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Posts tagged with "imac"

Twelve South Wants To Elevate Your iPad with HoverBar

Those who have been Mac users long enough to remember the good old lampshade iMac and happen to have made the transition to newer, slicker aluminum models from the past few years might want to take a look at Twelve South’s latest product, the HoverBar. Meant to be used on an iMac-powered desk and available today at $79.99, the HoverBar is a flexible L-shaped arm that connects your iMac to an iPad; you’ll be able to turn your tablet into a secondary screen with iOS apps that support Lion’s multiple displays, a touch-based dashboard for your Twitter feed or RSS, or just about anything else you can come up with thanks to the plethora of apps available on the App Store.

HoverBar can be used with an iPad 2, iMac, or an Apple external display, and Twelve South says it can also be installed independently as, for instance, a kitchen mount. Obviously, the silicone lined clamp of HoverBar will work best when directly attached to an iMac, as it seems like Twelve South really wanted to place this product as a desktop Mac companion to achieve an iOS/OS X workstation worth of Apple’s design polish.

HoverBar turns iPad into the ultimate sidecar for an iMac or Apple display, presenting more ways to use iPad more often. Connect HoverBar to your Mac, snap iPad 2 into the secure clip and you now have one powerful dual-computer work setup. Having iPad floating next to your Mac allows you to monitor your Twitter stream, stocks and local weather – or run FaceTime on your iPad while you email, edit a file, or cut a video on your Mac. There is no reason to leave iPad in your computer bag when you have a HoverBar. This accessory expands the way you use and interact with iPad 2.

The HoverBar’s flexible arm allows you to place the iPad both in portrait and landscape orientation, and whilst some might argue that reaching out with your arm to touch an iPad can be uncomfortable over time, I actually believe there is a market for iOS desktop accessories that enable you to enjoy the rich selection of iPad apps when using a Mac at your desk. Plus, Twelve South’s promo video (which we have embedded after the break), shows some interesting additional usage scenarios for the HoverBar, such as attaching it to a desk and use it with AirPlay Mirroring to an Apple TV, or mounted on a bed for hands-free reading. I look forward to getting one of these things and see if it’ll turn out to be weird, or incredibly useful. Either way, it’s a very interesting product decision from Twelve South.

The HoverBar is available at $79.99 from Twelve South’s website. Read more

Apple Introduces $999 iMac For Educational Institutions

We reported a few hours ago on reports that Apple was set to launch a new iMac model for educational institutions later this month for a sub-$1000 price. Surprisingly we only needed to wait a few more hours for this new model as it turns out that Apple has decided to launch this new educational iMac today — meaning that for educational institutions they can purchase this new iMac model now.

This new iMac model is available for $999 and is directly targeted at educational institutions — individuals are not able to purchase this model. The specifications of this new iMac model are in line with what was stated in the 9to5 Mac report this morning with a 3.1GHz Core i3 processor, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB of hard drive storage and an AMD HD 6750 with 512 MB. This knowledge base article contains all the specifications of this new iMac but interestingly this model (which is dubbed a ‘Late 2011’ iMac) does not have Thunderbolt, that makes this iMac the first new Mac from Apple in 2011 that doesn’t support Thunderbolt.

  • 3.1GHz Intel Core i3 Dual-Core
  • 21.5-inch LCD
  • AMD Radeon HD 6750 with 256 MB
  • 2GB RAM
  • 250GB Hard Drive
  • SuperDrive
  • OS X Lion

Updated to include link to specifications page.

[Via MacRumors]

Apple Set To Introduce Education-Focused iMac Model For Less Than $1000?

Apple may be preparing to launch an education-focused iMac later this month according to a report in 9to5 Mac today. The “new” iMac would be less powerful than the current generation of iMacs available to consumers but would be priced at a lower level that is geared towards volume and educational customers.

9to5 Mac claims that this ‘education’ iMac will include a previous generation 3.1GHz dual core processor, 2 GB of RAM, 250 GB of hard drive storage and an AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics processor with 256 MB dedicated memory — the article doesn’t rule in or rule out the inclusion of a Thunderbolt port. No price is attributed to this machine in the article but they suspect it would be sub-$1000 and cite the example of a previous education-focused iMac being sold for $899 and a similar refurbished model selling for $929 now.

This ‘education’ iMac is expected to silently launch on August 16th, but there is potential for that date to change if Apple wishes — there isn’t any real rush to get this product out as soon as possible. Whilst this rumoured new iMac model is a bit odd and out of the blue, the specificity that 9to5 Mac has in terms of specifications (despite the lack of a concrete price) suggests that it is likely that this is indeed a product about to launch.

[Via 9to5 Mac]

Apple Releases Thunderbolt Cable, Sony Unveils Details Of New PC Featuring Thunderbolt

Update: The cable has made its way on to the online US Apple Store and it is indeed US$49.

Following yesterday’s Thunderbolt firmware update that brought “performance and stability fixes”, Apple has released the ‘Apple Thunderbolt cable’ that allows users to connect and daisy chain multiple Thunderbolt capable devices. The 2m long accessory is simply a cable that features the Thunderbolt connector on both ends. It is priced at $55 in Australia, £39.00 in the UK but has not yet made it into the US Apple Store – although based on similarly priced accessories it will be roughly US$49.

Thunderbolt technology supports blazing-fast data transfer with two independent channels of 10Gbit/s each. Use the Apple Thunderbolt cable to connect your Thunderbolt-equipped peripherals to your new iMac or new MacBook Pro.

As explained in our Thunderbolt editorial a few months ago, the Thunderbolt specification works by daisy chaining multiple devices together – allowing just one cable from the Mac to actually connect a number of devices together. This Thunderbolt accessory cable is that cable that can connect multiple Thunderbolt capable devices together.

The other piece of Thunderbolt news is that Sony has announced details of its new 13.1-inch VAIO Z that features Thunderbolt, except they are calling it Light Peak (the old name of the specification). Interestingly it features a ‘Power Media Dock’ that includes an external GPU and optical drive – all connected by Light Peak. It is certainly an interesting use of the Thunderbolt specification, and with its speeds that external GPU will certainly make that laptop much more powerful when connected.

[Via This is my next]

Apple Releases iMac Graphic Firmware Update 2.0

Owners of an iMac might want to fire up Software Update or head over Apple’s Downloads website to get the latest Graphic Firmware Update released a few minutes ago. Less than one megabyte in size, the update should fix an issue that, according to Apple, in “rare cases” may cause an iMac to hang either during startup or when waking from sleep. As usual, Apple recommends to not shut off the computer during a firmware update as that may result in computers failing to start up.

Go download iMac Graphic Firmware Update 2.0 here.

Keep your iMac Warm with this Italian Slipper

Unless you happen to be that Starbucks guy, your iMac doesn’t get the loving attention it needs. Unlike you warm blooded humans, those aluminum iMacs can get pretty chilly thanks to its bare aluminum flesh, and it’d be a shame for your work horse to catch a chill. Why not accent those cold metallic toes with the iMac Slipper? Made from vegetable tanned leather (that will darken overtime in sunlight) and 100% premium wool, the iMac Slipper by Hard Graft is designed to accent the iMac as both a fashionable desktop companion and conversation piece for the iMac stand. The iMac slips gently into the leather footrest, providing a soft cushion for it to stand on while you pound out those complicated code thingies and process those processor numbing Photoshop jobs. That’s the least you can do for your beautiful 27” right? No matter your constitution on the necessity of such an accessory, at least the Hard Graft fellows are honest in their product description.

OK, maybe you don’t really need one but isn’t it a really cool and unique way to customize your iMac or Cinema Display and show that you really care about the details?

Well played smart crafters of fine leather products. Well played. Surely this will bring some personality and color to your most well worn machines, and what better way to stand apart from your coworkers than by wrapping your iMac in a warm leather hide? For €29.00, the iMac Slipper can be yours.

New iMacs Can Only Use Apple’s Hard Drives

One of the perks of having an iMac, be it a 21.5-inch or 27-inch model, is that you’re signing up for an all-in-one solution that packs everything you need into a “screen” that only needs to be placed your desk, connected to a power source, and it’s ready to go. The iMac – certainly Apple’s top choice in the consumer desktop line – isn’t meant to offer “user serviceable parts”, meaning what you get with Apple’s standard configuration is what you’ll have to stick with until the end of the product’s life cycle. In the past years, however, users who wanted to customize their iMac experience with custom parts like, say, different internal hard drives or better RAM, were able to open an iMac (provided they followed the complex instructions that require to pay attention when disassembling the aluminum enclosure and display) and fit in compatible components to enhance the performances of the machine.

As noted by Michael at Other World Computing’s blog, however, the new 2011 iMacs – the ones with Thunderbolt, Sandy Bridge processors and better graphics – don’t allow you to use any other hard drive but Apple’s custom ones, which are running a custom firmware to provide temperature monitoring through a new 7-pin SATA connector.

For the main 3.5″ SATA hard drive bay in the new 2011 machines, Apple has altered the SATA power connector itself from a standard 4-pin power configuration to a 7-pin configuration. Hard drive temperature control is regulated by a combination of this cable and Apple proprietary firmware on the hard drive itself. From our testing, we’ve found that removing this drive from the system, or even from that bay itself, causes the machine’s hard drive fans to spin at maximum speed and replacing the drive with any non-Apple original drive will result in the iMac failing the Apple Hardware Test (AHT).

In examining the 2011 27″ iMac’s viability for our Turnkey Upgrade Service, every workaround we’ve tried thus far to allow us to upgrade the main bay factory hard drive still resulted in spinning fans and an Apple Hardware Test failure. We swapped the main drive out (in this case a Western Digital Black WD1001FALS) with the exact same model drive from our inventory which resulted in a failure. We’ve installed our Mercury Pro 6G SSD in that bay, it too results in ludicrous speed engaged fans and an AHT failure. In short, the Apple-branded main hard drive cannot be moved, removed or replaced.

To add insult to injury, the latest iMac EFI Update 1.6 unleashed 6Gb/s speeds on two internal ports – and naturally, one of them is the proprietary, firmware-limited, 7200RPM main drive that can’t take advantage of those speeds anyway.

Michael argues that by “closing” the system, Apple’s being evil in not allowing geeks and users who buy stuff on OWC or other Mac hardware shops to upgrade their iMacs to better configurations. As Marco Arment explains though (and I personally agree with him here), the iMac’s not really meant for fiddling and user customizations. Like I said above, when you purchase an iMac you’re signing up for the all-in-one idea of a machine that provides Apple’s latest and greatest innovations in desktop miniaturization technology – by using custom cables, firmwares and hard drives, Apple makes sure you get the best performances out of your iMac, with the “downside” of being unable to customize it. This aspect, of course, can also be seen a way for Apple to make sure that angry modders don’t queue up in the Apple Store asking for free replacements when they purposely opened an iMac to play around with its internals.

You can always find an old iMac online and make it your main machine to mod and improve over time, but you won’t be able to enjoy the improvements in Sandy Bridge architecture and Thunderbolt connectivity. And those, if you ask me, are pretty convincing reasons to get a 2011 iMac and stick with its default hard drives.

Apple Posts 10.6.7 Update for New iMacs, EFI and MacBook Pro Updates

Apple posted a series of software updates overnight, all of them aimed at improving stability and performances of the new iMacs, MacBook Pros and Thunderbolt, the technology introduced in the MBPs back in February. The biggest update is for the early 2011 iMacs, which got an updated version of 10.6.7 with bug fixes, performance and security enhances. More specifically, the update improves the reliability of Back to my Mac, addresses Mac App Store bugs, improves Thunderbolt support and addresses other issues with graphics stability and 3D performances. It’s a 382 MB download. Another update for the iMacs – an EFI update – “includes fixes that improve performance and stability for Thunderbolt.”

The MacBook Pros received updates, too. The MacBook Pro Software Update 1.4 improves Thunderbolt, external display support and 3D performances, whilst the EFI update 2.1 “includes fixes that resolve an issue with Turbo Mode in Boot Camp, and improve performance and stability for graphics and Thunderbolt.”

You can find all the updates in the Software Update panel on your Mac, or by following the direct links below.

- Mac OS X 10.6.7 Update for iMac (early 2011) 1.0

- iMac EFI Update 1.6

- MacBook Pro Software Update 1.4

- MacBook Pro EFI Update 2.1

New iMacs To Use SSDs As A “System Cache” For Spinning Hard Drives?

Yesterday, we noted the new iMacs featuring Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt technology came with an option in the Apple Store’s online configuration page to pack a hybrid Serial ATA Drive + SSD setup at an additional cost. What’s curious about this hybrid setup is the note left by Apple to inform users that OS X will come preinstalled on the solid state drive, leaving space for documents and other media on the bigger (but slower) spinning hard drive.

iMac also offers an optional 256GB solid-state drive (SSD), which has no moving parts and delivers increased drive performance for many operations. The 256GB SSD can be purchased in place of the standard hard drive or in addition to it.

If you configure your iMac with both the solid-state drive and a Serial ATA hard drive, it will come preformatted with Mac OS X and all your applications on the solid-state drive. Then you can use the hard drive for videos, photos, and other files.

This led to speculation as to whether Apple was planning to install OS X on the SSD and show the other drive as a mounted volume in the Finder, or they developed a brand new system to automatically handle the processing of files and system info across the SSD and the spinning drive. Several bloggers and Mac users wondered how Apple could manage to easily allow the new iMacs to quickly switch between drives, save the OS on one drive and media on the other, symlink the user’s Home folder to content saved outside the SSD. These technical questions also had to face the 4-6 week delay that showed up when ordering a new iMac with hybrid configuration. However, the solution may be pretty simple, as it could lie in Apple’s use of Intel’s new Z68 platform, which – combined with the upcoming “Larsen Creek” SSDs – allows for a new caching system called “Smart Response Technology.” Intel’s BD82Z68 Platform Controller Hub is indeed being used in the mid-2011 iMacs, as iFixit confirmed earlier today.

Intel’s Smart Response Technology works like this: in a hybrid configuration such as the one possible in the new iMacs, the smaller SSD acts as a “system cache” for the bigger & slower HDD. The OS (boot files, resources, extensions) are cached on the SSD for faster loading times, but the user only sees one drive in the Finder / Windows Explorer.

Smart Response provides a middle ground between capacious but slow and inexpensive hard drive storage, and fast but small and expensive SSD. With it, one can retain a high-capacity hard drive, and speed it up using a small SSD. The technology uses the small SSD’s low access times and high speeds to make it work as a cache of the HDD, it might even store copies of key parts of the HDD such as the boot volume and system files, to make booting faster, and the system more responsive overall.

It’s not clear at this point whether the delay in shipping times is caused by Apple waiting for Intel’s new solid state drives, and if Smart Response Technology will be enabled at all in Snow Leopard. Apple’s note on OS X coming preinstalled on the SSD surely raises some important technical questions, and we’ll know more in a few weeks when these hybrid iMacs will start showing up. [TonyMacx86 via 9to5mac]