Sophos SafeGuard Disk Encryption for Mac offers full-disk encryption (FDE) for
the Mac, with protection at boot time from unauthorized access. FDE scrambles
the entire contents of a disk drive, rendering it ostensibly unrecoverable
without access to the long encryption key used, or a shorter account passphrase
that unlocks that key.
FDE makes your data secure when someone gains unauthorized
physical access to it while your computer is shut down. If a computer with an
FDE-protected drive is booted and running, the data is still susceptible to
various forms of extraction using forensic tools, even if there's a password
lock enabled in OS X. But when the computer is shut down, it's as close to Fort
Knox as one could hope.
With Lion, you have the option to use the built-in FileVault 2 FDE that
replaces the directory-only encryption provided in the original FileVault
system introduced in OS X 10.3 Panther. FileVault 2 works quite well, is
integrated into system accounts and system boot time, and relies on AppleCare
support as an optional backstop to help with extreme cases in which an account
password fails or is forgotten and a separate emergency recovery key has been
lost.
SafeGuard, compatible with Lion in version 5.5, has to scale a
mountain to convince users to purchase a feature that's otherwise built into
the OS. A third-party encryption tool has to do the job right, but also have
features or options that set it apart from FileVault 2. (SafeGuard provides a
separate installer for Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6. If you upgrade from Snow Leopard
to Lion, it is vitally important to follow Sophos's instructions. An upcoming
SafeGuard 6.0 release will work on 10.5 through 10.7, however, according to
Sophos.)
Sophos requires that you create unique accounts, separate from Mac OS X, including at least one administrative account.
SafeGuard doesn't quite get there. There are enough rough edges
and confusing bits that don't place it anywhere near the ease with which Apple
enables FileVault 2, which make SafeGuard hard to recommend highly. Sophos
could sand down the interface and documentation friction, while adding a couple
of compelling features. However, SafeGuard is a good choice for anyone who
prefers not to rely on Apple for their encryption needs for whatever reason.
Using
SafeGuard
Sophos relies on its own user accounts set up as User and Admin
categories, which means extra account management instead of using Mac OS X
authentication. This is clearly required because at startup time SafeGuard has
to rely only on what its own system can manage—it can't access Mac OS X or accounts. We
can’t ding the product for that, but it's more complicated than Apple's
integrated ability.
You set up at least one Admin account to start encrypting the
drive with a single click. There's an option to use Fast Mode, which has no
explanation in the program or documentation as to what "fast" means.
I had to query the company, which explained that with Fast Mode disabled, disk
encryption takes a back seat to whatever the user is doing. In Fast Mode,
encryption consumes all available computational power, which might slow down
other activities.
Admin accounts can enable and disable encryption on partitions,
and create and delete regular users. A User can log in at startup. User
accounts can be backed up with a third form of account, Recovery, which are
one-time use logins assigned to specific User accounts, and which are meant to
help in case you forget or lose the password for a User account.
Sophos could provide a more sensible handholding walkthrough
here. It should have the option of an assistant that guides you through
creating an Admin user, and gives you the opportunity to create a regular User
and one or more Recovery accounts. Instead, I had to stumble through the
documentation to figure out the precise relationship.
Any FDE system needs to offer tools to help you when things go
awry, as normal disk utilities won't work. Sophos includes options in its
program's Users tab in a gear pop-up menu, but they're rather hard to parse
there and in longer explanations in the documentation. I sorted it out, but I
don't expect that even an advanced user will find the explanation
straightforward.
Sophos has three recovery options, but it's really two ways to
make bootable media, with a third menu item to export your encryption and
authentication data. You can either create a generic bootable image without
your login bits (which lets you separately attach your authentication data), or
you can create one that's bootable and has the necessary credentials for the
specific computer from which the disk was exported.
What Sophos doesn't explain is that you need to take the disk
image and create a bootable volume from it. This is trivial in Disk Utility.
Drag the disk image into Disk Utility, where it shows up in the bottom of the
list at left. Insert some kind of media, such as a USB thumb drive, that you're
willing to erase one or more partitions of. Select the disk image icon, and
then drag the partition of the drive you're using into the Destination field.
Click Restore. This creates an EFI-formatted bootable drive you can select at
startup time by holding down the Option key. Would that these instructions
(with some screen captures and more detail) were in the manual.
Sophos has its own EFI-based boot process that lets you enter a user or
administrator account to start up Mac OS X. Only the keyboard works; mice and
trackpads are unavailable.
I tested booting from a recovery image and
performing various recovery operations, and they worked just fine. As with the
rest of SafeGuard, the actual function is there masked by an unpolished
interface. You can decrypt a drive quite simply, too. While logged in as an
administrator, click Decrypt.
Limitations
SafeGuard also warns you in the documentation against backing up
certain files in Time Machine, but doesn't provide a tool to exclude those
automatically. SafeGuard
can't encrypt external drives. And it requires the use of the keyboard in
its boot manager, which makes it feel a bit more like using a newer PC BIOS
than a Mac. Ostensibly, they didn't want to include mouse and trackpad drivers.
SafeGuard makes it simple to encrypt or decrypt an entire drive.
The only compelling reason to choose SafeGuard
over FileVault 2 relates to boot-drive partitions. FileVault 2 only works on a
Mac OS X's boot volume in which the Lion Recovery partition is installed and
working. You cannot use a custom partition scheme, and users have reported all
sorts of problems if they've messed with Lion partitions. SafeGuard doesn't
have this problem. You can encrypt any number of partitions on the boot drive,
and a Lion Recovery partition isn't a requirement.
Mac
OS X users are notably resistant to the ploys of anti-virus, anti-malware, and
security-monitoring software offered for our platform. “What—me worry?” could
be our motto, as well as, “Not paying for that!” Over the long haul, that
attitude has served us well, but the nature and diversity of risks has
increased, and is likely to get worse.
McAfee Internet Security tries to address the
virus, malware, and Trojan Horse issue directly, but also includes a robust,
configurable firewall along with a Firefox plug-in that vets and reports on
search result links. Despite my many years without such software installed, I’m
strongly tempted to continue to use the package after testing because it’s a
multipronged and easy-to-manage extra layer that doesn’t seem to slow my
computer down one bit, while providing useful information and the right degree
of control to block remote access.
The fundamental problem with a tool that prevents
the execution of malicious software has been that the damage is usually done by
the rapid spread of such attacks before the protective program has been
updated. McAfee, like other anti-virus software makers, is constantly
monitoring and testing for new vectors and writing defenses against them, and
pushes out responses to discoveries in the wild quite rapidly. The software is
set to pull down updates every four hours, too.
Protect yourself
McAfee Internet Security warns you about malware. Even if you click Open, it quarantines MacDefender instead of launching it.
Given that only a handful of Trojans and viruses
have appeared in recent years for the Mac, and that they are laughable in their
ability for users with any degree of proper caution to avoid, this part of the
security suite might seem useless. But I’ll argue it is not.
First, it prevents you from passing on Windows
viruses that may be sent as attachments that you then guilelessly hand off to
friends, relatives, or colleagues using an unpatched version of Windows. (This
is also useful when copying files back and forth between a virtual Windows machine or
a Boot Camp volume.) Second, you can recommend this software to those who might
not have the instinct to stay away from unknown software or attachments. A
relative might appreciate having this software installed to prevent them from
making a bad choice due to their lack of computer knowledge—especially if they
try to install Trojans masquerading as legitimate files. Third, if someone else
uses your computer without the same care you have, you’re protected there, too,
against old threats and new ones. True, Apple has built virus defenses into
Snow Leopard and Lion that are regularly updated. Consider McAfee a more
explicit second line of defense.
I tested McAfee’s virus protection against the very
few known Trojan horses and other exploits that have been discovered, such as
MacDefender. McAfee refused to let me launch or uncompress the archives
containing the malicious files, and put them into a Quarantine area to make it
simple to review them in a list and then delete them. I tried sending myself a
virus via email, and McAfee prevented that from downloading as well. The
software can defang the malicious part of infected files, but all the files I
tested were entirely comprised of malware.
The McAfee software has three more active
components, however, that can protect you if a Trojan appears before they’ve
detected and issued a fix, as well as to help you identify malicious Web sites
you should avoid. These components let you review programs before allowing them
to launch, use a firewall to prevent intrusions (useful to prevent unintended
access to file sharing, even), and a Firefox extension that brands the safety
of search engine results.
With Application Protection enabled, whenever a previously unused software program (or one that hasn't been given unlimited permission) launches, you're prompted to choose whether to let the program access the network or not, or prevent its launch entirely.
An Application Protection component, configured via
the program’s preferences, monitors software when it launches, and puts itself
in the way with a pop-up prompt. You choose whether to launch with or without
network access provided to the program, and allow the program to be launched
once (just when you approve it) or always thereafter. Or you can deny a launch
altogether. You can modify choices for individual programs or background
processes later through preferences.
Such controls generally prevent software that you
didn’t intentionally install from being able to run and take over your Internet
connection. Of course, this can’t protect against exploits that use techniques
to gain root access to your Mac, and install software that runs beneath the
user interface’s service. Apple has patched many such holes, although there is
little evidence that such attacks were made from Web sites or via email.
Firewall
and Firefox
The
firewall is simpler than many full-featured programs, and I appreciate
that. For most people, being able to click a few buttons is better than an
ocean of pulldown menus and configurations. I particularly like that you can
shut down all incoming or outgoing traffic or both with a couple of clicks
without having to disable your network interface. You can create custom
rules—only certain kinds of traffic may originate from your computer to
specific addresses, or block all but a handful of services from receiving
signals from the outside world. You can also define trusted networks.
Firewalls have the benefit of keeping normal
services you may have switched on, like VNC-based screen-sharing (a somewhat
insecure option in the Screen Sharing service in the Sharing system
preferences), from being accessible or crackable when you’re on an open
network, such as at a coffeeshop.
If you use Firefox, McAfee’s Site Advisor add-on is
a big help in examining search results on Google and other engines. It’s more
tightly integrated with Yahoo (where it disables dangerous links entirely), but
works just fine with others. When you perform a search, the advisor tags each
result with a green, yellow, red, or question mark icon. McAfee constantly
spiders Web sites looking for malware and other problems, and rates sites
accordingly. A McAfee seal of approval appears on ecommerce sites that the firm
separately evaluates.
The Site Adviser plug-in for Firefox adds icons to search results URLs to warn you of sites McAfee has found have might cause you trouble.
It’s a hard sell to tell someone who has had no
problems and expects none to pony up hard-earned cash for a product that seems
unnecessary. But I find the prophylactic effects of McAfee Internet Security
aren’t as interesting as the amount of information and control the software
provides over the routine function of your system and network connections.
[Glenn
Fleishman was first attacked by computer viruses in the 1980s, but he got
better. He is the author of Take
Control of Your 802.11n AirPort Network, updated for Lion.]
Apple iPhone 4S
users can easily annoy people around them by talking to their handset when
using the built-in assistant feature known as Siri.
The nuisance can be even more of a problem than listening to
someone have a regular phone conversation. That’s because when using Siri, you
often need to speak unnaturally—adding punctuation, for example,
when sending messages.
The New York Times recently highlighted a slew of
examples of people engaging in annoying behavior using the 4S.
But fear not. You
can enjoy Siri and practice good etiquette at the same time. Here are five
tips.
Hold the phone up to your ear:
While YouTube is littered with people playing around with Siri using
speakerphone, they do it because of recording for video. In real life, you don’t
need to use the speaker to talk to Siri.
Use the standard 10-foot rule:
Don’t talk to your phone if you’re within 10 feet of strangers in a quieter
locale such as a restaurant or standing in line. This is the same for a regular
cell phone conversation. Obviously, if you’re in Grand Central Station nobody’s
going to care what you’re doing. Once you sit down in the train, however, it’s
a different story.
Be mindful of your audience when playing around with
Siri The
10-foot rule flies out the window if you’re in the company of friends who want
to hear what your awesome new phone can do, or hear some of its funny
quips. Ask it how much wood a wood chuck could chuck, for example,
and it’ll respond, “42 cords of wood, to be exact. Everyone knows that.” So,
yes, Siri can be fun. Maybe just don’t play around like this while alone in
your cube at work to the distraction of co-workers.
When in public, tap it if you can:
If there’s a chance your conversation with your machine is going to perturb
someone, let your fingers do the walking instead. The voice assistant feature
is optional and you can do everything you need without actually using it.
Don’t be a showoff:
Even Bluetooth headset users still get pegged for trying to be lofty when
communicating hands free in a shopping aisle, when they could use their phone
in the usual way like everybody else.
1: PLUG
YOUR IPOD INTO YOUR COMPUTER!!!
2: HOLD THE "HOLD" AND THE "MENU" BUTTON UNTIL THE TOUCH'S SCREEN GOES BLACK AND SHOWS THE APPLE LOGO AGAIN THEN RELEASE THE BUTTONS!!!
3: WAIT ABOUT 5-15 MINUTES!!!
4: YOUR COMPUTER WILL MAKE A "CHIME" SOUND AND THEN THE IPOD WILL SHOW THE LOCKED SCREEN WITH THE BATTERY LOGO...
This works every time for me when my ipod crashes, the screen is stuck on the apple logo or if the screen goes white...
2: HOLD THE "HOLD" AND THE "MENU" BUTTON UNTIL THE TOUCH'S SCREEN GOES BLACK AND SHOWS THE APPLE LOGO AGAIN THEN RELEASE THE BUTTONS!!!
3: WAIT ABOUT 5-15 MINUTES!!!
4: YOUR COMPUTER WILL MAKE A "CHIME" SOUND AND THEN THE IPOD WILL SHOW THE LOCKED SCREEN WITH THE BATTERY LOGO...
This works every time for me when my ipod crashes, the screen is stuck on the apple logo or if the screen goes white...
Earlier
this month, leaked information suggested that Intel's next-generation
mobile Ivy Bridge processors would debut in May, with a few models perhaps
becoming available in April. The mobile Ivy Bridge processors are expected to
be used in Apple's MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini lines.
A new report from Digitimes indicates, however, that the first Ivy Bridge processors may launch as early as April 8th, with both the mobile processors and desktop processors such as those used in the iMac debuting around the same timeframe.
Desktop CPUs to be unveiled include quad-core Core i7-3770K,
3770, 3770S, 3770T, and Core i5-3570, 3550 and 3450, with prices ranging from
US$184-332. Additionally, the Core i5-3470T will be available in May priced at
US$184.
Notebook CPUs Core i7-3920Qm, 3820QM and 3720QM will be released in April
priced at US$1,096, US$568 and US$378, respectively. Other models including
Core i5-3520M, 3360M, 3320M and ultrabook CPUs Core i7-3667U and Core i5-3427U
will be unveiled later.
While
the report also appears to confuse chipsets being released at the same time
with the processors themselves, information on specific processor models does
help offer some picture of what Apple might be able to accomplish in terms of
updated machines.
The 3820QM and 3720QM processors in particular appear to be the natural successors to Apple's current processor options in the high-end 15" and 17" MacBook Pro models. Apple's upgrade route in many other cases is less clear given the company's propensity to use custom-produced chips and a limited first wave of Ivy Bridge processors. The Core i7-3667U and Core i5-3427U processors appear to be the only processors in the initial wave of Ivy Bridge processors to meet the thermal design requirements for the MacBook Air, with those processors apparently set for the later May debut.
Apple has been rumored to be launching a new 15" MacBook Pro with "Retina" display technology in the second quarter of 2012, matching the Ivy Bridge launch timeline. A new 15" MacBook Air has also been rumored alongside an update for the rest of the line in the first quarter of 2012. But with the appropriate Ivy Bridge processors apparently not debuting until May, it is unclear how Apple would meet this timeline.
The 3820QM and 3720QM processors in particular appear to be the natural successors to Apple's current processor options in the high-end 15" and 17" MacBook Pro models. Apple's upgrade route in many other cases is less clear given the company's propensity to use custom-produced chips and a limited first wave of Ivy Bridge processors. The Core i7-3667U and Core i5-3427U processors appear to be the only processors in the initial wave of Ivy Bridge processors to meet the thermal design requirements for the MacBook Air, with those processors apparently set for the later May debut.
Apple has been rumored to be launching a new 15" MacBook Pro with "Retina" display technology in the second quarter of 2012, matching the Ivy Bridge launch timeline. A new 15" MacBook Air has also been rumored alongside an update for the rest of the line in the first quarter of 2012. But with the appropriate Ivy Bridge processors apparently not debuting until May, it is unclear how Apple would meet this timeline.
Facebook's
Timeline feature is now available worldwide, allowing users to tell their
entire life stories through the social network.
Facebook announced Timeline in September,
but rolled the feature out slowly. If you're just getting Timeline now, or want
to speed up the switch from your existing profile, here's what you need to
know.
What are Timelines?
Timelines are Facebook's attempt to tell the story of your
life, based on your social networking activity. Presented in reverse
chronological order, your Timeline shows status updates, photos, life events,
and new friends.
Timelines also summarize your activity from Facebook apps.
For instance, if you've allowed Spotify to automatically tell Facebook what
songs you're listening to, a summary of your tastes in music will appear in the
Timeline. Or if you've been using Nike+ GPS, your friends will be able to see
where you've been running.
How to tweak Timeline
information
Of course, some Facebook activity is best forgotten. To
remove a status update, photo, or other activity from your Timeline, float your
cursor over the top-right corner of the update, click the pencil icon, then
select "Hide from Timeline."
Adding information to the Timeline is also pretty simple.
Just hover your cursor over the line down the center of the page, so it turns
into a "+" icon, then click on the kind of update you want to add.
You can add events all the way back to your birth, making for a complete life
story.
If you really like something that's on your Timeline, you
can blow it up into a feature-size post by hovering over the update and
clicking the star icon.
Controlling who sees what
Your existing privacy
settings will still apply in your Timeline. For example, if only friends can
see photos in which you've been tagged, no one else will see those photos on
your Timeline. And if you've hidden a status update from a specific user, that
person won't see the update on your Timeline page. Use Facebook's privacy settings page to make adjustments. You can also
adjust privacy for anything you've posted, such as status updates and photos,
by clicking on the gear icon near the top of the update.
To see what your Timeline looks like to the public or to
specific users, click the gear icon on the top-right side of the page (next to
the Activity Log button), then select View As.
How to get Timelines
Head to Facebook's Introducing
Timeline page, and
click Get It Now to activate the feature. Or, you can wait to see an
announcement for Timelines at the top of your profile page.
Once you make the switch, Facebook will generate a
Timeline on its own, but won't immediately publish it. You'll have seven days
to make adjustments—say, to remove references to jobs you hated or significant
others you'd rather forget. After that, there's no going back to the old
profile.
Planning
to buy a new Mac for someone on your holiday shopping list? Such a thoughtful
and generous gift is going to make someone very, very happy.
Now
comes the hard part: Which Mac should you buy? That's where we come in. We've
tested every standard-configuration Mac model currently in Apple's lineup, and
we know each model inside and out. We're happy to help you make a decision.
This buying guide explains all the Mac models available
and how they've changed from their predecessors. To read the full review for
each Mac, click on the “Read our complete review” links. You can also get more
details on how each Mac did in our benchmark
tests. And we’ve provided links to help you find the best prices.
MacBook Air
The MacBook Air has become Apple's marquee laptop. Its
thin, lightweight design makes it an ideal portable computer, and you no longer
have to accept the features compromises that older MacBook Air models required.
The
2011 MacBook Air line uses Intel dual-core Core i5 processors, a vast
improvement over the Core 2 Duo processors used in previous models we found the 2011 MacBook Air models are at least 1.5
times as fast as last year's 11-inch MacBook Air with a 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo
processor. With some older games, however, the current models may suffer a hit
in graphics performance.
The 2011 models' key new feature is the Thunderbolt port. Past MacBook Air models had only
USB 2.0 connectivity; Thunderbolt gives the 2011 MacBook Air a high-speed
connector, and widens the range of peripherals you can use. You can either get
the proper adapters to connect FireWire, eSATA, USB 3.0, or other devices to
the Thunderbolt port, or you can get Apple's Thunderbolt
Display, which serves as a connectivity dock for the laptop.
When Apple discontinued
the MacBook in July, the company
thrust the MacBook Air into a new role. Apple's lowest-priced laptop is now the 11-inch 1.6GHz Core i5
MacBook Air () with 64GB of
flash storage. (You may be able to find a refurbished MacBook at the online Apple Store, if you
really want one.)
Configurations: There are four MacBook
Airs: two 11-inch models and two 13-inch models. All come with flash storage
and Intel HD Graphics 3000.
The entry-level 11-inch MacBook Air has a 1.6GHz Core i5
processor, 2GB of RAM, and 64GB of flash storage for $999.The other 11-inch
MacBook Air has the same processor, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of flash storage for
$1199.Both 11-inch models feature a high-resolution LED backlit glossy display
with a 1366-by-768-native resolution.
The only difference between the two 13-inch MacBook Air
models is the amount of flash storage. Both 13-inch models feature a 1.7GHz
Core i5 processor, but the $1299 13-inch MacBook Air has 128GB of flash
storage, while the $1599 13-inch MacBook Air has 256GB.
Performance: The MacBook Air is quite
capable of handling everyday tasks, such as emailing, Web browsing, using
office applications, and more. You can even use it for editing short videos,
and working with JPEGs from your iPhone or point-and-shoot camera.
The
11-inch MacBook Air is the slowest Mac in Apple’s lineup, but it's no slouch.
It’s much faster than last year’s 13-inch MacBook Air. Also, the 11-inch
MacBook Air, thanks to its flash storage, is about as fast overall as the $1199
13-inch MacBook Pro with a dual-core 2.4GHz Core i5 processor and a 5400-rpm
500GB hard drive. The 2011 13-inch MacBook Air is about 28 percent faster
overall than the last year's 13-inch MacBook Air.
buying advice: Previous MacBook Air
generations were thought of as niche laptops. But now, the 2011 MacBook Air is
the ideal laptop for most Mac users. It's a great combination of performance
and portability.
MacBook Pro
The MacBook Pro was actually updated twice in 2011. The first update was in February, and the most recent
MacBook Pro line was released in October. The MacBook Pro continues
to sport the aluminum unibody design that was introduced in 2008, but it has
more features and processing power than the MacBook Air. Consider the MacBook
Pro a possible replacement for an older desktop Mac.
The current models feature Core i5 and Core i7 processors that
are slightly faster than the models released in February. The speed differences
are bigger if you compare the current MacBook Pro line to the models released
in 2010; most notably, the 2010 13-inch MacBook Pros used slower Core 2 Duo
processors. The new 13-inch MacBook Pros still use only an integrated graphics
processor, the Intel HD Graphics 3000. The 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros have
both the integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 and a discrete graphics chip.
Configurations: There are five standard
configurations of the MacBook Pro.
The entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro, with a dual-core
2.4GHz Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive, costs $1199. The
13-inch MacBook Pro with a dual-core 2.8GHz Core i7 processor, 4GB of RAM, and
a 750GB hard drive costs $1499.
There are two 15-inch models. For $1799, you get a
quad-core 2.2GHz Core i7 processor, a 500GB hard drive, and a 512MB AMD Radeon HD 6750M discrete
graphics chip along with the integrated Intel graphics.The next model up (at
$1999) has a quad-core 2.4GHz Core i7 processor, a 750GB hard drive, and a 1GB
AMD Radeon HD 6770M discrete graphics chip along with the integrated Intel
graphics.
The 17-inch MacBook Pro is the same as the $1999 15-inch
model but with a larger screen. It has a quad-core 2.4GHz Core i7 processor, a
750GB hard drive, a 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6770M discrete graphics chip, and the
integrated Intel graphics. It costs $2499.
The
15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros are the only laptops in Apple’s lineup that offer
a high-resolution antiglare screen option. It costs an extra $150 for the
15-inch MacBook Pro, and an extra $50 for the 17-inch MacBook Pro.
Performance: The $1999 15-inch MacBook
Pro 2.4GHz Core i7 was the fastest laptop in ourSpeedmark
7 testing. The $1199, 13-inch 2.4GHz Core i5 MacBook Pro offers
performance that’s similar to that of the $999 11-inch MacBook Air with a
1.6GHz Core i5 processor and 64GB of flash storage, but the MacBook Pro has
features the MacBook Air lacks, including FireWire 800 and a bigger screen.
buying advice: The MacBook Pro combines
the performance of a desktop computer with the portability of a laptop. If you
want the fastest MacBook Pro, the 15-inch 2.4GHz Core i7 MacBook Pro is the one
to get. If you primarily want a device for travel and are trying to decide
between a MacBook Air and a 13-inch MacBook Pro, go for the MacBook Air, unless
you really need the processing power for heavy-duty tasks or you want a
computer with FireWire built in.
Mac mini
Designwise, the 2011 Mac mini hasn't changed much compared with
its predecessor. It's still a small aluminum square that sits modestly on your
desk.
The
change that does stand out—and may influence your buying decision—is that the
Mac mini no longer has a SuperDrive. If you want to burn music CDs or DVDs, or
read data from an optical disc, you need to get an external optical burner,
which costs $60 to $100. If you absolutely want an internal SuperDrive in your
Mac, opt for a laptop or an iMac.
The
2011 Mac mini has a Thunderbolt port, which replaces the Mini DisplayPort in
the older model. The Mac mini also has an HDMI port, a FireWire 800 port, four
USB 2.0 ports, a gigabit ethernet port, an SDXC Card slot, and analog/optical-digital
audio input and output minijacks. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are built-in.
Configurations: The $599 Mac mini has a
dual-core 2.3GHz Core i5 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and Intel
HD Graphics 3000 integrated graphics. The $799 Mac mini has a dual-core 2.5GHz Core
i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and AMD Radeon HD 6630M discrete
graphics. You supply your own keyboard, mouse, and display.
Performance: In 2010, Apple released
only one nonserver Mac mini model, which had a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB
of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, and Nvidia GeForce 320M integrated graphics. The
2011 Mac minis are significantly faster than the older model: The $599 Mac mini
is 32 percent faster, and the $799 Mac mini is 61 percent faster.
The
Mac minis still lag signifcantly behind the iMacs, but for general-purpose use
and editing of moderate-size videos, the Mac mini will do fine.
buying advice: The Mac mini continues to
be a nice, affordable computer for new Mac users and shoppers on a budget. It
has enough power for everyone except professionals who demand top performance.
Be sure to shop around for an external disc burner if you really need an
optical drive.
iMac
Apple
hasn't changed the design of its aluminum all-in-one desktop computer for a few
years now, because it's a design that works. It elegantly fits the components
and display into an iconic form.
The
company updated the line in May with new processors and graphics chips. The
iMacs are available with 21.5- and 27-inch widescreen 16:9 displays.
The
iMac comes with Apple’s Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse, but if you order
online from the Apple Store, you can switch the keyboard to a wired version
with a numeric keypad, and switch the mouse to an Apple Mouse or a Magic
Trackpad, for no extra fee. You can opt for both a Magic Mouse and a Magic
Trackpad for $69.
All
iMacs come standard with 4GB of RAM, a SuperDrive, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, gigabit
ethernet, a FaceTime HD camera, four USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire 800 port, an
SDXC Card slot, audio in and out jacks, and built-in speakers. A Thunderbolt
port is also included.
Configurations: There are two 21.5-inch
iMacs. The first 21.5-inch iMac has a quad-core 2.5GHz Core i5 processor, a 500GB
hard drive, and a 512MB AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics card for $1199. The second
21.5-inch iMac has a quad-core 2.7GHz Core i5 processor, a 1TB hard drive, and
a 512MB AMD Radeon HD 6770M graphics card for $1499. Each 21.5-inch iMac has one Thunderbolt port.
There are two 27-inch iMacs. The 27-inch model with a
quad-core 2.7GHz Core i5 processor, a 1TB hard drive, and a 512MB AMD Radeon HD
6770M graphics card costs $1699. Then
there’s a 27-inch iMac with a quad-core 3.1GHz Core i5 processor, a 1TB hard
drive, and a 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6970M graphics card; it costs $1999. Each of the 27-inch iMacs comes with two
Thunderbolt ports.
Performance: The four 2011 iMacs are
considerably faster than the systems they replace. The $1199 21.5-inch iMac was
nearly 24 percent faster overall than last year’s entry-level 21.5-inch iMac,
which had a dual-core 3.06GHz Core i3 processor. The $1699 27-inch iMac was 25
percent faster overall than last year's 27-inch iMac with a dual-core 3.2GHz
Core i3 processor. The $1999 27-inch iMac was 16 percent faster than the
previous high-end standard-configuration iMac: a 27-inch quad-core 2.8GHz Core
i5 model.
If
you exclude the $4999 12-core Mac Pro, the $1999 iMac ranks as the fastest
standard-configuration Mac. In fact, all of the iMacs except for the $1199
model compete very well on performance when compared to the Mac Pro.
buying advice: The $1199 21.5-inch 2.5GHz
Core i5 iMac offers the most bang for the buck. If you want top performance,
then go for the $1999 27-inch 3.1GHz Core i5 iMac. In fact, if you want a
computer for heavy-duty processing work, consider an iMac over a Mac Pro. The
only difference between the $1499 iMac and the $1699 iMac is screen size; they
have the same components.
Oh, the Mac Pro.
Apple hasn't updated this workstation since August 2010. Rumor has
it that Apple may stop making the tower Mac. But for now, it's still available,
and it's still a solid computer for the most demanding users.
The
entry-level Mac Pro features a quad-core processor, while the top configuration
has 12 processing cores. In between is a Mac Pro model with eight processing
cores. All the standard-configuration models feature a 1TB ATI Radeon HD 5770
graphics card, a 1TB hard drive, four hard-drive bays, four PCI Express
expansion card slots, four FireWire 800 ports, five USB 2.0 ports, two
independent gigabit ethernet ports, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and audio in/out jacks.
The Mac Pro is the only Mac that is not equipped with Thunderbolt.
Configurations: The first Mac Pro has a
quad-core 2.8GHz Xeon Nehalem processor and 3GB of RAM. It costs $2499. The
second Mac Pro has two quad-core 2.4GHz Xeon Westmere processors and 6GB of RAM
for $3499. The third Mac Pro model has
two six-core 2.66GHz Xeon Westmere processors (for a total of 12 cores) and 6GB
of RAM for $4999.
The Mac Pro has a ton of build-to-order options. You can
add more RAM—up to the 16GB limit for each Mac Pro. Apple fills only one of the
four hard-drive bays with the standard configurations, but gives you the option
to add more hard drives or solid-state drives, and even to configure them as a
RAID. You can also add a second SuperDrive and upgrade the graphics card. A
complete list of options is available on the Mac
Pro technical specifications webpage.
Performance: The Mac Pros excel when
running software that takes avantage of multiple processing cores, such as
high-end video-editing programs, 3D graphics applications, image editors,
professional audio software, and so on.
But
with general, everyday tasks (emailing, Web browsing, and running office
applications), the Mac Pro performs on a par with the iMac. In our benchmarking
tests, the $1999 27-inch iMac with a quad-core 3.1GHz Core i5 processor
actually outpaced both the $2499 and the $3499 Mac Pros overall; however, when running
applications designed to use multiple cores, those two Mac Pros were faster
than the $1999 iMac.
buying advice: The Mac Pro is ideal for
the most demanding user, one who uses high-end applications and wants hardware
expandability. Yes, the machines are expensive, but they're well worth it for
professionals, and they’ll still be very usable four or five years from now. If
you don’t need expandability but still need speed, consider a 27-inch iMac with
a quad-core 3.1GHz Core i5 processor
Let's face it: there's a lot of me-too design in tablets, which is
why Asus's various Eee Pads are so much fun: what's not to like about a tablet
that magically becomes a laptop?
The new Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime takes things further and
turns into a truck.
OK, that's not strictly true, but it's still one of
the most exciting Android tablets around.
Here's what you need to know about the new Asus
tablet.
The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime
specifications are tasty
The Transformer Prime processor is a quad-core Tegra 3,
making its first appearance in a tablet, and its 12-core GeForce GPU should
deliver impressive graphics performance.
There's 1GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB of storage and a very
bright IPS display, twin cameras (8MP and 1.2MP), 12 hours of battery life and
six more with the optional dock, MicroSD and micro HDMI ports, and the dock
adds USB2.0 and an SD card slot. The Transformer Prime also has GPS and a
built-in gyroscope.
poza
The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime display is very
bright
The Transformer Prime screen is a 10.1-inch,
1280x800 IPS panel with a very wide 178-degree viewing angle, and it has a
"Super IPS" mode that boosts brightness to a retina-popping 600 nits
(most tablets are 300-400 nits).
Asus tells us that means a better outdoor viewing
experience, and also claims that the touchscreen is much more responsive than
before: the firm says input lag has been halved.
The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime design is
impressive
In its tablet incarnation the Asus Transformer Prime is
just 8.3mm thick and weighs 586g, which means it's marginally thinner and
lighter than an iPad 2. The aluminium case comes in two colours - grey and gold
- and the dock adds a full-size keyboard and trackpad, as well as an extra
battery.
The screen and case have also been treated with an
hydro-oleophobic coating to reduce fingerprint smudges.
The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime software is Android
The Transformer Prime operating system will be Android
3.2 Honeycomb, but it will be upgradeable to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich via an over-the-air firmware update.
Asus will also provide a selection of apps including Asus WebStorage, MyCloud
and Asus Sync. SuperNote and Polaris Office will be pre-installed.
The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime camera is pretty
nifty
The main 8-megapixel camera is impressive: it boasts
an F2.4 aperture for decent low light performance, an LED flash, 1080p HD video
recording and image noise reduction.
The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime price isn't too
scary
As with the previous Eee Pad Transformer, the
Transformer Prime is priced to sell: the US price will be $499 for the 32GB
model and $599 for the 64GB, while the dock will be an additional $149.
Posts
