Digital Trends
Apple is in a constant battle with unlockers in the form of both independent enthusiasts and rival companies. It recently succeeded in killing iPhone jailbreaking for the time being and cutting off the Palm Pre from iTunes. However, to its dismay, Psystar is selling a software hack to trick Apple’s Snow Leopard OS into being easily installed on PCs.
Now, Apple is reportedly preparing a new release of OS X Snow Leopard (10.6.2) to try to kill a growing section of the Hackintosh community.
The launch of Windows 7 draws near. Discs are being minted, glossy advertisements are filling magazines, and Microsoft is dispensing ludicrous advice on how to plan your own launch party. For existing Windows Vista users, we highly recommend upgrading to Windows 7, but the question remains: which version should you shell out for when it finally shows up on store shelves? Without a one-size-fits-all box, you’ll need to decide which features you need and which you don’t, to avoid shelling out your hard-earned cash for frivolities.
Talk about a reversal of fortune: According to leading technology experts, Microsoft is looking less like the dismally-clad actor seen in Apple’s “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” commercials, and more like a suited-up Christian Bale from the new Batman movies as of late.
Thank the release of its seemingly well-chiseled new operating system (OS), Windows 7, set to debut October 22, which experts insist will please PC diehards with its overall refinements, speed, and broad hardware compatibility. Building on Vista, Windows 7 is predicted to minimize annoyances and provide a number of convenient new features designed to improve overall user-friendliness. But word on the street is that the new OS isn’t designed to dazzle—like the caped crusader, it’s no flawless hero, or so insiders also attest. Rather, as industry pundits who’ve been privileged to go hands-on with final review copies report, it’s simply a welcome step above its sluggish predecessor that’s destined to breathe new life into the Windows name.
Financial software giant Intuit—makers of well-known products like Quicken, QuickBooks, and TurboTax—has announced a deal to acquire personal finance services Web site Mint.com for some $170 million in cash. Mint.com is a financial services Web site designed to show consumers ways in which they can save money by analyzing their financial actions and habits. The service claims some 1.5 million users tracking nearly $50 billion in assets and $200 billion in transactions. Intuit plans to make Mint.com the main personal finance management service it offers to consumers via the Web, while Intuit’s existing Quicken Online will continue to offer Quicken users online access to their Quicken services.
The Macintosh faithful are all abuzz with the debut of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Apple’s latest and greatest operating system for Macintosh computers. However, unlike its “big cat” predecessors (like Leopard, Tiger, and Panther) Snow Leopard isn’t awash in splashy new features or new ideological paradigms meant to advance the computing experience – and knock Redmond back on its heels. Instead, Apple took a breath with Snow Leopard and focused on refining its Mac OS X operating system, taking the time to get lots of details right, improve performance, and make a bunch of under-the-hood changes that will benefit Macintosh users in the long run. Improvements to the OS are highly visible in a few places, show up in a lot of little areas, and amount to an upgrade greater than the sum of its parts. The enhancements in Snow Leopard become starkly apparent when one goes back to Leopard or Tiger. After using Snow Leopard, they seem clunky and slipshod, where Snow Leopard hums along and does things right.
Netbooks make fine travel machines for surfing, typing and watching videos, but as most new owners eventually discover, things start to get a little slow when you push too far beyond the basics. After all, 1.6GHz and 1GB of RAM can only take you so far. But you needn’t resign yourself to typing in Notepad and playing Minesweeper whenever you leave the big guns at home in favor of a netbook. We’ve rounded up some of the best lightweight software from across every category that will turn your netbook into a an all-around gaming, multimedia and productivity machine without slowing it to a crawl in the process. And the best part is, almost all of them are free.
Everyone wants to be an insider, and you can be one too! Choose your poison: sign-up for our Newsletter, join us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter. Do all three and you'll be swimming in the the latest news, reviews, videos and more gadget goodness!
Become a DT soldier! Join us on Facebook and share the best news, guides, videos and other cool information directly with all your friends. Some might even thank you for it!
Join the thousands and follow the best of us on Facebook.
Do you like information in small snippets? Then our Twitter feed is just for you. Follow Digital Trends and you'll be able to catch up daily on our latest content, or even interact directly with our team. Tweet Tweet!
Join the thousands and follow the best of us on Twitter.
That’s Right, Sign-up For Our Monthly Random Prize Drawings and You Could Be That Winner.
