MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

In a preliminary ruling (PDF) today, the ITC ruled that Motorola's smartphones do not violate the Apple patents at issue, though the decision still needs to be approved by the full six-member ITC panel. On this date, the ALJ issued an initial determination on violation of Section 337 and recommended determination on remedy and bond in the above-referenced investigation. It is held that no...

At CES, Bullettrain announced their new eXpress keyboard platform that offers a single enclosure for the Magic Trackpad and Apple Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard. The enclosure mimics the layout of an Apple laptop, placing the trackpad below the keyboard. This gives it a bit more of a familiar feel for those transitioning between a notebook and a desktop setup. Both the keyboard and Magic...

Adobe today announced the release of a free public beta of Photoshop Lightroom 4, the company's digital photo management and post-production software. The software is the primary competitor to Apple's Aperture and a popular option for photographers.New Features in Lightroom 4 Beta - Highlight and shadow recovery brings out all the detail that your camera captures in dark shadows and bright...

Last month, Apple launched its first major international expansion of iTunes Match, expanding on the November U.S. debut by bringing the feature to Brazil in mid-December and then sixteen additional countries just a few days later. Apple is clearly continuing to press forward in its efforts to expand iTunes Match to new countries, as the Dutch collecting society Buma/Stemra today announced [Goo...

Television production company Bunim/Murray, the company which pioneered reality television with MTV's the Real World, has dropped Final Cut Pro in favor of an editing system from Avid, according to a press release from Avid. Avid today announced that renowned television production company, Bunim/Murray Productions, has selected Avid Media Composer® 6 and Avid Symphony® 6 editing software...

In 2011, less than 12 hours after passes went on sale, Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference had already sold out. To help would-be attendees get a chance to purchase tickets, developers Anthony Herron and Aaron Wardle created WWDC Alerts, a website that lets users sign up to be sent a text message when WWDC tickets for 2012 finally go on sale. For 2012, Moscone Center's event calendar...

Deal-a-day site Woot.com occasionally offers Apple products for sale, generally refurbished iPod Nano or Touch models. But this year, on Christmas Eve, the site is offering Apple's current entry-level iMac for nearly 13 percent off Apple's prices -- and tax free for most states, unlike Apple's online store. The model in question, MC309LL/A, is $1,199 on Apple's online store in a stock...

As David Pogue points out, O'Reilly Press is offering a number of its Missing Manual books for 50% off through January 3rd, with no DRM and lifetime access downloads and updates. Those looking for last minute Christmas gifts for slightly less tech-savvy relatives may want to check it out. Among the titles on sale: - iPhone: The Missing Manual by David Pogue for $9.99 - iPod: The Missing Manual...

Australian developer Firemint, acquired by Electronic Arts earlier this year, has moved its highly-acclaimed iOS game Real Racing 2 to the Mac, launching the title in the Mac App Store. Among the notable features of the Mac version is the ability for owners of iOS versions of the game to control the Mac version using the touch and tilt capabilities of their mobile devices.- Test your racing...

Graphisoft claims it has the world's first Steve Jobs statue in front of its Budapest headquarters, crafted in bronze by Hungarian sculptor Erno Toth. From Graphisoft's press release introducing the statue: The relationship between GRAPHISOFT and Apple can be traced to the 1980’s, when Jobs came across the first version of GRAPHISOFT’s ArchiCAD software at the 1984 CeBIT in Germany....

As noted by iFun.de [Google translation] and Macerkopf.de [Google translation], Apple has begun posting job listings for a forthcoming retail store in Berlin, the company's first in a city that ranks among the largest in the European Union. Kurfürstendamm 26 in Berlin with blacked-out ground-floor windows (Source: Berlin Sidewalk) The store's location was detailed earlier this year by ifoA...

A 4th generation iPod Shuffle, apparently signed by Steve Jobs himself, is for sale on eBay. The signature on the iPod is similar to Jobs's signature, but the item doesn't include any guarantee or certificate of authenticity, though the seller does offer this story for how the signature was obtained: As part of a "innovators of tomorrow" program, myself and a 3 of my colleagues were invited to ...

While Apple discontinued Logic Express last week as it moved Logic Pro to the Mac App Store and reduced its price to $199.99, the company is pushing out at least one last update for existing users in the form of Logic Express 9.1.6.This update improves overall stability and addresses some minor issues including the following: - Improved compatibility with full-screen view and Mission Control...

Apple has released the Thunderbolt Display Firmware Update for the Thunderbolt Display released earlier this year. This update addresses a fan noise issue affecting a small number of Apple Thunderbolt Displays and improves stability. The updater application will be installed in the Utilities folder inside the Application folder and will be launched automatically when you close this installer. ...

As noted by AppleInsider, shipping estimates for build-to-order iMac models equipped with 2 TB hard drives have improved to 2-4 weeks, after previously being as long as 5-7 weeks earlier this month. It appears that hard drive shortages caused by massive flooding in Thailand over the past several months may be improving. Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked about the potential impact of the Thailand...

Apple has issued a small update for Aperture, bringing it to version 3.2.2 and fixing an issue related to iCloud's Photo Stream feature. What's New in Version 3.2.2 This update resolves an issue that could prevent auto-imported Photo Stream images from being displayed in the library after your Photo Stream hits 1,000 images. The update is recommended for all users of Aperture 3.Aperture is ...

Two websites are offering big discounts on preset bundles of Mac Apps. First up, MacUpdate's Winter bundle includes 12 Mac apps for $49.99 (a $741 value if purchased separately): - TechTool Pro ($99) Hard drive and system repair & maintenance tool. - IconBox ($24) Organize and customize icons across your Mac (First 15k buyers) - TotalFinder ($18) Adds tabs, hotkeys, and other tweaks...

The OS X version of Sparrow, a popular alternative mail application, has been updated to version 1.5. The update brings bug fixes and 3 new features: - Dropbox integration. Drag, drop, send (and sync). Sending a mail with attachment has never been simpler. - Improved search with tokens and suggestions. - Remote image blocking for a better Spam control. MacStories writes of the update: New to ...