Media measurement technology firm, General Sentiment, has released its quarterly Top 20 report highlighting the brands that made the biggest media impact for the quarter. Apple topped General Sentiment's Impact Value rankings this quarter on the strength of its iPad and iPhone 4 product releases. Google fell to the number three spot despite generating record levels of discussion for the brand.  This marks the fourth quarterly analysis of its kind by General Sentiment, whose premier report was for the third quarter of 2009. General Sentiment also announced the launch of a new media value metric called Perception Value, which measures the brand with a greater emphasis on the quality of the content and exposure. For the first time, General Sentiment has produced a top-10 ranking of winners and losers based on Perception Value. Perception Value isolates effects of the public sentiment on brand value by assigning positive value to positive mentions and negative value to negative mentions...

Other World Computing (http://www.owc.com) has announced the US$39.99 Slim eSATA ExpressCard Adapter for adding a high speed 3.0Gb/s eSATA port to any Apple MacBook Pro model that offers a built-in ExpressCard slot. Featuring a flush fitting design, the OWC Slim eSATA ExpressCard Adapter fits completely inside the MacBook Pro ExpressCard slot and is AHCI compliant requiring no drivers for Mac OS 10.5.x and later. No drivers are required and the “hot swappable” card can be inserted at any time and sits flush with the edge of the ExpressCard slot.

Paradigma Software (http://www.valentina-db.com) has released Valentina DB 4.7, an update of the columnar database for business and developers. The new version sports over a dozen of user requested improvements and optimizations, as well as several core improvements and updates for 64-bit operations under Mac OS X. Valentina DB based products include Valentina ADK and Valentina Developer Network for developers desiring to incorporate the Valentina DB into their applications. VDN also allows royalty free deployment of Valentina Embedded Server. Developer solutions start at $199 for every major development environment for Mac OS X, Windows, Linux and iPhone. Standalone, business ready Valentina Office Server is also available for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux, and includes full PHP development, PDF reports generation, SSL security, Bonjour auto-lookup features and more.

PFiddlesoft has updated the PFiddlesoft Frameworks, Cocoa frameworks for writing assistive applications for persons with disabilities using Apple's Accessibility and Quartz Event Taps APIs on Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6. The PFiddlesoft Frameworks were upgraded today to include the PFAssistive Framework version 3.1.1 and the PFEventTaps Framework 1.3.1. Both frameworks can now be used with an assistive application that runs as a trusted accessibility process, so that its user does not have to turn on the global "Enable access for assistive devices" setting in the Universal Access pane of System Preferences. You can download the PFiddlesoft Frameworks now at pfiddlesoft.com/frameworks/ . The frameworks are written using Objective-C 2.0. They are Universal Binaries supporting 32-bit and 64-bit architectures using reference counted memory management.

Apple told Congress it collects location information about users of the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers in batches and encrypts it before sending it over a WiFi connection from the device to Apple's servers every 12 hours, reports "eWeek" (http://macosg.me/2/kd). Apple said its iPhone, iPad and Mac computers collect location information, but do so anonymously in batches and encrypt it before sending the data over a WiFi connection from the devices to Apple's servers every 12 hours. Apple's info was in response to a list of questions from U.S. Reps. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe L. Barton (R-Texas). Last month the Congressmen sent Apple a letter demanding to know about the company's practice of collecting, storing and sharing the location of users' mobile devices. Apple, which will not let users download any applications from the iTunes store without agreeing to the new terms and conditions, shares location data with application providers when consumers opt in to providers'...

Buzzard AG has announced a web front-end for OmniFocus as an additional feature to their Spootnik web service (http://www.spootnik.net), which provides synchronization between OmniFocus and Basecamp to enable collaboration between co-workers and customers. A Spootnik Account functions as a hub, keeping OmniFocus on iPhone and Mac in sync, synchronizing tasks with the online collaboration app by 37signals Basecamp, and now also providing access via a web browser. Spootnik makes OmniFocus accessible from everywhere; only a web browser is required Device requirements are: OmniFocus on Mac OS X computer or iOS device; OmniFocus 1.5 or higher; and a web browser (Firefox 2+, Safari 4+, Chrome 5 and IE 7+). The Spootnik web service is available via monthly subscription plans. A 30-day free trial is available.

By Gaurang Donovan The source code for MacPaint, the drawing program that shipped with the first Mac in 1984, is going on display at the Computer History Museum (http://www.computerhistory.org/highlights/macpaint/) in Mountain View California on Tuesday. Apple donated the code, along with the code for QuickDraw, to the museum. MacPaint is the drawing program application which interacts with the user, interprets mouse and keyboard requests, and decides what is to be drawn where. The high-level logic is written in Apple Pascal, packaged in a single file with 5,822 lines. There are an additional 3,583 lines of code in assembler language for the underlying Motorola 68000 microprocessor, which implement routines needing high performance and some interfaces to the operating system. QuickDraw is the Macintosh library for creating bit-mapped graphics, which was used by MacPaint and other applications. It consists of a total of 17,101 lines in 36 files, all written in assembler language for...

Approximately 1.7 million consumers bought iPhone 4s in its first three days of sale, sending Apple more than US$1 billion in revenue. Research from Yankee Group (http://www.yankeegroup.com) shows that those same consumers will be worth more than $1.8 billion to AT&T this year, and more than $9 billion to it over the next five years. "Apple iPhone owners shop more, buy more and remain more loyal to their phones than users of other devices," says Carl Howe, Yankee Group research director and author of the new report. "Our surveys tell us that Apple is the most popular choice of consumers shopping for a new smartphone. Because those subscribers will earn more revenue for operators, mobile operators worldwide should be courting them.: Key data from the report reveals iPhone users: ° Are younger and wealthier. IPhone users average 32 years of age with $100,000 of household income, compared with other smartphone users, who average 34 years of age with $85,000 of household income. ° ...

Canon USA (http://www.usa.canon.com) has announced five new PIXMA printers with a new Full High Definition (HD) Movie Print feature and two new scanners. Now when using the new Full HD Movie Print with compatible HD Canon EOS and PowerShot Digital cameras, consumers can print individual frames of movies. The new PIXMA printers also feature improvements to Auto Photo Fix II to enhance photos while Easy-PhotoPrint EX software now allows users to search and use images from Flickr. The new Canon PIXMA MG5220 (US149.99) and PIXMA MP495 Wireless Photo All-in-One printer ($79.99), PIXMA MG5120 ($129.99) and PIXMA MP280 Photo All-in-One ($69.99) printers along with the new PIXMA iP4820 inkjet printer ($99.99) will provide users with many improvements to increase overall quality and ease-of-use, according to the folks at Canon. With enhanced Easy-PhotoPrint EX software, images can now be searched for and used from Flickr. Auto Photo Fix II, which helps correct common photo errors, has been...

Samsung (http://www.samsung.com) has started shipping its new Spinpoint MT2 1TB 2.5-inch internal mobile hard disk drive. It's designed for use in portable storage solutions, such as the newly released Samsung S2 Portable 1TB USB Drives. Other applications include digital TVs, home media systems and set-top boxes, where quiet and cool operations are important, says I. C. Park, vice president, storage marketing, Samsung. mploying industry-leading 333GB per-platter technology, the new Spinpoint MT2 drive offers up to an enormous 1TB for personal digital collections such as photos, music, video and work files, he adds. Running at 5400rpm speed, the MT2 has a 12.5mm form factor and utilizes Samsung’s proprietary SilentSeek and NoiseGuard technologies to minimize noise levels during drive operation.It also features SATA 3.0 Gbps interface and Native Command Queuing functions. The Spinpoint MT2 drive has an 8MB buffer memory and is available in 750GB and 1TB capacity. Initial shipments are...

Egnyte, a provider of cloud file server solutions, has announced Egnyte Everywhere, a new mobile suite that allows business users to access and share their business files from leading smartphones, including iPhone, Android and Blackberry, as well as the new iPad. And research by the company shows the popularity of the Apple idevices. The iPhone app leverages iOS 4 in providing off-line access to files including support for iTunes file sharing. The announcement coincides with the release of a new national study on mobility and data access while on the road. The study revealed that when nature calls, the hard working keep working with 53% of mobile professionals admitting to accessing data from their smartphone while in the bathroom. In addition, document apps appear to be a big hit with mobile business professionals; 36% stated that among all top apps, document apps keep them most productive while on the road. The mobile survey, which was commissioned by Egnyte, revealed that the...

USB Fever has released two new products. One is for the iPad, the other for the iPhone. The Headrest Mount for eeePC/UMPC/iPad (http://www.usbfever.com/index_eproduct_view.php?products_id=1918) is an US$33.99 gadget for mounting a tablet device to your windshield windows. The MonoPod Collapsible Self-protrait Stick (http://www.usbfever.com/index_eproduct_view.php?products_id=1930) is a $16.99 doohickey for using the iPhone and other device for taking a self-portrait.

An unnamed new Bluetooth-equipped Apple product, dubbed the Apple Magic TrackPad, first submitted to the Federal Communications Commission for review last October, has apparently been granted regulatory approval this week, according to "engadget" (http://macosg.me/2/k5). Apparently a Bluetooth trackpad, the device's model number is A1339 is the culprit here. It's described as a "Bluetooth Device" used in conjunction with a MacBook without any associated filings for WiFi or WWAN networks. Apple applied for ownership of the Magic Trackpad trademark in February, notes "CNET" (http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20010949-263.html). "Engadget" also claims the device would allow for handwriting recognition as well as "every feature you can find on a Magic Mouse (and possibly features of a MacBook Pro trackpad)."

Eltima Software has updated SyncMate (http://www.sync-mac.com/), software for syncing data between a Mac to Windows Mobile handheld devices, to version 2.6.1118. It's a maintenance update -- free to registered users of version 2.x -- that squishes some bugs. SyncMate lets you synchronize Favorites, Contacts, Calendar, Notes in mobile device with Bookmarks, Address Book, iCal, Stickies on Mac OS X. The software enables Internet sharing between the Mac and the mobile device. The connection can be made via USB cable or Wi Fi. SyncMate is Universal Binary so runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs. It requires Mac OS X 10.5 or higher. SyncMate is available in two editions. SyncMate Free Edition is a synchronizer for Mac and Pocket PC/smartphone devices that will help you keep all your documents, text messages, contacts, calendar entries and events and other stuff organized. With the SyncMate Free edition you can synchronize applications like Address Book, iCal, etc. Also you can...

HTC Corp. and Samsung Electronics aren't happy with Apple's claims that the iPhone 4's reception problems are shared by other global smartphone makers, reports the "Wall Street Journal" (http://macosg.me/2/jw). Taiwan-based HTC said Monday that reception problems aren't common on smartphones and Apple should address the problem on its own rather than blame competitors. Samsung said it "hasn't received significant customer feedbacks on any signal reduction issue for the Omnia II" smartphone that was featured in Apple's video. Apple's arguments were also rejected by RIM and U.S.-based Motorola Inc., "which said they have deliberately avoided Apple's approach of locating antennas on a phone's edge," says the "Journal." Meanwhile, Patrick Kerley, a crisis communication expert for Levick Strategic Communications, says that Apple should have responded faster to the uproar over the iPhone 4's reception problems, reports the "International Business Times" (http://macosg.me/2/jx). In spite of...

Seagate (http://www.seagate.com) has unveiled the newest addition to its GoFlex family of hard drives -- the GoFlex Home network storage system. When it's connected to a wireless router, an entire household can centrally store, easily access and continuously back up files wirelessly from Mac and Windows systems on the home  network. The new centralized storage system simplifies the backup process by being compatible with the Apple Time Machine, as well as including a version of the backup application for both Mac OS X and Windows operating systems, says Darcy Clarkson, Seagate vice president of Retail Sales and Marketing. With the GoFlex Home storage system, families can also wirelessly stream photos, movies and music to most network connected DLNA devices, such as game consoles or a GoFlex TV HD media player, from any room in the house. The GoFlex Home is available in 1TB and 2TB capacities at suggested retail prices of US$S15.99 and $229.99, respectively. Its modular design also...

Crowd Technologies, the provider of the stock research site Piqqem, has announced the sentiment results (http://www.piqqem.com/equities/aapl) for Apple Computer going into their earnings announcement on Tuesday, July 20. The company says sentiment for Apple has dropped 15 points to the lowest level in the past 15 months. Piqqem's quarterly chart shows Apple's sentiment dropping by 15 points from the beginning of the quarter through today. In comparison, sentiment for the Piqqem Technology Index rose two points in the same period, which means Apple's decreasing sentiment was not strongly influenced by market forces. On the Piqqem scale, Apple's sentiment rating of 34.60 is still considered positive and indicates a quality stock. Apple has consistently been a top three rated company on Piqqem's top rated list and now doesn't appear in the top 25. At its peak, Apple had a sentiment rating of 58 at the beginning of the year. Is there any rational for the drop? In analyzing the sentiment...

Tension Software has updated Product Manager (http://pomola.com/products_productmanager/productmanager.html), software for managing a company's products from different points of view, to version 1.5.1. Now copying an item, date is updated to today and copying an item, Item number is updated to the next one available. Product Manager is document based and can manage an unlimited number of documents each with an unlimited number of products inside, subdivided in families. It can be a general repository for all the data used for marketing and technical management. It requires Mac OS X 10.5 ("Leopard") or 10.6 ("Snow Leopard"). According to the folks at Tension Software, Product Manager allows to organize products in a logical subdivision. For every product the user can store: the main data with generic data fields; release notes; press releases; a bug list; and a to-do list. The main data area is customizable. Any product can have a release description list with an unlimited number of...

International Data Corporation (IDC) fielded a brief directional survey done in collaboration with the IDG TechPanel that seeks to provide insight into the impact the technical problems with the Apple iPhone 4 will have on the buying behavior of those in the market for a new phone. The survey indicates that 66% of current iPhone owners are delaying their purchase of the iPhone 4, thus lengthening the normal upgrade cycle associated with the release of a new device. However, the antenna issues do not seem to be impacting the 74% of non-iPhone owners who indicated that they are not delaying their purchase plans. "We are pleased that Apple is working with its customers to offset the reception issues related to the iPhone 4," says William Stofega, program director, Mobile Device Technology and Trends at IDC. "It will be interesting to monitor the effect of Apple's response to the antenna problem over the next several months."

AppleThe Mac Pro will be updated by the end of summer and include USB 3.0 and either Firewire 1600 or 3200 support -- but not Blu-ray playback, reports the French site, "HardMac" (http://macosg.me/2/jr). USB 3.0 is specified to transfer at five gigabits per second, or 10 times faster than USB 2.0. Plus, USB 3.0 products are backward-compatible with USB 2.0 devices and will interoperate with them, as well, so there's no reason for Apple not to include USB 3.0 on upcoming Macs. FireWire 3200 and/or 1600 will use the same connectors as FireWire 800. Hopefully, Apple will go with 3200, as it purportedly delivers at least four times the performance. It increases FireWire speed from 800 Mbps to 3.2 Gbps. You'll notice that, on paper, that's slower than USB 3.0, but FireWire also has advantages in areas such as power management. "Hard Mac" also says that Apple is interested in LightPeak technology, but it probably won't appear in Macs until next year. Developed by Intel, this technology...

In a clear indication of Apple's continuing strength with business customers, a new survey of enterprise technology managers shows accelerating interest in purchasing first-time or additional Macs and iPhones. In addition, the survey shows that the iPad is off to a very strong start, with nearly one in four IT managers stating they've already purchased or ordered the new Apple tablet. The survey also showed that for most IT managers, the lines between their personal and business use of Apple products have blurred. Over 80% of survey respondents use their Macs, iPhones and iPads for both personal and professional applications and tasks. Seventy-nine percent said they are "more likely to allow more users to deploy Macs as their enterprise desktops" in 2010-2011, up from 68% in ITIC's 2009 survey. Seven percent of respondents said they have more than 250 Macs in their enterprise. In the 2008 survey, only 2% had more than 250 Macs. Twenty-three percent said they have "already purchased"...

Apple was considering buying Palm recently, along with Google and Research in Motion, according to "Silicon Alley Insider" (http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-rim-google-hp-palm-2010-7), quoting "an anonymous source familiar with the negotiations." However, the companies were outbid by HP, which acquired Palm for US$1.2 billion in April. "Apple was mostly interested in Palm's huge library of intellectual property and patents," says "Silicon Alley Insider." "And unlike some other bidders, Apple even seemed committed to funding Palm's operations, perhaps to challenge RIM's dominance in the keyboarded segment of the smartphone industry, our source says. (There's a bunch of problems with this idea, such as the idea of Apple supporting two rival app platforms, but that's what this person says.) Ultimately, Apple didn't bid high enough, while HP offered an amount the board couldn't say no to. (Recall that Steve Jobs tried to buy Palm years ago in its first life, too, when it was owned by...

In its fifth annual Profile of the Digital Edition Reader, conducted with BPA Worldwide certified results, digital publishing provider, Texterity confirms the increasing enthusiasm for and reliance on digital and mobile formats. With results culled from more than 31,000 respondents, this year’s findings are split into two separate reports for consumer and B2B [business-to-business] sectors. Created as digital magazines, these reports not only present the data but analyze it in the context of the fast-changing reading environment. This research is available free of charge at www.texterity.com/info-request . In general, trends show more engagement with digital editions, more web site use, more interaction with social media, and increased interest in mobile delivery. Highlights, averaged from consumer and B2B responses, support publishing goals:
 ° 86% are satisfied or highly satisfied with their digital reading experience. ° 57% read their digital edition the same day it arrives -- up...

With Apple slated to hold a press conference tomorrow, the most likely topic seems to be how to correct the iPhone 4 signal issues cited by users and proven in a recent Consumer Reports’ study.  As such, Predicto Mobile (http://www.predicto.com/), a premium mobile service content provider, has turned to consumers for their input, polling its pool of 2 million subscribers to see what they think Apple will do.  According to results so far, it seems likely they will be pulled from shelves. When asked "With Consumer Reports declining to recommend the iPhone 4 due to flaws, will Apple recall the phones?" 61% of those surveyed said "yes," and 39% said "no." Meanwhile, Retrevo's has posted a tongue-in-cheek flowchart/guide that "predicts" how people may feel after the announcement. You can find it at http://www.retrevo.com/content/blog/2010/07/retrevos-guide-how-youll-feel-about-apples-solution-iphone4 . The Retrevo Pulse Report is an ongoing study of people and electronics, brought to you...