среда, 29 февраля 2012 г.

Games

Games


Energies, Vol. 5, Pages 561-576: Optimization of Agitation and Aeration for Very High Gravity Ethanol Fermentation from Sweet Sorghum Juice by Saccharomyces cerevisiae Using an Orthogonal Array Design

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Optimization of three parameters: agitation rate (A; 100, 200 and 300 rpm), aeration rate (B; 0.5, 1.5 and 2.5 vvm) and aeration timing (C; 2, 4 and 6 h), for ethanol production from sweet sorghum juice under very high gravity (VHG, 290 g L−1 of total sugar) conditions by Saccharomyces cerevisiae NP 01 was attempted using an L9 (34) orthogonal array design. The fermentation was carried out at 30 °C in a 2-L bioreactor and the initial yeast cell concentration was approximately 2 × 107 cells mL−1. The results showed that the optimum condition for ethanol fermentation should be A2B3C2 corresponding to agitation rate, 200 rpm; aeration rate, 2.5 vvm and aeration timing, 4 h. The verification experiments under the optimum condition clearly indicated that the aeration and agitation strategies improved ethanol production. The ethanol concentration (P), productivity (Qp) and ethanol yield (Yp/s) were 132.82 ± 1.06 g L−1, 2.55 ± 0.00 g L−1h−1 and 0.50 ± 0.00, respectively. Under the same condition without aeration (agitation rate at 200 rpm), P and Qp were only 118.02 ± 1.19 g L−1 and 2.19 ± 0.04 g L−1h−1, respectively while Yp/s was not different from that under the optimum condition.

IJMS, Vol. 13, Pages 2727-2743: Synthesis and Characterization of Privileged Monodentate Phosphoramidite Ligands and Chiral Brønsted Acids Derived from D-Mannitol

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

The synthesis of several novel chiral phosphoramidite ligands (L1–L8) with C2 symmetric, pseudo C2 symmetric secondary amines and chiral Brønsted acids 1a,b has been achieved. These chiral auxiliaries were obtained from commercially available d-mannitol, and secondary amines in moderate to excellent yields. Excellent diastereoselectivites of ten chiral auxiliaries were obtained. The chiral phosphoramidite ligands and chiral Brønsted acids were fully characterized by spectroscopic methods.

Membranes, Vol. 2, Pages 118-133: Mechanisms of Membrane Curvature Generation in Membrane Traffic

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

During the vesicular trafficking process, cellular membranes undergo dynamic morphological changes, in particular at the vesicle generation and fusion steps. Changes in membrane shape are regulated by small GTPases, coat proteins and other accessory proteins, such as BAR domain-containing proteins. In addition, membrane deformation entails changes in the lipid composition as well as asymmetric distribution of lipids over the two leaflets of the membrane bilayer. Given that P4-ATPases, which catalyze unidirectional flipping of lipid molecules from the exoplasmic to the cytoplasmic leaflets of the bilayer, are crucial for the trafficking of proteins in the secretory and endocytic pathways, changes in the lipid composition are involved in the vesicular trafficking process. Membrane remodeling is under complex regulation that involves the composition and distribution of lipids as well as assembly of proteins.

Molbank, Vol. 2012, Pages M750: 4-[(2-Hydroxy-4-pentadecylbenzylidene)amino]-1,5-dimethyl-2-phenyl-1,2-dihydro-3H-pyrazol-3-one

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Novel 4-[(2-hydroxy-4-pentadecylbenzylidene)amino]-1,5-dimethyl-2-phenyl-1,2-dihydro-3H-pyrazol-3-one was prepared via condensation of 2-hydroxy-4-pentadecylbenzaldehyde (1) with 4-amino-1,2-dihydro-2,3-dimethyl-1-phenylpyrazol-5-one (2) in ethanol/acetic acid under reflux. The structure of the synthesized compound was assigned on the basis of elemental analysis and spectral data.

A Better Finder Rename 9.0 - File, photo, and MP3 batch renamer.. (Shareware)

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 02:05 AM PST



A Better Finder Rename is the most complete renaming solution available on the market today. That's why, since 1996, tens of thousands of hobbyists, professionals and businesses depend on A Better Finder Rename to organize and maintain files.

A Better Finder Rename's user interface supports complex renaming tasks without sacrificing ease and speed of use. Simply drag the files you want to rename straight from the Finder into the large preview table or the application icon.. or use our Finder context menu and hot key.

The Instant Preview feature eliminates guesswork and costly errors and helps you find the right settings quickly and accurately by providing as-you-type feedback.

A Better Finder Rename offers a complete set of renaming options that are organized into 15 categories covering all the text, character, position, conversion and truncation features that you would expect from a file renamer, but it does not stop there.

Photographers use the advanced sequence number and date & time features to clean up their portfolios or prepare photos for delivery to their client. A Better Finder Rename knows how to extract EXIF shooting date and time information from digital camera images and exploit them in creating sequence numbers or adding time and date information to the file name. Support for all major RAW formats (including JPEG, CRW, CR2, THM, NEF, TIFF, RAJ, ORF , MRW, DNG, PEF, SRF, etc.) extends this to professional photographers. A Better Finder Rename also deals gracefully with multiple shots captured in the same second.

Version 9 adds support for extracting camera, lens, photo and color meta-data tags and using them in the new tag rename feature. You can now also re-order sequence numbers, alphabetical sequences or roman numeral series directly through dragging and dropping items in the preview list.

System administrators, web masters and other power users will appreciate the presence of advanced features, such as regular expression support, conversion to Windows NTFS/SMB compatible names, the ability to import file names from a database, a spreadsheet or any other source that can produce plain or tab-delimited text files. Last but not least, the ability to save a record of the current and new file names greatly facilitates tracking your files.

Music lovers can use the built-in MP3/AAC support to exploit the id3 meta-data tags embedded in your most music files to create their own naming schemes for their music collection. Meta-data information from MP3, AAC, FLAC, OGG, APE, M4V and iTunes music store files are supported.

The multi-step renaming feature allows multiple renaming steps to be combined to deal with complex renaming jobs in a single operation. Unlike other tools, A Better Finder Rename allows any number of renaming actions to be combined, re-ordered, copied and deleted.

Version 9.0:

  • features a beautiful, re-designed user experience
  • introduces drag & drop manual sorting of items in the preview list
  • gives access to over one hundred image, photo, color, camera, lens, music and date meta-data tags


Mac OS X 10.6 or later

Download Now

IJMS, Vol. 13, Pages 2717-2726: Molecular Mechanisms of (R,R)ZX-5 on NO Synthesis and Its Anti-Angiogenic Effect

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

(R,R)ZX-5 is a NO regulatory compound, which could significantly increase choroidal blood flow in New Zealand rabbit. The aim of this paper is to investigate the molecular mechanism of (R,R)ZX-5 promoting NO production. Besides this, we also investigated the antiangiogenic activity of (R,R)ZX-5. Analysis of Western blot showed that (R,R)ZX-5 up-regulated the expression of Akt, p-Akt (Thr473), eNOS and p-eNOS (Ser1177), down-regulated the expression of Cyclin D1 in human retinal endothelial cells and escalated the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration. Additionally, (R,R)ZX-5 inhibited the growth of blood vessels in the chick chorioallantoic membrane model. It is concluded that (R,R)ZX-5 promotes choroidal blood flow through PI3K/Akt-eNOS and Akt-Ca2+-eNOS pathways. Additionally, (R,R)ZX-5 can inhibit angiogenesis.

Micromachines, Vol. 3, Pages 126-136: Multi-Input Multi-Output Integrated Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite for Energy Controls

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

This paper presents an integrated sensor/actuator device with multi-input and multi-output designed on the basis of a standard control representation called a distributed port-Hamiltonian system. The device is made from soft material called an ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC). The IPMC consists of a base film of a polyelectrolyte gel and a double layer of plated metal electrodes. The electrodes of the experimental IPMC are sectioned, and it is implemented as a control system with four pairs of inputs/outputs. We stabilize the system, and detect changes in dynamics by using the control representation.

Micromachines, Vol. 3, Pages 114-125: Integrated Biophotonics with CYTOP

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

We describe how the amorphous fluoropolymer CYTOP can be advantageously used as a waveguide cladding material in integrated optical circuits suitable for applications in integrated biophotonics. The unique refractive index of CYTOP (n = 1.34) enables the cladding material to be well index-matched to an optically probed sample solution. Furthermore, ultra-high index contrast waveguides can be fabricated, using conventional optical polymers as waveguide core materials, offering a route to large-scale integration of optical functions on a single chip. We discuss applications of this platform to evanescent-wave excitation fluorescence microscopy, passive and/or thermo-electrically-controlled on-chip light manipulation, on-chip light generation, and direct integration with microfluidic circuits through low-temperature bonding.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 2693-2709: Distributed Coding/Decoding Complexity in Video Sensor Networks

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Video Sensor Networks (VSNs) are recent communication infrastructures used to capture and transmit dense visual information from an application context. In such large scale environments which include video coding, transmission and display/storage, there are several open problems to overcome in practical implementations. This paper addresses the most relevant challenges posed by VSNs, namely stringent bandwidth usage and processing time/power constraints. In particular, the paper proposes a novel VSN architecture where large sets of visual sensors with embedded processors are used for compression and transmission of coded streams to gateways, which in turn transrate the incoming streams and adapt them to the variable complexity requirements of both the sensor encoders and end-user decoder terminals. Such gateways provide real-time transcoding functionalities for bandwidth adaptation and coding/decoding complexity distribution by transferring the most complex video encoding/decoding tasks to the transcoding gateway at the expense of a limited increase in bit rate. Then, a method to reduce the decoding complexity, suitable for system-on-chip implementation, is proposed to operate at the transcoding gateway whenever decoders with constrained resources are targeted. The results show that the proposed method achieves good performance and its inclusion into the VSN infrastructure provides an additional level of complexity control functionality.

JFB, Vol. 3, Pages 143-162: Anabolic Actions of the Regenerative Agent Enamel Matrix Derivative (EMD) in Oral Periosteal Fibroblasts and MG 63 Osteoblasts, Modulation by Nicotine and Glutathione in a Redox Environment

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Our study seeks to explore anabolic effects of a periodontal regenerative agent enamel matrix derivative (EMD). Its modulation by nicotine and the anti-oxidant glutathione (GSH) are investigated in human periosteal fibroblasts (HPF) and MG63 osteoblasts. Androgen biomarkers of oxidative stress and healing, resulting from radiolabeled androgen substrates are assayed. This in vitro model simulates a redox environment relevant to the periodontal lesion. It aims to confirm the hypothesis that EMD is an effective regenerative agent in a typically redox environment of the periodontal lesion. Monolayer cultures of MG63 osteoblasts and HPF established in culture medium are incubated with androgen substrates, and optimal concentrations of EMD, nicotine and GSH, alone and in combination. EMD significantly enhances yields of 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) an effective bioactive metabolite, alone and in combination with GSH, to overcome oxidative effects of nicotine across cultures. The 'in vitro' findings of this study could be extrapolated to "in vivo" applications of EMD as an adjunctive regenerative therapeutic agent in an environment of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. Increased yields of DHT implicated in matrix synthesis and direct antioxidant capacity, confirm the potential applications for enamel matrix derivative in periodontal regenerative procedures.

Molecules, Vol. 17, Pages 2446-2463: Oligonucleotide-Templated Reactions for Sensing Nucleic Acids

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Oligonucleotide-templated reactions are useful for applying nucleic acid sensing. Various chemistries for oligonucleotide-templated reaction have been reported so far. Major scientific interests are focused on the development of signal amplification systems and signal generation systems. We introduce the recent advances of oligonucleotide-templated reaction in consideration of the above two points.

Nanomaterials, Vol. 2, Pages 65-78: Wettability of Y2O3: A Relative Analysis of Thermally Oxidized, Reactively Sputtered and Template Assisted Nanostructured Coatings

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

The wettability of reactively sputtered Y2O3, thermally oxidized Y-Y2O3 and Cd-CdO template assisted Y2O3 coatings has been studied. The wettability of as-deposited Y2O3 coatings was determined by contact angle measurements. The water contact angles for reactively sputtered, thermally oxidized and template assisted Y2O3 nanostructured coatings were 99°, 117° and 155°, respectively. The average surface roughness values of reactively sputtered, thermally oxidized and template assisted Y2O3 coatings were determined by using atomic force microscopy and the corresponding values were 3, 11 and 180 nm, respectively. The low contact angle of the sputter deposited Y2O3 and thermally oxidized Y-Y2O3 coatings is attributed to a densely packed nano-grain like microstructure without any void space, leading to low surface roughness. A water droplet on such surfaces is mostly in contact with a solid surface relative to a void space, leading to a hydrophobic surface (low contact angle). Surface roughness is a crucial factor for the fabrication of a superhydrophobic surface. For Y2O3 coatings, the surface roughness was improved by depositing a thin film of Y2O3 on the Cd-CdO template (average roughness = 178 nm), which resulted in a contact angle greater than 150°. The work of adhesion of water was very high for the reactively sputtered Y2O3 (54 mJ/m2) and thermally oxidized Y-Y2O3 coatings (43 mJ/m2) compared to the Cd-CdO template assisted Y2O3 coating (7 mJ/m2).

IJMS, Vol. 13, Pages 2707-2716: Major Phenolic Compounds, Antioxidant Capacity and Antidiabetic Potential of Rice Bean (Vigna umbellata L.) in China

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Interest in edible beans as nutraceuticals is increasing. In the present study, the individual phenolic acids, the total phenolic content (TPC), the total flavonoid content (TFC), and the antioxidant and antidiabetic potential of 13 varieties of rice beans from China were investigated. Eight phenolic compounds (catechin, epicatechin, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, vitexin, isovitexin, sinapic acid, quercetin) were analyzed on an ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) mass spectrometry (MS) system. The rice bean varieties had significant differences in total phenolic compounds (ranging from 123.09 ± 10.35 to 843.75 ± 30.15 μg/g), in TPC (ranging from 3.27 ± 0.04 to 6.43 ± 0.25 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g), in TFC (ranging from 55.95 ± 11.16 to 320.39 ± 31.77 mg catechin (CE)/g), in antioxidant activity (ranging from 39.87 ± 1.37 to 46.40 ± 2.18 μM·TE/g), in α-glucosidase inhibition activity (ranging from 44.32 ± 2.12 to 68.71 ± 2.19) and in advanced glycation end products formation inhibition activity (ranging from 34.11 ± 0.59 to 75.75 ± 0.33). This study is the first report on phytochemistry and biological activities in rice beans.

Polymers, Vol. 4, Pages 741-746: Kinetics of Model Reactions for Interfacial Polymerization

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

To model the rates of interfacial polycondensations, the rates of reaction of benzoyl chloride and methyl chloroformate with various aliphatic monoamines in acetonitrile were determined at 25 °C. Buffering with picric acid slowed these extremely fast reactions so the rate constants could be determined from the rate of disappearance of picrate ion. The rates of the amine reactions correlated linearly with their Swain-Scott nucleophilicities.

Polymers, Vol. 4, Pages 710-740: Papain Catalyzed (co)Oligomerization of α-Amino Acids

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Four hydrophobic amino acids (Leu, Tyr, Phe, Trp) were oligomerized by the protease papain in homo-oligomerization, binary co-oligomerization and ternary co-oligomerization. After 24 h, solid polydisperse reaction products of the homo-oligomerization were obtained in yields ranging from 30–80% by weight. A DPavg was calculated based on MALDI-ToF MS results using the ion counts for the chains in the product. Based on the DPavg and the yield of the homo-oligomerization it was determined that the amino acids can be ranked according to reactivity in the order: Tyr > Leu > Phe > Trp. Thermal degradation of the homo-oligomers shows two degradation steps: at 178–239 °C and at 300–330 °C. All the products left a significant amount of char ranging from 18–57% by weight at 800 °C. Binary co-oligomers were obtained as a polydisperse precipitate with a compositional distribution of the chains. Both the compositional and chain length distribution are calculated from MALDI-ToF mass spectra. By comparing the amount of each amino acid present in the chains it was determined that the amino acids are incorporated with a preference: Leu > Tyr > Phe > Trp. Ternary co-oligomers were also obtained as a precipitate and analyzed by MALDI-ToF MS. The compositional distribution and the chain length distribution were calculated from the MALDI-ToF data. The quantity of every amino acid in the chains was determined. Also determined was the influence on the DPavg when the oligomers were compared with corresponding binary co-oligomers. From the combined results it was concluded that in the co-oligomerization of three amino acids the reactivity preference is Leu > Tyr > Phe > Trp. Thermal degradation of all the co-oligomers showed a weight loss of 2 wt% before the main oligomer degradation step at 300–325 °C.

Microcraft Screens

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:45 AM PST

5 new shots posted.

     

Get the full article at GameSpot


"Microcraft Screens" was posted on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:45:22 -0800

Map symbol Quiz Screens

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:45 AM PST

5 new shots posted.

     

Get the full article at GameSpot


"Map symbol Quiz Screens" was posted on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:45:18 -0800

Loser Drinks Screens

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:45 AM PST

4 new shots posted.

     

Get the full article at GameSpot


"Loser Drinks Screens" was posted on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:45:13 -0800

Kim Kardashian Dress Up Screens

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:45 AM PST

5 new shots posted.

     

Get the full article at GameSpot


"Kim Kardashian Dress Up Screens" was posted on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:45:10 -0800

Jelly Links Screens

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:45 AM PST

5 new shots posted.

     

Get the full article at GameSpot


"Jelly Links Screens" was posted on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:45:02 -0800

вторник, 28 февраля 2012 г.

Games

Games


Street Fighter Monopoly coming soon - and you can help choose which characters are in it

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 04:06 AM PST

Monopoly is getting a special Street Fighter edition. But before you start moaning that your favourite character will probably get left out, hear this - there's a poll to help choose who gets turned into a metal figurine! Imagine a little metal Blanka or Chun Li...

EVE Online 3.7 - Massive multiplayer online game set in outer space; demo available.. (Demo)

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 03:30 AM PST



EVE Online is a massive multiplayer online game (MMOG) set in a science-fiction based, persistent world. Players take the role of spaceship pilots seeking fame, fortune, and adventure in a huge, complex, exciting, and sometimes hostile galaxy.

A nominal monthly subscription is charged for each player's account; users are responsible for their own Internet service fees. EVE is not a stand-alone, single player game and can only be played online. Unlike most MMOGs that split a large player base up among small clones of the same game world (called "shards") containing no more than 3,000 people, EVE is unique in that all of its players inhabit the same game world.

This is a free 14-day trial and no is credit card required; EVE Online costs $14.95 per month to play thereafter.

Version 3.7 (342397-344784):

Crashes

  • Fixed a crash where the UI rendering would fail – this might cause UI glitches instead of a crash.
  • Two more uncommon crashes have been fixed.
  • Even more information has been added to crash logging to help us identify causes.



  • Mac OS X 10.6.7 or later
  • Intel Core 2 Duo (at least 2.0 Ghz) - Intel Core i Series with at least 2.0 Ghz speed recommended
  • Video: ATI HD2400, Nvidia 9400GT, or Intel HD 3000 or higher with at least 256 MB VRAM.
  • Broadband Internet connection


Download Now

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Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 2 - Videos and Trailers

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 02:19 AM PST

Reunited trailer.

Denizen's Den - Videos and Trailers

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 01:36 AM PST

Denizen's Den gameplay trailer.

Munch Time - Videos and Trailers

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 01:41 AM PST

Munch Time official trailer.

Atmosphere, Vol. 3, Pages 200-212: Anthropogenic Climate Change and Allergic Diseases

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Climate change is expected to have an impact on various aspects of health, including mucosal areas involved in allergic inflammatory disorders that include asthma, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis and anaphylaxis. The evidence that links climate change to the exacerbation and the development of allergic disease is increasing and appears to be linked to changes in pollen seasons (duration, onset and intensity) and changes in allergen content of plants and their pollen as it relates to increased sensitization, allergenicity and exacerbations of allergic airway disease. This has significant implications for air quality and for the global food supply.

BetterZip 2.2 - Archive inspection tool.. (Shareware)

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 03:04 AM PST



BetterZip lets you quickly inspect archives without first extracting their contents.
  • Extract Only Files You Really Need: If you only need a few files or folders from a larger archive, you don't have to extract the whole thing. Simply drag the files you need from the BetterZip window to any Finder window or the desktop.
  • Open Archives Without Extracting: Not only can BetterZip open archives without first extracting them but you can also search for a file using the iTunes-like interface. BetterZip can open and extract archives with the most common formats: ZIP, SIT, TAR, XAR, GZip, BZip2, RAR, 7-Zip, CPIO, ARJ, LZH/LHA, JAR, WAR, CAB, ISO, CHM, RPM, DEB, NSIS, BIN, HQX.
  • Create Archives: Simply drag files and folders from your hard drives, disks, or network places into your new zip file. You no longer have to copy all the files into a temporary folder first. The supported formats are ZIP, TAR, GZip and BZip2 compressed TAR, XAR, 7-ZIP, and RAR (using the external RAR commandline tool). Large archives can also be split.
  • Protect Your Data: BetterZip can protect your data with a password and create WinZip compatible AES-256 encrypted archives. 7-zip and rar archives can also be protected.
  • Update Archives: Add new or updated files to existing archives. Remove any file or folder from an archive, or even move files around inside the archive as if it were a normal folder.
  • Make Archives Compatible: Strip Mac specific files and resource forks from archives for best compatibility with systems like Windows or Linux.


Version 2.2:

New Features

  • Added "Open with" to the contextual menu and changed the View toolbar button to a drop-down button with "Open with" functionality.
  • You can now specify a custom file extension in save presets.
  • Added a menu item to extract all archives in a folder recursively.
  • Added an option and menu item to compress each of multiple dropped items into an individual archive.
  • Added Japanese (by Koichi Matsumoto) and Polish (by Mariusz Nicpoń) localizations. Thank you, guys!
  • Added the Greenwich localization framework by Whitney Young, FadingRed LLC to allow super easy translation into new languages. Start BetterZip, hold down the Alt/Option key and drop down the Help menu. There's a new menu item "Translate BetterZip" that will open the translation interface.
Enhancements:
  • Increased extraction speed for rar files.
  • BetterZip will now display exactly which part of a multi-volume rar archive is missing, if any.
  • In the save panel the standard file extension will be appended to the filename.
Bug fixes:
  • Fixed a possible crash when quitting BetterZip with the favorites sidebar opened.
  • Fixed a few errors in the Russian translation.
  • The registration window could lead to an infinite loop under certain circumstances.
  • Growl will no longer write a warning message to the log.
  • Fixed a bug that could lead to files being overwritten when extracting certain tar.gz archives.



Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later

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PhotoStyler 6.2 - Add a sense of realism to your digital photos.. (Shareware)

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 03:13 AM PST



PhotoStyler is the easiest way to style your digital photos with your Mac. This simple, fast and accurate native solution combines the powers of Apple's core technologies with the flexibility and efficiency of proprietary application-specific modules. PhotoStyler supports all image formats that are supported by MacOS including RAW images.

PhotoStyler doesn't require any special skills or knowledge. Need a sepia? Drop the "Monochrome" filter to the chain and check the "Sepia" checkbox. Want some scratches on the photo to make it look old? Drop the "Scratches" filter to the chain. Need a glow, an annotation, shadows, 3D-look with perspective? Well, you know what to do... You can combine any number of filters and save the chain as a preset. A built-in presets library contains prepared styles so you can preview and adjust your photo variations in seconds.

Features:

  • Lomo, polaroid, cross-processing, sepia, black & white, scratches and ragged corners - Everything is made with incredible speed and simplicity.
  • A Presets library gives you an easy way to re-use interesting filter combinations. Tens of pre-built presets give you a good starting point and endless photo styling possibilities.
  • Framing tools are simple yet powerful: you can apply color, textured, glass, matte and vignette.
  • Choose a part of the image to apply the filter to: the new masking tool allows you to adjust the filter area and power with great accuracy.
  • Just one click to apply auto-levels or auto-contrast, unsharp mask and noise reduction.


Version 6.2.
  • Few new presets.
  • Fix: Textures library drag 'n' drop.
  • Fix: External files linking.
  • Fix: Bokeh rendering issues and performance.
  • Fix: Presets being shown partially.
  • Fix: Levels filter crash and rendering issues.


Mac OS X 10.6 or later

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eBookBinder 1.0.0 - Create your own ebooks using existing documents (beta).. (Shareware)

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 03:09 AM PST

eBookBinder is the super-easy tool to create your own ebooks using your existing documents. There are just three major steps to your very own eBook:

1. Enter book details. Name of the book and its author, add an image for the book-cover, webpage of the publisher and other details can be entered. There is no need to fill all fields, at least you should enter a name for your book.

2. Add text-files as chapters to your book-project. Every single text-file you add to eBookBinder is treated as a single chapter. Give your chapters a name and order them per drag'n drop to your desired sequence of chapters.

3. Create your ebook. Just hit the "Bind Book"-Button and eBookBinder will compile the ebook for you. That's all!

What can be added to eBookBinder

eBookBinder supports several different types of text-files. Next to plain-text files also doc-, odt-, rtf-, rtfd-, html- and webarchive-files are supported by eBookBinder.

Support of markup-languages eBookBinder also accepts plain-text files written in Markdown, MultiMarkdown, Textile, Wikitext and Smark as input. These will be converted on the fly when adding these as chapters to your book-process. Visit the preferences of eBookBinder to determine the file-extensions which should be treated for conversion. All files with appropriate file-extensions will be converted when imported.

Qutput-formats

When compiling your book-project, eBookBinder creates two different ebook-formats. Next to an epub-file also a mobi-file will be created.

In-built editor

eBookBinder also features an in-build editor which offers some basic editing features like setting text bold, inverse or underlined and alignment of text. However, the best feature of the editor is the reduce feature: Select the text you want to keep and hit the reduce button, anything not selected will be removed. This is ideal for editing web-articles to remove all the advertising- and navigation-stuff quickly.

eBookBinder is currently in Beta, a price haven't been set yet.

Version 1.0.0 (Beta 2):

Additions:

  • option to insert Chapter-Titles within the book at the beginning of each chapter
  • option to automatically rename Chapter-Titles to the corresponding file-name
  • option to auto-number Chapter-Titles in various formats
  • new feature: import of drm-free epub-files
Improvements:
  • warning if no title or chapters have been set
  • improved behavior of the internal editor
  • improved the behavior of the main-window
  • some adjustments to the interface
  • some improvements to the import-process of chapters
  • some fixes to included HTML-Head and CSS-Styles
  • added some tooltips
  • many other internal improvements



Mac OS X 10.6 or later

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IJMS, Vol. 13, Pages 2692-2706: Flavonoid Biosynthesis Genes Putatively Identified in the Aromatic Plant Polygonum minus via Expressed Sequences Tag (EST) Analysis

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

P. minus is an aromatic plant, the leaf of which is widely used as a food additive and in the perfume industry. The leaf also accumulates secondary metabolites that act as active ingredients such as flavonoid. Due to limited genomic and transcriptomic data, the biosynthetic pathway of flavonoids is currently unclear. Identification of candidate genes involved in the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway will significantly contribute to understanding the biosynthesis of active compounds. We have constructed a standard cDNA library from P. minus leaves, and two normalized full-length enriched cDNA libraries were constructed from stem and root organs in order to create a gene resource for the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, especially flavonoid biosynthesis. Thus, large‑scale sequencing of P. minus cDNA libraries identified 4196 expressed sequences tags (ESTs) which were deposited in dbEST in the National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI). From the three constructed cDNA libraries, 11 ESTs encoding seven genes were mapped to the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway. Finally, three flavonoid biosynthetic pathway-related ESTs chalcone synthase, CHS (JG745304), flavonol synthase, FLS (JG705819) and leucoanthocyanidin dioxygenase, LDOX (JG745247) were selected for further examination by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) in different P. minus organs. Expression was detected in leaf, stem and root. Gene expression studies have been initiated in order to better understand the underlying physiological processes.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 2667-2692: Using SRAM Based FPGAs for Power-Aware High Performance Wireless Sensor Networks

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

While for years traditional wireless sensor nodes have been based on ultra-low power microcontrollers with sufficient but limited computing power, the complexity and number of tasks of today's applications are constantly increasing. Increasing the node duty cycle is not feasible in all cases, so in many cases more computing power is required. This extra computing power may be achieved by either more powerful microcontrollers, though more power consumption or, in general, any solution capable of accelerating task execution. At this point, the use of hardware based, and in particular FPGA solutions, might appear as a candidate technology, since though power use is higher compared with lower power devices, execution time is reduced, so energy could be reduced overall. In order to demonstrate this, an innovative WSN node architecture is proposed. This architecture is based on a high performance high capacity state-of-the-art FPGA, which combines the advantages of the intrinsic acceleration provided by the parallelism of hardware devices, the use of partial reconfiguration capabilities, as well as a careful power-aware management system, to show that energy savings for certain higher-end applications can be achieved. Finally, comprehensive tests have been done to validate the platform in terms of performance and power consumption, to proof that better energy efficiency compared to processor based solutions can be achieved, for instance, when encryption is imposed by the application requirements.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 2654-2666: LOLS Research in Technology for the Development and Application of New Fiber-Based Sensors

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

This paper presents the research made at the Laboratory of Optics, Lasers and Systems (LOLS) of the Faculty of Sciences of University of Lisbon, Portugal, in the field of fiber-based sensors. Three areas are considered: sensor encapsulation for natural aqueous environments, refractive index modulation and laser micropatterning. We present the main conclusions on the issues and parameters to take in consideration for the encapsulation process and results of its design and application. Mid-infrared laser radiation was applied to produce long period fiber gratings and nanosecond pulses of near-infrared Q-switch laser were used for micropatterning.

IJMS, Vol. 13, Pages 2676-2691: Sequence Analysis and Potentials of the Native RbcS Promoter in the Development of an Alternative Eukaryotic Expression System Using Green Microalga Ankistrodesmus convolutus

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

The availability of highly active homologous promoters is critical in the development of a transformation system and improvement of the transformation efficiency. To facilitate transformation of green microalga Ankistrodesmus convolutus which is considered as a potential candidate for many biotechnological applications, a highly-expressed native promoter sequence of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase small subunit (AcRbcS) has been used to drive the expression of β-glucuronidase (gusA) gene in this microalga. Besides the determination of the transcription start site by 5¢-RACE, sequence analysis revealed that AcRbcS promoter contained consensus TATA-box and several putative cis-acting elements, including some representative light-regulatory elements (e.g., G-box, Sp1 motif and SORLIP2), which confer light responsiveness in plants, and several potential conserved motifs (e.g., CAGAC-motif, YCCYTGG-motifs and CACCACA-motif), which may be involved in light responsiveness of RbcS gene in green microalgae. Using AcRbcS promoter::gusA translational fusion, it was demonstrated that this promoter could function as a light-regulated promoter in transgenic A. convolutus, which suggested that the isolated AcRbcS promoter was a full and active promoter sequence that contained all cis-elements required for developmental and light-mediated control of gene expression, and this promoter can be used to drive the expression of heterologous genes in A. convolutus. This achievement therefore advances the development of A. convolutus as an alternative expression system for the production of recombinant proteins. This is the first report on development of gene manipulation system for unicellular green alga A. convolutus.

IJMS, Vol. 13, Pages 2650-2675: Increased Activity of Cell Surface Peptidases in HeLa Cells Undergoing UV-Induced Apoptosis Is Not Mediated by Caspase 3

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

We have previously shown that in HeLa cells treated with a variety of agents there is an increase in cell surface peptidase (CSP) activity in those cells undergoing apoptosis. The increase in CSP activity observed in UVB-irradiated cells undergoing apoptosis was unaffected when the cultures were treated with the aminopeptidase inhibitor bestatin, and matrix metalloprotease inhibitor BB3103, but greatly enhanced when treated with the caspase 3 inhibitor-DEVD, and reduced in the presence of the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor-3-aminobenzamide (3AB). Neither 3AB nor DEVD had an effect on the gross morphology of the apoptotic cells observed under electron microscopy, nor did they have an effect on phosphatidylserine eversion on the cell membrane, or that of PARP cleavage. All the agents except for DEVD had no effect on the level of caspase 3 activity in the cells. The results suggest that other caspases may cleave PARP in these cells. Both 3AB and DEVD treatment reduced the level of actin cleavage seen in the apoptotic cells. The increase in CSP activity observed in cells undergoing UVB-induced apoptosis appears to involve PARP but not caspase 3.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 2632-2653: Intelligent Control of a Sensor-Actuator System via Kernelized Least-Squares Policy Iteration

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

In this paper a new framework, called Compressive Kernelized Reinforcement Learning (CKRL), for computing near-optimal policies in sequential decision making with uncertainty is proposed via incorporating the non-adaptive data-independent Random Projections and nonparametric Kernelized Least-squares Policy Iteration (KLSPI). Random Projections are a fast, non-adaptive dimensionality reduction framework in which high-dimensionality data is projected onto a random lower-dimension subspace via spherically random rotation and coordination sampling. KLSPI introduce kernel trick into the LSPI framework for Reinforcement Learning, often achieving faster convergence and providing automatic feature selection via various kernel sparsification approaches. In this approach, policies are computed in a low-dimensional subspace generated by projecting the high-dimensional features onto a set of random basis. We first show how Random Projections constitute an efficient sparsification technique and how our method often converges faster than regular LSPI, while at lower computational costs. Theoretical foundation underlying this approach is a fast approximation of Singular Value Decomposition (SVD). Finally, simulation results are exhibited on benchmark MDP domains, which confirm gains both in computation time and in performance in large feature spaces.

IJMS, Vol. 13, Pages 2636-2649: Role of SDF1/CXCR4 Interaction in Experimental Hemiplegic Models with Neural Cell Transplantation

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Much attention has been focused on neural cell transplantation because of its promising clinical applications. We have reported that embryonic stem (ES) cell derived neural stem/progenitor cell transplantation significantly improved motor functions in a hemiplegic mouse model. It is important to understand the molecular mechanisms governing neural regeneration of the damaged motor cortex after the transplantation. Recent investigations disclosed that chemokines participated in the regulation of migration and maturation of neural cell grafts. In this review, we summarize the involvement of inflammatory chemokines including stromal cell derived factor 1 (SDF1) in neural regeneration after ES cell derived neural stem/progenitor cell transplantation in mouse stroke models.

Molecules, Vol. 17, Pages 2437-2445: Flavone Enhances Dengue Virus Type-2 (NGC Strain) Infectivity and Replication in Vero Cells

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

This study investigates the effects of 2-phenyl-1-benzopyran-4-one (flavone) on DENV-2 infectivity in Vero cells. Virus adsorption and attachment and intracellular virus replication were investigated using a foci forming unit assay (FFUA) and quantitative RT-PCR, respectively. Addition of flavone (100 μg/mL) significantly increased the number of DENV-2 foci by 35.66% ± 1.52 and 49.66% ± 2.51 when added during and after virus adsorption to the Vero cells, respectively. The average foci size after 4 days of infection increased by 33% ± 2.11 and 89% ± 2.13. The DENV-2 specific RNA copy number in the flavone-treated infected cells increased by 6.41- and 23.1-fold when compared to the mock-treated infected cells. Flavone (100 μg/mL) did not promote or inhibit Vero cell proliferation. The CC50 value of flavone against Vero cells was 446 µg/mL. These results suggest that flavone might enhance dengue virus replication by acting antagonistically towards flavonoids known to inhibit dengue virus replication.

Appetite for Distraction - Cheese Tower, Parking Frenzy, Planet Runner

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 02:17 AM PST

Johnny and Mark take on some mice in Cheese Tower, park it like it's hot in Parking Frenzy, then jump over some stuff with Planet Runner, all available for free on Android.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot


"Appetite for Distraction - Cheese Tower, Parking Frenzy, Planet Runner" was posted by sarahl on Tue, 28 Feb 2012 02:17:18 -0800

Trials Evolution: The Game Trials Was Meant to Be

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 02:23 AM PST

In its motorbike racer sequel, RedLynx remedies Trials HD's shortcomings with intelligent design (decisions).

 

Back in 2009, RedLynx estimated its game Trials HD might shift 500,000 units in total. Here in 2012, the physics-based motorbike racer has some two million sales to its name, making it a surprise hit and one of Xbox Live Arcade's most successful ever titles.

This success came of Trials HD's addictive, instant-restart action overshadowing some significant deficiencies. There were leader boards, but no multiplayer. There was a track creator, but no way to share tracks outside of your friends list. Environments were all variations on the same warehouse theme, limiting level furniture to the same old planks and barrels. It also caught flak for a difficulty curve as steep as the nigh-on vertical slopes of its tougher tracks.

Trials Evolution, the sequel due this spring, squares up to those shortcomings pretty convincingly. The game world has exploded out of the gloomy warehouse, there's local and online multiplayer, and now there's proper sharing for created tracks. All of which potentially makes this not just the next branch on Trials' evolutionary tree, but the very game Trials HD should have been.

Though the superbly tuned physics of the previous game are left all but untouched, the graphics engine has been souped up to render Evolution's newly expansive landscapes. The 60 or so tracks are set across portions of a huge map, whose eight square kilometres take in hills, valleys, rivers, and roads, as well as urban and industrial-looking areas. The upshot is a visual variety lacking in Trials HD, with each of Evolution's track given some visual gimmick or light 'story' hook.

One level, Downhill Dominator, stars a colossal wooden rollercoaster of a track, featuring some of the biggest jumps and drops in the game (the suspension on the bikes has been tweaked to better handle long falls). Freed from the confines of HD's narrow warehouse, Evolutions' driving lines also weave into and out of the screen, though the action is still primarily left to right.

Another track is a ride across the top of a collapsing dam. Another is set on a wrecked oil field, fighter jets zooming overhead. One track bizarrely recreates Saving Private Ryan's Omaha landing, stretching from bombed-out shoreline to concrete beach bunker. And then there's a swamp, sewage works, and a graveyard of ancient stone giants. Even for players with zero interest in sharing their own tracks or multiplayer racing, the diversity of tracks makes a world of difference between Trials HD and Evolution.

For those itching to race real people, there's four-player action available locally and online, across 12 tracks with four parallel lanes. If you drop off the left side of the screen, you respawn on the right with a point deducted from your score, keeping everyone on the same screen. It's a lot of fun, especially with a risky bailout finish--you can overtake the lead racer at the last moment by with a bailout, which still punts your rider off the bike like an invisible ejector seat. But bail too soon and you won't cross the finish line or respawn, leaving you with no points at all.

The four-lane racing is also an exercise in concentration. When all four players are bunched up, crashing a lot, and obscuring each other's riders, it's tricky to be the guy on the furthest lane--but you at least take it in turns to be on the lane closest to the camera.

Away from the dedicated, four-lane tracks, you can race other players online in ranked matches (across the tracks that come with the game) and unranked matches (across any custom-made track). Here you race on the usual single lane against real-time "ghosts"--that is, just a marker indicating your online opponent's real-time position.

Like the game world, Trials' track editor has expanded almost beyond recognition. In the "Lite" editor, you just place a start and end marker somewhere on the game map, so your ride is dictated by the terrain along the line between them. To that basic track you can add custom-coloured ramps and obstacles, or any other of the thousands of bits of track furniture.

The "Pro" editor, on the other hand, contains the exact tools with which RedLynx's own designers create tracks. There's a terrain editor for forming hills and the like, and a visual scripting system to let would-be level designers create a sophisticated, triggered series of events. With full camera control to boot, the editor's power and flexibility appear equivalent to that of LittleBigPlanet 2, letting creative types cook up games from entirely different genres. So far we've been shown a jury-rigged first-person shooter (with bull's-eye targets rather than zombies or what have you), a side-scrolling jetpack game, an Angry Birds clone, and a top-down spaceship shoot-em-up, all built with Trials track props.

More important than those exotica is RedLynx's new system for sharing and discovering user-made tracks. The previous game had no server storage for custom tracks, so these could only be shared directly with Xbox Live friends--a frustration for players and apparently the developer alike. That's been fixed none too soon; created tracks can now be found sorted by Most Downloaded, Highest Rated, and the like in Track Central, or searched for by difficulty, creator, and theme tags.

As for remedying the exponential difficulty curve of Trials HD, Evolution adds new layers of meta-game rather than producing easier tracks. Now there are set events (themed groups of tracks of comparable difficulty) and licences that must be earned to access them; the idea is that meting out players' progress and teaching them new tricks in licence tests will keep them from scraping hurriedly through tough tracks to find themselves stuck in the expert-level content.

For all its flaws, Trials HD had a skill-obsessed purity. The simple, samey locations took a backseat, while skilful, physics-based riding came to the fore. In its new diversity, Evolutions might have a few dud curiosities--like the wobbly, droopy handling in its UFO-flying skill game--but we're betting they'll be eclipsed by the improvements everywhere else and other, more spectacular curiosities. One track resembles a motorbike stunt course through Inception's impossibly curving, shifting cityscape, so there's that to look forward to.

Like HD, Evolution is destined only for Xbox 360's download store--for now, at least. RedLynx's creative director Antti Ilvessuo doesn't rule out more Trials titles for other platforms, and points to the studio's enthusiastically multi-platform history: 'We have always been a multi-platform studio, RedLynx has been making [games] for PC, PSN, DS, you name it, every platform. So let's see what the future brings."

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot


"Trials Evolution: The Game Trials Was Meant to Be" was posted by Jane Douglas on Tue, 28 Feb 2012 02:23:02 -0800

Trials Evolution Screens

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 01:31 AM PST

34 new shots posted.

     

Get the full article at GameSpot


"Trials Evolution Screens" was posted on Tue, 28 Feb 2012 01:31:37 -0800

понедельник, 27 февраля 2012 г.

Games

Games

Games


Danish band claims collecting society prevented them from playing anti-ACTA gig

Posted: 27 Feb 2012 02:18 AM PST

The Danish band Qu'est-ce Que fuck? claims that they were prevented from playing an anti-ACTA gig by KODA, a Danish rights-management society. They claim that KODA deliberately put a number of bureaucratic hurdles in their path, with the final straw being a demand that the band be paid 4,000 Kroner for their appearance (which was beyond the means of the organisers), despite the band's assurance that they would only perform their own material.

Our so-called guild KODA and the Aarhus police have done everything they could to prevent our performance today, and they succeeded.

The requirement of KODA's hand to the organizers of the demonstration was that we should have at least 4000 dollars for appearing today. 4000 crowns as organizers of today's demonstration obviously have not had time to travel when a claim was made yesterday, and as you know, not exactly make money by organizing popular protests.

We have tried to explain KODA that we want to play our own compositions free to support the event, but we had not.

We suggested them so that we could improvise the entire concert, avoiding rights issues at the event. This was not an option.

We do not feel that it is in our best interest to deny us the chance to play our music to the public!

We are not artists because of the pursuit of profit and regelrytteri. We simply can not help but create music.

Naturally, we believe that all people are entitled to payment for their work and musicians, we know that the problem lies in the piracy of our music or sharing our videos on youtube.

Koda away censoring free music from Aarhus' demonstration against the ACTA (Google Translate)

Koda bortcensurerer gratis musik fra Aarhus' demonstration mod ACTA (original in Danish)

Twisted Fairytales: Pinnochio

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 07:07 PM PST

[Platform: Mobile (Windows)] If you've played a spot the difference game, either in your browser or on a mobile device, chances are you've seen one or more releases from Difference Games, a studio dedicated to visually stunning, easy to play spot the difference games. Twisted Fairytales: Pinnochio is one such release, incorporating graphic novel-style storyboards and three levels of difficulty to make your pixel hunting as challenging or as casual as you please!

iFFmpeg 2.9.2 - Convert multimedia files between formats.. (Shareware)

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 08:59 PM PST



iFFmpeg is a graphical front-end for FFmpeg, a command-line tool used to convert multimedia files between formats. The command line instructions can be very hard to master/understand, so iFFmpeg does all the hard work for you. This allows you to use FFmpeg without detailed command-line knowledge.

Version 2.9.2:
  • Added AVID DNxHD support.
  • Added option 'Encode with Avid Nitris compatibility (DNxHD).'
  • Added ALAC audio stream to Prores encoding.
  • Improved Prores, V210, V308 and V410 support.
  • Fixed issue with asynchronous link with FFmpeg binary and Mac OS X 10.8
  • Now already compatible with upcoming Mac OS X 10.8
  • Fixed issue saving user presets.
  • Fixed 'Alternate scannable' option. Now works correctly.
  • Reset demo.


  • Mac OS X 10.6 or later
  • Working FFmpeg OS X binary (available here).


Download Now

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

RestoreMeNot 1.0b10 - Disable window restoration in Mac OS X 10.7.. (Free)

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 08:59 PM PST



RestoreMeNot customizes Mac OS X 10.7's window restoration functionality.

The window restoration feature of Mac OS X Lion is one of the coolest features of Apple's new OS. Sometimes however, one might not want the windows of a certain application to be restored when launching it. Unfortunately window restoration can only be disabled system-wide and not on a per-application basis.

This is where RestoreMeNot comes in and provides a simple preference pane for disabling window restoration for individual applications. Please note that RestoreMeNot is only designed to disable the window restoration and not the reopening of apps that is part of Apple's "Resume" feature.



Version 1.0b10:
  • New icon
  • Minor bugfix


Mac OS X 10.7 or later

Download Now

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

X Lossless Decoder 20120226 - Encode, transcode, and play various music file formats.. (Free)

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 08:59 PM PST



X Lossless Decoder (XLD) is a tool for Mac OS X that is able to decode/convert/play various 'lossless' audio files. The supported audio files can be split into some tracks with cue sheet when decoding.

XLD supports the following formats:

  • (Ogg) FLAC (.flac/.ogg)
  • Monkey's Audio (.ape)
  • Wavpack (.wv)
  • TTA (.tta)
  • Apple Lossless (.m4a) [10.4 and later]
  • TAK (.tak) [Requires Wine]
  • Shorten (.shn) [SHN v3 only]
  • AIFF, WAV, etc
Other formats supported by Libsndfile are also decodable. XLD uses not decoder frontend but library to decode, so no intermediate files are generated. All of the supported formats can be directly split with the cue sheet. XLD also supports so-called 'embedded' or 'internal' cue sheet.

Currently you can choose output format from WAVE,AIFF and Raw PCM. In addition, you can choose Ogg Vorbis (aoTuV), MPEG-4 AAC (QuickTime/CoreAudio), MP3 (LAME), Apple Lossless and FLAC in the GUI version.

Version 20120226:

  • Supported embedding track list as a MPEG-4 chapter
  • Available for ALAC/AAC encoding when ripping disc as a single file. Chapter is supported in Apple's apps like iTunes or QuickTime.
  • Supported reading a MPEG-4 chapter as a track list
  • Fixed a problem when getting metadata from specific MusicBrainz URL
  • Fixed a problem when the null character is included in text tags
  • Updated LAME to version 3.99.4


Mac OS X 10.4 or later

Download Now

Totals 2.0.5 - Create stylish invoices and more.. (Demo)

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 08:59 PM PST



Totals is a full-featured invoice application for SOHO or business users. It has been designed from scratch to use the power and beauty of the Mac OS, while making life as easy as possible for its users.

Very simple to use.
Totals is the combination of powerful features behind a simple user interface. Every single step, every single process is well-thought-out.

Everything in one central location.
Totals has one window for each database. You will write invoices, estimates, create new catalogs, items, add clients, suppliers and even design layouts and many more in the same window.

Key Features:

  • Creating invoices (also recurring, discounts, sequential invoices)
  • User defined layouts
  • Tracking payments
  • Reports (Payments, Documents, Built-in stock count)
  • PDF export and emailing (also with email templates)
  • Smart Folders
  • Write and track estimates
  • Reminder for overdue invoices
  • Flexible tax settings
  • Foreign currency support
  • Multiple businesses (multiple databases)
  • Inventory management
  • Drag & drop invoice creations
  • Support for custom document types
  • Custom fields
  • Custom # (Number) Formatter
  • Client specific settings
  • Document processing (merge, convert, ...)
  • Automatic margin calculation


Version 2.0.5:
  • ENHANCEMENT: New language, Spanish. Thanks to Fidel Lorite.
  • ENHANCEMENT: New language, Dutch. Thanks to Jasper Piens.
  • ENHANCEMENT: Better report filtering by years, months and Q1-Q4.
  • ENHANCEMENT: Payments reports are now grouped by payment types.
  • ENHANCEMENT: Added new total amounts for additional costs and margin in the Reports section.
  • ENHANCEMENT: Pre-filled filenames when saving PDFs.
  • ENHANCEMENT: Better support for all currencies including rounding and decimal scale. For example CHF 0.5 rounding.
  • ENHANCEMENT: Drag'n drop support for images in the layout designer.
  • ENHANCEMENT: New layout placeholder, TERM_OF_PAYMENT.
  • ENHANCEMENT: New layout placeholder, DEFAULT_ADDRESS, which gives the ability to add multiple addresses to an invoice, like billing and shipping address.
  • ENHANCEMENT: Placeholders LEAD and END_NOTE now available in the page canvas.
  • ENHANCEMENT: Button to share layouts with Kedisoft.
  • ENHANCEMENT: Custom address format section in the Database Assistant.
  • BUGFIX: Phone numbers were not imported from Address Book.
  • BUGFIX: Discount fields in line items did not accept empty values.
  • BUGFIX: Months were not translated in other languages.
  • BUGFIX: Client payments were not refreshed after finalizing an invoice.


  • Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later


Download Now

O'Farrell backs Barangaroo casino plan

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 11:32 PM PST

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell is supporting James Packer's plans for a $1 billion hotel and second Sydney casino at Barangaroo, saying it will bring jobs and tourists to Sydney.

Tyler Window Manager 1.3.2 - Automatically tile your windows to take up all of the screen space.. (Commercial)

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 11:01 PM PST

Tyler Window Manager is a Tiling Window Manger. It automatically resizes all your windows to take up all your available screen estate.


Save Time


Leave it to Tyler to sort, order and size your windows to fit your screen perfectly. All you have to do is tell Tyler which windows you would like to be more or less important. As a tiling window manager, it handles everything else automatically - so you can focus on your work instead of juggling windows.


Save Space


Screen estate is more valuable than ever. Lightweight laptops allow you to take your work wherever you go. But often there just doesn't seem to be enough space on the screen for all your windows. Tyler makes sure no single pixel of space is wasted.

Version 1.3.2:

  • Fixes Memory Leak under Lion.


Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later

Download Now

Discovr Movies 1.0 - An interactive map of the world of movies.. (Commercial)

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 10:44 PM PST

Discovr Movies is an interactive map of the world of movies. It makes it fun to discover new movies to watch. You can navigate through the entire interconnected ecosystem of around 500,000 movies and find new movies that are similar to movies that you like.

How to use:

  • Single click to see similar movies.
  • Double click to see movie details
  • Right click for more options.
Found a movie that's missing? Let us know so we can add it!

Mac OS X 10.7 or later,

Download Now

Appinator 1.0 - Customize your icons and desktop pictures.. (Commercial)

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 10:30 PM PST

Appinator gives you the simplest, most intuitive way to change your icons, change your wallpaper and to create your own icons and wallpaper from your own great images in one click! 



To get you started we have included 250 Icons and 150 Wallpapers created by world class designers, so your computer will be transformed within a few clicks. 



Along with these main features we have bundled a few other options for you to take control of your Mac. 



Appinator feature list: 


  • Change Folder Icons 

  • Organise your own images to be used as Icons 


  • Change Wallpaper 

  • Organise your own images to be used as Wallpaper 


  • Create extra pulldown menus for your Applications and Utilities folders 


Your Mac will look better than ever before!

Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later

Download Now

Bombard 1.0 - Hit targets, destroy objects and solve puzzles.. (Free)

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 10:40 PM PST

Bombard...Tired of games in which luck is the dominating factor? Eager for having your skills tested like never before? Then.. prepare yourself for the ultimate of arcade experiences where all your timing, aiming & destruction needs will be fulfilled. Using different types of ammunition you'll pass each of the game's stages either by hitting targets, destroying objects or by solving puzzles. From its simple unlocking system levels may be played whenever time is right, making Bombard a true pick-up-and-play type of game. Give it a go and find out what true skill is all about.

Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later

Download Now

Instant 1.0 - Mimics the workflow of a real Polaroid instant camera.. (Commercial)

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 10:17 PM PST

Instant brings the fun of Polaroid instant camera to your Mac.

Instant mimics the workflow of a real Polaroid instant camera. Drag and drop your digital photo on to the camera window, a view finder will pop up. Carefully select your field of view and click 'Shoot'. A picture framed with Polaroid classic border will slide out. Wait for it to "dry". Slowly the developed picture will finally show!

  • 8 Polaroid effect filters designed to mimic the real Polaroid styles. 20 other generic vintage filters produce equally impressive results with Polaroid classic border.
  • Add hand-writing comment on the border. Choose from 10 elegant hand-writing fonts.
  • Don't be fooled by the size of the pictures on the screen. When you save, pictures are saved in the original resolution with print quality.
  • Effortlessly upload and share on flickr.
Instant is the official license Polaroid app on Mac.

Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later

Download Now

Discovr Music 2.1 - Discover new music.. (Commercial)

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 10:33 PM PST



Discovr Music makes it easy to discover new music on your Mac computer. It's a Number 1 app in more than 25 countries including the US, Canada, Japan, Australia and across Europe.



With more than 15 million songs and 3 million artists in the world of music how do you find the music you like? We built Discovr Music to make it easy to find and explore new music. Enter an artist you like and you'll discover artists you love. 



The app uses data visualization and music recommendations to provide an interactive map of the entire world of music. You can navigate through the musical ecosystem and discover new music based on what you like. The app is built from the ground up to make the most of OSX Lion, and is also backwards compatible to Snow Leopard.



Discovr lets you see how the music you love is connected, and makes it easy to find great new bands and artists that are similar to what you like. To get started simply type in the name of a band or artist that you love and we'll show you some similar music to check out. Bands or artists that are similar are connected. Just click on one you like and the map will grow organically to show other similar artists. You can double click on a band or artist to see more info about them. Watch their videos, check out their bio, or read the latest reviews and blogs about their music. When you discover a band or artist you like you can share it with your friends via Twitter or Facebook or save it to your favorites. 



Discovr is brought to you by Filter Squad. We're a little startup from Australia. We also make Discovr Apps to help you find new apps. Discovr Music is powered by The Echo Nest.

Version 2.1:

  • Bug fixes and performance improvements
  • Updated about page
  • New favorite buttons


  • Mac OS X 10.6 or later
  • 64-bit processor


Download Now

X-Plane 10.04 Beta 6 - Ultra-realistic flight simulator.. (Updater)

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 09:18 PM PST



X-Plane is the world's most comprehensive, powerful flight simulator, and has the most realistic flight model available for personal computers.

Welcome to the world of props, jets, single- and multi-engine airplanes, as well as gliders, helicopters and VTOLs such as the V-22 Osprey and AV8-B Harrier.

X-Plane comes with subsonic and supersonic flight dynamics, sporting aircraft from the Bell 206 Jet-Ranger helicopter and Cessna 172 light plane to the supersonic SR-71 and Space Shuttle. X-Plane comes with 35 aircraft spanning the aviation industry (and history), and several thousand more are freely downloadable from the internet. (See www.X-Plane.org as a good place to start).

X-Plane scenery is world-wide, with scenery for the entire planet Earth between 74 degrees north to 60 degrees south latitude. We also have MARS scenery! (thanks to the Mars Orbiting Laser Altimeter, which mapped that planet's elevation). On Earth, you can land at any of over 33,000 airports, as well as test your mettle on aircraft carriers, helipads on building tops, frigates that pitch and roll in the waves, and oil rigs.

Weather is variable from clear skies and high visibility to thunderstorms with controllable wind, wind shear, turbulence, and microbursts! Rain, snow and clouds are available for an instrument flying challenge, and thermals are available for the gliders! Real weather conditions can be downloaded from the internet, allowing you to fly in the actual weather that currently exists at the location of flight!

X-Plane also has detailed failure-modeling, with multitudes of systems that can be failed manually or randomly, when you least expect it! You can fail instruments, engines, flight controls, landing gear, or dozens of other systems at any moment.

While X-Plane is the world's most COMPREHENSIVE flight sim, your purchase also comes with Plane-Maker (to create your own airplanes) Airfoil-Maker (allowing users to create airfoil performance profiles), and Weather Briefer (to get a weather briefing before the flight if you use real weather conditions downloaded from the internet).

X-Plane is also extremely customizable, allowing you to easily create textures, sounds, and instrument panels for your own airplanes that you design or the planes that come with the sim.

X-Plane's accuracy (in flight model), scope (in aircraft and terrain coverage), versatility (in aircraft type and weather conditions), add-on programs (in aircraft and scenery editors), customizability, downloadable aircraft, and downloadable scenery makes it the ULTIMATE flight simulation experience for Macintosh, Windows, and Linux platforms.

BE SURE TO TURN ON THE >BETA< option in the installer before you run it to get the beta!

The demo contains a limited scenery area to keep the download size reasonable. It will run for 10 minutes before it begins to ignore the user's input, at which point the simulator must be restarted to fly more.



Version 10.04 Beta 6:
  • It's just like X-Plane 10.04 beta 5, but with the texture files back.


  • Mac OS X 10.5 or later
  • a 2 GHz, dual-core CPU
  • 2 GB of RAM
  • a DirectX 9-capable video card with 128 MB of on-board, dedicated video RAM (VRAM). See here for compatibility and graphics cards.


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