Technology News: OS X

Ruling Snuffs Psystar's Mac Dreams
November 16, 2009

Apple has won a summary judgment in its copyright infringement case against Psystar. The Miami-based startup turned heads last year with its offer of a $400 Mac clone -- that is, non-Apple hardware running the Mac OS X Leopard operating system. Several claims in the case remain to be briefed and tried if it doesn't settle first, but it likely will.

Intel Escapes Its Legal Morass, One Settlement at a Time
November 13, 2009

Intel and AMD have finally put a long and bitter disagreement to bed, and in the end, all it took was a little open communication and understanding, along with one and a quarter billion dollars. The two have been at it for years -- accusations, threats, lawsuits. AMD said Intel engaged in anticompetitive behavior; Intel said AMD broke its licensing agreements.

The Netbook OS Enigma
November 12, 2009

On Monday, Apple rolled out the 10.6.2 update to its Snow Leopard operating system, which concentrated mostly on general bug fixes and stability issues as well as some issues in Mail, MobileMe and Safari. In all, there are more than 100 improvements, and more than 40 security-related fixes. However, the big talk today is that this update officially terminates support for Intel's Atom processor family.

Snow Leopard Smashes Atom
November 10, 2009

Apple on Monday issued its latest update to its Snow Leopard operating system. Mac OS X 10.6.2 fixes a slew of bugs and glitches that users had been complaining about. It also froze out Intel's Atom chip, leaving "hackintosh" users -- people who use do-it-yourself methods to run Mac OS X on Intel-powered netbooks -- out in the cold.

Droid Lurches to Life
November 06, 2009

Today is the day of the Droid. The Motorola smartphone touches down today in what's shaping up to be one of the biggest handset launches in recent memory. Of course Verizon is going all-in as far as advertising is concerned, but there's more to the Droid's story than a marketing campaign.

Mac OS X May Split With Atom
November 03, 2009

An update from Apple for its OS X 10.6 operating system could cause a lot of grief for tinkerers who have installed Snow Leopard on low-cost netbook computers. The update may cause Snow Leopard to no longer run on Intel's Atom processors. Withdrawing Atom support would prevent device hackers from creating so-called hackintosh netbooks.

Sidekick Snafu: The Data Saved and the Damage Done
October 16, 2009

T-Mobile's Sidekick users had a pretty rough time this week thanks to a mistake that first looked enormous but eventually was pretty much fixed, though with no small amount of worry and strife in between. An unfortunate series of events caused a major inconvenience for users of the smartphone.

Data-Chomping Snow Leopard Bug Draws Blizzard of Complaints
October 13, 2009

Apple users are fuming about a bug in Mac OS X Snow Leopard that deletes data when they log into a guest account on their Macs, judging by the rapid growth in the number of complaints on Apple's user forums. The data-eating bug was first reported a month ago, shortly after Apple released Snow Leopard in August.

The iPhone's Five-Year Plan
September 23, 2009

Demand in companies of all sizes will see the iPhone taking 35 percent of the business market, according to a prediction from Forrester Research. This will be fueled by increased demand for smartphones worldwide. Meanwhile, Apple will continue to innovate and stay ahead of the market, Barclays Capital Research said.

What If Steve Jobs Had Introduced the Zune?
September 21, 2009

Over the years, I've had long "discussions" with Apple fans on why Apple can't actually put Microsoft out of business. Many seem to think the event is imminent, while I clearly believe it is impossible. To make a point like this, however, you need a reverse example, and the new Zune is likely the best product for the purpose.

Snow Leopard: It's the Little Things That Thrill
September 10, 2009

Apple's previous version of its Mac OS X operating system, Leopard, was already great, so what does Apple's latest upgrade -- Snow Leopard -- bring to the table? More importantly, is it worth bothering with? I've been using Snow Leopard since FedEx brought it to me late last month, and at the upgrade price of just $29, yes, it's worth getting.

Clash of the Consoles Gets Down and Dirty
August 28, 2009

Congratulations, patient cheapskates: You've won the waiting game. Now you can get a well-equipped video game system for a somewhat reasonable price. The two most-advanced consoles on the market have dropped in price over the last few days, just in time for all of that back-to-school homework to get ignored.

Will Windows 7 Be the Supervillain Apple Needs?
August 28, 2009

As I begin to salivate over the arrival of Mac OS X Leopard some time later today, I can't help but wonder if I should bother making a partition for running Windows 7 via VMware's Fusion on my MacBook. The problem is, I don't really need the OS or the clutter on my hard drive. I ran Windows XP for about year or so, but I quit in 2008 as I found fewer and fewer reasons to mess with it.

Snow Leopard to Prowl for Mac Malware?
August 26, 2009

Apple has reportedly included antimalware technologies in Snow Leopard, which will go on sale Friday. The news comes shortly after Apple released a fresh round of commercials indicating that the Mac, unlike PCs running Windows, is virus-free. Mac security software vendor Intego's blog carried a screenshot showing the antimalware feature detecting a version of the RSPlug Trojan horse in a downloaded disk image.

Apple to Set Snow Leopard Loose Friday
August 24, 2009

Confirming weeks of speculation, Apple announced on Monday that OS X 10.6, better known as "Snow Leopard," will be available starting Aug. 28. Snow Leopard, which Apple is touting as a refinement to its predecessor, named "Leopard," was originally scheduled to be released in September.

Mac OS X Update Polishes Its Image
August 06, 2009

In what may be the last significant OS X update Apple pushes out before the arrival of Snow Leopard, the company on Wednesday released Security Update 2009-003 to fix flaws in the platform. As with other security updates, this one, known as "OS X.10.5.8," can be downloaded and installed through Mac users' Software Update preferences or from Apple Downloads.