AllThingsD » GarageBand

Apple Shows Off Sharper 4G iPad, Updates Apple TV

Ina Fried — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 17:30:56 +0000

The satellite trucks are parked, the signs have gone up and the pundits have placed their bets.

Everyone seems to think they know what Apple has in store at its event on Wednesday: Namely, a higher-resolution iPad and, perhaps, a revamped Apple TV.

But it’s Apple, so you can never be too sure that there won’t be a surprise.

Whatever the company has to say, AllThingsD will be on hand to give live coverage and analysis. Check back here, starting just ahead of the event at 10 am PT.

9:35 am: We are being let in now.

9:54 am: Okay, took us a bit to get set up, but we are online and with a backup system in place, as well.

9:57 am: Tim Cook has taken the stage and offered up his “good morning,” to applause.

He promises he has a great morning planned. “I want to get started by talking about the post-PC revolution. … It is happening all around us, and at an amazing pace.” And, of course, he says Apple is leading.

9:59 am: Such devices have to be way easier than any PC has ever been.

We have three blockbuster post-PC devices, Cook says: The iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.

“Any company would be thrilled to have just one of these devices,” he said. Apple has all three. It sold 172 million post-PC devices, accounting for 76 percent of the company’s revenue, he said.

“Apple has its feet firmly planted in the post-PC future,” he said.

10:02 am: Stores are important because these devices are new to many people, Cook said, showing pictures of the company’s newest store, in Amsterdam, which marked its 362nd outlet.

Some 110 million people visited a retail store last quarter, Cook said.

10:04 am: Cue video of Apple’s new Grand Central Terminal store.

10:04 am: Another key element of our post-PC success is iOS, Cook says, showing an iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, with 315 million such devices sold through last year, including 62 million last quarter alone.

Now he’s talking about Siri and playing some clips of Siri from other parts of the world, such as Australia and France.

“Siri is your best friend, your intelligent personal assistant who gets things done just by asking,” he said. “Our customers tell us that they love it.”

In France, by the way, Siri is a guy.

Today we are bringing Siri to Japan, Cook announces.

10:07 am: Siri in Japan is part of iOS 5.1, an update being made available today.

10:08 am: More stats:

There are now 585,000 apps in the app store, which Apple announced on Monday has crossed 25 billion downloads (free and paid).

10:09 am: Talk has shifted to iCloud, which will now support movies in addition to music and TV shows. You can re-download movies you have purchased, and movies and TV shows will now be available in 1080p.

New Apple TV will now support 1080p. “I’ve been using one of these; the (quality) is off the charts.”

10:11 am: Eddy Cue comes out to demo the new Apple TV.

10:12 am: Tweaked interface. Also easier to get to third-party content, Cue said. Photo Stream also shows up automatically on new Apple TV, and in 1080p.

10:15 am: New Apple TV remains $99 and goes on sale next week, though you can order now.

“That brings us to iPad,” Cook said. “We think the iPad is the poster child of the post-PC (era).”

10:16 am: The set-up for the new iPad is classic Apple — momentum stats, glowing reviews, etc.

10:17 am: Goal of the iPad was to be the best device for some of the tasks people do every day, such as Web browsing and checking email.

“This is a tall order,” he said.

But, he said, Apple’s research seems to bear this out. Many iPad owners who have a PC and smartphone said iPad was their favorite Web browsing and email device. The iPad also won out over e-readers for book reading, and against game consoles and handheld game players for gaming, Cook said.

10:19 am: Cook notes that more than 100 tablets came to market last year, but they don’t offer the experience of the iPad. He shows Twitter running on a Samsung tablet, saying it is more like a blown-up phone application experience, while on the iPad it is a totally different experience.

Same thing with Yelp, he said.

“This is a key reason why momentum on iPad continues to build and the competitive tablets aren’t gaining traction,” Cook said.

Everyone keeps wondering who will come out with a product better than iPad 2.

“Stop wondering,” Cook said. “We are.”

A screen of new iPad shows in background. “It is amazing,” he said. “We are redefining the category that Apple created.”

10:22 am: Marketing chief Phil Schiller on stage to show off the new iPad.

10:23 am: First new feature is the Retina display, as expected. “Until you see it, you can’t understand how amazing this is,” Schiller said.

10:23 am: The giant wall display behind him, Schiller said, actually has fewer pixels than the new iPad.

The new iPad has 31 million pixels, with resolution of 2048 by 1536 pixels. That’s one million more pixels than an HD TV, Schiller said, and 264 pixels per inch.

“That is enough to call it a Retina display,” Schiller said. The iPhone has it when held at 10 inches from the face. The same is true of the new iPad, when held at 15 inches away or even somewhat closer.

10:27 am: The new iPad is powered by an A5X chip, with quad-core graphics needed for new high-resolution display. Apple says the older A5 chip had twice as much graphics power as Nvidia’s Tegra 3, while new A5X has four times the graphics power — again, according to Apple. “This is the best mobile display that has ever shipped,” he said.

10:28 am: New iPad has 5 megapixel camera with technology brought over from the iPhone 4S.

Schiller shows off some of the photos taken with the new iPad.

10:29 am: For more on the new iPad, check out this post from colleague Peter Kafka.

10:30 am: The iPad now has 1080p video recording, Schiller said.

10:31 am: The new camera also has image stabilization, Schiller said, showing a demo of that.

10:31 am: The new iPad also has voice dictation, thanks to a microphone button on the iPad’s virtual keyboard.

It supports U.S., British, and Australian English, along with French, German and Japanese.

10:33 am: New iPad will also support next-generation 4G LTE networks, such as the ones from Verizon and AT&T.

It will also support two other faster network technologies — HSPA+ and dual-channel HSDPA. That’s important, because LTE is rolling out slower globally than it is here in the U.S.

10:35 am: And we’re getting a demo of the real-world difference such high-speed networks can make when doing things like playing streaming video.

10:36 am: Working with AT&T and Verizon in the U.S., and Rogers, Telus and Bell in Canada on LTE, with other high-speed network support elsewhere in the world.

10:36 am: In the U.S., there will be two versions of iPad with LTE — one for AT&T’s LTE network, and the other for Verizon’s LTE network, because the two use different bands. It also can act as a hotspot, and can roam onto 3G networks worldwide.

10:37 am: Schiller in sales mode, recapping key new features.

He notes that a lot of these things sound like they would eat up a lot of batteries.

The iPad 2 boasted 10 hours for regular use and nine hours for 3G data use. And the new iPad has the same battery life.

10:39 am: It’s 9.4 millimeters thick and 1.4 pounds.

The new iPad will start, as the iPad 2 did, at $499 for 16 gigabytes, with $100 more for 32GB, and $200 more for 64GB. 4G wireless models cost an extra $130.

This is all the same as with iPad 2.

New iPad available March 16, with preorders starting today.

10:41 am: Schiller is talking about how software looks on the new display. Some stuff happens automatically, such as text size. But if developers do some work on their own, they can more fully take advantage of the new chip and display.

10:42 am: Schiller said they asked a few companies to try out the technology for a week and see what they could do. First demo is from Namco, a game designer known for Pac-Man and other titles.

They show a glimpse of a new flight-simulation game. The new iPad helps make the game more immersive, the company said, making it easier to lose yourself in the game with things like heat haze coming off of the plane’s engine.

Nice fly-by of the Golden Gate Bridge, too.

Game is Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy, Namco said, which comes out later this month.

10:45 am: Next app demo is from Autocad creator Autodesk.

The company already has a line of programs, including SketchBook, for iOS.

Program being demoed is a new title, SketchBook Ink, a drawing app for line art.

10:47 am: Meanwhile, here are some of the things we are waiting to hear about: What will the data plan pricing be for new iPads? Will Sprint have an iPad to sell?

SketchBook Ink will be available in April, Autodesk said.

10:49 am: Third and final app demo from Epic Games, with president Mike Capps onstage.

It’s the latest version of the Infinity Blade saga: Dungeons.

The gamers in the crowd seem happy.

10:54 am: Apple’s productivity software, iWork, is being updated for the new iPad. So is iLife, with GarageBand players now able to jam with one another.

10:56 am: The iWork apps are available today in the App Store, for $9.99 apiece for new buyers. GarageBand remains $4.99 for new buyers, and both are free updates for those who have already bought them.

10:57 am: The iMovie app for iPad is also getting an update, including some new features, such as creating a faux movie trailer (or a real one, I suppose).

11:00 am: Apple is also bringing the third iLife app, iPhoto, to iPad. The iPhoto app joins the camera and photo library apps, Schiller said, for those who want to do more with their photos.

Among features are multitouch editing, professional quality effects, brushes, etc. Photos can be beamed among iOS devices. New way to share photos with friends — photo journals using iCloud.

11:03 am: Colleague Peter Kafka notes that while iTunes will now support re-downloading purchased movies, not all studios are behind the feature, so it will work with some flicks, but not others.

11:06 am: Apple demoing how multitouch can make photo editing more intuitive, such as changing the shadow or saturation in one part of a photo.

11:08 am: There are finger-powered brushes for doing all kinds of things, such as lightening a dark face in an otherwise well-exposed photo.

All the editing tools are nondestructive, meaning you can go back to the original.

There are a bunch of different effects, too, from different monochrome options to artsy and vintage ones.

Photo Journal creates a layout of photos, with those favorited or with a caption made larger. It looks a bit like how Facebook’s Timeline handles photos from an album.

You can throw in a map of the location, a date based on when photo was taken, even a weather icon that will use historical weather data to show what the temperature was like.

The resulting “journal” can then be stored on iCloud and shared as a Web link.

The new iPhoto works on both iPhone and iPad.

It will be $4.99 on App Store, starting today, Schiller said.

“We’ve now brought all of iLife to the iPad,” Schiller said. “Don’t let anyone ever tell you you can’t create on an iPad.”

11:14 am: And, cue video for new iPad.

11:14 am: So far, it’s just being called “the new iPad,” not iPad 3, iPad HD, or other names thrown about in recent days.

11:17 am: My recap:

Here’s what they’ve announced

New iPad with higher-res display, A5X processor, LTE support, improved 5 megapixel camera and 1080p recording. Same models and prices as iPad 2 was priced at. Separate LTE versions for AT&T and Verizon.

Apple TV with support for 1080p at $99.

And iPhoto for iOS, $4.99, starting today. Other iLife and iWork apps updated.

Apple also keeping iPad 2 in the lineup, starting at $399 for 16GB model, a $100 price chop.

11:21 am: Consensus seems to have nailed things pretty well, so far.

Cook now showing Apple’s TV ad for new iPad.

11:22 am: Cook, as Jobs did before him, wraps up by thanking Apple staff.

Again repeats his phrasing that leading Apple is the “privilege of a lifetime.”

Cook ends with a tantalizing tease.

“Across the year, you are going to see a lot more of this kind of innovation. We are just getting started,” he said.

11:23 am: And he exits, stage right.

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Complete Apple coverage

Apple Turns iPhone and iPod Touch Into World's Smallest GarageBand

Ina Fried — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:45:28 +0000

After already bringing GarageBand to the iPad, Apple said on Tuesday that it is bringing its music creation app to the iPhone and iPod touch.

The app will work on iPhones from the iPhone 3GS on forward as well as the third- and fourth-generation iPod touch. It’s free to those who have the iPad app and $4.99 for new purchases.

Among its features, the program will let users plug an electric guitar into their iPhone or iPod touch, or record voice and other acoustic sound via the device’s built-in mic.

GarageBand, the Evil Plan

Nitrozac and Snaggy — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 20:55:59 +0000

Here is the latest comic from our Joy of Tech friends at Geek Culture, Nitrozac and Snaggy. Joy of Tech appears three times a week in the Voices section of this site. (Click on the image to see a bigger version.)

iPad 2: Thin, Not Picture Perfect

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 02:01:33 +0000

Just as most of its competitors are rolling out their first multitouch tablets to compete with its game-changing iPad, Apple on Friday will start selling a second-generation model, the iPad 2.

The new iPad 2 is about a third thinner and over 10% lighter, yet speedier and more powerful than the original version, which sold a whopping 15 million units in its first nine months and, for many users, challenged their laptops as a digital tool. And it costs the same as the original.

[ See post to watch video ]

I’ve been testing an iPad 2 for about a week and I like it a lot. While it’s evolutionary rather than revolutionary like the first model, the changes Apple has made are generally pleasing and positive, and the device worked very well for me.

Its improvements, including front and rear cameras, outweigh the few drawbacks and feature omissions I found. For most average, nontechie users, I would recommend it over the handful of tablet competitors I’ve tested so far, especially given that the entry price remains attractive.

The camera application on the iPad 2 demonstrated after an Apple event in San Francisco.

Dozens of tablet competitors are coming this year and I haven’t had a chance to test them. But the iPad 2, in my view, offers an excellent balance of size, functionality and price, and keeps Apple ahead in the tablet race, at least for now.

However, unless you are desperate for the cameras or feel you are laboring under the greater bulk of the original model, I don’t advise that iPad owners race to get the new version.

The first iPad, which can be upgraded to Apple’s latest iOS operating system, is selling for $399 while supplies last.

Airy, but Potent

Apple’s design wizards have made the new iPad feel much airier. Placed on a table between the original model and the new Motorola Xoom, it makes the others look bloated. Its top surface doesn’t even reach the side buttons on the original model. It has much more sharply tapered edges, and a new, optional, white color adds to the sense of lightness. While the 1.33-pound weight isn’t that much less than the original’s, I found the difference noticeable when carrying the device.

The iPad 2 is about a third thinner yet speedier and more powerful than the first.

Despite being slimmed down, the new iPad 2 still has the same vivid, large 9.7-inch screen, and claims the same lengthy 10-hour battery as the original. Like its current and planned competitors, it now sports a dual-core processor (a chip with two brains) and graphics that Apple says are up to nine times as fast.

But, despite gaining a faster processor, and the front and rear cameras, it still carries the same base price of $499, which competitors have so far found hard to match. Like the first model, it can range up to $829, depending on configuration.

Another crucial strength: The iPad 2 can run about 350,000 third-party apps, including 65,000 that have been optimized for the tablet’s large screen, rather than for the iPhone’s smaller display. Those numbers far exceed what is available for Google’s fast-growing Android platform—Apple’s main mobile competitor—that, according to Google, has 150,000 third-party apps, including fewer than 100 optimized so far for its brand-new tablet version.

I didn’t find the speed difference on iPad 2 to be dramatic, but it was noticeable. Apps launched and ran a bit quicker and the whole device felt very snappy.

It never crashed in my tests, unlike every Android tablet I’ve tested.

Like the original iPad, the new model can be purchased with just Wi-Fi connectivity or with added cellular-data connectivity, which doesn’t require a contract. But the iPad 2 offers a choice between AT&T and Verizon, for those who want cellular. My test unit used Verizon and got decent data speeds. Verizon’s fees start at $20 a month for 1 gigabyte of data. AT&T’s start at $15 a month for 250 megabytes of data.

The iPad 2′s cameras offer decent quality video, good enough for making calls, but disappointing still photos.

Drawbacks

The iPad 2 does have some drawbacks. Its cameras take mediocre still photos and Apple won’t even reveal their megapixel ratings. The company says they were designed for video, not still photography. They did capture decent video in my tests, including high-definition video from the rear camera and video good enough from the front camera for satisfying video calling. But, for a company known for quality, which bundles a new still-photo app with the device, the cameras are disappointing.

Also, the battery life, while very good, isn’t as strong as I found it to be on the first iPad. In my tough battery test, where I played full-length movies until the battery died, with the screen brightness at about 75% and both Wi-Fi and cellular radios running, the iPad 2 just barely exceeded Apple’s claimed battery life, dying after 10 hours and nine minutes. That’s 2.5 hours better than the Xoom did on the same test, but more than an hour less than I got from the original iPad, which clocked in at 11 hours, 28 minutes.

On the other hand, in mixed and non-constant use, with the screen set to turn off when idle for a few minutes, the iPad 2′s battery life was impressive. It easily went 48 hours between charges, even while downloading hundreds of emails and dozens of apps, songs, and books. During this period, I played a few light games, viewed photos, briefly streamed some video clips, read newspaper and magazine articles, consumed several chapters of books, frequently checked Twitter and Facebook, surfed the Web, and made a few video calls.

The new Apple iPad 2 shown during its launch event in San Francisco.

Another drawback I encountered was that the new, more tapered design makes it harder to plug cables and accessories—including the charging cable—into the main port on the bottom of the device, because it is now angled.

Despite being slimmer and lighter, the iPad 2 still has roughly the same length and width as the original, so it can’t compete with the Amazon Kindle, or the smaller seven-inch tablets, if you’re trying to juggle it while standing in a crowded subway.

Finally, there are two big omissions, one old and one new. The old one is that, like Apple’s prior phones and tablets, the shiny new iPad 2 still won’t play Adobe’s Flash video in its built-in Web browser. This is a deliberate decision by Apple, and puts its devices at a disadvantage for some users when compared with Android tablets, which can play Flash, or say they will soon, albeit not always well.

The other omission has to do with cellular data. The iPad 2 can’t use, or be upgraded to use, the new, faster 4G cellular-data networks being rolled out.

Apple says this is because the chips needed to do this are too immature, draining battery life. But the Xoom promises to be upgradeable to 4G later this year, though I have no idea how that upgrade might affect its battery life or monthly fees.

Software

Hardware matters, but software matters more and has been a key strength for Apple products. The iPad 2 doesn’t come with software radically different from the original model. But the latest version of its operating system speeds up the Safari browser, expands the capabilities of its wireless AirPlay system for beaming media to a TV using the $99 Apple TV, and lets you stream music and video from iTunes on a computer in your home. This all worked as advertised.

Apple also has two new $5 content-creation apps for the iPad 2: tablet versions of its Macintosh programs—iMovie and GarageBand. I used iMovie on the iPad 2 to create my own edited video, with titles, soundtrack and special effects. All of the apps I tried that worked on the original iPad worked on the iPad 2, only faster in some cases.

Accessories

Apple has a new $39 adapter that connects an iPad 2 (or iPad or iPhone 4) to an HDTV and mirrors what is on the device screen on the TV screen. It worked fine for me.

The company also has a very cool-looking, very slim cover for the iPad 2 that costs $39 in plastic and $69 in leather, and comes in a variety of colors. It attaches magnetically and turns the screen off and on when you close or open the cover. It also folds into a stand for the iPad and has a lining to keep the glass clean. Unfortunately, I found the cover’s magnetic latch came open in my briefcase, turning the screen on and wasting the battery. Also, the light gray color I had picked up smudges.

The Bottom Line

As new contenders move into the field, Apple isn’t likely to keep its 90% share of the booming tablet market. But the iPad 2 moves the goal posts, by being slimmer and lighter, boosting speed and power, and holding its price advantages, available apps and battery life. As of now, I can comfortably recommend it as the best tablet for average consumers.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos at the All Things Digital website, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com

Grand Opening: Mac App Store Debuts With 1,000 Apps

John Paczkowski — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:21:55 +0000

Apple’s Mac App Store went live this morning with the release of Mac OS X 10.6.6. And it’s off to a good start already. At launch there are some 1,000 apps, paid and free, spread out over the standard of categories–productivity, games, etc. Among the Apple apps on the store’s virtual shelves: Pages and others from the iWork suite for $19.99, iPhoto and GarageBand for $14.99 and Aperture 3 for $79.99.

Apple's "Back to the Mac" Event by the Numbers

John Paczkowski — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 11:05:55 +0000

As Apple events go, Wednesday’s was a bit lighter on metrics than some others we’ve seen this year. Still, there were quite a few worth noting, beginning with 13.7 million–the number of Macs sold in the fiscal year that ended in September–and continuing on with those listed below.

13.7 million Macs sold in FY 2010

That’s 3 times the number of Macs Apple sold just five years ago

The Mac’s installed base is 50 million

Mac sales accounted for $22 billion in revenue in FY 2010

That’s 33 percent of Apple’s revenue

And it’s enough to make the company’s Mac business No. 110 on the Fortune 500–if it were a standalone business

Quarterly Mac sales grew 2.5 times faster than the rest of the industry (according to IDC)

The Mac has outgrown the PC market for 18 straight quarters

The Mac claims 20.7 percent of the U.S. retail market (according to NPD)

There are 600,000 Mac developers

The above number is growing by 30,000 per month

Mac customer satisfaction is the highest in the industry

It’s No. 1 in customer satisfaction (according to ACSI)

It’s No. 1 in tech support for the last seven years (according to Consumer Reports)

It’s No. 1 in customer support (according to PC World)

There are 318 Apple retail stores in 11 countries

Apple retail stores sold 2.8 million Macs last year

50 percent of them were sold to first-time Mac buyers

Apple sold 2 million iPhoto photo books in the past year

There are 5 million GarageBand users

Apple Still Selling Laptops, Refreshes MacBook Pro Line

Peter Kafka — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:43:46 +0000

Perhaps the iPad and tablet computers will replace laptops one day. But for now, most people are still going to use conventional computers for day-to-day work.

Apple (AAPL) has just upgraded its line of Macbook Pro laptops; the lowest-priced one starts at $1,199. Details at Apple’s online store and in the press release below.

Apple Updates MacBook Pro Line

Faster Processors, Next-Generation Graphics & Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life

CUPERTINO, Calif., April 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today updated the MacBook® Pro line with faster processors, powerful next-generation NVIDIA graphics and even longer battery life. The popular 13-inch MacBook Pro features the new NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor for up to 80 percent faster graphics and a groundbreaking 10-hour built-in battery.* The new 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models feature Intel Core i5 and i7 processors and Apple’s new automatic graphics switching technology that toggles seamlessly between powerful NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and energy efficient Intel HD Graphics processors.

“The new MacBook Pro is as advanced on the inside as it is stunning on the outside,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With faster processors, amazing graphics and up to three more hours of battery life, the new MacBook Pro delivers both performance and efficiency.”

All 13-inch MacBook Pro models now include faster Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 4GB RAM, a 10-hour built-in battery and the new NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor. With 48 processing cores, the new NVIDIA GeForce 320M is the fastest integrated graphics processor on the market, ideal for graphics intensive applications or high performance games. The 13-inch MacBook Pro is available in two configurations: one with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 250GB hard drive priced at $1,199; and one with a 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 320GB hard drive priced at $1,499.

The new 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models are up to 50 percent faster than the previous systems.** Using Intel’s state-of-the-art 32 nanometer process, Intel Core i5 and i7 processors integrate the memory controller and Level 3 cache for faster access to system memory. Hyper-Threading technology improves data throughput by creating virtual processing cores, while Turbo Boost optimizes performance between the two processor cores, accelerating the system from 2.66 GHz to 3.06 GHz for intensive dual core tasks, and up to 3.33 GHz for single core tasks.

All 15-inch and 17-inch models include two graphics processors, the new NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M for peak performance and Intel HD Graphics for energy efficient operation. More than twice as fast as the GeForce 320M, the powerful new GeForce GT 330M provides incredibly smooth, crisp on-screen graphics for the most demanding 3D games, creative software and technical applications. Apple’s automatic graphics switching determines which graphics processor an application needs and switches instantly between processors to deliver peak performance and long battery life. Tightly integrated hardware and software allow the new 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro to deliver 8 to 9 hours on a single charge.

The new 15-inch MacBook Pro is available in three models: one with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 320GB hard drive at $1,799; one with a 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 500GB hard drive at $1,999; and one with a 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 500GB hard drive at $2,199. The new 17-inch MacBook Pro features a 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 500GB hard drive for $2,299.

The MacBook Pro glass Multi-Touch(TM) trackpad now supports inertial scrolling, an intuitive way to scroll through large photo libraries, lengthy documents and long web sites. All MacBook Pros feature bright, LED-backlit wide-angle displays with a broad color gamut. The 17-inch MacBook Pro includes a high resolution 1920 x 1200 display, and the 15-inch MacBook Pro is now available with an optional high resolution 1680 x 1050 display. Customers can also upgrade their MacBook Pro with new 128GB, 256GB and 512GB solid state drives.

As the industry’s greenest notebook lineup, every Mac® notebook achieves EPEAT Gold status and meets Energy Star 5.0 requirements, setting a new standard for environmentally friendly notebook design.*** Each unibody enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Mac notebooks contain no brominated flame retardants, are PVC-free and are constructed of recyclable materials.

Apple uses advanced chemistry, intelligent monitoring of the system and battery, and Adaptive Charging technology to create a notebook battery that delivers up to 10 hours of wireless productivity on a single charge and up to 1,000 recharges.**** The built-in battery design results in less waste and depleted batteries can be replaced for $129 or $179, which includes installation and disposal of your old battery in an environmentally responsible manner.

All Macs come with Mac OS® X Snow Leopard®, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife®, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife features iPhoto®, to easily organize and manage photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use new features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand® which introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar.

Pricing & Availability

The new 13-inch MacBook Pro, 15-inch MacBook Pro, and 17-inch MacBook Pro are now available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

The 2.4 GHz, 13-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,199 (US), includes:

– 13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display;
– 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;
– 1066 MHz front-side bus;
– 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 8GB;
– NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics;
– 250GB 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;
– Mini DisplayPort (VGA, DVI and HDMI adapters sold separately);
– AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
– Gigabit Ethernet port;
– iSight® video camera;
– two USB 2.0 ports;
– one FireWire® 800 port (FireWire 400 compatible);
– SD card slot;
– combined headphone/line in (analog/digital);
– glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard;
– built-in, 63.5WHr lithium polymer battery; and
– 60 Watt MagSafe® Power Adapter.

The 2.66 GHz, 13-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US), includes:

– 13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display;
– 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;
– 1066 MHz front-side bus;
– 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 8GB;
– NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics;
– 320GB 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;
– Mini DisplayPort (VGA, DVI and HDMI adapters sold separately);
– AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
– Gigabit Ethernet port;
– iSight video camera;
– two USB 2.0 ports;
– one FireWire 800 port (FireWire 400 compatible);
– SD card slot;
– combined headphone/line in (analog/digital);
– glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard;
– built-in, 63.5WHr lithium polymer battery; and
– 60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.

Build-to-order options for the 13-inch MacBook Pro include the ability to upgrade to 8GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, a 320GB 5400 rpm or a 500GB 5400 rpm hard drive, a 128GB, 256GB or 512GB solid state drive, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple Remote, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare® Protection Plan.

The 2.4 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,799 (US), includes:

– 15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440 x 900 glossy display;
– 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5 with 3MB shared L3 cache;
– 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 8GB;
– integrated Intel HD Graphics + NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M discrete
graphics with 256MB of VRAM;
– 320GB 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;
– Mini DisplayPort (VGA, DVI and HDMI adapters sold separately);
– AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
– Gigabit Ethernet port;
– iSight video camera;
– two USB 2.0 ports;
– one FireWire 800 port;
– SD card slot;
– audio line in (analog/digital);
– audio line out/headphone (analog/digital);
– glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard;
– built-in, 77.5WHr lithium polymer battery; and
– 85 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.

The 2.53 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:

– 15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440 x 900 glossy display;
– 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5 with 3MB shared L3 cache;
– 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 8GB;
– integrated Intel HD Graphics + NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M discrete
graphics with 256MB of VRAM;
– 500GB 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;
– Mini DisplayPort (VGA, DVI and HDMI adapters sold separately);
– AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
– Gigabit Ethernet port;
– iSight video camera;
– two USB 2.0 ports;
– one FireWire 800 port;
– SD card slot;
– audio line in (analog/digital);
– audio line out/headphone (analog/digital);
– glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard;
– built-in, 77.5WHr lithium polymer battery; and
– 85 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.

The 2.66 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,199 (US), includes:

– 15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440 x 900 glossy display;
– 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7 with 4MB shared L3 cache;
– 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 8GB;
– integrated Intel HD Graphics + NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M discrete
graphics with 512MB of VRAM;
– 500GB 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;
– Mini DisplayPort (VGA, DVI and HDMI adapters sold separately);
– AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
– Gigabit Ethernet port;
– iSight video camera;
– two USB 2.0 ports;
– one FireWire 800 port;
– SD card slot;
– audio line in (analog/digital);
– audio line out/headphone (analog/digital);
– glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard;
– built-in, 77.5WHr lithium polymer battery; and
– 85 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.

Build-to-order options for the 15-inch MacBook Pro include the ability to upgrade to 8GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, a high resolution 15-inch 1680 x 1050 display in glossy and antiglare, a 500GB 5400 rpm or 500GB 7200 rpm hard drive, a 128GB, 256GB or 512GB solid state drive, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple Remote, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

The 2.53 GHz, 17-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,299 (US), includes:

– 17-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1920 x 1200, glossy display;
– 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5 with 3MB shared L3 cache;
– 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 8GB;
– integrated Intel HD Graphics + NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M discrete
graphics with 512MB of VRAM;
– 500GB 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;
– Mini DisplayPort (VGA, DVI and HDMI adapters sold separately);
– AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
– Gigabit Ethernet port;
– iSight video camera;
– three USB 2.0 ports;
– one FireWire 800 port (FireWire 400 compatible);
– ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
– audio line in (analog/digital);
– audio line out/headphone (analog/digital);
– glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard;
– built-in, 95WHr lithium polymer battery; and
– 85 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.

Build-to-order options for the 17-inch MacBook Pro include a 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB 1066 MHz DDR3 memory, a 500GB 7200 rpm hard drive, a 128GB, 256GB or 512GB solid state drive, antiglare display, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual- Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple Remote, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

*Testing conducted by Apple in March 2010 using preproduction 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo-based 13-inch MacBook Pro units with NVIDIA GeForce 320M and production 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo-based 13-inch MacBook Pro units with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M.

**Testing conducted by Apple in March 2010 using preproduction 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7-based 15-inch MacBook Pro units with NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and production 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo-based 15-inch MacBook Pro units with NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT.

***EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.

****A properly maintained MacBook Pro battery is designed to retain 80 percent or more of its original capacity during a lifespan of up to 1,000 recharge cycles. Battery life and charge cycles vary by use and settings. For more information visit www.apple.com/macbookpro/battery.

Weekend Update, 1.31.09

Beth Callaghan — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 04:04:19 +0000

Rumor has it there are big games going on this weekend–at least one of which involves football players. The rest involve the usual players, though they might appear in different positions–and on different teams–from week to week. These games, most likely, will continue through Monday and beyond. Scores will be kept on an ongoing basis.

BoomTown wrote this week about a new game of tag taking Facebook by storm. Whether or not you’ve written a list of “25 Random Things” about yourself, you’ve likely read a few. BoomTown only gave up five, but they’re good ones. On defense, AOL announced it would lay off 10 percent of its workforce due to the overall ad meltdown; CEO Randy Falco’s memo to his troops is here. And whether or not AOL has buyer’s remorse over last year’s $850 million acquisition of Bebo, the company is not considering putting the social network up for sale.
BoomTown followed the tough love approach of Yahoo’s (YHOO) new CEO Carol Bartz, and liveblogged the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, during which Bartz insisted (without mentioning Microsoft) that she wasn’t brought to Yahoo to sell the company. She also shared some canny-folksy wisdom–in the form of a chicken metaphor–about the value of the company as a whole, but it’s still a little early in the game to call that one. Of course, BoomTown had a few opinions about the unspoken Microsoft (MSFT) scenario.

Over at Digital Daily, there was a lot to be said about smartphones. Apple’s (AAPL) so-called “iPhone patent,” which would cover much of the Palm (PALM) Pre’s multitouch and gesture interface, has the potential to be a huge game changer in that race, if it’s upheld. And as if Palm doesn’t have enough to worry about, Sprint (S)–its exclusive carrier for the Pre–is rumored to be preparing to lay off 14 percent of its workforce in March, when the phone is expected to launch. Elsewhere in that contest, it turns out that Research in Motion’s (RIMM) BlackBerry Storm, which was largely panned by critics, is actually selling at a decent clip–one million so far in the U.S. No iPhone, but still, it could be worse. As Digital Daily noted, Dell (DELL) is said to be readying two phones to enter the market dominated by the iPhone, BlackBerry, and soon the Pre: one an iPhone-like Windows Mobile device, and the other a Pre-like Android device. Both could launch as soon as February, but greatness is not anticipated. Digital Daily also kept the tech job-cut score, which increased 74.2 percent from 2007 to 2008. Here’s a roundup of some of those affected.

MediaMemo had some interesting numbers to share: While Obama’s Inauguration was indeed a big day for Web video, it wasn’t as huge as some estimated. Exact numbers are impossible to measure, of course, but roughly 13 million people watched the ceremony online, while roughly 38 million watched on television. On an ongoing (and presumably growing) basis, though, numbers suggest that almost 20 percent of Netflix’s (NFLX) subscribers are using the company’s streaming service to watch movies online. That should increasingly morph back into the world of television as the company’s technology makes it simpler to stream directly to a set-linked device. In the world of print, things continue to look grim. Time Warner’s (TWX) Time Inc., in a standoff with its distributor, which upped its price by seven cents per magazine–has announced it will take its business elsewhere as of Feb. 1. If this is a game of chicken, it’s anybody’s guess who’ll win. And Time Inc.’s Ann Moore received a lifetime achievement award from the magazine industry’s trade group on Thursday. In her acceptance speech, she expressed her belief in the power of magazines and print advertising and her gratitude in the fact that she’s not in the newspaper business.

In Personal Technology this week, Walt Mossberg reviewed iLife ’09–specifically iPhoto, GarageBand and iMovie, with mixed results. In Mossberg’s Mailbox, it was all about Windows 7: Whether it requires new drivers, how it stacks up to XP, and how upgrades from XP and Vista compare with each another. Katherine Boehret reviewed the BlackBerry Curve 8900 in the Mossberg Solution, and liked it.

More next week.

iLife Gets Better; Just Don't Ask It to Find a Face

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 02:08:03 +0000

While Apple‘s Macintosh computers are known for handsome hardware design, what really makes the Mac distinctive is its built-in software. That software includes a suite of multimedia programs, called iLife, which is preinstalled, free, on every new Mac.

The iLife software has integrated photo, video, music and Web-design applications meant for average, nontechnical consumers. It is better, in my view, than any comparable offering on the Windows platform, even those that cost extra.

This week, Apple (AAPL) released the latest version of the suite, called iLife ’09, and I have been testing it for a while. It includes five programs: iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb and iDVD. The new version will be bundled on new Macs, and current Mac owners can upgrade to it for $79.

[ See post to watch video ]

This latest iteration isn’t a radical revision of iLife, and I wouldn’t say that it’s a must-have upgrade for current Mac owners. But three of the programs — iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand — have significant new features that make them more appealing and useful.

In particular, iPhoto now has the ability to detect and identify faces in your photos; to identify and map the location where they were shot; and to directly post sets of photos to, and synchronize them with, the popular online services Facebook and Flickr.

I focused my tests on iPhoto’s sexiest new feature — face recognition. It worked OK, but it wasn’t as good as I had expected from software made by Apple.

GarageBand, a powerful but easy tool allowing nonprofessionals to mix and produce music, now offers beautifully produced video lessons in how to play the two most popular instruments: guitar and piano. There are some free lessons built in, but you can also buy, for $5 each, lessons from famous artists such as Sting and Norah Jones.

In iMovie, you can now do precision editing of clips. You also can insert one clip in the middle of another by simply dragging and dropping; insert animated maps into travel movies; and apply handsome themes that can make a home movie look like, say, a scrapbook. There’s also a new tool that stabilizes jerky footage, like video shot from a moving car, although Apple warns that this process can take hours.

For me, however, the most important improvements in iLife ’09 are in iPhoto, Apple’s program for organizing, editing and sharing digital pictures. The top two are face recognition and geo-tagging, the ability to tag a photo with its location. Neither of these features is unique to iPhoto. For instance, the Web-based version of Google’s (GOOG) Picasa photo software has face recognition, and Flickr, a Yahoo (YHOO) online service, has location tagging. But Apple has enabled them in iPhoto in its typical handsome, easy manner.

There are two new views of your photos in iPhoto ’09. One, called Faces, organizes all the photos in which faces have been identified. You click on a thumbnail bearing a person’s face and get an expanded display showing all of the photos identified as including that person.

The second, called Places, shows a Google map with pins in the places where the locations of your photos have been identified. Click on a pin, and see a display of all the photos shot at that location.

Face recognition takes several steps. First, iPhoto analyzes your photos to pick out the faces, which are then shown enclosed in a rectangle when you click the new “name” button. You then are prompted to type in a name under the rectangle identifying each face. Once you’ve identified the same person in multiple photos, iPhoto begins to identify that face in any additional photos. If you bring up a picture of a person you’ve identified, and click “confirm name,” iPhoto will show you other pictures it thinks include the same person, and ask that you confirm its suggestions.

In my tests, on two different Macs with thousands of photos, face recognition worked most of the time. But I was too often disappointed. In a surprisingly large minority of cases, iPhoto failed to detect the presence of a face, even when it was large and clear, or to correctly identify faces it did detect, even after I had named or confirmed the same face in dozens or scores of other pictures.

The program sometimes confused men and women, and in a few cases even claimed animals or inanimate objects were people. It rarely detected faces shot from the side, even if they were sharp and obvious. The program also was slow to analyze newly imported photos, or to synchronize name tags already entered on Facebook, a feature Apple touts.

The Places feature worked much better, automatically recognizing the location of pictures taken from devices with built-in GPS tagging, like Apple’s own iPhone, and optionally showing a map when you click on a photo. It was also easy to manually enter a location for an entire “event,” or group, of photos taken at one time.

I still like and recommend iPhoto and iLife. But, in my opinion, the new face-recognition system isn’t up to Apple’s self-proclaimed high standards, and isn’t reliable enough to justify an upgrade all by itself.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

Mac Faithful to Get an iLife

John Paczkowski — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:40:44 +0000

iLife ’09–the latest iteration of Apple’s multimedia application suite (iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb, iDVD) arrives at market tomorrow, Jan. 27. Uncrated by Apple SVP Phil Schiller at Macworld earlier this month, iLife ’09 features what looks to be a killer rewrite of iMovie, Apple’s consumer video-editing software, and a new version of Garageband ’09 that offers basic lessons for guitar and piano (free) as well as “artist lessons” from the likes of John Fogerty, Norah Jones and Sting ($4.99). It also boasts a new version of iPhoto that now categorizes photos according “Places” and, thanks to some slick facial recognition technology, “Faces.”

A new iLife ’09 license from Apple (AAPL) will set you back $79 unless you purchased a new Mac on or after Jan. 6, 2009, in which case it’s just $9.95.

Macworld '09: Garageband "Learn to Play," "Artist Lessons"

John Paczkowski — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:43:31 +0000

Macworld keynoter and Apple SVP Phil Schiller returns to the stage to explain Apple’s (AAPL) Garageband ’09. Our team was challenged to help people learn to play a musical instrument and they came through, says Schiller. Garageband now offers a feature called “Learn to Play” which offers not just nine basic lessons for guitar and piano, but “Artist Lessons” from the likes of John Fogerty, Norah Jones and Sting. Basic lessons, the first nine anyway, are free. Artist lessons are $4.99.

Schiller moves on quickly, adding that iLife ’09 will also feature updates to iWeb. It will ship at the end of this month for $79. Free with the purchase of a new Mac.

MacWorld 2009 Keynote Photos: GarageBand 09

View photos at SmugMug

Macworld '09: Garageband "Learn to Play," "Artist Lessons"

John Paczkowski — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:43:31 +0000

Schiller moves on quickly, adding that iLife ’09 will also feature updates to iWeb. It will ship at the end of this month for $79. Free with the purchase of a new Mac.

MacWorld 2009 Keynote Photos: GarageBand 09

View photos at SmugMug

The New iLife: We Test Upgrade of Apple Suite

Katherine Boehret — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 00:01:00 +0000

Apple Inc. last week introduced a redesign of its elegant iMac desktop computer, the machine that packs a powerful, beautiful consumer PC into the back of a generously large, bright screen. The new models are even thinner than their slim predecessors, sport an aluminum skin instead of white plastic, and have a new, flat keyboard, more power and lower prices.

Apple’s new iMac comes loaded with iLife ’08 software.

But Apple‘s bigger change was a major update to its iLife software suite, which comes loaded on all its Macintosh models — not just the new iMac — and can be purchased by existing Mac owners for $79. The suite includes iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb and GarageBand — programs that help average people organize, edit, share and publish photos, videos and music. These uncluttered and intuitive programs have been best of breed, so Apple’s decision to update iLife is intriguing, if for nothing other than to see what major improvements could really be made.

This week I tested iLife ’08 on a new iMac — the midrange $1,499 20-inch model with a 2.4 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and a 320-gigabyte hard drive. I focused especially on iPhoto and iMovie, the anchors of the suite and the programs that got the biggest overhauls. One significant change in iPhoto is its new method of organizing photos by sorting images into “Events” according to their dates, rather than by the batch in which they were uploaded to your computer. The iMovie program underwent a more drastic overhaul, adding a library for storing all of your video clips and a new interface for organizing those clips into a movie that dispenses with the traditional timeline design long used in digital video software.

Both iPhoto and iMovie now use “skimming,” a rich feature that lets you scan through photos or videos just by passing your cursor over a thumbnail. And if you have an account on Apple’s online .Mac service ($100 annually), both programs offer effortless one-click photo or video uploading to a “Web Gallery,” where you can share your content. Videos can also be uploaded directly to YouTube without a .Mac account.

Before delving into the software, a quick word about the new iMac is in order. It’s an improvement on an already stellar computer, with beefed-up specs. There are four models, from $1,199 to $2,299, in two screen sizes — 20 inches and 24 inches. The base 20-inch model costs $1,199, a price cut of $300 from the prior 20-inch model. The base 24-inch model now costs $1,799, down $200 from the old model of the same size.

The biggest adjustments for users will be the screen and keyboard, which took me a few days to get used to. The new iMac comes with a glossy screen, which makes colors pop but also reflects more background light than a traditional matte display.

Radical Keyboard

The keyboard is radical-looking. It’s much flatter and sleeker than typical desktop PC keyboards. I found it easier to type with, but in an attempt to make it more like that of a laptop keyboard, Apple rearranged some built-in key functions, which was confusing at first. If you hate it, you can still use an older Mac keyboard or any USB keyboard, even those meant for Windows computers. For now, the new iMac offers only a wired keyboard. A small wireless model is due in a few weeks.

I quickly picked up on how to use the new features in iPhoto and iMovie, thanks to unintimidating, self-explanatory icons. The Events feature in iPhoto might be a pain for users who are transferring numerous already-organized albums from the previous version of iPhoto into this one, as not all albums will perfectly translate into Events. But it’s a great improvement over the old method — and over Windows photo programs I’ve tried — for organizing newly shot photos.

The new version of iPhoto will look familiar to anyone who used the older version; its layout is the same, with a list of your photo library on the far left and a large display area to the right of this list. I uploaded a couple of albums at once, and each was automatically sorted into its own event because the photos from each were associated with two different dates.

Skimming the Thumbnails

A few new features stand out at a glance. When photos are grouped into Events, these are neatly marked with one large thumbnail image that is selected to represent the entire pile of photos. By passing my cursor over this top thumbnail, I skimmed through all of the images in that Event in mere seconds. A button labeled Web Gallery instantly uploads images to a .Mac account, and a list of photos that are shared online appears in iPhoto.

The updated iPhoto automatically groups photos into Events represented by thumbnails that make for faster photo browsing.

Rather than deleting images that I didn’t want in a particular Event, I selected the new Hide icon, which takes marked images away from view but notes the number of hidden photos at the top of the Event as a reminder. Hidden photos can also appear within the Event, denoted with red X marks.

Double clicking on any image now magnifies it without opening editing functions, letting users quickly see larger versions of each shot. Editing in iPhoto was already straightforward, but new options provide more customization; for example, red eyes can be removed with a cross hairs (like the old iPhoto) or by using a circle that manually adjusts to match a subject’s pupil size.

The new version of iMovie is deliberately designed to steer away from the familiar interface most consumer video-editing programs use, which was borrowed from professional-grade software. Instead of the usual timeline of clips, iMovie employs a more free-form canvas where clips and effects can be assembled. Apple knows that this may irk people used to the traditional method, but believes it will make video editing much less intimidating for casual users.

To test iMovie, I used a high-definition Panasonic video camera to capture amusing moments around my office and brought it with me to Boston for three days so I could document my sister’s move into her new place (the moving guys were thrilled). In both places, I turned the camera on and off numerous times, capturing short clips.

Instant Recognition

My video camera was instantly recognized when I plugged it into the iMac, prompting iMovie to generate thumbnail images of each clip. Times when the camera was turned on or off were clearly marked, and I chose the clips I wanted to import. Transferred content appeared in the new iMovie library at the bottom half of a screen, and I dragged and dropped clips to the top half of the screen to add them to a project. Clips can be selected by using your cursor to draw a yellow box around the whole clip or just a part of the clip that you’d like to use. Skimming through content is helpful here — as I moved my cursor from left to right through clips, the audio and video played in the top right of the screen, letting me see and hear footage so as to select exactly where to trim a clip.

The new interface for iMovie is more approachable for everyday users, with a smart library that organizes Projects and Events into two different libraries.

After dragging various clips to the top half of the screen, I added special features like music, sound effects and title slides to my project. These were all added the same way my clips were: by dragging and dropping to put the right thing where it needed to go. Music from iTunes can be used with videos, or Apple provides over 500 different sound effects and tunes.

Still photos can be incorporated into iMovie using a “Ken Burns” effect (panning across a still image) to keep the video’s pace moving along. And any videos captured on a digital camera that were uploaded into iPhoto can be retrieved and used from within iMovie. If footage is too dark, it can be automatically or manually adjusted, like images in iPhoto.

Polished Results

In just about 15 minutes, I created a short movie that mashed together various clips from three days of moving. I added titles to introduce the movie, and transitions in between each clip that looked really polished.

I uploaded photos and videos to the .Mac Web Gallery, checking off the privacy option (passwords can be set to limit who sees the content). Other options to check include showing titles of photos; enabling a feature that lets others upload images to my gallery via a set email address; and letting other people download high-resolution versions of my content. In one step, videos can also be uploaded to YouTube.com or transferred to your iTunes library, where they can be viewed on a PC or Mac, or moved over to an iPod or iPhone.

The new programs in iLife ’08 are a pleasure to use, and the new iMac is a great way to experience them.

Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

Email: mossbergsolution@wsj.com.

Podcasting Is Still Not Quite Ready For the Masses

Walter S. Mossberg — Wed, 06 Jul 2005 00:01:00 +0000

The process of receiving, and creating, blogs has gone mainstream and become quite simple. Anyone can compose and post a blog — a personal, diary-like Web site filled with text and photos — in a matter of minutes using free online services like Google’s Blogger or Microsoft’s MSN Spaces. Last month, I explained how to do it in my guide to blogging (see http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/solution-20050615.html).

But text blogs are yesterday’s news. The hottest new trend in personal online content creation is something called a podcast, essentially a short personal radio show or audio blog. They can be downloaded and played back on a computer or a portable music player like Apple’s iPod, whence the genre draws its name.

Podcasts range from slick productions offered by big media companies and amateur broadcasters; to clever and entertaining offerings from smart, undiscovered talent; to crude diatribes and snooze-inducing lectures by people the mainstream media proved wise not to hire. Some are just talk, some include music. Some sound like they were recorded on a 1971-vintage RadioShack cassette recorder, others — even from amateurs — are studio-quality.

These audio blogs, once the province mainly of techies, took a big step toward the mainstream last week when Apple began offering thousands of them, free, through its market-leading iTunes music store and iTunes music software. Anyone can submit a podcast for distribution through iTunes, and any iTunes user can download it. The company doesn’t charge a penny for listing or downloading podcasts.

So, this week, my assistant Katie Boehret and I set out to see how easy it is to get and create podcasts. The good news is that, with its iTunes move, Apple has made receiving podcasts as simple as downloading music. The bad news is that neither Apple nor anyone else has made it nearly as simple to create a podcast and get it online as it is to create and post a text and photo blog. Until that happens, podcasting won’t be truly mainstream.

Getting and Listening to Podcasts

Since its introduction last week, the iTunes podcast directory has become very popular, and is the easiest way to get and listen to podcasts. Apple has over 4,000 podcasts listed on iTunes today, and has been overwhelmed with new submissions. I expect that most of the podcasts on the Web will be available from Apple within a month or two.

To get podcasts from Apple, you don’t need an iPod or an Apple computer. You will, however, have to upgrade your copy of iTunes to version 4.9, and, if you plan to listen to podcasts on your iPod, you’ll need to download and install Apple’s latest iPod updater software.

To find podcasts, you merely enter the iTunes Music Store from inside the iTunes software, and go to the podcast section. There, you can search for a podcast, or browse through various categories of podcasts to find one you like.

You can either download a single instance of a podcast, or subscribe to the podcast. If you subscribe, iTunes will display new episodes of the podcast as they become available. You can unsubscribe if you tire of the material.

To get the podcasts onto your iPod, you just perform a manual or automatic synchronization, just as you do with music. In our tests, all of this worked quite well.

The only twist to the iTunes podcast experience stems from Apple’s decision to ban from its listings podcasts it deems to be pornographic, or to contain hate speech, or copyrighted material, such as music, which the podcaster lacks the right to distribute.

Apple also labels some podcasts it accepts as “Explicit,” if they contain obscenity or sexual content, but aren’t considered pornography. To enforce these rules, Apple reviews each submitted podcast. But there are flaws in that system. First of all, it delays the appearance of podcasts for as much as a week after they are submitted. Secondly, it means some podcasts won’t ever be included on iTunes, and will have to be located manually. Third, at least in its first week, Apple applied its own standards haphazardly.

In our tests, we found a number of openly pornographic podcasts that had slipped by Apple’s reviewers, and others that should have been labeled “Explicit,” but weren’t. We stumbled onto one podcast titled, “She Said, She Said” in the Talk Radio category, and found that its first entry was all about an unmentionable four-letter word. This didn’t upset us, but it might bother a parent whose child downloaded it.

And Apple reviews only the initial episode of a podcast. If the topic changes next week from M&M’s to S&M, Apple won’t know about it. We don’t care what Apple lists and doesn’t list, but, as long as it says it has rules, the company should apply them. Apple admits the errors, and says it is cleaning them up. The company also points out that it will be relying on consumers to use a feedback feature to point out problems in the future.

Creating a Podcast

There are three steps to creating a podcast. You have to record it as a sound file, usually an MP3 file. Then, you have to find some place on the Web to house, or “host” it. Finally, you have to find a way to let others know about it and make it available for easy downloading.

Unlike with text blogs, it’s hard to find a service that combines the creation, hosting and distribution steps. We found one Web site that came close — GarageBand.com, a site for unsigned musicians that includes a podcast creation “studio” anybody can use, regardless of whether they are musicians or even include music in their podcasts. More on this site later.

To see how hard this is, Katie and I walked through the process of creating, uploading and distributing our own podcasts. First, you have to record the audio. Since few desktop computers have microphones, you will likely have to buy one, or use a laptop with a built-in mike. We each used a microphone-earphone headset that plugged into our computers for one test, and used a phone for another. (We’ll explain that later.)

For her first podcast, Katie downloaded the Audacity MP3 recorder for Windows, free recording software. She spoke into the microphone and recorded a simple test file, but had to follow some confusing steps to save the file in MP3 format. I recorded a similar simple test podcast using the free GarageBand program on a Macintosh (which is unrelated to the aforementioned GarageBand Web site). Again, this involved configuration and file conversion steps that were a pain.

The GarageBand Web site (www.garageband.com) offers a quick, convenient alternative: It lets you dial a toll-free number and dictate your podcast over the phone. Katie and I tested this method from landline phones and from cellphones, and we were very impressed by how easy it was to do and with how good it sounded.

Who Will Host Your Podcast?

After recording a podcast, you must figure out where to post it — on a Web site or on a personal blog with an RSS (really simple syndication) feed. (RSS allows Web browsers and other software to present constantly updated summaries of the headlines on a blog.) Unfortunately, the big blog-hosting sites such as Blogger.com and MSN Spaces, don’t offer provisions for hosting podcasts. This is probably because podcasts are audio files that require much more online storage than regular blogs without audio.

Again, the GarageBand Web site came to the rescue. It is willing to host podcasts, assigning a Web address to each and providing RSS syndication for them. But there were several sometimes confusing steps to do this at GarageBand, mainly because the site was really created to help people find new music. For instance, any audio content you wish to add to your podcast must first be loaded into a “Master Playlist,” which is managed from a separate part of the GarageBand service.

GarageBand.com has a simple player built right into it, so we could hear our recordings right away. With a little knowledge, you can post this tiny player directly into the HTML version of a text blog.

I did this by opening the HTML guts of my personal blog on Blogger.com and embedding the player. It works so that users can hear the podcast as soon as the site opens. Try it out at waltmossberg.blogspot.com.

Distributing Your Podcast

Apple’s newest version of iTunes is a real help for folks who have recorded podcasts but don’t know how to distribute them. You start by going to a section of the iTunes store called Publish a Podcast.

The main piece of information you need to give Apple is the Web address for the syndicated feed of your podcast. Nontechies might not know this. GargageBand.com tells you, but unless you know what you’re looking for, you may be stumped.

We pasted our podcast feed addresses into the correct space in iTunes, then entered our iTunes account passwords, and added some information that would display in the iTunes catalog of podcasts, including our names, a short and long description of the podcast, and a category for the podcast (we chose Technology as the category and Podcasting as the subcategory). In this section, you can also mark your podcast as “Explicit.” My podcast took four days to show up in iTunes, and Katie’s still hasn’t been cleared for listening as I write this.

It’s still way too complicated for the average user to create a podcast. Apple has solved one part of the problem, but more solutions are needed.

With reporting by Katherine Boehret

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com