Today Apple released an update to some of MacBook Pro laptops. Specifically, the MacBook Pros with Touch Bar. These are minor updates, and are only updates of the processors. There is also a change surrounding the keyboard, but more on that in a bit.

The 13-inch MacBook Pros with Touch Bar have gotten a processor bump. You now get an 8th generation 2.4GHz quad-core Core i5 processor with 128GB of eDRAM. You can configure a 2.8GHz quad-core Core i7 with 128GB of eDRAM. The remainder of the items like the memory, video card, and storage all remain the same as the previous models.

The 15-inch MacBook Pro models has two different tiers. The less expensive tier comes with a 9th Generation 2.6GHz six-core Core i7 processor. The improvement with the processor comes with the L3 cache, which has 33% more, at 12MB. The more expensive tier comes with a 9th Generation 8-core 2.3GHz Core i9 processor with 16MB of L3 Cache. This is an increase of 77%, up from 9MB.

Both of these 15-inch are configurable with an 8-core 2.4GHz Core-i9 processor. The remainder of the items like memory, video card, and storage remain the same as the previous models.

Apple indicates that these new processors are twice as fast as the previous quad-core models, and 40% faster than the 6-core models.

The Keyboard

I am going to quote Matthew Panzarino of TechCrunch:

Today, however, they told me they’re taking three explicit steps to help with the keyboard situation:

1. The MacBook Pro keyboard mechanism has had a materials change in the mechanism. Apple says that this new keyboard mechanism composition will substantially reduce the double-type/no-type issue. Apple will not specify what it has done, but doubtless tear-downs of the keyboard will reveal what has been updated.
2. Though Apple believes this change will greatly reduce the issue, it is also including all butterfly keyboards across its notebook line in its Keyboard Service Program. This means that current MacBook Pros and even the models being released today will have keyboard repairs covered at no cost, in warranty and out of warranty.
3. Apple tells me that repair times for keyboards have been longer than they would like. It is making substantial improvements to repair processes in Apple Stores to make repairs faster for customers with issues.

Closing Thoughts

These new MacBook Pros are available for order today. The processor updates are minor ones, but it is good to see Apple keeping the processors up to date. More importantly, I think it is good to see Apple taking real action with the keyboards. Will this new keyboard ultimately fix the problems that have been occurring with the MacBook Pros? We will not know for a while, or until Casey Johnston tries out the new MacBook Pros and see if she has any issues, because she seems to be the one who has the most experience with the problematic keyboards.

Source: Apple and TechCrunch.

Following yesterday's announcement of a new iPad Air and a new iPad mini, Apple has released some updated iMacs. Apple has three different iMacs in their line of All-in-one desktops and all of them got updated, or some new configuration options.

Following yesterday's announcement of a new iPad Air and a new iPad mini, Apple has released some updated iMacs. Apple has three different iMacs in their line of All-in-one desktops and all of them got updated, or some new configuration options. Let us start with the 21.5-inch iMac.

21.5-inch iMac

The 21.5-inch iMac has received some new 8th generation Intel processors. The iMac 4K, has a quad-core 3.6GHz Core i3 or a 3.0GHz 6-core Intel Core i5. Either model is configurable to a 3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7. This is the first time that a 6-core processors have been available on the 21.5-inch iMac.

The 4K iMac still comes with 8GB of memory, but this is a bit faster at 2666MHz. There is one additional change to the memory. It can still be configured with 16GB, but now you can also continue it with 32GB of memory.

The graphics have been slightly improved form the Radeon Pro 555 to the Radeon Pro 555X. The higher end 4K model comes with a Radeon Pro 560X with 4GB of VRAM, but can be configured with a Radeon Pro Vega 20, if you choose.

The storage options for the 21.5-inch iMac remains the same, with the lower-end model coming with a 1TB 5400RPM hard drive. The higher-end model comes with a 1TB Fusion drive. You can configure either model with a 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB SSD. This is a slight change to the previous models were not able to get anything more than a 512GB SSD.

The prices for the 21.5-inch iMac have not changed, so it still starts at $1299, and the higher end-model starts $1499. Let us look at the 27-inch iMac.

27-inch iMac

The 27-inch iMac also got some nice upgrades as well. There are three different base configurations for the 27-inch iMac. The 27-inch iMac has received 9th generation Intel Processors for the iMac.

All three models have 6-core Intel Core i5. processors. The speeds start are 3.0GHz, 3.1GHz, and 3.7GHz, respectively. The two higher-end models can be configured for a 3.6GHz 8-Core i9 processor, if desired.

All three 27-inch iMac Models come with 8GB of 2666MHz of RAM. The configuration options remain the same, at 16GB or 32GB for all models, and the two higher-end models can be configured with 64GB of memory.

The 27-inch iMacs still come with the same storage options, meaning they come with 1TB or 2TB fusion drives. All of them can be configured with a 2TB Fusion drive, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB SSD. The two higher-end models can also be configured with a 3TB Fusion drive, and the highest model can be configured with a 2TB SSD.

The graphics on the models have been improved to the Radeon Pro 579X, 575X, and 580X respectively. The highest-end model can be configured with a Radeon Pro Vega 48, which includes 8GB of Video Memory.

Just as with the 21.5-inch iMac, the base price of the 27-inch iMac models have not changed. They still start at $1799, $1999, and $2299 respectively.

There have been some last configuration options, and those are with the iMac Pro.

iMac Pro

The iMac Pro is the best all-in-one desktop Mac that you can buy. It is designed for users who know that they need the amount of power is provided by the iMac Pro. There have been a couple of additional configuration options made available for the iMac Pro.

The iMac Pro can now come configured with a Radeon Pro Vega 64X. The 64X comes with 16GB OF HBM2 memory. The 64X can handle 12 teraflops of single precision and 24 teraflops of half-precision. This is a slight improvement over the Radeon Pro 64.

There is one last configuration option available for the iMac Pro. You can now configure an iMac Pro with 256GB of memory. Doing so will cost you $5200, which is more than the base price of the iMac Pro. If you know that you need 256GB of memory, it is now an option available for you.

Other Thoughts

I normally do not have many thoughts regarding a spec bump on a product. However, I do have some thoughts regarding the 21.5-inch iMac. My thoughts are specifically about the storage options.

The base model of 21.5-inch 4K iMac comes with a 1TB spinning hard drive. To me, this is no longer acceptable as an option. I get that there needs to be some differentiation for pricing, and there is some with the quad-core Core i3, and the 3.0GHz 6-core Core i5, which is between the two models.

The biggest problem with this 1TB hard drive is that it is 5400 RPM. Apple charges $100 for a 1TB fusion drive upgrade. To me, the 21.5-inch 4K iMac should come with 1TB Fusion drive. I completely understand not having 2TB be the base, but the 5400RPM hard drive is really slow, particularly if you need to do anything that is disk intensive, like running a virtual machine, or transferring a number of files all at once.

I get that having an all SSD model is not feasible, with the current design, but there is no reason that a Fusion drive could not be used. Having a Fusion drive would got a long way to providing the best experience possible.

Final Thoughts

The specification bumps to the iMac line are solid upgrades. The inclusion of the 8th Generation Intel Processors in the 21.5-inch 4K iMac, and the 9th Generation Intel Processors in the 27-inch iMac will result in even better performance.

If you are in the market of an iMac, now is a great time to buy that new iMac. IF you are in the market for an iMac Pro and can use either the Radeon Pro Vega 64X, or 256GB of memory, you can now configure a model with even more options.

All of the iMac models, and iMac Pro configuration options, are available now.

Source: Apple

Today Apple pushed out a firmware update for the 2012 AirPort Express. The current version is 7.8. This firmware adds support for AirPlay 2. AirPlay 2 was added with iOS 11.4.1 and will allow you to stream the same audio to multiple rooms, or stream multiple items to different speakers. The latest firmware allows you to use the AirPort Express as an AirPlay 2 destination.

It is important to note that this only applies to the 2012 AirPort Express, which supports 802.11n networking. This does not apply to the original AirPort Express. If the back of your AirPort Express looks like the one below, it will be able to support AirPlay 2.

In order to update, you will need to use the AirPort Utility to perform the update on your AirPort Express.

Even though Apple discontinued the AirPort line as of April, they are still supporting it for a few more years. It may not get many updates, but it is nice to see it getting some additional features.

Source: MacObserver via David Chartier.

After the update of wwrite and wwriteFree to 3.2.0, I noticed a couple of things that needed to be changed. Here is what has changed:

• Fixed Privacy Policy button accessibility text
• Added accessibility text for each file
• The header on top of the files now automatically adjusts.
• Added accessibility text for the advertisements in wwriteFree.

The changes are minor, but they should help those who need accessibility messages to be able to use wwrite and wwriteFree a bit more easily. If you use voice over, or any other accessibility options, and find any issues, definitely let me know.

Per usual, the updates are free. You can download wwrite, or wwriteFree now.

Apple has released iOS 8.0.2. This comes one day after the release of its buggy iOS 8.0.1 update.

The list of items fixed in this release are:

fixes an issue in iOS 8.0.1 that impacted cellular network connectivity and Touch ID on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
• Fixes a bug so HealthKit apps can now be made available on the App Store
• Addresses an issue where 3rd party keyboards could become deselected when a user enters their passcode
• Fixes an issue that prevented some apps from accessing photos from the Photo Library
• Improves the reliability of the Reachability feature on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
• Fixes an issue that could cause unexpected cellular data usage when receiving SMS/MMS messages
• Better support of Ask To Buy for Family Sharing for In-App Purchases
• Fixes an issue where ringtones were sometimes not restored from iCloud backups
• Fixes a bug that prevented uploading photos and videos from Safari

iOS 8.0.2 is recommended for all users of iOS 8. You can download iOS 8 through iTunes or directly on your iOS device by going to Settings -> General -> Software Update and once the update is detected, click on "Install".

Both wwrite 2.1.2 and wwriteFree 2.1.2 have been released.

wwrite 2.1.2 has a couple of minor changes. The new features include the addition of support via twitter and implementation of auto layout. The bug fixes include some text within the "About" section of the app. The full change log is here.

wwriteFree 2.1.2 has feature parity with wwrite 2.1.2. These items include iOS 7 features like Dynamic Text, support for retina iPads, 64-bit support, a new file format and more archive types. The full change log is here.

I have updated two of my books, Xbox One: From the Original Xbox Until and Playstation 4: What We Know thus far.

Xbox One: From the Original Xbox Until Now is now at version 1.4.

Version 1.4 contains updates from Microsoft's E3 Presentation including price, availability date and more updates regarding used game policies.

If you have already purchased this, you should be able to receive an update. You may have to delete the book and re-download it to receive the update. If you have not yet purchased the title, you can do so from Amazon, iTunes (ePub) or iBooks.

The other title that was updated is PlayStation 4: What we know thus far. This is now at version 1.2.

Version 1.2 include additional social features, PlayStation Plus pricing, availability date, memory dispersion, additional sharing options, and PlayStation Vita TV.

As with the Xbox One title, if you have already purchased this, you should be able to receive an update. You may have to delete the book and re-download it to receive the update. If you have not yet purchased the book, you can do so from Amazon, iTunes (ePub) or Google Play

I just cleaned up some options which I hope will now fix Twitter-Tools... We'll see if this works if there is an archive of my tweets from today... I'm not getting my hopes up. If this doesn't work I'll start over entirely...

Well, Wordpress is now at 2.2.1. If there's anything that is missing or not working correctly, please let me know.