OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.5 update more than doubles 802.11ac file transfer speeds

Apple has just rolled out the latest update to Mountain Lion with fixes to a number of issues users have been experiencing lately. If you haven't already noticed the prompt, you'll find OS X version 10.8.5 is now available in your Software Update queue or directly from here.

The latest update is said to improve upon and fix a number of issues including file transfer performance over 802.11ac Wi-Fi. Some reports claim the 802.11ac file transfer speeds are more than doubled compared to in 10.8.4. Additionally, the update tackles recent problems with displaying messages in Mail and resolves an issue that was preventing screen savers from starting automatically on some machines.

Other updates with 10.8.5 include improved Xsan reliability, more stability with large file transfers over Ethernet, improved Open Directory server authentication, fixes with smart card integration in System Preferences and some of the additions that came along with the MacBook Air (Mid 2013) Software Update 1.0.

While today's offering brings some needed updates, most have their eye on OS X 10.9 Mavericks which Apple is widely expected to release as early as the end of next month.

Apple patches CPU power consumption bug in 2012 MacBooks

Apple has issued an update that addresses CPU-related power consumption issues with MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models released in June, including the 15-inch Retina display model. Details are slim on the 76.64MB update, but CNET reportsthat it contains new versions of the I/O kernel extensions and frameworks, the Dock application, and shared resources such as desktop pictures, user icons and system sounds. The patch also improves compatibility with certain USB devices interfering with Wi-Fi signals and causing other issues.

Unaddressed by today's update is an audio issue that arises when a 2012 MacBook is connected to an external display via Thunderbolt. A thread on Apple's support forum was created nearly a month ago and has accumulated over 100 replies with various related complaints. Users note that the MacBook's integrated speakers work fine, but they complain of intermittent static and crackling from the speakers in Apple's Thunderbolt Display.

Most of the complaints involve the 11 and 13-inch MacBook Air, though at least one person claims to have the issue with the Retina-equipped MacBook Pro. An exact cause remains unknown, but some folks believe that the adapter connecting Apple's new MagSafe 2 power connector to the Thunderbolt Display's power cord may be at fault. Others note that switching between audio outputs, reattaching all connections and/or restarting the offending program serves as a temporary workaround, but nobody has discovered a permanent solution.

Apple pulls products from EPEAT green electronics registry

Apple has withdrawn all of its products from the US government backed EPEAT environmental rating system it helped create. The move will have immediate effect and the Cupertino-based company will no longer submit devices for approval in the future, according to an announcement on EPEAT's website. 

The idea behind EPEAT, which stands for Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, is to ensure electronics are as kind to the environment as possible. Before a product is granted with a seal of approval many factors are considered, including energy consumption, recyclability, reparability and the environmental impact of processes and materials used to manufacture the device. It covers various consumer products including displays, notebooks and desktops.

"They said their design direction was no longer consistent with the EPEAT requirements," EPEAT CEO Robert Frisbee commented. "They were important supporters and we are disappointed that they don’t want their products measured by this standard anymore."

Electronics teardown site iFixit believes the move is likely the result of new design paradigms favoring smaller and lighter notebooks and longer battery life. For example, the latest Retina MacBook Pro is nearly impossible to disassemble and has a glued in battery that iFixit says would likely leak the highly toxic innards if removed incorrectly. The difficulties with reparability and recyclability would likely prevent certification of the new rMBP.

It is also possible Apple asked that previously certified models be removed from the national registry as the newer models now replacing them are unlikely to gain certification. Regardless of the reasoning it will prevent most federal agencies from purchasing non-approved products though, as around 95% of all electronics purchased are required to conform to the EPEAT standards.

Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne Agee speaking to the Wall Street Journal said he believes Apple is putting design first in its latest products. "They are not trying to purposely make it hard to open, they are just trying to pack as much as they can into a small space–it's a design decision." He also thinks Apple is likely to release alternative standards for its own products in the near future.

The US retailer's iPhone and iPad devices will likely remain unaffected by the decision as neither is subject to EPEAT approvals. Apple did not respond to requests for further comment.

Google Chrome causing new MacBook Air to crash

Owners of Apple's newly released MacBook Air have been experiencing persistent kernel panics on their systems, causing the laptop to freeze and crash.

The issue generated a lot of discussion on Apple's support communities among frustrated users and earlier this weekGizmodo reported that the general consensus pointed towards Google’s Chrome browser as the culprit.

Now a spokesperson for Google has finally come forward with an official statement acknowledging that it had found a "leak of graphics resources in the Chrome browser" and this had been causing the new MacBook Airs to crash. The company said it is working to fix the root of the leak, but in the meantime it has issued an auto-update release that will temporarily disable GPU acceleration features in Chrome.

We have identified a leak of graphics resources in the Chrome browser related to the drawing of plugins on Mac OS X. Work is proceeding to find and fix the root cause of the leak. The resource leak is causing a kernel panic on Mac hardware containing the Intel HD 4000 graphics chip (e.g. the new Macbook Airs). Radar bug number 11762608 has been filed with Apple regarding the kernel panics, since it should not be possible for an application to trigger such behavior.

While the root cause of the leak is being fixed, we are temporarily disabling some of Chrome's GPU acceleration features on the affected hardware via an auto-updated release that went out this afternoon (Thursday June 28). We anticipate further fixes in the coming days which will re-enable many or all of these features on this hardware.

Google’s response suggests that while Chrome may be inducing the crash, ultimately is an issue with Apple's drivers that allows for the kernel panic to be triggered. Apple hasn’t officially commented on the matter as far as we know, but according to one poster on Apple's support forums, a store employee told him that the company was aware of the problem and plans to release a patch soon.

Apple preparing to launch 15-inch MacBook Air in Q1 2012

Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Air models in the first quarter of 2012. The Air will be available in 11.6-inch, 13.3-inch and 15-inch panel sizes to compete directly with PC-based ultrabooks, according to information gathered byDigiTimes from upstream supply sources.

Sources also indicate that upstream players have already started early production runs of the new MacBook Air models and that the 15-inch Air will directly compete with ultrabooks. Apple will likely begin to drop prices on existing Air notebooks in their retail stores and online leading up to the refresh to move existing inventory.

Third party retailers like Best Buy have already slashed prices on the Air lineup. The 11.6-inch model with 64GB of storage is selling for $939.99, a $60 savings off the regular price. The 13.3-inch unit with double the storage capacity is $65 cheaper than normal. Prices could drop even lower as Q1 2012 approaches.

It’s unclear what other changes Apple has in store for the MacBook Air refresh. The company updated the Air lineup during the summer by adding Thunderbolt connectivity, Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors and backlit keyboards on all models.

The timing seems just about right as we could see as many as 50 ultrabooks on display at CES in January. Intel CEO Paul Otellini is set to give a keynote speech and officially launch the 22nm Ivy Bridge platform likely to be found in the majority of aforementioned ultrabooks. If we had to guess, the Air lineup will also get the Ivy Bridge treatment.

OWC launches 6Gbps replacement SSD for MacBook Air

Other World Computing has announced the release of the 6G Mercury Aura Pro Express, a replacement SSD for the 2011 MacBook Air that fully utilizes its SATA 3 (6Gbps) interface. Available in 120GB and 240GB capacities, the new drives combine a SandForce 2200-series controller with Tier 1/Grade A NAND memory to achieve up to 507MB/s read speeds and 454MB/s write speeds, which is about twice as fast as the stock drive in MBAs.

Apple ships its current MacBook Airs with SATA 3Gbps SSDs and doesn't promote SATA 6Gbps even though the hardware supports it. Since the ultra thin and light notebook uses a nonstandard SSD form factor, the typical 2.5-inch drives on the market can't be used as a replacement. OWC says that the new Aura Pro Express 6G SSD is the first and only 6Gbps SSD designed to work with both the 11.1-inch and 13.3-inch models of the new MacBook Air.

In addition, according to the company, it provides up to 100 times the data protection of an ordinary SSD by combining the highest level of Error Correction Code and SandForce RAISE technology, along with 7 percent overprovisioning.

The drive is available now at around $345 and $600 for the 120GB and 240GB models, respectively. A 480GB capacity model for the 2011 MacBook Air is supposedly planned but no date has been announced.