The Padcaster says its namesake product, the Padcaster, and accompanying Lenscaster add-on are shipping. Designed for video journalists, videographers, DSLR shooters and more, the b Padcaster transforms an iPad into an on-the-go production studio with features ranging from storyboarding and shooting to editing and sharing. It's an aluminum frame with a urethane insert that holds the Apple tablet for a secure and solid feel. Threaded holes lining the edges of the frame allow filmmakers to attach external mics, lights and countless other accessories to enhance their finished product. A standard -20 screw thread and locking-pin design centered on the bottom of the Padcaster lets users connect it to a professional tripod, monopod or shoulder mount. The aluminum frame can also be used as a standalone DSLR cage. Filmmakers can rig a DSLR or other video camera into the cage, enabling them to attach accessories to enhance their shoot. In the future, Apter plans to design urethane inserts...

New Potato Technologies has introduced the TuneLink Home for the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android devices. It provides a wireless link between the user's device and home entertainment system, providing hi-fidelity streaming audio and universal infrared remote control functions. The TuneLink connects audio via analog or digital output to the entertainment system and includes an infrared blaster that broadcasts commands from your device to your media equipment. Its Bluetooth transceiver purportedly operates over ranges of more than 120 feet. The TuneLink Home device is also a programmable universal remote control and includes a growing database of over 80,000 pre-programmed remote control codes, the ability to learn new codes, and allows the user to create custom macros, personalize their remote skins, layouts, and functions. The TuneLink Home device is controlled by a free application that can be downloaded today from the Apple App Store and soon from Google Play. The TuneLink...

Sonnet Technologies (www.sonnettech.com) will be highlighting its family of Thunderbolt-compatible I/O solutions at the fifth annual CPUG SuperMeet on Sunday, Sept. 9, from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam. Held in conjunction with IBC2012, SuperMeet is a program hosted by the Creative Pro User Group (CPUG) Network that brings together creative and collaborative digital editors for an evening of networking, cocktails, and learning about the latest trends in collaborative editing workflows. As a Silver Sponsor of the SuperMeet, Sonnet will display its line of Thunderbolt-compatible expansion chassis, adapters, and servers that offer I/O performance for PCIe cards, adapters, and storage systems. Sonnet will also be previewing its latest Thunderbolt to 10 GigE and Thunderbolt to 4-Port SATA adapters. Sonnet is offering €5 (US$6) off the €15 (US$19) general admission price for SuperMeet. To take advantage of the discount, visit www.supermeet.com, click the "Buy Tickets...

Here are the latest updates for Mac OS X apps: Real Software (www.realsoftware.com) has updated Real Studio, the latest version of its flagship software development tool. Real Studio 2012 Release 1 contains 350 improvements and three new features: OS X Mountain Lion support, Webkit support for HTMLViewer on Windows and a new way for SQLite BLOBs that allows data in a BLOB to be added sequentially, making it much faster and more responsive. Additionally, this release significantly strengthens Real Studio's Cocoa support. Adobe (www.adobe.com) has updated Adobe Muse, its HTML5-based WYSIWYG website creation program. The upgrade boasts built-in support for contact forms. Adobe has changed the name of its Edge web animation program to Edge Animate and revved it to "preview 7" status. CS Odessa (www.conceptdraw.com) has released a plug-in for ConceptDraw PRO that's designed to simplify complex cloud computing implementations. AWS Architecture Diagrams, is a collection of library objects,...

Apple plans to open its own retail stores in Russia, which should reduce the time between a new product's announcement and its local availability, according to "The Moscow News." Apple has registered a company dubbed "Apple Rus" and assigned Vitaly Morozko, the corporation’s local legal advisor, as its director general, the article adds. Quoting an unnamed "manager of an Apple distributor," the company could start direct sales in Russia in 2013, says "The Moscow News." For more info go to http://macte.ch/Of2b5 .

In a note to investors -- as reported by "AppleInsider" (www.appleinsider.com) -- Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White says that, after passing Microsoft's record and becoming the most valuable company ever on Monday, Apple has passed a "key sentiment barrier" on its way to a US$1 trillion market valuation. He notes that previous companies with market capitalization above $500 billion were already dominant in their markets. On the other hand, Apple still has a relatively small share in markets where it competes, so it still has enormous growth potential, White adds. "For example, Microsoft, held over 90% market share for PC operating systems at the peak cap, while Intel had over 80% of the PC processor market and Cisco had over 70% share in the networking market," he says. "On the other hand, IDC estimates Apple held just 4.7% of the PC market in (the first quarter of 2012) and 64.4% share in the mobile phone market in (the second quarter)."

The Apple-Samsung patent battle/trial is underway. Following is some of the latest highlights and where you can find more info. "Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung CEO Kwon Oh Hyun met on Monday for last minute settlement discussions at Judge Lucy Koh’s request before their patent infringement case was handed over to a jury. The two companies failed to reach an agreement, however, which means the jury in the trial could start deliberating as early as today" -- "The MacObserver" (macobserver.com) "Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. turned to some high-stakes legal housekeeping Monday, in one of the companies' last chances to weigh in on nitty-gritty procedural matters before closing arguments Tuesday." -- "The Wall Street Journal" (online.wsj.com) "Imagine the longest, most complex government form you’ve ever had to fill out and you start to have an idea what jurors will face as they begin to consider their verdict in the patent infringement case between Apple and Samsung." -- "...

CoreMelt has released its Lock & Load stabilizer for Final Cut Pro X. It requires Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later and Final Cut X 10.0.3 or higher. Lock & Load has long been a tool for legacy Final Cut Pro users. Now the new generation of Final Cut Pro X users can add the power of a stabilization tool to their editing repertoire. As well as providing fast smoothing of all kinds of camera motion, Lock & Load also provides advanced Rolling Shutter reduction to help minimize skew and wobble artifacts from CMOS sensors used in popular DSLR cameras. "The Rolling Shutter reduction built into Final Cut Pro X is one size fits all, so there is only an overall strength control," says Roger Bolton, CoreMelt founder, director and visual effects veteran "For CoreMelt Lock & Load, we individually tested the most popular types of DSLR cameras and optimized our results for the specific CMOS sensors of each camera."   Lock & Load X is available for a limited time for US$99 (the full price...

Here are the latest updates for Mac OS X apps: SweetScape Software has released 010 Editor 4.0 (www.sweetscape.com/), an update of the Mac editor that lets you edit any text file, hex file, drive or process on your computer. New features in version 4.0 include word-wrap, support for large files, a task bar for executing common functions, a new file bar that provides a way to run templates and scripts, and nearly 50 other new functions for templates and scripts. Mac Mini Vault (www.cyberlynk.net) has announced its third Mac mini colcation cabinet has gone online, increasing the current capacity to over 400 Mac minis. To celebrate this achievement Mac Mini Vault is offering its colocation services at discounted levels. The Mac mini Enterprise colocation service includes features such as remote reboot control, network interface graphing, free hands-on support hours, free MAMP PRO web hosting software, as well as an unmetered gigabit network connection. VeprIT (veprit.com) has rolled out...

The iPhone vulnerable to a certain SMS spoofing attack. Basically, it's possible for a malicious individual to send a message and specify a reply-to number that is not their own, appearing as if they are someone else, reports "Engadget" (http://macte.ch/mtZjt). The publication go this response on the matter from Apple: "Apple takes security very seriously. When using iMessage instead of SMS, addresses are verified which protects against these kinds of spoofing attacks. One of the limitations of SMS is that it allows messages to be sent with spoofed addresses to any phone, so we urge customers to be extremely careful if they're directed to an unknown website or address over SMS.

In a note to analysts -- as reported by "AppleInsider" (www.appleinsider.com) -- FBR Capital Markets analyst Craig Berger thinks the next gen iPhone will be one of the most promising device upgrade cycles in Apple's history, driving more than US$50 in earnings and as many as 250 million units. The analyst says the "iPhone 5 Tsunami" should help the wireless industry as a whole. Berger thinks Apple's next smartphone will "help the industry migrate to a better balance between content provider and end-user revenue sources to support continued investment." Berger also believes that if China Mobile begins selling the iPhone in early 2013, it would generate 13 million units in the first half of the year, notes "AppleInsider."

"The Wall Street Journal" reports (http://macte.ch/vl5XE) that Apple is teaming up with Samsung, HTC and Google to obtain the patents Kodak is looking to sell -- but at a lower price than what Kodak is asking. Kodak plans to sell its patents as part of a bankruptcy reorganization in New York. However, Apple claims it owns 10 of the patents in Kodak’s portfolio. Apple sued Kodak in April 2010, about three months after Kodak accused Apple and Research In Motion of infringing a patent related to ways of previewing images. Apple's countersuit said Kodak devices copy the technology that it uses in Macs, iPhone, iTunes and Photo Booth involving image processing, energy management and memory design.

Nevosoft announces Mushroom Age for Mac OS X (10.6.6 or higher). It costs US$6.99 and is available at the Mac App Store in the Games category. Here's how the game is described: "Mushroom Age is a game that takes players on an extreme time-traveling adventure, through 23 chapters and millions of years. Following Vera, in her search for her fiancee, a young scientist who has disapeared from his secret laboratory, this game takes players to the Jurassic period, the Stone Age, ancient Greece, and the distant future. Filled with exciting hidden object tasks and a breathtaking storyline, players will travel to the distant corners of the universe. "When young scientist Tom disappears from his super secret laboratory right before his wedding, his fiancee, Vera, starts to search for him. Little did she know that she would embark on a trip through the ages! Her journey will take her to the Jurassic period, the Stone Age, ancient Greece, and the distant future where the world is ruled by...

While in San Francisco, TUAW and MacTech Magazine teamed up to speak to developers at Apple's WWDC 2012 about the keynote and how Apple's new technologies will help them and their customers. In the weeks following the event, we'll bring you those videos on TUAW, MacTech and MacNews. If you aren't currently a reader of MacTech Magazine, check out the special WWDC free MacTech on iPad issues for MacTech Magazine here. This video features Neil Ticktin (Editor-in-Chief, MacTech Magazine) and Felix Lotze of Wordcrafts GbR at WWDC. Felix was kind enough to tell us about their thoughts on the announcements on WWDC, and how it will affect their plans moving forward.

Apple stock closed at an all-time high of US$636.34 per share. The previous high was $636.23 on April 9. As "MacRumors" (http://www.macrumors.com) notes, Apple's stock price is up nearly 60% on the year, outperforming the NASDAQ by more than 3:1 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average by more than 6:1. Thursday was also the day in which payout of Apple’s planned dividend started. Each shareholder received $2.65 per share.

Jumsoft has introduced Elements for iWork 1.0, a new collection of images designed specifically for Apple's Pages and Keynote. Designed for illustrating slideshows, invitations, posters, newsletters, e-books, or just about any type of content that requires a creative touch, the items included in the Elements for iWork set range from variations on universal symbols, such as arrows and question marks, to funky icons and stylish badges. In total, the collection contains 360 doodle icons, 24 patterns, six badges, and 68 watercolor cliparts in three color versions: green, blue, and red. The set was designed for Apple's Pages and Keynote, but the images can also be used in Numbers or iBooks Author. All images include transparent backgrounds that allow placement on various colors and patterns, and the PNG format lets users adjust various color parameters. The badges are created in shapes, which enable resizing and changing colors as well as adding and removing various badge components. The...

Here are the latest updates for Mac OS X apps: Maintain (maintain.se/cocktail) has released Cocktail 6.0.2 (Mountain Lion Edition), the latest maintenance update of the general purpose utility for OS X that lets you clean, repair and optimize your Mac. This version resolves some OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion compatibility issues and contains various improvements to the Pilot scheduler. Van der Veer Games has unleashed Bird On A Wire for the iPhone and iPad. You help birds of a feather flock together in this $0.99, physics-based arcade game for the whole family. The Macgo Mac Blu-ray Player (www.macblurayplayer.com) has been revved for Mountain Lion. With 1080p playback, the app brings UHD Blu-ray fun to your Mac and is Retina display ready.

A recent flurry of reports said that Apple had been trimming back on hours and the number of employees at its retail stores. Apparently, the rumors were true -- and something Apple says was a mistake. Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet told "Dow Jones" (http://macte.ch/2JPpz) that: "Making these changes was a mistake and the changes are being reversed ... Our employees are our most important asset and the ones who provide the world-class service our customers deserve." "Dow Jones" says John Browett, Apple's new senior vice president of retail, aid that the company had been trying a new staffing formula for its retail stores, leading some employees to see their hourly shifts cut and retail locations to be understaffed. It purportedly didn't take long for Apple to realize it had made a mistake. Browett then instructed leadership teams to tell employees, "We messed up," says "Dow Jones," quoting two unnamed "people who were aware of the communication." Reportedly, during the brouhaha,...

Who knows about the rumored "iTV," but Apple has big plans for its Apple TV set-top box, according to "The Wall Street Journal" (http://macte.ch/FEBxi). The article says Apple is in talks with some of the "biggest U.S. cable operators" to use the set-top box for live television and other content. However, before you get too excited, note that the "WSJ" adds that Apple doesn't appear to have reached a deal with any cable operators. One obstacle may be the the operator's reluctance to let Apple establish a foothold in the television business. However, if Apple and the cable operators can hammer out a deal, "The Daily Ticker" (http://macte.ch/jDDz0) says the advantages to this sort of deal for Apple are: ° Immediate access to live TV content that consumers are already paying for (and that, otherwise, Apple would have to license directly from networks); ° A clever way of getting into the living room and TV ecosystem, without forcing consumers to change their TV-watching habits or TV...

Digital Heaven has introduced Pro Player, a professional QuickTime player for video content creators and motion graphics designers. It requires Mac OS X 10.6 or higher. Pro Player's monochromatic interface provides a streamlined way to review or present video content. It has the ability to quickly view alpha channels, and with a dedicated area for playback controls outside the image, users are able to see all of their video, all of the time. Pro Player allows you to view embedded alpha channels without having to open the movie in a full-blown graphics or editing application. Video, audio and timecode information for the current movie is always visible and the current timecode is shown in a large and clear display. Pro Player is available now for immediate purchase and download from the Digital Heaven online store (www.digital-heaven.co.uk ) at the special introductory price of US$19.99 for one week; the regular price is $29.99.

Nicholas Cooke has introduces Chess Deluxe 1.0, his new game title for Mac OS X. It requires Mac OS X 10.7 or later, costs US$2.99 and is available at the Mac App Store in the Games category. Here's how the game is described: "Chess Deluxe takes the experience of chess to the next level with a simple yet elegant UI, great graphics and fantastic gameplay. The game offers unlimited undo, an optional timer, as well as supports both 1 player, 2 player and online gameplay using Game Center, so you can play against your friends, or test at your skills against the AI. "Chess Deluxe supports both 1 player, 2 player and online gameplay using Game Center, so you can play against your friends, or test at your skills against the AI. With Chess Deluxe you can now play against anyone using a Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch with Game Center on OS X Mountain Lion."

Feral Interactive says LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes will be released for the Mac on Thursday, Sept. 6. Pricing hasn't been announced. "Here's how the game is described: "With a specially-written story by TT Games, LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes features a cast of amazing characters from the DC Comics universe including Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and of course the Dynamic Duo. When Joker and Lex Luthor form a deadly alliance, it's up to Batman, Robin, Superman and the rest of The Justice League to save Gotham City from the Clown Prince and his partner in crime! "Each member of The Justice League has their own super powers and equipment, including Superman's super strength and freeze breath, Wonder Woman's golden lasso and Green Lantern's power ring. The Dynamic Duo's suits give Batman the power to launch rockets, turn invisible and fly, and Robin the ability to walk up walls and perform acrobatics. Players of all ages can become these characters and more, taking on the...

XPAL Power -- maker of the PowerSkin, the shock-absorbing, battery-boosting cases for smartphones and gaming accessories -- has revamped the design of its battery cases, rolling out the first models  to be available in color. These new models for Apple iPhone 4/4S are available in glossy black and limited-edition titanium. The PowerSkin for iPhone 4/4S features: an on/off button located on the side; a 1500 mAh rechargeable battery that extends talk time up to five hours (up to 200 hours standby); and a cable that allows users to sync data while re-charging. The one-piece, soft-touch case slides on the iPhone and protects against shocks, drops and dust. The PowerSkin for iPhone 4/4S costs US$69.99. It's available at www.power-skin.com/battery-cases/apple with a 20% discount until Aug. 22 using the promo code MYNEWPSK.

NewBay Media, a publisher of digital content creation media, has announced that its 16th annual Digital Video Expo conference and exhibition is returning to the Pasadena Convention Center from Sept.19-21. The event will gather thousands of content creation professionals for three days of education, next-generation technology and creative inspiration. This year’s Digital Video Expo educational program features over 50 conference sessions that cover literally every aspect of HD content creation, according to Carmel King, NewBay Media executive vice president. For the first time, Digital Video Expo is partnering with Future Media Concepts to provide world-class education for professionals in the television, video, motion graphics, and new media industries, he adds. The LA Post Production Conference will also offer training for users of Apple, Adobe, and Avid software. Additionally, Digital Video Expo and AbelCine Training are re-teaming to present a series of practical educational...