Apple updates QuickTime; MobileMe improvements coming next year

QuickTime

On Tuesday, Apple updated its QuickTime media software to version 7.6.9, patching 15 vulnerabilities. The security update is intended for Windows and Mac OS X Leopard 10.5 users, as Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.5 already includes fixes to the vulnerabilities.

QuickTime 7.6.9 for Windows is a 32.86MB download. Mac OS X 10.5 users can obtain the update through Software Update or the QuickTime website.

The update addresses several issues with JP2, GIF, PICT and FlashPix images, as well as AVI, MPEG, QTVR, Sorenson and other movie files. Most of the issues resolved could have resulted in unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution if exploited.

MobileMe

MobileMe will "get a lot better in 2011," according to an email ostensibly from Jobs obtained by MacRumors. The email was sent in response to a customer complaint that MobileMe is "almost unusable."

MobileMe subscribers have questioned the service's $99 a year price tag as of late, especially after Apple made the Find My iPhone service free to use for devices running iOS 4.2.

Some experts speculate that MobileMe could see an overhaul of its iDisk or Gallery services when Apple begins to utilize its new 500,000-square-foot data center in Maiden, N.C., which is schedule to begin operation "by the end of this year."

Emails purportedly from Jobs should, of course, be taken with a grain of salt, as these recirculated emails have become increasingly common, with many of the emails unverified or blatantly falsified. This summer, a top Apple spokesperson "emphatically denied" that Jobs authored statements attributed to him in a supposed email exchange over the iPhone 4 antenna issue.