Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited by
Dan Knight
- 2006.03.17
PowerBook, iBook, iPod, and other portable computing is covered
in The 'Book Review. News about
Apple's transition to Intel CPUs and other Intel developments is
covered in The Macintel Report.
iPod news is covered in The iNews Review.
All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.
News & Opinion
Tips
Reviews
Products
News & Opinion
Mac mini Compared to $159 Linspire PC
Mac 360's Alexis Kayhill reports:
"Recent news about security hacks on OS X should have us on
guard against grabber headlines, right? We can't help ourselves.
We're suckers for screaming headlines.
"Now PC Magazine is in the act with 'Your Next PC Will Cost
$159.' That's an implied assumption, if I've ever heard one. How
can an iPod nano cost more than a 'fully equipped' PC?
"Remember that the iPod comes fully equipped. Even at $599,
Apple's hot-selling Mac mini
needs a keyboard, a mouse, and a monitor (not to mention a little
more RAM).
"How should I react to a headline that screams, 'Your Next PC
Will Cost $159.' A healthy dose of skepticism is a good start."
- Link:
Compared: Intel Mac mini to $159 Fry's Linspire PC
Intel-powered Mac mini Might Make You
Switch
The Chicago Tribune's Eric Gwinn reports:
"Now that Apple's newest Mac
mini sports a super fast Intel chip, Windows users may be
thinking again about switching.
"The chip, coupled with the sleek Mac OS X Tiger operating
system, will win you over if all you do is surf the Web, check your
e-mail, download music and write Microsoft Word reports.
"The Mac is great for making your own music, movies and visual
art, but steer clear if you play games and do a lot of business-y
stuff with Windows computers. Most computer programs are aimed at
the huge PC market, with versions for the Mac coming as
cobbled-together afterthoughts, if at all."
- Link: Intel-powered
Mac mini Might Make You Switch
Mac mini vs. Microsoft Media Center
crave.cnet.co.uk reports:
"Microsoft has been desperate to claim the living-room as its
trophy wife, but a series of attempts to nail the Media Center
concept have largely failed. Noisy PCs with fans blaring don't
really appeal to many of us.
"After a hard day at work, slaving in the sickly glow of an
Excel spreadsheet, the last thing you want to do when you get home
is run a spyware removal tool and edit the registry before you can
get Shrek to play. Still, Microsoft was the only real option last
year.
"We've decided to pit Microsoft's Media Center offerings against
Apple's new Intel Core Duo Mac
Mini. A newcomer to the PVR scene, the dual-core Mac Mini is no
bigger than a Bible (indeed some Mac fans will consider it thus),
and capable of running full 1080i high-definition video. It also
comes with a bundled remote control. The Mini is practically
fanless. Although a small fan will audibly kick in if things get
very hot, in normal operation it's almost silent."
- Link: Mac
mini vs. Microsoft Media Center: Round 1
Apple Discontinues 20" iMac G5
The Register's Tony Smith reports:
"Bid farewell to the PowerPC-based iMac G5, ladies and gentlemen.
Apple has dropped the 20in model from its online stores in the UK,
Europe and Japan, though the machine remains on sale in the US. Not
for long though, we'd guess.
"Apple pulled the 17in iMac
G5 early in February, almost a month after introducing the
Intel-based models in January. By the end of February, the 15in PowerBook G4 was gone from the
retail site, and early this month the PowerPC G4-based Mac mini was dropped
too."
- Link: Apple
Drops 20in iMac G5 in the UK, Europe and Japan
The Macintosh Through Linux Eyes
Linux Box Admin says:
"In twenty odd years of working with computers, I never owned an
Apple computer. Frankly, until OS X, I was never interested.
But the BSD underpinnings of OS X got my attention. The Mac
finally got a 'real' operating system. It was interesting enough
that several years after it debuted, I purchased my first Apple
computer on eBay, a Mac mini, to dig a little deeper into
the OS. Not only did Apple do something right with OS X, but
it was smart marketing to introduce a cheap Mac that worked with PC
hardware....
"The first thing that struck me was that all the hardware worked
(with one minor exception) . . . As a Linux user, I am
used to spending time to get all my desktop hardware to work. The
Mac seemed to work better with my PC hardware than Windows; without
endless, conflicting drivers and reboots....
"The second thing that struck me was that every Apple software
application worked as advertised....
"Finally, the hardware was elegant....
"What matters most (to me) is the shell environment and the
excellent selection of tools that are pre-installed. After firing
up Terminal.app, the default terminal emulator, I was a surprised
to find Bash as the default shell instead of a BSDish Csh or Tcsh.
I was also surprised to find SSH and my favorite text editor, nano,
ready to go. Once I customized the startup scripts (I had to modify
/etc/bashrc to tell it to source $HOME/.bashrc), I felt right at
home....
"The speed that I was able to become productive on OS X
caused me to reflect a little about operating systems and my daily
work . . . I will probably return to Linux on the desktop
at some point, maybe with Yellow Dog on the G4 Mini. On the other
hand, maybe it doesn't really matter."
- Link: The
Macintosh Through Linux Eyes
Apple Growing Storage Business
Smarthouse reports:
"Apple is more known for iPods than storage. But in the business
market it is storage that is benefitting from a relationship with
Apple.
"Given the stunning growth of iPod phenomenon and general good
fiscal health of Apple, it is easy to overlook some of the progress
the company is making in the business markets, especially when it
comes to storage. According to some reports, Apple's storage
products have been selling like hot croissants on a cold Parisian
morning and at the end of 'second quarter of 2005, the company had
shipped 76 petabytes of storage.' The sad part is that Apple itself
doesn't keep people up to date on its progress in these
markets."
- Link:
Apple Stacking on the Storage
Tips
Video on the Intel Mac mini
A new Apple Knowledge Base article says:
"The Mac mini (Early 2006)
uses the Intel GMA 950 graphics processor for video output. This
processor shares the main system memory, allocating a base amount
of 80 MB for video and boot processes. This leaves 432 MB of SDRAM
available to Mac OS X in a standard system (configured with
512 MB SDRAM).
"Memory available to Mac OS X may vary depending on graphics
needs, as the card allocates additional memory to the graphics
processor depending upon the application being used.
"For best graphics performance, your Mac mini (Early 2006) ships
from Apple with two equal-sized SO-DIMMs installed, one in each
slot, for each memory configuration offered from the Apple Store.
If you upgrade the memory in your Mac mini (Early 2006), make sure
you have matching size SO-DIMMs in each slot for best graphics
performance."
- Link: Mac mini
(Early 2006): About the Video Processor
Reviews
20" 2 GHz iMac Core Duo vs. 1.25 GHz Mac mini
G4
MacSpeedZone benchmarks the 2.0
GHz iMac Core Duo against a 1.25 GHz Mac mini built around a
PowerPC G4 processor. It's slower when running PowerPC software,
but lots faster with new software that supports Intel.
Read the comparison to find out how much faster.
- Link:
Mac Performance in the Raw - iMac Intel Core Duo 2 GHz 20" versus
Mac mini G4 1.25 GHz
Products
Left Out? Logitech Introduces Cordless Laser
Mouse for the Other Hand
PR: Logitech has announced the end of discrimination
against the left hand. Some of the smartest and most creative
people in the world favor their left hand, but they have always had
to adapt to a world dominated by the right hand. While many have
adapted well and become great achievers in spite of this hardship -
Leonardo Da Vinci, Aristotle, Mahatmah Gandhi, Albert Einstein,
Winston Churchill, and Mozart, for example - left-handers finally
have a choice when it comes to a computer mouse. Sculpted to fit
the left hand, the Logitech MX610 Left-Hand Laser Cordless Mouse
provides the same advantages afforded to the right hand, with
Logitech's precision laser tracking system, advanced cordless
technology, navigation controls, and email and instant message
notifications.
Until now, most left-handed computer users, including Logitech
president and chief executive officer Guerrino De Luca, have only
had the choice of navigating with an ambidextrous-shaped mouse or
unnaturally using their right hand to scroll, point, and click -
which can be awkward and frustrating.
"The MX610 Left-Hand Laser Cordless Mouse is now my mouse of
choice," De Luca said. "With people spending more time using a
personal computer as they work, communicate and play, the comfort
of a mouse has become increasingly important. Left-handers haven't
had great mouse choices until now. This new mouse allows them to
take advantage of the same advanced Logitech mouse technologies as
our right-handed customers, while using their favored hand to make
computer navigation more efficient and their experience
richer."
Comfortable Design, Versatile Controls and Notifications
With contoured thumb and pinky-finger grips, the Logitech MX610
Left-Hand Laser Cordless Mouse fits naturally in the left hand. The
mouse's soft-touch grips help make it more comfortable to hold over
long periods of time.
A mirror image of the award-winning Logitech MX610 Laser
Cordless Mouse, this versatile new mouse features 10 buttons,
including e-mail and instant messaging buttons that illuminate when
new messages are received within Microsoft Outlook, Windows
Messenger, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo! Instant Messenger. With a
wireless range of up to 30 feet, people can take the mouse as they
step away from the computer, and still be notified when important
messages arrives. The mouse also includes volume up, down and mute
buttons for controlling music on the PC. Logitech's Tilt Wheel Plus
Zoom scroll wheel allows people to effortlessly scroll left, right,
up and down, and zoom in and out of images, Web pages and open
documents.
Laser Tracking for Premium Performance
With Logitech's laser technology, the Logitech MX610 Left-Hand
Laser Cordless Mouse tracks more precisely and will work on a wider
variety of surfaces than optical mice. Logitech was the first
company to introduce a mouse with laser tracking. The precise
nature of laser light allows a laser mouse to see much greater
surface detail than a typical optical mouse with a red
light-emitting diode (LED).
Logitech 2.4 GHz Digital Cordless
The Logitech MX610 Left-Hand Laser Cordless Mouse includes a 2.4
GHz USB micro-receiver that reduces the possibility of wireless
interference and latency. The receiver connects instantly with the
mouse when it is plugged into a desktop or a notebook PC. As the
mouse and wireless receiver send information back and forth, the
mouse periodically may sense a wireless interruption or
interference. In a matter of moments, the mouse seamlessly shifts
the wireless channel until it finds one that is interference-free.
The micro-receiver eliminates clutter created by larger corded
receivers.
Smart Power Management
The Logitech MX610 Left-Hand Laser Cordless Mouse has an
expected battery life of up to three months with regular use, a
significant accomplishment considering its powerful Logitech MX
Laser engine. The mouse achieves this long battery life by
mimicking the power status of the computer to which it is
connected. As it sends and receives wireless signals, the mouse can
sense when the PC has gone into sleep mode or is shut down, and the
mouse powers down accordingly. Also, when the mouse battery level
is low - less than 10 percent of full charge - an indicator light
on the mouse illuminates.
Pricing and Availability
The Logitech MX610 Left-Hand Laser Cordless Mouse will be
available worldwide beginning in early April. Its suggested retail
price in the US is $59.99.
Software
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