Barkings! | The Small Dog Apple Blog

Make sure your new Mac has the latest version of iLife! As of now, Macs shipped from Small Dog will either have iLife ’09 pre-installed, a DVD insert of the upgrade, or be eligible for an instant $9.95 rebate.**

You can upgrade to iLife ’09 for $9.95 if you have a qualifying Mac with iLife ’08. The Up-To-Date Program ends March 28, 2009, and applies to Macs bought on or after January 6, 2009.

» See all qualifying computer models here.

» Download the iLife ’09 Up-To-Date form here.

Still have questions? Email us at Sales@smalldog.com or give us a call at 800-511-MACS; we’d be happy to assist you.

Note that the $9.95 coupon applies only to the purchase of the following Mac (all other Macs include iLife ’09 in the box):
MacBook Air 1.6GHz 2GB/80GB

**The iLife Up-To-Date program (and subsequent coupon) is applicable for new Macs only; not valid for demo or used product.

Tags: garageband, ilife, imovie, iphoto, iweb, mac, os x

Millions of cheers were heard ‘round the world when Phil Schiller announced some of the changes coming to the iTunes Store in April. The main one: all DRM-free music, meaning that songs can be played and burned without restriction. The four major record companies (Sony, Universal, Warner and EMI) are all now on board with the change, which was crucial to feature songs without the DRM encoding.

Beginning today, over 8 million songs in the iTunes Store feature:

• No DRM restrictions
• Higher-quality 256 kbps AAC encoding for audio quality virtually unchanged from the original
• Same price for song downloads onto iPhone 3G over their 3G network

The remaining 2 million songs in the 10 million+ iTunes library will be available without the DRM restrictions by the end of March. According to Apple, they will offer a “simple, one-click option to easily upgrade their entire library of previously purchased songs to the higher quality DRM-free iTunes Plus format” for 30 cents per song or 30 percent of the album price. Sounds intriguing, but it could get expensive… I say choose your favorites wisely!

In April, songs will be available at three price points: 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29. This will be dictated by what the music labels charge Apple for the above licensing.

Read Apple’s entire press release here.

UPDATED

There were big changes announced to iWork. Like iWork ’08, iWork ’09 includes Pages, Keynote and Numbers. Integration and sharing have been vastly improved across the suite, and it still offers excellent Microsoft Office compatibility.

The addition of iWork.com is huge. Much like Google Docs, you will be able to collaborate on projects by accessing your files online. Apple has not launched this yet in its full form, but it is available as a public beta once you have purchased iWork ’09.

Here’s a rundown of the highlighted new features:

Pages ’09

• Choose from 40 new Apple-designed templates (over 180 total).
• Focus on your writing with new full-screen view.
• Organize your ideas with dynamic outlines.
• Customize your documents using mail merge with Numbers.
• Insert equations with MathType 6 (sold separately).
• Create bibliographies with EndNote X2 (sold separately).
• Open, save, and email Microsoft Word files from within Pages.

Keynote ’09

• Easily create sophisticated animations with Magic Move.
• Add dramatic object and text transitions using new visual effects.
• Visualize your data with new styles and animations for 3D charts.
• Dramatically reduce file size without compromising quality.
• Create dynamic flowcharts and diagrams using connection lines.
• Choose from eight new Apple-designed themes (44 total).
• Open, save, and email Microsoft PowerPoint files from within Keynote.

Numbers ’09

• Easily create formulas, using visual placeholders with plain language text.
• Perform calculations using over 250 functions.
• Organize your data instantly using Table Categories.
• Check your calculations at a glance with Formula List view.
• Create two-axis charts and combine line, column, and area series in a single mixed chart.
• Choose from twelve new Apple-designed templates (30 total).
• Open, save, and email Microsoft Excel files from within Numbers.

iWork.com

• Easily view and manage files online
• Fonts, colors and formatting exist online just as you intended for all to see!
• Comments and feedback are easily left in a shared document.
• Multiple format uploads ensure that those you’re sharing with always have a file format they need (versions in iWork, Microsoft Office, and PDF formats).

Buy iWork ’09 here
Buy iWork ’09 Family Pack here

Tags: iwork, macworld

Click Here to take our post-Macworld keynote survey!

Tags: macworld, survey

Note: More details will be added as they are released.

Big changes here. Still includes Pages, Keynote and Numbers, with updates to all. A rundown:

Pages

• 40 New templates (I love this one)
• Full screen option (Ed loves this one)
• Mail merge with Numbers
• Dynamic outlines

Keynote

• More transitions (cue Presidential transition joke)
• Chart animations (Pie charts! Bar graphs! That move!)
• Themes that match all slides, fonts, etc. across the presentation
• Keynote remote: iPhone/iPod touch app that controls your presentation on it and shows your slides as well as your notes ($.99 in the App Store)

Numbers

• New Table categories
• Advanced chart options
• Connectivity features (with MathType and EndNote)
• Mail merge

Perhaps the biggest addition? iWork.com. Like Google Docs, you’ll be able to see and share your docs anywhere, since it’s web-based. You’ll be able to leave notes, see who’s sharing and more. Invites may work similarly to iCal.

iWork ’09 is $79 for one license and $99 for a family pack (5 people).

More to come…

Tags: iwork, macworld