MacRumors

Apple is now shipping Final Cut Server.

For the past few months weve been using a beta of Final Cut Server to manage our entire workflow pipeline, 24/7, and it held up beautifully, said Evan Schechtman, CTO of Radical Media. Best of all, Final Cut Server integrates seamlessly with our home-grown solutions so its actually adding new value to systems weve relied on for years.

Announced nearly one year ago at the 2007 NAB conference, Final Cut Server provides professional asset management with tight integration with Final Cut Studio. The product was originally scheduled to ship in "Summer 2007" but has seen extensive delays.

Final Cut Server is available immediately through the Apple Store, Apples retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for $999 (US) for one server and 10 concurrent client licenses, and $1,999 (US) for one server and unlimited client licenses.

With QuickTime increasingly becoming a target for malicious hackers, eWeek reports that Apple has made several steps to make QuickTime more secure in the latest version (7.4.5) released just last week.

Besides patching 11 security vulnerabilities, the new version of QuickTime adds a few new features such as ASLR (address space layout randomization), stack buffer safety checking and function call hardening, all of which make it much more difficult to hack QuickTime.

Security researchers have applauded the efforts:

"That's a pretty big change for a point release," said Dino Dai Zovi, a hacker who has written multiple exploits for QuickTime. "They [Apple] have way more guts than many other software companies to do something like that. Either that, or they are afraid of the backlash if malware starts targeting QuickTime and iTunes in a more serious way."

Appleinsider claims that the current MacBook and MacBook Pro designs will be retired and are expected to see "major design changes" in their next revision.

The consumer MacBook line is expected to transition from plastic enclosures to aluminum and stainless steel, which are reportedly more "eco-friendly".

The MacBook Pro will share a similar design transition to bring it in line with existing iMac and MacBook Air designs.

Though precise details are admittedly limited given the ongoing revision process, it's presumed this will include instances of matte black on portions of the casings, oversized trackpads, and the adoption of the MacBook Air's keyboard by the MacBook.

Appleinsider points out that the MacBook has not seen a major case redesign since its introduction in May 2006. Meanwhile, the MacBook Pro continues to share a very similar design to the Aluminum PowerBook G4 which was introduced in 2003.

The new designs are expected to accompany the Montevina platform launch in June of this year. Montevina promises faster front-side bus speeds (1066MHz) over existing models (800MHz) and slightly faster Penryn processors (2.26-3.06GHz).

Upon the release on the Penryn-based Mac Pros in January, Apple introduced the NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT as a new video card option. Existing Mac Pro owners initially saw this is an opportunity to upgrade from current cards as well as ailing 1900XT cards. Apple, however, quickly clarified that the new NVIDIA 8800GT was only compatible with the new Penryn Mac Pros due to firmware issues. This left older Mac Pro owners without an upgrade option.

A January statement by NVIDIA suggested a fix was imminent...

the company is "in the middle of bringing out an upgrade kit based on the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT solution for all Intel-based Mac Pros." What's more, this upgrade kit "should be out in a few weeks."

... but three months later, there's been no news of the upgrade option.

A recent email response from Steve Jobs suggests that the upgrade is still coming, possibly in the next month:

nVidia didn't come through, so we're having to do it. Should be ready in about a month.

Steve

Steve Jobs has been known to occasionally respond to emails, the most prominent example being an email in which he revealed calendar editing functionality that later came to the iPod touch.

9to5Mac points out that Walt Mossberg may have confirmed the release timeframe of the 3G iPhone, expected to be in June. In an online video (about 6:50 in), Mossberg casually but confidently says that the iPhone will be 3G in 60 days.

It is unknown whether Mossberg made the claim using additional knowledge or simply from circulating rumors, however his closeness to Apple and Steve Jobs shouldn't be overlooked.

Update: Mossberg denies having specific knowledge of the 3G iPhone's release date.

iPodObserver posted an image that they claim represents what the rumored 3G iPhone will look like:

Apparently the new iPhone will also sport a glossy black back, replacing the satin nickel look found on the current model.

If iPodObserver.com's source is correct, the redesigned iPhone back also drops the black plastic end piece that covers the antenna, and it appears that Apple will continue to offer an 8GB model.

iPodObserver is not a typical rumor source, so we're uncertain about the reliability of their sources.

"Leaked" photos rarely turn out to be legitimate, but this one has already generated a lengthy debate in our forums. Due to the attention it has received, we are posting this for interest alone, and do not necessarily believe it represents a true leak. Some of the initial comments suggested it may have simply been a Colorware custom iPhone or a custom replacement back. Neither of these options, however, completely replace the bottom plastic portion of the iPhone as shown in the photo.

Just two days after the last Mac OS X 10.5.3 Seed, Apple has again seeded a new build revision for Mac OS X 10.5.3 (9D12) to developers. 17 more fixes and only 1 known issue remains.

Typically, Apple has waited several builds before re-seeding new versions to developers. In the past, rapid-fire seeding has meant that they were prepping for the final release. It's unclear if Apple has simply changed its policy and seeding more frequently. If Apple continues on this aggressive seeding, we will report future builds on Page 2 unless there are substantial changes.

Fscklog reports (another report) that T-Mobile Germany is starting to offer substantial discounts on 8GB iPhones when purchased with a 2 year service contract.

The 8GB iPhone normally costs 399 euro, but depending on the service plan you sign up for, you could get it for a 300 euro discount. The special prices are as follows:

249 euro iPhone with Complete S
199 euro iPhone with Complete M
149 euro iPhone with Complete L
99 euro iPhone with Complete XL

The offer is good only between April 7th and June 30th and the 16GB iPhone remains at 499 euro. The changes have not yet been reflected on T-Mobile's site. This move to introduce subsidized iPhone pricing is interesting, in light of early beliefs that Apple prohibited the practice to avoid reducing the perceived value of the phone. For what it's worth, we've heard that iPhone sales in Germany have been disappointing.

The news comes amidst reports of iPhone shortages in the U.S.

When the iPhone was first announced at Macworld San Francisco 2007, Steve Jobs specifically said that he did not want the iPhone's existence first revealed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This comment has generated a bit of a following, with some commenters continuing to insist that the 3G iPhone will be revealed by the FCC first.

The problem with this theory is that Apple frequently announces new products that don't first show up in the FCC database. Also, companies are allowed to have some degree of confidentiality for products.

Apple submitted the original iPhone to the FCC on March 9, 2007. The documents, however, remained confidential until May 17, 2007, about six weeks prior to its launch. So while it may have required months for approval, it only appeared in the FCC database for all to see about 6 weeks prior to the ship date.

In another example, Apple's Time Capsule was submitted to the FCC on January 15, 2008 -- the same day as its announcement. The documents were immediately public and the product again shipped about 6 weeks later.

If this rough pattern continues, we could see the 3G iPhone shipping by late July if Apple announces it (for example) at WWDC on June 10th.

Adobe's John Nack writes about the future plans for Adobe Photoshop CS4 and CS5, revealing that Adobe Photoshop CS4 will include 64-Bit support, but for Windows only. The Mac version of CS4 will remain at 32-Bit. The reason for the discrepancy, however, is not due to a lack of interest or support from Adobe, but for more practical reasons.

First off, Nack admits that the 64-bit version of Photoshop will see modest speed increases (8-12%) but the biggest advantage will be for those using massive images (a 3.375 gigapixel image is given as an example). With these massive sizes and with enough RAM (32GB given as example), you can see substantial (10x) improvements.

Adobe expects that Mac users will have to wait until CS5 before getting full 64-bit support. The reason for this delay is due to Apple's abrupt dropping of Carbon 64-bit support:

At the WWDC show last June, however, Adobe & other developers learned that Apple had decided to stop their Carbon 64 efforts. This means that 64-bit Mac apps need to be written to use Cocoa (as Lightroom is) instead of Carbon. This means that we'll need to rewrite large parts of Photoshop and its plug-ins (potentially affecting over a million lines of code) to move it from Carbon to Cocoa.

Nack reports that they started working on the transition immediately after the announcement but due to the scope of the transition are unable to deliver it by CS4. He also tries to dispel the notion that Cocoa alone will produce a higher quality product than Carbon:

Most Mac users don't know Cocoa from Ovaltine, and nor should they: it's just an implementation detail, not a measure of quality. I think Brent Simmons, creator of wonderful Cocoa apps like NetNewsWire, put it most elegantly: "Finder + Cocoa = Finder." That is, rewriting one's app in Cocoa doesn't somehow automatically improve its speed, usability, or feature set.

Arstechnica reports on an internal email from Apple congratulating employees that Apple is now the #1 Music Retailer in the U.S., surpassing Wal-Mart for the first time.

The iTunes Store leads the pack with 19 percent, Wal-Mart (which includes the brick-and-mortar stores as well as its online properties) is second with 15 percent, and Best Buy is third with 13 percent. Amazon is a distant fourth at 6 percent, trailed by the likes of Borders, Circuit City, and Barnes & Noble. Rhapsody is in the tenth slot with 1 percent.

This comes quickly after a February announcement from Apple that they had surpassed Best Buy to become the #2 music retailer, also based on the NPD MusicWatch Survey.

While there's been some question about the discrepancy of the two data points, it seems possible that the February annoucement was based on December data (Christmas sales are specifically mentioned), while this new data is from January sales.

Apple has posted updates to three of their applications tonight:

iTunes 7.6.2

Rent and download your favorite movies with iTunes on your computer or directly to your living room on Apple TV. Enjoy rented movies in sizes up to 720p HD with surround sound on your Apple TV and sizes up to DVD-quality on your computer. Transfer your rented movies from iTunes to your iPod or iPhone and enjoy them on the go.

Also, purchase and download your favorite TV shows, music, and more directly on your Apple TV. Effortlessly transfer purchases made on Apple TV back to your computer with iTunes.

iTunes 7.6.2 provides bug fixes to improve stability and performance.

QuickTime 7.4.5

QuickTime 7.4.5 includes fixes that enhance reliability, improve compatibility with third-party applications, and address security issues. This release is recommended for all QuickTime 7 users.

For detailed information on the security content of this update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n61798.

Front Row 2.1.3

This Front Row update provides for bug fixes and improved iTunes compatibility.

iPhone speculation has remained at an all-time high this week. Reports of iPhone shortages has generated analyst speculation that the iPhone could be sooner than expected... despite June expectations.

While we don't put too much value in this idle speculation, Gizmodo reports on a revealing comment from AT&T's Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega from a lunch at CTIA 2008. Ralph de la Vega said that he expected all of their smart integrated devices to be 3G within the next couple of months.

When asked about the iPhone specifically, he responded with "Let me repeat what I said: I think that you're going to see our integrated devices be 3G devices in the not-too-distant future, and I mean months. That should be clear enough."

Our iPhone Buyer's Guide recommendation stands: buy only if you absolutely need it; updates are coming.

Apple has posted two new 'Get a Mac' ads featuring actors Justin Long and John Hodgman playing "Mac" and "PC", respectively. The two new ads continue with some more attacks against Microsoft's Vista operating system, but also point out why Macs might work better:

Yoga - features Judy Greer as a Yoga instructor frustrated with Vista.

Breakthrough - brings back the Counselor who points out that PC's issues comes from having different vendors responsible for the hardware and software, while Macs all come from one vendor (Apple).

Apple has also continued its custom web ads, which have run on many prominent web sites.

Apple announced today that they have started selling television shows in Germany via iTunes. Shows from ProSieben, Sat.1, ZDF Enterprises, Brainpool and US broadcasters ABC Studios and MTV Networks are now available on the iTunes Store in Germany.

"iTunes is the world's most popular online music and TV store with over four billion songs and 125 million TV episodes sold," said Eddy Cue, Apples vice president of iTunes. "We're off to a great start with over 35 TV shows available on the iTunes Store in Germany."

Shows are priced at 1.99 euro and 2.49 euro per episode and are available immediately.