Mozilla has transitioned to a rapid release cycle for Firefox, offering more full-featured releases more quickly than previously. Firefox 4 was released just this past March.
The company claims 1,000 improvements and enhancements are present in this version of Firefox, including support for "more modern Web technologies that make it easier for developers to build amazing Firefox Add-ons, Web applications and websites." See full release notes for more information.
DailyTech revives a long running rumor that Apple may be getting into the TV set business. (via 9to5mac) These rumors have been running for years with previous claims even specifying that Apple would release 42" and 50" Plasmas displays for sale in Apple Stores. Both Apple's Steve Jobs and Tim Cook have dismissed the possibility of an Apple TV set before. In 2010, Cook responded to questions about the Apple TV set top box at a Goldman Sachs Conference:
Q: Where do you see things going with the Apple TV? A: It's still a hobby, but our gut tells us there's something there. The go-to-market model is difficult, and we have no interest in being in the TV market. But we have continued to invest in the Apple TV and will keep doing so.
According to DailyTech, a "former Apple executive" has revealed that the company has entered into a partnership with an unnamed consumer electronics manufacturer to build Apple-branded television sets that will come with Apple TV and iTunes functionalities built directly into the television set.
According to source Apple plans to "blow Netflix and all those other guys away" by bundling Apple TV + iTunes inside physical television sets. According to the source Apple is teaming up with a major supplier (our guess would be Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (SEO:005930)), to provide the physical televisions, which will be rebranded as Apple television sets.
While the televisions would be manufactured by the partner company, they would be branded and marketed as Apple products. Apple is understood to be shooting for a fall release, although the debut may slip into early next year.
Apple's own Apple TV set top box has seen limited success since its launch with Apple describing the entire business as a "hobby". Selling an all-in-one solution could address one of the hurdles that Steve Jobs discussed when talking about Google's entry into the same market:
"Subsidized set-top boxes have squashed innovation because no one wants to pay for separate boxes...ask TiVo, Roku, us, Google in a few months. The set-top box needs to be torn up and redesigned to get people things they way they want them.
DailyTech hasn't been a recent source of Apple-related rumors, so it's hard to gauge their accuracy on the topic.
Following its release this morning, the first hands-on videos from Final Cut Pro X are beginning to trickle out. Here's a first look from Matt's Macintosh channel on YouTube as Matt explored the new Final Cut:
Civilian and military flight crews are increasing looking to the iPad to replace bulky maps and flight manuals, saving weight and ensuring that crews always have the most up to date materials.
In the past month, both American Airlines and Alaska Airlines have begun distributing iPads to their pilots to reduce the number of paper maps flight crews must to carry around and fly with. The switch saves paper, and thus fuel, by reducing the weight of pilots' flight bags which can weigh several dozen pounds.
iPads are also seeing action in war zones. DVIDS reports how Marine Corps aviators are using iPads in Afghanistan:
"iPads allow close-air support aircrew several advantages," said Maj. Marc Blankenbicker, the lead fire control officer for the Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron Harvest Hawk detachment at Camp Dwyer, Afghanistan. "First is the ability to carry 500 large charts, known as gridded reference graphics, on one electronic tablet."
Currently, a handful of 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) squadrons use Apple's iPad in Afghanistan. This includes crewmembers for AH-1W and UH-1Y light attack helicopter squadrons, AV-8B Harrier pilots and the crew of the Harvest Hawk equipped KC-130J.
Each of these aircraft provides close-air support for Marines, Afghan forces and other combined team ground troops in Nimroz and Helmand provinces. Marine aviators said the electronic tablet helps them quickly access maps and other data they can use to ensure precision strikes are targeted at enemy positions.
The U.S. Navy is using iPads as well. The image at the top of this article shows U.S. Navy Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Michael Tolbert uploading "geographical data onto tactical Apple iPad tablets to be used for combat operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson at sea April 19, 2011."
Apple has just posted a new support document noting that updating to Mac OS X 10.6.8 is "strongly recommended" for users running any of the new Final Cut Pro X applications released earlier today.
Updating to Mac OS X v10.6.8 or later is strongly recommended when using Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5, or Compressor 4.
Mac OS X 10.6.8 is of course not yet publicly available, although it has been in developer testing for some time, with Apple appearing to be winding down development as evidenced by a pair of developer seeds released just a few days apart last week.
While Mac OS X 10.6.8 isn't technically a requirement for Final Cut Pro X and users are successfully running it today under Mac OS X 10.6.7, the strength of Apple's wording in the support document suggests that the software update should be making an appearance very soon to get users of the company's professional-level video production software on firm footing.
In order to perform a "clean install" of Lion -- on a new hard drive or when restoring a machine to sell it, for example -- users will need to install Snow Leopard first, according to an email forwarded to MacRumors, purportedly from Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
We have inspected the raw header information included in the email and believe it to be genuine, but these emails must always be taken with a grain of salt.
On Jun 20, 2011, at 9:57 PM, xxxx wrote:
Steve,
I'm really exited about Lion, but I'm a bit anxious about the absence of any physical media in the event of a crash where I need to do a clean install. Will Lion still provide a way to make a bootable image in the event that I need to start from scratch?
And Steve's typically short response:
From: Steve Jobs Subject: Re: Lion clean install Date: June 21, 2011 7:55:05 AM PDT To: xxxx
You can clean install Snow Leopaard [sic] first.
Sent from my iPhone
If this is true, it seems likely Apple will continue to sell Snow Leopard for the foreseeable future for users upgrading from Leopard and to perform clean installs.
Apple still sells Leopard for users who wish to upgrade their pre-Intel PowerPC Macs. Leopard is $129 and only available through 800-MY-APPLE, not the Apple Online Store or the retail stores. The company could offer Snow Leopard in the same surreptitious manner.
Update: To clarify, the original question and Jobs' answer seem to be focused on a situation in which a user is presented with a bare hard drive such as after an upgrade or a replacement after drive failure. OS X Lion does create a separate recovery partition to enable clean installs from a working system, but in the event of a full drive failure and no available backup, Apple's officially-sanctioned reinstallation policy appears to involve first installing Mac OS X Snow Leopard. For machines that ship with Lion installed and thus do not have Snow Leopard to fall back on, Apple will presumably provide some other recovery solution, perhaps in the form of a USB key as is included with the MacBook Air.
Update 2: The website Emails from Steve Jobs yesterday posted a similar email from Steve addressing the same topic:
Dear Mr. Jobs,
I just wanted to know if there will be a way to install Lion on a new HDD/SSD without previously installing 10.6?
RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky today published a report sharing the results of a new survey of iPhone users, unsurprisingly revealing that 76% of surveyed users are planning to take advantage of Apple's free iCloud services. More significantly, the survey offers the first look at the popularity of iTunes Match, with 30% of respondents indicating that they are somewhat likely or very likely to utilize the $24.99/year service.
Extrapolating the survey results across Apple's iOS ecosystem, RBC notes that Apple could see 150 million users on its free iCloud services with 60 million of those also participating in iTunes Match, a figure that would see Apple pulling in an extra $1.5 billion per year in gross revenues. With Apple reportedly keeping 30% of iTunes Match revenue with the rest being passed on to music labels and publishers, Apple would see about $450 million in revenues from the program.
Those figures are likely on the optimistic side, however, as only 10% of surveyed iPhone users registered as "very likely" to sign up for iTunes Match, with the other 20% pegging their interest at a lower "somewhat likely" level. Approximately 15% offered no opinion on whether or not they would use the service.
The survey also finds that 73% of surveyed users are somewhat likely or very likely to use Apple's new iMessage service in iOS 5. Together, iCloud and iMessage are seen to "enhance loyalty and stickiness" for Apple's customers, potentially encouraging iPod touch users to stick with the iOS platform rather than defecting to Android or another platform when it comes time to purchase a smartphone.
RBC's data appears to come from a subset of approximately 450 iPhone users within a larger survey containing nearly 1,500 respondents.
With Apple having released Final Cut Pro X and associated Motion and Compressor versions today, more details are starting to come out.
We previously pointed to Macworld's "First Look" feature that outlines many of the new functionalities in Final Cut Pro X, and a full review from Macworld is set to be posted soon. Other users who were given early access to Final Cut Pro X have also been speaking out to fill in some of the blanks now that they can speak publicly about the release.
While Apple is offering Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5, and Compressor 4 through the Mac App Store, where they have quickly become the top grossing applications, the company has also pushed out some ancillary updates via Software Update for users who have already installed the core applications. Among the add-ons:
- Sound Effects: Over 1300 rights-free sound effects installed into the Audio Browser of Final Cut Pro X. - Audio Effect Presets: Additional preset effects for the Space Designer plug-in.
- Motion Templates: A variety of professionally-designed, customizable templates. - Motion Library Content: Animated vector graphics, backgrounds, template media, sample Motion projects, and royalty-free still images. - Motion Sample Media: Clips and images for use with Motion Help examples and tutorials.
This update adds the following video codecs for use by QuickTime-based applications:
- Apple Intermediate Codec - Apple ProRes - AVC-Intra - DVCPRO HD - HDV - XDCAM HD / EX / HD422 - MPEG IMX - Uncompressed 4:2:2
Apple has also released details on graphics card requirements for Final Cut Pro X, noting that at least 256 MB of VRAM on an OpenCL-capable graphics card or Intel HD Graphics 3000 or later integrated graphics package are required. The support document also lists a number of graphics cards and their corresponding machines that are not compatible with the release.
Finally, Apple has also published a database of cameras that are supported on Final Cut Pro X. In addition to a wide variety of still cameras and camcorders, the iPhone 3GS/4, iPad 2, and fourth-generation iPod touch are also supported.
BGR reports that it has received word from a reliable source indicating that the next-generation iPhone will indeed be a significant departure from the existing iPhone 4 form factor, bringing a "radical new case design" for the handset. According to the source, Apple may be preparing for an event in early or mid August to introduce the next iPhone, which would become available in the last week of August.
While Apple has indeed been giving some developers access to a device known as the iPhone 4S -- an iPhone 4 with upgraded internals -- BGR has independently confirmed that the next-generation iPhone will not merely be an upgraded iPhone 4 as had been previously rumored. We have been told by a reliable source to expect a radical new case design for the upcoming iPhone. We have not been given any additional details surrounding the design of the new iPhone case, though.
BGR's claims contradict a number of other reports that have claimed that Apple's next iPhone will appear nearly identical to the iPhone 4, with most improvements confined to the internals of the device. Several reports have also suggested that the new iPhone won't appear until the September-October timeframe, in line with the company's iPod-focused media event traditionally held around that time.
While BGR has demonstrated solid sourcing for Apple's iOS updates and offered some accurate information from Apple's retail store operations, the site has been less accurate with other recent claims. Recent misses include Back to School promo details and claimed MacBook Pro details.
Apple has officially announced announced that Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5 and Compressor 4 are available today on the Mac App Store.
"Final Cut Pro X is the biggest advance in Pro video editing since the original Final Cut Pro," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "We have shown it to many of the world's best Pro editors, and their jaws have dropped."
The newest version of Final Cut Pro offers features such as Magnetic Timeline that lets you edit on a flexible, trackless canvas; Content Auto-Analysis that categorizes your content upon import by shot type, media and people; and background rendering that allows you to work without interruption.
According to Apple's press release, Final Cut Pro X is available today for $299.99 from the Mac App Store. Motion 5 and Compressor 4 are also available today for $49.99 each from the Mac App Store.
Apple's new Final Cut Pro X has been re-designed from the ground up with a radically different approach -- one that acknowledges and uses device and camera data in a manner that has never before been attempted in the video editing environment.
Apple has quietly updated their Time Capsule with 2TB and 3TB models, as expected. Pricing of the new units isn't clear as Apple hasn't updated the retail site, though the splash page still indicates "Starting at $299". There seems to be no mention of any new features aside from the hard drive capacities
Apple has also slightly tweaked the promotional pages for the AirPort Extreme, suggesting that that device has also received a quiet update. But again, no details on spec changes have been revealed.
Update: Apple has now posted store pages for the updated 2 TB ($299) and 3 TB ($499) Time Capsules. The new models offer the same price points as before, but with the upgraded capacities.
Apple has also posted a new store page for the AirPort Extreme, although it is still unclear what improvements are included over the previous generation. Pricing remains at $179.
Digitimes claims that Taiwan-based PCB (printed circuit board) supplies have cut their quotes by 10% for the quarter based on a decrease of orders by Apple.
The Taiwan-based PCB companies, which are shipping products for iPads and iPhones, have seen disappointing orders for these devices in the second quarter, the sources said. Orders thus far for June show no signs of a rebound, the sources indicated.
These companies reportedly supply parts for iPads and iPhones and expect orders to pick up significantly due to the expected launch of the next generation iPhone ("iPhone 4S") in the 3rd calendar quarter.
The lower demand is presumably related to the iPhone 4 which was released last year. By all accounts, demand for the iPad 2 remains high with another report indicating that Apple is expecting continue sales growth in the 3rd quarter for the iPad.
Engadget points to a newly published FCC filing that confirms that Apple is about to launch a new AirPort Extreme imminently.
The FCC just trumped Cupertino's plan to sneak out an updated AirPort Extreme wireless base station with the outing of an Apple 3x3 802.11n access point, model A1408.
Apple typically times release of FCC documentation with the release date, so we expect new AirPort Extremes (and Time Capsules) today (Tuesday).
There are reported to be 3 new devices: 1 AirPort Extreme and 2 Time Capsules (2TB and 3TB).
Apple is about to launch upgraded AirPort Extremes and Time Capsules, according to 9to5mac who cites Mr. X as a source. The new part numbers are listed below and offer a higher storage capacity Time Capsule at 3TB.
• MD031LL/A – AIRPORT EXTREME 802.11N (5TH GEN)- USA • MD032LL/A – TIME CAPSULE 2TB (4TH GENERATION) – USA • MD033LL/A – TIME CAPSULE 3TB (4TH GENERATION) – USA
The prices of all parts are said to drop in price, though the exact price hasn't been specified. Given the last minute part numbers, we expect the new devices could launch as early as Tuesday morning.
What's particularly interesting is that the 3TB part was predicted by MICGadget in their report late yesterday.
What’s more, the 1TB model may go extinct, and the new Time Capsule will be available in 2TB plus storage, and according to our trusted source, 3TB is tested, but not sure if Apple got it to work.
They also predicted a new design with better heat dissipation, better signal strength and software update caching.
Apple did indeed test out a black powder-coated MacBook Air, but the treatment absorbed body oils and didn't live up to Steve's standards, according to an anonymous Apple employee.
This employee got in touch after we wrote about emails we'd received claiming that the next-generation MacBook Air would have a black option.
The email:
The rumors that the next iteration of the MBA's will have an optional black finish is grounded in truth.
We tried to powder coat the Air's (and Pro's for that matter) in black as a test run. There are more than a few floating around campus.
The coating looks good and holds up well, but it also soaks up body oils, making the palm rest look pretty gross. Ultimately that is the reason that the top brass (Jobs) killed the idea... it was just too easy to make the computer look like crap.
At some point we may offer a black coating, but it won't be powder coat, and it won't be anytime soon.
The sender doesn't have an existing track record, but after chatting with him, we suspect his story checks out.
AT&T dropped its unlimited data plans last June, just before the iPhone 4 was released, but allowed current unlimited plan subscribers to keep their plans as long as they didn't make any changes. Most notably, unlimited data users can't sign up for a tethering plan to create a portable wi-fi hotspot.
CNet reports that Intel has added new MacBook Air-class processors to their price list yesterday.
The processors, which appeared Sunday on Intel's updated processor price list, are faster than current power-efficient Sandy Bridge chips used in skinny laptops such as the Samsung Series 9.
Apple is expected to use this type of Intel chip in its upcoming MacBook Air refresh. The Air, to date, has used older-generation Intel Core 2 Duo chips.
We previously covered the rumors about these new processors which could be used in Apple's upcoming MacBook Air. The specs for the new chips are listed here:
Over the weekend, we heard rumors that Apple will be delivering new Mac minis and Mac Pros in the late July/early August timeframe. Now, MICGadget claims to have new information about these upcoming desktop refreshes and Time Capsule/Airport devices. Much of the information we've seen before, but they do offer some interesting additional notes of interest.
As expected, the new Mac mini will be receiving Thunderbolt and Sandy Bridge processors. As a side effect of this upgrade, the new Mac minis will end up using Intel's HD integrated graphics rather than an NVIDIA solution. This should be no surprise as Apple has made this same compromise in their low-end MacBook Pros using the recent Sandy Bridge processors.
Current Mac Pro design
As for the Mac Pro, MICGadget is also claiming that the new MacPro will be come in a "rack-mountable" design in their new server version to help replace the Xserve. We've heard this before as well, but they are also claiming that Apple will be using a "unique CPU" developed for the Mac and not seen in the PC.
Sandy Bridge and Thunderbolt are coming to the new Mac Pro, and at the same time, an unique CPU will be developed for Mac. This unique CPU is not seen in PC.
Early MacRumors commenters in the Mac Pro/Mac mini rumor discussion pointed out that Mac Pro-suitable Sandy Bridge processors aren't known to be available in time for the late July/early August timeframe. The use of a custom CPU would explain away this discrepancy. Apple and Intel have a close relationship and are Intel has been known to supply Apple with custom CPU parts in the past. The original MacBook Air also used a custom part that was available only to Apple for a period of time.
As for the Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme, MICGadget claims that the devices are newly designed with better heat dissipation than previous models. They claim that the new TimeCapsule has a lower TDP and low power consumption hard drive using Apple firmware, while the AirPort Extreme has improved signal strength with six antennas built in. Finally, they echo previous claims that the Time Capsule will serve as a caching system for software updates in Lion and iOS 5.
MICGadget has not previously published many original rumors, so their reliability is unknown. The custom Mac Pro CPU, however, rumor fits in nicely with the previous Mac Pro and Mac Mini release timeframe.
Apple has just posted a new 
In order to perform a "clean install" of Lion -- on a new hard drive or when restoring a machine to sell it, for example -- users will need to install Snow Leopard first, according to an email forwarded to MacRumors, purportedly from Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
Verizon will be dropping its unlimited data option, and transitioning to tiered data plans next month, a Verizon spokeswoman 
