52 Ways to Speed Up OS X

After Apple recently announced a delay to OS X 10.5 Leopard I had to delay my iMac upgrade until the Autumn. This led me to thinking about how to speed up Tiger to get the most out of my ageing G5.

This is what I came up with:

General System

1. Repair Disk Permissions
Navigate to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility. Select your Macintosh HD and select Verify Disk Permissions. If needed you can then Repair Disk Permissions.

2. Clear out login items
Its good to check that unwanted programs are not starting up when you login to your Mac. This can be done from System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items.

3. Clear out unwanted applications
Go through your applications folder and see if you can save yourself some disk space by removing any applications you no longer use.

4. Clear out unused system preferences
Check in your system preferences if there are any unused system preferences tabs that can be removed. If you do find something you don’t use you can either disable it within its menu or remove it from ‘~/Library/PreferencePanes’. You may have to reboot or do a force empty trash (see #38).

5. Clear Desktop
Its been reported numerous times that having a clear desktop can increase the speed of your Mac. So either put your junk in folders or delete it!

6. Empty Trash (if it wont empty see #38)
I’m always amazed when I’m looking on someone’s Mac and they haven’t ever emptied the trash! Check what’s in there then save yourself some space and empty it.

7. Turn off Universal Access (if not used)
Navigate to System Preferences > Universal Access and turn off anything you’re not using.

8. Turn off Bluetooth (if not used)
Navigate to System Preferences > Bluetooth.

9. Turn off speech recognition (if not used)
Navigate to System Preferences > Speech Recognition.

10. Turn off internet sharing (if not used)
Navigate to System Preferences > Sharing > Internet

11. Check there is plenty of disk space on the boot drive.
Your Mac uses some of your hard drive space as virtual memory when there is not enough actual memory available. Its good to always keep 10% of your hard drive free for such activity.

12. Remove Unwanted Language Packs
OS X contains hundreds of languages that you most likely wont use. Monolingual is a free program that can root out these languages and remove them saving you some extra disk space.

*Edit: Warning people have experienced problems with Monolingual so becareful what you remove. Only a reinstall will put the languages back so decide weather you really need the extra space by removing them.

13. Remove any desktop changing programs
Until recently I had a nice program that would put a different babe on my desktop each month. It looked great but once I started looking in activity monitor it was taking up lots of memory and processor time.

14. Check dock for unwanted apps.
Your dock should only contain your most used applications so take a look through to see if there is anything you can remove or uninstall.

15. Choose suitable applications for files
Be sensible when choosing what applications open by default - think do you really need Photoshop to open just to view an image when preview will work fine? Right click on a file then select Get Info.

16. Check Software Build
If you have an Intel Mac then check the build of the software is universal - it might be that the application is still running through Rosetta and that a universal update is available.

Eye Candy

17. Remove dock animation
Navigate to System Preferences > Dock then un-tick Animate Opening Applications.

18. Avoid animated desktops
Navigate to System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver then un-tick Change picture.

Dashboard

19. Remove unused widgets.
Each widget takes some memory and processor power even when you’re not using the dashboard so only enable the ones you use. Alternatively you can disable the dashboard - see #23.

20. Check to see how much processing power and memory each widget uses.
Some widgets are more intensive than others, if there is one that is particularly demanding see if there is one with similar functionality on the Apple website. To do this run Activity Monitor - Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor.

As you can see the widgets I have running are all using an acceptable amount of Real Memory.

Tinkertool

Tinkertool is a utility that gives you access to additional settings within OS X.

21. Remove animation effects.
The animation effects are the eye candy that make OS X look nice but they are not really needed, you can turn them off from the Finder pane within Tinkertool.

22. Disable Dock shadow.
From the Dock pane un-tick Enable Dock shadow.

23. Disable Dashboard.
If you don’t use the Dashboard you can deactivate it from the General pane.

24. Skip checksum verifications when opening DMG files.
This will speed up the loading of disk images when opening. This can be found in the Applications pane.

25. Remove or deactivate unwanted login items from the Login Items pane.
You might already have done this in #2.

26. Reduce delay time for display of loading pages in Safari.
This should speed up your web browsing experience, found within the Safari Pane.

OnyX

OynX is similar to Tinkertool however has many more options and preferences.You may have already done some of these in previous tips.

Parameters

27. Un-tick Graphic Effects (Finder tab).
You may already have done this with Tinkertool #21.

28. Un-tick Animate ‘Opening applications’ and ‘When alert in background’ (Dock tab).

29. Disable Dashboard (Dashboard and Expose tab).
You may already have done this with Tinkertool #23.

30. Set Safari speed of web page display to fast (Safari Tab).
You may already have done this in #26.

Maintenance

31. Repair Disk Permissions.
You may already have done this in #1.

32. Run Maintenance Scripts.

33. Reset Spotlight Index (it may take over a day to rebuild the index afterwards).

34. Run complete system optimization.

Cleaning

35. Clear Internet Settings.

36. Clear User and Font Caches.

37. Clear unused logs.

38. Force Empty Trash

Automation

39. Check settings - The default settings should be fine here. Click Execute.

Macbooks Just Got Even Better...

I'm happy to be bringing good news in this post, for it is M.O Photo's 200th Post.
Okay, stop applauding and cheering, let's get down to business.

Apple has done something I've been hoping they would for a while now; Apple updated its MacBook consumer notebooks with faster Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 1GB of memory and larger hard drives in every model. Apple Insider's description of the Macbook and what it now has to offer is simply perfect and so I'm sharing it with you here.

The new line of MacBooks remain just one-inch thin and feature built-in 802.11n wireless networking for up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g. Every MacBook also includes a built-in iSight video camera for on-the-go video conferencing, Apple's MagSafe Power Adapter that safely disconnects when under strain, and iLife '06, Apple's award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications.

"The MacBook is a huge hit with customers, and is one of the reasons that Mac sales are growing three times faster than PC sales," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "The new MacBook is faster, has even more memory and storage, and is an ideal notebook for customers' growing library of digital music, photos and movies."

Featuring a 13-inch glossy widescreen display, the one-inch thin MacBook comes in three models: white 2.0 GHz and 2.16 GHz MacBook models, and a black 2.16 GHz MacBook model. The MacBook includes a built-in iSight video camera for video chatting on-the-go with friends or family using iChat AV, recording a video podcast or iMovie using iLife '06, or taking fun snapshots with Photo Booth. Designed for the mobile lifestyle, the MacBook includes Apple's MagSafe Power Adapter that magnetically connects the power cord to the MacBook and safely disconnects when under strain, and the latest generation of 802.11n wireless networking for up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g.

The MacBook comes with iLife '06, the next generation of Apple's award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications featuring iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, GarageBand and iWeb. The MacBook also comes with the latest release of the world's most advanced operating system, Mac OS X version 10.4.9 Tiger, including Safari, Mail, iCal, iChat AV, Front Row and Photo Booth.

But wait, there's more good news...for Europeans, that is. Europeans will enjoy a nice price cut and the new Macbooks may also have better LCD's. Apple insider says...

Italians who received news of the spring 2007 MacBook update directly from Apple may have also been tipped off as to a change in the 13.3-inch displays used for the systems.

In its announcement, Apple Italy listed a 250cd/m2 brightness figure for the top 2.16GHz black model. The company has previously refrained from mentioning the display's specifications in the past, suggesting that the brightness was a selling point for at least the top system.

Europe as a whole also saw the price of the systems drop despite the change, with each system dipping 70 Euros to 1,049, 1,249, and 1,449 Euros respectively.

Pricing & Availability

The new MacBook is available immediately through the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

The 2.0 GHz, 13-inch white MacBook, for a suggested retail price of $1,099 (US), includes:

13.3-inch glossy widescreen 1280 x 800 display;

2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;

667 MHz front-side bus;

1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 2GB;

80GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;

a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) optical drive;

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950;

Mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);

built-in iSight video camera;

Gigabit Ethernet port;

built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;

two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 port;

one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;

Scrolling TrackPad;

the infrared Apple Remote; and

60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.

The 2.16 GHz, 13-inch white MacBook, for a suggested retail price of $1,299 (US), includes:

13.3-inch glossy widescreen 1280 x 800 display;

2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;

667 MHz front-side bus;

1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 2GB;

120GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;

a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD +/- RW/CD-RW) optical drive;

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950;

Mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);

built-in iSight video camera;

Gigabit Ethernet port;

built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;

two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 port;

one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;

Scrolling TrackPad;

the infrared Apple Remote; and

60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.

The 2.16 GHz, 13-inch black MacBook, for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US), includes:

13.3-inch glossy widescreen 1280 x 800 display;

2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;

667 MHz front-side bus;

1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 2GB;

160GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;

a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD +/- RW/CD-RW) optical drive;

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950;

Mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);

built-in iSight video camera;

Gigabit Ethernet port;

built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;

two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 port;

one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;

Scrolling TrackPad;

the infrared Apple Remote; and

60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.

Additional build-to-order options for the MacBook include the ability to upgrade to 120GB or 160GB (5400 rpm) or a 200GB (4200 rpm) hard drive, up to 2GB DDR2 SDRAM, Apple USB Modem, Apple Mini-DVI to DVI adapter, Apple Mini-DVI to VGA adapter, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan. Additional build-to-order options also include pre-installed copies of iWork '06, Logic Express 7, Final Cut Express HD 3.5 and Aperture 1.5.

[Apple Insider]

Lazy Apples

What the hell is wrong with Apple this year? So far it's nothing but bad news. From exploding macbooks and iPods to delayed operating systems and now to this very lame ad that doesn't mention a single thing about Apple. All it does is bashes Microsoft for having taken longer than expected on Vista, but HELLO YOU MORONS AT APPLE; you guys just delayed Leopard for crap's sake! Uneasy Silence, where I found the video, says

Watch out Apple, you should not be talking about delayed operating systems when you just delayed 10.5. Also, I am TIRED of the “Get a Mac” ad series - How about “Get a new Ad agency”

Something is just not right. I'm really getting annoyed at Apple and I expect them to do something about it. Impress for God's sake! It used to, but now when I think Apple I just tighten my grip on my wallet and all the bad news about Apple products fills my had and I'm left with a feel of caution towards Apple. I'm not excited about the iPhone, I'm excited by competitive pricing, unique features, and quality products. I don't want to buy overpriced so-so products that might be pretty but are lacking in ability. Also, I'm sick of waiting for leopard. I want to know when to expect it and I want more information about it so I can know whether or not it's even worth the wait. Otherwise, I can just buy a much cheaper Windows computer with compatible specs, hacked OSX Tiger +hacked iLife and iWork and then I'll have a "hackintosh" that can compete with most genuine macs and I'd probably save myself 700 euros or more.

Get off your lazy apples Mr. Jobs and turn your company image around. And for God's sake don't let one more stupid add like this into the world. You're making a fool of yourself. This isn't advertisement this is a petty blame game. Apple is taking heat for delaying Leopard and instead of taking it and being professional about it they're pointing the finger. This is just plain stupid.

In case anyone cares, there are two more new ads that came out with this one and you can of course see them at apple.com. Enjoy..... I know I didn't.

$100 OLPC to Cost $176 and May Run WINDOWS!

If you weren’t sick of the OLPC, here is even more news. Nicholas Negroponte, the head of the One Laptop Per Child project, has almost confirmed that the cost of the laptop would be close to $176 but also make a reference to the machines may be adopted in US schools and it may run Windows.

XO’s developers have been working with Microsoft so a version of Windows can run on the machines […] It could be the $3 software package that Microsoft announced last week for governments that subsidize student computers. It includes Windows XP Starter Edition and some of Microsoft’s “productivity” software.

That would be a direct blow to Steve Jobs who offered MacOS X for Intel to run on the upcoming laptop - for free. However, Jobs’ offer was declined in 2005 as the organization is searching for a 100% open source solution.

Posted on Uneasy Silence by Dan

Steve's the man! Just Say NO to Rent-a-Song.

Apple chief executive, Steve Jobs, on Wednesday maintained his view that customers would rather own their music than rent it, suggesting he's unlikely to give in to calls from the music industry to add a subscription-based model to iTunes.

"Never say never, but customers don't seem to be interested in it," Jobs told Reuters in an interview after Apple reported blow-out quarterly results. "The subscription model has failed so far."

Jobs' comments come at a time when Apple is believed to be preparing for iTunes licensing renegotiating with several of the music industry's largest labels. As part of those talks, several of the labels are expected to badger the Apple chief to add a subscription model to its industry-leading iTunes Store.

The labels, which are battling an ongoing decline in sales of compact discs and the simultaneous proliferation of illegal music downloads through peer-to-peer file sharing networks, are touting the potential of subscription services to boost their revenues. They believe a subscription model would increase the consumption of music and allow them to reap monthly payments in addition to small licensing fees each time songs are played.

Thus far, however, Jobs appears poised to stick with Apple's current a-la-carte and album download model, which has catapulted his firm to the forefront of the digital download business. Since its inception back in 2003, the company's iTunes music store has sold more than 2.5 billion songs worldwide.

"People want to own their music," Jobs said.

For its part in the impending negotiations, Apple is expected to press the music labels for further concessions on selling music without copy-protection software known as digital rights management (DRM). In a landmark deal announced earlier this month, EMI Group -- the third largest music label -- announced that it would begin selling DRM-free tracks on iTunes in May.

"There are a lot of people in the other music companies who are very intrigued by it," Jobs said of the move. "They're thinking very hard about it right now."

The Apple chief executive is hoping pressure from the EMI move weighs on three of the other big labels -- Universal, Sony BMG, and Warner Music -- essentially forcing them to follow suit in order to remain competitive.

"We've said by the end of this year, over half of the songs we offer on iTunes we believe will be in DRM-free versions," Jobs told Reuters. "I think we're going to achieve that."

Found on Apple Insider ... where else?

iTunes + Yahoo = Lyrics?

By Katie Marsal

A proposed deal between Apple and digital media company Gracenote could soon see the iPod maker serve up song lyrics through its ubiquitous iTunes Store.

The move would be part of a larger industry-backed push to stifle proliferation of unauthorized websites that currently dominate the market, often offering inaccurate lyrics and never compensating artists for their work.

Gracenote and Yahoo! kicked-off the effort earlier this week in announcing a licensing deal allowing Yahoo! Music to offer legal, licensed song lyrics from hundreds of thousands of songs to its customers. Some feature artists include U2, Elvis and The Beatles.

In a deal with music publishers last summer, Gracenote gain the rights to distribute lyrics from nearly 100 music publishers, including the top five: BMG Music Publishing, EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, and dozens of prominent independent publishers.

“Song lyrics are continually among the top 10 searches performed on major search engines, though the results often provide consumers a frustrating experience filled with inconsistent and incomplete lyrics, and annoying pop-ups,” said Craig Palmer, president and chief executive officer of Gracenote.

In speaking to Reuters, Palmer revealed his firm is in discussions with various other music partners, such as Apple's iTunes. "We wouldn't be in the business to launch just one service, so stay tuned," he said.

The arrival of lyrics on iTunes could present exciting opportunities for Apple, which already offers high-quality album artwork downloads to its customers. A deal between Gracenote and Apple would almost certainly pave the way for lyric downloads to digital music players, allowing iPod users to sing along to their favorite tunes. Karaoke products and possibilities also exist.

In speaking to Reuters, Palmer said licensing lyrics should boost worldwide music publishing revenues, estimated at about $4 billion annually, by as much as $100 million annually within the next 10 years.

found on Apple Insider

iPhone's Technical Difficulties

Whispers on the street have it that Apple has run into some issues with the iPhone's OS, preventing a solid supply of the much-ballyhooed phone to hit stores in time for the launch. A source from the manufacturer has this to say on the situation: "It does not look feasible that Apple will be able to ship units out in May to make the shipping date in the US (June), so expect units to trickle by end of June or early July."

Apparently, Apple has sent 50 engineers to Taipei to work around the clock to get the bugs worked out so the iPhone can ship on time. That's a lot of engineers. The source claims that such a shift in manpower is part of the reason Leopard was delayed. We're not sure how likely it is that Apple would send that many people halfway around the world, but anything is possible. Take it with a grain of salt.

Is it just me, or is the iPhone sharing more traits with the much-maligned Playstation 3 than anyone cares to admit? Let's see: The pricing is exactly the same ($500 and $600 models), there are manufacturing delays that are going to make for a very unpleasant launch, and both products are banking on the popularity of their predecessors to become huge sellers. Add to that a touchscreen without tactile feedback that might not be what people are expecting and this might not be the home run that Apple (and everyone else) is anticipating.

These are, of course, just rumors, and it's entirely possible that the iPhone will roll out as smooth as honey in mid-June, with thousands upon thousands of people lining up to toss more money at Apple. In any case, it should be interesting. –Adam Frucci

The above article was found on Gizmodo.

New Mac v.s PC Ad

This one actually RIGHT ON THE MONEY! I hate stupid trial programs, they suck and I don't ever want to buy them. I don't want to have Norton or Mcafee virus protection for a year and then be forced to pay for it afterwards. If you try to delete the damn you get ALL SORTS of problems, especially with Mcafee. And for god's sake, I don't want real player or quicktime to be bundled with anything. I know where to get it, and I'll get it if I want it. I hate realplayer! Say NO to bundled trial versions and other bundled software!

Leopard Screenshot?

It isn't much really, but I found the above screenshot (no confirmation on it's legitimacy) on Gizmodo with the following article...

"The fanboys are sad that OS X Leopard is going to be late, so in the meantime, here are some fresh screenshots to keep em held over. There, there, it'll be ok.

These are shots from the latest build seeded to developers, 9A410. Charming name aside, this evolution of the beta unifies the UI elements, ditching the now aging brushed aluminum window borders, along with the interesting Finder sidebar icons. Check em out.

BTW, these won't be around very long, so look at em, love em, and kiss em goodbye.

UPDATE: I also like Leander's take on the low probability of these being real, and the logic behind that reasoning.–Brian Lam"

More Shots: (hint - click on the pics and they'll get bigger!)

Apple's iPod may gain Wi-Fi by holidays

Apple plans to launch new iPods featuring Wi-Fi during the second half of 2007, according to a report at DigiTimes, the same publication which first reported that Apple would be forced to push out Leopard's release until October.

In a brief posting, the Taiwanese rumor publicized cited "portable music player component makers" who say that Universal Scientific Industrial (USI) has been contracted by the Cupertino-based iPod maker to produce the Wi-Fi modules and that Foxconn will act as the OEM system assembler.

USI will reportedly begin the first shipments of its Wi-Fi modules to Apple later this month, while Foxconn isn't expected to deliver the completed players until the third quarter, which runs July - September.

DigiTimes's report is somewhat in line with expectations published by AppleInsider over the course of the past few months. Sources initially reported that three distinct iPod models lie on Apple's roadmap for 2007, later adding that one of those players --- a next-gen video iPod -- was tracking for a third quarter release.

Thus far, Microsoft's Zune has led the way to increasing development of Wi-Fi portable music players, with Creative and SanDisk most recently showcasing such players at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show. According to DigiTimes, Samsung and Sony are also planning to offer similar products in the near future.

found on AppleInsider

Apple delays Leopard until October because of iPhone

By Peter Cohen on Macworld

Apple on Thursday released a statement noting that Mac OS X v10.5 “Leopard” won’t be released until October. The cause of the delay? The iPhone.

“iPhone has already passed several of its required certification tests and is on schedule to ship in late June as planned. We can’t wait until customers get their hands (and fingers) on it and experience what a revolutionary and magical product it is,” reads a statement published by the company.

Getting the iPhone ready for its June launch has had an unintended consequence, however: QA and “some key software engineering” resources allocated to Mac OS X needed to be diverted from their work to finish the iPhone. As a result, Apple won’t release Leopard at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, as it had first planned.

“While Leopard’s features will be complete by then, we cannot deliver the quality release that we and our customers expect from us. We now plan to show our developers a near final version of Leopard at the conference, give them a beta copy to take home so they can do their final testing, and ship Leopard in October. We think it will be well worth the wait. Life often presents tradeoffs, and in this case we’re sure we’ve made the right ones,” reads the statement.

Make Your iPod Kid-Safe

Cutest iPod accessory yet! This adorable rubber case for the iPod video is possible the cutest thing I've seen this week and I saw baby hedgehogs on Monday. By your little ones iPods, strap pop em' in these colorful cases, and plop them down in the backseat. Finally, there's a way to entertain kids on long road trips without having to listen to Barney and Friends through the car radio. Just load all of Jill and Johnny's favorite Disney and Pixar movies onto their iPods and you can again enjoy the privilege of operating your own car's radio. Of course you would have to either be really rich or REALLY LOVE your kids to get them these "toys". But hey, just think about it, pretty soon you'll have to by them anyway as schools in England and Michigan, USA are starting to use iPods and PSP's in the classroom. - More about that when the story grows. - Adam Frucci, my favorite Gizmodo blogger, had this to say about the product and I found it quite amusing....

It's never too early to start indoctrinating your children into the Church of Apple, and this iFrogz Tadpole iPod Case can do just that. Featuring big ol' handles to let the young ones grab it and kid-sized headphones, it's the perfect way to let your kid appreciate the clean design and intuitive functionality of the iPod before they can walk. Before you know it, they'll be drooling over 8-core Mac Pros, just like Dad. –Adam Frucci

New Mac v.s PC Ads

There are two new Mac v.s PC ads to be seen on the Apple website. The first is very cute because it shows a flashback to when Mac and PC were kids and the second pokes fun at PC's and their error messages......oh the many error messages. Kind of freaks me out because I'm gonna be installing Vista Home Premium here on my laptop in a few days and I'm wondering whether or not I'll regret or whether or not I'll be able to reinstall XP if Vista sucks. If there's anyone out there who has Vista already and think I'm making a massive mistake, please tell me now.

Coolest Birthday Cake Ever

Some 15 year old kid got this cake on his birthday along with the real thing. I found this at this site if you wanna know more.

Apple finally rolls out 8-core Mac Pro

Apple Inc. on Wednesday quietly introduced a version of its Mac Pro professional workstation that sports 8 processor cores via two Intel Xeon quad-core microprocessors.

When purchasing a Mac Pro through the company's online store, customers can now choose to build their machines with a pair 3GHz quad-core "Clovertown" Xeons.

The 8-core Clovertown option adds $1,498 to the Mac Pro's base price of $2,499. The base system continues to offer quad-core computing via two 2.66GHz dual-core Intel Xeon “Woodcrest” processors. Woodcrest Mac Pro systems are also available for configuration with 2GHz and 3GHz chips.

Customers can configure the Mac Pro with over 4.9 million build-to-order options including: up to 16GB of 667 MHz DDR2 fully-buffered ECC memory; up to four 750GB Serial ATA hard drives running at 7200 rpm; up to two 16x SuperDrives with double-layer support; ATI Radeon X1900 XT and NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 graphics cards, both with 512MB of GDDR3 SDRAM; AirPort Extreme module, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR module; Apple USB Modem; Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple wireless Mighty Mouse; Mac OS X Server Tiger; Apple Xsan; and Apple Fibre Channel PCI Express Card.

Professional velocity.

8-core or quad-core Mac Pro workstation

Meet the latest addition to the Mac Pro family: The world’s first 3.0GHz, 8-core Intel Xeon-based Mac Pro. Consider the bar officially raised.

Performance standard

No matter which Mac Pro model you choose — 8-core or quad-core Intel Xeon — each delivers advanced performance, workstation graphics, and unparalleled expansion in so many possible configurations, your imagination has finally met its match.

Eight cores or four

Opt for the 8-core Mac Pro and you get the power of two Quad-Core Intel Xeon “Clovertown” processors running at 3.0GHz. Or choose a quad-core Mac Pro featuring two Dual-Core Intel Xeon “Woodcrest” processors and decide how fast they fly: 2.0GHz, 2.66GHz, or 3.0GHz. At 3.0GHz, the quad-core Mac Pro runs up to 2x faster than the Power Mac G5 Quad.

Sources
AppleInsider
Apple.com

New Macs feature dual or "quad-core" processors, says Apple

Apple Inc. this week inadvertently tipped its hand by revealing plans to include quad-core processors from Intel Corp. in an upcoming generation of Mac computers.
"Every new Mac features powerful dual-core or quad-core Intel processors, the world's most advanced operating system, and more," the company wrote on a section of its online store promoting Adobe's new Creative Suite 3.0 software. "Build your Mac to your exact specifications, or start with our recommended configurations that are optimized for Creative Suite 3."

The Cupertino-based Mac maker has not yet introduced systems with quad-core processors, but as AppleInsider reported exclusively back in October, an 8-core Mac Pro -- by way of two quad-core Intel "Clovertown" Xeon chips -- remains ready and waiting.

For Apple, the slip-up marks the second time this month that one of its online stores has published hints at the next-generation Mac Pro. A couple of week's ago, its UK shop accidently posted then removed a similar blurb.

"Now quad-core or 8-core processing power," said a caption next to the company's existing Mac Pro offering. "Configure yours today."

found on AppleInsider

Rumor-based Mac Buying Guide Keeps Fanboys Guessing

Still wondering whether you should buy that new MacBook or Mac Pro? The gang at MacRumors has compiled the ultimate Mac-buying guide based on product refresh cycles and Internet rumblings.

Take the Mac Pro for instance. MR recommends you skip it cause it's been 234 days since its last refresh. What's 100 percent safe to buy? According to MR, only the Shuffle. Obviously you shouldn't live or die by these rules, but savvy shoppers could save a buck or two if they at least hold off for Leopard. – Louis Ramirez

Mac Buyer's Guide [Mac Rumors via Crave]

found on Gizmodo

Some highlights of the Mac Buyer's Guide can be seen below and were not found on Gizmodo, but were found by myself.

Mac mini

Main article: Mac mini Buyer's Guide

The Mac mini is Apple's low end desktop.

Product Mac mini Recommendation: Don't Buy - Updates soon Last Release September 06, 2006 Days Since Update 204 (Avg = 151)

iMac

Main article: iMac Buyer's Guide

The iMac is Apple's all-in-one form factor desktop.

Product iMac Recommendation: Don't Buy - Updates soon Last Release September 06, 2006 Days Since Update 204 (Avg = 168)

MacBook

Main article: MacBook Buyer's Guide

The MacBook is Apple's consumer laptop; it was formerly known as the iBook.

Product MacBook Recommendation: Neutral - Mid product cycle Last Release November 08, 2006 Days Since Update 141 (Avg = 204)

MacBook Pro

Main article: MacBook Pro Buyer's Guide

The MacBook Pro is Apple's professional laptop, it was formerly known as the PowerBook.

Product MacBook Pro Recommendation: Buy only if you need it - Approaching the end of a cycle Last Release October 24, 2006 Days Since Update 156 (Avg = 182)

Apple introduces 'Complete My Album' on iTunes

Apple on Thursday introduced a service on the iTunes Store called Complete My Album. The service allows users that have purchased individual songs on an album to purchase the full album at a reduced cost.

“One of the great things is that you can only do this in the digital world,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes, told Macworld. “It gives customers a great new way of getting music.”

Until now, if you purchased an individual song on iTunes and then decided to buy the whole album, you would have to pay the full price. Not only that, you would have two copies of the one song you purchased. With Complete My Album, Apple will give you a full $0.99 credit for every song you have purchased from the album.

Complete My Album offers customers up to 180 days after first purchasing individual songs from any qualifying album to purchase the rest of that album at a reduced price. However, Apple is giving users a grace period — you have until June 27, 2007 to complete any album that was ever purchased from the iTunes Store.

When users buy any song on iTunes the corresponding album will immediately appear on their personalized Complete My Album page with the reduced price listed.

“We thought it was a great idea to give people the opportunity to go back and buy albums without paying extra,” said Cue. “It’s hard to imagine a music fan not loving this feature.”

found on playlistmag.com

Apple Bootcamp 1.2 Adds Vista Support + More

In what may very well be the last update to Boot Camp before Leopard is released, this version 1.2 of OS X's dual booting software gives Vista support to eager plaid jacket fans. For people who haven't updated to Vista yet (XP users), there's also:

• Better trackpad, audio, iSight, graphics, and modem drivers
• Apple Remote support in iTunes and WMP
• System tray icon for Boot Camp info
• Foreign language support
• Apple Software Update

We've been kind of holding out on loading Boot Camp because 1) we were happy running Vista elsewhere and didn't want to downgrade to XP, and 2) it sounded too much like physical exercise. Looks like it's time. – Jason Chen

found on Gizmodo

Find Out Who is Listening to Your iTunes Collection

Posted in Apple, Downloadable on Gizmodo

With iTunes giving you the ability to share your music library I’m left wondering WHAT people are listening to when they are connected. iTunes Monitor, a Mac only program, does it show you who’s connected to your shared music, it also tells you what they’re listening to. Unfortunately it is complied for the PowerPC processor only, so on an Intel Mac your processor usage soars using this neat little utility.