When I first saw the Snow’s Revenge MacBook Pro image that you see above, I thought it was a clever and unique etching. When I realized that it was simply just a $15 vinyl applique, I bought on immediately. I mean, seriously, how cool is it to see a seemingly dark-sidish Snow White holding on to a glowing Apple? Just saying.

Oh, and speaking of Ms. White, be sure to peep our Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Blu-ray review over in our movie section, FilmCrunch.

Read More | Etsy via 9 to 5 Mac

Apple has finally removed the curtain scaffolding that was in place to hide the construction of their new Upper West Side Manhattan Apple Store location. Of course, in typical Apple fashion, the unveiling leaves even more mystery to unravel, as the entire face of the new store is covered in a vinyl curtain, along with an “Opening soon” message. Luckily, we shouldn’t have to wait much longer to get a look at the newest store, which many are saying will be the most impressive in the entire Apple Store chain. The Upper West Side Apple Store is located on the northwest corner of Broadway and 67th street, right near Lincoln Center.

We’ve got one more shot of the store, a mockup, of what the store should look like after the curtain is removed.

Read More | CNET ]]> 2009-10-27T19:27:30+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q409-mac-mini-updated-999-mac-mini-server-added/ Apple, PC / Laptop

Apple has updated the Mac mini today, giving the two configurations that were previously available a nice bump in the specs department, and also adding a third to the mix, that being a Mac mini server. Starting with the $599 Mac mini, it now sports a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor (previously it was 2GHz,) 2GB RAM (previously 1GB,) and a 160GB HDD (up from 120GB). Next step up from there is the $799 Mac mini, which has a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, and 320GB HDD.

As for the new server version, it sits in the same enclosure as the other Mac minis, but has no optical drive. Instead, they throw in a second hard drive. So for $999, you get a Mac mini that includes two 500GB drives, includes Snow Leopard Server, 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB RAM, and GeForce 9400M GPU. Definitely a good idea for a small business where an Xserve might be overkill, or even an advanced home network solution. The new Mac mini is available now.

Read More | Mac mini ]]> 2009-10-20T19:08:52+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q409-white-macbook-unibody/ Apple, Design, PC / Laptop

Apple’s got more goodness for us today, with their new unibody MacBook. You know, their 13-inch white notebook that seems to have been neglected for the better part of a year? There is much more to this than just a move to the unibody enclosure. The MacBook still starts at $999, and now ships with a 13-inch LED-backlit display, glass multitouch trackpad, and a built-in non-removeable 7 hour battery. On the inside it’s got a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB RAM, NVIDIA 9400M GPU, and a 250GB hard drive. The underside is changed as well, now sporting a non-slip rubberized surface. The new MacBook is available now.

Read More | MacBook ]]> 2009-10-20T18:22:17+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q209-apple-remote-gets-updated/ Accessories, Apple, Home Entertainment, PC / Laptop

Apple has just released an updated Apple Remote, the first time the remote has been redesigned since its initial release. As you can see, the remote gains an iPod-like click wheel, and the play/pause button is now on its own. The remote supports iPod and iPhone when docked in the iPod Universal Dock, and also supports any Mac that has a built-in IR receiver. Apple says nothing about the Apple TV, but since it has an IR, this should naturally work there as well. You can order one now for $19, and it’ll ship in 2-4 weeks.

Read More | Apple Remote ]]> 2009-10-20T17:59:29+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q409-imac-gets-quad-core-intel-core-i5-169-display/ Apple, PC / Laptop

Apple continues with today’s slew of updates with the new iMac (on sale now,) which sees a bunch of improvements. First, it comes in two new sizes, 21.-inch and 27-inch widescreen 16x9 LED-backlit displays, which have a 178-degree viewing angle. The 27-inch model rocks a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, while the 21.5-inch model checks in at 1,920 x 1,080 (1080p.) Standard with these iMacs are the Apple wireless keyboard, and the brand new Magic Mouse - so the iMac has gone completely wireless. Both models gain an SD card slot, and the 27-incher also has a video in port, a first for the iMac.

As far as price goes, the introductory model starts at $1,199 and gets you the 21.5-inch display with 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, 4GM RAM, and a 500GB hard drive. For $300 more, you get a 1TB drive, and the ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics card. The 27-inch model starts at $1,699 with a 1TB drive and ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics card. Lastly, there is a $1,999 27-incher that sports a 2.06GHz quad-core Core i5 processor and ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics card. That one won’t ship until next month, but all the rest are available now.

Read More | Apple iMac ]]> 2009-10-20T17:34:13+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q409-apple-magic-mouse-multitouch-bluetooth-one-button/ Accessories, Apple

The Apple Magic Mouse is finally here, replacing the oft-despised Mighty Mouse. So, what’s makes this new mouse so magical? For starters, there are no moving parts, other than the actual button. Yeah, the whole mouse is a button, but you can do the right-, middle-, and left-click. You can also scroll with a swipe across the acrylic surface of the mouse, and it also supports a bunch of the multitouch gestures you are used to using on Apple notebooks, two-finger swipes and all. The Magic Mouse is wireless, supporting Bluetooth, and the battery lasts a whopping four months. You can pick one up today for $69.

Read More | Apple Magic Mouse ]]> 2009-10-20T17:12:57+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q409-imac-mac-mini-macbook-magic-mouse/ Accessories, Apple, PC / Laptop, Rumors

Well, between the Barnes & Noble Nook and this piece of news, tomorrow is shaping up to be pretty exciting. Our boy John Gruber is making it known that it’s his belief that Apple is going to be releasing a bunch of new hardware tomorrow. What’s on the a-frienda? Well, for starters, a much needed update to the plastic white MacBook line. You know, the one that get left all to its lonesome when the aluminum MacBooks went Pro? The Mac mini should also see a spec bump, including one version that runs OS X Server. Definitely interesting, I’d love to see how they position that one.

More interesting, though, are the claims of an “impressive” iMac redesign. We’ve been hearing so many rumors on where the iMac is going to go that we’ll have to wait and see what comes out of Cupertino tomorrow. At the very least, they’ll be thinner - but we’re not holding our breath for Blu-ray support.

Even more interesting are the mention of two currently unreleased products. The first being the Magic Mouse, a replacement for the Apple Mighty Mouse that would sport a multitouch surface. We can definitely see that happening, and being included with the new iMac line. The Mighty Mouse needs to be replaced, and a multitouch mouse would play nicely with Snow Leopard. There is also mention of a multitouch trackpad add-on for desktop Macs, like the iMac, Mac mini, and Mac Pro. It certainly sounds intriguing, and would give desktop Macs the full functionality set that are found on the notebooks.

Of course, we will have all the details for you tomorrow when things start popping off!

Read More | Daring Fireball ]]> 2009-10-20T02:51:38+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q309-griffin-reveal-iphone-case-review/ Accessories, Apple, Cell Phones, Handhelds, Product Reviews

Griffin has recently released a minimalist case for the iPhone 3G and 3GS that they call Griffin Reveal. Right, we know what you’re thinking - with all the various iPhone cases out there, what’s so special about this one? Well, for starters, the Griffin Reveal is meant to stay out of the way. It isn’t bulky, and barely adds any thickness to your iPhone. In fact, it just adds 1.4 mm in thickness to the iPhone 3G or 3GS.

Read More | Griffin Reveal ]]> 2009-10-10T01:53:18+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q309-iphone-os-3.1.2-now-available/ Apple, Cell Phones, Handhelds, Software

Apple has just released iPhone OS 3.1.2. According to Apple, the update contains bug fixes and improvements, including:

• Resolves sporadic issue that may cause an iPhone to not wake from sleep
• Fixes an issue that may interrupt cell network services until the phone is hard-rebooted
• Fixes a big that would cause an occasional crash during video streaming

If you’ve got an iPhone, iPhone 3G, or iPhone 3GS, go ahead and update. Of course, if you are jailbroken, you’ll want to wait until a jailbreak tool for 3.1.2 is available.

You’ll definitely wanna file this one under “rumor,” but if DigiTimes is to be believed, that Apple Tablet that we’ve all been waiting for with baited breath will be manufactured by Foxconn. The peeps at DigiTimes are saying that Foxconn will be shipping up to 400,000 devices by April 2010, and that these devices will have a 10.6-inch display.

Hey, it’s fun monitoring these rumors, but I’m tired of having my emotions played with, Apple. Give me a touch-sensitive tablet next in the first quarter of 2010, okay?

Read More | DigiTimes ]]> 2009-10-08T01:42:43+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q309-mms-feature-released-iphone-3g-3gs/ Apple, Cell Phones, Handhelds

Hey, don’t look now, but all of you who didn’t opt to enable iPhone MMS yourselves, the time has come for you to let iTunes do it for you. A carrier update file is now available that, once installed, will enable MMS officially for AT&T iPhone users throughout the US. All you need to do is connect your iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS to your computer, and tell iTunes to check for an update. Install the file, and let the pictures of kittens start flying.

Oh, and yes, if you are an iPhone OG owner, you are left out in the cold on this one.

Just a quick note to those of you who haven’t already enabled MMS on your iPhone yourself already, the official rollout happens this Friday afternoon, according to AT&T’s Facebook page:

MMS Update: We know you’ve been eager for this service so we wanted to offer a quick update on the launch plans for MMS on Friday, Sept. 25. Late morning, Pacific Time, on Friday, the new carrier settings update enabling MMS should be live and ready to download through iTunes. We’ll provide the steps and all of the details you need right here at that time.

So there you have it - we fully expect that Friday to be full of cute kitten pictures, and video files of people mooning their iPhone cameras. Good times.

Apple released iTunes 9.0.1 yesterday, and normally, they squash some bugs that some people experience. Here is a look at the changes in the latest release, which comes just a couple of weeks after the iTunes 9 release:

• Resolves issues browsing the iTunes Store.
• Addresses a performance issue where iTunes may become unresponsive.
• Fixes a problem where iTunes may unexpectedly quit.
• Fixes a problem syncing Podcasts in playlists to iPod or iPhone.
• Fixes a problem sorting albums with multiple discs.
• Addresses an issue with the Zoom button not switching to Mini Player.
• Improves application syncing for iPod touch and iPhone.
• Genius is now automatically updated to show Genius Mixes.

We must say, iTunes 9 feels more responsive, and works more “as it should,” or as expected. Hit up Software Update to grab it.

After watching the video above, we have to wonder if Apple is the ultimate master of using the power of suggestion, or if they need to use the thesaurus that’s in their Dictionary app a bit more. What say you?

Okay, we were all disappointed by AT&T’s decision to delay iPhone MMS to early fall, but that doesn’t stop ambitious folks such as ourselves from finding a way around it. And we have. I can confirm that I was able to get MMS working on my iPhone 3GS with about 3 minutes worth of effort. You wanna do it to? Read on for complete instructions for enabling MMS on iPhone 3.1.

Read More | Zune HD size comparison gallery ]]> 2009-09-15T07:58:40+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q309-apple-tv-160gb-now-100-less-at-229-40gb-model-gone/ Apple, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Apple continues to support their Apple TV hobby, if by “support” you mean “do nothing for two years except drop the price on the high end model, and kill the low end model.” That’s right, the 40GB Apple TV is no longer available for purchase from Apple, and the 160GB model has received a $100 price cut, from $329 to $229. A nice change, sure…but really, we’d like to see a little more than this as it pertains to the Apple TV. C’mon Apple, what’s up?

In the meantime, you can grab the new lower price 160GB Apple TV at the Apple Store online.

Read More | Apple TV ]]> 2009-09-14T20:01:59+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q309-mac-os-x-10.6.1-now-available/ Apple, PC / Laptop, Software

Apple has just pushed out the first point update to Snow Leopard in Mac OS X 10.6.1. That was a pretty quick update, since Snow Leopard launched less than two weeks ago! Here are the changes you’ll find in this release:

• Improves compatibility with some Sierra Wireless 3G modems
• Addresses an issue in which some printer compatibility drivers might not appear properly in the Add Printer browser
• Addresses an issue that might cause DVD playback to stop unexpectedly
• Addresses an issue that might make it difficult to remove an item from the Dock
• Resolves an issue in which the Command-Option-T keyboard shortcut would sometimes bring up the special characters menu in applications such as Mail and TextEdit
• Addresses instances in which auto account setup in Mail might not work
• Resolves issues when sending mail with certain SMTP servers
• Addresses an issue in which Motion 4 could become unresponsive
• Includes an update to Adobe Flash Player plug-in version 10.0.32.18

You can grab OS X 10.6.1 now by running Software Update.

Read More | Apple ]]> 2009-09-10T21:47:38+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q309-microsofts-take-apple-announcements/ Apple, Corporate News, Microsoft, Music, Portable Audio / Video, Software

One things we’ve been wondering today, admidst all of the Apple It’s Only Rock and Roll event news, is how Microsoft was feeling, especially as it pertains to their Zune business, which is set for a major overhaul in six days. We got in contact with a Microsoft spokesperson, and asked them about what they thought of the new iPod and iTunes announcements. Here’s what they had to say:

Since our debut, Zune has offered a different kind of end-to-end digital entertainment experience that includes wireless MP3 players, a robust online store, music community and innovative software features that help users easily find the music and videos they love.

The entertainment experience for consumers hasn’t changed that much after Apple’s announcement today.  Our point of view has always been that people want to be entertained, and they want a better way to watch and listen to the digital entertainment they love.  We’re interested in getting you your content where you want it in rich, exciting ways.  We look forward to sharing more on September 15th.

Okay, so Zune is all about music and videos - not games, video recording, and all that other stuff. We get it, and we like the focus. What we don’t like, though, is how Microsoft allowed Apple to steal their thunder by announcing the new line-up way after Microsoft announced the Zune HD, followed up by Apple launching the new iPods a week before the Zune HD hits stores.

In the meantime, if you’re a music fan looking for a new music player, we say wait until the fifteenth. What you see come out of the Zune camp may surprise you. All of you. I’ve already said too much.