Apple releases Lion, new MacBook Airs, Mac Mini’s, Thunderbolt Display and discontinues the MacBook

July 20th was a big day for Apple. They had 3 Major Hardware releases, 1 Software release, and one discontinuation.

Through the Mac App Store Apple released their next version of Mac OS X – Lion. It was around a 4GB File download. Over Wi-Fi on my laptop it took around 6 Hours to download. From 6 in the morning till Noon. After that it took around 30 Minutes to fully install. If certain people’s Internet connection is too slow to download Lion or they have a Bandwidth Cap, Apple is allowing users to bring their computer to an Apple Retail Store and download Lion from the Apple Store’s internet connection; for no extra Cost. For people who don’t have both if these options Apple is will sell a USB Flash Drive in August for $69, that’s a $40 Price Hike. Unless you’re willing to pay extra, really try and find a place to download Lion. Here is a link to the Press Release.

Apple updated their MacBook Airs to include Intel’s Ultra Low Voltage Core i5 and i7 Processors. They also put in Thunderbolt and brought back the old Backlit Keyboard. With their new CPU’s the MBA’s are almost 2.5 Times faster than the last-gen MacBook Airs. But everything else about the MacBook Air is the same; the price, Flash Storage, and RAM.

Apple also revised their entry-level Mac, the Mac Mini. The size is still the same but their are new CPU’s (Core i5 and i7) and new discrete GPU’s. You can add up to 8GB of RAM, SSD’s, and Faster Hard Drives. The new Mac Mini also includes Thunderbolt connectivity. Apple took out the SuperDrive from the Mac Mini. But you can buy a the MacBook Air Super Drive ($70) if you need to use DVD’s and CD’s. And Apple lowered the entry price to $599.

Lastly they introduced the Thunderbolt Display. It’s pretty much the same 27-in. Cinema Display Apple used to have except now it includes a FaceTime HD Camera and on the Back it has a Gigabit Ethernet Port, FireWire 800, 3 USB Ports, and an Extra Thunderbolt port. It still cost’s $999.

Now we come the the Unfortunate news. Do you remember that White polycarbonate MacBook that started at $999? Well Apple has discontinued that Product. So now the cheapest Apple Laptop you can buy is the 11-in MacBook Air. The MacBook used to be the most popular Mac before the 13-in MacBook Pro was released. But it was soon forgotten. May the MacBook Rest in Peace. Apple did say they will continue making the MacBook for education services.

Through out this week I will be posting more stuff on Lion and the new Mac’s, so keep out on the lookout.

-MacMusings

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Steve Jobs will present Lion, iOS 5, and iCloud at the WWDC Keynote

Apple released Press Info on Tuesday telling the Public that Steve Jobs along with other Apple executives will be unveiling Lion, iOS 5, and iCloud at the opening WWDC Keynote on June 6 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time. With this news there is one surprise, three clarifications, and one disappointment. The surprise is that Steve blogs Jobs will be the Keynote presenter even though he is on sick leave! A clarification is that Lion will be announced more publicly and most likely be given a date and price for it’s release at WWDC. Also that the next generation of iPhone Software will be called iOS 5 and be announced to the Public along with it’s release date. Another thing Apple might do for iOS Developers is give them a Gold Master version of iOS 5 immediately, before the real version is out. Last clarification is that after hearing so many rumors that Apple will release cloud service and what it might be called, Apple finally confirmed that it will be called iCloud. But we still don’t know the features of iCloud so we will have to wait till Monday’s keynote. Unfortunately Apple said nothing about a new iPhone. Other Apple-related blogs say that the next iPhone won’t be released until the September music event. This is ending the tradition of announcing the iPhone at WWDC which Apple has been doing for the last three years. Hopefully Jobs’ “one more thing” might be the iPhone 4. But this is the only information that we have now. All we can do now is speculate or wait till Monday to get all the information.

-MacMusings

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