Tag Archives: mac os x

Mac OS X 10.7.3 Beta Drivers Hint At New Mac Pros

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Apple has neglected to update its Mac Pro for just under 18 months now, and recent speculation has suggested that the company may be set to discontinue the high-end desktop. However, according to drivers found in the latest Mac OS X 10.7.3 beta, a new Mac Pro is on its way, packing AMD’s upcoming “Tahiti” graphics cards.

Following the release of the 10.7.3 beta last Friday, Netkas.org discovered new references to an upcoming AMD graphics card nicknamed “Tahiti.” The cards in question are due to hit the market next January, and they are AMD’s new 28nm desktop cards, according to Fudzilla:

The new Tahiti series should end up with Radeon HD 7xxx branding and as it will come in XT and PRO flavours. It’s kind of safe to assume that Radeon HD 7970, codename Tahiti XT will be the fastest single chip card from AMD while the Radeon HD 7950 will be codename for the Tahiti PRO product.

Of course, the only Mac that uses desktop-class graphics cards is the Mac Pro. With support for this card in OS X 10.7.3, it appears that a new Mac Pro, or at least a refreshed model, is indeed on its way — as noted by MacGadget.de:

The presence of these drivers suggests that Apple will release the aforementioned graphics chip with the next-generation Mac Pro. The Mac Pro is the only Mac-series, which are used in desktop graphics chips. In all other Macs GPU Mobile versions can be found.

While it is feasible that Apple has introduced support for these cards for existing Mac Pros, whose users wish to upgrade their to the new AMD card, that isn’t typically the way that the company works.

[via MacRumors]

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Apple releases Safari 5.1.2, brings bug fixes

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Apple has released Safari 5.1.2 to users this afternoon, available by direct download or by hitting up Software Update. The update is relatively minor, but brings along bug fixes that address issues of stability, extensive memory usage, fixing webpages that were flashing white, and now allows PDFs to be displayed within web content. Go ahead and download!

Improve stability
Address issues that could cause hangs and excessive memory usage
Address issues that could cause webpages to flash white
Allow PDFs to be displayed within web content

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Get iOS-Style Copy & Paste On Your Mac Thanks To This Awesome Utility From Pilotmoon

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Last week, we published a video how-to that demonstrated a number of simple ways you can make Mac OS X look and act more like iOS. To be added to that list is an awesome new utility from Pilotmoon that makes the copy & paste function on your Mac look just like the copy & paste function on your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

The utility is called PopClip and it’s available now in the Mac App Store for $4.99, but you can download a free trial from the Pilotmoon website. Once installed, PopClip puts an icon in your menu bar which provides you with quick and easy access, and you can customize its functions to suit you.

But its main attraction is that when you select a piece of text, PopClip displays iOS-like copy & paste options that look much better than the default menus in Mac OS X — in my opinion. You don’t have to right-click, it just appears automatically. And if you don’t use it, it’ll disappear when you move your mouse.

What’s more, PopClip also detects hyperlinks and email addresses when they’re selected, and provides you with the option to open them; and it’ll correct words you misspell when OS X doesn’t do it automatically. It’ll also look up definitions, just like iOS, but chooses to open up your Mac’s Dictionary application rather than the little overlay, which is a little frustrating.

I think $4.99 is a little expensive for such a simple tweak, but it is pretty awesome. Would you like to see iOS-style menus built into the Mac OS?

[via The Next Web]

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Simple Ways To Make OS X More Like iOS [Video How-To]

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Mac OS X Lion includes many features that are very similar to those found in iOS. In this video, I’ll show you how to expand it even further, and make Mac OS X Lion even more like iOS.

Growl can be found here.

Growl iOS theme can be found here.

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Mac making a move in the enterprise, grew 44 percent in Q3

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It’s a pattern we’ve seen for several quarters: Apple’s Mac sales post double-digit percentage increases as the broader PC market limps along with single-digit growth. So it’s not a huge surprise to see the Mac again making progress in its battle for market share. In a report issued Thursday, Needham & Co. analyst Charlie Wolf said the Mac had reached 5.2 percent of worldwide computer sales. While that seems like a tiny slice of a huge industry — and it is — it’s the largest chunk of PC market share Apple has owned in 15 years.

Yes, 5.2 percent is significant for Apple, the computer side of which brings in huge profits for the company, but maintains a relatively low sales share compared to the HPs, Dells, Acers and Lenovos of the world. But the momentum is Apple’s right now. It’s growing both in the consumer space, where it was up 24.6 percent compared to overall PC growth of 5.3 percent, and perhaps more surprisingly, in the workplace.

Needham says Macs’ share of enterprise computer sales grew 43.8 percent during the third quarter of this year, compared to overall enterprise PC growth of 4.8 percent. And it’s been happening for a few quarters in a row. In a note to investors, Wolf wrote:

“What we initially viewed as a one-quarter blip in the business market has emerged as a durable pattern.”

Credit: Needham & Co.

The growth, as the chart shows, isn’t coming in just one area, but is spread throughout the wider enterprise market for computers. Apple saw decent gains in every sector, with the exception of government purchases, but saw significant growth particularly in “very large” and “large” businesses.

Macs are no longer much of a rarity in the workplace. For many years, there were valid reasons Macs were used mainly in the publishing and creative spaces, since software compatibility made it hard to use them elsewhere. But as consumer adoption of Macs has increased steadily in the past few years, many employees are either asking their employers in all industries to buy them the same Macs they’re using at home, or they’re just bringing in their MacBook from home to the office. And increasingly, IT departments are letting them.

Last month, analyst firm Forrester made waves by changing course and strongly recommending businesses let their employees use computers running Mac OS X, because they have “gained a reputation for reliability and low maintenance,” according to Forrester. The report found 22 percent of enterprise businesses foresee the use of Macs owned by employees “increasing significantly.”

Be sure to grab a ticket to our Net:Work conference on December 8 in San Francisco to learn more about the changing face of IT and the ongoing consumerization of workplace tech.

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OS X Lion May Have Stalled, Stuck As Third Most Popular Mac OS [Report]

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Photo by Elsie esq. - http://flic.kr/p/a6fAmb

Just how popular is OS X Lion 10.7, compared to is predecessors? “Lion’s adoption has been less than stellar,” says one online ad firm. Yet the figures don’t seem to jive with other Internet surveys, as well as Apple. Who’s right? As often is the case, it depends on who you ask.

Although Apple used Lion to migrate many iOS behaviors and features to the Mac, just 16 percent of users have adopted the desktop software, according to ad service Chitika. Introduced in July, the OS is the third-most-popular version of the Mac software, behind 10.6 Snow Leopard (56%) and 10.5 Leopard’s 22 percent.

Adoption of 10.7 has slowed during September and October to a fourth that of August, the company claims. This appears to run counter of Apple statements that Lion sold 6 million copies in early October, almost twice that of 10.6 when it was released in 2009.

For many users, the one major difference Apple took with 10.7 is the delivery method. Instead of selling physical installation DVDs, the Cupertino, Calif. offered Lion as an iTunes download. Like Snow Leopard, Lion was also not compatible with older Power PC-based Macs.

Another metrix firm, Net Applications, disputes the Chitika figures. According to the California firm, Lion has 26.4 percent of Macs, making it the second-most-popular OS, as of October. Snow Leopard is still No. 1, but with a lower 52.1 percent, while Leopard ranks No. 3 with 16.5 percent of the market.

However, like Chitika, Net Applications also notes a slowdown in adoption. Although the firm reported an 11.5 percent adoption rate increase in August, the number was nearly cut in half by September, growing just 4.5 percent. By October, adoption rose by only 4.5 percent, Net Applications claims.

The different ranking could be attributed to Net Applications’ methodology, which puts more emphasis on Internet users in China than U.S. online Mac owners. Because there are more Internet users based in China, one Chinese Internet user could statistically overshadow one U.S. user.

How do you feel? Have you upgraded to Lion? Let us know in the comments.

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Apple Fixes Mid-2010 MacBook Pro Freezing With Video Update

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Apple has issued a video update for its 15-inch MacBook Pro that addresses a freezing issue users some users may be suffering with the mid-2010 model. The update also fixes a bug that presented users with a blank screen when they attempted to watch a video on their machine.

This is the Snow Leopard version of the update Apple released three weeks ago for OS X Lion users. It weighs in at 51.45MB and can be downloaded via Software Update, or from Apple’s website. You’ll need Mac OS X 10.6.8 to install it.

This update addresses an issue where MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2010) computers may intermittently freeze or stop displaying video.

In a support document accompanying the fix, Apple explains the issues affecting some users in more detail:

Apple has determined that a small number of MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010) computers may intermittently freeze or stop displaying video on the built-in display or on an external display connected to the MacBook Pro. In this situation, you may also see a restart warning message before the video is lost or the display turns black or gray. Affected computers were manufactured between April 2010 and February 2011.

Has Apple’s update fixed these issues for you?

[via MacRumors]

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How To Match And Upgrade Your Low Bitrate Songs To Lossless Quality With iTunes Match [Video How-To]

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Apple’s new music service, iTunes Match, launched today as a beta, and it includes the handy ability to upgrade your low quality audio tracks to lossless audio tracks and then mirror them in the cloud. In this video, I’ll show how to set up iTunes match and upgrade your songs. It just couldn’t be easier.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNTbCIPsGnc

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Wonderful, Twitter-Like Sparrow E-Mail App Coming To The iPhone

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This is one iOS app I am particularly excited about. I’m a huge fan of the Sparrow email client for Mac OS X, and ever since rumors started circulating that claimed the app is coming to iOS, I’ve been itching to get my hands on it. According to the application’s developer, Dominique Leca, Sparrow will land on the iPhone in the coming months.

In an interview with Business Insider, Leca said that the company is hard at work on Sparrow for iPhone, but it wants to ensure that the app is ready for primetime before it hits the App Store. Basically, it doesn’t want to do a Google and release a horrible app that it has to pull two hours after its debut.

Leca said that their focus for Sparrow on iPhone is efficiency:

“We want our user to spend less time on mail. Our goal is to provide an efficient and playful experience,” Leca told [Business Insider]. “But we need to see if the UI we’ve come up with makes as much sense on the iPhone as we thought when we designed it. Our focus is efficiency.”

The Business Insider report claims the iPhone app will be ready “within the coming few months,” so I’m hoping to see it in the App Store before Christmas. As a teaser, Leca provided Business Insider with the image at the top, which is Sparrow running on the iPhone.

I was skeptical about Sparrow for iPhone when I first heard the rumors. I had no doubt it would be a wonderful app — just like its Mac counterpart — but I was concerned it wouldn’t make it past Apple’s App Store approval process. However, the introduction of an official Gmail app for the iPhone suggests the Cupertino company is now happy to accept third-party email clients.

If you haven’t already experienced Sparrow, there’s a free version for the Mac available in the Mac App Store — go check it out!

[via AppAdvice]

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MacTech declares Parallels 7 the Virtualization performance champ on the Mac

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Windows/Linux Virtualization on the Mac is mostly a 3 player game these days. You have the open source/free VirtualBox that was purchased by Oracle as part of its Sun acquisition two years ago. It is a basic emulator which works as a get what you pay for kind of basic functionality solution. Oracle isn’t big on free Open Source products so don’t expect it to get a lot better any time soon.

That leaves the two big players, Parallels and VMware Fusion. Both companies recently released updates to their software and both can now virtualize another instance of Mac OS X (great for developers who need to test their apps on older software or users who need applications that require Rosetta for instance). MacTech did a comprehensive set of Benchmarks and came away with a clear speed winner.

In almost every test, the $79 Parallels 7 beat the $49 VMware Fusion in speed (as you can see from the graphic above).

In the vast majority of overall our tests, Parallels Desktop 7 won. Again, if you count up the general tests (including the top 3D graphics scores), Parallels won 60% of the tests by 10% or more. And, if you include all the tests where Parallels was at least 5% faster, as well as the balance of the 3DMark06 graphics tests, Parallels increased the lead further. In other words, Parallels Desktop 7 beat VMware Fusion 4.0.2 in 74.9% of the general tests we ran, and Parallels was double the speed or more in almost a quarter of the top-level tests.

VMware obviously has a larger install base in the Enterprise with a longer history of virtualization on the PC. However with benchmarks leaning heavily toward Parallels, some Mac-focused businesses may start to tip toward Parallels.

We’ll have an in-depth look at Parallels 7 coming up as well as a contest where we’ll be handing out a few interesting prizes including a MacBook Air. Stay Tuned!

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