MacRumors

Reuters takes a look at the security surrounding Apple product launches, using iPhone introductions as an example of what Apple retail staff can expect for the iPad's U.S. debut this Saturday. Apple, which is known for its secrecy, will almost certainly be keeping its employees in the dark about the iPad up until the last minute, even for those employees who are expected to fix them.

"We haven't seen it; we never do" before a product is launched, said one employee, who asked not to be identified because workers are barred from speaking with the media. "Every store employee I know, including the managers, they haven't seen it."

With its notoriously secretive corporate culture, Apple is loathe to circulate any iPads among retail troops ahead of the debut. Even in-store Apple repair techs -- known as "geniuses" -- don't yet know how to fix the gadget.

Looking back to the iPhone launch, the report notes that at at least one store, Apple shipped two pallets for the launch with one serving as a decoy to deter anyone tempted to try to sneak a peek at the new devices. Store managers were also directed to personally guard the iPhones during the night before their debut as another layer of security.

Despite all of the promotion for the iPad viewable on Apple's site, the company has kept a very close veil around the actual device, with only a select few developers receiving access to devices for development and testing purposes in advance of the tablet's launch, and even in those few cases the development models have been subject to relatively tight security standards.

Google today announced the release of new developer builds of its Google Chrome browser that incorporate an integrated Flash Player plug-in, eliminating the need for users to separately install and update the plug-in required for much of the interactive Web content available today. As detailed on the blog of the related Chromium project, Chrome/Chromium developers are working with Adobe and other companies to define APIs for new browser plug-in models.

As a first step, we've begun collaborating with Adobe to improve the Flash Player experience in Google Chrome. Today, we're making available an initial integration of Flash Player with Chrome in the developer channel. We plan to bring this functionality to all Chrome users as quickly as we can.

We believe this initiative will help our users in the following ways:

- When users download Chrome, they will also receive the latest version of Adobe Flash Player. There will be no need to install Flash Player separately.

- Users will automatically receive updates related to Flash Player using Google Chrome's auto-update mechanism. This eliminates the need to manually download separate updates and reduces the security risk of using outdated versions.

- With Adobe's help, we plan to further protect users by extending Chrome's "sandbox" to web pages with Flash content.

Chrome's tighter relationship with Adobe's Flash standard, rumored yesterday, comes as Apple has advocated alternative technologies for deploying rich Internet content. Apple's iPhone has not supported Flash since the device's launch nearly three years ago, and the iPad due for launch this weekend will similarly eschew support for the technology. A number of media content providers, including CBS and The New York Times and Time, Inc. have already begun making the shift to provide alternative HTML5-based video content to support non-Flash devices such as the iPad.

Mashable yesterday noted that Apple has rolled out revamped App Store pages in Facebook offering full browsing and search access for the store.

In the Featured tab on the App Store's Facebook page, you can see top apps and view the sales charts for paid and free apps across different categories. This is the same information that you would get from iTunes or from the App Store application on your iPhone or iPod touch, but it's all in Facebook.

Clicking the "Get App" button links users directly to the iTunes Preview or iTunes page for the item, allowing for easy purchase and installation. The new layout also incorporates a "Share" function to allow users to post links to items on their walls. A separate "Search & Share" tab moves things beyond the top apps lists to allow for full searching of the App Store.

Vitrue, the company behind the project, notes that the App Store pages are built on the same technology that powers the existing iTunes Facebook pages and will be expanded in the future to offer additional searching and sharing tools.

Zatz Not Funny! reports that Sling Media has plans to launch higher-resolution television streaming services for the iPad, although the company has acknowledged that it will not be prepared to roll out the new application and streaming services in time for the device's launch later this week. According to Sling Media:

When it makes a noticeable difference in quality, we will definitely provide higher resolution streaming. The iPad is a good example of a device where we are hard at work on this, but unfortunately it won't be there at the April launch.

Sling Media offers a popular "placeshifting" service that allows users to "sling" television content from a box connected to their own television to computers and mobile devices.

The company has received a significant amount of attention for its efforts to bring its SlingPlayer Mobile application to the iPhone. The application was approved last May, but was limited at the time to streaming via Wi-Fi due to objections from AT&T regarding 3G streaming. AT&T finally relented, and last month a 3G-enabled version of the application appeared in the App Store.

Even that change was not without controversy, however, as Sling Media denied early comments from AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega that the two companies had worked together to revise the application to optimize the streaming protocols for AT&T's network. Sling maintains that it made no modifications to the 3G streaming capabilities of the application between AT&T's denial last year and its recent change of heart.

Bloomberg reports that Taiwanese firm Elan Microelectronics has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) seeking the halt of imports of a variety of Apple products under claims of patent infringement. The complaint follows an April 2009 lawsuit over the same issues.

"Our goal is to protect our technology and to stop sales of those products in the U.S.," Dennis Liu, spokesman for Hsinchu, Taiwan-based Elan, said by phone today. The complaint was filed yesterday and is in addition to a suit brought against Apple in a California court in April last year, Liu said.

Apple's iPhone, iPod Touch, MacBook, Magic Mouse and iPad use technology which infringes Elan's "352" patent for detecting the simultaneous presence of two or more fingers, the company said in an e-mailed statement today.

The ITC will decide within 30 days whether to pursue an investigation of Elan's claims.

Apple has found itself increasingly embroiled in high-profile patent disputes in recent months, facing off with Nokia and Kodak before taking to the offensive by filing a complaint against HTC, manufacturer of a number of Android-based handsets, earlier this month.

The New York Times reports that Tony Fadell, who has variously been known as the father, grandfather, and godfather of the iPod, has severed his final ties with Apple, stepping down from his position as special advisor to CEO Steve Jobs. Fadell had previously served as senior vice president of the iPod division, but resigned in November 2008 for personal reasons. He did, however, remain on Apple's payroll in an advisory capacity.

Though Mr. Jobs gets the lion's share of credit for innovation at Apple, Mr. Fadell played a key role in the company's resurgence. He first envisioned a hard-drive-based digital music player in the 1990s and brought the idea to Seattle-based Real Networks, where he reportedly clashed with Real's chief executive, Rob Glaser, and left after six weeks.

Mr. Fadell then approached Apple in 2001, and history was made.

Upon stepping down from his executive role, Fadell was replaced by IBM chip designer Mark Papermaster. Papermaster's appointment was held up, however, by a lawsuit filed by IBM regarding a claimed violation of his employment contract by departing to work for a competitor. The situation was eventually resolved, and Papermaster began work in April 2009.

For his part, Fadell will reportedly be shifting focus to green technology, where he plans to advise companies and work with private investments.

Daringfireball's John Gruber sarcastically links out to today's Wall Street Journal rumor about the coming Verizon iPhone. Gruber points out the lack of details in the article, but then goes on to coyly (as he does) list features that he seems to know are coming in the next iPhone. The features include:

- A4-family CPU system-on-a-chip
- 960x640 double-resolution display
- second front facing camera
- 3rd party multitasking in iPhone 4

The front camera and multitasking have both been suggested before. There has been overwhelming evidence that Apple has been working on video chat for the iPhone OS. Meanwhile, multitasking was believed to have been originally planned for iPhone 3.x but later scrapped. The double-resolution display is completely new information, though would make sense given the increasingly high resolution screens of the competition.

Update: Engadget reports that it is hearing that the next-generation iPhone may be called "iPhone HD" and be released on June 22nd.

Apple has begun seeding the Golden Master version of the iPhone OS 3.2 SDK to developers. This represents the shipping version of the software that developers must use to develop iPad applications. Meanwhile, Apple has also simultaneously posted two new files to their servers including the iPad licensing agreement and iPad 3.2 Firmware:

- iPadDocumentation_3.2.ipd
- iPad1,1_3.2_7B367_Restore.ipsw

The firmware file (download link) carries a final build number of 7B367 but is of little use at this time without an iPad to install it on. The iPad Documentation file (download link) simply provides the end-user licensing agreement for the iPad software.

The iPad licensing software provides the usual legal documentation for use of Apple's software, Google Maps and YouTube videos, but also reveals one interesting aspect of Apple's plans for iPad OS updates:

Apple will provide you any iPad OS software updates that it may release from time to time, up to and including the next major iPad OS software release following the version of iPad OS software that originally shipped from Apple on your iPad, for free. For example, if your iPad originally shipped with iPad 3.x software, Apple would provide you with any iPad OS software updates it might release up to and including the iPad 4.x software release. Such updates and releases may not necessarily include all of the new software features that Apple releases for newer iPad models.

Current iPod Touch owners have had to pay for each major OS software update, while iPhone owners have received their updates for free. The reasoning behind this policy has been blamed on legal accounting requirements.

It appears iPad owners will fall somewhere in the middle. iPad owners will receive the next major OS update (4.x in the case of new iPad owners) for free, but may have to pay for the next major upgrade (5.x).

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is working on two new iPhone models, one of which will be compatible with Verizon's CDMA network, for release this year.

According to the article, the two iPhone models will be produced by different manufacturers:

The people briefed on the matter said one of the new iPhones is being manufactured by Taiwanese contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., which produced Apple's previous iPhones. The model that has CDMA capability, used by Verizon Wireless, is being manufactured by Pegatron Technology Corp., the contract manufacturing subsidiary of Taiwan's ASUSTeK Computer Inc., said these people.

The new GSM version would be released this summer while the CDMA model for Verizon would not go into production until September.

There has been much speculation about how much longer the iPhone will remain exclusively with AT&T in the U.S. A report earlier this year indicated that the exclusivity deal would end in 2010 and that AT&T was seeking to extend it.

Verizon is the largest cellular service provider in the U.S. with over 91 million subscribers. Reports earlier this year indicated that Verizon was in talks with Apple to gain access to the iPhone and the iPad, though no official news resulted. Verizon also purportedly claimed that its network is already ready for the iPhone and the associated network traffic it would bring.

Boy Genius Report reports that it has received a gallery of screenshots showing off early versions of Microsoft's Office for Mac 2011 productivity suite, scheduled for launch later this year.

We've just scored some of the first shots of Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac, and while they are said to be very early, you can clearly see the progress that has been made in the transition to native Cocoa applications.

The set of seven screenshots shows off Word, Excel and PowerPoint, as well as Outlook, which will replace Entourage as the e-mail and calendaring component of Office for Mac. The shots also demonstrate how the "ribbon" toolbar display that first appeared in the primary applications of Office 2007 for Windows to mixed reviews will be implemented for Mac.

Apple today posted a series of guided tours for the iPad, gearing up for the device's launch in the U.S. later this week. The 11 guided tours cover basic features such as Safari, Mail, Photos, and iPod that should be familiar in at least basic concept to iPhone and iPod touch users. The iPad's larger screen, however, has allowed Apple to enhance those applications for a richer user experience. Also included are tours of Videos, YouTube, and iTunes.

As far as offerings unique to the iPad, Apple has also posted guided tours of the iBooks application that will interface with the company's iBookstore for eBook content and the iWork for iPad suite that will bring Keynote, Pages, and Numbers to the iPad.

The new guided tours section is featured prominently as one of the main tabs in Apple's iPad section and should offer users a good perspective on what they can expect from Apple's long-anticipated tablet device even before they get their hands on one.

Apple today released Mac OS X 10.6.3, the third maintenance update for Snow Leopard, via Software Update and the company's software downloads page. The update offers several hundred fixes implemented since the release of Mac OS X 10.6.2 last November and an interim security update issued in January.

The 10.6.3 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes that:

- improve the reliability and compatibility of QuickTime X
- address compatibility issues with OpenGL-based applications
- address an issue that causes background message colors to display incorrectly in Mail
- resolve an issue that prevented files with the # or & characters in their names from opening in Rosetta applications
- resolve an issue that prevented files from copying to Windows file servers
- improve performance of Logic Pro 9 and Main Stage 2 when running in 64-bit mode
- improve sleep and wake reliability when using Bonjour wake on demand
- address a color issue in iMovie with HD content
- improve printing reliability
- resolve issues with recurring events in iCal when connected to an Exchange server
- improve the reliability of 3rd party USB input devices
- fix glowing, stuck, or dark pixels when viewing video from the iMac (Late 2009) built-in iSight camera

Full details on the update are available in Apple's associated support document.

Developer builds of Mac OS X 10.6.3 were seeded with increasingly frequency in recent weeks, with the most recent, Build 10D573, appearing just last Wednesday.

- Mac OS X v10.6.3 Update (719.23 MB)
- Mac OS X v10.6.3 Update (Combo) (784 MB)
- Mac OS X Server v10.6.3 Update (831.31 MB)
- Mac OS X Server v10.6.3 Update (Combo) (897.32 MB)

Apple has also released Security Update 2010-002 for users on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.

- Security Update 2010-002 (Leopard-Client) (78.39 MB)
- Security Update 2010-002 (Leopard-Server) (361.40 MB)

MacRumors has received information from a source claiming to have knowledge of a forthcoming iTunes 9.1 update that will presumably be released around the same time as the iPad's U.S. launch this Saturday. Among the purported new features in iTunes 9.1 are changes to organization of book content in iTunes in order to support expected growth in eBook content driven by the iPad.

According to the source, the existing "Audiobooks" entry in the iTunes Source list will be replaced with a broader "Books" section. A similar change will made to the sources for managing content on connected devices such as iPhones, iPods, and iPads. The revamped "Books" section for connected devices will reportedly display all book content compatible with a given device for easy content management.

iTunes 9.1 will also reportedly bring enhancements to the Genius Mixes feature that automatically selects songs that "go great together". In the updated iTunes, users will have more control over Genius Mixes, including the ability to rename mixes and rearrange them by dragging. Users will also be able to delete Genius Mixes by right clicking on them. Genius Mixes will also reportedly be available as sources for the iTunes DJ shuffle feature.

Finally, iTunes 9.1 is claimed to offer several changes to device support, including tweaked summary panes (including a move of the "Check for Update" and "Restore" buttons to the left side of the pane) and the ability to automatically convert songs to 128 kbps AAC format when syncing to devices. This feature, currently available only for the iPod shuffle, will reportedly be extended to all devices and will allow users to fit more audio files on their devices while the original higher-quality files remain untouched in iTunes.

Fortune reports on a new research note from analyst Katy Huberty at Morgan Stanley citing iPad suppliers now forecasting shipments of 8-10 million iPads for calendar year 2010, up from previous estimates of around 5 million. The report notes, however, that shipments are not necessarily equal to sales, as some of that production will remain in distribution channels at the end of the year. Consequently, Huberty maintains a sales estimate of 6+ million iPads for the year.

According to Huberty, investors who are bearish on the iPad say it lacks a "killer app." Apple's near-term market, she counters, is the sub-$800 notebook computer market (30 million units in the U.S. and 120 million units globally). Longer term, she expects the books, magazines, video and iPad-optimized apps currently in the works to broaden that market.

Over the shorter term March-to-May timeframe, suppliers are now reporting that they expect to ship 2.5 million iPads during the initial surge, up significantly from Huberty's earlier estimate of 750,000 through the end of June. Analyst reports earlier this month had reported some delays in early iPad production that would limit launch quantities, although it is unclear exactly what the source of the delays were and what the magnitude of their effect has been on unit quantities.

Huberty, a prominent tech industry analyst, had been noted for her bearish estimates on Apple's financial performance over the past several years, but has come around in recent months to issue several reports citing Apple's leadership position in the mobile Internet industry and offering strong "bull case scenarios" for Apple's future growth.

Apple today issued a press release formally confirming that the iPad will launch this Saturday in the U.S. Wi-Fi iPad models will be available in all 221 U.S. Apple retail stores and at "most" Best Buy locations beginning at 9:00 AM.

"iPad connects users with their apps and content in a far more intimate and fun way than ever before," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We can't wait for users to get their hands and fingers on it this weekend."

Apple also announced that all customers making iPad purchases in its retail stores will receive free Personal Setup service, which includes assistance from Apple staff with setting up email accounts on the device, loading applications, and other tasks. Apple retail stores are also set to begin hosting iPad workshops this Saturday, offering customers ways to get more out of their devices.

Customers who pre-ordered Wi-Fi models have noted that their devices have begun shipping, although the orders are not expected to arrive until Saturday.