Smile (www.smilesoftware.com) has announced PDFpen 6.0, the latest version of its all-purpose PDF editing tool. The upgrade of PDFpen features export to Microsoft Word format and a new editing bar for faster access to tools and properties. PDFpenPro has added document permission setting and automatic form creation. The updated document window appearance is enhanced with a new dropdown menu to access sidebar options for search, annotations, thumbnails, and table of contents. Go to for details. PDFpenPro 6.0 requires Mac OS X 10.7 or higher. It costs US$99.95 for single user license. Family and office packs are also available. Upgrades from earlier version are $30. Version 6.0 is a free upgrade to the Smile Store version for purchases made on or after Oct.15, 2012; no free upgrades are available in the Mac App Store.

Ergonis Software (www.ergonis.com) has released PopChar X 6.2, an improved version of the company's Mac OS X tool for efficiently dealing with fonts and special characters. The new version includes usability improvements that make finding and inserting special characters and umlauts easier than ever. The new version also supports Unicode 6.2, the latest release of the Unicode Standard. Plus, it adds a new font matching technique that finds fonts for font family names. PopChar X 6.2 requires Mac OS X 10.5.8 or higher. It can be purchased on the Ergonis Software website. The upgrade to PopChar 6.2 is free for anyone who owns a valid license for PopChar X 6. Upgrade paths are available for owners of older licenses.

Southern Stars (www.southernstars.com) has released a new iOS app called Satellite Safari. It's available at the Apple App Store (http://tinyurl.com/cjhj9k7) for US$2.99 (40% off the regular price) until April. Satellite Safari is Southern Stars' "tour guide" to the universe of satellites that have been launched around Earth. Later this year, it can become your personal gateway to a real satellite in orbit that you can take pictures and send broadcasts from. Satellite Safari is the official app of the SkyCube mission (www.skycube.com). The SkyCube satellite is scheduled to launch and deploy from the International Space Station in September, 2013. When it does, you'll be able to request your own images of the Earth, and broadcast your own radio messages from orbit as "tweets from space," using this Satellite Safari app on your iPhone or iPad. Until then, you can use Satellite Safari to learn more about the International Space Station and hundreds of other satellites already in orbit...

THX has filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming that the iPhone, iPad, and Mac computer lineup infringe on its 2008 patent for speaker technology, reports "The MacObserver" (www.macobserver.com). Here's a summary of the patent: "A narrow profile speaker unit comprises at least one speaker outputting sound towards an internal surface and through a duct with an output terminus, such as a slot, having a narrow dimension, effectively changing the cross-section of the speaker's audio output wave. A pair of speakers may face one another, outputting sound towards a common output slot. Multiple pairs of speakers may be used to form an inline speaker unit for increased sound output. A slotted speaker unit may include multiple speakers facing the same direction, towards a groundplane or reflecting surface, and having parallel apertures for allowing sound radiation. The speaker units may be integral with or attached to electronic appliances such as desktop computers or flatscreen devices, or...

Coding Turtle has announced Scrambler 1.2, an update to their encryption app for the Mac. It allows users to encrypt their files and folders before sending them to other Macs over untrusted email, instant messaging or cloud-based services. Scrambler resides in the menu bar -- providing a small icon in the upper-right area of the screen. To encrypt, users drag files or folders on Scrambler's icon and type in a password via a small and non-intrusive pop-up window. Version 1.2 adds a more secure encrypted file format. The new file format also produces more compact files -- about 25% smaller. Scrambler 1.2 adds the optional ability to automatically delete the original item(s) after encryption/decryption. Scrambler 1.2 is available on the Mac App Store (http://tinyurl.com/d6y5qxk) for US$2.99. It is also available as a shareware from the developer's website (https://codingturtle.com/scrambler), where a free and fully functional five-day trial can be found.

An Apple laptop owner lodged a putative class action in California federal court on Wednesday accusing the company of tricking consumers into paying premium prices for MacBook Pro computers with "shoddy" retina display screens manufactured by LG Corp., reports "Law 360" (http://tinyurl.com/anaj9ck). Although Apple advertises the MacBook Pro's liquid crystal display screens as the best of its kind, some of the computers contain LG screens that suffer from brightness, color and image display flaws while others feature better screens made by Samsung Corp., according to the suit. The suit says Apple has "tricked" some customers into buying MacBook Pros not having Samsung screens.

PCI Geomatics, a developer of remote sensing and photogrammetric software and systems, says it now supports SPOT-6 imagery within its software suite. SPOT-6, a new satellite built and operated by Astrium was launched on Sept. 9, 2012, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India. SPOT-6 is an optical imaging satellite capable of imaging the Earth with a resolution of 1.5 m Panchromatic and 6 m Multispectral (Blue, Green, Red, Near-IR). "We have worked closely with Astrium and the European Commissions’ Joint Research Centre (JRC) to validate our software’s support for SPOT-6  imagery," says Dr. Philip Cheng, senior scientist at PCI Geomatics. "PCI’s customers rely on us to provide support when new sensors are launched. Adding support for SPOT-6 was relatively straightforward as the data format is very similar to other PCI supported sensors that have been recently launched by Astrium, such as the Pleiades Constellation." The support for SPOT-6 will be available in the Geomatica 2013 SP2...

Hamrick Software, the developer of the VueScan scanning software, has released its latest version 9.2.10. It adds native support for 339 Brother scanners to VueScan Desktop. Of these, 204 are network capable which means they will also work with VueScan Mobile. VueScan Desktop will work on Brother scanners directly for Mac OS X and Linux, which means that no Brother drivers are required. In addition, VueScan no longer needs a WIA driver on Windows or an ICA driver on Mac OS X. VueScan Desktop now supports more than 2,100 scanners, and is available for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. Ed Hamrick, the developer of VueScan, says the software offers a full range of advanced features; including options for scanning faded slides and prints and automatically adjusting images to optimum color balance that reduces the need to manually do it in Photoshop. It includes built-in IT8 color calibration of scanners, producing colors that look true to life, batch scanning and other advanced and powerful...

Apple has released version 10.8.3 of Mac OS X Mountain Lion. Apple says it's is recommended for all Mountain Lion users and includes new features and fixes, including: ° The ability to redeem iTunes gift cards in the Mac App Store using your Mac's built-in camera; ° Boot Camp support for installing Windows 8; ° Boot Camp support for Macs with a 3 TB hard drive; ° A fix for an issue that could cause a file URL to quit apps unexpectedly; ° A fix for an issue that may cause Logic Pro to become unresponsive when using certain plug-ins; ° A fix for an issue that may cause audio to stutter on 2011 iMacs; ° A fix for an issue in Contacts that may cause cards to print out of order; ° A fix for an issue that may cause the desktop picture to change after logging out or restarting; ° A fix for an issue in Messages that may cause messages to appear out of order after waking from sleep; ° A fix for an issue that may cause the screen to display incorrectly after waking from sleep; ° Improves...

Apple has posted MacBook Pro Retina SMC Update 1.0 (http://tinyurl.com/c6gg9e8). It resolves a rare issue where users may experience slow frame rates when playing graphics-intensive games on the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display. It also includes bug fixes for Power Nap, wake from sleep and fan control. MacBook Pro Retina SMC Update 1.0 is a 504KB download and requires Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later.

A new tool for iOS and Mac app developers has been released. Deploymate helps developers identify unavailable, deprecated and obsolete API [application program interface] usage in their Xcode projects. Unavailable API usage will often crash iOS and Mac apps and the only way to find these crashes was manual testing. Deploymate aims to solve this problem by statically analyzing Xcode projects and source files to find such API usage and warn the developer before it's too late. Deploymate is available for all Macs running OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion or later for an introductory price of US$9.99 at http://tinyurl.com/c8or6h9 . Deploymate is based on Clang/LLVM compiler and utilizes this technology to detect Cocoa and Cocoa Touch API usage in Xcode projects. With its scanner, developers can run analysis on their code and find API usage that may cause problems in their apps.

Apple is offering its iMac all-in-one with a built-in VESA Mount Adapter that allows users to attach the desktop Mac to walls or other vertical surfaces. The mount is available with all configurations of the iMac. Pricing is US$1,339, $1,539, $1,839 and $2,039 for the 21.5-inch, 2.7GHz, 21.5-inch, 2.99GHz, 27-inch, 2.9GHz and 27-inch, 3.2GHz models, respectively. That compares to $1,299, $1,499, $1,799 and $1.99 for the non-VESA models. Note that this is a build-to-order option only; the VESA mount can't be added to a 2012 iMac you already own.

Excel Software (www.excelsoftware.com) has announced AppProtect 3.0, an update of the Mac OS X compatible application that applies protection with a human controlled or automated online activation process to a compiled application without programming. Version 3.0 works with OfficeProtect 2.0 to generate a protected application from an Excel spreadsheet. AppProtect 3.0 is LicenseCard-enabled for drag and drop activation. The software wraps a Mac (or Windows) application with an activation process that requires a computer unique password or serial number on first launch. The software vendor can generate passwords from AppProtect or automate the process with an online activation server.  Excel Software offers vendor accounts on the Safe Activation service or a vendor can self-host an activation server using WebActivation. AppProtect on Mac or Windows supplements the standard protection available to all applications with additional, optional layers of protection. Each protection layer...

Einstein's legacy (www.einsteinslegacy.com) has released LightTable 1.0.2, an update to its virtual canvas application for Mac OS X. It requires Mac OS X 10.7 or higher and is available for US$39.99 at the Mac App Store in the Photography category (http://tinyurl.com/bx3c8ar). Designed for photographers, graphic designers and other creative professionals alike, it allows anyone to move, resize, stretch, stack and align images just like they would on a physical light table. The app is designed to make it easier to identify the visual dynamics created when images are aligned in a two-dimensional space. Lightable's dynamic canvas sizing allows users to change the canvas size to fit any content they are working with. Its flexible lets users move, resize, stretch, stack and align one of more images anywhere on the canvas. Lightable's multiple resolution support provides control over the pixel density used to display the canvas. Sharing enables users to drag'n drop items from image...

A judge has ruled that Apple CEO Tim Cook must sit for a deposition in the U.S. government's lawsuit against the company over alleged price-fixing in the ebook market, reports "Reuters" (http://tinyurl.com/d5888dg). U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan granted the Justice Department's request to compel Cook to testify for four hours in the lawsuit, which accuses Apple of conspiring with five publishers to raise e-book prices. The government had argued that Cook likely had relevant information about Apple's entry into the e-books market. Apple fought the request, saying Cook's testimony would be "cumulative and duplicative" since the government had already deposed 11 other executives at the iPad maker, notes "Reuters."

Old Clockmaker's Riddle, from G5 Entertainment & Dava, is now available for Mac OS X -- and iOS users can enjoy the match-three puzzle game in a full version, as well. Here's how the game is described: "Life changes instantly in a small country village when the town's massive clock tower suddenly stops working. The place suddenly falls into decay. Intrigued by the riddle of the dying town, you head on an adventure to help the city. You'll play over 50 tantalizing levels to remove the curse and return the town to its former glory. Mr. Ryan, who lives in the only intact house, will help you unfold the story and make useful tools for you to progress in the game. "You need to drag and swap shining gems to make a match of at least three in a row and reveal a proper number of clock hands to restore one of the destroyed buildings. There are obstacles and bonus gems aplenty, as you'll encounter pieces that can be swapped by frozen pieces. Frozen parts will simply fall to the bottom of the...

Noise Industries is bringing 26 panel transitions with Panel Pop from Stupid Raisins. It allows editors to drag and drop effects in Final Cut Pro X for fluidity throughout their entire show. Panel Pop offers the ability to change direction, timing, and motion for each transition. Features include 348 animated presets and customizable panel direction, motion, and timing. Panel Pop is available for US$49 from the Noise Industries website (http://tinyurl.com/d62k2o4). It comes with a 30-day money back guarantee.

AKVIS has released AKVIS HDRFactory 3.5 for Mac OS X and Windows. The new version adds a new Crop tool, which helps to remove unwanted areas and reduce image size. HDRFactory creates HDR images from a series of photographs taken at different exposures. It can also imitate the HDR effect on any single photo. AKVIS HDRFactory can be used as a standalone program and as a plugin to image editors. It sells for US$69 for the Home version, $99 for the Home Deluxe, and $189 for the Business version. For more info go to http://akvis.com .

Global Delight (www.globaldelight.com) has rolled out the latest version of Voila, their productivity utility software tool for Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later. The free update contains improvements to the video recording capabilities with pause/resume option, menu only icon for capture/record features when the program is quit from running and more. Voila is a screen-capture, recording and annotation tool designed as a replacement for Mac OS X's screen-capture and screen-recording capabilities. It has a large set of editing, organizing, annotation and effects tools that allows the user to create and add details to screenshots, tutorials, videos and presentations. Voila is priced at US$29.99 and is available for immediate download on the Mac App Store (http://tinyurl.com/bk2ffqe) and the Global Delight web site. A demo is available for download at the Global Design site.

Software and Computer Systems Company has created a new how-to section for their web site, with its first entry titled "Analyzing Mountain Lion Performance Problems with Activity Monitor." The document describes some of the performance problems in Mountain Lion that currently plague some of the OS users, and gives examples of how to identify them using Activity Monitor. The article also includes a list of common problems and even a bug or two that many people may run across. For more info go to http://scsc-online.com/How-To.html .

Feral Interactive says that BAFTA award-winning racing game GRID will be released for the Mac on March 28. Developed and published by Codemasters for PC and consoles, GRID is part of the celebrated TOCA Touring Car series and comes to the Mac under the Feral Legends label. Here's how the game is described: "Style meets substance in GRID, an exhilarating mix of sublime handling, dazzling visuals and extreme speed that puts players behind the wheel of massively race-tuned road cars by manufacturers such as Porsche, Lamborghini and Aston Martin. With a sophisticated damage model, adjustable difficulty settings and a handy 'Flashback' feature, GRID rides the sweet spot between sim realism and full-on arcade racing. "GRID World is an extensive career mode that sees players race their way around the world from the US to Europe to Japan on spectacular tracks ranging from city streets to mountain roads to famous circuits such as Spa and Le Mans. Players are challenged to advance from rookie...

FileMaker, Inc. has announced schedule highlights for the FileMaker Developer Conference 2013, the largest annual gathering of worldwide FileMaker independent and corporate database developers, trainers and users. "Platform for Innovation" is the theme of the 18th annual conference, which features two new tracks and will be at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel in San Diego, Calif., Aug. 12-15. Attendees will see live demonstrations by FileMaker staff and exhibitors and learn the ins and outs of creating custom solutions using the FileMaker Platform. In addition to increasing their technical expertise, developers can network, get ideas, and exchange tips with over 1,200 FileMaker enthusiasts, from more than 36 countries during the four-day event. Developers can set their own agendas to focus on their most pressing interests and needs. Concurrent tracks include: ° New Design Track (11 sessions): "Discover the business benefits of great design and learn how to create eye-catching and...

Researchers from security company Skycure say they’re concerned about a feature of iOS that could be used by malicious actors to read information, passwords and even encrypted data from devices without customers knowledge, reports "The Next Web" (http://tinyurl.com/d297f5k). Provisioning Profiles (mobileconfigs) are small files installed with a single tap on iOS devices. Their use is officially approved by Apple and there is nothing innately malicious about any given profile. "But, if put to the right uses, they do open up the ability to read usernames and passwords right off of a screen, transmit data that would normally be secure (over HTTPS) to a malicious server where it can be read and a lot more," notes "The Next Web." You can read more about Skycure's findings at http://blog.skycure.com/2013/03/malicious-profiles-sleeping-giant-of.html .

RAM Electronics (http://www.ramelectronics.net/) -- a manufacturer and distributor of home theater, audio and video cabling and connecting equipment -- has created a new series of high performance cables. The iPRO2 Series is a high performance docking cable for Apple devices. The cables are made in the U.S. and will soon be available through the RAM Electronics website. The USB-compatible connection option allows continuous charging while playing when used with a standard 12VDC or 120VAC 1-amp to USB accessories adapter. Users looking for the highest quality sound can use these audio cables to connect their iPad, iPhone and iPod to their guitar amplifiers, radio and TV equipment, studio or PA mixing boards, car stereos, mobile device recorders, boating units and other audio equipment, says Steve Misbin , president of RAM Electronics. Different iPRO2 series cable connectors are compatible with various input and output plugs. Choices include 30-pin dock connector with Lightening...