The Mac Pro begins its farewell tour, the MacBook Air may be in line for a makeover, and Apple’s still taking the lion’s share of money in the consumer electronics realm. The remainders for Tuesday, February 19, 2013 are for pros only.
Mac Pro no longer available from European Apple Online Stores ahead of March 1 discontinuation (9to5Mac)
The slow decline of the Mac Pro continues; though Apple said last month that it would stop selling the desktop tower in the European Union starting March 1 (for which you can blame updated electrical regulations), a check of the Apple online store shows that it’s already listed as “currently unavailable” in many of the company’s European marketplaces. But we choose to believe that somewhere out there the last remaining Mac Pros lead a rag-tag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest for some other shining planet.
Redesigned MacBook Air Reportedly Planned for 3Q 2013 Launch, Possibly with Retina Display (MacRumors)
The Mac Pro may be on the outs, but the MacBook Air seems to be due for a refresh, according to a Taiwanese newspaper—a potential revamp that could include a new Retina display. Of course, that update will be offset by the external battery pack you’ll probably need to carry around.
U.S. Consumer Technology Retail Sales Decline 2 Percent in 2012 (The NPD Group)
Though consumer technology sales have seen better days, Apple is apparently among the bright spots. The company accounted for 20 percent of sales revenue in 2012, more than double that of its nearest competitor, Samsung. It just once again goes to show you it’s not how much of a product you sell, but how much money you make from the products you do sell.
iTunes 11.0.2 (Apple)
In addition to the usual performance tweaks and bug fixes, it sports a new Composer view. If you open iTunes > Preferences, go to the General tab, and click the box for Show Composers, you’ll get a new view option along with songs, albums, artists and genres. Lennon-McCartney, Lennon/McCartney, and Lennon & McCartney would all be proud.
Author: Dan Moren, Contributor
Dan has been writing about all things Apple since 2006, when he first started contributing to the MacUser blog. He's a prolific podcaster and the author of the Galactic Cold War series, including his latest, The Nova Incident.