'WSJ': Apple execs and the future of TV
According to "The Wall Street Journal" (http://macte.ch/ON2y3), Apple executives have discussed -- well, in a vague sort of way -- the company's vision for the future of TV with media executives at several large companies. The article quotes unnamed "people familiar with the matter."
Basically, the jist of the Apple-branded HDTV (often referred to as the iTV) is that it will:
° Respond to voice (think Siri) and motion commands.
° Will rely on wireless streaming technology to access shows, movies and other content.
° Allow users to stream video from mobile devices to their televisions (think AirPlay), without a set-top box.
"When the company plans to start selling such a device and whether it would receive traditional broadcast or cable signals remains unclear, said these people, who say Apple may change its plans," adds the "Journal."
Apple supplier suffers plant blast
Apple supplier Pegatron Corp reported an explosion at a subsidiary's plant in Shanghai over the weekend that injured 61 workers.
Pegatron Chief Financial Officer Charles Lin told "Reuters" (http://macte.ch/7XAxB) that the explosion at the plant, which belongs to Riteng Computer Accessory Co and is located in Shanghai's Songjiang industrial park, had not caused a fire, but 23 of the injured workers needed to be hospitalized. The factory has not started operations yet, he added. Part of the facility is still under pre-operation inspection and part is running trial production.
Apple said it was investigating. "Our hearts go out to the people who were hurt in Songjiang," spokeswoman Carolyn Wu told "Reuters." "We are working closely with Pegatron to understand the cause of this accident."
Login HD is new security app for your Mac
iLifeTouch has introduced Login HD 1.0, a new security tool for Mac OS X (10.6 and higher). It costs US$4.99 and is available worldwide through the Mac App Store in the Utilities category.
Login HD was designed to help you lock a screen and control it. You can personalize the appearance of the locked screen. A name and image can be displayed on the locked screen
Login HD offers: customizable wallpapers; message posting on the screen; four styles of clocks and weather displays; a customizable slideshow; and more. Plus you can choose locking/opening sounds and animations.
Sonnet shipping Echo ExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter
Sonnet Technologies says its new Echo ExpressCard®/34 Thunderbolt Adapter is now shipping. It enables users of computers equipped with a Thunderbolt port, -- including the latest iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models -- to connect seamlessly with compatible ExpressCard/34 cards from Sonnet and other manufacturers.
Originally intended for notebook computers, ExpressCard/34 adapters offer users additional connectivity and functionality beyond what is available through their computers' stock configuration.
"With our Echo ExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter, users can now extend the capabilities of their Thunderbolt Technology-equipped Macs like never before. With a single Thunderbolt adapter, they can instantly add connectivity to their computers, whether increasing the number of ports, incorporating new interfaces, or adding peripheral devices that otherwise could not connect through a Thunderbolt port," says Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies. "By hot-plugging...
Sketchoo is new paint, drawing software for Mac OS X
Green and Slimy have released Sketchoo, new digital paint and drawing software for Mac OS X (10.6 and higher). It costs US$29.99 and is available at the Mac App Store.
Sketchoo features a tool palette that include a pencil, paintbrush, airbrush, calligraphy pen, eraser and controls for brush size and opacity. It's designed for all artists, illustrators and manga and comic creators. The software’s innovated and intuitive full-screen interface doesn’t distract the artist with tool pallets, which allows for uninterrupted creative expression.
Over 50 images are included for use by beginners and hobbyists to learn and create artwork. Two different sizes of grid patterns can be used as drawing aids with or without the templates. A built-in camera/portrait feature allows the user to take a photo and then draw over the photo.
With Sketchoo, the digital artist can share selections or a whole illustration with others via Facebook, Flickr or Mail. Sketchoo also supports undo and redo, has an "...
Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air Music System now available
Klipsch has released the Apple AirPlay-enabled Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air. With this new speaker, listeners can turn their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch into a remote control that streams music wirelessly from iTunes to the Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air.
AirPlay is Apple technology for wireless music streaming. It gives music lovers complete access, control, and playback of their entire iTunes music library. It requires iTunes 10.1 or later.
With the ability to utilize any wireless network and embedded AirPlay technology, the G-17 Air streams high-quality audio directly from any iPod, iPhone or iPad capable of running iOS 4.2– all without wires and the need to dock the relevant device. iTunes can also be streamed from a Mac or PC to one or multiple G-17 Air systems in a home or office.
The G-17 Air also contains a USB input for direct digital connection and charging of most 30-pin Apple devices and a 3.5 mm analog input to accept almost every music player available. Measuring 17 inches in...
Doodle offers free iCal Connector
Doodle (http://www.doodle.com) has released their free iCal Connector that enables Mac users to synch their iCal calendars and use Doodle's online scheduling service within OS X.
iCal Connector requires Mac OS X 10.5 or higher. Also, a Doodle account is necessary to connect your calendar.
Eye Scream Factory unveils transitions for Avid FX, Boris RED
Eye Scream Factory (http://www.eyescreamfactory.com) has released 200-plus transition presets for Avid FX 6 -- a plug-in application for transitions, professional text, and advanced composites inside Avid Media Composer and Symphony -- and Boris RED 5, a plug-in application for transitions, professional text, and advanced composites inside Adobe, Apple, Grass Valley, Media 100, and Sony video editing software.
This first volume of Eye Scream Factory presets features designer transition effects ranging from extruded shatters, lens flares, lens blurs, caustics, and volumetric rays to organic wipes and waves. The customizable, cross-platform transition effects can be applied at any duration. The transition effects package costs US$49.95.
Neu 1.2 for Mac OS X sports reworked interface
Elegant Chaos has announced Neu 1.2, an update to their file making utility for Mac OS X. The upgrade sports a reworked user interface, drag and droop support for document creation and adding templates, and more.
Neu is designed to simplify the creation of new documents in the Finder without having to open an application first. It does this by adding menus and global keyboard shortcuts that can be triggered from the Finder, or any other application, which allow you to choose a template to copy. The templates can contain substitutions which are filled in when you make the new document.
Neu requires Mac OS X 10.6.5 or above. It costs US$9.99 and is available worldwide exclusively through the Mac App Store in the Utilities category.
Maintain serves up a new Cocktail (5.1.1) for Lion users
Maintain has released Cocktail 5.1.1, the latest version of Cocktail (http://www.maintain.se/c). The upgrade addresses compatibility issues with Google Chrome extensions and allows you to enable AirDrop on older Macs that don't officially support it.
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. Cocktail 5.1.1 (Lion Edition) requires Mac OS X/Mac OS X Server 10.7 or later and is tested for compatibility with Mac OS X/Mac OS X Server 10.7.1.
Cocktail costs US$19 for a single user license and available. The license is valid for both Snow Leopard and Lion editions of Cocktail. Cocktail (Leopard Edition) is distributed as freeware and doesn't require a license.
Finance now available at the Mac App Store
Yenco has updated Finance, its budgeting app for Mac OS X, to version 7 and made it available on the Mac App Store.
Finance 7 is an application that helps you to keep track of your bank accounts and manage your budget. Version 7 includes improved repeating transactions and data entry, improved search speed, a new advanced search window, improved list navigation with mouse, trackpad and arrow key support, and more.
Finance requires Mac OS X 10.6 or higher. It costs US$14.99 (a new, reduced price).
PFiddlesoft releases a UI Actions 2.1.0
PFiddlesoft has released UI Actions 2.1.0, a minor update to UI Actions, bringing "universal attachability" to AppleScript on Mac OS X 10.6 and newer.
With UI Actions, you attach an AppleScript script to a native Mac OS X application. From then on, the script will be triggered automatically every time the user performs the actions you specify in the target application. A UI action script can respond to all manner of user actions, such as opening or closing a window, selecting a menu item, editing a text field and many others.
UI Actions is universal. While Apple's Folder Actions and Digital Hub Actions are specialized tools that let your scripts respond when the user performs narrowly defined tasks, UI Actions goes further. It allows any accessible user interface element in any application to trigger a script in response to any supported user action.You can download a free, full-featured 30-day trial version of UI Actions 2.1.0 now at pfiddlesoft.com/uiactions/ .
Version 2.1.0 is a...
JAC 2.0 for Mac OS X adds multi-mode operation, more
Dalamser today announces JAC 2.0, an update to their clock utility for Mac OS X. The new version introduces multi-mode operation, new clock designs, and more. it also sports translucent Christmas baubles with clock hands floating inside.
JAC provides one or more resizable traditional analog clocks showing the time in different locations around the world. You can choose whether it runs as a standard application -- dock icon, standard menu bar, present in application switcher, dock menu, etc., as an accessory application with an always visible system-wide menu (right-side of menu bar) or even as both at the same time. You can also change your preference at any time without any "please restart" messages.
JAC requires Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later. It costs US$1.99 and is available worldwide exclusively through the Mac App Store in the Business category.
Pioneer's MixTrax technology works with iOS devices
Pioneer Electronics (USA) has introduced MixTrax (http://www.mixtrax-global.com), a proprietary technology that creates a nonstop mix of an entire music library to create a club-like atmosphere.
Designed for music lovers and the club-going audience, MixTrax takes the music from an iPhone/iPod or USB/SD device and plays it back with added transitions and effects creating a virtual DJ inside select Pioneer products. Derived from Pioneer's experience in developing world-renowned professional DJ products, MixTrax is implemented in a variety of worldwide Pioneer car audio products.
Samsung files four additional patent claims against Apple
Samsung filed four additional patent claims against Apple on Friday in a German court, while also going to trial over three other patents that the Korean company alleges are infringed, reports "Computerworld UK" (http://macte.ch/EB9gy).
Two of the patents are related to telecommunications standards, and the other two are related to "the utility of mobile devices," the article says. One of those four patents relates to how "smileys" are entered into mobile phones, Florian Mueller says in reporting for "FOSS Patents" (http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/).
Samsung and Apple representatives were in Mannheim Regional Court on Friday for trials related to three German patents. All this is, of course, part of the ongoing, global battle between Apple and Samsung who both accuse each other of patent infringement.
'Avatar' coming to iTunes in a special edition
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Lightstorm Entertainment say teh hit movie, "Avatar," will be available digitally with first-of-its-kind interactive features in the "Avatar iTunes Extras Special Edition" beginning on Tuesday, Dec. 20.
It will let fans deconstruct some of the movie’s scenes to reveal how director James Cameron applied special effects to create the world of Pandora."Avatar iTunes Extras Special Edition" will be available at http://www.iTunes.com/Avatar for pre-order starting today, Dec. 16 for US$19.99 HD/$14.99 SD.
Fans can experience the global box office sensation like never before as they control scene deconstructions in simultaneous views, according to Aubrey Freeborn, senior vice president of Marketing and Product Management for Worldwide VOD and Electronic Sell-Through, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. This new feature will also enable consumers to interact with the performance capture and visual effects levels in 17 of the film’s scenes....
The iPad still number one as tablet sales explode
Third quarter tablet sales exploded with the iPad still leading the pack, according to the latest research from the IDC research group (http://www.idc.com).
During the three-month period that ended Sept. 30, 18.1 million tablets were shipped globally. That's a 23.9% over the previous quarter and a 264.5% increase over the year-ago quarter.
IDC says Apple shipped 11.1 million tablet units. The iPad has 61.5 % of the tablet market. Samsung's tablet products accounted for 5.6% of tablet sales.
Apple has three spots in Google's Zeitgeist results for...
Apple has three of the top 10 spots in Google’s Zeitgeist results for 2011 (http://www.googlezeitgeist.com/en).
The iPhone was number six on the list, Steve Jobs was number nine and the iPad 2 was number 10. Google says "Zeitgeist sorted billions of Google searches to capture the year's 10 fastest-rising global queries and the rest of the spirit of 2011."
Survey shows clear momentum for Macs, iPads, iPhones in law...
The 2011 Clio Apple in Law Firms Survey results have been tabulated and 763 people participated, 80% of which were practicing lawyers and 20% of which were law students or non-lawyers. Co-sponsored by MILOfest, this year’s results show that Apple products are going strong and gaining ground with small firm lawyers at the expense of previously dominant legal technology players, such as Research in Motion.
Seventy-six percent of respondents were lawyers at firms with 10 attorneys or less. Many of the survey respondents were relative Mac newcomers; 25.3% of respondents had switched to Mac within the past year.
Widely-used products in the survey included iPhones, used by 60.9% of respondents; Dropbox, used by 25% of respondents; iCloud, seeing high adoption at 15%; and Android phones with usage at 13%. Evernote, a note-taking app not included in last year’s survey, debuted at 14% usage. OpenOffice had gained 2 percentage points since last year, showing that open source technology is...
Apricorn introduces the Aegis NetDock -- Mac Edition
Apricorn (http://www.apricorn.com) has announced the Mac Edition of their Aegis NetDock (US$229 for a1TB model), an ultra-compact 3-in-1 USB Docking Station, combining a 4-port USB Hub, dual layer DVD burner and 1TB hard drive in a footprint smaller than a stapler.
It's designed especially as an accessory to Apple's MacBook Air. The Aegis NetDock adds desktop functionality with a single USB connection. It has a candy-red enclosure and space-saving vertical stand.
The Aegis NetDock's optical drive boasts a Dual Layer recording engine. You can record up to 8.5GB of data per DVD, virtually doubling data storage capacity on a DVD recordable disc from the single layer recording capacity of 4.7 GBs.
Fully compatible with Time Machine, the Aegis NetDock's built-in hard drive comes in a 500GB or 1TB version. The Aegis NetDock is also available without a hard drive. The open enclosure enables you to add or change out the hard drive and fits any 2.5-inch, 9.5mm SATA hard drive.
In addition,...
iBrightness designed for Mac laptops
XCool Apps has introduced iBrightness for the Mac. It requires Mac OS X, costs US$0.99 and is available worldwide exclusively through Apple's Mac App Store in the Utilities category.
Besides allowing you to freely adjust your brightness level straight from the menu bar, iBrightness waits for your Mac's power source to change and then adjusts the screen brightness. According to the folks at XCool Apps, it's targeted at filling the gap for one of the most basic features that should have been built-in to each laptop that Apple sells.
Whenever we turn the power adapter on or off, MacBooks, MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs will automatically adjust the screen brightness. However, it switches the brightness according to what it thinks is right, sometimes depending on what it feels like, even when users may have switched off the automatic brightness setting. iBrightness is designed to help with the matter.
Appsoft Studio introduces Smart Image Converter for the Mac
Appsoft Studio has introduced Smart Image Converter, an app for converting, resizing, renaming and organizing images and photos on your Mac. It requires Mac OS X 10.6 or higher, costs US$3.99 and is available worldwide exclusively through the Mac App Store in the Graphics & Design category.
Smart Image Convert converts your images and photos to PNG, JPG, GIF, TIFF file formats. It also changes the file names and the size of images. Photos can be dragged directly to the app window from iPhoto.
The main advantage of Smart Image Converter is clear usage, says says Vitalijus Vysniauskas, the project manager of Appsoft Studio. There's just a few simple settings and you get fast results with only a few clicks, he adds.
Total Video2Gif lets you turn a movie into an animated GIF
eTinySoft says their new app, Total Video2Gif, is now available at the Mac App store. It requires Mac OS X 10.6 or higher and is being offered for US$0.99 for a limited time.
Total Video2Gif lets you convert any movie clip to a smaller animated GIF for sharing. The GIF format is widely used to show self-expression on an avatar of Twitter, Facebook, and other signatures.
Total Video2Gif features let you batch convert batch movie clips to animated GIF files. Supported input movie formats include: WMV, MKV, AVI, DivX, XviD, MPEG, MP4, QT, RM, RMVB, M2T, FLV, MPEG, MPEG2 TS, ASF, 3GP, 3G2, GIF, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, H.264/PSP AVC Video, MOV, FLV,iPod, PSP, Zune, Apple TV, iPhone, Nokia, Sony, BlackBerry and more.
New Mac app Rips you from Reality
Appnotix has rolled out Ripped from Reality for Mac, a photography app that creates an artistic sketch and real world composition out of photos. It requires Mac OS X 10.6 or later, costs US$7.99 and is available worldwide through the Mac App Store in the Photography category.
With Ripped from Reality you "rule" over your photograph with a sketch, or create a special environment. With your sketch overlaying your photograph, you can use it as a way of an imaginative approach to contrasting real life with the collage of graphite.
BeLight, Lightworks Design team up for Render Boost plug-in
BeLight Software, together with Lightworks Design, have presented a professional rendering plug-in for Live Interior 3D. The Render Boost plug-in (http://www.belightsoft.com/products/liveinterior/renderboost.php) serves as a powerful tool for creating photorealistic, high-resolution images of your interior design projects.
The rendering tool allows users to further process their projects created in Live Interior 3D to achieve photorealistic, high resolution images. Upon sending your projects from Live Interior 3D to Render Boost, you purportedly get even more control over ambient lighting, shadows, and reflections.
Inside Render Boost, materials that were applied in Live Interior 3D can be replaced using high-quality materials, finishes, and so-called bumps that give a material lifelike volume. You can also have a lake or mountain view from your house windows. Simply set any 2D image or 3D landscape as a background for your project in Render Boost.
Render Boost is compatible with Mac...
MacJournal gets redesigned for Lion
Mariner has updated MacJournal, its journaling software, to version 6. The application has been redesigned for Mac OS X 10.7.x ("Lion").
MacJournal 6 adds a Calendar mode that displays any or all entries. It includes features for geolocation, word count and progress tracking and provides additional blogging support. A Timeline mode has been added to give journal writers the ability to see writing activity in chronological order. MacJournal 6 even introduces a feature for creating books from journals specially formatted for publishing.
MacJournal 6 is available for sale (US$39.95) and for trial as a download from the Mariner Software website (https://www.marinersoftware.com/products/macjournal/). A boxed and Mac App Store version will be available in the near future. Registered MacJournal 4 and 5 customers can upgrade to MacJournal 6 for $19.95. MacJournal 6 requires Mac OS 10.6.8 or higher.
Rescue Team 2 comes to the Macgamestore
Alaware Entertainment's Rescue Team 2 is now available at the Macgamestore (http://www.macgamestore.com). It requires Mac OS X 10.5 or higher and costs US$6.99.
Here's how the game is described: "When disaster strikes, the Rescue Team sweeps in to save the day! Take control of workers who respond when a devastating tornado leaves its mark on three all-new islands in this exhilarating time management adventure. Overcome earthquakes, rebuild hospitals and drill for oil to keep your vehicles running. Use strategy to figure out the quickest way to complete your goals, and then race against the clock to remove debris, repair bridges, put out fires, restore communications and save victims.
Pogoplug introduces new cloud storage expansion device
One month after launching its new Pogoplug Cloud service, Pogoplug (http://www.pogoplug.com/expansion) has announced the next generation of its flagship cloud expansion device: Pogoplug Series 4.
Pogoplug’s free Pogoplug Cloud service gives users 5GB of online cloud storage optimized for mobile phones and tablets. New users can sign up directly from their phone to create their free Pogoplug Cloud account.
Pogoplug Series 4 allows users to add unlimited cloud capacity to their Pogoplug account by hosting their own storage, with no monthly fees or limits. The model provides plug-and-play support for Seagate GoFlex external drives and other storage products that have adopted the new Universal Storage Module standard (USM), as well as the following inputs: USB 3.0 x 2; SD x 1; USB 2.0 x 1; and 2.5-inch SATA/USM/Seagate GoFlex ultra-portable drives x1
Pogoplug Series 4 is US$99 and available now at select retailers. Pogoplug’s iOS app is available at the Apple App Store.
iTattoo Device Decal Product Line introduced
Alundus has launched its iTattoo Device Decal Product Line for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
iTattoo products are removable hard case covers, stickers, and skins for protecting and customizing portable devices. They're available at the Kickstarter web site (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/295247571/itattoo-device-decals-for-...).
LinkOptimizer for InDesign updated to version 4.6.8
Zevrix Solutions (http://zevrix.com) has released LinkOptimizer 4.6.3, an update of its workflow automation solution for Adobe InDesign. The new version lets users control profile inclusion policy of color-managed images and addresses some stability and reliability issues.
LinkOptimizer lets you reduce InDesign job size and speed up processing by eliminating excess image data and performing essential image adjustments.
Version 4.6.8 can be purchased from the Zevrix Solutions web site for US$259.95, as well as from authorized resellers. LinkOptimizer works with Mac OS X 10.4.2-10.5 and InDesign CS-CS4. Version 4.6.8 is free for LinkOptimizer 4.x users and a $98.98 to upgrade from previous versions.
Tidy Up! for Mac OS X tidied up to version 2.3.7
Hyberbolic Software (http://www.hyperbolicsoftware.com) has released Tidy Up! 2.3.7, the latest version of their disk, file and folder processing utility for Mac OS X. The new version is a maintanence update.
Tidy Up! can find duplicate files and packages using any criteria. It allows for the creation of the smart baskets using the selected folder and file as a filter. There are also bug fixes.
Tidy Up 2.3.7 requires Mac OS X 10.5 ("Leopard") or higher. Version 2.3.7 of Tidy Up! continues the discount of the 23%. Buy it now and pay US$30 instead of $39; users of Tidy Up! version 1.x can upgrade for $20.
Insider for Lion gets Spotlight support
Sinisa Drpa has updated Insider for Mac OS X 10.7.x ("Lion") to version 1.1, adding Spotlight support. The app costs US$14.99 and is available at the Mac App Store.
Insider helps users to find specific text within documents, as well as files and folders. Combining Spotlight with Unix find and grep search tools, as well as support for regular expressions, it searches any set of directories that match the search criteria. The search is recursive and can be limited to a particular folder.
With Insider, the search operation is performed in real time, without the need for indexing, and can be limited to particular folder, according to the folks at Sinisa Drpa. The resulting matches can be previewed using Cover View, QuickLook or a text preview -- where all matching instances of the search word are highlighted. To save time, there is a previous search list and the searches can be saved and organized for later reuse.
Graphic Node adds 100 photos to Photo Stills collection
Graphic Node (http://www.graphicnode.com) has announced an update to its Photo Stills pack of photographs and photo items for Apple's iWork.
With the addition of 100 new photos, the Photo Stills collection contains a selection of 600 images. With Photo Stills, users can decorate slideshows, invitations, Web pages, newsletters, and other documents.
Users can view samples of the illustrations and purchase the Photo Stills pack on the Graphic Node Web site. The bundle doesn't equire installation and can simply be saved wherever users find convenient.
The Photo Stills collection requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later. It costs USUS$19 for the full bundle.
Apple TV software updated to version 4.4.4
Apple has updated its Apple TV software to version 4.4.4. The upgrade offers performance and stability fixes.
To install the update on your Apple TV, go to Settings -> General, and then choose Update Software.
Apple also released a new build of iOS 5.0.1 for the iPhone 4S. There are no notes on what the update entails.
Apple one of the 'Best Places to Work'
Apple is one of the "Best Places to Work," as determined by Glassdoor in its four annual survey. The 50 winners were selected by the employees of the company.
Apple ranks number 10 on the list. Ahead of it are Bain & Company, McKinsey & Company, Facebook, MITRE, Google, CareerBuilder, Slalom Consulting, REI and Trader Joe's. Intel was number 32. Tech companies such as Microsoft, Dell and HP didn't make the list.
Glassdoor (http://www.glassdoor.com) is a site that offers "an inside look at jobs and companies." Salary details, company reviews, and interview questions are all posted anonymously by employees and job seekers.
Steve Jobs makes Barbara Walter's 'Most Fascinating...
The late Steve Jobs has made Barbara Walters' "10 Most Fascinating People of 2011." It's the first time the celebrity journalist/interviewer has named someone who died as the "most fascinating."
On the top 10 list are: Jobs, Herman Cain, Simon Cowell, Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson of "Modern Family," Katy Perry, the Kardashians, Donald Trump, Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, Amanda Knox and Pippa Middleton.
International roll-out of iTunes Match faces glitches
Apparently, Apple's international roll-out of its iTunes Match service was a premature and refunds are being issued.
With iTunes Match, even songs you’ve imported from CDs can be stored in Apple's iCloud. You can play them on any iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC. According to Apple, here’s how it works:
"iTunes determines which songs in your collection are available in the iTunes Store. Any music with a match is automatically added to iCloud for you to listen to anytime, on any device. Since there are more than 20 million songs in the iTunes Store, chances are, your music is already in iCloud. And for the few songs that aren’t, iTunes has to upload only what it can’t match. Which is much faster than starting from scratch. Once your music is in iCloud, you can stream and store it to any of your devices. Even better, all the music iTunes matches plays back from iCloud at 256-Kbps AAC DRM-free quality -- even if your original copy was of lower quality."
However, Apple is telling...
Apple could open R&D center in Israel
Apple will open a research and development center in Israel that will focus on semiconductors, accodring to the Israel newspaper, the "Globes" -- as reported by "Reuters" (http://macte.ch/LiOJ8).
The Israeli newspaper said Apple has already hired Israeli high-tech veteran Aharon Aharon to run the center. If it happens, the R&D center in Herzliya, Israel's version of Silicon Valley, would be Apple's first outside California.
Analyst: Apple may sell 190 million iPhones next year
In a note to clients -- as reported by "Fortune" -- Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty say she thinks Apple will sell 190 million iPhones in 2012. She says this is possible because:
° Based on recent AT&T comments, Apple could ship anywhere from 31 to 36 million iPhones this quarter -- as much as 20% higher than the 30 million she's modeling and about 30% higher than the 28 million Wall Street is forecasting.
° Her research shows that iPhone demand is accelerating. Apple could sell 13 million iPhones in the U.S. and 41 million worldwide next quarter.
When it comes to iPads, she thinks Apple could sell 81 million tablets worldwide next year. Morgan Stanley is modeling 52 million iPads for 2012 -- approximately 20 million in the U.S. and 32 million overseas.
Read more at http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/12/15/morgan-stanley-apple-may-sell-190... .
Snapheal for Mac OS X is new photo editing app
Macphun has released Snapheal, a photo app for Mac OS X (10.6 or later). It's available on Mac App Store for US$9.99 for a limited time. The regular price will be $19.99.
Snapheal performs complex image edits, object cloning, removals and more in a matter of clicks and minutes, according to the folks at Macphun. Its Erasing tool features three different algorithms; each should be used for specific editing purposes. There's also a Clone&Stamp tool for touch-ups and fixes.
In fact, Snapheal offers 20 different tools, including saturation, gamma, contrast, noise reduction. It also provides: The ability to adjust shadows and highlights; crop and rotate photo; control sharpen; set color temperature; and more.
Snapheal features built in video tutorials. The app handles practically all file formats, including TIFF and RAW; plus, it supports a resolution of up to 32 megapixels. You can import images from Aperture and iPhoto albums plus export the creation to iPhoto, share on Facebook,...
Enterprise Device Alliance members support iOS 5
The member companies of the Enterprise Device Alliance (EDA) have announced their support for Apple's iOS 5 in enterprise environments. The member companies are committed to providing support for iPhones and iPads that use iOS 5 in enterprise and business deployments with a Windows IT infrastructure.
Enterprise-class organizations can now use solutions from the members of the Enterprise Device Alliance (http://www.enterprisedevicealliance.org) to leverage their Microsoft Windows IT environments to provide file access to iOS devices. Alliance members include Absolute Software, Group Logic, and Web Help Dek.
"The pervasive use of iPhones and the emerging adoption of iPads in large organizations means that IT administrators need to be able to secure and manage the devices while still helping their users get services," says T. Reid Lewis, president of the Enterprise Device Alliance. "The Alliance members provide solutions that help IT management leverage their current expertise and...
Data Recovery Guru for OS X lets you scan, recover deleted files
Mac OS X File Recovery has introduced Data Recovery Guru 1.0 for Mac OS X (10.6 and higher), a utility that recovers files that have been accidentally deleted due to user error or hardware malfunction.
Files that have been emptied from the Trash appear gone, but actually remain on the disk until written over by new data. DRG locates and "unerases" deleted files. Data Recovery Guru can recover files at the same time it is scanning for lost files.
It requires 10.6 or later. Data Recovery Guru 1.0 costs US$99 and is available worldwide directly from the Mac OS X File Recovery website (http://www.macosxfilerecovery.com/datarecoveryproducts/data-recovery-guru/). A free demo version is available for download.
Satechi BT portable speaker available
Satechi (http://www.satechi.com) has released the US$44.99 BT Portable Speaker. The speaker wirelessly streams audio or phone calls from any Bluetooth-enabled device, including the iPad, iPhone, iPod, Android phones, MacBooks and more.
The 3.3-ounce BT Portable Speaker is armed with Satechi’s signature Bass Expansion System, which the company says extends the speakers to amplify dynamic audio range without compromising acoustic integrity. The BT Portable Speaker features a vacuum chamber that opens up like an accordion to mimic the acoustic properties of subwoofers resulting in enhanced bass output.
Equipped with g lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, the portable speaker offers up to six hours of playback time The BT Portable Speaker also has integrated buttons to control next track, volume, play/pause and answer/end calls. Additional features include an LED status indicator, USB cable to connect the device to any USB charger or port and 3.5mm jack compatible with most Bluetooth-...
Current Werks introduces energy saving USB wall outlets
Current Werks, which specializes in green mobile power storage and charging devices, has introduced two energy-saving USB wall outlets: the Quattro and Duo.
The Quattro (patent pending) is purportedly the first product in the industry that replaces a standard electrical wall outlet with four powerful USB charging ports. The Quattro's four USB ports deliver a combined output of 22 watts. The Quattro also features a tamper-resistant door that when closed eliminates standby power, also known as vampire power. Additionally, it has the ability to replace four USB AC adapters with one wall outlet.
The Duo (also patent pending) features two in-wall USB charging ports delivering 16 watts of output power from a standard 110V wall outlet. The Duo's power management design gives the consumer a total of four charging solutions, two USB charging ports and two standard US/CAN sockets from a single wall outlet. This makes the Duo the second most powerful in-wall charging solution available in the...
Avernum: Escape from the Pit comes to the Mac
Spiderweb Software (http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com) has released Avernum: Escape from the Pit (http://www.avernum.com/avernum/index.html) for Mac OS X. It costs US$20.
This is how the game is described: "The first game in a trilogy of epic, indie role-playing games, Avernum tells of a struggle for survival in an enormous prison far below the surface world. As a new prisoner of the pit, you will struggle for survival, look for a way to escape, and even dream of revenge on the surface tyrants who cast you there.
"You have been banished to this underworld, never to see the light of day. While the surface continues to suffer under the iron fist of Emperor Hawthorne, you will enter into a battle for survival in Avernum, a hungry and fragile nation deep in the underworld. The people of this world have not given up, however, and they are forging a new nation of their own with steel, magic, and dreams of returning to the sun. Join them, explore a huge game world, hunt for hundreds of...
Better Finder Attributes for OS X revved to version 5.09
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 5.09. The upgrade adds the ability to adjust EXIF timestamps in Nikon's NEF RAW image format.
"A Better Finder Attributes" requires Mac OS X 10.6 or higher. It costs US$14.95, though version 5.09 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.
Unified Color announces HDR Expose 2, 32 Float 2
Unified Color Technologies has announced the latest upgrade to its HDR image editing software offerings, HDR Expose 2, the standalone HDR software that empowers photographers to create the true-to-life HDR images possible, and 32 Float 2, an 32-bit HDR image editing plug-in for Adobe Photoshop®..
Built upon Unified Color’s Beyond RGBTM color technology platform, both HDR Expose 2 and 32 Float v2 separate an image’s color component from its luminosity component, enabling photographers to adjust each independently, preventing the tell-tale color shifts often associated with HDR photography and producing more natural-looking tone mapped results, according to Alfred Zee, CEO of Unified Color Technologies.
HDR Expose 2 and 32 Float 2 are also true 32-bit color editing tools that take full advantage of all the available shades of color and tone in a 32-bit HDR image for the smoothest, halo-free results. With these upgrades, Unified Color has reengineered its base architecture to...
Global multi-touch market to be worth $5.5 billion in 2016
After its inception in 1980, multi-touch technology came into light after Apple re-introduced the technology through its products to the world. And the global multi-touch market is expected to be worth US$5.5 billion in 2016, according to Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com).
The technology is associated with capacitive touch screen displays rather than with more common resistive touch screen displays. Natural user interface is the common parlance used by designers and developers of computer interfaces to refer to a user interface that is effectively invisible, or becomes invisible with successive learned interactions to its users.
Multi-touch is an additional upcoming accessibility option combined with products. It can be seen as a replacement for the traditional keypad/keyboard and mouse. Multi-touch technology is in a great demand with multi-touch enabled products such as smartphones & tablets, and they have a big share in the market. Consumer electronic...
PDFpen for Mac OS X updated to version 5.6.2
SmileOnMyMac has updated PDFPen (http://www.smileonmymac.com/PDFpen/download.html), its PDF editing and form-filling tool for Mac OS X, to version 5.6.2. The update adds new preference to choose an alert sound when the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) process is completed. It also adds a preference for a default sidebar view, so that the user can choose among Thumbnails, Annotations, Search, and Table of Contents.
The changes in PDFpen 5.6.2 have also been made in PDFpenPro 5.6.2, the pro version that can also convert websites into PDFs, create fillable PDF forms, and construct document table of contents.
PDFpen costs US$59.95, and PDFpenPro is $99.95. Family pack licenses, which cover up to five computers in one household, are $74.95 for PDFpen and $129.95 for PDFpenPro. Upgrades from earlier versions of either application are $25, and free to users who purchased after Feb. 14, 2010. Upgrades from any version of PDFpen to PDFpenPro 5.0 are $40.
PDFpen 5.5 and PDFpen Pro 5.5...
Vitamin-R for Mac OS X adds a new graphical chart
Publicspace.net has released Vitamin-R 1.72 (http://www.publicspace.net/Vitamin-R/index.html), an update of its Mac OS X compatible productivity tool for creative professionals. The new version adds a new graphical chart that visualizes your concentration levels throughout the day.
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...
