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TidBITS Watchlist: Notable Software Updates for 2 April 2013

Final Cut Pro X 10.0.8 — Apple has released Final Cut Pro X 10.0.8, a maintenance release with a short list of targeted fixes and improvements to the professional video editor. The update adds an option to display ProRes Log C files from ARRI ALEXA cameras using standard Rec. 709 color and contrast levels, provides support for the Sony XAVC codec up to 4K resolution, renders time-reversed clips in the background, adds the capability to use key commands to adjust Clip Appearance settings in the timeline, and enables you to view reel number metadata located in the timecode track of video files. The release also fixes an issue
where green frames were generated when using some third-party effects, resolves performance issues that occurred with certain titles and effects, ensures correct volume levels for mono audio files in a surround project export, and fixes the niggling problem of drop zones getting reset to the first frame of a video after a restart. In addition to Final Cut Pro X, Apple has also updated Motion to version 5.0.7 (with fixes for the green frames and performance issues with titles, plus a stability issue when splitting layers in the timeline) and Compressor to version 4.0.7 (removing the 1 GB file size
limit when uploading to Vimeo and fixing stability issues with MPEG-2 files and Qmaster). ($299.99 new in the Mac App Store, free update, 1.64 GB, release notes)

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PDFpen 6.0.1 — Following the recent release of version 6.0 of its two PDF-manipulation programs (see “PDFpen 6.0 Adds Word Export,” 19 March 2013), Smile has updated PDFpen and PDFpenPro to version 6.0.1 with several essential fixes. The new release enables you to export Microsoft Word documents when running Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, and Preview and Quick Look will no longer be able to display a password-protected PDF saved by PDFpenPro. The update also fixes issues with importing and using Library items, ensures that PDF
portfolios and LaTeX-generated PDFs can be opened, resolves a potential hang when right-clicking in the sidebar, enables use of the Populate Scripts menu in Lion, and fixes links to PDFpenPro-specific help topics. Note that as of this writing, both PDFpen and PDFpenPro have yet to be updated to version 6.0.1 in the Mac App Store. Upgrades from a previous version of PDFpen or PDFpenPro cost $30 via Smile, but are free to those who purchased on or after 15 October 2012. If you want to upgrade to PDFpenPro from a previous version of PDFpen, the price is $40. ($59.95/$99.95 new with a 20-percent
discount for TidBITS members, free update from version 6.0, 49.6/50.3 MB)

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ChronoSync 4.3.7 — Econ Technologies has released ChronoSync 4.3.7, bringing a few improvements to how the synchronization/backup application works with network volumes. The update now enables you to specify a login domain when entering a username in network volume Target Options, plus it adds logic that aids in detecting when a mounted SMB volume becomes disconnected, and changes the way file and folder information is collected from NAS volumes to prevent overloading and hanging. The release also fixes a bug where mounted local and network volumes were not ignored when scanning only local files.
Other squashed bugs include a problem where scheduled syncs would stop running after a missed scheduled sync, a hang caused by sending a notification email message after aborting a sync, and a minor problem with date conversion when no date is specified. ($40 new, free update, 28.9 MB, release notes)

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