MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Apple is planning to make a number of changes at its retail stores ahead of the upcoming holiday season, which include adjustments to Genius Bar appointments and training for its employees on a new initiative, according to 9to5Mac. The report notes that Apple will do away with the suggested 15 minute time limit for Genius Bar appointments in favor of a system that allows customers to book...

This week's Buyer's Guide includes deals on the MacBook Air, the Retina MacBook Pro, and AppleCare, as well as an array of Apple-related accessories that are currently on sale. MacBook Air Apple's MacBook Air is currently available for up to $150 off at Best Buy, with Adorama, Amazon, and B&H Photo offering similar deals on some models. The entry-level 11-inch MacBook Air with 128 GB of...

Apple has seeded developers with new versions of Safari 7.1 for OS X Mavericks and Safari 6.2 for OS X Mountain Lion as works continues on OS X Yosemite. In its release notes for both betas, Apple is asking developers to test AutoFill for passwords and credit cards as well as general website compatibility and extension compatibility. Focus Areas - Please focus testing on the following areas: - ...

Apple has announced on its official Chinese website that it will open its new retail store in Wuxi, China at Wuxi Hang Lung Plaza, which is about an hour's train ride from Shanghai, on Saturday, August 2 at 10 AM. Photo of Wuxi, China retail store before opening. Last week, Apple announced that its new Chongqing store is set to open this Saturday, July 26. New Apple retail chief Angela...

Apple's recent EFI Firmware 2.9 update for 2011 MacBook Air models appears to be causing trouble for several MacBook Air users, according to a thread on the Apple Support Communities. Released on July 15 to fix sleep/wake issues and a bug that caused fans to run at full speed after waking from sleep, the EFI update has caused some MacBook Air machines to shut down completely for several hours...

The Apple TV may gain a new FXNOW channel that includes Simpsons World content, according to TV writer Jason Lynch who tweeted the news yesterday (via iLounge). Lynch said the FXNOW channel will come to the Apple TV, Roku, and other devices within the next 12 months. FXNOW is the on-demand portion of the FX, FXX, and FXM television channels, all of which are owned by the Fox Entertainment...

Netflix for the Apple TV was updated today to add a new "Up Next" feature, which lets users automatically select the next episode of a television show for playback. While easy playback of the next episode in a series has been long available on the web and in the Netflix app for iOS devices, it's been noticeably missing from the Apple TV. Prior to today's update, Apple TV users were forced to...

Apple has announced on its official Chinese website (via 9to5Mac) that it will be opening a new retail store at the Paradise Walk Mall in the Chinese city of Chongqing on Saturday, July 26th, at 10 AM. Last Wednesday, Apple put up a colorful banner over the store's exterior, signaling that the store would be opening shortly. The store will be Apple's eleventh in the country, joining four...

There are some solid deals on Apple's Retina MacBook Pro this week, as well as some decent deals on the iMac, the MacBook Air, and AppleCare. Retina MacBook Pro Like last week, multiple retailers are offering $100 to $150 off most Retina MacBook Pro models. The 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro with 4GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage is $1,199 at Adorama and B&H Photo. The 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro ...

Construction at Apple's "Spaceship" Campus has been progressing at a rapid pace in the past few months, as the company most recently began putting up the outer walls and laying roadwork. Now, iFun.de (Google Translate) shares new photos of the steel and glass material that will be used for the campus' facade, which are being provided by German company Josef Gartner GmbH. Construction ...

Apple's upcoming retail store in Hanover, Germany may finally open in late September, reports developer Florian Schimanke (Google Translate, via iFun.de) citing sources close to Apple's retail team in the region. The report notes that Apple has had to fix a number of problems with the building to be used for the store, including physical defects, mold, and ventilation issues. Apple's ...

Users experiencing difficulties accessing their iCloud Mail are not alone, as Apple is currently reporting an outage affecting the ability to receive mail through the service (via Business Insider). While the issue affects only 0.1% of users, it is notable that it has persisted for approximately 17 hours now, having begun at roughly 1:30 PM Pacific Time yesterday. Apple has not yet...

There are some good deals on Apple-related accessories this week, as well as some decent discounts on the Retina MacBook Pro and an iPad deal from Target that includes free gift cards. Retina MacBook Pro Like last week, several retailers are offering $100 to $150 off most Retina MacBook Pro models. The 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro with 4GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage is $1,199 at Amazon, Ador...

Apple, Coca-Cola and other high-profile companies across various sectors have agreed to participate in SupplierPay, a new White House initiative designed to accelerate payments for smaller firms in the company's supply chain. President Barack Obama is expected to announce the program and early adopters later today, reports the Wall Street Journal. The program will "strengthen small businesses by...

Apple today seeded developers with new versions of Safari for OS X Mavericks (Safari 7.1) and OS X Mountain Lion (Safari 6.2) to parallel continued work on OS X Yosemite. In particular, Apple is asking developers to test general website and extension compatibility for several reasons.Please test general website compatibility. - Subpixel rendering is now on by default for all web content. Web...

Apple today posted an updated support document noting that it is now blocking older version of the Adobe's Flash Player plug-in due to a major security issue present in older versions. In a posting to its security mailing list, Apple notes that users must upgrade to the latest 14.0.0.145 version of Flash Player if possible. For those users running systems incompatible with Flash Player 14,...

Apple this morning unveiled an artistic multi-colored barrier around its forthcoming location in Edinburgh, Scotland, signaling that it will soon open its first store in the country's capital city, reports the Edinburgh Evening News (via ifoAppleStore). The store will be located on the historic Princes Street, with inside sources saying that the location's opening is "imminent." Based on the ...

Apple is now allowed to register the layout of its retail stores as a trademark in Europe following a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, reports The Wall Street Journal. The EU's top court said Thursday that Apple's flagship stores fulfilled the three criteria for a trade mark: they constitute a sign; they can be represented in a graphic; and they can distinguish the goods ...