Apple has announced the iPod nano (1st Generation) Replacement Program. The company says it's discovered, "in very rare cases," that the battery in the iPod nano (first generation) may overheat and pose a safety risk. Affected iPod nanos were sold between September 2005 and December 2006. This issue has been traced to a single battery supplier that produced batteries with a manufacturing defect. While the possibility of an incident is rare, the likelihood increases as the battery ages, according to Apple. Apple recommends that you stop using your iPod nano and follow a process to order a replacement unit, free of charge. You can find details at http://www.apple.com/support/ipodnano_replacement/.

PAD Software has introduced SimpleRSS 1.0, an RSS feed reader application for Mac OS X 10.7 ("Lion"). It costs US$0.99 and is available at the Mac App Store in the Lifestyle category. SimpleRSS features full screen mode support, scrollbars, and more. With its built-in web browser, users can choose to prioritize certain RSS feeds or to have them appear only when there's a new article. SimpleRSS is 64-bit and uses a distraction-free sidebar to manage article. It uses a built-in web browser so there's no need to leave the app to read the articles in another app.

iOS developer Spielhaus has introduced Dictabulus Speech 1.0. The iPhone 4S-only app showcases a use of Siri -- Apple's automated assistant that understands spoken language and can accomplish various tasks -- to transfer spoken text to the frontmost window on a Mac via Wi-Fi. Dictabulus forwards the text returned by Siri and sends it to the Mac creating a fast and simple dictate tool. Users only need to run a free helper tool on their Mac. The helper tool waits for the Dictabulus app to connect, then forwards the text returned from Siri and pastes it into the frontmost window on the Mac. Users only need to run a free helper tool on their Mac. The helper tool waits for the Dictabulus app to connect, then forwards the text returned from Siri and pastes it into the frontmost window on the Mac. Dictabus requires and iPhone 4S, Mac OS X 10.6 or higher, and a Wi-Fi connection between an the smartphone and computer. Dictabulus 1.0 is available for US$1.99 exclusively through the App Store...

QuickerTek has introduced the Q4 (http://www.quickertek.com/products/Q4.php), the fourth generation Quicky. Offering an improvement over the previous models, the new Q4 works in both 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz wireless modes and powered from the USB port. It's designed as a solution for users who often find themselves accessing networks at work, school, hotels, coffee shops, airports and other environments where signal strength and speed vary and who want maximum wireless performance. Any Mac with a USB port can take advantage of wireless networking, whether the Mac has an AirPort wireless network card or not. The dual 3 dBi antennas provide the speed necessary for 802.11a/n wireless that runs in the 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz range. Users may choose to upgrade these antennas for even greater distance and wireless speeds. The US$125 Q4 clips to the Mac laptop case and is powered from the USB port. Q4 works on any Mac with any open USB port with Mac OS X 10.5.8 or higher. It conforms to the wireless...

Accordance Bible Software has released Accordance 9.5, a free update to its industry-leading Bible study software for the Mac. The upgrade adds a new Dynamic Interlinear, which can be used as a traditional interlinear Bible or customized to display additional information such as Greek and Hebrew Lemmas, syntax, and morphology. It can also stack multiple Bible translations that are tagged with key numbers, allowing for at-a-glance comparisons of Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. The Dynamic Interlinear doesn't require the purchase of specialized interlinear Bibles in Accordance, as it's integrated into all Accordance Bible texts that are tagged with key numbers or grammatical data. The interlinear display is turned on and off by a checkbox  and display information is customized from a drop-down menu. Accordance 9.5 adds other enhancements as well, including improvements to Accordance’s cross-highlighting system for tagged Bible texts. This enhancement adds cross-highlighting to all...

When the Harry Potter movies showed readers enjoying moving images and interactive content in the magical newspaper "The Daily Prophet," audiences were wowed by the premise of what "magic" could do. In the real world, Magzter, a New York based digital startup, is playing the role of magician to the magazine publishing industry. The company says it's providing a platform that enables magazine owners to embed multimedia clips and interactive content within their publications that's free for publishers to use. By signing up on Magzter, publishers can make their titles available on Apple's iOS and Google's Android powered devices, as well as be available on the web. Editors can embed multimedia clips and interactive content through a self-service process. Magzter 1.1.1 is available worldwide through the Apple App Store (http://www.itunes.com/appstore/).

Cirrus Thinking is taking Dolly Drive (http://www.dollydrive.com) beyond Time Machine by adding syncing and online storage services to its cloud offering. The new functionality will be added to the Dolly Drive suite of services. Users will be able to create a bootable clone of their Mac on an external hard drive for local disaster recovery. Dolly Drive is a subscription software and online storage service designed for Apple's Time Machine. In addition to providing Mac users offsite cloud storage directly through the Time Machine application. It works with Apple's Lion and Snow Leopard platforms.

Apple’s iOS 5.0.1 update apparently addressed some of the battery issues iPhone customers are experiencing, but not all. In a statement to "AllThingsD" (http://macte.ch/vm2IQ) the company acknowledged there are still problems. "The recent iOS software update addressed many of the battery issues that some customers experienced on their iOS 5 devices," Apple said. "We continue to investigate a few remaining issues."

Apple has posted three software/firmware updates. About AirPort Base Station and Time Capsule Firmware Update 7.6 is for all 802.11n AirPort Express, 802.11n AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule models. It provides fixes for: an issue with performance on overlapping wireless networks; an issue with AirPlay audio streaming; and an issue with configuring multiple entries for DNS servers. MacBook Pro SMC Firmware Update 1.5 resolves an issue where a MacBook Pro being used with a power adapter may unexpectedly shut down under heavy workload if the battery charge level is near empty.    Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.9 adds RAW image compatibility for more cameras to Aperture 3 and iPhoto '11. You can obtain the updates via the Software Update component of Mac OS X's Systems Preferences app.

Iomega (http://www.iomega.com) says it's completed its new Mac-oriented hard drive line with the launch of the Iomega eGo Mac Edition Portable Hard Drive.   Combined with the recent launches of the Iomega Helium Portable Hard Drive and the Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive, Iomega now has a complete new line of portable and desktop hard drives for Mac users, according to Iomega President Jonathan Huberman. All three new drives are formatted HFS+ for compatibility with Mac computers right out of the box, making them perfect complements to today’s Apple notebooks and desktops.   Available in 500GB and 1TB capacities at US$150 and $20 respectively, the new black Iomega eGo Mac Edition Portable Hard Drive has two FireWire 800 ports and one USB 2.0 port. It includes a Drop Guard Case to help protect the drive from drops of up to seven feet.  The eGo Mac Edition Portable Hard Drive requires no external power supply, and comes complete with three cables: one USB 2.0 cable, one FireWire 800...

iZotope (http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/ozone/) has released Ozone 5 and Ozone 5 Advanced, updates of the company's software mastering suite and professional mastering suite . The updates expand Ozone’s feature set with individual component plug-ins, extended features, and the brand-new Ozone Meter Bridge. Each module has been updated with refined signal processing algorithms "to bring you a new level of mastering quality. The most complete mastering suite available has never sounded better," says Nick Dika, iZotope senior product manager. iZotope has redesigned Ozone’s user interface to allow for finer control while placing important features at your fingertips. Every module features updated metering to help guide you to the perfect-sounding master. Each module in Ozone 5 Advanced is equipped with extended features made specifically for mixing and mastering professionals. For added flexibility, Ozone 5 Advanced allows customers to use each of the mastering modules as...

Detox Studios has released a Personal Learning Edition (PLE) of their uScript Visual Scripting Tool for Unity, which provides free access to the software for non-commercial use. uScript Personal Learning Edition was created to provide free access of the full power of the software for evaluation and educational use by students, teachers, industry professionals and other interested in creating interactive software. The software, which is now available for free download at http://www.detoxstudios.com/PLE contains every feature found in the commercial version of uScript. The uScript Community Website offers news, online documentation, tutorials, project examples, community wiki and a forum to help users find the help and support they need to become experts with uScript.

Gaucho Software (http://www.gauchosoft.com) has introduced Seasonality Core 2.1, the latest version of the weather app for Mac OS X. The new version includes changes to improve the user experience and make the app easier to use. Seasonality Core offers seven-day forecasts to graphs, so you can picture how the weather is expected to change hour by hour. Graphs are available for liquid precipitation, snowfall, cloud cover, and even wave height in supported locations. Seasonality Core gathers data from the U.S. National Weather Service as well as Gaucho Software's own weather servers. The results are custom radar and satellite imagery, international forecast data, and location data for thousands of users around the globe. Seasonality Core requires Mac OS X 10.6 or later and is available at the Mac App Store for US$24.99.  Existing Seasonality users can upgrade for free.

Graphic Node (http://www.graphicnode.com) has announced Designs for Pages 1.2, an update to its assortment of iWork templates for iOS. The collection now consists of 400 customizable templates. Almost all objects in Designs for Pages can be recolored, moved, or removed. Users can type or paste their own text, add and remove text boxes, change the font, or replace stock images with photos or pictures of their choice. Most of the 400 templates are available in both paper size A4, the standard size in most countries in the world, and U.S. Letter, the most common paper format in the United States and Canada. Designs for Pages 1.2 requires iOS 4.3 or later and iWork for iOS. It costs US$2.99 and is available at the Apple App Store (http://www.itunes.com/appstore/).

MathStatica (http://www.mathStatica.com), an app that helps solve algebraic/symbolic problems -- has been updated to version 2.5. It features mathStatica's new Parallel Processing Engine, support for piecewise statistical distributions, and a 60% increase to the core code base. MathStatica is available for Mac OS X 10.5 and Mathematica 8. Academic upgrades are available from US$45, and new versions from $97.

A federal judge has tossed out a lawsuit accusing Apple of "iBricking" the iPhone. To boost sales of the iPhone 4, Apple told owners of its third-generation iPhone to download an operating system that the company knew would turn the 3G phones into a "device with little more use than that of a paper weight," unhappy customers said in a Superior Court class action last year. Lead plaintiff Bianca Wofford said Apple told owners of its 3G and 3GS iPhones that the new iOS4 operating system was an upgrade. But she says the "upgrade" made her phone slow and susceptible to crashes, turning an iPhone into an "iBrick." "In essence, Apple knowingly and intentionally released what it called a system software 'upgrade' that, in fact, made hundreds of thousands of third generation iPhones that were exclusively tethered to AT&T data plans 'useless' for their intended purpose," according to the complaint. 
 It continued: "Since the release of iOS4 in conjunction with the sale and release of the...

The late Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder and long-time CEO, has been nominated for Time’s 2011 "Person of the Year" (http://macte.ch/KuY2B). if he wins, he would be the first person to achieve the honor posthumously. "We’ve never actually chosen a dead person," TIME Managing Editor Rick Stengel says. But fellow panelists supported Jobs' nomination. Chef Mario Batali said, "I’m definitely a part of the fact and the belief that smartphones, the cell phone with photographic capability, has changed the world as much as the Bible has." "Not only did he change the world, but he gave us that spirit again that something was possible, that you could look at a piece of glass or plastic and move your finger, that’s outlandish," says Brian Williams, a longstanding staple at each year’s Person of the Year panel discussion. 

Raj Bains has introduced Nifty 1.0 (http://www.rajbains.com/Nifty), an interface enhancement/productivity app for Mac OS X 10.6 or later. It costs US$4.99 and is available worldwide exclusively through the Mac App Store in the Productivity category. Nifty essentially adds a customizable toolbar and pop-ups for each app on the system. With it you can accomplish tasks such as summoning key combos to selecting menu items to opening files and folders. Users can stop clogging up their Dock and have Nifty display files and folders only when they're using apps that need them. Folders on Nifty's toolbar are fully functional, allowing drag and drop of multiple files on them to move, copy, or create aliases. Nifty can send messages to other apps. If a developer chooses to add support, they can have their application do just about anything in response to button clicks. An app switcher can be used to switch, quit, and hide apps, access favorite apps, and open files via drag and drop. Nifty's...

The Macgamestore (http://www.Macgamestore.com) is taking pre-orders for UbiSoft's Driver San Francisco. The game is scheduled to ship on the Mac platform next month. It requires an Intel Mac and costs US$54.99. Here's how the game is described: "With crime lord Charles Jericho now on the loose, San Francisco faces a terrible threat. Only one man can stand against him. He has driven the streets of a hundred cities and spent his whole life putting criminals behind bars. But to take Jericho down, there can be no turning back, and he knows that this may very well be his last ride. His name is John Tanner. He is the Driver. Developed by Ubisoft Reflections, creators of the original title, Driver San Francisco is the return of the established action driving video game series that has sold 14 million copies worldwide. Play as John Tanner, a hardened detective involved in a relentless manhunt throughout the City by the Bay. Thanks to a groundbreaking gameplay feature, players can now...

The Azend Group has announced an addition to AVS Gear, the company’s IT division, the ZippyBT-500. This compact wireless keyboard supports most Bluetooth-enabled devices, including Apple’s iPad I and 2, the iPod touch, and specifically the latest releases of iOS5 and iPhone 4S. The ZippyBT-500 connects to six different Bluetooth devices simultaneously and features one-touch fast switch technology between all six Bluetooth devices in a matter of seconds. The Media Function keys allow the user to change the volume, scroll through sound tracks, launch the Web browser, and more, with just one touch. In addition, this compact wireless keyboard has a transmission range up to 33 feet and is compatible with smartphone devices, PDAs and tablet computers that are equipped with Bluetooth technology. The ZippyBT-500 is equipped with ultra-flat scissor structure keys, the ZippyBT-500 is encased in a thin compact design. The ZippyBT-500 is available now at Amazon.com, Newegg.com, and Eforcity.com...

The Mental Faculty has released Mental Case 2 for Mac OS X 10.7 ("Lion"). The upgrade adds support for multi-faceted notes, which can include formatted text, images, audio, and video, as well as a unique date-targeting study mode, ideal for exams and other tests and much more. Mental Case is a study app combining flashcards with study scheduling. It can be used as a dropbox for information, to recall everyday things, or for formal study. Version also includes advanced study scheduling, with the ability to target exam dates. Mental Case 2 requires Lion. It's available from the Mac App Store. The final price will be US$29.99, but Mental Case 2 is on sale for $14.99 for a limited time.

Yazsoft (http://www.yazsofta.com) has released Playback 1.8.9, an update to their zero configuration media server for Mac OS X. The upgrade improves support for WAV files. Playback can share media stored in folders or even make entire disks available to a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. No configuration is required. By default, it will share almost any content on the users system. And Playback automatically integrates with iTunes, iPhoto, and Aperture. Users can share all content from these applications transparently or choose specific playlists and albums. Those who like to tinker will appreciate Playback's built-in Access Control List (ACL) and bandwidth throttling. The ACL allows users to control which devices have access to their media. Bandwidth throttling limits the transfer rate from the computer to their UPnP device. This allows others on the network to do other Internet related activities, such as surf the web and check their email. Media is served via lighttpd, the same...

Bruji (http://www.bruji.com) has announced a new version of their suite of Pedia programs: DVDpedia, Bookpedia, CDpedia and Gamepedia. With the apps, users can organize their media in collections and folders, export collections in various different formats, including customizable HTML, and access statistics about their databases. Version 5.0 brings new search sites to the programs and a database built entirely for and by Pedia users. This version requires Intel and Mac OS X 10.5 or higher. For the week of Nov. 8, the programs are also sold with a special celebratory launch discount: US$12 for one Pedia program; $24 for two Pedias; US$36 for the three Pedia bundle; and $48 for the complete Pedia suite A special $12.99 discount price is also available for the four programs in the Mac App Store during the week of Nov. 8. Version 5 is a paid update for users who purchased the programs before Oct. 1, 2010. Update prices are: $12 for one program; $24 for two programs; $29 for three...

CEO Eric Schmidt says Google will continue to offer support to firms using its Android system that are involved in legal disputes, according to "Reuters" (http://macte.ch/yRO6F). Samsung and HTC are both involved in patent disputes with Apple "We tell our partners, including the ones here in Taiwan, we will support them. For example we have been supporting HTC in its dispute with Apple because we think that the Apple thing is not correct," Schmidt told reporters during his first visit to Taipei. The support takes the form of information sharing, industry expertise and access to Google's patents for licensing and legal purposes, says "Reuters."