Drew Wharton: A Day in A Seal’s Life

Together with his intrepid film crew, documentary filmmaker Drew Wharton often found himself within feet of enormous bellowing 4,500 pound alpha males clashing mightily over females in estrus. It is A Seal’s Life, after all. The film (which debuted at the Monterey Bay Aquarium) tells the story of the world’s largest seal species—the northern Elephant Seal—behemoths that come ashore once a year to give birth, molt, and mate. “Apple technology saves me a ton of time and money,” notes Wharton, who edited the film in Final Cut Studio. “Our whole workflow is based on Macs, from field acquisition to post production. A Seal’s Life was made on a Mac from start to finish—for me, it didn’t make sense to do it any other way.” [Jan 11, 2008]

Articulating the Wisconsin Idea

From iTunes U, which lets students take educational podcasts on the road; to the computational tools running on Xserves, which allow students to see and explore the structure, function, and behavior of molecules; to the Digital Academic Television Network, which delivers live TV via a network connection using QuickTime as a client), Macintosh computers, servers, and software help educators articulate the “Wisconsin Idea.” Erasing completely the “borders of learning,” they depend on the Mac to let learning go on—for students and teachers alike—anywhere and at anytime. [Jan 11, 2008]

“Great games” available for iPod

Marc Saltzman (usatoday.com) offers another reason to love your iPod: “great games. More than 20 downloadable digital diversions are now offered including Ms. Pac-Man,Sudoku,Texas Hold ‘Em and soon, Pole Position: Remix, based on Namco’s early ’80s arcade racing game.” In his CyberSpeak column, Saltzman also takes a close look at two of the latest games for iPod, ”Peggle” and “Phase.” [Jan 10, 2008]

Apple Introduces the new Mac Pro

The fastest Mac ever, the new Mac Pro has eight processor cores and a new system architecture that delivers up to twice the performance of its predecessor.* It combines two of Intel’s new 45 nanometer Quad-Core Xeon processors running up to 3.2 GHz, powerful new graphics and up to 4TB of internal storage, offering the ideal system for creative professionals, 3D digital content creators and scientists. The standard 8-core configuration starts at just $2,799.

* Based on estimated results comparing a preproduction 2.8 GHz 8-core Mac Pro with a 2.66 GHz Quad-Core Mac Pro running professional applications like Maya, modo and Logic Pro. [Jan 08, 2008]

Introducing the new Xserve—the most powerful Apple server ever

Starting at just $2,999, the new Xserve has up to two Quad-Core 3.0 GHz Intel Xeon processors for 8-core performance, a new server architecture, faster front side buses, faster memory, up to 3TB of internal storage and two PCI Express 2.0 expansion slots for greater performance and flexibility. “With the latest Intel processors and no client access licenses, Xserve offers unbeatable server performance and value for under $3,000,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. [Jan 08, 2008]

District doubles its computing power with iMac

On the verge of signing a large order for PCs, the superintendent of Carterville City Schools quickly put down his pen when Technology Coordinator Sheryl McDonald demonstrated how an iMac could run both Mac and Windows applications. “Our superintendent just about lost it; he was so excited by the capabilities of Boot Camp. We saw that we could have the best of both worlds,” McDonald says. In no time, CCS cancelled its PC purchase plans and ordered a flock of iMac computers. [Jan 08, 2008]

Now Available: Bento from FileMaker

FileMaker today announced the immediate availability of Bento, its stylish personal database. With an iTunes-inspired interface, Bento offers you an easy way to organize—in one convenient place—all your contacts, calendars, projects, events, media, and other data. Affordably priced at just $49 ($99 for a five-license family pack), Bento runs on Mac computers running Leopard. [Jan 08, 2008]

Sign up for GraphiStudio and Aperture tour

Next month, top wedding and event photographers Bob Davis and Mike Colon travel to nine US cities as part of the GraphiStudio and Aperture tour. During the full-day “Master Your Craft” seminars, Davis and Colon detail how they became successful pro photographers and explain how they use Aperture as complete workflow solutions—from editing a shoot to making image adjustments to publishing client web pages. [Jan 07, 2008]

Andrea Jung Joins Apple’s Board of Directors

Apple today announced that Andrea Jung, the chairman and chief executive officer of Avon Products, has been elected to Apple’s board of directors. “Andrea is a strong CEO and marketer and we look forward to benefiting from her insights and experience as a member of Apple’s board,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. [Jan 07, 2008]

Out of the Garage: Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump

He’s not only the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for megaband Fall Out Boy. Patrick Stump is also one of the most prolific composers in pop music. And he composes that music all over the world using his MacBook Pro and GarageBand. “The beauty of GarageBand is that it’s only limited by what you want to do with it,” he says. “Ultimately, you can do anything. It’s a sequencer and you can record and edit audio. And it runs on my laptop. I’ve composed and recorded on the plane, on the bullet train in Japan. It’s made me so much more prolific because I don’t have to think about where and when I can record or write music. I can do it anywhere.” [Jan 04, 2008]

iPhone and iMac share limelight among tech 2007 highlights

iPhone certainly caught Dean Takahashi’s (mercurynews.com) attention in 2007. “Apple tossed out the design parameters for cell phones and came up with a device based on what you wished cell phones would be,” he reports. iPhone “has a 3.5-inch display, a touch screen that makes it easier to use your fingers to browse Web pages, an instant link to YouTube’s top videos and an easy way to call contacts or create group calls.” Takahashi also thinks the “ new iMacs look great as wireless all-in-one units without a lot of ugly cables. They have great automatic backup systems, wonderful video editing tools, and cool methods for keeping your desktop organized.” [Jan 02, 2008]

“iPhone tops big tech year”

“The biggest tech story of 2007 occurred shortly after the new year when Apple announced the iPhone at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco,” writes Larry Magid (cbsnews.com) in his assessment of the tech innovations for 2007. And, Magid points out, Apple “also came out with a new operating system last year called Leopard.” In fact, “unlike the lukewarm response to Vista, Mac users seem to be generally impressed by Leopard.” [Jan 02, 2008]

Registration now open for 7th Annual Final Cut Pro Supermeet

If you’re attending Macworld 2008 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco less than two weeks from today, you may also want to participate in the seventh annual Macworld Final Cut Pro User Group Supermeet. Scheduled for Wednesday, January 16, it features presentations by Apple, Adobe, SONY, Blackmagic Design, and a variety of Bay Area filmmakers. [Jan 02, 2008]

Pro Tip of the Week: Instant Email Slideshows

Next time you receive an email with a slew of attached photos, you can enjoy them with an instant slideshow delivered by Quick Look. One of the leading features of Mac OS X Leopard, Quick Look interacts with a variety of Mac applications, including Mail, Leopard’s powerful and popular email client. How can you launch a Quick Look slideshow from Mail? Find out how in the latest Pro Tip of the Week. [Jan 02, 2008]

iPhone release leads top tech stories of 2007

After taking stock of the hottest Internet and technology stories of the year, Michael Krey (Investor’s Business Daily) puts the release of iPhone at the top of the list. “The iPhone marked Apple’s first smart phone, and the cell phone industry will never be the same. Apple’s product doubles as an iPod digital music and video player.” iPhone, Krey concludes, ushers in “an era of more user-friendly handheld gadgets.” [Jan 02, 2008]

iPhone “transformed phone industry”

Less than a year after its introduction, it’s clear “the iPhone has had a profound impact on the mobile phone business and likely will keep on influencing it for years to come,” Troy Wolverton (mercurynews.com) reports. “With its large, full-screen display, its notable lack of a keypad and its simple black-on-silver color scheme, the iPhone instantly became an icon—and a model for the rest of the industry.” [Jan 02, 2008]

MacBook a “top choice” among laptops

Dan Ackerman (CNET.com) awards MacBook an “Excellent” 8.3 (out of 10) rating while proclaiming it “one of the best-loved laptops on the planet.” Now shipping with Mac OS X Leopard preinstalled, MacBook remains “in our top tier of laptop recommendations.” [Jan 02, 2008]

iTunes Tutorials: Learn to use iTunes fast.

Just got a new iPod? Then visit iTunes Tutorials. It provides a fast and easy way to learn how to get the most out of iTunes. Short videos show you how to Sync Your iPod, Import Music from CDs, Create Playlists, Get Free Podcasts, Shop the iTunes Store, and more. Of course, if you’re giving a friend a new iPod this holiday season, be sure to send your lucky recipient to iTunes Tutorials website. It’s the perfect place to help them get started with iTunes. [Dec 21, 2007]

Coppola/Murch: Second Youth

For “Youth without Youth,” his first film in ten years, Francis Ford Coppola returned to self-funded, low-budget filmmaking and to longtime collaborator and Oscar-winning film editor Walter Murch. It took six months for Murch and crew to edit the film, and they depended on Final Cut Studio throughout the six-month editing process. “In the final stages of editing the film, we were working with the ultimate resolution of the film,” says Murch. “So really, the final film, other than the color correction, came out of our editing rooms on Final Cut Pro—in this case Final Cut literally was the final cut.” [Dec 21, 2007]

Charity Checks: the Gift of Giving

Run completely on Macs, Charity Checks is a giving program that lets you make contributions to any charity while your gift recipient chooses the cause. With Charity Checks everyone comes out a winner. [Dec 20, 2007]

• Apple to Standardize iTunes Music Prices Throughout EuropeJanuary 9, 2008 7:47 AM PST
• Apple Introduces New Mac ProJanuary 8, 2008 5:31 AM PST
• Apple Introduces New Xserve—Most Powerful Apple Server EverJanuary 8, 2008 5:30 AM PST
• Andrea Jung Joins Apple’s Board of DirectorsJanuary 7, 2008 5:34 AM PST
• Apple Announces Hit Television Programming Now Available on the iTunes Store in CanadaDecember 12, 2007 7:46 AM PST
• The Apple Store West 14th Street to Open on Friday, December 7December 6, 2007 8:33 AM PST
• More press releases...