Back to the Mac Event: Wrapup


So what happened at today’s Back to the Mac event? Here are the deets, provided in a convenient list form. Looking for commentary? It’s coming soon.

iLife ’11 Introduced – Free with every new Mac, $49 retail. Available Now.

  • iPhoto ’11
  • Full screen display for all features
  • New Slideshow themes
  • Album view very similar to the iPad
  • Facebook and Flickr can automatically download into iPhone ’11, even if you didn’t have them in the software to begin with
  • Share feature allows you to e-mail directly from iPhoto ’11
  • Sharing menu shows where your images go, including Facebook responses
  • Book Carousel gives you a preview of making a physical book for each theme
  • Project view shows all projects on a wooden bookshelf, similar to iBook
  • Printed and pressed cards as a project option
  • iMovie ’11
  • Better audio editing – color coded waveforms
  • Audio levels adjustable
  • Audio effects available
  • Instant Replay feature – allows for cool effects in sports
  • Movie Trailer feature for films you make
  • Face detection technology in iMovie ’11
  • Trailers can share to Facebook and Vimeo as well as the usual options
  • Garageband ’11
  • Groove Matching feature allows matching separate tracks to one beat or groove
  • Flex Time allows for adjusting waveforms
  • Music lessons built in, shown in full screen
  • How did I play feature compares the notes you play to the lesson – It’s Guitar Hero for the Mac, essentially

FaceTime – Available for Mac in Beta today

  • Full screen
  • Uses Address Book for contacts
  • Separate app from iChat
  • Display turns with iPhone display

OS 10.7 Lion – Coming Summer 2011

  • Bringing iOS features “Back to the Mac”
  • Multi-Touch Gestures
  • App Store
  • App home screens
  • Full screen apps
  • Auto save (Man, do I wish I had that 6 months ago)
  • Auto resume on Apps when launched
  • App Store
  • One click downloads
  • Free and paid apps (70/30 split)
  • Automatic install and updates
  • All apps licensed for all registered Macs
  • Launchpad
  • App home screen
  • Can sort apps based on category
  • Can create folders, just like in iOS
  • Mission Control
  • View everything on your Mac, at one time
  • Expose view of all windows, including full-screen apps

Mac App Store

  • Open within 90 days
  • App submissions for developers start in November

MacBook Air – Available Today

  • Wedge design, so no more drop down ports
  • Preview images seem to be correct
  • .68 inches at thickest. Tapers to .11 inches
  • 2.9 lbs
  • All unibody construction
  • Full-size keyboard and glass trackpad
  • 13.3-inch LED backlit display
  • 1440X900 pixels – more than on 15-inch MacBook Pro
  • Core 2 Duo processor
  • NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
  • FaceTime camera
  • No optical drive
  • No hard drive
  • Full flash storage – SSD
  • Instant on, up to 2X faster
  • More reliable in mobile environment
  • 90% smaller and lighter
  • Silent operation
  • 7 hours wireless web tests
  • 30 day standby time
  • Inside shown, looks just like leaked images for the most part
  • Almost all batteries
  • Appears to be the matte finish display
  • Two models: 13.3 inch, and 11.6 inch
  • 11.6 inch
  • 1366X768 display
  • 2.3 lbs
  • 5 hours wireless web
  • 30 days standby
  • Pricing
  • $999 for 11.6 with 64GB
  • $1199 for 11.6 with 128GB
  • $1299 for 13.3 with 128GB
  • 1599 for 13.3 with 256GB
  • All come with 2GB of RAM

Kokou Adzo

Kokou Adzo is a stalwart in the tech journalism community, has been chronicling the ever-evolving world of Apple products and innovations for over a decade. As a Senior Author at Apple Gazette, Kokou combines a deep passion for technology with an innate ability to translate complex tech jargon into relatable insights for everyday users.

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