MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Apple is the fifth most reputable major company active in the U.S. according to an annual poll that gauges public perception of 100 consumer brands (via The Korea Herald). The Reputation Quotient Ratings from the 2017 Harris Poll are based on an online survey completed by over 30,000 adults in the U.S. The survey analyzes brand reputation across six gauges: social responsibility, vision and...

Apple's shift towards regionally-focused digital and social media campaigns, and away from translating broader TV-focused campaigns for global markets, has led to layoffs and reorganizational efforts at its longtime global advertising partner TBWA\Media Arts Lab, according to Adweek. The agency's translation and transcreation teams were naturally among those hardest hit by the downsizing,...

Adobe this week released Flash Player version 24.0.0.221 to "address critical vulnerabilities that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system," including Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chrome OS. Mac users with Flash Player version 24.0.0.194 or earlier installed should immediately update to the latest version using the built-in update mechanism. The update is also...

The Apple retail store located on George Street in Sydney, Australia was closed for a brief period of time today due to "a police operation," although the exact reasoning behind the closure remains unclear. Some customers evacuated from the store tweeted claims of hearing employees discussing a "bomb threat," while workers in nearby buildings are referencing some kind of workplace accident...

Starting today, Microsoft Office users who own one of Apple's new 2016 MacBook Pro models can update their Word, Excel, and PowerPoint software to gain new Touch Bar integrations. Touch Bar support for Microsoft Office was first announced at Apple's October keynote event where the updated MacBook Pro with Touch Bar debuted. At that time, Microsoft outlined the Touch Bar's capabilities,...

Apple has been awarded the number one spot on Fortune's annual list of the "World's Most Admired Companies." The 2017 list marks Apple's tenth consecutive win as the most admired company in the world according to Fortune, which collected the data from 3,800 executives, analysts, directors, and industry experts to end up with the final ranking. After Apple, the top five slots are rounded out by ...

Apple's spaceship-shaped campus in Cupertino, California has been under construction for several years and is one of the most expensive, ambitious buildings in the United States. While Apple has been hard at work putting the finishing touches on the campus, which is slated to open later this year, Minecraft player Alex Westerlund has been building a Minecraft version of Apple's second campus. ...

In an in-depth new look at Apple's merger and acquisitions tactics published today by Bloomberg, Apple's "arrogant" culture of deal negotiations is put on display. According to sources who have worked with Apple in M&A, the company struggles repeatedly to pull off big deals "because of a series of quirks," including a refusal to work with investment bankers, inexperience with large takeovers, and ...

Microsoft has increased the price of its Surface Book laptops in the United Kingdom, following the impact of the country's decision to leave the European Union on the pound sterling (via TechCrunch). Previously, the company had limited its cost adjustments to enterprise products, but the significant drop in the strength of the pound since the E.U. referendum last June has now seen Microsoft...

A new version of Xagent, malware reportedly created by Russian hacking group APT28, has been discovered, and this version targets Mac users. As outlined in a blog post by antivirus company Bitdefender (via Ars Technica), Xagent has previously been used to infiltrate Windows, iOS, Android, and Linux devices, but now Macs are vulnerable to attack as well. This is the first version of Xagent...

Apple CFO Luca Maestri will speak at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference tomorrow afternoon, according to Apple's investor news site. Maestri will speak at 1:20 p.m. Pacific Time, and Apple will provide an audio webcast of the session. The Technology and Internet Conference is hosted by Goldman Sachs each year, and while Tim Cook has attended the event multiple times in the...

Apple has been listed as a contributing sponsor for the non-profit information/security conference BSides that's currently taking place in San Francisco. Apple joins a long list of sponsors including Google, Dropbox, Netflix, Fitbit, and more. According to the conference's sponsor page, Apple is also listed as a food sponsor for BSides, and provided breakfast and lunch meals to everyone...

Apple's new Pro Apps Bundle for Education, which launched in the United States last week, is now available for purchase in several other countries, including but not limited to Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, UAE, and the United Kingdom. Other countries where the bundle is now available include Austria, Brazil...

Continuing on his lengthy European tour today, Apple CEO Tim Cook has now stopped in London and had a chat with UK Prime Minister Theresa May. According to a spokesperson for May speaking with Business Insider, the meeting focused on Apple's continued investment in the United Kingdom amid the recent turmoil surrounding Brexit. Overall, the meeting was said to have been "a very positive and useful ...

Apple has begun advertising for staff positions at a planned retail store in the Austrian capital of Vienna. As noted by German tech site Flo's Weblog, multiple front-of-store job listings recently appeared on Apple's site, suggesting that the company's presence in the upmarket shopping street of Kärntner Straße isn't too far away. Reports that Apple was planning to open a brick-and-mortar...

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming macOS Sierra 10.12.4 update to public beta testers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the first public beta and one day after releasing the second 10.12.4 beta to developers. Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the second 10.12.4 macOS Sierra beta through the Software Update mechanism in the...

Apple CEO Tim Cook received an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow in Scotland today as planned. Cook then sat down for a Q&A session with the audience of students, reflecting on topics ranging from his personal beliefs and influences to U.S. President Donald Trump's recent immigration ban. One student asked if he could work at Apple as a tongue-in-cheek question, and Cook noted...

Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced in March of 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari. Safari Technology Preview release 23 includes fixes and improvements for Gamepads, Pointer Lock, Media, Accessibility, and Web Inspector. ...