In the past 24 hours, Apple has apparently started prompting iOS devices owners and those with Apple IDs within iTunes to make their accounts more secure, requiring them to pick three security questions and enter their answers when they download a new app, reports "The Next Web" (http://macte.ch/36gki). The company is also asking users to enter a backup email address, in order to better protect their device but also their account (which is tied to Apple’s Retail website and all of its media services). Once the user has entered their questions, answers and a backup email address, they are sent an email to verify the changes, reports "The Next Web."

Another day, another lawsuit. A "Texas shell company" dubbed Touchscreen Gestures is suing Apple and RIM for patent infringement regarding smartphone gestures such as dragging and double tapping, reports "paidContent.org" (http://macte.ch/uyDpn). The lawsuit was filed in East Texas. The patents were issued in 2007 to a Taiwanese maker of touchpad technology. A related suit accuses Samsung’s Galaxy tablet of violating the same patents. "It’s unclear how the patents made their way from Sentelic to the Texas court room," notes "paidContent.org." "The most likely explanation is that they were purchased by one of a growing number of professional 'patent trolls' -- firms that don’t make anything but amass patents in order to make a business of suing deep-pocketed companies like Apple."

Intel will officially unveil its Ivy Bridge computer processors on April 23, according to "DigiTimes" (http://www.digitimes.com). If that's true, new MacBooks Airs, MacBook Pros (or will that be MacBook Pro Airs?) and iMacs soon. The Ivy Bridge family of processors is the first by Intel to incorporate their 3D Tri-Gate technology, reports the "EE TImes" (http://macte.ch/Yc9LY).  These smaller transistors, with their fin-like structure, allow for high volume manufacturing of power-efficient processors with increased processing power while simplifying the transition to smaller nodes, such as 14nm. Ivy Bridge chips also support: PCI Express 3.0; USB 3.0; multiple 4K video playback; and more. Also, according to "HardMac" (http://www.hardmac.com), Intel will introduce a new series of Thunderbolt controllers known as Cactus Ridge. If specifications are identical to previous models, they'll be smaller and use less power, the article says. If that's accurate, expect the new Thunderbolt...

Contract Web Development says their new OS X application, Fast TM Restore, is the first app dealing with Time Machine to be approved by Apple for the Mac App Store. It requires Mac OS X 10.7.x ("Lion") and costs US$5.99. With Fast TM Restore, you can browse your live filesystem and see all of the available Time Machine backup versions of any file or folder. Click on any version to see file size, creation date and modification details for a specific backup. Click one button to restore the Time Machine backup version to your live filesystem. Fast TM Restore offers a visual indication of '"duplicate" backups compared to "original" backup versions. A "Save As" dialog allows you to rename the restored content and/or restore it to a different location. Fast TM Restore's restoration process checks available disk space first to make sure you have enough space to restore selected content. If a restoration would overwrite an existing live file/folder, the original file/folder is moved to the...

Rexi Media, which specializes in virtual presentation skills training, has announced the release of its Certified Virtual Presenter program for online presenters. It's designed to train and certify business professionals on developing and delivering outstanding virtual presentations whether on the Mac or the PC. The online certification program includes self-paced modules, knowledge checks and review games. After studying these training modules, candidates complete an online certification exam. Three levels of certification are available: Silver, Gold and Platinum. After completing the Silver level, candidates go on to become a Gold and Platinum certified presenter by taking advanced modules and demonstrating their virtual presentation skills. For details go to the Rexi Media web site (http://www.reximedia.com).

Western Digital (http://www.westerndigital.com) is shipping the WD Scorpio Blue 7 mm hard drive, the latest addition to its mobile hard drive family. WD says it's the 2.5-inch drive with the lowest power consumption on the market today. Specified to a 400Gs shock tolerance, the new single-platter WD Scorpio Blue small form factor hard drives are available in 500GB and 320GB capacities. The drives' compatibility with industry-standard 9.5 mm slots make them ideal storage options for mainstream notebooks as well as slimmer notebook and ultrabook devices that require a 7 mm drive height, according to Matt Rutledge, vice president and general manager for WD client storage products. WD's WhisperDrive technology enables quiet performance, he adds. WD's SecurePark parks the recording heads off the disk surface during spin up, spin down, and when the drive is off. This ensures the recording head never touches the disk surface resulting in improved long term reliability due to less head wear...

Mirye Software (http://www.mirye.net/) and E Frontier have announced the forthcoming Shade 13, a 3D modeling, rendering and animation solution for Mac OS X and Windows. Participants in the Shade X program can gain access to the pre-release version. Shade 13 will ship in early summer. Qualified customers can get pre-release access through the Shade X program. Three new features include advanced irradiance caching, real time gamma correction, and a physical sky model that mimics sunlight effects based on real world locations. Additional features will be revealed in forthcoming Shade Live Seminars and on the Shade X sneak peek. The current version of Shade is Shade 12. Anyone who purchased Shade 12 after April 6, 2012, will automatically receive a free upgrade to Shade 13 when it's released. Shade is available in three versions: Basic, Standard and Professional. Shade Basic is US$99 and provides a modeling and rendering tool set. It's available through the Mirye Software store and the...

Here are the latest incremental updates for Mac OS X apps. PrivacyScan 1.1 is now available in the Mac App Store with new and improved privacy cleaning features. The software protects online and offline privacy by shredding files that can be used to track your web browsing and computer usage. Fortunate Bear has announced Log Leech (http://fortunatebear.com/products/log-leech/) for iPhone and iPad, and an update to the Mac OS X version. Log Leech is a utility for viewing the console log in an organized and intuitive manner. The 1.5 update includes user interface refinements, better export support, and stability and performance improvements. Twocanoes Software has released Winclone 3 (http://www.twocanoes.com/winclone.php) for OS X, an update of the application that allows users to image, partition, and migrate the Boot Camp partition on their Mac. It's a maintenance release. AssistiveWare and Acapela Group have served up Infovox iVox 3,an update of the text-to-speech voices for Mac...

Six months after its release, the iPhone 4S is still hot. A new survey by the ChangeWave research group (http://www.changwave.com) says 56% of the respondents who plan to buy a smartphone in the next three months plan to buy an iPhone 4S. That's up two percentage points from the last survey, taken at the height of the holiday shopping season. Changewave Research Director Paul Carton says the 56% is the second highest the research group has ever recorded -- second only to a survey taken just before the iPhone 4S was launched last fall. The 4,413 consumers polled in ChangeWave Research's March survey aren't exactly a representative cross-section of the buying public, notes "Fortune" (http://tech.fortune.cnn.com). They're primarily American (87%) and almost all early-adopter types. But as ChangeWave members they do tend to indicate which way the technological wind is blowing, adds "Fortune."

Jon MacLennan -- a professional educator, artist, composer, and Los Angeles-based musician -- has announced "Melodic Expressions: The Art of the Line," an interactive guitar instructional iBook for the iPad to be released later this month at the iBookstore. "Melodic Expressions" features over 90 pages of materials, as well as 178 audio examples all embedded within the book. A wide variety of lines apply to styles encompassing blues, jazz, rock, R&B, pop, and country. "Melodic Expression" was created in iBooks Author, Apple’s new, free app that allows anyone to create and publish multi-touch textbooks for the iPad. With fast and fluid navigation, integrated audio, video, photo galleries, interactive graphics, and more, these books bring content to life in ways the printed page never could. "Apple’s release of iBooks Author this past January is a sign of the times," says MacLennan. "With the rise of independent publishers due to the transforming technology of books, as well as the...

Apple reportedly opposes stricter regulations restricting lithium-battery shipments by air, leading the US Department of Transportation to seek comments on whether the rules should be aligned with those of the UN, reports "Macworld UK" (http://macte.ch/zFyhX). Samsung is also against the regulations. The reason for regulations regarding the aerial transportation of lithium-batteries is that they can spontaneously combust, the article adds. UN rules that go into effect Jan. 1, 2013, say pilots must be notified when lithium batteries are on a flight, shipments should be labelled as hazardous materials, and employees should have training in handling such cargo. The UN rules are supported by Airlines for America and the Rechargeable Battery Association, which, ironically, represents Apple and Samsung, as well as other companies.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is revving up iPad usage, according to an "AVWeb" report (http://macte.ch/ZakhM). The FAA currently has about 1,100 employees -- from pilots to lawyers -- using tablets, has future plans for an app store, and now plans to broadly expand the use of iPads within the agency, according to its tech group. "AVWeb" says the FAA currently allows employees to use iPads to read and send e-mail or documents, and doesn't allow the devices to be used to access FAA networks. However, he FAA's manager of Architecture and Applied Technology said that by 2014, the FAA plans to allow workers the choice to replace laptops with iPads. It plans to consider Android-based tablets as well. notes "AVWeb." The FAA's internal research has found tablets have proven particularly useful for information consumers like mechanics and lawyers. Mechanics who had relied on a desktop computer for parts requests or to file reports gained better access to shared resources through...

Another day, another lawsuit. The United States Department of Justice has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, Hachette SA, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster in New York district court, claiming collusion over eBook pricing, reports "Bloomberg" (http://macte.ch/SXKob). Apple and Macmillan, which have refused to engage in settlement talks with the Justice Department, deny they colluded to raise prices for digital books, the article adds, quoting unnamed "people familiar with the matter." The companies will reportedly argue that pricing agreements between Apple and publishers enhanced competition in the e-book industry, which was dominated by Amazon. The brouhaha centers on Apple's move to change the way that publishers charged for e-books as it prepared to introduce its first iPad in 2010. Traditionally, publishers sold books to retailers for roughly half of the recommended cover price. Under that "wholesale model," booksellers were then free to offer...

At the 2012 NAB Show in booth SL9007, Softron Media Services (http://www.softron.tv/) will demonstrate four-channel HD-SDI output on a Mac mini desktop using Sonnet's (http://www.sonnettech.com/) xMac mini Server and Blackmagic Design's DeckLink Quad video card, and running Softron's OnTheAir Node playout software. "OnTheAir Node is the best way to output multiple channels of video on a Mac, but until now the only way to deliver multiple channels was to use a Mac Pro -- and a major drawback to the Mac Pro is the large amount of space it occupies in a machine room rack," says Pierre Chevalier, technical director for Softron Media Services. "With Sonnet's xMac mini Server, we can now output up to four channels of HD-SDI video using a Mac mini, a space-saving and cost-effective option. The xMac mini Server, coupled with our software, is an ideal solution for any broadcaster looking for two-channel redundancy, A/B roll output, or four different channels of HD-SDI video, depending on the...

Today's special deal are SEIntelligence and SEO video courses, which are being offered for US$99; the regular price is $229. To take advantage of this special pricing go to http://www.mupromo.com/deal/1831/6603/seintelligence . SEIntelligence tracks a website's top competitors with the current high ranking websites in all major search engines. It then uses statistical analysis to compare a user's website with their competition, outlining exactly what aspects of a website need to be optimized in order to achieve higher search engine rankings. Additionally Rage Software is including the search engine optimization video course (an $29.95 value), which you can read more about at http://www.ragesw.com/videos/seo-video.html.

macProVideo.com, an online education community for Mac users, has released a new series of iBooks called “MPVHub Expert Guides.” They can be downloaded at Apple's iBookstore and read on both the iPad and the iPhone. The first iBook in this series, "Remix Essentials" is by Pro Audio educator and remixer Mo Volans. Volans goes through the complete remixing process from beginning to end using Logic Pro. The guides are available on the Apple iBookstore for downloading directly to your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch for US$4.99 per book. For more information, visit the MPVHub (http://macte.ch/m8D7a).

Mac a Montreal (http://www.macamontreal.com/) has introduced a new service -- home automation. They now design, implement, and support custom home automation solutions. Mac a Montreal engineers cover a variety of systems, including lighting control, climate control, security surveillance, home theaters, and more. Located in Montreal, Quebec, Mac a Montreal is a member of the Apple Consultants Network.

Here are the latest incremental updates for Mac OS X apps. Ergonis Software has released KeyCue 6.1 (http://www.ergonis.com/products/keycue), a new release of the company's keyboard shortcut cheat sheet. It's a tool for learning and remembering keyboard shortcuts. KeyCue 6.1 improves support for Keyboard Maestro by displaying macros with string triggers. Pomola has announced DB-Text 1.1 (http://www.pomola.com/products_dbtext/), an update of the tool to import, edit and manage text based archives, the most universal and common used format for data. The new version offers improved columns formatting features, an enhanced search panel and better layout. Sprightly Software has rolled out Screen Ruler 2.2 (http://www.screenrulermac.com/) for Mac OS X, an update to their utility for working with on-screen graphics. In version 2.2, the color picker and grab image tools now retain a history, the line measurement tool now includes an angle measurement, and more. Bensoftware has served up...

For the footwear and apparel industry, the moment of reckoning came in the 1990s, when companies including Nike faced damaging revelations over their use of sweatshop manufacturing -- an event that led to the creation of the Fair Labor Association (FLA). For the electronics industry, the moment has arrived in the 2010s, as an FLA investigation has revealed serious workers’ issues at contract manufacturer Foxconn, famous for its relationship with Apple, according to iHS (http://www.ihs.com), a source of information and analytics. The investigation underscores the serious risk to the public image of electronics brands lying in their US$360 billion relationship with the global contract manufacturing industry, the research firm says. The result of the investigation is likely an increased focus on compliance -- as well as rising costs for electronics brands, according to recent iHS "Contract Manufacturing Service" report. "Much of the press coverage of the FLA investigation has focused on...

For a brief period Apple’s stock market capitalization rate hit the US$600 billion mark this Tuesday.  Apple is by far the largest stock by market capitalization in the world now, but the previous record was held by Microsoft. "Amazingly, that is only about 3% higher for Apple and we are talking about a company where the shares have rallied a whopping 58% since the start of 2012.," says "24/7 Wall Street" (http://macte.ch/PiJmi). "Microsoft is also up big this year so far, but its current market capitalization rate is 'only' $260 billion and that is less than half of the value of Apple now.  Exxon Mobil Corporation is the second largest company by market capitalization with a market cap of $390 million.  So Apple is worth 1.5-times the value of Exxon Mobil."

Worldwide media tablet sales to end users are forecast to total 118.9 million units in 2012, a 98% increase from 2011 sales of 60 million units, according to Gartner (http://www.gartner.com). Apple's iOS continues to be the dominant media tablet OS, as it is projected to account for 61.4% of worldwide media tablet sales to end users in 2012, according to the research grouop. Despite the arrival of Microsoft-based devices to this market, and the expected international rollout of the Kindle Fire, Apple will continue to be the market leader through the forecast period. "Despite PC vendors and phone manufacturers wanting a piece of the pie and launching themselves into the media tablet market, so far, we have seen very limited success outside of Apple with its iPad," says Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner. "As vendors struggled to compete on price and differentiate enough on either the hardware or ecosystem, inventories were built and only 60 million units actually...

A recent SEC filing by Symantec shows Apple has hired its former Chief Accounting Officer Phillip Bullock to lead Apple’s tax department, reports "The Next Web" (http://macte.ch/lFZ1X). "Phillip A. Bullock, who was appointed as Symantec’s Chief Accounting Officer in September 2009, announced he will be leaving the Company to lead the tax department at Apple, Inc., and not due to any disagreement with the Company on any matters relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices," says the SEC filing." Symantec has appointed Andrew Del Matto as its new senior vice president and chief Accounting officer, notes "The Next Web."

Four major U.S. wireless carriers have reached an agreement with the Federal Communications Commission to work toward a centralized database to track and disable stolen mobile phones, reports "The Wall Street Journal" (http://macte.ch/WDWzO). The database, which the wireless companies will build and maintain, will be designed to track phones that are reported as lost or stolen and deny them voice and data service. The idea is to reduce crime by making it difficult or impossible to actually use a stolen device, reducing resale value, says the "WSJ." Presently, Verizon Communications and Sprint Nextel block phones that are reported stolen from being reactivated. AT&T and T-Mobile USA don't. All four have agreed to be part of the new database, per the "Journal."

Wacom (http://www.wacomc.com) has launched the Bamboo Stylus duo, a new dual-purpose stylus for the iPad and Android tablets. It combines a capacitive pen tip for on-screen input at one end of the Stylus with a premium ball-point ink pen at the opposite end for use on traditional paper. Wacom has also introduced Bamboo Paper, the free digital notebook app that recently passed the 2.5 million download mark on the iPad, for the Android market. Bamboo Paper allows users to create and share handwritten notes, doodles and sketches on their mobile devices. Available at Wacom’s eStore in mid-April, 2012, Bamboo Stylus duo is priced at US$39.95. Bamboo Paper for iPad and Android, will be available as a free download from Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Android market place respectively beginning in May.