MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Apple's Power Mac G5 has a distinctive aluminum design that was disruptive when it launched in 2003. Inspired by this milestone in design, designer Klaus Geiger has "upcycled" this aging Apple hardware into furniture because the machines are "simply too good to be disposed of." (via DesignBoom) As part of a project aptly titled "Benchmarc", Geiger has carefully created a sitting bench using ...

Apple will open 25 new Apple Stores in China over the next two years, according to CEO Tim Cook who spoke to Chinese news outlet Sina (via Reuters). The news comes as Cook was reported yesterday to be meeting with China's Vice Minister Ma Kai to discuss the security of user data. The CEO also tweeted a picture of himself in Zhengzhou, where he visited a Foxconn assembly factory. The Apple ...

A rare working Apple 1 computer has sold for a record $905,000 at a Bonhams auction in New York, reports Reuters. Estimates suggested the motherboard might fetch between $300,000 and $500,000, but it ended up selling for far more. The motherboard is believed to be one of approximately 50 Apple 1 computers that were originally constructed by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak in Steve Jobs'...

Apple today confirmed on its website that it will be opening its second retail store in Turkey this Saturday, October 25. The store will be located in Istanbul's Akasya Shopping Mall, and follows the opening of the Zorlu Center Apple Store earlier this year which saw an appearance by Apple's manager of retail stores Steve Cano. Photos of the new location shared by Apple Toolbox earlier this ...

Apple today announced during its earnings call that it sold 5.5 million Macs in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2014, which is the highest quarter ever for Mac sales. The 5.5 million Macs sold is up almost 1 million year-over-year and represents a 21% growth from 2013, creating $6.6 billion in sales. The company also noted that it sold a total of 19 million Macs for all of fiscal 2014, saying that...

Following yesterday's launch of the new iMac with Retina 5K display, Other World Computing has announced RAM upgrade kits for the machines. These kits were previously available for the 2013 iMac, but they are also compatible with the 2014 machines. OWC is offering three separate 1600MHz DDR3L kits to upgrade the Retina iMac's memory to up to 32GB at prices lower than Apple offers. The 8GB kit,...

After releasing OS X Yosemite and updating its iWork suite of apps for the new operating system, Apple has now begun updating its iLife suite of apps alongside Aperture and Apple Configurator for Yosemite, as well as other new features. While iPhoto and Aperture only received compatibility updates for Yosemite, Garageband, Configurator and iMovie received numerous new features. Garageband...

Earlier this year, Apple announced that it was ending development on Aperture in order to work on an upcoming Photos app for OS X that will replace both Aperture and iPhoto. At the time, Adobe, the company behind popular photo editing software Lightroom, promised to make a tool to allow Aperture users to import their photos into Lightroom 5, and today Adobe released its Aperture Import Plugin...

Apple today updated the Mac mini, introducing significant upgrades including Haswell processors, Intel HD 5000/Iris graphics, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and PCIe-based flash storage options for the higher-end models. Though Apple continues to offer three separate Mac mini options priced at $499, $699, and $999, it does not offer an OS X Server option as it has done in the past. Previously, the high-end...

Alongside OS X Yosemite, Apple today released iTunes 12.0.1, a revamped version of iTunes that’s been designed with OS X Yosemite in mind. iTunes 12.0.1 can be downloaded from the Mac App Store and is available for both Mavericks and OS X Yosemite. iTunes 12 offers an elegant new design that incorporates translucency to improve depth. It also has a streamlined toolbar that aims to give...

With Apple's October 2014 media event kicking off in just a short while, some users are interested in avoiding all of the announcements and waiting until Apple posts the recorded video of the event so as to experience it without already knowing the outcome. For those individuals, we've posted this news story, which will be updated with the link to the presentation once it becomes available...

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, launching today for Mac, PC, and consoles, is the third game in the popular Borderlands series. Set at a time in between the first and second Borderland titles, The Pre-Sequel, like its predecessors, is a first person shooter that incorporates RPG elements. In Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, players can play as one of four characters, each with unique abilities: Nisha ...

Autodesk today announced the launch of the latest versions of its popular AutoCAD computer-aided design software packages for Mac, adding a number of new features that put the release nearly equal to its Windows counterpart for the first time. MacRumors spoke with Autodesk product manager Micah Dickerson about the new version, with Dickerson noting an emphasis on cross-platform compatibility ...

Development on email management app Mailbox for Mac began earlier this year, with the app entering a limited public beta test back in August. As of today, the app has entered an open beta testing phase, making it available to all users. Mailbox for Mac is similar in design to Mailbox for iOS, offering a simple, clean interface that aims to help users reach "inbox zero." It includes all of the...

Apple is opening two new retail locations in Sarasota, Florida and Manchester, New Hampshire this week, with the Florida location opening on Thursday, October 16 and the New Hampshire location opening on Saturday, October 18. Apple’s new Sarasota location, at the brand new $315 million University Town Center mall, will open on a Thursday rather than a Saturday as that day marks the grand...

There are several deals on various Apple products this week, including the iPad Air and several MacBooks. Target, for example, is offering a $100 gift card with the purchase of any iPad Air model, which is perfect for users who are looking for a good deal on an iPad Air and don't need to wait for an upgraded model with Touch ID. Best Buy is also offering $50 to $125 off several Apple MacBooks, ...

Skype for Mac was today updated to version 7.0, with a significant redesign that brings mobile design elements to the desktop app. The app's flatter look incorporates new icons and a new blue layout that aims to create a richer chat experience. Skype's new mobile-style layout will help it fit right in with OS X Yosemite, expected to be released to the public later this month. OS X Yosemite...

Following the high-profile launch of its first retail store in Istanbul earlier this year, Apple is preparing to open its second retail outlet in the Turkish city, reports Apple Toolbox. Apple Turkey made the new store announcement today, confirming its location in the Akasya Shopping Center. Apple's second Istanbul store will be more traditional in design due to its indoor mall location on ...