According to 9to5Mac, OS X 10.9 will cater towards more power users, but will still keep features that also cater towards everyday users. However, it’s said that OS X 10.9 won’t be a complete overhaul like OS X Leopard or OS X Lion was, but we can still expect some new features in the upcoming OS that will see the the platform taking baby steps to closing the gap with iOS.

Furthermore, both Finder and Safari will be getting some updates that will cater towards those power users, including tabbed browsing in Finder, as well as a redesigned backend in Safari for improved page loading and overall efficiency of the browser, which should put the web browser in the running up there with Chrome and Firefox.

Of course, there are plenty of third-party utilities that offer these kinds of features, including tabbed browsing in Finder (and much, much more), but it would be nice if OS X came with these features by default. Finder has always been a stubborn file browser, and it seems third-party apps are the only way to truly experience a great file browser. Internally, OS X 10.9 is said to be codenamed “Cabernet,” but we’re guessing that won’t be the final name for the OS, as Apple has always been naming OS X after various wild cat names.

[via 9to5Mac]

The initial invite to WWDC 2013 let developers know that they’d be in for just as exciting a set of presentations as any they’d seen in years past, promising also that those not able to attend would be taken care of. Noting that they’d be posting videos of each and every session spoken at the series of events, Apple made it clear that Registered Apple Developers would be able to take advantage of the content even if unable to be there in person. These videos have been promised to be delivered in a timely fashion.

If you have a peek at the image above, you’ll see what WWDC 2012 delivered as its first and main event mark. This combination preceded an event which delivered the original MacBook Pro with Retina display as well as sets of updates to Apple’s mobile and desktop operating systems iOS 6 and OS X Mountain Lion. Below you’ll find the WWDC 2011 image presented before the show – this tipped the reveal of Mac OS X Lion, iOS 5, and iCloud.

The 2010 edition of WWDC revealed the iPhone 4, changed the name of iPhone OS to a much simpler iOS, and showed both FaceTime and iMovie for the iPhone. So now that we’re several years in to this trend of revealing major software updates and a return (after one year without) of hardware announcements, Apple has been tipped to be bringing both to San Francisco on June 10th. And if you’re feeling cheeky, you could see the 2012 logo’s color orbs converging together to create the logo you see for 2013′s event – that could mean some real one-ness between the systems.

SlashGear will be attending this event and will be bringing on hands-on coverage and up-to-the-minute news from start to finish. Don’t miss it – straight from our WWDC 2013 tag portal all week long.

The launch of SimCity for Mac will come a bit later than EA hoped for. Originally, the game was set for a “spring 2013″ launch, but June 11 is technically during the summer. Either way, Mac users will finally be able to build the city of their dreams starting in just a couple of months. They shouldn’t have any problems either, since EA has finished upgrading their servers.

The game got off to a miserable start, with the midnight release not going as planned. Gamers who pre-ordered weren’t able to download their digital copy of the game, and even if gamers were able to download and install it, they were met with a bevy of server errors that deemed the game unplayable at first.

It became so bad that Amazon had to suspend sales of the game, and Electronic Arts told affiliates to “stop actively promoting” the game until the issues have been fixed. Of course, the game publisher tried to make things right with gamers, by offering them a free game for their troubles, but we’re not sure if that did the trick, since EA was recently voted the “worst company in America.”

According to 9to5Mac, a developer testing out the beta operating system spotted the code in OS X 10.8.4, specifically in the WiFi-frameworks folder deep within the file system. The code clearly reads “802.11ac” and it’s a line of code that is not found in OS X 10.8.3, which is the latest version of OS X that’s currently available to the public.

If you’re not too familiar with 802.11ac wireless, it’s essentially the successor to 802.11n, which is the latest and fastest network protocol to be certified. We’ve seen a few routers with 802.11ac on board, but it has yet to be certified, so we probably won’t be seeing a crop of 802.11ac products pop up just yet.

However, we’ll definitely see 802.11ac sprout up more and more in the near future, but we certainly wouldn’t be surprised if Apple waited a bit to implement it into their Macs. Sure, it may be in the code itself, but it’s possible that Apple won’t enable it in the next batch of MacBooks right away. However, we’ve heard in the past that Apple is partnering up with Broadcom to bring the new protocol to Macs this year.

[via 9to5Mac]

The trojan is detected as “Trojan.Yontoo.1” and it was discovered by Russian security firm Doctor Web. Of course, you have to an install a plugin or other piece of software in order for the trojan to activate, but hackers are making it easy for unsuspecting users to take the bait. They’re prompting users to install a plugin before they can watch a mobile trailer, for example.

Of course, we’ve all come across this scenario before, where we don’t have a certain plugin installed in order to view something, so we’re forced to download and install it before continuing. However, it looks like criminals are taking advantage of that tradition by implementing the same kind of system in order to get users to install the trojan.

It’s said that a Windows version of the trojan also exists, but it doesn’t affect Windows 8 users currently. Cross-platform malware isn’t rare most of the time, but this particular one uses its own code to target each specific operating system, as opposed to targeting a universal piece of software like Java, which we’ve heard plenty about recently.

[via The Next Web]

Along with support for Windows 8, Boot Camp also added support for Macs with 3TB hard drives, a feature that is long overdue considering the storage needs of a lot of users. The 10.8.3 update also comes with several bugfixes including patches for Logic Pro and a fix for a bug that sometimes made audio stutter on some iMacs.

Overall, OS X 10.8.3 spent three-and-a-half months in beta, with 13 different beta version being released over that timeframe. That’s a long time for such a small OS update, but this isn’t anything new from Apple. They’ve been known to release several beta versions of updates before seeding it out to the public.

Hopefully todays update doesn’t cause any problems. In the past, several different OS X updates have wreaked havoc on particular Mac machines, so if you’re weary about updating this time around, then it won’t hurt to wait it off for a few weeks to find out if it’s causing any problems. Otherwise, the update should be ready for you, either in Software Update, or through the Mac App Store.

With the MacBook Air you’ve got an 11.6-inch display while the Surface Pro works with a 10.6-inch display – you could also get a 13-inch MacBook Air, mind you, but here we’ll compare the display that’s nearest the Surface Pro. The display on the Surface Pro works with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution while the MacBook Air’s native resolution is 1366 x 768 pixels. It’s also worth making the distinction between these two displays in the fact that the MacBook Air does not work touch.

Windows 8 is an operating system that makes full use of the 10-finger touchscreen display on the Surface Pro while the MacBook Air is a machine that relies on its touchpad to mouse around, select items, and make gestures. The Surface Pro works with a cover that doubles as a keyboard, too. And in that point is the biggest differentiation point between these two machines – one is a tablet, the other a notebook.

While the Macbook Air is a notebook computer that made and continues to make a point of its ultra-thin nature and how it can work as a full-function notebook computer with as tiny an amount of bulk as possible. You’ll see from the images above and below as well as the hands-on video we’ve got prepared that the MacBook Pro is a significant amount thinner than the Surface Pro – or so it might seem at first.

MacBook Air (11-inch)
Thickness: 0.11-0.68 inches
Width: 11.8 inches
Height (front to back, while closed) : 7.56 inches
Weight: 2.38 pounds

Surface Pro
Thickness: 0.53 inches
Width: 10.81 inches
Height: 6.81 inches
Weight: 2 pounds

Both devices have the ability to store a massive amount of data, with the Surface Pro having two iterations, 64GB and 128GB. Those are the amount of internal storage the Surface Pro has in its two different iterations, each of them with their own cash cost – that’s also one of the only things that differentiates the different versions of the Surface Pro at this very moment. The MacBook Air comes int two different iterations (with several different modifications available therein), one of them 64GB, the other 128GB.

The power you’ll be able to work with in a MacBook Air is either an Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor. The Microsoft Surface Pro works with one configuration at the moment for processing power, that being an Intel Core i5 – and all of the processors here are 3rd gen Ivy Bridge, mind you, regardless of Apple or Microsoft surroundings.

The MacBook Pro has a lovely collection of ports and connections including:
720p “FaceTime” HD camera
2x USB 3 ports
Thunderbolt port
MagSafe 2 power port
Microphone
Headphone port
Wifi
Bluetooth
Stereo Speakers

With the Surface Pro you’ll also be connecting with ports and wirelessly like mad:
2x 720p HD “LifeCam” cameras (front and rear-facing)
USB 3 port
microSDXC card slot
power port
Microphone
Headphone port
Wifi
Bluetooth
Stereo Speakers

You’ll notice that the 11-inch MacBook Pro doesn’t have an SD card slot – the 13-inch version of this device does, but the 11-inch version does not. The Surface Pro also benefits from its form factor in that it can make use of such sensors as an Accelerometer, a Gyroscope, and a Compass. With these you’ll be about to, for example, steer a car in a racing game, while the MacBook Air is meant to stay stationary while you’re using it.

The MacBook Air also benefits from the fact that it’s a notebook computer, able to stand up on its own with its keyboard attached, while the Surface Pro works in an entirely different way for stationary standing. The Surface Pro uses a kickstand on its back that’ll keep it upright while you tap away and also has a keyboard cover that, like a notebook computer, folds up and protects the device’s display or down for everyday typing use.

The Surface Pro also works with its own pen that sticks to the side of the tablet when not in use, utilizing an active digitizer in the display to make more than just standard capacitive moves galore. The pen creates a rather unique experience for you with the Surface Pro while the MacBook Air really isn’t the same universe – the only other place you’re going to get a digital pen experience in a mobile sense like this right now is in the Samsung Galaxy Note series – have a peek at our Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review for more on that environment.

And this is only part of the story – for more information on both machines, you’ll want to check our full reviews of both devices. Have a peek at our MacBook Air (mid-2012) review as well as our Microsoft Surface Pro review for everything you could ever want to know!

Also be sure to let us know which of these two devices seem like they’d suit your needs given what you know today. Is there one that strikes your fancy more than the other?

Back in November, a select number of websites were reporting that they were getting a few visitors that were running OS X 10.9, and now it seems that number has jumped quite significantly since then. AppleInsider has reported that the number of users running OS X 10.9 spiked in January, according to their traffic logs, claiming that they’ve gotten “thousands” of hits from OS X 10.9 machines.

Of course, last year Apple announced OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 during the month of February, so it’s very possible that we could officially hear about version 10.9 sometime soon, although we’re keeping the salt by our side as always. While it seems that 10.9 is really close to an unveiling, we won’t officially believe in it until we see it, of course.

However, it’s obvious that Apple will release a major update to OS X at some point in the future, and they’ve been on a yearly release schedule for the past few releases, so it could be as far ahead as this summer before we see 10.9 show up for download. The biggest question remains, however: What cat will Apple give its next major OS X update this time around?

[via AppleInsider]

The Mimo Magic Touch is the first model released by Mimo Monitors to be assured readiness to work with the official Mac OS X Touchscreen Driver distributed by Mimo Monitors as well. This driver works with Intel Macs only and is compatible with systems up to and including OS X Mountain Lion. The driver, incidentally, is an alpha release – but once the final version is ready for action, you’ll get that upgrade for free.

The folks at Mimo Monitors note that “that this software is proprietary and we cannot provide it without charging this nominal license fee.” This is why it’s not free, if you’d like to know. You’ll also get a free downloadable “Gesture Pack” that allows two-finger scroll, pinch / magnify, and rotate gestures galore. You can also download a “trial version” of the software from Mimo Monitors once you’ve got the Mimo Magic Touch if you’d like to be sure you actually want to work with it, too.

The Mimo Magic Touch is also a lovely touchscreen monitor on its own, working with Windows 7 with full touchscreen capabilities with a 1024 x 600 resolution display, an adjustable dock/bast, and connects with USB 2.0. This unit needs to be connected with a USB cord in order to function, but requires JUST the USB cord and no additional display cords to work. Neat stuff! You’ll be picking up the monitor for $299.99 and the driver for $35.00 USD.

Obviously, not a large number of hits are coming from these supposed OS X 10.9 machines. AppleInsider said they have received over 30 total visitors that were marked using “Intel 10.9″, and other websites have reported a few visitors with OS X 10.9 machines as well. However, we at SlashGear haven’t spotted any OS X 10.9 activity yet.

The small number of computers that are supposedly running OS X 10.9 could mean that Apple is already testing very early betas of the next major OS X update, and only a select handful are trying it out at the moment. Of course, these statistics can be faked, so it’s definitely something to take with a grain of salt.

However, it’s obvious that Apple will release a major update to OS X at some point in the future, and they’ve been on a yearly release schedule recently, so it could be as far ahead as summer 2013 before we see 10.9 pop up. The only other question remains, however: What cat will Apple give its next major OS X update this time around?

[via AppleInsider]

Says the announcement, “BETA software is not final, which means that using it comes with some risks. These can range from corruption of your notes to data loss. If you’re not comfortable using beta software, we recommend waiting a bit for the general update to go live.” If you’re willing to take the plunge, however, you’ll find a variety of new features.

New features include an improved Notes List, which offers a single list containing both personal and joined notebooks. There’s a Snippets view for seeing a note’s notebook, as well as its shared status. Also added is a Cards view for browsing notes in the form of nifty little cards. Tossed in, among the myriad of other features, are a handful of shortcuts and changes to increase efficiency.

To get the new Evernote 5 for Mac beta, launch the application, then select “Software Update” from Preferences. In the window that opens, check “Update to beta versions when available.” Follow this up by clicking “Check for Updates Now” in the Evernote menu, then sit back and let the magic happen. Evernote lists a few troubleshooting tips as well, so if you experience problems, hit the link below to check them out.

[via Evernote]

The new Windows Phone app is simplified to be minimalistic and easy to use. Changes include support for Windows Phone 8, iPhoto 9.3.2 and Aperture 3.3.2, support for Retina display Macs, and for battery charge state for Windows Phone 8 smartphones. Users can now drag and drop files from their Apple computer onto the device, and vice versa.

Using Windows Phone, users can sync movies, music, and other data from iTunes to a Windows Phone device. When transferring media files from iTunes, only DRM-free files are supported, however. Photos and videos can be synced using iPhoto and Aperture library, and can be imported from the phone into both the aforementioned apps.

Overall, this new version brings with it a sleek, uncluttered interface, which you can see in the gallery below. The host of features make using a Windows phone in a Mac world pretty easy, while the drag and drop feature for files saves time and can’t get any easier. You can pick up Windows Phone 3.0 for OS X at the App Store.

Earlier this year, Apple had a bit of battle going on with the Flashback malware that threatened OS X users by exploiting a vulnerability in Java. In April, the company was forced to release a second software update for Lion 10.7 to solve the problem. Previously, Apple ceased including pre-installed version of Java in its OS, and then later released an update that disabled Java if it hadn’t been used in a certain period of time.

This isn’t the first time Java has come under fire for its vulnerabilities. Oracle’s software framework is one of the most exploited pieces of software you can run, and Oracle has been forced to address vulnerabilities in the recent past. One of the latest examples happened back in August, when exploits were produced and released for Java 1.7, forcing Oracle to cobble together a patch.

According to the Apple Support page, this update is for OS X 10.7 and later. In addition to stripping browsers of the Java plug-in, it also removes the Java Preferences application, which it says is not required for applet setting configuration. Some tech experts recommended that you disable Java if you don’t use it, thusly reducing the odds of your machine being infiltrated.

[via Engadget]

The popular web tracking firm Chitka has posted some numbers confirming a rough estimate of around 2.11 million Mac users are now running OS X (10.8) Mountain Lion. If those numbers are accurate Mountain Lion could be the fastest released and adopted operating system of all times. That isn’t all either. If estimates are correct, assuming 90% of users paid the $20 upgrade fee, the Lion just racked in $38 million in revenue for the Cupertino folks in the past 48 hours.

With iCloud, Siri like Voice dictation, improved trackpad options, tons of features and options brought over from the iPhone and iPad, and well over 200 new features this is the best Mac OS to date. If you haven’t upgraded yet or don’t know what you’re missing you’ll surely want to check out our Mac OS X Mountain Lion Review. Go ahead and upgrade now because the $20 will be well spent. More details on your upgrade path to Mountain Lion can be found below.

In addition to the release date – or release window, depending on your platform of choice – Overhaul also announced a handful of new characters for the re-release. First up is Neera, a “half-elf wild mage slowly coming to terms with her enormous magical potential.” Next we come to Rasaad yn Bashir, a “Calishite Monk demonstrating his monastic arts to the people of Nashkel,” and finally we have Dorn Il-Khan, who is a particularly nasty looking half-orc Blackguard “whose otherworldly patron grants him terrible powers in the form of his black sword and unholy spells.” Images of all three can be seen in the gallery below along with a slew of new screenshots.

You can recruit all three of these new characters, with Overhaul promising that each will add a few hours of gameplay. Neera and Rasaad both come complete with a new area to explore, so their inclusion brings far more beyond just a couple of new character models to look at. Neera, Rasaad, and Dorn will all be included in the PC and Mac versions, with Dorn and Neera only available as an in-app purchase in the iPad and Android versions.

Also included in Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition is a new arena called The Black Pits. Players will be tasked with fighting their way through 15 levels of the arena, and Overhaul claims that it adds over six hours of game time. Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition will cost $19.99 on PC, but you can knock two dollars off the price by pre-ordering the game. The Android and iPad versions should come in right around $9.99, which explains why two of the three new characters need to be purchased separately.

Oh, and by the way, wild mage is the best mage class in the game. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

iCloud, Notifications and Productivity

Apple’s iCloud may already be a fixture on the iPhone and iPad, but Mountain Lion is in fact the first new version of OS X since the cloud storage and sync system went live. With over 150m iCloud users, and considerable overlap between those depending on both iOS and OS X, it’s no surprise that Apple has used iCloud to streamline the Mountain Lion setup process.

If you’re fresh to Apple’s ecosystem then it’s the usual few steps of setting up an Apple ID account, but if you’re already registered through iCloud then a single login sets up not only your user account but apps and services across the system. Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Messages and FaceTime are all automatically set up with your accounts, friends’ details and appointments, while Notes and Reminders sync and Game Center logs in for cross-platform play. Documents & Data are also synchronized with what you may have been editing on your iPad or iPhone, and Safari bookmarks are pulled down too; obviously your Mac App Store and iTunes credentials are automatically plugged in, and your previous media downloads re-acquired.

The new Open Panel – accessed whenever you launch a document-based app – now allows you to flick between content stored locally and in Documents in the Cloud. Each app supporting the cloud-sync service gets its own iCloud Document Library, sorted by most recent update by default. Just as you can drag icons onto icons and instantly create folders in iOS, so you can stack documents to create folders in the Open Panel; the icon and open-animation is even the same as from the iPad. Apple will update its own productivity apps to support Documents in the Cloud to coincide with Mountain Lion’s release, as well as offer developers an API to add support to their own apps.

It’s all evidence of how slickly integrated OS X is with the overall Apple product range, and how Mountain Lion borrows elements from mobile to its benefit. The streamlined notifications system is a relatively new addition to iOS but it jumps the line to desktop in Mountain Lion in the shape of the new Notification Center. As with Growl pop-ups before, Apple Notifications appear in the top right corner – complete with action buttons if applicable, such as “close” or “show” – but Mountain Lion also corrals them together into the Notifications Center.

Pulling out from the right edge of the screen – triggered with a two-finger swipe from the right edge of the trackpad, or with the dedicated button in the status bar – Notifications Center shows all of the recent alerts organized by app and sorted by time or according to a manual order if you prefer.

Out of the box, Calendar, Mail, Messages, Reminders, FaceTime, Game Center, the Mac App Store, Facebook and Twitter all support Mountain Lion’s Notifications, while a third-party API allows developers to add support to their apps, notifications arriving even if the software itself isn’t running. It’s all intuitive and slick, and the temporary override to shut down all notifications for that day is very useful if you’re trying to focus on a specific task without distraction (they’ll automatically be muted if you’re presenting in Keynote, too).

Notifications aren’t the only elements borrowed from mobile. Reminders and Notes are each OS X counterparts to the iOS apps, as straightforward as their names suggest. The contents of both are automatically synchronized across devices using iCloud – so your up-to-date shopping list is to hand on your iPhone, even if you’ve been editing it on your Mac – and you can add extra highlights by setting alarms or location-based reminders, or by pinning a note to the desktop so that it stays open even if the Notes app itself is closed.

The idea of having your data anywhere and everywhere, without compromise, is carried over to Power Nap. Currently supported on the MacBook Air (mid-2011 or newer) and the MacBook Pro with Retina Display, Power Nap promises to automatically keep your Mac up to date even when it’s sleeping. Basically a sufficiently low-power mode that means the Mac notebooks can work silently and unobtrusively – no fans, no flashing lights – it means your computer is up to speed with the latest sync and messages when you open it up in the morning.

Mail pulls in new messages, Contacts and Calendar sync with any new updates or invitations, and Reminders and Notes pull in the latest versions from iCloud. Documents in the Cloud synchronizes changes to documents made on other devices, and Photo Stream grabs the latest shots from your iOS mobile devices. Arguably more useful in terms of reducing frustration while you’re actually using your Mac is support for Time Machine backups while it’s sleeping, Mac App Store updates automatically taking place, and Find My Mac working should you lose your laptop.

We’re used to turning on our phones and having the very latest data in front of us – and, conversely, turning on a computer and waiting for everything to synchronize, update and generally get ready for use while we distract ourselves with the first coffee of the day – so having that on the desktop really does feel, to use Apple’s phrase, “magical.”

Finally, there’s Dictation, reappearing after being first seen on the iPhone 4S and new iPad. Based on Nuance’s Dragon technology, only running on Apple’s servers rather than locally – meaning you’ll need a data connection in order to use it – the speech recognition supports any app that recognizes text entry, meaning you can dictate emails, documents and even Facebook messages.

Dictation is triggered by tapping the Fn button twice (or, alternatively, tapping and then tap-and-hold the button, releasing it when you’re finished) at which point a Siri-style microphone icon pops up indicating where the text will be entered. In theory you could dictate an entire document, complete with basic formatting: Dictation differentiates between regular text and instructions such as “all caps,” “new line,” “new paragraph,” “period,” “comma,” “exclamation point,” and “question mark.”

As with Nuance’s own DragonDictate, Apple’s Dictation learns from repeated use and promises increased accuracy over time, including handling more difficult accents. It also gets a head-start by looking through your contacts so as to aid in identifying names. Out of the box there’s English (US, UK and Australian), French, German and Japanese support, Dictation automatically selecting the correct option depending on your Mac’s system settings, with Apple promising Cantonese, Mandarin, Canadian English, Canadian French, Italian, Korean and Spanish in a subsequent update.

Our experience with Dictation proved mixed. For quickly jotting down brief messages and emails it could be very useful, though we had to ensure the pace of our speech was suitably measured in order for the system to keep up. Longer periods of text entry saw more typos creep in, and remembering to say “comma” and “period” to manually insert them was often a distraction from our train of thought. Admittedly, going back through blocks of text and cleaning up errors was a relatively simple matter, and the experience should get better over time.

What Dictation isn’t is Siri as we know if on the iPhone 4S. Ask what the weather is in San Francisco or when your next appointment is, and you’ll see your question transcribed not answered. Apple hasn’t said when – or indeed if – Siri will be brought to OS X, but we’d like to see even basic functionality such as opening apps by voice introduced.

Social Networking and Messaging

Sharing and social are baked into Mountain Lion from the ground up, with both Facebook and Twitter woven through the new OS X while a one-click sharing system makes pushing content between services straightforward. (Facebook integration won’t actually arrive until a software update in the fall, though it was present in our test build.) Apple uses so-called “Share sheets” to handle content sharing, pop-up boxes that gather together all the privacy, media and location elements you might want to control.

So, once you’ve logged into your Facebook and Twitter accounts – you can only have one of each – clicking the “Share” button in apps like Safari, Preview, Photo Booth and Quick Look brings up the option of sending out the current content via one of those services. For Facebook, you can choose which friends can see the update, whether a photo should be left on your wall or slotted into an existing album, and whether your current location should be appended.

For Twitter, you have the same location and media options, though no gallery option. Unfortunately, there’s no way to send to multiple services simultaneously with the same Share sheet; you can’t update both your Facebook and Twitter accounts with the same content.

It’s not just about sharing, though. Details of Facebook friends are automatically pulled into Contacts, dynamically updating existing records as your friends keep their contact numbers and other details up to date. Twitter photos are also integrated into Contacts, while Facebook adds friends’ birthdays to your Calendar. Meanwhile the ShareKit API allows third-party apps and services to offer the same social network posting.

Sharing doesn’t end at Facebook and Twitter; Mountain Lion also improves how content is shared with other services. Click the Share button and you might find the ability to email or send by Message the webpage you’re viewing, the photo or video you’re watching, or the document you’re working on. It also hooks into AirDrop, meaning you can share directly with nearby Macs (as long as they’re running Mountain Lion or Lion) in just a few clicks. There’s also support for uploading to Flickr and Vimeo, and while there’s no YouTube sharing by default, developers could add it by using the ShareKit API.

The other big social element of Mountain Lion is Messages, the OS X version of iMessage on iOS devices. Replacing iChat, Messages replicates the functionality of SMS and MMS between Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, with support for photo and video attachments up to 100MB in size, and synchronized across all of your devices. So, you can now pick up a conversation started on your iPhone on your MacBook, including one-button FaceTime call access and support for group conversations.

Messages will get even more useful come the release of iOS 6, when Apple unifies iPhone phone numbers and Apple IDs. Then, you’ll be able to receive and respond to iMessage messages – or FaceTime calls – directed at your iPhone number from your Mac (or iPad) instead. As a data service, the speed of messages can sometimes be delayed somewhat, but read receipts do at least give confirmation as to when they’ve actually been read.

Safari

More and more of us are living online, and so Apple has spent no small amount of time finessing the Safari experience. Updates to the browser include practical ones to boost speed under the hood, as well as interface and usability tweaks that cut down on key presses and clicks. So, the separate address and search boxes have been merged into a single Smart Search Field which suggests both likely webpages and searches (with a choice of search engines), and Safari has riffed on the thumbnail tabs of the old iPad browser with a new preview system. Pinch in (or choose the “show all tabs” button next to the tab row itself) and a side-scrolling list can be navigated using two-finger swipes.

As of iOS 6 on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, there’ll be support for iCloud Tabs as well, using the sync service to list what webpages you had open on each of your devices (even if they’re turned off at the time). It also works for bookmarks and content in Reading List, though not if you’re viewing a page with Private Browsing turned on. The Reading List also now supports offline access, caching pages for reading when you might not have a connection, and it cleverly recognizes articles spread across multiple pages and makes sure to grab each page rather than just the first one.

Privacy and security have been given a polish, with new support for the incipient “Do Not Track” privacy system. That works as a global Private Browsing setting of sorts, requesting compliant websites that they not track you (though not preventing your own browser from keeping a history record of where you’ve visited). And, if you’ve ever forgotten a password, the new feature in Password AutoFill which – after you type in your system password – shows a list of all the saved credentials Safari is holding, could save your from running through frustrating “Forgot my password” recovery tools.

Behind the scenes, there’s now hardware acceleration for the entire webpage, using your Mac’s GPU to speed up text and graphics rendering, and to provide smoother scrolling. The jerkiness that could previously surface while Safari rendered other pages or your Mac was otherwise busy has now all but disappeared.

Gaming and Entertainment

Mac ownership isn’t all social networking and productivity, and so Apple has brought Game Center across from the iPhone and iPad and integrated it into a cross-platform gaming system. All of the same gaming invitations, friend discovery, leaderboards and achievements are supported – albeit scaled up to suit the average Mac display – and you can play against other gamers no matter what device they’re using. We can expect to see more games in the Mac App Store tie into Game Center, too, as developers take advantage of Mountain Lion’s new gaming APIs to hook into the system.

Meanwhile there’s AirPlay Mirroring, linking your Mac with the $99 Apple TV. The new MacBook Pro with Retina Display may have an HDMI output now, but any Mountain Lion Mac will be able to wirelessly send a high-definition picture – complete with sound – to their HDTV. It’s a painless process, too: when your Mac catches an Apple TV on the same wireless network, it automatically shows an AirPlay Mirroring menu item. AirPlay mirroring works on mid-2011 forward Macs (sandy bridge).

One click, and your computer screen show up on your TV. The resolution is automatically matched, up to 1080p, and we had no problems with judder or skipping with a MacBook Pro running Mountain Lion and a Full HD sample clip from iTunes. It’s also possible to route just the audio through your TV speakers (or whatever sound system you have hooked up) through the System Preferences. It’s great for communal consumption of slideshows in iPhoto or putting together a group playlist in apps like iTunes or Spotify.

Security and more

As OS X grows even more popular, so its profile among malware authors rises, and Apple has moved to protect its reputation for security with Gatekeeper in Mountain Lion. A digital signing system for developers distributing their software through channels other than the Mac App Store, Gateway can use the Developer ID to check that the app you’re about to install is indeed just as the coder responsible intended it, as well as blocking installation of any app from a blacklisted developer.

By default, Gatekeeper permits only Mac App Store apps and those with a valid, signed Developer ID to be installed. Unsigned apps flag up a warning message (which users can override on a one-time basis), or Gatekeeper can be instructed to allow apps from anywhere. It’s worth noting that Gatekeeper is only effective for apps downloaded from the internet; if you’re side-loading them from USB or CD/DVD then they won’t be checked. At the other extreme – and ideal for malware-prone parents – Gatekeeper can be set to only allow software that comes through the Mac App Store.

Meanwhile, Mountain Lion now automatically checks for important security updates daily – rolling OS X and Mac App Store app updates together into a single install process – and can now optionally encrypt Time Capsule backups. There’s also a new App Sandbox, where each piece of software runs in its own safe little silo: if it proves compromised by malware, it can’t access other apps, user data, or the underlying Mac infrastructure.

Then there are the new features for Chinese users. With sales of Apple products in China up 300-percent in the most recent quarter, it’s little surprise that the company has given some thought to how it could tailor Mountain Lion to suit users there.

So, Mountain Lion gets streamlined Simplified Chines and Traditional Chinese text input, with the promise of more accurate and appropriate auto-suggestions pulled from dynamically updated dictionaries that keep pace with common usage trends (and sync any user-added words or phrases across multiple devices via iCloud). Pinyin auto correction and the ability to mix English and Chinese in the same body of text, as well as handwriting support for nearly 30,000 Chinese characters, are also included. Meanwhile, there’s Sina Weibo, Youku and Tudou sharing options in the new Share menu, and streamlined setup for mail providers QQ Mail, 126 and 163.

How to get Mountain Lion

Like Lion before it, Apple will be distributing Mountain Lion via the Mac App Store rather than in boxed form. Priced at $19.99 – though that covers all of your personal Macs registered to the same iTunes account – you’ll need to be running Lion or the latest version of Snow Leopard.

Not all Macs will be able to upgrade, however, due to the technical requirements of Mountain Lion. You’ll need to have one from the following list in order to qualify:

• iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
• MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
• Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
• Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
• Xserve (Early 2009)

However, if you bought a new Mac anytime since June 11, you’ll qualify for a free update to Mountain Lion under Apple’s Up-to-Date program. You’ll have thirty days from Mountain Lion’s release to apply for a free update using the form here (http://www.apple.com/osx/uptodate/).

Wrap-Up

If there’s a one sentence summary of OS X Mountain Lion, it’s probably “You’re getting a whole lot for twenty bucks.” Apple weaves together elements from desktop, smartphone and tablet in a way that not only makes stepping over from iOS to OS X more straightforward, but which further refines the company’s ecosystem promise: it simply makes more sense to pair a MacBook with an iPhone and/or an iPad, because they play so nicely together.

Where Lion’s evolution toward that same goal proved jarring in places, Mountain Lion’s polish rescues it. The three core advantages of iCloud, Notifications and Sharing are just as useful on the desktop as their counterparts are in iOS: they combine to iron out workflow annoyances in daily use. Like the best services, features like Power Nap blend seamlessly into the background: invisible in their operation but clearly bringing a benefit to the overall user experience.

Apple’s obvious competition is Windows 8, due to arrive in a few months time. Microsoft takes a different approach with its desktop platform, but from what we’ve seen so far it lacks the comprehensively integrated ecosystem that Apple delivers. iCloud is the glue that makes iPhone, iPad and, now with Mountain Lion, Mac, each act as an extension of the same holistic whole. If you love your Mac, OS X Mountain Lion is a no-brainer upgrade.

Users need to install local certificates onto their Max, which allows them to route purchases from within OS X apps to a DNS server specifically created and hosted by Borodin for the purpose of faking purchase validation. This server, designed to be an almost identical replica of the Mac App Store, sends back a spoofed receipt verification.

Borodin says that nearly 8.5 million transactions have been initiated through his spoofing method, which is likely only referring to the iOS version. With the new Mac OS X hack, that number will surely climb, at least until it ends up getting patched. Apple is set to release its new OS X Mountain Lion soon, which sould include a fix to this egregious hack.

[via Apple Insider]

The pop-up dialog for the feature has been added to Developer Preview 3, but the functionality doesn’t actually work yet. When it does, you’ll have the option to enable the feature so that apps can be synced across multiple machines, or to simply ignore the pop-up window and micromanage everything instead.

Apple continues to make tweaks and improvements to Mountain Lion ahead of its release this summer. Previous additions to the Preview have included a “Do Not Disturb” feature, Twitter notifications, as well as various bug fixes. The main focus of Mountain Lion has been to bring some iOS features across to the desktop, such as a Notification window, a new Messages app with support for iMessage, Game Center, Reminders, AirPlay Mirroring, and Gatekeeper.

[via 9to5Mac]

Speaking to Computing, Nikolai Grebennikov, CTO of Kaspersky, says that OS X is “really vulnerable”, and that “Apple recently invited us to improve its security. We’ve begun an analysis of its vulnerabilities, and the malware targeting it.” He went on to say that Apple doesn’t take security seriously enough, criticizing the slow reaction time between Oracle’s Java patch and its own for the Flashback trojan.

Grebennikov goes on to say that he expects iOS to be the next target, believing that malware will appear for the platform and infecting iPhones and iPads within the next year. “Our experience tells us that in the near future, perhaps in a year or so, we will see the first malware targeting iOS.” Malware is something that has plagued Android lately, with a slew of fake apps and website redirects designed to install compromised software on the OS to send premium rate text messages in the background.

UPDATE: Turns out the quote was taken out of context by Computing. Engadget received clarification from Kaspersky over the issue, saying that the company was independently looking into Mac OS X security issues and that they weren’t contacted by Apple. The original quote is below.

On Monday, April 14, computing.co.uk published an article titled “Apple OS ‘really vulnerable’ claims Kaspersky Lab CTO” that includes an inaccurate quote regarding Apple and Kaspersky Lab. The article reports that Kaspersky Lab had “begun the process of analyzing the Mac OS platform at Apple’s request” to identify vulnerabilities. This statement was taken out of context by the magazine – Apple did not invite or solicit Kaspersky Lab’s assistance in analyzing the Mac OS X platform. Kaspersky Lab has contacted computing.co.uk to correct its article.

Please refer to the statement below from Nikolay Grebennikov, Chief Technology Officer, Kaspersky Lab, which clarifies this misrepresentation:

“As Mac OS X market share continues to increase, we expect cyber-criminals to continue to develop new types of malware and attack methods. In order to meet these new threats, Kaspersky Lab has been conducting an in-depth analysis of Mac OS X vulnerabilities and new forms of malware.

This security analysis of Mac OS X was conducted independently of Apple; however, Apple is open to collaborating with us regarding new Mac OS X vulnerabilities and malware that we identify during our analysis. Kaspersky Lab is committed to providing the highest level of security for all of our customers, including Mac OS X, and we will continue to enhance our technologies in order to meet the ever-changing threat landscape. “

[via The Next Web]

In OS X 10.7.3, the highest resolution TextEdit icon was 512×512 pixels, with the new icon jumping to 1024×1024. The resolution increase brings a file size bump too: 209KB to 1.7MB. Other core system applications have also seen updated icons, such as the Address Book and Dashboard. While the resolution of those icons did not increase, the file sizes did.

HiDPI was first added to Lion last year, but the option wasn’t user accessible. An update to the popular Air Display app saw the new iPad making use of the option once connected, and high resolution icons have been found within the Mountain Lion betas. The current theory is that Apple is preparing the OS for new high resolution displays most likely found on the future versions of the MacBooks.

Apple is due to update the MacBook Pros within the next month or two following the release of Intel’s new Ivy Bridge platform, which is said to be 15-20% faster than current Sandy Bridge chips. Other rumors have indicated that the 15-inch MacBook Pro would see an Air equivalent, being slimmed down while losing the optical drive. The 17-inch MacBook Pro is reportedly going to be phased out as well.

As a result, Apple has added a moon icon in the top right corner of the menu bar that will allow you to activate Do Not Disturb. It’s a nice little addition for those hoping to kickstart their productivity, but our first thought (just like everyone elses) is to include a similar feature on iOS. Being able to turn on Do Not Disturb when you’re in meetings or sleeping would be a boon.

The Mountain Lion developer previews have otherwise been making steady progress. Apple is definitely bringing iOS and Mac OS closer together, carrying across certain features from mobile to the desktop. Mountain Lion will see a dedicated iCloud app, allowing you to manage all your content, a Notification Center similar to the one on iOS, a new Messages app which includes support for iMessages, Game Center, and deep Twitter integration.

[via 9to5Mac]

The Hollyhill plant is currently the assembly point for the MacBook Pro laptop line, and was responsible in the past for Apple’s original iconic iMac machine. We’ve had quite a bit of rumors swirling around the MacBook Pro 2012 line, this visit to Hollyhill sure to add to the anticipatory fire for new Apple notebook hardware through the weekend. Have a peek at our [MacBook Pro portal] to see the timeline of events as they’ve blown up over the past month.

Above: Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny visits with Apple employees in Cork, Ireland on Friday, April 27, 2012. Apple recently announced plans to expand its presence in Cork, adding over 500 new jobs to support the company’s growing business across Europe. The title Taoiseach, for those of you wondering, means effectively head of the government. This seat is roughly the same as Prime Minister or President – in this case of Ireland.

The Apple plant in Hollyhill is responsible also for Apple’s distribution, back-office, and supply chain operations. Additional support from Apple as well as cooperation from the government via check-ins like the one this week by Enda Kenny are sure to expand Apple’s role in Europe into the future. With 500 new jobs coming up in what Apple says will be the next 18 months, we can expect a much more powerful presence for Apple across the UK and greater Europe in the next couple of years without a doubt.

Of course, the Windows malware found on the Macs is harmless against OS X, simply lying dormant waiting to be deleted, but it’s a surprising figure nonetheless. That doesn’t mean that Mac users can’t be affected if they use Windows via Boot Camp, and they could potentially spread the malware using external storage.

As for the Mac malware, Sophos found that only 2.7% of the computers they scanned had malware designed to target OS X, and 75% of that is attributed to the recent Flashback trojan. If you recall, Flashback was a Java exploit spread via social networks designed to disable OS X’s anti-malware protections. There have been a couple of versions, and the latest manages cover its install tracks to avoid detection.

Apple released software that would allow users to remove Flashback, as have several anti-virus companies. The number of active infections has been dropping recently, but as of April 16th there were still around 142,000 Macs infected with the trojan.

[via Computerworld]

Apple has not created a new device recently outside the low-impact Thunderbolt display you’ve probably not seen advertized but definitely notice in the store since it’s the most gigantic display in the house. Apple has modified and pushed new generations of tried-and-true products for several years now, their last big really NEW release being the original iPad. The Apple TV system that’s out right now is a box that works with any modern HDTV.

Valve is in the business of distributing desktop computer-based games and officials speaking for Valve have dismissed the idea that they’d be making any hardware in the near future. Valve has also noted that the possibility that they would make hardware some time in the future (not now, but eventually) would be a possibility. Ask your aunt, your high school teacher, or any schmo off the street what Valve is and they’ll tell you it’s what they crank to turn their garden hose on.

Apple is in the business of grabbing hold of good products and services and making them great – or at least massively popular. When the iPad 2 was announced and when the new iPad was announced here in 2012, Apple showed off the game series Infinity Blade – this game (each of its versions) now one of the most downloaded go-to games for a new iPad user.

It’s time for a MacBook Pro refresh, Ivy Bridge on the way almost certainly with Retina quality support. The outcome of the Tim Cook and Valve meeting is clear.

The next line of MacBook Pro models will be announced with higher definition displays than we’ve ever seen before, with Ivy Bridge processors, both of these features demonstrated with Valve-supported games. As a bonus, this might be the first time we see Valve pop up as a store-inside-a-store with the Mac App Store on your Apple computer.

What do you think?

Imagine a world where employees of businesses around the world had as much say in their working conditions as their employers – that’s actually a reality here where Yared started implementing Macs in the workplace. It’s in San Francisco where he’s speaking about operating, and as he explains, it’s not necessarily the quality of the hardware of software on the business side of things that matters most – it’s the feeling that Apple is just more forward-thinking:

“People aren’t going to step into a time machine when they go to work, it makes them very frustrated and it makes it hard to attract and retain top talent.” – Yared

Along these same lines, Forrester Vice President and Principal Analyst Frank Gillett spoke on the Macs invasion of the enterprise world noted that “the use of iPads and iPhones in the workplace is creating increased awareness and consideration of Macs.” Do you think Apple had this in mind when they first started creating this extended ecosystem? You bet they did!

The coverage of this oncoming, creeping, crawling Windows killer Apple’s invasion of the enterprise world stemmed this week from a Gartner report which showed December 2011 Mac Sales by Segment to be a whopping 21% for business use alone. Of course everyone should expect home use to be giant, and it is at 63%, but then there’s a sliver of a 1% there for the government and another generous 15% for education. Is Apple spreading its wings, or is this where the company reminds us of its roots?

[via Apple Insider]

When it comes to corporate computers, almost everyone thinks of Windows. And that should still be the case. After all, Apple accounts for only 2.9% of all business computer sales worldwide. But back in 2010, that number was even smaller, just 1.3% So by the end of 2011 Apple more than doubled its presence in that market. And in the enterprise sector, Apple now commands 5.8% of the market.

The reason for that expansion, Wolf says, is because Apple has worked to integrate Microsoft’s network environment into OS X, and the fact that Intel-based Macs can run Windows (though they’ve been able to do that since 2006). However, Wolf noted, that’s not reason alone to buy a Mac. He said the appeal of the iPhone and iPad, and the idea that Apple’s ecosystem between devices is growing, is what’s really driving the growth.

[via Apple Insider]

You’re going to want to see the gaming article by the name of The Smell of Gaming as written by Philip Berne. NVIDIA released their fabulous financial results as well as confirmation that they’ll have Tegra 3 quad-core smartphones starting at the end of this month at Mobile World Congress 2012. Speaking of that event, you’ll be able to follow all the rumors and tips from the event as well as the event itself through this month with our handy-dandy [MWC 2012] portal! We’ve already got such gems as the HTC One V Beats Audio phone and the Galaxy Note 10.1 information as well as columns such as the recent HTC: Hero or Bust by Chris Davies – get into it and get prepared!

We’ve got a gigantic review of the brand new (and also gigantic) Samsung Galaxy Note for AT&T!

Next you’ll want to check out Facebook’s updates including pseudonyms, verified accounts, and Timeline brands. As far as Android goes, it seems that Android 5.0 Jelly Bean is well on the way – coming in Q2 2012! Back on the HTC tip, the group has added a whole new slew of devices to its bootloader unlocking tool. The iPad China situation has escalated somewhat and Fujitzu is preparing a Transformer and iPad rival – good luck guys!

This error is also being called the CUI CUI CUI error because of the letters that pop up on your display when an application is opened. A fix has been found in an Apple forums discussion thread by a fellow by the name of nmphotog who notes that he or she has been able to download a COMBO update as located here: OS X Lion Update 10.7.3 (Client Combo). The thing he does not mention is how some of you may have to take odd measures to make this happen.

If you’re absolutely unable to get any windows open, like the web browser window to get to the webpage you’ll need to get the update download, you’ll want to open your computer in FireWire Target mode. You WILL need a FireWire cord, whatever kind that may be for your computer, and connect it to another Mac that’s got a FireWire port as well. You’ll want to then power up your Mac (the one with the problem) while holding down the T key. You’ll then want to download the software you need with the second computer and install it to the first over FireWire. Simple as pie!

[via MacWorld]

According to some reported numbers coming straight out of USA Today, there were somewhere around 44,000 attendees at the 2007 Macworld where Steve Jobs introduced the very first iPhone. This compared to last year’s 22,000 attendees says something major about how far the event has gotten from its heyday. That said, Macworld | iWorld this year will be continuing to move forward with not just manufacturers showing off their wares. Instead this year there’s much more focus on demonstrations by artists and musicians who are showcasing their talents with works created using Apple products exclusively.

Developer Christopher Allen, a veteran in the world of creating applications for Mac products, having created his first in 1984 and having written several iOS books since, compared the event to CES, in sorts:

“At its height, Macworld was starting to take on some of the challenges of CES, where it was getting so huge it was hard for a small company to get visibility. But now that we’re a smaller Macworld, it might be a little easier to get the word out. … Before, small developers could basically show up and pay for their booth through sales but now I’m not quite as confident that’s possible. Now it’s more of a pure marketing expense for a small developer, although they have made some good strides to improve that, like opening up on Saturday for more consumers to come through.” – Allen

We’ll see how this all plays out as the event unfolds. What do you think? Are you attending Macworld this year? Have you attended in the past?

[via USA Today]

This information comes from Japanese Apple blog Macotakara who say they’ve got a “reliable source” that says OS X Lion Update 10.7.2 as well as iTunes 10.5 will be out early this next week. From what we understand, iTunes 10.5 is still in Beta mode for testers while developers have been given the Gold Master copy of Mac OS X 10.7.2, this meaning that the release is RIGHT around the corner.

NOTE: for all the information you could possibly need at this point on iCloud, head to our SlashGear 101: What is iCloud? post and get educated!

October 12th will be the release of both iOS 5 with iCloud support AND the iPhone 4S (plus the other newly price-adjusted iPhone collection) in stores. The three biggest mobile carriers in the USA and Apple have reported that iPhone 4S pre-order stock is sold out, so if you’re going to be amongst those getting one on October 12th, you’re going to have to head to the front-door camp. Meanwhile we expect iOS 5 to be pushed to all other compatible Apple devices sometime this week – hopefully, again, the 12th!

[via AppleInsider]

Remember now that this is the summer of 1996. Apple isn’t doing so hot, Jobs is currently only working with Pixar, and PBS’ Wall $treet Week with Louis Rukeyser has invited the future ex-CEO of Apple to speak on several topics. The interviewer is the late Rukeyser, American financial specialist having worked for decades at that point on Wall Street in money matters. His first question is “What can we expect next from Pixar?” to which Jobs replies that they’ve had some great success with the then brand new Toy Story film, then letting us know that the Toy Story franchise will expand with “some new CD ROMs” that will set the benchmark for what can be done with CD ROMs.

It’s as if Jobs would have taken whatever he worked with to the next level even if he’d never gotten back together with Apple. Just think what would have happened if he’d headed a breakfast cereal corporation – the possibilities! Jobs goes on to mention that their (Pixar’s) business model is to create a film then surround it with a suite of products. Sound familiar?

This is exactly what George Lucas did (and continues to do) with Star Wars, this is exactly what Jobs then did with Apple on so many levels, most recently with the iOS mobile platform, the iPhone, the iPad, the iPod Touch, and the apps and accessories and the entire ecosystem that makes them the centerpiece of an undeniably successful world of oneness.

Rukeyser then hits Jobs up with the question of all questions, receiving then the answer of all answers, of course.

Rukeyser: You first came to public attention with Apple. In recent weeks it’s been one of the failure stories of Wall Street, and indeed of the American economy. What went wrong at Apple?

Jobs: Oh gosh. You know I haven’t been there in a long time. My perception may not be complete. But from the way I see it, Apple was a company that was based on innovation. When I left Apple ten years ago, we were ten years ahead of anybody else. It took Microsoft ten years to copy Windows.

The problem was that Apple stood still. Even though it invested cumulatively billions in R&D, the output has not been there. People have caught up with it, and its differentiation has eroded, in particular with respect to Microsoft.

And so the way out for Apple — and I think Apple still has a future; there are some awfully good people there and there is tremendous brand loyalty to that company — I think the way out is not to slash and burn, it’s to innovate. That’s how Apple got to its glory, and that’s how Apple could return to it.

Sound like the future to you? Sounds like the future to me.

View the above mentioned bits of the interview here, and go back to the forward:

[via InvestorVillage]

You can currently use this product with most Apple products, that being the iPod Touch generation 3 or 4, the iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4G, and the iPad or the iPad 2. This means that, for example, if I were to have one sitting here in the living room, it would erase the need for me to transfer videos to the iPad where I’d normally be playing them from via HDMI to the HD television. Now all I’d have to do is zap the videos from my computer right over to the Wi-Drive, my iPad then instantly having the ability to see them then too. Simple! Have a look at the device here courtesy of Kingston:

This little beast is right around the size of your average smartphone at 121.5mm x 61.8mm x 9.8mm, and the folks at Kingston have let us know that compatibility with Android is right around the corner. You’ll be able to work currently with the iOS devices listed above as well as Windows 7, Vista, and XP, as well as Max OS X 10.5 and up, and Linux 2.6 and up. You get a one year warranty right out of the box, there’s an official iOS app in Apple’s App Store, and its rechargeable battery lasts up to four hours of continuous use.

Look like the drive for you? Find out about more ultra fabulous Kingston products by hitting our big [Kingston Portal], and you can see the rest of our hands-on videos from the event by heading to the portal for the [Pepcom Holiday Spectacular 2011]!

The stolen security certificates included those owned by the CIA, MI6, Yahoo, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, and Microsoft. There’s also one from Google that could be used to impersonate services like Gmail. An attacker using the stolen certificate on a website could gain access to intercept your credentials and sensitive information.

The release includes versions for Mac OS X 10.6.8, Mac OS X Server 10.6.8, OS X Lion 10.7.1, and Lion Server 10.7.1. The fix is at the root level and configures the default system trust settings to not trust any certificates issued by DigiNotar. You can download the update here. The following is the full description:

Impact: An attacker with a privileged network position may intercept user credentials or other sensitive information

Description: Fraudulent certificates were issued by multiple certificate authorities operated by DigiNotar. This issue is addressed by removing DigiNotar from the list of trusted root certificates, from the list of Extended Validation (EV) certificate authorities, and by configuring default system trust settings so that DigiNotar’s certificates, including those issued by other authorities, are not trusted.

[via Cult of Mac]

Even though Mac OS X Lion is now out in full swing, it’s expected that Apple will be updating Mac OS X Snow Leopard at least one more time with a 10.6.9 version. And now it looks like the imminent update will also bring iCloud support. Apple, however, has remained quiet about the exact minimum requirements to support iCloud. It has posted only the following:

Some features of iCloud require iOS 5 on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch (3rd and 4th generation), iPad, or iPad 2, or a Mac computer with OS X Lion or a PC with Windows Vista or Windows 7 (Outlook 2007 or 2010 recommended).

The iCloud feature was first unveiled back at WWDC 2011, after months of speculation. It was said to replace MobileMe and would offer three core services of email, contacts, and calendars along with 5GB of storage space for free. Apple’s next-gen mobile platform with iOS 5 will have the iCloud deeply integrated and is expected to launch within the next two months.

[via MacRumors]

The first Count of this new lawsuit reads as follows: “Apple sells or offers to sell within this district, computer systems, including but not limited to the MacBook Pro, that utilize the Mac OSX operating system that infringes at least claim 1 of the OSS [Operating System Solutions] Patent.” What this does is claim that Apple has either knowingly or unknowingly created an operating system with a feature that had been patented previously without confirming with the current patent holder that it was agreeable to do so. If the court should find that the fast-boot sequence on current OS X devices is close enough to the original patent’s description, Apple could be in a heap of trouble.

The one-time patent abstract from the original LG Electronics filing reads as follows – see if this seems similar to how your OS X Lion-toting device boots up:

“A method for quickly booting a personal computer system using boot configuration information on memory and the attached devices that was created and saved in a hard disk at the preceding boot process. The method for a quick boot process includes the steps of performing a power-on self test POST) operation when a personal computer system is powered on or a reset button is pressed; performing a normal boot process after the POST operation; saving the contents of memory and the status of the attached devices to a hard disk; checking if a reboot is requested; restoring the saved boot configuration information from the hard disk, after POST is completed during the reboot process; checking whether or not an initial device configuration file and/or an automatic batch file were changed; and executing commands in the two files and saving a newly created boot configuration information to the hard disk for future boot. The personal computer system, may reboot quickly because of omission of execution of the initial device configuration filed and the automatic batch file.”

The above is also what you’re seeing in the main image of this post, as seen above. The following paragraph is how the lawsuit claim reads, on the other hand. Decide for yourself if this matches up with the original LG Electronics patent wording:

“A method for fast booting a computer system, comprising the steps of: A. performing a power on self test (POST) of basic input output system (BIOS) when the system is powered on or reset is requested; B. checking whether a boot configuration information including a system booting state which was created while executing a previous normal booting process exists or not; C. storing the boot configuration information from execution of the POST operation before loading a graphic interface (GUI) program, based on the checking result; and D. loading the graphic user interface (GUI) program.”

Patently Apple notes that it’s suspicious that the group currently running this lawsuit, the group that goes by the name “Operating Systems Solutions LCC” doesn’t appear in a simple Google search. When this sort of situation arises, alarms should be going off that read PATENT TROLL. This type of troll is one that uses patents in a rather opportunistic way, attacking groups that may have “infringed” on said patent without any intention of actually developing the patented subject matter on their own.

[via Patently Apple]

This isn’t a huge win for HTC, since prior to its purchase of the S3 patents, Apple was already being sued by S3 for copying its texture-compression technology in both the Mac OS and iOS platforms—a total of four patents involved. However, two of those patents have since been invalidated, and this week’s revelation means that the two patents left only apply to the Mac platform and not Apple’s more lucrative mobile platform.

Nonetheless, this will still give HTC a little leverage, although not much, to hopefully reach a settlement deal with Apple, who is currently seeking to completely block HTC Android device imports. Just two weeks ago, Apple filed a second ITC complaint against HTC that resulted in a preliminary ruling, finding HTC to indeed be infringing on two of Apple’s patents.

Those patents, however, are very broad in scope and if validated in a final ruling could endanger other Android device makers as well, including Samsung and Motorola, who are both also locked in legal battles with Apple. This leads many to speculate that Apple is trying a similar strategy as the one used by Microsoft to target the Android platform as a whole. This tactic has so far been an excellent revenue booster in the form of license fees heading to Microsoft’s coffers.

And although HTC has figured out workarounds for the disputed technologies it needs, which will be implemented in all of its 2012 devices, it still stands on shaky ground right now with the possibility of an injunction on its imports. However, it is believed that the two companies should reach some sort of settlement agreement before November, when the final rulings are to be revealed.

[via BloomBerg]

First again let’s take a look at these giveaways we’ve got going on. First we’ve got Tabletpalooza. This is a giveaway where you’re able to win one of five NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor toting Android tablets, this week’s tablets being the Acer Iconia Tab A500 and the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Get out there and win those tablets NOW! Then there’s our Spotify giveaway where you’ve just got to go to a single landing page and submit your email. Simple stuff! ALSO if you’re not sure if you’ve won one of the first weeks of Tabletpalooza, head to our Week 1 and 2 Winners post!

Next we’ve got a few Featured items you should take a look at, one of them from last week that I think you aught to take another look at since we’re using it in all of our most recent Android reviews: Qualcomm’s Vellamo benchmarking system – our hands-on testing should let you know everything you need to know. One of the first places you can see this benchmarking system in action is in the SlashGear review of the T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide. We’ve also gone hands-on with the Lenovo IdeaPad K1 and ThinkPad Tablet.

Then comes the Apple! The Apple MacBook Air has been updated to include some sweet new Sandy Bridge insides and a lovely new Thunderbolt port, the Apple Mac mini has been refreshed with Sandy Bridge and a dual-drive Server, and the Apple Thunderbolt Display has been revealed and it’s gigantic and it’s awesome. Also you should take a look at Apple’s Q3 Earnings as they exceed expectations at $28.57 Billion in revenue and $7.31 Billion in profit.

We’ve got reviews up of the following:
Verbatim Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard
iRiver Story HD
SwiftKey Tablet X
Swiftkey X for Android Handsets
Spotify Premium Mobile App and Service
Android Market 3.0.26 – still not officially released!

Columnist Don Reisinger lets us know what he thinks in A RIM Apple TV Competitor is the Worst Idea Ever. Philip Berne drops some knowledge with a couple of columns, one called Can the Internet and Nostalgia Get Along? while the other goes by the title Permutations of Relationships on Social Networks. Meanwhile Google’s Eric Schmidt has had some controversial things to say lately: first that Google was “left behind” on social then also that Apple’s lawsuits are prompted by jealousy and innovation-shortfall.

For a look at a big roundup of everything from last week, head to Rue’s SlashGear Weekly Roundup Video – fun for everyone!

In the apps game, it’s all about drawing attention, and Gameprom certainly knows how to do that. Not only do they create games that are bigtime as they come, they’ve got the promotions to back them up! Today you’ll be able to download the following games for absolutely free: Wild West Pinball , The Deep Pinball, Jungle Style Pinball, Magnetar: Space Fighter, Crimsonworld, Crimsonworld HD, Crimsonworld HD for Mac, and RoboCity. You can find links to every single one of these apps, be it out for Android, iOS, or Mac OS X. Then have a look at what this promotion is all about: Battle Slugs!

This is a game is a nasty ol’ puzzle game which requires that you plug in the right slugs at the right times and move the wrong slugs out of the way in time so that you’ll be avoiding the slugs you’re not controlling – or there’ll be all kinds of death! This game is already available in both Lite and Full versions on the Apple App Store for $.99 and free! You’ll be getting your red or green slugness on all night and day!

Then let’s have a look back at what this pinball business is all about again, because I just cannot leave it alone: first have a look at when Gameprom sent Pinball HD to the iPad and Mac OS X, then head to Android Community where we’ve got a full review of the Pinball HD Tegra-optimized version for tablets – make the bells sing!

You need to back up your machine before you start in case something craps out on you. Most ardent Mac fans will certainly be familiar with the download an install process, but if this happens to be your first update just choose Software Update from the Apple menu. The update size will vary from computer to computer ad it may take more than one run to get all the updates you need. Things specifically addressed in the update include enhancements to the Mac App Store to get the Mac ready for Lion.

The update will resolve the issue that could cause Preview to unexpectedly quit. Support for IPv6 is improved and VPN reliability is improved as well. The update will find and remove known variants of MacDefender malware. The update will also add support for Kerberos authentication to a web proxy server and adds RAW image capability for more digital cameras. There are also a number of other things addressed by the update.

That security update arrived today and it’s called Mac Security Update 2011-003. The update should hunt down and nuke existing MacDefender malware installations and prevent future installations. It provides a File Quarantine definition for MacDefender as well as for its variants and will update its definitions daily for OS X 10.6.7 platforms.

The security update has appeared in Software Update where you can download and install immediately. You can also get the update directly from Apple’s support and downloads page here. Nonetheless, just be wary of downloading any type of software that claims to protect your Mac, unless it’s directly from Apple. Other variants of the malware include Mac Security and MacGuard.

[via TUAW]