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Apple has posted a support document outlining a number of recent changes made to its MobileMe subscription service. Among the more significant changes are the ability to maintain rich text formatting when replying to or forwarding messages, the ability for iPhone and iPod touch users to search all messages (including those stored in the MobileMe "cloud"), and the ability to merge contacts and calendars during first sync with an iPhone or iPod touch.

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Mail
- Forwarding or replying to HTML (rich text) messages maintains the message’s original formatting instead of converting it to plain text
- Unread message count is displayed next to inbox and each folder
- Resolves an issue where an email alias may not appear correctly in Mac OS X Mail
- On an iPhone or iPod touch, a user can search all messages including those stored on the Mobileme "cloud" (server). Search in the From, To, and Subject fields is supported (iPhone OS 3.0 required)

Gallery
- iPhone 3GS users can publish videos to a Gallery album
- If no Gallery albums exist, an album is automatically created when publishing a photo or video from iPhone (iPhone OS 3.0 is required)

iDisk
- Uploading to a Public folder with a web browser correctly shows completion status
- Resolves an issue where an email address may not be recognized as valid when using file sharing

Account
- Resolves an issue preventing the setup of some personal domains for iWeb hosting
- Resolves an issue preventing some expired accounts from being converted to Family Pack sub-accounts
- Active accounts with no upgrades can be converted to Family Pack sub-accounts

Push Contacts and Push Calendar
Note: iPhone OS 3.0 is required for these improvements.
- Option to merge existing contacts and calendars on first sync from iPhone/iPod touch
- Deleting a MobileMe account or turning off contact and calendar sync on iPhone/iPod touch allows users to keep a copy of the data on the device
- iPhone contacts that sync with MobileMe maintain ring tone associations

Apple today released iPhoto 8.0.4 Update, addressing an issue with crashing after upgrading from an older version and making minor corrections to items in the "Places" functionality of iPhoto.

This update addresses a rarely encountered issue involving photos imported into a previous version that could affect overall stability, and corrects references to a few points of interest and location names that were labelled incorrectly.

The update is recommended for all users of iPhoto '09.

The update weighs in at 102.27 MB and requires OS X 10.5.6 or later.

Apple today released MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update 1.2, adding support for new replacement batteries for the Late 2008 MacBook Air. Apple does not provide any additional details on these batteries.

This SMC firmware update adds compatibility for the latest service replacement batteries.

For more information, please visit
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2368

Users should follow the installation instructions provided in the download package. The update weighs in at 623 KB and requires OS X 10.5.7.

Legendary music artist Michael Jackson, who passed away yesterday at the age of 50, is currently dominating the U.S. iTunes Store's list of top albums. Jackson's albums currently hold the top seven spots, led by the greatest hits compilation The Essential Michael Jackson [iTunes Store, $16.99] and Thriller [iTunes Store, $9.99], the biggest selling album of all-time with worldwide sales figures estimated at over 100 million.


Over a dozen other albums from Michael Jackson and various projects he participated in are also included on the broader Top 100 Albums list.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Bob Borchers, Apple's senior director of worldwide product marketing for the iPhone, has left the company to become a general partner at venture capital firm Opus Capital.

Borchers, 43, had been at Apple since 2004 working on products such as the iPod and iPhone and had even appeared in some company videos about the iPhone. A former executive at Nokia and Nike, he said working at Apple was "amazing" but that the venture capitalists at Opus offered him an opportunity to join and make investments in mobile technologies.

Borchers gained some fame among Apple fans as the host of the guided tour video for the original iPhone back in 2007.

Apple today released Time Capsule and AirPort Base Station Firmware Update 7.4.2, addressing several networking issues.

The Time Capsule, AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n* Firmware 7.4.2 update provides several fixes, including:

- Fixes some problems with extending and maintaining connectivity with extended networks
- Fixes an issue with clients that enable 802.11 "Power Save"
- Fixes connectivity issues with some third-party devices
- Fixes an issue when the base station is configured for PPPoE
- Fixes some Back To My Mac issues with connectivity and support for third-party routers

As described in the support document covering Time Capsule, AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Express base station firmware updates, users should launch AirPort Utility in order to download and install the updates. Apple recommends that users have AirPort Utility 5.4.2 installed on their computers before they attempt to apply the 7.4.2 update.

Apple today released Final Cut Pro 6.0.6, which addresses issues with real-time playback in Early 2009 Mac Pros and Xserves. The release notes specify that the issue occurs when working with "complex sequences or high-bandwidth media formats."

The update weighs in at 19.15 MB and requires OS X 10.5.5 or later and an existing installation of Final Cut Pro 6.

Apple has seeded another new version of OS X 10.5.8 to developers, signaling continued development on what may be the final update to Leopard before OS X Snow Leopard ships in September. According to the seed notes published by World of Apple, the new version, Build 9L16, adds ten new documented fixes over the previous seed issued late last week. Changes include fixes for bugs in Bluetooth device operation and USB webcam streaming, as well as addressing freezing of the AirPort (Advanced) portion of the Network System Preferences pane.

The seed notes also list 18 focus areas upon which developers are asked to concentrate their testing efforts. One outstanding known issue, a System Preferences bug that appears on Early 2009 Mac Pros with attached USB audio devices, is also documented.

MacRumors forum member djrayz arrived at the Apple Store at Valley Fair in San Jose, California early this morning to purchase an iPhone 3G S and found that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was already there participating in the experience. After chatting with the store manager for a while, Wozniak asked if he could have the first spot in line, and the crowd permitted him to do so.



The Apple Store staff ended up opening the store over an hour early, at which point Wozniak purchased his iPhone 3G S and continued mingling with customers. Several MacRumors also had their iPhone 3G S boxes autographed by Woz.

Apple today released Bluetooth Firmware Update 2.0 for all Macs with Bluetooth based on Broadcom chipsets.

This update provides bug fixes and better compatibility with the Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse and Apple Wireless Keyboard.

It installs on all Macintosh systems with Bluetooth based on the Broadcom chipset.

The update weighs in at 1.78 MB and requires OS X 10.5.7.

Apple today released Safari 4.0.1, a minor update to Apple's Web browser, via Software Update. The update resolves several issues related to integration with iPhoto '09.

This update addresses incompatibilities between Safari 4.0 and certain features in iPhoto '09, including Places and Facebook publishing.

Safari 4.0.1 is not yet available through Apple's download page.

The official public version of Safari 4 was released earlier this month, bringing a number of new features to the browser application, including speed increases, Top Sites, Full History Search, Cover Flow, and support for HTML 5 and advanced CSS Effects.

Microsoft today released three updates targeted at users of Office for Mac primarily addressing a security issue that could be exploited using a maliciously crafted Word file.

- Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.9 (268 MB)

The Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.9 Update improves security. It includes fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of a computer's memory by using malicious code. In addition, this update readies Office 2008 for Mac for the installation of Microsoft Entourage 2008 for Mac Web Services Edition. It must be installed before Entourage 2008 Web Services Edition is installed.

- Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.5.5 (59 MB)

The Office 2004 for Mac 11.5.5 Update contains changes that improve security. Additionally, this update includes fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of a computer's memory by using malicious code.

- Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 1.0.3 (45 MB)

Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 1.0.3 includes fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of a computer's memory by using malicious code.

Open XML File Format Converter is used to convert files in Office 2007/2008 formats so that they can be opened, edited and saved in earlier versions of Office.