Apple

If you thought your old friend Snow Leopard was getting a little long in the tooth, fear not: Apple has released Mac OS X 10.6.7, the latest update to the venerable feline.

In addition to providing the standard enhancements for stability, compatibility, and security, 10.6.7 improves the reliability of Back to My Mac, resolves an issue with transferring files to SMB servers, and makes minor updates to the Mac App Store. In addition, the update incorporates a number of security fixes to Snow Leopard, which are also available separately as Security Update 2011-001.

It had to happen eventually. After eight-plus years of problem-free computing on Mac OS X computers, I caught a doozy.

I wrote the first part of this post on a 2010 MacBook Air booted to single-user mode while on a plane heading for Boston. It's the first major failure of one of my primary Mac laptops ever, and it left me stranded for the first time. Well, sorta stranded -- I could still use Unix's vim to write, after all, on my way back to the lab to determine exactly how screwed up this laptop really was.

In the continuing game of cat and mouse between Apple and the jailbreaking community, the Cupertino company is rumoured to be preparing a point release of its mobile operating system aimed at slamming shut the door of the iPad's walled garden.

The often accurate Boy Genius Report says the release of iOS 4.3.1 will happen in the next one or two weeks, and comes just a few days after iOS 4.3 was unleashed on the world.

Gathering intel on upcoming products is becoming a game of cat and mouse for companies and the media. Now that the iPad 2 has been released, the rumor mill is going full-tilt about Apple’s next device, the iPhone 5. An insider at Foxconn has shared information with 9to5Mac indicating that prototypes of the new mobile device have been seen around the company and that mass production of the phone will be starting in the near future.

Apple, along with its Taiwanese manufacturing partner Foxconn, has stockpiled enough components to continue to assemble new iPad 2s for at least another 2 to 3 weeks before they'd face a stockout that would halt production should the situation in Japan not improve, according to a published report.

Apple could introduce a complete revamp of its MobileMe internet service as early as next month that would be completely free for customers of the company's hardware devices, marking a departure and depreciation of the existing service which retails for $99 per year.

On the heels of a recent report downplaying rumors that the next iPhone will include wireless near-field communication technology, one report has reignited speculation with the news that NFC industry insiders still believe the iPhone 5 will carry the feature.

The March 11th tsunami that has devastated Japan is expected to create shortages of Apple's most popular products for the remainder of the month and through next quarter, as at least two of the company's core component suppliers in the region have temporarily shut down operations to assess damages.

The fruity peddler of broken iDreams, Apple has lost more than $14 billion worth of value after a leading Wall Street outfit realised that people were paying too much for Jobs' Mob's shares.

According to Reuters, JMP Securities' analyst Alex Gauna downgraded the stock saying that there were signs that things were not all that great at Apple and no one appeared to be noticing.

Don't fret if you didn't camp out at the Apple store over the weekend to nab an iPad 2 before the much-hyped tablet sold out. While great praise has been heaped upon Apple's newest gadget, it's not without its faults.

Here are four things bloggers and tech critics are griping about:

1. Light leaks
2. Mediocre screen
3. Lackluster tech specs
4. Bad camera