Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for November 3, 2009:

Macintosh

• Apparent Software today is proud to announce Cashculator 1.0, a new kind of personal finance application for Mac OS X. Cashculator is a Mac way to track a cashflow. It is a different kind of personal finance application - instead of focusing on the past and logging previous transactions, it focuses on future by forecasting your financial situation. It allows making better decisions regarding your personal finance or small business. Version 1.0 is first release of the application.
• Macware has announced DiskTools Pro 3.5.1, a free update of its popular Mac utility suite for OS X. Version 3.5.1 supports Mac OS X 10.3.9 and later, including Apple’s new Snow Leopard. DiskTools Pro is a total system utility for the Mac, and the only one that allows you to schedule when to perform important tasks such as file defragmentation, backup and bad sector repair in a single, easy-to-use interface.
• Yazsoft has announced Playback 1.2, an important update to their zero configuration media server for Mac OS X. With a focus on ease-of-use, Playback allows anyone to share their media with any Playstation 3, Xbox 360, or other supported UPnP compatible device. Playback can also share media stored in folders or even make entire disks available to a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. By default, Playback will share almost any content on the users system. Version 1.2 includes many new improvements.
• SuperMegaUltraGroovy and toastycode have announced the immediate availability of TapeDeck 1.3, an update to their popular audio recorder for Mac OS X. Answering the requests of many professional and hobbyist users, version 1.3 adds the ability to record full-quality audio using lossless compression. Recordings from TapeDeck will preserve their full fidelity when dragged into Garage Band, Logic Pro, or any professional audio application that supports ALAC audio.
• Malkinware has announced Reference Tracker 1.5, an update to their academic reference manager and research tool for Mac OS X. Reference Tracker documents store all the citations and references in an essay, research project, or book and creates reference lists in a variety of formats when needed. Version 1.5 adds support for the newly updated APA 6th edition and MLA 7th edition referencing styles.
• XChange UK has announced a new exclusive PitStop Pro 09 Competitive Upgrade from FlightCheck Pro or FlightCheck Designer. This competitive upgrade gives existing users of FlightCheck Professional or FlightCheck Designer the opportunity to upgrade to the power of PitStop Pro 09 and save. PDF has become the standard for delivering press-ready files and PitStop Professional allows users to make minor edits to a PDF job at any stage.
• Karelia Software has released Karelia iMedia Browser 1.2.1, a free utility that adds the familiar “media browser” experience to just about any Mac application. The new 1.2.1 version provides full compatibility for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, adds Brazilian Portuguese and Russian Localizations, and fixes several other issues. A stand-alone utility, the Karelia iMedia Browser lets users quickly and easily browse and drag photos, music, movies, and bookmarks into most applications.
• newPCgadgets.com has introduces The Rail, a new cable management product for the iMac. The Rail is a stylish cable organizer designed to match the look of your iMac. Designed from polished steel, The Rail attaches directly below the center slot on the iMac pedestal. The Rail holds up to 8 small cables in the stainless steel wire clips. Larger cables like the power cord are held in the center section. Easily stores cables for future use and fast access on the sides. Excess wires can be wrapped around the posts. The Rail is available for $24.95.
• Emmy Award-winning Toon Boom Animation Inc. today announced the release of Flip Boom All-Star, an easy-to-use animation software for teens and up. Flip Boom All-Star offers exciting features that will engage users and allow them to use animation to communicate with their friends.

iPhone/iPod

• To help promote the ringtone creation software PocketMac RingtoneStudio 2 for iPhone, PocketMac is giving away a legally, factory-unlocked iPhone 3G. In addition, second and third prize winners will win a $50 and $15 iTunes gift card, respectively. The contest is structured so existing fans of PocketMac RingtoneStudio will help talk it up and recommend it to their friends. That is, the more copies of PocketMac RingtoneStudio sold during the month of November, the cooler the prizes get.
• mLab emantras has launched their first paid iphone app called Lucky Me lite. It’s a game which rates your luck and gives a score as well as a Lucky quote which can be shared on Facebook.
• IvySkin has announced the SmartCase, a new iPhone 3G/3GS accessory that brings a premium power and protection experience to iPhone owners. It offers IvySkin’s newest Glass Touch-Thru case called Quattro-T4 bundled with the new Quattro battery. This advanced power distribution system enables the iPhone to receive an additional 200% battery life. The SmartCase includes the SmartPac, Quattro-T4, USB cable and full manufacturer’s warranty.
• RemObjects Software, LLC has introduced Data Abstract for OS X, their new framework for Mac and iPhone developers. Data Abstract allows developers to concentrate on data presentation and business logic without having to worry about the intricate details of dealing with the underlying database. As a fully native OS X framework, Data Abstract was designed from the ground up to fit in with the tools that Mac and iPhone developers use, such as Xcode, Cocoa and Objective-C.
• TimeStream Software has turned the iPod Classic, iPod nano and iPod Video into eReaders with its popular Notescast titles. Installing to the “Notes” feature found on nearly every iPod in use world-wide today, Notescasts are interactive books on the iPod, each containing up to hundreds of pages of digital copy linked to related photos and additional text.
• Independent software developer Eknath Kadam has introduced Grammar Express: Tenses 1.0, his new grammar and course testing application for iPhone and iPod Touch. Designed specifically to leverage the iPhone’s unique capabilities, Grammar Express: Tenses is a complete course in mastering English grammatical tenses. This guide contains over a 100 pages of lessons with several examples, and serves to help improve the understanding of tenses and make use of correct form of verb.
• Extropia Games has released Bar Defender exclusively for the iPhone and the iPod touch. Bar Defender boosts castle defense games to an entire new scene. It’s going to be easy for gamers to identify with the bar fly who is threatened by the system and is struggling to hold on to the only place he feels safe: his favorite bar. Each level achieved, Bar Defender rewards gamers with more powerful weaponry and an even more audacious enemy, inciting them to polish the screen clean and shiny every time the game is afoot.
• MultiEducator has announced the release of Electrical Pro 1.0, their new information calculation tool for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Building on the success of Electrical Formulator, the Electrical Pro program adds 35 essential charts to the 100 electrical formulas in the standard Electrical Formulator. It also includes parts of the National Electric Code. The application has been designed from the ground up to leverage the iPhone’s unique abilities and interface.
• Orb Games has released Kamikaze Race 1.0, an exciting racing/action game for iPhone and iPod touch. The game puts players into a seat of an extremely fast car, amidst the busy road, with jammed accelerator pedal and brakes that refuse to work. Players have to survive as long as possible, challenged to earn achievements and to compete against other players in online leaderboards.
• Halloween has come and gone, but there are still zombies lurking in the dark, ready to eat your brains! Welcome to Zombie Dash, a top-down dungeon crawler where players can defeat the undead using the handy trackball control mechanism, as well as magic spells which can be cast with skill and dexterity via intense multitouch control. Trapped in a tomb infested with ghoulish pursuers, players must search for treasure and most importantly a key to the next level.
• VFSoftware LLC has announced Beat the Swine ‘09, the first iPhone app to raise monetary donations for H1N1 relief. VFSoftware LLC will donate to the CDC Foundation’s H1N1 relief fund for all downloads, increasing donations as a player’s score goes up. Similar to the classic Asteroids, Beat the Swine ‘09 has a medically inspired theme and updated pandemic information, making it the first to target gamers to help combat the spread of Swine Flu.