MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Other World Computing reports that the iMac EFI Update 1.6 released yesterday for Apple's new iMacs brings an unadvertised improvement in SATA performance for the internal hard drive bays. While iMac EFI Update 1.6 is described as including "fixes that improve performance and stability for Thunderbolt," it would also seem that an unadvertised benefit is that it also unlocks the full 6Gb/s, SATA...

Apple has released a couple of updates for the new iMac and recent MacBook Pros that offer various fixes, but seem to be particularly focused on Thunderbolt fixes and enhancements. - Mac OS X v10.6.7 Supplemental Update for iMac (Early 2011) - iMac EFI Update 1.6 - MacBook Pro EFI Update 2.1 - MacBook Pro Software Update 1.4 The 10.6.7 iMac update for the just-released 2011 iMacs...

ArsTechnica provides an extensive walkthrough and installation of the OWC MacBook Air SSD replacement kits. The OWC Mercury Aura Pro Express is the only presently available SSD replacement for the MacBook Air's new compact SSD drive. Installation requires some disassembly of your MacBook Air as well as the lengthy backup/restore process to migrate your data. The new drive offers some...

Late last week, research firm IHS iSuppli reported that Apple had become the world's second-largest buyer of MEMS sensors for consumer electronics, surging past Nintendo to land just behind Samsung in the rankings. MEMS sensors include the accelerometers, gyroscopes, and microphones included in many Apple products. The company's purchases of consumer/cell phone MEMS sensors rose by 116.7...

As reported by MacTalk and News.com.au, Apple appears to be preparing to open a new flagship retail store in Brisbane, Australia. The revelation comes from development application filed with the city council that doesn't refer to Apple by name but clearly shows that the project is indeed an Apple retail store. A review of the architectural drawings supplied show immediately recognisable...

Fortune notes that Apple senior vice president of hardware engineering Bob Mansfield sold off 99% of his Apple stock holdings on Monday, dropping his stake in the company to only 501 shares. One of the more pro-active traders is Bob Mansfield, Apple's senior vice president in charge of Mac and iPhone hardware engineering. Not only does he exercise his options when the stock is high -- always a...

Apple today released a pair of software updates via Software Update and its support download pages, bringing an updated version of iPhoto and a fix for font issues on Mac OS X Snow Leopard. iPhoto 9.1.2 adds new card themes and fixes a host of minor issues with the company's photo management component of iLife '11. This update adds new card themes to iPhoto '11. It also improves overall...

Apple today released iMac Hard Drive Firmware Update 1.0, a new update to address issues with system booting on the company's current-generation "Mid-2010" iMac models. About iMac Hard Drive Firmware Update 1.0 This firmware update fixes a hard drive issue that may prevent some iMac (21.5-inch and 27-inch, Mid 2010) systems from booting properly.The update weighs in at 767 KB and requires Mac ...

Apple Bitch notes that a new placeholder has appeared on Amazon's German site suggesting that Apple will be distributing Mac OS X Lion on DVD when it is released later this year. A listing for the latest version of the Mac operating system, OS X 10.7 Lion, which is due for release this summer, has appeared on the German Amazon website. The significance of the listing is that the OS is apparently...

This video was brought to our attention originally by GadgetsDNA. The video has apparently been circulating around asian sites and described as Steve Jobs rehearsing for the iPhone 5 introduction. It's a ridiculously fake video, but is starting to be reposted to some english sites. We've posted it just as a...

AppleInsider reports that Apple retail employees are restricted from taking time off between May 20 and May 22nd. Retail employees were told this week via e-mail that they may not request days off between May 20 and May 22, AppleInsider has learned. It was said that store managers are "very excited" about those dates, but no other details are available.They go on to speculate that Apple may be ...

Quicksilver, an open source launch utility for Mac OS that saw few substantial updates over the last several years, has seen a revival recently with a new version released late last week. Quicksilver is a computer utility software program for Mac OS X, made by Blacktree Software and distributed freely. It is essentially a graphical shell for the Mac OS X operating system, allowing users to use...

Other World Computing reports that it has discovered a fix for an issue with SATA performance on Apple's latest 17-inch MacBook Pro models that has caused problems with solid state drive performance. For over a month, we've been following reports from some MacBook Pro 2011 model users - almost exclusively those with 17" models, where issues with other brand 6Gb/s SSDs have been encountered. The...

MacBook Air SSD via iFixit Anandtech summarizes findings first reported in our forums about SSD brands found in the MacBook Air. In iFixits teardown, it was confirmed that the MacBook Airs use Toshibas Blade X-gale SSDs. A bit over month ago, however, it was discovered that there appear to be two different revisions of SSDs circulating in MacBook Airs. The first one is obviously the Toshiba,...

In support of today's release of iOS 4.3.2, Apple has also pushed out Xcode 4.0.2 for developers, offering updated tools for iOS and Mac OS X application development. Xcode 4.0.2 is available free of charge to members of Apple's paid developer programs, and non-members can purchase the application for $4.99 in the Mac App Store, although the Mac App Store is currently still showing the older ...

Perian, a free open-source plug-in that enables QuickTime support for a wide variety of video formats, has been updated with additional video format compatibility and fixes. Version 1.2.2 of Perian was released yesterday and is available from the download page at Perian.org. This week's update added compatibility with WebM/VP8, FFv1 lossless video formats, and compressed MKV files, as well ...

Developer Flying Meat has released a major update to Acorn, its image editing software for the Mac. Acorn 3.0 was released earlier this week and features layer styles, quick masking for more precise selection and editing, improved gradients and more. In total, Acorn 3.0 is touted to have more than 50 new features. Acorn first debuted as shareware in 2007 with a goal of "simplicity" in image...

Swiss company Mobee today announced the upcoming debut of its new "The Magic Bar" induction charging station for Apple's Wireless Keyboard and Magic Trackpad. Replacing the devices' batteries with induction charging cells, the docking station connects to the user's computer via USB and wirelessly charges input devices sitting within the station. The Magic Bar is the world's first Inductive...