Can lightning strike twice for Apple in its quest for world software domination? Using the same system it pioneered on the iPhone, Apple is trying to bring its software-distribution system to users of its Mac OS.

Steve Jobs introduced the Mac App Store at a special Mac event on Wednesday, and he sounded very confident that his 600,000-strong Mac developer community would be interested in jumping on board. It will look and feel much like the iOS App Store, with paid and free sections, most popular lists, and apps highlighted by Apple. But will the same thing that works … Read more

Similar to the past MacBook Air design, Apple's new Air is under lock and key--or five-point Security Torx screws, to be exact. So, users will have to defer to Apple for upgrades, according to iFixit's teardown of the Air.

"The new MacBook Air is an exercise of proprietary engineering. While you can easily access everything once you remove the proprietary screws, you can't really replace any component with an off-the-shelf part," according to iFixit, which dissassembled the 11.6-inch model.

And iFixit offers some advice for prospective buyers: "Unfortunately, like all previous MacBook Airs, … Read more

The new MacBook Air offers an interesting paradox: a spanking-new, ultra-thin design that is wrapped around old Intel chips.

The just-announced 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch Airs are a marvel of thin design, with the smaller model weighing in at only 2.3 pounds and both models only 0.68 inches at the thickest point. What Apple CEO Steve Jobs described as MacBook-meets-iPad. And inside is Apple's latest and greatest flash storage technology that sits directly on the system board as well as a new higher-performance Nvidia GeForce 320M graphics chipset.

Also inside are old Intel processors. How old? Old enough to date back to the same line of processors used in the original MacBook Air, announced three years ago come January. No power-efficient--and much newer--Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 processors here. So, what gives?

Here's the pithy, tepid statement that Jobs made Tuesday during the MacBook Air rollout: "The Core 2 Duo is a fast processor for this class of machine." And Apple had this to say in its press release yesterday. "Flash storage combined with power-efficient Intel Core 2 Duo processors and Nvidia GeForce 320M graphics delivers an ideal balance of mobility, battery life and performance."

But digging a little deeper, the reason is really no different than the rationale given for the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which also uses Core 2 Duo processors. In short, real estate. Because Apple needs to tap into the performance goodness of the graphics processing units (GPUs) from Nvidia--even in a highly compact design like the MacBook Air--Apple can't use a new Core i series processor because it would require too many chips: an Intel Core i5 processor (as an example), an Intel chipset, and the discrete Nvidia GPU. (Also: see Additional Notes at bottom.)

Apple solves the real estate problem by using a two-chip design (see graphic): the Core 2 Duo and the Nvidia GeForce 320M chipset.… Read more

FarmVille is now available to iPad customers, Zynga announced today.

Would-be farmers can get their hands on FarmVille by downloading it for free from Apple's App Store. Those who have been playing the game elsewhere can now continue to seed the fields and run tractors over their farms on Apple's tablet. Users who are new to the game can start a whole new farm within the app. Push notifications will be used to alert farmers to the health of their crops, Zynga said.

After FarmVille became popular on Facebook and quickly started annoying friends of players who were … Read more

First Flash, now Java?

In a quiet update yesterday, Apple indicated that its support for Java on Macs isn't long for this world. Apple released an updated version of Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, but warned that they won't be doing that again:

This means that the Apple-produced runtime will not be maintained at the same level, and may be removed from … Read more

Riding on the coattails of yesterday's MacBook Air and iLife '11 announcements, Apple also updated its high-end Aperture photo editing and management software with bug fixes, performance improvements, and updates to match features in iPhoto '11.

iPhoto is geared for consumers, while Aperture is aimed at photo enthusiasts and professionals who want more sophisticated controls for editing and cataloging. There's a lot of overlap, though, and one is the ability to create themed slideshows. All six of the new iPhoto '11 slideshow themes also arrive in Aperture 3.1

That includes the new Places theme that's specifically … Read more

Apple's iPhone continues to be a big winner for AT&T.

In announcing its third-quarter earnings today, AT&T said that it activated more than 8 million smartphones over the past quarter, and a hefty 5.2 million of those devices were iPhones--"the most iPhone activations ever in a quarter," the carrier said. During the second quarter of 2010, AT&T activated 3.2 million iPhones.

The latest version of Apple's smartphone, the iPhone 4, went on sale just days before the start of the third quarter. Earlier this week, in reporting … Read more

A nice option that now comes tucked away in the MacBook Air's included documentation is a USB key containing a full version of the Mac system software and iLife '11 suite.

When plugged into the computer, holding down the "C" key as you boot up treats the USB stick just like an optical disc, letting you run system diagnostics, or do a clean re-installation of OS X. Apple has long included the same tools on CDs, and later DVDs, but given the Air's reliance on external disc drives, this proves to be a much more user-friendly … Read more