NZMac.com News

Apple premieres new Apple TV

philip.roy@nzmac.com (Philip Roy) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:37:10 GMT

Apple today announced the new Apple TV which offers the simplest way to watch your favourite HD movies. Apple TV users can choose from the largest online selection of HD movies to rent, including first run movies for just Recommended Retail Price NZD$7.99 inc GST.

Apple TV also streams content from YouTube, Flickr and MobileMe, as well as music, photos and videos from PCs and Macs to your HD TV. Enjoy gorgeous slideshows of your photos on your HD TV using Apple TV's selection of built-in slideshows. Apple TV has built-in HDMI, Wi-Fi, Ethernet and an internal power supply for easy set-up, and features silent, cool, very low power operation in an enclosure that's less than four inches square - 80 percent smaller than the previous generation.

"The new Apple TV, paired with the largest selection of online HD movies, lets users watch Hollywood content on their HD TV whenever they want," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "This tiny, silent box costing just NZD$169 inc GST lets users watch thousands of HD movies, and makes all of their music, photos and videos effortlessly available on their home entertainment system."

Apple TV users can now rent thousands of movies in HD, with most new releases available the same day they are released on DVD.

Apple TV users can enjoy millions of YouTube videos, more than 200,000 podcasts, thousands of Internet radio stations and personal photos from MobileMe and Flickr with several gorgeous new slideshow themes. Music, videos and photos can also be streamed from PCs and Macs, turning your HD TV into the hub of your home entertainment system.

Apple TV set-up is quick and easy with a single HDMI cable connection (HDMI cable sold separately). Just connect Apple TV to your HD TV, join a Wi-Fi network and with a few clicks on the seven-button aluminium Apple Remote, you have access to amazing content. Users can also control Apple TV with their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch using the Remote app, available as a free download on the App Store.

Pricing & Availability
Apple TV will be available late this month for a recommended retail price of NZD$169 inc GST and can be pre-ordered beginning today on {{applestore}}. Apple TV, which comes standard with an aluminium Apple Remote, will be available through the Apple's online store and Apple Authorised Resellers. Apple TV requires an 802.11b/g/n wireless network or Ethernet network, a broadband Internet connection and a high definition TV capable of 720p. iTunes movies rentals are only available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Apple introduces new iPod touch with retina display

philip.roy@nzmac.com (Philip Roy) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:35:56 GMT

Apple today announced the new iPod touch, packed with incredible new features including Apple's stunning Retina display, FaceTime video calling, HD video recording, Apple's A4 chip, 3-axis gyro, iOS 4.1 and Game Center - all combined in the thinnest and lightest iPod touch ever. The new iPod touch features up to 40 hours of music playback and seven hours of video playback on a single battery charge.*

"We've put our most advanced technology inside the new iPod touch," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Whether you're listening to music, playing games, making FaceTime video calls, browsing the web, capturing HD video or watching movies, the new iPod touch with its Retina display, A4 chip and 3-axis gyro is more fun than ever."

Apple's stunning Retina display makes everything on iPod touch look even more incredible, whether playing games, watching video, browsing the web or flicking through photos. The Retina display has 960 x 640 pixels - four times as many pixels than before. The resulting 326 pixels per inch is so dense that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels when iPod touch is held at a normal distance, making text, images and video look sharper, smoother and more realistic.

With the new front-facing camera and mic, iPod touch users can make FaceTime video calls over Wi-Fi. With just one tap of the new FaceTime app, iPod touch users can call other new iPod touch or iPhone 4 users** to easily see what their friends are up to, share important moments like the first day of school and even show others what they are seeing by easily switching to the rear-facing camera.

The rear-facing camera on iPod touch is perfect for HD video recording. Users can easily capture HD video wherever they are and share it via email, MobileMe and YouTube. With the iMovie app, users can combine movie clips, add dynamic transitions and themes and include photos and music right on their iPod touch. Users can buy and download the app for just NZD$6.49 inc GST through the App Store right on their iPod touch.

Apple's A4 chip provides iPod touch users with exceptional processor and graphics performance along with long battery life. This remarkably fast and power-efficient chip, along with the Retina display and 3-axis gyro, makes games on iPod touch the best they've ever been on any mobile device.

iPod touch is the world's most popular portable game player. Now with Game Center, iPod touch users can challenge and play friends or be matched automatically with new opponents. Game Center lets iPod touch users showcase their scores and achievements and discover new games their friends are playing. With the App Store on iPod touch, users have access to the world's largest catalogue of apps with over 250,000 apps, including over 65,000 game and entertainment titles to choose from.

Music and entertainment lovers can now easily access iTunes Ping directly from their new iPod touch. iTunes Ping lets you follow your favourite artists and friends to discover the music they're talking about, listening to and downloading. iPod touch users also have the entire iTunes Store at their fingertips, giving them instant access to the world's largest catalogue of music and movies.

The new iPod touch comes with iOS 4.1, the newest version of the world's most advanced mobile operating system. iOS 4.1 enables new features like FaceTime video calling, multitasking, folders and Game Center.

iPod is the world's most popular family of digital music players with over a quarter of a billion sold. Apple's new holiday lineup includes a brand new iPod shuffle for just Recommended Retail Price (RRP) NZD$89 inc GST; the amazing new iPod nano with Multi-Touch starting at just RRP NZD$249 inc GST; the incredible new iPod touch with Retina display, Apple's A4 chip, FaceTime, HD video recording and Game Center starting at just RRP NZD$379 inc GST; and the iPod classic in a 160GB model for RRP NZD$429 inc GST.

Pricing & Availability
The new iPod touch will be available next week for a recommended retail price of NZD$379 inc GST for the 8GB model, RRP NZD$489 inc GST for the 32GB model and RRP NZD$649 inc GST for the 64GB model through the {{applestore}} and Apple Authorised Resellers. iPod touch requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later and iTunes 10 or later; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 3) or later and iTunes 10 or later. Existing second and third generation iPod touch users can update to iOS 4.1 free of charge on 9 September to enjoy new features including Game Center.

*Battery life and number of charge cycles vary by use and settings. See www.apple.com/nz/batteries for more information.

**iOS 4.1 required.

Apple unveils new iPod shuffle

philip.roy@nzmac.com (Philip Roy) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:34:33 GMT

Apple today announced the new redesigned iPod shuffle which features both clickable "ring" buttons and Apple's innovative VoiceOver technology, enabling users to easily navigate their music and playlists without ever looking at their iPod shuffle. The new wearable iPod shuffle has an all-aluminium enclosure with a built-in clip and comes in five brilliant colours - silver, blue, green, orange and pink. With nearly 50 percent more battery life, the new iPod shuffle features over 15 hours of music playback on a single battery charge* and offers 2GB of storage for just Recommended Retail Price (RRP) NZD$89 inc GST.

"We're making the iPod shuffle even better by combining clickable buttons and VoiceOver technology, so users can find and enjoy their music without ever looking at their iPod shuffle," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "With its all-aluminium enclosure and built-in clip the new iPod shuffle is a great workout companion, and at just NZD$89 inc GST it's a great entry-level iPod that almost everyone can afford."

iPod shuffle is based on Apple's incredibly popular shuffle feature, which randomly selects songs from a user's music library. The clickable buttons make the new iPod shuffle even easier to use. Press the centre button to play and pause, press the outer buttons to skip forward and back or adjust the volume up and down.

The new VoiceOver button on top of iPod shuffle allows users to hear the name of the currently playing song and to switch between songs, playlists or Genius Mixes. VoiceOver speaks 25 different languages and even alerts users when their battery needs charging.

The new iPod shuffle now supports Genius Mixes, the popular iTunes feature that automatically creates mixes from songs in a user's music library that go great together. Genius Mixes provide the perfect way to rediscover music users already have, but may not have listened to recently.

iPod is the world's most popular family of digital music players with over a quarter of a billion sold. Apple's new holiday lineup includes a brand new iPod shuffle for just RRP NZD$89 inc GST; the remarkable new iPod nano with Multi-Touch starting at RRP NZD$249 inc GST; the incredible new iPod touch with Retina display, Apple's A4 chip, FaceTime, HD video recording and Game Center starting at just RRP NZD$379 inc GST; and iPod classic in a 160GB model for RRP NZD$429 inc GST.

Pricing & Availability
The fourth generation iPod shuffle will be available next week for a recommended retail price of RRP NZD$89 inc GST for a 2GB model in silver, blue, green, orange and pink through the {{applestore}} and Apple Authorised Resellers. iPod shuffle comes with Apple Earphones and the iPod shuffle USB cable. iPod shuffle requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later and iTunes 10 or later; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 3) or later.

*Battery life and number of charge cycles vary by use and settings. See www.apple.com/nz/batteries for more information.

Apple reinvents iPod nano with multi-touch interface

philip.roy@nzmac.com (Philip Roy) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:32:47 GMT

Apple today unveiled a completely redesigned iPod nano featuring Apple's Multi-Touch interface that lets users navigate their music collection by simply tapping or swiping a finger on the display. Nearly half the size and weight of the previous generation, the new iPod nano features a polished aluminium and glass enclosure with a built-in clip, making it instantly wearable. The new iPod nano features Genius Mixes, the ability to create and edit playlists, a built-in FM radio with live pause and up to 24 hours of music playback on a single battery charge.*

"This is the biggest reinvention of the iPod nano since its debut in 2005, and we think users are going to love it," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Replacing the click wheel with our Multi-Touch interface has enabled us to shrink the iPod nano into an amazingly small design that is instantly wearable with its built-in clip."

The new iPod nano with Apple's Multi-Touch interface allows users to access their songs, artists, albums and playlists with a tap or swipe of their finger on the display. Holding down a finger returns the user to the Home screen, and users can easily use two fingers to rotate the screen if it is clipped onto their clothing upside down. Users can also customise their Home screen by simply dragging icons from other screens onto the Home screen.

iPod nano also features Shake to Shuffle, giving music lovers the ability to shake their iPod nano to shuffle to a new song in their music library. With its built-in FM radio, iPod nano lets you listen to your favourite radio stations, and live pause lets you pause and resume playing your favourite FM radio shows without missing a beat.

With an amazing new design that is nearly half the size and weight of its predecessor, the new ultra-portable iPod nano is a natural workout companion. Clip iPod nano onto your workout clothing, touch your music and start your workout. iPod nano features a built-in pedometer that makes it easy to track your steps and also supports Nike + iPod, giving users the ability to track runs and workouts.

iPod is the world's most popular family of digital music players with over a quarter of a billion sold. Apple's new holiday lineup includes a brand new iPod shuffle for just Recommended Retail Price (RRP) NZD$89 inc GST; the remarkable new iPod nano with Multi-Touch starting at RRP NZD$249 inc GST; the incredible new iPod touch with Retina display, Apple's A4 chip, FaceTime, HD video recording and Game Center starting at just RRP NZD$379 inc GST; and iPod classic in a 160GB model for RRP NZD$429 inc GST.

Pricing & Availability
The new iPod nano will be available next week for a recommended retail price of NZD$249 inc GST for the 8GB model and RRP NZD$299 inc GST for the 16GB model. Both models are available in silver, graphite, blue, green, orange and pink through the {{applestore}} and Apple Authorised Resellers. The 8GB and 16GB iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED is available through the {{applestore}}. iPod nano requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later and iTunes 10 or later; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 3) or later and iTunes 10 or later.

*Battery life and number of charge cycles vary by use and settings. See www.apple.com/nz/batteries for more information.

Apple introduces iTunes 10 with Ping

philip.roy@nzmac.com (Philip Roy) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:23:30 GMT

Apple today introduced iTunes 10 with Ping, a new music-oriented social network for following your favourite artists and friends to discover what music they're talking about, listening to and downloading. iTunes Ping lets you post your thoughts and opinions, your favourite albums and songs, the music you've downloaded from iTunes and tell your friends which concerts you plan to attend.

"iTunes is the number one music community in the world, with over 160 million iTunes users in 23 countries, and now we're adding social networking with Ping," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "With Ping you can follow your favourite artists and friends and join a worldwide conversation with music's most passionate fans."

Ping lets you follow your favourite artists to see what they're up to, check out photos and videos they've posted and read comments about other artists and albums they're listening to. You can also create a profile on iTunes to let your friends know who you're following, what you're listening to and which concerts you're going to. There's no better way to discover new music than to find out what your friends are listening to, and Ping's Recent Activity feed shows you their posts about artists, albums, songs and concerts, plus a consolidated Top 10 list of the songs and albums your friends and the artists you follow are downloading from iTunes. In addition to using Ping on your desktop computer, you can take it with you on your iPhone or iPod touch,** so you're always plugged into your personal music scene.

iTunes 10 also features AirPlay wireless music playback to listen to your music on remote speakers using Apple's AirPort Express base station. In addition, AirPlay now works without AirPort Express, using speakers, receivers and stereo systems from companies including Bowers & Wilkins, JBL, Denon and iHome, so you can enjoy your entire iTunes music library wirelessly from any room in the house with no extra gear required.

iTunes 10 is available immediately as a free download at www.itunes.com .

The iTunes Store has a catalogue of over 14 million songs and thousands of movies. With Apple's legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as integrated podcasting support, the ability to turn previously purchased tracks into complete albums at a reduced price, and seamless integration with iPod, iPad and iPhone, the iTunes Store is the best way for Mac and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and video online.

**Ping for iPhone and iPod touch requires iOS 4 or later, which is a free software update available via iTunes 9.2 or later for iPhone and iPod touch users. iOS 4 works with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and second, third and fourth generation iPod touch.

ePub export in iWorks update

philip.roy@nzmac.com (Philip Roy) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:09:44 GMT

Apple have released an update to their most recent iWorks software that (for their Pages application) includes the ability to export files in ePub format, suitable for use in the iBooks app on portable devices. Whilst users could already use PDFs with iBooks, this brings added options for users. Apple have released details of the update (which includes fixes for Keynote and Numbers also) for Mac users at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4165 and offer guidance for ePub creation at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4168

iTunes U Downloads Top 300 Million

philip.roy@nzmac.com (Philip Roy) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:03:15 GMT

In just over three years, iTunes U downloads have topped 300 million and it has become one of the world's most popular online educational catalogues. Over 800 universities throughout the world have active iTunes U sites, and nearly half of these institutions distribute their content publicly on the iTunes Store. New content has just been added from universities in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico and Singapore, and iTunes users now have access to over 350,000 audio and video files from educational institutions around the globe.

"iTunes U makes it easy for people to discover and learn with content from many of the world's top institutions," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of Internet Services. "With such a wide selection of educational material, we're providing iTunes users with an incredible way to learn on their computer, iPhone, iPod or iPad."

Created in collaboration with colleges and universities, iTunes U makes it easy to extend learning, explore interests or learn more about a school. A dedicated area within the iTunes Store (www.iTunes.com), iTunes U offers users public access to content from world class institutions such as Harvard, MIT, Cambridge, Oxford, University of Melbourne and Université de Montréal. iTunes U gives anyone the chance to experience university courses, lab demonstrations, sports highlights, campus tours and special lectures. All iTunes U content is free and can be enjoyed on a Mac or PC, or wirelessly downloaded directly onto an iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Useful website section relaunch - Win iTunes credit !

philip.roy@nzmac.com (Philip Roy) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:15:56 GMT

Today sees the long overdue relaunch of one of the oldest section of the NZMac.com website...the Useful Websites section, which allows you to suggest websites that are of use to Macintosh users to look at around the internet. This update has been a long time coming (sorry), but it is only recently that some new software became available to bring great enhancements to this section of the site. And to celebrate, NZMac.com is giving away 2x $30 NZD iTunes credits...and all you have to do is recommend a new site (called "Adding a link") to the Useful Websites section or review an existing listing. If it gets accepted you are in with a chance. Suggest more than one site or add more than one review and you get more than one chance to win.

Please note

The list of websites is quite old. If you spot a website that is now obsolete and still listed, please report it. There are websites that no longer exist and I will work on updating the directory as soon as possible. I just wanted to get the section live as soon as possible.
If there isn't a category for the website you want to add, then guess what? Recommend a new category..that function is built in! ;-)
If you spot any bugs, please let me know....there will be a period of bedding in with this new system
Winners must have an iTunes account and be able to accept a $30 NZD iTunes gift emailed to them
iPhone related websites should be discussed on NZiPhone.com and not entered into this section....this section is for Mac-specific sites!
Submissions must be in by 9pm, Friday September 3rd

Apple release Snow Leopard Graphics Update

philip.roy@nzmac.com (Philip Roy) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:24:20 GMT

Apple have released a software update for multiple Mac to fix a number of graphics issues. The Snow Leopard Graphics Update (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4286) is around 69Mb in size and available to download from the Software Updates control panel. The fixes are as follows...

The Snow Leopard Graphics Update contains stability and performance fixes for graphics applications and games:

Addresses frame rate issues occurring in Portal and Team Fortress 2 by Valve, on iMac (Late 2009 and Mid 2010), Mac mini (Early 2009 and Mid 2010), Mac Pro (Early 2009), MacBook (Early 2009 and Mid 2010) and MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010) or MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2010) models.
Resolves an issue that could cause Aperture 3, or StarCraft II by Blizzard, to unexpectedly quit or become unresponsive.
Resolves an image corruption issue that may occur when disconnecting and reconnecting external displays while the system is running.

NZiPhone.com and NZMac.com News app - now with retina display support

philip.roy@nzmac.com (Philip Roy) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 21:26:36 GMT

The NZiPhone.com and NZMac.com News app has been updated to version 1.3 and will appear in the App Store shortly, and with it comes support for the iPhone 4. The app features a slight new look in that some of the tab icons (the tab is the bottom part of the screen) have changed, and this is due to using icons that have both a standard and high-res (for the retina display) version within the app. At the same time, text and other aspects of the app should be crystal clear to those with an iPhone 4. This was all incredibly easy to do, thanks in part to the amazing TapLynx framework used to build the app. So what are you waiting for? Download the free app now and keep up-to-date with all the happenings on NZMac.com and NZiPhone.com!

You can see some of the new icons (such as the Forums and Podcast icons) here. But in particular, note how crisp they look even at this resolution...

Here are some of the other icons in the update...

You can see that even at this resolution, the text and icons are crisp and clean. This is going to look great on the iPhone 4!

Oh and one more bit of good news. Since the last update, the NZiPhone.com and NZMac.com News app has featured regularly in the "What's Hot" section on iTunes NZ in the news app section. Cool!