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Mac clone maker says Apple's hold on Mac OS X lets it gouge consumers. The Mac clone maker that has countered an Apple Inc. lawsuit with one of its own said that forcing the California computer maker to undo an illegal tie between the Mac OS X operating system and its hardware would force it to drop prices, according to court documents filed Thursday. Psystar Corp., a Doral, Fla.-based seller of Intel-based computers, also charged that Apple enjoys "monopoly power" from the licensing link it's forged between its hardware and the Mac OS. In its response to an Apple lawsuit...

EFiX dongle promises easy Mac OS installs on PC A developer is promising an easy, hardware-assisted means of installing Mac OS X onto PCs, accounts say. The creators of the EFiX USB dongle claim that by attaching their device to a PC, users can then simply boot from a Mac OS X disc, and continue with installation as if the system were a native Apple product. Typically, the creation of "Hackintoshes" requires a number of complex steps, as Apple does not allow the Mac OS on third-party hardware. The dongle is said to have been in development for some time,...

SAN FRANCISCO—June 9, 2008—Apple® today previewed Mac OS® X Snow Leopard, which builds on the incredible success of OS X Leopard and is the next major version of the world’s most advanced operating system. Rather than focusing primarily on new features, Snow Leopard will enhance the performance of OS X, set a new standard for quality and lay the foundation for future OS X innovation. Snow Leopard is optimized for multi-core processors, taps into the vast computing power of graphic processing units (GPUs), enables breakthrough amounts of RAM and features a new, modern media platform with QuickTime® X. Snow Leopard...

Excerpt - With the 2008 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) beginning next week, MacRumors provides this Rumor Roundup as a summary of major rumors circulating around the Mac Web before the big event (previous roundups: 2007, 2006). The 3G iPhone The 3G iPhone will be announced at WWDC 2008. There really can be no doubt. It's certainly been no secret that the iPhone will eventually adopt 3G technology. When Steve Jobs first introduced the iPhone in January 2007, he specifically said (video clip) that Apple plans on making "3G phones and all sorts of amazing things in the future". Fast forward...

Apple today released Security Update 2008-002 which is recommended for all users and improves the security of Mac OS X. Previous security updates have been incorporated into this security update. Security Update 2008-002 is available via Software Update and also as standalone installers. More info and download links:• Security Update 2008-002 v1.0 (Leopard) - 50MB• Security Update 2008-002 v1.0 (Universal) - 103MB• Security Update 2008-002 v1.0 Server (Leopard) - 108MB• Security Update 2008-002 v1.0 Server (PPC) - 82MB• Security Update 2008-002 v1.0 Server (Universal) - 107MB For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=307562.

One year after launching a controversial Macintosh hacking contest, the promoters of the CanSecWest security research conference are thinking about giving hackers another shot at cracking the Mac. Only this time, they're looking to broaden the field. Last year, show organizers invited attendees to hack into a Macintosh laptop, with the successful hacker winning the computer and a cash prize. But this year they're talking about giving attendees three targets to choose from. "We're thinking of having a contest where we have Vista and OS X and Linux ... and see which one goes first," said Dragos Ruiu, the principal...

"The KDE desktop environment is going cross-platform with support for the Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. In addition to porting the core KDE libraries and applications, developers are also porting popular KDE-based software like the Amarok audio player and the KOffice productivity suite. New KDE binaries for Windows were released yesterday and are now available from KDE mirrors through an automated installer program. The Mac OS X port is made available via BitTorrent in universal binary format."

The 10.5.1 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac. For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306907. For detailed information on security updates, please visit this website: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61798.

Recent statistics released by W3Counter reveal that the market share of Windows 98 fell from 1.44 percent to 1.34 percent in August, reducing it to the same level of popularity as the open source Linux operating system, which saw its market share increase from 1.33 to 1.34 in the same period. If the steady downward trend in Windows 98's market share continues, the popularity of Linux will soon surpass that of Microsoft's outdated, nine-year-old Windows version.

"Despite all of the positive buzz about the Mac operating system and the 'halo effect' of iPod sales, Mac OS X market share actually dropped last month, reports Computerworld: 'The share of PowerPC-based Macs fell ... from 4.29% in February to 3.94% in March. That dip was not fully offset by an increase in Intel-based Mac hardware, leading to a overall net decline in Mac share of 0.3%, to 6.08% in March.' Meanwhile, Vista is rising, the article says, with just over 2% of computers connected to the Internet using the new Windows OS. The figures are from a company...

Apple on Tuesday released Mac OS X v10.4.9, available in both client and server versions for PowerPC and Intel-based Macs. The updates are available for download through the Software Update system preference pane, and can also be had from the Apple Downloads Web page. Specific changes in the 10.4.9 release include improvements to raw camera file support; handling of large or malformed images that could cause crashes; image capture performance; mouse scrolling and keyboard shortcuts; font handling; playback quality and bookmarks in DVD player; USB video conferencing cameras for use with iChat; Bluetooth devices; browsing AFP servers; Apple USB model;...

Apple today released Security Update 2007-002 to fix several vulnerabilities affecting the Mac OS X Finder, iChat, and the UserNotificationCenter process. One vulnerability could cause an application to crash or result in arbitrary code execution, resuming the user is enticed into opening a specially-crafted disk image resulting in a buffer overflow in Finder's handling of volume names. Two iChat-related security concerns are fixed in the update, preventing attackers on the local network from causing iChat to crash and foiling potential attempts by malicious websites to cause applications to crash or execute arbitrary code. The UserNotificationCenter process runs with elevated privileges...

Newly released documents reveal that Microsoft executives were awed by Apple's future operating system features, saying that the it may not be able to achieve Apple's innovation levels and acknowledging future, similar Windows Vista features would be directly compared with Mac OS X. Confirming earlier reports that Vista development was inspired by Tiger, Techweb reports that internal Microsoft email messages from 2004 reveal that company evangelists and executives were awed by Apple's Spotlight desktop search and acknowledged that what they did in Windows Vista would be directly compared with Mac OS X. The messages, the report claims, were filed as...

The 10.4.8 Update is recommended for all users and includes general operating system fixes, as well as specific fixes for the following applications and technologies: - connecting to wireless networks using the EAP-FAST protocol - Apple USB modem reliability - using OpenType fonts in Microsoft Word - compatibility with 3rd party USB hubs - scanner performance - RAW camera support - printing documents with Asian language names - performance of the Translation widget - broadband network performance - security updates For detailed information on this Update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n304200. For detailed information on Security Updates, please visit this...

As Apple's Mac OS X operating system increases in popularity, so does its exposure to internet-related security threats. Security firm Symantec has published its latest Internet Security Threat Report, revealing that the number of vulnerabilities identified in Apple's Safari Web browser doubled over the first half of 2006, and that the amount of time Safari users were vulnerable to exploits before Apple released a security fix increased from zero days to five. During the first six months of 2006 malicious users discovered 12 bugs in Safari, 47 bugs in Mozilla Firefox, and 38 bugs in Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Mozilla on...

BOUGHT YOURSELF a spanking new IntelliMac Pro yet? Then, quick, get your needles and pins out and get patching.

SAN FRANCISCO--Apple Computer on Monday introduced the Mac Pro, the company's first Intel-based professional desktop, and also gave developers a preview of Leopard, the next version of Mac OS X. CEO Steve Jobs showed off the shiny metal desktop, which will start shipping immediately, as he kicked off the Worldwide Developer Conference here. The Mac Pro offers a similar casing to the Power Mac G5 that preceded it, but replaces the older PowerPC processors with two dual-core Intel Xeon chips as well as space for two optical disc drives and up to four hard drives. The standard $2,499 configuration includes...

I need help. Windows XP SP2 on my computer will not start. Earlier this morning, everything was going great, then Firefox locked up while doing a Google search. Locked up tight, and I had to press and hold the power button for several seconds to shut down. Now, when I power up, everything goes well through POST until Windows tries to start up, then the screen goes black and all disk activity ceases. After waiting several minutes with nothing happening, pressing the power button for a fraction of a second shuts the computer down. I've tried booting to Last Known...

In 2004, when Apple Computer showed off its latest ``cat,'' Tiger, it couldn't help but taunt Microsoft. The Redmond, Wash., software giant was working on its long-awaited next-generation Windows operating system, Vista, known then as ``Longhorn.'' During Apple's annual developer's conference in San Francisco, when its Tiger operating system was unveiled, the company jabbed at its mighty competitor with posters that read: ``Redmond, start your photocopiers,'' ``Introducing Longhorn'' and ``Redmond, we have a problem.'' In roughly the same time frame that Microsoft has labored over Vista -- its predecessor, Windows XP, was launched in 2001 -- Apple is on the...

Attack code that exploits a flaw in Apple Computer's Mac OS X was publicly released Wednesday, increasing the urgency to patch. The code's arrival comes just a day after Apple made an update available for its operating system. The malicious program takes advantage of a locally exploitable vulnerability in an operating system component called "launchd". "Attackers may exploit this issue to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges," Symantec said in a security alert to customers that was updated on Thursday. On Tuesday, Apple delivered Mac OS X 10.4.7. The operating system update repairs a total of five flaws. Four of...

The 10.4.7 Update is recommended for all users and includes general operating system fixes, as well as specific fixes for the following applications and technologies. It includes fixes for: - preventing AFP deadlocks and dropped connections - saving Adobe and Quark documents to AFP mounted volumes - Bluetooth file transfers, pairing and connecting to a Bluetooth mouse, and syncing to mobile phones - audio playback in QuickTime, iTunes, Final Cut Pro, and Soundtrack applications - ensuring icons are spaced correctly when viewed on desktop - determining the space required to burn folders - iChat audio and video connectivity, creating chat...

Normally, we expect new Linux desktop users to come from the ranks of disgruntled Windows users. After all, they're the ones who have to deal with high-prices and endless security problems. Now, it seems that some Mac gurus are also making the switch to Linux.

"The definition of a civilized computing platform: the time requiredto learn how to use it is less than the time required to complete a major simulation on it." - Bill Buzbee, Arctic Region Supercomputing Center The Beginnings It was the summer of 2003, and university staff members in the computer science department at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, Virginia had just heard Steve Jobs announce the G5 at WWDC. The new Power Mac G5 had a rather masculine, sharp edged enclosure, and it contained not one but two IBM PowerPC 970 processors running at 2 GHz. The Virginia Tech people...

Apple tells hacks to stay out of its kernel Since before its release, Apple's OS X for the Intel platform had been circulating the Internet in many places, and many had been running the operating system for months ahead of Apple's own release schedules. Thanks to cunning hackery by famed OS X hacker Maxxuss, many were able to install the protected operating system on generic machines. Apple had implemented a check for a trusted platform module (TPM) chip that was integrated on specific Intel motherboards, which when detected, allowed the installation of OS X. When Apple had finally released a...

There are many differences between the Isle of Man and the rest of the UK - even in ICT. Jack Kenny discovers why the island's schools prefer Apple Macs to PCs There are not many secondary schools in the UK where Apple computers vastly outnumber PCs. ICT at St Ninians in Douglas, Isle of Man, is one such school powered by Apple computers. The overall impression you get at the school is of ICT being used confidently and creatively: blogs, music creation, teachers integrating ICT into their work, podcasts (video and audio). In his role as Head of ICT at...

Apple on Thursday released Security Update 2006-003, fixing vulnerabilities in Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server. In addition to fixing core technologies, the update also includes changes to several of the company's applications. An issue with Apple's Safari Web browser running in Mac OS X 10.4 that allowed an automatically expanded archive containing a symbolic link to be moved to the user's desktop and launched has been fixed in this update. Apple Mail received two fixes. The first deals with the handling of invalid color information in enriched text email messages that could cause the allocation and initialization...

"Organizations are looking to network access control solutions that leverage endpoint intelligence to deliver continuous protection against worms, spyware, malicious behavior and endpoint configurations that slip out of compliance," said Eric Ogren, security analyst at the Enterprise Security Group. Mac users are facing an onslaught of security threats -- and reacting to the malware is no longer considered a good strategy. Taking proactive measures agains phishers, spyware, ID thieves and other Web threats, like downloadable rootkits which infest operating systems, is the new norm. During a conference call with reporters, experts affiliated with the SANS Institute indicated that there has...

SummaryLinux is found to be much faster than Apple's OS X for statistical computing. And although Linux is 5 to 10 percent faster than Windows XP, both are markedly faster than OS X. For example, in one benchmark both Linux and Windows XP are more than twice as fast as OS X. The results on this page were conducted on a MacBookpro with a 2.16Ghz Intel Core Duo chip and 2GB of RAM. I had previous conducted Linux vs. Mac OS X and Windows XP and Opteron vs. G5 and Pentium benchmarks. Those results were terrible for OS X and...

Fresh news reports of nasty bugs aimed at Apple computers have rekindled the age-old debate: are Macs safe? Here's the lowdown The latest round of Apple (AAPL) ads aimed at convincing consumers to drop their Windows PCs and join the millions of people happily using Macs kicked off this week. . . . . . RAISING AN ALARM. Naturally, this campaign -- especially the virus-themed spot -- served as the starting gun for another round of the endless debates in computer-security circles over how secure the Mac actually is. So far, it has been pretty smooth sailing with a few...

The recent ruckus about the claimed growing vulnerability of Mac OSX from certain sources has caused an indignant outcry from Mac advocates who claim the stories are mostly media hype. According to an expert in Unix and Linux systems, the outcry is not without justification. Con Zymaris has been working with Unix systems for nearly three decades and for the past 15 years has been running a consultancy on open source software implementation. Zymaris says that, while it is true that a Mac can get infected with a virus, it is not easy and it is not likely to cause...

Recently there has been a growth industry in pundits whining about the security of the Apple Mac OS X operating system. To read some of the coverage, you would think someone deciding to use OS X instead of Windows would have to be dumber than a fence post. Methinks the security worries are rather misplaced and may be the result of hyperventilating, nontechnical reporters and some gloating on the part of Windows users. One would have to be dumber than a fence post to assert any set of software as complex as a computer operating system and all of its...

I'll leave a fuller examination of Vista's broken promises for a later date. For now, let's look at the most current builds we do have--build 5308 and 5342--and see where Vista just completely blows it. As with the broken promises, Vista's failures are legion, but I'll just focus on a few examples here and leave the full list for a later time.

Apple has posted early program information about what developers will learn at the Worldwide Developer's Conference 2006. Apple's intention to demo Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) at this year's WWDC has been no secret. Steve Jobs announced it last year at the WWDC 2005 Keynote, and Apple's BootCamp page indicated that "Developers can learn all about the sixth major release of Mac OS X [Leopard] this century at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference." WWDC takes placed between August 7-11th of this year. Join the thousands of Mac developers who will be attending WWDC 2006, and be one of the first to...

An avid Mac user has managed to install and boot Windows Vista an on Intel Mac, according to report on the OSx86 Project website. The site says that despite Apple's beta release of its Boot Camp software and several previous successful attempts at getting the installer to work, actually making Vista run on an Intel Mac has still proven to be quite a challenge. The user has taken screenshots of his success, but says he had to delete the Mac OS X partition to get Vista running. The OSx86 Project, which says it is a good start and congratulated the...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc. (NasdaqNM:AAPL - News), the maker of the Macintosh computer and iPod music device, on Wednesday rolled out a first-ever software patch to run Microsoft's dominant Windows operating system on its PCs, a move that could draw millions of new buyers. By enabling the move to Windows, the world's No. 1 operating system, Apple hopes to draw people who want Macs, considered by many as easier to use and more stylish, but prefer the Windows operating system. Apple shares rose 5.7 percent in early trade on Nasdaq. Apple said the "Boot Camp" software, available...

Yesterday, Apple Computer Inc. turned 30 years old. But an equally significant anniversary occurred two Fridays ago: March 24 marked Mac OS X's fifth birthday. Four major updates later, that operating system ranks as one of Apple's greatest successes. First, it broke the company's long streak of unfinished operating-system projects. Second, OS X has shown that it's possible to fix three of the worst parts of computing: adding programs, removing them and keeping everything in good working order... ...Mac OS X lives by three basic principles, which together make it easier to live with than any competitor. The system is...

Avadis "Avie" Tevanian, Apple Computer's Chief Technology Officer, is leaving the firm to "pursue other interests," the company confirmed Monday. Tevanian, who came to Apple in 1997 from his previous post working for Steve Jobs at NeXT, played a key role in developing Mac OS X, the company's widely adored operating system. Although Apple wouldn't say what Tevanian's plans are, Vice President of Worldwide Corporate Communications Katie Cotton wrote in an e-mail that, "He plans to take some time off in the interim. He hasn't left yet, though. His last official day is March 31." Tevanian, who is considered an...

Here's the original, official Apple press release:CUPERTINO, California—March 21, 2001—Apple® today announced that beginning this Saturday, March 24, customers can buy Mac® OS X in retail stores around the world. Mac OS X is the world’s most advanced operating system, combining the power and openness of UNIX with the legendary ease of use and broad applications base of Macintosh®. “Mac OS X is the most important software from Apple since the original Macintosh operating system in 1984 that revolutionized the entire industry,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We can’t wait for Mac users around the globe to experience its stability,...

Hackers boot a Dell with Mac OS X (Intel). March 24, 2006 -- Unidentified programmers have hacked the Intel version of Mac OS X to enable it to boot a Dell PC. A file called the "JaS4.2b patch" can be used to create a customized installer DVD for installing on a Dell PC. A website called MacaDell describes the patch. The MacDell site has also has a page that describes how to use the JaS4.2b patch to create a customized installer disc for Mac OS X. Using the hack is illegal because it breaks Apple’s Mac OS X license agreement,...

MacOSXRumors claims that according to "reliable sources", Apple is developing virtualization software to be incorporated into the next version of Mac OS X - Leopard. According to the rumor site, the upcoming software is code named "Chameleon" and is being developed alongside both Intel and Microsoft. Virtualization software would potentially allow users to run alternative operating systems alongside Mac OS X. There has been previous discussion about Virtualization Technology support in Intel's processors. Microsoft has been reported as being committed to porting Virtual PC to the Intel Macs, but early claims indicated that Apple had "yet to provide developers with...

Microsoft program manager Stephen Toulouse today publicly challenged Apple to hire a security expert and overhaul the way information is released when Mac OS X updates are released. "Look, the only way you can tackle security issues is by getting out ahead of them and clearly communicating to your users the threat, and the clear guidance on how to be safe," Toulouse said. "Here's the reality, for the next couple of years the Mac OS will experience increasing security threats and mark my words, the company will have to seek outside expertise in the form of a head of security...

Going above and beyondSelected by five Network World contributors, these category-breaking products raise the bar with their novel approaches to solving today's enterprise challenges. The category breaker: Apple's MacTel Selected by Winn Schwartau, president of Interpac, "On Security" columnist. In April 2005, Apple introduced the OS X 10.4, also known as Tiger. In January, it announced MacTel computing. And now imagine desktop and laptop computers that don't crash for months at a time. Imagine PCs that are close to immune to the endless train wrecks caused by viruses and worms. Imagine increasing the performance of a secure computing environment by...

Apple today released a third security update--presumably to fix issues found in the second security update released earlier this week. Ironically, the previous update was also released to address inadequate security fixes and bugs introduced in the first update released earlier this month. Available for Mac OS X 10.4.5 Tiger on both Intel client and PPC Server/Client systems, Security Update 2006-002 v1.1 outlines the same updated components: apache_mod_php, CoreTypes, LaunchServices, Mail, rsync, and Safari, but is now labeled as v1.1. Further information is not yet available. The updates are not yet available via the Software Update. The update comes on...

A contest to see who could get Windows XP working first on an Intel Mac has been won, according to the contest’s coordinator, Colin Nederkoorn. The Windows XP on an Intel Mac page provides a link to a download that includes software and instructions for use. Nederkoorn first put the contest together after he ordered an Intel-based MacBook Pro for work. “I told my boss that this would replace my IBM desktop and I could boot Windows XP on it,” he said, and to put his money where his mouth was, he put up $100. He suggested that others with...

With its sleek iPod nano and all-in-one iMac computer, Apple is often perceived by its fans as a pre-eminent innovator. It may come as a surprise, then, that much of the company's recent financial -- and stock -- success has resulted from merely holding the line on one of the sources of that innovation: its spending on research and development. Even while Apple's revenue has skyrocketed in recent years -- and even as expectations for future products and success have exploded -- what the company has spent on R&D has risen only modestly. As a portion of overall sales, such...

There has been a lot of talk in the press recently about how secure Mac OS X really is and how much Mac users have to be concerned about security. While Apple said they are very serious about security concerns, Mac users, for the most part, have been unaffected. “Proof of concepts are out there but end users have not been affected by exploits in the wild the way they typically are with some other platforms,” Bud Tribble, Apple’s vice president of Software Technology, told Macworld. “It’s never good to say don’t be concerned about security, however, the actual affects...

Apple on Monday released a security update for Intel and PowerPC-based machines running Mac OS X. The update addresses a number of issues with apache_mod_php, CoreTypes, LaunchServices, Mail, Safari and rsync, according to notes from Apple. This update also includes the previous Security Update, which fixed security issues with apache_mod_php, Automount, Bom, Directory Services, iChat, IPSec, LaunchServices, LibSystem, Loginwindow, Mail, Rsync, Safari Syndication. The update can be downloaded from AppleÂ’s Web site or via the Software Update mechanism in Mac OS X.

To maintain public confidence in its operating system, Jobs & Co. should consider hiring a security czar The second potentially major Mac security incident in as many weeks has thankfully been debunked. Earlier this week I wrote a blog entry about a Mac Mini owner in Sweden who configured his machine as a server and challenged hackers to gain access to it. The Mini was -- as hackers like to say -- "owned" only 30 minutes after the challenge started. By "owned," I mean rooted. An outside attacker, through a remote Internet connection, was able to get "root" access --...

HackMyMac.com “Go Ahead...Hack My Mac!” Ok, my Apple Macintosh you’re attempting to hack may not be the SystemX Supercomputer at Virginia Tech, but it is a brand new iMac Intel Core Duo with a default installation of Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.5 and iLife 06. It is directly connected to the Internet here in Sweden thru a 24Mbps ADSL2+ line with the Firewall left OFF. ( OSX default installation and no router) The only port open is 80 for display of this webpage. There are no anti-virus or spyware software programs on this iMac computer. (IMHO, I believe they...

An unpublished security vulnerability in Apple's Mac OS X operating system that first came to light after a hacking competition has sparked concern in the user community. Mark Borrie, IT security manager at New Zealand's University of Otago, said the vulnerability could cause potential difficulties. He manages a total of 12,000 desktops, including nearly 5,000 Macs. As reported by ZDNet Australia on Monday, the flaw surfaced when a hacker, going by the name 'gwerdna', won a Mac OS X contest recently. The vulnerability allows users -- with local access -- to escalate their privileges to a point where they can...