MacRumors

A few times a year, MacRumors partners with one of the Mac App Bundle organizers to promote their bundle deal. The latest bundle comes from MacLegion and delivers 10 Mac applications for $49.99 (a $548.80 value if all purchased separately).

- TechTool Pro ($99.99) - Hardware diagnostics, maintenance and hard drive repair
- Freeway Pro ($229.00) - Web design software
- djay ($19.99) - DJ app for Mac allowing you to mix your iTunes library
- Capo ($49.99) - Learn to play the music in your iTunes library (Apple Design Award Winner)
- Fantastical ($19.99) - Calendar application with natural language processing
- RipIt ($24.95) - Rip DVD movies
- iRip ($19.95) - Transfer songs from your iPod or iPhone to your Mac
- Beamer ($15.00) - AirPlay any movie format (AVI, MKV, MKV, MOV, etc...) to your Apple TV
- Copy Paste Pro ($30.00) - Clipboard enhancement
- Code Collector Pro ($19.99) - Organize and share code snippets

All apps together are being sold for $49.99 until December 9th. MacRumors is a promotional partner with MacLegion. Bundle sales through these links benefit MacRumors financially, and provide a way for readers to directly support this site.

The first 5000 customers also get Alarm Clock Pro ($19.95 value) for free.

On Friday, Apple sent out emails to customers that the company will be discontinuing the Messages Beta program for Lion on December 14th, 2012:

Dear [User],

The Messages Beta program for Lion will end on Friday, December 14, 2012. We hope you've enjoyed the opportunity to preview Messages.

If you'd like to continue using Messages, upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion from the Mac App Store. Messages is one of many great new apps and features built right into OS X Mountain Lion. Learn More.

Thank you for your participation in the Messages Beta program.

The email indicates that in order to continue to use Messages, users must upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion. OS X Mountain Lion is available for $19.99 on the Mac App Store [Direct Link].

Messages is Apple's iMessage client for the Mac, and replaces iChat in OS X Mountain Lion. Apple had originally launched it as a beta program for existing Lion users while Mountain Lion was being completed.

It has been long known that Apple planned on discontinuing the Lion beta, but Apple is only now given customers a timetable. While Apple suggests that customers can upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion to continue using Messages, some customers' computers may be too old to support the latest OS X release.

Apple has acknowledged on their iCloud status page that iCloud iMessage and FaceTime services are offline for some users.

Reports first started rolling in around 3pm Pacific on our forums with some users still reporting problems.

Update: Apple says iMessages and FaceTime is working again.

Bloomberg reports that a new court filing in the ongoing patent dispute between Apple and Google's Motorola Mobility unit reveals that both sides are interested in using binding arbitration in order to resolve the issues related to standards-essential patents at a minimum, if not the entire dispute.

The companies have been exchanging proposals on using binding arbitration to reach a licensing agreement over patents that are essential to comply with industry standards on how phones operate. Such an agreement could lead to a global settlement of all of their patent disputes, Apple said in a filing yesterday.

“Apple is also interested in resolving its dispute with Motorola completely and agrees that arbitration may be the best vehicle to resolve the parties’ dispute,” Apple said in the filing.

Arbitration would avoid the need for a further protraction of the ongoing court cases, moving the dispute out of the courts and into the hands of a neutral third third party who would review evidence and render a decision that both parties would be legally obligated to accept.

The willingness to engage in arbitration is another sign that the mobile companies involved in a vast web of lawsuits may be seeking to wind down their confrontations, with Apple and HTC having announced a settlement in their dispute over the weekend. Apple's major foe is, however, still Samsung and it appears that there may be no settlement in sight for that dispute.

Following up on yesterday's report suggesting that a launch of a new Apple television product may be "imminent" based on cable operators assessing infrastructure needs to support such a device, AllThingsD notes that Apple is indeed talking with cable operators but that characterizing any launch as "imminent" would be premature.

For starters, Apple has already steered analysts away from the notion that it will have something to say about a TV solution soon. More important: If Apple were close to launching a new service, it would almost certainly be in touch with TV programmers about new arrangements, and we haven’t heard anything along those lines.

In other words, there are still a lot of missing pieces here, and while a major cable provider running what-if scenarios on a rumored Apple product is certainly interesting, it’s not necessarily a trumpet fanfare announcing its imminent arrival.

Apple continues to refer to its existing Apple TV set-top box business as a "hobby", even as sales doubled year-over-year to 5 million units in fiscal 2012. More ambitious plans for either a new set-top box supporting live television or an Internet-connected television set are reportedly being slowed by difficult content negotiations.

Following yesterday's delivery of some early pre-orders of the LTE versions of the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad to U.S. customers, Apple's three major U.S. carrier partners AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint have all announced that they are beginning sales of the devices today.

Apple has not made any official announcement about availability of the LTE models, and users in our forums are so far reporting scant availability of the devices, particularly the iPad mini, at the company's own retail stores. We did hear from one reader who was able to purchase an LTE fourth-generation iPad at an Apple store late yesterday, but many others are not having luck so far.

Most of Apple's retail stores do not open until 10:00 AM, but some readers have received reports from employees already on-site indicating that availability is very limited, and one reader reports that the company's 24-hour flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan does not have any LTE iPad mini models at the moment.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is continuing to make progress on a standalone mapping application for iOS, working toward submitting the app for inclusion in the App Store after Apple switched from Google to its own in-house Maps app in iOS 6.

Google has distributed a test version of its new mapping app that will work on Apple's iPhones and iPads to some individuals outside the company, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Google has been putting the finishing touches on the app before submitting it for approval to the Apple iTunes store, this person said, though it is unclear exactly when that will happen.

Unlike Google's Maps app that was included with iOS 5 and earlier, the upcoming version will indeed include free turn-by-turn navigation as has been available on Google Maps for Android and which Apple provides in its Maps app.

The report also notes that Apple is continuing to work hard on improving its Maps app, with Eddy Cue taking a very hands-on approach with regular team meetings since he took charge of Maps and Siri late last month.

Google's Maps app for iOS has been spotted in alpha testing, but some Google employees are reportedly pessimistic about its chances for acceptance in the App Store. But given the plethora of existing mapping apps and Apple's promotion of the web version of Google Maps as alternative to Apple's maps while it works to improve its own service, there may be little reason for Apple to reject Google's submission.

Barron's reports on a new research note from Jefferies & Co. analyst James Kisner noting that he believes the launch of an unspecified Apple television product (presumably either a new set-top box or a connected television) is "imminent". Kisner's belief comes from information he has received indicating that at least one major U.S. cable company is assessing the potential impact on its network infrastructure from such a device.

Our discussions with industry contacts suggest that at least one major N. American MSO is working to estimate how much additional capacity may be needed for a new Apple device on their broadband data network. We believe this potentially suggests an imminent launch of the Apple TV, a positive development for ARRIS, who is directly exposed to data traffic growth from incremental IP video streams on cable networks

Kisner's research note is actually addressing the impact on ARRIS, a major communications technology that handles much of the network infrastructure for U.S. cable companies, most notably Comcast. Kisner believes that a forthcoming Apple television product would bode well for ARRIS, as it would force cable companies to increase their network capacity to handle such demands as on-demand HD streams from users of the new Apple product.

Rumors of an Apple television set peaked approximately a year ago with Steve Jobs having briefly addressed the topic for Walter Isaacson's authorized biography published shortly after Jobs' death. At the time, follow-up rumors suggested that the set could be announced in late 2012 ahead of an early 2013 launch, but talk of such a product has quieted down in recent months amid reports of difficult content negotiations.

Aaron Sorkin, screenwriter of the movie based on Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs biography, has shared some details behind the structure of the upcoming film.

Speaking from The Daily Beast's Hero Summit, Sorkin disclosed that the entire movie "is going to be 3 scenes, and take place in real-time." Further, each of the three 30-minute scenes will take place backstage before a major product launch.

Sorkin has previously noted that biography screenwriters frequently have difficulty overcoming a "cradle-to-grave structure".

"Drama is tension versus obstacle. Someone wants something, something is standing in their way of getting it. They want the money, they want the girl, they want to get to Philadelphia - doesn't matter ... And I need to find that event and I will. I just don't know what it is," Sorkin said.

With the movie laid out in this real-time format, Sorkin seems to have written a rather unique film. It seems likely that the three major product releases that Sorkin is referring to will be the original Macintosh in 1984, the iMac in 1998, and the iPhone in 2007.

Update: According to Baba Shetty, the CEO of Newsweek, Sorkin mentioned the launches of the original Mac, the NeXT cube, and the iPod.

Update 2: The Daily Beast has posted the video of Sorkin's interview, with the Steve Jobs segment beginning around 22:30 and continuing through the end.

Harman today announced the launch of the first two Lightning-compatible speaker docks under its JBL brand, offering owners of Apple's latest iOS devices direct support for the new connector standard for the first time.

The two speaker docks include the OnBeat Micro ($99.95) for the iPhone 5 and other small devices, and the larger OnBeat Venue Lightning ($199.95) supporting the full line of Lightning devices including iPad, iPad mini, iPhone 5, iPod touch, and iPod nano.

Engadget has a brief review of the new speaker docks:

Based on a quick listening session, we can report that the Venue LT sounded very full and clear. Even with the optional bass- or vocal-boosts enabled, it didn't seem like the speakers were having trouble pushing out a high level of volume. The Micro on the other hand sounded decidedly tinny, which we're frankly not surprised about given the size. Both systems are compatible with JBL's MusicFlow app as well, giving you some extended options for tweaking the EQ.

Engadget also noted a couple of issues with the Lightning connector itself on the docks, including the observation that the docks will not work with many common iPhone cases and that flexibility in the connector on the docks feels somewhat wobbly, allowing flexibility while docking to lessen the risk of breakage but leading to concerns about stability.

JBL was one of the vendors highlighted by Apple during the Lightning connector's introduction in mid-September as having received advance access to the standard. Other vendors included Bose, B&W, and B&O, which should all be announcing their own speaker products shortly.

In line with tracking information, a number of U.S. customers who pre-ordered LTE models of the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad have either already received their shipments this morning or are seeing their packages out for delivery.

Our forums are beginning to fill with reports of iPad minis being delivered, while we're also starting to see reports of fourth-generation iPads arriving.

Apple has yet to announce when it will begin selling the LTE iPad mini and iPad models in stores, although stocks of at least the full-size iPad models have reportedly arrived at the company's stores and we had previously heard that AT&T was planning to begin selling the devices this Friday, November 16.

Apple may not begin shipping the new iMac until early 2013, according to the French site MacBidouille [Google Translate]. When the new lighter, thinner iMac was introduced three weeks ago, Apple said the 21.5" model would ship by the end of November, with the 27" model shipping by year-end.

The new iMac uses some advanced welding techniques as well as a new manufacturing process for the LCD screen that was rumored to delay the introduction of the iMac. Apple has run into difficulties ramping up production on its more recent product launches as the company pushes the envelope on what is physically possible.

During Apple's most recent earnings call, Tim Cook talked briefly about the constraints the company faces during the all-important holiday quarter:

In terms of general shortages on the iMac, we’ll be constrained for the full quarter in a significant way, part of that is that we’re beginning shipping the 21.5-inch iMac in November and the 27-inch in December. And so there will be a short amount of time during the quarter to manufacture and ramp those and I expect the demand to be robust. So we will have a significant shortage there.