Appletell | Apple, Mac, iPhone, iPod | News, Rumors, Reviews, How-Tos

Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for March 26, 2009:

Macintosh

• Fast Rabbit Software, LLC has released Little Hoppers Treasure Hunt, their Little Hopper series of educational software for Macintosh and Windows. Little Hoppers Treasure Hunt is a tool for introducing students in grades 2 through 5 to two dimensional graphing and the Cartesian coordinate system. Fast Rabbit Software titles are now used in home and schools in all 50 states within the United States as well as four dozen other countries.
• Connectivity solutions provider Gefen is pleased to announce the pre-release of two new switchers supporting the expanded HDMI v1.3 format. The 4x2 Switcher for HDMI v1.3 and the 2x4 Switcher for HDMI v1.3 both offer easy methods of system integration.
• Bid4That is a new online bidding website that allows it’s members to bid on products for very low costs. Bid4That have just launched and have added a wide range of Apple iPods, and desktops to the mix for extremely low costs to celebrate the launch. Every day Bid4That sells brand new, top-name products at incredibly low prices in auctions that start at just 15 cents with no reserve.
• Karelia Software has released Sandvox 1.6, its award-winning website creation software for Mac OS X. Version 1.6 introduces a number of new features. Foremost is the ability to adjust content for search engines on a page-by-page basis. It also features a new “Discover Plug-ins” window that displays descriptions and previews of additional designs available for free download or purchase from other companies. Sandvox now offers a wider choice of blog commenting systems.
• On the 15th of April, 2009, The Mac Developer Network will be hosting three one-day Mac developer training workshops in Hatfield Hertfordshire, UK. Each workshop runs from 10am to 5pm and focuses on a single subject for the whole day in a very hands-on way. The workshops on offer are User Interfaces with Mike Lee, Core Data with Marcus Zarra and iPhone Development with Bill Dudney.
• Calf Trail Software, LLC has announced that version 1.0 of their Geotagalog software utility is now available. Geotagalog automatically combines digital photos with location data from a GPS tracklog, showing a live preview as the user adjusts camera time settings for better alignment. Geotagalog adds user-friendly support for iPhoto’s Places feature to any digital camera. Users may download a demo version which limits the number of photos imported. The full version costs $19.95 and is available immediately.
• For many Mac users, the Unix command line is a thing of mystery. It offers unparalleled power, but forces users to give up the Mac’s graphical interface and requires a completely different mindset. To enable Mac users to gain competence and comfort with the Mac’s Unix command line, the 111-page ebook Take Control of the Mac Command Line with Terminal is now available. Written by by award-winning author Joe Kissell, the ebook starts with the fundamentals and walks readers through more advanced topics as their knowledge increases. To help readers put their new-found skills to use, Kissell includes 40 real-life “recipes” for tasks that are best done from the command line. The ebook sells for $10.
• An Event Apart has announced the addition of Dan Cederholm, author, Bulletproof Web Design, to the speaker line-up at An Event Apart Seattle and Boston. Cederholm’s talk, Implementing Design: Bulletproof A-Z, covers 26 ways to help your interface become more adaptable and work better in more browsers and devices. Dan’s session takes place during An Event Apart Seattle, May 4-5 at the Bell Harbor Conference Center and An Event Apart Boston, June 22-23 at the Boston Marriott Copley Place.
• Litmus is proud to announce Alkaline 1.0 for Mac OS X. Alkaline is a cross-browser testing tool for web designers, letting them painlessly test their website designs on 17 different Windows browsers in seconds. Mac-based web designers are now able to cross-browser test their website designs on Windows web browsers without leaving OS X. No installation of Windows is required, nor any other additional software.

iPhone/iPod

• Freeverse will launch Flick NBA Basketball, the first NBA branded game available on the App Store, during the 2009 NBA Playoffs, which tip off April 18. The new game, which is still in development, will feature dozens of NBA players from all 30 NBA teams. By flicking a finger on the touchscreen, players will have the opportunity to test their skills in a variety of NBA style events and challenges.  Choose your favorite player, and compete against the computer or your friend. Flick NBA Basketball promises to bring all the action and excitement of the NBA to the palm of your hand!
• HearPlanet has announced the roll-out of the premium version of its popular travel application for iPhones that provides spoken descriptions for nearly 250,000 points of interest around the world. HearPlanet Premium increases usability with the addition of interactive maps that enable users to graphically browse and interact with points of interest without ever leaving the application. HearPlanet Premium is now available for download in Apple’s iTunes App Store.
• Tapbots has announced Convertbot 1.0, their unit conversion program for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Convertbot is a unit conversion robot. Convert currency, length, mass, time and much more in an exciting new way. In addition to its innovative interface, our robot is smart enough to convert to and from mixed units. Convertbot allows mixed units like Foot + Inches, Pounds + Ounces, and more.
• The Game Creators have released Touch & Go, the new game application that uses iPhone’s touch facility to the max! Touch & Go takes a familiar game format and adds a new level of interactivity, in which the gameplay is entirely based on the touch and motion features of the iPhone. Block-based games have never been this immersive!
• Speck has announced it’s bringing its fashionable Fitted hard shell cases, already popular on the iPhone 3G, to the iPod touch 2G and iPod nano 4G. Available in a stylish new assortment of female friendly materials, patterns and colors, the new Fitted case series brings an authentic and vibrant custom look to the newest members of the iPod family. The new case designs will roll-out this April.
• Geppetto has released a free (Lite) version of iNinja Lite and iNinja version 1.5 for the iPhone and iPod touch. They have had great results in the Japanese App Store with iNinja; the Lite version condenses its fun contents and is adjusted so that anyone can experience the thrilling climax of the game within a minute.
• Indie Ventures, LLC is proud to announce MyTrainer Application for iPhone and iPod Touch. MyTrainer is your very own personal trainer on your iPhone and iPod Touch. It features a growing database of workout routines that walks you through a workout with clear video and written instructions along with a beautiful and easy-to-use user interface.
• Eddit has announced the iPhone UI Icon Set. The iPhone UI icon set gives app developers an extensive library of 120 icons for use in their Tab Bar and Tool Bar item objects. Included is a sample iPhone app for browsing the set.