So every product in the Apple store doesn’t have to be always pricey, there’s some other nice stuff to which is being offered for less.

Take this offer for example: A 11 inch MacBook Air in refurbished condition is being sold by Apple for $849 and another model 13 inch for $1099. Not so bad offer, eh?

The 11 inch version has got 64 GB SSD, a 1.4 GHz processor and 2 GB of RAM. The 13 inch model has 1.86 GHz processor, a 128 GB SSD, and 2 GB of RAM. More details about the offer can be found here.

Apple has released another version of iPhoto with several bug fixes and improvement. Email feature has also been further improved, enabling you to share it with your friends via Email more easily (not sure about its social network side).

Other features of iPhoto 9.1.1 includes:

This update adds new email options to iPhoto ’11. It also improves overall stability and addresses a number of other minor issues. Specific fixes include:

• Adds a preference allowing photos to be emailed using an external email application
• Adds “Classic” and “Journal” themes to email.
• Photos attached to an email can now be sized to Small, Medium or Large
• Improves reliability when upgrading a library from an earlier version of iPhoto
• iPhoto now correctly preserves the sort order of Events after upgrading a library
• Event titles displayed in headers can now be edited in Photos view
• Addresses a problem that could cause duplicate photos to be added to a MobileMe album
• Scrolling overlay now correctly displays ratings when photos are sorted by rating
• Photos are now sorted correctly when a rating is changed and photos are sorted by rating
• Fixes a problem that could cause text formatting controls to become inaccessible when editing a calendar

The update is recommended for all users of iPhoto ’11.

via

Apple has released the latest update to its Mac OS X, this latest version is now at 10.6.5 Snow Leopard.  This version patches a lot of bugs found in the last update, 10.6.4 which was released June this year.  According to Apple, the Mac OS X 10.6.5 update fixes stability, compatibility and security of the Mac.

Full official change log is as follows:

The 10.6.5 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes that:

- improve reliability with Microsoft Exchange servers
- address performance of some image-processing operations in iPhoto and Aperture
- address stability and performance of graphics applications and games
- resolve a delay between print jobs
- address a printing issue for some HP printers connected to an AirPort Extreme
- resolve an issue when dragging contacts from Address Book to iCal
- address an issue where dragging an item from a stack causes the Dock to not automatically hide
- resolve an issue with Wikipedia information not displaying correctly in Dictionary
- improve performance of MainStage on certain Mac systems
- resolve spacing issues with OpenType fonts
- improve reliability with some Bluetooth braille displays
- resolve a VoiceOver issue when browsing some web sites with Safari 5

The update doesn’t mention any enhancement that will interact with the upcoming iOS 4.2 release but this is probably already built in the update.

A lot of rumors are swirling around the internet these past couple of days and they are regarding the  iOS 4.2 update for both the iPhone and iPad

One of the major enhancements that iOS 4.2 brings to the iPad is the ability to do multitasking.  Steve Jobs mentioned in the Apple event last month that the new iOS 4.2 will be released sometime in November and all rumors lead to an earlier than expected, November 12 release.  Although this may seem as a minor release, this release will now bring the functionalities of the iPad and iOS to somewhat equal terms.

Aside from multitasking, iOS 4.2 will bring AirPlay.  AirPlay is an enhanced version of AirTunes.  AirPlay, according to Steve Jobs last September, will enable audio and video streaming as well as image viewing through wi-fi to other devices on your network.  This will include the iPhone, iPad, iPod as well as the Apple TV.

AirPrint on the other hand enables printing over wi-fi from all your networked devices.  This is going to be very important for the iPad since Apple has marketed the iPad also as a business and productivity device.  AirPrint does not require drivers to be installed on any device since it will just detect any compatible printer and add it to the selections you can have to print.  This is also interesting because of the recent deal between Apple and HP wherein the new HP printers will definitely support the AirPrint.

If you are a Microsoft Volume License Customer, then you can download the new Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac from their website. It has recently appeared there and users are already downloading their copies of Microsoft Office 2011.

The package’s total size is 972 MB and no license key is required for its activation. The official release of Office 2011 for Mac wasn’t expected till the October of this year but looks like they have taken a early launch step.

Some of the screenshots of the product are given below:

via

Is some convergence underway between the iPad and Apple’s iMac desktop computers? A patent filing spotted by AppleInsider certainly suggest so. The filing, which was published in January, describes “transitioning between modes of input” on a device that supports both mouse and touch interfaces—and the illustration almost hints at an iMac successor:

Transitioning between a high-resolution input mode, such as a mouse-based interface, and a low-resolution input mode, such as a touch-based interface, is described. A change of orientation of a touch screen between a first orientation and a second orientation is detected. Transitioning between the two input modes and corresponding user interfaces (UIs) is based on the detected change of orientation. . . . Transitioning from one mode to another can include modifying an item displayed in the UI of the one mode into a corresponding item displayed in the UI of the other mode. The modifying can include enlarging/reducing, obscuring/unobscuring, moving, etc. For example, an item can be obscured by the visual effect of sliding it off of the screen.

AppleInsider points out that the patent application also provides an example with a notebook. Convertible laptops are, of course, nothing new, so that’s not quite as exciting.

If Apple adds touch input to the iMac, it wouldn’t be the first with an all-in-one, multi-touch desktop. HP has been selling its TouchSmart PCs for a while now. Swiveling the screen into a more touch-friendly position sounds like a useful innovation, though, as does a “smart” transition between mouse- and touch-friendly user interfaces. We’ll just have to see whether Apple actually does anything with this patent.

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This CNN report via a student-focused research firm called Student Monitor ought to be a wake up call to the PC hardware manufacturers, that Apple has replaced other major laptop manufacturers, including Dell, HP, Toshiba and Sony as the top consumer choice for students.

The research pointed out some stark facts which, not only sound unbelievable on the face of it but really highlight the Mac vs. PC, as well as the Mac vs. Windows divide. This simple little pie chart has stoked the fire of an industry already in dire straits.

This little survey shows that university students prefer to buy Apple, with Dell taking the second spot, HP just behind in third spot, and Toshiba and Sony among the major manufacturers’ trailing well behind the MacBook in terms of sales.

The only slight bright spot on the horizon is that given this pie chart, the Mac OS X still holds only a quarter of the market, while Windows, being the OEM OS for the rest of the manufacturers’ still leads the OS stakes, although at this rate of adoption, even that lead is not guaranteed, with the research suggesting that the Apple brand has seen double digit market growth since 2008, and that iPads and iPhones have had a halo effect on the sales of other Apple products.

[via student moniter]

At long last, the rumored, and much-awaited Magic Trackpad has been released by Apple to enable MacBook-like Multi-Touch functionality to its desktop line. The launch was a quiet launch, as far as Apple goes, just a simple update in its website, along with a refreshed Mac Pro and iMac line.

The company’s new Magic Trackpad is much more accessible at only $69. Billed as the largest of its kind, the multi-touch trackpad looks to be as tall as Apple’s wireless desktop keyboard. No dimensions are provided for what will invariably be referred to as the Magicpad, but it’s bigger than the trackpad on Apple’s MacBook Pro, which measures roughly 3″ x 4″. The Magic Trackpad connects via Bluetooth, so it’s only compatible with newer Macs that support the wireless standard. Apple has also introduced its own AA battery charger to complement the device.

Turning to screens, Apple unveiled a 27″ version of its Cinema Display. The new model slots in between existing 24″ and 30″ models at $999. Users can expect an IPS panel with a 2560×1440 display resolution, plus an integrated webcam, USB hub, microphone, and speakers. Apple won’t be shipping the new display until September.

Early this morning, Apple’s online store went offline for maintenance. It returned with a bounty of new products, including updated iMacs and Mac Pros, a 27″ Cinema Display, and the long-rumored Magic Trackpad.

new iMacs

Rather than revamping their respective enclosures, Apple focused on internal upgrades for its iMac and Mac Pro systems. The refreshed Mac Pros are due to arrive in August and can now play host to as many as two six-core Xeon 5600 series CPUs.

• Quad-core versions of the system based on last-gen Xeons will start at $2499.
• A single-CPU config with a six-core Xeon will also be available, and users will be able to pair a couple of Westmere quads for $3499.
• Expect to drop at least $4999 for a dual six-core Xeons.
• Unlike current Mac Pros, which come with a comically low-rent GeForce GT 120 by default, the new systems will start with a mid-range Radeon HD 5770. Users will be able to add a second 5770 or swap in a 5870, but the spec sheet curiously makes no mention of dual 5870s. The PSU may not have enough grunt to handle such a setup.

On the all-in-one front, the iMac is now available with a selection of Core i3, i5, and i7 CPUs.

• Quad-core processors are limited to the 27″ iMac, which can be configured with Radeon HD 5750 graphics and even an SSD.
• The 21.5″ variant is restricted to dual-core CPUs, but you can at least get a Radeon HD 5670 under the hood. 4GB of memory is standard across all of the new configurations, which start at $1199 and reach all the way up to $1999 for the quad-core 27-incher.

You didn’t expect the latest Macs to be cheap, did you?

The French site hardmac has revealed that the renewal of the Mac line is in the offing, including the Mac Pro. The launch is planned for the end of the summer, making it a ‘back-to-school’ season launch for Apple. The iMac update should follow in the autumn.
On this occasion, Apple should inaugurate two great innovations,

• the arrival of USB 3.0 and
• A faster Firewire interface, 1600 or 3200. Thus, Firewire will not  be forgotten.
• First adoption of Intel’s gulftown 32nm hexacore processors in Mac Pro.
• Note that Apple is also interest in  LightPeak technology, but they do not expect to be able to use it or set up it before one year.
• No support Blu-ray reading just like the preceding ones.

[via hardmac]