Logic Express goes to version 9.1.6
Apple has updated its Logic Express audio software to version 9.1.6. According to Apple, this update improves overall stability and addresses some minor issues including the following:
° Improved compatibility with full-screen view and Mission Control in OS X Lion;
° The sample preview option available when importing samples into Ultrabeat now functions correctly.
Logic Express 9.1.6 requires Mac OS X 10.6.8 or higher and is a 140.58MB download. You can obtain it via the Software Update component of the Mac OS X Systems Preferences app.
Jobs not 'Person of the Year,' but topped Silicon...
"Time" magazine has announced its annual "Person of the Year," awarding the title to "The Protester." Late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was recognized in a "Fond Farewell" from the magazine, while Apple CEO Tim Cook was identified as one of 2011's "People Who Mattered."
"Though there were suggestions that Jobs should be named the Person of the Year after he passed away in October, Jobs didn't earn the title or even make the magazine's list of runners up," notes "AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com). However, he did rank as Silicon Valley's top story of 2011, as noted by the "Business Journal" (http://macte.ch/tdt6f).
The publication notes that his death was easily the most significant news story in Silicon Valley in 2011, according to an online poll of readers. About 70% of those who responded cited Jobs' passing when they responded to the Business Pulse Survey conducted between Dec. 6 and Dec. 13.
-- Dennis Sellers
ITC postpones ruling on Apple-HTC case
A U.S. court has further postponed a final ruling on its lawsuit against Apple, reports "Reuters" (http://macte.ch/6eWX7).
An HTC official said the International Trade Commission, a U.S. trade panel that investigates patent infringement involving imported goods, would deliver its ruling on Dec. 19. Earlier the ITC had scheduled a ruling for Dec. 13, postponed from the original date of Dec. 6.
Apple first filed its complaint against HTC in March 2010. An initial ruling in July 2011 found that HTC did violate two Apple patents.
Verbatim rolls out new card readers
Verbatim (http://www.verbatim.com) has announced its new USB 3.0/USB 2.0 Universal Card Readers and USB 2.0 Pocket Card Reader. All are Mac OS X and Windows compatible.
Supporting a variety of memory card formats and 100% compatible with all USB ports, these plug-and-play, ultra-portable card readers can transfer data, photos, music, videos and more. Both Universal Card Readers feature a sleek design. The USB 3.0 device, which delivers transfer speeds of up to 5GB/second, boasts a silver finish. The USB 2.0 version, which transfers data at a rate of up to 480MB/second, comes in a classic piano black finish.
Memory cards supported by both the USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 Universal Card Reader include: CompactFlash Type I & Type II (CF), Secure Digital (SD), Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC), miniSD, microSD, Memory Stick (MS), Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo, Memory Stick Micro (M2), MultiMedia Card (MMC) and xD-Picture Card (xD). The USB...
Those who prefer the iPhone for professional use on the rise
A recent survey conducted by Pyxis Mobile (http://www.pyxismobile.com), a provider of the a cross-device mobile application development platform, found that the mobile industry is still dealing with fragmentation.
According to the survey, 48% employ a BlackBerry device for professional use, down from 55% last year, while 46% use the iPhone, up from 31% in 2010. Meanwhile, 36% of respondents prefer the iPhone for personal use, unchanged from last year, while 32% use a BlackBerry, down from 37% last year.
A growing number of firms across various industries have an employee-facing app -- 47%, which is up from 42% as identified in last year’s survey. Budget management concerns have continued to rise with 60% of survey takers citing this as the main challenge to the growth of their company’s mobile strategy, compared to 51% in 2010.
About 63% of survey participants whose organization uses tablets say their firm supports the iPad, while 15% support the Android tablet and 6.5% support the...
NPD: iOS share grows to 29% of the smartphone market
According to The NPD Group (http://www.npd.com), a market research company, Android’s operating system (OS) share of smartphone sales grew to command more than half of the U.S. smartphone market (53%) from January through October 2011, as Apple’s iOS share grew to reach 29% of the market.
RIM’s OS share declined to 11%. RIM and other companies that were formerly on top of NPD’s smartphone rankings, however, have made critical business decisions this past year in a quest to shore up their U.S. smartphone businesses, according to NPD.
"The competitive landscape for smartphones, which has been reshaped by Apple and Google, has ultimately forced every major handset provider through a major transition," says Ross Rubin, executive director, Connected Intelligence for The NPD Group. "For many of them, 2012 will be a critical year in assessing how effective their responses have been."
Next MacBook Pro may offer 2880 x 1800 display resolution
According to a "DigiTimes" report (http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20111214PD204.html), Apple plans to offer a MacBook Pro with a display resolution of 2880 x 1880 in the second quarter of 2012.
Presently, the highest resolution on the 15-inch MacBook Pro line is 1680x1050 pixels, and the highest resolution on the 17-inch model is 1920x1200 pixels (though both can display higher resolutions on external monitors such as the Thunderbolt display). The "ultra-high resolution for the new MacBook Pro will further differentiate Apple's products from other brands," according to "DigiTimes."
Photo Police 1.0 is new photo utility for Mac OS X
Nikolay Kropachev has introduces Photo Police 1.0, his new photography utility for Mac OS X 10.7.x ("Lion"). It costs US$1.99 and is available worldwide exclusively through the Mac App Store in the Photography category.
Photo Police allows you to check photos to see, or validate, any JPEG image manipulation, revealing details such as deleted acne, wrinkle reduction, changed form on nose, etc. The software is designed not to decide for you whether the image has been edited or not.
Photo Police just makes tiny changes in color, which are contained in an image file, but not visible. It can detect following changes: blurring of wrinkles and acne removing; deleted or modified objects in the photo; a hidden image in a photo; and other intervention in low-bit pixel data of images.
Tablet cellular connections losing out to Wi-Fi
As tablet adoption increases in the U.S., the rate of cellular connections is failing to keep pace. Instead, more tablet owners rely on Wi-Fi-only connections, according to the latest research from The NPD Group’s Connected Intelligence (http://www.connected-intelligence.com/).
In April 2011, 60% of tablet users only connected via Wi-Fi, but 5% of them said they planned to purchase mobile broadband plans within the next six months. Fast forward six months, and the Wi-Fi-only connection base has grown to 65% of tablet users, at the expense of cellular connectivity.
"There are multiple reasons for greater Wi-Fi reliance," says Eddie Hold, vice president, Connected Intelligence. "Concern over the high cost of cellular data plans is certainly an issue, but more consumers are finding that Wi-Fi is available in the majority of locations where they use their tablets, providing them ‘good enough’ connectivity. In addition, the vast majority of tablet users already own a smartphone, which...
'Father of the iPod' to appear at Autoweek Design...
Tony Fadell, known as the "Father of the iPod," will join Lincoln design director Max Wolff, Cadillac design chief Clay Dean and Kia chief design officer Peter Schreyer at the 18th Autoweek Design Forum (http://designforum.autoweek.com/) at Detroit's College of Creative Studies on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. Peter Horbury, senior vice president of design at Geely Group, will serve as keynote speaker.
"We're thrilled Tony Fadell will be joining us at the Design Forum," says Dutch Mandel, Autoweek associate publisher and editorial director. "His participation alongside the artists behind some of the most beautiful cars in the world will add valuable perspective on the important relationship between automotive design and technology."
Fadell, founder and CEO of Nest.com, led the team that created the first 18 generations of the iPod and the first three generations of the iPhone. Before Apple, Fadell built the Mobile Computing Group at Philips Electronics. Fadell graduated from the University...
Marble Arena 2 rolls onto the Mac
Brightside Entertainment has released Marble Arena 2 (http://www.marble-arena.com/) for Mac OS X. It's a family friendly, physics based, free 3D marble game with a built-in editor for creating custom levels.
The game features 50 levels where players will test their skills on several types of surfaces, attempt to master a multitude of physics contraptions and go toe to toe -- and sometimes toe to multiple toes.
Making it through all these perils in one piece, and in time, has its benefits. Players will be awarded upgrade points for doing so, points that they can use to improve their skills or unlock their favorite from a multitude of marble skins.
Hitachi GST ships Ultrastar C10K900 enterprise drive family
Hitachi (http://www.hitachigst.com) shipping its Ultrastar C10K900 enterprise drive family. It features a SAS 6Gb/s interface for data throughput and packs a 64MB cache buffer to optimize the read/write response time.
The new Ultrastar drives feature average seek times as low as 3.8 milliseconds, and its fast rotational speed reduces average latency time to below 3.0 milliseconds, says Brendan Collins, vice president of product marketing, Hitachi GST. The Ultrastar C10K900 also hits the industry’s highest 10K capacity point at 900GB, delivering more capacity for less space for greater configuration flexibility, he adds.
The family is available in 900GB, 600GB, 450GB and 300GB capacities. Hitachi GST is now shipping Ultrastar C10K900 qualification units with volume shipments in the first quarter of 2012.
Lantronix launches wireless printing solution for iOS devices
Lantronix has launched the xPrintServer,, which it says is the first iOS print server compatible with the iPad 2, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and virtually any device running Apple’s mobile operating system.
The xPrintServer is available for pre-ordering now at store.Lantronix.com. The product will begin shipping in the first calendar quarter of 2012, and will also be available on Amazon, NewEgg, Buy.com, and MacMall websites. Lantronix will be showcasing the xPrintServer at Digital Experience on Jan. 9, 2012, the evening prior to the 2012 International CES in Las Vegas.
The xPrintServer, roughly the size of an iPhone, is a hardware solution that utilizes the iOS native print menu and requires no additional applications, software downloads, or printer driver installations. It boasts automatic printer discovery and no configuration.
The xPrintServer currently supports thousands of printer models from printer families including HP, Brother, Epson, Canon, Dell, Lexmark, and Xerox. The...
2012 FileMaker Developer Conference early bird registration open
FileMaker Inc. (http://www.filemaker.com) has opened registration for the 2012 FileMaker Developer Conference, a worldwide gathering for corporate and independent FileMaker database developers.
Conference attendees can save IS$300 off the full price, paying $1,295 by taking advantage of the "early bird" discount, available now through May 22, 2012. Paid attendees will also receive a free copy of FileMaker Pro Advanced -- a $499 value.
Also available is Gold Registration package for $1,895, which includes pre-conference sessions, FileMaker Training Series courses and the FileMaker Developer Conference.
The 17th annual FileMaker Developer Conference will run July 16-19, 2012 at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami, Florida. Attendees will: discover what's on the horizon for FileMaker software; learn expert techniques on developing desktop, web, and iOS solutions; and network with FileMaker developers from around the world. Hot topics for this year include FileMaker Go, design development,...
IX-DSI12 Telemetry Interface is Mac compatible
iWorx Systems (http://www.iworx.com) has introduced the IX-DSI12 Telemetry Interface for Data Sciences (DSI) implantable animal telemetry systems. The interface provides integration with iWorx LabScribe2 Software and enables researchers using DSI’s telemetry implants to perform a variety of ECG, blood pressure, and other analyses.
It also provides the first platform to enable data collection and analysis from DSI telemetry transmitters on a Mac or PC via an USB connection. iWorx IX-DSI12 Interface provides continuous and concurrent data acquisition from up to 12 DSI implantable telemetry transmitters.
Digital data acquisition and powerful telemetry noise reduction technology provide higher quality and more accurate data than what can be acquired using conventional analog adapters, according to the folks at iWorx.
Memory Cleaner gets full support for Lion
The Alice Dev Team has updated Memory Cleaner (http://memorycleaner.alicedev.com/) for Mac OS X (10.6 or higher) to version 2.0. The upgrade adds full support for Mac OS X 10.7 ("Lion") and the ability to clean Macs with 16GB or more of installed RAM.
Memory Cleaner frees wasted memory in your computer to prevent your applications from slowing down. Every time you open a file on your hard drive, your computer uses up some memory. This is usually a good thing, but it can become full of stuff you don’t even need anymore. Memory Cleaner gets rid of this stuff.
Memory Cleaner 2.0 is now available for a limited time only at the special sale price of US$5.99, after which it will return to its normal price of $9.99. Memory Cleaner 2.0 is available worldwide exclusively through the Mac App Store in the Utilities category.
Tropico 3: Gold Edition for the Mac coming Jan. 26
Feral Interactive says Tropico 3: Gold Edition will be released on the Mac on Jan. 26, 2012. Developed by Haemimont Games and published by Kalypso Media for Windows, Tropico 3: Gold Edition is a re-imagining of the construction and management simulation Tropico.
Here's how the game is described: "Tropico 3: Gold Edition is a combination of strategic city-builder and humorous political simulator that invites players to reign as El Presidente, dictator of the resource-rich Caribbean nation of Tropico. To govern is to choose, and as players build their island’s infrastructure, manage the economy and keep competing factions on side, they will have plenty of opportunity to find out whether they prefer to rule with a velvet glove or an iron fist.
"To maintain their grip on power, players will need to create a cult of personality around El Presidente, composing his silver-tongued speeches, manipulating the media and building monuments in his honor. El Presidente’s character will determine...
AKVIS NatureArt updated to version 4
AKVIS (http://www.akvis.com) has upgraded AKVIS NatureArt, to version 4.0. It's a tool for imitating the magnificence of natural phenomena on your digital photos.
NatureArt offers eight nature effects: Rain, Sun, Water, Lightning, Clouds, Frost, Fire, and Ice. The Fire Effect in version 4.0 has been improved. New presets have been added to Fire, Sun, and Lightning effects. Version 4.0 also makes it possible to apply an effect to a transparent area.
AKVIS NatureArt is compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 and higher. A fully functional, 10-day demo is available for download. Users who own previous versions of AKVIS NatureArt can upgrade to version 4.0 for free.
For new users, AKVIS NatureArt sells for US$72 for the Home version (either plug-in or standalone, six effects), $129 for the Home Deluxe version (plug-in and standalone, eight effects), $189 for the Business version (plug-in and standalone, eight effects, for commercial use). AKVIS NatureArt is also available in the Alchemy bundle...
Adobe updates Lightroom, Camera Raw
Adobe has announced the availability of Lightroom 3.6 and Camera Raw 6.6 final releases on Adobe.com. Originally posted as release candidates on Adobe Labs, the final updates provide raw file format support for nine new cameras including Canon PowerShot S100, Nikon 1 V1 and Sony NEX-7, and add over 30 lens profiles to help photographers automatically correct unwanted distortion and chromatic aberration.
In addition, Lightroom 3.6 and Camera Raw 6.6 final updates correct issues reported from the latest releases. Lightroom a digital photography workflow solution for "serious" amateur and professional photographers. It lets you import, manage, enhance and showcase all your images within one application. The Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in provides access to raw image formats produced by many digital camera.
The Lightroom 3.6 update is available as a free download for Lightroom 3 customers, and the Photoshop Camera Raw 6.6 plug-in is available as a free download for Photoshop CS5...
My Living Desktop for OS X gets new scenes
Amuse has released My Living Desktop 5.0.1 (http://www.mylivingdesktop.com/) for Mac OS X, a new version of their video desktop and screen saver utility. The upgrade is ready for Mac OS X Lion and adds new scenes.
My Living Desktop is a cross between a video desktop (moving wallpaper) and screen saver. With its built-in video importer, users can import their own movie scenes for use as video desktops. Anyone can have family movies, movies of friends and special events, vacation movies and more as their desktop -- or as a screen saver.
My Living Desktop boasts a variety of high-definition movie videos shot from all around the globe, accompanied by nature sound effects. Upon purchase, download access to additional hi-def movie videos are available from within the software itself.
The application also sports Automatic Serenity Breaks. This feature allows the user to have My Living Desktop automatically remind them to take a break. Simply specify the interval or time(s) of day and a sound...
Stacks for RapidWeaver gets new interface
YourHead Software has released Stacks 2.0, an update to its layout plug-in for the RapidWeaver web creation software. The upgrade sports a new interface that provides more image controls.
What's more, version 2.0 offers a searchable stack library and more image controls, templates, 25 new built-in stacks, and a new API (application programming interface). Stacks lets users build flexible web pages using a drag and drop interface.
Stacks is free to download and try. Registration for version 2.0 is US$29.95 for a single user license. Site license and educational discounts are available from YourHead Software (http://www.yourhead.com).
KOMPAS-3D 13 integrates Lightworks Artisan
Lightworks (http://www.lightworkdesign.com) says the latest release of KOMPAS-3D from ASCON, a developer and integrator of professional CAD/AEC/PLM solutions, incorporates the Lightworks Artisan product and is now available globally.
ASCON, one of the first CAD developers within the Russian market, produces the KOMPAS-3D modeling software that's sold to over 40,000 customers all over the world. ASCON licensed Lightworks Artisan in summer and with this latest release becomes the first company in Russia to sell a Lightworks Artisan-based product.
Lightworks Artisan can be integrated directly within an existing CAD system. Its SnapShots functionality enables users to save SnapShots of scenes at any stage of the design process which can then be re-applied at any time within Artisan.
KOMPAS-3D provides users with industrial product development. It combines: features for professional, parametric, 3D modeling; full-scale 2D design and drafting output; extra add-ons for surface modeling,...
App developers bet on iOS over Android this holiday season
Flurry (http://www.flurry.com), a company that "increases the size and value of mobile application audiences," says that, of the over 55,000 companies use Flurry Analytics, most are supporting iOS approximately three times as much as the Android operating system this holiday season.
Flurry says that over the year, developer support for Android has declined from more than one-third of all new projects, at the beginning of the year, down to roughly one-quarter by the end. In particular, the market expanded aggressively in quarter three in anticipation of iPhone 4S support and the upcoming holiday season.
Also, Apple expanded distribution for iOS devices beyond its long-standing exclusive with AT&T to include Verizon in February and Sprint in October. What's more, the highly successful launches of iPad 2 in February and iPhone 4S in October resulted in increased developer support for Apple.
"Anecdotally, developers consistently tell us that they make more money on iOS, about three...
Cequint sues Apple over -- you guessed it! -- patent...
Another day, another lawsuit. A company named Cequint has filed a suit against Apple alleging patent infringement, reports "GottaBe Mobile" (http://macte.ch/C6KqW).
Damages are unspecified but Cequint is asking the court to preventApple from selling iPhones in the US. The patents in question involve caller ID technology. Cequint says its technology is on over 30 handsets including Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone devices.
Cequint (http://www.cequint.com) is based in Seattle, Washington. The company describes itself as a "pioneer in landline caller ID."
-- Dennis Sellers
Analyst; it's an 'Apple holiday season'
In a note to clients -- as reported by "AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com) Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White says that Best Buy reps have singled out the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 as some of the company's strongest selling products during the holiday shopping season.
Best Buy's comments are another indication that Apple is on track to post a record breaking holiday quarter, notes "AppleInsider." When the company's last fiscal quarter financial results were reported, Apple execs said they expected to see record iPhone and iPad sales during the 2011 holiday shopping season.
Apple reportedly eyeing purchase of flash storage tech company
Apple is reportedly in talks to buy Israel's Anobit, a maker of flash storage technology, for as much as US$500 million, according to a report in the Israel-published "The Calcalist" (http://www.calcalist.co.il/home/0,7340,L-8,00.html), as reported by "Reuters" (http://macte.ch/na1wY).
Anobit has developed a chip that enhances flash drive performance through signal processing, the article adds. The chip is already incorporated in Apple devices such as the iPhone, iPad and the MacBook Air.
"The Calcalist" says Apple is interested in Anobit's technology to increase and enhance the memory volume and performance of its devices. The chip could double the memory volume in the new iPads and MacBooks. If a $500 million deal were to happen, it would be Apple's biggest company acquisition since bringing founder Steve Jobs back to the company by buying NeXT Computers in 1996.
-- Dennis Sellers
Apple launches iTunes Store in Brazil, Latin America
Apple has launched he iTunes Store in Brazil (http://www.itunes.com/brazil) with a selection of Brazilian and international music from all the major labels and thousands of independent labels.
Launching with a catalog of over 20 million songs, the iTunes Store in Brazil features local artists including Ivete Sangalo, Marisa Monte and the digital debut of Roberto Carlos’ catalog, available to purchase and download along with a range of international artists including the Beatles, Rihanna, Coldplay and thousands more.
Most songs are priced at US$0.99 and most albums at $9.99.
The iTunes Store in Brazil offers over a thousand movies to rent or purchase, with many in HD (well, 720p), from studios including 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures. The iTunes Store in Brazil now joins the Apple App Store, which offers more than 500,000 apps to consumers in 123 countries.
Apple is also...
Apple working to revive struggling iAds platform
Apple "apparently has recognized that its mobile advertising platform, iAd, has struggled to gain traction with advertisers and is reportedly making concessions to drum up business," according to "CNET."
iAds -- which debuted alongside iOS 4 in 2010 -- "combine the emotion of TV advertising with the interactivity of Internet advertising," according to Apple. The iAd platform -- which is built into iOS 4and higher -- allows users to stay within their app while engaging with the ad, even while watching a video, playing a game or using in-ad purchase to download an app or buy iTunes content.
Developers who join the iAd Network can incorporate a variety of advertising formats into their apps. Apple sells and serves the ads, and developers receive 60% of the iAd Network revenue, which is paid via iTunes Connect. iAds require iOS 4.x.
However, during the past year, iAd has fallen from a first place tie with Google's Admob to third place behind Admob and Millennium Media's ad network,...
ScaleMaster for Mac OS X targeted to musicians, songwriters
RoGame Software has released ScaleMaster for Mac OS X (10.6.6 and higher). It costs US$9.99 and is available worldwide exclusively through the Mac App Store in the Music category. Educational discounts as well as a limited number of teacher copies are available.
A good understanding of scales is of particular importance to improvising musicians and song-writers. ScaleMaster addresses the topic in a systematic fashion helping with classification, construction and spelling in all common clefs. Other features include guitar, bass, mandolin and piano instruments, a rating mechanism to indicate favorites among the over 200 listed scales, a chord matching utility and much more.
The master list in ScaleMaster is the base catalog of available scales. Over 200 types are listed and can be sorted alphabetically, by number of scale tones (i.e. pentatonic, hexatonic, etc.) or by rating. The rating system is provided to help remembering favorites and rank usability with up to five stars....
Remoter for Mac OS X promises 'remote access made easy...
Remoter Labs has announced Remoter 1.0.0 for Mac OS X (10.6 and higher, a productivity app that allows users to remotely control Macs via Screen Sharing, and Windows or Linux PCs using the VNC or RDP standards.
Remoter offers one of the fastest implementations of the VNC and RDP protocols on the Mac platform, according to the folks at Remote Labs. It uses Bonjour for set-up. Features include sound redirection, RDP, Telnet and SSH, which also allows for secure VNC/RDP over SSH.
Port-forwarding and/or dynamic DNS is no longer needed in order to establish connections from outside the computer's network. Servers can be sorted by name, type or usage, and a search box allows to easily find the desired server.
Wake-on-LAN support is also built-in. When the server session is setup using Bonjour or NetBIOS, the MAC address is automatically populated. Otherwise the field is provided to allow the user to populate it manually. Wake-on-LAN can then be sent either from the main screen of the app,...
NETGEAR launches router with unique Mac features
NETGEAR (http://www.netgear.com) has announced worldwide availability of the US$129.99 NETGEAR Wireless Extreme for Mac and PC. It's the company's first home router to offer Mac-specific capabilities -- including native support for Apple's Time Machine back-up software and Bonjour automated networking technology .
A large number of NETGEAR's consumer customer base use both Macs and PCs, in addition to iPhones, iPads and other devices, on their home networks. The Wireless Extreme is designed from the ground up to offer a best-of-all-worlds solution, according to Som Pal Choudhury, NETGEAR director of product marketing.
It includes the advanced features found in NETGEAR'g family of routers -- parental controls, DLNA compatible media streaming, a broadband usage meter and simultaneous dual-band wireless performance. In addition, the Wireless Extreme also features NETGEAR's Genie, which is a dashboard-style application that provides complete router and network management and CD-less...
Apple Store workers bring in about $278 per hour (each)
An analysis by Horace Dediu at Asymco (http://www.asymco.com) shows that store revenue at Apple was about US$320,000 in the first three quarters of this year. A company like J.C. Penney Co., on the other hand, brings in about $124,000 per employee per year.
Dediu said revenue per visit at an Apple Store is about $45. And there are 250 million such visit per year. Already in the first three quarters of 2011, there have been 222 million visits.
"If a typical employee sees six visitors per hour, that works out to $45 X 6 = $270 per hour, and since Dediu figures they actually make just a bit over $45 per visit, he bumped the final figure up to $278," notes the "BusinessCourier" (http://macte.ch/nAs48).
USB-IF announces Intel 7 series chipset
The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) has announced the upcoming Intel 7 Series Chipset and Intel C216 Chipset Family host silicon has achieved SuperSpeed USB certification by the USB-IF. The certified solution includes four SuperSpeed USB ports integrated into the chipset, enabling manufacturers to conveniently incorporate SuperSpeed USB into their systems.
"This is a tremendous milestone for the industry," says Jeff Ravencraft, USB-IF president and chief operating officer. "With USB-IF certification of Intel’s integrated USB host silicon, host manufacturers will be able to bring SuperSpeed USB to the masses. Intel’s commitment to SuperSpeed USB will continue to provide peripheral device manufacturers a compelling incentive to develop a growing number of diverse SuperSpeed USB products."
SuperSpeed USB brings significant performance enhancements to the ubiquitous USB standard, while remaining compatible with the billions of USB-enabled devices currently deployed in the market....
Hitachi GST ships two new 4TB Deskstar-based solutions
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (http://www.hitachigst.com/) has announced the industry’s highest capacity 4TB storage solutions -- the Deskstar 5K4000 Internal Hard Drive Kit and the Touro Desk External Hard Drive.
The 4TB Deskstar 5K4000 is a 3.5-inch hard drive with a 32MB cache buffer that provides 33% more capacity compared to current 3TB drives. Its CoolSpin technology, along with other Hitachi power management techniques, purportedly gives the Deskstar 5K4000 up to a 28% idle power savings over Deskstar 7K3000 7,200 RPM drives and an idle acoustic level of only 2.5 bels. The new 4TB Hitachi Deskstar 5K4000 Hard Drive Retail Kit is currently shipping in limited quantities to online and retail stores with a suggested retail price of US$399.99.
The 4TB Hitachi Deskstar 5K4000 Hard Drive Retail Kit comes complete with mounting screws, step-by-step instructions, and a software download that allows 32- and 64-bit Mac OS X, Windows and Linux systems to tap into the full capacity...
Digital Film Tools releases reFine
Digital Film Tools has released reFine with plug-in support for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop® Elements, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Apple Aperture, Adobe After Effects CS5 and up, Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 and up, Apple Final Cut Pro 6, 7 and X, Apple Motion 5 and Avid editing systems.
reFine offers artists a tool and technique for performing selective sharpening, detail enhancement, edge-aware smoothing, as well as creating cartoon, pencil and pastel effects. It delivers edge-preserving filtering of still and moving images.
The reFine photo plug-in is available now for US$50. You can download it at http://www.digitalfilmtools.com/refine/download.htm .
The reFine video-film plug-in is available now for $99. You can download it at http://www.digitalfilmtools.com/refine/download.htm .
CDFinder for OS X gets rewrite, name change to NeoFinder
Norbert M. Doerner has released NeoFinder 6.0 (http://www.cdfinder.de/), a complete rewrite of the CDFinder disk cataloger. It has a new name, new icon, and new user interface.
With the new Smart Folders, Albums, Multi-Core Find-Engine, fully integrated Inspector and Map, NeoFinder makes it easier than ever to keep track of your digital files, photos, songs, movies, on hard disks, CDROMs, Blu-ray disks, DVD-ROMs, server disks, and any other digital media, says Doerner. Plus, it now catalogs, displays, and searches OpenMeta keywords.
NeoFinder requires Mac OS X 10.5 or higher. Previous CDFinder versions for older Mac OS operating systems are still available.
NeoFinder is a paid update to licensed users of CDFinder with pricing starting at approximately US$25. Cross-grades for users of competing applications (DiskLibrary, FileFinder, CatFinder, Canto Cumulus, iView Media Pro, and more) are available. A free demo version can be downloaded from the NeoFinder website; the price for new...
Fumy image tool for Mac OS X gets new rendering engine
Neatberry has updated Fumy, their graphics editor for Mac OS X (10.6 and higher), to version 2.0. The upgrade introduces a new rendering engine with better performance and lower resources consumption, a re-designed user interface and proper layers support.
Fumy offers a type of brush that renders graphics with the simplest mouse movements. It's designed to help convert an idea into a painting.
You can vary number of params to change the brush behavior, color flow, blending mode, background and brush colors etc. This results in the ability to build abstract backgrounds, lighting texts, art-house drawings and more. A limited demo version of Fumy 2.0 with watermarks only is available at the Neatberry web site (http://neatberry.com/products/fumy). Registration is US$19.99.
Chronos announces 'biggest upgrade ever' for SOHO...
Chronos has released SOHO Labels 6, which it says is the biggest upgrade ever to the label software for Mac OS X (10.6 and higher). According to Jerry Halls, vice president of Sales at Chronos, major new features include:
° An integrated Layers pane;
° The ability to add customizable reflections to any graphic, shape, or text box;
° Aperture support to the built-in photo browser;
° Support for iPhoto events to the built-in photo browser;
° Support for searching iPhoto photos by name, keyword, date and rating;
° The ability to add Finder folders containing images to the built-in photo browser;
° Support for custom pages sizes for labels;
° Support for label fold lines;
° A new and improved project wizard;
° Support for over 1,000 new label formats;
° Full screen support in Mac OS X 10.7.x ("Lion").
Also, the Project wizard now shows supported printer models for media stocks when available.
SOHO Labels is a complete kit and includes everything needed to design and print impressive...
Instalyrics now lets iPhone detect tunes playing on your Mac
Tal Shrestha has released Instalyrics 1.0.2 for Mac users. It's an update of the app that automatically provides lyrics to any song, in any language, with a single click to an icon.
Instalyrics works with iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, GrooveShark, Last.FM, Rdio, Radium and text searches. With Instalyrics 1.0.2 open on an iPhone, users can now detect what's playing on their Mac and instantly get the lyrics to that song on their device.
Users can do a search for lyrics by typing in a title, artist or words when no song is playing on their Mac -- or they can do an automatic push-button search of a song playing from a playlist on their Mac or while watching YouTube. With a click Safari opens, revealing the lyrics to the song they're listening to. If a user skips to the next or a previous track, the app automatically goes on a search for the words without the user having to do anything further.
Instalyrics 1.0.2 for Mac costs US$2.99. It's available worldwide exclusively through the Mac App...
FontGenius for OS X now supports searching WebINk fonts
FontGear (formerly Morrison SoftDesign) has released FontGenius 2.5 for Mac OS X. It's an update of the font identification utility. The upgrade adds support for searching WebINK web fonts by Extensis (http://www.WebINK.com), the ability to search your own Mac for matched fonts, and a new Favorites window for storing search results.
FontGenius examines pictures and identifies typefaces of any text within a picture. Using advanced recognition technology, FontGenius will produce a list of likely fonts that match selected characters within an image, and will generate character previews of the matched fonts.
FontGenius can match both installed fonts and uninstalled fonts using a built-in font profile database. An Internet search can also be performed on the list of results to locate, purchase, and/or download matched fonts. FontGenius requires Mac OS 10.4 or higher.
A demo version is available for download at the FontGear web site (http://www.FontGear.net). Registration is US$39.99 for a...
You can connect an iPhone/iPad to external sensors with HiJack,...
Now there's a way to connect external devices to the iPhone/iPad using techBASIC and HiJack.
TechBASIC is a BASIC programming language that runs right on the iPhone/iPad. It's an A-D converter that plugs into the headphone jack on the same devices. techBASIC lets you manipulate data and plot the results from HiJack, creating a tool to collect information from almost any external device without the need to write software first on a desktop computer.
Scientists, engineers, students and hobbyists now have a way to connect the iPhone and iPad to the outside world, collect information and process it right on their iPhone or iPad. The HiJack project from the University of Michigan, with participation from the University of Utah, created a hardware and software platform to do just that.
HiJack is designed to create cubic inch peripherals that connect through the headphone jack on an iPhone or iPad. It can even use the audio output from the headphone to provide up to 7.4 mW of power to the...
Avenza releases MAPublisher 8.6 for Adobe Illustrator
Avenza Systems has released MAPublisher 8.6 for Adobe Illustrator. In addition to a large number of new features and enhancements to existing ones, this release is purportedly the first version of MAPublisher to offer support for Safe Software FME Desktop product.
With the new MAPublisher FME Auto add-on, users of MAPublisher and FME Desktop can automatically transfer the results of an FME workflow directly to the MAPublisher and Adobe Illustrator environment complete with styling and layout. In addition MAPublisher users can now import the FME FFS file format.
MAPublisher 8.6 for Illustrator is available free of charge to all MAPublisher customers with an active maintenance subscription and as an upgrade for non-maintenance users at US$599. New licenses are $1,399. MAPublisher FME Auto is available as an add-on to MAPublisher 8.6 at prices starting at $399 per license. Academic, floating and volume pricing is also available. Prices include one year of full maintenance. Visit http://...
Apple patents involves slot antennas, image processing, more
Apple has won several patents from the US Patent & Trademark Office. Following is a summary of each.
Patent number 8077096 is for slot antennas for electronic devices. The slot antennas may have a dielectric-filled slot that is formed in a ground plane element. The ground plane element may be formed from part of a conductive device housing. The slot may have one or more holes at its ends. The holes may affect the impedance characteristics of the slot antennas so that the length of the slot antennas may be reduced.
For example, the holes can be used to synthesize the impedance of the slot antennas so that the slot antennas have a resonant frequency that is different from their natural resonant frequency. The holes may affect the impedance of the slot antennas in multiple radio-frequency bands. The inventors are Bing Chiang, Douglas Blake Kough and Enrique Ayala Vazquez.
Patent number 8077182 involves user interface controls for managing content attributes. Per the patent, a...
Mac sales predicted to grow 13% in December
In a note to clients -- as reported by "AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com) -- Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster says the Mac line-up is demonstrating 13% year-over-year growth in the first two months of the current quarter.
Basing this on the latest data from the NPD research group (http://www.npd.com), he says the numbers are "soft" compared to what is expected of Apple for the December quarter. However, that data only represents Apple's Mac sales in the U.S., and doesn't include the platform's worldwide growth.
Investors generally expect Apple to sell about 5.2 million Macs in the December quarter, which would translate to year over year growth of 25%. The NPD data showed desktop units up 5%year over year in the month of November, while notebooks were up 9 percent from 2010.
Munster projects 5.1 million and 5.3 million Mac sales in the December quarter. That would be a record for the company, notes "AppleInsider."
"We believe international Mac sales are likely growing...
Apple posts iTunes 10.5.2
Apple has posted iTunes 10.5.2. It includes improvements for iTunes Match and fixes an audio distortion problem when playing or importing certain CDs.
With iTunes Match, even songs you’ve imported from CDs can be stored in Apple's iCloud. And 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...
Apple releases Thunderbolt Display firmware update
Apple has released Thunderbolt Display Update 1.1, which addresses ses fan noise affecting a number of displays and improves overall stability.
Thunderbolt Display Update 1.1 requires Mac OS X 10.6.8 or higher and is a 942KB download. You can obtain it via the Software Updates component of the Mac OS X Systems Preferences app.
Analyst: MacBook Air will continue to generate huge sales
In a note to clients -- as reported by "CNET," J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitzsays that MacBook Air will generate huge sales and retain its dominant market share despite the growing onslaught of rival ultrabooks (although Apple doesn't call the Air an ultrabook).
"Ultrabooks are not a competitive threat, yet," he said. "In general, we think that Ultrabooks are highly-discretionary devices, and pricing on competitive offerings must fall below $800 before posing a viable threat to Apple's MacBook Air."
Moskowitz says the Apple device's features, form factor, and early launch into the ultrabook market will continue to attract Apple enthusiasts and other users. "In contrast, we think that the first round of ultrabook offerings lacks the right blend of features and attractive price points to grab market share from Apple," the analyst added.
In previous reports. J.P. Morgan had predicted the MacBook Air as potentially generating sales of US$2 billion to $3 billion. However, in light of...
Mac App Store downloads top 100 million
Apple says that over 100 million apps have been downloaded from the Mac App Store in less than one year. With thousands of free and paid apps, it brings the Apple App Store (for iOS) experience to the Mac so you can find new apps, buy them using your iTunes account, and download and install them in just one step.
"In just three years the App Store changed how people get mobile apps, and now the Mac App Store is changing the traditional PC software industry," says Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "With more than 100 million downloads in less than a year, the Mac App Store is the largest and fastest growing PC software store in the world."
The Mac App Store offers thousands of apps in Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity, Utilities and other categories. Users can browse new and noteworthy apps, find out what’s hot, see staff favorites, search categories and look up top charts for paid and free apps, as well as user...
New version of vjoon K4 simplifies publishing processes
The new version (6.4 R2) of the Cross-Media Publishing Platform vjoon K4 is out now and designed to boost workflow productivity and efficiency.
Its highlights include enhanced multichannel publishing capabilities and standard third-party system integration. To this end, its feature set has been extended with some key components. The company has also added some functions available in version 5.9 but not in version 6, thereby achieving feature parity.
"In keeping with the strategy behind the Unified Publishing Process, we are taming the growing complexity in publishing by simplifying management processes. Automated routines, the ability to integrate and manage subprocesses, and standards streamline the workflow, enable lean publishing, and save time and money," says Andreas Schrader, CEO of vjoon (http://www.vjoon.com).
License pools stand out among the extended feature set’s many highlights, she adds. These pools make it much easier for printing service providers and advertising...
Echoworx offers 1,000 mobile encryption seats free
Echoworx (http://www.echoworx.com) -- a provider of credential management and managed encryption services for complete email and data protection -- will be offering its mobile encryption solution, mobilEncrypt, free.
This on-the-device encryption solution enables, iPhone, iPad and BlackBerry users to send and receive encrypted messages using their existing email address. mobilEncrypt is an enterprise encryption solution designed especially for administrators and employees.
"At Echoworx we do more than just talk about mobile encryption, our solution is fast becoming a valuable tool for our customers in the healthcare and financial industries, our MDM partners are using it to support encryption on mobile devices, and now you can try it too," says Michael Ginsberg, CEO, Echoworx. "Of all our encryption solutions on the market today, the most asked for product is mobile encryption."
This no-strings-attached free offer is valid for six months, and is open to the first 1,000...
