Mac News Review

Windows Below 90%, IE Below 70%, as Mac, Firefox, and Safari Gain Ground

This Week's Apple and Desktop Mac News

Compiled by Charles Moore and edited by Dan Knight - 2008.12.05

PowerBook, iBook, MacBook, and other portable computing is covered in The 'Book Review. iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV news is covered in The iNews Review.

All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.

News & Opinion

Products

Software

Desktop Mac Deals

News & Opinion

Windows Market Share Below 90%, Internet Explorer Below 70% - Mac, Linux, Firefox, and Safari Growing

NetApplications HitsLink have posted Operating System Market Share stats for November 2008, showing the Mac OS's market share gained more than half a point during the month, its high-water mark for the 21st Century. Windows dropped below 90%, and Linux's share gained more than a point over the month, while the iPhone version of OS X was up slightly.

Operating System Market Share by Platform, Nov 2008Here's the Operating System Total Market Share rundown of the significant players for November (October figures in parentheses):

  • Windows 89.62% (90.46%)
  • Mac 8.87% (8.21%)
  • Linux 0.83% ( 0.71%)
  • iPhone 0.37% (0.33%)

Comparing longer term, at 89.62% Windows is down nearly five percentage points since May 2006 (95.09%), while the Mac OS at 8.87% has more than doubled its share over the same interval from 4.43% in May 2006. Linux has also more than doubled its share from 0.40% to 0.83% percent.

In terms of versions:

  • Operating System Market Share by Version, Nov 2008Windows:
    • Windows XP 66.31% (68.11%)
    • Windows Vista 20.45% (19.29% )
    • Windows 2000 1.56% (1.72%)
    • Windows NT 0.77% (0.78%)
    • Windows 98 0.29% ( 0.31%)
    • Windows ME 0.17% (0.18%)
    • Windows CE 0.05% (0.06%)
  • Macintosh:
    • Macintel 6.51% (5.94%)
    • Mac OS (Classic) 2.35% (2.27%)
    • iPhone 0.37% (0.31%)
    • iPod 0.05% (0.04%)
  • Linux 0.83% (0.71%)

Browser Share

Moving on to browsers, for the first time since Hitslink began tracking, the Firefox browser has exceeded 20% share for a full month. Firefox share jumped about eight tenths of a percent in November, which is much higher than average. Hitslink attributes the gain to the US election, Thanksgiving, and some extra weekend days.

Hitslink also posted the broader November Browser Market Share stats on Monday, showing Internet Explorer dropping back again, Firefox up as noted to 20.87 percent from 19.97 percent, and Safari also gaining significant ground last month to 7.13% percent from 6.65 percent, with Opera dropping back in to number five spot, bumped by newcomer Chrome.

Browser Market Share, Nov. 2008Browser Total Market Share:

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer - 69.77% (71.27%)
  • Firefox - 20.78% (19.97% )
  • Safari -7.13% ( 6.57% )
  • Chrome - 0.83% (0.74%)
  • Opera - 0.71% (0.75%)
  • Netscape - 0.53% (0.45%)
  • Mozilla - 0.08% (0.09% )
  • Opera Mini - 0.06% (0.06%)
Link: Operating System Market Share, by Platform
Link: Operating System Market Share, by OS Version
Link: Browser Market Share

5 Reasons to Choose OS X

Softpedia's Sergiu Gatlan says:

"People will always write articles about which operating system is better. While making comparisons, let's say, between Windows and OS X, will surely make you a target of fans of either the former or the latter (depending on your approach), I think that stating the obvious pros in regard to OS X will only make its fans give a 'yes, he's right' kind of nod and the Windows fans just stop for a moment and think it over.

"Would OS X actually be a viable alternative to Windows? Well let's just see what its pros are and if they overcome those that Windows users will put on the table."

12 More 'Unanswered Apple Questions'

AppleInsider reports on Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster's latest analysis of Apple's prospects including the probability or otherwise of an Apple netbook.

Munster deduces that the new aluminum MacBooks "are selling well," although he doesn't believe sales are exceeding Apple's own internal estimates since stores have had ample supply throughout the launch. He does note that in-store checks have revealed that the new aluminum models "are vastly more popular" than the holdover $999 white plastic model ($999), but that the latter is finding more success in the Education market.

As for a Mac netbook, Munster observes that Steve Jobs has indicated Apple "doesn't do cheap", and has not yet entered what he feels to be a "nascent market" for low-cost laptops, but he expresses belief that Apple could find success with a product in its lineup between the iPhone and the MacBook, the the most likely candidate being an 11" MacBook Air priced between $800 and $1,000, which could be released some time in 2009, which, if an accurate assessment, will prove disappointing to Mac fans pining after a small laptop of the sort typified by the Asus EEE PC S101 and the MSI Wind.

Do Surge Protectors Really Protect Your Electronics?

SMH's Louisa Hearn reports:

"Rick Mooney arrived home one day to discover the fried remains of his MacBook Pro, two routers and Roku SoundBridge music system.

"Lightning had struck a phone line two doors down, and within nanoseconds the current had ripped around the neighbourhood in the remote Australian township of Nhulumbuy, destroying every device connected to the network.

"'I got a big surge down my phone system, which caused a lot of damage because my wireless network was down and everything was connected to my Mac.'

"While a lightning strike to a power or phone line can do extensive damage in a single hit, even on a normal sunny day surges and sags might be bombarding your power supply, eating away at the health of your hardware.

"But many people are content to try their luck when it comes to protecting their home entertainment equipment, ignorant of the fact that the biggest threat to their equipment does not always come out of the sky.

"Sarath Perera, associate professor of electrical engineering at the University of Wollongong says that continuous disturbances in the power supply tend to happen without our knowledge, but can substantially compromise sensitive equipment over time...."

Logitech Ships Billionth Mouse

PR: Logitech has announced that it has shipped its billionth mouse. A pioneer in the development of the computer mouse in the 1980s, Logitech has enthusiastically driven nearly every major innovation in mouse technology - persistently refining this ubiquitous interface between people and their digital experiences. With more than a billion people currently using computers worldwide and another billion expected to begin using computers by 2014, according to a report by analyst firm Gartner, Logitech continues to pursue compelling innovation to delight users of the next billion mice and input devices of the future.

Logitech's billionth mouseFounded in a farmhouse in Apples, Switzerland in 1981 and shortly thereafter establishing strong ties in Silicon Valley, Logitech introduced its first retail mouse in 1985 and reached the 100 millionth mouse mark in 1996. Sales of Logitech mice topped 500 million seven years later. Today, Logitech sells mice in more than 100 countries worldwide and manufactures an average of 376,000 mice per day and 7.8 million every month.

"Since the first click of the Logitech P4 mouse in 1982, Logitech mice have played an indispensable role in the evolution of the personal computer," said Gerald P. Quindlen, Logitech president and chief executive officer. "During the last few decades, the way people use computers has changed dramatically - what was once strictly a business tool has become highly integrated into our personal lives. Logitech has continually pursued innovations to meet those changing conditions, introducing - in the last five years alone - the world's first laser mouse, hyperfast scrolling and the nano-receiver."

"Looking to the future, the gesture-based Logitech MX Air mouse and the hybrid Logitech diNovo Mini palm-sized keyboard hint at what can be expected from Logitech's next generation of innovations," said Rory Dooley, Logitech senior vice president and general manager of the Control Devices business unit. "While the traditional mouse and keyboard still make the most sense for productivity, the emergence of the digital home and new forms of entertainment are opening the doors to new ways of interacting with the computer, whether it be voice, touch or something entirely new."

As Logitech celebrates its milestone, many will be celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the first public demonstration of the computer mouse.

"What a wonderful coincidence that the leading mouse manufacturer has announced such a significant milestone in the same month that we celebrate Doug Engelbart's legendary public debut of the computer mouse," said Curt Carlson, president and chief executive officer of SRI International. "Logitech's product innovations support Engelbart's vision of human-computer tools for interactive and collaborative work."

In celebration of its billionth mouse, Logitech is launching a contest that invites people to follow the travels of this notable mouse - from the manufacturing line to its final destination - and to try to figure out where in the world it will end up. The mouse's journey will be chronicled on Logitech's blog, BLogitech.

Products

'Welcome to Macintosh' DVD on Sale for $19.84

PR: "Welcome to Macintosh - The documentary for the rest of us" is now available on DVD. "Welcome to Macintosh" explores the history, culture and worldwide impact of Apple Inc. and the Macintosh. In addition to the film, the DVD includes over 3 hours of extra content including extended interviews, a "making of" featurette, trailers, photo journal, and more. The DVD goes far beyond the movie, exploring in-depth the stories and experiences that made the Macintosh what it is today with shipments beginning December 15th.

Welcome to Macintosh"Welcome to Macintosh" is the first documentary of its kind to mix history, criticism, and an unapologetic revelry of all things Apple into a movie experience. The film explores the early years of Apple, the many challenges Apple has faced, and what the future may hold for the company and it's products. Ex-Apple employees, engineers, and community members offer insight on the company's innovations, failures, cultural impact, and what the future may be like beyond the reign of its cofounder Steve Jobs. Interviews include notable Apple personalities Andy Hertzfeld, cocreator of the original Macintosh; Guy Kawasaki, long time Mac evangelist; Leander Kahney, author of the book "Cult of Mac"; Jim Reekes, creator of the Macintosh startup sound; and Ron Wayne, original cofounder of the Apple Computer Company.

With acceptance in five international film festivals, "Welcome to Macintosh" is reaching its goal of bringing the story of Apple and the Macintosh to the new generation of iPhone and iPod users around the world.

"Welcome to Macintosh is required viewing for any Mac user, new or old," says James Savage, cohost of the RetroMacCast, a popular podcast dedicated to classic Mac users.

"The film succeeds in chronicling the rich history of Apple through firsthand accounts by the colorful personalities who were there. For longtime Mac fans, it's a trip down memory lane with a few surprises along the way. For new Mac users, they get an appreciation for those of us who bleed in six colors," adds James.

"The DVD goes far beyond the movie, exploring in-depth the stories and experiences that made the Macintosh what it is today," says Rob Baca, codirector of the film. "There are so many great stories to hear, we are very excited to have the opportunity to share them."

"There are millions of people around the world who are just now learning about Apple through the iPhone or the iPod, and they are interested, they want to know more," says Josh Rizzo, codirector. "We worked hard to make the film entertaining and as nontechnical as possible, but it does get a little nerd-friendly from time to time."

"Welcome to Macintosh is an informative and entertaining film for the computer illiterate and Mac geeks alike. From industry insiders to hard-core Mac enthusiasts to eccentric Mac owners, Welcome to Macintosh covers the spectrum of "Mac People" and shows why Apple is unique in the industry," Jason Dean, The Capital Times, Madison WI.

The widescreen DVD is NTSC Region Free and includes over three hours of extended interviews, a "making of" featurette, theatrical trailers, behind the scenes photo journal, Mac symbiosis montage, interactive menus and subtitles in English and Spanish.

The filmmakers have some exciting public events planned for the coming months, all to be announced through their website and social network.

NewerTech Voyager, World's First 'Quad Interface' SATA Hard Drive Docking Station

PR: Newer Technology, Inc. (NewerTech) has announced NewerTech Voyager, the world's first "Quad Interface" SATA I/II Hard Drive Docking Station with support for four interfaces: FireWire 800/400, USB 2.0, and eSATA. NewerTech Voyager turns any 2.5" or 3.5" Serial ATA (SATA) I/II hard drive up to 2.0 TB into a fully bootable and hot-swappable external drive solution.

NewerTech VoyagerEasy & Convenient to Use

Using Voyager is so simple: just insert any standard 2.5" or 3.5" SATA I/II hard drive (up to 2.0 TB) into Voyager's compact docking base and select the fastest of the four interfaces supported by your computer for read/write data speeds of up to 3.0 Gb/s. There's nothing else to install or configure. Voyager saves users the time and inconvenience of installing a hard drive into a computer or using an external hard drive enclosure with limited interfaces and slower speeds.

Plug and Play Hot-Swap Ready

With the most interfaces available on the market, Voyager provides Plug and Play ease of use for a fast external hard drive solution that works with both Macs and PCs. In fact, Voyager is so easy to use, that combined with today's low cost of hard drive storage, users can think of a bare SATA I/II drive as being as convenient to use as a flash memory card, with the same instant access benefits and the addition of huge storage capacity gains. In addition, Voyager is completely hot-swappable for consumers wanting to move multiple drives at will while their computer is on and running. Its unique design and drive eject button makes inserting, using, and removing SATA I/II hard drives a safe and effortless procedure.

The ideal solution for storage archives, professional photographers, videographers, and other hard drive storage archivers will no longer need multiple drive enclosures and power supplies for every archived hard drive. "Whether consumers want to re-task an older swapped-out hard drive, need to access multiple drives, or want to add big capacity, low cost external storage capacity to their desktop, Voyager is able to travel any computer user's data universe needs with ease," said Grant Dahlke, NewerTech's Product Manager. "Its design and 'Quad Interface' functionality offer high speed 'slide and swap' hard drive read/write performance and convenience never before available."

NewerTech VoyagerNewerTech Voyager Features:

  • Supports all 2.5" and 3.5" SATA I/II hard drives up to 2.0 TB
  • "Quad Interface" for maximum system compatibility and data transfer rates
  • Data transfer rates up to 3.0 Gb/s (300 MB/s)
  • Push button drive eject for safe hard drive removal
  • Hot-Swap functionality for fast access of multiple hard drives
  • Weighted base and non skid rubber feet for stable operation
  • 2-Color Status LED: left side blue for power on, right side flashing red for disk activity
  • Compact design: measures 5.28" x 3.70" x 2.68" inches and weighs 1.35 lb. without drive
  • Whisper Quiet operation - no cooling fan needed
  • Plug and Play with Macs and PCs
  • All interface connection cables included
  • RoHS Compliant
  • One year warranty

NewerTech Voyager is priced at $99.95 MSRP and is available immediately from NewerTech's exclusive distributor, Other World Computing (OWC), at macsales.com , as well as through the retail channel. Voyager includes all its supported interface connector cables and an auto-switching power supply for worldwide compatibility.

Additionally, OWC has created five Voyager/Hard Drive Bundles priced starting at $157.99 to offer consumers the ultimate in convenience and economy.

Unlimited Colors and Designs Make morespace Portable Hard Drive a Must Have Computer Accessory

morespace PortablePR: Hammer Storage, a division of Bell Microproducts Inc., one of the world's largest value-added distributors of storage and computing technology, today announced the release of its latest storage solution: morespace Portable. Hammer's morespace Portable is a compact, lightweight portable hard drive that allows users to instantly add more space to both PCs and Macs. Complete with easy to use back-up software, morespace Portable is available now. Priced below comparable offerings, morespace Portable costs under 26¢ per gigabyte (GB) of storage.

morespace Portable is very compact - allowing consumers to take data with them wherever they go. With a skinnable face and compact design, morespace Portable features a 2.5 inch drive, weighs just 5 ounces and offers instant storage capacity for all types of data - all with no external power source.

morespace PortableFor on-the-go consumers, the new morespace is small enough to fit into a shirt pocket and offers users the ability to make their morespace exclusively their own through the use of customizable skins, which will also protect it from scratches. morespace Portable sets itself apart by offering more than just the standard color choices available from its major competitors. By simply visiting http://hammer-storage.com/skins/, users can purchase completely custom skins that feature a favorite photograph, color scheme, artwork, or other fashionable design. One skin is included with the morespace Portable unit to get consumers started, which can easily be removed and replaced with a custom skin of the consumer's choice.

Joe Cousins, executive vice president, enterprise solutions for Bell Microproducts, commented that, "Electronic devices have become such an integral part of our every day lives, and Hammer Storage wanted to provide a creative outlet for consumers to express their individuality and uniqueness by giving them the ability to make morespace their own. The only limit to skinning the morespace unit is one's imagination - the possibilities are endless to make each morespace unique to its owner."

Cousins continued, "Consumers are becoming more and more comfortable making personal storage purchases. Familiarity with the options available combined with the consolidation of suppliers of major computer products is causing consumers to place more emphasis on the look and feel of the products being offered."

morespace PortableWith the worldwide external and network storage market reaching 47 million units sold in 2007, today's increasingly digital lifestyles and massive amounts of data accumulated necessitate storage options that are simple, reliable and affordable. In fact, consumers are demanding such options. Hammer Storage is focused on simplifying data storage solutions for home and office users who need to protect and share their irreplaceable digital memories including treasured family photos, home movies and music downloads. Additionally, the new morespace Portable is very compact - allowing consumers to take this data with them wherever they go.

morespace Portable follows in the successful footsteps of Hammer Storage's initial morespace offering, morespace External, in providing a simple storage solution for home and office users. With a skinnable face and compact design, morespace Portable features a 2.5 inch drive, weighs just 5 ounces and offers instant storage capacity for all types of data - all with no external power source.

"morespace Portable is the perfect answer for consumers that need more storage capacity immediately, and need to be able to take it with them and access it in multiple locations. Hammer Storage is able to break down cost barriers by utilizing Bell Micro's market leadership in hard disk drives and storage, giving us the ability to offer morespace Portable at the extremely competitive price point of less than 26 cents per GB of storage," added Cousins.

morespace Portablemorespace Portable is backed by a one-year warranty and the support of Hammer Storage's data storage experts. Capacities currently offered include 160 GB up to 500 GB, with 750 GB expected to be available in early 2009. To learn more about morespace, please call 1-800-237-0840 or go to hammer-storage.com

morespace Portable is priced as follows:

  • 160 GB = $59.99
  • 250 GB = $79.99
  • 320 GB = $89.99
  • 400 GB = $119.99
  • 500 GB = $139.99

Software

Ohanaware Updates Funtastic Photos: Faster, Better, and Cheaper

PR: Ohanaware, a company specializing in photo editing software announced the immediate availability of an update to their flagship product "Funtastic Photos". Funtastic Photos is an easy to use photo editor for the Macintosh platform. This update (free to existing customer) features over 20 improvements to Funtastic Photos and strengthens Ohanaware's commitment to making Funtastic Photos one of the best photo editors available.

Funtastic Photos is Ohanaware's amazingly easy to use photo editor for Apple Macintosh computers. Funtastic Photos features some of the most advanced photo editing technologies, such as Nondestructive Photo Editing. This amazing technology allows nonpermanant manipulations to made to a photo, these changes can then be altered or removed at any time. The edited photo can easily be 'rewound' back to its original state, regardless when or how much editing has taken place.

Funtastic Photos makes photo editing so simple with 1-Click Styles, a single click can fix problems and enhance the photo in ways never imagined. Funtastic Photos ships with 50+ 1-Click Styles which provide some original, unique and cool photo effects. Printing photos at home will never be the same. Funtastic Photos offers a range of inspiring layout designs, including amazing picture collages (or photo mosaics to some), addictive photo cubes and simple greeting cards.

Funtastic Photos is a combined Photo Editor and Photo Sharing tool. Having the Photo Sharing built-in to Funtastic Photos makes it real easy to quickly edit a photo and share it online using e-mail, attractive Fun Cards, and direct uploads to the most popular photo sharing sites such as Facebook, Picasa Web Albums, MobileMe & Flickr. A trial version of Funtastic Photos can be downloaded from Ohanaware's website.

The Funtastic Photos 1.0.2 update is the best release of Funtastic Photos to date. 5 new 1-Click Styles and 2 more borders have been added to Funtastic Photos, giving the user even more choice. Quite a few of the existing 1-Click Styles and effect modules in Funtastic Photos are now up to 330% faster, thanks largely to some serious optimization and re-factoring of one of the slowest routines. Minor speed improvements have been made to other areas such as image loading, but none as dramatic as 330%! A new effect module was added, it replicates the old Date & Stamp that featured on cameras in the 90s, it comes complete with a retro style and customization features.

The iPhoto integration was improved, by adding the ability for Funtastic Photos to find iPhoto libraries when they are not in the default location. Several bugs were fixed with the MobileMe uploader, including one that could prevent some MobileMe accounts from being used. Photo Cubes now have assembly instructions printed in the white space making it easier for everyone to assemble photo cubes. Other improvements include adding a flash to the iSight Camera, fixing a problem with the motion blur, improving the browser experience and amongst other things, more options to the Fun Card Sender.

For the entire month of December Ohanaware are offering 20% off everything in their online store. This includes Funtastic Photos Single User, now $27.99 (USD and before tax). The family pack is now $57 (USD and before tax). Ohanaware are also offering a 3 for 2 Gift Card Pack, where you can get 3 gift cards for the price of 2, and then 20% discount on top of that! Happy Holidays From Ohanaware. Funtastic Photos 1.0.2 is a FREE update to all existing Funtastic Photos customers. This new release can be downloaded from Ohanaware's website.

System Requirements:

Funtastic Photos requires a Power Macintosh G4, G5 or Intel based Macintosh computer, running Mac OS X v 10.4 or later. It is recommended to have at least 512 MB of RAM.

Funtastic Photos is available today for the seasonal price of $27.99 (USD). A free unlimited trial can be downloaded from Ohanaware's web site, during the trial Funtastic Photos will watermark any exported or shared photos. Ohanaware provides a wallet friendly family pack, up to 5 people can install and use Funtastic Photos, for the great price of $56.00 (USD).** Gift Vouchers are available, enabling anyone to give the gift of Funtastic Photos, during December we're doing a special gift voucher pack, 3 for the price of 2. For more information or to download a free trial version, visit Ohanaware's website.

Songbird, a Free Mozilla-Based Web Media Player

PR: Songbird is a desktop Web player, a digital jukebox and Web browser mash-up. Like Winamp, it supports extensions and skins feathers. Like Firefox, it is built from Mozilla, cross-platform and open source.

Songbird

Discover Flickr photos, YouTube videos, last.fm biographies, Google news (and more) for the currently playing artist.

  • Last.fm Scrobbling - Integrated Last.fm support allows you to scrobble, love, and ban your tracks.
  • Concert Tickets - Discover upcoming shows in your area based on the artists in your library. Event listings powered by Songkick.
  • SHOUTcast Radio - Stream music using the integrated SHOUTcast Radio directory.
  • Customize with Add-ons - Enhance Songbird with community contributed add-ons like MediaFlow or build one of your own.

Features

  • Media Importing - Add media to Songbird by importing from your file system or iTunes.
  • Media Playback - Songbird supports MP3, FLAC, and Vorbis on all platforms; WMA and WMA DRM on Windows; and AAC and FairPlay on Windows and Mac.
  • GStreamer - Songbird now uses GStreamer as our main media playback system, across all platforms.
  • Smart Playlists - Create dynamic playlists that automatically update based on criteria you set.
  • Web Browser - Songbird includes an integrated web browser with features like bookmarking, tabbed browsing, and more.
  • Cross Platform - Songbird runs on Windows, Linux and Mac.
  • Multi-language Support - Over 25 completed, community-contributed localizations and growing!
  • Automatic Updates - Always stay up to date using Songbird's built-in automatic updates.
  • Setup Assistant - Quickly setup Songbird for the first time.
  • Custom UI - Make Songbird your own by choosing from dozens of different skins feathers.
  • Library Management - Browse, organize, sort and search your media.
  • Developer Support - Songbird is getting better everyday thanks to its open platform and growing developer community.

In Beta

  • Device Support - Songbird's device support is limited. The Device Support wiki has additional details about what's supported. Apple iPhones, iPod touch, and Microsoft Zune devices are not yet supported.
  • Metadata Management - Songbird supports reading from and writing metadata to many music file formats. We still need to support the ability to fetch additional metadata from popular lookup services.
  • Album Artwork - Display the currently playing track's album art and write new artwork back to the file. We still need to support album art fetching.
  • Subscriptions - Subscribe to music blogs and download music directly to your library. We're working on ways to improve this feature.
  • Performance & Stability - Improving the performance and stability of Songbird is an ongoing focus. Each release we set aside dedicated cycles to ensure we're making progress.

Coming Soon

  • CD Rip - CD Rip and encoding are forthcoming. Check the roadmap for details.
  • Watch Folders - Automatically importing media from defined folders is coming soon. Check the roadmap for details.
  • Video - We're still nailing the music player experience, but can't wait to properly integrate video! Check the roadmap for details.

New in version 1.0:

  • Improved Audio/Playback Functionality
  • Now usees GStreamer as main media playback system, across all platforms - giving higher performance, better reliability, and a platform for much more media-related functionality in the future.
  • Songbird supports MP3, FLAC, and Vorbis on all platforms; WMA on Windows; and AAC on Windows and Mac.
  • UI Experience Improvements
  • User experience improvements include these significant visual and functional changes:
  • Many new keyboard shortcuts added. The list of those supported per platform can be viewed via "Keyboard Shortcuts" selection in the Help menu.

System requirements: Mac OS X 10.4 or later.

System support: Intel

Freeware

Acclivity Purchases MYOB US, Strengthens Mac Product Development

PR: Acclivity, current US distributor of MYOB software, announced it has acquired MYOB US Inc. and its Mac (and PC) development team from MYOB Limited of Australia. Acclivity will now drive global development of MYOB's Mac OS business management products - FirstEdge, AccountEdge, and AccountEdge Network Edition.

Acclivity will continue to enhance and deliver these products to its US customers. Acclivity will also develop the Mac OS products for MYOB, who will be its exclusive republisher in Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.

Additionally, Acclivity's new development team will continue to develop the Windows product line for their US customer base.

"This deal delivers benefits to our customers on several fronts," said Scott Davisson, Acclivity Managing Partner. "First and foremost, it allows us to author the product roadmap for our US customers on Mac and Windows. We think they'll be thrilled with the product direction in the coming years."

"We'll also be able to assert our Mac focus by building great solutions for small businesses that use Macs; an often under-served group," Davisson said.

"This deal also allows us the flexibility to enter markets outside of the US," added Tom Nash, Acclivity Managing Partner. "We're now free to explore how we will bring AccountEdge back to Canada. By popular demand, I might add."

Current MYOB US customers, as well as Australian and New Zealand Mac customers, will continue to use the same products and have access to the same support resources to which they've grown accustomed. "There will be no customer disruption," Nash said.

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