MacRumors.com

Apple today released Pro Apps Update 2008-004 for users of Final Cut and Logic application packages. The update includes Final Cut Pro 6.0.5, Compressor 3.0.5, Color 1.0.3, and Shake 4.1.1.

While Apple's download page simply mentions that the update "addresses general performance issues and improves overall stability," further details on the changes included in these updates can be found in the accompanying release notes. The update weighs in at 149 MB and requires OS X 10.4.11 or 10.5.5.

It seems there was some interest in the previous post about discounts on the original 1.6GHz MacBook Air ($1149.99).

Our affiliate partner MacMall has since notified us that they are now offering the original 1.8GHz MacBook Air with 64GB SSD drive for $1749.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate. The original price when this model was first introduced in January was near $3000.

The current price of the high end 1.86GHz MacBook Air is $2,499, but you get a larger SSD drive (128GB) and a faster graphics card.

MacRumors financially benefits from these sales, but this was also felt to be of genuine interest.

Apple has issued a QuickTime H.264 Compatibility Update today which "improves QuickTime compatibility with iChat."

The 3.3MB download is available via Mac OS X's Software Update.

Stuff.tv reports a questionable rumor from a tipster they claim had "given us the goods on the PAYG iPhone before everyone else."

The claim is that Apple will be introducing an iPod "Stick" potentially at Macworld with the following features: "WiFi, Multitouch flex display and, er, a 7MP camera."

We're not quite sure what a "flex display" exactly is (aside from the obvious) and why you'd want one in an iPod "Stick".

Our affiliate partner MacMall notified us that they are now offering the original 1.6GHz MacBook Air with 80GB hard drive for $1149.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate.

This represents a significant drop in price for the 1st generation MacBook Air. The 1.6GHz model originally retailed for $1799 but has since been replaced by the NVIDIA-based MacBook Air that was introduced in October. Specs for the new machine are roughly similar, though, the graphics card has been upgraded to a faster NVIDIA integrated chipset.

The offer runs until the end of the month (or presumably when stock runs out).

MacRumors financially benefits from these sales, but this was also felt to be of genuine interest.

TechCrunch suggests and then dismisses the possibility that Apple may be building a search engine.

According to the site, they had heard some reports that Apple might be working on a search engine, but thus far the evidence does not seem to pan out:

But one important fact that isnÂ’t checking out - if Apple were building a search engine, theyÂ’d be hiring search experts and engineers. WeÂ’ve talked to a ton of them at all the big companies, and while some of them heard the same rumors, none have lost search employees to Apple, or heard of any specific hirings.

TechCrunch speculates that the rumors may simply be a product of Apple building a better mobile search interface without reinventing the entire search engine.

MacBlogz claims to have heard details of the iPhone tethering plan that AT&T is planning to offer. Not surprisingly, the details are nearly identical to the current tethering plans available for other smartphones from AT&T.

- 5GB Data Cap (just like Blackberry users) - AT&T will automatically turn off your tethering connection if you use too much bandwidth. Of note, the 5GB cap might get sliced for all users, not just iPhone users, in order to accommodate all new tethering plan customers (bandwidth demand).
- Expected speeds: GPRS: 30k - dialup speeds / EDGE: 110k - ISDN speeds / 3G: 1000k - slow broadband.
- Will be +$30/month, new iPhone plans may be rolled out with tethering rolled in.

Existing AT&T Smartphone users have similar plans available to them at this time.

Amidst rumors of doom and gloom for the tech market, analyst Trip Chowdhry claims that Apple will start selling iPhones at Costco for $149 starting in January.

The tone of the rest of the report indicates that the tech market is scaling back considerably due to the global economic downturn.

Many users have contacted us about the status of Apple's in-ear headphones. Apple announced the accessory at the September Let's Rock event with an expected availability date of "October."

Today, Apple's site still lists the accessory as "Coming Soon." Readers have reported Apple privately promising various shipping dates, though Apple has yet to publicly comment on the delay.

Apple today released iLife Support 8.3.1, a security update for iLife '08 users on OS X 10.4 Tiger.

iLife Support provides system software components shared by all iLife '08 applications. This update improves overall stability and addresses a number of other minor issues. It is recommended for all users for iLife '08.

According to the accompanying support article, the update addresses security issues that could be exploited by maliciously crafted TIFF or JPEG images. The update requires OS X 10.4.11 and weighs in at 11.7 MB. The issues addressed in this update were previously fixed for Leopard users in the OS X 10.5.5 update.

Macworld provides benchmarks for the new NVIDIA-based MacBook Air that was introduced in October.

Macworld found that benchmarks improved up to 39%, when comparing the new 1.86GHz MacBook Air (SSD) to the first generation 1.8GHz MacBook Air (HDD).

The new high-end Air posted a 39 percent higher Speedmark 5 score than that old CTO Air. It was also 28 percent faster in our Photoshop tests and 22 percent faster in our Cinema 4D testing. Compressor, iMovie and iTunes were faster on the new system, but not by as big of a margin. Again, the biggest gains for the new Air were in our game frame rate tests. The new Air was able to display 24.8 frames per second in our Quake 4 tests, as opposed to the older CTO AirÂ’s 3.9 fps - thatÂ’s more than a 6x improvement.

Unfortunately, many of these test results are likely skewed by the use of the SSD hard drive in the new MacBook Air, so it's difficult to isolate what is contributing to the improvement in scores.

Apple today released Digital Camera Raw Compatibility 2.3, bringing RAW support for several digital cameras to iPhoto '08 and Aperture 2.

This update extends RAW file compatibility for Aperture 2 and iPhoto Â’08 for the following cameras:

Canon EOS 50D
Nikon D90
Sony DSLR-A900
Nikon Coolpix P6000

It also addresses issues related to specific cameras and overall stability.

The update weighs in at 4 MB and requires OS X 10.4.11 or 10.5.3 or later.