Macintosh/iPhone software update roundup – December 4, 2009

Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for December 4, 2009:

Macintosh

• Markzware has released PageZephyr, a content search and extraction engine. PageZephyr has been developed using Markzware’s Common Reader Architecture, the high-performance technology at the heart of Markzware’s current and future products. PageZephyr technology makes it possible to search proprietary documents, then takes that to a higher level allowing you to examine and extract text from the most popular publishing native file formats, such as Adobe InDesign, or QuarkXPress.
• app4mac has released Projector 2.0, a powerful project management application for Mac OS X. Projector provides all the tools you need for professional project management. It is designed to keep track of tasks and calculate a project’s cost. Whether your job calls for managing large construction projects, complex media activities or detailed time schedules, creating, tracking and managing your projects will be much easier. Projector 2 is a complete rewrite with a new user interface.
• app4mac has released Twin 1.2, a powerful online backup solution for Mac OS X. Twin is a true Mac product that preserves Finder info, resource forks, ACLs, Privileges and comes with an elegant user interface and a powerful assistant. Twin is very flexible, and compatible with most Internet servers: FTP, FTPS, SFTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3, MobileMe. It even supports offline backups to external drives. Version 1.2 is a major update of the core engine for a better performance and more.
• Since shortly after World War II ended, history buffs have debated “What if?” scenarios. The Hearts of Iron series has long given players the opportunity to play with such situations to their hearts’ content, and Paradox Interactive’s Hearts of Iron III offers the deepest experience yet. The Mac OS X version of the game is available now from Virtual Programming.

iPhone/iPod

• Hyperdevbox Japan has announced the release of LoveCatch 1.0, a cute and fun Puzzle/Action game for iPhone and iPod Touch. You incarnate AI-KUN, a little cute Love Angel who has the mission to spread love by collecting flying hearts before they crash on the ground. The game uses a brilliant combination of Smart Gesture Recognition and Action Touch. LoveCatch is aimed to anyone looking for a polished cute and casual game to enjoy alone or with family.
• Chaotic Box has announced the availability of Pollywog 1.0, a whimsical dodge’m/racing game for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch. Guide Pauly the Purple Pollywog on a quest for floating yum yums! Dodge obstacles at super speeds, collect time-bending powerups, and blast your way past the finish line to earn awards and unlock new levels. Pollywog features a polished graphic style, realistic 2D physics, and a fun original soundtrack written exclusively for the game.
• Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Salzhauer, author of famed children’s book My Beautiful Mommy has introduced the most advanced beauty makeover App to the iTunes store: iSurgeon. iSurgeon is an innovative App for the iPhone/iPod Touch, which combines personal image modification with high tech gaming features.
• Fragmental is a challenging and visually-impressive puzzle game, similar to a 3D version of Tetris. It features a fully-rotational camera, move/rotate buttons on each falling piece, great-looking backgrounds/environments, various gameplay modes, world-wide leaderboards, and more.
• Mean Girls: High School Showdown is the ultimate high school showdown played out in Match Three battles. Players take on the role of a new student who finds herself thrust into the psychological warfare and unwritten social rules at North Shore High. When she’s adopted by two rival cliques, it’s up to the player to decide who rules the school. Stand up to the Plastics, or join them? Crush the other students’ spirits or earn their respect? It’s time to see how dirty high school battles get.
• ToDo Group is much more than just a simple task manager. ToDo Group works as a collaborative to-do where more than one user connected from anywhere in the world can add, delete or edit tasks within the same folder. It also serves as manager of private folders using conventional tasks. Your friends may assist you when carrying out a project, write the grocery list or just provide ideas. All tasks are grouped into folders and these can be shared (public) or private. The public ones are assigned to one or more users / friends who can make changes inside the folder.
• TuneWear has today it is now shipping the BoomTune Bomb II Stereo compact speakers with big stereo sound for an improved portable sound experience. Available in matte black or bright red jewel, the size is compact enough to carry in your hand.
• Critical Thought Games and Imangi Studios have announced that geoSpark is now available for purchase in the App Store. In geoSpark, an assortment of colorful neon “Sparks” fly across the iPhone or iPod Touch screen, and players are tasked with preventing any two different Sparks from colliding. Similar Sparks must be chained together by dragging them across the screen—the more Sparks eliminated in one swipe, the more points awarded.