Notable software releases this week include ScreenFlow 1.5, MercuryMover 2.0.3, TextExpander 2.5.2, MacBook SMC Update 1.3, WireTap Studio 1.0.8, Things 1.0.4, and the ConceptDraw WebWave plug-in for ConceptDraw Pro.

Notable software releases this week include Simon 2.5, PasswordWallet 4.4.4, VMware Fusion 2.0.2, Chax 2.2, and Nisus Writer Express 3.2.

Apple's first security update of 2009 is a major one, with patches for a series of serious vulnerabilities. All Mac users and server admins should apply the update immediately.

A pair of announcements from Google and Safari Books Online, along with hints from Amazon, promise an ever-improving future for ebook reading on the iPhone and iPod touch.

In a much-anticipated announcement, Amazon has thrown back the curtains on the second-generation Kindle, refining the industrial design and improving some of the hardware specs, but not significantly improving the device's onscreen layout capabilities.

Notable software releases this week include Things 1.0.3, Firefox 3.0.6, GarageBand 5.0.1, PageSender 4.4, BBEdit 9.1.1, and Twitterrific 3.2.

Still running iWork '08? Apple has released maintenance updates for the now-obsolete productivity suite, though, as usual, it's not clear what has changed.

If you haven't yet had the chance to check out Google Earth, version 5.0 offers some great reasons to do so, including 3D ocean floor terrains, historical imagery, and even the surface of Mars.

Been avoiding Google's Gmail because of the requirement that you be online at all times when using it? That's no longer necessary, thanks to offline access provided by the just-released Google Gears support for Gmail.

Spain's Prado Museum is home to a world-class collection of art, and now Google Earth's Prado Museum is offering 14 of its masterpieces on loan, to you!

Notable software releases this week include PersonalBrain 5.0.2, Typinator 3.4, iPhone 2.2.1 Software Update, Apple's iLife Media Browser Update, iDVD 7.0.3, HoudahSpot 2.4, and SpamSieve 2.7.3.

Microsoft said it will shed as many as 10,000 current jobs, while adding as many as 3,000 new jobs as they shift from desktop systems to cloud computing and other businesses.

Notable software releases this week include Default Folder X 4.1.1, QuickTime 7.6, Mellel 2.6, and Sandvox 1.5.4.

Apple enjoyed its best quarterly revenue and earnings for the previous financial quarter, racking up a $1.6 billion profit on $10.2 billion in revenue.

The Wall Street Journal says that the SEC is looking into how Apple disclosed the health problems of Steve Jobs.