Apple Offers Peek at Mac OS X 'Leopard'
At the company's Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs provided the first peek at Mac OS X version 10.5, known by the code-name "Leopard." Jokingly calling it Vista 2.0, Jobs said he couldn't reveal all of the new features or else they would be "photocopied."
Major additions to be demoed included full support for 64-bit applications, which was previously handed in the operating system's Unix layer. Apple has now extended 64-bit all the way through the user interface, enabling a fully native 64-bit UI carbon application. 32-bit and 64-bit applications can still run side by side without emulation or translation.
Apple Updates Xserve with Xeons
Apple on Monday unveiled an Xserve it claims is five times faster than the previous model, adding more space and redundant power supplies to its flagship line of 1U servers. The new Xserve includes Intel's newest Xeon chips with dual processor cores.
Xserve buyers can add up to 5TB of storage in the standard system, which offers up to 1 million different configurations when built to order. The base Xserve system is priced at $2,999 USD, and Apple claims a comparable system from Dell starts at $3293 USD.
Apple Introduces Intel-Based Mac Pro
At the company's Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco Monday, Apple officially completed its transition to the Intel platform, introducing the Mac Pro to replace the aging G5 PowerMac. Apple says a similar machine from Dell costs $1,000 more.
The launch marks 210 days since Apple began shipping its first Intel based systems, with the planned switch announced at last year's WWDC. Analysts feared at the time that Apple would take a major hit in sales during the process, but the results have proved otherwise.
Microsoft Takes Vista to Hacker Confab
The annual Black Hat conference in Las Vegas plays host to the world's top hackers and security professionals, who come together to discuss the industry and delve into code. Microsoft is playing a major role at this year's event, inviting attendees to find holes in Windows Vista.
A Vista beta build was handed out to about 3,000 experts on Thursday in hopes they will uncover flaws before the operating system is completed later this year. Microsoft's director of security outreach, Andrew Cushman, also gave a talk about the security enhancements added in Vista, telling the crowd, "We're here to show our work."
AOL to Offer 5GB of Online Storage
AOL on Thursday announced it would begin offering all Web users 5GB of online storage through its Xdrive product, part of the company's new initiative to make its services available without cost. Separately, AOL said it plans to cut 5,000 jobs.
Through Xdrive, individuals can back up files like photos, documents, music, videos, and more. Uploaded content can be access through any PC or mobile device with a Web connection, AOL said. Users can even share files with others, as well as automatically upload e-mail attachments.
Google to Expand News Site
Google has signed an agreement with the Associated Press to license the service's news stories and photographs, ending a dispute over the use of AP content on Google. The stories will go on a new site designed to complement Google News.
Like a handful of other news outlets, the AP was not pleased with the way Google News aggregated its content, providing snippets of articles and thumbnails of AP images. The company, which is owned by a consortium of U.S. news organizations, approached Google about licensing.
Microsoft Details Server 2003 SP2 Plans
With beta testing underway for Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2, which also is designed for Windows XP x64 edition, Microsoft is providing a bit more details about the impending upgrade. Windows Server program manager Ward Ralston says SP2 will be much less painful than SP1.
"I know SP1 to Windows Server 2003 made some pretty big changes to the way we do security and it introduced a cycle of application testing and some compatibility issues….this was, however, a necessary evil needed to address server security," Ralston wrote on his team's blog.
iTunes to Give Away 70 Million Songs
Apple is teaming up with Coca-Cola in Europe for a huge iTunes giveaway, in which 70 million codes for free songs will be distributed inside packages from the soft drink maker. The far majority of the songs will be offered in the United Kingdom, while 67,000 songs will be given away in Germany.
In the past two years, Apple has sold 200 million songs in Europe, making the promotion quite a large endeavor. The company previously partnered with Pepsi to hand out 100 million songs in the United States. Apple will also be offering its icon iPod music players to select winners as part of the giveaway, which begins later this month.
Apple Plugs 26 Security Holes
Apple on Wednesday issued its fourth security update of the year for Mac OS X 10.4.7 and the older 10.3.9 release. In total, the company has patched 26 flaws in a variety of services and applications, several of which affect image rendering and file sharing.
The update resolves security vulnerabilities in Unix applications fetchmail and gunzip, as well as bugs in OpenSSH and telnet. Apple's WebKit framework, used by its Safari Web browser, has also been updated to resolve a problem that could enable malicious Web sites to run arbitrary code. Mac OS X users can download Security Update 2006-004 using Software Update.
Stardock Delivers Object Desktop 2007
Stardock on Tuesday released the 2007 version of its popular Object Desktop suite of Windows customization utilities. The package of tools enables customers to completely change the way Windows looks and functions to suit their personal tastes.
Included in Object Desktop 2007 are the latest iterations of WindowBlinds, IconPackager, DesktopX, WindowFX, RightClick, Keyboard LaunchPad and more. Enhanced File Dialog is a newcomer to the suite, providing a much more expansive Open and Save dialog window than that offered in Windows.
Nvidia Betas 3-D Rendering Software
Nvidia on Tuesday released a beta of Gelato 2.1, the company's newest final-frame rendering software for 3-D content creation. To join the release, Nvidia also rolled out a Gelato Zone Web site providing resources such as tips and blogs for the Gelato community. Those interested in joining the Gelato 2.1 beta program can e-mail [email protected].
Gelato 2.1 features texture baking, enhanced raytracing performance, and improved lighting functionality for 3-D rendering. The software ships for Windows XP and Linux with plug-ins for Autodesk Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max. The basic version of Gelato is available at no cost, while Gelato Pro adds advanced scalability and support features for $1,500 USD.
Microsoft Shakes Up Windows Division
Microsoft may still be months from sending Windows Vista out the door, but the Redmond company is already cleaning house, Microsoft Watch reported Tuesday. Incoming Windows head Steven Sinofsky, who will replace Jim Allchin, is bringing in a new head of engineering.
19-year Microsoft veteran Brian Valentine, who has led Windows development since 1998, will immediately share his role with Jon DeVaan, Senior Vice President of Engineering. Valentine will then be transitioned out of the Windows group to a new, unspecified role. Microsoft also plans to move a number of other high-ranking engineers and Technical Fellows under company CTO Ray Ozzie following Vista's release to manufacturing.
McAfee Releases New Security Suites
After a month in beta testing, McAfee is releasing to the world its next-generation security suites based on its new "Falcon" platform, which combines the company's antivirus, anti-spyware, and "threat watch" technologies.
Falcon includes SystemGuard to look for certain behaviors that may indicate virus, spyware or hacker activity, and alert the consumer before the issue does damage. Additionally, X-Ray detects and kills rootkits, while McAfee Site Advisor identifies and notify users of potentially dangerous Web sites.
Firefox Tops 200 Million Downloads
The Mozilla Corporation on Monday celebrated the 200 millionth download of its open source Firefox Web browser, with the community planning parties to commemorate the event. The milestone was hit one year and nine months after the debut of Firefox 1.0.
Hitting the 200 million mark does not mean Firefox has that many users, as the download count includes both Firefox 1.0 and version 1.5. In addition, users may have downloaded the browser multiple times, or the download may not have been completed. Still, Mozilla is touting the number as a big step forward.
Microsoft Details Vista Upgrade Paths
With Windows Vista nearing its first release candidate in preparation for a final launch early next year, Microsoft is providing more details about possible upgrade paths. Of note: Windows 2000 cannot be upgraded to Vista.
While Windows 2000 Professional customers may purchase a cheaper "upgrade" copy of Microsoft next-generation operating system, Windows Vista must be "clean installed," which means users will need to back up their files and data manually and then copy everything into place. Applications will also need to be re-installed.
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