The September 12 Paris Expo and that San Francisco event is right around the corner, and people are still guessing what new trick Steve Jobs has up his sleeve (Apple's hot new products are usually released or announced in events like this). People thought it would have been the upgunned Core 2 Duo iMacs, but they were released early. They're also placing their bets on Apple's new iTunes movie lineup, but word is that there's something else, something bigger about to be unwrapped.

A New York Times writer has one theory: a living room Mac.

Want to know more? Click "Full Article" to satisfy your curiosity.

The Unofficial Apple Blog's David Chartier managed to get Microsoft Windows Vista running on his MacBook Pro in both a copy of Parallels Desktop and Boot Camp, and he has graciously made a tutorial on how to do the former.

According to him, Vista runs OK in Parallels Desktop. Just plain OK, as opposed to "'really well' or 'it made an un-switcher out of me'." Mr. Chartier also reports that it doesn't seem to fully support high-end graphics cards yet, so it's still a no go on all of the fancy 3d effects, or what he calls "Translucent Everything TechnologyÂ? (TET)", that Vista boasts.

Click on the 'read' link below for the full walkthrough on setting up, installing, and running Vista on an Intel Mac via Parallels Desktop. The walkthrough also includes some things to watch out for as well as just how far the more-or-less Beta-status Vista software can be pushed.

The September 12 opening of the Paris Expo and that little surprise event in San Francisco is only a few days away, yet apparently the new iMac can't wait. Apple's gone and announced the up-gunned iMac earlier than expected - media outlets and professional Apple watchers, including us, were guessing the lineup would be announced during either September 12 event. So "12" won't be a number to associate with the iMac.

But two numbers to associate with the iMac are "2" - the Core 2 Duo processor - and 24 - a new 24" screen that caps the high-end version of this latest lineup (And isn't it curious that 2 x 12 = 24? But enough of the math). Apple claims that 64bit Core 2 Duo iMac outpaces its Core Duo predecessor by up to 50%. No need to specify the benefits of the larger screen.

Besides 2 and 24 (and 64 and 50%), here are the other numbers on the upgraded iMac, all involving dollar signs:

• $999 - 17" / 1.83GHz / 512MB RAM / 160GB HD / Combo / Intel GMA 950
• $1,199 - 17" / 2.0GHz / 1GB RAM / 250GB HD / SuperDrive / Radeon X1600
• $1,499 - 20" / 2.16GHz / 1GB RAM / 250GB HD / SuperDrive / Radeon X1600
• $1,999 - 24" / 2.16GHz / 1GB RAM / 250GB HD / SuperDrive / GeForce 7300GT

All versions will include the AirPort Extreme, and versions that cost $1,999 and up will also feature Bluetooth 2.0. However, there's no word on whether Apple will also upgrade the education iMacs.

Reports say that they also decided to upgrade the last of the Core Solo Mini's heart to the 2 Duo as well, eliminating the Core Solo sales lineup and throwing in a new 1.83GHz Core Duo Mini into the mix. Them Cupertino boys do know how to surprise us.

According to Market Share, Apple Computer's Safari browser is continuing to fight it's way through the Internet browser arena, taking on the likes of Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft's Internet Explorer to rise by 46% year-over-year. Safari remains the third most popular browser with Internet Explorer topping the charts and Firefox taking second place but the statistics are much in Safari's favor.

In August 2005, Safari's market share was 2.20 percent.  In August 2006, its market share comes in at 3.21 percent.  The rise from 2.20 to 3.21 represents a year-over-year growth of 46 percent for the month of August.  In July 2006, Safari had a 3.18 percent market share and experienced a 0.94 percent increase in just one month. Of course, as you will know the Safari browser is only available on Mac OS X, leading some critics to believe that Safari's market share is directly related to an increase in Mac sales.

Of course, Mac sales have increased, particularly after the integration of Intel-chips into Macs but what critics don't take into account are those who have switched from Firefox and Internet Explorer (especially after Microsoft stopped updating IE for Macs) to Safari as the browser has improved. Whatever the reason, Safari's market share is likely to increase again as browser developers feel the full-force of the Intel Mac.

The widespread availability of Intel Corp's new desktop processors in the past several weeks is not enough to make Apple introduce new line of iMac computers. We know now why as they confirm previous rumors to sidestep Core 2 Duo and use Merom, the mobile variant of chips, for the MacBook instead.

This month will not be over before they come up with the announcement regarding the next-gen models, including a 23-inch new member of the iMac family. This upgrade will be the third Apple ha made within the last 12 months.

In a related matter, this is not the first time Core 2 Duo was ignored by Apple. The recently unveiled Mac Pro high-end desktops went with Intel's higher-performance Xeon server processor, contrary to earlier reports. Then everybody thought Core 2 Duo will then be going to the iMac line, but here we are, Merom taking the spot.

Merom is said to be capable of up to 2.33GHZ speed, offering a 40 percent increase compared to the previous Core Duo CPU.

The news is out that the latest build of Microsoft's upcoming operating system, Vista, now works on all Intel Macs running Boot Camp v1.1. In case you haven't heard, Boot Camp allows Intel-based Mac users to run Windows on their Macs using an original copy of Windows to install.

The new build is Vista Pre-RC1 (5536) and the installation is the same as it is was with Windows XP SP2, although it is important to note that not all the drivers in Boot Camp will work under Vista at this time - including the iSight and Apple Keyboard.

Reports are out that the new build is a significant improvement over the Beta 2 that was made available some months ago. It has even been reported that the bells and whistles are supported for both the MacBook Pro and plain MacBook.

Again? Word on the street is that Apple's been denying Mac mini bulk orders from resellers and large partners. Last time this happened, back in February, we wondered if it meant that Apple would announce or release a new version of the mini - sure enough, within days of that report, Apple introduced the Intel-based mini. The same guy who first wrote about the report now reports that his bulk orders have been denied - just like last time.

And the report's just gotten confirmation from a well-placed source who claims that Apple's been refusing orders worldwide. The source also said that Mac mini supplies should improve in two weeks time when new shipments begin.

So what has the fruit company got up its sleeve this coming post-Labor Day? There were reports of Apple getting ready for fall product launches, particularly a massive air shipment from the Far East due in-country September 5. We do know that September is the month Apple will update its MacBook Pros with Core 2 Duos. With this story of a new mini shortage, could there be more?

Curiouser and curiouser. It would be quite interesting to follow this rabbit down the rabbit-hole.

You may remember a a piece of software named Crossover Mac that was announced back in July as a program that will allow Intel-based Mac users to run their favorite Windows applications seamlessly on their Mac, without the need for a Windows OS license of any kind. Some lucky users have already got their hands on a beta of the program and tested it out. Guess what - It works perfectly!

Gamers will be pleased to know that the worlds most popular online First Person Shooter game Counter-Strike works perfectly using this application! As soon as Sebastien (thanks for the tip!) got his hands on the Crossover beta he tested lots of Windows applications, including Steam. Even windows apps that Sebastien himself has coded worked well with this program, and pretty much every single Steam game he tried worked perfectly without problems; with Counter-strike running at above 30 fps.

Unfortunately, sign-ups for the Crossover beta have closed due to such high demand and no more beta copies of the program will be released to those who haven't already signed up; however the program should be released soon at the price of $59.95 with 1 year support and free software upgrades from Codeweavers.

 

A Universal binary release of Halo is now available at the MacSoft website. The release is for consumers who bought Halo before Apple shipped its Intel-based Macs. Unfortunately, the old game code released in 2003 for the Mac isn't directly portable to Intel Macs. The binary release is not a simple patch or update to make the gameplay natively on Intel-based Macs but a complete rewrite of the game.

The 650MB file costs $5.00 to download and must be burned to CD (new discs are available for $9.95) but customers who bought the game after January of this year are entitled to a free update. The original serial number is required in order for the game to work.

The game Halo features the battle between humans and aliens out to destroy other lifeforms in the universe. The lead character is a cybernetically enhanced human soldier Master Chief who must fight for the survival of humankind on an artificial world. Halo was developed for Mac OS and Windows but later released exclusively for the Xbox video game console. Eventually, the game was released for Windows and Mac.

Purchase the Universal Binary of Halo at MacGameStore.

Apple has released version 1.1 beta of their world-famous software that allows Intel-based Mac users to run Windows on their Macs. Boot Camp lets you install Windows XP without moving your Mac data, though you will need to bring your own copy to the table, as Apple Computer does not sell or support Microsoft Windows. Boot Camp will also burn a CD of all the required drivers for Windows so you don't have to scrounge around the Internet looking for them.

Boot Camp 1.1 beta includes:

• Support for the latest Intel-based Macintosh computers
• Easier partitioning using presets for popular sizes
• Ability to install Windows XP on any internal disk
• iSight camera support
• Support for built-in microphones
• Right-click when pressing the right-hand Apple key on Apple keyboards
• Improved Apple keyboard support including Delete, PrintScreen, NumLock, and ScrollLock keys

Apple advise current users yo Boot Camp to update to the latest version. You don't need to partition your hard drive again (unless you want to change its size) or reinstall your Macintosh and Windows software or documents, but it's very important to update the Boot Camp Assistant software, create a new Macintosh Drivers for Windows CD and install the updated software it contains on Windows XP.

You can find the 202 MB download over at Apple's dedicated Boot Camp site.