News, Reviews and more from Australia's Macintosh Authority
News, Reviews and more from Australia's Macintosh Authority
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Apple has taken a step into the local systems integration and consulting market, announcing today that its Consultants Network certification program has been extended into Australia and New Zealand.
The Apple Consultants Network (ACN) is a community of service providers whose members have undergone specific training through Apple. That training covers a broad range of Apple-related topics, with a particular focus on integrating multi-platform solutions and delivering onsite technology services and support.
Apple has signed up a range of providers through which customers can access ACN capabilities: customers can find one by using the Consultant Locator accessible through the main ACN page. Founding ACN providers include Computers Now, Digistor, gizmo, Key Options Technology, Kytec Group, Renaissance Limited, Winthrop Australia, and XciteLogic.
Certifications available to ACN members include Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP), covering configuration of key services and end-user troubleshooting; Apple Certified Help Desk Specialist (ACHDS), which covers similar ground as well as help desk skills; and Apple Certified Technical Coordinator (ACTC), which confirms Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server core knowledge and troubleshooting capabilities.
Australia is the first Asia-Pacific market to establish an ACN presence, mirroring similar efforts in the US, Canada, Argentina, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
For watching movies, Jobs announced that the second iteration of the Apple TV will allow movies to be downloaded (and even rented) directly from the iTunes Store without the need for a computer to get involved. Of course, this feature is only relevant to Americans, but as an increasing number of Australians are figuring out how to access the US iTunes Store it's worth noting. The iTunes rental service includes both new release and "catalogue" films from all the major studios.
Matthew JC. Powell | Jan 16, 2008
Apple sold 2.3 million Macs and 22.1 million iPods during the holiday shopping season, helping the company turn a $US1.58-billion profit during its fiscal first quarter. The Mac totals mark the third consecutive quarter that Apple has set a quarterly sales record for its desktops and laptops. The Mac totals mark the third consecutive quarter that Apple has set a quarterly sales record for its desktops and laptops. For the quarter ended December 31, Apple reported a profit of $US1.76 a share on revenue of $US9.6 billion.
Jim Dalrymple,Philips Michaels and Peter Cohen | Jan 23, 2008
Processors specially developed by Intel for Apple’s new MacBook Air laptop will soon be used by other PC vendors in systems, possibly creating competition for what Apple calls the world’s lightest and thinnest notebook.
Agam Shah | Feb 1, 2008
Apple has hired Kevin Swint to head up the company's growing efforts to distribute television and video entertainment content abroad via the iTunes Store. Swint comes to Apple from Wal-Mart, where he spearheaded the retail giant's now-defunct efforts to distribute music and movies electronically.
Peter Cohen | Feb 5, 2008
App Store developers will now be able to reach customers in 13 new countries, according to an announcement on the iPhone Developer Program news page.
