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Apple "Back to the Mac" Event Roundup
Jason Tsay
Whew! What a day yesterday! - new Macbook Airs, new Mac OS X 10.7, and a new iLife ‘11. It really was a good day in the world of Apple computers, and here at T3ch H3lp, we like to simplify things for our readers so instead of having you all hunt down each individual piece of news, we’re bringing you the Ultimate Back to Mac event Roundup at a low price of free! Hit the break for a days worth of fruity goodness (aren’t I punny?).
The Macbook Air
So let’s kick it off with the new Macbook Air’s. Battery life is pretty lengthy on the new models - 5 hours on the 11 inch and 7 on the 13 inch. Up to 30 days of standby alone is enough to attract some buyers. Of course, it’s thin as hell at 0.11” (thinnest part) and 0.68” (thickest part). 2.9 pounds is something you’ll definitely want to brag about to your friends. Now let’s talk specific models.
You get a choice of 2 screen sizes (11.6” and 13.3”) and 4 models total. The lowest end 11.6” model packs in a 1.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB of RAM, 64 GB of flash storage, and a 1366 x 768 display powered by NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics. Yours for $999. If you choose to upgrade but retain the same screen size, you can get 128 GB of storage instead. By choosing this model, you also have the option to upgrade your processor to a 1.6 Ghz Core 2 Duo for a slightly higher cost of $1199.
Now say you are one of those guys who think the 11.6” display is just a toy, you’ll want the 13.3” model with a 1.86 Ghz Core 2 Duo and 128 GB or 256 GB of (flash) storage - $1299 and $1599 respectively. Likewise, the highest end model will have a 2.13 Ghz processor option.
You might we wondering you Apple includes Software Restore disks with these new Macbook Airs since they have no built in disc drives. The company has come up with a clever solution - a miniscule 8 GB flash drive (just to go along with the whole flash storage theme).
New Mac OS X Lion
Now let’s talk about some software. Mac OS X 10.7 will be officially known as “Lion.” Expect some new features such as Facetime, a new iOS-y interface, and an App Store. Full screen apps help you concentrate on what you’re doing (after all, with 11.6”, you can hardly spare any room at all). We don’t know too much about the App Store at this point but supposedly, it’ll make it easier to buy Mac software. Launchpad is heavily influenced by the iPad interface and will let you organize and launch apps in an iOS manner. And the last highlighted feature will be called Mission Control. This is basically a reworked Exposé that lets you see everything running on your Mac at once.
iLife ‘11
And of course there’s iLife ‘11. Major updates include those to iMovie, iPhoto, and Garageband. iMovie ‘11 received better audio editing among other features while iPhoto got full screen mode, better Facebook integration, and a better book maker. FlexTime, Groove Matching, guitar effects, amp effects, piano and guitar lessons, and “How Did I Play” are all features of the new iLife 2011.
Further Reading — Macbook Air Detailed / OS X Lion / The Keynote / Macbook Air Video
