USBfever unveils fixed zoom lens for iPhone...

USBfever recently unveiled a crystal clear plastic case for the iPhone that has a removable telescope attachment for the camera. The telescopic lens is advertised as being distortion-free, and can zoom at a fixed six times the distance of the iPhone's built-in camera. Users attach the telescopic adaptor to the case by sliding it into place over three pegs, and can be worn around the neck when not in use, with the included neck strap. USBfever is selling the iPhone Telescope with Crystal Case for $20 on its website.

uvLayer: view, organize and share videos with friends...

Unknown Vector today launched the uvLayer beta, a free, multi-service video sharing community that allows users to communicate with friends across several social networks. uvLayer relies on Adobe AIR to provide a full-screen video organization and sharing area. Users can sort videos however they choose, by stacking, dragging, and throwing video thumbnails across the virtual tabletop. uvLayer requires Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger or later, and the Adobe AIR browser plugin.

Magic Bullet Frames: convert video to 24p...

Red Giant Software today unveiled Magic Bullet Frames, its latest plugin for Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Premiere Pro. The plugin is designed to allow users to shoot video on low-cost film, and then scale the footage to 24p, giving it a professional finish. Magic Bullet Frames uses motion-adaptive and field-blended modes to process frames, and can apply custom letterboxes to footage to give it a cinematic feel. Red Giant Software is currently selling Magic Bullet Frames for $200.

Briefly: iPhone dev book, gaming site...

In brief: A book on iPhone binary development has made its debut, a new gaming site for users with disabilities is available, Big Nerd Ranch has announced plans for a Ruby on Rails boot camp, and Apple introduces 30 Coding Head Starts ... iPhone Open Application Development is a new title designed to teach users how to write Native Objective-C Applications for the iPhone. Zdziarski, the developer of the first fully functional application using the open iPhone toolkit, explains how to create applications using Objective-C and the iPhone API, which in some ways resembles Apple's desktop API and in other ways strikes new ground. The book covers installation of the toolkits and background on the operating system and Objective-C. Graphics and audio programming, the CoreImage and CoreSurfaces interfaces for games programming, interfacing with iTunes, and the use of sensors are all covered.

Torque Game Builder 1.7 released...

GarageGames today released Torque Game Builder 1.7, an update to the game development software that features improved editors for modifying link points as well as collision polygons. Further changes include new methods for dealing with scene objects, and a new editor for creating vector objects. The latest update to the TGB engine follows the release of version 1.6 on December 14th, which introduced a host of bug fixes and improvements. Torgue Game Builder 1.7 is priced at $100 for independent developers, or $500 for commercial use (system requirements were unavailable).

Apps: iPhone Drive, Nicecast

• iPhone Drive 1.4 ($20) Mac OS X application which lets the iPhone and iPod Touch be used like a disk for portable file storage. This release adds Adds Call Log access. Adds SMS message access. Adds camera photo access. Adds the ability to play music stored on the iPhone or iPod Touch. This release adds Call Log access; SMS message access; camera photo access and the ability to play music stored on the iPhone or iPod Touch. [Download - 3MB]


• Nicecast 1.9 ($40) internet radio station tool. This update includes Instant Hijack 2, enabling the hijacking of audio from applications which are already running on Leopard, as well as Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger). As well, the System Audio Extra has been updated with Soundflower 1.3 and a new Track Titles drawer has been added. This free update is recommended for all users on Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5 [Download - 7.5MB]


• License Keeper 1.3 ($20) stores and organizes important software license information, helping to prevent the loss of valuable software assets and making it accessible when needed most. Automatic serial number scanning and software information detection greatly reduces cumbersome data entry. Attachments keep related email and documents safely archived along with license and registration records. [Download - 1.8MB]


• Unity 2.0.2 ($200) game creation tool. This release includes the following enhancements: A new integrated Ping class for pinging remote servers or machines; Added boolean and byte array parameter support for RPC functions; Improved host list processing (Network.RequestHostList()) so it doesn't cause delays. Client connections to the master server are also more efficient. [Download - form]


• Timed Screenshot 1.1 (donationware) Timed Screenshot, a simple background utility to save screenshots to a folder every few seconds; made with REALbasic from REAL Software, Inc. Requires Mac OS X; source code is included. This application shows REALbasic developers how to use the screenshot functions from the MBS Plugin. Also you can see how to make a background only application (no dock icon). [Download - 2.5MB]


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Patents: AAC audio, hierarchical menu items...

The US Patent and Trademark Office today published 11 of Apple's patent applications. Among the 11, a patent regarding AAC audio bit allocation, as well as one pertaining to hierarchical menus stand out. Apple has presented a concept for perceptual audio encoding, a bit allocation technique that is designed to reduce the size of a file by finding a perfect balance of quality versus compression. While Apple is developing the process to apply it to AAC, it could also be applied to MP3, AC-3, and WMA media formats.

iBank 3 Public Beta adds iPhone support...

IGG Software today released iBank 3 Public Beta, a trial version of its financial management application for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. The software includes iBank for iPhone, a Web-based iPhone application that allows users to enter transactions from an iPhone on-the-go. The update powers a redesigned interface with Mac OS X Core Animation technology, and a new view allows users to 'flip' through transactions presented professionally designed category images. iBank 3 Public Beta requires Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later, and the full version will ship in February for $50.

iSale 5 adds research tool, template editor...

Equinux today began shipping the fifth generation of its online auction management software, iSale 5. The application allows Mac users to create as well as manage online eBay auctions, and features a template editor that allows supports customization of the included 222 templates. iSale 5 simplifies the search for product information and pictures, according to the company, and can display running auctions on the Facebook platform. iSale 5 is priced at $40, and requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later. Upgrades are free for users who purchased iSale after December 15th of 2007, and are priced at $20 for all other customers.

iPhone: Italian carrier found, EDGE outage [U]...

Telecom Italia Mobile is the leading candidate for the Italian iPhone carrier, according to extrapolations based on evidence in the iPhone software package, while a vast EDGE network outage is affecting a significant portion of iPhone users in the US. Italian news site Macity has pointed out that the TIM_Italy.bundle introduced in the v1.1.2 iPhone updater is still there in the current v1.1.3. In firmware v1.1.1, Apple had introduced Italian as an operable language.

Notes from Apple on the MacBook Air: issues, caveats...

The Mac OS X install disc that ships with the MacBook Air can only be used with that model, Apple has revealed in a Knowledge Base document. The installer has a mechanism that prevents this software from being installed on other Macs. Also, Apple says that other Mac OS X 10.5 installation media (presumably including the retail, store-bought copy of Leopard) should not be used when restoring the system software on your MacBook Air. Meanwhile, Apple makes several notes on wireless functionality. For instance, if you MacBook Air is near an external display, you may notice a reduction of throughput for wireless networks that use the 2.4 GHz band.

iTunes surpasses RealPlayer, more unique users...

Apple's iTunes software surpassed RealPlayer in unique users for the first time in April of 2007, according to WebSiteOptimization.com, and was the only contender among the four major streaming media players to show a positive growth rate over the past year. iTunes grew 26.8 percent from December 2006 to December 2007, while QuickTime and RealPlayer usage fell 8.6 percent and 17.5 percent, respectfully. Windows Media Player, meanwhile, remained essentially flat over the past year.

MacNN sites, others gain custom iPhone/iPod icons...

MacNN and its network sites -- Electronista, iPodNN and Leftlane News -- have gained custom Home icons for the iPhone and the iPod touch. This takes advantage of Apple's WebClip option in the v1.1.3 firmware, which allows users to create Safari bookmarks that launch as if they were native applications. The rules and methods for assigning custom icons is described at Apple's iPhone Dev Center.

iPhone run over by 18-wheeler, still works...

A Kansas man has posted photos of his fully functional iPhone after the device flew off the trunk of his car at freeway speeds, only to be run over by a semi truck traveling at an estimated 70 miles-per-hour. The man says his iPhone still works seamlessly in every way -- from making and receiving calls to sending text messages. "Much to my surprise, as I approached, I heard the familiar sound of my ringtone -- the iPhone was alive and ringing," the man recalled. "As I picked it up and cradled it gently in my hands, I saw the screen displaying my caller ID -- the screen still worked!"

SubRosaSoft updates Salvage apps to 6.1.5...

SubRosaSoft has updated all of its Salvage applications to v6.1.5, bringing with them several enhancements. FileSalvage recovers data from Mac OS X systems; PodSalvage can retrieve lost music (and other files) from iPods, and OfficeSalvage can be used to specifically target office documents. Finally, CameraSalvage is meant to restore images from memory cards, optical discs and hard drives. Both Mac- and Windows-formatted storage can be read by all Salvage products.

Gore buys into extra Apple stock...

Al Gore has exercised his stock options to make a greater investment into Apple, reports indicate. The former US vice-president, now a member of Apple's board of directors, has used his privileged position to buy 1,000 shares in the company at a reduced rate of $7.48, offering an immediate profit potential of $124,060. Due to fluctuations in the market, the same shares were worth $131,540 by the end of Tuesday. Gore still has the opportunity to buy 59,000 more shares later on.

MacBook Air Leopard an exclusive OS...

The MacBook Air is dependent on a exclusive version of Mac OS X Leopard, Apple technical documents show. "The Mac OS X 10.5 installation media that shipped with your MacBook Air is designed for use on this computer only and not intended for any other computer," the document warns. Owners are further cautioned that the installer "prevents this software from being installed on other Macintosh computers," and that moreover, an Air cannot be restored by using other Leopard installation discs.

Stanford, iTunes release Lively Arts gift cards...

Stanford University is teaming up with iTunes to provide Lively Arts gift cards, a sampler card that offers attendees to the Lively Arts events 10 free downloads of featured artists. The iTunes sampler card will be given out from January 25th until March 15th at the various events, and will also be available to users through various campus services. Students who can't attend the Lively Arts events can pick up a complimentary card at the Stanford Bookstoor, Tresidder Express, Track House Sport Shop, The Stanford Shop, and The Bookshop at the Cantor Art Center.

Jade automates image correction, batch edits...

DataMind recently unveiled Jade 1.0.2, a program designed to enhance image colors, contrast and dynamics, while preserving overall image quality. Users can fine-tune the algorithms that Jade uses to tweak any processing done to a photo. Jade can also batch process images, saving users the work of repeating a set of corrections to potentially thousands of images. DataMind is offering a free 30-day demo of Jade, with the full copy available for the current discounted price of $100.

Google Toolbox source code for developers

Google has unveiled the release of the Google Toolbox for Mac source code, joining the ranks of Google Data APIs Object-C Library of open source materials available from the internet services giant. The development team calls the collection eclectic, containing apps that are required for most every day tasks. Eventually, the Google Mac Team hopes to have additional utilities, with "more interesting and complex classes".