Apple increasing song preview length in iTunes

Apple is believed to be increasing the music preview time of iTunes music from 30 seconds to 90 seconds in an upcoming update to the iTunes store, according to a letter seen by the website Apple Insider.

Currently, this letter only makes mention of United States music downloads, although it is expected that most other countries will follow suit, as it is likely that all music will have to adhere to the new agreement. Music companies have to agree to the letter to confirm that they have accepted the terms, although it is understood that most of the larger labels already knew that this change was in motion.

As has long been rumored, the letter directed to music labels states that Apple is indeed increasing the length of music previews to 90 seconds. If the song in question is shorter than two and a half minutes in length, the preview will remain at 30 seconds.

There are currently no details as to when this increase will take place, but on the assumption that Apple has been speaking to music companies for some, it's likely not too far away.

In other iTunes related news, Steve Jobs has also said that iTunes LP and iTunes Extras will be making their way to the new version of Apple TV. Strangely, this was removed when the new hardware came out last month, and users were unsure if it would ever return. As usual, when a user asked Steve Jobs directly by e-mail, they received a short reply of "Coming."

Apple is expected to launch iTunes 10.1 in the next week or so alongside the next revision of iOS.

Messenger for Mac 8 out of Beta

Messenger for Mac 8 came out of beta! It will be available (soon) as part of the Office for Mac 2011 suite, and is also available as a free standalone download.

Messenger for Mac 8 is free and provides real-time collaboration between Mac users and their Messenger friends. You can use instant messaging, audio, and video calls to communicate with your Messenger contacts by signing in with your Windows Live ID.

Games, winks or the new social views available in the Windows version of Messenger 2011, won’t be available for the Mac.

More information available here.

New MacBook Air ships without Adobe Flash

In a slight surprise to some users, although not to too many in the tech world, Apple taking is their mission of adding iPad features into the Macbook Air to the extreme by shipping it without Adobe Flash support pre-installed. This is unlike previous releases of both Mac hardware and the OS X software that had a tendency to come with Adobe Flash already installed as a plug-in for Safari. Apple has, in many peoples eyes, seen it fit to increase its war with the company by doing this.

I went into the Apple store myself today to try out the new MacBook Air and can confirm that Adobe flash wasn't installed, but a helpful staff member went ahead and installed it for me straight away when I asked about it and played dumb. Nothing else has changed, though. You can still happily install the software yourself if you desire, but Apple has clearly decided to try and move away from the pre-installed route, probably to try and see if users will even bother installing it themselves.

It is currently unknown whether Apple will continue this trend when they release other new hardware (other than the obvious lack on the iPad and iPhone) and if it will also no longer ship Flash with OS X 10.7 Lion in its summer release next year.

Mac App Store will reject Java apps, other rules leaked

An Apple employee has leaked the new rules for app consideration in the OS X App Store, and a certain popular software platform is about to feel very left out. According to PC Pro, the document clearly states that apps using “deprecated or optionally-installed technologies” will be rejected from the App Store. Java is an optionally installed technology, so it looks like Java programmers are out of luck when it comes to OS X software design. New apps aren’t going to be the only victims of this edict either. Apple is no longer supporting future versions of Java in the newest upgrade to OS X – Lion – and will ship with a deprecated version of the runtime.

While rejecting any Java code is a pretty big deal, it seems that the general requirements for apps have also gotten even stricter. Conditions that will necessitate a rejection include apps that “exhibit bugs", “have hidden features", “use non-public APIs," and any app listed as a beta, demo or trial. In one of the more interesting rejection criterions, Apple is forbidding any metadata that “mentions the name of any other computer platform.” Paranoid, are we?

It isn’t all bad news. It also seems like Apple is getting its head back on its turtlenecked shoulders when it comes to political satire in apps. According to the document, "Professional political satirists and humorists are exempt from the ban on offensive or mean-spirited commentary."

The App Store is shaping up to be exactly what Apple CEO Steve Jobs said it was going to be: one more way to bridge the gap between iOS, Apple’s mobile OS, and OS X. These guidelines are all for the actual App Store. No word on whether or not these rules will apply to software installed from external software, but I imagine things will start getting pretty difficult for third-party developers once they realize that Java will no longer be supported in OS X.

Apple unveils new 11.6" and 13.3" MacBook Air

Apple made waves when it unveiled its original MacBook Air.  The device was thin, light, and was the ultimate portable computer.  On Wednesday, Apple has finally refreshed the MacBook Air.

The 13.3-inch device will have an 'instant on' OS, SSD storage, 13.3 LED backlit display, 1440x900 display, Core 2 Duo CPU, Nvidia GForce 320M, full size keyboard, multi-touch trackpad, FaceTime camera, weighs 2.9 lbs, 802.11n, 7hr battery life while surfing the web or standby time of 30 days.  This model will price in at $1299 and $1599 with a 1.86 GHz CPU and 64 or 128 GB of storage respectively.

Apple also released the rumored 11.6in MacBook Air also and it sports an 'instant on' OS, Core 2 Duo CPU, Nvidia GForce 320M, full size keyboard, FaceTime camera, 1366x768 display, multi-touch trackpad, 5hr battery life while surfing the web and 30 days of standby time.  This model will come in at two price points $999 and $1199 with a 1.4 Ghz CPU and 64 or 128 GB storage respectively.

Both machines will be on sale starting today.

Mac OS X Lion announced, coming Summer '11

Apple announced today at their "Back to the Mac" event, that they are releasing a new Mac OS X, called "Lion".

Apple wanted to bring some innovations found in the iPhone and iPad, and bring them back to the Mac. One of of the new features is multi-touch, so Apple is bringing multi-touch to Mac OS X Lion. Apple has tried long to bring multi-touch to the Mac through trackpads and mouse.

The App Store will also be making an appearance on Mac OS X Lion. With downloadable apps, like Angry birds, you'll be able to play games, browse apps, read books and many more. The Mac App Store will be separate from the iPhone, iPod and iPad store, but will be used just like it.

The store will feature free and paid apps, with the same agreement for developers (70/30). The Mac App Store will feature an update feature, checking to see if any of your apps are out of date, with automatic updating.

Lion will also include home screens, just like the iPhone and iPad. Having a few different desktops with icons across your home screen, so you can access your apps. The App Store will feature top paid, top free and many other categories like the mobile App Store has.

The Mac App Store also contains rating, comments and photos so you can see exactly what you're about to buy. Launch Pad in Lion will bring a quick and easy way to launch your apps onto your desktop, without cluttering your view up. You can also create folders, just like on iOS 4.0.

Lion will bring full screen apps to the desktop, just like in iPhoto, so you can focus on what you're reading or playing. With full screen mode, you want to find your apps and screens easier, well Lion is bringing a new feature called "Mission Control", where you can view all your opened screens with a single click, making it easier to open or browse through screens.

Apple plans on releasing Lion this summer. The Mac App Store will work on Snow Leopard, and will open in 90 days from today. Developers can submit applications next month.

Apple announces iLife 11, available today for $49

Today during Apple's live streaming event, they announced the brand new iLife 11, with improved features from last year.

iPhoto 11

The new iPhoto 11 gives you an easy to use layout for all of your photos, with face tagging and detection, geolocation tagging, and easy to make slideshows. The tagging feature can be manually added or automated to quickly sort your photos by faces.

The easy to use slideshow feature comes with a number of themes, including holiday inspired themes and location maps with moving backgrounds. The 3D look and feel of your movies transforms your photos bringing them to life. iPhoto can also include music soundtracks to your slideshows or movies, giving your slideshows that extra touch.

iPhoto 11 also includes an organizer, which can group your photos together in an easy to browse through view. The stylish and customizable background. The full screen mode lets you just view your photos, letting you focus on viewing and editing your photos.

iPhoto 11 also groups together all your projects, displaying them in a bookshelf theme, so you can easily recall your projects without having to search for them.

iMovie 11

iMovie 11 comes with iLife 11, with new audio editing, one step effects and many more new features. The new colour audio feature lets you see and adjust your volume, correcting your loud and quiet sections of your videos. iMovie 11 has improved audio effects to fade in audio, or change the volume of selected segments, raising or lowering the volume.

Some new audio effects including voice altering, which lets you change the voice of clips or segments, changing the voice of someone with pre-set voices.

iMovie 11 not only has audio enhancements, but video effects too. Movie trailers is a new feature that turns your videos into a movie trailer, with a pre-set list of themes. With some quick editing to your titles and credits, you can transform your videos into professional looking videos.

iMovie movie trailers has scene templates, where you select action shows, group shots or anything iMovie 11 is asking for, adding in photos or videos of your friends and vacation trips. iMovie 11 also comes with original audio scores to include with your trailers.

Garage Band 11

Flex time, groove matching, more guitar amps and effects, new piano and guitar lessons (how do I play?)

Garage Band 11 is really what you would want and need if you're starting up a band and trying to record professional sounding music. With the new features, including groove matching, lets you filter our specific instruments, seeing what members of your band is out of sync. Groove Matching takes your out of sync music, and adjusting the tune and rhythm of your song and syncing them, giving you a better sounding track.

Flex Time makes editing your instruments much easier. With a couple of clicks, you can shorten or lengthen your notes, to give your music that professional edge and sound.

Garage Band 11 comes with piano and guitar lessons, if you're looking to learn how to play. With video and on screen step-by-step strings, you can see how to play a song on the piano or guitar. While you're learning, you Garage Band 11 records how you're playing, matching it up with the original to see where you made mistakes by highlighting the song with either yellow if you're going too slow, or red if you miss a note.

The progress meter lets you track how well you're doing over time. These features requires you to have a USB keyboard or guitar.

iLife 11 is free with every new Mac and if you're looking to upgrade your Mac, iLife 11 is only $49 and available today.

Apple announces FaceTime for the Mac, beta today

Apple said on Wednesday that it plans to release a FaceTime application for Mac.

Steve Jobs, Apple Chief Executive Officer, took to the stage to demonstrate FaceTime calling between iPhone 4 and Mac. FaceTime on Mac will support landscape mode by simply switching the picture to that mode easily. Jobs confirmed that a beta release of FaceTime for Mac will be available today.

Update: Apple has now released the beta download.

Windows Live Mesh for Mac Updated

Microsoft has posted another update to Windows Live Mesh for the Mac.  This new version was uploaded yesterday and updates Mesh for the Mac to version 15.4.5722.2

Windows Live Mesh for Mac brings Live Mesh and the previous version of Windows Live Sync together into one product. With Windows Live Mesh for Mac, you can keep the folders you choose in sync across your computers (Mac and PC) so the files you need are always right there with you.

• Supported Operating Systems:Apple Mac OS X;Apple Mac OS X v. 10.5 Leopard

• Supported Operating System Versions: Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard, Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard
• Supported Processor Architectures: Intel-based Mac computers only

Please note that Windows Live Mesh for Mac will not run on a PowerPC-based Mac computer or a Mac computer with Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger or earlier. To verify that your computer meets these minimum requirements, choose the About This Mac menu item in the Apple menu.

Download Windows Live Mesh for Mac from the Microsoft Download Center

Apple removes BitTorrent apps from the App Store

The “IS Drive”, also known as, ImageShack Drive, allows users to download BitTorrent files to their accounts. The application doesn't actually contain or break any piracy laws, but Apple states that the program could be used for illegal purposes, and have since removed the application from their store.

The $5 application uses ImageShack's torrent services, which requires users to pay a subscription fee, and as Derek says, “Users who are interested in piracy aren't going to pay those subscription fees.” He went on to say that many users legitimately use ImageShack's IS drive for legal purposes, and Apple is punishing not only the author, but many users because others may use it for illegal purposes.

This isn't the first time Apple has removed BitTorrent applications and definitely isn't the first time Apple has accidentally approved an application onto the App Store without fully checking the source code. Many users have slipped passed applications that use non-public API's and have hidden features within them that allow you to do miscellaneous things with them.

Windows Live Mesh for Mac Final Released

Windows Live Mesh for Mac brings Live Mesh and the previous version of Windows Live Sync together into one product. With Windows Live Mesh for Mac, you can keep the folders you choose in sync across your computers (Mac and PC) so the files you need are always right there with you.

• Supported Operating Systems:Apple Mac OS X;Apple Mac OS X v. 10.5 Leopard
• Supported Operating System Versions: Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard, Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard
• Supported Processor Architectures: Intel-based Mac computers only

Please note that Windows Live Mesh for Mac will not run on a PowerPC-based Mac computer or a Mac computer with Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger or earlier. To verify that your computer meets these minimum requirements, choose the About This Mac menu item in the Apple menu.

Download Windows Live Mesh for Mac from the Microsoft Download Center

Apple Cuts a Record $440.00 Off 20-Inch iMac Refurb

By far the biggest saving opportunity we’ve ever seen on Apple’s online store, the 20-inch iMac equipped with a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor now costs just $759.00, which saves its lucky buyer a substantial $440.00. That’s 36% off the computer’s original price. The system ships with Mac OS X Snow Leopard pre-installed.

The 2.66GHz, 20-inch aluminum iMac is Apple’s first revision to the all-in-one desktop Mac, but still a system that makes sense for a lot of tasks today.

It comes with just 2GB of memory, but also has a 320 GB hard drive spinning at 7200 rpm, and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory.

These specs are still capable of handling the workload of graphically intensive applications.

It has the slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with 4x double-layer burning (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW), built-in iSight camera, four USB ports as well as Ethernet, FireWire and Mini DisplayPort output with support for DVI, dual-link DVI, and VGA video connections via adapter.

Unlike the Mac mini or the Mac Pro, this computer ships with its own Apple Keyboard and Mouse in the box.

On the wireless side, Apple’s 20-inch iMac does it all - built-in AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (802.11n), built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), and built-in IR receiver.

Audio-wise, this cheap iMac has built-in stereo speakers with 24-watt digital amplifier, a built-in microphone, optical digital audio output/headphone out, and optical digital audio input/audio line in.

To round up the list of features, the machine’s physical dimensions are:
Height: 18.5 inches (46.9 cm)
Width: 19.1 inches (48.5 cm)
Depth: 7.4 inches (18.9 cm)
Weight: 20 pounds (9.1 kg)
Visit Apple here to benefit form this offer while it lasts.

About Apple refurbished products
Apple Certified Refurbished Products are pre-owned products that undergo Apple's stringent refurbishment process, prior to being offered for sale. They are returned under Apple's Return and Refund Policies.

While only some units are brought back because of technical issues, all of them undergo the company's rigorous quality-refurbishment process.

Service and support include 90 days of telephone support and a one-year warranty. You have the option of purchasing an AppleCare Protection Plan for your refurb, while shipping is free in the US.

Office for Mac 2011 hits RTM

We are celebrating the “Release to Manufacturing” of Office for Mac 2011. This means we’ve signed off on final testing and the product is officially getting sent on its way to production and to customers. We’ll be cranking the Microsoft ship siren and celebrating in all of our team locations (Redmond, Microsoft Silicon Valley, Beijing, Dublin and Tokyo), raising a glass to Office 2011!

As you can likely guess, I’m pretty glad to be posting this news. We started two and a half years ago with some big goals to deliver major improvements customers have requested as well as new stuff we were dreaming up, and to release faster than we had before. We also made a big commitment to invest heavily in “the basics” – fundamentals of software quality including design polish and finish, consistency and usability, and particularly performance and responsiveness, and to re-engineer our internal development processes around those goals. And we’re releasing the bits on the exact day we planned.

We love building this software, creating tools we hope you can use to make every day a little easier and get your work done fast and well. But our favorite part is shipping and getting it into your hands. The feedback from our usability and beta tests has been great so far, but the real test is when you take the software for a spin and see how well it works for you – we truly hope you do, and we can’t wait to hear what you think.

Continue at Source

Windows Live Sync Beta for Mac

Last week Microsoft released a beta of the new Windows Live Sync for Mac users and it is now available at the Microsoft Download Center.

Windows live Sync is the replacement for Windows Live Mesh and so you might be wondering what Windows Live Sync is and what can it do for you.

According to the Windows Live Sync beta help center:

In Windows Live Sync beta, you can:

• Keep your documents, photos, and other files up to date on all your computers, whether PC or Mac* – Select the folders you want to sync between computers. After they sync, your files are available on your computers even if you’re working offline at the moment. You can also sync folders on SkyDrive synced storage, so you can go to the Windows Live Devices website to access them on the web from any computer. To get started, see How do I sync a folder?

  * Windows Live Sync for Mac is available in English only.

• Connect to your computers remotely – Leave your PC online and run its programs or get to all its files from another computer. This is handy for "emergencies" when you might be at work and need a file from home. For more information about remote connections, see What are remote connections?

• Sync your program settings between computers – Keep your Windows Internet Explorer favorites and Microsoft Office settings up to date on all your PCs. For more information and to get started, see How do I sync program settings between computers?

 

Download Windows Live Sync Beta for Mac

Apple releases Snow Leopard Graphics Update for Mac OS X 10.6

Apple on Tuesday released Snow Leopard Graphics Update, a patch for Mac OS X 10.6 that is said to improve performance and reliability of popular titles like StarCraft II and Portal.
The 69.2MB update was released by Apple Tuesday afternoon. It is available from the company's support site, or via Software Update. It requires Mac OS X 10.6.4.
According to Apple, the software update contains performance and stability fixes for graphics applications, including fixes that:

• address frame rate issues occurring in Portal and Team Fortress 2 on certain Macs
• resolve an issue that could cause aperture 3 or StarCraft II to unexpectedly quit or become unresponsive.

The update addresses framerate issues on the titles Portal and Team Fortress 2 for the late 2009 and mid 2010 iMac and Mac mini; early 2009 Mac Pro; early 2009 and mid 2010 MacBook; and mid-2010 MacBook Pro 15- and 17-inch models.
The update also resolves an image corruption issue that may occur when disconnecting and reconnecting external displays while the system is running.
Valve, the maker of Portal, Team Fortress 2 and the Steam gaming client for Mac, said in June that it was working with Apple to improve the performance of games running in Mac OS X. The company said that improved drivers from Apple would have the greatest impact on performance.
"We are making a lot of progress identifying specific issues that need work inside the game and inside OpenGL and drivers," Rob Barris of Valve said at the time. "Apple, ATI and Nvidia are all involved."

Microsoft to launch Office 2011 for Mac in October

Microsoft is launching Office for Mac 2011 in October in three flavors, company officials said on August 2.

“For better alignment across platforms, the Office 2011 pricing and edition options map closer with Windows Office,” according to Microsoft’s press release.

The three SKUs, or versions — Office for Mac Home & Student 2011, Office for Mac Home & Business 2011 and Office for Mac Academic 2011 — will be available at retail starting in late October. (The Academic version, for students and faculty, will be available via authorized academic stores.)

(click on chart to enlarge)

The Home and Student version includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Messenger and will retail starting at $119 (U.S. estimated retail price, single install only). A Family Pack version, with three installs, will be available for $149. The Home and Business 2011 version includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Messenger and Outlook. A single install version will go for $199 and a Multi-Pack with two installs allowed for $279. The Mac Academic 2011 product (single install only) includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Messenger and will retail for $99.

Office 2011 will be available in 13 languages, including Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. It will be available “in several regions” starting in October, with availability expanded through the rest of the year.

Microsoft also is launching a free upgrade program for users who buy Office 2008 for Mac between August 1, 2010, and November 30, 2010. Those purchasing between those dates from Microsoft or an authorized authorized reseller can register for the program online at http://www.microsoft.com/mac/techg.

Microsoft officials announced in August 2009 that the company was working on a new version of its productivity suite for the Mac. The new suite will include Outlook in place of the current Entourage mail client, support for Microsoft’s information rights management (IRM) content protection, and support for Visual Basic. The suite will be 32-bit only and use a version of the Microsoft Ribbon interface.

Apple forced to sell Mac Minis for £400

Apple has been forced to honour orders for thousands of Mac Minis after a pricing cock-up on the Apple Store's Taiwanese web site, according to reports.

The mini computer, which is already Apple's cheapest Mac at a squeak under £650 in the UK, was briefly offered to Taiwanese punters who qualified for educational discounts at a rather attractive £400.

A number of tech web sites have done some rather over-enthusistic calculations and come up with a figure of 42 per cent of the original price, but that would mean the Mac Mini would need to be on sale for £950. In fact, at 25,900 Taiwan dollars the price translates to about £520, which is probably not that far off the educational discount (£120) you could expect from Apple. After all, if you catch 'em young you'll have 'em hooked for life.

Apple iMac and Mac Pro lines updated

Here are some more detailed specs as provided by Apple:

The new quad-core Mac Pro, with a suggested retail price of US$2,499, includes:

• one 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon W3530 processor with 8MB of fully-shared L3 cache
• 3GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory, expandable up to 16GB
• ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
• two Mini DisplayPorts and one DVI (dual-link) port (adapters sold separately)
• 1TB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm
• 18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW)
• four PCI Express 2.0 slots
• five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire 800 ports
• AirPort Extreme 802.11n
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• Apple Keyboard with numerical keypad and Magic Mouse

The new 8-core Mac Pro, with a suggested retail price of $3,499, includes:

• two 2.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5620 processors with 12MB of fully-shared L3 cache per processor
• 6GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory, expandable up to 32GB
• ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
• two Mini DisplayPorts and one DVI (dual-link) port (adapters sold separately)
• 1TB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm
• 18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW)
• four PCI Express 2.0 slots
• five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire 800 ports
• AirPort Extreme 802.11n
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• Apple Keyboard with numerical keypad and Magic Mouse

This machine is not for the light user. As always, configuring this beast to the fullest will run you well into the multiple thousands of dollars, and provides functionality and power that the average user wouldn’t be able to tap. According to MacDailyNews, “Apple's 12-core Mac Pro. For when you absolutely, positively have to render Toy Story 3 before lunch. In 3D.” The new Mac Pro will be available in August 2010.

In an upgrade more suited the base consumer market, the popular iMac line has also been updated. The processors have been upgraded to dual core Intel Core i3 and i5, and quad-core i5 and i7. There is now an option to include a 256GBSSD , and the graphics are powered by an ATI Radeon HD 5750. The display is now available in 27” widescreen, at 2560x1440 native resolution as well as LED backlighting.

Here are pricing and configuration options from Apple:

The new 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,199 (US), includes:

• 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display;
• 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache;
• 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
• ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics with 256MB GDDR3 SDRAM;
• 500GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• slot-load 8x SuperDrive® with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for audio and video output (adapters sold separately);
• AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• iSight® video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet;
• four USB 2.0 ports;
• one SDXC SD card slot;
• one FireWire® 800 port;
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

The new 27-inch 3.2 GHz Intel Core i3 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,699 (US), includes:

• 27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display;
• 3.20 GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache;
• 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
• ATI Radeon HD 5670 discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3;
• 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for audio and video input and output (adapters sold separately);
• AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• iSight video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet;
• four USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire 800 port;
• one SDXC SD card slot;
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

Apple unveils new Magic Trackpad

Apple unveiled its new Magic Trackpad on Tuesday.

The new Trackpad is the first Multi-Touch trackpad designed for Macs. It uses the same Multi-Touch technology as the MacBook Pro. The pad supports a full set of gestures and can sit flush next to a Mac keyboard.

The pad supports click, scroll, swipe and rotate gestures and can be used as a replacement mouse. Priced at $69, the trackpad is available immediately.

Office for Mac 2011 will have conversation view in Outlook

Microsoft has already said Office for Mac 2011, set for release by the holidays, will do away with Entourage and bring in Outlook. On Wednesday, Microsoft said Outlook for Mac will also include conversation view.

Conversation view was popularized by Gmail, Google's Web-based e-mail service. Companies like Microsoft and Apple have since been incorporating the idea -- in which e-mail strings are grouped together -- into their software.

Under the hood, Outlook for Mac will sport a new database that's searchable via the Spotlight search function on Mac computers. Office for Mac 2011 also will come with a new document template gallery.

Microsoft also is aligning Office for Mac with Office for Windows by incorporating the "ribbon" user interface first introduced with Office 2007 (for Windows). "We didn't just port in the PC version and squeeze it in," Eric Wilfred, general manager of Microsoft's Mac Business Unit, said in February. "We built our ribbon from the ground up."