Smaato (http://metrics.smaato.com/), a mobile ad optimizer and mobile advertising company, has revealed its latest data looking at the global mobile advertising market in terms of click-through rates and ad network fill rates for June. The company says the report shows Android making large gains in global click through rates (CTR), as it climbed above rival Apple, to third place. In the US, Symbian still dominates in terms of CTR, but Android has closed the gap with a CTR Index of 192 (118 in May), while Apple iOS drops down to fifth place in its home market with a CTR Index of 73. In stark contrast to the global and US stages, Android has the lowest performance in terms of CTR Index (52) in Europe, with Windows Mobile achieving the best (205), almost quadruple Android’s Index. Smaato serves over eight million ad requests in its network of more than 6,000 registered mobile publishers and over 40 mobile ad networks. The Index consists of the average CTR of all devices and this number...

IDG World Expo has opened up Expo-only registration (http://www.macworldexpo.com/prices) for the 2011 Macworld Conference & Expo. The event will be held Jan. 26-29 in San Francisco. The expo portion of MWSF will start Jan. 27. If you register before July 26, it's free. Macworld 2010 ended up with more than 20,000 attendees, over 250 exhibitors and more than 150 conference sessions, according to IDG World Expo, owner of Macworld 2010.

Apple has responded to the opening brief of clone maker, Psystar, in the ongoing legal battle. Based on Apple’s responses to Psystar’s Opening Brief, it appears that the PC maker is hoping it can convince the court to change how copyright law is interpreted. “It seems that Psystar is pinning all its hopes in the 9th Circuit on getting the court to adopt a radical revision of the Copyright Misuse doctrine that would in effect destroy copyright and force all copyrighted works to be licensed,” an attorney familiar with this type of case told "The Mac Observer" (http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apple_responds_to_psystar_appeal_...). “Because Psystar has no proof that Apple has inhibited competition or suppressed creativity, Psystar urges this Court to abandon long-standing precedent and create a new doctrine of per se copyright misuse,” Apple’s Answer Briefing stated. “Under this doctrine, any license agreement — such as Apple’s SLA -- that restricts the use of copyrighted software...

App4mac has introduced Delegate 1.0 (http://www.app4mac.com/delegate.html), a new to-do lists manager designed for the Mac, iPhone and iPad. It allows users to share a to-do list on the internet for remote access from any location. Delegate has a built in tagging feature, which allows you to tag additional information to your tasks. This information can be anything you find necessary or helpful, such as due dates, priority levels, and contexts. Delegate is compliant to GTD method Getting Things Done. The Mac version allows users to share a to-do list on the Internet with a free online service powered by app4mac Delegate Server solution. Using this feature requires a user license. As an option, Mac users can use their own Delegate Server. You can access a to-do list shared online from any Mac, iPhone or iPad running the Delegate application. The Mac version requires Mac OS X 10.5 or 10.6 Snow Leopard. It's available in English and French. The Mac version is available for US$35 until...

Following two recent hacks of its iTunes store. iTunes users should now change the password on their iTunes account as well as switching to a prepaid debit card for the service, according to Fortify (http://www.fortify.com), a company that specializes in software security assurance. Barmak Meftah, Fortify's chief products officer, told "Help Net Security" that, while Apple will almost certainly stomp on this iTunes hacking methodology, the modus operandi is similar to that used by trending malware coders, who continually check online search trends and pump out malware via a range of hastily-registered infected web sites. It boils down to raising the profile of an infected piece of code or Web site until a group of online users sees the code or web site and thinks "ooh -- that looks interesting," and then infects their computer with a trojan or malware, he added. Meftah says that using a pre-paid debit card such as the Paypal Visa top-up card makes a lot of sense for use on online...

Apple will open a retail store in Hong Kong sometime in 2011, reports "CrunchGear" (http://macosg.me/2/im). The first Shanghai store opened last week, and Apple plans on opening 25 new retail outlets in the country. "CrunchGear" notes that the The retail expansion is a huge strategy shift for Apple. Up until last week’s opening, there was only one Apple Store in all of China -- Beijing, which opened in 2008.

Sonny Software has released Bookends 11.0.6, a Mac-only full-featured bibliography/reference and information management application for professionals and students. You can now attach multiple files to the same reference with one drag and drop. You can also import multiple text files with one drag and drop. Witih Bookends 11.0.6, you can automatically rename attachments by title. It sports improved author "ignore list" for sorting, drag and drop import of references to a specific group and an attachment indicator displayed in red if a reference has more than one attachment. A free evaluation copy of Bookends 11.0.6 can be downloaded from the Sonny Software web site (http://www.sonnysoftware.com). All features are enabled in the evaluation copy except that databases are limited to a maximum of 50 references. Once purchased, Sonny Software will supply a registration number that will "unlock" the evaluation version and remove this restriction. Bookends 11.0.6 retails for US$99 ($69 for...

RecialMe (http://www.recialme.com) has released ReclaiMe, a data recovery application that lets computer users to restore folders and files that they've accidentally deleted, or that have become lost. It runs on Windows, but it can recover files from your Windows, Mac, or UNIX/Linux drives, as well as USB and eSATA drives, and the memory cards used in digital cameras, mobile phones, PDAs, MP3 players, and video recorders. ReclaiMe comes in four editions. ReclaiMe Multimedia costs US$29.95 and lets you recover more than 50 types of photo, music, and video files. ReclaiMe Windows costs $79.95. In addition to restoring multimedia files, it also recovers all files from Windows disks (FAT, exFAT, and NTFS). ReclaiMe Universal costs $139.95, processes the multimedia and Windows files described above, and also restores Apple Mac files. Simply attach your Mac storage device to your Windows system, and ReclaiMe can process Standard Mac OS drives (HFS), Mac OS Extended disks (HFS+), and the UFS...

Tension Software has updated NoteList (http://pomola.com/products_notelist/notelist.html), a Mac OS X app that allows to store notes in a free form using text and images with full word processing capabilities, to version 2.8.2. The upgrade allows the search field to be selected at startup and makes some small interface changes. NoteList has a set of tools for formatting and working with text as in a word processor. You can drag and drop images directly inside the document and label categories to help organize all your notes, now with colors. NoteList costs US$25. It requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later. It's Universal Binary so runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs. Version 2.8.2 is a free update for registered users of version 2.x.

Hey, I want one. Want a what? A free 3G MicroCell from AT&T. According to "AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com) the telecom is sending out certificates to some customers for the device, which is designed to offer improved reception at home. AT&T's 3G MicroCell is used to patch dead zones with the carrier's service. Users can plug the device into a broadband Internet connection, and provide local signal for both voice and data. Nationwide rollout of the hardware started in mid-April. Individual or FamilyTalk subscribers can pay an extra l US$19.99 per month to make unlimited calls through the special femtocell hardware device. The hardware costs $149.99, but comes with a $100 mail-in rebate for customers who select a MicroCell calling plan. Also,, customers who purchase a new line of broadband service with AT&T are also eligible for a $50 mail-in rebate.

Zevrix Solutions (http://www.zevrix.com) has updated InPreflight Pro -- its quality control, packaging automation and preflight reporting solution for Adobe InDesign -- to version 2.8.7. The new version improves EPS file handling and addresses some performance and stability issues. InPreflight provides a preflight solution for service providers, printers, ad agencies, designers and publishing houses. It gathers information about document fonts, colors and links and lets users locate potential problems according to preflight presets. The software is also a packaging automation solution that allows users to preflight and package multiple documents. Among other abilities, it can collect all files into one folder, eliminating the need to collect the same links multiple times for each design. In addition, InPreflight lets users print graphic preflight reports and save them as fully searchable interactive PDF files, providing an easy way to analyze, archive and send reports to service...

Apple is now offering free repairs or replacements for Time Capsules bought between February and June 2008. According to an Apple Knowledge Base article (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3351), some Time Capsules sold between approximately February 2008 and June 2008 may not power on or may shut down unexpectedly after starting up. Some Time Capsules with serial numbers in the following range may be affected: XX807XXXXXX - XX814XXXXXX. The serial number is located on a gray strip on the bottom of the device. If your Time Capsule falls within serial number range above and it does not power on or shuts down unexpectedly after starting up, it may be eligible for repair or replacement. If Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider confirms that your Time Capsule is affected, Apple will repair or replace it free of charge.

In what may be one of the first known iPhone 4 “video calling” medical consultations since the phone’s release, surgeons at Valley Presbyterian Hospital near Los Angeles and University of Arizona used the advanced technology to successfully collaborate long distance in “real time” on a wound consultation for a patient. Using the FaceTime feature on the new iPhone 4, Dr. David G. Armstrong, professor of surgery at the University of Arizona's Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA), was able to instantly connect with Dr. Lee Rogers, associate director of Valley Presbyterian Hospital’s Amputation Prevention Center (http://www.valleypres.org/apc), near Los Angeles by video calling. What is essentially a simple phone call, turned into a long distance consultation and second opinion for a patient who recently underwent surgery. “Video consultation over the Internet has been available for a few years, but its utility in the clinical setting has been limited by the necessity of having...

iWebTemplate (http://www.iwebtemplate.com) has added four new iWeb templates to be used with Apple's web site building app, iWeb. Included in the new release are the widgetized iWeb templates, iTunezSite and iGameSite. The new release includes four themes for iWeb: Computer Store, WebDesignStudio, iGameSite and iTunezSite, The new release extends iWebTemplate's iWeb themes collection up to 132 iWeb templates. Each iWeb theme incorporates a number of different graphic elements that can be removed, moved and changed in size, opacity or color. All themes incorporates endless background, therefore website can be filled with different amount of information. iWeb themes contains different page layouts to accommodate various information. The templates require Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later and iWeb 2.0/3.0. Each iWeb theme is available for US$12.99.

The Escapers has released Flux 2.48.18 (http://theescapers.com/flux2/), an update of the Mac OS X app that allows drag 'n drop creation of web pages without the need of knowledge of XHTMLICSS (though you can twiddle with the code if you like). It's a maintenance release with bug fixes and performance tweaks. Now users can work directly off FTP and SFTP sites, so there's no need to repeatedly download and publish your site. But if publishing your site from your local computer suits your workflow, Flux can not only publish to FTP, SFTP, and MobileMe, but Flux can also compress all your images on the fly while publishing. This means that your large PNGs get compressed before they get uploaded. You can apply effects to images from within the app. You can also attach JavaScript actions to your page and embed QuickTime movies, Flash and other objects. Some templates are supplied to get you started. Flux is Universal Binary so runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs. It requires for Mac...

A lawsuit alleging that Apple and AT&T secretly formed monopoly with their exclusive iPhone agreement has received class action status, meaning the plaintiffs now represent everybody who’s bought an iPhone in the United States, reports "Wired" (http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/07/iphone-class-action/). Judge James Ware of the U.S. District court for the Northern District of California on Thursday granted class certification of plaintiffs’ antitrust claims seeking damages and injunctive relief for the complaint that was originally filed in 2007. The class-action lawsuit alleges that Apple and AT&T had illegally exerted a monopoly by telling customers their iPhone contract was two years long when in actuality the companies’ exclusivity agreement was for an indefinite, undisclosed amount of time. That means even after iPhone customers’ two-year contracts have expired, they still don’t have the option of switching to another carrier because AT&T is still Apple’s only U.S....

Reggie Ashworth has updated AppDelete (http://reggie.ashworth.googlepages.com/appdelete), an application deleting app for Mac OS X, to version 3.1.2. the upgrade includes Chinese localization, fixes an issue where a selected item might not be moved to the trash, and has lower memory usage. Via drag 'n drop, AppDelete will delete any chosen app with all of its associated items that belong to that application. You'll no longer have to hunt through their system to find and delete these items manually. You can drag any item that can be uninstalled onto AppDelete: applications, widgets, preference panes, plug-ins, screensavers, etc. You can also activate AppDelete in many ways: dragging items onto main window, onto dock icon, selecting in menu, right-clicking using AppDelete workflow, and throwing items in the trash. When the preview screen appears you can uncheck any items you would like to exclude. You also have several choices: delete the items, log only the items, or archive (copy)...

Apple has moved to number 197 on the "Fortune" list of most profitable companies. That's up from 253rd place in 2009 and 337th place in 2008. Apple is listed as having revenues of $36.5 million -- up 12.5% from 2008 -- and profits of $5.7 million -- up 18% from 2008. The top 10 companies on the list are Old Mutual, American International Grouop, Aegon, Gruppo Mediolanum, Groupe BPCE, Lloyds Banking, Freddie Mac, Hartford Financial Services, Aviva and International Assets Holding.

Hyberbolic Software (http://www.hyperbolicsoftware.com) has released Tidy Up! 2.2.4, the latest version of their disk, file and folder processing utility for Mac OS X. Tidy Up! can find duplicate files and packages using any criteria. Version 2.2.4 adds full compatibility with iTunes 9.2. Tidy Up 2.2.4 requires Mac OS X 10.5 ("Leopard") or higher. Upgrades from version 1.x are $20, and upgrades from version 2.x are free.

The dominance of the iPhone in the mobile app download market will be eroded over the coming years as rivals Android, Symbian and BlackBerry make inroads, Ovum has forecast, reports "Bank Systems & Technologies (http://macosg.me/2/i0). A new report by the research group says that mobile application downloads generated by non-operator application stores will grow by a compound annual growth rate of around 41% globally over the next five years, with total downloads almost reaching 21.3 billion by 2015. That’s up from 2.69 billion in 2009. According to Ovum estimates, Apple generated 67% of all smartphone app downloads in 2009, despite claiming just 14% of the overall smartphone installed base. On the other hand, Symbian commanded a 49% share of the smartphone installed base but only generated an estimated 9% of the total applications downloads market. The report states in 2015 Apple will generate a relatively modest 22% of app downloads, compared to 19% for Symbian. "The iPhone...

"Fortune" (http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/technology/1007/gallery.smartest_peo...) lists Apple CEO Steve Jobs as among the top 50 "smartest people in tech." That list is for those with "an alchemy of intellect, ambition and that uncanny ability to peer around corners." Here's what "Fortune" has to say about Jobs: "When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 after a 12-year exile, the company was close to bankruptcy. Thirteen years later it has a market cap of $250 billion and is the world's most valuable tech company, transforming whole industries along the way. iTunes reinvented music. Pixar, now part of Disney, elevated animated films. The iPhone changed telecom. And the new iPad has other computer makers scrambling to respond. Rocking one industry could be luck, but upending four? That's smart. "He is a visionary, a micromanager, and a showman who creates such anticipation around new products that their releases are veritable holidays. And Jobs is a pop culture icon like no...

PointAbout says its AppMakr platform (http://appmakr.com/) for self-service mobile app creation has been upgraded to include full support for iOS 4, as well as advanced features for styling and action elements within content feeds. With Apple’s progression to the new operating system for their newest flagship phone, the iPhone 4, app creators now have the ability to leverage AppMakr to publish fully-compatible apps to the App Store that will function seamlessly with iOS 4. Advanced users can also leverage newly-added capabilities that allow them to insert JavaScript code and CSS styling into specific feeds within their apps. AppMakr has also added Millennial Media as one of the many mobile advertising platforms that app creators can integrate into their apps with the goal of monetizing their audiences.

Blue Crowbar Software has releasedTwitExport 2, the successor to iPhoto2Twitter and Aperture2Twitter. It's a plug-in for iPhoto and Aperture that lets you send tweets and photos to Twitter from within the Mac photo application. With TwitExport 2, the iPhoto2Twitter and Aperture2Twitter plug-ins have been merged into one product. The new name was implemented to comply with Twitter's updated trademark policy. On the outside, the new plug-in has been redesigned to become even easier to use, according to the folks at Blue Crowbar Software. Under the hood, support has been added for Twitter's new OAuth secure authentication system. The biggest advantage of that is that the user's password for Twitter no longer has to be shared with the third party photo sites. TwitExport 2 requires Mac OS X 10.5 or higher and an Intel-based Mac. It works with iPhone '08/'09 and Aperture 2.1.4 or later. A license for one user costs US$5.90 and is valid for use with both iPhoto and Aperture. The upgrade is...

Resolve Market Research has completed a comprehensive study that looks at how the iPad is being used, and how the iPad is impacting other technology devices like e-readers, portable gaming consoles and netbooks. As reported by "Mashable" (http://macosg.me/2/hw), the study shows: ° Approximately 28% of users said that one of their main uses for the iPad would be playing games. Additionally, only 23% said that they thought of the iPad as the most enjoyable device for playing games. However, after owning an iPad, those figures start to change. It turns out that 38% of respondents said that they did not plan to buy a portable gaming device after owning an iPad. ° Forty-nine percent of those surveyed said they wouldn't buy an ebook reader after owning an iPad. Other devices those surveyed said they wouldn't buy after owning the tablet: netbook/laptop (32%), MP3 player (29%), MID (24%) and smartphone (22%). ° Thirty-seven percent of those surveyed said the iPad would be their first Apple...