Microsoft isn't just yet ready to unveil Windows Vista but they want us to be hyped about it, hence, the Get Ready campaign. The said drive rides on the wheels of Upgrade Advisor - a downloadable tool used to help people determine just how Vista-ready an existing PC is.

The "Vista-capable" program allows machines that meet a minimum set of requirements to tout themselves as able to run the new Windows. That means your machine should have at least 800MHz processor, 512MB of memory and a DirectX 9-capable graphics card to fit into that category.

While "Premium Ready" are able to take advantage of higher-end features, such as Vista's Aero graphics, it must come equipped with a 1GHz processor, 128MB of graphics memory, 1GB of system memory, a 40GB hard drive and an internal or external DVD-ROM drive.

Ironically, the ultra-compact Mac desktop computer, Mac Mini, is the most suitable to run Window's Vista. According to the Upgrade Advisor, with its 1GB of memory, it is already Aero-ready so long as modest hard drive space is devoted over to the Windows partition.

So are you ready for Vista? Mac Mini sure is.

It looks like Apple's Intel MacMini is surprising analysts with its strong sales performance. This statement was backed up by a research note courtesy of the UBS Investment Research. Apparently, people are buying MacMinis to be used as media centers and a lot view this Apple baby as a low-cost, entry-level Mac option.

The robust MacMini sales are not limited to just Apple retail stores, the same good sales are also reflected in CompUSA retail stores. This piece of good news for the Apple people was also backed by the said investment research firm. Analyst Ben Reitzes also added that "while concerns regarding Mac sales were high going into AppleÂ?s fiscal second quarter (ended March) due to the Intel transition, Apple sold about 1.1 million Macs in [in that time] (compared to our estimate for 979,000) representing about 4 percent growth year-over-year and a sequential decline of only 11 percent...with demand for Intel-based systems realizing a full quarter of shipments in fiscal third quarter, we believe momentum in Mac sales should continue." Wow, more Benjamins for Apple!

Analysts are saying that this more-than-expected MacMini sales will continue to drive momentum to Apple's camp which recently released 17-inch MacBook Pro professional notebook and the soon-to-be-unveiled 13-inch MacBook consumer portables. The study also added that the coming school year opening will bear witness to the gaining popularity of MacBooks since they would be considered as a hot commodity for students.

A company called CompWave have designed and is currently selling some very intriguing products to use with Mac Mini and iSights. They have 2 products both designed to offer a new way of using both your iSight and Mac Mini. For those looking for a perfect accessory for use with a LCD monitor you can use both a Mac Hitch and Cam Hitch to provide a tool to allow you to turn your LCD into an iMac.

By effectively using the 75/100 mm holes in the back of a LCD monitor, these attachments hook up the Mac Mini and iSight in a stable position to offer space saving solutions. They can be used together or irrespective of each other. The Mac Hitch also offers stand alone use, similar to that of a PS2, you can now use your Mac Mini upright or flat, in this stylish and practical case.

By using Paypal, you can buy the Mac Hitch for $49.95 and the Cam Hitch for $15.95, or alternatively buy both for $64.95.



   

As we've already reported, a total of 5 flaws have been discovered in Mac OS X, however according to the security expert who discovered them, there is a total of 7. A security researcher by the name of Tom Ferris, who works for Mission Viejo, California, discovered a total of 7 'Highly Critical' flaws in Mac OS X, namely in Safari browser. The operating system thought to be one of the best when it comes to security, has been probed and a series of flaws which have multiple effects have been discovered. To prove his discovery, on his site he has posted some proof of concept codes. The flaws at the moment could be used to crash applications and even run unauthorized code by taking advantages of bugs in Safari and the Mac OS X operating system.

Apple Computer Inc. has already been made aware of the bugs and plans to fix them in "the next security release," Ferris said, "There [seem] to be some problems with the claimed solid-as-a-rock Unix OS." Since the label of being more secure than Windows OS's, Mac OS X has been tested, probed, and ripped apart by researchers such as Ferris in order to discover and publicise the weaknesses. In February a series of programs with malicious intent were released in targeting Mac's, one named OSX/Leap. The SANS Instituter's Internet Storm Center rated the revealings as "Highly Critical" and that there were no patches to solve most of them. Apple have not yet commented on the bugs.

When you purchase a new Macintosh system at any Apple store or at there online store you will receive free shipping and free environmentally friendly disposal of your old computer. Apple was named a one of the top ten environmentally progressive companies earlier this week by the Sierra club and its investment advisor, Forward Management. Apples has recycled more than 90% of electronic equipment since 2001 and are hoping that this new free take back program will heighten those numbers.

Â?Apple is committed to supporting our customers and protecting the environment throughout the entire product life cycle, from purchase through to retirement,Â? said Philip Schiller, AppleÂ?s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. Â?Now we are making it even easier for AppleÂ?s customers to safely and affordably recycle their used computers and iPods.Â?

 

Apples iPod 5th generation, iPod nano and iPod shuffle are 100% compliant and way ahead of schedule for upcoming restrictions of hazardous substance (RoHS) in California and Europe which is the new global standard for environmental regulations which is due July 1st. Apple has also exceeded the Energy Star efficiency requirements for California for its iPod power adapter the regulations are to take effect July 1 2008.

OK, first a little background on the Merom processor from Intel. The Merom is a mobile 64-bit processor. It is said to offer 20% more performance than the current Core Duo at the same battery life. It will reportedly come with 4MB L2 Cache (up from 2MB on Yonah), and it's supposed to be released in late 2006.

Now for the great news. The same guy who had revealed earlier that the Mac mini could be processor upgraded simply by swapping out the socketed Intel processor, now reports that the unreleased Merom 64-bit mobile processor is also similarly compatible.

"It is possible to drop in Merom into Mini, one hell of an upgrade path. confirming this is a working combo, just drop the chip in."

More details aren't available. Blame it on those pesky NDAs. This time, the backward compatibility has been advertised by Intel themselves .

"During a separate briefing, Intel's Mooly Eden showed a benchmark pitting a Dell Core Duo system against the same system with a Merom processor (Eden literally swapped out the Core Duo CPU and stuck in a Merom processor, partly to showcase its backwards comptability). The benchmark was a custom Quake 4 timedemo, with the Core Duo system scoring 106.6 fps while the Merom system scored 134 fps: advantage Merom by just over 25%. We don't know any of the specifics of the settings on the systems, other than they were claimed to be identical."

It's great times for Apple fans these days, after Windows XP booting on it, and later bootcamp. Clearly, Apple is on a roll these days. That ought to shut-up the critics who were up in arms after Apple announced their partnership with Intel.

Well after a day full of events, all due to the release of the Boot Camp software which allows users to run XP on Intel Macs, it seems that one faithful individual by the name Speedeye has gone about taking pictures for us to gaze at showing the processes that Boot Camp takes you through. The screens were all sourced from Flickr, and we've compiled about 10 of our favorite screens from the 34 for you to have a look at. They all show an individual step in the process, from creating partitions to actually running Windows Update in XP. Enjoy.

Well it seems Apple have given into consumer pressure, and also pressure from those taking a back door approach to running XP on Intel Mac's. As of today you can download a patch/application called Boot Camp from the Apple website which allows you to install Windows XP, only if you have the official install disks. What this means is, its an official way of installing, with more driver support, which overly means that people wont have to go through the long process of doing the install through the back door.

The software also allows either operating system, Mac OS X or XP, to be booted on restart. It is announced that the software will be Incorporated as standard on the forthcoming Mac OS X v10.5 'Leopard'. The patch includes a step-by-step guide on doing the install, so pretty much anybody can use it. At the moment it will be a trial beta, and the full version will be included in Mac OS X v10.5 'Leopard' in its expected show off in August at the Worldwide Developer Conference.

"Apple has no desire or plan to sell or support Windows, but many customers have expressed their interest to run Windows on Apple's superior hardware now that we use Intel processors," Philip Schiller, Apple senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, said in a statement. This just shows what power we as consumers have, and judging from it Apple aren't happy either. Apple's shares have risen 6% before markets opened, which shows the possible gain in Apple's future profits from Mac sales. What this may mean though is as sales of Mac's go up, apart from the included version of Mac OS X, external sales of the OS may be hit, so the company have both a gain and loss situation.


Download: [Boot Camp Public Beta]

You know, you never realize just how good you've got it sometimes in the States, where almost as soon as Apple announces a product, you can order it and expect to get it just a few days after its release. Apparently, that's not the case in India, where consumers are just now being bombarded with all the Apple goodness that has come out in recent months.

The company this week unveiled 10 products in India, ranging from the popular iPods, including the new 1-gigabyte version of the Nano, and other products and software that has been available over in America for some time now. Among the products launched this week are: iLife '06, which of course includes iPhoto 6, iMovie HD 6, iDVD 6 and GarageBand 3, among other apps; iWork, a Microsoft Office-type solution for Mac users.

One of the biggie products shown was the Macbook Pro, which is now available in India in its varying speeds and capacities, 1.67 GHz and 1.83 GHz (To all our Indian readers: you're really going to like that little beauty). The last of the products were the new MacMini and iMacs. Of course, the red-headed stepchild that is the Apple Hi-Fi made an appearance (To all our Indian readers: I can't tell you what happened there).

Dual Processors were long the drool-inducing thing of nerds.  But anymore they're pretty common to come by.  The latest move has been to go the route of Dual Cores.  Is there a real difference?  Does one setup perform better than the other?  What exactly does all this mean, and does it apply to the everyday Joe?

A terrific article at Puget Systems discusses just this topic.  It explains things for the average consumer, while providing benchmarks and other tidbits that will be of interest to the bit-heads out there.

Quickly: DualCore means putting two processors on a single chip.  It's cheaper since it only requires 1 slot on the motherboard, one chip, etc.  The flip side is to have 2 processors, each taking their own space on a more expensive motherboard.  The outcome?  (Look away or click the link if you don't want to spoil the surprise.)  The dual core systems that are becoming a standard in the computer industry are not only cheaper, they're also slightly faster.  So it's a win-win for everyone!