MacRumors

With the release of the OS X Snow Leopard 10A402 beta yesterday, users have been poring over the new version looking for changes. Among the most obvious changes have been a few visual tweaks, although several other enhancements have also been discovered.

- Contextual Dock Menus in List View: Apple has modified the theme of contextual menus within the Dock when using list view. The menus now utilize what some users are calling a "heads-up display" theme of white text on a charcoal background.

- Finder Window Slider Button: The new-in-Snow Leopard Finder window slider button for adjusting icon sizes has now taken on a grey color as opposed to the standard blue buttons found elsewhere.

- Expos for Multiple Monitors Fixed: Expos reportedly now functions correctly when using multiple monitors, with windows remaining on their respective monitors in Expos rather than all being collected on the primary monitor.

- System Responsiveness and Speed: Many users are reporting greater system responsiveness and significant increases in speed. Startup and shutdown times appear to be significantly improved.

- Third-Party Preference Panes: Third-party System Preferences panes reportedly are now functional.

- Battery Life for Notebooks: A number of users have reported their battery life indicators estimating significantly longer run times than under previous Snow Leopard builds. This has not, however, been confirmed in actual battery life tests yet.

- New QuickTime Version: QuickTime X has been upgraded to Build 10.0 (42). There is no word on any visible changes in the new build.

Reuters reports that Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who has served on Apple's Board of Directors since 2006, will discuss with Apple how his role on the board may change in the wake of increasing overlap between the two companies' markets. The report comes just one day after Google announced that it will be entering the operating system market with Chrome OS, initially targeted at netbook computers.

Because Google's new Chrome OS would compete with Apple's own computer software, Schmidt said on Thursday he would talk to the Mac computer maker about whether he should recuse himself from Apple's board.

"I'll talk to the Apple people. At the moment, there's no issue," Schmidt told reporters at a Sun Valley media and technology conference organized by boutique investment bank Allen & Co.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission last month reportedly began taking an interest in the two companies' ties for potential antitrust reasons, as both Schmidt and Arthur Levinson, former CEO of biotech firm Genentech, are directors of both Apple and Google.

With Google's release of its Android operating system for mobile phones, Schmidt has recused himself from discussions regarding the iPhone at Apple board meetings, and it now appears that the operating system overlap between the two companies may necessitate further restrictions on Schmidt's participation with Apple, if not an outright resignation if potential solutions are deemed unworkable.

Apple has seeded developers with another incremental update to Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). The latest update reportedly brings software up to Build 10A402.

This Snow Leopard Developer Preview Update is recommended for all users running the Snow Leopard Developer Preview Build 10A394 or later. This update includes general operating system fixes for stability, compatibility, and security.

No word on what notable changes (if any) it brings. Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) is the next major Mac OS X release to come from Apple. It is expected to bring many "under the hood" changes that could significantly improve overall performance across multi-core Macs.

Snow Leopard will ship in September and will cost $29 for current Mac OS X 10.5 owners. Meanwhile, those customers who have purchased a Mac since June 8th can receive Snow Leopard for $9.95 though Apple's "Up to Date" program.

The Korea Herald reports that Apple has agreed to recall first-generation iPod nanos sold in South Korea following four reports of the device's batteries overheating or exploding. The recall comes several weeks after a request from the Korean government after which Apple initially offered to replace only those units found to be defective, but continuing pressure ultimately led to a full recall of the 155,000 units sold between October 2005 and December 2006.

With a series of media reports following the report of The Korea Herald, Apple said it would replace the batteries and shells of its first-generation iPod Nano with new ones.

"Customers who are concerned about possible overheating of the battery can get it exchanged," Park In-kyu, an official with the Korea Agency for Technology & Standards, told The Korea Herald, citing a document sent by Apple Korea on July 7.

The Korean recall follows similar complaints in Japan that ultimately resulted in Apple offering to replace overheating first-generation iPod nanos there last August.

Update: In a statement to The Loop, Apple denies any specific recall or change in its policies. As detailed in a support article, Apple has recognized since last summer the possibility for overheating batteries in the first-generation iPod nano and has addressed the issue with customers on a case-by-case basis.

"There has been no change to this policy in Korea or anywhere else, and as always, any customer who is concerned about the battery in their first generation iPod nano should contact AppleCare," reads Apple's statement.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published several dozen Apple patent applications this morning, and Unwired View highlights one group of them primarily related to iPhone software. The patents cover object and facial recognition, messaging, and voice modulation.

Object Recognition: One patent application, filed on June 17th, 2008, describes methods by which a mobile device user could detect an object via camera, RFID sensor or other means and have their device automatically identify and provide additional information on the object. In Apple's background information on the patent, an example of an art museum is used, describing how a user might take a photo of a piece of art and wish to have it automatically identified and additional information on it provided, or engage in an audio tour or podcast and wish to access additional content beyond that provided in the audio files.

Facial Detection: Another patent application, filed on March 8th, 2008, addresses the use of facial detection to allow a device to determine whether a user is passively interacting with the device. As an example, Apple describes how a user watching a video may have to periodically interact with a device in order to prevent a screen saver from activating. Apple's invention utilizes automatic facial detection via a camera on the device to determine that a user is present. The method may also be used to grant or deny users access to restricted applications or other data.

Message Filtering: Conceived as an extension of Parental Controls, this application, filed January 3rd, 2008, covers the ability for users to filter incoming or outgoing text-based messages based on their content. User-defined criteria could allow messages containing objectionable material to be edited to remove the content or be blocked entirely. Additionally, the technology could be used to require certain content to be present in messages. For example, a parent might require that messages contain proper spelling and grammar, or certain vocabulary words, or a certain number of words in a foreign language over a set period of time in order to aid a student in his or her studies.

Managing Multiple-Recipient Messages: In a patent application filed January 6th, 2008, Apple describes a method for managing messages with multiple recipients. The invention covers the ability for an application monitor whether the message has been delivered to all recipients, and if not, provide a simple interface for resending at a later time to those who have not received the message.

Unread Message Alerts: An application filed January 3rd, 2008 covers the ability for a device to automatically provide unread message alerts when a user is about to contact another party. For example, as a user begins to compose an e-mail to another person, the device may alert the user to unread messages from the second party that they may wish to view before sending their e-mail. The alert criteria may simply include the message recipient's name, but could also be expanded to specify content on the same subject as the intended message.

Voice Modulation: In a final patent application filed April 2nd, 2008, Apple describes methods for modulating voice audio output to simulate additional voices. Apple's examples describe a mother who could have an audiobook read in her voice to her child or a student who wishes to alter a section of a podcast lecture for emphasis.

Apple today released Safari 4.0.2, now available on Apple's Safari download page or through Software Update. According to the support document associated with the release, the update addresses two security vulnerabilities that could be exploited by maliciously crafted websites. The update also reportedly improves the stability of the Nitro JavaScript engine used by Safari.

The first vulnerability addressed permits websites to deploy cross-site scripting attacks.

An issue in WebKit's handling of the parent and top objects may result in a cross-site scripting attack when visiting a maliciously crafted website. This update addresses the issue through improved handling of parent and top objects.

The second vulnerability permits arbitrary code execution when visiting certain maliciously-crafted websites.

A memory corruption issue exists in WebKit's handling of numeric character references. Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. This update addresses the issue through improved handling of numeric character references. Credit to Chris Evans for reporting this issue.

Safari 4.0.2 is available for OS X Leopard, OS X Tiger, and Windows (XP and Vista).

Bloomberg reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is continuing to investigate Apple's disclosures regarding Steve Jobs' health during the early January period leading up to the announcement that Jobs would be taking a six-month medical leave of absence. The report is a follow-up to Bloomberg's January report about the investigation.

"The issue here is: Did Apple or Jobs make misleading disclosures, tested by what they knew at the time?" said Robert Hillman, a securities law professor at the University of California, Davis. "A disclosure could be misleading if it's a partial truth."

Whether the SEC will ultimately be able to take action against Apple or Jobs is unknown, given the uncertainty about the situation and the "murky" laws regarding disclosure of the health of companies' CEOs. Regardless of the extent to which a company has a duty to reveal health matters, it is clear that once a company chooses to speak about an issue, it must do so truthfully.

While there has to be some measure of confidentiality around the health of executives, any disclosures need to be accurate and complete, said Jahan Raissi, a former SEC enforcement attorney.

"Once you open your mouth and start to speak on a topic, you have to say something completely truthful," said Raissi, who is now a partner at Shartsis Friese LLP in San Francisco. "If what you omitted is material, thats a problem."

On that basis, the SEC is focusing its inquiry on what events may have transpired between January 5th, when Jobs and Apple announced that he was suffering from a "hormone imbalance" for which the treatment was "relatively simple" and January 14th, when Jobs announced that he was taking a leave of absence due to the medical issue being "more complex" than originally thought.

Jobs' health issues ultimately required him to undergo a liver transplant, although he was still able to meet his stated timeline in returning to work by the end of June.

Google announced that it is getting into the operating system business with Google Chrome Operating System. The new OS is described as Google's attempt to "re-think" what operating systems should be.

Google Chrome OS will be an open source, lightweight operating system that is initially targeted at netbooks.

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.

The new OS will run on both x86 and ARM chips. The first netbooks will begin shipping with the OS in the second half of 2010. In the long term, Google does expect that Chrome OS will work anywhere from small netbooks to full size desktop machines.

While Microsoft has the most to lose from such direct competition from Google, Apple will also be affected by Google's move into this space. In fact, Google's ultimate goal seems to be the same target market as Apple's, and is specifically shooting for ease of use and accessibility.

The Web will be a central part of the new operating system, and demonstrates the importance of supplying a robust browser experience. Google's work on the Chrome browser will carry over into the new OS.

The software architecture is simple -- Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.

PinchMedia announced that they had started detecting the "iPod 3,1" version number in their analytics reporting from App Store applications. The details are as follows:

- the first time an application using Pinch Analytics was run by a iPod3,1′ device occurred in late April 2009;
- applications using Pinch Analytics were run by iPod 3,1′ devices very infrequently until late May 2009, when the pace picked up slightly;
- As of this date, a few dozen distinct iPod 3,1′ devices have run around two dozen different applications using Pinch Analytics;
- The applications being run on iPod 3,1′ devices have all been the larger, more popular applications using Pinch Analytics, with hundreds of thousands to millions of unique users other than their size, the applications have little else in common.

This is not the first time we've heard of the "iPod 3,1" which is believed to represent the next generation iPod Touch. Previous references to the model have been detected in the 3.0 firmware. The currently shipping iPod touch has a model number of "2,1".

The most recent rumors have placed a camera in this 3rd generation iPod Touch which is expected to be released in September.

Apple's plans for a $1 billion server farm in North Carolina has been officially announced.

:This opportunity is fabulous, Catawba County Economic Development President Scott Millar said at a joint meeting of county commissioners and Maiden town council. We went after it very hard.

In order to attract Apple to the location, North Carolina offered a $46 million tax break over the next 10 years. Negotiations over the data center have been ongoing since September. The benefits to the local economy include 50 full time jobs, 250 indirect jobs, as well as an impact of up to 3,000 jobs in related industries.

The location will involve the construction of a 500,000 square foot building and is expected to be completed in 2010. The exact usage for the location has not been revealed. While Apple makes the bulk of its income through hardware sales, the company has increasingly been positioning itself as a services company that may require large server farms to support.

Fudzilla reports that the graphics performance of the integrated graphics in Intel's next-generation mobile processors (Arrandale) will exceed the performance of the current Intel mobile platform (Montevina).

As always, Intel codenames can be hard to follow. The Arrandale processors represent the mobile versions of Intel's Nehalem processors that were recently introduced into the Mac Pros. Intel then packages these mobile processors into "platforms" which combine a mobile chipset, mobile processor, and wireless network. The platform for Arrandale is called Calpella. Notably, Arrandale is the first mobile processor from Intel to come with integrated graphics processor built-in. As Arrandale represents the next generation mobile processor from Intel, Apple is expected to adopt it in its MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and iMacs in late 2009/early 2010.

According to Fudzilla, Intel has been "very quiet" about the performance of Arrandale's graphics core, but is telling partners that it "should end up faster" than the existing platforms. Exactly how fast that is remains up for debate. While they may be faster than Intel's previous offerings, Apple has since moved on to NVIDIA-based chipsets which offer much faster graphics performance. The news of Intel's plans, however, have taken on more importance, as it's unclear if NVIDIA will be able to offer its own chipset designs to support the Arrandale processors due to an ongoing licensing disagreement.

Apple, of course, is free to add-on discrete graphics cards to its designs, though this is typically reserved for its high-end models due to the additional cost. Meanwhile, Intel is prepping a separate project (Larrabee) that promises to boost graphics performance dramatically and is slated for launch in 2009. Apple is said to be planning on utilizing Larrabee in the future, but in exactly what combination of hardware remains unknown.

MacRumors readers "waiting for Arrandale" have been organizing in this thread.