Apple to hold 'Back to the Mac' event on October 20th

[Phynaz]

Okay, is it just me, or is there not a major problem with the Mac App Store?

Let's say I've got an application that I currently sell for OSX through my website and brick and mortar stores. Let's say it costs $50 and currently sells well.

Why TF would I put it on the App Store and give Apple 30%? Yeah, it'll get me exposure, but why wouldn't I put up a crippled demo version for free, then direct everyone to my website for the full $50 version?

How much are you currently paying for hosting, sales support, credit card authorization, etc. And if you are selling at brick and mortar, how much discount are you giving them?

Now, you give Apple about the same cut but get about 100x more exposure. WTF wouldn't you do it?

 

[bearxor]

My guess is you'll never see Firewire on the Air.

Yeah, I know. Just wishful thinking. The thing is, if the 13" Air had a Firewire port, I'd drop my 15" MPB for it in a heartbeat.

 

[bigrash]

Meh. I was looking for an updated iweb.

New MBA looks nice, but it needs to be cheaper. For that price I'll get a MBP.

 

[Kaido]

Yeah, I know. Just wishful thinking. The thing is, if the 13" Air had a Firewire port, I'd drop my 15" MPB for it in a heartbeat.

Whatcha using Firewire for these days? Audio equipment?

 

[sourceninja]

App Store for OSX....the beginning of the end. I always knew I would end up back on linux.

I weep for my beloved osx.

 

[aphex]

App Store for OSX....the beginning of the end. I always knew I would end up back on linux.

I weep for my beloved osx.

Not sure i follow?

 

[aphex]

For anyone who wants the beta of Facetime for Mac

http://www.apple.com/mac/facetime/

 

[Kaido]

great form factor on the air, but core 2 and only 2gb of ram? seems like 2007 specs. they couldn't go with i3 or zactac and up the ram a bit and accomplish the same thing?

OSX is very dependent on the hard drive for performance. Putting a solid-state drive in there not only helps with boot times and loading apps, but also with sleep/wake (probably where the instant-on comes from) and virtual memory. When I was testing my SSD Hackintosh rig, I only have 4GB RAM in it to start out with, and I was using about double that with the apps I was testing - the virtual memory was very quick! Didn't bog down the computer at all. You could notice that it was using virtual memory, but it wasn't like a typical hard drive where your whole system bogs down - more of a hiccup than anything.

So with a fast enough SSD and 2GB RAM, I'd imagine that performance will actually be pretty decent. Now, the 1.4ghz C2D, I dunno about :biggrin:

 

[theeedude]

Is 2 GB of RAM enough? Does the faster storage reduce the need for RAM?

 

[fatpat268]

The 11" Air is intriguing, but it's about $200 too expensive, especially if you're trying to attack the netbook/ultraportable market.

Specs could be a little bit better, perhaps a Core i3 would've been nice.

 

[sourceninja]

Not sure i follow?

Right now the app store will be optional. How long until it is mandatory?


I switched to OSX because it was BSD with a nice UI. I hate my iphone because it has a mandatory app store.

I do not want to jailbreak my macbook pro!

All this talk of making the mac more like an ipad is god damn frightening. To me, the ipad equals no choice and no freedom. The biggest thing about this event seemed to be that they can sell overpriced macbook airs, are testing the waters with an app store, and updated ilife (which I've always just never installed).

I love snow leopard, and I love my macbook pro. The current tends out of apple are really not the path I want for my computing. I'm a open source software and web developer. App store's do not fit into that mold.

 

[Kaido]

Is 2 GB of RAM enough? Does the faster storage reduce the need for RAM?

From my experience with Sandforce 1200-based solid state drives, yes 2GB is enough and yes it does reduce the need for RAM. Nothing will ever beat more RAM, but it really does make a very noticeable difference. I think the new Air will be quite functional.

 

[sourceninja]

OSX is very dependent on the hard drive for performance. Putting a solid-state drive in there not only helps with boot times and loading apps, but also with sleep/wake (probably where the instant-on comes from) and virtual memory. When I was testing my SSD Hackintosh rig, I only have 4GB RAM in it to start out with, and I was using about double that with the apps I was testing - the virtual memory was very quick! Didn't bog down the computer at all. You could notice that it was using virtual memory, but it wasn't like a typical hard drive where your whole system bogs down - more of a hiccup than anything.

So with a fast enough SSD and 2GB RAM, I'd imagine that performance will actually be pretty decent. Now, the 1.4ghz C2D, I dunno about :biggrin:

I found my macbook basically un-usable with 2 gigs of ram. Of course I also need a full time windows VM running so I can test my sites with IE.

 

[TangoJuliet]

Anyone know if they are selling iLife 11 today in the retail stores or is it buy online only today?

 

[phexac]

What people seem to have missed was that the NEW Macbook Air has a SLOWER processor than the OLD Macbook Air. The old one used 2.13 GHz C2D for the upper-end model. The new one is 1.86 GHz. Not even talking about using generation-old processors here, but actually putting a slower part into an updated machine....wow just when I thought Apple could not get any more ridiculous

 

[James Bond]

Did he talk about the "auto save" and "instant on" stuff? Or did I miss something?

 

[jalaram]

Hmmm. Looking at the pics, I don't think there's a SD card reader on the 11" one, just the 13"

 

[jalaram]

What people seem to have missed was that the NEW Macbook Air has a SLOWER processor than the OLD Macbook Air. The old one used 2.26 GHz C2D for the upper-end model. The new one is 1.86 GHz. Not even talking about using generation-old processors here, but actually putting a slower part into an updated machine....wow just when I thought Apple could not get any more ridiculous

I think many people noticed that. It's possible that the faster procs wouldn't fit in that form factor. When I kept hearing the clock speed, I was assuming that it was some ULV type C2D. However, I don't see anything to verify that.

If I want to use Facetime on my Mac mini, is there a list of compatible webcams?

 

[Kadarin]

What people seem to have missed was that the NEW Macbook Air has a SLOWER processor than the OLD Macbook Air. The old one used 2.13 GHz C2D for the upper-end model. The new one is 1.86 GHz. Not even talking about using generation-old processors here, but actually putting a slower part into an updated machine....wow just when I thought Apple could not get any more ridiculous

The 2.13 appears to be available as a $100 upgrade on Apple Store site for the higher end MBA.

 

[Eug]

Is 2 GB of RAM enough? Does the faster storage reduce the need for RAM?

2 GB is enough for basic usage, but 4 GB is preferred for a primary machine. I have 2 GB in my MacBook Pro, but that's because I have an 8 GB iMac.

The 11" Air is intriguing, but it's about $200 too expensive, especially if you're trying to attack the netbook/ultraportable market.

Specs could be a little bit better, perhaps a Core i3 would've been nice.

What I'm wondering about is that 1.4 GHz Core 2 Duo, considering that Apple has minimal GPU acceleration for HD media stuff.

I may buy in late summer 2011. Why then? Cuz:

1) I get the education deal. Hopefully they'll have the free iPod touch education deal yet again in 2011.
2) Perhaps it will be upgraded to Core i3 then. A bigger base model flash drive would be nice too, as 64 GB is a bit cramped.
3) Lion will be out too.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Goddamnit, you think they would give me a free iLife upgrade? I just bought an iMac like 2 days ago for my parents, lol.

 

[secretanchitman]

my thoughts:

ilife 2011- incremental improvements, all look like full screen ipad apps now, imovie looks great as always. where was iwork 2011? guess im going to use office 2011 for a while now.

facetime for mac - it was going to happen eventually, but why not build it into ichat?

osx lion - mission control is a "cute" name, but its really just expose with spaces and dashboard built in (which is the point). i guess people didnt utilize dashboard enough via the dock or keyboard. mac app store is expected, and it'll be the best place for regular people to get apps, but for power users, the traditional way will still be the best method. launchpad = the new homescreen for the app store. looks interesting, but i certainly wont be using it. i hope there are options to not use it at all. also, the traffic lights were horizontal unlike itunes 10 - i had to edit a file to put them back in. no new interface enhancements? must still be too early to show off anything else.

mba - 11.6" is model is surprising. im glad they got it down to the $999 price point. this might take away from the high end ipad sales (32GB/64GB wifi and 3G). $100 for the 4GB and 1.6ghz upgrade are no brainers. 13" gets a much needed boost to 1440x900, along with 2 usb and sd card reader, and i wouldnt be surprised to see this go to the 13" mbp later on. usb osx restore drive is a nice touch, and no backlit keyboard on both models anymore! oh well...

mbp - silent updates, but the high end 15" and 17" now have the option to go to 2.8ghz core i7 (thankfully optional, so my computer doesnt feel outdated already).

 

[Eug]

Goddamnit, you think they would give me a free iLife upgrade? I just bought an iMac like 2 days ago for my parents, lol.

You can get it for $6.99, which is basically just a shipping and handling cost.

http://www.apple.com/ilife/uptodate/

 

[ultimatebob]

Wow... Apple is STILL releasing new products with Core 2 Duo processors?!? Somebody slap Steve upside the head and remind him that it's not 2008 anymore.

 

[Eug]

Wow... Apple is STILL releasing new products with Core 2 Duo processors?!? Somebody slap Steve upside the head and remind him that it's not 2008 anymore.

For a sub $1000 Air from Apple, I'm not surprised.

(Actually what I was expecting was a more expensive Air, but with Core i3.)