(01-06) 12:59 PST SAN FRANCISCO – There was no Steve Jobs or game-changing gadget at Macworld’s keynote presentation Tuesday, but Apple marketing chief Philip Schiller kept things lively by introducing eye-catching software updates and a supercharged, sleek MacBook Pro.
Schiller, who handles worldwide product marketing and was a last-minute stand-in for Jobs, capped off the Cupertino tech giant’s final year of participation in the expo, which runs through Friday at Moscone Center in San Francisco.
With Apple exiting the Macworld stage and Jobs being treated for a hormonal imbalance, Schiller offered announcements devoid of huge surprises. Rumors of an Apple netbook or large iPod Touch weren’t realized, but Schiller seemed to have a good time talking up the Mac platform and updates to the Apple family.
“I’m so personally excited to be the one delivering Macworld 2009 to you. I’d like to thank everybody for showing up,” he said.
The presentation included updates to the iLife and iWork software suites, a new 17-inch MacBook Pro with an 8-hour battery and a new digital rights management-free iTunes library with tiered pricing.
Starting at $2,799 and available in late January, the new MacBook Pro features Apple’s unibody aluminum enclosure, which other models received this past summer. But the big news was the battery life for the machine, which has a 40-percent larger battery capable of up to eight hours of continuous use.
Apple engineers worked with advanced chemistry, monitoring technology and power distribution to develop a battery able to last over 1,000 charges, a lifespan that is three times the industry standard, Schiller said. The laptop is a svelte .98 inches thick and 6.6 pounds; offers Intel Core 2 Duo processors up to 2.93 GHz, up to 8 GB of RAM, both discrete and integrated graphic chips from Nvidia, 320 GB of hard drive space, and an LED backlit display that has 1920 x 1200 resolution with 78 percent more pixels than its 15-inch sibling.
Schiller showed off new versions of iLife ‘09 and iWork ‘09. The iLife software includes a new iPhoto program with face detection capability that allows users to organize their picture library by - you guessed it - faces. Users also can organize photos by location using geo-tagged pictures. And iPhoto includes a new slide show feature with upgraded effects that can be synced to an iPhone or iPod Touch.
IMovie, which got a major makeover last year, adds more granular touch and powerful features, addressing one complaint of the updated iMovie. Video editors can apply new effects, sync audio better and smooth out jumpy footage using a new video stabilization feature.
Read full article: Apple unveils software updates, new laptop
From: allnews.net46.net
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