Apple's 'Back to the Mac' Event: Live Blog
By: Editor's Note:This was a live blog from Apple's "Back to the Mac" event in which the company unveiled new software, a Mac App store and its newest MacBook Air. To read the full blog from beginning to end, start at the bottom.
2:29 PM/ET: ...and with that, the event ends.
New iLife software, a Mac app store on the way, Lion in summer of 2011... And a brand-new MacBook Air.
2:23 PM/ET: Both are available starting today...
...and with that, he turns to the TV ad.
2:21 PM/ET: 1366x768 screen resolution
Battery: 5 hours on wireless web, 30 days of standby time
Jobs explains that he thinks all notebooks are going to be like this one day.
Prices: $999 for 11.6-inch model, entry. 13-inch starts at $1299.
2:20 PM/ET: The images on the screen look sleek — more angular than the previous version.
Now, Jobs turns his attention to its "little brother."
There is also an 11.6-inch Air. It weighs 2.3 lbs.
2:19 PM/ET: Jobs say it's "instant on," the storage is up to 2x faster, it's more reliable, and the storage is 90% smaller and lighter, and gives silent operation. Apple is the largest user of flash storage in the world, and knows a lot about flash memory subsystems. The battery gets 7 hours of wireless web usage, 30 days of standby time.
He says the real battery life is two times better than the previous Air.
2: 17 PM/ET: The new Air is complete unibody construction, making it rigid. Full-size keyboard and trackpad.
13.3-inch LED backlit display
1440x900 pixels
Core 2 Duo processor
NVIDIA GeForce 320m
Full-size keyboard - no optical drive, no hard drive - Flash storage
2:15 PM/ET: More on the new version of the MacBook Air...
Jobs says it's like nothing we've created before, and it's really stunning. At its thickest point it is .68 inches. It tapers down to .11 inch. It weighs 2.9 pounds.
2:14 PM/ET: One more thing...
Jobs discusses that the "Back to the Mac" philosophy works for hardware, too. What could the Mac learn from an iPad? iPad is instant-on. It has great battery life, solid state storage, no optical or hard drives.
"What would happen if a MacBook and an iPad hooked up?" The new MacBook Air. "We think it's the future of notebooks."
2:11 PM/ET: Apple will begin accepting app submissions from developers in November.
2:10 PM/ET: Next he demos Mission Control. It really uses high-res, large-screen space to organize multiple apps and windows on a screen.
The plan is to release Lion in summer 2011!
Jobs is back on stage now...
He's going back to talk about the Mac App Store. Apple is putting the Mac App Store on Snow Leopard, and will open it within 90 days.
2:04 PM/ET: Discussing that the LaunchPad is a new way of approaching the desktop — it keeps apps within a clean space rather than cluttering up the main screen.
