According to 9to5Mac, OS X 10.9 will cater towards more power users, but will still keep features that also cater towards everyday users. However, it’s said that OS X 10.9 won’t be a complete overhaul like OS X Leopard or OS X Lion was, but we can still expect some new features in the upcoming OS that will see the the platform taking baby steps to closing the gap with iOS.

Furthermore, both Finder and Safari will be getting some updates that will cater towards those power users, including tabbed browsing in Finder, as well as a redesigned backend in Safari for improved page loading and overall efficiency of the browser, which should put the web browser in the running up there with Chrome and Firefox.

Of course, there are plenty of third-party utilities that offer these kinds of features, including tabbed browsing in Finder (and much, much more), but it would be nice if OS X came with these features by default. Finder has always been a stubborn file browser, and it seems third-party apps are the only way to truly experience a great file browser. Internally, OS X 10.9 is said to be codenamed “Cabernet,” but we’re guessing that won’t be the final name for the OS, as Apple has always been naming OS X after various wild cat names.

[via 9to5Mac]

Netflix talks about the reality of video plugins, making specific mentions of browsers that don’t support them (Internet Explorer in Metro Mode, for example), as well as the security risk using plugins can pose. Moving to HTML5 from Silverlight will take care of these two issues, and will open up the ability to watch instant video via the service on a wider range of devices and browsers.

For now, Netflix is waiting to make the switch on what it calls three “premium video extensions”: Media Source Extensions, Encrypted Media Extensions, and Web Cryptography API. The company says it is working with industry leaders, and that these initiatives will be the solution to current issues with delivering video in the absense of a plugin like Silverlight.

The first iteration of this has been pushed out for the Samsung ARM-based Chromebook, which takes advantage of the Media Source Extensions and Encrypted Media Extensions in Chrome browser to deliver Silverlight-free video content. According to Netflix, Web Cryptography API isn’t in use on the Chromebook yet, instead being replaced with Netflix’s own Pepper Plugin API. The PPAPI plugin will be swapped out with WebCrypto when it is available via Chrome, at which point HTML5 video testing will start for OS X and Windows.

[via Netflix]

The launch of SimCity for Mac will come a bit later than EA hoped for. Originally, the game was set for a “spring 2013″ launch, but June 11 is technically during the summer. Either way, Mac users will finally be able to build the city of their dreams starting in just a couple of months. They shouldn’t have any problems either, since EA has finished upgrading their servers.

The game got off to a miserable start, with the midnight release not going as planned. Gamers who pre-ordered weren’t able to download their digital copy of the game, and even if gamers were able to download and install it, they were met with a bevy of server errors that deemed the game unplayable at first.

It became so bad that Amazon had to suspend sales of the game, and Electronic Arts told affiliates to “stop actively promoting” the game until the issues have been fixed. Of course, the game publisher tried to make things right with gamers, by offering them a free game for their troubles, but we’re not sure if that did the trick, since EA was recently voted the “worst company in America.”

According to 9to5Mac, a developer testing out the beta operating system spotted the code in OS X 10.8.4, specifically in the WiFi-frameworks folder deep within the file system. The code clearly reads “802.11ac” and it’s a line of code that is not found in OS X 10.8.3, which is the latest version of OS X that’s currently available to the public.

If you’re not too familiar with 802.11ac wireless, it’s essentially the successor to 802.11n, which is the latest and fastest network protocol to be certified. We’ve seen a few routers with 802.11ac on board, but it has yet to be certified, so we probably won’t be seeing a crop of 802.11ac products pop up just yet.

However, we’ll definitely see 802.11ac sprout up more and more in the near future, but we certainly wouldn’t be surprised if Apple waited a bit to implement it into their Macs. Sure, it may be in the code itself, but it’s possible that Apple won’t enable it in the next batch of MacBooks right away. However, we’ve heard in the past that Apple is partnering up with Broadcom to bring the new protocol to Macs this year.

[via 9to5Mac]

The trojan is detected as “Trojan.Yontoo.1” and it was discovered by Russian security firm Doctor Web. Of course, you have to an install a plugin or other piece of software in order for the trojan to activate, but hackers are making it easy for unsuspecting users to take the bait. They’re prompting users to install a plugin before they can watch a mobile trailer, for example.

Of course, we’ve all come across this scenario before, where we don’t have a certain plugin installed in order to view something, so we’re forced to download and install it before continuing. However, it looks like criminals are taking advantage of that tradition by implementing the same kind of system in order to get users to install the trojan.

It’s said that a Windows version of the trojan also exists, but it doesn’t affect Windows 8 users currently. Cross-platform malware isn’t rare most of the time, but this particular one uses its own code to target each specific operating system, as opposed to targeting a universal piece of software like Java, which we’ve heard plenty about recently.

[via The Next Web]

Along with support for Windows 8, Boot Camp also added support for Macs with 3TB hard drives, a feature that is long overdue considering the storage needs of a lot of users. The 10.8.3 update also comes with several bugfixes including patches for Logic Pro and a fix for a bug that sometimes made audio stutter on some iMacs.

Overall, OS X 10.8.3 spent three-and-a-half months in beta, with 13 different beta version being released over that timeframe. That’s a long time for such a small OS update, but this isn’t anything new from Apple. They’ve been known to release several beta versions of updates before seeding it out to the public.

Hopefully todays update doesn’t cause any problems. In the past, several different OS X updates have wreaked havoc on particular Mac machines, so if you’re weary about updating this time around, then it won’t hurt to wait it off for a few weeks to find out if it’s causing any problems. Otherwise, the update should be ready for you, either in Software Update, or through the Mac App Store.

The MYO is a one-size-fits-all armband that is turned on and off via a hand gesture said to be unique enough to avoid accidental activation. Once on, users can control their computer or mobile device by a combination of gestures and arm movements, with the band being able to detect both. MYO reports that the device can detect subtle movements, as well as keeping track of where the user’s hand and arm is at for precise control.

MYO boasts that the armband is so fast, it can react to the electrical signal in the muscle a moment before the gesture is completed, making it seem as if the device is reading your mind. The device connects with your mobile and computer via Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy, and is powered by lithium-ion batteries and an ARM processor.

The gesture control armband works out of the box with Windows and OS X, and the company is currently in the process of implementing Android and iOS support. Although the device is available for pre-order, there is no specific shipment date, with MYO stating that it is working to get the armband out ASAP and expects that to happen late this year. You can grab one of your own from the company website now for $149.

[via Get MYO]

The Apple Shop has had the same name and been in the same location for the past 20 years, but after an Apple computer store opened in Norfolk in 2009, calls began to flow in to the wrong location – the juice store. According to Fisher, he’d been receiving an average of 24 calls a week since the Apple computer store moved in nearby. While most of the situation has been entertaining, he said, some callers have been rude as well.

Fisher notes The Apple Shop was opened by his brother Stephen back a couple of decades ago soon after he’d first started up the Norfolk Cider Company in 1987. As his telephone “has a Norwich prefix”, as he explains, “people unawares ring up the Apple Shop.” He’s made it clear his fair share of times with a kind “I’m very sorry, I can’t help you, but please do come along and get com proper Norfolk cider to get over your sorrows.” This comment is met with either an understanding chortle or a bit of an angry hang-up.

With too many hang-ups on the line and a bit of time lost due to too many mistaken calls each and every week, Fisher has decided to change the name of the shop. The new name of the shop will be The Norfolk Cider Shop from Easter. Fisher has made it clear that Apple has not forced him to make the change – so no worries!

[images via The Apple Shop]

With the MacBook Air you’ve got an 11.6-inch display while the Surface Pro works with a 10.6-inch display – you could also get a 13-inch MacBook Air, mind you, but here we’ll compare the display that’s nearest the Surface Pro. The display on the Surface Pro works with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution while the MacBook Air’s native resolution is 1366 x 768 pixels. It’s also worth making the distinction between these two displays in the fact that the MacBook Air does not work touch.

Windows 8 is an operating system that makes full use of the 10-finger touchscreen display on the Surface Pro while the MacBook Air is a machine that relies on its touchpad to mouse around, select items, and make gestures. The Surface Pro works with a cover that doubles as a keyboard, too. And in that point is the biggest differentiation point between these two machines – one is a tablet, the other a notebook.

While the Macbook Air is a notebook computer that made and continues to make a point of its ultra-thin nature and how it can work as a full-function notebook computer with as tiny an amount of bulk as possible. You’ll see from the images above and below as well as the hands-on video we’ve got prepared that the MacBook Pro is a significant amount thinner than the Surface Pro – or so it might seem at first.

MacBook Air (11-inch)
Thickness: 0.11-0.68 inches
Width: 11.8 inches
Height (front to back, while closed) : 7.56 inches
Weight: 2.38 pounds

Surface Pro
Thickness: 0.53 inches
Width: 10.81 inches
Height: 6.81 inches
Weight: 2 pounds

Both devices have the ability to store a massive amount of data, with the Surface Pro having two iterations, 64GB and 128GB. Those are the amount of internal storage the Surface Pro has in its two different iterations, each of them with their own cash cost – that’s also one of the only things that differentiates the different versions of the Surface Pro at this very moment. The MacBook Air comes int two different iterations (with several different modifications available therein), one of them 64GB, the other 128GB.

The power you’ll be able to work with in a MacBook Air is either an Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor. The Microsoft Surface Pro works with one configuration at the moment for processing power, that being an Intel Core i5 – and all of the processors here are 3rd gen Ivy Bridge, mind you, regardless of Apple or Microsoft surroundings.

The MacBook Pro has a lovely collection of ports and connections including:
720p “FaceTime” HD camera
2x USB 3 ports
Thunderbolt port
MagSafe 2 power port
Microphone
Headphone port
Wifi
Bluetooth
Stereo Speakers

With the Surface Pro you’ll also be connecting with ports and wirelessly like mad:
2x 720p HD “LifeCam” cameras (front and rear-facing)
USB 3 port
microSDXC card slot
power port
Microphone
Headphone port
Wifi
Bluetooth
Stereo Speakers

You’ll notice that the 11-inch MacBook Pro doesn’t have an SD card slot – the 13-inch version of this device does, but the 11-inch version does not. The Surface Pro also benefits from its form factor in that it can make use of such sensors as an Accelerometer, a Gyroscope, and a Compass. With these you’ll be about to, for example, steer a car in a racing game, while the MacBook Air is meant to stay stationary while you’re using it.

The MacBook Air also benefits from the fact that it’s a notebook computer, able to stand up on its own with its keyboard attached, while the Surface Pro works in an entirely different way for stationary standing. The Surface Pro uses a kickstand on its back that’ll keep it upright while you tap away and also has a keyboard cover that, like a notebook computer, folds up and protects the device’s display or down for everyday typing use.

The Surface Pro also works with its own pen that sticks to the side of the tablet when not in use, utilizing an active digitizer in the display to make more than just standard capacitive moves galore. The pen creates a rather unique experience for you with the Surface Pro while the MacBook Air really isn’t the same universe – the only other place you’re going to get a digital pen experience in a mobile sense like this right now is in the Samsung Galaxy Note series – have a peek at our Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review for more on that environment.

And this is only part of the story – for more information on both machines, you’ll want to check our full reviews of both devices. Have a peek at our MacBook Air (mid-2012) review as well as our Microsoft Surface Pro review for everything you could ever want to know!

Also be sure to let us know which of these two devices seem like they’d suit your needs given what you know today. Is there one that strikes your fancy more than the other?

The report follows Gartner’s assertion that mobile apps will be of a much more hybrid nature in a very big way over the next few years. This idea and Apple’s growth in the Enterprise IT environment create vision for the future where businesses work with devices based on their hardware quality rather than the operating system they run. It’s important to note here that Gartner is affirming Apple mobile devices as already accepted in a large way by enterprise IT, while Apple’s desktop hardware and software is on the rise.

David Mitchell Smith, vice president and Gartner Fellow says that “Going forward, Apple will continue to benefit from consumerization and will continue to evolve Macs to take on more iOS characteristics.” It’s because of this cross-pollination that Macs will grow in their use by businesses across the market. Smith continues, saying that because the iOS universe is being pushed to desktop feature by feature and because Apple’s mobile lineup continues to be massively popular, Mac desktop systems will inevitably continue to be accepted by enterprise as consumer demand grows.

The Gartner team also spoke on Microsoft’s mobile systems in Windows Phone and Windows 8 (and Windows RT for tablets too, we must assume). They say that enterprise acceptance of these mobile systems are due in a large way to the relationship the companies have with Microsoft rather than the features the smartphones and tablets work with. Because Microsoft has “not benefited from consumerization”, as Gartner says, Apple will continue to grow in this rather healthy way.

Consumerization here is, as Gartner says, “driven first by consumer demand, and then by the demand of those consumers to bring that technology into the workplace.” How simple is that? Sounds like a winning strategy if there ever was one to be had!

[via Gartner]

Back in November, a select number of websites were reporting that they were getting a few visitors that were running OS X 10.9, and now it seems that number has jumped quite significantly since then. AppleInsider has reported that the number of users running OS X 10.9 spiked in January, according to their traffic logs, claiming that they’ve gotten “thousands” of hits from OS X 10.9 machines.

Of course, last year Apple announced OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 during the month of February, so it’s very possible that we could officially hear about version 10.9 sometime soon, although we’re keeping the salt by our side as always. While it seems that 10.9 is really close to an unveiling, we won’t officially believe in it until we see it, of course.

However, it’s obvious that Apple will release a major update to OS X at some point in the future, and they’ve been on a yearly release schedule for the past few releases, so it could be as far ahead as this summer before we see 10.9 show up for download. The biggest question remains, however: What cat will Apple give its next major OS X update this time around?

[via AppleInsider]

Per the official website, a Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux version of the jailbreak will be available. Mac OS X must be at least version 10.5, while Windows need to be at least XP. It will be compatible with all iPad/iPad mini, iPod Touch, and iPhone models that are running iOS 6.0 to iOS 6.1. The entire jailbreaking process is said to take about 5 minutes, and the only requirement – aside from the OS – is a USB data cable.

Once the GUI is completed, the next step will be moving the jailbreaking software into a private beta, where it will be tested for issues. This is the result of the collective evad3rs, which is composed of hackers known by the handles pod2g, pimskeks, planetbeing, and musclenerd. They have a Twitter account up now under @evad3rs.

Others who have worked on the project or otherwise have had involvement includes @chronicdevteam and @iphone_dev, which are thanked on the website for providing support, @Surenix who created designs for both evasi0n and evad3rs, and @phoenixdev for providing research. Little else is known at the moment. We’ll be keeping an eye on this and will let you know when it goes live.

[via iDownload Blog]

The reason for the delay, according to Maxis, is that the Mac port isn’t a port at all, but a “full native version” specifically for OS X. This means that the team will be making sure that Mac players get the same experience as Windows players. However, one of the key differences is that the Mac version will be a digital download only.

As far as minimum spec requirements are concerned, Maxis didn’t give any concrete details on how much power is required out of your Mac, but the company says that they “are aiming to make the game as accessible as possible,” so any user with Snow Leopard and a Core 2 processor should be able to play the game without any problems.

SimCity will be a complete overhaul from past installments. Just from the nine-minute gameplay video that we saw a few months, the new game will include much more detail and better graphics this time around, making the city-building experience more realistic for the players. We definitely can’t wait to get our hands on it.

If you missed it first time around, Leap Motion’s eponymous gizmo is a tiny, $70 box that hooks up via USB and creates a four cubic foot area above itself within which individual finger movements can be tracked. That’s at an accuracy of within 1/100th of a millimeter, and the system can differentiate between fingers and, say, a stylus being held for mid-air handwriting, as well as recognize when finger movements are intended to be linked, such as for pinch-zooming.

Leap Motion walkthrough:

So why would Apple be interested in Leap Motion’s tracking technology? It’s all down to the Cupertino firm’s dual stance on touchscreens. On the iPhone and iPad, Apple hasn’t been slow to adopt touch, driving the adoption of capacitive technology, but its Mac desktop and notebook ranges have stubbornly avoided finger-friendly displays.

Apple’s argument has always been that the ergonomics of touch simply aren’t suited to a notebook or desktop form-factor. Reaching out across to a display – whether to your MacBook screen or to stab at an all-in-one – isn’t comfortable, so their argument goes, when compared with a large trackpad such as the company’s own Magic Trackpad.

It’s a strategy entirely at odds with where Microsoft has pushed Windows 8, with the new Metro-style interface of the latest OS expressly designed for touchscreen computing. ASUS’ deal with Leap Motion, however, means its future laptops and all-in-ones will also support gestural interaction, waving and grabbing at the air in front of the display so as to manipulate what’s on-screen.

That’s actually an area of research that Apple isn’t unfamiliar with: the company has previously filed patents for Kinect-like navigation, including around a 3D display, or by using infrared light bouncing off your hands above a keyboard. None of that research has actually ended up in shipping hardware, however.

OS X has borrowed an increasing number of features and usage concepts from iOS in its latest iterations; that’s only expected to increase with the launch of OS X 10.9 later this year. With iOS so finger-focused, however, the limitations of a trackpad or Magic Mouse will continue to keep the reach-out-and-tweak-it immediacy iPhone and iPad users are familiar with from the desktop experience. Leap Motion’s approach would’ve fit that paradigm perfectly, though I’d be surprised if Apple wasn’t cooking up its own approach as the gap between mobile and traditional computing narrows.

BlueStacks’ software basically works as a virtualization engine for Android titles, allowing them to be run as if native code. So far, adoption of that has primarily been from the PC side, with BlueStacks inking deals with ASUS, with Qualcomm, and with AMD.

Those agreements will see BlueStacks’ technology used to expand the number of titles available for Windows users, though potentially rebranded in the process. ASUS, for instance, calls the system ASUS@Vibe, while AMD’s version is the AMD AppZone Player.

Apple is far less likely to adopt BlueStacks with equal enthusiasm, but Mac owners keen to try out alternative titles (as well as developers looking to code for Android, Windows, and OS X users) may well make up the difference. You can download the BlueStacks AppPlayer beta for Mac here.

[via TechCrunch]

Design

Visual sleight-of-hand and some impressive manufacturing innovation have helped Apple come up with a new design for the 2012 iMac, which from certain angles leaves it looking as slender as a MacBook lid. In fact, the heavily tapered aluminum rear narrows to just 5mm at the edge, though it bows out toward the middle to accommodate everything that needs to fit inside an all-in-one computer.

That accommodation and construction uses everything Apple has learned so far from unibody notebooks, scaled up to suit a 21.5-inch or bigger desktop. So, you get carefully stacked logic boards and custom speaker enclosures, along with a single central fan that pulls cool air from a row of holes under the front edge, and pushes it back out of vents behind the tilting stand. You also get minimal upgrade potential: the 21.5-inch iMac is an entirely closed box, with nothing intended to be user-accessible, while the 27-inch iMac has a small panel by the power socket that allows access to the memory but nothing else.

Apple’s production magic is friction-stir welding, more commonly used in the aerospace industry, and repurposed for the new iMac to bond the front and rear panels together. Traditional welding the seams wasn’t possible, thanks to the slimline build, and so a technique where the panels are pressed tightly together, heated, and fused was implemented. There’s a sizable reduction in weight, too, versus the old design – the 21.5-inch iMac is down 8 pounds to 12.5 pounds, while the 27-inch version is down 9.5 pounds to 21 pounds – which is useful if you’re moving the computer around.

Face-on, meanwhile, and you’d be forgiven for not realizing that you were looking at a new iMac. The black screen bezel and slim aluminum chin look just as they did before, and it’s only when you see things from the side that the new design stands out. The obvious loss from the blunt-edged last-gen model is the optical drive, with the 2012 iMac following the trend of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with Retina and focusing on digital distribution for apps and multimedia.

On the back, as before, there are the ports clustered to the left side and the power button on the right. No matter which size iMac you choose, you get the same connectivity: a 3.5mm headphone jack, an SDXC memory card reader, four USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt ports, and a gigabit ethernet port; inside, there’s WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0. Up front, there’s a FaceTime HD camera above the display, together with a pair of digital microphones that can use beam-forming technology to isolate your voice from ambient noise.

The new iMac’s speakers deserve a little attention on their own, given that they’re nothing like as anaemic as we feared they could be given the 40-percent smaller chassis. In fact, Apple has been able to accommodate two 20W amplifiers, one driving each of the speakers, which themselves fire down from holes alongside the front-edge air intakes. Despite the unusual positioning, sounds feel like they’re coming directly from the display and quality is strong. These speakers are easily capable of being cranked up to uncomfortably loud levels, without encountering any distortion until you’re at the very top end of the scale.

Display

Finessing the iMac’s display is no small part of the redesign process for 2012, though there’s more to it than pure pixels. The LCD panels themselves are the same as in the previous-generation – either a 21.5-inch LED IPS screen running at 1920 x 1080, or a 27-inch LED IPS running at 2560 x 1440 – but the way they’ve been assembled has changed.

Called full lamination, it’s a technique where the cover glass is fused to the LCD panel rather than sandwiching them together with a gap in-between. Apple – and others – have already used it to good effect on phones and tablets, but the 2012 iMac is the first time it’s been implemented on such a large display. The upshot is a thinner panel overall, by around 5mm, and an improvement in picture quality.

Despite the LCDs themselves being the same as before, the combination of full lamination and a new anti-reflection coating process makes a real difference when you’re sat in front of the iMac. Colors are brighter and punchier, the screen is impressively bright with consistent backlighting, and viewing angles are broad, with no inversions or color mangling even when sat almost side-on to the display. Graphics appear as if they’re swimming right at the surface of the glass, rather than being slightly inset from the black bezel.

Apple quotes a 75-percent reduction in reflection, helped by the so-called plasma deposition system which coats the glass layers with more precise coatings of the same materials used to cut glare on camera lenses and fighter pilots’ helmets. It’s a tough thing to measure exactly in a real-world setting, though there’s an obvious cut in reflections (see image above where a flash from camera is minimized) when you set old and new next to each other. We spent far less time tweaking the degree of tilt of the new iMac versus the old to find a position where artificial lighting and the sun didn’t prove frustrating, and even once we’d set up both to our liking, text and graphics simply look better on the 2012 model.

Fusion Drive

Until now, the iMac has been offered with a choice of up to two different storage options: traditional hard-drives, for those who want the most capacity, and SSDs, for those who want the most speed. The 2012 iMac keeps both those options, with a 1TB HDD the default (5,400rpm on the 21.5-inch; 7,200 rpm on the 27-inch) upgradable to 3TB HDD on the 27-inch, along with a 768GB flash storage option on the 27-inch.

For 2012, however, Apple adds a third option: Fusion Drive. A hybrid of HDD and flash storage, Fusion Drive pairs 128GB of speedy solid-state memory with either 1TB or 3TB of HDD capacity, promising the best of both worlds. On the one hand, the flash storage is far faster than the typical spinning-platter drive, but Fusion Drive is also a fifth of the price of the SSD option.

We’ve seen hybrid HDD/SSD drives before, of course, but Apple takes a slightly different approach. Rather than the relatively small amount of flash memory other companies have used for caching a few frequently-accessed files on their models, Apple’s Fusion Drive has a full 128GB of flash which allows a far greater number of files to be kept in the faster part.

Chunks of the OS, the apps you use most frequently, and the media you commonly play are all prioritized automatically, while over time OS X learns which content is infrequently required and shunts that to the more capacious, but slower, HDD. A true SSD will inevitably be faster across the board, but for everyday use Fusion Drive is hard to argue with, as the benchmarks in the next section demonstrate.

Specifications

All new iMac models use Intel’s Core i5 quadcore Ivy Bridge chips by default, with the quadcore Core i7 processors available as options on the more expensive versions of each core configuration. The cheapest 21.5-inch iMac uses the 2.7GHz Core i5, supporting up to 3.2GHz Turbo Boost, while its more expensive configuration gets the 2.9GHz Core i5, with up to 3.6GHz Turbo Boost. The latter can be built-to-order with a 3.1GHz Core i7, with up to 3.9GHz Turbo Boost.

As for the 27-inch iMac, that starts out with the 2.9GHz Core i5, with the more expensive pre-build getting the 3.2GHz Core i5. The build-to-order on the latter is Intel’s 3.4GHz Core i7, with 3.9GHz Turbo Boost. All of the chips come with 6MB of L3 cache.

Memory is 8GB as standard across the range, comprising two 4GB 1600MHz DDR3 chips. The 21.5-inch iMac can be specified with up to 16GB, while the 27-inch iMac can go up to 32GB. However, only the 27-inch iMac has user-accessible memory slots: the four bays are accessed via a panel behind the stand, whereas the smaller iMac isn’t intended to be user-upgraded. In short, if you think you’ll ever want more than 8GB of memory on the 21.5-inch iMac, you should bite the bullet and upgrade at the point of purchase.

Then there’s the graphics. Space constraints mean that Apple opts for mobile GPUs rather than desktop chips, though they’re the same Kepler-based NVIDIA GeForce examples that we’ve seen in the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina. On the 21.5-inch iMac, the entry-level model gets the GT 640M with 512MB of dedicated GDDR5 memory, with the more expensive model stepping up to the same GT 650M as in the Retina MBP, only with 512MB of memory (rather than 1GB).

On the 27-inch iMac, the entry-level GPU is the GeForce GTX 660M with 512MB, while the most expensive pre-configuration gets the GTX 675MX with 1GB of GDDR5. The latter is also the only 2012 iMac that supports a graphics upgrade, with the GeForce GTX 680MX with 2GB of GDDR5 memory a $150 addition.

Performance

Apple provided us with a 3.4GHz Core i7 iMac with 8GB of memory, the top-spec GTX 680M GPU, and the 1TB Fusion Drive; all together, it’s a configuration priced at $2,599. We kicked off with Geekbench, a synthetic test of processor and memory performance, and the iMac scored a whopping 14,064, around 50-percent more than the 2011 model could manage. It’s worth noting that Apple’s portables have narrowed the gap between mobile and desktop, however; the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display scored 12,970 in Geekbench.

In the SunSpider test of browser performance, the new iMac completed in 133.3ms (faster is better); the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro scored 179.5ms in the same test. Cinebench, a test of processor and graphics performance, saw the new iMac score 42.72fps in the OpenGL category, and 7.32 points in the CPU category. Again, in contrast, the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro scored 34.40fps and 5.74 points in those categories respectively, with its 2.6GHz quadcore Core i7 and 8GB of memory.

FusionDrive certainly doesn’t hurt. In the Blackmagic test of disk performance, the iMac managed read speeds of 409.6 MB/s and write speeds of 318.7 MB/s using the flash/HDD hybrid. Given the flash storage is prioritized until capacity becomes an issue, it comes as little surprise to see those rates up around where recent all-flash models from Apple have performed. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, for instance, came in at 431.7 MB/s read and 382.7 MB/s write with its 500GB solid-state drive.

The difference is particularly clear when compared to a 2012 iMac without FusionDrive. We also tested a 21.5-inch entry-level iMac, with Intel’s Core i5 quadcore 2.7GHz, 8GB of RAM, and the standard 1TB 5,400rpm hard-drive. In Geekbench, the iMac scored 9164, but the big change is in drive speeds: without the hybrid technology we saw 90.7 MB/s read rates and 107.2 MB/s write rates.

All those numbers add up to a machine – when equipped with FusionDrive, at least – that simply flies in day-to-day use. Apps generally load in under 2-3 seconds, and while the iMac might use mobile versions of graphics chips, it’s still eminently capable of photo and video editing, and conversion; iMovie and Aperture run with no lag. Gaming is also more than possible, though we wish that – as on some all-on-one computers we’ve seen – there was a video input to use the great display with an external console. However, it’s possible to drive a second external display; up to a 2560 x 1600 panel, in fact, as well as the iMac’s own screen.

Value

The new iMac range kicks off at $1,299 for the base-spec 21.5-inch model, while the 27-inch iMac starts at $1,799. It’s worth noting that of the two 21.5-inch configurations, only the higher-spec can be outfitted with a FusionDrive, which means $1,499 plus $250 for the drive upgrade; there’s also a good argument to be made for maxing out the memory on the smaller iMac, since it can’t be upgraded later, which is another $200.

All versions come with an Apple Wireless Keyboard (a wired keyboard with numeric keypad is a no-cost option) and a choice of Apple’s Magic Mouse, the Magic Trackpad, or the wired Apple Mouse; for $69 you can have both the Magic Mouse and the Magic Trackpad. Those who simply must have an optical drive can pay $79 for the USB SuperDrive, though any external DVD burner should work.

The all-in-one computing market is small, but it’s not non-existent, and the new iMac does have a few rivals. Dell’s XPS One 27 runs at the same 2560 x 1440 resolution as the 27-inch iMac, and starts at $1,400 for the non-touch variant. That, however, uses Intel HD integrated graphics; if you want a discrete GPU, you’re looking at upwards of $2,100 and NVIDIA’s GeForce GT 640M, a weaker graphics chip than Apple’s entry-level 27-inch model. It does support multitouch, should that be a buying decision.

Vizio offers 24- and 27-inch All-in-One PCs, though they both run at 1920 x 1080 resolution, and the GPU – only discrete on the 27-inch – maxes out at the GeForce GT 640M LE. The range of processors is more humble too, with only the top-end 27-inch model getting a quadcore Core i5, though the maximum price of $1,539 makes them competitive for budget buyers.

HP’s Spectre ONE is a 23-inch, $1,300 option, meanwhile, kicking off with the same 2.9GHz quadcore Core i5 processor, but less RAM and a lesser GPU. Several of these all-in-ones offer a secondary flash caching drive, though typically around 32GB in capacity, and as such are less practical than FusionDrive.

Of course, the big difference between the iMac and these other all-in-ones is the OS: if you want Apple’s OS X, then the only way to get it is to buy a Mac. All of the alternatives come with Windows 8, and while that’s a capable platform, it’s not Mountain Lion, and thus a deal-breaker for many users.

Wrap-Up

The new iMac is a beautiful piece of hardware, that’s clear to see. Apple’s clever construction techniques have enabled a stylish, distinctive all-in-one, but more importantly they’ve legitimately improved the user-experience, too. The full lamination process takes the same display pixels as from the previous generation iMac and makes them work harder and look better; you’ll appreciate the many pounds dropped from the overall weight of each system from the moment you lift it out of the box.

With style comes a handful of compromises. As with Apple’s recent notebooks, there’s less room for user-upgrades: adding memory is basically the only thing that you can do, and even then that’s only an option on the 27-inch model. With both, then, it’s a case of digging deep when first ordering, particularly since having experienced the speeds on offer from FusionDrive, we’d seriously recommend that every buyer tick that option box.

DIY enthusiasts may miss the upgrade possibilities, but everyone else will be enjoying an incredibly capable computer. With strong performance the 2012 iMac proves that beauty needn’t be merely skin-deep, and that all-in-one needn’t mean conceding speed. That, and Apple’s creative use of components and design, makes it our pick of the all-in-ones.

Once you’re in the new iTunes Store, you’ll find another complete redesign with a cleaner look and, again, recommendations galore based on your interests and past purchases. This update is also connected with iCloud intrinsically. You’ll have the ability to play purchases from iCloud, this meaning you’ll be able to stream your content – so to speak – from anywhere you can access iCloud. You can also download your content directly from iCloud to sync to a device for offline playing as well.

There’s a new MiniPlayer in the iTunes app that allows you to see what’s playing at any time complete with album art and connections to “Up Next.” With “Up Next” you’ll be seeing which sings are playing next with the Up Next icon in your center display.

This version of iTunes has an improved search ecosystem with instant results from across your content library with a click of any result bringing you in to that piece of media to play. You’ve got Playback syncing now as well, this allowing you to play the same movie or TV show from the place you left off between your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple TV – like magic!

You can download this new version of iTunes starting today – we’ll let you know as the update rolls out across the USA and abroad!

That framework is still in early testing, however, as is Siri support. The latter – familiar from the iPhone and, more recently, the iPad – would rely on the same servers as Dictation in OS X 10.8, though Apple could well choose to limit it to certain generations of Mac hardware.

Siri for the desktop has been well-requested since the digital personal assistant was first launched, though it’s perhaps only with the most recent update that it really grows in relevance for Macs and MacBooks. In its latest iteration, Siri gained the ability to open applications, something which could help cut down on mousing across OS X.

Exactly when OS X 10.9 may hit public Macs is unclear, though a Q1 2013 developer preview is likely if Apple follows the same sort of timescale as it did with Mountain Lion. That could then run up to a public release over the summer.

There’s also motion zone control, allowing cameras to trigger recording or send out an alert to your mobile device or via email if movement in up to 16 particular spots is identified. Logitech offers iOS, Android, and BlackBerry companion apps for smartphones and tablets, which support remote viewing as well.

Up to six cameras can be managed by a single copy of Alert Commander, and even if your Mac is not powered up, the internal microSD card in the cameras themselves keep a local version of any footage gathered. The app can then be used to transfer and backup those local recordings.

Existing Alert camera owners can download the new Alert Commander for Mac OS X from the Mac App Store today. If you don’t have an Alert camera, they start at $349.99 for the Alert 750e Outdoor Master System and $299.99 for the Alert 750n Indoor Master System; subsequent cameras are priced from $199.99.

The $199 guitar has USB and iOS connectivity built-in, and it’s designed to allow recording directly into GarageBand on an iPhone and iPad, and even a Mac. The USB output on the guitar is a Mini-B connection and a USB-mini to 30-pin adapter is included with the package, meaning users with a newer iOS devices that use Lightning will need a Lightning to 30-pin adapter.

Also included with the guitar is a 3.5mm headphone jack and “a high-quality headphone amp so that you can monitor the processed guitar signal right from the guitar itself.” It’s clear Fender is aiming this product directly at Garageband iOS and Mac users, but you’ll have no problem using it as a traditional guitar with the 1/4-inch output.

Unfortunately, you can only buy the guitar online, since Apple isn’t selling them at retail stores just yet, so if you’re nervous about buying a guitar online and don’t necessarily trust shipping companies to handle a full-size guitar, then you may want to wait to see if Apple will sell them at physical locations.

[via 9to5Mac]

Obviously, not a large number of hits are coming from these supposed OS X 10.9 machines. AppleInsider said they have received over 30 total visitors that were marked using “Intel 10.9″, and other websites have reported a few visitors with OS X 10.9 machines as well. However, we at SlashGear haven’t spotted any OS X 10.9 activity yet.

The small number of computers that are supposedly running OS X 10.9 could mean that Apple is already testing very early betas of the next major OS X update, and only a select handful are trying it out at the moment. Of course, these statistics can be faked, so it’s definitely something to take with a grain of salt.

However, it’s obvious that Apple will release a major update to OS X at some point in the future, and they’ve been on a yearly release schedule recently, so it could be as far ahead as summer 2013 before we see 10.9 pop up. The only other question remains, however: What cat will Apple give its next major OS X update this time around?

[via AppleInsider]

According to Microsoft back in December of 2011, they had an install base of 1.25 billion Windows PCs – that includes all versions of Windows. It was also asserted back then, according to business insider, that 500 million Windows 7 licenses had been sold in the last two years (again, this was reported in December of 2011). Interestingly enough, Ballmer also let it be known that 670 million machines are now running Windows 7, that falling relatively in-line with the idea that Windows 7 adoption has been slowing down since Windows 8 was announced.

Apple on the other hand has slightly different numbers as far as OS X installs and upgrades to Mountain Lion, their newest system. Back at WWDC 2012, Apple let it be known that there were 66 million installations of Mac on the market.

Ballmer announced that 4 million Windows 8 upgrades had been sold in the three days since it’d been launched. In the same amount of time, Apple announced more than 3 million OS X Mountain Lion upgrades. If you take the total amount of machines with Windows installed on them and compare it to the upgrade numbers for Windows 8, you get about 1/3 of one percent of the total. If you take the total amount of machines with a Mac OS on them and compare it to the Mountain Lion upgrade numbers, you get 4.5% of the total.

The rate of adoption between these two ecosystems is drastically different – which do you consider more successful? A better question might be: do you consider the adoption rate to be more important, or the total number of machines that now work with one system or the other?

This event showed iBooks app updated to a new version with Continuous Scrolling for the page-turn-weary. The Appstore that Apple releases this app in has reached 35 billion downloads while the Apple Mac is mentioned as taking the top spots in both notebooks and desktops across the USA.

On that desktop note, the iMac mini 2012 edition was revealed with Core i5 processors inside and starting in at $599 USD. The MacBook Pro with Retina display line was given a new Retina 13-inch MacBook Pro to take on another size market, now the 2nd highest definition display holder in the notebook segment as well. The entire MacBook family was priced as well. The iMac was refreshed with prices starting at $1,299 and busting out with a brand new super-thin body. This update works with a brand new Fusion Drive, a bit of the ol’ fabulous new-age technology on the innards.

The iPad was next on the blocks, of course with a sales number of 100 million units since the beginning. The next generation iPad 4 (or iPad 4th gen) will be working with an updated Apple A6X chip. The whole iPad family will benefit from the update to iBooks Author for authors joining the fun club.

Then of course there’s the iPad mini. This unit will be coming out for $329 for its wi-fi edition and $459 for 4G. Apple went directly for Google’s throat once the iPad mini was revealed with a straight up Nexus 7 vs iPad mini all-out fight on stage, and a full list of iPad wireless carrier partners was revealed as well.

Stay tuned to our giant Apple portal for more news as it pops up, including hands-on action with most or all of the devices listed above!

The molecules of the aluminum merge together, Apple says, with Friction Stir welding, a new technique that makes this machine seamless. A newly engineered body contains a brand new set of technologies that take what the iMac 7th generation accomplished and pushes it to a whole new level. There will be at least two models available from Apple, those being the following:

21.5 inch 1920 x 1080 display
25 inch 2560 x 1440 display

These units will be working with a lovely IPS display with a 178 degree viewing angle and 300+ nits brightness. These units have a full lamination design, a brand new bit of technology called Plasma deposition – of course this is a whole lot of testing that leads to 75% less reflection on the display than before. Each of these units has been individually calibrated by Apple by hand as well.

The back of these devices have a headphone port, four USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt ports, and an Ethernet port – check the Apple portal for full pricing on this device as well as the rest throughout the day!

This update has three new updates to the Mac mini lineup, each of them leaked to 9to5mac. The first of these is a 2.5GHz dual-core processor toting machine with 4GB of RAM and a lovely 500GB hard drive. The second has a a quad-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz with 4GB of RAM once again and a hard drive that’s twice as nice at 1TB. The Server edition comes in at 2.3GHz quad-core with 4GB of RAM and a massive 2TB hard drive.

• 2.5 GHz dual-core, 4GB RAM, 500GB Hard drive
• 2.3 GHz quad-core, 4GB RAM, 1TB Hard drive
• Server: 2.3 GHz quad-core 4GB of RAM, 2TB Hard drive

The pricing on these devices has not yet been revealed. Expect each of these units to be available later today more than likely. Word has it that these Mac mini device will be working with 2x2GB stock RAM, but upgrades will be available from Apple up to 16GB – massive! Stick around for the main Apple event to find out the full run-down as Apple makes it all clear.

You can get all the Apple action from SlashGear via our massive Apple portal with full feature selection, including reviews and run-downs!

The design of the Apple, for those of you that don’t remember all the way back to last year, comes from designer Jonathan Mak – or at least is based upon that design per their press release. This set of three notebooks is all the same, each model coming with 2.7GHz configurations, 16GB memory, and a 750GB solid state drive inside. Each model is made with essentially the same components as the normal MacBook Pro with Retina display, but the Apple logo on the top cover is laser-cut to create the face of Jobs.

The proceeds will be split between the charity Get It Done and another group by the name of SellanApp where it’ll be working with developers working on iOS apps that specifically “don’t have a direct business model, but have a clear societal value.” The bottom of the notebook will also include the following inscription laser-cut into the metal:

“When you grow up you, tend to get told that the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world, try not to bash into the walls too much, try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money. That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader, once you discover one simple fact, and that is that everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.” – Steve Jobs

This is just one of a vast collection of tributes that have been made to Jobs over the past year, with today’s one-year anniversary of his passing making the world once again remember his impact. Of course according to Apple, his influence doesn’t just stop at the idea that everything from his design knowledge to his leadership skills are still being studied today. His design influence in each of the major products in the field being released even today had Jobs hand in them well before they came to fruition.

Have a peek at the small timeline below for more Steve Jobs tributes and memories from the past year, and let us know if you feel that a MacBook Pro with Retina Display is a fabulous way to remember the man’s visage. Also let us know if you plan on picking up one of these three 12 thousand dollar notebooks.

Logitech is said to announce a new wireless webcam specifically for Mac. A listing on B&H Photo’s website shows the new webcam in all its glory. We’re not really sure if Logitech will actually just call it the “Wireless Webcam for Mac” or not, but they’ve used other basic names in the past, so we wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what they end up going with.

We’re guessing the webcam will come equipped with 1080p recording capabilities and will obviously be wireless. Just from looking at the photos, it looks like it has some sort of indicator at the top, which could be a universal indicator that can be used with an assortment of different Mac apps.

The new webcam has a price tag of $180 on the B&H website, which is pretty ridiculous for a webcam, even a wireless one. Then again, B&H likes to charge higher prices for a lot of items that you can easily buy on Amazon for a lot cheaper. Hopefully we’ll find out more details when Logitech makes it official soon.

[via Zatz Not Funny]

This video goes through a wave of design-related subject matter including the power of trying, failing and persevering, the power of ideas, and more on how Jobs certainly appeared to be a human creation machine. “Bold, crazy, magnificent ideas” as well as “dopey” ideas – all of this is important in the design process, notes Ive, and Jobs understood that, he makes sure to let the crowd understand.

There’s also a few stories that’ll make you giggle. One of them includes a process that Ive went through each time he traveled with Jobs in which they’d check in to a hotel, Ive would go up to his room, and Jobs would call him up saying “hey Jonny this hotel sucks.” And then they’d go to a different hotel – but it all ties in to the narrative that Ive creates for Jobs. One of a man who at the same time didn’t assume that they’d be successful but always had faith that they’d make something great.

Take a minute (or 7 and a half) to watch the video and keep your eyes peeled for more stories about Jobs that pop up over the next few days leading up to the end of this week. Have a peek at our Apple portal as well for all the new news regarding the products left in Jobs wake.

[via Core77]

This device will be appearing as a 13.3-inch Mac-based pen tablet computer. You’ve got a 64GB solid-state drive inside, upgrade possible to 480GB internal SSD storage, and a ship-date for online purchases of the device for as early as mid-November. This device combines the original hardware of an Apple MacBook Pro with OS X Mountain Lion with a digitizer from Wacom for 512 levels of pen pressure sensitivity. Also in the mix is a ForceGlass pen interface and the ability to work with Microsoft Windows 7 as well.

If you purchase the base configuration of this machine, you’ll be getting Modbook Inc’s own original 64GB Nishara-class SATA 3 SSD with NAND technology – and you’ve got the option to work with a bigger more powerful beast as well, of course, with up to 480GB of storage. With NAND technology you’ll have the best speed and performance available with flash-based storage, and you’ll have no moving parts – better for the long run.

Sales of this Modbook Pro will begin on Wednesday and will have customers living in the United States – or at least whose mailing addresses are in the USA – getting shipment in starting in November. The Modbook team lets everyone know the following about each Modbook purchase, and makes it clear that this is not an original product in and of itself, but a modification of a product originally manufactured by Apple.

The Modbook Pro is an enclosure conversion kit designed to exclusively contain an original MacBook Pro base system manufactured by Apple Inc. Apple Inc.’s one-year warranty on the base system is voided by the conversion and replaced with the Modbook Pro Protection Plan, which covers the entire hardware solution, including the base system.

Let us know if you’re into the idea of the Modbook Pro, or if you think people should just stick with the iPad and leave the real power to the notebook universe!

Apple obviously brought its own challenge to speech recognition systems in the latest OS X release, with Mountain Lion supporting native transcription. However, Apple’s implementation is server-based, and so Macs require a data connection in order to process voice commands and dictation.

In contrast, Dragon Dictate for Mac 3 is self-contained, as well as including support throughout Mountain Lion, so there’s no need to be online. There’s integrated commands for Notes and Reminders, along with better understanding of formatting such as abbreviations and numbers; Nuance has also tweaked the way corrections are made, so as to streamline the process and take less time away from actual dictation.

If you’re working from a recorded audio file, meanwhile, you can load a .wav, .m4a, .m4v, .mp4, .aif, or .aiff recording and – as long as it’s a single person speaking – have it automatically transcribed. There’s also support for 16kHz wideband Bluetooth microphones for improved wireless recordings, and which – when automatically recognized by the app – bypasses the initial voice training program altogether. If you have either an iOS device or an Android phone, you can now use the Nuance Remote Microphone App too.

Dragon Dictate for Mac 3 is up for preorder now, priced at $199.99. Those already using Macspeech Dictate or Dragon Dictate can save $50 as an upgrade; there’ll also be bundles with a compatible Bluetooth headset. Digital deliveries are expected to begin September 13, with in-store shipments from September 24.

This new software VMware Fusion 5 will bring on a whole new generation of performance, with “40% faster general performance” than in previous versions of VMware. That’s a pretty darn good improvement, and the team is making sure we know that this improvement comes in faster 3D graphics as well as improved power management which leads to longer battery life on your MacBook products galore. You’ve got support for Linux 3D desktops as well, for those of you looking to expand far beyond the two titans.

This system is build specifically for Mountain Lion and optimized for Windows 8. You’ll be able to run Windows and Mountain Lion searches both in Launchpad and will be able to use AirPlay Mirroring to stream both environments to your Apple TV. VMware Fusion notifications will also appear in your Mountain Lion notification center regardless of if they’re through Windows 8 or OS X. VMWare Fusion 5 will also be supporting Windows 8 standard, pro, and enterprise editions.

Enhancements for your Mac in this software release include compatibility with Retina-quality displays, USB 3 connectivity, and improvements in support for large memory machines. You’ll be able to pick up Fusion 5 for $49.99 for the standard version immediately – there’s also a Professional version available for $99.99. And what’s best of all is that if you purchased VMware Fusion 4 on or after the 25th of July, you’ll be able to upgrade to this new version for free!

If you’re not a VMware sort of person and instead choose Parallels as your cross-OS software of choice, you’ll be waiting until September 4th. More info on that release soon and very soon!

Once you do upgrade, you’ll find that you’re running just a bit quicker and that several bugs you may or may not have noticed recently are completely fixed up. Apple’s upgrade list includes several small fixes as well as an “unexpected quit” error appearing in Migration Assistant more often than the software and hardware company was comfortable with. Per Apple, their upgrade list reads as follows.

• Resolve an issue that may cause Migration Assistant to unexpectedly quit
• Improve compatibility when connecting to a Microsoft Exchange server in Mail
• Address an issue playing audio through a Thunderbolt display
• Resolve an issue that could prevent iMessages from being sent
• Address an issue that could cause the system to become unresponsive when using Pinyin input
• Resolve an issue when connecting to SMB servers with long names
• Address a issue that may prevent Safari from launching when using a Proxy Automatic Configuration (PAC) file
• Improve 802.1X authentication with Active Directory credentials.

NOTE: Check out our full OS X Mountain Lion review if you’ve not already downloaded the software yourself – it’s a winner!

For a full list of upgrades, you can head to Apple’s full upgrade page at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5418, and note that Apple suggests that you do a full back up of your system before you initiate this upgrade as well. Selecting your Apple Menu and Software Update will also reveal any other software updates available to you via Apple’s own server.

Software updates for 3rd party applications can be found in your Apple App Store application – Software Update works specifically with Apple-loaded software. If you’re uncomfortable with the Software Update process, you can also use Apple’s Manual Update software to make it all smooth.

[via Apple]

This feat comes after an all-time high share price was reached for a second consecutive session today for Apple, reaching up to $664.74 in the morning hours. The highest that Apple has gotten with their market capitalization total today (thus far) has been $623.1 billion. We’re expecting Microsoft to be left in the dust, at this point, but of course it must be recognized that with cash adjustments for time, the latter company might still be on top.

Comparing such things is like comparing the Dream Team to the 2012 USA Olympic basketball team, however, as Microsoft’s current value just is not up for snuff. Apple shares are currently continuing to stay on the rise as they head towards an Autumn season with several new launches (if the rumors are all true). Apple may well have a new iPad mini, iPhone, and more by the time the holiday season begins.

Apple surpassed Exxon earlier this year to be the fifth company in history to have a market capitalization higher than $500 billion. Have a peek at our Apple portal to see what the company has been up to lately, and get pumped up about their new line of devices which may very well be released inside the next month!

[via Mercury News]

This comprehensive collection of guards for your device will keep your display, your keys, and the area under your wrists ready for action and looking fabulous. This is always the aim with the folks at Moshi, a group that aims for fashionability and great aesthetics in their designs whether they’re made to protect or made to connect with your electronic gadgets.

With the PalmGuard you’ve got the following key features ready for action:

• Color-matched with the MacBook’s aluminum finish
• Precisely machined to cover the entire palm rest area
• Comes bundled with a matching protective film for the MacBook’s trackpad
• Semi-rigid film protects against grease, dust, and stains, scratches and corrosion
• Durable, can last through multiple re-applications

The ClearGuard keyboard protector keeps your keyboard clean with high transparency film that’s just 0.1mm thin. This cover is made of thermoplastic urethan (durable, non-toxic, engineering-grade) and is both washable and reusable.

Finally you’ll find that the iVisor Pro for the Retina MacBook Pro (15-inch version, of course), you’ll get guaranteed bubble-free installation “with minimum effort.” This iVisor Pro is updated with a new bit of multilayer coating over Moshi’s previous solution, here bringing on screen clarity with glare reduction in tow. This solution also has the ability to be washed and re-applied more than once, with Moshi’s own “resilient polymer adhesive” making it all possible.

You can check them all out over at Moshi’s product page right this minute, and don’t forget to head down to our timeline of Moshi products as well to keep up to date on all things fashion-friendly!

This offer supports both Child’s Play Charity and the Electronic Frontier Foundation in addition to the folks at Humble Bundle that put the offer together and the developers that created the games. Have a peek at a trailer for the game collection here, and get pumped up for the package!

While the full supported devices and software builds list is here for each of the games, you’ll find that if your device is relatively new, you’ll be set. Strange devices such as the Orange San Diego and the HTC Wildfire S are not included with games such as BIT.TRIP BEAT, for example.

If you purchased each of these games separately, you’d have payed somewhere around $52 USD, but with Humble Bundle, you’ll pay whatever you decide is right. This release is the first that several of these games will be popping up on Android and Linux – so it’s also a double-whammy!

If you head over to Humble Bundle right this second, you’ll be able to move sliders back and forth for how much cash out of your contribution you want to go to the Developers, how much you want to go to Charity, and how much you want to push as a Humble Tip. Make a standard payment amount or go custom priced!

There’s also a Menu bar icon, flagging up new tweets along with mentions and direct messages, together with the option to publish a new message yourself. Image sharing has been made more flexible, along with URL shortening and video uploads, with the ability to configure your own choice of services.

Released in its first alpha form for OS X last month, Tweetbot for Mac was hotly anticipated after being widely adopted in iOS form. This new update, however, makes it all the more competitive against Twitter app stalwart TweetDeck; clicking the new gear icon in the lower corner allows you to duplicate the current view into its own column, which can be done repeatedly.

Those columns can then be docked together and the whole UI moved as one. Currently a free download, you can get the new alpha version by choosing update in the app itself, or by downloading it here.

[via The Next Web]

“Just a year after the incredibly successful introduction of Lion, customers have downloaded Mountain Lion over three million times in just four days, making it our most successful release ever,” Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, said in a statement this morning.

Also among the 200+ new features are iCloud integration – Mountain Lion being the first OS X refresh since iCloud was launched – and AirPlay Mirroring, along with the same dictation system as on the iPhone 4S and new iPad. Game Center has also been added, and Facebook integration will be enabled in the fall.

An unofficial count on Friday pegged Apple as having seen in excess of two million downloads of Mountain Lion in the first 48hrs. These new, official figures confirm that – and more, though there’s no word on how many unique Apple IDs actually bought Mountain Lion. A single purchase can be used to update all Macs registered to the same ID.

Nonetheless, it’s an impressive achievement and certainly lays down the gauntlet to Windows 8 which is expected to arrive in October. There’s more on Mountain Lion in the full SlashGear review.

The popular web tracking firm Chitka has posted some numbers confirming a rough estimate of around 2.11 million Mac users are now running OS X (10.8) Mountain Lion. If those numbers are accurate Mountain Lion could be the fastest released and adopted operating system of all times. That isn’t all either. If estimates are correct, assuming 90% of users paid the $20 upgrade fee, the Lion just racked in $38 million in revenue for the Cupertino folks in the past 48 hours.

With iCloud, Siri like Voice dictation, improved trackpad options, tons of features and options brought over from the iPhone and iPad, and well over 200 new features this is the best Mac OS to date. If you haven’t upgraded yet or don’t know what you’re missing you’ll surely want to check out our Mac OS X Mountain Lion Review. Go ahead and upgrade now because the $20 will be well spent. More details on your upgrade path to Mountain Lion can be found below.

Power Nap also supports calendar and contacts synchronization, along with reminders and notes, and makes sure your Mac has the latest content from your Documents in the Cloud account. It will also grab updates for your Mac App Store apps. If you’ve lost your notebook, you can use Find My Mac to locate it even if it’s sleeping.

Not all of the functionality is enabled every time your Mac is sleeping, however. Only when there’s a mains connection will Power Nap download software updates, makes Time Machine backups, run through Spotlight indexing, complete Mac App Store downloads and update Help Center.

Unfortunately, the 2010 MacBook Air isn’t supported by Power Nap, and neither are any MacBook Pro models beyond the Retina Display toting model from this year. That’s apparently due to a flash memory issue. The

More on Power Nap – and OS X 10.8 in general – in our full Mountain Lion review.

[via MacRumors]

The redemption code program went live earlier this week and some users reported it appearing before its official launch time. Because of this, it seems, there may have been some incorrect codes sent out to the public. On the other hand, users grabbing codes both before and after the official launch time for the program have both been reporting non-functional redemptions.

Not to worry, though, Apple’s program for new users doesn’t end until August the 24th. This means that anyone who has a code that has not worked thus far can certainly very easily call up Apple, email them, or head down to their local storefront to make the new upgrade so. Those of you who purchase new Mac computers starting today that still have Lion installed on them will have 30 days from the date of purchase to upgrade your computers to Mountain Lion for free as well.

Check out our timeline of Mountain Lion features from the past day or two, and don’t forget to check out our full review of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion as well!

[via MacRumors]