I was recently discussing companies that are trying to make it big with living room entertainment products with a friend, when he asked me which company -- Microsoft or Apple -- was doing a better job. My first reaction was to say Apple.
Yesterday we posted up the iFixit teardown of the MacBook Air that launched this week. The teardown was cool and let us see inside the notebook without having to risk killing ours. iFixit also took the time to rip open the new Mac Mini as well. I am always impressed by how small the Mini is and how packed in the parts are inside the rig.
Over the years, I’ve tried to find the best device to connect to my television and enjoy entertainment. I’ve gone with the Apple TV, Roku set-top boxes, the TiVo, and countless other products. But when it was all said and done, I decided that Apple's Mac mini was the best option for me.
Today's Daily Slash comes in a bit earlier in the day than usual because we've got a whole wild batch of updates for you and it's a bit of a mid-week roundup as well. You've got to get in on all these updates - there's so many of them you're gonna want to spit! For starters, we've got one gigantic giveaway of tablets and another where you can get a free Spotify invite with no more work done on your part than submitting your email! Then there's a mad magic release of Apple products galore today!
Apple's OS X Lion allows users to boot and restore their broken computers from the web, with a new tool called Lion Recovery. The system usually boots from your notebook or desktop's hard-drive, triggered by holding down Command-R during startup, but if your disk is corrupted or you've loaded a new disk without a OS X installed, you can also do the same thing from a version of the OS on Apple's own servers.
Apple's Mac mini has been updated, packing new Intel Sandy Bridge processors along with Thunderbolt connectivity. The compact desktop keeps the slick aluminum design of the last-gen models but ditches the optical drive and offers a choice of new Core i5 and Core i7 processors; there's also a Server model and an optional 256GB SSD.
Leaked details of the refreshed Apple Mac mini expected to debut later today have emerged, tipping a similar upgrade path suggested for the MacBook Air. Although aesthetically unlikely to change, the new Mac mini and Mac mini Server models, so 9 to 5 Mac's source claims, will indeed get Intel Sandy Bridge processors as well as 500GB hard-drives as standard.
The Apple Store has been taken down, signaling that the company's web-elves are readying new product listings. Top of the list of expected additions to the store this morning is a new range of MacBook Air ultraportables, details for which leaked earlier this morning. However, Mac OS X Lion is also being released today.
Apple is planning to release updated versions of its Mac mini and Mac Pro desktops in the first week of August, according to the latest leaks, with an update to Sandy Bridge 2011 Core processors and Thunderbolt connectivity. CNET TV's Brian Tong says his insiders have confirmed that Apple is holding off on the new hardware until Mac OS X Lion is ready, with both the Mac mini and Mac pro being preloaded with the updated OS.
There have been reports that Apple's revamped MacBook Air will be arriving sometime later this month. The new MacBook Airs will sport Intel's latest Sandy Bridge chips as well as the super high speed 10Gbps Thunderbolt connector port. But some insider sources are now saying that Apple is holding back the release until Mac OS X Lion is ready.
If you are in the market to buy a new Apple iMac or any of the other products in the Mac lineup, then pay attention. Best Buy has just put all of its current Mac products on sale, including all Macbooks, iMac, Mac pro, and Mac mini computers. The sale can potentially save you up to $260 on a Mac Pro and generally under $100 for all of the other Mac products. An additional incentive to make the plunge is free shipping.
Newer Technology has announced that it has some new accessories for Mac mini users. The new accessories are shelves that fit under the desk to hold your 2010 Mac mini computer or the older mini design. The shelves are called the NuShelf and there are three different models of the shelf.