MacRumors

With just over a week left in the month of July that is expected to see the launch OS X Mountain Lion, 9to5Mac reports that Apple has officially distributed the final version of OS X Mountain Lion to members of its AppleCare support team. The company has provided employees with Mac App Store download codes to allow them to install the forthcoming operating system on their main work machines.

AppleCare representatives have been testing OS X Mountain Lion on special Macs and via remote computing for the past few weeks, but today’s news marks that the OS X Mountain Lion Golden Master seed has been supplied to representatives to be installed on their main work Macs.

The OS was supplied today to all AppleCare employees via a Mac App Store redeem code. Employees who have installed the build have confirmed that their seed is build 12A269, the same build provided to developers on July 9th.

Apple has yet to announce an exact launch date for OS X Mountain Lion beyond "July", but it appears that it could be targeting this Wednesday, July 25, with an announcement perhaps coming on the company's earnings conference call the day before. Apple used a similar launch strategy last year for OS X Lion, announcing as part of the introductory remarks for its earnings conference call that the operating system would launch the following day.

Just a little over a week since shipping estimates for new Retina MacBook Pro orders through Apple's online store saw their first improvement from 3-4 weeks to 2-3 weeks, timeframes have again been reduced. As with the previous improvement, the change has first appeared in Apple's Asia-Pacific markets, which have seen shipping estimates drop to 1-2 weeks.

Shipping estimates in Apple's other main distribution regions of the Americas and Europe/Middle East/Africa are holding steady at 2-3 weeks for the time being, but they will almost certainly see similar drops to the 1-2 week timeframe in the very near future.

Shipping estimates for the Retina MacBook Pro peaked at 3-4 weeks roughly 36 hours after the models were unveiled at last month's Worldwide Developers Conference, with estimates remaining at that level until last week's drop to 2-3 weeks. Availability at other online and brick-and-mortar retailers is also improving, in many cases beating Apple's online store estimates for stock models, but the company's online store is the primary source for customized orders.

Update: Estimates in Apple's online stores in the Americas have also moved to 1-2 weeks.

Update 2: Apple's European stores have now also seen improvement to 1-2 weeks.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that he wants other companies to "invent their own stuff", and that Apple shouldn't be "inventor for the world".

Google General Counsel Kent Walker disagrees, and this month wrote a letter to the US Senate Judiciary Committee arguing that commercial inventions that impact "consumer welfare" should be just as important as technical patents.

All Things D's John Paczkowski interprets Walker's argument thusly:

In other words, Google’s view is that just as there are patents that are standard essential, there are also patents that are commercially essential — patents that cover features that are so popular as to have become ubiquitous. The latter are just as ripe for abuse as the former, and withholding them is just as harmful to consumers and the competitive marketplace. Viewed through that lens, multitouch technology or slide-to-unlock might be treated the same way as an industry standard patent on, say, a smartphone radio.

Apple strongly disagrees. Bruce Sewell, Apple's top lawyer, writes a rebuttal letter to the committee, saying in part, that simply because a "proprietary technology becomes quite popular does not transform it into a ‘standard’ subject to the same legal constraints as true standards."

In other words, simply because an Apple technology is extremely popular with consumers, doesn't mean Apple has to license that technology to competitors. Apple owns numerous patents regarding nearly all iOS technologies, a fact that Steve Jobs touted when he launched the first iPhone in 2007.

From Sewell's letter:

The capabilities of an iPhone are categorically different from a conventional phone, and result from Apple’s ability to bring its traditional innovation in computing to the mobile market. Using an iPhone to take photos, manage a home-finance spreadsheet, play video games, or run countless other applications has nothing to do with standardized protocols. Apple spent billions in research and development to create the iPhone, and third party software developers have spent billions more to develop applications that run on it.

Though Tim Cook has said that he hates lawsuits -- once calling them "a pain in the ass" -- he has said he will staunchly defend Apple's inventions from copycats.

Steve Jobs was quoted in his biography as threatening to "go thermonuclear" on Google for what he considered the theft of Apple's intellectual property regarding the Android operating system. He pledged to spend every penny Apple had in the bank, a war chest that has since grown to more than $100 billion, fighting a legal battle with the company.

All Things D has the full text of both letters, as well as a much deeper analysis of the legal aspects of the situation.

As noticed by 9to5Mac, Apple has offered developers a series of best practices to prevent the In-App Purchase vulnerability, as well as promising a full fix in iOS 6. The advisement was sent to developers in an email today.

CNET was issued this statement by Apple:

"We recommend developers follow best practices at developer.apple.com to help ensure they are not vulnerable to fraudulent In-App purchases," Apple spokesperson Tom Neumayr told CNET. "This will also be addressed with iOS 6."

Apple issued this note to developers on the iOS Developer webpage, along with a series of suggestions to help verify that in-app purchases are legitimate:

A vulnerability has been discovered in iOS 5.1 and earlier related to validating in-app purchase receipts by connecting to the App Store server directly from an iOS device. An attacker can alter the DNS table to redirect these requests to a server controlled by the attacker. Using a certificate authority controlled by the attacker and installed on the device by the user, the attacker can issue a SSL certificate that fraudulently identifies the attacker’s server as an App Store server. When this fraudulent server is asked to validate an invalid receipt, it responds as if the receipt were valid.

News of the in-app purchase hack broke a week ago, and Apple has made several attempts to prevent users using the hack. It allows users to avoid paying for in-app purchases by using a third-party server as a "man-in-the-middle" attack. Apple now includes the UDID identifier in in-app purchase receipts in an attempt to increase the security of purchases.

While today's big acquisition news has been Google's purchase of Sparrow, another prominent Mac and iOS developer has also been swallowed up by a major Silicon Valley company.

Acrylic Software has announced (via The Next Web) that it has been acquired by Facebook, which is bringing on the Acrylic team for its expertise rather than its current products, which include RSS reader Pulp (iPad, Mac) and secure personal database app Wallet (iOS, Mac).

Facebook is an invaluable service that we all use daily, and a company I believe is one of the most innovative and important around today. After visiting late last year, I discovered that we shared many of the same core product design goals and principles, and it soon became obvious that it was a natural fit. Simply put, there’s an opportunity at Facebook to have a big impact in many people’s lives. More importantly, Facebook is full of extremely talented people who will be able to help realize its full potential in the years to come.

Acrylic's apps are not included in the deal, although the developer plans to continue offering them in their current states.

Alternative email client Sparrow has been acquired by Google. From Sparrow's website:

We're excited to announce that Sparrow has been acquired by Google!

We care a lot about how people communicate, and we did our best to provide you with the most intuitive and pleasurable mailing experience.

Now we're joining the Gmail team to accomplish a bigger vision — one that we think we can better achieve with Google.

We’d like to extend a special thanks to all of our users who have supported us, advised us, given us priceless feedback and allowed us to build a better mail application. While we’ll be working on new things at Google, we will continue to make Sparrow available and provide support for our users.

We had an amazing ride and can't thank you enough.

Full speed ahead!

Dom Leca
CEO
Sparrow

Sparrow originally launched on the Mac, but an iPhone version was released earlier this year. Leca also said that Sparrow's products will continue to be made available with "support and critical updates", but Sparrow does not plan to release new features. There's no word whether Push email support -- promised earlier this year -- will make its way to the iOS app or if that has been pushed aside.

Late last year, Google released an iOS Gmail app which was received poorly by users. Google issued this statement on the acquisition, but wouldn't divulge details of the purchase:

The Sparrow team has always put their users first by focusing on building a seamlessly simple and intuitive interface for their email client. We look forward to bringing them aboard the Gmail team, where they’ll be working on new projects.

Update: The Verge says Sparrow was acquired for "under $25 million" and that there was no bidding war for the company.

As noted by The Next Web, Apple today launched the third-generation iPad in China to small, orderly crowds, avoiding a repeat of the chaotic iPhone 4S launch back in January that forced Apple to temporarily halt in-store sales of the device in the country.

The iPad launch appears to have gone much more smoothly in part due to a reservation system the company deployed to help minimize lines and thwart scalpers seeking to soak up available supplies and resell the devices for significant profits. Prospective customers were required to pre-register for their in-store purchases by noon yesterday, with customers receiving designated appointment times today to come pick up their iPads.

As of now, today, there is no sign of the scalper contingent, which is typically out in full force for Apple product launches in China – the computer giant’s second largest market.

According to staff at the Sanliutin Apple Store, iPad sales will continue to be reservation-only indefinitely. Customers can reserve the new iPad daily from 9am-12pm and will be assigned a pickup time for the following day or later.

Crowds at the Sanlitun store were sparse under the new reservation system, with the store opening two hours early at 8:00 AM but with only ten people in line by 8:30.

Alongside yesterday's massive international expansion of iTunes in the Cloud for movies, U.S. users also received some new content as 20th Century Fox films are now available through the service.

When iTunes in the Cloud for movies launched back in March, Universal and Fox were not included due to agreements the studios had in place with premium TV channel HBO, with sources indicating within days that negotiations were underway to lift those restrictions.

Universal's films began appearing in iTunes in the Cloud in early April, but it has taken until now for 20th Century Fox's offerings to also be included.

Back in March, the Hickory Daily Record noted that Apple had filed for building permits related to a "tactical data center" to be located at the site of the company's existing data center in Maiden, North Carolina. Our research at the time indicated that the facility was a relatively small building of roughly 20,000 square feet, but it was unclear exactly what it was to be used for.

The Hickory Daily Record now follows up with a new report sharing more details on Apple's plans as culled from additional building permits and planning documents filed in recent weeks.

According to Apple’s design plans on file with Catawba County, the new 21,030-square-foot data center, also referred to as a “tactical” data center, will store clusters of servers. Permits filed with the county list the cost of the new 11-room data center at $1,885,129. [..]

The building will have, what appears to be, tight security measures even though it will be located on a site that already has tight security. The building will be equipped with “man trap” security doors at either end that will force a person to be cleared to go through an additional second door to get inside the main building space. The building also will be surrounded with an 8-foot-high chain-link security fence, according to architectural plans.

Apple's plans for the site ultimately include two 500,000 square-foot data center buildings, only one of which has been constructed. Today's report indicates that this new tactical data center, a separate project, will be adjacent to the existing data center without impinging upon space set aside for the second major building.

The architectural site plans show the small data center t-boned to the 500,000-square-foot existing data center. The plans still show the footprint for a larger data center that would run nearly parallel to the existing one and would t-bone the smaller one currently under construction.

Data Center Knowledge takes a closer look at Apple's plans, suggesting that Apple is deploying a modular facility in order to rapidly increase the server capacity at the site, something the company is already doing at its Prineville, Oregon site in advance of more permanent construction.

The building permits for the new Apple tactical MDC don’t name a particular provider. But Apple is currently deploying modular data centers from NxGen Modular at its new data center in Prineville, Oregon. NxGen has developed next-generation modular designs, with pre-fabricated components that can be assembled into a complete data center, complete with power, cooling and mechanical rooms.

Apple has yet to comment on its intentions for the new tactical data center facility in Maiden, but the project comes as Apple is pursuing major expansions of its server capabilities in North Carolina, Oregon, and Nevada to help support iCloud and other ventures.

In addition to today's iTunes Match expansion to Hungary and Poland, Apple has also undertaken a significant expansion of its iTunes in the Cloud feature, adding movies to the list of eligible items in the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

We've heard from several UK users who have reported that only a small fraction of their purchased movies are currently shown as eligible for re-download, through iTunes in the Cloud, but Apple indicates that "most" content should be included in the program.

The expansion marks the first time iTunes in the Cloud has been available for movies outside of the United States. The feature provides additional flexibility for those who have purchased movies through the iTunes Store, allowing them to download the content as needed on any computer, iOS device, or Apple TV.

iTunes in the Cloud for music and music videos is available in over 50 countries around the world, and support for TV shows has also been available in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. Re-downloads of apps and books are permitted throughout Apple's digital store markets.

Update: Steven Troughton-Smith notes that iTunes in the Cloud for movies is also live in Ireland.

Update 2: The feature has also gone live in many of Apple's Latin American markets, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela.

Update 3: Many of Apple's Asia-Pacific markets are also included: Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Update 4: In Europe, the following countries are also seeing iTunes in the Cloud for movies: Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia.

As noted by CNET, Verizon Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo made a comment during today's earnings release conference call that many are interpreting as a hint that the next-generation iPhone will be launching in the fourth quarter of this year.

Apple's next iteration of the iPhone could drop in the fourth quarter.

That's according to Verizon CFO Fran Shammo, who hinted at the possible timing during the company's quarterly conference call today with a vague reference to a major phone the carrier expects to launch in the fourth quarter.

Shammo's exact statement was captured by The Verge:

When asked what might have held customers back from upgrading their devices in Q2, Shammo said that "of course there's always that, uh, rumor mill out there with a new phone coming out there in the fourth quarter, so people may be waiting." While there's a chance that he was referring to the next Nexus phone, this felt more like a thinly-veiled reference to the oft-rumored "new iPhone."

Rumors have been pegging the launch of the next-generation iPhone for the September/October timeframe, but with Verizon's fourth quarter not starting until October 1, Shammo's comment would point toward the latter half of the rumored timeframe.

Shammo could pass his comments off as simply an acknowledgment of the circulating rumors with no inside information coloring his perspective, but observers searching for any hints of Apple's plans are clearly wondering whether the timeframe mentioned by Shammo was indeed based on Apple's schedule.

Last year, Shammo spoke out several times on Apple's iPhone plans, confirming that what became the iPhone 4S would be a world-mode phone capable of operating on both GSM and CDMA networks and noting that Verizon would launch the device simultaneously with AT&T despite Verizon having launched the iPhone 4 midway through its lifecycle.

Following a report earlier this week claiming that European carriers have been stockpiling new nano-SIM cards in expectation of Apple using the smaller card in the next-generation iPhone, BGR now reports that carriers are indeed testing the new cards in partnership with Apple.

Multiple carrier sources have exclusively told BGR that Apple is supplying nano-SIM adapters so its carrier partners can test how nano-SIMs work on their networks in standard test devices before they are widely deployed when the new iPhone is introduced. This includes AT&T.

As we noted in the our report earlier this week, a part leak back in early May suggested that Apple would continue to use micro-SIMs in the next-generation iPhone, but with the new nano-SIM standard backed by Apple having been approved last month the company may already be pushing forward to adopt it as a space-saving measure.

Verizon today announced earnings for the second quarter of 2012, providing a first glimpse at Apple's iPhone performance during the quarter. During the conference call associated with the earnings release, Verizon announced iPhone sales of 2.7 million for the quarter, down from 3.2 million in the prior quarter.

A quarterly decline in iPhone sales for Verizon is not necessarily a surprise given the typical lull heading toward new hardware launches. And with Apple's iPhone business increasingly coming from international markets, performance of the main U.S. carriers like AT&T and Verizon is less indicative of Apple's overall sales numbers.

Notably, the 2.7 million iPhones represent 45% of Verizon's total smartphone sales of 5.9 million units, down from roughly 50% in the first quarter and 55% in the fourth quarter of 2011. Apple's share of Verizon smartphone sales does, however, remain above its low point of 35% seen in the third quarter of last year just before the launch of the iPhone 4S.

Apple will report its performance for the third fiscal quarter (second calendar quarter) of 2012 next Tuesday, July 24.

Earlier today, we pointed to some grainy photos of an early iPad prototype dating back to the 2002-2004 timeframe, revealing a much bulkier but otherwise fairly similar design to that seen in the device that was ultimately launched in 2010.

BuzzFeed has now posted new photos showing the prototype in full color next to an iPad 2, a comparison which shows the prototype to carry a much larger screen than seen on the iPad to date. Measuring pixel counts against the ruler shown in several of the photos reveals that the prototype device had a display measuring almost exactly 12 inches diagonally.

Compared to the eventually-released iPad's 9.7-inch screen, the prototype device would have had roughly 40% more screen real estate, although it is unknown at what resolution the early device was projected to run.

The prototype otherwise bears a distinct similarity to Apple's iBook of the time, carrying a white plastic shell with rounded corners and a 4:3 aspect ratio for the display. The prototype iPad measures in at just under 1-inch thick, compared to 1.35 inches for the white iBook models and the 0.34-0.50 inch range of the iPad models released to the public so far.