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

Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for July 1, 2009:

Macintosh

• Nisus Software has announced the release of Nisus Writer Pro 1.3, the latest version of their critically acclaimed word processor. To celebrate, Nisus also announces a sale on Pro. Nisus Writer Pro 1.3 adds a completely new document manager. The document manager now can manage any file on your drive, regardless of its location. You can create file groups, or use the predefined smart groups. There is also a style library, and an advanced search that leverages Apple’s Spotlight technology.
• Maintain has announced Cocktail 4.4 (Leopard Edition). Cocktail serves up a scrumptious mix of maintenance tools and interface tweaks, all accessible via a comprehensive graphical interface. Version 4.4 adds ability to reset home directory permissions and Access Control Lists, adds ability to set Time Machine’s backup interval and to modify other Time Machine settings, adds support for more network interfaces, adds support for Safari 4 and ability to disable Safari 4 webpage previews.
• iPresentee has announced iWeb Intros 1.0 to be used with Apple’s Web site building application. iWeb Intros is a part of iWeb Suite package. Visitors will like your web site more if they will get a nice welcome for them. iWeb Intros 1.0 includes five terrific welcome intros: Desert, Groove, Paint Splatter, Dreamy Intro and Multilingual Greetings. These intros can stand alone as intro page for your website or can be incorporated into any iWeb template.
• RapidWeaver Themes has announced Bravado, a brand new theme for the popular website creation tool RapidWeaver. Serving as a professional theme with easy to use features. Bravado offers users some new and unique options which make creating their website as easy as possible. Numerous color schemes and beautiful theme styles come pre-installed to help you get up and running in the shortest amount of time possible.
• Be.ez, designers of stylish accessories for the mobile lifestyle, is proud to announce two new additions to the LEvertigo notebook bag collection: LEvertigo Lime Art and LEvertigo Black/Pumpkin. Available in 13” and 15” sizes, LEvertigo boasts a unique design that positions laptops in a vertical orientation, instead of the horizontal layout common to most bags. The Lime Art and Black/Pumpkin bags are the first in the LEvertigo collection to be PVC-free, made from reengineered materials and packaged in recycled paper packaging.
• The makers of Welcome to Macintosh announced that the documentary will be available to all US Comcast Cable TV subscribers on Pay Per View beginning July 1st 2009. Comcast Subscribers can find it in the Pay Per View channels as well as the Movie section of their On Demand service. Welcome to Macintosh is a feature length documentary that explores the many ways Apple, Inc. has changed the world.
• Close on the heels of Apple’s release of the Safari 4 Web browser, TidBITS Publishing Inc. has published Take Control of Safari 4, ($10.00 USD) by Sharon Zardetto. The 92-page book helps beginning and intermediate Mac users learn new Safari 4 features like Top Sites and searching the page content of bookmarks and history, and it provides essential advice on smart ways to manage bookmarks, load multiple Web pages at once, fill out forms automatically, keep track of passwords, download files, keep up with favorite Web sites via RSS, and manage Web-browsing history.

iPhone/iPod

• Njection LLC has announced that Njection Mobile (NMobile), their worldwide speed trap notification system for iPhone 3G, will release version 1.1.3 for free before the 4th of July weekend. In addition, Njection has released an Ad Engine that specifically uses NMobile’s unique localization features for displaying area store discounts and coupons for its users to take advantage of. This will assist more traditional “Brick and Mortar” companies to compete for customers.
• Brainjuice has announced that the official release of Blogo 1.2.8, its Mac desktop blog editor and Twitter client, is available to the public. Awarded “Pick of the week” by Leo Laporte on Macbreak weekly, the application makes blogging on the Mac easy even for those with no knowledge of HTML. This release adds support for custom fields with WordPress, a much-requested addition and an essential feature for probloggers. Custom fields are used by plugins like the All in One SEO Pack and WP Post Thumbnail, and give bloggers the flexibility to add additional information to posts.
• TimeStream Software has announced free downloads of its popular “Walt Disney World Secrets” Notescast for the iPod Classic and iPod nano for a limited time. Now iPod Classic and iPod nano owners can tour all of Walt Disney World Resort using their iPods in hand as their personal interactive tour guide as they discover one new secret after another throughout all of Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
• Nickelodeon’s AddictingGames will extend to the iPhone this July with the launch of several games and a cross-promotion publishing network for iPhone game developers called the AddictingGames iNetwork. Game developers will now be able to tap into the AddictingGames.com’s promotional reach, upsell capabilities and social gaming features—including: high scores; reviews; and player matching—in order to reach iPhone users with their game applications. Games based on properties from Nickelodeon, COMEDY CENTRAL, MTV and other divisions of MTV Networks will also be part of the AddictingGames iNetwork.
• Last Legion Games (LLG)  and their patented cloudMMO technology are delivering state-of-the art game play to the iPhone via Amazon’s cloud.  Not only did LLG pioneer MMO game play on the cloud, they were the first to take cloudMMO to the iPhone with the acclaimed Watchman game to accompany Warner Bros. blockbuster release earlier this year.