Microsoft has raised the price of Office for Mac 2011 by 17% for the Home & Student edition and 10% for the Home & Business edition. The move puts Office for Mac 2011 on the same pricing schedule as the new Office 2013 for Windows. The price increases and the disappearance of the multi-license bundles also makes Microsoft’s Office 365, a software-by-subscription deal the company has aggressively pushed, more competitive with traditional “perpetual” licenses, notes "Macworld" (www.macworld.com).

Ergonis Software has announced KeyCue 6.4, an update to the cheat sheet for learning and remembering keyboard shortcuts. It now places an icon in the menu bar, which is not only a visible indicator of KeyCue's presence, but also serves as an additional way to invoke KeyCue. With KeyCue, whenever the command key is kept pressed for a while, the software displays a table with all keyboard shortcuts available in the currently active application, systemwide hotkeys, as well as key combinations for triggering macros in Keyboard Maestro, QuicKeys and iKeys. KeyCue requires Mac OS X 10.5.8 or newer and is fully compatible with OS X Mountain Lion. The upgrade to version 6.4 is free for anyone who owns a valid license for KeyCue 6. Upgrade paths are available for owners of older licenses. For information about purchases, including enterprise licenses, volume discounts, and upgrade pricing offers, go to the Ergonis Software web site (www.ergonis.com).

Maintain has released Cocktail 5.4.1 (Lion Edition), the latest maintenance update for users running OS X Lion 10.7. Cocktail is a general purpose utility for OS X that lets users clean, repair and optimize their Mac. This version fixes a problem where Cocktail could not change Time Machine backup interval and addresses an issue in which Cocktail failed to restart or shutdown the computer. The update is recommended for all users of Cocktail (Lion Edition). Cocktail 5.4.1 (Lion Edition) requires OS X 10.7 and is tested for compatibility with OS X/OS X Server 10.7.5. It costs US$14 for a single user license. For more info go to http://maintain.se/cocktail .

Zevrix Solutions has announced Output Factory 1.3.17, a feature update to its professional output automation solution for Adobe InDesign. The software automates printing, exporting and post-processing from InDesign and offers batch printing, single page export, layer versioning, variable file names, preflighting and more. The new version lets users apply specific EPUB export settings across a batch of InDesign documents in addition to the option to export each file with its current EPUB settings. Output Factory can be purchased from the Zevrix website (www.zevrix.com) for US$169.95( there's also a "lite" version for $119.95), as well as from authorized resellers and Adobe Exchange. A demo is available for download. BatchOutput users can upgrade to Output Factory for $84.97. Output Factory is available for Mac OS X 10.5-10.8 on Intel-based Macs and works with Adobe InDesign CS3-CS6.

The British, French and German governments launched a joint initiative on Saturday to crack down on tax avoidance by multinational companies such as Apple that will be presented to a G20 finance leaders meeting in July, reports "Reuters." The plan, unveiled by the three countries' finance ministers at a G20 meeting in Moscow, follows up on a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that many big firms country-hop to pay less tax. The tax reform plan comes at a time when governments are facing public outrage over how some multinational companies handle their international tax affairs, notes "Reuters." In Britain, the issue of multinational tax avoidance has risen to the top of the political agenda, after revelations that companies such as Starbucks, Apple, Starbucks and Amazon were using complex inter-company transactions to cut their tax bills. Read more at http://tinyurl.com/azzpboh .

Here are the latest Apple-related rumors from the blog-o-sphere: "After rumors last month, tweets late Thursday from company executives confirm that Apple products will soon be available at Staples retail locations in the United States." -- "The MacObserver" (www.macobserver.com) "German site iPhone-Ticker reports [Google translation] that Apple is planning to release iOS 6.1.2 early this week to address both the Exchange bug and lock screen passcode issue affecting iOS 6.1 users. According to the report, iOS 6.1.2 is likely to arrive before Wednesday, February 20." -- "MacRumors" (www.macrumors.com) "Although a recent rumor that Apple was preparing to host a developer-related television event next month was almost instantly shot down, investment research firm Piper Jaffray says a review of years past indicates the company is still likely to host an event by the end of April, which could see the introduction of redesigned iPads." -- "AppleInsider" (www.appleinsider.com) "Microsoft:...

Apple, which lost the rights to its iPhone trademark in Brazil on Wednesday, is, as expected, challenging the ruling by Brazil's copyright regulator to prevent local firm Gradiente Eletronica SA from using the "iphone" brand name, reports "Reuters" (http://tinyurl.com/awn462e). Brazilian regulators have ruled that Apple doesn't have exclusive rights to use the "iPhone" trademark in the country. The decision is the result of a local company, Gradiente Eletronica, registering the name in 2000, seven years before the US firm. A spokesman for Apple declined to comment. Gradiente, a Brazilian electronics company, had first requested to trademark "iPhone" as their brand back in 2000 before Apple’s smartphone was unveiled. Last week the Brazilian Institute for Industrial Property (INPI) gave Gradiente that exclusivity in 2008 for their G-Gradiente iPhone, which runs the Android operating system. In order to keep its trademark rights, Gradiente will need to prove to the regulator in the next...

Pyle has announced the Retro Belt-Drive Turntable (PVTT2U). It's portable and made with two built-in anti-magnetic speakers.  Not only can you play your favorite vinyl records, but you can also connect to your computer directly via USB port, allowing for conversion of classic vinyl’s to MP3s. The PVTT2U comes with everything you need to get connected and edit your music collection, all starting with a plug in.  You can take advantage of all the PVTT2U’s features by editing actual music files and creating playlists for any occasion with the included software. The rechargeable battery and briefcase-style allows for music on-the-go. You can charge the turntable by connecting to your computer via the USB cable or by plugging into a wall outlet using the included AC-USB adapter. 

The Retro Belt-Drive Turntable (PVTT2U) is available at www.pyleaudio.com and retails for US$188.99. 

Syncro Soft, the developer of the Oxygen XML suite of products, has announced the immediate availability of version 14.2 of its Oxygen XML Editor, Oxygen XML Author and Oxygen XML. Version 14.2 of oXygen XML Editor addsfeatures for both XML development and XML authoring. On the XML development side, oXygen completes the set of XML Schema 1.1 related features with full schema editing support and capabilities to generate XML instances and schema documentation in accordance with this new W3C standard. On the XML authoring side, oXygen streamlines XML reviewing by adding support for highlights and a Review manager panel. Highlights help you focus on the content you need to review and the Review manager panel presents all the changes, comments and highlights from a document so you can quickly inspect and manage them. Improvements were made for quickly finding resources in the project by searching in their content or file paths. oXygen offers these search capabilities by adding a dedicated...

Zevrix Solutions has announced Output Factory 1.3.17, a feature update to its professional output automation solution for Adobe InDesign. The new version lets users apply specific EPUB export settings across a batch of InDesign documents in addition to the option to export each file with its current EPUB settings. With Output Factory, users can output hundreds of documents or just single files with full control over batch printing, layer versioning, automatic preflighting, file delivery, and more. All they need to do is select the desired InDesign files and adjust workflow settings. Output Factory can be purchased from the Zevrix website (www.zevrox/cp,_ for US$169.95; a "lite" version costs $119.95), as well as from authorized resellers and Adobe Exchange. A demo is available for download. BatchOutput users can upgrade to Output Factory for 4.97. Output Factory is available for Mac OS X 10.5-10.8 on Intel-based Macs and works with Adobe InDesign CS3-CS6.

Adobe (www.adobe.com) has announced the first public preview of Adobe Edge Reflow, a new responsive design tool for Web designers and developers creating websites and content for screens of virtually all sizes. In addition, the company released new feature updates for Adobe Edge Animate, Adobe Dreamweaver and Adobe Edge Code preview.  All today’s announced product releases are available exclusively to Adobe Creative Cloud members. Adobe Edge Reflow is a new responsive Web design tool for creating layout and visual designs with CSS and is available immediately as a preview at no charge in Creative Cloud. Edge Reflow features a resizable design surface that shows how layouts and visuals will adapt to different screen sizes. Leveraging the power of CSS, Edge Reflow enables users to create web designs on the application’s native web surface. According to the folks at Adobe, it maintains the design vision, through development, by allowing users to preview in the browser, inspect their...

Vitapoly has announced Social by vitapoly, a Social Framework AIR Native Extension for iOS. The full native iOS Social, Accounts, MessageUI, and Twitter frameworks are now available as an AIR Native Extension, including new iOS 6.0 features such as activity sheets. You can now post messages to Facebook, Twitter, and Weibo from your app. Sending emails and SMS is also a breeze. If you need to request something specific in the Twitter or Facebook API [application programming interface], you can use the low-level API, which comes with 50-plus classes and 300-plus methods. This ANE supports iOS, and implements the full iOS Social, Accounts, MessageUI, and Twitter frameworks. It Requires iOS 6.0 SDK to build, but it can be used with iOS 4.3 and up on devices and iOS Simulator. Some functionalities are only available on iOS 6.0 and later. For more info go to http://www.vitapoly.com .

A new security flaw discovered in Apple's mobile operating system lets anyone bypass the passcode lock on iPhones running iOS 6.1, providing access to the phone's contacts, voicemails, and photos, reports "AppleInsider" (www.appleinsider.com). A method for bypassing the lock screen was documented in a video by "The Verge" (http://tinyurl.com/c5xxd8l). It involves making -- and then immediately canceling -- an emergency call and holding down the power button a couple of times during the process.

Here are the latest Apple-related rumors from the blog-o-sphere: "Apple Inc. has a team of about 100 product designers working on a wristwatch-like device that may perform some of the tasks now handled by the iPhone and iPad, two people familiar with the company’s plans said." -- "Bloomberg" (http://tinyurl.com/ck5zyu5) "Apple may be preparing a March event to introduce Apple TV-related developer tools as a prelude to a later launch of the much-rumored Apple "iTV" television hardware, according to a new note from Jeffries analyst Peter Misek." -- "The MacObserver" (www.macobserver.com) "Amid circulating rumors of a larger display for the iPhone, Jefferies analyst Peter Misek today reported that he does not see the device launching until mid-2014. Misek argues that problems with display yield and substantial other changes for the iPhone 6 will make a 2013 launch unlikely. Some rumors had suggested that Apple might be able to launch an iPhone 5S and a lower-cost iPhone in mid-2013 and...

iEntertainment Network has introduced M4 Tank Brigade for Mac OS X. It's a free online WW II tank game. M4 Tank Brigade players can control up to four tanks, maneuver each for different combat missions, control airstrikes and artillery, jump between vehicles, and fight for battlefield dominance. And,they can kill PC users as often as they like. Players can use the in-game tactical map to position each vehicle for tactical advantage, jump between vehicles to insure the player is always right in the action, call in Airstrikes and Artillery strikes on the enemy, and more. This new Mac M4 product also enables Mac players to participate in MMO Combined Arms events where they can use airpower (P-51s, B-17s, etc.) to soften up an enemy field and then jump to their tanks, to take the ground battle right to the enemy. For more info go to http://www.M4TankBrigade.com .

Apple got a shout out from President Obama during last night's State of the Union for bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. Last year CEO Tim Cook said Apple plans to invest US$100 million in domestic manufacturing to produce some Macs here. Not that there'll be a ton of new jobs created. In December, Dan Luria, a labor economist who studies factory operations at Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center, told "Bloomberg" (http://tinyurl.com/7hvzzda) that Apple's Mac production would probably add 200 jobs. (Michael Marks, ex-CEO of Flextronics, also estimated 200 jobs would be needed to make the Macs to Bloomberg.) But as "Business Insider" (http://tinyurl.com/9wzjc6r) notes: "That's not exactly going to get the American economy firing on all cylinders, but we suppose it's more about the symbolism, especially for a State of The Union address. If Apple is bringing some manufacturing back to the U.S., maybe other companies will, too."

Intego has announced its 2013 line of Mac antivirus and Mac security products. The company says it's completely redesigned its products with an intuitive, streamlined user experience that requires almost no configuration out of the box, provides helpful notifications and alerts, and is a perfect complement to the Mac OS X platform. Intego’s antivirus and Mac security products are sold on its website in bundles. The Mac Internet Security Premium 2013 bundle brings together three of Intego’s products to protect you and your data against malware, network attacks, and the loss or theft of your Mac. It includes: ° Virus Barrier 2013, which fights Mac and Windows malware that threaten your security; ° Net Barrier 2013, which keeps strangers and suspicious applications out of your Mac; ° Identity Scrubber: new to Intego’s Mac security product offerings, Identity Scrubber searches for sensitive identity information stored on your computer and protects or deletes it at your command (available...

Apple is making the MacBook Pro with Retina display faster and more affordable with updated processors and lower starting prices. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now starts at US$1,499 for 128GB of flash, and $1,699 for a new 2.6 GHz processor and 256GB of flash. The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now features a faster 2.4GHz quad-core processor, and the top-of-the-line 15-inch notebook comes with a new 2.7GHz quad-core processor and 16GB of memory. Apple today also announced that the 13-inch MacBook Air with 256GB of flash has a new lower price of $1,399. The updated MacBook Pro with Retina display and MacBook Air models are available today through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. Pricing details, technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/macbook-pro and www.apple.com/macbookair .

This Friday, Feb. 15, a 180,000-ton asteroid dubbed "2012 DA14" will fly past the Earth. And you can follow it with Apple devices. Whizzing by just 17,200 miles away, this 50-meter space rock will come closer than our orbiting geosynchronous communication satellites. Although there is no chance of a collision, this passage of 2012 DA14 by the Earth is a record close approach for an object of this size. To let you track 2012 DA14, Southern Stars is releasing an update to its SkySafari Plus and Pro apps for iOS, Mac OS X, and Android. These app updates are a new first in mobile computing, and a solution to an unusual technical challenge, according to Southern Stars founder Tim DeBenedictis. Because the Earth's gravity affects the asteroid's orbit so severely, most desktop planetarium programs -- and all other mobile apps -- will completely fail to predict the asteroid's position correctly, he adds. To solve this problem, Southern Stars consulted with solar system dynamics experts at...

Bare Bones Software has announced the release and immediate availability of BBEdit 10.5.2, an update to its HTML and text editor. The BBEdit 10.5.2 update includes various refinements and fixes for specific reported issues. It now requires Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later, and is fully compatible with Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. Detailed information on all of the changes in BBEdit 10.5.2 can be found at http://tinyurl.com/6pst6y . The BBEdit 10.5.2 update is free of charge to all BBEdit 10 customers. Customers who purchased in the Mac App Store will automatically receive the update when it becomes available, while customers who purchased directly may download the update immediately from the Bare Bones Software web site (http://tinyurl.com/9wnh2sc).

ByteWorks has announced techBASIC 2.6 for iOS, an update to their software development environment for programming, data collection, displaying interactive graphics, and analyzing data. The new version supports the TCP/IP, HTTP and FTP protocols. iOS App Developers now have the ability to write a program to connect networks using WiFi from their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. techBASIC apps can be compiled and submitted to the Apple App Store using techBASIC App Builder from Xcode on a Mac. Version 2.6 is US$14.99.

SweetP Productions has announced eMail Address Extractor 1.3, an update to their eMail recovery utility for Mac OS X. It's a maintenance upgrade. With no configuration required, eMail Address Extractor allows you to extract valid eMail addresses from virtually any kind of text file. To use you drag and drop files to recover all unique eMail addresses. You can retrieve addresses from your entire Apple Mail database, iWork projects, docx, xlsx, and from within zip archives. eMail Address Extractor requires Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later. It costs US29.99 and is available worldwide through the Mac App Store in the Business category (http://tinyurl.com/b9rlz7u). eMail Address Extractor v1.3 is also available from the SweetP Productions Store (http://sweetpproductions.com). A trial version can be downloaded from SweetP Productions online.

Apple CEO Tim Cook will join join First Lady Michelle Obama to watch her husband deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday, reports "Contra Costa Times" (http://tinyurl.com/b88qepv). He'll sit in the First Lady's box and will be joined by military families, those championing immigration reform and those whose lives have been touched by gun violence, the article adds. Last year, Michelle Obama's guests included Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

Adobe (www.adobe.com) has proposed a new standard -- dubbed "Automatic Text Balancing" -- for better web typography. If browsers adopt text balancing it could mean the end of typographic unsightliness like widows, orphans and ragged lines, and would go a long way to creating more readable text on the web, according to "WebMonkey" (http://tinyurl.com/akm7yvx). Adobe’s proposal is based on InDesign’s “Balance Ragged Lines” feature, and works a bit like justifying text except that instead of expanding text with ugly spaces between words, the algorithm would adjust line lengths to “balance” text for easier reading.