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Notes of Interest on OS X Lion, MacBook Air, Mac Mini, and Display Announcements

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MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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With a flurry of new hardware releases appearing alongside OS X Lion today, here are a few notes of interest that we wanted to make sure our readers noticed:

OS X Lion

- While Apple initially touted OS X Lion as being a Mac App Store exclusive, the company announced today that the new operating system will also be made available on a USB thumb drive beginning next month. The thumb drive option will be priced at $69, compared to $29.99 for Mac App Store distribution.

- Beginning with the MacBook Air and Mac mini released today, new Apple hardware will support Internet Recovery, allowing users to install OS X Lion onto blank hard drives in the event of hard drive replacement due to failure or upgrades.

Mac mini

- The updated Mac mini omits an optical drive, joining the MacBook Air in Apple's efforts to slim down its hardware and push digital software distribution. Users requiring optical disc capabilities for their new Mac minis can either use Remote Disc capabilities to wirelessly use the optical drive of another computer or purchase an external SuperDrive.

- The new Mac mini also makes a transition to discrete graphics on the high-end model, utilizing the AMD Radeon HD 6630M and offering up to twice the graphics performance of the previous generation. The low-end and server Mac mini models continue to utilize integrated graphics in the form of Intel HD Graphics 3000.

- Pricing for the Mac mini returns to $599 for the low-end model after having been bumped up to $699 with the redesign on the previous generation.

macbook_air_mac_mini_store.jpg



MacBook Air

- As had been rumored, the updated MacBook Air sees the return of the backlit keyboard. The feature had been present in the original MacBook Air, but was not included in the initial redesigned form factor released last October.

- Both the new Mac mini and MacBook Air support Bluetooth 4.0, a new specification that offers ultra low-power data transfer and has been touted as opening the door to a host of new wireless peripheral devices.

Apple Thunderbolt Display

- Apple's forthcoming Thunderbolt display, shipping within the next 60 days, is being positioned as an "ultimate docking station". The display uses a single Thunderbolt connection to support FaceTime camera, audio, USB, Firewire 800 and Ethernet through the display.

MacBook

- Apple's white polycarbonate MacBook has been discontinued for general purchase and is now only available to educational institutions.

Article Link: Notes of Interest on OS X Lion, MacBook Air, Mac Mini, and Display Announcements
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/07/20/notes-of-interest-on-os-x-lion-macbook-air-mac-mini-and-display-announcements/
Gen

Gen

macrumors 6502a
Jul 15, 2008
901
99
Macbook Air to be renamed as just Macbook?
I think so.
 
wordoflife

wordoflife

macrumors 604
Jul 6, 2009
7,564
37
If they're going to still make MacBooks for educators, I think they should still sell the white MacBook as an Apple.com exclusive item. That way they don't need to make a lot of MacBooks to ship around to different stores. But, they should still keep a demo unit in the stores so people can see them (having the option to order online)
 
J

JS77

macrumors regular
Jun 18, 2008
231
2
How long before current hardware starts shipping with Lion pre-installed? I'm busting to order a new 27" iMac!
 
Stella

Stella

macrumors G3
Apr 21, 2003
8,837
6,334
Canada
I think Apple had to offer Lion on to physical media if it wants Lion uptake to be large. There are many people who cannot download Lion ( slow internet ) or who do not live close to an Apple store. So its great than Apple offer a USB stick. $69? Yes, more expensive but still worth the $$$.

The new Mac Minis look pretty good, the performance is OK, at last.
 
Apple...

Apple...

macrumors 68020
May 6, 2010
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The United States
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

JS77 said:
How long before current hardware starts shipping with Lion pre-installed? I'm busting to order a new 27" iMac!
Click to expand...

I think they already are?!
 
J

JS77

macrumors regular
Jun 18, 2008
231
2
By the way, the MR Buyers Guide still shows "Don't Buy - Updates Soon!" for the Macbook :eek:
 
iSee

iSee

macrumors 68040
Oct 25, 2004
3,539
272
I though when they discontinued the Mac Book, Apple would slot something else into the sub-$1000 price point.

The low-end 11" air is there, but it has so many limitations, I don't like it as the entry-level Mac lappy.
 
G

gramirez2012

macrumors 6502a
Jun 21, 2010
663
12
Chicago, USA
MacRumors said:
- While Apple initially touted OS X Lion as being a Mac App Store exclusive, the company announced today that the new operating system will also be made available on a USB thumb drive beginning next month. The thumb drive option will be priced at $69, compared to $29.99 for Mac App Store distribution.
Click to expand...

So you're paying an extra $40 for 4-8GB USB flash drive?
 
B

bijanorama

macrumors member
Dec 23, 2009
33
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Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

The Mac mini would be such a beast with a 6970. Why bother to add the 6630? That's like three years old.
 
T

TechDudeGeorge

Guest
May 24, 2011
54
0
Am I the only one who hates Apple are their forcing ways. Removing Optical drives when MANY still use DVDs. I use my laptop for DVD playback all the time, buying a DVD feels much nicer than using iTunes.

Same for CD installs, what happens when you don't have Internet. Rip-off selling it for a stupid price.

Windows 8 has higher hopes in my books now, for one it'll very likely be CD and USB installed (For tablets needing USB) and it does not force anything upon you.
 
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