Apple took control of the news cycle last week with a massive set of releases, including notable updates to the Mac Pro, Mac mini, and iMac, plus a minor speed bump for the 15-inch MacBook Pro. We have details on all of these updates. Apple also pushed out new AirPort Extreme Base Station and Time Capsule models, and our Wi-Fi expert Glenn Fleishman explains what their new features will mean to you. Joe Kissell wasn’t as pleased with the update to AirPort Utility 5.4.1, and you can follow along as he troubleshoots a serious problem and reports the results to Apple. In other news, Amazon released free Kindle software for the iPhone and iPod touch, and Adam and Doug McLean team up for a look at how the App Store encourages iPhone users to remain iPhone users forever. Notable software releases this week include Time Capsule and AirPort Base Station Firmware Update 7.4.1, AirPort Utility 5.4.1, iLife Support 9.0.1, iPhoto 8.0.1, Firefox 3.0.7, PDFpen 4.1 and PDFpenPro 4.1, AirPort Client Update 2009-001, Apple’s Battery Update 1.4, Apple’s Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 2.5, Adobe Lightroom 2.3 and Camera Raw 5.3, and Checkup 2.1.
Apple has updated the Mac mini with solid performance enhancements including a faster processor, a larger hard drive option, updated graphics processor, the capability to drive two monitors, and greater memory expansion options.
Apple has updated the consumer iMac line with new 20- and 24-inch models sporting processor speed bumps, greater memory capacity, and updated graphics processors.
Apple quietly increased the MacBook Pro's processor speed options, bumping 2.53 GHz to 2.66 GHz, and 2.8 GHz to 2.93 GHz.
Apple has overhauled the Mac Pro with numerous performance enhancements including a switch to Intel's "Nehalem" Xeon processors, a new system architecture, enhanced graphic capabilities, and more.
Apple's new anodized aluminum USB keyboard is economical and sleek, but pay attention if you're buying an iMac and want a numeric keypad on your keyboard.
Apple has caught up with other makers of Wi-Fi gear by updating the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule base stations to handle connections in both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz at the same time. Other new features include Back to My Mac-style remote hard drive access, and a guest network option.
Firing up AirPort Utility with a new AirPort Extreme Base Station that can run two networks, one on each of two radios, shows how Apple is managing to squeeze new options under the hood.
The latest version of the AirPort Utility may have problems reading configurations of existing Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme Base Station devices.
In an expected move, online retailer Amazon has released a free iPhone application that enables users to purchase and view titles from the catalog of books available for the Kindle.
Consider yourself an avid App Store customer? A recent survey found that 17 percent of U.S. smartphone owners installing applications on their devices spent upwards of $100 in 2008. What does this kind of success spell for Apple and the App Store?
Notable software releases this week include Time Capsule and AirPort Base Station Firmware Update 7.4.1, AirPort Utility 5.4.1, iLife Support 9.0.1, iPhoto 8.0.1, Firefox 3.0.7, PDFpen 4.1 and PDFpenPro 4.1, AirPort Client Update 2009-001, Apple's Battery Update 1.4, Apple's Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 2.5, Adobe Lightroom 2.3 and Camera Raw 5.3, and Checkup 2.1.
Read on for a collection of links to the most interesting articles and resources that the TidBITS staff discovered on the Web this week.
TidBITS Talk readers are focused this week on the Kindle 2 - especially its text-to-speech feature - and managing backups with Time Machine and other software. Also this week, readers discuss the advantages of netbooks, the price hike between Apple's new Time Capsule models, running AppleScript scripts in Mail, rooting out RSS feed corruption, encoding H.264 video on the latest Macs, and possible problems with the recent AirPort Utility update.