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Apple News

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Mail 5, Mac OS X Best Update

Most Mac users know when you purchase a Mac, it comes with Apple’s own set of bundled software. The software ranges from Mail (Email Client) to iMovie (Movie editing software) and of course iTunes (Media library viewer).  The bundled software is a great way for Apple software to be integrated in the end users life. After all, their software is integrated within itself, once you have created a movie in iMovie, send it over to iDVD to burn the DVD or why not send it to iTunes, so you can sync it with the iPad you purchased with your iMac.

But we digress, Mail for the most part has been apart of Mac OS X. It’s the built in email client designed by Apple, and after the release of Snow Leopard, has allowed Microsoft Exchange support. With the ability of Exchange support, it allows Mac OS X users to use their Mac to retrieve and send email hosted through their work, without having to install products such as Microsoft Office for Outlook or Entourage depending on the version. In my opinion, Microsoft Office was created better on the Mac than on Windows.

Let’s dive into Mail 5, Apple announced that the new redesign of their Mail application. If you use Mail on the iPad, it looks very similar. After all, it’s about “The power of the Mac. The magic of the iPad.” The new Mail sports a mail bar with many of the features of the iPad along with full-screen support.

Additionally, Mail brings the concept of “Conversations” to the Mac. Conversations look very similar to the threads that Apple has introduced on the iOS. This looks like a very Gmail inspired feature that I find very helpful, but a times annoying.

What do you think about the new redesign of Mail in Lion? Leave a comment below, stay in the loop, follow us on twitter @realmacgenius!

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Sent it through AirDrop

Today, Apple has released seeds of it’s latest operating system, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. One of the features of Lion that was not covered in his keynote at WWDC last year was the feature called AirDrop. With AirDrop, you can simply drop files to another user who is using AirDrop – pretty clever.

Send it by air.

With AirDrop in Mac OS X Lion, you can send files to anyone around you –  wirelessly. AirDrop doesn’t require setup or special settings. Just click the AirDrop icon in the Finder sidebar, and your Mac automatically discovers other people nearby who are using AirDrop. You’ll even see contact photos for those who are already in your Address Book. To share a file, simply drag it to someone’s name. Once accepted, the file transfers directly to the person’s Downloads folder. When you’re done with AirDrop, close the Finder and your Mac is no longer visible to others.

 

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Should Apple get in-app fees?

Apple has just released new App Store policies for in-app subscription sales. With the coming release of iOS 4.3, your iOS device will now be able to support in-app subscription sales, but there is a catch, Apple is asking for in-app subscription companies to pay a 30% fee, just like other in-app purchases. Any titles that involve subscriptions or purchasable content will have to offer an in-app option that cannot be more expensive than anywhere else. This will pose a problem for developers and vendors. They aren’t allowed to provide a link to an outside market for things that can be purchased within an app. In general, that means if I was a developer, I wouldn’t be able to sell an app that directs users to my own website to buy a subscription to my content. I would still be able to sell my subscriptions to customers I found on my own. It is also mandatory to make it possible for users of my app to purchase my subscription content through iTunes if I want to put my app on iTunes. There is also some reason why this is not a bad idea. Apple actually acts as a newsstand when it provides subscription. Apple provides the subscription service, manages the delivery of the content, and acts as a tollbooth by taking 30% of the revenue.

There is also an alternative called the Google Way, which makes content free when it’s placed next to ads. The downside is that the content generator gets a tiny fraction of the minimal ad revenue generated.

A big issue about this is that Apple thinks it is simple that if Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple should receive 30% of the revenue, but if a publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publishers keeps all 100% of the revenue. But can you really say that Apple brought a person to the app if the person decides to search up the app for a subscription because they already knew ahead of time that they wanted to subscribe to that certain company? You can’t really say that Apple brought the customer to that app. Another big issue is that maybe companies will decide to not make an app to begin with anymore. Big companies may decide that they don’t need to provide their service on iOS devices. What will we do now? There are many issues that will arise from this and it would be best to avoid it. I think Apple should rethink their ideas.

Leave questions or comments below.

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Get ready to meet the new MacBook Pro line!

According to MacRumors, they have a reliable source that informs them that the expected release date for the new MacBook Pro line is February 24, 2011. With the MacBooks being updated with Intel Core i5 and i7 chips last year, it is about time for the MacBook to be more up-to-date with Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge processors. The new processors should be much faster and require less energy consumption. We are expecting Apple to release five new models. There will be two new 13-inch versions, two new 15-inch versions, and one new 17-inch version. Apple will most likely use the sleek design from the MacBook Air and bring it to the MacBook Pro. There are also many more rumors out there for us to go over.

There have been rumors about Intel having to delay the Sandy Bridge chips, which was true. Can we be sure that the delay affected the new MacBook Pro? No, because we aren’t even a hundred percent sure that the new MacBook Pro will even implement the new Sandy Bridge processors. As for rumors about the design, it sounds completely plausible for the new MacBook Pro to look very similar to the MacBook Air, as the MacBook Air is Apple’s latest model. With Apple changing their website color to a color similar to liquid metal, rumors have it that Apple may use liquid metal instead of aluminum. There are also reports that Apple will use liquid metal in battery cases. Since Apple has received the rights to LiquidMetal patents, it would make sense that Apple would use that technology on their products. Another rumor about the design is that it will be lighter if they use the stronger, lighter, and scratch resistant aluminum material. There are also claims that they will have a longer battery life, which is very likely. Battery life usually last longer then the previous model when Apple comes out with a newer model.

As for price, the prices for the new MacBook Pros are rumored to be:

$1499 — 13 inch

$1199 — 13 inch

$2499 — 17 inch

$2199 — 15 inch

$1799 — 15 inch

The rumors will be put to the test on February 24, 2011. If the MacBook Pro is released on February 24, we will be able to see all the new features of the new MacBook Pro. As a matter of fact, February 24 happens to be Steve Jobs’ birthday, what a coincidence. I am excited to see what Apple has developed this time. It’s time to save up for a new MacBook Pro.

Leave questions or comments below.

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You want an iPhone nano!

Apple is bringing back the idea of an iPhone nano. The iPhone nano is about 1/3 smaller then the iPhone 4. Sources have said that Apple wants to launch more inexpensive phones to counteract with the Android phones. The iPhone nano would retail for $200 without the contract price. The iPhone nano is just a smaller version of the iPhone, but it still comes with all the features. The same components that are in the iPhone 4 would be put into the iPhone nano. I think that the iPhone nano would be a huge hit. With its small design, I believe that it will attract many people. The price tag will definitely draw some attention to it because it will be a good option to a new iPhone. I’m not exactly sure how a smaller screen will exactly work. The iPhone 4’s screen is a descent size, perfect for games and for texting. In comes a smaller screen which may cause for a lot of squinting. The texting could be a problem because the key board will be smaller. Many people already have a problem texting with the iPhone 4, with a smaller keyboard, more people would complain. Apple is known for scrapping many products, who’s to say that they won’t scrap this one either? I believe that Apple will have to go through many tests in order to put this product out on the market. I believe that it will work, but only Apple has the right to make it happen. Do you think it will work? Drop a comment below and let us know.

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