For those of you disappointed that Apple failed to deliver any news on a possible tablet device with their recent product refresh, here’s an interesting story to keep your interests possibly peaked. 

In a private speech delivered to the New York Times digital staff around October 15/16th, New York Times executive editor, Bill Keller, states the following:

“We need to figure out the right journalistic product to deliver to mobile platforms and devices… I’m hoping we can get the newsroom more actively involved in the challenge of delivering our best journalism in the form of Times Reader, iPhone apps, WAP, or the impending Apple slate, or whatever comes after that.“

Yup.. that’s right.. the “impending Apple slate”.

So the real question is – did Keller make a boo-boo with the reference to the Apple slate/tablet device? In addition, if this indeed was a confirmation for a table device, did Keller spill the beans on the name of the device? Are we talking about the Apple “slate” or the Apple “Slate”?

Keep in mind that the term “slate” isn’t new to the Tablet PC world. Tablet devices that consist of only the touch-screen display and nothing else are typically referred to as “slates” while Tablet PCs that convert from a notebook form factor to a “slate” form factor are known as “convertible notebooks”.

Yeah I know.. this is probably a whole lot of nothing right now but hey – it keeps your interest in the matter right?

You can check out a video of the speech over at the Harvard Nieman Journalism Lab website.

[Check it out via PC World]

Technorati Tags: Apple Tablet Rumor, New York Times

Moving onto the desktop front, Apple announced a complete update to their all-in-one iMac product line while also announcing long-awaited updates to their entry-level desktop PC, the Mac mini.

We’ll start things off with the new iMac which features enhancements such as edge-to-edge glass, LED-backlit 21.5 inch and 27 inch widescreen displays, an all-aluminum enclosure, the new wireless Apple Magic Mouse, and updated CPUs such as faster Core 2 Duo processors as well as Core i5 or Core i7 quad-core processors.

The 21.5 inch iMac has a display resolution of 1920 x 1080 while the 27 inch iMac has a display resolution of 2560 x 1440 (60 % more than the 24 inch model from the previous generation). Both new models comes with IPS technology which delivers consistent colors across the 178 degree viewing angle.

The new iMacs also come with a wireless keyboard and the new Apple Magic Mouse as standard components. The Magic Mouse dumps mechanical buttons, and scroll wheels, in favor of a Multi-Touch surface which resides on the entire top of the mouse. Users use intuitive gestures to perform actions such as scrolling long documents, panning large images, or navigating pictures and webpages. The Magic Mouse can be configured as a single button mouse or a two button mouse.

Other system level features of the new iMacs include:

• Choice of NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics or ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics in the 21.5 inch model
• Choice of ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics or ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics in the 27-inch model.
• 4GB of RAM with support for up to 16GB RAM
• Built-in iSight video camera
• Built-in microphone and stereo speakers integrated into the thin aluminum and glass design
• Built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11m Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Up to 4 USB 2.0 ports
• One FireWire 800 port
• Built-in SD slot

The complete specs to the two new iMacs are as follows:

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.

The new 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac is now shipping while the Core i5 and Core i7 quad-core iMacs are available for order and will begin shipping in November.

On the low-end of the desktop spectrum, Apple finally updates the classic Mac mini desktop PC with faster processors, more standard memory, larger hard drives, and a new server-oriented model which drops the slot-drive in favor of a secondary 500 GB hard drive for a total of 1TB of disk space.

The $599 entry level Mac mini now comes with a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of DDR3 1066MHz RAM, 160GB HDD, five USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800 port, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics, and a SuperDrive.

The $799 Mac mini has a faster 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of RAM, and a larger 320GB HDD.

Finally, in an interesting move by Apple, the company announced a new high-priced Mac mini model ideally suited for server duties. The $999 Mac mini dumps the built-in slot-load SuperDrive in favor of a second hard drive which means you’ll have 1TB of disk space on this Mac mini (2×500GB HDD) as well as Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server. Add in the low-power consumption and small form factor of the Mac mini and you have the makings of a pretty sweet server box – for both the home and office.

Technorati Tags: Apple iMac, Apple MacBook, Apple Magic Mouse

Apple announced today that the next version of OS X, version 10.6 (a.k.a. Snow Leapard), will go on sale starting on Friday, August 28th at Apple retail stores, Apple authorized resellers, and at Apple online. Snow Leopard includes:

• Hundreds of refinements – approximately 90 percent of the 1000+ projects within OS X. Improvements include

• More responsive Finder
• Faster Mail
• Faster initial backups with Time Machine
• Dock with Expose integration
• QuickTime X
• 64 bit version of Safari 4 which is 50 percent faster
• Half the size of previous OS X version and frees up approximately 7 GB of disk space

Pricing for OS X Snow Leopard will be as follows:

For 10.5 Leopard users, a single user upgrade license will cost $29 dollars while the Snow Leopard Family Pack will be available for $49.

For Tiger users with an Intel Mac, the Mac Box Set which includes OS X Snow Leopard, iLife 09 and iWork 09 will be available for $169 while the Family Pack will be available for $229.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Apple, OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

Screw the legal problems – let’s keep selling OS X-based PCs!

At least that’s what Psystar appears to be saying by announcing their third OS X based desktop system – the “Open(3) with Mac OS X”. For $599 you get a system with the following specs:

• OS X Leopard 10.5
• 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 processor
• 2GB RAM
• 500GB 7200RPM SATA HDD
• 20x DVD+-RW DL drive
• NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS 256MB single DVI card

Keep in mind you’re buying just the computer itself. You’ll still need a keyboard, mouse, and monitor to complete the entire package – a la Mac mini.

At $599, it’s certainly a better deal than the mini although it lacks the polish, compactness, and sexiness of the mini. Oh yes, there’s also the issue of the “hacked” OS X version that’s running on the box as well as the ever so slight legal conflict that Psystar is currently embroiled in with Apple.

Perhaps the motto here for Psystar should be – buy an Open(3) to help out defense team…

[Check it out via News.com]

Read this in Chinese Simplified and French

Technorati Tags: Psystar Open(3), OS X, Apple

It’s about time Apple. The company finally announces updates to their desktop product lineup by introducing new models and features to all three major desktop products – the Mac Pro, Mac mini, and iMac all-in-one. Don’t expect anything dramatic here. Most of the changes are small – with the most dramatic change coming from the price drop of the 20 inch iMac (but more on that later on) and the addition of the XEON Nehalem processor for the Mac Pro.

We’ll start things off with the Mac Pro. The high end desktop system receives a processor and architecture upgrade with the introduction of the new quad core Intel XEON Nehalem processor. Of course, since we’re talking about Nehalem processors, we’re talking about integrated memory controllers, faster RAM, Hyper-Threading, and 45nm process technology. In all, the new 8-core Mac Pros come with lower-clocked processors which actually outperform the previous generation 8-core Mac Pros on the Core architecture.

Other new features of the Mac Pro  lineup include:

• 8-Core system includes two 2.26GHz, 2.66GHz, or 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5500 processors
• Quad Core system includes one 2.66GHz or 2.93GHz Intel Xeon 3500 series processor
• 1066 DDR3 ECC SDRAM
• PCI Express 2.0 16 lane bus
• Choice of either NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB of GDDR3 memory or ATI Radeon HD 4870 with 512MB GDDR5 memory
• At least two display ports – Mini DisplayPort and dual-link DVI port
• Four 3.5 inch internal hard drive bays
• Optional Mac Pro RAID Card with 512MB of RAID cache, 72 hour cache protecting battery, and hardware RAID levels 0, 1, 5, and 0+1
• Up to two 18x SuperDrives
• Two Gigabit ports
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Four FireWire 800 ports
• Five USB 2.0 ports
• Two USB 2.0 ports on included keyboard
• Optical digital audio input and output
• Analog stereo line level input and output
• Headphone and internal speaker

The new Quad Core Mac Pro has a starting price of $2499 and comes with

• One 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon Nehalem processor
• 3GB RAM
• 640GB HDD
• 18x SuperDrive
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB

The new 8 Core Mac Pro has a starting price of $3299 and comes with

• Two 2.26 Quad-Core Intel Xeon Nehalem processors
• 6GB RAM
• 640GB HDD
• 18x SuperDrive
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB

Going from large to small..(and we do mean small), we shift our attention to the Mac mini which FINALLY receives SOME attention (although the updates are not as extensive as we would have liked). The main change (or addition I suppose) here – the Mac mini gets beefier graphics finally. Gone is Intel integrated graphics and in is the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M GPU. Yes, there are other somewhat interesting aspects of the updated Mac mini – such as how green of a system it is (it consumes very little when idle, and its chassis is made of recyclable aluminum) and how many new USB 2.0 ports there are … but really, the biggest change is the NVIDIA graphics. Here’s a rundown of features on the new Mac mini:

• 120GB, 250GB, or 320GB HDD
• Support for up to 4GB of memory
• 2.0 or 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 processor
• Five USB 2.0 ports
• Dual display ports – the Mini DVI port and the Mini DisplayPort
• One FireWire 800 port
• Gigabit Ethernet
• 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• Built-in speaker

Prices for the Mac mini are as follows. For $599, you get a system with:

• 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
• 1GB RAM
• 120GB HDD
• 8x SuperDrive
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics

For $799, you get a system with:

• 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
• 2GB RAM
• 320GB HDD
• 8x SuperDrive
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics

And finally, Apple’s all-in-one desktop PC lineup, the iMac, receives both updates as well as a nice price drop. The 20 inch iMac receives a $300 dollar price cut – going from $1499 to $1199 while the 24 inch iMac is now priced at the previous 20 inch price of $1499. We’re somewhat bummed that we’re not seeing the new Core i7 processor here (as we did via the XEON Nehalem on the Mac Pro) but oh well. Features include:

• 20 inch monitor has resolution of 1680 x 1050
• 24 inch monitor has resolution of 1920 x 1200
• 20 inch comes with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
• 24 inch offers choice of NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 or ATI Radeon HD 4850
• Intel Core 2 Duo processors
• Support for up to 8GB DDR3 memory
• Up to 1TB of HDD
• Four USB 2.0 ports (with two more on the keyboard)
• 802.11n Wi-Fi
• slot-loading SuperDrive
• Built-in iSight camera

Cool stuff – now let’s get back to that pricing. For $1199, you get the following:

• 20 inch display
• 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 2GB RAM
• 320GB HDD
• 8x SuperDrive
• NVDIA GeForce 9400M graphics

For $1499, you get:

• 24 inch display
• 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 4GB RAM
• 640GB HDD
• 8x SuperDrive
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M

For $1799, you get:

• 24 inch display
• 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 4GB RAM
• 640GB HDD
• 8x SuperDrive
• NVIDIA GeForce GT120 with 256MB

AND, for $2199, you get:

• 24 inch display
• 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 4GB RAM
• 1TB HDD
• 8x SuperDrive
• NVIDIA GeForce GT120 with 512MB

All models are available now.

Phew… and that’s a wrap. So.. will this spur you on to buy a new Mac???

Technorati Tags: Apple, Apple iMac, Apple Mac Pro, Apple Mac mini

SnapStream has published a blog posting detailing how you can stream your TV recordings made on a Mac running their BeyondTV DVR application. The process itself is fairly simple – just point your web browser to the Mac running BeyondTV, make sure to have the proper configuration, then choose the show, and stream the recording to the open source VLC player. This works for either standard definition MPEG-2 or high definition MPEG-2 streams made from clear QAM/OTA sources. The one caveat – you can’t stream a live TV recording. The show has to have been recorded already before you can stream it to another system’s VLC player.

[Check it out via eHomeUpgrade]

Technorati Tags: SnapStream, BeyondTV, Mac

So the Macworld keynote address came and went.. and the world is still in one piece. As a regular bystander, the keynote was a bit ho-hum.. Yes.. Apple announced new software releases (iLife’09 and iWork ‘09); yes there’s a new 17 inch MacBook Pro notebook… and yes.. there are changes to iTunes.. but overall – it was a bit of a letdown wasn’t it? Maybe I’m not hardcore enough of an Apple follower.. Oh well.

In any event, let me try and summarize today’s announcements. Apple announced a new version of iLife ‘09 which features major updates to iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand. IMHO, the best additions have to be for iPhoto where you can now perform automatic face detection within the software, automatically publish pictures to both Facebook and Flickr as well as sync name tags back to iPhoto from Facebook. iPhoto will also now support location information stored in pictures from GPS enabled cameras or mobile phones. You’ll be able to search by places and faces – nifty. iLife ‘09 also contains an updated version of iWeb ‘09 as well as iDVD ‘09 for creating DVDs. You can purchase iLife ‘09 later this month for $79 dollars.

Apple also announced a major update to their iWork productivity suite in the form of iWork ‘09. The new version adds many new features to Keynote, Pages, and Numbers – all of which you can read about in the press release if you’re interested. Not to be outdone by Google or Microsoft, Apple is also getting into the online document sharing business with the introduction of the iWork.com beta website. With iWork.com, users will be able to share their iWork ‘09 documents online using their Apple ID. iWork ‘09 is available now for $79 dollars or $49 dollars with the purchase of any Mac.

As long rumored, Apple finally released an updated 17 inch MacBook Pro – bringing the aluminum unibody construction from the MacBook family to the 17 inch domain. The new 17 incher also features a new built-in rechargeable battery with a battery life of up to eight hours and lifespan of 1000 recharges – more than three times the lifespan of conventional notebook batteries. Other features of the new MacBook Pro include:

• High resolution LED backlit 1920 x 1200 resolution display
• Glass based multi-touch trackpad
• Latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors up to 2.93 GHz
• Up to 8GB RAM
• Switchable NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics and NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics
• Standard 320GB 5400RPM HDD
• Optional 320GB 7200RPM HDD or 128GB/256GB SSD
• Mini DisplayPort

The new 17 inch MacBook Pro will be shipping at the end of this month. For a suggested retail price of $2799, you’ll get a system with the following specs:

• 17-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1920 x 1200, glossy display;
• 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 6MB shared L2 cache;
• 1066 MHz front-side bus;
• 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM;
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
• NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3 video memory;
• 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
• a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
• Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• Gigabit Ethernet port;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• three USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire® 800 port (FireWire 400 compatible); 
• ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
• one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
• glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; 
• built-in, 95WHr lithium polymer battery; and
• 85 Watt MagSafe® Power Adapter.

Yes.. $2799 is a lot of money..

And FINALLY, changes are coming to iTunes. Apple finally gave up on their single price point of $99 cents – offering songs in three price points now – $69 cents, $99 cents, and $1.29. However, the company also announced that all four major music labels (Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group and EMI) will now be offering their music in iTunes Plus – Apple’s DRM free format with 256kbps AAC encoding.

Let’s focus on the price changes first. Apple will be rolling out the price changes in April and it will be based on what the music labels charge Apple. The company claims that many more songs will be priced at 69 cents vs $1.29 but you can be sure the newest most popular songs will be on the higher end of the spectrum.

Ah but what about your existing collection of purchased songs? You can upgrade them to the newer DRM free format at a price of 30 cents per song or 30 percent of the album price.  The iTunes Store will begin offering eight million of its 10 million songs in the DRM free format with the remaining 2 million available by the end of March.

Finally, iPhone 3G owners will finally be able to download their purchased songs over the 3G network – just like they would over a Wi-Fi network.

AND.. that’s a wrap

Technorati Tags: Apple, Macworld keynote, iLife '09, iWork '09, Macbook Pro, iTunes Plus

Not only are we days away from CES 2009, but we’re also days away from Macword 2009 – the last Macworld being attended by Apple. The latest rumors being reported by AppleInsider have Apple introducing an updated 17 inch MacBook Pro and a Mac mini with NVIDIA chipsets inside.

The updated 17 inch MacBook Pro will come with the new unibody aluminum design found in the 13 inch MacBooks and the 15 inch MacBook Pros. More importantly, it appears the new notebook will feature a non-replaceable battery. To compensate for this, the new model will supposedly offer a longer-lasting battery but no word on actual stats.

Now on the Mac mini side which seriously has been in need of an update for quite some time, the rumors indicate that Apple will be adopting the NVIDIA MCP79 platform. In addition, the new mini will feature both a Mini DisplayPort and a Mini-DVI connector. Other rumored features include a FireWire 800 port, and a fifth USB port.

Technorati Tags: Apple Macworld rumor, MacBook Pro, Mac mini

Contrary to popular beliefs – instead of Apple killing off the Mac mini, the company may instead be planning to release a new version of the mini  at the upcoming January MacWorld conference in San Francisco. The latest rumor comes courtesy of Wired.com which claims to have received a top from an anonymous Apple corporate employee.  No details were disclosed but Wired.com came up with a list of possible enhancements for the mini including:

• Silver enclosure composed of a block of aluminum
• PVC-free parts
• Possible use of DisplayPort technlogy
• 2GB of RAM
• 160GB HDD
• Updated Core 2 Duo processors
• NVIDIA graphics?

Again – this is ALL SPECULATION… but hey.. it gets the juices flowing doesn’t it?

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Apple, Mac mini, MacWorld

For all you Intel-based Mac users waiting for the Netflix Watch Instantly service to finish its beta period – your wait is finally over. The Boy Genius Report is stating that the short lived beta period is now officially over so head on over and enjoy some movie streaming goodness.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Netflix, Watch Instantly Mac