MacRumors

Less than a week after the last release (9C16), Apple has seeded a new version of Mac OS X 10.5.2 to developers today. The latest seed (9C20) lists no known issues. They've also separated the graphics drivers out into a separate update called Leopard Graphics Update, which must be installed after Mac OS X 10.5.2. The latest seeds are only available to registered Apple developers.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that Apple is shooting for a public release this Friday. The new 10.5.2 update contains numerous bug fixes, as well as a few requested features which have been previously detailed. Some of these include:

- DVD/CD Sharing
- Optional translucent menu bar
- List view in Stacks

Apple will be announcing their financial results for their first fiscal quarter of 2008 (4th calendar quarter of 2007) and answering questions during a conference call today at 2PM PT, 5PM ET. As usual, the call will be webcast live via QuickTime.

Please note that comments made during this call may include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. For more information on the factors that could influence results, please refer to Apples SEC filings.

Last quarter included consumer holiday purchasing. Apple had updated all of its iPods in September and the MacBook in early November prior to the holiday shopping period.

See Also: 1Q 2007 Results ($1 Billion Profit)

Apple has announced the addition of a pink 8GB iPod nano to its lineup.

The much-requested pink iPod nano is available immediately in an 8GB model for $199. iPod nano features a two-inch display which lets users watch the brand new iTunes(R) Movie Rentals, or TV shows and music videos purchased from the iTunes Store. iPod nano delivers up to 24 hours of audio playback or five hours of video playback on a single charge* and is encased in a beautiful all-metal design made with anodized aluminum and polished stainless steel, which is also available in silver, black, blue, green and a (PRODUCT) RED special edition.

The pink iPod nano is available worldwide immediately, however so far only the US Apple Store has been updated. We have heard that some UK retailers have already received stock.

Some screenshots of the new features found in the Mac OS X 10.5.2 seed have been detailed by BabyGotMac.com. Amongst the new features:

- Transparency in the menu bar is now optional and can be set in Desktop Preferences:

- DVD/CD sharing preferences, allowing you to share your optical drive with the upcoming MacBook Air (or another Mac).
- List view in Stacks as previously mentioned:

- One screenshot claims that network drives are now enabled with Time Machine. We are looking into this further.
- Meanwhile, we've received word that Apple has included a new Time Machine menubar pulldown that gives you the status of TimeMachine and allows you to initiate a backup, open preferences and see the time of the last backup

MacScoop provides an itemized list of all the fixes and changes in the 10.5.2 seed as described in the seed notes, however, Apple does not detail every change.

AppleInsider also believes the MacBook Air's multi-touch trackpad will make its way into Apple's MacBook Pro line before eventually being extended to the MacBook as well. Rumors of such an update were first reported by MacRumors (1, 2).

In very much the same way that iSight video cams have become commonplace on nearly all of Apple's personal computer systems, the Mac maker will reportedly scale the gesture-based input technology across its notebook lines during the course of the year.

The expected update to the MacBook Pro has reportedly been slightly delayed due to the necessity to complete work on the MacBook Air. Arrival of the new MacBook Pros utilizing Intel's recently released Penryn based mobile processors is now expected in the next few weeks. AppleInsider speculates that Intel's 2.5 and 2.6 GHz models will be used, although that would leave out the top of the line 2.8 GHz "extreme" edition CPU.

According to our Buyer's Guide, the MacBook Pro is ripe for an update. However, a small change in the lineup did occur in November 2007, when Apple added a 2.6 GHz processor option and 250 GB Hard Drive build-to-order options.

Apple has started quietly shipping 64-bit Windows Vista drivers (for Boot Camp) with the install disks of the latest Mac Pros which were just released earlier this month. The installation instructions that come with the new Mac Pros specify this new feature:

Important: You must use a single full-install Windows installation disc (Service Pack 2 is required for Windows XP installations). Do not use an upgrade version of Windows and do not install an earlier version of Windows XP and attempt to update it later to SP2 or later. Use only 32-bit versions of Windows. If you have a Mac Pro introduced in late 2007 or later, you can use a 64-bit version of Windows Vista.

The finding has been confirmed by multiple users. No indication if these drivers will become available with the next Mac OS X update. Mac OS X 10.5.2 has been undergoing testing and is expected to be released in the coming weeks.

Leopard's Boot Camp feature allows owners of Intel-based Macs to natively boot into Windows.

The first unboxing photos for the MacBook Air come from what appears to be a remote Macworld Expo presentation in Japan. The pictures show that they received their demonstration MacBook Air in the retail packaging. Unboxing sequence: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Meanwhile, Macfixit confirms that the MacBook Air is the first Mac to be able to boot wirelessly.

When Apple introduced the MacBook Air, they detailed a new feature called "Remote Disc" which makes up for the lack of a standard optical drive in the MacBook Air. Remote Disc allows the MacBook Air to wirelessly use a PC or Mac optical drive as if it were its own. Included with this functionality is the ability for the MacBook Air to wirelessly boot off of a Remote Disc shared drive. This means that if your MacBook Air requires an emergency boot or fresh reinstall, it can be done without the $99 external SuperDrive.

This added functionality required changes in the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) and is not presently available on other Macs.

The MacBook Air will be shipping to customers in the next two weeks. A discussion thread has been created for readers waiting for their MacBook Air to ship.

Update: We've been told that Mac OS X 10.5.2 will bring wireless booting sharing to all Macs. (Addendum: It seems wireless booting will require a firmware update.)

The Financial Times and Businessweek are independently reporting on an apparent soothing of relations between the heads of NBC and Apple.

The Financial Times interviews Jeff Zucker of NBC Universal, who gives praise to Apple and Steve Jobs.

"Weve said all along that we admire Apple, that we want to be in business with Apple, he said. Were great fans of Steve Jobs.

Meanwhile, Businessweek gets Jobs' take.

Well put it back together on the TV thing. Everybody lost (when Zucker pulled his content off iTunes). But NBC is a great company, and Apple is a great company, neither of which make a habit of ignoring their customers desires, he said. Fortunately, he half-joked, there was a writers strike, so it didnt matter as much as it might have.

Readers will realize that the tones have changed dramatically since rhetoric spiked a few months ago. Apple's recently overhauled Apple TV software may be encouraging dialogue between the companies.

After each major event, MacRumors provides a wrapup of rumors to reveal the sources of the most accurate (or inaccurate) information.

MacBook Air

As always, rumors closer to the event tend to be more accurate and more revealing than those in the months ahead. In this case, many of the details of the MacBook Air were spot on, though many of these details were revealed in the week leading up to the event.

Our own MacBook Air Whispers article confirmed some long standing details, including a 13.3" screen, external optical drive, and was the first to dub the machine the "MacBook Air". Our other hints also suggested the use of a 1.8" hard drive, an ethernet dongle due to the slim size of the upcoming laptop, and the inclusion of a multitouch trackpad -- all of which also turned out to be true.

Finally, an actual description of the MacBook Air leaked out the night before the Keynote on Wired's Gadget Blog, with a description of an "unbelievably thin" design with tapering edges.

Meanwhile, the longer standing rumors for the ultra-portable MacBook came from multiple sources which were summarized in our Ultra-portable Rumor Roundup. In the end, Appleinsider provided the most accurate description: 13", aluminum, 50% lighter, Slim, NAND Flash, LED backlit, No Optical Drive. NAND flash ended up being an optional feature, but the remainder of the report as well as long lead time made their report particularly impressive.

Of note, CNBC's rumors of the ultra-portable Mac were far less accurate, despite being a mainstream news site. CNBC's Jim Goldman had cited "a very good source" and described a 12" model with NAND Flash only at $1500 -- all of which were wrong.

Other honorable mentions include 9to5mac's "something strange about the touchpad", and MacScoop's early ultra-portable report. Also of interest is a report coming out of CrunchGear in October claiming that Apple would be releasing Multitouch trackpad MacBooks. Despite the wrong timeframe, with the release of a Multitouch trackpad, we should give credit to this early rumor.

Apple TV

Despite much speculation of a possible Apple TV update, few credible rumors of what to expect from an Apple TV upgrade came out in the weeks ahead of Macworld. Businessweek was the only one to suggest that the Apple TV would see a major upgrade but no details or timeframe was provided. CrunchGear, however, did claim in that HD content was coming to the Apple TV (though they claimed October).

iTunes Rentals

FinancialTimes, Variety and Businessweek served as the major sources of information about Apple's new movie rental service. Word first leaked out in June with reports that Apple was negotiating terms for iTunes movie rentals. Subsequent reports pinpointed the $3.99/24 hour rental window as well as the wide participation of many studios.

iPhone 1.1.3

One of the biggest Apple leaks leading into this year's Macworld was the leak of the iPhone 1.1.3 firmware which was revealed by GearLive. As always, the leaked video and screenshots generated the usual doubts, but it turned out to be quite accurate. This leak of pre-release firmware is the biggest Apple leak in recent history.

Meanwhile, MacScoop's widely publicized rumor that 1.1.3 would get Copy/Paste functionality turned out to be inaccurate. And CNET France's early claim 1.1.3 would contain Disk Mode and Voice Recording was also wrong.

Other Winners/Losers

Winners: Digitimes 13.3" LED Screens, American Tech Research Analyst: an external HDD storage/dock/streaming device
Losers: American Tech Research Analyst: Blu Ray at Macworld, All "leaked" keynote claims, All "leaked" spy shots.
Unlikely now: Goldman Sachs Analyst: Apple TV with LCD screen

Summary

Dedicated Apple rumors sites such as MacRumors and Appleinsider continue to provide the most accurate look at what's to come from Apple, though an expanding number of sites are able to fill in many additional details. Wired's Gadget Lab deservers particular credit for leaking an actual description of the Air the evening prior. Patent applications can certainly point the way to what Apple might be working on (multitouch) but should not be taken for granted (iMac docking station). Anonymously leaked transcripts and photos remain almost always fake.

What's to Come: MacBook Pros, Mini Tablet

In looking back at the sources of the most accurate rumors, we also find enticing reports of items that didn't come true at Macworld, but did come from credible sources.

The MacBook Pro updates are certainly coming -- and soon. Even without our rumor sources, the MacBook Pros are simply due for refresh. But the most interesting tidbit is that there have been reliable reports that the Pro machines will incorporate Apple's new multi-touch trackpad.

Given Appleinsider's accuracy with their ultra-portable report, it is increasingly likely that we will see a mini-tablet device coming from Apple. Apple is said to be working on a multi-touch OS X device about 1.5x the size of the iPhone with a 720x480 screen. Initial reports had suggested the possibility of a Macworld launch, but was delayed and may instead be seen later this year.