Apple recommends it for all OS X 10.7 users. It includes OS fixes for stability and compatibility, as well as other changes and updates.

Client and Server-related changes and udpates:
* Address an issue that may cause the system to become unresponsive when playing a video in Safari
* Resolve an issue that may cause system audio to stop working when using HDMI or optical audio out
* Improve the reliability of Wi-Fi connections
* Resolve an issue that prevents transfer of your data, settings, and compatible applications to a new Mac running OS X Lion

In addition, there are some issues concerning MacBook Air (2011) and Mac mini (2011) systems that have been resolved:
* Resolve an issue where MacBook Air may boot up when MagSafe Adapter is attached
* Resolve an issue causing intermittent display flickering on MacBook Air
* Resolve an issue that causes the SD card slot in Mac mini to run at reduced speed with SD and SDHC media

2011 MacBook Air and Mac mini Update: Support.Apple.com/kb/DL1439
Client Update Information: Support.Apple.com/kb/HT4764
Server Update Information: Support.Apple.com/kb/HT4765

It’s for Microsoft Windows 7, and it addresses issues with Japanese and Korean keyboards on the latest iMacs.

The download weighs in at 638 KB and the download ID is DL1384. This might be available through Software Update, but if not, check below.

Download and more information: Support.Apple.com

They are claiming speeds up to 70% faster than existing iMacs, and video card updates that are up to three times faster.

It’s still using a 21.5-inch or 27-inch IPS LED-backlit display.

Additions/Changes/Information:
* Starting CPU: Intel Core i5 (Core i7 up to 3.4GHz)
* Thunderbolt I/O (21.5-inch has one port, 27-inch has two)
* Facetime HD camera and software. Full HD between the latest Macs, standard between iPads, iPhone 4, and older Macs.

I believe the iMac is the first desktop to offer Thunderbolt, which came out in the new MacBook Pros a few months ago. It’s up to 10Gbps (not 10GBps) and is over 10 times faster than FireWire 800 and up to 20 times faster than existing USB 2.0. It’s quite a bit faster than USB 3.0 as well. You could run VMs off of a Thunderbolt connected hard drive.

One very unique aspect of Thunderbolt, it’s capable of supporting Gigabit ethernet and high resolution DisplayPort connections with the right adapters.

Low-End 21.5-inch Model:
* Starting Price: $1,199 US
* 21.5-inch Display
* AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512 MB GDDR5 Memory
* 2.5GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
* 4GB DDR 3 (up to 16GB) Memory
* 500 GB Hard Drive

Next 21.5-inch Model:
* Starting Price: $1,499 US
* 21.5-inch Display
* AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512 MB GDDR5 Memory
* 2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
* 4GB DDR 3 (up to 16GB) Memory
* 1 TB Hard Drive

27-inch iMac
* Starting Price: $1,699 US
* AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512 MB GDDR5 Memory
* 2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
* 4GB DDR 3 (up to 16GB) Memory
* 1 TB Hard Drive

27-inch iMac – Top-End
* Starting Price: $1,999 US
* AMD Radeon HD 6970M with 1 MB GDDR5 Memory
* 3.1GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
* 4GB DDR 3 (up to 16GB) Memory
* 1 TB Hard Drive

The more expensive models of both the 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs can have the CPUs upgraded, with the 21.5-inch taking up to a 2.8GHz Quad-Core i7 and the 27-inch taking up to a 3.4GHz Quad-Core i7.

You also get a choice of a Magic Mouse or a Magic Trackpad for the input device, in addition to the cordless keyboard.

All in all a very powerful upgrade, and one that’s sure to interest quite a few VM users.

SWsoft, the company that makes the popular Parallels virtualization software for Apple Macintoshes, is preparing an encore for Apple servers, The VAR Guy hears. The move could provide customers with an innovative solution for running Windows, Mac OS and Linux side by side on a departmental or small business server. And that could give Apple server sales a boost.

Rarely has a company “out innovated” Apple on its own platforms. But the existing Parallels Desktop for Mac is widely considered a better solution than Apple’s own Boot Camp software for running Windows and Mac OS X on Apple hardware. Those in the know suspect SWsoft will have another hit on its hands when the company extends its software to departmental and small business servers.

Updated Firmware:
- Mac Pro Update
- iMac Update
- MacBook Pro Update
- Mac mini Update
- MacBook Update

All of these updates do the following:

Fixes several Boot Camp, start up, and wake-from-sleep issues (except for the Mac Pros).

Also: Firmware Restoration CD v1.2

There are a lot of complains from Mac Pro and newest Core 2 Duo Mac users about kernel panics or “grayed screen with different languages” on virtual machine startup.

The problem in using old Parallels Desktop Build 1848 (or 1848.2) which was released prior to Apple announce of Mac Pro and Core 2 Duo Macs and it is not compatible with these Macs.

Unfortunately this build is still available in retail stores (even in Apple stores) and staff is not aware of this problem.

If you have any problems with old retail version of Parallels Desktop – please upgrade it on build 1970! It can be freely download from our web site – http://www.parallels.com/en/download/desktop/ . Your permanent registration key will work with this version.

Some of the fixes/changes that may benefit Mac users interested in virtualization/emulation:
- Improves Apple File Sharing client performance by changing the default AFP WAN quantum size.. More…
- Windows File Sharing now generates only one process, avoiding an issue that could cause a Mac OS X computer to become unresponsive if it won a master browser election.
- Improves the accuracy of Rosetta numerics and addresses Altivec translation issues on Intel-based Macs.
- Adds support on Intel-based Macs for multiple cores to LAPACK and BLAS routines in the Accelerate framework; the maximum number of threads used by Accelerate BLAS routines is now limited by the environment variable VECLIB_MAXIMUM_THREADS; addresses an issue with some complex BLAS routines in the Accelerate framework that were encountering an illegal instruction.

Some virtualization software uses Windows File Sharing/Apple File Sharing to transfer data back and forth between the virtual environment and Mac OS X, and this is a welcome fix. I played around with Parallels after having upgraded to Mac OS X 10.4.8, but I had also upgraded to Parallels Build 1922 as well and while things felt faster, I did not have a chance to do before and after comparisons, to see where any improvements were made.

Excerpts from the article:

Intel has put two Apple sessions at the top of its Featured Sessions list for the upcoming Intel Developer Forum. That isn’t Apple doing Intel a favor by filling a couple of empty slots in the schedule. Intel is touching a toe to that third rail for component manufacturers: Endorsement. And while people at Intel and Apple are scrambling right now to get their denials in a row, I want to drain this issue of its intrigue while at the same time highlighting its importance and pointing out that at least a little endorsement is overdue. After all, among first tier OEMs in the U.S., Apple is the only one remaining that buys CPUs exclusively from Intel. That deserves more than a cupcake. Intel should greet Steve Jobs’ visits to the Intel campus by scattering rose petals before him.

Steve Jobs has been lionizing Intel for over a year. He and Apple’s PR and Marketing have been making public mockery of Apple’s PowerPC systems as they’re replaced by x86, even though some of those PowerPC boxes were fewer than six months old at the time of their replacement. Apple redesigned Macs’ packaging and on-line collateral to play up Intel’s logo and technology. Although the story has never been told, Jobs (certainly not single-handedly) brought Apple to the brink of meltdown to ship Intel Macs way ahead of schedule, seizing the opportunity presented by Core Duo, a CPU that Intel had relegated to the low-volume embedded market. Apple created a broad market among Intel notebook OEMs for Core Duo.

With this trial balloon with sessions at IDF, Intel is playing favorites, just a little, with its poster OEM. For me, that passes the sniff test and looks like good business. Intel is giving Apple some fraction of its due and is creditably being completely open about it.

Full Article

Of note is the very prominent “64 bit” icon on the main banner.

These come via one digital life.

Quote:

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company has seen its share of the US notebook market double to 12 percent since announcing its first Intel-based notebook, the MacBook Pro, back in January.

In the three-month period ending July 1st, Apple reported record-setting shipments of Mac systems, including nearly 800,000 notebooks — 75 percent of which the company estimated were Intel-based.

So far, the success of Apple’s Intel systems has hinged on a single line of processors, the 32-bit Core Duo series formerly code-named Yonah. But in recent weeks, Intel has rolled-out far more capable chips in its 64-bit line of Core 2 Duo processors, including a mobile variant known by its code-named Merom.

The news has lead to widespread speculation over precisely when and where the new mobile chips will take their seat in Apple’s product lines.

According to a source familiar with the Mac maker’s plans, the company is slated to receive mass shipments of the new Merom Core 2 Duo processors by the first week of September and plans to be amongst the first PC manufacturers to introduce systems based on the new chips.