The popular 13-inch MacBook Pro features the new NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor for up to 80 percent faster graphics and a groundbreaking 10-hour built-in battery.

The new 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models feature Intel Core i5 and i7 processors and Apple’s new automatic graphics switching technology that toggles seamlessly between powerful NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and energy efficient Intel HD Graphics processors.

All 13-inch MacBook Pro models now include faster Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 4GB RAM, a 10-hour built-in battery and the new NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro is available in two configurations: one with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 250GB hard drive priced at $1,199; and one with a 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 320GB hard drive priced at $1,499.

The new 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models use Intel’s 32 nanometer process, Intel Core i5 and i7 processors integrate the memory controller and Level 3 cache for faster access to system memory.

All 15-inch and 17-inch models include two graphics processors, the new NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M for peak performance and Intel HD Graphics for energy efficient operation.

Apple’s automatic graphics switching determines which graphics processor an application needs and switches instantly between processors to deliver peak performance and long battery life.

The new 15-inch MacBook Pro is available in three models: one with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 320GB hard drive at $1,799; one with a 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 500GB hard drive at $1,999; and one with a 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 500GB hard drive at $2,199.

The new 17-inch MacBook Pro features a 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 500GB hard drive for $2,299.

Also the MacBook Pro glass Multi-Touch trackpad now supports inertial scrolling, an intuitive way to scroll through large photo libraries, lengthy documents and long web sites. All MacBook Pros feature bright, LED-backlit wide-angle displays with a broad color gamut.

The 17-inch MacBook Pro includes a high resolution 1920 x 1200 display, and the 15-inch MacBook Pro is now available with an optional high resolution 1680 x 1050 display.

Via Apple Press

Related articles

• Adobe’s Flash-Crash

The first reports of the Gmail outage came, as usual, from Twitter users, who turned to the micro blogging service to complain. Shortly after, Google talked about the problem on the Official Gmail Blog, saying it is “currently looking into the issue and hope to have more info to share here shortly.”

Gmail has over 450 million users worldwide and is the third largest email provider in the US, after market leader Yahoo and Microsoft Hotmail in second place. Tuesday’s Gmail outage is the second largest one after widespread downtime of the service in February this year.

During the outage, Gmail was accessible to users only via IMAP and POP3 protocols, so it was business as usual for those using Gmail with the Mail app. Users could also use iGoogle to check their emails, but they weren’t able to send attachments this way.

Gmail is back up now, both for regular and Google Apps users. It is yet unknown what caused the Gmail outage on Tuesday and Google has been keeping mum on details about that so far. In the meantime, Google apologised for the inconvenience.

Update: Tuesday’s Gmail outage was caused by overloaded servers, Google said in a blog post. This happened after workers took some of the servers down for routine upgrades.

Related articles

• Microsoft wants Bing on the iPhone

Apple has not confirmed which products it will be launching on September 9, but it is likely the company will introduce a refreshed iPod line, possibly with built-in cameras. Historically, Apple has been refreshing the iPod line every year in September.

The long-speculated Apple tablet most likely will not be introduced at the event, hence the low-key tagline. However, it is expected of Apple to present iTunes 9, which is rumoured to have social networking integration and BluRay discs support.

An appearance from the Apple CEO Steve Jobs is highly anticipated at the September 9 event. If Jobs indeed makes the new iPod line introduction, it will be the first time he made a public appearance since he had a liver transplant earlier this year.

Related articles

• Apple approves Spotify and Facebook 3.0 for iPhone
• Rhapsody for iPhone on route to the App Store
• New ‘Get a Mac’ ad featuring Robert Loggia
• Tune into satellite radio on the iPhone with the Sirius XM SkyDock
• Get the sports apps from the new iPhone 3GS ad

In a note published on the Apple support pages, the company said that users who experienced issues with the hinges of their MacBook Air computers will get the problem fixed at no charge.

Apple lists the following as symptoms of a defective MacBook Air hinge:

• Unable to close lid completely;
• Broken or cracked plastic near one or both of the hinges;
• More than one inch (2.54cm) of free play while opening or closing the lid;
• Lid falls freely into closed position from a 30-degree open position. (From a closed position, open the lid approximately 30 degrees and let go.)

Users affected by the above symptoms are recommended to take their MacBook Air to an Apple-Authorized Service Provider or Apple Retail Store for evaluation and repair if necessary, even if their product is out of warranty.

If you previously paid for a repair for hinge-related issues that were not caused by accidental damage, you may be eligible for a refund.

[Via HardMac]

Related articles

• Reclaim your desk space with a BookArc MacBook stand
• Influenced by Apple, manufacturers preparing more tablets
• iPhone OS 3.1.3 - problems and fixes
• App Store porn purge after series of complaints
• Apple officially announces September 9 event

Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning Robert Loggia plays the role of a physical trainer, working to whip PC back into shape. Loggia tries to motivate PC to work harder after PC Mag and PC World ranked as #1 Mac customer support and satisfaction.

This is the second ad in the Get a Mac series to feature a well-known actor. Earlier this week, Apple introduced the Top Of The Line spot, featuring actor Patrick Warburton, known for his role as David Puddy in TV show Seinfeld.

Here’s the new Apple Trainer ad:

Related articles

• New ‘Get a Mac’ ads feature David Puddy of Seinfeld, take another stab at Microsoft ‘Laptop Hunters’ campaign
• Get the sports apps from the new iPhone 3GS ad
• New to Macs? Ease the switch with the new Parallels
• iPhone OS 3.1.3 - problems and fixes
• Apple officially announces September 9 event

Apple considers Snow Leopard more of a feature pack over Leopard rather than a fully-fledged update. But Snow Leopard is full of improvements and refinements, some of which Apple has said very little about. Have a look at these five* potential Snow Leopard gems that not many have talked about.

*Updated with an extra tip from Joel Housman.

Anti-malware protection

Apple confirmed on Thursday an undocumented Snow Leopard feature, namely built-in anti-malware protection. Apple prides itself on the security of its operating systems and Snow Leopard makes no exception. An alert will pop up the first time a potential piece of malware is detected in Safari, iChat or Mail and the malware signatures will be constantly updated via Software Update.

Triangulate your Mac’s location

The networking hardware built in Macs will be used to triangulate your approximate latitude and longitude, using a framework called CoreLocation (the same one used in the GPS-less original iPhone and now in the iPod touch). This feature should come in handy with increasingly popular location-aware services such as Google Latitude or the upcoming Twitter geolocation API; and it automatically sets your time-zone too.

Multi-touch in third-party applications

Apple will leverage a framework of code libraries and functions, which will allow third party developers to add more multi-touch features to their applications. Expect by the end of the year some really cool implementations of multi-touch features from Safari and iPhoto into other apps — such as retweeting with a four finger swipe in Tweetie.

Text substitution

Barely mentioned by Apple, the text substitution feature will spare you the $30 you would spend on similar applications such as TextExpander. Text substitution automatically expands shortcuts or phrases as you type, such as changing (c) to a copyright symbol (©) and fractions from 1/2 to ½. What’s even better is that you can set your own text snippets (eg. if you type your initials, they will expand into your full name).

QuickTime X screen recording

Yet another little mentioned feature in Snow Leopard is the screen recording capability in the new QuickTime X — it captures the activity on your screen and saves it as a movie file — simple as that. Screen recording in QuickTime X should save you some money if you don’t really need a professional screen-casting tool such as the new Camtasia for Mac.

Google Calendar support built-in to iCal

iCal will feature native Google Calendar integration. You can add another account from the Settings menu and select Google Account. After entering your Google credentials, iCal will sync with your default Google Calendar and you can also subscribe to another person’s shared calendar.

Found any other cool features that Apple has no or little mention of? Please lets us know in the comments.

[Via AppleInsider, All Things Digital, PC Mag, Wired]

Related articles

• Stop the MacBook multi-touch trackpad having a life of its own
• New ‘Get a Mac’ ad featuring Robert Loggia
• $30 Snow Leopard upgrade disc works with Tiger too
• New to Macs? Ease the switch with the new Parallels
• New ‘Get a Mac’ ads feature David Puddy of Seinfeld, take another stab at Microsoft ‘Laptop Hunters’ campaign

If you are still on Tiger, Apple wants you to shell out $170 for the Mac Box Set in order to upgrade to Snow Leopard. Leopard users are better off though, as a Snow Leopard upgrade disc will cost them only $30.

However, reports today say that the $30 Snow Leopard disc can do the same job for Tiger users as well, instead of the $170 Mac Box Set, containing the new operating system, iLife 09 and the iWork 09 productivity suite.

Although Snow Leopard works only with Intel-based Macs, those who bought the first generation Intel Macs in 2006 could still be running on Tiger. Recent estimates put this number at around 20 percent of the total of Mac users. So Apple asks $170 from Tiger users who haven’t updated to Leopard in 2007 and now want to make the switch to Snow Leopard.

Reports from Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal and Brian X Cheng of Wired confirm that the $30 Snow Leopard upgrade disc can also do a full update from Tiger, saving users $140. The only problem with this method is that it violates Apple’s end user license agreement (EULA), hence it is illegal.

However, Amazon has cut prices today on both the Snow Leopard upgrade disc and the Mac Box Set, which are now $25 (from $29) and $150 (from $170). In anticipation of the Friday Snow Leopard launch, Apple has also started sending out delivery notices to those who already pre-ordered the new operating system.

Related articles

• New ‘Get a Mac’ ad featuring Robert Loggia
• 5 hidden features in MacOSX Snow Leopard
• New to Macs? Ease the switch with the new Parallels
• New ‘Get a Mac’ ads feature David Puddy of Seinfeld, take another stab at Microsoft ‘Laptop Hunters’ campaign
• It’s official: Mac OSX Snow Leopard arriving August 28

Until recently this was not a problem, as the undesired features could simply be turned off in the Preferences pane. However, after the release of the 10.5.6 OSX update, this option was removed, leaving many new Mac users in disarray.

The most irritating of these features is the Pinch Open and Close feature, which allows the user to zoom in and out of an application. Great if you are actually working on an image in Photoshop, but not so great when you are just trying to scroll down a Web page, as the new Swipe and Pinch feature is incredibly sensitive.

However, developer William Henderson came up with a free application designed to disable these annoying features. MultiClutch (pictured below) is an easy to use widget, which allows users to attach key commands to the trackpad features they hate. The trackpad multi-touch gestures can either be disabled globally (every program effected on the system) or only for specific applications.

Care should be taken when choosing which key commands replace the trackpad motions, as you could end up not only stopping Pinch Open and Close altogether, but launching, restarting, or quitting something else instead. The best option is to use really obscure key combinations as a replacement, about 4 or 5 keys long — just make sure they are not already in use elsewhere.

This useful little application will save many the aggravation and stress that comes with the multi-touch trackpad, without having to actually pay for the pleasure of using it. Let’s hope that MultiClutch (still in beta) will work in Snow Leopard also.

You can download MultiClutch here.

Related articles

• 5 hidden features in MacOSX Snow Leopard
• Apple to replace defective MacBook Air hinges
• New ‘Get a Mac’ ad featuring Robert Loggia
• $30 Snow Leopard upgrade disc works with Tiger too
• TextExpander comes to the iPhone

The BookArc is actually a heavy gauge steel stand, keeping your laptop in place with a soft silicone cushion. It comes with three different silicone cushions, so the stand can accommodate most MacBook models (from MacBook Air to 17-inch MacBook Pro). The stand holds a closed laptop in vertical position, and also features silicone footpads to protect the surface of your desk.

Twelve South’s BookArc stand has a rather compact footprint, measuring 10.1 by 4.5 inches. The MacBooks used with the stand can then operate with the lid closed, given that an external monitor, keyboard and mouse are attached.

Twelve South says that when using the BookArc, the Macbook will automatically dedicate 100% of it video memory to the external display (instead of splitting with the built-in display), resulting in a noticeable speed increase in applications such as Adobe Photosop or Apple Aperture.

The BookArc retails for $50 and is available from Apple Stores and from the manufacturer’s website. Design studios or Mac-based offices might want to look into the “six-pack” BookArc offer, coming at a bundled discount price of $250.

[Via Gizmodo] [Product page]

Related articles

• Apple to replace defective MacBook Air hinges
• Influenced by Apple, manufacturers preparing more tablets
• iPhone OS 3.1.3 - problems and fixes
• App Store porn purge after series of complaints
• Apple officially announces September 9 event

Now here’s a tip for your Mac-switching friends who are struggling with the transition. Parallels introduced on Tuesday the Desktop Switch to Mac Edition, a complete package of tools and tutorials to help newbie Mac OSX users get to grasps with their new computers.

Parallels Desktop Switch to Mac Edition helps new Mac users transfer their documents and media files from their old PC (over the USB transfer cable included in the box) with a piece of software called Enhanced Parallels Transporter.

Parallels Desktop for Mac 4.0 is also included in the pack, which allows PC users to run Windows-only applications on their Mac (also known as virtualization software). To complete the switching experience, Parallels Desktop Switch to Mac Edition comes with over two hours of interactive video tutorials.

A cool feature in the new Parallels package is the quick reference card, which identifies the most common Windows and Mac command/function differences and puts the correct keystrokes in. Now that should make it easy for those hesitating to take the plunge to Macs.

Parallels Desktop Switch to Mac Edition will be available later on Tuesday at the Apple Online Store for $99.99. A quick video run-through on all the features in the new package is available on the Parallels website.

Related articles

• New ‘Get a Mac’ ad featuring Robert Loggia
• New ‘Get a Mac’ ads feature David Puddy of Seinfeld, take another stab at Microsoft ‘Laptop Hunters’ campaign
• iPhone OS 3.1.3 - problems and fixes
• 5 hidden features in MacOSX Snow Leopard
• $30 Snow Leopard upgrade disc works with Tiger too

The first of the two new ads, titled Top Of The Line, features Seinfeld’s David Puddy (played by Patrick Warburton) as a PC laptop with a large screen and “too fast” processor but still prone to “thousands of viruses and tons of headaches”.

The second ad launched delivers a similar message to Top Of The Line. Called Surprise, the ad features pretty actress and writer Andree Vermeulen, who is supposedly tricked into buying a Windows laptop by the PC character (played by John Hodgman) disguised in a Mac costume (played by Justin Long).

Apple’s Get A Mac campaign is created by TBWA\Media Arts Lab, the company’s advertising agency. Microsoft’s Laptop Hunters campaign focused on the relatively high prices of Apple computers in comparison to equivalent PCs.

Related articles

• New ‘Get a Mac’ ad featuring Robert Loggia
• New to Macs? Ease the switch with the new Parallels
• iPhone OS 3.1.3 - problems and fixes
• 5 hidden features in MacOSX Snow Leopard
• $30 Snow Leopard upgrade disc works with Tiger too

Apple said back in June at the WWDC 09 conference that Snow Leopard would be available in September, but after a few glitches to Apple’s websites in the UK and US, the new operating system is officially landing on August 28.

Mac OSX Snow Leopard will cost $29, as Apple considers it mainly a refinement over the current Leopard operating system. Those who purchased a Mac computer after June 8, can sign up to the Up To Date program, and receive a copy of Snow Leopard for only $10.

Some of the main improvements in Snow Leopard are:

• Full 64-bit operating system;
• Completely rewritten Finder app;
• Refined Expose, integrated in the Dock;
• Faster wake up and shut down times;
• Faster installation which frees up to 7GB of HDD space;
• Brand new QuickTime X media player;
• Higher resolution iChat;
• Automatic updates for printer drivers;
• Automatic time zone setup;
• PDF text selection in Preview;
• Microsoft Exchange support in Mail, iCal and Address Book.

Detailed information on all the new features and refinements found in Snow Leopard can be found here.

You can preorder Mac OSX Snow Leopard for $29 for a single user licence or for $49 for a 5 user Family Pack licence. Preorders should arrive on August 28.

Related articles

• New ‘Get a Mac’ ad featuring Robert Loggia
• 5 hidden features in MacOSX Snow Leopard
• $30 Snow Leopard upgrade disc works with Tiger too
• New to Macs? Ease the switch with the new Parallels
• New ‘Get a Mac’ ads feature David Puddy of Seinfeld, take another stab at Microsoft ‘Laptop Hunters’ campaign