Mac desktop news and reviews, including iMac, Mac mini, and Mac Pro

Speedmark 6: Macworld Lab's new benchmark suite

James Galbraith — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:01:00 -0800

The Macworld Lab has been hard at work tweaking Speedmark, our overall system performance testing tool, to better accommodate Snow Leopard and to test the Macs on which it runs.

Upgrade the Mac mini in six minutes

Dan Frakes — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:17:00 -0800

In this week's Macworld Video, Dan Frakes shows how easy it really is to upgrade the hard drive and RAM of Apple's Mac mini, completing the entire process, in a single take, in just under 6 minutes.

Steve Jobs disliked ‘iMac,’ had an appalling alternative

Jeff Porten — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:40:00 -0800

An interview with one of TBWA\Chiat\Day's former executives revealed that Steve Jobs wasn't always bully on the iMac.

Review: 21.5- and 27-inch iMacs (Late 2009)

Roman Loyola — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:29:00 -0800

The Late 2009 iMacs are really about the new displays—and the displays are impressive.

iMac (Late 2009) benchmarks

James Galbraith — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:37:00 -0800

Macworld Lab has the new iMacs and we’ve put them to the test.

Review: Mac mini (Late 2009)

Dan Frakes — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:15:00 -0800

Just seven months after giving the Mac mini line its biggest update ever, Apple has bumped the performance of the company's smallest desktop computers. While the improvements are modest, the latest Mac minis address a few of our biggest criticisms of the Early 2009 models.

Mac mini (Late 2009) benchmarks

James Galbraith — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:58:00 -0700

Macworld Lab has the Mac minis, and we put them through our benchmark tests. Our result show that the new Mac minis are impressively faster than the models they replace.

Apple releases server diagnostic tool for Snow Leopard

Philip Michaels — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:49:00 -0700

Apple Server Diagnostics 3X106 will test servers running Mac OS X Server 10.6 for hardware issues.

Apple: Boot Camp will be late to the Windows 7 party

David Chartier — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:33:00 -0700

Rushing to get home from work to install Windows 7 in Boot Camp today? Not so fast, says Apple, and not at all if you own a handful of specific first-generation Intel Macs.

MacMiniColo.net looks at the Mac mini server

Jeff Porten — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:35:00 -0700

The new Mac mini server configuration gets the hairy eyeball from the folks at MacMiniColo.net, the experts in Mac mini co-location.

First Look: New iMacs (Fall 2009)

Roman Loyola — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:34:00 -0700

The new iMacs introduce the most drastic changes to Apple’s all-in-one aluminum design since the metal iMac was introduced a little over two years ago.

New iMacs and more

Christopher Breen — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:30:00 -0700

In this week’s special-edition episode we look at the “two” in the week’s one-two punch—Monday’s spectacular quarterly earnings and today’s raft of new Apple hardware.

Apple updates Mac mini, adding server configuration

Jason Snell — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:16:00 -0700

The update to Apple's small desktop model adds faster processors, doubles memory capacity, and introduces a new server configuration that trades an optical drive for more storage.

Apple overhauls iMac line, with 21.5-, 27-inch models

Jason Snell — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0700

This major update to Apple's consumer desktop line replaces the old 20- and 24-inch models with new 21.5-inch and 27-inch models featuring a true widescreen 16x9 aspect ratio and impressive high-end features previously found only in the Mac Pro line, including the first quad-core processor ever in an iMac.

Apple reports $1.67 billion quarterly profit on record Mac, iPhone sales

Philip Michaels — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:45:00 -0700

For its fiscal fourth quarter, Apple reported a net profit of $1.67 billion, or $1.82 per share, on revenue of $9.87 billion. It sold 3.05 million Macs and 7.4 million iPhones during the three-month period ending in September.

Four things to follow in Apple's earnings announcement

Philip Michaels — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:58:00 -0700

What should you expect when Apple announces its quarterly earnings Monday afternoon. Philip Michaels looks at four talking points in advance of the 2 p.m. PT conference call, which Macworld will cover live.

Analyst: Mac sales 'defy all logic'

Gregg Keizer — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:54:00 -0700

Both Gartner and IDC expect Apple to report an increase in quarterly Mac sales when it unveils its fiscal fourth-quarter numbers next week.

Performance Update fixes a hard drive stalling issue

Rob Griffiths — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:50:00 -0700

Performance Update 1.0, released Wednesday, fixes a problem with hard drives stalling in 2009 and late 2008 Macs.

Analyst: Apple immune to Windows 7 impact

Gregg Keizer — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:34:00 -0700

Microsoft's introduction of Windows 7 later this month won't cost Apple any Mac sales, Broadpoint AmTech analyst Brian Marshall says.

Preparing for Speedmark 6

James Galbraith — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:00:00 -0700

With the release of Snow Leopard and the inevitable release of new Mac hardware, Macworld Lab is asking for reader suggestions for new tests in Speedmark 6.

Nvidia escalates patent-licensing battle with Intel

Agam Shah — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:16:00 -0700

Nvidia has stopped development of chipsets for Intel's latest processors, intensifying a battle between the companies.

Chamber of Commerce to Apple: See you, wouldn't want to be you

Philip Michaels — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:59:00 -0700

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce responded to Apple's decision to resign from the group over disagreements on climate change legislation with a letter of its own.

Google leak points to imminent iMac, MacBook refresh

Gregg Keizer — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:37:00 -0700

Google posted ads on its search results over the weekend that hinted Apple will soon refresh its iMac, Mac mini and MacBook lines.

Psystar licenses OS X virtualization technology

Dan Moren — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:49:00 -0700

Clone-maker Psystar is still stuck in a legal dispute with Apple over running OS X on generic PC hardware, but that hasn't stopped the company from trying new business approaches.

Apples to Windows comparison shopping

Peter Sayer — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:27:00 -0700

New retail efforts by Apple and Microsoft in Paris speak volumes about the companies' respective brand images and the customers they're hoping to woo.

Intel ahead of schedule with new Xeon server chips

Agam Shah — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:57:00 -0700

Intel could start shipping its next-generation Xeon quad-core server chips to system makers by the first quarter of 2010.

Intel shows working Larrabee system

Agam Shah — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:44:00 -0700

Intel on Tuesday demonstrated the first working unit of its Larrabee graphics processor.

Intel's Otellini: PC industry on brink of recovery

Agam Shah — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:52:00 -0700

The PC industry is set to come out of the most damaging recession in decades as computer shipments begin to pick up, Intel CEO Paul Otellini said Tuesday.

Intel accuses EC of mishandling antitrust evidence

Agam Shah — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:38:00 -0700

Intel has accused the European Commission of mishandling evidence during an antitrust investigation.

Intel's latest reorganization sets stage for succession

Sumner Lemon and James Niccolai — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:32:00 -0700

The latest leadership shuffle among Intel's top ranks sets the stage for the chip maker to name an eventual replacement for CEO Paul Otellini.

Apple rolls out iMac graphics, RAID card firmware updates

Philip Michaels — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:04:00 -0700

The iMac Graphics FW Update improves system stability in iMacs with an ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT graphics card. And the Apple RAID Card Firmware Update offers improvements for Mac Pros and Xserves with an Apple RAID Card.

Skype for iPhone heads to Canada

Peter Cohen — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:21:00 -0700

Skype, the popular VoIP service, is now available on the iPhone in Canada.

Intel releases first Nehalem chip for mainstream PCs

Agam Shah — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:13:00 -0700

Intel is finally pushing Nehalem-based processors into systems with the launch of its first Core i5 chip on Monday.

Psystar starts selling Mac clones with Snow Leopard

Gregg Keizer — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:03:00 -0700

Psystar -- which is locked in an ongoing legal dispute with Apple -- has begun selling PCs with Mac OS X 10.6 pre-installed.

Apple releases Mac mini, SuperDrive updates

Jonathan Seff — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:28:00 -0700

Apple on Monday released firmware updates for the Mac mini and for certain SuperDrive-containing systems.

Buy a used Mac (without getting burned)

Cyrus Farivar — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Putting off the purchase of a new Mac because your budget is tight? It might be time to consider buying used. Here's how to make a deal you won't regret.

Survey: Asus, Apple provide most reliable PCs

Agam Shah — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:09:00 -0700

Asus, Apple were the most reliable PC vendors in the U.S. during the second quarter, according to a PC reliability survey from Rescuecom.

Analyst: Apple could benefit with Blu-ray Macs

Nick Spence — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:45:00 -0700

An analyst thinks Apple should add high-definition Blu-ray support to the next generation of iMacs