Last September, we reviewed the Other World Computing (OWC) Aura Pro SSD, the first and thus far only third-party SSD for Apple’s line of Retina MacBook Pros (rMBP). At the time of the review, only the 15-inch rMBP had been released, but that was soon followed by the introduction of the 13-inch version in October.…
Jim Tanous
Articles by Jim Tanous
Price & Easy Purchase Make OS X Mountain Lion Most Used Mac OS
OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, the ninth major release of Apple’s 12-year-old OS X platform, is now the most used operating system on Mac computers. The usage numbers, revealed Friday by Web analytics firm Net Applications and reported by Computerworld, show that Mountain Lion accounts for 32 percent of all online Macs, just 6 months…
Microsoft Campus Hit By Thieves, Only iPads Stolen
UPDATE [7:55 PM EST]: TMO has received confirmation from a Daily Post representative that the newspaper clipping, and the story, are indeed true. The article's author, Angela Ruggiero, has also taken to Twitter confirm the story's authenticity. A scanned newspaper clipping purporting to be from the January 4th edition of Palo Alto’s Daily Post appeared online…
IDEO Founder David Kelley Talks Apple & Steve Jobs on 60 Minutes
The designer who helped Apple create its first mouse, and assisted in the design of thousands of other tech products, recalled his experiences with Steve Jobs during a 60 Minutes interview Sunday. David Kelley, founder of design firm Hovey-Kelley (now called IDEO), worked with Apple on several products during the company’s early years, including mice,…
iPhone 5 Price War with Walmart Costs Best Buy $65,000 in Profit
A holiday season marketing campaign by retail giant Walmart “rankled” the company’s rivals, according to The Wall Street Journal, when the company significantly lowered the price of Apple’s iPhone 5 without adequate stock to support the demand. Walmart’s competitors, who generally have price-match guarantee policies, were forced to match Walmart’s lower price, costing them tens…
Analyst: No Apple iTV, But Expect Pandora-Like iRadio in 2013
Apple’s long-rumored television, said to be “just around the corner” for years, will not launch in 2013, according to BTIG media analyst Richard Greenfield in a media predictions report published Thursday. Mr. Greenfield believes the product is in the works, but legal concerns and content deals will keep it out of the market for at least…
Rumor of Apple Acquisition of Waze "Completely Fabricated"
The rumored deal for Apple to acquire social mapping service Waze, news of which broke yesterday, is false. TechCrunch, which ran the original story, and CNET have spoken to new sources who confirm that, while the two companies have engaged in low-level talks in the past, there is no pending deal for an acquisition and earlier reports…
Android Tablets "Clear Choice" for Holiday, iPad Web Share Falls
Many Android-based devices were unwrapped on Christmas Day, causing a surge in Android tablet web traffic that knocked the iPad down over 7 percent, according to web advertising research firm Chitika on Wednesday. The iPad, which dominates overall web traffic among tablet devices, saw its share of traffic fall 7.14 percent after the holiday, while…
Optical Thunderbolt Cables Coming, Longer But Lack Bus Power
Optical Thunderbolt cables will soon hit the market courtesy of Sumitomo Electric Industries. The Japanese company recently announced the impending availability of Thunderbolt cables based on fiber optic data transmission, as opposed to the copper core cables used currently. Optical Thunderbolt cables will support the same fast data transfer rates, and have the same basic…
2013 Macs Rumored to Support Ultra-Fast 802.11ac "Gigabit" Wi-Fi
Apple’s 2013 Macs may sport ultra-fast Wi-Fi thanks to the inclusion of support for 802.11ac wireless networking, according to sources speaking with The Next Web Wednesday. Apple has reportedly reached a deal with Broadcom to include 802.11ac chips in future Macs, which can theoretically support connection speeds of up to 1.3 Gbps. Apple’s current line…
Drobo 5D Review: Fast & Expandable Thunderbolt Storage
Drobo, founded in 2005 as Data Robotics, had one primary goal: make redundant external storage simple for average consumers. The company took its first steps to meet this goal in 2007 when it launched the first-generation Drobo, a four-drive device that could protect the data stored within from a single drive failure. There were admittedly…
How to Fix the Apple TV 5.1.1 Ethernet Update Bug
Apple last Thursday released Software Update 5.1.1 for second- and third-generation Apple TVs. In addition to stability and performance fixes, it also introduced support for the new “Up Next” feature found in iTunes 11. Unfortunately, a number of users are reporting problems with the update, resulting in aborted downloads and failures to reboot following an…
How to Activate and Use the Paper Tape in OS X’s Calculator App
Apple’s Calculator app, included in OS X, is a handy tool for performing both quick calculations as well as more advanced functions. When calculating several numbers at once, however, it can become tedious to keep track of them, especially if you make a mistake at some point in the sequence. Thankfully, Apple includes a paper…
iTunes Event in Moscow Tuesday Hints At Russian iTunes Store
The music section of the iTunes Store may soon be available in Russia, according to an invitation-only iTunes event scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, December 4 in Moscow, reportedly obtained by TechCrunch. The move would bring commercial music content to the Russian iTunes Store — which currently distributes only apps, public domain books, and…
Some Standard Configuration 2012 iMacs Report "Assembled in USA”
The launch of the newly designed 21.5-inch iMac has revealed an interesting discovery: some of these units have markings claiming assembly in the United States. While Apple has long performed final assembly in the U.S. of some of its built-to-order Mac configurations — including the iMac and Mac Pro — this is the first time…
iPhone 5 Now "Readily Available" at Most Apple Stores
Image Credit: AP/Thibault Camus Supply constraints for the iPhone 5 finally appear to be lessening, over two months after the device first launched. A survey of U.S. Apple Retail Stores conducted by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, and reported by AppleInsider, revealed that the phone was generally in stock and available for walk-in purchase. Further, the…
Retina Support for Photoshop CS6 To Be Introduced December 11
Adobe may unveil an update to its flagship Photoshop CS6 software on Tuesday, December 11, bringing Retina support to the application for the first time. Hints of a Retina-enable Photoshop come from an Adobe YouTube video released Tuesday. The video was released to advertise the company’s Create Now Live event, scheduled for December 11, which…
WSJ: After Delays, iTunes 11 Set to Launch As Soon As Today?
Apple’s new iTunes 11 media management and playback software may launch as soon as today, according to a statement in a Wall Street Journal profile of Eddy Cue, the company’s vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The New iTunes,” as Apple refers to it, was introduced in September during the iPhone 5 and iOS…
Apple Again Selling OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Upgraders Rejoice
OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard has returned to Apple’s Online Store as a physical disc purchase after being removed upon the launch of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion in July. The return of the product was discovered by French site MacGeneration and MacRumors early Wednesday and is good news for owners of older Macs. Snow…
Evio Sereno iPad Envelope: Stylish Protection for Naked iPads
We’ve reviewed a few Evio iPad cases in the past year and found them to be well-built and functional. The products we’ve looked at thus far have been folio style cases, which are designed to cover the entire iPad and be used full time. But the iPad is an attractive device, and some users like…
LaCie Rugged USB3 Thunderbolt Review & Benchmarks
Data storage firm LaCie recently released an update to its “Rugged” line of durable external hard drives, adding support for Thunderbolt and USB 3. The Mac Observer spent some time putting the drive through its paces and we found it to be a good performer with a unique and functional design. Read on for our…
Initial Orders of the Cellular iPad mini Ship in 5 Business Days
Initial orders of the LTE-enabled iPad mini are set to ship next week, with Apple notifying customers by email that their orders will ship in “the next five business days,” according to AppleInsider. This information correlates with previous customer reports that cellular iPad mini orders are scheduled for delivery the week of November 19. The…
13" Retina MacBook Pro Teardown Reveals Notable Design Changes
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display (rMBP), unveiled by Apple during its media event Tuesday, has been torn down by iFixit. While the newest Apple laptop shares much in common with its 15-inch “least repairable laptop ever” sibling, there are some interesting differences that indicate that the Cupertino company learned much from its first…
The iPad mini Display: “Pixel Perfect” vs. “Pixel Poor”
Apple’s iPad mini was for many consumers the highlight of Apple’s product launch event on Tuesday. During its unveiling, Apple executive Phil Schiller dedicated several minutes comparing the new iDevice’s display to that of a rival tablet, the Google Nexus 7. Mr. Schiller pointed out that both software and hardware choices in the design of…