Fresh Apple: Cult of Mac (5 сообщений)

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Cult of Mac
Read Leander Kahney's latest commentary about Apple and Mac News in Wired.com's Cult of Mac Blog, including Mac, Mac Pro, MacBook, iMac, iBook, Mac mini, iPod video, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, iTunes, iPhoto, iPhone, Apple TV, OSX, Steve Jobs, and Macworld.
http://blog.wired.com/cultofmac/
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Mozilla COO Calls Jobs on Predatory Safari Plans
No matter what one thinks of Safari for Windows (which has already been patched three days after launch and still can't render A LOT of sites), it's nice to see Apple attacking Microsoft's browser hegemony on its own turf. Right?...

No matter what one thinks of Safari for Windows (which has already been patched three days after launch and still can't render A LOT of sites), it's nice to see Apple attacking Microsoft's browser hegemony on its own turf.
Right?
Unfortunately, not really. As John Lilly, COO of Mozilla, points out, when Steve showed off a pie chart depicting his vision of Apple's Windows browser marketshare, he didn't depict MS losing any share at all. Instead, the image just eats up all the alternatives, including the still-rising Firefox. And while I have my problems with Firefox (it strikes me as a program only a software engineer could love), I only want to see Apple bite into Internet Explorer's customers, not the folks who have already sought out an alternative.
The computer world is not the American political scene, and there is room for way more than two players. And so it should be. The more browsers we have, the fewer "browser-specific" features develop and the more readily standards get adopted across platforms. We all stand to benefit from a diverse, competitive markets. A shame that Apple reveals they have no interest in the same.
John's Blog » Blog Archive » A Picture's Worth 100M Users???

Technorati Tags: firefox, safari

Pete Mortensen
Apple Announces New MacBook Pros
As rumored, Apple updated the MacBook Pro line this morning to use the latest screaming processors up to 2.4 Ghz from Intel and a more powerful GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor. The 15.4-inch machines also use mercury-free LED backlit displays,...

As rumored, Apple updated the MacBook Pro line this morning to use the latest screaming processors up to 2.4 Ghz from Intel and a more powerful GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor. The 15.4-inch machines also use mercury-free LED backlit displays, delivering on the announcement that Steve Jobs made in the company's environmental roadmap. Disappointing that the 17" machine is still on LCD, according to the release, but this is a new technology. I can't wait to see how gorgeous the screens look up close. I might make it to an Apple Store this afternoon, so I'll keep you posted. Full details after the jump. They are immediately available.

Technorati Tags: apple, intel, macbook pro
From Apple's press release:
Pricing & Availability
The new MacBook Pro models are now shipping and will be available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.
The 2.2 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:
* 15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440-by-900 LCD display;
* 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
* 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
* 120GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
* a slot-load 8x SuperDrive® with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 128MB GDDR3 memory;
* DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately);
* built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display;
* built-in iSight video camera;
* Gigabit Ethernet port;
* built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
* ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
* two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, and one FireWire 400 port;
* one audio line in and one headphone out port, each supporting optical digital audio;
* Scrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboard;
* the infrared Apple Remote; and
* 85 Watt Apple MagSafe Power Adapter.
The 2.4 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,499 (US), includes:
* 15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440-by-900 LCD display;
* 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
* 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
* 160GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
* a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
* DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately);
* built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display;
* built-in iSight video camera;
* Gigabit Ethernet port;
* built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
* ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
* two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, and one FireWire 400 port;
* one audio line in and one headphone out port, each supporting optical digital audio;
* Scrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboard;
* the infrared Apple Remote; and
* 85 Watt Apple MagSafe Power Adapter.
The 2.4 GHz, 17-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,799 (US), includes:
* 17-inch widescreen 1680-by-1050 LCD display;
* 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
* 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
* 160GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
* a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
* DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately);
* built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display;
* built-in iSight video camera;
* Gigabit Ethernet port;
* built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
* ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
* three USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, and one FireWire 400 port;
* one audio line in and one headphone out port, each supporting optical digital audio;
* Scrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboard;
* the infrared Apple Remote; and
* 85 Watt Apple MagSafe Power Adapter.
Additional build-to-order options for the MacBook Pro include the ability to upgrade to a 160GB (5400 rpm), 160GB (7200 rpm), 200GB (4200 rpm) or a 250GB (4200 rpm) hard drive, up to 4GB DDR2 SDRAM, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter, Apple USB Modem, glossy widescreen display, 17-inch 1920-by-1200 high-resolution display and the AppleCare Protection Plan. Additional build-to-order options also include pre-installed copies of iWork™ '06, Logic Express 7, Final Cut® Express HD 3.5 and Aperture™ 1.5.

Pete Mortensen
Apple Takes Page from Dell Playbook, Announces Most Incremental MacBook Upgrade EVAR!
Everyone on the planet is buzzing about Apple's next round of laptop upgrades since the company announced it would switch from LCD screens to LED screens in the very near future. Here we are less than a month later, and...

Everyone on the planet is buzzing about Apple's next round of laptop upgrades since the company announced it would switch from LCD screens to LED screens in the very near future. Here we are less than a month later, and Apple has upgraded its consumer MacBook line to include -- features roughly equivalent to the existing MacBook line!
I know, I know, contain your excitement if you can. Why, instead of a base configuration of 512 megs of RAM, now every MacBook will ship with a full gig of RAM at the same price a year later! And instead of featuring either a 1.83 Ghz or 2.0 Ghz processor, now the 'Books ship with either a 2.0 or 2.16 Ghz part! It's almost like Moore's Law is in effect or something!
I've got the full specs behind the jump. The new MacBooks also have 802.11n now, which is a very nice feature, and it means that these are very good, very mature pieces of hardware. It also means they're about to get blown out of the water by Santa Rosa-based, LED-wearing MacBooks Pro. Sign me up for one of those instead, please.

Technorati Tags: macbook, puppy
The 2.0 GHz, 13-inch white MacBook, for a suggested retail price of $1,099 (US), includes:

13.3-inch glossy widescreen 1280 x 800 display;
2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
667 MHz front-side bus;
1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 2GB;
80GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) optical drive;
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950;
Mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);
built-in iSight video camera;
Gigabit Ethernet port;
built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire® 400 port;
one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
Scrolling TrackPad;
the infrared Apple Remote; and
60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.

The 2.16 GHz, 13-inch white MacBook, for a suggested retail price of $1,299 (US), includes:

13.3-inch glossy widescreen 1280 x 800 display;
2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
667 MHz front-side bus;
1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 2GB;
120GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950;
Mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);
built-in iSight video camera;
Gigabit Ethernet port;
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 port;
one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
Scrolling TrackPad;
the infrared Apple Remote; and
60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.

The 2.16 GHz, 13-inch black MacBook, for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US), includes:

13.3-inch glossy widescreen 1280 x 800 display;
2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
667 MHz front-side bus;
1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 2GB;
160GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950;
Mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);
built-in iSight video camera;
Gigabit Ethernet port;
built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 port;
one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
Scrolling TrackPad;
the infrared Apple Remote; and
60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
Apple Updates Popular MacBook

Pete Mortensen
Crazy Rumor: Apple Seeds OS 9.3 to Developers
Sometimes, the alternate-universe humor mocking Apple is only 3 percent more insane than actual Apple news. The hilarious Crazy Apple Rumors Site just announced the launch of Mac OS 9.3: According to sources at Apple, the company is entirely at...

Sometimes, the alternate-universe humor mocking Apple is only 3 percent more insane than actual Apple news. The hilarious Crazy Apple Rumors Site just announced the launch of Mac OS 9.3:
According to sources at Apple, the company is entirely at a loss to explain where this seed came from.

"I didn't do it," said senior vice president of software engineering Bertrand Serlet. "I can't even get Leopard done in time. I'm swamped. Stupid iPhone and Apple TV. Nobody asked me whether or not we should make those. I mean, I haven't gone to the bathroom in three weeks. OS 9? Je pense que non."
Sign me up!
Image via Answers.com
Via Digg.
Crazy Apple Rumors Site » Blog Archive » Apple Seeds OS 9.3

Technorati Tags: mac, OS 9

Pete Mortensen
Cult of Mac Invades BusinessWeek Innovation Blog
Apple owns the discourse around design and innovation these days. Everyone wants to be like Steve Jobs, and everyone wants to invent the new iPod. People also want to be Google, but being Google seems to be a lot harder,...

Apple owns the discourse around design and innovation these days. Everyone wants to be like Steve Jobs, and everyone wants to invent the new iPod. People also want to be Google, but being Google seems to be a lot harder, and the founders aren't terribly charismatic, so Apple gets a lot more attention regardless.

As a result, and because of the world I live in at my day job, I get into a lot of discussions about the role of design strategy and the value of innovation. Specifically, that understanding what people really need is the best way to create new products, services and businesses that will really connect with people.

All of which is a preface to encourage you to check out a comment of mine that BusinessWeek Innovation honcho Bruce Nussbaum highlighted into a blog post over there. It was at the end of a business day, so I think I might sound a little more snarky than I meant to:
YouTube's actual future is far from certain, and Second Life will surely be passed by another player, as it superceded The Sims, which superceded a lot of MUDDs and the like. Bill Moggridge even asked, "What is the YouTube of design?"

And I have to say, I don't particularly care. YouTube, Second Life, Flickr, Vlogs, blogs, they're all different solutions trying to meet some very core needs of people, whether they know it or not. And needs outlast solutions. I won't perform a straight-up needs analysis on these sites, but they definitely come from wanting to express oneself creatively, connect with other people, feel famous or even lead a different life, as in the case of Lonely Girl 15 and some others.

By the time we start analyzing a solution, the next way to meet the needs it addresses is already underway. We're going to miss the most important opportunities unless we see beyond the fun and exciting solution we hold in our hands.
Check it out.

Pete Mortensen