MacRumors

Laptopmag covers some of the announcements made at Intel's Developer's Forum. The general manager of Intel's Mobility Group Dadi Perlmutter discussed current and future Intel mobile processor technology. These products and features should find their way into Apple laptops over time.

First of all, Perlmutter revealed that high end notebooks with their latest chipsets can now support Quad Core configurations. Quad Core notebooks are currently in production and will be available in a month. Of course, this means that Apple could also support Quad Core configurations in their MacBook Pros. Although Apple's MacBook Pro has been rumored to be undergoing a revision in September, no rumors have pegged Quad Core computing as a feature.

One major focus of the talk was Intel's upcoming processor shift to Nehalem. The next generation mobile platform is known as "Calpella" and is said to make the current systems "pale in comparison". Intel detailed a new technology in the Nehalem processors called "Turbo Mode". Turbo Mode allows processors to turn off unused cores for improved power manangement.

"Turbo mode requires no operating system intervention. It is fully detected and managed by the hardware. If it has detected an idle core, it is able to reallocate that power budget to the other cores," Gelsinger said in an interview after his keynote.

Other changes include the integration of memory controller and the graphics core into the CPU for Nehalem-based laptops. This removes the need for an integrated graphics chipset and should boost graphics performance, though not to the same degree as a dedicated video hardware. Other enhancements are detailed by PCWorld:

With between two and eight cores, the speed of Nehalem chips will be enhanced with QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) technology, which integrates a memory controller and provides a faster pipe for chips and system components to communicate. Nehalem will support DDR3 memory and include shared 8M bytes of shared L3 cache for local cores to better execute threads. Each core will be able to execute two software threads simultaneously, so a server with eight processor cores could potentially run 16 threads simultaneously.

While the first version of Nehalem's server chips will arrive later this year, the mobile version of Nehalem will not be available until the second half of 2009.

Many will remember Proximi's MagicPad [App Store] iPhone application which was the first to offer a 3rd party notepad application for the iPhone with copy and paste functionality. Of course, due to the constraints of the iPhone SDK, Promixi was only able to provide copy and paste functionality within their own application.

Promixi, however, took it a step further and proposed an interface for system-wide copy and paste on the iPhone. While Apple has acknowledged that iPhone copy and paste is in their plans, it has simply not been a high enough priority for them.

Student developer Zac White has since taken matters in his own hands and founded a non-profit, open source, community project called OpenClip which is offering iPhone developers a free Copy and Paste framework that will add this functionality to their applications. This will allow users to copy and paste data between supported applications.

OpenClip accomplishes this feat while still following the rules of Apple's SDK. iPhone applications are allowed to read from other application's files but only write to their own. By creating a standard location for each application's "clipboard", applications can "copy" by simply saving data locally and "paste" by pulling the most recently saved data across all applications.

A demonstration of the OpenClip is shown in GeekBrief.tv video with early versions of Twittelator [App Store], WordPress [App Store], and MagicPad [App Store].

These same developers have OpenClip-supported versions coming soon with others pledging support. Developers and users can find more information at OpenClip.org.

Apple has issued a statement and a knowledge base article addressing two separate support issues that may require product replacement.

The first issue received publicity today surrounding a Japanese report that certain iPod nanos may be a fire risk.

Japan on Tuesday warned users of Apple iPod nanos of a potential fire risk after two new instances in which the popular portable music players overheated.

This appears to affect only the first generation (tall rectangular) iPod nanos sold in Sept 2005 - Dec 2006. Apple quickly released a statement today acknowledging the problem:

Apple has determined that in very rare cases batteries in first generation iPod nanos sold between September 2005 and December 2006 can overheat causing failure and deformation of the iPod nano.

Any first generation iPod nano customers with any battery overheating issues or issues should contact AppleCare for replacement.

The second issue is one that with regard to fraying MagSafe power adapters that have been used in the MacBook and MacBook Pros. This issue has received some publicity amongst support forums. Apple has posted a knowledge base article indicating that affected customers may be eligible for replacement even if your adapter is out-of-warranty.

You may notice a separation of the white insulation on the magnetic end of the MagSafe adapter. Under continued use, the cable may discolor and the rubber molding may become deformed.

Affected customers should visit a local Apple Store for evaluation and replacement.

Update: Owners of the pre-MagSafe adapters may also qualify for replacements if their adapters suffer from the same symptoms.

iPhon.fr posts (via Gizmodo) screenshots of what claim to be the upcoming Nike+ running application for iPhone. Nike+ is a running accessory for the iPod Nano that allows you to track your running.

With a sensor in your shoe and a receiver on your iPod nano, your run takes on a whole new dimension. See the minutes tick by. Watch the miles unfold. Hear real-time feedback. All to your favorite music including the one song that always gets you through the home stretch.

A new version for the iPhone and iPod touch had been previously reported but no announcements have been made since. The iPhone's always-on internet connection is expected to allow you to update your training log on the fly. The screenshots also reveal that mapping is included.

A few other running apps such as RunKeeper have been featured on our iPhone Blog (rss) which is tracking some of the latest iPhone app developments.

Nike+ has generated a significant following with a group of our forum members organizing MacRumors Nike+ challenges.
Update: AppleInsider believes these to be fake.

Apple has accelerated the Mac OS X 10.5.5 seeding with build 9F17 delivered to developers last night. The latest build still lists no known issues and provides fixes for iCal, Mail Sync, Back to My Mac and Core Animation.

While difficult to predict when Apple will release this version to the public, accelerated releases with "no known issues" tend to be signs of an impending release.

Apple last updated Mac OS X with version 10.5.4 on June 30th, 2008. The next release will be a free update and is expected to incorporate over a hundred bug fixes.

According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), Apple still tops the list as highest in customer satisfaction for personal computers. Apple's customer satisfaction score reached a record 85, which was 10 points higher Dell, its closest competitor.

"We haven't seen anything like this before, where a company scores 10 points over its nearest rival," said Claes Fornell, the head of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), conducted quarterly by the University of Michigan.

Fornell believes that part of Apple's climb in customer satisfaction has been due to a particularly poor response to Window's Vista, which may have contributed to drops in the satisfaction of rival companies.

Apple has sent out emails to MobileMe subscribers tonight revealing that they are extending all MobileMe subscriber accounts by 60 additional days:

We have already made many improvements to MobileMe, but we still have many more to make. To recognize our users' patience, we are giving every MobileMe subscriber as of today a free 60 day extension. This is in addition to the one month extension most subscribers have already received. We are working very hard to make MobileMe a great service we can all be proud of. We know that MobileMe's launch has not been our finest hour, and we truly appreciate your patience as we turn this around. Read this article for more details.

The MobileMe Team

Eligible individuals are those with an active MobileMe account as of August 19, 2008 at 0:00 Pacific Daylight Time. As well, customers with an active free trial as of August 19, 2008 at 0:00 Pacific Daylight Time will also see a 60 day extension to their free trial.

This 60-day extension is in addition to all previously offered extensions. All MobileMe customers were given a free 30 day extension that was announced on July 16th. Some free trial customers affected by billing mistakes were later offered another free 30 day extension.

As predicted in a last minute rumor, Apple has released the 2.0.2 firmware for the iPhone.

Apple helpfully describes the contents of the update as "Bug Fixes". It's not yet known if this software updates fixes rumored 3G connectivity issues. Steve Jobs was said to have promised a software patch "soon" to address that issue.

Early reports:

- Subjective reports of things being faster (though these reports are common with any update)
- No consensus on improved 3G connectivity
- iPod Touch firmware 2.0.2 also released
- Netshare still works

The iPhone Blog reports that iPhone firmware 2.0.2 will be released at 5:00 PM Eastern time, just a few minutes from now. According to their source, AT&T has said that "the results of this software release will improve the customers experience while operating on our network." While details of the update remain unknown, it may address the 3G connectivity issues being experienced by 2% of iPhone customers.

Apple continues to seed beta versions of the iPhone firmware 2.1, suggesting that the 2.0.2 update may consist of only minor "bug fixes" or be focused on only a small number of issues requiring immediate attention by Apple.

Update: Apple has released the update, described only as including "bug fixes," via iTunes.

BusinessWeek reports on an upcoming plan from Dell to try to topple Apple's dominance in digital downloads.

The threat is being spearheaded by a former Apple executive Tim Bucher who left Apple on bad terms:

According to a lawsuit later filed by Bucher, Jobs said: "People think you are sometimes manic-depressive.... I think I'm going to have to ask you to leave the company." Bucher was stunned: He'd been promoted only a few months earlier. Bucher left Apple but soon sued for wrongful termination. He says the charges of mental illness are "completely false."

Bucher has since taken a job with Dell and is leading a 120 person team to counter Apple's current dominance in online music and movie distribution.

Dell is reportedly working on standardizing a system across computers, mobile phones and online music sites to provide a universal system for digital distribution.

Central to Dell's plan is software acquired a year ago when it bought Zing, the company Bucher founded after leaving Apple. The software handles behind-the-scenes translations so that content can be "zinged" between computers and other compatible devices. Dell hopes to announce the Zing software as a feature on small, cheap laptops expected in September and to have the software installed on all of its consumer PCs by the end of the year.

Details remain sketchy but some analysts are understandably skeptical about Dell's chances. Dell is expected to unveil details of their plan in September.