Operating systems

In addition to firmware updates for MacBook systems and updates for iPhoto, Aperture, iOS, and Mountain Lion, Apple has issued security updates for both OS X Snow Leopard and Lion.

The updates should be available via Software Update for systems running their respective operating systems, but they can also be downloaded from the Apple Support downloads pages for the respective updates:

OS X Lion Update 10.7.5 Server Combo (1.99GB) OS X Lion Update 10.7.5 Server (1.22GB) OS X Lion Update 10.7.5 Client Combo (1.91GB) OS X Lion Update 10.7.5 Client (… Read more

Apple has built into iOS 6 a new toggle that will let you prevent advertisers from hitting you with targeted ads, but slow implementation of its new Advertising Identifier number means you could still see targeted ads on your iPhone for the foreseeable future.

First reported by 9to5Mac, the Limit Ad Tracking option is designed to prevent advertisers from tracking your behavior on the phone. It's a lot like a phone-based version of Do Not Track, except one that advertisers will be forced to obey since iOS is a proprietary system.

The toggle is available in iOS 6 general … Read more

CNET's review for the iPhone 5 is here! Make sure to check back and see our review of iOS 6 as soon as it becomes publicly available.

Editors' note:This First Take was originally posted on June 11, 2012, at the time of the WWDC Keynote. We are updating this post with changes to the iOS announced today at the Apple event.

During the Apple event today, the company announced the latest version of the operating system that powers its popular mobile devices. Scott Forstall, Apple's SVP of iOS, promises that iOS 6 will bring 200 new features, including tighter Facebook integration, an empowered Siri voice assistant, and the capability to conduct FaceTime calls over a cellular network.

Yet, it's Apple's new Maps app that was easily the star of the show. Created by the company, the app finally adds turn-by-turn directions along with info cards for businesses, a "flyover mode" when searching for an address, and a full 3D satellite view that displays buildings, terrain, and landmarks. There will be much more, of course, but even at this early point it's clear that Apple has filled a few gaping holes on our iOS wish list.… Read more

Parallels Desktop 8 has been made available for public purchase, offering faster graphics and improved startup and resume times over previous versions. If you need to run Windows or any other operating system on your Mac, then while dual booting is arguably the fastest and most stable option for executing code, another approach that perhaps has more utility is virtualization, where you can open a window to the hardware on your system and allow a second operating system to run simultaneously.

In the past week, the developers for the top two commercial virtualization programs for OS X (VMWare Fusion and … Read more

Windows 8 ships with some absolutely gorgeous apps. Navigating through News, Travel, or Weather, it's hard to deny the rich and colorful depiction of content. While its four core productivity apps are equally pretty, they're woefully inadequate in their current state for getting things done.

First off is the all-important Mail app. This is not a service-specific tool for grabbing only your Microsoft mail but a wide net to cast for juggling all your e-mail. It currently supports Microsoft's Hotmail and Outlook, as well as Google accounts and "Other" for non-Webmail accounts It's a … Read more

Both Parallels and VMware have announced the availability of the next versions of their popular virtualization software for running Windows and other operating systems within OS X. VMware Fusion 5 is available for download today, and the next version of Parallels Desktop will be released very soon on September 4.

Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion are two of several available options for running guest operating systems within OS X so you can use applications and services supported for those operating systems along with your OS X applications without having to leave OS X and boot directly to them. This approach … Read more

Generally when Apple releases a major upgrade to OS X, it quickly follows with an update to tackle some of the immediate and outstanding bugs with the software. The time frame for this update has been between 13 days (for Snow Leopard) to 26 days (for Lion), and while Mountain Lion has gone for about a month so far in its initial release, the first update is now available and addresses pertinent problems with Thunderbolt audio noise and Mail accounts not working, among other issues.

One problem that people have reported with OS X 10.8 is an audio noise issue … Read more

In 2009, J.J. Abrams rebooted the fictional Star Trek chronology and franchise. In 2011, DC Comics did the same with its superheroes. But now Microsoft is about to reboot the very real Windows operating system, and it will forever change how we use computers.

Windows 8 is Microsoft's answer to the question of how to integrate mobile and desktop computing. For the most part, it succeeds, but it's an ambitious answer that will be best understood only when many people to stop thinking of desktop and mobile as discrete entities.

Touch will drive Windows 8's buzz, … Read more

The term "Metro" is officially verboten as the name for Microsoft's Windows 8 interface. The question is: why?

The folks in Redmond recently revealed that the term is off limits, at first claiming it was just a code name but then apparently fessing up that the dumping of Metro was due to legal reasons.

As described by ZDNet columnist Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft seemed to run into brand name issues with a European partner called Metro Group. And apparently Microsoft was unable or simply disinclined to resolve those issues.

The ban on the term "Metro" … Read more