Apple has released version 3.0.2 of Aperture, its software for professional photographers. The update improves overall stability and fixes issues in a number of areas.
You can find a list of all the changes at http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2518 . Aperture 3.0.2 requires Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later and Aperture 3.x.
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Here are the latest iPhone/iPod touch/iPod/iPad apps announced. You can find 'em at the Apple App Store (http://www.itunes.com/appstore/).
Nickelodeon announced the launch of several new apps for the iPhone and iPod touch based on its most popular television properties and leading online games; Nick Kids' Choice Awards (free), A to Z With Moose and Zee (US$1.99), Diego Snowboard Rescue ($1.99), Sky Storm ($0.99), High School Cheerleader ($1.99), Dora Saves Crystal Kingdom-Rainbow Ride Lite (free), and Go, Diego, Go: Musical Missions Lite (free).
Cloud-based backup/sync service SpiderOak has announced its first mobile application for the iPhone. The program allows users to access any of the files uploaded to SpiderOak across any device, open personal and guest ShareRooms, and email any individual file (via link) using the iPhone mail client. The free application was designed to work...
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Ambrosia has updated Dragster (http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/utilities/dragster/), an US$19 file transfer utility for Mac OS X 10.4 ("Tiger") or later, to version 1.1.1. The upgrade, free for registered users, fixes various issues and improves key functionality.
Dragster works via drag and drop and can send files via email, upload them to remote servers, copy them to your iDisk, or copy/move files anywhere on your local drives. Dragster lets you set customizable "shortcuts." There's a contextual menu component to Dragster, so you can right-click or control-click a file in any program, and send that file to one of the shortcuts you've set up. The utility fully supports Apple's Bonjour technology.
Dragster supports FTP, SFTP, SCP, SMB (Windows File Sharing), as well as AFP (AppleShare) for file transfers. It requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later.
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Comm-Unity Networking Systems has released POP3it Pro 4.1.8 (http://www.pop3itpro.com/), an update of the email downloading and importing plug-in for FileMaker Pro. The upgrade fixes some bugs and brings full compatibility with FileMaker Pro 11.
POP3it Pro allows you to connect to a POP3 Email Server and download email directly into your FileMaker Pro database. The plug-in also allows you to import email directly from the mailbox storage files of email clients like Thunderbird, Eudora, and Apple Mail.
This version is a free upgrade for anyone with a 4.x license. All you need to do is download the latest version and install it. Your existing registration and settings will be imported into the new version.
For new users a single user license for the client version of POP3it Pro is US$65. To use the server edition of POP3it Pro, you'll need to purchase at least a 10-user license for $319....
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BMO Capital analyst Keith Bachman is predicting a 17% increase in Mac sales, a new iPhone in June and higher iPad sales than many expect.
According to "Forbes" (http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/03/25/bmo-ups-its-ipad-...), he says that his initial estimate -- that Apple would sell 2.5 million units in fiscal 2010 and 5.5 million in fiscal 2011 -- was conservative. He's raised his fiscal 2011 estimate to 7.2 million — a 30.09% increase.
The iPad -- now available for pre-order -- is due to hit the stores April 3. At least the Wi-Fi only versions will; the Wi-Fi + 3G model will hit US store sleeves in late April. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late...
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Pioneer (http://www.pioneerelectronics.com) has released a new line of 7.1 channel AV receivers that offer A/V control via the iPhone and iPod touch. The VSX-920-K, VSX-1020-K and the Pioneer-branded flagship receiver the VSX-1120-K, offer enhanced iPhone and iPod touch control and functionality, are 3D capable with the advanced version of HDMI and feature wireless Bluetooth audio streaming for Bluetooth-enabled devices.
Additionally, Pioneer today announced availability of its iControlAV App, which turns compatible iPhone and iPod touch into a fully functioning remote control for the Pioneer receiver, on the Apple App Store. 7.1 channel models deliver expanded iPhone functionality with the top two models featuring the company’s first app for their home entertainment products and Bluetooth Audio Streaming for wireless devices.
The new line of 7.1 receivers are iPhone certified...
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Speck, Zazzle and Artsprojekt have teamed up to offer another four all-new limited-edition Fitted Artsprojekt cases for iPhone 3G and 3GS: Random, Waves, Blue River and Koi.
Each design is printed on fabric that is then fused to Speck’s road-tested “Fitted” two-piece snap-together hard shell case. The fabric increases in-hand comfort, while helping phones stay securely in place when set down, according to the folks at Speck.
This new generation of Fitted Artsprojekt edition case designs, as well as previously released editions for the iPhone 3G and 3GS, are available now exclusively at http://www.zazzle.com/speck or http://www.zazzle.com/labz/iphonecases for a manufacturer's suggested retail prce of US39.95.
MyService (http://www.myservice.com) has announced a new 1TB hard drive upgrade for the MacBook Pro. These new Scorpio Blue drives by Western Digital are the largest mobile drives available.
MyService has these drives in stock and the complete upgrade service is US$345. The price includes the new 1TB drive, round trip shipping, professional installation and data transfer.
Your old hard drive is returned to you and can be used for backups. Since MyService is an Apple Authorized Service Provider, the 1TB upgrade won't void your Apple warranty. These drives are slightly higher than standard 2.5-inch drives but fit perfectly in all Unibody MacBook Pros, the 13-inch MacBook Unibody and the 17-inch (Silver Keyboard) MacBook Pro, according to the folks at MyService.
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Maintain has released Cocktail 4.7.1 (Snow Leopard Edition), the latest maintenance update of Cocktail (http://www.maintain.se/c) for users running Mac OS X 10.6 ("Snow Leopard").
The new version fixes some bugs and adds: a "Show full folder path in window title" setting; a "Don't remember open windows when logging out" setting; an "Enable Remote Disc access" setting; an "Enable Quick Look folder previews" setting; and an "Always show Quick Look preview" setting.
This version adds compatibility with the upcoming Mac OS X 10.6.3 and ability to stop Cocktail from logging out, restarting or shutting down the computer at the end of a scheduled programme. The update also features improvements on the clear Adobe Flash Player caches and cookies procedure as well as overall performance improvements.
Cocktail 4.7.2 (Snow Leopard Edition) requires Mac OS X/Mac OS X Server 10.6 or later and is...
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The iBookstore for the iPad will feature the Gutenberg Project catalog for free, according to the AppAdvice web site ("http://appadvice.com/appnn/2010/03/exclusive-ipad-ibooks-features-gutenberg-project-library/).
The Gutenberg Project (http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page) is a free online digital library supported by volunteers. It already includes over 30,000 free eBooks from the public domain.
The iPad will come with an iBookstore app. will feature books from major and independent publishers. The free iBooks app lets you buy books from the iBookstore. Once you’ve bought a book, it’s displayed on your Bookshelf. Just tap it to start reading.
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Apple will pay Samsung nearly a quarter of a billion dollars as part of a new pact that will see the Korean electronics maker become the second major supplier of 9.7-inch display screens for current and future versions of the iPad, reports http://www.appleinsider.com) -- quoting "The Korean Times".
The deal will guarantee Apple a supply of an extra three million displays for the device -- which goes on sale April 3 -- over an unspecified amount of time. A high-ranking industry representative told "The Korean Times" that: "The most expensive component in the iPad is the display and touch-screen interface that costs $80 for all models. The 9.7-inch display is more than twice the size of the iPhone 3GS screen and costs five times as much."
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Ooyla (http://www.ooyala.com), a provider of end-to-end video platform applications and services, says it will support full video delivery to iPad when the Apple product launches on April 3.
Ooyala's integration with iPad will help newspapers, magazines and other publishers create rich and engaging iPad experiences for their readers, all managed with the same Ooyala video platform they use for their web site, says Bismarck Lepe, president of Product at Ooyala. The company already helps publishers deliver video directly to the iPod touch, iPhones and other connected devices.
An intelligent video embed lets the Ooyala player automatically recognize each device and adjust video quality and format for the best possible viewing experience, Lepe adds. This intelligent video embed has been a part of Backlot, Ooyala's video publishing platform, for over a year.
Publishers who already deliver video to...
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Easy Barcode Technologies (http://www.easybarcodetech.com/ebc.html) has released Easy Barcode Creator 2.6, an update to the company's flagship product for Mac OS X and Windows. The new version adds three major improvements for users:
° Easy Barcode Creator now integrates directly with the latest versions of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for one click barcode generation.
° The app can now launch much faster than before!
° It can now save POSTNET barcodes as grayscale TIFF images.
Easy Barcode Creator generates vector EPS graphics for use in industry-standard desktop publishing products like Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop - or just import into Word or a drawing program. It costs US$128.
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AdMob (http://www.admob.com) -- which stores and analyzes handset and operator data from every ad request in its network of more than 15,000 mobile web sites and applications -- says that, in February, smartphones accounted for 48% of its worldwide traffic/
That's up from 35% in February 2009. The strong growth of iPhone and Android traffic, fueled by heavy application usage, was primarily responsible for the increase, AdMob says. Although the share of feature phone traffic in AdMob’s network declined from 58% o 35% year-over-year, absolute traffic from feature phones still grew 31%.
Mobile Internet devices experienced the strongest growth of the three categories, increasing to account for 17% of traffic in AdMob’s network in February. The iPod touch is the top mobile Internet device and is responsible for a vast majority of this traffic; other devices include the Sony PSP and Nintendo DSi. Highlights...
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DTP Tools is offering a public beta version of the new Layer Groups 2.0 plug-in with more than a doubled feature set.
The plug-in is CS5 ready and upgrade from any previous version of Layer Groups and InDesign is free as all DTP Tools plug-in upgrades always are. The public beta offers a: listing of objects in the layer on current spread; a listing of objects in the layer in the document; and the ability import layers including structure and content from other documents
The 14–days trial version , for InDesign CS – CS4, and for Mac OS and Windows, is available for immediate download at http://www.dtptools.com/layergroups ; just remember that beta software is unfinished software so use with care.
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Second Gear (http://secondgearllc.com) has released Today 2.2, an update of the US$15 Mac OS X application for managing iCal events and tasks. The new version adds support for viewing and creating data using Microsoft Exchange, the collaborative email and calendaring solution used in many businesses.
Exchange supports requires taking advantage of Mac OS X 10.6's native Exchange support in iCal and Mail. Today 2.2 also has several small user interface enhancements. For example, hovering over an event's title will now display its location and calendar colors are now apparent when creating new events or tasks.
Today distinguishes between different events based on the calendar color you define in iCal. Assign a keyboard shortcut, and you can toggle Today's visibility in a split second. Adding new events and tasks can be accomplished in the same way. You can also schedule next week's meeting or a...
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Zevrix Solutions (http://www.zevrix.com) has released LinkOptimizer 4.1.11, an update of its workflow automation solution for Adobe InDesign. The new version addresses several performance and stability issues related to link analyzing, image processing and software compatibility.
LinkOptimizer lets you reduce InDesign job size and speed up processing by eliminating excess image data and performing essential image adjustments.
LinkOptimizer Light 4.1.11 can be purchased from the Zevrix Solutions web site for US$239.95 , as well as from authorized resellers. LinkOptimizer works with Mac OS X 10.4.2-10.5 and InDesign CS-CS4.
Version 4.1.11 is free for LinkOptimizer 4.x users and a $95.98 to upgrade from previous versions. A demo is available for download.
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Xsilva Systems (http://www.xsilva.com/explore) has released LightSpeed 3.0, an update of the multi-user Point of Sale (POS) system built exclusively for Mac OS X. The upgrade features a new point-of-sale screen, new features for multi-store retailers, including a new solution called Multi-Store Pro, and expanded support for Xsilva’s e-commerce solution, Web Store 2.0.
Built on a scalable OpenBase SQL foundation, it offers sales, service, tracking and purchasing tools that employ SQL searches, natively multi-user operation and "intelligent" workflows. LightSpeed also features administration and reporting tools. Pricing starts at US$749.
LightSpeed is Universal Binary so runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs. It requires Mac OS X 10.4 or higher.
Existing users of LightSpeed will receive upgrade license keys for LightSpeed 3.0 if they had a valid support and upgrade...
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Hackers took down Apple's iPhone and Safari browser, Microsoft's Internet Explore 8 (IE8) and Mozilla's Firefox within minutes at this week's Pwn2Own contest, reports "Computerworld" (http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9174078/iPhone_Safari_IE8_Firefox...).
The two-man team of Vincenzo Iozzo and Ralf-Philipp Weinmann exploited the iPhone in under five minutes, said a spokeswoman for 3Com TippingPoint, the security company that sponsored the contest. The pair also walked away with US$15,000 in cash, a record prize for the challenge, adds "Computerworld."
Iozzo, an Italian college student, works for Zynamics, a company headed by noted researcher Thomas Dullien. Weinmann is a post-doctoral researcher at the...
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Last week Apple Board member Jerome B. (Jerry) York died from a brain aneurysm. And according to the "Wall Street Journal" (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870426650457514193392147604...), he wasn't happy with the way Apple CEO Steve Jobs handled his past illnesses.
The article says he had strong feelings about the way Jobs handled disclosures about his leave of absence for health reasons in January 2009. In an interview with "The Wall Street Journal" last year, York said he almost resigned when told of the seriousness of Jobs's illness. York felt Jobs should have publicly disclosed his health problem three weeks earlier in a news release that announced his decision not to appear at the Macworld trade conference, he adds.
York said the concealment "...
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To mark the recent release of the popular information management application DEVONthink 2, TidBITS Publishing Inc. has published a new ebook, "Take Control of Getting
Started with DEVONthink 2."
Designed to help Mac users fight information overload by storing and indexing digital documents and clippings of all sorts, including scanned paper bills and receipts, DEVONthink provides tools to organize, find, and view vast amounts of stored data.
Written by Joe Kissell and created in collaboration with DEVONtechnologies, the ebook explains DEVONthink's core concepts and guides readers through many aspects of putting DEVONthink to work. The US$10 ebook can be purchased at http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/devonthink-2 .
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Toshiba America Storage Device Division (http://www.toshibastorage.com) has announced two additions to its 5,400 RPM line of 2.5-inch hard disk drives. In the standard 9.5 millimeter-high, two-platter design, the company says the MK7559GSXP HDD incorporates both the industry's highest areal density and capacity at 750GB.
Toshiba also introduced a new three-platter 12.5-millimeter-high platform with the MKxx59GSM series, which offers 750GB and 1TB of storage. These capacity points were predominantly supported by larger form factor 3.5-inch HDDs until the introduction of high-end 2.5-inch solutions.
To deliver these next-generation storage capacities, Toshiba has implemented Advanced Sector Format technology in both families. This technology uses 4K byte-per-sector formatting and improved error-correcting code (ECC) functions, providing maximum data integrity and making efficient use of...
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3D Eye Solutions (http://www.3deyesolutions.com) has begun beta testing for its glasses free 3D application for the video game platforms such as, the Mac, iPhone, Nintendo Wii and PC. The company says it's developing a new render engine that is more flexible in design and can be integrated with multiple gaming systems.
3D Eye Solutions is beta testing of its glasses free 3D application for the Nintendo DS, Microsoft Xbox, and the Sony PlayStation and expects its beta test to be completed by the end of the third quarter. The application is based on a server and new file format that will enable state synchronization of player appliances and the server.
The application is developed mainly for use on glasses free systems; however, it's also compatible with 3D video game systems with glasses. In addition, this application will enable 3D Eye Solutions to be able to convert in "real time...
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iPhones present the greatest smartphone security risk to the enterprise, according to a recent survey from nCircle (http://www.ncircle.com), a network security and compliance auditing firm.
The online survey of 257 security professionals was conducted between Feb. 4 and March 12, 2010. In addition to smartphones, the survey covered a range of security topics including healthcare, cloud computing and social media. Key findings include:
° 57% believe that the iPhone carries the greatest security risk.
° 39% ranked Google Android as presenting the highest risk.
° 28% named Blackberry the riskiest.
° 13% ranked Nokia as having the highest risk.
° 58% of respondents have a corporate smartphone security policy in place.
° 65% of enterprises with a smartphone security policy enforce it.
“The general consensus is that Apple continues to do only the absolute minimum to...
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Adventure game publisher Coladia and Anuman Interactive say Return to Mysterious Island 2 (http://www.coladia.com/en/games/mac/return_to_mysterious_island_2) for Mac OS X is available on legal download platforms. It's an Universal Binary application and runs on Macs sporting Intel or PowerPC G5 processors.
Return to Mysterious Island 2 costs US$29.90. A demo is available for download.
Here's how the game is described: "In this sequel, Mina and her monkey Jep, who you can also play, still find themselves trapped on the same beautiful island, after Mina's rescue helicopter has crashed. While searching formerly unknown parts of the island for a new way of escaping, Mina finds that an unknown disease suddenly begins to afflict the plants, then the animal life on the island. She finds Captain Nemo's old base and stumbles...
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