Year: 2010

Apple has announced the public beta of FaceTime for Mac, an entirely new application that allows Mac users to video call iPhone 4 and iPod touch users as well as other Macs. It automatically uses your Address Book contacts so there’s no need to create special buddy lists, and it works with the built-in camera and mic on Mac notebooks, iMacs and Apple LED Cinema Displays. 

Apple has introduced iLife ’11, which sees major upgrades to iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand. iWeb hasn’t received any new features, but it’s still there, as is — surprise — iDVD.

At the “Back to the Mac” event, Apple CEO Steve Jobs asked what would you get if a MacBook and an iPad hooked up? The answer: the new MacBook Air, which Apple’s head honcho described as the “future of laptops.”

Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook gave a “State of the Mac” address at Wednesday’s “Back to the Mac” event. He pointed out that the Mac has outgrown market for 4.5 years and, as of August, has a US consumer market share of 20.7%, per stats from the NPD Group.

“Mac share and units are rising much faster than industry,” Cook says. “And we have a vibrant developer community. There are now 600,000 developers and that number is growing at 30,000 per month.”