Apple on Thursday provided its developer community with a second private beta of its forthcoming Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard update in as many days, suggesting the software is rapidly approaching a release candidate.

Apple is putting the finishing touches on a pair of new products targeted at its professional customers, namely a larger version of its LED Cinema Display and a major update to its Mac Pro workstations, AppleInsider has been told.

Tablet devices, and more specifically Apple's iPad, are bound to forever alter the landscape for print and digital publishers, as evidenced by captivating concepts such as motion magazines like one being worked on by Alexx Henry Photography for Viv magazine (videos included).

With Apple's eBook-capable iPad looming ominously in the face Amazon's fledgeling electronic book business, the online bookseller on Thursday released a new application for Mac users as part of its ongoing bid to promote its proprietary Kindle platform and prevent defection of its existing user base to a emerging array of alternatives.

Former IBM chief financial officer and current Apple director Jerome York has been hospitalized in Pontiac, Michigan and is currently listed as being in critical condition.

Consumers seeking a protective film for the screen on their iPhone, iPod, iPad or Mac will soon have to look outside of Apple's retail stores, which will soon halt sales of the accessories indefinitely.

After roughly two years of declines, growth in worldwide market for desktop PC sales is poised to rebound into the black during the 2010 calendar year, thanks largely to Apple's latest iMac offerings, according to a published report.

Apple on Tuesday afternoon pushed out another private beta of Mac OS X 10.6.3, asking its developer community to test font compatibility and stability alongside a handful of other components that have been in need of evaluation for the past several weeks.

Writer and satirical "Fake Steve Jobs" blogger Dan Lyons will team with Emmy Award-winning writer and producer Larry Charles to develop a new half-hour sitcom set in Silicon Valley with an Apple-inspired name: "iCon."

In its first 74 days of availability, the Google Nexus One has sold an estimated 135,000 units, compared to 1 million in the same timeframe for the original iPhone, and 1.05 million for the Motorola Droid.

Apple, which takes up the the lion's share of global NAND flash memory supply, has been reluctant to negotiate with suppliers in 2010 due to high prices.

Steve Jobs' decade-long efforts to tear down an aging 17,250-square-foot mansion in Woodside, California, may be nearing an end, with a judge granting the Apple co-founder approval to demolish the home.

Despite the fact that it will be two years old this summer and now has more than 150,000 applications, Apple's App Store for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad remains a place where startups and independent software creators have a fair shot at success.

Enthusiasts tracking presales of the iPad believe Apple sold 120,000 units on its first day of availability, though excitement is estimated to have dropped considerably on days two and three.

Apple said this week that it will offer a Battery Replacement Service for its new iPad tablet that is similar to the one offered for iPhones and iPods, only this time the company plans to replace the entire device rather than swap out its depleted battery.

Although it's no secret that members of Microsoft's leadership frown upon employees who choose an Apple iPhone over one running the company's own Windows Mobile operating system, approximately 1 in 10 still veer towards the forbidden fruit and sometimes go to great lengths to conceal them on the job.

The introduction of the iPad Friday morning sold an estimated 50,000 units in two hours, and also bumped Apple's "hobby," the Apple TV, from the front page of its online store.

Apple revealed a minor tweak to the iPad hardware when preorders began Friday morning, with a button previously designated for audio muting changed to a "screen rotation lock."

Apple on Friday began accepting preorders for its multimedia iPad -- both the Wi-Fi and 3G models -- with reservations limited to two per customer and free hardware delivery on the April 3 launch date.

Apple Thursday evening released a new update to Safari for Mac and Windows, with the latest browser version improving its performance, stability and security.