Seagate Technology (www.seagate.com) is shipping the world’s first 8TB hard disk drive. It delivers bulk data storage solutions for online content storage providing customers with the highest capacity density needed to address an ever increasing amount of unstructured data in an industry-standard 3.5-inch HDD, says Scott Horn, Seagate vice president of marketing. Outfitted with enterprise-class reliability and support for archive workloads, it features multi-drive RV tolerance for consistent enterprise-class performance in high density environments, he adds. The drive also incorporates a SATA 6Gb/s interface for system integration in both private and public data centers. Seagate is shipping drives to select (think enterprise) customers now with wide scale availability next quarter. Pricing hasn't been announced.

Pocket Watch (http://www.pocketwatchllc.com) has announced availability of its US$149.95 ActivePrint Cloud Server Powered by Raspberry Pi. With this small, standalone box almost any USB printer or available network printer will become compatible with iPhones, iPads, and Android devices. This is done by making each printer available through AirPrint, ActivePrint Cloud Print, and Google Cloud Print services simultaneously. The ActivePrint Cloud Server is about the size of a couple of iPhones stacked together and runs on less electricity than most energy efficient lightbulbs, according to the folks at Pocket Watch.. Despite its small size it has a lot of capabilities. Plug it in to an internet connected router or a cable/DSL modem, and it is ready to go. Printers can be connected to the ActivePrint Cloud Server either over the Local Area Network or directly to its two USB ports. Once a printer is connected to the Cloud Server that printer is made available to iPhones and iPads through...

Timo Josten has given us Dropshare 3.3 for the Mac. It's now able to upload files to Rackspace Cloud Files. Also, Dropshare is now able to convert Markdown files to HTML before uploading them. Dropshare is a menu bar app that enables you to drag and drop files, screenshots and even directories to your own server to share them. For it to work correctly, you have to have a server of your choice and a working SSH user account at your disposal. Dropshare costs US$4.99 and is available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Utilities category. It requires Mac OS X 10.9 or later. Go to http://getdropsha.re for more info.

Juno Power (www.JunoPower.com) has announced a new line of Lightning adaptor cables. The Kaebo is an Apple certified charge and sync cable. Unlike traditional rubber cables, it features high strength cloth that makes it resistant to rips or tears, according to Juno Power CEO Johnson Jeng. The cable’s aluminum build is designed to withstand virtually any type of accidental damage, he adds. The Kaebo comes fully equipped with an aluminum connector and USB head. The cable comes in three colors (silver, light gold and salt grey). The Kaebo is currently available for US$21.99 at Juno Power and Amazon.

Noteboom Productions (http://www.noteboomproductions.com/) has announced Tutor for Filemaker Pro - The Basics, their latest video tutorial for the Mac. It consists of 49 video chapters averaging five minutes each. These chapters include Filemaker Pro Terminology to creating a solution to adding tables and fields to adding value lists to creating relationships. By watching the tutorial, the user will have a basic understanding of how to create database solutions using Filemaker Pro. Users can choose different video chapters to watch as they go through the video tutorial. The tutorial isn't subscription based and includes all 49 tutorials, which are stored on your Mac. Once the app is downloaded, no more bandwidth usage is required. It's available for US$9.99 at the Mac App Store.

Dear Panda has released version 5.0.2 of their CourseNotes (http://www.coursenotesapp.com) note-taking app for the Mac. The new version introduces support for audio recording, support for iCloud syncing with CourseNotes on Mac and other iOS devices, and a ton of other new features and improvements. Students can add underlined, bold and italicized text throughout their notes as well as change font sizes to emphasize sections of the text. Along with CourseNotes' bullet summary mode, students now have a set of tools with which to structure their notes. CourseNotes 5.0.2 requires Mac OS X 10.9 or higher and sells for US$4.99. It's available worldwide exclusively through the Mac App Store in the Education category. Volume discounts are available for educational institutions through Apple's App Store Volume Purchase Program.

Travelpro (www.travelpro.com), the inventor of Rollaboard luggage, has partnered with National Geographic, one of the world's largest scientific and educational nonprofit organizations, to introduce the new National Geographic Explorer Cape Town and Leather Brief Collections. The National Geographic Explorer Cape Town Collection features a single and double gusset briefcase (pictured), available in khaki and navy colors. Both briefcases feature comfortably-padded, adjustable shoulder straps, made of sturdy cotton webbing that will stand up to the rigors of world travel, says Scott Applebee, vice president of marketing for the Travelpro family of brands. A removable, padded sleeve holds laptops up to 15.6-inches (such as the MacBook Pro) while the main compartment lets you store a tablet, file folders and power cords.  he front pocket business organizer holds pens, business cards, a phone and other small items.    For adventure or leisure travel, the Cape Town Collection's 21-inch...

Preschool University (http://preschoolu.com) has launched Partners in Rhyme 1.4 for Mac OS X. It's an update of the app designed to help build strong phonemic awareness skills and develop foundational reading skills. Four learning games offer different fun ways to practice and learn rhyming for young children. Partners in Rhyme requires Mac OS X 10.7 or higher. It's free and available at the Mac App Store in the Education category.

Ephnic Software has launched a new version (2.2) of its flagship application, Ephnic Movie Maker, for Mac OS X. The app helps users make home movies out of their favorite photos, video clips and music with transitions and theme effects. The new version comes with a interface and supports 64-bit CPUs. Now users can add two soundtracks and subtitle tracks for their movie and preview the whole project in full-screen mode. Ephnic Movie Maker is now available on Ephnic's website (http://tinyurl.com/lxhc29d) for US$29.99. A demo is available for download.

CS Odessa (www.conceptdraw.com) has announced a new enhancement for ConceptDraw Pro 9: a set of libraries that provides a solution for software engineering diagrams. The Software Development Area in the ConceptDraw Solution Park includes the Entity-Relationship Diagrams Solution, Data Flow Diagrams Solution, IDEF0 Diagrams Solution, and the improved Rapid UML Solution. These new additions to the ConceptDraw Solution Park are free for current users of ConceptDraw Pro. The new Solutions in the Software Development Area of the ConceptDraw Solution Park include collections of templates, samples, and libraries of vector stencils and icons that support software engineering diagrams of any level of complexity. ConceptDraw Pro is compatible with Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. It retails for US$199 USD. ConceptDraw Pro 9 is also included in ConceptDraw Office 2, which retails for $499.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of its My Passport line of portable external hard drives, WD (www.wdc.com) is introducing a new design for its external hard drive lines. The My Passport Ultra - Metal Edition drive and My Passport Ultra - Anniversary Edition drive represent a decade of refinement for WD's portable drive line, according to Tony Tate, vice president and general manager of WD's Content Solutions unit. They feature metal exteriors, up to 2TB capacities in smaller enclosures, content protection, including backup, and cloud integration for anywhere access to personal content. The My Passport Ultra – Metal Edition and Anniversary Edition drives incorporate a unique and innovative radial-spin-design aluminum enclosure, which provides attractive styling and extra protection against the everyday knocks experienced in the hands of today's mobile consumer, says Tate. In addition, the drive offers users hardware encryption and password protection to prevent unauthorized use of...

Moshi has released its urban-inspired Venturo and Urbana bags. They're meant to complement the mobile lifestyle and carry your essential accessories. The Venturo is a single-strap laptop backpack influenced by the style and function of messenger bags. The crossbody design features one strap. Its interior boasts cushioned compartments to secure an up to 15-inch laptop and an iPad or tablet. Additional pockets can organize your cables, accessories and other necessities. The Venturo collection is crafted with a combination of high-resilience materials and PU leather, with a splash-repellent outer surface. It's available for $119.95 in charcoal black or steel blue and for $149.95 in titanium gray or navy blue with a special coating for enhanced durability and weather-resistance. Like the Venturo, The Urbana’s ultra-slim profile features an interior large enough to fit up to a 15-inch laptop and iPad or tablet with room to spare. The bag’s proprietary ViscoStrap has a unique weight-...

DssW (http://tinyurl.com/knfa6hf) has announced Power Manager 4.3 for Mac OS X. This release lets users connect to and remotely manage multiple Macs running Power Manager. Also improved is support for Apple's upcoming Mac OS X Yosemite. Power Manager is an energy saving solution for Mac OS X 10.7 and higher. It enables users to create energy saving schedules and to automate time-consuming tasks. It can power on a Mac, run a series of tasks, and power off the Mac without requiring any interaction. Power Manager is available through the DssW web site for approximately US$54. Version 4.3 is a free upgrade for users of Power Manager 4.x. Existing users can update using Power Manager's automatic software update. A demo is available at the DssW web site.

eMedia Music Corp will release two new titles in the Guitar Lab line of guitar instruction DVDs in September. The Ukulele For Guitar Players and 50 R&B Bass Grooves You Must Know DVDs will be in stores Sept. 19. Hosted by Marcy Marxer, the Ukulele For Guitar Players DVD steps you through a primer covering everything you need to know about different types of ukuleles, tunings and fingerings -- adapting what you likely already know about guitar to the ukulele. Host Andrew Ford will pass on the fretboard genius of master bass players like Louis Johnson, Rocco Prestia, Verdine White, Kenny Burke, Bobby Watson, Marcus Miller, Duck Dunn, Rusty Allen, James Jamerson, Larry Graham, Leroy Hodges, Anthony Jackson, Rod Temperton, Chuck Rainey and many other giants of groove in 50 R&B Bass Grooves You Must Know. Ukulele For Guitar Players and 50 R&B Bass Grooves You Must Know will be available at retail stores nationwide and online at an estimated retail price of US$24.95 each. Go to...

Coffee Stain Studios (www.coffeestainstudios.com) says Mac and Linux support is finally available for Sanctum 2. Everyone who already owns Sanctum 2 on the PC will also be able to play it on Mac and Linux. Furthermore, the game will be free to play this weekend and 85% off to purchase. Here's how the game is described: "Sanctum revolutionized Tower Defense back in 2011 with the FPS take on the genre. The concept proved a success with Sanctum being one of the most sold indies on Steam that year. In 2013 Coffee Stain launched Sanctum 2 which added further depth, more action, four different playable characters, and more customization."

MacDaddy has announced Mac Backup Guru 2.0 for Mac OS X (10.7 and higher), an update of the utility designed to back up files and disks. It adds a Snapshot mode that users system hard links to save space. With a single Start button, the user can sync the contents of any Source with its backup destination with Mac Backup Guru. Disk backups of startup drives are bootable with the app. Mac Backup Guru costs US$29 and is available directly from the publisher's website (http://macdaddy.io).

Connected Data, the creator of the Drobo line of smart storage solutions, has announced a new feature for its Drobo Mini and Drobo 5D products that enables Apple Time Machine users to utilize their Drobos for both user and backup data. 
When Mac users add a disk to Time Machine there's no option to choose how much capacity to use for backup. Without the ability to set a limit for Time Machine, users must sacrifice their entire disk for backup leaving no room for user data. The latest enhancement for Drobo solves this challenge by allowing users to keep Time Machine backups as well as their documents, videos and photos on the same device. Drobo customers no longer need to purchase multiple USB devices to protect their data, saving them time, money and the hassle of managing individual drives, says . 
The update is available to download (http://www.drobo.com/start/) for all existing Drobo 5D and Drobo Mini customers and can be implemented without disruption to existing data. 


The new StretchWrite from Felix is a grip that adds a soft-feel to your favorite pen or pencil while transforming it into a stylus that can be used with devices such as the iPhone and iPad. Its patent pending design offers a thin, hollow point stylus tip for an enhanced digital experience while the silicone grip brings added comfort to your writing instrument, says Felix CEO Chris Michaud. StretchWrite fits over most writing instruments and works with all touch sensitive screens. Simply pull the grip over a pen or pencil, insert the writing tip though the hole on the top end of the StretchWrite. Each order includes a pair of the grips in two different colors: red/gray and blue/pink. It's available at FelixBrand.com for US$9.99 per two-pack.

mTouchLabs has announced SMS Export Plus 1.5, an update of their productivity app exclusively for the iPhone and iPod touch. SMS Export Plus allows you to backup iMessages and SMS from your device to a Mac in .xls format. Using SMS Export Plus, you can archive and maintain records of all your messages at a single location in Excel file. Browse all backup messages in the .xls file very easily. You can filter messages by sender or sort messages by time and date. SMS Export Plus 1.5 costs US$3.99 and is available at the Apple App Store under the Productivity category. Go to http://mtouchlabs.com for more info.

Red Giant (www.redgiant.com) has launched Primatte Keyer 5.1, an update that adds support for Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro X (FCP X) and Motion. Primatte Keyer lets users remove a blue- or green-screen background, often with the touch of a button. Version 5.1 brings the same powerful tools to editors, directly within their NLE or motion graphics tool of choice. Features include automatic keying, digital green screen relighting, and compositing and cleanup tools. Red Giant Primatte Keyer 5.1 is a free upgrade for existing version 5 users. Users of older versions can upgrade to version 5.1 for US$99; new users can purchase the software for $499.

 JAMF Software has given us a new version of its flagship solution, the Casper Suite. This latest version gives IT professionals a new, simple way to manage bring-your-own-device (BYOD) programs while respecting employee privacy. It also includes improvements that let users be more self-sufficient, according to the folks at JAMF. Designed specifically for iOS and Android devices, the Casper Suite offers security compliance without changing the native experience on the user’s device or invading their privacy. With the new version users can access corporate resources such as e-mail, contacts, calendars, Wi-Fi, and VPN. Management and security settings are transparent to the user, informing them of anything IT can do on their personal device. IT can only remove corporate data from the device. This protects the user’s personal data, such as photos and documents. The Casper Suite now integrates well with enterprise networks and simplifies user enrollment by automatically prompting the...

vjoon (www.vjoon.com/) has released version 6.8 R1 of its vjoon K4 cross-media publishing platform. An optimized user experience and an extended set of automated processes feature in this release. The central web clients K4 Overview and K4 Web Portal now offer streamlined user interfaces and handling, as well as several new features. Added workspace management capability now enables any user of any client to work in the same familiar environment. Workspaces may also be tailored to the needs of a group. Version 6.8 is also compatible with Adobe Creative Cloud. Contact vjoon for pricing.

Noise Industries has released Dashwood Smooth Skin, a plugin for Final Cut Pro, Motion, Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro. The app can smooth out undesired details in HD or 4K closeups, including freckles, wrinkles, or acne and also tone down shininess, lift dark shadows or warm up the skin. Dashwood Smooth Skin can automatically track and apply virtual makeup to faces without any keyframing or interruption to the background. It can smooth out undesired details in HD or 4K closeups, including freckles, wrinkles, or acne and also tone down shininess, lift dark shadows or warm up the skin, says Tim Dashwood, founder of Dashwood Cinema Solutions. Dashwood Editor Essentials can be purchased from the Noise Industries website (http://tinyurl.com/m24yl4k) for the introductory price of US$79. The regular price will be $99.

Sproutedapps has announced Blueprint 1.5, an update to their business application for Mac OS X. Created especially for small businesses, Blueprint was developed specifically for managing projects and tracking their progress. Anyone can track progress using milestones, and see related contacts, linked tasks and notes. Version 1.5 of Blueprint offers a new, simplified interface that's compatible with Retina screens, plus even more contact and event functions. Blueprint 1.5 requires Mac OS X 10.7.3 or higher and costs US$59.99. Go to www.sproutedapps.com for more info.