DEVONtechnologies has released version 3.0 of its intelligent Internet research assistant DEVONagent as public beta. It comes with a reworked user interface, better browsing capabilities, new and updated plugins, and is based on a new technology foundation. DEVONagent 3.0 supports wildcards, new advanced search operators such as "OPT," fuzzy searching, and natural phrase matching. Searches can be saved and recalled later. New scanners and plugins have been added, e.g. for Bing, the App Store, Unfolding News, or DEVONthink Pro Office. All other plugins, scanners, and pre-fab search sets have been updated. Unsupported search engines can be added using the new Plugin Assistant. DEVONagent now also supports PDF, PostScript, OpenOffice, Oracle Open Office, RTF, and Microsoft Word documents. In addition the integrated web browser has been improved. A new sidebar integrates the new bookmark management, search results, and objects, e.g. images or links, found and extracted from the page....

Learning Tree International has announced the introduction of a new course entitled "iPhone® and iPad Programming: A Comprehensive Introduction." In this four-day course, instructors will teach attendees how to create professional iPhone and iPad applications using Objective-C and the iPhone Software Development Kit. According to the folks at Learning Tree, attendees gain the skills to design and test user interfaces with Interface Builder and the iOS Simulator, display data effectively with interactive table views, and apply navigation tools and techniques to improve user experience. Learning Tree will begin presenting "iPhone and iPad Programming: A Comprehensive Introduction at its Education Centers in January 2011. For more info and the latest course dates and locations, go to http://www.learningtree.com/2761 .

The DiskRadar Team (http://www.diskradar.com) has introduced DiskRadar 1.0 Beta for Mac OS X Snow Leopard. It's an utility featuring infographic display of the disk space usage, simple cleanup function, hard disk fault prediction, and temperature monitoring to prevent overheating. Designed for use by non-technical users, the application provides access to HDD diagnostic data. Additional features include on-the-fly visualization of scanning results and history-based disk health evaluation. DiskRadar performs real-time hard drive health status monitoring. It monitors the disk and also analyzes the changes in all disk parameters that are closely related to HDD failures (pending bad sectors count, reallocated bad sectors, uncorrectable bad sectors, CRC errors, etc.), and alerts the user to the possibility of impending failure. The app's health diagnostics algorithms are based on recent research in this field. DiskRadar detects not only OK/Verified and Failed disk health states, but also...

Maxprog (http://www.maxprog.com/) has released announces iCash 7, an update of the US$49 personal finance and money manager for Mac OS X and Windows. It offers unlimited categories, multiple accounts creation, multiple currencies, a SQL backend engine, password protection, export/import routines, search functions, and drag & drop support. iCash is designed to serve several small accounting needs for either private users, clubs, associations, self-employed, or small businesses. It lets you keep track of incomes, expenses and Bank transactions a snap. Version 7 is available now in 16 languages.

Virtual Programming (http://www.vpltd.com) has released two expansion packs for Majesty 2, Kingmaker and Battles of Ardania, for Mac OS X. Offering new missions, gameplay features, and monsters, along with multiplayer matches and a toolset for creating new missions and battles, the expansions continue Ardania's epic story. Here's how the expansion packs are described: "Kingmaker serves up a new eight-mission campaign that introduces Lord Blackviper and his goblin army, challenging players who united Ardania in the main game to now hold together the kingdom. The expansion also features a mission creator toolset as well as a Majesty 2 gameplay update that includes: a randomize feature that shuffles non-quest monster dens; random treasure chest goodies; multiplayer functionality; a map editor; and more. Multiplayer lets up to four gamers compete in competitive or cooperative matches over a LAN or the Internet. "Battles of Ardania continues the story with another new eight-mission...

Universal Audio, a manufacturer of audio hardware and UAD-2 powered plug-ins for Mac and Windows has released the Studer A800 Multichannel Tape Recorder plug-in for the UAD-2 platform. The Studer A800 Multichannel Tape Recorder is a professional 2-inch multitrack tape machine ever made. Modeled by UA’s DSP engineers with help from AES magnetic recording expert Jay McKnight over a 12-month period, the Studer A800 Multichannel Tape Recorder plug-in for UAD-2 models the entire tape path and circuit electronics of the hardware, plus the sounds of four distinct tape formulas. Available for purchase via UA’s Online Store, the Studer A800 Multichannel Tape Recorder plug-in sells for US$349. More info on the plug-in can be found at http://www.uaudio.com/products/software/studer-a800/index.html . The Studer A800 Multichannel Tape Recorder plug-in is available as part of the new UAD Software 5.8.0 release. In addition to the Studer A800 plug-in, v5.8.0 includes the Solid State Logic-...

Fidelity Media, creator of MegaSeg, the DJ Software and Radio Automation System for Mac, has revealed two new editions, MegaSeg DJ and MegaSeg Pro. The new DJ edition targets DJs on a budget, home DJs, and those just starting out, giving them a live mixing feature set. The DJ edition also includes the same waveform visualizer and Magic Trackpad beat synchronizing features recently introduced in MegaSeg 5.5. The new Pro edition adds video playback for VJs and many power features for pro DJs, such as instant sound effects, request lists, track color coding, library tools, and deep features for radio stations, TV broadcasters, and business background music, including automated playlist generation, scheduling, and track separation rules. Fidelity Media also announced year-end sale pricing of up to 33% off through Dec 31 with MegaSeg DJ and Pro editions now US$99 and $199 (regularly $149 and $249). The new 5.5.5 version also includes a MIDI preset for Numark's Mixtrack controller and an...

Class on Demand has announced the latest "Class on Demand Legends Series" weekly training webinars featuring digital media instructor Larry Jordan. The new webinars, titled "Secrets of the Motion Tab in Final Cut Pro" and "Edit and Trim Faster in Final Cut Pro" can be accessed today in streaming video delivery format through the Class on Demand Learning Platform (http://www.classondemand.com/legends/). An expansion of the current Class on Demand training lineup, "Class on Demand Legends Series" provides an exclusive "inside look" at the inner workings of influential industry experts and figureheads. This week, Jordan continues to delve into the "Fundamentals of Final Cut Pro" with both "Secrets of the Motion Tab in Final Cut Pro" and "Edit and Trim Faster in Final Cut Pro." "Secrets of the Motion Tab in Final Cut Pro," details ways to harness the Motion tab to create unique motion effects; while "Edit and Trim Faster in Final Cut Pro" divulges Jordan's secret of speedy editing to...

Apple has risen to fifth place in the market ranking list for cellphone makers operating in Japan for the first time in the July-September period with its share coming to 12.2%, a market research institute says -- as reported by "The Mainichi Daily News" (http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/business/news/20101214p2g00m0bu021000c.html). The iPhone moved up from seventh place in the April-June quarter in the market led by Sharp Corp., whose latest share was 18.8%, according to IDC Japan. Apple's share broke through the 10% line for the first time, with iPhone's shipment coming to 1.06 million units in the quarter, while overall cellphone shipments stood at 8.66 million units, up 18.9% from a year earlier.

Apple has released iTunes 10.1.1. You can obtain the update via the Software Updates Component of Mac OS X's Systems Preferences app. It requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later. iTunes 10.1.1 provides a number of important bug fixes, including: ° An issue where some music videos may not play on Macs equipped with NVIDIA GeForce 9400 or 9600 graphics; ° An issue where iTunes may unexpectedly quit when deleting a playlist that has the iTunes Sidebar showing; ° A problem where iTunes may unexpectedly quit when connecting an iPod to a Mac equipped with a PowerPC processor; ° An issue where some music videos may not sync to an iPod, iPhone, or iPad.

Apple has updated its iBooks app for iOS devices to version 1.2. The new version introduces Collections and lets you group books or PDFs together. By default, Apple includes Books and PDFs collections, but you can add and edit 'em as you wish. There's also AirPrint support, support for full illustrated books and a tweaked icon. Additionally, iOS 4.2 users can now also fit more words per page using automatic hyphenation. The iBookstore features books from major and independent publishers. Once you’ve bought a book -- or download a free one -- it’s displayed on your Bookshelf. Just tap it to start reading. The iBooks is a free download at the Apple App Store.

HarperCollins Children's Books says more than 30 of its most beloved picture books are available as e-books in time for the holidays. For the first time, Fancy Nancy, Splat the Cat, and that feisty dog Marley can be viewed digitally on the iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone through the Apple iBookstore and on NOOKcolor by Barnes & Noble. Also, Disney Publishing Worldwide has debuted illustrated books from Tron, Toy Story, Cars and other favorites on the iBookstore. The books --- priced from $2.99 to $9.99 each -- offer full-color, two-page spreads. The iBookstore features books from major and independent publishers. Once you’ve bought a book -- or download a free one -- it’s displayed on your Bookshelf. Just tap it to start reading. The iBooks is a free download at the Apple App Store.

Stores carrying Apple products should be on guard. Burglaries of such establishments seems to be on the rise. A security camera caught this smash and grab robbery at an apple store in Greenwich, Connecticut, reports "NECN" (http://www.necn.com/12/15/10/New-England-Apple-stores-step-up-securit/la...). Thousands of dollars in merchandiser were stolen. Several stores selling Apple products in Vermont and New Hampshire have also been targeted recently, notes "NECN." Police say the suspects were looking for drug money and knew the popular products would help them get it. And yesterday South Burlington (Vermont) police responded to an alarm at Small Dog Electronics at about 0605 hours and found the front door had been broken, reports "WPTZ" (http://www.wptz.com/mostpopular/26140038/detail.html). Officers found a display case where the glass was broken and an unknown number of iPad were stolen. Last Thursday, the same store was burglarized. The Waitsfield location of Small Dog Electronics...

iPads and iPod touches are increasingly common in classrooms across North America, it seems. iPads are being provided to students at several Bay Area public and private schools this year, including Hillbrook, which claims to be the only K-8 school in America using tablet computers in class and sending them home, reports the "San Jose Mercury News" (http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_16860666?nclick_check=1). At Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose -- which introduced 32 iPads into the classroom this fall -- the devices are used only in class. And Stanford's School of Medicine gave 92 iPads outright to its first-year students this September. At Hillbrook, which received its iPads last summer as a gift from the parents of two students, seventh-graders such as Sophie slip the handheld devices into backpacks at the end of the school day. Hillbrook's program has been such a hit that it will be expanded next year to include eighth-graders, says the "Mercury News." What's more,...

oVoo (http://www.ooVoo.com) has launched ooVoo Mobile, a mobile video chat service on the Android marketplace. It allows up to six users to simultaneously participate on a video call. ooVoo Mobile users can make calls to friends, family and colleagues on Macs, PCs, tablets and other mobile phones. And it works over Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G networks. As well as six-way video chat and unparalleled quality, ooVoo Mobile also features free ooVoo-to-ooVoo voice calls, text chat, contact list integration and video calls to any person not on ooVoo via a web browser. Available immediately on the Android Market for the HTC Evo and Samsung Epic, ooVoo plans to support new devices every day as well as iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices in early 2011.

Bare Bones Software (http://www.barebones.com) has released BBEdit 9.6.2, an update to its HTML and text editor. It fixes reported issues and adds syntax coloring and function navigation support for JSON. A refined Translate command simplifies the process of converting documents between HTML and plain text, according to Rich Siegel, founder and CEO of Bare Bones Software. BBEdit 9.6 also includes support for directory-specific settings and a new command-line option for creating projects. The update is available free of charge to all registered BBEdit 9 customers. For new users it has a suggested retail price of US$125. Any registered owner of BBEdit prior to version 9.x can upgrade for US$30.

Chronos has announced a special pre-release sales event for its forthcoming release of SOHO Notes 9 and SOHO Organizer 9. The aim of this sales event is to introduce the new features in these forthcoming products and give users a chance to save money. SOHO Notes 9 and SOHO Organizer 9 will be officially released before Jan. 31. Users may pre-order either product at a 25% discount before midnight on Dec. 31 at http://www.chronosnet.com/store/version9presale.html . Similarly, currently registered customers may pre-order an upgrade at a 25% discount. During the pre-release pricing, you can purchase SOHO Notes 9 for US$29.99 (it's regularly $40). You can buy SOHO Organizer 9 for $74.99 (it's regularly $100). Pre-release pricing for upgrades is: upgrade to SOHO Notes 9 for $18.75 (regularly $25) and upgrade to SOHO Organizer 9 for $37.50 (regularly $50). SOHO Notes 9 -- digital note-taking application for the Mac -- will offer the following new features: a widescreen view; bookmarklets...

.com Solutions has announced FmPro Migrator Platinum Edition 5.5.8 (http://www.fmpromigrator.com/products/fmpro_migrator/index.html). The new version creates .Net database front-end applications from popular desktop database applications. Compiled applications can be deployed as Windows desktop or cross-platform SilverLight apps. This feature leverages the automated layout and relationship importing features of FmPro Migrator Developer Edition, along with FileMaker Pro Advanced or Microsoft Access and Visual Studio 2010. FmPro Migrator Developer Edition is priced at US$200 per developer. It includes a copy of FmPro Migrator Developer Edition for both Mac OS X and Windows platforms.

Apple has released updated printer drivers for various Canon, Fuji and Lexmark printers. You can download them via the Software Updates component of the Mac OS X Systems Preferences app. By default, Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard installs software supporting the printers currently used by your Mac (if available), nearby printers on your network, and popular printer and scanner models. You can learn more about the latest printer updates at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3669 .

Mac sales surged last month, according to new data from the NPD research group (http://www.npd.com). Sales rose 19%, and the new MacBook line has sold well. Apple is also being adopted by more businesses, notes "24/7 Wall Street" (http://247wallst.com/2010/12/14/apple-and-lenovo-take-pc-growth-lead/). Toshiba saw November sales improve 22% improvement over October and Lenovo saw a 69% gain. On the other hand, HP saw a 15% dip in sales.

In a note to clients -- as reported by "Forbes" (http://blogs.forbes.com/ericsavitz/2010/12/14/apple-off-morgan-stanley-b...) -- Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty said she removed Apple from her firm’s best idea list, noting that the stock is up 28% over the past six month, twice the gain for the S&P 500 over the same span. However, she keeps an US$375 price target on the shares. She also sees lots of new goodies from Apple over the next two years. For 2011, she expects a Verizon iPhone, the iPhone 5 in July and lower priced iPads by April. For 2012, she expects Apple to unveiled a "smart "TV, a redesigned iPad and and LTE iPhone.

BitDefender (http://www.bitdefender.com), a provider of Internet solutions, has announced the latest version of its antivirus solution, BitDefender Antivirus 2011 for Mac. It's designed for Mac OS X users, networks running both Mac and PCs and users operating a dual-boot Windows and Mac system. In addition to proactively securing Mac computer systems from viruses and removing malware threats, the latest version incorporates BitDefender’s antiphishing technology to protect households using multiple operating systems.    “We’re seeing more and more Mac-specific threats as the market grows. Moreover phishing attacks can expose sensitive information or an identity regardless of the operating system, making security software a must for any computer,” says Catalin Cosoi, BitDefender’s head of online threats lab. “The latest release of BitDefender Antivirus for Mac offers protection that’s essential to combating the next generation of - threats that will impact both businesses and consumers...

The Army wants to issue every soldier an iPhone or Android cell phone and pay every soldier's monthly phone bill, reports the "Army TImes" (http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/12/army-smart-phones-for-soldiers-121...). Lt. Gen. Michael Vane, director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center, said the Army would issue these smart phones just like any other piece of equipment a soldier receives, the article adds. In February, the Army plans to begin fielding phones, network equipment and applications to the first Army brigade to be modernized under the brigade combat team modernization program, says the "Army Times." The test won't be limited to smart phones but will include any electronic devices that may be useful to troops. “We’re looking at everything from iPads to Kindles to Nook readers to mini-projectors,” said Mike McCarthy, director of the mission command complex of Future Force Integration Directorate at Fort Bliss, told the "Army Times." The Army plans to roll out wireless...

Intego (http://www.intego.com) has released Remote Management Console 2, an update of the tool for remotely managing Intego software on multiple Macs. Remote Management Console 2 lets administrators manage Intego software on any number of Macs, in different locations, all from a central administration console. The new version is a full rewrite of the program, introducing a new client-server architecture, greater flexibility in usage, a new interface and improved reporting tools.   Remote Management Console 2 allows administrators to manage and configure Intego security software on any number of Macs over a local network or via the Internet. The administrator can contact client computers via a Remote Management Console server and set policies for certain programs. Remote Management Console 2's Console, Server and NetUpdate Proxy components require Mac OS X 10.5 or later, or Mac OS X Server 10.5 or later, running on either a PowerPC or Intel-based Mac. Client components require Mac OS...