MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

2K Games today announced that Civilization: Beyond Earth, the next entry in the popular Civilization strategy game franchise, is coming to the Mac alongside releases Windows and Linux this fall. Set in a science-fiction-themed future, the game will allow players to select one of eight different expedition sponsors that are looking to colonize alien planets in order to establish a new...

Karl Heiselman, Global CEO of branding agency Wolff Olins is set to leave his position to join Apple in a marketing communications role, reports Ad Age. The move comes as Apple works to double the size of its in-house creative design team as competition from Samsung and Android heats up. Mr. Heiselman confirmed by email that he accepted "an exciting new role at Apple after 14 fantastic years at...

After collaborating with patent buying company Intellectual Ventures to purchase Kodak patents in 2012, Apple is now rebuffing offers by IV to invest in is latest patent acquisition fund, reports Reuters. Though both Apple and Intel have declined to participate, rivals Microsoft and Sony have been persuaded to contribute to a new round of patent buying. "Microsoft and Sony's investments give IV...

Apple has updated its iMovie for Mac video editing package, adding a few minor improvements and fixing issues related to sharing, search and some foreign languages.The update adds the ability to sort events in the sidebar by date, change the font, size and color of new titles introduced in iMovie 10, and the ability to double-click an transition in the timeline to adjust its duration. All small ...

Apple saw a year-over-year drop of 3.8% in U.S. market share according to a report released today by Gartner, with Dell and Lenovo capturing significant growth at the expense of the rest of the market. The U.S. PC market saw a small increase in total units shipped, while internationally the PC market contracted by 1.7 percent.In the U.S. market, PC shipments totaled 14.1 million units in the...

Apple today seeded build 13D38 of OS X 10.9.3 to developers, just under a week after releasing the fifth OS X beta, build 13D33, and a little over a month after the first 10.9.3 beta. The beta is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store as well as through the Mac Dev Center. Apple continues to ask developers to focus on Graphics Drivers, Audio, Mail, Contacts...

Intel today updated its Thunderbolt connectivity with Thunderbolt Networking, allowing a PC and a Mac to be paired for the first time using a Thunderbolt cable, enabling fast file sharing with a throughput of up to 10 Gbps. Drivers in Mavericks have allowed two Macs to connect via Thunderbolt since the operating system was released in 2013, but now a Mac can also be paired with a PC or two PCs ...

LaCie unveiled three new and updated Thunderbolt 2 storage solutions at the annual NAB trade show this weekend, with the 8big Rack, 5big and 2big geared towards 4K video editing and other professional media uses. The LaCie 8big Rack is the company’s first Thunderbolt 2 rackmount storage solution, featuring up to eight 6TB 7200RPM hard drives and delivering speeds of up to 1330 MB/s. The...

Members of the press were given a tour of Apple's newest retail store in Istanbul, Turkey before its grand opening tomorrow, April 5th, reports Apple Toolbox. Leading the tour was Apple's manager of retail stores, Steve Cano, who confirmed that CEO Tim Cook will not attend the opening as originally expected. Turkish President Abdullah Gül also will postpone his visit until after the retail store ...

Apple today seeded build 13D33 of OS X 10.9.3 to developers, just under a week after releasing the fourth OS X beta, build 13D28, and a month after the first 10.9.3 beta. The beta is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store as well as through the Mac Dev Center. Apple continues to ask developers to focus on Graphics Drivers and Audio, and Safari. As was...

Since late 2012, a number of accessory manufacturers have released docking stations taking advantage of Thunderbolt technology to allow users to connect a number of different types of devices to their machines with a single cable. Matrox was the first to reach market with its DS1, and similar offerings from Belkin and CalDigit have since been released. Popular TV and video accessory maker...

Major US companies from various business sectors have joined together to form a lobbying group that opposes pending patent reform legislation proposed by Congress, reports Reuters. The new Partnership for American Innovation includes Apple, DuPont, Ford, General Electric, IBM, Microsoft and Pfizer. The change proposed by Congress would target patent assertion entities (PAEs), which purchase...

MacHeist's Apple Design Award Bundle is currently available for purchase, combining nine different apps that have won Apple Design Awards in the past. The apps have a retail value of $1,776, but can be purchased for $19.99. While seven of the apps are immediately available, the final two will be unlocked when specific sales targets are reached. The Apple Design Award Bundle includes: - Boi...

The upcoming USB 3.1 specification, an update to USB 3.0 that provides a throughput of up to 10 Gbit/s, also includes a new "Type C" connector, which is reversible much like Apple's Lightning cable. Announced in December [PDF], the reversible design was said to be smaller in size, similar to existing Micro USB plugs. While no cables are available yet, the USB Implementers Forum (via CNET) has...

New photos taken by Instagram user orbaygumus (via ifoAppleStore’s Gary Allen) have revealed the unique exterior and interior of Apple’s first Turkish retail store in Istanbul that is set to open this Saturday, April 5. The store, which is located in the upscale Zorlu Center Shopping Center, features a unique cubic design complete with a glass ceiling and glass sides that occupy approximately ...

Apple today updated update Safari for Mavericks to version 7.0.3, adding improvements to compatibility, stability, and security. The update includes a new option for turning off push notification prompts for websites, improves credit card autofill, adds support for webpages with generic top-level domains, and fixes several security issues.- Fixes an issue that could cause the search and address...

Apple updated the shipping estimates for its new Mac Pro desktop, with the US store now providing a shipping target of 5 to 6 weeks for new orders with either stock or custom configurations. International stores still report April as an estimated ship date, but these dates are likely to change now that the month has officially started. This is one of several recent changes Apple has made to...

To earn approval for its Apple 2 Campus in Cupertino, Apple agreed to increase the number of employees using transportation like bicycles and shuttles, according to a new report on commuting in Silicon Valley from The Los Angeles Times. Apple maintains a Transportation Demand Management program that gives 1,600 of its employees free rides to and from work, using environmentally friendly...