MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Apple today seeded Mavericks 10.9.5 build 13F12 to developers, just over a week after seeding the first OS X 10.9.5 beta, build 13F7, and more than a month after releasing OS X 10.9.4 to the public. The beta is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store and through the Mac Developer Center. It is unclear what improvements the 10.9.5 update will bring to...

Former Apple retail employee Sam Sung is using his rather ironic name and job history to raise money for a Canadian charity (via Pocket-lint). Sung worked for Apple in Vancouver's Pacific Centre store as a specialist and recently found one of his old business cards in pristine condition when it fell out of a book. Realizing it may be a desirable memento, Sung is now auctioning the card with "no...

According to Bloomberg, China's National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance have prohibited government purchases of Apple hardware, citing security concerns as the reason for the ban. Ten Apple products were not included on a recent government procurement list from June that governs the spending of public funds, according to anonymous government officials who...

Following the launch of a 64-bit beta version of Chrome for Windows 7 and 8 users last week, Google has quietly added 64-bit support to Chrome Canary for OS X, the experimental build of its Chrome web browser designed for Mac users, and to its Mac Dev channels. As noted by The Next Web, the latest build of Chrome Canary, version 38.2114.2, has 64-bit clearly listed in the About section of the...

Bjango today released iStat Menus 5, the newest version of its popular Mac system monitor. The program brings a refreshed design, compatibility with OS X Yosemite, and enhanced per-app metrics and stats. Additionally, time and world clocks are now available for more than 120,000 cities along with support for additional languages. New menubar icons and revamped-drop down menus are emphasized...

Apple has announced on its website (via ifoAppleStore) that it will open its third store in the Netherlands this Saturday, August 9 at The Hague's Passage mall. Job listings for the store were posted over a year ago, as the location itself will join Apple's stores in Haarlem and Amsterdam. According to One More Thing [Google Translate], the new location in The Hague will also feature a...

Back in June, Apple announced plans to discontinue development on both Aperture and iPhoto in favor of the new Photos app that will be added to both iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite in the future. Adobe took advantage of Aperture's discontinuation, announcing its own plans to create a tool to help former Aperture and iPhoto customers transition to Lightroom, Adobe's professional photo editing software. ...

Alongside iOS 8 beta 5 and the fifth Yosemite beta, Apple today launched a new Apple TV software beta, which includes a long-awaited interface update. The new interface includes new icons, which are designed to resemble the icons in iOS 7, with 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. I ...

Work has begun on Apple's second retail location in Turkey, reports Turkish website ElmaDergisi (Google Translate, via ifoAppleStore). According to the report, the store will open in Istanbul's Akasya Shopping Center and may coincide with the launch of the iPhone 6 this fall. Photos of the store's construction show workers laying out flooring and wooden tables, as the store's front glass...

Beats Electronics today posted a new video to its Twitter account, celebrating Apple's acquisition of the company alongside Beats Music. The short video (via 9to5Mac) features Beats Pill mascots Tina and Mikey excited about the acquisition, with Siri informing the two that Dr. Dre would be having a party to celebrate. When the two ask Siri for directions to the party, Siri informs them that...

This week's Buyer's Guide includes some deals on the previous-generation 2013 Retina MacBook Pros, which are now available at rock bottom prices thanks to the launch of new 2014 Retina MacBook Pros on Tuesday. There's also a decent discount on the 2014 MacBook Air, and some discounted prices on an array of different Apple accessories. Retina MacBook Pro For users who are looking for a deal...

Coppertino today updated its popular Vox music player to version 2.1, adding SoundCloud integration and new options for organizing music. Vox now has the ability to stream HQ/FLAC/Lossless music from SoundCloud, giving users a way to listen to high quality music uploaded to SoundCloud. According to Coppertino founder Ivan Ablamskiy, Vox is the only third-party music player that allows users to ...

Apple today re-released its EFI Firmware 2.9 update for 2011 MacBook Air models after the original EFI update appeared to be causing trouble for many MacBook Air users. The update, originally released on July 15 to address sleep/wake issues, caused some MacBook Air machines to shut down completely for several hours. On other machines, the update simply refused to install. Today's re-released...

As spotted by iClarified, Apple is now reminding customers of upcoming "sales tax holidays" that allow residents in several US states to purchase select Apple gear without paying an additional sales tax charge. Customers potentially could save hundreds of dollars by purchasing high-priced items like MacBooks during this annual discount opportunity. If your state offers a tax holiday this...

Following this morning's release of Retina MacBook Pros with improved Haswell processors, OWC has procured both the entry-level 13-inch and and the entry-level 15-inch 2014 Retina MacBook Pro and provided a gallery of unboxing photos featuring the new devices. As expected, the packaging on the updated versions is the same as previous-generation Retina MacBook Pros. The site did a quick...

Thieves last night stole an unknown number of MacBooks in a smash-and-grab theft at the Apple Store located in the Southpoint Mall in Durham, North Carolina. The MacBook units reportedly were display models situated in the front section of the store. The Apple Store is part of The Streets at Southpoint, a shopping destination that includes both an indoor mall and an outdoor shopping...

Connected Data today launched an updated version of its Drobo Mini that includes Solid State Disk (SSD) drives (Via ZDNet). The new model offers an 80 percent performance improvement over a similar Drobo Mini equipped only with hard disk drives. The new Drobo Mini with SSDs is a portable storage solution designed for photographers, videographers and other on-the-go media professionals who...

The European Commission has approved Apple's acquisition of Beats Electronics and Beats Music (Via Engadget). The Commission concluded that merger posed no threat to competition as "the combined market share of Apple and Beats Electronics is low." In its decision, the Commission noted that the Apple and Beats merger would not negatively effect either the headphone or the streaming music...