Apple is reportedly hard at work on the next major version of iTunes, . Internal test builds are allegedly being circulated that are said to include back-end code improvements, support for iOS 6 devices, additional iCloud integration, and support for a "revamped" iTunes Store.

iTunes 11 will reportedly focus less on interface changes and more on under-the-hood code, which should theoretically optimize performance. The sources didn't entirely rule out some UI changes before it is released to the public, though, so there will most likely be some visual changes to integrate with . Given the expected support for iOS 6 devices, it seems likely that we may hear more about iTunes 11 this summer during Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

Apple has so far stuck to a yearly release schedule for major iOS updates, which generally coincide with new iPhone hardware. As such, we're led to believe iTunes 11 could be released sometime between late June and early October. That same timeframe is cited for the launch of a revamped iTunes Store, which is believed to incorporate improved search and discovery technology gained from Apple's .

iTunes 11 is also supposedly set to include additional iCloud support, including a centralized preference panel for controlling features like iTunes in the Cloud, iTunes Match, iOS device backups, and more. Still, what little information is available about iTunes 11 doesn't quiet the for Apple to rethink iTunes' role as a Swiss Army knife of device syncing, media management, and iTunes Store portal, so we look forward to seeing what Apple's solution is when it comes to cleaning up the next version of iTunes.

The US Department of Justice has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and six e-book publishers over alleged collusion to fix e-book prices. The antitrust suit was filed in US District Court in New York on Wednesday morning against Apple, Hachette, Harper Collins, Macmillan, Penguin, Pearson, and Simon & Schuster, according to .

The European Commission Apple and the book publishers in December for allegedly trying to fix the prices of e-books in an attempt to cripple . The EU was quickly , and in late March, the EU and the US DoJ announced they were to pursue the case.

"Defendants' ongoing conspiracy and agreement have caused e-book consumers to pay tens of millions of dollars more for e-books than they otherwise would have paid," reads the lawsuit. The DoJ says Apple signed contracts with the publishers ahead of the original iPad's introduction in 2010 that put other e-book vendors at a disadvantage when it came to pricing negotiations.

Rumors of a settlement have been floating about for weeks, but as of last week, Apple, Penguin, and Macmillan were still talks with the DoJ. According to sources speaking to Bloomberg, the three companies want to protect the e-book , which allows the publishers to set their own prices on e-books instead of the seller. The DoJ is reportedly looking to change that with its proposed settlement, however—both Bloomberg and the seem to be in agreement that the government could try to invalidate the contracts between Apple and the book publishers in question, allowing Amazon (and other vendors) to set their own prices once again.

As we wrote last week, such a settlement would likely result in lower e-book prices on the consumer side. But while the DoJ acknowledged that a settlement proposal would be announced sometime on Wednesday, specifics were not yet available.

Apple plans to release software that will detect and remove Flashback malware infections on the Mac, the company announced Tuesday. In a published late in the day, Apple explained that it's aware of the infection—which takes advantage of a previously —saying that the software was coming, but no specific release date was given.

In addition to the Flashback detection software, Apple said that it's "working with ISPs worldwide" to disable the botnet's command and control (C&C) servers. Kaspersky researcher Kurt Baumgartner told earlier on Tuesday that "Apple is taking appropriate action by working with the larger Internet security community to shut down the Flashfake [also known as Flashback] C2 domains," and Apple's latest efforts seem to coincide with Baumgartner's statement.

With Microsoft still holding off on releasing a full version of Office for the iPad, plenty of competitors have emerged to fill the gap. Among the contenders, some offer entirely new office suites designed to be (mostly) compatible with Office documents. Others provide actual copies of Microsoft Office in a virtual desktop-like setting, eliminating any compatibility problems but requiring an Internet connection to function.

OnLive Desktop, the service that stirred up controversy by providing Windows and Office on the iPad and Android tablets without being properly licensed by Microsoft, has now with new code on the backend. But there are already reports that as a result.

15" MacBook Pros are starting to among popular resellers, suggesting an Ivy Bridge update could be coming as soon as the end of April. Users hoping for updated 13" and possibly 17" models will likely have to wait until at least June, however.

Several resellers, including Best Buy, have recently run out of stock of some 15" MacBook Pro models, as noted by AppleInsider. Low stock at resellers is usually the first reliable indicator that production of a current model has begun to slow or stop in anticipation of a replacement.

that Intel had planned a staggered launch of Ivy Bridge processors this year. While suitable chips for 13" models won't be available until June, chips that would work for a 15" model are expected to launch at the end of this month. We said that Apple could either go with a staggered release of new MacBook Pro models or simply delay any MacBook Pro updates until all suitable processors are available in June. We felt a staggered release was less likely given Apple's typical upgrade cycles, but the recent inventory slowdown suggests otherwise.

AppleInsider makes additional claims that corroborate about the MacBook Pro line: Apple is believed to be releasing a slimmer 15" MacBook Pro sans optical drive on or around April 29, while a slimmed-down 13" model will come around June 3. The 17" MacBook Pro may not be updated until later in the year.

Our post from Friday about has been wildly popular so far. And with good reason, too, since a second security firm has now indicating that more than half a million Macs have been infected. That's slightly more than 1 percent of all 45 million Macs in the world—still a relatively small number, but a worrisome one for Mac users, as the tally of infected machines continues to grow.

But for those of us who are kept on electronic umbilical cords in order to help our family members with computer questions, asking them to open the Terminal and start typing in foreign commands can be daunting. That's why Ars reader and programmer put together a quick Flashback checker that can be run on its own to see whether the Mac in question is infected. The download is posted to and can run on Mac OS X10.5 and above; Leon also posted the for those interested in checking it out.

The downloadable app runs the same three Terminal commands that we outlined in our how-to last week—it either says "No signs of infection were found" or spits back further information if necessary. There is also a link to for removal, but if you have less-technical family members whose Macs are infected, you'll likely need to step in and help before they have to start mucking with the Terminal.

Our top Apple news from the last week was spiked with stories about the Flashback Mac trojan that is making the rounds. We also published some original stories about whether Apple holds the encryption key to your iCloud data, and whether Apple has a backdoor to your iPhone's PIN or passcode. And that's just the beginning! Read on for the weekly roundup:

: The Mac Flashback trojan has reportedly infected more than half a million Macs, according to one antivirus firm, and the number just keeps going up.

: The Flashback trojan for the Mac is now exploiting a critical bug in the Java software framework, allowing it to hijack machines even when users don't enter an administrative password. Apple has yet to distribute a fix.

A second security firm took a shot at estimating how many Macs are infected by the Flashback malware and it arrived at the same conclusion as the first—more than half a million machines. That figure, documented in a Kaspersky Lab published on Friday, would mean Flashback has infected .

Kaspersky Lab Expert Igor Soumenkov said researchers arrived at that number by registering a domain name used as a fallback command and control channel and logging the number of machines that reported to it. In less than 24 hours, a total of 600,000 unique bots connected to their server. Because Flashback shows the universally unique identifier of each bot, he said they're confidant they didn't count the same one multiple times, although they couldn't rule out the possibility that some of the machines were running FreeBSD, Linux, Windows, or other operating systems.

AT&T has confirmed that it will begin unlocking iPhones for qualifying customers beginning Sunday, April 8. This means that, if you have purchased an AT&T-locked iPhone and you meet AT&T's (somewhat strict) requirements, you'll be able to take that phone to another GSM carrier here in the US or abroad.

was first to report the anonymous information about the new policy, but AT&T was quick to confirm once the word got out. According to AT&T, the iPhone you want to unlock can't be associated with a current active term commitment, and you must already be out of your contract terms (usually two years from purchase) or you must have paid an early termination fee. Your account must be in good standing, too—no $700 overdue phone bills for you.

Apple does sell already unlocked, contract-free iPhones that work on GSM carriers, including AT&T. But those devices cost $649 up front for the 16GB iPhone 4S, going up to $849 for the 64GB version—significantly higher than the $199 subsidized starting price when you buy from AT&T or another carrier. As such, the majority of current iPhone users in the US have carrier-locked devices, but AT&T's latest announcement will undoubtedly help to set a few of those users free with minimal pain involved. How many of you are going to try and get your devices unlocked come April 8 so you can hop over to T-Mobile?

So you're a Mac user who has heard that have been infected by the recent Flashback malware. When the news began to spread about how the malware took advantage of a , the the horror stories began pouring in. "My dad heard about the Flashback malware and subsequently deleted his Java folder. Now his Mac won't boot," a friend told me.

Needless to say, this is not the way to properly nuke a possible Flashback infection or prevent yourself from catching one. Still, there is a reasonable level of concern out there. Maybe you haven't been keeping up on your antivirus software (and let's be honest, most Mac users don't), or perhaps you simply have suspicions about your Mac acting funny. How do you check if you have Flashback, and if you do, how do you (properly) get rid of it?