"MarketWatch" (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-passes-microsoft-for-second-place...) is reporting that Apple, as of Thursday, overtook Microsoft and became the second-largest company, in terms of market capitalization, on the S&P 500 .

Apple trails Exxon Mobil, according to Standard & Poor's index services unit. However, "MarketWatch" notes that the S&P 500 is float-adjusted, so it doesn't use the full market basis for Microsoft. Apple's float-adjusted market cap reached US$241.5 billion, surpassing Microsoft Corp.'s index market value of $239.5 billion, said Standard & Poor's. Exxon still remains in the top spot on the S&P 500 with a market cap of more than $300 billion.

What is market capitalization? It's an estimation of the value...

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/).

Studiometry Touch, a full fledged companion to the client/project management tool Studiometry for Mac and PC, has been released. Designed for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, it lets you track your clients, projects, hours, expenses, and more and helps you create invoices while on the go.

288 Vroom has announced 301+ Short Stories for iPad with stories by 89 authors. Stories in the US$0.99 collection are multi-genre, including adventure, humor, ghost stories, horrors, mystery, westerns, fantasy, love, sketches of life and more.

Integrated Document Solutions (IDS), which offers healthcare information and applications via cloud computing, is launching smartphone apps providing doctors, medical staff and administrators the freedom to perform...

Zevrix Solutions (http://www.zevrix.com) has updated File Courier, a digital delivery solution for Mac OS X (10.4.2 and higher) with timesaving options, to version 1.5.4. The upgrade fixes a bug in which files could not be processed by dropping them on the File Courier icon.

File Courier delivers files and folders to FTP and local destinations and sends automatic e-mail delivery notifications. The e-mail messages are based on variable templates and contain the detailed info about the item and its location. The software can also create a low-res version of a PDF file and attach it to e-mail, compress folders and protect deliveries with password.

File Courier is designed to automate and simplify the process of preparing, sending and confirming delivery to free up users from time consuming, tedious manual tasks which can also lead to mistakes and miscommunication between a sender and a recipient, according...

In less than a month since the last Mac OS X release (10.6.3), Apple is apparently pushing forward with plans to update Snow Leopard to version 10.6.4. "iPhone in Canada" (http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/iphone-news/apple-to-begin-mac-os-x-10-6-4-...) says it has received reports that Apple is preparing to begin testing the next main revision of Snow Leopard.

It's not known how long this build period will last. However, "if the last period is any indication, the 10.6.4 period could take us into the early summer of 2010," says "iPhone in Canada."

One of the hot rumors of the week is that Apple is considering buying ARM, a company whose chip designs are in the iPhone. But the US company's head honcho is squashing those rumors.

CEO Warren East says that, with ARM's market capitalization at more than £3bn why fork out a fortune to own it when Apple and others can license the designs at a fraction of that? "Exciting though it is to have the share price pushed up by these rumours, common sense tells us that our standard business model is an excellent way for technology companies to gain access to our technology. Nobody has to buy the company," East told the "Guardian" (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/marketforceslive/2010/apr/22/armholdi...).

Apple will be hosting the 2010 iTunes Festival (http://www.itunesfestival.co.uk/) this summer at Camden’s Roundhouse in London. Over 60 artists have been invited to perform 31 consecutive nights. Every show will be recorded and made available on iTunes.

The opening three nights have just been announced featuring the Scissor Sisters, Tony Bennett and Ozzy Osbourne. All of the other nights will be announced via Facebook, Twitter and email alerts over the coming weeks.

Tickets for these shows are available for free to iTunes customers and fans through competitions. For details of how you could there be in person go to http://www.itunesfestival.co.uk/lineup.php .

Prime View International (PVI) may become a panel supplier for the iPad through its Korea subsidiary Hydis' fringe-field switching (FFS) technology, "market sources" have told "DigiTimes" (http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20100422PD215.html).

Other Taiwan-based panel makers, such as AU Optronics, Chimei Innolux Corporation and Chunghwa Picture Tubes, with their VA (vertical alignment) and MVA (multi-domain vertical alignment) technologies, are unlikely to become Apple's suppliers in the mean time, the article adds. LG Display (LGD) is the major panel supplier for Apple's iPad, the sources told "DigiTimes." However, Apple has reportedly recruited more suppliers, including Samsung Electronics, which is starting to ship iPad panels this month. Seiko Epson has also purportedly become a panel supplier for the iPad, and may start shipments in April or May.

The iPad is already selling well in Asia even though it won't officially be launched there until the end of May. Specialty stores are obtaining the devices and reselling 'em at premium prices, reports the IDG News Service (http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9175913/Apple_s_iPad_sells_well_i...).

The article says that the tablet device is on sale at two stores near the main electronics bazaar in Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan. Taiwanese consumers are paying a premium to get their hands on an iPad early. The two Taipei stores maintain identical prices, $800 for the 16GB model, $925 for the 32GB version and $1,020 for the 64GB iPad. Apple lists the U.S. retail prices at $499, $599 and $699, respectively.

...

Monkeybread Software (http://www.monkeybreadsoftware.de/Freeware/) has released version 5.1 of the application, Combine PDFs. The upgrade adds support for French and Italian, automatic metadata, more metadata values, and user selectable fonts for text overlays.

Combine PDFs is a utility that allows you to merge a PDF and image into one PDF file. You can split a PDF file or create a new PDF file with interleaved pages from two different PDF files. Options are available to apply Quartz Filters, add encryption and
metadata.

Combine PDFs requires Mac OS X 10.3.9. It costs US$30, but version 5.1 is a free update for registered users of version 5.x.

Global mobile handset shipments totaled approximately 1.15 billion in 2009, with enhanced phones and smartphones capturing approximately 81% of all handset shipments, according to the latest data from ABI research (http://www.abiresearch.com).

According to industry analyst Celia Bo, “In recent years the major technology and application trends in handset design have focused on 3G (and beyond) capabilities including web surfing, social networking, multimedia, connectivity, better cameras, VoIP, pico projectors and more.”

The 3.5G handset category is the fastest-growing segment among all the models announced by vendors. 56% of handsets models in 2009 were 3.5G-ready devices, while the number of 2G and 2.5G models dropped in comparison.

The Global Positioning System has secured a solid position in the automotive segment and is gaining traction in mobile phones, becoming a hot wireless...

Tungle has released its Tungle.me software for IBM’s Lotus Notes collaboration software (http://www.ibm.com/software/lotus) at the Lotusphere Comes to You conference in Toronto.

Tungle.me is designed to make it easier for people to schedule meetings across organizations, calendar systems and time zones by eliminating double bookings and the endless back and forth of finding a time to meet, says Tungle CEO Marc Gingras. The addition of Lotus Notes means that Tungle now works with all major business- and consumer-oriented electronic calendar environments, including Lotus Notes, Microsoft Outlook, Google Calendar, Apple iCal, Entourage, and is also available on the iPhone and Blackberry, he says.

With Tungle.me for Lotus Notes, you can set custom availability and synchronize it with your Lotus Notes calendar. Once meetings are scheduled, they're automatically updated in the...

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.