WWDC is a conference for Apple developers that gives the company a chance to show them some love while disseminating important information about the next-gen hardware on Apple's launch horizon. There is no live stream coming from the event floor, so minute to minute coverage (complete with pictures) is all there is until Apple makes the footage available after the event.

Mannymix03, a member of our forums, has been kind enough to make up to the minute posts about the event to keep us all informed about the latest happenings at WWDC 2006. So far, so much information has come out of the event that it would be impossible to detail it all here. I will do my best to give you a brief rundown of the important finds that have been discovered thus far.
 
In his usual style, Steve Jobs kicks off the conference with his enthusiastic rundown of what Apple has in store for us in the near future. He began with his usual optimism by quoting record sales figures and mentioning the unprecedented level of penetration that the company is experiencing in the OS market.

After stroking the developers egos by detailing how much of their work Apple sold the previous year, Jobs goes on to discuss the move to utilize Intel chips and the upcoming move into the next generation of Intel chips known as Core 2 Duo. While all the information about new chips and the smart architecture of the new Mac Pro kept folks interested, the news that kept many on the edge of their seats was about Apple's upcoming OS.

After giving Microsoft some of the spotlight by highlighting the ways the Redmond-based giant has appropriated technology from Apple in the past, the details about the OS (Leopard) were released. Along with 64 bit compatibility at the UNIX layer, meaning you can run both 32 and 64 bit applications smoothly and without the aid of emulation, there was mention of a built in backup feature for the OS called Time machine that backs up "everything" in real time. This new feature is not as cut and dry as it seems however. Apparently, with Time machine you get a robust backup system that is capable of full system restores as well as an ala carte system that allows you to bring back just the files that you need.

When integrated with the Finder disk searcher, we are one step closer to having all of our information stored in a searchable database that is backed up in real time. So now you can search for, and find, a file even if you have already erased it! Wonderful! Even I couldn't lose data if I had a set up like this! One of the things that I found a bit surprising was the fact that every copy of the new OS will ship with Time Machine, Bootcamp, Photobooth and Front Row and Spaces. Each one of these modules provides functionality, like a virtual desktop (Spaces), photo editing and sharing (Photobooth), music, video and other media (Front Row), that is not included with other operating systems like Vista.

Spotlight, Core Animation and Universal Access are additional applications in the works at Apple. Spotlight allows you to search the drives of all of the Macs in your home from any one of them. Core Animation is a powerful program that allows you to deconstruct media into its various parts (video, music,ect) and manipulate it into a new creation. Universal Access is designed to allow all people, whether blind, or otherwise disabled, to use their new Mac with ease. With all the new software being developed and hardware changes galore happening at Apple, you'd think that they would be the ones with all the delays and shoddy releases instead of Microsoft!

Mail, Dashboard and iCal have also been updated and changed! Stationary, Notes and To Do's to mail have been integrated into the new email system that will come with the new OS. Dashboard has over 2500 widgets and with Dashcode users can easily create their own customized widgets. With Web Clip and Dashcode you can turn any part of a website into a widget that will update every day keeping you in the know with your favorites on the web. Then there's iChat and iPhoto, which are integrated and will offer multiple logins, invisibility, animated buddy icons, video recording and tabbed chats.

This is near information overload here so I suggest that you digest this as quickly as you can then can come back and get some more! The conference is more than three days long so you can be certain that Jobs and Co. will continue to hit us with surprises well into this week!

Finally, for those with short attention spans, here is a brief list of the key innovations that were revealed this morning:

• 64-bit
• Core animation
• Universal access
• Enhanced parental controls (who cares about that?)
• iCal
• The complete package
• mail
• Spotlight
• Dashboard
• Web Clip and Dashcode
• Announcing Xcode 3 at the afternoon session
• Spaces
• Time Machine
  

Keep an eye out for updates to follow. For those who got their appetites whet and are looking for ways to satisfy their "Apple" craving, check out the video of the conference's Keynote Address delivered by Apple top honcho, Steve Jobs.

A new Mighty Mouse (the single-button right clickable mouse) is on the way, if a FCC filing by Apple is any indication to go by. It will feature a very similar look to the current Mighty Mouse, but minus the wire!

Pictures shown here are from the FCC filing by Apple, and it is reported that this new incarnation of the Mighty Mouse will use two standard AA batteries and will be compatible with Tiger (Mac OS X 10.4) and later. If you are still using Jaguar (Mac OS X 10.2) indications are that, like the current Mighty Mouse, it will be operational with reduced functionality. A couple of questions remain about the new mouse, namely the price (expected to fall around the US$70 mark), battery life (it's powered by AA batteries), and the side-squeeze buttons (which have had a lukewarm reception).

No date has been announced by Apple for the release (codenamed 'M6'), but it is expected to be announced during the WWDC 2006 Conference spanning August 7 - 11.

Worried about who has access to your Mac and its files? While there are several software solutions to this conundrum, here's a novel, potentially fool-proof hardware answer. WARNING: performing this on your MacBook will VOID THE WARRANTY. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS unless you have an exceptionally steady hand and a very high "geek quotient."

That said, click on any of the images to get a better look, if necessary.

STEP 1: Cut a hole in the casing on the right as shown below. A high-speed precision drill like a "Dremel," using a cutting attachment, is best for this task.

Check out the Full Article for the rest of the procedure!

On Monday, Intel, the largest chip manufacturer, took the sheets off its new dual-core Xeon Processor 5100 series. The chips, codenamed Woodcrest, are high-volume server and workstation chips which are capable of 135% performance improvement, and 40% power reduction over their previous server products. Power consumption will start at 40 watts for lower models, going up to 65 and 80 watts for the faster processors.

This is very important for Apple's view of things, aside from the obvious inclusion in future products, this would most certainly mean cheaper and lower prices for the current range of processors used in Apple machines.

The new Core micro-architecture is being implemented, which is based on the a power sensitive blueprint design. It is expected that this design will be used in two forthcoming chips for the desktop and notebook called Conroe and Merom. These are expected in July and August, but we all know about delays that can be involved. The 5100, will be shipped at speeds up to 3.0Ghz, with 1333Mhz front side bus and 4 MB of shared L2 cache. The chips are compatible with the current Bensley Platform, which means that they can be dropped in with the current pin format. The platform uses faster and more reliable memory technology, FB-DIMMs, Intel Virtualization Technology, Intel Active Server Manager and Intel I/O Acceleration Technology.

"Simply put, the Core micro-architecture is a technical marvel that is driving a new era of power efficiency without compromising on what can only be described as eye-popping dual-core 64-bit performance," said Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of IntelÂ?s Digital Enterprise Group.

Pricing will start at $209 to $851 in 1000 unit quantities, and Intel expect the family of processors to be the fastest-ramping ever. However, they are still loosing ground to the AMD range of processors, and are aiming to rectify things with Woodcrest, Merom and Conroe.

A plug and play internal Bluetooth upgrade is now available for PowerMac G5,  PowerMac G4 and iMac G4 systems. The chip adds Bluetooth connectivity between Macs and a wide range of Bluetooth-enabled devices such as PDAs, cellphones, cameras, headsets, printers, keyboards and mice.     

It's very easy to install as the Bluetooth module fits directly into the Mac's main logic board, attaching to the built-in Apple antenna.

It's now available for $25.95 and comes with 1-year warranty.

Compatibility:

PowerMac G4 (FW 800)
PowerMac G5
PowerMac G5 (June 2004)
PowerMac G5 (Late 2004)
iMac G4 (17-inch Flat Panel, 1 GHz)
iMac G4 (USB 2.0)

If brand new Apples are way, way, way out of your pocketbook's league, you may want to consider these refurbished MacBooks and iMac G5s that come with much lighter price tags:

• 1.83GHz MacBook Pro notebook with 512MB of memory for $1,599 (21% off )
• 2.0GHz MacBook Pro 1GB of memory for $1,999 (21% off)
• 2.16GHz MacBook Pro 1GB of memory for $2,199 (22% off)
• iMac G5 systems with SuperDrives includes 17-inch 2GHz iMac with a 128MB ATI Radeon 9600 graphics card ) for $949 (save $550)
• 17-inch 1.9GHz iMac with 128MB DDR ATI Radeon X600 Pro graphics card for $999 ($300 discount)
• 20-inch 1.8GHz iMac with a 64MB DDR NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra graphics card for $1,099 (save $800)
• 20-inch 2.0GHz iMac with 512MB of memory, a 250GB SATA hard drive, and a 128MB DDR ATI Radeon 9600 graphics card for $1,249 (save $550)
• 20-inch 2.1GHz iMac with 512MB of memory, a 250GB SATA hard drive, and a 128MB DDR ATI Radeon X600 XT graphics card for $1,299 ($400 savings)

Also available:

• Intel Core Duo iMacs with SuperDrives which includes 17-inch 1.83GHz Intel iMac with 512MB of memory, a 60GB SATA hard drive, and a 128MB GDDR3 ATI Radeon X1600 graphics card for $1,099 ($200 less)
• 20-inch 2.0GHz Intel iMac with 512MB of memory, a 250GB SATA hard drive, and a 128MB GDDR3 ATI Radeon X1600 graphics card for $1,399 (save $300).

It's been revealed that Apple are continuing efforts to promote their recently released Intel-based products by obtaining larger shelf space at Best Buy stores across North America. Samir Bhavnani, an analyst with Current Analysis commented that the stores feature large displays and units of several Apple products.

Although the retailer already stocks a range of Mac Minis and iPods, this move shows Apples confidence in their line of products using an Intel processor. In addition, this initiative signifies a dramatic push to hopefully increase their market share and availability of products.

Best Buy are now also stocking the regular MacBook and Pro alongside iMac systems.

Intel is planning to deliver Woodcrest (the code-named successor to its Xeon server processor) this month, and sources at Apple confirm a July release the first Intel-based Xserve.

In the meantime, Apple's Power Mac systems are making the transition to Intel processors with the Core 2 Duo which has been code-named Conroe.  Intel is planning to make these processors available in July as well. Industry scuttlebutt has it that new pro systems will come out in conjunction with Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference, which takes place in early August.

If Apple follows through, it would not be the first time its Xserve has outdone the Power Mac performance-wise.  Apple started started shipping Xserve units with 2.3GHz Power PC G5 processors on the sly when the Power Mac still topped out at 2GHz.

On a related topic, Intel sources report that Merom, the laptop-friendly version of the Core 2 Duo, is still planned for an August release. A new MacBook Pro may arrive soon afterwards, depending on when Apple to install the new chip in its products.

Apple have just released an updated firmware for its SuperDrive component found in many of there computers.

SuperDrive Firmware 2.0 features solutions for many errors previously encountered when using certain burning speeds on some recordable DVD media. This update, designed for Mac OS X v10.3.9 or later is designed for use with the following Apple products:

PowerBook G4 (12 -inch 1.5GHz)
PowerBook G4 (15-inch 1.33GHz, 1.5GHz, or 1.67GHz)
PowerBook G4 (17-inch 1.67GHz)
iMac G5 (17-inch 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz)
iMac G5 (20-inch 1.8GHz)
Mac mini G4

If your product meets the system requirements, but you are unable to update the firmware, Apple have advised customers to contact your local Apple Authorized Service Provider or an Apple Store retail location.

You can get this free download (avaliable in most languages) just below:

Download: [Superdrive Firmware 2.0 Update]

Macworld tested the new Intel-based laptops, both the 1.83GHz white and the 2.0GHz black models, set to replace the G4 based Powerbook and the G4 based iBooks. The processor speeds of these new non-pro MacBooks are the same as the first generation of MacBook Pros so they hold up pretty well in processor-heavy tasks and they beat the G4 based laptops except for the Photoshop test.

Note: Because Adobe has yet to release a universal binary for the CS2 suite they were ran through Rosetta.

The results look as good as the new MacBook color, I've always been a fan of black electronics (in fact all I carry is a black cell, a black PSP, and a black iPod) but until Adobe get the universal binary of CS2 out I'm afraid I'll have to stick to my iBook G4. What do you think of the benchmark results? What do you think of the new MacBook Color? We want to hear from you in the comments!