MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Apple today released a pair of Java updates for users of Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Leopard, patching vulnerabilities and increasing reliability and compatibility. - Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 5 (75.45 MB, Requires Mac OS X 10.6.4)Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 5 delivers improved compatibility, security, and reliability by updating Java SE 6 to 1.6.0_26.- Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 10...

Since the release of Mac OS X 10.6.8 last week, a number of Xserve users have reported in Apple's discussion forums (via MacNN) issues with a hardware monitoring daemon known as hwmond generating significant CPU loads of up to 95%.Member Arminhempel reports a CPU load up to 70 percent after every reboot on several Xserves he manages; Jean-Serge Remy has an Xserve Xeon showing an 84 percent hit,...

While Apple has received significant criticism for stripping out a number of features from its professional-level video production software in the transition to Final Cut Pro X, the company has said that it will be updating the new application on a regular basis, and has acknowledged that it is working on restoring some of the lost features. One of those missing features is compatibility for...

Apple today released Thunderbolt Firmware Update, a small update offering "performance and stability fixes" for machines supporting the new high-speed data connectivity standard.This update provides Thunderbolt performance and stability fixes. When your computer restarts a gray screen will appear with a status bar to indicate the progress of the update. Do not disturb or shut off the power...

Earlier this month, after 15 years of promises and delays, the long awaited sequel to Duke Nukem 3D was finally released. While Duke Nukem Forever was met with poor reviews, if you still wanted to relive the experience on your Mac, you'll have a chance this August. Aspyr announced today that Duke Nukem Forever will be officially making its way to the Mac in August. Aspyr is offering it...

Team Fortress 2, Valve's class-based cartoonish first-person shooter, which was one of the first Steam-powered games to arrive on the Mac, is now totally free. Valve will generate revenue from TF2 by selling the many items available through random drops in the game via microtransactions in a TF2 store. Players can purchase new weapons and upgrades through the Steam Wallet, Steam's...

It's been three days since Apple released Final Cut Pro X, a complete redesign of its flagship video editing suite. Early reaction has been mixed at best, with users giving poor marks to the software on the Mac App Store and in reviews. Even Conan O'Brien poked fun at the new release. Apple seems to be addressing concerns through David Pogue's column at the New York Times, assisting David with ...

Conan O'Brien mocked Apple's latest release of Final Cut Pro during his show last night. Final Cut Pro X has been receiving a significant number of negative reviews due to a loss of features as compared to Final Cut Pro 7. ...

CNBC will run a one-hour special on Apple CEO Steve Jobs tomorrow night, Thursday June 23rd at 9PM EDT. The show, part of CNBC's Titans series, will offer a look at Steve within interviews from a number of observers, including John Sculley, the former Pepsi-Co exec who famously pushed Jobs out of his own company. From his parents' California garage he launched the personal computer revolution...

Concurrent with the launch of Final Cut Pro X yesterday, Apple discontinued both Final Cut Express and Final Cut Server. Final Cut Express was Apple's "lite" video editing program, meant to bridge the gap between the free iMovie and $999 Final Cut Studio package. With Final Cut Pro now priced at $299, Apple clearly felt that a bridge program was no longer necessary. Both Express and Server ...

Mozilla today released Firefox 5, the latest version of the world's second most popular web-browser. Mozilla has transitioned to a rapid release cycle for Firefox, offering more full-featured releases more quickly than previously. Firefox 4 was released just this past March. The company claims 1,000 improvements and enhancements are present in this version of Firefox, including support...

Following its release this morning, the first hands-on videos from Final Cut Pro X are beginning to trickle out. Here's a first look from Matt's Macintosh channel on YouTube as Matt explored the new Final Cut: Hat tip to The Loop...

Apple did indeed test out a black powder-coated MacBook Air, but the treatment absorbed body oils and didn't live up to Steve's standards, according to an anonymous Apple employee. This employee got in touch after we wrote about emails we'd received claiming that the next-generation MacBook Air would have a black option. The email:The rumors that the next iteration of the MBA's will have...

Apple is widely believed to be set to introduce new Sandy Bridge-based MacBook Air models in the very near future, with a variety of sources over the past few months having pegged the refresh for a June-July timeframe. One recent report has claimed that Apple is holding the MacBook Air release until OS X Lion is ready to go, meaning that a release would apparently occur sometime in July....

It has been seven weeks since the "Mac Defender" malware first gained significant publicity, and we've seen Apple in response step up its anti-malware efforts with the release of a security update late last month that not only addressed the known Mac Defender variants at that time but also introduced daily checks for new malware definitions. The action significantly expanded the rudimentary...

One of the big new features in the upcoming OS X Lion is auto-resume for all applications. The feature comes from iOS where the distinction between open and closed apps is blurred, as every app will resume right where you left off. From Apple's OS X description of the Resume feature:Now apps you close will reopen right where you left off, so you never have to start from scratch again. And ...

For geeks with Bond-esque style, Adafruit Industries have created iCufflinks. They're electronic cufflinks crafted out of machined aluminum with the standby or power symbol, International Electrotechnical Commission 5009, engraved on it. That symbol, better known as the Power Button Logo on Macs, doesn't just light up on the iCufflink; it pulses like the sleep indicator on recent Macs....

Apple has seeded another Mac OS X 10.6.8 seed to developers this evening. This one comes less than 4 days from the previous seed. Apple seems to be accelerating releases, and it seems likely this will be pushed out to users before long. ...