OS x Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Mountain Lion update includes automatic Mac app downloads

by Michael Grothaus (May 21st, 2012)

Apple is set to bring automatic app downloads to OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion when it debuts later this summer. As noted by 9to5Mac, the latest build of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion only has a partially working Automatic Downloads feature, but users can expect to see a finalized working version when OS X ...

You're the Pundit: When will Mountain Lion launch?

by Erica Sadun (May 15th, 2012)

When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is Mountain Lion. During the Q2 financials, Apple told us it would debut "late summer," but some sites insist we may see it ...

Apple releases Leopard update, Flashback removal tool

by Dave Caolo (May 15th, 2012)

Apple has released a security update for Leopard, the first in quite a while, as well as a Flashback removal tool for that version of the OS. According to Apple, Leopard Security Update 2012-003 "disables versions of Adobe Flash Player that do not include the latest security updates and ...

Perian posts end of life notice. Mac video enthusiasts weep.

by Erica Sadun (May 14th, 2012)

Perian has been a steadfast friend on my computer for years. With Perian, nearly any video format I throw at QuickTime simply works. Perian has been a wonder. It supports AVI. It supports DivX. It supports MKV. It's been one of the best and most useful tools I have had access to and invariably ...

Passwords stored in plain text after Lion update

by Kelly Hodgkins (May 7th, 2012)

Legacy FileVault users (those who used FileVault before Lion) running a recently updated version of Mac OS X Lion should consider changing their login passwords. According to a report in ZDNet, an Apple programmer inadvertently left a debug flag in the latest 10.7.3 version of Mac OS X that turns ...

GIMP 2.8 gets a major facelift

by Kelly Hodgkins (May 7th, 2012)

Popular Mac, Linux and Windows image editing app GIMP has been updated to version 2.8. This latest version overhauls the UI to offer a new single window mode that lets users edit images, choose tools and set up docks all within one window. Earlier versions of GIMP had multiple windows for tool ...

Flashback was earning about $10K per day

by Steven Sande (May 1st, 2012)

People often wonder about what motivates the creators of malware. In the case of the Flashback malware that infected several hundred thousand Macs, it turns out that the motivator was money. A post on the Symantec official blog listed the stages of infection from Flashback: A user visits ...

The road to OS Xi: Where iOS and OS X suffer a teleporter accident and merge

by Erica Sadun (Apr 29th, 2012)

Remember The Fly? That's the one where Jeff Goldblum tries to teleport but instead gets his genes all mixed up with a fly. "[T]he Telepod computer, confused by the presence of two separate life-forms in the sending pod, merged him with the fly at the molecular-genetic level." Look at ...

You're the Pundit: Are iOS and OS X headed on a collision course?

by Erica Sadun (Apr 28th, 2012)

When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is Apple operating systems. In Steve Jobs' road map when Lion was first presented, he discussed what would later be known as ...

Oracle providing direct Java support for OS X, updates to be more timely

by Steven Sande (Apr 28th, 2012)

Macworld and Ars Technica reported late yesterday that Oracle has announced direct support of Java for OS X. This appears to be a reaction to the rather widespread outbreaks of malware that took advantage of exploits in Java before Apple was able to provide an update. This change has been ...

Google launches Google Drive

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 24th, 2012)

Google launched Google Drive, an online service that lets you create, share and store your documents online. You can use the desktop client to upload videos, photographs, Google docs and more to Google's cloud. When you're on the go, you can access these files using a mobile client. Google ...

Twenty percent of Macs examined infected with Windows malware

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 24th, 2012)

Sophos looked at 100,000 Mac computers and found that one in every five has some form of malware. This might sound alarming, but before you stare at your machine in disgust, you should get some perspective. The survey looked at 100,000 OS X machines that are running Sophos's free Mac ...

Apple seeds OS X Lion 10.7.4 Build 11E52 to developers

by Michael Grothaus (Apr 24th, 2012)

Apple has seeded the fourth build of OS X Lion 10.7.4 to developers. Build 11E52 lists no known issues and asks developers to focus on graphics, iCal, Mail, Printing, and Time Machine. The fourth build of 10.7.4 weighs in at 1.43 GB for the combo update and 716 MB for the delta update. OS X ...

Kaspersky Lab: Macs not invulnerable to malware

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 19th, 2012)

The writing is on the wall. Our time of innocence is gone. Researchers from Kaspersky Labs claim Mac market share has finally reached the critical point, and the platform is now an attractive target for online criminals. Kaspersky told Ars Technica and other press on Thursday that, "Mac users ...

Xcode 4.4 and Safari 5.2 seeds pushed to developers

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (Apr 18th, 2012)

In addition to the third developer's preview of OS X Mountain Lion, developers on Wednesday also received new builds of Xcode 4.4 and Safari 5.2. AppleInsider has release notes for both, with Xcode 4.4 having enhancements for Objective-C language features, improved support for 2011 C++ standard ...