Mac

Apple reports its first-quarter earnings this week, and the results could not be more closely watched for signs of the company's health and future.

The story is well-known by now. Shares of Apple's stock have been on the decline, going from $702 in late September to a close at an even $500 last week. That's a 28.4 percent drop in just over four months. Positive results -- and a look ahead when Apple puts out its numbers Wednesday -- could turn that trend.

Apple forecast $52 billion in revenue and earnings of $11.75 per share … Read more

Apple's next-generation iPad Mini will feature a high-resolution Retina Display, says KGI Securites analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In an investors note detailed last night by MacRumors, Kuo projects that the iPad Mini 2 will come with the same Retina Display already offered by its larger counterpart.

The upgrade will be beneficial not only to consumers but to developers who can then design the same high-resolution apps to fit both iPad models. The next version of the 9.7-inch iPad will also lose some weight, get much slimmer, and take on the same thin bezels used on the Mini, according to … Read more

Apple has quietly dropped the price of one of its most expensive accessory cables, along with releasing a shorter, cheaper model.

The company now sells its $49, 2-meter Thunderbolt cable for $39. There's also a new 0.5 meter version (that's 1.64 feet) for $29, notes 9to5mac.

Thunderbolt is the input/output technology that brings transfer speeds that exceed what is currently available with USB 3.0 (though not for long), as well as extending that speed across several devices at once. The port was introduced following a collaboration between Apple and Intel in early 2011, and … Read more

Those of you ready to order a new 27-inch iMac will have to wait till next month for it to arrive.

Apple's latest estimate calls for a ship time of three to four weeks, zeroing in around early to mid-February. In early December, Apple offered a vague time frame of January. So people who ordered at that time hopefully will receive their computers by the end of the month.

The new 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs popped up for sale at Apple's Web site on November 30. The 27-incher offered an initial ship time of two to three … Read more

Apple will be one of the few companies to thrive this year in the midst of weak computer buying from the corporate crowd.

Global corporate spending on Windows PCs and tablets fell by 4 percent last year, according to a report out yesterday from Forrester Research. Spending is likely to be flat this year as companies slowly replace old Windows PCs with new Windows 8 devices.

But Apple is "one vendor that will buck this trend," the research firm said in its report. The company is expected to sell $7 billion worth of Macs and $11 billion of … Read more

Want to be able to write directly on your iMac? You may soon have the right tool in hand, if the designers can generate enough cash.

Designed by the minds at Cregle, the iPen 2 is aiming to out-stylus its predecessor with a version for both the iMac and iPad. The current iPen lets you write and draw on the screen but only supports the iPad.

Cregle is trying to drum up the necessary funding for the new iPen via a Kickstarter project looking to bring in $360,000 by February 5.… Read more

Some Mac users are finding that some of the latest MacBook systems from Apple are sometimes showing drastic drops in graphics performance, which are particularly notable when playing graphically intensive applications like video games.

While at first launching the game will show the expected smooth performance, it may suddenly drop to a very low frame rate and be essentially unplayable. Usually when systems drop to low frame rates it suggests they are being overworked for some reason and are struggling to make the computations necessary for smooth gameplay, and as a result will usually be relatively hot as the graphics … Read more

Apple's next round of upgrades to its Mac computers are rumored to include a new, faster version of the ubiquitous 802.11 Wi-Fi spec.

Citing sources, The Next Web says Apple is working with Broadcom to include 802.11ac Wi-Fi technology in its Mac lineup, a move that would increase wireless networking speed when used with 802.11ac routers.

The 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard, which Broadcom has called "5G Wi-Fi," supports up to three streams and speeds of up to 1.3Gbps on the 5GHz band. That speed is dropped down to 450Mbps over a three-stream version … Read more

Earlier this month, Sumitomo Electric Industries was the first company to receive Thunderbolt certification from Intel, allowing it to start mass production of optical Thunderbolt cables.

Thunderbolt is a high-speed communications technology that Apple has used in its latest Mac systems to offer fast data transfer, not to mention new ways to expand Mac systems. While quite fast at 20Gbps (10Gbps bidirectional throughput), the sheer speed of the technology has posed a challenge.

When digital devices communicate, signal quality degrades over increased distance, whether via a wired or wireless connection. This can lead to data packets being lost and retransmitted, … Read more