Roxio has released a new version of Toast for the Mac. Yes, some Macs no longer have optical drives, but Roxio has re-written Toast adding several new features to make it still worth upgrading. I have just downloaded Toast 11 as I just can not think of owning a Mac without Toast installed as I use it almost daily.

Toast 11 adds many requested features such as recording to multiple drives simultaneously, a much better software updater, and the ability to save custom video profiles. This is quite useful for converting video for a particular device. Toast 11 also brings 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.

Toast now includes – 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.

Toast 11 now has built-in video tutorials which should help stop my phone from ringing with the usual how-to questions!

Continue reading Roxio Releases Toast 11 and Toast 11 Pro…

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Steve Jobs makes a surprise visit and unveils the next generation iPad. The new iPad 2 is faster, thinner and lighter. Here are the basics:

• Apple A5 processor, dual core CPU
• 2x CPU speed, 9x graphics speed improvement
• Front and rear cameras with FaceTime and PhotoBooth
• Gryoscope
• 33% thinner, 13.4mm to 8.8mm thin — thinner than an iPhone 4, and lighter than the previous iPad
• AT&T or Verizon 3G models
• White and Black iPad 2
• Same original iPad battery life, over 10 hours of usage and a month of standby time

Pricing for the new iPad lines up exactly with the original model: iPad Wi-Fi will be available in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacitties for $499, $599, and $699 respectively. The iPad Wi-Fi + 3G will be available in the aforementioned sizes for $629, $729, and $829. The new model will go on sale in the U.S. on March 11th with many more countries joining in on March 25th.

Announced along with the iPad 2 is iMovie and GarageBand for iPad which will sell for $4.99 each in the App Store. Apple also introduced a new Smart Cover for the iPad 2.

Read more at the Apple website