An independent researcher only known as Information Security Sellout (InfoSec Sellout) has claimed to have developed a worm that attacks Mac OS X.

Apparently s/he has discovered a vulnerability in OS X's mDNSResponder which Apple has patched before. Sellout claims that the worm, named "Rape.osx," is benign for now. The hacker says that the worm only takes advantage of the vulnerability by leaving a text file in the Mac to prove that the worm has been there. This worm has already been successfully tested on 1,500 OS X computers.

Sellout also claims that with further study, the worm can be geared up to wreak mayhem on the Mac. However, Sellout says that s/he will release the results of the "experiment" after the "research is complete" and after getting satisfactory compensation.

A recent lead received by Cutaway Security rats out the hacker LMH as the identity of Sellout, the same LMH who was responsible for the "Month of Apple Bugs" last January although there wasn't sufficient proof. One thing that may prove the leak is correct is that the original Information Security Sellout site has been purged of all its contents after the news was received.

It's a bittersweet realization to think that Apple becomes a bigger target as it gains more popularity.

A lot have been said on Apple's Mac OS X Leopard, especially when the consumers finally got to see it running during the recently concluded WWDC. The new operating software wouldn't be arriving officially until October but those in the know are already saying that a number of useful small updates will come with the commercial version.

Apple is quite known for doing this to its products - never really telling the consumers everything that has changed. Just think of it as a finders-keepers game from Steve Jobs and the rest of the crew. And when you really think about it, it's not really harmful. If anything, it encourages users to play around with the software, learning it fully in the process.

Anyway, until the official release date comes, we're still tagging these under Rumors. But it would really be appreciated if these turn out to be true:

• A new version of Quicktime included with Leopard will reportedly allow full-screen mode without a QuickTime Pro key, echoing the feature added months before to iTunes.
• DVD Player will also see a major update with an HD options pane for Blu-Ray and HD DVD discs as well as the opportunity to add DVD cover art and change movie region support on the fly.
• Sun's unique file system will appear as a non-default, read-only format out of the box with write support possibly arriving as a separate update in the future.
• ZFS in Leopard will support some of the trademark features, such as instant and low-storage "snapshots" of a disk volume, and cloned copies that can be modified with only a small penalty in terms of disk space.
• iChat may also have received a substantial upgrade: Those contacts with mobile phone numbers can be sent an SMS text message.
• Google's influence is also allegedly present in the instant messaging app and will let Google Talk accounts mix with today's AIM, Jabber, and .Mac users.
• Users choose the default IM program, similar to the way Safari is used to choose the default browser, and will also be able to explicitly share more than the Public folder on a network.
• Even Dictionary will have the choice of switching from the Oxford dictionary to Wikipedia.

Everyone's excited about the look and feel of Apple's Mac OS X Leopard and why not? The new OS is looking sleeker than ever and insiders are raving at how easy it is to set up.

   

Wired reports that they ran it on a Quad Core Xeon Mac Pro and Leopard went right on the prowl. These screens show some of what you can expect and it does look sweet.

The preview version doesn't have the final code but most sources say that Leopard has been impressive so far. The animations, the dock and the translucent toolbar are all contributing to giving the package that space-age look and the eye candy just has people's heads turning. DVD burning and Time Machine still haven't been tested, but that just leaves enough to have something to look forward to come launch date.

As most Apple fans know, the Apple WWDC is going pretty strong. A lot of people have their own thoughts about the iPhone and Mac OS X Leopard, but no amount of speculating beat first hand information.

Mac Rumors was lucky enough to get some details from those who attended the WWDC and were able to get some details about the Leopard. In addition, they also gave some of their impressions on the product which were quite insightful. Consistently, the people who saw it have been raving about the new mail system that Apple implemented.

Another thing that was pointed out by one of the attendees is the fact that Spotlight has been tweaked so that it has become "much more responsive." Another thing that was pointed out was that "Safari seems faster and now has that styled text editor as in Firefox." For those who are worried about the requirements of the said OS, don't fret, the readme on the copies handed out clarified everything (it's no Vista in terms of memory requirements).

System Requirements:

• an Intel processor or a PowerPC G4 or G5 processor
• a DVD drive
• built-in FireWire
• at least 256 MB of RAM for a Power-PC based Mac and 512 MB for an Intel-based Mac (additional RAM is recommended for development purposes)
• a built-in display or a display connected to an Apple-supplied video card supported by your computer
• at least 6 GB of disk space available, or 8 GB if you install the developer tools

That said, it looks like the Mac OS X Leopard is primed and ready to hit the ground running. Hopefully it will be everything and more Mac users wish it to be. Keep checking back here for more updates on the WWDC and the products featured there.

 

Yesterday's WWDC saw Steve Jobs showing off the Leopard's desktop and we did like the fact that everything looked less grainy than ever before. Very pleasing to the eye indeed, but there's a little note that a MaxAsia pointed out.

And come to think of it, the user might be on to something. The Leopard's dock does seem a bit like Sun's Project Looking Glass. Above are images which you can view at full size when you click them. See if you think that there's a compelling resemblance.

Aesthetics aside, this shouldn't really be too much of an issue between the two IT giants. We'll keep you posted if anything major comes out of this.

Soon, Apple fans waiting for months on end to see big PC games get ported to their platform will be a thing of the past. Electronic Arts, the world's biggest game publisher is cooperating hand in hand with Apple to make porting that much faster.

EA COO Bing Gordon was with Apple CEO Steve Jobs as the two announced this exciting development at the Worldwide Developer's Conference hosted by Apple in San Francisco.  Big EA game franchises Command & Conquer 3, Battlefield 2142, Need For Speed Carbon and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be the first to ship on the Mac OS X platform followed by Madden NFL 08 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08.

To make the porting process easier, an engine called Cider developed by TransGames will be put into use. This will cut the development time significantly and keep Apple units in stride with their Windows counterparts.

TransGaming CEO Vikas Gupta says "traditionally Mac users had to wait to play the latest blockbuster games. "We're thrilled that TransGaming's Cider engine will dramatically decrease the time it will take to bring EA's hit portfolio of games to a thirsty Mac market."

Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference is just around the corner and Apple fans are pumped at what Steve Jobs has to show. The focus of the attention, of course, is the anticipated demonstration of the new OS X Leopard, but some insiders believe that the next-generation interface of the system just might steal the show.

The new look will be driven by a system called Core Animation which will make the visual experience more vibrant than ever. Imagine a 3D desktop where your windows flip in and out and on-screen objects are looking good with high detail.

"The revolution coming with Core Animation is akin to the one that came from the original Mac in 1984," says Delicious Library developer Will Shipley. He adds that a whole "new world" will open up once Core Animation hits.

And Shipley is serious. He says that the Disco CD-writing application will have an interface with smoke animations and it's quite possible for the user to actually play with the fumes. How about blowing air into the mic and seeing the on screen smoke get blown away? Sweet!

"We realized any app we released based on Tiger (the current version of OS X) was going to look really pathetic when Leopard came out," says Shipley. He then reminded users that they would have to buy the new product if they want to enjoy the new features.

We certainly hope Apple shows off this exciting new innovation that they've jacked up. Die-hard Mac addicts better get ready to bust out that wallet because the Leopard intends to pounce hard.

Apple Insider reports that the first pre-release builds of Mac OS X 10.4.10 have made rounds in Cupertino earlier this month, and is being readied for testing.

It is reported that Apple hopes to stabilize the software to the point where it can proceed to seeding copies of the software update to its Apple Developer Connection members by next week.

Apple last updated the Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger in March. At the time, Mac OS X 10.4.9 came with improved camera support, improved DVD playback, and enhanced Bluetooth support. For the latest update, the specific fixes are still unknown. However, most believe that an fix for an "audio-related issue" will be included.

Apple insider believes that this free time that Apple has to work on the current OS X 10.4 Tiger is due to the delay of OS X 10.5 Leopard to October.

Recently, a lot of rumors have been flying around regarding the iPhone and Leopard release dates. One of the more recent ones said that both products wouldn't be making the projected deadlines and that its makers have moved back the release dates quite a bit. Apple has given word that both products are on track and that they should meet their expected respective launch time frames.

The recent statement given by Apple regarding the delay of the Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard to October was fairly recent. The company said that they had to "borrow some key software engineering and QA resources from our Mac OS X team" for the iPhone's development. Now, it's been said time and again, but perhaps Apple is really stretching their considerable resources quite a bit with the iPhone. Hopefully, both products come out without a lot of bugs because a lot of Apple fans will be very disappointed if they do.

It looks like the company is still sticking with their "quality over release date" policy. This is something a lot of other companies should emulate, especially with their OS releases.

Rob Mead at Tech.co.uk shared some of the "secrets" that were revealed at the Apple shareholder's meeting at Cupertino, California.

Third-party apps for iPhone. First, it seems that the iPhone will be open to third-party applications. Apple CEO Steve Jobs had said that the Apple iPhone wouldn't be open to third-party applications, that it would be a closed system based on Mac OS X (the goal was to make sure that the iPhone wouldn't be buggy). But it now seems that Mac developers are free to make apps for the iPhone.

Leopard delay. Steve Jobs also said that the delay of the launch of the Mac OS X Leopard operating system, the next version of Mac OS X, was partly due to the iPhone. According to Jobs, the issue isn't money; the issue is talent. It seems that Apple has dedicated a lot of time and talent to the iPhone, and there just wasn't enough left over for the Leopard. "I wish developing great products was as easy as writing a check," said Jobs. "If so, then Microsoft would have great products."

The smaller and innovative iPhone. It looks like there's a smaller iPhone on the way. Apple has made an application to the US Patent & Trademark Office for a sleek little device with a display on each side (patent number 0070103454). This "Back-Side Interface for Handheld Devices" has a rather interesting concept:

An electronic device uses separate surfaces for input and output. One of the surfaces (e.g. the bottom) includes a force-sensitive touch-surface through which a user provides input (e.g. cursor manipulation and control element selection). On a second surface (e.g. the top), a display element is used to present information appropriate to the device's function (e.g. video information), one or more control elements and a cursor. The cursor is controlled through manipulation of the back-side touch-surface. The cursor identifies where on the back-side touch-surface the user's finger has made contact.

In other words, the new iPhone is a dual-screen set-up with a touch screen. Hm. That reminds us of the Nintendo DS (over 40 million units sold worldwide).

Apple and the mobile phone market. Jobs also said that Apple really has to look deeper into the mobile phone market. In 2006, there were 135 million MP3 players and 200 million PCs sold. But in that same year, there were 1 billion mobile phones sold. That's a big market to explore.

If Apple thinks that the mobile phone market is worth exploring, then we at QJ.NET wish Apple the best. Several of us love our iPods, and if Apple's iPhone can do for mobile phones what the iPod did for "mobile audio and video," then we don't mind the Leopard delay at all.