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

Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for May 21, 2009:

Macintosh

• Positive Spin Media today has announced Pandora 2.3, an update to the media collector’s web spider and search agent for Mac OS X. This release is a big one: time has been invested in updating the Google Image Search Agent to support extra-large images, file type specification, and image color. Additional work has been done to fine tune memory consumption, and it has been reduced by up to 20%. Finally, a rare bug that would occasionally cause fewer results than expected has been squashed.
• Jumsoft has upgraded its portfolio of Mail Stationery products by releasing 100 whole new easy applicable designs for its customers’ e-mails. New Mail Stationery collection consists of 100 stationeries from the earlier version and 100 new ones. Most of them have several color themes - so the actual number of different looking layouts increases up to 550. All the templates are created by professional designers and some serve not only as decorations, but carry a message too.
• Arten Science has released MonitorMyMac for Macintosh. MonitorMyMac takes timed snapshots of your computer screen and/or takes snapshots from your connected webcam. These images can be stored locally, or remotely and are also optionally uploaded to your FTP server meaning they can they be accessed from anywhere with Internet access. MonitorMyMac is a complete rewrite and now has an inbuilt image viewer. In addition, MonitorMyMac has “full stealth” capability.
• DEVONtechnologies, LLC has released the fifth public beta of version 2.0 of all editions of its information manager DEVONthink as well as of the smart note-keeper DEVONnote. The version 2.0 upgrade addresses a large number of feature requests from the active user community and modernizes almost every aspect of the applications. The fifth public beta of DEVONthink 2.0 and DEVONnote 2.0, again, brings lots of new and promised features as well as many detail enhancements and bug fixes.
• Zykloid Software has announced Posterino 1.5.1, a maintenance update to their popular life poster and postcard creator for Mac OS X. With a focus on ease-of-use, Posterino creates life posters, photo collages, frames, postcards, greeting cards and contact sheets from digital images. Posterino supports auto-placement of photos, export of posters or postcards, custom template creation, and various image manipulation routines such as cropping and rotation. Version 1.5.1 offers various improvements.

iPhone/iPod

• TimeStream Software has released Animal Kingdom Hidden Mickeys for iPhone and iPod touch. Designed to be used within the park, the new Disney’s Animal Kingdom Hidden Mickeys Notescast takes guests on a magical tour of over 60 different Hidden Mickeys, complete with nearly 50 photo clues. And for those guests who want just a little more help, this fun new Notescast title offers nearly 50 different photo clues, which guests can use to help find the elusive Mickey Mouse.
• Modality, Inc. and Veterinary Board Games, Inc. have announced the Veterinary Board Review Flash Cards. This app is composed of hundreds of questions created by veterinarians and veterinary educators to deliver effective, on-the-go review for professional exams such as the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination, Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates candidates, and regional veterinary board exams.
• Virtual Programming Ltd has brought Codeminion’s hit casual puzzler Ancient Quest of Saqqarah to iPhone with four separate “temple” apps, each containing 72 levels and a different puzzle mechanic based on the original release. Ancient Quest of Saqqarah is a vast and highly successful casual puzzle game. Virtual Programming Ltd are a UK based Mac and iPhone development company, specializing in the delivery of high quality Mac games for a decade.
• Beginning May 20, 2009, iHanWel will donate an equal amount of half of all proceeds from the sale of its iLoseWeight application to the Food for Life and Terre des Hommes aid organizations in order to assist them in their battle against child hunger around the globe. The campaign, which will run indefinitely, offers users of iLoseWeight the opportunity to contribute to a good cause while getting in shape and improving their own health.
• The Dave Matthews Band and Tapulous Inc., the developer of the popular Tap Tap Revenge series for iPhone and iPod Touch, have just released Tap Tap Revenge: Dave Matthews Band.
• LimeLife, the leading women’s cross-platform digital media company, today launched the Apps for Good campaign, contributing 10% of profits from its popular Hollywood Hangman iPhone game within a one-month period from May 21st to June 21st to Kiva.org, the micro-lending platform that alleviates poverty one loan at a time. Hollywood Hangman is a best-selling game on mobile phones, and is one of the first iPhone games to offer the social and multiplayer features enabled by Facebook Connect and Multiplayer WiFi.
• iScape has announced Super Marble Roll for the iPhone and iPod touch. Super Marble Roll is an arcade action game that blends the gameplay of classic arcade machines with contemporary production values. The player must guide his marble through a variety of abstract courses, negotiating platforms, collecting jewels and avoiding deadly drops while battling the clock in a race to reach the end.