MacRumors

With Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference only a few weeks away, a larger number of rumors are starting to appear about what Apple might have in store for us. While legitimate reports do often emerge closer to the event, there also tends to be an explosion of speculative claims.

Here are a collection of recent tidbits which may or may not mean anything:

- A Telecom NZ representative claimed via Twitter that "we are in negotiations with Apple... we are very focused on the 3rd gen iPhone.. we will keep u updated". The "3rd gen iPhone", of course, would refer to an as-yet unreleased iPhone.
- Apple recruiting 450 new technical support staff this summer. While the most likely explanation for this expansion is the growing popularity of their products, some are speculating it could be related to the launch of a new product.
- Wired recaps some poorly sourced rumors that claim the next iPhone will be released on July 17th with 1.5x the battery life and an OLED screen. We aren't putting too much faith in these reports.

Phil Schiller will be giving the 2009 WWDC Keynote on June 8th at 10AM Pacific Time. Apple will be detailing iPhone 3.0 to developers and has also been rumored to be announcing details about the next generation iPhone.

Register Hardware reports on a meeting last week between Apple senior executives and analysts for investment firm Oppenheimer & Co. which provided a bit of insight into Apple's options for increasing iPhone market share. A report on the meeting issued by Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner mentions several obvious strategies that Apple could employ:

Yair Reiner, an analyst at Oppenheimer, recently met with several unnamed Apple executives who, he claimed, said: "[The] iPhone is still in its early days and could gain share by: providing more functionality, lowering prices, growing geographically, or segmenting the market with different models."

In seeking clarification about the market segmentation comment, Register Hardware learned from Reiner that "segmentation would focus on software." Register Hardware interprets this comment to mean that Apple is considering offering multiple models of the iPhone that would consist of essentially identical hardware, but have different software packages.

For example, Apple could market one 'YouTube' iPhone model with applications that provide video capture, editing and sharing features. Other iPhones might only offer basic video capture - or perhaps no video at all.

Selling models differentiated by hardware seems unlikely. Different iPhones with very different physical specs could have far-reaching implications for Apple's production methods, volumes and costs.

Another possibility is that market segmentation could still be offered using different hardware, but driven by differences in software, such as the rumored "iPhone nano" that could conceivably be released without a focus on the App Store found on the current iPhone. In broad terms, Apple's comments indicate that the company may be using software-based decisions to define feature sets for various iPhone hardware models.

Sprint today announced that the Palm Pre will launch on June 6th and will be priced at $199.99 with a two-year contract and mail-in rebate.

Sprint today announced pricing and nationwide availability for the highly anticipated Palm Pre phone, offered exclusively from Sprint. Palm Pre will be available nationwide on June 6 in Sprint stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, select Wal-Mart stores and online at Sprint.com for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a $100 mail-in rebate.

Announced in January, the Palm Pre has been hyped as the most significant near-term threat to the iPhone's market share due to the inclusion of a number of new features, including Palm's new "webOS" operating system, a multi-touch interface, and a faster processor than that found in the iPhone 3G.

Sprint and Palm are also promoting the Pre's ability to integrate data across applications via a feature known as "Palm Synergy":

"The Pre's dynamic 'activity cards' approach to handling and navigating multiple applications is a great advance, but the core breakthrough is the integration of information across multiple applications on and off the phone," said Andy Castonguay, director of Mobile & Access Devices Research, Yankee Group. "With social networking and messaging being so important to consumers, the device's new 'Palm Synergy' functionality -- which gives Pre the ability to automatically pull friends' contact details, messaging addresses and personal calendars from different applications online and on the phone -- will greatly simplify people's ability to communicate with their friends and colleagues the way they want."

The Palm Pre will utilize Sprint's "Everything Data" plan, which offers unlimited data and messaging, unlimited mobile-to-mobile, night and weekend calling, and a choice of either 450 or 900 anytime minutes. The plans are currently priced at $69.99 and $89.99 respectively.

Palm will also introduce its new Touchstone induction charging system on the Pre, which includes both a dock and an additional back cover for the handset to allow for wireless charging. The Touchstone system will be priced at $69.99.

In an e-mail sent to iPhone developers testing iPhone OS 3.0 betas, Apple announced the start of testing of high-volume Push Notifications using a pre-release version of the Associated Press iPhone application. The current test will run for seven days.

As a developer actively working with iPhone OS 3.0 beta, we would like your help in testing the Apple Push Notification service. We have selected a pre-release version of the Associated Press app for iPhone OS 3.0 to create a high-volume test environment for our servers.

To participate, we ask that you follow these steps:

1. Download the pre-release version of the Associated Press app for iPhone OS 3.0 from the iTunes Store via your desktop by entering this unique redemption code in the 'Redeem' section of iTunes, found under the 'Quick Links' section:

[code redacted]

This unique redemption code and the functionality of the application will expire in seven days.

2. Install the application on a development device running iPhone OS 3.0 beta 5 by synching it to iTunes. Make sure to accept notifications when prompted after installation. This application can only be installed on devices running iPhone OS 3.0 beta 5.

3. When you first run the app, choose U.S. English as your region when prompted. The U.S. English region will receive alerts, the Canadian English region will not. For purposes of the test, AP will be sending a high-volume of real news alerts.

4. If you do not receive notifications from the app within 48 hours after installation, let us know.

Apple activated Push Notifications just over one month ago, allowing developers to begin testing their applications with the service, which allows iPhone applications to receive updates while they are not actively running.

Brazilian website MacMagazine links [Google translation] to YouTube user LeopardOctober, who has been posting video previews of new Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard features. Many of the features have already been described, but the videos provide examples of the features in use.

In HD + NEW - Snow Leopard Build 10A261: Demonstrates "Put Back" feature that restores trashed files to their original locations, Finder window slider for resizing icons, Stacks "drill down" navigation, the ability to play videos directly within their Finder icons, automatic date and time stamping of screenshots in the file name, organization of the Services menu by type, and a new preference pane within Keyboard & Mouse offering expanded keyboard shortcut configuration. Several of these features were described several months ago.

Dock and Substitutions - Snow Leopard Build 10A261: Illustrates the ability to easily assign applications to specific Spaces directly from their Dock icons, and "Substitutions", which offer several auto-correct/auto-format features and expansion of the Data Detectors feature that automatically finds text such as dates and times and automatically provides links to operations in related applications such as iCal.

Finder Preferences - Snow Leopard build 10A286: Shows Finder preference allowing default searches to cover the entire Mac, the currently open folder, or whatever the previous search scope was.

QuickTime 10 - Snow Leopard build 10A286: Runs through the menus present in the new QuickTime Player and illustrates the "Trim" feature and Save/Export options. Details on the new QuickTime have been trickling out for the past several months.

Update: Videos pulled.

BusinessWeek reports that AT&T is considering introducing a discounted limited data plan for the iPhone at $20 per month. AT&T currently offers only an unlimited data plan for $30 per month, and the data transfer cap for the rumored discounted plan remains unknown.

Analyst Richard Doherty claims that the additional data plan option is being driven by Apple, which wants to offer a lower-cost entry point for the iPhone. AT&T, which is reportedly still trying to lock up an extension to its exclusivity agreement for the iPhone, is also looking for ways to continue to increase its subscriber base.

The exclusive U.S. iPhone service provider is considering cutting the price of its monthly service package or offering a range of lower-priced plans, say people with knowledge of the company's thinking. One plan that could be introduced as early as late May would include limited data access at a $10 monthly reduction, the people say.

The possible price cut likely reflects the back-and-forth between AT&T and Apple (AAPL) as they work out whether and under what terms AT&T would remain the sole U.S. iPhone carrier. Apple may want flexibility in pricing as a condition, analysts say. "We understand it's part of the extension [of its contract] that AT&T wants to maintain," Richard Doherty, director at consultant Envisioneering Group, says of the prospect of lower data-plan prices. As Apple considers whether to widen its circle of U.S. providers, AT&T may have less ability to balk at Apple's requests.

The report also touches on rumors of a price drop for the next-generation as component prices continue to decline and AT&T considers offering the entry-level iPhone for $99 instead of the current $199. A prepaid iPhone is also reportedly under consideration.

Rumors of a discounted iPhone data plan from AT&T surfaced earlier this month, although the previous reports did not include mention of limited data transfer at the reduced rate.

Silicon Alley Insider has heard some rumors that seem to corroborate MacRumors' report from February that Apple is working on allowing limited background processes in a future version of the iPhone's operating system. Our sources had told us they would be limited to one or two additional processes, while Silicon Alley Insider suggests that it could alternatively be for specifically-approved apps.

Here's two potential scenarios we've heard. Treat these as anecdotal rumors for now, as we don't know how realistic they are.

* Apple might allow users to select two apps that can run in the background.
* Apple might selectively allow some apps to run in the background. We assume that developers could apply for permission to run in the background, and that Apple might approve or deny them based on the resources they need and how well they behave with the operating system's stability.

According to the report, it is not known whether this feature could make an appearance in iPhone OS 3.0 due this summer or if it might be under development for a later release.

In a blog post discussing Silicon Alley Insider's report, John Gruber writes that he has also heard rumblings about a similar feature:

Ordinarily I wouldn't link to something as sketchily sourced as this, but: I heard something very similar from a decent (but second-hand) source back in January during Macworld Expo. What I heard then was that Apple was working on a vastly improved dock for your most-frequently used apps, and that thered be one special icon position where you could put a third-party app to enable it to run in the background.

Citing concerns over the effect of having applications run in the background on battery life, Apple is officially planning to deploy push notifications as a substitute for backgrounding, allowing delivery of alerts for applications that are not actively running.

Update: TechCrunch chimes in with additional corroboration:

Basically, my source says that while this is in no way a done deal yet, Apple is definitely trying to come up with a way to offer background support for third-party apps. They went on to note that while Apple may have something to say about it at WWDC, it's very unlikely that any solution would be ready at that time, and could be a situation similar to how Apple announced Push Notification at WWDC last year but said it was coming in a few months (which it later was delayed until iPhone 3.0).

HardMac claims that they have heard some interesting tidbits about future iPhones and iPods from their sources.

- The future iPhone models will have exactly the same shape and size than the current iPhone 3G, despite fakes and rumors circulating.
- Apple should refresh models for the iPod nano and Touch in september. Both should now include a camera, similarly to the iPhone.

The iPhone retaining its current shape and size is perhaps consistent with the recent rumors from China, but the addition of a camera to the iPod Touch and iPod Nano is a new possibility.

A camera on the iPod Touch may make the most sense as it would bring the iPhone and iPod Touch closer together in terms of features. A camera addition to the iPod Nano, however, would be a surprise. There has been talk that Apple might be positioning video to be a killer feature in the next iPhones, and this could be an extension of that.

Meanwhile, some Best Buy inventory screenshots reveal some product placeholders for something called "Project Charlie". Some are speculating that this could be the new iPhone, but we have our doubts of the significance of this. In the past, it's been shown that Best Buy frequently adds inventory items without any insider knowledge.

Wired summarizes some surprising experiences of users who have hacked their MSI Wind netbooks to run Mac OS X. These so called "hackintoshes" when updated to Mac OS X 10.5.7 have experienced dramatic boosts in battery effeciency.

Reports from the MSI Wind forums are claiming a boost up to 33%, from 3 hr 45 min to a shade over five hours, using a six-cell 4400 mAh battery.

The writer, Dalton63841, has tested this to make sure its not just over-optimistic reporting by the OS. Another poster is also seeing a boost from three and a half to four and a half hours.

The reports suggest that Apple's Mac OS X 10.5.7 contain added optimizations for Intel's Atom processor and associated hardware. This, of course, is prompting speculation that support for such configurations may hint at new Apple notebooks based on similar netbook designs.

Apple has been rumored to be working on a netbook with a possible release this year.

In a blog post, Ivan Krstić, former director of security architecture at One Laptop per Child (OLPC), has revealed that he has taken an unspecified position related to core security at Apple. Krstić is well-known among security experts, having been named the second most influential person in security by eWeek in 2008.

As Krstić notes on his personal web site, his expertise and passion lie in making computer security easy for users:

I enjoy breaking computers. I enjoy making computers hard to break even more. Unfortunately, most people are really bad at the latter. At OLPC, I had put a lot of work into designing Bitfrost, which is a system for securing computers that's trying to be both hard to break and easy to use.

Bitfrost is a security specification that "sandboxes" applications into their own virtual operating systems, preventing viruses or other programs from damaging the operating system or accessing files. Given the focus of OLPC on children, Bitfrost is designed to be almost invisible to the end user.

We have set out to create a system that is both drastically more secure and provides drastically more usable security than any mainstream system currently on the market. One result of the dedication to usability is that there is only one protection provided by the Bitfrost platform that requires user response, and even then, it's a simple 'yes or no' question understandable even by young children. The remainder of the security is provided behind the scenes.

Bitfrost is meant to improve upon the 35-year-old UNIX permission system which persists today in Mac OS X, but Bitfrost requires that individual applications be "Bitfrost-aware", meaning that the security specification is unlikely to easily transition to mainstream operating systems. Krstić's work on Bitfrost, however, demonstrates his focus on novel security approaches that are easy to use.

Engadget reports that Apple's US online store has started taking orders for direct shipments of the iPhone 3G. Previously, the iPhone was available only in retail stores when purchased from Apple, although AT&T offered sales both in its own retail stores and through its online store.

The new distribution method is valid only for customers new to AT&T, while existing AT&T customers will have to pick up their iPhones at local Apple retail stores. New customers are taken through a series of screens in which they must submit their enter their billing address to allow AT&T to run a credit check, select their rate plan, and either reserve an iPhone for pickup at a local Apple store or complete the purchase and have the iPhone shipped directly to them.

Apple today issued a press release announcing that the keynote address for its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference will be held on June 8th at 10 AM Pacific Time. The keynote will be given by a team of executives led by Phil Schiller, senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.

Apple will kick off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 8 at 10:00 a.m. A team of Apple executives, led by Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will deliver the keynote. WWDC will offer in-depth sessions on both iPhone OS 3.0, the world's most advanced mobile operating system, and Mac OS X Snow Leopard, an even more powerful and refined version of the worlds best desktop operating system and the foundation for future Mac innovation.

Apple also announced that it will be issuing a final Developer Preview version of OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard at the event.

"Last June, we gave developers an early look at the powerful new technologies that form the underpinnings of Mac OS X Snow Leopard," said Bertrand Serlet, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "At WWDC, we will be giving our developers a final Developer Preview release so they can see the incredible progress we've made on Snow Leopard and work with us as we move toward its final release."

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is currently taking a medical leave of absence until June, and many have hoped that he will make his first public reappearance at WWDC. While today's announcement does not preclude an appearance by Jobs, it does appear that, unless plans change, he will not play his traditional keynote role.

The Chromium web browser project which serves as the basis for Google's Chrome has started releasing early builds of the Mac version. While not complete, the builds work well enough to get an impression of the browser. CNet took a quick look at a build:

The software, available for download from the Chromium Web site, is incomplete and definitely buggy, as one would expect for a developer version that reflects all the latest changes programmers are making with the project. But for Mac users who've been clamoring for the software, I can tell you that overall, it works, and it shows glimmers of what I liked about the open-source browser on Windows.

The latest builds are kept in this directory in sequential order. If you are interested in testing it out, you should download the most recent build that you find. Updated builds are being added all the time.

Apple's latest "Get a Mac" ads seem to be taking direct aim at Microsoft's recent "Laptop Hunters" ads in which a customer is given money to pick out a laptop that suits their needs. Microsoft specifically criticizes Apple on price during these commercials.

Apple's latest ad, called "Elimination" (direct .mov link), shows PC trying to provide buying advice to a potential customer, Megan, who wants a computer with a large screen and fast processor. Megan, however, also wants a computer without "viruses, crashes or headaches," which sends the customer to the Mac.

Apple also released two other ads ("Customer Care" and "PC Choice Chat") with a similar theme.

Given all the drama from the circumstances surrounding the SlingPlayer Mobile launch, we felt it newsworthy to post about the availability of Sling Media's app.

SlingPlayer Mobile is now available [iTunes link] in the App Store. The $29.99 application allows you to watch and control your home TV and DVR from your iPhone and iPod touch. This is accomplished though the use of one of SlingMedia's media devices. Unfortunately, due to concerns about network congestion, the application will only stream video over Wi-Fi connections and does not support 3G or EDGE.

Macenstein provides an extensive review from the beta version:

Even without 3G support, Slingbox's SlingPlayer Mobile app is truly a must have app for Slingbox owners, and one of the few $29.99 apps I would have no problem paying for. However, AT&T's decision to single out the iPhone version of SlingPlayer Mobile and ban it from its network certainly give one reason to pause on what should have been a clear cut decision.

App Store Link: SlingPlayer Mobile, $29.99

Earlier today, we reported on the impending release of SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone. To the disappointment of many who had been eagerly awaiting release of the application and contrary to announced plans, it appears that video streaming will be limited to Wi-Fi only.

Engadget is now reporting that AT&T has released a statement regarding the lack of support for 3G and EDGE streaming in SlingPlayer Mobile. Briefly, AT&T will not permit SlingPlayer Mobile to operate on its network due to the potential for overwhelming demands on network capacity.

Slingbox, which would use large amounts of wireless network capacity, could create congestion and potentially prevent other customers from using the network. The application does not run on our 3G wireless network. Applications like this, which redirect a TV signal to a personal computer, are specifically prohibited under our terms of service. We consider smartphones like the iPhone to be personal computers in that they have the same hardware and software attributes as PCs.

That said, we don't restrict users from going to a Web site that lets them view videos. But what our terms and conditions prohibit is the transferring, or slinging, of a TV signal to their personal computer or smartphone.

The Slingbox application for the iPhone runs on WiFi. That's good news for AT&T's iPhone 3G customers, who get free WiFi access at our 20,000 owned and operated hot spots in the U.S., including Starbucks, McDonalds, Barnes & Noble, hotels, and airports. AT&T is the industry leader in WiFi.

As Engadget points out, however, AT&T fails to address the fact that SlingPlayer Mobile is currently available on a number of other smartphone platforms, all of which support streaming over 3G. That difference suggests that AT&T's close relationship with Apple, which maintains tight control of app distribution via the App Store, has given the carrier significant leverage regarding applications that it believes could negatively affect its network performance.

Apple has launched the long-awaited 10.5.7 Mac OS X update to customers today through Mac OS X's Software Update utility. The new update is said to provide general fixes to the operating system:

The 10.5.7 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac.

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3397.
For detailed information on security updates, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222 .

Mac OS X 10.5.7 Update (442 MB) - Requires OS X 10.5.6
Mac OS X 10.5.7 Combo Update (729 MB) - Upgrade from any version of OS X 10.5 Leopard
Mac OS X Server 10.5.7 (452 MB)
Mac OS X Server Combo 10.5.7 (951 MB)

Some highlights include:

- Improves performance of video playback and cursor movements for recent Macs with NVIDIA graphics.
- Improves Finder search results for network volumes that may not support Spotlight searching
- Addresses a situation that may cause issues when logging into Gmail
- Improves consistency with Parental Controls and application restrictions

Apple also released security updates for OS X 10.4 Tiger users:

Security Update 2009-002 (Tiger Intel) (165 MB)
Security Update 2009-002 (Tiger PPC) (75 MB)
Security Update 2009-002 (Server Universal) (203 MB)
Security Update 2009-002 (Server Tiger PPC) (130 MB)

Along with the operating system updates, Apple released updates to Safari 3 for Leopard, Tiger, and Windows:

Safari 3.2.3 for Leopard (40 MB) - Requires OS X 10.5.7
Safari 3.2.3 for Tiger (26.29 MB) - Requires OS X 10.4.11 and Security Update 2009-002
Safari 3.2.3 for Windows (19.69 MB) - Requires Windows XP or Vista

Finally, Apple released an update for Safari 4 Beta, bringing security changes outlined in this support document. The Safari 4 Beta update is currently available via Software Update for those users who have upgraded to OS X 10.5.7.