MicrosoftÂ?s Macintosh Business Unit unveiled details about Office 2008 productivity tools for Mac, which will ship in the second half of 2007. Office 2008 for Mac, which runs natively on both PowerPC- and Intel-based machines, shares some technologies with Office 2007 for Windows. The productivity suite provides compatibility between different versions and will use the Office Open XML Formats for saving and opening files in either platform.

Other Office 2008 for Mac features include:

• Publishing Layout View for creating layout-rich documents in Word
• Ledger Sheets that enables Excel to handle financial management tasks including budgets, invoices, and registers without making complex formulas
• My Day for tracking daily priorities and tasks regardless if application without launching OfficeÂ?s Entourage personal information manager

Price of Office 2008 for Mac will be revealed by Microsoft later.

Many moons ago, VMware was rumored to be cooking a virtualization solution for OS X. Now we know the rumor is true because the company just released its Fusion Beta version.

Fusion allows Intel-based Macs to run x86 operating systems (Windows, Linux, NetWare, and Solaris) in virtual machines at the same time as Mac OS X. Simply put, the app allows traditional PC applications to run on Mac.

Fusion Beta version includes the following features:

• Create and run a wide variety of 32- and 64-bit x86 operating systems on OS X without rebooting
• Simultaneously run PC applications next to OS X applications
• On any Mac with dual-core processors, multiple CPUs can be assigned to virtual machine to gain additional performance for CPU-intensive workloads.
• Access physical devices from the virtual machine: read and burn CDs and DVDs, and use USB 2.0 devices like video cameras, iPods, printers, and disks at full speed
• Devices that do not have drivers for OS X will work in a virtual machine
• Drag and drop files and folders between OS X and virtual machines to easily share data between the two environments

To test drive Fusion Beta version, you need to fill up a registration at the VMware website. You can click the link below to go to the company's site.

To all Apple aficionados out there, we currently have the latest batch of screenshots of the upcoming Mac OS X 10.5, a.k.a., Leopard. The screens show where Leopard already is in terms of development, as its current build is still at 9A321. We're not exactly sure, but we're guessing that these screenies were taken during the time that the news broke out that the developers' copy of the OS was already being seeded in P2P file-sharing sites. Whether Apple will be chasing down these people once again is another topic that we can tackle some other time.

In any case, these screenshots show the OS, right from the installation phase, to the part where the user gets to tinker with the programs. One screen shows Quick View being used to play a QuickTime movie file,

Before we ramble on, here are the screenies, as promised, though we're still wondering just how close these screens would be to the look of this OS once it's finally released in Spring 2007.

More screens after the Jump!

We think its safe to say Electronic Arts is hellbent on dominating the game scene on the 5th-gen iPod. EA already has three all-time fave titles for Apple's gaming iPod: Tetris, EA Mini Golf, and EA Mahjong. Now you can add EA Sudoku and Royal Solitaire to the list.

EA Sudoku is the Japanese multi-level number game that combines easy-to-use controls, graphics and animations, and a Zen garden scenery. The game also includes Â?RandomÂ? mode for amorphic puzzles, and Â?ChaosÂ? mode for completely wild challenges.

Royal Solitaire is a suite of ten solitaire games that include Peaks, Pyramid, Beleaguered Castle, Aces Up, Yukon, FreeCell, Golf, Scorpion, Canfield, and Klondike.

EA's Sudoku and Royal Solitaire can now be downloaded from the iTunes Store for US$ 4.99 each.

Recently we posted the release of Parallels Desktop for Mac build 3036 Beta. The amazing software allows Apple users to run Windows side by side with Mac OS X in a secure, isolated, virtual machine. Since its release, word-of-mouth buzz says the app is quite a killer. Video blogger Michael Verdi took Parallel Desktop for a test drive and it's safe to say he is now a fan calling it "super cool."

Using a MacBook Pro 2GHz core duo, system 10.4.8 with 2GB RAM, Verdi launched Parallels with several other programs including one that recorded the screencast. In the screencast Verdi demos Firefox and IE, Notepad, and copying from Windows to Mac and vice versa. Watch the screencast and see for yourself.

By the way if you haven't downloaded Parallels, you can do so right here. But remember this is just a beta version. Do not install it into the production environment and it is highly recommended to make a backup of your virtual machines before trying it out.

Download: [Parallels Desktop Screencast]

Parallels has released Parallels Desktop for Mac build 3036 Beta. Parallels Desktop for Mac (US$79.99) gives Apple users the ability to run Windows side by side with Mac OS X in a secure, isolated, virtual machine. The software runs on Intel-powered Apples, including iMac, Mac Mini, MacBook, and MacBook Pro.

Download Parallels Desktop for Mac Beta Build 3036. It will be a FREE update once it becomes generally available. However, this is beta software, and you know what that means, right? No? Well it means you should treat it very carefully. Do not install this beta into the production environment yet. Do backup your virtual machines before starting them.

IMPORTANT:
Resume and shut down all suspended Virtual Machines prior to upgrade.

You can read the list of features of the Parallels Desktop for Mac build 3036 Beta after the jump (that means you click on the "Full Article" link to see the full article).

Download: [Parallels Desktop for Mac build 3036 Beta]

Remember a few days ago, we had an article about the bug that allows malicious users to control a fully patched OS? Some people may take pride in this, but Apple Corporation certainly doesn't think it's worth glorifying. Especially with MacWorld Expo just around the corner...

In this light, Apple recently released a new batch of security updates for Mac OS X. There are 31 updates, all of which seem impenetrable. Then again, those malicious hackers may see this as just another update. They may even be thinking that it would be easy to circumvent these.

At any rate, the abovementioned bug was the first target of the new security updates. Dubbed as the Apple Type Services (ATS), the security patch zaps the bug by performing what Apple calsl "additional validation". There's also AirPort, an update concerning eMac, iBook, iMac, PowerBook G3, PowerBook G4, and Power Mac G4 systems. Accordingly, this aims to stop attackers in close proximity from sending maliciously-crafted information elements.

The rest of the updates, their descriptions and objectives can be viewed via the Read link below.

It seems Apple's Rosetta emulation technology is finally starting to flex its proverbial muscles to their full extent thanks to Mac OS X 10.4.8. According to Macworld Lab tests, some non-Intel-native apps have received significant performance boosts on systems running September's OS X update. Some systems were even reported to have experienced a performance boost of up to 30 percent.

For a peek at the improvements that Rosetta experienced in OS X 10.4.8, check out the image below. If you can't read the text, just click on it for a larger version.

So, what accounts for the boost? There's a bit in Apple's release notes that says OS X 10.4.8 "improves the accuracy of Rosetta numerics and addresses Altivec translation issues on Intel-based Macs," but other than that there's not a lot. Still, these new gains are very welcome, even more so for those who are starting to lose their patience while waiting for their favorite applications to become universal.

Open Source in Mac OS X applications has led to the onslaught of freeware that takes BitTorrent client (or P2P downloading) into a new level. Just recently, Transmission v0.6 gets upgraded to v0.7, which comes packed with more features that v0.6 has not been able to accomplish.

A good example is the icon equivalent of dock icon badges which was spiffed up. If you download the new beta version below, you can see for yourself that the mechanical looking icons have been replaced by more handsome lever-like design.

Also, if you activate the Autodownload option, it will copy .torrent files on the desktop to XtorrentÂ?s support folder and start downloading them. This reduces the hassle of downloading files that you don't want to go straight to the desktop. Another feature that points to this direction of hassle-free simultaneous torrent downloads is the "Finder" which allows you to sort torrents by entering status or keyword filter.

We may not be able to cover fully all the features of this latest beta upgrade for Transmission as we've yet to see whether it'll be as popular as the earlier one. Yet, if it weren't for the drawback that it has an unreliable stat reporting, we guess this upgrade far surpasses any BitTorrent client predecessor. Best thing is it's just a few hundred kilobytes worth of download, so there's really nothing to lose if you try it.

Download: [Transmission v0.7 Beta]

Because the health of your MacBook is Apple's concern... lest that class-action lawsuit being organized by frustrated MacBrick owners get the better of Cupertino. The SMC Firmware for Intel MacBooks has been updated to v1.1 to cope with all of those MacBook shutdown problems. Apple recommends that all MacBook owners update their SMCs, even those who've sent their MacBricks to Apple for warranty repair.

Note that your Mac OS X should be 10.4.8 before you run this firmware update. If it isn't, get the OS X upgraded to 10.4.8.

Just like v1.0:

• Quit all other open applications.
• Click Restart in the MacBook SMC Firmware Update window and wait for your computer to restart.
  
• Click OK.

After everything's said and run, the SMC Version should read: 1.4f12.

Now, about that lawsuit. AppleInsider reported back in October that some owners of MacBricks, frustrated that their laptops would randomly shut down, are organizing a class action lawsuit demanding that Apple recall these "defective systems" screwing up their MacBooks - from the screwy logic boards to alarming heat sinks that don't sink enough heat. The problems keep recurring, they said, even after sending their notebooks back to Apple for repair.

Download: [SMC Firmware v1.1 update]