Tag Archives: utilities

Blizzard Says It Delivered 4.7 Million Copies of Diablo III on Release Day [Mac Blog]

Posted on May 23, 2012 by admin

Blizzard Entertainment said this week that it sold more than 3.5 million copies of Diablo III on launch day, setting the record for fastest-selling PC game. The company also sold 1.2 million copies of the game to subscribers of the World of Warcraft Annual Pass, meaning 4.7 million copies of the game were in the hands of gamers on day one. There were a number of server slowdowns and issues for gamers looking to play the game on opening day and, as a result, Blizzard was very apologetic in its statement: “We’re definitely thrilled that so many people around the world were excited to pick up their copy of Diablo III and jump in the moment it went live,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We also regret that our preparations were not enough to ensure everyone had a seamless experience when they did so. I want to reaffirm our commitment to make sure the millions of Diablo III players out there have a great experience with the game moving forward, and I also want to thank them for their ongoing support.” To cut down on cheating and piracy, Blizzard requires the Diablo III client to be connected to their servers at all times during gameplay, even during the single-player campaign. Diablo III is available via Blizzard’s website and at retail stores. Continue reading →

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Seagate Buying LaCie for $186 Million [Mac Blog]

Posted on May 23, 2012 by admin

Hard drive maker Seagate has announced it will purchase data storage device maker LaCie for roughly $186 million. The company plans to buy the controlling stake owned by Philippe Spruch, Lacie’s chairman and CEO, followed by a cash-offer for the rest of the outstanding shares, reports Forbes . Spruch is expected to join Seagate as the head of the company’s consumer storage products group. “The transaction would combine two highly complementary product and technology portfolios, adding LaCie’s line of premium branded consumer storage solutions, network-attached storage solutions and software offerings to Seagate’s array of mainstream consumer storage products,” Seagate said in a statement. “The combination would accelerate Seagate’s growth strategy in the expanding consumer storage market, particularly in Europe and Japan, and add strong engineering and software development capabilities, as well as relationships with several key retailers.” Continue reading →

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Be More Productive with LaunchBar, Part 2

Posted on May 3, 2012 by admin

We love launcher utilities, which let you find and open files, folders, and applications using the keyboard. But they can do much more. Senior editor Dan Frakes shows you a second set of tips for using his favorite launcher, LaunchBar. Continue reading →

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Apple Releases Update to Java for OS X to Version 1.6.0_31 [Mac Blog]

Posted on April 3, 2012 by admin

Apple has released an update to Java for OS X, updating Java SE 6 to version 1.6.0_31. The update, called Java for OS X Lion 2012-001, “delivers improved reliability, security, and compatibility for Java SE 6″. Apple hasn’t updated its security page with details of the fixes in the update, but it may fix the vulnerability detailed across the web in recent days. Apple released the same update for Snow Leopard, as well. The downloads can be acquired from Apple’s support downloads page , or via Software Update. Continue reading →

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Apple datacenter’s fuel cells to be fully ready in November

Posted on April 2, 2012 by admin

Apple’s upcoming fuel cell system for its Maiden, North Carolina datacenter should be ready just before the end of the year, according to new details. A filing mid-week at the North Carolina Utilities Commission has shown that the first fuel cell system will be ready in June, with all six up and running by November 30. Each of the systems, made by Bloom Energy, takes methane from animal byproducts and landfills, and combined should produce between 24 to 200 kilowatts across four individual fuel cells…. Continue reading →

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Be more productive with LaunchBar

Posted on March 8, 2012 by admin

We love launcher utilities, which let you find and open files, folders, applications, and more using the keyboard. But what’s the advantage over just using Spotlight? Senior editor Dan Frakes shows you some tips for using his favorite launcher, LaunchBar, to be more productive. Continue reading →

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Apple’s NC Solar Farm to Utilize High-Efficiency SunPower Panels, Online as Soon as October

Posted on March 6, 2012 by admin

The San Jose Mercury News reports that a regulatory filing has revealed that Apple’s massive solar farm at its new data center in Maiden, North Carolina will utilize panels from San Jose-based energy company SunPower. The ground-mounted panels will track with the sun throughout the day and be installed in phases with the first batch set to come on line as soon as October of this year. [A]n 18-page filing with the North Carolina Utilities Commission makes it clear that SunPower has been chosen to provide the solar panels for the massive solar farm. “Each of the photovoltaic installations will consist of multiple SunPower E20 435-watt photovoltaic modules on ground-mounted single axis tracking systems,” the filing states. The solar farm will be built in phases and could begin delivering electricity to the grid as early as October. The E20 panels from SunPower are being promoted as the world’s first solar panels to reach 20% efficiency, incorporating the latest solar cell, inverter and light capturing technologies to boost performance. Apple recently touted its plans for the solar farm and a complementary fuel cell installation as part of its commitment to alternative energy at the new data center. The 20-megawatt solar farm is said to be the largest such user-owned facility in the United States. Continue reading →

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OnLive Intros Virtual Windows 7 Desktop With Office for iPad

Posted on January 9, 2012 by admin

Video game streaming company OnLive has announced a free, streaming, virtual Microsoft Windows 7 desktop app for the iPad. The OnLive Desktop app, announced at CES , will eventually expand to other platforms — including the Mac. Users will have access to full-featured versions of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, less than a week after CloudOn introduced its Office solution for the iPad. GigaOm has details about how the service will work: Since applications are running on high-end computing clusters in OnLive’s data centers, the only thing holding back performance is the network. Which means that in today’s world of pervasive broadband connectivity, Windows applications running on an iPad could potentially be faster than those running on a standard Windows 7 laptop. OnLive is making the Desktop app available in a freemium model through which users will get 2GB worth of cloud storage and the ability to use Windows 7 applications such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint, as well as other utilities and games. Documents can be stored in the cloud and accessed from any device with a web interface. In the near future, OnLive expects to launch Onlive Desktop Pro, a more robust service that will offer up 50 GB of storage, priority access, additional apps and other features for $9.99 a month. It also promises collaboration features for enterprise users such as sharing documents or working on virtual whiteboards. The Verge notes that when they tried the app at OnLive HQ, there was “a little bit of perceptible lag, it’s pretty impressive manipulating objects with our fingers and flipping through PowerPoint presentations on a desktop miles away.” OnLive previously announced iPad and iPhone support for its gaming products, though those apps have yet to be publicly released. Available this Thursday in the U.S. and “soon” in the UK, OnLive Desktop for the iPad will be free on the App Store. Continue reading →

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Apple Releases Thunderbolt Display Firmware Update [Mac Blog]

Posted on December 12, 2011 by admin

Apple has released the Thunderbolt Display Firmware Update for the Thunderbolt Display released earlier this year. This update addresses a fan noise issue affecting a small number of Apple Thunderbolt Displays and improves stability. The updater application will be installed in the Utilities folder inside the Application folder and will be launched automatically when you close this installer. Please follow the instructions in the updater application to complete the update process. The update totals 942KB and can be downloaded direct from Apple, or from Software Update for eligible users. Continue reading →

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Apple May Processor Bump MacBook Pros in 2011

Posted on September 13, 2011 by admin

AppleInsider claims that Apple may be bumping the processors of the MacBook Pros before the end of this year, but will make no other changes to the notebooks. According to people with proven insight into Apple’s future product plans, the late-2011 MacBook Pro refresh will deliver marginal speed bumps to the notebooks’ Core i-Series of Sandy Bridge processors but will otherwise introduce no material changes over the existing models. Continue reading →

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