Apple updates iMac with Intel Core 2 Duo, 24-inch display

Apple on Wednesday updated its entire iMac product line adding the new Core Duo Intel processor. In addition to the updated processors Apple launched a new model that features a inch widescreen display.

&;We think this inch iMac is a product that both consumers and professionals are going to love&; David Moody Apple&;s vice president of Worldwide Mac Product Marketing told Macworld.

The new iMac lineup includes four models: a .GHz and a .GHz inch a .GHz inch and the allnew .GHz

CrossOver virtualization software public beta offered

Codeweavers has announced the release of a public beta version of CrossOver Mac their virtualization software that lets Intelbased Macs run Windows applications without having Windows installed.

Based on the opensource project WINE CrossOver Mac provides the ability to run Windows applications and some games on the Mac without having to reboot or switch to a virtual machine interface &; applications appear in the same Finder interface that Mac users are accustomed to. Because it&;s based on WINE which translates Windowsspecific code references

Apple scolded by Greenpeace for environmental policies

Apple got low marks for ecofriendly policies from Greenpeace in a survey of electronics companies by the environmental group. The Cupertino Calif.based computer maker ranks fourth from the bottom in Greenpeace&;s survey finishing ahead of only Acer Motorola and Lenovo.

&;For a company that claims to lead on product design Apple scores badly on almost all criteria&; Greenpeace said in its Green Electronics Guide. The report published every three months scores companies on their use of hazardous chemicals recycling and takeback policies. It

Meet the Xeon: Inside the Mac Pro's processor

Although Intel has been using the Xeon name since the dualcore Xeon processors that power the Mac Pro and Xserve lines are entirely new chips based on Intel&;s bit Core architecture platform. This platform was initially introduced to the public late in with chips continuing to roll out throughout this year; it includes the Core Duo and Core Solo processors used in the Mac Mini and the iMac as well as some other chips that haven&;t shown up in Macs&;at least

Microsoft Dumps Virtual PC For The Mac

Microsoft Corp. said that it is dropping any plans to update its Virtual PC virtualization software to enable it to work on Apple's new Intelbased Macs.
 
The news came on the heel of the announcement by VMware that it's releasing virtual machine software for the Mac.

At Microsoft the company's Mac Business Unit (MacBU) is giving Virtual PC the pink slip because a spokesperson said in email to TechWeb: "Developing a highquality virtualization solution such as Virtual PC for the

Verizon's Chocolate Cell Phone Challenges iPod

Verizon Wireless has announced a digital music player called "Chocolate" that uses a cell phone made by LG Electronics to play songs downloaded over Verizon's wireless network.

With its circular scroll pad the device looks like Apple Computer's iPod MP player adding another player to an increasingly crowded market. Microsoft announced July it would soon release a digital music player called "Zune."

Chocolate Specs

Verizon's Chocolate will probably differ from both products in that it uses wireless links both to download

Riffworks guitar recording software comes to the Mac

Sonoma Wire Works has completed its extensive beta period and has released Riffworks . for Mac OS X. The first time Riffworks has been made available for the Mac the application has been released as a Universal Binary supporting Intelbased Macs.
 
Riffworks is contains a Riffbased workflow allowing guitarists to record short riffs and piece together a song in the applications interface. You can also add realtime effects changing your sound and tone in a variety of ways.

The application

Apple initiates 15-inch MacBook battery recall

Apple Computer on Monday issued a battery recall for its inch MacBook Pro. Apple said the affected batteries do not pose a safety hazard and users can continue to use them until the new ones arrive.

&;We recently discovered that some inch MacBook Pro batteries supplied to Apple do not meet our high standards for battery performance&; said Apple&;s statement announcing what it calls an exchange program.

According to Apple the affected batteries have model number A and a digit serial number that

Microsoft's 'Zune' To Challenge Apple iPod

Microsoft Corp. said on Friday it plans to release a new music and entertainment player and accompanying software under the "Zune" brand this year in a belated attempt to challenge the dominance of Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod player.
 
The announcement comes after weeks of rumors and speculation about such an offering. Microsoft has already touted the products to record companies.

"Under the Zune brand we will deliver a family of hardware and software products the first of which will be

Lojack Now Locates Mac Notebooks

Vancouverbased Absolute Software released a Mac version of its Lojack for Laptops theftrecovery software.
 
Lojack which has long been available for Windowsbased portables surreptitiously contacts Absolute's monitoring center when the computer connects to the Internet. If the notebook is reported stolen or lost Lojack sends back the portable's current IP address and other networking information to Absolute. The company then works with local law enforcement to pinpoint the laptop's physical location and recover the system.

"Apple notebooks in particular have

Apple scores high marks in customer satisfaction

Apple Computer is among the top rated technology companies for customer satisfaction according to a new report released by research firm Satmetrix Systems.

&;The companies with the highest Net Promoter scores are well known for their market performance and brand leadership&; said Dr. Laura Brooks vice president of research and business consulting at Satmetrix Systems. &;Apple whose score far outranks its closest competitor is well known for its passionate and dedicated customer base.&;

The report consists of three separate studies looking at the

Apple sees no future for CRTs

Following an industry trend toward smaller more efficient PCs Apple phased the bulky CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor out of its product line on Wednesday moving entirely to LCDs (liquid crystal displays).

LCDs have long been sleeker lighterweight and more efficient than CRTs but their greater price has always held them back in the retail market. Whether buying a television or a computer monitor shoppers have been able to buy a larger screen for their money with CRTs.

Now Apple has bucked that

Security Company Recommends Macs

A new breed of malicious software has replaced viruses and worms as the weapon of choice for Internet criminals looking to steal money from unsuspecting netizens according to a study published Wednesday by security firm Sophos.
 
The report found that during the first half of the number of new worms and viruses emerging on the Internet dropped significantly overshadowed by a new dangerous species of Trojan horse. These Trojans according to Sophos now outnumber other new viruses and worms

Microsoft reportedly readying iPod rival for holidays

Microsoft is reportedly readying an iPod killer set to hit retail shelves in time for the endofyear holiday shopping season.
 
Microsoft&;s portable music and video player is rumored to include wireless connectivity enabling users to download songs without being tethered to a PC according to a report Thursday from The New York Times.

Microsoft faces an uphill battle in its efforts to take on Apple which shipped . million iPods in the second quarter of alone marking a

Adobe's Flex platform now better positioned against AJAX

An update to Adobe&;s Flex rich Internet application development platform last week makes the technology less expensive to use and could make Flex more competitive with open source AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) development systems.
 
Flex includes a number of free features such as the Flex SDK (software development kit). The real changes though are in pricing where Adobe is looking to reduce the cost of simple Flex deployments.

With Flex Adobe is permitting free single CPU deployments