News

How upgradable is the new Mac Pro?

In a move similar to its release of the PowerMac G4 Cube, Apple has issued a radical new design for its upcoming replacement for its Mac Pro systems. While unique and attractive, one of the key features for the Mac Pro has been expandability so professional users can customize its hardware to meet their needs, so where does this new system's design leave us?

In order to fit the components of the system into its radical shape, Apple has had to make some changes to the system. For one, its video cards will no longer be off-the-shelf units that … Read more

OS X Mavericks switches to SMB2 networking

The Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) was Apple's default networking protocol in the classic Mac OS as well as in OS X, but it has fallen out of favor with the advent of SMB2 in the upcoming OS X Mavericks.

Server Message Block (SMB) is a file transfer protocol that has been the main networking protocol for Windows-based systems. Having different default protocols has made the use of both Windows and Mac systems on the same network frustrating, since until Apple introduced native SMB support in OS X, users had to rely on third-party SMB support for sharing files with … Read more

Apple WWDC roundup: iTunes Radio, iOS 7, Mavericks, and MacBook Air

CNET Update keeps it simple:

In this episode of Update, get the highlights of Apple's WWDC keynote presentation in under three minutes. To dive deeper, check out these stories:

- Apple's iTunes Radio service finally revealed

- iOS 7 changes are overwhelmingly cosmetic

- Details on Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks

- New MacBook Air aims for all-day battery life

- Apple offers sneak peek of next Mac Pro desktop

And during Apple's keynote presentation, Microsoft announced the Xbox One will arrive in the U.S. in November for $500. During the E3 presentation, Microsoft showed off new games … Read more

Memory compression brings RAM Doubler to OS X Mavericks

Today at the World Wide Developer Conference keynote, Apple announced a new feature in the upcoming OS X Mavericks that is reminiscent of the RAM Doubler technology available for classic Mac systems in the '90s.

In the mid-'90s, Mac systems came with 8MB to 32MB RAM, and as has always been the case, greater application usage required more RAM.

Overcoming RAM restrictions required you either purchase more RAM, or enable and expand virtual memory usage in the system's control panel to make use of the hard drive as a location for RAM contents. Unfortunately these features were either … Read more

Forget the new Kinect, what happened with the original?

LOS ANGELES -- So when is that cool, killer game arriving for my Xbox 360 Kinect?

With all the noise about the upcoming Xbox One, the new Kinect, and now a hefty slate of next-generation games unveiled here at E3 on Monday, it's glaring just how little attention was paid to the original Kinect.

Microsoft, you remember the Kinect, right? It's the original motion sensor peripheral that helped reinvigorate sales of the Xbox 360 and add a few years to the lifespan of the console. It was an unmitigated success from a sales perspective, as 24 million units of the peripheral have been sold … Read more

What iOS 7 feature excites you the most? (poll)

It's official: iOS 7 arrives this fall, bringing with it a Cook's ransom in new features and a fairly radical new design.

I suspect the latter will spark the most conversation, with some users no doubt finding the much-ballyhooed "flat" icons just plain flat. (My take: They've transformed from pretty to ugly. I like the new fonts and overall design, but those icons look really amateurish.)

Ah, but on the feature front, iOS 7 doesn't disappoint. Apple packed in so many badly needed updates and improvements, it's hard to know where to tap … Read more

Apple devices that aren't invited to the iOS 7 party

At today's WWDC keynote in San Francisco, Apple announced several new features for its updated mobile OS, iOS 7.

As is common with software updates, not every current device will be compatible, however. iOS 7 will be available only for the iPhone 4 and later, the iPad 2 and later, the iPad Mini, and lastly, the fifth generation of the iPod Touch.

Compared to the devices capable of running the last OS version (iOS 6), this leaves out the iPhone 3GS and the fourth-generation iPod Touch.

Furthermore, not all iOS 7 features will work with all of the aforementioned … Read more

Apple Stores: 1 million customers per day

Apple Stores receive more than 1 million customers per day, CEO Tim Cook revealed at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco on Monday.

The company now hosts 407 stores around the world across 14 different countries. Apple recently opened a store in Berlin, which is located in a 100-year-old building.

Samsung unveils Galaxy Ace 3 smartphone

Samsung has announced a new addition to the company's smartphone line.

Dubbed the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3, the device comes with a 4-inch screen and a 1GHz dual-core processor. It's running Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and comes in the customer's choice of 3G or 4G LTE. The 3G option comes with 4GB of internal memory, while the 4G LTE option has 8GB of internal memory. Both support a microSD card of up to 64GB of storage.

On the back, users will find a 5-megapixel camera. The software coupled with that lens allows for users to share … Read more

Microsoft's Xbox One E3 2013: Join us June 10 (live blog)

Editor's note: At its E3 event, Microsoft announced the Xbox One will be released in November for $499. For the key points from today's announcement, check out our summary post here. For more on the Xbox One games that Microsoft announced, go here. Also, see our story on the new, smaller Xbox 360.

Think of this as Microsoft's Xbox One presentation, take two.

Just weeks after Microsoft unveiled its next-generation video game console, the company is back at it again at this year's E3 conference. The press conference begins at 9:30 am P.T. on … Read more