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

Miami, Florida – You’re enjoying a corporate dinner with your supervisor, and the host serves corn on the cob. Is this a test? If it is, having a cheat sheet wouldn’t hurt. Dale Webb tackles the sticky, greasy, drippy world of dining etiquette with the newest upgrade to her popular iPhone application, “Etiquette Avenue.” With the “Food for Thought” upgrade, users can access screen after screen of tips and advice on handling messy meals and confusing cuisine in professional situations.

Today, “Etiquette Avenue” is available with this newest feature for $2.99 at The Apple Store. Current users can download the upgrade for free.

According to app creator Webb, director of The Protocol Centre(TM) in Coral Gables, Florida, finger foods, crustaceans, and unfamiliar foods pose the greatest challenge to diners eating with superiors, clients and colleagues.

“Typically, foods such as pizza, grapes and spareribs don’t cause the same anxiety as when they are served in a less casual or business setting,” said Webb. “No one wants to be perceived as unclean or messy in a professional situation, and simply eating with your fingers can send that type of message. In some cases, eating with your hands can be avoided; in others, it cannot. Knowing the difference gives you confidence.”

Some of the advice in “Food for Thought” includes handling artichokes: Always eaten with your fingers, one leaf at a time …; grapefruits: When a grapefruit is halved, don’t be tempted to squirt the excess juice onto your spoon …; and salad: If you get one of those large pieces of lettuce, you can either fold the lettuce leaf with your fork, or cut the lettuce with a knife.

This upgrade builds on the previous addition, a “Job Interview/Resume” category that was released in September 2009. The Job Interviewing/Resume category covers preparation for before, during and after the interview, including practice interview questions. Developed as part of the curriculum for college and university students, the Job Interviewing/Resume was included as a critical element of business etiquette.

“Everyone goes to interviews all of their lives; it’s valuable information,” said Webb, who remembers a most impressive job candidate as someone who did her research and literally wowed the interviewers.

“When she left the room, we all said ‘wow.’ She was so well-prepared. And she even had questions for us. She knew something about every one of us. It was almost scary,” she said.

Introduced in late June, the iPhone app “Etiquette Avenue” reached the Top 20 of downloaded applications under the “Business” category within a week of its debut and has remained in the top tier of most-purchased apps in its genre. Industry and mainstream reviewers also weighed in almost immediately on the app’s features and merits.

According to the October 2009 issue of “O” magazine, “If you have only… 5 minutes: Check out the iPhone application Etiquette Avenue for tips on writing thank-you notes, making small talk, and getting along in a foreign country.”

Like a polished executive, “Etiquette Avenue” pays attention to the details. Jim Morin, a Pulitzer-Prize winning cartoonist, created the whimsical illustrations introducing each category. Gregg Weiss of Blue Whale conceived the illustrations as ‘flash cards’ that flip to reveal advice.

The Protocol Centre
Etiquette Avenue 1.3
Purchase and Download

The Protocol Centre(TM) provides seminars on Business and Dining Etiquette and International Briefings for corporations, educational institutions, government and individuals. Each seminar is designed and customized for the client providing completely up-to-date information on 21st century business etiquette and dining protocols. Copyright (C) 2009 The Protocol Centre. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Portomaggiore, Italy – MacFriendly today released their new MacFriendly Bundle of 12 applications for Mac users. The Bundle is valued at over $450 and is available for a limited time for only $49.99, which represents a savings of over 85% off the list prices. The bundle includes 12 downloadable software applications, and the latest version of each application is included in the bundle. Additionally, one bonus applications will be added to the bundle for all customers when 750 bundles have been sold. 

The 12 programs and one bonus programs included in this bundle are:
* Invoice 3
* Flash Decompiler Trillix
* TimeNet
* IconCommander
* Amnesia
* WaterThumber
* Mac Pilot
* Squish
* Singlemizer
* MarketPlace
* Emailchemy
* ForeverSave
* iTascsX (BONUS)

Invoice 3 – The full-featured invoice application for SOHO or business users. It has been designed from scratch to use the power and beauty of the Mac OS, while making life as easy as possible for its users. Since Invoice was designed purely for OSX

Flash Decompiler Trillix – Converts Adobe Flash SWF files back into FLA format and SWF files created in Flex back to Flex sources, which can be easily edited in native Flash or Flex environment. Every group of objects such as morphs, shapes, texts, etc.

TimeNet – Track it wisely. TimeNet’s powerful timer always makes sure you’re billing for every second.

Icon Commander Converts images of any format into Windows and Mac OS X icons. You can find many images on the Internet and convert them to icons for use on your desktop, in applications and much more. With a rich collection of icon styles.

Amnesia – Many software titles on Mac OS come with the uninstall directions of simply “Drag the application to the Trash and empty it”. In reality, this often leaves many related files on the computer taking up valuable hard drive space.

WaterThumber – A sweet application for Mac OS X that allows you to batch-process your pictures and get them ready for the web by allowing you to: produce high-quality thumbnails, re-size your pictures, tweak and watermark them!

MacPilot – Scared of the terminal or can’t be bothered to remember those commands to customize your system the way you want? MacPilot is your digital savior. Easily enable and disable hidden features in Mac OS X.

Squish – Makes it easy to shorten URLs for Twitter, Email, IM or anywhere else. It can even shorten a URL directly in the text field you’re typing in.

Singlemizer – Unlike all other duplicate killers, Singlemizer show files on the fly. You don’t have to wait to full scan completion anymore. All duplicates of the particular file appear simultaneously, so you can decide what to delete immediately.

Marketplace – Search any Craigslist region around the world. From New York City to Topeka to Acapulco. Search across any category or subcategory. Get all the results in one convenient window.

Emailchemy – This is a very great software. A tool for email conversion, email migration and management of email archives. Import and export any email anywhere. Emailchemy converts email from the closed, proprietary file formats of the most popular email applications.

ForeverSave – Data loss, caused by application crashes and unintentional overwriting will become history. ForeverSave automatically creates versions of your documents. In case you lose one, just restore it and continue your work.

iTasksX (Bonus Application) – For the easiest to use, most intuitive and cost-effective project management software designed for a Mac, professionals are turning to iTaskX . The search for a simple or sophisticated solution, large or small, in any field or industry is over.

The MacFriendly Bundle provides an unprecedented selection of high quality software at unprecedented low prices. A portion of each sale will support animal rescue programs, ensuring that homeless animals find a good home. The MacFriendly bundle sale ends on December 29, 2009. Existing Mac users can purchase this bundle to enhance their and/or a family member’s current setup and to get a great gift for someone.

MacFriendly Bundle

Based in Portomaggiore, Ferrara, Italy, MacFriendly seeks to raise awareness of independent software developers for the Mac OS X operating system. We offer a software package that encompasses a wide range of uses that almost anyone can benefit from.

Traverse City, Michigan – MacUpdate today launched its newest bundle promotion, delivering 11 of the most appealing independent Mac apps for just $49.99. The bundle includes a little bit of everything, from some of the most highly most acclaimed utilities on the Mac to brand new favorites and a few of the most vaunted titles of the year.

“I’m excited to call our third annual holiday bundle the best one yet,” said Nate Houle, general manager of MacUpdate Promo. “The broad appeal and caliber of apps we have put together is unsurpassed and they have never been offered at such a deep discount before.”

Included in the 2009 Holiday Bundle are:

* PathFinder 5.5 ($39.95) – Powerful, award-winning Finder alternative. PathFinder combines the best features of Mac OS X’s Finder with powerful additions to make browsing and managing your Mac better than ever.
Notable mentions: MacUser UK 5 out of 5… MacFormat 4.5 out of 5… Macworld 4 out of 5… ATPM “Excellent”… “Path Finder… absolutely embarrasses the Mac OS X Finder with its huge feature set.” – John Siracusa, ArsTechnica

* Socialite ($20.00) – Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Digg, Google Reader… Socialite beautifully covers all your social networking bases.
Notable mentions: “Socialite is a solid Mac app with a great look and feel and great integration with different social services.” Christina, Warren, Mashabale

* Yep 2 ($39.00) – Scan, store, tag, organize, and manage all the documents on your Mac.
Notable mentions (previous version): MacFormat 5 out of 5… MacUser UK 4 out of 5.

* Speed Download ($25.00) – Versatile download manager and accelerator. Manage and accelerate all of your downloads; FTP, file sharing, WEBDAV support and more.
Notable mentions: MacNotes.de 5 out of 5… MacCompanion 5 out of 5.

* Radio Gaga ($39.99) – Internet radio multi-recorder with 10,000+ stations. Never run out of music with Radio Gaga; listen and record from thousands of choices.
Notable mentions: MacUser UK 4 out of 5.

* GarageSale ($34.99) – Create outstanding eBay auctions. Includes a free upgrade to version 6, arriving next year!
Notable mentions: MacUser UK 5 out of 5… Macworld 4 out of 5… MacWelt: “Very good”.

* iRip ($19.00) – Copy songs from your iPod to Mac. The most trusted music transfer ripper in the world with over 5 million downloads!

* DragThing ($29.00) – Tidy up your desktop with this versatile launcher. Macworld’s Jason Snell calls DragThing, “one of my favorite Mac utilities of all time.”
Notable mentions: MacUser UK 5 out of 5… Macworld 4.5 out of 5.

* HealthNut ($19.00) – Easily track your calories and nutrients. Keep your New Year’s Resolution with this new tool for logging what you eat and learning your nutrient intake.

* PCalc 3.5 ($19.00) – Fully featured scientific calculator. The standard against which all other scientific calculators are measured.
Notable mentions: Macworld 4.5 out of 5… MacUser 4 out of 5.

* Machinarium ($19.95) – Award-winning puzzle/adventure game. Challenge your brain and stimulate your senses with this one-of-a-kind adventure.
Notable mentions: MacFormat 5 out of 5… The AV Club “A”… Metacritic “90″.

“The true value of a bundle is in both the quality and appeal of the apps, as well as its sheer dollar value,” said Misha Sakellaropoulo, COO of MacUpdate. “The 11 apps in our 2009 Holiday Bundle have routinely been voted favorites by the media and users alike and are among the best examples of independent software that exists on the Mac today. We’re thrilled to be working with so many terrific partners to make this deal possible for Mac users everywhere.”

Pricing and Availability:
The MacUpdate Holiday Bundle, worth over $300, is available for $49.99 (USD) through December 23, 2009, exclusively at MUPromo.com. Additional apps and other bonuses may be available on a limited basis during the bundle, so interested buyers should get on board early to ensure they receive them all! The Holiday Bundle makes a great gift for Mac novices and veterans alike, and in the spirit of the season every customer who purchases three bundles will receive a fourth bundle, free!

2009 Holiday Bundle
MacUpdate
Download Bundled Apps

MacUpdate was founded in 1997 and has since become the leading Mac software site on the Web. The site remains independently owned and operated and represents one of the largest Apple communities online. Now in its fourth year, MacUpdate Promo delivers daily software deals to Mac users and value-packed bundles periodically throughout the year.

Eastleigh, United Kingdom – Plinkk Photography today are proud to release Second Shootr 1.0 into the iPhone and iPod Touch app store. Second Shootr is a revolutionary digital photography assistant for professional wedding photographers. Second Shootr is the result of months of consultations with many professional wedding photographers. The application’s sole purpose is to help photographers with the less exciting planning and administration – enabling them to have their mind on the task of capturing those once-in-a-lifetime moments.

Features of Second Shootr:
1) Make sure you know everything you need to know about your clients and their wedding day by using Second Shootr. The app enables you to store detailed information about your clients, ranging from their names, addresses and phone numbers to their wedding’s theme or the name of the band at their reception. You can contact your clients from within the app by phone or email. All your wedding clients are stored in one place, really easy to access just when you need them. If you need reminding the exact location of the ceremony, use Second Shootr’s in-built map.

2) Know everything you need to know about the wedding guests and officials by using Second Shootr. Use the app to log down the names of key people taking part in the big day – Second Shootr could prompt you with the name of the Best Man, or store the Vicar’s contact details for later reference.

3) Plan the day’s shots by using Second Shootr. Whether you just want to make sure you’ve captured all the right group shots, to maybe trying something a bit arty and new, Second Shootr will help you to remember the must-have shots you’ll need to take on the day. Once you’ve taken the picture, you can mark it as complete, leaving Second Shootr to tell you exactly how many shots you have yet to take. You can even load sample images into Second Shootr to prompt you in the heat of the moment.

4) Know the day’s upcoming events by using Second Shootr. The application is there to give you a gentle reminder to let you know where you need to be on the day, and at what time.

5) Ensure you have all your kit with you by using Second Shootr. The application helps add that extra layer of protection by helping you remember every piece of kit, every time. Just cross off the items as you pack them into your bags in the morning, and check them back in again when you’re packing up from the wedding ready to go home.

6) Keep on top of your day-to-day wedding photography tasks by using Second Shootr. Before and after the wedding, Second Shootr is the app that just keeps on helping. The application will help you to remember to do pretty much anything relating to the wedding…from remembering to file the signed contracts, to reminding you to post the prints to the client, Second Shootr has got your back!

Second Shootr is customisable to your wedding photography business – you can add your own default questions, photographs, kit, events and to-do items.

Device Requirements:
* iPhone or iPod Touch 3.0 or later

Pricing and Availability:
Second Shootr is available for immediate download from the worldwide app store priced at just £3.99 (US $6.99, CA $6.99, EUR 5.49, AU $8.99, NZ $9.99).

Second Shootr 1.0
Purchase and Download
Screenshot

Plinkk Photography is a husband and wife wedding photography company based in the south of England. We created Second Shootr to help other fellow photographers to plan their events much more efficiently. Copyright (C) 2009 Plinkk Photography. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Rancho Santa Margarita, California – Bowers Technologies, Inc. today introduces Crime Stats 1.0, their new crime statistics inquiry application for iPhone and iPod Touch. Designed specifically to leverage the iPhone’s unique abilities, Crime Stats serves to empower people by providing them detailed crime information about more than 8,700 cities within the United States. More importantly, the crime statistics are ranked in relation to the rest of the nation. This allows users to see how see how a city compares to the national average for each of the various crime categories.

Imagine driving down the highway at night and you notice the gas gauge is very low. You are on vacation and have never been in this part of the state before. Looking at a passing sign you see that there are only two cities nearby. Your spouse pulls out the iPhone and launches Crime Stats. Within a few seconds you are able to pull up a side by side comparison of the crime statistics for the two cities. Smiling to each other, you drive past the nearest city and exit a few miles up the road to get fuel and snacks.

Feature Highlights:
* Ranks each crime category according to the national average
* Visual indicators allow you to quickly understand the rankings
* Look up a city using your current location (iPhone GPS) or by searching by name (iPod & iPhone)
* Search for cities even when no data connection is available (airplane, no cellular service, etc)
* Compare two cities side by side on the screen so you can easily see the differences between each one
* Extremely easy to use interface that only takes seconds to pull up information

“We created this app to help families and individuals make informed choices when on vacations or business trips,” said Bryan Bowers, founder and CEO of Bowers Technologies. “It has been a tremendous help to my family as we participate in various activities and outings.”

Device Requirements:
* iPhone or iPod Touch 3.0 or later

Pricing and Availability:
Crime Stats 1.0 is only $1.99 (USD) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Productivity category. Review copies are available upon request.

iProduceApps
Crime Stats 1.0
Purchase and Download
Screenshot
App Icon

Headquartered in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, Bowers Technologies, Inc. is a privately held software development firm founded in 2003 by Bryan Bowers. Bowers Technologies has proudly served the IT needs of Southern California businesses for over 18 years. Today, the company forms a group of people who are absolutely passionate about technology and mobile phone applications. Their executive team leverages more than two decades of experience in the information technology industry who share a commitment to providing the highest quality solutions with a major emphasis on total customer satisfaction. Copyright (C) 2003-2009 Bowers Technologies, Inc. and iProduceApps. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Orlando, Florida – Tis the season for giving and one thing is for sure, FMPug has embraced that mantra wholeheartedly. FMPug along with the generosity of many well-respected companies have organized one of the most bountiful giveaways to-date. Beginning the 12th of December through the 24th of December, FMPug will be showering its members with a healthy dose of gratitude – well over $10,000 USD worth of gratitude (and growing)!

From December 12th and each day thereafter, FMPug will post the set of daily prizes on their newly redesigned “12 Days of Giveaways” Home page. All members of the FMPug community are automatically eligible to participate, however members must register daily to win. Daily registration ensures members are interested in winning the respective prizes offered that day. Multiple members of the FMPug community will be selected to win for each of the twelve days, offering-up the opportunity to win up to twelve prizes in total for a single individual!

The final winners will be announced on Christmas Day (25 December).

FMPug is known for its cross-promotional efforts, and this holiday extravaganza is no exception. The registration process is clever in its formatting; striking a balance between the companies that donated the products and the members seeking to win. Visitors to FMPug will be able to read about the products being raffled that day in detail before joining (if not yet members) and/or submitting their registration.

By showcasing the participating companies while also providing much needed product background, it offers-up a nice dose of marketing exposure. FMPug has already secured well over $10K worth of merchandise, ranging from training, to plug-ins, to design templates, to hosting and everything in between. The FMPug team encourages companies seeking additional advertising, to participate. The deadline for vendor participation is Thursday, 11 December 2009.

It’s clear the FMPug team firmly believes in giving back to the community and there is little doubt this will prove to be an exciting holiday season for the members of FMPug – both new and old. Vendors seeking additional exposure for their company and respective product(s) are welcome to participate in this holiday giveaway by contacting us on/before Thursday, 11 December by 6pm EST.

To learn more about this incredible holiday spectacular and read all that FMPug membership has to offer, please visit our website. Registration for the giveaways begins December 12, 2009 and ends December 24, 2009. Participants in this Twelve Day Giveaway are required to be active members of the FMPug community. Registration is required.

FMPug
12 Days of Giveaways
Sample Listing

Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, DnG Design & Development, Inc. (DnG) is the home of FMPug and the newly introduced FindFileMakerDevelopers (FFD). DnG is fast becoming the world’s leading resource for developers and users who utilize FileMaker Pro in their day-to-day activities. Winner of the Mad Dog PR Award and two FileMaker Excellence Awards, DnG Design & Development is continually updating its offerings to meet the ever-growing needs of the FileMaker community. DnG prides itself on offering top quality resources to anyone and everyone interested in FileMaker.

Sydney, NSW/Australia – CoreMelt today announced the Show Us Your Pixels Competition with over $25,000 in prizes! In support of Rainforest Rescue, CoreMelt is asking for submissions of existing or new work created using CoreMelt plugins. Between 7th Decmber 2009 and 7th February 2010, CoreMelt will contribute 10 percent of its gross sales to Rainforest Rescue with a minimum offering of $7000. The winners will be chosen on Feb 10th 2009.

Competition Categories

Best existing work:
Work previously created for a commercial or spec project using CoreMelt plugins.

Best student work:
Work created by a current student in Digital Media, Motion Graphics or Editing using CoreMelt plugins.

Best rainforest themed work:
For creation of a new piece on the theme of Rainforest Rescue’s projects. CoreMelt and Rainforest rescue will provide stills and video footage that can be used in this category.

The best five entries will be selected in the above mentioned categories. Runner-ups will be awarded to the best in each category while first place will be randomly chosen from the pool of 5 best in each category.

Grand Prize:
The Grand prize will be a position on the Orangutan Adventure Trek to Sumatra, Indonesia from 5th-15th March 2010 hosted by Rainforest Rescue. A return airfare will be provided from Los Angeles, London, Perth, Melbourne or Gold Coast only, you must provide your own connecting airfare to one of the departure points above.

Sponsors:
AJA, Crumpler, Euphonix, Toolfarm, Digital Heaven, Black Magic Design, Artbeats, Creative Cow, Red Lightning Software, Motionworks, FXPHD, Digital Juice, MotionVFX and many more.
For a complete list, please visit our website.

About Rainforest Rescue
Rainforest Rescue is a not-for-profit organisation that has been protecting and restoring rainforests in Australia and internationally since 1998 by providing opportunities for individuals and businesses to Protect Rainforests Forever.

Terms and Conditions:
Entrants to the contest agree to allow CoreMelt to useall video footage submitted for promotional purposes and to allow Rainforest Rescue to use any photography or video footage shot on the Trek. You do not need to own a copy of our plugins, entrants may use the trial version of our software to create an entry. The contest will be open to residents of Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada and the European Union. In the event the first place cannot take the Sumatran Trek for any reason the amount will be donated to Rainforest Rescue. Please visit the Terms and Conditions page on our website for more information.

Show Us Your Pixels
Rainforest Rescue
Grand Prize Information
Sponsors and Prizes
Submit Your Entry
Terms and Conditions

CoreMelt are designers of cutting edge, GPU accelerated plugins for Motion Graphics Artists and Video Editors using Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express, Apple Motion, and After Effects CS3/CS4. With over 15 years of combined industry experience, we know what effects artists need and want. Copyright 2009 CoreMelt. All Rights Reserved. Apple Final Cut Studio and Apple Motion, are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries. Trademarks of Rainforest Rescue and sponsors are the property of sponsors and used with permission.

Cambridge, Massachusetts – Skewsoft today is proud to announce Sums 1.1, an update to their popular ledger and tally sheet utility for iPhone and iPod touch. Designed specifically to take advantage of the iPhone’s unique capabilities, Sums is an easy-to-use, no-nonsense bookkeeping application that aims to make managing numbers a snap.

Featuring an intuitive, paper-like interface, Sum makes it easy to write a budget, track expenses, balance the checkbook, tally game points, log mileage, or manage any other list of numbers. With just a few quick taps, record, edit, and keep a running total of the amounts, tallies, scores, and figures that matter. The total is calculated automatically and always stays up-to-date.

Sums places emphasis on usability through the use of notebook-like sheets. It offers a numeric keypad with large buttons for entering, editing, rearranging, and deleting figures quickly and easily. Users may create an unlimited number of sheets, or simply swipe to delete sheets and entries. Tapping the Total Bar instantly scrolls to the end of a sheet for easy viewing, and negative numbers are displayed in red for better visibility.

One of Sums’ most unique features is its ability to duplicate sheets, allowing an existing sheet to be used as the template for a new one. Sums also remembers the user’s last position in each sheet and faithfully restores it when they return. Additionally, users can export sheets via email. Data is sent as tab-delimited text, which can be viewed directly or imported into Excel, Numbers, or other applications.

Feature Highlights:
* Elegant, intuitive interface – Just tap and type to add or edit an entry
* Numeric Keypad with large buttons for entering and/or editing numbers
* Total is calculated automatically and always stays up-to-date
* Editing Mode allows deletion and reordering of entries
* Swipe to delete sheets and entries
* Negative numbers are displayed in red for better visibility
* When leaving a sheet, Sums remembers the last position and restores it when returning
* Scroll to the end of a sheet by tapping the total bar
* Create an unlimited number of sheets
* Option to export sheets via email
* Ability to duplicate sheets – Allows an existing sheet to be used as the template for a new one

Version 1.1 is a significant update, and includes many user-requested features as well as minor bug fixes. Sums now offers sharper entry text and introduces a new keypad with larger buttons to make it easier to enter and edit numbers. The scroll position is saved and restored for all sheets, and tapping the Total Bar automatically scrolls to the end of a sheet. Users can now duplicate sheets, as well as copy a sheet’s total for pasting into other sheets, or other apps.

New in version 1.1:
* Numeric keypad with large buttons for entering/editing numbers
* Scroll position is saved and restored for all sheets
* Scroll to end of sheet by tapping total bar
* Ability to duplicate sheets (allows an existing sheet to be used as the template for a new one)
* Ability to copy sheet total (for pasting into other sheets or other apps)
* Sharper entry text
* Minor bug fixes

“I wanted a little utility for keeping track of my checkbook balance, but none of the available applications met my needs,” said Christopher Stawarz, founder of Cambridge based Skewsoft. “Spreadsheets are total overkill, and specialized checkbook apps are cluttered with “features” that are of no interest to me and just get in my way. All I wanted was a simple, two-column notebook that lets me quickly enter and edit entries and automatically calculates the current total. And that’s exactly what Sums is. Even better, since Sums isn’t pigeonholed into a particular application domain, it’s perfect for a wide variety of money or number management tasks. For example, my fiance and I use it to keep track of wedding expenses, as well as for keeping score when we play Scrabble.”

Device Requirements:
* Compatible with iPhone and iPod touch
* Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later

Pricing and Availability:
Sums 1.1 is only $4.99 (USD) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Finance category. Review copies are available upon request.

Skewsoft
Sums 1.1
Purchase and Download
Screenshot
Product Image
Application Icon

Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Skewsoft is an independent software shop founded in 2009 by software engineer Christopher Stawarz. With over six years professional experience and a background in physics, math, and computer science, Christopher’s aim is to produce high-quality software that makes user’s lives simpler and more enjoyable. Prior to founding Skewsoft, Christopher worked at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and HiveFire, an MIT startup located in Cambridge, MA. Copyright (C) 2009 Skewsoft. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Farnham, United Kingdom – Apps Mobilis today is proud to introduce The Night Before Christmas, a timeless yuletide poem for children and their new animated audiobook for iPhone and iPod Touch. Designed specifically to leverage the iPhone’s unique abilities and peerless interface, The Night Before Christmas is a Moving Audio(TM) book based on the classic children’s poem by Clement C. Moore. This is the first in a series of the company’s “Moving Audio(TM)” range of audiobooks.

This classic and magical Christmas poem was first published in 1823 and is also known as “A visit from Saint Nicholas”, and even today it has had a huge impact on how we perceive Christmas with the image of Saint Nicholas (also known as Father Christmas or Santa Claus) on a sleigh, being pulled by eight reindeer who visits children in the night while they are fast asleep and leaving them presents.

Whether keeping the little ones occupied on journeys, or helping them learn to read, The Night Before Christmas features a compelling narrated story, with beautifully illustrated images. Illustrations actually move around and zoom in and out of the screen while they listen to the narration, and offers a unique way to keep young children engaged. Additionally, the application contains the full book, so once it is downloaded there is no need for an internet connection.

The story scrolls across the bottom of the screen with the current word highlighted as it is read, and the story can be paused and resumed at any time. The “Read to me” lets a child enjoy this wonderful Yuletide poem. The “I’ll read” mode lets a child read at their own pace. As they read the story for themselves, they just touch the word as they read it; the illustrations will change with each chapter but they will not be fully animated so that there is no visual distraction while they read.

Feature Highlights:
* Compelling, animated Illustrations and story line
* Serves to help enhance reading skills for young children, 3 thru 6
* Two Modes for learning: “Read to me” and “I’ll read”
* Does not require an internet connection

“Young children are under-represented with apps in the app store,” said Adrian Nelson, founder of Apps Mobilis.

“Based on my experience with my own children, I know how important it is to stimulate a child to learn to read – which must be just about the most important life skill a parent can teach their child.”

“In order to help children learn to read and associate word sounds with letters, I felt it important to highlight the word as they were being read in the narration and then give the child the option of trying to read it at their own pace as well without narration.”

System Requirements:
* iPhone or iPod Touch 2.2.1 or later
* 6.9 Mb

Pricing and Availability:
The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore is only $1.99 (USD) and available worldwide, exclusively through the App Store under the Books category.

The Night Before Christmas
Purchase and Download
Title Screen
Application Icon

Located in historic Farnham, United Kingdom, Apps Mobilis is a privately held company founded in 2009 by independent developer Adrian Nelson. As a well known software vendor in the field of PDF utilities (Utility Warrior) for the Windows platform, Apps Mobilis is a new and exciting direction devoted to the development of high quality solutions specifically for the iPhone and iPod Touch platforms. Copyright (C) 2009 Apps Mobilis. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Ewcastle Upon Tyne, England – Satosoft, indie iPhone software producer, today announced their third application, MP Expenses, is now available exclusively for the iPhone and iPod Touch. MP Expenses, from Satosoft, gives you the information that UK MP’s have tried to cover up for years. It gives you the ability to view each MP’s expenses. You can also send them an email to their own email address. Additionally, you can ring their Parliamentary office or Constituency office or even view their website.

“This repository of MP contact data had hundreds of hours of research invested in its collection! No other iPhone/iPod Touch App gives you so much power to contact any or all 645 UK MP’s!” said Graham French, founder of Satosoft.

“I’m extremely pleased with the MP Expenses application; I know that people will find it both informative and entertaining,” said French. “We built it to show the general public that MP’s are more available then most believe. You don’t have to write a letter or meet them face-to-face. You can contact them right now! The favourite feature though, is the ability to email the MP’s direct and phone their offices. It allows everyone to see what the MP’s have been up to. We are putting authority into the hands of ordinary folk, built in!” “Future updates will contain more information and will allow user customisation of the various screens” Added French.

Device Requirements:
* iPhone or iPod touch 3.1.2 or later

Pricing and Availability:
MP Expenses 1.0 is now available for $5.99 in the US, £3.49 in the UK and is priced accordingly in other regions. MP Expenses is available worldwide from Apple’s App Store for iPhone and iPod Touch, or by visiting Satosoft online.

Satosoft
MP Expenses 1.0
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Satosoft is an indie iPhoneiPod Touch application development company, based in the North-East of England. We provide quality information based applications for both ourselves and our clients. Copyright (C) 2009 Satosoft. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Ann Arbor, Michigan – Michigan based Humble Daisy today announced their Happy Holi-Daisy Sale, offering ProfCast for 50% off retail. ProfCast is a versatile, powerful, yet very simple to use tool for recording lectures including PowerPoint slides for creating enhanced media files.

Humble Daisy wants to help you celebrate the holidays and prepare for the new year by offering ProfCast for half the regular price! The Happy Holi-Daisy promotion with run through December 31st, 2009.

“We love the holiday season and this is just a little way of making it possible for people to save a little money!” said Dave Chmura, CEO of Humble Daisy. “Spend it on your kids, or give it to charity or give yourself a little treat.” he continued.

ProfCast allows live presentation recording, synchronization of slides with audio, PowerPoint support, and media generation. All of these elements of a presentation, including slide timings, bullet point builds and voice narration are seamlessly recorded and integrated into the final recording. ProfCast allows users to record their presentation as they give it, and create enhanced media files for online distribution.

Feature highlights include:
* Records Live Presentations
* Supports Multiple File Formats
* ID3 Tags for iTunes U
* Screen Capture support
* Files playback on iPhone and iPods
* Files playback on Macintosh and Windows computers

ProfCast is a unique utility that is easy to use and produces high-quality results. It remains the only innovative capture solution that records presentations and creates enhanced podcasts.

Pricing and Availability:
ProfCast is regularly priced at $59.95 (USD) for a single-user license. A full-featured, 15-day demo is available and recommended update for all customers. Educational discounts are available. During the Happy Holi-Daisy promotion, Humble Daisy is offering a special price of $29.95 through the end of the year for a single user license. A full-featured trial version is available for evaluation.

ProfCast
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Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Humble Daisy, Inc. is a privately funded company founded in 2002 by husband-wife team of David and Michael Chmura. With a focus on the Mac platform, Humble Daisy’s goal is to provide simple and elegant, user-centered solutions to facilitate personal and professional success. Copyright 2002-2008 Humble Daisy, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, and Keynote are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Budapest, Hungary – The atmosphere of kindness and instinct to spread joy naturally commanding this time of the year has prompted BinaryNights to organize yet another great PROMO for the global community.

“We’ve come up with the idea so that everyone can get a present for Christmas. Our future customers will get a copy of the most professional file manager created by human ingenuity at a severely discounted price, while we ourselves will get the better part of $9.95 after each purchase” – said BinaryNights CEO Mudi Dandan. “To us, this sounds like a perfect manifestation of the holiday spirit” – added Dandan.

Starting today, ForkLift is available for $9.95 until Christmas Eve.

Forklift is a powerful file manager and ferociously fast FTP client clothed in a clean and versatile UI that offers the combination of absolute simplicity and raw power expected from a well-executed Mac software. ForkLift will connect to any remote server FTP, SFTP, Amazon S3, WebDAV, the SMB, NIS and AFP shares on your local network, or your Bluetooth mobile phone- pretty much anything you can plug into or hook up to a Mac.

ForkLift also carries a complete toolbox for managing your files, including Folder Synchronization, Batch Renaming, Archive handling, Application deleter, editing files over remote connections and many more. All these power features are packaged into a Finder-like, dual-pane interface that delivers superior workflow while remaining absolutely familiar to use, along with QuickLook, Spotlight search and all.

BinaryNights
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BinaryNights is a group of exceptionally talented people engaged in creating the best possible software for the Mac platform. Founded in 2007, BinaryNights has quickly climbed the slopes of fame with its leading product ForkLift, first released in May 2007 and now numbering over 20000 users. BinaryNights continues to spearhead innovation in the world of Mac utilities with its new collaborative efficiency utility Dikk!, while looking forward to future sleepless nights.

Taipei, Taiwan – The just-released upgrades to Quinn Genzel’s solid “aQ’s Pro Slider Puzzle” app series has propelled it from being “just another slider puzzle” to the ranks of “best of its kind.” Six new exciting major features have been added, along with several other welcome enhancements, all for the same low price:

1) “Full Screen, Full Fun”
* Most other slider apps clutter the screen with controls or superfluous artwork, but not Quinn’s. Once you start playing, the top bar will auto-retract and leave you with a full screen of nothing but tiles, for true, full-screen game play. Access the bar and its tools whenever you wish, or leave it where it belongs – out of sight.

2) “Puzzle Your Pic”
* Besides the large collection of fascinating, theme-targeted images, you also have the option to add any of your own photos to the puzzle list.

3) “Shake to Shuffle”
* Now you can re-scramble the puzzle by simply shaking the device, the natural iPhone way.

4) “Numbered or Not”
* If you need extra help when trying to solve harder puzzles, you can now show or hide the tile numbers. Even better, the numbers on correctly placed tiles will turn from white to yellow, for even greater assistance (and sense of accomplishment).

5) “Wallpaper This!”
* Save the photo from any completed puzzle to your Camera roll, then use it as your background. For the “6-in-1 Combo” app, that means you can use up to 150 great photos!

6) “Save for a Rainy Day”
* If you are interrupted by a call, or if you quit the app in the middle of a game, the position of all the tiles and the time & move number will all be automatically saved. When you return to the app at some future time, you will be given the option to resume that game from where you left off, or start again with another.

Other enhancements include:
* 30% more puzzles (for a total of 24-30 for each individual theme app, and a whopping 150 for the 6-in-1 Combo app)
* Full-screen viewing of completed puzzles
* Detailed in-app help and instructions

The “aQ’s Pro Slider Puzzle” family of apps include six theme-focused apps (Nature, Birds, Travel, the Maya, Egypt & Space), plus one, all-inclusive, 6-in-1 Combo app. Each themed app sells for only $0.99 USD, while the combo app sells for only $2.99 USD (six themes for the price of only three). Every puzzle is solvable, and each game has four skill levels (Easy, Medium, Hard & Impossible) – unlock advanced levels by successfully completing easier ones.

“With all these great new benefits, the ‘aQ’s Pro Slider Puzzles’ have now become arguably the most enjoyable, feature-packed, all-around best slider puzzles on the App Store,” says Quinn Genzel, developer and founder of QuinnScape. Check them out for yourself today.

QuinnScape
aQ’s Pro Slider Puzzle 2.0
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QuinnScape, headed by Quinn Genzel, has been developing unique apps since nearly the beginning of Apple’s iTunes App Store. Its apps range from those focusing on the human world (travel-related packing), to the natural and supernatural worlds. Copyright (C) 2009 QuinnScape. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Alexandria, VA – Alawar Entertainment today continued their expansion into the iTunes app store with Hotel Mogul – their 13th game by the global developer. Hotel Mogul is a fast paced business and economic simulation game based off of their PC game of the same name. This solidifies a major expansion for the highly successful developer of PC games, who plans on bringing more than twenty new gaming titles to the iTunes app store in the next year.

In Hotel Mogul, the player takes the role of the business savvy Lynette, who sets out to reclaim her families hotel empire after her ex- husband underhandedly snatches it out from under her. With only a few plots of land to her name and a small amount of cash in her pocket, Lynette must buy, sell and trade her way through the high stakes world of real estate management and fast paced economics. To win back her fortune she will need to amass a vast global empire of hotels, restaurants and amusement parks. Experience comes gradually as the player masters the basics of management. Later levels build on these essential skills with challenging missions involving the raising and repairing of structures and the buying and selling of real estate. The player has a limited amount of time to complete each task, so it’s important for him or her to learn to multitask and react quickly to a constantly changing environment.

The premium version of the application contains
* Over 35 different levels in five global regions
* Four mini “find-it” games to continue the story line
* More than 15 building types with upgradeable features
* 12 special awards to work towards throughout the game
* Vibrant graphics and soundtrack

A lite version of the game is also being released to give players new to the Alawar gaming portfolio a chance to experience the game before purchase. This lite version will include ten of the games levels in two of the global regions, and a limited number of building types.

Alawar’s game repertoire is vast, with over 200 high quality games played all over the world though major portals such as RealArcade, Yahoo! Games, BigFish Games, AOL and others. “We received multiple emails asking for more of our games to be ported for iPhones and the iPod Touch,” said Krill Plotnikov, Alawar’s vice president of publishing. “The iPhone is a natural extension to our gaming catalog and makes it easy for our players to take their favorite casual games with them wherever they go. The company’s iPhone catalog currently consists of such games as Farm Frenzy, The Treasures of Montezuma 1 and 2, Gourmania and more. Hotel Mogul is destined to become a stellar addition to this winning lineup!

Pricing and Availability:
Hotel Mogul is available for the iPhone or iPod touch for $1.99 (USD) and can be found listed in the iTunes app store under “Simulation Games”. The app is rated “4 ” and is compatible with OS version 2.2.1 and higher.

Alawar
Hotel Mogul 1.0
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Alawar Entertainment has specialized in the development, publication and distribution of casual games since 1999. The company has published more than 200 titles worldwide and is the largest provider of casual games in Eastern Europe. Today, Alawar works with five internal studios and more than 30 external developers, providing a full range of services that includes game production, distribution and marketing, distributing its releases via its broad network of Web sites. The company’s offerings can also be found on popular download portals, including RealArcade, BigFish Games, Yahoo! Games, AOL, iWIN and others. In addition to distributing games online, Alawar works with CD publishers in more than 20 countries. In 2008, the company significantly increased its presence in Eastern Europe and became the leading distributor of casual games in that region. Visit Alawar for more information. Copyright (C) 2009 Alawar Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.