Deals: Bookends 50% off today only
April 3 - 12:55 EDT   Today's featured promo on MacUpdate offers Bookends for US$49.99 (50% off, retail $99). "Bookends is a full featured and cost-effective bibliography/reference and information management system for students and professionals. With Bookends you can easily import references (information about journal articles, books, etc.) from EndNote, and directly search and import from hundreds of online sources. Automatic searches of PubMed let you discover articles as soon as they are published. Powerful group-based searches, with static, smart, and virtual groups. Live Search lets you further refine searches as you type." Bookends requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later.  [ Email this story ]

Front Row, QuickTime, iTunes updates posted
April 2 - 22:21 EDT   Apple has posted Front Row 2.1.3, QuickTime 7.4.5, and iTunes 7.6 via its Software Update application or on the Web. Of the updates, the company says: "Front Row 2.1.3 provides for bug fixes and improved iTunes compatibility; QuickTime 7.4.5 for Leopard is recommended for all QuickTime 7 users; QuickTime 7.4.5 for Panther is recommended for all QuickTime 7 users. 04/02/2008; QuickTime 7.4.5 for Tiger is recommended for all QuickTime 7 users; and iTunes 7.6 provides bug fixes to improve stability and performance.  [ Email this story ]

Aspyr announces updates via game agent utility
April 2 - 22:05 EDT   Aspyr Media today released a free update for the Game Agent application for Mac.   Aspyr's Game Agent is free utility that allows you to easily match your computer hardware with the system requirements of Aspyr’s game titles. Game Agent will automatically identify which games will run on your current system and determine necessary system upgrades for any other Aspyr games, if needed. It also lets you see what games will run on current Mac models Apple sells, in case you are looking to buy a new computer or want to check system requirements against a different machine.  [ Email this story ]

Native Instruments releases GUITAR RIG 3.1
April 2 - 14:18 EDT   Native Instruments has released GUITAR RIG 3.1, a free software update for its digital guitar studio. The new version offers optimized high-precision modeling for improved sound quality as well as several usability enhancements, further expanding the unique power and versatility that make GUITAR RIG an ideal creative tool for modern guitarists and producers. Based on recent engineering progress, GUITAR RIG 3.1 has been equipped with optimized high-precision algorithms, which result in a significantly reduced noise floor for virtual amps and stomp box components with no increase in processor load. This now enables GUITAR RIG to deliver rich, saturated high-gain tones without the usual amount of associated background hiss.  [ Email this story ]

MacSpeech releases first minor update to MacDictate
April 2 - 12:50 EDT   MacSpeech, Inc. today released MacSpeech Dictate 1.0.1, the first minor update to its new speech recognition solution for the Macintosh. The 1.0.1 update significantly improves documentation, adds easier license key handling, and provides enhanced AppleScript support including the ability to create commands.  Version 1.0.1 is also a maintenance update that includes fixes for reported issues and is now available for registered customers, using the "Check for Updates" feature.
{ Price: US$XXX ~ Requires: Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later ~ Demo available }  [ Email this story ]

Adobe delivers Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 Beta
April 2 - 08:56 EDT   Adobe Systems today announced Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 beta, a public preview of new and improved functionality to be delivered in the next major release. Lightroom is the professional photographer's essential toolbox, providing one application for managing, adjusting and presenting large volumes of digital photographs. Lightroom 2.0 beta will feature enhancements such as dual-monitor support, localized dodge and burn correction and will be the first Adobe application to support 64-bit for Mac OS X 10.5 Intel Macs and Microsoft Vista 64-bit operating systems.  [ Email this story ]

Hordes of Orcs gets new maps, improved A.I.
April 1 - 17:41 EDT   Freeverse and MrJoy today announced a new update to Hordes of Orcs, their original 3D tower defense game. Now featuring new levels and an improved Artificial Intelligence, it's even more challenging to fight off the marauding invasion! This is a free update for all registered owners of the game.
{ Price: US$24.95 ~ Requires: Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later ~ Demo available }  [ Email this story ]

Realmac Software release RapidWeaver 3.6.6
April 1 - 13:14 EDT   Realmac Software today announced an update to RapidWeaver, its award-winning website creation application for Mac OS X. RapidWeaver 3.6.6 sees numerous improvements to the application including a significantly enhanced exporting process, along with a number of other minor fixes designed to improve the handling of QuickTime movies and images. In addition to feature fixes, the new version also offers preliminary support for the new Simplified Chinese localization.
{ Price: US$49 ~ Requires: Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later ~ Demo available }  [ Email this story ]

Red Marble releases Kudos Rock Legend for the Mac
April 1 - 11:25 EDT   Red Marble Games today announced the release of Kudos Rock Legend for the Macintosh. Unique, challenging, and highly entertaining, Kudos Rock Legend is part role-playing game, part life-sim game, and part Tycoon game, blended to create an experience that truly immerses the player in the game's high energy storyline. In Kudos Rock Legend, players find themselves the leader of their own struggling rock band trying to break into the big leagues of rock super-stardom, fame, and fortune. In addition to being the band's lead singer, players must attend to the personnel and business management issues of the band. Players select musicians for their band, select a band name, write the band's songs, coordinate auditions, attend rehearsals, record albums, play gigs, and more.
{ Price: US$22.95 ~ Requires: Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later ~ Demo available }  [ Email this story ]

Deals: Lineform 38% off today only
April 1 - 10:33 EDT   Today's featured promo on MacUpdate offers Lineform for US$49.95 (38% off, retail $79.95). "Lineform (formerly Inform) is a completely new drawing program. Winner of a 2006 Apple Design Award, it is the ideal tool for vector based diagrams and illustrations. Powerful features combine with a simple interface to create an intuitive artistic process." Lineform requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later.  [ Email this story ]

Griffin announces Wave Case for iPhone
April 1 - 09:40 EDT   Griffin Technology today announced Wave, a svelte and stylish addition to the Griffin family of protective cases for iPhone. "Wave is something truly new in case design," said George Campbell, Industrial Design Director at Griffin Technology. "It gives customers what they expect in a case for iPhone; but we also found a new structural way to make the case more secure. This new functional design also looks very cool. It's instantly recognizable as something unique and different." Continued...  [ Email this story ]

Studiometry 5.1 adds iCal syncing and more
March 31 - 18:42 EDT   Oranged Software today released an update to its organizational tool for studios and freelancers: Studiometry. Version 5.1 adds over 50 updates, enhancements, features, and bug fixes. This update is available immediately for download from their website and is free for all registered users of Studiometry 5.x. New in Studiometry 5.1 is the ability to sync to and from iCal. Previous versions of Studiometry could post calendars to iCal, but would not receive any changes made in iCal or other programs that modified iCal items. Now, editing an item in Studiometry or iCal will immediately sync the data to the other application, and Studiometry can even receive updates to tasks and events made on a PDA or mobile phone synced with iCal.
{ Price: US$219.95 ~ Demo available }  [ Email this story ]

Outspring Inc. announces Outspring Mail
March 31 - 15:44 EDT   Outspring Incorporated, makers of the QuickMail line of email products, today announced Outspring Mail. The product is an email client for Macintosh that employs unique tools and algorithms that the company claims will make processing email far easier than existing products. Utilizing an interface design similar to Apple Mail, Outspring Mail includes most of the tools and protocol support a user would expect in a modern email program: POP, IMAP, SMTP and SSL. But according to Outspring, the truly unique aspects of the program lie in the patent-pending features that help automate email processing.Outspring Mail also contains an advanced spam filter that can eliminate 98% of a user's incoming junk mail, according to the company. Having developed a server-side spam blocker for a number of years, Outspring has leveraged this experience into the spam filter which is included with the product.
{ Price: US$95 ~ 10-day demo available }  [ Email this story ]

Deals: Hot Plan 50% off today only
March 31 - 11:01 EDT   Today's featured promo on MacUpdate offers Hot Plan for US$9.99 (50% off, retail $19.95). "Hot Plan is a multi-purpose personal planning tool designed to help users collect and manage their thoughts, ideas, projects, but also bookmarks, links and text clips. Moreover it offers a simple and effective method to associate target dates to actions and receive notifications." Hot Plan requires Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later.  [ Email this story ]

Roxio releases Toast Titanium X 9.0.2
March 31 - 10:39 EDT   Roxio releases Toast Titanium X 9.0.2 Roxio has posted Toast Titanium X 9.0.2, the latest version if its burning software. The company says: "this release resolves a number of encoding issues related to high-definition source content and creation of Blu-ray video discs. Resolves situation where high-definition DVDs would not play back on PlayStation 3. Resolves a number of TiVo related audio/video sync issues.  [ Email this story ]

Default Folder X 4.0.3 delivers new features, fixes
March 28 - 16:18 EDT   St. Clair Software today announced the availability of Default Folder X 4.0.3, which adds productivity-enhancing features and some significant compatibility fixes to their award-winning utility for enhancing Open and Save dialogs. Version X 4.0.3 offers a new contextual menu that enables you to rename, compress, or delete files and folders directly from within Open and Save dialogs. Saving a compressed copy of a file before replacing it with a new version is now as easy as control-clicking on the old one and choosing "Create zip Archive" in the Save As dialog. Improvements have also been made in handling Finder labels and remembering the size and position of file dialogs. Continued...  [ Email this story ]

Aperture released with 2.1 with image editing plug-in architecture
March 28 - 09:18 EDT   Apple today announced the release of Aperture 2.1, which introduces an open plug-in architecture that makes it easy for photographers to use specialized third party imaging software right from within Aperture. Available today as a free software update, Aperture 2.1 includes the Apple-developed plug-in, Dodge & Burn, which adds brush-based tools for dodge (lighten), burn (darken), contrast, saturation, sharpen and blur. Over the coming months, third party software developers will deliver image editing plug-ins for localized editing, filters and effects, noise analysis and reduction, fisheye lens correction and more. Continued...  [ Email this story ]

Apple releases AirPort Extreme, Mac Pro Updates
March 28 - 08:40 EDT   Apple late yesterday released AirPort Extreme Update 2008-001 for Tiger, Mac Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.3, and Firmware Restoration CD 1.5 via its Software Update application or on the Web. Of the updates, the company says: "the AirPort Extreme Update 2008-001 for Tiger is recommended for all Intel-based Macintosh computers running Tiger OS and improves the reliability of AirPort connections. Mac Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.3 fixes several issues to improve the stability of Mac Pro (Early 2008) computers and the Firmware Restoration CD can restore the firmware of an Intel-based Macintosh computer."  [ Email this story ]

Deals: Compost 70% off today only
March 28 - 00:04 EDT   Today's featured promo on MacUpdate offers Compost for US$5.99 (70% off, retail $19.95). "Compost, the automatic trash management software for Mac OS X. Compost solves your Trash problems by letting you set a time limit on your trash, cap its size, and maintain a minimum amount of space. Whether you’re an individual Mac user, or a network administrator looking to help your users better manage their free space, Compost can help you." Compost requires Mac OS X 10.3 or later.  [ Email this story ]

Torque Game Builder 2.0 now available
March 27 - 19:30 EDT   Torque Game Builder 2.0 now available GarageGames have announced the release of Torque Game Builder (TGB) 2.0. This release updates the Torque X engine for compatibility with Microsoft's XNA 2.0 Framework and improves the engine's performance in 3D environments. Originally launched in the summer of 2007, Torque X has gone from a 2D-only engine to a full-featured 3D game engine. It now provides chunked LOD terrain with clip map texturing, DTS Mesh Support, XNA Model Support, Torque's custom material system, post processing, a 3D particle system, rigid body physics and collision, and built in components.  [ Email this story ]

MacTech's VBA/AppleScript Transition Guide bundles available
March 27 - 16:06 EDT   With Office 2008 for Mac no longer supporting VBA, most Mac Office scripters need to move to AppleScript. To help with this transition, MacTech Magazine has published its approximately 150-page transition guide in its issue. For months, MacTech worked with a team of VBA, AppleScript and Office experts from around the industry to create the most comprehensive guide available to aid users in migrating from VBA to AppleScript. Chock full of step-by-step examples, it not only helps people migrating from VBA, but is useful for anyone who would like to AppleScript Microsoft Office. Complete pricing is available from the Web site.  [ Email this story ]

DLO adds new models to its iPod Jam Jacket family
March 27 - 14:44 EDT   Digital Lifestyle Outfitters (DLO), a trademark of the Philips Group, today unveiled the latest additions to its Jam Jacket family of iPod cases, including new models for the iPod nano and iPod touch. Available today are the Jam Jacket with MultiClip for iPod touch, which features a unique, multi-function "MultiClip," and the Jam Jacket for iPod nano featuring a laser-etched design on the back of the case.  Both cases are available immediately for US$19.99 and feature the same glove-like fit all DLO Jam Jackets are known for.    [ Email this story ]

Fastforward releases Compost 1.9
March 27 - 12:25 EDT   Fastforward Software today released Compost 1.9, an update to the automatic trash management software for Mac OS X. The update introduces rules for automatic file deletion, fixes several bugs and updates the French localization. A polish localization has also been added to Compost. Compost solves Trash problems by letting users set a time limit on the trash, cap its size, and maintain a minimum amount of space. Whether you’re an individual Mac user, or a network administrator looking to help your users better manage their free space, Compost can help you.
{ Price: US$19.95 ~ Requires: Mac OS X 10.3 or later ~ Demo available }  [ Email this story ]

Deals: Baseline 40% off today only
March 27 - 12:17 EDT   Today's featured promo on MacUpdate offers Baseline for US$11.99 (40% off, retail $20). "Baseline tells you what files on your Mac are taking up the most hard drive space. Unlike other Disk sizing apps, Baseline can also tell you what has changed since you last scanned your disk, and show you only those items that have changed. You can view your files in a Finder like list or browser view, or graphically, as a TreeMap. You can delete, compress and archive files directly from Baseline, making tidying up your disk a snap." Baseline requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later.  [ Email this story ]