Apple is now offering a way to let you self-publish books on the iBookstore. Or at least be considered for publication. A note at iTunes Connect (https://itunesconnect.apple.com/WebObjects/iTunesConnect.woa/wa/apply) describes it this way: "Use this application to tell us more about yourself and the content you are interested in distributing. We will contact you with your application status after we have reviewed it. Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may not be able to get back to you as quickly as we'd like. While we're reviewing your application, it is not necessary to apply again. "This application is intended solely for use by persons who either own or control a catalog of content for digital distribution, or are an authorized representative of someone who does." When Apple announced the iPad, it also announced the new iBooks app for iPad, which includes Apple’s new iBookstore, a way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile device. And Apple has plans for the...

J.P. Morgan analysts think Apple will begin targeting overseas sales of computers in the US$700-$1,119 . Mark Moskowitz and Anthony Luscri made the pronouncement in a letter to clients today, as reported by "Fortune" (http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/05/27/how-the-mac-picks-up-an-easy-5-7-...). The analysts think Apple can add an incremental $5 to $7 billion to its revenue stream by increasing its international market share in the mid-range computer markt with an average selling price between $700 and $1,119. Moskowitz and Luscri that while Apple has been outgrowing the rest of the computer market by a factor of 2-to-1 over the past three years, most of that growth has been in the high end of the U.S. market. And although Apple has been making inroads in the mid-range market -- its U.S. share in 2009 was roughly 22% -- it currently has only a 2% share of the mid-range market overseas, notes "Fortune." The J.P. Morgan pundits think this could change quickly if Apple steps up its...

Hamrick Software has released Vuescan 8.6.33, a new version of the VueScan software for Mac OS X that's designed to let users produce better digital images from color snapshots, negatives, slides and documents. The new version adds support for searchable PDF files. The Standard Edition of VueScan costs US$39.95 and the Professional Edition is $79.95 for a single user license. Multi-user licenses are available. A fully functional, trial copy of VueScan is available for download from the Hamrick web site (http://www.hamrick.com).

WaveMaker Software (http://www.wavemaker.com) has released version 6.1 of its platform for Mac OS X, adding one-click deployment to Rackspace Cloud, OpSource Cloud and Eucalyptus Private Cloud. WaveMaker for Mac OS X is available under the Apache open source license, providing Apple developers with the features and benefits found in proprietary cloud development platforms such as Force.com and Azure. With WaveMaker 6.1, Mac developers can build SaaS-enabled web apps on OS X and deploy them to Amazon EC 2 with a single button click. Because WaveMaker was built using open source standards, it's a cloud development platform to support deployment to any cloud, running on any Java server and connecting to any database. Wavemaker also offers automated multi-tenant support. For this feature, WaveMaker's server-side security module automatically isolates all database access between the tenants or customers of a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application.

Tension Software has updated Invoices (http://www.pomola.com/products_invoices/invoices.html), a native Cocoa application to create and manage invoices in Mac OS X, to version 2.6.2. The upgrade improves the layout and adds an invoice type indication in the invoice table. Invoices (US$40) allows you to create a new invoices with all data without using the keyboard, only with the mouse and all from a single panel view. You can make two different type of invoices, Plain and Table, where description of sold goods and services can be managed in a different way. Invoices automatically calculates totals and taxes, in accordance with the set-up the user specified using his own country's rules. Invoices requires Mac OS X 10.4. It's Universal Binary so runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs.

Riot Games, a leading independent developer and publisher of premium online video games, have announced that they're working with TransGaming to expand their debut title, League of Legends, and releasing a version for the Mac that will be available for download this summer. The new Mac version of the online multiplayer strategy game will be powered by TransGaming’s Cider Portability Engine. The Mac version of League of Legends will have all the same game features as its award-winning PC counterpart, says Brandon Beck, co-founder and CEO of Riot Games. Players can download the game for free from http://www.leagueoflegends.com and, after a short installation, begin playing instantly. Artwork, graphics, in-game items and controls will remain the same in the Mac version. League of Legends, Riot Games’ debut title, launched on Oct. 27, 2009 in North America and Europe. It's a session-based, multiplayer online game where rival teams compete for victory. League of Legends is rated "T" for...

Akvis (http://www.akvis.com) has released Akvis Sketch 11, an update of the software that converts photos to pencil and watercolor drawings. The new version is compatible with Photoshop CS4-CS6 64-bit on both Mac and Windows systems. Also two new interface modes (Express and Advanced) have been added. An Akvis Sketch Home License (plug-in or standalone) sells for US$72. Registered users of the previous versions can upgrade to version 9.0 for $39. Or you can buy the Alchemy Bundle (which includes the Sketch, Chameleon, Stamp, Retoucher, Coloriage, Noise Buster, Decorator, Enhancer, LightShop, SmartMask and ArtSuite plug-ins) for $325. For business licenses consult the Akvis web site. One license key allows activating the software on two computers, for example, on a desktop and a laptop. The company offers free licenses to non-profit organizations. Akvis Sketch 11 is compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 and higher.

Data Robotics has announced integration of Drobo FS (http://www.drobo.com/drobo-fs), the Drobo designed for expandable file sharing, and Apple's Time Machine, an automated backup solution. The new Drobo FS with Time Machine integration offers Mac users a highly efficient and scalable shared storage and backup solution, according to Mark Fuccio, senior director of products and markets at Data Robotics. Drobo FS users are now able to pre-define a limit on how much storage will be used for Time Machine backups. Previously, Time Machine would consume capacity until it was gone and then delete the oldest backups to make room for new backups. The Drobo FS platform enables multiple Mac users on a network to automatically and simultaneously back up to the same Drobo FS. Powering Drobo FS is a dual core microprocessor: one core runs Drobo’s BeyondRAID code, while the other core runs an embedded Linux server for file sharing and running DroboApps from third party developers. Data Robotics has...

Apple zoomed past Microsoft as the world's biggest tech company as measured by market value on Wednesday. Apple's shares rose 1% on Nasdaq on Wednesday, pushing its market value up to US$225.1 billion and ahead of Microsoft's $222.7 billion, according to "Reuters" data (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100526/tc_nm/us_apple_stock_1). Apple shares were up 1% above $247 in late afternoon trading. Microsoft shares were down 2.2% to $25.50. Apple now only trails Exxon Mobile as the most valuable company in the US. Exxon's full market value is reportedly $283.06 billion compared to Apple's $227.10 billion. Microsoft's full market value is currently $226.72 billion.

Consumer Watchdog has called on the state attorneys general to investigate Google's WiSpy snooping in their respective states to determine what state laws were broken. "While the activity is likely a violation of federal laws, we believe there is a good possibility it also broke state wiretap, privacy and unfair business practices laws in many cases," wrote John M. Simpson, consumer advocate with the nonpartisan, nonprofit group. "We call on each attorney general to investigate the extent to which this is the case in his or her jurisdiction." The letter, addressed to James McPherson, executive director of the National Association of Attorneys General, continued: "Google's claim that its intrusive behavior was by 'mistake' stretches all credulity. In fact, Google has demonstrated a history of pushing the envelope and then apologizing when its overreach is discovered. Given its recent record of privacy abuses, there is absolutely no reason to trust anything the Internet giant claims...

Quark has. launched a new Flash design competition that is open to designers who are creating Flash projects, such as web sites, banner ads, and online design portfolios, with QuarkXPress 8. The competition kicks off today and voting will begin at the HOW Conference 2010 being held in Denver June 6-9. Submissions will be accepted at http://www.ilovedesign.com from May 26 through June 30, 2010 and voting will be open Sunday, June 6-30. The designer who submits the best Flash project as determined by voters will appear in HOW Magazine’s blog, win membership to HOW’s Design Insider Program, and take home a pack of designer’s tools, including the new  Pantone Plus Series Guides, a Pantone ColorMunki and a VisTablet from VisTablet Systems.   To enter the competition, designers must submit SWF files created with QuarkXPress 8 to http://www.ilovedesign.com by 12 p.m. *Mountain Time) on June 30. For projects that are online as complete web sites and not available as separate SWF files,...

ATTO Technology has introduced the ATTO FastFrame 10 Gigabit Ethernet Network Adapters, the latest in its portfolio of high-performance connectivity products. The FastFrame NS11 (single port) and FastFrame NS12 (dual port) leverage the Intel Ethernet 82599 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller to meet the bandwidth-intensive demands of high-performance, unified storage environments in performance IT and media and entertainment markets. ATTO’s FastFrame family of 10GbE network adapters are the first offerings in what will be an expanding FastFrame product family, according to Tim Klein, president and CEO of ATTO Technology. The FastFrame NS11 and NS12 will be followed by ATTO’s FastFrame Converged Network Adapters, featuring ATTO’s Fibre Channel driver technology, in the fourth quarter of the year. For more information on ATTO’s FastFrame family of 10GbE Network Adapters got o http://www.attotech.com/products/family.php?id=14 .

According to The NPD Group (http://npd.com/corpServlet?nextpage=corp_welcome.html), a market research company, Apple’s iTunes store continued to lead all music retailers, with 28% of all music purchased by U.S. consumers -- a gain of four percentage points since the first quarter of 2009. Amazon gained three percentage points to tie Walmart for second position at 12%t. Based on NPD’s latest music industry research, sales of digital tracks and albums accounted for 40% of overall music market share in the first quarter (Q1) of 2010, which is a five percentage point gain since Q1 2009. NPD’s data is based on a combined music-retailer ranking that reflects the combined sales of CDs and digital music downloads (i.e., 12 digital music track downloads are equivalent to one CD). When reviewing sales of digital music separately from CDs, NPD’s MusicWatch data revealed that iTunes’s share of the digital-music download retail market has remained essentially flat since Q1 2009 -- growing just...

Apple's stock market capitalization hasn't quite surpassed Microsoft's, but the value of its actual business is now higher, according to "Silicon Alley Insider" (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Its-Official-Apple-Is-Now-siliconalley-306...). Apple's business is now worth US$200 billion, while Microsoft's is only worth $197 billion -- at least by one simple calculation of enterprise value, the article says. A company's stock market capitalization includes the net value of the cash and debt on the company's books. To figure out the imputed value of the company's actual business (or enterprise value), you have to adjust for the value of those other things.

Apple has posted a Boot Camp update (http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/) for the recently refreshed 13-inch MacBook Pro. It's available for users running either 32- or 64-bit versions of Windows on their Macs. Boot Camp is designed to simplify Windows installation on a Mactel by providing a simple graphical step-by-step assistant application to dynamically create a second partition on the hard drive for Windows, to burn a CD with all the necessary Windows drivers, and to install Windows from a Windows installation CD. After installation is complete, users can choose to run either Mac OS X or Windows when they restart their computer. According to Apple, the Boot Camp update fixes an issue “that causes the Boot Camp Control Panel applet to display an error when the brightness tab is selected and an issue that results in no headphone sound.” The 32-bit update is 1.5 MB, and requires a 13-inch MacBook Pro running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7. The 64-bit version is 1.03 MB...

Mercedes-Benz Financial (http://www.mercedesbenzfinancial.com/mbfsr/en/misc/index.do) says it's putting the iPad into the hands of its dealers, becoming the first automotive finance company to give dealers mobile access to its proprietary point-of-sale dealer system called MB Advantage. In doing so, Mercedes-Benz Financial is one of the first companies to adapt the consumer-oriented iPad as a mobile business tool. MB Advantage on the iPad will give dealership sales personnel instant access to marketing programs for specific models, quicker turn time on the credit application process, and increase speed and efficiency on the return of lease vehicles, according to Andreas Hinrichs, vice president of marketing for Mercedes-Benz Financial. “We see the iPad providing wireless mobility, information and flexibility on the showroom floor,” Hinrichs says. “The iPad will provide a competitive advantage to our dealers by increasing their service levels through a more flexible financing process...

Rage Software has released Rage SERank 2.1 (http://www.ragesw.com/products/search-engine-rank.html), an update of the US$79.95 Mac OS X search engine rank checker for web site owners to track and monitor their search engine rankings. The upgrade adds the ability to check multiple web sites at a time, provides more options for safe search engine rank checks and adds new search engine scripts so you can check your rankings in even more search engines. Rage SERank will monitor search engine rankings for any number of keywords and display changes in a website's search engine rankings over any point in time. It requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later. Version 2.1 is a free update for registered users of version 2.0.

Smith Micro has announced a new update to Poser 8, software for creating art and animation using 3D characters. Poser SR3 includes performance improvements based on Poser Pro 2010 development and integrated user feedback, as well as new functionality, such as: ° Improved rendering performance in several areas including strand based hair, 3D motion blur, raytraced refraction and texture caching. ° Version 2 of the new Poser Library and Content Management system. The Flash version of the new Poser Pro 2010 Library is included with Poser 8 SR3. It will replace the existing Poser 8 library and provide multiple column list views, improved search, improved drag and drop with auto-conforming and user customizable view settings. ° Auto-conforming with scaling feature debuted with Poser Pro 2010. This allows conformed clothing to match the underlying figure’s scaling factors. There are also new conforming settings for each figure found in the figure’s Properties. SR3 is available as a free...

Hillcrest Labs has unveiled the latest version of the Kylo browser, the free web browser for TV, which the company introduced earlier this year.  It was developed for households that connect their Macs or Macs to the TV. Kylo lets users visit sites across the web with a browser that was specifically designed to be viewed from a distance in the family room, living room, or dorm room. In addition, Hillcrest Labs announced that its companion product, the Loop pointer, is available at half price (US$49), from now through June 11 in celebration of the new Kylo release and in advance of Father's Day.   The Loop (pictured) allows you to control Kylo. It also lets you take total control of your computer's digital media. Music, videos, photos. The latest version of the Kylo browser (Kylo Beta 0.7) is available at http://www.kylo.tv and and lets you: hide Kylo's control bar and keyboard; configure Kylo's settings in order to access web site pages designed for other hardware platforms; enjoy...

EditShare, which specializes in cross-platform collaborative editing and shared media storage, has announced the Lightworks Open Source beta program. Lightworks Open Source is at open-source development initiative for a large-scale, non-linear editing (NLE) platform. It offers a gateway into the NLE's core engine, enabling the implementation of progressive features and workflows. Limited to 80 highly-experienced participants, the exclusive beta program offering includes imminent new features of Lightworks Open Source, including: project sharing, advanced 3D stereoscopic editing, Universal Media File support, native RED support, native 2K support, and integration with Avid and FCP. Qualified editors can apply to participate in the beta program before June 21 by visiting: http://www.editshare.com/betaprogram .

Many Tricks has released version 3.2 of Witch (http://manytricks.com/witch), its window switching utility for Mac OS X. The new version adds support for Spaces in Mac OS X 10.6 ("Snow Leopard"). Spaces users can now work with windows in all Spaces using Witch 3.2. Users can optionally choose to see Space number badges on the window icons in Witch's switching panel. Witch 3.2 is a free update for all Witch 3 users. Witch 3 is US$19 for new users and $8 for users of Witch 2.x.

Sterne Agee analyst Vijay Rakesh is expecting Apple to really ramp up its iPad production. In a note to clients he says his checks with the company’s supply chain finds that the company has been been producing the tablet at a rate of 1-1.5 million units a month, higher than most estimates. "Barron's" (http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2010/05/25/apple-ipad-productio...) reports that the analyst predicts production could crank up to 2.5 million units a month or more in the September quarter. He says that some previous manufacturing bottlenecks have been solved, though memory remains “a constraint.” Rakesh also says that checks indicate that new iPhones are coming in the September quarter. In fact, some pundits are expecting 'em to debut at next month's Apple Worldwide Developer Conference.


onOne Software says its Genuine Fractals Professional and Standard Edition plug-ins for Photoshop are now compatible with the new Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended Software. Owners of Genuine Fractals 6 can download the free update from onOne Software’s web site (http://www.ononesoftware.com/). This update isn't for Plug-in Suite 5 owners but rather for customers using Genuine Fractals 6 independently of Plug-In Suite 5. Owners of Plug-in Suite 5 should not install this update and should wait for the upcoming Plug-In Suite 5.1 update that adds Photoshop CS5 compatibility and 64-bit compatibility. Registered owners of previous versions of Genuine Fractals (1, 2, 3, 4 or 5) can upgrade to the current version for US$99.95 plus shipping if applicable. Alternately, these customers may also upgrade directly to the Plug-In Suite 5, which includes all six of the onOne Software products for $399.95, plus shipping if applicable (electronic versions are available for download as...

Boris FX introduces Final Effects Complete 6 AE Boris FX (http://www.borisfx.com) has announced Final Effects Complete 6 AE (FEC 6 AE), which brings 120 designer effects and transitions to Mac and Windows versions of Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro CS5, CS4, and CS3. The new release features 12 new filters and transitions, faster rendering, audio-driven keyframe generation, customizable animated presets, and a new Compare Mode feature that enables users to compare the filtered result with the unfiltered source via either a side-by-side view or a live split-screen view. Each Final Effects Complete filter has been re-engineered for 64-bit operating systems. Final Effects Complete 6 AE will be available in the third quarter of the year at a manufacturer's suggested retail price of US$895. Owners of previous versions of Final Effects Complete AE may upgrade for $295. Customers who purchase Final Effects Complete 5 AE as of May 25 will be eligible to receive a free upgrade to Final...