May 1 - 6:15pm EDT   ProjectForum 6.1 ($80) a wiki-based software application that supports collaboration within and between professional workgroups. Version 6.1 introduces a new "mail to wiki" feature, and improves support for outgoing email notifications. This version also includes many smaller enhancements and bug fixes. CourseForum 6.1, a version of the ProjectForum application targeted for online learning applications, was also released. [Download - 2.4MB] MacBreakZ 4.8 ($30) Personal Ergonomic Assistant designed tpromote healthy and productive computer use by reminding the user ttake a break. Based on your actual keyboard and mouse use and the time you have spent in front of the screen, MacBreakZ ... [full story]

April 22 - 4:40pm EDT   According to new data from Nielsen Online, Web traffic to the Apple Inc's sites collectivly grew 13 percent year over year in the first quarter of 2008, from a three-month average monthly unique audience of 42.9 million to 48.4 million. Total minutes spent on the site grew 12 percent year over year, from 9.4 billion in Q1 2007 to 10.5 billion in Q1 2008, while total purchases at The Apple Store grew 32 percent month over month, from 322,000 purchases in January 2008 to 424,000 purchases in February 2008. iTunes, Apple Store and QuickTime were the top three fastest growing Apple Computer Web channels year over year in Q1 2008 [full story]

April 16 - 7:30pm EDT   NBC is again considering distribution of its TV shows through the iTunes store, pending a more rigid anti-piracy stance. According to CNET, George Kliavkoff, chief digital officer for NBC Universal, says that digital piracy hurts the company to the point where it is not viable to distribute its content digitally. The statement comes after NBC Universal pulled shows such as Heroes and The Office from iTunes over a pricing dispute between itself and Apple. [full story]

April 15 - 3:15pm EDT   The long-awaited NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT upgrade for Mac Pros has been released. The graphics card features 512MB of dedicated GDDR3 memory, uses the PCI Express interface, and includes two dual-link DVI ports, and is capable of driving up to two 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Displays. It requires a Mac Pro (bus speed 1.33GHz) with PCI-Express. The card is priced at $280 and can be purchased as a standalone, user-installable item or as a build-to-order option for Early 2008 Mac Pros through the online Apple Store. Controversy ensued when Apple introduced this upgrade card as an option available exclusively to newly purchased Mac Pros in January. At the time, users presented ... [full story]

April 10 - 4:05pm EDT   Apple is continuing its expansion of its successful retail stores, according to ifoAppleStore. The report indicates that Apple plans to open yet another retail store in the Bay Area, this one inside the Hillsdale Shopping Center, a 1950s-era enclosed mall that is privately owned by the Bohannon family. The shopping center features more than 130 shops over 1.3 million square-feet. Other Apple stores in the area include San Francisco (23 miles north), Stonestown (20 miles N.), Burlingame (4 miles N.), Palo Alto/Stanford (12 miles S.), and Valley Fair (30 miles S.). Apple also plans a new store in Toronto at the Fairview Mall by November. The mall is located along Highway ... [full story]

April 8 - 5:20pm EDT   Investment research firm Piper Jaffray today held a conference call regarding teenage spending habits and statistics, which brought to light several figures about Apple devices and services. Of the students surveyed, the report found that 87-percent owned an MP3 player, and of those, 86-percent are iPod owners. This also reflected in the students' choice of music store, with iTunes sitting at 79-percent. The advent of other iPod-compatible music stores eroded iTunes' share slightly from 89-percent. [full story]

March 31 - 10:20pm EDT   The US Patent and Trademark Office today published Apple's trademark application concerning the icon for the upcoming iPhone/iPod touch application store. The logo, which is displayed in almost every piece of documentation related to the developer's program, will be present on all iPhone and iPod touch devices when the service officially launches later this year. The design resembles Apple's traditional application icon – the stylized letter "A" constructed from a paintbrush, pencil and ruler. [full story]

March 27 - 8:00pm EDT   In brief: We have a review of the Speck ActiveFit Armband, an Apple Store thief stuffed a 13" MacBook down his pants, MacTech is offering VBA to AppleScript bundles, MacSpeech extends its crossgrade offer, and Photoshop Elements 6: The Missing Manual for the Mac ships.. We have posted a review of the Speck ActiveFit Armband. The inside felt-like material protects your iPod from scratching when it is inserted or removed. The case is sewn onto a breathable mesh pad that extends into a foot-long armband. The armband includes well-secured 1.25" long Velcro strips every inch. The video screen sits behind a flexible thick clear plastic sewn into the case. The Click Wheel is ... [full story]

March 27 - 2:15pm EDT   More than 300 iPhones were stolen from an Apple store in the Mall at Rockingham Park in Salem, New Hamshire. The culprits? Two employees: Joshua Garrand, 28, of Methuen, Mass., and Christopher Nashed, 22, of Sandown who have now been brought before the court on felony theft charges of stealing $132,468 worth of iPhones and selling them on the black market. The Eagle-Tribune reports that police wouldn't say whether the men were selling the phones online or how sophisticated their operation wasm but would say that investigators were first contacted by the store in early January. One Salem police sergeant spent three months on the case. One of the suspects, Nashed, is ... [full story]

March 25 - 7:35pm EDT   In brief: Apple will open a store in Cherry Hill, NJ this weekend, Office 2008 "the missing manual" is now shipping, Sofa Control is one of the new applications on its way from Gravity, ... Apple will be opening its latest retail store in Cherry Hill, NJ this weekend. The Apple Store Cherry Hill will open to the public on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. EDT. The last Apple retail store to open was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Thursday, March 6th. Apple is also planning to open four new stores in Europe, branching out with retail outlets in Monaco, Zurich, Geneva, and Ireland. Apple posted job listings for three of those stores, but refrained from specifying ... [full story]

March 18 - 3:00pm EDT   yooph.nl reports on a banner appearing on the Dutch Apple Store showing the iPod Touch priced at 199 euros, a steep drop from the previous 279 euro price. Official store prices are still listed at 279 euros for 8GB, 369 euros for 16GB and 459 euros for 32GB. The apparently leaked banner has led to speculation that price drops for the iPod Touch may be on the way worldwide. Apple COO Timothy Cook recently said that Apple's focus in its iPod division over the past few months was the introduction and rollout the iPod Touch. He sees getting the "first mainstream WiFi portable platform" out as a big strategic move. [full story]

March 12 - 7:05pm EDT   Disney, as the launch partner for the iTunes video store, has seen approximately $123 million from the venture since its inception, which is a drop in the bucket when compared to the company's $35 billion in revenue last year, but is not without its upsides. Money made from the iTunes video store requires very little maintenance and planning, since companies don't have to market the product, while extraneous costs such as boxing, shipping, and other elements in distribution are not present. [full story]

March 12 - 11:40am EDT   Apple has added a third store to its opening roster for Australia for this year. The company now plans to debut two stores in Sydney in the CBD and in Chatswood and another in Chadstone, Victoria. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Apple is now putting the finishing touches on its three-level flagship store in the Sydney CBD, located on the corner of George Street and King Street. That store will reportedly sport the transparent glass edifice made famous at other flagship stores, along with a large, white suspended Apple logo. Sydney's store will also feature a glass staircase, which will connect the three levels. The store is expected to be open by June. [full story]

March 5 - 11:05am EST   Apple's retail director Ron Johnson yesterday confirmed the opening of two Italian store locations during the shareholder meeting in Cupertino yesterday. According to SetteB.IT, Johnson said there would be two retail locations opening in Milan within the next year. The first location would be behind the Duomo or between Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Montenapoleone, the second in the Corso Buenos Aires. [full story]

March 3 - 3:00pm EST   Apple stores are not immune to one of the most common retail woes, after the Genius at the Bellevue Square store in Washington State alienated at least one female customer. Electronics retail locations typically exhibit a trend of believing women to be less technically competent than males. A woman identified as Anjela went into the location with the intent of buying a MacBook Air, but was received poorly when the Genius, Bill, chose to neglect her and speak with her husband. [full story]