MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Just weeks before the European Commission is expected to make a decision in its landmark Apple tax probe, the U.S. Treasury department has criticized the Brussels-based body for "threatening international agreements on tax reform," and warned that a decision against the iPhone maker could "set an undesirable precedent." Apple's offices in Cork, Ireland According to Financial Times, the U.S....

A Kickstarter project for a high-performance desktop GPU that can plug into a MacBook via Thunderbolt and is compatible with the Oculus Rift VR headset has raised its backing target of $50,000 in less than 24 hours. The Wolfe is a portable box that contains an Nvidia desktop-class graphics card and connects to a MacBook or other laptop via Thunderbolt 2 (or potentially Thunderbolt 3), and...

Sony today announced the upcoming launch of a new DualShock 4 USB Wireless Adapter, which will allow Mac and PC users to wirelessly connect a DualShock 4 controller to their machines. The adapter will enable all DualShock 4 features, including buttons, analog sticks, touch pad, light bar, motion sensors, vibration, and stereo headset jack so long as games support the feature. Currently,...

Apple has announced that its The Oaks retail location in Thousand Oaks, California reopens this Saturday, August 27 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The location, which first opened on October 29, 2005, has been closed for renovations since March. The renovated space is expected to have a Jony Ive-inspired next-generation design and double the square footage within the shopping mall. Apple The Oaks, ...

Apple has been granted an augmented reality navigation patent stemming from its acquisition of AR startup Flyby Media earlier this year (via AppleInsider). The patent was published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under the title "Visual-based inertial navigation", and describes a system that allows a consumer device to position itself in three-dimensional space using data from...

Amazon is working on a $5-a-month music subscription service that will be exclusive to owners of the company's internet-connected Echo speaker. According to Recode, Amazon is planning to introduce the service in September alongside another music streaming service that costs $10 a month, to compete more directly with the likes of Apple Music and Spotify. Industry sources say the company has...

Microsoft today release a new update for its Office 2016 for Mac apps, introducing small performance improvements, bug fixes, and 64-bit support across the Office lineup. Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and OneNote have all adopted the 64-bit runtime environment to enable better performance and "new innovative features." 64-bit support has previously been available to Microsoft's "Office...

Apple has announced that it will be opening a trio of retail stores following construction and renovations over the next week. Apple's retail store at Westfield Annapolis in Annapolis, Maryland will open at a new location within the shopping mall on Saturday, August 20. Apple did not provide a specific time, but the store opens at 10:00 a.m. local time on Saturdays. The store's new address...

Team messaging app HipChat has announced a new group video chat feature for premium users of the platform. The video conferencing option, set to roll out over the next few weeks, means HipChat Plus account holders can initiate a virtual meeting with another person and add up to 10 others to the call using an invite URL. Users also have the ability to share their screen during a video...

Best Buy is celebrating its 50th anniversary on Monday, August 22 and in honor of the occasion, the retailer is offering 50 deals for 50 hours, dropping the prices on a wide range of products from television sets to computers. Of interest to those potentially looking to purchase an Apple device, Best Buy is dropping the price of some MacBook Pro models by $150, and students can save an...

Apple today released another update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced in March. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari. Safari Technology Preview release 11 includes bug fixes and updates for JavaScript, Web APIs, Apple Pay, Web Inspector, MathML, CSS, Rendering,...

Ford Motor Company has announced its plans to build a fleet of fully automated driverless vehicles for commercial ride-sharing by 2021, according to Reuters. The company said it was increasing its investments in technology firms and tripling its investment in semi-autonomous systems, which would entail doubling the size of its Palo Alto research team while expanding its campus in Silicon...

Apple today added Japan to its list of countries eligible for iTunes carrier billing, suggesting the company is set to fast-track its expansion of the payment feature to regions across the globe (via Mashable). Japan becomes the fifth market to accept the transaction method, which allows users to charge iTunes content purchases directly to their cellphone bill instead of registering a bank...

Apple today announced that Lens Technology, one of its major suppliers in China, has committed to power all its glass production for Apple with 100 percent renewable energy by 2018. The commitment is a large step in Apple's efforts to help manufacturers lower their carbon footprint in China. Lens Technology has committed to power all of its glass production for Apple with 100 percent renewable ...

Voice dictation company Nuance today announced a collection of new software upgrades, including Dragon Professional Individual (version 15), Dragon Legal Individual (version 15), and Dragon Professional Individual for Mac (version 6). As with all versions of Nuance's software, the new updates are said to feature "powerful dictation, transcription and customization capabilities" to allow users...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today granted a patent application that details a remote control device for a marine vessel, a concept that Steve Jobs was originally credited the inventor of (via PatentlyApple). The patent, titled "Remote motion control using a wireless mobile device", was filed in 2013 and has just been granted, now registered under Apple and Savant Systems. Savant is a...

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has increased its stake in Apple by 55 percent, taking its investment in the company to $1.46 billion (via Reuters). Berkshire owned 15.23 million Apple shares as of June 30, up from 9.81 million shares as of March 31, according to a regulatory filing. It's unclear whether Buffett himself or one of his deputies are behind the investment. The move by...

Tesla has removed the word "autopilot" from its China website after a driver in Beijing who crashed while the mode was active complained that the company had misled them about its capability (via Reuters). The accident happened on a commuter highway when the car failed to avoid a vehicle parked on the left side and partially in the roadway, damaging both cars but causing no injuries. Tesla ...