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]

Motherboard manufacturers in Taiwan have an aggressive increase in orders for high-capacitance multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) used in the manufacturing of CPUs allegedly for the use in an AMD-based Apple notebook. With Intel getting in on the Apple action, there's no reason why the other major CPU manufacturer in the world shouldn't get a piece of the warm Apple pie. AMD Taiwan have refused to comment on this.

Although some are saying that an AMD Apple notebook is in the works, other motherboard manufacturers have claimed that there are no AMD/Apple notebooks around, firstly due to Intel having processor superiority over AMD with its latest Core Duo 2 line-up, and that AMD has insufficient capacity to manufacture chips for Apple notebooks.

This is a nice area to look at, and with the success of Boot Camp and the integration Intel processors, and if AMD processor integration goes ahead, Apple computers may steal a lot more of the notebook market, taking even more people away from their Windows laptop loyalties.

If this report is true, by 2007, we'll have a new contraption to tinker with and love. The China Times reported that Apple's hyped and anticipated iPod cell phone will arrive either on the late first quarter or early second quarter of 2007. According to the said report, the device will merge iPod technology with traditional cell phone capabilities and will reportedly sport a 2 mega pixel camera.

The report also mentioned that Foxconn will begin delivering around 500,000 - 600,000 iPhones per month beginning in February 2007, to the Steve Jobs camp, from their Fushikang manufacturing facility.

This indicates that the Apple mobile thingamajig will initially be available only in a single model. Aside from that, the makers of the iconic iPod reportedly enlisted the guidance and expertise of several component suppliers in the hope that they would bring fresh inputs and ideas to the table.

Some of these tapped "experts" is Foxconn's subsidiary AlusTech, which will be helping out in the fabrication of the digicam module; Largan, which will supply the camera lens; and Micron which will take care of the CMOS image sensor. There were also reports that big-time companies such as Intel, Sharp, Tripod Tech, Broadcom, and Sunrex will also be on board as they will help out in the memory, LCM display, circuit board, baseband chip and keypad. Surely, Apple is not taking any chances on this one.

And since the iPod has become so popular largely because of its sleek design, the Cupertino based company also asked for the help of Catcher Tech to mold and manufacture the phone's outer housing. 

With all that info, we think that the only missing tidbit here is the price tag. Let's wait for more developments as the days come by.

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.

Financial analyst company American Technology Research (ATR) says Apple is right for the picking if your shopping for stocks. Historically, the company's value skyrockets after its annual MacWorld Expo held at the start of the year. But ATR thinks the ship will launch even before.

According to ATR, Apple's stocks will continue to float thanks to the Mac and iPod record-setting sales during the September Quarter which is predicted to continue into the holiday shopping season. Included in Apples catalog of winners for the next quarter are the MacBook notebooks and the new MacBook Pro running on Intel's Core 2 Duo processors.

Fifth-generation iPod video sales aren't slacking off, either. Apple's aggressive pricing, improved battery life, higher video resolution, movie content and video games are some of the factors that continue to fuel the iCraze. "We believe improved video battery life, higher video resolution, movie content, and video games are helping drive sales," ATR said. "Nanos continue to rebound helped by lower price points, 24-hour battery life, multiple colors, and scratch-resistant casing."

Then there's the new entry-level iPod shuffle. The $79 iBargain could be the top selling iPod this quarter says ATR. All in all ATR forecasts Apple's last quarter fortune to be around US$6.1 billion in revenues from the estimated sales of14 million iPods and 1.8 million Macs.

What happens after year 2006? ATR says Apple will continue to be a crunchy investment with the launch of its Mac OS X Leopard, iTV, movie content partners beyond Disney, new iPod features including widescreen and wireless Bluetooth capability, and cell phones.

"Macarena", the song that you either loved (it was one of the biggest hits of 1996) or hated, has come back to haunt us. The good news: not as the song. The bad news: it has reincarnated into OSX.Macarena - a virus that targets client and server editions of Mac OS X 10.0.0 through 10.4.8.

Symantec says the current version has a lowest-possible threat rating and doesn't carry a malicious payload. But since the source code for the MacVirus has gone public, the company does not discount the possibility of more dangerous variants in the future.

OSX.Macarena targets some, but not all, Mac OS X Mach-O executables but does not infect PowerPC Mach-O binaries, nor Universal binaries for the PowerPC and Intel Mac platforms.

While the SANS Instituter's Internet Storm Center (ISC) said the Macarena MacVirus is "no big deal" it did say it should be taken as a warning to get anti-virus protection for Macs even if there are no viruses in the wild today.

Xcode 2.4.1 - the latest version of Apple Computer's integrated development environment for Mac OS X - has been released. Xcode is a user-friendly app that contains all the tools necessary to create, debug, and optimize Universal applications for both Intel and PowerPC platforms.

This update features bugfixes for a number of issues found in previous versions of Xcode including:

• Stability and security fixes in the Xcode IDE, cctools, debugger, and compiler
• CHUD has been updated to version 4.4.3.
• The 10.3.9 and 10.4u SDKs have been updated

The full Xcode package is is bundled with Interface Builder, AppleScript Studio, Java development support, and WebObjects development tools, among many others. For the latest Xcode information see the Xcode updated release notes page. It is available free to ADC members.

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]

According to German website MacGadget.de, we could actually already expect the supposed MacBook Pro upgrades as early as this week. There's a lot of updates, but one of the more anticipated is the Core 2 Duo chips that will be running at speeds of up to 2.33GHz dual-core.

Other things Apple watchers might want to look forward to would be twice the size of the main memory, larger drives, FireWire 800, and faster DVD-burners (with Dual Layer support). What's the catch? Well, aside from the release date being a rumor, there isn't any catch. In fact, there won't even be a change in price.

Here's to hoping that Apple rolls out these new babies soon. And let's all pray that they also do something about the hardware discoloration that's quite common these days. But maybe, that's asking too much. We'd rather have a Core 2 Duo than a non-peeling notebook anytime (like this week, perhaps).

This should spark some debates among the die-hard Apple-addicts reading this. Analyst house Gartner says that if Apple wants long-term success, it should do what game firm Sega did in response to the Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox. In case you're not a gamer, what Sega did was to retire from the game console manufacturing business and concentrate on software publishing and development.

Yep. In an ambitious analytical report, entitled "Apple Should License the Mac to Dell," Gartner is suggesting exactly that. Apple licenses Mac-making to Dell, and quit hardware manufacturing altogether, to concentrate on OS and software.

Why, oh why must Cupertino give up on those little bundles of computing joy to Dell? Same reason Sega bailed on their Dreamcast: competition. In Apple's case, Gartner believes that increasing market pressure will cut into Apple's profit margins with the Mac. This is because Apple is recently using Intel chips, which is also a big reason for a surge in Mac popularity, says Gartner. They also say that Intel, as a component maker, effectively "subsidizes" Apple production.

But with pricing pressure from other computer firms like HP, Gartner believes that Intel "cannot go on supporting Apple (or any other customer) indefinitely." Instead, Apple could license Mac production over to Dell - which also uses Intel chips, and is "Intel's closest ally" - which has a more robust production and marketing infrastructure in place. The firm even believes that by doing so, Mac OS could capture 20% of the market, and Macs themselves could become more affordable.

Will Steve Jobs take heed? Silicon.com's conclusion is that he's not worried much about Apple's position in the market - or about the competition either. Most likely not, in that case. Nothing in the report either about other Apple hardware, like the iPod and upcoming iTV. What do you guys think?