An increasing number of Apple iMac customers are facing troubles with Seagate-made 1 TB hard drives their iMacs shipped with, since 2011. Apple responded with a free no-questions-asked hard drive replacement program for affected customers, but evidently believes some customers may be using faulty Seagate hard drives from even before 2011. The company stretched its hard drive replacement program to cover iMacs purchased between October 2009 and July 2011. "Apple has determined that certain Seagate 1TB hard drives used in 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMac systems may fail," said Apple.

The company is holding a list of iMacs by their serial numbers, which are likely to be affected by faulty hard drives. Customers who registered their iMacs have already been contacted, while others are presented with an online tool that lets you check if yours is one of those affected iMacs. Apple and its Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP) are tasked with carrying out these free replacements. Customers will now be covered by replacement protection for three years, that's up to April 2013.

Market analysts with Citigroup Global Markets Inc. see TSMC as being the only company able to supply chips built on the 20 nanometer silicon fabrication process to Apple, for its quad-core systems on chip (SoC). J.T. Hsu, a market research fellow with Citigroup points out that Apple began verifying TSMC's 20 nm manufacturing capabilities in August 2012, and could begin risk production (preliminary batches with accepted risk of low-yields) as early as by November 2012. If all goes well, mass production (high-yield) could begin by Q4 2013. TSMC could hike its capital expenditure to the range of US $11-12 billion in 2013-14.

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 87.5 million units in the third quarter of 2012, a decline of 8.3 percent compared with the third quarter of 2011, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc.

"A continuing slowdown in consumer PC shipments played a big part in the overall PC market decline," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. "The third quarter was also a transitional quarter before Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system release, so shipments were less vigorous as vendors and their channel partners liquidated inventory.

Creative technologies developer Modbook Inc. today announced that its highly portable 13.3-inch Mac-based pen tablet computer, the Modbook Pro, will forego the traditional internal storage method of hard disk drives (HDDs) in favor of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs). The standard internal storage option on the Modbook Pro will be a 64 GB solid-state drive, with upgrades possible to increase internal SSD storage to 480 GB.

Modbook Inc. today also announced that the ordering process for the Modbook Pro is scheduled to begin next Wednesday, October 3, 2012. Customers with shipping addresses in the United States will be able to order the Modbook Pro online for shipment as early as mid-November.

NETGEAR, Inc., a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers, today announced the worldwide availability of NETGEAR Centria, a powerful, all-in-one automatic backup/media server and high-speed WiFi router. Centria is a dual band high-performance router with the added convenience of automatic data backup for both PCs and Macs. The backup capability of the Centria router gives you peace of mind knowing that your data is always backed up.

If your PC or Mac goes down or is lost, you can still access your data from Centria using another computer. Routers are an ideal device to provide data backup since they are always on and are the central point of connection for all computers in the home. Additionally, Centria can be used as a storage repository for photos, media and documents that may take up too much space on your computer. Centria uses an internal SATA drive and/or external USB drives to backup and store data.

Apple today announced the new iTunes for Mac and PC featuring a completely redesigned player, seamless integration with iCloud, and a stunning new look for the world's most popular online music, apps, TV and movie stores.

The new iTunes is coming in October and will feature a dramatically simpler and cleaner interface that keeps your favorite iTunes content at the forefront. With iCloud integration, your music, movie and TV purchases made on any of your iOS devices or computers is conveniently displayed in your iTunes library on your Mac or PC, available anytime you want them. The redesigned iTunes Store, App Store and iBookstore have been rethought to make buying your favorite content on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC simpler than ever.

Mac professionals will benefit from dramatically improved graphics performance and productivity with today's announcement of the NVIDIA Quadro K5000 for Mac Pro systems.

Based on NVIDIA Kepler architecture -- the world's fastest, most efficient GPU design -- the Quadro K5000 for Mac is the most powerful professional-class GPU ever for the Macintosh, delivering unprecedented visualization and computation capabilities for designers and digital content creators.

HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated, announces the availability of three new, ultra-portable JBL speakers built for superior on-the-go music enjoyment from a smartphone or tablet. The compact speakers - the JBL Flip (right), JBL Micro Wireless and JBL Micro II - easily fit into a backpack or back pocket and are ideal for business travel, dorm rooms or a second bedroom. Each speaker includes a built-in bass port to deliver a deep, more resonant sound than comparably sized portable speakers.

The three ultra-portable JBL speakers range from $39 to $99 and work with virtually any music-playing gadget, including the Apple iPad, iPhone or iPod touch as well as Android smartphones or tablets and BlackBerry or Windows Mobile phones. Each features a convenient, rechargeable battery that provides up to five hours of playing time. Two speakers - the JBL Flip and JBL Micro Wireless - connect via Bluetooth wireless or through a cable, while the JBL Micro Wireless and JBL Micro II can be daisy-chained with other JBL Micro speakers to create a significantly larger - and louder - soundscape.

WD, a subsidiary of Western Digital Corporation, today announced that it has added the USB 3.0 interface to its line of My Passport for Mac portable hard drives and increased capacity for Mac computer users up to an unmatched 2 TB. Popular among students and other Mac users who take their digital content everywhere, the My Passport for Mac with USB 3.0 allows users to quickly and conveniently take advantage of the faster transfer speeds USB 3.0 provides when connecting the drive to their MacBook computer or MacBook Air computer with that interface.

While continuing to provide a sleek and slim design, the My Passport drive also has been a favorite among consumers and professionals who have safety and security at the top of the list of requirements for portable drives, which is why the My Passport for Mac includes password protection and hardware encryption features to protect content from unauthorized use or access. The My Passport for Mac drive is also compatible out of the box with Apple Time Machine for easy backup to further protect valuable files.

Other World Computing (OWC), a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company, announced today the OWC Mercury Aura Pro as the industry's first high-performance Solid State Drive upgrade for 2012 MacBook Pro with Retina display (rMBP) computers. Available in 480 GB capacity, the 6G (6Gb/s) SandForce Driven Mercury Aura Pro offers rMBP owners 87.5 percent more capacity than the factory 256GB model. Additionally, customers buying the $579.99 MSRP Aura Pro direct from OWC until September 30, 2012, will later receive the OWC Envoy Pro USB 3.0 bus-powered portable enclosure (a $59.95 value) for re-tasking the rMBP's factory flash module as an external drive at no additional cost.

Intel plans to standardize SSD specifications for its Ultrabook platform, which would steer it toward slimmer, faster Ultrabooks. The company plans to invite a large number of industry players, including NAND flash memory makers SanDisk, Micron, and Samsung, for discussions into what is known as Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF), a new SSD form-factor derived from mSATA (think Apple's SSD form-factor found in the MacBook Air).

Intel is in a bit of a hurry with its NGFF SSD plans because the current mSATA form-factor poses limitations, including limited PCB area, in which a limited number of ONFI channels can be wired out. NGFF most likely is mSATA with greater PCB area, allowing the same number of ONFI channels as 2.5-inch SSDs, with the latest generation of controllers and toggle-NAND flash memory. NGFF doesn't increase the thickness of the SSD compared to mSATA, but merely elongates it (again, similar in form to Apple's SSD specifications). Five length standards are being discussed between Intel and Ultrabook partners.

Apple might be diving into the world of console gaming yet again according to Shacknews and GI.biz The patent application shows a staggering similarity to Sony's DualShock controller and what seems to be an iPhone interacting with a Microsoft Xbox360. This might be an Apple style preemptive attack against future endeavors to create apps that interface with current generation consoles or it could be something new that Apple has in the works. With the current growth in Apples market share and the growing popularity of Apple TV it shouldn't come as a surprise it would want a piece of the console pie. Whether the big three (Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo) give any leeway to Apple has yet to be seen.

Apple today announced that OS X Mountain Lion, the ninth major release of the world's most advanced desktop operating system, is available as a download from the Mac App Store. With more than 200 innovative new features, Mountain Lion includes iCloud integration, the all new Messages app, Notification Center, system-wide Sharing, Facebook integration, Dictation, AirPlay Mirroring and Game Center. Mountain Lion is available as an upgrade from Lion or Snow Leopard for $19.99.

"People are going to love the new features in Mountain Lion and how easy it is to download and install from the Mac App Store," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "With iCloud integration, Mountain Lion is even easier to set up, and your important information stays up to date across all your devices so you can keep editing documents, taking notes, creating reminders, and continue conversations whether you started on a Mac, iPhone or iPad."

Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2012 third quarter ended June 30, 2012. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $35.0 billion and quarterly net profit of $8.8 billion, or $9.32 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $28.6 billion and net profit of $7.3 billion, or $7.79 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 42.8 percent compared to 41.7 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 62 percent of the quarter's revenue.

The Company sold 26.0 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 28 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 17.0 million iPads during the quarter, an 84 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 4.0 million Macs during the quarter, a two percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 6.8 million iPods, a 10 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.

Now, iPhone users can take their TPU (TechPowerUp) places, too! Four months after launching TechPowerUp for Android, we finally managed to clear Apple's App Store bureaucracy and launch our app for the iPhone and iPod Touch (requires iOS 3.0 or later). The TechPowerUp app delivers our site to you in a form that's optimized for your phone, without a browser overhead. News and updates, new reviews and articles are sent as alerts, the content is delivered in just the right way. Not only can you read our stuff, but can also comment, and get access to our 70,000-strong community. Now your iOS device is never too far away from TPU.DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp App (free, for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch, requires iOS 3.0 or later)

Other World Computing (OWC), a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company, announced today the OWC Mercury Aura Pro Express/Mercury Aura Envoy as the industry's first high-performance Solid State Drive upgrade and bus-powered enclosure bundle for 2010-2011 MacBook Air computers. Representing a 'Dream Team' of performance and convenience, the Mercury Aura Bundle includes a Mercury Aura Pro Express SSD that offers nearly 8x the factory maximum storage capacity along with extreme data rate speeds up to or exceeding 500 MB/s - representing up to 68 percent faster real-world speed than the factory Flash SSD. After installing the Aura Pro Express in the MacBook Air, the factory SSD is easily converted into an external storage solution inside the Mercury Aura Envoy to complete the two-in-one storage upgrade.

G-Technology today announced a new line of portable and desktop USB 3.0 storage solutions for a broad range of users from consumers to audio/video professionals. Given the brand's strength in the content creation and Apple Mac community, G-Technology is well positioned to move the Mac industry forward in leveraging high-capacity, high-performance USB 3.0 drives across a variety of customer segments, all while delivering one of the industry's most respected external storage platforms with proven quality, reliability and performance.

Today, new kinds of devices and media formats require considerably more interface bandwidth and higher transfer rates to move, store and edit data quickly. Backward compatible with USB 2.0, G-Technology's USB 3.0 drives deliver speeds 10 times faster than USB 2.0 and six times faster than FireWire 800. This means that users can now transfer two full-length movies from a G-Technology USB 3.0 drive to a computer in minutes.

Belkin today launched WeMo, a line of modular, Wi-Fi-based products that turn an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch into a remote control for household devices. Consisting of two initial products, the WeMo Switch and the WeMo Motion, WeMo works with the free WeMo app to create a scalable, customizable home control system designed to provide added safety, convenience, and peace of mind.

"WeMo uses familiar technology to create a plug-and-play solution for controlling gadgets and appliances remotely," said Jamie Elgie, senior director of product management for Belkin. "Designed to address simple automation needs without the hassle or expense of whole home automation, WeMo is an easy and fun way to put your home at your fingertips."

QNAP Systems, Inc. announced today a partnership with TappIn, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of GlobalSCAPE, a leading innovator of secure information exchange solutions for businesses and consumers. TappIn by GlobalSCAPE's secure content mobility solution will be available to QNAP's customers using the storage vendor's popular NAS devices. Tapp In provides a secure, integrated service for customers to receive on-the-go access to digital contents stored on a QNAP Turbo NAS device from any web-browser, tablet, or smartphone, including Apple iOS, Google Android, Windows Phone 7, and Kindle Fire. QNAP customers simply register for TappIn and begin accessing their contents on any Turbo NAS device via a TappIn web application or mobile apps.

According to new research from International Data Corporation (IDC), the volume of digital information may balloon from 2.7 zettabytes this year -- the equivalent of filling 2.7 billion of Apple Inc.'s priciest desktop iMacs to capacity -- to 8 zettabytes by 2015. The explosion of digital content is paralleled by the proliferation of devices on which people can access it. As this market's demand continues to increase, QNAP's integration of TappIn by GlobalSCAPE into its NAS devices will provide a solution for its customers that allows comprehensive local storage, and enables simple and secure content mobility, helping QNAP to continue its trend as one of the top providers of NAS and unified storage devices in the industry.

S3 Graphics' future hung in the balance since June 2011, when its parent company VIA Technologies announced sale of its stake in it. Since then, it's been a word on the wires, that smartphone maker HTC has been in the fray to buy it out, since it is facing IP turbulence with Apple. HTC and Apple used S3 Graphics (September 2011) and AMD (November 2011), respectively, as proxies in their patent infringement battles. It emerged out of the patent spat, that S3 Graphics holds a handy bouquet of graphics IP, and HTC announced that it is now back on track to acquire it.

Smartphone giant HTC backed S3 Graphics' claims to certain graphics-related patents in the patent infringement case against Apple. "We think S3's patent portfolio is valid and strong, and we have decided to complete the purchase of S3 after cautious assessment," HTC's general counsel Grace Lei said, at an annual shareholders' general meeting. S3 Graphics currently owns about 270 patents, some of which are licensed to Sony Corp., Nintendo Co. and Microsoft Corp., Lei added.

PROMISE Technology Inc., a leader in providing high-performance storage solutions for the rich media market and the leader in designing cutting-edge Thunderbolt enabled devices today introduced the Pegasus J2, the world's fastest ultraportable Thunderbolt storage device, capable of delivering up to 750 MB/s in a device the size of a smartphone. Pegasus J2 brings an unparalleled level of performance in a small form factor to the market enabling both consumers and media professionals to manage the explosion of unstructured data and digital assets critical to their creative projects. The J2 is the perfect complement for MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.

Compatible with all Thunderbolt enabled Macs, the PROMISE Pegasus J2 is a pocket-sized, blazing fast external storage device that offers up to half a Terabyte of storage and is available in 256GB and 512GB capacities. The Pegasus J2 is flash-based making it the ideal solution for anyone who craves extreme performance in the consumer and professional post-production markets. This addition to its internationally award winning Pegasus line boasts a cutting edge, compact product design with an emphasis on reducing the footprint coupled with reduced environmental noise.

Seagate Technology plc., today introduced Backup Plus storage devices - its reinvented consumer storage product family that delivers the easiest setup, one-click backup and the ability to save and share your content on Facebook and Flickr.

Seagate Backup Plus hard drives are newly designed external storage that work interchangeably with both Windows and Apple computers and deliver new features to protect, share and save nearly every aspect of one's digital life. These products come loaded with the new hassle-free Seagate Dashboard software for one-click local backup making it easier than ever to eliminate excuses or apprehensions about backing up one's most valuable digital content. Seagate Backup Plus products are the world's first external hard drives to provide backup for content on social networks, such as Facebook and Flickr. Storing a local duplicate copy of photos from social networks is now as easy as backing up files on your computer. Seagate Backup Plus will provide the peace of mind that every aspect of one's digital life is safe from loss.

Apple today unveiled an all new 15-inch MacBook Pro featuring a stunning Retina display, all flash storage and quad-core processors in a radically thin and light design. Measuring a mere 0.71 inches and weighing only 4.46 pounds, the completely redesigned MacBook Pro sets a new standard in performance and portability for pro users.

"The MacBook Pro with Retina display pushes the limits of performance and portability like no other notebook," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "With a gorgeous Retina display, all flash architecture and a radically thin and light design, the new MacBook Pro is the most advanced Mac we have ever built."

If televised visits by Apple's top-brass to Foxconn's manufacturing facilities, and commitments to improve working conditions were mere PR exercises meant to cover up the issue of dismal working conditions, they failed. About 1,000 workers at Foxconn's manufacturing facility at Chengdu rioted on a large scale, which took the police several hours to subdue. According to media reports, the riot started when the facility guards were trying to stop a thief, while other workers who held grudges against the guards prevented them from catching the thief. Soon, the situation went out of control, as 1,000 workers started a riot. The workers were seen chucking pots, pans, garbage, and even fireworks from their dormitory windows. Public facilities sustained damage, the police made several arrests. The episode reveals that worker-management relations, at least at the Chengdu plant, which manufactures a massive amount of iPhone and iPad products for Apple, are at a breaking point.

Owing to an overhaul of the MacBook Pro to the "wedge-shaped" design in use by its MacBook Air family, Apple is reportedly seeing labour shortages by its suppliers, due to strong demand by Apple. It is even reported that some of these suppliers are outsourcing portions of their processes to meet shipment schedules. It is unusual for suppliers (ODMs and OEMs) to see labour shortages this time of the year (May-June), due to a traditionally slow season, however, Apple strong orders from Apple's new MacBook are leaving many upstream makers unable to satisfy demand. According to sources, it is likely that Apple launches its new MacBook line in July.