The betas of the next Snow Leopard update continue at a fast and furious pace. Apple has reportedly begun seeding a new build of Mac OS X 10.6.2 to developers, just one week after the previous beta.

The new potential release focuses on graphics issues, specifically relating to drivers, QuartzCore, and ColorSync, as well as hitting issues with the Dock. Apple has identified no outstanding issues with the build, though the company is asking developers to pay special attention to graphics drivers, TrackPad preferences, and virtual machines.

The company says 148 components have been addressed in 10.6.2 betas so far, including issues in Dictionary, Expose, File Sync, Front Row, iPhoto, MobileMe, Parental Controls, QuickTime, Screen Sharing, Spotlight, Time Machine, and USB.

[via MacNN, Apple Insider]

Apple, Google, Yahoo! and Genentech are subjects of a fresh antitrust investigation surrounding hiring and recruiting practices among companies in the tech industry, according to Washington Post staff writer Cecilia Kang.

"By agreeing not to hire away top talent, the companies could be stifling competition and trying to maintain their market power unfairly," antitrust experts said in the article. Hiring and recruiting can sometimes be a touchy affair, as Apple found out late last year when trying to hire Mark Papermaster. The investigation may suggest some kind of written agreement among large tech firms to not hire away each other's top talent.

According to the New York Times, Justice has only requested documents for the ongoing investigation. Neither the Justice Department nor any of the companies mentioned in the story had any comment.

This comes in addition to another Justice investigation into ties between the boards of directors of Apple and Google, and whether or not having Google CEO Eric Schmidt on both (and Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson on all three) constitutes antitrust violations. Some consider Apple and Google to be competitors in certain areas such as phone handsets.

The Obama administration is stepping up efforts to investigate anti-competitive activity among high-tech companies, and is already investigating Google's deal with book authors to republish their work via Google Books.

[Via AppleInsider]

In a research note to clients, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster suggested that Apple is developing a 7-to-10-inch tablet priced at $500 to $700, perhaps ready for the public in 2010.

According to AppleInsider, Munster's contacts in the supply chain haven't seen a prototype of the device, but are in discussions with Apple to supply components for something at that size and price point.

Munster believes that Apple could adjust the iPhone SDK to allow for multiple display resolutions. Apps like Safari and Mail, he says, would benefit from the additional screen real estate. He also mentions that with the larger screen, more than one traditional iPhone app could be run at once.

As for timing, Munster suggests that the device could be ready next year, and possibly be subsidized by a wireless carrier.

As with most analysis of this kind, this is two parts hearsay, one part "interpretation of conference call statements," and seven parts wishful thinking. In providing technical details about a product that may not exist, Munster is writing checks that Apple might not be able to cash.

Is this something you'd buy? Is it even going to happen? Sound off in comments.

On Friday, AppleInsider noted that Apple.pro, a hit-and-miss Chinese rumor blog, claims a 15-inch MacBook Air is on the way. The post in Chinese (and a copy run through Google Translate) is available.

The site claims the new Air will use low-voltage Intel Core 2 processors, and will be geared for "the older [with] poor eyesight."

AppleInsider includes a history of Apple.pro's predictions, and so far, they're batting .500. I'm not saying I'm any better (fact is, I haven't been to the batting cages in months), so take all this with a proverbial grain of salt.

If the rumors are true, it's unclear how utile a larger MacBook Air will be, especially if the key differentiating factor of the current Air is its size and weight. While it will have to be less hefty than, say, the 15-inch MacBook Pro, a larger MacBook Air seems like it's trying to fill a gap that doesn't exist: at the highest end of Apple's notebook pricing spectrum.

As for pricing (for the US, at least), perhaps we can speculate with an analogy: If a 2.4GHz MacBook is to a 2.4GHz 15-inch MacBook Pro, then a 1.86GHz MacBook Air is to a theoretical 1.86GHz 15-inch MacBook Air. Thus, $1,600 : $2,000 :: $2,500 : $3,125. Yikes: Even more expensive than the new 17-inch model ($2,800). Maybe the analogy isn't perfect, but that's still a pricey proposition to help those with "poor eyesight."

What do you think? Is there a market for a big, ultra-premium MacBook Air? Would you buy one? Sound off in comments.

[Via Engadget.]

Tom's Hardware says that Apple will use NVIDIA's Ion platform in an updated Mac mini, and AppleInsider says it could also be used in an updated Apple TV.

NVIDIA's Ion platform is a low-cost, small-form-factor logic board that includes both an NVIDIA graphics processor and Intel CPU (among other things). According to AppleInsider, Ion uses the same 9400M chipset used in the new MacBook and MacBook Pro models. We knew that existing iMac and Mac mini models are already using the 9400M as part of the NVIDIA MCP79 platform. Either way, with the 9400M, full-screen HD decoding is built-in.

According to Tom's Hardware, the Ion package slated for use with the Mac mini includes an Intel Atom 330 processor. AppleInsider says that performance gains for a new Mac mini based on this platform could require OpenCL, a technology only available so far in builds of Snow Leopard.

Tom's expects the new Mac mini to arrive in March, while AppleInsider, says that it could arrive "this month." Fingers crossed.

The Apple TV, on the other hand, with its 1GHz CPU, would see a significant boost with Ion. The margins on the Apple TV are already tight, though, and adding more power could break the bank on Apple's "hobby" project. But what if the next-generation Apple TV and Mac mini were one and the same?

It's a floor wax! It's a dessert topping! Stop, you're both right.

Snow Leopard, the next major version of Mac OS X, will include minor tweaks to the user interface, according to MacRumors' Arnold Kim.

"The new theme will likely involve tweaks to the existing design and perhaps a 'flattening' of Aqua in-line with Apple's iTunes and iPhoto interface elements," Kim writes.

AppleInsider's Kate Marsal posted a screenshot of some controls purported to be part of the new interface, dubbed "Marble." It's unclear where the screenshot came from, as Kim writes that development builds have so far used Leopard's version of the Aqua theme. They could easily be Photoshopped screenshots of iPhoto or iTunes, so take that with a grain of salt.

Daring Fireball's John Gruber wrote that Marble was the codename for the new interface scheme in his Macworld predictions roundup, but said later he was wrong when it was not announced during the keynote. He wagered that the look would feature "iTunes-style scrollbars everywhere, darker window chrome, and a light-text-on-dark-background menu bar."

Snow Leopard is rumored to be released before the end of March.

This is how you know you're an Apple fan: AppleInsider's pictures of covered banners at Moscone Center make you desperately want to know what's on them.

Five 60-foot banners grace the South hall, while Apple's booth on the expo floor has massive banners hanging from the ceiling, hidden behind black cloth.

AppleInsider also has pictures of the mobile production studio that will handle Tuesday's keynote presentation. Inside, you can see engineers setting up camera angles and making finishing touches for Phil Schiller's talk.

The keynote presentation begins Tuesday, January 6 at 9 a.m. Pacific Time (noon Eastern), but TUAW's coverage will begin early that morning. If you're interested in drinking from the firehose of Macworld news from the show floor, feel free to follow Twitter user @tuaw_mwsf09. (Otherwise, our regular Twitter stream, @tuaw, will remain at a moderate volume.)

AppleInsider, MediaBistro and more are all pointing to some sweet Best Buy discounts on Apple products for Black Friday weekend that include laptop and desktop computers. Sale prices are good online and in-store.

Best Buy apparently stocked up on inventory to support the event. Apple employees will also be staffing Best Buy locations to push sales. The four-day sale extends from Sunday until Wednesday. (Thanks, Michel.)

Also of note: Apple retail stores will match other authorized retailers' advertised prices. According to ifoAppleStore, if you supply proof of the competitor's pricing (like Best Buy's circular), Apple retail employees have the authority to approve a discount matching that price.

If that weren't enough, as Cory mentioned earlier, Apple will also be having its own online Black Friday promotion.

After the jump, discounts ahoy!

AppleInsider claims that Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard will feature (among other things) a Finder re-written entirely in Cocoa. The Finder has remained Carbon-based for the entire history of Mac OS X so far, but the long journey from those frameworks towards Cocoa seems to be reaching its end for Apple's homegrown apps.

Test versions of the new Finder are being seeded to select developers in revisions of Snow Leopard with build numbers beginning with 10A. AppleInsider notes that seeds could be more broadly available to the developer community as early as tomorrow.

As Ars Technica noted in June, Apple apps will also apparently come "wrapped" in Cocoa. Further deprecation of some Carbon APIs seems likely as well, but it's unclear yet as to how Snow Leopard's support for Carbon apps will differ from plain-ol' Leopard's.

In addition to the Finder, improvements to support for Microsoft Exchange are expected for Mail, iCal, and Address Book. Also included is a new option for booting a Mac called ImageBoot. ImageBoot takes NetBoot a step further, allowing administrators to boot a workstation into Mac OS X directly from an image on a local disk.

The Boy Genius Report claims that they received a report saying Walmart may become the second independent retailer in the U.S. to carry the iPhone.

The big box retailer is expected to begin selling the iPhone about two weeks before Black Friday, on November 15. Walmart already carries a range of cases and accessories for iPhones, and sells a variety of iPods.

Radio Shack was also rumored to carry the handset, but its unclear if negotiations stalled, or the news about Walmart is just stealing its thunder, as BGR speculates.

Best Buy already carries the iPhone 3G, which you must activate before leaving the store. It stands to reason that Walmart will employ a similar process.

[Via AppleInsider.]

Not a surprise for those who have suffered from the issue, but a welcome admission nonetheless: Apple has now acknowledged that some recent MacBook Pro models contain faulty GeForce 8600M GT chips that cause video display problems. Dell and HP have already told customers similar stories.

In a support document posted yesterday, Apple testily admitted that while NVIDIA assured Apple that Mac computers were not affected, an internal investigation revealed three models of MacBook Pro indeed had problems.

Our own Cory Bohon wrote about his experience with (what he now believes to be) the same issue back in August.

The models affected were all manufactured between May 2007 and September 2008:

• MacBook Pro (17-Inch, 2.4GHz)
• MacBook Pro (15-Inch, 2.4/2.2GHz)
• MacBook Pro (Early 2008)

If your MacBook Pro is displaying distorted or scrambled video on the screen, or no video at all, you can take your computer to an Apple Authorized Service provider to have it repaired, free of charge. If you've already had your computer serviced for this issue, Apple may issue you a refund for the cost of the service. Free service is available to owners who bought their computer less than two years ago, even if the computer is out of warranty.

The problem is likely to cost NVIDIA up to $200 million to fix; this does not include the likely fallout from shareholder lawsuits alleging that the video-card manufacturer deliberately withheld information on the scope of the chip flaws.

[Via AppleInsider.]

Our sister site Engadget received an invitation for a town-hall event in San Francisco about new Apple notebooks, featuring an image of what could be hinting at possible new aluminum enclosures for 13-inch MacBooks.

tw.apple.pro purports to have images of new aluminum cases for the MacBooks. Judging from the height of the ports (and if the photos are authentic) the new MacBooks could be significantly thinner than their predecessors.

In related news, AppleInsider claims to have confirmed that a widely-circulated spy-shot is indeed one from Apple's next generation of MacBook Pro, but is not fabricated from a single "brick" of aluminum, as 9-to-5Mac said.

The top case, however, appears now to include the ports, rather than having them integrated into the bottom case. (This could make case disassembly easier.) The port arrangement appears to include many more ports on the left side of the bottom case, much like the current MacBook.

Combined with earlier images of the back of the LCD and bottom case, the design retains much of the same look that MacBook Pros (and PowerBook G4s before them) have had since January 2001.

Apple's notebook event is scheduled for next Tuesday at 10 a.m. Pacific time (1 p.m. Eastern).

Just when you thought you just bought (or just finished paying for) Adobe Creative Suite 3, get ready to take out another mortgage for Adobe CS4, which will be publicly unveiled on September 23. AppleInsider conjectures the software will drop in October.

Adobe will be delivering several webcasts that day to showcase the new software to the public. You can register here to participate in the webcasts.

Improvements to Photoshop and Flash are expected to headline the event. Adobe did not release any details about how the software will be bundled, nor any pricing information. Full versions of Adobe CS3 can cost as much as $2,500 for new users, and $160 for those who want to upgrade.

Adobe released preview editions of Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Soundbooth in late May.

[Via MacFreaks and cnet.]

AppleInsider reports that the Mac OS X team is squashing ever more bugs, and has released version 10.5.5 build 9F13 to developers. Unlike prior builds, Apple released it without any known issues.

The article notes that Apple has made 115 corrections to Mac OS X code as a part of the 10.5.5 update. Improvements to power management, mail sync, preferences sync, networking, firewall, kernel, file system, and the Mobile Me preferences pane are all expected to be included.

AppleInsider expected that the update would be released to the public in "the coming weeks."

The latest rumor to hit the iPod trail, besides the obviously faked nanos, is that the iPod is headed for an OS X-based system, and that Apple is planning to unify all of their products. This one's actually be floating around for a bit, and at this point, it's almost more of an educated inference than a rumor at all-- Apple has already shown that they're looking to start making connections across product lines. CoverFlow moved from iTunes to the iPhone, and we've already seen evidence that the iPhone interface may find a place in OS X proper.

So it's only natural that the iPod would join the crowd. What will that entail? More CoverFlow, more album art, a better iPhoto '08 interface. So far, the same old click wheel seems to be involved (so no phone-less iPhone yet), but in general, a flashier interface than the old scrolling text screens we're used to.

While we've heard (and speculated) on all of this before, this is the first time we've heard a solid date: AppleInsider is saying that by the end of September (before the holiday season), we'll be looking at an iPod with OS X on it. I don't disagree-- if Apple is planning to update the iPod in this way, they'd want to do it before the holidays. If we don't see anything by October, my guess is we'll have to wait until early 2008 to see any updates at all. Of course, by that point, we'll be too ga-ga over Leopard to worry about it.