NAB: Dalet features new Dalet Brio Video Server I/O combinations
Dalet Digital Media Systems is announcing new configurations for the Dalet Brio servers that offer broadcasters tremendous flexibility for all types of ingest, production and playout workflows at NAB 2013, which will be held in Las Vegas April 8-11.
The Brio servers can now be scaled to a maximum of 12 ports in a single server, through a four-port extension board. When combined with the range of Dalet or third-party tools, the Dalet Brio servers provide even greater versatility with more improvements for workflows in news, sports, studio production and MAM, says Raoul Cospen, director of marketing and business development, Dalet.
Dalet Brio units are designed to ingest and playout broadcast quality video in SD and HD formats. These servers are built on IT-standard components and delivered in a compact 2RU chassis with a choice of inputs and outputs (up to 12 simultaneous channels) and storage combinations (local or direct connection to SAN). The "Ingest Once, Write Many" feature of...
Route1 releases MobiKEY for iPad
Route1 -- a digital security and identity management company whose customers include the U.S. Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Energy and the Government of Canada -- has released MobiKEY technology for the iPad.
MobiKEY is a desktop, secure remote access technology that integrates multi-factor authentication and identity management in a mobile computing environment. MobiKEY subscribers will now be able to use MobiKEY on an iPad running iOS 5 and higher.
The MobiKEY technology includes the use of both Route1’s universal identity management and service delivery platform and MobiKEY application software. For more info go to www.route1.com/store/index.php .
Pilot's Path available for Mac OS X
Pilot's Path, an old school top down view helicopter flying game by Happymagenta, is now available in the Mac App Store (http://tinyurl.com/cyu2ojv) for Mac OS X 10.7 or higher. It costs US$0.99.
It's one of a very few games that was specially crafted to make use of an extra iOS device as a remote controller. Pilot's Path creates a real console gaming experience when played on a big screen when a second iOS device is used as a remote wireless joystick controller via Wi-Fi, says Alexander Novoselov, the co-founder and CEO of Happymagenta.
The search and rescue, gather and trade gameplay guides a player through the story of a former USAF pilot, which, dishonorably discharged after an accident with an expensive military plane, makes his way back to the sky doing missions for criminal underground bosses.
Novoselov says connecting a remote wireless joystick is easy as tapping a "Remote" button in the game. The process is fully automatic and requires neither a shaman dancing nor any extra...
Sonnet announces Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock
Sonnet has announced the Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock, a fully featured docking station for Mac and Windows computers with Thunderbolt ports.
Sonnet's latest Thunderbolt technology product features 15 ports: four USB 3.0, one Gigabit Ethernet, one FireWire 800, one headphone, one microphone, one speaker, one audio in, one pass-through Thunderbolt (for either another Thunderbolt device or an external display), two eSATA, and two internal SATA (one port for included optical disc drive and one 6 Gb/s port for a user-installable 2.5-inch SSD or 3.5-inch hard drive). In addition, the Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock includes an 8x DVD±RW drive, or optionally, a Blu-ray BD-ROM/8x DVD±RW drive with Blu-ray player software for OS X.
The Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock with DVD Drive (part number ECHO-TBD-CD-0TB) has a suggested retail price of US$399.95. The Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock with Blu-ray Drive (part number ECHO-TBD-BL-0TB) has a suggested retail price of $449.95. The Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock with DVD...
Portfolio Server updated to version 11
Extensis has announced the availability of Portfolio Server 11, its latest Digital Asset Management (DAM) solution.
The upgrade sports new features such as a brand-able web client and Amazon Electric Compute Cloud (EC2) support. Portfolio Server 11 lets users adapt the solution to their specific needs and run-it-anywhere, according to Davin Kluttz, director of Product Strategy at Extensis. Additionally, the DAM server includes robust iPad and video capabilities, offering instant access to digital media with streaming HD video playback and video conversion for tablets, mobile devices and the web.
Portfolio Server 11starts at an estimated retail price of US$1,999. Competitive upgrades are available for a variety of products, including Final Cut Pro Server. Existing Portfolio Server users with a current annual service agreement (ASA) will receive product upgrades free of charge, and upgrade pricing is also available for existing Portfolio Standalone, Portfolio Server and Portfolio Studio...
Fotor is new photo editor for the Mac
Photography software developer, Everimaging, has released Fotor, new photo editing software for Mac and Windows systems. It contains editing tools to adjust exposure, brightness, contrast, white balance, and saturation, sharpen/blur, add a vignette, or crop, straighten and rotate.
Fotor also includes 13 one-tap enhance configurations, over 60 effects and 30 styles of frames, an advanced tilt-shift editor, conversion functionality for RAW files, full support for retina displays, built-in social network sharing capability, high-resolution file saving and more.
Fotor is available on the Mac App Store (http://tinyurl.com/cojolxj) for free. For more info go to www.fotor.com .
Three Apple patent claims reinstated
The US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) has reinstated three claims in an Apple patent it had earlier said it was minded to reject -- but not the claim involved in Apple's US$1.05 billion dollar lawsuit against Samsung, according to documents filed by Samsung with a Californian court on Monday, reports "InfoWorld" (http://tinyurl.com/c6hajh6).
The USPTO reexamined the validity of the patent at the request of an unnamed party. Apple's "list scrolling and document translation, scaling, and rotation on a touchscreen display" patent describes a way to show an area beyond a document edge, indicating the end of a scrollable document on a touch-screen device. When a user reaches this edge and stops scrolling, the screen snaps back to the nearest display area that was left. The patent is also known as the "rubber banding" or "overscroll bounce" patent, notes "InfoWorld."
This is all part of the ongoing, global legal battle. Apple and Samsung have filed more than 30 lawsuits against each...
Apple to announced second fiscal quarter results on April 23
Apple will hold its quarterly conference call and announce its fiscal second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, April 23, starting at approximately 2 pm Pacific. This will be the first earnings report since Apple announced it has moved to what it says is a more accurate system for reporting revenue and expenses.
The call will be streamed live on Apple's website. You can listen in if you have iTunes.
Apple says it's improved services in China
Following weeks of scrutiny over its warranty policies in China, Apple CEO Tim Cook says it has improved services in the region. The info came in the form of a note posted in Chinese on Apple's Chinese site.
According to "CNET" (http://tinyurl.com/c6zzsfm), in the letter, Cook apologized for a lack of communication on the matter, and said that the company is implementing improvements in three areas of its warranty policy and related services:
° A new repair policy for the iPhone 4 and 4S that provides a new phone exchange or new parts replacement for a year after purchase, and extends warranties on those devices repaired within the last year.
° New warranty explanation pages on Apple's Chinese site.
° More training and policing of Apple Authorized Service Providers who are doing repairs.
The company also pointed to its online feedback form for anything that falls outside those changes, notes "CNET."
Macworld/iWorld Expo 2014 to be held in March
Next year’s Macworld/iWorld Expo will now take place March 27 through March 29, 2014, reports "Macworld" (http://macte.ch/Y0C7s).
It had previously been slated for the first three days of February. The rescheduled event will move from Moscone West to Moscone North in San Francisco, as well.
Samsung: we could end up owing Apple even more money
Last month Judge Lucy Koh ordered a new trial to determine the proper damage award for 14 of the 28 Samsung devices found by a jury last summer to have infringed Apple patents. However, Samsung now says that a retrial could end with them owing more than the original settlement of US$1.05 billion, reports "FOSS Patents."
This is all part of the ongoing, global legal battle. Apple and Samsung have filed more than 30 lawsuits against each other across four continents. For example, Apple alleges that Samsung copied the slide-to-unlock technology of its iPhone and iPad devices. Read more at http://tinyurl.com/ctt8ztq .
Chinese film studio sues Apple
Apple told "The South China Morning Post" that it would not comment or a make response to an ongoing litigation. Read more at http://tinyurl.com/c7oxx66 .
A state-owned Chinese animation studio has filed suit against Apple in a Beijing court, claiming the Cupertino-based tech company sold its movies in the iTunes store without approval, according to "The Hollywood Reporter" (http://tinyurl.com/cdx8mjd).
Shanghai Animation Film Studio is backed by the Chinese government and is seen as a leading player in the nascent Chinese animation space. It's seeking a little over half a million dollars in damages in the suit, the article adds.
The "South China Morning Post" says a senior executive at the Shanghai-based studio confirmed that the litigation had been filed with the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, which accepted the case. Apple declined to comment.
Resize Sense for Mac OS X resized to version 1.5
VeprIT has introduced Resize Sense 1.5, an update of its batch image resizer for Mac OS X.
Featuring various resizing options, Resize Sense is designed to save the user time on repetitive tasks by supporting custom presets, and can even be used to apply multiple presets to every image simultaneously. In addition, the software allows users to manually adjust the crop individually for every image, and even straighten them.
Resize Sense 1.5 sports a redesigned Image View with zooming support and other improvements. Resized images can be saved by dragging them to Finder. Resized image can be dragged to another application supporting image dropping.
Also in version 1.5, a resized image can be copied to the system clipboard and pasted in another application supporting image pasting. Images can be reordered in the browser. Combined with saving with sequence numbers, this can be used to reorder saved images
The crop & straighten settings in version 1.5 can be copied between images of...
Tidy Up for Mac OS X gets new interface, more
Hyperbolic Software (http://www.hyperbolicsoftware.com/) has announced Tidy Up 3.0, the latest version of the duplicate finder and disk tidying utility. The upgrade features a new interface and more.
Tidy Up locates duplicate items using a wide range of criteria including owner application, time created or modified, name, label, extension and content. Version 3.0 features include: the ability to search for duplicate folders by content; a priority option; the ability to compare only the representation data of the images; results shown as a grid or list; pre-definite smart baskets that show the files by kind; and more.
Version 3.0 of Tidy Up requires Mac OS X 10.6.6 or greater. For a limited time, it's on sale for 23% off its regular price of $39.
Boot Runner for the Mac runs to version 1.3
Twocanoes Software has announced Boot Runner 1.3, an update to its startup control solution for dual-boot Macs. The tool provides complete start-up management and control, including a customizable selection screen and Finder menu boot selector.
Boot Runner allows administrators to manage the startup process locally or through network policies. Version 1.3 introduces a new maintenance feature for scheduling startup for a specified boot volume.
Boot Runner requires Mac OS X 10.6 or higher. Twocanoes offers a support package that includes two years of technical support and maintenance, including access to priority technical support and all minor and major upgrades. For more info go to http://twocanoes.com/boot-runner .
PDFpen for Mac OS X upgraded to version 6.0.1
Smile (www.smilesoftware.com) has announced PDFpen 6.0.1, the latest version of its all-purpose PDF editing tool. The upgrade of PDFpen enables Microsoft Word export when running on OS X 10.7 Lion, and includes several essential fixes to PDFpen 6.0.
The changes in PDFpen 6.0.1 have also been made in PDFpenPro 6.0.1, the pro version that can also convert websites into PDFs, create fillable PDF forms, automatically create form fields in non-interactive PDF forms, construct document table of contents, and set document permission settings that restrict saving, printing, and copying.
PDFpen 6 works with PDFpen for iPad and PDFpen for iPhone, allowing editing across devices when used with iCloud or Dropbox storage. Users who wish to use iCloud must purchase PDFpen 6 from the Mac App Store. (Apple restricts iCloud access to applications purchased via the Mac App Store.)
PDFpen retails for US$59.95, and PDFpenPro for $99.95. Family Pack licenses, which cover up to five computers in one...
DIT Station new, portable on-set data/playback workstation
DIT Station has introduced the DIT Station Rogue4, the newest version of the company's portable and compact on-set data management and playback workstation.
The Rogue4 is purportedly faster than ever before, with Sonnet Technologies' built-in Thunderbolt expansion, media ingest, and storage solutions offering performance up to 900 MB/s. Sonnet and DIT Station will demonstrate the DIT Station Rogue4 in the Sonnet Technologies booth SL10924 at the 2013 NAB Show.
Housed in a military-grade case with custom ventilation, the new DIT Station Rogue4 provides a fast PCIe and Thunderbolt backbone for a range of on-site digital intermediate (DI) tasks. The Rogue4 works exclusively on the 15-inch MacBook Pro Retina platform, integrating multiple Sonnet Echo Express Thunderbolt-to-PCIe Expansion Chassis with video I/O cards for tasks such as transcoding and playout. Multiple Sonnet Tempo SSD Pro 6Gb PCIe adapter cards, each holding two 2.5-inch SSDs, provide high-performance onboard Thunderbolt...
Apple plans marketing campaign for Final Cut Pro X
In 2011, a major revamping Final Cut Pro editing software was roundly criticized as being a "downgrade" of the pro video editing software. After seven updates to the product, Apple is launching a marketing effort for Final Cut Pro X, according to the "Los Angeles Times" (http://tinyurl.com/cxjbdbl).
The campaign is timed to coincide with the National Association of Broadcasters convention (NAB) that starts April 6 in Las Vegas. Apple plans to begin posting three stories on its website aimed at changing the minds of folks who felt burned by Final Cut Pro X by demonstrating how sophisticated users have embraced the software. The stories will also feature Tsui Hark, one of the biggest names in Hong Kong cinema, and TV Azteca, which produces thousands of telenovela episodes every year, notes the "LA Times."
Also, Apple has released updates for Final Cut Pro X, Motion, and Compressor. You can find them at the Mac App Store.
Upgrade to QuarkXPress 9 from any version for $349
Quark has announced an extension of the upgrade policy that allows QuarkXPress users on any version -- from 3 to 8 -- to upgrade to QuarkXPress 9 for US$349.
The $349 upgrade price represents a $500 savings for users who choose to upgrade before June 30, 2013. After June 30, 2013, only users on version 8 can upgrade to QuarkXPress 9 for $349. Any users of versions 3 to 7 will need to purchase a full license for $849. For more information about QuarkXPress 9, go to http://www.quark.com/Products/QuarkXPress/ .
To upgrade from any version of QuarkXPress to version 9 for $349, users must have a valid, registered, and activated serial number for QuarkXPress.
Upgrades can be purchased through Quark Authorized Resellers, the Quark Store, and Quark Customer Service. For more information, go to www.quark.com/upgrade .
MacBook Pro Retina Display Screen Protector available
Tru Protection has released new screen protectors for the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros with Retina displays. They're designed to protect your device from scratches, dust and dirt and reduce screen glare.
Priced at US$29.95, the anti-glare screen protector uses a special matte finish that purportedly reduces glare for easier viewing. They come with one anti-glare screen protector. For more info go to www.TruProtection.com .
M2W posts MPEG2 Works 5 Advanced
MPEG2 Works (www.mpeg2works.com) -- a Mac OS X tool for video formats re-conversion, encoding and manipulation -- has been revved to version 5. The upgrade sports faster conversion and encoding, a redesigned interface and a rewriting of all sections.
MPEG2 Works 5 is available at the product web site. It costs US$25 and requires Mac OS X 10.5 or higher.
MathMagic Pro for InDesign adds new symbol fonts, more
InfoLogic has released MathMagic Pro 8.5 (http://www.mathmagic.com/) for Adobe InDesign, an update of the equation editor for Mac OS X. It's a standalone multi-purpose equation editor for mathematical equations and scientific symbols.
MathMagic Pro also comes with InDesign plug-ins to let InDesign use MathMagic as an equation editor within InDesign. Version 8.5 adds new symbol fonts, direct drawing option for vertical and horizontal Fences, new plug-ins for InDesign CS5~CS6 for batch applying of StyleSets, and more.
MathMagic Pro Edition 8.5 is available for US$499 ($299.00 for academic licenses). A demo is available for download.
ChronoSync for Mac OS X updated to version 4.3.7
Econ Technologies has updated ChronoSync to version 4.3.7 ,which contains several new features and fixes. ChronoSync is the automated synchronization and backup application for Mac OS X that can synchronize, backup, and create bootable backups.
Version 4.3.7 adds the capability to specify a login domain when entering a username in network volume Target Options. It adds logic to overcome the situation where the OS would not immediately detect that a mounted SMB volume had become disconnected. ChronoSync 4.3.7 changes the way it collects file and folder information from NAS volumes to prevent overloading and hanging certain NAS devices.
All existing ChronoSync users update for free. For new users the cost is US$40. A demo is available for download from the Econ Technologies web site (http://www.econtechnologies.com).
Native Instruments releases Komplete 9, Komplete 9 Ultimate
Native Instruments has announced the latest generation of its two Komplete software bundles.
Komplete 9 includes 33 instruments and effects with six new additions, including the new Monark monosynth, plus the completely re-designed Battery 4 drum sampler. Komplete 9 Ultimate includes all 65 current Komplete Instruments and Effects at the time of release and over 370GB of content.
Each bundle now also features studio effects. Notably, Komplete 9 and Komplete 9 Ultimate are available for the same prices as their predecessors. Komplete 9 and Komplete 9 Ultimate are available in stores and via the NI Online Shop (www.native-instruments.com/Komplete)
Komplete 9 is available now at a suggested retail price of US$559; Komplete 9 Ultimate is available for a suggested retail price of $1,099. Updates for owners of Komplete 2 through 8 are available from $149.
Shanghai firm sues Apple for patent infringement
An Shanghai firm is suing Apple, claiming that Siri -- Apple's voice-activated "personal assistant" -- infringes on its patents, reports "Shanghai Daily" (http://tinyurl.com/cws4q98).
"Siri is very similar to Xiaoi, a chat robot system we have been developing since 2003," says Mei Li, a spokeswoman of Shanghai Zhi Zhen which filed the lawsuit. She says her company applied for patent rights for Xiaoi in 2004 in China and the patent right went into effect in 2006.
The Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People's Court will hold a pre-hearing at 2 pm Wednesday to let Apple and Shanghai Zhi Zhen Internet Technology exchange evidence, according to "Shanghai Daily."
OfficeTimes for Mac OS X updated
OfficeTimes (http://officetime.net) has released an update of OfficeTime, its time and expense tracking software for Mac OS X.
This new version is designed to enable companies to provide greater detail and accountability with their billing. OfficeTime users can produce invoices which show the start and end time of activities, enabling clients to see greater detail on when certain tasks were performed.
OfficeTime can be purchased at OfficeTime.net for US$47. There are iPhone and iPad versions available in the Apple App Store for $7.99. Unlike web-based time-tracking applications, OfficeTime does not require a monthly subscription fee.
Korg introduces its latest additions to the Kaoss synthesizer...
Korg (http://www.korg.com) has debuted the latest additions to its Kaoss family: the KP3+ Dynamic Effect/Sampler and the Kaossilator Pro+ Dynamic Phase Synthesizer/Loop Recorder.
Like all of Korg’s Kaoss products, these new tools offer creative musical possibilities and intuitive control over multiple parameters with a X-Y touchpad interface that responds to the touch or swipe of a finger. The Korg KP3+ and Kaossilator Pro+ will both be available next month for a street price of $US349.99 and $399.99, respectively.
The KP3+ features instantaneous touchpad-based control over 150 effects programs that include the original KP3 effects, sounds and features, plus 22 all-new, diverse effect programs for everything from various EDM genres to rock and beyond. The KP3+ offers high resolution sampling from a wide variety of sources via mic and line inputs.
Seim Effects introduces ColorFlow for Aperture
Seim Effects Photo Tools has introduced ColorFlow, its newest creative preset collection engineered by photographer Gavin Seim.
These new color-only presets have been created specifically for photographers who use Apple Aperture software in their digital photography workflow. Aperture is Apple's software for professional photographers.
The ColorFlow presets collection organizes more than 60 presets across five categories of color tools: Essential Color, Color Story, Film Inspired, Hollywood Cinema and Color Toners. For even greater control, users can mix and blend color effects for a desired mood or visual theme.
Seim Effects' ColorFlow preset collection for Aperture (version 3 and newer) is now available. Until April 10, there's an introductory price of US$39 (a $10 discount). To purchase or for more information plus a Virtual Demo and to view an informative video about the Seim ColorFlow preset collection, go to http://seimeffects.com/colorflow/ .
PLX announces the Yaba X portable speaker, guitar amplifier
PLX Devices has released Yaba X, a portable speaker and guitar amplifier specifically engineered to turn any surface into a speaker. It utilizes the surface as an extension of the speaker itself.
The pocket-sized Yaba X is made from cast zinc. It measures only a few inches and is still able to deliver room-filling sound equal to the performance of speakers 10 times its size, according to Paul Lowchareonkul, Yaba’s inventor. With a core composed of neodymium magnets, Yaba X is powered by three lithium polymer batteries capable of playing your music for up to eight hours on a single charge
Yaba X is exclusively offered through Kickstarter as a special promotion. It's available in blue, red, black, white and a fifth color that will be selected by backers. Yaba X will retail for US$99.99, however, exclusively through Kickstarter, backers can receive the Yaba X for as low as $39. For more info go to www.plxdevices.com .
Money for Mac OS X rings up version 4.4.4
Jumsoft (www.jumsoft.com) has revamped the import feature of its finance and budgeting app, Money.
Version 4.4.4 features a redesigned import view, a duplicate detection feature for transactions being imported, support of the MT940 file format, bulk editing during import, and other improvements. Money allows users to: track transactions to and from their wallets and bank accounts; make budget plans and monitor outcomes; and manage their bills.
Money 4.4.4 requires Mac OS X 10.7 or higher. It costs US$38.99 and is available Mac App Store in the Finance category (http://tinyurl.com/ck4cgmy).
PrivacyScan now available at the Mac App Store
PrivacyScan 1.2, Seek and Destroy Privacy Threats on the Mac from SecureMac (www.securemac.com) is now available in the Mac App Store with enhanced and updated privacy cleaning features and support.
PrivacyScan protects online and offline privacy by shredding files that can be used to track your web browsing habits and computer usage. It's shred functionality is able to overwrite sensitive data up to 35 times, helping you wipe your tracks to ensure privacy.
PrivacyScan 1.2 is available for US$14.99 and is available worldwide through the Mac App Store in the Utilities category (http://tinyurl.com/d97pm83). It requires Mac OS X 10.6 or higher.
ATTO powers JMR's SAS/SATA RAID storage solution
ATTO Technology says it has been selected by JMR Electronics as the storage connectivity source for their latest SilverStor desktop SAS/SATA RAID storage solution.
Using ATTO’s ThunderStream RAID controller, end users can now directly connect Thunderbolt-ready ultrabooks, all-in-ones and laptops to high-performance JMR storage. This portable and lightweight eight bay solution scales to 32TB and is designed for demanding imaging and video applications used on location or on set.
ATTO ThunderStream devices provide fast, redundant and highly available connectivity to storage along with its time-tested RAID functionality, says Wayne Arvidson, vice president of marketing at ATTO Technology. Differentiating features of ATTO RAID products include Advanced Data Streaming (ADS) Technology and DriveAssure.
Arvidson says that Advanced Data Streaming is a core technology developed by ATTO that manages latency resulting in smooth data transfers and fewer dropped frames for consistent performance...
Tokyo Chrominator comes to Final Cut Pro X
Noise Industries has introduced Tokyo Chrominator, designed exclusively for Final Cut Pro X. Now available for FxFactory, the plugin can be found under Tokyo Chrominator in the FCP X effects browser.
Especially useful for adding production value to logos and text, Chrominator lets editors instantly give images a glossy, beveled 3D look complete with animated lighting. In addition to the basic version of the effect, which can be customized, there are six presets available including gold, silver, brass and more, making it easy to instantly achieve an interesting look or to use as the basis for one's own unique variation.
Tokyo Chrominator is available now in FxFactory for US$49. For more info go to http://www.noiseindustries.com/info/chrominator .
T-Mobile joins the iPhone party
T-Mobile USA will begin carrying the iPhone 5 on Friday, April 12. The carrier says that qualifying customers can get an iPhone 5 for US$99.99 down, plus monthly payments.
T-Mobile is the only major U.S. wireless company to offer iPhone 5 with no annual service contract plus unlimited talk, text and Web on a nationwide 4G network, according to President and CEO John Legere. Because there are no annual contracts, customers make the decision when to upgrade their devices, not the carrier, he adds.
With compatibility on T-Mobile’s 4G network, iPhone 5 customers will enjoy a consistently outstanding wireless experience, seamlessly connecting to both T-Mobile’s existing nationwide 4G and growing 4G LTE networks, Legere says. Today, the company launched 4G LTE service in seven major metropolitan areas, including Baltimore; Houston; Kansas City; Las Vegas; Phoenix; San Jose, Calif.; and Washington, D.C. T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network is expected to reach 100 million people by mid-year and 200...
Pupil is new, customizable resolution switcher for the Mac
Louder Than Ten, in collaboration with Padraig Kennedy, has launched Pupil, a menu bar utility for Mac OS X. It lets users label and order their favorite display settings, so they can switch resolutions quickly and easily without having to go into System Preferences.
Pupil unlocks the native 1:1 pixel resolution for Retina displays, giving Retina screens access to non-Retina modes for testing compatibility on apps, sites and more. The app also lets users name and organize their favorite display settings; they can choose the resolutions they want to see in their menu.
Pupil costs US$5. A demo is available at the product web site (http://pupil.io).
Avenza releases MAPublisher 9.2 for Adobe Illustrator
Avenza Systems -- producers of the PDF Maps app for iOS and geospatial plugins for Adobe Creative Suite, including Geographic Imager for Adobe Photoshop -- has released MAPublisher 9.2 for Adobe Illustrator.
The new version includes a number of product enhancements. Export has been improved and streamlined to make it easier to quickly export MAP Views and MAP layers. Also included in this release are several new tools including Automation and Path Utilities.
MAPublisher 9.2 for Adobe Illustrator is available free to all MAPublisher users with an active maintenance subscription and as an upgrade for non-maintenance users at US$599. New licenses are $1,399. MAPublisher FME Auto and MAPublisher LabelPro are also available as add-ons to MAPublisher 9.2 at prices starting at $399 per license. Academic, floating and volume pricing are also available. Prices include one year of full maintenance. Visit www.avenza.com/mapublisher for more details.
PCI Geomatics releases GeoImaging Accelerator 2013
PCI Geomatics has released GeoImaging Accelerator (GXL) 2013, the latest version of the company’s scalable image processing solution.
The upgrade provides new tools that allow users to generate Digital Surface Models from large data sets of hundreds to thousands of stereo pairs, and apply new 2.5D hybrid editing techniques. Other key development areas include a redesigned true-ortho capability, as well as improved automated cutline generation methods that model the presence of features in overlapping imagery (such as buildings, trees, vehicles, etc.) to avoid them, resulting in cleaner, nicer-looking ortho-mosaics.
For more info go to www.pcigeomatis.com/gxi .
Smart connected device market crosses one billion shipment
According to the International Data Corp. (IDC), worldwide shipments of smart connected devices grew 29.1% year over year in 2012, crossing one billion units shipped with a value of US$576.9 billion.
The market expansion was largely driven by 78.4% year-over-year growth in tablet shipments, which surpassed 128 million in 2012. Looking specifically at the results for the fourth quarter of 2012 (4Q12), combined shipments of desktop PCs, notebook PCs, tablets, and smartphones was nearly 378 million and revenues were more than $168 billion.
In terms of market share, Apple significantly closed the gap with market leader Samsung in the quarter, as the combination of Apple's iPhone 5 and iPad Mini brought Apple up to 20.3% unit shipment share versus 21.2% for Samsung. On a revenue basis for the fourth quarter, Apple continued to dominate with 30.7% share versus 20.4% share for Samsung.
Going forward, IDC expects that tablet shipments will surpass desktop PCs in 2013 and portable PCs in...
ExactCODE revs OCRKit to version 2.0
ExactCODE has released OCRKit 2.0, an update of the OCR solution for Mac. It's a drag and drop document converter software.
According to the folks at ExactCODE, OCRKit 2.0 offers up to eight times higher speed conversion on the latest Macs, improved auto-rotation for high-resolution documents, a new compressed PDF option, enhanced recognition accuracy and stability, improved text positioning accuracy in PDF, and more. It's available for US$49.99 at www.OCRKit.com and in the Mac App Store.
Mac Shutdown revved to version 3.0
Pomola Software has updated Mac Shutdown X (http://tinyurl.com/a2sdyfz), a Mac OS X utility for shutting down a Mac on a specified event or on a specified date and time, to version 3.0. The upgrade offers a "soft shutdown" at the Finder level and a "hard shutown" at the system level.
Mac Shutdown X costs US$12. Upgrades to version 3.0 from previous versions are $6. It requires Mac OS X 10.8 or higher.
Ludei adding 3D support to its game development platform
Ludei, a HTML5 platform that brings native performance and features to mobile game developers, says it's adding 3D support to its game development platform, finally making it possible for developers to deliver WebGL 3D games to virtually any mobile device.
"We’ve already made HTML5 cross-platform 2D game development a reality," says Ludei CEO Eneko Knorr. "Now we are unlocking the door for the thousands of Web game developers who want to publish great 3D games on mobile and reach consumers through the most popular app stores. Our 3D rendering allows today’s most popular mobile devices to run a 3D HTML5 game with the same great user experience and performance that native gamers are used to."
Ludei will support 3D game development via the open WebGL standard. WebGL is the browser equivalent of OpenGL, the industry standard for deploying powerful 3D animated games. The addition of 3D rendering on the Ludei platform means for the first time, WebGL runs on every iOS and Android device...
OCRKit for Mac OS X gets improves auto-rotate performance, more
ExactCODE has announced OCRKit 1.13 (www.ocrkit.com), an update of its OCR solution. The upgrade offers improved auto-rotate performance for high-resolution scans and improved recognition performance, accuracy and stability.
OCRKit is designed to help users quickly convert PDFs or image graphics into searchable PDF files. It features OCR technology to identify text in graphic files, which is useful for PDFs you get via e-mail, created using DTP applications, office apps, with a copier or scanner.
OCRKit requires Mac OS X 10.5 or higher. It costs US$49.99.
Apple acquires WifiSLAM
Apple has paid US$20 million to buy WifiSLAM, a company that develops ways for mobile apps to identify a user's whereabouts in a building using Wi-Fi signals, reports "The Wall Street Journal" (http://tinyurl.com/antm4gf).
An Apple spokesman confirmed the deal, telling the "WSJ" that the company "buys smaller technology companies from time to time” and generally doesn’t discuss its plans. He declined to comment further. WifiSLAM could not immediately be reached for comment.
Blizzard announces Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Blizzard Entertainment has announced Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, cross-platform free-to-play game for Mac OS X, Windows and the iPad.
Here's ow the game is described: "In Hearthstone, players build card decks centered around one of nine iconic Warcraft character classes and duel each other for fun, glory, and the chance to win awesome new cards. PAX East attendees are able to go hands-on with Hearthstone this weekend, and Blizzard will begin beta testing for the game very soon.
"Deceptively simple in design but epically engaging, Hearthstone will be instantly accessible to players regardless of their familiarity with Warcraft or collectible card games. Whether players prefer to wield magic or arms in battle, strike from the shadows or head on -- or have never given any of that much thought -- they’ll be able to jump right in, create a deck, and get in on the card-slinging action.
"In addition to honing their skills in practice matches against the computer and taking on their...
Apple defends its product pricing in Australia
This week Apple, Microsoft and Adobe appeared before a federal parliamentary committee hearing into the pricing of their products in Australia and defended the high prices that Australian consumers are paying for their products, reports "ABC" (http://tinyurl.com/b8u72pk).
Labor backbencher Ed Husic has accused some information technology companies of "ripping off" Australian consumers. However, Apple Australia Vice President Tony King defended his company's Australian prices . He said part of the reason was higher costs charged by the entertainment industry for content destined for the Australian market.
"Price considerations must go well beyond simply looking up a currency exchange rate," King said."For example, Apple must consider differences between countries in product costs, freight charges, local sales taxes, levies, import duties, channel economics, competition and local laws regarding advertised prices."
Apple to iOS developers: drop UDID, support Retina displays
In a note on its Apple developer website (https://developer.apple.com/news/), Apple tells iOS app developers that it will no longer allow apps to use the unique device identifier or UDID after May 1. Also, all apps must be Retina display ready.
Apple tells developers to "please update your apps and servers to associate users with the Vendor or Advertising identifiers introduced in iOS 6." For more info go to http://tinyurl.com/a9wqxsu .
Starting May 1, new apps and app updates submitted to the Applel App Store must be built for iOS devices with Retina displays, and iPhone apps must also support the 4-inch display on iPhone 5. Developers can learn about preparing their apps at http://tinyurl.com/6yg25x3 .
FmPro Migrator Platinum Edition revved to version 6.97
.com Solutions (www.fmpromigrator.com) has released FmPro Migrator Platinum Edition 6.97 with support for FileMaker Auto-Enter calculation fields and FM query operators when using the PHP conversion feature.
This release also adds support for the CakePHP 2.3 framework providing improved functionality and performance. Most FileMaker database solutions make use of Auto-Enter calculation fields. The automated conversion of this functionality by FmPro Migrator speeds the PHP conversion process and enhances the functionality of the generated PHP web application.
Auto-Enter calculations are implemented within beforeSave() and afterSave() functions within the model files. Some calculations rely upon having the value of PK column for a newly written record, therefore they are implemented within the afterSave() function.
FmPro Migrator Platinum Edition is priced at US$600 per developer and includes a copy of FmPro Migrator Platinum Edition for both Mac OS X (Universal Binary) and Windows...
MYStuff 2.0 for Mac OS X adds built-in web browser
Minder Software has updated MyStuff (http://tinyurl.com/bxo8dye), its home and business inventory program for Mac OS X, to version 2.0. The upgrade adds a built-in web browser for online shopping, a barcode scanner using your webcam, custom fields, an interface redesign, and more.
MYStuff will run on any Intel Mac running OS X 10.6.8 or later, including 10.8 Mountain Lion. A minimum screen resolution of 1280 x 800 is also required. A free demo is available from the product website. A full license can be purchased for US$29. Upgrades from the previous version are $9 until April 30, and $19 thereafter.
Troi Activator Plug-in 3.5 released for FileMaker Pro 12
Troi Automatisering has released Troi Activator Plug-in 3.5 (www.troi.com/software/activatorplugin.html) for FileMaker Pro 12. It's a tool for triggering scripts across the network, even over the Internet.
Troi Activator Plug-in 3.5 has the following new features and fixes:
° Added two new functions, which can shutdown and restart the computer.
° The Actr_Sleep function now works on Mac and Windows. Also added a new switch "-sleepnow" to put the computer to sleep directly.
° Extended the Upload Server functionality to be able to handle only text: you no longer need to include an image in your upload.
° The Actr_GetIPAddress function can now return the IPv6 address.
° Completely rewrote the plug-in for 64 bit. The plug-in now runs as a 64-bit plug-in under Custom web publishing under FileMaker Pro 12 on Mac OS X.
° Rewrote the plug-in to prevent a crashing bug, which could occur when Troi Activator Plug-in was installed in two separate places.
° Fixed a problem where the plug-in would...
Apple's Podcast app gets iCloud syncing, more
Apple has updated its Podcasts app, adding an iCloud syncing feature, as well as the ability to create custom stations and On-The-Go playlists.
With custom stations, you can compile your favorite podcasts into lists that will be automatically updated when new episodes are released. You can choose whether those stations begin playing with the newest or oldest unplayed episode. The app also stores stations in iCloud, updating immediately across all of a user's devices.
