Apple WWDC 2009 Live Coverage

You’ve seen our liveblog of today’s big event, now jump below for links to all of the new software and gear, including the iPhone 3GS.

iPhone 3GS
iPhone 3GS Complete Feature Guide
iPhone 3G vs. iPhone 3GS Comparison Chart
The Not-So-New $99 8GB iPhone
iPhone 3GS Gets Voice Control
“Find My iPhone” Is a Relief to Us Forgetful Types
Old 16GB iPhone 3G to Sell for $149
And the One Caveat: AT&T.

iPhone OS
iPhone 3.0: The Whole Story
App Roundup: iPhone 3.0

Mac OS X
Mac OSX Snow Leopard: The Whole Story
Safari 4 Available, Dubbed “World’s Fastest Browser”

New MacBooks
New 15-Inch MacBook Pros
Introducing the New, Cheap, 13-Inch MacBook Pro

WWDC 2009
Liveblog Archive

Everything You Need to Know About Snow Leopard

Apple is giving Snow Leopard, the next version of OS X, a proper unveiling today at WWDC. Here are all the details, as we get them. The biggest news? It’s only $29 to upgrade, and coming in September

Snow Leopard, otherwise known as OS X 10.6, was first announced at last year’s WWDC, and we got a pretty comprehensive rundown of what to expect: serious 64-bit support; the ability to really use multi-core processors with Grand Central; GPGPU processing (that’s graphics card processing, in English) with OpenCL; and more under-the-hood upgrades. There’ve been plenty of rumors since then, but here’s the official word:

WHAT’S NEW:

FASTER PERFORMANCE

• Much of the codebase has been rewritten, for speed increases system-wide.

• Installation is 45% faster, which is considerate, I guess.

• General optimizations abound: opening JPEGs, for example, is now twice as fast in Preview. PDFs are 1.5x faster. Some of this could be down to the new 64-bit, multi-threaded underpinnings; mostly, though, it’s just plain old software tweaking.

• Same goes for Mail: it’s about twice as fast to launch, search and move messages.

• Installing Snow Leopard actually saves space: you’ll get back 6GB of hard drive space over Leopard 10.5. Successive versions of OS X are usually faster, yeah, but much smaller? That’s new.

SAFARI 4

• Javascript performance, which is basically the core issue in the browser wars nowadays, is up by 50%. Browsing as a whole is faster, and Safari 4 passes the Acid3 CSS test at 100%. It gets Coverflow (for history browsing), just like virtually every other part of OS X. “Fastest in the World”, they say. In addition, Safari 4 now has “crash resistance”, meaning Chrome-like threaded processes, so a single crashed tab doesn’t take down the entire browser. More here.

MICROSOFT EXCHANGE SUPPORT

• According to our own Mark Wilson, “it looks like it should look.” That means seamless integration with Mail, Contacts and iCal. The implementation looks fairly complete, and most importantly, it’s standard in Snow Leopard—not part of a separate app suite.

QUICKTIME 10

• QT gets a new interface, looks like the iTunes video player. Hardware acceleration for video playback, too. You can do some quick video editing as well, like in older versions of Quicktime Pro, except with an iMovie-style visual timeline. It’s very pretty, and a welcome improvement of the ultra-limited editing powers of previous QTs. This, of course, is now standard. Oh right, and there’ a new, vaguely menacing icon.

NEW DOCK, EXPOSE

• It’s a lot like regular Exposé, except it can be controlled from the dock, and offers more in the way of interactivity, i.e., dragging content between previewed windows. App grouping is now managed by from the dock icons. Nothing revolutionary, but it’s nice to see tighter Exposé integration. I see little hints of Windows 7’s awesome new taskbar, maybe?

• Sorta related, but not worthy of its own heading: you can magnify some icons in Finder, and preview video in thumbnails.

64-BIT, GPGPU, AND MULTI-CORE SUPPORT:

• 64 whole bits: All native OS X apps, like Mail, Quicktime, Finder, and Safari, are fully coded for 64-bit compatibility. This shouldn’t have a massive effect on performance, but it’s an inevitable progression, and a positive one. Previously.

• Multi-core support, i.e. Grand Central: We knew this was coming, but it bears repeating: the whole OS has been optimized to use all those fancy multi-core processors in your MacBooks and iMacs. This includes core apps. The API, which will allow developers to tap into Grand Central, which is essentially the software brain of the OS X multi-core engine, will expand support to third-party apps. Previously.

• GPGPU acceleration: Not much new here, but Snow Leopard will support GPU acceleration in non-graphics apps, when appropriate. Again, previously.

HOW MUCH, AND WHEN?

• Well, this is a hell of a surprise, but it fits with Apple’s vision of Snow Leopard as a stopgap product: $29 to upgrade from Leopard, down from their regular $129 upgrade price. $49 for a family pack. It comes out in September, before Windows 7, and a developer preview is available from today. Anyone who buys a new Mac from June 8th can upgrade for a nominal $10 handling fee.

Apple Unveils Mac OS X Snow Leopard

SAN FRANCISCO, June 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today unveiled Mac OS® X Snow Leopard™, an even more powerful and refined version of the world’s most advanced operating system and the foundation for future Mac® innovation. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies, out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange and new accessibility features. Snow Leopard will ship as an upgrade for Mac OS X Leopard users in September 2009 for $29.

“We’ve built on the success of Leopard and created an even better experience for our users from installation to shutdown,” said Bertrand Serlet, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “Apple engineers have made hundreds of improvements so with Snow Leopard your system is going to feel faster, more responsive and even more reliable than before.”

To create Snow Leopard, Apple engineers focused on perfecting the world’s most advanced operating system, refining 90 percent of the more than 1,000 projects in Mac OS X. Users will notice a more responsive Finder™; Mail that loads messages 85 percent faster and conducts searches up to 90 percent faster;* Time Machine® with up to 50 percent faster initial backup;* a Dock with Expose integration; a 64-bit version of Safari® 4 that boosts the performance of the Nitro JavaScript engine by up to 50 percent** and is resistant to crashes caused by plug-ins. Snow Leopard also includes an all new QuickTime® X, with a redesigned player that allows users to easily view, record, trim and share video to YouTube, MobileMe™ or iTunes®. Snow Leopard is half the size of the previous version and frees up to 6GB of drive space once installed.

For the first time, system applications including Finder, Mail, iCal®, iChat® and Safari are 64-bit and Snow Leopard’s support for 64-bit processors makes use of large amounts of RAM, increases performance, and improves security while remaining compatible with 32-bit applications. Grand Central Dispatch (GCD) provides a revolutionary new way for software to take advantage of multicore processors. GCD is integrated throughout Snow Leopard, from new system-wide APIs to high-level frameworks and programming language extensions, improving responsiveness across the system. OpenCL, a C-based open standard, allows developers to tap the incredible power of the graphics processing unit for tasks that go beyond graphics.

Snow Leopard builds support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 right into Mac OS X Mail, Address Book and iCal so you can use these applications to send and receive email, create and respond to meeting invitations, and search and manage your contacts with global address lists. Exchange information works seamlessly within Snow Leopard so users can take advantage of OS X only features such as fast Spotlight™ searches and Quick Look previews. Snow Leopard is the only desktop operating system with out of the box support for Exchange 2007 and businesses of any size will find it easier to integrate Macs into their organization.

Every Mac includes innovative features and technologies for users with special needs, and Snow Leopard adds groundbreaking new features that make the Mac experience even more accessible to those with a vision impairment. Apple’s Multi-Touch™ trackpad is now integrated with the VoiceOver screen reader so users can hear and navigate different parts of a window or the desktop by moving a single finger around the trackpad as if it were the screen. Snow Leopard also introduces built-in support for wireless bluetooth braille displays and the connection of multiple braille displays simultaneously to one Mac.

Pricing & Availability
Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard will be available as an upgrade to Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard in September 2009 through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The Snow Leopard single user license will be available for a suggested retail price of $29 (US) and the Snow Leopard Family Pack, a single household, five-user license, will be available for a suggested price of $49 (US). For Tiger® users with an Intel-based Mac, the Mac Box Set includes Mac OS X Snow Leopard, iLife® ’09 and iWork® ’09 and will be available for a suggested price of $169 (US) and a Family Pack is available for a suggested price of $229 (US).

The Mac OS X Snow Leopard Up-To-Date upgrade package is available to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller between June 8, 2009 and the end of the program on December 26, 2009, for a product plus shipping and handling fee of $9.95 (US). Users must request their Up-To-Date upgrade within 90 days of purchase or by December 26, 2009, whichever comes first. For more information please visit www.apple.com/macosx/uptodate. Snow Leopard requires a minimum of 1GB of RAM and is designed to run on any Mac computer with an Intel processor. Full system requirements can be found at www.apple.com/macosx/techspecs.

*Testing conducted by Apple in May 2009 comparing prerelease Mac OS X Snow Leopard v10.6 with shipping Mac OS X Leopard v10.5.7 using shipping MacBook® 2.0 GHz systems with 2GB of RAM and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (256MB) and shipping generation iMac® 2.66 GHz systems with 2GB of RAM and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (256MB).

**Testing conducted by Apple in May 2009 comparing 64-bit Safari 4 to 32-bit Safari 4 on prerelease Mac OS X Snow Leopard v10.6. Performance will vary based on system configuration, network connection and other factors. All testing conducted on an iMac 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo system running Mac OS X Snow Leopard, with 2GB of RAM. JavaScript benchmark based on the SunSpider JavaScript Performance test.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

© 2009 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, Snow Leopard, Finder, Time Machine, Safari, QuickTime, MobileMe, iTunes, iCal, iChat, Spotlight, Multi-Touch, Apple Store, Tiger, iLife, iWork, MacBook and iMac are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Dell’s Mini 10v gets unboxed, cracked wide open, fitted with OS X

Not that Dell’s other Mini machines aren’t perfect candidates for creating your own hackintosh, but it’s stellar to know that the outfit’s newest member is as well. After going on sale earlier this month, the Mini 10v has been procured, unboxed and dissected, all in the name of unabashed discovery. Interestingly, it seems as if the RAM slot requires that the keyboard and motherboard be lifted for access, but for even the mildly seasoned computer user, that’s absolutely nothing they can’t handle. If you’re into hardcore, uncensored splayings of newfangled netbooks, the read link is where you need to be, holmes.

[Via MyDellMini, thanks Erik]

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Dell’s Mini 10v gets unboxed, cracked wide open, fitted with OS X originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 May 2009 02:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analyst Predicts Apple Will Unleash Touchscreen Tablet Next Year

Evidence continues to mount that Apple will deliver a touchscreen tablet next year, with an analyst laying out solid reasoning for this rumored device to become a reality. It appears more likely to be an oversized iPod Touch, not a tabletized MacBook.

“Between indications from our component contacts in Asia, recent patents relating to multi-touch sensitivity for more complex computing devices, comments from [chief operating officer] Tim Cook on the April 22 conference call, and Apple’s acquisition of PA Semi along with other recent chip-related hires, it is increasingly clear that Apple is investing more in its mobile-computing franchise,” Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said in a research statement issued to clients.

Apple’s next step in mobile computing will likely be the release of a touchscreen tablet featuring a 7-to-10-inch display sometime in the first half of 2010, Munster predicts.

Apple enthusiasts have been gossiping about a Mac tablet since July 2008, when the first rumor about the fabled device surfaced at MacDailyNews. Since then, a stream of clues, rumors and statements from Apple suggest this product will indeed join the Apple product family soon, as Gadget Lab has been reporting for several months.

Apple itself has steadfastly refused to confirm or deny any hint of an Apple tablet.

While in theory Apple could simply make a larger-screen iPod Touch, Munster believes creating a tablet will be more complex. He speculates the operating system will be a hybrid between the iPhone’s mobile operating system and Mac OS X. Or, Apple could optimize a version of Mac OS X for the multitouch interface.

Price range? Munster is guessing between $500 and $700, positioning this device as Apple’s response to netbooks.

At its recent quarterly earnings call, Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook said the company had no plans to release a netbook, calling the device category “junky.”

“For us, it’s about doing great products,” Cook said. “And when I look at what is being sold in the netbook space today, I see cramped keyboards, terrible software, junky hardware, very small screens and just not a consumer experience … that we would put the Mac brand on, quite frankly.”

Other indications that it’s an upsized-iPod-Touch–style tablet in the works (rather than a “junky” netbook) involve Apple’s recent hiring of several chip designers, as well as its acquisition of PA Semi to develop mobile processors.

Would a touchscreen tablet be worth putting the Mac brand on? We think so.

Apple Tablet in 2010 [Silicon Alley Insider]

See Also:

llustration of an imaginary iPhone tablet: Flickr/vernhart


Tired of Your Netbook? Turn It Into a Pet Cam

3541766092_5e4a52eed6After eight months, Gadget Lab’s Charlie Sorrel still adores his Hackintosh netbook (even though at some point a software update broke his keyboard and mouse, requiring him to format his drive and reinstall Mac OS X — a detail he didn’t bother to mention). Now that he and his Crapintosh have traversed their rough patch, Charlie make believes he’s P Diddy by hosting decadent parties, passing the netbook around to guests to use it as a (gasp) wireless music player.

I’m glad he’s finally caught up to the year 2000, but I’ve found a more clever use for my netbook Hackintosh, which I deemed an impractical nuisance after six months of quick wear and tear. I propped it on top of my refrigerator and pointed the webcam at my five-week-old kitten Cuddy, whom I adopted two days ago. I also downloaded a $5 iPhone app called iCam enabling me to view the camera feed. Now, wherever and whenever I wish, I can check on Cuddy by simply opening the iCam app on my iPhone. If she appears to be going bonkers, I can hurry home to her rescue.

One major disadvantage: The audio in the webcam doesn’t work with the hacked version of Mac OS X, for which there is no fix, meaning all I can do is see, not hear, the kitten. So this pet-cam setup doesn’t make me take back my statement about Hackintoshes being all about the chase (that is, the thrills of hacking the netbook) but a failure in delivery.

3541769672_acab8daf8d

See Also:

Photo: Brian X. Chen/Wired.com


Mac OS X 10.5.7 Released

The latest point release of Leopard is out now, which you can get if you hit up Software Update from your Mac. Updated.

Besides general security fixes, there are Dvorak and Yahoo syncing bug fixes, Widget stability updates, Spotlight network searching for network volumes and some Ethernet Flow Control performance upgrades. There are also improved syncing with Notes in Mail, iCal CalDav support and various other small things. For the full change log, hit up the link. [AppleThanks Armyguy19!]

Update: We’re hearing that the update is causing some issues with some people. Might want to wait it out a while to see if there’s an update to the update. [Apple SupportThanks Traviscat!]

How would you change Apple’s Nehalem-based Mac Pro?

Apple’s freshest Mac Pro, which was the first machine of any kind to ship with Intel’s newest Nehalem-based Xeon processors, has been on the block for a few months now. By our estimation, that’s plenty of time for the pros (and “prosumers,” if you will) to get a good feel of their new workstation. Design wise, not a lot has changed in the machine, but we’re anxious to know how you feel about the more subtle changes as well as the internal overhauling. Apple’s charging a small fortune for this bad boy, so we fully expect you to be critical here. What’s it missing? What should’ve been included? Are you still bitter that WiFi is a $50 option on a multi-thousand dollar machine? Sound off below!

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How would you change Apple’s Nehalem-based Mac Pro? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 May 2009 00:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Snow Leopard beta build includes screen recording capabilities, a certain je ne sais quoi

If you’re keeping track of Snow Leopard’s progress, you’ll be pleased to know that a new build (10A335) has been released into the hands of devs (and consequently, the world). Most interestingly, however, is that it seem this new iteration has a handy screen grab feature that hasn’t made an appearance until now — namely, the native ability (under QuickTime) to “record” your on-screen activities. There are other third-party apps that handle this duty, like the classily-named Snapz Pro X, but the inclusion in this latest beta will almost certainly mainstream the function. It should come in handy if you’re constantly trying to tell you parents how to change their network settings, or if you’re thinking about producing your own version of You Suck at Photoshop.

[Via Mac Rumors]

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New Snow Leopard beta build includes screen recording capabilities, a certain je ne sais quoi originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Psystar Open(3) manages to ship, gets unboxed by lucky customer

Take a good look at the box above, folks — it just might be the first, the last and the only Open(3) you ever see. Psystar‘s latest Mac clone, which was launched right around a month ago, has miraculously managed to ship out (or, at least one has). If you’ll recall, the company has been battling with Apple for months on end for selling OS X-equipped machines without Cupertino’s blessing, but apparently it’s still doing at least a bit of business under the table. Hit up the read link for a Flickr gallery full of this here slap in the face. It’s good stuff, trust us.

[Thanks, Mike]

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Psystar Open(3) manages to ship, gets unboxed by lucky customer originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skype for iPhone goes live in Japan

When they said “Tuesday,” they meant it. Not long ago, the clock struck midnight in the Land of the Rising Sun, and sure enough, the bona fide Skype application (v1.0.0.63) for Apple’s iPhone has gone live. It’s absolutely free to download, and early reports from Japan have been pretty stellar in regard to sound quality. We’re fully expecting it to roll out elsewhere as Tuesday (March 31st) arrives in various time zones, so make sure you (and at least one Skype buddy) stay up late to try ‘er out. [Warning: iTunes read link may not work for all time zones yet.]

[Via Engadget Japanese]

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Skype for iPhone goes live in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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