MacCase offers iBooks, MacBooks retro style...

MacCase on Friday re-introduced the Classic Case, a brand new reincarnation of the company’s original product, offering users a retro look that fits the clamshell iBook, 12” iBooks and 13” MacBooks. Resembling the clamshell iBook, the case comes in graphite, blueberry, orange, lime, and indigo finishes, with a clear cutout for the portable’s logo. MacCase is selling the Classic Case for $50, with all five colors available from the company directly and through select retailers.

First Look: Alesis M1Active 320USB speakers...

Notebook and all-in-one computers, such as the iMac, include built-in speakers that provide modest audio quality. Sometimes however, that quality muffles the true sound of your music or movies. For those who demand higher-quality audio without paying the price for high-end speakers, the $199 Alesis M1Active 320USB speakers may do the trick.

Espy 1.0 adds pictures to contacts...

GoGoalSoft Limited today announced the immediate release and availability of Espy, an Address Book application for Mac OS X that provides quick access to contacts' information. Espy emphasizes the ability to browse pictures of contacts, and features a unique iPhoto-like SnapFind interface. Espy is compatible with most software that makes use of Address Book data, as well as industry-standard VCards.

Videocon in talks to buy Motorola cell group...

Indian electronics and appliances maker Videocon is making good on its earlier offer to purchase Motorola's hurting Mobile Devices business. According to Friday's reports, the talks between the two companies are at initial stages, says Videocon chairman and managing director Venugopal Dhoot. Videocon stands to benefit from the deal, as it plans on launching telecom services through its Datacom subsidiary in Indian markets this August.

Koyono debuts new BUILT sleeves, backpacks...

Online vendor Koyono has introduced two notebook cases by BUILT to its lineup, the Cargo Laptop Sleeve and the Laptop BackPack. The sleeve uses a thick neoprene layer, which stretches to accommodate the shape of different notebooks; there are additionally three external pockets, sized to fit gear such as iPods, power adapters and cellphones. Zig-zagging stitches are used to improved durability and protection against water. The sleeve comes in black, brown, green and orange colors, and 13-, 15- and 17-inch sizes; prices range from $40 to $50.

Adobe CS4 to bring GPU, physics support [U]...

(Update with corrections) The version of Photoshop included with Adobe's future Creative Suite 4 will include fuller acceleration both for dedicated video hardware as well as the first support for physics processing, TGDaily has been told as part of an early demonstration. While CS3 has already had limited support for graphics processing units (GPUs) for certain filters, the new version will use video hardware to improve performance across much of the image editor's pipeline. It will also enable new editing techniques: users can bring in a 3D image and paint it with changes applied immediately.

Emotion FX engine finds its way to Mac...

Despite Steve Jobs infamous distaste for the gaming industry, Apple appears to be actively seeking relationships with gaming companies, such as the recent unveiling of MysticGD’s Emotion FX animation software for Mac. PC Advisor writes that the software is currently used by several in the industry, such as Warhammer Online, and Vangard: Saga of Heroes. Developers of the middleware software say the move comes in response to increasing popularity of the Macintosh platform.

Piper: WWDC to bring new iPhone, new MacBooks?...

The 3G iPhone will be the focus of the WWDC keynote on June 9th, but it will not dominate completely, say analysts with Piper Jaffray. The new phone is expected to be the highlight of a speech by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, but predictions also say he will spend a portion of time reintroducing the App Store, and the iPhone 2.0 firmware, which should contain a number of features that have yet to be announced. Some developer accounts have pointed to GPS functions, Safari YouTube support, and contact search.

Sony Walkman E020 headed to US, priced...

Sony has already confirmed a US launch and set pricing for the E020 series Walkman lineup, says the Asian branch of Crave. In announcing an Asian launch, Sony says the flash-based music player will sell for $69 in a 1GB edition and $79 for 2GB of storage. The E020's signature swappable faceplates will make the overseas trip and should sell separately for $12. beyond those that come with a given device.

Goldman Sachs puts AAPL on 'conviction buy' list...

Financial firm Goldman Sachs has added Apple stock to its "conviction buy" list, Reuters writes. This is based largely on expectations for the 3G iPhone, which the firm agrees will launch next month, and contribute substantially to Apple's profits. Sachs analyst David Bailey has correspondingly raised the stock target for Apple from $185 to $220, and suggests that Apple will be able to increase the number of iPhone users by 80 percent this year, due to expansion to a larger number of countries through carriers such as Vodafone and Orange.

Apple Canada preps staff for unknown event...

Apple Canada is gearing up some of its representatives in advance of an upcoming event, Electronista has learned. Key staff are being asked to travel to the company's Markham, Ontario regional headquarters for discussions that are taking place today. The discussions are considered secret, and staff contacted regarding the nature of the meetings have declined comment on any specifics. However, they allude to preparations for upcoming Apple developments rather than a regularly scheduled meeting.

Nisus Writer Pro 1.1 adds Comments, Mail Merge...

Somewhat over a month after the release of the preview version, Nisus is shipping the final edition of Writer Pro 1.1, its signature word processor. Features of the app include multilingual text, non-contiguous selection, and a special fullscreen mode. Character sets include Latin, Cyrillic, Greek, Chinese, Japanese and Korean; documents are saved in the RTF format, but the program can read Word, WordPerfect, Open Document and AbiWord files.

Barron's: Apple stock slide linked to iPhone rumors...

A recent slip in Apple's stock value over the course of a day -- to as low as $175.41 on Thursday -- was attributable to iPhone rumors, writes Barron's. The financial publication notes that even though Apple has not technically announced the 3G iPhone, "rumors of a rumor" began circulating on Thursday that the product would be delayed, causing mild investor panic. As of press time, Apple stock has since recovered some of its value. Apple is expected to reveal the existence of the 3G iPhone on June 9th, the beginning of the company's WWDC conference in San Francisco.

Apple continues variable TV show pricing in UK...

Apple is continuing to expand on its newfound variable pricing policy for TV shows, an announcement for the UK reveals. The region's iTunes Store has added a variety of shows under the Sony Pictures label (iTunes link), including episodes of Damages, NewsRadio and The Larry Sanders Show, as well as the kids' programs Spiderman and Jackie Chan Adventures. Pricing is staggered at three different levels, with NewsRadio, Spiderman and Jackie Chan being priced at £1.19, Larry Sanders at £1.49, and Damages at £1.89.

Intel to launch 80GB SSD by end of summer?...

Intel has narrowed down the launch of its self-branded solid-state drives to before the end of the summer, computer builders reportedly say. Now referred to as the High Performance SSD line, the drives are said to be shipping by the end of the third quarter as both the Client X18-M, for the 1.8-inch hard drive format used by ultraportable notebooks, as well as the Client X25-M, a 2.5-inch version for conventional notebooks and some enterprise-class servers. Both will be considered essential to the launch of the Centrino 2 notebook platform, which starts in late June and will finish in September with the release of low-power Core 2 Duo chips.

3G iPhone to support 42Mbps on Telstra?...

The next-generation iPhone will allegedly support a 42-megabit advanced 3G connection when it becomes available in Australia, a senior official at Telstra claims. Having also claimed to have seen the device itself, the anonymous official tells ChannelNews that the phone will "by Xmas" support a planned upgrade to the advanced HSPA+ wireless standard on Telstra's 3G network. This will help drive sales, as the connection will actually be faster than many fixed-line broadband services and potentially the fastest iPhone data service anywhere, the executive asserts.

Beta of NY Times Reader for Mac posted...

As noted earlier this month, The New York Times today released a beta version of its Times Reader for the Mac, which is free for all registered members of NYTimes.com to download and try. The reader uses Microsoft's Silverlight technology, a Flash-like alternative released last year: "In building Times Reader for the Mac we’ve focused on providing the core set of features that have made the PC version popular," the company said. "These include the easy-to-read paginated format, the ability to view the paper offline, a seven-day archive, text search, the ability to adjust the font size and access to Premium Crosswords." The software requires Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.11 or Mac OS X Leopard 10.5 and a Mac with a PowerPC G4 800MHz or Intel Core Duo 1.83GHz.

Apple No. 2 behind Amazon on BW InfoTech 100...

BusinessWeek on Thursday unveiled its InfoTech 100 ranked list of the world’s top performing companies, with Amazon again claiming first place ahead of Apple and BlackBerry maker RIM. Amazon’s reign continues from last year, as it vaulted from 23rd place to first, putting it ahead of wireless giant Nokia, Google, and Microsoft. Apple climbed four spaces from sixth place, based on its financial performance and revenue growth.