Iceberg Interactive's Nuclear Dawn is now available at the Macgamestore (http://www.macgamestore.com). It requires Mac OS X 10.6.7 or higher and costs US$24.99. Here's how the game is described: "Nuclear Dawn is the first game to offer a full FPS and RTS experience, within a single gameplay model, without crippling or diluting either side of the game. "As a soldier, explore war-torn post-apocalyptic landscapes, modelled on modern cities, and take the fight to your enemies as armoured, assault or stealth infantry, using various weapons across ten distinct load-outs to accomplish your objectives. The first person shooter action in Nuclear Dawn is hard, fast and unforgiving, with weapons that rely on skill and tactics more than on twitch reflexes and map memorization. "Then, take Nuclear Dawn above the action, and play as the commander. Organize your fellow players in squads, and assign them to tactical objectives. Plan the resource routes for your army, and production of your structures...

Noteboom Productions has announced Tutor for Final Cut Pro X, their latest video tutorial is now available on the Mac store. In Tutor for Final Cut Pro X, the user watches videos to learn how to do basic editing and more with Final Cut Pro X, the latest version of Apple's professional video editing software. The video tutorial consists of 33 video chapters. Subjects including an overview of the interface to creating collections, creating connected clips, using Ken Burns on photos and videos, stabilizing clips, adjusting color balance, matching color, and more. Tutor for Final Cut Pro X 1.0 costs $4.99 and is available in the Video category.

publicspace.net has updated its "A Better Finder Attributes" utility (http://www.publicspace.net/ABetterFinderAttributes/) -- which can change Finder attributes, such as creation and modification dates -- to version 5.06. The upgrade adds the ability to adjust EXIF timestamps in all commonly used Canon RAW file formats. "A Better Finder Attributes" requires Mac OS X 10.6 or higher. It costs US$14.95, though version 5.06 is a free update for registered users of version 5.x. Business and enterprises licensing is available. The app is also available at the Mac App Store under the name File MultiTool 5.

IMCapture has updated IMCapture for IMCapture for Skype for Mac OS X. The work of the application has become "more stable and impactful," according to the folks at IMCapture. Also, the interface has been tweaked IMCapture is designed to record and save Skype calls. It allows you to create video and audio recordings of your Skype sessions and convert them into popular format. Breaking the time frames IMCapture for Skype allows you to play recorded Skype calls back when it's convenient to you. IMCapture for Skype is available for US$49.95 for a single user license, and may be downloaded directly from the IMCapture for Skype website (http://www.imcapture.com/IMCapture_for_Skype/). The new version is a free upgrade for registered users.

Ergonis Software has released PopChar X 5.3 with support for the new Apple Color Emoji font, which was added in Mac OS X 10.7 ("Lion"). In addition to that, a new snippet set for Typinator, the company's popular text expander, now provides access to the symbols of the Apple Color Emoji font. Version 5.3 also contains further enhancements like visibility in all spaces, an improved technique for saving and restoring the clipboard contents, reduced CPU load, and more. For even quicker access to Apple Color Emoji characters, Typinator users can use Ergonis' new Emoji snippet set. To insert a color symbol, pop up Typinator's Quick Search box and type a short phrase that describes the symbol. The new Emoji set for Typinator can be downloaded free of charge and installed into Typinator with a double-click. However, the set isn't functional as a stand-alone tool, but requires a licensed version of Typinator 4.0 or newer. Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) or newer is required to use the full potential of...

Apple plans to conduct a conference call to discuss financial results of its fourth fiscal quarter on Tuesday, Oct 8, at 2 pm (Pacific). You'll be able to listen to an audio of the call. QuickTime is required to do so.

The release of Mac OS X 10.7 ("Lion") helped the Mac operating system increase by over 1% in September, hitting 10.6% market share, according to Chitika Insight (http:///www.chitika.com), the research arm of online advertising network Chitika.  Insights uses Chitika’s data to monitor and report on Internet trends -- search engines, clickthrough rates, the mobile war, and more. The iOS has 5.2% market share; combine that with Mac OS X and it gives apple 15.8% market share. The Android has 3.3%, and Linux has 2.3%, according to Chitika. Windows' market share continues to drop, falling 1.35% since July. Of course, it still has 77.7% market share. "Look for iOS and Android's market share to increase over the next few months, as the iPhone 5 and Android devices permeate the market," says Chitika. "Although Windows 8 will boost Microsoft's market share in the future, in the short-term, loko for Windows total market share to continue its decline."

JP Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz said research from his colleagues in Asia about a cut in iPad orders doesn’t represent the views of the securities firm’s U.S. team., reports "Bloomberg Businessweek" (http://macte.ch/fRjLX). An earlier report by Hong Kong-based JPMorgan analyst Gokul Hariharan said that Apple is cutting orders to vendors in the supply chain for the iPad. Though other analysts disagreed with this, Hariharan's report dinged Apple’s stock as much as 3.2% in Nasdaq Stock Market trading on Monday. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said changes in orders may be the result of Apple moving some iPad manufacturing out of Asia to Brazil, notes "Bloomberg Businessweek."

The North Coast Macintosh Users Group will present Macintosh Computer Expo 2011 (http://ncmug.org/maccomputerexpo/) on Saturday, Oct. 1 from 9 am to 5 pm at the Petaluma Community Center in Petaluma California. The Macintosh Computer Expo (MCE) is the North Coast Mac Users Group’s (NCMUG) annual free-to-attend fundraising and educational event. Thousands of Macintosh enthusiasts come from all over the Bay Area to visit with Mac product vendors and attend informational workshops and sessions. Celebrating its 18th year this October, the show has grown in attendance from a few hundred visitors to a couple of thousand attendees and is now the largest expo of its type in the San Francisco Bay Area, second only to Macworld in San Francisco. The line-up of speakers this year include digital photo guru Derrick Story, digital artist Bert Monroy, Christopher Breen and Jason Snell of "Macworld," iStockphoto chief evangelist and author Lesa Snider, Mac author Ted Landau, "Mac Observer" editors...

Breek has introduced Sea Animals 1.0, an educational app developed for Mac OS X. It requires Mac OS X 10.6 or later, costs US$3.99 and is available at the Mac App Store in the Games category. Developed by parents for their children, with the help of a schoolteacher, Sea Animals HD offers an interactive approach to stimulate your child's mind. All the sounds in this app are genuine. Toddlers can use it as a classic picture book, children will learn a second or third language while playing and having fun. It features 20 original drawings with visual effects.

Publicspace.net has released Vitamin-R 1.69 (http://www.publicspace.net/Vitamin-R/index.html), an update of its Mac OS X compatible productivity tool for creative professionals. The new version further improves the controls for the tool's built-in noise machine. Vitamin-R is a collection of tools and techniques for managing attention and maintaining motivation. According to the folks at publicspace.net, it complements the task capturing and organizing features of modern to-do list managers by forcing you to concentrate fully on one task a time and keeping distractions at bay. It breaks down large, vaguely defined tasks into a series of short "time slices" of between 10 and 30 minutes, each with specific and actionable objectives. Vitamin-R provides you with the "Now & Later Board," complete with FastType magic, to give you a place to quickly dump all those things that go through your head and allows to get back to the task at hand. It requires Mac OS X 10.6 or higher. The single...

Markzware has announced FlightCheck 6.80, an update to their preflighting and packaging solution for Mac OS X. Among its features, the update will preflight and package Adobe InDesign CS5.5 files for printing, including Illustrator, Photoshop, PDF and QuarkXPress 9. Version 6.80 is also compatible with the earlier versions of these desktop publishing file types. FlightCheck is the prepress solution for printing quality control. The software upgrade for FlightCheck 6.80 is available immediately at the online FlightCheck Store (http://markzware.com/products/flightcheck/). Contact the company for pricing.

Comm-Unity Networking Systems has released a new version of its SMTPit Pro plug-in to fix a few bug fixes and bring in updates from other CNS Plug-ins. SMTPit Pro is available immediately at http://www.smtpitpro.com/ for both Mac OS X and Windows. SMTPit Pro is an email plug-in for FileMake Pro 7 and greater; it provides an array of email options. You can send simple text based messages, or you can send complex HTML messages. You can send a single message or an entire mail out. I The Server Edition of SMTPit Pro allows you to install and use the plug-in with FileMaker Server and Server Advanced. With the Server Edition, you can do things like set up schedules to check an email database for new emails that need to be sent out or send email directly from an Instant Web Published database. This version is a free upgrade for anyone with a 4.x.x license. If you still have an older 4.0.x license, you'll need a new license key for the 4.1.x versions. A single user license for the client...

According to an August survey by the Nielsen research group (http://www.nielsen.com), 43% of all smartphone owners have an Android device and 28% have an Apple iOS device. However, if you ask only those who got a new smartphone in the past three months what kind of phone they chose, more than half (56%) will tell you they picked an Android device, according to Nielsen.. The preferences of these so-called “recent acquirers” are important as they are often a leading indicator of where the market is going, says the research group. Apple iOS remains popular in second place with 28 percent of all smartphone users, and the same percentage among those who recently got a new device. But those figures could change quickly in the months to come, says Nielsen. Every time Apple launches a new iPhone or makes it available on a new wireless carrier, there is an increase in their sales. Changes in share aside, the smartphone pie is getting bigger. While 43% of all mobile subscribers in the US had a...

Intego (http://www.integro.com) says it has discovered a new Trojan horse, Flashback, which masquerades as a Flash Player installer. This Trojan horse has been found in the wild, and has some disturbing actions, according to Intego. Users visiting certain malicious websites may see a link or an icon to download and install Flash Player. Since Mac OS X 10.7 ("Lion") doesn't include Flash Player, some users may be fooled, says Intego. "If the user proceeds with the installation procedure, the installer for this Trojan horse will deactivate some network security software, and, after installation, will delete the installation package itself," the security company adds. "The malware installs a dyld (dynamic loader) library and auto-launch code, allowing it to inject code into applications the user launches. This code, installed in a file at ~/Library/Preferences/Preferences.dylib, connects to a remote server, and sends information about the infected Mac to this server: this includes the...

The legal brouhaha between Apple and Samsung continues (not that you're surprised, are you?). Apple has infringed upon Samsung Electronics patents since entering the mobile phone market with the iPhone 3G, a lawyer for Samsung told a Dutch court as the company seeks a ban on some Apple products in the Netherlands, reports "Bloomberg" (http://macte.ch/7bk31). “Apple just entered the market in 2008 without taking care of the licenses,” Bas Berghuis van Woortman, a lawyer for Simmons & Simmons LLP who represents Samsung, said in The Hague court. “Apple is consciously, structurally infringing the 3G patents.” Samsung filed four lawsuits against Apple in the Netherlands and the first scheduled hearing is today. Samsung is claiming the iPhone and iPad that use 3G technology infringe Samsung patents and is seeking a ban on their sale in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Apple said in a Hague court hearing that Samsung is holding them "hostage" by asking for 2.4% on each 3G chip used in the...

Indie game developer Total Eclipse says its Clockwork Man series, is now available on Steam. The games feature hand-drawn backgrounds and art, scrolling and zoomable multi-layered scenes, puzzles, a progressive hint system and a blend of hidden object and adventure game play. They're Mac OS X compatible and cost US$9.99 for The Clockwork Man 1 (http://store.steampowered.com/app/111000/) and $13.49 for The Clockwork Man 2 (http://store.steampowered.com/app/111010/). Here's how the series is described: "In The Clockwork Man you explore a fantastic vision of the past through the eyes of Miranda Calomy, a feisty engineer with a knack for creative problem-solving. Accompanied by her loyal robot friend, Sprocket, she embarks on a global adventure trying to help her grandfather. Will she manage to compile the parts to the world's greatest invention before it's too late? "The Clockwork Man: The Hidden World brings twice as much fun, puzzles, adventure game play and a story that will...

Dexter: The Game for Mac OS X (10.5 and higher) is now available at the Macgamestore (http://www.macgamestore.com). It costs US$9.99. Here's how the game, based on the Showtime series, "Dexter," is described: "Dexter Morgan is a serial killer. Driven by his need to kill, maintaining his average-guy facade has never been easy. He spends his days as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami police department, but it’s after hours when Dexter is able to fulfill the needs of his dark passenger, exacting his own brand of justice on those criminals who truly deserve to die. "In the game, help Dexter choose his next victims while always protecting his identity. Analyze crime scenes, uncover evidence and use stealth tactics to stalk your prey. Is the case better served by the courts or the Dark Passenger? The outcome of every choice and action resolves around the Code of Harry: only kill the guilty, maintain the mask, and above all, don’t get caught!"

3y3.net has introduced Email Marketing Lite 2.0 for Mac OS X, an update of the tool for building email lists targeted to a specific market area. It requires Mac OS X 10.6 or higher, costs US$1999 and is available at the Mac App Store in the Business category. With Email Marketing Lite, you specify the keywords, and it will bring thousand of emails addresses parsed from the search results. All the lists are stored and can be retrieved for export at any time. You can export the email list to your system. You can export emails in CSV format, which is adequate for import in databases and Outlook Contacts, or select the VCF format. The latter is the standard virtual card format for contact interchange and is good for GMail, Apple Agenda and other email systems.

Quark has released Quark Publishing System 9.1, the new version of their dynamic publishing platform for automated publishing to print, Web, e-reader, mobile, and tablet devices. The new version is compatible with QuarkXPress 9.1 and App Studio, allowing media and corporate publishers to publish to the iPad and other digital formats without hiring a separate team of developers. According to Quark, the update also: incorporates digital assets and workflows into their existing publishing system; automates publishing to the iPad and ePUB format; and lets all system users share, access, and collaborate on digital publishing projects. With Quark Publishing System 9.1 users can also add digital publishing assets and workflows to existing content, which reduces or even eliminates the need for a separate team to work on digital output, according to Quark. For example, users can add video editors to existing workflows, set up separate workflows for digital publications and even digital...

Manhattan Edit Workshop (Mewshop), an authorized digital training destination, has released its online training series "Classroom in a Cup: Final Cut Pro X" (http://bit.ly/pBI9bh) featuring Mewshop founder and filmmaker, Josh Apter; and Apple Certified Trainer, Ari Feldman. In the course, they teach the ins-and-outs of Final Cut Pro X with candid commentary about the radical changes and immense potential offered by the latest version of the Apple software for video pros. For online delivery of the tutorial, which consists of five plus hours of training divided into 22 chapters, Manhattan Edit Workshop has partnered with industry online training provider, Class on Demand. Students can stream the new "Classroom in a Cup: Final Cut Pro X" tutorial from the Class on Demand learning platform for US$39.95 (http://bit.ly/pBI9bh). "Classroom in a Cup" Virtual Office Hours for answering any questions that may pop up are included with each subscription purchase.

.com Solutions has released FmPro Migrator Developer Edition 6.2.4 ( http://www.fmpromigrator.com/products/fmpro_migrator/index.html). The addition of support for merge fields, static tooltips and layout symbols has been added to the PHP Conversion feature of FmPro Migrator Platinum Edition. The Visual FoxPro Conversion Service built into in FmPro Migrator Developer Edition enables FileMaker Pro developers to automate the conversion of Windows-only FoxPro solutions into cross-platform compatible FileMaker Pro database files. Converted solutions can be run on MacOS X, Windows and iPhone/iPad mobile devices using FileMaker Go. This feature converts DBF file tables, data, relationships, forms, reports/labels, scripts, and static ComboBox/ListBox value lists into FileMaker Pro database files.
FmPro Migrator Platinum Edition is priced at US$600 per developer and includes a copy of FmPro Migrator Platinum Edition for both Mac OS X and Windows platforms. Existing FmPro Migrator Developer...

S3 Graphics, a company HTC is in the process of buying has sued Apple (again), this time accusing the company of violating two different patents, reports "FOSS Patents" (http://macte.ch/QYw5u). S3 has asked infringing products -- the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Macs -- be barred from sale. A complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission was accompanied by a federal lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in the district of Delaware. The beef between Apple and HTC/S3 started in March 2010 with Apple's first ITC complaint against HTC. In May 2010, HTC retaliated with an ITC complaint against Apple, and S3 Graphics filed its first ITC complaint against Apple. In July 2011 the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that Mac OS X violates patents held by S3 Graphics, while the platform for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad tablet doesn't. The operating system on the Mac infringes two S3 patents related to graphics chips, Judge James Gildea said. S3 Graphics makes image compression...

Another day, another lawsuit. LVL Patent Group is suing Apple and 26 other companies for patent infringement involving wireless recordings of transactions. The lawsuit accuses the 27 companies -- which include AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, RIM, Nokia, Samsung Motorola, HTC and HP -- of violating a total of four patents, notes "AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com). While three of them were granted in 2000 and earlier, one invention entitled "Telephone/Transaction Entry Device and System for Entering Transaction Data Into Databases" was issued earlier this month, on Sept. 13, by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the article adds. LVL Patent Group says Apple and other wireless handset manufacturers are violating the three patents "by making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing mobile communication devices that include a data transaction assembly server." LVL has said that this alleged infringement has resulted in "monetary damages in an amount not yet...