TT Games' LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (http://macte.ch/ONxVc) is now available for the Mac. It costs US$29.99 and requires Mac OS X 10.6 or higher. Here's how the game is described; "It's an action adventure game bringing to life the Pirates of the Caribbean world and all its colorful characters in LEGO brick form.  Players will experience memorable scenes from the first three films, as well as those in the latest film, 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,' in the humorous and quirky LEGO video games style."

Imaja has updated TaskInsight (http://www.imaja.com/taskinsight/), its productivity and business task management tool, to version 3.0 with additional graphic timeline settings, background images, new commands for working with the task list and timeline view, the ability to import and export to TSV and XML data files, export of the timeline view to HTML5 web page files, AppleScript scriptability, and support for new features in Mac OS X 10.7 ("Lion"). TaskInsight includes priorities, labels, color coding, manual and automatic sorting, drag and drop, copy and paste, undo and redo, import and export, customizable views, text-to-speech for selected tasks, and several optional fields. A number of new commands let users set the priority or status for the selected tasks. The Shift Time menu can be used to shift selected tasks in time in various increments. A number of simple and combination sorts can be selected from the new Sort menu or with keyboard shortcuts. TaskInsight provides...

Bare Bones Software (http://www.barebones.com) has released BBEdit 10.0.1, an update to its HTML and text editor for the Mac. The BBEdit 10.0.1 update represents the first maintenance update to BBEdit 10, which introduced new project and document editing windows, new HTML Markup palette, support for working directly within zip archives, switchable syntax color schemes, support for sharing application support via Dropbox, and more. The BBEdit 10.0.1 update is free of charge to all BBEdit 10 customers. Customers who purchased in the Mac App Store will automatically receive the update, while customers who bought directly may download the update from the Bare Bones Software web site. For new users the price is US$39.99 for a limited time.

KittyPad, a collaborative of developers and designers that has previously focused on building educational applications for use on the iPhone and iPad, has released their new SDK (software development kit) that's geared toward both developers of educational applications for kids and general game developers. The SDK includes the tools for implementing health protection, subscriptions and exchange downloading. It's designed to help spread game awareness and increase downloads, according to the folks at KittyPad. The primary component is KittyPad's group purchase/subscription service, which users can purchase via an in-app purchase. The subscription service also includes a SDK for a health protection feature that is added to apps to prevent RSI (Repetitive Stress Injury). The SDK is free and can be accessed by signing up on the KittyPad website (http://m.kittypad.com).

DEVONtechnologies has updated all editions of its document and information manager DEVONthink, the smart note pad DEVONnote, and the freeware apps EasyFind and PhotoStickies for improved compatibility with Mac OS X 10.7 ("Lion"). Version 2.2.1 of DEVONthink and DEVONnote fixes a number of glitches on Apple’s new operating system, such as with resizing windows, Lion’s new fullscreen mode, or using the Clip to DEVONthink extension after selecting text on a webpage. In addition all editions of DEVONthink now support Instapaper when capturing data using the Clip to DEVONthink extension, more reliably capture webpages that require a login, and fix a few other minor details and inconsistencies. EasyFind 4.8.1 and PhotoStickies 5.6.4 fix glitches on Lion, too. PhotoStickies for the Mac App Store removes the option to run as a menu extra as this could be not compliant to Apple’s rules in some circumstances. All Mac apps require Mac OS X 10.5 or later and can be downloaded as free trial...

The San Mateo County (California) district attorney's office has filed misdemeanor charges against two people involved in finding and selling an Apple iPhone 4 prototype to "Gizmodo," but has decided not to bring charges against any employees of Gizmodo or its parent company, Gawker Media, according to "AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com). In March 2010, an Apple employee lost contact with a prototype of an upcoming iPhone. He either lost it or it was stolen while he was visiting a bar in Redwood City, California. The device was obtained by Brian Hogan who then sold the phone to "Gizmodo." Police served a subpoena at editor Jason Chen's home in Fremont, California. Attorneys representing Chen and Gawker Media, the parent company of "Gizmodo," claimed the search warrant used to seize Chen's property was "invalid," citing a California law curbing newsroom searches. "Gizmodo" says the district attorney "has decided, upon review of all of the evidence, that no crime was committed...

Mac OS X has surpassed Linux in popularity as a development environment in North America according to the recently released Evans Data North American Development survey (http://www.evansdata.com). Although Windows remains overwhelmingly the most popular operating system for development with over 80% of developers using it, Linux has slipped to third place with only 5.6% using it as their primary development platform, while 7.9% now use Mac OS X. "Apple has made tremendous strides in the last few years with innovative products and technologies, so it’s quite reasonable to see developers adopting the Mac and its OS as a development environment," says Janel Garvin, CEO of Evans Data Corp. "Windows firmly remains king, but developers are obviously attracted to Apple’s devices, while at the same time Linux has lost some of its luster after years of only single digit adoption." However, Mac OS hasn't displaced Linux as a development target. Still more than twice as many developers primarily...

For a brief moment yesterday, Apple bumped Exxon Mobil into the runner-up spot on the New York Stock Exchange to become the most valuable company in the US. However, the oil giant was restored to the top of the pile at close of trading on Tuesday. Apple's brief perch at the top was considered significant by market analysts, who suggested that it was the iPad and iPhone maker's destiny to eventually take a more permanent seat in at the top of the heap, reports "The Register" (http://macte.ch/grlJa). Apple's value climbed to US$341.5b billion yesterday afternoon, just ahead of Exxon Mobil's $341.4 billion trading figure.

Apple has begun sending emails when Apple ID's are used to make purchases on iOS devices not previously associated with the account. It's "likely these emails are being used as one way to combat increasingly frequent app purchase fraud," says "MacRumors" (http://www.macrumors.com). Apple already requires credit card users to reenter the three or four digit CID number from the back of their credit card (front in the case of American Express) to authenticate the new device. However users with balances from iTunes Store Gift Cards aren't required to perform any special authentication other than entering their AppleID password.

Audio-Technica has released the US$149.95 AT-LP60-USB LP-to-Digital Turntable System (http://macte.ch/5aWge) for music lovers who want to hear their old records again, and for younger people who have discovered the fun and warm sound of vinyl listening. It's an USB turntable and software package that's compatible with Macs and PCs. It includes a turntable and phono cartridge, an USB cable that connects the turntable directly to a computer, a built-in phono preamp that enables it to be used with virtually any music system, and other accessories. The AT-LP60-USB features completely automatic operation, and a 33-1/3 and 45 RPM speed selector. The USB cable enables plug-and-play connectivity. The included Mac and PC-compatible Audacity software converts the audio on a record to MP3, WAV or other format digital audio files, which can then be played back on portable audio players, computers, home media centers and car audio systems.

LogMeIn has launched vpn.net (http://vpn.net/) for the Mac, as well as Windows systems. Using the company's VPN service, LogMeIn Hamachi, anyone from consumers and gamers to IT professionals and business owners can use vpn.net to create new VPNs and extend LAN-like network connectivity to mobile users, distributed teams, friends and family. LogMeIn Hamachi can network Mac OS X and Windows computers in any configuration. A client for Linux-based systems is now in beta. To create a new VPN, users can go to vpn.net, download Hamachi onto Mac and Windows based desktops, name their network, and set a password. To add other Macs and PCs to the network point colleagues, clients and other users to vpn.net, and provide them with the network name and password. An optional web-based console for managing Hamachi networks is available at LogMeIn.com. Use of vpn.net to set up and manage Hamachi VPNs is free for non-commercial use. For commercial use, Hamachi is US$199/year for networks up to 256...

Publicspace.net has released Vitamin-R 1.67 (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 the ability to exclude specific applications from the eliminate distractions step. 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...

Another day, another lawsuit. Hagens Berman, a consumer rights class-action law firm, has filed a nationwide class-action lawsuit claiming that Apple Inc., and five of the nation’s top publishers -- including HarperCollins Publishers ( a subsidiary of News Corp.) Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Group (a subsidiary of Pearson PLC), and Simon & Schuster (a subsidiary of CBS) -- illegally fix prices of electronic books, also known as e-books. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit alleges that the publishers and Apple colluded to increase prices for popular e-book titles to boost profits and force e-book rival Amazon to abandon its pro-consumer discount pricing. According to the suit, publishers believed that Amazon’s wildly popular Kindle e-reader device and the company’s discounted pricing for e-books would increase the adoption of e-books, and feared Amazon’s discounted pricing structure would permanently set...

Platinum Equity has acquired Quark, a provider of publishing software for professional designers and enterprise organizations. Financial terms of the transaction haven't been disclosed. 

“Quark is a legendary brand that helped create the desktop publishing market and is now helping organizations transform how they publish content both to print and digital media,” said Brian Wall, partner at Platinum who led the team pursuing the acquisition, in a press announcement. “Quark is committed to its loyal and dedicated user base and we are enthusiastic about the company’s new products which are gaining traction and generating positive reviews. We believe that with their expertise and innovative software, Quark has the potential to revolutionize publishing again.”

 “This transition comes at an exciting time for our company and our customers. In the past few years we have made great strides in helping our customers realize dynamic publishing, have re-invigorated QuarkXPress, and have readied...

Apple is closing in on Exxon as the world's most valuable company. Exxon's lead over Apple is now at US$5.79 billion. "The stocks are going to be swinging all over the place today, so there's a chance the gap gets bigger, and there's a chance the gap narrows and Apple takes the top slot," notes "Business Insider" (http://macte.ch/KBamo).

Apple is still planning on helping its iOS developers take on Lodsys in an ongoing legal battle, reports "FOSS Patents" (http://macte.ch/OIHnC). "Apple still requests a court hearing on its motion," writes Florian Mueller for the site. "Things may still take some more time, but there will be no more written pleadings unless the court asks the parties to address particular questions in more detail. At this stage it's possible that the court decides very quickly, and I continue to be reasonably optimistic that Apple's motion will be granted." In May Apple's legal department came to the defense of iOS app developers with a letter to Lodsys regarding its patent dispute with app developers. In the letter to Lodsys, Bruce Sewell, Apple senior vice president and general counsel said, Apple is undisputedly licensed to these patents and the App Makers are protected by that license. "Thus the technology that is targeted in your notice letters is technology that Apple is expressly licensed under...

Dr Brendan Mac Repair (http://www.drbrendan.com/) opens its doors to Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood on Sept. 2. The local chain currently has locations in Manhattan’s East Village and Greenwich, Connecticut. The new The Park Slope store will be opening in the space last occupied by Madison Rose maternity shop. The location’s floor to ceiling storefront window features a bar across the front of the store where Mac enthusiasts can learn more about their devices, while enjoying complimentary espresso and sweets, says founder and owner, Brendan McElroy.   The store is stationed on 171 5th Avenue, in the heart of Brooklyn’s Park Slope. At the store, fully trained technicians will be available during all store hours to educate and assist customers on everything from the latest apps to trade tricks only the savviest of Mac buffs can access, McElroy says. In addition to their standard Apple repair services, Dr. Brendan will promote several informative services only available at this...

The video chatting software, Skype, has been updated to version 5.3, adding support for Mac OS X 10.7 ("Lion"). With Skype 5.3 for Mac OS X, you'll also be able to send and receive HD quality video when talking to your friends and family. You'll need to use the Mac's built-in HD webcam or choose from a variety of webcams from the Skype Shop, such as the Logitech C910, to make video calls in HD quality. To receive HD video calls on your Mac, the folks at Skype recommend an upload/download speed of 1.5Mbps. Skype is available in a free version, plus a premium version with more features for $4.49 per month.

Seagate (http://www.seagate.com) has unveiled the GoFlex Turbo performance drive with SafetyNet data recovery services (DRS). The company says that SafetyNet data recovery is the first recovery service offering by a hard drive manufacturer to be included as part of the purchase price of an external drive. With the latest super speed USB 3.0 interface and RPMs clocked at 7200, the GoFlex Turbo drive is equipped to handle transfer speeds up to 40% faster than that of its USB 2.0, 5400-RPM siblings. Alas, the Mac doesn't support USB 3.0, so drives with this interface will run at USB 2.0 speeds. The new GoFlex Turbo performance drive features two-years of SafetyNet data recovery services. It's available from Best Buy for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of US$119.99 for 500GB models and $139.99 for 750GB versions.

The Escapers have launched Stuf 2 (http://www.theescapers.com/stuf/), a rewrite of their clipboard manager for Mac OS X and Windows. The upgrade introduces Dropbox compatibility. And not just the Mac. You can copy data such as text or an image on a Mac, and paste it on a PC. Stuf is a clipboard manager that not only allows users to categorize all their clippings, but also share them over their local network. It frees the clippings from the local network. Workgroups can also host their clippings on existing network drives for more performance. Stuf 2 is available for US$16.99. Stuf 1 users can upgrade for free to version 2.

Exosyphen Studios has introduced Hacker Evolution Duality, a free, playable beta available for Mac OS X. Hacker Evolution Duality is the upcoming hacking simulation game, developed by exosyphen studios. Based on the Hacker Evolution game series, it has been completely redesigned. The game features a single player mode where you follow the game's story and an open world mode, where you play a death match against other hackers. Here's how the game is described: "Hacker Evolution Duality starts in the early days of Brian Spencer when he was nothing more than a brilliant programmer. It than fast forwards to the future, where he has to stop an Artificial Intelligence he has created, unknowingly and take back control of a giant company he once used to own. You have to hack into computers using various tools, from a basic firewall cracker, to sophisticated voice print authentication systems. "Steal money to finance your objectives, buy hardware upgrades or bribe off other hackers that are...

In a note to clients -- as reported by "AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com) -- Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry says Apple has hired 20 to 25 of the engineers Cisco recently laid off. The analyst says Aruba, HP and Huawei are putting intense competitive pressure on Cisco and Juniper by offering much cheaper pricing on their own networking gear and adding in free support, services and lifetime warranties. Additionally, the overall market for network switches supporting Cisco and Juniper sales is also being targeted by the release of VMware VSphere 5.0, which delivers a new usability in network virtualization that is "starting to disrupt" sales of physical switches, Chowdhry adds. Apple "has been working hard to hire qualified candidates in a highly competitive business climate where companies like Dropbox, Facebook, Google, OpenX and Twitter are all growing dramatically and also in need of engineers," says "AppleInsider."

A note to those in iT: iPhones require less support than Androids and BlackBerrys, according to ClickFox (http://www.clickfox.com), a company that analyzes customer experience data to identify problems. ClickFox analyzed the support calls related to smartphones received by the North American carriers, and after factoring out the questions related to billing and carriers' various plans, it found that iPhones cost less to support than Android devices and BlackBerrys, according to "Infoworld" (http://macte.ch/ELLEq). ClickFox analytics director Lauren Smith told "InfoWorld" that BlackBerry users cost North American carriers in aggregate US$46 million more a year to support than iPhone users, and Android users costing $97 million more a year. Why? It more often takes multiple agents to solve a BlackBerry or Android user's problem, which means calls must be transferred, or the issue ends up taking multiple discussions to resolve. By contrast, iPhone users' problems are typically handled...

Apple has introduced an US$999 21.5-inch iMac for authorized education purchasers. It's not available at the online education store -- at least not yet. The education only model is less expensive than the $1,200, 21.5-inch iMac offered to all consumers. For example, it only comes with 2GB of memory (compared to a 4GB minimum for all other shipping Macs). However, the memory can be upgraded to 8GM. The education iMac has a 250GB (7200 RPM) hard drive and an AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR5 memory. This compares to a 500GB hard drive and a AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics processor with 512MB of GDDR5 memory on the $1,200 model. As for processing power, the education iMac sports a a 3.1GHz Intel Core i3 dual-core processor compared to a 2.6GHz quad-core Intel processor o the $1,200 model. It also lacks a Thunderbolt port.