MacRumors

Tech Trader Daily reports on a note to clients from research firm Wedge Partners predicting the release of updated iMac and MacBook models within the next several weeks. The refresh is expected to bring a significant redesign to the iMac, while the MacBook is likely to see only limited enhancements on the design front.

Wedge sees a redesigned iMac witjh a "thinner, organic design, likely with smoothed or rounded edges. The MacBook redesign "is likely to be limited," Wedge asserts.

The note also suggests that the updates will bring lower price tags in order to aggressively compete against Windows 7-based PCs and the low-cost netbook segment.

Wedge Partners' report echoes previous claims suggesting that Apple is working on refreshed iMac and MacBook designs to be accompanied by lower price points later this year, but is the first to point to a release window for the new models in the very near future.

At Apple's "It's Only Rock and Roll" media event last week, the company introduced new iPod touch models with 32 GB and 64 GB capacities, advertising the devices as offering "up to 50 percent faster performance". Macworld has performed speed tests comparing the new iPod touch to the previous-generation model, and found that on a number of tasks the new model does meet or exceed Apple's performance claims.

But it's not just in benchmarks such as these where the new iPod wins out. Just as the iPhone 3GS was faster than the iPhone 3G at everything, the new iPod touch feels much faster at any task you throw at it: applications launch (and quit) faster, Web pages load more quickly, processor-intensive games and programs perform better -- you name it.

We'll be testing the latest iPod touch's performance -- compared to both the previous touch and the iPhone 3GS -- for our official review, but it's clear that Apple has beefed up its newest touchscreen device.

HP today introduced the MediaSmart EX490 and EX495 home servers, offering upgraded features and greater Mac compatibility for the company's line of cross-platform home servers that received significant praise at Macworld Expo earlier this year.

HP today launched the HP MediaSmart EX490 and EX495 Home Servers, new models offering increased capacity, high-performance processors, more control, new user interface and additional Mac support - all at a lower price.

Based on the Microsoft Windows Home Server platform, the updated HP MediaSmart Servers have a refined user interface and a web-based home page that makes accessing and using the server easier than ever. Additionally, the new models offer a new video converter with custom settings and profiles that will automatically convert video libraries, including unprotected DVDs.

HP has addressed several shortcomings of the previous versions of the server line, adding server administration, media collection, and "bare metal" Time Machine data recovery for Macs. MediaSmart Home offers an overview of the new Mac-related features alongside a thorough overall review of the new servers, finding them a significant update to HP's already-solid MediaSmart home server line.

The new EX490 and EX495 also support the free HP MediaSmart Server iStream iPhone application introduced in April to allow iPhone and iPod touch users to stream media to their handheld devices.

Pre-orders for the new HP MediaSmart Server models are available beginning today with suggested retail pricing beginning at $549 for the EX490 with a Celeron processor and a single 1 TB hard drive and $699 for the EX495 with an upgraded dual-core 2.5 GHz Pentium processor and a single 1.5 TB hard drive. Additional hard drive capacity up to 7 TB (internal) or 17 TB (internal plus external) is supported.

Microsoft today announced that it has begun shipping Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition, replacing the previous Standard Edition and Special Media Edition with a single package offering the complete Office suite with support for Microsoft Exchange included.

The new Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition is a lot like it sounds... a suite that's packed with tools and features needed to grow and manage a business. It has all the familiar Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Entourage, all updated with Service Pack 2) while including new tools to provide a more complete productivity package for the enterprise:

- Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition - Provides faster data synchronization so Entourage users on Exchange 2007 will experience improved email and calendaring support. Additionally, we've added the ability to sync Tasks, Notes and Categories - one of the top customer requests - making Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition the best client for Exchange on the Mac.

- Document Connection for Mac - Improves access and browsing to documents on SharePoint Products and Technologies and Microsoft Office Live Workspace for streamlined collaboration

- Extras - More than 200 business-related templates and clip art, along with lynda.com training

Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition carries a recommended retail price of $399.95 for the full version and $239.95 for an upgrade version. The existing Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student Edition, which offers the basic Office components but lacks a number of advanced features, continues to be offered at a suggested retail price of $149.95.

Microsoft announced the introduction of Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition last month alongside details of Outlook for Mac's inclusion in the next major version of Office scheduled for launch in late 2010.

Zune HD marks a significant step forward for portable media players, combining powerful hardware components such as an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) multitouch screen, an NVIDIA Tegra HD processor and HD Radio capabilities with software advancements such as the new Quickplay menu, a well-featured Web browser, and engaging music and video playback features to deliver a new portable listening and viewing experience. Quickplay is a new signature menu for Zune, putting customers one touch away from the content they love, such as favorites, last played items and media most recently added, eliminating the need to dig through menus to find the music, videos, pictures or podcasts they want.

Microsoft has also confirmed that the company will be adding games and other applications to the Zune Marketplace for use on the Zune HD.

Later this year, Zune plans to release free applications such as Twitter for Zune and Facebook for Zune, in addition to fun 3-D games such as "Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition," "Vans Sk8: Pool Service" and "Audiosurf Tilt." Games can be added to Zune HD via Zune Marketplace over the Wi-Fi connection or when connected to the Zune PC software.

Wired offers a first-look review of the new device, finding it a worthy competitor to the iPod touch with solid potential, but in need of additional features such as Mac support, greater video offerings, and of course a robust application store.

Apple today announced that Bruce Sewell, former general counsel and senior vice president at Intel, will join Apple in a similar role, holding titles of General Counsel and Senior Vice President, Legal and Government Affairs. Sewell, who takes the position of the retiring Daniel Cooperman, will report directly to Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

"We are thrilled to have Bruce join our executive team, and wish Dan a very happy retirement," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "With Bruce's extensive experience in litigation, securities and intellectual property, we expect this to be a seamless transition."

Intel announced Sewell's departure yesterday alongside several other organizational changes, but provided no information on his future plans. Sewell's apparently-sudden departure raised some eyebrows given current antitrust investigations focused on Intel, but today's announcement by Apple provides reassurance regarding the circumstances of his departure.

After several quiet weeks on the tablet rumor front as it became clear that no such device would be introduced at Apple's "It's Only Rock and Roll" media event, a new report from Taiwan Economic News revives rumor discussions by claiming that Apple's tablet computer will launch in February 2010 at a price point between $799 and $999. The report also claims that the tablet will utilize a P.A. Semi-engineered processor and will contain built-in 3G wireless connectivity. A 9.6-inch touch screen and an extended-life battery round out the claimed details.

As Apple Inc. will launch its newest tablet PCs next February, a couple of Taiwanese suppliers of PC parts and components have managed to join the supply chain and will start delivery to Apple in December, according to industry sources.

The tablet PC features a 9.6-inch screen, finger-touch function and built-in HSPDA (high speed download packet access) module, and adopts a P.A. SEMI processor chip and long lasting battery pack, selling for between US$799 and US$999.

The report claims that Dynapack has won a contract to supply up to 300,000 batteries per month for the new unit and notes that Wintek, Apple's current iPhone screen supplier, will supply touchscreens for the new device.

The claims echo a previous report by Taiwanese media several months ago, although that report had pointed to an October 2009 launch for the tablet. Other reports have also pointed to an early 2010 launch, as well as the inclusion of a chip platform from P.A. Semi. The chipmaker, which was acquired by Apple in April 2008, has been rumored to have been divided into two teams: one focused on iPhone and iPod touch projects and the other working on tablet computers.

A recent report has suggested that Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been almost singularly focused on the much-rumored tablet since his return from a medical leave of absence in late June, suggesting the product may be in the final design stages after several years of fits and starts.

Silicon Alley Insider reports on data from research firm NPD showing that U.S. Mac sales were up 7% year-over-year during the months of July and August, ahead of most analysts' projections. The data, reported by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, also shows a 16% decline in year-over-year iPod sales, a performance slightly below analysts' expectations.

Munster says NPD data from July and August show Mac sales up 7% year-over-year through August, while the Street is expecting 5% year-over-year growth for the quarter.

Back-to-school sales in the first few months of the quarter probably helped, but at least Apple could handle some deceleration this month and still meet expectations. (And Apple's international growth, not represented in NPD's figures, should help, too.)

Apple noted during its most recent earning conference call that it expects the market for Apple's traditional MP3 players to decline as users increasingly opt for the company's iPod touch or iPhone models. The introduction of new video camera-equipped iPod nano models at last week's "It's Only Rock and Roll" media event, however, may provide a boost to Apple's "traditional MP3 player" segment over the last few weeks of the quarter.

MacRumors has heard from multiple sources that Apple is planning to enhance the in-store iPhone purchasing and activation process at its retail stores. The changes, due to be rolled out as soon as tomorrow, will involve layout changes to current stores to create "iPhone Activation Zones" where customers can pick up and activate iPhones after having gone through the pre-authorization process online.

The activation zones will reportedly be staffed by a new category of retail store employee called "iPhone Experts", who will be denoted by unique name badges and t-shirts. With the move, Apple is clearly looking to streamline the iPhone purchasing experience for customers and provide a dedicated iPhone point of contact within the crowded retail store setting, particularly for new customers whose first experience with Apple products may be the iPhone.

Silicon Alley Insider reports that a change to accounting standards that received preliminary approval last week may alter the way Apple treats revenue from the iPhone and Apple TV. The issue relates to Apple's policy of recognizing revenue from the iPhone and Apple TV over a two-year period from the date of purchase, a policy developed to satisfy accounting regulations as Apple provides free feature additions and software updates to the devices beyond the initial purchase.

Consequently, Apple has instituted a policy of releasing two sets of earnings numbers each quarter, one official set using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) that parcels out iPhone and Apple TV revenue, and one set of non-GAAP numbers that includes all revenue as recorded on the date of purchase. For example, at its most recent quarterly earnings announcement, Apple reported official GAAP earnings of $1.23 billion on $8.34 billion in revenue, while the company's non-GAAP earnings came in at $1.94 billion on $9.74 billion in revenue.

The Emerging Issues Task Force of the Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued preliminary approval of a policy change that would allow Apple to officially recognize most of the revenue from iPhone and Apple TV sales at the time of purchase, setting aside only a small portion of the revenue deemed to be the value of future software upgrades for future recognition.

In a report last week, Credit Suisse describes an accounting rule change that may eventually allow Apple to book most iPhone revenue upfront. Doing so would not change the company's cash flow, so there would be no actual change in the theoretical value of the company or stock.

But the change would cause Wall Street analysts to jack up their earnings estimates, and it would significantly boost the company's reported earnings. This would make Apple's stock look much cheaper to unsophisticated investors. It might also, therefore, act as a catalyst for the stock.

The report notes that the rule change would affect only future sales, meaning that as Apple transitions to the new standard, its earnings would be somewhat inflated as the company recognized full revenue from new iPhone and Apple TV sales while still recording deferred revenue from sales in previous quarters made under the old standard.

A number of AT&T iPhone users around the United States are reporting that MMS is already working in advance of the September 25 date AT&T has officially announced as the MMS go-live date. According to accounts from forum members and across the web, MMS has started to work for some AT&T iPhone users with iPhone OS 3.1 out of the blue, requiring no action on their part to get it working.

Other forum members have followed instructions provided by Krillr.com to manually update a carrier settings file on their iPhones via iTunes, a method similar to hacks reported earlier this summer. Some have had success while others have not, though the ability to get MMS working appears to be more likely in some locations than others. Members have reported working MMS after applying the carrier file in California, Washington, Florida, Texas, and more, while others in Colorado, New Jersey, and other states describe that this method has not worked for them.

One side effect experienced by some who have tried this method is that visual voicemail ceases to function. Others report that MMS messaging will only work after the iPhone's Wi-Fi radio is turned off.

Another potential factor in enabling MMS functionality before the official go-live date is the selected messaging plan. Those on an unlimited family messaging plan appear to have better chances at success in enabling MMS than those on a standard iPhone messaging plan.

While the methods that require the use of a modified carrier file to enable MMS do not technically appear to be jailbreaking or hacking your iPhone, following these instructions may have some negative consequences that are yet unknown, so iPhone users should proceed with caution in following them. With AT&T's official roll-out of this feature in under two weeks, it may be less risky to wait.

Apple has quietly discontinued the 40GB Apple TV overnight and reduced the price of the 160GB model down to $229. Previously, the 40GB and 160GB models were priced at $229 and $329, respectively.

The Apple TV hardware has remained essentially unchanged since its introduction with the exception of hard drive size. Apple has always referred to the AppleTV as a "hobby" project and is still exploring ways to expand the market. Meanwhile, a new report claims to have found evidence that Apple's new iTunes LP bundles were likely formatted specifically for the Apple TV. This would suggest we should see a major Apple TV software update in the near future.

Wolfire Games' blog reveals that WebGL has quietly been integrated into the latest WebKit sources. WebGL is a standards based initiative which is bringing hardware accelerated 3D graphics to web browsers without the need for browser plug-ins.

The WebGL working group is defining a JavaScript binding to OpenGL ES 2.0 to enable rich 3D graphics within a browser on any platform supporting the OpenGL or OpenGL ES graphics standards. The working group is developing the specification to provide content portability across diverse browsers and platforms, including the capability of portable, secure shader programs.

Opera, Mozilla and Google have already committed to WebGL and the inclusion of it in WebKit means it should eventually trickle down into Safari as well. These demos show them running in early versions of WebKit/Safari.

WebGL is not yet available in the nightly builds of Webkit and is currently only available if you compile the source yourself.