August 14 - 11:30am EDT   Cynical Peak has released a new update to Rivet, its Mac software for the Xbox 360. The app lets users stream music, photos and videos to a 360 console, which normally requires the use of a PC and Windows Media Player. Mac folder structure is reproduced in the 360's media browser, and content can be pulled not only from iTunes and iPhoto libraries, but user-specified folders. [full story]

August 13 - 12:45am EDT   Ubermind on Tuesday unveiled Maperture, a new geotagging plug-in for Apple's Aperture photo editing and organization application, allowing users to add GPS data to pictures for placement on a virtual map. Maperture offers connectivity with Google Maps, and can either be used to add information to one image at a time, or an entire photo library. Ubermind is offering Maperture for no charge, and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or higher, with Aperture 2.0. [full story]

August 5 - 3:30pm EDT   As promised with the release of the Aperture SDK, PictureCode has shipped a new version of Noise Ninja, now designed as an Aperture 2.1 plug-in. The software is used to smooth out noise in digital photos, generally created by using high ISO settings on a camera. The plug-in can also be used to remove grain from scanned filmstrips or slides. [full story]

July 31 - 4:10pm EDT   Designer Jumsoft has expanded its Aperture Web Themes pack, an add-on for Apple's photo workflow software. The pack is intended to improve the appearance of web galleries generated through Aperture, with an aim towards professional photography sites. The new version more than doubles in size with six new variants, divided between "frames," "grid" and "iPhone" schemes. [full story]

July 29 - 1:05am EDT   Apple on Monday released Aperture 2..1.1, an update to its photograph organization and manipulation utility for Mac OS X. The update supports general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and addresses a number of other minor issues. It is available via Mac OS X update or via the Web as a download (48MB). It requires Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later. [full story]

July 23 - 10:15am EDT   Creaceed says it has released the final version of Hydra, its plug-in for Aperture. The software lets users produce high dynamic range (HDR) images through Aperture, creating detail in scenes that would otherwise be over- or underexposed. The v1.6 update makes a variety of changes, such as the ability to save and load HDR presets, and process DNG files as well as those from Canon's EOS-1D camera. Pixel depth can be set to 8- or 32-bit per component, and output format can be configured for JPEG, TIFF or OpenEXR. [full story]

July 11 - 12:50pm EDT   Nik Software on Thursday unveiled a new version to its Color Efex Pro 3.0 for Capture NX 2, while also introducing Silver Efex Pro, a new plug-in for doing black-and-white images in Photoshop and Aperture. The new Capture NX filters offer DSLR users nine new filters: Bleach Bypass, Cross Balance, Film Effects, Film Grain, Glamour Glow, High Key, Low Key, Polaroid Transfer, and Tonal Enhancer. Color Efex Pro 3 is available in Select and Complete editions for $100 and $180, respectively. [full story]

July 3 - 4:50pm EDT   DataMind Srl says it has released Jade Plugin 1.0, the first Aperture add-on version of its stand-alone Jade tool. The software is used to provide automatic enhancements to image batches that normally require fine tuning, whether in Aperture or elsewhere; users simply click the Enhance button, and Jade will make a variety of tweaks to improve color, contrast, and the the appearance of dynamic range. [full story]

June 23 - 6:05pm EDT   HumanSoftware has announced an update to HSC Edit 1.2 for Apple's Aperture 2. The plug-in suite of twelve modules now includes Edit Multiple Curves for Aperture, which adds a curves feature similar to Photoshop's Curves tool. The company claims to have improved on Photoshop's curves by adding multiple layers of curves, with each layer linking to a brush, allowing multiple color corrections within in image. The tool can work in highlights and shadows and it has a gray-point tool for color balance. The new version also adds a before and after split-screen that allows users to see applied effects before committing to them. The software is available as a suite for $300 ... [full story]

May 28 - 11:55am EDT   Human Software has released ApertureEdit, a collection of 11 plug-ins for Aperture 2.1. Among these are DeNoise, which removes sensor noise from high-ISO pictures, and AutoFocus, which tries to eliminate blur. AutoSmooth attempts automatic airbrushing, while the Grids and PhotoFixlens plug-ins let users apply or remove distortion as desired; other plug-ins apply elements like frames, textures, and over 500 different types of lighting. [full story]

May 19 - 9:35pm EDT   Image Trends on Monday unveiled Fisheye-Hemi Plug-In for Aperture, a new plug-in designed to allow users to correct ultra-wide angle distortions in pictures, providing a straight perspective. Similar to the company's plug-in for Adobe Photoshop, Fisheye-Hemi removes spherical distortion caused by wide-angle lenses, but still retains the overall field-of-view so that details are not omitted. Image Trends is selling Fisheye-Hemi Plug-in for Aperture for $30. [full story]

May 16 - 4:00pm EDT   Kekus Digital says it is shipping a new version of its LensFix plug-in, now tailored for Aperture 2.1. The software is intended to correct lens distortion for a variety of cameras and lenses; over 500 combinations are supported, and users have access to "thousands" of presets. The software further supports 16-bit quality, and rendering on Core Image-compatible video cards. [full story]

May 14 - 12:45am EDT   Jumsoft has recently released new Aperture Web Themes and Pages Templates 2.0 for iWork, which includes 40 high-quality and professional templates. The new Aperture themes include five separate designs: The Frames Gray Theme produces pictures that have a photo frame, with shadows that imitate the real 3D look of the photo; Grid Black Theme offers a frame for each picture and the gallery appears in a table form that "evokes the image of orderliness;" the iPhone Theme, described as both "modern and calm," frames all pictures and headings together; Rounded Black Theme, similar to the Grid Black Theme, offers a Rounded Black Frame for each picture that separates it from ... [full story]

April 26 - 1:20pm EDT   dvGarage this week released dpMatte 2.1, a greenscreen keyer for Apple's Aperture 2.1 photography solution. Based on technology used in dvGarage's existing keyer, the new background replacement tool is the first plug-in to be released using Aperture’s new SDK. It uses Apple's SDK for Aperture, which allows developers to use existing Cocoatools to develop full-featured applications inside of Aperture's existing framework; it is designed to easily remove green and blue backgrounds used in film and still photography in order to composite subjects into new backgrounds. Still photographers use the same kind of technology to add backdrops rather than commit to a specific ... [full story]

April 22 - 8:55am EDT   Apple has released the final version of the SDK for Aperture, its professional photo workflow program. The SDK allows developers to create a variety of custom plug-ins for Aperture 2.1, which introduced an open architecture and came with Apple's own Dodge & Burn plug-in. Already available are a handful of third-party plug-ins; among these are Tiffen's Dfx Digital Filter Suite, which simulates a variety of optical filter effects. [full story]