In addition to its massive keynote today, Apple has released/updated the following products:
Additionally, the Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet adaptor is out, for $29 and works with any Thunderbolt-equipped Mac.
Category: Apple
Mac Pro Updated
Mountain Lion Launch Details Announced
The OS will be $19.99, on the Mac App Store, and can update machines running Lion or Snow Leopard. While there is no release date yet, 10.8 will be released in July, and there is a new preview for developers out today.
Retina
Apple’s got a new high-end MacBook Pro, and boy, does it look like a screamer.
The Glue
iCloud may not seem all that glamorous on the outside, but its aim and role in the overall user experience for Apple gadget owners is still in the foundation stages. I think it’s safe to say that iCloud will be the center point for much of what gets announced today as well. iCloud is the glue that Apple wants to use to bind iOS and OS X together.
On Paying to Cover WWDC
The way I figure it, there are three ways to cover WWDC:
- Re-blog whatever live blog you follow
- Get invited as press by Apple
- Buy a ticket and cover it from the inside, as much as the NDA allows
The first way is the way I’ve always done it. I’ve never been to WWDC, let alone as invited press.
There are reporters whose publications pay for their ticket to the conference itself, so they can blog the keynote live.
Keynote Bingo
On Origins
The story behind OS X running on Intel is great, and surprisingly human.
On A New Mac Pro
Apple hasn’t updated its Mac Pro workstation in nearly two years, leaving many pro users wondering if Apple might kill the product altogether. That is an ongoing source of angst to professionals in creative industries and elsewhere who rely on Apple hardware and OS X software to do their jobs. They’ve seen Intel release ever-faster processors since summer 2010, which can feel like an eternity in terms of computer hardware, making some of the older Mac Pros feel positively ancient.
Sustainable Writing
Matt Alexander, for The Loop:
Perhaps link bait is a short-term solution for advertising revenue and attention, but I daresay that treating readers with deserved respect is a much better avenue to a sustainable audience.
Schiller
Peter Burrows and Adam Satariano at Businessweek:
According to a person who met with Schiller recently to discuss Apple’s future, the marketing executive knows he’ll get more than his fair share of blame if the new products aren’t hits. Schiller has the daunting task of keeping Apple cool. And that’s harder to do now that the company is a $535 billion behemoth, subject to antitrust reviews and labor-practice criticisms, rather than the underdog he rejoined in 1997.
Apple’s Batcave
Apple’s new campus is set to include a huge underground event hall and parking lot.
My guess is that the company won’t be renting Moscone much longer.