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 feature an anti-reflective glass display, and it should be slimmer and lighter than the current units. Apple’s iMac lineup was last updated in May 2011 with Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors, a high-speed Thunderbolt port and a high-definition FaceTime camera.

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A redesigned family of Apple’s iMac computers may feature anti-reflective displays, DigiTimes reported on Monday. The Taiwanese publication claimed that G-Tech is ramping up its production capacity of cover glass from 1.8 million units a month to 3 million units, and the company is estimated to produce up to 30% of the total cover glass orders for Apple’s iPad in 2012. According to “industry sources,” G-Tech is also expected to supply anti-reflective glass for Apple’s iMac lineup, which will expand the company’s growth within the industry. The next-generation iMacs are rumored to arrive in the second half of the year, and they will reportedly be slimmer and lighter than the current models.

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Apple has reportedly scheduled mass production of its new 15-inch MacBook Pro to begin in April, and production of a new 13.3-inch model will ramp up in June, according to a report from Digitimes. The site’s unnamed sources from Apple’s supply chain said that the Cupertino-based company has ordered a far greater number of 13.3-inch models than 15-inch laptops, and it is anticipating higher demand for the smaller device. The source also indicated that the 15-inch model’s monthly production capacity is expected to start with between 100,000 and 150,000 units and rise gradually. The Taiwanese publication has previously reported that Apple will launch an ultra-thin 15-inch MacBook laptop with Air-like features as early as the second quarter of 2012.

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Apple’s stock recently crossed the $600 mark and there are no signs that the world’s most valuable company is slowing down. According to a poll from CNBC, half of all U.S. households own at least one Apple product and residents of one-in-10 homes that lack Apple products plan to buy their first Apple device over the next year. If accurate, the survey indicates that more than 55 million homes have at least one iPhone, iPad, iPod or Mac computer. Overall, the average household has 1.6 Apple devices and almost one-quarter are planning to buy at least one more in the next year. The survey also showed that the majority of Apple buyers tend to be male, college-educated and younger. Not surprisingly, the more money someone earns, the more Apple products he or she is likely to own according to the survey. Interestingly enough, 61% of households with children own an Apple device, compared with 48% of homes without kids. CNBC conducted the survey with 836 Americans alongside Hart Research between March 19th and March 22nd.

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Rovio on Monday announced that the company’s latest Angry Birds installment has been downloaded 10 million times in less than three days. Angry Birds Space launched last Thursday on iOS and Android devices, as well as on OS X and Windows PCs. In the fourth major Birds release, users are faced with new challenges such as zero-gravity planets and new gameplay features like slow-motion and lightspeed destruction. The game has over 60 levels, including some hidden ones, and Rovio has promised that it will receive content updates in the future. Since the game’s release, fans have dubbed it the best Birds game since the original.

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Apple on Friday released OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Developer Preview 2 to OS X developers. According to TheNextWeb, the Cupertino-based company also posted an extensive list of known issues and bugs within the latest operating system. This second OS X 10.8 release comes exactly one month after Apple announced Mountain Lion, introducing developers to iMessage on Mac computers, a new Notification Center, Game Center integration, AirPlay mirroring, enhanced iCloud support and a number of redesigned apps.

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How To Arena on Thursday cited a “reliable source in the Far East Asian supply chain” who claims Apple is planning to release a new, thinner 15-inch MacBook Pro by the end of April. The rumor corresponds with a report from Wednesday and an earlier rumor from DigiTimes. The reports differ in one key area, however, with confusion surrounding whether the 15-inch model will be an ultra-thin MacBook Pro with Air-like features or a 15-inch MacBook Air model. According to How To Arena‘s source, the new 15-inch MacBook Pro will be powered by Intel’s upcoming Ivy Bridge Core i5 and Core i7 processors, and will be “thicker than currently available MacBook Airs but thinner than MacBook Pros.” A late April launch jibes with earlier rumors, and Intel plans to unveil its new 22nm Ivy Bridge processors “on or around” April 8th.

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Apple is reportedly planning to launch a new 15-inch MacBook Air notebook PC in April. The report from Electricpig cites a “premium Mac accessory maker,” who claims a new 15-inch model will feature ports on both sides, with no optical drive or Ethernet port. A 15-inch Air model has been rumored before — DigiTimes previously reported that a 15-inch model was slated to launch in the first quarter of 2012 alongside a new 11-inch and 13-inch model. The Taiwanese publication, however, has also reported that an ultra-thin 15-inch MacBook with Air-like features would launch in the second quarter this year.

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Facebook’s Messenger app for Windows 7 computers leaked to the public late last year. The service was initially in a beta phase, but as of Monday it’s been officially released. Facebook previously created a Messenger app for iOS and Android smartphones, which allowed users to quickly chat with friends, share their location or photos and more. The desktop version, unfortunately, does not feature video chat and is limited to Windows 7, although Facebook is “working on making the app available for more operating systems, so stay tuned.”

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Apple has updated the company’s iTunes Match service to include 19 additional countries. The list includes Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Guatemala, Honduras, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela, bringing iTunes Match availability to 37 markets in total. Apple debuted the iTunes Match service late last year. For an annual charge, customers can scan and match tracks from their iTunes libraries and replace them with tracks in the iTunes Store and store them in iCloud. Apple lets customers download up to 25,000 tracks without DRM restrictions, with the ability to match any track in a supported audio file format.

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Apple is poised to release updated models of its Mac Pro and Mac mini computers at the end of July or the first week of August, according to Tweets from one CNET editor. Both families are expected to be updated with Intel Sandy Bridge processors as well as the new Thunderbolt I/O ports. Unfortunately, there still isn’t a whole lot of information on what other hardware or changes will be offered in the refresh, but CNET does say that the new computers will be preloaded with OS X Lion. The rumor is in line with the Cupertino-based firm’s past refresh history: Apple last updated its Mac Pro line on July 27th, when it introduced its new 12-core models, and the Mac mini was last refreshed on June 15th, 2010.

[Via 9to5 Mac]

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Mac users have recently been targeted by a phishing scam that falsely claimed their computers were infected with a virus. Upon being redirected to an illegitimate website, users were instructed to install “Mac Defender,” which was malware masquerading as an antivirus application. Until recently, Apple had reportedly instructed its AppleCare support reps to deny any existence of the problem and said reps should “not remove or uninstall any malware” found on a computer. On Tuesday, however, Apple finally acknowledged the issue and posted instructions on its support forums that cover how to avoid and remove the Mac Defender malware. Hit the jump for Apple’s instructions.

Removal steps

• Move or close the Scan Window
• Go to the Utilities folder in the Applications folder and launch Activity Monitor
• Choose All Processes from the pop up menu in the upper right corner of the window
• Under the Process Name column, look for the name of the app and click to select it; common app names include: MacDefender, MacSecurity or MacProtector
• Click the Quit Process button in the upper left corner of the window and select Quit
• Quit Activity Monitor application
• Open the Applications folder
• Locate the app ex. MacDefender, MacSecurity, MacProtector or other name
• Drag to Trash, and empty Trash

[Via The Register]

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On Wednesday Microsoft confirmed with enthusiast blog LoopinSight that it will launch Service Pack 1 for Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 next week. The update will reportedly include performance enhancements, as well as security and stability fixes, but it will also include major changes for Outlook for Mac. After applying the software patch, users will be able to sync their Outlook calendars, tasks, notes, and contacts with Apple’s Sync Services, and it includes support for CalDAV calendars. The update will also add a new redirect and resend buttons. iPhone and iPod touch devices will also stay in sync, Pat Fox, Microsoft’s senior director of product management told The Loop. Service Pack 1 does come with one caveat, though: users will not be able to use Sync Services to sync with the MobileMe calendar beginning on May 5th.

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Apple has released OS X 10.6.7 for Mac computers, and it includes some stability, performance, and security enhancements. It also fixes display issues that have been plaguing early 2011 MacBook Pro models. The update should make the Back to My Mac software more reliable, resolves some issues that occurred while transferring files to SMB servers, addresses bugs related to FaceTime performance and the Mac App Store, and improves graphics stability and display compatibility when using your MacBook Pro with an external monitor. The entire update should be roughly 390MB in size and can be downloaded through Snow Leopard’s software update utility.

Following reports last week stating that Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac was nearing release, Microsoft today made its OS X connector software available to the public. The software, currently available as a beta, allows users to connect their Windows Phone 7-powered devices to Mac computers and synchronize multimedia content. To make the process as familiar as possible, Microsoft’s Connector syncs phones with music, videos and photos already present in users’ iTunes and iPhoto libraries, so no additional cataloging is necessary. Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac requires OS X 10.5 or higher and is available directly from Microsoft’s website.

[Via Mac Rumors]

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