Apple has updated the iMac look to be aluminum and glass, and making it significantly thinner, while retaining technical specs that are roughly similar to previous models.
Not long after Steve Jobs left the stage at last week's Apple press event, a succession of small hardware updates began to pop up, some of which applied to the brand-new machines themselves. Affected machines include the new iMac, the new aluminum Apple Keyboard, the Mac Pro, and the latest MacBook Pro models.
A trio of security updates block a variety of problems in Mac OS X, Safari 3, and the iPhone, underscoring the shared code between Mac OS X and the iPhone, and between the Mac and Windows versions of Safari.
Apple has released MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.3, which "fixes a display issue on 2.2/2.4 GHz 15-inch MacBook Pro models," according to the minimal text on Apple's download page
If you installed Mac OS X 10.4.10 before 02-Jul-07, you probably got version 1.0 of the update, which caused some Intel-based Macs with external speakers to experience "popping" sounds
Apple has released updates for the Final Cut Studio 2 suite of video production applications via Software Update and as stand-alone installers; the latter require that you sign in using your Apple ID and your Final Cut Studio 2 serial number
Apple has released iTunes 7.3, which enables support for the iPhone. iTunes acts as the hub between the computer and the iPhone (much as it does with the iPod), handling synchronization of contacts, calendars, music, and movies
Apple has released MacBook Pro Software Update 1.0, which fixes a number of unspecified problems with 2.2 GHz and 2.4 GHz MacBook Pro models. According to a post at MacFixIt, the update appears to patch several issues with the Nvidia graphics cards and may solve an issue with "shimmering" display issues
Boldly marching into double-digit version number territory, Apple has released Mac OS X 10.4.10, a maintenance update that adds more RAW image support, fixes issues with Bluetooth and USB, and addresses a few other issues
Macworld has done a huge survey of over 5,000 Macintosh users to see what they liked - and didn't like - about their Macs. The survey's findings on satisfaction and reliability, repair incidents, and quality of customer service are fascinating, and be sure to read Dan Miller's thoughts about what it all means as well
Solve Mac Problems with Our Latest Ebook -- It's always frustrating when your Mac fails to start up, kernel panics repeatedly, or starts acting strangely for no apparent reason
Spatial references applied to time -- It's commonplace in everyday conversation to refer to time as if it existed spatially, but have you ever thought about what you're actually saying? (27 messages)
Portable scanner recommendations? What products are available (and recommended) for easily scanning journal articles at the library? (6 messages)
New iPhone Commercials -- The television ads that first appeared last week feed our technology desires
At today's Worldwide Developer Conference keynote, Apple CEO Steve Jobs demoed the first feature-complete developer beta release of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, showing off slick new features, including what appears to be the most significant overhaul of the Finder in some time
Apple has released its fifth Mac OS X security update of 2007 to patch a number of potential vulnerabilities. Security Update 2007-005 makes changes to CoreGraphics, iChat, VPN, BIND, crontabs, PPP, and other components, in most cases correcting problems that require either local user access or access to the Mac via a local network
When friends and family need to buy a new computer or accessories, they often turn to me for advice. I've learned over the years that they're usually not looking for one of my "history of computing" answers that explains not only how much RAM the computer should have, but how RAM works and why more is better - they just want to know how much to get, and where to get it inexpensively