We’ve been hearing that Apple’s next desktop operating system, OS X Lion, will be released on July 14th. Alongside Lion, there have also been rumors that Apple will release a new MacBook Air and Mac Pro model at the same time.

Apple is reportedly set to release new machines with Intel’s Sandy Bridge chips. The new MacBook Airs aren’t expected to have an exterior design change, but instead focus on improved internal hardware. The updated Mac Pros are rumored to have a rack-mountable, narrower enclosure.  

This is included in our what’s new in iOS 5 Beta 3 post, but its so cool we thought it deserved separate highlighting.

In the new beta, Apple has activated the “Assistive Touch” settings pane for the iPad (but not on the iPhone or iPod Touch). Update: This works on the iPhone 4, but not my iPod Touch third-gen.

The new feature allows you to activate a menu overlay on the iPad by pressing on a designated corner of the dock after clicking the Home Button twice. This menu then allows you to trigger all of the iPad’s functions just by tapping an icon.

In the classic tradition of those classic “My brother went to Vegas and all I got was this stupid t-shirt” souvenirs, here’s one of the t-shirts you can buy at the Apple Company Store.

Hilarious. Beats my “I Got An Early Look At The iPhone 5 And All I Got Was Raided, Flashbanged And Maced” t-shirt by a mile!

[via OS X Daily]

Today Parallels announced the release of Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac Enterprise Edition. The new version of the popular Parallels Desktop 6 virtualization program gives enterprise IT departments support for deploying Windows-based business applications for Mac users. It is a configurable policy compliant solution that easily fits into existing business processes.

This has been a good month for Star Trek fans. Last week Netflix finally made available many Star Trek episodes online, and today CBS Interactive announced the offical Star Trek PADD (Personal Access Display Device) app for iPad. Just what all geeks need, something else to keep us on the couch…

As you probably know, Apple and Samsung have been battling each other in court over a heated “copycat” lawsuit for awhile now. Apple accused Samsung of stealing the iPhone’s design for Samsung’s own series of smartphones, and Samsung has been retaliating with counterclaims.

Pretty standard stuff. What makes the legal battle between Apple and Samsung more interesting is that Apple has been using Samsung as an internal parts provider for the iPhone. Now that’s about to end. In the midst of this copycat legal battle, it appears that Apple is looking to give Samsung a swift kick to the gut by taking its $5 billion/year parts order business elsewhere.

The same engine and gameplay mechanic of the popular Gears of War series is coming to the App Store… and it’s coming from the studio behind Bioshock.

The Philadelphia Media Network announced today that in addition to local news it will also peddle “deeply discounted” Android tablet computers pre-loaded with four apps, including digital versions of its two newspapers, The Inquirer and the Daily News, as well as additional content from The Inquirer and the Philly.com website.

Too bad they can’t offer at least one thing anybody actually wants.

We’re just starting to dive into Beta 3, but we thought we’d start a thread to catalogue everything new that we discover in the latest dev previous of iOS 5. We’ll be keeping this updated throughout the day.

Noticed anything new? Let us know in the comments, or email us at [email protected] and we’ll update the post accordingly.

A rather sketchily sourced report says that the iPhone 5 is now in the hands of AT&T’s Mobility division, which is responsible for third-party testing of smartphones before they officially debut. We’re pretty skeptical, but if it’s true, it could mean that the next iPhone could be announced by the end of the month.

Apple has just released the third beta of iOS 5 to registered developers, known as Build 9A5259f. We’re downloading and installing now, but in the mean time, if you’re a registered developer, get downloading at the iOS Dev Center.

Noticed anything new in Beta 3? Drop us a line in the comments below! Here are the release notes.

If you’ve ever dropped $14.99 on the Mac App Store for iPhoto ’11, iMovie ’11 or GarageBand ’11, you might want to check the update tab, because three large stability updates for the iLife trio have dropped. Here’s what is new.

Those $40 magnetic smart covers bought to protect the iPad 2 are worth a collective $300 million for Apple in just the latest three-month period, a Wall Street analyst announced Monday. Half of that is pure profit for the tech giant.

Okay, we’ve heard before that Apple should or is going to get into the incredibly fractious TV set business. But another voice now suggests the Cupertino, Calif. tech giant needs iTunes to ensure success. Apple’s $65 billion in cash could go a long way toward that goal.

A Wall Street Journal report published last week claims Apple is experimenting with a new method of charging its 2012 iPhone. Although wireless charging wasn’t mentioned, it’s the first thing we all thought of. Some further investigation into the subject reveals we may just be spot on.

An increasing’App-etite’ means more iOS downloads, higher prices for Apple’s App Store. Along the way, apps are being downloaded at triple the rate of song tracks, one analyst said Monday.

Billing itself as the “World’s Smallest Keyboard,” The FlickKey Mini is a $2 iOS text editor and note taking app that offers the bare minimum of features. Look more closely, though, and FlickKey Mini looks a lot more interesting. Far from being just App Store dross, FlickKey Mini could offer a preview on how we’ll type on the next iPod Nano.

There are a lot of reasons why it’s unlikely that the next iPhone won’t boast true LTE speeds. For one thing, the national coverage for LTE is virtually non-existent. For another, first-gen LTE chipsets are by Apple’s own estimation far too juice hungry to go into the iPhone.

If you needed any more cold water dashed on your hopes of an iPhone 4G in September, though, consider iSuppli’s latest report. They say that an LTE chip in the iPhone would make it the bulkiest and most expensive iPhone yet.

Apple is reportedly seeking a second iPad manufacturer to help meet demand of the device when the rumored ‘iPad 2 Plus’ is introduced later this year.

These photographs, purportedly depicting Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5, clearly reveal the fifth-generation device will boast a dual LED camera flash, two cameras for taking 3D photos, and a new edge-to-edge display.

At least they would if they were genuine. Which we’re almost certain they’re not.

This week’s must-have games roundup features Gameloft’s latest Block Breaker release — the ultimate ball breaker for iOS — which boasts deeper, more intricate levels that take you far beyond a single screen full of blocks.

The revival of Bungie’s Marathon on the iPad — the first ever Mac FPS — is also on our list, in addition to an impressive 3D combat game from Glu, and more!

Here’s something awesome for people who love their iPhone 4 as much as they love sewing and stitching.

Apple has launched two new TV ads for the iPhone that could potentially be the last to feature the iPhone 4. Demonstrating FaceTime and AirPlay, the ads continue the “If you don’t have an iPhone…” campaign which started back in March.

It isn’t a secret that Apple is killing support for Rosetta in OS X Lion 10.7 the first version of OS X that won’t support the PowerPC platform and apps designed to run on it.  All applications requiring Rosetta support turn into “tombstones”  that can no longer be executed after upgrading to OS X Lion. Here’s what they look like and information on what to do about it.

This week saw the launch of a brand new MTV app for the iPhone called MTV PUSH — our first must-have app of the week — which aims to introduce music lovers to the hottest new and up-and-coming artists; featuring videos, photos, news, and plenty of additional content that will help you discover the best new music.

We’ve also chosen a great new photography app that will help you discover Instagram photos from the people around you; the quickest and easiest way of recording video on your iPhone; and a highly-polished finance app for monitoring your budget.