eMedia Music Corp. (http://www.emediamusic.com) has released the eMedia My Guitar DVD and the eMedia My Piano DVD. They're designed for those ages five and up. The DVDs are based on the interactive My Guitar and My Piano CD-ROMs. They can be used on an television or portable DVD player. Or, of course, a Mac. My Guitar DVD stars an animated character named Gary the Guitar, who guides children through over 50 lessons written by professional instructor Kevin Garry, Ph.D. The eMedia My Guitar DVD begins with the basics, such as holding and tuning the guitar, and moves on to strumming chords, reading tablature, and playing songs. The eMedia My Guitar DVD also includes a special bonus download tool kit with an automatic tuner, metronome, chord dictionary, and digital recorder that can be used on your computer. The eMedia My Piano DVD stars Pam the Piano, who guides children through lessons written by former Juilliard School of Music instructor Irma Justicia, M.A. In over 100 lessons,...

Boris FX (http://www.borisfx.com) has announced that a new Boris Continuum Unit, Materials, is now available. The Boris Continuum Materials Unit includes 15 Boris Continuum Complete filters for creating realistic surfaces and animated organic backgrounds. The Boris Continuum Materials Unit generates realistic textures such as Steel Plates, Bricks, Clouds, Granite, Wooden Planks, and Rock. The textures are procedurally-generated to ensure smooth render at any scale, according to the folks at Boris FX. Each filter provides a variety of animation parameters including controls for the color, width, height, and other aspects of the material. Many of the filters allow users to add 3D detail and lighting to the material surface. Users can apply the materials as realistic surfaces or use them as animated organic backgrounds. All of the filters include presets which make using the materials a point and click operation -- even for complex animations. The Boris Continuum Materials Unit supports...

Quark offers printers free QuarkXPress 8, priority technic In continued support of the print community, Quark has announced special offers that allow eligible printers to join Quark output provider programs at no cost. Adobe Service Network (ASN) members, current QuarkAlliance members, and printers interested in Quark Promote are invited to take advantage of complimentary QuarkAlliance and Quark Promote memberships. Membership benefits can include priority technical support, a free copy of QuarkXPress 8, increased market visibility, and potential revenue opportunities.    "At a time when some in our industry are moving away from print, Quark is aggressively maintaining its investment in this community," says Cyndie Shaffstall, director of QuarkAlliance. "There is a significant opportunity for printers to take advantage of the booming Web-to-print industry, as well as traditional revenue streams. I invite all output providers to join one of our programs right now at no cost...

Cocktail 4.7 (Snow Leopard Edition) has been released. It's the latest maintenance update of Cocktail for users running Mac OS X 10.6 ("Snow Leopard"). This version adds clearing of Adobe Flash Player caches and cookies, as well as clearing of Google Chrome cookies, form values, history and page icons. The update also features overall performance improvements and addresses minor compatibility issues with Mac OS X Server. Cocktail 4.7 (Snow Leopard Edition) is available for download from: http://www.maintain.se/cocktail/download.php It requires Mac OS X / Mac OS X Server 10.6 and is tested for compatibility with Mac OS X / Mac OS X Server 10.6.2.

MetaCommunications (http://www.meta-com) has announced the immediate release and availability of Workgroups 2010 Package 162.3 upgrade. Workgroups 2010 is a collaborative workflow and project management suite that now features built-in support for third party document scanning and OCR solutions. This latest release includes a new technology for categorizing and organizing documents electronically and allowing users to convert traditional paper-based workflows into electronic ones. Workgroups 2010 now includes support for most scanning and OCR solutions, including Nuance Paperport & OmniPage, SimpleSoftware's Simple OCR, Epson Scan, eCopy PaperWorks, and Microsoft Office Document Imaging. Once a document has been scanned, it can be picked up by Workgroups 2010, automatically indexed, and moved to the correct location on the file server. This makes all scanned documents immediately available to all Workgroups 2010 users. If scanned documents include OCR information, the text is...

TalentDrive (http://www.talentdrive.com) -- the creator of the innovative online resume sourcing technology, TalentFilter, has released updates to its sourcing product, purportedly improving the user experience through Boolean Search and advanced reporting. This update brings users the ability to search for resumes in Boolean String format, in addition to TalentFilter's existing key word or job description search, coupled with four new reporting functions, offering users the most comprehensive sourcing product on the market. With the release of these two major upgrades to the TalentFilter product, users can customize their search efforts. Users are able to search thousands of resume locations by entering a job description, key words, or the newest function, detailed Boolean String searches. The second upgrade included in this release of TalentFilter is four new advanced reports, adding to TalentFilter's analytics and reporting capabilities. TalentFilter's new reports include OFCCP,...

Stellar Information Systems, a provider of advanced data recovery solutions and services, has released version 2.0 of its BKF file repair software, Stellar Phoenix BKF Recovery (http://www.repair-bkf-file.com/). The updated version provides full preview support for recoverable files prior to restoration. The software is available with improved usability, extensive search pattern, and ease of use with several new exciting features, according to Sunil Chandna, CEO of Stellar Information Systems. The free demo version of the product is available for download from company's web site. Stellar Phoenix BKF Recovery 2.0 is available with single user, administrator, and technician licensing options. Pricing starts at US$99 for a single user license.

PGP Corp. (http://www.pgp.com/products/wholediskencryption/index.html), which specializes in enterprise data protection, has released the latest version of PGP Desktop. It's Mac OS X, Windows, Ubuntu Linux and Red Hat Linux compatible. In addition to allowing disk encryption across mixed environments, PGP Desktop for Mac now also supports Boot Camp, so users can have complete protection for machines running dual Mac OS X and Windows environments, says Phillip Dunkelberger, president and CEO of PGP Corp. The new version is also optimized for solid state drives. Additional features include: the ability to encrypt and sign buttons in Microsoft Outlook; additional smart card support; a redesigned user interface; and PGP Viewer for Desktop Email 8.x migration. PGP Whole Disk Encryption Desktop 10.0 for Mac OS X 10.6 ("Snow Leopard"), and PGP Whole Disk Encryption Desktop version 10.0 for Linux is now generally available and can be purchased through the PGP global network of resellers....

RadTech (http://www.radtech.com) has released ScreenSavrz display protection products for the 21.5 and 27-inch iMacs. They're priced at US$39.95 for the former and $54.95 for the latter. ScreenSavrz for iMac protect your display and case from dust, soiling, fingerprints, etc., when not in use. They also clean and polish your screen or case anytime without sprays or wet wipes. If your display has already taken a hit, you can dampen ScreenSavrz with water and polish away any existing scuffing you might have, according to the folks at RadTech. They're constructed from Optex fabric -- a non-woven, ultra-thin (0.6mm thick) advanced polishing fabric. This lightweight and breathable Optex display protector is convenient, practical and extremely effective. Does not obstruct iMac's ventilation ports, according to RadTech.

Feral Interactive will release Rome: Total War Gold Edition for the Mac on Feb. 5. Originally developed by The Creative Assembly and published by SEGA, the game will be released for the Mac under the Feral Legends label. Here's how the game is described: "Rome: Total War is one of the all-time top-rated strategy games where players take charge of one of three Roman families with the goal of increasing their family's power in Rome through diplomacy, economic skill, and of course, war! "Running from the late Roman Republic to early Roman Empire with campaigns ranging across Europe and North Africa, Rome: Total War offers a seamless integration of strategy and tactics that allows players to fight epic historical or fictitious battles, while plotting their path to ultimate victory." The Gold Edition includes the official expansion pack, Barbarian Invasion. Set some 300 years later, in it players must decide whether they will save Rome from its enemies or, at the head of a Barbarian horde...

Monkeybread Software has released version 10.0 of the MBS plug-in for REALbasic. The MBS plug-in comprises a collection of several plug-in parts that extend the REALbasic development environment with 1,300 classes featuring over 26,000 documented functions. This release contains a few new classes like the WindowsScriptMBS, UniversalCharacterDetectionMBS and JSONMBS classes, as well as a few new methods like SpotLightTextContentMBS to get the text content of a file. In preparation of the Cocoa target in REALbasic 2010, the folks at Monkeybread already have classes for all Cocoa controls. The plug-ins require REALbasic 2006r4 or newer. While all plug-in parts compile on Mac OS X, Linux and Windows systems, each function may depend on additional system requirements to work successfully. Plug-in licenses are available for components or for the complete collection with pricing starting at US$29 for one component. The complete package costs $284.20 for commercial usage. If you buy a current...

Spiderweb Software has updated Avernum 6 for Mac OS X (http://www.avernum.com/avernum6/index.html) to version 1.0.2. Avernum 6 is the final game in the epic Avernum series. This upgrade fixes a handful of minor bugs and purportedly adjusts the game's balance to make it much more manageable in the late game. Avernum 6 is set in the world of Avernum, an enormous series of caves far below the surface of the world. Here's how the game is described: "Avernum is a world underground. It is a nation of people living in an enormous warren of tunnels and caverns, far below the surface of the world. Once a prison colony for rebels and thugs, it is now a wild frontier, full of adventurous souls looking for wealth, fame, and magical power. "And then the Blight came. Almost overnight, the mushrooms Avernum needed to feed itself withered and died. Then the denizens of the low tunnels, the savage, reptilian Slithzerikai, emerged. Sensing weakness, they struck, destroying much of a weakened Avernum...

FileWave (http://www.filewave.com), which makes system lifecycle management, has announced a free, time limited version of its asset management suite FileWave Inventory. You might have heard the announcement by Business Software Alliance's (BSA) regarding the expansion of its $1 million rewards program to report illegal software over the Internet. In order to stop you falling foul of this program FileWave is now offering their inventory software suite for 60 Days for free. FileWave offers you the ability to scan, check and manage all software-licenses in every environment. FileWave Inventory is a database built around MySQL. The client is available across Mac, PC and Linux platforms. It dynamically collects all of the asset information about your hardware and software for both your desktop and mobile computers attached to your network. The Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) interface allows different applications to access data from the Inventory database or create a report as CSV...

MacForensicsLab (http://www.macforensicslab.com) has updated MacLockPick -- a live forensics tool for extracting passwords, Internet history, and system settings from a suspect's Mac OS X computer -- to version 2.2, which sports a streamlined user interface. Designed for law enforcement professionals, it's based on a USB Flash drive that can be inserted into a suspect's Mac OS X computer that is running (or sleeping). Once the MacLockPick software is run it will extract data from the Apple Keychain and system settings to provide the examiner fast access to the suspect's critical information with as little interaction or trace as possible. A database of the suspect's information is compiled on the Flash drive to allow for transportation away from the suspect's system. This database can be read by the included log readers on Mac OS X, Windows or Linux computers. MacLockPick isn't for sale to the general public. Purchasers will be required to provide proof that they are a licensed law...

Dooble (http://dooble.sf.net), an open source web browser for Mac OS X, has been released. There are versions for Windows, Linux, Openmoko, Ubuntu, Pardus and the Nokia N900. According to its developers, one of the application's most important goals is to safeguard the privacy of its community with a group of integrated privacy features of the browser: search engine, secure messenger and e-mail client. It uses the integrated, distributed search engine, YaCy.

Freeverse has partnered with AppRelief.com to aid Haiti quake victims. App Relief is a group of App developers donating their app sale proceeds to the Haitian earthquake relief effort through the Red Cross. From now until Wednesday, Freeverse will donate 100% of its share of profits from the US$0.99 iPhone and iPod Touch game, Skee-Ball (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skee-ball/id329902698?mt). "We are eager to participate in this relief effort and excited to see some great developers from the community banding together to help in any way possible. I hope together we can leverage the popularity of the App Store to bring more attention to the need in Haiti." says Ian Lynch Smith, president of the Brooklyn-based developer and publisher. To aid in the Haitian Earthquake relief efforts, download great apps from the App Relief site or straight from the iTunes App Store.

Griffin Technology has announced the latest case designs from Griffin + Threadless. The Co-Op Initiative partnership marks its expansion to iPod touch, as well as into the UK, with three new designs. The latest offerings from the Griffin + Threadless Co-Op build upon the previous case designs. Three new patterns -- I'm Like a Bird, Living in Harmony and HI -- are now paired with the Griffin-engineered low-profile case. A single-piece polycarbonate shell snaps into place to provide protection for iPhone from scratches, dust and dings. Also available is Clouds within the Thunder for iPod touch -- the same design and artwork as Clouds within the Thunder for iPhone, and the first Griffin + Threadless case offering configured specifically for iPod touch. All of the new Griffin + Threadless cases for iPhone 3GS and iPod touch are now available a http://www.griffintechnology.com/coop/threadless .

Nemetschek North America has announced that A&A Co., Ltd., its distribution partner in Japan, has released its localized version of Vectorworks 2010 line of software including: Designer, Architect, Fundamentals, and Renderworks. For more information about Vectorworks in Japan, visit http://www.AandA.co.jp The English-language versions of the Vectorworks 2010 product line were released in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and other international markets on Sept. 15. Localized versions have also been released in a number of European and South American markets, including Germany, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Brazil, Portugal, and Mexico. There are more than 80 new features in version 2010. For a look at all of the new features by product, as well as feature movies, go to http//www.vectorworks2010.net

SONiVOX, on behalf of Fable Sound, has announced the release of the latest version of the Broadway Big Band virtual Instrument for Mac and PC systems. Upon its original release, Fable Sounds' Broadway Big Band Virtual Instrument was a virtual instrument that portrayed contemporary jazz, blues, pop, and rhythm and blues woodwind, brass, and rhythm instrument's playing techniques in a playable virtual instrument plug-in. By integrating the Broadway Performer technology directly into the Kontakt 4 Player via Kontakt's scripting engine, this new version of Broadway Big Band is designed to simplify use as well as add greater control over expressiveness. Now Broadway Big Band users will be able to use Broadway directly in their DAW environment without having to use any virtual MIDI cabling or MIDI routing, allowing for a more stable and easy to use workflow, according to Yuval Shrem, co-founder of Fable Sounds. Fable Sounds will be offering a special cross-grade price for registered users...

Holophone (http://www.holophone.com) is now making its PortaMic 5.1 and PortaMic Pro camera-mountable surround microphones, both currently shipping, available to the M.I. market. Using the company's patented design, both PortaMic models allow users to capture, from a single point source, a discrete surround recording during live performances, events and even in-studio surround sound tracks, providing a 3D immersive play-back experience. With advances in online networking sites, such as YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, there's an increased need for online content, according to says Michael Godfrey, president and founder of Holophone. By using a Holophone to capture live performances, bands can now offer its fans a realistic surround experience, he adds. The PortaMic 5.1 offers an avenue for live music production by recording performances in 5.1 surround sound, enabling musicians to then upload content to the web and also for enhanced audio/video demos. Based on the design of the...

Boss (http://www.BossUS.com) is debuting two new products at this year's NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. The ME-25 guitar effects package sports a built-in sound library that gives instant access to dozens of classic and modern effects. Users choose a category, select a variation and play. You can customize your sound with twits of the Drive, Tone and Volume knobs. The ME-25 has COSM amp models onboard, plus Super Stack and Phrase Loop. The tuner, the Boss TU-2, evolves and improves with the debut of the new TU-3. Housed in a Boss stompbox body, the TU-3 features a 21-segment LED meter with a high-brightness mode to cut through outdoor glare. You can choose between Chromatic or Guitar/Bass tuning modes, and enjoy visual pinpoint verification with AccuPitch. The TU-3 incorporates a Note Name Indicator that can display notes of seven-string guitars and six-string basses, while the Flat-Tuning mode can support up to six half-steps.

Cakewalk (http://www.cakewalk.com) has made several announcements at this week's NAMM show. Cakewalk introduced the new A-PRO Series, USB MIDI Controllers for Mac and PC. The A-300 Pro (32-key), A-500 Pro (49-key) and A-800 Pro (61-key) are keyboard controllers developed in conjunction with Roland. Cakewalk also introduced the FA-66, a compact and portable 6-in/6-out FireWire 400/800 audio interface designed for mobile recording and performance professionals. This unit has two XLR/TRS combo inputs with phantom powered mic preamps, with one offering Hi-Z for recording electric guitar or bass, plus two RCA inputs -- all with zero latency direct monitoring. The FA-66 package includes three virtual instruments for Mac and Windows systems: Rapture LE, Cakewalk SoundCenter, and Studio Instruments Drums. Also new is Cakewalk's Mobile Studio Canvas for Mac, PC, and standalone performance. Capable of producing over 1,000 sounds, the Mobile Studio Canvas includes the Roland SD-50 Sound Module...

Recosoft Corp., the developer of the PDF2Office family of products, has released PDF2Office Professional 5.0 for Mac OS X (http://www.recosoft.com/products/pdf2office/macintosh/macpro5.htm), the next version of the PDF-to-Office formats conversion tool for the Mac. A new feature and component of PDF2Office Professional 5.0 is the ability to directly convert a PDF to Excel type, replicating every page in a PDF file to an equivalent worksheet in the resulting workbook. Additionally, PDF2Office Professional 5.0 has been designed to operate on Mac OS X 10.6 ("Snow Leopard"). PDF2Office Professional converts PDF documents to the Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, RTF and other formats recreating the intended construction and layout of the document -- forming paragraphs; applying styles; regrouping independent graphic elements; extracting images; creating tables; and processing headers/footers, endnotes/footnotes and columns/sections, all automatically -- without any manual intervention. It...

Rainmaker Research has released Spell Catcher X 10.3.3 (http://www.rainmakerinc.com/products/spellcatcherx/), an update to the collection of writing productivity tools. The new version adds 64-bit support on Mac OS X 10.6 ("Snow Leopard"), updated linguistics and languages, and more. Spell Catcher provides spell checking in sixteen languages, and more. Version 10.3.3 has a re-written input method application, for compatibility with both 64-bit and 32-bit applications. It also has new input method installation and update procedure and user interface. Other features include: German localization; autosaving of reference documents; new speech alerts feature allows inserting the (spoken) error, along with other simple embedded speech commands into the spoken alert text; a new preference to Indicate whether interactive checking is on or off in the Dock icon; the ability to reset Universal preferences to their out-of-the-box defaults; import of TypeIt4Me version 4.x files; and import of...