Mac

ATI 7000 series graphics coming to the Mac?

Yesterday Apple released a developer preview build of OS X 10.8.3 to its testing community, and upon investigating the build a few people have found it includes new drivers for AMD's high-end Radeon 7000 series graphics cards. People who have tested the build with PC versions of the Radeon 7970 have found that the card is recognized and works, and suggests that possibilities for new hardware offerings from Apple are in the works.

In the past, Apple has switched back and forth between graphics processors from AMD and Nvidia with iterations of its hardware, with its latest … Read more

Apple should double down on Jony Ive, analyst suggests

NEW YORK -- "Apple should double-down on Jony Ive." That's what Gene Munster, managing director and senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray, counseled during a state of Apple presentation at the Business Insider Ignition conference.

"The concept of the Apple's operating system has basically been copied by competitors... The real substance is the hardware side, where Jony Ive plays into it," Munster said. "The difference is in the hardware, and isn't fully appreciated."

In October, Ive was given the leadership role in developing the user interface for … Read more

Apple's new iMac to arrive November 30

The latest versions of Apple's iMac go on sale this Friday.

Apple said this morning that the 21.5-inch iMac will be available at that time through its online and retail stores and via some Apple resellers. The 27-inch iMac, meanwhile, will be available for order through the Apple Online Store and will begin shipping in December.

The 2012 edition of the iMac desktops come with 8GB of memory, a 1-terabyte hard drive, a quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, Nvidia GeForce graphics processors, and the new Fusion Drive, a hybrid that combines solid-state storage with a traditional platter-based hard … Read more

Apple's new iMacs still on track for Nov., Dec. launch -- report

Apple's newly redesigned iMacs might launch on schedule, after all.

Apple plans to launch its new 21.5-inch iMac later this month and the 27-inch model next month, Apple news site 9to5Mac is reporting today, citing sources. The blog's sources say that Apple has already started to ship the smaller models to distribution facilities.

That claim refutes a report that surfaced last week, suggesting Apple would be forced to delay its iMac because of producers' issues with a new friction-stir welding process that melds the two major pieces of the iMac's aluminum body together. That report, which … Read more

Q&A: MacFixIt Answers

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which I answer questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week, readers wrote in with questions about hiding the menu bar in OS X, a "formatter failed" error when erasing hard drives, alternative configuration possibilities for Apple's Fusion Drive technology, and whether or not a Mini DisplayPort cable can be used for Thunderbolt connections. I welcome views from readers, so if you have any suggestions or alternative approaches to these problems, please post them in the comments!

Question: Hiding the menu bar in OS X MacFixIt reader Shawn asks:

How do … Read more

How to make a custom CoreStorage drive in OS X

CoreStorage is Apple's volume manager that provides an interface between the OS and physical volumes on the drive. It was introduced in OS X Lion for its full-disk encryption options with FileVault 2, but in addition allows for volume spanning, where multiple drives in the system can be combined into one logical volume for the OS to use.

The CoreStorage volume-spanning feature not only increases a single volume's storage beyond the capacity of a single drive, it also prioritizes storage to the primary drive in its logical volume. This means that if you use an SSD as the … Read more

Apple's new iMacs face delays, report claims

The release of Apple's newly-redesigned iMac all-in-one desktop has quietly been pushed back, and could miss a major part of the holiday shopping season, according to a new report.

Citing an unnamed source, French Apple news site MacBidouille says production difficulties will push back the release of both models, possibly affecting holiday sales.

The computer, which was unveiled at Apple's iPad Mini event in October, is set to ship out to early buyers sometime this month, with the larger, 27-inch model shipping in December.

So what's the hold up? MacBidouille says it's the new friction-stir welding … Read more

How to share reminders in OS X

In OS X Mountain Lion, Apple included a few of its iOS applications, one of which is the Reminders app for setting up and organizing to-do lists. Reminders used to be part of Apple's iCal feature, but has migrated to a separate app that interfaces with the Calendar for all your Apple devices and with Apple's iCloud service. This unified setup not only makes sharing reminders among devices easy, but also offers a platform for sharing reminders among different iCloud users.

While a little redundant with standard calendar events, reminders are convenient alternatives since they are maintained in … Read more

In your FaceTime: Apple gets sued by VirnetX -- again

VirnetX, which has already won $368.2 million in damages, isn't quite done with Apple.

The patent holding and security software company, which earlier this week won an earlier suit against Apple in a Texas court, has now slapped the electronics giant with a new lawsuit. As in the prior complaint, VirnetX is accusing Apple of infringing four of its networking patents through the use of FaceTime.

Those patents, Nos. 6,502,135, 7,418,504, 7,921,211 and 7,490,151, cover advancements for secure communication over the Internet. That includes technology for creating a virtual private … Read more