From the origination of a raw operating system , new Mac technologies , and a fresh chief executive officer , to the discontinuance of a pop laptop and the demise of Apple ’s cofounder , 2011 was a year of beginnings and endings for the Mac . As we cook to enter a new twelvemonth , let ’s take a look back at the late 12 months , from a Mac linear perspective .
Steve Jobs
The tarradiddle of the year for Apple — and for engineering , business , and pop cultivation in general — was the expiry of Steve Jobs on October 5 , 2011 . Jobs had battled Crab since 2004 , taken a medical leave of absence twice , and undergone a liver transplant in 2009 .
Jobs ’s death set off an overwhelming fountain of emotion and fond memories from all over the world . orchard apple tree customers clump to Apple Storesto pay protection , and Apple lay out up awebsite commemoration . The Web was glut with taradiddle from people who had some sort of fundamental interaction with Steve Jobs ; many narrative came from people who worked tight with Jobs and offer unexampled insight on Apple ’s cofounder . Others talked about how they were determine by the man , even though they ’d never met him .
Jobs was intensely guarded about his personal life , and details about his malady were not disclose when he was alive . ( In fact , at this timelast yr , I write that Jobs was awake and well . Alive , yes , but he was n’t well . ) But a few weeks after his decease , the publication of the biographySteve Jobsallowed the public to live much more about the man . Written byWalter Isaacson , the leger not only detail the highlight of Jobs ’s calling and the production that made Apple successful , it also covered his childhood , his life sentence with his married woman , children , and baby , and his sickness , among many other things . The book quick became a best - marketer .
Tim Cook, Apple’s new CEO
In August , weeks before his death , Steve Jobs give up as Apple CEO , and he recommend Tim Cook as his refilling . Cook , who had previously attend as Apple ’s chief operating officer , as well as interim CEO during Jobs ’s medical folio , was immediately named Apple CEO .
CanCookmaintain Apple ’s impulse ? That ’s the challenge he faces in the years ahead . Applebelieveshe ’s up to the project , and luckily , he wo n’t have to do it all by himself . job lease Cook to be part of a group of executives that go the range of a function that Jobs had for the company — a group that worked tight with Jobs to define and read the Apple way of doing clientele . Also , fit in to write up , the company created Apple University to instruct its employee the Apple Way .
Jobs ca n’t be interchange by one person , butApple sure is n’t doomed . The Apple executive team will form together to maintain the company ’s achiever now and into the future .
Start of the Lion era
We provided a close feel of the new lineament in Lion . aged Contributor Ted Landau offered a fewfixes for troublesome Lion installations . Lev Davidovich Landau also appear at somecompatibility issues your applications may have with Lion .
Initially , Lion wasavailable only through the Mac App Storefor $ 30 . On the day of Lion ’s sacking , Apple reportedmore than 1 million downloadsof the new OS . In August , Apple released a$69 USB installerfor anyone who did not or could not download the o from the Mac App Store .
Mac App Store opens for business
TheMac App Store , which played a major role in the release of Lion , opened its virtual doorsduring the first week of January . At first , the store had more than 1000 Mac apps ; the computer storage now has several thousand programs . It gives Mac users a very easy way of life to find and grease one’s palms software , often at very attractive damage . The Mac App Storehas become a core partof the Mac experience .
For an app to be sold through the Mac App Store , however , developers must follow Apple ’s guidelines , which mean that some useful and well - written apps are n’t usable through Apple ’s computer storage . Also , in March 2012 , Apple will require developers to implement a security system called sandboxing , which may demand some developers to remove certain software feature . In December , Apple announced that theMac App Store passed 100 million downloads , so the Mac App Store is a worthful resourcefulness , but there will always be a reason to download apps now from a developer .
Apple launches iCloud
In October , Apple ’s loose iCloud serving was made available to the public through the OS disco biscuit 10.7.2 organisation update.iClouduses the Internet to provide access to your document and subject matter on all your devices , without your having to put much effort into syncing your data .
Thunderbolt strikes
To take vantage of Thunderbolt , you involve Thunderbolt devices — but unfortunately , such gimmick are only easy trickling out to mart . The first Thunderbolt peripherals to arrive , thePegasus R4 and R6RAID array from Promise , shipped four calendar month after Thunderbolt ’s entry . Although the benchmarks from the Pegasus R6 were impressive , the product ’s specs and pricing are declarative of the Thunderbolt computer peripheral that are actually available — they’re high - conclusion , dear devices ideally beseem for professionals . Macworldcontributor Joel Mathis come up thatcomponent prices and technical issue have hindered the passing of Thunderbolt peripherals .
Apple’sThunderbolt Display — loose in September , seven months after Thunderbolt ’s introduction — exemplifies the versatility of Thunderbolt . The display essentially serves as a dock for the MacBook Air , allowing you to use FireWire , USB , and ethernet on the laptop computer through the display . With the Thunderbolt Display , Macworld Lab Director James Galbraith was able to connect a few other Thunderbolt twist , and he examined the complexness ofThunderbolt daisy chain , as well as how devices affect each other ’s performance .
MacBooks dominate
TheMacBook Airis now the darling of Apple ’s Mac lineup . It ’s not the fast Mac , but it offers first-class performance in an ultraportable design that ’s very appealing — so appealing , in fact , that PC manufacturers are using Intel’sUltrabookplatform to make laptop computer that are very much like the MacBook Air .
Apple updated the MacBook Air in July . The update provided major performance increases by using Core i5 processors ( and Core i7 processors in build - to - guild model ) . The MacBook Air now has Thunderbolt , which facilitate solve many of the connectivity complaints about previous MacBook Air models . When connected to a Thunderbolt Display , the MacBook Air can serve as your one and only Mac , not just as a portable complement to a screen background computer .
The evolution of the MacBook Air led to thedemise of the credit card , entering - level MacBook . client looking for a Mac laptop on a budget will have to move around to the $ 1199 13 - inch 2.4GHz Core i5 MacBook Pro , or to one of the 11 - in MacBook Air models , priced at $ 999 and $ 1199 . If you really desire a plastic MacBook , you ’ll have to come up a used one for sale , or mark off the refurbish section of the Apple Online Store on a regular basis ( there were n’t any refurbished MacBooks when I train last week ) .
Apple released not one , but two update to the MacBook Pro in 2011 . The first update wasin February , while the current MacBook Pro models were introducedin October . The update in Februarysaw the endof the Core 2 Duo being used in the MacBook Pro , and usher in the newSandy Bridgeprocessors . The update in Octoberbumped upthe C.P.U. focal ratio , storage electrical capacity , and graphics .
Desktop Macs
The major desktop development appeared with theMac miniupdatein July — the information processing system arrive on the view without a SuperDrive , bringing back memories of whenApple resolve to do off with the floppy drive on the iMacin 1998 . Apple does n’t recall there ’s much utilization bequeath for optic driving , with the Mac App Store available for procure software system , iTunes for scram moving picture and telly show , and Internet connectivity , so do n’t be surprised if you notice a lack of SuperDrives in other Macs in the future tense .
Thanks to the Core i5 CPU , the 2011 Mac mini offers a Brobdingnagian speed improvement over its Core 2 duo - based predecessors . And , like the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air released earlier in the yr , the Mac mini has a Thunderbolt porthole ( replace the Mini DisplayPort ) , though it still also has a FireWire 800 port , four USB 2.0 port , HDMI , gigabit ethernet , and an SDXC slot .
TheiMacwasupdated in May , with new Core i5 processors , new graphics processors , and Thunderbolt . Previous iMac updates get a line fringy speed increase , but with the implementation of the new Sandy Bridge processors , we see amore meaning speed boost .
Apple builds more stores, shows plans for a “spaceship”
May marked the 10th day of remembrance of the Apple Retail Stores . Apple did n’t do much to memorialize the event — the company say it prefer to see forward rather than celebrate past achievements . Apple ’s first retail computer memory , in McLean , Virginia , did have a small celebration , asdocumented by ifoAppleStore.com ’s Gary Allen .
The man behind the Apple Retail Stores , Rob Johnson , announced his resignationin June to become chief operating officer of J.C. Penney . Johnson ’s divergence did n’t stop Apple from opening more storehouse ; among the dozens of unexampled locations wereGrand Central Stationin New York;Hong Kong;Valenciain Spain;Sulzbachin Germany ; andAnchorage , Alaska .
In addition to opening new stores , Apple plans to build a new campus . In June , Steve Jobs presented plans to the metropolis council of Cupertino to build aspaceship - likecircular construction that will fit 12,000 employee .
Read about Apple ’s 2011 financial performance
Minor updates
A few Apple production see no major rising slope in 2011 . The most illustrious was theMac Pro , which was last update in August 2010 . The lack of tending make up to the Mac Pro fueled the hearsay manufactory withspeculationthat the Mac Pro would be break . People forget , however , that Apple has done this before ; 19 months went by before Apple finally update the Mac mini that was relinquish in 2007 . The destiny of the Mac Pro remains to be seen , but it’spossible we have n’t seen the destruction .
Apple’siLifeandiWorksoftware suite see only incremental upkeep updates . Apple ’s in vogue versions of theAirPort ExtremeandTime Capsulewerereleased with little fanfare , with the upgrades offering better performance .
Looking ahead
