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Review. All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.
News & Opinion
Apple Updates
Software
News & Opinion
OS X Lion Available from the Mac App Store
PR: Apple on Wednesday
announced that Mac OS X Lion,
the eighth major release of the company's OS X operating system with
more than 250 new features, is available immediately as a download from
the Mac App Store for $29.99. Some of the features in Lion include: new
Multi-Touch gestures; systemwide support for full screen apps; Mission
Control, a view of everything running on your Mac; the Mac App Store
built right into the OS; Launchpad, a new home for all your apps; and a
completely redesigned Mail app.
MacBook Air running OS X 10.7 Lion
"Lion is the best version of OS X yet, and we're thrilled that users
around the world can download it starting today," says Philip Schiller,
Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Lion
makes upgrading a Mac easier than ever before; just launch the Mac App
Store, buy Lion with your iTunes account, and the download and install
process will begin automatically."
Additional new features in Lion include:
- Resume, which conveniently brings your apps back exactly how you
left them when you restart your Mac or quit and relaunch an app;
- Auto Save, which automatically and continuously saves your
documents as you work;
- Versions, which automatically records the history of your document
as you create it, and gives you an easy way to browse, revert and even
copy and paste from previous versions; and
- AirDrop, which finds nearby Macs and automatically sets up a
peer-to-peer wireless connection to make transferring files quick and
easy.*
Mac OS X Lion is available as an upgrade to Mac OS X version 10.6.6
Snow Leopard (a relief for those of us who have balked at installing
the bug-plagued OS X 10.6.8 update) from the Mac App Store for $29.99.
At around 4 GB, it is about the size of an HD movie from the
iTunes Store. Users who do not have broadband access at home, work or
school can download Lion at Apple retail stores and later this August,
Lion will be made available on a USB thumb drive through the Apple
Store for $69. Mac OS X Lion Server requires Lion and is available from
the Mac App Store for $49.99.
System Requirements
Lion requires an Intel-based Mac with a Core 2 Duo, i3, i5, i7, or
Xeon processor and 2 GB of RAM. Lion is an upgrade and can be installed
on all your authorized personal Macs. Details regarding Business and
Education licensing can be found online.
The OS X Lion Up-to-Date upgrade will be available through the Mac
App Store at no additional charge to all customers who purchased a
qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on
or after June 6, 2011. Users must request their Up-to-Date upgrade
within 30 days of purchase of their Mac computer. Customers who
purchased a qualifying Mac between June 6, 2011 and July 20, 2011 will
have until August 19, 2011 to make a request. Additional information
can be found at http://apple.com/macosx/uptodate
* Publisher's note: Although AirDrop is a feature of OS X 10.7 Lion,
it is not compatible
with all Macs that can run Lion. Specifically, you need a 2008 or
newer MacBook or MacBook Pro, 2009 or newer iMac or Mac Pro (with
AirPort), or 2010 or newer MacBook Air or Mac mini. dk
Link: OS X Lion
Migration Assistant Update for Snow Leopard
Supports Upgrade to Lion
PR: For those migrating to a new Mac with OS X 10.7 Lion, the
Migration Assistant Update for Mac OS X Snow Leopard 1.0 update
addresses an issue with the Migration Assistant application in Mac OS X
Snow Leopard that prevents transfer of your personal data, settings,
and compatible applications from a Mac running Mac OS X Snow Leopard to
a new Mac running Mac OS X Lion.
System requirements:
- Intel
- Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later.
Link: Migration Assistant Update for Mac
OS X Snow Leopard
Apple Updates Mac mini
PR: Apple on Wednesday updated the Mac mini with next generation Intel
Core processors, new discrete graphics, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O
technology, and OS X Lion. The new Mac mini delivers up to twice the
processor and graphics performance of the previous generation in the
same amazingly compact and efficient aluminum design.1
Starting at just $599, the new Mac mini is available now.
"Mac mini delivers the speed and
expandability that makes it perfect for the desktop, living room or
office," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of
Worldwide Product Marketing. "With faster processors, more powerful
graphics and Thunderbolt in an incredibly compact, aluminum design, the
new Mac mini is more versatile than ever."
At just 7.7"
square and 1.4" thin, the new Mac mini maintains its compact aluminum
design while delivering high performance and graphics capabilities.
Available in three different configurations, customers can choose a Mac
mini with the latest dual-core Intel Core i5 or Intel Core i7
processors, AMD Radeon HD 6630M discrete graphics, or a quad-core Intel
Core i7 powered server
configuration. Designed without an optical disc drive, Mac mini can
access the optical drives on other PCs and Macs, and works with the
MacBook Air SuperDrive. Configure-to-order options include up to 8 GB
of memory, a faster 7200 RPM hard drive, and a 256 GB solid state drive
(SSD).
Mac mini now comes with Thunderbolt
I/O technology for expansion possibilities never before available to
Mac mini users. With a Thunderbolt port, Mac mini can connect to
peripherals such as high-performance storage devices, RAID arrays and
the new Apple Thunderbolt Display, a 27" IPS widescreen display that's
great for making FaceTime HD video calls, surfing the Web and viewing
movies and photos.
With ultra-fast WiFi, you can wirelessly download apps from the Mac
App Store, get music and movies from iTunes, back up data to Time
Capsule, and share files with AirDrop, which makes transferring files
quick and easy. Mac mini includes Bluetooth for wireless peripherals
and four USB ports for easy connectivity for the wired and wireless
devices you use every day.
The new Mac mini remains the world's most energy efficient desktop,
meets Energy Star 5.2 requirements and achieves EPEAT Gold
status.2 Mac mini has a highly recyclable aluminum
enclosure, PVC-free components and cables, no brominated flame
retardants and features material-efficient system and packaging
designs.
Every new Mac mini comes with Mac OS X Lion, the latest major
release of Apple's Mac OS X, the world's most advanced operating
system, and iLife apps for creating and sharing great photos, movies
and music. Lion introduces more than 250 new features to the Mac,
including Multi-Touch gestures and systemwide support for full screen
apps; Mission Control, an innovative view of everything running on your
Mac; the Mac App Store, the best place to find and explore great
software; Launchpad, a new home for all your apps; and a completely
redesigned Mail app.
The new Mac mini is available through the Apple Store now and in
Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers starting July
21.
- The 2.3 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 Mac mini with 2 GB of
memory and a 500 GB hard drive starts at a suggested retail price of
$599, with options to add memory up to 8 GB and a 750 GB hard
drive.
- The 2.5 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 Mac mini with 4 GB of
memory and a 500 GB hard drive starts at a suggested retail price of
$799, with options to upgrade to a 2.7 GHz dual-core Core i7 processor,
up to 8 GB of memory, and a 750 GB hard drive with an option to
add or replace with a 256 GB solid state drive.
- The 2.0 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 Mac mini with Lion Server,
4 GB of memory and dual 500 GB hard drives starts at a suggested
retail price of $999. Options include adding memory up to 8 GB,
two 750 GB hard drives, or up to two 256 GB solid state drives.
- Testing conducted by Apple in July 2011 using preproduction Mac
mini configurations. For more information visit
www.apple.com/macmini/features.html.
- EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare
the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. For more
information visit www.epeat.net.
3 Ways to Install Lion over OS X 10.5 Leopard
Macworld's Dan Frakes notes that one of the requirements for
installing Lion is that you already have Mac OD X 10.6 Snow Leopard version
10.6.6 or later installed, the main practical reason for this
requirement being that Lion is currently available only via the Mac App
Store, which debuted in Mac OS X 10.6.6, so you'll need Snow Leopard
just to purchase and download Lion.
However, once the Lion installer is in hand, the operative question
is whether you can install it onto a Mac or a hard drive containing
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.
Frakes discusses the legal and technical aspects of Lion-over-Leopard
installs for personal, noncommercial use, noting that there are some
gray areas, and observes that while the letter of the law says you need
to install Snow Leopard before installing Lion, the spirit of the law
seems to be that a particular Mac just needs a license for Snow Leopard
before you can install Lion on it. In other words, in his view you
should be well within your rights to install Lion on any of your
computers for which you have a valid, current Snow Leopard license,
even if you don't install Snow Leopard on it first. As for technical
obstacles, while the Lion installer refuses to install Lion onto a
drive containing Leopard, it will install onto a blank drive, so Lion
clearly doesn't need any of Snow Leopard's files or settings, but,
while the Lion installer will freely install Lion onto a blank drive,
the installer itself must be run from within Snow Leopard or Lion.
However, according to Frakes there are three ways: the official way,
the brute-force method, and the quick-but-techie way. Instructions are
offered for each.
Publisher's note: Site statistics for Thursday, July 21, show that
over 28% of Intel Mac users visiting lowendmac.com were already using
Lion the day after it released, almost 61% were using Snow Leopard, and
over 9% were still running OS X 10.5 Leopard, so there's a fair
number of Leopard users who may be considering migrating to Lion.
dk
Link: How to Install
Lion over Leopard
How to Keep Using Snow Leopard After Upgrading to
Lion
MacFixIt's Topher Kessler says that while OS X Lion's features and
advancements make it an enticing installation, unfortunately Apple is
doing away with some key features that have maintained compatibility
with some popular applications. Some of these, such as the lack of
Java, can be remedied by installing support for them, but there's no
workaround for others like Rosetta and support for 32-bit system
extensions in the default 64-bit boot environment. And a number of
applications will not run, as can be seen on the RoaringApps (below) Lion compatibility database. As a
result, he notes, it may still be useful for some users to maintain
their current Snow Leopard installations, even if they would like to
install Lion to take advantage of its features.
There are a two routes to running both Lion and Snow Leopard,
virtualization (mentioned in last
week's Mac News Review) and dual-booting.
Link: How to Keep Snow
Leopard When Upgrading to Lion
RoaringApps, Application Compatibility
for Mac OS X Lion
If you're unsure whether a favorite or mission-critical piece of
application or utility software will run on OS X 10.7 Lion, RoaringApps
brings you a collaborative wiki community to track, discuss, and
dissect application compatibility for OS X Lion.
RoaringApps is also a great place to stumble across the next great
addition to your Dock, with hundreds of applications compiled into one
simple table.
Link: RoaringApps
OS Identity Crisis: The iOSification of Mac OS
X
Technology Review's Christopher Mims notes that both Apple and
Microsoft's new desktop operating systems borrow elements from mobile
devices - in sometimes confusing ways - with both reflecting a tectonic
shift in personal computing, incorporating elements from the companies'
mobile operating systems alongside more conventional desktop
features.
Mims suggests that demos of both operating systems suggest that
users could face a confusing mishmash of design ideas and interaction
methods, and cites Peter Merholz, president of the user-experience and
design firm Adaptive Path, observing that while the iPad's runaway
success has indicated the existence of a latent, unmet need for a new
form of computing, "moving PCs in a tablet direction isn't necessarily
sensible."
Independent software developer Cathy Shive is quoted by Mims saying
she was "appalled" when she first saw Steve Jobs' demo of Lion, and
surprised by the direction both Apple and Microsoft are taking, noting
that a fundamental dictate of usability design is that an interface
should be tailored to the specific context and hardware in which it
lives, and a desktop PC is not the same thing as a tablet or a mobile
device, but "It seemed like what [Jobs] was showing us was a giant
iPad." She contends that "Apple has been seduced by their own success,
and they're jumping to translate that over to the desktop
. . . They think there's some kind of shortcut, where
everyone is loving this interface on the mobile device, so they will
love it on their desktop as well."
Editor's note: I agree, and I think it's fair to predict that a lot
of desktop users aren't going to be feeling the love. I like my
new iPad 2 and appreciate that
within the constraints of practical handheld computing, GUI compromises
needed to be made, but there is virtually nothing I find functionally
superior or preferable in the iOS way of doing things compared with
traditional Mac OS user interface conventions. The iOS's angularities
are what I like least about the iPad. I dislike gesture based control,
I don't like fullscreen application windows and the need to check out
of one application in order to look at another. Text selection is a
frustrating nightmare of imprecision, and so on.
I'm sure there will be many things to like about OS X 10.7 Lion, but
the various iOSifications it will incorporate will not be among them in
my estimation. A moot point in the near term, as I have too many
mission-critical, legacy apps and utilities that probably won't run in
64-bit only Lion to consider upgrading any time soon. cm
Link: Is the Desktop
Having an Identity Crisis?
Apple Aces PCMag Readers' Choice Survey Again
PCMag Staff have posted a quick glance at the companies they deemed
worthy of receiving their annual Readers' Choice Awards for 2011.
Awards are based on how users rated them. PCMag has also included it
choices for Honorable Mentions.
In the Laptops & Netbooks category, topping the list is:
Overall/Work/Home/Less Than a Year Old: Apple Inc.
Apple once again has incredibly high overall
satisfaction and likelihood to recommend ratings in every category it
competed in. This is despite a high number of units needing
repairs.
[Ouch! I don't like the sound of that latter bit. cm]
And in the Desktops category:
All Categories: Apple Inc.
No other company's satisfaction ratings come close to
Apple. Even its satisfaction with repair rating is unmatched, despite a
big drop this year.
[Hey; is increased sales volume causing a decline in Mac build
quality? Anecdotally, my bro-in-law's new iMac has been in for warranty
attention already. cm]
Mobile Platforms? You guessed it: iOS is the winner:
There's little question that Apple's time tested iOS,
paired with an unparalleled selection of apps, a great music player,
gaming, and overall reliability is the favorite among PCMag
readers.
However, it wasn't a complete Apple sweep. Apple's iPhone, the
longtime leader in the AT&T Mobile Phone category, was bumped to
second-place by Windows Phone 7, although the editors note, "People
still love their iPhones, even if they don't like AT&T."
Back in the win column, though, for the Verizon Wireless Mobile
Phone category, the Verizon variant of the iPhone finished
number-one.
In the Network Routers category, Apple again, PCMag's editors
observing:
Once again, Apple customers give satisfaction ratings
that can't be touched by any router company. Despite a relatively high
percentage of units needing repairs, respondents claim their devices to
be very reliable and they're most likely to recommend the routers to a
friend.
Link: The Readers'
Choice Survey 2011 Winners
Apple Updates
Safari 5.1 for Mac OS X 10.6
PR: Safari 5.1 contains new features including:
- Reading List: Easily add webpages and links to your Reading List to
browse when you have time.
- New Process Architecture: Safari has been reengineered for improved
stability and responsiveness.
- Resume: In the General pane of Safari preferences, you can now
choose to launch Safari with the windows from your last browsing
session.
- Better Privacy: A new Privacy pane in Safari preferences makes it
easy to remove data that websites can leave on your system.
Other improvements include:
- Private AutoFill: Safari lets you fill out forms quickly while
keeping your personal information private.
- Find Option: When you use Find, you can choose whether you want to
search for text that contains or starts with the text that you type in
the search field.
- Drag-and-drop Downloads: You can drag items out of the Downloads
window in Safari, so you can easily place downloaded files on the
Desktop.
- Advanced Web Technologies: Safari introduces support for fullscreen
webpages, media caching with the HTML5 application cache, MathML, Web
Open Font Format, CSS3 Auto-hyphenation, CSS3 Vertical Text, CSS3 Text
Emphasis, Window.onError, and Formatted XML files.
- New Extension APIs: Developers can take advantage of new Safari
Extension support for popovers, menus, new event classes, and
interaction with Reader.
The Safari 5 (Mac OS X 10.6) update includes the following
improvements:
- Stability improvements for webpages when a plugin stops
responding
- Stability improvements for web applications that use WebSocket with
certain proxy configurations
- Improvements to the appearance and layout of text with HTML5 ruby
annotations
- A fix for an issue that could affect the layout of
mail.yahoo.co.jp
- A fix for an issue that could cause elements in frames to appear in
the wrong place on pandora.com and other websites
- A fix for an issue that could cause custom-styled cursors on some
webpages to be positioned incorrectly
- Automatic hyphenation of justified text in Reader view
- A fix for an issue that prevented Safari from saving webpages with
long titles as a web archive
System Requirements
- Mac OS X 10.6.8
- Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7
Link: Safari 5.1
Safari 5.0.6 for OS X 10.5 Leopard
PR: Safari 5.0.6 for Leopard contains improvements to
stability, compatibility, and security, including the following:
- Stability improvements for web applications that use WebSocket with
certain proxy configurations
- Improvements to the appearance and layout of text with HTML5 ruby
annotations
- A fix for an issue that could cause elements in frames to appear in
the wrong place on pandora.com and other websites
For information on the security content of this update, please visit
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222
System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.5.8
Link: Safari 5.0.6 for Leopard
Java for OS X Lion
PR: Java for OS X Lion installs Java SE 6 version 1.6.0_26.
OS X Lion does not provide a Java runtime by default.
System Requirements: OS X 10.7
Link: Java
for OS X Lion
Software
75% Off Sale on Lion-Compatible TypeIt4Me 5.2 in
Mac App Store
PR: Ettore Software Ltd. has slashed the price of its Now
Lion-Compatible flagship product, TypeIt4Me, by 75% to a new low price
of $4.99.
This time-limited promotion - exclusively available in the Mac App
Store - is to celebrate the release of Apple's new operating system.
TypeIt4Me version 5.2 is fully compatible with the eagerly-awaited Mac
OS X 10.7, a.k.a. Lion.
Available since 1989, TypeIt4Me is the original text expander for
Mac OS, allowing users to save keystrokes and time by defining short
abbreviations (text macros) that when typed will expand on the fly to
full words, sentences, paragraphs, or even pictures. Now in its 22nd
year, it's still in active development and going strong.
Users who buy it now at this special price will also get a free
upgrade from the Mac App Store when the iCloud-savvy version of
TypeIt4Me becomes available later on this summer.
Link:
TypeIt4Me at Mac App Store
CrossOver Lets You Run Windows Apps on
Your Intel Mac Without Buying Windows
PR: CrossOver allows you to install many popular Windows
applications on your Mac or Linux computer. You can think of it as an
emulator, but it's different, because there's no Windows OS license
required. Your applications integrate seamlessly in OS X or Linux; just
click and run. No rebooting, no switching to a virtual machine, and no
Windows Operating System license required.
Adding new Windows software is easy. Just place your install CD in
your machine, and CrossOver will recognize it and offer to install it.
Once installed, CrossOver will configure your application to run on
your computer. That's all there is to it.
CrossOver is capable of running a range of Windows software. To see
if your favorite application is supported, please check the CrossOver
Compatibility Center, or search for them using the search box at the
top of their homepage.
System requirements - Mac Version:
- Intel-based Macintosh system running Mac OS X (note: CrossOver will
not run on PowerPC systems)
- 120 MB of free disk space
- Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.x) or later is recommended.
- For CrossOver 10.x and higher, Tiger (10.4.x) is no longer
supported.
New in version 10.1.0:
- Fixed several known issues with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.
- Don't move cursor on display mode change, start up, or quit.
- Simplify user interactions when Quartz-WM is missing.
- Fixed check printing in Quicken 2011.
Link: CrossOver
Desktop Mac
Deals
Low End Mac updates the following price trackers monthly:
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,
iPhone, iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod nano, and iPod shuffle deals.
