Apple has released Tim Cook's official statement to the Senate ahead of his Tuesday appearance at a hearing on corporate tax payments.

As noted by "Seeking Alpha," among other things, Apple claims it paid ~$6 billion in federal taxes in FY12 and a 30.5% effective federal tax rate, that its foreign units don't engage in the practices the hearing focuses (the shifting of IP to offshore havens, revolving loans from subsidiaries, etc). The company proposes a tax system that's "revenue neutral, eliminates all tax expenditures, lowers tax rates and implements a reasonable tax on foreign earnings." 

Read more at http://tinyurl.com/lrcwz3f . Also, you can find the entire official statement at http://tinyurl.com/kxvl26g

Nominari has released matchTag 1.5 for Mac OS X (10.7.2 or higher). The app can update the title information in an iTunes music collection and amend, either completely or selectively, the missing data from the iTunes Store. Version 1.5 has been optimized for Mountain Lion.

matchTag facilitates the iTunes ID that was written into the new file during download and allows for either individual tags or for the whole set to be amended or replaced. MatchTag also has an option to download a cover image thumbnail.

matchTag 1.5 costs approximately US$6.50. It's available worldwide exclusively from the Nominari website (http://www.nominari.com).

Boinx Software has updated iStopMotion, its stop motion animation tool for Mac OS X (10.7.4), to version 3.1. The new version includes a screen capture feature that provides animators with a new medium for animating.

iStopMotion 3.1 is localized in English, German, French, Japanese and Russian. It's available for US$49.99 both from the Mac App Store and the Boinx Website (www.boinx.com/).

microLARGE Software has introduced Taskdeck, a task and to-do list app for Mac OS X (10.7.4 or higher). It costs US$7.99.

Taskdeck promises a minimalist, keyboard-driven user interface with features like tags, attachments, drag 'n drop prioritization, searching and filtering. Related tasks are grouped into lists, with each list showing a badge that indicates the number of open, due, or overdue tasks.

The menu bar application sports an iOS-inspired drill-down user interface that can be activated on any virtual desktop through a system-wide hotkey without having to switch between application windows or desktops. The app employs a simple structural model of lists and tasks, says Karl Traunmuller, the developer of Taskdeck.

Within a list, tasks can be created by the press of a shortcut. For prioritization, tasks can be dragged to the appropriate slot. Four filter buttons can be used to show all tasks, or only open, due, or overdue tasks. A tagging system allows for...

Smile (www.smilesoftware.com) has announced PDFpen 6.0.3, the latest version of its all-purpose PDF editing tool. The upgrade adds support for the Polish language OCR, and includes numerous fixes.

The changes in PDFpen 6.0.3 have also been made in PDFpenPro 6.0.3, the pro version that can also convert websites into PDFs, create fillable PDF forms, automatically create form fields in non-interactive PDF forms, construct document table of contents, and set document permission settings that restrict saving, printing, and copying.

PDFpen 6.x works with PDFpen for iPad and PDFpen for iPhone, allowing editing across devices when used with iCloud or Dropbox storage. Users who wish to use iCloud must purchase PDFpen 6 from the Mac App Store. (Apple restricts iCloud access to applications purchased via the Mac App Store.)

PDFpen retails for US$59.95, and PDFpenPro for $99.95. Family Pack licenses,...

Eltima Software (http://mac.eltima.com) has updated PhotoBulk, a bulk image editor for Mac OS X (10.7 and higher), to version 1.5. The new version allows for faster changing of the watermark position int he preview window and the ability to choose the most precise position for your watermark per-pixel.

PhotoBulk lets you add text/image watermark, resize, and optimize hundreds and thousands of images or photos in just one click. You can check how your files will look like before they're processed. PhotoBulk remembers the settings you used last time, so you won't have to set all the same options again to redo customizations for another pack of images.

What's more, you can optimize file size of your JPEG or PNG images while keeping their original resolution, quality, and format. (Note that PNG optimization is time-consuming and works slower than JPEG compression.). Supported formats include JPEG, PNG, GIF...

Apple has rolled out MacBook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0. It addresses a storage firmware issue that, in rare cases, may cause a system to fail to recover from a crash.

Apple says it's recommended for MacBook Air (mid 2012) models. MacBook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0 is available via the Software Updates component of the Mac OS X Systems Preferences app.

iLuv Creative Technology is shipping its first audio dock designed specifically for Apple Lightning devices: the Aud 5 Lightning speaker dock.  Originally unveiled at the 2013 International CES in January, it allows users to enjoy their music from their iPhone 5 or iPod while simultaneously charging their device.

The Aud 5 joins the iLuv line of Lightning connecter accessories that give users the opportunity to utilize their new Lightning device the same way they would their 30-pin device, says Jason Park, marketing Manager at iLuv. It features a swiveling Lightning connector for docking and undocking. The Lightning connector allows the dock to feature full digital sound.

The Aud 5 features a 3.5mm auxiliary input for a direct connection to other devices outside of Apple’s Lightning line. Other features include top-mounted touch controls and a streamlined silhouette design. The Aud 5 is currently available for $149.99 at iLuv.com and select retailers.

Other World Computing (OWC) says its OWC Mercury Elite Pro Qx2, a hardware RAID data storage/solution, now supports USB 3.0 performance when paired with the Newer Technology eSATA to USB adapter.

The adapter, which utilizes an available eSATA drive port, offers a plug and play connection to USB 3.0-equipped Macs or PCs for sustained data transfer rates of more than 200MB/s from the Qx2.

Through July 1, customers will receive an US$10 instant rebate from Other World Computing on the adapter ($14.99 after rebate from OWC) when purchased with any model Mercury Elite Pro Qx2. For more info go to http://tinyurl.com/de5awr .

Kinivo has released the BTH240 Bluetooth-connected headphones. The on-ear wireless headphones provide hands-free calling via a built-in noise canceling microphone.

Kinivo’s BTH240, which boasts a foldable design, operates using an integrated rechargeable battery, which provides up to 10 hours of continuous active audio or 200 hours when on standby mode. In addition to extended battery life, it automatically pauses music when a user receives an incoming call. To recharge the BTH240, simply plug the headphones into the included micro-USB charging cable and connect to your computer or wall outlet.

Kinivo’s BTH240 headphones are available for US$29.99 on Amazon.com and Kinivo.com.

Apple has announced that customers have downloaded over 50 billion apps from the AppleApp Store (excluding re-downloads and updates). Customers are downloading more than 800 apps per second at a rate of over two billion apps per month, the company says.

The 50 billionth app was Say the Same Thing by Space Inch, which was downloaded by Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio. He received a $10,000 App Store Gift Card to commemorate this historic milestone.

"Apple would like to thank our incredible customers and developers for topping 50 billion apps downloaded," says Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. "The App Store completely transformed how people use their mobile devices and created a thriving app ecosystem that has paid out over nine billion dollars to developers. We’re absolutely floored to cross this milestone in less than five years."

The App Store opened in July 2008 with 500 apps. Since its introduction, Apple’s...

"Bloomberg" (http://tinyurl.com/bzodlrd) reports that the Pentagon risks exposing itself to hackers by opening its communications networks to Apple and Samsung smartphones and tablets, according to cybersecurity officials.

The Pentagon plans to give employees the flexibility of connecting devices such as Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphones and Apple iPads to unclassified networks -- a market long dominated by BlackBerry. However, this will create more vulnerabilities to cybersecurity breaches, Pat McGarry, principal systems engineer at Ixia, a network security company, told "Bloomberg."

"It is a debacle, a disaster waiting to happen," he said. There is no technology that would make Apple and Samsung smartphones and tablets immune to new malicious software known as malware, McGarry added.

However, Mark Orndorff, a program executive officer at the Defense Information Systems Agency, told "...