News Archive for 00/05/09

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Gerry's ICQ d43.2 fixes login bug

05/09, 9:13pm

Gerry's ICQ d43.2 fixes login bug

Gerry's ICQ d43.2 fixes a problem during the login process in the freeware alternative Mirabilis ICQ chat client.

netOcptus 3.6 now available from Netopia

05/09, 9:00pm

netOcptus 3.6 now available from Netopia

Netopia has released netOctopus 3.6, which now includes historical analysis for Macs and PCs to the management application for remote software installation, system configuration, and inventory management. Version 3.6 also integrates its Microsoft Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer.

QuickCode Pro 4.0 helps create 4D Code

05/09, 8:55pm

QuickCode Pro 4.0 helps create 4D Code

Automated Solutions has released QuickCode Pro 4.0, a new version of the $200 4th Dimension utility for simplifying and accelerating 4D code development.

SSEYO Upgrades Koan Generative Music Engine

05/09, 8:55pm

SSEYO Upgrades Koan Generative Music Engine

SSEYO's interactive audio system, SSEYO Koan, adds an integrated software synthesiser as well as full MIDI file playback to its generative music composition engine. The new integrated hybrid digital/analogue synth allows authors to create and control low-bandwidth audio and lets authors apply synth sounds and MP3 samples to MIDI tracks and add FX to the MP3 samples. Koan Pro 2.5 PE is $200 ($80 upgrade), while the Koan Plugin v7, with the ability to drive web animations (e.g.Flash/DHTML) through webpage Javascript, is free.

VST posts drivers for Tri Media

05/09, 7:30pm

VST posts drivers for Tri Media

VST has made available online version 1.0 of the drivers for its unique Tri Media external drive, which can read floppy disks, compact flash, and smart media. The $190 USB device began shipping late last month.

SETI Checker 2.2.1

05/09, 7:29pm

SETI Checker 2.2.1

SETI Checker 2.2.1 is a bug-fix update to the utility for checking and comparing SETI@home statistics. (Readers are encouraged to join Team MacNN's SETI@home effort.)

MetaCreations sells Headline Studio

05/09, 7:00pm

MetaCreations sells Headline Studio

MetaCreations yesterday reported a net loss for the quarter of $3.3 million. More importantly, however, was the SEC filing revealed that the company has sold Headline Studio, the last product in MetaCreations' once industry-leading graphics lineup whose future up until now was uncertain. The product was sold to Fractal.com, a startup company that former MetaCreations executive and Painter creator Mark Zimmer, along with two other colleagues, founded. Ironically, Zimmer and his colleagues had been executives at Fractal Design, a competing company that merged with MetaTools in 1997 to create MetaCreations. Fractal.com has yet to announced its plan for the product or the company as a whole.

Strata 3D 3.0 free download

05/09, 4:20pm

Strata 3D 3.0 free download

Bruce Johnson noticed that Strata 3D 3.0, a new version of the 3-D modeling and rendering software that was used to make the game Myst, has been released in a free downloadable version.

PGP Deskto

05/09, 4:15pm

PGP Deskto

PGP Security today introduced PGP Desktop Security 7.0, a new version of its security suite that offers new personal firewall, intrusion detection, and dynamic peer-to-peer virtual private networks as well as disk/e-mail encryption capabilities, among other features. A Mac beta version will be available mid-May, while the full version is due by the third quarter of this year. A stand-alone version of the product, called PGP Data Security Suite, is expected in late June. Pricing is $36 per node for 500 nodes.

Canto completes Cumulus line with Enterprise

05/09, 4:15pm

Canto completes Cumulus line with Enterprise

Canto has introduced Cumulus 5 - Enterprise Edition, which is designed to manage and archive all kinds of digital assets across platforms. The company introduced previously the Single-User and Workgroup editions. Features of the Enterprise Edition include automatic detection of usage and cross-reference of assets; Live Filtering, for determining the exact categories and records a specific user needs to access; and Internet Client, which allows for accessing and altering record and category field information. This edition will be broadly available in the third quarter. The starter kit with the server application and 20 concurrent client licenses is priced at $33,000.

Waves in Motion releases Script Scheduler 2.0

05/09, 4:12pm

Waves in Motion releases Script Scheduler 2.0

Waves in Motion has released Script Scheduler 2.0, an $80 plug-in which makes controlling and launching scripts within FileMaker Pro databases more powerful. It can trigger any script in any file, any script on a specific day of the week and any script at scheduled intervals. Script Scheduler Deluxe, which adds Azium String Functions, costs $90.

NewerTek ships LightWave [6]

05/09, 1:55pm

NewerTek ships LightWave [6]

NewTek has begun shipping LightWave [6] for Macintosh. The significant upgdate to the $2,500 3-D animation software offers advanced character animation tools, a new modeling paradigm and a new architecture. It also incorporates Open GL technologies, Altivec tuning, QuickTime support and OS X compliance. Registered uses of version 5.6 can purchase the update for $500.

CE Software posts QuicKeys 5.0b4

05/09, 1:55pm

CE Software posts QuicKeys 5.0b4

CE Software has posted QuicKeys 5.0b4, the latest beta of the next version of the company's macro utility. Among the new features in QuicKeys 5.0 are speech triggers, Mac OS 9 compatibility, several toolbar options, long shortcut names, and an improved Type Text plug-in.

3 new icon sets at Mendelini site

05/09, 1:50pm

3 new icon sets at Mendelini site

icons@Mendelini has three new sets of icons: Liquid Buttons, Liquid Folders and Bowie Buttons. These sets are all available in standard Mac OS format and IconDropper packs.

Article on wirelessly networked home

05/09, 1:50pm

Article on wirelessly networked home

The San Francisco Chronicle's Henry Norr has written a complimentary article about his wireless home driven by Apple's AirPort.

Japan's PC shipments exceed TV shipments

05/09, 1:08pm

Japan's PC shipments exceed TV shipments

According to the Japan Electronic Industry Development Association, Japan's PC shipments exceeded its TV shipments. There were 9.94 million PCs shipped during fiscal 1999, a 32 percent jump, and exceeded shipments of TVs for the first time. TV shipments totaled 9.76 million units.

New FireWire Utilities increases speed

05/09, 1:05pm

New FireWire Utilities increases speed

Total Recall Software has released Heat FireWire Utilities, a combination utility for FireWire hard drives that can partition, format, defrag, optimize, and verify FireWire media. The software also boasts the ability to increase drive performance by up to 20 percent, a claim that readers verify as being accurate. A 14-day demo version is available for download.

QPS introduces Que! FireWire CD-RW

05/09, 12:30pm

QPS introduces Que! FireWire CD-RW

QPS has recently introduced Que! Fire CD-RW drive with FireWire controller card and 8x4x32x speeds for all Macintosh and Windows computers. Available in mid-May, the $480 drive has three FireWire ports, comes bundled with CD-mastering software, CD-RW media, one FireWire, a protective carrying bag, and all necessary accessories.

Apple loses five members of audio team

05/09, 12:25pm

Apple loses five members of audio team

MacNN has learned that Apple recently lost five key members of its audio division to a startup company that analyzes the technical aspects of a song to help people find other music they may like.

PC Data: Apple.com 3rd most-visited site

05/09, 12:25pm

PC Data: Apple.com 3rd most-visited site

Apple.com was bumped from second place to third in PC Data list of most visited during the week ending May 6. Dell.com moved up to No. 1 with from last week's No. 3 spot while Compaq.com was last week's second-most visited hardware site. Since launching its new Web site in January, Apple has usually finished in the top spot.

Macintosh beta of ACDSee now available

05/09, 12:25pm

Macintosh beta of ACDSee now available

ACD Systems International has released a Macintosh beta version of ACDSee, its digital image-management software. The software is a high-speed image viewer that displays digital images in high-resolution and supports more than 40 image formats.

FreeGuard 1.1

05/09, 12:25pm

FreeGuard 1.1

FreeGuard 1.1 is a simple security utility for making files or folders invisible. The application can itself can also be password-protected.

Minor update to Regress+ posted

05/09, 10:15am

Minor update to Regress+ posted

Michael P. McLaughlin has posted Regress+ 2.3.1, a minor update to the freeware title for mathematical modeling. The update adds Mac OS 9.0.4 compatibility and affects only the Save as PICT functionality.

Media 100, Digital Origin complete merger

05/09, 10:15am

Media 100, Digital Origin complete merger

Media 100 Inc. has completed its merger with Digital Origin, a developer of application software for acquiring and editing digital video. Media 100 will now offer a tightly integrated streaming media application suite that addresses the entire streaming media production process from acquiring video to compressing and streaming. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Media 100 issued 0.5347 shares of common stock for each share of Digital Origin common stock. Media 100 will operate Digital Origin as a wholly owned subsidiary headquartered in Mountain View, Calif.

Today's Forums discussions

05/09, 10:14am

Today's Forums discussions

Discussions in today's Forums area include questions about PM 8500 and iMovie and AppleScript and VBS; problems with reading multisession CDRs, an iBook that lags after startup, a desktop printer that crashes on setup, and SoundJam that crashes while ripping CDs.

Metabox

05/09, 9:00am

Metabox

Despite entering a crowded marketplace, Germany-based CPU upgrade manufacturer Metabox AG, which announced yesterday afternoon that it is entering the US market, believes it will succeed where many of its competitors have stumbled.

iMovie gets 150,000 downloads

05/09, 8:59am

iMovie gets 150,000 downloads

After making its consumer-oriented video editing software iMovie available for free download at the end of last month, Apple today announced that more than 150,000 copies had been downloaded during the first week. The software, which Apple says is for Power Mac G4 and FireWire PowerBook users, has proven to be compatible on a wide variety of systems, including Blue & White G3, beige G3, and 604-based machines.

Sprint Earthlink investment

05/09, 8:15am

Sprint Earthlink investment

Earthlink today announced that Sprint has purchased an additional 26 million shares of the company for $431 million ($16.58/share), increasing Sprint's stake in the company from 14.1 percent to 26.7 percent. In January, Apple announced a $200 million investment in Earthlink; since then, Earthlink's stock price has fallen nearly 50 percent.

Apple updates several PowerBook TILs

05/09, 7:56am

Apple updates several PowerBook TILs

Recent PowerBook-related TILs discuss operating with the clamshell closed (bronze and FireWire), a steady LED glow at startup (bronze), and how to determine if a DVD decoder is present on a bronze PowerBook.

Apple TIL on DVD skipping updated

05/09, 7:56am

Apple TIL on DVD skipping updated

Apple's TIL on how to reduce DVD skipping and stuttering outlines dual-layered DVD discs, DHCP servers, color bit depth, Appearance Sounds and Speakable Items as potential sources for causing distorted playback.

Nu Sans Monospaced 2.0

05/09, 7:54am

Nu Sans Monospaced 2.0

Marty Pfeiffer has posted Nu Sans Monospaced 2.0, a new version of his $8 Epsy Sans-like font optimized for on-screen display. The new version adds an italic face loosely based on IBM's Script typeface for Selectric typewriters and also adds the Euro symbol to both fonts.

MonkeyBar 1.2

05/09, 7:54am

MonkeyBar 1.2

MonkeyBar 1.2, formerly known as iBar, is a $15 "Internet-savvy launcher that combines applications, documents, favorites, bookmarks and music in one simple floating window." The new versions adds a couple small features and fixes a handful of bugs.

CD Caterpillar 8.0

05/09, 7:44am

CD Caterpillar 8.0

Inspired Logic, LLC has released CD Caterpillar 8.0, an application designed to help beginning readers strengthen their reading skills that emphasizes actual reading by the student. The stories featured in Version 8.0 include the entire text of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, The Three Little Pigs, The Little Field Mouse, The Little Jackal, Nursery Rhymes and other short stories. The Home Version costs $16, the Classroom Version costs $80.

DivX

05/09, 7:44am

DivX

The Macintosh DivX Resource is looking for programmers to help port DivX to the Mac. DivX, not to be confused with the defunct DVD-rental technology DIVX, is "a very new video compression codec built around Microsoft's MPEG-4 video codec and the MP3 audio codec. It is not only extremely efficient (10:1 compression from a native MPEG-2 DVD stream) but the quality is nothing short of astounding." Currently DivX is only available for Windows. The site plans on giving away $5000 and an iMac DV SE to encourage development.

Weather Grok 1.3

05/09, 7:44am

Weather Grok 1.3

Weather Grok 1.3 is a free application that reports current weather conditions from NOAA for hundreds of locations worldwide. The update fixes a handful of small bugs.

Hint Movie 1.02 helps QT streaming

05/09, 7:44am

Hint Movie 1.02 helps QT streaming

Hint Movie CMPlugin 1.02 fixes a few bugs and adds new documentation to the contextual menu plugin that helps prepare QuickTime media for internet streaming.

Yesterday's news

05/09, 12:00am

Yesterday's news

Yesterday we reported that Connectix will be releasing a utility similar to SpeedDoubler with Mac OS 9 compatibility, Macromedia's Dreamweaver UltraDev, noted Steve Jobs as appointment as Man of the Week, and the release of Webshots Desktop Lite 1.0.1, Microsoft UAM 5.05, and Z-Write 1.0.