Briefly: Boynq Sound2Go review...

In brief: We have a review of Boynq Sound2Go, FileExaminer is on sale, Belkin is offering pink-ribbon cases to combat breast cancer, and Peachpit is now on Adobe TV ... We have posted a review of the Boynq Sound2Go, a compact portable speaker system for your iPod or any MP3 player that measures 8.5 x 6.5 x 4.75 inches in height. Its one-pound weight is a bit hefty for a suitcase, especially if you're limited to one bag on your airline of choice. It is useful for vacation get-aways, if you can still afford gas to go anywhere, or as a personal sound system on your desk at work.

Apps: Sound Studio, iMedia Browser [u]

• Sound Studio 3.5.6 ($80) sound recording and editing tool. This new version provides enhanced marker support, localization updates and bug fixes, and is a free upgrade for existing owners of Sound Studio 3. The new release also includes Unicode marker name support in AIFF, AIFF-C, WAVE, and Sound Designer 2 formats and updated Japanese localization resources. [Download - 34.7MB]


• iMedia Browser 1.1 (freeware) a stand-alone utility, the Karelia iMedia Browser lets users easily browse and drag content from their entire collection of photos, music, movies, and bookmarks, including their Pictures, Music, and Movies folders as well as applications such as iPhoto, Aperture, iTunes, GarageBand, and several leading web browsers. The Karelia iMedia Browser can be activated either from the dock or from a small icon in the menu bar. Version 1.1 adds Adobe Lightroom support and vastly improved movie thumbnail generation. The new release also includes a useful online Help feature.[Download - 1.9MB]


• TextExpander 2.1.1 ($30) customizable typing shortcut tool for Mac OS X. With TextExpander, users can define abbreviations for frequently-used text strings and images, also known as snippets. When an abbreviation is typed, it expands automatically to the full snippet. The new release fixes post-expansion cursor positioning, handles delimiters using the shift key properly, has minor fixes and improvements. [Download - 3.9MB]


• Trade Manager Pro 1.1 ($150) investment tool. This release has tracking of trade data in the currency of choice. Mac OSX provides Global International currency selection from the International Preferences in System Preference; accessed from the Apple Icon menu item. Once that is set, Trade Manager Pro 1.1 will display the designated currency. The security quotes are no longer displayed with a currency designation to allow for fractional quotations. [Download - 4.4MB]


• TimeTable 1.2 ($15) time tracking and billing utility for Apple iCal. This new version includes German language support, blog style notes export, To Do Items, Quick select timeframe dates and more. With TimeTable, you can view, analyze and total the number of hours recorded in iCal. [Download - 1.5MB]

17-year old develops multi-touch interface for Mac...

Bridger Maxwell – a 17-year old from Orem, Utah – is currently developing a home-built multi-touch surface for Mac OS X, using a Frustrated Total Internal Reflection (FTIR) imaging method for a high school science project. Already creating a second incarnation, Maxwell improves on his previous design by using brighter LEDs mounted in a wooden frame. He uses an infrared camera to capture finger input, which appears to light up fingertips, when observed.

Contour ships rE-versible MacBook sleeve...

Accessory maker Contour Design has released a new version of its notebook sleeve, the rE-versible. The new edition is specifically tailored to fit Apple's MacBook and MacBook Air, and takes its name from an alternate appearance option; while a checkered pattern faces outward by default, the case can be flipped inside-out to reveal a solid version of the same basic color scheme. Either side uses polychloroprene to protect against scratches and impacts.

PC Mag: 24-inch Penryn iMac great, facing rivals...

Apple's newest 24-inch iMac is an amazing computer, but is beginning to face tougher competition, writes PC Magazine in a new review. The $1,800 machine has been upgraded with one of Intel's new Penryn-edition Core 2 Duos, which use 45nm manufacturing; in theory this not only cools a system down, but reduces its power consumption. With options for a 3.06GHz CPU and a GeForce 8800 GS video card, the new iMac is claimed to be an extremely powerful computer, faster than some quad-core Windows PCs.

Same-day movies are a loss leader for Apple...

Apple's new deal with major movie studios to offer downloadable movies on iTunes the same day they are released on DVD is currently costing the company more than it would make on the sale. According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple is buying movies for a wholesale price of around $16, while only charging $14.99 for the content. iTunes' popularity has so far earned the company a solid reputation, helping change the face of digital media distribution by increasing overall market revenue to $175.8 million from almost nothing two years prior.

Jobs drops to No. 11 on Forbes' Best-paid Tech CEOs...

Apple's CEO Steve Jobs dropped from No. 1 to No. 11 on Forbes' list of Top Paid Tech CEOs, while Larry Ellison (Oracle, $192m), Nabell Gareeb (MEMC Electronic Materials, $80m), John Chambers (Cisco, $55m), Mark Hurd (HP, $28m), Jen-Hsun Huang (Nvidia, $25m) were among the top (respectively). In 2006, Jobs took home a staggering $646 million (mostly bellied by his stock package), while Jobs "only" received $14.6 million in compensation. The publication notes that the percentage of top paid tech CEOs among the top 100 most richly compensated CEOs has decreased considerably and Tech CEOs no longer dominate the latter.

Apple backpedals on 10m iTunes song claim...

Apple has quietly backpedaled on its claim of 10 million songs in the iTunes catalog. Earlier this week, in touting iTunes' fifth birthday (the store, not the software), the company noted that its catalog contained more than 10 million songs, but since then the company has updated its own iTunes marketing to reflect the previously announced 6 million number (also noted by setteB.IT). As reported on Monday, the 10 million number would have represented a 66 percent increase in its catalog in just under a month. The company, however, in April announced that surpassed Wal-Mart to become the number one music retailer in the US (based on data from January and February of 2008).

Safari 'update' ploy triples Windows usage...

Apple's Safari browser recently tripled its number of Windows users in the span of a month, according to the Internet analytics group Net Applications. Although the earlier Safari 3.0 beta never achieved Windows marketshare over 0.07 percent, even with the help of a recognizable brand and several months of availability, this figure grew to 0.21 percent during the months of March and April, following the release of the official Safari 3.1 client.

Google streamlines Apps interface for iPhones...

Google has produced a new, generalized iPhone interface for its Google Apps suite of web applications. Whereas iPhone/iPod touch owners have previously had to bookmark pages such as Gmail, Calendar and Docs separately, or visit from the central Google homepage, a single link now unites all three in a form fitted to the iPhone's screen and interface. Users simply tap a button to switch between applications as necessary.

Apple updates Shuffle reset tool for Windows...

Apple has released a new Windows version of its iPod Reset Utility, bringing it to v1.0.4. The tool is specifically intended to restore first- and second-generation iPod shuffles to their factory settings, when the procedure does not work through iTunes; for instance, a Shuffle may become invisible to iTunes, but still show up in My Computer or Device Manager.

Key Apple executives sell off stocks...

Two high-level Apple executives have sold off considerable numbers of stock, according to US regulatory documents. The senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, Phil Schiller, is reported to have sold 136,341 shares of Apple stock, at prices ranging between $170.75 and $173.76; this has returned approximately $23,485,000 to the executive. Meanwhile Bertrand Serlet, the company's senior vice president of Software Engineering, has sold 10,000 shares at roughly the same price, for a return of $1,706,000.

Carphone Warehouse sells out of 16GB iPhone...

Stock of the 16GB iPhone has run out at third-party retailer Carphone Warehouse, says British newspaper The Guardian. This means that Carphone has completely sold out of the iPhone, as the 8GB version very recently sold out, and the company says that it has no intention of replenishing stocks in anticipation of a new iPhone expected during the summer. The same is said to be true of official UK carrier O2, although the company should still have some 16GB phones in its inventory.

Griffin unveils FlexScreen, FlexGrip for Nano, Touch...

Griffin on Thursday unveiled two new cases for the iPod nano and Touch, the FlexGrip and FlexScreen, as well as the Screen Care Kit for iPod Touch. The FlexGrip is a dual-color ribbed case which offers complete protection for both the Touch and the Nano, while leaving access to the screen and touchwheel uninhibited. The case currently only ships with a black front and grey backing, offering a refined look. Griffin is selling the FlexGrip for $15, and is available directly from the company's website and select retailers.

iPhone most popular camera phone on Flickr...

Apple's iPhone is the most popular phone for browsing the internet, but data shows that the phone is one of the most popular for uploading pictures as well. Extracted statistics from popular photo-sharing site Flickr shows that more members use the iPhone to upload photos than other devices, but Flickr notes that there are some limitations on the data. ComputerWorld notes that Flickr's data has the iPhone surpassing the 5-megapixel, flash-equipped Nokia N95 in terms of percentage of users and that over the past year, the iPhone has steadily pulled ahead of the top Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones.