MacRumors.com

Boy Genius Report posts a brief tidbit noting that it has heard from two separate sources that AT&T (and thus Apple) is considering launching a $99 iPhone 3GS in time for Christmas.

We've heard now from two sources that AT&T, and we guess Apple, are contemplating launching an 8GB iPhone 3GS at the $99 price point before Christmas. One source said this was AT&T's way of combating the DROID madness.

No further details, such as whether Apple would simply replace the 8 GB iPhone 3G currently offered at that price point or retain the iPhone 3G model at an even lower price point, are provided.

Since the introduction of the iPhone 3GS earlier this year, Apple has continued to offer the older 8 GB iPhone 3G hardware in order to be able to position a product at the psychologically important low-end price point of $99.

Apple today released WaveBurner 1.6.1 Update, providing several enhancements to the professional production utility for mastering and authoring audio CDs available as part the company's Logic Studio suite.

This update improves stability and provides numerous fixes.

Issues addressed include:

- Mastering notes are now properly saved to disk

- Waveform display in the Mix Lane renders more consistently

A full list of changes is available in the WaveBurner 1.6.1 release notes. The update weighs in at 88.48 MB and requires OS X 10.5.7 or later.

Silicon Alley Insider issued a brief report yesterday sharing secondhand information of an Apple engineer's increased trips to Asia of late and apparent additional upcoming trips during the usually-slow holiday season.

Indeed, a source tells us a system integration engineer friend of his at Apple has been ramping up his travels back and forth between China lately, broadcasting word of his travels over the Internet.

There's even a few weeks scheduled during the Christmas holiday season.

Recent signs have continued to point to a first quarter 2010 launch for Apple's much-rumored tablet, and speculation regarding increased trips to Asia of course centers on the finalization of that device as a possible cause.

Apple today released Bluetooth Update 1.0 for Windows, bringing improved Bluetooth support to Windows XP and Vista running under Apple's Boot Camp. The update, which weighs in at 6.27 MB, applies only to Apple's new 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMac models.

This update improves the performance of the Apple Bluetooth devices when running Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Vista on a Mac computer using Boot Camp.

For more information about this update, please visit this website:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3934

VMware today announced that it has begun shipping VMware Fusion 3, the next generation of its virtualization software that allows users to run Windows applications alongside Mac OS X applications. The new software, announced earlier this month, is optimized for Snow Leopard, offers full support for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7, and includes a built-in Migration Assistant for Windows tool to assist users new to Mac.

VMware, Inc., the global leader in virtualization solutions from the desktop through the datacenter and to the cloud, today announced that VMware Fusion 3 is now available. With more than 50 new features, VMware Fusion 3 makes it easier than ever to run Windows applications with Mac simplicity.

With the new built-in Migration Assistant for Windows, VMware Fusion 3 is more than two times faster than other "Switch to Mac" solutions. Users can move their entire PCs - including applications, files documents, and settings - to their Macs with a simple Ethernet cable, a FireWire cable, or even wirelessly.

VMware Fusion 3 is available for immediate electronic download for $79.99, with upgrade pricing of $39.99 available to current VMware Fusion users.

Chinese parts supplier China Ontrade has posted what it claims to be a SIM card tray from the fourth-generation iPhone, although the site suggests that the device may actually be Apple's much-rumored "iTablet". According to the product description, the part came directly from Foxconn, Apple's frequent manufacturing partner that has reportedly been tabbed to build the tablet.

Original Apple iTablet iPhone 4 Generation (Probably iTablet) SIM Tray OEM This part came from Foxconn to our warehouse at 10.23.2009.

China Ontrade notably posted a claimed third-generation iPhone bezel, which actually turned out to apparently be from the Creative Zii Egg. Consequently, we remain skeptical of this source, but post the new information on Page 2 for discussion.

Apple today released a pair of software updates targeting Final Cut Studio and Snow Leopard Server users.

Pro Applications Update 2009-001 (243.23 MB) offers an update to a number of components of Final Cut Studio.

Pro Applications Update 2009-01 is a revision to Final Cut Studio (2009).

This update includes Final Cut Pro 7.0.1, Motion 4.0.1, Soundtrack Pro 3.0.1, Color 1.5.1, and Compressor 3.5.1.

The software addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and addresses a number of other minor issues.

Full details of the changes included in the update available in the respective release notes for the applications:

- Final Cut Pro 7.0.1
- Motion 4.0.1
- Soundtrack Pro 3.0.1
- Color 1.5.1
- Compressor 3.5.1
- Qmaster 3.5.1

The update requires OS X 10.5.8 or later and QuickTime 7.6.2 or later.

Apple Server Diagnostics 3X106 (20.20 MB) offers tools for testing server hardware issues on several Xserve models and the Early 2009 Mac mini.

Apple Server Diagnostics tests your server for hardware issues. Apple Server Diagnostics version 3X106 is compatible with Snow Leopard server on the Xserve (Early 2009), Xserve (Early 2008), and Mac mini (Early 2009).

Apple Server Diagnostics (AXD) runs a customizable set of tests to help you diagnose issues with server components including:

- Boot ROM
- Ethernet controller
- Fan
- Hard drive
- Memory
- Power supply
- Processor
- Sensor
- USB ports
- Video controller

You can run AXD in Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI), which is referred to as AXD EFI tools, or in Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server.

The update requires Mac OS X Server 10.6.

Several weeks ago, we noted "unboxing" photos of an Apple job offer showing off the sleek and modern look expected of all Apple products.

Earlier this week, we received a new set of photos showing the unboxing of an Apple employee T-shirt. The T-shirts were reportedly given as gifts to Apple call center technical support staff and their packaging and presentation again demonstrate the Apple design aesthetic, including an apparently embossed gift note and the company's obligatory Apple stickers.

Adobe today announced that it has released a beta version of Photoshop Lightroom 3 for Mac and Windows, the company's software for digital photo management and post-production that competes against Apple's Aperture.

Available as a free download on Adobe Labs, Lightroom 3 beta delivers a preview of new tools that will be in Lightroom 3, including more intuitive importing, unparalleled noise reduction and sharpening tools, enhanced slideshow capabilities and direct publishing to online photo sharing sites like Flickr®. Adobe encourages photographers to test this early selection of new features and provide the product team with their feedback.

Lightroom project manager Tom Hogarty provides further detail on the new beta in a blog entry announcing the release.

For this latest release we went back to the drawing board and revisited what we believe are the fundamental priorities of our customers: Performance and Image Quality. Lightroom has been stripped down to the "engine block" in order to rebuild a performance architecture that meets the needs of photographers with growing image collections and increasing megapixels. The raw processing engine has also received an overhaul right down to the fundamental demosaic algorithms that now allows unprecedented sharpening and noise reduction results.

Hogarty notes that Adobe is not finished adding and refining features for Lightroom 3, but is engaging users at an early stage in order to ensure that the finished product reflects the needs of its customers.

Apple today released Performance Update 1.0, addressing hard drive pauses affecting a "small number of customers" on a number of different Mac models. The update is available in Snow Leopard (300 KB) and Leopard (322 KB) versions.

This update addresses intermittent hard drive-related stalls reported by a small number of customers. For detailed information on this update, please visit this website.

The support document outlines the procedure for applying the update and notes that it applies to the following machines:

- MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2009)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2009)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2.53GHz, Mid 2009)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2009)
- MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)

- MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2009)
- MacBook (13-inch, Early 2009)
- MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008)

- MacBook Air (Mid 2009)
- MacBook Air (Late 2008)

- iMac (20-inch, Mid 2009)
- iMac (24-inch, Early 2009)
- iMac (20-inch, Early 2009)

- Mac mini (Early 2009)

Apple today released Logic Pro 9.0.2, addressing several bugs and enhancing overall stability on Apple's professional audio editing application.

This update improves overall stability and provides numerous fixes and enhancements. Issues addressed include:

- Flex Markers can align & snap to MIDI notes
- Performing a punch-in recording with Replace Mode now behaves correctly
- The I/O plug-in adds an option for latency measurement
- TDM plug-ins now behave as expected. (Only affects users with Pro Tools HD audio hardware.)

The update weighs in at 183 MB and requires Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later.

Microsoft today announced that it will extend Mainstream Support for Office 2004 for Mac through January 10th, 2012. The company had previously announced that support would end on October 13th, 2009, but in light of the significant number of users still using Office 2004 in order to take advantage of Visual Basic features missing in Office 2008, Microsoft has decided to extend support for Office 2004 well beyond Office 2010's launch planned for late 2010 that will bring back Visual Basic features to the company's Office suite on the Mac platform.

While most customers have upgraded to Office 2008 for Mac, some have remained on Office 2004 in order to take advantage of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), which is supported in Office 2004, but did not make it into Office 2008. Today I am happy to share that we have extended the Mainstream Support date for Office 2004, originally scheduled to end October 13, 2009, through January 10, 2012.

The date has been extended to 2012 specifically to ensure continuous cross-platform compatibility for Office 2004 customers reliant on VBA until support for VBA is released in the next version of Office for Mac.