Apple eNews: December 20, 2001

Some of you had a hard time deciding. Watch movies on the go. Burn CDs on the fly. What’s a road warrior to do?

Why not do both?

The newest iteration of the Titanium PowerBook G4, announced just this week, features a slot-loading DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo drive in both configurations. So now you can either watch your favorite DVD movies or create your own audio CDs. Dilemma solved.

But that’s not all. Both our 550MHz and 667MHz PowerBook G4 models come standard with lots of memory—256MB and 512MB (that’s half a gigabyte), respectively, and both models support up to 1GB.

The 667MHz PowerBook G4 also includes a pre-installed AirPort Card, so you’re ready to network wirelessly as soon as you take your new PowerBook out of the box.

If you’d like to give someone a present that will be appreciated not just the day it’s unwrapped but months, even years, from now, consider giving the gift of Mac OS X this holiday season.

Not because industry pundits have been lavish in their praise. Though they have.

Not because new Mac OS X applications—Microsoft Office v.X, Final Cut Pro 3, Adobe Illustrator 10, After Effects 5.5, Mathematica 4.1, ViaVoice, Virtual PC 5.0, Links Championship Edition 2002, World Book Encyclopedia, Suitcase 10, Fly! II, and AOL 5.0—are shipping practically every day. Though they are.

But because Mac OS X—with its speed, stability, ease-of-use, compatibility, and stunning graphics—is simply a joy to use.

Like to order Mac OS X? It’s available wherever Apple products are sold.

How often do you get new features for free? Not often. Especially when an upgrade offers so many delightful surprises, including native support for Mac OS X.

But that’s just what the free upgrade to AOL offers—greater functionality, significant improvements, and compelling new content features.

Take, for example, support for wireless networking via AirPort. With AOL for Mac OS X, multiple members of your household can log on to AOL at the same time by sharing the same Internet connection.*

When all of you check your mail, AOL for Mac OS X offers three more surprises: you’ll find new options for sorting your mail, each of you will enjoy your own separate address books, and you’ll be able to access your address books anytime and anywhere you’re using AOL. What else is new in AOL for Mac OS X? Plenty.

* Wireless Internet access requires AirPort Card, AirPort Base Station, and Internet access (fees may apply). Compatible with AOL 5.0, U.S. only. Simultaneous sharing of an AOL connection requires multiple AOL accounts.

In addition to all of the great applications designed expressly for Mac OS X, did you know that you can now run Windows applications in Mac OS X?

It’s all thanks to Virtual PC 5.0, a new version of the best-selling PC emulation software from Connectix. In fact, Virtual PC 5.0 lets you not only run Windows applications but connect to PC networks, share files with PC users, and mount USB devices (scanners, MP3 players, handheld computers) from the Windows environment. It offers full support for Ethernet and features a new “Undoable drive” option that isn’t available anywhere else — especially on a PC.

You’ll find more information about Virtual PC 5.0 for Mac OS X on our website, and it’s available at the Apple Store.

Your latest digital movie looks brilliant. Now you need to make sure the audio is on par with the stunning visuals. Where should you turn?

Start by looking at such packages as BIAS’s Peak DV and TC Works’ SparkLE. Designed to take advantage of the audio capabilities in Mac OS X, Peak DV and SparkLE both feature enough high-end tools to satisfy the most demanding audio engineer.

Need support for VST plug-ins? And QuickTime movie support? No problem. You’ll have access to those features and more when you place either of these applications in your Dock.

For more information on Peak DV and SparkLE, visit the BIAS and TC Works websites.

Mousing got you down?

Did you know that Mac OS X lets you pull down menus, “scroll” through the Dock, select items in Finder toolbars, or choose options in windows, dialogs, or palettes without using the mouse?

It’s true. This Mac OS X feature works in the Finder and is supported in some Mac OS X applications, as well. Turn it on, and after typing Control + F2 (or a keyboard combination of your choice), you can breeze through the menu bar or Dock using the Tab and/or arrow keys.

How can you take advantage of this Mac OS X feature? Go to the Finder. Choose Mac Help from the Help menu. Type “universal access,” and click the Ask button.

Have you noticed? We have.

We designed Software Update so that you could set it to check for new or updated Mac OS X features automatically—on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

We’ve found that in certain cases, Software Update has not, in fact, been performing as it should. We are working on a solution that will remedy this issue and will deliver it to you as soon as possible.

In the meantime, you can obtain the latest Mac OS X software enhancements by opening the Software Update preference and clicking “Update Now.”

Like to read chapter and verse on the new Bible? The newly published eighth edition of “The Macintosh Bible,” that is. Updated to include coverage of Mac OS X v10.1, “The Macintosh Bible” offers an incredible collection of information about everything Macintosh. Written by a team of top Mac experts, it’s published by Peachpit Press.

The Houston Chronicle’s Bob LeVitus raves about Microsoft Office v.X for Mac in a recent column. He reserves special praise for Word and Entourage, calling them “the best versions I’ve ever used.”

In a recent column on the O’Reilly Network, Brad Dominy offers “An Introduction to AppleScript on Mac OS X.”

“The iPod,” says analyst Tim Bajarin in a recent article on abcNEWS.com, “really is a revolutionary MP3 player that sets it apart from any other on the market today.”

Bajarin’s not alone. Peter Lewis ranks the iPod among “My Favorite Things” in his Fortune article on Fortune.com. “Apple has hit a high note,” he says of iPod. “The gleaming stainless-steel and icewhite iPod MP3 player is as small as a deck of cards and weighs just 6.5 ounces, but it packs a five-gigabyte hard drive capable of storing 50 hours of digital songs.”

Can you believe it: 2002 fast approaches and this is our last issue of Apple eNews for the year.

Next year, we’ll begin our publishing schedule by bringing you news from Macworld San Francisco. Look for that issue on January 10.

We wish you all a safe and healthy holiday and a very Happy New Year.

Apple eNews is a free, bi-weekly email publication.

Event dates are subject to change. Some products, programs, or promotions are not available outside the U.S. Visit your local Apple site or call your local authorized Apple reseller for more information. Prices are estimated retail prices and are listed in U.S. dollars. Product specifications are subject to change.