Apple

Apple finalizes PowerPC divorce with OS upgrade

This story has been corrected. See below for details.

Apple, a company that's rarely namby-pamby about making technological changes, has put its foot down once again with its Snow Leopard upgrade to Mac OS X due in September.

When the new operating system arrives in September, it'll work only on Intel-based Macs. That means Mac OS X 10.5, aka Leopard, will be the end of the line for those with Macs that use PowerPC processors.

Though the move led to some teeth-gnashing among those who felt left behind, it's not unreasonable in practice.

First, it was … Read more

The gap in Apple's MacBook lineup

Despite the litany of Apple announcements at the opening keynote speech of the company's developers' conference, what could turn out to be more interesting than the new products it named is what Apple didn't say Monday.

The bumping up of the 13-inch laptop to MacBook Pro status, and the price cuts along the MacBook Pro line certainly grabbed headlines. They did something else: they left the little $999 white MacBook as the only true MacBook in the bunch. Gone now is the option to buy a silver unibody design version of a MacBook. The rest are all MacBook Pros now, which leaves buyers with little choice if they don't want a high-end notebook from Apple.

So what gives? Apple doesn't talk about products before it's ready to, but with that subtle change it may be signaling some tantalizing possibilities for upcoming products.

The white MacBook, at $999, is the cheapest notebook Apple offers right now. It also looks a bit out of place, compared to the clean, silver, cut-from-a-single-block-of-aluminum design of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models. More importantly, there is a big gap in Apple's product lineup between the $299 iPhone and iPod Touch and the $999 laptop.

Apple could bridge that with the much discussed touch-screen tablet, which, of course, Apple has never actually said is in the works. If it were, the tablet could certainly make sense with the MacBook name attached, especially if its primary purpose was as a portable device for reading e-books, reviewing documents, and viewing videos.

But there is also room for a lower-cost laptop, with fewer bells and whistles aimed specifically at the education market. It would be similar to what the rest of the computer world calls a Netbook, or a mini-notebook. If Apple did make one, it would seem to represent a change in attitude toward "junky" Netbooks. But here's the thing: Apple wouldn't have to make a poor-quality mini-notebook. Historically, in the tug between features and style, and affordability, Apple usually errs on the side of features. But the company can, in fact, aim for a broader Mac market from time to time. It did so with the eMac in 2002, which lasted until 2005. That Mac desktop was aimed at students, and no one would call that a junky version of an iMac. It was however available with fewer features and a corresponding (slightly) lower price.

… Read more

Mac OS X vs. Windows 7: Who has the best upgrade?

Apple and Microsoft are fighting for the mindshare of consumers as both companies prepare to roll out upgrades to their operating systems later this year.

Apple on Monday showed Worldwide Developers Conference attendees Snow Leopard, the next major version of Mac OS X. Apple has been very open about the fact that Snow Leopard is meant to be an under-the-hood maintenance release, focusing on performance enhancements to the operating system.

Windows 7 is essentially Microsoft's maintenance release for Vista, that according to many accounts was a failure for the company. Putting aside all of the back and forth between … Read more

Safari 4 fast, but only minor tweaks from beta

Updated, June 17: The sandboxing of plug-ins, such as Flash, in Safari 4 will be limited to users running Mac OS X 10.6, which will be available this fall. The feature is currently not available, nor will it be available to Windows users. Windows users should also note that changing the default search provider is limited to either Google or Yahoo.

The public version of Safari 4 was released Monday amid all the iPhone noise at WWDC, and Apple confirmed what those who played around with the beta version already knew: Safari is now a serious browser for serious … Read more

Can Apple beat the too-expensive rap?

SAN FRANCISCO--The big knock on Apple--whether or not it's always been accurate--is that its products are more expensive than most of its competitors.

But in the keynote speech Monday that opened Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, it became clear the company is tackling the price question head on.

The best example of this new attitude is the decision to keep the 8GB iPhone 3G, but sell it at $99. That was the most aggressive price move it made Monday. But Apple was price conscious in other ways, too: It upgraded its 13-inch unibody MacBook to specs worthy of its … Read more

Why is AT&T delaying rollout of iPhone tethering, MMS?

Updated at 4:09 p.m. PDT with a link to a Boy Genius report and a clarification on when AT&T expects MMS and tethering service to be ready.

iPhone users across the U.S. were disappointed Monday to learn that AT&T, the only operator in the country offering the iPhone, won't immediately support a couple of key new features in Apple's new 3.0 operating system that will be available starting next week. But AT&T says these features are coming.

On Monday, Apple announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco that it plans to finally add data tethering to the iPhone, which will turn the device into a wireless modem to connect laptops to 3G networks. It also announced that the new 3.0 version of the iPhone operating system will support multimedia messaging messaging.

These features have topped iPhone users' wish lists since the phone was launched two years ago. But millions of iPhone users in the U.S. will have to wait a little bit longer. That said, AT&T says the features are coming soon. … Read more

Apple refreshes iPhones, MacBooks, and OS X at WWDC

At Apple's annual Worldwide Developer's Conference on Monday, the company announced refreshes to its flagship hardware and software. Included was a new version of the iPhone called the iPhone 3G S, which will be in stores later this month. This version sports a faster processor, longer battery life, video recording, and a digital compass. It also comes with higher memory capacity than previous models.

In addition, Apple unveiled refreshed versions of its notebooks, which are headed to store shelves starting today. Along with the usual speed increases, the newer 13-inch and 15-inch models cost less and include SD card slots. The entire line is also using the same non-removable battery technology found in the MacBook AIR and the 17-inch model of the MacBook Pro.

Along with the new hardware, the company demoed features from the next version of Mac OS X, code-named "Snow Leopard." It will available later this year as a $29 upgrade to current Mac users. Apple also announced that the next version of the iPhone OS software (version 3.0) would be available in less than two weeks.

Here's a quick (but detailed) recap of everything that was announced:

New iPhone hardware

Apple announced a new version of the iPhone, called the iPhone 3G S. It's got the same design and pricing as the current iPhone 3G model, but sports a faster processor that Apple says will load most apps somewhere between 3 to 5 times faster. It also comes in improved capacities, all the way up to 32GB up from 16GB.

The 3G S has an updated 3-megapixel camera (up from 2 megapixels) that has autofocus and autoexposure. It can also shoot video that can be edited right on the device in a similar fashion to iMovie. The video it takes is 30 frames per second at 640x480 VGA resolution, bringing it to spec with most point-and-shoot digital cameras.

The 3G S hardware also gets a magnetometer, which will allow the device to tell what direction it's pointed in. To go along with this, there's a new compass app that will act just like a normal compass. Users with the 3G S will get additional features in the Google Maps application that show which direction they're facing.

Apple also added built-in voice control that can start calls, find songs, and other information on the phone. The iPhone has long been criticized for not having voice support.

New iPhone software

Apple announced that iPhone OS 3.0 will be available worldwide June 17 as a free update to iPhone customers, and as a $9.95 update for iPod Touch owners. For an overview of what the software does, see our previous news roundup from the mid-March developer event.

Newly announced was data tethering over USB and Bluetooth is coming as part of the software update; however it will require carrier support, which means some carriers may not allow it. There was no mention of whether AT&T will be offering as part of its iPhone service, or as a paid add-on, which it has done for some of its other devices.

Users can now rent and purchase movies from the phone. This also works for TV shows. Previously you had to do this on iTunes proper, then sync.

There's a new feature called "Find My iPhone" that will be available only for… Read more

Apple's new iPhone 3G S sports new camera, video

The camera in Apple's upcoming iPhone 3G S sports not just video, but also some new features besides the usual not-so-useful bump in megapixels.

The phone, available next week in the United States and some other countries, comes with a 3-megapixel camera compared to the current iPhone 3G's 2 megapixels. It can shoot video at 30 frames per second at VGA (640x480) resolution, matching competing phones and addressing a shortcoming of the current phones.

But the iPhone 3G S can do more than just shoot video, said Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, at … Read more

Live blog: WWDC 2009 keynote

Editors' note: This live blog, which began at 10 a.m. Monday, has concluded.

At 10 a.m. PDT, we'll be live-blogging Phil Schiller's keynote speech that will open Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. Bookmark this page, and come back then for up-to-the-minute updates on what Apple is announcing.

9:52 a.m.: Welcome to CNET's WWDC live blog. I'm here in Moscone West with Kent German, CNET Reviews' cell phone editor. We're seated and ready to go, just waiting for the event to get started.

10 a.m.: Kent: Things I'm hoping for … Read more