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One of the great things about Apple is their dedication to educating Mac users and enabling them to fully utilize their Mac. An opportunity to learn more about servers will be offered by Apple in Portland on March 5th, 2008.

Specifically the Mac OS X Leopard Server will be the topic of discussion. Covering everything from a basic introduction to the Mac OS X Server and the new 8-core Xserve all the way to deployment of the server and tips on how to get the best solutions for your business.

The seminar is recommended for small business owners looking to purchase a server as well as IT Managers. As all Apple seminars the even is free of charge. March 5th, 2008 from 1:00pm-4:00pm at the Portland World Trade Center registration is open on Apple’s website under Seminars, Training & Events.

Many were doubting the “February” shipping date for Apple’s new Time Capsule as the month is coming to an end. Today however just to prove doubters wrong, Time Capsule shipped with Leapday to spare.

For those of you who pre-ordered Time Capsule it should ship today and arrive tomorrow. If you were waiting for it to arrive in the Apple Stores they put it out for sale today so you can drop on by and pick one up.

As we blogged before Time Capsule is the new accompaniment to Time Machine on Leopard as an external back-up and also an Airport Extreme all in one. Time Capsule is available with 500 GB for $299.00 and 1 TB for $499.00.

Local rumors circulate that a number of Oregon schools will be switching over to the Macside.  In the early 90’s Apple was known for donations to schools as a way to promote their product and grow a future of Mac-users.  However now in the late 2000’s schools are choosing to make the switch as a way to provide higher technology to their students, making their students high competitors in a growing Mac market.  And Apple is providing them with the financial discounts to make it possible.  The following schools are said to be making the switch by Fall of 2008, George Fox University, Forest Grove School District, Jesuit High School, and Aloha School District.

Apple released new Macbook Pros and Macbooks this week. The new machines have increased speed, more hard drive space, an increase in RAM, and the new Penryn Core 2 Duo chipset. The Macbook Pro has all of these improvements plus a few new features. Here are some inclusions in the Macbook Pro:

-Processor speeds begin at 2.4 GHz

-MBP 17″ comes with LED backlit screen option

-Multi-touch trackpad

-NVidia 8600GT begin with 256 MB of VRAM

-200 GB beginning HD size, that is 80 GB more than the last upgrade

No changes in pricing have occurred all machines are just coming with a greater beginning capabilities. One should note however the new Macbook and Macbook Pro are not coming with the Apple Remote included anymore. The Apple Remote must be purchase separately for $19 which is a little bit of a bummer since it is such a convenient feature.

Many home offices are looking to diminish their Carbon Footprint by going paperless. In the modern computer age, going Green is easier than ever.

There are a few products one needs to help in this process. A scanner, external hard drive, and discs to burn and save older information. Any type of scanner will work though there are some that may better suit your needs. For instance if you scan in all of your receipts you might consider purchasing a NEAT Receipts scanner that automatically sizes your document. A good general rule of thumb for a home office external hard drive is twice the memory space of your computer. If there is not enough space on your external hard drive not all of your information will back-up and too much space will cost more money than is really needed. If you’re unsure of how much memory is on your computer go up to the far left corner and click on the Apple icon in the pull-down-menu the first option is “About this Mac” if you click on that option a small box will pop up and give you the memory space on your computer. We are big fans of the new Apple Time Capsule scheduled to ship this month and for most home office users the 500GB will be enough memory to back-up your computer. Files of over a year old that you don’t use on a regular basis should be saved to a disc, labeled and then cleared off your computer. This ensures if you ever need to go back for tax information or to contest a sale, you have a record of it. The disc is a lot smaller than a file full of papers.

The key to having a successful paperless home office is strong back-up systems and organization. Just one more way to be ecologically responsible and help cut down on the office clutter.

Many iPhone users are asking how the new Maps with Location feature works on their iPhones. iPhones do not come with a GPS unit built into their system so how does the new Locator button work on the iPhone?

The new Locator button works through the collaboration of Google and Skyhook Wireless. Google uses cell phone towers in your immediate area to triangulate your location. This information is then cross referenced by Skyhook Wireless. Skyhook Wireless has driven around the US and Canada marking WiFi hot spots. These hot spots give off beacons that are picked up by the iPhone even if it is not connected to them. The cross referenced information is then fed through Google Maps displaying a small circle on the map with your location.

This location can then be used as a starting point to received directions elsewhere through Google Maps. This system also works for pin pointing locations you wish to remember. On your Google Map, simply drop a pin on the location of your favorite restaurant, shop or friends house and you have the location saved for future use. The collaboration of Skyhook Wireless, Google, and Apple to bring Maps with Locations to the iPhone.

Today Apple released the 10.5.2 update of Leopard we have all been waiting for. The update should be available on your computer now, or it will prompt you to upgrade automatically some time within the next week.

The update includes several different debuggers for OS. There are updates for Dashboard, Airport, changes to the menubar option of Time Machine and many more improvements. The update is 180MB in size and should take a few minutes to load on your computer and will then request a restart of your computer.

When Leopard was first released we recommended waiting to upgrade for our Business Clients. This is the update we have been waiting for. We are recommending the Leopard upgrade to all of our Clients at this time and are happy to arrange for a technician to come facilitate the installation.

As the number of Mac-Users grows so does Smartacus! Smartacus currently has an opening for a Field Technician.

We are a young, growing business in the Portland, OR area servicing a wide variety of Apple Macintosh-Users. Our Clients range from the single computer home user to Enterprise networks of hundreds of Macs. We have tripled in size in the last 6 months and are excited to add to our excellent team.

Qualified applicant must be certified on both Apple and Microsoft platforms or possess equal experience with willingness and ability to obtain certifications on both platforms. A personable, positive attitude with an ability to problem solve under pressure is a must. Reliable and presentable transportation are required, as well as a high level of professionalism. Smartacus requires all employees to undergo a background check, drug test, and sign a non-disclosure agreement. Pay-scale is determined on certifications and experience, benefits offered after 90 days.
To apply please send cover letter and resume to info@smartacus.net

If you love Apple products but have a little problem with sticker shock, the Refurbished Apple Products might be a good solution. Refurbished Apple products are products that are pre-owned and have been returned for any number of reasons. Some items are returned due to a change of mind. Some items were returned due to technical issues, however they are maintenanced and strictly tested before sale as a refurbished product.

All products for sale through the refurbishment program are fully Apple Certified and come with a 1 year warranty with the option of purchasing further warranty coverage. Purchasers can save up to 40% off everything from iPod shuffles to MacBook Pros. Check out the following website to see what is currently available under the Apple Certified Refurbished Products.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=4DBD22E0&nclm=Certified

The new iPhone 16GB model is rumored to only be the first in a new fleet of iPhones to serve multiple needs. These rumors have been turning for a while now but with the release of the 16GB model gossips are more convinced than ever that KeyNote 2009 will include a few new iPhones to choose from.

Some projectors believe the new fleet will follow in the footsteps of previous iPod products and include something like the iPone Nano, and the iPhone Shuffle. These smaller and cheaper versions may not have all of the features of the iPhone but will offer a product more accessible to the average cell phone user. The pictures are just one speculator’s depiction of what might be around the corner.