MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

An Apple lawyer has said it wants a trial to defend itself in an antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice over the pricing of e-books. Apple's attorney said the company "would like the case to be decided on the merits". Apple Inc wants to go to trial to defend itself against U.S. government allegations that it conspired with publishers to raise prices of electronic books, a...

MacRumors has received a number of reports today from users who have been unable to access their iCloud mail accounts, and a growing thread in Apple's discussion forums is documenting the growing complaints. According to user reports, iCloud mail went down around 9:30 AM Eastern Time this morning, and it remains out some seven hours later. Apple updated its iCloud System Status page at 10:08...

The first half of each year is a slow time for Apple retail store openings, but the company does continue to schedule sporadic additions to its network of stores as new locations come online. For its latest addition, Apple will be holding a grand opening for its second store in Rome, Italy this Saturday, April 21 at 10:00 AM. The new Porta di Roma store is located in the shopping center of the...

AllThingsD reports that Zane Rowe, executive VP and Chief Financial Officer for United Continental -- the company behind the merged United and Continental airlines -- has joined Apple as one of the vice presidents of sales at Apple. “We are thrilled that Zane Rowe will be joining us as one of our vice presidents of sales,” Apple spokesman Steve Dowling told AllThingsD. “He built a great...

Microsoft today released Service Pack 2 for Office for Mac 2011, the most recent edition of Microsoft's hugely popular productivity suite. Outlook was the priority for the Mac Office team, with a number of enhancements and performance upgrades included for the other applications as well: As the newest member of the Office for Mac family, Outlook 2011 continues to get the most requests from...

BBEdit, a text and code editor for thousands of Mac users for years, turns 20 today. Macworld Editorial Director Jason Snell published a long commemorative about his love for the software -- written in BBEdit, of course: All of this would be an insane nostalgia trip were it not for this amazing fact: BBEdit’s still around. And not just as a relic of the old times, but as a modern, relevant...

Apple has updated its flagship video editing software, Final Cut Pro [Mac App Store], to version 10.0.4. The update is a minor one, adding some performance improvements, bug fixes, and language support for Simplified Chinese. Final Cut Pro can be updated via the Mac App Store. Final Cut Pro X version 10.0.4 improves overall stability, performance, and compatibility including: - Improves image ...

Just a day after media reports pointed out the outdated billboard atop the West 14th Street flagship Apple Store in New York City, it has been replaced with an updated sign. SplatF's Dan Frommer snapped a picture of the updated billboard showing a shot from the new iPad television ad with the iPad being used to make a painting. The timing of the updated billboard so soon after the media's...

Though the new iPad was announced on March 7, Apple continues to advertise the iPad 2 in prime advertising real estate on top of the West 14th Street Apple Retail Store, as noticed by AdAge. The billboards on top of the store, a flagship in the middle of the trendy Meatpacking District in New York City, were apparently included in the lease for the location. The billboards have always been...

Apple has released an update to Java for OS X, updating Java SE 6 to version 1.6.0_31. The update, called Java for OS X Lion 2012-001, "delivers improved reliability, security, and compatibility for Java SE 6". Apple hasn't updated its security page with details of the fixes in the update, but it may fix the vulnerability detailed across the web in recent days. Apple released the same update...

Feral Interactive is serving up BioShock 2 to Mac users via the Mac App Store, two years after it arrived on the PC. It costs $30.99 on the Mac App Store, or via Feral directly. The game does include a multiplayer component as well. Feral is dedicated to bringing major game titles to the Mac, and has taken to the Mac App Store in a big way. The company already sells a Mac version of BioShock 1,...

A new job listing on Apple's site indicates that the company is developing a "significant growth plan" for its network of Apple Premium Resellers (APRs) in India, seeking a new national manager to oversee expansion of the program.The Apple Premium Reseller (APR) program was designed by Apple to expand and improve the market coverage and customer experience. Apple Premium Resellers offer the...

Apple has released an update to iPhoto, the photo-management and editing app that comes on every Mac. iPhoto 9.2.3 is a minor update that weighs in at 354.55MB. About iPhoto 9.2.3 -Improves overall stability -Addresses an issue that could cause iPhoto to quit unexpectedly on systems with multiple user accountsIt can be downloaded from Apple's software downloads page, or via Software...

One week after the public beta launch of Photoshop CS6, Adobe today announced that the software has already hit 500,000 downloads.We’ve been blown away by the response to the Photoshop CS6 beta. In less than one week of its release, we’ve seen over half a million downloads and counting!! Download it for free today! It’s not often that we provide an advance preview of the next release of Photosh...

Three Apple executives sold millions of dollars in Apple shares after restricted stock units awarded in 2008 vested. The three executives were Apple CEO Tim Cook, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer, and marketing chief Phil Schiller. The sales were disclosed in mandatory SEC filings. - Tim Cook sold 106,640 shares at an average price of $600.79/share, after having 93,360 shares withheld for tax...

Apple today updated its Logic professional audio software, pushing out Logic Pro 9.1.7 to users of the boxed software version.About Logic Pro 9.1.7 This update improves overall stability and addresses some minor issues including: - Resolves several issues related to the download and installation of content - Updates compatibility with GarageBand for iOS projects - Fixes a problem that...

Apple has released Safari 5.1.5 just two weeks after the release of 5.1.4. The update is a minor one, however, with just one noted bug fix: Safari 5.1.5 contains a fix for an issue that could affect website usability when running Safari in 32-bit mode.The issue with 32-bit mode had been noticed previously by several of our readers. Safari 5.1.5 can be downloaded from Apple's Safari download...

Last year, Apple was fined $1.2 million in Italy over how the company advertises its warranty to customers. Italy's antitrust regulators ruled that Apple has not been providing adequate disclosures about the two free years of product warranty assistance required under Italian law, while also pushing customers to purchase AppleCare extended warranties without disclosing that many of the benefits...