(Updated with Safari, security updates for Lion, Mountain Lion) Following a long beta-testing period, Apple has released the finished v10.9.2 update for owners of OS X Mavericks. The software primarily adds support for FaceTime audio calls in both the FaceTime app and Messages. The two apps have also gained contact blocking, allowing people to screen out individual users.
Apple has secured the rights to several ".guru" domains, registration checks show. Recently ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) opened up a number of new top-level domains. Apple appears to have already acquired "apple.guru," "iphone.guru," "ipad.guru," and "mac.guru." A few other domains -- "appletv.guru," "macbook.guru," and "ipod.guru" -- are blocked from registration, most likely per request from Apple.
Flipboard, a 'social magazine' app, has released an update for its iOS version. Flipboard allows users to read and view content related to their interests in a magazine format. Offering space to save and collect images and articles in the form of magazines, Flipboard includes news, photos, audio and social network content in a paginated layout that requires a 'flip' gesture of the virtual page.
An unusual URL redirect bug suggests that iCloud.com may soon get access to iCloud Bookmarks. The feature lets people sync Safari bookmarks across platforms, including not just different versions of Safari but also Chrome and Firefox. Currently, people trying to install the Chrome extension from the iCloud Control Panel for Windows will briefly see "iCloud Bookmarks are coming soon. Please check back later" at this URL before being shunted to the Chrome Web Store.
Amidst a slew of other updates, Apple has also issued a new beta version of OS X 10.9.2 Mavericks alongside a new beta of Safari 6.1.2. This third revision of Apple's new OS is build 13C44, and MacNN has learned that it is likely nowhere near a final, bug-free public release.
Privacy activists have won the right to sue Google in England over fooling Safari into accepting cookies, according to reports. Some time ago, Apple updated Safari to allow people to block cookie-based tracking. Google developed a workaround, but was discovered, and punished with multiple fines by the US government. An American class action lawsuit was tossed out of court in October because the judge ruled no one could prove they'd been harmed.
Google is reportedly calling for a UK privacy lawsuit to be dismissed, arguing that the case should be heard in its home state of California, according to a Guardian report. The company has been sued by a group of users who accuse the company of illegally monitoring their online habits by circumventing security settings on the desktop and mobile versions of Apple's Safari browser.
Microsoft's Internet Explorer 11 web browser more than doubled its share of the worldwide browser market in the month of November. This according to new figures from research firm Net Applications, which showed Internet Explorer 11 at 3.27 percent of the worldwide web browser market. The November surge saw IE11 leaving Opera far behind, and the Microsoft-made browser is now approaching Apple's Safari browser in terms of market share.
Apple has issued an update to its pro-level photo management app Aperture, bringing it up to version 3.5.1 in a free update that corrects several flaws, most notably fixing Temperature & Tint White Balance so that it works correctly. For developers, Apple is now seeding two new Safari betas - one for Lion and Mountain Lion (10.7 and 10.8 respectively) and one for OS X Mavericks (10.9). The Safari betas, which are not yet officially released, focus on viewing and annotating PDF files, along with password autofill troubleshooting.
Apple is preparing updates to several core apps in OS X Mavericks, sources say. The people note that Apple is now seeding new versions of Safari, iBooks, and Remote Desktop to its workers, as well as a previously-rumored Mail update. The Safari code is identified as v7.0.1, and expected to provide a number of bugfixes. The same description applies to iBooks 1.0.1, and Remote Desktop 3.7.1.
Flash is now a sandboxed plugin in OS X Mavericks, according to an Adobe blog post. Using the OS' App Sandbox feature, Adobe says it has been able to limit Flash's file read/write access and what assets the plugin can find in the first place. It can no longer reach local connections to device resources and IPC (interprocess communications) channels, for instance, and network privileges are restricted such that Flash-based malware can't communicate with servers set up by hackers.
In addition to a plethora of new products and updates, Apple included a software update for users who will be sticking with Mountain Lion for a while longer -- an updated Safari for Mountain Lion to match the one that comes with Mavericks. Safari version 6.1 offers many of the same features, including Shared Links support, a revamped Sidebar, Safari Power Saver to increase battery efficiency and more -- though some features will be reserved for Mavericks only.
Some prominent websites are already beginning to push Safari notifications, even though the feature requires OS X Mavericks, reports note. These include sites like NBA.com and the New York Times. The option allows Mavericks users to receive alerts from websites even when Safari is closed; at the moment, the only way to see notifications is with the Mavericks GM available to developers.
US District Judge Sue Robinson from the Delaware federal court has dismissed a class-action suit against Google, ruling that the class could not prove that Google's cookie deposition policies actually generated any harm. The plaintiffs, users of Apple's Safari and Microsoft's Internet Explorer alleged that Google had bypassed the respective firms' browser settings on cookie usage, and as a result were served targeted advertisements based on ill-gotten data from searches and web browsing habits.
Apple is distributing new pre-release builds of iTunes, Safari, Java, and the OS X 10.8.5 Supplemental Update amongst employees, a report says. The Supplemental Update is said to have reached build 12F45, as opposed to the 12F42 code seen during an initial leak. Safari 6.1 is meanwhile up to build 537A134.
Adobe has released minor updates for Edge Reflow CC and Edge Code CC, two of its website creation tools. In both cases the company has added support for CSS Regions, a feature built into the iOS 7 version of Safari. Regions allow designers to separate layout and content, in turn making it possible to produce magazine-style flowable layouts that can resize for any screen. Safari is, at the moment, one of the few browsers to support the technology.
[Update: more details added, including iTunes 11.1] A day early, Apple has seeded another "Developer Preview" of OS X 10.9 Mavericks, two weeks after the previous release. Registered developers can obtain the new version by signing into the Mac App Store with their developer account Apple IDs. In addition, Apple released a new Safari 6.1 beta for Lion and Mountain Lion, as well as an updated build of iTunes 11.1. Mavericks DP7 also continues to list iCloud Keychain as an area for testing, with several bugs still existing in its implementation. Current speculation has Mavericks on track to be released alongside updated Mac models sometime in mid to late October.
In addition to the latest update to OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5), Apple on Thursday also updated Snow Leopard's Safari 5.1 for a flaw that fixes a potential security hole in JavaScript. The problem, identified by Certified Secure and Vitaliy Toropov working with HP's Zero Day Initiative, could lead to unexpected quits or arbitrary code execution in Safari when visiting a maliciously-crafted website. The company also issued security updates for Snow Leopard (10.6) and Lion (10.7), with security fixes for Mountain Lion included in the 10.8.5 update.
While the forthcoming release of OS X Mavericks (10.9) will include a new version of Safari, many of the improvements of that unreleased update are making their way into an incremental update primarily aimed at Mountain Lion users. Safari 6.1 Seed 7, which we first reported on Tuesday, is compatible with both Lion and Mountain Lion, but several features of the update are reserved for Mountain Lion only. These included Shared Links, continuous reading in the Reading List and Shared Links, easy retweet of Shared Links, iCloud Tabs autocomplete and more.
Apple on Wednesday sent out an email to developers reminding them about a forthcoming feature in the next upgrade of OS X, known as Mavericks (10.9). The feature, Safari Push Notifications, allows websites to send non-advertising messages to users, even when Safari isn't running -- a news site sending headlines at the user's request, for example, or an auction site notifying a user when their bid has been surpassed. Mountain Lion's Notification Center is mostly limited to installed apps, but Mavericks will bring widespread, persistent web notification to OS X for the first time.
On Tuesday, Apple released the seventh Developer Preview beta of its forthcoming OS X Mavericks (10.9) update. Registered developers can obtain the new version by signing into the Mac App Store with their developer account Apple IDs. The update has a number of changes contained in it, including new wallpapers, a new format for screen recordings, and the optional ability of users with non-Admin accounts to install software from (only) the Mac App Store. In addition, Apple released new Remote Desktop 3.7, Xcode 5 and Safari 6.1 betas.
Apple is seeding updated betas of OS X Mavericks and the next version of Mountain Lion, 10.8.5. Mavericks has reached Developer Preview 5, which registered developers can download via the Mac App Store. Any further additions to the OS have yet to be documented; the completed version of the software should ship sometime this fall.
On the MacNN Forums, Mac Elite "FireWire" is trying to figure out why his iMac keeps shutting off when the CPU temp reaches 50°C in the thread titled "iMac doesn't adjust fan speed, and dies." Forum-goers are helping "Laminar" troubleshoot a problem in which Time Machine doesn't see his most recent backups.
At today's WWDC keynote, Apple today announced OS X Mavericks, the next version of its Mac operating system. The software makes a number of incremental feature improvements, such as adding tags and tabs to Finder; users can copy items between tabs by dragging them around. A feature called iCloud Keychain can sync logins, credit card numbers, and Wi-Fi networks; for many notifications people can now reply directly, including email and FaceTime messages. Other notification enhancements include a new Safari type, background app updates, and the ability to see a full set of missed notifications at the lockscreen.
Apple has released a completed v10.8.4 update for OS X Mountain Lion. The release solves numerous issues, such as compatibility problems when connecting to enterprise Wi-Fi networks, and support for Microsoft Exchange in Calendar. FaceTime calls should now properly connect to non-US phone numbers, and Macs should go to sleep after using Boot Camp.
Yesterday, Forum Regular "Nassifer" turned to the MacNN forums looking for help when they were no longer able to play videos in Safari. Junior Member "canadave" recently used Facetime for the first time and was trying to figure out why there wasn't two-way simultaneous audio, like on a phone call.
Yesterday in the MacNN forums, "cgc" was trying to figure out why they were having problems with certain websites after updating Safari and Java. Also yesterday, Professional Poster "badidea" was having a problem with the cursor remaining on screen while the iTunes visualizer is playing.
Apple on Tuesday updated both Java and its web browser Safari for users of OS X 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) and higher. The updates now allow users to enable the Java web plug-in on a site-by-site basis, as opposed to the "active" or "inactive" options it had previously. Following a spate of serious issues, Apple forcibly disabled the Java plug-in because of malicious, in-use threats -- though users could reactivate Java once they updated.
Google has introduced its own browser rendering engine, Blink, that will serve as Chrome's alternative to the WebKit2 engine used by competing browsers such as Safari. The search giant suggests its WebKit-based engine will enable developers to streamline innovation, eliminating approximately 4.5 million lines of code and thousands of files that only serve to support WebKit2's features, according to an Ars Technica report.
A new Mac trojan is inserting ads into Safari, Chrome, and Firefox, says a Russian security firm, Doctor Web. Nicknamed "Trojan.Yontoo.1," the malware is so far being distributed through movie trailer pages, which prompt people to download a browser plugin, a media player, a video enhancer, or a download accelerator. When launched, the malware asks to be installed under a name such as "Free Twit Tube."
Following an unusually long development cycle, Apple has finally released the completed version of OS X 10.8.3. The software is mostly a maintenance update -- for instance fixing problems with stuttering sound on 2011 iMacs, Logic Pro freezing when using some plugins, and apps crashing when opening file URLs. It makes several enhancements as well however, such as adding Safari 6.0.3 and upgraded Boot Camp features. The latter now supports Windows 8, and can run on Macs with 3TB hard drives.
Google's Chrome OS managed to evade all intrusion attempts during the most recent Pwnium hacking competition. While Chrome OS survived intact, Chrome the web browser joined Firefox and Internet Explorer in being shown vulnerable to attack from hackers, during the Pwn2Own contest held at the CanSecWest security conference at the same time.
Apple has updated the plugin-blocking component in Safari to prevent earlier versions of Flash from being used, a new support document states. Lion, Mountain Lion, and Snow Leopard users are affected. The update comes in response to recently-discovered vulnerabilities in Flash that have already been patched by Adobe, but which could impact people who don't update on a regular basis.
A group of 12 people in the UK are suing Google for tracking their browsing habits via Apple's Safari browser, says The Telegraph. The case is being handled by a lawfirm called Olswang, which says that between the summer of 2011 and the spring of 2012, cookies in Safari were generating profiles of users without their knowledge, despite promises by Google and default settings in the browser. "Google has a responsibility to consumers and should be accountable for the trust placed in them. We hope that they will take this opportunity to give Safari users a proper explanation about what happened, to apologize and, where appropriate, compensate the victims of their intrusion," says Olswang partner Dan Tench.
In the midst of a CES that is more about Apple than ever before -- despite the obstinate refusal of the company to have any presence at it -- two of Apple's reinventions that formed a core part of the OS X experience have had birthdays this week. Ten years ago on Monday, in January 2003, Apple created its own Internet browser: Safari. Twelve years ago Wednesday, iTunes was born from the purchase of SoundJam MP and debuted at the 2001 San Francisco MacWorld.
The Safari browser in iOS 6 has a flaw in its handling of JavaScript that, while not presenting any serious problems thus far, could evolve into a potentially security and privacy issue if not corrected soon, reports AppleInsider. Users who have turned JavaScript off for security or other reasons on their iOS device will see it turned back on -- without notification -- if the user visits any site that uses Smart App Banners, a feature of iOS 6 that requires JavaScript to work. The flaw has so far been found in all builds and versions of iOS 6, including the in-testing v6.1 beta, though Apple has now been informed of the issue.
At least one of Google's conflicts with the Federal Trade Commission may be close to a finish, as a San Francisco judge has signaled that she may approve a $22.5 million settlement over Google's placement of cookies on Apple's Safari browser. Google agreed to pay the fine in August of this year, and now U.S. District Judge Susan Illston has given a preliminary view that the $22.5 million fine will be adequate. A final ruling is expected soon.
Long a default choice in Safari, the Apple "start page" was a one-page summary of much of the new activity on Apple.com and was often left by most consumers as their home page until they desired to find out how to change it. Beginning early last summer, Apple dropped the start page and redirected the requests to the main page of its online presence. Earlier this week, the company reversed course and reactivated the start page, keeping the same design as it had when it was shut down. The page currently features links to Apple's Holiday Gift Guide, recent commercials, news stories involving Apple and more.
[Update: details on Safari update added] Late on Thursday, Apple updated its two photo-oriented programs iPhoto and Aperture, to versions 9.4.2 and 3.4.2 respectively. Both share some commonalities in the updates, but Aperture in particular has addressed a number of issues and enhancements with the new version. In addition, the company issued a small, security-oriented update of Safari 6, which now at v6.0.2 (and currently only available from the Mac App Store) exclusively -- thus far -- for users of Mountain Lion 10.8.2 and higher.
A non-profit activist group, Consumer Watchdog, says it is planning to block Google's $22.5 million settlement with the FTC for violating the privacy of Safari users, according to a press release. The organization notes that the settlement must still be approved by a federal judge, and says it's upset that the ruling may not require Google to admit wrongdoing. The FTC has accused Google of knowingly circumventing Safari safeguards to generate advertising cookies, despite promises to the contrary.
Google has agreed to a pay a $22.5 million penalty to settle its tracking dispute with the US Federal Trade Commission, according to a press release from the agency. The payout was previously rumored but has only now been confirmed. The penalty is said to be the largest ever for violation of an FTC order; as a condition of the settlement, Google must disable any tracking cookies it said it wouldn't install on customers' devices.
Officials within the US Federal Trade Commission have reportedly agreed to allow Google to pay a settlement for circumventing privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser. Corroborating earlier reports, unnamed sources have told Reuters the company will have to pay $22.5 million to avoid further proceedings, however it will not be forced to admit liability.
Many annoyed MacNN forum goers have come together in this thread to complain about Apple's decision to disable the backspace key for navigation in Safari. Senior User RobOnTheCape points out that "activity monitor is missing from Safari", read more here.
(Updated with Safari security notes) Accompanying today's launch of OS X Mountain Lion are a number of parallel software updates. Amount these is OS X Server for Mountain Lion, a $20 add-on. The release marks another price drop for Server, which in its Lion form cost $49; before that it cost several times more still.
Some of the changes in iOS 6 beta 3 have been discovered by developers. MacRumors notes that users can now have icloud.com email addresses, instead of just ones from me.com. The latter are a holdover from iCloud's failed predecessor, MobileMe.
The FTC is set to hand Google a record $22.5 million fine for bypassing the privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser, reports the Wall Street Journal. The search and mobile giant is said to be close to settling the matter, although the deal still needs to be ratified by the full panel of FTC commissioners. If indeed Google agrees to settle the breach for the $22.5 million figure, it will represent the largest fine the FTC has handed to a single entity.
Apple is already reportedly supplying developers with a second preview version of Safari 6. The new code fixes a series of crashes caused by the old preview, which were related to entering two periods at the end of a string in the address bar, whether manually or through auto-completion. The second preview is following relatively quickly after the first, which debuted shortly after the WWDC 2012 keynote on Monday last week.
Yesterday in the MacNN forums, Forum Regular Nassifer was looking for a way to make Safari bookmark in alphabetical order, read more here. Also yesterday one Fresh-Faced Recruit was looking for a way to use the processing power of two Macs joined together for use with FCP X.
Following several weeks of developer testing, Apple has released the completed version of OS X 10.7.4. Now available though Lion's Software Update mechanism, the upgrade deals with several security, reliability and compatibility problems. Most notably it fixes a security issue in FileVault which could potentially expose a person's passwords in plain text.
Google may be facing a fine potentially greater than $10 million for bypassing Safari privacy controls, according to an insider. The unnamed source, speaking to Bloomberg, alleged that Google is negotiating with the Federal Trade Commission over the actual value of the fine, which would be levied due to Google's violation of a consent degree signed last year.
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