July 8 - 9:05pm EDT   DEVONtechnologies has released two freeware updates, launching XMenu 1.9 and EasyFind 4.5 with new features and bug fixes. XMenu has new menu icons for easier recognition and also adds a snippets menu in a cascading structure that supports the user's inserting plain and rich text snippets, clippings, and Internet location files as single menu choices. From that point large numbers of rich text can be quickly accessed for retrieval and use. Meanwhile, EasyFind 4.5 adds Quick Look support and adds extended Boolean operators found in DEVONtechnologies' lead applications. [full story]

January 31 - 6:15pm EST   The US Patent and Trademark Office today published 11 of Apple's patent applications. Among the 11, a patent regarding AAC audio bit allocation, as well as one pertaining to hierarchical menus stand out. Apple has presented a concept for perceptual audio encoding, a bit allocation technique that is designed to reduce the size of a file by finding a perfect balance of quality versus compression. While Apple is developing the process to apply it to AAC, it could also be applied to MP3, AC-3, and WMA media formats. [full story]

January 22 - 5:15pm EST   You Software today unveiled You Control 1.6, an update to its menu creation utility, adding compatibility for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, as well as a number of enhancements based around Leopard technologies. You Control can now interface with Leopard's new iCal format, allowing users to view their appointments and other iCal data. Performance with all of the components has been improved for both Leopard and Tiger users, allowing for quick access to weather, address, and system information. New users can purchase You Control for $30 from You Software; existing users can upgrade for no additional charge. [full story]