MacRumors

Multiple readers are reporting that the new version of the MacBook Air that was announced on October 14th is now shipping.

The new MacBook Air uses the new NVIDIA-chipset which includes the GeForce 9400M graphics processing unit (GPU). This improved GPU hardware should provide much faster graphics performance for Apple's thinnest laptop. In addition, the new MacBook Air should also see the same improvements in h.264 playback that we've seen in the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros. There had been evidence that Apple now supports h.264 hardware accelerated decoding on the GeForce 9400M.

The offloading of processing from the CPU to the GPU will likely be more dramatic for the MacBook Air since its CPU runs slower (1.6-1.8GHz) than those of the MacBook and MacBook Pro.

Despite an ongoing legal dispute with Apple, Mac clone maker Psystar announced today that they are shipping OS X-compatible PCs with Blu-ray optical drives and the NVIDIA 9800GT graphics card. Apple does not currently offer either peripheral on the Mac.

According to the FAQ, Mac OS X Blu-ray support is limited to to read/write data capabilities only and there is no Blu-ray software capable of playing back Blu-ray video on the Mac. Apple had described the licensing of Blu-ray as a "bag of hurt", but was likely referring specifically to the video playback licensing issues.

The two peripherals are build to order options from Psystar. Two weeks ago, Apple and Psystar agreed to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in which both parties can try to work out a resolution rather than going to trial. The process may still require several months.

With the broad seeding of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, a few more details have been revealed about the direction Apple is going with Snow Leopard. According to the seed notes, Apple is migrating more towards Cocoa (rather than Carbon) and continues the transitioning of Mac OS X to 64-bit operating system. AppleInsider recently explored some of the details surrounding the changes.

Apple states that almost all user-facing applications in Mac OS X have been written in Cocoa with Finder being the notable exception. Apple will finally be migrating Finder to Cocoa in Snow Leopard. Despite Cocoa having a reputation amongst end-users that it is "better" than Carbon, AppleInsider notes that both will continue to coexist.

For users, the move to Cocoa means that applications will have more consistent appearance and behavior. Apps that make use of standardized interface controls rather than building their own will not only be more familiar, but users will also benefit from the code exercise and reuse, which removes bugs and allows for centralized optimizations. In other words, Apple can address user interface problems that in turn impact all apps.

Apple is, however, focusing on Cocoa and is now requiring 64-bit applications to make the switch from Carbon. This new requirement announced at the 2007 WWDC caught some developers off-guard and is why Adobe's Photoshop CS4 remains a 32-bit application, while Windows CS4 already offers 64-bit support.

According to AppleInsider, Snow Leopard will deliver the first 64-bit kernel for Mac OS X. The benefits of 64-bit support are most apparent for applications that require large amounts of memory, and likely do not directly affect the majority of consumers. Apple's Mac OS X has already been able to provide support for 64-bit applications.

Even though Apple refreshed MacBook Pros and MacBooks just a couple of weeks ago, many are still holding out for additional updates from Apple.

Our Buyer's Guide shows both the Mac mini and Mac Pro well overdue for updates and persistent rumors point at iMac updates before the holidays.

iMac

The iMac was last updated in April of this year. Intel provided Apple with advanced versions (Montevina-like) of their processors that supported faster bus speeds (1066 MHz) well before they were in wide circulation. As a result, an update to the iMac is least pressing and rumors suggest that Apple will simply upgrade the internals of the iMac to NVIDIA-based chipsets to bring them in line with Apple's newest notebooks.

While it is rather late in the year for any new releases, it's not unheard of for Apple to issue a November upgrade. In 2003, Apple released an iMac update as late as November 18th. If Apple does update the iMac in November, it will likely be a simple press release rather than an organized media event.

Mac mini

Unfortunately, there is little new to say about the Mac mini. The most recent rumors have declared the Mac mini to still be alive, but it seems just barely. Apple has neglected the Mac mini for over a year now. In fact, for the last update, Apple didn't even issue a press release and revealed the upgrade during a Question and Answer session.

Mac Pro

The Mac Pro was last updated in January of this year at Macworld San Francisco. The fate of the Mac Pro largely depends on Intel's delivery of suitable new processors.

Intel has confirmed that they will be delivering the first of the Nehalem (Core i7) processors to customers in November with expectations pointing to the 17th. The Core i7 represents a significant architectural improvement over the Core 2 Duos used in existing Macs. The exact rollout of these chips remains a bit unclear. The first processors to be released in November are said to be high-end Desktop versions of the processor. Apple, however, has traditionally used Intel's server-class processors for the Mac Pro rather than the desktop versions. That being said, Apple has gotten special treatment from Intel in the past and may be able get access to chips earlier than their competitors.

The next major event for such a high profile release is Macworld San Francisco in January 2009. With recent updates to the rest of their product line, it seems there will be little else to talk about at Macworld except the Mac Pro. (Unless, of course, Apple decides to introduce a new product or discuss the upcoming Mac OS X Snow Leopard at the event.)

iPhoneHellas.gr has published a screenshot from the latest iPhone 2.2 Beta 2 which reveals that Apple may be seeking to increase customer participation in reviewing iPhone and iPod touch apps.

Specifically, the latest firmware will ask users to rate an application if they decided to remove them from their iPhone. Apple would presumably send the rating back to the iTunes App Store. While Apple had originally allowed anyone to leave an app ratings, Apple now requires customers to have purchased an application prior to rating/reviewing it.

Recently leaked screenshots of iPhone 2.2 Beta 2 have revealed a number of new features including:

- Google Street View
- Public Transit Times and Walking Directions
- Location Sharing

Apple released a small update to their iPhoto application. The new version brings iPhoto to version 7.1.5 and offers improvements in the printing service:

This update improves the printing quality of books, cards and calendars ordered via the iPhoto printing service.

Apple last updated iPhoto in July. The 9MB download is available on Apple's website or through your Mac OS X Software Update.

Apple has also recently released a number of other minor updates which we have previously highlighted on Page 2. These include:

- Apple Releases Airport Extreme Update 2008-004
- Apple Releases Aperture 2.1.2
- Apple Releases Migration and DVD/CD Sharing

Netflix announced today that they have begun testing Mac video streaming to a small portion of their subscribers, and expects widespread availability by the end of the year.

Netflix, Inc., the world's largest online movie rental service, today announced it has begun the deployment of Microsoft Silverlight to enhance the instant watching component of the Netflix service and to allow subscribers for the first time to watch movies and TV episodes instantly on their Intel-based Apple Macintosh computers. The deployment, which will initially touch a small percentage of new Netflix subscribers, is the first step in an anticipated roll-out of the new platform to all Netflix subscribers by the end of the year.

The streaming service is based on Microsoft's Silverlight technology and will only be available to Intel-based Macs. Netflix has been talking about Mac support for some time now, but appears to be on track to deliver it by year's end.

Netflix is best known for its mail-order DVD rental service but also includes unlimited video streaming with their fixed monthly plans starting at $9/month. Netflix recently expanded their content available for streaming, which also includes a number of television shows as well as movie titles.

Google announced the release of an iPhone native version of their Google Earth application.

With just a swipe of your finger you can fly from Peoria to Paris to Papua New Guinea, or anywhere in between. It may be small, but it brings all the power of Google Earth to the palm of your hand, including all of the same global imagery and 3D terrain. You can even browse any of our 8 million Panoramio photos or read Wikipedia articles.

Google Earth integrates with the iPhone's GPS to provide you your current location, but you can also explore different areas on earth.

The application is a free download from the App Store (iTunes Link).

Apple has seeded a new version of Snow Leopard (Build 10A190) to developers this morning. Last night they had emailed ADC members that a preview build of Snow Leopard was made available to them, but the download links were not live until this morning.

Snow Leopard is the codename for the next major revision of Mac OS X. Apple has said that they would be focusing on quality and performance in Snow Leopard. In particular, Apple has made it clear that there will be efforts to improve support for multi-core processors and GPU processing. These improvements will help developers more efficiently use these capabilities that already ship in Macs.

Update: Seed Notes reveal some changes including Multicore enhancements and partially rewritten Cocoa Finder.