The National Security Agency has obtained direct access to the systems of Apple, Google, Facebook, and other US Internet giants, according to "The Guardian" (http://tinyurl.com/m9hw4dv). The newspaper says it has obtained a NSA secret document that verifies this. The NSA access is part of a previously undisclosed program called PRISM, which allows officials to collect material including search history, the content of emails, file transfers and live chats, the document says. "The Guardian: says it has verified the authenticity of the document, a 41-slide PowerPoint presentation, "which was apparently used to train intelligence operatives on the capabilities of the program." The document claims "collection directly from the servers" of major US service providers. Although the presentation claims the program is run with the assistance of the companies, all those who responded to a "Guardian" request for comment denied knowledge of any such program.

Fidelity Media has updated MegaSeg (www.megaseg.com/), the DJ mixing app and broadcast automation system made especially for Mac, to version 5.9. The upgrade features over 70 improvements including optimized MIDI support and new presets for Pioneer, Numark, and Hercules controllers, a new multi-process A/V mode that increases stability, new AppleScript commands, better keyboard navigation, import options, and many interface refinements throughout. MegaSeg Pro provides features for pro DJs and VJs, radio and TV stations, and hospitality businesses such as restaurants and hotels. The Pro edition incorporates video playback for ambient visuals, hot keys for instant sound effects, automated music scheduling, ad messaging events, track separation rules, request lists, and more. The DJ edition offers features including visual beat syncing, headphone outputs for preview, MIDI support, automatic volume control, fast category searching, track logging, integrated iTunes playlists and protected...

MCE Technologies is shipping its USB Super-BluDrive. The USB Super-BluDrive is a lightweight, portable, slot-loading drive that connects via USB and can play and record CDs and DVDs, as well as play commercial Blu-ray movies directly on the Mac with the included software. It's compatible with all Mac systems. The USB Super-BluDrive retails for US$79 and is available immediately at http://tinyurl.com/mnd28az . "The USB Super-BluDrive gives Mac users a solid alternative to the Apple USB SuperDrive by providing the same functionality but with the added bonus of giving users the ability to watch Blu-ray movies directly on the Mac," says Arnold Ramirez, president of MCE. "It is truly stunning to watch Blu-ray movies on the ultra high resolution displays of the MacBook Pro with Retina Display and iMac widescreen display." The MCE USB Super-BluDrive includes Mac Blu-ray Player software for the playback of commercial Blu-ray movies natively on the Mac. Commercial Blu-ray movie playback...

Remo Software has introduced Remo Repair MOV for Mac OS X. It's a tool to repair corrupt GoPro videos. GoPro Cameras are widely used by hobbyists and professionals. Extreme sports, racing, surfing and wildlife enthusiasts use them to capture crucial moments. Remo Repair MOV (Mac) comes to rescue and can repair damaged mp4 GoPro files and make then playable again. Remo Repair MOV (Mac) is available as a free trial version. The full version has a manufacturer's suggested retail price of US$69. For more info go to www.remosoftware.com .

Koffeeware has launched Creator Five, its HTML5 powered suite of online B2B photo products customization services. Creator Five enables photo e-commerce websites with customization and upload features. Creator Five requires no plug-ins. No Air, no Flash, no Java, no Silverlight -- nothing to download or install. It supports a variety of browsers and touchscreen devices, including iOS and Android products. It also supports a variety of customizable products: photo books, cards, fun products, collages, canvas, calendars, and more. Creator Five features include: multitouch gestures, creative filters, smart themes, support for all 600-plus Google webfonts, online sharing, the ability to improt pictures from social networks. The Koffeeware HTML5 photo tools are available in SaaS mode for integration into any third party ordering system. While Koffeeware will integrate these tools into its current set of products, Koffeeware is also open in providing this technology to third party companies...

Realmac Software has updated Analog (www.realmacsoftware.com/analog/), a photo polishing app with filters and borders, to version 1.3. The upgrade includes eight new filters found in Analog Camera for iPhone, bringing the total number of filters to 35. With Analog you can crop and rotate photos, as well as apply effects and borders.
Once you've finished processing an image, Analog allows you to publish images to Facebook, Flickr, Picasa and CloudApp with just two clicks. Analog is available for an introductory price of US$7.99. The regular price is $19.99. It requires Mac OS X 10.7.4 or higher and is available at the Mac App Store (http://tinyurl.com/mdwow5x).

360Works (http://360works.com) has rolled out Plastic 2. The Plastic 2 plug-in for FileMaker is designed to make it easy to process secure, SSL-encrypted credit card payments from FileMaker Pro, FileMaker Server, and FileMaker Web Publishing. Plastic 2 can run charges and transactions with credit-card swipe readers, card-not-present accounts, direct check debiting, and more. It also introduces security features, such as profile based payments, to protect customer data. Plastic 2 is included with the 360Works Portfolio Bundle, which means that current subscribers will receive a Plastic 2 Enterprise License for free. It can be purchased separately as an US$149 single user license, $195 workgroup license for 10 users, or $695.00 enterprise license for unlimited users and FileMaker Server/Web Publishing deployment. Upgrade pricing from version 1.x is also available. For more information, or to download a free, fully featured demo, please visit the Plastics 2 website.

Twocanoes Software has announced Winclone 4, an update to the application that lets Mac users image and migrate Windows installed in Boot Camp. Winclone 4 features Real PC migration, network migration of Windows between Macs, direct disk-to-disk imaging of Boot Camp, and faster imaging and restoring. It also introduces features to make Boot Camp cloning faster and more flexible. Twocanoes offers a support package that includes two years of technical support and maintenance, including access to priority technical support and all minor and major upgrades. Winclone requires Mac OS X 10.7 or higher, Windows 7 or higher, and a Boot Camp partition Winclone 4 costs US$29.99 for an individual license (up to two computers), $99.99 for the pro version (unlimited computers by a single administrator), and $499.99 for a site license (unlimited computers by any employee or contractor). Winclone Pro with Support and Winclone Site License with Support are also available. All software editions are...

Apple has posted Tunes 11.0.4, a free download at the Mac App Store. It requires Mac OS X 10.6.8 or higher (a Windows version is also available). According to Apple, this version of iTunes comes with several new features and improvements, including: ° A new MiniPlayer. MiniPlayer now includes a new view that showcases your album artwork. In addition, a progress bar is now built right into MiniPlayer. ° An improved Songs View. You can now enjoy your album artwork while in Songs view. ° Multi-Disc Albums. Albums with multiple discs now appear as a single album. iTunes 11.0.4 also fixes a problem that may cause iTunes to quit if you switch between wired and wireless syncing and addresses an issue that may require you to log into the iTunes Store repeatedly.

AirTurn (www.airturn.com) has released the AirTurn DIGIT, which the company says is the world's first wireless remote for iTunes and iOS cameras that combines handheld control with foot pedal compatibility. A silent, tactile button set on the AirTurn DIGIT provides the ability to turn pages, control teleprompter apps, advance presentation slides, and control iTunes playlists on all iOS devices (iPad, iPhone 3S and above, and the iPod touch), as well as iTunes for Mac and PC. The AirTurn DIGIT also gives users the ability to control iOS cameras for remote video and picture snapshots. For hands free pedal control, two 3.5mm (1/8 inch) stereo ports can connect to momentary, non-latching normally open (NO) pedals and switches that replicate the handset button controls (pedals sold separately). Within iTunes, AirTurn DIGIT users can use the handheld buttons to play/pause tracks, navigate between songs in a playlist, and control volume remotely.  With iOS cameras, users can take snapshots...

The next version of QuarkXPress, the design and layout tool for print and digital publishing, is coming soon, according to the folks at Quark. In anticipation of version 10, Quark is offering anyone who purchases or upgrades to QuarkXPress 9 between now and June 30 a free upgrade to QuarkXPress 10. 

QuarkXPress 10 will be sold as perpetual license software available through Quark sales outlets and authorized resellers. Until June 30, 2013 anyone who purchases or upgrades to QuarkXPress 9 from any previous version will receive version 10 for free. After June 30, 3 only QuarkXPress 8 users will be eligible to upgrade to QuarkXPress 9 for a free upgrade to QuarkXPress 10. Also after June 30, QuarkXPress 3-7 users will no longer be eligible to upgrade to QuarkXPress 9 or 10 and will to need to purchase new full licenses. For more info go to www.quark.com/10 .

Tension Software (www.tensionsoftware.com) has updated Data Creator, a Mac OS X tool that can create sample tables (rows and columns) fill them with pseudo-random proper content (rows of content) with a single click, to version 1.2. The upgrade offers two new export format for web developers: HTML table and HTML full page With Data Creator, you can select which kind of fields (columns) you like (name of animals, colors, fruits, etc.) and have all the contents filled for how many rows you like in a click. The app can export to comma separated value, tab separated values, HTML tables, even web pages. Data Creator requires Mac OS X 10.7.3 or higher and costs US7. It's available at the Tension Sofware web site or the Mac App Store (http://tinyurl.com/k4z48jn).

TLA Systems has rolled out a new release of PCalc, their 20-year-old scientific calculator for the Mac. Version 3.9 is available now on the Mac App Store, and also as a direct download from pcalc.com. The biggest change in 3.9 is support for the user constants, conversions, and functions created by the latest version of PCalc on iOS. You can import them from the iOS version, and they will sync across all your devices -- iOS and OS X -- automatically via iCloud. You can also create and edit an unlimited number of user constants using the Mac version, and those will sync across too. Automatic syncing is currently only available in the Mac App Store version, due to Apple's restrictions on iCloud usage. However, you can still manually import and export in the non-MAS version. PCalc 3.9 also adds constant functions in algebraic mode. Just press equals again to repeat the last calculation, or enter a new value and then press equals to repeat it on that value. This is a free update for...

Apple has posted Mac OS X 10.8.4, which is available as a free download via the Mac App Store. According to Apple the update is recommended for all OS X Mountain Lion users and includes features and fixes that improve the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including the following: ° Compatibility improvements when connecting to certain enterprise Wi-Fi networks; ° Microsoft Exchange compatibility improvements in Calendar; ° A fix for an issue that prevented FaceTime calls to non-U.S. phone numbers; ° A fix for an issue that may prevent scheduled sleep after using Boot Camp; ° Improves VoiceOver compatibility with text in PDF documents' ° Includes Safari 6.0.5, which improves stability for some websites with chat features and games; ° A fix for an issue that may cause iMessages to display out of order in Messages; ° Resolves an issue in which Calendars Birthdays may appear incorrectly in certain time zones; ° A fix for an issue that may prevent the desktop background...

Today at Computex, Intel (www.intel.com) unveiled new processors -- dubbed "Haswell" -- that scale all the way from thinner tablets to touch notebooks to the highest-end workstations.  And just in time for Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, which runs next week. Make of that what you will. The new line of processors are Intel’s fourth gneration of processors. Their silicon can go as low as six watts, measured by SDP (system design power), "a dramatic decrease," according to "Forbes" (http://tinyurl.com/mx33mug). Haswell also supported "connected standby, where your information will always be fresh three times longer and also improved battery life by up to 50%," the article adds. Intel also beefed up the graphics performance on its more expensive configurations called "Iris Pro," by adding eDRAM.  "Adding discrete graphics memory really helps with performance because you are using dedicated, not shared memory which improves latency and bandwidth," says "Forbes." "This now gives...

Real Software, Inc. a provider of cross-platform software development tools, will change its corporate name from Real Software to Xojo, Inc. and the product name will change from Real Studio to Xojo. Xojo is a cross-platform software development tool that enables developers to create software for OS X, Windows, Linux, the web, and soon, mobile. Xojo, Inc. will continue to offer innovative cross-platform development tools with the goal of enabling ordinary people to create extraordinary apps, according to Geoff Perlman, Xojo’s founder and CEO. To complement this goal, Xojo will now be free to use for learning and development. Developers can use the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for free, and will only need to purchase a license once they want to build a distributable version of their application. Licenses are purchased per target platform, including Web, Desktop, Database, Console, and Xojo Pro, which is a bundle license that includes all deployment licenses plus an added...

Publicspace.net (http://www.publicspace.net/) has announced Vitamin-R 2.0, an update of its Mac OS X compatible productivity tool for creative professionals. The new version features a redesigned user experience, two finger swipe navigation, an undockable main window and new reporting options. 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...

Eurocomp has announced TimingApp 1.3 (http://timingapp.com/), an update ofits automatic time logging solution for Mac OS X. It's being offered for US$3.99 for a limited time in the Mac App Store (http://tinyurl.com/lmw7bv4) and requires Mac OS X 10.6.6 or higher. TimingApp 1.3 doesn't require users to manually operate timers. Instead, users' activities like editing documents, surfing the web, and playing games are tracked automatically and can be = reviewed at a later time. This avoids inaccurate time logs and the risk of forgetting to start or stop a timer is eliminated. TimingApp measures the time spent on various projects. It works automatically and doesn't need to be started manually. Individual work may be assigned to specific projects. A lite version, limited to todays' and yesterdays' data, is now available for a free trial prior to the purchase. You can obtain it at the Mac App Store (http://tinyurl.com/k3bnqb2).

WD is shipping what it says is the world's thinnest 1 TB hard drive: the 2.5-inch WD Blue 7 mm hard drive. It offers original equipment manufacturers, channel integrators and consumers a storage solution for thin and light systems, slimmer notebooks, as well as compatibility with the industry-standard 9.5 mm drive slots of mainstream notebooks. The WD Blue hard drive family is available in capacities from 320GB to 1TB in the 7 mm height. For more info go to http://tinyurl.com/cr6c4e4 .

Troi Automatisering (http://www.troi.com/) has released Troi File Plug-in 6.2 for FileMaker Pro 12. It's a maintenance update that includes bug fixes and improvements. Troi File Plug-in 6.2 works with FileMaker Pro 10, 11 and 12. The plug-in can also be used with runtimes from FileMaker Pro Advanced 10, 11 or 12. The plug-in is available for Mac OS X 10.5.7 or higher, Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7. QuickTime 7 or later is needed for some image related functions. Licenses cost US$89 per user. A fully functional demo version is available for downloading at Troi's website.

Nulana has released Remotix 2.0, the Mac OS X version of their VNC client. It's available for US$39.99 on the Mac App Store under the Utilities category (http://tinyurl.com/kwarcl6) and at the Nulana web site (http://nulana.com/). Version 2.0 introduces RDP support, as well as other new features. Remotix features complete Apple screen sharing support, login, server scaling, Apple adaptive codec, clipboard synchronization and multiple monitor configurations. It offers hardware-accelerated rendering and optimized decoders to free up the CPU. Remotix provides iCloud support and clipboard synchronization to make all your devices work as a team. Once configured, Remotix settings become available on other computers and iOS devices. The software keeps the clipboard in sync across computers.

Parat Solutions has released the ParaSync i16 Universal Hub. It's designed to charge and synchronize up to 16 iOS, Android, iOS or Windows mobile devices that support USB charging. The i16 can also be mounted in an existing cart, cabinet, transport case or other enclosure. ParaSync i16 is software neutral and works with third party mobile device management software, iTunes and Apple Configurator.  The device is "future proof" and adapts easily to new charging and synchronization requirements as future needs change, according to Peter Jauss, director of Sales at PARAT Solutions. By automatically recognizing which type of tablet or handheld is connected, it intelligently provides the appropriate amount of power to each device for an optimum full rate charge, he adds. Tablet and handheld models can be mixed and matched within the hub at the same time using the USB cables already supplied with the devices.  An expansion port connects multiple stations for larger deployments. Each charge/...

According to the "IDG News Service" (http://tinyurl.com/l2849pr), a Dutch court says Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 doesn't infringe on the iPad. Apple's design right is valid but the protection it offers is very limited due to earlier similar designs, the court said. Apple has attempted to get sales of Samsung's Tab 10.1 banned in the Netherlands and the E.U., but lost two rulings in the Netherlands at lower courts in earlier stages of the litigation. Apple disagreed with the courts' decisions and decided to appeal the case with the Dutch Supreme court. However, the court dismissed the appeal. 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.

Apple has rolled out Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 4.06 for Aperture 3 and iPhoto '11 in Mountain Lion. The update adds support for RAW image files from 13 new digital cameras. It's a 6.0.6MB download. You can obtain it at http://tinyurl.com/n2lnghq .