Friday, November 20th	Last updated: 5:00 PM EST

Evening Edition

AKVIS Sketch 10 update adds Snow Leopard support ...
AKVIS has introduced a new version of one of its photo effects apps, Sketch 10. The software converts photos into simulated watercolors and pencil drawings. The upgrade provides a new effects tool called Stroke Direction, which offers control over hatch direction and enhances realism. Three new presets have also been added, along with support for Snow Leopard and Windows 7. [C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment] 

Afternoon Edition

Briefly: Firefox 3.6 enters 3rd beta, new Eye-Fi features ...
In Brief: Mozilla has already released a third beta of the upcoming Firefox 3.6 update, bringing a variety of bug fixes and security enhancements. Eye-Fi has updated its photo uploading utility with Selective Share, a new feature that allows users to selectively share only certain pictures on sites such as Flickr. [C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment] 

Apple's App Store API screening flawed, says developer ...
A new automatic screening technique Apple is using for the App Store appears to be backfiring, claims developer Rogue Sheep. The screening is believed to be aimed at catching unauthorized APIs, blocked under Apple's submission rules. A number of the apps trapped so far are allegedly ones using Three20, an Objective-C library. Rogue Sheep's Postage has in the past relied on some Three20 code, and so private API calls were removed from the software before submitting a recent update. [C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment] 

Microsoft in a response late Thursday rejected assertions that it has put in a security "backdoor" at the request of the National Security Agency. The denial comes after the NSA's information assurance lead, Richard Schaeffer, told a US Senate terrorism subcommittee that the agency had worked with Microsoft to improve Windows 7's "security guide" and sparked fears that the government had deliberately left a secret window the NSA could use to spy on users.

Aqua Connect and Ashbourne Technology Group have announced a new partnership designed to provide hosted services on the Mac platform. The Aqua Connect Terminal Server previously had been unavailable as a hosted service, however the new offering will allow customers to take advantage of the Mac terminal services without purchasing a dedicated server.

GPS maker TomTom has revealed a new car mount, one designed exclusively for the iPod touch. The accessory reflects a recent update to the company's GPS app, which now includes Touch support. The new kit is little different from its more broadly-compatible iPhone version, mainly being $20 cheaper at a price of $100.

Qualcomm has quietly shown an example receiver that would give the iPhone and iPod touch FLO TV reception. Despite assertions that the company would use iPhone OS 3.0 support for native hardware, the demonstrator mimics the strategy used for the Softbank 1Seg tuner in Japan and pipes video over Wi-Fi. The receiver itself is roughly as large as the iPhone, though it's unclear whether this is due to its prototype nature or to accommodate a larger battery.

YouTube drew controversy with word this week that it has begun limiting the use of its native video API on devices. Reflecting new terms of service, any device that connects to a TV must have a license from YouTube to get fully native video support. The move will ban smaller-scale devices like the Popcorn Hour C-200 from directly accessing YouTube videos, although it will still allow them access using Flash.

Barnes & Noble today signaled that new orders for the Nook reader now won't ship at all in 2009. Those placed today will ship no sooner than January 4th, or more than three weeks after the delay to December 11th. The bookseller hopes to console those missing the Christmas target by giving them a certificate that promises a Nook reader when it ships.

China Unicom has set high targets for iPhone sales in its native country, according to China Daily. One senior executive tells the newspaper that within two to three years, the iPhone is expected to represent 10 percent of all 3G devices in China. The carrier's chairman, Chang Xiaobing, has meanwhile suggested that the product will eventually become the nation's most popular smartphone.

A resident of Roseville, California is auctioning off an original Apple I, according to the Detroit Free Press. The computer was the first put into production by Apple, launching in 1976 in a limited run of 200 units. It was distinctive at the time for being produced and sold by a two-man team -- Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs -- and building in its own terminal circuitry, requiring only a separate keyboard and TV set.

Morning Edition

T-Mobile looking to team up with other US carrier? ...
T-Mobile's US branch may land a deal with another carrier to grow its network much more rapidly, a rumor maintained on Friday. Sources for the German paper Handelsblatt claimed that Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's parent, is in the "early stages" of looking for a partner that would help it build out the network through a cash infusion. The top candidates so far include budget carrier MetroPCS, WiMAX-based Clearwire and even AT&T, any of whom could get a small stake in T-Mobile in return for the investment. [C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment] 

Cumulus 8.1 adds new report features, automatic e-mails ...
Canto has announced Cumulus 8.1, an upgrade to the company’s digital asset management (DAM) software. The update turns the Cumulus Cross Client into a standalone version of Cumulus, letting users create new catalogs on a local computer, open catalogs served by Cumulus Servers, and update metadata and assets between the two. For comparison purposes, visual representation of two selected assets has been added. [C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment] 

Early details of Intel's 2011 Atom surface ...
Initial information has surfaced of Intel's sequel to its imminent Pine Trail platform for the Atom processor. Appropriately codenamed Cedar Trail, the 2011 update should be the first built on a 32 nanometer process and will take advantage of this through a new integrated graphics core. The new version will support DirectX 10-level 3D as well as HD video decoding. It should additionally bring dual digital outputs that recognize DisplayPort and HDMI as well as older formats. [C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment] 

Mac OS X 10.6.2 hacked to allow Atom processors ...
A workaround has been developed to restore Atom processor support in Mac OS X 10.6.2, a Russian hacker claims. The technique relies on a custom version of the Mach kernel, which must be installed using Terminal because of the need to gain root access. Once active, the kernel should support so-called hackintosh netbooks, most likely to use Atom chips. [C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment] 

Nokia to cut an extra 330 jobs in R&D ...
Nokia on Friday said it would cut 330 jobs in its research and development group. The reductions are spread between an office in Oulu, in Nokia's native Finland, as well as in Copenhagen. Nokia isn't specific as to the nature of the layoffs and says only that they're meant to reflect the company's "focused portfolio of future products." [C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment] 

Autodesk's Smoke 2010 to come to Macs ...
Autodesk will soon launch a Mac version of Smoke, a demonstration at Japan's InterBEE expo confirms. The software is a high-end video production suite, costing approximately $15,000. It is capable not only of conventional editing tasks, but also handling audio, painting, text and various visual effects. [C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment] 

Pogoplug updated with 4 USB ports, automatic media sync ...
Cloud Engines on Friday introduced the second-generation Pogoplug, along with a variety of new features for storing and sharing multimedia. The hardware features the same plug-and-play capability of the original, but adds several USB ports to allow connection of up to four external hard drives without using a dedicated USB hub. [C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment] 

Gameloft sells 400X more iPhone games than Android ...
Gameloft today revealed that it has scaled back development of games for Android phones. The French software house made the move as just a fraction of its sales come from the Google platform: it sells 400 times more iPhone games than Android titles, the company's financial head Alexandre de Rochefort said. [C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment] 

Early Morning Edition

Briefly: Office 2008 for Mac discount, iMac repair guides ...
In brief: To help U.S college and graduate students dealing with heavy educational-based costs, Microsoft's MacBU has announced a special deal for the Office 2008 for Mac, dropping the price by over 70 percent. Office 2008 Business Edition provides a series of different applications to help support all areas of education, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Entourage 2008, and Document Connection for Mac with SharePoint support. [C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment] 

Thursday, November 19th	Last updated: 10:55 PM EST

Evening Edition

Apple updates Server Admin Tools, Boot Camp drivers ...
Apple on Thursday released an update to its Server Admin utility for Snow Leopard Server, as well as Boot Camp drivers for Windows. Server Admin tools 10.6.2 includes the latest releases of iCal Server Utility, Podcast Composer, Server Admin, Server Monitor, Server Preferences, System Image Utility, Workgroup Manager, and Xgrid Admin. [C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment] 

News from the past week.