RhinoSkin ships aluminum 3G Nano case...

RhinoSkin today began shipping a new aluminum hard case for the latest iPod nanos. The case is made from aluminum to guard against scratching, and fits both 4GB and 8GB Nanos while offering charge as well as playback capability without the need to remove the player. RhinoSkin's latest cover includes a clear, scratch-resistant, and shatterproof polycarbonate plastic front with a durable aluminum back.

Fantom unveils eSATA, USB 2.0 RAID storage...

Fantom Drives today unveiled its new G-Force MegaDisk eSATA+USB external storage system with multiple RAID options. Fantom's external storage system includes NTI Shadow Backup for real-time continuous backup, and supports 300MB/sec transfers via eSATA or 60MB/sec via USB 2.0. user configurable RAID modes include RAID 0 (disk striping) for maximum speed, RAID 1 (disk mirroring) for maximum fault tolerance, JBOD (just a bunch of disks -- direct mapping) for maximum flexibility, or Spanning for simple large volume support at bus speeds as high as 300MB/sec. Boasting dual interface connectivity, the new system is avaiable in 1TB, 1.5TB, and 2TB capacities for $320, $460, and $650 respectively.

Apple, others chastised for licenses...

The UK National Consumer Council (NCC) has called for increased, regulated mitigation of what it calls practices by software companies that "mislead computer users into signing away legal rights," -- including Apple. The organization is asking the European Commission to extend the scope of the Consumer Sales and Sales Guarantees Directives to include digital contracts and license agreements. NCC says its research reveals that software rights-holders are shifting the legal burden onto consumers who buy computer software, leaving them with less protection, providing companies an "unfair advantage over consumers."

Consumer says Apple violates agreement...

One consumer has accused Apple with violating a merchant agreement, which allegedly prevents retailers from demanding a photo ID when customers use a signed credit card to make a purchase. "If your Credit Card is signed it is valid, and the Merchant must not require customer's to provide ID as a condition of purchase," the consumer said. "My Concern is my personal security and other's that shop at Apple Store." The consumer, who goes by Ignacio, is aiming to bring the matter to the attention of the merchant card issuer, network manager, and fellow consumers, according to The Consumerist.

HandBrake 0.9.2 adds AppleTV Take 2 support...

A new version of the DVD ripping tool, HandBrake v0.9.2, has been released. HandBrake is open-source utility that converts DVDs into the MPEG-4 format. The new release incorporates many major and exciting changes—including full support for the AppleTV Take 2 and the latest iPhone/iPod Touch firmware. This release is only compatible with Mac OS X Leopard 10.5. Also included is support for Dolby Digital 5.1 (AC3) sound in MP4 files, providing a better DVD experience on the AppleTV and in Perian. Other new features include multi-track audio support for Apple devices and iPhone-compatible anamorphic video at its full size.

PocketMac GoBetween for Lotus Notes...

PocketMac has released PocketMac GoBetween for Lotus Notes, a tool that allows Mac users to sync Lotus Notes data to nearly 200 devices -- including iPhones, Palm handhelds, and Nokia devices. "Now Lotus Notes users can sync all their data to any of the almost 200 devices that Apple supports with sync services," said Information Appliance Associates CTO Terence Goggin. PocketMac GoBetween for Lotus Notes requires Lotus Notes 7 or later running on Mac OS X 10.4 or newer. The software is priced at $25.

Airfoil 3.1 gets Apple TV support...

Rogue Amoeba has announced Airfoil 3.1, a new release of its AirPort Express extender for Mac OS X. This version includes complete support for sending audio to the Apple TV and Airfoil Speakers for Windows. The Take 2 update from Apple enables the Apple TV to appear as an AirTunes device, just like an AirPort Express, meaning iTunes can send audio to it. Now Airfoil opens the device up to receiving any audio. It can stream media players like QuickTime Player or Realplayer to web-based content like Pandora, Last.fm, Sirius or XM,

Optimism 1.0 monitors mental health, more...

Crackatonic Projects has released Optimism 1.0, a health-wellness planning application that takes a pro-active approach to dealing with mental health. Optimism works by helping users monitor patterns in their lifestyle such as a person’s mood, exercise, sleep, and other potential triggers, symptoms or activities that may trigger depression. The program requires Mac OS X Version 10.2 or higher and runs as a Universal Binary for both Intel and PowerPC processors. Optimism 1.0 costs $19.95 and is available as a full-featured 7-day trial.

FileMaker Developer Conference registration opens...

FileMaker today announced the start of registration for the 2008 FileMaker Developer Conference, which takes placefrom July 13th to the 17th at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Arizona. FileMaker is offering a $200 discount to registrants who act before May 16th, while all attendees will be given a complimentary copy of FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced. Registration fees for the conference start at $1200 for the basic package, and $2000 for the Passport tier pass.

Nvidia unveils CUDA SDK for Mac...

Nvidia today announced the release of CUDA beta (12.9MB) for the Mac, a developer's kit that allows users to create derivative works for academic, commercial, or personal purposes. In addition to Nvidia's cards being used for gaming, some research firms use CUDA to do molecular modeling using parallel processing implementations, according to The Enquirer. The CUDA developers kit beta is available from Nvidia's website.

First Look: REALbasic 2008 Release 1...

Due to a lack of visually-oriented programming tools, the Macintosh has a reputation for being a difficult platform for which to develop applications, especially when designing the user interface. Although Apple includes a free copy of XCode with every Macintosh, XCode is really designed for experienced programmers who are versed in several programming languages. Since C-based languages can be hard to learn and XCode can be confusing as well, most people can’t write programs for the Macintosh. Fortunately, that’s all changed with REALbasic 2008 Release 1, the latest version of the cross-platform development tool from REAL Software.

TypeIt4Me 4.0 checks spelling...

Ettore Software has released v4.0 of TypeIt4Me, a Mac utility meant to forestall extra typing effort. The software detects certain key abbreviations, and then automatically expands them into text such as names, sentences, or even whole documents' worth of text, complete with images. The fourth edition introduces spell-checking, using the native code built into Mac OS X. This can be enabled or disabled through a hotkey, and also lets users flip between three different languages for multilingual documents.

Crucial unveils 800MHz RAM for new Mac Pro...

Lexar Media today unveiled fully buffered Crucial 800MHz memory modules for the Mac Pro, available in 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB paired kits. The memory includes heat dissipation fins to balance the temperature, and feature a lifetime warranty. The new Mac Pro is capable of holding 32GB of memory, and Apple states that each increase to the system memory enhances the machine's performance due to the nature of the RAM pairings. Lexar did not unveil pricing, but said the modules are currently shipping.

MegaPhone 1.5 adds notes to iPhoneDrive...

Ecamm Network has released MegaPhone 1.5, the latest version of its iPhone utility. The program was formally known as iPhoneDrive, and lets users view and export iPhone content via their Mac. Some functions include the ability to export call history or SMS messages, and copy music, movies and other files on and off. Version 1.5 lets users finally insert their own items into the iPhone's native Notes application, so that files can be viewed and edited away from a computer.

Piper: Shuffle price cut should keep iPod numbers up...

Tuesday's updates to the iPod shuffle may have been important to keeping up iPod sales, say analysts with the research firm Piper Jaffray. Even with no change in Shuffle unit estimates, utilizing the new iPod ASPs, segment revs should increase 12 percent year-over-year for the March quarter; Piper says it expects growth of up to 15 percent year-over-year, with a Shuffle ASP of $67 and a general iPod ASP of $172. This translates into iPod segment revenue of $1.94 billion.

Sonnet unveils Gigabit Ethernet card for Mac Pro...

Sonnet today unveiled the Presto Gigabit PCIe Basic, a PCI Express-based Gigabit Ethernet card for the Mac Pro and late model G5 towers. The adaptor provides users with one full- and half- duplex capable 1000/100/10BaseT port, featuring auto-negotiation. The card includes a low profile mounting bracket for installation in a low-profile PC, and requires Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or later. The Presto Gigabit PCIe Basic is available for $40 from Sonnet.

BBC iPlayer tech headed to iPhone, iPod touch...

iPlayer software will eventually be available in a form for iPhones and iPod touches, the BBC has announced. Having just released TV shows to the UK iTunes Store, and confirmed the arrival of a Mac iPlayer client sometime this year, the network now says that it is developing a version for Apple's most advanced mobile devices. The software should in fact be available "within the next few weeks," according to the Guardian, meaning that it may beat the Mac-specific client to market.