Polk launches iPod, HD radio stereo systems...

Polk on Thursday launched its new, mainstream Polk Audio Designs label with the miDock10, a high-performance speaker for all dockable iPods, and the miDock Studio which is larger and "more elegantly fits in with its supported fifth-generation iPods and iPod nanos," according to Electronista. The miDock10 stereo has two 3.25-inch, full-range drivers that produce higher-quality sound compared to most systems at its size and speaker unit is also transportable: in addition to featuring handles on either side for carrying, the miDock10 will work independently on eight C-cell batteries. It also features input and headphone jacks for alternate sources or headphones as well as a USB port for sycing to Macs and PCs.

iSoftPhone integrates with Address Book...

Xnet Communications has released iSoftPhone 1.2, enhancing the user experience by integrating the Mac OS X Address Book into the application that appears nearly identical to Apple's forthcoming iPhone. Users can view all contacts from within the same user interface without the need to import contacts or sync with multiple address books, and can create private telephone networks by utilizing an option to add multiple SIP providers. The latest release is also designed to improve the quality of calls. iSoftPhone 1.2 is priced at $75, and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later.

SiK offers Front Row remote for MacBook Pro

SiK today released rex, a Front Row-compatible infrared remote control that can be stored in the ExpressCard/34 slot of the Apple MacBook Pro. Designed to fit neatly in to the ExpressCard/34 slot of the MacBook Pro, rex allows you to control all Apple products released in 2005 or later with built-in IR receiver. It offers six buttons, up to 30ft range, and more. "Simply pop rex out of your ExpressCard slot and you're ready to navigate your digital life with six button ease," the company said. "Need more control than Front Row offers? No problem, rex is fully compatible with TwistedMelon's Mira software. With Mira you can control dozens of applications with the built-in profiles or create your custom profiles and button actions. rex also supports mira-compatible external IR receivers." (Mira is available separately.) It is available now for $26.

OWC offers internal, external Blu-ray drives

Other World Computing today announced new OWC Blu-ray Internal and External Drive Solutions that it claims are 100 percent compatible with any Windows or Mac system with an available IDE/ATAPI bay port (for internal drives), or any FireWire or USB 2.0 system port (for external drives). The OWC Blu-ray drives read and write Blu-ray, DVD, DVD-RAM, CD and virtually every optical media. The drives provide the advantages of Blu-ray, including high-capacity storage (up to 50GB per disc) with write-once and rewriteable media at a speed up to 24X. Each drive includes two 25GB Blu-ray media discs and are available bundled with full retail version of Toast 8 DVD/CD Authoring software. Priced from $560 for internal drives (with standard IDE/ATAPI interface) and from $650 for external drives, they carry a 1 year warranty. OWC's external drive solutions also include all required connecting cables.

Briefly: Apple TV shipping? Mac Pro deal...

In brief: Apple may have already begun shipping its Apple TV set top box, and Silverado Systems is offering new Mac Pro systems with free AirPort, Bluetooth, and wireless keyboards as well as Mighty Mice through the rest of March. MacTech is planning to include the 150-page VBA to AppleScript Transition Guide in the back of its April issue, a Best Buy in-car stereo patent discovered today specifically mentions Apple's iPod as a key storage device, and LaCie has discounted its recently announced LaCie d2 SAFE Hard Drive by $40. Apple's own support forum is bustling with posts from customers who pre-ordered its Apple TV and have now seen charges appear on their credit card statements. The change suggests impending shipment of the set top boxes, coinciding with Apple's own predicted mid-March shipment time frame.

Apps: Lasso Pro; Unsanity APE, NameFind

• Lasso Professional 8.5.2 ($650) is the latest version of LassoSoft's web development kit. The patch adds new LJAX, error and Chart FX tags, plus enhancements to initialization and the "[Redirect_URL]" tag. Fixes to the e-mail queue and new database connectors have also been implemented. While Lasso Pro is a paid product after 30 days, the program remains usable for free afterwards as Lasso Developer. [Download - 71.4MB]


• Application Enhancer 2.0.3, WindowShade X 4.1.2 and FruitMenu 3.6.4 (free, $10, $10) are tools for Mac OS X created by Unsanity. Application Enhancer improves the behavior of various programs; FruitMenu lets users customize the appearance and functionality of menu bars, and WindowShade X changes the utility of the Minimize button -- making apps translucent, for instance. With each patch, it is strongly recommended that users upgrade to Mac OS X 10.4.9. [Download - 1.3, 3.4, 3.0MB]


• Groupcal 3.86 ($55) allows Microsoft Exchange calendars to be viewed and edited with iCal. No software is needed on the Exchange server. Version 3.85 lets users temporarily disable automatic sync checks, and improves multi-timezone handling of all-day events; v3.86 merely detects Mac OS X 10.4.9, and warns users about the need to reinstall the program to make it work. [Download - Size Unknown]


• MBS REALbasic Plug-Ins 7.1 ($55) extend the REALbasic environment with over 500 classes and three controls, producing over 12,000 functions. The v7.1 update adds Unikey dongle support, improved pdflib classes, and Instant Message framework support to query iChat status. Using the newest plug-ins requires 120MB of hard drive space and REALbasic 5.5 or later, but plug-ins for earlier versions of REALbasic are available upon request. [Download - 53.7MB]


• NameFind 2.0 ($20) is a Spotlight replacement that locates strictly by filename and directory. The second edition greatly enhances ease-of-use by increasing speed, ignoring letter casing, and returning only filenames and not directories. A history of search terms is now kept, and badges on the Dock icon indicate results. The app is a Universal Binary for Mac OS X 10.4. [Download - 4MB]


• Aabel 2.2 ($445) handles scientific graphing, thematic mapping, and statistical and exploratory data analysis. New to v2.2 are extra map analysis and projection methods, as well as "real world" coordinates for the cursor in X-Y charts. Bug fixes target resizing worksheet columns and enconding and conversion. Aabel is a Universal Binary for Mac OS X 10.4.4 or higher. [Download - 16MB]

Sound Studio 3.5 extends audio file support

Freeverse Software has released Sound Studio 3.5, an update to its audio recording and editing program. Though numerous changes have been implemented, the primary difference is expanded file support, including Apple Lossless, Ogg Vorbis, ADTS AAC, and NeXT/Sun Audio. Other additions are a BPM grid, chapters for Lossless and AAC files, and a new editor for ID3 tags and iTunes metadata. AppleScript can now reference individual tracks within a document and alter their panning and volume. The full version of Sound Studio is $80; alternately people can download the program on a trial basis, or upgrade from an existing version.

Briefly: Verizon EVDO Rev. A; Avid2FCP...

In brief: Verizon ships an EVDO Revision A modem for ExpressCard systems, a new tutorial guides Avid editors to Apple, PC Magazine gives tips on copying music from an iPod, and ModBooks come to Canada. Verizon Wireless is shipping an ExpressCard version of the V740, manufactured by Novatel. The modem should allow MacBook Pro users to tap into Verizon's EVDO Revision A network, enabling real-world download speeds up to 800Kbps, with an upload capacity of 400Kbps. To use the card, Mac owners require either a separate driver or Apple's WWAN update. The card costs $180 with a two-year contract at Verizon's website, but a similar arrangement is $110 at 3GStore.

Verizon adds mobile internet to MacBook Pro...

Verizon today launched the V740 ExpressCard, a Novatel-made adapter that links any current notebook -- including Apple's MacBook Pro -- with an ExpressCard 34 or 54 slot to Verizon's mobile internet network. The new card enables notebook owners to utilize the mobile carrier's recently launched EVDO Revision A service with up to 800Kbps real-world downloads and 400Kbps uploads. The card works with Apple's MacBook Pro through either a separate driver or those included with Apple's own WWAN update, according to Electronista. Verizon is already offering the card for $180 and will carry it in retail stores on March 30th; 3GStore is already offering pre-orders for the card at $110.

iTunes adds "Live from Las Vegas" shows...

The Palms Casino Resort today announced that it has teamed up with Apple's iTunes to offer music fans "Live from Las Vegas" performances including exclusive audio and video on the iTunes Store. The new $80 million concert theater is set to make its grand debut with a performance by Evanescence on March 17th, and "Evanescence: Live from Las Vegas" will be available exclusively on iTunes in the coming weeks with extended song lists and behind-the-scenes interviews for purchase and download. "We are thrilled to offer live performances from GRAMMY-winning artists such as Evanescence at The Pearl on the iTunes Store," said Palms owner George Maloof. "Not only is The Pearl the most stunning concert venue in the country, but it's the first major live music venue to be built from the ground up with iTunes in mind."

Apple wins 10 International Forum awards

Apple today won 10 design awards (Italian) at the International Forum in Hannover, Germany including seven Gold Awards and three Product Design Awards. The Cupertino-based company was honored with International Forum Gold Awards for its iPod, second-generation iPod nano, MacBook Pro, MacBook, iPod Hi-Fi, iPod Radio Remote, and iPod Leather Case. The company's Wireless Mighty Mouse, Apple Remote, and second-generation iPod Shuffle all took home Product Design Awards after Judges examined 487 products from 32 countries, according to Setteb.it. One judge at the event made a statement about Apple's portable player: "The iPod is simply fantastic," adding that the device is "a perfect product."

deDigital Effects no. 2 for iMovie released

Digital Thought Software has introduced deDigital Effects no. 2, another set of effect plug-ins for Apple's iMovie software. The plug-ins utilize the graphical capability of OpenGL in Mac OS X 10.4 to produce a wide range of visual effects. Digital Effects no. 2 includes Roller Coaster, Snow Flakes, Pong, Stairs, Matrix, Mazes, Tunnels, Gears, Blocks, Flying Toasters, Molecules, Bouncing Cows, Apple ][, Ants, Penetrate, Compass, Red Pill, Hanoi, 3D Bubbles, Danger Ball, Plasma Tunnel, and more. deDigital Effects is priced at $30.

Apple attracts 36.7m unique visitors in Feb

A new study on website visitation reveals that Apple currently leads the Computer Hardware category for February of 2007, tallying more than 36.7 million unique visitors this year. The company attracted over 24.2 million visitors the same time last year, pointing to a 51 percent growth rate in site visitation this year over last year. Apple's total visits neared a whopping 66.4 million this February, with average visits per visitor totaling 1.8. iTunes also saw a growth of 8 percent over last year, bringing in just over 8.2 million visitors in February. While seemingly meager compared to the 23.3 million unique visitors Yahoo gathered, Apple's iTunes software saw 26.5 million unique visitors this February for a growth of 71 percent over last year, according to comScore Media Metrix.

Mac HelpMate 2 offers remote Mac support...

The new Mac HelpMate 2 with Auto HelpMate is a zero-configuration cross- platform screen sharing and control solution. Auto HelpMate allows users to initiate screen sharing from a secure web site in 60 seconds with or without a user logged into the machine, providing a support solution for servers or mobile professionals who can’t always be available but leave their computer on and connected to the internet. The solution claims to offer the same capabilities as well known-commercial alternatives at a fraction of the cost and now offers a MHMQC (Mac HelpMate QuickConnect) menu item from within Mac HelpMate 2, allowing users to easily “share my screen” from the menu bar on their Desktop, or toggle Auto HelpMate on/off for unattended activation.

Glide Sync offers Mac-to-mobile sync service...

TransMedia today officially launched its Glide Sync and Glide Mobile services for Mac users. The services allow Mac users to access, edit and share virtually all of their files stored on their Macs from a wide selection of cell phones, including those from Blackberry (8100, 8700, 8800), Cingular (8125), HP (iPAQ, hw6510), Motorola (Razr V3, SLVR, ROKR, Q), Nokia (9300, E62, 6102i, 6682), Palm (650, 680, 700P, 700W, 750, LifeDrive), Samsung (Blackjack, A707, D807), Sony Ericsson (w600i, w810i), and TMobile (SDA, SideKick). Glide automatically syncs photos, music, videos, documents, iCal calendars, Mac Address Book contacts, and Safari, Camino and Firefox bookmarks from any Mac via the Internet--to and from Glide's hosted web services. Glide's compatibility engine then serves up your files in the proper format and bit rate for access on various devices and for easy sharing, provideing a single unified file and information management system and productivity suite for all devices.