Tuesday Apple released version 3 of its Aperture graphics program. The release offers up over 200 new features for photo editing and management. Headliners include Faces, Places, and Brushes. Mac users will be familiar with the Faces and Places feature, as it’s included with iPhoto ’09.
"Millions of people love using iPhoto to organize, edit and share their digital photos," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Aperture 3 is designed for both professionals who edit and manage massive libraries of photos and iPhoto users who want to take their photos further with easy-to-use tools such as Brushes and Adjustment Presets."
Using Faces and Places, Aperture 3 can help users sort and find photos. Using facial detection, Aperture can learn facial features of individuals, and then sort through the user’s library. For example, if you want to quickly pull up photos of a family member. Places uses photo’s hidden geocode data where the photo was taken to sort by location. For example, if you take a photo on your iPhone using location services, it will stamp the photo’s location.
The new Brushes feature allows users to touch up photos by painting effect directly onto the image. The feature includes 15 Quick Brushes to do popular photo editing tasks such as Dodge, Burn, Polarize, and Blur.
When finished, photos can be exported to iTunes for sync with iPhone or iPod. Photos can also be shared with Facebook and Flickr.
Also worth noting Aperture 3 is now a 64-bit application, which can take advantage of OS X Snow Leopard and Core 2 Duo Macs.
Aperture 3 is available now for $199. Current users can upgrade for $99. Aperture 3 is available for download as a 30-day free trial.
Powermat system consists of home/office charger and a portable/travel mat. Devices can be attached via receivers a included multifunction cable. I was a skeptical, but the convenience factor won me over. Check out the review for more. Also, check the review for the giveaway which ends February 13th. Entries are handled via the YouTube commenting system, so click through to the video on YouTube to enter. It requires a free subscription.
NAVIGON Tuesday unwrapped its upcoming version of MobileNavigator 1.5, the company’s turn-by-turn navigation app for the iPhone OS.
Version 1.5 will add live connections to Twitter and Facebook. While the prospects of doing this while driving seem dicey, the features aim to keep friends up-to-date on travel plans. For example, with some taps users can tweet or update status with their current location, destination and estimated time of arrival.
Another new feature is MyRoutes, which personalize the process of route planning. The system will try to take user’s personal driving style, time of day, and day of the week in planning a route. The system will recommend up to three routes to choose from besides NAVIGON’s suggestion for best route.
The third major feature is a new Panorama View3D. The system offers a realistic terrain view of the user’s location and route. This will be an in-app add-on for $9.99.
NAVIGON said the update is slated for spring, so we’ll keep you posted on its availability. Until then, there is a photo stream on Flickr showing off the new features.
It’s worth noting that NAVIGON is running a special for MacWorld Expo. The app is priced at $69.99 with Traffic Live add-on $19.99. The special runs from February 5-15, 2010.
Real Networks release latest player for Mac OS X adding conversion, social networking.
Monday Real Networks released the player which offers the ability convert multiple video formats from the Web, and then save them for mobile devices. Real officially calls this release RealPlayer SP (Social/Portable) 1.0 Beta (AKA Version 12.0.0). In the Mac version, Real states that when viewing a RPSP video stream, users will have the option to capture on-demand streams to their disk drive. The software also hooks into your Web browser, and will begin buffering Flash video, like from YouTube, to be saved to your drive.
Once downloaded, the included RealPlayer Converter can then convert the format to fit your mobile needs. The utility includes presets for many popular devices including Apple's iPhone and iPod, in addition to the ability to create a custom setting. RealPlayer Converter supports conversation to H.264 and 3GP video, and AAC, MP3, and WAV audio. The Video Converter is drag and drop so it will work beyond video just downloaded from RealPlayer.
For the social portion of the application, RealPlayer SP hops on the social media train and allows users to quickly share links to friends. Quick links for Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, and an email form are available.
RealPlayer SP is available now as a free download.
Dev-Team release update for iPhone jailbreak utility.
Jailbreakers have an update for Apple’s latest iPhone OS 3.1.3. PwnageTool 3.1.5 for Mac OS X promises to tackle the latest OS, with plenty words of caution.
Dev-Team recommends that if your device does not exhibit a battery reporting problem, one of the more visible features of the iPhone OS update, you may want to sit this out for now and just stick with iPhone OS 3.1.2. If still interested, check out the blog post and evaluate your own risk/reward.
iPhone OS 3.1.3 was released last week and in addition to a fix for battery problem on the 3GS models, the update resolves issues with 3rd party apps not running, and a fix for the Japanese Kana keyboard.
The new Jawbone Icon bluetooth headset features an on-phone battery meter just for the iPhone. The other big feature is the MyTalk Website, which will update the headsets firmware and add new features (still in beta). It also features very small design with quite good call quality and general usability.
Apple posted two updates late Monday for its popular iTunes media software and the new 27-inch iMac.
iTunes 9.0.3 offers a number of bug fixes including it better remembering your password at the iTunes Store, problems with Smart Playlists and Podcasts on iPods, and Resolves an issue of recognizing an iPod when connected. The update also improves general stability and performance, says Apple. iTunes 9.0.3 also makes improvements to the way it displays contents for easier browsing.
The update is available now for both Mac and PC. The update can be downloaded from Apple's Software Update utility, iTunes, or Apple's site below.
The 27-inch iMac Display Firmware Update 1.0 addresses issues that causes intermittent flickering of the display. Not much more information is available about the update. It is of course only intended for the new 27-inch iMac computers. It too can be downloaded from the link below or via Apple's Software Update utility.
Makers of the popular InvisibleSHIELD introduced a new battery backup/charging station for most all your gadget needs.
If it charges from USB, the ZAGGsparq will probably give all the juice you'll need. The device sports a 6000 mAh lithium polymer battery and weighs in at just over a half a pound. The Sparq promises to charge your iPhone four times before itself needs recharging. The Spark is equipped with two USB ports for charging two devices simultaneously. It also has four LED lights to indicate residual charge for 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% charge capacity. The device appears to plug directly into the wall, eliminating its own cable, which make sit pretty convenient.
While it won't fit in your pocket, the Sparq looks promising in a travel bag offering longer battery life for road warriors.
The ZAGGspaq has an MSPR of $129.99, but is available for $99.99 introductory price. It's not yet shipping and no dates available.
Latest line of celebrity headphones announces for shipment this spring.
The new Diddybeats are in-ear headphones from Diddy. These earphones follow the popular Beats by Dre and Lady Gaga lines also from Monster.
The Diddybeats feature Monster ControlTalk, which allows iPod and iPhone playback control. They also come equipped with a microphone for hands-free iPhone calling. The cables on the headphones use Monster's flat cable design, which should help in preventing tangles. The housing on the headphones is wrapped in leather for durable styling.
The headphones come with a travel case and one year warranty. They will have a suggested retail price of $179, however, are available now for $149 as pre-order. With pre-order customers will get a t-shirt and a sample from Diddy's new album. The Diddybeats are expected to ship in April, although Best Buy is listing a March 28th launch.
Productivity company announced development plans for Apple's new iPad
Omni Group announced last week that it intends to develop five of its apps specifically for the iPad. The company announced in their blog that some apps have already begun work, while others will start pending completion of other Mac OS work.
Specifically, the company will bring OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, OmniPlan, OmniFocus, and OmniGraphSketcher to the iPad. Work is currently underway on OmniGraffle and OmniFocus, the company's diagramming and action-item organization software. The company said they started these apps as soon as they got their hands on the new software development kit from Apple last Wednesday. They also stated they hope to begin OmniGraphSketches in the coming weeks.
For other software, OmniPlan will be further down the road as they finish up development of OmniPlan 2 for Mac. Likewise, OmniOutliner 4 for Mac is pending and they plan to finish that before beginning the new app.
Currently only OmniFocus is available for the iPhone OS.
"Millions of people love using iPhoto to organize, edit and share their digital photos," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Aperture 3 is designed for both professionals who edit and manage massive libraries of photos and iPhoto users who want to take their photos further with easy-to-use tools such as Brushes and Adjustment Presets."
Version 1.5 will add live connections to Twitter and Facebook. While the prospects of doing this while driving seem dicey, the features aim to keep friends up-to-date on travel plans. For example, with some taps users can tweet or update status with their current location, destination and estimated time of arrival.
Monday Real Networks released the player which offers the ability convert multiple video formats from the Web, and then save them for mobile devices. Real officially calls this release RealPlayer SP (Social/Portable) 1.0 Beta (AKA Version 12.0.0). In the Mac version, Real states that when viewing a RPSP video stream, users will have the option to capture on-demand streams to their disk drive. The software also hooks into your Web browser, and will begin buffering Flash video, like from YouTube, to be saved to your drive.
Jailbreakers have an update for Apple’s latest iPhone OS 3.1.3. PwnageTool 3.1.5 for Mac OS X promises to tackle the latest OS, with plenty words of caution.
iTunes 9.0.3 offers a number of bug fixes including it better remembering your password at the iTunes Store, problems with Smart Playlists and Podcasts on iPods, and Resolves an issue of recognizing an iPod when connected. The update also improves general stability and performance, says Apple. iTunes 9.0.3 also makes improvements to the way it displays contents for easier browsing.
If it charges from USB, the ZAGGsparq will probably give all the juice you'll need. The device sports a 6000 mAh lithium polymer battery and weighs in at just over a half a pound. The Sparq promises to charge your iPhone four times before itself needs recharging. The Spark is equipped with two USB ports for charging two devices simultaneously. It also has four LED lights to indicate residual charge for 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% charge capacity. The device appears to plug directly into the wall, eliminating its own cable, which make sit pretty convenient.
Latest line of celebrity headphones announces for shipment this spring.
Omni Group announced last week that it intends to develop five of its apps specifically for the iPad. The company announced in their blog that some apps have already begun work, while others will start pending completion of other Mac OS work.