Apple released Mac OS X 10.7.4 this week with bug and security fixes. No major new features were introduced. You can get it by running Software Update.
In addition, a new version of Safari, 5.1.7 is available. This version forces users to get the latest version of the Flash plug-in. It is important from a security standpoint to keep Flash up-to-date as well as your browser and OS, and it is interesting that Apple is now making that a requirement.
Three new regional U.S. carriers announced they will be selling the iPhone. Kentucky’s Bluegrass Cellular, Kansas’ Nex-Tech Wireless and California’s Golden State Cellular will all start carrying the iPhone on May 18.
Adobe released the next version of its software suite, CS6. This includes new versions of Photoshop, Premiere, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Illustrator and Flash Pro. The applications can be bought in the traditional manner, but starting tomorrow can also be acquired through Adobe’s new online subscription service, Creative Cloud, for a monthly subscription fee.
“Sure, they give you iPads while you wait, but they just have old outdated health magazine apps on them.”
If you want to turn off your screen fast you can activate display sleep with a keyboard combination. Shift+Control+Eject will do it. If you have a MacBook Air without an eject key, the power key in the upper right corner will work. Then press any key to turn the screen back on.
Rumors this week have Apple working on a $800 MacBook model. Right now the cheapest MacBook is the $999 MacBook Air ($950 educational pricing). Does Apple need to have a cheaper MacBook model? Is $200 really enough to make a difference?
“Now with the Mac App Store I’ve got awesome games too.”
“Dude, I played all of those games back in 2004.”
You know in sci-fi movies where they use little handheld devices to translate spoken language? Well the future may be here. The SayHi Translate app comes pretty close. Choose two languages and press one, then speak. The words you speak are translated into the other language and then spoken. The text appears on the screen so you know if it understood what you said first, and then you can see the translated result as well. This could become a must-have for travelers. It works like Siri in that it communicates with a server over the Internet for the heavy lifting.
Want to know what the official name of your Mac is? In Lion, go to the Apple menu and choose About This Mac. Then click on More Info. This launches System Information. With the overview tab selected, the name of your Mac is at the top. Examples: “Mac Pro, Early 2008,” “MacBook Air, 11-inch, Mid 2011” and “iMac, 21.5-inch, Mid 2011.” This name and date system can be used to identify your Mac when describing trouble, checking for compatibility, or reselling.
Once again Apple’s quarterly report wowed investors, causing the stock to surge on Wednesday. Apple announced a profit of $11.6 billion on $39.2 billion in revenue. It sold 35.1 million iPhones, 11.8 million iPads and 4 million Macs.
In a conference call after the announcement, Apple confirmed again that Mac OS 10.8, Mountain Lion, will be out in late summer. In the education market the iPad outsold Macs two to one. iCloud now has 125 million users.
On Wednesday Apple announced the dates for its annual Worldwide Developer Conference: June 11 to 15. Tickets sold out in two hours.
“This app warns you when guys are nearby who use apps to see when girls are nearby.”
With a Finder window selected, choose View, Customize Toolbar. Then drag a Path button to your Finder’s toolbar. This lets you quickly jump to the parent folder or any folder above the current one. You can do the same thing by using Control or Command and clicking on the Finder’s title bar, but a Path button may be easier for some to use.
