publicspace.net has released the first public beta (http://tinyurl.com/okgp67f) of the upcoming 10th generation of their batch file renaming solution. Version 10 introduces context aware highlighting, a new look and a multi-step renaming interface. A Better Finder Rename's streamlined interface includes an instant preview feature. The tool features capture time and date extraction (EXIF JPEG and most RAW formats) for digital photographers, ID3 tag extraction for music lovers, regular expression support, plain-text file import for renaming from databases and many other advanced features. Version 10 introduces context-aware highlighting in its Instant Preview table to make it easier than ever to dial in the correct settings. The Multi-Step Rename Interface gets a major overhaul. The new Preview Pane provides extensive information about any selected file including a graphical preview of the file's contents and its meta-data. Finally, version 10 features a new graphical style that merge...

comScore (www.comscore.com), which "measures the digital world," has reported its July data on key trends in the U.S. smartphone industry for July 2015. Apple ranked as the top smartphone manufacturer with 44.2 percent OEM [original equipment manufacturer] market share, while Google Android led as the #1 smartphone platform with 51.4 percent platform market share. Android ranked as the top smartphone platform in July with 51.4 percent market share (down from 52.2% in June), followed by Apple with 44.2 percent (up 1.1 percentage points from July). Microsoft had 2.9 percent, BlackBerry had 1.3 percent and Symbian had 0.1 percent. Approximately 191.4 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones (77.1 percent mobile market penetration) during the three months ending in July. Facebook ranked as the top smartphone app, reaching 73.3 percent of the app audience, followed by Facebook Messenger (59.5 percent), YouTube (59.3 percent) and Google Search (52 percent). 

A Texas federal judge has denied Apple a new trial in its fight against a Smartflash patent infringement lawsuit; however, he also upheld a decision to toss US$532.9 million in damages that were originally awarded to Smartflash, reports AppleInsider (http://tinyurl.com/nonsll5). U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap nixed Apple's request on the basis that the jury's verdict was supported by adequate evidence and thus shouldn't be overturned, according to court documents (http://tinyurl.com/qdzm9px). He also defended the validity of the disputed patents, and dismissed an Apple allegation that the court made a mistake omitting a jury instruction about prior art. On Feb. 26, 2015 — one day after Apple was ordered to pay an US$532.9 million settlement to Smartflash for alleged patent infringement, the Texas-based patent licensing firm — the company sued Apple again over the same patents. The new lawsuit covered Apple products that were introduced after the original case was filed. These...

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, has granted final approval to a $415 million settlement that ends a high profile lawsuit in which workers accused Apple, Google and two other Silicon Valley companies of conspiring to hold down salaries, reports Reuters (http://tinyurl.com/n9pv3k2). She had rejected an earlier settlement offer, saying it didn’t offer enough compensation to about 64,000 workers affected by the case. However, in March Koh said she was satisfied after the companies increased their earlier offer of $324.5 million. The lawsuit involved about 60,000 Silicon Valley workers who claimed that Apple, Google, Intel, and Adobe conspired to drive down wages by agreeing not to “poach” each other’s employees. The complaint sought restitution for lost compensation and treble damages for the anti-competitive employment practices of the aforementioned companies.

Prosoft Engineering has announced new lower-cost license options with the release of Data Rescue 4.2. These new license options offer entry-level price points that are designed for customers looking to recover just a few files. Data Rescue is computer recovery software for the Mac.  Data Rescue Free, Data Rescue Lite, and Data Rescue Full offer licensing options based on specific recovery needs. Data Rescue 4.2 is available to purchase directly from www.prosofteng.com.

The fourth jury trial between Apple and Samsung over alleged patent infringements is set for early 2016, according to The Recorder (http://tinyurl.com/ouur2ez). U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh has said that the revised damages will be determined by a jury trial in March or April 2016. Last month, Samsung moved to put its ongoing patent feud with Apple on hold while it presses its appeal to the Supreme Court. "The questions present issues of enormous importance to patent litigation and the scope of innovation, especially in high-technology industries," Samsung's legal team wrote. In May the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit adjusted Samsung’s US$930 million penalty, related to its patent infringement suit with Apple. The appeals court decision removed $382 million in damages, but $548 million still remained. Samsung is now challenging $399 million of the balance, which is an award of its entire profits from products found to infringe Apple’s design patents, according to a...

CS Odessa (www.conceptdraw.com) has released a new solution for Concept Pro 10 to assist users to build organizational chart structures. Inside the 25 Typical Orgcharts Solution there are (as you might guess) 25 organizational templates. They allow you to depict an array of organizational structure types and to represent any matrix organization structure, functional organizational structure, or business structure. The 25 Typical Orgcharts Solution contains predesigned samples and vector shape libraries that contain icons for illustrating an organizational structure chart. The 25 Typical Orgchart Solution for ConceptDraw Pro costs US$25.

JixiPix (www.jixipix.com) has launched a new photo app called RipPix for Mac OS X, Windows, iOS and Android. It applies combinations of texture and tone to photos, then brings focus to the subject in the form of a ripped paper effect. RipPix lets you create simple collages of friends, blend scenery together, or add focus with cutout objects. It includes 55 worn textures, 34 ages papers, 20 one-touch presets, the ability to replace the foreground photo, the ability to add and remove edges to cut photos, and a Move Image Tool moves and transforms ripped and bordered pieces. The Mac OS X version of RipPix costs US$4.99 for a limited time (it's regularly $9.99) and is available at the Mac App Store. The iOS version of RipPix costs $0.99 for a limited time (it's normally $2.99) and is available for download at the Apple App Store.

Seagate Technology (www.seagate.com) says it's achieved a major milestone in areal density with a new hard disk that can offer as much as 2TB of capacity in a slim 7mm package. This achievement is significant because in final product form it will give OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] the freedom to design a new generation of elegant mobile products that are extremely thin and stylish, light-weight, fast, power-efficient and cost-effective, says Mark Re, Seagate’s chief technology officer. Combining new mechanical firmware architectures, with state of the art heads, media and electronic design, this technology is a real game changer- providing four times more capacity than a 0.25TB SSD at a substantially lower cost," he adds. The new drive technology is the first to incorporate recording-subsystem components—head, media, preamp, channel—to achieve even greater areal densities. It weighs just 3.17 ounces, and is 25 percent lighter than the previous generation of Seagate’s mobile...

The Find Your Moose conference (https://findyourmoose.com/), a work/life conference for FileMaker developers and consultants will be held Oct. 28-29, in downtown Chicago. Attendees who register by Aug. 31 will receive an "early bird" discount that saves US$100 on the usual conference fee. The conference is hosted by Elusive Moose, an organization led by FileMaker developers Molly Thorsen Connolly and Jason Mundok. They designed the conference "to help independent consultants and owners of consulting firms find the balance required to enjoy life as successful entrepreneurs." Topics cover work life balance, including sessions on optimizing sales and marketing; effective time and project management; networking; managing personal and business finances, reducing stress, and aligning personal and work cultures. There are over 15 sessions to choose from over the course of two days. Find Your Moose 2015 is open to: FileMaker developers; software, design, social media, and marketing...

Apple and Cisco have nnounced a partnership to create a "fast lane" for iOS business users by optimizing Cisco networks for iOS devices and apps, integrating the iPhone with Cisco enterprise environments and providing unique collaboration the on iPhone and iPad. "Ninety-five percent of companies in the Fortune 500 count on Cisco Collaboration and Cisco networks to help their teams be more productive," says Cisco Executive Chairman John Chambers. "Through this engineering and go-to-market partnership, we’re offering our joint customers the ability to seamlessly extend that awesome Cisco environment to their favorite iOS devices. Together, we’re going to help teams achieve higher levels of productivity and effectiveness." To address the ever-increasing demands on corporate infrastructure, Cisco networks and iOS devices will be optimized so that they work together more efficiently and reliably with the goal of providing users with even greater performance, he adds. What's more, Apple and...

Matthias Gansrigler has updated his drag and drop "helper" Mac app, Yoink, to version 3.1. Yoink is designed to simplify drag and drop between windows, spaces and (full screen) apps by providing a "shelf" where dragged files can be placed, to free the mouse for other actions like navigating. Version 3.1 sports a less cluttered interface, improved support for some apps (such as Mail and Photos), and reduced CPU usage. Yoink's window can now be resized or automatically adjusted in height based on the number of files in it. You can now quickly view files in a file-stack in the app by right-clicking onto it. There are also improvements and bug fixes, like better QuickLook Previews, cleaned-up preferences and better localization of filenames and paths. Yoink is available on the Mac App Store for $4.99. It requires OS X Lion or newer. A free 15-day trial is available on the product website (http://www.eternalstorms.at).

PC Advisor (http://tinyurl.com/navms3s) reports that a new survey by Dimensional Research (http://www.dimensionalresearch.com), commissioned by cyber-threat security company, Centrify Corp., has found that user-owned Apple devices are massive security threat to businesses. Of the 2249 US workers surveyed, 45 percent said they used at least one Apple device for work. Results showed the majority of devices (63 percent) were owned by the user as opposed to the company, and are used to access work email, corporate documents and business applications. The study also discovered that 59 percent of Macs are used to access confidential company information and 65 percent are used to access regulated customer information. What's more, 51 percent of iPhones in the workplace are used to gain access to business applications with 58 percent of iPads used for the same purpose. Despite the popularity of Apple devices in the workplace, Dimensional Research says businesses don't invest enough resources...

Stopframe has released their new "Apple Watch Unofficial Guide," a 164-page, eBook available in the iBookstore that's packed with Apple Watch tips, tutorials and knowledge. Readers will learn how Apple's smartwatch is made, discover guides to each app, how to make the most of its unique operating system and much more. It's written by author Tom Rudderham and priced at US$2.99. The "Apple Watch Unofficial Guide" is available on the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac. It requires iOS device with iBooks 1.5 or later and iOS 4.3.3 or later or a Mac with iBooks 1.0 or later and OS X 10.9 or later.

Blackmagic Design has announced the public beta of the free version of Fusion 8, visual effects and motion graphics software, is now available for download from the Blackmagic Design website (www.blackmagicdesign.com). This beta is for the free version of Fusion 8 and is available for both Mac OS X and Windows. A beta for the paid version, Fusion 8 Studio, which adds stereoscopic 3D tools and is designed for multi user workgroups and larger studios, will be available shortly. However, current Fusion Studio customers can download the public beta for the free version of Fusion 8 and start using it today. This public beta is also the first ever Mac compatible release of Fusion, which was previously a Windows only product. By bringing the free version of Fusion 8 to the Mac, high end visual effects are available to even more users than ever before, opening the door to millions of motion graphic artists, broadcast designers, video editors, visual effects compositors, and 3D animators. In...

Here are some of the latest apps available at the Apple App Store for the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and/or Apple Watch. Jumpin' Labs has released Geronimo for the iPhone and Apple Watch. It's a gesture-based, mobile email app. Pinkerton Road Studio and Phoenix Online Studios have announced that Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers 20th Anniversary Edition, Jane Jensen’s remake of the 1993 classic Sierra hit, is available now for the iPad. It's an US$2.99 "moody, mature murder mystery." ZenBrains has introduced Swipeout! The free game is a combination of a mind-provoking puzzle and a quick-reactions game, in which players need to act quickly as well as think strategically and tactically. iThinkdiff has launched Math Mastery Multiplayer. The free game provides players with seven math problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. When the player figures out the answer to each problem, they then have to find the answer in a grid of numbers. Sascha Rank and...

Apple will hold a September event announcing new iPhones (and perhaps more) at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, reports Hoodline (http://tinyurl.com/o8clrwl). An unnamed "trusted source, who wished to remain anonymous due to the extreme privacy surrounding the event, has shown us documentation from event logistics indicating that Apple is renting the building through September 12th," the article adds. Apple is expected to announce new iPhones, an updated Apple TV, and perhaps new iPads sometime next month.

Boris FX, a developer of visual effects and post-production solutions for film and video, and MacVideo Promo, a promotion company that offers exclusive deals on tools for Mac video editors, have announced a limited-time program that provides free, perpetual Media 100 site licenses to qualified educational institutions. In addition, limited-time discounted pricing is available for qualified students and educators. Media 100 is video editing software for Mac OS X. Boris RED is integrated 3D titling and visual effects software. Through Oct. 31, any educational institution that has been accredited by an authorized governmental agency within its applicable local, state, provincial, federal, or national government and has the primary purpose of teaching its enrolled students may apply for a free perpetual Media 100 v2.1.6 site license. A perpetual Boris RED site license is also included with support for Media 100, Adobe Premiere Pro, and standalone rendering on Mac. Through Oct. 31,...

Addonics Technologies (www.addonics.com) today announced the 6G 4-port eSATA controller, a high performance host adapter that provides total throughput of up to 20 Gbps (20,000 Mbps) via single PCIe 4-lane slot. The Addonics’ controller supports any SATA hard drive, SSDs or optical drive. All drives appear as individual drives and can be configured to form a RAID group using the RAID utility of the operating system. By attaching four high performance SSDs, a high performance, large capacity storage system can be created by stripping the four drives using the OS RAID utility. The US$169 plug and play product is compatible with HDD, SSD, Optical Drives and Blu-Ray Drives. It can be installed into the PCI-Express 4 lanes slot (also fits into PCI-Express 8/16 Lane or the graphic card slot). It will fit just about any computing system with a standard full height slot. The controller is compatible with Mac OS X, Windows, Linux or any operating system with a built-in AHCI driver.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been awarded company stock with a market value close to US$58 million, according to an SEC filing, as noted by Cult of Mac (http://tinyurl.com/nqmc4bf). The award came with stipulations that Apple’s TSR performance had to be in the top third of S&P 500 companies. The company now ranks 46th, which meant Cook’s stock options were vested. If Apple had wound up in the middle of the S&P 500, Cook’s award would have been reduced to 50 percent, while a placement in the bottom third would have earned him nothing, notes Cult of Mac. Cook still has 4.76 million outstanding restricted AAPL stock units, which will vest in 2016 and 2021. An additional 1.68 million will vest in six annual installments beginning 2016.

According to a new forecast from the International Data Corporation (www.idc.com) tablet shipments, inclusive of 2-in-1 devices, are expected to decline -8.0% in 2015, representing a notable slowdown from IDC's previous forecast of -3.8%. Shipments are now expected to reach 212 million with the vast majority being pure slate tablets. The overall trajectory of the tablet market has not changed significantly over the past year and a half, but the 2-in-1 segment, also referred to as detachables, is starting to gain traction, says IDC. While the 2-in-1 form factor is not new, OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] are getting more serious about this market and as a result, the research group expects the 2-in-1 segment to grow 86.5% year over year in 2015 with 14.7 million units shipped. Although this volume is far below that of the more affordable slate tablet segment, IDC believes these devices appeal to an audience seeking an alternative to pure tablets with smaller screens. "In the...

At IBC, the trade show for the broadcast and media industry, the Archiware (www.archiware.com) product line P5 will be shown and supported by the largest number of partners ever. This year, 25 hardware and software companies make up the list of P5 compatible products – with NEC Corporation and NEXSAN by Imation joining the ever-growing partner network. A list of all partners with a map of Exhibition Hall 7 can be found at http://tinyurl.com/pz3rr85 . At this year’s show, Archiware presents version 5.3 of the P5 Software Suite, now running on Mac, Windows, Linux, Solaris and FreeBSD and including ZFS Snapshot capability. Also coming this fall is the new P5 Archive App. This add-on simplifies the Archiving process by allowing users to archive and restore files directly from Finder via the right-click context menu, without the need to open P5 Archive itself. Metadata can be added when archiving. All jobs are listed in a monitoring window for verification. Archived files and folders are...

VMware (www.vmware.com) has updated WorkStation and Workstation Pro to version 12. On the most basic level, Workstation is to a PC what Fusion is to a Mac (see our separate article on the upgrade of VMware Fusion 8 being released). If you're a former Workstation user, you should note some naming changes. The former Workstation is now dubbed Workstation Pro. The app formerly known as Player Pro now goes by the moniker of Workstation Player. The change was done to reduce confusion. Workstation Pro is akin to what VMware is doing with Fusion Pro. It's really more about developing and testing virtual machines with different versions of Windows or Linux on one platform. Workstation Player is for less technical users than those of Workstation Pro, including IT administrators, teachers and trainers. The target audience for Workstation Pro is software engineers/developers; quality assurance teams, IT administrators, technical sales teams, and teachers/trainers. Version 12 adds support for...

IK Multimedia has shipped AmpliTube MESA/Boogie (www.amplitube.com/mesaboogie) on the AmpliTube Custom Shop, from authorized retailers and from the IK Online store. A collaboration between IK Multimedia and the R&D Team at Mesa Engineering, AmpliTube MESA/Boogie brings some of the legendary amplifiers and cabinets from the original boutique manufacturer to AmpliTube 3 Custom Shop for Mac and PC. It's being offered for US$99.99 for a limited time. After Sept. 1, AmpliTube MESA/Boogie will cost $149.99.  Individual MESA/Boogie amps and cabinets are available a la carte in the AmpliTube Custom Shop starting at $34.99 for the amps and $€9.99 for the cabinets.