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Apr 22
Targus announces laptop chargers

Targus (http://www.targus.com) has announced new compact chargers for laptops, netbooks and other mobile devices such as smartphones, cell phones, iPads, iPods, MP3 players, and portable game players. They can charge multiple devices simultaneously at home, in the office, on the road, in an airplane, boat or car.

The new line of laptop chargers are designed to be versatile as well as eco-friendly. With the Tips from Targus program, the chargers can be upgraded to work with other mobile devices in the household, or new laptops purchased in the future at no charge (shipping and handling fees apply).  In addition, the product has been designed with next generation technology to dramatically reduce the size and provide a flexible, modular platform for different types of usage modes and charging needs.

The elimination of the AC cord, for example, not only reduces bulk when traveling, but also allows the...

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Apr 22
Default Folder X update for Mac OS X adds faster setup, more

St. Clair Software has updated Default Folder (http://www.stclairsoft.com/DefaultFolderX/index.html), its utility for enhancing Open and Save dialogs in Mac OS X, to version 4.3.7. The new version adds faster setup in the Default Folder X preference pane, as well as better compatibility with Word, FileMaker Pro, and more.

Default Folder X 4.3.7 is a free update for existing users who purchased a license or upgrade on or after June 1, 2007. The upgrade is US$14.95 for users who bought their copies before that date. Default Folder X costs $34.95 for a new license. Installers are available now in English and German and will be released shortly in Japanese, French, and Danish.

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Apr 22
PageSender update for Mac OS X adds fax-via-email services

SmileOnMyMac has released PageSender 4.6 (http://www.smileonmymac.com/PageSender/), an update of its fax software for Mac OS X. The upgrade adds eight fax-via-email services, including Concord Fax and Rogers Business Internet Fax.

PageSender 4.6 also fixes a possible hang when viewing incomplete received faxes, and features other minor fixes and improvements.

PageSender 4.5 costs US$39.95 (though version 4.6 is a free update for registered users of version 4.x. Registered users of previous versions can upgrade for $20. A fully-functioning demo version is available for download.

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Apr 22
United Kingdom, France, India among cheapest for mobile...

Where are the best deals for mobile broadband? Comparing mobile data pricing in a number of countries, ABI Research (http://www.abiresearch.com) found that the UK, France and India have among the world's lowest prices for mobile broadband plans. In India for example, where 3G mobile broadband services launched in the middle of 2009, an unlimited download plan costs just over US$17 per month.
 
“ABI Research expects emerging markets with low Internet penetration to price mobile broadband aggressively to drive usage,” says ABI Research analyst Bhavya Khanna. “However, in developed markets the widespread use of data dongles has created strains on mobile networks; and one could see data plans change to throttle data consumption.”
 
Operators in some countries are already using this approach, limiting data to 5 GB or even as low as 3 GB per month, even for their most expensive plans....

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Apr 21
Apple: HTML5, CSs, JavaScript, H.264, not Flash, are open...

Apple may no longer be investing in Flash for the iPhone OS, but says it's Adobe that's failing to offer an open standard. Apple indicated its preference for a variety of up-and-coming standards that collectively compete with what Flash can do, reports "CNET" (http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20003006-264.html).

"Someone has it backwards -- it is HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, and H.264 (all supported by the iPhone and iPad) that are open and standard, while Adobe's Flash is closed and proprietary," said spokeswoman Trudy Muller in a statement.

HTML5 is a revision to Hypertext Markup Language used to describe Web pages; CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) are used to format web pages. H.264 is a video compression technology used in streaming video among other areas. However, as "CNET" notes, Adobe isn't truly removed from these technologies. Its Flash...

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Apr 21
Japanese localized version of ConceptDraw MindMap 6 available

CS Odessa, developer of ConceptDraw MindMap, a mind mapping product and part of ConceptDraw’s business suite, ConceptDraw Office, is now available with a Japanese language interface.

All supported language interfaces are available within a single product and there's no need to download or install a specific language product variation. Support for each language version is released at the same time, so users may utilize full support at time of purchase.

ConceptDraw MindMap for Macintosh currently supports English, German, French, and Japanese languages; ConceptDraw MINDMAP for Windows supports English, German, French, Russian (new) and Japanese languages. In addition, ConceptDraw MINDMAP includes built-in language dictionaries to support mind map content in other languages, such as Spanish and Portuguese.

All customers of ConceptDraw MINDMAP 6 may receive a no-charge update to new language interfaces by downloading the most recent version of the product at...

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Apr 21
iPhone/iPod/iPad apps for April 21

Here are the latest iPhone/iPod touch/iPod/iPad apps announced. You can find 'em at the Apple App Store (http://www.itunes.com/appstore/).

Western Digital has introduced WD Photos photo viewer, a free iPhone/iPod touch app for use with its My Book World Edition and WD ShareSpace network drives, that lets users access up to 250,000 of their photos from anywhere in the world. The WD Photos photo viewer app allows users to log into their drive from anywhere so they can view their entire photo library.

Googly has released Alphabets in the Zoo 1.0, an US$0.99 app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. It features an animated alphabet song and story to help children learn their letters as they look, listen, and sing-a-long.

A new $4.99 Phone/iPod touch app lets you learn to speak in a British accent on your iPhone and iPod touch. Professional voice-over artist Alison Pitman teaches...

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Apr 21
Apple store employees canned after data mix-up

Apple store employees canned after data mix-up
Several employees of the Legacy Village (Ohio) Apple store have been fired after personal information from a repaired computer was mistakenly transferred to another customer’s Mac during a data restore operation, reports "ifo AppleStore" (http://www.ifoapplestore.com/db/2010/04/20/several-employees-fired-after...).

According to several sources, the stores have a standard procedure and method of backing up and restoring hard drive data from customer computers brought in for service. The procedure ensures that data from one back-up is completely deleted after the restore to maintain privacy of all customer information.

"In this case, an employee backed up a customer’s computer to an external hard drive last month and performed...

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Apr 21
Google purchases company founded by P.A. Semi defectors

The Apple-Google competition just gets more interesting. Google has purchased startup firm Agnilux, a San Jose company founded by a number of defectors from P.A. Semi, the chip company Apple bought in 2008, according to a "peHUB" report (http://www.pehub.com/69556/google-buys-stealth-hardware-startup-agnilux/).

On April 22, 2008, it was made public that Apple had agreed to buy a boutique microprocessor design company called PA Semi for US$278 million. The company was known for its design of sophisticated, low-power chips.

Many of P.A. Semi’s chip developers stuck with Apple, but others -- including some system-level folks -- launched a stealth startup called Agnilux, funding it with proceeds from the Apple acquisition, says "peHUB." The article adds that Agnilux previously held strategic investment...

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Apr 21
Analyst thinks Apple's next big thing will be a video...

Apple's next big thing may be a video platform that combines cameras in the next versions of the iPhone and iPad with the giant data center the company's building in North Carolina, Ezra Gottheil, senior analyst with Technology Business Research, told clients today -- and as reported by "Computerworld" (http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9175894/Apple_s_next_big_thing_Vi...).

During a quarterly earnings conference call with analysts Tuesday, Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer cited "future product transitions" as a contributing factor to the anticipated decline from a 42% margin for the year's first quarter to a 36% margin for the quarter ending June 30. Gottheil thinks that Apple is ready to make a major move into video, and based his bet on a series of clues...

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Apr 21
Extensis developing new product to support web fonts

Extensis (http://www.extensis.com), a division of Celartem, has begun testing a new web font service that enables commercial web designers to incorporate custom fonts into web sites.
 
For years, web designers have been very limited in how they can use typography on the web, says Celartem CEO Osamu Ikeda. Previously, font use on the Web was limited to the few standard fonts installed on a reader’s machine, he adds. For typographic flexibility, designers most often have resorted to static text images in their designs. But the tradeoff was steep: this text was not easily updated, and could not be indexed or searched.
 
Due to recent technology improvements, web browsers now support the use of custom fonts on websites (via @font-face tags). The challenge is that different browsers support different web font formats, and font vendor licenses generally don't allow users to simply put fonts...

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Apr 21
MiLi releases Power Skin for the iPhone

MiLi (http://www.iPhoneMiLi.com) has released the MiLi Power Skin external battery and protective case for iPhone 3G and 3GS. Available in eight two-toned color combinations, it purportedly doubles the life of the smartphone battery and offers a protective case.

Power Skin fits like a second skin to your iPhone, and is quipped with a 1,200mAH lithium polymer battery. Its low-profile casing is designed to provide durable protection against drops or mishaps. With a slider case design the Power Skin can be removed for use on speaker docks or other media players.

It can be ordered by itself or a bundled Power Skin+, which comes packaged with a MiLi Pocketpal, an USB charger with a small foldable AC plug that compacts into a lightweight pocket-sized cube compatible with any USB device. The MiLi Power Skin (US$69.95) and PocketPal ($19.95) can be purchased separately or bundled together for a...

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Apr 21
AppRiver's Microsoft Exchange Service improves email...

AppRiver (http://www.appriver.com), a provider of e-mail messaging and Web security solutions, has reported results of a performance evaluation using the mobile performance monitoring testing solutions from Compuware Gomez. 

The Gomez data showed a link between the AppRiver-Akamai relationship and AppRiver's ability to provide businesses with fast, reliable hosted Microsoft Exchange.  In particular, the results demonstrated that AppRiver's Akamai-enabled Hosted Exchange service can improve mobile e-mail performance by up to 50%.

Interfering factors like Internet congestion and cell network issues can negatively affect e-mail performance, impacting the demands of today's increasingly mobile workforce. AppRiver is the first Microsoft Exchange hosting provider to embed the Akamai global distribution platform into its secure service. As a result, AppRiver customers receive faster connectivity and more...

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Apr 21
TuneUp available for Windows Media Player, adds social network...

TuneUp Media (http://www.tuneupmedia.com) has released TuneUp for Windows Media Player (WMP). Previously, it was only available for iTunes.

The latest version of TuneUp also adds new features to combine users' music libraries with their online lives via Facebook and Twitter. The social network features are available to all TuneUp users.

Users can now share favorite songs, albums and artists on Facebook and Twitter. They can also access "Tuniverse" info on artists at http://www.tuniver.se .

TuneUp for both iTunes and Windows Media Player is available for download. A free demo version is available. Or you can choose an annual or lifetime membership with unlimited song clean-ups and cover art. A lifetime Gold membership is US$29.95; an annual membership is $19.95 per year.

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Apr 21
Mac versions of bonzai3d, form•Z adds OpenClip support

AutoDesSys had announced the adoption of a new open standard developed through a collaboration with the developer of Wild Tools for PowerCADD. OpenClip technology is being added to bonzai3d (http://www.bonzai3d.com) and form•Z (http://www.formz.com).

It offers a different way to export 2D files into 3D programs other than the conventional means. You can copy and paste, yes, copy and paste, precision vector objects from one program to another. The OpenClip plug-in is free. You can use it if you are on the Mac platform and use PowerCADD 8.0 and either bonzai3d 2.0 or form•Z 6.7.

The Mac versions of bonzai3d 2.0 and form•Z 6.7 from AutoDesSys are the first programs to support OpenClip. It handles Paste from OpenClip in the current plane. Copy will be made available in an upcoming version.

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Apr 21
Traveler 900 mouse scampers onto the scene

Genius (http://www.geniusnetusa.com) has announced a new addition to the company’s extensive line of mice, the Traveler 900 with high tracking precision for gamers and professionals alike. It has a manufacturer's suggested retail price of US$36.90.
 
The Traveler 900’s 2.4GHz digital cordless technology purportedly works up to 10 meters away and delivers interference-free operation, as well as 1600 dpi optical engine for enhanced tracking performance. The power saving switch is designed for an extended battery life for up to eight months.

The Traveler 900 mouse has a super small Pico dongle that can be stored inside the mouse for traveling. It's available in diamond ruby, champagne gold, blue gem or silver flavors.

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Apr 21
Beehive Software offers source code for Sendfile Secure

Beehive Software (http://www.SendFile.NET) has announced the availability of the Sendfile Secure Https file transfer system as source code. For the first time, users can develop, maintain and deliver completely custom file transfer applications using the secure file transfer source code.

The Beehive Sendfile Secure client software is available, in source, as a desktop application for Mac and Windows platforms or as a browser Java client for any platform. The secure https server runs on a variety of Linux distributions and can be ported to other Unix distributions.

On-The-Fly streaming compression makes Beehive Sendfile https secure file transfers up to 30 times faster than FTP, according to the folks at Beehive Software. It's used in secure file transfers for printing, prepress, marketing, finance and manufacturing.

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Apr 21
Peachpit announces free online CS5 resource, new books

Peachpit (http://www.peachpit.com) has launched a Creative Suite 5 online resource center and the publication of new books and videos designed to enable readers to get the most out of the features of CS5, Adobe’s latest software release.

The resource center, books, and videos are aimed at all levels of users and cover all that’s new in CS5, including Adobe Photoshop CS5, Adobe InDesign CS5, Adobe Illustrator CS5, Adobe Flash Catalyst CS5, and more. The new Creative Suite 5 online resource center offers complimentary excerpts, video tutorials, detailed book descriptions (with pricing and availability), and articles from CS5 experts, including Matt Kloskowski, RC Concepcion, and Richard Harrington.

New Peachpit titles include: "Professional Portrait Retouching with Adobe Photoshop CS5" by Scott Kelby; "The Zen of Illustrator" by Sharon Steuer; and "Animation with Adobe Flash Professional CS5 Studio...

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Apr 21
RipCode: we'll bring Flash to the iPhone OS

RipCode (http://www.ripcode.com/) says its newest product, the TransAct Transcoder V6 can intercept Adobe Flash-based file or live video requests and convert them to a container, video codec, and audio codec accepted by the Apple devices -- all transparently to the end user device and without the need for any pre-transcoding or device-based client.

RipCode CEO Brendon Mills says the iPad is poised to further accelerate and expand the mobile video device market just as the iPhone has over the last several years. However, one of its noted shortcomings has been Apple’s lack of support for Flash video playback, given the dominant position of Flash in professionally generated entertainment, sports and news content. HTML5 has been purported to address this dilemma by introducing Apple device applications that are simply "thin clients" communicating back to a web site hosting and subsequently delivering Flash...

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Apr 21
Analysts raise targets after Apple's outstanding financials

At least eight brokerages have raised their price targets on Apple after the company's latest blow-out quarterly profit and a forecast strong third-quarter revenue, reports "Reuters" (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100421/bs_nm/us_apple_research_analysts_2).

On Tuesday Apple announced financial results for its fiscal 2010 second quarter that ended March 27, 2010. The company posted revenue of US$13.50 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 per diluted share.

These results compare to revenue of $9.08 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.62 billion, or $1.79 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 41.7 percent, up from 39.9 % in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 58% of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple sold 2.94 million Macs during the quarter...

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Apr 21
AT&T activates 2.7 million iPhones during first fiscal...

AT&T (http://www.att.com) has reported strong first-quarter results. The company activated 2.7 million iPhones during the period -- that's 1.1 million more than it did a year ago.

For the quarter that ended March 31, AT&T's consolidated revenues totaled US$30.6 billion, up $78 million, or 0.3% versus the year-earlier quarter; operating expenses were $24.6 billion versus $24.8 billion; operating income was $6.0 billion, up from $5.7 billion in the first quarter of 2009; and AT&T's operating income margin was 19.6%, up from 18.8 percent in the year-earlier quarter.

First-quarter 2010 net income attributable to AT&T totaled $2.5 billion, or $0.42 per diluted share, reflecting a previously disclosed noncash charge of $995 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, related to recently enacted changes in the tax treatment for the Medicare Part D subsidy. Excluding this charge, first-quarter earnings would...

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Apr 21
Adobe no longer investing in Flash for iPhone OS

Mike Chambers, Adobe’s Principal Product Manager for developer relations for the Flash Platform, says in a blog (http://www.mikechambers.com/blog/2010/04/20/on-adobe-flash-cs5-and-iphon...) that Adobe is abandoning its efforts to bring Flash to the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

He notes that in Apple's latest draft of their iPhone OS developer program license that Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs. Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine, and only code written in C, C++, and Objective-C may compile and directly link against the Documented APIs (e.g., Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary...

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Apr 21
DaisyDisk 1.5.2 for Mac OS X scans disks for unneeded files

The DaisyDisk Team has released DaisyDisk 1.5.2 (http://www.daisydiskapp.com), an update to their scanning/mapping system utility for Mac OS X. The upgrade provides 64-bit support on Mac OS X 10.6 ("Snow Leopard"), improved scanning speed, and an optimized memory footprint.

In DaisyDisk, disk contents are displayed as an interactive sunburst map, revealing large files that may no longer be necessary. The sunburst map provides a color-coded overview of disk usage, and can be navigated to preview deeper levels of data.

DaisyDisk supports all kinds of drives, including Time Machine volumes, network share drives, FTP drives, USB thumbsticks, FireWire drives, CD/DVD drives and images, FUSE drives, SATA drives, IDE/ATA drives and RAID drives. When the application is launched an overview of all mounted disks is displayed, with graphical indicators of how full each is. Choosing the Scan button next...

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Apr 21
iWebTemplate announces five new iPhone/iPod touch templates

iWebTemplate (http://www.iwebtemplate.com) has announced five new iWeb iPhone/iPod touch templates for iWeb, Apple's web construction application. The templates are designed for constructing resolution specific web sites to be viewed with iPhone and iPod touch devices.

They feature customizable themes and will work equally with other mobile devices. And they're resolution specific.

The templates work with Mac OS X 10.4.11 or higher and iWeb 2 and 3 (iLife 08/09). iWeb iPhone templates are available for US$10 each.

| Read more »
Apr 21
Jumsoft Money update for Mac OS X adds iPad syncing

Jumsoft (http://www.jumsoft.com) has launched a free version of Money, adapted for Apple's iPad. In addition, the company has released Money 3.5, an update of the financial management and budgeting tool for Mac OS X that includes a number of improvements including synchronization with Jumsoft Money for iPad.

Jumsoft Money for iPad has most of the features that helped the desktop Money achieve its current popularity, according to Algirdas Unguvaitis, general manager of Jumsoft. Users are able to create different types of accounts for cash, bank accounts, credit cards, and investments and to keep track of all transactions.

The Budget Monitor helps users follow a preplanned budget, while the Bills section reminds users of amounts due to be paid. Its report capability allows for analysis of past income and spending and helps users pinpoint areas for improvement.

The updated Money 3.5 features iPad...

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