It's WWDC week, and one of the big announcements from today's keynote was Apple's new, homegrown Maps app, which will come baked into iOS 6 this fall. Here, we take a look at Apple's new offering and how it compares to the Google-powered app that it's replacing

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Built by Apple from the ground up, Maps uses a vector-based engine that maintains a crisp appearance and seamless rendering, even as you zoom in and out. For context, Google Maps has been using vector-based graphics since late 2010, so while the technology is worth mentioning, it isn't exactly groundbreaking. That said, let's skip the underlying technology and get right to the noteworthy features of the new Maps app on iOS 6.

Turn-by-turn navigation As Android users will attest, navigation is one of the most useful and basic features that a mobile maps program c... [Read more]

Apple has released an update to iTunes that addresses a few outstanding bugs in the program and adds support for Mountain Lion.

According to the update's Web page, the update improves performance and addresses problems involving syncing with a first-generation iPad that holds an iBooks textbook; photos syncing out of order; and unexpected deletions of apps and iTunes playlists.

In addition to these fixes, the update adds support for the iOS 6 beta that was released to developers today at WWDC 2012. The update is a 170MB download for OS X users, but is also available for Windows (both 32-bit and 64-bit) as a smaller 75MB download. These are available through Apple's Software Update services but can also be downloaded from the iTunes Web site.

As always, be sure to back up your system before applying this update.

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The iOS 6 beta is out today, but only for app developers.

During the WWDC keynote, Apple demoed several of the new features in iOS 6, including Facebook integration, the new Maps app, turn-by-turn directions, a "Do Not Disturb" feature for when you don't want to answer your phone, and several enhancements that make Siri "smarter." In total, iOS 6 brings more than 200 new features over iOS 5 and, with today's announcement, tons of app developers are flocking to Apple's iOS Dev Center to download the beta.

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Adobe has released version 11.3 of its Flash plug-in, which in addition to addressing a few security holes and offering improved input management and sound performance, includes a background-updating feature. This feature debuted for Windows systems in Flash 11.2, but this latest update has implemented it on the Mac.

Adobe Flash Player's popularity makes it a target for malware developers, who not only attempt to exploit its code, but also mask their distributions as fake Flash Player installations. As a result, many people have come to distrust update announcements and recommendations for Flash, even when they have been legitimate.

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During the opening-day keynote WWDC 2012 today, Apple announced the latest version of the operating system that powers its popular mobile devices. Scott Forstall, Apple's SVP of iOS, promises that iOS 6 will bring 200 new features including a tighter Facebook integration, an empowered Siri voice assistant, and the capability to conduct FaceTime calls over a cellular network.

Yet, it's Apple's new maps app that was easily the star of the show. Created by the company, the app finally adds turn-by-turn directions along with info cards for businesses, a "flyover mode" when searching for an address, and a full 3D in satellite view that displays buildings, terrain, and landmarks. There will be much more, of course, but even at this early point it's clear that Apple has filled a few gaping holes on our iOS wish list.

iOS 6 will come this fall to the iPhone 3GS and later models and to second- and ... [Read more]

The new MacBook with Retina Display has a lot of the ports imaging pros need. Yay!

As a replacement for the top-of-the-line MacBook Pro that a lot of pro video and photo editors use, the MacBook Pro with Retina Display may sound mighty tasty. Faster innards, with a high-resolution, high-contrast 15.4-inch display and all the essential ports -- as long as you're willing to possibly have to waste one of the two essential Thunderbolt ports with dongles for FireWire and Ethernet -- at a lighter 4.5 pounds is a potentially winning combination if you've been schlepping around one of the older, heavier models. On the downside, still a glossy screen, though Apple claims less glare. Unfortunately, reflectivity is as much an issue as glare.

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(Credit: Onavo.com)

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The new version of Safari combines the search and location bar, and adds gesture support for tabs on Mac TrackPads.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple unveiled a new version of Safari today at the company's World Wide Developer's Conference here. The browser takes some visual cues from the competition but manages to maintain its unique take on browsing.

Not unlike Google's Chrome, Safari 6 ditches its search bar in favor of a unified search-and-URL location bar. As with Chrome, and optional in Firefox, the search-location bar clears up a significant chunk of the ever-dwindling browser screen real estate. You'll have more room for extension icons, basically.

During the WWDC keynote this morning, Apple's new head of Mac software engineering, Craig Federighi, said Safari 6 has the fastest JavaScript engine of any OS, though he didn't provide any comparison benchmarks.

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Apple previews Mountain Lion OS with iCloud

Mountain Lion, originally seeded to developers in February, will be available from the Mac App Store in July for $19.99.

Apple's new operating system takes the Mac OS in a new direction, with Apple integrating a number of iOS-inspired features from its mobile devices. Apple SVP Craig Federighi says the new OS has over 200 new features, including notifications, Reminders, Game Center, Documents in the Cloud, and Messages. Many of these features are standalone programs, but some such as the Notification Center and sharing tools are systemwide services. Apple is also enhancing security options with its Gatekeeper technology, the service that warns you when you could potentially download harmful software.

Apple's WWDC 2012: iOS 6, Mountain Lion, and more (pictures)

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Mac OS X Lion's penetration rate has been solid over the last nine months.

Apple's Mac userbase has grown to 66 million users, the company announced today at its Worldwide Developers Conference.

The company, which also unveiled new MacBook Pros and a MacBook Air at the event, says that it has sold 26 million copies of Mac OS X Lion since its launch last summer, and 40 percent of its users are running that operating system.

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That 40 percent figure proved important to Apple. During its keynote, the company said that it took Microsoft's Windows 7 platform 27 months to hit the same penetr... [Read more]