Macintosh - page 5

Apple Saw 24% Growth In Q4 2009 As Computer Market Bounces Back

By

cult_logo_featured_image_missing_default1920x1080

Preliminary United States PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q09 (Thousands of Units)

Company 4Q09 Shipments 4Q09 Market Share (%) 4Q08 Shipments 4Q08 Market Share (%) 4Q09-4Q08 Growth (%)
HP 5,954.1 30.0 4,081.6 26.0 45.9
Dell Inc. 4,483.1 22.6 4,248.8 27.1 5.5
Acer 3,104.9 15.6 2,091.8 13.3 48.4
Toshiba 1,719.7 8.7 1,007.7 6.4 70.7
Apple 1,483.0 7.5 1,203.0 7.7 23.3
Others 3,100.6 15.6 3,053.4 19.5 1.5
Total 19,845.4 100.0 15,686.3 100.0 26.5

Note: Data includes desk-based PCs, mobile PCs and X86 servers.
Source: Gartner (January 2010)

Apple’s Mac shipments grew 24% in Q4 2009, riding the industry’s strongest growth period in seven years, according to new numbers from research firm Gartner.

Worldwide, the computer market bounced back in a big way at the end of 2009, Gartner says, largely on the back of low-cost netbooks and consumer laptops, which were heavily-discounted for the holidays.

“These preliminary results indicate the recovery of the PC market on a global level,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner in a statement.

Worldwide computer shipments grew 22.1%  in Q4 (numbering 90 million units).

Hewlett-Packard displaced Dell as the biggest PC maker in the U.S., and Acer established itself as the low-price leader.

In the U.S., Apple saw gains of 23.2% compared to Q4 2008 (which was dismal). However, competitors like Toshiba led the PC pack with 70.7% growth, trailed by Acer (48.4%) and HP (45.9%). Dell lagged with only 5.5% growth, largely because it didn’t discount for the holidays. “Dell was not as aggressive on pricing as its competitors in order to protect profits,” Gartner said.

Growth was driven by the consumer market — not the business market — and the Windows 7 was did not create additional PC demand, although Gartner said “the launch was a good market tool during holiday sales.”

“It was the strongest quarter over quarter growth rate the worldwide PC market has experienced in the last seven years,” Gartner said in a statement.

Full release after the jump.

Apple Gear Shines in Fight Against Global Poverty

By

cult_logo_featured_image_missing_default1920x1080

When Shawn Ahmed travels to places such as Bangladesh to fight poverty he counts on iPhones and Macs to help him do battle.

Ahmed is the founder of a one-man global relief effort he calls the Uncultured Project and is using technology and social media in inventive ways to engage people across the globe in their common humanity.

In partnership with the Save the Children Foundation and USAID, Ahmed went last summer to a cyclone devastated village in Galachipa, Bangladesh to distribute non-food relief items to victims of the disaster. He provided individual donors to Uncultured Project real-time receipts for their generosity using his iPhone and TwitPic.

As seen in the clip above, Ahmed used his iPhone to show villagers in another Bangladeshi community videos made by the people in the west who helped bring safe, clean drinking water to their lives. “This is not a charity,” Ahmed said, “it’s an experiment in community.”

The 28 year-old native of Toronto, Canada quit his scholarship graduate studies at Notre Dame University after being inspired by Dr. Jeffery Sachs (author of The End of Poverty) to try and make the world a better place — one meaningful difference at a time.

“I’ve also been using the iPhone to report real-time in the field,” Ahmed said in an email. He makes extensive use of Twitter and YouTube to break down the distance between his supporters and the communities they support. Connecting to them with his iPhone, Ahmed said, “I hold votes on how I should help people in Bangladesh. Voting has led [to] school supply distributions to orphans and much more. And, of course, all my videos are edited on a MacBook.”

The Uncultured Project’s YouTube channel just went over 10,000 subscribers and Ahmed is hopeful for the prospects of his unpaid, unemployed, uncultured journey to help the poorest of the poor: “It’s about inspiring others to believe that we can be the generation that ends extreme poverty.”

Psystar: Cocaine, Car Crashes and The Company’s Chances of Beating Apple (Pretty Good)

By

robert_pedraza_psystar
Psytar's Robert Pedraza -- the technical brains behind Psystar. Photo: Ted Soqui/Miami New Times

Psystar, the unofficial Mac cloner, may actually have a shot at beating Apple, the Miami New Times reports in an interesting backgrounder on the two brothers behind the company, Robert and Rudy Pedraza.

The six-page profile includes several interesting factoids, including the revelation that their father is a convicted coke dealer.

The brothers started their knockoff business after one of them survived a near fatal car crash. The company is shipping boatloads of computers and is likely making money (quickly eaten by legal costs). Several copycats have cropped up, including the Moscow-based RussianMac.

To recap, Psystar sells cheap Hackintoshes that run Apple’s OS X. A Psystar machine costs about a third of a comparable offering from Apple, but runs OS X in violation of Apple’s shrinkwrap EULA license.

Apple is hell-bent on shutting the company down, but some IP experts think Psystar has a shot. The case hinges on the legality of EULAs — shrinkwrap licenses — that say you don’t own the software you buy, you license it. The legality of EULAs has never been tested in the courts, which makes the Psystar case so important. If Psystar wins, it may not only throw a wrench into Apple’s business model, it may alter the entire software industry.

The paper quotes a couple of intellectual property lawyers who say the tiny Florida company may actually win.

“They’ve already put some really good arguments forward,” says Randy Friedberg, an intellectual property lawyer following the case in New York. “There’s essentially one really interesting question here, and it’s whether that licensing agreement holds up.”

Security Experts Flag Art Project as Malware Threat to Mac Users

By

cult_logo_featured_image_missing_default1920x1080

Security software developers must think Mac users are quite daft. Tuesday afternon Symantec sent out a press release flogging its ‘discovery’ of a new trojan horse targeting Apple’s OS disguised as a ‘space invaders’ style video game in which killing invading aliens results in the program deleting files from the user’s hard drive.

Ooo.

The game in question is an art project called Lose/Lose that first appeared on the web back in September, created by digital artist Zach Gage and featured in Electrofringe’s current exhibition of online art, Electro Online 2009.

The idea behind the project is to use game mechanics to call into question the idea of mindless killing for fun. Are gamers so obsessive they must kill aliens at any cost? In the game, each alien is based on a random file on the players computer. If the player kills the alien, the file it is based on is deleted.

Gage asks, “Why do we assume that because we are given a weapon an awarded for using it, that doing so is right?”

The game has a clear warning at start-up that says, in scary red letters: killing aliens in this game will delete files from your hard drive.

Now Symantec is sending out an alert flagging the art project as malware.

“A new threat cleverly disguised as a classic video game is targeting unsuspecting Mac users,” Symantec said in an email to CultofMac.com. It continued:

The Trojan horse, known as Trojan.Loosemaque, is designed to look like a Space Invaders/Galaga style game. However, for every alien ship the user destroys, the program deletes a file from the home directory.   Symantec – the world leader in online security – recently discovered this new Trojan horse targeting Mac users and video of it in action can be seen here. Online games are increasingly becoming a target for virus creators, and this threat shows it’s a possibility regardless of the platform. While the author of OSX.Loosemaque actually informs people on his website that the game deletes files, there’s nothing stopping someone with more malicious intentions from modifying it and passing it on to unsuspecting users who don’t have security software installed.

Symantec is not the first company to flag Gage’s project. Security blockers such as Sophos’ Anti-Virus and Intego’s VirusBarrier X5 also define the game as a threat.

So is it art or is it malware? Are Mac users equipped to know the difference? Seriously, what do security software companies take us for?

Walt Mossberg’s Annual Shopping Guide: Keep Buying Macs Kids

By

cult_logo_featured_image_missing_default1920x1080

The world’s most influential computer expert is once again recommending consumers buy Macs over Windows PCs.

Mossberg has just published his annual fall computer buying guide, and says that while Windows 7 is almost as good as Snow Leopard, and PCs can be “priced hundreds of dollars lower than Macs,” Apple wins because of the built-in iLife software:

“The arrival of Windows 7 makes PCs from Hewlett-Packard, Dell and others much better choices than their Vista-equipped predecessors were. Microsoft has closed most of the gap with Apple’s Mac OS X operating system. Also, Windows PCs are often priced hundreds of dollars lower than Macs, and offer many more choices.

But in my view, Apple’s built-in software still has the edge. Snow Leopard is fast and reliable. And it comes with a full suite of excellent built-in programs, including email, photo and video software. Microsoft has stripped Windows 7 of such programs.”

Here’s Mossberg on video discussing some of the options.

Gallery: The Best of the Best Tend to Choose Apple

By

beyonce_macbook
The singer Beyonce Knowles -- one of the biggest celebrities in the world -- uses her MacBook at the pool.

When you’re among the top achievers in your given field of endeavor it only stands to reason you probably choose the best tools available to do whatever it is you do, both professionally and personally.

Our survey of some of the best of the best across a wide range of endeavors shows lots of those at the top of their games choose Apple gear when it comes to computing and entertainment and we offer here a gallery of 10 top machers from the fields of media, sports, entertainment, politics and elsewhere who choose Apple products to enhance and enable their achievements.

There’s a reason the game is called Follow the Leader, isn’t it?

Via ObamaPacMan

Review: HP’s Photosmart All-In-One Is a Fanzine Publisher’s Wet Dream

By

HP_Photosmart_1

The best thing about going to the office is having access to the copier in the mail room. Sneak in at the weekend, roll off hundreds of color copies for your secret art project.

But HP has a fantastic home-office alternative: the Photosmart Premium Fax All-in-One Printer, Scanner, Fax, Copier. It does everything the industrial ones do, yet costs less than $200. A snap to set up and prints from the iPhone. It’s the best printer I’ve ever had. Weird, I know, but I really do love this baby.

Hit the jump for the full review.

Wow: 20% Of Mac Users Already Upgraded To Snow Leopard In Just One Month

By

112215-net_applications_snow_leopard

About 18% of all Mac users upgraded to Snow Leopard in just a month, new numbers from the online research firm Net Applications suggest.

Snow Leopard was released on August 28. Thanks to its low $30 price tag, Mac users are pouncing on it. But a nearly 20% percent adoption rate is fast — by anyone’s standards.

Net Applications estimates market share by measuring the number of visits to a network of sites, recording things like browser and operating system. According to the firm, about 1% of all computer users are currently running Snow Leopard. The firm estimates that 5% of computer users worldwide are Mac users, which means about 18% of Mac users are running Snow Leopard.

On interesting thing to note is the peak in Mac users during weekends. Presumably, people are surfing on PCs at work during the week, and using a Mac at home over the weekend.

Via MacRumors.

Some Pictures Of The Apple I Up For Sale Next Week On eBay

By

cult_logo_featured_image_missing_default1920x1080

apple1b1

Here’s some pictures of the rare Apple I that will be up for auction on eBay early next week. Hit the jump for more.

As reported earlier, the historic machine will be up for auction shortly, likely next week. The owner, Monroe Postman, hasn’t announced the date of the auction.

Postman picked up the Apple I at an estate sale around 1980. He doesn’t remember the details, including how much he paid.

Gallery: In Search of the Coolest Apple T-Shirt

By

post-17257-image-b4e0d345fc2d55df21523424371aae0a-jpg
The beloved Dogcow Moof! t-shirt from RedLightRunner is now a rarity.

It’s always a little dicey doing a “Best of” Apple t-shirts post because the really, truly best Apple t-shirts have always been the limited edition, short-run t-shirts that Apple prints up for employees and other associates, the ones Guy Kawasaki wrote about in his 1990 book, “The Macintosh Way.” In it he draws a flow chart depicting Apple’s process for making great products and the first step is: Order t-shirt.

In fact, there’s a whole book on the subject, by Gordon Thygeson – “Apple T-Shirts: A Yearbook of History at Apple Computer” – with 1000s of pictures of such shirts from over the years.

However, for those of us not lucky enough to get our bods into one of these rare and memorable pieces of Apple attire, there are a number of outlets in the US and the UK (and probably elsewhere as well) where you can pick up some cool threads and show the world where your allegiances lie.

Hit the jump for a gallery of 10 we think are worth checking out.

This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.

Rumor: Next-Gen iMac to Get New Chips, SD-Card Slot, Touch-Enabled Mouse

By

An arty iMac shot, courstesy of  Lordgoroth on Flickr. CC-licnesed original at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lordgoroth/3753720029/
An arty iMac shot, courstesy of  Lordgoroth on Flickr. CC-licnesed original at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lordgoroth/3753720029/

Here’s a rumor we can get behind — the next-gen iMac will get quad-core processors and a SD-Card slot, according the French website Mac4Ever.

New iMacs are just around the corner, according to reports, and may be released in a matter of weeks. While some recent rumors suggest the machine may get a Blu-Ray drive, a SD Card reader seems much likelier, especially as card readers are now included in the 13″ and 15″ MacBook Pros.

The iMac is also rumored to get new processors, but reports are all over the place. Mac4Ever says the iMac will get quad-core chips, and possibly Xeon processors, while MacRumors says the iMac will stay with dual-core chips.

Mac4Ever also predicts a mouse with a surface that is 100% touch-enabled, allowing for advanced configuration options. There’s alos an aluminum remote in Apple’s pipeline, which sounds nice and classy.

Meanwhile, AppleInsider is saying the entry-level MacBook may also get a revamp shortly. The MacBook may split into a couple of sub-$1,000 models, AI says, thanks to the crummy economy, and may also be available in weeks.

Via MacRumors.

Report: Revamped iMac With Blu-Ray (Maybe) Coming Soon

By

Apple's popular iMac is rumored to get a refresh soo. Many are hoping Blu-Ray will be added, but that' sunlikely. CC-licensed pic of an iMac by QuattroVageena: http://www.flickr.com/photos/quattrovageena/1709649008/
Apple's popular iMac is rumored to get a refresh soon. Many are hoping Blu-Ray will be added, but that's unlikely. CC-licensed pic of an iMac by QuattroVageena: http://www.flickr.com/photos/quattrovageena/1709649008/

A redesigned iMac with a slimmer chassis, a lower price tag and possibly Blu-Ray is coming in the next few weeks, says AppleInsider.

Citing two sources, the new iMac is already rolling off production lines in Taiwan, says the website. It could be launched as early as next week, though early- to mid-October is likelier.

The new machine will likely be cheaper and sport a thinner industrial design, along the lines of Apple’s latest LED backlit Cinema Displays. It may also have Blu-Ray, AppleInsider suggests, though not very strongly.

“People familiar with Apple’s thinking have suggested in recent months one of these moves could see the company finally embrace Blu-ray — a technology once derided by Chief Executive Steve Jobs as a “bag of hurt” from a licensing perspective.”

CoM is betting against Blu-Ray. The format isn’t yet ready for prime time on computers. Until software and other media ships on Blu-Ray, it’s a format that makes sense only for movies on home theater systems.

If Apple does add Blu-Ray, it’s likely to be at a premium, AppleInsider says, suggesting Blu-Ray may be available as an option, which sounds reasonable. Customers wanting a Blu-Ray drive can pay extra for it.

Gallery: Gelaskins’ Coolest New Designs

By

gelaskins.jpg
Gelaskins put fine art protection on your iPhone.

Among the many dozens (hundreds?) of companies in the cottage industry that makes cases and other protective doo dads for your iPhone, Totonto-based Gelaskins probably produces the most arresting and beautiful of them all.

Actually, just saying they produce protective devices for the iPhone is selling the company way short since they adapt fine art from a deep roster of global artists working in a broad range of styles, putting photo quality prints on thin, but tough, scratch-resistant polymer with a patented 3M adhesive, allowing you to personalize and protect everything from iPhone to the full range of Apple iPods and laptops.

The iPhone covers go for about $15, while iPod protection runs a little less and laptop protective art will set you back about $30. Not that Apple’s industrial design isn’t beautiful itself, but all the Gelaskins art is distinctive – and any of it is guaranteed to make your device stand out from the crowd.

Hit the jump for a gallery of 10 of the newest designs that we think are among the coolest.

Review: Hellolulu Laptop Messenger Bag (Verdict: The Ultimate Laptop Bag)

By

hellolulu_messenger

Even though there is something awkward and unattractive about laptop bags, I seem drawn to them over and over. I guess it’s because when it comes to carrying a laptop, they do the job. I have been through several at this stage, but never liked any of them. But finally I have found a bag that changes the message — Hellolulu’s Messenger Bag.

The $120 Hellolulu messenger is the ultimate laptop bag. There is nothing cumbersome about this bag.

Everything You Wanted To Know About Apple’s New Anti-Virus Spotter

By

post-15475-image-11b0b0db0994487a1efd7a11230380ef-jpg

The British security firm Intego has published a security memo that provides a clear and detailed view of Apple’s new XProtect anti-virus system in Snow Leopard.

There are several interesting tidbits: Apple’s new XProtect system cannot recognize all the variants of the Trojans it is supposed to protect against, for example.

Also, the XProtect system does not spot Trojans hidden inside .mpkg files downloaded from the internet, a major weakness, according to Intego. (Apple’s installer recognizes two types of files — .pkg files for simple packages, and .mpkg files that contain multiple packages to be installed.)

The memo is patently self-serving — Intego sells several anti-virus and privacy packages for the Mac — but nonetheless provides a clear and detailed view of what Apple’s new XProtect system does — and doesn’t do.

The full memo after the jump.

Apple Gets Serious About Security With Fisher Price AntiVirus In Snow Leopard

By

snow_leopard_antimalware

It looks like Apple is finally getting serious about security — not!

Apple has added a very rudimentary antivirus system to Snow Leopard, which is due out in stores Friday. The system is so basic, it kinda defies belief. It’s the Fisher Price of anti-virus blockers; a system so simple and limited, it appears basically worthless. It pops up a warning if you try to install an internet nasty, and advises you to move the file to the Trash. Here’s all you need to know in three easy steps:

* It includes information about just two Trojan Horses: OSX.RSPlug.A and OSX.Iservice. Both of these Trojans are in the wild but are fairly rudimentary. OSX.Iservice has been found in pirated copies of iWork on the file sharing networks; and OSX.RSPlug is typically found on porno websites masquerading as video codecs that need to be installed by the user, who types in their system password.

* It intercepts files downloaded only using Safari, Firefox, Mail, Entourage, Thunderbird and iChat and several other applications, according to The Register. It does not check files downloaded by hundreds of other applications or files on CDs, DVDs or USB thumbdrives.

* The system was quietlycadded to the latest builds of Snow Leopard. It’s present in build 10A432, the most recent version that is widely assumed to be Gold Master. It can be found in the system files: /System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources/XProtect.plist

Of course, Apple may update the system in the future with more malware definitions and applications. Ironically, Apple is running a new ad touting the Mac’s invulnerability to viruses and headaches.

Parallels Desktop for Mac Targets “Switchers” with Special Edition

By

switch2mac.jpg

Parallels, regarded by many as the premier virtual Windows solution for the Mac, announced Tuesday a special Switch to Mac Edition, extending a welcome lifeline to computer users who are choosing to embrace the elegance, power and simplicity of Apple’s Mac OS in increasing numbers every day.

Cult of Mac received an extensive tour of the new “Switch to Mac” features recently and it’s a good bet Parallels will deliver on its promise to have former Windows users working comfortably in the Mac UI within hours instead of the more usual learning curve that can often take weeks.

“For years I have worked with switchers coming into Apple stores with questions about how to use their new Mac,” says Saied Ghaffari, Switch to Mac Advocate, who gave us the tutorial demo.

“Parallels Desktop Switch to Mac Edition thoroughly addresses the concerns switchers have,” Ghaffari said, adding, “the product is designed to make moving to Mac as fast and simple as possible, regardless of the level of technical knowledge of the switcher.

Featuring a set of easy-to-use tools and interactive tutorials such as Click to Learn, Watch Saied, and You Try incorporated with Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac, the Switch to Mac edition promises to help “Switchers” understand how to operate Mac OS X, transfer all PC data and applications, and seamlessly run their Windows applications on their new Macs.

“It’s like a friend teaching you the Mac at your own pace,” according to Ghaffari.

Parallels Desktop 4.0 Switch to Mac Edition is available from today at Apple stores, at Apple.com and through other preferred retail partners in English, German and French. The suggested retail price (SRP) of the product is $99.99.

Hit the jump for more information and detailed explanation of the Switch to Mac edition’s features.

Blast From the Mac Past: Kai’s Power Goo Returns on iPhone

By

post-13737-image-3355a52d5a8c7eaec23a18c6504a9dd8-jpg

Add one more to the list of classic Mac apps making a comeback on the iPhone. MetaTools, famous for the legendary PhotoShop plug-in suite Kai’s Power Tools, has brought goofy photo manipulation back in the form of Making Faces (App Store link), an adaptation of its wacky classic Power Goo.

I haven’t tested it yet, but I used to rock Power Goo on my dad’s Performa 6115. In retrospect, it would have worked way better with multitouch than it did with a mouse. Ah, sweet memories. Like almost everything else on the App Store, it’s $2.99.

Via Techbeat

Apple Declares Luxo-Lamp iMacs “Obsolete”

By

post-13685-image-781efec3a648e05d0e5f09f9f3c9c5f9-jpg
Apple has declared the iMac Flat Panel as obsolete. CC-licensed photo by Windell H. Oskay, www.evilmadscientist.com

Apple has officially declared the iconic “Luxo lamp” iMac as an “obsolete” computer.

Several models of the iconic machine, which won as many enemies as fans for its unusual lamp-like design, will be declared obsolete on September 15, according to HardMac.com.

The obsolete designation means that Apple service centers will no longer stock parts for the machines –and will no longer repair them — though third-party repair shops likely will.

The Luxo-lamp iMac caused a huge stir when it was introduced in 2002. It made the cover of Time magazine and is now exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan.

The machine was the first iMac to feature a flat-panel display, which floated above its CPU, housed in a white plastic dome. The screen was attached by a double-jointed chrome arm, which realigned the screen with the slightest touch of a fingertip, but then kept it in place — no mean feat of design.

The machine was a bear to design, according to Apple’s head designer, Jonathan Ive. At first Ive tried to glom the guts of the computer onto the back of a flat panel display, but the early prototypes were inelegant. Then, during a walk in Steve Jobs’s back garden, Jobs told Ive that each element had to be “true to itself,” which led the designer to look at sunflowers as inspiration, and seperate the screen from the body.

A few years later, Ive was able to marry the guts to the screen, and newer iMacs are much closer to Ive’s original conception, but the freaky-looking Luxo-lamp iMac remains a firm favorite of many.

Mailplane Helps Gmail Soar on Your Mac Desktop

By

cult_logo_featured_image_missing_default1920x1080

Are you a Gmail person? With more than one @gmail.com account? Thought so. How many times have you thought how much you like Gmail but felt frustrated by one aspect or another of the limits (mostly time and productivity-oriented) imposed by working with email in a web browser?

Yup. Well, guess what? There’s an app for that.

Mailplane brings Gmail to your Mac desktop and unleashes power and productivity you’ve only wished for in Google’s excellent mail product.

We’re only just now checking Mailplane out, but with support for:

# Drag and drop attachments
# Multiple Gmail accounts
# New mail notifications
# Easy screenshot sending
# Gmail shortcuts
# Integration with OmniFocus,

our first impressions are that Mailplane is well worth giving a more extensive test drive. It’s got a 30 day free trial and we’ll be giving you our more extensive review in about a month.

If you check Mailplane out, be sure to let us know what you think about it in comments.

Cult of Mac Favorite: Daisy Disk Makes Disk Forensics Fun

By

post-13000-image-b1524f2c22612dc2ead870a836f78999-jpg
Daisy Disk has a super awesome UI

What it is: Daisy Disk is Mac utility software that, sadly works only on machines running OS 10.5 and later, because it’s the kind of thing that could make you want to investigate your hard disk daily.

Why it’s cool: The interface is just plain awesome. Daisy Disk scans any mounted disk and displays it on a beautiful sunburst map, where segments mean files and folders, and are displayed proportionally to their sizes.

The map is easy to read and navigate and lets you quickly preview any file and reveal it in Finder to delete.

It’s essentially like running the Mac’s built-in disk utility on your volume, but where’s the fun in that?

Where to get it: Download a free 15 day trial version or buy it outright for $19.95 from the secure online Daisy Disk store.

Screenshots after the jump.

[Thanks mustardhamsters]