Apple giveth, and Apple taketh away. In the “giveth” department, Apple last week released an updated Xserve model with improved performance and a fascinating SSD option. On the “taketh away” side of things, Apple removed DRM from all music sold through the iTunes Store, dropped one-size-fits-all music pricing, and announced that the .Mac HomePage Web application would disappear in a few months. Also in this issue, Glenn Fleishman opines that the addition of push notifications to the iPhone could drive a nail into the coffin of usurious SMS message costs, Doug McLean looks at the new features of the DroboPro storage device, and Adam pokes deep within iPhoto ’09 to reveal ten important changes that Apple has left undocumented. Notable software releases this week include VMware Fusion 2.0.4, WireTap Studio 1.0.11, WireTap Anywhere 1.0.4, Snapz Pro X 2.1.4, TweetDeck v0.25, PDFpen 4.1.2, HoudahGeo 2.2, and Dialectic 1.4.
As promised during Apple's keynote speech at the 2009 Macworld Expo, the company has now removed DRM from all of the music in the iTunes Store and moved to a tiered pricing system.
Apple has announced the .Mac HomePage Web application will be discontinued as of July 2009, though Web pages created with the tool will remain accessible for the life of their owner's MobileMe account.
Storage solution company Data Robotics, Inc. has updated its popular smart storage lineup with the DroboPro, which offers twice the storage capacity of its predecessor and better connectivity options to boot.
Apple's refreshed Xserve features significantly improved performance thanks to new Intel "Nehalem" Xeon processors and a new system architecture, along with an interesting option for a 128 GB solid-state boot drive. On the downside, Apple didn't address criticisms of the Xserve's industrial design that would make it easier to administer in a data center.
The value of a text message for which a phone company charges a thousand times its cost is tied entirely to the message's reach and interruptive capability. iPhone push notifications may help kill SMS charges.
Apple doesn't want to tell you about what has changed in the recent updates to iPhoto '09, but Adam has tracked down ten notable changes that will significantly improve your iPhoto experience.
Notable software releases this week include VMware Fusion 2.0.4, WireTap Studio 1.0.11, WireTap Anywhere 1.0.4, Snapz Pro X 2.1.4, TweetDeck v0.25, PDFpen 4.1.2, HoudahGeo 2.2, and Dialectic 1.4.
Are you looking to buy a new MacBook Pro, archive digital photos, or explore the changes in iPhoto '09? This week's discussions cover those topics, as well as Mac compatibility of Garmin devices, another surprising use of BBEdit, restoring the old .Mac slideshow feature manually, updating one's iTunes purchases to DRM-free versions, the loss of the .Mac HomePage Web application, and problems saving text attachments out of Apple Mail.