Spiderweb Software has updated Avernum 6 for Mac OS X (http://www.avernum.com/avernum6/index.html) to version 1.0.3. Avernum 6 is the final game in the epic Avernum series. This upgrade fixes a handful of bugs and balance issues.

Avernum 6 is set in the world of Avernum, an enormous series of caves far below the surface of the world. Here's how the game is described: "Avernum is a world underground. It is a nation of people living in an enormous warren of tunnels and caverns, far below the surface of the world. Once a prison colony for rebels and thugs, it is now a wild frontier, full of adventurous souls looking for wealth, fame, and magical power.

"And then the Blight came. Almost overnight, the mushrooms Avernum needed to feed itself withered and died. Then the denizens of the low tunnels, the savage, reptilian Slithzerikai, emerged. Sensing weakness, they...

The iPad is causing the entertainment, publishing and information industries to undergo a radical paradigm shift in their methods of delivering entertainment and information to consumers, according to a new report from Rider Research (http://www.riderresearch.com) of Baton Rouge, La.

The impact started on day one, says Geoff Whiting, who prepared the report.. Apple said it sold over 300,000 the first day the iPad went on sale in the U.S. and that over one million iPad apps were downloaded. With the iPad, Apple has created a leisure media device that consumers can use thoughout the home: for reading books, playing movies and music or as an instruction manual for home repairs or cooking, Whiting says.

"Studios, TV networks and magazine/newspaper publishers are no longer limited to immobile TV sets, mobile phones with tiny screens or PCs that place entertainment in a secondary role," he adds...

MacPractice -- the developer of MacPractice MD, MacPractice DDS, MacPractice DC, and MacPractice 20/20 -- has announced the launch of new iPad integration solutions that allow doctors and dentists to use all MacPractice products on an iPad to leverage the efficiency and ease of use of Apple’s latest innovation to streamline care, save time and reduce the risk of data entry errors.

“We’ve been overwhelmed with requests from doctors who want to use MacPractice on an iPad,” says Mark Hollis, president of MacPractice. “The interface solutions we have tested allow doctors to use this incredible device in a patient encounter, enter the visit data into MacPractice EMR and have access to medical and dental images, prescription history, etc. literally at their fingertips at the point of care.”
 
Besides qualifying its MacPractice iPhone Interface for use on the iPad, the new iPad interface solutions leverage collaborative technologies to make the total functionality of...

Quark (http://www.quark.com) has become an associate member of RIXML.org, a consortium of buy-side, sell-side, and vendor firms committed to the development and implementation of the first open standard for investment research.

Quark offers Quark XML Author, an XML authoring tool that allows anyone to create XML content directly in Microsoft Word. Quark XML Author can be configured for RIXML so that research analysts and other non-technical professionals in the financial services industry can create RIXML content easily, without having an understanding of XML coding.
 
As an associate member, Quark says it brings more than a decade of experience in XML authoring, including extending the usability of XML and advancing XML standards. Quark will help advance the RIXML specification through direct participation in RIXML workgroups to discuss trends, solve issues, and develop future releases of the...

Houdah Software (http://www.houdah.com/) has updated HoudahGeo, a geocoding solution for the Mac, to version 2.5. The new version brings full integration with Aperture 3 Places.

HoudahGeo costs US$30 for a single-user license for new users. Version 2.5is a free update for registered users. HoudahGeo requires Mac OS X 10.4.8 or higher.

Plustek Technology (http://www.plustek.com/usa) has announced the new SmartOffice PL1530 scanner, Plustek's newest ADF scanner with an integral flatbed. It will go on sale next month with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of US$349.

The SmartOffice PL1530 features two USB ports that allow the scanner to be shared between two computers for business users who want to save money and space. It's bundled with business card reading software and a suite of document management and scanning applications.

Documents can be scanned with the flatbed or ADF and sent to either computer with the press of a button. Multi-page documents can be scanned on both sides to be processed into electronic searchable PDF files.

It’s "a sure thing that the iPad will get a camera in its second generation," according to the "Cult of Mac" site (http://www.cultofmac.com/apple-is-hiring-ipad-camera-engineer/38256). There’s already an empty, iSight-shaped slot in the iPad’s frame and Apple is looking for a performance QA engineer to work on still and video capture in the iPad Media department.

At the "Jobs at Apple site" (http://jobs.apple.com/index.ajs?BID=1&method=mExternal.showJob&RID=47818...), it says: "The Media Systems team is looking for a software quality engineer with a strong technical background to test still,...

Hyberbolic Software (http://www.hyperbolicsoftware.com) has released Tidy Up! 2.1.5, the latest version of their disk, file and folder processing utility for Mac OS X.

Tidy Up! can find duplicate files and packages using any criteria. Version 2.1.5 improves the search for content within email messages of Mail. Now it will find messages even if they differ by the number of spaces at the end of the message.

Tidy Up 2.1.5 requires Mac OS X 10.5 ("Leopard") or higher. Upgrades from version 1.x are $20, and upgrades from version 2.x are free.

vjoon (http://www.vjoon.com) says its cross-media publishing platform, K4 6, will be compatible with Adobe Creative Suite 5 in the second quarter of 2010.

With its explicit workflow features for multiple output channels, content management for multimedia, and automation of exports for digital publishing, K4 version 6 complements the latest Adobe creative software by "providing an ideal platform for creative teams to collaborate," says vjoon CEO Andreas Schrader. He adds that, in K4, content isn't simply reused for different channels, but is adapted to the different demands of specific media and devices, including web sites, print publications and handheld devices such as the iPad and Amazon Kindle.

Maintain has released Cocktail 4.7.3 (Snow Leopard Edition), the latest maintenance update of Cocktail (http://www.maintain.se/c) for users running Mac OS X 10.6 ("Snow Leopard").

This version addresses an issue in which the system log server (syslogd) may not be properly restarted, fixes a bug where clearing the virtual memory swap files may cause kernel panics and addresses minor compatibility issues with Mac OS X 10.6.3 (v 1.0 and 1.1) identified in the previous release.

Cocktail 4.7.3 (Snow Leopard Edition) requires Mac OS X/Mac OS X Server 10.6 or later and is tested for compatibility with Mac OS X/Mac OS X Server 10.6.3. Cocktail (Leopard Edition) for Mac OS X 10.5 and Cocktail (Tiger Edition) for Mac OS X 10.4 are available for download from the Maintain web site.

Cocktail is a general purpose utility for Mac OS X that offers a variety of practical features designed to simplify the...

nova media has unveiled the iCON XY (http://www.novamedia.de/en/icon-xy.html), a 3G USB surfstick made by the Belgium company Option. The HSPA modem reaches download and upload speeds up to 7.2Mbps and 5.76Mbps.

The surfstick sports a swivel USB connector and a micro-SD slot compatible to SDHC cards with up to 32GB memory. The iCON XY isn't IM locked and can be used in any 3G network running on 900 or 2100 MHz and on any EDGE/GPRS network running on 850, 900, 1800 or 1900 MHz.

"The real benefit of the iCON XY is the ability to use it with prepaid SIM cards all around the world." says Jan Fuellemann, PR spokesperson at nova media. "Using a prepaid SIM card abroad can save hundreds of Euros otherwise spend for data roaming costs."

The iCON XY features a self-installing connection manger, "uCAN Connect" software from Option. It's compatible with all Intel Macs...

According to the latest results from the Gartner research group, Apple has 8% of the US computer market for the first quarter of 2010. That's up 34% from the 7.2% of the same period a year ago.

That places Apple fifth among US computer vendors. Ahead of it, with first quarter 2010 market share percentages, are HP (25%), Dell (23.4%), Acer (15.6%) and Toshiba (8.6%). Worldwide, Apple still doesn't rank in the top five, which are: HP (18.2%), Acer (14.2%), Dell (12.1%), ASUS (5.5%) and Toshiba (5.5%). The Mac has, by most estimates, a 5% global market share.

Worldwide computer shipments totaled 84.3 million units in the first quarter of 2010, a 27.4% increase from the first quarter of 2009, according to preliminary results by Gartner. These first quarter results have exceeded Gartner's earlier market outlook. Gartner had been expecting first quarter computer shipments to grow 22%.