MacRumors

Alongside today's OS X Mountain Lion news, Apple released a public beta version of its new Messages app for OS X for existing users. Set to replace iChat in OS X Mountain Lion, the new Messages app integrates features of iChat and FaceTime and adds compatibility with the iMessages service introduced for iOS last year.

Download Messages Beta and get a taste of what’s coming in OS X Mountain Lion. When you install Messages, it replaces iChat. But iChat services will continue to work. And Messages brings iMessage to the Mac — just like on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch running iOS 5. Here are the features you can expect with Messages:

- Send unlimited iMessages to any Mac, iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch.
- Start an iMessage conversation on your Mac and continue it on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch.
- Send photos, videos, attachments, contacts, locations, and more.
- Launch a FaceTime video call and bring the conversation face-to-face.
- Messages supports iMessage, AIM, Yahoo!, Google Talk, and Jabber accounts.

Update: Apple's servers appear to be overwhelmed at the moment, with the download button for the Messages beta showing an error message. The app is, however, still available via direct download (63.8 MB).

Update 2: The Messages download button is now operating properly.

Apple today announced that it has released the first developer preview of the company's next-generation operating system, named OS X Mountain Lion. The release will bring over 100 new features, including a number of those familiar to iOS users such as Messages, Notes, Reminders, Game Center, Notification Center, Twitter integration, and AirPlay Mirroring. The first developer preview is available to registered developers today, with a public launch through the Mac App Store scheduled for late this summer.

“The Mac is on a roll, growing faster than the PC for 23 straight quarters, and with Mountain Lion things get even better,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The developer preview of Mountain Lion comes just seven months after the incredibly successful release of Lion and sets a rapid pace of development for the world’s most advanced personal computer operating system.”

OS X Mountain Lion included deeper integration with iCloud to automatically configure services like Mail, FaceTime, and Find My Mac, while iCloud Documents handles automatic push syncing of documents across devices. Security is also a focus in the upcoming release, with a new feature called Gatekeeper helping users to specify from which sources apps may be installed on their computers.

Finally, Apple is continuing its emphasis on expanding into China with substantial improvements for Chinese users included enhanced Chinese input methods and the addition of Baidu as a search engine option. Integration with Chinese email and video hosting sites as well as the Sina weibo microblogging service is also included.

Advance previews of OS X Mountain Lion are available from a number of sources:

- The Loop
- Macworld
- Engadget
- The Verge
- AllThingsD
- CNET
- The Wall Street Journal's interview with Tim Cook

And perhaps most interestingly, Daring Fireball's John Gruber relates the private briefing he received from Phil Schiller and other Apple executives.

Digitimes reports that Intel has apparently begun informing partners that mass availability of its forthcoming Ivy Bridge processors will be delayed until "after June". Intel is said to be sticking to its initial schedule calling for an April introduction of Ivy Bridge, but only very limited supplies of the chips will be available at that time.

Intel recently notified its partners about plans to postpone mass shipments of its upcoming Ivy Bridge processors. Despite that the company will still announce the new products and ship a small volume of the processors in early April, mass shipments are not expected to occur until after June, according to sources from notebook players.

The report suggests that the delay may simply be due to Intel holding off in order to draw down both its own oversupply of current Sandy Bridge processors and its partners' PC stocks that have been selling more slowly than anticipated as consumers continue to hold off on new computer purchases.

Many Apple fans are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Ivy Bridge, as it has been pegged as the processor family to be used in the next updates of most of Apple's Macs.

Apple is rumored to be planning for Ivy Bridge to usher in a revamped MacBook Pro that will take a number of design cues from the MacBook Air and perhaps even see a merger of the two lines. While observers have been hoping that such an update could come as soon as April with the Ivy Bridge timeline, it is now unclear whether the chips will be available in sufficient supplies for Apple to update the MacBook Pro within that timeframe.

Earlier today, we noted that the iPad had been pulled from sale at online retailers Amazon China and Suning.com, with the development coming just days after authorities had seized some iPads over a trademark dispute involving the "iPad" name. At the time of the removal, an Amazon China spokesperson indicated that the iPad had been removed at Apple's request rather than as a result of actions associated with the trademark dispute, but Apple's reasons for the request were unknown.

The Wall Street Journal now reports that Apple did indeed request that Amazon China remove the iPad from sale, simply due to Amazon China not being an officially authorized retailer.

The Cupertino, Calif., consumer electronics giant asked Amazon in China to stop selling iPads because it is not an authorized reseller, according to people familiar with the matter. Amazon has since removed iPads offered by other resellers on its Chinese website as well.

The report's sources indicate that the move was not specifically related to the ongoing trademark dispute, although the timing suggests that it perhaps did play some role in the decision, if only by spurring Apple to reassess iPad distribution in China and tie up any loose ends.

While Chinese courts have so far ruled against Apple in the trademark dispute with Proview Technology, Apple has noted that it did win a court case on the issue in Hong Kong last year. The Wall Street Journal's report offers some additional details on that decision, which held that Proview and its subsidiaries had conspired against Apple in a scheme to extract more money from Apple.

The court said, in its findings, that Proview, its subsidiaries and at least one other company had combined together "with the common intention of injuring Apple," by breaching the agreement over the iPad name. The court, calling the event a conspiracy, further said Proview had "attempted to exploit the situation as a business opportunity," by asking for money.

"It is accordingly important that (Apple) is able to secure and obtain the China trademarks," the court wrote in its decision.

Proview reportedly failed to transfer the iPad trademark assignment in China to Apple as required by a 2009 agreement, instead demanding that Apple pay $10 million for the rights. Proview is now seeking as much as $1.6 billion in damages in Chinese courts.

Just hours after a pair of U.S. Congressmen sent a letter to Apple requesting information on privacy practices, specifically as they relate to address book data being collected and stored by the apps' developers, Apple has issued a statement to AllThingsD indicating that the issue will be addressed in a forthcoming iOS software update.

“Apps that collect or transmit a user’s contact data without their prior permission are in violation of our guidelines,” Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told AllThingsD. “We’re working to make this even better for our customers, and as we have done with location services, any app wishing to access contact data will require explicit user approval in a future software release.”

Apple has been testing iOS 5.1 for some time, but appears to have slowed development as the company is assumed to be waiting to release it to the public alongside the iPad 3 early next month. The company has not, however, specified whether the new address book permission feature will be included as part of iOS 5.1 or if it will arrive in the form of a separate update, perhaps as an iOS 5.0.2 update to enable a faster turnaround on the fix.

With Kodak having filed last-minute patent lawsuits against Apple and HTC as it was heading into bankruptcy last month, Bloomberg reports that Apple is looking to assert itself against the pioneering photography company with a new lawsuit alleging infringement of Apple-held patents.

While Apple says in its filing with the bankruptcy court overseeing Kodak's case that it is not required to seek approval for a lawsuit, Apple notes that it is requesting the court's blessing "out of an abundance of caution".

Apple Inc. asked a bankruptcy judge for permission to sue Eastman Kodak Co. over allegations it’s infringing patents that Apple says cover technologies used in printers, digital cameras and digital picture frames. [...]

While arguing bankruptcy law doesn’t prevent the filing of infringement suits against a company in court protection, “Apple requests express authority from this court before it initiates the actions out of an abundance of caution,” the company’s lawyers wrote in the filing.

In a separate case, Apple has been contending that it is the rightful owner of a patent currently held by Kodak. Apple claims that through its partnership with Kodak to produce QuickTake digital cameras during the mid-1990s, Kodak misappropriated intellectual property involved in the project and patented it for itself.

Apple last month filed a petition with Kodak's bankruptcy court requesting that Kodak not be permitted to use the disputed patent to secure loans supporting the company's restructuring until ownership of the patent is resolved. The U.S. International Trade Commission has preliminarily rejected Apple's ownership claims, but the case and a parallel federal lawsuit remain pending.

Last week, controversy erupted when it was discovered that the popular iOS app Path was uploading users' entire address books to the company's servers without alerting users or asking for authorization. While Path quickly deleted all address book data on its servers and updated its app to make the data collection an opt-in service, the issue has cast a fresh light on user privacy issues on iOS.

As noted by The Next Web, U.S. Congressmen Henry Waxman and G.K. Butterfield have now weighed on in the issue, sending a letter to Apple requesting information on the company's data collection policies it imposes on App Store developers.

In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the legislators state:

"This incident raises questions about whether Apple’s iOS app developer policies and practices may fall short when it comes to protecting the information of iPhone users and their contacts."

Butterfield and Waxman then quote parts of Apple’s iOS developer website which states that Apple provides a comprehensive collection of tools and frameworks for storing, accessing and sharing data. It is then questioned whether Apple requires apps to request user permission before transmitting data about a user.

Butterfield and Waxman have requested that Apple provide answers to a series of questions by February 29, with the topics including Apple's definition of user data, how the App Store review process assesses compliance with guidelines on privacy, and data on how many apps transmit "data about a user" in general and address book data in particular. The Congressmen have also asked Apple to explain why it has not instituted a simple toggle setting for address book sharing as it has for location information.

It is not terribly unusual for Congress to request information from companies when issues related to consumer protection and privacy arise, and Apple was subject to a similar process when questions about location information arose last year. In that case, Senator Al Franken contacted Apple with questions about the company's policies, with executives from Apple and Google later testifying in a Senate hearing on the matter.

With the Fair Labor Association's independent audit of Foxconn's manufacturing facilities for Apple products having been underway for several days now, Reuters reports on the association's initial impressions as it works to collect and analyze data on working conditions.

According to Fair Labor Association president Auret van Heerden, Foxconn's facilities appear to be "first-class" in comparison to the garment factories the association has typically monitored, with van Heerden suggesting that monotony and boredom associated with repetitive assembly tasks may be among the most significant threats to workers' all-around health at the facilities.

After his first visits to Foxconn, van Heerden said, "The facilities are first-class; the physical conditions are way, way above average of the norm."

He spent the past several days visiting Foxconn plants to prepare for the study.

"I was very surprised when I walked onto the floor at Foxconn, how tranquil it is compared with a garment factory," he said. "So the problems are not the intensity and burnout and pressure-cooker environment you have in a garment factory. . It's more a function of monotony, of boredom, of alienation perhaps."

The report notes that the Fair Labor Association has 30 employees on hand to conduct the audit, with Foxconn employees being surveyed for the audit using iPads to record their responses. Three separate Foxconn factories representing 300,000 workers are being audited over the course of three weeks, with 35,000 employees participating in the group's anonymous assessment surveys.

Questions will include:

- how the workers were hired
- if they were paid a fee
- if they were offered and signed contracts and whether they understood them
- the condition of their dorm rooms and food
- if complaints are acted upon
- their emotional well being

Apple CEO Tim Cook had much to say on the topic of worker safety during an interview at a Goldman Sachs investor conference yesterday, noting that Apple is working closely with the Fair Labor Association and attempting to be as proactive and transparent as possible in addressing the issues.

Just as Chinese authorities have indicated that it would be difficult to impose a ban on Apple's iPad over a trademark dispute, Tech in Asia notes that the popular tablet has gone missing from online stores at Amazon China and Suning.com.

The removal is apparently not, however, the result of a request from Proview Technology, which is laying claim to the iPad trademark and which has been seeking to halt both imports and exports of the device in China. The company's efforts earlier this week resulted in local Chinese authorities seizing a small number of iPads from retailers as others removed their stocks from display to avoid the seizures.

M.I.C gadget reports that the removal of the iPad from sale at Amazon China and Suning.com is actually by Apple's request, although the reasons for the move are not entirely clear.

According to an Amazon China spokesman, the withdrawal is on the notice of Apple and also it’s the adjustment on its sales strategy [...]

Meanwhile, Apple has not made any comments on the issue, and Apple’s staffs in China refuse to reply too. However, as confessed by the lawyer of Proview, Proview did not apply for the administrative ban on the online sale of iPad in Beijing where Amazon China is located; also he has no idea about Apple’s demand for the iPad withdrawal from Amazon China.

The dispute over the iPad trademark in China relates to a deal Apple made with the Taiwanese arm of Proview under which it claims it received the rights to the mark in China. But Proview's Chinese arm has argued that it controls the rights to the trademark in China, and thus Apple's deal with the Taiwanese subsidiary could not have included rights for mainland China. Chinese courts have sided with Proview in the dispute, but Apple is appealing the ruling.

Reuters reports that Proview Technology will apparently have a hard time blocking Apple iPad exports from China. On Tuesday, we reported that Proview was seeking a block on both Chinese imports and exports of the iPad over a trademark dispute with Apple. Given that Apple's iPad manufacturing is centered in China, such a move would be "catastrophic" for Apple.

However, China's customs authorities told Proview that it would be difficult to execute such a ban due to the popularity of Apple's products:

"The customs have told us that it will be difficult to implement a ban because many Chinese consumers love Apple products. The sheer size of the market is very big," Yang Long-san, chief of Proview Technology (Shenzhen), told Reuters in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

As many commenters have noted, China's Foxconn manufacturers many of Apple's products including the iPad, and a ban on exports would negatively impact Foxconn as well.

Apple claims that it purchased the Chinese rights to the trademark several years ago, but the original owner Proview and Chinese courts have disagreed with that assertion. Apple's case is still pending with Chinese courts as it seeks to appeal earlier rulings.

Following up on an earlier rumor that Siri would soon support Mandarin Chinese, Russian and Japanese languages, 9to5Mac noticed that if Siri is actually asked what languages it supports, Japanese is listed as one of the options.

At launch, Siri could converse in the American, UK and Australian dialects of English, German and French.

Contrary to what Siri claims, Japanese is not available as a choice in the Siri preferences pane. It's possible that Siri's additional languages will be launched with the iPad 3 launch next month. That launch is rumored to be set for March 7.

Apple has cut its minimum iAd buy-in fee to $100,000 according to a report from Advertising Age. The new lower price, one-tenth the $1 million originally required when iAd launched in July of 2010, dropped to $500k and then $300k per package.

Even the $300k level has apparently not been enough to keep existing advertisers on board and bring on new ones to meet the ever-growing number of ad slots available. In addition to the reduced minimum spend, Apple is increasing the cut that developers receive from iAds running within their apps from 60% to 70%. The extra money is expected to cover lower ad rates and encourage developers to include iAds within their applications.

AdAge continues:

Apple is also planning to change the way it charges for ads, which irked some advertisers and agencies. Since it launched in 2010, Apple has charged advertisers twice: a fixed rate for every 1,000 ad impressions plus an additional fee every time a user clicked on the ad. Apple will now only charge the cost-per-thousand rate.

Apple recently hired former Adobe executive Todd Teresi to head up the iAds service after Andy Miller departed to join a venture capital firm.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has just completed a Q&A session with analyst Bill Shope at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference. While we liveblogged the event with a rough transcript of Cook's comments, here are a few of the highlights:

- Worker safety: Addressing ongoing publicity about working conditions at Apple's suppliers' facilities, Cook reiterated his position that no company is doing more or being more transparent about the issue than Apple. Cook specifically addressed Apple's efforts to address underage labor, safety, and excessive overtime. Apple has also partnered with the Fair Labor Association to conduct what is likely the largest and most extensive audit in manufacturing history. Apple will also be continuing to collect its own data and will be releasing it monthly on the company's website.

- iPhone growth: Dryly noting that Apple's record-smashing sales of 37 million iPhones during the holiday quarter led to "a decent quarter", Cook noted that 90% of mobile phone purchasers and 75% of smartphone purchasers are still choosing something other than an iPhone. Consequently, Apple still has remarkable room to grow.

- Emerging markets: Cook noted that Apple has placed significant energy on emerging markets, with China being the primary focus but Brazil and Russia also receiving attention. While the iPod created a halo for the Mac and other Apple products in developed markets, that didn't work for emerging markets. It took the iPhone to generate that momentum in those countries. In China, Mac grew 100% year-over-year compared with 10% for the broader industry. The Mac growth was from a small base, but still demonstrates significant momentum. Revenue across Apple's emerging markets has grown from $1.4 billion in 2007 to $22 billion in 2011.

- iPad growth: Cook noted that no one could have predicted 55 million units at this point, by far the fastest growth ever for an Apple product. The iPad benefited significantly from an established base of users familiar with the iPhone and iPod and from the established infrastructure of the iTunes Store and App Store.

- Competing tablets: Addressing the Kindle Fire and other cheaper competitors, Cook noted that price is rarely the most important thing for consumers. Long-term, people aren't happy about getting a good deal on a terrible product. Cook noted that he loves competition (as long as other companies "invent their own stuff") and that he believes Apple's innovation will drive things forward.

- Stock buybacks/dividends: Cook noted that Apple is judicious with its cash, and acknowledged that the company currently has much more cash on hand than it needs to run its day-to-day business. He acknowledged that discussions on the topic at board meetings have ramped up as Apple's cash hoard has grown, but asked for patience as Apple considers its options and works to make the best decision for shareholders.

- Apple TV: Cook reported that Apple still considers the Apple TV to be a "hobby", in the sense that it shouldn't be thought of as a major pillar of Apple's business. That said, Apple has always felt that if it kept "pulling the string", there would be something there. Consumer satisfaction is reportedly off the charts and sales are growing quickly.

- Siri and iCloud: Cook's belief is that iCloud is the strategy for the next decade, enabling users to access their content from anywhere. iCloud already has over 100 million users just months after launching. Siri, on the other hand, is a profound change in input methods in Cook's view, and he notes that never before had he considered a beta product to be indispensable.

- Cook's legacy: In a question that seemed to have caught Cook a bit off-guard, Shope asked what Cook believes his stamp on Apple will be and what he will seek to maintain. Cook seemed to very much be speaking from the heart as he focused on the latter portion, outlining the culture of Apple and how important a factor it has been in Apple's success.

The most important is the second part. Apple is this unique culture and unique company. You can't replicate it. I'm not going to witness or permit the slow undoing of it. I believe in it so deeply.

Steve grilled in all of us over many years, the company should revolve around great products. We should stay extremely focused on a few things, rather than try to do so many that we did nothing well. We should only go into markets where we can make a significant contribution to society, not just sell a lot of products. These things, along with keeping excellent as an expectation, these are the things that I focus on.

Cook has participated in this Goldman Sachs event a number of times in the past, but this was his first time as CEO and provided a rare opportunity outside of the company's earning conference calls for him to address questions from those who follow the company from the outside.

Apple CEO Tim Cook will speak at the Goldman Sachs Technology Conference today at 3:30PM Eastern / 12:30PM Pacific. Cook's presentation will be broadcast via Quicktime on Apple's website and MacRumors will be liveblogging the event on this page.

Cook has spoken at the annual conference a number of times (2007, 2008, 2010), but this will be his first time at the event in the role of Apple CEO. While he has not made any major announcements at the venue in the past, he has at times offered an interesting perspective into Apple's business.

Tim Cook is on-stage. Opens with "safe harbor" statement noting that his speech may include "forward-looking statements." Goldman Sachs analyst Bill Shope is conducting the interview.

What should investors know about Apple's relationship with the supply chain and the workers within it?

First thing I would want everyone to know is that Apple takes working conditions very seriously, and we have for a very long time. Whether workers are in Europe or Asia or the United States, we care about every worker. I've spent a lot of time in factories, personally. Not just as an executive. I worked at a paper mill in Alabama and an aluminum plant in Virginia. Many of our top executives visit factories on a regular basis. We have hundreds of employees based there full time.

We are very connected to the process and we understand working conditions at a very granular level. I realize that the supply chain is complex and I'm sure that you realize this. The issues around it are complex. Our commitment is simple: every worker has the right to a fair and safe work environment, free of discrimination, where they can earn competitive wages and they can voice their concerns freely. Apple's suppliers must live up to this to do business with Apple.

We also believe that education is the great equalizer and that if people are provided the skills and knowledge, they can improve their lives. We've put a lot of effort to supplying educational resources to our workers throughout our supply chain. We supply free classes in many place thoroughout our supply chain. More than 60,000 employees have attended these classes, which is pretty amazing when you think about it.

If you take all these employees and move them to one location, it would be larger than Arizona State -- which is the largest college in the United States. This is a powerful stepping stone for workers looking to enhance their careers and their lives.

You can read the details on problems we're looking to fix on our website, but I can tell you that no one in our industry is doing more to improve working conditions than Apple. We are constantly auditing facilities going deep into the supply chain, looking for problems, finding problems and fixing problems. We report everything because we believe transparency is so very important in this area. I am so incredibly proud of the work that our teams are doing in this area. They focus on the most difficult problems and they stay with them until they fix them. They are truly a model for the industry.

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