MacRumors

MacDailyNews reports that Apple has started a print campaign that complements the recent Get a Mac television ads.

A detachable insert in the September 8th issue of Entertainment Weekly contains a 14 page booklet showing "Why you'll love a Mac":

Macs are designed from the ground up to work better than any other computer. And they come with everything you need to have more fun, right out of thebox. Including iLife '06, Apple's award-winning suite of software that lets you easily crete photo books; websites, blogs; home movies and more. A built-in iSight camera for video chats with your friends and family. Mac OS X, the world's most advanced operating system that doesnt' suffer from all the viruses that plague PCs. And Intel's latest chip, so everything runs faster than ever. Say hello to a better computer. Say hello to Mac.

The booklet goes on to show pictures and descriptions of iPhoto, iWeb, iTunes, iMovie, GarageBand, iChat, Dashboard, Microsoft Office, iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro and the Mac mini. Photos of the booklet can be seen here (Flickr).

With the new Mac mini and iMac updates released today, it appears Apple will focus on their Movie initiative during their September 12th media event. Variety provides some details of the upcoming announcement.

As reported elsewhere, Variety expects Apple to provide movies for $9.99/download for older movies and $14.99 for new releases. This price range is reportedly a concession to movie studios who want variable pricing. Apple has long been a proponent of a one-price model. As a result, only Disney is said to be definitely on board with the initial launch with the other studios potentially joining in the next year.

In contrast, Amazon is also launching a movie store later this week, and they are expected to have all major movie studios signed on. Amazon's pricing will be in line with current movie download services ($9.99-$19.99).

An Associated Press report offers a similar perspective on the ongoing negotiations between Apple and the movie studios:

...substantial disagreements between studios and Apple remain to be resolved and Apple's movie service could launch with a limited number of films, according to two studio executives who asked to remain anonymous because talks were still ongoing.

Apple has updated the Mac Mini to include all Core Duo models. Other than the processor upgrade, there does not appear to be any differences between the previous Mac Mini and today's release, including pricing. The Mac Mini is available in two offerings:

1.66 GHz Mac Mini
60 GB 5400-rpm SATA Hard Drive
Combo Drive
$599 USD

1.83 GHz Mac Mini
80 GB 5400-rpm SATA Hard Drive
Superdrive
$799 USD

Both models feature:
-2MB Shared L2 Cache
-512 MB 667 MHz DDR2 RAM standard (up to 2 GB supported)
-GMA 950 Integrated graphics
-1 Firewire 400, 4 USB 2.0
-Optical Digital/Analog Audio In/Out
-Gigabit ethernet
-Airport Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR standard

The new Mac minis are available at the Apple Store.
Of note, the Mac Mini still uses Core Duo (Yonah), not the more advanced Core 2 Duo "Merom" chip found in today's iMac announcements.

While keeping the 17 & 20 inch form factors, Apple has released a new big brother to the iMac lineup. The new machine features a 24 inch widescreen in the familiar all-in-the-screen form factor. Under the hood all of the iMacs now feature the newly released Intel Core 2 Duo with speeds from 1.83 GHz to 2.33 GHz, making it up to 50% faster than the previous 20" iMac. The new machines are available in the following standard configurations:

17 inch 1.83GHz
$999 US
1440x900 resolution
2MB L2 Cache
512MB RAM
160GB SATA HD
24x Combo Drive
Intel GMA950 64MB
Airport Extreme

17 inch 2.0GHz
$1199
1440x900 resolution
4MB L2 Cache
1GB RAM
160GB SATA HD
8x Double Layer Superdrive
ATI Radeon x1600 128MB
Airport Extreme & Bluetooth
Apple Remote

20 inch 2.16GHz
1680x1050 resolution
4MB L2 Cache
1GB RAM
250GB SATA HD
8x Double Layer Superdrive
ATI X1600 128MB
Airport Extreme & Bluetooth
Apple Remote

24 inch 2.16GHz
1920x1200 resolution
4MB L2 Cache
1GB RAM
250GB SATA HD
8x Double Layer Superdrive
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 128MB
Airport Extreme & Bluetooth
Apple Remote
The new iMacs are available at the Apple Store.

ExtremeTech reports that Tzero Technologies and Analog Devices have announced a prototype wireless HDMI interface. The standards-based system allows manufacturers to stream high definition signals between audio/video equipment (TVs, DVD players).

The standard calls for link reliability of at least 95 percent, packet error rate of less than 1 in one hundred million, interference resistances for microwaves and cordless phones, and the ability to process three or more HD streams at 10 meters.

According to the article, the system will be demonstrated to various manufacturers over the next few months and be available for purchase in November.

While this announcement is not related to Apple, recent rumors have indicated that Apple could introduce a wireless video device next week. Of course, if Apple's device is intended to stream iTunes-downloadable movies, high definition video capabilities would likely not be required.

One visitor to Apple's Tampa Bay International Plaza store has posted images to his flickr stream from what appear to be three new Get A Mac ads shown in-store. The ads have not appeared as of yet online or on the air, however the user describes the ads via his website as the following:

1) A unkempt cross-dresser stands with "the PC" while Gisele Bndchen stands with "the Mac" (symbolizing the design of the computers? Update: According to one report received by MacRumors, this ad may refer to iMovie and its capabilities rather than computer design.)
2) Both the PC and Mac characters dress in suits. "The PC ends up on the floor in this one"
3) The "PC" and "Mac" go to counseling to resolve their differences

Gisele Bndchen's involvement in Apple's ad campaign had been previously rumored.

Analyst Shaw Wu of American Technology Research claims that the long-rumored Apple cell phone is now a reality with the final pieces in place.

The analyst's report surprisingly provides details of the unreleased product. According to the analyst:

"The design will be an iPod nano-like candy bar form factor and come in three colors (we are not certain of the exact colors but we suspect black, white and platinum, similar to Apple's current color scheme of iPods and Macs)."

The details of the launch and provider partners remain undecided. Meanwhile, a recent Appleinsider report claimed that Steve Jobs had been boasting about Apple's upcoming phone offering to his inner circle.

The cell phone rumors appear to be unreleated to the September 12th Media Event which was confirmed earlier today.

Several news outlets are confirming the media event that Apple is holding on September 12th 2006.

More details of the event were released today when Apple sent out invitations to select media members. The invites says "It's Showtime":

First word of the event leaked out on August 31st, with multiple reports of a media event to be held in San Francisco. Today, the digital invitations were sent out confirming the event and setting a time and place.

The announcements will take place at 10:00am Pacific time at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in downtown San Francisco. Based on the title of the invitation, it appears likely that the long rumored Movie Store will finally be released.

Businessweek recently provided some early details of the service, which they claim to offer movies from $9.99-$14.99. Meanwhile, Appleinsider feels a new video streaming device will also be introduced. Meanwhile, Core 2 Duo iMacs and new iPods are also expected.

If you have access to this media event, please contact us.

Appleinsider reports that Apple is ready to introduce the iTunes Movie Store at the upcoming September 12th Media Event.

They expect that Jobs will announce that movies from at least one major studio will be available at $9.99/download with additional studios following. Appleinsider, however, also claims that Apple has been working on their next killer device. Instead of a video iPod device to drive movie sales, they believe a video streaming device is in the works:

Jobs many months ago commissioned an elite group of Apple engineers to get the ball rolling on an intuitive hardware solution that would more closely tie the company's digital media strategy to the living-room.
....
Insiders can only presume the device will take up the form of a video-enabled version of Apple's existing AirPort Express wireless base station, which lets users stream their iTunes music tracks from their computers to their home stereo receivers. It also acts as a wireless 802.11 router and printing hub.

Details are scarce, and the rumor site also reports that the release could still be delayed.

Update: Apple officially sent out invitations to members of the press today. According to O'Reilly, the event will be held at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco.

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Excluding specific forums
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Forum Spy is based on the same technology behind MacRumorsLive and requires a modern browser with Javascript enabled (this includes recent versions of Internet Explorer, Safari and Firefox).

So if you haven't been an active member of the forums, now's your chance to follow along and participate in the discussions.

A number of recent reports have claimed that September 12th will bring an Apple media event with iMac updates.

ThinkSecret now reports that Apple's September 12th media event will also introduce a 2nd generation iPod Nano and an updated 5G iPod alongside upgraded iMacs.

According to the rumor site the new iPod nano will feature larger storage capacities as well as multiple colors in a metal finish. Meanwhile, the new full-size iPod will simply sport upgraded capacities at the same price point. ThinkSecret does not expect the long rumored touch-screen video iPod until 2007, but does expect the introduction of the iTunes Movie Store at this event.

MacRumors has heard an unconfirmed tidbit that Adobe has sent out invitations to a special announcement at next week's IBC conference in Amsterdam. According to our source, the event will have "universal appeal". We are currently working to confirm this information.

Only one Adobe application (Lightroom) is currently undergoing a universal public beta. Adobe had previously posted a PDF online indicating that CS3 would be released as a Universal Binary. CS2 was released in April of 2005.

Update: (Moved to Page 1) While still a rumor and still prone to the inaccuracies that accompany such things, MacRumors has verified our source and gained a little bit more detail about what may be expected next week.

A "sneak preview" will be shown of some Universal Binary versions of Adobe's applications according to our source, however it does not appear as though any formal release is imminent. Of note, Adobe has previously indicated that CS3 would not be released until Q2 2007.

Update 2: MacWorld.co.uk has received word that the next generation of Photoshop will indeed be previewed on September 7th at Photoshop World Conference and Expo.

Reports that Apple will be hosting a special media event on September 12th began emerging yesterday. According to multiple reports, Apple will be hosting the event in San Francisco which will be also streamed live to London.

MacOSXRumors now claims that Apple will be revamping the iMac line with the new Core 2 Duo processor at this event, with the additional introduction of a 23" iMac.

Larger iMac form-factor rumors were amongst the reject rumors for pre-WWDC rumors. MacOSXRumors, however, cites "reliable sources" for this report and did have some accurate predictions for Leopard (virtual desktops, tabbed iChat).
Update: Appleinsider also believes that the iMac will see Merom updates in mid-September along with a 23" iMac model.

According to reports, Apple has already provided an update to their Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Preview that was distributed to developers at WWDC 2006. The update which is available through Leopard's Software Update provides few details on the improvements provided:

This Software Update delivers improved reliability and compatibility for Mac OS X Leopard Developer Preview and is recommended for all users.

The 46.4MB release is simply entitled "Leopard Developer Preview Update 1.0" and updates Build 9A241 to Build 9A241e. No obvious improvements have been noted.

Apple demonstrated Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard at WWDC, revealing some of the features that are expected. Mac OS X 10.5 is not expected to be released until Spring of 2007.

Codeweavers has released the public beta of CrossOver for Intel Macs.

We previously reported on CrossOver Mac, which provides a unique (Wine based) solution for running Windows applications on the Intel Mac:

Codeweaver's solution differs from solutions like Apple's Boot Camp and Parallels Desktop in that it does not require a copy of Windows to run the Windows applications. Also, applications will be able to run side by side with their Mac OS X counterparts, whereas virtualization solutions must be contained within a "Windows window" or the machine must be rebooted in the case of Boot Camp.

The free 60-day public beta is now available. Due to the nature of the software, only specifically supported Windows applications can be launched. Codeweavers maintains a compatibility list with over 2000 applications.