Hasta La Gadget!

This week its been calculated by the analysts at Asymco that in the world of recorded sales for PCs vs Apple‘s Mac computers, the ratio of the former’s sales to the latter is at its lowest since 1997. What we’re to understand from this situation is that there are around 16 PC computers sold- that’s every other kind of computer you can think of for the home or business, essentially – for every one Mac sold. Those are current day numbers. Compare that to 2004 when that number was closer to 50 to 1 and you’ll see the big difference right away – did you see this coming?

Breaking this chart down to the United States, it’s a lot closer to an amazing 3 to 1 ratio as Apple’s main focus strikes true in its home country. What’s most interesting though is Asymco’s several charts in one, one of them also including the iPad in with the Macs. If the iPad is considered part of Apple’s computer sales, you’ve got a whole lot smaller a gap between PC and Apple computer sales without a doubt.

In the fourth quarter of 2011, Apple sold 4.9 million laptops and desktops. In Q4 of 2010 Apple sold 3.9 million laptops and desktops, and in Q4 of 2009 they sold 3 million. Of course these numbers can be attributed not only to struggling PC makers in general, but to Apple’s massively successful launch of several products in the past few years such as the iPhone, the iPad, and the MacBook Air.

Even when the mobile products aren’t counted in the big chart, Asymco shows plainly that Apple is not only ramping up, they’re pushing the PC world down as they do it. Check the timeline below for more Asymco analysis action!

[via Asymco]

PC to Mac sales ratio plummets is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Time is running out for computers running the DNSChanger malware, with the FBI planning to cut infected machines off from the internet teat come Monday, but how do you know if your system is at risk? The malware reroutes internet traffic through compromised servers, opening systems up to the dangers of keylogging, pushing fake software and products, and otherwise manipulating the web experience. Thankfully, checking out the status of your computer isn’t hard.

According to the DNSChanger Working Group established to address the problem, there are still a huge number of computers showing signs of badly routed DNS. The court order allowing the FBI to shut down the fake DNS servers on Monday will potentially mean hundreds of thousands of systems are left unable to look up sites.

Actually finding out whether you’re infected is a simple matter of visiting a checking site. Go to dns-ok.us in your browser, and if the background is green then your computer’s DNS settings are good. If it’s red, however, then you will need to go through some clean-up steps.

There’s a list of tools here, each of which should get your computer up and running properly again. Microsoft has one such tool, as do the main anti-virus vendors such as McAfee and Norton. It’s a good idea to do a backup of files and personal data beforehand, just in case, but the process should – now that the workings of DNSChanger are broadly understood – be simple.

DNSChanger: How to find it and how to fix it is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Dwindling supplies of Apple’s 27-inch iMac have kickstarted expectations of an imminent refresh, with the company predicted not only to inject some 3rd-gen Core i7 processors but Retina Display too. Availability at big-name US stores – including Best Buy and J&R – has dried up, leading to chatter that a new model with significantly boosted specifications is waiting in the wings.

Counting availability has generally been a solid way of predicting Apple’s Mac refreshes over the past few years, with supplies of the coveted products generally drying up just ahead of new generations being released. We saw the same in the weeks prior to the freshly-Ivy Bridge updated MacBook Pro line a few weeks back, for instance.

As for what, exactly, the new iMac might deliver, there are a few likely possibilities. The most obvious is a refresh in processor, with Intel’s Ivy Bridge Core i5 and i7 chips likely to take pride of place under the hood. A switch from the current-generation AMD graphics to NVIDIA’s GeForce GPU may also feature, given Apple has done the same in its notebook range.

Whatever the source, those graphics chips are tipped to be driving a seriously pixel-updated display, with Apple said to be putting Retina Display high-res panels in place rather than the current 2560 x 1440 screen. However, conflicting rumors also suggest that we’ll need to wait until 2013 to see that happen.

Apple has opted for a more low-key reveal of its new iMac models in the past, pushing out a press release rather than holding a whiz-bang event such as last month’s WWDC 2012 keynote.

[via AppleInsider]

Where have all the iMacs gone? Refresh incoming! is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week Microsoft has been kind enough to share the details included with their Windows 8 update for those users out there who already have one of several Windows software products installed on their devices right now. If a user is running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7, they’ll be able to upgrade their software with a simple download that’ll only cost them $39.99 USD. This upgrade will be available at the same time the full cost software release is dropped.

The official release date for all Windows 8 builds has not yet been revealed, but we’ve essentially got all the details on every single other aspect of the release since Windows 8 was formally introduced earlier this year at Microsoft’s Consumer Preview at Mobile World Congress 2012. A download of this software upgrade will include a special Upgrade Assistant which will also let the user know what changes or boosts need to be implemented ton their computer before the software can be installed successfully.

Each different operating system upgrade will have different abilities in this upgrade, with Windows XP getting the shortest end of the stick, only being able to bring along with them their personal files. Windows Vista users will be able to push their settings as well as personal files over to the new system. Windows 7 Consumer Edition will be able to bring settings, personal files, and applications as well.

Users will be able to head to a Microsoft store (or any of many participating retailers) and get their hands on an install DVD if they’d rather have a solid piece of tech, this disk costing $69.99 from the store as well. You’ll have to head to the Microsoft Store (online or to a physical Microsoft Store if you wish) to grab this limited time offer – prices go up for pre-ordering (or eventually ordering once it’s out) the operating system after January 31st, 2013.

Windows 8 upgrade prices dropped by Microsoft is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s certainly not due to low demand that Best Buy has suddenly cut off bits of the price for several Apple MacBook products here in the summer of 2012. The first of these discounts is from the massively powerful MacBook Pro with Retina display, tricked out with 8GB of memory and a 512GB solid-state drive – where normally it’d be $2,799.99, it’s now been cut to $2,659.99, that being a $140 USD discount. But why is it such a big deal that Apple products are discounted when essentially every other manufacturer discounts products such as these all the time?

The name of the game is control. Apple controls their prices – or at least makes an impression on businesses that are allowed to carry their products that they’d like their prices to remain steady. Another example of a discount here at Best Buy is the least expensive Retina MacBook Pro available being cut by $110 to come out to $2,089.99. Best Buy is a store known for their frequent price changing, and this discount could very well have been agreed upon with Apple for a very short time, so if you’re the type to fuss over a $100 discount off of a $2,000 computer, you’d best head out today.

Each of the discounts are available for in-store pickup only, and also include a MacBook Air, normally costing $999.99 and running for $949.99 right now. These notebooks have been reviewed in full by SlashGear in kind here: [MacBook Pro with Retina Display (mid-2012) Review] and [MacBook Air 13-inch (mid-2012) Review] and are both of them beasts to be reckoned with. Have a peek at our Best Buy timeline below to catch up on the dealings in the store of the hour.

[via CNET]

MacBook Pro 2012 family gets price slash at Best Buy is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.