We’ve just been informed that Apple has a significant upgrade on the way for iWork. The new version has support for Lion’s standout features including Full Screen mode, Resume, Auto Save and Versions. The download, at least in its pre-release form is 90.2MB.
Also, is that Safari getting a little update as well?
Mac App Store version of the application costs $80 and includes all the same editing tools as the full version. However, unlike the full $100 version, it does not come bundled with the Adobe Elements Organizer application. This version is available only in English, and cannot be purchased anywhere outside of Apple’s Mac App Store.
The big deal here is that a huge software maker, that makes a lot of money on selling boxed software, is trying out the App Store. Adobe are also experimenting in the iOS App Store as well. The big question: Will Creative Suite be there soon with Apple taking 30% of the cut? Ouch.
As we get close to the Lion launch, several tipsters have provided more information regarding the Apple retail overnight and days after. Tonight, Apple retail will hold an overnight from approximately 11pm – 7 am to give the retail staff enough time to update the stores visual elements with new marketing materials and re-image all display Macs with Lion.
As previously reported, our tipsters say most stores have recently received an external LaCie hard drive containing Lion installs, but we have received new information that the drives contain 3 different install images for Lion; Normal, Pro, and Joint Venture.
JointVenture is an enterprise membership program to support businesses running Macs and iDevices. It is believed that each of these installs will include unique software titles, and some of which could be new.
Furthermore we’ve heard rumblings that some stores will be receiving maxed out Mac Pro towers to be used as Lion distribution caching centers (speculation here). Some believe that these stations would allow customers to purchase Lion (3.5GB) from the Mac App store and download it directly from the store server in minutes rather than hours it takes over a normal broadband connection.
This would also be a huge help to customers who do not have access to a broadband Internet connection or users who want to walk through the install process with an Apple employee during a personal training session. It would obviously also save Apple some internet bandwidth which at 3.5GB per user adds up.
We’re big fans of BBEdit over here (and its free counterpart TextWrangler) so today’s update is exciting news. I built 9to5mac a few years ago using BBEdit (on Drupal!) and the software has just gotten better and better (though 9to5mac has since been ported to WordPress.com).
How much is updated today? Just have a look at the release notes if you’ve got some time to kill.
It isn’t upgraded in the App Store just yet but Bare Bones says that any BBEdit purchase since the App Store opened will get a free upgrade. Get it here until October 20, 2011 for $40. Full info below:
We’re hearing from multiple retail sources across the world that Apple’s retail chain will be holding employee overnights Tuesday night. The likely topic? Lion.
In the employee halls of the retail chain sit large tubes that hold new posters for both front of store posters and posters within the store. Additionally, we’re hearing that each store has been sent a Lion-packing Mac Pro for an unknown purpose. As previously reported, LaCie hard drives loaded with the GM seed of Lion image are ready to be connected as installers on the Macs throughout the showroom floor.
New MacBook Airs with Thunderbolt and faster chips are expected to launch alongside Lion, but nothing from the retail channels confirms this timing. Apple has also been known to push back release dates with little notice (last week). AllThingsDpreviously said “Thursday-Friday” and we previously were shown Apple internal delivery times for new products arriving last week.
Developers wishing to sell apps to business in volume for discounted rates now will be able to according to an email just sent to developers. Apple upgraded its Paid Applications Agreement today which allows for a new type of pricing.
For instance, a hospital could buy a medical app for its 2000 employees in one big swoop rather than hitting the buy button 2000 times. Expand Expanding Close
We have been expecting new MacBook Airs this week and now it appears that the ultra-thin notebooks won’t be the only new Macs this week. According to our source Mr. X, part numbers for an upgraded Mac Pro line have appeared, hinting at a release for the new line of professional-minded desktop Macs in the coming days. Here are the new MacBook Airs:
As you can see from the Apple-internal part numbers above, Apple will be releasing four new MacBook Air models. This includes two 11 inch models and two 13 inch models; both screen sizes will come in entry level and upgraded configurations. Built-to-order options (BTO) will be available as well. We expect some RAM and processor upgrades. Our sources who handled the new MacBook Air told us earlier this month to not expect any noticeable exterior changes. Speedy Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt I/O are this model’s main upgrades.
Surprisingly, it also looks like new Mac Pros are coming as early as this week. The new line was rumored to be launching in the last week of July or the first week of August, but it looks like Apple is getting them out earlier (or we just got the part numbers super early, which is unlikely). The new Mac Pros are may feature a re-designed enclosure that is both narrower and rack-mountable. A faster, 16 core model is also a possibility and Thunderbolt is an obvious addition. As expected, a new Mac Pro Server model will also debut. Here are the new Mac Pros:
Apple packages an elegant little USB key with its MacBook Airs that allows you to restore Snow Leopard if your machine goes south. But with many people upgrading to Lion, few will want to go through the process of downgrading to Snow Leopard and again to Lion if the machine goes bad.
Here is a way to upgrade your USB Key to Lion as well as your MacBook Air.
MacBenTosh has posted (thanks, Danny!) a video guide showing how to format the restore key into a drive that works like a normal 8GB rewritable Flash drive. To follow along with the instructions in the video you’ll need an instance of Windows running in a virtual machine, Boot Camp or a separate PC. After restoring, the key will be shown as a 8GB drive.
From that point, Egg Freckles has posted a guide on how to create a Lion disc. Of course Lion will only be available from the App Store (or Dev site), but it’s nice to have a local, external installer.
As one might expect, the GM Seed of Lion looks like it is making the rounds in the Torrent sites. This is interesting this time around because Apple is distributing the install via the App Store (for a very reasonable $30) which has tracking codes embedded in the download. That means whoever leaked this is probably going to get in some trouble. We’re assuming most people who choose to download this version will be doing so for the two week head start rather than trying to save $30.
Might be better to just plunk $99 down for a developer account?
We’ve been hearing reports of minor – not severe – white MacBook constraints as early as last week. The white MacBooks are not even close to as constrained as the MacBook Air and the Mac mini – which is in fact constrained as well – but the process leading up to a product refresh is booting up. Now, we’ve discovered that Best Buy is marking the $999 white MacBooks as “backordered” in their systems.
This is the same system that currently marks the constrained Mac minis as “backordered,” as we reported two weeks ago. Looking deeper into BestBuy’s online store, the major Apple reseller is quoted new white MacBook shipments between July 15th and July 27th. We’re not saying that this backordered status means a refresh for the MacBook, as this can just be indicative of Apple loading OS X Lion – rumored to be launching in mid-July – on to the consumer notebooks. More after the break:
TheNextWebreports that Apple has begun returning the $299 purchase price of Final Cut Pro X to customers who are unsatisfied with the product’s features and capabilities. Cupertino has begun issuing refunds to those who have filed an official request using Apple’s Mac App Store Customer Service form.
“Moving forward, I understand that you are not satisfied with the app “Final Cut Pro”. I can certainly appreciate you would like a refund, and I would be more than happy to help you out with this today. In five to seven business days, a credit of £179.99 should be posted to the credit card that appears on the receipt for that purchase.
Please note that this is a one time exception because the iTunes Terms and Conditions state that all sales are final.”
This is an interesting gray area because Mac Apps purchased through the Mac App Store aren’t usually up for return so long after they are purchased (unless you re in Taiwan). Whereas boxed software, especially Pro level stuff, usually has a longer guarantee even if there are restocking fees. Expand Expanding Close
There has been a big stink (several actually) about Final Cut Pro X’s lack of ‘Pro’ features. One such glaring omission has been the lack of Final Cut Pro 7 XML imports. MacMagazine.brdid some digging and found that the code for doing Final Cut Pro 7 imports is actually inside Final Cut Pro X and for some reason hadn’t been enabled for shipping.
As per usual, Apple will likely enable that functionality (and many others that are missing) in updates to Final Cut Pro X. If you are daring, MacMagazine offers a workaround that might be able to import now (they haven’t yet tested).
Today only, MacUpdate offers downloads of Yellow Mug Software’s EasyBatchPhoto 3 for Mac for $12. That’s $12 off and the lowest price we could find for this batch photo compression, resizing, and conversion software. Click here for more information. Expand Expanding Close
Today, Apple supplied educators and businesses with instructions on how to upgrade to the upcoming OS X Lion release. The document is pasted after the break:
Apple looks like it is tightening its grip on the “App” and “Mac” naming rights area. Last month, it forced App4mac to change its name. Sure Apple is now in the Mac Apps game but the company in question is six years old and named itself App4Mac two years before iOS turned Applications into apps. Patrice Calligaris, CEO writes to tell us:
On May 6, we received this letter from Apple lawyers. On June 1st, our company become adnX.com. Before we were app4mac.com during six years and it has never been a problem.
We complied only for the first case as other two cases are silly. We fixed the graphics that they did not like.
Today only, MacUpdate has FX Studio Pro for $19.99. That’s half off of retail and the lowest price we’ve ever seen for this powerful post-processing photo editor for both professional photographers and amateurs.
Unlike the App Store mobile bazaar which is the home to 99-cent quick sellers, with about one third free items, inexpensive software takes a back seat on the Mac App Store. According to a Distimo study based on an analysis of major application stores, less than one in eight apps on the Mac App Store are free of charge and games comprise 29 percent of all submissions.
Less than two months since launch the Mac App Store has 2,225 applications versus 8,099 iPad apps two months post-launch. Mac applications on average cost $11.21 – seven times the average selling price of iPhone apps ($1.57) and almost three times higher than on the iPad ($4.19). I have a feeling price drops on the Mac App Store are inevitable and here’s why.
As the debate over whether Apple will put an NFC chip inside iPhone 5 continues, a new report hints at interesting possible uses that go beyond contactless payments. Specifically, an iPhone 5 with this chip could double as a portable login system allowing you to run your purchased Mac App Store applications on a guest Mac system as well as access, edit and save your documents remotely via the MobileMe cloud, an unnamed insider told Leander Kahney in an exclusive Cult of Mac story:
According to our source, who asked not to be named, when a NFC-equipped iPhone is paired with a guest machine, part of the user’s profile includes the apps they’ve purchased through the Mac App Store. The icons for their apps appear on the remote Mac, but aren’t downloaded, our source said. But if the user opens an app, it is downloaded temporarily to the computer for use. When the NFC connection is broken, the apps are deleted and the computer returns to its previous state.
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