onOne has launched Plug-in Suite 5, a collection of six Photoshop utilities geared for photographers. The package includes full versions of FocalPoint 2, PhotoTune 3, PhotoFrame 4.5, PhotoTools 2.5, Genuine Fractals 6, and MaskPro 4. FocalPoint provides tools for adding depth-of-field and selective focus controls to images. The latest version integrates a blur algorithm that can be customized to achieve a desired look.
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Apple's Mac mini has taken the lead in a comparison of in-use power efficiency, according to data gathered by Sust-it. The survey includes over 100 systems, with the 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo-equipped Mini holding the top two positions with either a 120GB or 320GB hard drive.
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4 hours ago | Posted in: audio
Collins America on Thursday introduced the BagAmp, a portable amplifier system geared for musicians. The system features the company's "Audio Piston" technology that eliminates the need for the rubber ring that holds a typical speaker cone in place. The flat-faced drivers, measuring 3 inches, are claimed to produce similar sound to many 5-inch drivers.
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Today is the big shopping day, Black Friday, and online retailers sprung into action early this morning to bring you the best deals of the year. Places like eCost.com were slashing prices on everything from iPhones to HDTVs. Today they dropped the price on the refurbished iPhone 3G to $359.99 with $9.99 for shipping. Other items from eCost include a 32-inch Westinghouse LCD HDTV for $279.99, and a Lenovo ThinkPad for $319.
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Carphone Warehouse today raised its profit estimates for its fiscal year based on the surprise success of its smartphone business (subscription required). Its earnings for its first fiscal half-year before tax and other factors jumped sharply from £65 million ($107.2 million) a year ago to £103 million ($169.9 million) and is attributed directly to the success of its smartphone sales, particularly touchscreen devices. Its sales of the iPhone were considered a strong factor, as were sales of BlackBerry devices and Nokia's Nseries.
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5 hours ago | Posted in iphone apps
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In this racing game players compete against Robbie Williams in a motorcycle or buggy race. Robbie Williams Racing includes a soundtrack based on music from his latest CD. The tracks "Bodies" and "Difficult for Weirdos" are both featured in the game along with nine special remixes of "Bodies." Other exclusive content includes commentary, behind-the-scenes videos, and images.
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This game brings the 90's Pogs fad to the iPhone and iPod touch. Players use their device as a virtual slammer and try to flip as many of the stacked milkcaps as they can. The game can be played against computer opponents of players can link their devices via Bluetooth to compete. The company is also promising to release additional free packs of milksops along with premium packs that will be available via in-app purchasing.
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Implode! is a game where players are rewarded for causing destruction. The goal of the game is to carefully place bundles of dynamite in order to demolish obsolete structures. The game includes 60 different levels which feature realistic physics, varying structures, different bomb types, and more.
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Gorilla Monkey Crunch is a 2D arcade style action game where the players goal is to knock monkeys off their rafts by dropping coconuts on them. Monkeys that make it safely across will throw coconuts and bananas back at the bridge creating obstacles that must be avoided. The game uses a mixture of accelerometer and touch based controls and allows players to post their best scores to a global leaderboard.
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Newsie is a Google Reader client allowing users to quickly access news from their favorite blogs and sites. Users can add sites to a feed and new stories posted to those sites are automatically shown in a list. The latest update has enhanced the interface and now includes entire summaries in e-mail messages. Version 1.2 also includes a Screen Rotation Lock feature to prevent the screen from changing orientation.
6 hours ago | Posted in: iPod, iPhone
Microsoft has demonstrated Silverlight video streaming for the iPhone, according to reports. The technology relies on server-side transcoding and HTML 5's video tag, but displays Silverlight content in a native MPEG-2 v8 format recognized by the iPhone's version of QuickTime. "So it's the same IIS smooth streaming content, the same server, the same point of origin, but now I can get that content to play without any code changes, without any real work, on the iPhone. That's the critical thing for our customers," says Microsoft User Experience platform manager Brian Goldfarb.
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6 hours ago | Posted in: Apple
Apple has agreed to change their terms and conditions for UK customers, following criticism from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), according to Tech Digest. The trade group rebuked the California-based company for infringing upon the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulation 1999 (UTCCRs). Apple will reportedly revise its local terms and conditions for clarity and compliance with the regulations.
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Earlier this week, Mac and PC peripheral maker Zemno introduced what it calls the first portable docking station that supports the internal connection of hard drives, batteries and peripherals. The DeskBook Pro Docking Station uses the company's ModBay technology that lets users plug in either of the three types of devices. Each ModBay contains either a hard drive, a battery or other peripheral; the dock has two of these.
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As promised, Apple has opened up the development of iTunes LP and Extras content, publishing guidelines and templates on its website. Extras recreate the special features of DVD and Blu-ray discs, while LP provides something similar for music. Independent record labels have complained that Apple first restricted LP to the four major labels.
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7 hours ago | Posted in: software
Major programs from Adobe, Intuit and Parallels have also become a part of special Black Friday software deals. Amazon is selling Adobe's CS4 Design Standard Student Edition for $296, the CS4 Web Premium Student Edition for $350, and the CS4 Design Premium Student Edition for $404. The discounts are extremely high, between 78 and 79 percent lower than list price.
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Tomorrow's Korean iPhone launch may greatly affect the region's cellphone market, the Associated Press reports. Carrier KT says it has received some 53,000 advance orders, a number described as "phenomenal" by Prudential analyst Hwang Sung-jin. "The iPhone's release will definitely stiffen competition for local companies such as Samsung and LG," Sung-jin adds.
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Microsoft's interim Windows Mobile update could have significant updates designed explicitly for touch, a pair of leaks show. A Microsoft representative seeking anonymity has claimed that previous shots of "6.5.1" are accurate but that it's not necessarily a straight patch. Instead, the larger, bottom-only buttons are meant to provide an alternative interface for capacitive touchscreens; the existing top-and-bottom split makes those items too small to hit with a finger, the employee told mopocket.
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Intel's plans to overhaul its desktop processors early next year have been detailed almost entirely in a roadmap published today. The lineup is now believed to be headlined by low-powered S versions of the Core i5-750 and i7-860 that will run all four cores at 2.4GHz and 2.53GHz respectively; they should use just 82W of power versus 95W or more and fit into tighter spaces. Each will have 8MB of Level 2 cache, though the Core i7 chips will scale up to 3.46GHz where the Core i5 will stop at 3.2GHz.
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A host of companies have begun Apple-related Black Friday sales, such as Yazsoft, which is offering 40 percent off of Playback, ShareTool and Speed Download 5 for the Mac. iSkin is selling Mac, iPod and iPhone accessories for 50 percent off or more, with a particular emphasis on gear for older Apple platforms. DEVONtechnologies has posted a 25 percent discount on all of its software, including Infoworker bundles.
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Acer's mobile head Aymar de Lencquesaing said in an interview late Thursday that the company plans to shift its attention more towards Android and reduce its Windows Mobile effort. Although all of the company's 10 smartphones this year save for the Liquid A1 were running Windows Mobile, the executive promised Reuters that 2010 will be "much more balanced" and see significantly more Android phones among the 8 to 10 planned for the year.
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Apple as promised has launched its Black Friday sale, currently ongoing in the US, Canada and Europe. The Friday-only discounts are highlighted by a $101 price cut for all iMac and MacBook Pro models regardless of size. The iPod touch also sees heavy discounts, bringing the 64GB model down to $358, the 32GB version to $268 and the 8GB model down to $178.
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