by Postmaster General | Jul 24, 2014 | Announcements, Apple Inc., New and Hot, Software Updates
Today, Apple released a beta version of the next version of its Mac operating system, OS X Yosemite. Yosemite was announced and previewed at Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference in June; the official release is slated for sometime this fall.
As Information Week says:
Participating in Apple’s OS X Beta Program — which is distinct from the Beta Seed Program for Mavericks — is free, but there may be non-monetary costs, such as time or data lost due to crashed applications. Apple warns the OS X Yosemite Beta “may contain errors or inaccuracies and may not function as well as commercially released software.”
Another cost comes in the form of silence: Apple considers its beta software confidential and forbids beta testers from posting screenshots or discussing the software publicly. By agreeing to Apple’s Beta Program terms, testers promise to take reasonable steps to keep Apple’s software confidential, such as shielding the screen of a Mac running OS X Yosemite from onlookers.
If, after all that, you’re still interested in participating in the development of the next generation of Mac operating systems, you can sign up for the public beta here.
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by Postmaster General | Jun 18, 2014 | Apple Inc., New and Hot
Today, Apple announced a new entry-level iMac priced at $1099 – $200 less than the previous entry-level model (which, like all the other iMac® models, remains current). It retains many features identical to its two 21.5-inch brethren:
- 21.5-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology, 1920×1080 pixels
- 8GB DDR3 memory (not expandable)
- FaceTime HD camera
- Built-in downward-firing stereo speakers
- Dual microphones
- Headphone/optical digital output
- Four USB 3.0 ports; Two Thunderbolt ports; SDXC card slot
- Gigabit Ethernet; 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0
- Apple Wireless Keyboard and wireless Magic Mouse
- OS X Mavericks operating system
So what’s different? A few key changes have been made to reduce the cost:
- 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, with Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz. Contrast this with the substantially faster (2.7GHz and 2.9GHz) quad-core processors in the other two models. The L3 cache is smaller, too, and shared by the two processor cores.
- 500GB 5400 RPM SATA hard drive, in place of the 1 TB hard drives in the other models.
- Intel HD Graphics 5000, in lieu of Intel Iris Pro graphics in the $1299 model, and the 1GB NVIDIA GT 750M graphics in the $1499 model.
To better see how the new model fits in with the other 21-5-inch models, click here.
AVAILABILITY: We’ll be accepting orders for this new iMac model immediately. Fulfillment will depend on initial supplies and demand, which could push delivery to as much as two weeks away.
Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
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