Macintosh/iPhone software update round-up – December 30, 2008

Macintosh and iPhone software updates and announcements for December 30, 2008.

• TinyPlanet Software has released version 1.1.1 of Knapsack, the personal travel organizer for Mac OS X Leopard, and is offering a New Year’s promotion for both single-user and family-pack licenses. Version 1.1.1 is a maintenance release which includes performance improvements, trip scheduling enhancements, fixes for minor display issues, and additions to the built-in help system. The new version is is a free upgrade for existing customers and is recommended for all users.
• mStation/mophie has announced the availability of three new protective cases for the iPhone 3G, iPod Touch(2G), and iPod Nano(4G): mophie hard case plus (iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 2G), mophie hard case (iPod Nano 4G, iPod Touch 2G, and iPhone 3G) and mophie screen shield (iPhone 3G/iPod Touch).
• Swann Communications, a global leader in security monitoring solutions, has announced the debut of the PenCam DVR. Designed to covertly capture video footage and easily transfer it to the user’s computer, the PenCam DVR is an all-in-one surveillance system that allows anyone to make their own hidden videos.
• iZATT has announced it is offering the full version of MileBug for 50% off as a New Years Sale. MileBug helps those driving their own vehicles for business, charity, medical, or other reasons receive their reimbursement and/or tax deduction. U.S. IRS rates for 2009 are 55 cents/mile. MileBug provides the option to track miles or kilometers, enter custom rates, and include foreign characters in the reports. MileBug also supports Spanish.
• Early-Bird pricing for the new iPhone Development Course is only available for two more days. The course will be held January 20-23, 2009 at the Noah Building in Lindon, UT. A consortium of expert iPhone developers representing prominent iPhone development companies such as Izatt International, Pixio, and InfiniteNIL have been assembled to cover topics ranging from XCode and Interface Builder to the Accelerometer, Core Animation, and Open GL ES.
• For the first time, MacWorld attendees have the opportunity to win a vacation just for doing something that comes naturally: meeting new people. During MacWorld 2009, every new personal or business contact made by attendees using their iPhone and free app beamME provides an entry into the beamME/Up Sweepstakes. Bonus entries are also available for completing fun challenges, like beaming people named Wozniak. One lucky winner will fly away to sunny Hawaii.
• Read the exact digital replica of the entire premiere issue of iPhone Life for free on your Mac, PC, iPhone or iPod touch. Print subscriptions, which include the premier issue plus all 2009-2010 issues, are available for $25.
• Brainjuice has released version 1.2 of Blogo, their weblog editor and Twitter client for the Mac. The new version adds Expression Engine and Ping.fm, as well as support for the new WordPress comments API and a lot of much-requested features like an HTML source view for our rich text editor.