Justin Blackwood of BlackwoodApps has released two additions to the VirtuaScore line of virtual sports scoreboards, Tennis and Volleyball. The Mac OS X apps are targeted to schools and sports organizations. The scoreboards feature various options for customization: the numbers on the displays can be colored from a palette of 25 colors and appear as either digital segments or analog bulbs. Both applications can be controlled in any of three methods: through a simple control panel window, keyboard shortcuts, and menu commands. They feature full undo and redo support to correct accidental changes to the score. VirtuaScore Volleyball and VirtuaScore Tennis require Mac OS X 10.6.6 or higher. They're available at the Mac App Store. They're regularly priced at US$14.99, but are being offered for $4.99 for a limited time.

St. Clair Software has released Jettison 1.2, an update to their application that automatically ejects external drives before your Mac goes to sleep. The upgrade allows you to choose which types of drives it ejects, and automatically remounts any drives that are still connected when you reawaken your Mac. Jettison is designed to eliminate the hassle of manually ejecting Time Machine backup drives, network server volumes and flash drives. Just close the lid of your MacBook, and Jettison does it for you. Jettison requires Mac OS X 10.6 or higher. Version 1.2 is a free update if you purchased an earlier version. It's available for US$1.99 for new users in the Mac App Store.

DssW has launched Sleep Monitor 3 for Mac OS X. The upgrade has been modernised to take advantage of the latest Mac OS X technologies. Sleep Monitor gathers information over days, weeks, and months tobuild a complete picture of your Mac's energy use. Working in the background, Sleep Monitor records information about battery levels,recharging rates, and periods of sleep, shut down, and use. Sleep Monitor provides both a graphical and list view of a Mac's power and use information. The information gathered includes battery level, charging state, and when the Mac is asleep, awake, and shut down. For more info, or to download a 30-day demo version of Sleep Monitor go to http://www.dssw.co.uk/sleepmonitor/ . It's being offered for US$10.99 through Dec. 31. Sleep Monitor requires Mac OS X 10.6.7 or later. Version 3 is a free upgrade for existing customers.

24U Software (http://www.24usoftware.com/) has announced 24U Toolbox Plug-In 1.1.2, an update to their data processing extension for FileMaker Pro 11. Registration codes of server-side and client-side licenses can now be used on the same computer. And Toolbox_GetTimestamp now correctly returns local time of the computer where it's evaluated. 24U Toolbox Plug-In 1.1.2 requires Mac OS X 10.4 or newer and FileMaker Pro 8.5 or newer. Some features of the plug-in are specifically designed for FileMaker Pro 8.5 and 9 and don't work with newer versions of FileMaker Pro. 24U Toolbox Plug-In is immediately available for download as a free fully, functional 14-days trial version, which can be activated after purchasing a license code. A single user license is US$48; additional users pay $24 or less. Developer licenses start at $349. This price is limited to 20 concurrent users per site, but unlimited to a number of solutions or customers. A server-side license is available for $499 and covers...

DEVONtechnologies has released maintenance updates for all editions of DEVONthink and DEVONagent with minor enhancements and bug fixes. DEVONthink is a database for all digital files. DEVONagent is a research tool that communicates with search engines. DEVONthink and DEVONnote 2.3.2 display empty groups in lighter gray so that they can be easier recognized and make adding new tags to documents more comfortable. DEVONthink also comes with a better Sorter -- an applet that runs independently of DEVONthink and lets you add files to databases even when DEVONthink itself isn't open. The update also improves compatibility of OmniOutliner 3 files, DEVONthink Pro and up come with enhanced scripts for Microsoft Entourage and Outlook, better layout handling for tabular data (sheets), and better AppleScript support. The updates for DEVONagent Pro and Express bring updated plug-ins for Googlism, PubMed, Twitter, Wiktionary, and the DEVONtechnologies user forum as well as improved wallpaper,...

"9to5Mac" (http://www.9to5Mac.com) says Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer is running Apple's retail division until a replacement can be found for Ron Johnson, who had the job before departing earlier this year to become CEO of J.C. Penney. The article adds that Apple has been actively searching for a new retail chief has been working with Egon Zehnder International, an executive search firm, to find Johnson's replacement. "Oppenheimer is obviously an interim leader with a lack of retail experience, but his executive leadership experience is enough to give orders to his new troops," says "9to5Mac."

Acclivity has announced AccountEdge Pro 2012, an update to their small business accounting software for Mac and Windows. The latest version for the US market features a redesigned command center, mileage tracking, and the ability to create multiple billing rates. AccountEdge 2012 also contains numerous forms enhancements, more precise sales reporting, and updated company file maintenance capabilities. AccountEdge's command center has been redesigned with an emphasis on usability. While retaining the familiar flow chart layout, the new Side Bar and additional menus, Sync and Lists, are designed to make it easier to read and navigate your company file. AccountEdge Pro 2012 introduces mileage tracking, allowing the user to add vehicles and keep detailed notes about business-related trips. You can track the date, vehicle used, trip notes, apply mileage to a specific job, and add mileage to customer invoices. AccountEdge Pro users can now create a billing rate matrix, setting multiple...

Motorola Mobility has won an initial ruling in Germany that could allow the company to stop Apple from selling the iPhone and 3G-capable iPad models throughout the European Union, reports "FOSS Patents" (http://macte.ch/vkbNY). The court found that Apple's products violate a patent related to the GPRS data service used over cellular networks, the article adds. It's an ongoing case of "he said, she said." Apple alleges that Motorola infringes 24 of its patents (21 of them with Android-based phones, the remaining 3 with set-top boxes and DVRs), while Motorola previously asserted 18 patents against a variety of Apple products (mostly but not exclusively iPhone, iPad and iPod). Litigation between the two companies has taken place in several different federal courts -- primarily the Western District of Wisconsin and the Southern District of Florida -- as well as before the US International Trade Commission (ITC). The two lawsuits came after Motorola sued Apple in October 2010 for patent...

Uncomplex has introduced Replies 1.0 for Mac OS X (10.6 or higher), an email app designed especially to assist users in handling customer support emails. You can download it here (http://repliesapp.com/download); registration is US$79.95. A 30-day demo is available. Replies features reusable text snippets, prioritization of incoming requests, pending and resolved message tracking, threaded email messages and responses, and a 15-second delay on all outgoing emails. It organizes all messages into conversations, and groups all related messages together. Replies incorporates the email browser style found in the iOS Mail app. A thin column on the left holds icons for Inbox, Outbox, Pending, and Resolved, plus folders within each box. The next thin column contains a scrolling list of emails, where each item is displayed in five lines of text, including the sender, subject, date, and beginning text of the message. The third and final column is wide, about two-thirds of the window, and...

Winter Wolves has released The Flower Shop: Winter In Fairbrook. It's a dating and farming simulation game and takes place after the first Flower Shop game, Summer In Fairbrook. However, you can enjoy the game and the story without the need to play the first episode. Here's how the game is described: "Natalie has barely survived her first semester in college, and all she wants is a break. However, her parents insist that she start acting like a responsible adult and get a job during her school's winter break. In no time at all, Natalie's roommate sets her up with a job, and she's shipped off to the town of Fairbrook for a mundane job in a flower shop. "Play as Natalie and meet some of the characters of the first game like Clara, Susana, Steve, Trent, Jacob plus a 'new entry': Ryan, who runs the general store of the town. You can plan your weeks and who you spend time with using the weekly scheduler. "Customize each week, spend time with who you like, or ignore everyone and work all...

Newer Technology (http://www.newertech.com) has announced its NuTouch Gloves, which are designed to keep hands warm while using an iPhone, iPad, or other touch screen device in cold weather. NuTouch Gloves have a special conductive fiber woven into all 10 fingertips so users can enjoy the fastest typing input on full-sized touch keyboards, according to Grant Dahlke, brand Manager, Newer Technology,. They're made from a soft cotton mix and available in four hand sizes -- S/M/L/X. NuTouch Gloves offer maximum comfort and flexibility without diminishing the ability to hold and use a touch screen device, says Dahlke. The classic charcoal color complements any attire from casual to professional, he adds. NuTouch Gloves can be worn by themselves, or as liners with heavier cold weather gloves. The Newer Technology NuTouch Gloves are available for US$11.99 from NewerTech's exclusive distributor, Other World Computing (http://www.macsales.com).

Xylio has announced FutureDecks DJ pro 3.0.2, an update of their audio-video DJ mixing app for Mac OS X. The upgrade sports over 50 new features such as being able to connect up to eight hardware MIDI/HID controllers at the same time. The four decks can be completely synchronized with one another, allowing for complex mash-ups and mixing sessions. The software comes with a very powerful and flexible sampler where beats and jingles can be loaded. Loops made in any of the four decks can also be sent to any of the eight sampler's banks. The loops will also be in-sync with the other decks. Loops can also be saved and recalled later on. The key can be changed or locked (master tempo) to achieve not only beatmatched but also key-matched mixes. FutureDecks DJ pro even detects the key of a song/video to simplify harmonic mixing. Color markers in FutureDecks DJ pro 3.0.2 enable the user to assign colors to particular tracks. The Audio, Video and Karaoke buttons help filter the playlist by each...

Dejal Systems (http://www.dejal.com/simon/) has updated Simon, a server monitoring tool for Mac OS X, to version 3.3. The upgrade includes Ping and Growl enhancements Dejal Simon checks websites and other kinds of services for changes or failures, with notification and reporting options. You can receive notification of changes, failures, and/or recoveries via various Actions and more. Services include Web (HTTP) to check web pages (including secure ones, and supporting POST and cookies), FTP files and directory listings, DNS, Ping servers, see Twitter updates, watch a local application, capture periodic screenshots, watch for System Log Errors, and more. Plus, you can add your own services via custom port connections, AppleScripts, shell scripts, or Perl, PHP, Python, etc. You can use filters to avoid dynamic content and detect changes in the output of the service and other filters. With Simon, you can can look at multiple portions, or the 10th occurrence, find via simple text...

LaCie (http://www.lacie.com) has announced the 12big Rack Storage Server, a network storage solution complete with the software and hardware needed for backup or file sharing right out of the box. The 12big Rack Storage Server features the performance of Quad LANs and the power of Windows Storage Server, according to the folks at LaCie. It ships with 6Gb/s Nearline SAS disks, which feature redundant path technology. The 12big Rack Storage Server is available in 9TB, 12TB, 24TB and 36TB capacities with the five-year Gold Protection Plan. The protection plan features warranty on drives and components, as well as fast product replacement. The 12big Rack Storage Server is available through LaCie Online Store, LaCie PROgram+ Partners, and LaCie PROgram+ Resellers starting at US$11,299.

InCube Games has presented a free version of its self-titled chess game in a real 3D field (8x8x8), and has updated the basic version of the program. Also, the price for the basic version of the program has been lowered from US$3.99 to $2.99. Here's how the game is described: "InCube Chess is a new stage in evolution of the classic chess game, which is transferred into three-dimensional space. Overcoming limitations of two-dimensional classic chess, Chess InCube saves their traditions and basics, but invests a lot of new possibilities." The game requires Mac OS X 10.6 or later. It's available worldwide exclusively through the Mac App Store in the Games category.

Apple has released Aperture 3.2.2, an update of its software for professional photographers. The upgrade resolves an issue that could prevent auto-imported Photo Stream images from being displayed in the library after your Photo Stream hits 1,000 images. Aperture is designed for iPhoto users who want to get more out of their photos. It includes tools for refining images, showcasing your work, and managing massive libraries on your Mac. Aperture costs US$79.99. It requires Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later.

In a note to clients -- as reported by "Business Insider" (http://macte.ch/yVaWt) -- Citi analyst Richard Gardner says the iPad 3 will arrive in February. Quoting unnamed "sources," he says the next gen iPad will have twice the screen resolution of the iPad 2. Despite rumors to the contrary, there don't appear to be any significant technical hurdles remaining to prevent a launch of a high-resolution Apple tablet, Gardner adds.

The Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris, the first-instance court for all French patent lawsuits, has denied Samsung's request for a preliminary injunction against the iPhone 4S, reports "FOSS Patents" (http://macte.ch/WmnjR). This is, of course, part of the ongoing, global battle between Apple and Samsung who both accuse each other of patent infringement. Last Friday, Apple's motion for a US-wide preliminary injunction against four Samsung products was also rejected. Before this a Samsung request for an injunction in the Netherlands bombed. (The iPhone 4S wasn't specifically accused in the Dutch case.) On Dec.16 a court in Milan, Italy will hold a second hearing on another Samsung bid to ban the iPhone 4S. The outcome of the French case will likely be taken note of by the Italian court, notes "FOSS Patents."

EaseUS Software has released MacCleaning, an all-in-one menu bar utility for cleaning your Mac junk files, showing disk space available, warning when the disk space is running low, ejecting drives, and more. 
With one click you can start a process to remove the junk files like system caches, system logs, user logs, user downloads, trash, Safari cache, etc. The free space of system drive will be pinned to the menu bar, which allows you to react in advance before the drive is full. Two versions of MacCleaning are launched, MacCleaning (http://www.easemac.com/products/maccleaning-free.htm) and MacCleaning Pro (http://www.easemac.com/products/maccleaning-pro.htm). MacCleaning Pro ($9.99) has all the features of the free version and enables you to customize the space value to display a warning and eject all the mounted devices with a click.

Kandalu Software has introduced DropCloud (http://www.kandalu.net/products/dropcloud/) for Mac OS X. It offers a way of syncing files across Macs configured with iCloud. To use you drag and drop your data files into the Drop Window and your files are available on all your devices. DropCloud is capable of syncing files across Macs configured with iCloud with its "Mac to Mac" function. Files supported include: iWork (Pages, Numbers, Keynote), Microsoft (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), GoodReader for iPhone and Instacast. DropCloud requires Mac OS X 10.7.2. One or more iWork applications (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) must be installed on your Mac to enable support to iCloud Documents. For "Drop" and "Mac to Mac" functionality, one or more iWork application (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) must be installed on your devices to enable support to iCloud Documents. With only "Drop" functionality, Documents & Data are enabled on iCloud Preferences (Mac and Devices). DropCloud costs US$4.99. A demo is...

Rogue Amoeba has introduced Piezo, a simple audio recorder for Mac OS X (10.6 and higher). It costs US$10 and is available at the Mac App Store. A demo version is available at the Rogue Amoeba web site (http://rogueamoeba.com/piezo/). After launching, a single click of the record button can have Piezo recording audio from any application. Almost any app's audio can be captured in Piezo, just by selecting it as the source. Piezo will grab web streams in Safari or music from services like Spotify and Rdio. If you need to capture sound bites from DVDs or even from movies in iTunes, Piezo can do it. It works with audio devices, too, so when a microphone (such as an Apple headset) is connected, Piezo can record that audio right into the Mac.

Behringer (http://www.Behringer.com) has launched the Eurosound consumer electronics brand. The first product released under the brand is the iNuke Boom, "the loudest iPad, iPod and iPhone dock you’ve ever heard." The US$29,999.99 (yep, you read that right) monster speaker system measures a whopping 8 feet wide by 4 feet tall, weighs over 700 pounds and pumps out over 10,000 watts of power.

Optix has unveiled the HD Sport Mount, a weatherproof rugged case designed to transform an iPhone 4, 4S and iPod touch into an action sports camera. For the latest Apple smartphone, it takes advantage of iPhone 4S’ 1080p HD and image stabilizing capabilities. Optrix’s patented design houses the iOS device while allowing users easy access to its interface, enabling instant playback, video editing or even uploading. In addition, the ability to see a full-screen image of the framed shot, coupled with its one-hand quick release design makes adjusting shooting angles fast and painless, eliminating the out of frame videos that plague current market options, says John Willenborg, founder of Optrix. Designe for sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, mountain biking, racing, and more, the HD Sport Mount comes with a variety of base mounts that adhere to different surface.  Currently available for pre-order, the Optrix HD Sport Mount fcan be found at http://www.optrixhd.com for US$79.99. ...

Cleer Gear has announced the Schatzii Smart Cloths for antibacterial screen cleaning for iPhones, iPads, iPods and other touch screen devices. Schatzii Screen Cleaners make your smart phones and touch screens sparkling clean and virtually germ-free, without having to use any messy sprays, liquids or wet wipes that can damage your electronic devices, according to Peter Tsou, Schatzii’s CEO and founder. They're also scratch free, he adds. Schatzii Smart Cloths are treated with AEGIS Microbe Shield, a fabric treatment that provides the Schatzii with antibacterial, anti-static and anti-dust cleaning capabilities. These cleaning cloths are made of Microfiber and are available in 30 designs. Schatzii Smart Cloth Screen Cleaners area available at http://www.schatzii.com for US$9.99 and at select retailers.