MacRumors

VMware today announced the October 27th launch of VMware Fusion 3, a significant update to the company's virtualization solution that allows Mac users to run Windows applications right alongside OS X applications. The new version reportedly brings over 50 new features and improvements, including Snow Leopard optimization and full Windows 7 compatibility.

Key highlights include:

- Optimized for Snow Leopard. Built from the ground up for the Mac, VMware Fusion 3 leverages Mac OS X Snow Leopard's advanced architecture with a new 64-bit core engine and native support for the 64-bit kernel, delivering even better Windows on Mac performance.

- Ultimate Windows 7 Experience. VMware Fusion 3 will be the first to enable the full Windows 7 experience, side-by-side with your Mac, complete with Windows Aero and Flip 3D.

- Switching Made Easy. VMware Fusion 3 will make it easy for users to bring their entire PC to their Mac in a few easy steps - wirelessly or with a simple Ethernet cable - allowing customers to protect investments in existing Windows software, and to keep using the programs they still need.

- Best-in-Class 3D Graphics. Support for OpenGL 2.1 and DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3 will enable users to run their favorite 3D Windows games and applications - all without rebooting.

VMware Fusion 3 is now available for pre-order at a suggested price of $79.99, with upgrading pricing of $39.99 available to current VMware Fusion users.

At this point, it seems obvious that Apple had been working on adding a camera to the newest iPod Touch, but for some reason, the feature was cut at the last minute. Exactly how last minute seems evidenced by the fact that some case manufacturers seem to have mass produced cases adopting the new design, and have pushed these designs into retail stores.

The following clip/armband was spotted at a Best Buy in Texas, which shows an image of an iPod touch with camera:

Meanwhile, an actual case was spotted in a mall in Texas:

We've been told that Apple does not generally share pre-release design information with most case manufacturers. Instead, these case manufacturers simply have enormous financial incentive to obtain the information through other means to be able to manufacture cases ahead of launch. In this case, their gamble didn't quite pay off, though presumably the cases still work with the camera-less iPod touch..

The Globe and Mail reports that wireless providers Bell and Telus will begin selling the iPhone in Canada next month, ending the exclusivity arrangement enjoyed by Rogers Wireless since the iPhone's introduction there in July 2008.

Neither Bell nor Telus would confirm that they would add the iPhone to their lineups. Apple also declined to comment. But people familiar with the matter said the two carriers will announce a working partnership with Apple as early as Tuesday or Wednesday and begin selling the device in time for the launch of their new network next month.

The news comes just a week after O2's exclusivity arrangement with Apple for the iPhone in the UK crumbled as both Orange and Vodafone announced plans to begin offering the iPhone in the near future.

Update: Both Bell and Telus have released brief statements confirming that they will begin offering the iPhone for sale in November.

Multiple sources, including the Washington Post, are reporting that Apple has given up its membership in the the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over the Chamber's stance on climate change legislation.

In a letter to Thomas J. Donohue, President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Apple's Vice President of Worldwide Government Affairs, Catherine A. Novelli, stated Apple's position and submitted Apple's resignation.

Apple is committeed to protecting the environment and the communities in which we operate around the world. We strongly object to the Chamber's recent comments opposing the EPA's effort to limit greenhouse gases.

Apple supports regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and it is frustrating to find the Chamber at odds with us in this effort. We would prefer that the Chamber take a more progressive stance on this critical issue and play a construtive role in addressing the climate crisis. However, because the Chamber's position differs so sharply with Apple's, we have decided to resign our membership effective immediately.

The Chamber's stance on regulation was stated in its Five Positions on Energy and the Environment and a press release.

Apple is not the first organization to resign from the Chamber over this issue. California's largest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., and other companies have similarly resigned.

Apple recently launched an environmental publicity initiative to showcase its efforts on such issues.

Apple today seeded to developers a new build of Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.2 (Build 10C514f).

The seed is said to contain dozens of minor bug fixes and performance improvements in these areas: Address Book, AppleScript, AppleScriptObjC, ATS, ColorSync, Component Manager, Core Animation, Core Audio, Core Chinese Engine, Core Data, Core Graphics, Core Text, File Manager, Garbage Collection, Graphic drivers, Help Viewer, ImageKit, IOHIDFamily, Networking, NS Image, OpenCL, OpenGL, OSA, QT Kit, Speech Recognition, Sync Services, and Xtype.

The seed notes reportedly include a caution that there is a known issue with optical drives: that they may not be recognized and the eject key may not eject the media, and that DVD Player may hang. As a result, not all developers may choose to install this build.

Mac OS X 10.6.1 was released September 10.

While Apple's iPhone has notably been left out of Adobe's new initiative with Flash Player 10.1 to bring an integrated Flash experience to browsers on smartphones and other platforms, TechCrunch notes that Adobe has also been using its Adobe MAX 2009 conference to show off capabilities found in the company's forthcoming Flash Professional CS5 that will allow developers to build Flash-based applications and then export them to the standard .ipa format used for native iPhone applications.

The new support for iPhone applications in the Flash Platform tooling will not allow iPhone users to browse web content built with Flash technology on iPhone, but it may allow developers to repackage existing web content as applications for iPhone if they choose to do so.

Flash Player uses a just-in-time compiler and virtual machine within a browser plug-in to play back content on websites. Those technologies are not allowed on the iPhone at this time, so a Flash Player for iPhone is not being made available today.

Flash Professional CS5 will enable developers to build applications for iPhone that are installed as native applications. Users will be able to access the apps after downloading them from Apple's App Store and installing them on iPhone or iPod touch

Applications created using Flash Professional CS5 meet all iPhone .ipa and SDK requirements, allowing them to be included in Apple's App Store via the standard iPhone Developer Program. Adobe has even featured seven current App Store applications that were built using a pre-release version of Flash Professional CS5.

PC World reports on Adobe's launch of Flash Player 10.1, which aims to integrate the Flash experience across a wide range of devices, including smartphones. The initiative also includes the Open Screen Project, which brings together nearly 50 companies aiming to create a consistent user experience for Flash across the various platforms.

Notably absent from the smartphone aspects of today's announcements is Apple, which has not supported Flash on the iPhone OS since its launch despite reports that the two companies have continued to work toward a functional solution.

iPhone owners, however, aren't so lucky. Adobe said that they are still working to make the Flash Player compatible on the iPhone OS, but are hindered by limitations within the platform.

The report also notes some of the features supported by Flash Player 10.1 that Apple may be very interested in taking advantage of given the already advanced capabilities of the iPhone platform.

Flash Player 10.1 opens up some interesting multimedia possibilities for other platforms. The player supports multitouch, accelerometer and screen orientation, all of which makes for the optimal video-watching experience. It also supports gesture-based controls, which is a boon for gaming. Adobe said that the player won't be a drain on battery life, either.

setteB.IT reports [Google translation] that unauthorized Mac clone manufacturer Psystar has announced the launch of a new licensing program that will enable third-party PC manufacturers to preload their systems with Psystar's boot loader to allow for simple installation of Mac OS X Snow Leopard directly from a retail disc. The move comes as Psystar has launched an increasing number of its own hardware products over the past 18 months that offer the ability to run Mac OS X.

In an effort to spread the Snow Leopard experience to an ever-expanding number of people, the licensing initiative will allow manufacturers to have their hardware Psystar Certified and have their computers pre loaded with our unique technology including the Darwin Universal Boot Loader (DUBL). Qualifying products must fall in Desktop, Server or Mobile categories. Once a product is certified, consumers can purchase it off the shelf or through standard channels and when labeled Psystar Certified would allow the installation of Snow Leopard simply by inserting the retail OS X DVD.

Apple and Psystar have been engaged in several ongoing lawsuits over the clone manufacturer's unauthorized use of and modification of Apple's Mac OS X offerings for installation on non-Apple hardware.

According to market research firm NPD's 2009 Household Penetration Study, approximately 12% of U.S. computer-owning households have an Apple computer, up from 9% in last year's study. But of these Mac-owning households, nearly 85% of them also own at least one Windows PC.

Multiple computer ownership is a common thread in Apple computer households, with 66 percent of households owning three or more computers, compared to just 29 percent of Windows PC households. Apple owning households are decidedly more mobile as well, with 72 percent of them owning a notebook, whereas only 50 percent of households that have a Windows PC own a notebook.

The study also notes that Apple households tend to be more affluent than average computer households, and Apple owners also tend to own more types of consumer electronics devices (and twice as many of them) than the average computer-owning household.

The study notes that because these characteristics place Apple owners at the forefront of consumer electronics, their purchasing decisions can be valuable to the industry as a measure of upcoming trends and popular products.

Ad Age reports that the print industry is not sitting idly by while it becomes increasingly obvious that Apple is planning to enter the tablet market. In fact, these traditional publishers are worried that Apple may quickly dominate the industry in the same way they dominated the music industry with iTunes and the iPod.

As a result, publishers are discussing the creation of an industry-wide digital storefront to allow customers to purchase digital content and subscriptions in an effort to bypass whatever solution Apple might provide.

It's true that magazine and newspaper publishers are eager to sell digital editions tailored for the tablet and other devices -- but they're just as determined to prevent Apple from getting between them and their readers along the way.

These concerns don't appear to be unfounded, as reports have described Apple's plans as "redefining" print media. Sources within The New York Times claim that Apple has already approached the newspaper regarding plans to distribute its content on a "new device".

The New York Times recaps many of the rumors and expectations about the upcoming Apple Tablet, but also introduces a few original sources of information about the tablet project within Apple.

According to former Apple engineer Joshua A. Strickland, Apple had been working on a tablet-based device since at least 2003. According to the newspaper, one 2003 prototype used the PowerPC chip and was so power hungry that it quickly drained the battery:

"It couldn't be built. The battery life wasn't long enough, the graphics performance was not enough to do anything and the components themselves cost more than $500.

Another Apple executive claims that the idea had been shelved a number of times at Apple due to Steve Jobs who questioned "what they were good for besides surfing the Web in the bathroom."

Whether or not the success of the iPhone has changed the mind of Jobs remains to be seen. In fact, reports have suggested that Jobs has not given final approval of the product yet. As always, the question remains how Apple might expect such a product to fit into people's lifestyles. Back in July, we questioned what this "killer feature" could be in the Apple tablet.

Feeding into recent rumors of imminent iMac, MacBook and Mac Mini updates, some new online ads have been spotted at Google.nl that potentially point to new versions of these products. While Apple's Google text ads always refer to their products as "new", these specific ads do highlight features that have not been the focus of previous revisions. The translations provided by AppleInsider describe the possible changes:

MacBook: Thinner, lighter and faster! Free delivery. Order today.
iMac: Ultra Thin 20 & 24 inch models. From only €1099. Apple Store
Mac mini: Faster and more affordable than ever. From only €499. Order immediately.

Of note, the current price of the Mac mini in the Netherlands online store is €599.

These imminent updates were first reported back in September with the iMac specifically described as "thinner, organic design, likely with smoothed or rounded edges".