Just got a note from a MacTech reader who is selling his pretty amazing collection of Apple memorabilia in order to pay for his wife's surgery. "Apple Memorabilia Collectibles Sale for a good cause! Hello there MacTech... you don't know me, but I'm a fan of your magazine. Thanks for that! Very useful, indeed. Can't afford a sub just now, until wifey gets better, which brings me to... I'm writing you to ask for your help... my wife needs some surgery, and we don't have healthcare insurance, so... I'm liquidating my absolutely amazing Mac memorabilia collection. I've been collecting all this great stuff for over 25 years, and it breaks my heart to sell it all, but my sweet wife is a lot more important to me than my collection! http://www.saldanah.com/applesale Blair Saldanah"

PureCM (http://www.purecm.com/) has announced the latest version of their software configuration management solution, PureCM 2009-1. This new release allows companies of any size to benefit from automated yet fully versioned parallel development without incurring the administrative overhead or price tag of other solutions in the market, according to Stephen Worthington, development manager at PureCM. With economic pressure still rising and software development companies looking for ways to achieve more with less, streamlining the development process can offer a welcome solution to increase productivity. PureCM 2009-1 helps development managers to do so supporting agile best practices and reducing human error by automating tasks. According to Worthington, defining a project hierarchy and introducing branching is but the initial challenge to parallel development. "Once you know how you want to work, a number of solutions will allow you to create branches for teams or individual features...

Two colors that personify spring, Pink and Yellow, aren't just for Easter eggs anymore. Speck today introduced two wonderfully jovial vernal colors -- Hot Pink and High Noon Yellow -- to its SeeThru Satin soft-touch, hard shell case offerings for the new aluminum unibody 13" MacBook and 15" MacBook Pro notebooks. For images of the new cases, please visit http://www.speckproducts.com/content/seethru-satin-for-macbook "We've had a tremendous response to our SeeThru Satin hard shells since their introduction last year," said Irene Baran, CEO of Speck. "The new colors are delightfully cheerful and stand out in a crowd with an explosion of color. They're sure to brighten up anyone's living room, bedroom, or office and just in time for spring and summer." Designed exclusively for the new 13" MacBook and 15" MacBook Pro, the SeeThru Satin hard shell snuggly protects your MacBook like a perfectly-sized, custom-fit glove. The smooth-to-the-touch rubberized exterior finish gives the MacBook a...

At this week's National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas, Nevada, EditShare (http://www.editshare.com), which specializes in cross platform collaborative editing and shared media storage systems, and Automatic Duck (http://www.automaticduck.com), which makes timeline transition products, said they're teaming up to solve workflow productivity issues for postproduction facilities and editing workgroups collaborating on shared media files across disparate editing platforms. As a result of this technology partnership, EditShare is integrating key timeline translation technology from Automatic Duck's Pro Import FCP and Pro Export FCP solutions into EditShare's Flow Universal Media File technology. EditShare's Universal Media File technology allows a single media file to be used simultaneously by Apple and Avid editors. The resulting integration enables mixed Avid and Final Cut editing environments to instantly access and edit media files, with entire timelines in tact...

Aleratec (http://www.aleratec.com) -- a developer and manufacturer of solutions for the USB, Flash, HDD, Blu-ray, DVD/CD, duplicating, and publishing markets -- is featuring its new 1:5 HDD Cruiser, a hard disk drive duplicator and sanitizer all in one unit, for Earth Day 2009. Gartner reported recently that in one year there were 160 million personal computers disposed of worldwide, which amounts to 460,000 a day. Of these 41 percent were stored, 32 percent were put in landfills, and 27 percent recycled. The Aleratec HDD Cruiser is aimed at increasing the recycled percentage, says Perry Solomon, president and CEO of Aleratec. Hard drives can be wiped clean and reused with no worry about confidential information being compromised, he adds. The 1:5 HDD Cruiser will duplicate up to five HDDs simultaneously, and it can sanitize up to 6 HDDs to assure that confidential data is unreadable. Once the drives have been sanitized they can be reformatted with new operating systems and...

Eizo Nanao Technologies (http://www.eizo.com/) has announced the ColorEdge CG232W, a full high-definition 22.5-inch LCD monitor for broadcast and post-production that can be used for both reference and editing work. Mostly geared at professional users, this monitor is expected to be priced around US$12,500. According to the folks at Eizo, the ColorEdge CG232W is the first monitor for post-production and broadcasting to offer this dual functionality. Studio professionals can now conduct all their work on one monitor whereas they previously needed both a master monitor for reference (playback) and a desktop monitor for editing. This delivers significant cost savings while eliminating the problem of trying to match colors between different monitors, says Eizo. The ColorEdge CG232W comes with multiple input support including DVI-D, and D-Sub to facilitate direct connection to broadcast and studio sources as well as desktop computers. The monitor uses an IPS (in-plane switching) panel...

At this week's National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas, Nevada, LaCie (http://www.lacie.com) announced three new product combinations for video professionals: the 4big Quadra Bundle, which boasts capacities up to 32TB and transfer speeds up to 700MB/second, and new 8TB and 16TB models of the 4big Quadra. LaCie 4big Quadra is a four-bay RAID solution featuring four hot-swappable disks and seven RAID modes including RAID0 and RAID5. You can strip two or more 4big Quadra and connect them via eSATA using the LaCie eSATA II PCI Express Card 3Gb/s. The LaCie 4big Quadra Bundle gives users a choice of combining two 4big Quadra for up to 8TB and 400MB/s transfer speeds, or four 4big Quadra for up to 32TB and 700 MB/s transfer speeds. Featuring three options for customization, the LaCie 4big Quadra Bundle includes the choice of two or four 4big Quadra, a LaCie eSATA II PCI Express Card 3Gb/s -- 4Ports, and a LaCie Rescue Kit (available with Bundles 16TB and 32TB). The...

At this week's National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas, Nevada, Nvidia announced it's bringing its NVidia Quadro FX 4800 graphics card to Mac Pro users. It's on display at the Nvidia NAB 2009 booth: SL 7906, lower South Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center. To address the direct needs of the Mac user, the new Quadro FX 4800 GPU for Mac features a standard three-pin stereo connector for true 3D stereoscopic imaging, which is critical to many core professional Mac applications, according to Jeff Brown, general manager, Professional Solutions, Nvidia. The Quadro FX 4800 GPU dynamically allocates compute, geometry, shading and pixel processing power, he adds. The GPU also offers an 1.5GB frame buffer and memory bandwidth up to 76.8 GB/second. Nvidia's CUDAT parallel computing architecture for the Quadro GPUs enables "breakthrough application performance to enhance creative expression in areas such as video, animation, photography and production," says Brown. The...

Atebits hsa introduced Tweetie for Mac, an extension to its iPhone/iPhone Twitter client. Tweetie for Mac will bring the renowned performance and usability of the iPhone version to the desktop, plus more, according to Loren Brichter, President and Founder of Atebits. He adds that "it's more than a port -- in fact, it's a complete rewrite." The new core is faster, more stable, and more extensible than its predecessor. Not only will it form the foundation of the Mac version, but also the foundation of the next generation of Tweetie 2.0 for iPhone, Brichter says. Tweetie for Mac is available as a free, full-featured version with ads powered by FusionAds.net. Registration will disable the ads, licenses are available for a two-week introductory price of US$14.95 (normally $19.95). For more information and to download Tweetie for Mac, head over to http://www.atebits.com/tweetie-mac/

Extend Studio (http://www.extendstudio.com) has released FusionCharts for Dreamweaver (Developer Edition). This is a Dreamweaver charting extension designed to help developers and designers create animated, interactive and data-driven Flash charts in Dreamweaver CS3 and CS4. FusionCharts for Dreamweaver offers support for an array of server-side languages, including PHP, ASP, ColdFusion and, soon, JSP and ASP.NET. The data used for plotting the charts can be pulled from virtually any database system supported by Dreamweaver including MS SQL, My SQL, PostgreSQL. FusionCharts for Dreamweaver offers 34 types of 2D/3D charts, including line, area, bar, column, pie, doughnut (donut), combination, scroll charts and more . The charts are animated and interactive. The interactivity options include tooltips, rotation, switching from 3D to 2D and then back again, and even slicing the wedges in a pie chart. An integrated query builder helps the user select tables and aggregate data with just a...

NetGear, a provider of branded networking solutions, has announced the ProSecure UTM family of appliances, the first line of Unified Threat Management (UTM) appliances designed for small businesses. The ProSecure UTM line, which initially consists of the UTM10 and UTM25 appliances, leverages security technologies from security partners and NetGear's patent-pending Stream Scanning technology. In addition, the ProSecure UTM appliances come with subscription options without any per-user licensing. NetGear will display its full line of ProSecure solutions, including the recently announced STM Series of Web and Email Threat Management appliances for medium-sized businesses, in booth number 1757 at the RSA 2009 conference and trade show in San Francisco, April 20-24. The UTM10 and UTM25 will be available in July from value-added resellers and leading direct marketers at an estimated U.S. street price starting at $375 with a two-year warranty. More information is available at http://...

Mariner Software (http://www.marinersoftware.com) has announced t the pending release of Mariner Paperless 1.0, a rebranded version of the Mac OS X software, ReceiptWallet, that was acquired by Mariner earlier this year. Along with this rebranding, all sales, support, customer service and development is now under the Mariner umbrella. Mariner Paperless allows users to scan or import receipts and other varieties of paperwork while optical character recognition (OCR) and other data entry aids, help recognize and categorize your receipts and documents as PDFs. Then, built-in search functionality helps you find and organize receipts and documents into collections, making paper copies redundant for routine tasks such as record keeping and bookkeeping. Michael Wray, president of Mariner Software, says other features of Mariner Paperless include the ability to: track expenses for tax purposes; create expense reports to manage business and personal expenses; create searchable PDF files for...

Version 7 of DivX 7 for the Mac (http://www.divx.com/en/products/software/mac/divx) is here. The app lets you play digital videos on your Mac, including high definition H.264 (.mkv) videos with AAC audio and videos created using all previous versions of DivX technology. You can also play your DivX files (.divx, .avi) on millions of DivX Certified devices. The free DivX for Mac download includes trial versions of the DivX Pro Codec (a six-month trial) and DivX Converter (a 15-day trial). You can purchase DivX Pro 7 for Mac for $19.99 to get full versions of DivX Pro Codec and DivX Converter.

Boris FX (http://www.borisfx.com), a developer of integrated effects technology for video and film, has posted a public beta of Boris Continuum Complete 6 FxPlug (BCC 6 FxPlug) for Apple pro video applications. BCC 6 FxPlug brings over 200 filters to Apple Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Final Cut Express. In addition to new features included with the recently-released Boris Continuum Complete 6 AE for Adobe -- such as Extruded Text, Splines, and Shapes -- BCC 6 FxPlug takes advantage of Apple FxPlug's real-time architecture for simultaneous live previews of dozens of preset transitions, glows, and color and film look effects in a newly-designed effects browser window. Code-named "Popcorn", this new technology delivers the best of Boris on Apple's FxPlug platform, says Boris Yamnitsky, founder and president of Boris FX. The initial release of BCC 6 FxPlug will feature over a dozen new FxPlug Shaders. Many of the FxPlug Shaders draw on BCC strengths such as lights, keying, and 3D. FxPlug...

Apple has announced that movies from major film studios including Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM), The Walt Disney Studios, Sony Pictures Television and independents including Universum and Shorts International are now available on the iTunes Store in Germany for purchase and rent (http://www.itunes.de). Making its debut with over 500 Hollywood and German films, the iTunes Store offers favorites including "Quantum Of Solace," "The Dark Knight," "Pineapple Express," "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," "Eagle Eye," "Die Fälscher," "Keinohrhasen" and "Aimee & Jaguar." Movies are available for purchase on the iTunes Store on the same day as their DVD release, and can be viewed on an iPod with video, iPhone, Mac or PC or on a widescreen TV with Apple TV. With iTunes Movie Rentals, once a movie is rented, it starts downloading from the iTunes Store directly to iTunes or Apple TV. Customers have up to 30 days to start watching it, and once a...

Media 100 (http://www.media100.com), a provider of advanced editing systems for the corporate, broadcast, postproduction, and new media industries, has announced Media 100 Suite, next-generation Media 100 software with Multicam Editing and Boris RED for US$1,295. In addition to AJA video I/O cards, Media 100 Suite supports Matrox MXO2 for portable, broadcast-quality input/output, monitoring, and up/down/cross conversion. Media 100 Suite also includes a new Voice Over Tool for audio recording direct to the Media 100 timeline. Wickham Strub, product manager, Media 100, says feature highlights of Media 100 Suite include: * Multicam Editing. Media 100 Suite's new Multicam Editing feature facilitates real-time editing. Cameras can be added to an existing multiclip as their source media becomes available, allowing editors to begin cutting a multicam shoot faster. Cameras can be synced via timecode, sync marks, or in-points. When syncing via timecode, additional footage can even be assigned...

Divine Fiat (http://www.divinefiat.com) has released Concrete & Cardboard, a theme set for Keynote. Keynote is Apple's presentation component of the US$79 iWork suite. Concrete & Cardboard consists of two themes named "Concrete" and "Cardboard." According to the folks at Divine Fiat, Concrete is a complete one eighty from the slick look of the Mac and Apple's marketing style. The scarred blacktop and painted on caution stripes allows you to be bold in your presentations by going concrete and steel instead of plastic and glass, they say. Despite its name the Cardboard theme has a subtle and refined way of presenting your ideas and images, according to the folks at Divine Fiat. Both themes provide customizable icon objects, as well as color and texture palettes. Video tutorials on how to achieve some unique Concrete & Cardboard looks are also included. The individual themes can be purchased for $26 each. The Concrete & Cardboard Theme Set can be purchased for $46.80.

LaCie (http://www.lacie.com) has announced the Rugged XL, a new consumer desktop drive that leverages the design and features of the legacy Rugged Hard Disk, including a 1TB capacity boost. Rugged XL offers aluminum casing for protection, as well as the signature orange rubber sleeve. It also features an internal bumper and heat dissipating features. The Rugged XL is compatible with both Mac and PC environments. In addition, it supports two interfaces: USB for universal compatibility, and the extreme speed of eSATA 3Gb/s. The new drive also includes a software bundle for formatting with LaCie Setup Assistant, as well as Intego Backup Assistant software for Mac users. The LaCie Rugged XL will be available in a 1TB capacity, through the LaCie Online Store, LaCie Reseller+ or LaCie Storage Partner starting at the suggested retail price of US$159.99.

SmartSound Software, a provider of music solutions for the video industry, has launched a new plug-in (http://www.smartsound.com/finalcutpro) for Apple's video editing software, Final Cut Pro. The plug-in integrates SmartSound Sonicfire Pro 5 with Final Cut Pro to automatically edit and deliver customized music soundtracks. SmartSound Sonicfire Pro 5 is a music solution offering such features as Mood Mapping and Timing Control which work with a large collection of customizable music. Now integrated with Final Cut Pro, these features enable control over a variety of dynamic music elements. With the release of SmartSound's new Final Cut Pro plug-in, editors will be able to set markers or in/out points in their video sequence and use the Sonicfire Pro 5 "Send To" button to automatically deliver custom-fit music tracks within any of their markers. Once a SmartSound music track is in Final Cut Pro, the "Open in Editor" command will allow full roundtrip editing of the track. Editors can use...

Group Logic has introduced native Microsoft Distributed File System (DFS) support for Macs with the release of ExtremeZ-IP 6.0 (http://www.grouplogic.com/products/extremeZ-IP/?fa=latest-features). The latest version also delivers support for Network Spotlight, the full content search function for Mac users. Together, these important new features give organizations the ability to provide both Mac and Windows users with the same level of network compatibility, file and print sharing capabilities in Windows-based infrastructures, says Derick Naef, chief technology officer for Group Logic. As companies with Macs look to deploy DFS in order to improve the manageability, reliability, and performance of their file server infrastructure, ExtremeZ-IP's support for DFS is critical to providing "compatibility without compromise," he adds. ExtremeZ-IP 6.0 provides full virtual DFS Namespace access to Mac clients on Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5 and supports full DFS replication and site costing....

Other World Computing (http://www.macsales.com) has announced the new Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2, a plug and play desktop hardware RAID storage solution that features a quad interface of FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0, and eSATA ports. It also sports four Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive bays and four user selectable hardware RAID settings. The Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2 offers up to 8TB of total storage capacity and data transfer speeds up to 300MB/second. A front panel selector switch provides configuration of the four hardware RAID settings: 0, 1, 5, 10, as well as a Span (NRAID) setting, for the best level of speed, capacity, or redundancy; or any desired combination of the three operations. The OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2 is available in seven configurations: ° 2TB OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2 (500GB x 4 w/64MB cache), US$679.99; ° 3TB OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2 (750GB x 4 w/128MB cache), $849.99; ° 4TB OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2 (1TB x 4 w/128MB cache), $979.99; ° 6TB OWC...

Tension Software has released Url Extractor X 3.0 (http://pomola.com/products_urlextractor/urlextractor.html). Url Extractor X is a Mac OS X app for extracting emails address and generic URLs from files on the HD or directly from the web using a list of "starting" web addresses and working unattended after the startup. Url Extractor can extract thousands of URLs from the web starting from a single web page and using "cross navigation" and extraction. With version 3.0, it allows you to specify a series of keywords, then it searches web pages related to the keywords via search engines and start a cross navigation of the pages collecting URLs. Url Extractor requires Mac OS X 10.4 or higher and costs US$30. It's Universal Binary so runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs.

Napatech (http://www.napatech.com) has introduced a new member to their NT4 family of four-port 1 Gbps Ethernet network adapters for PCI-Express. The new adapter is named NT4E-STD and is an enhanced PCI-Express version of the Napatech XD adapter for PCI-X. The NT4E-STD provides 4 x 1 Gbps Ethernet ports, doubling the number of interfaces currently provided by the XD Adapter. The NT4E-STD also provides complete RMON1 standard support, allowing full off-load of statistics collection from host CPUs. In addition to PCI-Express and RMON1 support, the NT4E-STD provides a number of additional enhancements to the XD feature set: ° Support for 4 x 1 Gbps ports both electrical RJ45 and Optical SFP versions; ° Support for additional DDR2 RAM for data burst buffering up to 4GB; ° Fixed Slicing functionality for payload discard; ° Support for multiple CPU cores via 1, 2, 3 or 4 host buffers with individual statistics. The NT4E-STD uses the same API (application programming interfaces) and...

QuickerTek has announced an extended life battery (US349.95) for all models of the Apple MacBook Air. The company says users gain eight to 12 hours of additional battery power beyond the power of the built-in battery. This is the only product that charges the internal battery of the MacBook Air while in use. New technology allows 25 percent more power from a smaller physical size battery, according to the folks at QuickerTek. This produces not only a smaller battery, but also longer battery power. Customers can either send in their MacBook Air MagSafe power adapter for an upgrade ($25), or buy an already-upgraded MagSafe adapter for use with the new MacBook Air External Battery Charger ($100). For more info go here: http://www.quickertek.com/products/macbook_air_charger.php

HP has released a software update for the HP MediaSmart Server (EX485/EX487 models), providing remote video streaming and video conversion of unprotected content. The new software enables the HP MediaSmart Server to automatically convert videos (including unprotected DVDs) into two resolutions. The original, high-resolution file will stream to most devices on a home network including PCs, Macs and gaming systems. The mobile resolution version of the video can be downloaded and played on popular mobile devices including the iPod touch, iPhone and PlayStationPortable (PSP). The video converter will transcode most popular video formats into both high and mobile quality MPEG-4 (H.264) versions. In addition, owners of an iPod touch and iPhone can download a new HP MediaSmart Server iStream application at no charge from the Apple App Store, enabling them to stay connected to their digital media stored on the MediaSmart Server. Users can access their pictures, listen to their music...

RE:Vision Effects (http://www.revisionfx.com) has released Twixtor Express for Final Cut Express. Twixtor enables users to speed up, slow down image sequences. In order to do so, Twixtor synthesizes unique new frames by warping and interpolating frames of the original sequence, employing RE:Vision Effects' Academy Award winning technology that calculates motion for each individual pixel. This simpler-to-use version has been engineered for Final Cut Express users and is specially priced at US$169.95. Twixtor Express is available as an FxPlug plugin for Final Cut Express 4.0.1 and up. Note that Twixtor Express isn't available for Final Cut Pro, but the regular and Pro versions continue to support Final Cut Pro users.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MacForge.net: Now Over 65,000 Mac Open Source Projects - Mac open source index has grown substantially - MacForge continues to present open source that runs on the Mac April 10, 2009 -- WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA -- MacTech(r) Magazine announced today that its MacForge(tm) Mac open source project index now has over 65,000 projects. In 2005, MacForge.net was created for not only the experienced open source user, but to introduce the Mac technical community to the wonderful array of projects available. With the huge availability of open source out there, it can be difficult to find projects most relevant to the Mac. MacForge indexes open source projects that either have already been built for/tested on the Mac, or are likely to run on the Mac, without major porting work. "MacForge was originally created out of necessity, but quickly became popular among thousands of users looking for open source solutions on the Mac," said Neil Ticktin, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, MacTech...

SONiVOX (http://www.SONiVOXmi.com) has released the latest version of their downloadable virtual instrument plug-ins. These plug-ins, branded as DVI 2.0 (which stands for Downloadable Virtual Instruments), give musicians and composers access to a large collection of sample based virtual instruments for Macs and PCs. DVI 2.0 adds features in addition to offering deeper control over SONiVOX's next generation of in-house developed synthesis engine technology. It also includes additional DSP / Special FX by renowned signal processing pioneers and manufacturer, iZotope. As a part of the rollout SONiVOX is offering a free trial program allowing musicians to try these downloadable virtual instruments before they purchase them. There are currently 59 DVIs available for download and a free trial including orchestral instruments, vintage keyboards, ethnic tonal and percussion instruments, electronic instruments, guitars, basses, and more. Pricing starts at US$19.95.

FileMaker authors John Mark Osborne and Steven Blackwell are teaching the new "FileMaker Training Series (FTS)" and the "Philosophy of Scripting for FileMaker Pro 10" in San Jose, California. The "FileMaker Training Series" dates are Jun 1-5. The "Philosophy of Scripting" dates: are June 8-12. "The FileMaker Training Series" is the official training curriculum from FileMaker, Inc. It offers a series of 12 training modules that cover a set of topics designed to help participants master the essentials of FileMaker solution development. This new series incorporates the new features of the FileMaker 10 product line throughout the modules but stresses good programming skills for FileMaker 7, 8, 8.5 and 9. You can take the first three days or the last two days of the FileMaker Training Series. Take all five days and save US$500. To find out more information or register for a class, visit the Database Pros web site: http://www.databasepros.com/training.html

Virtual Programming (http://www.vpltd.com) has announced two new games for the Mac and other systems that are scheduled for release throughout 2009: Hearts of Iron 3 and The Elven Legacy. Pricing and release dates haven't been announced. Here's how the games are described: "Hearts of Iron 3: the next Grand Strategy title to be released from the Paradox Interactive development team is the third installment in the Hearts of Iron series, a strategic game series on World War 2. Hearts of Iron 3 will follow that tradition closely while focusing on satisfying veteran players through a multitude of brand new features and systems, including a huge map with more than 10,000 provinces." "The Elven Legacy: he shadows of destruction begin to loom on the horizon once a human mage uncovers a dark and powerful secret dating back to the remote past of the Elven race. However, the Elves cannot allow this forbidden knowledge to fall into the hands of others and thus imperil the world. For the first...

Markzware (http://www.markzware.com) -- a developer of pre-flighting, data extraction and conversion software -- has released an upgrade to its utility, Pasteboard 8 for QuarkXPress 8. Pasteboard is an XTension that changes the width and height of the pasteboard. This is similar to changing the pasteboard width percentage using the QuarkXPress application preferences menu. Pasteboard 8 is now available for QuarkXPress 8 on the Macintosh. Markzware's Pasteboard v8 is available from Software House International (SHI), Software Spectrum, Programmers Paradise, MacConnection, CDW and through Markzware Direct Sales at (800-300-3532), or at Markzware's online store, http://www.markzware.com/store/. The manufacturer's suggested retail price is US$29.95.

http://www.tycoongames.eu/adventures/collegeromance.php) is a "visual novel" game developed by Ewan Grantham. It costs US$14.99; a demo is available for download. Here's how the game is described: "You are just starting your first year at the university where your brother recently graduated. It's your first exposure to college life, your first time living on your own, and possibly your first true romance. As you explore this world, you can meet: "Jules -- A waitress at the cafe that's a year older than you, and works there only part time as she goes to your school the rest of the time. She dreams of a life of travel, but can she be part of your dreams? "Jessica -- Jules' twin sister. She works with Jules at the cafe, but has different dreams than her sister for her future. Play the game, and find out why! "Sarah -- Her family has just moved to Alta so she can go to the university. She works at a convenience store, has a full load at school, but for you she may be willing to fit some...

The Runtime Revolution programming tool has been updated to version 3.5. The new version includes a brand new Data Grid object, allowing flexible and professional presentation of any kind of data or layout, according to Kevin Miller, Runtime Revolution CEO. The company has also also added object-oriented behaviors allowing developers to greatly enhance the speed and maintainability of their code. Other new features included a re-imagined RevOnline code sharing community and Collaborative Documentation. These features make it easier for developers to get help, share code, widgets and knowledge, Miller says. There are also 100 other bug fixes and minor enhancements. Revolution 3.5 is available in three editions: Revolution Enterprise (US$499), intended for professional programmers; Revolution Studio ($249), for consultants and business managers; Revolution Media ($49), for beginners and hobbyists (version 3.5 of this edition is coming soon). Users can download a free trial of version 3....

MCE Technologies (http://www.mcetech.com/) has begun shipment of the Blu-ray recordable drive available for the Mac. The MCE 8X Blu-ray Recordable Drive is capable of recording to Blu-ray media at up to 8X, to DVD+-R media at up to 16X, and to CD-R media at up to 48X. Natively compatible with Mac OS 10.5.2 or later the drive can record data to Blu-ray, DVD, and CD media directly from the Finder with no additional software required. Professional Blu-ray movies, playable on set-top Blu-ray players and the Sony Playstation 3, can be created with the MCE 8X Blu-ray Recordable Drive using Adobe Premier Pro CS4's Encore program in conjunction with either Adobe Premier Pro CS3 or Apple's Final Cut Pro editing software and basic Blu-ray movies can be created using optional Roxio Toast 10 Pro. The MCE 8X Blu-ray drive is user-installable and designed for Mac Pro and Power Mac systems. A version specific to the Mac Pro (2009) is also available, along with an External 8X Blu-ray Recordable...

KnowledgeMiner Software, in partnership with Intel and Microsoft, has released a major new data mining application for the Mac called KnowledgeMiner (yX) for Excel (http://www.knowledgeminer.com/). KnowledgeMiner (yX) for Excel takes advantage of multi-core processors thru the use of parallelization to achieve speeds more then 600 times faster then previously, claims creator Frank Lemke. The goal of using KnowledgeMiner (yX) for Excel is to obtain useful knowledge from large collections of data. The discovered knowledge can be equations describing properties of the data, frequently occurring patterns, clusterings of the information, etc. "The technology for data collection has made it easy to create massive stockpiles of data and these are growing rapidly." Lemke says. "On the other hand the technology of data analysis has lagged far behind and tends to be time consuming and expensive. KnowledgeMiner (yX) for Excel is aimed at making the process faster and easier. Spreadsheets are...

FileMaker, Inc. (http://www.filemaker.com) has announced the new FileMaker Training Series for FileMaker 10, a self-paced learning program to help intermediate to advanced database users and developers master the essentials of the new software. The training series also provides the building blocks necessary for developers who plan to become FileMaker 10 Certified Developers, says Ryan Rosenberg, vice president of marketing and services, FileMaker. The certification examination will be available in June. The FileMaker Training Series can help users to hone their skills to get the most from the new design and features of FileMaker 10, Rosenberg says. The training series can also benefit everyone from professional trainers to in-house corporate developers and independent developers running their own businesses, he adds. The FileMaker Training Series consists of 12 modules with detailed, step-by-step instructions on key FileMaker development topics. The materials include a 700plus page...

Digital Anarchy (http://www.digitalanarchy.com/), a provider of special effects software for Adobe and Apple products, has released a 3D design tool for use in Adobe Photoshop. Co-developed with Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for Photoshop allows artists to create complex 3D objects, logos and text. 3D Invigorator starts with Adobe Illustrator outlines or text generated within Photoshop, gives the object depth, and then sculpts the graphic into a "3D masterpiece," says Zax Dow, president of Zaxwerks. Photoshop artists can use the vector tools in Invigorator for real-time changes to their 3D objects. They can also access its built-in text engine to transform True Type and Type 1 fonts, and take advantage of Photoshop features like Smart Objects and Smart Filters. 3D Invigorator for Photoshop is regularly priced at US$199, but will be available for an introductory discount of $149 through April 30. The product works in Photoshop CS2 and higher, although CS3 or CS4 are recommended for use...

Solid State Logic (http://www.solid-state-logic.com) -- a manufacturer of analogue and digital audio consoles and provider of creative tools for music, broadcast and post production professionals -- has announced the release of X-Desk at Musikmesse 2009. It will be available beginning in May 2009 at a manufacturer's suggested retail price of US$2,899. The X-Desk is a portable, compact mixing desk. It combines a 16 channel SSL SuperAnalogue summing mixer with a compact analogue audio hub for a studio. It features 100mm faders, professionally featured artist and studio monitoring with Dim & Cut buttons. It also boasts stereo and mono aux sends, channel and master bus inserts and accurate bar graph level metering. The X-Desk comes with rack ears for standard 19-inch rack mounting (X-Desk is 7U). It's hand built in the UK with an all metal chassis and high quality controls and components. Several X-Desks or X-Desk & X-Racks can be cascaded via D-Sub connection to expand up to 150...

Apple has announced an updated Xserve that the company says delivers up to twice the performance of the previous system. Using Intel "Nehalem" Xeon processors and a next generation system architecture, the 1U rack-optimized Xserve delivers up to an 89 percent improvement in performance per watt, according to David Moody, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Mac Product Marketing. Xserve is available with up to two 2.93GHz Intel Xeon processors and storage options that include a low-power solid state drive (SSD) and up to 3TB of internal storage. Starting at US$2,999, Xserve includes an unlimited client license for Mac OS X Server version 10.5 ("Leopard"). The new Xserve includes Intel Xeon processors running at speeds up to 2.93GHz, each with an integrated memory controller with three channels of 1066MHz DDR3 ECC memory that delivers up to 2.4 times the memory bandwidth while cutting memory latency up to 40 percent, Moody says. he adds that it also delivers a 19 percent reduction in...

http://www.blastwavefx.com"TARGET="_blank")Blastwave FX(/a), a HD sound effects label, has announced Blastwave FX Search Engine software for the Mac and PC. The Blastwave FX Search Engine is single-user search software that comes bundled on select Blastwave FX sound effects hard drive products. The search engine provides search, audition and drag and drop functions. It's bundled with all of Blastwave FX's sound effects hard drive libraries, including Sonopedia, BlastDrive, TitleWave and .wavFX. Anvideo tutorial featuring the Blastwave FX Search Engine workflow with Pro Tools is available the BlastFX web site. The Blastwave FX Search Engine integrates with audio and video applications such as Pro Tools, Logic, AVID, Final Cut Pro and beyond. In Pro Tools, for example, users can drag and drop sound effects directly to the timeline and regions list. AVID users can drag n' drop directly to bin. Final Cut users can spot sound effects right on the timeline.

Axaio software (http://www.axaio.com) -- a developer of solutions for PDF creation, printing and content correction workflows for Adobe InDesign and QuarkXpress environments -- has updated its flagship product, MadeToPrint, to InDesign CS4. Simultaneously it has launched MadeToPrint Server, an InDesign Server based solution that offers 24/7 high volume PDF creation and advanced workflow automation from InDesign files. MadeToPrint is now available for InDesign CS4. MadeToPrint is a plug-in for InDesign and Xpress, for the creation of reliable output. It allows addressing multiple output devices simultaneously, executing various print jobs in one go, token-based file naming and layer output that go beyond both InDesign CS4 and Xpress' built-in output functionality. MadeToPrint Auto allows hotfolder based processing, enabling completely unattended output. With the integration of Adobe InDesign Server and MadeToPrint, Axaio software launches a server based solution for automatic printing...

Fourth World (http://www.fourthworld.com/) has released WebMerge 2.5, an upgrade to the tool for generating static Web pages from database or spreadsheet data. The new version offers more options for creating and naming generated pages, and includes performance and interface enhancements for Mac OS 10.5 ("Leopard") WebMerge works with any database or spreadsheet that exports in tab-delimited, merge, or other tabular formats, including FileMaker Pro, Microsoft Access, and most affiliate data feeds. Using simple tags in templates created with any HTML authoring tool, WebMerge makes a new page from the data in each record of the exported file. WebMerge can also create index pages with links to each of the detail pages. Generated pages can be hosted on any web server without the need for a specialized database hosting solution. A trial version of WebMerge can be used for free to generate up to 20 pages and has all features enabled with no time limit. Registered copies of WebMerge can...

ATTO Technology (http://www.attotech.com), a provider of storage connectivity and infrastructure solutions for data-intensive computing environments, has announced a new addition to their FastStream Storage Controller line. The FastStream SC 8200 is a storage controller that provides 6-Gigabit SAS host connectivity and 3-Gigabit SAS/SATA drive connectivity with RAID protection and advanced storage management features. It's provided in two versions; an external rackmount/desktop appliance and an embeddable RAID controller targeted at OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and systems integrators. The FastStream product line provides a variety of features, 4KB sector size support to address partitions larger than 2TB, Media Error Handling which minimizes workflow interruptions caused by imperfect media, SES Management and Monitoring and non-block device pass-through that allows users to connect devices such as tape and optical drives alongside their disk storage, according to Tom...

RGB Light and Kandalu Software have announced their collaboration for the launch of Klite (http://www.kandalu.net/uk/klounge/klite/), a new video and photo player for Mac users. The companies say that it implements a new h technology that will enable you to optimize space without loosing out on performance. The player will allow you to convert any video file to the new codec JPDMovie (JPDM), purportedly enhancing your picture definition and saving up to 30 percent on memory space compared to the H264 standard. Photo formats supported are: CPD vs. lossless PNG format (30 percent reduction in size); GPD vs. Lossless JIFF format (15 percent reduction in size with better color definition); and JPD vs. Lossy JPEG format (25 percent reduction in size with the same PSNR). The video format supported is JPDM vs. Lossy video format (30 percent reduction in size with improved image quality. Klite will be released on April 15. A public beta is available for download. An upcoming professional...

Tunewear (http://www.tunewear.com) has launched its first earphone product, TuneSonic Crystal. Featuring Crystallized Swarovski Elements, the TuneSonic Crystal is designed for use with iPods and other portable music players. It's also compatible for listening to other devices such as iPhone 3G, portable gaming devices, notebook computers, portable DVD players and more. With three color options, TuneSonic Crystal is available in Black Onyx (black with black rhinestone), Chrome Silver (silver with clear crystal) and Crystal Pink (pink with clear crystal). The TuneSonic Crystal uses a shielded cable and a 24k gold-plated 3.5mm stereo mini-jack to reduce noise and enhance sound clarity, says says Tunewear founder and CEO Hideki Francis Onda. It costs US$$49.95. Available in three styles, the TuneSonic Crystal includes the earphones as well as four sets of eartips.

Puzzle Lab (http://puzzlelab.com/") has released Leeloo's Talent Agency, a new time management game for Mac OS X and Windows with elements of hidden object tasks. Here;s how the game is described: "Leeloo dreams of becoming an actress, but her parents make her study Economics. So she decides to run her own talent agency in order to apply her business skills in the fascinating world of cinema. "Leeloo's parents were both actors, but not very successful. They played minor roles only and did not want their daughter become an actress. By her parents' wish she got a degree in Economics, still dreaming of the world of cinema. Leeloo could not play in movies, but her practical skills would be of great help in running a talent agency near Los Angeles. This is the prehistory - and now you are in charge of Leeloo's talent agency! "Acting as Leeloo, you have to perform two types of tasks to get through each level. Time management part is devoted to casting, and hidden object part -- to shooting...

Vuzix Corp. (http://www.vuzix.com) has announced iPhone compatibility for its AV eyewear cable, according to Vuzix CEO Paul Travers. Every "Works with iPhone" product is designed for optimal connectivity with the iPhone and is certified by Vuzix to meet Apple performance standards. He adds that, the cable is the first on the market that supports 3-D video in the following formats: side by side, interlaced and all three major anaglyph modes. The cable will be available bundled with the Vuzix iWear AV230XL and available as an upgrade for all current Vuzix Video Eyewear customers for US$39.95.

Nova media has unveiled the iCON 225 (http://www.novamedia.de/e_pages/e_produkte_icon_225.html), a 3G USB modem for Macs. The iCON 225 supports HSDPA connections with up to 7.2 Mbit/second download speeds as well as quad-band EDGE and GPRS. "The iCON 225 supports the fast HSDPA protocol in all 2100 MHz networks, which are common in Europe and Asia," says Jan Fuellemann of nova media. "In most other countries, EDGE and GPRS are supported which offer speeds up to 220 Kbit/second in downloading data and up to 120 Kbit/second in uploading data." The iCON 225 includes the Internet connect wizard, launch2net, for Mac OS X. This software offers a one-click connection to the Internet without the need to enter configuration details. The iCON 225 is available today from nova media for approximately US$158. It requires Mac OS X 10.4.11 or higher. A lanyard and an USB extension cord comes with the modem.

Ableton Live 8 and Ableton Suite 8 (http://www.ableton.com), updates of the real-time music creation applications, are out now. Two new instruments, Collision and Latin Percussion are also available -- and both are included in Ableton Suite 8. Live 8 and Suite 8 add new techniques, effects and workflow improvements. These include a new groove engine, revamped warping techniques, live looping, five new effects (including the Ableton Vocoder), crossfades in the Arrangement View, group tracks and a reworked MIDI editor. Ableton Suite 8 includes all that, plus a sound library and a variety of instruments, including a wide range of synths, a sampler, electric and acoustic drums (new: Latin percussion), mallets (new: Collision), numerous sampled instruments and a new Operator. The boxed version of Ableton Suite 8 costs US$849 and includes Ableton Live 8, sound library, 10 Ableton instruments including Session Drums and Essential Instrument Collection 2, and a printed manual. The...