The week's top Mac news was the release of Safari 4 Beta, which two
members of our staff have already looked at. See Test Driving Safari 4 Beta by
Charles Moore and Safari 4
Beta Is Lightning Fast by Simon Royal for two different
perspectives on the world's fastest browser.
PowerBook, iBook, MacBook, and other portable computing is covered
in The 'Book Review. iPod, iPhone,
and Apple TV news is covered in The iNews
Review.
All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.
News & Opinion
Products & Services
News & Opinion
Safari 4 Dominates Browser Benchmarks
CNET UK Crave's
Nate Lanxon reports:
"Proving itself a staggering 42 times faster at rendering JavaScript
than IE 7, our benchmarks confirm Apple's Safari 4 browser, released in
beta Tuesday, is the fastest browser on the planet. In fact, it beat
Google's Chrome, Firefox 3, Opera 9.6 and even Mozilla's developmental
Minefield browser.
"We used the SunSpider suite of JavaScript tests to determine which
browser was the quickest, and the Safari 4 beat every browser in terms
of speed, on both a PC running Windows XP SP2, and a Mac running OS X
10.6 with all updates applied....
"On Mac OS X, Safari was four times faster than Firefox 3 and a
depressing (for Opera) 7.5 times faster than Opera 9.6...."
Link:
Safari 4 Dominates Browser Benchmarks
15 Free Mac Apps for Graphic Designers
MarcoFolio says:
"I've been using my MacBook Pro since a while now and I must say: I
really love it. The most common app(s) that designers use has to be
Adobe Photoshop (Or the full suite). The app(s) are great, but there is
a downside: The price tag. Photoshop CS4 costs $699, CS4 extended is
$999 and the full Creative Suite starts at an stunning $1799. For many
people this is just a little bit too much to 'play around with'.
"Luckily, there are also many free applications out there that can
do the same kind of job that Photoshop could do for you. This article
rounds up the best 15 free Mac Programs for Graphic Designers. Some of
these applications can even do stuff that can't be achieved using
Photoshop, or are much more simple to use.
"Keep your wallet in your pocket, since all these programs will cost
you nothing...."
Link:
Top 15 Free Mac Apps for Graphic Designers
Mac Users Only 7% of Active Firefox Users?
Cnet's Matt
Asay reports:
"In the midst of counting the total number of Linux users in the
world, Mozilla's Asa Dotzler reveals
a startling statistic:
"The Mac only accounts for roughly 7 percent of active Firefox
browser installations.
"Sure, Windows has massive market share, but I would have thought
more Mac users would be running Firefox than their Windows peers.
Meaning, I had assumed that whereas Windows users would be content to
let inertia guide them to Internet Explorer (IE), a greater proportion
of Mac owners would make the choice for Firefox, instead of Safari that
comes preinstalled on the Mac, netting the Mac a greater percentage of
active Firefox installations...."
Editor's note: At Low End Mac, more visitors use
Firefox than any other browser. The current breakdown is 40.3% for
Firefox, 30.6% for Safari, and 20.3% for Internet Explorer. Not
surprisingly, the majority of visitors use Macs (50.6%), followed by
Windows at 41.1% and Linux at 3.3%.
Since hardly any Mac users run IE and Safari's
penetration of the Windows world is small, we'll assume all IE users
are on Windows and all Safari users are on Macs. That means about 40%
of Mac users visit LEM using Firefox, Camino, etc. It also means nearly
50% of Windows users coming to LEM are running Firefox or another
Mozilla-based browser - that's about 2-1/2 times the overall Firefox
penetration, which we'll guess applies to the Mac as well.
If 10% of Internet users are on Macs, which seems to
be the consensus these days, perhaps 1.6% (4%/2.5) of Internet users
are running Firefox on Macs. Firefox users accounted for 21.5% of all
Internet users in January, so the 7% figure (1.6/21.5) seems to be in
the ballpark. dk
Link: Only 7
Percent of Active Firefox Browsers Running on Macs?
Apple Routs Rivals in User Satisfaction Survey
The Register's
Rik Myslewski reports:
"Apple has by far the highest level of customer satisfaction among
computer-buying consumers, according to a recent study (PDF)
conducted by ChangeWave Research.
"The study, which focused 'primarily on the US market,' interviewed
3,115 consumers between February 2 and 9. Among consumers who purchased
a desktop or laptop in the past 90 days, 81 per cent of Mac buyers
reported that they were 'very satisfied' with their purchase. The
manufacturer with the next-highest ranking, ASUS, achieved a 67 per
cent 'very satisfied' rating.
"The news wasn't as good for Dell and HP, which scored 55 and 52 per
cent, respectively. Lenovo ranked worst, with a mere 50 per cent of its
recent purchasers calling themselves 'very satisfied.'"
Link:
Apple Routs Rivals in User Satisfaction Survey
Mac Customers Highly Satisfied
Cnet's Tom
Krazit reports:
"Apple may be in for some short-term pain when it comes to the Mac,
but it can take comfort in the fact that recent buyers seem very
satisfied with their purchases.
"ChangeWave
released another one of its surveys Wednesday, which chart the
likelihood of respondents to buy a personal computer over the next 90
days from one manufacturer as opposed to another....
"Apple customers over the past 90 days reported by far the highest
level of satisfaction in ChangeWave's survey, with 81 percent of Apple
customers saying they were 'highly satisfied.' Asus customers were the
second-most satisfied group, with 67 percent reporting they were highly
satisfied with their purchase, while 61 percent of Acer customers fell
into that category. Lenovo was last, with only 50 percent reporting
such levels of satisfaction...."
Link:
Apple's Mac Customers Highly Satisfied
Why the Next Mac mini Is Likely to Have 2 Monitor
Ports
Appletell's Adam Fisher-Cox says:
"Regardless of whether the Mac mini that has been popping up in
pictures and
video is the real deal '2009 Edition' or not (my bet: not), a key
point many are making to prove it is fake actually makes sense: the two
video out ports, one DisplayPort and one mini-DVI.
"The mini is intended as a switcher's machine. Just ditch your PC
tower and hook the Mac mini up to all your existing peripherals, and
you're a Mac user. How much sense would it make, then, to make the only
display connector available be Mini DisplayPort, a connection which is
not yet part of a greater standard that in and of itself hasn't
received widespread adoption...."
Link:
Why the Double Monitor Port Mac mini Is Likely
Snow Leopard Screenshots Show Interface Tweaks
AppleInsider's
Sam Oliver says:
"A gallery of screenshots from the latest build of Apple's upcoming
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system showcases a handful of
minor design tweaks that have been reported around the web in recent
weeks.
"The screenshots, published by
World of Apple, come from Mac OS X 10.6 build 10A261, which was
released to members of Apple's developer connection earlier this
month...."
Editor's note: The screenshots on World of Apple have
been removed at Apple's request. dk
Link:
Snow Leopard Screenshots Show Interface Tweaks
Install a Disk Image System Preferences Panel
Macworld's Rob
Griffiths says:
"OS X has a number of options for handling disk images - settings
for such things as automatically opening them, moving Internet-enabled
images to the trash after opening, verifying checksums, and more. You
control all of these options (and a few more) in Disk Utility's
preferences panel.
"If you change these settings often, though, you may tire of
launching Disk Utility and opening its preferences panel. As an
alternative - and with a side bonus of gaining one additional option -
you can install a hidden System Preferences panel to make accessing
these options a bit easier. There are two ways to install this panel;
one requires Terminal, and the other uses just the Finder...."
Link: Install
a Disk Image System Preferences Panel
Mac Pro a Great Mac or the Greatest Mac?
MacUser's
Scott McNulty says:
"Some of you may not know this, but posting intermittently to
MacUser doesn't support me in the style to which I am accustomed
....
"That's right, kids, I have a day job, and recently that day job
changed. I found myself transitioning careers of my own volition (which
is saying something in this economy!) and transitioning Macs as a
consequence. My previous Mac, a unibody MacBook Pro,
was a great machine but it also happened to belong to my previous
employer. I needed to plunk down some hard-earned cash and get a Mac of
my very own . . . But which Mac should I get?...."
Link:
My New Mac Pro: Great Mac or the Greatest Mac?
Products & Services
Macworld Canada Launches
PR: The
launch of Macworldcanada.ca
offers a unique one stop online information source for Canadian users
of Macintosh computers, iPods, iPhones, and everything Apple. The site
benefits users from beginner to expert.
"Canada's Mac community is passionate about the products they buy
and are eager to get the most out of them," says Yasmin Ranade,
publisher of Macworldcanada.ca. "With hot tips, news, product reviews,
downloads, and compelling features on the latest technologies, it's a
place for Mac users to read about, share new ideas and enjoy their
equipment to the fullest."
Macworld Canada
Macworldcanada.ca includes ehMac.ca - Canada's largest Mac Community
forum. "The integration of the thousands strong ehMac community with
Macworldcanada.ca is a natural fit," stated John Strikwerda, ehMac
founder and author. "I look forward to continuing my role as the
"Mayor" of the community as this new resource reaches out beyond our
established fan base."
Technology columnist Ted Kritsonis is editor for the site. "As a
lifelong Mac user, this new role offers an opportunity to use that
experience to serve other dedicated users across the country through a
dynamic Web presence," he says.
Amber MacArthur, an experienced Web content and usability
strategist, technology journalist, and decade long Mac fan, shares her
favourite Apple finds, best applications, and tips and tricks with the
Macworldcanada.ca audience.
Macworldcanada.ca also offers 'Ask a MacXpert,' product comparisons,
downloads, contests and comparison shopping with PriceCanada.com.
Macworldcanada.ca is owned and operated by ITWorld Canada Inc.
Quad Interface Mercury Pro 8x Blu-ray Drive with
FireWire 800/400, USB 2.0, and eSATA
PR: Other World Computing (OWC) has announced its newest
OWC Mercury Pro™ Blu-ray/SuperDrive "Quad Interface" External
Drive solutions featuring super-fast 8x Blu-ray write speeds of up to
2 GB per minute. The Mercury Pro Blu-ray "Quad Interface" External
Drives are the only Blu-ray burners on the market that provide the
flexibility of a "Quad Interface" of FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB
2.0, & eSATA interfaces for Plug & Play compatibility with both
Windows and Macintosh systems.
Available immediately priced starting at $399.99, the Mercury Pro
Blu-ray External Drives are ideal for consumers with large amounts of
High-Definition or other video, photos, music, and data files that they
want to author, archive, or retrieve using a single disk. With twice
the Blu-ray burn speed over earlier Mercury Pro models, the new Mercury
Pro Blu-ray External Drives are capable of burning 50 GB of data -
equal to 50,000 JPEG images, 17,500 MP3 songs, 25 DVD quality movies,
or just under four hours of High Definition video - onto a single disc
as quickly as 30 minutes. Additionally, Mercury Pro Blu-ray drives read
and/or write virtually all optical media, including DVD-RAM, DVD
Dual-Layer R/RW, DVD R/RW, and CD-R/RW, as well as Blu-ray.
Pricing for OWC Mercury Pro Blu-ray "Quad Interface" External Drive
solutions:
- OWC Mercury Pro "Quad Interface" External Drive (Model BDR-203X):
$399.99. Writes and reads Blu-ray up to 8x, 16x DVD, and 32x CD Burn
Speeds. Includes all connection cables and two 25 GB BD-R discs.
- OWC Mercury Pro "Quad Interface" External Drive (Model BDR-203XT)
with Roxio software: $479.99. Writes and reads Blu-ray up to 8x, 16x
DVD, and 32x CD Burn Speeds. Includes all connection cables, two 25 GB
BD-R discs, and full retail version of Roxio Toast 10 Titanium.
"With Blu-ray write speeds twice as fast as the previous OWC models,
as well as the ability to read/write DVDs and CDs, these new OWC
Mercury Pro Blu-ray External Drive solutions give anyone with digital
entertainment and general data files the ability to dramatically reduce
the time and amount of media required to create general use and archive
discs," said Larry O'Connor, CEO, OWC.
The OWC Mercury Pro Blu-ray "Quad Interface" External Drive
solutions have been fully tested for compatibility with most Apple and
Windows built-in and third party DVD/CD tools and players, including
Apple iTunes, Apple Disc Burner, Apple iDVD 5, Apple DVD Studio Pro,
EMC Retrospect Express, NTI DragonBurn, Roxio Toast, Roxio Easy Media
Creator, and Nero Burning.
Link: OWC Mercury
Pro Blu-ray Drive
Hitachi GST Expands into External Storage by
Acquiring Fabrik, Inc.
PR: Hitachi Global
Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) announced that it has agreed to
acquire Fabrik, Inc., a privately-held supplier of personal and
professional storage solutions. Fabrik, whose leading storage brands
include G-Technology and SimpleTech, strategically positions Hitachi in
the fast-growing external storage business.
Industry analyst firm IDC expects worldwide personal storage device
shipments to grow from approximately 52 million in 2008 to 123 million
in 20121. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Closing of the acquisition, which is subject to customary conditions,
is expected to occur early in the second quarter of 2009.
Fabrik's business will continue intact and form the core of Hitachi
GST's newly-formed external storage business. Hitachi GST will fully
support the G-Technology and SimpleTech product lines, building upon
their success and differentiation in the market. The combined company
will also leverage operational, technical and product development
resources, distribution channels and global reach to accelerate
delivery of a full portfolio of traditional hard drives, solid state
drives and branded personal and professional storage products.
"The Fabrik acquisition becomes the cornerstone for the next phase
of our business transformation. It strategically expands our market
presence, strengthens our product portfolio, and increases our customer
base," said Steve Milligan, President of Hitachi GST. "Fabrik is a key
component of our growth and profit strategy going forward and will
enable us to deliver a differentiated set of products across a broad
range of enduser market segments."
As a 20 year storage veteran, Mike Cordano, Fabrik CEO and
cofounder, will join Hitachi GST as a key member of the executive
management team. Mr. Cordano has an extensive background in the data
storage industry, having previously served as executive vice president
of Worldwide Sales and Marketing for Maxtor Corporation. While there,
he was instrumental in building the Branded Products Group, which
successfully launched the industry's first "OneTouch" external storage
and backup solution, which ultimately defined the category and broke
the technology barrier for mass consumer adoption.
"Hitachi GST provides Fabrik and its customers all the benefits of a
vertically integrated company. We gain economies of scale, financial
stability, association with a strong brand and a worldwide footprint to
accelerate our business growth," said Mike Cordano, Fabrik CEO and
cofounder. "We are pleased that Hitachi is building upon our vision and
enabling endusers everywhere to enjoy powerful storage solutions that
are unequaled when it comes to performance, style, reliability and
innovation."
Fabrik's leading storage brands include G-Technology, offering
premium external storage solutions for the Mac, content creation and
professional A/V markets; and SimpleTech, an innovative leader in
PC-based external storage and backup solutions. Both brands have
clearly differentiated product lines that complement and build upon the
existing Hitachi GST hard drive portfolio.
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