The MacTrack – iPhone, iPod, iPod Touch and Mac News

Budapest, Hungary – KAMPO Interactive today announces the Mac release of Balance, a tilt puzzle game that can be played by simply tilting a laptop. Besides the mouse and trackpad, the game can make use of the accelerometers built into all Apple notebooks, including the various MacBook, PowerBook and iBook models. Players are invited to test the demo on Mac or PC and watch videos on how this works on various platforms at the game’s website.

Balance requires both puzzle solving and hand-eye coordination skills without any time pressure as players tilt the playfield to guide one or more balls between various 3D obstacles to their destinations. The game has 75 levels that are continuously expanded by downloadable level upgrades. Players can share their best times over the internet along with recordings of their sessions for others to watch.

Balance is also coming for the iPhone as well as other accelerometer embedded devices shortly.

Motion sensors are widely used in today’s notebooks to sense when the machine is dropped to protect their hard disks. Balance currently supports all Apple notebooks and certain Lenovo ThinkPad and Toshiba models with embedded accelerometers. Visit the game’s website for up to date information about device support.

Balance
Direct Download Link (Mac)
Direct Download Link (Windows)
Screenshots
Trailer on YouTube

KAMPO Interactive is a game development and publishing company with a focus towards casual games for PC, Mac, mobile and handheld devices. Copyright 2008 KAMPO Interactive. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Frankfurt, Germany – TMMC is proud to announce the immediate availability of “Slam it!” A parlor game for the iPhone or iPod touch. “Slam it!” is a fun way to draw sticks, to have a shoot-out or to find a random winner. The game makes use of the multi-touch interface to recognize game participants and as part of the game idea makes use of the accelerometer to detect players slamming on the desk.

“Having a kids’ birthday and want to find a team captain? Need to determine who’s paying the next round? Who will be the designated driver? Which poor soul in your shared flat will do the dishes? Don’t just agree on it or, god forbid, command it – no, slam it!”, said Sven Schmidt, co-developer of “Slam it!”.

To play “Slam it!”, one player puts his or her iPhone or iPod touch on a table or desk. Participants gather around the device and each player then selects a playing field by placing a finger on the screen. Once every player has lifted his or her finger, a spinner in the middle of the game board will start to rotate and to accelerate. At full speed, players can slam on the desk. The internal accelerometer of the iPhone or iPod touch will detect the vibration and the spinner will decelerate, pointing out a player.

“Slam it!” can be played in two game modes (“Protect Yourself” and “Last Player Wins”). The game comes with three beautifully designed themes called “Roulette”, “Psycho” and “Techno”.

Supported Languages:
English, German, Italian and Japanese.

System requirements:
iPhone or iPod Touch 2.0 or later.

Pricing and Availability:
“Slam it!” for iPhone or iPod Touch is only $0.99 (USD) and available exclusively through the Apple App Store.

Slam it!
Download and Purchase

“Slam It!” was developed by a privately founded development team in Europe that has years of experience in Software development for Mac OS X and professional graphics design. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Grantwood Technology, LLC today announced the release of the QuickFlipCase for Blackberry Storm, a premium leather case designed to comfortably secure the Blackberry Storm in place on your belt or waist.

The QuickFlipCase features a horizontally designed case with a smooth leather exterior with classic contrast stitching and a sturdy permanent belt clip. It also uses a secure magnetic enclosure for the lid, and simple center push-up hole to allow easy removal of your Blackberry Storm.

The soft leather covering was designed to not only to be protective but to allow easy removal of the Blackberry Storm with just one hand. The magnetic closure is strong but not overpowering and unlike Velcro, it quietly opens and will not wear out. Simply open the lid and slide out the Blackberry Storm with ease. Every aspect of the QuickFlipCase was designed for durability, comfort and style.

“Building on the success of our QuickFlipCase for the iPhone,” states Michael Banks, co-founder and CEO of Grantwood Technology, LLC, “we wanted to have a leather Blackberry Storm case designed with all the best features without the expense of competing products.”

The QuickFlipCase for the Blackberry Storm is compatible with the recently released Blackberry Storm, and retails for $18.99 USD.

Grantwood Technology
QuickFlipCase
Purchase
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Grantwood Technology, LLC specializes in unique and functional iPod/iPhone accessories and Mac accessories. We also are a database development and consulting service company, specializing in Filemaker Pro. Copyright 2008 Grantwood Technology, LLC. All Rights Reserved. QuickFlipCase, and tuneband are trademarks of Grantwood Technology, LLC. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

London, UK – The Pixelmator Team today released Pixelmator 1.3.1, an update to the revolutionary GPU-powered image-editing tool that provides everything needed to create, edit, and enhance still images. Available today as a free software update, Pixelmator 1.3.1 features a new Color Management sheet, a new Refine Selection tool, and more.

Since color management is a hard to understand part of image editing Pixelmator 1.3.1 fixes that by delivering new Color Management sheet. Color Management sheet is a single, easy-to-use place for managing color profiles in images and still keeps all the functionality of previous Assign to Profile and Match to Profile tools.

Pixelmator’s new Refine Selection tool allows the artist to dramatically improve selections made with selection tools. Refine Selection now features Smooth, Feather and Size settings and works in real-time showing the results instantly. Other new and improved features in Pixelmator 1.3.1 include improved Type tool stability, minor user interface and compatibility improvements, and some bug fixes.

Pricing and Availability
Pixelmator 1.3.1 is available to order for $59 (USD). Pixelmator 1.3.1 is a free update to current Pixelmator customers. System requirements, as well as a 30-day Pixelmator trial and more information on Pixelmator, can be found at their website.

Pixelmator 1.3.1
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Founded in 2007 by two brothers, the Pixelmator Team develops practical, fun, innovative, and easy-to-use software for the world’s most sophisticated operating system, the Mac OS X. Copyright 2007-2008 Pixelmator. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Luxembourg City, Luxembourg – publicspace.net announces the forth minor update to the recently released A Better Finder Rename 8. The new version adds three new ways of inserting file and image dates & times into existing file names.

The utility is already well known for its ability to handle digital photography image formats, including the industry standard JPEG/EXIF and many proprietary RAW camera formats.

Version 8.0 delivered a new user interface, save-able presets, automatic software updates and a brand new multi-threaded renaming engine that enables the software to automatically resolve file name conflicts, re-order renames to avoid deadlocks and provide an improved interactive experience.

System Requirements:
* Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
* Universal Binary for Intel and PowerPC
* 5 MB Hard Drive space

Pricing and Availability:
A Better Finder Rename may be purchased for $24.95 (USD). Family, Business and Enterprise licensing is also available. Customers may chose to include a “forever upgrade” with their purchase.

A Better Finder Rename has long been the most comprehensive file renaming solution for the Macintosh and has transformed the tedious and time-consuming task of renaming multiple files into a simple matter of seconds for thousands of creative professionals across the world. It is based on over 10 years of listening to our users and addressing their requirements to the best of our abilities.

publicspace.net
A Better Finder Rename 8.0.4
Download A Better Finder Rename
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Screencast

publicspace.net was founded by Frank Reiff in 1996 with the aim of producing affordable best-of-breed software for the Macintosh. In the past decade, our A Better Finder series of file utilities and our MacBreakZ personal ergonomic assistant have become familiar fixtures of the Macintosh community. publicspace.net is also active in the Windows software market.

Suffolk, United Kingdom – iWebTemplate has announced the addition of new family based iWeb themes to its collection. These family based templates are perfect for giving customers a way to show off his or her family members on their personal iWeb website. There are seven iWeb themes to choose from, including “Baby,” “Boy,” “Girl,” “Tree,” “Old Album,” “Wall,” or “White Album”. iWebTemplate has collaborated with various providers to bring you one of the internets largest iWeb and Rapidweaver templates and themes collections.

Customers can create a calendar of all family members birthdays to help everyone remember each other on their special day. Moreover, he or she can do a Christmas gift wish list that will help everyone avoid the boring and useless shopping hours we have all wasted in an attempt to satisfy a teenage son or daughter. The iWeb Family themes are also great for companies that provide goods and services for families. As always, each theme contains numerous page layouts that a designer is likely to need – Welcome, About Me, Photos, My Albums, Movie, Podcast, Blog, and Blank.

Theme Details:

Baby:
This iWeb theme is a perfect way for new parents or even new brothers or sisters to save memories of the new baby. You can convert the Baby theme into a digital diary about your quickly growing baby, or sister or brother, of course. Moreover, this diary will be accessible via the Internet, so everyone will be able to rejoice over the maturing baby’s milestones.

Boy:
This theme is the perfect venue for your teenage boy. He can reveal his hobbies and thoughts using this modern iWeb theme design. Reading his Blog (with his permission, of course) might be a first step to understanding him and avoiding the misunderstandings that occur in parent-child associations. The iWeb Boy theme is also great for companies that provide goods and services for boys, such as sports equipment and accessories.

Girl:
The Girl theme will help girls perfectly reveal the sweet details about their lives that will fascinate visitors to their Web sites. It is also a great way to get to know your daughter or a friend, and it can help build parent-child relationships. The iWeb Girl theme is also great for companies that provide goods and services for girls, such as sports equipment, accessories, and clothes.

Tree:
This Tree theme is just great to represent your family tree and more. Reveal newly discovered relatives, and laughs are guaranteed. Create a Web site together to celebrate your family. Why not create a calendar of all the birthdays. Add a gift wish list, too! Don’t hesitate; start your journey with family members today.

Old Album:
Think about that lovely photo of you as a child. There’s only one copy, and it’s in your grandmother’s photo album. And how about the other one of your young and funny-looking parents holding you with huge smiles for the camera? Oh, it is also part of your grandmother’s photo collection. Haven’t you dreamed of showing pictures like these to your friends or colleagues? An Old Album page is great for saving and displaying all the precious moments of your family members’ lives. This theme is a perfect way to start creating a historical family archive.

Wall:
This theme will undoubtedly be appreciated by grandparents. It has some sweet details, such as photo frames. Share your thoughts in your blog, photos in your digital album, and movies from your family’s daily life and get to know each other better.

White Album:
The White Album theme design fits between the Old Album iWeb theme and the Tree. If your aim is to combine a family tree with old photos that have been converted into digital ones, this theme will help you achieve your goal.

Requirements:
* iWeb 2.0 or later

Pricing and Availability:
Each iWeb Family theme may be purchased for only $9.99 (USD).

iWebTemplate
New Themes
iWebTemplate Membership

iWebTemplate offers iWeb Templates and standard website templates, flash templates and other products that can be used as a basis for fast and high-quality website. Website templates, flash templates and all other products are completely customizable and ready for immediate download. Copyright 2008 iWebTemplate. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, and iWeb are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Lake Dallas, Texas – Mac evangelist MacScripter LLC is pleased to announce the launch of MacDeveloper, their networking and beta testing resource for Apple enthusiasts. MacDeveloper helps companies and individual software developers alike improve the quality of their products by providing a platform to have their applications properly tested from a well informed, and energetic Beta Pool.

MacDeveloper is a free, opt-in service for Apple enthusiasts who love what the Mac community offers. It is squarely aimed at providing Apple users around the globe a place to connect, build a strong sense of community and an excellent compliment to bundled software avenues. Register to try out the latest software releases and receive coupons for FREE software, or purchase software at huge discounts.

MacDeveloper for Testers:
* Register and Test software absolutely free
* Testers may choose only the Software Categories that interest them
* Earn Points for Testing your favorite Software
* Use points to purchase software for FREE
* Use points to purchase software for huge discounts
* Earn valuable Star Ratings for being a Quality Tester

“For Mac users, the software buying experience is an event unto itself”, cites Ray Barber. “We want to further that experience by offering the ultimate testing network, geared towards helping developers get their software properly tested, while at the same time giving back to the community who supports them.”

MacDeveloper’s sole mission is to connect willing and responsible beta testers to software developers. As an enhancement to software distribution, MacDeveloper believes that every business should have access to the state-of-the-art tools necessary to manage every aspect of their organization’s testing activities. No longer do developers have to spend time recruiting testers. MacDeveloper does all of this for them. Now, they can spend more time coding great software and taking care of their customers.

MacDeveloper for Developers:
* Create Project Channels for only $16.75 (USD)
* Upload as many binaries to Project Channels as necessary
* Search the Beta Pool for Quality Testers
* Find Beta Testers who genuinely have a desire to test
* Developers use Coupons for Testers to purchase their Applications for free or at a discount
* Excellent platform for Customer Building

Pricing and Availability:
MacDeveloper is immediately available, and already has a growing member base. Developers who register to the service may create their first Project Channel free of charge. Subsequent Projects are only $16.75 (USD) each. Developers may upload as many binary builds as they wish or until the beta cycle is complete and the project is closed.

MacDeveloper
About MacDeveloper

Headquartered in Lake Dallas, Texas, MacScripter LLC is a leading evangelist for Applescripting the Mac since 1999. MacDeveloper helps companies and individual software developers alike improve the quality of their products by providing a platform to have their applications properly tested from a well informed, and energetic Beta Pool. Copyright 1999-2008 MacScripter LLC All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Los Angeles, California – 24x7digital has announced PhotoCopy 1.1, their iPhoto to Flickr mirroring utility for Mac OS X Leopard. Designed specifically to help protect media assets, PhotoCopy combines iPhoto’s ease of use with the great sharing features of Flickr, the premier online photo management and sharing resource.

Select which iPhoto albums and events to share, and let PhotoCopy do the rest. It uploads all of the photos in the selected album(s) and event(s) to Flickr and arranges them in matching sets. PhotoCopy also copies important image information from iPhoto, such as title, date, time, rating, keywords and description.

PhotoCopy’s main feature is its ability to mirror selected iPhoto albums and events to Flickr sets. It compares the current iPhoto library with the users Flickr account and figures out what changes to make and ensures they both match. Whatever is done to an album or event in iPhoto, whether adding, deleting, reordering, or editing images, PhotoCopy will dutifully make the same changes to the matching Flickr set automatically.

PhotoCopy helps protect the user’s most precious media assets from fire, theft, and any other local disasters by creating offsite backups of iPhoto media. It will automatically backup all assets and remembers which photos it has uploaded so the user doesn’t have to. Only those changes in iPhoto are mirrored in Flickr, and only for the albums the user has specified.

Feature highlights include:
* Copy Photos from iPhoto to Flickr
* Update Flickr Automatically
* Create Offsite Backups

PhotoCopy is much more than a simple iPhoto to Flickr uploader. With its ability to mirror files, users don’t have to login and maintain their Flickr account manually, which saves time by allowing them to manage photos in one place: iPhoto. Coupled with Flickr’s excellent resource to share photos with family and friends, PhotoCopy is the perfect companion to Apple’s iLife Suite, and uniquely serves the dual role for offsite backups.

New in Version 1.1:
* iPhoto event support
* Proxy server support
* iPhoto scanning optimized for speed
* CPU load issues while uploading fixed
* Better error handling of movie uploads
* Log entry detail text added to more easily see long log entries
* Improved iPhoto scan logging
* Multiple stability issues fixed

Minimum Requirements:
* Mac OS X Version 10.5 Leopard or later
* Universal Binary for PowerPC and Intel
* 5.2 MB Hard Drive space
* iPhoto 6 (iLife ’06) or iPhoto 7 (iLife ’08)
* Flickr account (free or pro)
* Internet connection

Pricing and Availability:
PhotoCopy 1.1 is priced at only $20.00 (USD), and is a free upgrade to registered users of PhotoCopy 1.0 and greater. A full-featured demo is available for download. The unregistered application is limited in that all uploaded images will include a watermark, and movies in a iPhoto library cannot be uploaded. More information about PhotoCopy, along with an online tutorial, is available at the 24x7digital website.

PhotoCopy 1.1
Download PhotoCopy
Purchase PhotoCopy
PhotoCopy Tutorial
Screenshot
Application Icon

Based in Los Angeles, California, 24x7digital is a privately funded company founded in 2002 by Rei Yoshioka and Mark Yamashita. Leveraging their longtime experience in development and consulting, 24x7digital’s focus is developing high-quality, simple, and easy-to-use utilities for the Mac platform. 24x7digital is also the creator of the highly rated HappyNewYear calendar program and HappyHolidays photocard program. Copyright 2002-2008 24x7digital. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, and iPhoto are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries. Flickr is a registered trademark of Yahoo Inc.