News Archive for 01/01/09

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MacSoft boasts 37% marketshare

01/09, 9:32pm

MacSoft boasts 37% marketshare

In addition to Master of Orion III, MacSoft also announced Centipede and Pong for the Mac in addition to the release of Monopoly Casino. The company plans to release a Mac version of Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption later this year. The company boasts its maintained position as the number one publisher of Mac entertainment software with a market share of 37%.

Aspyr to publish Tony Hawk 2 for the Mac

01/09, 9:13pm

Aspyr to publish Tony Hawk 2 for the Mac

Aspyr Media announced today that the company will publish Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 for the Mac. The title has been in development at Westlake Interactive for several months and is expected for release in March. Tony Hawk, a long-time Mac user himself, appeared on the show floor today at Macworld Expo San Francisco 2001.

Creative delays Mac SoundBlaster

01/09, 8:57pm

Creative delays Mac SoundBlaster

Contrary to a report issued by the company late last week, Creative is not shipping the SoundBlaster Live! for the Mac at this week's Macworld Expo San Francisco 2001. However, the company is taking pre-orders at the show for $100 and expects to begin shipping the product within the next month. The card will ship with the full version of Deus Ex modified to take advantage of positional audio EAX.

Ritual splits to form Mumbo Jumbo

01/09, 8:47pm

Ritual splits to form Mumbo Jumbo

Ritual Entertainment, developer of Heavy Metal: FAKK2 and SiN, has announced that the company has split into two companies: Ritual Entertainment and Mumbo Jumbo Studios. The latter company will be headed by Mark Dochterrmann and Ron Dimant and will do both original development and ports for the PC, Mac and console systems. The company's first original title will be Myth III: The Wolf Age while work is already underway on Mac ports of titles such as Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn for sister company MacPlay.

Aspyr's MWSF Presence

01/09, 8:34pm

Aspyr's MWSF Presence

Aspyr Media's most popular game on the show floor at Macworld Expo San Francisco is Escape from Monkey Island, the 3D adventure game developed by LucasArts and now in the late alpha stage of development. Mac developer Westlake Interactive was able to implement sound and music late last week, and items such as optimizations and memory management are the only items remaining to be completed before the game begins beta testing. Other games that the company was demonstrating included Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force, The Sims: Livin' Large and Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation.

Master of Orion III announced for the Mac

01/09, 8:24pm

Master of Orion III announced for the Mac

MacSoft announced today that the company will publish Master of Orion III for the Mac simultaneously with the PC version in Q1 2002. Developed for the Mac and PC by Quicksilver Software, Master of Orion III is the latest title in the best-selling turn-based strategy game series. The game features an expanded, player-controlled events system where cosmic karma introduces plot devices, characters, quests, social "orders" and a variety of story elements that "raises the scope of gameplay to epic proportions."

GraphSim to publish Summoner, Red Faction

01/09, 7:34pm

GraphSim to publish Summoner, Red Faction

Graphic Simulations Corporation has announced that the company has signed a deal with THQ to publish Summoner and Red Faction for the Mac. Summoner, a 3D role-playing game, is expected for release in March while Red Faction, a unique 3D first-person shooter featuring GeoMod real-time, arbitrary geometry modification, is expected for release in July. Unlike the Playstation 2 version of Summoner, the Mac and PC versions of the game will include multiplayer play with support for Parallax Online. Both titles will continue to be developed for the Mac by Volition Lead Programmer Mark Allender. GraphSim was showing Summoner, Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast, Descent 3 and F/A-18 Hornet 3.0 on the show floor at Macworld Expo San Francisco 2001.

MacPlay shifts development to Mumbo Jumbo

01/09, 6:28pm

MacPlay shifts development to Mumbo Jumbo

MacPlay PR Director Jason Whong told games.macnn.com today that the company is undergoing a minor shift in the porting of the company's titles. Mumbo Jumbo Studios, which is developing the highly anticipated Myst III: The Wolf Age, will also now assume responsibility for porting titles to the Mac for MacPlay including Icewind Dale, Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, Sacrifice, Giants: Citizen Kabuto and Starfleet Command Volume II: Empires at War. At Macworld Expo San Francisco 2001, the company is showing SiN Gold and Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim in addition to a cinematic portion of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn running on the Mac.

New FireWire interface for tape drive

01/09, 5:55pm

New FireWire interface for tape drive

Ecrix Corp today announced a new FireWire (IEEE 1394) interface for its VXA-1 tape drive, which it says "is able to back up 33 GB of native data to a single-cartridge at 3 MBps (66 GB at 6 MBps with 2:1 compressible data)." The VXA-1 FireWire Kit, which is $1,200, includes the translucent external VXA-1 tape drive, Dantz Retrospect Backup Software 4.3, the FireWire cable, a 33/66 GB VXAtape V17 cartridge, cleaning cartridge, power cord (US and Canadian) and documentation.

SoundBlaster Live! for Mac on sale

01/09, 5:51pm

SoundBlaster Live! for Mac on sale

Buy.com is offering Creative's new sound card, the Sound Blaster Live! for the Mac, at $121.95. However, the product is currently backordered.

MacPlay names new President

01/09, 5:36pm

MacPlay names new President

MacPlay has announced the appointment of a new President, Diane Zammit. Zammit, who has joined the staff as of January 1st, has spent the last two years as Apple's Manager of Worldwide Third Party Distribution; in that role, she guided and assisted key Macintosh developers with strategic marketing, distribution and challen initiatives. Prior to joining Apple, Zammit was the Director of Marketing for the previous MacPlay which launched dozens of successful titles.

REALbasic enters beta, demoed at MWSF

01/09, 5:31pm

REALbasic enters beta, demoed at MWSF

REAL Software is demonstrating REALbasic 3, which runs on Mac OS X, as well as earlier operating systems. The new version, which recently entered beta testing, offers an improved IDE, Mac OS X support and enhanced Windows compiling. The software is $150 for the Standard Edition and $350 for the Professional Edition. Any purchase of a REALbasic 2 occurring on or after Nov. 1, will be eligible for a free upgrade when REALbasic 3 ships.

CatDV 1.5, catalog and logging util for OS X

01/09, 5:27pm

CatDV 1.5, catalog and logging util for OS X

Square Box Systems is introducing and demonstrating CatDV 1.5 at Macworld this week. The $70 software is a logging and cataloging utility for digital video editors on Mac OS X. This new version adds a number of import and export options and will share clip logging data with many of the most popular nonlinear editing systems. The boxed version is $100.

Matrox demos RTMac for real-time DV editing

01/09, 5:17pm

Matrox demos RTMac for real-time DV editing

Matrox Video Products Group (booth #3341) is demonstrating its Matrox RTMac card at Macworld Expo this week. It is a PCI video card for real-time digital video editing on the Macintosh. It supplements the built-in FireWire capabilities of the Power Mac G4 with composite and S-Video analog video capture and export. Available in the spring, the price will be $1,000. Fully configured systems are expected to start at less than $5,000.

Mac OS X PB, new hardware not compatible

01/09, 5:13pm

Mac OS X PB, new hardware not compatible

Chris Brewer notes that Mac OS X Public Beta is not compatible with the newly introduced Power Mac G4 or the PowerBook G4 Titanium, according to the Apple Store.

OS X support for SAS' StatView, JMP

01/09, 5:12pm

OS X support for SAS' StatView, JMP

SAS Institute today announced its support for Mac OS X operating system for StatView and JMP statistical analysis software. It will be demonstrating a beta version of StatView Version 5 for Mac OS X and "anticipates a release of StatView 5 and JMP Statistical Discovery Software products running on Mac OS X later in the year."

Nvidia on the Mac

01/09, 5:03pm

Nvidia on the Mac

As noted in MacNN's coverage of this morning's keynote address at Macworld Expo San Francisco 2001, Apple will be including the Nvidia GeForce 2 MX graphics card in the company's top three Power Mac G4 models. The new models feature the UMA-2 motherboards which includes a 133 MHz system and memory bus as well as a 4x AGP slot and support for "write-combining" -- a feature highly requested by the now defunct 3dfx Interactive. The importance of write combining to graphics card performance is explained in our interview with Bryan Speece.

Weekly poll: Power Macs with Nvidia

01/09, 5:00pm

Weekly poll: Power Macs with Nvidia

After asking our readers "Do you think the Diablo II Realms on Battle.net are now secure?", the majority of them (48.5%) felt that the recent hack to the service proved that Battle.net is not secure while 28% were not sure and 23.5% felt that it was safe. Our new poll asks, "Are you ready to buy a new Power Mac G4 with an Nvidia GeForce2 MX included?" Look to our left sidebar to vote.

New Mac Care Unit bundles utilities

01/09, 4:34pm

New Mac Care Unit bundles utilities

Casady & Greene has announced Mac Care Unit, a $130 utility suite that bundles Conflict Catcher 8, Alsoft DiskWarrior v2.1, Alsoft PlusOptimizer, Connectix CopyAgent, Intego NetBarrier, Intego VirusBarrier, and Radialogic's Chaos Master.

Mac OS 9.1 order options from Apple

01/09, 3:52pm

Mac OS 9.1 order options from Apple

Mac OS 9.1, now available as a multi-part download, can be ordered on CD from Apple for $20. Mac OS Up-To-Date offers 9.1 for $20 to qualifying new purchasers of Macs from an authorized Apple reseller or Apple Computer, Inc. on or after January 9, 2001. The full version is available at the Apple Store as well. [updated; several international language versions also available]

Blizzard releases Diablo II Demo

01/09, 3:37pm

Blizzard releases Diablo II Demo

As expected, Blizzard Entertainment has released the Diablo II Demo for the Mac. The demo includes a portion of the first act and allows access to the Barbarian only. For more detailed information on what the full game offers, read our review of Diablo II.

Intego intros ContentBarrier 1.0

01/09, 3:30pm

Intego intros ContentBarrier 1.0

Intego (booth #635) is introducing and demonstrating ContentBarrier 1.0, a $40 Internet filtering software, at Macworld. It monitors Internet usage to prevent access, allows for multiple users with different levels of filtration and can limit access by day or time.

MindVision ships Installer VISE 7.1

01/09, 3:28pm

MindVision ships Installer VISE 7.1

MindVision has begun shipping Installer VISE 7.1, a Mac OS X installer. The update makes it even easier to install targets to both Classic Mac OS and Mac OS X and builds Carbon installers from existing installer projects.

AEC to 'Carbonize' FastTrack Schedule

01/09, 3:24pm

AEC to 'Carbonize' FastTrack Schedule

AEC Software will "Carbonize" FastTrack Schedule, a project-management software and ship it shortly after the final release of Mac OS X March 24. The software is available in a single-user license for $300 and network server versions. Upgrades are $129.

Jukebox, Jukebox Plus updated for MWSF

01/09, 2:56pm

Jukebox, Jukebox Plus updated for MWSF

MusicMatch (booth #1547) is exhibiting and demonstrating its new beta of version 2.0Jukebox and Jukebox Plus for the Mac at Macworld. The beta software offers an enhanced "AutoDJ" feature and new song tagging. The Plus version offers new CD burning capabilities, a graphic equalizer and line-in recording.

AppleScript support now on MediaFinder

01/09, 2:53pm

AppleScript support now on MediaFinder

PowerFile has added AppleScript support to its MediaFinder 1.3, a disc-management software upgrade for the PowerFile C200 CD/DVD jukebox, which is a 200-disc CD/DVD jukebox. The new version catalogs discs by title and allows all clients access to any disc over the network. It ois a free download to all registered users.

ADS demos 2 new Mac storage products

01/09, 2:47pm

ADS demos 2 new Mac storage products

ADS Technologies (booth #4150) is introducing and demonstrating two high-speed FireWire storage products for the Mac at Macworld. The PYRO FireWire ATA/100 Drive Kit, an ATA/100-compliant FireWire storage device, and the PYRO FireWire Mac Video RAID, a compact tower that supports two drives. The Drive Kit supports one hard drive and has sustained data transfer rates of 45 MB/s.

iTunes on iDisk, available online

01/09, 2:46pm

iTunes on iDisk, available online

Several readers note that the new iMusic software announced by Apple this morning is available on user iDisks (via Apple's iTools services). Other readers also noted that he software is available for download at Apple's iTunes.

Macworld keynote coverage

01/09, 2:30pm

Macworld keynote coverage

At this morning's Macworld keynote, Steve Jobs announced new Power Mac G4s, the PowerBook G4, several new pieces of software, a Mac OS X ship date, and more. We have complete coverage in our keynote report.

Extensis revamps product line, adds Xpress

01/09, 12:00pm

Extensis revamps product line, adds Xpress

Extensis Product Group today announced new desktop and network versions of Suitcase and Portfolio, its font and digital asset management product lines and support for Quark Xpress in its online preflighting solution:

• Portfolio 5 Desktop Edition ($100) is a standalone asset management application for cataloging and retrieving digital files; it can create customizable thumbnail borders and slideshow presentations. The Network Edition ($200) adds advanced client/server functions, optional connectivity to SQL databases, file sharing over the Web and across networks, multi-page previews, data import, and advanced search functions.
• Suitcase 9 Desktop Edition ($80), a standalone font management utility, allows you to preview, organize and activate fonts; create font sample pages; and create sets based on any criteria. Suitcase 9 Network ($130) additionally offers sharing capabilities for workgroups, including sychronization of fonts and other shared files such as graphics, photos and text files.
• Preflight Online, its web-based pre-flighting solution, can remotely inspect and analyze QuarkXPress 4.x files as well as PDF files, reporting on more than 60 different potential problems involving fonts, colors, images and other document specifications and providing an online report that can be accessed by printers and service bureaus before customers submit files for output at the printers. It is now in beta.

Amorphium PRO has Flash, other enhancements

01/09, 11:58am

Amorphium PRO has Flash, other enhancements

Electric Image announced a professional version of its Amorphium real-time 3D sculpting and painting program. Amorphium PRO adds significant new modeling, animation and rendering capabilities as well as the ability to save 3D objects and animations in Flash (.SWF files), optimized GIFs, or QuickTime animations. The Pro version also imports and exports all major 3D file formats, converts EPS graphics into 3D objects and supports 2D images for integration with design programs such as Adobe Photoshop. It is due later this month for $380 with a $50 rebate to owners of Amorphium 1.0.

HTTP Benchmark 1.3.1 Released

01/09, 11:27am

HTTP Benchmark 1.3.1 Released

MaxProg has posted HTTP Benchmark 1.3.1, a tool for checking Web servers' bandwidth from the client side. This version adds Intranet/Local HTTP servers support and fixes several bugs.

Contour intros ShuttlePro controller

01/09, 11:20am

Contour intros ShuttlePro controller

Contour Designs (booth #1549) is introducing and demonstrating ShuttlePro, a $100 multimedia controller. Features include USB connectivity, 13 buttons for application-specific programmability and the "jog-and-shuttle" knob.

Click 'N Burn available soon

01/09, 10:49am

Click 'N Burn available soon

Stomp has introduced Click 'N Burn, a CD recording and labeling software for the Macintosh. The software allows users to design and print their own CD labels and jewel-case inserts and to create hybrid PC/Mac CD-ROMs. The software also adjusts silence gap between audio tracks and records CDs in the background. Available later this month, the $80 software provides native driver support for SCSI, ATAPI, USB and FireWire CD burners.

XCLAIM TV USB edition: external TV tuner

01/09, 10:41am

XCLAIM TV USB edition: external TV tuner

ATI Technologies has introduced its XCLAIM TV USB edition, an external TV tuner that allows consumers to watch TV and capture video on their Macintosh desktop or mobile systems. The $100 device, shipping in the spring, captures still and motion images. Other features include a channel preview; parental control; and hot words, a search device based on closed captioning.

Games: Myth III: The Wolf Age Announced

01/09, 10:41am

Games: Myth III: The Wolf Age Announced

games.macnn.com has published an article detailing today's official announcement of Myth III: The Wolf Age, the prequel real-time strategy game, as well as new information on the new company which will be developing the game, Mumbo Jumbo.

Myth III: The Wolf Age Announced

01/09, 10:40am

Myth III: The Wolf Age Announced

We've published an article detailing today's official announcement of Myth III: The Wolf Age, the prequel real-time strategy game, as well as new information on the new company which will be developing the game, Mumbo Jumbo.

Cinema 4D, BodyPaint 3D for Mac OS X

01/09, 10:38am

Cinema 4D, BodyPaint 3D for Mac OS X

Maxon pledged to build Mac OS X versions of its professional 3D software applications, Cinema 4D, which has offered multi-processing and multi-threading for nearly 5 years and BodyPaint 3D.

LaCie makes several Macworld announcements

01/09, 10:37am

LaCie makes several Macworld announcements

LaCie (booth #416) has made several product announcements today:

• FireWire 70 GB AIT+ drive - An Advanced Intelligent Tape Plus drive that can store more than 100 GB of compressed transfer with transfer rates of 7.65 MB/sec. The drive is also available in a SCSI-2 interface and sells for $1,400. Cartridges sell for $80.
• 16x40x10x CD-RW - Billed as the world's fastest CD-RW, the drive is available in a SCSI-3 or combo USB/FireWire interface. The drive comes bundled with Adaptec Toast and will sell for $380.
• DVD-RAM - Available in combo USB/FireWire and SCSI-2 interfaces, the 4.7/9.4 GB drive will sell for $700. 4.7 GB LaCie media sells for $30, while 9.4 GB media carries a $60 price tag.
• Ultra 160 RAID - The TX12000 is available in capacities of up to 1.7 TB with an average access time of 2 ms. The drive will ship later this month; pricing is based on capacity.
• photon18blue - The flat panel monitor delivers a maximum resolution of 1280x1024 and is equipped with LaCie's color-enhancing hood that nearly eliminates shadows and glare on the screen. The monitor comes with a VGA and DVI connectors and will sell for $2,300.

Toast 5 Titanium for OS X

01/09, 10:35am

Toast 5 Titanium for OS X

Roxio, the digital media company from Adaptec, is introducing and demonstrating Toast 5 Titanium, CD recording software for Macintosh. This version boasts a new user interface specifically designed for Mac OS X, the ability to burn CDs in the background, MPEG encoding for burning iMovies onto VideoCDs for playback in most DVD players and support for most DVD-RAM and DVD-R/RW drives. The $100 software, available in the spring, also includes iView Multimedia, for organizing images, photos, movies, sounds, fonts and files.

Vicomsoft adds support for VPN using PPTP

01/09, 10:24am

Vicomsoft adds support for VPN using PPTP

Vicomsoft's popular internet connection sharing utilities, Vicomsoft Internet Gateway 6.8 and SurfDoubler 6.8, now offer support for Virtual Private Network (VPN) clients using PPTP. A free trial is available. Upgrades, which are free for v6.7 owners, are due soon.

Maya Complete 3 due in second quarter

01/09, 10:22am

Maya Complete 3 due in second quarter

As noted last week, Alias|Wavefront announced that Maya Complete 3 software for Mac OS X is scheduled to ship in the second quarter of 2001; the beta phase of development is expected within the next 30 days, according to the company's press release.

Classic CTF 1.12 Released

01/09, 10:00am

Classic CTF 1.12 Released

Classic CTF 1.12 is a maintenance release of the mod for Quake III: Arena which aims to recapture the feel of Capture the Flag in Quake and Quake II.

DiskWarrior 2.1 adds OS X, other features

01/09, 9:54am

DiskWarrior 2.1 adds OS X, other features

Alsoft is shipping DiskWarrior 2.1, an update to its popular disk utility that can now "safely" rebuild Mac OS X Extended disks, checks System and Finder files for damage, eliminates a common cause of system crashes by checking custom icon files for corruption, and repairs the "wrapper System file damage recently disclosed by Apple, allowing Macs with these disks to start up." The $30 upgrade is available online.

OS X: Corel, Lexmark, Wacom pledge support

01/09, 9:52am

OS X: Corel, Lexmark, Wacom pledge support

osx.macnn.com has news about Mac OS X support from companies such as Corel, Power On Software, ArcSoft, mimio, Lexmark, and Wacom.

Q to 3: Tropico Preview

01/09, 9:50am

Q to 3: Tropico Preview

Quarter to Three has published a 60-second preview of Tropico, the building/strategy game coming to the Mac, PC and Dreamcast from PopTop Software later this year. As the name suggests, the preview is very brief but does contain five new screenshots of the game in action.

Corel finalizes Painter 6.1

01/09, 9:48am

Corel finalizes Painter 6.1

Corel has released the final version of Corel Painter 6.1, a free update to its natural media creation tool that brings enhancements to the Soften, Sharpen and Highpass features, a new Woodcut effect for converting photos into hand-rendered woodblock prints, and other enhancements. [see osx.macnn.com for other Corel news]

Corel previews OS X betas of Bryce, Knockout

01/09, 9:45am

Corel previews OS X betas of Bryce, Knockout

Corel today also released "Carbonized" beta versions of its Corel KnockOut 1.5.1 masking software and Bryce 4.1 3D graphics application for Mac OS X. The free downloads, which should be available later today, will be available until March 15, 2001.

MacSoft selling Rogue Spear at MWSF

01/09, 9:37am

MacSoft selling Rogue Spear at MWSF

MacSoft will be selling the company's Mac game products from the show floor at Macworld Expo San Francisco beginning later today. Many of the products are being sold at discounted prices including the debut release of Rogue Spear, which includes expansion pack Urban Operations, for $35.

Jobs on Moneyline, keynote info

01/09, 9:35am

Jobs on Moneyline, keynote info

Steve Jobs will make an appearance on Moneyline today at 6:30 p.m. EST; he is scheduled to deliver his keynote between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. PST; the NewsWorld International channel (channel 366 on DirectTV) will also be broadcasting the keynote live; the exhibit hall is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. again today; and there are numerous seminars and workshops scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. PST.

OS X version of PhotoStudio due in summer

01/09, 9:34am

OS X version of PhotoStudio due in summer

ArcSoft announced plans to release a Mac OS X version of its PhotoStudio, a photo-editing program. The new version, expected this summer, will include smoother document motion and streamlined performance.

mimio whiteboard, OS X version coming

01/09, 9:26am

mimio whiteboard, OS X version coming

Virtual Ink (booth #4027) has introduced mimio 1.5, a device and software for exporting whiteboard data to QuickTime and iMovie. Ink files also can be exported in PICT, JPEG, EPS and SVG formats. The mimio package contains a capture bar, mimio eraser, four mimio marker styli and a USB adapter. Version 1.5 is scheduled to be available in Spring 2001 as a free update to current users.

Lexmark pledges Mac OS X support

01/09, 9:25am

Lexmark pledges Mac OS X support

Lexmark International will be introducing new printer drivers for its Z22, Z32 and Z52 Color Jetprinters that support Mac OS X. The drivers will be available shortly after the release of Mac OS X.

New Belkin UPS backups offer USB, AVR support

01/09, 9:14am

New Belkin UPS backups offer USB, AVR support

Belkin's new Regulator Pro Mac Series UPS is available in two models, a 500VA unit (F6C500-USB-MAC) and a 650VA unit (F6C650-USB-MAC). The units, due later this month for $170 and $200 respectively, offers replaceable faceplates ($8 ea.), special USB-based shut down software, and AVR line-conditioning.

Media100 launches CineStream based on EditDV

01/09, 9:11am

Media100 launches CineStream based on EditDV

Media 100 has launched CineStream, a new interactive media authoring solution, dubbed "next evolution" of EditDV. It includes the ability to capture video content directly from digital video sources; edit content and create interactive elements; support for EventStream; and special effects and animation features, such as "pan and scan," pan, zoom and rotate; and picture-in-picture. CineStream is expected in February for $500. Registered users of EditDV or MotoDV can purchase CineStream for $150.

enote for Mac debuts at MWSF

01/09, 8:59am

enote for Mac debuts at MWSF

Informal Software (booth #1029) is introducing and demonstrating enote for the Macintosh, a $50 software that transforms stylus-based, handheld devices into peripherals for the Mac. The software allows for the electronic creation of freehand drawings, and to mark up graphics and digital photographs via a stylus-based, handheld device. The product will be $70 after the show. [site not updated for Mac version]

Portable VST FireWire CD-R/W available

01/09, 8:51am

Portable VST FireWire CD-R/W available

SmartDisk today introduced the VST FireWire CD-R/W, a portable, high-performance drive that offers bus-power (no need for an AC adapter) and driver-less plug-n-play support. The $430 compact, external drive is bundled with Adaptec's Toast and MusicMatch Jukebox software. It is available for purchase online and is expected at retail stores and distributors later this month.

SmartDisk introduces VST FireRAID software

01/09, 8:33am

SmartDisk introduces VST FireRAID software

SmartDisk today introduced VST FireRAID, a software tool that allows users to use two or more of its external hard drives together to create a fast, reliable desktop Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) array, offering support for mirroring (RAID Level 1): "VST FireRAID is the only Macintosh software product currently available that supports mirroring; it is also the only product that lets users connect more than two FireWire drives together." The $100 software is available for $25 and $50 with the purchase of one or two SmartDisk FireWire or USB/FireWire drives.

Connectix debuts DoubleTalk network utility

01/09, 8:19am

Connectix debuts DoubleTalk network utility

As anticipated last Friday, Connectix Corp. has introduced Connectix DoubleTalk, a $100 software application for the Macintosh that allows users to access Windows networks from their Macs. Features include a quick Mac-like setup, the ability to create peer-to-peer networks with PCs and an enhanced printing queue. [site not updated]

Now Contact 4.0 for Mac OS X

01/09, 4:07am

Now Contact 4.0 for Mac OS X

Power On Software announced Now Up-to-Date & Contact 4.0 for Mac OS X, which brings a new look & feel incorporating Mac OS X appearance enhancements and support for Appearance Manager, email integration, networkable keywords for organizing contacts, rewritten networking code and many other enhancements. The $100 application is expected to be available shortly after Apple's release of Mac OS X; electronic upgrades will be $40.

Screen Catcher 2.1b1 adds Mac OS 9.1 support

01/09, 4:06am

Screen Catcher 2.1b1 adds Mac OS 9.1 support

A new public beta version of St. Clair Software's popular screen capture utility, Screen Catcher 2.2b1, brings Mac OS 9.1 compatibility and broader file support, including the ability to capture, open, and save images in PICT, GIF, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, PNG, Photoshop, SGI, MacPaint,TGA, and QuickTime formats.

MWSF Keynote Teaser

01/09, 3:56am

MWSF Keynote Teaser

MacNN will be covering the announcements made during the Macworld Expo San Francisco 2001 Keynote, presented by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, on a minute-by-minute basis. We will be providing games coverage from the expo and related reports.

Friday news recap

01/09, 3:55am

Friday news recap

Last Friday, we reported that Activision was seeking to develop Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 for the Mac, Creative Labs announced that the company would begin shipping the SoundBlaster Live! for the Mac at Macworld Expo San Francisco 2001 and Human Head Studios' Tim Gerritsen revealed that the company will release a Rune Add-on Pack in Spring 2001.

Shogo Demo 1.0.2 Released

01/09, 3:54am

Shogo Demo 1.0.2 Released

Hyperion Software has released version 1.0.2 of the demo for Shogo: Mobile Armor Division. The new version adds GameRanger support, improved performance (including improved sound handling for low end machines) and two minor bug fixes.

Help Lance Get Finished

01/09, 3:53am

Help Lance Get Finished

The Alchemist Guild is looking for help from end users in completing the company's massively multiplayer online role-playing game for the Mac, Lance. The company needs 200 people to buy the game for $30, in beta quality, and pay $5-9 per month in order to complete development and run the necessary servers. Those interested in aiding the company should fill out the form on the right side of the Lance Support Page.

NuSpectra release SiteCam 6.0, SiteZAP 6.0

01/09, 3:45am

NuSpectra release SiteCam 6.0, SiteZAP 6.0

NuSpecrta has released SiteCam 6.0, a major upgrade to its $150, full featured Web camera application. The new version adds support for password protecting access, indexing of captured images, motion detection movie capture, OS X compatibility (fully Carbon compliant), and more. SiteCam 6.0 is bundled with NuSpectra's three new SiteZAP 6.0 Web cam systems, which range in price from $4,500-$5,500 for professional indoor and outdoor solutions.

Companies jump on OS X bandwagon

01/09, 3:42am

Companies jump on OS X bandwagon

Several companies announced support for Mac OS X, but provided limited details. ATTO said that that its ATTO ExpressRAID software and complete line of ATTO host bus adapters will support Mac OS X, while Digital Voodoo pledged Mac OS X support for its D1 Desktop series of PCI QuickTime cards.

Wacom pledges Mac OS X support

01/09, 3:19am

Wacom pledges Mac OS X support

Wacom yesterday announced support for Mac OS X, commiting itself to work with Adobe, Alias|Wavefront, Corel, Electric Image, Macromedia, Synthetik, and others to "provide a seamless graphics tablet migration path to Mac OS X." Wacom graphics tablet drivers for Mac OS X are expected to be available for free "when Mac OS X ships or shortly afterwards via the Wacom Technology website."

Sonnet announces dual G4 upgrade

01/09, 3:15am

Sonnet announces dual G4 upgrade

Sonnet Technologies today announced the Encore/ST G4 Duet, a dual-processor G4 upgrade for Sawtooth (AGP) Power Mac G4s. The card will ship in a dual 500 MHz version in February for $1,000 and is fully compatible with Mac OS X.

Tech: dot-com union, Corel to sell Linux?

01/09, 2:56am

Tech: dot-com union, Corel to sell Linux?

Morning tech news: The first dot-com unionization vote was pulled Monday, after the Northern California Media Workers filed an unfair labor practices complaint; troubled Corel could sell off its Linux business as part of its corporate strategy, according to analysts; and Cisco Systems and 3Com have delayed plans to ship a high-end home appliance that connects consumer electronic devices to the Internet.

Maxum releases PageSentry 3.0

01/09, 12:51am

Maxum releases PageSentry 3.0

Maxum Development has announced PageSentry 3.0, a major upgrade to the company's server testing tool which will be demonstrated this week in the MacTech Pavillion at the Macworld Conferences and Expo San Francisco 2001. The new version adds the ability to monitor servers from the web, the ability to test POP and IMAP servers directly, new mechanisms for handling server failures, an activity monitor for advanced problem diagnosis and a new "Snooze" function which "lets users take PageSentry temporarily off-line and have it return to service automatically after a set time period."

Macworld Setup Photo Galleries

01/09, 12:36am

Macworld Setup Photo Galleries

We've posted two photo galleries of the show floor at Macworld Expo San Francisco 2001 as companies set up their booths.

Roundup: LaCie PocketDrive CD-RW, MW parties

01/09, 12:30am

Roundup: LaCie PocketDrive CD-RW, MW parties

Yesterday LaCie unveiled its 4x4x24 PocketDrive CD-RW, Ilene Hoffman's Hess Memorial Events List was updated with the latest information on events in and around Macworld, new Asante products, shipment of Adobe Premiere 6.0 and AppleInsider's report on Apple's recent acquisition of SoundJam MP from Casady and Greene.