∞ Office for Mac 2011 SP1 coming next week

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Microsoft will release Office for Mac 2011 Service Pack 1 sometime next week, the company told The Loop on Wednesday.

The SP1 update will be big for Mac users and will contain increased stability, security, performance enhancements, and some new features. The biggest new features will come in Outlook.

The update will enable calendar syncing between Outlook for Mac and Apple’s Sync Services. This means you can now sync your Outlook calendars, as well as your contacts, notes and tasks with any service or device that supports Sync Services.

That includes your iPhone and iPad. Microsoft’s Senior Director of Product Management, Pat Fox, told The Loop that this was one of the most requested features from Office for Mac 2011 users.

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∞ Universal Audio to release Lexicon 224 Digital Reverb plug-in

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Universal Audio (UA) on Wednesday said it would release a new plug-in that is sure to excite musicians and engineers — the Lexicon 224 Digital Reverb.

The Lexicon 224 hardware unit was first introduced in 1978 and has remained a standard for reverbs ever since.

Universal Audio captured all eight reverb programs for its newest plug-in. Typical of the precise modeling it exhibits with all of its plug-ins, UA included every tunable parameter and the original unit’s input transformers and early AD/DA converters.

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∞ iPad 2 tops Consumer Reports tablet ratings

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Consumer Reports on Tuesday said that Apple’s iPad topped its ratings of 10 tablets.

“So far, Apple is leading the tablet market in both quality and price, which is unusual for a company whose products are usually premium priced,” said Paul Reynolds, Electronics Editor at Consumer Reports. “However, it’s likely we’ll see more competitive pricing in tablets as other models begin to hit the market.”

The consumer watch-dog said the iPad’s closest competitor is the Motorola Xoom. Consumer Reports tested tablets from Archos, Dell, Motorola, Samsung, and ViewSonic, as well as a number of models from Apple.

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∞ Apple wins $625 million patent lawsuit appeal

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A federal judge overturned an earlier ruling that would have cost Apple $625 million.

Apple filed the appeal in October 2010 after losing the patent case to Mirror Worlds. The jury found that Apple infringed on three patents and awarded over $200 million per patent, but the judge didn’t agree, according to a Bloomberg report.

“Mirror Worlds may have painted an appealing picture for the jury, but it failed to lay a solid foundation sufficient to support important elements it was required to establish under the law,” wrote U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis.

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∞ Vox offers rebates on Joe Satriani guitar pedals

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Vox Amplification on Monday announced it is offering users a rebate on select Joe Satriani guitar effects pedals.

Starting today and running until April 30, you can get a $30 rebate on the Satchurator, Time Machine, and Big Bad Wah. The rebate is available as a download on the Vox Web site.

The Satchurator is a distortion pedal that Vox says is capable of very high gain levels, but operates quietly. “The Satchurator is the most musical, most dynamic, multi-function distortion pedal I’ve ever played through,” said Satriani.

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∞ MacScan 2.8 adds support for Firefox 4

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SecureMac on Monday released an update for its anti-spyware application for Mac OS X, MacScan.

MacScan 2.8 adds support to scan Firefox 4 for Tracking Cookies and the ability to clean Firefox 4 web files like browsing and download history. A bug that caused some Firefox files to not be cleaned under certain conditions was also fixed.

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∞ Julien's win lawsuit in Michael Jackson Neverland auction

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Prestigious auction house, Juliens, on Monday said it won a lawsuit brought against the company by a French Canadian after Michael Jackson’s Neverland auction was canceled.

Richard LaPointe said he was a collector of Jackson memorabilia. Apparently he placed absentee bids which totaled $6,500 for 14 items when the auction was first announced.

However, Jackson decided to cancel the auction, so none of the items were sold. LaPointe said he suffered $126 million in damages because he didn’t get the items before Jackson died.

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∞ Pandora says federal grand jury probing Apple, Android apps

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Music service Pandora disclosed that it has been served with a subpoena to produce documents for a federal grand jury looking into Apple and Android apps.

“In early 2011, we were served with a subpoena to produce documents in connection with a federal grand jury, which we believe was convened to investigate the information sharing processes of certain popular applications that run on the Apple and Android mobile platforms,” said Pandora.

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∞ Man shot in the head trying to rob Apple Store

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One of three people who tried to rob an Apple Store on Monday morning was shot dead by a security guard.

The Apple Store, located in the Otay Ranch Town Center in Chula Vista, was the scene of an apparent smash and grab by two men and one woman, according to Police. According to 10news.com, a private security guard interrupted the trio in the middle of the robbery.

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∞ Album recorded entirely in GarageBand for iPad released

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You knew it was going to happen. Someone was going to release an album recorded on the iPad using GarageBand.

Pop punk band The Ultramods on Monday released its latest album that was done using GarageBand for iPad’s eight-track recording studio. All of the instruments used to record the album come bundled in GarageBand, according to the band.

Even the vocals were recorded using the iPad’s built-in microphone.

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∞ Apogee unveils the Duet 2

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High-end audio company Apogee released a video showing off its newest product, the Duet 2.

Apogee makes audio gear that’s used in studios and live performances by some of the biggest names in the business. However, with products like the Duet 2, you get the quality of Apogee in your home studio.

The Duet 2 features two combination mic/instrument connectors (XLR and 1/4-inch) built into a single connector and two balanced 1/4-inch connectors for speakers.

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∞ Patent shows iWeb could come to the iPad

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A patent filing from Apple shows the company could bring its Web site building tool, iWeb, to the iPad.

Apple lists apps that have been designed to work with gestures, including Keynote, Pages and Numbers, all part of the company’s iWork suite. One other app is mentioned too — iWeb, according to Patently Apple.

The iWork suite of apps has already been brought to the iPad, but iWeb has not. In fact, on the Mac, iWeb is one of Apple’s least updated apps. Part of the iLife suite, iWeb was basically ignored in the last round of updates for the suite.

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∞ RIM has two CEOs and three COOs

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Purchasing a product from any company shows a level of trust by the consumer, but how are we supposed to trust a company like RIM.

I had a look at RIM’s executive team over the weekend and was surprised to find the company has three Chief Operating Officers. Of course, we all know they already have two Chief Executive Officers, which adds up to a corporate structural mess.

Seriously, how is the buying public supposed to trust a company that can’t even decide who the hell is running the place? It’s like the hierarchy of the company is a straight horizontal line.

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∞ Apple releases 'We Believe' iPad 2 commercial

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Apple’s TV commercials are almost as legendary as its products and there is a new one released for the iPad 2.

Dubbed “We Believe” the commercial talks about what Apple believes about the iPad 2. It’s quite a different approach for Apple, who usually highlight the apps in their commercials.

The commercial’s text is:

This is what we believe. Technology alone is not enough. Faster, thinner, lighter — those are all good things. But when technology gets out of the way, everything becomes more delightful, even magical. That’s when you leap forward. That’s when you end up with something like this.

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∞ Sony CEO reveals details of the iPhone 5

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Apple’s new iPhone 5 will come with camera sensors built by Sony, according to the company’s CEO.

Speaking with Walt Mossberg last night, Sony CEO Howard Stringer said that its camera sensor facility in Japan was affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami. The end result is that anyone getting sensors from that factory will experience delays, according to 9to5mac.com.

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∞ Verizon iPhone 4 most acquired handset in February

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New data released on Friday shows that Apple’s iPhone 4 on Verizon was the most acquired handset in February.

According to the report released by comScore, the Verizon iPhone helped Apple push its three month average percentage of mobile subscribers up 0.9 percent, the largest of any manufacturer.

According to the data, the top mobile OEM is Samsung with 24.8 percent (up 0.3), LG at 20.9 percent (same as last period), Motorola 16.1 percent ( down 0.9), RIM 8.6 percent (down 0.2) and Apple at 7.5 percent.

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∞ Eleven Rack: Toughest piece of gear in music

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I’ve been using Avid’s Eleven Rack for the last couple of weeks and have been enjoying my time with the unit. I’ll have a full review in the next week, but something happened last night that I just had to share.

I always tell people that I don’t baby my gear. Whether it’s computers or music equipment, I use it like it’s meant to be used. I don’t abuse anything, but if I plug my guitar into it, there’s going to be some punishment coming.

Little did I know just how much.

So far, my time with the Eleven Rack has been spent in the studio at fairly low volume. However, last night the drummer came over and we spent a couple of hours jamming. It’s one of those jams where you just play whatever comes into your head — some Ozzy, Sabbath, or stuff we make up.

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∞ The Macalope lists the 'Fools of the Year'

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Macworld’s mythical horned creature, the Macalope, listed its “Fools of the Year” on Friday and it’s quite a list. There are many lists that you don’t mind being a part of, but this isn’t one of them. I am mentioned, but thankfully it’s in a good way. Much respect to the Macalope.

Let the Macalope start off by saying that he’s sure most if not all of the individuals on this list are probably very nice people. (Except for Rob Enderle—he’s actually a kind of fish.) So, don’t confuse calling them fools with thinking that they’re somehow bad in general. It’s just that, when it comes to Apple, their opinions seem, well, foolish.

∞ Apple marketing VP leaves company

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Apple’s Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Communications, Allison Johnson, is leaving the company. She is apparently leaving to start a marketing firm — seems kind of odd to me, but everyone has different priorities. John Paczkowski has the scoop on … Continued

∞ BGR reviews the HTC ThunderBolt

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I used to buy a new phone every couple of months. As soon as the newest cool thing came out, I had to have it. For the past four years, I haven’t found anything that could outdo my iPhone, but … Continued

∞ Kissing Steve Ballmer's feet

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Joe Wilcox says he’ll kiss Steve Ballmer’s feet if Windows Phone is No. 2 in the market by 2015. Wilcox is referring to a report by IDC earlier today that Windows Phone 7 will overtake iOS, thanks to Nokia. Joe … Continued