Ancestry.com has launched Family Tree Maker for Mac, the new Mac version of the family history software. It provides a way to save and organize your family tree on your Mac computer and has a variety of tools that can help you share your discoveries with family and friends. Family Tree Maker for Mac combines intuitive tools with robust features and flexible options, making it ideal for family history novices and experts alike, says Eric Shoup, senior vice president of Product for Ancestry.com. A dynamic user interface and integration with Ancestry.com makes it simple to create family trees, record memories, and organize photos, videos and audio clips, plus share ancestors' stories, he adds. It's even possible to explore family migration paths by viewing timelines and interactive maps that highlight events and places in ancestors' lives. The first step is to start a family tree by entering and organizing family history information. From there, a myriad of features help you bring your...

IK Multimedia (http://www.ikmultimedia.net) has announced iKlip, an US$39.99 universal microphone stand adapter for the iPad. It allows musicians and presenters to take their Apple tablet with them on stage, in the studio or at school. The iKlip is designed to offer support and and allow the operation of music and presentation apps on virtually any microphone stand. The device's multi-angle, adjustable design allows for optimal viewing and access to all the iPad's controls, buttons and connection ports, and allows positioning of an iPad in both in landscape and portrait orientation. Its dense thermoplastic lightweight material ensures durability and secure holding of the iPad with most stand types, according to the folks at IK Multimedia. Now with iKlip, guitar and bass players, vocalists, keyboardists, DJs and any other musicians can use their favorite iPad apps during live performance, learning or training sessions, presentations or a multitude of other music applications, they add...

Apple has released iPhoto '11, version 9.1. This update adds several new print product options to iPhoto '11. It also improves overall stability and addresses a number of other minor issues. According to Apple, iPhoto '11 9.1: ° Provides the ability to create and order calendars in iPhoto; ° Additional letterpress holiday greeting card themes are now available; ° Fixes an issue that prevented videos downloaded from MobileMe or Flickr from importing correctly into    iPhoto events. Apple says the 35.4MB update is recommended for all users of iPhoto '11. It requires Mac OS X 10.6.3 or later. You can obtain it via the Software Update component of Mac OS X's Systems Preferences software.

In its annual Christmas shopping survey, Twenga (http://www.twenga.co.uk), a next-generation shopping search engine, asked Internet users what presents they most wanted this Christmas. Topping the wish lists this year is one product in particular, the iPad.   Over half (56%) of the Brits surveyed said that they were wishing for an iPad this Christmas. However, 40% still feel that it’s too expensive to have any hope of one ending up in their stocking.   The iPad’s popularity is also apparent in Spain and France, where 64% and 60% respectively, said that they would like an iPad. Italian users were even more hopeful, with 69% crossing their fingers for one this Christmas.   However, in Germany and the Netherlands, only 41% and 40% respectively, had Apple’s tablet computer on their Christmas wish lists.   With regards to the price, other countries in Europe seem to share the British sentiment that the iPad, despite its appeal, is simply too expensive. Again, Spanish and Italian users feel...

ProteMac has launched KeyBag Pro (http://www.protemac.com/KeyBag_PRO/) for Mac OS X 10.5 and higher. This US$99.95 stealth keystroke recorder captures every Mac log-on password. Working undetectable, it audits every typed activity including log-on passwords, programs run, typed symbols, instant message charts, email, etc. KeyBag Pro enables you to trace all password attempts. Plus, it archives all passwords ever typed in, enabling you to export this data in the desired format to the location you specified. KeyBag Pro creates the record of the programs' usage illustrating this statistic data in a chart that displays the typing speed and the total number of keystrokes for a definite application used in the specified time period. This means KeyBag Pro delivers the comprehensive report about application statistics indicating the time and text typed in a specific application. The special Keystroke Typed Details window shows the full text or the message even if it has been deleted. KeyBag...

LaCie (http://www.lacie.com) says it's introducing industry-leading performance to Mac users with the availability of a USB 3.0 driver for Mac OS X. The driver brings the fast speeds of LaCie’s USB 3.0 hard drives to Mac computers and laptops -- delivering transfer rates that are up to two times faster than FireWire 800, the company claims. By downloading LaCie’s USB 3.0 driver for the Mac, and using it in conjunction with LaCie’s USB 3.0 expansion cards, Mac users can experience USB 3.0 speeds. Simply Check your compatibility with USB 3.0, install the peripherals, and download the driver. Apparently, you'll need a Mac Pro with a PCI Express card or a MacBook Pro with an ExpressCard/34 to use the expansion cards. If you already have one of LaCie’s USB 3.0 products and a LaCie expansion card, visit http://www.lacie.com/usb3mac to download the driver, get more information, or check your Mac’s compatibility.

The SecureMac team (http://www.securemac.com) says a new variant of the Boonana malware has been discovered. The new variant, trojan.osx.boonana.b, behaves in a very similar manner to the original malware, and is currently being distributed on multiple sites. SecureMac has identified two more web sites that are currently hosting the new malware variant. Rather than the initial site which tricks users into running (and installing) the malware, these servers seem to be hosting update code for the malware. The infected machines contact these servers looking for updates to the malware payload. At the time of analysis (Nov. 2), these servers were live and distributing malware, says SecureMac. In addition to the malware updates, these servers contain what appear to be keystroke logs from infected machines, including usernames and passwords. With a quick glance, Boonana may look like a variant of Koobface, which was discovered for Windows back in 2008. However, ESET has also confirmed...

"TUAW" (http://www.tuaw.com/2010/11/03/verizon-iphone-announcement-rumored-to-hi...) thinks we may see a Verizon iPhone before the end of 2011. Such a device has been expected for a long time, but most predictions have it arriving no sooner than early 2011. However, "TUAW" say a Verizon insider told them that training notices have been sent out to customer service personnel describing an "Iconic Device" that will be available for pre-order on Nov. 9. The device is expected to be in very high demand, and the training goes on to cover how to handle the pre-orders as they come in, says "TUAW."

Robert W. Baird analyst William Power launched coverage of Apple Thursday morning with an Outperform rating and US$410 price target, reports "Barron's" (http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2010/11/04/apple-baird-launches...). “Apple has established itself as the unabashed premium provider in the burgeoning smart phone market,” he tells clients in a research note. “We expect the company to further expand its market position, while also capitalizing on a number of newer growth initiatives, including the iPad, which is opening another huge market. Combined with what we view as an attractive valuation, despite the strong stock move, we are initiating coverage with an Outperform rating.”

The iPad and its ecosystem are likely to disrupt existing technology use profiles and business models, and CEOs should ensure that its potential is being seriously evaluated inside their organizations, according to a new report from Gartner Inc (http://www.gartner.com). “It is not usually the role of the CEO to get directly involved in specific technology device decisions, but Apple's iPad is an exception,” says Stephen Prentice, Gartner Fellow and vice president. “It is more than just the latest consumer gadget; and CEOs and business leaders should initiate a dialogue with their CIOs about if they have not already done so.” The research grouop forecasts worldwide media tablet sales to end users to reach 19.5 million units in 2010, driven by sales of the iPad. Media tablets are poised for strong growth with worldwide end user sales projected to total 54.8 million units in 2011, up 181 percent from 2010, and surpass 208 million units in 2014. Unless there is a self-evident case to the...

Apple is preparing to open its third store in Scotland, this one in Edenburgh on Princes Street, reports "The Journal" (http://www.journal-online.co.uk/article/7007-new-apple-store-to-open-on-...). By opening a store in Scotland’s capital, customers will no longer have to travel to Glasgow to fix their faulty or broken products, says "The Journal." There are currently only two Apple Stores in Scotland, in Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Excel Software (http://www.excelsoftware.com) has announced QLRT Xcode 1.0 for Xcode developers to protect Mac OS X software. QLRT Xcode is a static library implementation of the QuickLicense runtime software for protection, activation and license management. Xcode programmers can protect their software from piracy and increase revenue by supporting a variety of license types, activation processes and advanced licensing features. QLRT Xcode is used in conjunction with QuickLicense. The developer configures all aspects of the software license with QuickLicense and builds a tiny encrypted Ticket file. That Ticket file is bound to an application when the QLRT library is dropped into the source code and linked into the application. By focusing on value added customer solutions rather than internal protection, activation and licensing features, the vendor gains programming productivity and deployment flexibility, according to the folks at Excel Software. QLRT Xcode is the newest member...

Zevrix Solutions (http://www.zevrix.com) has released BatchOutput 3.9.6, an update to its professional solution to automate printing and exporting from Adobe InDesign. It's a maintenance upgrade that introduces support for Deliver, a new solution for file delivery to remote and local destinations. BatchOutput is designed to automate and simplify InDesign production workflows of service providers, printers, ad agencies and publishers. With BatchOutput, users only need to select the files to output and adjust the settings, and the rest will be done automatically. BatchOutput 3.9.6 can be purchased from the Zevrix web site for US$129.95, as well as from authorized resellers. A demo is available for download. The upgrade to BatchOutput 3.9 is free for users of version 3.x, and $51.98 from earlier versions. It includes the Deliver application (a $19.95 value). Users who purchased BatchOutput 3.7 and earlier can contact Zevrix to receive a free Deliver license. BatchOutput is available for...

Apple has acknowledged an iOS 4.1 bug involving daylight savings time in some countries. In an online note (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3542), Apple had this to say: "In some regions, shortly before or after the daylight saving time (DST) change, repeating alarms created in the Clock app may work incorrectly. "Products affected: iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (3rd generation), iPhone 3G, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch (2nd generation) "To resolve this behavior for existing alarms, set the repeat interval to Never. You will need to reset these alarms for each day you need them. After November 7th, 2010, you can set your alarms to repeat again."

Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), in collaboration with TransGaming, has released Free Realms for the Mac platform. Mac users can now enjoy the family-friendly online world, integrated into synchronous gameplay on the same game servers as PC players. Free Realms players on the Mac platform will experience consistent controls and functionality and will have full access to the existing Marketplace and community forums, according to the folks at Sony. Free Realms is a free-to-play, online game that has more than 14 million registered players engaged in its virtual world. In Free Realms, players can customize their characters and play a variety of mini-games. To play, visit http://www.FreeRealms.com .

Blackmagic Design (http://www.blackmagic-design.com) is shipping the Compact Videohub, which it says is the world’s smallest 40 x 40 SDI router that fits into two rack units of space. It features three Gb/s SDI, ASI, auto switching SD, HD and 3 Gb/s SDI formats, full SDI re-clocking, USB, redundant power inputs, ethernet and serial router control for US$4,995. Compact Videohub is less than an inch deep. It includes more control interfaces such as USB, as well as direct ethernet and RS-422 serial interfaces. Direct ethernet router control allows direct connection to a computer network for control. Ethernet control is fully compatible with Blackmagic Design‘s range of software control panels, the Videohub Smart Control hardware control panel and the new Videohub Control for iPad. Compact Videohub, like all Blackmagic Design Videohub routers, allows for a range of flexible control options. These include the free Videohub software control panels for icon-based push button control from...

Nokia shouldn’t be found liable of infringing Apple patents, the staff of the U.S. International Trade Commission, reports "Bloomberg" (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-02/nokia-gets-support-of-itc-staff...). “The evidence will not establish a violation” of Apple patent rights, the staff, which acts on behalf of the public as a third party in the case, said in a pre-hearing memo released yesterday. Apple is asking the ITC to block imports of Nokia phones into the U.S., claiming they are infringing four patents. In September Apple sued Nokia in Britain, reiterating claims it has already made in a lawsuit in the US. The whole legal brouhaha has a convoluted background. In May Nokia announced the filing of another lawsuit against Apple, in Federal District Court in Wisconsin, regarding five of Nokia’s patents. Nokia says those patents are infringed by the iPhone and iPad 3G and involve technology that improves speech and data transmission with new antenna configurations and...

Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair has told clients -- as reported by "Barron's (http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2010/11/02/apple-can-sell-100m-...) -- that he expects Apple to see 100 million iPhones, 48 million iPads and lots of MacBook Airs in 2011. To be specific, he predicts: ° Apple will produce 45-48 million iPads next year, which would be up from his forecast of 13.5 million in 2010.  He expects the arrival of the iPad 2 to spark sales. ° Apple will sell approximately 100 million iPhones and nab 10% of the global market share. ° MacBook Air unit momentum will cause the street to raise expectations for Mac units in the quarter. "We believe the 11 inch Air will be both provide solid incremental units to Apple’s December quarter Mac units, but also add meaningful incremental revenues to the company over the next year," says Blair.

Maintain has released Cocktail 4.7.8 (Snow Leopard Edition), the latest maintenance update of Cocktail (http://www.maintain.se/c) for users running Mac OS X 10.6.x ("Snow Leopard"). It adds ability to clear the Koobface.A/Boonana.A trojan and Microsoft Office 2011 font caches. This version also fixes few minor bugs discovered in the previous release. Cocktail 4.7.8 (Snow Leopard Edition) requires Mac OS X/Mac OS X Server 10.6 or later and is tested for compatibility with Mac OS X/Mac OS X Server 10.6.5. Cocktail (Leopard Edition) for Mac OS X 10.5 and Cocktail (Tiger Edition) for Mac OS X 10.4 are available for download from the Maintain web site. Cocktail is a general purpose utility for Mac OS X that offers a variety of practical features designed to simplify the use of advanced UNIX function. A single user license costs US$14.95.

iTunes (and Apple) will be increasing the length of music clips on their system from 30 seconds to 90 seconds, reports "Symphonic Distribution" (http://symintranet.com/blog/?p=3273). “We are pleased to let you know that we are preparing to increase the length of music previews from 30 seconds to 90 seconds on the iTunes Store in the United States," Apple said. "We believe that giving potential customers more time to listen to your music will lead to more purchases.”

The 2010 Global Innovation 1000 (http://www.booz.com/global/home/what_we_think/featured_content/innovatio...), the sixth annual study of corporate innovation spending, released today by global management consulting firm Booz & Company, names Apple as the most innovative company. Apple leads the list, capturing 79% of the vote. It's followed by Google with 49% and 3m with 20%. The three companies "can innovate successfully without breaking the bank," says Booz & Company. "Apple is an exceptional example of our observation that success in innovation is determined not by how much money you spend, but rather by how you spend it," the report says. "The company has a long history of bringing innovative and stylish products to market, from the first Apple computer in 1976 to the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad today. Yet it invests just 3.1% of its revenues in R&D, less than half the average percentage of the computing and electronics industry. Apple’s financial performance has...

Eltima Software has released SyncMate Beta 3 (http://www.sync-mac.com/), a beta version of the software for syncing data between a Mac to Windows Mobile handheld devices. Just remember: beta software is unfinished software so use with care. Users can sync their Macs with Windows Mobile devices, Android or Nokia phones, other Macs or Windows PCs, Sony PlayStation Portable, USB flash drives, Google accounts and special online storage provided by Eltima within one application. SyncMate 3.0 Beta also offers new options for its users. It's possible to mount Windows Mobile and Android devices as additional Mac disks via Wi-Fi, USB or Bluetooth and more. For those users who don't have an Expert version of SyncMate yet but will buy it starting from Nov. 2 and until SyncMate 3's official release (within the grace period). A free upgrade to SyncMate Expert 3 is guaranteed. For those users who already use SyncMate Expert for a while, 50% off the official retail price is guaranteed. One of the...

Australians can now use an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch as an e-book reader after Apple opened the doors to its iBookstore in the country. It's taken the company five months since the iPad's launch to get the store up and running but it has succeeded in signing up a wide range of book publishers including Macmillan, Hachette, HarperCollins, Hardie Grant, Murdoch Publishers and Wiley, reports "The Age" (http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/tablets/apple-finally-opens-ibooks...). Previously, Australians viewing the iBookstore could only access old out-of-copyright books but now there is a range of new release titles on offer, the article adds. The exact number is unclear but an Apple spokeswoman said they numbered in the "thousands." Books is Apple's ebook/PDF reader for the iPhone and iPad. iBooks works with the The iBookstore features books from major and independent publishers. Once you’ve bought a book -- or downloaded a free one -- it’s displayed on your Bookshelf. Just tap it to...

MockupScreens (http://mockupscreens.com) has released MockupScreens 4.26, an update of the software for creating screen mockups of applications and web page sketches. The new version is Mac OS X compatible. MockupScreens was originally developed to facilitate communication between developers and customers by presenting visual examples of what an application or a web page will look like. However, the earlier versions didn't support operating systems other than Windows, and Mac users could create mockup screens only via virtual machines. Now a Mac version of MockupScreens is available, and it's not just a clone of a Windows version, but a full-fledged Mac product, says Igor Jese, the author of MockupScreens. A single-user license starts from US$99.95. Every customer is guaranteed one year of free upgrades and free e-mail support. Licenses are interchangeable among Mac and Windows systems. A demo is available for download.