June 26 - 3:45pm EDT   Palm chief Jon Rubinstein during the company's fiscal results call yesterday evening detailed the company's stance on licensing webOS as well as some of the early reaction to the Pre. Addressing a question on whether Palm would ever let other companies make webOS phones, the executive was emphatic that there were no current plans for this but explained that it was "not a religious issue" for the company. Although not directly stated, the implication was that Palm didn't share Apple's opinion that software exclusivity was essential to integrating with its hardware. [full story]

June 12 - 12:20pm EDT   DMG Master 2.1 ($20) is a utility that allows users to create standard Disk Image Archives from their own files. Users can select any file or group of files and covert them into an archive that can be recognized by any Mac. New to this release is the option to encrypt archives using either AES-128 or AES-256 encryption. The interface has also received small improvements and several new preference options have been added. [Download - 0.78MB] [full story]

May 25 - 11:25am EDT   A leak of Sprint's guide to the Palm Pre for business late yesterday has revealed key details about the launch of the smartphone, including Sprint's attitude towards both the iPhone and T-Mobile G1. In its comparison unearthed by Engadget, the carrier touts less direct features as an advantage, including the built-in camera flash, a hardware keyboard and the Synergy feature that merges multiple contacts and calendars. Sprint also boasts the least expensive unlimited service with a $100 plan compared to the $150 for an iPhone on AT&T and $125 for T-Mobile. [full story]

February 23 - 10:05am EST   Derman has published an update to Sync'Em, its synchronization utility for Macs. The software links contact and calendar information from iCal, Mail and Address Book with Google and Exchange accounts. Users can also omit local systems from the equation, and sync solely between Google and/or Exchange accounts. Some features remain incomplete, such as the the ability to share notes and tasks across platforms. [full story]

February 9 - 2:10pm EST   Google this afternoon revamped Google Sync to include beta two-way support for iPhone, iPod touch and Windows Mobile devices. These and any SyncML devices can make updates to calendars and contacts that get sent to Google's cloud with changes elsewhere sent back to the devices. The feature works through a new license Google has obtained that uses Microsoft's Exchange to push the information in near real-time. [full story]

January 16 - 12:40pm EST   MVNO carrier Helio may ship its second Ocean smartphone as early as February, according to a company representative. The phone is at least due this quarter, which would put a release date no further than the end of March. The current Ocean is Helio's signature phone, a messaging device with many iPhone-like features such as a YouTube client and a built-in GPS receiver. The Ocean 2 is expected to have similar features, such as a microSD slot and a two-megapixel camera with flash. [full story]

January 12 - 3:45pm EST   Sync'Em 1.2 ($50) is an application for syncing Exchange, Google and Apple contact and calendar information. The update has added extra options to the applications uninstaller which can be helpful with a later reinstall. Users will also find a few interface enhancements, a fix for a syncing issue that could cause the application to hang and a a work around for a problem with unhandled exceptions in OS X's Sync Services. [Download - 16.1MB] [full story]

December 2 - 10:15am EST   Rogers today became the first North American carrier to pick up the E71, Nokia's top fixed-QWERTY smartphone. The S60 candybar is virtually identical to the reference model and supports 3G on the Canadian provider's HSPA network as well as GPS, Wi-Fi and push data that includes Microsoft Exchange support. A 3.2-megapixel camera with flash also translates directly to the Rogers E71. [full story]

November 26 - 3:25pm EST   Derman Enterprises has posted an update to its Sync 'Em, its Mac-based synchronization application. The program attempts to keep contact and calendar data consistent between multiple apps and user accounts; it does this by linking information from Exchange and Google with Mail, iCal and Address Book. The exact data shared varies however, as Sync 'Em does not yet, for example, support Google Calendar. [full story]

October 30 - 3:35pm EDT   Having only recently released major patches for both Office 2004 and 2008, Microsoft has posted a new, minor patch for the latter edition of its work suite. Though installed for the whole of Office, the v12.1.4 update specifically addresses a problem within the Entourage mail client. Under copies of v12.1.3, Exchange accounts operating from within Entourage were rendered unable to send meeting invitations or responses. [full story]

October 21 - 9:05am EDT   Kerio Technologies has updated its MailServer groupware, taking direct aim at Microsoft Exchange. The company says MailServer 6.6 has two key improvements designed to convince Exchange users to switch. The first is support for managing resources -- the ability to book conference rooms, audio/visual equipment and other assets using online tools. The second addition is a migration tool designed to make it less painful for companies to move their data from Exchange to MailServer. The new release also provides improved e-mail support for the iPhone and other mobile devices. [full story]

October 20 - 12:00pm EDT   Several major changes in Apple's next operating system have been revealed, sources claim. Mac OS X Snow Leopard is, according to AppleInsider, expected to completely jettison the Carbon-based version of Finder, in favor of a one written entirely in Cocoa. Apple has said that 64-bit support for Carbon will not be provided, and it may thus make sense to migrate as much code over as possible for maximum performance. Finder is currently one of oldest Carbon components in Mac OS X. [full story]

October 10 - 7:55am EDT   The recent plunge in Research in Motion's shares may help trigger a takeover by Microsoft, Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek says. The financial expert believes that Microsoft has a "standing offer" to buy out the BlackBerry maker at a value of $50 per share and may do so if RIM's recent share decline leaves it significantly below that mark. The company is said by researchers to be independent but potentially open to a deal if made under friendly terms. [full story]

October 8 - 11:10am EDT   New software for syncing Exchange, Google and Apple contact and calendar information is said to have reached the end of beta testing. The completed release of Sync'Em has received support for syncing Google contacts, beyond those found in Exchange and/or Address Book. Support for syncing Google and iCal calendar events is still in development, but the developers say they hope to have this added by mid-November. [full story]

October 2 - 8:40am EDT   Apple's entry into the mobile phone space was a "big favor" to the cellphone business by shaking it up, Nokia chief Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said Thursday. The executive notes that Apple's roughly 14-month presence in the market has produced a "credible competitor" that has led phone buyers to expect more from devices, pushing Nokia and others to improve their hardware and software. The Finnish company now sees the iPhone as a threat but also says it has yet to formally take on Apple's touchscreen model. [full story]