As we inch closer to tomorrow’s keynote at Macworld, we’re getting even more confirmation of a update to the Mac mini.  In an ill timed press release from SeeFile, they reveal that there will be a new Mac mini premiering at tomorrows Macworld. Not only revealing a new mini but they also tell us that it will have hard drives that (most likely) go up to 1TB in size to accompany their server software:

Complete bundled server systems including a Mac mini server with 1 terabyte of storage are available starting at $1,495

In conjunction with a few other rumors I think it’s now safe to assume that we will see an update to the mini. Will it be worthwhile? Not sure, lots of people use their mini’s as home servers and with the inclusion of a much larger hard drive capability along with SeeFile’s software this could very well be something many will upgrade to (not to mention it has not been updated in a very long time).

Don’t forget about to join us for the Macworld 09 Live Chat tomorrow at 8:30 AM Eastern.

[via ars technica][press release SeeFile]

Engadget reported that the In-Ear headphones that Apple announced in September have started shipping. The $79, dual-driver earbuds have inline controls for volume and playback, as well as an in built microphone for voice recording. Of course the iPhone’s earbuds already have this functionality, except for the volume control. Yet, Apple clearly states that these new earbuds will not be entirely compatible with the iPhone.

Compatibility Information: The remote and mic are supported only by iPod nano (4th generation), iPod classic (120GB), and iPod touch (2nd generation). Audio is supported by all iPod models.

The 10 million+ iPhone users will only have to be hopeful for a software update to fix it. However, judging by the recent release of the iPhone 2.2 software, it seems that Apple has tried and failed to implement those inline controls with the iPhone. 

Update: According to this support document, the mic and center button are supported on both iPhone models. Only the volume controls won’t work. (Thanks Nowhereman!)

Personally I’ve been using the Future Sonics FS1 from Ultimate Buds, which feature the same iPhone button control and I’m thrilled to have them. Judging by everyone’s reaction I may have overpaid but I couldn’t suffer with the standard earbuds any more. And now that I see that Apple has made the new earbuds pretty much useless for the iPhone, I’m feeling much better about my purchase. 

We will of course hopefully have a review of the new earbuds on SA, but till then, what’s your take on this bit of news?

Not even a week after the 23” Cinema Displays made their way out of the store, the 24” LED display has taken over. The sexy display, which for the first time includes a built-in iSight, a glossy display, a new DisplayPort connector, as well as a Mag Safe connector to power your MacBook. Or to put things into perspective, your new MacBook. 

We all saw this coming (except maybe for Apple), that the new LED displays will only connect to a computer with a DisplayPort connector. And since besides the new MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, there are no other devices in the market sporting the DisplayPort standard, the new display will only be usable with these three. They haven’t even made any converters to connect this to anything other than DisplayPort. Thankfully, the reverse of this is true, which is that you can connect any monitor (using converters) to a new MacBook or MacBook Pro. 

Apple seems to have made a mess with their display lineup. Not only is this a glossy (and therefore unprofessional) display, it also cannot connect to Apple’s own professional machine, the Mac Pro. Having being left to choose between just a 20” display and a 30” display, I’m sure Dell is going to sell quite a few of those new 23” pro monitors. Come Macworld 09, Apple is definitely going to convert its entire lineup to feature DisplayPort connectors and glossy displays.

The new LED Display sells for a rather high steep price of $900, and is shipping today from the Apple online store (US). A few of the Apple retail stores have also got models for display and retail. The rest of the world awaits.

It can be said, without a doubt, that the iPhone is an addictive device. With a gazillion different apps available in the App Store, you can customize the phone to your liking. Launching the App Store, searching for the app and installing it with a single tap is so addictive that one often finds himself scrolling through multiple screens filled with apps. And with such a wide variety of fantastic apps and games available for the iPhone, who wants to stop playing?

However, as it is with most other portable devices, there’s only so much that the inbuilt battery can provide. Of course, if we consider the superb browsing experience on the iPhone, plus that fact that it’s a “phone too, we only wish we had an unlimited battery backup for the iPhone. Continue Reading »

Looks like Apple is at its money making tricks, yet again. The all new MacBooks feature a large glass trackpad, capable of understanding upto 4-finger guestures, set for Exposé and App switching. While everyone thought that it was the glass that is conducive to this behaviour, a MacRumours forum member proved that the same functionality is available on the previous generation multi-touch trackpads.

Forum member “Michaelb” has detailed all the steps taken for getting this working. After circumventing the protection that prevents the OS from being installed on a machine other than the type it was bought with, he managed to get the MacBook Air up and running with the OS designed for the new Macs. However, only after a little editing of the plist files, did he finally manage to get the 4-finger gestures working. 

Four finger Exposé on my January 2008 MacBook Air now works just as it does on the unibody MacBook. (Secondary click, where you click the bottom right corner of the trackpad to get a right-click, is also there, but only seem to work in combination with the Air’s physical button - haven’t worked that one out yet, and don’t really care as I am used to soft two finger clicking for right-click.)

I suspect this would work on all later model multitouch trackpads (which includes the previous generation MacBook Pro)

So, Apple caught denying features to previous customers for no technical reason whatsoever. I suppose they wanted to highlight this as one of the features of the all new glass trackpad, and providing a software update would take away its luster. Your take?

While the all new 24” Apple LED Display still displays the coming soon message on it’s page, the older generation 23” display has gone the way of the Dodo. While the Cinema Display product page still raves about the 23 incher along with its siblings, the Store displays a very subtle “Discontinued” status. 

(Note: A glitch in the system shows a screensize as 20” in the “Select a size” option for all the displays, only the 23” display shows the Discontinued status.)

So while many a Macboy can rejoice over the fact that the new display is ready for shipping (not yet, but it’s a sign), the rest of us can mull over the inevitable death of the matte displays. While I am personally more inclined towards a glossy display (honestly, I don’t mind them!), I can’t imagine what any self-respecting professional would have to say about the 30” display going glossy. Take a look at our GlossBook survey. While consumers love the glossy display, professionals are totally outraged.

While I don’t think signing online petitions or sending hate mail to the Apple feedback system is going to help, it never hurts to try. After all, if Apple could rough up the glass on the trackpad, they can very well make a matte glass display.

This past week, we received the new MacBook Pro at our test labs (Thanks, Aditya). Yes, we’re aware how early we got our hands on it, but that’s how things work here in India. In fact, Apple’s new releases have been reaching the shores far more early compared to the previous years. I’ve had the pleasure of using the unit to my heart’s content and besides a few cons, the new design is one of the best things Apple has produced in its entire history. 

Since it has been quite a while now that the new products have been available for sale in the international markets, a wide array of blogs have already written in-depth reviews of the MacBook Pro. Our unboxing and product pictures are available in the gallery here. We urge you to take a look at the gallery, as we have some really awesome shots waiting for you. Continue Reading »

Hurray! The Mac mini is not dead! Not yet at least. According to this report on AppleInsider, a furious fanboy fired up an email to Bob Mansfield, Apple’s hardware engineering chief.

Soon after, a call came through from Apple’s executive care division, explaining to the now dubbed ‘mac mini fan’ that they know that the little computer is popular, and to be patient. 

“I got a prompt reply by phone from an Apple executive care person essentially giving me no new information but assuring me that Apple knew the mini was a popular machine and to be patient,” the customer told AppleInsider. “I certainly appreciated the contact, and I think it was a nice way of letting me know that rather than bug their head guys.”

So what does this mean? Are we going to see a radically redesigned mac mini or do we just get some spec updates. The mac mini is currently looking stale with its specs being updated more than a year ago, and a design that goes back to the day the mini was introduced in 2005.

The only thing we can be certain about the spec update is that it will feature the DisplayPort, as well as the Nvidia 9400M chipset. There’s a lot of talk that the mini might forgo the optical drive, offer an optional second SATA drive for server configurations, or offer a full sized high capacity (upto 1TB) desktop drive, thereby pitching this device as a media centre mac. 

From what it looks like though, Macworld 09 is all set to be a desktop event! It’s gonna be Christmas in Jan folks!

As awesome as the buttonless glass Multi-touch trackpads on the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros may be, they’re plagued by a serious drawback—they randomly ignore left clicks whenever it strikes their fancy. Apparently, it’s quite a widespread issue and a significant number of users have been complaining about it on Apple centric discussion forums everywhere.

One of the affected users, however, decided to go one step further and send an email directly to the captain of the ship, Steve Jobs, at his publicly known email address. As he details on his blog, he later got a call from an Apple representative who assured him that it was a known issue and that they were looking into it, although he couldn’t offer any temporary fix in the meanwhile.

The person in question (I really wish he’d taken the time to at least identify himself on his blog) then enquired about the looseness of the hinge on the new MacBook Pro, which causes the lid to fall shut when the notebook is raised from the rear end, and the Apple guy told him that this was how the hinge was designed this time round and that it wasn’t a flaw.

Moral of the story: If you’re having clicking issues with the trackpad on your new unibody MacBook or MacBook Pro, be patient because there might be a fix on the horizon. If, however, you just can’t get that darned lid to stay upright, a little scotch tape and a couple of small sticks just might get the job done.

[Via AppleInsider]

With all three MacBook lines—MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air—now sporting enclosures machined out of a single block of aluminium and black, backlit keyboards with chicklet style keys, it’s more difficult than ever to zero in on which particular model and configuration to go for. Further complicating matters are the new prices for all these notebooks which, to say the least, are freakin’ exhorbitant!

Worry not though, dear readers, because where there is a problem, there exists a solution, specially if it’s Smoking Apples we’re talking about. In this article, I’ve tried to highlight the key differences between the various configurations that these notebooks are available in (eight in total) and point out the positives and negatives of each one. At the end, I’ll leave you with two recommendations, one for the budget conscious buyer and another for those of you who want to go all out and have the cash to do so. Continue Reading »