Strong orders of Apple’s next-generation MacBook laptops are causing labor shortages within the Cupertino, California-based consumer electronics company’s Asian supply chain, a recent report claims. Citing multiple unnamed sources, Digitimes on Monday reports that heavier than expected MacBook orders have created labor shortages so serious at some Apple suppliers that they have been forced to outsource orders to meet shipment schedules. The report notes that May and June are typically slower month...

Unreleased versions of Apple’s MacBook Pro and iMac computers have appeared in a Geekbench database maintained by benchmark testing software provider Primate Labs. Designated as “MacBookPro9,1″ and “iMac13,2,” a number of preliminary specifications for each model have been revealed in the publicly available test results, which were first uncovered by forum members posting to MacRumors. Apple’s upcoming laptop and all-in-one desktop computers have long been expected to fe...

Apple is reportedly preparing to launch a new 15-inch MacBook Pro laptop with a high-resolution Retina display and a new ultra-thin design. Citing anonymous sources within Apple’s supply chain who have supposedly handled parts from the upcoming notebook computer, 9to5Mac claims the new Ivy Bridge-powered MacBook Pro model will launch this summer. In line with earlier reports, the new MacBook Pro is said to be thinner than the existing 15-inch notebooks but thicker than Apple’s MacBook Air lineup. ...

Apple on Wednesday released the latest update to its OS X Lion operating system, OS X 10.7.4. Along with a number of minor bug fixes and a security update to address a vulnerability in FileVault, the update included behind-the-scenes changes that will pave the way for future Macs with high-resolution Retina displays, according to Apple Insider. The Cupertino-based company has updated a number of apps — including the built-in TextEdit app — with double-resolution icons, increasing their sizes from 512 x 51...

NPD Group on Thursday released the results of its Apple Ecosystem Study, which suggests that almost 25% of U.S. iPad owners are first-time Apple buyers. The firm’s data, as reported by AppleInsider, indicated that 33% of U.S. households own Apple products, with a majority owning an iPod. That number is growing beyond the 37 million American households the Cupertino-based company’s products are already found in, thanks to Apple’s flagship tablet. “iPad sales are growing much faster than...

Apple announced on Wednesday that its annual Worldwide Developer Conference will take place from June 11th through June 15th this year in San Francisco, California. The company made tickets available at around 8:30 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, and they were sold out within two hours, likely before most West Coast-based developers even woke up. Tickets are not transferable this year and as such, developers who didn’t manage to secure a ticket don’t have many options. One man, however, found a way around ...

Security firm Intego on Monday announced that it had discovered a new variant of the Flashback malware called Flashback.S that continues to use a Java vulnerability Apple has already patched. This variant requires no password to install, and it places its files into the user’s home folder in “~/Library/LaunchAgents/com. java.update.plist” and “~/.jupdate.” Once Fashback.S is installed, it will then delete all files and folders in “~/Library/Caches/Java/cache” in order to ...

Security firm Sophos on Tuesday indicated that a surprisingly high level of malware has been found on Mac computers — the firm’s research revealed that one in every five Mac computers is harboring some kind of Windows malware. Of the 100,000 customers sampled through Sophos’s antivirus offerings, 20% of users were found to be carrying one or more instances of Windows malware. The firm highlighted that Windows malware on a Mac won’t cause any harm, however, unless the computer also runs a W...

The “Flashback” virus discovered to have infected more than 600,000 Mac computers earlier this month originated on a series of WordPress blogs, security experts have determined. According to Alexander Gostev, head of the global research and analysis team at Kaspersky, the virus began as a trojan hidden within a fake Adobe software update. In March, however, the malware’s creators repackaged the virus in a “drive-by attack” that infected users’ Apple computers when they visi...

Apple responded fairly quickly to news that more than 600,000 Mac computers were infected with a trojan virus called “Flashback.” One week after the massive botnet was discovered, Apple issued an update fixing the Java vulnerability that allowed Flashback to infect the machines, as well as a removal tool for affected machines. Despite the company’s efforts, Symantec stated on Tuesday evening that approximately 140,000 OS X PCs were still infected with the virus at that time. “The stati...

The idea that Macs don’t get viruses is now officially a thing of the past. Of course Mac malware has been around for years, but now a massive botnet has been discovered that takes this relatively small issue and makes it a widespread problem. While hackers indeed target Windows PCs far more frequently, a trojan horse virus discovered earlier this year has reportedly now been found to affect more that half a million Mac computers worldwide. Russian anti-virus vendor Dr. Web has discovered that malware c...

Apple is reportedly planning to refresh its iMac family of computers with Intel’s 22nm-based Core i5 and Core i7 Ivy Bridge processors in June or July, How To Arena reported on Wednesday, citing a “reliable tipster” in Apple’s supply chain. The Cupertino-based company is also reportedly ramping up production in preparation for thinner 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro models, which will use the same Ivy Bridge processors. Previous rumors have suggested that Apple’s redesigned iMac would...

J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz has made “significant increases” to both his iPhone and iPad sales projections for the first quarter of 2012, raising his price target on Apple stock from $625 to $715, Apple Insider reported on Tuesday. The analyst previously estimated that Apple would ship 28.1 million iPhones in the first quarter of 2012, however he now believes shipments will reach 31.1 million units. Full-year iPhone shipments for 2012 are now expected to total 138.2 million units. Moskowitz...

The world’s most valuable company is showing no signs of slowing down, and numerous industry watchers believe Apple will continue to grow despite increased competition from rivals like Samsung. Topeka Capital Markets, new home to analyst Brian White, on Monday initiated coverage of Apple with a Buy rating and a sky-high $1,001 price target. “Driven by an ever expanding portfolio of innovative products, a growing integrated digital grid, unmatched aesthetics and a brand that is able to touch the so...