Briefly: Moshi Codex review ...

In brief: We've published a review of the Wacom Bamboo series, there are 10 new ways to trick out your MacBook, a new tutorial explains how to make icons for Mac OS X, the Firefox 3 beta has debuted, and Apple ranks 11th in Web traffic for November ... We've posted a review of the Moshi Codex MacBook case.. Aevoe, creators of the Moshi line of products, have created an elegant product for any of the MacBook series. The rules of good notebook case design dictate that it should not be too tight and there should be a certain amount of glide when you put your equipment away. When you’re in a hurry, you shouldn't have to fumble about or struggle with the covering. Another rule is that it should project the right image, i.e. look good without much flash, unless that is your preference. A stylish design should be discreet or tastefully bold and the Moshi Codex holds your laptop with just that right amount of style.

Radiohead: 'In Rainbows' comes to iTunes...

Alternative rock band Radiohead has added its latest album, 'In Rainbows,' to Apple's iTunes Store. The musical group's recording contract with major label EMI ended in 2004, and the band recorded as well as produced 'In Rainbows' without the help of a major label. The band sold copies of its album digitally online in October, allowing customers to choose their own price for the work. Radiohead was silent on official sales figures, but one report placed 1.2 million copies of the album on the hard drives of consumers on the first day of its release.

Apps: ImageBuddy, Comic Life

• ImageBuddy 3.5.5 ($20) photo printing program. The release includes Auto Image Orientation Detection and improved Cropping and Scaling controls for Page Layouts as well as a number of bug fixes. Imagebuddy is a digital image layout program designed especially for the Macintosh that is quick and easy to use. ImageBuddy offers Drag and Drop support from iPhoto allowing you to greatly expand on iPhoto's limited printing options. [Download - 10.9MB]


• Comic Life 1.4 ($20) lets you create comics, picture albums, how-tos. The new release features oft-requested brightness and other image fine tuning, iPhoto '08 'Events' and 1:1 display of images. This free update for all users also includes custom page sizes, jagged balloon tails, and neater caption positioning. [Download - 3.3MB]
 

• BurnAgain DVD 1.2.2 ($24) multisession burning application. Simply adds files to a disk several times without creating an individual volume for each session. If items are burned again BurnAgain DVD automatically only adds new or changed files. BurnAgain DVD allows to change the title of the disk at each burn, hiding of previously burned sessions and preserves all HFS specific attributes (resource forks). Version 1.2.2 fixes DVD-RW and CD burning issues with certain drives and includes interface tweaks for Leopard. [Download - 10.9MB]


• MBS REALbasic plug-ins 7.8 ($270) a collection of several plug-in parts which extend the REALbasic development environment with over 900 classes and 2 controls featuring over 17000 documented functions. This release adds: addsDesktopFolderMBS now works for Windows, NSScrollViewMBS, NSTextMBS and NSTextViewMBS, updated to Mac KRM 1.0.7; SControlMBS and NSButtonMBS classes. You can add a checkbox to a NSSavePanelMBS using this class.[Download - 84MB]


• DockStar 2.1 ($10) way for Mail to users keep track of email with 5 colorful badges on the Mail dock icon.  The update brings new clickable indicators on the menu bar, support for monitoring RSS feeds and To Do items, and improved Smart Mailbox support for Leopard users. DockStar helps you keep track of email in various accounts and folders, RSS feeds, Notes, and To Do items with customizable badges in the Mail icon, menu bar, Dashboard, and even in a Screen Saver. [Download - 5MB]

SpamSweep 1.6 adds IMAP support, filters...

Bains Software today released SpamSweep 1.6, an application that utilizes an advanced Bayesian spam filter with a simple user interface. The update improves Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard compatibility, adds support for IMAP accounts as well as custom rule filters, and includes various bug fixes. SpamSweep 1.6 is priced at $25, and requires Mac OS X 10.3 or later.

Bookdog 5 adds del.icio.us support, more...

Sheep Systems today released Bookdog 5, an update to the bookmark management utility that adds integration with del.icio.us bookmarks alongside a new user interface and support for the new release of Netscape Navigator. Bookdog allows users to sort, import/export, migrate, and verify bookmark collections in Safari, Firefox 1-2.x, Camino, Google Bookmarks, del.icio.us, OmniWeb, Opera, Shiira 2.x, and Netscape Navigator. Bookdog 5 is priced at $20 for a 2-Mac license with one year of upgrades, and requires Mac OS X 10.3 or later for basic functionality. Mac OS X 10.4 or later is required for some features, such as del.icio.us support.

Excel Software ships QuickCRC developer app...

Excel Software has begun shipping QuickCRC, a Universal Binary application designed for responsibility-driven design of object-oriented software using CRC cards. The new application runs three times faster on new Intel-based Macs, according to Excel, handling up to 10,000 CRC cards with all design information in memory. Editing changes are instantly reflected throughout the model, ensuring every name and relationship reference is always accurate. QuickCRC is priced at $300 for a single-user license, and requires Mac OS X 10.1 or later.

Avery to unveil DesignPro at Macworld SF...

Avery Dennison will unveil Avery DesignPro at the Macworld Expo this month, a new standalone application that allows users to print on any Avery label or card product. DesignPro includes over 1300 preset layouts and over 2000 clip art and photo images to embellish users' projects. Avery designed the software to have easy access to iPhoto libraries, enabling users to quickly access their personal photos to use with DesignPro. Avery DesignPro will be shown publicly at Avery's Macworld booth, where users can sign up to participate in the beta test. Avery expects to sell the application in the second quarter of 2008.

Hydra HDR creation app to ship at Macworld...

Creaceed today unveiled Hydra, a new application that aims to ease the process of creating HDR photographs on Mac systems. Hydra is designed to give human eye perception to photography by creating high dynamic range (HDR) images from a series of regular photographs, either from DSLRs or traditional point-and-shoot cameras. Hydra is priced at $60, but will be available for an introductory price of $40 until the end of January after the application begins shipping during Macworld on January 14th. Hydra requires Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard to run.

Sprint pulls LG Rumor due to demand, not bugs...

Sprint has pulled its LG Rumor messaging phone from shelves due to sheer demand and not technical flaws, the company announced on Wednesday. The carrier has acknowledged a problem with the slider phone which allowed users to accidentally wipe the phone's firmware clear through a debugging code but says it is an isolated incident; most models have not been affected and have already received a fix, Sprint says.

FutureBASIC released as freeware...

Staz Software has announced that its FutureBASIC integrated development environment (IDE) is available as freeware, but reassured users that work on the product will continue. "Does this mean that work on the product will come to a halt? Absolutely not," the company wrote in response to potential user questioning. "For starters, you will be able to download a revised editor that addresses problems with OS X, System 10.5." Staz says users will also be able to download a new translator under construction by the FBtoC team that will make FB code compilable with the gcc compiler. FutureBASIC requires Mac OS X 10.2 or later on newer Macs, or Mac OS X 9.2 or later on older systems.

Mac OS market share hits record 7.3%...

Strong holiday sales of both MacBook and iPhones resulted in significant market share gains for Apple during the month of December, according to a Net Applications survey. Mac OS X rose to a record 7.3 percent share from 6.8 percent in November, while the company's iPhone garnered .12 percent share over the previous month's .09 percent. The survey suggests that more than one in 1,000 people on the internet are browsing the Web with an iPhone, according to Fortune.

Microvision announces hand-sized Show projector...

Display maker Microvision has announced the Show, a new portable projector based on the company's recent PicoP technology, and intended to be tinier than current rivals as well as better-performing. The device is is small enough to fit in a person's hand, and is also less than a third of an inch thick, making it thinner than some modern media players. The latter are one of the intended pairings of the Show, along with cameras, cellphones and notebooks.

Axiotron ships Modbook tablet Mac...

Axiotron has begun shipping its Modbook tablet Mac, a modified MacBook with a built-in Wacom digitized pen-sensitive liquid crystal display. The only Mac-based tablet on the market won the Best of Show award at Macworld Expo 2007 after debuting at the event. The Modbook features a 2.0GHz or 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Inkwell handwriting recognition software, a 24x DVD combo or 8x DVD SuperDrive, GPS support, and Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Modbooks start at $2,300 and include a 1-year warranty.

Missing Sync for iPhone released ...

Somewhat overshooting its original schedule, Mark/Space has at last released the first version of The Missing Sync for iPhone. While the program cannot copy data directly to an iPhone, it can extract photos, contacts and calendars stored on earlier devices, namely those running Palm, BlackBerry or Windows Mobile operating systems. The data is then converted to an iPhone-compatible format, which syncs as usual.

Alpine slips car stereos with iTunes Tags...

Alpine will soon release a trio of new head-end units for vehicles geared primarily around the iPod, the company has unintentionally revealed through a brochure (PDF) posted online. The iDA-X100, based on the earlier X001, will be one of the first car stereos to support iTunes Tagging. When listening to specific HD Radio stations through the X100, listeners will be able to flag songs and use an attached iPod to sync this information with a computer, creating a playlist of songs to be bought through the iTunes Store. It can also play audio directly from newer iPods through a USB connection, including the iPod touch.

iPhone, 'Get a Mac' ads top USA Today list...

Apple's iPhone and 'Get a Mac' TV ads are among the most admirable of 2007, according to a list of the most memorable ad moments in 10 major categories published by USA TODAY. The Cupertino-based company's iPhone topped the publication's 'Made me want to buy it now' category by showcasing the device's functions in a close-up shot of the screen. Apple also earned the 'Best characters/mascots/spokespeople' title for Actor Justin Long and comedian John Hodgman in their roles of Mac and PC.

iPhone 1.1.3 update to break hacks again?...

The widely-rumored v1.1.3 update for the iPhone will once again break hacks that work with earlier firmware, according to a source that claims to have tried the leaked software. "Natetrue," the creator of iBrickr, says that v1.1.3 disables both unlocks and third-party applications that functioned under v1.1.2, most notably the common AnySIM unlocking utility. Even trying to install v1.1.3 on top of AnySIM 1.2u fails, says Natetrue.