Avid Release Pro Tools 10.3, adds OS X Mountain Lion & Thunderbolt Compatibility

Avid Release Pro Tools 10.3, adds OS X Mountain Lion & Thunderbolt Compatibility

Avid have officially released Pro Tools version 10.3, which adds support both for OS X Mountain Lion and the newly-announced HD Native Thunderbolt interfaces, discussed in the earlier post below.

From Avid’s website:
Pro Tools Version 10.3 is an officially qualified and recommended installer for:

Pro Tools systems on Mac OS X 10.6.7 – 10.8 or Windows 7 SP1
Pro Tools|HDX systems on Mac OS X 10.7 – 10.8 or Windows 7 SP1
Pro Tools|HD Native systems on Mac OS X 10.6.7 – 10.8 or Windows 7 SP1
Pro Tools|HD Native Thunderbolt systems on Mac OS X 10.7.4 – 10.8 or Windows 7 SP1
Pro Tools|HD Accel systems on Mac OS X 10.6.7 – 10.8 or Windows 7 SP1

The website also mentions that, although this version of Pro Tools is now qualified for Mountain Lion, if you own a Mac Pro, it’s only officially supported on computers with Nehalem processors onwards. In other words, if your Mac Pro dates from earlier than March 2009, you’re outta luck.
Another caveat is that Pro Tools non-HD device drivers (such as drivers for M-Audio FireWire interfaces, Mbox 2, Mbox 2 Micro, Mbox 2 Mini, Mbox 2 Pro, & Pro Tools Mbox Mini) are not yet officially supported with Mountain Lion.

Pro Tools 10.3 is available for registered users to download from here.

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MacUser Vol. 28 No. 18 – OS X’s Hidden Helpers.  I made the front cover!!

MacUser Vol. 28 No. 18 – OS X’s Hidden Helpers. I made the front cover!!

Excuse my excitement (and the accompanying double exclamation marks), but it’s not every day that a feature you’ve conceived, written and illustrated becomes the main cover feature of one of the UK’s most eminent computer magazines.

Shining the spotlight on the hidden apps lurking in your Mac’s Utilities folder, this eight-page feature is the latest, and hopefully not the last, in a slow-yet-steady stream of pieces I’ve had published in MacUser over the last year or so, but this is the first time one of my articles has been featured so prominently. Hopefully people will find it useful, as I know that I for one, prior to researching the piece, had no clue what the majority of the apps in this folder were for, and there is some really quite useful stuff in there. It goes without saying that all the information in the piece is bang up to date and Mountain-Lion savvy, outlining any major changes implemented with the new operating system in any of the applications covered.

To discover the secrets that lie within, pick up a copy from Smiths or download it to your iDevice, Mac or PC via Zinio. Be quick though – MacUser is published every two weeks, so this issue will only be around for another few days! The article begins on p.56, and I have to take this opportunity to say a huge thanks to Adam and the MacUser team for making it look so good.

Is my Mac Compatible with Mountain Lion?

 

With the launch of Mountain Lion confirmed for later today, the question on the lips of many Mac users is ‘Will my Mac run Mountain Lion’? The high minimum requirements of Apple’s latest version of OS X actually rule out quite a high percentage of what many people will still regard as quite recent machines, so I’ve put together this guide so that prospective upgraders can tell at a glance whether it’s worth shelling out to download Mountain Lion when it becomes available.

Compatibility of older Macs with Mountain Lion is dependent on two criteria: the age and spec of the graphics card, and whether or not the hardware supports the 64-bit processor architecture required by the new OS. Because Mountain Lion will be available as a download from the Mac App Store only, Snow Leopard will be the minimum OS required to actually get hold of the upgrade. For this reason, Power PC Macs are definitely not supported, as these were left in the dark when Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) debuted in August 2009.

In most cases the deciding factor is going to be the graphics card. The best way to confirm what Continue reading

The Excitement is Mountain – Mountain Lion Officially Released Today! *Update – Now Available For Download!

Although the developer preview version has been available for a while now, it’s been announced that Apple’s latest operating system, OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, will be officially released to the public today for download from the Apple App Store. UK users will be able to get their hands on the latest big cat for £13.99, which is the cheapest OS X upgrade yet.

Anyone who has bought a new Mac from Apple or one of their authorised resellers since June 11th 2012 will be eligible for a free upgrade from Lion to Mountain Lion via the App Store. You get 30 days from the launch date (today) to apply for the upgrade, and I’ll be taking this route myself, so I’ll let you know how it goes.

More details at http://www.apple.com/osx/uptodate

UK users can expect to see the new OS in the App Store later today, in view of the time difference between here and the US Pacific coast. In the meantime, to find out which of your apps will be compatible ahead of the launch, why not check out the fully up-to-date compatibility list at http://roaringapps.com?

 

*Update: As of 2pm GMT, Mountain Lion is available for download from the Mac App Store.  The above-mentioned link for free upgrades for qualifying recent Mac purchasers is also now active. Go get it! Rowr!!

iCreate 109 On Sale Now – Get Mountain Lion Today

iCreate 109 On Sale Now – Get Mountain Lion Today

Issue 109 of iCreate is now available at all decent outlets, and this month I’ve contributed the cover feature! Eight info-packed pages all about how you can get your hands on equivalent functionality to eight of Mountain Lion’s best features right now, without having to wait until the official launch scheduled for later his month.

Besides which, if, like me, you find yourself in the position of having hardware that falls just outside the minimum specs for Apple’s latest version of OS X, you’ll be pleased to note that most of these substitute features are available to users of older machines. And if you’re unsure whether or not your Mac cuts Mountain Lion’s mustard, there’s a handy compatibility table in the article to let you know whether or not you’re able to upgrade when the time comes.

So pick up a copy and get the lowdown on how to replicate Sharing Sheets, Notification Center, Documents in the Cloud, GateKeeper, AirPlay Mirroring, Messages, Notes and Reminders, and get them on your Mac today!

WWDC 2012 Highlights – New MacBooks, Mountain Lion, iOS 6 – UK Prices

Unlike last year, where I missed almost the entire thing due to deadline pressures, this time around I was fully poised with live weblogs engaged as the 6.00pm keynote hour for Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference approached. Here’s a rundown of what was announced at the Moscone Centre in San Francisco earlier this evening.

Updated MacBook Pro and MacBook Air

The MacBook Air gets the new Intel Ivy Bridge processor, up to 2GHz dual-core i7, with up to 8GHz of 1600MHz RAM and 60% faster graphics. 512GB of flash storage, USB 3, and a 720p FaceTime camera. Display wise, the 11″ model sports a 1366 x 768 display, with a 1440 x 900 resolution on the 13″ . The 2012 MacBook Air ships today, with prices ranging from £849 – £1249.

The MacBook Pro also gets Ivy Bridge processors, up to 2.9GHz quad-core i7, (turbo boostable to 3.6GHz), 8GB of 1600MHz RAM and 60% faster graphics. The 13″ model gets the same integrated graphics chip as the new MacBook Air, while the 15″ gets the Kepler GeForce GT 650M graphics card with up to 1GB of video RAM. Both models get USB 3 ports. The 13″ version starts at £999 for the 2.5GHz variant, rising to £1249 for the 2.9GHz i7. The 15″ model starts at £1499 for the 2.3GHz, going up to Continue reading