iCloseBy.com has released iMarkMySpot (http://www.icloseby.com/), a new app for the iPhone that's used to "one-touch" geotag and geocode digital photos withGPS locations. It uses the built-in GPS functionality of the iPhone to store exact waypoint locations. iMarkMySpot is a free download from the Apple App Store. Stored waypoint locations can then be emailed to any address as a standard GPX-formatted file, compatible with many photography and mapping software packages. Using the time stamps from the photos and the time stamp of the stored waypoints, digital photos are then geocoded and geotagged. Using iMarkMySpot in conjunction with digital cameras of any brand, including any digital camera by Canon, Nikon, Sony, Kodak, Fujifilm or any other manufacturer, the exact location of where a photograph is taken is stored in standard GPS/GPX waypoint files. After digital photos have been uploaded to a computer, they can then be automatically merged, by using many available photo management...

Yenco has just has released Agenda 4.0.3 (http://www.yenco.com/agenda/), an update of the Mac OS X (10.4 and higher) app that keeps track of your events and tasks, lets you enter your thoughts, and create calendar or journal websites. The upgrade fixes a usage log entry error where the incorrect location was stated when creating the Agenda data file, makes a minor visual adjustment to the roll up size of the small Agenda window, adds the ability to click on the start and end date text in iEvents to bring up the pick date dialog, improves iCal import speed, adds a preference to remove and quit the reminder app, fixes a bug in the small Agenda window when editing an existing event, adds a routine to iEvents to properly exit the build or preview of a site when no entries with the selected label(s) are found within the dates specified, and updates & adds help content. Agenda 4 is a shareware application. You can evaluate it free for 15 times to try out its features and decide if you...

Sonic Boom (http://www.sonicboommedia.com), a developer and publisher of personalized mobile entertainment, has announced that it has launched the first ringtone maker for the iPhone, ToneMaker with Voice. It allows users to create original iPhone ringtones using a selection of music tracks in various genres -- hip-hop, rock, reggaeton, pop, country, electronic and more -- while recording and mixing in their own voices on top of the tracks. ToneMaker has been previously available exclusively on Verizon Wireless. The iPhone app expands the number of carriers that will enable personalized ringtones, including AT&T Wireless in the U.S. Personalized ringtones are growing overall as a share of the global mobile content market, even though ringtone sales continue to decline. Sonic Boom has optimized the design of ToneMaker for the iPhone, taking advantage of the larger touchscreen interface and its voice recording, says CEO David Danon. He says that it's a music mixing application that...

Sourcebits has updated DMG Architect (http://www.sourcebits.com/dmg/), its DMG package maker program for Mac OS X, to version 1.5. The upgrade includes complete AppleScript support to automate DMG production. There's also support for grid functionality to completely control the objects within DMG container. DMG Architect 1.6 also contains new DMG templates , bug fixes and overall interface improvements. DMG Architect is a free update for all registered owners of previous versions. For new users the cost is US$29.99. A demo is available for download.

Oranged Software has released Studiometry 6.0, an update to the Mac OS X compatible software for companies to organize, plan, invoice, track and create with Client and Project data. The upgrade features a new SQL database to store program data that offers performance enhancements. There are also several other new features and changes. Itemized project estimates are now possible. New Report Item Sets now allow you to select specific items to show on a report. This gives the ability to create, for example, estimates and purchase orders based on specific items associated with your projects. Other new features include multi-project GANTT charts, debt/credit modes, an interface overhaul, and many more. To see what's new in Studiometry 6.0, visit http://www.oranged.net/studiometry/whatsnew Studiometry 6.0 is a pay-for upgrade for registered users. Purchasing Studiometry 6.0 will get you free updates until Studiometry 7.0 is released next year. Studiometry 6.0 costs US$239.95 for a single...

Ross Video (http://www.rossvideo.com) will launch its SoftMetal 4.0 software during IBC 2008 at Stand 9.D30. The upgrade will begin shipping after IBC, and will be available at no charge to all current SoftMetal customers. Summary of new features in SoftMetal 4.0 software are: MXF native record and payback support for HD and SD clips; QuickTime native SD playout; closed captioning support; embedded audio support (16 channels per video input and output); and stereoscopic (3D) record and playback. SoftMetal is a line of multi-definition video servers designed for live production and master control applications. SoftMetal control is based on a client/server architecture with the client side applications written in Java and able to run on a Mac, PC or Linux computer, allowing control of the SoftMetal system from the users desktop of choice.

Savant Systems (http://www.savantav.com) has introduced a downloadable application for the iPhone and iPod touch that runs natively on either device in order to provide two-way control of any home system connected to one of Savant's innovative ROSIE automation systems. The new application providing complete home automation and media control will soon be available on the Apple App Store for US$199. Savant's new application has been engineered to provide complete control over the ROSIE On-Screen Display (OSD), which uses HD graphics to provide intuitive control of systems throughout the home, says Savant President Jim Carroll. The application also includes a section dedicated to "themed interfaces" that can be customized by an authorized Savant dealer using RacePoint Blueprint software and a compatible ROSIE system on the network. Pricing hasn't been announced.

The National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) (http://www.photoshopuser.com/) has announced the Guru Award winners for the West Coast Photoshop World Conference & Expo in Las Vegas. The Guru Awards are a special Photoshop competition exclusively for conference attendees. Winning images can be viewed at http://www.photoshopworld.com/?page=guru/winners. The winners are: Category: Best of Show Artist: Paul Jacklitch Category: Artistic Artist: Eduardo Rizo Category: Commercial Artist: Carol Rossi Category: Illustration Artist: Sam Mestas Category: Photo Montage Artist: Ray Caywood Category: Photo Restoration Artist: Doug Haack Category: Photo Retouch Artist: Richard Martha Category: Photography Artist: Nick Saglimbeni Category: Vincent Versace Award Artist: Nicole Gibson Winners were selected from more than 400 entries by NAPP's art director Felix Nelson, NAPP president Scott Kelby, and the creative team at NAPP after several rounds of...

O'Reilly Media has introduced and opened registration for iPhoneLive (http://conferences.oreilly.com/iphonelive), a new conference scheduled for Nov. 18, 2008, at the Holiday Inn San Jose in Silicon Valley, California. Conference chairs Raven Zachary and Bill Dudney are creating a full day's schedule featuring keynotes from leading thinkers in the mobile space, "Build" and "Launch" tracks of breakout sessions, and panel discussions exploring the iPhone ecosystem. "The iPhone platform represents a major shift in mobility and provides a compelling opportunity for businesses to deliver products and services, whether native or web-based, in new and exciting ways to a global audience," says says Zachary. "iPhoneLive will bring together iPhone developers, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts for a day dedicated to the emergence of the iPhone platform. If you're already developing products and services for the iPhone or are in the process of evaluating the platform, this is the place to be." He...

Pragmatic Studio is excited to announce their latest training course-- Cocoa Studio--to be held in Denver, CO on October 28-30. This course is intended for developers planning to build GUI applications on the Mac (or the iPhone). In this hands-on workshop developers will learn how to use Objective-C and Cocoa to write native Mac OS X applications, and get first-hand experience creating a GUI application with Xcode and Interface Builder. They'll learn directly from two seasoned Cocoa developers and authors: Daniel Steinberg and Bill Dudney. All event details, including an outline of the course, details of the training venue, and registration are available at: http://pragmaticstudio.com/cocoa/

Derman Enterprises (http://www.syncem.com) has announced its first public beta of Sync'Em, a new sync hub for Macs. It lets you synchronize: your Exchange contacts with your Address Book; your Exchange contacts across multiple Exchange accounts; your Exchange calendar events with your iCal events; and your Exchange events across multiple Exchange accounts. You can do all this without installing software on your Exchange server Sync'Em Beta 1 requires Mac OS X 10.5.x. Beta licenses are free.

Karelia Software has updated Sandvox (http://www.karelia.com/download/sandvox.html), their web creation software for Mac OS X, to version 1.5. The company says that the upgrade includes dozens of new features and over 150 improvements, updates, and performance enhancements. Sandvox features drag and drop web site assembly, live editing without a preview mode, 50 designs,11 page types, and 19 different pagelets. Version 1.5 offers improvements to media processing, improvements to all pagelets, seven all-new designs, new blogging features (including a Collection Archives pagelet to better manage and display older entries, automatic navigation links between entries, and "continue reading" links to better manager longer entries, Inspector improvements to allow editing of multiple pages simultaneously and improved compatibility with Apple's MobileMe service and site hosting. There's a new document format to make management and publishing more streamlined. Version 1.5 also sports a new Code...

TLA Systems has released PCalc 3.3 (http://www.pcalc.com), the first update of the calculator in nearly two years. It incorporates all the improvements made to PCalc for the iPhone, and comes with a modern new look. There's an enhanced RPN mode that works more like classic HP calculators, and smarter undo and redo support. In addition, there's a new more modern-looking calculator style based on the iPhone version, which is now the default appearance. PCalc 3.3 is a free upgrade for existing registered users of PCalc for Mac OS X. For new users the cost is US$19 for a single-user license.

XChange International (http://www.xchangeuk.com/) has released four more XTensions products for QuarkXPress 8 for Macintosh. The XTensions are available for upgrade from earlier versions as well as for new users. ProPack 8 for Mac contains 15 professional grade XTensions. FlexScale is for users who work with flexographic output from QuarkXPress. The XTension lets users disproportionally scale a document as it is output to a printer or other device. Nametag automatically labels all of the placed graphics in a QuarkXPress document. Crops XT creates crop and registration marks, as well as color and grey bars, around any selected object or group on the QuarkXPress document page. ProPack, FlexScale, Nametag and Crops XT for QuarkXPress 8, as well as for earlier versions, are available now through XChange International via electronic delivery worldwide.

SA International (SAi) has released the Flexi Family 8 for the Mac (http://www.Flexi85.com). The company says it has many identical features to the Flexi Family 8 product for Windows XP and Vista, and offers design and production tools for the design and production of print, cut and hybrid print/cut jobs. This newest release exceeds the functionality of previous Flexi versions for the Mac, says Sarit Tichon, senior vice president of Worldwide Sales and Marketing for SAi. Users will enjoy enhancements like increased processing speed, a fresh user interface, customizable shortcuts, expanded drivers for the latest printers and cutters, improved present management as well as an included Graphics CD, Tichon adds. The software is Universal Binary so runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs. It works with Mac OS X 10.4 and higher. Flexi Family 8 is now available for purchase through SAi's network of resellers. You'll have to contact them for pricing.

Akvis Software has released Akvis Enhancer 9.5 for Mac and Windows systems. The program allows improving detail on an image, no matter what was the cause of the unsharpness. The standalone version supports HDRI technology. The new release supports Exif data (the data registered by the camera when shooting, e.g. the date, the settings, etc.) and ensures that these data won't get lost after the processing. The software offers three modes. In Enhancer mode the program brings out details on one single shot by intensifying color transition. The Focus mode improves blurred images by bringing into focus the whole image or only certain parts of it. The HDR mode is only available in the Standalone version of Enhancer. The HDRI (High Dynamic Range Imaging) technology expands the dynamic range of an image and shows details in both shadows and highlights. Akvis Enhancer is available in two versions -- as a standalone application and as a plug-in to a photo editor. The plug-in version of...

JNSoftware has released Dialectic 1.2 (http://www.jonn8.com/dialectic/), an update of the US$25 telephony tool for the Mac. Version 1.2 is a free update for registered users. The update adds: support for dialing with the iPhone using the Bluetooth Phone Dial Method; a color setting to the alert window to further customize it to your preference; and support for subgroup members in the AB menu group menus. It also offers: improved phone number formatting in the AB menu & lookup results from the Address Book; incoming call detection to automatically restart monitoring modems that were disconnected and then later reconnected; and reliability of dialing with the Phlink Dial Method. Dialectic provides system-wide dialing of phone numbers using Bluetooth mobile phones, landlines, many VoIP services and more. It integrates with contact management applications such as Marketcircle Daylite, Microsoft Entourage, Now Contact, Palm Desktop, FileMaker Pro and other databases, as well as Apple's...

Macvide has updated Audio Recorder, (http://www.macvide.com/Macvide_Audio_Recorder/) its audio capturing conversion utility for Mac OS X (10.4 and higher) to version 1.9. It's a maintenance update. Audio Recorder allows capture voice, music and other audio that you can use in podcasts or other audio or voice presentations. Supported formats include mp3, amr, wma, mmf, aac, ac3, flac, mp2, and helps bridge the gap between many audio standards. MacVide Audio Recorder 1.9 is available for $19.95 for a single user license.

WideAsleep has released Fairway 1.0 (http://www.wideasleep.com/products/fairway), a "virtual caddie" utility for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's available for US$9.99 at the Apple App Store. Fairway provides an interface for finding their ideal swing in any situation. In Fairway, the golfer can quickly slide the golf ball distance meter to enter their distance from the pin and then touch their course location. They'll be presented with the club and swing options that best suit the shot. Fairway even highlights the club and swing that ideally fits their situation. They can touch any suggestion from the list to quickly see details and notes they've previously entered. Fairway allows customization of distance and length for both English and metric systems. It has a selection of preferred distance tolerance for making swing recommendations. Fairway offers filtering and recommendation of potential swings based on distance and course location and display of swing and club details.

RE:Vision Effects (http://www.revisionfx.com ) has released version 3 of Video Gogh, which turns your videos into moving paintings, using RE:Vision Effects optical flow technology to move brush strokes without stuttering artifacts. The new version introduces the option for users to define their own brushes, which may be animated. Version 3 also adds new visual effects opportunities requested by users. Some of the features include: ° Three default brush styles included: Oily, Watercolor and Chalk. ° Custom Brush Set (up to 10): now included is support for animated and custom brush sets. Users can supply custom brush images and for each select different render styles (including render directly as sprite). ° A new "Non-Additive Blending" mode allows you to make properly semi-transparent layers. ° There's an option to paint over the original sequence to avoid holes in result. ° The ability to clip to edges found in the original image is now an option allowing you to paint "tight" or "...

O'Reilly Media has opened the Call for Participation for the 2009 MySQL Conference & Expo, scheduled for April 20-23, in Santa Clara, California. Conference program chair Colin Charles and the program committee invite proposals for conference sessions, panel discussions, and tutorials. More than 2,000 attendees are expected to participate in over 120 sessions at next year's event. Proposals can be submitted here: http://en.oreilly.com/mysql2009/public/cfp/38. The deadline runs through Oct. 22. Co-presented by O'Reilly Media and Sun Microsystems, the MySQL Conference & Expo is the largest gathering of MySQL developers, users, and DBAs worldwide.

Schlage Introduces Innovative Web- and Mobile Phone-controlled Locks CARMEL, Ind., Sept. 3 -- Schlage, the most trusted brand of door locks, today unveiled the latest consumer electronic innovation that fuses home security and automation with mobile technology. The new Schlage LiNK deadbolts and locks provide homeowners the power to remotely control and monitor access to their home 24/7 with any web-enabled mobile phone or computer. The new Schlage LiNK deadbolts and locks provide keyless entry through 4-digit access codes that can be entered, activated, deleted or disabled on the lock's 11-digit push button keypad, or via the Schlage LiNK web portal or mobile application. This solution gives homeowners the freedom of never having to carry or circulate multiple sets of keys, coupled with the ability to instantaneously grant access to family members, friends, unexpected house guests, and service providers such as handymen and housekeepers. Via the Schlage LiNK online portal, homeowners...

Canto (http://www.canto.com) has released Cumulus 7.6, a feature update to the digital asset management software. It's compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 or higher. A demo version is available for download. Built-in rendering of PDF files leads the pack of new Cumulus 7.6 features. PDF thumbnails and previews can be generated on any operating system -- even via a web browser -- without the need for Adobe Acrobat. Advanced PowerPoint handling is also built into Cumulus 7.6. Users can create new PowerPoint presentations from cataloged presentations, slides and images -- with or without PowerPoint installed -- even when connected via a Web browser. Cumulus 7.6 can package the new presentations into ready-to-go files that can be stored on thumb drives or other portable media.

Intelligent Assistancehas released its First Cut documentary editing software and Finisher for adding b-roll and titles automatically to a-roll (aka "radio") edits. These tools fit a new class of software for editors called "Assisted Editing" because they assist the editor by dramatically increasing productivity and reducing the time to finished results, says co-developer and CEO of Intelligent Assistance, Philip Hodgetts. First Cuts was announced at the NAB Final Cut Pro Supermeet as "The Assistant Editor" and automates the process of creating first cuts with story arc, b-roll and lower third titles. Editors can use these first cuts for inspiration or as the basis of their own edit, says Hodgetts. Finisher, previously unannounced, fits at the other end of the editing process, taking A-roll edits and adds lower third titles and B-roll. Finisher will use all log notes provided to it, but doesn't need log notes to perform its magic. Intelligent Assistance's First Cuts is available now...