MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Twelve South, the Apple accessory company behind the popular BookBook series of cases and a number of different stands, today introduced GhostStand, a new transparent stand designed to elevate any Mac notebook model.GhostStand floats your MacBook display over six inches off your desk or table to a more comfortable viewing height. Park any MacBook on GhostStand and pair it with your favorite...

The first two games in 2K Games’ popular series BioShock are currently on sale until September 3rd in the Mac App Store for $9.99, down from their usual standard price of $19.99. The discounts come before its sequel, BioShock Infinite, is set to be released on the Mac on August 29. BioShock was originally released for the Mac in October 2009 and was added to the Mac App Store in January 2011...

AgileBits has released new details on 1Password 4 (via Macworld), the next major update to its popular password managing software 1Password. The forthcoming update, which follows the 1Password 4 update for iOS earlier this year, includes features such as iCloud syncing, the ability to tag items as favorites, and support for multiple accounts on a single website. New options and fields such as...

Apple is reportedly planning to open its first Brazilian retail store in Rio de Janeiro in early December, according to a report [Google Translate] from Brazilian technology magazine Info Exame (via @ifostore). Apple was reportedly hoping to open the store in July, but difficulties recruiting employees for the store have led the company to delay the opening by several months.The store should have ...

Microsoft has issued a press release stating that its CEO, Steve Ballmer, will retire "within the next 12 months", remaining in his position until a suitable successor is found. The precise reasons for Ballmer's departure were not given, though he was quoted as saying: There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time...we have embarked on a new strategy with a ...

Japanese website EMSOne [Google translation] (via Mac Otakara) summarizes a report from Taiwan's Want Daily claiming that Apple will launch the next-generation MacBook Pro with Intel’s latest Haswell processors in September of this year. The original report, which cites Taiwanese-based supply chain sources, does not appear to be available online, but the brief summary from EMSOne indicates that...

Apple appears to be nearing a public launch for OS X 10.8.5, with MacRumors receiving word that the company has seeded a new prerelease version to employees. The prerelease version arrives as build 12F35, and increment of two builds since the most recent developer seed just over two weeks ago. According to a source, the build includes final release notes for the update, highlighting fixes for...

GOG.com, an online game store that sells vintage titles, has debuted (via TUAW) a new indie game portal to sell indie games to Mac and Windows users, much like the Mac App Store or Steam. The new portal will not only use the GOG.com staples like DRM-free games and "one world - one price" thinking but also offer additional incentives to developers to entice them to release their games on the...

Apple has updated its Logic Pro X professional audio editing software with the second bug fix update since it was released back in July. This fix addresses undo commands, graphical issues with the Piano Roll Editor and more.What's newThis update improves overall stability and performance issues including:• Undo commands work as expected after Flex Pitch editing• The Vintage Electric...

Apple is now selling JJ Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness on the iTunes Movie Store three weeks ahead of its September 10th general release.The film is available in HD for $20 and SD for $15, or as a $25 HD bundle with the prior Star Trek film. There is no rental option -- rentals will be available September 10th -- and it appears to only be available to U.S. iTunes customers.J.J. Abrams STAR...

Nuance, the company that makes some of the voice recognition technology behind Apple's Siri, has adopted a 'poison pill' measure to deter any possible takeover attempts. Activist investor Carl Icahn, who recently bought more than $1 billion worth of Apple stock, also owns 16% of Nuance.Icahn is famous for putting pressure on companies that he invests in, and some believe he could press Apple to ...

Apple today announced that it will be making changes to its affiliate program for its digital content stores, bringing on a new partner to help expand participation to new countries. Under Apple's affiliate programs, participants can earn commissions on revenue generated through links to the iTunes Store, App Store, Mac App Store, and iBookstore in various countries. The program also provides a...

The Wall Street Journal reports that Taiwanese manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., better known as Foxconn, is ramping up its television production through an exclusive partnership deal with 7-Eleven, a convenience store chain. The move comes after a report earlier this year indicated that Foxconn was at least partially pushing its television production forward in anticipation of landing ...

Apple is aiming to encourage Mac usage to its business consumers by displaying iMacs running a copy of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system within Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac in the business section of its stores, according to a report from 9to5Mac. Apple Retail Stores will also train business specialists on using Parallels and Windows software as part of the initiative. Apple currently...

Apple senior vice presidents Phil Schiller and Dan Riccio recently exercised and sold more than 40,000 combined common stock shares worth over $20 million, according to documents filed today with the SEC. Schiller sold 37,172 shares of common stock at a price of $500 for a total haul of $18.6 million. Riccio sold a total of 3,754 shares of common stock over the course of 11 trades with prices ...

Apple has seeded a second beta version of iTunes 11.1 to developers, several weeks after the debut of the first iTunes 11.1 beta. The second beta comes after an emergency update to iOS 7 and the release of iTunes 11.0.5, both of which fixed an issue with iTunes in the Cloud, so it is probable that this update addresses the same issue. Apple's iTunes 11.1 includes iTunes Radio, which is...

Primate Labs has announced on its blog that it has released Geekbench 3 – the first major update to the popular benchmarking service since 2007. This third iteration of Geekbench features 15 completely new benchmark tests that are designed to mimic real-world processor tasks, such as image and signal processing, encryption, and physics simulation that aim to give a more accurate score of...

Apple has released AirPort Base Station and Time Capsule Firmware Update 7.6.4.The update is available for all Apple 802.11n Wi-Fi base stations including AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Time Capsule.AirPort Base Station Firmware Update 7.6.4- Resolve an issue that may cause AirPort Time Capsule to report that the backup disk is in use- Resolve an issue that may cause an IPv6...