MacRumors

Apple has seeded the first version of Mac OS X 10.5.5 (Build 9F5) to developers tonight. This is the first new seed of Mac OS X since the released of Mac OS X 10.5.4 on June 30th.

Apple instructs developers to focus on testing a number of areas including Time Machine, AirPort, Networking, Spotlight, and many others. Apple details over 83 other bug fixes and issues addressed including a few potential kernel panic scenarios.

At this early stage, there appear to be some major issues as Apple warns developers not to install this seed on the MacBook Air, MacBook, Mac Mini, iMac (with Intel integrated graphics).

Apple is now offering registered iPhone developers with daily download statistics on how well their applications are doing in the App Store.

Before today, most developers had been left in the dark about their applications performance, and had to wait until the first of the monthly reports. Apple had originally posted download numbers publicly but quickly removed this feature once it became clear that you could easily estimate a particular developer's revenue. Registered iPhone developers can find their daily stats at iTunes Connect.

Daily reports may help developers more quickly find proper price points. Larger developers must have already had access to their download stats, as Sega's president said that he expected that Sega would sell 1 million downloads for Super Monkey Ball, though no time-frame was given.

Other developers have already been making pricing adjustments due to the high level of competition in the App Store. Most recently, Pangea Software dropped the price of their Cro-Mag Rally racing game from $9.99 to $5.99.

IEEE has approved a new version of IEEE 1394, better known to Apple users as Firewire. The standard, known as 1394-2008, encompasses all prior Firewire technology and provides complete specifications for speeds of 1.6 Gigabits/second and 3.2 Gigabits/second, which TG Daily notes utilizes the existing 9 pin cables of Firewire 800.

Firewire 400 devices have become widespread in the computer industry, though the faster Firewire 800 specification has seen slower adoption. Currently MacBook Pros, Mac Pros, and iMacs each feature both Firewire 400 and Firewire 800 ports.

IEEE says the new standard is expected to be available in October.

AppleInsider claims that Apple resellers have received notice that MacBook, MacBook Pro and iPod supplies will become constrained in the coming weeks. Apple expects to decrease production of these models and, as a result, Apple is recommending that resellers stock up on supplies now to last them through August.

Based on past experiences and knowledge of their own inventory sell-through, those resellers who received the bulletin believe the notice is a strong indicator that Apple will begin introducing its holiday consumer electronics and Mac offerings sometime in early to mid-September.

Apple has refreshed their iPod lineup in September for the past 2 years and is widely expected to do the same again this year. Apple's free iPod Touch Back to School promotion coincidentally ends on September 15th.

Rumored possibilities include a new iPod touch, "tall" iPod nano, MacBook with glass trackpad, newly designed MacBook Pros, and, of course, a Mac tablet.

Apple has released an update to iTunes to version 7.7.1. The update includes "fixes to improve stability and performance." iTunes 7.7.1 is currently available through Apple's Software Update.

Use iTunes 7.7 to sync music, video, and more with iPhone 3G, and download applications from the iTunes Store exclusively designed for iPhone and iPod touch with software version 2.0 or later. Also use the new Remote application for iPhone or iPod touch to control iTunes playback from anywhere in your home a free download from the App Store.

iTunes 7.7.1 includes fixes to improve stability and performance.

Just a week after the first iPhone 2.1 beta seed, Apple has released another 2.1 firmware release to developers. The new version appears to include several bug fixes.

"This is the second beta of the iPhone SDK targeting iPhone OS 2.1, including bug fixes to iPhone OS as well as an early implementation of the Apple Push Notification Service API. This API is not yet integrated with a live push server."

Apple has not announced a timeframe for the 2.1 release, but the included "Push Notification Service" was promised by September.

Despite early hints of turn-by-turn GPS and Copy/Paste, further investigation indicates that these may not have been new findings in the 2.1 firmware (and had also existed in 2.0). References to a new iPod Touch model, however, suggests an iPod Touch hardware upgrade in the coming months.

Not all registered iPhone developers have access to the seeds. The first seed was only available to iPhone developers who had been accepted into the program prior to July 11th (~4000 individuals).

9to5mac points to a recent ARM announcement that the company has secured a major architectural licensing deal with an "unnamed OEM" (original equipment manufacturer). This broad architectural license allows the manufacturers to develop their own implementations of the ARM processor and has been issued very few times over the years. The name of the licensee has not been officially announced.

During today's financial results conference, the CEO of ARM explains why a company might want this sort of license:

"Some handset manufacturers want to have more control over the design of their handset, including the components within it, than others. And it's as simple as that. And the ARM business model offers one that level of control, if that's what one wants to do and one has the technical resources available to do it," said East.

EETimes' Peter Clarke believes that Apple is the unnamed licensee. The iPhone reportedly contains as many as five ARM processor cores inside of it from multiple vendors. Apple's recent acquisition of P.A. Semi brought its founder and CEO Dan Dobberpuhl into Apple. Dobberpuhl led the team at Digital Equipment that developed the StrongARM processor using a similar architectural license from ARM. Steve Jobs has also revealed that they had specific plans for P.A. Semi's acquisition to develop system-on-chips for future iPods and iPhones.

Zune on left, artist rendition of Nano on right. From iLounge

To fit the screen and Click Wheel neatly together, the new nano will adopt a form factor that shifts away from the almost square dimensions of the 2007 third-generation nano back towards the general shape of the first- and second-generation models. As one of our sources noted, its a surprise that the new nano will be bigger than the prior model, but the goal appears to be preservation of all of the prior models usability while adding a bigger screen, and there arent many other ways to accomplish that goal.

A vertically-oriented screen suggests that videos would be viewed with the iPod nano turned sideways. iLounge draws comparisons between the new design to Microsoft's Zune MP3 player.

iLounge's sources also indicate that a recent rumor of multicolored iPod nanos is "most likely inaccurate" and that each version of the new iPod nano, presumably differing in storage capacity, will be offered in only a single color.

iLounge hasn't traditionally published many rumors but did publish accurate case drawings of the iPhone 3G prior to its release.

Apple has reported on their MobileMe status blog that they have now restored Mail service, including historical messages, to all of those affected by the MobileMe mail outage.

Thank you all for your extreme patience during this trying time. If you have been affected by this issue and are still having problems we have established a dedicated chat line to reach a MobileMe Mail specialist to discuss your problem. Please use this line for Mail issues only. By completing this restoration of Mail services, we hope we have put the vast majority of MobileMe Mail problems behind us and can now focus on improving other aspects of this new ambitious service.

The blog author, now known as David, also acknowledges a sync bug that may have caused contact and calendar data to temporarily disappear from users' iPhones on Monday. This bug has since been resolved and more details posted.

This will hopefully mark the end of the rocky MobileMe rollout which resulted in an extended email outage for 1% of MobileMe customers. Ongoing discussion about MobileMe can be directed into our MobileMe forums.

Besides hints of turn-by-turn GPS directions, the beta 2.1 firmware also reportedly contains references to an unreleased iPod Touch known as "iPod2,1", according to iPhoneAtlas.

The current iPod Touch carries a model designation of "iPod1,1". iPhone readers may remember that the original iPhone is known as "iPhone1,1" while the iPhone 3G is known as "iPhone1,2". It should be noted that these model numbers don't appear to change for storage differences alone. The original iPhone saw 4GB, 8GB and 16GB sizes but shared the same model number. Only when the iPhone 3G introduced new features, such as a GPS and 3G chipset, did the model number increment.

This would suggest the "iPod2,1" model will carry new features and not simply represent a storage increase to the current iPod Touch. Apple's iPod Touch is currently offered in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB sizes and has not been feature-upgraded since its initial launch in September 2007. Apple did, however, add the 32GB model in February.

Mobile executives at a Silicon Valley roundtable discussion exchanged some colorful comments about the iPhone and its impact on the mobile space. Some application developers, in particular, have been very pleased with the distribution model provided by Apple.

Pandora Media's free Radio application [App Store] acheived 350,000 installations on the iPhone within the first 6 days. Pandora plans on monetizing their iPhone application through ads in the future. In contrast, over the past 18 months, Pandora has only achieved 12,000 paid monthly subscriptions through all other mobile platforms. Apple is apparently the only provider that will allow developers to offer a free ad-supported distribution model.

Facebook and Loopt have also seen impressive adoption over the course of a week. Loopt claims the average iPhone user is 47 times more active on their network than other platforms.

When discussing the promise of Google's Android mobile platform, some developers were skeptical about the experience:

"I need Android like I need a hole in the head," said Pandora's Conrad, picturing it as "another OS platform that sits on top of buggy firmware, with devices with hundreds of manufacturers, with different characteristics."

Meanwhile, Loopt's CEO was optimistic at the relative openness of the Android platform, as compared to the iPhone platform.

Apple has been undergoing considerable criticism from developers about the ongoing non disclosure agreement (NDA). The NDA is preventing developers from publicly discussing iPhone development and is also holding up a number of iPhone programming books from being published.

Businessweek explores the possibility of Apple introducing some sort of touchscreen laptop in the near future. While most of the article rehashes circulating rumors, the author did get some insight from iSuppli analysts regarding the feasibility of introducing a multi-touch screen into a future Apple laptop.

According to the analysts, adding a multi-touch screen onto a MacBook Pro would add 50-80% to the cost of the existing screen and would likely make it too expensive. However, introducing a multi-touch screen into a 9 inch screen would be a "relatively easy leap from a cost perspective".

Given this, the author speculates that a small (9" or so) inexpensive (sub $800) multi-touch notebook is a more likely possibility than a full-size multi-touch notebook.