Apple has paid US$20 million to buy WifiSLAM, a company that develops ways for mobile apps to identify a user's whereabouts in a building using Wi-Fi signals, reports "The Wall Street Journal" (http://tinyurl.com/antm4gf).

An Apple spokesman confirmed the deal, telling the "WSJ" that the company "buys smaller technology companies from time to time” and generally doesn’t discuss its plans. He declined to comment further. WifiSLAM could not immediately be reached for comment.

This week Apple, Microsoft and Adobe appeared before a federal parliamentary committee hearing into the pricing of their products in Australia and defended the high prices that Australian consumers are paying for their products, reports "ABC" (http://tinyurl.com/b8u72pk).

Labor backbencher Ed Husic has accused some information technology companies of "ripping off" Australian consumers. However, Apple Australia Vice President Tony King defended his company's Australian prices . He said part of the reason was higher costs charged by the entertainment industry for content destined for the Australian market.

"Price considerations must go well beyond simply looking up a currency exchange rate," King said."For example, Apple must consider differences between countries in product costs, freight charges, local sales taxes, levies, import duties, channel economics, competition and local laws regarding...

.com Solutions (www.fmpromigrator.com) has released FmPro Migrator Platinum Edition 6.97 with support for FileMaker Auto-Enter calculation fields and FM query operators when using the PHP conversion feature.

This release also adds support for the CakePHP 2.3 framework providing improved functionality and performance. Most FileMaker database solutions make use of Auto-Enter calculation fields. The automated conversion of this functionality by FmPro Migrator speeds the PHP conversion process and enhances the functionality of the generated PHP web application.

Auto-Enter calculations are implemented within beforeSave() and afterSave() functions within the model files. Some calculations rely upon having the value of PK column for a newly written record, therefore they are implemented within the afterSave() function.

FmPro Migrator Platinum Edition is priced at US$600 per developer and...

Troi Automatisering has released Troi Activator Plug-in 3.5 (www.troi.com/software/activatorplugin.html) for FileMaker Pro 12. It's a tool for triggering scripts across the network, even over the Internet.

Troi Activator Plug-in 3.5 has the following new features and fixes:

° Added two new functions, which can shutdown and restart the computer.

° The Actr_Sleep function now works on Mac and Windows. Also added a new switch "-sleepnow" to put the computer to sleep directly.

° Extended the Upload Server functionality to be able to handle only text: you no longer need to include an image in your upload.

° The Actr_GetIPAddress function can now return the IPv6 address.

° Completely rewrote the plug-in for 64 bit. The plug-in now runs as a 64-bit plug-in under Custom web publishing under FileMaker Pro 12 on Mac OS X.

°...

Apple has rolled out a new two-step verification service for iCloud and Apple ID users, reports "9to5Mac" (www.9to5Mac.com). This functionality greatly enhances the security of Apple accounts because it requires users to use a trusted device and an extra security code.

This security code can be sent via SMS or via the Find my iPhone iOS app (if it is installed). Users can now setup two-step authentication on their devices via the Apple ID website. Users need to access the security tab on this website to conduct the setup process.

Read more at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5570 .

Overall satisfaction among smartphone customers increases significantly as manufacturers continue to improve styling, feature sets, usability and software, according to new data from J.D. Power and Associates.

For the ninth consecutive study, Apple ranks highest among manufacturers of smartphones in customer satisfaction. Apple achieves a score of 855 and performs particularly well in physical design and ease of operation. 

The research group's studies measure satisfaction with traditional wireless handsets and smartphones among customers who have used their current mobile device for less than one year. Satisfaction is measured in several key factors. In order of importance, the key factors of overall satisfaction with traditional mobile phones are performance (29%); ease of operation (26%); physical design (24%); and features (21%). For smartphones, the key factors are performance (33%); physical design (23%); features (22%); and ease of operation (22%).

The...

Artlandia has released a new plug-in that makes Artlandia's cloud-based pattern design editor, SymmetryMill, available as an interactive texture editor in SketchUp.

The plug-in extends SketchUp's built-in texture library. It lets a designer interactively create and refine custom patterns and textures for specific models or products, such as apparel, furnishings, interiors and exteriors of buildings and vehicle.

Launched in September 2012, SymmetryMill, which works in web browsers, joined Artlandia's line of SymmetryWorks and SymmetryShop plug-ins for Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. The latest plug-in connects SymmetryMill to SketchUp.

SymmetryMill's repeating patterns instantly become SketchUp's materials (textures).  Editing a pattern automatically updates the linked SketchUp model. SymmetryMill pattern textures further behave as normal SketchUp materials, which can be applied with SketchUp's Paint Bucket tool, repositioned, distorted, painted on complex...

Reggie Ashworth has announced VidConvert 1.4.2 (http://www.reggieashworth.com/vidconvert), an update to his video converter for Mac OS X. It's designed to make converting your videos simple and easy.

VidConvert will convert just about any type of video into one of the many popular formats of today. You can create videos for your iPhone or iPad, for your Mac or TV, or formats such as DivX and MPEG.

Version 1.4.2 can now convert to WebM format and has Spanish localization. Also, an issue was fixed where the app icon might not show on PPC machines, and an issue was fixed where creating multiple DVD folders would not work as expected.

VidConvert 1.4.2 costs US$7.99 for a single user license. A demo that creates three-minute samples is available.

Macoscope (http://macoscope.net/en/) has announced Bubble Browser 2.0, an update to their Evernote-dedicated notes browser application. The new version offers faster background syncing, advanced searching, perspective switching, type-ahead suggestions and a redesigned interface.

Bubble Browser reuses web browser conventions and allows users to explore and visualize the structure of the users entire Evernote data. By providing a friendly, graphic desktop for Evernote notes, tags, notebooks and dates are presented as colorful and differently sized bubbles to expose most important piece of information in every given context.

Bubble Browser works with Mac OS X 10.8 and higher. It's free and is available worldwide in the Mac App Store in the Productivity category (http://tinyurl.com/bq4raur).

Russian anti-virus company Doctor Web is reporting that adware for Mac OS X has been increasing in number since the beginning of 2013.

Trojan.Yontoo.1 is the most prominent of them. It can download and install an adware browser plugin in an infected system, according to Dr. Web (http://tinyurl.com/c87upvm).

According to the company's analysts, the trend towards a growing number of adware for various platforms has persisted from early 2013. Criminals profit from affiliate ad network programs, and their interest in users of Macs "grows day by day."

Intertrust Technologies, an early pioneer in digital copyright protection jointly owned by Sony and Royal Philips Electronics has filed a lawsuit against Apple for alleging infringing 15 patents related to security, reports "The Wall Street Journal" (http://tinyurl.com/bo47tfd).

The lawsuit covers most of Apple’s products and services, including the iPhone, iPad, Mac computers, Apple TV,  iTunes, iCloud, and the Apple App Store. Intertrust says it has a successful record of licensing its technology, with licensees including Adobe,  Nokia, Samsung, HTC and LG Electronics.