If you are a Mac OS X Lion user, be sure to go to >Software Update and check for updates, as you will find an update for Mac OS X (version 10.7.4) available for download. The update was launched today by Apple to address some minor issues with the operating system, including:

Apple’s online store rated considerably higher than other computer-related companies’ online offerings in a recent consumer satisfaction survey by Michigan customer analytic specialists ForeSee.

ForeSee measured customer satisfaction using a survey administered to nearly 21,000 visitors of the top 100 online sales sites ranked by annual revenue. Apple score of 85 was up five points from the year before besting Dell (80), Hewlett-Packard (79), Sony (78), and Microsoft (78). Last year Apple only beat Dell and HP by a single point.

T-Mobile is an interesting position. The company continues to hint at their efforts to make their network iPhone compatible, but at the same time must directly compete with other carriers who have the iPhone.

Solution? Come up with an ad campaign that blasts the carrier more than it does Apple’s device and imply that Apple’s device, or any device for that matter, would be faster on your network.

The new campaign offer users the ability to pit the speed of Apple’s iPhone 4S on any network (Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint) against the Samsung Galaxy S II on T-Mobile’s network. To the layman the trouncing of Apple’s iPhone in every test could constitute proof of the SII’s superiority and and the superiority of T-Mobile’s 4G network. However, to the knowledgeable gadget owner T-Mobile’s tests are incredibly disingenuous.

A new iPhone will arrive in September and the long-awaited and still-mythical iPad mini will reach consumers one month earlier, sometime before the month of August is finished.

That’s the latest report out of the far east today, as Digitimes dishes the newest insights from Pegatron and Foxconn, two Apple manufacturing partners who reportedly have their orders to prepare for production.

To mainly focus on Apple’s orders, Pegatron has also internally decided to downsize its SI motherboard department and to shift resources to Apple’s orders. Since Asustek has been reducing its motherboard orders to Pegatron, while gross margins are also rather low, the shifting in resources is expected to benefit Pegatron in its operations, the sources noted.

Apple recently announced another set of record earnings, which elevated the company’s stock drastically shortly after. The boom continues as the company with the world’s highest market cap continues to smash analyst predictions consistently.

Previously, some analysts were claiming that Apple could possibly hit $1,000 per share by the end of the year but these estimates are being raised after Tuesday’s earning call. According to analyst Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets, Apple is on route to become a $1 trillion company with a market share of $1,111 in the next year. White contends that the valuation is a reasonable one as Apple “appears to be firing on all cylinders.”

Artistic approximation of the next-generation iPhone

The Korean publication ETNews threw out a “welcome to the future” Apple rumor today claiming Apple will use “liquid metal” technology in the next-generation iPhone.

“According to industry sources, the next flagship phones of the companies are expected to adopt unprecedented materials for their main bodies, that is, ceramic for the Galaxy S3 and liquid metal for iPhone5, both being thin, light and highly resistant to external impacts. The new phase of the rivalry is because neither one of them can get a decisive edge over the other solely with its OS and AP specifications, features or design,” — ETNews

In the first annual list to be compiled since the death of Steve Jobs last October, there was a gaping hole – a chasm, fact – on the freshly published summary of the world’s most influential people by Time magazine.

But while Jobs is gone, his memory and legacy are clearly represented by two other prominent names to make the grade in the eyes of Time: new Apple CEO Tim Cook and Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson.

Per tradition, Time commemorates the lasting contributions to society by its honorees with a small essay from a close associate. In the case of Tim Cook, Mr. Cook’s essay was penned by former Vice President Al Gore.

According to Google’s CEO, Larry Page, the company is “quite focused” on reaching the lower end of the tablet market as Apple’s iPad continues to dominate the high-end price range.

It was announced in its recent earnings call for the first quarter of 2012 (where a revenue of $10.65 billion and an income of $3.39 billion was reported). The search giant also announced a 2 for 1 stock split, which was intended to preserve the company’s “founder-led” approach. During a Q&A session in the quarterly results conference call, Page fielded a question regarding the company’s strategy for Android tablets :

If you haven’t yet noticed, Apple is very good at procuring top talent from other companies. Another example of this reality emerged this week, as news broke that Apple has acquired the professional services of a former executive at Symantec.

Phillip Bullock’s new job title will be that of senior vice president and chief accounting officer at Apple. That’s quite a position, and one for which Bullock will likely be handsomely compensated. After all, he is running Apple’s tax department.

For a few fleeting moments Tuesday morning, Apple briefly enjoyed a market cap in excess of $600 billion. Then, Wall Street took a tumble, dragging down a multitude of stocks – including APPL.

But don’t fret if you blinked and missed Apple’s latest milestone. If AAPL doesn’t close at or above $643.53 today, it likely will soon. At this level, Apple has a market cap of $600 billion.

Apple is only the second company in the history of the world to boast of that achievement.Microsoft was first in 1999.