News Archive for 00/12/28

Choose an article from the archive listing on this page or refine your selection using the controls in the gray box below.

Newer Technology closes doors

12/28, 9:00pm

Newer Technology closes doors

MacNN has learned that Witchita, Kansas-based Newer Technology has ceased operations and laid off most, if not all, of its employees. The beleagued manufacturer of CPU upgrades and other peripherals informed employees, who will receive two weeks of severence pay and one month of health care, of the decision today via US Mail. Newer Technology's offices are closed for the holidays, and a recording on the company's phone line continues to state that they will resume operations January 2. In early February, Newer Technology asked creditors for a one year extension on loans, to help keep the company afloat. Its manufacturing partner, TRI-M, then bailed the company out and implemented widesweeping product strategy and personnel changes, in an effort to turn the company's financials around. Future support for Newer products, as well other company-related matters, remain unclear at this point.

SCSI CD-R Burner for Mac OS X

12/28, 6:02pm

SCSI CD-R Burner for Mac OS X

osx.macnn.com has posted a news item about CDRecorder, a command line SCSI CD-R burning software binary, for Mac OS X.

IMG: Interview with Michael Rogers

12/28, 5:58pm

IMG: Interview with Michael Rogers

IMG has posted an interview with Michael Rogers, President of Aspyr Media. The Austin, Tx.-based Mac game publisher has brought some of the hottest games in the industry to the Mac including Deus Ex, The Sims and The Sims: Livin' Large. Rogers comments on the company's plans for Mac OS X support in current and future titles:

...we are planning to support OS X very soon now. At the beginning (before the official 1.0 release) we will offer downloadable OS X patches for some of our games, with the ultimate goal of shipping OS X versions in the box. The basic structure of OS X is very encouraging to me. Apple needs to finish some details, but it's obvious that they know what they're doing in that regard. At some point in the future, all commercial games will probably be OS X only, so we're doing all we can to understand the OS and what advantages it offers games.

Presentation Prompter 2.5 posted

12/28, 5:53pm

Presentation Prompter 2.5 posted

NextForce Software has posted Presentation Prompter 2.5, the $15 Macintosh teleprompting application. This version improves performance on all machines, changes prompting methods to give the user more precise control and fixes several minor interface glitches.

Friday is deadline for MWSF

12/28, 5:52pm

Friday is deadline for MWSF

Friday is the deadline for online registration for Macworld Expo & Conference in San Francisco Jan. 9 through Jan. 12. There are six registration packages from which to choose.

Intelli Innovations posts PowerPrompter 1.7

12/28, 5:51pm

Intelli Innovations posts PowerPrompter 1.7

Intelli Innovations has posted PowerPrompter 1.7, a $15 shareware prompting tool for Macintosh. This version implements spacebar pause and resume and a new numeric speed control and includes an enhanced Full Screen mode.

LinuxPPC 2000 Q4 released

12/28, 5:49pm

LinuxPPC 2000 Q4 released

LinuxPPC has released LinuxPPC 2000 Q4, a Linux operating system for PowerPC processors. This version includes three CD-ROMs and FWB Hard Disk Toolkit PE. It includes the first graphical versions of yaboot and miboot software. The Install CD-ROM is bootable on all PCI-based Apple Power Macintosh computers.

X-Men CD-ROM works with Macs

12/28, 5:47pm

X-Men CD-ROM works with Macs

EL Benoit discovered that the interactive CD-ROM packaged with the X-Men VHS movie works with Macintosh systems. "I popped it in my Mac to give it a try ... and I was happy to find out it works just fine."

Evening Tech News

12/28, 5:46pm

Evening Tech News

Evening tech news: The FCC will delay its vote on the proposed merger between America Online and Time Warner until after the new year; the Pentium 4 has been found to be slower than the Pentium III (free registration required); and IBM has begun shipping the "industry's fastest UNIX-based workstation," which runs on copper-based processors.

Apple offers 'Valedictorian' package

12/28, 4:35pm

Apple offers 'Valedictorian' package

Apple is offering educators its "Valedictorian Collection," which consists of a Power Mac G4, Power Mac G4 Cube or PowerBook and eligibility to buy the Adobe Design Collection for only $400. This represents a savings of $100 over regular education pricing. Adobe's Design Collection includes InDesign 1.5, Photoshop 6.0, Illustrator 9.0 and Acrobat 4.05. The offer is valid until March 31.

iCab Preview 2.3 Posted

12/28, 4:30pm

iCab Preview 2.3 Posted

iCab Preview 2.3, a small, alternative Web browser for the Macintosh, has been posted. This version adds the ability to select which JavaScript code iCab should execute; adds new entries, separators and folders in the hotlist window; and adds a new entry, "Prefetch," in the file menu. In the next few months better versions of iCab will be offered.

iCab for Mac OS X updated

12/28, 4:26pm

iCab for Mac OS X updated

iCab Preview 2.3, a small, alternative Web browser for Mac OS X, has been posted. This version adds the ability to select which JavaScript code iCab should execute; adds new entries, separators and folders in the hotlist window; and adds a new entry, "Prefetch," in the file menu. In the next few months better versions of iCab will be offered.

SCSI CD-R for Mac OS X Command Line

12/28, 2:58pm

SCSI CD-R for Mac OS X Command Line

Joerg Schilling has started work on an alpha version of his popular command line utility CDRecord for burning CD-R's for Mac OS X with SCSI CD-R Drives. There is a lot of helpful information on his website. Please read all of the README files associated or discuss this in our forums for help with installing and using this with Mac OS X Public Beta.

Games: Shareware Gaming Part 3

12/28, 2:05pm

Games: Shareware Gaming Part 3

games.macnn.com has published the Slacker's Guide to Shareware Gaming Part 3 which offers four Mac shareware games that make appearances on the site's "Recommended" list.

Yesterday's news recapped

12/28, 1:58pm

Yesterday's news recapped

Yesterday H&R Block announced the release of Kiplinger TaxCut Deluxe 2000 for the Mac; AppleInsider published notes on possible V'Ger G4 delays, which could impede Apple's abilities to ship faster G4 systems and G4 PowerBooks next month; games.macnn.com covered Blizzard Entertainment's announcement of an upcoming ladder reset for Diablo II and a note on where to find Quake III: Team Arena for $18; and MacDesktops posted 14 new pictures, including 6 (art), Apple (holidays), blue silk (art) and don't worry (portraits).

Feature: Shareware Gaming Part 3

12/28, 1:51pm

Feature: Shareware Gaming Part 3

We've published the Slacker's Guide to Shareware Gaming Part 3 which offers four Mac shareware games that make appearances on our "Recommended" list.

Wednesday News Re-cap

12/28, 1:48pm

Wednesday News Re-cap

Yesterday we reported that Heroes III Complete for the Mac is now shipping, French Touch Software announced the release of WaterRace for the Mac in addition to a new demo for the game and Blizzard Entertainment announced a reset date for the Standard and Hardcore Diablo II Ladders. We published Kitty's Adventures in The Sims Volume 1, a new weekly feature at games.macnn.com which presents fictitious stories on lives in The Sims while also providing our readers with downloadable objects for the game.

Adobe releases Illustrator 9.0.2

12/28, 11:48am

Adobe releases Illustrator 9.0.2

Adobe Systems has released Illustrator 9.0.2, a new version of the company's popular vector graphics tool for the Mac. The company has not provided any details as to the changes in this version.

Stomped: Interview with Bioware

12/28, 11:01am

Stomped: Interview with Bioware

Stomped has published its latest Year-End 2000 interview with Dr. Ray Muzyka, joint-CEO of Neverwinter Nights developer Bioware. "Online is becoming more prevalent," says Muzyka, "and we're confident that Neverwinter Nights will lead the way towards an entirely new kind of online/multiplayer game."

GameRanger Adds Two Games

12/28, 10:46am

GameRanger Adds Two Games

Scott Kevill has announced that Mac users can now play Heroes III Complete and Shogo: Mobile Armor Division on GameRanger, the free multiplayer online gaming service. The two additions brings the total number of games supported to 58.

Aladdin offers year-end sale

12/28, 9:45am

Aladdin offers year-end sale

Aladdin Systems is offering substantial year-end savings on several software titles. The prices are good from now until Dec. 31. IBM Via Voice Enhanced Edition for $100, a savings of $50; StuffIt Deluxe 6.0 for $30, a savings of $50; MacLink Plus 12 for $60, a savings of $40; and Kai's Photo Factory for $30, a savings of $20.

PowerBook G3 hinge problems documented

12/28, 8:40am

PowerBook G3 hinge problems documented

Jeff Baumann has created a page that details the problems associated with the hinge of 1998 "Wallstreet" PowerBook G3s, whose hinge/clutch system that holds the screen open has become notorious for failing recently.

MacForce.com launches

12/28, 8:38am

MacForce.com launches

MacForce is a new Web site that offers Mac technical support and consulting as well as online games, pro-Mac apparel, and more. (requires Flash)

Apple.com drops to 5th, Palm joins the top 10

12/28, 8:15am

Apple.com drops to 5th, Palm joins the top 10

Apple.com dropped to the fifth most-visited hardware site for the week ended Dec. 23, according to PC Data. It had been in the fourth spot the previous week. Dell.com and Compaq.com were once again first and second, while HP.com moved from fifth to third.

G4 on the mantel

12/28, 8:10am

G4 on the mantel

Newsday.com has a positive review of the G4 Cube, placing it No. 10 on their top 10 list of consumer electronics products of 2000. "It's a pity to put a Cube on a desk littered with printers and keyboards and Zip drives. I keep mine on the mantel, and just stare at it when there's nothing on TV."

Jobs on loser list

12/28, 8:08am

Jobs on loser list

Steve Jobs was proclaimed a loser for 2000 by CBS MarketWatch. "During the summer, Jobs appeared in his glory on stage at MacWorld in New York City among giant images of Albert Einstein and John Lennon to unveil his new G4 Cube computer. Although it won big points for its design, its high price tag was a big blunder and sales tanked, along with Apple shares."

Morning tech news - 12/28/00

12/28, 8:07am

Morning tech news - 12/28/00

Morning tech news: A group of technology companies is creating a set of industry standards that could help put digital piracy protections directly into disk drives as soon as this summer; and Palm and Delphi Automotive Systems will introduce a dashboard device that allows people to use voice commands to call anyone in their handheld's address book.