(Old news now, I know…)  On Monday Apple released the next update for Leopard, 10.5.6.  If coming from 10.5.5, the update is a meaty 169MB; if coming from any other 10.5.x release, you’ve got a 670MB (!) combined update to download.  The update improves Time Machine, Adobe CS3 printing, improved graphics, and a lot more.  I installed last night, first thing I noticed was the new Trackpad pane added to System Preferences.  I’ll have to check on a previous version, but now you can double-click the trackpad with 2 fingers to call up the secondary menu; a few other features, too.  Full info on the update available from Apple.

Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories (via MAKE Mag) brings you a how-to guide for baking your own Apple Mac Mini Pie.  (You won’t need to use carbon laser, like they did, to cut the Apple logo.)

"Cored" Processor </rimshot>

Wow, Dell has come out with a small desktop computer that looks pretty decent! It’s called the Dell Studio Hybrid, though I’m not sure what it is a hybrid of, it’s still got some respectable features.

I should say that we’ve been using the Apple Mac Mini in our Deli offices, where space it extremely tight, and everyone has been really impressed by them. We bootcamp them into an OEM licensed version of Windows XP and they crank away.

So it’s in this light that this Dell looks good. It’s about the same size profile and costs only 5% more at $629. Similar to the Mini we’d need to get an OEM license for XP separately. CPU, memory, and harddrive are better in the Dell. Warranty, like the Mini, would need to be extended to 3 years.

The only area that the Dell falls short compared to the Apple Mini is that it can’t run Mac OS. I know, that’s perhaps a strange take on it, but we’re not sure that we couldn’t reach a point in the next year or so where we could switch desktops over from XP to Mac OS X without undue pain. The Mac OS machines that we have now tend to be dramatically different in terms of trouble - they tend to not need much support. So, something to think about. We’ll probably give one of these a try in a situation that’s tight on space, like our Bakeshop.

Apple just launched their new line of MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops.  The rumors were true: new production process & carved aluminum cases, glass track pads, multi-touch, glass displays.  No Blu-Ray, though.  In addition the new Books are thinner, faster, and stocked with new GPUs from NVidia. (Two video cards on the MBPros - really???)  The new aluminum MacBook is boss, I want it NOW.  And the 128GB solid state drive option for new MBPros is incredible.  I’m excited.

The black & white MacBooks are sticking around, entry price dropped to $999 - unclear if you can get the new model starting that low.  Oh, and there’s also a new 24″ cinema display.

Thanks to MacWorld for the live coverage -

The Apple Blog reported this week on a new iPhone app, Bloom, designed by ambient virtuoso Brian Eno.  TAB sums it up well:

Developed by Peter Chilvers, in collaboration with Eno, the app is described as, “Part instrument, part composition and part artwork…” The idea is that anybody can play with Bloom and coax gentle melodies and ambient soundscapes out of their iPhone.[...]“Bloom’s innovative controls allow anyone to create elaborate patterns and unique melodies by simply tapping the screen.” Setting aside the marketing spiel, Bloom is utterly unique — a truly enchanting experience…

This YouTube clip shows Bloom in action - enchanting, indeed!  Ambient music isn’t really my thing, but I dig Bloom and could certainly kill a lot of time with it.  What I would really dig is David Byrne - Eno collaborator, intrepid artist, and personal favorite - creating a similar app.  Something where tapping/dragging elements on screen makes percussive sounds that could be layered and patterned. (I can almost see Eno and Byrne making their next album together using only iPhones.)

ARS Technica posted today that they recieved an invitation from Apple to attend a special event on Tuesday, October 14.  Included with the invite was this teaser.

The rumor mill has been in high gear lately, lots of speculation about new features and production process, and people are STILL holding out hope for a tablet Mac.  I think we’ll also hear more about 10.6, Snow Leopard, and updates to core applications like iCal, Mail, and Address Book.  Get excited!

I have not run a screensaver in years. Usually I just set my LCD to go off after 30 minutes of inactivity. But that’s changed. I’m hooked on a really cool screensaver that makes beautiful ever-changing images

Electric Sheep is a free, open source screen saver created by Scott Draves. It’s run by thousands of people all over the world, and can be installed on any ordinary PC or Mac. When these computers “sleep”, the screen saver comes on and the computers communicate with each other by the internet to share the work of creating morphing abstract animations known as “sheep”. The result is a collective “android dream”, an homage to Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.

The software is available for download for PC or Mac or Linux.

I sat down with a cup of coffee and Google Reader this morning (as I do), and found every geek, gadget, and design blog I subsribe to with a post about Apple’s “big announcement” coming next Tuesday.  News to me; I had no idea there was something planned for the 14th.  The bloggers are convinced that the annoucement will reveal major changes to the MacBook/MacBook Pro line of laptops.  Apple, of course, is saying nothing now, not even that there is an announcement planned.  I don’t know how these things start, but they’re usually only half true.  I’m sure there will be an announcement on Tuesday, but I doubt it will be as awesome as glass track pads or cases carved from solid aluminium.  I wouldn’t mind being wrong, though.

We use Microsoft’s Terminal Services to bring windows-only software to our Apple laptops. Works great. Even works great to bring apps to Windows machines.

Recently we heard about the opposite - terminal services for Mac from aquaconnect.net. At first we tried to wrap our brains around how to use it but I think we’re going to give it a demo run and just try it.