SmartNews – IT news and product updates for business

Apple  announced an additional member of the Mac Pro family – Mac Pro with Snow Leopard Server.  Mac Pro with Snow Leopard Server can optionally be configured with higher performance Nehalem or Westmere processors offering up to 12-core of performance, 32GB memory and a wide range of SATA or SSD storage options.

Features:

• Intel Xeon ‘Nehalem’ and ‘Westmere’ Processors – 4, 6, 8 or 12-Cores
• Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server Unlimited
• RAM Configurable up to 32GB
• SATA and SSD storage options
• New ATI graphics cards
• PCI Express 2.0 expansion
• 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR

Visit the Apple website for more information.

Trade In your old laptop and get £50 to £100 back on any new Toshiba Laptop with an Intel® processor*

With every new Toshiba laptop or TV, you can get back at least £50 with trade in on an old qualifying laptop. If you choose to trade up to a Toshiba laptop with an Intel® Core™ i3, i5 or i7 processor for a faster, more responsive performance**, you can get back £75 or £100. It is easy to take part in the trade in programme, which is environmentally friendly and ensures that any data on your trade in laptop is securely erased.

The trade in promotion runs until 31st December 2010 and you must register and trade in your old laptop by 31st January 2011.

Visit the Toshiba website for more information.

Microsoft Office 365 brings together cloud versions of our most trusted communications and collaboration products with the latest version of our desktop suite for businesses of all sizes.

Office 365 provides anywhere access to email, documents, contacts, and calendars so you’re always up-to-date. From scheduling to interactive online meetings to sharing files,you’re uniting cloud-based services with the productivity tools people use every day.

Includes:

• Office Professional Plus
• Exchange Online
• SharePoint Online
• Lync Online

Visit the Microsoft website for more information.

The Mac OS X Lion arrives in summer 2011.

Some of the new features:

The Mac App Store: Introducing the best place to discover and buy new apps made just for Mac, right on a Mac. Just like shopping at the App Store on iPad, the Mac App Store offers endless possibilities to browse and purchase apps. And it simplifies the way you install apps on the Mac.

The Launchpad: The Launchpad gives you instant access to your apps — iPad style. Just click the Launchpad icon in your Dock. Your open windows fade away, replaced by an elegant, full-screen display of all the apps on your Mac.

Full-screen apps. A better way to enjoy the apps you love. On iPad, every app is displayed full screen, with no distractions, and there’s one easy way to get back to all your other apps. Mac OS X Lion does the same for your desktop.

Mission Control. Mac command central. Mission Control is a powerful and handy new feature that provides you with a comprehensive view of what’s running on your Mac. It gives you a bird’s-eye view of everything — including Exposé, Spaces, Dashboard and full-screen apps — all in one place.

Visit the Apple website for more information.

The new MacBook Air is a full featured Mac, inspired by iPad. It is the first Mac built around flash storage.  MacBook Air comes in two screen sizes, and four different models: two 11-inch (with 64 or 128GB flash storage), and two 13-inch (128 and 256GB flash storage).

Features:

• Stunning design: the most compact notebook we have ever made
• All-flash storage for better responsiveness and reliability
• Glass Multi-Touch trackpad
• Long-lasting battery
• High-resolution display
• Great portable performance (powerful NVIDIA graphics, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, lightning-fast flash storage, and long battery life)
• Environmentally responsible
• Ready out-of-the box with Mac OS X and iLife

Visit the Apple website for more information.