Updates From WWDC

We'll be recording our "live" podcast tonight, but fore the time being, here are the latest updates from the floor of WWDC. Subscribe to our feed to receive the podcast the minute it is available for download.

Apple has also posted a Quicktime Stream of the Keynote: Quicktime stream

Apple Announces Mac Pro
http://www.apple.com/macpro/
Features include a quad Xeon, 64-bit desktop workstation featuring two new Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors running up to 3.0 GHz and a new system architecture that delivers up to twice the performance of the Power Mac G5 Quad. THe Mac Pro also features 1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 fully-buffered ECC memory expandable up to 16GB; NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT with 256MB of GDDR2 SDRAM; 250GB Serial ATA (3Gb/s) hard drive running at 7200 rpm; 16x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW); and ships with a Mighty Mouse and Apple Keyboard.
The Mac Pro is shipping today with the standard prebuilt configuration, including two 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors and priced at US$2,499. A wide variety of build-to-order options are also available.

New XServe
http://www.apple.com/xserve/
A quad Xeon, 64-bit server featuring Mac OS® X Server Tiger on two Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors running up to 3.0 GHz, resulting in performance that is over five times that of its predecessor. ncludes PCI Express, independent 1.33 GHz front side buses with 4MB of shared L2 cache, and fully-buffered DIMMs (FB-DIMMs), the new Xserve delivers up to four times the I/O bandwidth, up to three times the memory bandwidth and twice the storage bandwidth of the Xserve G5

The new Xserve is scheduled to be available in October 2006. The base configuration includes two 2.0 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors with 1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM RAM, a single 80GB 3Gb/s SATA Apple Drive Module, dual Gigabit Ethernet on-board, internal graphics, three FireWire® 800 and two USB 2.0 ports, and an unlimited client license of Mac OS X Server version 10.4 Tiger for a suggested retail price of $2,999. Build to order options and accessories are available.

Mac OS 10.5 Leopard:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/
Apple® today previewed Mac OS® X version 10.5 Leopard, the sixth major version of Mac OS X, to its third party developers. Leopard, scheduled to ship in spring 2007, extends Apple’s leadership in software innovation with groundbreaking new features, including Time Machine, a revolutionary new way to automatically back up and restore everything on your Mac®, and Spaces, an entirely new way to instantly switch between groups of applications required for various tasks. Leopard also includes industry-first advancements in Mail and iChat, including Stationery, Notes and To Dos in Mail; and Photo Booth™-style effects, the ability to “place” yourself in any photo or video as the backdrop for your chat, and live presentations of iPhoto® slideshows, Keynote™ presentations and videos in iChat. Features include:

• full native 64-bit support that allows applications to take complete advantage of 64-bit processing while maintaining full performance and compatibility for existing 32-bit Mac OS X applications and drivers;

• enhancements to Boot Camp, Apple’s innovative technology that was previewed as a public beta in April 2006, making it possible to run Windows natively on Intel-based Macs;

• Front Row™, now available with all new Macs to play back digital content, including video Podcasts using the simple Apple remote*;

• Photo Booth, Apple’s fun-to-use application that lets users take quick snapshots with an iSight™ video camera, add entertaining visual effects with the touch of a button, and share them via email;

• iCal 3 with group calendaring capabilities, event drop box, and standards-based CalDAV support;

• improved Spotlight™ searching that’s even faster, provides richer previews, and lets users search across network mounted folders on other machines;

• a new Movies Dashboard widget for movie times and Web Clip for clipping any part of a web page as a live widget;

• new parental controls including curfews, time limits and remote administration;

• Core Animation, a new graphics technology that makes it easy to create stunning visual effects and animations;

• major enhancements in Universal Access, including improvements in VoiceOver, Apple’s built-in screen reader;

• security enhancements including anti-phishing protection in Mail and Safari™, and an automatic firewall that limits network resources available to an application; and

• new development tools, including Xcode® 3 with full 64-bit support, DashCode™, an easy way to create new Dashboard widgets without writing a line of code, and Xray, for optimizing application performance.

• Virtual Desktops "Spaces" Create different spaces for different clusters of application

• New Features in Mail: Stationary, photo email (html email), Notes and To Do Lists- with a system-wide to-do tracker with iCal Support built in

• iChat now supports multiple logins, visibility, animated icons, video recording, tabbed chats, display sharing and collaboration and "iChat theater" which allows you to show slides that you can talk over. New "green screen" type features allows you to change your background.

• "Time Machine" backup software that automatically backs up and is able to restore all files.

Cinema Display Price Drops
Apple has also quietly updated the Cinema Display. The 20" Cinema Display now sells for $699 (down from $799), the 23" Cinema Display now sells for $999 (down from $1299), and the 30" Cinema Display now sells for $1999 (down from $2499), representing cuts of $100, $300, and $500 respectively. The specifications for the 20 and 23" displays have been bumped. The 20" display now has a brightness of 300 cd/m2 (up from 250 cd/m2), and the 23" display has a brightness of 400 cd/m2 (up from 270 cd/m2). Both models also now feature 700:1 contrast ratios (both up from 400:1). The 30" display remains at 400 cd/m2 and a 700:1 contrast ratio.