MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Last week, Apple seeded Xcode version 5.0.2 to developers, and now the company has released the final version to consumers. In addition to stability improvements, the app includes a fix for a bug that caused occasional hangs in iOS Simulator during an app install as well as a fix for a bug that caused crashes to occur while debugging devices running iOS 6.What's New in Version 5.0.2 Includes...

Apple today launched a new update for iBooks for Mac, bringing it to version 1.0.1. The 14.7 MB update includes bug fixes and stability improvements for the app, which was originally released on October 22 alongside OS X Mavericks. Apple has also released two EFI firmware updates for the 13-inch and 15-inch Retina MacBook Pros and a fix for the Mail app. The iBooks update, along with the...

Alongside today's release of a firmware update addressing keyboard and trackpad issues on Apple's new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, the company has released a separate firmware update for owners of the new 15-inch models. The 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro update addresses a separate issue related to performance of the discrete NVIDIA graphics included on higher-end models. This update is...

Apple today seeded Xcode Version 5.0.2 to developers, implementing bug fixes for several different issues introduced in version 5.0.1. Version 5.0.2 is listed as a Golden Master build, though there have been no prior betas. Xcode 5.0.1 was originally released on October 22 and included new SDKs for Mavericks, Mountain Lion, and iOS 7, along with support for continuous integration bots and a...

Following the late October launch of Mavericks, Apple has implemented new changes to its Volume Purchase Program for Business and Education, expanding the program to the Mac App Store for the first time and launching new "Managed Distribution" capabilities for iOS 7 and Mavericks that allow institutions to assign and revoke app licenses to individual users. The company has begun sending emails...

Apple has announced that its new Väla Centrum retail store in the Helsingborg, Sweden region will be opening this Saturday at 10:00 AM. As noted by ifoAppleStore several months ago, the store is in a central location within the mall and offers a 60-foot wide storefront. Photo from Array.se The store will be Apple's third in the country, joining the Täby Centrum store that opened north of...

Two years after the store was originally announced to be built, Apple has begun posting job listings for its forthcoming flagship store in Brisbane, which is the third most populous city in Australia. The store would also join Apple's other locations within the city, including its stores in Carindale and Chermside. Apple Retail Store in Sydney, Australia The postings come as revised plans ...

CalDigit today announced that its $199 Thunderbolt Station will begin shipping on November 4, with pre-orders available now through the company's online store. Announced back in April, CalDigit's addition to the range of Thunderbolt docking station from manufacturers such as Belkin and Matrox offers three USB 3.0 ports, audio in and out jacks, Ethernet, and HDMI, as well as pass-through...

Back in 2011, Amazon launched its Cloud Drive and Cloud Player services, with Cloud Drive offering cloud-based file storage and Cloud Player serving as the interface for playing music stored in Cloud Drive. Amazon has upgraded its service over time, offering unlimited music storage with any paid plan, free storage of Amazon MP3 Store purchases, and iTunes Match-like Scan and Match functionality...

During today's financial results conference call for the third calendar and fourth fiscal quarter of 2013, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer indicated Apple will continue to offer iWork, iLife, and OS X for free for the foreseeable future. When OS X Mavericks was released last Tuesday, Apple announced that for the first time ever, OS X system updates would be available to customers at no charge. At...

During its financial results conference call for the third calendar and fourth fiscal quarter of 2013, Apple shared new numbers about its retail stores, announcing a total of $4.5 billion in revenue which is up 6% from the year-ago quarter. According to Apple, iPhone sales are up 36% per store per week, and the company opened 8 new stores in the quarter, bringing the total number of Apple Retail...

The MacRumors Folding@home team has accumulated over one billion points for the distributed computing medical research project. The MacRumors team, currently ranked #55 out of over two hundred thousand Folding@home teams, reached the milestone point total on October 27. Folding@home participants receive work units as computation assignments. Completed work units are assigned points based on...

Apple is reportedly planning to open its first retail location in Rio de Janiero, Brazil early next year, according to 9to5Mac. The specific target date for the opening would reportedly be between February and March 2014, which contrasts with an earlier report from August stating that Apple would be opening its first Brazllian retail store this December. An early 2014 opening would still have the ...

Apple has a released a new firmware update -- iMac SMC Firmware Update 1.1 -- for the new iMacs released in September.Simultaneously, Apple also released a supplemental update for OS X 10.8.5.iMac SMC Firmware Update 1.1This update is recommended for iMac (late 2013) with flash-only storage. This update improves the Power Nap feature in Mavericks on your flash based iMac by allowing it to...

Upstart automobile manufacturer Tesla Motors has announced the hiring of Doug Field, former vice president of Mac Hardware Engineering, to lead its development of new vehicles. Field has been at Apple for more than 5 years and led the development of recent models of the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and iMac -- all of which have seen significant redesigns in past years. "Doug has demonstrated the ...

Unibox, a Messages-style email client that entered public beta back in September, is now available for download from the Mac App Store. Aiming to revolutionize the email experience, Unibox is designed to make email more personal through an organizational system that groups emails by contacts. The app's interface is divided into two panes, with the left side displaying contacts and the right...

Software maker Adobe has announced on its blog (via ZDNet) that its Flash Player software is now sandboxed for the version of Safari found in OS X Mavericks, preventing malware targeting Flash from accessing sensitive data and system resources beyond Apple's browser. As described by Apple, sandboxing "provides a last line of defense against the theft, corruption, or deletion of user data" if a...

Apple today updated its professional-grade audio software Logic Pro X to version 10.0.4, adding support for project files generated by the new version of GarageBand released yesterday. Logic Pro X, launched in July, represented the first major update to the software since 2009. Logic Pro X introduced "Drummer" a customizable virtual session player that automatically plays along to recorded...