Apple offers fix for audio-related Mac Pro performance issue
Apple has released a kernel extension to address unusual heat and performance issues related to audio tasks on Nehalem-based Mac Pros. Mac Pro Audio Update 1.0 is designed to address CPU utilization issues caused by tasks such as listening to tracks in iTunes or using FireWire or USB-based audio interfaces.
The problem manifests as abnormally high amounts of power drain, heat generation, and performance loss when performing any task that relies on the Mac Pro’s built-in audio hardware. Users had discovered the issue shortly after Nehalem-based Mac Pros began shipping, but Apple had generally ignored the issue when customers contacted Apple Care. We reported on the problems last week after users complained of frustration with trying to get Apple to acknowledge the problem. Days later, users were told that the issue was being investigated and that a fix was in the works.
So far, the fix appears incomplete. Though the problem occurs under Mac OS X 10.5.8, the patched kext will only work for Snow Leopard. Hopefully Apple will be able to offer a fix for users that haven’t yet been able to upgrade to Snow Leopard.
etc: Apple has finally released the necessary drivers to make Boot Camp fully compatible with Windows 7. Apple missed its self-imposed end-of-year deadline, but better late than never, right?
Apple has finally released the necessary drivers to make Boot Camp fully compatible with Windows 7. Apple missed its self-imposed end-of-year deadline, but better late than never, right?
Read More:
Boot Camp 3.1 32-bit, Boot Camp 3.1 64-bit, Windows 7 Update Utility
After long wait, Camino 2.0 finally hits the streets
Camino—the Gecko-based browser with native Cocoa interface and more seamless Mac OS X integration—has finally landed an official 2.0 release. The browser uses a much newer version of Mozilla’s Gecko rendering engine (the same one used in Firefox) along with updated tabs and improved security features. However, Camino still lags Firefox in support for Web fonts and advanced HTML5 features like <video> and offline storage.
Camino 2.0 has a number of new features over the 1.x series, which has been mostly in maintenance mode for the last couple of years. Tabbed browsing has been significantly improved, with support for drag-and-drop tab rearranging—though you can’t move tabs to a different window or “tear” them off to create a new window. Command-click now defaults to opening link in new tabs instead of new windows—I always change the preference to this behavior, but it might encourage more people to try tabbed browsing if they haven’t already.
Google Earth for iPhone updated to 2.0 with map compatibility
Google announced Wednesday that Google Earth for iPhone has been updated to version 2.0. Though the major version number has incremented, the update is rather minor except for a new ability to connect to your saved Google Maps and view them overlaid on its virtual globe.
The main reason to grab this update is in integrated ability to view maps that you have saved to “My Maps” using Google Maps or the desktop version of Google Earth. Google offered the examples of checking maps for where Lonely Planet co-founder Tony Wheeler likes to travel or where chef Ferran Adrià likes to eat. However, it could also be used for viewing things like tracking a recent road trip, hike, or even a bike ride. Just enter your Google account login credentials, and you can select from any of your saved maps to overlay on the Earth.
After long wait, Camino 2.0 finally hits the streets
Camino—the Gecko-based browser with native Cocoa interface and more seamless Mac OS X integration—has finally landed an official 2.0 release. The browser uses a much newer version of Mozilla’s Gecko rendering engine (the same one used in Firefox) along with updated tabs and improved security features. However, Camino still lags Firefox in support for Web fonts and advanced HTML5 features like <video> and offline storage.
Camino 2.0 has a number of new features over the 1.x series, which has been mostly in maintenance mode for the last couple of years. Tabbed browsing has been significantly improved, with support for drag-and-drop tab rearranging—though you can’t move tabs to a different window or “tear” them off to create a new window. Command-click now defaults to opening link in new tabs instead of new windows—I always change the preference to this behavior, but it might encourage more people to try tabbed browsing if they haven’t already.
After Long Wait, Camino 2.0 Finally Hits The Streets
Camino—the Gecko-based browser with native Cocoa interface and more seamless Mac OS X integration—has finally landed an official 2.0 release. The browser uses a much newer version of Mozilla’s Gecko rendering engine (the same one used in Firefox) along with updated tabs and improved security features. However, Camino still lags Firefox in support for Web fonts and advanced HTML5 features like <video> and offline storage.
Camino 2.0 has a number of new features over the 1.x series, which has been mostly in maintenance mode for the last couple of years. Tabbed browsing has been significantly improved, with support for drag-and-drop tab rearranging—though you can’t move tabs to a different window or “tear” them off to create a new window. Command-click now defaults to opening link in new tabs instead of new windows—I always change the preference to this behavior, but it might encourage more people to try tabbed browsing if they haven’t already.
Google Earth For IPhone Updated To 2.0 With Map Compatibility
Google announced Wednesday that Google Earth for iPhone has been updated to version 2.0. Though the major version number has incremented, the update is rather minor except for a new ability to connect to your saved Google Maps and view them overlaid on its virtual globe.
The main reason to grab this update is in integrated ability to view maps that you have saved to “My Maps” using Google Maps or the desktop version of Google Earth. Google offered the examples of checking maps for where Lonely Planet co-founder Tony Wheeler likes to travel or where chef Ferran Adrià likes to eat. However, it could also be used for viewing things like tracking a recent road trip, hike, or even a bike ride. Just enter your Google account login credentials, and you can select from any of your saved maps to overlay on the Earth.
Google Earth for iPhone updated to 2.0 with map compatibility
Google announced Wednesday that Google Earth for iPhone has been updated to version 2.0. Though the major version number has incremented, the update is rather minor except for a new ability to connect to your saved Google Maps and view them overlaid on its virtual globe.
The main reason to grab this update is in integrated ability to view maps that you have saved to “My Maps” using Google Maps or the desktop version of Google Earth. Google offered the examples of checking maps for Lonely Planet co-founder Tony Wheeler likes to travel or where chef Ferran Adrià likes to eat. However, it could also be used for viewing things like tracking a recent road trip, hike, or even a bike ride. Just enter your Google account login credentials, and you can select from any of your saved maps to overlay on the Earth.
Apple TV 3.0 update adds Internet radio, new menu system
As we expected (perhaps even sooner than we expected), Apple today released a major update to the software that runs its set-top box, the Apple TV. Apple TV 3.0 software brings a number of new features, including iTunes LPs, iTunes Extras, Genius Mixes, and streaming Internet radio to the media device. The new features are also accompanied by a refreshed and refined user interface.
Apple has added compatibility with the new iTunes LP and iTunes Extras formats that were introduced alongside iTunes 9. New music playing options include support for Genius Mixes, and AppleTV can now stream Internet radio stations (Indie Pop Rocks! on SOMA FM is a personal favorite). The photo browsing features have also been updated to support Events and Faces from your iPhoto library.
iTunes Store TOS spills the beans on Apple TV 3.0
Buried within a recent update to the “iTunes Store Terms and Conditions” is a tip that the AppleTV software will soon get an update to version 3.0. That update will enable the device to display and interact with iTunes LP and iTunes Extras content, and may enable additional WebKit-based features.
iTunes LPs and iTunes Extras were added to the iTunes Store recently, along with the upgrade to iTunes 9. The new formats enable additional multimedia content to be sold alongside the standard audio tracks and movie files. iTunes LP is designed to be a digital extension of the sort of content that would be included with vinyl albums—adding animation, video, and additional audio to things like images and song lyrics. iTunes Extras are more or less the kind of things you would find in the “special features” section of most DVD releases.
