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14:19
No one 'laid a glove' on Tim Cook at his Senate grilling

No one laid a glove on Apple CEO Tim Cook, not even the subcommittee's "hostile chairman," in his appearance before the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to explain the company's offshore tax practices, according to "CNNMoney" (http://tinyurl.com/lbfvd5x).

Cook's testimony was "calm and precise," and "the senators, for their part, were mostly respectful -- and on occasion fawning," the article adds.

"Claire McCaskill (Dem., Mo.) couldn't say often enough how much she loved Apple," notes "CNNMoney. "Ron Johnson (Rep., Wisc.) praised the company's tax minimization strategies as shareholder friendly. Rob Portman (Rep., Ohio) only wanted to talk about his tax reform proposals. Rand Paul (Rep., Ken.) thought the committee owed Apple an apology. John McCain (Rep., Ariz.), after a bout of tax dodging rhetoric, wanted to know why his iPhone was constantly updating its apps."

...

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10:58
Native Instruments introduces Abbey Road 50s Drummer

Native Instruments has introduced Abbey Road 50s Drummer, a new Kontakt instrument featuring the sound of two classic drum kits from the 1950s.

The kits provide the distinctive drum sound of the era. Recorded with both state-of-the-art and period equipment at Abbey Road Studios in London, 50s Drummer also includes a groove library, mixer presets, and a new set of brush articulations, delivering the authentic feel of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country, and jazz from the 1950s.

Abbey Road 50s Drummer is available at the NI Online Shop for US$99. For more info go to http://tinyurl.com/mg2byeu .

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10:46
I.R.I.S. releases IRISScan Book 3, Executive

I.R.I.S. has released the IRIScan Book 3 and IRIScan Book 3 Executive. These portable scanning solutions are battery‐powered, enabling mobile users to easily capture paper documents, receipts, photos and more without the use of a computer.
 
The IRIScan Book 3 and IRIScan Book 3 Executive scan directly to an included MicroSD card in black/white or color with 300, 600 and 900 dpi scanning resolutions. No driver installation is required; simply connect the scanner with the included USB cable or insert the MicroSD card into the computer.

The IRIScan Book 3 is powered by 3 AAA batteries and comes with Readiris Pro 12 to convert the paper documents, PDFs or image files into editable and searchable digital text. 

IRIScan Book 3 Executive is Wi-Fi compatible and, by using the IRIScan Book app, users can send PDFs or JPEGs to the cloud, smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop. The IRIScan Book app can be downloaded for free for both iOS and Android devices.

...

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08:30
RE:Vision Effects releases RE:Match for Nuke and Fusion

RE:Vision Effects has released RE:Match for The Foundry's Nuke and eyeon Fusion. It addresses common problems on multicam and stereo shoots.

RE:Match is a set of plug-ins to match one view of video or film to another so that it looks as if it was shot with the same camera and settings. The software assumes that both image sequences are taken roughly at the same location, but perhaps were not shot at the same time or from the same point-of-view.

For general multicam shoots RE:Match matches, as best it can, one sequence's overall color appearance to match that of another. For stereo pairs, RE:Match can further refine the overall color match by taking into account that the two views are captured at the same time with a relatively small distance between the views.

In addition, RE:Match is also able to propagate color changes into areas that are present in only one view. RE:Match can also make other details, such as reflections, specular highlights, and lens...

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08:22
Bracketron releases new USB charger

Bracketron has released the Twist & Charge USB Charger, a solution to overcrowded outlets that provides an USB charging port for mobile devices without blocking or taking up an AC outlet.

It allows users to add an USB charging port to any standard AC outlet. The design features one surge-protected USB outlet that rotates up to 270 degrees. The device is compact and small enough to toss into suitcases. The Twist & Charge USB Charger will be available for purchase on June 19 for US$17.95 at Bracketron.com .

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08:10
CS Odessa rolls out new tools for ConceptDraw Project

CS Odessa has unveiled a new set of tools and features for ConceptDraw Project to give users more control over project views and resource-allocation. ConceptDraw Project 6.4 is being enhanced with the addition of new resource types, custom filter tools, and a new set of printing options.

The upgrade has enhanced options for selecting resource types. The newly defined resource types will allow users to better describe their resources and resource behavior within a project, according to Olin Reams, general manager, CS Odessa. The additional resource types provide better insight into the resource components that compromise a working project, he adds.

To complement the new task and resource features in ConceptDraw Project, there are newly designed filtering tool that allows users to make custom views for their projects. ConceptDraw Project 6.4 allows for custom views to be created and saved for use later on.

ConceptDraw Project 6.4 has also been updated to allow...

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08:04
HGST introduces Travelstar 5K1500 for the mobile market

HGST says it's offering the highest storage density (MB/mm3) of any hard disk drive (HDD) today. The new Travelstar 5K1500 is the industry's first 9.5mm, 1.5TB mobile hard drive and features the industry's highest capacity in a standard 9.5mm design, the company says.

The Travelstar 5K1500 delivers high shock protection, low power and solid performance to meet the growing demands for a variety of market segments, including notebooks, external hard drives, gaming consoles and all-in-one desktop, according to Brendan Collins, vice president of product marketing at HGST. It offers 50% more capacity than currently shipping 1TB 2.5-inch 9.5mm HDDs and 200%more capacity than single-disk 500GB 7mm or 5mm 2.5-inch HDDs, he adds.

Smaller than current 15mm or 12.5mm 2.5-inch HDDs, the Travelstar 5K1500 drive features a standard 9.5mm form factor. It has 0.5 watt low power (idle) consumption and 5,400RPM performance

Travelstar 5K1500 drives are expected to ship in June....

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07:44
ZAGG debuts new iPad mini accessories

ZAGG has introduced two new keyboard accessories for the iPad mini. The ZAGGkeys Cover and ZAGGkeys Folio are "ultra-thin" Bluetooth keyboard accessories built with a patent-pending hinge system that offers a range of viewing angles up to 135 degrees.

The new ZAGGkeys Cover is the most versatile Bluetooth keyboard on the market and the thinnest at just 6.3mm, boasts Kent Wuthrich, executive vice president of marketing for ZAGG. It features a hinge that lets users position the screen at virtually any viewing angle as well as reverse the iPad mini for a one-piece reading and playing mode.

The ZAGGkeys Cover also features backlit keys in seven color options and three lighting levels. A battery purportedly keeps the Cover going for up to three months of normal use before it needs to be charged, while a magnetic closure protects the screen during transport. The ZAGGkeys Cover will be available in both silver and black, matching the back finish of the iPad mini. It's...

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07:15
Senate says Apple sheltered $44 billion from taxes

Senate investigators are accusing Apple of wiring together a complicated system to shield billions of dollars in international profits from both U.S. and foreign tax collectors, reports "Politico" (http://tinyurl.com/kp3hh77).

A report released ahead of Apple CEO Tim Cook’s inaugural Capitol Hill appearance today alleges the tech giant took advantage of numerous U.S. tax loopholes and avoided U.S. taxes on US$44 billion in offshore, taxable income between 2009 and 2012. Apple denies this.

The bipartisan Senate probe also charges that the company's long established foreign entities, based in Ireland, don’t actually have tax-resident status there or anywhere else. Apple conducts most of its international business in the European country to take advantage of lower tax rates, according to the congressional report.

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04:39
AppDelete for Mac OS X adds updated user interface

Reggie Ashworth (www.reggieashworth.com) has announced AppDelete 4.0.7, a new version of his application deletion utility. The upgrade sports an upgraded user interface and more.

You can drag any item that can be uninstalled onto AppDelete: spplications, widgets, preference panes, plugins, screensavers, etc. You can also activate AppDelete in many ways: dragging items onto main window, onto dock icon, selecting in menu, right-clicking using AppDelete workflow, dragging from Launchpad, and throwing items in the trash. When the preview screen appears you can uncheck any items you would like to exclude.

You also have several choices: delete the items, log only the items, or archive (copy) the items to a .zip file for safekeeping or reinstall at a later date. The items you delete will be moved to the trash and arranged in a folder so that you can see exactly what was deleted and you know exactly...

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04:29
FMStudio Pro updated for Dreamweaver CS6, FileMaker Server 12

FMWebschool has announced FMStudio Pro 1.1.3, bringing new updates for Dreamweaver CS6 and FileMaker Server 12. This combination of technologies enables a direct connection from FileMaker to Dreamweaver.

Experts will appreciate the ability to rapidly create and deploy FileMaker driven websites, according to the folks at FMWebschool. Beginners to web publishing can now build FileMaker websites without knowing PHP by using the simple drag and drop tool-set and live data features, they add.

Any FileMaker hosting service supporting FileMaker Server 12 will enable you to use FileMaker and Dreamweaver together. When you press the live data view button in Dreamweaver, the web pages are immediately populated with live FileMaker data.

FMStudio Pro uses the FileMaker API [application programming interface] for PHP developed by Zend for FileMaker. It supports FileMaker Server versions 7 - 12 and Dreamweaver CS5, CS5.5 and CS6. FMStudio Pro costs US$157 and is available...

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May 20
Noise Industries offers Andy Mees Safe Guides plug-in

Noise Industries has added Andy Mees' free Safe Guides plug-in to the FxFactory family of plug-ins and generators. Designed for use in Final Cut Pro(R), Motion, Premiere Pro and After Effects, Safe Guides includes preset guides for 4:3, 14:9 and 16:9 title and action safe areas, an EBU/BBC compliance override and center cross marker.

The plug-in comes with full custom guide controls. Features include two freely adjustable user guides, the option to toggle on or off individual guides and the ability to choose ones own guide colors, plus dim or mask cropped regions. Editors can use the "Conform to 16:9" option to force the guides to display within a center cut 16:9 frame if and when working sequence settings aren't in the correct format.

Safe Guides is now available in FxFactory for free. FxFactory is a visual effects architecture powering plug-ins for Final Cut Pro, Motion, Premiere Pro and After Effects. For more info go to...

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May 20
Apple releases Tim Cook's official statement to Senate

Apple has released Tim Cook's official statement to the Senate ahead of his Tuesday appearance at a hearing on corporate tax payments.

As noted by "Seeking Alpha," among other things, Apple claims it paid ~$6 billion in federal taxes in FY12 and a 30.5% effective federal tax rate, that its foreign units don't engage in the practices the hearing focuses (the shifting of IP to offshore havens, revolving loans from subsidiaries, etc). The company proposes a tax system that's "revenue neutral, eliminates all tax expenditures, lowers tax rates and implements a reasonable tax on foreign earnings." 

Read more at http://tinyurl.com/lrcwz3f . Also, you can find the entire official statement at http://tinyurl.com/kxvl26g

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May 20
Eerie Studios releases Junk Punk 3D for the Mac

Eerie Studios' Junk Punk 3D is now available on the Mac App Store (http://tinyurl.com/me6te83). It requires Mac OS X 10.6.6 or higher and costs US$1.99.


Here's how the game is described: "Junk Punk 3D is the successor to Junk Punk. It is a fast-paced action game about free running, fast reflexes and competition. As the player, your ultimate goal is to get as far as you can, without falling down, in which case your only option is to try again. Compete against yourself, your friends or the entire world."

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May 20
matchTag 1.5 optimized for Mountain Lion

Nominari has released matchTag 1.5 for Mac OS X (10.7.2 or higher). The app can update the title information in an iTunes music collection and amend, either completely or selectively, the missing data from the iTunes Store. Version 1.5 has been optimized for Mountain Lion.

matchTag facilitates the iTunes ID that was written into the new file during download and allows for either individual tags or for the whole set to be amended or replaced. MatchTag also has an option to download a cover image thumbnail.

matchTag 1.5 costs approximately US$6.50. It's available worldwide exclusively from the Nominari website (http://www.nominari.com).

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May 20
Image Resizer Deluxe for Mac OS X gets text antialiasing, more

Lifeware Solutions has announced Image Resizer Deluxe 1.1, an update to their photo editing app for Mac OS X. The upgrade adds text antialiasing and fixes the preview size.

Image Resizer Deluxe provides tools to resize and rename large numbers of photos to reduce their size, and make them ready to be sent over email or posted on the web. You can add text, watermarks, border effects, change color depth, apply color effects and more.

Image Resizer Deluxe requires Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later. It costs US$1.99 and is available worldwide exclusively through the Mac App Store in the Graphics & Design category (http://tinyurl.com/k9nzw5l).

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May 20
iStopMotion for Mac OS X gets screen capture feature

Boinx Software has updated iStopMotion, its stop motion animation tool for Mac OS X (10.7.4), to version 3.1. The new version includes a screen capture feature that provides animators with a new medium for animating.

iStopMotion 3.1 is localized in English, German, French, Japanese and Russian. It's available for US$49.99 both from the Mac App Store and the Boinx Website (www.boinx.com/).

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May 17
Apple to suggest changes to U.S. corporate tax laws

Apple, which holds US$102 billion in cash and investments outside the U.S., will suggest changes to corporate tax laws to encourage companies to bring more cash into the country, reports "Bloomberg" (http://tinyurl.com/an63hjh).

In interviews with "The Washington Post" and "Politico," Apple CEO Tim Cook previewed testimony he will give on May 21 before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which has been examining companies that use various maneuvers to reduce their tax bills. The current 35% corporate-tax rate is too high for companies to pay when bringing money back from overseas, Cook was quoted as saying by "The Washington Post." Cook defended Apple’s practices and said the company doesn’t funnel domestic profits overseas, according to his "Politico."

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May 17
microLARGE Software Taskdesk for the Mac

microLARGE Software has introduced Taskdeck, a task and to-do list app for Mac OS X (10.7.4 or higher). It costs US$7.99.

Taskdeck promises a minimalist, keyboard-driven user interface with features like tags, attachments, drag 'n drop prioritization, searching and filtering. Related tasks are grouped into lists, with each list showing a badge that indicates the number of open, due, or overdue tasks.

The menu bar application sports an iOS-inspired drill-down user interface that can be activated on any virtual desktop through a system-wide hotkey without having to switch between application windows or desktops. The app employs a simple structural model of lists and tasks, says Karl Traunmuller, the developer of Taskdeck.

Within a list, tasks can be created by the press of a shortcut. For prioritization, tasks can be dragged to the appropriate slot. Four filter buttons can be used to show all tasks, or only open, due, or overdue tasks. A tagging system allows for...

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May 17
Paddle launches demo/trial framework for Mac developers

Paddle has announced Paddle for Developers. It's a simple framework allowing Mac software developers to create trial and demo versions of their Mac applications.

The Paddle framework, in its basic installation, allows users to offer a trial/demo version and take payments in-app. The framework can purportedly be added to an existing Mac application in as little as five minutes.

Additional services are also provided for developers who decide to implement the framework, such as marketing and promotion services to Paddle's 150,000-plus active users, and a dedicated account manager to assist the developer with querie. Also, all order-related customer support for sales via the framework is managed by Paddle.

The framework, and functionality provided cost nothing for a developer to implement. There are no signup fees, or setup fees, and no monthly account maintenance fees. The only fee charged is at the point of sale within the app, Paddle takes a small commission...

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MacTech Blog

May 21
More than one in two people will be covered by LTE-FDD...

LTE-capable networks will continue to mushroom around the globe through 2018. In particular, frequency-division duplex (FDD) networks will see their population coverage expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33% between 2012 and 2018 to hit 57%, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

Time-division duplex (TDD) networks will gain ground at a more rapid rate of 43% during this period but will only reach 52% population coverage due to fewer licensed markets currently, according to the research group. This overall picture is consistent with the contracts awarded to vendors thus far this year. Slightly more than half of the contracts concluded are related to LTE-FDD.

"However, LTE-TDD will start to close the gap," says Ying Kang Tan, research associate at ABI Research. "Dual-mode device chipsets supporting both variants as well as converged FDD/TDD network solutions are already...

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May 21
2020: 30 billion-plus devices will wirelessly connect...

ABI Research's (www.abiresearch.com) latest data on the Internet of Everything (IoE) shows that there are more than 10 billion wirelessly connected devices in the market today; with over 30 billion devices expected by 2020.

"The emergence of standardized ultra-low power wireless technologies is one of the main enablers of the IoE, with semiconductor vendors and standards bodies at the forefront of the market push, helping to bring the IoE into reality," says Peter Cooney, practice director. "The year 2013 is seen by many as the year of the Internet of Everything, but it will still be many years until it reaches its full potential. The next five years will be pivotal in its growth and establishment as a tangible concept to the consumer.”

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ZigBee, Cellular, RFID, and many other wireless technologies are all important to drive Internet of Everything growth. The long term expansion of...

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May 20
‘Long data’ to drive workforce analytics

Organizations across the globe are searching for ways to capture the power of “Big Data” to unlock workforce insights. Unfortunately, many organizations get lost in the fog of big data analysis. The latest release of Mercer Analytics (www.mercer.com) addresses this challenge by leveraging the power of Long Data to unlock insights into an organization’s most valuable asset: its talent.

Long Data, a term coined by mathematician and network scientist Samuel Arbesman, is described as "data sets that have massive historical sweep." In terms of workforce analytics, Big Data provides deep analysis typically focused on a point in time, while Long Data provides insights from stories that have unfolded over time. Thoughtful analysis of Long Data therefore allows organizations to identify, segment and analyze data as part of an ongoing process to drive meaningful results, according to Mercer Analytics. It can also mitigate the...

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May 17
Virtualization, 4G distributed networks to up-end DPI...

4G networks are launching fast and moving to a flat and distributed hierarchy. Dictated by performance needs, data management is moving closer to the network edge, according to new data from ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

This evolution of the network from a centralized data center to a distributed architecture, can be thought of as a "data center without walls," according to the research group. The historical paradigm for mobile networks is the hierarchical and centralized core network.

The advent of 3G and 4G mobile broadband greatly increases the data traffic to the IP Network and Internet point of presence, says ABI Research. This gives rise to the specialist DPI and Optimization firms, such as Allot and Sandvine, who prosper with high performance, purpose built custom hardware that sits in the data stream for inspection and management.

The major infrastructure vendors, such as...

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May 16
Chief Executive Magazine announces best, worst states...

For the ninth year in a row, CEOs rate Texas as the #1 state in which to do business, according to Chief Executive Magazine's annual Best & Worst States Survey.

Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and Indiana also made the top five. The states rated worst for business are California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts and New Jersey.

The Best & Worst States Survey measures the sentiments of CEOs on a range of issues, including regulations, tax policies, workforce quality, educational resources, quality of living and infrastructure. For the 2013 survey, 736 CEOs from across the country evaluated the states between Jan. 16 and Feb. 14, 2013. Ohio was the biggest gainer in this year's survey, rising 13 spots from #35 to #22. \

CEOs say California's poor ranking is the result of a perceived hostility to business, high state taxes and onerous regulations, all of which drive investment, companies and jobs to other states. According to the California...

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May 14
Global semiconductor sales outpacing last year

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), representing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and design, says worldwide sales of semiconductors reached US$23.48 billion for the month of March 2013, an increase of 1.1% from the previous month when sales were $23.23 billion.

Global sales for March 2013 were 0.9% higher than the March 2012 total of $23.28 billion, and total sales through the first quarter of 2013 were 0.9% higher than sales from the first quarter of 2012. All monthly sales numbers represent a three-month moving average.  

"Through the first quarter of 2013, the global semiconductor industry has seen modest but consistent growth compared to last year," says Brian Toohey, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association (www.semiconductors.org). "Sales have increased across most end product categories, with memory showing the strongest growth. With recent...

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May 13
Top 10 mobile carriers generate US$202 billion in...

Worldwide service revenue, year-on-year (YoY) for 4Q-2012 grew 2.8% to US$240.5 billion, according to new data from ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

Western Europe and Africa’s mobile operator actually demonstrated a contraction in service revenue YoY of 8.2% and 6.9%, respectively, according to the research group. Middle East, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific are still showing reasonably robust rates of growth of 7% to 11%. Eastern Europe and North America, however, are only barely keeping their service revenue growth in positive territory.

"As the underlying lift from accumulating subscribers has matured, carriers are starting to cast around for additional revenue streams that don’t just boost revenues but also profitability," says Jake Saunders, vice president for core forecasting at ABI Research. "There is still tremendous income to be generated from mobile services; the Top 10 Mobile Carriers...

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May 10
Cloud points towards a single consumer security...

By Michela Menting Senior Analyst, ABI Research

The growth of cloud-based offerings for mobile devices and PCs is leading to the convergence of a single security product. A number of vendors are in fact moving towards this strategy: development of cloud and mobile functionalities for future integration into one multi-device offering.

The PC security software market for consumers is mature. Currently, many include mobile protection. However as threats evolve, security products incorporating more comprehensive features are increasingly being sold under the broader umbrella term of Internet Security Software, rather than just anti-virus. Added features include: Social Network Protection, Parental Control, Privacy Protection, ID Theft Protection, Online Banking & Payment Protection, Password Manager, Data Encryption, Backup Platform, Rescue/Safe Reboot, Remote Access, USB/Removable Media Protection, Antitheft, GPS/Location Tracking, Restore, Remote...

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May 09
Nearly half of Internet capable devices are connected...

Forty-seven percent of home entertainment devices (Internet-capable TVs, Blu-ray disc players, video game consoles, and streaming media devices) are currently connected and being used for their online capabilities. But the degree to which these devices are used online varies significantly, according to global information company, The NPD Group (www.npd.com).

Internet capable TVs and Blu-ray disc players are the least likely to actually be connected to the Internet and used for their online features, while streaming media players and video game consoles are connected and used the most.

"While there are more Blu-ray disc players installed and connected to the Internet than streaming media players such as Apple TV and Roku, we expect that to change in the next year," says John Buffone, director, devices, NPD Connected Intelligence. "Streaming media players will exceed the number of installed and Internet connected Blu...

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May 08
CyberCoders Top Ten Tech Skills of 2013

CyberCoders (www.CyberCoders.com), a recruiting firm, says new data reveals the tech skills in the most demand for the highest paying technology jobs.

CyberCoders analyzed more than 10,000 tech companies and their hiring requirements to compile the list of the hottest skills in the tech space. Data from CyberCoders reveals that candidates who have experience with iOS development, cloud computing programming and front-end development skills are most in demand in today’s tech career landscape.

"A common theme among these technology skills is the need for open source, mobile, cloud or big data technologies, like iOS, Azure and Hadoop," says Matt Miller, chief technical officer of CyberCoders.

"Everyday we see the engineers with these skills getting an average of four to five job offers," adds CEO and founder of CyberCoders, Heidi Golledge. "Companies that provide cutting edge technology, great...

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Reviews and Kool Tools

Kool Tools: NewTech miniStack MAX
Newer Technology's miniStack MAX, is now available in DVD/CD only read/write optical drive models for computer users that don’t require the Blu-ray functionality of other miniStack MAX models. As the only four-in-one... Read more »
Kool Tools: SMS Log, Call Log, Fliq for Mac
Today our Kool Tools includes three products/services that all work together: SMS Log for Mac, Call Log for Mac and Fliq for Mac. The SMS Log application for Mac OS X (10.7 and higher) from Mark/Space (http://www.... Read more »
Recommended Reading: 'Arduino Workshop'
It may be small, but the Arduino is having a huge impact on the maker movement. This microcontroller makes it possible for creative people to turn their ideas for interactive projects into reality -- from simple LED... Read more »
Kool Tools: Shape Pop Transitions for Final Cut Pro X
Noise Industries has added Shape Pop from Stupid Raisins to its range of plug-ins offered through FxFactory. Available for Final Cut Pro X, Shape Pop consists of 30 customizable transitions that break up video into... Read more »

News Scanner

Tuesday May 21

21:29
IRIS launches third-generation IRIScan Book 3,...
MacNN

Optical character recognition purveyor IRIS has launched its next-generation IRIScan Book 3 and the IRIScan Book 3 Executive. These portable scanning solutions are battery‐powered, enabling mobile users to easily capture paper documents, receipts, photos and more without the use of a computer....  ...

| Read more »
20:40
Grandfathered Flickr Pro codified by Yahoo, most...
MacNN

Flickr Pro users have been informed by Yahoo about the future of the once-premium accounts. As long as the user's account is kept in good standing, customers paying $25 per year for unlimited storage will be allowed to keep the plan indefinitely, with no plans for the Pro benefits to be purged....  ...

| Read more »
20:00
Burstly restructures, now offers three services for...
TUAW

Burstly acquired the beta testing service TestFlight just a few months ago, and TestFlight released a mobile analytics service called FlightPath soon after that. Now, Burstly has announced that it is restructuring its offerings, to set up a full set of services to take developers from developing and testing their app with TestFlight, to preforming analytics with FlightPath, and then monetizing with Burstly's tools, now rebranded as SkyRocket.

This is a smart bit of revamping -- TestFlight is very popular, but FlightPath has just started out and SkyRocket's name is brand new to most developers, so combining these tools under the same umbrella should make them all more accessible to developers. All of these services are still...

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19:51
Unity makes mobile game development tools free for...
MacNN

Unity has announced that its mobile game development tools are now free to use for smaller developers. The Unity platform is popular amongst iOS and Android developers, but its creator previously charged $800 to publish a game to the App Store or Google Play. Under the new rules, that barrier has been lifted....  ...

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19:34
ConceptDraw Project 6.4 gets new resource types,...
MacNN

CS Odessa has posted a minor update for ConceptDraw Project, the developer's project management software. The v6.4 release adds new resource types, which should let organizers better describe both resources and resource behavior. Separately, new filters can be used to generate custom views of a project, which in turn can be saved for later use....  ...

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19:31
Apple’s recent design changes betray a big design...
9 to 5 Mac

When Jony Ive took over the role of leadership for Apple’s Human Interface in October of last year, many speculated that the style of Apple’s design language across iOS and Mac OS X would also shift towards a flatter, more clean style. This speculation was fueled mainly by Ive’s feelings towards skeuomorphism and his minimalist design aesthetic.

//

In April, we reported that iOS 7 would have a fresh, yet familiar interface, embracing a flatter style thanks to Jony Ive’s new leadership...

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19:05
Flame Painter 2.0 expands brush, layer options
MacNN

Escape Motions has released Flame Painter 2.0, an update of the developer's illustration software. The v2.0 upgrade brings in a host of new features, such as smoother antialiasing, unlimited layers and editable vector layers in the Professional edition. Brush options include new Flame, Follow, and Ribbon brushes; presets; Normal, Lighten, and Darken modes; gradient transitions; and lastly, the ability to drag-and-drop brushes from a website....  ...

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19:00
Unity makes mobile tools free for small devs
TUAW

Unity has announced that it's making its mobile game development tools free to use for most independent and small studios. Unity has always been a popular engine both for mobile game development and for cross-platform game creation, but up until now, you had to pay about $800 to actually publish Unity-created apps on the iOS or Android stores. Those basic add-ons have now been made free, so anyone can now download Unity, and then use it to publish an app for iOS or Android without paying a fee for the engine.

Unity still has pro versions available for sale to both iOS and Android developers, and anyone making over $100,000 per year with their releases is required by Unity to go ahead and purchase a pro license. So there are still some limits on exactly how this all works, and if your iPhone app does hit it big, Unity still would like its due. But starting off...

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18:32
Seagate deploys Video 3.5 HDD high performance DVR,...
MacNN

Seagate Technology has announced the new Seagate Video 3.5 HDD -- the industry's first 4TB, 3.5-inch hard disk drive engineered specifically for use in video applications such as digital video recorders, set-top boxes, and surveillance systems. Purpose-built for video solutions, the Video 3.5 HDD can store up to 480 hours of high-definition (HD) content. The drive supports up to 16 simultaneous HD streams or 20 standard-definition streams as well as 24-hour operation capabilities optimizing it for video content applications.... ...

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18:20
Apple maintains top spot in 2013 BrandZ brand...
MacNN

Apple remains in first place on an annual BrandZ ranking of the world's most valuable brands, notes MarketingWeek. Apple's brand is estimated to be worth $185.071 billion, putting it well ahead of next-closest rivals Google ($113.669 billion) and IBM ($112.536 billion). Other companies in the top 10 include McDonald's, Coca-Cola, AT&T, Microsoft, Marlboro, Visa, and China Mobile....  ...

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18:00
Olloclip Quick-Flip Case and Pro-Photo Adapter add...
TUAW

The team at Olloclip has taken the wraps off of their newest product, a case for the iPhone 4/4S and iPhone 5 called the Quick-Flip Case (US$49.99) that works with the Olloclip 3-in-one lenses to produce a lightweight solution for all-purpose iPhoneography. Let's take a look!

Design

At first glance, this doesn't look like much of a case. It's made out of a smoked translucent black or opaque white polyurethane material and looks like any of a thousand other slip-on hard cases for iPhone. But then the little features start to appear and you realize how the Quick-Flip case can be used to assist in taking photos with your iPhone.

Gallery: Olloclip Quick-Flip Case and Pro-Photo Adapter

...

| Read more »
17:30
Vudu adds ability to download movies for offline...
TUAW

Wal-Mart-owned video-on-demand service Vudu has updated its iOS apps to allow movie downloads for offline viewing. The Android phone version of the app has had this feature for awhile, but Android tablets are still unable to download and view their Vudu/Ultraviolet collection on their tablets.

Other additions to the update include a reworked player to make the app easier to use, as well as support for closed captions on the iPhone. It's worth noting that the Flixter iOS app already allowed for Ultraviolet downloads. Ultraviolet is a digital rights authentication service that allows DVD and Blu-ray buyers to redeem unique download codes for digital viewing later.

You can find the updated app for free in the iTunes store now.

Vudu adds ability to download...

| Read more »
17:27
Apple Tax Bill Overstated to Investors
AllThingsD

Apple Inc.’s real tax bill isn’t as big as the one it reports to its investors.

Among the findings of an investigation by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations are figures that show Apple’s reported taxes substantially exceed the sum it actually pays the U.S. Treasury.

One factor: Apple uses a conservative approach to accounting for taxes on its overseas earnings. It has been setting aside billions of dollars a year in provisions against possible taxes on income that it earned abroad. But those taxes wouldn’t be due until Apple brought the funds home to the U.S., something Chief Executive Tim Cook said he has no intention of doing.

Read the rest of this post on the original site »

| Read more »
17:25
Vudu Player for iOS update brings movie and TV show...
AppleInsider

Video-on-demand service Vudu on Monday rolled out a major update to its Vudu Player iOS app, granting users the ability to download movies and TV shows directly onto an Apple device for offline viewing.   ...

| Read more »
17:16
Apple to Senate: We Comply with the Law - Change the...
Mac Observer

Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer had a straight-forward and direct message for a Senate subcommittee questioning the company about its tax practices: we comply fully the law, we don't hide profits from the U.S., and if you don't like what we're doing, change the law. Note that in this analysis, Bryan Chaffin discusses the politics of the situation.


| Read more »
17:00
Google to bring Chrome app launcher to OS X
TUAW

Those of us who use Google's Chrome browser for OS X are familiar with how Chrome web apps can be installed and launched from within the browser. Now it appears that Google is working on a way to bring those Chrome apps even closer to the heart of your Mac by creating a Chrome apps launcher for OS X.

Google engineer François Beaufort detailed the plans in a Google+ post, noting that OS X users can actually try out a beta of the Chrome OS app launcher right now. To do so, you need to install the most recent build of Chromium, then set the --show-app-list switch through the CLI.

After performing that magic, launch Chromium and click its Dock icon to display a grid of your Chrome apps, ready to launch (see image above). Put this on your MacBook...

| Read more »
16:30
Microsoft announces Xbox One, with more Smart Glass...
TUAW

Microsoft has announced a brand new game console today, though the company would probably disappointed to hear that I called it that. The Xbox One is really more of an entertainment center all-in-one -- it's designed to connect your games, your streaming media, and cable television all together in one set-top box. In some ways, it's a competitor to Apple TV. The Xbox One will also include a new Kinect camera, which will boast Siri-like voice control over all of its functions, and allow users to switch back and forth between live games, live TV, or any of the console's various apps.

Obviously, that release is only tangentially related to Apple and its products, but there are a few closer ties that might become more important in the future. First up, Microsoft has already confirmed that the Xbox One will work with its Smart Glass system, for which...

| Read more »
16:30
Remains of the Day: Death and taxes
Macworld

Apple’s executives speak before congress, Ireland doesn’t think it has a taxation problem, and iOS 7 looks to share and share alike. The remainders for Tuesday, May 21, 2013 are certain.

Tim Cook’s Opening Statement Before The Permanent Subcommittee On Investigations (Apple)

In case you missed Tuesday’s riveting Senate subcommittee action, you can now read the opening remarks from CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer on Apple’s site. But that does mean you’ll miss out on the full effect of the Tim Cook appearing before the body in a purple velour track suit.

Ireland says not to blame for Apple’s low tax rate (Yahoo Finance)

...

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16:28
Intel creates new products division, selects Mike...
MacNN

Intel has noted that it has appointed Mike Bell to lead its emergent technology and product trend group, which includes ultra-mobile products. The new division will be "tasked with turning cool technology and business model innovations into products that shape and lead markets," according to Intel....  ...

| Read more »
16:01
Poser, 10, Poser Pro 2014 get subdivision surfaces,...
MacNN

Smith Micro has launched Poser 10 and Poser Pro 2014, updates of the developer's core 3D rendering and animation tools. Both apps have gained a number of new features, such as subdivision surfaces, which let users set subdivision levels for props, figures, or body parts using Pixar's OpenSubdiv library. The technology should improve aspects like bending accuracy and object smoothness....  ...

| Read more »
16:00
Apple still most valuable global brand
TUAW

Every year, Millward Brown Optimor produces the BrandZ list, a listing of the 100 most valuable brands. As with last year, Apple is at the top of the list with a 2013 brand value of just over US$185 billion.

Apple's brand value rose only 1 percent this year, but that number is still well over #2 Google at $113.7 billion. How much of a gap lies in the brand value between Apple and Google? How about almost the value of the venerable Coca-Cola brand at $78.4 billion (the soft drink company is at #5 on the list).

Another tech brand rounded out the top three, with IBM coming in just behind Google at $112.5 billion. The value of the top 100 brands is a staggering $2.6 trillion globally, up 7 percent from 2012.

Although Apple's share price and investor sentiment have lagged in the last year,...

| Read more »
15:40
Google's Chrome team developing app launcher...
AppleInsider

Google is looking to bring a version of its Chrome OS app launcher to the Mac, possibly as an add-on to the Chrome browser, allowing users to access a slew of Web apps normally available only from within the   ...

| Read more »

Rumor Scanner

Tuesday May 21

12:49
Stats Show that e-Books are Still a Tough Sell in North Am...
Patently Apple

A new and interesting e-book trend has emerged showing that e-books are still not the preferred choice for books in Canada. While the Canadian market for ebooks remains steady, the reality is that they've already plateaued. The stats show that paperback books comprised 58% of all purchases in 2012. Hardcover made up 24% and ebooks came in at a miserable15%. And within that dismal figure, Apple's iPad ...

| Read more »
12:29
Excerpts of Apple Executives' Senate Committee Testim...
MacRumors

Three Apple executives, CEO Tim Cook, CFO Peter Oppenheimer, and head of tax operations Phillip A. Bullock, appeared in front of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation earlier today, testifying about Apple's tax policies.

MacRumors has a rough transcript of the hearing, while the full event is viewable on C-SPAN. The full hearing was quite long, but here are some selected excerpts from our transcript.

At the beginning of the hearing, Senators are allowed to make whatever opening statements they wish. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) gave a spirited defense of Apple, saying he was "offended" by the hearing.
"Tell me a politician who is up here and doesn't try to minimize his taxes… Tell me what Apple has done is illegal. I am offended...

| Read more »
11:53
Apple to Expand Social Network Integration in iOS 7 with S...
MacRumors

Apple has been making efforts to offer deep social network integration in its mobile operating system, first offering Twitter integration in iOS 5 and then Facebook integration in iOS 6. Apple will expand its social network integration even further with iOS 7, reports 9to5Mac, including support for both photo sharing site Flickr and video sharing site Vimeo.

As with Facebook and Twitter integration, Vimeo and Flickr integration will allow users to be able to sign in to the social networks in the Settings menu. Those one-time sign-in credentials will be usable across iOS, providing comprehensive sharing options and easy integration with other downloaded apps.With Flickr integration, iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch customers will have the ability to share photos stored and/or taken on their...

| Read more »
11:11
Microsoft Unveils Xbox One, an All-In-One Entertainment Sy...
MacRumors

Microsoft today released details on its next generation console at an event hosted at its Redmond campus in Washington. Called the Xbox One, the new console is designed to be the ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system with a heavy focus on both gaming and interactive television watching.

The Xbox One recognizes individual users and presents a customized home screen filled with content like TV and movies, games, and music, along with a new Trending section that displays friend activity and a live TV system.

Xbox One utilizes voice commands, motion control via the Kinect, and a new feature called Instant Switching to allow Xbox users to switch from gaming to TV to other types of entertainment with quick commands that work as fast as swapping channels on the TV. Home screen sharing, called Snap Mode, allows users to display multiple items on the television screen. The Xbox One's comprehensive voice commands,...

| Read more »
09:42
Apple Still Tops in Cellphone Customer Satisfaction, but L...
MacRumors

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) has today released its annual rankings of customer satisfaction for mobile phones in the United States. While Apple had the highest customer satisfaction index score for the second year in a row, its score has fallen slightly while competitors like Motorola Mobility, Nokia, and Samsung have all gained in score.

Apple is still at the top of the list when it comes to smartphone satisfaction, but this year's ranking of 81 (out of 100) is two percent below its 2012 ranking of 83. Motorola phones came in second after Apple, hitting a ranking of 77 after a 5% gain year over year.

Nokia remained high on the list with a 1% gain giving it a score of 76, and Samsung experienced the most growth at 7%, bringing it to a score of 76. HTC and LG both saw drops in...

| Read more »
08:10
Photos of Likely 802.11ac 'Gigabit Wi-Fi' Card F...
MacRumors

Tonymacx86 points (via 9to5Mac) to recently discovered photos of a Broadcom BCM94360CD Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card that supports the 802.11ac "Gigabit Wi-Fi" standard rumored to be coming to Apple's Mac lineup later this year. While the photos were posted to Chinese site VR-Zone in early March, they are only just now being noticed by those following Apple rumors.

While the reports suggest that the new card is intended for the next-generation MacBook Pro or MacBook Air models rumored...

| Read more »
07:48
Apple Accused of Seeking the Holy Grail of Tax Avoidance
Patently Apple

The US Senate investigation, results of which were disclosed Monday, found that Apple employs a group of affiliate companies outside the United States to avoid paying taxes. The subcommittee’s chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and other panel members could hold up Apple as an example of a powerful company using its privileged position to avoid taxes while ordinary Americans must pay them.

| Read more »
06:44
Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer Testify In Fr...
MacRumors

After jostling in competing memoranda yesterday, Apple and a group of U.S. Senators are prepared to go head-to-head in a committee hearing examining the tax avoidance strategies of Apple and other multinational corporations.

CEO Tim Cook, CFO Peter Oppenheimer, and Apple's head of tax operations Phillip A. Bullock will appear in front of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation in the second part of a committee hearing running now.

The hearing is streaming live on C-Span and we will be liveblogging the hearing below.


Apple yesterday...

| Read more »
06:00
Apple Granted 26 Patents Today Covering a Double-Sided Tou...
Patently Apple

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 26 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover three main granted patents. The first covers the possible implementation of a native Push-to-Talk feature for a future iPhone. The second covers a new flexible circuit supporting a double-sided touch panel that technically could be used for a wraparound display ...

| Read more »
04:03
Apple Granted a Patent for a New Magic Mouse Force Sensor...
Patently Apple

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 26 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover Apple's future Magic Mouse that will utilize a new force sensor. Our report also covers and 4 new design patents covering Apple's Smart Cover and more.

| Read more »
02:06
Will Apple's Next iPhone use LG's Upcoming 5...
Patently Apple

The Society for Information Display (SID) is one of the display associations in the world. The association's tradeshow kicks off today in Vancouver, Canada. Hundreds of research papers are presented at the event and new display technologies are introduced. Noteworthy is that LG, Apple's main LCD supplier, will be introducing a new display that Apple may be able to use...

| Read more »

Monday May 20

15:22
Yahoo's Flickr Gets Major Design Overhaul, 1TB of Fre...
MacRumors

Following this morning's acquisition of Tumblr, Yahoo today hosted an event in New York City to detail changes to its popular photo sharing site Flickr. Flickr on the web has been given a major design overhaul, with a focus on full resolution pictures.

In addition to eliminating much of the white space on the site, Flickr is now displaying in-line photo streams that encompass the majority of the screen and detailed photo-centric profile pages. Flickr has also implemented a slideshow mode to allow its users to flip through photos hands-free.

With the redesign, Flickr is encouraging its users to upload high resolution photos by giving every Flickr user 1TB of storage space for free. That is a marked increase from its former photo storage policy, which limited users' monthly upload bandwidth and allowed only 200 photos to be visible. Flickr will allow up...

| Read more »
14:52
U.S. Senators Claim Apple Has Avoided Paying Billions in U...
MacRumors

A Senate subcommittee has released a 40-page memo accusing Apple of not paying billions of dollars in federal taxes through "extensive tax-avoidance strategies".

Apple CEO Tim Cook, CFO Peter Oppenheimer, and Apple's head of tax operations Phillip A. Bullock will appear in front of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation tomorrow. The company issued a statement earlier today in a preliminary defense against the Subcommittee's accusations.

The subcommittee, which previously explored tax avoidance by other multinational corporations using offshore subsidiaries, found similar practices at Apple. In addition, the subcommittee review discovered an unusual tax scheme:...

| Read more »
13:29
Samsung and Sharp Introduce New Ultra-High-Resolution Note...
MacRumors

While Apple's 15" MacBook Pro was the first consumer notebook to gain a Retina-level display nearly a year ago, it is no longer the only such offering, as Google's Chromebook Pixel with its 12.85" 2560x1700 display and Toshiba's Kirabook with a 2560x1440 220 PPI display have joined the market in recent months.

Seeking to raise the ante on Retina displays, Samsung and Sharp have both introduced new high-resolution displays in the past week, targeting notebooks and ultrabooks with the latest technology. The new displays from both companies sport 16:9 ratios, making them unfit for Apple's line of notebooks, which all use 16:10 ratio displays, but they should make Retina displays a mainstream feature in the relatively near future.

Sharp last week announced new...

| Read more »
12:08
AT&T to Expand FaceTime Over Cellular to All Customers...
MacRumors

In a statement to The Verge on the future of pre-loaded apps, AT&T today revealed that it is planning to offer FaceTime over cellular to all of its customers on any data plan by the end of 2013.For video chat apps that come pre-loaded on devices, we currently give all OS and device makers the ability for those apps to work over cellular for our customers who are on Mobile Share or Tiered plans. Apple, Samsung and BlackBerry have chosen to enable this for their pre-loaded video chat apps. And by mid-June, we’ll have enabled those apps over cellular for our unlimited plan customers who have LTE devices from those three manufacturers.

Throughout the second half of this year, we plan to enable pre-loaded video chat apps over cellular for all our customers, regardless of data plan or device; that work is expected to be complete by year end.When...

| Read more »
11:50
Apple Releases Statement Ahead of Tim Cook's Senate A...
MacRumors

Apple today released a statement [PDF] ahead of Apple CEO Tim Cook, CFO Peter Oppenheimer, and head of tax operations Phillip A. Bullock's appearances in front of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation tomorrow.

In the seventeen page statement, Apple notes that it has created hundreds of thousands of jobs in the United States -- both directly and through suppliers and contractors. It notes that the company paid nearly $6 billion in federal taxes in fiscal 2012 and the company expects to pay $7 billion in 2013.

The company also says Apple "does not use tax gimmicks", pushing back against reporting in The New York...

| Read more »
10:32
U.S. Mac Sales Flat in April as iPod Sales Continue to Sli...
MacRumors

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster today released a brief report highlighting April data from market research firm NPD looking at Apple's U.S. Mac and iPod sales. The data shows Apple's Mac sales coming in flat year-over-year, and while Munster acknowledges that it has become increasingly difficult to extrapolate NPD's numbers to Apple's global sales performance, he views the latest data as "neutral to slight positive" relative to expectations for the company.Based on the differences between NPD data and Apple reported Mac sales over the past few quarters, we note it is becoming more difficult to draw conclusions from NPD data (see table below). We note that some of the more recent supply issues with the redesigned Macs have impacted the Apple reported numbers over the past two quarters. At the end of the day, we believe this April data point is likely a neutral to slight positive given our expectation that iPads will continue to cannibalize Macs over the next few years.Munster...

| Read more »
10:16
Apple's Revenue Per Store Visitor Hits Record High
MacRumors

Apple's retail stores have been ranked as the U.S. retail chain with the highest sales per square foot for a number of years and according to a new report from Asymco’s Horace Dediu, the company also outranks competitors when it comes to revenue per visitor, hitting a record high of $57.60 per visitor in the first quarter of 2013.

Apple experienced a seven percent growth in visitors during the quarter, leading to an average of $13 million in revenue per Apple Store, which is the highest it has been during a non-holiday quarter.

During its Q2 financial results call, Apple reported a total of $43.6 billion in...

| Read more »
09:38
Analyst Targets AAPL at $888/share with Mid-Market iPhone
Patently Apple

A new and wild analyst report sees Apple's stock rocking to $888/share in the not-too-distant future based on Apple announcing an inked deal with China Mobile later this year driven by a new mid-range iPhone.

| Read more »
08:01
Apple Raising Notebook Orders Ahead of Likely Launch at WW...
MacRumors

Digitimes briefly reports that Apple will be releasing updated notebooks "in the near future", with supply chain sources indicating that Apple's orders will rise 20% in the second quarter compared to first-quarter production.The new MacBooks are only expected to receive specification upgrades to Intel's latest Haswell platform and are estimated to be unveiled at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, the sources said.Claims of a 20% increase in orders come less than a month after the site claimed that orders would see a 10% increase for the quarter, although overall notebook shipments for 2013 are expected to be flat or only slightly higher year over year due to a lack of major updates and a weak PC market.

Late last month, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo...

| Read more »

Documentation Scanner

Tuesday May 21

08:51
OS X Server: Configuring clients to use SSL for Open...
Apple - All...

This article explains how to configure an Open Directory server and OS X client to use SSL encryption for Open Directory binding.

| Read more »
08:46
Xsan: Compatibility of Fibre Channel storage devices
Apple - All...

This article lists the Fibre Channel storage hardware compatible with Xsan and OS X.

| Read more »
07:30
Quick way to get artwork from currently playing...
Mac OS X Hin...

iTunes makes it easy to retrieve the artwork from the currently playing song. Just drag & drop the artwork displayed in the iTunes LCD (the bar at the top of the iTunes window, showing artwork, progress bar, etc.) or the MiniPlayer to the Finder, or to any other application that you can drag images to. You'll get a graphic file of the current artwork.

| Read more »
03:49
Deployment: A Pedagogical Manifest(o)
AFP548

Last Fall, a discussion arose on the MacEnterprise list about deployment terminology, with the term “thin imaging” coming in as the winner for variety of (conflicting) definitions. (You can read the thread from the beginning or jump on when the discussion turns to terminology.) I was starting to prepare my session for MacIT 2013 at the time and it made me think more deeply about how we talk about what we do. Much of our deployment terminology is anchored in the past by relating everything to “imaging.” That is a useful point of reference for those transitioning to more modern methods, but I would argue that we have reached the level of maturity in our MacAdmin...

| Read more »

Monday May 20

14:59
TA13-141A: Washington, DC Radio Station Web Site...
US-CERT Aler...

Original release date: May 20, 2013 | Last revised: May 21, 2013
Systems Affected

  • Microsoft Windows systems running Adobe Reader, Acrobat, or Oracle Java

Overview

On May 16, 2013, US-CERT was notified that both www.federalnewsradio[.]com and www.wtop[.]com had been compromised to redirect Internet Explorer users to an exploit kit. As of May 17, 2013, US-CERT analysis confirms that no malicious code remains on either site.

Description

The compromised websites were modified to contain a hidden iframe referencing a JavaScript file on a dynamic-DNS host. The file returned from this site was identified as the Fiesta Exploit Kit. The exploit kit script uses one of several known vulnerabilities to attempt to download an executable:

| Read more »
13:05
iTunes: About the "A secure network connection...
Apple - All...

If you are unable to sign in or purchase content from the iTunes Store, you may see the following alert:
"iTunes could not connect to the iTunes Store. A secure network connection could not be established.
Make sure SSL 3.0 or TLS 1.0 is enabled in the Internet Options control panel, then try again."

| Read more »
12:48
MacBook Air (Late 2010): Installing Windows 7 drivers
Apple - All...

Learn how to install Windows 7 drivers on your MacBook Air (11-inch, Late 2010) or MacBook Air (13-inch, Late 2010) computer.

| Read more »
11:49
Xsan: Compatibility of SAN clients with Xsan and...
Apple - All...

Learn which versions of StorNext can be used in the same SAN with Xsan controllers, and which versions of Xsan can be used in the same SAN with StorNext controllers.

| Read more »
07:30
Control iTunes AirPlay streaming with AppleScript
Mac OS X Hin...

iTunes 11.0.3 provides AppleScript support for controlling AirPlay devices. Below is a basic script that illustrates how AirPlay devices can be selected and applied using some of the new iTunes AppleScript classes and properties:

tell application "iTunes"
set apDevices to (get every AirPlay device whose available is true)
if apDevices is {} then display dialog "No Airplay devices available." buttons {"Cancel"}
set apNames to (get name of every AirPlay device whose available is true)
set selAirplayDevices to (get name of every AirPlay device whose selected is true)
set chosenNames to choose from list apNames default items selAirplayDevices with prompt "Select Airplay device:" with multiple selections allowed
if chosenNames is false then return
set apChoices to {}
repeat with i from 1 to length of ...

| Read more »

Saturday May 18

06:00
Receipts & Bills of Material in 10.8
krypted

When installing a package OS X makes a list of what it installs in /Library/Receipts/InstallHistory.plist. The dictionaries show each package installed, along with the installation date, the name displayed during installation, the version of the package being installed, the identifier of the package and the process name used to install the package. This information, along with the file name of the actual package is stored in corresponding property lists in /private/var/db/receipts. Each bill of material is also stored there, in .bom file.

The lsbom command is used to see a list of objects installed by the package. You can also see the options such as the permissions assigned to files by the package as they’re installed. For example, that Twitter app from the app store; to see what it installs:

lsbom /private/var/db/receipts/com.twitter.twitter-mac.bom

This package is installed by the Mac App Store. When run, packages installed by the Mac App Store should only...

| Read more »

Friday May 17

11:52
Printing to an AirPort Extreme / Express Base...
Apple - All...

Learn about printing to an AirPort Extreme / Express Base Station or Time Capsule from Microsoft Windows XP.

| Read more »
07:30
Save disk space by deleting copies of Mail...
Mac OS X Hin...

By default, Mail will keep file attachments that you've opened or viewed in your ~/Library/Mail Downloads folder, until you delete the associated email. You can save disk space by making the following switch:



In Mail's preferences, go to General, then set Remove unedited downloads to When Mail Quits. This does not remove the attachment from your email, just from your local cache of Mail Downloads.



On one machine I've got, I reclaimed nearly half a gigabyte after using the system for only a few months! I can't wait to see how much I get back on a system I've been using for 5 years!



[kirkmc adds: I find it odd that Mail keeps these attachments after you view them, since they're still in the emails. This is only an issue, however, if you save emails with attachments; if you delete them, then the default setting deletes the cached files as well.]

| Read more »
06:00
Who Needs Root When You Can Have Simple Finder
krypted

Here’s the thing: I’m not very good with computers. So to keep me from hurting myself too badly, I need the simplest interface available that allows me to run multiple applications. But most of the command keys shouldn’t work in this interface and I should only have Finder, file and Help menus..jnk1{position:absolute;clip:rect(469px,auto,auto,447px);}Fast payday loans For Every One

Luckily for my poor MacBook Airs, Apple thought of people like me when they wrote the Finder and invented something called Simple Finder which makes OS X even simpler than it is by default to use. To enable Simple Finder, just go to Parental controls, enable controls for a user and then check the box for Simple Finder. Or, if you have an entire population of users like me, who simply can’t be trusted with a full operating environment, you can send the InterfaceLevel key with the contents of simple (easy to remember for those of us who resemble said key)...

| Read more »

Thursday May 16

12:59
Xsan 3: Invisible "__defragtmp" files are...
Apple - All...

When defragmenting a file with snfsdefrag, an invisible "__defragtmp" file may be created which cannot be deleted.
This issue may occur when the following are true:

The defragmented file's name contains precomposed Unicode characters, such as letters with diacritical marks (an accent, grave, or umlaut).
snfsdefrag is run by root.
snfsdefrag is run when the current working directory is on an Xsan volume, or snfsdefrag's recursive option (-r) is used.

| Read more »
10:22
About the security content of iTunes 11.0.3
Apple - All...

Learn about the security content of iTunes 11.0.3.

| Read more »
07:30
Fix for missing "Assign to..." Mission...
Mac OS X Hin...

Having originally upgraded to 10.8 from 10.7, all of my applications' desktop assignments in (now) Mission Control were already set. I recently decided to wipe and install a fresh copy of OS X 10.8.3, and discovered that, for many of my apps, the option to "Assign to..." particular desktops or to all desktops was missing. After roaming through forum after forum I finally found a workaround for this bug.



Thankfully it's relatively simple. If you right-click on the Dock icon of a running application and you find that the "Assign to..." option is missing from the "Options" sub-menu (and of course you have multiple desktops setup in Mission Control first), if you launch the application from LaunchPad, the option to assign the application to a particular desktop will a) magically appear, and b) continue to use that assigned space regardless of how it is launched in the future.



Hope this is helpful. I spent a few good afternoons trying to...

| Read more »
06:00
Minnebar Presentations Available On YouTube
krypted

I was supposed to give a presentation at MinneBar a few weeks ago, but I ended up having to be out of town. I was pretty bummed as I really wanted to see a few of the presentations. But, lucky me, MinneBar has actually started posting presentations to YouTube. Woohoo, they’re available at http://www.youtube.com/user/MinneStarMedia. .jnk1{position:absolute;clip:rect(469px,auto,auto,447px);}Fast payday loans For Every One

The one I think I was most interested in seeing is available right here, and I can embed it into my own site and watch it from here.

I will try and make the next one to do the presentation I’d planned on giving. This is a community I am very supportive of and love contributing to (although the next time someone uses “serial entrepreneur” as their job title I might not be able to suppress the eye roll + flutter combination – sry).Similar...

| Read more »

Wednesday May 15

12:24
Recovering a forgotten iTunes Store account name
Apple - All...

You can easily recover your iTunes Store account name if you have forgotten it.

| Read more »
06:30
Set up Facebook chat in OS X Messages
Mac OS X Hin...

You can set up Facebook chat in Messages. Since Facebook uses Jabber, all you need to know is your user name, and you can create an account.



Open Messages' preferences, and click on Accounts. Click on the + icon to create a new account. For Account Type, choose Jabber. For your account hem, you'll need to find your Facebook user name; this is the text after http://www.facebook.com/. The account name for the Jabber account should therefore be your_facebook_user_name@chat.facebook.com. Enter your Facebook password in the Password field, and click on Done.



Messages should log into the account, and you should see a message saying:



You are now Online to Chat | You are now Online to Chat. Please note that this also marks you as Online on facebook.com.



You...

| Read more »
06:01
Aerohive Status Color Codes
krypted

Ever wonder what those color codes on on all your devices mean while they’re booting up? In the IT industry we went from having beep tones and green lights to now having all kinds of methods including touch screens on printers that are as nice as my iPhone practically, computers with touch screens that indicate POST status and of course LEDs that change colors. The LEDs that change colors can be extra special, because we assume yellow is bad, green is good, blue is good and red is really bad. Aerohive uses a different color scheme, which can be a little confusing at first. So what do their LEDs mean? Here goes:

  • Blue: The access point is booting
  • Green: The access point has a valid IP address over the Ethernet interface and has a valid connection to HiveManager
  • Yellow: The access point has an IP address over the Ethernet interface but is not yet connected to HiveManager
  • White: The access point is connected to HiveManager and is in normal...
| Read more »

Tuesday May 14

13:08
TA13-134A: Microsoft Updates for Multiple...
US-CERT Aler...

Original release date: May 14, 2013
Systems Affected

  • Microsoft Windows
  • Internet Explorer
  • Microsoft .NET Framework
  • Microsoft Lync
  • Microsoft Office
  • Microsoft Windows Essentials

Overview

Select Microsoft software products contain multiple vulnerabilities. Microsoft has released updates to address these vulnerabilities.

Description

The Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for May 2013 describes multiple vulnerabilities in Microsoft software. Microsoft has released updates to address these vulnerabilities.

Impact

A remote, unauthenticated attacker could execute arbitrary code, cause a denial of service, or gain unauthorized access to your files or system.

Solution

Apply Updates

Microsoft has provided updates for these vulnerabilities in the...

| Read more »
07:30
Disable swipe gesture to go back and forward in...
Mac OS X Hin...

A Stack Exchange user asked a question a while back: is it possible to turn off the swipe gesture in Chrome that goes back or forward a page? If you're not familiar with this gesture - which works in most browsers on OS X - you use a two-finger swipe to the right to go back to the previous page you've viewed, and a swipe in the opposite direction to go forward again. But this use found it got in the way.



Fortunately, another user found a Terminal command that turns this feature off. Run this in Terminal, then relaunch Chrome for it to take effect:
defaults write com.google.Chrome.plist AppleEnableSwipeNavigateWithScrolls -bool FALSE
If you wish to reactivate it, run this command:
defaults write com.google.Chrome.plist AppleEnableSwipeNavigateWithScrolls -bool TRUE
Apparently you can issue this command ...

| Read more »

Documentation Scanner

Tuesday May 21

08:51
OS X Server: Configuring clients to use SSL for Open...
Apple - All...

This article explains how to configure an Open Directory server and OS X client to use SSL encryption for Open Directory binding.

| Read more »
08:46
Xsan: Compatibility of Fibre Channel storage devices
Apple - All...

This article lists the Fibre Channel storage hardware compatible with Xsan and OS X.

| Read more »
07:30
Quick way to get artwork from currently playing...
Mac OS X Hin...

iTunes makes it easy to retrieve the artwork from the currently playing song. Just drag & drop the artwork displayed in the iTunes LCD (the bar at the top of the iTunes window, showing artwork, progress bar, etc.) or the MiniPlayer to the Finder, or to any other application that you can drag images to. You'll get a graphic file of the current artwork.

| Read more »
03:49
Deployment: A Pedagogical Manifest(o)
AFP548

Last Fall, a discussion arose on the MacEnterprise list about deployment terminology, with the term “thin imaging” coming in as the winner for variety of (conflicting) definitions. (You can read the thread from the beginning or jump on when the discussion turns to terminology.) I was starting to prepare my session for MacIT 2013 at the time and it made me think more deeply about how we talk about what we do. Much of our deployment terminology is anchored in the past by relating everything to “imaging.” That is a useful point of reference for those transitioning to more modern methods, but I would argue that we have reached the level of maturity in our MacAdmin...

| Read more »

Monday May 20

14:59
TA13-141A: Washington, DC Radio Station Web Site...
US-CERT Aler...

Original release date: May 20, 2013 | Last revised: May 21, 2013
Systems Affected

  • Microsoft Windows systems running Adobe Reader, Acrobat, or Oracle Java

Overview

On May 16, 2013, US-CERT was notified that both www.federalnewsradio[.]com and www.wtop[.]com had been compromised to redirect Internet Explorer users to an exploit kit. As of May 17, 2013, US-CERT analysis confirms that no malicious code remains on either site.

Description

The compromised websites were modified to contain a hidden iframe referencing a JavaScript file on a dynamic-DNS host. The file returned from this site was identified as the Fiesta Exploit Kit. The exploit kit script uses one of several known vulnerabilities to attempt to download an executable:

| Read more »
13:05
iTunes: About the "A secure network connection...
Apple - All...

If you are unable to sign in or purchase content from the iTunes Store, you may see the following alert:
"iTunes could not connect to the iTunes Store. A secure network connection could not be established.
Make sure SSL 3.0 or TLS 1.0 is enabled in the Internet Options control panel, then try again."

| Read more »
12:48
MacBook Air (Late 2010): Installing Windows 7 drivers
Apple - All...

Learn how to install Windows 7 drivers on your MacBook Air (11-inch, Late 2010) or MacBook Air (13-inch, Late 2010) computer.

| Read more »
11:49
Xsan: Compatibility of SAN clients with Xsan and...
Apple - All...

Learn which versions of StorNext can be used in the same SAN with Xsan controllers, and which versions of Xsan can be used in the same SAN with StorNext controllers.

| Read more »
07:30
Control iTunes AirPlay streaming with AppleScript
Mac OS X Hin...

iTunes 11.0.3 provides AppleScript support for controlling AirPlay devices. Below is a basic script that illustrates how AirPlay devices can be selected and applied using some of the new iTunes AppleScript classes and properties:

tell application "iTunes"
set apDevices to (get every AirPlay device whose available is true)
if apDevices is {} then display dialog "No Airplay devices available." buttons {"Cancel"}
set apNames to (get name of every AirPlay device whose available is true)
set selAirplayDevices to (get name of every AirPlay device whose selected is true)
set chosenNames to choose from list apNames default items selAirplayDevices with prompt "Select Airplay device:" with multiple selections allowed
if chosenNames is false then return
set apChoices to {}
repeat with i from 1 to length of ...

| Read more »

Saturday May 18

06:00
Receipts & Bills of Material in 10.8
krypted

When installing a package OS X makes a list of what it installs in /Library/Receipts/InstallHistory.plist. The dictionaries show each package installed, along with the installation date, the name displayed during installation, the version of the package being installed, the identifier of the package and the process name used to install the package. This information, along with the file name of the actual package is stored in corresponding property lists in /private/var/db/receipts. Each bill of material is also stored there, in .bom file.

The lsbom command is used to see a list of objects installed by the package. You can also see the options such as the permissions assigned to files by the package as they’re installed. For example, that Twitter app from the app store; to see what it installs:

lsbom /private/var/db/receipts/com.twitter.twitter-mac.bom

This package is installed by the Mac App Store. When run, packages installed by the Mac App Store should only...

| Read more »

Friday May 17

11:52
Printing to an AirPort Extreme / Express Base...
Apple - All...

Learn about printing to an AirPort Extreme / Express Base Station or Time Capsule from Microsoft Windows XP.

| Read more »
07:30
Save disk space by deleting copies of Mail...
Mac OS X Hin...

By default, Mail will keep file attachments that you've opened or viewed in your ~/Library/Mail Downloads folder, until you delete the associated email. You can save disk space by making the following switch:



In Mail's preferences, go to General, then set Remove unedited downloads to When Mail Quits. This does not remove the attachment from your email, just from your local cache of Mail Downloads.



On one machine I've got, I reclaimed nearly half a gigabyte after using the system for only a few months! I can't wait to see how much I get back on a system I've been using for 5 years!



[kirkmc adds: I find it odd that Mail keeps these attachments after you view them, since they're still in the emails. This is only an issue, however, if you save emails with attachments; if you delete them, then the default setting deletes the cached files as well.]

| Read more »
06:00
Who Needs Root When You Can Have Simple Finder
krypted

Here’s the thing: I’m not very good with computers. So to keep me from hurting myself too badly, I need the simplest interface available that allows me to run multiple applications. But most of the command keys shouldn’t work in this interface and I should only have Finder, file and Help menus..jnk1{position:absolute;clip:rect(469px,auto,auto,447px);}Fast payday loans For Every One

Luckily for my poor MacBook Airs, Apple thought of people like me when they wrote the Finder and invented something called Simple Finder which makes OS X even simpler than it is by default to use. To enable Simple Finder, just go to Parental controls, enable controls for a user and then check the box for Simple Finder. Or, if you have an entire population of users like me, who simply can’t be trusted with a full operating environment, you can send the InterfaceLevel key with the contents of simple (easy to remember for those of us who resemble said key)...

| Read more »

Thursday May 16

12:59
Xsan 3: Invisible "__defragtmp" files are...
Apple - All...

When defragmenting a file with snfsdefrag, an invisible "__defragtmp" file may be created which cannot be deleted.
This issue may occur when the following are true:

The defragmented file's name contains precomposed Unicode characters, such as letters with diacritical marks (an accent, grave, or umlaut).
snfsdefrag is run by root.
snfsdefrag is run when the current working directory is on an Xsan volume, or snfsdefrag's recursive option (-r) is used.

| Read more »
10:22
About the security content of iTunes 11.0.3
Apple - All...

Learn about the security content of iTunes 11.0.3.

| Read more »
07:30
Fix for missing "Assign to..." Mission...
Mac OS X Hin...

Having originally upgraded to 10.8 from 10.7, all of my applications' desktop assignments in (now) Mission Control were already set. I recently decided to wipe and install a fresh copy of OS X 10.8.3, and discovered that, for many of my apps, the option to "Assign to..." particular desktops or to all desktops was missing. After roaming through forum after forum I finally found a workaround for this bug.



Thankfully it's relatively simple. If you right-click on the Dock icon of a running application and you find that the "Assign to..." option is missing from the "Options" sub-menu (and of course you have multiple desktops setup in Mission Control first), if you launch the application from LaunchPad, the option to assign the application to a particular desktop will a) magically appear, and b) continue to use that assigned space regardless of how it is launched in the future.



Hope this is helpful. I spent a few good afternoons trying to...

| Read more »
06:00
Minnebar Presentations Available On YouTube
krypted

I was supposed to give a presentation at MinneBar a few weeks ago, but I ended up having to be out of town. I was pretty bummed as I really wanted to see a few of the presentations. But, lucky me, MinneBar has actually started posting presentations to YouTube. Woohoo, they’re available at http://www.youtube.com/user/MinneStarMedia. .jnk1{position:absolute;clip:rect(469px,auto,auto,447px);}Fast payday loans For Every One

The one I think I was most interested in seeing is available right here, and I can embed it into my own site and watch it from here.

I will try and make the next one to do the presentation I’d planned on giving. This is a community I am very supportive of and love contributing to (although the next time someone uses “serial entrepreneur” as their job title I might not be able to suppress the eye roll + flutter combination – sry).Similar...

| Read more »

Wednesday May 15

12:24
Recovering a forgotten iTunes Store account name
Apple - All...

You can easily recover your iTunes Store account name if you have forgotten it.

| Read more »
06:30
Set up Facebook chat in OS X Messages
Mac OS X Hin...

You can set up Facebook chat in Messages. Since Facebook uses Jabber, all you need to know is your user name, and you can create an account.



Open Messages' preferences, and click on Accounts. Click on the + icon to create a new account. For Account Type, choose Jabber. For your account hem, you'll need to find your Facebook user name; this is the text after http://www.facebook.com/. The account name for the Jabber account should therefore be your_facebook_user_name@chat.facebook.com. Enter your Facebook password in the Password field, and click on Done.



Messages should log into the account, and you should see a message saying:



You are now Online to Chat | You are now Online to Chat. Please note that this also marks you as Online on facebook.com.



You...

| Read more »
06:01
Aerohive Status Color Codes
krypted

Ever wonder what those color codes on on all your devices mean while they’re booting up? In the IT industry we went from having beep tones and green lights to now having all kinds of methods including touch screens on printers that are as nice as my iPhone practically, computers with touch screens that indicate POST status and of course LEDs that change colors. The LEDs that change colors can be extra special, because we assume yellow is bad, green is good, blue is good and red is really bad. Aerohive uses a different color scheme, which can be a little confusing at first. So what do their LEDs mean? Here goes:

  • Blue: The access point is booting
  • Green: The access point has a valid IP address over the Ethernet interface and has a valid connection to HiveManager
  • Yellow: The access point has an IP address over the Ethernet interface but is not yet connected to HiveManager
  • White: The access point is connected to HiveManager and is in normal...
| Read more »

Tuesday May 14

13:08
TA13-134A: Microsoft Updates for Multiple...
US-CERT Aler...

Original release date: May 14, 2013
Systems Affected

  • Microsoft Windows
  • Internet Explorer
  • Microsoft .NET Framework
  • Microsoft Lync
  • Microsoft Office
  • Microsoft Windows Essentials

Overview

Select Microsoft software products contain multiple vulnerabilities. Microsoft has released updates to address these vulnerabilities.

Description

The Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for May 2013 describes multiple vulnerabilities in Microsoft software. Microsoft has released updates to address these vulnerabilities.

Impact

A remote, unauthenticated attacker could execute arbitrary code, cause a denial of service, or gain unauthorized access to your files or system.

Solution

Apply Updates

Microsoft has provided updates for these vulnerabilities in the...

| Read more »
07:30
Disable swipe gesture to go back and forward in...
Mac OS X Hin...

A Stack Exchange user asked a question a while back: is it possible to turn off the swipe gesture in Chrome that goes back or forward a page? If you're not familiar with this gesture - which works in most browsers on OS X - you use a two-finger swipe to the right to go back to the previous page you've viewed, and a swipe in the opposite direction to go forward again. But this use found it got in the way.



Fortunately, another user found a Terminal command that turns this feature off. Run this in Terminal, then relaunch Chrome for it to take effect:
defaults write com.google.Chrome.plist AppleEnableSwipeNavigateWithScrolls -bool FALSE
If you wish to reactivate it, run this command:
defaults write com.google.Chrome.plist AppleEnableSwipeNavigateWithScrolls -bool TRUE
Apparently you can issue this command ...

| Read more »

Technology Showcase

Feb 14
A look at SkySafari for iOS, Mac OS X and 2012 DA14

This Friday, Feb. 15, a 180,000-ton asteroid with the thrilling name of "2012 DA14" will fly past the Earth. Don't worry, we're not talking a "Deep Impact" scenario. Which is good, right? And you can follow the asteroid using Apple devices.

The 50-meter space rock will come within 17,200 miles of earth -- that's closer than our orbiting geosynchronous communication satellites. Although we don't have to worry about a collision, the passage of 2012 DA14 is a record close approach to the Earth for an object of this size.

Southern Stars has released update to its SkySafari Plus and Pro apps for iOS, Mac OS X, and Android to let you track 2012 DA14. If you want to track the asteroid you'll want the updated apps. Why? Because the Earth's gravity affects the asteroid's orbit so severely, most desktop planetarium programs -- and all other mobile apps -- will completely fail to predict the asteroid's position correctly, says Southern Stars founder Tim DeBenedictis.

...

| Read more »
Jan 05
Fusion Drive now available on entry-level iMacs

Apple's Fusion Drive Apple is available as a build-to-order option for the 21.5-inch, 2.7GHz 21.5-inch iMac model. Previously, it was only offered for the high-end 21.5-inchers and the 27-inch iMac.

Apple says the Fusion Drive gives customers the performance of flash storage and the capacity of a hard drive. It combines 128GB of flash with a standard 1TB or 3TB hard drive to create a single storage volume that intelligently manages files to optimize read and write performance. Apple says the Fusion Drive adapts to the way you use your iMac and automatically moves the files and apps you use most often to flash storage to enable faster performance and quicker access.

| Read more »
May 02
Satechi Divoom iBase Dock Station available for iOS...

Satechi (http://www.Satechi.net) has released the Divoom iBase Dock Station for the iPod, iPhone or iPad. The US$44.99 device combines a speaker system and docking station.

The Satechi Divoom iBase Dock Station features four full range neodymium dynamic drivers and a 20.6 ounce speaker. Additionally, it has a vertical support to ensure the iOS device is secured in place. The Satechi Divoom iBase Dock Station is also compatible with other MP3 players via the 3.5mm line-in jack.

| Read more »
Dec 16
Appcelerator offers '4 Steps to creating a mobile...

Appcelerator has published a white paper on "4 Steps to creating a mobile development strategy."

"Companies now have a window of opportunity to think about how mobile can transform their business as radically as the web did," says AppCelerator. "By making mobile a part of their overall digital strategy, companies can transform their relationships with their customers in even greater ways than they did with the web."

The white paper tells you how this can be accomplished. Appcelerator (http://www.appcelerator.com/) is a company that helps web developers create mobile, tablet and desktop applications.

| Read more »
Sep 19
InterMapper publishes white papers on network...

InterMapper has published four white papers on network monitoring, mapping and alerting and InterMapper. You can find them all at
http://www.intermapper.com/resources/whitepapers.aspx .

The papers look at "Top 8 reasons SMBs need to monitor their networks," "top 8 considerations for selecting SMB network monitoring software," "10 steps to streamline the deployment of network monitoring software for SMBs," and "6 ways to calculate returns from your networking monitoring investment."

InterMapper is Mac OS X compatible network monitoring software. It uses SNMP to monitor the network infrastructure, and has probes for monitoring many kinds of servers, including web, mail, LDAP, FTP, etc. More information and a free 30-day demo are available at the product Web site (...

| Read more »
Aug 11
Video tour of new Data Rescue Center headquarters...

The Data Rescue Center, a a data recovery company founded in 2009 and a division of Prosoft Engineering, recently opened a new state-of-the-art headquarters in Livermore, California. You can get a video tour of it at http://www.thedatarescuecenter.com/company_background.html .

In June of 2010, the Data Rescue Center and Prosoft Engineering finalized the purchase of a building in Livermore near the Lawrence Livermore National Lab. Work immediately began on the design and construction of the new recovery lab facility.

In late January of 2011, both The Data Rescue Center and Prosoft Engineering moved all operations to this new facility. It boasts a Class 2 UL-Listed Vault and extensive security features.

The ISO 5 / Class 100 Cleanroom exceeds all manufacturers specifications for cleanroom recovery environments, according to...

| Read more »
Mar 11
Video looks at 'Fixing Flat Color in Final Cut...

Future Media Concepts has posted a video on "Fixing Flat Color in Final Cut Pro." It teaches you how to make your colors "pop" in footage in Final Cut Pro. You can find it at
http://www.fmctraining.com/fmc.asp?w=blip_AYHdkS4C .

Future Media Concepts is a digital media training center representing the leading software manufacturers, including Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Avid, Boris FX, Digidesign, NewTek and Softimage. Headquartered in New York City, FMC now operates 5 additional digital media training facilities located in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Orlando and Chicago.

| Read more »
Oct 04
Video showcases Zco's services

Zco Corp. (http://www.zco.com) has posted an overview video for their technology showcase. You can view it here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzE89z-jexA .

Zco can help you build custom software, as well as market it. The company developsb oth industrial strength backend applications using .NET, PHP and Java as well as apps for all major mobile platforms, including the iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone 7, WebOS and Symbian.

Zco can also help you promote your products and services using search engine optimization and social media optimization techniques, HD video, stunning graphics, 3D animation and video effects, press releases, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Google, Yahoo and Bing.

| Read more »
Aug 26
Video looks at digital storytelling features of...

A new online video (http://www.memoryminer.com) shows some of the best ways for using MemoryMiner, a digital storytelling application for Mac OS X. Designed an an complement the iLife suite, the software is all about capturing and exploring your life memories.

MemoryMiner allows anyone to zero in on the stories depicted in their photos by linking them to each other based on people, places and time. While photos are used as the starting point, the goal is always uncovering the backstory.

With MemoryMiner, you can directly record audio or video to capture the backstory of a photo. You can attach documents, web URL's, or other media to add depth and context. Each photo becomes a frame in a storyboard that can be browsed by periods in a person's life, where people overlap, by place, by time, or any combination.

MemoryMiner requires Mac OS X 10.5 or higher. It's Universal Binary so runs...

| Read more »
Jul 30
Ergonis posts video on using Typinator

Ergonis Software has posted a video (http://www.ergonis.com/products/typinator/movie.html) on Typinator (http://www.ergonis.com/products/typinator/), its tool for auto-typing text and auto-correcting typos system-wide across all Mac OS X applications.

With thousands of predefined corrections for common typos and misspelled words for US and British English, German and French, Typinator is not only just a typing assistant that speeds repetitive typing tasks, but also a system-wide auto-correction tool that automatically fixes typing errors and misspelled words. You just define an abbreviation along with its replacement text or picture. Whenever you type one of your abbreviations in any application, Typinator inserts the corresponding...

| Read more »
 
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Software Updates via MacUpdate

KeyCue 6.5 - Displays all menu shortcut...
KeyCue helps you to use your OS X applications more effectively. Just hold down the Command key for a while - KeyCue comes to help and shows a table of all currently available keyboard shortcuts.... Read more
HoudahSpot 3.7.8 - Advanced front-end fo...
HoudahSpot is a flexible file-search tool based on Apple's powerful Spotlight engine. Keep frequently used files within reach Retrieve the files you didn't know you still had Don't waste time... Read more
Cobook Contacts 1.2.6 - Intelligent addr...
Cobook Contacts is a better address book that makes contact management enjoyable for millions of people every day. Find contacts faster and organize them with tags. Get integrated social profiles... Read more
AppDelete 4.0.7 - Delete your unwanted a...
AppDelete is an uninstaller for Macs that will remove not only applications but also widgets, preference panes, plugins and screensavers along with their associated files. Without AppDelete these... Read more
OnyX 2.6.9 - Maintenance and optimizatio...
OnyX is a multifunctional utility for OS X. It allows you to verify the startup disk and the structure of its System files, to run miscellaneous tasks of system maintenance, to configure the hidden... Read more
Apple iTunes 11.0.3 - Manage your music,...
Apple iTunes lets you organize and play digital music and video on your computer. It can automatically download new music, app, and book purchases across all your devices and computers. And it's a... Read more
Spotify 0.9.0.133. - Stream music, creat...
Spotify is a new way to enjoy music. Simply download and install. Before you know it you'll be singing along to the genre, artist, or song of your choice. With Spotify you are never far away from... Read more
JollysFastVNC 1.46 - Fast VNC client. (S...
JollysFastVNC is a VNC client which aims to become the best VNC client on the Mac. When I started ScreenRecycler I thought that there are enough VNC clients out there to support it. When the program... Read more
Skitch 2.5.2 - Take screenshots, annotat...
Skitch allows you to take screenshots on your Mac, edit them and share them with others. It makes the sharing process seamless by making it a natural workflow to send the image (with edited arrows... Read more
Backblaze 2.1.0.608 - Online backup serv...
Backblaze is an online backup service, available fo $5/month for unlimited storage. With half of the founding team heralding from Apple, Backblaze is deeply committed to the Mac platform. The... Read more
 

See All

Blitz Brigade Review
Blitz Brigade Review By Andrew Stevens on May 21st, 2013 Our Rating: :: CHAMPION KILLERUniversal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad Blitz Brigade is an enjoyable first-person shooter where players fight online in multiple gameplay... | Read more »
gMusic Submits Update To Bring Google’s...
gMusic Submits Update To Bring Google’s All Access Streaming Music Service To iOS Posted by Andrew Stevens on May 21st, 2013 [ permalink ] gMusic: A Google Mus | Read more »
CandyMeleon Review
CandyMeleon Review By Blake Grundman on May 21st, 2013 Our Rating: :: SWEETLY ADDICTIVEUniversal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad Who could say no to a Chameleon that is this cute? Feed his sweet tooth and you will see just how... | Read more »
Fire & Forget: The Final Assault Rev...
Fire & Forget: The Final Assault Review By Rob Rich on May 21st, 2013 Our Rating: :: MY CAR IS FIGHTUniversal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad Fire & Forget: The Final Assault is one crazy post-apocalyptic ride.   | Read more »
Appy Geek Updates With Enhanced Design a...
Appy Geek Updates With Enhanced Design and Customizable Home Screen Posted by Andrew Stevens on May 21st, 2013 [ permalink ] | Read more »
What’s the Deal with rymdkapsel?
rymdkapsel made a bit of a splash when it was released on the PlayStation Vita a few weeks ago. And in another couple of months this excessively minimal and abstract strategic base building “sim” will be making its way on to the App Store for... | Read more »
Star Command Getting Exploding Ships, Sp...
Star Command Getting Exploding Ships, Spreading Fires, and Away Teams In Future Updates Posted by Andrew Stevens on May 21st, 2013 [ permalink ] | Read more »
Catch a Ninja Review
Catch a Ninja Review By Jordan Minor on May 21st, 2013 Our Rating: :: CATCH AND RELEASEiPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad It turns out ninjas aren’t that much tougher than fruit.   | Read more »
The Portable Podcast, Episode 186
On This Episode: Carter and Kurt Bieg of Simple Machine talk about his studio’s new release, Tomb Breaker, how it spawned from a nearly-complete prototype of another game, and how it fits in with his other titles, Circadia and Twirdie. Break into... | Read more »
Flickr Upgrades Its Free Users To 1 Tera...
Flickr Upgrades Its Free Users To 1 Terabyte Of Photo And Video Storage Posted by Andrew Stevens on May 21st, 2013 [ permalink ] | Read more »
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Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

iPads with Retina Displays (Apple refurbished) ava...
The Apple Store has Apple Certified Refurbished 4th generation iPads with Retina Displays, Wi-Fi & Cellular, available for $50 off MSRP. Apple’s one-year warranty is included with each iPad, and... Read more
Apple MacBook Orders To Rise 20% Sequentially In 2...
Digitimes’ Aaron Lee and Joseph Tsai say that with Apple ready to release its new MacBook products in the near future, sources from the upstream supply chain have revealed that orders for MacBook... Read more
Trial Production of 5th-Generation iPad To Begin R...
Digitimes’ Max Wang and Adam Hwang report that trial production of Apple’s 5th-generation 9.7-inch iPad will begin soon with volume production to begin in July, and monthly shipments ramping up to 2-... Read more
Dell’s $100 Thumb-Sized Android PC To Ship In July...
9to5google.com says that Dell’s Project Orphelia, a thumb-sized drive that turns any display with an HDMI port into an Android PC, is to start shipping in July at a price of around $100 according to... Read more
MacBook Airs (Apple refurbished) available startin...
 The Apple Store has Apple Certified Refurbished 2012 MacBook AIrs available for up to $240 off MSRP, with models starting at $849. An Apple one-year warranty is included with each model, and... Read more
Updated Mac Pro, iMac, and Mac mini Price Trackers
We’ve updated our Mac Pro Price Tracker, iMac Price Tracker, and Mac mini Price Tracker with the latest information on prices, bundles, and availability from Apple’s Authorized Internet/Catalog... Read more
Updated MacBook Price Trackers
We’ve updated our MacBook Price Trackers with the latest information on prices, bundles, and availability on MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros, and the MacBook Pros with Retina Displays from Apple’s... Read more
15″ 2.3GHz MacBook Pro on sale for $1659 w/free bu...
B&H Photo has the 15″ 2.3GHz MacBook Pro on sale for $1659 including free shipping. Their price is $140 off MSRP. B&H will include free copies of Parallels Desktop, Bento Database, and LoJack... Read more
15-inch Retina MacBook Pros on sale for $200 off M...
 B&H Photo has 15″ Retina MacBook Pros on sale for $200 off MSRP including free shipping. B&H will also include free copies of Parallels Desktop, Bento Database, and LoJack for Laptops... Read more
Apple refurbished iPad minis available starting at...
The Apple Store has a full lineup of Apple Certified Refurbished iPad minis available starting at $299 – up to $40 off new models. Apple’s one-year warranty is included with each mini, and shipping... Read more
 

Jobs Board

*Apple* At-Home Team Manager - Apple (U...
Changing the world is all in a day's work at Apple . If you love innovation, here's your chance to make a career of it. You'll work hard. But the job comes with more than Read more
Class 1 District *Apple* Technician -...
QUALIFICATIONS: High School diploma Associate Degree in Technology preferred. Apple Certified Support Professional Mac OS X 10.5, 10.6, 10.7, 10.8 Apple Certified Read more
*Apple* Infrastructure Engineer II - Ba...
39964 Apple Infrastructure Engineer II Full Time Regular posted 04/22/2013 San Ramon, CA San Francisco, CA Requirements What sets Bank of the West apart from other banks Read more
*Apple* Retail - Manager - Apple (Unite...
Job SummaryKeeping an Apple Store thriving requires a diverse set of leadership skills, and as a Manager, youre a master of them all. In the stores fast-paced, dynamic Read more
*Apple* At-Home Team Manager - Apple (U...
Changing the world is all in a day's work at Apple . If you love innovation, here's your chance to make a career of it. You'll work hard. But the job comes with more than Read more

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