Apple (http://www.apple.com) says that it has sold over one million iPhone 3GS models through Sunday, June 21, the third day after its launch. In addition, six million customers have downloaded the new iPhone 3.0 software in the first five days since its release. "Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "With over 50,000 applications available from Apple's revolutionary App Store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever." The new iPhone 3GS is the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet, packed with incredible new features including improved speed and performance--up to twice as fast as iPhone 3G--with longer battery life, a high-quality 3 megapixel autofocus camera, easy to use video recording and hands free voice control. iPhone 3GS includes the new iPhone OS 3.0, the world's most advanced mobile operating system with over 100 new features such as Cut, Copy and Paste, MMS*, Spotlight Search, landscape keyboard and more. iPhone 3GS customers get access...

Blastwave FX (www.blastwavefx.com), the HD sound effects label, announced its new web site which now features 423 sound effects packs for download. Keeping up with the demand for content that is available at the click of a button, Blastwave FX offers packaged sounds featured as: Power Packs: 25 sounds for US$25 from Production Elements to General Sound Effects; Scene Builders: scene specific collections designed for those high impact movie scenes that include car chases to zombie attacks. "These downloadable sound effects packs will help get audio professionals moving forward with precision and efficiency," said Ric Viers of Blastwave FX. "Quality and convenience is our focus." All 396 Power Packs and 27 Scene builders are delivered as 16-bit, 44.1 kHz .wav files in a .zip file and are embedded with Blastwave FX's enriched metadata that is compatible with Apple Final Cut Pro, Pro Tools, Avid, NetMix, and Soundminer. The new site also includes the Blastwave Labs Blog, the company's...

Softhing, a developer of creative writing tools for Mac OS X, has updated Storyist, a story development tool for novelists and screenwriters, to version 2.0. With a new look and more than 25 new features, the upgrade offers additional organizational tools, enhanced interoperability with other writing applications, and a more customizable writing environment. Storyist 2 introduces a new "collage" mode in the storyboard, which makes it easy to visualize the relationships between various elements of a story. A streamlined interface supports full-screen mode, split views, and multiple windows. The upgrade also includes support for comments and bookmarks, a color-coding outliner, and an enhanced project manager. In all, Storyist 2 offers over two dozen new features, according to Steve Shepard, CEO of Storyist Software. Storyist provides a word processor with the features writers expect from a top-notch writing program, including spelling and grammar checking and a page layout view with...

Scosche Industries (http://www.scosche.com) is expanding its line of kickBACK polycarbonate cases with the launch of the kickBACK S. Slated to ship in early July, the kickBACK S, is Scosche's first hybrid case that combines polycarbonate and rubber. The case is built for the iPhone 3G S and the iPhone 3G. The new kickBACK's open face design features nubs at each corner to prevent screen from touching any surface when placed face down. The new iPhones' volume and sleep/wake buttons are also protected by the kickBACK S' rubber exterior. Like its predecessor, the kickBACK, the kickBACK S features a hinged kickstand for convenient widescreen viewing. The kickBACK S will first be available in a gloss black, with white and pink color schemes to follow in the coming weeks, and is priced at US$34.99.

MacSpeech, Inc. has announced the release of MacSpeech Dictate Medical, the medical professional's speech recognition solution for the Macintosh. Designed specifically for the medical and dental professional and their support staff, MacSpeech Dictate Medical empowers dictating text directly into applications and practice management systems, and issuing numerous commands by voice, on the Macintosh. MacSpeech Dictate Medical includes a digitally enhanced, USB headset microphone. MacSpeech Dictate Medical requires Mac OS X 10.5.6 (Leopard) or higher and is available today for US$595 as a new purchase, or US$345 for current owners of MacSpeech Dictate 1.5, or US$395 for current owners of MacSpeech Dictate 1.3. MacSpeech Dictate Medical fully understands and supports vocabularies for more than 54 medical and dental disciplines and specialties, including General Medicine, Cardiology, Dentistry, OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Pediatric Dentistry, Radiology, Neurology, Oncology, Psychiatry, Urology,...

NextWorth (http://www.nextworth.com), a company that specializes in consumer electronic upgrades and trade-ins, has announced a trade-in service for third generation iPhones that purportedly provides enough trade-in cash to cover an upgrade to the new 3G S iPhone. NextWorth CEO Dave Chen says that, for the time being, NextWorth customers can receive as much as US$255.50 for a 16GB iPhone 3G when trading in their phone. With current 3G S prices starting at $199for the 16GB 3G S, trade-in amounts will fully or nearly cover the cost of an upgrade, he says. iPhones purchased by NextWorth in any condition will be refurbished and resold by NextWorth, keeping the old devices out of the waste stream, thereby promoting recycling and reuse, adds Chen. NextWorth customers go to the company web site, enter the model, condition and any original accessories that may be included in the trade, and a value is instantly displayed. If customers accept this value and proceed, a free shipping label is...

Plustek Technology (http://www.plustek.com/usa) is now offering a complete line of scanner solutions. The OpticBook A300 is an USB 2.0 scanning device that can scan an A3-size page in 2.4 seconds. The A300 creates a crisp, sharp image of the pages, which can then be turned into different formats. The scanner is bundled with highly effective image processing, fast and secure PDF conversion, and highly accurate optical character recognition (OCR) software. The OpticBook A300 scans thick books without unbinding or dismantling them, making it a perfect solution for digitizing and preserving precious and valuable books ideal for oversize collections and reference sections of libraries. The OpticBook 3600 and OpticBook 4600 scanners are great for any administration task and special collection. A book or document may be scanned in real time to present the book's content immediately onto the computer screen. The scanners auto turn the page orientation for each odd/even page that is scanned...

Pangea Software (http://www.pangeasoft.net.) has released Enigmo 3.0, a free update for its physics based puzzle game for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's been updated to take advantage of the new in-app purchasing capabilities of iPhone OS 3.0. When users run Enigmo 3.0 on iPhone OS 3.0 they have the ability to purchase additional Level Packs that are created by Pangea Software. There are currently two new Level Packs available for US$0.99: Kid's Pack #1 and Kid's Pack #2. The new levels in each of these Level Packs have been designed specifically for kids. Pangea Software will be releasing more downloadable content in the coming months. Here's how Enigmo is described: "Enigmo is the ultimate 3D puzzle game for the iPhone and iPod touch! To complete each level the player will need to manipulate various streams of flowing liquid so that the droplets can reach their destination. Liquids (water, oil, and lava) fall from droppers, and will bounce off walls in a visually stunning...

SplashData (http://www.splashdata.com)has brought its SplashTravel suite to the Apple App Store for US$4.99, but with all of the travel utilities combined under one icon. Until now, the suite has been available for Treo devices only. SplashTravel offers: a trip organizer for air, hotel & car reservations; a flight tracker with gate, plane, and status info; an unit and currency converter; a tip calculator; a world clock; a time calculator; an expense report tool; and lists of country codes, clothing size charts, etc. Beyond the existing travel applications included in the suite, SplashData also added the Trip Organizer and Home screen features to bring it all together in a cohesive user interface.

I-Play has released Jewel Quest Deluxe for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's available for US$2.99 at the pple App Store (ttp://www.itunes.com/appstore/). The game features new modes including Multiplayer Pass & Play and Battle Mode -- which brings players into a heated head-to-head competition. Here's how the game is described: "In Jewel Quest Deluxe for iPhone, iPod touch and mobile, players battle against eight clever opponents and clear the jewel board through 36 stunning levels. As they progress through the story, they will face challenging adventures in a city by the Ganges, the Indian jungles and Indian desert. Providing the most seasoned Match 3 player with mind-bending challenges, even Quest masters will need to be at the top of their game to unlock power-ups and hidden hammer powers during battle. Those looking for an even greater challenge will enjoy the brand-new multi-player Pass & Play Mode, where players face off with friends to clear the jewel board. Additionally...

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science have developed two new tools to help computer programmers select from among thousands of options within the application programming interfaces (APIs) that are used to write applications in Java, today's most popular programming language. The tools -- Jadeite (www.cs.cmu.edu/~jadeite) and Apatite (www.cs.cmu.edu/~apatite) -- take advantage of human-centered design techniques to significantly reduce the time and guesswork associated with finding the right classes and methods of APIs. APIs are standardized methods that a Java program uses to ask the computer's operating system or another program to do something, such as opening a file or sending an email. Choosing APIs for accomplishing a given task is at the heart of Java programming, but is not intuitive, said Brad A. Myers, professor of human-computer interaction. With more than 35,000 methods listed in 4,100 classes in the current...

Virtual Programming and Atari have announced today that the latest chapter in the Riddick franchise, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (http://atari.com/riddick/), is coming to the Mac. The Chronicles of Riddick Assault on Dark Athena contains a brand new full-length Riddick campaign in addition to a pixel-by-pixel remake of the title, (i)Escape from Butcher Bay.(/I) In addition to the single player action, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena brings Riddick into the multiplayer arena for the first time, with six online multiplayer combat modes including the Pitch Black mode. Here's how the game is described: "Reprising his role as Riddick, Vin Diesel brings his unique vocal talent to The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, creating a powerful anti-hero with a talent for chilling one-liners. Diesel is joined by a high calibre cast of actors including Lance Henriksen, Wade Williams, William Morgan Sheppard, and Michelle Forbes who brings depth...

DAZ 3D (http://www.daz3d.com) has announced a new free version of its 3D art and animation package, DAZ Studio 3, as well as the debut of its enhanced, professional-quality toolset, DAZ Studio 3 Advanced, whic is targeted to 3D animators, designers and illustrators. DAZ Studio 3 offers improved OpenGL preview display with new camera and light pointer tools, depth of field and support for version 8.5 of Pixar's RenderMan compliant 3Delight render engine. This tool is designed to allow hobbyists to create digital art and animation using their choice of virtual people, animals, props, vehicles, accessories and environments. Users can select their subject and/or setting, arrange accessories, setup lighting and immediately begin to create artwork. DAZ Studio 3 Advanced adds a set of new professional-level tools including advanced render effects and shaders, COLLADA import/export, animation keyframe editing, figure mixing and support for 64-bit systems. Now available forMac OS X 10.4 or...

DAZ 3D (http://www.daz3d.com) has announced a new free version of its 3D art and animation package, DAZ Studio 3, as well as the debut of its enhanced, professional-quality toolset, DAZ Studio 3 Advanced, whic is targeted to 3D animators, designers and illustrators. DAZ Studio 3 offers improved OpenGL preview display with new camera and light pointer tools, depth of field and support for version 8.5 of Pixar's RenderMan compliant 3Delight render engine. This tool is designed to allow hobbyists to create digital art and animation using their choice of virtual people, animals, props, vehicles, accessories and environments. Users can select their subject and/or setting, arrange accessories, setup lighting and immediately begin to create artwork. DAZ Studio 3 Advanced adds a set of new professional-level tools including advanced render effects and shaders, COLLADA import/export, animation keyframe editing, figure mixing and support for 64-bit systems. Now available forMac OS X 10.4 or...

Kroll Ontrack, the leading provider of Ontrack Data Recovery solutions and legal technologies products and services, today announced data recovery capabilities for Apple Inc.'s Xsan 2 clustered file system for Mac OS X. Utilizing newly developed proprietary technology, Ontrack Data Recovery specialists can now recover data from an Xsan server that has encountered a volume corruption. "Prior to this development, Xsan file system data recovery was mostly limited to hardware-based failures. Enterprises that rely on the Xsan file system would often have no other course of action other than to reinitialize these very valuable and expensive servers when volume corruption occurred making their data inaccessible," said Jeff Pederson, manager of Ontrack Data Recovery operations for Kroll Ontrack. "With the innovative development of Kroll Ontrack's Xsan server specific data recovery capabilities, corporations have a viable alternative for their data protection needs. Utilizing our global...

Monkeybread Software (http://www.monkeybreadsoftware.de/) has announced Combine PDFs 4.3, an update to their popular PDF merge and split tool for Mac OS X. With a focus on ease-of-use, Combine PDFs is a lightweight utility which allows anyone to merge PDF files and images (JPG, TIFF, etc.) into a single PDF file. Additionally, users can split a PDF file or create a new PDF file with interleaved pages from two different PDF files. Simply Drag and Drop several PDF or image files onto the application (or main window). A window will appear allowing the ability to change the order (or remove) in which the files are joined. Enter meta information, such the Title, with other info and save the new PDF. Combine PDFs will do the rest, joining these PDF files into one single file. As well, Combine PDFs allows users to add simple, 40 bit encrypted passwords to their PDF files. With the password applied, users can choose whether anyone can view the PDF directly or even print or copy content....

Boris FX, the leading developer of integrated effects technology for video and film, announced that the Boris Continuum Chroma Key Unit now includes a Chroma Key Studio filter for real-time previews and rendering in Apple Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Final Cut Express. Chroma Key Studio builds on the strength of Boris Continuum Complete's keying and compositing tools with features such as a best-of-breed chroma key process, spill suppression, matte choker, and a light wrap compositing step. All four tools are combined in one, easy-to-use filter; users do not need to stack multiple filters to pre and post process video. In addition to Chroma Key Studio, the Boris Continuum Chroma Key Unit includes the following filters for Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro in addition to Apple Pro Video Applications: * BCC Chroma Key for compositing camera footage shot using a blue, green, or orange screen as a backdrop over a new background video or a still image from a separate file. The Chroma Key...

Merlin, professional project management software for Mac OS X and Daylite -- CRM and business management software for the same -- have now been integrated with the introduction of LgoConsulting's MerlinDaylite-Link (http://www.LgoConsulting.co.uk). MerlinDaylite-Link is a tool that allows information to be shared between Merlin and Daylite. This gives the user access to the power of Merlin for professional project management to manage and plan a project, whilst sharing the outcome of this planning with Daylite's shared calendar, tasks and other great business tools, says LgoConsulting Director Gareth Watson. A demo is available for download. Registration is approximately US$75.

Avatron Software's founder, Dave Howell, a former Apple software engineering manager, and his team of Mac OS X programmers, have released Air Sharing Pro (http://www.avatron.com/products/airsharingpro/), the second incarnation of their file sharing app for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's available for US$9.99 in the Apple App Store. Howell says Air Sharing Pro gives iPhone and iPod touch users the desktop-like ability to access, view, e-mail, print, store and manage documents -- including large PDFs and high-resolution images -- as well as zip/unzip files, including password-protected ones. The app also gives users the ability to view everyday files, including videos and music, and use their phones as wireless hard drives or thumb drives to transfer and carry documents. Users of Air Sharing Pro wirelessly connect their handheld devices to their computers as an external drive and drag and drop documents between the machines. Howell says that Air Sharing Pro gives users -- including...

FileWave (http://www.filewave.com) has released version 9 of FileWave InventoryT. The new version allows customers to meet the ever-growing requirements for asset and inventory management, according to Ben Forsyth, director of Software Development for FileWave. New features include: purchase order management, maintenance contract management, as well as a vendor and product database. FileWave InventoryT is FileWave's IT software and hardware inventory management solution for Mac OS and Windows systems, as well as for all SNMP supported devices. Client computers automatically send all information to the centralized SQL database where reports are run to verify license compliance and compute financial values useful in Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX) compliance. FileWave InventoryT 9 brings a new way to manage all of the IT assets in an estate. The new solution also offers increased security features such as being able to limit data accessibility by department, OS type, location and other user...

Avenza Systems Inc., producers of MAPublisher cartographic software for Adobe Illustrator and Geographic Imager spatial tools for Adobe Photoshop is pleased to announce the release of MAPublisher 8.1 for Adobe Illustrator. MAPublisher 8.1 is the latest version of this powerful mapmaking software used to produce high quality maps from GIS data for both print and electronic distribution. MAPublisher 8.1 for Adobe Illustrator is a full product upgrade that is free of charge to all current MAPublisher Maintenance Program subscribers and replaces the current shipping version of MAPublisher, version 8.0, for all new customers using Adobe Illustrator CS3 and/or CS4. "MAPublisher 8.1 surpasses all earlier releases in functionality and power and represents another great leap forward for MAPublisher," said Ted Florence, President of Avenza, "With support for the new MAPublisher LabelPro labeling add-on and new and improved Flash export capability this is an update that users will definitely...

ATTO Technology (http://www.attotech.com) says its Celerity 8Gb and 4Gb Fibre Channel host adapters have been qualified for use with the new HP StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Arrays (EVA) 6400 and 8400 as an enterprise storage solution for the Mac market. Expanding on ATTO's current support for HP EVAs, this solution is designed to enhance workflows and increase productivity by keeping content available in real time for multiple users, says Timothy Klein, president and CEO of ATTO Technology. ATTO has created a specialized Fibre Channel driver to allow path failover capabilities for the HP EVA storage solution. In addition to continuous data protection, the solution is robust enough to support the throughput demands put forth by today's high-end video applications, according to Klein. It's also scalable across multiple workstations in a shared Fibre Channel SAN. The ATTO Celerity host adapters provide dual-channel PCI-Express and PCI-X Fibre Channel connectivity to the HP EVA through...

Version 3.6 of aTV Flash (http://www. aTVFlash.com) -- an US$59.95 USB flash drive that inserts into the Apple TV and will upgrade it to do various kinds of new things -- has been released. This version adds support for the Loop pointer, from Hillcrest Labs, to the Apple TV. The Loop pointer, from Hillcrest Labs, is a new Freespace in-air mouse. It's designed to be used by the growing number of consumers who connect their Mac or PC to a TV. While the Apple TV doesn't officially support mouse controllers, consumers who use aTV Flash (version 3.6 with AirControl) will be able to use the Loop pointer to navigate menus, control video and browse the web with the flick of a wrist. aTV Flash includes support for additional media formats that are not typically supported by the Apple TV. These formats included DivX, Xvid, AVI, WMV, VIDEO TS (DVD files) and many more. Additionally, it adds an integrated WebKit based web browser, and the ability to expand the storage capacity through the use...

RealVNC has launched the latest version of its enterprise class VNC solution for remote desktop control. VNC Enterprise Edition 4.5 is the first remote access software to offer fully cross-platform remote printing, enabling users to print documents from the remote machine to the local default printer on the VNC Viewer. Other new features include enhanced cross-platform chat, support for international characters, as well as greater speed and even more robust performance. Designed and built by the original inventors of VNC, VNC Enterprise Edition 4.5 has a wide range of applications from desktop support and assistance in a business environment to delivering complex Unix applications to Windows or Mac users. Also, because it is designed specifically for the enterprise it includes multiple configurable security mechanisms and is backed up with full technical support and maintenance. The latest version of VNC Enterprise Edition includes additional features that further improve the user...