MacRumors

Applesfera reports on the discovery of support files for unreleased MacBook Pros in the latest Mac OS X 10.6.2 developer builds. The 10C531 build was first seeded to developers just a few days ago, and appears to include references to MacBook Pro 6,1 and MacBook Pro 6,2 models that have not yet been released.

Meanwhile, the latest shipping MacBook Pros carry a 5,x model number designation. The MacBook Pros were last updated in June 2009 and have not been rumored to see any imminent updates. Previous reports, however, have suggested that suitable Nehalem (Core i7) based processors could be feasible for MacBook Pros by late 2009/early 2010.

Most expect that Apple's next major notebook update will include these next-generation processors that have already found their way into the Mac Pro and iMac product lines. Traditionally, the MacBook Pro and iMac lines have been very closely linked in capabilities due to their similarly slim designs.

A notice posted today on Apple's ZFS open source project page indicates that the project has been terminated.

The ZFS project has been discontinued. The mailing list and repository will also be removed shortly.

ZFS is an advanced file system developed by Sun that had been ported to Mac OS X and released as an open source project on Apple's Mac OS Forge collaboration site in 2007. ZFS had been rumored to become the default file system for Mac OS X Leopard, but ultimately appeared with only limited read-only capabilities.

Apple's continued interest in ZFS was indicated by inclusion of the technology in its early product description pages for Snow Leopard Server, although the information was subsequently removed from Apple's site and support for ZFS was not included in either Snow Leopard or Snow Leopard Server upon release.

Several sources later indicated that the lack of ZFS support in Snow Leopard was due to licensing issues with Sun, leaving the future of ZFS uncertain, although Sun's pending acquisition by Oracle left open the possibility that the issue could be revisited in the future.

The apparent cessation of Apple's support for the ZFS open source project, however, suggests that the company may have given up hope of achieving satisfactory licensing terms for the technology and redirected its resources elsewhere.

Apple yesterday also posted a new job listing for a file system engineer. While the description includes duties related to "maintenance of existing file systems", it also specifies work in the "design, implementation and support of future file system technologies", suggesting that the company may be expanding its in-house team to develop its own file system technologies rather than pursuing ZFS.

Amazon yesterday announced the launch of "Kindle for PC", a free Windows application that will allow users to read e-Books purchased from the company's Kindle Store on their computers. While the news release made no mention of a Mac version of the application, Fast Company reports (via 9 to 5 Mac) that a Mac version is in fact under development.

An Amazon spokesperson told me late Thursday: "Yes, we are working on a Kindle app for Mac."

Amazon has worked to quickly broaden access to its Kindle Store content beyond the original Kindle hardware launched in late 2007. In addition to several new models released since that time, the company has pushed Kindle Store content to the iPhone with the release of a free iPhone application and an iPhone-optimized Kindle Store accessible through Safari. Earlier this month, Amazon also announced an international version of the Kindle hardware that allows global access to Kindle Store content.

Apple has reportedly been looking to pursue e-Book-like capabilities with its much-rumored tablet device, but is rumored to be taking things even further in an attempt to redefine print media by creating interactive experiences for users.

Earlier this week, Verizon began an advertising campaign for the forthcoming Motorola Droid, pitting the smartphone against Apple's iPhone. At the time, Boy Genius Report offered a brief report of its hands-on impressions of the device, calling it "the Android device to beat, and easily the most impressive."

Detailed specs on the Droid, however, were unavailable until product pages for the device apparently appeared prematurely on Motorola's site yesterday. According to the pages, the Droid offers the following notable features:

- 3.7-inch, 854 x 480 touch screen with a pixel density of 267 pixels per inch (ppi), compared to the 3.5-inch, 480 x 320 screen at 163 ppi on the iPhone 3GS.
- Overall device dimensions of 2.4 x 4.5 x 0.5 in, only marginally thicker than the iPhone's 2.4 x 4.5 x 0.48 in. The Droid weighs in at 6 ounces, slightly heftier than the iPhone 3GS at 4.8 ounces.
- 5-megapixel digital camera with image stabilization, autofocus, and dual LED flash, compared to the 3-megapixel autofocus camera found on the iPhone 3GS.
- WebKit-based browser compatible with HTML5 and with support for Flash 10 planned for 2010.
- 16 GB microSD card included, with support for up to 32 GB cards.

Boy Genius Report has also promised a full preview of the Droid for sometime today.

Update: Boy Genius Report has posted its Droid preview, which is full of details regarding the user experience. Overall, BGR is very impressed with the device.

The Motorola CLIQ was a pretty big disappointment for me personally, but oh man does the Droid make up for it. Sure, there's a little hype sprinkled in because this is the first Android 2.0 device I've had the pleasure of using, but once you move past the initial "wow" factor, the Droid really delivers.

BGR hesitates to pit the Droid directly against the iPhone, noting that the only true competitor for the iPhone is the next iPhone, but the Droid will certainly stand out in a growing smartphone segment with room for a number of significant players.

So will the Motorola Droid be successful? Absolutely, we think. It will eat in to BlackBerry sales, Windows Mobile sales, and positively murder any lingering Palm Pre sales. It's that good. Did you notice how Verizon still hasn't announced the BlackBerry Storm2?

We really enjoyed using the Motorola Droid and think you're going to love it. It's not as straight forward as an iPhone and a little more involved than a BlackBerry, but if you're up for the challenge, so is the Droid.

Following through on claims that Apple would launch new advertising targeting Windows 7, the company today posted three new "Get a Mac" commercials to its ad gallery and began airing them on television.

The first commercial, entitled Broken Promises, features PC announcing the availability of Windows 7, stating that it's "not gonna have any of the problems my last operating system had." The ad then progresses through a series of flashbacks of PC, wearing the fashion of the respective dates, making similar promises at the release of previous Windows versions.

The second ad, entitled Teeter Tottering, features a Windows XP user named Annie who is moving to a Mac for a "fresh start" with a computer line-up rated #1 in consumer satisfaction. As part of Annie's rationale for making the switch to Mac, she notes "I could stick with what I know, but what I know is pain and frustration."

The third commercial, entitled PC News, features PC as a news anchor speaking to an in-the-field reporter at the Windows 7 launch. The reporter interviews several excited customers who are switching to Mac, noting "If we have to move all of our stuff, why not move to the computer that's number one in customer satisfaction?"

Psystar today announced the release of Rebel EFI, a new software product that enables users to install any modern operating system, including Mac OS X Snow Leopard, on a wide variety of PCs.

Psystar Corporation will begin selling the software it uses to run OS X Snow Leopard on generic Intel hardware. Available for download directly from Psystar.com, the Rebel EFI suite allows users to easily install any OS on their computer. Available today, Rebel EFI allows machines with Intel Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, i7 or Xeon Nehalem CPUs to install any modern operating system, including Mac's newest release of OS X. Users would simply download the new software from Psystar.com, burn it onto a CD and follow the onscreen instructions to easily install the OS.

Available as a time-limited free trial to ensure compatibility, the full version of Rebel EFI is normally priced at $89.99 but is currently being offered at an introductory price of $49.99. Psystar is also launching an "approval program" that will allow users having difficulty setting up their systems with Psystar's products to send in their components to have them certified for compatibility.

Apple and Psystar have been embroiled in ongoing legal disputes stemming from Psystar's launch of its own-branded computers running Mac OS X, which Apple claims is in violation of the operating system license. Psystar has continued to expand its offerings since its initial hardware release 18 months ago, releasing several new hardware models and launching earlier this month a licensing program to allow third-party PC manufacturers to preinstall Psystar's boot loader on their systems for easy installation of Mac OS X.

Corresponding with today's launch of Windows 7, Microsoft opened the first of its new retail stores today in Scottsdale, Arizona. Reports that Microsoft has drawn heavily on Apple's retail store concepts appear to be accurate, with the store featuring wood floors and tables, a relatively sparse layout designed to accommodate large crowds, and an "Answer Bar" to provide support for Windows users.

A video of the grand opening reveals additional similarities to Apple's model, with Microsoft retail employees wearing t-shirts in various bold colors lining up and cheering as customers enter the store for the first time.

Microsoft has announced that it is targeting Apple's retail stores with its new venture, planning to open many of the new stores in close proximity to existing Apple stores. A second store is scheduled to open in Mission Viejo, California next week Thursday, with more locations in the works.

The company hired former Apple real estate chief George Blankenship as a consultant to assist with planning for its retail store initiative and has also attempted to poach Apple's own store employees in order to hit the ground running with experienced staff members already in place.

With the release of Windows 7 today, Apple has posted a new support article announcing that official support for running Windows 7 on Macs using Apple's Boot Camp solution will be coming later this year.

Apple will support Microsoft Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate) with Boot Camp in Mac OS X Snow Leopard before the end of the year. This support will require a software update to Boot Camp.

The document also notes that a number of early Intel-based Macintosh computers will not support Windows 7 running in Boot Camp.

Note: The following models will not be supported for use with Windows 7 using Boot Camp.

- iMac (17-inch, Early 2006)
- iMac (17-inch, Late 2006)
- iMac (20-inch, Early 2006)
- iMac (20-inch, Late 2006)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2006)
- MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2006)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2006)
- MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2006)
- Mac Pro (Mid 2006, Intel Xeon Dual-core 2.66GHz or 3GHz)

While Boot Camp currently officially supports only Windows XP and Vista, many users have had success installing and running Windows 7 already, but official support from Apple should streamline the process and provide consumers with resources to assist them with setup and use.

Many users also prefer to run Windows virtually rather than turning to the Boot Camp dual-boot solution. Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac already includes support for 32-bit Windows 7, and VMware Fusion 3, scheduled to launch next week, will offer full 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 support for virtualization under Mac OS X.

AT&T today released its earnings report for the third quarter of 2009, and among the highlights was the activation of 3.2 million iPhones, the highest quarterly total in history. The number tops the 2.4 million iPhones activated in the third quarter of 2008 after the release of the iPhone 3G.

Also of note, iPhones accounted for an astounding 74% of total AT&T postpaid activations of "integrated devices" offering either a physical or virtual keyboard in addition to voice capabilities during the quarter. Nearly 40% of iPhone activations were from customers new to AT&T, a figure consistent with previous quarterly performances.

- Strongest Integrated Device Quarter To Date. Postpaid 3G integrated wireless devices added to AT&T's network in the third quarter totaled 4.3 million, the largest quarterly increase in the company's history. Over the past year, the number of postpaid integrated devices on AT&T's network more than doubled, and at the end of the third quarter, 41.7 percent of AT&T's 63.4 million postpaid subscribers had integrated devices. The average ARPU for integrated devices on AT&T's network continues to be 1.8 times that of the company's nonintegrated-device base.

- Record iPhone Activations. AT&T's third-quarter integrated device growth included 3.2 million iPhone activations, also the company's largest quarterly total to date, with nearly 40 percent of the activations for customers who were new to AT&T.

Overall, AT&T experienced a net gain of two million wireless subscribers, the highest such third-quarter additions in company history, and also reduced customer churn levels to record lows.

Apple reported earlier this week as part of a stellar earnings announcement that it had sold a total of 7.4 million iPhones during the quarter.

Nokia today announced that it is filing a lawsuit against Apple claiming that the iPhone infringes on ten Nokia-held patents related to cellular and Wi-Fi technologies.

The ten patents in suit relate to technologies fundamental to making devices which are compatible with one or more of the GSM, UMTS (3G WCDMA) and wireless LAN standards. The patents cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption and are infringed by all Apple iPhone models shipped since the iPhone was introduced in 2007.

Nokia notes that it has entered into licensing agreements for the intellectual property with approximately 40 other companies, but Apple has refused to agree to "appropriate terms".

"The basic principle in the mobile industry is that those companies who contribute in technology development to establish standards create intellectual property, which others then need to compensate for," said Ilkka Rahnasto, Vice President, Legal & Intellectual Property at Nokia. "Apple is also expected to follow this principle. By refusing to agree appropriate terms for Nokia's intellectual property, Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia's innovation."

No further details regarding the exact patents in question or Nokia's desired outcome have been released.

Following on the heels of yesterday's dissection of the new MacBook, the remainder of Apple's major new products have now been subjected to similar analysis.

First, iFixit features the new 27" iMac. Among the discoveries in the teardown:

- Use of the 27" iMac as an external display via its MiniDisplayPort connector requires that the machine be fully powered up, as the signal is routed through the main logic board.
- The 27" iMac unsurprisingly carries the biggest power supply ever seen in an iMac, putting out 310 watts.
- The CPU and GPU are located on opposite sides of the machine and have separate massive heat sinks, allowing Apple to utilize desktop-class processors within the thin iMac's profile for the first time. In addition to the heat sinks, the iMac carries six temperature sensors and three large fans to aid in heat dissipation.
- The AirPort antenna is routed to directly behind the Apple logo on the rear of the machine, providing better Wi-Fi performance by placing the antenna next to the only plastic portion of the machine's back.

iFixit also dissected the new Magic Mouse that is included with the updated iMac models and can also be purchased separately. The teardown reveals the expected touch sensor capacitors under the top surface of the mouse from the Apple logo forward. The Magic Mouse also uses a keyboard-and-mouse-specific BCM2042 Bluetooth chip from Broadcom for communication.

Finally, macminicolo.net offers a comparative dissection of the new traditional and server Mac minis released earlier this week. The two versions are essentially identical with the exception of swapping in a second hard drive for the optical drive (and a corresponding modification to the exterior case to eliminate the optical drive slot) in the server model. The new models are also nearly identical to the previous-generation models with the exception of minor spec bumps.

In an unusual patent application filed in 2008, Apple explores the possibility of integrated ads into an operating system. The graphics provided even show how it might be integrated into Mac OS X (see above). In exchange for the ads, the user would receive some goods or service for free or discounted:

Among other disclosures, an operating system presents one or more advertisements to a user and disables one or more functions while the advertisement is being presented. At the end of the advertisement, the operating system again enables the function(s). The advertisement can be visual or audible. The presentation of the advertisement(s) can be made as part of an approach where the user obtains a good or service, such as the operating system, for free or at reduced cost.

In the late 90's, ad-suppprted products including getting free computers were offered to customers in exchange for viewing advertising, though the practice has since fallen out of favor. It's unclear if Apple had any real intentions for the concept, though Steve Jobs is listed as one of the inventors of the patent.

Of interest, Microsoft is reportedly working on an ad-supported version of Microsoft Office.