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News & Opinion
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Products & Services
Software
News & Opinion
Operating System and Browser Market Shares for
July
Here's the Net Market Share Operating System Total Market Share
rundown of the significant players for July 2010 (June figures in
parentheses) tracking changes over the the past month. Analysis summary
is simple. Windows slipped a bit, and so did the Mac and Linux, with
the iPhone gaining a fraction of a point of share.
- Windows, 91.32% (91.46%)
- Mac, 5.06% (5.16%)
- Linux, 0.93% (1.07%)
- JavaME, 0.78% (0.65%)
- iPhone, 0.70% (0.59%)
In terms of OS specific versions, Windows XP is still top dog by a
wide margin, and Windows 7 has moved past Vista for the number two
spot. Apple's OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard remains the most prolific Mac OS
version for a fourth month.
- Windows:
- Windows XP, 61.87% (62.49%)
- Windows 7, 14.46% (13.70%)
- Windows Vista ,14.34% (14.68%)
- Macintosh:
- Mac OS X 10.6, 2.48% (2.47% )
- Mac OS X 10.5, 1.82% (1.90%)
Browser Market Share
Turning to browsers, Internet Explorer is up a bit more last month,
and Firefox down again marginally for the third month in a row, with
Safari (with the new Safari 5.01 released) the biggest gainer in July -
and Opera up as well.
- Microsoft Internet Explorer, 60.74%
- Firefox, 22.91%
- Chrome, 7.16%
- Safari, 5.09%
- Opera, 2.45%
Link:
Operating System Market Share
Link:
Operating System Market Share (by Version)
Link: Browser
Market Share
Free Digital Copy of The Macintosh Way
PR: Want a free Mac ebook (Mac or iPhone/iPad)?
A newly digitized version of Guy Kawasaki's groundbreaking
technology marketing book, The Macintosh Way, is now available
for free download at freemacway.com.
A document scanning and digital filing system startup provided the
scanning services that turned an old copy of the book that was sitting
on Guy's bookshelf into a text-searchable PDF. Pixability, a video
marketing service, filmed the rebirth of the book surrounded by
well-known Apple products since the book was written, including the
original Macintosh
512K, a working Newton, and the original Bondi iMac. See the video at
pixability.com/kawasaki.
In The Macintosh Way, Guy Kawasaki outlines the principles of
technology evangelism. Although the work remains a highly topical
guerilla marketing book, the publisher let it go out of print. Guy
recently regained the rights to his book and wanted to digitally
distribute it as a PDF for free to his Twitter followers.
"Information wants to be free, and now I can provide my very first
book to everyone for free. OfficeDrop and Pixability were indispensable
parts of this liberation effort," said Guy.
"We were happy to take on such an exciting project, and working with
Guy was a lot of fun," said Healy Jones, VP of Marketing at OfficeDrop.
"The Macintosh Way is an important book for many technology
startups, and we were honored to turn it into a great ebook. People can
also get the book for free on their iPad with OfficeDrop's new iPad
Paper-to-Go app."
To document the entire destruction and resurrection of the book,
Pixability took footage of the scanning process and edited a video to
tell the story of The Macintosh Way. The finished video follows
Kawasaki's work throughout the conversion process and cleverly features
the progression of Apple products over more than 20 years. The Vintage Mac Museum [curated
by Adam Rosen, who also writes for
Low End Mac] supplied most of the working Mac computers.
Pixability's CEO Bettina Hein comments, "We jumped at the
opportunity to tell the story of rebirth in The Macintosh Way on
video. It's a great story, and we think viewers will enjoy seeing the
progression of Kawasaki's work from printed copy to an ebook."
Visit freemacway.com to get your free copy of the book or OfficeDrop
to get it on your iPad.
Link: The Macintosh
Way
Link:
Vintage Macs Live Again for The Macintosh Way
A Complete Education for the PC-to-Mac
Switcher
MacNewsWorld's John P. Mello Jr. says:
"Should you finally get the gumption to take a bite of the Apple,
the transition will be smoother and faster if you invest $24.95 in a
book like Switching
to a Mac - No Problem! Written by a veteran computer columnist,
blogger and tech help radio show host Dwight Silverman, the 324-page
volume published by Wiley is easy on the eyes without being light in
content. It focuses on giving you knowledge you need to get things done
and squeezes the fluff out its subject, fluff that balloons tech books
like this to twice the size of this one."
Link: A Complete Education
for the PC-to-Mac Defector
50 Useful Mac Apps for Switchers
AppStorm's Joshua Johnson says:
"So you just unboxed that shiny new Mac, fired it up and heard the
glorious chime. Now what? It can be a little bit overwhelming to start
from scratch and build a library of useful applications but we're to
help!
"Today we'll take a look at 50 awesome apps that are perfect for new
OS X users switching over from a PC. As I'm sure your new Mac has
cleaned out your savings, I tried to focus on primarily free apps.
There are a few thrown in that will cost you but the vast majority
won't set you back a single cent. I've seen a lot of users ask for more
screenshots lately so we've piled them into this roundup!"
Link: 50 Essential Mac
Apps for OS X Beginners
Editor's note: "Essential" seriously overstates things. McSolitaire
may be nice, but it's not essential. The Steam gaming engine? Not
essential. Coconut Battery? Not if your Mac is a desktop. Some good
recommendations, particularly for Windows users coming to the Mac, but
most of these are not essential. dk
Use Your Mac as a Wireless Router
MacFixIt's Topher Kessler says:
"These days, wireless routers are quite common, and most retail
options out there have some wireless capability; however, there still
may be times when you are without a router and need to set up a
wireless network for multiple computers, iPhones and iPads, or other
devices that support WiFi connectivity.
"To do this, all you need is a Mac with an AirPort card in
it...."
Link: No Wireless
Router? Use Your Mac
Bringing a Power Mac G4 Back to Life
The Apple Blog's Jon Buys reports:
"Under my desk is a PowerMac G4, sporting dual
1.42 [GHz] PowerPC processors and a whopping 512 MB of RAM. When I
acquired the old boy, it was running [Mac OS X 10.4] Tiger and had
files scattered all over its hard drive. It had been used and abused,
and desktop support had put it out to pasture. I saw it huddled
forlornly in the corner of a co-workers cube, and knew I could put it
back to work. All it needed was a little TLC."
"The first thing I did was upgrade the operating system to [Mac OS X 10.5] Leopard."
Editor's note: Under my desk are two G4 Power Macs: a dual 1 GHz Mirrored Drive Doors
running Tiger (so I can use Classic Mode) and a Digital Audio with a
dual 1.6 GHz
upgrade running Leopard. With plenty of memory and fast hard
drives, they are the most powerful Macs we own, and they see daily use.
If you're planning to resurrect an old Mac, upgrading system memory
will do the most to improve overall performance. dk
Link:
Bringing a PowerMac G4 Back to Life
Magic Trackpad Heralds the Beginning of the End for
Mac OS X
Gizmodo's Jesus Diaz says:
"The $69 Apple Magic Trackpad is nothing new. The Wacom
Bamboo Touch has offered the same multi-touch functionality for
almost a year. Its true relevance is in what it heralds: The end of Mac
OS X as we know it....
"The Apple Magic Trackpad is nice. It's not magical, and it won't
convince laptop users looking for a desktop trackpad. But it will work
as a mouse replacement for desktop users who are looking for a more
comfortable alternative with multitouch support....
"Apple's Magic Trackpad is not really that good, why would does it
mean the beginning of the end of Mac OS X as we know it? Because
this is Steve and Co. way of telling us that the future is multitouch,
and the mouse is death [sic]."
Link: Apple Magic
Trackpad: The Beginning of the End for Mac OS X?
Apple Discontinues 30" Displays, Dell Doesn't
Hardmac's Lionel reports:
"Apparently, the screen replacing the 30" Apple Display will be the
new 27" Display which was announced recently but is not available yet.
For most users, that 16:9 27" will be perfect, but others would like to
stick with their 16:10 30" display.
"The solution could come, once again, from Dell - ready to launch a
new 30" LED display [with the] same resolution as the 30" Apple
Display...."
Link: Apple Discontinues
30" Displays, Dell Doesn't
Retr0bright: Restoring Discolored Plastics on Old
Computers
AmiBay's Merlin says:
"Anyone who has dug their old computer or console out of the
cupboard or loft for some retro gaming will probably have noticed that
it maybe hasn't worn too well with the test of time. The plastics these
machines were made of is called ABS and to make it flame retardant
(just in case it catches fire after a marathon session) the plastics
manufacturers added chemicals that caused the plastic turn yellow or,
even worse, brown over a long period of time.
"It was originally thought that the yellowing was permanent and that
the only solution to this was to paint the plastic in its original
colour and cover the problem up. However, a chance discovery was made
in March 2008, by The CBM Museum at Wuppertal in Germany (http://www.forum64.de), that immersing
parts in a solution of Hydrogen Peroxide for a few days could partially
reverse the process. This was initially taken up by the Amiga community
in Germany (http://www.a1k.org) and
the idea eventually found its way to the English Amiga Board (http://eab.abime.net), where a madcap
collection of chemists, plastics engineers and retro hackers managed to
perfect this concept and put it on steroids, with help from other
forums."
"Having identified the culprit, the next stage was to try to develop
and perfect a means of treating the plastic and reversing the yellowing
quicker, without causing damage to the plastic."
"The problem was finally cracked in late July 2008 with a mixture of
hydrogen peroxide, a small amount of an 'Oxy' laundry booster as a
catalyst and a UV lamp; we believed that this could do the job in hours
instead of days."
"We have now proved on several forums that plastics yellowing can be
completely reversed in hours without damage using our mixture."
Link: The
'Retr0bright' Project
Link: Making
Retr0bright
Link: Using
Retr0bright
Reviews
iFixit Magic Trackpad Teardown
PR: We've noticed an interesting trend after having
dismantled so many Apple products: "thin and pretty" does not translate
well to "user serviceable." The Magic Trackpad is no exception to this
trend, having few parts that can be replaced without potentially
destroying the whole device.
We didn't find any magical unicorns inside, but we did uncover a
plethora of components inside the Trackpad's very thin profile.
Even though repairing the components might be infeasible, we're still
impressed by everything Apple's engineers managed to stuff into the
Trackpad.
Teardown highlights:
This is one of the few Apple products where the battery is user
serviceable.- The battery screw has square threads! While square threads have the
highest mechanical efficiency of all lead screws, their difficulty of
manufacturing makes them prohibitive for most applications. Kudos,
Apple, for sweating the details.
- After a good amount of quasi-non-destructive prying, the inner
spacer can be removed from the trackpad. This spacer prevents the
highly unlikely event of squeezing the lower panel against the logic
board hard enough to damage it.
- The ribbon cables are ridiculously thin and are stuck to the
underside of the touch pad. If you plan on servicing your Trackpad,
proceed with caution.
- After using a heat gun to warm up the adhesive, the touch pad can be
carefully pried off the aluminum chassis. This step is not for the
faint of heart. A copious amount of heat, guitar picks, and plastic
opening tools were required to make the touch pad budge.
The Magic Trackpad has a unique way of triggering the mouse button.
As you press down on the top surface of the pad, the two rubber feet
near its front edge push on a plate attached to the chassis. The plate
squeezes the electronic mouse button switch, producing the
characteristic "click."- At the heart of the Magic Trackpad's logic board lies a Broadcom
BCM2042 for Bluetooth connectivity - the same chip used by the Magic
Mouse.
- We also found a Broadcom BCM5974 touch screen controller chip that
provides multi-touch functionality. This is the same chip you'll find
in the iPhone, iPod Touch, and MacBook Air.
Link: Magic
Trackpad Teardown
Products & Services
OWC Unveils eSATA, SSD, and Other Upgrades for New
27" iMac
PR: Other World Computing (OWC) has announced its new OWC
Turnkey Upgrade Installation Program for the Mid 2010 Apple iMac 27" to address the
high demand for increasing iMac performance while overcoming the highly
difficult upgrade level an iMac presents to an end user. The program
enables new iMac 27" owners to custom configure and have OWC
professionally install the first offered eSATA port option for an iMac,
an award winning OWC Mercury Extreme Pro Solid State Drive up to 480
GB, a larger capacity hard drive up to 2 TB, and/or OWC Memory
Upgrades up to 16 GB. The new professional installation service program
offers multiple configuration options starting at $169 with a 48
business hours or less installation turnaround and includes complete
shipping options along with OWC's renowned warranty coverage.
OWC began taking orders for its Turnkey Upgrade Installation Program
for the Mid 2010 Apple iMac 27" on Tuesday, August 3.
OWC Options Create a Better than Factory Built iMac
Owners of the new iMac 27" can experience the following benefits
from the OWC Upgrade Program and enjoy a superior performing iMac than
what is available direct from the factory:
First Ever eSATA Interface Option Offered for an iMac
OWC has custom engineered the first ever solution to provide an
external eSATA port on an Apple iMac computer. With fast data transfer
rates up to 300 MB/s, iMac 27" users can now enjoy data backups and
transfers at up to 3X faster than the factory stock interfaces. The
$169 service includes an OWC Flexible eSATA cable for Plug and Play use
with any external storage solution equipped with a standard eSATA port
and return shipping of the eSATA enhanced iMac.
Bigger, Faster, More Reliable Solid State Drive
The OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD can be installed in capacities up to
480 GB, 87% greater capacity than the single factory 256 GB SSD option,
and offers read/write speeds in excess of 270 MB/s - up to 40% faster
than the factory and/or other currently available SSDs. While many SSDs
experience significant performance degradation over time, this is not
the case with the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD. By employing advanced
block management and over-provisioning, the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD
provides the ultimate in reliability and long-term high
performance.
More Main Bay Storage Configuration Options
New iMac 27" owners requiring more storage capacity that the factory
stock 1 TB drive can have OWC replace the stock drive with hard
drives up to 2 TB in capacity and with manufacturer warranties up
to five years. Or, instead of a traditional hard drive, OWC can add a
second SSD to the main drive bay for a SSD RAID configuration.
Link: OWC Turnkey
Upgrade Installation Program for the Mid 2010 Apple iMac 27"
Software
Switche for Mac: The New Cmd-Tab Replacement
PR: Kapeli announces the release and immediate availability
of Switche, a new Mac OS X app that combines Cmd-Tab's simplicity with
Exposé's style and elegance. Users can define three pairs of
keyboard shortcuts. Cmd-Tab will cycle between active apps
Exposé-style, and the other two pairs will switch between
windows of the same app or between all windows.
Unlike other similar applications, Switche doesn't try to reinvent
the wheel and uses Exposé for all of its features, as Mac users
are already familiar with it. Switche makes use of the most advanced
features of Exposé and combines them into something as simple to
use as Cmd-Tab.
Switche can be used to:
- Switch between applications
- Switch between windows
- Switch between the windows of the frontmost application
Switche is able to:
- Skip applications with no open windows
- Automatically zoom windows (using Exposé)
- Close windows and quit applications by pressing 'W' or 'Q'
Switche is a 2.3 MB application which has no impact on the system
and can be easily uninstalled just by deleting it. The application runs
quietly in the background, its butterfly icon can be switched off if
menubar real estate is an issue.
System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Switche may be purchased for $7.99. The free demo version displays
an alert every now and then and is otherwise unrestricted.
Link: Switche for
Mac
Personalize Mac OS X with Free Deeper Utility
PR: Deeper is a personalization utility for Mac OS X that
allows you to enable and disable the hidden functions and tweak
settings in the OS X Finder, Dock, QuickTime, Safari, iTunes, Login
window, Spotlight, and many Apple's applications.
Developed by Titanium Software, creator of the Onyx system
maintenance utility, Deeper is available in an Intel-only version
supporting Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, and Universal Binary versions
for OS X 10.5 Leopard and OS X 10.4 Tiger. Deeper only runs
from an Administrator account.
Deeper is freeware, gratis and freely usable; you may download,
copy, and distribute it at will and use it for as long as you want.
Link: Deeper
Eudora OSE 1.0rc2 Email Client Released
PR: The latest beta release of Eudora OSE, version 1.0rc2
(which includes the latest Penelope extension), is now available for
download.
Eudora OSE 1.0rc2 is based on the Thunderbird 3.0.4 source code, so
add-ons that do not work with Thunderbird 3.0.4 likely will not work
with this beta version.
Link: Eudora
OSE
Summer Sale: $30 Off Adobe Photoshop Elements 8
for Mac
PR: Use Adobe Photoshop Elements software for Mac to polish
and share your favorite summer memories in unique print creations and
web experiences. It works great with iPhoto
- Fix flaws fast. Get just the photo fixes you're looking for with
one-step shortcuts that whiten teeth and make skies a vibrant
blue.
- Recompose. Change the size or orientation of a photo - even go from
landscape to portrait or vice versa - without distorting key subjects
like people or buildings.
- Get the best exposure. Snap one photo with the flash on and one
with the flash off and automatically combine the shots into a perfectly
lit photo.
- Clean the scene. Easily brush away any distracting elements that
changed positions between multiple photos - like cars or pedestrians -
and create a single composite with just the look you want.
Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac requires Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later and
an Intel multicore CPU.
Special Offer: Save $30 - $69.99 after $10 instant discount and $20
mail-in rebate (details on website). Ends August 16, 2010.
Link: Photoshop Elements 8
for Mac
Link: Free
trial download
Link: Purchase
link
Desktop Mac Deals
For deals on current and discontinued 'Books, see our 13" MacBook and MacBook Pro,
MacBook Air, 13" MacBook Pro, 15" MacBook Pro, 17" MacBook Pro, 12" PowerBook G4, 15" PowerBook G4, 17" PowerBook G4, titanium PowerBook G4,
iBook G4, PowerBook G3, and iBook G3 deals.
We also track iPad,
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