MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

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. ...

Apple today released MainStage 2.1.3, an update to the company's Logic Studio component for bringing virtual instruments and effects to live performances. According to the release notes, the update addresses over 20 issues in a number of areas.This update improves overall stability and addresses a number of minor issues, including the following: - Fixes an issue where presets for Audio Unit...

Final Cut Pro expert Larry Jordan spoke about the upcoming release of Final Cut Pro X in April at the London SuperMeet LAFCPUG, a Final Cut Pro usergroup meeting. FCP.co has the video and transcripts. He had a lot to say, and if you're a Final Cut Pro user it's well worth watching. One part in particular caught our eye, however. Larry claims Final Cut Pro X won't be ready "for professional...

Photo by @sadatkarim Tonight's update to OS X Lion Developer Preview 4 includes an enhanced login screen (as seen during the WWDC keynote), including a new background showcasing the dark linen background that seems to be everywhere in iOS and OS X these days. The old login screen displayed the clock and a Wi-Fi menu. The new screen also displays the current built, current IP address, and...

Apple has been touting full-screen apps as a major feature in OS X Lion. By all accounts, it works very well to remove distractions and help users focus on the task at hand. For multiple-monitor users, however, full-screen apps don't live up to the hype. When full-screen mode is turned on, Lion dims supplementary monitors (putting up the "linen" background) leaving extra screens as little...

Microsoft yesterday released several updates for users of its Office for Mac productivity suites, bringing security and stability improvements to Office 2011, 2008, and 2004, as well as a pair of ancillary updates. - Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 14.1.2 Update (108.9 MB): Improvements include security fixes and several stability and reliability improvements for Outlook and Word. - Microsoft...

Apple today released AirPort Utility 5.5.3 for both Mac (10.8 MB) and Windows (10.1 MB). The updates to Apple's software for managing the AirPort Express Base Station, the AirPort Extreme Base Station, and Time Capsule primarily address an issue that may cause the application to crash during setup.This update contains bug fixes including the following: Resolves an issue that caused the...

Recent versions of iPhoto and Aperture have ditched the open folder system for a more secure "Library" format and, in Lion, Photo Booth takes the plunge as well. The main reason for the switch from an open folder system to a closed, self-contained library is to keep more inexperienced users from breaking iPhoto by trying to "clean up" their computers. The old iPhoto library was a mass of...

A brief Reuters report relays information from Taiwan's Economic Daily that claims that the new MacBook Air will go on sale in late June. The paper seems to cite the same production numbers from an analyst report earlier this week, but adds the "late June" timeframe for launch. The new Sandy Bridge-based MacBook Airs have been rumored to be coming in the June-July timeframe. ...

Not all the updates in Lion are huge, world-altering features, but for those switching from Windows to Mac, this one might make life a little easier. Apple appears to be dropping "Airport" from its preferred vocabulary, instead adopting the more widespread "Wi-Fi". Left: Snow Leopard, Right: Lion Apple Stores have been running low on AirPort Extreme, AirPort Express, and Time Capsule...

Apple today seeded Mac developers with a new version of Mac OS X 10.6.8, termed Build 10K537. The new build, which continues to weigh in at about 1 GB as a combo update and is approaching 500 MB as a delta update, is the first to be pushed out to developers in over three weeks as Apple's team has undoubtedly been focused on WWDC. Apple's documentation requests that developers focus their...

Last month, we noted that Apple had integrated a number of new text-to-speech voices from Nuance in OS X Lion. While the voices themselves were not yet able to be installed in the Lion developer preview, samples available online demonstrated the significantly improved quality over existing voice options in Snow Leopard. Several users working with the latest OS X Lion developer preview...

Apple today released iMac Graphic FW Update 2.0, a firmware update to addresses graphics issues on the company's latest iMac models.About iMac Graphic FW Update 2.0 This firmware update fixes an issue that in rare cases may cause an iMac to hang during startup or waking from sleep. Do not shut off the power on your iMac during this update. Loss of power could result in your iMac failing...