July 3 - 10:50am EDT   The next update for Mac OS X Leopard is rapidly advancing towards release, reports suggest. Build 9L22 of v10.5.8 is said to have been delivered to developers on Wednesday, following the distribution of 9L20 last Friday. Such turnaround times are typically a sign of imminent release for Apple software, evidence for which may be backed by a shift in testing focus. [full story]

June 12 - 10:25am EDT   Over 11 million copies of the final version of Safari 4 have been downloaded in a space of three days, Apple claims. The software became available for Macs and PCs on Monday, following Apple's WWDC keynote. Prior to the keynote, a beta version of the web browser had been available since February. It is not known how many downloads of the beta were recorded. [full story]

June 10 - 12:40pm EDT   Apple has changed its attitude towards viruses and malware on the Mac, claims security firm Intego. Apple last year issued an advice statement admitting that "since no system can be 100 percent immune from every threat, antivirus software may offer additional protection." In announcing more features of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Intego notes that Apple has taken a more stringent approach, for instance implementing code changes like sandboxing, library randomization and execute disables; each limits the potential damage of an outside threat. [full story]

June 10 - 10:10am EDT  The long-expected addition of ZFS to Snow Leopard Server may have been silently dropped. Although Apple has previously indicated that the file management system would be a part of Server, ZFS was not mentioned in yesterday's keynote, and is not listed in the features on Apple's website. [full story]

June 8 - 5:15pm EDT   Although the WWDC keynote on Monday focused primarily on the new iPhone 3GS and Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Apple also introduced Snow Leopard Server. The operating system features updates to several included programs; iCal Server 2, Podcast Producer 2, Wiki Server 2, Address Book Server and Mobile Access Server. The company has integrated a new 64-bit kernel, enabling the use of more physical memory and increasing the number of simultaneous system processes, threads and network connections that can be handled by the server. [full story]

June 8 - 1:05pm EDT   Apple on Monday at the WWDC event launched the latest revision of its operating system, Mac OS X Snow Leopard. The software offers a number of refinements and improvements over 10.5 including faster speed, more efficient use of system resources, and 64-bit optimizations. Support for Exchange has been added, while installation is claimed to be 45-percent faster. The OS footprint has been cut in half, now taking up 6GB of storage due to file compression. [full story]

May 29 - 12:55pm EDT   A number of minor but cumulatively important interface changes have been made in Mac OS X Snow Leopard, observes a Flickr user with access to the developer beta. Beyond some known tweaks, such as the addition of sliders for icon size, the software is also expected to warn users who have not created a password hint, and enable Quick Look within Open and Save dialogs, not just Finder. The System Preferences pane has meanwhile been rearranged, for instance splitting the Keyboard and Mouse sections, removing QuickTime, and moving Bluetooth under a new Internet & Wireless header. [full story]

May 27 - 12:20pm EDT   Apple has won four new patents from the US Patent and Trademark Office, covering a range of technologies. Among these are ones for riser card housing in the Mac Pro, and a Mac OS-related concept called Computer system with graphical user interface including drawer-like windows. Important however is one for a touchpad surface, covering the multi-touch trackpad in the MacBook Air, and in a minor fashion the iPhone touchscreen. [full story]

May 20 - 3:40pm EDT   A Russian company, RussianMac, has begun shipping a wide range of Mac clones that come with OS X pre-installed. Despite the ongoing legal battle between Apple and clone-maker Psystar, RussianMac claims it does not violate the Mac OS X end-user license agreement. Along with drawing a unique interpretation of Apple's terms, the Russian company could be confident that it will avoid legal action as long as its business does not leave the country. [full story]

May 20 - 1:30pm EDT   Several Mac security companies, Intego and SecureMac, have issued warnings related to an unpatched Java vulnerability that affects OS X. The flaw could be exploited to allow local code to be executed remotely, leaving the computer open to "drive-by-attacks" which can install malicious software just by loading a website containing a specially crafted Java applet. Hackers could also access or delete files on a system. [full story]

May 20 - 12:25pm EDT   Recently-posted videos of Mac OS X Snow Leopard have been pulled from YouTube, new investigation shows. Of these, several are known to have been removed by the uploader -- LeopardOctober -- while a single clip has been blocked through a copyright claim by Apple. The latter may effectively confirm the videos' legitimacy, as Apple typically avoids making legal claims on leaked media unless some element of truth is found to exist. [full story]

May 15 - 9:30am EDT   Leopard owners upgrading to Mac OS X 10.5.7 have been experiencing critical errors, discussions on Apple's support forums show. At times problems have begun as early as installation, with digital signatures being registered as invalid despite multiple download attempts. Other users have reported subsequent looping errors, which may require powering down a system and rebooting one or more times before control can be regained. [full story]

May 14 - 6:10pm EDT   Open-Xchange has released its latest server applications, OXteder Mac OS X and OXtender Mobile Web. Both forms of the software enable users to access and edit information and documents stored on the Open-Xchange Server through its native Mac or iPhone applications. Each functions both online and offline, with the server sync updated every time the program is online. [full story]

May 13 - 1:20pm EDT   Marc Moini has launched Smart Scroll 3.0, an update to the scrolling utility that adds Mac OS X 10.5.7 and Safari 4 support. It also adds a new Hover Scroll feature for Cocoa applications, a "lift fingers to coast" trackpad option for Super Scroll, and new trigger options in Grab Scrolling. A new preference pane is present as well, complemented by settings which can be adjusted on a per-application basis. [full story]

May 12 - 6:15pm EDT   Following the availability of Mac OS X 10.5.7, Apple on Tuesday released updates for Safari, Mac OS X Tiger systems and OS X 10.5.7 Server. Safari 3.2.3 is recommended for all Safari users, providing fixes for a number of security vulnerabilities. The downloads are available for Tiger, Leopard and Windows operating systems, with file sizes ranging from 20MB to 40MB. [full story]