Houdah Software (http://www.houdah.com/) has updated HoudahGeo, a geocoding solution for the Mac, to version 3.4. The new version can load track logs from QR codes created by the gps4cam iPhone application, can now infer camera clock settings when given the exact time a photo was taken and more.
HoudahGeo costs US$29 for a single-user license for new users. Version 2.8 is a free update for registered users. HoudahGeo requires Mac OS X 10.6 or higher.
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Tropical Software's TopXNotes (http://www.tropic4.com/) note manager for the Mac has been updated to version 1.7.5. The upgrade offers performance enhancements and bug fixes.
TopXNotes will now keep your notes synchronized between TopXNotes for Mac and TopXNotes Touch for the iPhone and iPod touch. Version 1.7.2 includes a new Preference for setting vertical and horizontal text margins and a new Preference to choose manual or automatic note delete.
TopXNotes 1.7.5 requires Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later. It costs US$39.99 and is available worldwide exclusively through the Mac App Store in the Productivity category and at the Tropical Software (http://www.tropic4.com).
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Reinvented Software (http://reinventedsoftware.com/) has announced Together 3.0 for Mac OS X. The new version adds thumbnails, tab expose, stationery, history, autosave and versions, along with improved favorites, previews and Shelf, all wrapped up in a smart new design. Also, exclusive to the Mac App Store version, Together 3 can now sync libraries with iCloud.
Together 3 requires Mac OS X 10.8 or later and is available with iCloud support from the Mac App Store, or without iCloud as a 15-day trial from the Reinvented Software web site. Version 3.0 is a paid upgrade for all previous versions of Together.
A full license will cost US$39.99 and an upgrade (not available from the Mac App Store) is $19.99, with free upgrades for anyone for purchased Together 2.x from the Reinvented Software web site within three months of version 3.0's release. For 15 days after Together 3's launch, the...
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Sonnet has introduced an upgrade of its xMac mini Server, a Thunderbolt-to-PCI Express (PCIe) expansion system and 1U rackmount enclosure for a Mac mini with a Thunderbolt port.
The xMac mini Server accommodates one full-length, full-height PCIe card and one half-length, half-height (low-profile) card. The updated xMac mini Server now supports a double-width PCIe card's daughter card and includes BNC connector mounting holes on the enclosure's rear panel. In addition, the length of the xMac mini Server is now just 15.8 inches.
The enhanced xMac mini Server (part number XMAC-MS) is now available at a suggested retail price of US$1,295. The xMac mini Server 2H (part number XMAC-MS-2H) is also available now for $1,295. The xMac mini Server Quiet Fan Module (part number XMFAN-Q) is available for $79.95. More information on these products and compatible PCIe expansion cards is available at http://...
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Last November Auction Team Breker of Cologne, Germany, made international news for selling an original 1976 Apple I computer for the world record price of US$640,000
On May 25, collectors and Apple-aficionados will have the chance to buy another of the six surviving Apple I computers still in working order. You can find more details at http://www.breker.com/ReadMore/ .
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Goal Zero has released the US$399.95 Sherpa 50 Solar Recharging Kit for tablets and laptops. It can purportedly extend the life of a laptop by two hours or a tablet by 15 hours.
The Sherpa 50 weighs less than a bottle of water, fits in a backpack or briefcase, and refuels from the sun in five hours with the Nomad 13 Solar Panel, or a wall outlet or car adapter in two hours. The Sherpa 50 Recharger features a variety of outputs, including USB and DC ports with an option for AC power (110V or 220V) through the Sherpa Inverter (sold separately.) One of the most unique aspects of the Sherpa 50 is its “Power Port” that enables you to power laptops directly from the recharger, eliminating the need for an AC inverter as well as the computer’s bulky AC powering cable, says Joe Atkin, president and CEO of Goal Zero.
Instead, directly plug your laptop into the Power Port on the Sherpa 50 with one of Goal Zero’s Laptop Charging Kits. For more info go to says Joe Atkin,...
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ArcSoft has released Photo+, a new photo viewer for Mac OS X that pulls directly from any folder or drive. It's normally US$9.99, but it's being offered at a limited time for $1.99.
By dragging or selecting a single image, Photo+ automatically displays every image from the same folder. You can browse and display thousands of photos . You can rotate portrait oriented photos when importing.
Photo+ provides fundamental editing tools such as crop, rotate and zoom are built in. It allows you to set up a full screen photo slideshow with music and 10-plus transitions
With Photo+, you can use a track-pad with multi-touch and finger gestures, or a standard mouse. The software is compatible with over 35 formats, including RAW files and animated GIF.
Photo+ is available at http://www.arcsoft.com/photoplus/ or the Mac App Store (...
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DYMO has launched the USS$95 LabelManager Wireless PnP, the first DYMO label maker with wireless networking that enables multiple users to share printing capabilities.
It has built-in wireless networking to enable easy sharing and on-demand printing for an entire office of users, says Julie Hibbard, marketing director at DYMO. It also sports customized labels with any fonts and graphics through Mac or PC connections, and labels with clear graphics, bar codes and logos at 300-dpi resolution.
The LabelManager Wireless PnP is compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 or higher and Microsoft Windows Vista/7/8.XP. The multi-label printing capability comes with an automatic label cutter that creates a variety of DYMO D1 labels. For more info go to http://tinyurl.com/c6hxa2g .
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Apple retook its spot as China's fifth largest smartphone vendor in the first quarter, as the country's market grew to triple the size of the U.S.'s, reports "PCWorld" (http://tinyurl.com/cjj9xhj)
Apple had an 8% share of the smartphone market, while Samsung continued to lead all vendors with a 20%share, according to research firm Canalys. Trailing behind Samsung were Yulong Computer Telecommunication Scientific, Huawei, and Lenovo.
In last year's third and fourth quarter, Apple fell to the sixth spot. But iPhone 5 sales, along with price cuts to older iPhone models, propelled the company's smartphone shipments in China's intensely competitive market, Nicole Peng, an analyst with Canalys, told "PC World."
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Absolute Software Corp. has launched Computrace Mobile Theft Management (MTM), which the company says is the "first and only" iOS loss management and theft recovery service on the market for the enterprise.
Computrace MTM allows organizations to safeguard the iPad and iPad mini devices in their deployment. Based upon the same investigative techniques used by the Absolute Investigations and Recovery Services team for Absolute Computrace theft recoveries, customers now have the infrastructure and support to prevent and respond to iOS loss and theft, says John Livingston, CEO of Absolute Software.
The Computrace MTM service provides two components: loss prevention and theft recovery. The loss prevention program provides customers with the tools to implement best practices within their organization and amongst users to ensure these iOS devices are handled responsibly, according to Livingston.
The theft recovery component is an extension of the loss management...
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AKVIS (www.akvis.com) has released AKVIS Refocus 3.5 for Mac and Windows systems. The software improves sharpness of out of focus images. Version 3.5 offers an advanced algorithm with the improved image processing speed for Tilt-Shift and Iris Blur modes.
AKVIS Refocus works in three modes. Refocus mode makes blurred photos sharper. You can re-focus the entire image or only selected parts.
Tilt-Shift mode allows leaving a sharp strip in the image, adding gradual blur at the edges, with smooth transitions between the regions and with bokeh effects. This mode gives the objects on the photo a "toy" look. It blurs the outer parts and makes the objects appear as if they are miniature models.
Iris Blur mode creates shallow depth-of-field effect, blurring the background while keeping the subject in focus. In contrast to the previous mode, this one lets you specify the shape of the sharp area (ellipse,...
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The new Event-Driven Process Chain Diagrams Solution extends ConceptDraw PRO 9 software with EPC (Event-driven Process Chain) templates, samples, and vector shape library for the drawing of EPC diagrams.
An EPC diagram is a systematic visualization of business events and functions. The libraries are designed to support alternate and matching implementation of designated processes. Using EPC flowcharts is a widely-accepted technique to depict and optimize business processes.
The Event-driven Process Chain Diagrams Solution is the first addition to the new Business Process section of ConceptDraw Solution Park. It's a plug-in for ConceptDraw PRO 9. For more info go to http://tinyurl.com/blvxlqh .
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ThePowerXChange and XChange UK have announced that Blacklining for Adobe InDesign CS6 is now shipping.
In conjunction with the release, two promotions are available that offer users huge savings for a limited time. New, full versions of Blacklining are "Buy One Get One Free, so users save up to US$760. Additionally, users can upgrade from any prior version of Blacklining for $460 and receive a free upgrade for a second license.
Blacklining means including marks within text that highlights or shows the changes that have been made. If a run of text or word or letter is deleted it will be marked as "struck-through" -- that is a line through the center of it in a bold format or color that shows it as being struck out. New text that is inserted will be marked as underlined, again in bold or colored so that it is apparent to the reader that it is a new insert. The Blacklining plug-in allows users to retain a complete audit trail of all changes made to the text of an...
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Embarcadero Technologies, a provider of software solutions for application and database development, has announced InterBase ToGo for iOS, an embeddable, high performance, secure and scalable relational database.
Designed for developers who are looking to embed a low cost, zero-admin, lightweight database into their multi-device applications, InterBase ToGo is available for Mac OS X, Windows, and, now iOS. In addition, Embarcadero is also announcing a new, free version of InterBase, called IBLite, an embeddable database for iOS that can be freely deployed.
Designed for ISVs, enterprises and app development shops, InterBase ToGo provides a common relational database across iOS, Mac OS X and Windows. The goal is to improve development efficiencies and speed to market. InterBase ToGo also uniquely delivers automatic, end-to-end encryption and powerful transaction support on mobile devices, says Michael Swindell senior vice-president of Products for Embarcadero...
Comm-Unity Networking Systems has released MMScript 1.1.3, a maintenance release of the FileMaker plug-in to trigger and schedule scripts. It's compatible with FileMaker Pro 8.5 on Mac OS X and Windows.
MMScript allows you to create a whole calendar of events. You can trigger a script in the present or at any time in the future. For example, you can set up a script to trigger in five minutes or five days.
MMScript is available immediately at http://mmscript.cnsplug-ins.com/ for both Mac OS X and Windows. You can download a demo copy of the plug-in to test it out before purchasing.
A single-user license of MMScript is US$35. You can find a purchase link on the website. There are several other price points and information for educational/non-profit institutions on the purchase page for the plug-in.
If you own an existing license for MMScript 1.0.x, this is a free...
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Native Instruments has launched a new range of iMaschine Expansions with the release of Kaoz Theory. It's created by DJ and producer Kerri "Kaoz" Chandler.
These new iMaschine Expansions will be created in collaboration with artists from different genres, and will be available for iMaschine only. However, users can export their iMaschine projects to the Maschine software for further editing and arranging. Native Instruments will continue to release compact iMaschine versions of their iMaschine Expansions.
Kaoz Theory is available for iMaschine for US$0.99. For more info go to http://tinyurl.com/c5h8rpy .
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Apple wants a U.S. judge to force Google to turn over documents related to its Android operating system, according to "Bloomberg" (http://tinyurl.com/cgpvzeb)
The article says Apple told U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal in San Jose, California, that Google is improperly withholding information about what terms it’s using to find the documents Apple has requested in pretrial information sharing. Apple says the Android OS is used in all of Samsung’s allegedly infringing products and "provides much of the accused functionality" in Apple’s claims.
This is all part of the ongoing, global legal battle. Apple and Samsung have filed more than 30 lawsuits against each other across four continents. For example, Apple alleges that Samsung copied the slide-to-unlock technology of its iPhone and iPad devices.
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Newer Technology (NewerTech) says its miniStack MAX, is now available in DVD/CD only read/write optical drive models for those computer users that don’t require the Blu-ray functionality other miniStack MAX models provide.
As the only four-in-one external drive, optical drive, SD card reader and USB powered hub solution on the market, the miniStack MAX supports multiple interfaces for plug and play storage of entire music, photo and video libraries, as well as burning backups via the internal optical drive, with new and legacy Macs or PCs.
OWC is offering a limited time rebate offer on both versions of Roxio Toast 11 Titanium with savings of up to US$110 off retail prices with sales of the miniStack MaX. Toast 11 Titanium is a versatile multimedia application that lets users read, burn, capture, copy, convert and share digital media. With the purchase of any of the new miniStack MAX models, including the 0GB enclosure kits, this ultimate media toolkit is available...
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T-Mobile US, the combined company resulting from the recently completed combination of MetroPCS Communications (MetroPCS) and T-Mobile USA has reported first quarter 2013 results and announced the first positive branded customer growth in four years. Among other things, the iPhone has been a hit for the company.
T-Mobile USA (www.t-mobile.com) reported 3,000 branded net customer additions for the quarter, resulting from a 61% year-over-year improvement in branded postpaid net customer losses due primarily to improved branded postpaid churn performance, combined with branded prepaid customer growth.
On March 26, 2013, T-Mobile USA launched the Un-carrier value proposition by introducing its "Simple Choice" service plan. On April 12, 2013, T-Mobile USA began selling the iPhone at all company-owned stores in combination with the new Simple Choice service plan. To date the company has sold approximately 500,...
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Graphic Node has further expanded its assortment of iWork templates with their release of Mix for Pages 1.0. The new collection is designed to help Mac users produce modern and polished content without the help of hired designers.
This pack for Apple's Pages features a set of 50 customizable document templates from business cards and brochures to letters and envelopes. All templates are available in the U. S. and in international paper sizes.
Virtually all objects in Mix for Pages can be recolored, moved, or removed. Users can type or paste in their own text, add or remove text boxes, and change fonts. Stock images can be replaced with users' own photos or pictures.
Mix for Pages 1.0 require Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later and Pages '08 or higher. It costs US$4.99 and is available worldwide through the Mac App Store in the Productivity category (http://tinyurl.com/bqqz7rc).
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Synology has launched the DiskStation DS213j, a 2-bay NAS server dedicated to backup and data sharing for the home and small office.
"With advanced hardware integration the DS213j is designed to work as an efficient private cloud for home and small office users, letting them access their stored data with ease," says Chad Jiang, product manager of Synology. "The DS213j delivers read and write speeds of over 100MB/sec and 70MB/sec respectively. With such capabilities, file transfers have become an easy task allowing you to share a Blu-ray quality video in less than three minutes."
The built-in Floating-Point Unit (FPU) CPU and 512MB of RAM further enhance the performance of intensive applications, such as thumbnail creation and multitasking, he adds. The DS213j purportedly only consumes 3.65 watts when hard drives enter hibernation mode and no more than 20 watts under full operation. Support for Wake on LAN/WAN and multiple scheduled power on/off further reduces power...
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Dot Hill Systems, a provider of SAN storage solutions, says its AssuredSAN and AssuredSAN Pro storage solutions are among the first in the industry to ship with 4TB SAS hard disk drives. They support raw capacities of up to 384TB.
"High capacity drives are well-suited for the numerous vertical markets that Dot Hill serves, such as media and entertainment, big data/data analytics, oil & gas, and digital image capture," says Jim Jonez, senior director of marketing, Dot Hill. "With the 33% increase in maximum, raw capacity of 4TB drives, Dot Hill AssuredSAN arrays can reduce customer price-per-gigabyte by up to 14%from $.43/GB to $.37/GB on the AssuredSAN 2333 system."
Dot Hill has standardized on the SAS interface for all hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs). AssuredSAN solutions feature a number of eco-friendly enhancements such as drive spin-down capability and 595-watt 80 PLUS-rated (greater than 80% energy efficiency) power...
MaBaSoft (http://www.mabasoft.net) has released World Clock Deluxe 4.10, an update of its Mac OS X tool for companies and organizations regularly communicating with people across the world, for frequent travelers, and for home users having family or friends in other countries or time zones. Version 4.10 adds the possibility to show medium, long, and full dates in clocks and supports non-Gregorian calendars and date and time formats using non-European scripts.
With World Clock Deluxe you can display multiple clocks in a configurable horizontal or vertical palette, in the menu bar, and in the Dock, and show the time in over 1,600 cities and 200 time zones, including Greenwich Mean Time and Coordinated Universal Time. The app also lets you calculate time conversions between different cities or time zones and show the current weather all over the world.
World Clock Deluxe requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later...
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The Pixelmator Team (http://www.pixelmator.com) will release Pixelmator 2.2 -- an update of its GPU-powered image editing tool for creating, editing and enhancing still images -- on Thursday. The upgrade, free to registered users, offers state-of-the-art shapes, a new Smart Move Tool, the new Paint Selection Tool, and more.
Pixelmator is based on Core Image and OpenGL technologies that use Mac's video card for image processing. Core Image and OpenGL utilize the graphics card for image processing operations, freeing the CPU for other tasks. The software Pixelmator supports more than 100 different file formats, including Photoshop images with layers, and it comes with more than 15 color correction tools and 50 Core Image-powered filters, transform tools, fill and stroke, gradients, QuickMask mode, full-screen editing mode, Automator support, ColorSync support, Spotlight support, and more.
...
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Made for Use has introduced a suite of Mac OS X templates for use with Apple iWork and Microsoft Office. They were previously available only for iOS.
The templates are packaged individually or in a choice of two bundles: Templates for iWork Pro -- Pages, Numbers, and Keynote; or Templates for Office Pro -- Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Every template contains customizable slides for tables, pictures, charts, diagrams, quotes, and more.
Templates for Pages Pro 1.0 costs US$19.99 and is available worldwide exclusively through the Mac App Store in the Productivity category. Templates for Numbers Pro is $19.99, and Templates for Keynote Pro is $19.99. Templates for iWork Pro (Bundle Edition) includes all three sets of templates for $49.99.
Templates for Word Pro 1.0 is $19.99 and is available worldwide exclusively through the Mac App Store in the Productivity category. Templates for Excel Pro is $19.99, and Templates for PowerPoint Pro is $19.99. Templates for...
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