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FaceTime now in the Mac App Store, 720p video calling
Along with the launch of its new MacBook Pros, which include FaceTime HD cameras, Apple has released an updated version of its FaceTime application. The new FaceTime for Mac lets you send and receive 720p HD video calls on supported Intel Macs. The standard iSight cameras on previous Mac hardware deliver VGA-quality calls, while the new MacBook Pro 2011 line is capable of 720p HD video. All hardware that meets the minimum specs can receive HD calls through this updated application. The app will be bundled with the new MacBook Pros and is available as a 99-cent upgrade for owners of previous generation hardware. [Via Macstories]
Apple FaceTime for Mac finally out of beta, available on the Mac App Store for $0.99
After a lengthy four-month beta trial, Apple's decided that it's about time to make FaceTime for Mac available to the masses, meaning any Mac user can finally do video chat with other Mac or iOS users. Unlike the app's free iOS counterpart, though, you'll have to chip in $0.99 on the Mac App Store for some enlarged video chat sessions. But hey, it's totally worth it, especially if you have a 27-inch screen to play with. [Thanks, kariminal]
Poll: Do you think FaceTime for Mac will be released next week?
One of our readers, Adam, asked a very interesting question earlier today: Do you think that FaceTime for Mac will come out of beta and be released on the Mac App Store on Jan. 6th? It would seem to be a given that Apple will release it through the App Store at some point, and January should have been plenty of time for beta testing. I'm ready to have a full-featured app, so I didn't know if you knew anything. Regretfully, we don't have any more information than you do. But Adam brings up some good points. Apple is going to want some hot apps in the Mac App Store at launch on January 6, 2011. The consensus here (and we've been known to be dreadfully wrong in terms of prognostications) is that we'll see iWork '11 on January 6, along with a handful of other Apple apps and a lot of third-party goodies. So, in the tradition of newspapers, we're taking a reader poll to see how many of you think FaceTime for Mac is going to be one of the first apps in the Mac App Store. Vote, and be sure to leave a comment below if none of our answers makes you happy. %Poll-57872%
Apple fixes FaceTime for Mac security flaw, not your Wolverine complex
That was quick. The FaceTime for Mac beta security flaw has been shutdown by Apple on the backend -- a flaw that allowed anyone with physical access to your machine to reset and grab your iTunes Store account password and security answers. So now, if some nefarious type were to click "View Account" within your FaceTime desktop app while you were chillin' in the Starbucks toilet or chatting away the day by the office water cooler, the would-be identify thief would simply be redirected back to the FaceTime Account Preferences pane. At which point he'd probably just slip your laptop into his backpack earning two thumbs up from that guy.
Facelette brings random chat to FaceTime for Mac
Sometimes it's very easy to predict the future. Just as the day follows the night and the sniffles follow ragweed pollen, we can confidently say that within a short time there will be incidents of unwanted exposure on Facelette, followed by urgent cries to protect the innocent, and likely as not the collapse and disappearance of the whole thing shortly after. The path trodden by Chatroulette is a wide one -- but maybe we can hope for some awesome piano improvisation along the way. In the meantime, if you're of a mind to video chat with random strangers via FaceTime for Mac, check out the service. Developer Zach Holman acknowledges he whipped it up in "about an hour" and that it's "dumb as hell." You definitely want to create a throwaway/spampot email address for this, rather than your fulltime Apple ID. [via Hacker News & Download Squad]
PSA: FaceTime beta endangers your Apple ID password and security questions
Worried about local hackers? Like leaving your laptop behind in the coffee shop while you take long, leisurely trips to the bathroom? We wouldn't be so self-assured. Turns out there's a gaping security hole in the FaceTime beta, which allows anyone with access to your computer to change your password without knowing it to begin with, as well as peep and edit your security questions and answers. It would be nice if signing out of FaceTime would protect you, but unfortunately the app seems to have a lock-tight memory on your password, so it's easy for anyone to open the app and sign-in again. Hopefully Apple will fix these holes quickly, and until then we recommend uninstalling FaceTime or choosing your friends very wisely.
FaceTime coming to OS X, beta available today
We just spotted the FaceTime logo, or a version of it, lurking in the OS X dock during Apple's iMovie 11 demo. New version of iChat with FaceTime compatibility? We'd put money on it. Update: It's real! It appears to be an all-new app, instead of a version of iChat AV. You use your Mac's Address Book and make calls right from the app. If your chat counterpart is in portrait or landscape the display automatically adjusts, and you can also go to full screen. Better yet? It's out today, in a beta form. Find out more in our hands-on. %Gallery-105525%
