“Our new 500GB and 1TB Desktop HDDs offer many advantages for editing and storing high-density applications, compared to using two or three smaller HDDs,” said Charles Klinker, Verbatim Director of Marketing for HDD products. “For example, a single Verbatim 1TB solution only costs about 25 cents per GB and consumes less power than multiple lower-capacity HDDs. It also provides the convenience of being able to store, transport and backup all of your digital content without having to span disks.”

Klinker added that with a choice of four interfaces, Verbatim’s new high-capacity Desktop HDDs offer complete cross-platform interoperability to simplify file sharing for designers that need to collaborate on creating and editing projects. With this capability, digital video, music and imaging professionals have a fast and efficient means of moving large files from one system to another without rebooting the computers.

Offering broad compatibility and high performance, the bus-powered drives deliver transfer speeds of up to 480 Mbit/s (60 MB/s) when connected to a USB 2.0 port, up to 400 Mbits/s (50 MB/s) for FireWire 400 connections, up to 800 Mbits (100MB/s) for FireWire 800 and up to 3.0 GB/s (300MB/s) for eSATA II connections.

Verbatim’s 500GB and 1TB Quad-interface Desktop HDDs also include Nero BackItUp 2 Essentials, a complete solution for automatic backup on Windows® systems. Easy-to-use, Nero BackItUp 2 incorporates scheduling, backup sets and encryption as well as password control.

Availability and Pricing

Verbatim’s 500GB and 1TB Quad Interface Desktop Hard Drives are compatible with Windows 2000, XP or Vista™ systems as well as Mac® OS X 10.1 or higher systems. Backed by a 3-year limited warranty, the new external drives are available for immediate shipment. The suggested retail pricing will be US$179.99 for the 500GB version and US$249.99 for the 1TB drive. Ready to use right out of the box, the drives include an AC power cord; USB 2.0 A-B cable; FireWire 1394a, 1394b bilingual and 1394b Beta cables, an eSATA cable, Nero backup software and a user guide.

In addition to the new 500GB and 1TB Quad Interface Desktop Hard Drives, Verbatim offers 500GB and 1TB USB, FireWire/USB, USB/eSATA and USB/eSATA RAID desktop hard drives.

Offering increased functionality for the mobile professional, MobileFiles Pro has extensive .xls editing features including support for over 125 functions, robust format options ranging from font style and cell color choice to inserting and resizing rows and columns. Users can easily switch between sheets in a workbook, revise inputs and recalculate and undo / redo changes.

In addition, MobileFiles Pro features enhanced desktop file access and transfer functionality combined with MobileMe iDisk account access to easily transfer and store files to and from their iPhone. Using the new Wi-Fi feature, users can transfer files directly from any desktop to an iPhone or from an iPhone to the desktop. MobileFiles Pro also provides remote access to MobileMe iDisk files, synchronizes changes and uploads new files to iDisk and provides local passcode protection of the entire application, ensuring all account information and data is secure.

“Quickoffice is taking an important first step in providing business users with useful applications that allow them to easily create and edit Excel files, much like they do on their desktop,” said Michael Gartenberg, vice president of mobile strategy at Jupitermedia/mobiledevicestoday.com. “The iPhone is changing the mobile industry and with help of high-quality third party applications, it will continue to branch out from the consumer space, appealing to a growing number of business professionals.”

“We are very pleased to launch MobileFiles Pro, the first iPhone application with the ability to access and view almost any file including iWork files, plus Excel editing and saving directly on the iPhone,” said Paul Moreton, vice president of product management at Quickoffice. “This launch reinforces our commitment to deliver our award-winning software across leading smartphone platforms to allow more users to stay connected to all of their content and to improve productivity when on the go. We look forward to providing more upgrades to our iPhone application in 2009.”

MobileFiles Pro is now available in the Productivity section of the Apple Store for $9.99. For more information on MobileFiles Pro, please visit http://www.quickoffice.com/mobilefiles

In addition to providing instant access to volumes of portable storage and reliable backup/recovery, Verbatim’s ExpressCard SSD solution provides advanced sync features to keep multiple storage devices and computers updated.

“We’re excited about the launch of our new ExpressCard SSD because it offers all the advantages of a traditional SSD in a plug-and-play, integrated form factor,” said Mark Rogers, Verbatim Product Manager. “Since it’s a plug-and-play device, there’s no hardware installation. It fits completely inside your laptop’s ExpressCard slot so you can easily take it with you for automated backup of your critical data, without the need to carry around or keep up with external devices. If you want to synch up your data and travel with just your ExpressCard SSD, you can leave the laptop behind. It’s the best way to add storage capacity to your laptop without changing it’s footprint with external devices, or going inside the case to install hardware.”

With NTI Shadow 4, backup jobs are conveniently executed transparently in the background without disturbing the user and without slowing system performance. Files or file groups can be automatically backed up in their native format every time a change occurs. The software also offers scheduled backups, custom file type filtering, version control, drag and drop file restoring, and more.

Availability, Pricing

The Verbatim ExpressCard SSD for PC¹ and Mac users will be available through Verbatim retail and distribution channels late February with MRSPs of US$99.99 for the 16GB card, US$149.99 for the 32GB card and US$299.99 for the 64GB card. Includes software drivers required for XP and Mac OS.

At Booth #3310, Sena Cases will have a sneak peek preview of its upcoming customization offering precisely hand-stitched by its on-site leather artisan. Sena offers an exclusive special invitation to the Macworld Editors and Press Staff to visit the Sena booth to watch our Master Artisan, while he designs their complimentary custom case with a selected individualized style. The preview will include only a subset of customization options, all options will be available online through its website in early 2009.

“Mac OS X includes Xcode, Apple’s premiere development environment for the Mac, which enables developers to quickly and easily create powerful applications,” said Ron Okamoto, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. “We’re delighted that Livescribe has used Xcode to create Mac-only features for its smartpen.”

New Features Available Only for Mac Consumers

Pulse smartpen customers using the Mac software will have access to several Mac-only key features, including:

•    Export and share your notes as PDF files locally from Livescribe Desktop.

•    Export audio files (in AAC format) separately from notes so you can play them back in iTunes.

•    Change the on-screen ink color of your digital notes.

After announcing the public beta Livescribe Desktop for the Mac in November, more than 10,000 consumers – including college students and professionals from numerous industries downloaded the software. Feedback received from beta participants directly improved the software design, including menu organization, features, and sharing capabilities.

Beta Software Development Kit Now Available for Mac Developers

Livescribe has an active developer community with more than 2,600 registered developers worldwide creating applications for the Pulse smartpen. Livescribe recently released version 0.9 of the SDK, which now supports application development on both Mac and Windows platforms. Hundreds of applications are underway, ranging from games to productivity tools to foreign language translators and interactive books. More details about future applications and the Livescribe Store will be made in 2009. Developers can download the SDK at http://www.livescribe.com/developers.

Availability and Pricing

The Pulse smartpen is available in two models. Priced at $149, the 1GB model provides storage for over 100 hours of recorded audio. At $199, the 2GB model doubles the storage capacity and provides more flexibility for adding future applications. Accessories for the Pulse smartpen including leather cases and two-packs of journals in black and red are also available.

Pulse is available in the electronics section at Target stores nationwide, Costco wholesale stores nationwide, as well as at Amazon.com, Livescribe.com and over 100 major campus bookstores. The Pulse smartpen is also available in Office Works throughout Australia. Livescribe’s exclusive distributor for the Asean-Oceana region, BIG’ant, plans to launch in additional Asian markets in 2009.

“We are absolutely thrilled to participate in a panel with these amazing artists who’ve changed the face of digital art,” said Mr. MacDonald. “Our Painter Masters and the Mac user community are instrumental to the success of Corel Painter. We’re truly honored to be able to talk about the future of digital art with visionaries whose use of tools like Painter continues to shape the future of this industry.”

Macworld Conference & Expo 2009 delivers a comprehensive agenda covering everything from Mac power user skills, introductory training, creative photo, music, video, and design, to small business productivity and education. Year after year, the show brings together audiences in creative services, education, application development, entertainment, small office/home office and Internet-based environments, offering all the opportunity to discover the latest developments and hottest products these markets offer.

For more information on Corel Painter, please visit www.corel.com/painter. For more information on Macworld 2009 Conference & Expo, visit www.macworldexpo.com.

“Millions of Mac users have fallen in love with iWork,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “With iWork ’09, Apple continues to demonstrate that innovation is possible in office productivity software, and that creating impressive presentations, documents and spreadsheets doesn’t need to be complicated.”

Keynote ’09 introduces Magic Move, which allows you to apply a simple transition to automatically animate the position, scale, rotation and opacity of any image, graphic or text that is repeated on consecutive slides. New text transitions morph text from one slide to the next. New advanced object transitions animate objects off one slide while simultaneously animating objects onto the next slide with a choice of effects. 3D charts now include cylinder shapes, beveled-edge pie charts, new textures and four new 3D build effects. The Keynote Remote application, sold separately in the App Store, lets you view slides and presenter notes and control your presentation with your iPhone™ or iPod® touch.

Pages ’09 Full Screen view lets you focus on your document without any distractions and reveals the menus, format bar and page navigator only when needed. Outline mode includes templates that help to quickly build the framework for your document and allow you to collapse, expand and rearrange elements, even inline graphics, with ease. MathType 6 support lets engineers, mathematicians and students easily add sophisticated equations to their documents and EndNote X2 integration lets users add and edit comprehensive bibliographic references. Pages ’09 also includes 40 new Apple-designed templates, including newsletters, posters, certificates and coordinated stationery.

Numbers ’09 provides a great way to quickly categorize data by column, which you can then collapse, expand and summarize to easily make sense of large sets of data. Numbers ’09 makes formula writing dramatically easier with an enhanced function browser which includes built-in help for over 250 functions, and visual placeholders with tool tips that explain each variable in a formula. Use the new Formula List to view all formulas in your entire spreadsheet and jump directly to any formula cell with a single click. Expanded chart options include mixed chart types, two-axis charts, and the ability to apply trend lines and error bars. Numbers charts pasted into Pages or Keynote are linked, and can be updated with a single click.

Apple also introduced iWork.com public beta, a new service Apple is developing to share iWork ’09 documents online. Using your Apple ID, just click the iWork.com icon in the Keynote, Pages or Numbers toolbar to upload your document and invite others to view it online. Viewers can provide comments and notes, and download a copy of your document in iWork, Microsoft Office or PDF formats. A consolidated online list of all your shared documents indicates when your viewers have posted comments.

Pricing & Availability

iWork ’09 is now available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $79 (US). iWork ’09 is available for $49 (US) with the purchase of any Mac® through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

iWork ’09 requires Mac OS® X version 10.4.11 or Mac OS X version 10.5.6 or later, a Macintosh® computer with an Intel processor, PowerPC G5, or 500 MHz or faster PowerPC G4, 512MB of RAM (1GB recommended), 32MB of video RAM, QuickTime® 7.5.5 or later, a DVD drive for installation and 1.2GB of available disk space. iWork.com Public Beta is not included with the purchase of iWork ’09. Account setup and activation are required. Fees may apply. Internet access and iWork ’09 are required. Terms of service apply and are available at www.apple.com/legal/iworkcom/en/terms.html.

iPhoto ’09 makes it even easier to browse and search photos, not only by when they were shot (Events), but by who appears in them (Faces) and where they were taken (Places). iPhoto automatically scans photos to detect people’s faces and when you assign a name to any face iPhoto will automatically find more pictures of that person. The library can be searched by name or browsed using the new Faces View. Places automatically imports photo location data from a GPS-enabled camera or any iPhone™ or you can manually assign a location to any photo, group of photos or event. Once iPhoto knows where photos were taken, you can easily explore them with a simple search or an interactive map. iPhoto ’09 lets you easily publish photos to Facebook or Flickr. Photos published to Facebook include assigned names, and name tags added on Facebook sync back to iPhoto. You can also share photos by creating a themed slideshow to play on your Mac, iPhone or iPod®, or create a beautiful travel book, complete with customized maps of your journey.

iMovie ’09 adds powerful, yet easy-to-use new features to let you create a movie quickly, or add refinements and special effects to your project if you have more time. Drag and drop one clip on top of another to reveal new advanced editing options, including replace, insert, audio only, and even picture-in-picture or green screen. With the revolutionary Precision Editor, you can skim and click on a magnified filmstrip to view clips up close and fine tune any edit, like identifying precisely how much to keep, where to cut, use sound from one clip with video from another and more. iMovie ’09 analyzes video and reduces camera shake in clips when added to your project. New titles, transitions, cinematic effects, speed changes and animated travel maps add professional polish to your movie.

GarageBand ’09, the updated version of Apple’s popular software used by millions to play and record music, now gives budding musicians a fun new way to learn to play piano and guitar. Basic Lessons let you learn the fundamentals at your own pace with Apple instructors in beautiful HD video synchronized to animated instruments and notation. Artist Lessons feature original artists showing how to play their hit songs with everything from finger positions and techniques to the story behind the song. Choose from lessons by popular artists including: Sara Bareilles, Colbie Caillat, John Fogerty, Ben Folds, Norah Jones, Sarah McLachlan, Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump, OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder and Sting. Artist Lessons are sold separately at the new GarageBand Lesson Store, available inside the GarageBand ’09 application. GarageBand ’09 also includes exciting new guitar amp and stomp-box effects, and Magic GarageBand Jam that lets you play along with a virtual band that you create.

iLife ’09 includes iWeb ’09 for authoring custom websites and iDVD ’09 for creating DVDs. iWeb ’09 adds new iWeb Widgets, such as iSight® video and photos, a countdown timer, YouTube video and RSS feeds. New integrated FTP publishing allows you to publish your website to virtually any hosting service and updates to your site can now be automatically added to your Facebook profile.

Pricing & Availability

iLife ’09 will be available this month for a suggested retail price of $79 (US) through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The iLife Up-To-Date upgrade package is available to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after January 6, 2009 for a shipping and handling fee of $9.95 (US). Artist Lessons are available through the GarageBand Lesson Store for $4.99 (US) each.

iLife ’09 requires Mac OS® X version 10.5.6 or later, a Macintosh® computer with an Intel processor, a PowerPC G5 or 867 MHz or faster PowerPC G4, 512MB of RAM (1GB recommended), QuickTime® 7.5.5 or later (included), a DVD drive for installation and 4GB of available disk space. iPhoto print services and GarageBand Artist Lessons are available in select countries. Full system requirements and more information on iLife ’09 can be found at www.apple.com/ilife.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

Apple uses advanced chemistry, intelligent monitoring of the system and battery, and Adaptive Charging technology to create a revolutionary new notebook battery that delivers up to eight hours of wireless productivity on a single charge and up to 1,000 recharges without adding thickness, weight or cost to the MacBook Pro’s incredible design.* The longer battery lifespan equals fewer depleted batteries and less waste, which is better for the environment.

The new 17-inch MacBook Pro includes an ultra-thin, widescreen glossy 1920 x 1200 display with 78 percent more pixels than the 15-inch MacBook Pro and a 60 percent greater color gamut that delivers desktop-quality color in a notebook. The LED-backlit display has brilliant instant-on performance, uses up to 30 percent less energy and eliminates the mercury found in industry standard fluorescent tube backlights.

Measuring just 0.98-inches thin and weighing 6.6 pounds, the 17-inch MacBook Pro is the world’s thinnest and lightest 17-inch notebook. The 17-inch MacBook Pro is the most powerful Mac® notebook yet with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors available up to 2.93 GHz, up to 8GB DDR3 main memory and a graphics architecture that allows users to switch between the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor for better battery life and the powerful NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics processor for higher performance. The new 17-inch MacBook Pro includes a 320GB 5400 rpm hard drive standard with a 320GB 7200 rpm hard drive and 128GB and 256GB solid state drives as options. As with the rest of the new MacBook family, the 17-inch MacBook Pro includes a next generation, industry-standard Mini DisplayPort to connect with the new Apple LED Cinema Display featuring a 24-inch LED-backlit widescreen display with a built-in iSight® video camera, mic and speakers.

The new 17-inch MacBook Pro joins the aluminum unibody MacBook family in setting new standards for environmentally friendly notebooks with every model achieving EPEAT Gold status.** Each MacBook unibody enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. The new MacBook family meets stringent Energy Star 4.0 requirements, contains no brominated flame retardants and uses internal cables and components that are PVC-free. The battery in the new 17-inch MacBook Pro provides additional environmental benefit because its extended lifespan means fewer depleted batteries resulting in less waste. Depleted batteries can be replaced for $179 which includes installation and disposal of your old battery in an environmentally responsible manner.

Pricing & Availability

The new 17-inch MacBook Pro will be shipping at the end of January and will be available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $2,799 (US), and includes:

• 17-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1920 x 1200, glossy display;
• 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 6MB shared L2 cache;
• 1066 MHz front-side bus;
• 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM;
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
• NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3 video memory;
• 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
• a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
• Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• Gigabit Ethernet port;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• three USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire® 800 port (FireWire 400 compatible);
• ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
• one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
• glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard;
• built-in, 95WHr lithium polymer battery; and
• 85 Watt MagSafe® Power Adapter.

Build-to-order options for the 17-inch MacBook Pro include a 2.93 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 8GB 1066 MHz DDR 3 memory, 320GB 7200 rpm hard drive, a 128GB or 256GB solid state drive, anti-glare display for $50 (US), Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple Remote, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

• A drag-and-drop photo collage tool that gives users control over layout and content
• A retouching brush to wipe out scratches and blemishes – and repair old photos
• A slideshow movie maker that uploads users photo montage videos to YouTube with a click
• Smart auto-cropping that guides users on how to zoom in on their subject
• And, auto red-eye removal.

Many of us take pictures so that we can show them to the people we care about. Picasa for Mac integrates seamlessly with Picasa Web Albums, Google’s free photo-sharing site, which offers features like name tags – the ability for users to automatically organize and share their photos based on the faces in each picture.

People who already share photos on Picasa Web Albums will find that Picasa for Mac allows them to easily and quickly manage their online and local photo collections. Millions of Mac users have been sharing photos on Picasa Web Albums, and while we’ve previously offered a Mac uploader and iPhoto plugin for Picasa Web Albums, Picasa includes additional sharing features like automatic web sync. Picasa for Mac “plays nice” with iPhoto, and takes a read-only approach to editing photos stored in the iPhoto library, duplicating files as needed, so that users’ iPhoto libraries are never affected when they use Picasa. Avid iPhoto users who currently use our Picasa Web Albums Uploader plugin can continue to do so, although features like automatic web sync, photo collages, and more will only be found in the Picasa application.

This first beta of Picasa for Mac matches the speed and most core features of Picasa on Windows — and we’ll be working on more refinements to the Mac interface and feature set as time goes on.

Picasa for Mac is available for free download in US English at: http://picasa.google.com/mac/. We’ll be demoing it live at the Google booth at Macworld 2009.