With many hoping that Apple will undertake a significant redesign effort for the next-generation iPhone, scattered claims have fueled speculation that Apple might base the design on amorphous metal alloys from Liquidmetal Technologies. Apple acquired exclusive rights to Liquidmetal's technologies for use in consumer electronics back in 2010, but so far as used the metal only in the iPhone 3G SIM removal tool

Back in late 2010, Apple announced that it would cease supporting Java for OS X, with Steve Jobs noting that Apple was always a version behind that being distributed by Sun/Oracle, which handled Java for all other platforms. Confusion about whether Oracle would step into the Java void created by Apple's removal of support was addressed several weeks later when Apple and Oracle announced plans to expand Oracle's OpenJDK project to include OS X as a means to deliver Java SE 7 to Mac users. Oracle today announced that is taking the next step toward OS X compatibility with the release of Java SE 7 Update 4 and JavaFX 2.1 .

Since taking the helm of department store chain J.C. Penney last November, former Apple retail chief Ron Johnson has rebuilt much of his new company's executive team, in many cases bringing in associates he had worked with at Apple or in his earlier stint at Target.

Scientists and hobbyists who want to use their iOS devices as tricorders now have a new tool to help them to bring that dream to life. Byte Works has released version 2.0 of techBASIC , a US$14.99 scientific and educational programming environment for iOS that can be used to pull in data from internal (accelerometer, magnetometer, and gyroscope) and external sensors

Apple met with video consultant and trainer Larry Jordan on the eve of the 2012 NAB show and shared some upcoming plans for Final Cut Pro X. The following features are expected in Final Cut Pro X in 2012: - Multichannel Audio Editing Tools - Dual Viewers - MXF Plug-in Support - RED camera support Jordan goes into some light details about some of the new features. FCP X will be able to read MXF files directly without the need to convert to QuickTime

Following yesterday's release of fresh Java updates to remove the Flashback malware system from Macs running OS X Lion and Snow Leopard, Apple today released a standalone Flashback malware removal tool to clean infections from OS X Lion systems without Java installed. About Flashback malware removal tool This Flashback malware removal tool that will remove the most common variants of the Flashback malware

MacRumors has learned that Apple has bought out two performances of Cirque du Soleil's traveling show Totem , currently playing in San Jose, California. According to our source, Apple purchased the entire block of 2,500 tickets for each of two shows yesterday and today for employees and their guests, with Apple also picking up the tab for food and drink. Scanning Twitter and other social networks, we see that a number of people associated with Apple did mention being at Cirque du Soleil yesterday, supporting our source's claim of an Apple-sponsored event

AppleInsider reports that Apple CEO Tim Cook paid a visit today to the the headquarters of Valve, the video game firm behind the Steam digital distribution platform and a number of popular PC and Mac games. While the purpose of Cook's visit is unknown, his presence at the company's headquarters in Bellevue, Washington suggests that it may have been of some importance potentially relating to collaboration between the two companies.

Back in February, Apple announced that it was suspending push functionality for iCloud and MobileMe email users in Germany following a victory by Motorola Mobility in a patent lawsuit. As noted by Dow Jones Newswires , an appeals court has upheld that ruling, requiring that Apple continue to refrain from offering push email in the country and that the company pay unspecified damages to Motorola

Inglorious Apps is well-known in the webOS world for its work on Notes, Voice and Glimpse, a multi-tasking app for the Touchpad that lets you divide up the screen and use several different widgets at the same time.