Macintosh

Earlier this week, Apple released a Java security update, 2012-001, to patch the Flashback vulnerability that a security company claims affected 600,000 Macs.

Late this evening, we are getting reports from readers that a new version of the Java update is becoming available via Software Update.

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The latest update, Java for OS X 2012-002, supersedes the -001 update Apple released earlier this week, and indeed the KB article linked from the -002 update is still the -001 version (below).

Update: Apple sent a note out to its Java Community, below, with the ‘why’ (small issue they are the same but for a few symlinks and version numbers.)

Thanks Jessie!
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ArsTechnica quotes a Russian antivirus company called “Dr. Web” that claims hundreds of thousands of Macs are infected with the Flashback Trojan detailed earlier this week. The attack takes advantage of an old Java vulnerability that Apple just patched this week.

Variations of the Flashback trojan have reportedly infected more than half a million Macs around the globe, according to Russian antivirus company Dr. Web. The company made an announcement on Wednesday—first in Russian and later in English—about the growing Mac botnet, first claiming 550,000 infected Macs. Later in the day, however, Dr. Web malware analyst Sorokin Ivan posted to Twitter that the count had gone up to 600,000, with 274 bots even checking in from Cupertino, CA, where Apple’s headquarters are located.

Dr. Web said over half of the infected computers were in the United States (including 274 in Cupertino), and 20 percent were in Canada. The malware self-installs after you visit a compromised or malicious webpage. Obviously, it would be a good idea to update any Macs in your control.

If you think one of your machines may be infected, F-Secure has instructions on how to use the Terminal to find out. If these numbers are true, chances are some 9to5Mac readers are infected. Update: A reader comments that he was infected (599,999 more to go):

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AirDisplay, a $10 application that lets your iPad function as a second (or third, fourth, etc.) display for your Mac/PC, was just updated to allow it to push HiDPI pixels to the new iPad. We explained it all here.

Developer Avatron announced its “Air Display” app, which allows iPhones, iPads and Macs to act as a second or third monitor, would be implementing support for the 2048-by-1536 resolution of the new iPad’s 264-DPI Retina display. That means you will soon be able to use your third-generation iPad as a 2048-by-1536 computer monitor.

To turn on HiDPI, you just go to the Displays Preferences and select 1024×768 (HiDPI)…HiDPI has been shipping with Mac OS X for some time. But it isn’t enabled in the System Preferences, because until now there hasn’t been a mass-produced computer display with high enough resolution to do it justice. That’s where Air Display and the new iPad come in.

As noted by MacStories (image above), the update is live. The release notes follow:

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Apple today told developers that it was adding two new price tiers for high end apps at the $124.99 and $174.99 price points giving developers new price points from which to sell their apps.

Click to enlarge – new price points at Tier 63 and Tier 69

We’re not exactly sure why Apple made the move but there you go…

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Gizmodo shows how far we, and the pixels we love, have come since 1984. On the left, you see the 512-by-342-display on the original Mac (and a few subsequent Macs). On the right, you have a typical 512-by-512-iPad Retina icon that Apple now requires developers to submit with their apps.

Note (Thanks commenters): The actual Retina icons are 114px on iPhone and 144px on iPad and XXpx on Macs (Apple is thinking ahead here).

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According to an Apple filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today, Tim Cook sold 20,178 shares of his company’s stock in a series of transactions over the past two business days. The sales started at $547 per share and climbed to $551 before the last transaction, which left Apple’s Chief Executive Officer with $11.1 million.

Cook, who earns a bit more than $1 a year in Apple salary, was awarded 1 million shares of Apple last year, which vest in 2016 and 2021. Those shares are now worth over half a billion dollars.

Apple is the world’s most valuable company with stock valued at $552 upon today’s closing bell and continued to climb in after-hours trading.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=098wGRRCnOU]

Love this idea for controlling your Mac – especially for applications which don’t require you to be near your computer.  Apple has lots of patents on 3D gestures so it wouldn’t be absurd to see some of this at the OS level in the not-so-distant future.

Download here
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Ship times for Apple’s new iPad slipped again this evening to two to three weeks in the United States, which was previously March 19 across the board. Many European Stores have been at two to three weeks for a few days now.

Meanwhile, Apple told USA Today:

“Customer response to the new iPad has been off the charts and the quantity available for pre-order has been purchased,” Apple said in a statement. “Customers can continue to order online and receive an estimated delivery date.”

Remember, those “charts” are the iPad 2 charts, and that thing was already a big success. Apple sells a new iPad once a year and keeps its price controls consistent. Many consumers (present company included), who know the same model iPad will cost the exact same as it costs now in another 360 days, always buy Apple products right when they are released. That is bound to cause a bit of a spike.

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We’ve gotten a few more tidbits about tomorrow’s Apple TV announcement (Oh, there will be a new iPad too!).  The Apple TV J33 model, MD199LL/A – J33 BEST -USA, which we’ve covered before will come in at the same $99 price point (and similar prices globally).  We know from previous reports that it will have updated hardware internally including Bluetooth 4.0 Broadcom chip as well as a higher powered processor capable of 1080P video. 

It will likely look the same as the current Apple TV with similar ports otherwise, though that hasn’t been confirmed.

Also, the new mystery B82 accessory part just got a price as well: $39.  We’re still not sure what exactly it is (Dock, A/V cable – currently $39, remote – currently $19, etc.).  We’re not expecting anything too spectacular however under $40.

Finally, MacRumors confirms tips that we’ve been hearing today.

Apple appears to be making a similar transition for the iPad with tomorrow’s introduction of the iPad 3, rolling out a $99 AppleCare+ for iPad warranty that would replace the current $79 standard AppleCare package.

AppleCare +, which also covers accidental damage with a $49 deductible, for iPad has shown up on a number of occasions in EasyPay as a $99 option leading our tipsters to believe that it will debut tomorrow.

We’ll be covering all the action tomorrow live, so make sure you stop back.

As always, thanks Mr. X!
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From 9to5Toys.com:

Today only, MacConnection has the Mac Mini base configuration for $529.95 with free shipping. That’s $70 off retail and the lowest price we’ve seen (refurb is $519 at Apple).

Add 8GB of Corsair RAM from Amazon for $41.99 and you are still $30 below Apple’s original retail price.

Get a little tricky by adding a super speedy Samsung 830 SSD (review) via iFixit’s second drive kit.

We have other Mac Desktops at lowest available prices here.
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There are people—yours truly included—who felt genuinely dumbfounded having read both the authorized “Steve Jobs” biography by Walter Isaacson and Adam Lashinsky’s “Inside Apple.” Do not get me wrong, Isaacson and Lashinsky are among the best contemporary wordsmiths, and their work enlightened us with some previously unknown details about the inner-workings of Apple and the man who cofounded it. Nonetheless, the authors dedicated way too many pages to the stuff we already knew, and their writing style may not appeal to the Technorati accustomed to fast-paced news reporting and sensationalist headlines. Hoping to fill this gap and tell the untold story about Apple of California from a different angle, writer Ken Segall committed to a project tentatively named “Insanely Simple – The Obsession That Drives Apple’s Success” (via Daring Fireball).

Few would dare argue that Apple’s agonizing over the tiniest and seemingly unimportant details is what makes the products so pleasurable to use. Segall should know what makes Apple tick: He coined the iMac moniker during his 12-year tenure at TBWA\Chiat\Day, Apple’s and NeXT’s advertising agency, and he now runs an Apple parody website you are probably familiar with called Scoopertino. The author explained the reasoning behind his ambitious undertaking on his personal blog:

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From 9to5Toys.com:

MacMall is offering 9to5 readers an additional 3 percent off its already lowest prices on Mac Minis and iMacs this month to yield the lowest prices you will find anywhere (by as much as $50) with free shipping via this link. The 3 percent is deducted at checkout and MacMall does not charge tax in most states.

All discounts, including higher end models, are listed below:

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From 9to5Toys.com:

MacMall is offering 9to5 readers an additional 3% off of their already lowest prices on Mac Minis and iMacs this month yielding the lowest prices you’ll find anywhere (by as much as $50) with free shipping via this link.  The 3% is deducted at checkout and MacMall doesn’t charge tax in most states.

All discounts, including higher end models listed below:

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[vodpod id=Video.16019270&w=650&h=420&fv=si%3D254%26amp%3BcontentValue%3D50119105%26amp%3BshareUrl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2F8301-3445_162-57367950%2Fthe-dark-side-of-shiny-apple-products%2F]
Flashless

After the NYTimes exposé and Tim Cook’s response, the question remains: Why is the media focusing on Apple and not questioning any of the other electronics companies that manufacture with Foxconn in China?

Obviously, Apple has the money, the brand, the prestige, and it grabs attention. However, it is not like Apple can make gold from straw. Apple simply cannot build its products anywhere other than China.

On the flip side, @NicePaul takes recent Forbes numbers and creates the following infographic that illustrates the opposite point:

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Forrester Research today published an interesting and extensive analysis (via CNET) based on a large-scale poll of 10,000 information workers from North America and Western Europe, including 3,350 higher-ups that make purchasing decisions. The report, titled “Apple Infiltrates The Enterprise And Reshapes The Markets For Personal Devices At Work,” found out that 21 percent use one or more Apple devices (the figure includes gear they had brought in).

Nearly half of businesses, or 46 percent, now issue Macs to their workers. That is up by more than half in two years (36 and 30 percent in 2010 and 2009, respectively). Moreover, hardware decision makers envision a 52 increase in Mac adoption in their companies this year. Out of those firms that issue Macs, a healthy 7 percent of all personal computers issued are Macs. The report said Macs in enterprise plus Microsoft’s poor mobile offering both signal that “Windows’ dominance is at an end.”  This sounds a lot like Forrester’s take on the post-PC era.

As for iPads and iPhones, 27 and 37 percent of companies officially support Apple’s tablet and phone, respectively. Things get even more interesting as 31 percent consider supporting the iPad in 2012 (55 percent for the iPhone). Microsoft cannot be too happy with this survey. So, who exactly gets to use Apple gear? Your bosses, that’s who! More information is available below.

Click for larger

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Apple just emailed customers who pre-ordered the book “Inside Apple” from the iBookstore to let them know the book is now available to download and read. Those interested in downloading the book can do so from this direct link.  The Amazon Kindle version should be available in less than an hour.

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Following today’s blowout numbers, we just received word that Apple CEO Tim Cook sent a short email to Apple employees congratulating them both on a record setting holiday quarter and starting 2012 with the launch of a groundbreaking initiative for education with iBooks 2 and iPad textbooks.

Perhaps most enticing, Cook told everyone to report to Town Hall tomorrow either in person or through their AppleWeb online portal at 10 a.m. PT to discuss “some exciting new things going on at Apple.” Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs typically held such meetings following major product launches like the iPad and iPhone.

Cook’s last all hands email was sent just one week ago and discussed Apple’s supplier responsibility report.

Today’s email from Cook is pasted below:

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Apple just announced its Q1 2012 earnings in a press release a few minutes ago, which revealed very impressive numbers from the company. Apple revealed it sold a whopping 37 million iPhones during the holiday quarter, which now gives the company the No. 1 smartphone manufacturer spot —back from Samsung, who previously held the title. Earlier this month, Samsung gave estimates of 35 million phones sold during the holiday quarter. This means Apple beat the company by 2 million.

Check out the full announcement and the live blog coming up in a few minutes for more record setting figures from Apple.

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Apple and its cofounder Steve Jobs certainly helped design and popularize storage devices throughout computing history. For example, the Mac mainstreamed Sony’s 3.5-inch floppy drive in the 1980s, but Apple was working on its own storage devices even before the Mac debuted. One of our buddies discovered this eBay listing advertising for what appears to be a prototype of a previously unknown NISHA hard drive adorned with the colorful Apple logo. It comes in a translucent case, and it could easily be the first Apple product we have seen like this, even though it never shipped. It is neither a Hard Disk 20 drive Apple introduced on Sept. 17, 1985 specifically for use with the Macintosh 512K nor is it a Hard Disk 20SC.

The latter product was the first SCSI drive Apple manufactured and deployed on the Macintosh Plus in 1986, effectively obsolescing the Hard Disk 20 unit. It is a safe bet that this unit represents an early prototype of one of Apple’s hard drives, but it could also be a new hard drive design that never saw the light of day. The seller could not tell either, as the drive did not power up. Eagle-eyed readers are aware that Apple of the past had been designing its own storage devices and the aforementioned Hard Disk 20 serves as an illustrious example of the company’s closed approach to hard drives.

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Apple, effective today, ended its buy a Mac, get a $100 off of a printer promotion. The promotion typically runs yearly, so we are not sure why Apple stopped it. Apple sells a few $100 printers, so they typically advertise the promotion as “Buy a Mac, get a free printer.”

Although Apple is putting a stop to the program, they will continue to sell printers in their physical retail stores and online stores, according to the internal memo posted above. Customers who bought a printer within 90 days of Jan. 16 can still claim their $100 rebate from Apple.

Apple still has the rebate page up, below:

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From 9to5Toys.com:

MacMall offers 9to5 readers an additional 3 percent off their lowest price new Mac Desktop products at checkout which yield lowest prices currently available in the U.S. with free shipping.  Mac Minis start at $567.99 and iMacs start at $1105.79.

Your only better option would be to buy a refurb iMac at the online Apple Store for $999.

Speaking of Refurbs at the Apple Store, iPad 2s are in stock again at $419, which is a solid savings of $80 (you might want to wait a few months for an update, however!).

Other current Apple Store refurbs:

MacBook Air: Starting at $799
MacBook Pros: Starting at $929
Thunderbolt Display: $849
Airports: Starting at $85 
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