Apple

New macbook ang macbook pro

2008-10-19T16:50:00.001-07:00

There is new Macbook and Macbook pro. They are redesigned, reengineered, and re-everythinged. They are thinner cheaper and better. They are made by a 2 pound aluminum block and the rest of the aluminum are recycled. Although I like the older macbook pro look better. The touchpad is a whole button which is a little weird and I am scared about the touchpad if it will break easily. I will write more about this but right now I got to go eat

NEW NEW NEW

2008-09-27T12:22:00.001-07:00

There is a new Ipod Nano, Ipod classic, Itunes, Ipod touch. The Ipod Nano is the thinnest Ipod ever made. It has a curved design and even the screen is curved, it looks very stylish and futuristic. It has 9 different colors, in pictures it looks thicker than the 1st generation Ipod Nano but it is really thinner. It also has a accelerometer, which is really helpful to do a cover flow. It also has the new Genius. It is so compaq and has a great battery life. The Ipod Classic in the other hand is 120 gb and only 120 gb because it is rare that people bought the ipod classic 160 gb. The Ipod Touch now has a speaker and has the same shape as the Iphone. The itunes also support the new genius and more.

What laptop should I get

2008-07-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

What laptop should youI get?

I will try to answer what laptop should you get.

If you are looking for a really good gaming laptop then you should get windows. I am a expert on games and that I recommend getting a macbook pro because it has a very nice graphics. I know that there are not lots of games for mac but you should install windows on it if you would like. Alienware are also good laptops but to me it just does not feel like solid. The macbook pro is very strong because it is made of real aluminum not like the dell laptops it looks silver and aluminum but it is really plastic so I would take a good care of a computer. Most windows computer are cheap because they use cheap materials and most of them are only 1.6 ghz. The windows laptops are mostly thicker because they use cheaper items inside it. The apple does not that is why it is mostly thinner. If you a really big fan of windows then I still recommend apple laptops because it is the best laptop for windows. I do not know why but it is something about ef something like that but I know it starts with a e. and there is another one that I do not know. I will try my best to explain. The apple have something that windows does not have so just buy a apple computer and wipe the whole apple operating system.

I hope that you know know which laptop you should get. I am sorry if I did not explain alot about apple and mostly explain about windows. I mostly explain about windows because most people are windows user so I am really sorry if you did not find the right answer. If you want more question please e-mail me. It is clintonb2@edu.wsd1.org and if you are wondering how am I suppose to send a email to you if I do not have the same kind well it does not matter. If you have hotmail you can still send yahoo adress anykind you can . As long as it is real a e-mail.

When should you buy a mac?

2008-06-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

You should buy a mac on june or january because most of the time they will update, make-up and, even a new product. Sometimes they do not. but most of the time they will update some products. If you need it right now go for it. your still going to get a good machine. Except maybe the new one will be better. if your in the mid December or June then you wait. I do not think that the macbook or the macbook pro will still get updated but if they will I am sure that it won't get faster or bigger hard drive because I am a technology freak and they have not made a smaller hard drive. Maybe it will get updated by the multi-touch stuff like that.

Author: Clinton Bayas

Inside Leoaprd: Finder and dock

2008-06-14T20:16:00.001-07:00

When you think about it, the Finder is probably the single-most used program in Mac OS X. After all, it runs from the moment you log in until the time you log out, handling all your file management tasks. It's also the public face of the OS X interface when you're not using an application.

That public face undergoes a transformation in OS X 10.5.Apple has put some polish on the Finder, adding some often-suggested features, including at least one that was present back in the OS 9 days. There's also an entirely new look for the Finder that inspired debate long before Leopard's arrival. On top of that, Apple added a new view mode and addressed performance issues. So there's a lot of ground to cover.

The Big Changes

We addressed many of the changes planned for the Finder and the Desktop when Apple unveiled them this June. However, since you spend so much time in the Finder, it's worth reviewing some of the highlights.

New Appearance: The first thing most OS x 10.5 users will notice is the new look of the Finder. Gone are the bright, colorful folder icons of OS X 10.4 (and every Mac OS release since the days of System 7). In their place, you'll find a look of uniform blue and grayness, with much more subtle indicators of the folders' contents.

In addition to new folders, the menu bar and menus are translucent, and the Dock is no longer a dock-it's more of a shelf, complete with reflections of windows that get close to the shelf and pronounced drop shadows for icons in the Dock. Some people will love the look, and others will hate it-and findways to tinker with it. But once you get beyond the look, there are other, more substantive changes to be found.

The days of launching applications to see the contents of a file are over, thanks to Quick Look which gives you a scrollable window for peeking inside documents.

Quick Look: Quick Look is a new technology designed to let you see inside your files without going through the trouble of actually opening them. Quick Look is really somewhat more of a system-wide feature, as it's available in the Finder, Spotlight'sresults window, and Time Machine. However, you'll end up using Quick Look often in the Finder.

The idea behind Quick Look is that you can quickly see the contents of a given file without having to open that file in its related application. Instead, you control-click on the file in question in the Finder and select Quick Look from the contextual menu. A new window will grow from the selected file, displaying the contents of the file.

This window is scrollable (for multi-page documents), resizable, and movable, and contains a couple of buttons at the bottom-one that will add a displayed image to iPhoto, and the other to enter full-screen Quick Look mode.

You can Quick Look nearly any kind of file you might have on your system. Text files, movies, Adobe Photoshop images, PDFs, Microsoft Office 2004 documents, image files, and even MP3s all show (and in the case of movies and audio files, play) in the Quick Look window. Once open, you can resize the window and even page through multi-page documents.

If you use a third-party program that uses a proprietary file format, however, you may not be able to use Quick Look on those files, at least not until developers update their applications to provide a Quick Look preview-hence the spate of "Leopard-compatible" releases you've seen from developers in recent days. As time passes, the number of non-supported applications is likely to continue to shrink.

After spending just a few minutes using Quick Look, you'll never want to go back to using preview icons and click-and-hope to find a given file. Anyone who uses OS X 10.5 will probably find that Quick Look not only saves time, but makes the difficult task of finding a certain document or image not only easier and faster, but actually almost pleasant.

Cover Flow: The Finder now sports a Cover Flow view to go with the existing Icon, List, and Column views; Finder's Cover Flow implementation looks just like it does in iTunes. Much like Quick Look, Cover Flow view gives you a preview of your files without opening them, and it can page through PDFs and text files, and play movie files (though not audio files).

For folders of images or movies, I found the Cover Flow view a great way to browse for that certain file I wanted. For other sorts of files, however, I didn't find it particularly useful, and quickly returned to Column view.

When a folder contains fewer than 10 items, the stack fans out as a curving column of icons-10 or more items, and a pop-up window appears.

Stacks: Stacks are a new way of looking at folders stored on the end of the Dock. In prior versions of OS X, clicking on folders kept there turned them into navigable pop-up menus.

In Leopard, you'll get what's known as a stack-a visual representation of the folder's contents. If the folder contains fewer than 10 items, you'll see the stack presented as a curving column of icons; with 10 or more items, you'll instead see a pop-up window full of icons. If you click on a file's icon in a stack, the chosen file will open in its parent application. Click on a folder, and that folder opens in the Finder.

If you've got folders of images in your stacks, this is a useful feature. But if you made extensive use of the Dock's navigable pop-up folders in OS X10.4, you'll likely be disappointed by stacks in OS X 10.5, as they're somewhat less powerful. You can't, for instance, drill down into subfolders in stacks; you can merely select the top-level folder to open it in the Finder.

Dock Pop-up Folders: Leopard's Dock inherits a useful feature from the Finder: spring-loaded folders. With this new feature, you can drag an item over a folder in the Dock, and the folder will open momentarily in the Finder, allowing you to drop the item into a sub-folder-or to dig even further down into sub-sub-folders until you find the desired destination. Once you've dropped the file, the folder (and all sub-folders) will close and return to its resting place in the Dock.

Searches in the Sidebar: The Finder now sports an iTunes-like sidebar where things are grouped together as Devices Devices (hard drives, CDs, DVDs), Shared (network volumes and computers), Places (folders and files on your hard drive), and Search For. That last area comes pre-populated with a number of handy saved searches-to help you quickly find items modified today, yesterday, or in the last week; and show all movies, images, or documents.

Even more useful than the canned searches, however, is the ability to add your own. After creating a search in the Finder, click on the Save button and you'll see a new Add To Sidebar checkbox that does just what you think it should do. To remove or rearrange searches, you can just drag them around as you do with other entries in the sidebar. Having fast access to your most-used searches via the sidebar is a welcome feature.

From CB

leopard full review

2008-06-13T14:41:00.002-07:00

Mac OS X version 10.5 “Leopard” is the sixth major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server operating system forMacintosh computers, and is the successor to Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger". Leopard was released on 26 October 2007, and is available in two variants: a desktop version suitable for personal computers, and a server version, Mac OS X Server. Apple offers a reduced-cost upgrade to people that purchased new Apple computers after 1 October 2007 that do not already have Mac OS X v10.5 pre-installed or a Leopard upgrade DVD included.^[1] Steve Jobs stated at MacWorld 2008 that over 20% of Macs use Leopard as their operating system.^[2] Leopard will be followed up with Mac OS X v10.6 "Snow Leopard", likely sometime in 2009.

According to Apple, Leopard contains over 300 changes and enhancements,^[3] covering core operating system components as well as included applications and developer tools. Leopard introduces a significantly revised desktop, with a redesigned Dock, Stacks, a semitransparent menu bar, and an updated Finder that incorporates the Cover Flow visual navigation interface first seen in iTunes. Other notable features include support for writing 64-bit graphical user interface applications, an automated backup utility called Time Machine, support for Spotlight searches across multiple machines, and the inclusion of Front Row and Photo Booth, which were previously only included with some Mac models.

Apple missed Mac OS X v10.5’s release time frame as originally announced by Apple's CEO Steve Jobs. When first discussed in June 2005, Jobs had stated that Apple intended to release Leopard at the end of 2006 or early 2007.^[4] A year later, this was amended to "Spring 2007";^[5] however on 12 April 2007, Apple issued a statement that its release would be delayed until October 2007 because of the development of the iPhone.^[6]

[hide]

[edit]New and changed features

[edit]End-user features

Apple advertises that Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard has 300+ new features^[7], including:

A new improved Automator, with easy starting points to easily start a workflow. It also can quickly create or edit workflows with new interface improvements. Now it can use a new action called 'Watch Me Do' that lets you record a user action (like pressing a button or controlling an application without built-in Automator support) and replay as an action in a workflow. It can create more useful Automator workflows with actions for RSS feeds, iSight camera video snapshots, PDF manipulation, and much more.
Back to My Mac, a feature for .Mac users that allows users to access files on their home computer while away from home via the internet.
Boot Camp, a software assistant allowing for the installation of other operating systems, such as Windows Vista, on a separate partition (or separate internal drive) on Intel-based Macs.
Dashboard enhancements, including Web Clip, a feature that allows users to turn a part of any Web page displayed in Safari into a live Dashboard widget, and Dashcode to help developers code widgets.^[8]
New Desktop, comprises a redesigned 3-D dock with a new grouping feature called Stacks, which displays files in either a "fan" style, "grid" style, or (since 10.5.2) a "list" style.

The Dock, showing a Stack viewed as a "Fan" (left) and a "Grid" (right).

Dictionary can now search Wikipedia, and a dictionary of Apple terminology as well. Also included is the Japanese-language dictionaryDaijisen, Progressive E-J and Progressive J-E dictionaries, and the 25000-word thesaurus "Tsukaikata no Wakaru Ruigo Reikai Jiten"(使い方の分かる類語例解辞典^?), all of which are provided by the Japanese publisher Shogakukan.^[9]^[10]
A redesigned Finder, with features similar to those seen in iTunes 7, including Cover Flow and a Source list-like sidebar.
Front Row has been reworked to closely resemble the interface of the original Apple TV.
iCal calendar sharing and group scheduling as well as syncing event invitations from Mail.^[11] The icon also reflects the current date even when the application is not running. In previous versions of Mac OS X, the icon would show 17 July any time the application was not running but the current date when the application was running.
iChat enhancements, including multiple logins, invisibility, animated icons, and tabbed chats, similar to features present in Pidgin,Adium and the iChat plugin Chax; iChat Theater, allowing users to incorporate images from iPhoto, presentations from Keynote, videos from QuickTime, and other Quick Look features into video chats; and Backdrops, which are similar to chroma keys, but use a real-time difference matte technique which does not require a green or blue screen. iChat also implements screen sharing, a feature previously available with Apple Remote Desktop.^[12]^[5]^[13]
Mail enhancements including the additions of RSS feeds, Stationery, Notes, and to-dos. To-dos use a system-wide service that is available to all applications.^[14]
Network file sharing improvements include more granular control over permissions, consolidation of AFP, FTP and SMB sharing into one control panel, and the ability to share individual folders, a feature that had not been available since Mac OS 9.^[15]
Parental controls now include the ability to place restrictions on use of the Internet and to set parental controls from anywhere using remote setup.^[16]
Photo Booth enhancements, including video recording with real-time filters and blue-screen technology.
Podcast Capture, an application allowing users to record and distribute podcasts. It requires access to a computer running Mac OS X Server with Podcast Producer.
Preview adds support for annotation, graphics, extraction, search, markup, Instant Alpha and size adjustment tools.^[17]
Quick Look, a framework allowing documents to be viewed without opening them in an external application and can preview it in full screen.^[18]

The Finder, showing files in Cover Flow Viewand viewing a file using Quick Look.

Safari 3, which includes Web Clip.
Spaces, an implementation of virtual desktops (individually called "Spaces"), allows multiple desktops per user, with certain applications and windows in each desktop.^[19] Users can organize certain Spaces for certain applications (e.g., one for work-related tasks and one for entertainment) and switch between them. Exposé works inside Spaces, allowing the user to see at a glance all desktops on one screen.^[20]) Users can create and control up to 16 spaces, and applications can be switched between each one, creating a very large workspace.
Spotlight incorporates additional search capabilities such as Boolean operators, as well as the ability to search other computers (withpermissions).^[21]
Time Machine, an automated backup utility which allows the user to restore files that have been deleted or replaced by another version of a file. However, the back-up drive must be larger than than the Macintosh's drive, as you can't use small USB portable media.^[22]
Universal Access enhancements: significant improvements to applications including VoiceOver, along with increased support for Braille, closed captioning and a new high‐qualitySpeech synthesis voice.^[23]
Russian language support, bringing the total to 23 languages, but still lacking support for other languages, like Arabic.

[edit]Developer technologies

Native support by many libraries and frameworks for 64-bit applications, allowing 64-bit Cocoa applications. Existing 32-bit applications using those libraries and frameworks should continue to run without the need for emulation or translation.^[24]
Leopard offers the Objective-C 2.0 runtime, which includes new features such as garbage collection. Xcode 3.0 supports the updated language and was itself rewritten with it.^[25]
A new framework, Core Animation, allows a developer to create complex animations while specifying only a "start" and a "goal" space. The main goal of Core Animation is to enable the creation of complex animations with small amounts of program code.
Apple integrates DTrace from the OpenSolaris project and adds a graphical interface called Instruments (previously Xray). DTrace provides tools that users, administrators and developers can use to tune the performance of the operating system and the applications that run on it.^[26]
The new Scripting Bridge allows programmers to use Python and Ruby to interface with the Cocoa frameworks.^[27]
Ruby on Rails is included in the default install.
Leopard’s OpenGL stack has been updated to version 2.1, and uses LLVM to increase its vertex processing speed.^[28] Apple has been working to get LLVM integrated into GCC;^[29]LLVM's use within other operating system facilities has not been announced.
The Graphics and Media State of the Union address confirmed many other features are possible because of Core Animation, such as live desktops, improvements to Quartz Composerwith custom patches, a new PDF Kit for developers, and improvements to QuickTime APIs.
Leopard includes a read-only implementation of the ZFS file system.

In mid-December 2006 a pre-release version of Leopard appeared to include support for Sun’s ZFS.^[30] Jonathan Schwartz, CEO and President of Sun Microsystems, stated on 6 June 2007 that ZFS has become "the file system" for Leopard.^[31] However, the senior project marketing director for Mac OS X stated on 11 June 2007 that the existing HFS+, not ZFS, will be used in Leopard. Apple later clarified that a read-only version of ZFS would be included.^[32]

Leopard includes drivers for UDF 2.5, necessary for reading HD DVD and Blu-ray discs using third-party drives, but the included DVD Player software can only play HD DVD disks authored by DVD Studio Pro.^[33]
Leopard includes a framework implementing latent semantic mapping for classifying (e.g. textual) data.
Leopard is certified as fully UNIX compliant. Certification means that software following the Single UNIX Specification can be compiled and run on Leopard without the need for any code modification.^[27] The certification only applies to Leopard when run on Intel processors.
Leopard removes support for Classic applications.^[34] Classic will not run on Intel-based Macs in any case.

[edit]Security enhancements

New security features intend to provide better internal resiliency to successful attacks, in addition to preventing attacks from being successful in the first place.

Library Randomization: Leopard implements library randomization^[35], which randomizes the locations of some libraries in memory. Vulnerabilities that corrupt program memory often rely on known addresses for these library routines, which allow injected code to launch processes or change files. Library randomization is presumably a stepping-stone to a more complete implementation ofaddress space layout randomization at a later date.

Application Layer Firewall: Leopard ships with two firewall engines: the original BSD IPFW, which was present in earlier releases of Mac OS X, and the new Leopard Application Layer Firewall. Unlike IPFW, which intercepts and filters IP datagrams before the kernel performs significant processing, the Application Layer Firewall operates at the socket layer, bound to individual processes. The Application Layer Firewall can therefore make filtering decisions on a per-application basis. Of the two-firewall engines, only the Application Layer Firewall is fully exposed in the Leopard user interface. The new firewall offers less control over individual packet decisions (users can decide to allow or deny connections system wide or to individual applications, but must use IPFW to set fine-grained TCP/IP header level policies). It also makes several policy exceptions for system processes: neither mDNSResponder nor programs running with superuser privileges are filtered.^[36]

Sandboxes: Leopard includes kernel-level support for role-based access control (RBAC). RBAC is intended to prevent, for example, an application like Mail from editing the password database.

Application Signing: Leopard provides a framework to use public key signatures for code signing to verify, in some circumstances that code has not been tampered with. Signatures can also be used to ensure that one program replacing another is truly an "update", and carry any special security privileges across to the new version. This reduces the number of user security prompts, and the likelihood of the user being trained to simply clicking "OK" to everything.

Secure Guest Account: Guests can be given access to a Leopard system with an account that the system erases and resets at logout.^[37]

[edit]System requirements

Apple states the following basic Leopard system requirements, although, for some specific applications and actions (such as iChat backdrops) an Intel processor is required:^[38]

Processor must be any Intel, PowerPC G5 or G4 (at least 867 MHz or faster)
DVD drive (for installation of the operating system)
At least 512 MB of RAM (additional RAM (1 GB) is recommended for development purposes)
At least 9 GB of disk space available

Leopard's retail version was not released in separate versions for each type of processor, but instead consisted of one universal release that could run on both PowerPC and Intel processors.^[24] Leopard drops support for slower G4 and all G3 processors.^[38] Because all new Macs use Intel processors, the versions of Leopard shipped with them are Intel only.

[edit]Usage on unsupported hardware

Some ways of running Leopard on certain unsupported hardware, primarily slower PowerPC G4 computers, have been discovered. A common way is use of the program LeopardAssist, which acts as a bootloader on the unsupported hardware, similar to XPostFacto.^[39] Currently, LeopardAssist only runs on slower G4s and many people have installed Leopard successfully on these older machines.

Users who have access to supported hardware have installed Leopard on the supported machine then simply moved the hard drive to the unsupported machine. These are mostly G4-based computers. Owners of G3 computers have tried to run Leopard with the same method as above. However, most of the time, the computer would crash, but there have been successful attempts at running Leopard on late G3's (mostly later 800–1000 MHz iBooks), although the system was not very stable. "Pismo" PowerBook G3s may be successfully upgraded to Leopard provided they have a G4 upgrade installed, as they are the only PowerBook G3s with built-in FireWire and AGP graphics.

Some users also developed patches and quirks to enable Leopard to run on IBM-compatible PCs. This is a violation of Apple's EULA that explicitly prohibits installing Mac OS X on non Apple-labeled computers, and the patch prevents the use of Apple’s automatic Software Update.

[edit]Packaging

The retail packaging for Leopard is significantly smaller than that of previous versions of Mac OS X. It also sports a lenticular cover, making the "X" appear to float above a purple galaxy, somewhat resembling the default Leopard desktop picture.^[40]

[edit]Version history

Mac OS X version	build	release date	note
10.5.0	9A581	26 October 2007	Available on First-Released retail DVD
10.5.1	9B18	15 November 2007	Available on 2nd wave retail DVD
10.5.2	9C31	11 February 2008	Apple Download Page also available on the latest retail dvd
10.5.3	9D34	28 May 2008	Apple Download Page

[edit]Criticisms

After Leopard's release, there were widely-reported incidents of new Leopard installs hanging at boot with a blue screen.^[41] Most of these problems could be attributed to an unsupported add-on extension called Application Enhancer (APE), from Unsanity which is incompatible with Leopard; unbeknownst to many users, APE had been installed silently on many Macs by Logitech as part of their mouse drivers.^[42] Apple published a knowledge base article on how to solve this problem.^[43]

Security features in Leopard were criticized as weak or ineffective, with the revamped Mac OS X firewall receiving the most criticism, after claims from research group Heise Security that the Leopard installer downgraded firewall protection and exposed services to attack even when the firewall was re-enabled. Several researchers noted that the Library Randomization feature added to Leopard was ineffective compared to mature implementations on other platforms, and that the new "secure Guest account" could be abused by Guests to retain access to the system even after the Leopard log out process erased their home directory.^[44]^[45]^[46]^[47]

Though generally lauded in the press as a step forward for data recovery, Time Machine was criticized in multiple publications for lacking the capabilities of third-party backup software. Analyzing the feature for TidBITS, Joe Kissell pointed out that Time Machine does not create bootable copies of backed-up volumes, does not back up to AirPort Disk hard drives and will not back up FileVault encrypted home directories until the user logs out, concluding that the feature is "pretty good at what it does" but he will only use it as part of a "broader backup strategy".^[48]^[49]^[50] One of these issues has been resolved, however; On 19 March 2008, updates were released for Airport and Time Machine, allowing for Time Machine to use a USB hard disk which has been connected to an AirPort Extreme Base Station.^[51]

R.L. Prior, on the ThinkMac blog, criticized a number of changes to Leopard's user interface, including the transparent menu bar, the shelf-like Dock and the new folder icons.^[52]Decreased tranparency of the menu bar, along with the ability to disable the menu bar transparency were added with the 10.5.2 release on 11 February 2008.^[53]

Anil Dash accused Apple of being smug because when browsing other computers, Leopard uses an icon of an aged PC computer monitor displaying a Blue Screen of Death to represent computers that aren't running Mac OS X. He also criticized this icon because even computers that are not running Windows will be represented with this icon.^[54]

The auto-switching feature in Spaces was found to be extremely confusing and annoying for a large number of its users. Apple did allow a new preference in 10.5.2 which disabled this feature, but there were still bugs found while switching windows. In 10.5.3, ths problem was addressed and was supposedly no longer an issue^[55]

By wikepedia

New snow leopard os

2008-06-13T14:41:00.001-07:00

ac OS X version 10.6 “Snow Leopard” is Apple's next major version of the Mac OS X operating system. It was announced by Apple CEO Steve Jobs at WWDC on June 9, 2008. It is scheduled to ship "about a year" from the announcement.^[1]

The new system will not focus on major new features, but rather on improving performance, efficiency and reducing its overall footprint.^[1] Leaked screenshots from a developer preview seeded to developers on June 10, 2008^[2] show the system labeled as "Version 10.6."^[3] The images also show that the DP will only install on a Macintosh computer using an Intel processor.^[4]

[hide]

[edit]Changes and improvements

Full support for Microsoft Exchange 2007 will be included natively in Address Book, Mail, and iCal.^[5]
64-bit kernel technology to allow up to a theoretical 16TB RAM.^[5]
Grand Central: a parallel-programming technology^[6] by Apple that aims to have the OS take full advantage of multi-core CPUs.^[5]
QuickTime X which will feature optimized support for modern codecs.^[5]
OpenCL (Open Computing Language): allowing developers to code applications to use the GPU for non-graphics purposes.^[5]

The next version of Mac OS X Server will include all of these features and other server-related features, such as ZFS support.^[7]

[edit]

Full mac mini review

2008-06-13T14:38:00.000-07:00

The Mac mini is the smallest desktop computer made by Apple Inc. Two models were released in the U.S. on January 22, 2005 (January 29 worldwide); updated versions were released on July 26, 2005. Models with Intel Core processors were released on February 28, 2006,^[1]with slightly revised models introduced on September 6, 2006. On August 7, 2007, new models were released with Intel Core 2 processors with 1.83 or 2.0 GHz speeds.

The mini, which resembles earlier Mini-ITX PC designs, is quite small for a desktop computer: 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) wide, 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) long, and 2 inches (5.1 cm) tall. It weighs 2.9 pounds (1.31 kg); an external power supply is roughly half the size of the computer.

[edit]Introduction

The original Mac mini was announced at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 11, 2005, at the same time as the iPod shuffle. Both are scaled-down products which have been introduced at lower price points. They can be seen as a conscious effort on the part of Apple management to target a wider and lower-end market.

[edit]Overview

The Mac mini ships with Apple's Mac OS X Leopard operating system installed, and also includes software such as the Safari web browser and the iLife suite of Apple applications to create and manage videos, music, photos and DVDs. Trial versions of iWork and Microsoft Office are also included. Intel-based Mac minis also come with Front Row, an application which integrates the media management features, and the Apple Remote.

The Mac mini is the first Macintosh desktop since the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh not to include a mouse, and the first not to include a keyboard. Both are purchased separately if the user does not already have them.

With iLife and the optional SuperDrive, the Mac mini makes a compact media editor/player.

[edit]Specifications

Component	PowerPC G4		Intel Core		Intel Core 2
Model	Mac mini [1]	Mac mini (Late 2005)[2]	Mac mini (Early 2006)[3]	Mac mini (Late 2006)[4]	Mac mini (Mid 2007)[5]
Graphics	ATI Raedon 9200 graphics processor with 32 MB of DDR SDRAM	ATI Raedon 9200 graphics processor with 32 MB or 64 MB of DDR SDRAM	Intel GMA 950 graphics processor using 64 MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared by main memory (up to 224 MB in Windows through Boot Camp).^[2]
Hard drive	40 GB or 80 GB Ultra ATA/100, 4200 rpm	40 GB or 80 GB Ultra ATA/100, 5200 rpm	60 GB, 80 GB Optional 100 GB or 120 GB, 5400 rpm.	60 GB, 80 GB Optional 100 GB, 120 GB or 160 GB, 5400 rpm.	80 GB or 120 GB Optional 160 GB, 5400 rpm.
Processor	1.25 GHz or 1.42 GHz PowerPC G4 (7447A)	1.33 GHz or 1.5 GHz PowerPC G4 (7447A)	1.5 GHz Intel Core Solo or 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo (T1300/T2300)	1.66 GHz or 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo (T2300/T2400)	1.83 GHz or 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (T5600/T7200)
Memory	256 MB or 512 MB PC-2700 DDR SDRAM max. 1 GB	512 MB PC-2700 DDR SDRAM max. 1 GB	512 MB (2x256 MB) PC2-5300 DDR2 SO-DIMM SDRAM max. 2 GB		1 GB (2x512 MB) PC2-5300 DDR2 SO-DIMM SDRAM max. 4 GB (3.25GB usable)^[3]
AirPort Extreme	Optional or Integrated 802.11b/g		Integrated 802.11b/g
Optical drive	8x DVD read, 24x CD-R and 16x CD-RW recording, 8x DVD±R read Combo Drive or 8x DVD±R read, 8x DVD±R writes, 4x DVD±RW writes or 2.4x DVD±R writes, 24x CD read, 24x CD-R, and 16x CD-RW recording SuperDrive	8x DVD read, 24x CD-R and 16x CD-RW recording Combo Drive or 8x DVD±R read, 4x DVD±R writes or 2x DVD±RW writes, 24x CD read, 16x CD-R, and 8x CD-RW recording SuperDrive
Minimum operating systemrequired	Mac OS X Panther 10.3.7	Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.2	Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.5	Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.7	Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.10
Weight	2.9 pounds / 1.32 kg
Dimensions	2 x 6.5 x 6.5 inches / 50.8 x 165.1 x 165.1 mm

[edit]Mac mini G4

[edit]January 2005–July 2005

Two models were announced on January 11, 2005 at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco:

1.25 GHz PowerPC G4 processor, 256 MB RAM, and 40 GB hard drive, for US$499 (EU€489 in the Eurozone, GB£339 in the UK, CA$629) (Model # M9686LL/A)
1.42 GHz PowerPC G4 processor, 256 MB RAM, and 80 GB hard drive, for US$599 (EU€589 in the Eurozone, GB£399 in the UK, CA$899) (Model # M9687LL/A)

Each model also included:

Slot-loading CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo drive
ATI Radeon 9200 graphics card with DVI and VGA output (DVI to VGA adapter supplied) and 32 MB of (non-upgradable) video RAM
Two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 port
Integrated 10/100 Ethernet and V.92 56 kbit/s modem ports
Built-in speaker and headphone/line-out jack

Optional built-to-order add-ons included:

SuperDrive
RAM up to 1 GB PC-2100 DDR SDRAM (The G4 Mac mini had a single RAM slot)
TV Output adapter (S-Video and Composite video)
Add-in cards for AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth cordless peripherals

[edit]July 2005–October 2005

On July 26, 2005, slightly revised models were made available. The biggest change was a doubling of each unit's shipping amount of RAM, from 256 MB PC2700 (or PC3200 supported at PC2700 speeds) Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) in the prior units to 512 MB in the newer models (256 MB having been widely considered insufficient for OS X and its applications).

1.25 GHz model (M9686LL/B at US$499)
1.42 GHz model (M9687LL/B at US$599)

At this time, the 1.42 GHz model stopped including the internal modem as standard equipment, however it could still be purchased as a build-to-order option.

In addition a high-end model was introduced:

The 1.42 GHz model could be purchased with a slot-loading CD-RW/DVD±RW SuperDrive for US$699 (M9971LL/B).

[edit]October 2005–February 2006

The Mac mini was silently upgraded in October 2005 to 64 MB VRAM, and either a 1.33 GHz (up from 1.25 GHz) or 1.5 GHz G4 (up from 1.42 GHz) processor, with 512 MB of PC3200RAM while underclocking it to PC2700.^{[citation needed]} The 80 GB drive was a Seagate Momentus 5400.2 ST9808211A, which runs at 5400 rpm with a 8 MB cache. The SuperDrive is a MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845, which supports DVD+R DL burning, and may also have unofficial support for DVD-RAM. Also, the internal mezzanine board was upgraded to accommodate the AirPort Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology onto one chip. In previous models, the mini included an AirPort Extreme card taped to the mezzanine board and a separate bluetooth module.^[4]This new Wi-Fi card also no longer uses an MCX-Female connector for the antenna (as the previous models did) but rather a proprietary Apple one. The serial number and specifications sticker on the underside of the machine itself do not carry the actual specs of the upgrade. For example, on a 1.5 GHz model, 1.42 GHz is listed. The product packaging also did not reflect the upgrade.

Apple did not revise the official specifications on their web site. This may be to avoid issues with discounting or discontinuing of old stock.

[edit]Mac mini Core

A view inside a Mac mini with an Intel CPU

[edit]February 2006–September 2006

Two new Intel-based models were announced on February 28, 2006, replacing the older line:

1.5 GHz Intel Core Solo (T1200) processor, 60 GB SATA hard drive, and Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) for US$599 (MA205LL/A).
1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo (T2300) processor, 80 GB SATA hard drive, and Double-Layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) for US$799 (MA206LL/A). The SuperDrive is a MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-846.

Both models include:

512 MB of PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM, SO-DIMM (200pin) form factor, with 2 RAM slots (expandable to 2 GB).
Integrated Intel GMA950 GPU, which uses at least 80 MB of main RAM (128 MB on Windows XP with Firmware 1.0 or newer), with 64 MB actually made available for graphics and video processing
Four USB 2.0 ports
One FireWire 400 port
combination Analog and S/PDIF Optical Digital audio input and output mini-jacks
DVI video output
10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Ethernet
Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11g) and Bluetooth Version 2.0+EDR
Apple Remote and Front Row
Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x) enabled

[edit]September 2006–August 2007

On September 6, 2006, Apple increased the speed of the US$599 model to a Core Duo T2300 1.66 GHz [MA607LL/A], and the US$799 model to a Core Duo (T2400) 1.83 GHz [MA608LL/A]. With this change, all Macs now use multi-core processors.

[edit]Mac mini Core 2

[edit]August 2007

On August 7, the Mac mini was refreshed with new hardware and software features, including:

New Intel Core 2 Duo processors, running at 1.83 (T5600) and 2.0 GHz (T7200)
1 GB RAM up to 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300) on two SO-DIMMs
An 80 GB or 120 GB internal 5400 rpm SATA hard drive, with 160 GB optional
iLife '08

[edit]November 2007

New Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard

Of note, the revised mini does not offer 802.11n support. It is now the only current Apple computer that does not offer the newer proposed Wi-Fi standard. Note also that the Mac mini uses the older 667 MHz front side bus and 945GM chipset, rather than the 800 MHz bus and X3100 chipset used in the updated MacBook and MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo models.

[edit]General Intel Mac mini information

Although it has been removed entirely from the mini's design, an Apple modem is still available - only now it is external, USB-based, and costs US$49 (UK£35).

While the Industrial design of the Mac mini is handled entirely by Apple's in-house designers, some of the hardware has been engineered by Sparkfactor Design.^[5]

Both Core Solo and Core Duo CPUs provide Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x or Vanderpool) even though Intel documentation has suggested VT-x was not to be a feature of the Core Solo.

Initially, the Intel-based Mac minis were shipped with a bug that caused difficulties with VT-x. Apple subsequently released a firmware update that fixes this bug.^[6]

Mac minis integrate 2.5 inch hard disk drives (ATA in the G4 models and SATA in the Intel models), CPUs and other components originally intended for mobile devices, such as laptops, contrary to regular desktop computers which use lower cost, but less compact and power-saving components. These mobile components help lower power consumption: According to data on the Apple web site, first-generation PowerPC Mac minis consume 32 to 85 Watts, while later Intel Core machines consume 23 to 110 Watts. By comparison, a contemporary Mac Prowith quad-core 2.66 GHz processors consumes 171 to 250 Watts.

[edit]Graphics

The decision to use an 'integrated' graphics chip, the GMA950 GPU, on the Intel-powered Mac mini is a contentious issue for a few. This is further supported by the fact that in Apple's early marketing of the G4-powered Mac mini, it touted the superiority of the use of a discrete ATI Radeon 9200 32 MB graphics card over the integrated graphics included in many budget PCs:^[7]

Lock the Target
Or one 3D game. Go ahead, just try to play Halo on a budget PC. Most say they’re good for 2D games only. That’s because an “integrated Intel graphics” chip steals power from the CPU and siphons off memory from system-level RAM. You’d have to buy an extra card to get the graphics performance of Mac mini, and some cheaper PCs don’t even have an open slot to let you add one.
– Apple Inc., Mac Mini G4 Graphics

Apple argues that a single-core CPU should be expected to be generally unsuitable for gaming. On a dual-core machine, otherwise lightly loaded, the second core can be used for graphics while the game runs on the first, and can perform as well as a low-end graphics card. Additionally, the GMA950 graphics chip is a relatively advanced model optimized for video playback - exactly what Apple is emphasizing in its marketing and branding of the Mac mini. Furthermore, the GMA950 supports more memory than the Radeon 9200 it replaced, 64 MB vs. 32, allowing it to drive all but the largest of Apple's monitors, the 30" Cinema Display. It also supports Apple's Core Image technology, although this is due largely to most of this functionality running in software on the CPU. Also it supports DirectX 9, while the Radeon 9200 supports only DirectX 8. Specifications mean little when it comes to integrated graphics, however. Real-world performance of even the most low-end dedicated graphics is better than modern integrated chipsets.

Following the move to Intel processors Apple’s senior director of desktops, Tom Boger, claimed that the company saw increases of between 10 and 40% in framerates of unspecified 3D games compared to the PowerPC models. This claim was disputed by some observers who, when playing Unreal Tournament 2004 (UT2K4), witnessed no change or even a decrease in framerates when using Core Solo models. However, it is important to remember that UT2K4 is a heavily processor-bound game and a fast GPU is less important to functionality - a modern processor such as the Core Solo or Core Duo used in the Mac mini may well help. Performance in mainstream 3D games that extensively utilize a computer's graphics processor has not yet been extensively tested.

Aside from that, a discrete graphics card has additional hardware, namely vertex and pixel shaders, that an integrated Intel graphics chip not only lacks but is also too complex to be replicated on the CPU. The Intel GMA is thus not capable of running games that strictly require such hardware, such as Doom 3. On the other hand, the potency of the Radeon 9200 in the G4 mini was cut because it had only 32 MB VRAM, more akin to a notebook configuration, while all desktop cards had at least 64 and commonly 128 MB.

[edit]Opening the case and modifications

Some Mac mini owners have managed to use a putty knife or a pizza cutter to pry open the computer's case, thereby gaining access to the interior to install cheaper 3rd-party memory upgrades.^[8] In fact, the official Apple Service Source manual for Mac mini describes this procedure in detail, even including an official Apple part number for a "modified putty knife". It's also possible to use wires to pull the white plastic bottom case out of the metal top case.^[9] While opening the case does not actually void the Mac mini warranty, anything broken while the case is open is not covered. Other modifications include overclocking the processor^[10] and upgrading the wireless networking to 802.11n.^[11]

With the switch to the Intel Core Solo and Duo line, Apple has begun to use a socketed CPU in their desktop computers which allows for the processor to be replaced.

By wikepedia

Full macbook air review

2008-06-13T14:37:00.001-07:00

The MacBook Air is a thin, lightweight, Apple Macintosh MacBook notebook computer featuring an optional solid-state hard drive. The Air has a 13.3-inch, widescreen LED backlit display, with 1280 x 800 screen resolution. The Air weighs 3.0 pounds (1.36 kg), and is 0.76 inches (1.93 cm) at its thickest point and 0.16 inches (0.4 cm) at its thinnest.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the MacBook Air at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 15, 2008. Apple describes it as the "world's thinnest notebook",^[1] although there have been thinner models in the past^[2] and newer, thinner, laptops have been announced.^[3]

[hide]

[edit]Overview

Steve Jobs with a MacBook Air at the Keynote Address during Macworld 2008.

To reduce the computer's size and weight, Apple omitted certain features long standard on its laptops. It is Apple's first notebook since the PowerBook 2400c without a built-in removable media drive.^[4] Users may purchase an external USB SuperDrive, or use bundled Remote Disc software to access the optical drive of another computer, but only for installing software.^[5] It is the first subcompact laptop offered by Apple since the full-featured 12" PowerBook G4 was discontinued in 2006.

Similarly to the PowerBook Duo series which preceded it, it lacks many features of the larger MacBooks, including a security slot^[6] and an Ethernet port,^[7](although a USB-to-Ethernet adapter may be purchased separately).^[8] The MacBook Air offers a single USB port and, unlike the Duo, it provides for no other means of expansion or port replication. Like the entry-level MacBook, The MacBook Air lacks Cardbus and ExpressCard slots, both standard features in older and newer laptops.^[9] The device lacks a FireWire port, and as such OS X 10.5 Leopard does not require a FireWire port.

The Air is Apple's first laptop computer to be offered with an optional solid-state hard drive.^[10] ArsTechnica found "moderate" performance improvements of the 64 GB solid-state drive over the standard 80 GB hard drive in tests. The Air comes with 2 GB (2 GiB) RAM memory as standard.^[11]

The CPU is an Intel Core 2 Duo chip, which was specially redesigned for the MacBook Air, reducing the physical chip packaging's size by 60 percent.^[12]While the processor is unique, it has been criticized for being under-powered and older-generation technology.^[13]^[14]

The laptop has the magnetic latch system of the MacBook and an aluminum casing like the MacBook Pro. The oversized trackpad offers iPhone-like Multi-Touch gestures, an improvement over previous MacBook trackpads. Among the gestures are pinching, swiping, and rotating.^[15]

The MacBook Air is pre-loaded with Mac OS X v10.5 and iLife '08.

[edit]Remote Disc

The optional MacBook AirSuperDrive

The MacBook Air can wirelessly access the optical drive of another Mac or Windows PC that has the Remote Disc program installed, allowing the installation of applications from a CD or DVD.^[16]^[17] It can also reinstall the system software from the included installation DVD.^[18] Remote Disc supports netbooting, so the MacBook Air can boot from its installation DVD in another computer's drive.^[19]

[edit]User-serviceability

Unlike the rest of the MacBook family, the MacBook Air has no directly user-replaceable parts. Its hard drive, memory, and battery are enclosed within the casing, with memory soldered directly to the motherboard. The MacBook Air's battery is not easily replaceable, enclosed in a manner similar to the iPod and related Apple product lines.^[14]^[13]^[20] The hard drive is not soldered and can be replaced through a non-trivial disassembly procedure.^[21]Relatively expensive solid-state drives (SSDs) are commercially available. As part of out-of-warranty service, Apple offers to replace the battery for a fee.^[22] It may be possible for the end user to replace the battery, though it is unclear whether this process would void the notebook's warranty.^[23] Users looking to replace batteries through third-party vendors will need to wait until replacement batteries are made available for this model.^[24]

[edit]Environmental impact

The MacBook Air has an all-aluminum case, a mercury- and arsenic-free LCD glass substrate, PVC-free internal cables, and the majority of circuit boards free of brominated flame retardants.^[25]^[26] Greenpeace, which had previously criticized Apple for its ecological practices, stated that the "greener" MacBook Air is a step towards what it considers necessary improvements.^[27]

[edit]Concerns about overheating

Several MacBook Air users^[28] since the release of the first generation product have complained of problems with severe overheating, causing CPU lockup. This effect appears to be exacerbated in warmer climates, such as northern Australia. A software update released by Apple in early March which attempted to fix the problem had mixed results.^[29] The problem seems to appear when undergoing system-intensive tasks such as video playback, video chatting, or playing games.^[30]

[edit]Criticism

The MacBook Air has been criticized by Ryan Block of Engadget for its high price compared to other notebooks of similar specification, with him suggesting that a premium is being paid for its form factor.^[31]

The Macbook Air has also been criticized for the difficulty in accessing the headphone and USB ports. Because of tight clearance, some devices, including some headphone jacks and 3G USB cellular modems will not fit, requiring users to purchase either a powered USB hub or an extension cable in order to use their devices.^[32]^[33]

As seen in the specification section, the Macbook Air lacks a Firewire port. It does not support Target Disk Mode of any kind, which would have enabled it to be used as an external hard drive for quick data transfers. ^[34]

[edit]Specifications

Component	Early 2008^[35]
Display	13.3-inch glossy LED-backlit TFT LCD widescreen display, 1280×800 pixel resolution
Graphics	Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144 MB (144 MiB) of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
Storage	80 GB ATA 1.8" 4200 rpm hard disk drive 64 GB SSD optional
Processor	1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Merom,^[36]^[37] with 800 MHz FSB 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo optional
Memory	2 GB (2 GiB) PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM soldered to the logicboard
Wireless networking	Integrated AirPort Extreme supports 802.11a/b/g/draft n
Wired Ethernet	none, Optional USB Ethernet Adapter
Optical storage	none, Optional External USB SuperDrive
Camera	Built-in iSight, 640×480 pixel resolution
Battery	37 W-Hr Lithium-ion polymer battery
Physical dimensions	22.7 cm D × 32.4 cm W × 0.4–1.94 cm H 8.9 in D × 12.74 in W × 0.16–0.76 in H 3.0 lb (1.36 kg)
Bluetooth	Built-in (2.1+Enhanced Data Rate)
Port connections	1× USB 2.0 1× Micro-DVI video port (adapters are included for VGA or DVI monitors up to 1920×1200 pixels) 1× Headphone jack (3.5 mm)
Audio	1× microphone 1× mono loudspeaker
Keyboard	Backlit full-size keyboard with ambient light sensor
Trackpad	Supports Multi-Touch gestures like the iPhone, iPod touch, and MacBook Pro
K-slot	None

[edit]Advertising

The MacBook Air launch was accompanied by a television commercial emphasizing its thin form factor. In the commercial a hand unthreads a manila envelope and slides out a MacBook Air, then opens it to wake it from sleep. The music playing is "New Soul" by Yael Naïm.^[38] This advertisement has often been parodied and comically reproduced, often depicting much thicker models being pulled out of manila envelopes in the same fashion, sometimes with difficulty. One such parody, purportedly from market rival Lenovo, depicts a failed attempt to return a Macbook Air to its envelope with a variety of accessories, before removing that manufacturer's ThinkPad X300 notebook from a similar envelope.^[39] A few of these video parodies are featured on YouTube.

Timeline of the MacBook family

See also: Timeline of Macintosh models

Apple

New macbook ang macbook pro

NEW NEW NEW

What laptop should I get

When should you buy a mac?

Inside Leoaprd: Finder and dock

The Big Changes

leopard full review

Contents

[edit]New and changed features

[edit]End-user features

[edit]Developer technologies

[edit]Security enhancements

[edit]System requirements

[edit]Usage on unsupported hardware

[edit]Packaging

[edit]Version history

[edit]Criticisms

New snow leopard os

Contents

[edit]Changes and improvements

[edit]

Full mac mini review

Contents

[edit]Introduction

[edit]Overview

[edit]Specifications

[edit]Mac mini G4

[edit]January 2005–July 2005

[edit]July 2005–October 2005

[edit]October 2005–February 2006

[edit]Mac mini Core

[edit]February 2006–September 2006

[edit]September 2006–August 2007

[edit]Mac mini Core 2

[edit]August 2007

[edit]November 2007

[edit]General Intel Mac mini information

[edit]Graphics

[edit]Opening the case and modifications

Full macbook air review

Contents

[edit]Overview

[edit]Remote Disc

[edit]User-serviceability

[edit]Environmental impact

[edit]Concerns about overheating

[edit]Criticism

[edit]Specifications

[edit]Advertising

Timeline of the MacBook family