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Apple News and Brief History

Before you can properly understand Apple News, it’s important to know its history. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976. In 1977, Apple’s sales were growing with the success of its early computers. Within a few years, Jobs and Wozniak hired designers and a production line crew. Apple went public in 1980 and was an instant success. Over the next few years, Apple shipped new computers featuring new graphical user interfaces, such as the original Macintosh in 1984. As the market for personal computers expanded through the 1990s, Apple lost market share to the cheaper Microsoft Windows on PC clones. Eventually, Wozniak and Jobs both left Apple. Jobs would go on to found NeXT and would return to Apple when NeXT was acquired in the late 90s. Apple then began a journey to the great second act in the history of the business world.

Since the release of the iPod in 2001, Apple has become a major player once again in the technology industry. After releasing the iPhone in 2007, the iPad in 2010, and the Apple Watch in 2015, Apple is now one of the largest companies in the world. Apple’s worldwide annual revenue totaled $274.5 billion for its 2020 fiscal year.

Today, Apple operates retail stores all across the world, has a growing services division, and an ever-expanding hardware lineup. The technology industry follows Apple news to see where the company is headed in the future.

Keep reading for the latest Apple news

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Apple’s new Barcelona retail store opens tomorrow [Gallery]

We first got a look at the elaborate mosaic construction barricade officially announcing the new location, and today MacRecord and CultofMac posted some photos of Apple’s Barcelona retail store slated to open at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Asian supplier jury-rigs a next gen iPhone to show off their cases

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Gizmodo’s Jesus Diaz asks a question that he already knows is false: Has the iPhone 5 Been Smuggled Out of the Factory Already?

No, it has not. But these manufacturer pages show what a beat up, falling apart next-gen iPhone with slightly off-white components would look like in a cheap case.

Does not make as sexy of a title though, does it?


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Microsoft’s lost decade, chronicled

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In a lengthy piece, titled “Microsoft’s Lost Decade”, Kurt Eichenwald of Vanity Fair profiled CEO Steve Ballmer and his role in the company’s steadily decreasing dominance. The piece includes interviews with current and past executives of the company, thousands of internal docs and legal records, and, not surprisingly, Apple’s role in the decline of Microsoft makes up a large part of the story:

Truly, for senior management, the problems didn’t make sense. Microsoft had some of the smartest people in the technology business. It had billions of dollars at its disposal, and the ability to throw that money into any project the executives chose… Current and former executives said that, each year, they tried to explain to Microsoft’s top executives why the company was struggling in the quality of its innovation compared with Apple… Exhibit A: today the iPhone brings in more revenue than the entirety of Microsoft… One Apple product, something that didn’t exist five years ago, has higher sales than everything Microsoft has to offer. More than Windows, Office, Xbox, Bing, Windows Phone, and every other product that Microsoft has created since 1975. In the quarter ended March 31, 2012, iPhone had sales of $22.7 billion; Microsoft Corporation, $17.4 billion.

One anecdote covered in the story comes from emails that circulated around Microsoft following the introduction of Tiger:

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Best Buy drops price of the iPhone 4 to $49.99 with plan

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BestBuy.com has the iPhone 4 in White or Black for $49.99 with a two-year service plan on AT&TVerizon or Sprint. We have seen many price drops of the iPhone 4 throughout the last few months, but most were specials or small drops. This one appears to be more permanent and may last through to the new iPhone launch.

What does this say for when the new iPhone is released? Will the iPhone 4 be free on contract or will it continue to be $49.99? If I had to guess, I would say it goes free in October with a two-year plan…if you can wait that long.


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Apple working on high-resolution display tech for Google Glass-like HUD device

Today, a patent application published by the US Patent & Trademark Office, and then discovered by Patently Apple, covers methods of increasing pixel density for high-resolution display technology in a head-mounted display. This is not the first time an Apple patent related to head-mounted displays has surfaced. As far back as 2009, Apple won patents related to an iPod video headset displayIt also won a second patent just this year related to the Google Glass-like technology. Unfortunately, this is not a design patent. So, the Google Glass-like design in the drawing above only relates to a general concept for the device covered in the patent:


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Apple’s Black Hat presentation on iOS security disappoints, rehashes old white paper

We told you earlier this week that Apple would send for the first time one of its employees, a manager for the platform security team, Dallas De Atley, to speak at the Black Hat conference on iOS security. Unfortunately, while many hoped we would get an inside look at iOS security technologies, a wrap up of the event from The New York Times described the talk as “the equivalent of reading aloud a white paper, timed to a PowerPoint deck, before escaping out a side door.” According to several reports, most of what was covered came from a recently published white paper.

As for what Atley said:

“Our attitude is: security is architecture. It has to be built in from the very beginning,” Mr. De Atley said. In building the iPhone, he said, Apple took a bare-bones approach and sought to use the minimum number of components. Apple purposefully decided not to ship the phone with a shell, or support remote log-in access. “There’s an entire set of attack vectors we don’t have to fundamentally worry about on iOS,” he said.

Mr. De Atley highlighted a number of “sandboxing” technologies Apple had in place. “The goal is to physically isolate and separate processes from each other so that if one has a flaw, it can’t easily wreak havoc on the rest of the system.”

As examples, he noted that all third-party apps were stored in their own container on users’ devices. User data is kept partitioned from the device’s operating system so that any updates to the system do not affect the user’s personal data. He added that every single file created on the iPhone gets its own encryption key and is wrapped in the user’s passcode.

Several old iPhone and iPad prototype designs surface: take a look at the iOS devices that could have been

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[slideshow]

The Verge has tracked down several images of old iPhone and iPad prototype designs from Apple the vs. Samsung trial case filings. Buzzfeed got their hands on a few more.  Notably, many of these designs are codenamed N90, so what you’re mainly looking at are design considerations for the 2010 iPhone 4, the Apple device codenamed N90. Many of them are ugly and will hurt your eyes.  Check out the entire gallery after the break or over at the Verge and Buzzfeed.

Besides iPhone prototypes, Apple was toying with an iPad design that featured an HTC Evo-like Kickstand. Given the above and below, we’re pretty happy with the decisions Apple made on these. Many, many more pictures below:


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Apple makes as much profit on one iPhone as it does on two iPads

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A quick Reuters report on an unsealed document in the Apple-Samsung trial reveals that iPhones are much more of a profit driver for Apple than its iPads. To the tune of double (!) per unit.

Apple Inc earned gross margins of 49 to 58 percent for U.S. iPhone sales between April 2010 and the end of March 2012…Apple had gross margins of 23 to 32 percent on U.S. iPad sales, the filing said.

That means Apple makes as much money on one iPhone as it does on two iPads (considering they cost roughly the same amount).

Who likes phone subsidies? Apple likes phone subsidies!

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Samsung says Apple stole iPhone design from Sony

With Apple and Samsung’s jury trial slated to kick off in a federal district court in San Jose, Calif., this Monday, AllThingsD points us to trial briefs where Samsung’s lawyers argued Apple’s inspiration for the original iPhone CAD drawings and designs were inspired by a Sony product:

Right after this article was circulated internally, Apple industrial designer Shin Nishibori was directed to prepare a “Sony-like” design for an Apple phone and then had CAD drawings and a three-dimensional model prepared. Confirming the origin of the design, these internal Apple CAD drawings prepared at Mr. Nishibori‘s direction even had the “Sony” name prominently emblazoned on the phone design, as the below images from Apple‘s internal documents show..

Soon afterward, on March 8, 2006, Apple designer Richard Howarth reported that, in contrast to another internal design that was then under consideration, Mr. Nishibori‘s “Sony-style” design enabled “a much smaller-looking product with a much nicer shape to have next to your ear and in your pocket” and had greater “size and shape/comfort benefits.” As Mr. Nishibori has confirmed in deposition testimony, this “Sony-style” design he prepared changed the course of the project that yielded the final iPhone design.

The article referenced above is from a 2006 interview with Sony designers that appeared in Businessweek.

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Over half of you already updated to Mountain Lion!?


(so far today)

Just 24 hours after Apple released Mountain Lion, over half of our readers are already on the slightly smaller, big cat. That is an impressive feat for a desktop OS, and it is one made easier by the Mac App Store. We had a bit of a head start with 10 percent grabbing the developer download over the past weeks, and obviously the general Mac populations is probably a bit behind.

Still, nice work, especially considering a lot of you are still waiting for correct Up-to-Date codes.

[tweet https://twitter.com/jameswoodcock/status/228555039864651776]

[tweet https://twitter.com/tonezorz/status/228555638102441985]

[tweet https://twitter.com/chrisoteri/status/228556464342585345]

[tweet https://twitter.com/evet965/status/228556992682262529]

[tweet https://twitter.com/enzoamata/status/228558950398840832]

[tweet https://twitter.com/andrew12222/status/228562583425277953]

Update: July 27th. Now 56% of you Mac Users are now on Mountain Lion:


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Apple granted stay on posting Samsung ads on its site and newspapers

9to5Mac reported earlier this month that a U.K. Judge ruled Apple must publicly state Samsung did not copy the iPad design, but a London court ordered a stay today until the company’s appeal is heard this fall.

According to Bloomberg

  • Apple Inc. won’t immediately have to publish a notice on its U.K. website that Samsung Electronics Co. didn’t copy its iPad tablet, a London court ruled today.
  • Apple was ordered earlier this month to put a note on its U.K. site and buy advertisements in British newspapers to alert customers to a court ruling that Samsung hadn’t copied the iPad’s design. Cupertino, California-based Apple appealed saying it didn’t want to advertise for its rival. The order is stayed until its appeal against the ruling is heard in October.

Apple’s public statements, if the appeal is rejected, will appear as a message on its website and in British newspapers.


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Apple accidentally issues OS X Server codes for Mountain Lion Up-to-Date program

Apple officially enabled its Up-to-Date program after launching the new operating system, but some who tried to receive their free upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion immediately ran into problems. Many redemption codes were apparently coming up invalid, so Apple said it would replace the invalid codes over the next three days.

At least a half dozen commenters in the MacRumors Forum claim Apple sent the replacement codes today, but, unfortunately, the codes are for the “OS X Server components of Mountain Lion rather than Mountain Lion itself.” One commenter specifically said an error message appeared that warned the “OSX Server cannot be downloaded”:

[tweet https://twitter.com/snackdog/status/228534270673698816]
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Apple has a lot more NFC ideas than just a Wallet app

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9to5Mac reported last month that prototypes of the next iPhone contained Near Field Communications hardware. The tech could obviously be used with the PassBook app to create some wallet-type functionality, but that is just the tip of the iceberg.

The US Patent & Trademark Office published more patent applications today from Apple that indicated the company envisioned much more NFC capabilities than a Wallet app. The company apparently filed the applications between 2009 and 2010, and the graphics depict an iPhone interacting and controlling everything from a television and DVR to a standalone camera and a projector.

Patently Apple detailed the patent applications:

Our report mainly focuses on the new system as it relates to an iDevice controlling and interacting with a possible standalone television in addition to an expanded version of Apple’s current Apple TV styled device. The updated Apple TV could one day control cable or satellite television programming and video game play via a video game controller. This would really be a boost for Apple if users were able to play high end RPG video styled games with a standard styled controller. Further, Apple’s invention runs deep and they envision NFC ready iDevices being able to control standalone cameras, projectors, in-home security systems, lawn sprinkler systems, your thermostat, garage door and more. One of these fine days, future iDevices will finally support NFC; and when they do – watch out, because Apple will open the floodgates and release a new generation of applications noted in this report and others like their forthcoming iWallet. Will Apple’s next generation iPhone 5 finally be the one that will introduce NFC? Only time will tell.


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Former Sun employees bring Java to iOS with cross-platform SDK

Codename One is an SDK launched by former Sun employees that allow developers to create a single native mobile app for multiple platforms (iOS/Android/Windows Phone, etc.) using Java and an optional GUI builder:

“Ex-Sun employees did what Sun/Oracle failed to do since the iPhone launched. They brought Java to iOS and other mobile devices. They are getting major coverage from Forbes, DDJ,hacker news and others. They are taking a unique approach of combining a Swing-like API with a open source and SaaS based solution.”

In other Apple Java news, a recent Apple job listing is looking for a Senior Java Engineer to join the Siri Server Platform team. Candidates should have experience in Java API design and will “lead and extend the core software infrastructure, algorithms, and APIs that let Siri move, understand, plan, learn, speak, and remember.” Like most huge Server Side Applications, Siri’s backend appears to be Java-based.

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Add RSS button to Safari 6 with Subscribe To Feed extension

While Safari 6 brought a number of great new features, including unified search and offline Reading List for Lion, many were disappointed that Apple dropped the RSS button next to the URL bar. Luckily, developer Daniel Jalkut at Red Sweater Software wrote an extension to add the functionality:

My beta-quality, more-or-less unsupported Subscribe to Feed extension adds a handy button to the toolbar that, when a page offers RSS or Atom feeds, can be clicked to easily open the feed:// link, which should automatically open your favorite news reader… I hope this extension fills a void for those of you missing the beloved RSS button.

It is not perfect… it currently defaults to 9to5mac’s comments feed. It is better than nothing, though, especially if you are missing the feature from Safari 5.

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IHS iSuppli: Apple buying chips at a faster rate, will remain top OEM semiconductor buyer in 2012-2013

In a post on iSuppli citing the IHS iSuppli OEM Semiconductor Spend Analysis report, the research firm broke down Apple’s continued lead among top OEM semiconductor buyers, noting Apple is buying at a faster rate and “dramatically outperforming” No.2 purchaser Samsung. The research expects Apple to increase its spending on semiconductors to $28 billion this year from $24 billion in 2011, and also made the case for Apple’s continued growth in 2013. Apple will experience the fastest growth among the top 10 with the company “set to increase its chip buying at a rate nearly three times faster than the next-fastest-rising purchaser.”

Apple this year is expected to buy nearly $28 billion worth of semiconductors, up 15 percent from $24 billion in 2011, according to an IHS iSuppli OEM Semiconductor Spend Analysis report from information and analytics provider IHS (NYSE: IHS). This means that Apple will dramatically outperform the No. 2 purchaser, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., allowing it to remain the world’s top OEM semiconductor buyer—a position it has held since 2010… Apple is set to expand its lead in global chip purchasing in 2013, with growth of 12.3 percent once again leading the Top 10 OEM semiconductor purchasers.

Senior analyst for semiconductor spending and design activity at IHS Myson Robles-Bruce explained the benefit of Apple’s dominance in the supply chain:

“It’s well known that Apple has already conquered the smartphone and tablet segments—but behind the scenes the company is engaging in another kind of conquest: the dominance of the electronics supply chain,” said Myson Robles-Bruce, senior analyst for semiconductor spending and design activity at IHS. “Such a dominant position provides critical benefits, allowing one to dictate semiconductor pricing, control product roadmaps and obtain guaranteed supply and delivery. For Apple, these benefits translate into competitive advantages, letting it offer more advanced products at lower prices, faster and more reliably than the competition.”

OS X Game Center launches with few, yet notable, game titles

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One of the big new features in OS X Mountain Lion is the Game Center. This Game Center is cross platform between OS X and iOS. Unfortunately, only a few compatible titles have made their way into Mac App Store for today’s launch. However, some of them are very notable. Some of our favorites include Real Racing 2, Sky Gamblers, and Cut the Rope.

Oh, and don’t forget about… Chess!


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Want to make a Mountain Lion USB stick or SD Card Installer? Here’s how

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Apple will not offer a USB or Optical Disk external installer to Mountain Lion (as far as we have heard). That does not mean you cannot sneaker net the install around your home, office or lab like Apple Store employees do (sometimes). Lion Diskmaker has been updated to allow you to make a bootable USB or SD Card installer on a 8GB piece of media.

The process is straightforward:


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Apple releases OS X Mountain Lion Server for $19.99 on Mac App Store

Following this morning’s launch of 10.8 Mountain Lion on the Mac App Store, Apple just launched a separate app as an OS X Server for Mountain Lion. It allows users to add sever functionality to the OS for $20. It is definitely a significant price drop from the $49 Lion server and the $500 or so it cost to add the functionality before that.

OS X Server is the next generation of Apple’s award winning server software. Designed for OS X and iOS devices, OS X Server makes it easy to share files, schedule meetings, synchronize contacts, host your own website, publish wikis, configure Macs, iPhones and iPads, remotely access your network, and more.

Server is now an application you can add to Mountain Lion right from the Mac App Store. Anyone can quickly and easily turn a Mac running Mountain Lion into a server that’s perfect for home offices, businesses, schools, and hobbyists alike.

Mountain Lion is live at the Mac App Store for $19.99

As Apple previously announced during its Q3 2012 earnings call yesterday, Mountain Lion is officially available for download in the Mac App Store for $19.99. The download is exclusive to the Mac App Store this year, as we mentioned before, because Apple will not sell the OS via USB sticks or optical discs. The $20 price tag is a $10 drop from Lion, however, and the single purchase will is good for up to five macs via the Mac App Stores purchased apps feature.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnJrkai6Eek]

Unfortunately, for those planning to try Mountain Lion in an Apple retail store before upgrading, we reported last night that some Apple Stores had issues getting the OS on in-store demo Macs. There are also many users reporting error messages when trying to download from Apple’s servers. Before you make the switch to 10.8, you might want to check out the list of compatible Mountain Lion apps to make sure you will not run into any problems.

Apple’s full press release is below:


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RoaringApps tells you what apps are compatible with OS X Mountain Lion, just in time for tomorrow’s launch

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Tomorrow, after much excitement, Apple will officially launch OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion for $19.99 to the public on the App Store. A new operating system certainly brings a ton of new features. However, there is always the lingering possibility that your favorite app may not be compatible. Just before the launch of Lion last year, we told you about a website called RoaringApps. As Mountain Lion is unleashed from its cage tomorrow, here is a little reminder on exactly why RoaringApps is so useful.

RoaringApps is a free website that allows you to check the compatibility of your apps with Mountain Lion. The website provides a long table of apps (it is a ton) that displays what apps are supported on the new OS X and whether the app is available on the App Store. If you are planning to upgrade to Mountain Lion tomorrow, this is definitely a website worth checking. The website organizes apps by name, and it has a search function to make things easy. [RoaringApps]

On a related note, how many of you plan to purchase Mountain Lion tomorrow? Is anyone holding off?


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iCloud up 25M users to 150M in Q3

Today, at Apple’s Q3 2012 earnings call, the company provided some updates on numbers for the quarter. Apple Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer shared iCloud is now up to 150 million users. Last time Apple checked in in April, it reported 125 million users for Q2. This marks an increase of 25 million users during Q3. Hit up the links below for all of the updates from today’s conference call:

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Apple reports ‘best quarter ever’ in Q3 for US education institution Mac sales

Chief Executive Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer are live on Apple’s Q3 2012 call to give opening remarks, and the execs just revealed Apple saw its best quarter ever for U.S. education institution Mac sales. Rutherford County, N.C., for instance, purchased 6,000 MacBook Airs.

Other education-related statistics:

  • — 14 million iTunes U downloads, 700,000 new schools, and 750 new courses
  • — iPad 2 in K-12 market particularly strong—nearly doubling y-o-y (Apple sold 17 million iPads in Q3 2012, compared to 9.2 million in Q3 2011).

Oppenheimer said the iPad 2 price drop to $399 helped in education—sold twice as many iPads to U.S. schools as Macs during the quarter. About 11,000 iPads, for instance, were bought in Mansfield, Texas for students and teachers.

Regarding the iPad in education, Cook later added: “We have been very aggressive in this space, and I don’t see changing that.” The chief also noted the sales of the iPad in education are something he has “never seen.” He then addressed the education system’s typically “conservative spending,” but he explained Apple is “not seeing that at all with the iPad.”

Cook further mentioned he saw “hundreds of tablets come to market in the last year and have yet to see any of them gain traction.”

Apple’s financial results conference call to discuss Q3 2012 earnings is now underway, and 9to5Mac is live-blogging as company execs readily detail figures for the quarter. The call’s audio webcast and earnings release are available on Apple’s Investor Relations website.


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Reminder: QuickBooks 2011 not supported on Mountain Lion

We received a tip today that may be of interest to QuickBooks users planning to upgrade to Mountain Lion this week. The email below was sent to a reader from Intuit’s QuickBooks for Mac team. It informed them QuickBooks 2011 would not be supported on Mountain Lion. While the email notes “you may find that most things in your QuickBooks for Mac work for you” after upgrading to Mountain Lion, the company will only officially support QuickBooks 2012 on 10.8. The full email is below:

Let’s talk about Mountain Lion!

Like a lot of Mac users, everyone on the QuickBooks for Mac team is excited about the upcoming release of OS X 10.8: Mountain Lion. You may be wondering how Mountain Lion will affect your version of QuickBooks for Mac.

QuickBooks 2011 and prior are not supported on Mountain Lion. (Note that QuickBooks 2012 is supported on Mountain Lion.) Read more about this on Little Square.

If you decide to upgrade your OS, you may find that most things in your QuickBooks for Mac work for you, but if you run into a problem, we may not be able to help you. To minimize the chances of running into issues, you should make sure you’ve installed the latest update for your software. To find and install an update, click QuickBooks > Check for QuickBooks Updates.

If the new features in the Mountain Lion OS aren’t a big deal for you and you don’t want to upgrade either your OS or your current version of QuickBooks, then just stay with your current OS and QuickBooks versions. We can continue to help you with any problems you may run into.

If you must upgrade your OS, but don’t want to upgrade QuickBooks, you can continue safely running QuickBooks for Mac and any other software that may not be compatible with Mountain Lion on a partition. (Note: it’s important that you check all your software on the Mac you use for your business to be sure that it’s all compatible with Mountain Lion.) You can learn more about setting up a partition at this article by Apple: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5845

If you want to run QuickBooks for Mac on Mountain Lion, you should upgrade to QuickBooks 2012 for Mac. That way if you do run into any problems, we can help you. You can find QuickBooks 2012 for Mac on our website at http://quickbooks.com/mac and at most major retailers.

We really appreciate your business and wish you happy accounting whether you choose to upgrade to Mountain Lion or stay with your current version of OS X.

You’ll find great answers to your questions and advice on our Community. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. And Little Square will keep you up-to-date with new developments about QuickBooks for Mac on Mountain Lion.

Sincerely,

The QuickBooks for Mac Team