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California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced today an agreement with Apple and five other tech companies including Google, Amazon, HP, RIM, and Microsoft, that will see all companies implementing new standards for displaying privacy policies for apps that collect personal data.  The press release described the agreement:

The agreement with the platforms is designed to ensure that mobile apps comply with the California Online Privacy Protection Act. The Act requires operators of commercial web sites and online services, including mobile apps, who collect personally identifiable information about Californians to conspicuously post a privacy policy.

The new agreement will force Apple and the other companies to implement a method of displaying a privacy policy to the user before an app is downloaded. The announcement noted all platforms will include the feature in a consistent location on the “application-download screen.” The news follows an FTC report criticizing privacy issues regarding mobile apps for children, and lawmakers issuing a letter to Apple following privacy concerns over Path’s use of contacts in the iPhone’s address book.  The Attorney General plans to meet with the companies in six months to assess the progress of the agreement, and we of course will wait to hear from Apple on exactly developers and the App Store will implement the privacy policies. The press release said a recent study found only approximately five percent of all mobile apps have a privacy policy. Attorney General Harris talked about the agreement:

“Your personal privacy should not be the cost of using mobile apps, but all too often it is..This agreement strengthens the privacy protections of California consumers and of millions of people around the globe who use mobile apps. By ensuring that mobile apps have privacy policies, we create more transparency and give mobile users more informed control over who accesses their personal information and how it is used. California has a unique commitment to protecting the privacy of our residents. Our constitution directly guarantees a right to privacy, and we will defend it. Forging this common statement of mobile privacy principles shows the power of collaboration — among government, industry and consumers — to create solutions to problems no one group can tackle alone.”

Although were not exactly sure when it went live, Apple seems to be rolling out a “Mastered for iTunes” section on iTunes worldwide that is populated with albums “specially tuned for higher fidelity sound.” Yesterday Universal Music Group announced several new additions to the section. New albums from UMG added to Mastered for iTunes include Madonna’s “MDNA,” U2′s “Achtung Baby,” Paul McCartney’s “Kisses On The Bottom,” and other albums from Bon Jovi, John Coltrane, and classical guitarist Kaori Muraji. Apple also recently published a white paper detailing best practices for mastering music for iTunes, and released new “Apple Audio Mastering Tools”…

To go with the section, Apple recently published a PDF detailing best practices for mastering and preparing music for distribution on iTunes. The document, titled “Music as the Artist and Sound Engineer Intended,” essentially asked publishers to submit high-resolution 24-bit/96kHz files, and not original CD masters to create the 256kbps files introduced with iTunes Plus in 2007. Apple noted: “Keeping the highest quality masters available in our systems allows for full advantage of future improvements to your music.” Apple explained it would check music submitted for “Mastered for iTunes” to make sure songs “begin with a high resolution digitization of the original analog source” and “sound noticeably superior.”

Apple also recently released new “Apple Audio Mastering Tools” which now only includes the “Mastered for iTunes droplet.” The tool is a standalone, drag-and-drop OS X utility that allows you to “automate the creation of iTunes Plus format masters” and preview music using the encoding tech Apple’s uses for the iTunes library. Apple explained:

You can use the Master for iTunes Droplet to automate the creation of iTunes Plus format masters. The Droplet creates an AAC audio file from an AIFF or WAVE source file by first generating a CAF (Core Audio File) rendered with an iTunes sound check profile applied to the file. If the sample rate of the source file is greater than 44.1 kHz, it’s downsampled to 44.1 kHz using our mastering-quality SRC. Next, it uses this newly rendered CAF to render a high quality AAC audio file. Once the final AAC audio file is generated, the intermediary CAF is deleted.

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Developer ZeptoLab UK Limited released a Mac App Store version of its physics puzzler Cut the Rope originally released by publisher Chillingo on iOS in October 2010. According to Chillingo, the iOS game reached over 1 million downloads in just nine days and the franchise has now hit over 100 million downloads. The Mac App Store version is the first full desktop release of the game and it was optimized for landscape orientation with “crisp images on monitors up to 2560×1440 resolution.”

ZeptoLab also redesigned some of the game’s original levels for a smooth experience with mice and trackpads. Scoreloop is supported currently when it comes to online leaderboards, but the press release said there would be support for Game Center on OS X when it launches. The game is available on the Mac App Store now as a 133MB download and features 250 levels and 10 level boxes for $4.99 (requires Mac OS X 10.5 or higher). The full press release is after the break (via Reuters):

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Feb 22 (MARKET WIRE) –  Global gaming company ZeptoLab today announced the release of its award-winning, physics-based game, Cut the Rope, in the Mac App Store. The game, which has been optimized for MacOS, features stunning high-resolution artwork and innovative game mechanics that have been optimized for computer gameplay.

With more than 100 million downloads, Cut the Rope has seen great success on both mobile phones and tablets. Now, with the MacOS version, players take on the challenge of cutting ropes, popping bubbles, collecting stars and feeding candy to a little green monster named Om Nom on a much bigger screen. The levels on Cut the Rope for MacOS have been specifically tailored for landscape screen orientation, and the game retains its striking, crisp images on monitors up to 2560×1440 resolution.

ZeptoLab has also adjusted some of Cut the Rope’s original levels to incorporate longer reaction time and use of a mouse or trackpad, giving players the opportunity to develop new rope-cutting strategies with the click (or click-and-drag) of a mouse.

“We’re thrilled to bring Cut the Rope and Om Nom to MacOS users,” said Misha Lyalin, CEO of ZeptoLab. “Because many of the original levels were adapted or completely remade to suit the experience associated with desktop games, the MacOS version of Cut the Rope is truly unique.”

The MacOS release marks the first time that the full version of Cut the Rope is available for desktop players. Also, the game currently uses Scoreloop to handle online leaderboards and achievements, but will be able to support Game Center on MacOS when it launches.

Cut the Rope is a wildly popular gaming sensation that has, along with Om Nom, become a brand that people recognize around the world. Recently named in the top 4 of ‘Top 25 All-Time Paid Apps’ in Apple App Store, the game will continue to grow exponentially as it becomes available on additional platforms and devices.

PRICING & AVAILABILITY

Cut the Rope is available for MacOS for $4.99.

The game is also available on iOS devices including iPhone, iPod, and iPad, Android devices, including all Android-powered smartphones, and most recently on NOOK by Barnes & Noble. Cut the Rope will be available on additional platforms later in 2012.

Today The Beatles announced the band’s 27 United States and United Kingdom No. 1 hits are available as ringtones exclusively through iTunes (iTunes Link). The 30-second ringtones are downloadable now through iTunes on your iOS device and include hits such as “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “All You Need Is Love,” “Yesterday,” “Eleanor Rigby,” and 23 others. A full list of all 27 ringtones is after the break. If Steve were alive, these would undoubtedly be his ringtones of choice for his iPhone.

Jobs’ love for The Beatles is documented in Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography where we learned Jobs kept seven different albums from the band on his iPad. He even compared his creative process and business model to The Beatles describing the total being “greater than the sum of the parts.” That is probably a big part of the reason Apple fought so hard to ultimately secure exclusive rights to the band’s music that has lasted since Nov. 2010.

1. “Love Me Do”

2. “From Me To You”

3. “She Loves You”

4. “I Want To Hold Your Hand”

5. “Can’t Buy Me Love”

6. “A Hard Day’s Night”

7. “I Feel Fine”

8. “Eight Days a Week”

9. “Ticket to Ride”

10. “Help!”

11. “Yesterday”

12. “Day Tripper”

13. “We Can Work It Out”

14. “Paperback Writer”

15. “Yellow Submarine”

16. “Eleanor Rigby”

17. “Penny Lane”

18. “All You Need Is Love”

19. “Hello, Goodbye”

20. “Lady Madonna”

21. “Hey Jude”

22. “Get Back”

23. “The Ballad of John and Yoko”

24. “Something”

25. “Come Together”

26. “Let It Be”

27. “The Long and Winding Road”

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Apple announced today the deadline for developers’ sandboxing their Mac App Store apps was extended from March 1 to June. The restriction coupled with the introduction of Apple’s Gatekeeper feature in Mountain Lion, which automatically prevents apps not signed by Apple recognized developers from running in 10.8, creates a much more controlled ecosystem for apps on OS X.

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According to a forum post on tonymacx86, Apple’s latest release of Mountain Lion, the 10.8 developer preview, is able to natively support AMD Radeon HD 6950 and 6970 without the need for any tweaks or hacks. As for the 6950 and 6970 specifically, the reports originate from the netkas.org forums where several posters report a 6950 running Netkas EFI working natively in 10.8. One poster even reported the 6950 continues to be recognized in Lion with unmodified drivers after “warm booting back to Lion from Mountain Lion.”

There are still issues, as tonymacx86 posters pointed out, “it looks like the 69xx situation seems a bit immature and experimental at this point. Even in the new OS.” Another forum poster claimed NVIDIA 5xx cards also appear to be running natively with mkchis claiming full support for the GTX 570 graphics card with no hacks or mods. He said it’s “running at full res even smoother than a patched Lion. It’s like native.”

When it comes to booting from Mountain Lion back to Lion with unmodified drivers, one poster warned it doesn’t appear to work if you are connecting a display to the 6950. The good news is a promintent hackintosher has informed us that Chimera has been updated to run on both Lion and Mountain Lion with a dev release coming within days:

We’ve fixed Chimera to work with both LIon and Mtn. Lion- there was a small change necessary to boot 10.8. We’ll be releasing that in a day or 2 for devs.

As a sidenote for Mountain Lion support, Robservatory shared their method of getting VMware Tools to work when running Mountain Lion in VMware Fusion. According to the post, Mountain Lion “will kernel panic” when trying to install VMware Tools. Here’s the fix:

1. Make a snapshot of your current setup!
2. Run the VMWare Tools installer, but do not reboot when it’s done. Just leave the installer running onscreen.
3. Navigate to /Library > Application Support > VMware Tools.
4. Delete vmmemctl.kext and vmmemctl
5. Edit (you’ll need root power) services.sh in that same directory.
6. Comment out these two lines (they’re shown commented out, via the # in front of each):

   #kextload '/Library/Application Support/VMware Tools/vmmemctl.kext'
   #'/Library/Application Support/VMware Tools/vmmemctl'

7. Save the edited file, quit the editor, and now (via the still-running Installer) reboot the virtual machine.

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On the heels of improved iCloud integration in Mountain Lion, Microsoft made things a little more official today for its upcoming updated SkyDrive cloud service for Windows 8 and possibly OS X. The new service will include improved file management and synchronization, secure two-factor authentication for remote access to files not yet uploaded to Skydrive, and support for file uploads of 2GB. What makes things interesting are rumors of paid storage options and a Mac client originating from Gemind.com.br who posted (via ArsTechnica) screenshots from Windows Live of SkyDrive advertising clients for “PC or Mac”…

As for storage, the screenshots show options to add an extra 20 GB, 50 GB, or 100 GB to the default 25 GB for $10, $25, or $50 yearly. That’s compared to the 10 GB, 20 GB, or 50 GB of additional iCloud storage for $20, $40, or $100/year. Of course, purchased music, apps, books, and TV shows from iTunes, as well as images in Photo Stream, do not count towards iCloud’s free 5GB. A Mac client for the new SkyDrive that is rolling out in the next few months will not be a huge stretch, because Microsoft already released an iPhone client for the service in December.

Adam Lashinsky, senior editor at large at Fortune and author of “Inside Apple” ($15-Amazon, Free Audio), has been doing many interviews since the release of his book detailing “How America’s Most Admired and Secretive Company Really Works.” He recently sat down to give a talk at the headquarters of online real estate company Zillow.

While the first half of the talk he discussed his motivation for writing ‘Inside Apple,” around the 7-minute mark he began to talk about life at Apple. He described Apple’s microscopic control over the message the company crafts “very carefully” in meetings, and he talked about how Steve Jobs had tight control over marketing—even after starting to hand parts of the company over to Tim Cook.

Lashinsky then told an anecdote from the book about Jobs emailing back and forth with a mid-level Apple employee responsible for writing an email to correspond with a keynote and product launch.

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You can see the area for solar has been cleared away in a picture taken earlier this week. Thanks PilotJohn!

Apple has just published its 2012 Facilities Report and Environmental Update detailing Apple’s environmental footprint, contributions, and energy savings throughout Apple retail stores, R&D buildings, and its data centers. Apple said in 2011 it recorded energy savings of 5 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) in Cupertino, and “dramatic reductions” in overall energy use. The report also detailed Apple’s Maiden, North Carolina data center as an example of the company’s “commitment to reduce the environmental impact of our facilities through energy efficient, green building design.”

In the report we learn a few things about the Maiden, North Carolina data center, which features a ”white cool-roof” for increased solar reflectivity. Surrounding the facility will be the largest end user–owned, onsite solar array in the US consisting of a 100-acre, 20-megawatt facility that will provide approximately “42 million kWh of clean, renewable energy” each year.

Apple is also building the biggest non-utility fuel cell installation in the US right next to the data center. That 5-megawatt facility will provide “40 million kWh of 24×7 baseload renewable energy” every year, according to Apple.

While noting the U.S. Green Building Council has awarded the facility LEED Platinum certification, Apple said “no other data center of comparable size that has achieved this level of LEED certification.” It also detailed the construction of the new data center which used “14 percent recycled materials, diverted 93 percent of construction waste from landfills, and sourced 41 percent of purchased materials within 500 miles of the site.”

Apple has converted 54 million kWh worth of consumption per year to purchased renewable energy through several facilities including Cork, Ireland; Munich, Germany; Austin, Texas; and Elk Grove, California. According to Apple, all of those facilities are currently powered with 100 percent renewable energy resources.

In the report Apple also went into detail regarding its energy consumption and “renewable energy disclosure” for the past year. In 2011, Apple facilities worldwide consumed approximately 493 million kWh of electricity and 3 million therms of natural gas. Apple claimed to have dodged nearly  30 million kilograms of CO2e emissions through the use of renewable energy initiatives. To accompany the report, Apple also updated its environmental site with stats related to the company’s carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions by product.

Despite reports from Reuters earlier this week profiling Fair Labor Association CEO Auret van Heerden’s positive reaction to the early inspections of Apple’s suppliers in Shenzhen, China, Bloomberg announced today van Heerden’s comments actually “reflected his previous interactions with Foxconn.” In contrast to Reuters original article, during a phone interview with Bloomberg, van Heerden said, “We’re finding tons of issues.”:

“We’re finding tons of issues. I believe we’re going to see some very significant announcements in the near future.”

Bloomberg explained van Heerden’s initial comments to Reuters, where he claimed iPad plants are “far better” than most other factories in the country, were based upon his reflections from earlier experiences with Foxconn and Apple:

Van Heerden said the comments reflected his previous interactions with Foxconn… Apple had commissioned the FLA to carry out smaller projects in the past two years, in order to try out some of the inspection techniques used by the group to more effectively root out workplace problems.

The FLA will report its findings in the coming weeks and publish them to its website. As for the inspection process currently taking place at Foxconn, Bloomberg detailed the process from van Heerden’s perspective:

Van Heerden said that FLA’s 30-person inspection team will interview 35,000 Foxconn employees, via meetings with small groups of randomly picked workers, chosen to reflect the demographics of the campus in terms of age, gender and skill levels. As part of the process, workers log answers to questions on tablets connected to FLA servers so they can be tabulated.