June 17 - 8:00am EDT   AKVIS on Tuesday released version 3.0 of its Retoucher plug-in for Mac and Windows. Promising to add new life to photos damaged by dust, scratches and age, or improving the composition of digital images, the plug-in is designed to 'restore damaged photographs to optimal condition with minimal effort and amazing results'. Integrating seamlessly with a host of established image manipulation software such as Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and Corel Paint Shop, Retoucher 3.0 is aimed at both amateurs and professionals alike -- AKVIS promises that it is possible to 'master the program within minutes'. [full story]

March 5 - 2:45pm EST   AKVIS has released ArtSuite 3.0, an update to the company's photo editing application and plug-in that adds three new effects as well as an 'Autorun' button. The new effects, which arrive alongside a Spanish version of the software, are titled 'Black&White,' 'Shift Colors,' and 'Channel Mixer.' ArtSuite 3.0 provides users with 15 total effects as well as a Pattern Library to generate a wide array of different effects. The software is priced at $50. [full story]

February 7 - 9:15am EST   AKVIS has released SmartMask 1.2, a plug-in for programs including Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and Paint Shop Pro. The software is designed to ease the process of masking, which often requires complex object selection made difficult by surrounding objects. To remedy this SmartMask supplies red and blue pencils, with the blue being used to draw a line inside a desired object, and the red used to assign a general outline. The computer will then attempt to select the desired object. [full story]

December 26 - 6:10pm EST   In brief: MacNN has reviewed Need for Speed Carbon as well as AKVIS Chameleon 5, Apple's MacBook took one of the top three sales spots during Amazon.com's holiday season, and 'Toon Santa' is offering free 3D models of Apple's iPhone, iPod, and iMac. MacNN has reviewed Need for Speed Carbon ($40, shown at right), an arcade-style street and canyon racing game that features music from popular artists like electro-clash Ladytron and Australia-based Wolfmother. [full story]

December 17 - 10:35am EST   AKVIS has released AKVIS Frame Suite 2.6 for Mac and Windows systems. AKVIS Frame Suite enables users to apply frames and edge effects to pictures, simplifying the process of creating greeting cards from personal photos. The latest revision adds new Christmas decorations to the pattern library, joining the 12 edge effects to provide a vast number of photo frame possibilities. AKVIS Frame Suite 2.6 is available for $50, and requires a G3 or better Mac. The software is also compatible with Mac OS X Leopard. [full story]

December 3 - 5:05pm EST   AKVIS today unveiled Noise Buster 5.0, introducing a new algorithm designed to reduce digital noise in photographs. Noise Buster is optimized for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, and features a new histogram for displaying noise level and noise components. A standalone version of the plugin is also included, allowing users to fix images outside of Photoshop. Users can either set Noise Buster to work automatically, or they can customize the settings and get a specific effect. AKVIS is selling the new version of Noise Buster for $50, and requires Mac OS 10.3.9 or higher. [full story]