Softbank Mobile -- the exclusive iPhone carrier in Japan -- had said that the 3G version of the iPads sold in Japan could only be used on its mobile network. That’s because Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in January that the devices would be unlocked outside the U.S. and usable on any carrier willing to provide a micro-SIM card for it. However, Apple tells "The Wall Street Journal" (http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/05/15/apple-clarifies-japanese-ipad-sim...) that, while Japanese 3G iPads will only work with Softbank’s 3G service in Japan, outside of Japan, those iPads are unlocked, so they can be used with SIMs for local carriers in their respective markets. Whether 3G iPads purchased outside of Japan will work in Japan will depend on the roaming agreement that the users’s home carrier has established in the country, the spokeswoman said.

Starting in February 2009, ABI Research (http://www.abiresearch.com) forecast that approximately 35 million netbooks would ship into world markets in the course of the year. That estimate was viewed in some quarters as unrealistically high. However the final 2009 shipment numbers -- 36.3 million netbooks shipped -- have confirmed that the forecast was perhaps a little conservative, according to the research group. In 2010, netbook shipments are expected to reach 58 million while a new element has been added to the mobile consumer electronics market equation: the media tablet, initially personified by Apple’s iPad. How will mobile CE markets react to a “new kid on the block” so soon after the start of the netbook craze? “We expect the netbook market to fragment according to different regional value propositions,” says principal analyst Jeff Orr. “Functionality will be added to mainstream netbook products while at the same time an entry-level netbook solution will grow, with the aim of...

D-Zed Software (http://www.dragonstopmotion.com/about.php) has introduced their new DDMX-S2 Digital Lighting Controller, an I/O device for use with their Dragon Stop Motion 2.1 stop-frame animation software for Mac or Windows. When used in conjunction with standard DMX protocol dimmer/switcher packs, the DDMX-S2 permits automated, software control of: up to 99 different lighting channels; work lights; front-light/back-light sequences; keyframe based lighting programs. The device also operates as a software controlled trigger for a: RED camera, film camera, or unsupported still camera; motion control system; computer running Dragon Stop Motion. The DDMX-S2 is a USB powered device requiring no adapters or dongles for installation. It uses standard drivers that can be installed through the Help menu of Dragon Stop Motion. It employs a standard, 3-pin XLR socket as a DMX512 protocol lighting control port (a common 3-pin to 5-pin adapter may be necessary). The device drives hundreds of...

Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications told companies not to import “too many” iPhones, as the government tries to cut purchases of luxury items to narrow the trade deficit, reports "Bloomberg" (http://www.thanhniennews.com/2010/Pages/20100507180250.aspx). “Phone companies should carefully consider their import plans of iPhones as well as other related 3G equipment,” the article quotes Nguyen Thanh Hung, vice minister of information and communication, as saying. “We need to economize, and we shouldn’t waste our money on luxury items” as Vietnam struggles with a widening shortfall, Hung said in a telephone interview Wednesday from Hanoi. For the four months through April, Vietnam posted a $4.65 billion trade shortfall, compared with a surplus reported at the same time a year ago. For the year to date, imports surged 36% to $24.81 billion, notes "Bloomberg." Telephone operators and service providers need to carefully work on import plans to avoid “massive” purchases of...

Excel Software (http://www.excelsoftware.com) has updated MacA&D -- a software solution for system analysis, requirements management, software design, code generation and custom reports -- to version 3.1. Enhancements include support for UML 2.2, data flow diagrams, class models and code generation for REALbasic and Objective-C 2.0. MacA&D 3.1 enables a software designer to draw the 14 major diagram types specified by UML 2.2, including newly added support for Component, Component Structure and Timing diagrams. The Timing diagram can show object states with multiple state lines or shaded areas. Diagrams may contain component objects, classes with ports and required or provided interfaces using ball and socket notation. Sequence diagrams can have interaction frames with conditional regions. Data flow diagrams are enhanced to allow links to external child diagrams. A process on one diagram can link to a child diagram in a different document. This enables each developer in a...

Someone is going to be in BIG trouble. A Vietnamese site, "Tinte" (http://www.tinhte.com/threads/408209-Ro-ri-MacBook-nhua-doi-moi), that recently got their hands on a (purported) next gen iPhone is claiming to now have obtained a leaked version of a fresh of the MacBook. According to "Tinte", the MacBook model 7,1 sports a 2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, and has a GeForce 320M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with the main memory. It has a 1280x800 pixel widescreen display, a 250GB 5400 RPM hard drive, and 2GB of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM. If "Tinte" isn't pulling our legs, it's likely we'll see an official announcement of the tweaked MacBook next week. Along with a refreshed MacBook Air, perhaps?

Search warrant documents in an investigation of the possible theft of an iPhone prototype will be made public, , reports "Bloomberg" (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aI8u4GQzoER0). Judge Clifford V. Cretan in Redwood City has ruled against the San Mateo County District Attorney’s office, which argued that unsealing the documents will reveal identities of potential witnesses and compromise the investigation. Media organizations argued they should have access to the documents based on constitutionally protected free-speech rights. The county’s argument relies only on its right to “maintain the security of an ongoing investigation,” Katherine Keating, a lawyer for the media organizations said in an e-mail to "Bloomberg." “What the District Attorney hasn’t done beyond making these vague assertions is explain what exactly is in the records” that justifies keeping them secret in light of “the public’s right of access to judicial records." Based on Apple’s claim...

Forty-four workers in Suzhou, China, are planning to sue Taiwan-based Wintek alleging they were poisoned while cleaning iPhone screens with a chemical called n-hexane, according to Stratfor Global Intelligence (http://www.stratfor.com/). At least 62 Wintek workers have been hospitalized since August 2009 due to n-hexane poisoning, a chemical “which can cause nerve damage and sometimes paralysis, the article adds. The US Department of Labor describes n-hexane this way: "n-Hexane is a narcotic agent; an irritant to the eyes, upper respiratory tract, and skin; and a neurotoxin. Exposure of humans to 5,000 ppm n-hexane for 10 minutes causes marked vertigo; exposure to 1,500 ppm results in headache and slight nausea [Hathaway et al. 1991; Clayton and Clayton 1982]. In industrial settings, exposure to levels exceeding 1,000 ppm have been reported to cause mild symptoms of narcosis [Hathaway et al. 1991]. Eye and upper respiratory tract irritation has been reported to occur in humans...

Apple is now America's third-largest company by stock market value. Over the past three years, its shares have more than doubled in price, while those ofnumber one, Exxon Mobile, and number two, Microsoft, have fallen slightly. If that trend continues, Apple will be America's largest company by year's end, according to a "SmartMoney" report (http://www.smartmoney.com/Investing/Stocks/apple-may-soon-be-americas-la...). Of course, just where Apple ranks by size depends on how you define size. If sales are a better measure of economic weight than stock market value, then Apple is No. 42 -- four spots below Dell. However, "SmartMoney" says that may not be a fair comparison as Apple turns 29 cents of each sales dollar into operating profit, versus a nickel for Dell. And even ranked by net profit, Apple isn't among America's top 10 companies. "That raises a common question about the stock: Have its popularity and price gotten ahead of its underlying economic value?" "SmartMoney" says. "To...

Axure (http://www.axure.com) has nnounced the availability of Axure RP 5.6 for Mac. Previously, the web site and application prototyping tool was available only for Windows. This release brings Axure RP natively to the Mac with all of the key features of its PC counterpart, including wireframing tools, HTML prototype and Word specification generation, and collaboration. It also includes enhancements that improve the usability and make the look and feel consistent for Mac users, says Victor Hsu, president of Axure. Axure is making the licenses cross platform while keeping the price for a single user license at US$589. Each license can be used on two computers so a customer can choose to use Axure RP on a PC and a Mac without an additional cost. In addition, the Mac version is a free upgrade for customers who purchased Axure RP after Feb. 1, 2008. Other customers can purchase a maintenance renewal for $149 per license to use the Mac version. A full-featured 30-day trial is available...

Monkey Tools has released Library Monkey 4.0 for Mac OS X (http://www.monkey-tools.com/librarymonkey/) , an update of the app for organizing your iTunes library according to your criteria. Users can now import their iTunes Database -- including all tracks, metadata, and playlists -- directly into Library Monkey. This feature provides the ability to retain important information created in iTunes, while delivering the management tools that are available only in Library Monkey, says Drayson Nowlan, general manager at Monkey Tools. "Library Monkey goes beyond iTunes and features the powerful and efficient tools our customers have valued for many years." Also new to version 4.0 is the ability to prune missing files and remove any asset from any library. This solves the problem of managing information when working with continually changing libraries. What's more, artwork in media files is now loaded as needed, instead of being loaded during import. "As a result of this and other database...

Active Storage (http://www.activestorage.com) has introduced Innerpool, a new class of RAID storage solution designed to store metadata volumes that are so critical to Media focused SANs (storage area networks). Featuring a "zero U" design, Innerpool resides inside a SAN's Metadata Controller, yet provides on-board RAID storage via 2.5-inch rotating media drives or performance-tuned Intel SSD drives. Innerpool is installed in pairs, one in each Xsan Metadata Controller and hosts the critical Metadata LUN, rather than tasking the storage systems that host data volumes, according to Active Storage CEO Alex Grossman. Innerpool is a patent-pending design self-contained RAID system, based on a pair of PCI Express cards, each that hosts a RAID processor, two ports of 4 Gigabit Fibre Channel and two drives that can be either 7200 RPM 2.5-inch drives, or Intel SSD drives tuned to deliver up to 3.5X performance typically associated with SSD drives. The cards connect one of their two Fibre...

What do connected cars, e-book readers, smartphones and HDTVs have in common? They have all been radically transformed by connectivity. And in the next decade, driven by both consumer demand and market opportunities, many more connected devices will emerge, according to a new report by the Yankee Group (http://www.yankeegroup.com). Data from Yankee Group’s Anywhere Consumer: 2009 U.S. Survey indicates that 55% of consumers highly value connectivity in e-book readers, 50% in MP3 players and 40% in HDTVs. But how can device makers distinguish the next big thing from the also-rans? Yankee Group’s new model evaluates 16 CE devices against 10 business and connectivity attributes, and groups the devices into three segments: ° Anywhere Target Devices, like e-book readers and HDTVs, have the most untapped potential. ° Anywhere Impaired Devices, like game consoles, digital cameras and portable navigation devices, have only a marginal capacity to innovate. ° Anywhere Has-Beens, like computers,...

Zevrix Solutions has updated BatchOutput Server (http://zevrix.com/BatchOutputServer.php), an output workflow automation solution for Adobe InDesign, to version 4.3. The new version adds support for InDesign CS5. Under BatchOutput Server workflow, production artists and prepress operators simply submit files to hotfolders that reside on the network. BatchOutput Server automatically outputs the files from its dedicated station using hotfolder settings, and will auto-activate document fonts as well. BatchOutput 4.3 can be purchased from the Zevrix Solutions web site for US$699.95, as well as from authorized resellers. A demo is available for download. BatchOutput 43 is available for

Sonoma Wire Works has added Kickin' Country to the Discrete Drums (http://www.discretedrums.com) multitrack drum recording library. Kickin' Country features drummer Tony Morra recorded at Downtown Batterie in Nashville, and is produced by Rick DiFonzo, Discrete Drums' founder. The Kickin' Country Pro Set (9GB) includes multitrack WAV files with Pro Tools sessions, stereo REX and WAV files, and one shot samples for US$199. The Kickin' Country Stereo Set (3GB) includes stereo REX and WAV files for $99. Styles included are brushes, ballads, waltz, train, pop and more. The 19 sessions included in Kickin' Country are organized into song parts including verse, chorus, bridge, intros, outros, fills, solos, breaks, and more, making it easy to build great sounding arrangements. Portions of the Kickin' Country drum content are also available as InstantDrummer Sessions for RiffWorks recording software with more on the way. Kickin' Country InstantDrummer iPhone apps will be launching soon....

Apple has updated its iWork components -- Pages, Numbers, and Keynote -- for the iPad to version 1.1. All three apps are now designated version 1.1, and add a couple of minor improvements and support for several languages. Pages 1.1 (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pages/id361309726?mt=8) changes include: ° Support for French, German, Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish; ° Toolbar and ruler are now available in wide-screen landscape view; ° Documents automatically fit to page width in landscape view; ° Enhanced Back/Front slider in the Arrange panel. Numbers 1.1. (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/numbers/id361304891?mt=8)changes include: ° Support for French, German, Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish; ° Enhanced Back/Front slider in the Arrange panel. Keynote 1.1 (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/keynote/id361285480?mt=8) changes include: ° Support for French, German, Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and...

Adobe has released Camera Raw 6.1 Release Candidate (http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Camera_Raw_6.1). It adds support for new cameras. Camera Raw 6.1 also includes new lens correction functionality that can apply profile-based corrections to accommodate geometric distortions, chromatic aberration and lens vignette effects. Manual corrections for geometric distortion as well as vertical and horizontal perspective transforms are also available. A handful of lens profiles are included for automatic correction and more can be created by the community with the Adobe Lens Profile Creator. This release addresses a bug on the Mac platform that could cause Photoshop CS5 to quit unexpectedly when opening a file in the Camera Raw 6.0 plug-in. Version 6.1 also contains performance enhancements designed to improve the responsiveness of the controls and the scrolling mechanism relative to Camera Raw 6.0.

Pegatron Technology has received orders for an iPhone based on CDMA from Apple with annual shipments expected to reach 10 million units., reports"DigiTimes" (http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20100513PD205.html). The orders should start contributing to the Taiwan-based company's revenues in August or September, according to "sources from component makers." If it actually happened, this would be the first time Apple has produced a version of the iPhone for a CDMA wireless network, which is different from AT&T’s GSM technology. Vodafone, co-owner of Verizon Wireless, already sells the iPhone in Europe. Verizon is on DCMA.

Wal-Mart may start selling the iPad this in some U.S. stores as it competes with electronics chains for consumers who want to connect their e-mail, movies, games and music, reports "Bloomberg" (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&tkr=AAPL%3AUS&sid=aFs...). “We anticipate being able to have the iPad later this year,” Gary Severson, senior vice president of entertainment for Wal-Mart’s U.S. stores, said in a telephone interview. Apple has sold more than one million iPads since they went on sale in the U.S. last month. Apple sells the device in its retail stores, online and at Best Buy.

Adobe founders Chuck Genschke and John Warnock have posted an online letter (http://www.adobe.com/choice/openmarkets.html) in regards to the company's ongoing feud ... er, debate ... with Apple on the merits -- or lack thereof -- of Flash. Here's a sampling of the letter: "When markets are open, anyone with a great idea has a chance to drive innovation and find new customers. Adobe's business philosophy is based on a premise that, in an open market, the best products will win in the end — and the best way to compete is to create the best technology and innovate faster than your competitors. "That, certainly, was what we learned as we launched PostScript and PDF, two early and powerful software solutions that work across platforms. We openly published the specifications for both, thus inviting both use and competition. In the early days, PostScript attracted 72 clone makers, but we held onto our market leadership by out-innovating the pack. More recently, we've done the same thing...

South Winds Games, developer of the Airport Mania game, has released Inner Quest (http://www.southwindsgames.com/inner-quest), a game for Mac and Windows systems. It's a puzzle game that costs US$5.95; a demo is available for download. Here's how the game is described: "With Inner Quest you will find yourself immersed in an amazing journey that will help you decrease the wear and tear on your mind from the challenges and hassles of daily life by evoking the same emotions that you have while traveling on a sunny day, going on a picnic with the people you love, or while looking at the stars on a warm night". Inner Quest sports 100 levels, arcade and relaxed modes, and more. The game is available in English, German, Portuguese, Swedish and Spanish in the same download. More information about the game, screen shots, video and demo download are available from South Winds Games online. For unlock codes for game reviewing please South Winds Games online for a review copy specifying your...

Mireth Technology has updated Music Man (http://www.mireth.com/) -- the Mac OS X ripper, converter, burner, player digital music software -- to version 3.0. The upgrade adds the ability to make an iPhone ringtone, adds ID3 tag editor support, adds FLAC and Apple Lossless playback and convert from support, and improved Clip support. Music Man can rip, convert, burn and play MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, AIF, Audio CD, MIDI and Ogg Vorbis on Mac OS X. It also has burning features, such as variable burn quality that allows for burning up to four times as much music on a USB Flash Drive as when using standard burn technology, according to the folks at Mireth. Another feature is the mono mixdown feature, which burns all the music to both the right and left track, so one-ear listening lets you hear both tracks. Music Man is available for immediate download, or on CD-ROM, starting at $24.95. Registered users of Music Man version 2.8.4 can take advantage of this free update. Registered users of...

Yazsoft has updated ShareTool (http://www.yazsoft.com/st/) for Mac OS X, which lets you access all of your Bonjour services from anywhere in the world, to version 2.0. With the new version you can now connect to multiple home/office networks simultaneously. Formerly known as Rendezvous, Bonjour lets you create an instant network of computers and smart devices by getting them connected to each other. ShareTool automatically configures routers supporting NAT-PMP or UPnP. Remote services automatically appear in the Finder, iTunes, and other applications. ShareTool 2.0 costs US$15 for a single-user license, $25 for a two-user license and $45 for a family pack (five licenses). Users that purchased ShareTool 1.x from April 13, 2010 - May 13, 2010 are entitled to a free 2.x upgrade.

Sonnet Technologies has announced the availability of the Fusion Fibre-for-4 package, which offers the Fusion RX1600Fibre rackmount 16-drive RAID 6 Fibre Channel (FC) shared storage system with a 4-port 8Gb FC interface, four 1-port 8Gb Fibre Channel PCIe host adapter cards, four fiber optic cables, and a 4-seat Tiger Technology metaSAN software license. This package is designed for video editors in workgroups of up to four users who want shared access to common data files, have heavy bandwidth requirements, need easy capacity expandability, and require robust data protection, says Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies. Everything needed for setting up four users is included in one box, he adds. Optimized for video editing, the Fusion Fibre-for-4 package provides four users direct high-speed access to stored assets through its 8Gb Fibre Channel ports without the need for a dedicated server. It supports multi-stream, multi-user collaborative workflows, and does so without the...

SMEStorage (http://www.smestorage.com/), a multi-cloud data access provider, has released the second beta of a Mac Cloud Drive that enables up to 10 commercial storage providers to be accessed directly from a virtual drive in Mac Leopard and Snow Leopard Operating Systems. "We are really pleased to announce the second beta of our virtual cloud drive for the Mac," CEO Ian Osborne says. "This drive enables users to access their cloud storage files directly from their shell or Mac Finder. The drive brings cloud computing directly into the Mac OS with over 10 popular Cloud Storage vendors supported, including Amazon S3, Google Docs, Microsoft SkyDrive and RackSpace Cloud Files." Having a virtual Cloud Drive on the Mac fits SME's business strategy of providing data access entry points that overlay all storage clouds and include all operating systems, as well the best of breed mobile vendors, he adds. As part of the next release SME will also be adding sync so that user can have desktop...

At Citrix Synergy 2010 Wyse Technology (http://www.wyse.com) revealed the Wyse Zero engine. It's software designed to simplify the development of cloud connected devices. Wyse Zero, which connects users to cloud computing services and virtual desktops with communications and protocol technology, is already in use in millions of devices, including thin clients, handheld smart devices, and zero clients. Specifically, the Wyse Zero engine is currently powering all devices that are utilizing Wyse ThinOS, all implementations of Wyse PocketCloud and For current users of Wyse ThinOS -- the optimized, "management-free" solution for Citrix XenApp, Citrix XenDesktop, Microsoft Terminal Server and VMware View virtual desktop environments, Wyse Zero ensures that every Wyse thin client delivers flexible and secure user access, boots-up in seconds, updates itself automatically, and delivers IT managers with simple, scalable administration to suit their organization's needs; all while featuring an...

Pragmatic Bookshelf has released "Cocoa Programming: A Quick-Start Guide for Developers" (http://oreilly.com/catalog/9781934356302/?utm_content=em-pb-pr-Cocoa+Pro...), an $32.90, 280-page book by Daniel Steinberg that looks at Apple's Cocoa frameworks. The author shows readers the shortcuts, best resources, and places to avoid. He presents best practices and insider tips for finding more information. Readers will finish the book as Cocoa programmers, primarily for desktop Mac OS X but with portability to the iPhone, iPad, and mobile platforms, Steinberg says. As early as the second chapter, they'll use Apple's Xcode and Interface Builder dev tools to create a web browser, then they'll dive into the square brackets and unique syntax of Objective-C, the language of Cocoa. Throughout the four sections of the book, Steinberg emphasizes the wisdom of using and reusing all the methods, classes, tools, and resources built into the Cocoa frameworks. The book begins with you creating an...

Extending the use of its 3D content and toolsets toward game developers, DAZ 3D-Gizmoz (http://developer.daz3d.com/) has released the Digimi Game Developer Kit, which allows users of DAZ Studio to create and customize 3D characters and directly export them into a game engine. DAZ 3D-Gizmoz has additionally instated a brand new content catalog, dedicated specifically to game developers, which further enhances game development possibilities by providing fully licensed content and models for distribution within any project or pipeline, says DAZ 3D-Gizmoz President Eyal Gever. The developer kit includes the following tools: ° Decimator for DAZ Studio -- enabling drastic polygon reduction to complete models or selected objects by either a percentage or fixed number of polygons, users may utilize the decimator to create any number of Levels of Detail to accommodate any game engine. 
° Texture Atlas for DAZ Studio -- users can combine, size, scale or convert their textures into a single...

China Mobile, China's dominant mobile carrier, is interested in selling the iPad in China, the company's chairman said -- as reported by "Reuters" (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64B0PS20100512?feedType=RSS&feedNa...) The company was also talking to Apple about developing a next-generation iPhone that runs on TD-SCDMA, the home-grown third-generation (3G) mobile standard being used by China Mobile, Chairman Wang Jianzhou said at the company's annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday. In related news, the "Wall Street Journal" (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870333930457523974412765171...) says that China Unicom said it expects to provide "hundreds of millions" of dollars of subsidies to users who buy the iPhone and other smartphones for use on the Chinese carrier's high-speed wireless network. Unicom Executive Director Lu Yimin said the company plans subsidies this year for third-generation, or 3G, mobile phones of three billion yuan to five billion yuan, or...

Another day, another lawsuit. Apple is being sued for patent infringement by a company called Softview over the way it displays mobile content on its iPhone and iPod touch devices, reports "The Loop" (http://www.loopinsight.com/2010/05/12/apple-sued-over-safari-web-browser...). According to court documents filed in the District of Delaware, Softview alleges that Apple is infringing on its so-called ‘353 patent, issued to Gary Rohrabaugh and Scott Sherman, and owned by Softview. The patent describes the “Scalable Display of Internet Content on Mobile Devices.” AT&T is also being sued since it sells the iPhone in the U.S. Softview is asking the court for a preliminary and permanent injunction against Apple, and an unspecified amount of cash, notes "The Loop." SoftView (http://softview.us/index.html) makes a vector graphic display system and web browser for PDAs, cell phones, and other Internet devices. It includes vector graphic viewers and web browsers for PDA, Cell Phone, Smart...

Taptu (http://www.taptu.com), a search and discovery engine that indexes touch screen content, reveals in its second quarterly report that the mobile touch web has grown 35% since last quarter, which represents a 232% annual growth rate. This puts its growth rate ahead of the Apple App Store, currently showing an annual growth of 144%, but behind the Android Market growing at an annual rate of 403%, albeit from a smaller base. The report, which covers January 2010-April 2010, also shows mobile touch web sites rose to 440,100 from 326,600 in January. At this current run rate, the report predicts that the mobile touch web will increase to 1.1 million sites by the end of the year, nearly twice Taptu’s original forecast, and nearly a full year ahead of its January prediction, fueled in part by the continued consumer love affair with touch screen phones, and even more importantly the rising sales of mid-range touch-enabled devices.

Zevrix Solutions (http://www.zevrix.com) has updated InPreflight Pro -- its quality control, packaging automation and preflight reporting solution for Adobe InDesign -- to version 2.8. The new version makes InPreflight compatible with InDesign CS5, improves user interface, and addresses some performance issues. Both Pro and Studio versions are updated. InPreflight provides a preflight solution for service providers, printers, ad agencies, designers and publishing houses. It gathers information about document fonts, colors and links and lets users locate potential problems according to preflight presets. The software is also a packaging automation solution that allows users to preflight and package multiple documents. Among other abilities, it can collect all files into one folder, eliminating the need to collect the same links multiple times for each design. In addition, InPreflight lets users print graphic preflight reports and save them as fully searchable interactive PDF files,...

App4Mac has updated wKiosk Browser (http://www.app4mac.com/wkiosk.html), a web browser designed for Internet kiosk applications, has now up to version 6. It's a Mac OS X solution for presenting web-based content (HTML, Flash, PDF, videos, etc.) and applications on public access terminals with or without access to the Internet. Version 6 is fully optimized for Mac OS X 10.6 ("Snow Leopard"). It'a also rewritten in Objective C 2.0 with a Cocoa framework (instead of Carbon) and is powered by the most recent version of Apple webkbit engine (compliant to Acid 3 test / HTML 5). There are various other improvements as well. You can use wKiosk to individually restrict access to web sites, the operating system, system settings, and applications. Your computer will be protected against any manipulation from the time you boot until you shut it down. Since wKiosk is built with Apple Safari Engine, you will benefit from all the features the browser has to offer (Flash, QuickTime, Real Audio,...

Freeridecoding has released BurnAgain FS 1.5 (http://freeridecoding.com/burnagainfs), an update of the CD/DVD multisession burning application for Mac OS X. The upgrade brings a number of bug fixes and improvements for Mac OS X 10.6 ("Snow Leopard"). Disks burned with BurnAgain FS are readable without additional software on all platforms. The software automatically preserves special Mac file attributes (resource forks) as well. BurnAgain FS works with Mac OS X 10.5 ("Leopard") and higher. It costs approximately US$14; version 1.5 is a free update for registered users. A demo is available at the Freeridecoding web site.

Dexim (http://www.dexim.net) has released the US$79.95 DCA199 Foldable Solar-Powered P-Flip for the iPhone 3G and 3GS and iPod. Purportedly capable of extending talk time up to eight hours, video or game time up to 15 hours, or audio playing time up to 60 hours. The DCA199 is equipped with a 2000 mAh lithium polymer battery and two camouflage-colored solar panels that receive a charge from the sun. The DCA199 can flip horizontally or vertically for hands-free video viewing, or fold together for easy storage and carrying. To obtain a full charge, the DCA199 takes around 15 hours of exposure to natural sunlight. Users can also still charge and sync their device using the included micro USB cable. 

Video-Recorder.net has released Easy Video Recorder for Mac 1.2 (http://www.video-recorder.net/order.html), an update of the screen-to-video capture application for Mac OS X that lets you record your desktop screen activity QuickTime movies for later playback. With the new version you can add your own text to video and more. You can record: the entire desktop, a desktop region or a specified window; sound from all possible audio devices and synchronize voice narration with video in frame; with date and time; actual cursor or custom cursor; and record from your webcam, screen or video input device. With Easy Video Recorder, any application that runs on your Mac can be recorded, both video and audio. You can use the software for Mac to create demo videos to demonstrate how to use your software, You can record web cams from AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, Record DVD, VCD, MPEG, MP4, or other video media. Easy Video Recorder works with Mac OS X 10.5 or higher. It has a suggested...

Algoriddim has released djay 3.1.1, an update of the music software application for Mac and iTunes. The new version offers enhanced support for djay Remote for the iPhone/iPod touch and compatibility with Apple's Magic Mouse. In addition, djay 3.1.1 offers compatibility with inertial scrolling for the new MacBook Pro and naive MIDI support for a variety of devices. djay is available for a free 15-day trial or for purchase from the Algoriddim web site (http://www.djay-software.com). It costs US$49.95. Version 3.1.1 is a free update for registered users.

Eighty percent of developers in North America think they should receive more than 70% of the revenue generated by their apps in an app store according to the Spring North American Development Survey, an in-depth survey of over 400 developers conducted last month by Evans Data Corp. (http://www.evansdata.com), which provides regularly updated IT industry market intelligence based on in-depth surveys of the global developer population. Perhaps consequentially, app stores are the preferred distribution model for only 15% of North American developers, with over half preferring direct sales to end-users or enterprises. Additionally, developers bridle against app store imposed restrictions on price and content. Over 70% thought that app stores should not impose any restrictions on price, and while a third thought content restrictions were acceptable, almost half thought there should be none at all. "Virtually all of the best known app stores have fallen in line directly with the 30 / 70...

The NPD research group recently reported that the market share for Google’s Android platform was now higher than the iPhone’s. Apple disagrees and tells the "Wall Street Journal" (http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/05/10/android-vs-the-iphone-the-battle-...) the info is "limited" and misleading. Apple points to other figures out recently from IDC indicating that the iPhone has 16.1% of the smart-phone market on a world-wide basis. Those figures put the iPhone well ahead of Android handset makers HTC and Motorola. “This is a very limited report on 150,000 U.S. consumers responding to an online survey and does not account for the more than 85 million iPhone and iPod touch customers world-wide,” Apple spokeswoman Natalie Harrison told the "Journal" in speaking of the NPD report. “We had a record quarter with iPhone sales growing by 131%, and with our new iPhone OS 4.0 software coming this summer, we see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon."

Creative online crooks have been ripping off Apple gift card holders for more than a month, according to security software vendor Symantec. "eSecurity Planet" (http://www.esecurityplanet.com/features/article.php/3881231/Phishing-Sca...) says the phishing scam "requires a little bit of luck for the bad guys and lot of naivety on the part of the card holder." The con artists set up a phishing site using a typosquatted URL -- a URL that's a deliberate misspelling of Apple or some derivation of Apple's online store -- and then lies in wait for those folks who hastily typed in the erroneous address. Once the page is loaded, the bogus site appears to be a legitimate Apple site, complete with the correct customer support phone number and the same look and feel of Apple's consumer web sites. "With the hook baited, the crooks try to reel in consumers by providing what looks like a safe and simple way for card holders to check the balance on their Apple gift cards," notes "eSecurity Planet." "...

The United States Computer Emergency Readiness team (US-CERT) is warning that Safari contains a vulnerability in the handling of window objects, which may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system. "Apple Safari fails to properly handle references to window objects. Safari can allow a window object to be deleted while references to the object may still exist," US-CERT says "If JavaScript code then attempts to use the deleted window object, this can result in the use of an invalid pointer. This pointer can be controlled by an attacker through the use of JavaScript. Exploit code for this vulnerability is publicly available. We have confirmed Apple Safari 4.0.5 on the Windows platform to be vulnerable. Other versions may also be affected." By convincing a victim to view an HTML document (web page, HTML email, or email attachment) with Apple Safari, an attacker could run arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running the application...

Boris FX (http://www.borisfx.com) has announced that Boris Continuum Complete 7 AE (BCC 7 AE) is now available. BCC 7 AE brings over 200 filters to the Mac and Windows versions of Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro CS5, CS4, and CS3. The new release features 11 new filters including a 3-way color grade filter with built-in keying and masking tools, a video noise reduction tool, a spline-based warp filter, an audio-driven keyframe generator, a new OpenGL particle engine, and still and video morph technology. Each Boris Continuum Complete filter has been re-engineered for 64-bit operating systems and OpenGL acceleration. Boris Continuum Complete 7 AE is available immediately through the Boris FX worldwide reseller channel and direct through the Boris FX web site at a manufacturer's suggested retail price of US$995. Owners of previous versions of Boris Continuum Complete AE may upgrade for $295. Customers who purchased Boris Continuum Complete 6 AE as of April 12, 2010 are eligible to...

The Support Group (http://www.supportgroup.com/) has announced an online resource for everything FileMaker -- news, discussions, downloads, just for fun, tips & tricks, and videos. Get ( Answers ) is a new feature added to FileMaker: Explore, the Support Group's free blog. User questions, comments, and suggested discussion topics are all encouraged. A complement to FileMaker's own Knowledge Base and Forum, FileMaker: Explore aims to be more informal, personal, immediate, whimsical, idiosyncratic, flexible, and entertaining, according to Chad Novotny, principal and vice president of The Support Group. Lengthy technical articles will be side by side with personal reflections and simple tips. "This new focus, Get ( Answers ), provides much more interaction with our audience and allows us to address a wider range of FileMaker topics to ensure they are timely and even more relevant to our visitors," he adds. FileMaker: Explore, which has been visited by thousands of FileMaker users...

Final Cut Pro Templates has launched Drop Zones Vol 2 (http://finalcutprotemplates.com). This new, US$120 pack of Master Templates offers 48 new options for introducing and removing video clips with 3D animation. Because Drop Zones Vol 2 is based on Apple's Master Template architecture, editors can use Drop Zones Vol 2 inside Final Cut Pro, saving the time and expense of a visit to a VFX shop, according to Sam Liberto, creative director at Final Cut Pro Templates. Drop Zones Vol 2 is available in a 1080p resolution at 30fps, 25fps, and 24fps. It also comes in NTSC DV and PAL DV options. The Templates work in both Final Cut Pro 6 and Final Cut Pro 7, as well as Motion version 3 and higher. The Final Cut Pro Templates web site also received a fresh update with a series of tutorials highlighting the new features of Drop Zones Vol 2. One video explains how Drop Zones functionality has improved in this release with the ability to import a tall image without cropping the top and bottom.

Noise Industries, developer of visual effects tools for the post-production and broadcast markets, says its development partner, Yanobox, has released Yanobox Nodes for the FxFactory platform. Yanobox Nodes is a visual effects generator designed to work inside Apple Final Cut Pro products, Apple Motion and Adobe After Effects CS3/CS4/CS5. Its toolset provides artists with the ability to link together graphics and text for the creation of 3D animations leveraging the speed of a GPU accelerated platform. Users can distribute graphics and text in 3D space into various shapes such as spheres, circles, and spirals and connect them with a succession of dancing lines and curves. The dynamic user interface enables parameter customization and built-in oscillation, and key-framing abilities add to animation options. Users can further personalize each visual narrative by adding custom images to nodes. Yanobox Nodes is available for $99 USD via the Noise Industries website (http://www....

Pomola Software has updated Mac Shutdown X (http://pomola.com/products_macshutdown/macshutdown.html), a Mac OS X utility for shutting down a Mac on a specified event or on a specified date and time, to version 1.5.1. The upgrade adds an "Open page test" option in the "Shutdown from Web Page" section, as well as an improved algorithm. Mac Shutdown X costs US$20. Version 1.5.1 is a free update for registered users. The software is Universal Binary so runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs. It requires Mac OS X 10.4 or higher.

At the 2010 Streaming Media East Conference, Adobe announced major new advancements to the Adobe Flash platform (http://www.adobe.com/go/flashaccess), the company's design and development platform for creating and delivering content, video and applications that run across operating systems and devices. Highlights include the immediate availability of Adobe Flash Access 2.0 software, a content protection solution that enables the distribution and monetization of premium video content, which can help create new sources of revenue for media publishers. In addition, Adobe is also showcasing HTTP Dynamic Streaming, a new protocol support for media streaming on the Flash Platform; and the Open Source Media Framework, to accelerate development of custom media players. These powerful new Flash media delivery tools come in advance of the releases of Flash Player 10.1 and Adobe AIR 2, which are optimized for high performance on mobile screens and designed to take advantage of native device...

Sorenson Media (http://www.sorensonmedia.com) has launched the Sorenson 360 v2 online video platform (OVP) at the Streaming Media East 2010 conference. Coming to market exactly one year after the platform’s initial launch, Sorenson 360 v2 has been created specifically to address the needs of the enterprise online video marketplace and to compete aggressively in the space by offering customers a rich differentiated set of powerful features and the highest-quality video in the marketplace, according to Sorenson CEO Peter Csathy. An enhanced feature set enables Sorenson Media to compete for leadership in the enterprise marketplace, anchored by the ability to integrate a full range of custom solutions for any size client, he adds. New features in Sorenson 360 v2 include: ° Video management capabilities that enable customers to manage any number of videos in folders and subfolders, and to coordinate multiple users and accounts; ° RTMP (Real Time Messenger Protocol) streaming with...

Kensington Computer Products Group has released the US$79.99 Wireless Presenter Pro with Green Laser Pointer (http://us.kensington.com/html/13361.html). It provides an "ultra-bright" green laser, an extended 150 foot wireless range, four intuitive control buttons, a USB receiver that stores inside and a travel case. According to Bill Rathbone, Kensington global product marketing manager, studies have proven that the human eye is naturally more sensitive to green than red light, thus making a green laser presenter brighter than a standard red laser. Green laser technology, which is as much as 10 times more visible than comparably powered red lasers, will also stand out more against today’s brighter projectors, plasma displays, LCDs or bright rooms, he adds. The Kensington Wireless Presenter Pro with Green Laser Pointer will work on virtually any screen or surface. The Kensington Wireless Presenter Pro with Green Laser Pointer is a 2.4 GHz wireless device with an extended 150-foot...