Apple This

Well, it has finally happened. Apple has officially removed the statement from its website stating that the Mac OS X operating system isn’t susceptible to viruses. It’s no surprise that this has happened in the wake of the Flashback malware that plagued Apple users recently. There’s nothing more embarrassing than claiming that you are virus-proof than getting a virus, especially when you’re as big a company as Apple.

Apple removed the statement, “It doesn’t get PC viruses” and replaced it with “It’s built to be safe” and “Safeguard your data. By doing nothing” with “Safety. Built in.” According to Graham Cluley, Senior Technology Consultant for Sophos U.S., Apple is finally starting to take security seriously.

In a recent blog post Cluley was quoted as saying, “I view the changes in the messages pushed out by their marketing department as some important baby-steps. Let’s hope more Apple Mac owners are also learning to take important security steps — such as installing antivirus protection.”

In addition to changing the messages, Apple has released a security guide for the iOS and also announced in February that OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion would include a new feature known as Gatekeeper (I am the Keymaster…) that would restrict which applications users can install on their mobile devices.

Kaspersky Lab Co-Founder Eugene Kaspersky has also urged Apple to increase its virus protection. In a recent interview with Computerworld Australia, Kaspersky stated that Apple needed more time to extend time frames for supporting older operating systems. For reference sake, Apple discontinued support for OSX 10.5 Leopard when OS X 10.7 was released.

According to Kaspersky, “Apple has stopped supporting some older operating systems but there are still millions of people using these systems. It means if vulnerabilities are found, any kind of bad guys will be free to infect these machines.”

Source: PC World – Apple Quietly Pulls Claims of Virus Immunity

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Apple announced that it was revitalizing its Mac Pro desktop computer line though, despite other reports, there isn’t much changing with them. Apple added the word “new” to the Mac Pro on its website the other day which led some people to complain. That, in turn, made Apple take down the tag.

However, it seems that a new Mac Pro is coming, though not anytime soon. CEO Tim Cook recently announced that more extensive updates to the line will not be happening until “later next year”. Hints about this first hit when nobody was even talking about the devices at WWDC 2012. Once the “new” tag appeared, Andy Hertzfeld, a member of the original Apple Macintosh development team, completely bashed Apple for the skimpy updates.

According to Hertzfeld’s post on his Google Plus account, “The specs for the ‘new’ Mac Pro had hardly changed, except for a tiny, inconsequential processor clock bump. Still no Thunderbolt, still no USB 3.0, no SATA III or RAM speed improvements. It seems like it’s stuck in time in 2010. The only thing that’s still high-end about it is the bloated price.”

Harsh words from Hertzfeld, harsh but true. The Mac Pro runs anywhere from $2,499 to $3,799 depending on which model you choose. However, you can also opt for additional upgrades, driving the price up even higher. Hertzfeld isn’t the only one who is upset by the lack of an actual new Mac Pro, however. Mac Pro customers are expressing their discontent with the computers as well.

Fans of the desktop feel like they are being ignored by Apple, who has constantly been updating its MacBook lineup. A group of Mac Pro owners launched a Facebook page late last month titled “We Want a New Mac Pro”, which pleaded the company for an updated machine. At this point, the page has more than 18,149 “Likes”.

Apparently this page has made it all the way to CEO Tim Cook, who sent an email response to some guy named Franz. The email reads:

“Franz,

Thanks for your email. Our Pro customers like you are really important to us. Although we didn’t have a chance to talk about a new Mac Pro at today’s event, don’t worry as we’re working on something really great for later next year. We also updated the current model today.

We’ve been continuing to update Final Cut Pro X with revolutionary pro features like industry leading multi-cam support and we just updated Aperture with incredible new image adjustment features.

We also announced a MacBook Pro with a Retina Display that is a great solution for many pros.

Tim”

Even though the “new” Mac Pro is coming, we won’t really see a new one for a long time, but one is coming, I promise. To all Mac Pro users and fans out there, what do you think? Do you feel like Apple is running you through the ringer? Tired of waiting on an actual new Mac Pro?

Source: CNET – Apple CEO says Mac Pro update to come ‘next year’

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