MacRumors.com

In its annual list of the world's billionaires, Forbes this year ranked Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a tie with six others for 136th place with a net worth of $5.5 billion. Jobs' net worth is up from $5.1 billion in an October 2009 Forbes ranking of richest Americans and up from $3.4 billion and 178th place in last year's world ranking.

Following months of rumor and speculation, cultish king of the iGeeks presented the highly anticipated iPad in January; ten-inch, multi-touch computer intended to fill gap between smartphone and laptop. Delighted: nerds everywhere. Scared to death: newspaper and magazine publishers. Also unveiled new iBookstore and iBooks application in direct challenge to Amazon's Kindle; several book publishers have committed to content agreements.

Jobs is Disney's largest individual shareholder by virtue of the company's 2006 acquisition of Pixar, and continued increases in Disney's stock price since a deep low almost exactly a year ago have pushed his stake in the company to $4.2 billion. Apple's stock, meanwhile, has continued to soar and is up more than 150% over the past year.

Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim Helú took the top spot in this year's rankings at $53.5 billion, just ahead of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who had held the top spot 14 out of the previous 15 years.

ZDNet reports that it has received information from tipsters claiming that Apple will release new Mac Pro models next Tuesday, adding a hexacore Core i7-based model to its lineup.

I'm getting tips in from sources who claim that Apple is set to revamp its high-end Mac Pro line, adding a 'hexacore' Core i7-980x model to the line up.

All information points to this happening next Tuesday, March 16th.

Some confusion has arisen over what chips Apple will use in its next-generation Mac Pro. Hardmac has been keeping a close eye on Mac Pro developments, and has been talking up Intel's hexacore Core i7-980X as the next chip for the Mac Pro as cited in today's ZDNet report. That processor is reportedly scheduled to be launched next Tuesday, coinciding with rumors of Apple's Mac Pro refresh.

Apple, however, has typically used server-branded Xeon chips in its Mac Pro line, and Intel is also expected to debut a number of new Xeon 5600-series chips on that day. In particular, the Xeon X5680 rumored for release on Tuesday is very similar in many respects to the Core i7-980X and could also be a candidate for inclusion in the Mac Pro.

Apple yesterday released the fourth beta version of the SDK for iPad developers, and observers have started to find a few differences popping up in the latest update.


9 to 5 Mac reports that Apple has added support for "3Tap" and "LongPress" gestures to the SDK, suggesting that the company is opening the door for developers to take advantage of these gestures in their applications. The gestures themselves are not new, as Apple has utilized them for such options as turning the iPhone's display on and off when using VoiceOver (triple tap) and activating copy/cut/paste (long press), but the added files should make it easier for developers to use them.

9 to 5 Mac also notes that Apple has removed several icons that previously hinted at the ability to accept or decline video chats on the iPad. Despite the apparent absence of a camera in the iPad, hooks for videoconferencing were discovered in the iPad SDK, leading to speculation that either a camera would be an added feature announced before launch or had been planned and was scrapped for unknown reasons. Hints of front-facing camera capabilities have continued to surface in iPad SDK betas, but it appears that Apple has begun removing some of these references.

GigaOM provides an interesting reexamination of Apple's "iTunes LP" format for enhanced album content six months after the format's debut. While iTunes LPs were touted at its launch as a means to reignite sales of albums as opposed to individual tracks, Apple has done very little promotion of the format in recent months and currently offers only 31 iTunes LP albums (plus three comic book/single packages using the format) in its U.S. iTunes Store.

Reports leading up to launch of iTunes LP, previously codenamed "Cocktail", had suggested that the idea had been put forward by the record labels but was rejected by Apple until the labels banded together to begin developing their own similar format. GigaOM's report yesterday offers a similar perspective on those developments, which offers an explanation for Apple's lack of promotion of the format.

But I'm told by an industry source who preferred to remain anonymous that iTunes LP wasn't Apple's idea in the first place. Rather, it's the result of the same renegotiations between Apple and the major record labels that yielded DRM-free songs and flexible pricing early last year, a concession by Cupertino to make a gesture in favor of album sales as consumers increasingly show a preference for digital singles.

According to the report, Apple even subsidized the initial iTunes LP productions at a cost of up to $60,000 each, presumably as a gesture to placate the record labels. Record labels are understandably reluctant to foot the bill for new releases at that price, despite the fact that Apple's initial promotion of the format did allow the releases to become profitable.

Apple claimed last October that it would be opening up the format to additional labels and did publish tools to assist developers in creating iTunes LP projects relatively soon after. But while developers are likely to be able to put together such releases at a cost significantly below that invested by Apple in the initial launches, few have yet to express interest in the format.

As the report notes, many artists have chosen to take advantage of Apple's App Store to offer enhanced content, but Apple's iPad may provide another opportunity for the iTunes LP format to gain some traction. For its part though, Apple has yet to tout the potential of the iPad for iTunes LP content, and artists and labels have yet to become excited by the possibilities available in that combination.

Engadget reports on a leaked internal memo from Verizon to its staff members promoting Apple's iPad as an "opportunity" to sell its data plans, seeking to encourage customers to purchase a Wi-Fi iPad model and pair it with Verizon services such as MiFi to provide cellular data connectivity.

Verizon's proposal comes with a tradeoff for customers. The company cites the $130 premium carried by 3G-capable iPad models, an upfront cost unnecessary for those customers sticking with Wi-Fi models for use with Verizon's data plans. Alternatively, those customers could purchase a MiFi device for as little as $49.99 from Verizon, but that pricing requires a two-year data contract in comparison to the 3G-capable iPad's contract-free data plan pricing.

On the plus side for Verizon, its MiFi device, which taps into the carrier's cellular network to generate a local Wi-Fi network, can be used to provide access to any Wi-Fi enabled devices and up to five at the same time. Compared to AT&T's iPad service, which obviously is limited only to the iPad itself, Verizon's arrangement offers more flexibility for users who might also want to connect their notebook or other device such as an iPod touch to a network while on the go.

Verizon's MiFi proposal does require, however, that users carry a separate device in addition to their iPad. And on the pricing front, the two-year MiFi contract is priced at $39.99 per month for 250 MB of data or $59.99 per month for 5 GB of data, significantly higher that AT&T's contract-free iPad-only data plans priced at $14.99/250 MB or $29.99/unlimited per month. Consequently, Verizon's strategy seems to likely hold appeal primarily for those customers with multiple Wi-Fi devices requiring cellular data access.

Fortune reports on a new research note from Oppenhiemer & Co.'s Yair Reiner claiming that Apple in January began high-level talks with major phone manufacturers expressing its displeasure with what it considers to be infringement of its iPhone-related intellectual property. According to the report, Apple's recent lawsuit against HTC has served to back up the company's position in these talks and has sent competitors scrambling to deal with the threat. Reiner writes:

Starting in January, Apple launched a series of C-Level discussions with tier-1 handset makers to underscore its growing displeasure at seeing its iPhone-related IP [intellectual property] infringed. The lawsuit filed against HTC thus appears to be Apple's way of putting a public, lawyered-up exclamation point on a series of blunt conversations that have been occurring behind closed doors.

Our checks also suggest that these warning shots are meaningfully disrupting the development roadmaps for would-be iPhone killers. Rival software and hardware teams are going back to the drawing board to look for work-arounds. Lawyers are redoubling efforts to gauge potential defensive and offensive responses. And strategy teams are working to chart OS strategies that are better hedged.

Fortune's report offers more detail on Reiner's description of how events have unfolded, building from Apple's January 2009 promise to aggressively defend its iPhone intellectual property to the company's decision to press its position as other multi-touch handsets have begun to come to market.

Reiner also notes that much of the conflict has occurred with companies utilizing Google's Android operating system, which is seen as Apple's true target. In response, Microsoft has reportedly begun seizing the opportunity by pushing forward with promotion of its Windows Phone operating system and patent portfolio, indicating that it is willing to stand closely with its partner handset manufacturers in any intellectual property dispute.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) yesterday announced that it had obtained a copy of Apple's iPhone Developer Program License Agreement and published it for public consumption. While the contents of the license agreement, which governs the relationship between Apple and App Store developers, should obviously not be a surprise to the many developers already participating in the program, details of the contract have until now been kept relatively shielded from the general public due to nondisclosure agreements associated with the contracts.

The EFF was able to work around this constraint by petitioning NASA, a U.S. government agency and developer of an official NASA iPhone application, under a Freedom of Information Act request. NASA responded with a copy of the 28-page March 2009 version of the agreement.

Overall, the Agreement is a very one-sided contract, favoring Apple at every turn. That's not unusual where end-user license agreements are concerned (and not all the terms may ultimately be enforceable), but it's a bit of a surprise as applied to the more than 100,000 developers for the iPhone, including many large public companies. How can Apple get away with it? Because it is the sole gateway to the more than 40 million iPhones that have been sold. In other words, it's only because Apple still "owns" the customer, long after each iPhone (and soon, iPad) is sold, that it is able to push these contractual terms on the entire universe of software developers for the platform.

The terms of the agreement are not particularly different from those discussed in many places since the iPhone developer program was initiated, but it is interesting to view the actual text of the agreement, and the EFF points to a couple of interesting terms included in it.

- Developers are prohibited from making any "public statements" about the terms of the developer agreement, which is obviously the driving factor that has kept the complete details out of publication for so long.

- Developers using the iPhone SDK may only distribute their applications via Apple's App Store. Use of any other competing App Store for the iPhone platform for distribution is forbidden, even if an application has been rejected from the App Store.

- Reverse engineering of the iPhone OS or SDK is not permitted, and developers are not permitted to "disable, hack, or otherwise interfere" with security provisions on any Apple technology, such as jailbreaking their iPhones.

- Apple's monetary liability to developers is limited to only $50.

The EFF is a donor-funded non-profit organization focused on digital rights, and has been critical of Apple in the past over some of the company's actions. The foundation has even gone so far as to offer legal defense to several sites sued by Apple over leaked product details.

Update: The EFF has now posted a January 2010 version of the agreement.

Apple today released iPhone SDK 3.2 Beta 4 via the iPhone Dev Center, offering developers updated tools for building applications for the iPad. The last update to the SDK was issued two weeks ago, continuing a trend of biweekly revisions.

There is no word yet on changes in the new version, but users with access to the SDK are undoubtedly already looking through the software to document the revisions.

A few times a year, MacRumors partners with MacHeist to promote their Mac application bundle deal. Their latest bundle delivers at least eight Mac applications for $19.95 (over $280 value if all purchased separately) including:

- MacJournal ($40) - Collect, brainstorm, write, and organize your thoughts all in one place.
- RipIt ($20) - Easily rip and convert your DVDs for iTunes, iPod or AppleTV
- Clips ($27) - Expands the built-in clipboard, so you can store and recall multiple things with a keystroke.
- CoverScout ($39.95) - Easily fill in all your missing album art in iTunes, including all the ones iTunes missed.
- Flow ($25) - FTP client for Mac, with built-in text editing and streamlined interface.
- Tales of Monkey Island ($34.95) - TellTale Games' revival of LucasArts' classic pirating adventure game series.
- RapidWeaver ($79) - Easy to use web creation tool; RapidWeaver will become unlocked for all customers once 50,000 bundles have been sold.
- Tweetie ($19.95) - Popular Mac Twitter client; Tweetie will become unlocked for all customers once a certain number of bundles (to be announced at the unlocking of RapidWeaver) have been sold, and customers will also receive exclusive early access to Tweetie 2 for Mac beta later this month.

In addition, nanoBundle customers have the opportunity to receive three more free applications (for a total value of over $320 for all 11 applications) by tweeting to spread the word about MacHeist.

- Tracks - Play your music library and browse the iTunes Music Store from your menu bar
- Airburst Extreme - Airborne "floating" survival game with multiple gameplay modes
- Burning Monkey Solitaire - Suite of solitaire card games enhanced with a singing gorilla, flaming arrows, hundreds of jokes and secret easter eggs

This $19.95 bundle sale runs through Wednesday night Eastern time.

MacRumors is a promotional partner with MacHeist. Bundle sales through these links benefit MacRumors financially, and provide a way for readers to directly support this site.

Update: With the MacHeist nanoBundle passing through 50,000 bundles sold, RapidWeaver has now been unlocked for all customers. Tweetie will be unlocked once 56,789 bundles have been sold.

Update 2: All applications are now unlocked.

Apple subsidiary FileMaker today announced the release of FileMaker Pro 11, the latest version of its popular database application. The updated version brings several new features, as well as streamlined productivity tools for simpler and faster database creation.

"FileMaker Pro 11 is designed for solving real-world business problems, such as the need for interpreting business data," said Ryan Rosenberg, vice president, marketing and services, FileMaker, Inc. "With easy-to-use integrated charting, we bring dynamic visual reporting to FileMaker Pro 11 users. We also provide new tools to boost all users' productivity, helping novice and expert users alike build, share and publish better databases."

Charts and reports are improved in FileMaker Pro 11 with the addition of more powerful, dynamic charts available as tabs within layouts or published to the web with FileMaker Pro Instant Web Publishing. New "Quick Reports" and an improved Layout/Report Assistant also aid users in generating easy-to-digest versions of their data.

FileMaker Pro 11 also includes several new productivity tools to assist users with database creation.

- Innovative Quick Find with iTunes style that searches across all fields within a layout
- Inspector, a master tool palette that controls layout objects and properties in one convenient place
- Object Badges to visually identify scripted fields in layouts with color-coded icons
- A new Invoices Starter Solution, one of more than 30 built-in solutions, designed to track product and customer details and create, manage and print customized invoices for every order
- An improved Quick Start Screen to help users create new databases, manage favorite files and find helpful resources
- Text highlighting to emphasize key words or numbers in fields

Finally, FileMaker Pro 11 offers several new collaboration tools, enabling users to create "Snapshot Links" of data presentation for sharing with others, as well as assisting with recurring data imports.

Also available today are FileMaker Pro 11 Advanced, offering additional development and customization tools, and FileMaker Server 11, bringing several new tools to the company's solution for centrally-hosted databases.

FileMaker Pro 11 is priced at $299 for new users and $179 for upgrade users, with FileMaker Pro 11 Advanced checking in at $499 and $299 respectively. The basic FileMaker Server 11 is priced at $999/$599, while FileMaker Server 11 Advanced carries a price tag of $2,999/$1,799. All versions are available today.