Apple on Monday released a software update for the Mac OS X Snow Leopard operating system. The free update addresses some major issues, including a bug that erased large amounts of a user’s data.
A small number of Snow Leopard customers in October reported that their primary user folder was replaced with an empty folder after logging in with a Guest account. For some, that resulted in the loss of documents, pictures, music, downloads and other types of files.
“My home folder had been replaced with a ’straight out of the box’ home folder,” wrote user “dubaidan” in a Sept. 3 forum post. “Standard desktop, standard dock, nothing in my documents folder, standard library. My entire home folder is gone.”
Shortly after the issue gained media attention, Apple issued a statement acknowledging the issue and said a fix was in progress. The fix is available in the latest Snow Leopard update, version 10.6.2, according to Apple.
Snow Leopard 10.6.2 also addresses issues with printer compatibility, fonts, the MobileMe internet service and others. Users can download the update by clicking on the Apple icon in the upper-left corner and selecting “Software Update.”
Dozens of owners of Apple’s new 27-inch iMac are reporting performance issues ranging from sluggish Flash playback to erratic hard drive behavior.
The most common complaint revolves around poor Flash performance, where videos play back choppily and appear to cause CPU spikes. The YouTube video below attempts to document the problem.
Some customers complaining in Apple’s support forums also claim there’s a bug forcing the hard drive to spin down, while others have complained their iMacs shipped with a corrupt Snow Leopard installation.
In the 10+ years since the iMac was born as Apple’s simple computer, it’s become visibly less of a computer and more of a display. And what a screen this new iMac has.
But First, Simplicity
This 1998 ad has Jeff Goldblum narrating that there are two physical steps to setting up an iMac. (“There’s no step three!”) Truthfully, they skipped the mouse and keyboard cable, though, which would bring it to 4 steps. Today, an iMac is set up using just one power cable, depending on wireless networking and bluetooth peripherals to get the rest done. So it’s even simpler than it was 10 years ago. And as I said, the screen is becoming more prominent than ever.
The LCD
The 27-inch iMac’s screen is the thing to focus on in this revision. It is practically as bright (and more contrasty) than any of the previous iMacs—even Cinema Displays—and it looks astounding. It’s LED-driven so it comes to full luminescence immediately and takes up less power. It also has better side-to-side viewing angle as an IPS tech monitor; like the iMac 24 before it, it goes 178 degrees without much change in color accuracy or brightness. And here’s the kicker: Although it has 19% more area of LCD than the old 24-incher, it has 60% more pixels. That makes it more pixel dense than any of the Cinema Displays at 109ppi. And with a 2560×1440 resolution it has 90% of the dot count of a 30-inch cinema display. All these stats are great. They sound great, and they make for a powerful picture. But the actual view of the screen leaves me with a positive—but slightly imperfect—impression.
The default brightness is a bit much, but of course you can turn it down. And the contrast is welcome; even my new 13-inch MacBook Pro looks yellowed and washed out next to it. But at this pixel density, which is sharper than my notebook, it’s almost too sharp, requiring me to sit closer than I would ordinarily do with a 27 inch display. I like the feeling of crispness — 16% crisper than the last generation. But my eyes feel like the pictures are being delivered by a land shark holding a laser pointer straight into my corneas, and I can feel the strain within minutes. I would have to jack up as many font sizes as possible or sit as close as I do to my MacBook to make it work for long long periods of time. Maybe I’m just a wimp of a geek, but I’ve never been sensitive to these sorts of things on any sort of machinery before.
This is the iMac next to a 13-inch MBP and a Dell 2407 24-inch monitor. The iMac’s screen puts both to shame in brightness and clarity.
Apple is making a big deal of the fact this screen is 16:9. I think it looks better in this wider iteration, but it’s not an epic jump since the last gen was 16:10. You’re losing vertical pixel count here, on both the 21.5 and 27-inch models, despite added diagonal inches. Also, the glass cover is now edge to edge, without the thin silver rim around it, on the top and sides. It’s still glossy and very very reflective, despite being covered in anti-reflective coating.
I will feel guilty for mentioning this, because it’s ever so slight, but I’ll feel more guilty if I don’t mentioning it to you: The screen, when it’s white, has the tiniest bit of blotchiness to it. The backlighting is slightly uneven in my model. It had no impact on viewing quality once the screen was filled with an image other than one of pure white, so don’t sweat it.
My previous comparison to the 30-inch Cinema Display wasn’t for academic purposes, either. One of the most interesting features on the new iMac is that it can use its Mini DisplayPort (normally an output) as an input; that is, it can become a secondary display for notebooks or other devices. Factor in the near-identical specs to the 30-inch Cinema Display, most notably its updated LED screen, and you have absolutely no reason to buy a 30-inch Cinema Display when you can have this—but not just yet.
That’s what two full sized 1080p trailers look like on this screen.
Eager to test this shit and be the first to the internet with an image of an Xbox linked into an iMac (“Worlds collide!” would be the headline, I decided), I ordered a monoprice Mini-DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter. Unfortunately, I discovered that the inputs would not work with a PS3 or Xbox at any res, HD or otherwise. The current adapters on the market are unidirectional, I was told, and so they won’t work to take HDMI sources and pipe them into the iMac. I’m sure someone is making a cable as we speak for this very abominable purpose of piping in Microsoft gaming to a desktop Mac—but it’s not here yet. (New cables, by the way, will include audio, which the iMac is capable of taking through its connector and the iMac is able to display video sources up to its native resolution.) The issue is, this could take months. That’s a long time, so don’t buy an iMac planning to use it with a gaming console or Blu-ray player right away.
Using it with a laptop was an interesting situation. Odd, for sure, but a welcome bonus and an obvious use. Here’s how it works. You plug in a Mini-DisplayPort-to-Mini-DisplayPort cable to the iMac, which must be turned on (unlike Sony’s all-in-one, which works while off.) The iMac flickers for a second and the laptop’s picture replaces the iMac’s. Here’s where it gets sort of weird. When the iMac is acting as a monitor, the keyboard and mouse are all blocked from working, except a few keys: The pause/play, FF, RR, volume controls and brightness keys all work. They won’t display the typical volume/brightness/FF/whatever iconography, because you’re actually still looking at your MacBook. You can actually then use your iMac as a display for one computer while listening to music on another—but why would you want to? And if you were playing a game with an Xbox, you’d be listening to the game. To toggle between the iMac and the external source, you hit Command+F2.
(*The 21.5-inch iMac is not as sharp or impressive as the 27, but a fine evolution nonetheless; see chart)
Oh, one more thing: The LED display is also thinner than the traditional panel. Even so, when combined with the extra width and height, Apple’s designers are given adequate room to play with the layout and thermal properties of the iMac. Which brings us to the chassis and internals.
The Chassis
The iMac’s chassis went from all plastic to aluminum and glass in 2007. The first aluminum models were stamped out in car factories because no computer factories could work with aluminum pieces that big. Now, the iMac has even more aluminum in them with bigger cases and a seamless wraparound back made of metal instead of the black plastic cap. Despite the loss of the slimming effect of a black plastic back, the computer’s dimensions work in its favor; it’s about 1mm thinner and obviously wider, so it still feels undoubtedly skinny.
Oh, and the stand is tapered by 1.1mm on its front (as is Apple’s wont), to further hide volume. Aside from the more flattering aspect ratios, the chin—one of the only giveaways that this is not just a screen but a computer—has shrunk by 22%. It looks much better, in my opinion. The case’s bigger size affects its internal layout, too. Apple and iFixit brought several of these details to my attention.
The most important changes are that the GPU and CPU are placed at nearly opposite ends of the case, with their own heatsinks to throw off copious heat with three very quiet fans. (The iMac’s sound profile at idle, for a stock build, is still just a whisper, less than 20db.)
Ports: The back of the case has a Mini DisplayPort, 4 USB 2.0 ports, power plug (the machine’s only wire), Firewire 800, minijack/optical input and output, and Gigabit Ethernet. There’s Bluetooth 2.1 EDR wireless with which the mouse and keyboard interface, and 802.11 N Wi-Fi. Although the entire case is aluminum, the antenna has been cleverly hidden in a plastic Apple logo top center on the back. Reception is a touch stronger than on my notebook.
The iChat camera and microphone (the latter of which is made up of about a dozen closely-grouped pinprick holes, like on the MacBook Pro) are situated on the top of the iMac. And despite the new model’s height they sound fine (if not a touch more distant because of the height) when compared to previous models. The top mount for the microphone keeps the sound from the new, more powerful two-way speakers from interfering with it; measured using a song and SPL meter, my notebook came in at 70db and the iMac at 76db at sitting distance. Louder, richer and noticeably so than a laptop, though I didn’t have an iMac 24 on hand to compare with.
The larger case allows the iMac to use four sticks of user-serviceable RAM, accessible from the bottom. (That’s useful futureproofing now that OS X Snow Leopard is shipping, and programs and the OS in 64-bit can address more than 4GB at a time.)
How About Performance?
The iMac I’m testing is a 3.06GHz Core2Duo processor with 4GB of RAM and an ATI Radeon 4670 graphics. Those are decent parts but not the highest-end quad-core i5/i7 chips or ATI Radeon 4850 GPU that will ship in iMacs in November. More importantly, the machine I have here that is shipping now is about on par with higher-end, custom-order machines from the last generation. The system benchmarks I ran earlier this week indicate that everything performs practically the same. And since we don’t have a Core i5/i7 machine to work with, I’ve included Apple’s approximations of how much boost the iMac will get from those parts — obviously, many grains of salt are necessary when reading, especially when measuring value of extra CPU cores as literal multipliers when most software still can’t leverage those channels efficiently.
As for 3D, Maclife has some framerate scores from Doom 3 and Call of Duty that are not by any means exact but somewhat representative of the machine I’m using today. But again, the bottom line is that this machine that I have, shipping today, is not faster than machines equipped similarly from the last generation—they’re just cheaper for any given performance point.
But again, even if you wait for the higher end machines, there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to access most of that extra power. Snow Leopard hasn’t seen many apps, besides the ones that ship with it that can take advantage of its multicore CPU and GPU technologies. Programs will come, but immediate speed gains aren’t guaranteed here if you buy the quad-core machines.
Here’s an exception: Those Core i5/i7 chips are also clocked slower than the Core 2 Duo chips on the lower-end machines, but have the ability to run single core applications at a greater clock speed. Since all four cores won’t be burning, the chip uses the spare electricity and the extra thermal overhead to dynamically and automatically overclock the core that is working: The i5 chip goes from 2.66GHz to 3.2GHz and the 2.8GHz i7 chip goes to 3.46GHz (with 4 cores that run hyperthreaded for up to 8 virtual cores.)
Sounds fast, but we’ll dive into deeper tests in November. For now, you should be aware that if your desktop is less than 18 months old, you’d be somewhat silly to upgrade before the highest end chips from this generation of iMac are out.
What Else You Got?
The iMac replaces its old mouse with the new Magic Mouse, with a multitouch surface and 360 degree scrolling and swiping, almost like the gestures you find on a Macbook trackpad. I’ve said it before: I primarily use Laptops because I love trackpads. The gestures, fingertip precision and proximity to the keyboard make it a must have, and this mouse fixes some of those issues. (*Jason Chen reviewed the mouse and liked it but it was not without flaws. Read that if you’re considering buying an iMac, because it’s the only option Apple offers.)
The one detail I found problematic specifically with the Magic Mouse as it pertains to the 27-inch iMac is that even when the pointer sensitivity is set to the highest level, a swipe of the wrist at a moderately fast speed goes only 2/3 across the giant pixel landscape. Only by whipping my hand across my mouse pad can I trigger enough mouse acceleration to get across the screen. They should turn up the sensitivity, frankly. Software update please!
The keyboard is also changed, going from the old wired keyboard, which was stamped out of the screen cutout of the chassis, with a wireless Bluetooth model. Apple states that the keyboard’s narrow profile makes it a better fit next to the mouse. I think it also makes sense as a remote control for the computer from afar when watching media, since this is the biggest iMac ever that doubles as a monitor. But it looks a little small and out of proportion with the machine itself, since the Mac got wider and the keyboard got shorter. (Correction: The keypad-less change happened last revision. I just miss that numeric pad keyboard’s width from the first generation of Aluminum iMacs. It seemed to fit perfectly.)
Oh, the white plastic remote that used to ship with all the laptops, AppleTV and iMacs has been replaced by an elliptical, aluminum remote with black rubber buttons. It’s longer, and shaped like an iPod nano but no longer comes with the iMac. It costs $19. I think when you buy a computer that is this expensive, they should THROW IN THE DAMN REMOTE.
Competitive Check
There are other all-in-ones from PC makers, but at the moment, none as large or high-res as the iMac 27. The ones from Sony (like the L) and HP have various extras like IR touchscreens, glowing monitor bodies, TV tuners and Blu-ray drives. Some are pretty decent, like the Touchsmart we just reviewed. If these things matter to you and you are not married to the Mac platform, you might consider them. But that touchscreen functionality is still half-baked, so don’t do it for the groping potential.
Value
The sweet spot is the $1200 21.5-inch config. But don’t upgrade that model beyond base without seriously considering the big bad 27-incher for $1700. And don’t upgrade that one at all without considering the quad-core models; both look very promising at $2000 or $2200. Basically, the custom builds are not a great value until you get to the quads. Go cheapest, 27, or quad. But cautious folks will wait on the quads ’til we test them.
There’s another angle here, too. Again, comparing the 27-inch iMac to the old as hell 30-inch Cinema Display makes those standalone monitors look like a pretty bad value when it costs only $100 more for just 10% more pixels—and, hey, it’s also not a computer.
Nerds, Sheathe Thy Wallet If You Can
Although the quad core benchmarks aren’t here yet, I think you’ve got enough information here to make an adult decision on whether to go cheap or double your price for something faster and bigger. It’s not like those new chips will be slower. But waiting a month on a new internal layout, design and screen is a great way to let Apple shake out whatever inevitable hiccups are there at the start of a new run. Plus, if Snow-Leopard-specific apps make their way to market (hello, <Handbrake!) and some performance scores come out in the meantime, hey, cool.
Big beautiful screen is super high res and bright.
Chassis design evolving to new heights of beauty; less chin.
Faster parts not out yet; current components available in previous generation.
No Blu-ray player, touchscreen or other things that aren’t important to me, but may be important to you. Maybe.
It won’t be the first time we’ve seen an all-in-one from Dell launch first in Japan, and if we were the betting type, we’d guess it won’t be the last. The Inspiron One 19 has just popped up over on the outfit’s Japanese website, and unless our eyes are badly deceived, this definitely isn’t the same as the Studio One 19. Offered up in two basic configurations, consumers can get one outfitted with a 2.6GHz or 2.93GHz Intel processor, Windows 7 Home Premium, 2GB or 4GB of RAM, an 18.5-inch display (1,366 x 768), a 320GB or 500GB SATA hard drive and a DVD burner. It also looks to ship with a budled keyboard and mouse, and unless someone in the back has gone crazy with the Photoshop eraser, both of those connect sans wires. The new AIO can be ordered up now starting at ¥69,980 ($770), though only time will tell when (or if) this one will head stateside.
Thursday is a big day for Windows users. Microsoft is finally making Windows 7 publicly available, and the number of pre-orders for the operating system on Amazon.com has already surpassed orders for Harry Potter in the U.K.
Not bad for an operating system that costs $120 and doesn’t even have any magic wands or dragons in it.
That’s a good indicator that a lot of people are upgrading, and we’re sure there will be even more that follow after consumers spread the word about the vast improvements in Windows 7 over its predecessors. Here’s a simple guideline of what you should know to ensure your upgrade process is smooth — from purchase to install.
1. You should get this upgrade We’ve written about Windows 7’s strong points as well as its weaker points. On balance, we’re confident saying this is the best Microsoft operating system yet. If you’re running any earlier version of Windows, you’ll almost certainly want to upgrade — and you should feel no hesitation about buying new computers preloaded with Windows 7.
2. But you’ll have to pay for it Apple offers an upgrade to its latest operating system, Snow Leopard, for $30 — and you can even take advantage of it if you don’t have the previous version, Leopard. Not so with Microsoft: You’ll need to pay $120 for the upgrade — or even more, depending on which version you get. (Unless you’re a smart shopper and can find a discounted price. See tips 6 and 7 below for details on which version to buy and how to find discounts.) As with previous versions of Windows, Microsoft has created a bewildering array of variations.
3. Double-check compatibility with your hardware Paranoid about losing access to some of your third-party accessories and software after upgrading? You should be, at least a little bit. Microsoft claims Windows 7 will work smoothly with most third-party gadgets and software, but to be on the safe side, you should check out the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. The tool automatically scans your system and provides a report of any potential issues, as well as steps to resolve them.
4. Scout for computers shipping with Windows 7 If you’ve been shopping for a new computer — but waiting for Windows 7 to come out first — there’s a Microsoft tool to help search for new computers that ship with Windows 7. It’s called PC Scout, and it searches for computers based on your preferences. As of this writing, the results don’t bring up Windows 7 systems (since Windows 7 isn’t officially released yet), but the website clarifies that all the computers listed in the database are eligible for a Windows 7 upgrade. That means if you purchase one of those computers today, all you have to pay is $10 for shipping, and you get the Windows 7 upgrade free. By the time Windows 7 ships, the PC Scout should be showing results for computers that include Windows 7.
5. Upgrading from XP? Back up your data, wipe and migrate Windows XP users cannot do a straight upgrade; they’ll have to back up their files, format their hard drive and perform a clean install. After your fresh copy of Windows 7 is on your computer, Microsoft offers a tool called Easy Transfer to migrate your files.
(If you’re a Vista user, you’ll be able to upgrade without doing a clean install — though fresh installations are generally recommended for optimal performance anyway whenever you switch to a new operating system.)
6. Know what you want Disregard the awful, intimidating Windows 7 upgrade chart when you’re picking a version to buy. Choosing the right version really isn’t as complicated as Microsoft has made it sound in the past. Consumers: The vast majority of you should go with Windows 7 Home Premium. Business users: Most of you will want to go with Windows 7 Professional. (There’s a Windows 7 Ultimate edition, but that’s aimed at a very niche audience of ultra geeks who want to do everything they could possibly imagine doing with their computers.) Again, if you want to be safe, use the Upgrade Advisor to check your hardware and software compatibility.
7. Look for limited-time discounts If you’re buying Windows 7 while it’s brand new, you shouldn’t be paying the full price. Microsoft and its partners are holding a weeklong sale called “7 Days of Windows 7.” Companies offering Windows 7 discounts with Microsoft include Best Buy, Dell and Acer. You can sign up to hear about daily offers on Windows.com. Also, you can check discount-aggregation sites such as PriceGrabber.com or Froogle.com to find the cheapest Windows 7 deals.
Here’s what defines me as an Apple customer and not an Apple fanboy: I eagerly anticipate new Apple gear not for the new products, but for the great deals that appear for previous-generation gadgets in the refurbished section.
Think of it this way: Just yesterday, that speedy aluminum MacBook Pro you’ve always wanted was way too pricey for you. But the day Apple releases upgrades, your Mac of desire instantly drops hundreds of dollars in the refurbished section.
That’s smart shopping to me. Granted, with refurbished gadgets you run the risk of getting a unit that was returned because it was a lemon. But on the other hand, there’s a chance you’re getting a Mac that was returned with zero problems (perhaps a person with bad credit). I’ve owned two refurbished MacBook Pros in the past four years, and neither of them had any problems requiring servicing. Plus, refurbished products are covered by one-year warranty. Refurb is the way to go!
With that said, here are two hot refurbished Mac deals that popped up after Apple released new Macs today:
Expect more to come over the next few weeks as Apple, as well as third-party Mac vendors, continue to clear out inventory of “older” Macs. See any other great refurb deals out there? Add your finds in the comments below.
Apple on Tuesday released a family of new Macs, including upgraded iMacs, a unibody white MacBook and Mac Minis. The newest addition to the Apple product line is a wireless, multitouch mouse.
The Magic Mouse (below), which ships with new iMacs released today, features a completely touch-sensitive top side. Multitouch gestures can trigger left- and right-click functions, as well as 360-degree scrolling.
The mouse also detects swiping gestures: Swiping left takes you back a page in Safari; swiping left and right in iPhoto browses the previous and next photos, respectively.
Apple added two screen sizes for the iMac, a 21.5-inch model and a 27-inch model. They feature new LED backlit displays with a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. The 21.5-inch model starts at $1,200 and features a high-resolution 1920-by-1080-pixel display. The 27-inch iMac starts at $1,700 and features a 2560-by-1440-pixel display, which offers 60 percent more pixels than the previous 24-inch model, according to Apple.
Priced at $1,000, the solo MacBook (top) remains white, but it gains a unibody enclosure like the current aluminum MacBook Pros, except this one is plastic. That’s mostly a cosmetic difference, giving the MacBook cleaner lines. It sports a 2.26-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a 13.3-inch LED backlit glossy widescreen display and a multitouch trackpad.
The Mac Mini received minor updates. There are two configurations: A $600 model features a 2.26-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB of 1066-Mhz RAM and a 160-GB hard drive. An $800 model sports a 2.56-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4 GB of RAM and a 320-GB drive. Both feature NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphic chipsets. If you want to use Mac Minis as servers, the 2.53-GHz configuration has a $1,000 option that includes Mac OS X Server and two hard drives.
Lost in the flurry of releases, Apple’s remote control received a makeover, sporting the aluminum-and-black aesthetic to match the new iMacs and MacBook Pros. The remote can control not just Macs, but iPods and iPhones as well. It costs $19.
The new iMac, built with the unibody technique, comes in two sizes, with 21.5- and 27-inch screens. It’s got the same edge-to-edge glass of the MacBook Pro and will have Core 2 Duo and new Core i5/i7 quad-core options. UPDATED
The first thing I noticed when playing with the new iMac was that the screens feel bigger and wider, as they should. Secondly, I noticed the black screen and aluminum smaller “chin”. Thirdly, I noticed the wireless keyboard, which was missing the numeric keypad (compared to the wired keyboard) and the Magic Mouse. The computer itself has a few things going on that aren’t apparent at a glance.
The screen is finally LED-backlit, like the Cinema Displays. And like the 24-inch Cinema Display, it does IPS (In Plane Switching), which is great for edge-to-edge viewing without color distortion. The iMac has a new trick, too—its DisplayPort can turn it into a second screen, receiving video (and audio, pending availability of 3rd party adapters) input from DVD players or a MacBook. Apple said it was HDCP compliant so it should be fine for watching Blu-rays on, via the port, via a separate player.
The 21.5-incher has a generous 1920×1080 pixels, while the 27-incher has 2560×1440 pixels. Both sit at 16:9. But most big movies are 21:9, and there’s NO getting around those bars—21:9 is not even close to 16:9. But a 21:9 ratio’d screen would be weird on a desktop, no doubt. (That said, the new 16:9 ratio is nicer than the last generation’s proportions.) The screen is still glossy, which means glare-y.
Compared to the last generation, the 21.5-inch is 1.1mm thinner (23mm vs. 24.1), and the 27-inch is 4.4mm thinner (27.1mm vs. 31.5mm).
Oh! There’s a new remote (a $19 option), which is aluminum with black buttons, larger—like a skinny iPod nano in that same elliptical shape. It’s gray.
The larger chassis allowed Apple to do two main things over the previous generation’s 20- and 24-inch models: Fit in 4 RAM modules, for a total of 16GB max memory, and increase the quality of sound using the both acoustics of the case and better components. There’s a noticeable difference.
There’s a new SD card slot under the optical. Apple, like on the MacBook Pros, has the card sticking out a lot so you don’t forget to put it back in your camera.
The case is no longer plastic on the back—it’s the same metal frame as used on the front, meaning it’s unibody. The black back of the previous generation made the computer appear even thinner than this one. Apple has not commented so far on the relative thinness here, so we’ll have to measure later.
The other thing is, on top of Core 2 Duo configs with 3.06GHz processors (and 3.33GHz for special orders) in November Apple will ship quad-core Core i5/i7 chips at 2.66 and 2.80GHz respectively. They’ll go for a lot more, but in theory, you’ll be able to take advantage of those four cores using Snow Leopard’s GDC tech. Apple said that non-multithreaded programs can take advantage of the chipset’s ability to go “turbo”; it can speed up individual cores when the others aren’t being used. This happens transparently to the user.
There are three main graphics configs in this machine, too: An Nvidia 9400m or ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics solution in the 21.5-incher, with the latter being 4x as fast, according to Apple. The 27-inch iMac has the ATI Radeon HD 4670 as its low-end card and a ATI Radeon HD 4850 on the top end. Graphics cards should have an impact on general computing, once developers start writing for the OpenCL functionality in Snow Leopard, so its a bit more important for non-gamers than in previous generations of iMacs.
That’s all I can think of for now. It was a short hands on.
Apple Unveils New iMac With 21.5 and 27-inch Displays
Features LED-Backlit Displays, Available Quad-Core Processors & the New Wireless Magic Mouse
CUPERTINO, Calif., Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today unveiled an all new iMac® line featuring brilliant LED-backlit 21.5 and 27-inch widescreen displays in a new edge-to-edge glass design and seamless all aluminum enclosure. The new iMac line, starting at $1,199, is the fastest ever with Intel Core 2 Duo processors starting at 3.06 GHz, and Core i5 and i7 quad-core processors for up to twice the performance.* Every new iMac ships with a wireless keyboard and the all new wireless Magic Mouse, the world’s first mouse with Multi-Touch™ technology pioneered by Apple on the iPhone®, iPod touch® and Mac® notebook trackpad.
“The iMac is widely praised as the best desktop computer in the world and today we are making it even better,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With brilliant LED displays and the revolutionary Magic Mouse, the new iMac delivers an amazing desktop experience that we think customers will love.”
The new iMac features stunning LED-backlit displays with a 16:9 aspect ratio, ideal for watching high definition movies and TV shows from iTunes®, or editing and watching your own videos or photos using iLife®. The new 21.5-inch iMac features a high resolution 1920-by-1080 pixel display. The 27-inch iMac features a beautiful 2560-by-1440 pixel display that offers 60 percent more pixels than the previous 24-inch model. Both 21.5 and 27-inch displays use IPS technology to deliver consistent color across an ultra wide 178 degree viewing angle.
The iMac comes standard with a wireless keyboard and the new Magic Mouse featuring Apple’s revolutionary Multi-Touch technology. Instead of needing mechanical buttons, scroll wheels or scroll balls, the entire top of the Magic Mouse is a seamless Multi-Touch surface. Using intuitive gestures, a user can easily scroll through long documents, pan across large images or swipe to move forward or backward through a collection of web pages or photos. The Magic Mouse can be configured as either a single button or two button mouse, according to the user’s preference. The wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse work seamlessly with the iMac’s built-in Bluetooth capabilities to provide a clean, cable-free desk top.
The iMac features improved graphics across the line with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics or ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics in the 21.5-inch model, and ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics or ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics in the 27-inch model. The new iMac line now also features 4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 memory and capacity up to 16GB across four SO-DIMM slots. Every iMac features a built-in iSight® video camera, mic and stereo speakers integrated into the thin aluminum and glass design. iMac includes built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n Wi-Fi networking, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Gigabit Ethernet, a total of four USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire® 800 port and a new built-in SD card slot.
Apple today also announced that the Mac mini, the world’s most energy efficient desktop,** is now faster, offers more storage and comes standard with double the memory. Starting at $599, the entry level Mac mini features a faster 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, a 160GB hard drive, five USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics and a SuperDrive®. The $799 Mac mini features a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of memory and a larger 320GB hard drive. Apple now offers a $999 Mac mini that is specially configured with Mac OS® X Snow Leopard® Server. Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server features two 500GB hard drives for a total of 1TB of server storage in the tiny 6.5-inch square by 2-inch tall Mac mini enclosure.
Continuing Apple’s commitment to the environment, both iMac and Mac mini extend their leadership in green design. iMac and Mac mini meet the new, more stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements and achieve EPEAT Gold status.*** The new iMac now features LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Both iMac and Mac mini use PVC-free internal components and cables, contain no brominated flame retardants, use highly recyclable materials, and feature material-efficient system and packaging designs.
Every Mac comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife features iPhoto®, to easily organize and manage photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use new features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand® which introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar.
Pricing & Availability The new 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac and Mac mini lines are now shipping and available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The Intel Core i5 and i7 quad-core iMacs are available for order and will begin shipping this November. Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server is available from the Apple Store and Apple’s retail stores.
The new 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,199 (US), includes: 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display; 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache; 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB; NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics; 500GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm; a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+ / -R DL/DVD+ / -RW/CD-RW); Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately); built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; built-in iSight video camera; Gigabit Ethernet port; four USB 2.0 ports; one FireWire 800 port; SD card slot; built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.
The new 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US), includes: 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display; 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache; 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB; ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics; with 256MB GDDR3; 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm; a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+ / -R DL/DVD+ / -RW/CD-RW); Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately); built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; built-in iSight video camera; Gigabit Ethernet port; four USB 2.0 ports; one FireWire 800 port; SD card slot; built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.
The new 27-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,699 (US), includes: 27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display; 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache; 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB; ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics; with 256MB GDDR3; 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm; a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+ / -R DL/DVD+ / -RW/CD-RW); Mini DisplayPort for video input and output (adapters sold separately); built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; built-in iSight video camera; Gigabit Ethernet port; four USB 2.0 ports; one FireWire 800 port; SD card slot; built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.
The new 27-inch 2.66 GHz Core i5 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes: 27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display; 2.66 GHz Intel Core i5 quad-core processor with 8MB shared L3 cache; 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB; ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics; with 512MB GDDR3; 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm; a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+ / -R DL/DVD+ / -RW/CD-RW); Mini DisplayPort for video input and output (adapters sold separately); built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; built-in iSight video camera; Gigabit Ethernet port; four USB 2.0 ports; one FireWire 800 port; SD card slot; built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.
Build-to-order options for the 27-inch Core i5 quad-core iMac include a 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 quad-core processor.
*Based on estimated results of industry-standard SPECint_base2006 and SPECfp_rate_base2006 rate tests. SPEC® is a registered trademark of Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC). Testing conducted by Apple in October 2009 using preproduction 27-inch iMac Intel Core i5-based 2.66 GHz units and shipping 24-inch iMac Intel Core 2 Duo–based 3.06 GHz units. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of iMac.
**Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA ENERGY STAR 5.0 database as of October 2009.
***EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.
Rumor has it that Apple’s next-generation Mac Pro will feature Intel’s elite desktop chip codenamed Gulftown, according to a blog.
Recently demonstrated by Intel, Gulftown is a six-core, dual-socket processor with 12 threads. (In normal human speak, it’s essentially a processor with six brains, capable of efficiently distributing power to execute 12 concurrent tasks.) Apple blog Hardmac claims receiving a tip that the Gulftown-equipped Mac Pro could arrive early 2010.
A highly threadable processor such as Gulftown would be most useful for prosumer applications, such as video editing and encoding. Apple’s latest operating system Snow Leopard was specially designed for efficient multithread processing.
Therefore, for regular consumers who don’t use their Macs for very processor-heavy tasks, this rumor about Gulftown won’t sound all that exciting. But inevitable price cuts for current Mac Pros, which carry quad-core processors, might be something to look forward to.
As if on cue, here’s some new data research firm Gartner lending credence to Lanci’s boasting. Looks like Acer has leapfrogged over Dell for the number two spot in global market share for the third quarter of 2009, from 12.5 to 15.4 percent of the Big Pie Chart[TM]. Meanwhile Dell is just below at 12.8 percent, and HP is sitting happily atop with a 19.9 percent ownership.
Update: Let us adjust our glasses a bit. According to the charts, Acer is number two in worldwide PC sales, not in US as this previously reported. Stateside, the company is sitting at number three at 13.9 percent, behind HP (25.7 percent) and Dell (26.2 percent). Apologies for the confusion, the person responsible for eyesight has been subsequently sacked, the person responsible for the sacking has been sacked, etc.
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This is the iMac next to a 13-inch MBP and a Dell 2407 24-inch monitor. The iMac’s screen puts both to shame in brightness and clarity.
That’s what two full sized 1080p trailers look like on this screen.
The iMac replaces its old mouse with the new Magic Mouse, with a multitouch surface and 360 degree scrolling and swiping, almost like the gestures you find on a Macbook trackpad. I’ve said it before: I primarily use Laptops because 
Big beautiful screen is super high res and bright.
Faster parts not out yet; current components available in previous generation.
No Blu-ray player, touchscreen or other things that aren’t important to me, but may be important to you. Maybe.
