Apple predictions for September

August 31st, 2010

The Apple annual media event is tomorrow 10am PT. But we are guessing new iPod touch is not the only products coming in September:

  • iPod touch – Apple will definitely announce new iPod touch model tomorrow. Likely specs include what you can expect in iPhone 4: Retina Display, same A4 processor and memory, FaceTime & compatible camera, gyroscope and long lasting battery. We are guessing Apple might add a FM tuner in, so that all iPod models will sport FM tuner build-in. And this one will not have any antenna issue. Will we see a 128G iPod touch this year?

  • iPod nano – based on cases floating around the net, iPod nano is predicted to have a square dimension, lose the scroll wheel and sports a touch screen for the interface. This will make it look more like a mini iPod touch than an iPod.

  • iPod shuffle – expects similar offering than last generation. Maybe more colors and boost of capacity of up to 8G?

  • iPod Classic – we predict there will be no new model. Apple probably will announce an RIP date for the current model.

  • iTunes 10 – time is ripe for Apple to release a major upgrade to flagship iTunes.

  • Cloud based iTunes – many are eagerly awaiting a cloud based music streaming service from Apple. We predict it is not ready and will not happen during tomorrow’s event. We expect Apple will hold a special event in future just for this cloud base service as it is a game changing business model. But we should see some hints of it in the new iTunes.

  • iOS 4.1 – as mentioned, this is predicted to release today, one day before the media event.

  • iTV – will Apple release a $99 follow up to Apple TV? All signs and rumors point to a yes answer. This new model will be a diskless and cheaper model with an emphasis on streaming. Many expect it to run a new iOS and be able to run apps. This will probably not the device that will change how we watch TV.

  • 99 cents TV rental & iBookstore – 99 cents TV rental is widely rumored by major media. It is interesting to see the scope and selection available for this service. Lets hope there is some announcement too for iBookstore to boost up the book selection.

  • iLife ‘11 – some have predicted an announcement of iLife ‘11. We are guessing it is not happening in September. Instead iLife’11 will be announced after iPad get its iOS 4.x release. Apple is likely to unveil new iLife for the Mac together with new version for the iPad. And probably will release a version for iPhone and iPod touch. It is interesting to see if Apple will charge for the upgrade to Pages/Numbers/Keynote for iPad.

  • One more thing – Apple probably will announce the availability of white iPhone 4. Many are waiting to buy one in September.

  • Surprises – yes we hope there are surprises. Please bring us some Apple.

AutoCAD backs to Mac in October

August 31st, 2010

AutoCAD Mac

Autodesk AutoCAD, the industry standard design and engineering software, is coming back to Mac. The last AutoCAD release on the Mac was in 1992. And after 13 releases on non-Mac platform since then, AutoCAD is finally back to Mac in October. Pricing will remain the same as the Windows version. Autodesk will also release a free AutoCAD WS viewer app for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

β€œApple is thrilled that Autodesk is bringing AutoCAD back to the Mac and we think it’s the perfect combination for millions of design and engineering professionals,” said Apple senior vice-president of Worldwide Product Marketing Philip Schiller in a news release.

Via Financial Times

The birth of Apple Macintosh, 1984

August 28th, 2010

Watch the demo of first Apple Macintosh by Steve Jobs in January 1984 in front of 3000 people.

CUPS under Mac OS X

August 27th, 2010

CUPS

We manage our printers and print jobs using Mac’s System Preferences->Print & Fax. Beneath the hood, Mac OS X is using a powerful printing system called CUPS. Turns out that CUPS has a web interface for you to manage and administer printers and jobs on your Mac.

To view the web interface, just point your browser to http://127.0.0.1:631/.

CUPS (some say stands for Common Unix Printing System) is by Michael Sweet and debuted in 1999. It is a free software under GNU General Public License and is also the default print engine for several Linux distributions such as Red Hat. Apple adopted CUPS since Mac OS X 10.2 in March 2002. In February 2007, Apple hired Michael Sweet and purchased the CUPS source code.

Apple updates Pages with ePub format support

August 26th, 2010

Apple has released version 9.0.4 update to iWork comprises bug fixes to Keynote, Pages and Numbers. New in this release is the support of ePub format in Pages. Pages is the first commercial word processor that can export documents in ePub format, alongside PDF and Word. ePub format will allow you to read the document in iBooks or other eBook reader software supporting ePub.

Check out Apple’s support document which explains the differences between PDF and ePub. It also contains guide and template on how to create ePub document using Pages.

This update is available via the usual Software Update or you can download from Apple Download site.

Mac sales surged in government and business

August 24th, 2010
At 35%, Mac shipment growth in June easily exceeded the market’s growth rate of 20.9%. Mac shipments grew 31.4% in the home market, topping the market’s growth rate of 25.2%. At 49.8%, the Mac’s growth in business was three times higher than the market’s 15.7%. Mac shipments in government grew 200%, sixteen times faster than the market’s 12.1%.

Via Fortune

Office for Mac 2011 demo

August 18th, 2010

Microsoft has a series of video showcasing Office for Mac 2011. Follow their blog at OfficeForMac.com for more demos until the official release of Office for Mac 2011 in October.

Via OfficeForMac.com

Apple Updates Digital Camera RAW

August 3rd, 2010

Apple has released Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.3 which adds additional 8 camera raw file format to RAW image compatibility in Mac OS X (Preview app) and applications such as Aperture 3 and iPhoto ‘09.

  • Canon PowerShot SX1 IS
  • Olympus E-PL1
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10
  • Samsung NX10
  • Sony Alpha DSLR-A390
  • Sony Alpha NEX-3
  • Sony Alpha NEX-5

Download at Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.3.

Office for Mac 2011 This October At $119, $199 and $99

August 2nd, 2010

Office for mac 2011

Microsoft has announced late October release for Office for Mac 2011. It will be available in 3 editions:

  • Home & Student Edition is at $119 and includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Messenger

  • Home & Business Edition is at $199 and includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook and Messenger

  • Academic Edition is at $99 and includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook and Messenger

Microsoft also announced free upgrade to Office for Mac 2011 when you purchase Office for Mac 2008 from Aug 1 till Nov 30.

Check out the details.

Apple Released Safari 5.0.1 and Safari Extensions Gallery

July 29th, 2010

Safari Extension

Apple released Safari 5.0.1 with the support of Safari Extensions. Extensions is available in Safari 5.0 but you have to set it up in order to use it. Safari 5.0.1 also has direct access to the newly launched Safari Extensions Gallery website. Safari Extensions Gallery serves as the central hosting site for third party Safari extensions. With this new release of Safari, installing extensions from the site is just a simple click on the “Install” icon.

Beside the support of extensions, Safari 5.0.1 also plug the Autofill vulnerability which exposes your address book data.