Watch the keynote video from the event here: http://www.apple.com/apple-events/education-january-2012/

Apple Reinvents Textbooks with iBooks 2 for iPad

Today, Apple introduced iBooks 2 for iPad, featuring iBooks textbooks, an entirely new kind of textbook that’s dynamic, engaging, and truly interactive.

Now students will experience gorgeous full-screen textbooks on their iPads that feature text as well as interactive animations, diagrams, photos, videos, 3D objects, and more. With iBook textbooks, students can highlight text, take notes, search for content, use study cards, and find glossary definitions.

The iBookstore offers high school textbooks on topics such as algebra, biology, chemistry, and geometry from McGraw-Hill and Pearson to customers in the United States. Textbooks from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are coming soon. iBooks textbooks are available for $14.99 or less.

Visit the iBooks 2 textbooks page on apple.com for more information. A First Look will be available by the end of January.

Apple Introduces iBooks Author

With iBooks Author and a Mac, anyone can create stunning iBooks textbooks, cookbooks, history books, picture books, and more for iPad.

iBooks Author features Apple-designed templates with a wide variety of layouts. It’s easy to add photo galleries, videos, 3D objects, Keynote presentations, lesson reviews, and more. Preview your book on iPad before submitting it to the iBookstore for purchase or as a free download.

Visit the iBooks Author page on apple.com for more information. A First Look and Product Presentation will be available by the end of January.

Apple Unveils New iTunes U App

The new iTunes U app gives educators and students everything they need to teach and take entire courses on iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch.

Now teachers can create and manage courses, and offer them to millions of iOS users around the world. iOS users can access the world’s largest catalog of free educational content from top universities worldwide. And for the first time, any K-12 school district can offer full courses through the iTunes U app.

Visit the iTunes U page on apple.com for more information.

There is really no substitute for accurate and authorized Apple repair service. Our talented and Apple Certified Macintosh techs solved another problem for two different Apple customers who both took the time to leave a 5-Star Review for both our Millersville and Lanham offices this week.

When you’re having issues with your Mac, please come visit our fully staffed and stocked offices in either Millersville or Lanham, Maryland. We’ll fix your Mac under Apple’s Limited Warranty or Apple’s extended warranty, AppleCare. Or, we can efficiently service your out of warranty, vintage, or obsolete Macintosh. When your Mac repair is complete, we’ll ensure you know everything you need to know in order to preserve and protect your valuable data and operate your computer successfully for as long as possible.

We love to help! So instead of making an appointment, trying to find parking, dealing with crowds, or having to worry about your data being erased, or having to deal with your computer being shipped away for repair, come see the Apple Certified Technicians at MacMedics.

Thanks to our customer, Mark, who had his Mac serviced in our Lanham office this week. Here’s his review from Yelp:

My Macintosh desktop computer had a complicated problem; part of the electronics had failed, while most individual components were fine. Since MacMedics is a certified Apple Service Provider and Reseller MacMedics correctly diagnosed the problem, which endless Apple phone support had been unable to do. The replacement part and labor were free, since my computer was still covered by the AppleCare Protection Plan. My computer now works better than when it was new. I also got some excellent technical advice on maintaining the computer, including information on back-up plans. I highly recommend MacMedics.

Mark
1/6/12

Also, thanks to our customer, Richard, who had his Mac serviced in our Millersville office this week. Here’s his review from Yelp.

Small repair. Done in a 15 minute walk up. Best service I have had in a long time. Highly recommend!

Richard
1/7/12

Please keep an eye out for a very convincing fake email that is made to look just like an official Apple email.

Here’s what it looks like:

It appears that wherever it points to has been shut down, but it is quite likely that they will switch it to a different server very quickly.

If you’re looking to avoid the Mall today, we have some great last minute gift ideas at some really great prices at the MacMedics Millersville location.

Save $100 New & Custom Built and MAXED out MacBook Air 13”, 1.8GHz i7, 4GB, 256GB Flash, Intel HD Graphics 3000 $1599!

Save $100 New Last revision 13″ MacBook Pro $1499 model: 2.7 GHz i7, 500 GB HDA, 4GB RAM in stock at MacMedics at “mail order” price: $1399

1/17/12 Just Re-Stocked: Save $300 MacBook Air closeout: Previous model: MacBook Air 13.3″ 1.86g 2GB 128GB $999 only a few left at MacMedics Millersville

Also in stock:

iPod touch in both black & white
iPod nano Silver
Apple TV
iPad 2 16 GB WiFi (Black)
iPad 2 16 GB WiFi (White)
Used iPad 1 32 GB WiFi + 3G
Used iPad 1 64 GB WiFi + 3G

Buy any iPod or Mac and get 25% off any case (hard shell, sleeve, or carrying bag)

We also have a wide selection of used MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and MacBook Airs. There is also a small number of iMacs and Mac minis available as well. All MacMedics refurbished Macs carry a full 1-year warranty.

MacMedics also carries new and used iPads. We have sold out for the holidays, but we are expecting some more in soon. If you’re looking to get an iPad or you’re already getting one for the holidays, we do accept trade ins and we also pay cash for them outright (in any condition).

1/12/12 Update Now 25% off LoJack for Laptops, the Mac OR Windows version makes a great gift. If you have a MacBook Pro road warrior or a college student, this is a MUST have item. Order here: http://t.co/aeEWeorb

Apple TV Software Update 4.1.1 Released

Apple released Apple TV Software Update 4.1.1. This is an important update, and it should be installed on all Apple TV units.

Don’t forget the MacMedics is your local Apple Authorized Value Added Reseller for Macs, iPads, iPods, and Apple TV.

What’s new in iTunes 10.5.2

iTunes 10.5.2 includes several improvements for iTunes Match and fixes an audio distortion problem when playing or importing certain CDs.

iTunes 10.5.1 included:

• iTunes Match. Store your entire music library in iCloud, including music you’ve imported from CDs, and enjoy your collection anywhere, anytime, on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, computer, or Apple TV.

• iTunes in the Cloud. iTunes now stores your music and TV purchases in iCloud and makes them available on your devices anywhere, any time, at no additional cost.

• Automatic Downloads. Purchase music from any device or computer and automatically download a copy to your Mac, PC and iOS devices.

• Download Previous Purchases. Download your past music, TV, app, and book purchases again, at no additional cost. Previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer on the iTunes Store.

• Sync with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 5.

• Wi-Fi Syncing. Automatically sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iTunes any time they’re both on the same Wi-Fi network.

Apple has updated Safari and Keynote to improve performance:

Safari

This update contains various improvements, including fixes that:

-Improve stability
-Address issues that could cause hangs and excessive memory usage
-Address issues that could cause webpages to flash white
-Allow PDFs to be displayed within web content

Keynote

This update addresses issues when working with large Keynote presentations on OS X Lion. It also includes improvements in stability and accessibility for Keynote.

This update is recommended for users of Keynote 5.1. For detailed information on this update and individual application changes, please visit this site: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5026.

Many small/medium businesses are planning to take advantage of the increased deductions available on equipment purchases made in 2011. Sections 179 Tax Deductions have increased to $500,000 on equipment purchases of up to $2.0M. This equipment can include Macintosh computers, iPads, iPods, software purchases, volume licensed software, etc. The deductions also include provisions for leased equipment and software.

Apple currently has two great leasing oppertunites available as well, that can also help you take advantage of 2011 year end tax savings.

Finance Apple products at 95% of the price. Extended through December.

Lease your business technology for 30 months at no interest. Extended through December.

Also if you have plans for a Macintosh or iPad, but you’re too busy to implement it right now, MacMedics will invoice you in 2011 for Apple hardware, MacMedics consulting fees, or pre-paid labor blocks. Please get in touch with your local MacMedics representive.

A Google Local review from MacMedics client, Angelina:

“An Apple representative recommended this place when my hard drive crashed a few months ago. Although they were unable to fix the issue, since it was mechanical, they were more than helpful. They were empathetic to my situation since the hard drive contained pictures/videos of the first two years of my daughter’s life. They were so helpful and knew exactly what they were talking about. They informed me of my data recovery options and recommended the best way to go about the situation. Their recommendations were far from self-serving and were shaped to fit my needs, even if that meant they would lose money. I will never go anywhere else. Everyone there is amazing. They even took it a step farther, since it is a bit of a drive for me; they looked at my computer with in 15 minutes (even though they were closing) and called me so that I could pick it up before I left the area. AMAZING.”

You can see more Google reviews here: http://is.gd/z9hLfO

If we’ve helped you in the past, please consider leaving us a review, as we’ve just had the honor of someone posting a totally fake review (which we responded to). You can also post a review on Yelp at: http://is.gd/Zge2yO

If you’re in a serious data recovery situation and you need a second opinion, please call us at 1-866-MAC-MEDICS. If we can’t help you, as was the case with the client who wrote the Google review of MacMedics that is listed at the top of the message, we’ll refer you to one of our data recovery “clean room” partners. If you already know that you need to go to “clean room” data recovery, like if the hard drive was damaged by liquid, or it was dropped and now is not spinning, we can send you right to our partners with the details you need as well as discount codes (free evaluation and up to 10% off a recovery) for most major data recovery firms.

iOS 5 Software Update

This update contains over 200 new features, including the following:

• Notifications
• Swipe from the top of any screen to view notifications in one place with Notification Center
• New notifications appear briefly at the top of the screen
• View notifications from lock screen
• Slide the notification app icon to the right on the lock screen to go directly to the app
• iMessage
• Send and receive unlimited text, photo, and video messages with other iOS 5 users
• Track messages with delivery and read receipts
• Group messaging and secure encryption
• Works over cellular network and Wi-Fi*
• Newsstand
• Automatically organizes magazine and newspaper subscriptions on Home Screen
• Displays the cover of the latest issue
• Background downloads of new issues 
• Reminders for managing to do lists
• Syncs with iCloud, iCal and Outlook
• Location-based reminders when you leave or arrive at a location for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4
• Built-in support for Twitter
• Sign-in once in Settings and tweet directly from Camera, Photos, Maps, Safari and YouTube
• Add location to any tweet
• View twitter profile pictures and usernames in Contacts
• Camera improvements for devices with cameras
• Double click the home button when device is asleep to bring up a camera shortcut on iPhone 4S,

iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch (4th generation)

• Volume Up button to take a picture
• Optional grid lines to line up shots
• Pinch to zoom in the preview screen
• Swipe to camera roll from preview screen
• Tap and hold to lock focus and exposure, iPad 2 and iPod touch (4th generation) only support exposure lock
• Photo improvements for devices with cameras
• Crop and rotate
• Red eye removal
• One tap enhance
• Organize photos into albums
• Mail improvements
• Format text using bold, italic, or underlined fonts
• Indentation control
• Drag to rearrange names in address fields
• Flag messages
• Mass mark messages as flagged, read or unread
• Customize mail alert sounds
• S/MIME
• Calendar improvements
• Year view on iPad and new Week view for iPhone and iPod touch
• Tap to create an event
• View and add event attachments
• Game Center improvements
• Use personal photos for your Game Center account
• Compare your overall achievement scores with your friends
• Find new Game Center friends with friend recommendations and friends of friends
• Discover new games with custom game recommendations
• AirPlay Mirroring for iPad 2 and iPhone 4S
• Multitasking Gestures for iPad
• Use four or five fingers to pinch to the Home Screen
• Swipe up to reveal the multitasking bar
• Swipe left or right to switch between apps
• On-device setup, activation and configuration with Setup Assistant
• Software updates available over the air without tethering
• iCloud support
• iTunes in the Cloud
• Photo Stream
• Documents in the Cloud
• Apps and Books automatic download and purchase history
• Backup
• Contacts, Calendar, and Mail
• Find My iPhone
• Redesigned Music app for iPad
• Hourly weather forecast
• Real-time stock quotes
• Wireless sync to iTunes
• Keyboard improvements
• Split keyboard for iPad
• Improved autocorrection accuracy
• Improved Chinese and Japanese input
• New Emoji keyboard
• Personal dictionary for autocorrection
• Optionally create keyboard short cuts for frequently used words
• Accessibility improvements
• Option to light LED flash on incoming calls and alerts for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4
• Custom vibration patterns for incoming calls on iPhone
• New interface for using iOS with mobility-impairment input devices
• Option to speak a selection of text
• Custom element labeling for VoiceOver
• Exchange ActiveSync improvements
• Wirelessly sync tasks
• Mark messages as flagged, read or unread
• Improved offline support
• Save a new contact from a GAL service
• More than 1,500 new developer APIs
• Bug fixes

Products compatible with this software update:
• iPhone 4S
• iPhone 4
• iPhone 3GS
• iPad 2
• iPad
• iPod touch (4th generation)
• iPod touch (3rd generation)

* Normal carrier data rates may apply. Messages will be sent as SMS when iMessage is unavailable, carrier messaging fees apply.

MacMedics is an Apple Authorized Value Added Reseller for Macintosh computers, iPads, iPods, and the Apple TV.