macOS New Release -EzyCal – Calendar 2017

Product Announcement – AppYogi Software of Bangalore, India has released EzyCal – Calendar 2017 (v1.0), the company’s new productive Menu Bar app developed exclusively for Mac OS X. EzyCal features a unique easy-to-use menu bar calendar which replaces Apple native status bar time display with many advantages for accessing the native calendar. This convenient Menu Bar app comes with full calendar display with events, reminders, to-do list and much more. It also allows the user to set custom Calendar in the menu bar.

Features:

• One click Add events, reminders, todo list right from menu bar
• Countdown to keep you on track
• Sync with Apple and all available calendar events
• Get the list of events in a single display for next 7 days
• Customize keyboard shortcuts as needed
• Different colors themes
• Different sizes for various screen sizes
• Simple User interface to interact with the calendar
• Retina Display enabled icons
• Easy to use interface
• Best in the market

Preferences:

• Status Bar Icon: Shows in the menubar which is selected month, day of the week, Time, Outline
• KeyBoard Shortcut: Record keyboard shortcut to open calendar from menubar
• Theme: Select your lucky color for, more lucky days
• Window Size: Select any window size of the calendar from available three. Which is visual as per your screen size
• Calendar Tab: Select other calendars which you want to sync with EzyCal

System Requirements:

• OS X 10.10 and later
• 64-bit processor
• 1.5 MB

EzyCal – Calendar for 2017 (v1.0) is only $4.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide exclusively through the Mac App Store in the Productivity category.

macOS New Release -PDFElement 5.7.0

Product Announcement – Wondershare of Guangdong, China has released PDFelement for Mac 5.7.0, their PDF editor application for macOS. While PDFelement for Mac version 5.6 was amazing and enjoyed good reviews from users, the drive for perfection has enabled Wondershare to even make the PDFelement much better.

The PDFelement remains one of the best PDF editors that serve as a complete PDF solution capable of creating high quality PDFs with a complete set of tools. When compared to the industry benchmark, Adobe Acrobat, it emerged as a good alternative with the advantage of being less expensive.

Key Features:

• Edit & OCR- Gives you robust editing capability while OCR helps you transform scanned PDFs into selectable, Editable and searchable documents in over 20 languages
• Combine & Organize- Organize PDFs, merge them from multiple files plus batch processing
• Convert & Extract- Split PDFs, Extract PDF pages and convert PDFs to and from other popular file formats
• Forms & Templates- Create PDF forms, edit PDF forms and customize fillable forms
•  Paragraph Editing- Edit with automated formatting and paragraph adjustment
• Text Autofit- Your text field adjusts automatically when new text is added
• Font Formats- There is now option of font formatting when editing
• PDF OCR- Batch OCR PDFs is now supported with custom DPI

The reality is that PDFelement for Mac is just the real deal and the release of the new V5.7 has cemented its position as a worthy alternative to Adobe. Professionals can now heave a sigh of relief as a cost effective and complete PDF solution is here.

System Requirements

• Mac OSX 10. 12, 10.11, 10.10, 10.9, 10.8, 10.7
• 512 MB RAM or Above
• 1Ghz Processor or above
• 500 MB or above disk space

PDFelement for Mac 5.7.0 is $99.95 USD (or an equivalent amount in other currencies) and is available at the Wondershare website. A trial version is available for download.

macOS New Release – VidConverter 1.7.1

Product Announcement – Independent software developer, Reggie Ashworth of Anaheim, California has released of VidConvert 1.7.1, an update to his popular video converter for Mac OS X. VidConvert is a video converter designed to make converting your videos simple and easy. VidConvert will convert just about any type of video into one of the many popular formats of today. Creating videos for your iPhone or iPad, for your Mac or TV, or formats such as DivX and MPEG are just a click away with VidConvert.

You do not need to be an expert to use VidConvert. Simply add a file, select a format and a quality, and click convert. Optionally you can change your save folder from the main window. For advanced users you can select the Advanced panel if you choose to allow such options as custom Frame Rate, Bit Rate, etc. But for most users simply choosing Normal or High quality should be sufficient. After your conversion is finished simply add more files or quit VidConvert and the job is done.

Supported formats include iPhone, iPod, iPad, QuickTime, .mp4, MPEG-1 and 2, DivX, Xvid, and audio only formats such as .mp3 and .m4a. VidConvert can add iTunes compatible videos directly to your iTunes library for convenience and for syncing with your iPhone, iPod, or other iDevice. It’s also possible to turn your favorite videos into audio only tracks for playback in your favorite audio device. And VidConvert is not limited to creating videos just for Apple devices, in fact any device that can play one of the supported formats can play a video converted by VidConvert. With VidConvert converting your videos couldn’t be easier.

VidConvert Version 1.7.1 will run on Lion, Mountain Lion, Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan, and macOS Sierra, and here are a few of the new features included:

New in Version 1.7:

• Optimized for operation on macOS Sierra (backwards compatible with Lion/Mountain Lion/Mavericks/Yosemite/El Capitan)
• Supported input – Most any type of video or audio format
• Supported output – iPhone, iPad, iPod, Retina, Apple TV, QuickTime, .mp4, .avi, DivX, Xvid, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, DVD (.vob), Windows Media, Flash, Matroska (.mkv), Theora (.ogg), WebM, .m4a, .mp3, .aiff, .wav, .wma, .ac3, ALAC
• Refreshed UI design
• Full 64-bit support for the fastest possible conversion
• Nine languages: English, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, and Spanish (with more to come)
• Support for latest FFmpeg releases
• Fully compatible with Retina displays
• All-around code cleanup and optimization including latest Dev tools
• Sparkle updater to always have the latest version (with new localizations)
• And More…

Feature Highlights:

• Expected features such as Preview, Joining or “stitching” files, ability to save settings, and more
• Normal and High quality presets to make video conversion automatic for most users
• Ability to author a DVD for burning
• Info panel to obtain Container, Video, and Audio details for each video
• All Apple Devices format to play on all iDevices or Apple TV
• Crop and Trim and more in the Advanced panel to customize your conversion if needed
• Drag and Drop simplicity even with folders of videos and List reordering once videos have been added
• Easily change Save To folder for each batch
• Progress indicator with time remaining for each file

Language Support: U.S. English, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, and Spanish

Version 1.7.1 brings a few improvements and fixes a few issues from the big Version 1.7 release. For full Release Notes visit their website.

System Requirements:

• Mac OS X Version 10.7 Lion or later (macOS Sierra compatible)
• Intel only
• 21.8 MB Hard Drive space

VidConvert 1.7.1 is only $7.99 (USD) for a single user license. A demo which creates 3 minute samples is available. Older versions with pre-Lion support are available via the website. And Mac App Store version also available.

macOS New Release – BarCode 2.80

Product Announcement – Scorpion Research of Chislehurst Kent, United Kingdom has released version 2.80 of Scorpion BarCode, its popular BarCode creation software for Apple macOS computers. Scorpion BarCode is a complete Barcode creation utility that you can use to quickly create Barcode images for use in other applications. The software supports the following symbologies:

• EAN-13 (With or without Add-On codes)
• EAN-8
• EAN-128 (Codeset B and Codeset C)
• EAN-14
•  EAN-18
• EAN-99
• EAN-Coupon
• UPC-A (With or without Add-On codes)
• UPC-E
• Code-128 (Codeset B and Codeset C)
• Code-93
• Code-39
•  Code-32
• Code-25
•  UPC-Coupon
• Codabar
• ISSN (10 digit / 13 digit)
• ISBN (10 digit / 13 digit)
• ISMN
• PostNet (5 digit / 9 digit / 11 digit)
• RM4SCC
• Pharmacode
• CIP
• PZN
• MSI
• ITF-SCC
• ITF-14
• Interleaved-25
• QRCode
• MicroQR
• PDF417
• Identcode
• DataMatrix
• USPS4CB
• FIM
• Databar-Omnidirectional
• Databar-Truncated
• Databar-Stacked
• Databar-StackedOmnidirectional
• Databar-Limited
• Databar-Expanded

By entering the text of a Barcode, the software produces the graphic equivalent using one of the above selected symbologies. Use it to:

• Create editable vector PDF or EPS documents
• Create bitmap PNG or TIFF documents with transparency
• Paste into another application simply via the Clipboard
• Print camera ready artwork automatically
• Convert text in other applications into Barcode graphics using AppleScript

Sample AppleScripts are available to enable you to automate your BarCode creation workflow including integrating Barcodes into popular database, spreadsheet and word processor software.

A Terminal command line version is also available, enabling powerful custom scripting solutions beyond AppleScript or Automator. Integrate into solutions directly using Unix technologies such as shell scripts or via web CGI scripts.

The Scorpion BarCode software embraces the latest Apple technology to simplify the user experience. The entire User Guide is built into the onscreen help and separately viewable.

New in Scorpion BarCode 2.80:

• Optimised for macOS 10.12 Sierra
• Support for Databar-Omnidirectional added
• Support for Databar-Truncated added
• Support for Databar-Stacked added
• Support for Databar-StackedOmnidirectional added
• Support for Databar-Limited added
• Support for Databar-Expanded added

System Requirements: The Scorpion BarCode software operates on any macOS compatible system running OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or later. Optimised for macOS 10.12 Sierra.

Scorpion BarCode 2.80 is available now with a Free 30 day trial. A single user license GBP 99.00 (Approx $121.00 USD) available from the website. Multiple User Discounts apply. Educational discounts apply. Trade enquiries welcome. Scorpion BarCode may be downloaded from the Scorpion Research web site; following the links to Software Products, Scorpion BarCode and then Download.

macOS New Release -AntiVirus 1.2

Product Announcement – B-Eng of Fehraltorf, Switzerland has released AntiVirus 1.2, an important update to their popular virus and adware scanner developed exclusively for Mac OS X. Welcome to one of the most sophisticated and easy-to-use antivirus tools available. Quick, reliable and safe, AntiVirus delivers everything you could ask for. In addition to may stability improvements, version 1.2 adds a new port scanner, as well as a new vulnerability scanner.

A key feature of AntiVirus is that the app doesn’t force you to update virus definitions manually. The virus and malware list is updated autmatically, and once per hour if necessary. Unlike alternative virus scanners within its genre, AntiVirus doesn’t eat CPU power and fill up RAM. Its sophisticated algorithm kicks in only when needed. AntiVirus checks loopholes that many other virus scanner completely ignore. We are convinced that AntiVirus finds threats where other scanners stay silent or even want to make you beleive that your computer is safe.

Main Features of AntiVirus – Virus & Adware Scanner:

• Single purchase, no monthly fees
• EICAR test passed
• Drag & drop scanner
• Auto directory watcher
• Detection of compressed malware and viruses
• Port Scanner
• Adware scanner

AntiVirus has successfully passed the EICAR test. Viruses, and especially adware, has penetrated an increasing number of Macs that are in daily use and have to be considered a serious threat to many computers running macOS. Based on their in-house analysis, B-Eng decided to protect their hardware and software and built a virus and adware scanner for their own use. After these initial tests, they decided it is ready to be sold. According to B-Eng there will be no monthly fees, and the virus definitions will be updated several times every day:

Device Requirements:

• OS X 10.11 or later
• 64-bit processor
• 8.8 MB

AntiVirus – Virus & Adware Scanner 1.2 is is available for $14.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) through the Mac App Store in the Utilities category.

macOS New Release -OCRWizard 4.2.0

Product Announcement – Cisdem of Madelia, Minnesota has released Cisdem OCRWizard 4.2.0 for Mac. It’s a comprehensive Mac OCR productivity tool to convert PDFs, scanned documents and image files (including the pictures of business cards) in over 40 languages into searchable and editable files. Now, 30% Off New Year Discount is offered.

What’s New in Cisdem OCRWizard 4.2.0?

• Greatly-improved image editing functions
  The version 4.2.0 brings some image editing functions: straighten curved text, remove motion blur, reduce ISO noise, equalize brightness and make the background white, etc. Users can manually edit the images before recognition.
• Optimized recognition for pictures of business cards
  The accuracy of recognition for pictures of business cards has been greatly improved in this new version. The detailed contact information can be correctly shown and easily updated or shared.
• Fully-compatible with OS X 10.9 – 10.12
  Add support for OS X 10.9 in this update. Now, Cisdem OCRWizard is fully compatible with OS X 10.9 Mavericks, OS X 10.10 Yosemite, OS X 10.11 El Capitan and macOS 10.12 Sierra.

Others Enhancements Based on Previous Versions:

• Convert PDFs, scanned documents, or images to document formats (PDF, RTFD, DOCX, DOC, XLSX, PPTX, HTML, TEXT, ALTO, FB2, EPUB, ODT, PAGES and KEYNOTE) and image formats (JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, and TIFF).
• Convert both native and scanned PDF to editable and searchable PDF.
• Recognize all information from pictures of business cards and enable users to edit details, export to vCard or CSV, or directly add to your Contacts, Mail, Messages and AirDrop.
• Mark regions on scanned files with different colors and allow to edit the regions manually.
• Enable manually correct file distortions (rotate, crop, invert, adjust brightness, sharpness, contrast and saturation) before recognition.
• Convert files in 49 languages or their combinations, including English, French, Italian, Chinese, German, Russian, etc.
• Keep the original layouts after conversions.
• Batch add documents and merge them into one.

Users can get a single license of Cisdem OCRWizard 4.2 for Mac at $59.99 from the company web site. Volume business and education discounts are also available. Please download the free trial version or learn more in Cisdem website.

macOS Software Promotion – TunesKit

Product Announcement – TunesKit of London, United Kingdom is having a promotion for TunesKit, a New Year special offer. Users are able to enjoy super discounts on all TunesKit featured DRM removal tools, including the iTunes DRM M4V Converter, iTunes Audiobook Converter, Audible Converter, iBook Copy, Apple Music M4P Converter, as well as some best valued DRM media converter bundles. The discounts are ranged from 20% to up to 70% off. For example, you can get the full lifetime version of TunesKit Audible Converter at $9.95 only.

If you are looking for the ultimate tool to remove DRM from iTunes M4V movies and TV shows, you should buy TunesKit DRM M4V Converter. As an all-in-one iTunes DRM cracker, it’s designed to losslessly remove DRM encryption from iTunes movie purchases and rentals, TV episodes, and music videos by converting the protected M4V videos to DRM-free formats, including MP4, M4V, MOV, AVI, FLV, MP3, AAC, etc. Now this powerful DRM M4V converter is sold at $35 only with 20% off from the original price of $45.

For audiobook users, you can get the full version of TunesKit Audible Converter with $9.95 only by saving $20 over the original price. With this smart tool, you’ll easily and losslessly kill DRM from Audible AA, AAX audiobooks and convert them to popular audio formats, like MP3, M4A, AAC, M4B, etc. with all metadata retained at up to 100X faster speed.

If the audiobooks you want to convert are bought from iTunes Store, TunesKit DRM Audiobook Converter could be the better choice. It’s able to bypass DRM from both iTunes and Audible audiobooks. The main difference between the TunesKit Audiobook Converter and TunesKit Audible Converter is that Audible Converter bypasses the DRM from Audible audiobooks straightforward without requiring users to authorize the account in advance, while the Audiobook Converter has to work together with iTunes for account authorization.

Other amazing tools from TunesKit such as iBook Copy for Mac, Apple Music Converter are also on sale with 20% off discount. You can use them to get rid of DRM from the locked iBooks ePub files as well as Apple Music M4P songs. If you need to convert different media types at the same time, you can buy the special DRM media converter bundles from TunesKit. The discounts of those bundles range from 50% to 60% off. Purchases can be made through the website.

Please kindly note that all the special offers provided by TunesKit include both Windows and Mac versions, with the exception of iBook Copy, which is only available for Mac machines. For more details about the discounts of this holiday sale, please visit TunesKit promotion page.

eBook Sales on Decline

Books – I was amazed when I read “The Bad News About E-books“! A presentation by Jonathan Stolper, Senior VP and global managing director for Nielsen Book, at the Digital Book World conference in New York City earlier this month indicates that eBook sales is on the decline. Unit sales of eBooks in 2016 is estimated to be as much as 16% lower than in 2015.

This decline in sales seems tied somewhat to the average $3 per eBook increase in price that occurred across the industry at about that time. There also seems to be some evidence that the move away from dedicated readers to Apps on tablets and smart phones may also be a factor.

Personally, I like eBooks and intend to continue with them in the months ahead. I must say though that I am appalled at their price. Given the costs to produce and distribute eBooks as compared to print books, their price should only be a fraction of a paperback.

 

Reading Fast vs Reading Deep

Reading – I came across the article “If you want to get smarter, speed-reading is worse than not reading at all” this morning and I thought it made a great point that is too often overlooked in our rush to fit reading into our busy schedules: Reading quickly does not equate to deep understanding.

If we really want to understand and think about material that we are reading, we need to take our time. After all the end desire is not how many pages we have read but what we have added to our knowledge.

macOS Software Promotion – DVDFab

Product Announcement – Fengtao Software of Beijing, China, an industry leader in the field of DVD, Blu-ray and video backup solutions, launches the 1st promotional sales to welcome the approaching New Year 2017, offering a storewide 25% coupon on all its shareware products, with the only exception to the video converter software, which is being offered at 40% off. The warm-up promotion of 2017 starts today, and runs into February, closing on the 6th. Read on for the detailed story.

Storewide 25% off on All the Shareware Products:
To welcome the arrival of the all-new 2017 and also the upcoming lunar calendar based Chinese New Year, known to many westerners as the Spring Festival, Fengtao Software has made a very big resolution to offer a 25% decent discount on its storewide products, including its world famous DVD copy software, Passkey, media player, and also the data care portfolios covering the iOS data recovery software iFoneRestore and the PC Backup software.

The coupon works on both the Windows versions and their macOS counterparts. If you are currently looking for an all-in-one solution package which takes care of all your diversified needs on DVD/Blu-ray backup, authoring and video conversion, this could be the perfect timing to get its No. 1 bestseller of all time – DVDFab All-In-One Lifetime Gift. The package packs all the lifetime versions of its DVD copy, DVD ripper, Blu-ray copy, Blu-ray ripper, and six other modules into one bundle. Besides, purchasing this package during this promotion time period not only saves you 25%, but also brings you an extra $20 Amazon Gift Card as a free gift. Make your resolution fast, as the offer shall end on Feb. 6, 2017.

Save 40% on the Awesome Video Converter Software:
The storewide 25% coupon mentioned above is not the only advantage you can take for granted during the promotion. There is also another 40% decent discount being offered to anyone who might be interested in the video converter software. DVDFab Video Converter is quite an amazing piece of video converter that has the capability to convert between any two video formats, popular or peculiar, so that users can watch their wanted videos on a certain portable or mobile device they own, such as an iPhone 7, an iPad Pro, a Google Pixel phone, or a Samsung Galaxy S7, etc. In other words, this video converter will convert all your video collections with just a few mouse clicks with outstanding video quality. If you want to take the advantage of the 40% discount, then don’t wait too long.

For the detailed terms and conditions of the 2017 Warm-up Promotion, please visit DVDFab online.