Mac

Want to watch a high-definition show from iTunes on an older external display? Good luck!

Some Mac users are teed off that they are getting error messages saying the iTunes movie they rented or bought can't be played on their display because it is not HDCP (High Digital Content Protection) authorized.

And some people are complaining they are only able to play certain standard definition iTunes content on their laptop or via an HDMI connection.

As a result, some Apple forum participants have threatened to boycott iTunes.

"And here we are now with Apple users who have spent … Read more

Apple's OS X Snow Leopard may be on tap for the start of the new year, slightly earlier than expected.

The update appears to be slated for debut in the first quarter of 2009, according to a slide presented by Jordan Hubbard, Apple's director of engineering for Unix technologies, at a conference last week.

Snow Leopard, or version 10.6 of the operating system, is expected to be optimized for multicore processors, include QuickTime X, and offer built-in support for Microsoft's Exchange 2007 software.

Apple previewed Snow Leopard in June. At that time, Apple said that Snow … Read more

Apple has released a firmware update for new MacBook and MacBook Pro owners bedeviled by their glass trackpads.

The update is designed to fix an issue with the new trackpads unveiled by Apple in October, which replace the traditional trackpad/mouse button combination with a trackpad that also serves as the button. The first few owners of those systems, however, reported a persistent problem in which clicks on the trackpad would not register.

Let us know if the firmware solves your problems or if you have any problems installing the update, which should be appearing in Software Update for owners … Read more

Even Apple may not be immune if consumers continue to sit on their wallets this holiday season.

Piper Jaffray, usually able to find the bright side of any Apple news, predicted Monday that iPhone and iPod sales are set to decline in the coming weeks amid what is expected to be the worst holiday season for the PC and consumer electronics industries in quite some time. Mac sales seem healthier thanks to Apple's latest crop of notebooks, but aren't growing as fast as they were last year.

Piper based its outlook on surveys it performed inside Apple retail … Read more

Here's a rundown of some of the Apple news making the rounds this Wednesday:

Apple may launch most aggressive Black Friday pricing yet--AppleInsider: On a day when the stock market tanked once again on news of shifting priorities in the government's bailout plan, coupled with pessimistic forecasts from huge retailers like Best Buy, this notion doesn't seem all that far-fetched. Last year, Apple offered $101 discounts on MacBooks and other discounts on iPods on Black Friday, and Ben Reitzes of UBS thinks similar discounts could be applied more broadly across Apple's product line on that particular … Read more

Apple may be searching for ways to make the MacBook Air even lighter.

AppleInsider reports that the company is investigating using materials enhanced with carbon fibers in some of the parts on a future MacBook Air. Given the time and energy Apple poured into the latest redesign of its notebooks, developing a new unibody chassis milled from a single block of aluminum, it's unlikely that the entire chassis would be replaced anytime soon.

But AppleInsider thinks the company could shave 0.22 pounds off the overall weight of the Air if it used some sort of carbon-fiber material for … Read more

Apple's MacBook, shown on the left, and Dell's Studio 15, at right, are vying for consumer attention this holiday season.

Two-thirds of prospective PC buyers in the U.S. plan to buy either a MacBook or a Dell laptop this holiday season, according to a study released Monday by ChangeWave.

ChangeWave's survey of 3,699 consumers found that of those looking to buy a laptop over the next 90 days, 33 percent indicated a preference for the Mac, and another 33 percent said they would buy a Dell. The survey cited Apple's recent MacBook redesign and … Read more

Apple customers awaiting their new MacBook Airs may have to wait a little longer than they had thought, but potential Mac Mini customers should sit tight.

That seems to the state of the Mac this Wednesday, according to AppleInsider. The site notes that customers who ordered the new MacBook Airs with the 120GB hard drive option are receiving notices from Apple apologizing for a shipping delay.

The systems were expected to go out this week, but now won't go out until the end of November. Those who ordered the more expensive solid-state drive option have already started getting their … Read more

The new glass trackpad introduced on the MacBooks unveiled by Apple last month appears to be giving some users fits.

The trackpad on the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros does away with a separate button, turning the whole trackpad into the mouse button. It also supports several new multitouch gestures for rotating pictures or scrolling. But The Register notes that some users are running into problems where the MacBook doesn't register clicks on the trackpad.

Apple's discussion boards are seeing some activity related to this issue. It's not clear whether this is any kind of hardware or … Read more