iPhone tethering connections can now be monitored by Traffic2Net, a utility for Mac OS X from Nova media (http://www.novamedia.de). The US$14.95 app is a universal statistics manager to keep track of time and data usage of mobile Internet connections. Traffic2Net displays connection details of 2G and 3G connections in one window. The connection details include the time online, up- and download volume, average data throughput, peek speeds, and even the IP address and interface used. Data usage and time online of the current connection are visible in the menu bar of Mac OS X. Traffic2Net allows you to set session and period limits for your connections. This way, you can have a warning displayed on the screen whenever a limit has been reached, says Jan Fuellemann, PR spokesperson at nova media. This is very helpful feature to avoid any additional payments caused by overstepping a data plan's limits, he adds. Traffic2Net is completely independent from any connection manager, so you can...

Akvis has released Akvis Retoucher 4.0 for Mac OS X and Windows systems (http://akvis.com/en/retoucher ), an update of the app for restoring damaged photos by removing dust, scratches, stains, and by reconstructing the missing parts of a photo automatically. Version 4.0 allows small and large objects to be removed, improving the composition of your photos. You can remove date stamps, distracting details and even bigger objects (i.e. a passersby who fell into the shot by accident, cars in the background, etc.). Also, now the interface contains some auxiliary tools that help the program to reconstruct the background. What's more, Akvis Retoucher is also available in a a standalone version. The plugin version is compatible with Photoshop CS5 64 bit. Registered users with a Home license can upgrade to Retoucher 4.0 for free. Owners of a Business license will need to pay USS$19 USD to upgrade, but those who purchased Retoucher during July or August of 2010 can upgrade for free. Akvis...

Responding to growing demand from long-term customers for a fully-featured terminal client on the Mac OS, VanDyke Software today announced its launch of the beta version of the company's SecureCRT for Mac OS X, a terminal client that helps network administrators manage secure remote access and securely "tunnel" e-mail, web, and corporate application data. Three trends evolving over several years drove VanDyke's development of SecureCRT for Mac OS X, says Jeff P. Van Dyke, president and founder of VanDyke Software. According to a survey commissioned by the company and executed by Amplitude Research, network administrators ranked "securing remote access" their top priority for four years running (since 2006).  Meanwhile, in 2008, Yankee Group released findings that 80% of senior IT execs surveyed had Macs in their organization, increasing from 47% in 2006.  Additionally, since 2005, inquiries from network administrators about a secure terminal emulator for Macs had doubled each year....

iWeb Themes Park (http://www.iwebthemespark.com/Home.html) has announced five new themes for iWeb, the web creation component of Apple's iLife suite. They are Direction, Green Success, Megaphone, Orange Wave and Park. The original and updated iWeb themes bundle has 47 iWeb themes all in all. The package of forty themes is priced at US$39.99. Each template is available for $10.99. Three iWeb themes of your choice can be obtained for $21.98. Every visitor of a gifts page at the iWeb Themes Park web site can download two iWeb Theme samples for free. To use the themes you'll need a Mac with iLife '08 (iWeb 2.0) or later.

Bebosoft has announced Mediata Survey 3.0 (http://www.bebosoft.com/products/mediatasurvey), a major update to their Mac/PC solution that enables the non-programmer to author, host, and analyze online surveys. Mediata Survey supports a variety of question formats, eliminates the cost of a survey hosting service, permits creation of an unlimited number of surveys for any number of sites, permits branching questions based on answers, and includes graphical, table, and text tools to analyze and sort response data. The application generates a flow chart providing a quick overview of all logic. Surveys can be configured as public or by invitation only. Following the survey Mediata Survey can also do the data retrieval and analysis. The database may be tabulated, filtered, and searched. Tables, lists, and bar graphs may be generated from the data. Mediata Survey requires Mac OS X 10.4 or higher. The price is US$99, and the software can be used for unlimited surveys and unlimited domains....

Eight months after its acquisition of Lala.com, Apple is telling executives at the four top labels that if Apple offers any cloud-music features within the next few months, they will likely be "modest in scope" and not include the kind of functionality that Apple outlined in meetings with the labels, such as storing users' music on its servers, sources told "CNET" (http://macosg.me/2/my). They added that Apple still hasn't negotiated the kind of licensing deals it would need to distribute music from the cloud, the article adds. Not surprisingly, an Apple spokesman declined to comment. Apple bought Lala last September. Lala offered "the first and only free fully licensed service to instantly provide anywhere web access to an existing music library such as iTunes." Apple's goal is probably to allow Apple to implement a new iTunes feature that would allow users to stream their purchased media content remotely. In fact, rumors of such a service surfaced earlier this year. Purportedly,...

Monotype Imaging Holdings and its subsidiary, Linotype, have introduced new versions of their FontExplorer X font management solution. FontExplorer X Pro 2.5.1 for Macs and FontExplorer X Server 1.5.2 for Mac OS X and Windows platforms are available immediately at http://www.fontexplorerx.com . The newly revised software for client computers contains plug-ins that automatically activate fonts when used with Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator applications from Adobe’s Creative Suite 5 Master Collection software. The latest version of FontExplorer X Pro also contains improvements related to the server menu and offline use. FontExplorer X Server 1.5.2 brings the same facilities and characteristics of its Mac version to workgroup administrations operating in Windows environments. Users are greeted with a completely revised user interface of the server-system setting, and an improved backup function is now available. In addition, Windows administrators can now create master-slave...

Casio (http://www.casio.com) has released two new Exilim cameras, the Exilim Card EX-S200 and Exilim ZOOM EX-Z800 cameras, marking the latest additions to the Exilim family of digital cameras. Both cameras sport a compact body and Single Frame SR Zoom that extends the zoom range. The new cameras make use of the Exilim Engine 5.0 and super resolution technology to take photos with exceptional clarity and resolution, while the Single Frame SR Zoom maintains image quality through 1.5 times the range of the optical zoom, according to Toshi Iguchi, senior general manager, Digital Imaging Division, Casio America. Other features include the Premium Auto function, which automatically produces beautiful photos with just a press of the shutter button. The Exilim Card EX-S200 is a card-sized camera six inches at its thinnest part, while the Exilim Zoom EX-Z800 is compact enough to fit in the palm of the hand. Both cameras sport a 4X optical zoom lens that starts at a 27mm wide-angle view (35 mm...

Samsung (http://www.samsung.com) has announced the F4EG, which it describes as the world’s highest-density, environmentally friendly hard disk drive (HDD) for the desktop market. The EcoGreen F4 features a 2TB capacity -- 667GB for each of its three disks -- and is capable of storing up to 880 hours of DVD video or 500,000 songs in MP3 format. The internal F4EG utilizes Samsung’s high-density design technology to provide better performance, low power and improved reliability to its ‘EcoGreen’ hard drives, according to I.C. Park, vice president, Storage Sales, Semiconductor Business, Samsung Electronics. With its three disks and advanced technology, the F4EG drive is 19 percent better in standby time performance and has 23 percent lower power consumption in standby mode than the previous four-disk model, the F3EG, he adds. Eliminating halogen compound and brominated flame retardant from the PCBA, the new model is produced with eco-friendly materials and meets all the environmental...

Hamrick Software has released Vuescan 8.6.48, 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. It's a maintenance update with some bug fixes. 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).

Universal Audio has updated its UAD-2 DSP Accelerator Packages (http://www.uaudio.com/products/uad/index.html). All UAD-2 SOLO, DUO and QUAD DSP Accelerator Packages now feature smaller, “greener” packaging, and include the new Analog Classics software bundle at no additional cost . UAD-2 DSP Accelerator Packages are instant sonic upgrades for Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase, Nuendo or Digital Performer, providing rich, analog sound quality that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with a native Mac- or PC-based system, according to the folks at Universal Audio. And they grant users access to the entire catalog of UAD powered plug-ins, including favorites from Manley, Roland, BOSS, Empirical Labs, EMT, Fairchild, Harrison, Helios, Little Labs, Pultec, SPL, Trident, Teletronix and more. The new Analog Classics software bundle features: ° LA-2A Classic Audio Leveler -- previously only available for purchase online, this plug-in offers emulation of UA’s electro-optical, analog compressor...

The Association of REALbasic Professionals (ARBP ) has announced the REAL Studio Summit 2011, co-sponsored by REAL Software. It will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, March 19 and 20 at the Holiday Inn, Atlanta AirPort. Attendees will learn more about REAL Studio, REAL Server, REALbasic, and get to mingle with fellow REAL Studio developers. It's designed for experienced developers, beginners or those new to REAL Studio and companies looking to find quality developers for projects. "REAL Studio conferences have always been a great way to learn more about our favorite development tool," says ARBP President Bob Keeney. " But one of the best aspects of the Summit is being able to meet and network with fellow REAL Studio developers." Details can be found here: http://www.arbpmembers.org/real-studio-summit-2011. The ARBP also has a "call for speakers" out.

Worldcloud.com will be exhibiting its cloud technologies for FileMaker Hosting at the FileMaker Developer Conference 2010 in San Diego, California, Aug. 15-18 held at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina. Among the various services being demonstrated at DevCon 2010 will be worldcloud.com database hosting with FileMaker Server 11 Advanced. Worldcloud.com will demonstrate that its FileMaker hosting can be accessed many various ways, including traditional FileMaker Pro client, FileMaker Go on the iPhone/iPad, the worldcloud.com app for FileMaker for Windows workgroups and the worldcloud.com XenApp for FileMaker for Cross-Platform and Mobile workgroups, according to Karen Izbinski, director of marketing at worldcloud.com. Among the techniques demonstrated will be the different ways to access your worldcloud.com hosted FileMaker solution on various mobile devices with no additional programming required and the specific benefits of worldcloud.com vApp and XenApp for FileMaker...

UK troops are using a special iPad app to learn how to handle a fire mission -- when artillery is being fired at the enemy from several miles away, reports the BBC (http://macosg.me/2/mv). In early trials at the Royal School of Artillery in Wiltshire, troops have learned the jargon and procedures more quickly than before, when they were sat listening to lessons from instructors, the article adds. The goal is for smartphone and tablet technology to be used to speed up training across the army.

A unit of electronics maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. has started production at a temporary workshop in China (http://www.totaltele.com/view.aspx?C=3&ID=457566) as it prepares to build a permanent plant nearby to make iPhones for Apple, the Xinhua News Agency reports. More than 500 employees are working on a rented production line, with construction scheduled to start later this month on the permanent $100 million plant. It will be owned by Hon Hai unit Futaihua Precision Electronics (Zhengzhou) Co.

Unified Color Technologies, which specialize in high dynamic range imaging (HDR), has launched 32 Float, a HDR-specific plug-in for Adobe Photoshop that brings 32-bit color controls and editing tools to Photoshop users. With 32 Float, photographers have complete control over images in the full 32-bit color gamut, regardless of the software used to create the resulting merged file, according to Unified Color Technologies CEO Alfred Zee. They're able to separate color data from brightness information, to make brightness adjustments without introducing the color shift often seen using other HDR solutions.   Developed alongside the company’s fully-featured HDR solution, HDR Expose, 32 Float was created with the input of the rapidly growing HDR photography community, a group which relies on refined control of its full 32-bit image data to create the most realistic HDR images. The 32 Float plug-in offers an interactive HDR histogram that ensures the necessary adjustments made to highlight...

Mac OS X, Safari and iPhone market share for Internet usage rose from April to May, according to the latest market share survey NetMarketShare (http://www.netmarketshare.com). According to the report, among operating systems, Mac OS X had 5.06% of the global market share in May, compared to 5.16% in June (that's global market share; in the US it's almost 10 %). Windows remains dominant with 91.32% as of July. That's down from 91.46% in June. Apple's highest percentage previously was 5.27% in October 2009. When it comes to browsers, Safari had 5.09% in July compared to 4.85% in April, while Internet Explorer had 60.74% Firefox had 22.91% and Chrome had 7.16%. That compares to, respectively, June percentages of 60.32%, 23.81% and 7.24%, for the browsers. The iPhone's market share also rose, according to NetMarketShare. The Apple device had 0.70% of the global market share in July compared to 0.59% in June. NetMarketShares' monthly surveys don't measure market share in terms of...

iPad users spend three times longer playing games than on the iPhone, and developers also earn more per user from in-app advertising on Apple's touchscreen tablet, according to a new study from Mobclix (http://www.mobclix.com), a mobile ad exchange network. As reported by "AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com), the study shows that games are the largest category of software on the iPad, representing 20% of all options. Within that category, users spend far more time using their iPad than on the iPhone. The study found that iPad users will play the same game three times longer than they would on the iPhone.

Connecticut's Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Monday that e-book deals between Apple and Amazon and major book publishers may be anti-competitive, reports "MarketWatch" (http://macosg.me/2/mm). Blumenthal's office said he is investigating whether these agreements lead to less competition when it comes to book prices. "These agreements among publishers, Amazon and Apple appear to have already resulted in uniform prices for many of the most popular e-books -- potentially depriving consumers of competitive prices," he said.

Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit (http://www.microsoft.com/mac) will ship Office for Mac 2011 in late October. Reportedly, the prices will undercut the current version of the office application suite by 20% to 50%. Microsoft Office 2011 will come in two editions: the Mac Home and Student version and a Mac Home and Business offering. The former includes the Word word-processing. The price will be US$119 for a single license and $149 for a family pack that allows for installs on three Macs. Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Business 2011 includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Messenger, along with Outlook for the Mac. Outlook replaces Entourage as Office’s mail client and is one of the centerpiece changes of the 2011 edition of the productivity suite. The Home and Office edition will cost $199 for a single license and $279 for a multi-pack that allows two installs on two machines. The MacBu previewed Office 2011 for Mac at February's Macworld Conference & Trade Show. Based on...

iWebTemplate (http://www.iwebtemplate.com) has added five new iWeb templates to be used with Apple's web site building application, iWeb. iWeb Themes for Business 7.0, developed by iPresentee, includes five new themes available in standard and flash edition: Clock, Golden, Relax, Architecture and Business World. The new release extends iWebTemplate's iWeb themes collection up to 134. i Each iWeb theme incorporates a number of different graphic elements that can be removed, moved and changed in size, opacity or color. iWeb Themes for Business 7.0 requires Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later and iWeb 2.0 (iLife 08) or iWeb 3.0 (iLife 09). Each iWeb theme is available for US$10. Samples and more information about iWeb Themes 7.0 are available immediately at the iWebTemplate web site.

Dracoventions (http://www.dracoventions.com) has updated 2empowerFM Dialogs Unlimited, a FileMaker Pro plug-in, to version 2.0. The upgrade adds over 90 new features and fixes since version 1.5. This plug-in lets you display advanced dialogs with any number of controls, including stylized text, buttons, fields, checkboxes, and radio buttons. Controls are automatically arranged according to official Apple and Microsoft Human Interface Guidelines, but users also have freedom to adjust control size, margins, which controls begin a new line of controls, and so on. 2empowerFM Dialogs Unlimited 2.0 is a free upgrade for those who purchased a license within the last year. For new users, a single-user license is US$59. There are new, lower prices are available for multiple users, plus a new unlimited-user option. Developer licenses are also available. Fully functional, 30-day demo copies can be downloaded with no sign-up required.

Intel and GE have entered into a definitive agreement to form a 50/50 joint venture to create a new healthcare company focused on telehealth and independent living. The new company will be formed by combining assets of GE Healthcare's Home Health division and Intel's Digital Health Group, and will be owned equally by GE and Intel. Pending regulatory and other customary closing conditions, the joint venture is expected to become operational by the end of the year. Financial terms were not disclosed. The venture builds on the GE-Intel healthcare alliance announced in April 2009 around independent living and chronic disease management. GE and Intel execs say the companies share a common vision to use technology to bring more effective healthcare into millions of homes and to improve the lives of seniors and people with chronic conditions.

PFiddlesoft has released version 2.0.0 of UI Actions, bringing "universal attachability" to AppleScript. The new version is Universal Binary and runs on Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6. With UI Actions, you attach an AppleScript script to a native Mac OS X application. From then on, the script will be triggered automatically every time the user performs the actions you specify in the target application. A UI action script can respond to all manner of user actions, such as opening or closing a window, selecting a menu item, editing a text field and many others. UI Actions 2.0.0 is universal. While Apple's Folder Actions and Digital Hub Actions are specialized tools that let your scripts respond when the user performs narrowly defined tasks, UI Actions allows any accessible user interface element in any application to trigger a script in response to any supported user action. You can download a full-featured 30-day trial version of UI Actions 2.0.0 at pfiddlesoft.com/uiactions . It's a free...