eMedia Music Corp. has released eMedia Singing For Dummies Level 2 and an upgrade to the eMedia Singing For Dummies software. The new Performance Evaluation feature in eMedia Singing For Dummies Level 2 and the upgraded eMedia Singing For Dummies software is designed to make it easier to learn to sing by showing where you sang flat, sharp, or in tune, and grades your performance for an entire piece. Professional singer and voice teacher Ory Brown, M.M., guides you through more than 80 step-by-step voice lessons. eMedia Singing For Dummies also features eMedia’s Interactive Feedback and new Performance Evaluation and over 35 songs including hits from Diana Ross and John Lennon. eMedia Singing For Dummies Level 2 builds on the lessons found in eMedia Singing For Dummies by adding over 90 more singing lessons created by professional voice instructor, Ory Brown, M.M. These lessons are designed to take your singing to a new level by teaching you how to clearly enunciate lyrics, improve...

MovieConverter (www.movieconverter-studio.com) has launched MovieConverter-Studio Pro 3.0, an update to their video converter software for Mac OS X. Featuring support for all modern codecs, users can change aspect ratio of any video source from square screen to wide screen, and vice versa. Version 3.0 offers a new "easy mode" for beginners and more. There are also new outputs for non-Apple devices, from mobile devices to your game hub, including a connected TV, and more. For expert users, version 3 adds two new "special effects" with the ability to hide the logo of a television channel, as well as "Selective Crop." MovieConverter-Studio Pro requires Mac OS X 10.7 or later. Version 3.0 costs US$32.99 and is available worldwide through the Mac App Store in the Video category.

ATTO Technology (www.attoteach.com) has expanded its line of 12Gb ExpressSAS Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) with three new models.  Each of these new products provide both internal and external ports for connecting up to 2048 devices while occupying a single PCIe slot. They're designed for high-performance computing environments. These low profile adapters offer the ability to connect JBOD, RAID storage, tape, SSD and HDD on the same adapter. ATTO integrates RAID 0,1, 1e and 10 into select model 12Gb HBAs. For the most complex storage ecosystems, ATTO’s 16-port 12Gb HBAs provide internal and external connectivity to provide the lowest latency, and the highest – density connections, the company claims. The line boasts hundreds of product certifications with dozens of partners for hardware and software applications including, disk storage devices, removable tape, optical storage, hard disk drives, and solid state drives.

EditShare (www.editshare.com) has released version 7 of its Geevs range of ingest and playout video servers. Geevs 7 adds such new features as enhanced integration with EditShare’s shared storage and Flow media asset management solutions. Tara Montford, EditShare’s managing director, says Geevs Broadcast Servers have a long history of success within a wide range of demanding workflows including newsroom scheduling, live sports with instant replay, and multi-camera studio ingest. She adds that Geevs 7 provides a host of increased functionality and features for the standard Geevs Client license, including: ° Playback and recording of channels across multiple Geevs servers from a single client; ° Descriptive markers while recording for fast content tagging; ° A Channel Viewer and Administrator interface redesign; ° Local playback of clip files for reduced network bandwidth ° A "Record Local and Push" option that adds recording resilience on slow networks; Application-specific updates...

Apple has announced financial results for its fiscal 2015 first quarter that ended Dec. 27, 2014. The company posted record quarterly revenue of $74.6 billion and record quarterly net profit of $18 billion, or $3.06 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $57.6 billion and net profit of $13.1 billion, or $2.07 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 39.9% compared to 37.9% in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 65 percent of the quarter’s revenue. The results were fueled by all-time record revenue from iPhone and Mac® sales as well as record performance of the App Store. iPhone unit sales of 74.5 million also set a new record. "We’d like to thank our customers for an incredible quarter, which saw demand for Apple products soar to an all-time high," said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a press release. "Our revenue grew 30%over last year to $74.6 billion, and the execution by our teams to achieve these results was simply phenomenal." "Our...

Oryx Digital has introduced Hyper Plan 1.0.1, its new planning solution for Mac OS X and Windows. It allows anyone to create cards with user-defined properties, such as status, priority, assigned to and budget. The cards can then be arranged and colored according to these properties. Users can arrange cards in rows by priority, or even colored by who they have been assigned to. Hyper Plan can also arrange cards in a timeline and total numerical properties by row and column. Hyper Plan allows you to create cards with properties such as status, priority, assigned to and budget. The cards can then be arranged and colored according to these properties. For example, you could arrange cards into columns to do, doing, done and waiting with rows for each member of staff, and colored according to priority. Or you could arrange them in rows by priority, colored by who they have been assigned to. You can switch between views with a mouse click. Hyper Plan can also arrange cards in a timeline...

HYPER has a new Kickstarter project to launch the iPin: "The World's Smallest Laser Pointer and Wireless Presenter" for iPhone/iOS and Android. The Kickstarter project ends in 15 days time on Feb. 9.   HYPER says the iPin is the world’s smallest laser pointer attachment for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. As the name suggest, it's as tiny as a pin that disappears completely into the audio jack of the iOS device with almost no protruding parts. It turns the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch into a laser pointer and wireless presenter.   The new iPin for Android connects to the micro USB port of compatible Android devices. Like the iPin for iOS, it comes with a free app that can be downloaded from the Google Play store that turns the iPin connected Android device into a powerful laser pointer and wireless presenter. T   The new BTtogo adds another level of convenience to the iPin, according to the folks at HYPEr. Traveling to another office and presenting at another site may mean that WiFi...

AssistiveWare (http://www.assistiveware.com) has released Wrise 1.0, its latest Mac OS X application that will be introduced at this week's ATIA conference in Orlando, Florida. Wrise is a text-to-speech-powered word processor designed to make reading and writing accessible for everyone. Offering word highlighting, zoom and EasyReading mode, texts become more comprehensible and easier on the eyes, says says David Niemeijer, CEO and founder of AssistiveWare. With Speak as you Type, Word Prediction and speech tags, writing effort is significantly reduced, he adds. Wrise is fully customizable and can be used to read selected text aloud in any Mac application. Users can personalize their reading experience by selecting their preferred voice, adjusting its speech rate and even fine-tuning the pronunciation of words. What's more, it allows import of a variety of document types including PDF, Word (doc/docx), plain texts and RTF and with the intuitive formatting features texts are easily...

From Monday, Jan. 26, to Friday, Jan. 30 at 12 p.m. (Eastern) anyone can sign up and start their 72 hour free membership by registering on Digital-Tutors + Pluralsight (http://tinyurl.com/otgsjvj) and/or Code School (http://tinyurl.com/kngdrjg). During a 72-hour window that starts at sign up, registrants can watch over 4,000 creative and tech. courses in VFX, CAD, HTML, and IT. Training options include everything from Photoshop, Maya, Nuke and V-Ray plus various programming languages with Code School’s signature interactive training. "We recognize there are numerous ways to learn and are committed to bringing new learning styles to the Pluralsight family of products," saysAaron Skonnard, CEO and co-founder of Pluralsight. "Together we will continue to help professionals remain relevant and ensure businesses stay on top of the latest trends and technologies. The free access to Digital-Tutors, Pluralsight and Code School offers a chance for all to experience trusted professional...

FileMaker has launched the FileMaker Community (www.filemaker.com/r/community) , a free online resource for anyone interested in how to build custom business solutions for iPad, iPhone, Mac, Windows, and the web. Formerly known as the FileMaker Technical Network, or TechNet, the FileMaker Community has been completely redesigned and reorganized to make it easier for people of all skill levels to find information, engage in discussions, and share ideas and interests. All 60,000-plus current members of TechNet automatically get access to the FileMaker Community. Anyone can browse and download resources without the need to register or log in. The FileMaker Community "delivers the resources that people need to succeed in building and deploying FileMaker solutions in a single, searchable and engaging online spot."

Nuclear Nova Software (http://nuclearnova.com) has announced Video ASCII Art 1.0 for Mac OS X. It's a video generator that converts digital movies into text art videos. In addition to processing a variety of video files, Video ASCII Art also processes still photos. It support outputting art to both black/white text and full color, with the ability to export plain mp4, text, html, tif, and rtf files. A user-editable character set adjusts the available characters to be used, while the maximum character width option controls the finished product size. Compatible source videos include, but are not limited to, mp4, m4v, mov, avi, mkv, mpg. Compatible images include jpeg, png, gif, bmp, psd, tif, tga, jpg, tiff, and more. Output quality greatly depends on the input file. Often images such as clip art work better than sources such as digital photos, according to the folks at Nuclear Nova. Video ASCII Art for Mac requires Mac OS X 10.8 or higher. It's available exclusively for US$11.99 at...

equinux (http://www.equinux.com) has introduced version 2.5 of Mail Designer and Mail Designer Pro, its Mac OS X apps for designing emails and newsletters. A problem with the Design Delivery service has been fixed. An issue while saving documents has been fixed. With version 2.5, uploads to Campaign Monitor are more reliable.Mail Designer 2 (US$29.99) and Mail Designer Pro 2 ($49.99) are available both in the equinux Online Store and the Mac App Store.

equinux (http://www.equinux.com) has introduced version 2.5 of Mail Designer and Mail Designer Pro, its Mac OS X apps for designing emails and newsletters. A problem with the Design Delivery service has been fixed. An issue while saving documents has been fixed. With version 2.5, uploads to Campaign Monitor are more reliable.Mail Designer 2 (US$29.99) and Mail Designer Pro 2 ($49.99) are available both in the equinux Online Store and the Mac App Store.

Excel Software (www.excelsoftware.com) has announced a new Screen edition of MacA&D 4.2 with screen modeling capabilities. You can draw screen prototypes of desktop applications, mobile apps or websites. You can click the Browse tool and bring your prototypes to life with editable fields, navigation buttons, selectable menu commands, tabbed panels, dynamic dialogs, calculations, timer controlled events, embedded video, sound, live web pages and scriptable user interactions. The new Screen modeling capabilities are fully integrated into the Desktop and Developer editions. MacA&D support sflow charts, the full 14-diagram UML 2.2 notation for object-oriented design, structured analysis and design, data modeling, Business Process Models (BPMN 2.0), system models with simulation and real-time, multi-task design.  The integrated environment includes data dictionary, requirements management, code generation, reengineering and scriptable reports. MacA&D 4.2 runs on Mac OS X 10.7...

Veenix (http://www.veenix.com) has released Mac OS X Yosemite updates for both of its font software titles, TypeBook Creator and TypeWise. Recent updates for TypeBook Creator include a modern user interface (UI) makeover — plus the original UI version is now also included. TypeWise features a fast-scrolling WYSIWYG font list, plus Veenix's GlyphLogicEngine technology. During Veenix's "Deep Discount Week," users can save up to 60% on single user licenses of both products. TypeBook Creator is also specially priced during Deep Discount Week at US$29.95, a $40 savings. TypeWise is a smart font viewer and manager that helps users find and view fonts and characters. It boasts a fast-scrolling WYSIWYG font list, repertoire and character set layouts, plus Veenix's GlyphLogicEngine technology which analyzes font characteristics and automatically organizes fonts by visual energy as well as into 16 different standard font classifications. TypeWise is priced at $9.95 during Deep Discount Week.

According to Counterpoint Research’s Monthly Market Pulse report (www.counterpointresearch.com), global Apple iPhone sales grew a healthy 26% annually crossing 20 million unit monthly sales mark for the first time ever in November 2014. Apple’s iPhone volumes grew across key countries with the roll-out of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models. It was also helped by relatively lower priced iPhone 5s and 5c models, targeting prepaid users in emerging markets. Japan, Korea and China were the bright spots where Apple registered a higher than expected demand for its newer and bigger display sporting iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models. Apple’s iPhone market share soared and reached record levels in Japan and Korea markets. In Japan, one of the most premium smartphone markets in the world, Apple captured more than half of the smartphone sales in October as well as November. Japan has been one of the strongest market for Apple and it is becoming increasingly difficult for competition to challenge...

Chronos has released iScrapbook 5, a major upgrade to its digital scrapbooking software for Mac OS X (10.10 and higher). According to Robert McCullough, vice president of Development at Chronos, it sports 25 new features including: °   3D headlines (control lighting, perspective, materials, reflections, more); °   Paper texture overlays for photos (33 overlays in six categories: folded, crumpled, canvas, linen, textured, paint); °   Glass texture overlays for photos (eight overlays); °   "Old film look" overlays for photos (eight overlays in three categories: dust & scratches, dust, crackle); °   Auto Enhance for one-click corrections to photos; °   Eight vintage photo effects: B&W, B/W High Contrast, B/W Low Contrast, Fade, Warm, Cool, Bold, Instant; °   Vibrance photo effect; °   Line Art photo effect; °   The ability to straighten photos; °   Draggable special effects: sunburst, sparkle, lenticular halo, and water stain (13 stains); °   Photo placeholders in included pre-...

Twelve South (www.twelvesouth.com) has introduced the Parcslope, a new hybrid stand made exclusively for the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. The sleek metal wedge elevates your MacBook screen while tilting your keyboard at desk level for comfortable typing. With ParcSlope, your laptop sits at a more ergonomic viewing height without requiring an external keyboard. The ParcSlope can create a comfortable stand-alone workstation, or be used as part of a dual-screen setup, according to the folks at Twelve South. It's available now for US$49.99.

The latest version (6.9 R1) of the vjoon K4 cross-media publishing platform extends vjoon K4's capabilities in the browser and plug-ins. New features include a versatile table editor for one of vjoon K4's browser clients, K4 Web Editor ICML. The application's workspace management functions have been ported to the K4 Edit and K4 Layout plug-ins so that they are now available throughout the publishing platform. Added XMP image metadata management capabilities are designed to make it easier to archive and retrieve pictures. With the addition of a direct link to Twitter, this cross-media publishing platform can now disseminate text and images via social media networks. Legacy functions have also been refined to boost K4 Web Editor ICML's performance as a browser client. A case in point is the improved search in K4 Web Editor ICML. It now indicates that the target text has been scanned and that the search will begin anew. Go to www.vjoon.com for more info.

Adesso has released the US$279.99 NuScan 6000 Omnidirectional Barcode Scanner (http://tinyurl.com/pm5q7gy), which allows users to rapidly scan various barcoded items with a scan speed up to 2000 scans per second.  The 650 nm laser diode allows users to scan with precision and accuracy at an operating distance of up to 8.5 inches from the barcode while its omnidirectional 24-line scanning engine allows reliable readings while swiping or presenting items over the scan area in many different angles, according to the folks at Adesso. It's purportedly sturdy enough to withstand one-meter drops.

Apple's home page is honoring Dr. Martin Luther King on the holiday set aside to mark the legacy of the civil rights leader. The website sports a black-and-white photo of Dr. King with the quote: "Today we reflect on the life and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the work that continues in service of the broader concerns of humanity."

Ultimaker (www.ultimaker.com) has launched the Ultimaker Go and Ultimaker Extended, two desktop 3D printers that will be available for pre-order starting in March and be available in April. The Ultimaker Go is a compact printer designed to be easy to use as a starting 3D printer. The Ultimaker Extended has added a 10-centimeter larger build volume for users who want to create larger and more complex projects. The former costs US$1,450; the latter is $3,030.

Buildbox (www.buildbox.com), drag and drop game creation software that allows someone to easily create a game, has been updated to version 1.1. Instead of scripting or coding, a user drags and drops image files directly into the software, builds out their levels and moves sliders to adjust gameplay settings. According to Trey Smith, the founder of Secret Headquarters, the company behind Buildbox., the software can create nearly every major arcade game type from classic top-down shooters like 1942 to platformers similar to the original Super Mario Brothers. It's also easy to invent new gameplay like he did with his hit game Phases (which reached #28 in the Apple App Store), he adds. Buildbox works with both Mac and PC. It exports games to iPhone, iPod, iPad, Amazon Fire Phone, Amazon Fire HD, Amazon TV, OUYA, Mac, Mac App Store, PC, Steam, Desura and more. It's available for US$2,675; a subscription plan is also being considered. Along with version 1.1 of Buildbox, the Game Business...

Lucky, Save Mart and FoodMaxx stores now accept Apple Pay, Apple's mobile payment service, in all of their 217 stores throughout Northern California and Nevada. "Expect new things in our stores this year—the first of which is Apple Pay. We are working diligently to transform the shopping experience for our customers and this cutting-edge technology will help to speed them through checkout," says Nicole Piccinini Pesco, co-president and chief strategy and branding officer. "Accepting Apple Pay provides shoppers a secure and private way to pay for their groceries and we’ve added support for this new mobile payment method solely for their benefit and convenience."