STUFFIT - THE PREMIER COMPRESSION SOLUTION CELEBRATES ITS 20th ANNIVERSARY WITH THE LAUNCH OF STUFFIT DELUXE 2009 FOR THE MAC Smith Micro Delivers an Advanced Archive and Compression Solution for Multimedia and Office Files with New Leopard Compatibility for Quick Look, Time Machine and MobileMe ALISO VIEJO, CA - Sept. 17, 2008 - Smith Micro Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMSI) Consumer Group, today announced the launch of StuffIt Deluxe 2009 for the Mac, its award-winning archive and compression software. StuffIt Deluxe 2009 marks StuffIt's 20th anniversary and the latest edition offers state-of-the-art improvements to compress, expand, secure and back- up even more formats and files faster and better than ever before. StuffIt Deluxe 2009 includes support for Apple's Mac OS X Leopard technology including Quick Look, Time Machine and MobileMe. StuffIt Deluxe 2009 includes unique multimedia compression capabilities that allow users to compress a wide variety of file types and formats such as...

Mariner Software have, announced today an agreement made with LTW Productions Canada, to acquire and redevelop TotallyWrite, the story development software for Mac OS X. Newly-named Contour, it will make its public debut under the Mariner brand with existing content and new features, before the end of 2008. Contour enables writers to develop a movie concept from the idea stage to a bulletproof outline. Along the way, Contour guides the writer through plot points of all three acts and explains the major storytelling secrets to crafting a marketable movie. The main character's journey is explained through archetypal themes that "reverberate in the top 50 grossing movies of all time." Once the story passes through Contour, the writer can transfer their work into Montage, Mariner Software's screenwriting software, to write and start marketing the script. Some of Contour's features include: ° The ability to flesh out a main character and codify their motivations and behaviors; ° Recognize...

Maintain (http://www.maintain.se) has announced Cocktail 4.1.5 (Leopard Edition). Cocktail is an award winning general purpose utility for Mac OS X. The application serves up a scrumptious mix of maintenance tools and interface tweaks, all accessible via a comprehensive graphical interface. This version addresses compatibility issues with Mac OS X 10.5.5 and adds two new iTunes settings. The update is strongly recommended for all users of Cocktail (Leopard Edition). Ekero, Sweden - Maintain has announced Cocktail 4.1.5 (Leopard Edition). Cocktail is an award winning general purpose utility for Mac OS X. This version addresses compatibility issues with Mac OS X 10.5.5 and adds "Disable Genre column in iTunes browser" and "Disable iTunes Store arrow links in iTunes" settings. The update is strongly recommended for all users of Cocktail (Leopard Edition). Cocktail 4.1.5 (Leopard Edition) is distributed as a Universal Binary and runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs. Cocktail 4.1.5...

PBS' American Experience is offering free downloads of six of its award-winning Presidential biographies for educational use. As the 2008 election heats up, closed captioned biographies of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan -- more than 23 hours of programming -- are available on the American Experience "The Presidents" web site (pbs.org/presidents) and on Apple's on iTunes U, a section of the iTunes Store showcasing free educational offerings from WGBH and top universities. "Our iTunes U collaboration with Apple is an effective platform for reaching our existing audience and attracting new viewers," says Annie Valva, WGBH Interactive's director of Research and Business Development. WGBH's digital reach is further expanded by the pioneering work of WGBH's Media Access Group. Annie notes, "Within an hour of posting one American Experience film to iTunes U we heard from a user who told us how much he and his wife depend on...

Casio America (http://www.casio.com/home/) has released its newest Exilim digital camera, the High Speed Exilim EX-FH20, which is capable of ultra high-speed burst shooting at 40 fps and can record High Speed movies at up to 1,000 fps. The camera's design places all shooting mode settings on a single dial. The EX-FH20 also sports a 20X optical zoom on a compact body that's 27 percent smaller and 28 percent lighter than its predecessor, the EX-F1. The EX-FH20, with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of US$599.99, will be available in black at retail stores in October. It has 9.1 effective megapixels and a high power, wide angle zoom lens. The EX-FH20 is equipped with a 26 mm-equivalent wide angle zoom lens that can close in on subjects with a 20X optical zoom. The camera also features a CMOS shift anti-shake function to support power-zoom shots. The EX-FH20 can capture action in high definition, 7-megapixel (3072 x 2304 pixel) images with ultra-High Speed burst shooting at up to...

Spellex (http://www.spellex.com) has announced a new medical and pharmaceutical spelling software for Microsoft Office 2008 from MacMedica. MacMedica is an all purpose medical spell checker that lets you check the spelling of thousands of medical words while inside Office 2008 for Macintosh. By adding MacMedica to Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac, you will be able to verify correctly spelled medical words and provide correct spelling choices for incorrectly spelled terms. Both the standard English language dictionary and the MacMedica dictionary are checked simultaneously with one mouse click. Prices for MacMedica start at US$79.95. Multi-user licenses and educational discounts are available.

QuantumSphere (http://www.qsinano.com/), a developer of advanced catalyst materials, electrode devices, and related technologies and systems for portable power and clean-energy applications, has announced that it's filed a key patent for technology it has developed that extends the capacity of rechargeable lithium ion batteries up to five times. Next-generation batteries featuring this technology could dramatically improve the operating life of portable consumer electronics, hybrid-electric vehicle range, and a wide variety of energy storage applications. This news follows a previous QuantumSphere battery announcement highlighting the development of a high-rate, paper-thin, nano-enabled electrode for disposable batteries. This earlier breakthrough patent pending air-electrode design increased power output by 320 percent in zinc-air cells, providing roughly four times more power than equivalent sized alkaline batteries, and is expected to be commercialized in 2009, says Kevin Maloney,...

CodeWeaver has extended the Google Chromium launch beyond Windows. They are announcing the release of CrossOver Chromium for Mac and Linux, available immediately as a free download. CrossOver Chromium (http://chromium.codeweavers.com) is offered as a proof-of-concept so that Mac and Linux users can try first hand the power and flexibility of the new Chromium open source browser. CrossOver Chromium also showcases the power of Wine that allows CodeWeavers to rapidly migrate technology from Windows to alternate platforms. "We did this to prove a point," says Jeremy White, CodeWeavers President and chief executive officer. "The message is very simply this: if you are a Windows software vendor, and you want to get your product into new markets, you should pay attention to Wine. Wine is a very powerful tool for bringing your product to new audiences in the Mac and Linux spaces. And in many cases Wine is faster and more economical than doing a native port." White was quick to caution that...

IK Multimedia (http://www.ikmultimedia.com) has announced sequels to the Total Bundle series: Total Workstation 2 and Total Studio 2 bundles. Total Workstation 2 bundle offers the entire collection of all five of IK's virtual instrument and workstation plug-ins in one box (SampleTank 2.5 XL, Miroslav Philharmonik, Sonik Synth 2, SampleMoog and SampleTron). It contains 14,000 sounds and 28 GB of samples available in one package. Total Studio 2 is a collection of 12 award-winning plug-ins, including the five virtual instruments of the Total Workstation 2 bundle, plus seven effects plug-in suites (AmpliTube 2, Ampeg SVX, AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix, AmpliTube Metal, AmpliTube X-GEAR, T-RackS and Classik Studio Reverb) covering guitar, bass, mixing and mastering needs with over 160 modeled effects in one package. In addition, as exclusive bonus content never released before, the Total Workstation 2 and Total Studio 2 bundles include exclusively made "Artist Signature Presets" by players and...

Media Atelier (http://www.mediaatelier.com) has has released GrandTotal 1.0,an invoicing application for Mac OS X 10.5 ("Leopard") platform). It's designed for freelancers, small- to mid-sized companies, and any organization that needs to generate personalized, invoices, estimates and account statements. GrandTotal sports a range of word processing and layout tools. It serves as both a stand-alone and companion application to Media Atelier's TimeLog 4. GrandTotal integrates with the Mac OS X Address Book. Other features include: creation of email invoices, estimates and account statements; support for multiple currencies and tax rates; a built-in catalog for recurring services and items; smart lists; and flexible export options GrandTotal is available in English, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian. Single licenses are available for EUR 49 (about US$70). Users of TimeLog 4 get a 10 percent discount. GrandTotal can also be purchased in a bundle including...

QuickerTek (http://www.quickertek.com) has extended its line of ExpressCard MacBook Pro products to include a new version that comes with an external antenna that increases speed and range. The new ExpressCard with antenna is available for US$199.95. It sports an external antenna with 5dBi of RF power. Because it's external to the MacBook Pro case, it can be placed for optimum signal strength and speed, according to the folks at QuickerTek. The antenna itself clips to the MacBook Pro case when open. The stock MacBook Pro has 30 milliwatts of wireless RF power. This ExpressCard has 300 milliwatts of RF power. Additional power is needed to penetrate walls, office equipment and floors (upstairs and downstairs) where 25 percent of signal strength is lost at each barrier, says QuickertTek. All QuickerTek ExpressCards work with all Apple AirPort Base Stations, including the 802.11n AirPort Extreme. They support all standard security protocols including WPA, WPA2-64bit Personal and 128bit...

Mundue.net has updated its iPhone and iPod touch application, reMovem (http://removem.mundue.net/iphone). Version 1.0.2 adds the option of choosing four, five or six ball colors, and includes the ability to turn off the Undo feature. In addition, reMovem supports four modes of play and an 8 x 10 grid of balls for hours of enjoyment. reMovem is available immediately at the Apple App Store for US$0.99. The update is free if you have already installed the game. A free version with one mode and a 7 x 10 grid is also available.

Akvis Software has updated Akvis LightShop for Mac and Windows to version 2.5. The upgrade introduces new ready-to-use light effects for a quick start. The version improves compatibility with Vista SP1 and adds a new interface language (Portuguese). Now there are three download files for the Mac: a standalone application, a plug-in version for Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop Elements 6, and a plug-in for earlier versions of these programs. LightShop lets you create a light effects designed to draw attention and animate any photo. The program offers a large number of ready-to-use light effects (presets) that can be applied in their initial version or can be modified. First you can train on available light effects and than create your exclusive ones. It 's possible to save your own presets to use them in the future or share with others. See some examples here: http://akvis.com/en/lightshop/presets-lighting-effect.php Ak is LightShop sells for US$117, downloadble from http://www.akvis.com ....

MicroNet (http://www.micronet.com) is shipping the RAIDBank4 a compact, high availability, high performance storage solution designed for small and medium businesses (SMBs). It sports both eSATA and USB connectivity, and a 300 MB/second data transfer rate,. It's targeted for companies requiring up to 4TB now (and, soon, up to 6TB). up to six terabytes soon of high-availability data storage. The RAIDBank4 has a footprint measuring 6.5 x 4.75 inches. It integrates a 64-bit RISC processor with a 128MB and a high-speed error correcting cache to ensure accuracy. The device is hot swappable, features online auto rebuild support, and is packaged in a lightweight aluminum enclosure. RAIDBank4 includes MicroNet's 2-port eSATA PCI-Express host bus adapter card and NTI Shadow backup software and is available with a 4-port adapter option. The OS independent solution enables simultaneous online RAID expansion, RAID level migration and/or stripe size migration. In addition, multiple array and...

Sonnet Technologies has announced the Pro Dual CompactFlash Adapter ExpressCard/34, which enables digital photographers to transfer files concurrently from two CF memory cards to a MacBook Pro computer on-location or in the field, studio, or office. The Sonnet adapter uses the 2.5 Gbps PCI Express interface incorporated into ExpressCard slots, so it delivers performance superior to adapters that depend on the ExpressCard slot's USB 2.0 interface, says CEO Robert Farnsworth. The dual-slot CF memory card adapter accepts two Type I (flash memory) cards or a combination of one Type I and one Type II (hard drive) card. The Sonnet dual CF card adapter supports UDMA6 transfer modes with sustained data transfers up to 133 MB/second. The Sonnet adapter supports at full speed the fastest available CF memory cards and future CF cards up to 886x, making it a superior alternative to USB readers, Farnsworth says. Its compact size allows it to fit into a gear bag. The Pro Dual CompactFlash Adapter...

WaterField Designs (http://www.sfbags.com) has announced Ultrasuede Suede Jacket cases for Apple's upgraded iPod nano and iPod touch. Each case is custom-fitted to the respective iPod dimensions and can double as a screen cleaner. The cases are designed for scratch protection, accessibility and style. The iPod Suede Jacket (starting at US$7) is a minimalist case offering elegant protection from scratches without bulk. The basic Ultrasuede case fits iPods snugly and doubles as a screen cleaner. The streamlined case includes no visible branding. It is comes in classic black. They are available with or without a mesh pocket for earbuds, a bluetooth or a charger. Ultrasuede is a patented, scratch-free, washable, microfiber material -- a more eco-friendly alternative to animal suede, according to owner and chief designer, Gary Waterfield. WaterField Designs also offers the The iPod Travel Case (starting at $35), designed to keep the iPod and its accessories all together and tangle-free....

Apple released the iPhone 2.1 Software update this morning. The iPhone 2.1 software update contains many bug fixes and improvements. To get it, connect your iPhone to your computer using iTunes 8 and click Check for Update. Update includes: * Decrease in call set-up failures and dropped calls * Significantly better battery life for most users * Dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes * Improved email reliability, notably fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts * Faster installation of 3rd party applications * Fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes for users with lots of third party applications * Improved performance in text messaging * Faster loading and searching of contacts * Improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display * Repeat alert up to two additional times for incoming text messages * Option to wipe data after ten failed passcode attempts * Genius playlist creation

September sees the launch of MacSupportJobs.com (http://www.macsupportjobs.com/), a new web site specializing in the recruitment of Apple Mac support, development and sales professionals from around the world. Conrad Heron, MD of MacSupportJobs.com saw the need for a dedicated Mac technical support job board when recruiting in London and New York for Mac support professionals. "There was no-where dedicated to recruiting just technical Mac support professionals," he says. "It was either a creative site with mostly art workers and the likes or general IT sites. We posted jobs on a number of different popular IT recruiting sites and got a lot of applicants replying, but the majority were unsuitable as most were PC candidates that had no experience of the mac environment before, not even as a home user". Following this experience Conrad decided to take some time out of his career to launch MacSupportJobs.com. "The Mac support community is a small, dedicated and passionate bunch," he says...

Recordare has released a W3C XML Schema Definition (XSD) version of its MusicXML 2.0 format for digital sheet music. Recordare has also released version 4.5 of its Dolet 4 for Finale plug-in, including support for validating MusicXML files against the new XSD version of the format. The XSD version of MusicXML 2.0 defines the format more precisely than did the original Document Type Definition (DTD) version. This will improve the quality of digital sheet music distribution by making it easier for software developers to test how they write MusicXML files, according to the folks at Recordare. Validating MusicXML 2.0 files against the MusicXML XSD catches many more MusicXML file errors than validating against the DTD, they add. An XSD version of the MusicXML format also purportedly makes MusicXML easier to use with the latest XML technologie, says Michael Good, CEO of Recordare LLC and the inventor of MusicXML. The MusicXML 2.0 XSD is available as a free download here: http://www....

Abaltat, a developer of audio workflow solutions for postproduction and broadcast markets, has released Abaltat Express 2.0 for Mac OS X 10.5 ("Leopard"). Based on the company's flagship Abaltat Muse application, Abaltat Express enables editors to compose royalty-free, multi-part soundtracks. Version 2.0 ships with the brand new composition and analysis engine found in its big brother (Muse 2.0) as well as seven stylized bands. Also new in the release is a new user interface that offers dials and prompts familiar to video editors. Abaltat Express 2.0 integrates the video and audio post workflows by providing a platform for users to create their initial soundtrack. Utilizing the audio engine and sounds native to the Mac, compositions can be tweaked using a number of Express controls or exported to industry standard audio editing applications such as Apple Logic and Garage Band or the Digidesign ProTools for finishing. Abaltat Express 2.0 composes soundtracks by applying musical rules...

Macworld Conference & Expo 2009 (http://www.macworldexpo.com) is now open for registration(/a). Show organizer, IDG, has launched a revamped web site with new features and functionality, including several Web 2.0 elements that allow users to interact with other Macworld attendees and Mac users through Facebook, MySpace, and the Macworld Expo proprietary social network. Macworld Conference & Expo 2009 will be held Jan. 5-9 in San Francisco. : There are a number of different registration options available, depending on what parts of the Macworld you want to see.

Effigent has announced that PowerEasy Distribution for Mac OS X (http:// www.powereasy.com) is now generally available. It can be purchased directly from Effigent or through their reseller partners. PowerEasy Distribution is a suite of modules that work together to provide a solution for tracking, managing, and replenishing inventory as well as managing warehouse operations through the entire distribution cycle, from purchasing to stocking, to sales. With PowerEasy Distribution, companies can run their entire sales, purchasing and inventory processes. PowerEasy Distribution, along with PowerEasy Financials (both part of PowerEasy Suite) provide real time information wthatcan be used to make the optimum operational and strategic decisions. It's designed for wholesalers, distributors and retailers. PowerEasy also supports Assembly builds and kits to allow for light manufacturing.

Revolution 3.0, the latest version of the programming tool from Runtime Revolution (http//www.runrev.com) is shipping. The new version dramatically improves the script editor, making it easier for newcomers and more comfortable for experienced programmers, says Runtime Revolution CEO Kevin Miller. The company also slashed the retail price of the product line as much as 50 percent. New features include: graphics enhancements (including seven types of programmable gradient fills and strokes for vector objects); nested, multidimensional arrays; and a resource center filled with hundreds of examples to help new users get up to speed. Along with the new features, Revolution now sports lower prices. The bread-and-butter Studio edition -- which can create true standalone applications for Mac, Windows, and Linux -- now costs US$249 (down from $399), and the flagship Enterprise edition is now just $499 (down from $999). There's also a $49 Revolution Media edition for beginners and hobbyists.

iFixit (http://www.ifixit.com) has posted the first internal photos of Apple's new iPod nano and iPod touch. The disassembly reveals the previously unknown presence of BlueTooth in the iPod Touch. The photos and accompanying commentary for the iPod Nano 4th Gen. and new iPod Touch 2nd Gen. are available online immediately. The disassembly includes high-res photos of the internals of both devices. The folks at iFixit say that Apple did some clever things with the iPod touch speaker. It's 0.2mm thin and mounted directly on the metal backplate. The second generation touch has a Broadcom BCM4325 Bluetooth chip. The Nike+ runs on the same frequency (2.4GHz) as Bluetooth. It remains to be seen if the Bluetooth chip can emulate the proprietary Nike+ protocol. iFixIt says this iPod is somewhat difficult to take apart-- fairly similar to the previous iPod touch. The 4G nano screen is the same resolution and physical size as the previous "fat" nano 3G. The display cover is a piece of curved...

Sonoma Wire Works has announced the RiffRumble 12 Online Song Contest (http://www.riffworld.com/riffrumble/rr12 )with up to US$2,500 in prizes for the best songs made with RiffWorks. Prizes include up to four IK Multimedia Total Guitar & Bass Gear Bundles and Drummerheads InstantDrummer Sessions. Contestants worldwide will record songs on their own or team up into virtual bands of two to four musicians and record songs together online. The RiffWorks T4 free guitar recording software may be used, so no purchase is necessary (RiffWorks Standard costs US$129). The RiffRumble 12 takes place on RiffWorld.com, an online music collaboration and song posting community for RiffWorks users. The contest celebrates the launch of RiffWorks T4, a free edition of RiffWorks guitar recording and online collaboration software. With RiffWorks T4 musicians can record ideas, create complete songs with drums and effects, collaborate online with musicians worldwide, cast tunes to the RiffWorld.com...

Cocktail 4.1.4 (Leopard Edition), a general purpose utility for Mac OS X, has been released. It's a maintenance update that contains a lot of under-the-hood optimizations and improvements in a variety of areas. For example, the application file size has been reduced by over 50 percent. There are updated Automator actions and improvements in Adobe font cache clearance. The update also ddresses compatibility issues with FAT32 volumes Cocktail 4.1.4 (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 4.1.4 costs US$14.95 for a single user license. It's a free update for registered users of version 4.x. Youc an find it here: http://cocktail.maintain.se"

ATTO Technology (http://www.attotech.com) has released what it says is the industry's first and highest-performing (up to 6400 MB/second, full-duplex) 8GB, quad Fibre Channel host adapter with a x8 PCI Express 2.0 bus interconnect (backward compatible with PCIe 1.1). In addition to the release of the quad-channel ATTO Celerity FC-84EN Host Adapter, the Celerity Fibre Channel product line also includes a dual- and single-channel offering (Celerity FC-82EN and FC-81EN). The quad-channel Celerity FC-84EN host adapter (US$3,995) provides throughput for fibre channel applications while protecting technology investments via backward compatibility with existing 4Gb and 2Gb fibre channel infrastructures. The folks at ATTO say it has proven aggregate speeds of up to 3200 MB/second reads or writes so is capable of supporting the most intensive data applications, including 2K and 4K film editing, tape streaming and backup, rich content delivery, and complex database environments. To ensure a...

VITO Technology is making its debut on the iPhone software market with a task manager Task2Gather (http://task2gather.com/site/iphone.html), an online task manager. Task2Gather keeps all tasks in the "web cloud"; data is accessible anytime from iPhone, Mac or PC. Task2Gather has an hierarchic structure: every task can be divided into several sub-tasks, and these sub-tasks can be divided further without limit. Since the tasks created in Task2Gather are stored online, they can be shared. After sharing tasks users can assign the "new-comers" responsible for task completion. Task2Gather is available for US$4.99 in the Apple App Store.

Sonnet Technologies (http://www.sonnettech) has launched the Fusion F3, a hardware RAID storage system that encloses a pair of 3.5-inch SATA RAID drives to achieve 1TB, 2TB, or 3TB configurations in an aluminum and steel case. One or two Fusion F3 systems can be rackmounted in a 1U space. The Sonnet Fusion F3 is a two-drive hardware RAID system that supports fast (RAID 0), safe (RAID 1), and big (concatenated). The hardware RAID is OS independent and can be attached to virtually any computer or device. An eSATA interface is included for maximum speed, FireWire 800 for medium speed, and FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 for flexibility. Connected via eSATA and its drives initialized as a RAID 0 array, the Sonnet Fusion F3 can sustain read/write transfer rates of 165 MB/second, fast enough to support multiple streams of compressed video editing. A universal power supply is integrated inside the Fusion F3 chassis. There's no external brick to dangle or come unplugged. The 110-240V, 50-60Hz supply...

Aladdin Announces Enhanced HASP SRM Anti-Piracy Tool for Mac Software Developers Award-winning software DRM solution offers full cross-platform support for publishers using the HASP HL hardware keys to protect and license software on Mac, Windows, and Linux CHICAGO, September 8, 2008 - Aladdin Knowledge Systems (NASDAQ: ALDN), an information security leader specializing in authentication, software DRM and content security, today announced that Aladdin HASP SRM now offers an Envelope for automatic file wrapping of software developed for the Apple Macintosh operating system. Software publishers developing software for Macs can now take advantage of the same automatic file wrapping capabilities that current HASP SRM Envelope customers use for Windows and Linux. Within minutes, the HASP SRM Envelope "wraps" applications with robust HASP SRM anti-piracy and intellectual property protection, which securely binds software to the HASP SRM USB-based hardware key to prevent unauthorized use and...

Blue Crowbar Software (http://www.bluecrowbar.com) has released TrackRecord 1.2, a new version of their software designed to import and store data from Polar heart-rate monitors. The upgrade adds support for the Polar F6 Fitness model. It also implements an improved system for decoding the data from the supported Polar devices. The software uses your Mac's microphone to record the heart-rate monitor's audio signal and arranges the results in tables and charts. The data can also be exported to Excel, Numbers or OpenOffice. TrackRecord requires Mac OS X 10.4 or higher and a Mac with a built-in iSight or an external microphone. Two licenses are offered. A full license is available for 24.75 EUR (approximately US$35) and offers data import from the Polar RS200, RS200sd, CS200, CS200cad and F6 models. The Full License is free for registered users. A fitness license costs 15.95 EUR (approximately $22) and offers data import from the Polar F6 model. A demo is available for download.

Apple Announces iTunes 8 Features Apple's New Breakthrough Genius Technology SAN FRANCISCO--September 9, 2008--Apple today announced iTunes 8, the next major release of Apple's ubiquitous music and video player for Macs and PCs which is seamlessly integrated with the most popular online content store in the world (http://www.itunes.com). iTunes 8 includes the new breakthrough Genius feature, which lets you automatically create playlists from songs in your music library that go great together--with just one click. Genius helps music fans rediscover favorite songs in their existing music library and suggests related music on the iTunes Store they might want to add to their music collection. iTunes 8 features new ways of viewing your music and video libraries, and adds television programs in stunning high definition for sale on the iTunes Store. Using Apple's breakthrough Genius feature is easy--select any song, click the Genius button, and iTunes instantly creates a playlist of songs...

Apple Introduces New iPod nano Fourth Generation iPod nano Features Apple's New Genius Technology SAN FRANCISCO--September 9, 2008--Apple today introduced the new fourth generation iPod nano, the thinnest iPod ever featuring a sleek new design with a curved aluminum and glass enclosure, in nine vibrant colors. The new iPod nano incorporates Apple's breakthrough Genius technology which automatically creates playlists from songs in your music library that go great together, with just one click. The new iPod nano also features a refined user interface, a high resolution portrait display and a built-in accelerometer which automatically switches to Cover Flow when rotated and automatically goes into Shuffle mode when lightly shaken. The new iPod nano gives users up to 24 hours of music playback or four hours of video playback and is available worldwide immediately in an 8GB model for just $149 and a 16GB model for just $199. Both models come in silver, purple, blue, green, orange, yellow,...

DB Solo (http://www.dbsolo.com) has released version 3.5 of the DB Solo SQL Query Tool, the latest upgrade to DB Solo's cross-platform Database Query Tool. DB Solo provides developers and adminstrators with features such as visual explain plan, database data & schema comparison tools, import/export tools and a schema scripting tool. DB Solo SQL Query Tool is available for Mac OS X, Windows, Linux and Solaris platforms. DB Solo supports all major DBMS products, including Oracle, SQL Server 2000, 2005 and 2008, DB2, Sybase ASE/ASA, H2, Postgres, MySQL and Solid. Pricing of DB Solo SQL Query Tool starts at US$99 for a single user license. New features in version 3.5 include an Export Tool and Stored Procedure Editors for SQL Server and Sybase, as well as a Stored Procedure Editor & Debugger for Oracle. The Procedure Editors allow users to create, view, edit, compile and run their stored procedures and functions. The Export Tool allows one to export up to millions of rows from a...

Epson (http://www.epson.com) has announced three new sub-$100 ink jet all-in-ones for printing, scanning, copying, and faxing. Joining the Epson Stylus NX400 are the Epson Stylus NX300, NX200 and NX100. The entry-level Epson Stylus NX series is designed to meet basic printing needs of busy and creative households, especially those looking for products loaded with features to print, scan, copy, and even fax, says Kristi Lanzit Fox, product manager, Consumer Ink Jets, Epson. The flagship Epson Stylus NX400 delivers up to 34 pages per minute (ppm) for black and color text documents, a 4 x 6 inch borderless photo in as fast as 26 seconds, and up to 30 copies per minute (cpm) for both black and color copies. The Epson NX400 also integrates a one-touch, stand-alone copying and photo restoration feature for photos and documents, scanning, memory card slots, PictBridge compatibility, and a 2.5-inch tilt LCD screen for viewing, printing and restoring color to old photos with or without a...

WorqSmart has released QuoteSmart (http://www.worqsmart.com/quotesmart), an US$29.95 tool for gathering and annotating your own personal favorite quotes, sayings, great lines, poems, philosophies, wisdom, verses and passages. Not only can you compile your own wisdom, but QuoteSmart comes pre-loaded with over 6,000 quotes. QuoteSmart comes with over 6,000 quotes. You can print, email, rate, sort and add quotes. You can add notes and find quotes by author, category, text and more. You can also access additional information about the authors by clicking on the Wikipedia, Google and Amazon.com tabs QuoteSmart works with Mac OS X 10.4 or later and Windows 2000, XP (with Service Pack 2 or 3) or Vista.

Real-time collaboration tool Yuuguu (http://www.yuuguu.com) has launched Linux support for its screen-sharing conference technology for businesses and consumers. The launch widens the real-time collaborative technology's support to the Linux platform as well as Mac and Windows. Free to download, Yuuguu is a new real-time collaborative technology that enables secure screen sharing, instant messaging and the ability to work on the same document together in real time. It enables users to securely share their screen with anyone at any time on Mac, PC and Linux systems. The company's personal networking tool also allows users to see when colleagues or friends are online. For consumers, Yuuguu has proved a tool for IT support among friends and family and sharing documents without having to upload them to a web site or send in an email attachment. The free software is simple and quick to set up and allows up to 30 people to collaborate on the same project, says Anish Kapoor, founder and CEO...

Pinnacle Systems (http://www.pinnaclesys.com) the consumer division of Avid Technology, has announced its new Pinnacle TV for Mac HD mini Stick just in time for the U.S. fall TV season. The company says the USB-powered tuner (and its Windows equivalent) is the smallest TV sticks on the market that offer high reception sensitivity. The tuner has been integrated withl new signal booster technology that enables them to pick up digital TV even if the signal is weak, according to the folks at Pinnacle. With a Pinnacle HD mini Stick, Mac users have a solution for viewing and recording live television on their computers at home or when traveling. It includes the latest Personal Video Recorder (PVR) software as well as a mini remote control, a high-gain telescopic TV antenna and a travel bag. The Pinnacle TV for Mac HD mini Stick supports over-the-air TV (ATSC) and unencrypted digital cable TV (ClearQAM) for SDTV and HDTV with resolutions of up to 1080i. The mini stick is activated by...

iCloseBy.com has released iMarkMySpot (http://www.icloseby.com/), a new app for the iPhone that's used to "one-touch" geotag and geocode digital photos withGPS locations. It uses the built-in GPS functionality of the iPhone to store exact waypoint locations. iMarkMySpot is a free download from the Apple App Store. Stored waypoint locations can then be emailed to any address as a standard GPX-formatted file, compatible with many photography and mapping software packages. Using the time stamps from the photos and the time stamp of the stored waypoints, digital photos are then geocoded and geotagged. Using iMarkMySpot in conjunction with digital cameras of any brand, including any digital camera by Canon, Nikon, Sony, Kodak, Fujifilm or any other manufacturer, the exact location of where a photograph is taken is stored in standard GPS/GPX waypoint files. After digital photos have been uploaded to a computer, they can then be automatically merged, by using many available photo management...

Yenco has just has released Agenda 4.0.3 (http://www.yenco.com/agenda/), an update of the Mac OS X (10.4 and higher) app that keeps track of your events and tasks, lets you enter your thoughts, and create calendar or journal websites. The upgrade fixes a usage log entry error where the incorrect location was stated when creating the Agenda data file, makes a minor visual adjustment to the roll up size of the small Agenda window, adds the ability to click on the start and end date text in iEvents to bring up the pick date dialog, improves iCal import speed, adds a preference to remove and quit the reminder app, fixes a bug in the small Agenda window when editing an existing event, adds a routine to iEvents to properly exit the build or preview of a site when no entries with the selected label(s) are found within the dates specified, and updates & adds help content. Agenda 4 is a shareware application. You can evaluate it free for 15 times to try out its features and decide if you...

Sonic Boom (http://www.sonicboommedia.com), a developer and publisher of personalized mobile entertainment, has announced that it has launched the first ringtone maker for the iPhone, ToneMaker with Voice. It allows users to create original iPhone ringtones using a selection of music tracks in various genres -- hip-hop, rock, reggaeton, pop, country, electronic and more -- while recording and mixing in their own voices on top of the tracks. ToneMaker has been previously available exclusively on Verizon Wireless. The iPhone app expands the number of carriers that will enable personalized ringtones, including AT&T Wireless in the U.S. Personalized ringtones are growing overall as a share of the global mobile content market, even though ringtone sales continue to decline. Sonic Boom has optimized the design of ToneMaker for the iPhone, taking advantage of the larger touchscreen interface and its voice recording, says CEO David Danon. He says that it's a music mixing application that...

Sourcebits has updated DMG Architect (http://www.sourcebits.com/dmg/), its DMG package maker program for Mac OS X, to version 1.5. The upgrade includes complete AppleScript support to automate DMG production. There's also support for grid functionality to completely control the objects within DMG container. DMG Architect 1.6 also contains new DMG templates , bug fixes and overall interface improvements. DMG Architect is a free update for all registered owners of previous versions. For new users the cost is US$29.99. A demo is available for download.

Oranged Software has released Studiometry 6.0, an update to the Mac OS X compatible software for companies to organize, plan, invoice, track and create with Client and Project data. The upgrade features a new SQL database to store program data that offers performance enhancements. There are also several other new features and changes. Itemized project estimates are now possible. New Report Item Sets now allow you to select specific items to show on a report. This gives the ability to create, for example, estimates and purchase orders based on specific items associated with your projects. Other new features include multi-project GANTT charts, debt/credit modes, an interface overhaul, and many more. To see what's new in Studiometry 6.0, visit http://www.oranged.net/studiometry/whatsnew Studiometry 6.0 is a pay-for upgrade for registered users. Purchasing Studiometry 6.0 will get you free updates until Studiometry 7.0 is released next year. Studiometry 6.0 costs US$239.95 for a single...

Ross Video (http://www.rossvideo.com) will launch its SoftMetal 4.0 software during IBC 2008 at Stand 9.D30. The upgrade will begin shipping after IBC, and will be available at no charge to all current SoftMetal customers. Summary of new features in SoftMetal 4.0 software are: MXF native record and payback support for HD and SD clips; QuickTime native SD playout; closed captioning support; embedded audio support (16 channels per video input and output); and stereoscopic (3D) record and playback. SoftMetal is a line of multi-definition video servers designed for live production and master control applications. SoftMetal control is based on a client/server architecture with the client side applications written in Java and able to run on a Mac, PC or Linux computer, allowing control of the SoftMetal system from the users desktop of choice.

Savant Systems (http://www.savantav.com) has introduced a downloadable application for the iPhone and iPod touch that runs natively on either device in order to provide two-way control of any home system connected to one of Savant's innovative ROSIE automation systems. The new application providing complete home automation and media control will soon be available on the Apple App Store for US$199. Savant's new application has been engineered to provide complete control over the ROSIE On-Screen Display (OSD), which uses HD graphics to provide intuitive control of systems throughout the home, says Savant President Jim Carroll. The application also includes a section dedicated to "themed interfaces" that can be customized by an authorized Savant dealer using RacePoint Blueprint software and a compatible ROSIE system on the network. Pricing hasn't been announced.

The National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) (http://www.photoshopuser.com/) has announced the Guru Award winners for the West Coast Photoshop World Conference & Expo in Las Vegas. The Guru Awards are a special Photoshop competition exclusively for conference attendees. Winning images can be viewed at http://www.photoshopworld.com/?page=guru/winners. The winners are: Category: Best of Show Artist: Paul Jacklitch Category: Artistic Artist: Eduardo Rizo Category: Commercial Artist: Carol Rossi Category: Illustration Artist: Sam Mestas Category: Photo Montage Artist: Ray Caywood Category: Photo Restoration Artist: Doug Haack Category: Photo Retouch Artist: Richard Martha Category: Photography Artist: Nick Saglimbeni Category: Vincent Versace Award Artist: Nicole Gibson Winners were selected from more than 400 entries by NAPP's art director Felix Nelson, NAPP president Scott Kelby, and the creative team at NAPP after several rounds of...

O'Reilly Media has introduced and opened registration for iPhoneLive (http://conferences.oreilly.com/iphonelive), a new conference scheduled for Nov. 18, 2008, at the Holiday Inn San Jose in Silicon Valley, California. Conference chairs Raven Zachary and Bill Dudney are creating a full day's schedule featuring keynotes from leading thinkers in the mobile space, "Build" and "Launch" tracks of breakout sessions, and panel discussions exploring the iPhone ecosystem. "The iPhone platform represents a major shift in mobility and provides a compelling opportunity for businesses to deliver products and services, whether native or web-based, in new and exciting ways to a global audience," says says Zachary. "iPhoneLive will bring together iPhone developers, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts for a day dedicated to the emergence of the iPhone platform. If you're already developing products and services for the iPhone or are in the process of evaluating the platform, this is the place to be." He...

Pragmatic Studio is excited to announce their latest training course-- Cocoa Studio--to be held in Denver, CO on October 28-30. This course is intended for developers planning to build GUI applications on the Mac (or the iPhone). In this hands-on workshop developers will learn how to use Objective-C and Cocoa to write native Mac OS X applications, and get first-hand experience creating a GUI application with Xcode and Interface Builder. They'll learn directly from two seasoned Cocoa developers and authors: Daniel Steinberg and Bill Dudney. All event details, including an outline of the course, details of the training venue, and registration are available at: http://pragmaticstudio.com/cocoa/