Sizzling Bit » Mac

Download Graphics Update for Snow Leopard 10.6.4

Mohammad Farzan Hussain — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:17:45 +0000

Apple has just officially released the Snow Leopard Graphics Update for Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.4. This update brings various stability and performance fixes and improvements for graphics applications and games.

This Graphics Update fixes couple of major issues which includes, the issue with frame rate occurring in Portal and Team Fortress 2 on certain Mac computers, issue that could cause Aperture 3 or StarCraft II to unexpectedly quit or become unresponsive.

You may also like to read:

Snow Leopard Graphics Update - Change Log

The following issues and bugs are fixed by this update:

Addresses frame rate issues occurring in Portal and Team Fortress 2 by Valve, on iMac (Late 2009 and Mid 2010), Mac mini (Early 2009 and Mid 2010), Mac Pro (Early 2009), MacBook (Early 2009 and Mid 2010) and MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010) or MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2010) models.
Resolves an issue that could cause Aperture 3, or StarCraft II by Blizzard, to unexpectedly quit or become unresponsive.
Resolves an image corruption issue that may occur when disconnecting and reconnecting external displays while the system is running.

This Update is For Following Mac Models

MacBook (13-inch, Early 2009)
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2010)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2010)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010)
iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2009)
Mac Pro (Early 2009)
Mac mini (Early 2009)
Mac mini (Mid 2010)
iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2010)
iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010)
MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2010)

Download Snow Leopard Graphics Update

You can download this update for Mac OS X Snow Leopard in following two ways:

Download and install the latest updates by going to 'Software Update' option available in "Apple" menu of Mac OS X.
OR, you can download the standalone update installer by going to the direct download link given below:

Download Graphics Update for Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.4

Download Graphics Update for Snow Leopard 10.6.4 is a post from Sizzling Bit

Apple Introduces Mac Pro With Up To 12 Processing Cores

Mohammad Farzan Hussain — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:18:03 +0000

Apple has unveiled a new Mac Pro line with up to 12 processing cores and according to the tests conducted by Apple, it will give you up to 50 percent greater performance as compared to the previous generation. It has the latest quad-core and 6-core Intel Xeon processors, all-new ATI graphics and the option for up to four 512GB solid state drives (SSD).

It continues to deliver amazing performance and expandability for the most demanding and professionals. The starting price of this new Mac Pro line is from $2499. The whole list of features and specifications are posted below.

You may also like to read:

According to the Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vise president of World Product Marketing:

"The new Mac Pro is the most powerful and configurable Mac we’ve ever made," said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "With up to 12 cores, the new Mac Pro outperforms our previous top-of-the-line system by up to 50 percent, and with over a billion possible configurations, our customers can create exactly the system they want."

At the heart of the new Mac Pro's performance are next generation quad-core and 6-core Intel Xeon processors running at speeds up to 3.33 GHz. These multi-core processors use a single die design so each core can share up to 12MB L3 cache to improve efficiency while increasing processing speed.

New Mac Pro - Features

Integrated Memory Controller - It gives you faster memory bandwidth and reduced memory latency
Turbo Boost - It dynamically boost processor speeds up to 3.6 GHz
Hyper-Threading - It create up to 24 virtual cores
Mini DisplayPort output - Two Mini DisplayPorts output allows you to connect two LED Cinema Displays without an additional graphics card or adapter
Dual-Link DVI port - It supports legacy DVI-based displays up to a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels

The Mac Pro now comes with the ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics processor with 1GB of memory and you can also configure-to-order the even faster ATI Radeon HD 5870 with 1GB of memory.

For the first time, you have the option to order a 512GB SSD for the ultimate in reliability and lightning fast performance. It has the ability to install up to four SSD drives in the system's internal drive bays. It also provides ultra high-speed disk bandwidth and random disk performance, two times faster than the average performance of a standard disk drive.

Every Mac comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife.

Snow Leopard is the world's most advanced operating system, builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife is Apple's innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. It features iPhotos, iMovie, and GarbageBand.

New Mac Pro - Size and Weight

Height
20.1 inches (51.1 cm)
Width
8.1 inches (20.6 cm)
Depth (with stand)
18.7 inches (47.5 cm)
Weight
8-core - 41.2 pounds (18.7 kg)
Quad-core - 39.9 pounds (18.1 kg)

New Mac Pro - Technical Specs and Price

New quad-core Mac Pro with a suggested retail price of $2,499, includes:

one 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon W3530 processor with 8MB of fully-shared L3 cache
3GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory, expandable up to 16GB
ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
two Mini DisplayPorts and one DVI (dual-link) port (adapters sold separately)
1TB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm
18x SuperDrive® with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
four PCI Express 2.0 slots
five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire® 800 ports
AirPort Extreme® 802.11n
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
Apple Keyboard with numerical keypad and Magic Mouse

New 8-core Mac Pro with a suggested retail price of $3,499, includes:

two 2.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5620 processors with 12MB of fully-shared L3 cache per processor
6GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory, expandable up to 32GB
ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
two Mini DisplayPorts and one DVI (dual-link) port (adapters sold separately)
1TB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm
18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
four PCI Express 2.0 slots
five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire 800 ports
AirPort Extreme 802.11n
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
Apple Keyboard with numerical keypad and Magic Mouse

To see the complete list of features and specifications then head over to this page.

New Mac Pro - Availability

The new Mac Pro is expected to be available in August through Apple Store, Apple's retail stores, and Apple Authorized Resellers.

Apple Introduces Mac Pro With Up To 12 Processing Cores is a post from Sizzling Bit

Apple Made $15.7 Billion Revenue in Q3 2010

Mohammad Farzan Hussain — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:18:09 +0000

Apple has announced their financial results for its third quarter of fiscal year 2010 ended on June 26, 2o10. They has reported a record of 78 percent increase in earnings.

The company has posted a record revenue of $15.7 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.25 billion, which is significantly higher than the last year quarter which was $9.73 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.83 billion. By seeing these statistics, we can say that the company once again has broken its own previous records.

You may also like to read:

Total Sales of Different Apple Devices

Macs
Sold 3.47 million units, increased by 33 percent
iPhones
Sold 8.4 million units, increased by 61 percent
iPods
Sold 9.41 million units, decreased by 8 percent
iPads
Sold 3.27 million units

According to the Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs:

"It was a phenomenal quarter that exceeded our expectations all around, including the most successful product launch in Apple’s history with iPhone 4; iPad is off to a terrific start, more people are buying Macs than ever before, and we have amazing new products still to come this year"

Apple Made $15.7 Billion Revenue in Q3 2010 is a post from Sizzling Bit

Apple unveils new Mac mini – Features, Specs, Price

Mohammad Farzan Hussain — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:28:48 +0000

Apple has just unveiled the all new completely redesigned Mac mini. It features up to two-times faster graphics performance, a new HDMI port, a new SD card slot, and the industry-leading energy efficiency, these all in a compact aluminum enclosure, which is also called a unibody.

The starting price of this new Mac mini is at $699 and is a most affordable way to enjoy Mac OS X, iLife, or Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server. The basic model will give you a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics card, 8x double-layer SuperDrive, SD card reader, HDMI port, 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless, Bluetooth 2.1, and much more.

You may also like to read:

Mac mini - Features

Plays well with others
- An incredibly compatible computer
- Connect it with your HDTV using built-in HDMI port
- Plenty of ports make it ready for anything
A Great Little Performer
- NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics and speedy DDR3 memory
- Supports up to 8GB of RAM
- Instant connection with 802.11n wireless technology
Storage and memory. There's a room to grow
- Now you can get a 320GB or 500GB hard drive
- Easily open Mac mini and add memory

Mac mini - Specifications

Dimensions - Height x Width x Depth = 1.4 x 7.7 x 7.7 (Inches)
Weight - 3.0 pounds
Processor - 2.4GHz or 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory / RAM - Two SO-DIMM slot, supports up to 8GB of DDR3 SDRAM
Operating System - Mac OS X Snow Leopard
Hard Drive - 320GB or 500GB
Graphics Card - NVIDIA GeForce 320M with 256MB DDR3 SDRAM
Disk Drive - 8x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
HDMI Port - Support for up to 1920-by-1200 resolution
Mini DisplayPort - Support for up to 2560-by-1600 resolution
Connectivity - AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, Ethernet
Peripheral Ports - Four USB 2.0 ports, One FireWire 800 port, SD card slot
Audio - Line in minijack, Line out/headphone minijack, Support for Apple iPhone headset with microphone

Mac mini - Price

The all new Mac mini come in two models, that is 320GB and 500GB. While, the 320GB model will be available for $699 and the 500GB model will be available for $999.

The 320GB Mac mini includes, 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, 8x double-layer SuperDrive, NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics, Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

Whereas, the 500GB Mac mini includes, 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB memory, Dual 500GB 7200-rpm hard drives, NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics, Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard.

So if you want to purchase the Mac mini then head over to the Apple Store now.

Apple unveils new Mac mini – Features, Specs, Price is a post from Sizzling Bit

Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.4 Build 10F37 seeded to Developers

Mohammad Farzan Hussain — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:07:05 +0000

Today the first developer version of Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.4 build 10F37 has been seeded to developers by Apple.

The final version of Snow Leopard 10.6.3 was released last month. This is the fourth main version of the latest Apple Mac OS X Snow Leopard operating system.

The iPhoneinCanada has got all the notes of changes in this first developers build, below are the changes:

According to reports, the current build focuses on Graphics Drivers, SMB, Time Machine backups, USB, and VoiceOver. The build does not include any further updates or enhancements.

There was also one Known Issue identified as:

Password will be requested when launching iChat

At this time its not known that how long will the current build of this operating system will last, but it is expected that the final version of Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.4 will be released in early summer this year. [ Via iPhoneinCanada ]

Update 1: Apple has just officially released Snow Leopard 10.6.4 which also brings more than hundreds of fixes and improvements. To see the change log then head over to this page.

Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.4 Build 10F37 seeded to Developers is a post from Sizzling Bit

Apple unveiled new MacBook Pro family with Core i5 and Core i7 Processors

Mohammad Farzan Hussain — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:51:01 +0000

Apple has just finally unveiled the much awaited new MacBook Pro family which are powered by high end Intel processors and new graphics technology.

Apple has announced three MacBook Pro's, that are 13-inch, 15-inch, and 17-inch and they are powered by Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Core i5, Intel Core i7 processors. The 13-inch MacBook is available in two configurations, the 15-inch MacBook is available in three configurations, and the 17-inch MacBook is available in two configurations.

MacBook Pro 13-inch - Features & Specifications

The MacBook Pro 13-inch model features Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB DDR3 RAM with support for up to 8GB, 13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics, 2 USB 2.0 ports, SD card slot, FireWire 800 port, iSight camera, Bluetooth, Ethernet, WiFi, stereo speakers with subwoofers, up to 10 hours of battery on a single charge, and comes in following two configurations:

Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz processor, 250GB hard drive, while other features are same, and priced at $1,199
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz processor, 320GB hard drive, while other features are same, and priced at $1,499

MacBook Pro 15-inch - Features & Specifications

The MacBook Pro 15-inch model features Intel Core i5/i7 processors, 4GB DDR3 RAM with support for up to 8GB, 15.4-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics processor with automatic graphic switching, 2 USB 2.0 ports, SD card slot, FireWire 800 port, iSight camera, Bluetooth, Ethernet, WiFi, stereo speakers with subwoofers, up to 8-9 hours of battery on a single charge, and comes in following three configurations:

Intel Core i5 2.4GHz processor, 320GB hard drive, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics with of 256MB GDDR3, while other features are same, and priced at $1,799
Intel Core i5 2.53GHz processor, 500GB hard drive, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics with of 256MB GDDR3, while other features are same, and priced at $1,999
Intel Core i7 2.66GHz processor, 500GB hard drive, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics with of 512MB GDDR3, while other features are same, and priced at $2,199

MacBook Pro 17-inch - Features & Specifications

The MacBook Pro 17-inch model features Intel Core i5/i7 processors, 4GB DDR3 RAM with support for up to 8GB, 17-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics processor with automatic graphic switching, 3 USB 2.0 ports, SD card slot, FireWire 800 port, iSight camera, Bluetooth, Ethernet, WiFi, stereo speakers with subwoofers, up to 8-9 hours of battery on a single charge, and comes in following two configurations:

Intel Core i5 2.53GHz processor, while other features are same, and priced at $2,299
Intel Core i7 2.66GHz processor, while other features are same, and priced at $2,499

You can find more details, features, and specifications about the latest MacBook Pro's here.

Apple unveiled new MacBook Pro family with Core i5 and Core i7 Processors is a post from Sizzling Bit

Mac OS X 10.6.3 Snow Leopard Update – Download Now!

Mohammad Farzan Hussain — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 10:14:55 +0000

Apple has just officially released an updated version of Snow Leopard, that is Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.3.

This is not a minor update but it's a huge update and brings hundreds of improvements and bug fixes since it's last update, that was Snow Leopard 10.6.2 which was released on November 2009.

The Snow Leopard 10.6.3 update is a recommended update for all Snow Leopard users because it enhances the compatibility, security, and stability of your Mac operating system.

Mac OS X 10.6.3 Snow Leopard - What's New

This latest version of Snow Leopard update brings following new improvements to your Mac:

Improve the reliability and compatibility of QuickTime X
Address compatibility issues with OpenGL-based applications
Address an issue that causes background message colors to display incorrectly in Mail
Resolve an issue that prevented files with the # or & characters in their names from opening in Rosetta applications
Resolve an issue that prevented files from copying to Windows file servers
Improve performance of Logic Pro 9 and Main Stage 2 when running in 64-bit mode
Improve sleep and wake reliability when using Bonjour wake on demand
Address a color issue in iMovie with HD content
Improve printing reliability
Resolve issues with recurring events in iCal when connected to an Exchange server
Improve the reliability of 3rd party USB input devices
Fix glowing, stuck, or dark pixels when viewing video from the iMac (Late 2009) built-in iSight camera

You can see the full change log of this update here.

Mac OS X 10.6.3 Snow Leopard - Download

You can get the latest version of Mac OS X Snow Leopard in following two ways:

You can download and install the latest version of Snow Leopard from 'Software Update' option available in Apple menu of Mac OS X.
You can download the standalone update installer by going to the link given below:

Download Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.3

Download Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.3 (Combo)

Update 1: Apple has seeded Mac OS X 10.6.4 Snow Leopard to developers. It brings over hundreds of improvements and fixes. To know more about it then head over to this page.

Update 2: Apple has just officially released Snow Leopard 10.6.4 which also brings more than hundreds of fixes and improvements. To see the change log then head over to this page.

Mac OS X 10.6.3 Snow Leopard Update – Download Now! is a post from Sizzling Bit

Microsoft Messenger for Mac version 8 beta released – Download Now!

Mohammad Farzan Hussain — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:57:17 +0000

Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU) has just released Messenger 8 beta for Mac. This beta version brings some bug fixes and improvements which were found in previous version.

The Microsoft Messenger 8 beta build 08.00.00.100305 also brings some new features which includes audio and video support, which allows you to make audio and video conversations with your friends and family using Microsoft Messenger either on Mac or Windows.

You can sign-in to Messenger 8 beta for Mac by using Windows Live ID, which includes all email accounts ending in '@live.com', '@hotmail.com', '@msn.com', and other accounts registered with Windows Live.

Microsoft has not announced that when they will be releasing the final version of Messenger 8 for Mac.

Microsoft Messenger 8 beta for Mac - Known Issues

There are some bugs and issues present in this release as this Messenger is in beta phase and the release notes has also mentioned those issues. I've posted those issues below:

Display pictures do not display in the conversation window
You cannot send files to your contacts
You cannot make Audio/Video calls on some network configurations
Some emoticons do not display

Microsoft Messenger 8 beta for Mac - Download

You can download this software for free for your Mac based computer by going to the link given below:

Download Microsoft Messenger 8 beta for Mac

Microsoft Messenger for Mac version 8 beta released – Download Now! is a post from Sizzling Bit

Google released a beta version of Chrome for Linux and Mac OS X

Mohammad Farzan Hussain — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:00:50 +0000

In June, Google has released the development version of Chrome for the users of Linux and Mac OS X. Since then, they have been waiting for a first release of Chrome. Today, Google has just announced the beta version of Chrome for the users of Linux and Mac OS X.

Google Chrome for Linux - beta

Google Chrome for Linux is mainly focused on stability, security and speed. The Google Chrome team has worked hard to make this a high performance browser that work well with the Linux ecosystem like Debian, openSUSE, Ubuntu, Fedora. Chrome for Linux comes bundled with some native themes and updates that are managed by system package manager.

Below is the screenshot of Google Chrome beta for Linux in different themes

If you're a user of Linux then don't forget to try the beta version of Google Chrome, available to download for free.

Google Chrome for Mac - beta

Google team has been working hard to release a best web browser for the users of Mac. Just like Google Chrome for Windows and Linux, the Mac version is focused on giving the users a fast, simple and clean interface with different effects to create a satisfying browsing experience on Mac OS X. The best thing about the Mac version of Chrome is it's speed.

Below is the screenshot of Google Chrome beta for Mac

If you're a user of Mac then don't forget to try the beta version of Google Chrome, available to download for free.

If you want to know more about the Google Chrome beta for Linux, Mac and upcoming extensions then don't forget to read the details given here.

Google released a beta version of Chrome for Linux and Mac OS X is a post from Sizzling Bit

Google Chrome 4.0.249.4 dev released

Mohammad Farzan Hussain — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:00:26 +0000

Few days earlier Google has released the source code of Chrome OS. Now, they has updated the Chrome web browser development channel to 4.0.249.4 by fixing some known bugs and issues found in different operating platforms. The latest developer update release is now available for all platforms, which includes Windows, Linux and Mac.

There are more than 40 bugs and issues are fixed in Google Chrome 4.0.249.4.

Changes and fixes in Google Chrome 4.0.249.4 web browser

Following issues and bugs are fixed in the Google Chrome 4.0.249.4 web browser

All Platforms (Windows, Linux and Mac)

Some extensions crash after installing 4.0.249.0
Reload on crash infobar causes more crashes

Bug fixes in Windows specific version

Make the character encoding indicator visible again on Windows
Fixed a crashing race condition in bookmark synchronization
Fixed a top window crasher

Bug fixes in Mac specific version

Omnibox will no longer crash Google Chrome
Bookmark bar improvements
Support for Silverlight plugin

Bug fixes in Linux specific version

Omnibox will no longer crash Google Chrome

Bug fixes for extensions

Tab traversal in popups fixed on Windows

You can read the full list of fixed bugs and issues here.

Google Chrome 4.0.249.4 dev released is a post from Sizzling Bit