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Roxio releases Toast 11 for those who still like to burn

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I remember when installing Toast was one of the first things I did when I got a new Macintosh.  Now, I don’t even have an optical disc reader on my main computer and I use optical less and less on the home Macs.

However, I know there are a lot of uses of optical still out there and for those folks that create it, Roxio today updated their Toast software to Toast 11 with some important updates.

For existing users, Toast 11 adds many requested features such as recording to multiple drives simultaneously, a streamlined product update mechanism, and the ability to save custom video profiles, which is very useful for those that are often converting video for a particular device. The latest version now also offers built-in features for directly uploading media to social networking sites such as YouTube, Vimeo, or Facebook and technology optimizations, dubbed VideoBoost, that help dramatically speed H.264 (high definition) video conversion or encoding.

New or exclusive-to-Toast features include: Internet audio recording; the ability to capture, save, and convert Web-based video content; disc spanning (automatically spreading a large amount of data or audio tracks across many discs); one-click backup of HD camcorder footage; dual-platform compatible disc creation; and TiVo-to-Go support.

The boxed package is $99, the Not-App Store download is $79 and a Toast 10 upgrade is $59.  Amazon has it as well.

Also launching today is Roxio Toast 11 Pro. Toast 11 Pro includes everything offered in Toast 11 Titanium as well as the Blu-ray Disc Plug-in and four award-winning digital media applications for making stunning video, photo, and audio projects….
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Google Instant now going live on iOS

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As we showed you back in January, Google Instant is now live for all users on iOS and Android.

Instant Previews provides a fast and interactive way to evaluate search results. Starting today, Google Instant Previews is available on mobile for Android (2.2+) and iOS (4.0+) devices across 38 languages. Similar to the desktop version of Instant Previews, you can visually compare search results from webpage snapshots, making it easier to choose the right result faster, especially when you have an idea of the content you’d like to see.


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Firefox is now the most popular browser in Europe

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Here’s some interesting news from the periphery.  In Europe, where Microsoft was forced to institute a ‘browser ballot ‘upon the installation of Windows (giving Opera, Safari, Chrome, Firefox and IE equal billing), Firefox has just passed IE as the most popular browser on the continent.

That’s according to Statcounter who told Reuters “This appears to be happening because Google’s Chrome is stealing share from Internet Explorer while Firefox is mainly maintaining its existing share. We are probably seeing the impact of the agreement between European Commission competition authorities and Microsoft, to offer EU users a choice and menu of browsers from March last year.”

Given equal footing with other browsers, users just don’t pick IE (remember this ballot is only a year old and it will likely get much worse for Microsoft.

Full graph below:
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'Apple will be number one for a long time', says Angry Birds

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMltvlqEM54&w=670&h=400]

Apple’s iOS has won a big thumbs-up from the Angry Birds themselves, who say that when it comes to mobile devices, Apple’s going to excel against the rest.

“Apple will be the number one platform for a long time from a developer perspective, they have gotten so many things right,” said Peter Vesterbacka, Angry Birds development lead.
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iPad shipments set to hit 65 million in 2011 — report

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Perhaps you’ve been wondering if Apple will feel much impact once those Android and Chrome-powered tablets ship in 2011 — now a pair of reports suggest the magical iPad is set to maintain dominance for some time yet.

Report one tells us LG Display shipped 1.5 million iPad panels in November, while Samsung delivered 1.2 million units, suggesting Apple might have sold nearly three million iPads this month.
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iTunes dominates US music retail, Amazon fails to dent share

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The figures are in and they confirm that iTunes remains the biggest US digital music retailer, with Amazon failing to grab too much of Apple’s digital music heartland.

NPD tells us AAPL’s iTunes took 66.2% of the digital music market in the third quarter of this year – that’s up from 63.2% in Q3 2009.  Easy still beats free.
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Google's internal politics complicate its music plans

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Google is about to change the music economy, preparing to hand over huge amounts of cash to win rights to offer the music locker service it has been trying to build for Google Music.  However, confused internal politics and music licensing complexity mean Google, just like Spotify and Apple, isn’t set to launch its service before the end of the year.
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Tron Legacy iAd coming later today to iPad

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4yApx5zyCk&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3]

OK, we’re excited to see this, even if it is just an ad.  Adage says that it is the only iAd we’ll see on iPad this year.  Next year we’ll see plenty more.   On iAds, digital agencies are gushing about the quality even if it takes a lot of time and effort to bring the ads to fruition.

“I think as a media format it has the potential to surpass anything that has come before,” said Carrie Frolich, digital director at WPP unit MEC Global, which bought iAd inventory for Citi, AT&T, Chanel and Campbell Soup. “It delivers all the emotive qualities of television or video advertising with the interactivity of a website, plus the functionality of location and all the bells and whistles of Apple devices like the accelerometer.”

More from Adage:
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Google Voice released for iPad and iPod touch

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I can’t wait until my iPod touch/Mifi  is my only phone. This is another step in that direction.

Google today announced Google Voice for iPad and iPod touch as well as some significant updates.  No VoIP gateway yet, but you know it is coming.

What’s New in Version 1.1.0.636

* Support for iPod Touch
* iPod Touch and iPhone can now make calls using Click2Call
* Do Not Disturb setting
* Text forwarding is automatically disabled when registering for Push notifications
* Added Text forwarding setting to the app
* Easier to make calls from the phone Address Book
* Removed annoying OK dialog every time you send an SMS
* Fixed crashes caused by text messages that begin with a space character
* Fixed bug that caused the entire Inbox to load
* Fixed bug that caused Contact pictures to get mixed up
* Improved access to Contact groups
* Improved speed of Contact search

The Google Voice app is available to download from the Apple App Store today. You’ll need an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch with iOS 3.1 or later and a valid Google Voice account to use the app. At this time, Google Voice is available in the U.S. only.
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4G iPhone for January rumors a little half-baked

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Look, we want the most awesome iPhone available to be on Verizon’s network ASAP.  But the rumor today about the 4G iPhone waiting in stockpiles isn’t realistic at all.

Remember how Apple’s original iPhone was EDGE at a time when most new phones were coming out with the new 3G technology?  The reasons: Cost, complexity, size, battery life and benefit to the user.

Every single one of those factors also applies to 4G.  The chips aren’t mature, the network is just being rolled out, and the battery life will take a hit.  Have you seen how long an EVO 4G battery lasts with 4G on?  How big it is?

Besides, one of the big benefits of 4G is use as a hotspot, something no un-jailbroken iPhone can do yet.

So iPhone 4G?  Yes!  January?  No.
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Judge dismisses Allen's Apple patent violation lawsuit

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Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s patent trolling lawsuit filed against Apple, Facebook, Google, YouTube and others has been dismissed by the courts.

“Plaintiff has failed to identify the infringing products or devices with any specificity,” wrote U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman in her order to dismiss. “The Court and Defendants are left to guess what devices infringe on the four patents.

Allen was claiming that the companies had violated four patents developed by Internal Research (a research firm he funded).
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Job title: Verizon iPad System Engineers

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Apple has been looking for CDMA engineers since 2008 (not since yesterday!) but Apple has just started looking for Verizon iPad engineers in New York this week.  Aren’t Verizon iPads just Wifi iPads with Mifis – there isn’t any special skills that are required by Verizon are there?  Why is there a need for a special ‘Verizon version’?

Certainly Verizon’s business customers need SE help with the iPad that Verizon sells now.  However, Apple is likely engineering up for April as well.

Apple is building a version of the iPad 2 that will work on Verizon’s wireless network either in conjunction with GSM networks with a Gobi-like Chip (just like the Google ChomeOS CR-48) or as a seperate product/version.

WSJ: Apple's developer decision is Feds + competition

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http://online.wsj.com/media/swf/VideoMicroPlayer.swf

According to the WSJ, Apple’s about face on 3rd party app development may have been due to pressure from the FCC:

The concession comes after the Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry around June to determine whether Apple had violated antitrust laws with the earlier policy. It isn’t clear if Apple’s move Thursday was in response to the FTC’s investigation, but it will likely be carefully scrutinized by the regulatory agency, said people familiar with the situation.

They also speculate that other platforms may have been a factor:
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