MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Apple confirmed Tuesday that it is now free to ship and sell its products in Iran, following the U.S. government's move to lift an export and sales ban earlier this year, reports The Wall Street Journal. The lifting of the export ban comes as the U.S. government pushes an initiative to support the free flow of information amidst a crackdown by the Iranian government on protesters' ability to...

The developers behind Metro: Last Light, a popular first-person shooter game, announced yesterday that they will ship a Mac version of the title on September 10 via the Mac App Store and the game distribution platform Steam. The game's developers, 4A Games, have also announced that a Linux version is in the works, although it will not be ready until "sometime later" this year. The...

Two Apple executives received vested restricted stock units (RSU) last week, according to documents filed with the SEC. Apple CEO Tim Cook received 72,877 shares of Apple stock as part of the RSU award from when he was promoted to CEO two years ago. However, earlier this year Apple's board decided to modify the award to be more performance based and this vesting was part of that process.Cook...

The Omni Group today released OmniKeyMaster, a Mac app designed to allow users who purchased older Mac App Store versions of the company’s software to access discounted upgrades in the future. The app locates installed Omni apps and generates new licenses that unlink the software from the Mac App Store.OmniKeyMaster is a simple app that finds App Store copies of Omni apps installed on your Mac,...

Apple's system status page is reporting that as many as 20 percent of iTunes Store users are currently unable to make purchases.The outage has been affecting users since 6 AM PDT -- some three hours -- with no estimate on resolution.Update: The issue was resolved at 9:26 AM...

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 ...