Apple has released the seventh beta of macOS Sierra for developers and the six beta for public beta testers. The final version is due this fall. The developer version can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center. If you're not already signed up for the public beta program, you can do so here (http://tinyurl.com/pffuwnz). The public beta program is free, but remember: beta software is unfinished software so use with care.

The agenda has been set for the Ninth Annual Amsterdam SuperMeet, which will take place during IBC2016 on Sunday, Sept. 11, at the Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam, NL. The agenda will feature presentations on 360 VR filmmaking, including the making of "Pure McCartney VR." Also on stage will be user driven presentations from Blackmagic Design, Adobe, HP/NVIDIA, Lumaforge, and fayteq. To purchase tickets and for complete details, visit the SuperMeet website (http://supermeet.com). HP and NVIDIA will present the VR experience "GIANT." Inspired by real events, this immersive virtual-reality experience, which mixes both game engine and live-action video, transports the viewer into the family's makeshift basement shelter. Blackmagic Design will present the making of "Playing with Fire." Cinematographer Klaus B. Pedersen will be the presenter and give us an exclusive preview of his documentary short featuring Katalin Konya, the three-time world amateur champion in kickboxing. Doors will...

Apple has opened up donations to the American Red Cross at iTunes and its app stores to help victims of the flooding in Louisiana. You can donate in increments of $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, or $200. The full amount of each donation will go to the Red Cross. However, charitable givers can't use any existing iTunes credit.

Sony Electronics (www.sony.com) has announced its XAV-AX100 in-car audio system, which offers Apple CarPlay as an option. The system retails at $499.99 and will be available across North America as of late November Compatible with iPhone 5 and later models, CarPlay provides a simplified way to use your iPhone interface on a car’s touch screen, giving users access to Siri voice controls, as well as Apple Maps, Apple Music, Phone, Messages, and a variety of third party apps. The XAV-AX100 in-car audio system packs a 55 watts x 4 Dynamic Reality Amp 2 and EXTRA BASS low boost circuitry to overcome engine noise and reproduce clear sound at any volume. It also has a 10-band graphic equalizer.

OpenVPN Technologies Inc, (https://openvpn.net) a provider of open source Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) VPN, has launched a new product licensing model available in Amazon Web Services Marketplace (AWS Marketplace), giving any size company worldwide access to a Virtual Private Network (VPN) solution. This provides employees safe and secure remote access to their private networks, says OpenVPN Technologies CEO Francis Dinha.     OpenVPN provides the ability to create a secure platform for all device connections across public or private networks and addresses the end point security risk. By encrypting and tunneling traffic with OpenVPN, customers limit the size of the user access area and the overall security footprint decreases. This makes monitoring and securing company resources more manageable, says Dinha.   Through AWS Marketplace, businesses can pay as they go for OpenVPN products with no upfront costs or long-term investments. Additional benefits include bundled billing options from...

Parallels (www.parallels.com/about) has launched Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac (www.parallels.com/upgradedesktop12). Parallels Desktop 12 is macOS Sierra ready, includes up-to 25% performance improvements, and features more than 20 ingle-function tools and utilities which are also available as a standalone Parallels Toolbox for Mac app. In addition, all Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac customers will receive a one-year subscription to a backup solution from Acronis True Image, which includes an incremental backup feature that reduces the time and size of subsequent backups ups and provides up to 500GB of free online storage. New utilities featured in all editions of Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac make it easy to perform common tasks with simple single-function tools for both the Mac and Windows virtual machines (VMs), according to Jack Zubarev, Parallels president. Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro and Business Edition subscribers, and Parallels Toolbox for Mac subscribers, also receive free...

AppYogi Software (http://tinyurl.com/gnxqog2) has introduced One Chat 1.0, their new social networking app developed for Mac OS X. It’s designed to combine chat and messaging services into one simple app. One Chat gives mobile users the opportunity to access their WhatsApp, FB messenger, Telegram, Skype, Slack messages. Users can read and reply to messaging chats via their Macs, create new groups, get all their notifications in one place, share photos and videos without having to shuffle them between the phone and the computer; and do all this on a large, easily readable screen without issue. One Chat can be configured using a unique QR code that will be displayed in the One Chat app itself. Once that has been scanned on to a Mac, the user can access their WhatsApp and other messaging content on the computer directly. One Chat requires Mac OS X Yosemite or El Capitan. It costs $19.99 and is available at the Mac App Store in the Social Networking category.

AKVIS (www.akvis.com) has announced AKVIS Retoucher 8 for Mac OS X (10.6 and higher). fThe new version offers an image retouching mode for correcting small defects, the History Brush tool, new setting options, support for 4k and 5k displays, and other important changes. AKVIS Retoucher is a tool for photo restoration and photo retouching. The software heals damaged parts of a photo, removes scratches, stains, and other defects. AKVIS Retoucher is available as a standalone application and as a plugin filter for Adobe Photoshop and other image editors. The Home version costs $87 for new users. A demo is available for download. Version 8 is a free upgrade for buyers of AKVIS Retoucher who bought or upgraded the license during the last 12 months. If your license isn’t valid for the latest version, you can get the new version for $14.95.

Unmarked Software has updated TextSoap, its Mac OS X productivity tool designed to automate the tedious task of manually cleaning up text, to version 8.1.

 The software processes text from different formats. Version 8.1 brings user interface improvements and adds new options for all find and replace fields, either in the text editor window or with custom cleaners. The upgrade is free to all TextSoap 8 customers. Customers may either update from within the app or directly download the update from Unmarked Software's website (www.unmarked.com). For new users the cost is $44.99.

Red Giant has released Trapcode Suite 13.1, an update to their tools for creating 3D motion graphics and visual effects in Adobe After Effects. The update includes new features to Trapcode Form, Tao and Sound Keys, new presets for Trapcode Mir and Tao, as well as bug fixes for Particular, Form, Mir, Tao and Lux. This update is free to current Trapcode users. What’s more, in honor of this release, Red Giant is offering 25% off Trapcode 13.1 in the redgiant.com store for 24 hours only. The sale includes full suite licenses and all individual Trapcode products as well as upgrades and academic store purchases (which are already 50% off). The sale runs until tomorrow, Aug.17 at 10 a.m. (Pacific). Use code TRAPCODE25 to receive the discount.

Rayner Software (http://www.raynersw.com) has introduced KeyShade 1.0, their new password and information manager for Mac OS X (10.8 or higher) and iOS (8.3 or later). Featuring automatic backup and cloud sync functionality, it’s designed to provide a safe repository for sensitive information, offering a secure, encrypted database for managing website logins, bank accounts, credit cards, and notes. Its entire user interface exists within one menu on the menubar. Everything in KeyShade is protected by a single master password. In the Mac version, KeyShade's entire user interface exists within one menu on the menubar. This makes it readily accessible at all times. KeyShade was designed from the ground up to seamlessly integrate with its cloud service, KeyShade Sync, according to Rayner Software owner Tyler Rayner. This service provides versioned backups, as well as cross-device syncing. Each update to your database is saved as a new version on the server, allowing you to roll back to...

Nuance Communications, Inc. (http://www.nuance.com/) has announced its new suite of Dragon professional productivity solutions for Mac OS X and Windows that leverage Nuance Deep Learning technology to deliver upwards of 24% greater accuracy. The new Dragon releases include Dragon Professional Individual, version 15; Dragon Legal Individual, version 15; and, Dragon Professional Individual for Mac, version 6, and feature powerful dictation, transcription and customization capabilities. All these solutions also sync vocabulary customizations and auto-texts with Nuance Dragon Anywhere (available separately) to extend the benefits of professional-grade speech recognition to mobile devices running iOS or Android, according to Vlad Sejnoha, chief technology officer, Nuance Communications.   With Deep Learning technology at the core of its speech engine, Dragon delivers increased accuracy for even more users, with an enhanced ability to learn individuals’ voice patterns and accents, and...

Apple has released a sixth beta of iOS 10, a sixth beta of tvOS 10, and a sixth beta of watchOS 3 for developers, and a new beta of macOS Sierra. They can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center or the Software Update mechanism in the appropriate App Stores. Finished versions of the operating system upgrades are due this fall.

Gigastone (http://www.gigastone.co) has announced its first ever Gigastone iPhone Flash Drive Micro SD Card Reader. The unit is Apple MFi Approved and has a slot that takes standard Micro SD Memory cards. Traditionally Apple MFi approved iFlashDrives have only had internal memory, with an Apple Lightning adapter on one side and a standard USB adapter on the other. The i-FlashDrive CR8600, has an Apple Lightning adapter and a standard Micro SD Card can slide into it. Gigastone President Michel Hassan says one big advantage is that data residing on a Micro SD Card can easily be accessed from an iPhone or iPad without having to copy the data onto the iPhone. Photos, videos and music files, usually too large to store on an iDevice, can easily be viewed or accessed using the Gigastone CR8600 iPhone Flash Drive Micro SD Card Reader, he adds. Pricing and availability haven’t been announced.

As the 2016-2017 school year kicks off, there are now 32,145 students at underserved public schools across the country who are learning, creating and exploring on iPad through Apple’s ConnectED commitment, the company says. Today, 701 students in Indianola, Mississippi, were introduced to iPad as Carver Elementary School became the 66th ConnectED school — and the first of the school year — to transform its classrooms with Apple’s cutting edge teaching and learning technology solutions. Apple has joined President Obama’s ConnectED initiative and pledged $100 million of teaching and learning solutions to 114 underserved schools across the country. The company is donating an iPad to every student, a Mac and iPad to every teacher, and an Apple TV to every classroom. In addition to providing an iPad to every student and teacher, Apple’s ConnectED grant also includes professional learning, wireless infrastructure upgrades and ongoing support. For more information about how Apple is...

EasyCutStudio.com has released a new version of Easy Cut Studio, its Mac sign cutting App. Version 4.0.9.5 adds support for the Roland CAMM-1 GS-24 and more. Easy Cut Studio is vector design and sign cutting software for any cutting machines on the market. It provides a set of drawing and editing tools and is designed for creating custom signs, lettering, decals and graphics. Easy Cut Studio is available for $55.95. Volume discounts are available.

Tension Software (www.tensionsoftware.com) has revved Text Converter for OS X to version 1.3.1. The $9.99 app converts various file formats (PDF, HTML, RTF, RTFD) to standard plain text using drag and drop. Version 1.3.1 is a maintenance upgrade with bug fixes and performance tweaks. It’s compatible with OS X Yosemite and El Capitan.

Apple has released a plethora of new betas to developers for testing purposes. They include new betas of macOS Sierra, iOS 10, watchOS 3, and tvOS 10. They can downloaded from the Apple Developer Center. Members of the public can also get in on the beta testing fun via Apple’s public beta program. Finished versions of macOS Sierra, iOS 10, watchOS 3, and tvOS 10 are slated for release this fall.

SOASTA (www.soasta.com) has announced the addition of Real User Monitoring (RUM)-based Testing to its Digital Performance Management (DPM) Platform. Based on real user engagement data collected and analyzed by SOASTA’s mPulse product – including all users, all data, all the time – this new offering provides digital businesses with an unprecedented ability to test smarter, better and faster, said Tom Lounibos, Founder and CEO of SOASTA. “ SOASTA’s new RUM-based Testing gives companies access to accurate performance test plans for their websites and applications using data science techniques. Through analysis of RUM data – such as user paths, user bounce rates, user think time, user geography, web vs. mobile, device type, network type, first-party vs. third-party resource, and peak analysis, organizations are now able to generate automated test reports that tell them what to test, when to test, where to test and how to test. This reduces the risk of a crashing or slow website or slow...

Akitio has released the Thunder3 PCIe Box (http://tinyurl.com/gt5hrto), a Thunderbolt 3 external PCI Express (PCIe) expansion chassis device designed to provide an additional PCIe slot for Thunderbolt 3 computers where there’s either not enough space to install another PCIe card or on systems such as laptops where there previously was no option to add a PCIe card. The Akitio PCIe Box features a 1x16 slot that supports half-length, full-height, double width cards, which can be swapped out due to the completely screw-less design of the Akitio box. The 1x16 PCIe slot also supplies up to 25 watts of power to the card, providing an all-in-one expansion chassis solution.  The box has two Thunderbolt 3 ports for daisy chaining up to six devices as well as a DisplayPort to easily add an additional monitor to your system. The downstream Thunderbolt 3 port supports Thunderbolt 3 devices as well as USB 3.1 and DisplayPort devices. The empty Thunder3 PCIe Box has a manufacturer’s suggested...

Nektony has announced VSDX Annotator 1.1, an upgrade to its tool for opening, previewing, and annotating Visio drawings on Mac OS X. It can open multi-paged documents, giving users the possibility to turn pages, switch layer visibility, view shape data and hyperlinks. There’s a total of 12 annotation tools, including adding notes, comments, titles, shapes, arrows, graphic files and more. You can also convert the file to a PDF or send it in PDF format via email from the menu bar. Version 1.1 is a maintenance upgrade with bug fixes and performance tweaks. VSDX Annotator 1.1 costs $24.99 and is available at the Mac App Store. A demo version is available for download at the product website (https://nektony.com/products/vsdx-annotator-mac).

Top Storey Apps has announced the upcoming release of Purrfect Memory, a menu bar app for the Mac designed to help you memorize “anything.” For a limited time, Purrfect Memory will be offered for $2.99. It’s available at the Mac App Store. Learn more at Purrfect Memory online (http://www.purrfectmemory.com).

AKVIS (www.akvis.com) has released its $17 Happy Birthday frame pack for Mac OS X 10.6 and higher. It includes 100 hand-painted designs. The frames can be used with the free AKVIS Frames software which has been updated to the version 2.0 and now supports ultra HD resolution. AKVIS offers a range of photo frame sets devoted to particular themes: countries, four seasons, holidays and events, hobbies and interests, etc. The frame packs can only be used with AKVIS Frames (freeware) and AKVIS ArtSuite (Home Standalone/Home Deluxe/Business). The new Happy Birthday Pack includes 50 horizontal and 50 vertical templates. You can see all the photo frames in thumbnail view.

Apple has released iOS 9.3.4. It’s available via an over-the-air download on all devices running iOS 9.x. According to Apple's release notes, iOS 9.3.4 provides "an important security update" and is recommended for all iOS 9 users. It comes two weeks after the release of iOS 9.3.3.