Computer / Software

Apple's first Intel-based laptop was introduced earlier this year. Is this the portable Mac musicians and audio engineers have been waiting for?

It's been an interesting four years for Mac-based audio engineers and musicians since Apple acquired Emagic, so this month we take the opportunity to acknowledge the anniversary and consider what's changed over this time and what's still to come.

In just a few weeks, Apple have completed the transition to Intel processors for their entire Mac portable line, starting with a 17-inch Mac Book Pro and ending with the introduction of the Mac Book family of laptops to replace the iBook. Apple Notes assesses the new machines.

News of Apple allowing Mac users to run Windows on their Macs might sound like an April Fool — but it turned out to be anything but a hoax. This month we investigate the possibilities of running Windows on an Intel-based Mac and discuss why you might want to.

When is an iMac not an iMac, but still an iMac? When it's a new model featuring an Intel processor. We test Apple's first Intel-based Mac and see what the future holds for Mac musicians and audio engineers.

The Mac Mini joins the iMac and the new Mac Book Pro as the latest Apple computer to make the move to Intel processors. We also have the latest news on Universal Binaries, including a look at whether the developer tools used to create these new applications will have a negative effect on performance for Power PC users.

With another major transition occurring in the Mac world this year, it's time to consider the real ramifications of moving from Power PC to Intel-based Macs for musicians and audio engineers.

If 2003 was Apple's 'year of the notebook', 2006 is set to be the 'year of Intel', with the prospect that every Mac computer in the company's range will use an Intel processor by the end of it.

With the rumour mills already grinding away in preparation for Macworld 2006 show, we make a brief survey of 2005, as well as taking a look at using Apple's DVD Studio Pro application to distribute surround mixes.

With the new single-processor, dual-core Power Macs shipping, we continue to investigate the impact of PCI Express on the Mac audio and music world.

Christmas came slightly early this year for Mac enthusiasts, with significant product announcements, including new dual-core, dual-processor Power Mac G5s. But just what do the new high-spec computers mean for musicians?

We round up a month of small, yet interesting, product releases from Apple, as well as looking at how the company is making it easy for Linux developers to port audio software to Mac OS X.

Apple's loop-sequencing application has grown up, with the addition of sophisticated recording, editing and mixing facilities, a powerful waveform editor, and many of Logic's most sought-after effects.

We explore a powerful Audio Units plug-in host application you might not realise you already own, called AU Lab. Plus news of the multi-button Apple mouse and Intel architecture changes...

As the Mac community looks to Pentium M-based Powerbooks to deliver high-performance, low-power mobile solutions, what if you can't wait until next year and need to purchase a Powerbook right now?

Apple users are used to transitions, having moved from 68k-based Macs to Power PC processors, and the classic Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X. Now it's time for the third and most shocking transition of all: the move to Macs with Intel processors.

As Apple's Tiger finds its way around the jungle of Mac users, there's also some new hardware to consider this month, with faster G5 machines hitting the shelves.

The latest version of Apple's Mac OS contains some excellent new features aimed at musicians and audio engineers. Is this one OS upgrade you won't mind performing on your studio computer?

We offer a brief preview of the features musicians can look forward to in Mac OS X Tiger, take a first look at a major new version of Soundtrack, and examine why the iPod Shuffle is hard to resist.

Apple have long been criticised for charging a premium for their products, making the Mac platform a more costly choice than the alternatives. With the newly released Mac Mini, Apple hope to change this perception, but is there enough Mac in the Mac Mini to make it useful for musicians?

Although intended as an entry-level application to introduce new people to computer-based music making, Apple's GarageBand has received acclaim from beginners and professionals alike. We look at version 2, which adds score editing, multitrack audio recording, and more...