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Apple director admits Tiger users can upgrade with Snow Leopard DVD

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mac-os-x-snow-leopardFinally, someone at Apple has officially conceded what we knew all along — that the Mac OS X Snow Leopard upgrade DVD can be used to upgrade any Intel-based Mac, though the company frowns at such a practice and points at the licensing agreement.

After some squirming and question avoidance, Alan Eyzaguire, director of software product marketing at Apple EMEA, told Charles Arthur at The Guardian that customers could buy the SL upgrade disc and use it directly, instead of buying the four-times-more-expensive “Mac Box Set” that’s meant for users of Tiger and earlier operating systems.

Alan repeatedly extolled the virtues of both iWork 09 and iLife 09, which come in the full-blown box set, as reasons why Mac users will play fair and buy that version. [Read more…]

Originally posted on September 14, 2009 @ 12:26 pm

Opera 10 with Turbo Coming Tuesday

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Opera has always touted itself as the world’s fastest browser, so it comes as no surprise that Opera 10’s biggest new feature will be a Turbo mode for slow connections. Turbo mode works by connecting to Opera Software’s servers, which compress Web pages before sending them to the browser.

If nothing else, it’s a better use of Opera Software’s servers than that silly Unite feature. Expect Opera 10 to come out Tuesday.

Originally posted on August 31, 2009 @ 7:46 pm

Microsoft partners impressed with Apple’s Snow Leopard

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mac-os-x-snow-leopardDon’t get too excited — nowhere do we see evidence of Microsoft itself being impressed with the next version of Apple’s operating system. However, channel partners do seem to be impressed with Snow Leopard, and they aren’t afraid to talk about it.

For example, the president of Global System Services, Ron Herardian, noted that Snow Leopard would likely far exceed Windows 7’s 64-bit and multicore hardware performance, while the president of Daystar Technology, Gary Dailey, said that Apple was still able to improve on a mature OS while Microsoft tried to recover from the Vista disaster.

Not every one of Microsoft’s friends is that impressed, of course, with the CEO of InterKnowlogy suggesting that some of Snow Leopard’s new technologies — including Grand Central and OpenCL — are features achievable using .Net. [Read more…]

Originally posted on August 26, 2009 @ 7:11 am

Microsoft playing catchup with Zune HD App Store?

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zune-hd-appsMicrosoft must be pretty pleased with the latest speculation over its new Zune HD media player, for although companies have to officially denounce any rumors that come out, behind closed doors they’re usually pretty pleased there’s any interest in the next big thing they’re releasing.

It’s something Apple thrives on, and perhaps Microsoft is hoping that the mere mention of an application store for its new PMP will make it more exciting than it is.

OK, so it’s been covered by Engadget without much (if any) MS snark, so it has a reasonable cool factor. [Read more…]

Originally posted on August 24, 2009 @ 12:01 pm

Microsoft launches OneApp software to enhance basic cellphones

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microsoft-oneappMicrosoft has announced a new piece of software that’s designed to allow users of more basic mobile handsets to access web services and more advanced applications than their handset would ordinarily be capable of. This includes a range of GPRS-enabled phones.

The lightweight application (150K) is quick to install and, once on the phone, appears as a single piece of software that users access the rest of their apps from.

It includes cloud services that allow processing and storage online instead of on the phone, and claims to use the mobile network more efficiently, thus reducing data charges.

OneApp is based on industry standards such as JavaScript and XML, with an SDK expected by the end of the year.

Originally posted on August 25, 2009 @ 6:25 am