Apple releases itunes 10.4.1 with assorted bug fixes

Apple today released iTunes 10.4.1, bringing a handful of bug fixes to the company's media management and syncing software. The bug fixes target a number of areas, including media keys on third-party keyboards, artwork addition, movie purchasing, responsiveness, and VoiceOver.
iTunes 10.4.1 provides a number of improvements, including:

- Fixes a problem where the media keys on some third-party keyboards work inconsistently with iTunes
- Addresses issues with adding artwork to songs and videos
- Resolves an issue which may cause iTunes to become unresponsive when purchasing an HD movie
- Fixes a problem where iTunes may take longer than expected to open after waking your Mac from sleep
- Addresses issues with VoiceOver support

iTunes 10.4.1 is available via Software Update, Apple's downloads page, or the iTunes download page. Versions are available for Mac, 32-bit Windows, and 64-bit Windows.

Iphone 5s battery back camera and audio flex cable parts leaked

As we approach the anticipated launch of the iPhone 5, we are seeing an increasing number of small leaks related to the production of the device in China. As the design is finalized, and production begins to ramp up, it's common to see early parts leak into the supply chain.

We were tipped that iPhone parts supplier TVC Mall has posted a few new claimed iPhone 5 parts this evening, including the Battery, Back Camera Lens, and Headphone/Earphone Audio Jack Flex Cable. The new parts are definitely different from the existing iPhone 4 parts, though the superficial changes seem unrevealing. We've shown them side-by-side in comparison, using images of iPhone 4 parts courtesy of iFixit.


The claimed iPhone 5 battery is of roughly the same shape of the existing iPhone 4 battery. The labeled specifications on the iPhone 5 part shows 3.7V and 5.3Whr while the iPhone 4 part shows 3.7V and 5.25Whr, showing roughly the same power.

The new part also has a plausible part number of 616-0580 as compared to the iPhone 4's 616-0513 and 616-0521 part numbers. The connector on the new battery is rotated in comparison to the iPhone 4 part.


The back camera module shown here seems to reveal a closely embedded camera flash much like the iPhone 4's design. There had been some early rumors that the iPhone 5's camera may be separated from the camera module, or that the iPhone 5 may even get dual LED flash. The iPhone 5's camera has been rumored to be an 8 mega pixel camera, upgraded from the 5 mega pixel camera found in the iPhone 4.

As with all these early iPhone 5 parts, the supplier website has scant details on the specifications. In fact, we doubt that they even know the specifications at this stage. Some dimensions do seem to be given for the parts, but when compared the dimensions for known parts (such as the iPhone 4 battery) on the same site, there seemed to be a wide discrepancy against other published specs we'd found on the internet. So, we can't put much faith in the listed dimensions.

The final new part listed on the site is the Audio Jack Flex cable. There isn't much we can say about it, though it does look very different from the existing GSM and CDMA parts. We asked iFixit's Kyle Wiens and just based on the images shown, Wiens said that the part numbers were reasonable, and the markings consistent with the currently shipping cable.

The iPhone 5 is widely expected to launch in September or October.

Update: iFixit has gotten its hands on what appears to be the exact same camera module being advertised by TVC Mall as being for the iPhone 5. According to iFixit's Kyle Wiens, the sensor is essentially identical to the iPhone 4's camera, checking in at the same 5-megapixel resolution with other specs also appearing to be identical. Consequently, it is unclear if this is indeed an iPhone 5 camera module, an existing iPhone 4 module, or perhaps an "iPhone 4S" camera module should Apple be looking to introduce a new low-end model based on the existing iPhone 4 design.

Apple Phasing Out Developer Access to UDIDs in iOS 5

TechCrunch reports that Apple is making an interesting change in iOS 5, phasing out the ability for developers to access a device's Unique Device Identifier (UDID). Apple is instead asking developers to create unique identifiers specific to their apps in order to tie installations to specific users.

This is a big deal, especially for any mobile ad networks, game networks or any app which relies on the UDID to identify users. Many apps and mobile ad networks, for instance, uses the UDID or a hashed version to keep track of who their users are and what actions they have taken. App publishers are now supposed to crete their own unique identifiers to keep track of users going forward, which means they may have to throw all of their historical user data out the window and start from scratch.

Apple and a number of app developers have been sued over their handling of UDIDs. While UDIDs can't directly be linked with a specific users, information tied to a device can be passed along to advertisers to help them in targeting their advertisements, with some privacy advocates objecting to the practice.

With the UDID, ad networks can track what apps are being used on a given device, enabling them to piece together a valuable picture of activity conducted on a specific device. Apple's move seems to specifically address that concern, breaking down identifiers to the app level to limit the ability to put together such a complete picture.

iOS 5 Beta 6 Seeded to Developers [Updated]

Apple today pushed out the sixth beta version of iOS 5 to developers, marking yet another step in the development process leading up to the public release of iOS 5 later this year. The release, which is labeled as Build 9A5302b, comes nearly two weeks after the surprise Saturday release of the fifth beta version earlier this month.



The over-the-air version of iOS 5 beta 6 for the iPhone checks in at 144 MB. (Thanks, Parker!)


In addition to iOS 5 beta 6, Apple has also released a new beta version of iTunes 10.5 and a new preview version of Xcode 4.2 to support the release.

Apple is expected to release iOS 5 for existing hardware around the time of the iPhone 5 launch, with rumors for the debut now coalescing around early October.

Update: Apple has also pushed out iWork for iOS beta 2 and a new "beta 5" of the Apple TV software.

Update 2: As noted by It's All Tech, Apple on the Mac side has pushed out a new developer seed of OS X 10.7.2 (Build 11C40), iCloud for OS X Lion beta 8, and a new build of Safari 5.1.1, all to be used for testing out iCloud.

Update 3: iLounge notes that Apple appears to have disabled Nike+ syncing through iTunes for iOS 5 users with the new beta, forcing them to use the wireless syncing option that debuted in iOS 4.1.

Apple Targets New York City Stores Selling Counterfeit Apple Products

"Apple Story" in Flushing, Queens (Source: Greg Autry via BirdAbroad)
Reuters reports on a lawsuit filed by Apple against a pair of stores in New York City for their sale of unauthorized counterfeit Apple products. The trademark infringement suit was filed last month but has remained sealed until now in order to facilitate seizure of the counterfeit items from the two stores in the Chinatown section of Flushing in Queens.

According to a court filing from Apple, the company sent representatives to Apple Story and Fun Zone in Flushing on "multiple occasions over several weeks," where they bought an assortment of iPod, iPhone and iPad cases, as well as stereo headsets designed for use with iPhones.

All of the purchased goods carried an Apple trademark, according to the amended complaint. They were also marked with the phrase "Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China," and included markings similar to those found on genuine Apple goods.

The headsets came with packaging that was "nearly an exact duplicate" of that for genuine Apple goods, the lawsuit said.

Apple was granted a warrant to seize the counterfeit products on July 27th, and the courts have granted a preliminary injunction barring the two stores from selling the knockoff products. Apple has also requested that one of the stores, Apple Story, change its name in order to prevent confusion with Apple's own stores and branding, but the court has yet to rule on that issue. A settlement between Apple and the stores' owners is said to be under negotiation.

Apple's case appears to extend beyond the two stores, however, as the lawsuit seeks to include people and businesses engaged in the production, sale, and distribution of the products, although those defendants have yet to be identified.

Apple's Glass Roofed Retail Store Approved Without Even Discussion

The Santa Monica Dispatch's Peggy Clifford attended yesterday's Santa Monica Planning Commission meeting and reports that Apple's new Third Street Promenade building was quickly approved, without even discussion.

The surprise was that the staff put the project on the Consent Calendar. I cannot remember any large, complex commercial project ever going on the Consent Calendar. Apple was the only item on last night’s Calendar. And, under the rules, the Consent Calendar is approved as a whole – unless someone wishes to pull at item for discussion.

And in that crucial blink, the commissioners approved the Consent Calendar (aka Apple Glass House), and that was that – except for a staff report on the redesign of the Project Case List, after which they adjourned.

The proposal first came to light yesterday, and detailed a new 8,084 glass-roofed Apple Store to be built on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California. The store will be built in the space of an old Borders Bookstore.

Apple's Online Store Gets More Social With Twitter and Facebook Links

Following today's mysterious downtime for Apple's online stores, users have been scouring the store pages to look for any changes. While the store remains largely unchanged with no major new product offerings, Apple does appear to have made one small change to its Mac Pro model selection page, changing the "select" button for each model into a combination button with a drop-down section allowing users to post a link to the configuration to Twitter or Facebook.


Clicking on the options allows users to customize the postings on either service.


Curiously, the addition has not yet made it to the product pages for Apple's other products, so it is unclear whether Apple is merely running an initial test of the feature with the Mac Pro or if the incomplete roll-out is due to other factors perhaps related to the issues that apparently brought the store down entirely for several hours earlier today.

Apple has been gradually building social features, primarily linked to Facebook and Twitter, into its offerings for some time now. One of the earliest and highest-profile additions came in the form of sharing options in the iTunes Store, launched with iTunes 9 nearly two years ago.

Apple Downtime

Earlier today, Apple's online stores around the world went down for unknown reasons. Mysteriously, the stores seems to be mostly unreachable, with users only occasionally able to load the pages at all. When store pages do load, they show Apple's usual "We'll be back soon" sticky note, but it is unclear why even that notice can only be reached on a small fraction of attempts.


No specific product updates were expected today, and the store went down a little before 4:30 AM Pacific Time, hours later than Apple's usual window for store updates. And with the store remaining down well beyond the usual time of 5:30 AM Pacific Time when Apple typically brings the store back up after an update, something certainly appears to be seriously wrong.


Speculation on the downtime is naturally running rampant, with observers suggesting everything from a major failure at one of Apple's data centers to a potential denial-of-service attack. Apple has apparently been silent on the issue so far, and thus no official explanation for the outage is known.

Update: Some users have reported success accessing Apple's online stores and seeing them back up with no visible changes. Others are, however, continuing to experience problems connecting to the store.

Update 2: Access to Apple's online stores appears to have essentially returned to normal.