Apple has started to air two new iPhone 4S commercials, this time featuring actor John Malkovich speaking with Siri. The first ad, shown below, is titled “Life” and features Siri getting philosophical in response to a simple inquiry about life, replying with:

“Try and be nice to people. Avoid eating fat. Read a good book every now and then. Get some walking in. And try to live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”

The second commercial, also embedded below, is titled “Joke” and features a more typical Siri interaction, covering weather, appointments, restaurant searches, and a bad joke about two iPhones walking into a bar.

Both commercials are roughly in the same theme as the other recent celebrity spots featuring Samuel L Jackson and Zooey Deschanel, but have otherwise veered away from Apple’s more traditional commercials.

A new report from Bloomberg appears to confirm rumors that the next iPhone will have a larger display. Although Bloomberg doesn’t mention a specific screen size, the earlier reports from Wall Street Journal and Reuters claim it will measure 4″ diagonally.

According to Bloomberg, the late Steve Jobs worked closely on the redesigned iPhone project before his death last year, reiterating rumors that surfaced last October that the so-called iPhone 5 was his last big project.

The report goes on to speculate the next iPhone will also include 4G LTE internet access, a longstanding rumor that gained significant strength after Apple released the 4G LTE equipped 3rd generation iPad.

No release date is known for the next iPhone, though most assumptions point to a release on the same Fall schedule set last year by the iPhone 4S, suggesting an announcement sometime around September or October.

Apple has pushed out another update to OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview 3, as the anticipated summer public release of OS X 10.8 nears. The new build is 12A206j and can be downloaded through the Mac App Store by any registered Mac developer running 12A193i or later of Mountain Lion.

The latest build includes noticeable changes to Notification Center, Notes, Share Sheets, and several other prominent OS X 10.8 features. 12A206j also features many bug fixes though it continues to have a handful of prominent issues that are yet to be addressed. Additionally, some 2007 MacBook Pro models are currently missing support in the new version, though that is expected to be resolved in a future update.

The next generation iPhone will feature a 4″ display, according to two separate reports from Reuters and Wall Street Journal.

The dual reports appear to confirm long existing speculation that Apple would increase the size of the new iPhone screens from the current 3.5″ display to a larger 4″ display. Larger displays are increasingly common in the smartphone world, and both Reuters and WSJ cite competition from Android phones as part of the motivation to increase the screen size.

Other details are scant and the source of the information is the routinely vague “people familiar with the situation”, but WSJ and Reuters have a history of providing accurate Apple rumors and leaks in the past.

Assuming existing iPhone 5 rumors pan out, the next-gen phone could potentially include the following features:

• 4″ Display at similar screen resolution to existing iPhone models
• 4G LTE connectivity
• A5X CPU borrowed from the iPad 3
• 10 megapixel or higher camera
• All new redesigned enclosure
• Ships with iOS 6

The next iPhone is expected to launch later this year, likely around September or October.

Apple will release a new thinner MacBook Pro next month at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), according to a report from Bloomberg.

With a thinner design, the new MacBook Pro is expected to feature “high-definition screens like those on the iPhone and iPad” commonly referred to as a Retina display, and also include SSD storage which will extend battery life and increase performance. The new laptops are said to run on Intels newest Ivy Bridge processors, though precise clock speeds are currently unknown, and there is no word on bundled graphics card capabilities.

Earlier today, 9to5mac had reported on some information they had received regarding the new MacBook Pro model, and the Bloomberg report seems to confirm much of it. 9to5mac suggested the new MacBook Pro won’t have a tapered enclosure like the MacBook Air, and instead would resemble a thinner version of the square unibody enclosure that already exists but without a SuperDrive.

Rumors of retina Macs have swirled for quite some time, and evidence has been piling up since early OS X Lion developer previews were released. HIDPI mode is currently buried in OS X and can be enabled manually, though there is no official Apple screen capable of utilizing the high resolution.

WWDC 2012 is scheduled to run from June 11 to June 15. Other than an all new MacBook Pro, the event is expected to reveal iOS 6 beta for the first time, in addition to providing a GM build of OS X Mountain Lion, the latter of which is set to be released this summer.

Mac OS X 10.7.4 Update has been released by Apple, the update includes bug fixes and security updates and is recommended for all OS X Lion users to install. Two of the most significant changes are a fix to a restoring windows bug and a patch for a potential security issue with FileVault passwords, though there are a handful of other changes and fixes that are listed below in the changelog. An update to Safari is also bundled within the software update.

OS X Lion users can download the OS X 10.7.4 update directly via Software Update from the  Apple menu, the update weighs in around 730MB. Direct download links are below, though most users should upgrade through Software Update to keep things simple.

OS X 10.7.4 Direct Download Links

These are direct download links from Apple servers, each file is a DMG.

• OS X Lion 10.7.4 Client – 693mb
• OS X Lion 10.7.4 Client Combo – 1.4GB
• OS X Lion 10.7.4 Server Combo – 1.5GB
• OS X Lion 10.7.4 Server Client – 739MB

The complete change log for 10.7.4 client is as follows:

• Resolve an issue in which the “Reopen windows when logging back in” setting is always enabled.
• Improve compatibility with certain British third-party USB keyboards.
• Addresses permission issues that may be caused if you use the Get Info inspector function “Apply to enclosed items…” on your home directory.
• Improve Internet sharing of PPPoE connections.
• Improve using a proxy auto-configuration (PAC) file.
• Address an issue that may prevent files from being saved to an SMB server.
• Improve printing to an SMB print queue.
• Improve performance when connecting to a WebDAV server.
• Enable automatic login for NIS accounts.
• Include RAW image compatibility for additional digital cameras.
• Improve the reliability of binding and logging into Active Directory accounts.
• The OS X Lion v10.7.4 Update includes Safari 5.1.6, which contains stability improvements.

All Mac users should perform a backup before installing system software updates, initiating a manual backup with Time Machine is just a matter of right-clicking a drive.

Mac OS X Snow Leopard can be upgraded directly to OS X Mountain Lion, assuming the final release maintains the same capacity as the currently available developer previews. To perform the direct upgrade as it stands today, users will need to have created an OS X Mountain Lion USB installer from which to boot off of and upgrade with, though there is a possibility that a Snow Leopard Mac will also have access to Mountain Lion directly from the Mac App Store.

We have received many questions about this in our inboxes and comments and figure with the OS X Mountain Lion release date set for summer it’s a good time to answer it based on currently available information. It’s important to note this upgrade path is based off of the current developer previews of Mountain Lion and upgrade eligibility could change before the public release, it’s also possible that Apple won’t officially support upgrading from Mac OS X 10.6 to 10.8 and this could remain an unofficial and unsupported feature.

A fair amount of OS X Snow Leopard users have held off on upgrading to OS X Lion, but with the release of Mountain Lion around the corner it’s quite likely a lot of OS X 10.6.8 holdouts will jump directly to OS X 10.8 if it is possible. Mountain Lion does have stricter system requirements than it’s predecessor, however, and some owners of older Mac hardware could wind up with Lion being the last supported version of OS X on their machines.

We will update with additional information on the various Mac upgrade paths to OS X Mountain Lion as further details become available.

iOS 5.1.1 has been released for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, the software update comes as build 9B206 and includes a variety of bug fixes including an HDR photo issue, improved AirPlay, iPad network switching, an iTunes store fix, and improvements to Safari reading list syncing. The official changelog is listed below, and the software update is recommended to install for all iOS users.

Updating to iOS 5.1.1

The two simplest methods to update to iOS 5.1.1 are either through iTunes update or on the iOS device itself through OTA updates. Connect the iOS device to iTunes and install the update when prompted, or on the iOS device tap on “Settings” then “General” and then “Software Update”. For the bandwidth conscious, the OTA update on device is the leanest, with the update weighing in around 45MB.

Download iOS 5.1.1 IPSW Directly

These are direct download links to firmware files hosted by Apple, right-click and “Save As” for best results. The file extension should be .ipsw and nothing else, using IPSW files is easy but for most users it’s recommended to download through iTunes or the iOS device.

• iPad 1
• iPad 2 Wi-Fi
• iPad 2 GSM (ATT)
• iPad 2 CDMA (Verizon)
• iPad 2,4 (New iPad 2)
• iPad 3 Wi-Fi
• iPad 3 GSM
• iPad 3 CDMA
• iPhone 3GS
• iPhone 4 GSM
• iPhone 4 CDMA
• iPhone 4S
• iPod touch 3rd gen
• iPod touch 4th gen

Separately, iOS 5.0.1 for Apple TV has been released:

• Apple TV 3rd gen
• Apple TV 2nd gen

Note the ISPW files are significantly larger than the delta updates available through OTA software update, and are generally best used by advanced users.

iOS 5.1.1 Changelog

Courtesy of Apple:

• Improves reliability of using HDR option for photos taken using the Lock Screen shortcut
• Addresses bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks
• Fixes bugs that affected AirPlay video playback in some circumstances
• Improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List
• Fixes an issue where ‘Unable to purchase’ alert could be displayed after successful purchase

Apple has issued an update to OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview 3. The new build comes as 12A193i and is available through Software Update, which in turn downloads through the Mac App Store, making the update available to all developers with OS X Mountain Lion DP3 currently installed.

Noticeable changes in the new OS X 10.8 build are to Mission Control, Messages, System Preferences, Notifications Center, iCloud integration, and Preview app, but otherwise there do not appear to be significant differences in the Developer Preview 3.1 update. Of course, many bug fixes and resolutions to issues identified in the previous build have also been included, and an update to XCode 4.4 Developer Preview 4 was released alongside the update to build applications for the latest developer release.

OS X Mountain Lion is scheduled to be released to the public in late summer of 2012 and is expected to have more stringent system requirements than OS X Lion.

Are you a gamer? Toss your plans out the window for the next few days because Diablo 3 is free to play all weekend long. Dubbed an “open beta”, the free weekend is intended to help Blizzard load test the Diablo III game servers before the official public release on May 15. You’ll be able to play the game from today (April 20) at noon until Monday, April 23 at 10AM PST, with complete access to all five character classes up to level 13.

Playing Diablo 3 Open Beta is completely free for both Mac OS X and Windows users, here’s what you need to get started:

• Battle.net account (free to sign up)
• Create a BattleTag
• Download the game client and install it before April 23 (free)
• Hardware that meets the Diablo III system requirements for Mac or PC

Whether you’re a fan of the Diablo series or just Blizzard games in general, this is a great chance to get an early look at the game. Likewise, it’s also a good opportunity to see if you like Diablo 3 before shelling out for the full paid version when it comes out next month.

Apple has released OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview 3 to those registered with the Mac Developer program. The new build comes as 12A178q and includes many bug fixes, though it still includes a fairly lengthy list of known issues and bugs. This is the third beta release of OS X Mountain Lion, which currently has a rough public release date of “Summer” .

Developers can download OS X Mountain Lion DP3 from the App Store, though logging in through the developer center is necessary in order to receive a redemption code.

Due to stability issues and future upgrade problems, Mountain Lion Developer Preview should not be the primary operating system on a Mac. Follow a guide to set up a dual boot system between OS X 10.8 Beta and the more stable OS X 10.7 build for best results.

Like to learn new things, preferably from world class experts? Then you’ll like Coursera, a new organization from which several prominent universities aim to offer free high quality online courses to anyone, anywhere.

Princeton, Stanford, U Michigan, Penn, and UC Berkeley are among the schools currently participating in the program, and combined they offer a wide variety of classes on various topics. Whether you’re interested in Humanities, Social Sciences, Healthcare, Medicine, Biology, Math, Statistics, Economics, Finance, Business, Society, Networks, Information, or Computer Science, all classes are completely free and taught online.

The free Computer Science courses may be of particular interest to our readers, and those classes include: Algorithms I and Algorithms II, Automata, Compilers, Computer Architecture, Computer Science 101, Computer Vision: 3D Reconstruction to Visual Recognition, Computer Vision: Fundamentals, Cryptography, Design and Analysis of Algorithms I, Game Theory, Introduction to Logic, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Networked Life, Probabilistic Graphical Models, Securing Digital Democracy I, and Software Engineering for SaaS.

You can see the full list of free course offerings at Coursera.org

Course length varies from 4 weeks to 12 weeks. A handful of classes start this month, and many more begin in May, June, July, August, September, November, while others are still listed as To Be Announced.

Education is a great thing, and Coursera looks to have a strong future. Hopefully they come out with an iPad app similar to Khan Academy for easier self-paced learning and for those who wish to follow along more casually.

If you like the idea of learning without a gigantic university-sized price tag, iTunes is another great resource for free classes and lessons, with videos and podcasts offering free foreign language lessons, free iOS 5 development classes, general iPhone development courses, and much more.

Apple has released two notable iPhone 4S commercials that feature popular celebrities using Siri. The first TV ad shows Samuel L Jackson planning a special evening with his wife thanks to the help of Siri, and the second commercial shows Zooey Deschanel using Siri to manage a lazy rainy day. Both commercials can be viewed embedded below.

Samuel L Jackson “Date Night” iPhone ad:

Zooey Deschanel “Rainy Day” iPhone 4S ad:

Apple has released a standalone removal tool that targets Flashback malware infections. The separate utility is recommended for Mac users who do not have Java installed on their OS X Lion machine, but it’s functionality is identical to that performed by the most recent Java update to remove Flashback.

If your Mac does not have Java or you did not install the most recent Java for OS X updates, running this tool is a good idea. Here is what to do:

1. Download the tool directly from Apple
2. Mount the DMG file and launch FlashbackMalwareRemover.pkg
3. Click Continue, click “Install” and enter the administrative password

Everything beyond that is automated, if the Mac is infected it will be automatically repaired.

Users should always keep system software up to date as part of a general maintenance routine. Despite the recent media overhyping of Flashback, Mac OS X remains a very secure platform. If you are concerned about potential attacks, our recent guide on securing Mac OS X from potential trojans and malware may be helpful to you.

Apple has released a new Java security update that automatically removes the most frequently occurring variations of the Flashback trojan malware. The software update is recommended for all Mac users to install, even if they have previously checked their systems for infection.

To get the update and remove any malware that is potentially on a Mac, simply download the “Java for OS X 2012-003″ update from Software Update found within the  Apple menu. There is no manual checking or removal required, simply installing the update from Apple resolves any potential infection for you.

The new Java update also disables automatic execution of Java applets, providing further security against potential threats down the road. Release notes are as follows:

This Java security update removes the most common variants of the Flashback malware.

This update also configures the Java web plug-in to disable the automatic execution of Java applets. Users may re-enable automatic execution of Java applets using the Java Preferences application. If the Java web plug-in detects that no applets have been run for an extended period of time it will again disable Java applets.

This update is recommended for all Mac users with Java installed.

For details about this update see: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5242

All Mac users should install the update as soon as possible. For extra protection, don’t miss our recent post on some simple tips to secure Mac OS X from viruses, malware, and trojans.