All hypes and myths about Apple being the most secure OS, or at least being the last OS to be hacked may have been busted by Charlie Miller on Thursday when he managed to hack an Apple MacBoock Air for 2 minutes flat during the CanSecWest security conference's PWN 2 OWN hacking contest. Show organizers offered a Sony Vaio, Fujitsu U810 and the MacBook as prizes, saying that they could be won by anybody at the show who could find a way to hack into each of them and read the contents of a file on the system, using a previously undisclosed "0day" attack. Nobody was able to hack into the systems on the first day of the contest when contestants were only allowed to attack the computers over the network, but on Thursday the rules were relaxed so that attackers could direct contest organizers using the computers to do things like visit Web sites or open e-mail messages. Miller, best known as one of the researchers who first hacked Apple's iPhone last year, took advantage of the new privileges given by the jury and within 2 minutes, he directed the contest's organizers to visit a Web site that contained his exploit code, which then allowed him to seize control of the computer. He was the first contestant to attempt an attack on any of the systems, and that was enough for him to win quick $10,000 and perhaps show how secure the MacBook Air was. Continue reading the full story with more details here.

Apple released a massive set of patches on Tuesday afternoon fixing more than 90 vulnerabilities in almost every component of its operating systems. Apple's "Patch Tuesday" patches fix bugs in both the client and server editions of Mac OS X Tiger and Leopard. The Leopard bundle included fixes for AFP Client, Apache, Application Firewall, ClamAV, CUPS, macs, Help Viewer, Image Raw, Kerberos, mDNSResponder, OpenSSH, pax archive, PHP, Podcast Producer, Preview, Printing, System Configuration, UDF, Wiki Server and X11. The Tiger update fixes holes in AFP Client, AFT Server, Apache, AppKit, CFNEtwork, ClamAV, CoreFoundation, CoreServices, CUPS, curl, Emacs, file, Foundation, Help Viewer, Kerberos, libc, notifyd, OpenSSH, PHP, System Configuration and X11. Security Update 2008-002 is available here for Mac OS X v10.4.11, Mac OS X Server v10.4.11, Mac OS X v10.5.2, Mac OS X Server v10.5.2. For detailed information, please visit this website.

According to the Financial Times, Apple is currently in discussions with music companies regarding the possibility of providing users with unlimited access to music downloads. The plan would most likely involve customers having to pay a premium for iPods/iPhones and then being able to download as much music as they want - essentially embedding the cost of music into the price of the player itself. However, the discussions are apparently stalling a bit at present as the companies negotiate over pricing. Apple is reportedly offering only $20 per device, which is much lower than companies like Nokia, which is paying almost $80 per handset for a similar plan. Another possibility is that users may pay a subscription fee each month to have unlimited downloads, with the capability of keeping 40 to 50 tracks each year even if the subscription is cancelled.

Apple today introduced Safari 3.1, the world's fastest web browser for Mac and Windows PCs. Safari loads web pages 1.9 times faster than IE 7 and 1.7 times faster than Firefox 2. Safari also runs JavaScript up to six times faster than other browsers, and is the first browser to support the latest innovative web standards needed to deliver the next generation of highly interactive Web 2.0 experiences. Safari 3.1 is available immediately as a free download at www.apple.com/safari for both Mac OS X and Windows.

Apple Inc. was sued Wednesday over allegations its iTunes online music store and iPod music players are illegally using a patented method for distributing digital media over the Internet. Atlanta-based ZapMedia Services Inc. sued Apple in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, accusing the Cupertino-based company of violating two ZapMedia patents. ZapMedia wants royalties on Apple's sales of iPods and iTunes music, which reached nearly $11 billion last year. The success of iTunes has helped make Apple the No. 2 music retailer in the U.S. behind Wal-Mart Stores Inc., according to market researcher NPD Group. The patents in question cover a way of sending music and other digital content from servers to multiple media players, a broad description that could also apply to a wide swath of other companies selling digital media and the devices to play it. ZapMedia applied for the patents in 1999. One was granted in March 2006, the other on Tuesday. ZapMedia said it met with Apple to discuss licensing, but Apple rebuffed the offer. "When someone takes our vision and our intellectual property without a license after several attempts, we have no option but to protect it through every means available to us," Robert Frohwein, ZapMedia's general counsel, said in a statement.

Apple today announced that more than 100,000 iPhone developers have downloaded the beta iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) in the first four days since its launch on March 6. The iPhone SDK provides developers with the same rich set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and tools that Apple uses to create its native applications for iPhone and iPod touch. "Developer reaction to the iPhone SDK has been incredible with more than 100,000 downloads in the first four days," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Also, over one million people have watched the launch video on Apple.com, further demonstrating the incredible interest developers have in creating applications for the iPhone."

Two American universities have decided to try and attract more students by offering free iPhones and MacBooks. Oklahoma Christian University is offering all new students attending New Student Orientations a brand new MacBook, and current college students will be given the opportunity to trade in their current laptops to receive one. In addition to this, the University will also offer students an iPhone or iPod touch, depending on whether they're willing to pay the contract fees. Meanwhile Abilene Christian University in Texas is offering a similar deal to all freshmen, giving them the choice of an iPhone or iPod Touch. Dr Dwayne VanRheenen of ACU said:

Because 93 percent of ACU students bring their own computers with them to college, we are choosing to take them to the next level by providing converged mobile devices.

All you iPhone owners out there should know that Apple released firmware update 1.1.4 today for the iPhone. The last update - 1.1.3, introduced a few new capabilities such as the ability to customize the home page, but the only thing noted as new in 1.1.4 are "bug fixes". Please connect your iPhone to iTunes to start downloading the new software.

Apple today introduced new models of the MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops. MacBook Pro models feature the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors (running at up to 2.6GHz with 6MB of shared L2 cache), larger hard drives (up to 300GB), and 2GB of memory standard in most models. They also include the latest NVIDIA graphics processors - with up to 512MB of video memory - and an innovative Multi-Touch trackpad, first introduced in MacBook Air. The three new models of the MacBook feature faster processors and hard drives: sleek white 2.1GHz and 2.4GHz models with 120GB or 160GB 5400 rpm hard drives and a black 2.4GHz model with a massive 250GB 5400 rpm hard drive. The 2.4GHz MacBook ships with 2GB of memory standard, expandable up to 4GB across the line. Available immediately, the new MacBook and MacBook Pro models start at just $1,099 and $1,999, respectively.

The Apple Air was recently pushed out into the public. The public doesn't mind it, and for those who can actually afford it, it's quite a nice laptop. It's thin, it's light, it's powerful, and it's easy to use. However, an independent firm got curious as to exactly why the Air was so expensive, so thin, and so pretty. So, they took it apart, and promptly declared it was like nothing they've ever seen, in a very bad way. Beneath the glowering surface is an ugly interior, which uses unnecessary materials, and quite possibly keeps heat trapped inside. The official statement from the investigators:

Based on the results of our teardown project, we guess Apple is not paying much attention to both workmanship of the hardware design and comprehensive cost reduction. The company seems to have focused on aspects, where its expertise lies, such as external appearance, software and user interfaces.

With Windows and Macintosh operating system refreshes/updates abound, someone has to separate the good from the bad. PC World is doing their part by pointing out whom they fell falls into the extremely good category. When one particular review member got their hands on Mac OS X 10.5.2, they simply couldn't stop flowering it with praise. Four pages of amazement can be summed up in the following points, and elaborated upon by following the source link.

• The operating system has plenty of features which have real-world application, such as truly automated backups, document and spreadsheet preview images in folders, and notes and to-do lists integrated into the mail program.
• Leopard is "startlingly fast, brilliantly streamlined, and packed with conveniences and innovations".
• Whatever glitches were originally in the Leopard release are all but eliminated.

When the going gets rough, people simply don't see a need to spend so much on luxuries. A prevalent example is Apple. Now that the economy as a whole is slowing down, Apple is realizing that people simply aren't going to buy a gazillion iPhones and iPods this year. Considering the majority of the aforementioned devices used memory from NAND, Apple suddenly decided that they don't need to buy so much memory from NAND after all. Estimates of growth for NAND suddenly took a turn for the worse, going from upwards of 30% to a rather low single-digit number. Unfortunately for NAND, this announcement comes after NAND decided to increase capital investment by 20%. DRAM, on the other hand, has it worse. They've already predicted abysmal growth, but with a continuing demand for low RAM prices, abysmal growth translates into extreme losses.

Apple today introduced Xsan 2, the first major upgrade to its easy-to-use, high-performance, enterprise-class Storage Area Network (SAN) file system for Mac OS X. Xsan 2 combines enhanced performance with Apple's legendary ease of use, allowing even first-time users to set up and quickly deploy a SAN. It introduces MultiSAN, which allows users on a single workstation to access multiple SANs at the same time. Fully integrated with Mac OS X Leopard and Mac OS X Server Leopard, Xsan is also now qualified to work with third-party RAID storage.

Despite much talk, Apple is currently "dead in the water" as far as negotiations with Chinese telecommunications companies go. However, Apple doesn't appear to need to be concerned: over one million iPhones have been sold in China so far. However, the clever people who live in China have a different idea than go along with corporate policy. A telecommunications company in China reported that over 400,000 iPhones, unlocked, have been activated and put onto their service. Considering that there are roughly one million iPhones in China, this means that two out of every five iPhone customers is likely to unlock theirs. What's really impressive about this is that the Chinese are still unlocking their iPhones despite many attempts to "brick" iPhones through firmware updates.

Apple today announced that its iPod shuffle, the world's most wearable music player, is now even more affordably priced at $49 and that it is introducing a new 2GB model of the iPod shuffle for $69. The popular iPod shuffle is just half a cubic inch in volume, weighs just half an ounce, features an aluminum design with a built-in clip and comes in five colors-silver, blue, green, purple and a (PRODUCT) RED special edition.

Apple today introduced Aperture 2, the next major release of its groundbreaking photo editing and management software with over 100 new features that make it faster, easier to use and more powerful. With a streamlined user interface and entirely new image processing engine, Aperture 2 also introduces new imaging tools for highlight recovery, color vibrancy, local contrast definition, soft-edged retouching, vignetting and RAW fine-tuning, and lets users directly post their portfolios on the .Mac Web Gallery for viewing on the web, iPhone, iPod touch and Apple TV. At a new low price of $199, anyone can easily organize, edit and publish photos like a pro.

Apple today released the Mac OS X 10.5.2 update for all users running Mac OS X 10.5 or 10.5.1 Leopard. This update includes general operating system improvements that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac. For detailed information about security updates, please visit this website. To update to Mac OS X 10.5.2, use Software Update or the standalone installer here.

On February 5, 2008, Apple Inc. has filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, extending the Apple trademark to cover:

toys, games and playthings, namely, handheld units for playing electronic games; handheld units for playing videogames; stand alone videogame machines; electronic games other than those adapted for use with televisions receivers only; LCD games machines, electronic educational game machines; toys, namely battery-powered computer games.

Analyst predictions and rumors point out that the extended Apple trademark may lead to the introduction of another fancy iPhone like gaming device, but none of the sources available can confirm what's the next step in Apple's camp. The original story, as well as the trademark application form can be found here.

Apple has released a security fix for its QuickTime media player software, fixing a critical bug that had been worrying security experts for nearly a month. The update, released Wednesday, fixes a vulnerability in the Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) used by QuickTime to handle streaming media. It also fixes a previously reported incompatibility between QuickTime 7.4 and Adobe Premiere and After Effects, according to an Apple spokesman. In January, researcher Luigi Auriemma disclosed the flaw by posting proof-of-concept attack code that could be used to run unauthorised software on a victim's computer. For the attack to work, the criminal would have to first trick the user into viewing a maliciously encoded QuickTime media file. Wednesday's QuickTime 7.4.1 update is for both the Mac OS X and Windows operating systems.

While some people felt that the iPhone would crash and burn, it has in fact done quite the opposite. Of those in America that own mobile phones, 28% own an iPhone. While most people would wonder how a very expensive product isolated to a single network could possibly sell so well, market analysts see this rather large market share as a wakeup call to mobile phone manufacturers. Hopefully, we'll see less generic phones in the future, and more phones that will seem to be works of art more than tools of necessity (for some more than others, obviously).

Customers who'd like to carry more music, photos, and videos with them now have new models of iPhone and iPod touch with double the memory from which to choose. The revolutionary iPhone now comes in a new 16GB model for $499. It joins the 8GB model for $399. And the iPod touch now comes in a new 32GB model for $499. It joins the 16GB and 8GB models for $399 and $299, respectively.

Apple today announced that it is adding a gorgeous new pink iPod nano to the lineup of the world's most popular music player. The much-requested pink iPod nano is available immediately in an 8GB model for $199. iPod nano features a two-inch display which lets users watch the brand new iTunes Movie Rentals, or TV shows and music videos purchased from the iTunes Store. iPod nano delivers up to 24 hours of audio playback or five hours of video playback on a single charge and is encased in a beautiful all-metal design made with anodized aluminum and polished stainless steel, which is also available in silver, black, blue, green and a (PRODUCT) RED special edition.

Whilst HP may be the top global computer brand, Dell has retained its crown in the US market, accounting for 29.6% of sales. Dell managed to ship 5.5 million units, which represented a 15.2% year-on-year increase, with HP in second place selling 4.5 million units, a figure which gives it a 24.3% market share. Acer took third spot following its acquisitions of Packard Bell and Gateway last year, with sales of 1.5 million units - up 294.2%. Apple was fourth in the US with 1.06 million units, ahead of Toshiba in fifth. Global sales saw HP commanding a market share of 23.3%, with Dell on 14.6%. Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba came in third, fourth and fifth respectively.

There's been a barrage of Apple stories today, but here's one that people won't be quite so pleased to hear: the battery in Apple's new MacBook Air will not be user replaceable, much like the iPod and iPhone. Apple has clarified the issue, saying that the price of a replacement will be $129, just like the MacBook Pro battery, and installation will be free. This shouldn't be too much of a problem for most users given that the battery will probably be fairly durable and the notebook does boast five hours of battery life, but would cause a slight inconvenience of having to send the machine off to Apple if it does need replacing, and would prevent people from using a backup battery.

iPhone Software Update 1.1.3, a free software update available today via iTunes 7.5 or later, brings significant new features to iPhone. After installing the update, iPhone customers will be able to automatically find their location using the redesigned Maps application; text message multiple people in one message; create Web Clips for their favorite websites; customize their home screen; and watch movies rented from the new iTunes Movie Rentals right on their iPhone.