July 3 - 10:55am EDT   Multiple leaks today indicate that Microsoft is set to declare Windows 7 complete in just 10 days. The software developer is now expected to produce a Release to Manufacturing (RTM) build of the operating system on July 13th and is likely timing the news for its Worldwide Partner Conference the same day in New Orleans, which would let it hand companies a finished copy. The RTM version will be what ships to PC builders and retail when the software ships on October 22nd. [full story]

July 2 - 2:15pm EDT   An investigation of Microsoft's licensing for Windows 7 has revealed today that the company plans to introduce a Family Pack bundle for the new OS when it ships in October. Kristan Kenney has found installation rights for "qualified" Family Pack owners that give owners of that special copy the option of installing it on two extra PCs without encountering activation problems. The Family Pack only appears for the Home Premium edition's license and not for Professional or Ultimate. [full story]

June 25 - 9:55am EDT   Microsoft this morning outlined its final pricing for Windows 7. Extending an olive branch to Windows XP owners refusing to upgrade to Vista, the company says it's allowing both these and Vista owners to pay $120 to upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium, $200 to move to Windows 7 Professional, and $220 for Windows 7 Ultimate. Full, non-OEM copies will cost $200, $300 and $320 respectively. [full story]

June 15 - 9:10pm EDT   Apple recently showed off the next iteration of its Mac OS X platform, Snow Leopard. The company called upon Bertrand Serlet, its vice President of Software Engineering, to outline some of the key new features during the WWDC keynote presentation. Serlet began his presentation by noting that Apple was very happy with Mac OS X 10.5 and began working on 10.6 with the goal of creating "a better Leopard." The presentation was then broken down into three different categories: refinements, technology, and Exchange support. [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 - 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]

June 8 - 12:05pm EDT   MacNN and Electronista are covering Apple's WWDC keynote live and will be providing updates from the event as they happen, including photos where possible. Apple is expected to finish detailing iPhone OS 3.0 and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and may introduce a new iPhone lineup as well as other products at the developer gathering. [full story]

June 3 - 8:00am EDT   AMD this morning said it has demonstrated the world's first graphics processor capable of supporting DirectX 11 and matching features in other software standards. The part is capable of tessellating polygons in real time, or breaking them down automatically into smaller shapes. Games and other apps that use the feature can have smoother details to characters or terrain without requiring as much processing power or that artists add all the information themselves. [full story]

June 2 - 2:40pm EDT   Microsoft today ended speculation and said it would ship Windows 7 on October 22nd. The launch applies to all versions and confirms statements from Acer that it would have the new OS preloaded on its PCs just a day later. Pricing for individual upgrade and full installs hasn't been mentioned. [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 - 2:05pm EDT   Apple may push the cost of the MacBook Air downwards while also extending its feature set, a rumor asserted on Wednesday. Unnamed sources for SiliconRumors claim that an entry-level model will push the price down to between $1,300 and $1,500, or at least $300 less than the current model. Whether this would be a smaller model or just a price reduction isn't certain. [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 11 - 11:55am EDT   Apple has issued what may be its most significant seed of Mac OS X Snow Leopard to date, developer sources indicate. With build 10A354 Apple is said to be freezing the APIs for the operating system, allowing developers to code on the assumption that all key components are in place. The achievement may also cement notions that testing is accelerating towards completion. [full story]