MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

This week's Buyer's Guide has deals on the 2013/2014 Retina MacBook Pro, the 2013/2014 MacBook Air, the Mac Pro, and several Apple accessories, including iPhone 6 cases, cable organizers, and a nifty accessory that adds AirPlay to any stereo with an input. Retina MacBook Pro The 2014 Retina MacBook Pros are on sale for approximately $100 to $150 off the retail price from several different...

Apple today released a new version of the iTunes 12 beta for both developers and OS X Yosemite beta testers, following Monday's release of the Yosemite Golden Master Candidate and a fourth public beta. First introduced in July, iTunes 12 includes an "elegant new design" that also includes support for several iOS 8/Yosemite features, including Family Sharing. Apple has released three iTunes...

Longtime Apple public relations veteran Steve Dowling has stepped into the role of interim head of public relations, reports Re/code. Dowling was offered the position by Tim Cook last week, after Apple spent six months searching for a replacement for Katie Cotton. Following Cotton's departure from the company, Apple was said to be looking for a "friendlier, more approachable face" to take...

Twitter for Mac received its last major update in December 2013 in the form of a revamped look with some new features, and the app has finally received another update bringing support for several additional photo features. Among them is the ability to post and view up to four photos in a single Tweet, a feature rolled out for the service in general some six months ago.What's New in Version 3.1 ...

Apple today updated its investor relations page to confirm it will announce earnings for its fourth fiscal quarter (third calendar quarter) of 2014 on October 20. The quarterly earnings statement will be released around 1:30 PM Pacific / 4:30 PM Eastern, with a conference call to discuss the report following at 2:00 PM Pacific / 5:00 PM Eastern. This quarterly earnings report covers the...

Since it opened in 2006, Apple's iconic glass cube Fifth Avenue retail store in New York has been praised for its design and its ability to attract a large amount of customers daily. Now, author Vicky Ward (via ifoAppleStore) has shared new details about the store's beginnings on the plaza of the General Motors Building in her book The Liar's Ball: The Extraordinary Saga of How One Building Broke ...

We've partnered with GameAgent this week to offer MacRumors readers a great deal on one of the best Mac games around -- Civilization V. From now until Sunday, readers can get Sid Meier's Civilization V: The Complete Edition for just $12.50, which is 75% off the standard price of $49.99. The Civilization V Complete Edition includes the original game plus two expansion packs: Gods & Kings and...

Apple has sent out invites to multiple AppleSeed testers to invite them to participate in a "AirDrop Test Fest" to fix any potential bugs in the file sharing service ahead of the launch of OS X Yosemite. AppleSeed and the AirDrop engineering team would like you to join us for an AirDrop Test Fest. What's a test fest? At Apple we often hold test fests when we want to focus our efforts on a new...

UK home entertainment and communications provider Sky expanded its Apple TV offerings with its expanded NOW TV channel supporting the broadcaster's Entertainment Month Pass and Sky Movies Month Pass, reports Engadget. These two passes join the existing Sky Sports day pass that debuted on NOW TV last year. The Entertainment Month Pass for NOW TV brings the latest television programming from 13 ...

Apple has announced on its official retail website (via Apfelpage.de, Google Translate) that it will be opening its new retail store in Hanover, Germany on Saturday, September 27 at 10 AM. The announcement follows a prior report which stated that the store would open at some point in September after a year of work. Apple originally put up its traditional black barricades at the store in...

Apple today released a new version of Mail for OS X Yosemite, fixing an issue that could prevent users from composing a message. The update is available to all developers with the Yosemite Developer Preview installed, as well as public beta testers. The software can be downloaded through the software update function of the Mac App Store. A new public beta version of Yosemite and Yosemite...

Along with iOS 8, Apple has also released the new Apple TV software update that's been in development for the last few months. The updated software includes new icons, which are designed to resemble the icons in iOS 7, taking on a flatter, less glossy look. Several icons, like Music, Computers, and TV shows have new colors, and the on-screen fonts have been updated as well. The update includes ...

The second half of Tim Cook's extensive interview with Charlie Rose has been released online, which means that both parts are now viewable for those who haven't seen it. Both interviews are available on Hulu and Charlie Rose's website (via Daring Fireball). However, Hulu limits the interviews to those in the United States. The first half of the interview, has Cook speaking about Steve Jobs,...

Netflix today officially launched [Google Translate] its subscription movie and TV show service in Germany, and as noted by ifun.de [Google Translate], the launch includes day-one support on the Apple TV. Apple has significantly expanded content offerings on the Apple TV over the past year or two, but many of the additions have been limited to the United States. The Netflix channel has,...

A few times a year, MacRumors partners with MacUpdate to promote a Mac app bundle deal. MacUpdate's current bundle, which was released this morning and is priced at $49.99, features 10 apps with a total retail value of $480 if purchased individually. MacUpdate has created a video providing an overview of all of the apps included in the bundle: The full list of apps included is as...

This week's Buyer's Guide has deals on the 2013/2014 Retina MacBook Pro, the 2013 MacBook Air, the Mac Pro, and several Apple accessories. The deals on Macs aren't as significant as they have been in past weeks, and with Apple's back to school program over, prospective buyers may have to do some shopping around to get a good discount. Best Buy, however, is continuing to offer EDU customers...

Apple may launch a new ultra-high definition 27-inch monitor later this year, according to LCD market research firm WitsView (via Digitimes). The firm claims that the display will boast a 5120 x 2880 resolution, which would be significantly higher than the 2560 x 1440 resolution found on the current Apple Thunderbolt Display. However, it is unknown as to how exactly Apple would power such a...

Apple today released a new version of the iTunes 12 beta for both developers and OS X Yosemite beta testers, following yesterday's iOS 8 Golden Master release. Yesterday, users reported having difficulties installing the iOS 8 GM from Yosemite with the iTunes 12 beta, and this update may fix the issue. First introduced in July, iTunes 12 includes an "elegant new design" that also includes...