Tag Archives: Apple

Mac OS X Lion Release Wrap-Up

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Lots of news all over the internet today about the much-anticipated release of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. Here’s a small recap, plus a few things you may have missed:

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion

#1 – It’s Out

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion became available at approximately 8:30am EDT this morning at the Mac App Store. You will need at least Mac OS X 10.6.7 already installed and an iTunes/App Store account to purchase and download the $29.99 3.5 Gb upgrade. Please note that this is a significant upgrade in many respects. A lot has changed. If you are not sure whether or not you are ready, check out my prior posts on the subject.

#2 Alternatives to Direct Download

If you have a slow internet connection and the thought of downloading 3.5 Gb worth of update is just too painful – or you work for a company with less than twenty Mac installations and security policies in place that prohibit you from having iTunes accounts on your office computer … well, you need to wait a few more weeks. At that point, Apple will be selling a packaged version of Lion (on a USB thumb drive – no more DVDs) for $69.00. No word yet on how many licensed installations that covers for the additional 40 bucks above direct download.

If you are a part of a vast corporate enterprise with more than 20 Mac installations, have your IT guy secure a Volume License Plan.

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Apple boosts MacBook Air with faster CPUs and Thunderbolt port

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Coinciding with the Mac OS X 10.7 Lion release, Apple has updated its like of MacBook Air ultra-thin notebooks.

Ranging in base price from, $999.00 for a 1.6 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 CPU, 2 Gb RAM, 64 Gb solid state drive, and 11-inch display to $1699.00* for a 1.8GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7 CPU with 4Gb RAM, 256 GB  solid state drive, and 13-inch display, the faster line also adds the new Thunderbolt high-speed port as well as a backlit keyboard.

Apple MacBook Air

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In addition to the Thunderbolt port, the new line also includes a built-in FaceTime camera, stereo speakers, two USB 2.0 ports, an SD card slot, plus headphone and mic jacks. 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology is also included. Battery life is rated at five hours on a single charge for the 11-inch models, seven hours on the 13-inch display units.

All models are available immediately .. shipped with the new Apple Mac OS X 10.7 Lion operating system.

With the release of the new line of MacBook Air notebooks, Apple has removed the original white MacBook from its product line.

Apple releases new Mac Mini line – With Thunderbolt, Without Optical Drive

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Apple Mac MiniThe first company to eliminate the floppy drive from their computers is continuing its quest to stamp out more physical media. Apple’s new Mac Mini line of compact computers, just like its MacBook Air notebooks, no longer include a built-in CD/DVD drive – a reflection of Apple’s drive to move all software purchases to digital downloads via its Mac App Store.

Other companies such as Adobe also offer a digital download option, plus Amazon has recently opened a Mac digital downloads store which includes products, such as Microsoft Office, Quickbooks Pro, and TurboTax. For situations requiring an actual CD/DVD access, users can use CD/DVD sharing (via another mac with a drive) or separately purchase Apple’s External SuperDrive for $79.00.

MacMini back

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What the new Mac Minis do have is the faster Thunderbolt port for high-speed disk drives as well as external monitors, plus a built-in HDMI port (making it a nice streaming media device), four USB 2.0 ports, one Firewire 800 port, a SDXC card slot, plus a gigabit ethernet port.

Under the hood the new line houses a 2.3 GHz i5 ($599.00), 2.5 GHz i5 ($799.00) or 2.7 GHz i7 ($899.00) Dual-Core Intel Core processors. 2 Gb RAM comes with the 2.3 GHz model with 4GHz standard on the latter two computers. Each can be expanded to 8Gb as a Build-to-order option. A 500 Gb 5400 pm hard drive is standard with a 750 Gb 7200 rpm option available for an additional $150.00.

802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 wireless features are also standard.

All models are available immediately .. shipped with the new Apple Mac OS X 10.7 Lion operating system.

Note: Apple Mac Mini computers are shipped without a keyboard, mouse, or other input devices.

Apple announces new 27-inch Cinema Display with Thunderbolt port

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Apple Thunderbolt DisplayNot to be outdone with the new Apple MacBook Air and Mac Mini, the newly renamed Apple Thunderbolt Display began shipping. Like Apple’s other hardware releases today, the new $999.00 27-inch monitor includes a high-speed Thunderbolt port in addition to:

  • Three self-powered USB 2.0 ports
  • One Firewire 800 port
  • One Gigabit Ethernet port
  • Built-in 49-watt 2.1 speakers
  • Built-in FaceTime HD camera with microphone
  • LED backlit technology for faster and more accurate brightness control
  • Ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the brightness to room environment to save energy

The Apple Thunderbolt Display offers a full 2560 x 1440 maximum resolution (most competing 27-inch displays tap out at 1920 x 1080), the monitor features a wide 178° viewing angle combined with in-plane switching (IPS) for consistent color from any angle.

You can daisy-chain two Thunderbolt Displays to any 15- or 17-inch MacBook Pro or to an iMac for those who require multiple monitor setups. Only one display can be connected to MacBook Air and Mac Mini computers.

The unit also incorportaes a MagSafe connector to power and charge MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air notebooks. Built-in Thunderbolt and MagSafe cables are included.

The Apple Store currently lists 6-8 week lead times for the Apple Thunderbolt Display, but can be ordered now in advance.

Apple Unleashes 12-core Mac Pro Workstations …

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Apple Mac Pro WorkstationsApple is now taking orders for its updated line of Mac Pro mini-tower computers. The series can now be ordered in single or double Intel Quad-Core (4/8) Xeon “Nehalem” processor configurations up to 3.2 GHz, or with new dual “Westmere” Six-Core CPUs for up to 2.93 GHz 12-core operations.

In addition, the new Mac Pros feature new and faster graphics cards: the ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 128-bit 1 Gb memory or the ATI Radeon HD 5870 with 256-bit 1 Gb memory. Both offer two Mini DisplayPorts plus one dual-link DVI port.

All dual-CPU units can be configured with up to 32 Gb DDR3 RAM (6 Gb standard), while single-core unit can house up to 16 Gb (3 Gb standard).

Four hard drive bays can each accommodate 1 or 2 Tb 7200 rpm SATA drives or 512 Gb high-speed solid-state units. They can also be outfitted with one or two 16x Apple SuperDrive optical bays.

Standard input devices consist of the full-sized Apple keyboard with numeric keypad and the Apple Magic Mouse. The new Apple Magic Trackpad can specified as well.

Each Mac Pro incorporates four FireWire 800 ports (two front/two back), five USB 2.0 ports (two front/three back), two 10/100/1000 BASE-T Ethernet ports (back), front and back headphone/speaker minijacks, as well as built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless and Bluetooth 2.1 capabilities.

Prices for the new Mac Pro line begin at $2499.00 for the single 2.8 GHz Nehalem Quad-Core workstation, $3499.00 for the entry level 2.4 GHz Westmere Eight-Core, and $4999.00 for the Westmere 12-Core tower.

Apple is accepting orders for the new Mac Pro Workstations today, with shipping scheduled to start next week.