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As expected, Apple on Thursday afternoon provided its vast developer community with the first pre-release builds of Mac OS X 10.5.5, but warned developers not to use the software with Macs that contain integrated graphics chips. "Do not install on...

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Freeware, Apple, iPhone, App Store

A few App Store apps have already gotten the public browbeating for tweaking their prices, and here's another: as Johnathan notes, there's a new app on the top of the heap in the paid pile, and apparently the only reason "Units Convertor" (sic) is there is because it used to be free.

We can't necessarily call them out for switching just to sit on top -- what would you do if you had a free app that was being downloaded like crazy and decided you wanted to make some money from it? But being that free apps far outweigh paid apps in terms of distribution, even the #21 free app can quickly jump to the top of the paid pile. We've already posted about how developers might be getting a raw deal out of the App Store (and some publishers have told us personally that they agree), but the economics are very interesting in there right now -- you've got a basically free economy, and considering that most of the apps out now are easy to make, it's just as likely that you'll see a free version of an app that does the same thing as a paid app.

Of course, what's happening in there actually mirrors what's happening out here with software: some of the best applications around are actually being given away for free. We're still in a strange place with the App Store and its pricing, and you have to think that eventually things will settle down and the developers who deserve to get paid will.

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Apple could boost its least expensive iPod this fall with a redesign and 4GB of storage, according to one report. Also, Quark has shipped a major overhaul of its long-running publishing software, the iFund is now backing a game developer, and Apple ...

Filed under: OS, Rumors

AppeInsider is reporting that developers may receive their seeds of Mac OS X 10.5.5 as soon as this weekend, calling it a "maintenance and security update." They go on to say that the 10.5.5 Leopard update could provide support for those new notebooks we've been hearing about.

Apple released their last update (10.5.4) on June 30th. 10.5.4 included bug fixes and provided the framework for Apple's MobileMe webservice.

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Filed under: iPhone, SDK

CrunchGear notes that a version of the iPhone Push Notification Service API has been released to "a handful" of developers, and, according to them, will "surely" be released to everyone when iPhone OS 2.1 is released.

If you remember our WWDC keynote coverage (around 11:05 a.m.), the Push Notification Service maintains a connection with third party servers to alert you via an icon badge, custom sounds, or text alerts.

An app that uses this feature isn't really running in the background, but instead sort of registering itself with a metaphorical "hotel operator" that lives in your phone. Once there's something new to tell you, the hotel operator notifies you.

Hopefully this has little effect on battery life, but without actual, real-world use, it's hard to say.

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Apple is now offering registered iPhone developers with daily download statistics on how well their applications are doing in the App Store.

Before today, most developers had been left in the dark about their applications performance...

Filed under: Retail, Flickr Find

North Carolinians can start to polish up their credit cards, as the long-awaited Greensboro Apple Store (to be located at The Shops at Friendly Center, a heck of a nice place to spend your money) is now underway. The Iconfactory's Ged Maheux was kind enough to send us this parking-lot snapshot of the site -- looks like a big one.

ifoAppleStore had a midsummer target for the Greensboro store to open, which seems optimistic bordering on impossible at this point. A commenter on Ged's blog hinted that the delay in construction may have been the result of a proximity dispute; Apple is a bit picky about which stores can cohabit with the glass wonderlands, and now that the neighborhood is up to snuff the project is underway.

By the way, if you've ever wondered what the offices (and the denizens) of the Iconfactory really look like, you can catch a glimpse via this local news report on the company.

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