mac

Report: New Apple iMacs due in next couple weeks

Never a dull moment, or even a lull, when it comes to Apple upgrade news. On the heels of last week's announcements about the company's new MacBook lineup, there's now buzz about new iMacs that could be out in time for the holidays.

Apple Insider kicked off the latest round of speculation with a report Friday that Apple is expected to refresh its 20- and 24-inch iMacs "in the coming weeks," entering the shopping season with "one of its strongest product portfolios ever."

As for details, there aren't many. Apple Insider and others … Read more

New models from Apple, Samsung, Toshiba, and Fujitsu: The week in laptops

What a week for laptops! We'll start with the big news, which drew many a visitor to Crave: at a press event in Cupertino, Calif., Steve Jobs announced a number of updates to Apple's MacBook line. Get a sense of the changes with our "new vs. old" analysis of the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air, or just have a look at which new MacBook is right for you.

You can also read our review of the new MacBook; stay tuned for the MacBook Pro review. (Also follow those links to see video of the new … Read more

Apple moving Finder to Cocoa

Apple has finally rewritten one of the most important applications in Mac OS X in its preferred programming environment, according to a report.

AppleInsider reports that Finder, the ubiquitous file management application in Mac OS X, has been rewritten using Apple's Cocoa development environment in advance of the release of Mac OS X 10.6, otherwise known as Snow Leopard. Finder remained a stubborn holdout tied to the Carbon programming environment as Apple encouraged internal and external developers to switch to Cocoa over the last several years.

Apple hasn't released a ton of formal information about Snow Leopard, … Read more

Apple, Psystar agree to dispute resolution process

Apple and Psystar have agreed to pursue a mediated settlement to their legal dispute over Psystar's Open Computers.

The Mac Observer turned up a court filing from earlier this month in the Apple-Psystar case noting that the two parties have agreed to participate in the Alternative Dispute Resolution process. As you may recall, Apple sued Psystar earlier this year for copyright infringement after Psystar began selling low-cost Open Computers with Mac OS X preinstalled. Psystar then countersued Apple on antitrust grounds.

ADR, as it is known, is a way to bypass the costly legal process as well as keep … Read more

Hands-on with the new MacBook Pro

When Apple announced its new notebooks on Tuesday, it said the new machines would be in the company's retail stores the next day.

So I went to the Apple store at the Westfield Valley Fair mall in Santa Clara, Calif., after work on Wednesday. I got there a few minutes after 6 p.m. and discovered that an Apple technician was in the process of replacing an old MacBook Pro with the first one of the new models.

I positioned myself authoritatively about a foot from the tech's left elbow, so when he was done, I was the … Read more

Vista laptops not top sellers on Amazon

Computer sales on Amazon.com are not exactly a proxy for the broader retail market. Still, I do think it is noteworthy that of the top 20 best-selling laptops on Thursday evening, just one was running Windows Vista.

That one is an HP mini-notebook that ranked No. 18, trailing behind a gaggle of Macs and Netbooks running either Windows XP or Linux.

On the plus side for Redmond, 10 of the top 20 machines were running some flavor of Windows. And, as I mentioned, Amazon is not a true barometer.

Apple's market share, while growing isn't exactly neck … Read more

CNET Live - Episode 76

It's all about Macs today! Plus a look at the new T-Mobile G1, aka Google phone. And, of course, our second round of video questions. Thanks to Ross and Brad! Keep 'em coming to cnetlive@cnet.com. (No attachments, please.)

Watch the show on CNET TV.

E-mail answer Here's Ed's e-mail answering our caller from last week who couldn't get XP to install on his Windows Vista drives.

On your CNET Live from October 9, you had a caller trying to install XP on a Vista PC but it wouldn't recognize any of his hard … Read more

Nvidia says chip faster, smaller than Intel graphics

Nvidia on Wednesday introduced its GeForce 9400M graphics chip, a direct threat to Intel's graphics silicon.

Apple's choice of the 9400M for its refreshed MacBook line heralds a much-needed infusion of competition in the market for mobile integrated graphics--a low-cost solution that is built into Intel chipsets. To date, Intel has dominated the market, with many of the top notebook vendors defaulting to Intel graphics in low-end models and ultraportables. Apple chose Intel graphics for previous versions of the MacBook and MacBook Air.

Not this time though. Apple did its homework and CEO Steve Jobs made a point Tuesday … Read more

Apple executive parade not prelude to change

Could Apple be getting closer to a leadership transition?

That's what Sam Diaz at our sister site ZDNet thinks. In this video, he argues that Apple's decision to have CEO Steve Jobs share the spotlight at Tuesday's notebook event with other executives such as COO Tim Cook and Jony Ive, senior vice president of design, means that the company is trying to showcase those executives ahead of an eventual departure by Jobs, whose health has been the subject of much bottom-feeding speculation this year.

I wasn't at the event, having flown back East to attend the … Read more