Google is looking to bring a version of its Chrome OS app launcher to the Mac, possibly as an add-on to the Chrome browser, allowing users to access a slew of Web apps normally available only from within the

Chrome developer François Beaufort revealed on his Google+ page (via iMore) that the Internet search giant is working to bring the app launcher to Mac. 

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A recent spate of prank texts sent to a group of iOS developers has revealed a limitation in how Apple handles data sent through its iMessage service, which in some cases can crash the app if the incoming message is too long or contains overly complex characters.

As reported to The Next Web, iOS app developers iH8sn0w, well known for his jailbreak tool, and Grant Paul were among those targeted by a type of denial of service (DoS) attack that overwhelmed their respective Messages inboxes with a load of automatically-generated transmissions. 

The two devs believe the messages to have been sent one after another from the Messages app on OS X, with a simple AppleScript effecting the barrage that prompts a victim to constantly clear notifications and text. Read More

Reuters reports that Intel's move into contract manufacturing of chips for other companies suggests that Apple could become a future customer with its A-series chips for the iPhone and iPad, potentially reducing its reliance on arch-rival Samsung as a supplier.

A source close to one of the companies says Intel and Apple executives have discussed the issue in the past year but no agreement has been reached. Read More

In a support document published on Friday, Apple confirmed that it has blocked older versions of Flash to protect Safari users from recently discovered vulnerabilities in the web content player.

While Adobe has already fixed the flaws being exploited, Apple instituted the plug-in-blocking feature in its Safari web browser to safeguard users who may not have downloaded the latest patches. The change affects Macs running OS X Mountain Lion, Lion, and Snow Leopard. Read More

In line with last week's confirmation from Staples executives, the office supply giant has now begun offering Apple accessories in its U.S. online store. While the chain has long sold Apple products internationally, this marks the first time it has been able to reach an agreement with Apple for U.S. distribution.  Read More

Following last week's introduction of new processors for the Retina MacBook Pro lineup, Primate Labs has analyzed benchmarks coming in from the new machines through the company's popular Geekbench 2 software.  Read More

As noted by 9to5Mac, Apple has posted a job listing seeking a new software engineering manager focused on "next generation features for Apple TV".

The Apple TV team is looking for an experienced engineering manager to help deliver the next generation features for Apple TV. Bring your creative energy and engineering discipline, and help us bring the Apple experience to the Living Room. [...]  Read More

Apple today announced that it has updated its Retina MacBook Pro lineup with new processors, also moving to lower pricing across the board on the 13-inch models. Read More

Apple tonight quietly updated Mac Mountain Lion OSX Server to version 2.2.1. The once stand-alone $500+ OS is now just an app, and that app is distributed through the Mac App Store for a very reasonable $19.99.

Today’s update includes some updates around the Caching Server to allow Mac Apps to cache locally. Time Machine service monitoring also becomes more robust, while Wiki Server now supports Macs with Retina displays. Apple also includes the ability to use Active Directory groups within Profile Manager and an improved Centralized Certificate management interface. Read More

Mozilla Firefox officially gained support for Apple's Retina displays on Tuesday with the release of version 18 of the popular Web browser.

Firefox 18 is now available for download from Mozilla. It is compatible with OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or later, and requires at least 512 megabytes of RAM and 200 megabytes of hard drive space.

For Macs running OS X 10.7 Lion or OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, the latest version of Firefox adds support for the high-resolution Retina displays found in Apple's latest 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros. A beta version of Firefox with support for Retina displays had been in testing since November. Read More