In a note to analysts -- as reported by "AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com) -- Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster thinks we'll see iMac, MacBook Pro and possibly MacBook Air updates in June and a new iPhone in October. It's been more than a year since the iMac and MacBook Pro lines were revamped. "AppleInsider" notes that the MB Pro "may be ripe for a major redesign as the most recent came four years ago in late 2008." Munster estimates worldwide Mac sales to be up about 15% year-to-year in the quarter ending in June, which amounts to 4.5 million units. Mac sales will account for about 15% of Apple's revenue for the quarter.

A U.S. appeals court has ruled that Apple can press its bid for an immediate block on the sale of some tablets made by Samsung based on allegations of infringement of one patent, reports "Reuters" (http://macte.ch/prcEf). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said the judge in a district court in California had erred in deciding that Apple failed to show that it was likely to succeed on the merits, the article adds. The dispute over that one patent is part of a larger legal proceeding in California. In mid-April, Apple and Samsung agreed that their chief executives would participate in settlement talks to try to resolve the dispute, according to a court filing, notes "Reuters." Apple and Samsung have filed more than 30 lawsuits against each other across four continents. Almost two weeks ago a German court dismissed two cases brought by Apple and Samsung against each other as part of the ongoing legal battle.

Apple has stopped using the phrase 4G in adverts for its latest iPad, reports the "BBC" (http://macte.ch/iKsCt). The description proved controversial because 4G isn't widely available in the UK, and he Apple tablet wont' work with it when it is. The UK's advertising watchdog and others around the world investigated Apple over use of the 4G phrase, notes the "BBC." Apple said the confusion arose because of the ways operators refer to different high-speed mobile technologies, the article adds.

SilverWiz has released MoneyWiz for Mac, personal finance software that allows people to manage accounts, budgets and bills, generate reports and more. It requires Mac OS X 10.6 or higher, costs US$24.99 and is available exclusively at the Mac App Store. MoneyWiz was previously available for the iPhone and iPad. The Mac OS X version features syncing of financial data across multiple devices. MoneyWiz offers two ways of visualizing your transactions and allowing you to change between them. Fancy View is what you see on the iPhone and iPad version. The Expert View is in spreadsheet style, offering greater detail.

According to "AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com), Apple is reportedly negotiating to acquire Loewe AG (http://www.loewe.tv/int), a manufacturer and distributor of televisions, audio components and integrated entertainment systems. Apple is reportedly offering 87.3 million Euros (about US$112 million),, the article adds. A final decision is expected to be announced by the end of this week, says "AppleInsider." Based in Europe, Loewe AG is a premium brand in the home entertainment sector. The company makes TVs, sound systems, DVD and Blu-ray players and an "all-in-one media center" (pictured). However, Loewe AG has denied the rumors. The company issued a statement (via Google Translate) to German website Heise on Sunday, in which a spokesman claimed there was "absolutely nothing to" the rumor.

Two titles in Larry Jordan’s Final Cut Pro X training (http://www.jfdcommunications.com) -- "Final Cut Pro X - Workflow & Editing" and "Final Cut Pro X – New Features (10.0.3)" -- are now closed captioned, Larry Jordan, Apple trainer, announced. He says he took the unusual step of making his NLE training closed captioned after a seminar he taught at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., which specializes in liberal education and career development for deaf and hard of hearing students. “Both hearing and non-hearing students attended my Final Cut Pro X seminar at Gallaudet last autumn so we arranged to have sign language interpreters," Jorsn says. "Those interpreters were provided by Mandy David’s wonderful, Florida based company, JFD Communications, LLC. From her I learned that closed captioning would improve accessibility not only to the deaf and hard-of-hearing, but to individuals who do not speak English as a first language. So, I asked Mandy to take on the challenge of...

Self-described "Apple fan boy," Rob Shoesmith, 30, from Coventry, England, says he's going to give his house away to a homeless charity when he sells one million copies of his debut book, "Bin There Done That" (US$5.99), on Amazon Kindle and Apple's iBookStore. "Bin There Done That" is an account of how Shoesmith used the world of smartphone apps to transform his life after hitting rock bottom, which culminated in a 10-night camping experiment outside an Apple Store in Central London for the release of the iPhone 4s. Key to his experiment was that he couldn't spend any of his own money while in line; he says he generated over $30,000 of sponsorship from 100 plus companies. "Throughout the course of my 10 day camp out the homeless people outside the Apple Store played a huge part in helping me get through to the end, and I was motivated to stick with it so I could give away some of the camping equipment to people who really did need it," Shoesmith says. "Before coming into  the world...

Here are the latest iPhone/iPod touch/iPod/iPad apps. You can find 'em at the Apple App Store (http://www.itunes.com/appstore/). Phenom Studios has announced Teeny Green 1.0 for iOS. It's an US$0.99 puzzle game in which you guide Teeny Green towards the magical star jumping into the different platforms available, avoid Onicrons in the way, figure out their next move, and find the right path to a heroic rescue. Ohio based Blue Avenue Media has released White Noise 1.0, an ambient sound generation tool developed specifically for iOS devices. The $0.99 app provides ambient sounds of the environment to help you relax or sleep. Just Funny Games has introduced Jake Escapes for iOS. In the $1.99 game, you play Jake, the greatest thief in the world who seeks the ultimate challenge: to steal an ancient alien artifact inside Area 51. X-Wave Soft has unveiled Guest List Organizer 1.0 for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's an $2.99 event organizer for coordinating guest invitations, RSVPs, contact...

Another day, another lawsuit. Sentelic, a Taiwan-based touch controller IC and touchpad make has filed a patent complaint against Apple, Samsung, HTC and Research in Motion (RIM) in the US, accusing the smartphone vendors of having infringed its patents pertaining to touch screen gesture recognition technology, reports "DigiTimes" (http://macte.ch/7FkS1).. Sentelic has commissioned Touchscreen Gestures LLC to file lawsuits against the respective alleged offenders with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the article adds. The touch screens adopted by iPhones, iPads, HTC One and HTC Jetstream violated Sentelic's four patents with regards to touch screen gesture recognitions, the company claims.

Apple has released a software update for the second and third generationApple TVs. The 5.0.1 update allows movies and TV show previews from the iTunes Store to be viewed in HD and fixes some other minor issues and glitches. You can update the software on your Apple TV by navigating to Settings -> General -> Update Software and following the on-screen directions.

GiggleUp has announced  Interactive Telling Time for Mac OS X 10.6 and higher. It costs US$2.99 and is available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Education category. The educational app features five game modes and one tutorial mode designed for young learners. It's designed for independent learning, with customizable difficulty levels to accompany the child's progress. However, it can also be used as a tool for parents to guide younger children in learning Interactive Telling Time comes illustrated with graphics and encouraging voice-overs. This app is designed to teach: how to tell the time by reading a clock; how to set the time via interactive clocks with movable hour and minute hands; how to switch between analog and digital clocks; how to use AM/PM, 12 hour and 24 hour clock notation; how to tell between daytime and night time; and how to use related terms

Feral Interactive says Tomb Raider: Underworld will be released for the Mac on Thursday, May 31.. Developed by Crystal Dynamics and Nixxes for Windows and originally published by Eidos Interactive, Tomb Raider: Underworld comes to the Mac for the first time under the Feral Legends label. Here's how the game is described: "When Lara Croft uncovers proof that the Norse Underworld is real, she realizes that it contains the answer to a mystery from her own past, a prize worth more than any treasure in the world. She embarks on a quest to find it, and in doing do risks unleashing a force that could lay waste to all civilization. "As Lara, players will experience an astonishing level of physical interaction with a beautiful, unpredictable and treacherous world. From the crystalline waters of coastal Thailand to the rain-lashed jungles of Mexico and on to mysterious sunken edifices deep beneath the Arctic sea, Lara won’t stop until she knows the truth. "With over a thousand motion-captured...

Cocoatech has announced Path Finder 6.0 for OS X, an update to their file browser and management application. It requires Mac OS X 10.6 or higher. Built around a modular interface with six different customizable views, Path Finder maintains all the conventions of the OS X Finder, but allows the user to select both the layout and the amount of information displayed. The app allows developers, writers, artists, and casual users to manage their files according to their own tastes, special needs, and workflows, according to the folks at Cocoatech. Permitting thousands of different combinations, the Path Finder main window can be configured to display a maximum of five modules for browsing and managing files. There are more than 20 different modules in three different categories, which allow users to customize the kinds of file information they'd like to have displayed. In addition, users can configure custom toolbars, contextual menus, and keyboard shortcuts. Path Finder 6.0 is available...

V-MODA has added a new addition to its Ear Armor hearing protection line: the Faders VIP. Like the original Faders, the VIP edition is designed to protect your hearing by evenly reducing harmful noise levels by 12dB across the frequency spectrum, while still allowing for music and speech to pass with crystal clarity, according to Val Kolton, chief visionary officer and founder of V-MODA. Featuring four sizes of medical grade fittings to fit the smallest and largest of ears, Faders VIP also boasts a new detachable cord and a carrying case. V-MODA Faders VIP comes in three color variations Gunmetal Black, Rouge Red and Electro Pink.  They are available now exclusively for US$20 at V-MODA.com and Amazon.com.  Each set of Faders VIP includes four sizes of medical grade BLISS 3.0 hybrid-silicone fittings to fit ears of all sizes  For more info about the hearing loss pandemic and its causes, please visit V-MODA.com/FADERS-VIP .

Developer John Holdsworth set up a small site (http://injectionforxcode.com _from which it's possible to download a pre-release version of Injection for Xcode. Using Injection it's possible to make a change to the implementation of an Objective-C class and have it take effect as soon as the class is saved without having to restart an application. This works for OS X and iOS applications in the simulator and on iOS devices. Injection works by converting your classes into categories using a small set of preprocessor macros. This category can then be loaded at run time using a bundle. As Objective-C "binds" at runtime, it will always chose the new implementation of the class over that which the application was last built with. Injection is free to evaluate for two weeks. After this you'll be prompted to buy the application the next time it starts.

Yummy Software has introduced Yummy FTP Lite 1.0, a basic version of the Yummy FTP app. It requires Mac OS X 10.6.6 or higher and is immediate availability exclusively on the Mac App Store for US$1.99. Yummy FTP Lite provides transfers for those who just need FTP and nothing more. File management capabilities, such as permissions and owner/group management, color labels and more are included.

Here are the latest incremental updates for Mac OS X apps. Boris FX (http://www.borisfx.com) has updated Continuum Complete AE to version 8.0.2. The software delivers a VFX plug-in suite for Macintosh and Windows versions of Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro CS6, CS5.5, CS5, and CS4. Version 8.0.2 adds compatibility with Adobe CS6. PearlMountain Technology Company has announced CollageIt for Mac 2.0.1 (http://www.collageitfree.com/), an update of the collage-making solution for amateur photographers. The new version features four collage styles and more than 30 templates. NES Software has rolled out the latest release of WinOnX (http://www.winonx.com), its easy-to-use application that makes it possible to run Microsoft Windows software on an Apple Macintosh. The newest version, WinOnX 1.3, adds support for many additional Windows applications, and a new program compatibility database that lets users quickly see how likely their program is to work with WinOnX. Cocktail 5.3 (Lion...

MacTech Magazine is thrilled to announce that Steven Troughton-Smith is the Sessions Chair for MacTech Conference 2012's Developer track. Steve is an indie developer and part time investigative hacker. Steve runs High Caffeine Content, a small development shop that builds apps for iOS, Mac and other platforms. He was one of the many developing apps for the iPhone a year before the SDK and App Store existed. Originally dubbed the ‘poster child’ for iPhone development in Ireland by the media, these days Steve is also the programming half of the Grace App for Autism team, and Mobile Architect at Tethras. Early bird registration is now open for MacTech Conference 2012 at $799. MacTech expects the hotel to sell out again this year. Attendees can reserve hotel rooms in the MacTech discounted block once their conference registration is accepted. MacTech Conference 2012 is October 17-19, 2012 at the Sheraton Universal in Los Angeles. For more information, see http://www.mactech.com/...

Apple and Foxconn Technology, one of its main manufacturers, will share the initial costs of improving labor conditions at the Chinese factories that assemble iPhones and iPads, reports "Reuters" (http://macte.ch/WfThA). Foxconn chief Terry Gou didn't give a figure for the costs or how his company and Apple would divvy up the expenses. "We've discovered that this (improving factory conditions) is not a cost. It is a competitive strength," Gou told reporters on Thursday. "I believe Apple sees this as a competitive strength along with us, and so we will split the initial costs."

Micron may become a major supplier of memory chips to Apple if it completes the purchase of Japan-based Elpida, the third-largest memory chip manufacturer, reports "CNET." Micron on Thursday confirmed that it's in talks to purchase Japan-based Elpida, one of the largest memory chip manufacturers in the world. Elpida has been a major supplier of memory to Apple and was a leading DRAM supplier for the third-generation iPad. For details go to http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57431465-92/elpida-buyout-would-make-mi... .

An analysis of tablet tariffs from the Strategy Analytics Mobile Broadband Price Benchmarking Service (http://www.strategyanalytics.com) reveals a steady growth in tablet tariffs, with an average of six tablet types available from each operator. "Offering tablet plans and devices is a key part of mobile operator strategy," says Pawel Kmiec of Strategy Analytics. "Of all the plans available from mobile operators, tablet plans now account for almost 40%. Strategy Analytics expects this number to continue to grow. As new devices come onto the market, operators are keen to add them to their portfolio. We have seen a slowdown in the introduction of operator-branded tablets of late, however." There is much more in the way of 4G-specific tablet plans, too. Vodafone in Germany and Sprint in the US have both recently added 4G tablet plans to their range of offerings. With the scale and speed of 4G rollouts gathering pace, Strategy Analytics predicts a dramatic increase in 4G tablet plans in...

Case-Mate has announced a special rPET (recyclable PET) case collection for the iPhone 4/4S made out of 100% recycled post-consumer PET bottles.   "As part of our greater effort to encourage more sustainable practices, we’ve introduced a line of fashionable, functional and environmentally responsible cases," says Shashi Reddy, Case-Mate’s Chief Executive Officer. "By creating Case-Mate products using recycled materials, we’re helping millennials stay stylish and environmentally conscious."   Case-Mate will highlight this new collection as part of the DASANI "Designed to Make a Difference" experiential tour, which kicked off on April 17 at Saint Catherine University in Minnesota. The tour consists of approximately 50 event days spanning college campuses, amusement parks, and music festivals from April through October. The DASANI "Designed to Make a Difference" tour provides a look at recycling through two interactive activations: the Designed to Make a Difference Gallery and Xtreme...

Since its introduction last year, SideKick by LensPen has been used for removing fingerprints from iPad screens. Now that the Apple tablets include a camera, LensPen (http://www.lenspen.com)has introduced the US$14.95 MicroPro micro lens cleaner. The MicroPro sports a soft, natural brush to remove dust, and a soft cleaning tip specially sized to clean the lenses on iPads and iPhones. Like the SideKick cleaning pad, the MicroPro cleaning tip is impregnated with a carbon compound.

The British Government has issued its MPs (Members of Parliament) with iPads, reports "3G" (http://macte.ch/ImoLJ). All of the 650 members will be receiving Apple tablets, including the Prime Minister David Cameron. Only 350 of the MPs will be allowed to keep their tablets, the article adds. However, the cost to the taxpayer is predicted to be around £300,000, notes "3G." The goal is to reduce paper usage and the associated costs.