Macintosh/iPhone software update round-up – December 16, 2008

Macintosh and iPhone software updates and announcements for December 16, 2008.

• Agile Web Solutions has announced the release of 1Password 1.4 for iPhone, which greatly improves stability, adds full support for landscape mode, and a new Password Generator. 1Password for iPhone is free for a limited time, and can sync with 1Password for Mac. 1Password offers secure database with 2-tier encryption to keep track of logins, secure notes, identities, credit cards, bank accounts, and software registration information.
• MoGeneration has announced Moo Shake!, their animal mix and match game for iPhone and iPod Touch. Kids from three to ten can now enjoy a fun, educational game on an iPhone or iPod Touch. Moo Shake! is an interactive version of the animal mix and match books that many of us had as kids. Moo Shake! takes the idea into the 21st century by adding sound, movement and a competitive element.
• Houdah Software has announced the immediate availability of ACTCurrency 2.0. ACTCurrency is Houdah Software’s universal currency converter for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Version 2.0 features an all new UI design and expands the automatic download of exchange rates to support 190 world currencies.
• Aquafadas has announced the immediate availability of BannerZest 1.3. BannerZest 1.3 comes with a gorgeous new theme, named Sakura, that will make a great banner for your site. This new version fixes several bugs in the area of Flash Player 10 compatibillity and HTML code generation, and adds some theme settings. Due to popular demand, spanish localization has now been added. This upgrade is free and recommended to all users of BannerZest Standard or BannerZest Pro.
• Welcome to Macintosh – The Documentary for the Rest of Us will be presented for one night only during the week of Macworld 2009 in San Francisco. On Thursday January 8th, a special Macworld Exclusive version of the film will be presented on the big screen, with the Directors and select interviewees available for Q&A immediately after the show. Attendees will also receive a discount on the Welcome to Macintosh DVD when purchased online through FilmBaby.
• Bare Bones Software has announced the release of BBEdit 9.1, a significant update to its professional strength HTML and text editor. BBEdit 9.1 includes a copy of Consolas Regular, an antialiased font optimized for the editing of text and code, including markup, on screen. Consolas is licensed from Ascender Corporation specifically for use with BBEdit 9. BBEdit 9.1 also introduces a revamped interface for working with files via FTP and SFTP, significant improvements to FTP file transfer performance, and workflow refinements for projects and multi-file searching.
• 99Games has announced the release of WordsWorth, a word game for the iPhone and iPod touch, which is available on the Apple App Store. WordsWorth is a challenging, fun, engaging and an addictive word game, with the perfect ingredients to loosen up. The objective of the game is to trace words and link letters into words in the library.
• KODAK Gallery has announced the launch of the KODAK Gallery iPhone App. Available on the Apple App Store and specifically designed for iPhone, the KODAK Gallery iPhone App gives people easy access to their Gallery pictures, anytime, anywhere so they can share them with friends and family members. Users can also upload new pictures taken with iPhone to their KODAK Gallery online photo albums.
• Freeverse has recently updated the mighty Jared (App Store link) app for the iPhone (free), so that for the month of December, he will sing “Feliz Navidad en mis pantalones” (Merry Christmas in my trousers)! Also, Freeverse is using the update screen to let people know about a special holiday sale on all of their Mac and PC games (and other software) in the Freeverse store. For a limited time (through December), they’re cutting 50% off everything with coupon code “JARED.”
• Mariner Software, developers and publishers of professional and personal software, announced today the release of Contour 1.0, the story development software for Mac OS X and the newest product in Mariner’s award-winning line of personal creativity software. Developed in collaboration with Emmy Award-nominated Jeffrey Alan Schechter, Contour is a proven story development system that streamlines the process of turning movie ideas from first glimmer to full outline.
• The 2008 Best App Ever Awards are now open to receive nominations. Sponsored by 148Apps, the inaugural competition is the first iPhone OS Application achievement awards to recognize the best iPhone apps and games released in the iTunes App Store in 2008. The goal is to help publicize the very best apps available, not just the best-selling apps. There are multiple award categories covering both apps and games.
• App4mac has released a public beta version of CheckUp 2.0. Checkup is an innovative tool that allows you to check the health and monitor the behavior of a Mac computer (even from a remote computer). Built from the ground up with Mac OS X technologies, CheckUp features an amazing user interface. CheckUp works with any Mac with a PowerPC G4, G5 or Intel Processor.
• What’s for dinner tonight? Allrecipes.com, the world’s #1 food site, has announced the launch of the Allrecipes.com Dinner Spinner (App Store link), an innovative iPhone/iPod Touch app designed to give home cooks unmatched ease and convenience for finding everyday food ideas on the go.
• Storyist Software will unveil version 2.0 of its flagship product Storyist at Macworld Conference & Expo, January 5-9, 2009 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. Developed specifically for novelists and screenwriters, Storyist 2.0 offers many new tools to help writers take their projects from initial idea to submission-ready manuscript or screenplay, including a streamlined interface with support for full-screen editing, enhancements to the word processor, a more flexible outliner, and a new “collage” mode in the storyboard.