Mountain Lion attains gold master status, available to developers

According to developers, Apple has begun providing them with the "gold master" of Mac OS X 10.8, also known as Mountain Lion. Gold (or golden) master is a term often used by Apple which signifies the final, retail version Mac OS. As such, GM is analogous to Microsoft's RTM (release to manufacturing) milestone. Mac OS X 10.8 is currently available at the OS X Dev Center and the build number is 12A269, according to 9to5Mac.

Although Mountain Lion has officially attained gold master status, a critical issue could prompt Apple to make last-minute changes. Such changes and their resultant delays are unusual but not unheard of.

Barring such a delay though, some technology insiders believe the new OS may be available for public consumption as soon as July 25. This is merely speculation however, based on past releases and upcoming events.

The minimum system requirements for Mountain Lion are simple enough, needing only 2GB of RAM and 8GB of available hard drive space. However, there are reports that a few unlucky Macs may be left behind. Changing how it approaches planned obsolecence, Apple is now explicitly listing Macs which are compatible with Mountain Lion instead of limiting installations based solely on tech specs. In the past, Apple had limited compatibility based primarily on CPU type and speed.

Here is the list of Macs that are compatible with Mountain Lion. If you don't see your Mac here, you're probably out of luck.

• iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
• MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
• Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
• Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
• Xserve (Early 2009)

Mountain Lion adds a bevy of new features and improvements, including a new Safari with iCloud syncing, Power Nap, OS-wide dictation, automatic system updates and a Game Center. Upgrades will sell for a wallet-friendly $19.99.

Apple pulls products from EPEAT green electronics registry

Apple has withdrawn all of its products from the US government backed EPEAT environmental rating system it helped create. The move will have immediate effect and the Cupertino-based company will no longer submit devices for approval in the future, according to an announcement on EPEAT's website. 

The idea behind EPEAT, which stands for Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, is to ensure electronics are as kind to the environment as possible. Before a product is granted with a seal of approval many factors are considered, including energy consumption, recyclability, reparability and the environmental impact of processes and materials used to manufacture the device. It covers various consumer products including displays, notebooks and desktops.

"They said their design direction was no longer consistent with the EPEAT requirements," EPEAT CEO Robert Frisbee commented. "They were important supporters and we are disappointed that they don’t want their products measured by this standard anymore."

Electronics teardown site iFixit believes the move is likely the result of new design paradigms favoring smaller and lighter notebooks and longer battery life. For example, the latest Retina MacBook Pro is nearly impossible to disassemble and has a glued in battery that iFixit says would likely leak the highly toxic innards if removed incorrectly. The difficulties with reparability and recyclability would likely prevent certification of the new rMBP.

It is also possible Apple asked that previously certified models be removed from the national registry as the newer models now replacing them are unlikely to gain certification. Regardless of the reasoning it will prevent most federal agencies from purchasing non-approved products though, as around 95% of all electronics purchased are required to conform to the EPEAT standards.

Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne Agee speaking to the Wall Street Journal said he believes Apple is putting design first in its latest products. "They are not trying to purposely make it hard to open, they are just trying to pack as much as they can into a small space–it's a design decision." He also thinks Apple is likely to release alternative standards for its own products in the near future.

The US retailer's iPhone and iPad devices will likely remain unaffected by the decision as neither is subject to EPEAT approvals. Apple did not respond to requests for further comment.

Company converts Macbooks into tablets, sells them as "Modbooks"

Mac OS X on a tablet. Sound interesting? Los Angeles-based startup Modbook Inc. hopes you'll think so. The company intends to release its own tablet running Mac OS X, but there's one detail which makes these tablets especially fascinating: the devices are actually 13-inch Macbook Pros which have been converted into tablet form.

In 2008, a company named Axiotron had an identical idea that went by the same name: Modbook. However, when global financial uncertainty hit consumers -- and let's not forget the iPad, either -- Axiotron was pressured to close its doors. Modbook Inc. is actually the rebirth of Axiotron, according to CEO Andreas Haas, creator of the Modbook.

"When I started Axiotron, we had a great team and the company was fine. We had a great run until we went public—two weeks later, Lehman Brothers went belly up and took us down along with the financial system. Access to capital was a huge problem," Haas told Ars. "In order for me to continue on my vision of creating a tablet computer for the creative industry, the only way to do it was to create a new company."

Source: arstechnica.com

So, how does it work? All Modbook Pros start with a shiny 13-inch Macbook Pro. The company removes the display and flips it upside down, facing it outward. It's nestled atop the base while the company adds a pressure-sensitive Wacom digitizer and securely houses it all inside their own, custom conversion kit. 

One result is certain: you can bet it won't be as light as an iPad. Bear in mind though, the Modbook Pro is aimed at professionals -- digital artists, for example, who can make use of the tablet's raw horsepower and pressure-sensitive digitizer. This isn't your mom's tablet.

Needless to say, the process of chopping up a Macbook voids Apple's warranty, but the tablets get a one-year warranty provided by Modbook Inc. itself.

Although legal problems plagued Psystar's business of installing Mac OS X on PC hardware, Modbook treads slightly different territory. With the Modbook Pro, we have a genuine Macbook legitimately running Mac OS X. The laptop is merely being repurposed, repackaged and resold. When asked about legal issues, Haas said Axiotron never had troubles with Apple. In fact, Haas claims Apple even solicited him to become a "proprietary solution provider" once they discovered the Modbook back in 2008. 

No price has been set as of yet, but Modbook Inc. is advertising a September launch date. The tablet comes equipped with a 2.5GHz Intel Core i5 CPU (upgradable to an i7 @ 2.9GHz), up to 16GB of RAM, Intel HD4000 graphics and a choice between a 1TB HDD or 960GB SSD. The Modbook Pro also includes a DVD-RW.