MacRumors

Apple today released a pair of firmware updates for 2007 and 2008 models of the MacBook and MacBook Pro, addressing an issue with the machines not charging properly when used with the new "L-shaped" MagSafe power adapters.

This firmware update addresses an issue with certain MacBook and MacBook Pro models from 2007-2008 that prevents them from charging with new power adapters.

According to a support document on the issue, the following models are affected:

- MacBook (13-inch Late 2007)
- MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2008)
- MacBook (13-inch, Early 2008)
- MacBook (13-inch, Late 2008)

Apple initially used the "L-shaped" MagSafe adapter for the MacBook Air, as its slimmer profile and cord orientation enabled the connector to fit the notebook's form factor without hindering its ability to rest on flat surfaces. With numerous complaints from customers regarding fraying and overheating issues with the original "straight-style" design used since MagSafe's introduction, Apple has now transitioned to the L-shaped MagSafe design for all of its notebook models and standalone adapters.

The New York Times reports that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and other executives recently held a secret meeting with Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen to discuss a number of topics, including how the two companies might work together to take on Apple in the mobile industry, as well as a possible acquisition of Adobe by Microsoft.

Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, recently showed up with a small entourage of deputies at Adobe's corporate offices in San Francisco to hold a secret meeting with Adobe's chief executive, Shantanu Narayen.

The meeting, which lasted over an hour, covered a number of topics, but one of the main thrusts of the discussion was Apple and its control of the mobile phone market and how the two companies could partner in the battle against Apple. A possible acquisition of Adobe by Microsoft were among the options.

One source indicates that representatives of the two companies discussed Apple's refusal to support the viewing of Flash content on its mobile devices and how a partnership between the companies might offer them additional leverage against Apple's gains in the sector.

A second source reveals that executives revisited the possibility of an acquisition of Adobe by Microsoft, a proposal that was briefly floated several years ago before being abandoned over fears that the merger would not pass muster under antitrust regulations. With the growth of Apple and Google, however, those concerns may be less now than they were at the time of the initial discussions.

Adobe's stock is currently up over 10% on the rumors of a Microsoft acquisition.

gdgt reports that Apple is currently investigating an issue with the way third-party "slide-on" cases for the iPhone 4 can interact with the iPhone 4's glass back, trapping dirt and other material between the two layers and causing scratching that can lead to cracking or shattering of the device's glass.

According to my sources both inside and outside Apple, after Antennagate the iPhone engineering team identified another potential design flaw that appears to have sent them into a quiet lockdown, and has them working behind the scenes in what's been described to me as something of a quiet panic to preempt any further tarnishing the iPhone brand. Apple has apparently found that non-bumper style cases -- specifically those that slide onto the iPhone 4, which are occasionally prone to particulate matter getting caught between the rear of the phone and the case -- can cause unexpected scratching that could quickly develop into full-on cracking or even much larger fracturing of the entire rear pane of glass.

According to the report, Apple has put together a lab and a team to conduct testing on the issue in order to determine how widespread it might be and how it could be mitigated.

The report also notes that Apple has until this week blocked sales of nearly all third-party cases from its retail stores, although it seems reasonable that Apple may simply have been limiting such sales while it was giving away free bumpers to customers as part of its efforts to address the antenna performance issue.

Last month Firaxis Games/2K Games launched Civilization V for Windows to strongly positive reviews.

In Civilization V, the player leads a civilization from prehistoric times into the future on a procedurally-generated map, achieving one of a number of different victory conditions through research, diplomacy, expansion, economic development, government and military conquest.

Civilization has been an incredibly popular game franchise that dates all the way back to 1991. As of 2008, the franchise has been said to have sold over 8 million copies.

We've received reliable word that Civilization V for the Mac is due very soon -- likely in the coming weeks. Up until now, Mac gamers have been left wondering if and when we'd be getting a version of Civilization V for ourselves. Civilization IV, for example, had made its way to the Mac platform but not for nearly a year after the original PC release. It seems the Mac is finally starting to achieve some improved parity with major gaming releases.

Mission Repair has posted a photo showing an iPad back-enclosure that has two dock connectors -- one on the landscape side and one on the portrait side.

Ask and you shall receive: Heres a shot of an iPad back case showing the dock connectors both on the bottom of the iPad (as were used to) and on the side of the iPad so you can dock it in landscape mode. Just as we hoped.

The current iPad model only has a dock connector on the portrait (narrow) side. Apple has had patents describing this configuration and early rumors that described this design for the original iPad.

Mission Repair believes this could represent the next iPad. However, we've heard that this design was for the original iPad and subsequently scrapped. We suspect this is an old hardware prototype for the original iPad, as the next iPad has been said to take on a thinner form factor.

Apple is scheduled to announce earnings results for its just-ended fourth fiscal quarter of 2010 on October 18th, and one of the big questions is just how many iPhones the company was able to sell during the three-month period. Apple's highest quarterly iPhone sales to-date came in the quarter ending in March of this year, with 8.8 million iPhones sold. The company's iPhone sales dipped slightly to 8.4 million in the June quarter as a successful iPhone 4 launch in the waning days of the quarter wasn't quite able to offset lagging sales over the majority of the quarter as customers held back in anticipation of the new version.

Fortune takes a look at what Wall Street analysts are thinking as far as iPhone sales for the September quarter, finding a broad range of estimates as supply shortages have led to some uncertainty over just how many iPhones Apple has been able to get out to its customers. Analysts are predicting, however, that Apple will see a record-setting quarter for iPhone sales, with estimates ranging from a low of 10 million to a high of over 13 million. The estimates represent anywhere from 35% to 80% year-over-year growth compared to the 7.4 million iPhones sold in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2009.

Of all its products, none is more important to Apple's bottom line than its smartphone, which generated $5.4 billion in fiscal Q3 -- 40% of the company's total revenue. The iPhone 4, launched three days before the end of that quarter, has been in short supply ever since, making it trickier than usual for analysts trying to estimate sales in advance of Apple's quarterly earnings report.

Averaging analysts' estimates to arrive at a consensus number for the quarter, Apple may be looking at approximately 11.8 million iPhones sold, an increase of 60% year-over-year.

Fortune conducted a similar analysis of iPad sales estimates earlier this week, placing consensus estimates at about 5 million for the quarter, on top of the 3.27 million iPads sold in the launch quarter earlier this year.

Forbes reports on a research note from Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White, who reveals that he has spoken with a component supplier for Apple's iPad who claims that Apple appears to be poised to ship 45 million iPads next year after moving in excess of 16 million units this year. The predictions exceed even the rosiest expectations published to date and come on top of a report earlier this week predicting the iPad to represent the fourth-largest consumer electronics category in the United States next year behind TVs, smartphones, and notebook computers.

The contact, says White, shipped more than 6 million parts to Apple during the third quarter of the year and expects to ship 7 million more in the fourth quarter.

Since Apple uses one unit of this particular component in each iPad, that adds up to shipments of 13 million iPads in the second half of 2010. For 2011, the contact believes Apple will sell as many as 45 million iPads, adds White.

The supplier's report of 13 million iPads for the second half of 2010 comes on top of Apple's announced sales of over 3 million iPads for the launch quarter earlier this year.

White follows on the recent theme of predicting a smaller iPad, but also offers additional details about the specs he believes will make an appearance in the smaller model.

As others have already speculated, White's contact says the second-generation iPad will be smaller, with a screen that measures about seven inches, compared to the first iPad's 9.7-inch screen. The new iPad will also include the high-resolution "Retina" display that the latest version of the iPhone (4) boasts, a micro or mini USB port, a camera and greater capacity of up to 128 gigabytes. The amount of storage in the current generation of iPads tops out at 64 gigabytes.

We believe these listed specs to be rather optimistic, however, given Apple's desire to keep iPad prices relatively low. In particular, a 7-inch high-resolution Retina display would appear to be a challenge for Apple, both in implementation and in pricing. High-resolution displays in dimensions approaching that size are just beginning to appear, but pricing for the new products is unknown and are likely to be rather high for a company that will almost certainly have to bring a 7-inch iPad in at a starting price under the $499 entry-level price for the current iPad.

Apple has once again started offering its iPhone 4 bumpers for sale in its online store following the end of the free case program, which expired September 30th. While the bumpers had quietly reappeared for sale in the company's retail stores as of October 1st, the online store continued to list the bumpers as "currently unavailable" until today.

All six bumper colors are currently available, priced at $29 and available for shipping within 24 hours.

After the initial reporting of the production of a Verizon-capable iPhone, The Wall Street Journal has updated their story with some clarification and new details. The original wording of the piece left open the possibility that Apple might be producing a CDMA iPhone 4 for a carrier other than Verizon. The WSJ has since clarified that Verizon is indeed the intended target for the phone.

Apple Inc. is making a version of its iPhone that Verizon Wireless will sell early next year, according to people familiar with the matter.

According to the updated article, Verizon has been meeting with Apple to add capacity and test its networks to prepare for the heavy wireless traffic from new iPhone users. The preparations are an attempt to avoid the public issues AT&T has had in coping with the iPhone's popularity. In particular, certain cities such as San Francisco and New York have had major issues sustaining voice and data calls for many AT&T iPhone customers.

While AT&T has been much maligned for their network issues and policies, Verizon may have its own demands for the iPhone. The WSJ reports that in earlier discussions, Verizon was unwilling to give up its ability to sell music and videos through its proprietary service. Verizon seems to have pursued this path on their Android phones by announcing that they are launching their own V CAST App store that would be separate from Android's official App Store. It's not clear if either Verizon or Apple caved on these demands to facilitate a Verizon iPhone launch. Finally, Verizon is also expected to introduce tiered data plans, following in AT&T's footsteps to remove unlimited data plans from their offerings.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is planning to begin mass production of a new Verizon-compatible iPhone 4 by the end of 2010. This would allow Verizon Wireless to begin selling the iPhone "early next year". The Wall Street Journal cites "people briefed by Apple" as the source of the information.

The new iPhone would be similar in design to the iPhone 4 currently sold by AT&T Inc. but would be based on an alternative wireless technology called CDMA used by Verizon, these people said. The phone, for which Qualcomm Inc. is providing a key chip, is expected to be released in the first quarter of next year, according to the same people.

Apple has long been rumored to be considering a Verizon iPhone, with previous rumors similarly claiming a December production run for the phone, although no definitive announcements have been made.

Separately, the newspaper also reports that Apple is developing a new iPhone model. This fifth-generation iPhone is said to have a different form factor than those currently available. They were unsure how soon this fifth-generation iPhone would become available on Verizon.

The patent wars in the technology industry are heating up again, with Motorola today announcing that it has filed suit against Apple over alleged infringement of a number of patents by a broad range of Apple products, including the iPhone, iPad, "iTouch" (presumably iPod touch), and certain Mac computers.

Overall, Motorola Mobility's three complaints include 18 patents, which relate to early-stage innovations developed by Motorola in key technology areas found on many of Apple's core products and associated services, including MobileMe and the App Store. The Motorola patents include wireless communication technologies, such as WCDMA (3G), GPRS, 802.11 and antenna design, and key smartphone technologies including wireless email, proximity sensing, software application management, location-based services and multi-device synchronization.

In addition to the multiple lawsuits, Motorola has also filed complaints with the U.S. International Trade Commission, seeking to prevent importation and sale of the infringing products.

The suit comes just five days after Motorola found itself on the receiving end of a lawsuit from Microsoft over alleged patent infringement with its Android-based smartphones.

AppleInsider reports that its daily tracking of Mac availability from a number of third-party resellers is showing signs of dwindling supplies of Apple's MacBook Air, suggesting that a refresh may be approaching in the relatively near future, perhaps as early as next week. According to the report, nearly every retailer has run out of stock of the low-end MacBook Air model, while several vendors are also showing no stock of the high-end model.

This marks the first time that AppleInsider has witnessed this abnormal trend in regards to the Air since it began tracking availability of Apple's Mac line on a daily basis over two years ago. Still, the drought didn't manifest over night. For weeks now, the websites of certain resellers have indicated that inventory of the low-end MacBook Air was on the verge of depletion, urging shoppers to "order soon," as only a handful of units remained in stock.

What's more, people familiar with the buy side of operations for big box retailers like Best Buy and Amazon.com say that Apple has indicted to them that it will not replenish supply of the notebooks until Oct. 12 through Oct. 16 at the earliest. Such expansive delays on low volume products like the MacBook Air are common only when Mac maker is preparing to overhaul the product line, these people say.

As noted in our Buyer's Guide, the MacBook Air is long overdue for an update, having last seen a refresh in June 2009. The extended interval since the most recent update has offered ample opportunity for speculation about updates, with the most recent rumors suggesting that Apple may be preparing an even smaller 11.6-inch MacBook Air for launch. An 11.6-inch "MacBook", which could be the new MacBook Air, has even been claimed to already be in production.

For the past several years, Apple has offered refreshes of at least part of its notebook lines in the October-November timeframe, suggesting that we may yet see something similar this year as Apple seeks to set its lineup for the holiday season.

Update: TUAW is now reporting that it has received information that Apple is pulling all stock of the MacBook Air SuperDrive accessory from its retail stores, possibly offering a further hint at changes to the MacBook Air.

Barron's reports on a new research note from JMP Research analyst Alex Gauna, who has used evidence that regular shipments of the new Apple TV to Apple's retail stores around the United States are selling out almost as soon as they arrive to estimate that the device is selling at a rate of at least one million units per quarter.

Gauna believes Apple TV is selling at a pace at least one quarter to one third that of the iPad, or at least 1 million units a quarter. He says the $99 price point "is resonating with consumers."

Gauna's report relies on checks with over 20 Apple retail stores around the country, with anecdotal evidence from other customers supporting that observation.

With the new Apple TV having been available for only a week and shipping estimates in Apple's U.S. online store currently at 1-2 weeks, it is difficult to gauge true demand for the device beyond the initial surge and Apple's efforts to ramp up production to meet that demand. One million units per quarter would, however, appear to be a relatively significant improvement over the original Apple TV based on analyst estimates of that model's performance over the last several years. Apple does not provide data on Apple TV unit sales in its quarterly earnings release, so firm estimates of the device's performance since its 2007 introduction are not available.

Apple today released a new television commercial for the iPhone 4, highlighting the device's high-resolution Retina display.

This is the highest resolution phone screen ever. So, every freckle, every wrinkle, every letter, every word, every tweet, tune, battle, and memory looks more beautiful than ever before.

The new ad, entitled "Every", is also featured in Apple's iPhone 4 TV ad gallery.

The new iPhone 4 commercial is the first to debut in the U.S. since an original batch of four commercials featuring FaceTime video calling was released in mid-July.

Businessweek reports on new data from research firm iSuppli estimating the component costs for the new Apple TV at under $64, representing a 35% margin on the new device before accounting for such expenses as research and development, software, patent royalties, marketing, and distribution.

According to the report, the most expensive component in the new Apple TV is the A4 system-on-a-chip that powers the device, clocking in at $16.55. Close behind is the 8 GB NAND flash memory chip from Toshiba at $14.00.

While the new Apple TV's 35% margin is significantly lower than the 50% or greater margin Apple frequently sees on its other iOS-based devices, it is much higher than than the 20% margin seen on the original Apple TV at its launch, although the difference in price points between the two devices ($99 new vs. $299 old) means that Apple's margin was greater on a dollar basis with the older model.

Following a price cut on the original Apple TV to $229, Apple saw its margins cut even further to an estimated 10% on the cheaper model.

Update: iSuppli has now posted a press release with more complete information on the study.