The Flashback malware affecting OS X systems has gained quite a bit of publicity since it was disclosed last week that over 600,000 Macs have been infected by the malware. Flashback began life last year as a trojan and has morphed into a drive-by download taking advantage of a vulnerability in Java that Apple did not patch until last week, despite Oracle having released patches for other systems back in February

Memories of the cold war have been raised from the dead this week with the confirmation from Russian officials they are testing an energy gun that would essentially turn people into zombies. The "psychotronic" gun would not only inflict pain but also attack the central nervous system leaving enemies scrambled.

9to5Mac reports that it has now received pricing information from reliable source "Mr. X" on the part number for the updated Apple TV revealed last week, with the new model coming in at the same $99 price as the current model

The San Jose Mercury News reports that a regulatory filing has revealed that Apple's massive solar farm at its new data center in Maiden, North Carolina will utilize panels from San Jose-based energy company SunPower. The ground-mounted panels will track with the sun throughout the day and be installed in phases with the first batch set to come on line as soon as October of this year. [A]n 18-page filing with the North Carolina Utilities Commission makes it clear that SunPower has been chosen to provide the solar panels for the massive solar farm

The Verge reports that Apple's iPad 3 launch tomorrow will see the inclusion of the A5X system-on-a-chip that first surfaced in a photo leak several weeks ago.

While Steve Jobs' official biographer Walter Isaacson created a stir last October with his disclosure of Jobs having "finally cracked" how to develop a revolutionary television set product, it now appears that Jobs shared even more about the product that Isaacson has so far declined to make public. The revelation came in an interview with Brazilian television yesterday, and The Next Web highlights Isaacson's comments about holding back the information because it would have been "unfair to Apple" to share it before the company's plans were publicly known.

Tech in Asia reports on an article [ Google translation ] from Chinese information technology website DoNews claiming that Apple is preparing to bring support for the Chinese language to Siri on the iPhone 4S next month. According to the report, Apple is also preparing to launch support for Japanese and Russian, but the initial Chinese support will only include Mandarin, with Cantonese and other dialects being left out for the time being. The Chinese tech site DoNews claims to have heard from an Apple engineer who’s working on the Chinese-language version of Siri, the clever voice assistant on the iPhone 4S

Indian business newspaper Mint reports ( via iPhone Hacks ) that Apple may be preparing to open retail stores in India, dramatically increasing the company's presence in the country. Apple Inc. may open its own shops following the Indian government allowing full ownership of single-brand retail stores by foreign companies, according to a senior official of the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP).

In line with our report from earlier this month , Apple has launched the iPhone 4S in a number of new countries today. Based on an examination of Apple's site and those of its carrier partners, we have found over 20 countries where the device appears to have debuted today.