News Archive for 01/01/11

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Power Mac G4/PowerBook G4 forums

01/12, 12:00am

Power Mac G4/PowerBook G4 forums

Our forums continue to attract much discussion regarding Macworld announcements, especially regarding the new Power Mac G4 and PowerBook G4. More popular/interesting threads include:

Power Mac G4: Radeon vs. GeForce 2 · 466 MHz vs. 533 MHz · Dual 533 MHz vs. Single 667 MHz · What is write combing? (new G4s have it) · New price points disappointing · Where is the Cube going?

PowerBook G4: 1152x768 screen resolution is too big · What about a sub-PowerBook? · Lack of expansion bay is disappointing · PowerBook G4 lacks ADC port · PBG4 disappointments/shouldhaves · PBG4 case design thoughts

Jasmine 0.88b expands import/export options

01/11, 11:33pm

Jasmine 0.88b expands import/export options

Jasmine 0.88 beta is the latest version of the multitrack sound editor for home studio toolbox users, internet radio production, and sound editing. It now imports MP3s and AIFF sound files, bringing compatibility with a range of audio/video applications.

Sorenson MPEG-4 Codec, Sorenson Video 3

01/11, 11:32pm

Sorenson MPEG-4 Codec, Sorenson Video 3

Sorenson Media today announced the upcoming beta release of Sorenson MPEG-4 codec, which offers compliance with the ISO MPEG-4 specification, capable of decoding H.263 (short-header MPEG-4), automatic scene change detection, support for two-pass VBR compression, media key support through secure encryption (available only for QT), and encoders optimized for G4/Altivec. Additionally, Sorenson announced the upcoming release of Sorenson Video 3, which willin conjunction with Apple's upcoming release of QuickTime 5.

ProMax card to include support for 3D, DVI

01/11, 10:10pm

ProMax card to include support for 3D, DVI

Matrox Graphics has endorsed ProMax's DH-MAX, a dual display AGP graphics solution. The DH-MAX is a 32MB AGP-compatible graphics card based on the Matrox G400 chip—the same chip that powers the award-winning Matrox Millennium G400 graphics card—and is bundled with a Mac-based driver written by ProMax specifically for the DH-MAX. The ProMax DH-MAX driver currently supports DualHead display and will include support for 3D and DVI in future releases.

Games: Aliens vs. Predator update and more

01/11, 6:56pm

Games: Aliens vs. Predator update and more

games.macnn.com has published an update on Aliens vs. Predator: Gold Edition for the Mac, benchmarks of the 533 MHz Power Mac G4 with an Nvidia GeForce2 MX and an update to Custer's Corner Macworld Expo San Francisco 2001 Journal.

Custer's Corner Journal Update

01/11, 6:32pm

Custer's Corner Journal Update

Custer's Corner has been updated with a new addition to the Macworld Expo San Francisco 2001 Journal which includes photos from the show floor. In addition, visitors are treated to a sneak peek at the next desktop.

Pricing disparity between US and Europe

01/11, 6:31pm

Pricing disparity between US and Europe

A MacNN reader wrote in about pricing disparity between the US and various European countries:

I've compared the prices of Apple computer here in Europe with the prices mainly in the States (I've compared prices without sales taxes so that's is comparable: it's what Apple charges for the product). I've made some very pretty charts that show that price gap and I've found for example that the new PowerBook G4 costs US$400 more here in Europe!!! (US$445 more in Italy!). By the way, sale taxes are also higher in European countries than in the USA: 16% or more is "normal" in many European countries. I've also done a nice charts for the PowerMac G4, the iBook, the Cube and the iMac comparing prices in several countries to the prices in the USA. The results are appalling. Europeans pay much more for their Mac than Americans. Lucky you!

Combat Mission 1.1 Released

01/11, 6:28pm

Combat Mission 1.1 Released

Battlefront.com has released Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord 1.1, a new version of the turn-based war simulation for the Mac. Most significant in the update is the addition of TCP/IP LAN and Internet play and support for OpenGL.

SiteCam 6.0, SiteZAP 6.0 Carbon-compliant

01/11, 6:24pm

SiteCam 6.0, SiteZAP 6.0 Carbon-compliant

As noted a few days ago, NuSpectra Multimedia (booth #4242) has released SiteCam 6.0 and SiteZAP 6.0, both fully Carbon-compliant for use with Mac OS X. SiteCam 6.0 is easier to set up; includes an enhanced FTP Engine; and provides automatic QuickTime generation on demand, on motion detection or via AppleScript. The updates are available now for $25 each. The upgrades are free to anyone who has ordered within the last three months. New copies of SiteCam and SiteZAP 6.0 are available immediately starting at $150 and $1,100 respectively.

Barbarian potion bug acknowledged

01/11, 6:15pm

Barbarian potion bug acknowledged

Blizzard Entertainment has acknowledged a Diablo II Battle.net bug which renders potion-wielding Barbarians unplayable. "We are aware of the issue in which barbarians that are wielding potions are not able to create or join games without crashing during game loading process. We are currently working on a fix."

D2 Expansion Set Interview

01/11, 6:02pm

D2 Expansion Set Interview

DiabloHappy.com has published an interview with Blizzard Entertainment's Bill Roper, Senior Producer on the Diablo II Expansion Set. The interview covers a lot of information on the Diablo II add-on includes the new Druid and Assassin classes:

My favorite Druid spell is Dire Wolf. Running around as a half-man / half-wolf creature and attacking the denizens of Diablo and Baal with razor sharp claws is very fun. When you add in a pack of summoned wolves following you around, it is an amazingly fun experience.

In regards to the Assassin, we have recently added the concept of linked martial arts skills that makes playing her incredibly different than any other character class. The basic concept is that you have one set of skills that can be used to set-up or charge-up the character’s martial arts abilities. Then a second set of finishing moves can be used to release that charge.

GameSpy: NWN Interview

01/11, 5:50pm

GameSpy: NWN Interview

GameSpy continues its "Art of Gaming" interview series with a Q&A with Bioware's Marc Holmes, an artist working on Neverwinter Nights. "[Neverwinter Nights] is a huge open-ended crazy-ass visionary thing that will change the way we use the Net forever," says Holmes.

UT Jailbreak 102 Released

01/11, 5:30pm

UT Jailbreak 102 Released

UT Jailbreak 102 is the latest release of the "break out of prison" mod for Unreal Tournament. This new version fixes the server travel bug that made the previous version useless for online games. A small patch for those who have the previous version installed is also available.

AvP for Mac set to release

01/11, 4:47pm

AvP for Mac set to release

Contrary to other published reports, Aliens vs. Predator: Gold Edition for the Mac is not being held by Fox Interactive due to legal troubles with Microsoft. MacPlay's Bill Heineman, Lead Programmer on the project, told games.macnn.com today that the title has been complete for three weeks and has passed intensive Quality Assurance testing at Fox. The game should be released in the next few weeks.

MWSF Keynote was largest streaming event ever

01/11, 4:35pm

MWSF Keynote was largest streaming event ever

Apple's Keynote Webcast this week at the Expo was the largest number of concurrent viewers for a scheduled, live Webcast. "According to Akamai, the company that serves the live streams for Apple's QuickTime TV, at its peak the keynote had 35,407 simultaneous viewers accessing 5.3 gigabits per second of video at broadband rates [300kpbs] This tops Apple's previous personal best of 21,000 simultaneous viewers at last summer's Macworld Expo in New York City." A replay of the keynote is available via QuickTime.

Real-time character animation coming to OS X

01/11, 3:42pm

Real-time character animation coming to OS X

Kaydara Inc. today announced that FiLMBOX, its real-time character animation system will be available for Mac OS X. FiLMBOX for Mac OS X will provide both a hub for 3D data and a strong set of real-time 3D authoring tools, allowing Mac users to previsualize, storyboard and develop character animation. FiLMBOX for Mac OS X will be released in mid-2001; pricing and availability details have not been set.

Macworld Expo Photo Galleries

01/11, 3:05pm

Macworld Expo Photo Galleries

We've posted another three photo galleries from the show floor at Macworld Expo, bringing the total to five. (I, II, III, IV, V) Our sister site MacGeneration also has photos from the Apple Developer Party on Tuesday night.

Expo coverage summary

01/11, 2:17pm

Expo coverage summary

Other Expo coverage includes:

• Photo Essay I, covering Apple, Aladdin, Connectix, Intego, Iomega, LaCie, and Roxio.
• Microsoft Office 2001 for OS X, Outlook 2001
• Steve Jobs Keynote Coverage

iCab pre2.4: updated alternative browser

01/11, 2:11pm

iCab pre2.4: updated alternative browser

German, English, and Japanese versions of iCab 2.4 are now available online, bringing more display options for the Mac OS version (iCab sets) and indented entries for contextual menu items. [Classic PPC, OS X]

NSTUM is first Gigabit Ethernet SAN

01/11, 1:06pm

NSTUM is first Gigabit Ethernet SAN

3ware announced today that the company's NSUTM (Network Storage Unit) is the first Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) storage area network (SAN) solution that allows Mac users to equip their network with storage that runs across existing TCP/IP Ethernet lines. The NSU provides up to 48 hours of DV streaming video capability and can be attached to individual Macintosh (Mac) machines, or existing networks, providing up to 600 GB of storage. 3ware's NSU products start at $17,000 and will be available later this quarter.

Radeon PCI Now Available

01/11, 12:58pm

Radeon PCI Now Available

Several readers report being able to buy an ATI Radeon PCI from the ClubMac desk in the ATI booth at Macworld Expo San Francisco for $149 after rebate. However, early reports suggest that Quake III: Arena and Quake III-engine games have significant problems with the card.

ICUII-compatible video conferencing software

01/11, 12:49pm

ICUII-compatible video conferencing software

Following up on our note earlier in the week about Cyberation's discontinued Mac ICUII development, Simon Hocart notes the existence of an ICUII-compatible solution: "ICUII-compatible videoconferencing software for Mac and PC is developed by NanoCom Corp, as Ispq VideoChat. Beta testing of version 4 is currently underway. Check out www.ispq.com. [trial of v2.1 is available as well]"

GeForce2 MX FPS Numbers

01/11, 12:41pm

GeForce2 MX FPS Numbers

id Software's Graeme Devine is quoted in a Quake3World Forum thread with a note that additional optimizations beyond Velocity Engine (Altivec) support have been added to the Mac version of Quake III: Arena 1.27h. In addition, Graeme notes that his 533 MHz Power Mac G4 with a GeForce2 MX is running the game at +40 frames per second with the "picmip 1" setting and all graphic details enabled. The 1.27h point release for the Mac is expected for release as early as today.

Roundup: SoundBlaster Live! delayed and more

01/11, 12:35pm

Roundup: SoundBlaster Live! delayed and more

Yesterday The Learning Company's entertainment division announced that it had renamed itself to Game Studios, Creative Labs told attendees at Macworld Expo San Francisco 2001 that the SoundBlaster Live! for the Mac has been delayed to a March release and id Software's Graeme Devine revealed that Velocity Engine (Altivec) support are among the additions included in Quake III: Arena 1.27h for the Mac. games.macnn.com's Custer's Corner was updated with a journal detailing the daily adventures of Macworld Expo San Francisco 2001. The journal will be updated throughout the week.

WWB: Mary DeMarle Transcript

01/11, 12:22pm

WWB: Mary DeMarle Transcript

World Without Borders has published the transcript from a chat conducted earlier this week with Presto Studios' Mary DeMarle, designer and writer on Myst III: Exile. DeMarle notes that the game is expected to ship on April 9th and will require a 233 MHz G3 or better with at least 64 MB RAM.

Tranquility 3.3 Released

01/11, 12:14pm

Tranquility 3.3 Released

Bill Romanowski has released Tranquility 3.3, a Mac conversion of the SGI cult classic game of the same name played in the early 90's. "It's difficult to describe...a relaxing 3D game of visual and audio stimulation," notes the author.

Myth III dev team adds Goodman

01/11, 12:06pm

Myth III dev team adds Goodman

Mumbo Jumbo Studios has hired Craig Goodman (aka Santa's Head), creator of the popular World War II mods for Myth II: Soulblighter, to work on Myth III: The Wolf Age. Goodman comments on his move to California and the team's goals and plans for the title. The company also hired two additional creators of popular mods for Myth II.

Mac OS 9.1 troubleshooting forum, threads

01/11, 11:49am

Mac OS 9.1 troubleshooting forum, threads

Our Mac OS reader forum is tracking problems, experiences, and other comments on Mac OS 9.1. Readers are already noting compatibility issues with Mac OS 9.1, including Mouseware, DAVE, QuickTime 5PR2, FireWire DV extensions, ATM 4.6.1 and printing issues, and Language Kits. Meanwhile Dennis Callahan notes a few issues on his Power Mac G4/500:

I have found that a photoshop plug-in, projpeg 5.0 causes havic on startup with photoshop 6.0 running 9.1. removed from the plug-ins folder, all is fine.Also, an application from Ambrosia, Screen Snapz 2.0 will not run under 9.1, causing the Finder to freeze consistently on startup. Again, removed, all is very stable.