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News & Opinion
Reviews
Apple Updates
Tech Trends
Software
News & Opinion
OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Back at Apple Store
Last
week, I posted a blog on AppleTell asking rhetorically "Will OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard become Apple's
Windows XP?" - an OS version that simply refuses to die. Other
commentors have been making similar observations.
However, pundits and analysts are not alone in noting that Snow Leopard is exhibiting
extraordinary staying power, which Apple has now acknowledged by
re-offering Snow Leopard installer disks on the Mac App Store after an
absence of more than a year - and priced $9 lower than 10.6 originally
sold for.
On the Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard page, Apple notes that the most
current version of OS X is OS X
10.8 Mountain Lion, but if you need to purchase Mac OS X 10.6 Snow
Leopard, you may order it for $19.99.
Publisher's note: As of October, over one-third of Mac users
visiting Low End Mac were using OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, and thus far
in November, less than one-fifth are using OS X 10.7 Lion (down from a 47% high in
June), and about 15% are still using PowerPC Macs, which means OS X 10.5 or earlier. At the same
time, Mountain Lion has been holding steady since August. Much as
OS X 10.4 Tiger on
PowerPC was the last version to support Classic Mode and thus allow the
use of pre-OS X software, 10.6 Snow Leopard was the last version to
allow the use of pre-Intel OS X apps. (On the PowerPC side, things
are pretty even between 10.4 Tiger with its Classic Mode and the newer,
more feature-laden 10.5 Leopard.) dk
Link: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow
Leopard at Apple Store Online
Late 2012 iMacs Still on Track for
November/December Release
9 to 5 Mac says that according to its sources, Apple's plans for
November and December launches of the redesigned 21.5" and 27" iMacs
announced on October 23 are still on track, contradicting rumors that
claim both the new 21.5" and 27" iMacs would see their respective
launches delayed until 2013.
Link: Apple's Redesigned
iMac Launches Not Delayed until 2013, Still on Track for
November-December
Make Your Own Fusion Drive
Macworld's Albert Filice notes that Apple's take on hybrid drives,
the Fusion Drive optionally to be available on the latest Mac mini and
forthcoming iMac revisions that provides the high storage capacity of a
traditional platter-based hard drive and the speed boost of a
solid-state drive without the user having to manually manage files.
However, he says that if you're willing, able, and have the parts,
you can make your own Fusion Drive. You must use OS X 10.8.2 or later
for Fusion Drive.
Link: How to Make Your
Own Fusion Drive
Reviews
Is a 2012 Mac mini Quad-Core as Fast as a 2012 iMac
Quad-Core?
Bare Feats' Rob-ART Morgan says some readers have been asking if the
"Late 2012" Mac mini with a
Quad-Core i7 processor can match the performance of a "Late 2012" iMac
with Quad-Core i7 processor when running real world applications. Since
the 2012 iMac isn't available yet, he decided to use a surrogate: the
2012 Retina 15"
MacBook Pro which has similar internals - an "Ivy Bridge" Quad-Core
i7 and discrete GeForce GT 650M GPU.
Morgan found that the Late 2012 Quad-Core i7 Mac mini is a true
contender when it comes to CPU power, but hobbled by its Intel HD 4000
integrated GPU, which is a weak performer compared to the Retina
MacBook Pro (and vicariously, the 2012 iMac with 21.5" screen) with
their discrete GPUs.
Link: Is a
2012 Mac mini Quad-Core Just as Fast as a 2012 iMac Quad-Core When
Running Pro Apps?
Apple Updates
Apple Releases OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2
Supplemental Update 2.0
OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2 Supplemental Update 2.0 addresses an issue
with Keychain that can affect 2012 Mac systems.
This update is recommended for all Mac systems introduced in
2012.
File Size: 26.65 MB
System Requirements: OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.2
Link: OS X Mountain Lion
10.8.2 Supplemental Update 2.0
Tech Trends
Windows 8: Disappointing Usability for Novices and
Power Users
Jakob Nielsen has posted a stinging critique of Windows 8,
contending that hidden features, reduced discoverability, cognitive
overhead from dual environments, and reduced power from a single-window
UI and low information density diminish the Windows 8 user experience
for neophytes and power users alike, having abandoned Windows'
traditional windows-based GUI style that emphasized powerful commands
to the point of featuritis, and smothering usability with big colorful
tiles while hiding needed features.
Nielsen observes that the new design is obviously optimized for
touchscreen use, but Microsoft is also imposing this style on its
traditional PC users because all of Windows 8 is permeated by the
tablet sensibility.
To find out how well this works for real users performing real
tasks, Nielsen invited 12 experienced PC users to test Windows 8
on both regular computers and Microsoft's new Surface RT tablets.
Points discovered:
- Double Desktop = Cognitive Overhead and Added Memory Load
- Lack of Multiple Windows = Memory Overload for Complex Tasks -
Nielsen says one of Windows 8's worst aspects for power users (in
common with Apple's iOS) is that the product's very name has become a
misnomer, since "Windows" no longer supports multiple windows on the
screen. He notes that Win 8 does have an option to temporarily
show a second area in a small part of the screen, but none of the test
users were able to make this work.
- Flat Style Reduces Discoverability
- Low Information Density Means Incessant Scrolling To Get Even A
Modest Overview Of The Available Information
- Overly Live Tiles Backfire
- Charms (Hidden Generic Commands) Not Charming
- Error-Prone Gestures
- Windows 8 UX: Weak on Tablets, Terrible for PCs
Nielsen says Microsoft has thrown its traditional core user base -
knowledge workers doing productivity tasks in the office - under the
bus by designing an operating system that removes a powerful PC's
benefits in order to work better on smaller devices, and that the
underlying problem is the idea of recycling a single software UI for
two very different classes of hardware devices, contending that it
would have been much better to have two different designs: one for
mobile and tablets, and one for the PC. He says he understands why
Microsoft likes the marketing message of "One Windows, Everywhere," but
this strategy is wrong for users.
With Apple having merged its OS X and iOS development teams, and
rumors that the two OSs are likely to be merged as well, I hope Apple
is listening.
Link: Windows 8 -
Disappointing Usability for Both Novice and Power Users
No Consumer Rush to Windows 8 - and One-Third May
Defect to Apple
USA Today's Byron Acohido reports that according to a survey by
antivirus software maker Avast that was released exclusively to USA
Today, most US Windows users are aware of Microsoft's Windows 8
release, but are not exactly thronging to upgrade, and moreover about
one-third of current older-version Windows users planning a new
computer purchase indicate that they intend switching to an Apple
product.
Link: US Consumers
Hesitant to Make Switch to Windows 8
Is Windows 8 DOA for the Enterprise?
Forrester blogger David Johnson says that with the release of
Windows 8, Microsoft is in the midst of its largest marketing effort
ever, but Forrester's market tracking indicates that Windows 8 is
seeing roughly half of the interest from IT hardware decision-makers
that Windows 7 saw at the same point in its release cycle, with
only 24% of firms expecting to migrate to Windows 8 but have no
specific plans to do so, versus 49% for Windows 7 back in 2009. He
reports that a minuscule 5% of firms have specific plans to migrate to
Windows 8 in the next 12 months, versus 10% for Windows 7 in 2009.
A brighter lookout for Microsoft is that the data indicate that
Windows 8 is generating higher interest than Forrester expected among
employees, with a full 20% already saying that they would prefer
Windows 8 on their next touchscreen tablet versus 26% for iOS, which
bodes well for Windows 8's prospects for bring-your-own-device (BYOD)
demand at least.
Link: By the Numbers: Is
Windows 8 Dead on Arrival in the Enterprise?
Software
Give the Gift of Gab with Dragon Dictate 3 for Mac
at $20 Off
PR: If you have a Mac user on your holiday list, Dragon
speech recognition makes the perfect gift. Far more than just
speech-to-text, Dragon Dictate 3 lets you create and edit documents,
manage email, surf the Web, update social networks, and more - quickly,
easily and accurately, all by voice.
Open and close or navigate between applications, or even create your
own custom voice commands to execute multiple steps with a simple word
or phrase. Use your iPhone or iPod as a wireless microphone, or capture
your notes on-the-go using a digital voice recorder and Dragon Dictate
3 will transcribe them for you. You can also give the gift of Dragon
for a great price. Regularly priced at $199.99, you can for a limited
time buy Dragon Dictate 3 for Mac for a promotional price of $179.99, a
savings of $20.
Dragon Dictate 3 is ideal for:
- Students and working adults returning to school
- Grandparents looking to chronicle their life stories
- Two-finger typists and those with carpal tunnel or arthritis
Dragon Dictate 3 comes with everything you need, including a
high-quality headset microphone For a limited time get Dragon Dictate 3
for $179.99, a savings of $20 off the regular retail price of
$199.99.
System requirements: Mac OS X 10.7 and 10.8.
Also see Charles W. Moore's recent review, Dragon Dictate for Mac 3 Voice Software for Mac
OS X.
Link: Dragon Dictate 3
for Mac
Desktop Mac
Deals
Low End Mac updates the following price trackers monthly:
For deals on current and discontinued 'Books, see our 13" MacBook and MacBook Pro,
MacBook Air, 13" MacBook Pro, 15" MacBook Pro, 17" MacBook Pro, 12" PowerBook G4, 15" PowerBook G4, 17" PowerBook G4, titanium PowerBook G4,
iBook G4, PowerBook G3, and iBook G3 deals.
We also track iPad,
iPhone, iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod nano, and iPod shuffle deals.
