Here are the latest incremental updates for Mac OS X apps. Nokkeusi Application Factory (http://www.nokkeusi.com/en/) has announced Chirashi 1.30, an update to the desktop publishing app for Mac OS X. The upgrade introduces repeating frames with variable content, gradient colors, improved trimmed image quality and more. St. Clair Software has released App Tamer 1.2.1 (http://www.stclairsoft.com/AppTamer/), an update to their Mac utility that automatically pauses applications to improve battery life and reduce CPU usage. The upgrade addresses two issues that have come to light since the recent release of version 1.2. Video-Recorder.net has rolled out Easy Video Recorder for Mac 1.5, an update of the screen-to-video capture application that records actions on the screen as a movie. Any application that runs on your Mac can be recorded, both video and audio. from games to web pages. Mireth Technology has served up version 4.7.4 of NetShred X (http://www.mireth.com/pub/nxme.html), its...

Today's special deal is on Deliver Express -- 50% off the regular price today and 25% off the regular price for two weeks starting April 5. Deliver Express is a time saving tool for developers, designers, small businesses, and anyone who needs to send and share files across the Internet and local networks. With it you drop files into watched hot folders, and they'll be sent automatically to FTP, SFTP, AFP, AMB, Amazon S3, WebDAV, local disks and email -- or be compressed. Normal pricing is US$29.9 for Deliver Basic (up to 15 destinations), $79.95 for Deliver Standard (up to 50 destinations), $149.95 for Deliver Studio (up to 200 destinations) and $299.95 for Deliver Enterprise (unlimited destinations). The special MacUpdate promo prices are, respectively, $14.95, $39.95, $74.95 and $149.95. To take advantage of the pricing go to http://www.mupromo.com/deal/1820/6603/deliver+express .

In a note to clients -- as reported by "Macworld UK" (http://macte.ch/X78zp) -- TG Industry Investment Research analyst Joseph Fersedi says Apple may indeed build its own HDTV -- the rumored "iTV" -- unlikely to have any impact because Apple will make it too expensive. He thinks Apple will go after the high-end segment of the TV market, but that's a small market. “While it makes sense to think that Apple will go high-end in the TV business (as it has in computers, phones and tablets), our analysis suggests that Apple may need to go more mass market within a couple of years of launching a premium-priced TV product," Fersedi wrote. ITG asked consumers in the U.S. whether they were interested in buying an iTV. Thirty-four percent of respondents with a household income greater than US$50,000 a year that said they were likely to buy a TV set in the next 12 months said they'd buy an iTV based on Apple's brand alone. However, among lower-income families, 44 % said they'd be interested in an...

nTelos Wireless (http://www.ntelos.com) -- which provides nationwide voice and data coverage for over 400,000 retail subscribers based in Virginia, West Virginia and portions of Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky -- and Alaska Communications (http://www.alaskacommunications.com) -- a wireless, mobile broadband, Internet, local, long-distance and advanced data solutions for businesses and consumers in Alaska -- will begin carrying the iPhone this month. nTelos Wireless will begin offering the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 to customers on Friday, April 20. Their retail stores will open at 7 a.m.. on that day. Nationwide smartphone plans start at US$79.99 and include unlimited data and messaging. Plus, families can save with the "unlimited everything" smartphone rate plans, which start at $139.99 a month for two lines. Alaska Communications will also begin carrying the iPhone on April 20 with its stores opening at 12:01 a.m. Nationwide individual, unlimited talk plans...

Newegg, an U.S.-based, electronics-focused e-retailer, and DriveSavers Data Recovery, which specializes in data recovery services, has announced an exclusive agreement that offers Newegg customers the option to purchase a DriveSavers Data Recovery Service Plan. Through this partnership, Newegg customers now have a secure, fast and reliable service for recovering their critical data should the unexpected happen, says Newegg CEO Bob Bellack. "We want to give our customers the option of purchasing a data recovery service plan to provide peace of mind that their critical files have a back up to their back up," he adds. "We selected DriveSavers as our partner because of their impressively high rate of data recovery success, stringent security protocols and a strong dedication to customer service. Data recovery can cost thousands of dollars but through this partnership, we are able to offer our customers professional data recovery service at an affordable price." DriveSavers houses a...

Pioneer Electronics (http://www.pioneer-usa.com) has introduced two new Elite branded AV receivers, which offer support for Apple's AirPlay. AirPlay is a feature for streaming music, video and photos wirelessly from an iPad, iPhone and iPod touch to the Apple TV. The wireless technology is being integrated into speaker docks, AV receivers, and stereo systems from several companies. The Elite VSX-42 (US$450) 7.1-channel and VSX-60 ($650) 7.2-channel receivers also incorporate Pioneer’s audio and video technologies, advanced network and smart streaming features such as DLNA (1.5) and Internet radio, with performance features including 192kHz/24-Bit FLAC, WAVE file streaming, Hi-Bit DACs and HDMI conversion and video scaling. The two models also include a variety of audio, video and custom home theater enhancements including MCACC auto-calibration, multi-HDMI inputs and Pioneer’s proprietary apps for the iPhone and iPad, including its new ControlAPP and iControlAV2012.

LaCie (http://www.lacie.com) says its professional 5-bay RAID server is now available in a diskless model. Users can migrate from zero to five disks without data loss. With the 5big Network 2 diskless model, you can leverage unused drives or purchase new drives based on availability and demand. It will automatically build the RAID mode accordingly. The 5big Network 2 also offers RAID modes 5 and 6, which provide automatic, hardware-level data protection. If a single disk fails, simply replace it without turning off the appliance or data. Business owners, administrators and managers can organize a backup regimen for multiple Mac, Windows and Linux workstations. The 5big Network 2 is compatible with Apple's Time Machine and Windows 7 Backup. Additionally, with its dual LAN ports, the 5big Network 2 supports speeds up to 70MB/second. For traveling employees, the 5big Network 2 features remote access. This allows them to share files anywhere with an Internet connection. Employees can...

SubRosaSoft.com (http://www.macforensicslab.com) has updated MacLockPick, a digital forensic field tool, to version 3.0. The new version offers improvements in iOS support, the addition of file and meta tag filters, upgraded application support, and more. Designed for law enforcement professionals, it's based on a USB Flash drive that can be inserted into a suspect's Mac OS X computer that is running (or sleeping). Once the MacLockPick software is run it will extract data from the Apple Keychain and system settings to provide the examiner fast access to the suspect's critical information with as little interaction or trace as possible. A database of the suspect's information is compiled on the Flash drive to allow for transportation away from the suspect's system. This database can be read by the included log readers on Mac OS X, Windows or Linux computers. MacLockPick isn't for sale to the general public. Purchasers will be required to provide proof that they are a licensed law...

Audit Weaver (http://auditweaver.com) has released their flagship app, auditweaver, for Mac OS X (10.5 and higher). The software was developed to handle notoriously tougher communication and documentation sharing between manufacturing firms and their suppliers, says Mike Weaver, founder of Audit Weaver. Auditweaver brings manufacturers, distributors and suppliers together by enabling data sharing between firms., he adds. Material specifications, production schedules, and quality testing data can be shared in auditweaver's patent pending company circles. As an example, outsourcing company XYZ can share its circle dashboard with contract manufacturer ABC, alerting ABC if a material part number has been updated or if the schedule changes. These updates are sent to all subscribers, directly to their email inbox. Conversely, contract manufacturer ABC can share its product testing with buyer XYZ, alerting them of anomalies in real time. Contact Audit Weaver for pricing.

Jumsoft has released new business templates for iWork. iWork is Apple's US$19.99 word processing/document creation softball for Mac OS X. The Business Mix Set contains 100 customizable templates suitable for various types of businesses. It allows users of Pages to create their own invoices, newsletters, flyers, project planning forms and other documents. The Business Mix Set is focused on templates for planning, organizing, and promoting one's business. It contains 10 template categories such as Project Planning Forms, Brochures and Cards and Invitations. Some of the 100 templates included in Business Mix Set contain multiple sections so the collection supplies over 200 layouts. Most template components can be recolored, resized, moved or removed. Users can type or paste in their own text, add and remove text boxes, and change the font. Stock images can be replaced with users' own photos or pictures. The templates are available in both paper size A4 - the standard size in most...

Here are the latest iPhone/iPod touch/iPod/iPad apps. You can find 'em at the Apple App Store (http://www.itunes.com/appstore/). Adikus has announced Barbu for iOS. It's an US40.99 card game for one player. In the style of bridge or hearts, Barbu differs from most other card games in that each four-player hand has different rules. A complete game consists of 28 hands. During each of the player's seven deals he or she may choose one of the seven sets of rules, or contracts, available for that hand. The objective of the game is to achieve the highest total score out of the four players. Scary Robot Productions has released their second free iPhone game, Chick-Tac-Toe, in which players square off against a humorously animated chicken in a game of tic-tac-toe. Battle back and forth in a best of five matchup while laughing at the antics of the chicken that reacts in unexpected ways to all of the wins and losses. Three difficulty levels help to ensure a challenge for all ages and skill...

Apple has released Java for OS X Lion 2012-001 and Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 7 for, respectively, Mac OS X 10.7.x ("Lion") and Mac OS X 10.6 ("Snow Leopard"). You can obtain the updates via the Software Updates component of the Mac OS X Systems Preferences app. The updates patch vulnerabilities in Java 1.6.0_29. The bug fixes are cumulative -- that is, bug fixes in previous update versions are included in subsequent update versions.

ComScore (http://www.comscore.com), a company that "measures the digital world," released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending in February. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found that more than 104 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in February, up 14% versus November. Google Android’s share of the smartphone market eclipsed 50 % in February, an increase of 17 percentage points since February 2011. Apple ranked second with 30.2% of the smartphone market (up five percentage points versus year ago), followed by RIM at 13.4%, Microsoft at 3.9% and Symbian at 1.5%. ComScore says Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.6% market share. Google Android continued to grow its share in the U.S. smartphone market, crossing the 50% threshold in February to capture a majority share for the first time in...

In a note to clients -- as reported by "AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com) -- Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster forecasts that Apple shares will reach US$1,000 in calendar year 2014. This would give the company a market capitalization of about a trillion dollars, making it the first company to hit this milestone. For the March quarter, Munster sees Apple selling 33 million iPhones -- a 10% increase from his previous prediction of 30 million. He also expects the iPad and Mac to sell extremely well. And Monster has long predicted the rumored Apple branded HDTV. Yesterday Topeko Capital Markets analyst Brain White placed an $1,001 price target on Apple's shares because "the 'Apple story' has a long way to play out over the coming years despite the company's already dominate market position." Apple is offering "an ever expanding portfolio of innovative products, a growing integrated digital grid, unmatched aesthetics and a brand that is able to touch the soul of consumers of...

Piriform has brought CCleaner to the Mac. It's available as a free download at http://www.piriform.com/ and the Mac App Store. CCleaner removes unnecessary files, including unused and temporary files. It also clears the user’s Internet and download history, eliminating digital "traces" left on the user’s hard drive that can compromise privacy, according to Piriform CEO Guy Saner. The results are a faster, cleaner and more secure computer, with maximized hard disk space, he adds. Piriform also offers a suite of CCleaner tools for business, including the more advanced CCleaner Network Professional. It's available through resellers and distributors. 

Western Digital (http://www.wdc.com/en/) has introduced what it says is the first 2TB capacity portable drive dedicated for Mac customers: My Passport® Studio. This new standard in high storage capacity, along with Apple Time Machine compatibility for quick and easy automatic backup of Mac hard drives, allows Mac users to use one drive for the protection and transport of virtually all their digital content, everywhere they go, says Jody Bradshaw, senior director and general manager of WD's consumer storage products group. The new My Passport Studio portable drive maintains its elegant and protective all-metal casing to complement the MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, "providing the beautiful aesthetic that Mac users expect while increasing storage capacity to 2TB, enough space for approximately 400,000 photos, 240 hours of video or 500,000 songs," she adds. In addition to the USB 2.0 interface, My Passport Studio boasts two FireWire 800 ports. The dual FireWire ports allow users to daisy...

Based on census-level behavioral data from comScore Device Essentials, the report studied the share of unique smartphones connecting to operator and Wi-Fi networks to provide insight into Internet connection patterns across markets. Among its findings, the analysis shows a significantly higher percentage of iPhones than Android phones connecting to the Internet via Wi-Fi networks. "With the rise in adoption of smartphones, tablets, and other connected devices, network operators have seen a surge in mobile web activity and face new challenges in keeping up with data demands while maintaining their quality of service," says Serge Matta, comScore president of Operator and Mobile Solutions. "As bandwidth usage increases and the spectrum becomes more scarce, operators, original equipment manufacturers, and others in the mobile ecosystem should understand the different dynamics between the use of mobile and Wi-Fi networks to develop strategies to optimize resources and provide their...

Eltima Software has announced USB to Ethernet Connector 1.0 for Mac OS X (10.6 and higher), which currently is the only software solution of this kind with Mac OS X support. USB to Ethernet Connector lets your computer work with remote USB devices over Internet/LAN/WAN,as if those devices were connected directly to this computer. You can share a USB device with remote computers no matter how far they are and let people all over the world use them. Now it's possible to share USB devices over the network between Macs, Windows, and Linux computers. USB to Ethernet Connector allows access to a printer, scanner, webcam, USB dongle, or any other supported device from anywhere at any time, according to the folks at Eltima Software. USB to Ethernet Connector costs US$89.95 for a single license for one shared USB device. The product is licensed according to the number of shared USB devices. Every server computer requires a separate license. Client modules of USB to Ethernet Connector are...

Keynote Zone has released a Spiral Book Keynote theme. Keynote is Apple's presentation software. The Spiral Book theme includes 45 layouts, custom designed charts and tables. It's available in both standard and HD versions. If you're looking for more, you can build and style your own layouts with the help of additional graphic elements included in the "Extras" slides. Eight color schemes for larger inspiration are also included in the "Extras" slide. The Spiral Book standard version theme comes in two sizes (800 x 600 and 1024 x 768) and is available for US$16 at the Keynote Zone site (http://www.keynotezone.com). The Spiral Book HD version theme comes in five sizes (800 x 600, 1024 x 768, 1280 x 720, 1680 x 1050, 1920 x 1080) and is available for $20.

Singular Software has introduced CloudEyes, a cloud-based media synchronization technology that lets producers and contributors share and mine footage for remote video collaborations. CloudEyes, an online synchronization service based on the same technology that powers the PluralEyes and DualEyes products, automatically syncs audio and video clips for multi-camera and dual-system audio applications. The automatic synchronization technology of CloudEyes is used by producers thousands of times every day to create everything from wedding videos to commercials to indie films, says Singular Software CEO Bruce Sharpe. Like Singular Software's family of post-production tools, it removes the need for timecode and clappers, and automates the most time-consuming of workflow tasks -- except now, all those production benefits have moved from desktop to cloud, he adds. For more info go to http://www.singularsoftware.com/cloudeyes .

Native Instruments has announced Traktor Remixed, a revision of the Traktor range to coincide with the imminent arrival of Traktor Pro 2.5. Its due for release on May 30 -- the same day as the Traktor Kontrol F1 add-on controller. All users of Traktor Pro 2 and Traktor Duo 2 will receive a free update to the latest Pro 2.5 software as soon as it's available. The updated software version introduces the Remix Decks, which allow DJs to creatively remix and rearrange tracks before and during their actual performance. As of today, users of Traktor Duo 2 and Traktor Scratch Duo 2 will receive a free upgrade to Traktor Pro 2. Traktor Pro 2 software comes free with a;; Traktor hardware From today onwards, every Traktor hardware item will automatically come with the latest full Traktor Pro 2 version free of charge, which can then be updated to Pro 2.5 on its release. This applies to all Traktor Audio interfaces, controllers and Scratch systems. Traktor Pro 2 previously retailed for US$229...

In a note to clients -- as reported by "Deadline" -- Barclays Equity Research says the rumored Apple branded HDTV (the so-called "iTV") will debut in early 2013 and be impressive if not revolutionary. Barclays sees the iTV as a television set that merges Internet and conventional TV programming enhanced by features including Apple’s Siri and a FaceTime camera and microphone. "Apple’s eventual television could be so much more than a TV -- including gaming, video communication, content delivery, apps, computing and all the capabilities of the current Apple TV -- that it is really not fair to compare it to products already on the market," the research group says. An iTV might use CableCARDs to unscramble providers' signals rather than needing a cable or satellite set-top box. This would eliminate access to the operator’s VOD, but Barclays says that consumers won’t mind because they’ll be able to connect to services such as  Netflix and Hulu. CableCARDs are special-use PCMCIA (PC)...

Last week, "Consumer Reports" played up its findings that the new iPad can heat up to as much as 116 degrees Fahrenheit when plugged in and continually running a game. Now the product review publication says (http://macte.ch/EuplA) the Apple tablet is the best one around. Among its notes, "Consumer Reports" says: ° "The high-resolution screen of the new iPad establishes a new benchmark in excellence, providing the best rendering of detail and color accuracy we've ever seen on a tablet display." ° "Performance on the new iPad was superb in virtually every other way as well." ° "The 5-megapixel camera took very good photos." ° "Verizon's 4G network yielded very fast, dependable connectivity to a 4G-compatible version of the iPad in our informal tests." ° "Despite the energy-intensive display and graphics, the iPad still has longer battery life than all other tablets" ° "....further tests that confirmed the new iPad is warmer in its hottest spots than the iPad 2. But we didn't find those...

Apple has modified its European warranty policy after being fined $1.2 million by Italian authorities for “misleading” customers. But apparently there's still some confusion and anger. Previously, and despite EU law, Apple gave customers only one year of warranty. If you wanted another year, you had to pay for AppleCare plan. Italy found that Apple was wrong, and fined the company. Now Apple offers a two-year warranty, even on non-Apple branded items purchased in the company's retail stores. “When you purchase Apple products, European Union consumer law provides statutory warranty rights in addition to the coverage you receive from the Apple One-Year Limited Warranty and the optional AppleCare Protection Plan,” Apple says on its European websites. However, according to "ZDNet" (http://macte.ch/9hQWz), says there's a lack of clarity regarding Apple's policy. European consumer law says a repair or replacement can be given if “defects present when customer takes delivery”, while Apple’...