Apple has upgraded its current line of Mac mini computers, plus added a server version. The base mini ($599) gets a slightly faster Core 2 Duo processor (2.26GHz versus 2GHz), double the previous memory (2GB, up from 1GB) and a beefier hard drive (160GB versus 120GB.)
The $799 version includes a 2.53GHz processor, 4GB of memory (versus 2GB previously) and a 320GB hard drive.
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By now, you’ve seen the Windows 7 commercials and read the reviews. PCMag will have far more to say in the coming days and weeks about the quality and performance of Microsoft’s Windows 7 OS, as well as how it stacks up against its primary competition, Apple’s Snow Leopard. But have you ever wondered what it would be like if you could watch executives from both companies really have at it? Not with snarky commercials, but with an honest discussion of the technologies that drive these operating systems? It won’t happen, of course, but this is pretty close.
Apple has released a “performance update” for a hard drive problem with its Snow Leopard operating system. The company said in a statement that a feature in Snow Leopard causes the hard drive to “pause”.
The statement said that the problem affects only a small number of users.
The list of affected machines was as follows: MacBook Pro (17in Mid 2009), MacBook Pro (15in Mid 2009), MacBook Pro (15in 2.53GHz Mid 2009), MacBook Pro (13in Mid 2009), MacBook Pro (17in Early 2009), MacBook Pro (15in Late 2008), MacBook (13in Mid 2009), MacBook (13in Early 2009, MacBook (13in Aluminum Late 2008), MacBook Air (Mid 2009), MacBook Air (Late 2008), iMac (20in Mid 2009), iMac (24in Early 2009) iMac (20in Early 2009) and Mac Mini (Early 2009).
Reports of a potentially critical Snow Leopard bug that can erase a user’s account data have continued to surface since the operating system’s debut [Updated with Apple official comment].
Since Mac OS X 10.6 launched in late August, numerous reports online have detailed the issue, which is triggered by logging in and out of a guest account on a Snow Leopard machine. Upon logging back in to their regular account, users will find that it has been wiped of all data.
As previously reported, rumours are circulating concerning a redesigned iMac range, possibly featuring Blu-ray frives for the first time in a Mac.
AppleInsider is now suggesting that the iMac update’s arrival could be accompanied by new MacBook models. Details of the supposed new MacBook are few and far between. AppleInsider is tipping a slimmer and lighter enclosure, made possible in part by the inclusion of Apple’s new battery technology.
There’s also the expectation of a price below the $US999 tag accompanying the existing entry-level MacBook. This would be achieved by staying away from leading-edge processors and other parts, and omitting FireWire ports and other features.
Another rumor has hit the world of Apple just earlier, bringing some whispers that the company has a refresh of its iMac line all geared up and ready to be released. As usual, AppleInsider has the sources behind the headline, and they believe that the new model of the computer was finalized some time in September.
Computerworld - A network of Russian malware writers and spammers paid hackers 43 cents for each Mac machine they infected with bogus video software, a sign that Macs have become attack targets, a security researcher said yesterday.
In a presentation Thursday at the Virus Bulletin 2009 security conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Sophos researcher Dmitry Samosseiko discussed his investigation of the Russian “Partnerka,” a tangled collection of Web affiliates who rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars from spam and malware, most of the former related to phony drug sites, and much of the latter targeting Windows users with fake security software, or “scareware.”
NPD Group said Thursday that sales of Snow Leopard Mac OS X so far have exceeded Apple’s two previous Mac OS X releases during their first two weeks. According to the market researcher, Snow Leopard unit shipments were more than twice the volume of Leopard’s initial sales and almost four times higher than Apple’s earlier Tiger Mac OS X release.
Moreover, Snow Leopard’s sales only declined about 25 percent from the first week to the second, said NPD Vice President Stephen Baker. In comparison, volume shipments of Leopard and Tiger declined more than 60 percent in the second week, he added.
All the icons for folders and apps in Snow Leopard are now drawn in glorious 512 x 512 pixels. It’s a step toward making the operating system resolution independent, and perhaps also to make Snow Leopard a touchscreen friendly OS.
But it’s also obviously done just for the art of it. These icons are real beauties. They are full of great details and little surprises. One icon contains the words to a song, visible only if you blow it up to its full size.
Full Story: Cult of Mac
Apple on Thursday released an update to Java for Mac OS X Leopard. The update, number five, supersedes all previous updates and brings with it improved reliability, security, and compatibility for the cross-platform technology.
In particular, the update patches many Java-related security vulnerabilities, including some which allow untrusted Java applets to obtain elevated privileges via a Web page and potentially execute arbitrary code. There’s also a patch for Java Web Start that prevents a buffer overflow from quitting an application or executing arbitrary code.
