The first developer build of OS X 10.8.2 arrives as Build 12C31a in the form of a 641.83 MB combo update, and Apple is asking testers to focus on Messages, Facebook, Game Center, Safari, and Reminders. Apple also notes no known issues with the build, and we'll provide additional information on the update as it surfaces.
Apple today released OS X 10.8.1, the first maintenance update to OS X Mountain Lion. The update is available directly from Apple's site or via the Software Update mechanism that directs users to the Mac App Store for updates.
The update is Build 12B19, up two build numbers from last Friday's developer seed.
This update includes general operating system fixes that improve the stability and compatibility of your Mac, including fixes that:
- Resolve an issue that may cause Migration Assistant to unexpectedly quit - Improve compatibility when connecting to a Microsoft Exchange server in Mail - Address an issue playing audio through a Thunderbolt display - Resolve an issue that could prevent iMessages from being sent - Address an issue that could cause the system to become unresponsive when using Pinyin input - Resolve an issue when connecting to SMB servers with long names - Address a issue that may prevent Safari from launching when using a Proxy Automatic Configuration (PAC) file - Improve 802.1X authentication with Active Directory credentials.
OS X 10.8.1 is a relatively small update at just 24.2 MB, with Apple pushing out a handful of high-priority fixes for issues discovered in the initial public release of OS X Mountain Lion.
VMware today announced the immediate availability of VMware Fusion 5, the latest version of the company's virtualization software that allows users to run Windows and other operating systems virtualized alongside their native OS X operating systems. Optimized for both OS X Mountain Lion and Windows 8, Fusion 5 contains over 70 new features.
- Designed for Mountain Lion – Run Windows on Mountain Lion and search Windows programs in Launchpad, use “AirPlay Mirroring” to stream Mac and Windows applications on an HDTV and get VMware Fusion notifications in Mountain Lion’s notification center.
- Windows 8 Optimization – VMware Fusion 5 supports Windows 8 standard, pro and enterprise editions so consumers can optimize the new Windows 8 “Metro” environment directly on a Mac.
- Enhanced Mac Support – Support for the latest Mac technologies include compatibility with Mountain Lion, retina display optimization, USB 3 connectivity, and improved support for large memory Macs.
- Next Generation Performance – Performance enhancements include up to 40% faster general performance speeds compared to the previous version of the product, improved power management for longer battery life and faster 3D graphics.
- Additional Functionalities – New, powerful ways to experience Windows on a Mac are available through an updated virtual machine library that enables seamless transitions between multiple operating systems, one click snapshots with improved graphical appearance, a brand new graphics driver for Linux 3D desktops, and a new embedded learning center for immediate support.
Fusion 5 is priced at $49.99 for the standard version, with an enhanced Professional version available for $99.99. Users who purchased Fusion 4 on or after July 25 can receive a free upgrade to the new version.
VMware's major competitor in the virtualization market is Parallels, which is also preparing to launch an updated version of its own software. Parallels has yet to share full details on its forthcoming Parallels 8, but does note that it will debut on September 4 and customers who purchase now will receive a free upgrade to the new version when it launches.
Repair firm SmartPhone Medic has just posted a new video comparing several parts from the next-generation iPhone to their counterparts from the iPhone 4S.
The parts shown include the front panel and flex cables for the external controls and dock connector/headphone jack, and while all of these parts have been seen previously, the video offers another good look at what changes can be expected for the next-generation iPhone.
A number of parts for the next-generation iPhone have leaked in recent weeks and months, although observers are still waiting for a good look at the most crucial part of the device: the logic board. After photos showing the part with shielding in place surfaced last week, fresh photos showing the shielding removed appeared earlier today. Unfortunately, the blurry nature of the photos and the incomplete state of assembly on the part still leave questions about the core components powering the device.
Reuters reports that LG Display has officially announced the start of mass production on new displays that are thought to be making their way into the next-generation iPhone. The news, which follows similar comments from Sharp earlier this month, comes three weeks ahead of Apple's expected media event to introduce the new device.
Flat-screen maker LG Display has started mass production of a new and thinner display, widely speculated to be for use in Apple Inc's next iPhone, and the display's production schedule remains in line with customers' product release plans, LG's chief executive said.
"We just began mass production and we don't expect any disruption in supplies," Han Sang-beom, chief executive of LG Display, a panel supplier for Apple products, told reporters late on Wednesday.
The report also reiterates claims that the new iPhone displays will measure four inches diagonally and incorporate in-cell technology to embed touch sensors directly into the display, thereby decreasing the thickness of the component.
The chief executive of LG Display Co. said the company has started the mass production of panels using the so-called in-cell technology since earlier this month, a new display technology that is widely expected to be used for Apple Inc.'s next iPhone device.
"We had some hard times (in developing the new in-cell technology) at first ... but it seems those hard times have finally ended," Han Sang-beom, LG Display's chief executive, told reporters late Wednesday.
"The in-cell technology is the industry's latest development. (But) we will be able to supply the panels without any fail," Mr. Han said.
The report goes on to note that LG, Sharp, and Japan Display are all producing displays with in-cell touch sensors for the next-generation iPhone, meeting their production goals despite the challenges of the new technology.
Last week, a pair of photos surfaced showing what is claimed to be the logic board for the next-generation iPhone, although relatively little information could be gleaned from the photos due to shielding covering the majority of the component.
Chinese site Sina.com now shares [Google translation] a new set of photos showing components allegedly from the next-generation iPhone, including a pair of photos showing the logic board with the shielding removed. Unfortunately, the blurry nature of the photos and the apparently incomplete stage of assembly for the part continue to limit the amount of information that can be determined.
The report claims that the original source has said that the next-generation iPhone will use the A5X system-on-a-chip found in the third-generation iPad, although that conclusion does not appear to be directly drawn from the logic board photos. Other sources have been unclear on what chip Apple will use in the new iPhone given that it does not necessarily need the full graphics capabilities of the latest iPad and will almost certainly require that RAM be included within the package rather than separately as seen with the A5X in the iPad.
Chair Entertainment, the division of Epic Games responsible for the first two games in the Infinity Blade series, has released a new game called Vote!!!. The game pits U.S. presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney against each other with the same gesture-based fighting mechanics from Infinity Blade.
Though the game only launched today, it has already drawn a lot of media attention including from Bloomberg:
The candidates wield lightsabers and baton-like microphones, facing off in the Oval Office, the White House lawn and the debate stage in "Vote," from Epic Games Inc.’s Chair Entertainment. The company plans to offer the game for free starting tomorrow on Apple Inc.’s App Store. It lets users of iPods, iPhones and iPads pick either the president or his Republican challenger, Technical Director Geremy Mustard said.
Chair Entertainment, maker of the popular "Infinity Blade" sword-fighting game, goes a step beyond political satire by working with Washington-based Rock the Vote for the first in-game attempt to register thousands of young people to cast a ballot this November.
"Gamers are a pretty hard audience to reach, and the game is a really fun way to keep people engaged in the political process these next critical two months," Mustard said in an interview.
Note: Due to the inevitable political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Even as Apple is continuing to seed builds of OS X 10.8.1 to developers in order to address some of the most significant issues with the initial release version of OS X Mountain Lion, the company has already notified some users that it is preparing to begin seeding builds of OS X 10.8.2 for testing.
Join us for 10.8.2!
You are invited to participate in the next Mountain Lion Software Update seed project, 10.8.2. Apple will provide you with the pre-release software. Once builds are available, we ask that you install and test each build to help us make sure that this is a high quality release!
While Apple is likely moving fairly quickly on OS X 10.8.1 in order to deliver fixes for major issues to users as quickly as possible, the company may spend more time on OS X 10.8.2 to address other issues that require attention but which are not of as critical importance.
Earlier this month, photos of what was claimed to be the cable portion of Apple's smaller dock connector surfaced, showing the part next to the traditional USB end of the cable. iLounge now points to a photo of the entire cable, showing what the mini dock plug will look like in its fully-assembled form with cable and strain relief components attached.
The cable contains some text and a scannable code on the USB connector portion of the cable, but those features will almost certainly not be included on the final version of the cable.
Apple has removed the controversial 'Genius' TV spots from its YouTube channel and from the Apple.com marketing page for the Mac. The ads were poorly received with some critics asking if it was a good idea to make potential customers seem clueless. Others thought they were excellent ads that showed non-technical Mac buyers the support options available to them.
Apple stopped airing the ads on television soon after they were introduced during the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics, with Apple's ad agency saying they "were intended only for a 'first run' during the Olympics". They remained on YouTube and Apple's website for several weeks, and only in the past several days were they removed entirely.
Apple does tend to remove older advertisements from its website and YouTube over time, but the company still has ads on YouTube from as far back as November 2010.
Back in June, we pointed to a teaser site at FinallyOnTheMac.com hinting at a major music software title coming to the Mac for the first time. Our research and the general theme of a teaser video posted on the site suggested that Sony was behind the campaign and that the company's Sound Forge audio recording and editing tools were the product in question.
Since that initial video almost two months ago, additional videos have been posted periodically showing new hints of the software, with the clips further suggesting that Sound Forge is indeed the subject of the campaign. And now today, the fifth video in the campaign has been posted confirming that Sound Forge Pro will be coming to OS X.
No details on pricing or a release date have yet been made available, but Sony will undoubtedly be sharing more information in the coming weeks with four additional teaser videos still to come.
A number of high-quality photos are included with the listing, showing a complete lack of Apple branding on the exterior of the device. Most notably, the Apple logo has been replaced with a distinct logo that was previously seen in a Twitpic posting in February 2010. The standard "iPhone" text on the rear of the device has also been replaced by "Prototype", along with text noting that the device has not been approved by the Federal Communications Commission and can not be sold until such authorization is granted.
Sonny Dickson has also provided an overview video of the device showing off several of the features of the device including the software and a lack of screws on the bottom of the device that is consistent with some of the earlier leaked prototypes.
As seen in the video, the serial number of the device indicates that it was manufactured during the 43rd week of 2009, which corresponds to late October, nearly eight months before the device was made available to the public.
The auction for the prototype currently carries a single bid of $4,500, with the seller advertising in the listing that a $10,000 offer would be acceptable to halt the auction process and simply purchase the device.
Late last week, AT&T announced that it will be restricting usage of Apple's FaceTime over Cellular feature in iOS 6 to customers on its new Mobile Share plans officially launching tomorrow. Beyond a backlash from consumers who do not wish to change their current service plans, the policy has also raised net neutrality concerns.
AT&T has now issued a lengthy response to those concerns, stating that the move will not violate either of the two basic net neutrality provisions regarding transparency or the blocking of competing services.
AT&T’s plans for FaceTime will not violate either requirement. Our policies regarding FaceTime will be fully transparent to all consumers, and no one has argued to the contrary. There is no transparency issue here.
Nor is there a blocking issue. The FCC’s net neutrality rules do not regulate the availability to customers of applications that are preloaded on phones. Indeed, the rules do not require that providers make available any preloaded apps. Rather, they address whether customers are able to download apps that compete with our voice or video telephony services. AT&T does not restrict customers from downloading any such lawful applications, and there are several video chat apps available in the various app stores serving particular operating systems.
AT&T argues that its move is expanding access to FaceTime, which has until now been limited to Wi-Fi usage only, and the carrier says that it is limiting the feature's cellular access to Mobile Share customers "out of an overriding concern for the impact this expansion may have on our network and the overall customer experience. "
The latest version of Counter-Strike -- Valve's flagship series and one of the most popular PC gaming titles ever -- has arrived on the Mac via Steam. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the fourth title in the CS series, which has sold more than 27 million units in its lifetime.
Along with Portal 2, this is the second time that Valve has launched a flagship game simultaneously on the Mac and the PC, and the first Counter-Strike release since Steam launched on the Mac in 2010.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) will expand upon the team-based action gameplay that it pioneered when it was launched 12 years ago.
CS: GO features new maps, characters, and weapons and delivers updated versions of the classic CS content (de_dust, etc.). In addition, CS: GO will introduce new gameplay modes, matchmaking, leader boards, and more.
The Mac version has fairly liberal system requirements, with CS:GO looking for an Intel Core Duo processor with 2GHz or better, 2GB of RAM, and an ATI Radeon HD 2400 or better or a NVidia 8600M or better.
MacRumors has received word from multiple Apple Premium Resellers in Europe that Apple has requested they set aside additional table space for iPad displays over the next few weeks. One of the sources specifically cites September 12 as the Apple-imposed deadline for the adjustments to be made, while another source indicates that their store is already at work on tripling the amount of display space dedicated to the iPad.
We're told that the emphasis on iPad display space is coming at the expense of Apple's Mac Pro and Mac mini computers, which are reportedly being removed from display entirely at these locations. Displays of iPods and associated headphones are also reportedly being trimmed back to release space for the iPad.
Apple rendering of partial reseller display layout with increased iPad presence
The reasons for the changes are not entirely clear, but the September 12 deadline suggests that they may have something to do with Apple's media event that is widely expected to be held on that date. Apple is expected to introduce the next-generation iPhone at that event, and may also be introducing the "iPad mini". Apple resellers could easily slot the iPad mini into some of display space now being shifted over to the full-size iPad, but it is unclear why Apple would be making these adjustments ahead of time rather than waiting until the iPad mini is announced to revamp the product display mix.
Apple is also rumored to be planning to launch a tweaked version of the full-size iPad as soon as next month, with some sources reporting that Apple will primarily be focused on shifting to the company's new, smaller dock connector standard alongside some minor internal changes that will be mostly invisible to users.
Update: We've heard a bit more from our reseller sources, who now share that the changes started rolling out three months ago but that Apple is just now pushing them out to the "V2" store locations. The reasoning behind the shift stems from the iPad accounting for 55% of dollar share and 61% of unit share among sales at the resellers but only representing 15% of display space. With the changes, the iPad will account for 45% of showroom space.
The Fair Labor Association (FLA) today announced the release of a status report outlining progress that has made since the group's initial high-profile audits of several Foxconn facilities in China serving as assembly plants for Apple products. In follow-up visits to the plants in late June and early July, the FLA found that Foxconn has made a number of changes to help meet the group's recommendations for improving working conditions.
“Our verification shows that the necessary changes, including immediate health and safety measures, have been made. We are satisfied that Apple has done its due diligence thus far to hold Foxconn accountable for complying with the action plan, including the commitment to reform its internship program,” said Auret van Heerden, President and CEO of the Fair Labor Association. “When we finished our initial investigation in March, Foxconn promised to address concerns with its internship program by ensuring that student interns do not work overtime, their work has a more direct connection to their field of study, and they understand that they are free to terminate the internship if and when they wish.”
Foxconn has also begun taking steps toward meeting working hour goals by July 2013, already moving to limit workers to 60 hours per week including overtime and making plans to reduce hours further to 40 regular hours and nine overtime hours per week while still protecting worker salaries.
“The verification confirmed that Apple and Foxconn are ahead of schedule in improving the conditions under which some of the world's most popular electronics are being made,” said van Heerden. “Apple and Foxconn’s progress since the March assessment, combined with the additional actions planned through July 2013, would create the roadmap for all Chinese suppliers in the tech industry.”
Human Rights First, one of the groups backing the FLA, has also acknowledges that significant progress has been made at Foxconn's facilities in China, but also continues to push Apple to hold all of its suppliers to similar standards.
“Foxconn has completed nearly 80 percent of the FLA actions recommended in March. They are ahead of schedule in implementing many of the changes necessary to ensure the health and welfare of Foxconn employees and bring the company’s work conditions into compliance with basic human rights standards,” said Human Rights First’s Meg Roggensack. “This is a win for the employees of Foxconn and for the FLA’s new assessment process. Now, Apple must continue to take steps that ensure all workers within its supply chain have access to these same standards.”
Full details on the Fair Labor Association's status report are available on the group's site, and Apple offers its own information on supplier responsibility on its site. According to Apple, tracking of over 700,000 workers throughout the company's supply chain reveals that 97% of worker weeks were compliant with the current 60-hour maximum standard in July, up well over ten percentage points since the beginning of the year.
TechCrunch reports that it has received word from a Verizon employee that the carrier is imposing a company-wide vacation blackout from September 21 through the end of the month, a timeframe in line with the rumored September 21 launch for the next-generation iPhone in the United States. Apple is expected to introduce the new iPhone with a media event on September 12.
A trusted Verizon employee has just confirmed to TechCrunch that the carrier is having an all-staff vacation blackout from the dates of Friday, September 21 to the following Friday, September 30. You know what that means, right?
Similar blackouts have been instituted around the launch of previous iPhone models and other high-profile Apple products, although these blackouts are sometimes subject to change or extension depending on Apple's exact plans.
Earlier this month, we pointed to testing by Ars Technica showing that upgrading to OS X Mountain Lion on a test Retina MacBook Pro substantially degraded its battery life. The testing showed a 38% decrease in battery life, moving from eight hours of battery life on a single charge under OS X Lion to just five hours under OS X Mountain Lion.
Softpedia now reports that it has heard from one developer claiming that OS X 10.8.1, which entered developer testing just days after Ars Technica's report, does indeed address this battery life issue.
“Until I installed 10.8.1, my MacBook was showing 4h:05m after a full charge,” he said, referring to the amount of time before the battery would deplete completely.
“After installing 10.8.1 it's showing over 8h,” he said. “I'm now able to use my Mac throughout the day again without having to carry my charger,” said the happy developer.
Another report from Apple's discussion forums describes a similar major boost to battery life under OS X 10.8.1, but results from our own forums are less clear. Several users have reported no changes to their battery life while others suggest that there has been some improvement, but it appears that specific testing by those who were affected by the Mountain Lion battery life drop has not been well-documented.
OS X 10.8.1 will be the first maintenance release for OS X Mountain Lion, and such updates are generally pushed quickly through the development and testing processes in order to address the most severe bugs cropping up with the initial public releases of new operating systems. Significant battery life issues would seem to qualify as something Apple would want to address in this update, but the company has not specifically addressed the topic in release notes or other documentation associated with the test builds being distributed.
Apple today released 
Late last week, AT&T 
