Mac News Review

Mac Sales Up 50% in May, OS X on Any PC with USB Dongle?, Share Up to 5 USB Devices, and More

This Week's Apple and Desktop Mac News

Compiled by Charles Moore and edited by Dan Knight - 2008.06.20

Some unusual news this week: a quad-core G5 computer that doesn't run Mac OS X, a tiny "green" PC that appears to be PPC based (it uses a Freescale CPU) and has "no moving parts", and a USB dongle that promises to allow installation of Mac OS X 10.5 on any PC.

PowerBook, iBook, MacBook, and other portable computing is covered in The 'Book Review. iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV news is covered in The iNews Review.

All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.

News & Opinion

Tech Trends

Products

Software

Desktop Mac Deals

News & Opinion

Mac Unit Sales Up 50% in May

Barrons' Eric Savitz reports:

"Apple (AAPL) had a solid May for both Mac and iPod sales.

"As Lehman analyst Tim Luke points out in a note today, new data from market research firm NPD shows Mac unit sales grew 50% on a year-over-year basis in May, ahead of the 37% Q2 growth Lehman had expected. Sales of iPods in the month were up 11.6% for the month in units, slower growth than the 14.6% gain in April, but well ahead of the 2% year-over-year decline Lehman has been modeling for the quarter. Average iPods pricing in the quarter was down 4%."

What the Snow Leopard Announcement Tells Us About Apple's Plans for Nehalem

DigiTimes Ricky Morris says:

"Although Steve Jobs allowed only a little time to during his keynote speech on June 9 to publicly discuss Apple's next iteration of Mac OS X (Snow Leopard), the company has published a web page detailing some of the features it plans to introduce in the update. Apple describes Snow Leopard as a change of focus that will streamline the OS, enhance its performance and set new standards for quality. But comparing the key features planned for the new OS, it also looks like Snow Leopard is being designed specifically to make the most of Intel's next-generation Nehalem microarchitecture....

"If Apple plans to continue with its current product mix, Intel's roadmap gives Apple the opportunity to hit the ground running with a June 2009 (or thereabouts) launch of Snow Leopard accompanied by a completely revamped Nehalem-based - Clarksfield-based MacBook Pro and iMac, Auburndale or Clarksfield-based MacBook, MacBook Air and Mac mini, and Gainestown-based Mac Pro and Xserve - product lineup."

PowerPC Users Deserve 'Perfected Leopard'

ITWire's Stephen Withers reports:

"It seems I was right when I suggested owners of PowerPC-based Macs would be unhappy with the news that Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard looks like being an Intel-only release. A new poll reveals that PPC users want Snow Leopard badly."

"The question really boils down to this: is Leopard good enough to be Apple's final PowerPC operating system?"

Editor's note: The thing is, the marquee new features of Snow Leopard such as Grand Central and Open CL are going to be closely integrated with new Intel chip technologies, so they wouldn't work on PPC machines even if OS X 10.6 "supported" them. Presuming that ongoing updates of OS X 10.5 will eventually wring out at least most of the bugginess of the early versions, Snow Leopard "support" of PowerPC would essentially amount to debugged Leopard functionality anyway. For more on that topic, see Snow Leopard, Nehalem, and Apple's Notebook Product Release Roadmap. cm

Editor's note: The new technology coming to Snow Leopard requires an Intel CPU, so it would make no sense for Apple to release Mac OS X 10.6 for PowerPC. It's possible we'll see continued 10.5 development after the release of 10.6, ones that would incorporate technologies PowerPC Macs can use. dk

Will It Affect You if Apple Abandons PowerPC in Snow Leopard?

Macsimum News's Dennis Sellers says:

"There are reports that Mac OS X 10.6 ('Snow Leopard'), due in about a year, will be for Intel Macs only - in other words, no PowerPC support So in this week's poll we're asking 'Will it affect you if Apple abandons the PowerPC in Snow Leopard?' You can find the poll at the right hand side of the page, below the 'Macsimum Opinion' section."

Editor's note: Does it bother anyone else that Macsimum News never puts its polls in the articles that announce them and doesn't tell you that you have to go to the site's home page to participate? dk

Install OS X on Any PC with EFiX USB Device?

Blorge's Danny Mendez reports:

"EFiX is a device that should pull a fast one on Apple - if it really does what it says it can do. Looking to capitalize on the demand for cheap and easy OS X PCs, EFiX connects into any PC through USB, and it allows OS X to effortlessly install through any retail Mac OS X disk.

"EFiX works by automatically finding the necessary drivers and replacing the necessary files in the system to get OS X to work on most PCs. We're sure there'll be some requirements for EFiX to work, but the program's site is currently scarce on details."

Transform Any PC into a Mac with EFiX's USB Dongle?

TechSpot's Jose Vilches reports:

"Ever since Apple moved to Intel processors three years ago, we've seen numerous attempts to run OS X on generic PC hardware....

"Luckily for those looking to transform their computers into full blown Apple machines, a company called EFiX plans to release a USB dongle that will supposedly let any PC boot and install OS X from a retail DVD, by automatically handling all the necessary patching and tweaks...."

June 2008 Mac Performance Benchmarks Posted

Primate Labs says:

"Back in April Apple released new iMacs which means the previous Mac Performance chart is out of date. Time for an update!

"Results were collected from the Geekbench Result Browser for Macs with standard processors (i.e., no processor upgrades, overclocked processors, or Hackintoshes) with at least 512 MB of RAM.

"As always, I've reported the average overall score for each model and processor combination. If you're unfamiliar with Geekbench and how it measures performance, a score of 1000 is the score a Power Mac G5 @ 1.6 GHz would receive. Higher scores are better."

Editor's note: Results range from 206 for a 350 MHz Blue & White G3 to 8565 for the 8-core 3.2 GHz Mac Pro. The highest PowerPC score is 3290 for the 2.5 GHz Power Mac G5 Quad. dk

Intimidating People with a Mac?

David Alison says:

"Perspective is a funny thing. Here I have happily become a heavy Mac user, thoroughly enjoying my transition from Windows and encouraging friends and family members to consider a Mac when the computer conversations come up, often saying that Macs are so easy to use....

"Earlier this week a good friend of mine - one that is highly technical - told me that his old Windows laptop was dying and that he needed to get a new machine soon. His wife has an iMac and he's played around on it a bit but he never gave me the impression that he was really interested in trying out a Mac as his primary machine. I of course brought up the idea that maybe he should look at a MacBook or MacBook Pro. His response was quite amusing:

"'Frankly Dave I'm a bit intimidated by the Mac. I read your blog and it seems like there is so much to learn.'

"This from one of the smarter people I know too! But Macs are so easy, how could anyone be intimidated?"

Mac OS X 10.5.4 to Solve Old, Possibly New, Issues

MacNN reports:

"Apple is allegedly preparing to unveil Mac OS X 10.5.4 to solve issues present in former versions of the operating system, including a problem where some users' machines would freeze upon shutdown. AppleInsider reveals that the patch solves a dozen issues that have been prevalent through several incarnations of the operating system, but it does not clearly state whether it addresses an incompatibility with Firefox, first reported by MacNN on Wednesday....

"MobileMe - Apple's replacement for .mac - will launch on July 11th, and requires the 10.5.4 update, placing the release date for the patch some time between now and then...."

Tech Trends

CherryPal Out Sweetens Apple with 2W, Ultra-cheap PC

The Register's Ashlee Vance reports:

"Here's how you to get to CherryPal. Gather up all of the hot technology buzzwords - cloud computing, going green, communities - and mush them together into something about the size of sandwich.

CherryPal computer"CherryPal has unveiled a device that's billed as a cloud computer. Don't be intimidated by the name. We're just talking about a PC that runs on an ultra low-power chip from Freescale instead of one of those hot jobbies from Intel or AMD. That energy-friendly chip helps CherryPal keep its computer small and cheap - an ideal combination, we're told, for attracting youngsters to something different.

"Fine details on CherryPal's approach remain tough to gather because the company doesn't plan to reveal the full breadth of its assault on the PC market until the third quarter. For now, it's only showing off the hardware."

CherryPal's 2 Watt, Freescale-Based Cloud Computer

Engadget's Donald Melanson reports:

It looks like the current ranks of green PCs are soon going to have some pretty daunting competition for the low-power throne, with upstart CherryPal announcing that it's about to bust out a cloud computer that'll consume a mere two watts of power. To hit that mark, CherryPal opted for Freescale's new 400MHz MPC5121e mobileGT processor, and eliminated all the moving parts normally found in a PC, which means no optical drive and 4GB of NAND flash memory in place of a regular hard drive. Otherwise, you can expect to get 256MB of RAM, built-in 802.11b/g WiFi, two USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet port, and a VGA port, with a 'tweaked version' of Debian apparently serving as the OS. No word on a price just yet, but the company is boldly proclaiming that it'll be the 'most affordable on the market.'

Link: CherryPal Announces Two-Watt, Freescale-Based Cloud Computer

TerraSoft YDL PowerStation with Quad-core 2.5 GHz G5

PR: The Return of the Power Workstation - with four cores of unleashed Power in a solid, affordable package, the YDL PowerStation is the ideal replacement for the now aging Apple Power Mac G5 product family

YDL PowerStationSometimes, you just have to wait a while for a good thing to come along.

It's been three years. The wait is over. The Power workstation is back.

Not just a simple replacement, but a well designed, perfectly packaged, readily upgradable, and far, far, more open source friendly system. The YDL PowerStation is four cores of unleashed Power in a solid, affordable package.

The Quad-core 970 PowerStation is a deskside tower Workstation and Server that adheres to the SSI EEB system packaging standards. PowerStation offers a four-way SMP system based on the PowerPC 970MP Processor and the CPC945 North Bridge Chip. PCI I/O is provided by integrated Ethernet, integrated SAS (support for external SAS expansion provided), PCI-E and PCI-X slots.

Designed to perform, the YDL PowerStation is a well-rounded high-performance workhorse. Quiet, fast, and robust, this is a box you'll hang on to for a long, long time.

YDL PowerStationSpecs:

  • Microprocessor Quad-core (2 dual-core CPUs) 2.5 GHz IBM 970MP processors with AltiVec SIMD acceleration for native 32- and 64-bit processing; 1 MB L2 cache per core
  • RAM (memory) 8 DIMM slots for DDR2 667 MHz for up to 32 GB RAM; ECC supported
  • Internal disk storage Adaptec Obsidian 8 port SAS RAID Controller with support for RAID 0/1/10 base and RAID 5 with optional mirror fast write cache daughter card; single 70 GB SAS drive by default, up to 4 drives total
  • 1 enhanced IDE for media devices
  • Connectivity 2 Broadcom HT2000/BCM5780 Gigabit, full duplex ethernet ports
  • Media bays DVD/CD-RW drive
  • I/O 4 USB ports
  • 2 general purpose PCI based RS-232
  • 1 console-only (VTY) SuperIO based serial port via RJ45 connector
  • Expansion 1 PCIe x16 connector with 75W capacity (houses graphics card by default)
  • 2 PCIe x8 connector with 32W capacity
  • 1 PCI-X connector with 25W capacity
  • System Management Base Management Controller (BMC) function with Renesas BMCS2166 support, functions include: Chip initialization, Thermal monitoring, Voltage monitoring, Fan monitoring / control, Fault/Identify LED control, and Service Processor Interface
  • Operating systems SLOF firmware
  • Yellow Dog Linux
  • Power requirements 220/110V A/C; 815 Watt 12V bulk power supply

The YDL PowerStation is Wide Open

Not even when you-know-who offered a PowerPC workstation did the community enjoy such a well supported powerhouse. From firmware to graphics cards to OS, the PowerStation is open.

YDL PowerStationAccessing RAM, drives, and PCI slots in the PowerStation is as easy as it gets. Just a flick of a lever and the side panel comes loose. The front panel too is removed quickly to reveal the 4 hot-swap drive bays. No frustration. No complication. No mess.

Slimline Open Firmware (SLOF) is a boot loader and firmware based on the IEEE-1275 Standard for Boot Initialization Configuration Firmware. The SLOF source code provides a largely machine-independent BIOS and illustrates what's needed to initialize and boot Linux, a hypervisor, or any other operating system or virtualization layer on PowerPC-based machines based on the de-facto industry Open Firmware boot standard. This download is made available under a liberal Open Source Software (OSS) license.

Graphics card support:

  • XGI XP10 graphics card.
  • XGI XP series open source 2D driver.
  • IBM's SLOF enables the initialization of x86 graphics cards an emulated bootstrap.
  • Limited support for ATI and Nvidia x86 graphics cards.

Built upon an open source foundation, 100% of the source code of Yellow Dog Linux is available on the purchased DVD or downloaded ISO. Yellow Dog Linux provides a simple-to-install, ready-to-roll development environment for all system PowerPC, from IBM to Freescale to AMCC, the YDL PowerStation returns seamless code development and migration to your embedded or HPC projects.

How will the PowerStation serve you? - Let us count the ways ...

Deskside workstation

The YDL PowerStation is the ideal replacement for the now aging Apple Power Mac G5 product family. All Linux code optimized for the former G4 and G5 systems will readily migrate to the PowerStation with little more than a basic recompile for the current kernel and libraries.

For Cell Broadband Engine development too, the PowerStation may be used to prepare and optimize code for Cell/B.E. systems. Yellow Dog Linux includes the IBM SDK, which is installed on the PowerStation by default.

Power architecture embedded development host

The PowerStation running Yellow Dog Linux may play host to an incredible diversity of system boards built upon Power architecture chips by IBM, Freescale, and AMCC. A mainstay of the HPC, game box, automotive, telecommunications, signal and image processing industries, over a decade of Power architecture chips share a common, compatible heritage to which the PowerStation's 970 cores belong and support.

As a development workstation for embedded systems, the PowerStation provides seamless code migration from host to target, reducing development cost and time to market. Developers may compile, test, and debug their code on the PowerStation and then quickly deploy finished applications on the embedded platform.

Cluster head node

The PowerStation may be used to develop code for and manage clusters built upon Sony PS3s or high performance IBM QS22 systems. The PowerStation may be used as a more than capable headnode for any cluster, x86 or Power, System p or Cell/B.E.

Kick-ass server

Apache and Postgres will thank you ... 4 x 2,500,000,000 times a second.

The YDL PowerStation by Terra Soft Solutions is the ultimate deskside workstation. Fast. Robust. Rock solid. Not even when you-know-who offered a workstation did the Power community enjoy such a well supported powerhouse.

  • Quad-core 2.5 GHz IBM 970MP CPUs with native 32/64-bit processing.
  • Single 70 GB SAS drive. Up to 4 SAS drives.
  • 2 GB RAM. Up to 32 GB RAM.
  • XGI XP10 graphics card.
  • Dual Gigabit ethernet.
  • 4 USB ports.
  • 2 RS232; 1 console-only (VTY) serial via RJ45 connector.
  • DVD/CD-RW.
  • Yellow Dog Linux preinstalled.
  • Deskside tower chassis with easy access to all interior components.

Your PowerStations will ship by the close of June 2008

YDL preinstalled, DVDs.

price - $1,895

Products

New 'Take Control' eBooks on Screen Sharing and Back to My Mac

PR: Leopard users can now identify the right kind of screen sharing for their needs

Mac OS X Leopard has lots of new features, including built-in screen sharing for providing remote tech support, managing remote servers, and collaborating with colleagues. With screen sharing, Leopard users can control the mouse and keyboard of one computer while sitting at another computer across the room or on the other side of the world. Leopard brings screen sharing to normal Mac users, but adds complexity by providing so many screen sharing approaches, some of which don't work as seamlessly as they should.

In a pair of new Take Control ebooks, networking expert Glenn Fleishman covers all the connection methods, helps readers set up their software and routers, and explains how to get the most out of Leopard's hidden Screen Sharing application. Each title costs $10, or they can be purchased together for $15 at TakeControlBooks.com.

Take Control booksIn the 88-page Take Control of Screen Sharing in Leopard, Fleishman helps readers determine which form of screen sharing to use: iChat, Bonjour, direct to IP address or hostname, Back to My Mac, or a third-party option. He then explains how to set up and work with each option, and how to access more features in the hidden Screen Sharing application. The book also covers how to share screens with people who are running older versions of Mac OS X or Windows, and it includes troubleshooting information and assistance with configuring routers for screen sharing.

Questions answered in the ebook include:

What can I do with screen sharing, anyway? What's the best way to set up an ad-hoc screen-sharing session with a buddy? What's the best way to use screen sharing to do remote tech support for my mother? How can I copy text from one computer to another while screen sharing?

In the 100-page Take Control of Back to My Mac, Fleishman changes gears to focus on the Back to My Mac service also introduced in Leopard. With Back to My Mac, you can connect from one of your Macs to another for file and screen sharing, making it possible, for instance, to download a forgotten document or to control a home computer from a laptop while on a trip. In this book, readers will find essential details on configuring routers to work with Back to My Mac, learn about the security implications of using Back to My Mac, and discover handy features in the hidden Screen Sharing application.

Questions answered in the ebook include:

What smoke and mirrors is Apple using to make a Back to My Mac connection work? Should I be concerned about securing my Back to My Mac connection? Help! I'm double-NATted, and it's really bugging me! What should I do? How do I erase all traces of my Back to My Mac info from a public computer?

Glenn Fleishman is editor of the daily Web log WiFi Networking News, a contributing editor for TidBITS, the Practical Mac columnist for The Seattle Times, and a regular contributor to The Economist, Macworld, Popular Science, and The New York Times. He lives in Seattle with his wife Lynn, sons Ben and Rex, two iPhones, and a dozen Macs of various vintages. He has a daily blog.

Take Control of Screen Sharing in Leopard
PDF format,
88 pages, free sample available
PDF Price: $10
ISBN: 9781933671475
 
Take Control of Back to My Mac
PDF format,
100 pages,
free sample available
PDF Price: $10
ISBN: 9781933671468

Share Up to 5 USB Peripherals between 2 Computer with ShareCentral

PR: Kensington Computer Products Group has announced ShareCentral, an innovative USB peripheral sharing device for the home that lets family members instantly and effortlessly share up to five USB peripheral devices between any two computers with an easy press of a button. ShareCentral brings the cords and cables of external devices into one small, attractive desktop or wall mounted unit, allowing people to share their choice of peripherals and content in one easy fingertip motion, with no network required.

ShareCentralRecent Kensington research conducted by Markettools showed that more than 40% of households have 3 - 4 computers in their home belonging to different family members. A full 70% of these households have a dedicated computing space equipped with a stationary computer, as well as a variety of peripherals, that are shared by the whole family. These multiple-computer families have a screaming need to be able to easily share access to the peripherals they use the most including printers (50%), scanners (30%) and external disks drives (22%) so they can turn work, homework, photos and music gathered on notebooks, flash drives and iPod music players into polished, finished work meant for sharing with others.

ShareCentral"ShareCentral is a great example of our smart made simple design philosophy," said Frederic Frappereau, Global Product Marketing Manager at Kensington. "Everyone is mobile. Then they bring the day's data, photos and music back to one shared, usually cramped, home computing center which the entire family needs to access in those few hours between dinnertime and bedtime. Up until now, they spent that precious time switching out cords and cables to connect their computers to their peripherals. Now with ShareCentral, they can focus on sharing the content, to produce creative results of which they all can be proud."

ShareCentral in useKey features include

  • Share up to five different USB peripherals - Instantly share access to multiple USB peripherals between two computers at the press of a button. Users gain instant access to their USB peripherals by plugging one simple USB cable into their computers. LED lights on the product indicate which computer has access.
  • Easy to set up, simple and straightforward - ShareCentral is easy to set up and easy to use with no network or software required. Plug - n - play right out of the box!
  • No more cord clutter - ShareCentral eliminates cable mess by connecting device cables into a central desktop unit; also wall mountable.
  • Easy printer sharing - Simply press a button to switch the USB printer from one computer to another. ShareCentral 2 and ShareCentral 5 Automatic Print Sharing will detect and automatically switch to the computer that is trying to print, conveniently eliminating the need for any buttons to be pressed (available for Windows XP and Windows Vista).
  • Adaptable and personal - All USB ports are independently controlled by a button and assignable to either computer. Each button comes with interchangeable magnetic keycaps for personalization to user's device and specifications.

The ShareCentral Collection

  • ShareCentral 5 (SKU K33901US) - No more plugging and unplugging computer devices. With Kensington ShareCentral 5, two computers can share a printer, hard drive, scanner - up to any five USB peripherals - and switch between them with the touch of a button. Suggested Retail Price $79.99
  • ShareCentral 2 (SKU K33900US) - With the Kensington ShareCentral 2, two computers can share a printer, hard drive, scanner - any two USB devices. Suggested Retail Price $59.99
  • ShareCentral 1 (SKU K33903US) - With the Kensington ShareCentral 1, two computers can share a printer or any USB device. Suggested Retail Price $39.99

The Kensington ShareCentral Collection is now available for pre-order at Amazon.com and Kensington.com and will be available at major retailers at the end of the month.

$219 ATI Radeon HD 3870 PCIe Graphics Card

Macworld's Peter Cohen reports:

"AMD on Thursday announced the ATI Radeon HD 3870 for Mac and PC Edition. The new card is expected to ship at the end of June for $219.

"The card works in the PCI Express slots of both first-generation and second-generation Mac Pro systems, and features 512 MB of 256-bit GDDR4 frame buffer memory and 320 stream processors. It's designed as a graphics upgrade for Mac Pros - even those that may have come equipped with the Nvidia GeForce 8800 card introduced earlier this year...."

$30 Extender Cable Turns Mac Pro's Unused SATA Interface into eSATA

PR: Sonnet Technologies announces the immediate availability of the eSATA Extender Cable for Mac Pro computers. Sonnet's eSATA Extender Cable enables Mac Pro users to easily connect up to two external hard drives to the unused SATA ports on their computers' logic boards and take full advantage of the built-in storage connection capabilities.

eSATA Extender CableAll Mac Pro computers support the connection of six SATA hard disk drives, but only allow the internal installation of four. Two SATA connectors sit unused on the logic board, hidden behind the large fan module. Sonnet's eSATA Extender Cable simply plugs into the two spare connectors and extends them to the back of the computer, where users can easily connect up to two external hard drives. Because the drives are connected via the eSATA interface, users will experience the best performance possible from SATA drives, with data transfers up to twice as fast as FireWire! Because the eSATA Extender Cable is not a host adapter card, it's a great solution for power users needing all their computer's PCI Express bus bandwidth or slots for other interface cards. Sonnet provides detailed installation instructions all Mac Pro computers.

Sonnet eSATA Extender Cable Benefits

  • Adds two eSATA ports to any Mac Pro computer or PC with motherboard SATA connectors
  • Enables connection of up to two external hard drives using the eSATA interface, delivering faster performance than FireWire or USB 2.0
  • Connects to Mac Pro's logic board; does not impact its PCI Express bus

configuration or performance

Sonnet eSATA Extender Cable Compatibility

  • Mac Pro (Early 2008)
  • Mac Pro
  • PC with motherboard SATA connectors

Sonnet eSATA Extender Cable (part number TCB-SATA-MP) is available now for the retail price of $29.95.

NewerTech Announces New 'Green' Storage Drive - Guardian Maximus eMAX

PR: Newer Technology, Inc. (NewerTech), has announced their first "Green" storage drive, the Guardian MAXimus eMAX, a new addition to the award-winning NewerTech Guardian MAXimus line of "Triple Interface" External RAID-1 Mirror Plug & Play storage drive solutions.

Guardian Maximus eMAXUp To 50% Power Reduction Savings

Utilizing the latest technology advances in energy efficiency, the Guardian MAXimus eMAX is RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) certified to deliver maximum data protection and backup performance while using less energy. Compared to other low-powered 1 TB external storage solutions, Guardian MAXimus eMAX provides a 15 percent power savings and up to a 50 percent power reduction versus traditionally powered 1 TB drives. The Guardian MAXimus eMAX also provides the utmost in low noise operation, data storage stability, and per disk capacity for 1 TB drives.

"The addition of the new Guardian MAXimus eMAX continues the product development mission of the Guardian MAXimus line," said Grant Dahlke, Marketing Manager, NewerTech. "When only maximum performance, quality, ease of use, and now energy efficiency savings will suffice for data protection/backup needs, Mac and PC users alike will find their needs exceeded by a Guardian MAXimus model."

The new Guardian MAXimus eMAX compliments the broad Guardian MAXimus lineup that has earned widespread praise and awards. "Easy to use, incredibly fast, and offers a lot of space for the price . . . the perfect space-to-speed ratio that's so important to graphics professionals, digital photographers, and designers," said Photoshop User magazine about Guardian MAXimus in its Five Star rated review. "The fastest drive with the biggest oomph in the smallest form we've seen," said Macsimum News in awarding Guardian MAXimus the Macsimum Macworld 2008 Award.

Guardian MAXimus eMAX is a 1.0 TB Mirror (1.0 TB + 1.0 TB) 5400 rpm w/64 MB total buffer drive priced at $549.99.

Guardian MAXimus line pricing:

  • 250 GB Mirror (250 + 250) 7200 rpm w/32 MB total buffer $259.99
  • 320 GB Mirror (320 + 320) 7200 rpm w/32 MB total buffer $289.99
  • 400 GB Mirror (400 + 400) 7200 rpm w/32 MB total buffer $329.99
  • 500 GB Mirror (500 + 500) 7200 rpm w/32 MB total buffer $379.99
  • 750 GB Mirror (750 + 750) 7200 rpm w/64 MB total buffer $439.99
  • 1.0 TB Mirror (1.0 TB + 1.0 TB) 7200 rpm w/64 MB total buffer $639.99
  • 150 GB "Power User" Mirror (150 + 150) 10,000 rpm w/32 MB total buffer $569.99

"Live Activity" Backup

The Guardian MAXimus RAID-1 mirror storage line is a Plug And Play "Live Activity" backup solution for consumer and professional users. Always guarding against data loss and costly system downtime, Guardian MAXimus writes the same information in real-time to two separate drives for a "mirrored" copy. With up to 1 TB dual SATA drives, data transfer rates up to 100 MB/s, OS X "Leopard" Time Machine readiness, and a "Triple Interface" of two FireWire 800, one FireWire 400, and one USB 2.0 ports, Guardian MAXimus offers performance, flexibility, and reliability for critical data backup.

Guardian MAXimus Line Features:

  • Up to 1.0 TB Dual-Drive Solution
  • Up to 64 MB of drive cache (32 MB per drive)
  • Custom Oxford 924 Based Bridge Solution 2 FireWire 800 9 pin ports
  • 1 FireWire 400 6 pin port
  • 1 USB 2.0 "B" port - backwards compatible with USB 1.1
  • Front panel drive status LEDs
  • Quiet operation
  • RoHS certified
  • 9.3" x 2.8" x 5.6" size, shock-resistant for maximum portability
  • US/International 90~240V 4.2A UL- Listed power supply
  • 36" FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and USB 2.0/1.1 double shielded connecting cables included
  • Compatible with Apple OS 8.6 to 9.2.2, OS X 10.1.x and later (10.2 or later required for FW800 and USB 2.0), and Windows ME and later operating systems.
  • Includes Alsoft Engineering Data Backup 3, NovaStor NovaBACKUP, and Intech SpeedTools Utilities™ software (a $200 retail value)

Guardian MAXimus eMAX is available immediately priced at $549.99 from NewerTech's exclusive distributor, Other World Computing.

Software

Nolobe Iris - The Ultimate Image Editor for Mac OS X?

PR: Nolobe today introduced Iris, an all-new image editor for Mac OS X. Designed from the ground up specifically for Mac users, Iris provides a powerful, intuitive, and easy to use solution for all your photo editing needs. Programmed to perform with a unique and elegant one-window interface, Iris renders confusing multiple palettes obsolete.

"Iris has been created for previously overlooked Mac owners who simply wanted an accessible and easy to use image program that provides professional results, without the professional price tag." explained Matthew Drayton, founder and CEO of Nolobe.

Iris 1.0 requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later. For more information on Iris, or to download a free demo please visit Nolobe's website.

Iris is available immediately at a suggested retail price of $79. Iris can be purchased directly from Nolobe. For more details please visit the Nolobe website or send an email to sales.

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