MacRumors

iPhoneHellas.gr claims that the iPhone 2.2 firmware will become available on November 21st based on what they describe as a "reliable" source. Meanwhile, Gizmodo also describes the iPhoneHellas site as "reliable" but we at MacRumors have had very little experience with the site.

iPhoneHellas.gr also recaps the new features that have been found to be in the early 2.2 iPhone betas:

- New look for the Safari with the Google search bar now occupying its own space on the title bar
- Toggle On / Off to disable the auto-correction
- 461 Japanese emoji icons
- Support for new languages.
- Line-in audio is activated and can be used through the headphone jack
- Google Street View, Google Transit information - Routes public transport, Walking directions, Location sharing.
- App Store: 'Categories' now shows the icons of the applications instead of the list, In each page of the application has been added by a button 'Tell A Friend' & 'Report A Problem', Added the possibility of scoring the application when the user chooses to delete from the device, Added the possibility for direct downloading of podcasts from the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store

iPhone 2.2 betas have been distributed to developers for early testing.

Parallels has announced the immediate availability of Parallels 4.0. Parallels allows Intel-Mac users to run Windows alongside Mac OS X.

The latest update to their Windows-virtualization software for Intel Macs promises new performance, security, backup and power saving features. Performance is said to be "up to 50% faster".

Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac introduces support for DirectX 9, DirectX Pixel Shader 2.0 and OpenGL 2.0, providing fast video performance, while the Adaptive Hypervisor dynamically allocates resources to meet user needs. The responsiveness to all applications is further enhanced as the virtualization engine has been optimized to consume 15-30% less resources than previous versions.

This release also finally introduces support for up to 8 way symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) to take advantage of the multi-core CPUs found in all Macs. Other features include:

- Improved Windows and Mac integration, True Drag & Drop and Copy & Paste, SmartX Technologies and Built-in Installation and Migration Tools.
- Adaptive Hypervisor, FastLane Architecture, up to 8 way SMP and 8 GB RAM plus 64-bit support for each VM, HyperBus and support for DirectX 9.0, DirectX Pixel Shader 2.0, and OpenGL 2.0.
- Parallels Internet Security powered by Kaspersky, Acronis True Image Home backup and restore, SmartGuard, PowerSaver, Full-hardware ACPI support and Acronis Disk Director Suite disk management.
- eMac OS X Leopard Server and Windows Server OS support, VM Directory, CLI and Scripting support, SDK and API, remote control from iPhone, PXE Boot, improved networking and VM Templates.

Version 4.0 retails for $79.99 and is available as a paid $39.99 upgrade to existing Parallels customers. A free trial is also available.

Update: Parallels is offering a $5 coupon through our affiliate partner.

Despite Apple's reluctance to enter the netbook market, at least one person has taken it upon himself to fashion a "MacBook Nano" based on the MSI U100 netbook. This Flickr photo set made the rounds on Monday as an interesting example of what could be if Apple decided to pursue this market.

This 1.6GHz Atom-based machine sports a 10" display, 2GB RAM, 320GB hard drive and weighs in at 2.2 lbs. While the process of installing Mac OS X onto the MSI U100 has been long detailed, the external case of this machine has been modified to display an Apple logo and be labeled as a "MacBook Nano". We're not sure the back-story on this hack but the machine does appear to come out of the Chinese retail box already modified.

Steve Jobs has said that they are not yet interested in the low cost netbook category but did hint that Apple had "some pretty interesting ideas" about it. Some earlier whispers had suggested that Apple might deliver some sort of sub-notebook in early 2009. Despite Apple's launch of the ultra-thin MacBook Air, some users want a notebook with a screen size smaller than 13".

The NPD Group issued a press release today revealing that the Apple iPhone is now ranked #1 in consumer phone sales for the 3rd quarter of 2008. The iPhone surpassed Motorola's RAZR phone which had been ranked #1 for the previous 12 quarters.

"The displacement of the RAZR by the iPhone 3G represents a watershed shift in handset design from fashion to fashionable functionality," said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for NPD. "Four of the five best-selling handsets in the third quarter were optimized for messaging and other advanced Internet features."

NPD bases their data on online surveys each month that are projected to represent the entire population of U.S. consumers age 18 and over.

The iPhone and RAZR were followed by the RIM Blackberry Curve, LG Rumor and LG enV2 in the top 5 ranking.

Fortune provides a detailed profile of Apple's COO Tim Cook and asks an ongoing question: Could this be Steve Jobs' eventual successor? Speculation about who might replace Steve Jobs has remained a hot topic ever since his scare with pancreatic cancer four years ago. Cook is certainly high on the list as he was chosen by Jobs to take over day to day operations at Apple while Jobs was out for surgery in 2004. Steve Jobs has since made a made a full recovery with recent reports indicating that there has been no recurrence.

Fortune describes Cook as a workaholic who has been essentially running Apple for years. Meanwhile, Cook's demeanor is described as demanding and unemotional. He is credited for helping Apple become the "cash-generating machine" that it is today:

There are two basic ways to get great profit margins: Charge high prices or reduce costs. Apple does both. The marketing and design drive consumers wild with desire and make them willing to pay a premium; Cook's operational savvy keeps costs under control.

Cook is one of the highest paid executives at Apple and is said to be involved in more aspects of Apple's operation than any other executive.

Critics of the possibility, however, point out that Cook does not share Jobs' vision:

"They need a brilliant product guy, and Tim is not that guy. He is an ops guy - at a company where ops is outsourced."

But others suggests that Cook might simply need to surround himself with those who complement his weaknesses "just as Steve has Tim around to make up for his".

9to5Mac believes that Sony BMG will soon begin offering their music catalog to Apple in the iTunes Plus format. iTunes Plus is Apple's marketing term for higher quality (256kbit) audio tracks without any copy protection (DRM). Apple first started selling iTunes Plus tracks from EMI in May, 2007.

Despite Apple's willingness to sell DRM-free music, the other major record labels have withheld this ability from the company in an effort to reduce iTunes' marketshare in digital music downloads. The biggest beneficiary appears to be Amazon who currently offers DRM-free digital downloads from all four major music studios.

Sony BMG's iTunes participation would leave Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group as the remaining Apple holdouts. If true, Macworld San Francisco could be a possible announcement date for the new agreement.

The drama continues for Apple's new employee Mark Papermaster who recently took a job at Apple to replace Tony Fadell. The transition has received more attention than usual due to a lawsuit filed by IBM.

Papermaster was said to have a non-compete agreement in place in which he agreed not to work at a competitor for a period of one year following his employment at IBM.

A new report reveals that a District Court judge has now ordered Papermaster to immediately stop work due to the possible violation of the agreement. Papermaster has argued that IBM and Apple are not competitors. Apple has said they will comply with the court's order but "are confident that Mark Papermaster will be able to ultimately join Apple when the dust settles".

Papermaster was hired at Apple to replace Fadell as senior vice president of Devices Hardware Engineering. Fortune provides a detailed timeline of the events of Papermaster's recruitment. Steve Jobs is said to have offered Papermaster an offer he couldn't refuse, a "once in a liftetime opportunity". Papermaster accepted the job offer despite a significant counteroffer from IBM.

Apple's latest patent application reveals that they're continuing to look into personal virtual reality headsets. The February 2008 application is titled "Automatically adjusting media display in a personal display system" and details a "personal display system" which can give "the impression of being in the theater."

Apple suggests that by detecting the user's movements, the image could be adjusted accordingly:

For example, the device may detect a user's head movement and cause the portion of media displayed to reflect the head movement.

Apple even makes the point that they could take the realism so far as adding theatre surroundings, adjusting sound effects based on the user's "seat" and even adding outlines of other patrons sitting in the theatre.

It's not unusual for Apple's patent applications explore novel concepts but Apple has published previous patents related to similar headsets.

MobileCrunch reveals that during an interview at the Web 2.0 Summit, AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph De La Vega confirmed that AT&T would be offering an official tethering option for the iPhone "soon".

Tethering is the process by which you allow the iPhone to act as a 3G modem for your laptop. This would allow you to share the iPhone's cellular connection with your laptop.

A 3rd party tethering option called NetShare briefly appeared in the App Store before it was removed by Apple. AT&T traditionally charges an additional $30/month for this tethering option on their other smartphones. MacRumors has separately heard that this tethering capability is expected to be built into the 2.2 firmware.