April 18 - 11:05pm EDT   BusySync on Friday released an update to its iCal sync utility. BusySync 2.0, a free upgrade for all existing customers, brings new Google Calendar syncing features and fixes many bugs. Users have the ability to sync iCal with Google Calendar, including the ability to map iCal Message alarms to Google pop-up, SMS or Email alarms as well as the option to filter out Alarms and To-Dos from subscribed calendars on your LAN. The developer says the update brings LAN/WAN synching improvements, VPN compatibility, IPv6 and Back to My Mac compatibility. In addition, version 2.0 features improved performance, fewer conflict resolver disputes, auto-repair of damaged iCal databases. ... [full story]

January 21 - 10:55pm EST   This year's Macworld Expo was the largest yet, with over 450 exhibitors and tens of thousands of attendees. Apple released the MacBook Air, as well as iTunes movie rentals, with software upgrades for the iPod touch, iPhone and AppleTV. Vendors, patrons, and journalists came from all over the world to see and show thousands of new or improved products. MacNN has assembled a final gallery for Macworld Expo San Francisco 2008, highlighting many different aspects of the show. [full story]

January 21 - 4:00pm EST   Last week's Macworld Expo contained a number of important products that IT executives should be aware of, says CIO. The magazine argues that while Macworld has traditionally showcased products for artists, schools and small businesses, there were a number of products this year that major corporations should at least be aware of. Among these is the MacBook Air, which may be in high demand for travelers due to its weight and thinness. This may unintentionally create a security problem, as it can more easily be smuggled out of a building. [full story]

January 21 - 3:05pm EST   SWsoft gave Macworld Expo patrons a demonstration of its upcoming Parallels Server for Mac – a product that earned it the expo's Best of Show award. Due to ship in the coming weeks, Parallels Server allows users to run any number of different virtual machines on the Mac, including Apple's own Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Server. The new software will be also be able to run on a server cluster, according to Benjamin Rudolph, director of corporate communications for SWsoft. [full story]

January 21 - 10:55am EST   The next update for Mac OS X may be one of the largest Apple has ever released, accounts say. During last week's Macworld event, it is said that a new build of Mac OS X 10.5.2 was circulated amongst developers, under the version name 9C16. Aside from adding support for Remote Disks (for the MacBook Air) and using networked volumes as Time Machine devices (required for the Time Capsule), it reportedly addresses issues with almost 40 OS components, including AirPort, firewalls, Dashboard widgets, Finder, the Dock, iCal, iChat, Mail and Safari. [full story]

January 18 - 3:35pm EST   On2 Technologies has announced that its Flix Engine, a server-side video encoding platform, now has support for Apple's portable formats. Where previously the Flix SDK could only be used to create output in Flash 8/9, 3GPP and general H.264, it can now be used to generate QuickTime files specifically sized and encoded for iPods, as well as the iPhone. Flix is purportedly used by "the majority" of web video sites, and supports scripting languages such as ASP, PHP, Python and Perl; it is however only available for Windows and Linux. Buyers must contact On2 regarding licensing. [full story]

January 18 - 12:05pm EST   Macworld Expo San Francisco 2008 saw over 400 vendors showcasing thousands of different products, from iPod cases and accessories, to many different hardware and software solutions for the Mac. Belkin's home-styled booth showcased many different iPod cases, as well as a revised KVM switch and the Podcast Studio device. Belkin employed musical entertainment that played on a faux-lawn area. Canon had its entire range of DSLR cameras, with a wide gamut of lenses available for testing. A wide range of colorful bags were available at Crumpler's booth, and iSkin's black and white booth scheme presented a striking display for its products. [full story]

January 18 - 10:25am EST   iSkin's presence at Macworld is being used to demonstrate four new pieces of protective gear. The first of these is the ProTouch, a skin for Apple's thin aluminum keyboard. The ProTouch is primarily made out of silicone, but uses Microban antimicrobial material to prevent the spread of disease. When the skin does need to be cleaned, it can be quickly removed and manually washed and dried. The skin is already available for $25, in blue, black, pink and frosted colors. [full story]

January 17 - 7:15pm EST   Greenpeace today applauded Apple for the release of its new MacBook Air laptop, calling the device "a winner" and a strong entry in the race to build a green PC. The organization commends Apple's decision to ship a mercury and arsenic-free laptop, which Greenpeace says exceeds European Standards and raises the bar for the rest of the industry. Apple is on the right track, according to activists, and needs to make environmental leadership the theme of all of its products -- both old and new. [full story]

January 17 - 4:10pm EST   Accessory maker XtremeMac has announced its third FM transmitter, the InCharge FM. Designed for cars, the device (not pictured) plugs into standard 12V outlets, and can thus power both itself and any iPods that rely on Apple's standard dock connector. Transmission is said to be "near CD quality," but in case of interference, a toggle control lets users revert from stereo to mono. Users can also set multiple frequency presets, and check their dial position through a built-in display. [full story]

January 17 - 2:55pm EST   Equinux has announced the forthcoming release of iSale 5, the fifth generation of its online auction management software for Mac OS X. iSale 5 boasts an intuitive research assistant for text descriptions as well as picture themes, a template editor for all auction templates, and the ability to manage multiple libraries for archiving auctions. iSale 5 comes with a new interface designed for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, easing the process of managing and creating online auctions. The software is priced at $40, and requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later. [full story]

January 17 - 1:40pm EST   Ntractive has unveiled Elements SBM at Macworld Expo in San Francisco. The business management software uses a unique 'hybrid application' approach that aims to bridge the gap between ease-of-use and a hosted Web application. Elements SBM is designed to automate, organize, and improve business processes in small to mid-sized companies, focusing on Mac OS X as its primary platform. Users can automate common business practices like sales, contact management, and accounting while making use of automated backups and offsite data warehousing. [full story]

January 17 - 12:30pm EST   Taiwan Star Telecom has launched its new turbosim unlock for Apple's iPhone, a tiny thin film circuit that rests between the real SIM card and an iPhone SIM socket to unlock the iPhone for use with any compatible SIM card. The unlock works on iPhones that ship with firmware version 1.1.2, fooling the iPhone into thinking it is using an actual AT&T SIM card (shipment and pricing information was unavailable). [full story]

January 17 - 12:05pm EST   Freeverse has set up a live camera-feed from the Macworld Expo show floor that displays constantly updated images of its booth for the remainder of the show. The feed is powered by Freeverse's Periscope webcam software, which lets users capture activity in front of a Mac's iSight camera and save or share that image simply and automatically. The software supports sending real-time images to an email address, a .Mac Web page, or an FTP site. [full story]

January 17 - 11:30am EST   El Gato's EyeTV 3 software vastly improves the company's hardware analogue video converters, adding remote programmability, as well as many other advanced features. The software can be configured through a local or wide area network connection, allowing users to record television content without requiring direct access. The upgrade to EyeTV 3 costs $40, and is included with all new products. New licenses are priced at $80. [corrected] [full story]