Apple subsidiary has released of its flagship FileMaker Pro database. The updated software purports to make building and maintaining databases even easier, while acknowledging that many users are accustomed to using spreadsheets for database purposes by including pivot table-like reporting and Excel-like charting features. FileMaker Pro Server has also been updated, dropping the simultaneous client access limit for the Advanced version.

FileMaker Pro already laid claim to being one of the easiest cross-platform database tools available, but the company added additional features designed to enhance that ease of use. The Quick Start screen has been improved, offering clear ways to begin a new database. You can start from scratch; import existing data in tab or comma-separated files, Excel spreadsheets, or Bento databases; or choose from a number of Starter Solution templates. A new invoicing template has been added in version 11 to make that common business task practically a plug-and-chug operation; customer data can later be linked for other purposes.

Two weeks ago,  that Internet search giant Google had acquired third-party iPhone mail application reMail. At the time, Google rehired reMail CEO and programmer Gabor Cselle to work as a product manager on the Gmail team. reMail was then pulled from the App Store and Google decided to discontinue the app, only offering support through the end of March. However, Google recently contacted Ars to say that it had decided to make the code available as open source on Google Code under the Apache 2.0 License.

The states that the code is free to use, alter, and redistribute as the user sees fit. Further, users can charge for any aspect of the software they choose, including the application itself or support. That means people can use portions of code to add functionality in their own applications or create totally new ones without having to release them under an open source license. Google over alternatives and uses it for Android.

This may still mean the end of reMail, but it's good news for anyone looking to incorporate more advanced e-mail functionality into their own applications. As Cselle pointed out in his , he has already dealt with many of the obstacles associated with developing an e-mail client, including communication with IMAP and parsing MIME messages. In other words, there's no need to reinvent the wheel if you don't have to.

If you're interested in poking around, the code can be found on , where there has already been a fair amount of action since the announcement on Friday.

"The best camera is the one you have with you" is an old photography adage, and Apple may be looking to extend that principle to its iPhone. And it's not about the iPhone as a camera, either—if you always have it with you, an iPhone could serve as a remote control device for any number of uses, including as a wireless electronic key.

Using the iPhone as an electronic key is part of a recently published patent application titled "Motion Based Input Selection." It's important to remember that the patent application itself merely describes a unique way of using motion detection to generate an input, such as turning a virtual combination lock-style dial. Still, it's the suggested uses of a unique numerical sequence or other combination of input that is generating excitement.

The Telegraph says that the patent is already being , based on the suggestion that a "device" such as an iPhone could use the motion-based input method to generate a combination which is then "transmitted to an external device to unlock the external device." Such an external device could be anything, including an "electronic lock that may be used to access a door, car, house, or other physical area."

The patent in particular describes methods in which the input could be selecting combinations of numbers, letters, colors, or images, or even a combination. In fact, if the external device is suitably capable, it can send an application the necessary configuration of input needed to unlock it. The possible inputs can also be randomized, and the transmission between the mobile device and the external device could encrypted for greater security.

Since the iPhone is the kind of device you tend to always have with you, it could be a great all-in-one control device. For instance, Apple also recently filed a patent application for using the iPhone as a sort of —one that can dim the lights, adjust the surround sound, switch the TV to "cinema mode," all in preparation for watching a movie at night. The company already offers an app that can control iTunes or an Apple TV remotely, and other apps exist to control home automation systems or a DSLR tethered to a WiFi-equipped computer. Car security firm Viper also offers an app to lock, unlock, and remotely start a vehicle that has the company's .

Though many remote applications already exist for the iPhone—including one that locks and unlocks a car—perhaps Apple could leverage the patent's motion sensing to build an app with a consistent interface that is designed to communicate with a wide variety of lock devices, making the iPhone an out-of-the-box electronic key.

Apple's lawsuit against HTC may have been the talk of the Internet for most of the week, but Valve's teasers for Steam coming to the Mac took the prize for most exciting news. MacHeist also released a new software bundle and the rumor mill gossipped about HDMI on the next Mac mini. Need to catch up?

: Valve has begun sending images to gaming sites showing its properties tarted up in Mac colors and images. Is Steam coming to OS X? We should know very soon.

: Apple's could be the start of a , or the start of a proxy fight against Google's Android. Either way, it may become the poster child for the ills of the US patent system.

Apple has announced that it is scrapping its old developer programs, which included multiple tiers that cost thousands at the top end, for one modeled on its wildly successful iPhone Developer Program. Simply called the , it will cost just $99 per year.

Included in the new and improved Mac Developer Program is access to prerelease builds of Mac OS X, member-only developer forums, a series of instructional videos from Apple engineers, and two direct technical support incidents per year. The TSIs give developers direct access to an Apple engineer for assistance with code problems or other troubleshooting, and developers have the option of buying additional TSIs as needed.

The new program replaces the ADC Premier, Select, and Student developer programs. The biggest difference between the new and old programs, aside from the much lower price, is the loss of the ADC Hardware Purchase Program benefit that offered steep discounts on Macs for the Select and Premier account holders. Some developers have already said that they'll happily take the lower cost of entry over the hardware discount.

Premier accounts, which cost over $3,000, also used to include one free ticket to Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, which normally cost $1,200. Ostensibly, any Mac Developer Program member will have a chance to buy a ticket next year (at least until it sells out, like it has the past two years).

The lower barrier to entry is expected to spur an influx of Mac developers, much as the iPhone Developer Program did. Developers familiar with developing for the iPhone should have a relatively easy time of transitioning to developing for the Mac, since both use the same Xcode IDE, Objective-C language, and many similar APIs (though obviously UI considerations are quite different).

Current ADC memberships remain in effect until they expire. Developers that bought an ADC membership after Feburary 1 can to get a refund if they wish to join the Mac Developer Program instead. The Mac Developer Program will be the only program Apple offers going forward. Basic access to Xcode developer tools and released versions of Mac OS X SDKs remains free.

When (PRX) developed the free  for the iPhone, the nonprofit hoped for 500,000 downloads. It now has 2.5 million. "I'm very happy with that number," says PRX executive director Jake Shapiro.

He should be. The PRX dev team has already cranked out two great iPhone apps, one for public radio in general and one for the popular show  in particular. Both apps have positioned public radio as a major force when it comes to on-demand mobile applications.

An in iTunes may be a sign that Apple will soon allow developers to offer upgrade pricing for iPhone apps. Developer Fraser Speirs was warned that the "discounted price is only available to customers who own a previous version" of an item when he tried updating all his apps via iTunes.

Developers of desktop software typically offer a discount to users who have paid for a previous version of software when they upgrade to the next major release. On the iPhone, minor updates to apps are free to all users, but there is no mechanism in the App Store to offer current users upgrade pricing on new major version releases.

Some developers have gotten around this limitation by developing a new version and naming it with the major version number—think Rolando 2 or Tweetie 2. However, if users want that version, they have to pay full price. There's no way to offer someone who bought the original versions of Rolando or Tweetie a discount. Many users balked when Tweetie 2 was a full-price paid upgrade, though the improvements were generally compelling enough to .

The dialog box that Speirs encountered could have been an error since he was updating apps he already purchased. Still, it appears to be a sign Apple is testing the capability to offer discounts to buyers of previous versions of apps. Both developers and users have been asking for such a capability since the App Store launched in 2008.

UPDATE: It appears that this dialog box isn't new—9to5Mac's Seth Weintraub pointed us at from 2008 that mentions the same dialog box. We then found that also mentions encountering the dialog box, which appears related somehow to being logged in to the wrong account when attempting to update apps.

However, the wording of the dialog is clearly meant to refer to upgrade pricing of some sort. If iTunes is capable of determining whether you've paid for a previous version and can offer "discounted pricing," that still means someone at Apple at least thought about how to implement an upgrade mechanism for the App Store. We're still hoping iPhone OS 4, along with the necessary changes in iTunes and the App Store, introduces the capability.

When you're programming for the iPhone, time plays an important role. The core NSDate class could be refined a little in how it approaches many common tasks. Did two time events happen within the same hour? Does a given date represent a time today, or yesterday? Ars looks at this problem by building out a set of classes inspired by work done on the by iPhone Developer Bryce Wolfson. Here, we build these ideas out, starting from scratch and pushing the concept even further, to provide a handy set of date methods and properties that you can use in your own application

The folks behind the scenes at MacHeist are , this time with a promotion they call the nanoBundle 2. The software bundle includes five Mac apps for $19.95 with the possibility of two more being unlocked if certain sales figures are met. The retail value of all the applications, including the two that are currently locked, is over $260. Once again, the team is giving a portion (25 percent) of all sales to a charity of your choice. You can choose from a list of 11 at checkout.

The bundle is what we have come to expect from the folks at MacHeist: a couple apps you may never use, one or two that you will use once, and two or three that may find their way into your everyday workflow. Included this time around are , , , , and .  will be unlocked when 50,000 bundles are ordered, and will be unlocked at an undisclosed number of sales (which will be revealed after ToMI is unlocked). Each one of the included applications retail for more than the $19.95 asking price for the bundle.

I don't have any firsthand experience with any of these applications, but I can say that at least one current and one one former colleague here at Ars swear by MacJournal for all of their writing needs. CoverScout seems like a useful utility that fills album artwork gaps in your iTunes library and, if you have been looking for an FTP client, it may be worth at least checking out Flow.

If you are worried about the unlockable applications, we should note that, in the history of MacHeist, the entire bundle has always been unlocked regardless of sales figures. The bundle will be on sale through March 9.

Apple's recent affair with cloud computing appears to be far from a dalliance: Apple has supposedly spoken to some of the major film studios about allowing iTunes users to store their purchased content on the company's servers, according to unnamed sources speaking to . The content, including TV shows and music, would be accessible from all Internet-connected devices.

Since Apple doesn't comment on anything before it's final, we're left to speculate on the reasoning behind such a move. Some analysts say that sales of digital movies and music may have declined between 2008 and 2009 because users are becoming wary of how much hard drive space they devote to these files. This may be a bit of a reach, but HD movies can indeed add up pretty quickly for those who haven't gotten around to upgrading their computers or getting a beastly sized external drive.

Before Apple can enact cloud storage, though, it will need the approval of content creators and studios to do so. Unfortunately for Apple, many media companies have been joining forces to exert some control over digital media standards. One such group is the , which counts among its members Twentieth Century Fox Film, Netflix, and Sony. Nonetheless, Apple is that is speculated to be the future home of Apple's streaming headquarters, with streaming technology provided by .

John Gruber of speculates that the cloud storage could mean one of two things: Apple may want to provide a sort of backup or sync point for users' media, or it wants to remove local storage for the customer entirely (thereby exercising even more control over the user's content). Removing local storage would bring the iTunes Store model dangerously close to that of Netflix and other streaming services; at a minimum, customers would no longer be able to claim even the limited ownership they have of their media in the current format.

A backup, on the other hand, might be more appealing if it's pitched the right way. As it stands, recovery of iTunes Store-purchased media is far from difficult— often a note to customer service will do the trick— but being able to get whole seasons of TV shows off a cramped hard drive without this extra step to get them back indicates that a cloud-based library- or backup-type solution might actually be helpful to some users.