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

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

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

[Check it out via eHomeUpgrade]

Technorati Tags: SnapStream, BeyondTV, Mac

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

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

• 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

Curious to see what the pre-beta build of Windows 7 would be like on a Mac system? Well the folks at PC Magazine/Gearlog did exactly this by installing the pre-beta build delivered at last week’s PDC on a new MacBook Pro system using Bootcamp. Unfortunately it appears the Mac drivers for Windows Vista did not help with Windows 7 as various features were not working including wireless networking, and mouseover preview. They’ve posted a video up on YouTube (shown below).

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Windows 7 Pre-beta, MacBook Pro, Bootcamp

ZAGG’s invisibleSHIELD protective film covering is now available for pre-order for the new second generation MacBook 13 inch and MacBook Pro 15 inch systems. The invisibleSHIELD is a scratch-proof, patented film that adds no extra bulk to the notebook yet provides protection and added grip to the system. You can pre-order the invisibleSHIELD for both the 13 inch MacBook and 15 inch MacBook Pro for $43.96.

Technorati Tags: ZAGG, invisibleSHIELD, MacBook, MacBook Pro

Oh no.. is the Mac mini really dead this time? That’s what the folks at Gizmodo think as they’ve been told by two major retailers in Europe that they can no longer order any more Mac minis from Apple. Of course this could still mean that Apple was lining up a refresh of the system but it’s more than likely that the company will kill the most inexpensive Mac product available.

While the Mac mini received much fanfare when it was introduced back in 2005, it has since languished in the face of new iMac systems, the Apple TV, and of course the MacBook/MacBook Pro collections. Times have changed of course.. while an inexpensive system is definitely a sight for sore eyes for those in a financial bind, the truth is, the low end MacBook really wasn’t all that much more in price. When you factor in a mouse, keyboard, and monitor, an entire Mac mini system can easily cost around $700-$800 dollars depending on the size of the monitor. For $200 dollars more, you can opt for true portability (albeit with a smaller screen size than a desktop system would have) – something that the Mac mini would never be able to provide.  Of course if you already had the necessary peripherals, then the Mac mini was in fact a great buy at $599. Unfortunately the Mac mini continued to use outdated hardware – at least when compared to the latest generation of Mac products.

Killing the Mac mini at the end of the day makes sense for Apple as it will probably drive any leftover business to higher end products with higher gross profit margins. It’s just a shame that a cool device like the mini would have to be sacrificed in the meantime. There’s still something to be said about having a low cost entry point for consumers. However, it appears Apple wants to stay clear of further segmenting their own computing market.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Apple, Mac mini

• 2.61 million Macs were shipped during the quarter – a 21 percent growth and 17 percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter
• 11+ million iPods were sold during the quarter which is an 8 percent unit growth and a 3 percent revenue growth from a year ago
• Now get this – 6.89 million iPhones were sold during the quarter – compared to 1.1 million last year. Of course, the iPhone 3G is available in many more countries this time around but that’s still A LOT of iPhones

Now as for the coming quarter, Apple was predictably cautious given the economic climate. The company provided a wide range for the current quarter’s guidance – targeting revenues between 9 to 10 billion dollars and earnings per share between $1.06 and $1.35 a share.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Apple, Q4 revenues, iPhone, Mac sales

Yes, we’re roughly 10 hours away from Apple’s big notebook announcements, but that doesn’t mean the rumor mill stops of course. Engadget’s received a couple of new blurry snapshots of what appears to be a new MacBook Pro system. According to their tipster, the new systems will also feature not one but two NVIDIA GPUs inside.. very very interesting. Oh yeah, the Boy Genius Report also reports that he’s confirmed the existence of an $899 part number in Apple’s inventory.. Hmm.. a new low end notebook.. or perhaps..  a netbook??

The new price points in the Apple Store appear to be: $899, $1299, $1599, $1799, $1999, and two at $2499.

Just a few more hours…

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Apple, notebook rumors, MacBook Pro, 9 Macbook rumor

Despite assurances from NVIDIA that Apple MacBook Pro systems were not affected by the packaging defect problems of the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics, Apple has determined that some systems may in fact “be affected.”

According to Apple, “If the NVIDIA graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has failed, or fails within two years of the original date of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty.”

So if you have a MacBook Pro with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics that match these specs:

• MacBook Pro 15-inch and 17-inch models with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors
  • MacBook Pro (17-Inch, 2.4GHz)
  • MacBook Pro (15-Inch, 2.4/2.2GHz)
  • MacBook Pro (Early 2008)
• These computers were manufactured between approximately May 2007 and September 2008

Look out for the following symptoms:

• Distorted or scrambled video on the computer screen
• No video on the computer screen (or external display) even though the computer is on

If you’re having any of these problems, go to your local Apple Retail Store or contact your Apple Contact Center for repairs. If you’ve already paid for repairs on your MacBook Pro regarding this problem, Apple will issue refunds for those repairs.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Apple, MacBook Pro, NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics defect, repairs

After months of speculation, it appears Apple will finally be announcing new notebooks come October 14th. Folks in the press have begun receiving Apple invitations that say “The spotlight turns to notebooks”. The press event will take place at 10am at Apple’s Town Hall in Cupertino, CA. No other information at this time but at least you can be sure it’s about notebooks.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Apple, Notebook Event, October 14th

The diNovo Edge keyboard is finally coming to the Mac platform as Logitech announced today their first diNovo keyboard specifically designed for the system. The latest diNovo Edge Mac Edition keyboard features a super slim design measuring 1/2 inch thick, a high-gloss semi-translucent Plexiglass frame, sharp angles, and a soft-orange backlighting. The keyboard comes with an aluminum palm rest along with an anodized silver finish. Other specs include:

• One-touch access to Mail, Safari, iTunes, and other Mac apps
• Power button to turn on your Mac
• TouchDisc allows you to scroll and navigate from your keyboard
• Features Logitech’s PerfectStroke key system which creates a longer key travel at 3.2 mm optimized for comfort
• Charging base – four hour charge gives one month of battery life. 10 minute charge gives one day of use
• Bluetooth wireless support

The Logitech diNovo Edge Mac Edition will be available this month for an MSRP of $159.99.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Logitech, diNovo Edge Mac Edition

Here are other stats of interest:

• 11 million iPods were sold during the quarter – 12 percent unit growth and seven percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter
• 717,000 iPhones were sold during the quarter compared to 270K in year ago quarter (of course the iPhone had just started sales during the third quarter of last year)

Now here’s where things get interesting. Apple’s CFO, Peter Oppenheimer, decided to warn analysts that 4th quarter gross margins will be negatively affected by a “product transition.” So as News.com points out – let the guessing games begin. What exactly does this product transition mean exactly? Does this lend credence that new notebooks are coming out from Apple? Does this mean product prices are coming down? Does it mean things getting more expensive to manufacture? It’s really anyone’s guess right now (but you can be sure that people will be coming out with their own theories now). For the record though, News.com thinks that Apple will do two things during the fourth quarter: Introduce new Centrino 2 based MacBooks and reduce price for the iPod touch.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Apple, Third Quarter, 2008, Fourth Quarter, Apple iPhone, Mac, iPod Touch

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Apple, Psystar, Lawsuit, OS X, Open Computer

Apple launched their new Back to School promotion campaign today, offering what amounts to a free iPod when you buy a qualifying Mac for college. The promotion works as follows – buy a qualifying new Mac system and either an iPod nano or an iPod touch at the same time. Submit your rebate claim online and you’ll get up to $299 back based on which iPod you purchased. If you purchased an 8GB iPod nano, you’ll get $199 back. If you purchased any iPod touch – you’ll get $299 back. See this PDF file for additional information on the promotion.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Apple, Back to School, Promotion Campaign