MacRumors

The Los Angeles Times reports that it has received information from a source claiming that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently dined at Steve Jobs' home in Palo Alto to discuss how the two companies might be able to settle their differences and come to an agreement for working together on Ping, Apple's music-focused social networking feature rolled out in iTunes 10 last month.

They are two of Silicon Valley's most famous founders: Jobs created the world's must-have gadgets, Zuckerberg the world's most popular social networking service. These days they are often mentioned in the same breath. Now apparently the two also recently broke bread.

Apparently Jobs invited Zuckerberg for dinner at his house to talk about Ping two weeks ago. That's when a tipster spotted them on a stroll in Palo Alto.

According to earlier reports, Apple and Facebook had talked for at least 18 months about working together on Ping but were unable to come to an agreement, with Jobs citing "onerous terms" being insisted upon by Facebook. Apple attempted to roll out Ping with barebones Facebook integration in the form of Facebook Connect for helping users find their friends who had already created Ping profiles, but Facebook quickly yanked Apple's access to the feature.

While the two companies have apparently yet to reach an agreement for any level of integration with Ping now six weeks old, one Facebook executive recently noted that he is "very confident" that a deal will be struck.

iLounge reports that it has received word that warehouse club chain Costco will cease to carry Apple's iPods after the retailer lost out on the recent round of expansion of iPad availability that has seen rival Sam's Club and others begin carrying the tablet device.

Membership club Costco, the third-largest retailer in the U.S., is preparing to cease carrying iPods, according to an iLounge source who asked not to be identified. Based on the report, which notes that iPods have already disappeared from the company's web site, Costco will stop carrying the iPod after being unable to stock the iPad, which has just been offered to or become available at competing retailers including Target, Walmart, and, soon, Sam's Club.

A check of several Costco locations by iLounge revealed stock of the current iPod touch, but the report's source indicates that locations are simply selling through their remaining stock before discontinuing the line. Costco has not offered an official statement on the matter, and it is unknown whether Apple is considering Costco for iPad distribution or if Costco would consider restoring iPod sales in the future with or without the iPad.

NewTeeVee reports that Apple is developing the capability to offer "in-stream ads" for video content on its iOS devices, looking to entice content owners to take advantage of the monetization possibilities and bring their videos to the platform.

Many publishers have been slow to bring their videos to the iPhone and iPad, due in part to the lack of mature tools available for monetizing content on those devices. Because iOS devices don't support Adobe Flash, publishers need to do additional work to make their current ad-serving systems work with the HTML5 video delivery required for the iPhone and iPad. That's caused many publishers to think twice before delivering video to those devices.

Sources indicate that Apple's video ad product would work with both QuickTime and HTML5 video and offer a similar experience to the ads inserted in Flash video clips today.

The ad product would not only enable video publishers to serve their own ads against videos on the iPhone or iPad, but it would give Apple the ability to act as a video ad network for those that don't wish to sell their own inventory. The in-stream ad system is also expected to have some targeting capabilities built-in, with mobile location data and anonymous user behavior data to help deliver targeted ads to consumers.

Apple could introduce the new ad service in the first or second quarter of next year, initially targeting the iPad and iPhone, but looking toward the Apple TV as another platform for ad-supported video content.

AppleInsider reports that Apple is preparing to release a new MacBook Air at its "Back to the Mac" media event next Wednesday. The report agrees with reports dating back several months claiming that the new MacBook Air will offer an 11.6-inch display, down from the 13.3-inch display found in the current model. The report seems to agree with an earlier claim that such a model is already in manufacturing, suggesting that availability could come soon after next week's introduction.

Interestingly, the report indicates that Apple appears set to forgo traditional hard drive and even conventional solid state drive technology for storage on the new MacBook Air, instead opting to employ what appears to be proprietary "SSD Card" storage that would be embedded directly in the device rather than conforming to standard drive bay sizes used by other drives.

According to this person, the new models will do away with existing options for a conventional hard-disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SSD) in favor something described as an "SSD Card" that lacks a traditional drive enclosure and more closely resembles a stick of RAM, yet is not easily user-replaceable.

If accurate, AppleInsider believes the component may be a proprietary SSD drive alternative designed by Apple to be integrated in Macs in a similar manner to the way flash memory is embedded in iPods, iPhones and iPads. This approach would be less expensive than a standard package intended to fit the shape of conventional HD devices, allowing the company to drive down costs and pass the savings on to the consumer.

The report notes that offering a flash-only MacBook Air could allow Apple to offer significantly faster boot and wake times, and that the proprietary design for the flash storage could allow Apple to save space inside the slim computer's body and produce the storage at lower cost.

Sources indicate that the new MacBook Air will appear very much as a scaled-down version of the current model, although at least one source claimed that the new version might offer a slightly less curved and more wedge-shaped design.

Update: CNET is offering its own hints at what we might be able to expect, citing a price "significantly lower" than the current $1499 entry-level price point. CNET's source indicates that the new MacBook Air may continue to use an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and offer extended battery life compared to the current model.

Earlier this week, we noted that Bloomberg Television would be airing a profile of Apple CEO Steve Jobs as part of its new Bloomberg Game Changers series. Following the initial airing of the episode last night, the full 48-minute video has now been posted to Bloomberg's site.

Through interviews with friends, former colleagues and business associates, GAME CHANGERS reveals the many layers of the intensely private Steve Jobs - his style of leadership, management and creative process. Interviews include Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, former Apple CEO John Scully, journalist turned Venture Capitalist Michael Moritz, Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, former Apple "Mac Evangelist" and Silicon Valley Entrepreneur, Guy Kawasaki and Robert X.Cringely, technology journalist and former Apple employee.

For those who are interested in catching the episode on television, Bloomberg will be re-airing it at 9:00 PM and 11:00 PM Eastern Time tonight.

Autodesk today announced that its AutoCAD for Mac 2D and 3D design software is now available with a 30-day free trial for all users. Officially announced about six weeks ago, the release marks a return to the Mac platform for AutoCAD after a nearly two-decade hiatus.

AutoCAD for Mac has an intuitive interface that will feel familiar to Mac users and takes full advantage of Mac OS X, including graphical browsing of design files with Cover Flow and use of Multi-Touch gestures for pan and zoom on Mac notebooks, Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad. With native creation and editing of files in the DWG file format, AutoCAD for Mac also supports easy collaboration with suppliers, customers, clients and partners regardless of platform. AutoCAD for Mac is also integrated with AutoCAD WS, so users can also upload and manage designs in their online workspace directly from the desktop and easily edit and share those designs through a web browser or Apple iOS devices using the free* AutoCAD WS mobile application.

The companion AutoCAD WS application for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch was released in late September and offers users the ability to view and work with AutoCAD DWG files.

AutoCAD for Mac targets professional users and carries a price tag on the order of $4,000, but the 30-day trial should offer many of these users ample opportunity to test drive the application before committing to purchasing the software. Autodesk also offers an educational licensing program which allows free access to AutoCAD for students using the application for personal educational purposes.

Pocket-lint reports that it recently spotted an iPhone 4 user at a New York City press event sporting a white iPhone, which Apple has yet to publicly launch. While a number of users have created their own white iPhone 4s by replacing parts on their black iPhones with white ones from Asian suppliers, this user claims that his device is a legitimate white iPhone 4 secured for him by a friend at Apple.

According to the user, Apple's manufacturing partners are continuing to struggle with color consistency on the white iPhone 4, specifically with the white home button matching the color of the front face plate to Apple's standards.

Well, according to our jacket wearing gent, Apple is having trouble getting its two suppliers in the Far East to match the white used in the manufacturing of the parts. The white home button colour doesn't match the white front face plate colour, it turns out.

Apple being the perfectionist that it is, isn't happy with this and therefore isn't happy to sell it to the general public, supposedly.

Color issues have been proposed in the past as a possible source for the delays, as it is essentially the only difference between white and black versions of the iPhone. Other sources have claimed that Apple is attempting to deal with light from the iPhone's backlight leaking out through the less-opaque white back.

Regardless of the reasons for the multiple delays, Apple has offered no updates on its plans for the white iPhone since its late July announcement that the device would ship "later this year".

A pair of New York newspapers are making news themselves today with their recent iPad app releases, with The New York Times introducing a greatly-expanded application and The New York Post rolling out a new app with subscriptions handled via in-app purchasing.

The original NYTimes Editors' Choice has been reborn as NYTimes for iPad, offering a significant expansion of available content from the very limited selection that was present in the original version. Content from over 25 sections of The New York Times is now available to those who already have or register for a free account, although the paper is planning to begin charging for access early next year.

Introducing the enhanced New York Times app for the iPad free until early 2011. Now with all of the sections, articles, videos and photos you expect from The Times.

The NYTimes iPad app now includes over 25 Times sections, including Arts, Technology, Politics, Science, Style and more. Experience breathtaking new sections for Photos and Video. Read a selection of the latest Times blogs. Share articles, photos and video through Facebook, Twitter and e-mail.

Apple had been reported to be working closely with The New York Times on an iPad application even before the device was publicly unveiled in January, but Steve Jobs was reportedly extremely displeased with the limited content made available in the initial product.

Meanwhile, The New York Post has launched its own iPad app, breaking new ground by offering monthly, biannual, and yearly subscriptions to the paper's content via in-app purchasing after an initial 30-day access period granted with the $1.99 download. As noted by paidContent, the newspaper will then support subscriptions priced at $6.99 per month, $39.99 per six months, or $74.99 per year, roughly half the cost of print delivery subscriptions.

Apple and newspaper publishers have been working to launch subscription content, but the two sides have been at an impasse over revenue sharing and subscriber information. The use of in-app purchasing for subscriptions in The New York Post's new app suggests that that newspaper has at least ceded to Apple's demands that content subscriptions be administered through the App Store itself, where Apple presumably will take its typical 30% cut of revenue.

Just a day after it was announced that AT&T would begin selling the iPad in its retail stores, the carrier has announced an initiative to sell the device directly to business customers. The program will see the carrier offering the three Wi-Fi + 3G iPad models along with data packages specifically targeting business customers.

While Apple has featured the iPad's utility in business settings, the new program from AT&T introduces the device into the carrier's existing business relationships it is using to promote custom mobile solutions.

"iPad is a great fit for our enterprise customers across a wide range of industries who are looking for ways to increase business productivity and offer greater flexibility," said Michael Antieri, President, Advanced Enterprise Mobility Solutions, AT&T Business Solutions. "This new offer further strengthens AT&T's commitment to provide businesses with the tools they need to accelerate mobility-led productivity."

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson noted back in June that he viewed the iPad as a significant opportunity for businesses to "think differently about mobilizing all of the applications that you see in business." At the time, he pointed to strong interest from the carrier's business customers, but it is only now that Apple has opened up the iPad to additional distribution channels like AT&T that the carrier will be able to work directly with its customers to get the iPad into their hands.

Apple today issued a media alert announcing details for next Monday's release of its financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter and third calendar quarter of 2010. The results will be released after the close of Monday's trading at approximately 4:30 PM Eastern / 1:30 PM Pacific. Apple's conference call discussing the results will follow at 2:00 PM Pacific and will be available via a live audio webcast. MacRumors will provide running coverage of the conference call highlights.

Apple's fourth fiscal quarter saw several significant product introductions, particularly in its desktop line with the iMac and Mac Pro receiving updates in late July. The company also moved to revamp nearly its entire iPod lineup in early September. Finally, the quarter also saw significant movement with the iPhone 4 and iPad continuing to roll out to new markets and supply shortages for both devices beginning to ease as the quarter ended.

For the quarter, analysts are predicting net earnings of $4.03 per share on revenue of $18.76 billion, above Apple's guidance of $3.44 profit per share on $18 billion of revenue. Apple's year-ago results for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2009 initially included net earnings of $1.82 per share on revenue of $9.87 billion. Those calculations were based, however, on earlier accounting methods that utilized "subscription accounting" for iPhone and Apple TV revenue. Apple adopted revised accounting standards at the beginning of fiscal 2010, and after retrospective application (PDF) of the new standards, the year-ago quarter yielded net earnings of $2.77 per share on revenue of $12.21 billion.

Cult of Mac recently conducted an interview with former Apple CEO John Sculley, who headed up the computer maker from 1983 until 1993 and on whose watch Steve Jobs was ousted from the company he founded. The interview offers an interesting glimpse into Jobs' perspective on Apple and how his principles of aesthetic design, minimalism, and perfectionism have influenced Apple over its entire existence.

Sculley emphasizes Jobs' view of the customer experience, incorporating that perspective into every aspect of product design. But even from their earliest days, Jobs and Apple shied away from focus groups, with Jobs arguing that it was impossible to gain feedback on revolutionary new devices when the potential users couldn't understand the leaps Apple was trying to make.

"Steve said: 'How can I possibly ask somebody what a graphics-based computer ought to be when they have no idea what a graphic based computer is? No one has ever seen one before.' He believed that showing someone a calculator, for example, would not give them any indication as to where the computer was going to go because it was just too big a leap."

Jobs has also insisted on a high level of personal involvement in product development, with Sculley likening the experience to an artist's workshop, where engineers would work on bits of new hardware or software and Jobs as the master craftsman would wander from employee to employee to critique the work that was being done.

"Steve would shift between being highly charismatic and motivating and getting them excited to feel like they are part of something insanely great. And on the other hand he would be almost merciless in terms of rejecting their work until he felt it had reached the level of perfection that was good enough to go into - in this case, the Macintosh.

Jobs' insistence on playing an active role in the day-to-day work of his engineers led to his belief that the Mac team should never exceed 100 people. And while the supporting cast of employees around the engineering team could obviously grow much larger, the core team was meant to be kept tightly focused under Jobs.

Sculley also reflects on his role as Apple CEO, having been recruited from a 25-year career at Pepsi to lead a company in an industry he knew nothing about. Sculley goes as far as to call his hiring a "big mistake", with Apple unwilling to allow the still-young Steve Jobs to have full control over the rapidly-growing company and attempting a forced marriage of sorts in which the outsider Sculley and the design-focused Jobs were obliged to share the governing duties.

A full transcript of the interview is also available, bringing a fresh perspective on Apple and Steve Jobs from a major player during a time of remarkable growth but significant turmoil for the company striving to revolutionize the computing industry.

Apple's revamped MobileMe Calendar web application, which debuted as a beta version in early July, has officially exited the beta stage, with availability now rolling out to all MobileMe customers.

The new MobileMe Calendar is now out of beta and available to all members. We'd like to thank everyone who took part in the beta for helping to make this the best MobileMe Calendar yet.

The announcement highlights several new features of MobileMe Calendar, including push and syncing improvements for iOS devices, calendar sharing and publishing, event invitations with RSVPs, and the overhauled web interface.

Back in June, Apple launched a revamped MobileMe Mail interface, as well as a more general overhaul of the online MobileMe experience.

We've received word that Apple has seeded a new version of Mac OS X 10.6.5, termed Build 10H555, to at least a portion of its Mac developer community for testing. The new release comes two weeks after Build 10H548 was pushed out for testing.

Apple continues to list no documented known issues with the update, and asks developers to focus their testing on 3D Graphics, Printing, QuickTime, Time Machine, and USB Devices.

Mac OS X 10.6.4 was released in mid-June, and the first developer version of Mac OS X 10.6.5 was seeded in mid-August. With two months of developer testing and refinement under its belt and a continued lack of documented issues remaining in recent builds, Mac OS X 10.6.5 may be nearing a public release. Apple's development schedule is unpredictable, however, and it is consequently difficult to say with any degree of certainty when such a release might occur.

Apple of course appears set to begin discussing the Mac OS X 10.7, the company's next major update to its Mac operating system, at a media event scheduled for next Wednesday. A public launch of Mac OS X 10.7 is, however, likely quite some time in the future.

In a pair of press releases issued this morning, Apple announced that the iPad will be available at AT&T and Verizon retail stores beginning October 28th.

The AT&T deal will bring the the three iPad Wi-Fi + 3G models to the company's 2,200 retail store locations in the United States, offering yet another distribution channel for Apple's tablet device and providing AT&T with the opportunity to sell customers on its 3G data service plans.

"We can't wait to showcase the amazing features of iPad Wi-Fi + 3G in our stores across the country just in time for the holidays," said Glenn Lurie, AT&T President of Emerging Devices, Resale and Partnerships, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "With our breakthrough iPad data plans starting at just $14.99 and access to AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots around the country at no extra cost, our customers will have the best of both worlds."

"We look forward to expanding the reach of iPad, allowing even more customers to experience the magic of iPad for themselves," said Tim Cook, Apple's COO. "As we approach the holiday season, we are very happy that customers will now be able to buy iPad Wi-Fi + 3G at AT&T Stores."

Verizon's 2,000 retail stores will offer the three Wi-Fi-only iPad models both as standalone purchases and bundled with the carrier's MiFi 2200 mobile hotspot device to provide service on the go. The bundles will be priced at $629.99/$729.99/$829.99, essentially the same price points as the corresponding iPad models with onboard 3G capabilities. Verizon will offer iPad customers a monthly 1GB data plan priced at $20.

"This is the perfect pairing for holiday travels," said John Stratton, chief operating officer for Verizon Wireless. "iPad together with the nation's largest and most reliable 3G data network allows customers to easily connect on the go wherever they are."

"We're thrilled to be working with Verizon Wireless to get iPad into the hands of even more customers this holiday season," said Tim Cook, Apple's COO. "iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before, and together with Verizon Wireless we're offering an easy way to stay connected wherever you go."

The announcements continue a remarkable expansion in distribution for the iPad, with Best Buy expanding availability nationwide late last month and Target, Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Sam's Club all launching the device over the past few weeks or in the near future.

Research firm Gartner today issued a preliminary report detailing U.S. and worldwide PC shipments for the third quarter of 2010, showing sales growth of Apple's Mac product outpacing that of the industry as a whole and showing Apple surpassing 10% share of the market.

Apple had another strong quarter. Increasing traffic to Apple, associated with the iPad release (iPads are not included in Gartner's PC shipment statistics), as well as iMac and Mac Pro refreshes, contributed to the growth.

According to Gartner's report, Apple placed fourth among U.S. computer shipments with a 10.4% market share on unit growth of 13.7% over the year-ago quarter. The performance fell just short of Acer's third place showing at 10.5% and was up from the previous quarter's 9.8% and from 9.3% in the year-ago quarter.

Overall, Gartner saw only a 2.2% gain in U.S. PC shipments over the year-ago quarter, citing weakness in consumer PC demand fostered in part by the iPad delaying planned PC purchases.

"Media tablet hype around devices such as the iPad has also affected consumer notebook growth by delaying some PC purchases, especially in the U.S. consumer market. Media tablets don't replace primary PCs, but they affect PC purchases in many ways," Ms. Kitagawa said. "At this stage, hype around media tablets has led consumers and the channels to take a 'wait and see' approach to buying a new device."

Despite Apple's strong performance in the U.S., the company was unable to break into the top five computer manufacturers on a worldwide basis, where Asus and Toshiba battled over the fourth and fifth spots at 5.4% and 5.3% shares respectively.

Update: IDC has also released its data for the third quarter, pegging Apple's U.S. sales at just under 2 million and ranking the company third with a 10.6% share, just ahead of Acer at 10.3%. IDC's numbers show Apple with 24.1% year-over-year growth, well ahead of the overall industry's 3.8% growth in the United States.

"Apple's influence on the PC market continues to grow, particularly in the U.S., as the company's iPad has had some negative impact on the mininotebook market. But, the halo effect of the device also helped propel Mac sales and moved the company into the number three position in the U.S. market," said Bob O'Donnell, IDC vice president for Clients and Displays.