Boris FX's (http://www.borisfx.com) Continuum Chroma key unit now includes the real-time Chroma Key Studio. Chroma Key Studio is one of 28 new filters in Boris Continuum Complete 6 FxPlug and a fresh addition to the Boris Continuum Chroma Key Unit. Chroma Key Studio builds on the strength of previous BCC keying and compositing tools with features such as a best-of-breed chroma key process, spill suppression, matte choker, and a light wrap compositing step. All four tools are combined in one filter; there's no need to stack multiple filters to pre and post process video. What's more, all four steps are now implemented in OpenGL for real-time previews and rendering. All necessary keying and compositing steps are executed on your graphics card. The Chroma Key Unit -- which automates the creation of precise keys with a minimal amount of adjustment -- works with Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion, Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro. If you already own the Boris Continuum Chroma Key...

Mailprotector (http://www.mailprotector.net), which specializes in managed email security services, has unveiled quota-free hosted Exchange services. The new service goes beyond alternative hosted Exchange offerings by eliminating downtime resulting from restrictive mailbox limits that are exceeded quickly, preventing email access, the company says. Mailprotector features fully hosted MS Exchange 2007 mailboxes with unlimited storage capacity protected by Mailprotector's email security service that includes spam, virus and phishing removal. Mailprotector's production hardened infrastructure provides unparalleled redundancy and availability as messaging data is processed and stored on independent systems with real-time mirroring for the ultimate in information availability. Mailprotector's unlimited Exchange hosting and email security solution is available immediately and priced based on environment and options. Quota-free email hosting services start at US$12.95 per user.

DAZ 3D (http://www.daz3d.com) has announced a new free version of its 3D art and animation package, DAZ Studio 3, as well as the debut of its enhanced, professional-quality toolset, DAZ Studio 3 Advanced, whic is targeted to 3D animators, designers and illustrators. DAZ Studio 3 offers improved OpenGL preview display with new camera and light pointer tools, depth of field and support for version 8.5 of Pixar's RenderMan compliant 3Delight render engine. This tool is designed to allow hobbyists to create digital art and animation using their choice of virtual people, animals, props, vehicles, accessories and environments. Users can select their subject and/or setting, arrange accessories, setup lighting and immediately begin to create artwork. DAZ Studio 3 Advanced adds a set of new professional-level tools including advanced render effects and shaders, COLLADA import/export, animation keyframe editing, figure mixing and support for 64-bit systems. Now available forMac OS X 10.4 or...

KCRW (89.9FM and KCRW.com) announces the launch of its first applications on the Apple App Store. The Santa Monica-based public radio station recognizes the desire of fans to listen to -- and watch -- KCRW on mobile devices and is making three separate apps available. The KCRW Radio app will stream all three KCRW web channels -- on air, music and news --with real time playlists. KCRW is also at the forefront of redefining radio as a medium, giving users the ability to WATCH compelling radio. Two new apps will distribute video highlights from live band performances on Morning Becomes Eclectic, as well as the latest content from our popular weekend program Good Food. "The innovative iPhone and iPod touch are the perfect devices to let KCRW bend the boundaries of what radio is. Who says you can only listen to radio?" said KCRW assistant general manager Jennifer Ferro. ° KCRW Radio app -- Listen to all three KCRW.com channels, hear favorite shows and recent live performances on...

FileMaker Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple, has Bento Template Exchange (http://solutions.filemaker.com/database-templates/index.jsp), where Mac users can post and browse many real-world uses of Bento, the personal database from FileMaker. People interested in Bento can even download templates and use them with a trial or full version of Bento 2 . A Bento template is a pre-designed database form, but without any data. A visitor who downloads, for example, the "My Wine Cellar" template, has a ready-to-use wine tracking form -- complete with fields for winery, vintage, price and more -- and can enter data for their own wine collection. Or they can copy and paste existing information from spreadsheets such as Excel or Numbers. Plus, templates can be customized to meet each individual's unique needs. Visitors to the Bento Template Exchange can browse through the most popular templates, the newest templates, or look through 15 categories including Business, Music and Movies,...

TeamViewer GmbH (http://www.teamviewer.com), a leading provider of solutions for online communication and collaboration, has optimized their software which now features enhanced stability, speed and password management, for improved access to unattended servers and computers. The new connection option grants trusted collaborators secure, 24/7 control, for free. Staying connected while on the go is always a challenge. With an increasing number of people using more than one computer, organizing information on a single workstation can be complicated, as well. Striving to access information from servers and computers is a dilemma faced by everyone, from business professionals to home users. Designed to facilitate information access, TeamViewer software offers a secure, easy to use, permanent connection to servers and computers. Running the TeamViewer Host Module on the unattended station creates a connection which grants access to trusted users based anywhere in the world. Users can also...

Scholars and students who once had to travel to museums or libraries to view collections of historic images can now do so by clicking on their mobile device instead. The Duke University Libraries has launched the DukeMobile, an university digital image collection specifically formatted for an iPhone or iPod touch. It's available for free at the Apple App Store (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=306796...). It includes thousands of photos and other artifacts that range from early beer advertisements to materials on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury scene in the 1960s. Although a growing number of scholarly institutions offer images and other material online, Duke is the first to offer collections that take advantage of the iPhone's design, navigation and other features, according to university librarian Deborah Jakubs. The collections are the latest addition to the DukeMobile suite of applications, which has also expanded to include several feeds of...

nova media today added the Samsung i8910 HD cell phone to the list of supported devices of its iSync plugins software. iSync plugins extends the built-in list of iSync compatible phones within Mac OS X and allows cell phone owners to synchronise contacts and dates between a cell phone and Mac OS X even if their phone model is not yet supported by iSync. "The Samsung i8910 HD is a very popular cell phone with outstanding video capabilities and used by Mac users throughout the world, so we are glad we offer iSync support for it." states Jan Fuellemann, PR spokesperson at nova media. "All current users of iSync plugins 7.x will already see this new phone in the list of supported devices, once they open the iSync plugins preference pane on their computer." iSync phone plugins are available online at http://www.novamedia.de for Euro 9,95 plus VAT (US-$ 9.95 plus VAT for residents in the US and Canada). System requirements are Mac OS X 10.4.9 or higher and a supported blueooth-enabled cell...

Strata (http://www.strata.com) has released two applications that plug-in to Adobe's Illustrator and Photoshop applications. Strata Design 3D CX connects to Photoshop with six plug-ins as well as being a stand-alone application. Strata Enfold 3D CX (US$695) is a multi-featured plug-in for Illustrator that adds a 3D view palette, two new tools and a host of menu commands focused on folding print designs. In this latest version of Strata Design 3D CX the rendering engine is faster, easier to control and has more effects like photon-based lighting -- along with established features like depth-of-field blur, motion blur and particle effects, according to the folks at Strata. Also, there's a new interface that Adobe users will recognize. The Strata Design 3D CX upgrade includes several "connect to Photoshop" features, as well as other enhancements to the 3D application. Working in concert with these new Strata Design 3D CX features, the upgrade also includes six Photoshop plug-ins. Strata...

As part of the Open Screen Project Adobe announced in January plans to publish the Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) specification, which is designed for high-performance transmission of audio, video, and data between Adobe Flash Platform technologies. The documentation is now available and developers and companies who want to utilize the open specification can access it at http://www.adobe.com/devnet/rtmp/ RTMP is available as an open specification to create products and technology that enable delivery of video, audio and data in the open AMF, SWF, FLV and F4V formats compatible with Adobe Flash Player. Developers and companies now have free and open access to the documented RTMP specification so they can provide users with optimized audio, video and data. To benefit customers who want to protect their content, the open RTMP specification won'tinclude Adobe's technological measures to secure content. However, developers will be free to use their own technological measures to secure...

At last week's Apple World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC), Wibu-Systems (http://www.wibu.com) presented the beta version of the CodeMeter software protection solution for Mac OS X 10.6 ("Snow Leopard"). With a new release of AxProtector for Mac, CodeMeter -- designed for developers -- offers protection of Mac OS applications and a licensing system for distribution and protection against reverse engineering of Mac OS applications. CodeMeter is available as a cross platform solution for Mac OS as well as Linux, Sun Solaris and Windows platforms. CodeMeter offers the highest security possible through the use of hardware (dongles) to store the license information, according to Oliver Winzenried, CEO and founder of Wibu-Systems. What's more, the company offers CodeMeterAct; an activation-based system that can be applied online completely without the use of dongles. Software vendors not only benefit from protection of their intellectual property but also from highly flexible license...

Artlandia has updated Artlandia SymmetryWorks (http://www.artlandia.com/products/SymmetryWorks/), the Illustrator plug-in for pattern design. There are now two versions of the plug-in: ° SymmetryWorks 5 features the new insertion mode, streamlined export of finished patterns, and support for new types of objects and pattern classes. With these enhancements, creating a repeat pattern is as easy as spraying new objects into the pattern area, according to the folks at Artlandia. The plug-in automatically puts everything in repeat. ° SymmetryWorks LP is a combination of SymmetryWorks 5 and Artlandia's second Illustrator plug-in, Artlandia LivePresets, which was released last year. These plug-ins approach the pattern design workflow from two ends. SymmetryWorks solves the problem of creating repeat patterns, and LivePresets makes Illustrator pattern swatches editable, with simultaneous re-painting of all objects that use the swatch. SymmetryWorks LP unites these tasks; the designer can now...

Mark/Space, creator of award-winning desktop and handheld synchronization software, has released version 1.0 Beta of The Missing Sync for Palm Pre (http://www.markspace.com/PalmPre). It lets you synchronize contacts, calendars, music, ringtones, photos and more between a Mac and the new Palm Pre phone. A Windows Vista and Windows XP version is on the way. Mark/Space CEO Brian Hall says The Missing Sync for Palm Pre works with the applications Mac owners already know and use: Address Book, Entourage, iCal, iTunes, iPhoto and others. Mark/Space Proximity Sync technology can sync a Mac with a Pre via Wi-Fi - sync happens automatically and wirelessly whenever the Pre is near the Mac. It works even when Pre is in a backpack or pants pocket. You can choose the groups of contacts and calendars you want on your Pre. Synchronized contacts and calendars work with Palm Synergy so that contacts from Address Book and Microsoft Entourage can be viewed on a Pre in a single list that links them with...

Black Cat Systems announces the release of DX Toolbox version 3.5.0, a radio propagation / conditions analysis and forecasting tool for amateur radio operators, shortwave listeners, and other radio enthusiasts. This version adds maps showing real time VHF Packet propagation distances in the USA and Europe. DX Toolbox sells for $24.99. Complete information about DX Toolbox as well as downloads may be obtained from http://www.blackcatsystems.com/software/dxtoolbox.html DX Toolbox helps amateur radio operators and shortwave listeners estimate radio propagation conditions. Several propagation forecasting charts are available to estimate signal levels and path conditions between any two points on the Earth. A propagation forecast map shows the estimated signal level for a given frequency from all parts of the world, for given solar conditions, and the time of day and day of year. A plot of the expected signal levels between two points on the Earth for all 24 hours of a day may also be...

Apple today announced that more than 11 million copies of Safari 4 have been downloaded in the first three days of its release, including more than six million downloads of Safari for Windows. Safari 4 is the world's fastest, most innovative browser and is built on the world's most advanced browser technologies including the new Nitro JavaScript engine that executes JavaScript nearly eight times faster than IE 8 and more than four times faster than Firefox 3. Safari quickly loads HTML web pages more than three times faster than IE 8 and three times faster than Firefox 3/ "Safari 4 is an incredible success on Mac and Windows with more than 11 million downloads in the first three days," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Safari users love the incredible speed and innovative features like Top Sites, Full History Search and Cover Flow." Starting with the development of the open source WebKit browser engine, Apple has been leading the...

Excel Software (http://www.excelsoftware.com) has updated MarketBuddy, a Mac OS X app to automate marketing, to version 2.1. The upgrade adds advanced features to compare, merge, remove duplicates and organize contact records. The tool records the communication history of each email message sent or news release distributed to PR distribution sites. Users can view the time-stamped history log of each contact or search the history to determine which activities are completed and what remains to be done. The MarketBuddy window has Group, Contact, Document, Email and Setup panels. Contact records, assigned to one or more groups, store address, web links, notes plus custom fields, checkboxes and choices. You can import or export data to any database or spreadsheet. You can also: organize and store newsletters, press releases and other text documents; manage email lists with add, remove, collect, clean and sort commands; individually customize and precisely target batch email messages with a...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MACTECH MAGAZINE RELEASES "SHAME ON YOU AT&T" POLL RESULTS June 11, 2009 -- San Francisco, CA -- Earlier this week, MacTech launched the ShameOnYouATT.com poll to assess how users in the market perceived AT&T's lack of support for new iPhone technologies. The poll is not scientific, it had approximately 1000 respondents, and clearly points out the perception in the core of the Apple market. The poll results are as follows: Question 1: AT&T: You should be embarrassed for your support. Shame on you. 1. I agree: 97.8% 2. I disagree: 2.2% * Question 2: AT&T is not supporting tethering of the iPhone. This feature is: 1. Not important to me: 4.4% 2. Somewhat useful to me: 25.8% 3. Very important to me: 69.9% * Question 3: AT&T's network is not as robust as other networks. This feature is: 1. Not important to me: 0.7% 2. Somewhat useful to me: 5.5% 3. Very important to me: 93.7% * Question 4: AT&T is not supporting MMS for several months. This...

Maintain has announced the release of Cocktail 4.3.1 (Tiger Edition), a new version of Cocktail for users running Mac OS X 10.4 - 10.4.11. This version (http://cocktail.maintain.se) adds major improvements on the clear potentially harmful files procedure and the clear font caches procedure, adds clearing of the Renepo.A-B, RSPlug.F-G, Tored.A trojans and Inqtana.B-C worms, fixes an issue with secure deletion of files installed by trojans and worms, addresses an issue in which Adobe Illustrator font caches were not deleted from users home directory, fixes compatibility with Firefox and Google Gears as well as addresses minor bug fixes discovered in the previous release. The update is highly recommended for all users of Cocktail (Tiger Edition). Cocktail 4.3.1 (Tiger Edition) is distributed as a Universal Binary and runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs. Cocktail 4.3.1 (Tiger Edition) requires Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server 10.4 - 10.4.11 and is tested for compatibility with Mac OS...

Servoy (http://www.servoy.com/isv) -- a platform provider for SaaS solutions -- has announced a new release of its SaaS platform: Servoy 4.13. Servoy's platform allows development of hybrid applications -- which can be deployed as SaaS and on-premises through both a browser and a native client -- from a single code base. Servoy applications don't need remote video technology such as Citrix and Microsoft Remote Desktop to run over the web, according to Servoy CEO Jan Aleman. Servoy applications typically require up to 10x less server resources than applications deployed using Citrix and Remote Desktop, Aleman adds.. Additionally, Servoy addresses some of the problematic issues of remote desktop technologies -- mainly hardware access. "Printing and file system integration is always cumbersome and often requires additional tools and costs," Aleman says. "Servoy's native client technology has built-in capabilities to access any type of connected hardware with direct access to the local...

At this week's Apple Word Wide Developer Conference (WWDC), SecuTech will dispatch its newly released software rights management solution packages to thousands of developers and engineers from all over the world. The UniKey evaluation kit includes one to five fully functional UniKey hardware keys, one brochure and one Protection Kit software CD. There are numerous sample codes in various programming languages in the kit. Developers can use hardware-accelerated software protection solution to integrate their software to realize the IP protection, licensing management and software rights control, according to the folks at SecuTech. Developers can use this UniKey Hardware Key without any limitations for your protection. Before you order actual UniKey dongles, you should get a UniKey Developer Kit (http://www.esecutech.com/) to start.

HazelMail has released a self-titled app for the iPhone and iPod touch that turns photos taken on an iPhone into personalized postcards -- and then prints, stamps, and mails them for you. It's free and comes with a credit for one free postcard. HazelMail also launched a feature that allows users to pre-purchase a dozen postcards for US$12 (vs. $1.50 per individual postcard). In addition, a personal address book feature enables travelers to access the addresses of friends and family no matter where they are in the world, says HazelMail founder Michael Lato. He says that HazelMail utilizes a global network of printers based in North America, South America, Europe and Asia which print and deliver postcards from the location closest to the recipient. HazelMail is currently available in six languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portugese and Spanish. To download the app and start sending postcards from your iPhone, go to http://www.hazelmail.com/iphone. Launched in fall 2008...

Infinity Data Systems has released MailForge 1.0, the Eudora style email client formerly known as Odysseus. Built from the ground up for Mac OS X and Windows, MailForge is designed to be a successor to the Eudora email client, providing users with a familiar look and feel, while at the same time adding features and abilities to further enhance the user experience. Harnessing the power of SQLite, MailForge offers significant performance advantages, ranging from the ability to have a virtually unlimited number of emails in a single mailbox, to search capabilities that offer near instantaneous results, according to the folks at Infinity Data Systems. Even routine tasks, such as moving tens of thousands of emails from one mailbox to another, takes only seconds, they add. Eudora users should feel at home with the multi-window (one window per mailbox) paradigm that MailForge utilizes; users of other email clients may feel more at home with MailForge Unified Mode, a more traditional three...

DriveSavers has just launched its first iPhone app. The company says it's the first and only hard drive simulator for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's free and is available at the Apple App Store (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=317700...). Known as DriveSaver, it features a virtual environment that allows you to explore the inner workings of a common hard drive. It simulates various types of hard drive failures using realistic sounds and visuals and includes essential backup and data loss prevention tips. "DriveSaver is a fantastic demonstration tool to help illustrate hard drive data storage technology," says John Christopher, senior data recovery Engineer at DriveSavers. "It's educational, it's functional and it's fun! It might even help you identify problems with a bad hard drive. Anyone who has ever wanted to see inside a hard drive or learn how drives work and why they fail, must try it."

Addonics Technologies has announced a family of hard drive duplicators. The family of duplicators includes the HDD Duplicator, HDD Duplicator PRO, the HDD Duplicator PRO S, and the Zebra HDD Duplicator. As an example of their copying abilities, the HDD Duplicator PRO can copy from a source drive of any type, from 2.5" to 3.5" hard drive or SSD with either SATA or IDE interface, to a target drive of any kind. With this flexibility, the Duplicator PRO is an ideal tool for cloning another hard drive, for making a back-up hard drive, or for quick data migration from a hard drive or SSD to another any type of hard drive -- no matter its interface or technology difference. To protect sensitive data, The HDD Duplicator PRO S can be used to make copies from ordinary hard drives to target drives with AES 256-bit data encryption or vice versa. Simple to operate, the duplicators are stand-alone appliances and don't require connection to a PC. To start copying data, users simply load the...

Apago Inc., a software technology company that provides innovative solutions to transform digital documents, today announces an upgrade to PDF Enhancer 3.5, a powerful production tool for the creation, automation, and optimization of PDF documents. Newly rearchitectured, PDF Enhancer 3.5 is a faster and more robust application for individual or batch processing of PDF files. Used by publishers of all sizes to produce a wide range of PDF files, from brochures to electronic editions of magazines and newspapers, this invaluable production tool creates the highest-quality, smallest size, and most reliable PDF documents possible for specific output purposes. In addition to greater power for PDF-based workflows, the upgrade improves font handling and color management, supporting more device link profiles and color patterns. PDF Enhancer 3.5 is free for 3.x users and is slated to be available this summer for download from Apago's online store at http://store.apago.us. "Our technical manuals...

Asigra, a cloud backup and recovery software provider, has announced the Asigra Hybrid Cloud Backup and Recovery platform. The ninth generation Asigra platform brings transformational backup architecture, allowing users to outsource backup to a public cloud, build a private cloud or select a hybrid of the two models. The latest generation offering brings industry firsts in automation, security and efficiency to reduce IT resources spent on mundane backup jobs, allowing redirection of those resources toward more strategic initiatives, according to the folks at Asigra. Traditional approaches to SMB and enterprise backup have not kept up with the exponential data growth, variances in information value and complexities within the IT environment as organizations seek to do more with less. Instead, there has been an unfortunate waste in brainpower and precious resources on backup and recovery when it should be a routine task in today's cloud computing era. Asigra now allows users to...

WD has introduced 4TB capacity My Book Studio Edition II dual-drive storage systems, which are designed to work with Macs and provide an ideal blend of high performance and power conservation. The new My Book Studio Edition II dual-drive storage systems are available now at select retailers and the WD online store (http://www.shopwd.com). Compatible with Apple's Time Machine automatic backup feature and formatted for Macs, the new 4TB My Book Studio Edition II external storage system sports a dual-drive RAID 0 configuration and high-speed interface. The system offers four interfaces: eSATA, FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0. The eco-friendly system uses WD's hard drives with WD GreenPower Technology for power savings and cool and quiet operation, according to Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD's branded products group. The 4TB My Book Studio Edition II has a manufacturer's suggested retail price of US$649.99.

Envivio has announced iLiveTV (http://www.envivio.com/solutions/ilivetv.php), a mobile video encoding and distribution solution for evaluating, developing and deploying Live and On Demand TV video services for the iPhone. It takes advantage of the new iPhone OS 3.0 mobile video format. According to Envivio CEO Julien Signes, iLiveTV delivers everything mobile operators and content owners need to deliver TV to iPhone users. It includes the Envivio 4Caster C4 world-class video encoding platform, content delivery server software, a web-based Cover Flow iPhone navigation portal, as well as integration and support from the world's most experienced team of mobile TV deployment experts. iLiveTV enables operators to offer iPhone users multiple channels of live broadcast TV over 3G and Wi-Fi networks with home theater quality and premium features such as Catch-up TV, Video on Demand and a client channel guide, Signes says. iLiveTV supports all of the advanced capabilities of the new mobile...

ngmoco (http://www.ngmoco.com), creator and publisher of games exclusively for iPhone and iPod touch, has launched Star Defense (http://stardefense.ngmoco.com) on the Apple App Store. Developed in collaboration with Rough Cookie, Star Defense is an US$5.99 strategy genre with 3D environments and Multi-Touch user interface controls. Here's how the game is described: "In Star Defense, players battle hordes of alien S'rath invaders in their quest to save human outposts across the galaxy. Using innovative Multi-Touch controls, players twist, spin, and zoom-in on breathtaking 3D planets and examine the terrain to plan their defenses. "Armed with a powerful arsenal of five classes of towers, for a grand total of 15 different weapons, players strategically place turrets that unleash everything from burning hot plasma to high-voltage decimation. The S'rath regularly fortify their troops with new unit types, new formations and new armor. Survival depends on the player's ability to...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MACTECH MAGAZINE OPENS "SHAME ON YOU AT&T" POLL June 8, 2009 -- San Francisco, CA -- Today, in addition to a new iPhone 3GS phone, Apple spoke about iPhone 3.0 software and new features coming. Absent from the announcement is support for features in the United States at the same level as the support in other countries. In an effort for AT&T to understand the ramifications of their decisions, support levels, and more, MacTech Magazine has opened a survey for all to participate in to send AT&T a clear message as to what the community thinks. See http://ShameOnYouATT.com About MacTech Magazine Established in 1984, MacTech Magazine is the only monthly magazine focused on Macintosh at the technical level. Each month, MacTech and MacTech.com is read by 150,000 technical Macintosh users in over 175 countries ... from network administrators to programmers, from solution providers to Enterprise, and in general anyone that's interested in the Macintosh beyond...

Apple today released Safari 4, the world's fastest and most innovative web browser. Available for Mac and Windows PCs and introduced as a beta in February of this year, Safari 4 features the Nitro engine which runs JavaScript up to 4.5 times faster than Safari 3.* Safari 4 makes browsing more intuitive and enjoyable with innovative features, such as Top Sites, Full History Search and Cover Flow, and support for modern web standards like HTML 5 and advanced CSS Effects. "The successful beta release helped us fine tune Safari 4 into an even better, faster version that customers are going to love," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Safari is enjoyed by 70 million users worldwide and with its blazing fast speed, innovative features and support for modern web standards, it's the best browser on any platform." Safari 4 is built on the world's most advanced browser technologies including the new Nitro JavaScript engine that executes...

Apple today updated the aluminum unibody MacBook Pro line to include 13-inch, 15-inch and 17-inch models featuring Apple's innovative built-in battery for up to 40 percent longer battery life. Each MacBook Pro includes an LED-backlit display with greater color intensity, the innovative glass Multi-Touch trackpad, an illuminated keyboard, an SD card or ExpressCard slot, a FireWire 800 port and state of the art NVIDIA graphics. Starting at just $1,199, the MacBook Pro line is more affordable than ever, with some models up to $300 less than the previous generation. The industry's greenest notebook lineup, every Mac notebook achieves EPEAT* Gold status and meets Energy Star 5.0 requirements, setting a new standard for environmentally friendly notebook design. "Across the line, all of our new MacBook Pro models now include Apple's innovative built-in battery for up to seven hours of battery life, while staying just as thin and light as before," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice...

Other World Computing (OWC) has announced DDR2 800MHz OWC memory upgrades (http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Apple_MacBook_MacBook_Pro/Upgrade) up to 4GB for Apple's new May 2009 white 13-inch MacBook. Available are: ° OWC 2GB DDR2 800MHz memory module (US$30.99), you can add to the existing 1GB factory chip for 3GB total memory. This upgrade isn't available as a factory option. ° OWC 4GB (2 x 2GB matched memory modules) DDR2 800MHz Memory Kit ($60.99), which is, according to OWC, 39 percent lower cost than factory 4GB upgrades. Additional money savings are available for customers who take advantage of OWC's memory trade-in rebate program, which offers $5 cash back per 1GB of Apple Factory Standard memory module.

The Abvent Group, editor and publisher of Artlantis software (http://www.artlantis.com), has released four new media CDs, which can be used to enhance interior scenes, product designs, and technical illustrations. These latest additions bring to 27 the total number of Artlantis Media CDs available. The Antique Furniture CD contains 49 textured 3D models. The featured furniture styles range from baroque to neo-classic to rustic. The Bathroom & Spa CD includes 120 textured 3D models of furniture and equipment for spas and bathrooms. The Modern Furniture CD contains 120 detailed and fully textured 3D models of modern furniture and electronics products. Rounding out the new collection is the Office Furniture CD, which includes 240 detailed and fully textured 3D models of various objects that can be used to breathe life into office visualizations. A drag and drop is all it takes to place these objects in Artlantis scenes for presentations. The newest Artlantis Media CDs were all...

SONiVOX (http://www.sonivoxmi.com), a virtual instrument manufacturer, has released its latest virtual plug-in instrument, SoundStage. It's designed to provide a comprehensive standard palette of instruments for composers, home studio enthusiasts, songwriters, educators, live musicians, or anyone looking to expand their instrumental palette. SoundStage features over 200 instruments based loosely off of the GM GS spec including, drums, keyboards, guitars, basses, synths, ethnic percussion, orchestral instruments and much more, all master programmed by legendary sound designer Jennifer Hruska. The software comes equipped with its own virtual instrument engine complete with a selection of special effects by SONiVOX and iZotope, including Chorus, Delay, Reverb, and EQ, as well as easy to use filter and envelope controls section enabling the user easy sculpting of sounds. SoundStage has a manufacturer's suggested retail price of US$99. It's compatible with both Mac and PC systems as a...

eMedia Music Corp. has announced the upcoming release of IPE Music's Piano Scores Unlimited. This invaluable addition to any home or school music library is the largest digital collection of popular piano scores from the masters available on one DVD-ROM. The Piano Scores Unlimited DVD-ROM puts 630 major works from Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Joplin, Mozart, Schubert and many others at your fingertips for less than ten cents per score. With 2,500 pages of printable music, pianists at every level will find something new to play. Piano Scores Unlimited allows you to print high-quality, royalty free sheet music with no restrictions. Piano Scores Unlimited is easy to navigate for everyone: scores are available sorted by Composer, Level of Difficulty, Style or Alphabetical. An important bonus feature of this product is the 26 hours of recorded scores. The scores were recorded by virtuoso pianists, and listening to them will engage players on a whole new level, inspiring them to emulate master...

Vaughn S. Cordero of VSC/Macsupport has released MobileSyncBrowser 3.0 (http://homepage.mac.com/vaughn/msync/), a new version of the iPhone backup browsing utility. The upgrade adds compatibility with iPhone OS 3.0 and iTunes 8.2 and has been rewritten to provide both new and improved previews, better performance and enhanced stability. Language support has been expanded and now supports US English, German, French and Spanish across all platforms. Available for immediate download for Intel-based Macs, the 3.0 release for Windows XP/Vista will purportedly follow shortly after final testing. The current versions of MSB for PowerPC Macs and Windows (MSB II - 0.9) are available for download on the site. MobileSyncBrowser works with any system capable of running an iPhone-capable version of iTunes. 3.0. Users can download and try out MSB for free; previews and exports are limited until a registration key is purchased. Classic and Plus keys can be purchased online for US$10 and US$20.

The party will be an opportunity to mix with other developers from the Mac space, meet Serguei Beloussov, the CEO of Parallels and some of our top developers who are eager to hear user feedback on our products and the challenges developers face in working for the Mac platform. We hope the party will be a casual, fun and informative celebration of innovation where people can play some pool, grab a beer and some food and see some of our recent innovation in action. Details are as follows: What: Parallels Innovation Party @ WWDC When: 6.30pm, Tuesday June 9th Where: Jillian's Billiards (first floor of the Metreon, located outside of the Moscone Center) Dress code: Casual To RSVP and secure a place at the party, please reply to sgibbons@parallels.com or checkout our twitter page . Also - You can get more information by checking Parallels blog at :

Nemetschek North America has released its fourth Service Pack for the Vectorworks 2009 product line. Many quality improvements have been added to this Service Pack, including improvements related to stairs, performance, and overall stability, says Mark Farnan, director of Software Development at Nemetschek North America. Currently, Service Pack 4 is available only for professional licenses as a downloadable updater. All other license types will be available in the next few weeks. To install the Service Pack, go to the About Vectorworks dialog box in the Vectorworks 2009 application and click Check for Updates. Vectorworks 2009 was released on Sept. 15, 2008. The Vectorworks 2009 product line includes Vectorworks Designer, Vectorworks Architect, Vectorworks Landmark, Vectorworks Spotlight, Vectorworks Machine Design, Vectorworks Fundamentals, and Renderworks. For a product-by-product breakdown of all the new version 2009 improvements, and to see some of these features in action, go...

Akvis Software has released Akvis SmartMask 2.5 (http://akvis.com/en/smartmask/), an update of the image selection and masking plug-in for the Mac and Windows platforms. The upgrade makes the eyedropper tools more flexible, adds new interface languages (French and Portuguese) and improves compatibility with Photoshop CS3,CS4 on Macintosh. Upgrade for registered users is free. SmartMask is a masking tool designed to save time on complex selections. With the app, there are two pencils, red and blue. Draw a line with the blue pencil inside the object being selected (for example, yourself in a group photo) and then outline the same object with the red pencil to define the areas that should be cut out. The selection algorithm analyzes the image and your drawing, and creates the selection you want. Akvis SmartMask features three selection modes are tailored to different types of selection: Sharp, Soft, and Complex. The new release makes selection even easier by making the eyedropper tools...

Synectics Business Solutions has released BackJack 5.1.4 (http://backjack.com), a new version of the Macintosh backup service. The company has also announced a "Summer Vacation Peace of Mind" promotion to celebrate BackJack's 11-year anniversary. BackJack 5.1.4 introduces a new DualSync capability that lets you have a second Mac configured to synchronize the files being backed up by your primary backup, allowing for restores to a second computer. DualSync leverages BackJack's security and encryption features to ensure all files remain fully encrypted until they arrive on your Mac. BackJack 5.1.4 also has a number of under-the-hood enhancements that improves the performance and throughput of backup and restore actions. These improvements have shown increases of up to 27 percent, especially on congested networks and Internet connections, according to the folks at Synectics Business Solutions. In celebration of BackJack's 11th year of offering this service to Mac users, new subscriptions...

Objective Development Software has updated Little Snitch (http://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html), the Mac OS X software that provides a firewall to protect your Mac against unwanted guests, to version 2.1.4. The upgrade adds support for guest accounts, introduces global, computer-wide rules that are valid for all users, provides improved Fast User Switching support and enhanced support for network user accounts. The upgrade to Little Snitch 2.1.4 is free for all Little Snitch 2 licensees. The full version is available starting at $29.95. Little Snitch includes a free, full featured, time limited trial license.

CrossLoop (http://www.CrossLoop.com), an Internet company that enables consumers and small businesses to receive help through independent service providers and technology, says Mac users can now gain easy access to immediate and qualified technical support. Through a Mac-specific beta version of CrossLoop's award-winning, free desktop sharing software, CrossLoop enables Mac users across the globe to find immediate help and training for virtually any tech issue -- anytime, anywhere, according to CrossLoop CEO Lisa Alderson. CrossLoop Mac compatibility enables a more seamless experience while providing application training and support across platforms, whether users enlist tech-savvy family and friends for free or access CrossLoop's network of tech Helpers for professional support, she adds. Users can now transfer files from Mac to Mac, Mac to Windows, or Windows to Mac.Consumers can now receive tech support from CrossLoop's network of trusted, qualified service providers, regardless of...

GamersGate (http://www.GamersGate.com), a digital distribution platform for PC games, has launched a GamersGate store for Mac compatible games. The initial launch includes titles such as World of Goo, the Hearts of Iron series, the Europa Universalis series, Flatout 2, and others. New titles will be added on a regular basis. "For years, digitally delivering games to Mac users has often been overlooked by the gaming industry," says Theodore Bergquist, CEO of GamersGate. "With the increase in the popularity of gaming among Apple users, we've been getting requests worldwide for our library of accessible, client-free titles on Mac computers. Our mission is to offer a convenient solution for all gamers and offering Mac titles is another step in that direction." GamersGate now has over 1,100 titles in its growing catalog from publishers such as EA, Ubisoft, THQ, and many others. GamersGate recently unveiled a redesigned web site that adds new social aspects, including profiles, internal...

Projecturf (http://www.projecturf.com), a provider of on-demand project and collaboration management software, has launched Projecturf, a scalable, web-based project management tool with unlimited storage space that's browser, platform and database independent. Projecturf was specifically designed to support the project management needs of design firms and developers, according to CEO Chuck Pearson. The task tracking software allows developers to define initiatives and projects, automate processes, and distribute data through a secure, stylish, intuitive and easy-to-use online environment with almost no learning curve, he adds. Projecturf doesn't require complicated software to be installed or a large in-house IT department to manage and upgrade, Pearson says. Project management features and benefits for all Projecturf plans include: unlimited storage on all plans; customizable design; a workflow with three levels of system permissions: Administrator, Project Manager(s), User(s);...

Cocktail 4.3.4 (Leopard Edition), a general purpose utility for Mac OS X, has been released (http://cocktail.maintain.se). This version adds clearing of Renepo.A, Renepo.B and Tored.A trojans, fixes compatibility issues with Mac OS X 10.5.7, Firefox and Google Gears as well as addresses minor bug fixes discovered in the previous release. It also contains updated Automator actions. The update is highly recommended for all users of Cocktail (Leopard Edition). Cocktail 4.3.4. (Leopard Edition) is distributed as a Universal Binary and runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs. It requires Mac OS X/Mac OS X Server 10.5 or later and is tested for compatibility with Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server 10.5.4. Cocktail 4.3.4 costs US$14.95 for a single user license. It's a free update for registered users of version 4.x.

Primera Technology has partnered with Imagine Products to offer support for Imagine's award-winning ShotPut Pro software. Primera and Imagine recently introduced their combined solution at NAB 2009 in Las Vegas. The products are now shipping. Video professionals can now streamline their workflow and automatically archive content onto write-once DVD and Blu-ray Disc media using Imagine's software and a Primera Bravo-Series Disc Publisher. The entire offloading and archival process is automatic and hands-free, says Mark Strobel, Primera's vice president of sales and marketing. As soon as a video volume is detected, an offload is started to multiple drive locations which can include hard drives and a Bravo-Series Disc Publisher. The burned disc is printed direct-to-disc with customized information that can include Metadata directly from the camera's memory card. The shipping version of ShotPut Pro can be installed on any Mac running Mac OS X, 10.4 or higher. A Windows XP/Vista version...

iPresentee (http://www.ipresentee.com), the developer of add-ons for Apple's iWork and iLife applications, releases free Keynote Countdown Timer to be used with Apple's Keynote presentation software. Keynote is the presentation component of Apple's US$79 iWork bundle. Keynote Countdown Timer includes three different colors countdown timer animations: white, red and green. Each Keynote Countdown Timer can countdown from 90 minutes or less. You can use it to, among other things, get audience back in their seats promptly after breaks. Countdown timer can be used to show the time before the actually presentation or meeting should start. Teachers can use timers during classroom instruction to help students to maintain attention and ultimately to become better "time-managers." To start with Keynote Countdown Timer, download it, drag to the slide, set the countdown time and you are ready to start. Each countdown timer can be used on any colored background. Each animation can be changed in...

Blue Crowbar Software (http://www.bluecrowbar.com) has released iPhoto2Twitter 1.0, a new plug-in for iPhoto, Apple's photo editing and management application that's part of iLife. iPhoto2Twitter lets you send short messages and photos to Twitter from within iPhoto. iPhoto2Twitter provides the same functionality found in Aperture2Twitter, the plug-in for Aperture that was released in April. With it you can: send your tweets without leaving iPhoto; include an image with a tweet; and switch between different Twitter-accounts. iPhoto2Twitter requires Mac OS X 10.5 ("Leopard") and iPhoto '08 or '09. A demo is availabel for download; registration is approximately US$7.