 8GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage starting at $1,699 (US); and with 256GB of flash storage starting at $1,999 (US). Configure-to-order options include faster dual-core Intel Core i7 processors and flash storage up to 768GB. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at apple.com/macbook-pro. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is available today through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

    The full press release for the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display can be found on the Apple website.

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  • apple,  mac,  mac os x,  mac pro,  macbook pro,  mountain lion

    Apple Releases Mountain Lion 10.8.2 Update, iPhoto Updated

    September 20, 2012 /

    As if launching iOS 6 and a slew of app updates wasn’t enough to make Apple fan boys and girls go nuts, Apple also rolled out the Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2 update today.

    Update: Looks like iPhoto also received an update to add support for shared photo streams in Mountain Lion, new card and calendar themes, and performance and stability improvements.

    The OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.2 update is recommended for all OS X Mountain Lion users and includes new features and fixes.
    Updating your system
    You should back up your system before installation; you can use Time Machine.
    Do not interrupt the installation process once you have started to update your system.
    You may experience unexpected results if you have third-party system software modifications installed, or if you’ve modified the operating system through other means.
    Choose Apple () menu > Software Update… to check for the latest Apple software via the Mac App Store, including this update.
    Other software updates available for your computer may appear, which you should install. Note that an update’s size may vary from computer to computer when installed using Software Update. Also, some updates must be installed prior to others.
    You can also download the manual update installer. This is a useful option when you need to update multiple computers but only want to download the update once. These versions of the standalone installers are available from Apple Support Downloads.

    Additional Information

    This update is recommended for all OS X Mountain Lion users, and includes new features and fixes:
    Facebook
    • Single sign on for Facebook
    • Adds Facebook as an option when sharing links and photos
    • See Facebook friends’ contact information and profile pictures in Contacts
    • Facebook notifications now appear in Notification Center
    Game Center
    • Share scores to Facebook, Twitter, Mail, or Messages
    • Facebook friends are included in Game Center friend recommendations
    • Added Facebook “Like” button for games
    • Challenge friends to beat your score or achievement
    Other new features
    • Adds Power Nap support for MacBook Air (Late 2010)
    • iMessages sent to your phone number now appear in Messages on your Mac*
    • You can now add passes to Passbook (on your iPhone or iPod touch) from Safari and Mail on your Mac*
    • FaceTime can now receive calls sent to your phone number*
    • New shared Reminders lists
    • New sort options allow you to sort notes by title, the date you edited them, and when you created them
    • Dictation now supports additional languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Korean, Canadian English, Canadian French, and Italian
    • Dictionary app now includes a French definition dictionary
    • Sina Weibo profile photos can now be added to Contacts
    * Requires iOS 6

    General fixes
    The OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.2 update also includes general operating system fixes that improve the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac, including the following fixes:
    • Adds an option to discard the changes in the original document when choosing Save As
    • Unsent drafts are now opened automatically when launching Mail
    • Receive Twitter notifications for mentions and replies from anyone
    • URLs are shortened when sending tweets from Notification Center
    • Notifications are disabled when AirPlay Mirroring is being used
    • Adds SSL support for Google searches from the Smart Search Field in Safari
    • Adds a new preference to have Safari launch with previously open webpages
    • Resolves an issue that may cause the “Enable Autodiscover” checkbox to always remain checked
    • Enables access to the Mac App Store when Parental Controls are enabled
    • Support for @icloud.com email addresses
    • Resolves a video issue with some VGA projectors when connected to certain Mac notebooks
    • Addresses an issue that may prevent Active Directory accounts from being locked out
    • Resolves an issue that may cause the policy banner to re-appear prior to logging in
    • Improvements to SMB
    • Addresses an issue with NIS users when auto-login is enabled
    • Addresses an issue in which the Keychain may not be accessible
    • Ability to pre-authenticate a FileVault protected system
    • Addresses an issue that may cause Xsan to not automatically start after migrating from Mac OS X Snow Leopard
    For information about the security content of this update, please visit this website.
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  • app store,  apple,  mac,  mac os x,  mac pro,  macbook pro

    Smooth Sailing with Mac OS X 10.8.1 Update

    August 26, 2012 /

    Earlier this afternoon I finally got around to installing the Mountain Lion 10.8.1 update on my mid-2009 MacBook Pro.

    Mac OS X 10.8.1 is a small update weighing in at less than 40MB.  The whole install process literally took 5 minutes.  My Mac Pro will get upgraded tomorrow.
    You download the update from the Mac App Store rather than the Software Update control panel.  This is a change in how updates are downloaded with Lion (10.7), Snow Leopard (10.6) and earlier versions of Mac OS X.
    If you don’t have Mac OS X Mountain Lion installed on your Mac, you can purchase it for $19.99 from the Mac App Store.  Once you have purchased Mac OS X, you can install it on any Macintosh that you own and meets the minimum technical requirements.  Double check the specs.  Not all of the new features, like AirPlay are supported on 2011 and earlier Macs.  Updates to Mac OS X are free to download.
    I’m running the 17-inch model with 8GB of RAM and a 500GB disk drive.  I chose the 17-inch MacBook Pro line, now discontinued, to give me the best of both worlds; a desktop when connected to a 37-inch HD TV and a high resolution, large screen computer when I’m at my various meetings during the month.
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  • app store,  apple,  lion,  mac os x,  mac os x server,  macbook pro,  mountain lion,  Uncategorized

    Apple Launches Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion

    July 28, 2012 /

    On Wednesday, Apple lunched their next major version of Mac OS X, Mountain Lion.

    With over 200 new features being added to Mac OS X, Mountain Lion brings even more features of iOS to the Macintosh further unifying the experience across multiple Apple product lines.  The major new features of Mountain Lion include:

    • iCloud support
    • Reminders (OS X version of the iOS app)
    • Notes (OS X version of the iOS app)
    • iMessage (replacing OS X iChat)
    • Notification Center (as seen in iOS)
    • Power Nap (requires a Mac notebook with build in flash storage; ie: MacBook Air)
    • Dictation (voice recognition, but not Siri)
    • Sharing button (as seen in iOS)
    • Twitter integration
    • AirPlay (requires a mid-2011 or newer Mac)
    • Game Center
    • Gatekeeper
    • Safari 6
    Mac OS X Mountain Lion is available now for $19.99 on the Mac App Store for users of Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard and 10.7 Lion.  If you just purchased a new Mac, perhaps a new MacBook Air or the new super sexy 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, you can upgrade to Mountain Lion for free using the Apple Up to Date program.
    Business users, ‘techies’, and just about anyone else who is interested, can also purchase and install OS X Server, an add on application module for Mac OS X Mountain Lion that adds server features such as Wiki Server, File Sharing over and above the sharing features in Mountain Lion, network Time Machine backup Support, email and calendar servers, iMessage server, web server, and network OS X software installs and updates.  Previously priced at $49.99, OS X Server for Mountain Lion is available now for $19.99 for the Mac App Store.
    Mountain Lion is a great addition to any Macintosh that is capable of running it.  I would, however, suggest that anyone running a mid-2007 or 2008 edition Macintosh upgrade their Mac to the maximum amount of RAM memory possible before installing Mountain Lion.  Yes, the software will run, but if you only have 2GB of RAM, you may not get the experience you want.  (Read: lots of spinning beach balls.)  I’m running Mountain Lion on an 8GB mid-2009 17-inch MacBook Pro and things seem to be running well so far.
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  • app store,  apple,  mac,  mac os x,  macbook pro

    Targeted Full Screen Mode in Mountain Lion

    July 21, 2012 /

    According to AppleInsider, Mac OS X Mountain Lion will feature a new full screen mode that should make it a much less annoying feature for Mac users who have multiple monitors.

    In Mountain Lion, you will be able to select which of your two or more monitors you want to be active when you enter full screen mode.

    “Apple’s solution in Mountain Lion is an incremental band-aid, but does expand the usefulness of Full Screen mode to users who connect to external displays. New in Mountain Lion is the ability to target which screen you want to go Full Screen in. In the screen shots above, Safari was taken full screen on an externally connected HDTV.
    This allows notebook users, for example, to connect to a big external display and use it for Full Screen work. Unfortunately, all the other screens are still blanked, but there isn’t a simple fix to addressing this in a sensible way. “

    In Lion, when you entered full screen mode, the primary display was the one that was used in full screen mode, blanking out any external monitors.  This feature is really annoying for, say, MacBook users who used an external monitor in addition to the MacBook’s display.  While not a complete solution, it will be a little bit better in Mountain Lion.
    Mac OS X Mountain Lion is expected to go on sale next week exclusively in the Mac App Store.  Mountain Lion will cost $19.99 for all Mac users with compatible hardware.
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  • apple,  ilife,  mac,  mac os x,  macbook pro

    iPhoto ’11 Updated to Version 9.3.1

    July 14, 2012 /

    Apple has released a maintenance update to iPhoto ’11 for Mac OS X.

    • Addresses a problem during the migration of albums from MobileMe Gallery that may cause photos to be moved from their original events to a new event called “From MobileMe”
    • Fixes an issue that in rare cases could cause 
    iPhoto ’11 is $14.99 from the Mac App Store.  The update is free to all customers who purchased iPhoto ’11 from the Mac App Store.
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  • apple,  mac,  mac os x,  macbook pro

    Apple Releases Golden Master OS X Mountain Lion to Developers

    July 10, 2012 /

    Earlier today, Apple released what is intended to be the final version of the next major OS X upgrade to developers.

    The “golden master” release of Mac OS X Mountain Lion, now more hiply referred to simply as “OS X Mountain Lion”, was released to developers for their final review.  The release has no know issues and is largely expected to be the version that will ship to customers later this month when he software goes on sale in the Mac App Store for $19.99.

    A list of major features can be found on the Apple website.  As with Lion before it, the “iOS-ification” of Mac OS X continues as Apple further blends the familiar interfaced used on the iPhone and iPad into their desktop and notebook Macintosh system software.

    When Mountain Lion goes on sale, it will support the following Macintosh models.

    • iMac mid-2007 and newer
    • MacBook late 2008 Aluminum or early 2009 and newer
    • MacBook Pro mid and late-2007 and newer
    • Xserve 2009
    • MacBook Air late 2008 and newer
    • Mac mini early 2009 and newer
    • Mac Pro early 2008 and newer

    Be advised that not all models of hardware will be able to take advantage of all of the new features such as AirPlay.  AirPlay will only work on mid-2011 models of Macs and the second and third generation Apple TV boxes. Bummer.

    For the full list of hardware and feature specific feature requirements, visit the Mountain Lion technical specifications page for more details.

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  • apple,  mac,  mac os x,  macbook pro

    Apple Unveils OS X Mountain Lion

    February 17, 2012 /

    In a move that surprised many, Apple today announced the next major release of Mac OS X 10.8, Mountain Lion.

    With Mountain Lion, Apple continues to blur the lines between OS X and iOS, so much so, the advertising tag line is, “Inspired by iPad. Re-imaged for Mac.”

    With more than 100 new features to look forward to, Mountain Lion is going to be a must upgrade for Mac users with modern hardware (2009 and later).  The tentpole applications for Mountain Lion include deep iCloud integration, Messages (replacing iChat), Reminders and Notes (taking over for features in the Mail application), Notification Center, Share Sheets, deep Twitter integration, Game Center, AirPlay Mirroring (requires a second generation Apple TV), and Gatekeeper.

    Additionally, the Software Update control panel will be making the jump from a stand alone application to a feature inside the Mac App Store application – just like the software update feature in iOS.

    You can read more about the major features of OS X 10.8 on Apple’s Mountain Lion website.

    With today’s announcement, Apple has made Messages available as a free download to Mac OS X 10.7 Lion users.  You can download Messages for OS X from the Apple website.

    While Apple was publicly talking about Mountain Lion today, they weren’t talking release schedules or pricing.  Apple was only saying, “OS X Mountain Lion arrives this summer.”  Mountain Lion, like Lion before it, will be available only as a purchase from the Mac App Store.  Registered developers can download a beta version of OS X Mountain Lion starting today with a $99/year paid subscription.

    I remember when Apple first started talking about how Lion was going to bring many of the iOS features to OS X and was not really looking forward to ‘dumbing down’ my Mac.  But Lion has been a nice upgrade and I’m perfectly comfortable with it, so much so, I’m looking forward to getting Mountain Lion installed sooner rather than later.

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