Apple has released Mac OS X 10.5.4, the fourth update to Leopard since it was released last October.

The new version contains the usual mix of bug fixes and security updates, with iCal getting the most attention. iCal won't delete events without telling you as a result of the latest update, for example, and Apple said the update "improves overall iCal reliability." Airport and Spaces & Expose also received some updates.

MacRumors.com notes that the update paves the way for Apple to release the MobileMe service, the successor to .Mac unveiled by Apple at … Read more

More signs are emerging that Apple is taking new steps to restrict iPhone hacking with the release of the iPhone 3G.

AppleInsider got its hands on a memo sent to AT&T retail employees that warns them to be on the lookout for a special iTunes "unbricking" utility that was supposed to be pushed to the computers of all retail employees last week. According to the memo, "this icon is for the iTunes utility that will be used for unbricking iPhone 3G devices during the activation process. ... Please note, this is not a full version of … Read more

Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg probably isn't getting an iPhone 3G.

The head of the telecom giant seemed a bit irritated about Apple's march into the mobile phone industry when he answered a question posed by the Financial Times about Apple's chances of reaching the mass market with the iPhone 3G by saying, "There goes the conspiracy again. You're declaring them a winner before they've earned it on the field."

Seidenberg's main contention seems to be that the iPhone isn't a success because it has such a small share of the overall … Read more

Palm is still struggling as it awaits the arrival of new Treos and a new operating system.

The company on Thursday reported a net loss of $43.4 million for its fourth fiscal quarter, or 40 cents a share, compared with net income of $15.7 million last year. That loss is not as bad as it looks because of restructuring charges and the write-off of some bad debts, but even factoring all those charges out Palm still lost $23.9 million, or 22 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson One were hoping for 18 cents.

Palm's main … Read more

A few tidbits about the upcoming iPhone 3G launch have trickled out this week, though unfortunately, none of them are particularly illuminating, taken individually.

Perhaps the most interesting one--if only for its lack of details--is the memo distributed to Apple Retail employees this week in FAQ-style concerning the July 11 launch of the iPhone 3G.

Employees are being instructed to answer "I don't know" to any number of pertinent questions surrounding the launch, such as how the in-store activation process will work, any upgrade offers from the original iPhone, or any planned price cuts to the iPod … Read more

One year after Apple's iPhone made its debut in a frenzy of consumer lust, much of the hubbub may have died down but the story is just getting interesting.

In just a year, the iPhone has had a clear impact on the way smartphones and mobile software in general are now designed, and has raised consumer interest--especially in the U.S.--in the concept of truly mobile access to the Internet. But Apple has struggled to find the right price for the iPhone, manage its supply chain, and limit the ability of hackers to get total control over the … Read more

Updated 3:15pm PT with comments from conference call.

Doubling revenue and earnings per share wasn't good enough for Research in Motion's investors, who punished the company Wednesday after its outlook fell short of expectations.

RIM recorded first-quarter revenue of $2.24 billion, up 107 percent from last year's first fiscal quarter. Earnings per share were 84 cents per share on net income of $482.5 million, compared to last year's first quarter, when earnings per share were 39 cents per share. Both of those numbers were within guidelines set by the company last quarter but … Read more

We're about to see what full-blown competition for the future of the computing industry looks like when multiple players get a shot to make an impact.

The next great operating systems wars are about to be fought, as traditional computing companies collide with teams representing the mobile phone industry. Nokia's decision Tuesday to unify, then open-source, the Symbian operating system for smartphones clarifies how today's most-widely used handset operating system will evolve to match the open-source initiatives headed by Google and the LiMo Foundation and competition from companies like Microsoft, Research in Motion, and Apple.

Forget RIM … Read more

One of the "under the hood" improvements that Apple might be planning for Mac OS X Snow Leopard might involve a crash diet for key Mac applications.

Roughly Drafted reports, in a long list of features expected to appear in Snow Leopard, that Apple is working on reducing the footprint required by many of its key applications, such as iCal, Mail, and Preview. The report also says the size of the Utilities applications could be dramatically reduced, from 468MB to 111.6MB.

Smaller applications could make Snow Leopard more snappy and more stable, as Apple prunes out unnecessary … Read more