The Apple round up

A gentleman by the name of Grady Booch (IBM) once said "The function of good software is to make the complex appear to be simple.." How true has this been in light of Apples 25 year sucession with the Apple Mac? Very.

Apple have been through a roller coaster recently, Jobs has taken a "bench poistion" in some people's eyes, and the outcome of the Mac Expo this year was slightly less than what people really wanted to see. As a Mac user myself, the intention to make things simpler has been Apples forte. Looking at how the OSX has developed over the years, functionality has been the strongest point for buying a Mac - it does what it says on the tin, no questions asked.

However, we seem to be missing a few vital introductions which seem to have been in the pipeline now for some time, namely the quad core iMac and the Mac Mini. Obviously with Intel just recently releasing their new quad core CPUs, the introduction of the new iMac shouldn't be too long. With a TDP of 65W, this is within the reach of keeping things cool inside these slender machines - and trust me, they do get hot - the aluminum body shell is effectively a "computer sized heat sink". There's also talk of Apple moving to a liquid based cooling method for the new iMac, which again is possibly the required "next step" to adopt as we move forward in the production of such powerful all in one computer systems. Understanding that the iMac's at present work with "mobile" CPU's (read that "laptop like" CPUs) the power of these systems is nothing compared with the Mac Pros - when these new quad core iMacs do hit the streets, they will hopefully offer serious competition for all "all in one" systems, bearing in mind the already present models can hold 4Gb of 800Mhz Dual Channel Ram, with the new Macbook Pro holding 8Gb - companies like Shuttle, Gateway, HP who offer the "PC alternative" may find their customers then given the incentive to move over once and for all.

Couple that with the release of Apples new Snow Leopard operating system - fully 64bit, and by the sounds of things, built to impress from the ground up, not simply another window dress of the bits we forgot before, this should be the Apple OSX we have been waiting for.

So instead of these, we had offered yet another Macbook Pro. 8 Hours battery life looks to be impressive, but still with a gloss screen as default? Those in the production of anything visual would prefer the matt screen with the option to go gloss for others - ie, watching films etc. But just as it is, its a pain for us to use with the rich contrasts and the constant glare from the gloss effect. Pair this with the idea of having to spend a lot of money (more than a Mac Pro at base level spec) on something that offers limited display out options via the mini port, with a non- removal battery and I wonder if this will be as successful as it should be.

Its been a good time for the Nvida / Apple relationship however, with Nvidia's new 9300/9400 M motherboard setup being used in the new Macbooks and finding its way quietly over the last week into their older white macbook's - perfect for those looking for a future proof portable option. Rumour has it, these same Nvidia setups will be introduced to the new mac mini also, making their smallest "basic Mac" - as described by many, a serious contender for SFF PCs.

If your interested into knowing how the Iphone / Itouch works (the touchy feely side to the hardware) - then check out this months copy of Custom PC magazine - explaining the use of "Capacitive screen technology", and as a side issue mac minis do have their use in large quantities..

- JB