Apple on Friday evening equipped developers with yet another build of its upcoming maintenance and security update for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard that includes few changes from an earlier build distributed two weeks ago.
People familiar with the matter say Mac OS X 10.6.3 build 10D548 was distributed alongside an enhancement and focus list nearly identical to build 10D538, which made its way to a small subset of developers last month, as AppleInsider exclusively reported.
Apple has again expanded the functions of iTunes Preview, the web-based showcase for material at the iTunes Store. In addition to music, site visitors can now see previews of iPhone apps; when opening an app link in a web browser, people will see details and screenshots without having to own iTunes. Actually downloading an app requires following a link back to iTunes.
Apple on Tuesday updated its Boot Camp software and issued new drivers and utilities to allow users to run Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 7. The Mac maker also issued its first security update of 2010, addressing 12 vulnerabilities.
Thursday Psystar officially filed a notice of appeal regarding the permanent injunction against the company prohibiting it from selling hardware with Apple’s operating system.
According to official court documents, Psystar filed a appeal on Friday regarding the permanent injunction issued by U.S. District Judge William Alsup which prohibited the company from selling hardware able to run the Mac OS X operating system.
Mac OS X offers a computing experience that, according to many, is still unparalleled by its competitors. Built on a rock solid UNIX foundation and continually adding refinements that make interaction easier, OS X has a lot of powerful functionality that many users were unaware existed. One of these is the idea of “Smart Folders” and with a little primer, you can begin using them to make your Mac experience easier (and faster).
Microsoft’s big CES keynote, which was hotly tipped as a reveal for the impressive Courier slate PC, was actually just a luke-warm Windows 7 promo. And that has one big result: The tech world is now waiting on Apple.
Apple today began large-scale testing of its next maintenance and security update for Snow Leopard, Mac OS X 10.6.3. The update originally entered limited testing in early December. In total the present build incorporates 221 code corrections to 92 system components, including Mail, MobileMe, iCal and QuickTime X.
As vague “unidentified sources” continue to leak information about Apple’s forthcoming tablet device, the company’s former marketing manager has revealed supposed secrets on how the Cupertino, Calif., company operates.
John Martellaro provided an analysis for The Mac Observer this week, giving insight into how Monday’s leak on the tablet might have been given to The Wall Street Journal. Earlier this week, the paper reported that Apple will unveil its touchscreen tablet this month, and release it for sale in March.
According to Martellaro, the story “had all the earmarks of a controlled leak.” As a former senior marketing manager at Apple, he said he was told to leak information in the past.
Apple today announced that users have now downloaded over three billion iPhone and iPod touch applications from the company’s App Store since its July 2008 launch.
“Three billion applications downloaded in less than 18 months — this is like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “The revolutionary App Store offers iPhone and iPod touch users an experience unlike anything else available on other mobile devices, and we see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon.”
With the App Store having reached two billion downloads just over three months ago, the new milestone represents continued acceleration of growth for the store as Apple’s handheld devices continue to attract significant numbers of customers. The App Store continues to be available to customers in 77 countries, offering applications in 20 categories.
Google’s mobile and desktop web browsers had their best performance ever in December, NetApplications says in its latest study. Although Android still trails the iPhone in absolute share of the web with just 0.05 percent versus Apple’s 0.44 percent, it grew a much faster 54.8 percent versus just 20.1 percent for Apple’s platform. The BlackBerry too had a better month at 22.2 percent growth while the only major platforms below them are Symbian (19 percent growth) and Java ME (15.6 percent).
Apple come next month is expected to announce—by far—the most successful quarter for iPhone sales in the handset’s history, according to one Wall Street analyst who raised his price target on the company to $260 per share.
Calling Apple stock a “must-own technology bellwether,” Broadpoint.AmTech analyst Brian Marshall issued a research note to clients on Monday defending his well-above-consensus iPhone quarterly shipment estimates of 11.3 million units for the three-month period ending December.
Steve Jobs is “extremely happy.” But it’s not because Psystar is dead. And it’s not because he’s been named CEO of the Multiverse or some other such end-of-year award. He’s happy because that Tablet he’s been working on almost exclusively since he returned to Apple in the summer is nearing completion. We think.
Writing in the New York Times last week, Nick Bilton quoted two unnamed sources (so we really only have his word to go on) in a piece that definitely got Apple fans’ hearts racing and wallets twitching;
…the icing on the cake comes from a current senior employee inside Apple. When one of my colleagues here asked if the rumors of the Apple tablet were true, and when we could expect such a device, the response from his source was, “I can’t really say anything, but, let’s just say Steve is extremely happy with the new tablet.”
When El Jobso is happy, Apple is happy. When Apple is happy, they release stuff – shiny, sexy new stuff. And when Apple releases new stuff, we all get a little poorer.
With rumors of the Apple tablet reaching new highs, MacRumors has found evidence that Apple acquired the domain name iSlate.com presumably in preparation for the new device.
The iSlate.com domain was originally registered in October 2004 by a company called Eurobox Ltd. It later changed hands to Data Docket, Inc. in 2006. In 2007, however, the domain was transferred to registrar MarkMonitor.com. MarkMonitor handles domain name registrations and trademark protections for many companies, including Apple. As is typical, however, the name of the actual registrant was initially hidden to obscure the identify of the actual owner. Up until this point, one could still easily dismiss all this as a simple coincidence.
Reuters reports on iPhone developer Tapulous, the team behind the popular Tap Tap Revenge applications, noting that the small company is reportedly bringing in nearly $1 million per month in revenue. The success of Tapulous, which boasts only 20 employees, illustrates the ability of small development firms dedicated to the iPhone to carve out profitable niches for themselves in the App Store.
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Last week, Apple purchased music streaming service Lala for $85 million, fueling speculation that the company will move toward a cloud-based iTunes service. Such a change could allow users to access and stream their purchased iTunes content anywhere, from a variety of different devices.
Sources have said Apple is currently considering a usage model that would allow consumers to access and manage purchased content directly through the Internet without downloading that content, or even using the iTunes software.
In addition, Apple changed its policy on streaming media solutions, allowing the very first live broadcasting software to be released on the App Store. The Ustream Live Broadcaster for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS allows users to transmit live video from their phone. In addition, the Knocking Live Video application was approved for sale, but only after a plea directly to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, developer Pointy Heads software has claimed.
Apple’s purchase of music streaming service Lala signals a fundamental change in the way that the company will present iTunes content on the web.
Apple is poised to totally change its iTunes business model with a increased focus on Internet-based content, reports the Wall Street Journal in an article appearing in Thursday’s edition. Using newly acquired La La Media Inc. as a springboard, Apple is considering to adopt a usage model that would allow consumers to access and manage their iTunes purchases directly through the Internet without downloading the content in question or the iTunes software.
The first external builds of Mac OS X 10.6.3, the next incremental update to Apple’s Snow Leopard operating system, should arrive this week, AppleInsider has been told.
People familiar with the matter say the forthcoming builds are likely to be released to some developers in the next 48 hours, and carry the expected prefix of 10Dxx. It is not yet known what issues Apple hopes to address with the latest update.
A month ago, Apple released Mac OS X 10.6.2, which corrected a guest account bug that could potentially delete a user’s account data, triggered by logging in and out of a guest account on a Snow Leopard machine. The update also included native support for the Mac maker’s new multi-touch Magic Mouse.
That update was in beta for just over a month, before its release to the public on Nov. 9. A timeframe for the potential Mac OS X 10.6.3 release is not yet known.
Apple this week revealed the most critically acclaimed and best selling content of the year in the iTunes Store, the world’s most popular online music seller and mobile application destination. iTunes Rewind 2009 is a feature on the iTunes Store that gives a glimpse into trends for the duration of the year. Content is presented as an editorially chosen “Best of 2009,” along with a list of the year’s “Top Sellers.”
In case you missed it, Apple acquired a streaming music service called Lala Media late last week. The acquisition has generated the obvious speculation about what Apple might do with a streaming music service. Apple’s official response was, of course, unrevealing:
“Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time and we generally do not comment on our purpose or plan.”
It appears the last minute reports of Apple’s interest in streaming music company Lala media were true. Both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal are reporting that Apple has indeed acquired Lala Media.
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