SimCity Finally Launches on the Mac With Native Version and Cross-Platform Servers

After being delayed for six months, EA has finally released the Mac version of the newSimCity. The game was originally set to come out in February of this year, but EA decided to delay it to "ensure a great experience" for players.

EA has repeatedly emphasized that the Mac version of SimCity is not a "port" of the PC game, but a fully native version designed specifically for the Mac using OpenGL. However, the game will include full cross-platform support to facilitate 'region play' where the cities of multiple players are connected to share utilities and citizenry, with PC and Mac Mayors able to play in the same regions...

Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours

Apple to Adopt IGZO Displays for Future iPads and MacBooks?

Apple is planning to expand its adoption of IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) displays to reduce the energy consumption of its mobile devices, reports etnews.com.

According to industry insiders, having decided to apply the IGZO method to displays for MacBook, Apple is talking with LCD panel manufacturers, such as Sharp and LG Display.

IGZO is a semiconducting material that has forty times more electron mobility than the standard amorphous silicon that is used as the active layer of an LCD screen, allowing for higher resolution displays, better reaction times, and less power consumption. 

The report suggests that in addition to expanding to IGZO displays for the MacBook, Apple is also planning to use them in the iPad. Apple is said to be relying on Sharp for the displays, and last year news surfaced that Sharp had already begun mass production of IGZO displays that could be used in future Apple products. 

The site expects IGZO MacBooks to appear in the first half of 2014, but does not note when an IGZO iPad might make an appearance. Apple is expected to release a new, thinner fifth generation iPad later this year. 

Source: Mac Rumours

Apple Planning 'Something Really Different' for New Mac Pro

The new Mac Pro model, expected later this year, is "something really different" according to a video professional who says he spoke with the Mac Pro product manager.

Writing on the RedUser.net forum, Andrew Baird says he spoke to Mac Pro project manager Douglas Brooks on the phone after emailing CEO Tim Cook with his concerns about the lack of a new professional tower from Apple over the past few years.

Baird told MacRumors that the call didn't include any specific details about when the new machine would be released, nor its specifications -- however, he was assured several times that the new Mac Pro would be worth the wait. Brooks told him that the machine would be released later this year.

Somewhat corroborating Baird's phone call, Lou Borella -- administrator of the 'We Want a New Macpro' Facebook group -- wrote on the page that he heard the new professional Mac would be "heavily reliant on Thunderbolt" with "no internal expandability", and would have support for dual-GPU's and no FireWire or optical drive.

In mid-2012, after a minor update to the Mac Pro was announced at WWDC, Tim Cook confirmed to a fan that new Mac Pros were coming in 2013, which was later reiterated by an Apple spokesman. It has also been rumored that the new Mac Pro would be the first Apple computer in years to be 'Made in the USA'

Source: Mac Rumours

Logitech intros two Mac accessories: the Easy-Switch Keyboard and an external trackpad

After unveiling a handful of accessories designed for Windows 8, it's clear Logitech had some catching up to do on the Mac side. The company just announced two things, the Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboard and the Rechargeable Trackpad for Mac, and they're both more or less Apple-friendly versions of items that were announced for Windows back in October. Starting with the keyboard, it's basically the same as the Illuminated Bluetooth K810 keyboard, in that you can pair it with up to three Bluetooth-enabled devices and switch from one to the other by pressing a button. As the name suggests, it's also backlit, with sensors that turn on the lights when your hands are hovering, and lower the brightness when backlighting isn't necessary. The truth is, the K810 does all of this too and can pair with devices running any OS; it just has Windows 8-specific hotkeys, which you wouldn't need if you were a Mac user.

[Source: Engadget]

Western Digital bumps My Book Thunderbolt Duo to 8TB, consoles regular My Book buyers with 4TB

Many of us may have liked the prospect of Western Digital's My Book Thunderbolt Duo, but there's no doubt some of us who discovered that even 6TB just wouldn't cut it. If that digital pack rat mentality describes you, the solution is here: the company has taken advantage of larger 4TB hard disks to stuff a total 8TB of storage into the Duo's enclosure. The extra capacity hikes the price to $850, although the company notes that it's including the often expensive Thunderbolt cable to avoid any surprise trips to the store. Those without the ports or budget for the Duo can still reap some of the benefits through an updated, 4TB version of the regular My Book that hums along on USB 3.0 at a more reasonable $250 price. Either of the new drives should be lurking in stores if you're hurting for space as we write this.

[Source: Engadget]

Logitech outs two wireless mice and an external trackpad, all optimized for Windows 8

It'll be another two weeks before Windows 8 PCs go on sale, but if you like, you can hand pick out your gesture-enabled peripherals now. Logitech just announced two wireless mice and an external trackpad, all optimized to support gestures in Windows 8. Starting with the mice, the Touch Mouse T620 has the same design as the M600 announced earlier this year, except it supports Win 8 gestures out of the box. (The M600 will get a software update allowing it to work the same way.) Similar to its predecessor, the T620's entire top surface is touch-enabled, which means you can do things like swipe the right side for the Charm Bar, or swipe from the left to rotate through open programs. You can also double tap with one finger to return to the Start Screen, and double tap with two fingers to show the desktop.

Moving on, the Zone Touch Mouse T400 has a touch strip that you can use to move up and down through pages, as well as scroll through the live tiles on the Start Screen. In a brilliant twist, though, the touch strip itself is comprised of two buttons, which you can use to toggle open apps or bring up the Start Screen, depending on which end you press. Finally, the Wireless Rechargeable Touchpad T650 is a Magic Trackpad-style touchpad with a spacious glass surface, which seemed impeccably responsive during our brief hands-on with it. Unlike the two mice, which run on AAs, the T650 has a rechargeable battery, which you can re-juice over USB.

[Source: Engadget - Click here to read the full story]

Oh Samsung Will You Ever Learn ?!

Searching the internetz the other day I turned up this video about the "Samsung Spider Laptop" from MiniPCPro on YouTube. This is a new laptop that you can connect your Samsung Galaxy S3 to. About half way through the video, which you can watch below, we see a mouse that accompanies the laptop. Even the presenter comments that there ay be another lawsuit coming and they are right.

It doesn't just have a slight resemblence to the Magic Mouse from Apple. Instead, if you take a good look at the mouse, it really does look almost identical. After Apple being awarded $1 Billion in the last round, I thought that Samsung would be a bit more careful. I can see it now … internal document leak from engineers … "How can we make our mouse like the Magic Mouse, but improve on it, without seeming to have copied it?" … well you have managed to make a superb looking mouse, yes, but it is an IN YOUR FACE copy that will surely gain more than my attention.

What do you think? Leave your comments below.

Acer announces Aspire ZS600 all-in-one with multitouch display

Acer has announced the Apsire ZS600, a new all-in-one desktop computer focused on media and entertainment. Offering a 23-inch Full HD LED display with 10-point multitouch, the ZS600 also includes inbuilt speakers with Dolby Home Theatre v4.0 audio enhancement, a TV tuner, and an optional Blu-ray drive — it sits on an adjustable stand with a tilt range of roughly 20 degrees.

Acer has not yet released specific details of the ZS600's processor, RAM, or graphics, though a press release mentions a "3rd generation Intel iCore processor." The company is billing the ZS600 as "the hub of your digital life," an adaptable device which can be used for work as much as entertainment.

[Source: The Verge]

Mac 101: Battery not charging? Recalibration may be the answer

If your MacBook (any model) is not charging to 100%, it may need to be recalibrated. Apple explains how to do this, but basically it comes down to three steps:

1. Fully charge your MacBook (and leave it charged for about 2 hours)
2. Fully drain your MacBook (by using it on battery until it turns off)
3. Fully recharge your MacBook again.

That should help the battery indicator recalibrate so that it shows the correct information. If it doesn't, you might need to reset the System Management Controller (SMC), but in most case I've found that a simple recalibration will work.

[Source: To read the full article visit Tuaw]

LaCie's eSATA Thunderbolt Hub pushes data transfer to the max

The move from traditional I/O options toward Thunderbolt across the Mac line (with the notable exception of the Mac Pro) has meant some headscratching moments for users of high-end storage. Buying all-new Thunderbolt-ready RAIDs isn't an option for those on a budget, especially when there may be big investments already in eSATA-connected equipment.

As more Thunderbolt peripherals and accessories have made it to market, this conundrum is beginning to clear. LaCie's eSATA hub Thunderbolt Series, at $199, delivers eSATA performance and convenience for high-end video and graphics users at a price that's not out of balance.

[Source: TUAW - Read the full story]

Dell's new 27-inch UltraSharp monitor, its first with AH-IPS

Following 2010’s highly-regarded U2711 monitor, Dell is releasing its next iteration on the 27-inch 2560x1440 IPS LCD panel. Announced on Dell’s Japanese site, the UltraSharp branded U2713HM is the company’s first display to use AH-IPS (advanced high-performance IPS), which it claims offers improved color and clarity over other IPS technologies.  While Dell’s offering doesn’t have the Thunderbolt interface of Apple’s similarly-sized display (also a 2560x1440 IPS panel), it does offer four USB 3.0 ports, and its DisplayPort, HDMI, dual-link DVI, and even VGA inputs mean it should be compatible with whatever computer you want to throw at it. The U2713HM hasn’t yet been announced in the US, but the Japanese price of ¥49,980 (about $637) is a drop of ¥20,000 (about $255) from Dell's last generation.

[Source: The Verge]

ADATA Raises the Bar on Solid State Drive Reliability

Launching Ultimate Performance XPG SX910

Taipei, Taiwan – June 28, 2012 – ADATA™ Technology launches the XPG SX910 solid state drive, a significant broadening of the popular and powerful XPG line of storage products. The SX910 features a 7% capacity increase over common SSDs that use a SandForce controller, delivering a powerful combination of capacity and high performance with a five-year warranty. The ADATA XPG SX910 uses new optimized firmware to maximize utilization of the NAND Flash components, allowing for full use of the available storage capacity. This zero percent over-provisioning in the design and engineering of the SX910 is implemented with no loss to performance: maximum 4k random read/write speeds are 50,000 and 85,000 IOPS respectively, with sequential read and write speeds reaching 550 and 530MB/sec. In addition, the SX910 undergoes an improved screening process for the Flash IC chip selection. This results in improved stability and performance, that is demonstrated by the five-year warranty that comes as standard for this SSD. With capacities of 128, 256 & 512 gigabytes, the SX910 is positioned to meet the rigorous standards of the world’s most serious gamers and professionals. Availability The ADATA XPG SX910 is now available through selected distributors and resellers in the Europe. More information can be found on ADATA's website at http://www.adata-group.com/index.php?action=product_feature&cid=3&piid=183&lan=en