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Apple today released iLife Support 9.0.4 via Software Update, bringing stability improvements and compatibility with Apple's new Aperture 3 release.

Provides system software resources that are shared by iLife and other applications. This update improves overall stability for the Media Browser and iPhoto slideshows. It also provides compatibility between Aperture 3 and the Media Browser.

The update is recommended for all users of iLife '09, iWork '09, and Aperture.

While the update can currently be found in Software Update through users' computers, it has yet to appear on Apple's Support Downloads page.

Apple today released Digital Camera Raw Compatibility Update 3.0, bringing compatibility with a number of digital camera models to iPhoto '09 and Apple's new Aperture 3 release.

This update extends RAW image compatibility for Aperture 3 and iPhoto 09 for the following cameras and formats:

- Canon PowerShot S90
- Canon sRAW
- Canon mRAW
- Leica D-LUX 4
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

The update weighs in at 6.43 MB and requires Mac OS X 10.5.8 or 10.6.2.

Apple today released Aperture SlideShow Support Update 1.0, addressing an issue with Aperture 3's integration of video clips in slideshows. Aperture 3 was released earlier today.

This update addresses an issue affecting the playback of video clips used in Aperture 3 slideshows on Snow Leopard. The update is recommended for all users of Aperture 3.

The update weighs in at 62.3 MB and requires Mac OS X 10.6.2.

Valleywag reports that The Wall Street Journal's online executive editor Alan Murray posted to his Twitter account last Thursday, claiming that that he had done so from an iPad. The tweet was quickly deleted, however, and it appears that it had been posted during a meeting with Apple CEO Steve Jobs, part of Jobs' recent trip to New York to show off the gadget to publishing executives in a bid to bring their content to the tablet device.

According to Valleywag, Murray deleted the tweet in response to a "furious" Steve Jobs, who was no doubt displeased at the disclosure.

A tipster told us the deletion ultimately traces back to a furious Jobs. We asked Murray for comment, and he wrote back "I would love to talk about this, but can't." In a later email, he added:

"I will say that Apple's general paranoia about news coverage is truly extraordinary- but that's not telling you anything you didn't already know."

Apple's obsession with secrecy is well-known, and while a simple, two-sentence tweet from a newspaper executive claiming to have access to the already-announced device may seem trivial, Jobs' desire to control the flow of information about its products and plans clearly continues to extends to all facets of Apple's activities.

New Media Age reports (via paidContent:UK) that Apple has hired two new managers focused on mobile advertising sales in its international markets as it seeks to takes advantage of its recent acquisition of Quattro Wireless.

According to the report, Apple has hired Theo Theodorou, previously a director of digital sales at publisher Hachette Filipacchi, as head of sales for the Europe, Middle East, and Asia (EMEA) in the Quattro Wireless group. Theodorou previously served as an advertising sales manager at Microsoft serving the same regions.

In addition, Apple has hired Todd Tran as general manager for its European mobile ad network. Tran previously served as managing director at Joule, a mobile marketing firm owned by GroupM, the world's largest advertising media company.

The hires come in the wake of several other hires in Apple's EMEA group focused on digital media, and Apple has been rumored to be looking to revolutionize mobile advertising in order to tackle Apple CEO Steve Jobs' complaint that "mobile ads suck".

Apple today released iTunes 9.0.3 via Software Update and the iTunes download site, offering several bug fixes.

iTunes 9.0.3 provides a number of important bug fixes, including:

- iTunes no longer ignores your "Remember password for purchases" setting.
- Addresses problems with syncing some Smart Playlists and Podcasts with iPod.
- Resolves a problem recognizing when iPod is connected.
- Addresses issues that affect stability and performance.

Versions are available for Mac OS X (10.4.11 or later) and Windows (XP, Vista, and 7) are available, with a separate version for 64-bit Windows Vista also available.

Apple yesterday released Aluminum Keyboard Firmware Update 1.1 for the 2007 model of its wireless keyboard, addressing both battery life issues when used with the company's new multi-touch Magic Mouse and an issue related to unexpected key repeating.

This firmware update improves battery performance of the 2007 aluminum Apple Wireless Keyboard when used in combination with other bluetooth devices (eg. Magic Mouse, some bluetooth headsets) and addresses an issue with the 2007 aluminum Apple Keyboard and the 2007 aluminum Apple Wireless Keyboard where a key may repeat unexpectedly while typing.

The update weighs in at 1.52 MB and requires Mac OS X 10.5.8 or 10.6.2. Additional information on the update is available in the associated support document.

With less than 48 hours to go until Apple's media event where it is widely expected to introduce its tablet device, the Internet has been awash in claimed "leaked" images of the new device. We've gathered here a few of the recently-surfaced images for interest's sake, but we believe that none of them are genuine.

French site Be Geek published [Google translation] a set of three images appearing to depict a device offering two iPhone-like "home" buttons.


Meanwhile, another pair of images surfaced on Twitter and has been widely reposted, showing a sleek tablet device lacking any front buttons sitting on the keyboard of a MacBook Pro.




And finally, French site Nowhereelse.fr publishes [Google translation] a submission it has received claiming to be an advertisement for Apple's "iPad" tablet device. Nowhereelse.fr has a very poor track record when it comes to leaked images and video, having posted several fake and presumably fake submissions in the past.

Mobile analytics firm Flurry yesterday reported that it has detected in its usage data what it believes is evidence of approximately 50 tablet devices in testing at Apple's campus in Cupertino, California. According to the report, the devices are running an as-yet-unreleased iPhone OS 3.2 and have sampled approximately 200 traditional iPhone applications from the App Store.

Using Flurry Analytics, the company identified approximately 50 devices that match the characteristics of Apple's rumored tablet device. Because Flurry could reliably "place" these devices geographically on Apple's Cupertino campus, we have a fair level of confidence that we are observing a group of pre-release tablets in testing. Testing of this device increased dramatically in January, with observed signs of life as early as October of last year. Apple appears to be going through its cycle of testing and polish, which is expected from any hardware or software company as it nears launch.

The mix of applications being tested on the devices appears to be weighted in favor games and other media and entertainment applications rather than more work-oriented productivity applications.

There has been some question as to how Flurry knows that the new device is the tablet, with speculation suggesting that it could simply be iPhones running iPhone OS 3.2 in testing. Evidence dating as far back as November has pointed to the testing of next-generation iPhone hardware, as well as possible testing of iPhone OS 4.0.

Addressing those questions, Flurry vice-president Peter Farago noted in the comments section of the company's report that it has seen evidence of iPhone hardware running iPhone OS 4.0, and those devices identify themselves as iPhones and leave Apple's campus. The devices presumed to be the tablet do not identify themselves and have not been seen anywhere except on Apple's campus. Farago also hints at usage data patterns it is unable to publicly share as further evidence of the tablet being in use. Still, questions remain about the validity of the data and the interpretation of it.

Update: Apple has posted video of the event, available in three different sizes/bandwidths:

- Low
- Medium
- High

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On January 27th, Apple will be hosting a media event detailing their latest "creation". News sites across the web will cover every announcement in detail, while Apple's site will be updated with any new products announced.

Some readers prefer watching the keynote themselves without knowing the outcome. Unfortunately, there is no live video feed for the keynote. Instead, Apple will likely post a recorded QuickTime stream a few hours after the keynote ends.

For those individuals, we've posted this news story, which will be updated with the link to the presentation once it becomes available from Apple. No other news stories or announcements will be displayed alongside this story.

Bookmark this link

You can also subscribe to our notification list which will send out an email when the keynote is posted online. The mailing list will only be used for notifications for these spoiler free announcements and you may unsubscribe at any time.

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Apple can take several hours to post the feed. The mailing list can also take up to a couple of hours to send out all the emails. Be patient. Or keep checking this page.

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Update: Apple has posted video of the event, available in three different sizes/bandwidths:

- Low
- Medium
- High

Zirana.com published a weekly crime summary of Cupertino, CA for late December which reveals that a prototype Apple laptop was stolen from Apple campus:

Trade Secret Theft/Possession of Stolen Property - Infinite Loop
Between 1/1 and 12/18, unknown suspect(s) took a prototype laptop worth about $100,000 from Apple Computers on Infinite Loop using an unknown method. The suspect(s) sold it to another suspect. Deputies recovered the laptop from the second suspect and he was released pending further investigation.

The laptop is said to be worth about $100,000 but has since been recovered according to the brief report. Zirana is a startup company which provides local news and information for various cities including Cupertino. The source and validity of the report, however, is unclear as the site encourages user generated submissions to the site.

BumpTop, the popular physics-based 3D desktop environment for Windows, has now been made available for Mac OS X 10.5 and later, offering users new features for organizing their desktops. BumpTop offers users multiple surfaces on which to store files, allowing users to alter the sizes of individual items and take advantage of several organizational features such as piles.


BumpTop for Mac is available in two versions: a free version offering most of the application's features, and a $29 pro version that adds multi-touch functionality, unlimited numbers of sticky notes, find-as-you-type filename searching, and the ability to easily flip through piles of documents.