MacRumors

While there has been an ongoing belief that Apple was indeed planning a camera module in the latest iPod touch, one reader has found the most convincing proof when comparing the iFixit teardown of the new iPod touch with the previously leaked images of an iPod touch with camera.

When comparing the teardown images to the leaked iPod touch with Camera images from radio show Covino & Rich, it becomes obvious that internals of the leaked images line up convincingly with the internals of the third-generation iPod touch. Meanwhile, they are both distinct from the internals of the second-generation iPod touch. Such a finding is beyond the realm of coincidence, which means that this image of a camera-enabled iPod touch was indeed a real Apple prototype:

It's not entirely clear why the camera was dropped from the iPod touch, though rumors suggest Apple is still interested in adding a camera to the device.

Another interesting possibility found in iFixit's teardown of the third-generation iPod touch was an empty space on the circuit board that could house a camera. The location is consistent with the location of the rumored iPod touch camera and is distinct from the previous-generation iPod touch design.

Pictured above is the second-generation iPod touch on the left and the third-generation iPod touch on the right. The round metal piece seen in the middle of the second-generation iPod touch board is actually an antenna cable socket which has been moved on the third-generation model, which only has a black plastic spacer in that place. According to iFixit, an iPod-nano style camera would fit in that location.

The finding is also consistent with a report from AppleInsider which claimed that the iPod touch with camera was a real product but had been scrapped about a month ago. The rumor site also believes that Apple is still planning on adding camera capabilities to the iPod touch in the near future.

iFixit has managed to get its hands on a 32 GB third-generation iPod touch and is in the process of tearing apart the device to get a look at the internals. While the new iPod touch is similar in many respects to the second-generation model, especially given the absence of a camera module, there are some hardware differences.

One of the more intriguing differences uncovered so far is the inclusion of a Broadcom BCM4329 combination Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chip, which supports the 802.11n Wi-Fi standard in addition to 802.11a/b/g standards. The iPhone 3GS and the second-generation iPod touch utilize a different BCM4325 chip, which supports only the 802.11a/b/g standards. While Apple has apparently not activated 802.11n capability in the iPod touch and it is unknown whether it will choose to do so in the future, the new iPod touch hardware does appear to be capable of supporting the standard.

Hints of the BCM4329 chip were initially spotted in early iPhone OS 3.0 betas, leading to speculation that the next-generation iPhone might support 802.11n. The iPhone 3GS, however, was ultimately released with the BCM4325 chip and thus unable to support the faster Wi-Fi standard.

Other reports earlier this year pointed to the BCM4329 chip's ability to both receive and transmit FM signals as a sign that Apple might look to add an FM tuner and possibly add the ability to transmit audio wirelessly to car stereos via FM radio. At the time, Apple had shown no interest in adding FM capabilities to its iPod line, but Apple's new iPod nano released this week does include an FM tuner, suggesting that Apple may be rethinking that strategy.

Apple routinely does not take full advantage of the capabilities of various hardware components of its devices for various reasons, and there has been no indication that the company has plans to utilize the BCM4329 chip's expanded capabilities, but the possibility of such features being enabled in the future makes for interesting speculation.

Update: iFixit has also revealed that there is a small empty space at the top of the device (approximately 6 mm x 6 mm x 3 mm) where an iPod nano-style camera could fit. The iPod touch does not appear to be thick enough to adequately house an autofocus camera as found in the iPhone 3GS.

Daring Fireball's John Gruber noted yesterday that Apple has released libdispatch, the source code for the user space implementation of Grand Central Dispatch, taking a significant portion of the company's technology for more efficiently utilizing multicore processors open source. While some may consider the move a surprise due to the technology's key role in the core of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, MacResearch points out several reasons why the move may not be all that risky for Apple.

So why did they do it? Only Apple knows for sure, but there are compelling arguments for open sourcing Grand Central Dispatch, even for a commercial enterprise. First, Apple will of course reap the rewards of any development that takes place, just as they have with WebKit. Second, it is unlikely that Grand Central would be used by any direct competitor to Apple, like Microsoft. Grand Central is more likely to be added to other UNIX and Linux systems, none of which really pose a threat to Apple's consumer-based business.

Opening up Grand Central Dispatch for broader distribution into the UNIX community could ultimately serve to spark new innovations using the technology that could make their way back to the Mac platform. In addition, wider distribution of the technology could drive the adoption of other technologies such as blocks, the non-standard extension to the C programming language upon which Grand Central Dispatch is based.

Apple has posted a support article detailing a number of enhancements to its MobileMe service made possible by the launch of iPhone OS 3.1, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, and MobileMe Control Panel for Windows 1.5.

iPhone OS 3.1 brings enhancements to Find My iPhone, which now allows users to remotely set a passcode lock to prevent others from accessing the device, plays device alerts at the loudest volume, and notifies users that the feature will not function if the device's data fetching option is set to Manual. The update also adds automatic syncing of subscribed iCal calendars and merging of bookmarks upon syncing on the iPhone and iPod touch. Finally, an issue with MobileMe Gallery image and video publication has been addressed.

Snow Leopard brings several improvements to MobileMe, including changes to Mac and iDisk syncing and support for Apple's new "Wake on Demand" feature in conjunction with MobileMe's "Back to My Mac" remote access capabilities. Snow Leopard also now allows users to publish movies to their MobileMe Gallery directly from QuickTime Player.

Finally, Windows users will benefit from the update to MobileMe Control Panel, which adds support for Windows 7, allows users to set a MobileMe calendar as the default calendar for Outlook, and resolves issues related to incorrect ordering of bookmarks when syncing.

Apple this week has launched three new television commercials, including one new "Get a Mac" ad featuring Justin Long and John Hodgman in their usual roles, one highlighting the gaming focus of the iPod touch, and a third showing off the video capabilities of the new iPod nano.

The newest "Get a Mac" commercial, entitled PC Innovation Lab and posted yesterday to Apple's ad gallery, highlights several of Apple's technological innovations, including MagSafe power connectors and extended-life batteries. In contrast, Hodgman's "PC" character introduces several new tongue-in-cheek PC innovations, which include an "air-cushioned enclosure" and a "new, extremely long cord".

The other two commercials, introduced during Apple's "It's Only Rock and Roll" media event on Wednesday, have also been posted to their respective ad galleries. Apple's Next Level Fun commercial highlights gaming on the iPod touch by displaying a series of games, including several multiplayer scenarios, in quick succession. The new iPod nano commercial, entitled Nano Shoots Color, shows off the new device's video camera capabilities while also demonstrating the wide variety of available color options.

Prototype Apple products have been known to appear on eBay. Late last year, a prototype MacBook Air was found by a member of our forum and in March a prototype iPhone was spotted.

Now, it seems a prototype Mac Pro has been put up for sale on eBay, claiming to be an early 2.4GHz dual Quad-Core processor machine. The machine is said to even be able to run Snow Leopard. Photos of the machine are provided and it does contain a red motherboard typical of Apple's prototype machines:

Meanwhile, another interesting prototype machine was found by a forum member back in May. jpo287 purchased a PowerBook that carries an Intel processor and an iSight camera -- features that were never released in a "PowerBook" branded machine. The machine carries a build date of November of 2005 which was two months before the first Intel MacBook Pros were released. For whatever reason, this unreleased PowerBook contains a blue motherboard:

More photos and speculation can be seen in the original discussion thread.

Apple today released Mac OS X 10.6.1, the first maintenance update for Snow Leopard, via Software Update and Apple's software downloads page. The most recent developer build of OS X 10.6.1, Build 10B504, was seeded just two days ago. The update brings several bug fixes, as well as an update to Flash Player to incorporate the most recent release from Adobe.

The 10.6.1 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 for:

- compatibility with some Sierra Wireless 3G modems
- an issue that might cause DVD playback to stop unexpectedly
- some printer compatibility drivers not appearing properly in the add printer browser
- an issue that might make it difficult to remove an item from the Dock
- instances where automatic account setup in Mail might not work
- an issue where pressing cmd-opt-t in Mail brings up the special characters menu instead of moving a message
- Motion 4 becoming unresponsive

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3810.
For information on the security content of this update, please visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.

- Mac OS X v10.6.1 Update (71.47 MB)
- Mac OS X Server v10.6.1 Update (71.57 MB)

Apple has also released Security Update 2009-005 for users on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and 10.4 Tiger.

- Security Update 2009-005 (Leopard) (93.14 MB)
- Security Update 2009-005 Server (Leopard) (93.14 MB)

- Security Update 2009-005 (Tiger Intel) (169.75 MB)
- Security Update 2009-005 (Tiger PPC) (77.95 MB)
- Security Update 2009-005 Server (Tiger Univ) (206.43 MB)
- Security Update 2009-005 Server (Tiger PPC) (132.53 MB)

TUAW reports that a number of iPhone users who have updated to iPhone OS 3.1 are finding themselves unable to access their Microsoft Exchange accounts due to device incompatibility with Exchange's server-side encryption.

While the iPhone 3GS supports this device-level encryption, other iPhone and iPod touch models do not. Non-3GS devices had been able to access Exchange systems utilizing the encryption option on iPhone OS 3.0, but the ability was apparently an oversight on Apple's part that has been corrected in iPhone OS 3.1.

While many are reacting to this issue as though it's a bug, and are reporting it as such, the reality is that the Exchange encryption requirement is a feature and the fact that it was not being correctly enforced was actually a security hole. IT administrators with Exchange 2007 SP1 servers and iPhone clients are probably going to be fielding an above-average level of incoming questions, but at least they can rest easy knowing that Exchange encryption is now working correctly. Cold comfort for their users, though.

Apple today posted a support document addressing the issue, noting that the only recommend solution at this time is for affected users' system administrators to disable the device encryption option for syncing.

iFixit has posted a teardown of the new fifth-generation iPod nano launched yesterday at Apple's "It's Only Rock and Roll" media event. While the teardown reveals very similar construction to the previous-generation model with the obvious exception of the camera module, the images provide an interesting glimpse at the internals of one of Apple's new devices.

Changes from the previous-generation iPod nano highlighted in the teardown include the speaker assembly, which directs the audio out the bottom of the device, and of course the camera, which is substantially thinner than the one found in the iPhone. The main ARM processor is Apple-branded and expected to be a Samsung processor as in the past, and the 8 GB flash memory chip in the dissected unit is from Toshiba.

AppleInsider notes that a newly-posted Nike + iPod User Guide (PDF) contains a reference to an as-yet unavailable heart rate monitor that will apparently only be compatible with the new fifth-generation iPod nano launched yesterday at Apple's "It's Only Rock and Roll" media event. The reference, found on Page 20 of the user guide, is part of a section entitled "Linking a Nike + iPod Compatible Remote or Heart Rate Monitor".

Nike + iPod compatible devices are sold separately from the Nike + iPod Sport Kit and the Nike + iPod Sensor.

You can use a compatible remote to control Nike + iPod wirelessly while you work out.

iPod nano (5th generation only) also supports Nike + iPod compatible heart rate monitors.

A further subsection provides information on linking the heart rate monitor to the iPod nano.

To link to a Nike+ compatible heart rate monitor (sold separately):
iPod nano (5th generation only): Connect your Nike + iPod receiver to your iPod nano, choose Nike + iPod > Settings > Heart Rate Monitor > Link, then follow the onscreen instructions.

The report also cites sources claiming that the heart rate monitor was expected to be launched alongside the new iPod nano, but has been delayed for an unspecified period of time, with no reason given for the delay.

PreCentral notes that iTunes 9, launched yesterday at Apple's "It's Only Rock and Roll" media event, once again breaks media syncing for the Palm Pre.

The big question on everybody's mind: does it break Palm Pre Sync? Pre users in this thread are downloading now and the verdict is yes, Palm Pre Sync appears to be busted.

The Palm Pre was initially designed to allow users to sync media directly from their iTunes libraries via iTunes by presenting itself as an iPod. Apple disabled the functionality for Pre users with the release of iTunes 8.2.1 in mid-July, but Palm fired back just a week later with the release of webOS 1.1, which re-enabled iTunes media syncing for the Pre.

Despite apparent violations of USB Implementers Forum regulations in its unauthorized use of Apple's USB Vendor ID Number to achieve media syncing, Palm also brazenly reported Apple to the compliance organization for what Palm believes to be improper actions by Apple in preventing other vendors from accessing iTunes via USB.