Eighty percent of developers in North America think they should receive more than 70% of the revenue generated by their apps in an app store according to the Spring North American Development Survey, an in-depth survey of over 400 developers conducted last month by Evans Data Corp. (http://www.evansdata.com), which provides regularly updated IT industry market intelligence based on in-depth surveys of the global developer population. Perhaps consequentially, app stores are the preferred distribution model for only 15% of North American developers, with over half preferring direct sales to end-users or enterprises. Additionally, developers bridle against app store imposed restrictions on price and content. Over 70% thought that app stores should not impose any restrictions on price, and while a third thought content restrictions were acceptable, almost half thought there should be none at all. "Virtually all of the best known app stores have fallen in line directly with the 30 / 70...

The NPD research group recently reported that the market share for Google’s Android platform was now higher than the iPhone’s. Apple disagrees and tells the "Wall Street Journal" (http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/05/10/android-vs-the-iphone-the-battle-...) the info is "limited" and misleading. Apple points to other figures out recently from IDC indicating that the iPhone has 16.1% of the smart-phone market on a world-wide basis. Those figures put the iPhone well ahead of Android handset makers HTC and Motorola. “This is a very limited report on 150,000 U.S. consumers responding to an online survey and does not account for the more than 85 million iPhone and iPod touch customers world-wide,” Apple spokeswoman Natalie Harrison told the "Journal" in speaking of the NPD report. “We had a record quarter with iPhone sales growing by 131%, and with our new iPhone OS 4.0 software coming this summer, we see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon."

Creative online crooks have been ripping off Apple gift card holders for more than a month, according to security software vendor Symantec. "eSecurity Planet" (http://www.esecurityplanet.com/features/article.php/3881231/Phishing-Sca...) says the phishing scam "requires a little bit of luck for the bad guys and lot of naivety on the part of the card holder." The con artists set up a phishing site using a typosquatted URL -- a URL that's a deliberate misspelling of Apple or some derivation of Apple's online store -- and then lies in wait for those folks who hastily typed in the erroneous address. Once the page is loaded, the bogus site appears to be a legitimate Apple site, complete with the correct customer support phone number and the same look and feel of Apple's consumer web sites. "With the hook baited, the crooks try to reel in consumers by providing what looks like a safe and simple way for card holders to check the balance on their Apple gift cards," notes "eSecurity Planet." "...

The United States Computer Emergency Readiness team (US-CERT) is warning that Safari contains a vulnerability in the handling of window objects, which may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system. "Apple Safari fails to properly handle references to window objects. Safari can allow a window object to be deleted while references to the object may still exist," US-CERT says "If JavaScript code then attempts to use the deleted window object, this can result in the use of an invalid pointer. This pointer can be controlled by an attacker through the use of JavaScript. Exploit code for this vulnerability is publicly available. We have confirmed Apple Safari 4.0.5 on the Windows platform to be vulnerable. Other versions may also be affected." By convincing a victim to view an HTML document (web page, HTML email, or email attachment) with Apple Safari, an attacker could run arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running the application...

Boris FX (http://www.borisfx.com) has announced that Boris Continuum Complete 7 AE (BCC 7 AE) is now available. BCC 7 AE brings over 200 filters to the Mac and Windows versions of Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro CS5, CS4, and CS3. The new release features 11 new filters including a 3-way color grade filter with built-in keying and masking tools, a video noise reduction tool, a spline-based warp filter, an audio-driven keyframe generator, a new OpenGL particle engine, and still and video morph technology. Each Boris Continuum Complete filter has been re-engineered for 64-bit operating systems and OpenGL acceleration. Boris Continuum Complete 7 AE is available immediately through the Boris FX worldwide reseller channel and direct through the Boris FX web site at a manufacturer's suggested retail price of US$995. Owners of previous versions of Boris Continuum Complete AE may upgrade for $295. Customers who purchased Boris Continuum Complete 6 AE as of April 12, 2010 are eligible to...

The Support Group (http://www.supportgroup.com/) has announced an online resource for everything FileMaker -- news, discussions, downloads, just for fun, tips & tricks, and videos. Get ( Answers ) is a new feature added to FileMaker: Explore, the Support Group's free blog. User questions, comments, and suggested discussion topics are all encouraged. A complement to FileMaker's own Knowledge Base and Forum, FileMaker: Explore aims to be more informal, personal, immediate, whimsical, idiosyncratic, flexible, and entertaining, according to Chad Novotny, principal and vice president of The Support Group. Lengthy technical articles will be side by side with personal reflections and simple tips. "This new focus, Get ( Answers ), provides much more interaction with our audience and allows us to address a wider range of FileMaker topics to ensure they are timely and even more relevant to our visitors," he adds. FileMaker: Explore, which has been visited by thousands of FileMaker users...

Final Cut Pro Templates has launched Drop Zones Vol 2 (http://finalcutprotemplates.com). This new, US$120 pack of Master Templates offers 48 new options for introducing and removing video clips with 3D animation. Because Drop Zones Vol 2 is based on Apple's Master Template architecture, editors can use Drop Zones Vol 2 inside Final Cut Pro, saving the time and expense of a visit to a VFX shop, according to Sam Liberto, creative director at Final Cut Pro Templates. Drop Zones Vol 2 is available in a 1080p resolution at 30fps, 25fps, and 24fps. It also comes in NTSC DV and PAL DV options. The Templates work in both Final Cut Pro 6 and Final Cut Pro 7, as well as Motion version 3 and higher. The Final Cut Pro Templates web site also received a fresh update with a series of tutorials highlighting the new features of Drop Zones Vol 2. One video explains how Drop Zones functionality has improved in this release with the ability to import a tall image without cropping the top and bottom.

Noise Industries, developer of visual effects tools for the post-production and broadcast markets, says its development partner, Yanobox, has released Yanobox Nodes for the FxFactory platform. Yanobox Nodes is a visual effects generator designed to work inside Apple Final Cut Pro products, Apple Motion and Adobe After Effects CS3/CS4/CS5. Its toolset provides artists with the ability to link together graphics and text for the creation of 3D animations leveraging the speed of a GPU accelerated platform. Users can distribute graphics and text in 3D space into various shapes such as spheres, circles, and spirals and connect them with a succession of dancing lines and curves. The dynamic user interface enables parameter customization and built-in oscillation, and key-framing abilities add to animation options. Users can further personalize each visual narrative by adding custom images to nodes. Yanobox Nodes is available for $99 USD via the Noise Industries website (http://www....

Pomola Software has updated Mac Shutdown X (http://pomola.com/products_macshutdown/macshutdown.html), a Mac OS X utility for shutting down a Mac on a specified event or on a specified date and time, to version 1.5.1. The upgrade adds an "Open page test" option in the "Shutdown from Web Page" section, as well as an improved algorithm. Mac Shutdown X costs US$20. Version 1.5.1 is a free update for registered users. The software is Universal Binary so runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs. It requires Mac OS X 10.4 or higher.

At the 2010 Streaming Media East Conference, Adobe announced major new advancements to the Adobe Flash platform (http://www.adobe.com/go/flashaccess), the company's design and development platform for creating and delivering content, video and applications that run across operating systems and devices. Highlights include the immediate availability of Adobe Flash Access 2.0 software, a content protection solution that enables the distribution and monetization of premium video content, which can help create new sources of revenue for media publishers. In addition, Adobe is also showcasing HTTP Dynamic Streaming, a new protocol support for media streaming on the Flash Platform; and the Open Source Media Framework, to accelerate development of custom media players. These powerful new Flash media delivery tools come in advance of the releases of Flash Player 10.1 and Adobe AIR 2, which are optimized for high performance on mobile screens and designed to take advantage of native device...

Managing Editor (MEI), a provider of software solutions for the publishing industry, has released Page Director Ad Layout System 5.5, ALS for Magazines 5.5 and AdForce 5.5. ALS 5.5 is the first universal version of MEI’s flagship software, certified to run natively on both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs. For ad layout staffs exporting finished dummies to Adobe InDesign, ALS 5.5 is compatible with InDesign CS3 and CS4 and will soon be the first ALS release to work with InDesign CS5. For Quark users, ALS 5.5 is also compatible with QuarkXPress 7.x and 8.x. Another new feature in ALS 5.5 is Check for Updates, which automatically communicates with MEI to see if a new version is available. ALS’s Conflict Rules settings have also been updated. Version 5.5 includes a new palette that combines default and issue rules, purportedly making it easier to review, create, edit, apply and delete them. Additionally, Conflict Rules are now managed as an ALS Properties group. ALS for Magazines 5.5, a...

Now anyone with an iPhone or iPod touch can control all of their electronic devices with the L5 Remote from L5 Technology (http://www.L5technology.com). It's a combination of US$49.95 device and a free app you can download from the Apple App Store. The L5 Remote provides consumers with an alternative that replaces multiple remote controls. It transforms the iPhone or iPod touch into a personal universal remote that controls televisions, DVD players, DVRs, cable boxes, audio equipment, and most other products that come with an infrared remote. Consumers purchase the L5 Remote hardware -- an adaptor measuring 1.25 x .85 inches -- and plug it into the iPhone or iPod touch docking port. They will then be prompted to download a free app from the Apple App Store, which allows them to drag-and-drop any desired combination of buttons to create their own remote control interface. A short, guided training sequence follows, resulting in a smart remote control that replaces their pile of old...

JAMF Software, developers of the Casper Suite (http://www.jamfsoftware.com/products/casper-suite/), a collection of client management applications developed exclusively for Mac OS X, has announced closer integration with Intego VirusBarrier X6, extending the ability of enterprise IT Administrators to automate deployment of and receive reporting information about malware and network protection on client workstations. Casper Suite 7.2 functions as a framework for IT ecosystems through which administrators can extend and automate enterprise products such as VirusBarrier X6 utilizing Extension Attributes, unifying administration of Mac OS X software within a single console. Extension attributes allow IT Administrators to receive integrated reporting within one console for the variety of products deployed throughout their organization. This integration eliminates the need for administrators to use multiple reporting tools and perform redundant tasks, by making most major reporting...

Apple has  released QuickTime Player 7.6.6. The 10.65MB download requires Mac OS X 10.6.3 or higher. This is all Apple has to say about the update: "QuickTime Player 7 supports older media formats, such as QTVR, interactive QuickTime movies, and MIDI files on Snow Leopard. It also accepts QuickTime 7 Pro registration codes, which turn on QuickTime Pro functions." You can obtain QuickTime Player 7.6.6 via the Software Updates component of Mac OS X's Systems Preferences app.

The first crop of iPad apps may draw user approval for being "beautiful," but they also create user frustration as people try to figure out where to touch in order to interact with them, according to usability expert Jakob Nielsen whose user-experience research firm Nielsen Norman Group today released results from a usability study of 34 iPad apps. Not only are users' hard earned web-interaction skills not transferable to iPad apps, the learning for one app does not necessarily apply to the next one. Early iPad apps are marked by inconsistent interaction design. "It's the Wild West all over again in interaction design," Nielsen says. "We're seeing the same thing we saw 17 years ago in web design when anything a designer could draw could be a user interface whether it made sense or not. That's happening with the iPad apps. Anything you can show and touch can be a user interface on this device. There are no standards or expectations, and users just don't know what to do, or even what...

The online security experts at Sophos (http://www.sophos.com/) have identified a fake Apple US$50 iTunes certificate that spreads malware currently doing the email rounds, reports "Macworld UK" (http://www.macworld.co.uk/ipod-itunes/news/index.cfm?olo=rss&NewsID=3223005). Sophos's Graham Cluley, writing on his blog, warns the malware email attachment can infect Windows computers. "Clearly the hackers are hoping that in your excitement about receiving a $50 iTunes gift certificate that you will throw caution to the wind and open the attachment," Cluley notes. Sophos detects the malware, contained inside a ZIP file as Troj/BredoZp-AM and Mal/FakeAV-BW.

eMedia Music Corp. (http://www.emediamusic.com) has released version 3.0 of eMedia Piano and Keyboard Method. New advanced audio recognition software technology works not only with electronic keyboards but with acoustic pianos. And an Instant Feedback feature actually listens to the student playing melodies and shows whether the correct notes are played. In addition, the new Note Tracker shows the actual note being played in standard music notation. Over 300 lessons are now presented in scalable full-screen resolution for viewing. The over 70 videos can also be viewed in full-screen. Piano instructor, Irma Irene Justicia, who has taught at the Juilliard School of Music, starts with the basics -- including hand position, rhythm, and playing on black keys -- and moves on to reading music notation, scales, sight-reading, and more. You will learn over 100 popular classical, blues, pop, and rock songs, including hit songs from artists such as Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, and Elton John as the...

In order to support its revMobile customer base, Mirye Software (http://www.mirye.com) says it submitted an in-depth proposal to Apple that it create an iPhone-only product that uses native Cocoa objects, supports 100% of their application programming interface (API), "works perfectly with multitasking and battery life, but uses a variant of the revTalk language to use these objects and APIs, and then translates those into native code. "While a significant engineering departure for us from the current revMobile path, this solution would have resulted in perfect-quality iPhone-only applications impossible to distinguish from native applications," says Lynn Fredericks of Mirye Software. "Apple clearly and distinctly turned down the proposal with a very clear message from Steve Jobs himself." he says RunRev is regrouping from this set back, and revMobile as it is planned will be re-engineered into a prototyping tool. "Our view at Mirye Software is that the field is clear and open for...

Revenue related to consumer use of cloud-based backup/storage sites will grow from almost US$75 million in 2009 to more than $372 million in 2015, at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 27.89%, according to new info from ABI Research (http://www.abiresearch.com). According to ABI Research practice director Larry Fisher, “The consumer value proposition for many cloud computing applications is simple; they’re free. Most of the 1000+ US consumers responding to a 2010 ABI Research survey said they were hesitant to pay anything for use of a cloud-based service site.” Right behind the price/cost issue, the major reason most would consider using a cloud-based application was ubiquity: the concept that they could access their valued content from any Internet-connected computer. ABI Research’s analysis found that just 11.6% of the US consumer market for online backup/storage services was paid for in 2009. Most cloud-based backup and storage sites provide consumer services either entirely...

Apple has blamed the GST, not international price gouging, as the reason Australian consumers are being forced to pay more for the iPad, according to the "Herald Sun" (http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/apple-denies-profiteering-with...). Victorians will have to pay $629 for the entry level 16GB version of the device -- about $70 more than for the same model sold in the US. Australians will pay an average 12 % more for the six various iPad configurations than US buyers. Corporate affairs spokeswoman Fiona Martin told the "Herald Sun" if not for the GST component, the difference between an iPad bought in the US and Australia would be marginal. "The (Australian) price is actually very comparable to the US price," Martin said. "The difference is just the effect of local taxes such as the GST. If you took the GST off it, the difference would be as little as $6 or $7."

Troi Automatisering has released Troi Dialog Plug-in 5.5.2 for FileMaker Pro 11. The upgrade adds support for bigger icons and offers several other tweaks and bug fixes. Troi Dialog Plug-in is a tool for displaying all sorts of dialogs in FileMaker Pro 11. The text of the dialog and of the buttons can be created dynamically by using a calculation. A fully functional demo version of Troi Dialog Plug-in 5.5.2 is available for downloading at Troi's web site (http://www.troi.com/software/dialogplugin.html). Troi Dialog Plug-in 5.5.2 works with FileMaker Pro 9, 10 and 11. The plug-in can also be used with runtimes from FileMaker Pro Advanced 9, 10 or FileMaker Pro Advanced 11. The plug-in is available for Mac OS X and Windows. On Mac OS X the plug-in runs in Mac OS X 10.5.7 or higher. The plug-in also runs on Windows Vista or Windows 7. QuickTime 7 or later is needed for the Dial_PresentImage() function. Licenses cost US$59 per user. Details on developer licenses and multi-user packs can...

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. The update adds a Customizable To Do Report, Customizable Bug Report and report printability. 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 release descriptions for...

The Android operating system (OS) continued to shake up the U.S. mobile phone market in the first quarter (Q1) of 2010, moving past Apple to take the number-two position among smartphone operating systems, according to The NPD Group (http://www.npd.com), a market research company. NPD’s wireless market research reveals that based on unit sales to consumers last quarter the Android operating system moved into second position at 28% behind RIM’s OS (36%) and ahead of Apple’s OS (21%). “As in the past, carrier distribution and promotion have played a crucial role in determining smartphone market share,” says Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD. “In order to compete with the iPhone, Verizon Wireless has expanded its buy-one-get-one offer beyond RIM devices to now include all of their smartphones.” Strong sales of the Droid, Droid Eris, and Blackberry Curve via these promotions helped keep Verizon Wireless’s smartphone sales on par with AT&T in Q1. According to...

The WirelessHD Consortium (http://www.wirelesshd.org), the largest 60GHz initiative worldwide and the only wireless standard that provides wireless lossless A/V support, has announced immediate availability of the WirelessHD 1.1 specification announced this January at the Consumer Electronics Show. This next generation WirelessHD specification enables HDTVs, Blu-ray disc players, PCs and portable devices to transmit, share and display content in billions of colors with unprecedented vividness and accuracy as well as instantaneously transfer large multi-gigabyte media files among a variety of devices, according to John Marshall, chairman of the WirelessHD Consortium. The WirelessHD specification is currently supported by over 45 global technology companies. Products implementing WirelessHD 1.1 technology will be backward compatible to those products using WirelessHD 1.0 technology. Marshall says the WirelessHD 1.1 specification includes the following updates: ° Optimized architecture...