News Archive for 01/01/17

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Sonnet acquires engineers from Newer

01/17, 10:44pm

Sonnet acquires engineers from Newer

Sonnet Technologies announced it has hired "all key engineering personnel" of Newer Technologies, which closed its doors on December 27, 2000. The addition of the Newer team effectively doubles Sonnet's engineering resources, according to the press release: "The group will begin working on new Sonnet projects immediately following acquisition of office space in Wichita."

Mac OS 9.1 available as single file download

01/17, 10:35pm

Mac OS 9.1 available as single file download

Several readers have noted that Apple has now posted the Mac OS 9.1 updater as a single file download, after making the multipart archive available for download the last week.

CSM Maker v1.1 creates control strip modules

01/17, 8:22pm

CSM Maker v1.1 creates control strip modules

Rage Software's CSM Maker v1.1 allows you to create CSMs at "the click of a button." It now allows you to drop a file onto CSM Maker's Icon to create a CSM for it. It is free for personal use and free when distributing a CSM with a freeware applications.

Real Software posts REALbasic 3.0b2

01/17, 8:18pm

Real Software posts REALbasic 3.0b2

Real Software has posted the second beta of REALbasic 3.0b2, a tool for creating software. This beta adds the new registration scheme; adjusts the behavior of the Project window; and, when adding new classes, the Code Editor window does not automatically open. [PPC Classic, Carbon]

Petition to get free phone via MSN Messenger

01/17, 8:17pm

Petition to get free phone via MSN Messenger

Joshua Pickering has posted a petition to Microsoft requesting the features missing from the Macintosh version of MSN Messenger (which are present in the Windows version) be added to it -- specifically, free PC-to-phone capabilities. Windows users of MSN Messenger get to make free US-to-US phone calls.

CNN to use Mac laptops for news gathering

01/17, 8:09pm

CNN to use Mac laptops for news gathering

Reader Bob Grip discovered a CNN internal memo posted on drudgereport.com that discusses cutback plans, including equipping news teams with Macintosh laptops. "We intend to accelerate our plans to introduce compact hi-tech newsgathering gear. Look for the quick introduction of small, high-quality DV cameras and laptop editing equipment (a Mac laptop), enabling us to deploy smaller reporting teams one or two people at times when it makes sense."

DVD-ROM v1.1 update for iMacs, Cubes

01/17, 8:03pm

DVD-ROM v1.1 update for iMacs, Cubes

Mark Tuleweit notes Apple has posted DVD-ROM v1.1 update for people using iTunes with iMac's and G4 cubes: "Although no new version number is listed on the site the release date is the 16th and I can confirm that this update is labeled 1.1. The bad news is that this update still does NOT update my G4 Cubes ROM although it does at least let me get one step further then the last updater did before it fails." The update is also available via the Software Update Control Panel.

MRJ 2.2.4 addresses security issue

01/17, 8:01pm

MRJ 2.2.4 addresses security issue

Rich Oeckler reports downloading MRJ 2.2.4 from the Mac OS 9.1 Software Update control panel, which "which addresses a security issue affecting our users. In some cases, this would have permitted unauthorized applets to access the local hard drive." The software is not yet available on Apple's Website.

Rewind 1.1 brings Mac OS 9.1 compatibility

01/17, 8:00pm

Rewind 1.1 brings Mac OS 9.1 compatibility

Power On Software has posted Rewind 1.1, a $90 application that remembers all the inforamtion that is being modified on disks, allowing for a return to previous versions. This version fixes a compatibiltity problem with Mac OS 9.1, adds the ability to select certain types of events to display in the Rewind Disks window and updates the user interface. [site not updated]

Evening tech news: CA rolling blackouts, more

01/17, 7:46pm

Evening tech news: CA rolling blackouts, more

Evening tech news: Rolling blackouts began today in Northern California as the state struggles against an energy crisis; AOL Time Warner could raise rates for America Online later this year, according to some analysts; Novel Concepts has registered two patents for a cooling technology which could help shrink portable devices while not decreasing battery life; and Intel is developing an entirely new mobile chip which it plans to debut in 2002.

Aspyr tops bestselling games for Dec.

01/17, 7:01pm

Aspyr tops bestselling games for Dec.

Aspyr Media games dominated the Mac game sales charts in December 2000 with The Sims, The Sims: Livin' Large and Sim Theme Park topping the bestsellers, according to PC Data. MacSoft, owned by Infogrames Entertainment, also had several titles in the top 10 including Age of Empires at #4, Scrabble at #7, Mac Fun Pack at #8 and Risk II at #10. The Sims was the second best-selling Mac software title overall for the month.

Reckless Drivin' 1.2 Released

01/17, 5:55pm

Reckless Drivin' 1.2 Released

Jonas Echterhoff has released Reckless Drivin' 1.2, a new version of his $12 shareware overhead 2D racing game. The new version has been carbonized for Mac OS X compatibility, now remembers the last name entered in the high score list, fixes misspellings and adds a FAQ section to the Readme.

SkyFighters 1945 1.01 Released

01/17, 5:50pm

SkyFighters 1945 1.01 Released

Bullseye Software has released SkyFighters 1945 1.01, an updated version of its combat flight sim for the Mac. The update fixes many minor bugs and includes some cosmetic tweaks.

IMG: Myst III Preview

01/17, 4:44pm

IMG: Myst III Preview

Inside Mac Games has published a preview of Myst III: Exile, the 3D adventure game expected for release on the Mac and PC in April.

Norbyte releases Headbanger for the Mac

01/17, 4:36pm

Norbyte releases Headbanger for the Mac

Norbyte has introduced Headbanger 1.0.0, a $7 shareware action game. The game, based on a similar game for the Atari published in the early 1990s, is an original creation and presents 10 columns on the screen, where various heads and other stuff pop up. The player uses 10 keys on the keyboard (one for each column) to drop heavy things on the heads, without hitting anything else.

Apple announces Q1 2001 earnings

01/17, 4:33pm

Apple announces Q1 2001 earnings

Apple has reported a loss of $247 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2001 on revenue of $1 billion; in line with revised estimates. [updated story, conference call notes, additional information]

Space.app for organizing OS X desktop

01/17, 2:00pm

Space.app for organizing OS X desktop

Riley Lynch has posted Space.app 0.4, which provides "virtual workspaces" to for organizing the desktop: "When you open Space.app, any non-hidden applications will be added to the first desktop. Switch to other desktops by clicking on the corresponding buttons. Any applications that you open or switch to (e.g. using the dock or command-tab) will become associated with the desktop that you are using." The source-code will be available soon for others to help collaborate on the software.

Gary Tarolli Interview

01/17, 2:00pm

Gary Tarolli Interview

Reverend's 3DPulpit has published an interview with 3dfx Interactive co-founder, and now NVIDIA 3D architect, Gary Tarolli, on the demise of the former powerhouse in 3D graphics technology. "3dfx ignited the PC 3D gaming market," says Tarolli, "and I'll always be proud of that, and the many other things we accomplished. Now it's time to move on..."

eGroups Extractor for downloading attachments

01/17, 1:50pm

eGroups Extractor for downloading attachments

eGroups Extractor 1.0 is a shareware application that can be used to download and extract attachments from eGroups archives. It is compatible with Mac OS X as well all systems with CarbonLib 1.2 installed.

GoD releaeses Myth III Teaser Trailer

01/17, 1:49pm

GoD releaeses Myth III Teaser Trailer

Gathering of Developers has released a teaser trailer for the forthcoming Myth III: The Wolf Age, now in development for the Mac and PC at Mumbo Jumbo Studios. The trailer runs 53 seconds and mostly contains footage from Myth II: Soulblighter with the final portion showing an animation of the new ghol in the game.

New Diablo II Expansion Set Shots

01/17, 1:40pm

New Diablo II Expansion Set Shots

Italian sites Diablo Italia and Multiplayer.it have each posted three new screenshots from the Diablo II Expansion Set expected for release in Q2 2001.

Myth III Development Team

01/17, 1:24pm

Myth III Development Team

Myth Village has posted an article detailing the known members of the development team at Mumbo Jumbo Studios currently working on Myth III: The Wolf Age. The majority of the development team has extensive experience with the Mac including Lead Programmer Andrew Meggs, who most recently completed the Mac port of Heavy Metal: FAKK2, and Michael Donges, who was previously a Games Partnership Manager at Apple.

Eudora Archiver 1.5 adds OS 9.1 compatibility

01/17, 12:48pm

Eudora Archiver 1.5 adds OS 9.1 compatibility

Softobe has released Eudora Archiver 1.5, which adds Mac OS 9.1 compatibility and brings support for saving file with creator of BlueSky Research "Textures" to the $20 shareware utility for archiving Eudora ( v. 4 or 5) emails and attachments.

Games: Master of Orion III First Look

01/17, 12:36pm

Games: Master of Orion III First Look

games.macnn.com has published a first look at Master of Orion III, which offers an in-depth look at the strategy game's features, gameplay and concept art, as well as information on today's release of the Myth III: The Wolf Age Teaser Trailer. [updated]

Creative Page 2.5 Web authoring tool updated

01/17, 12:33pm

Creative Page 2.5 Web authoring tool updated

PineHill's CreativePage 2.5 adds several new features and enhancements to its $25 Web page creation tool that features syntax coloring, HTML assistants, a built-in FTP client, backup and auto save features, and other tools. Version 2.5 adds support for CCS when creating a new page, compatibility with Mac OS 9.1, contextual menu support, server side include support, and multiple simultaenous FTP sessions.

Extension Overload 5.7 adds Mac OS 9.1 info

01/17, 12:31pm

Extension Overload 5.7 adds Mac OS 9.1 info

Extension Overload 5.7, an update to the $20 shareware system component database that contains descriptions of 4265 extensions and control panels, control strip modules and contextual menu items, has been updated with info on Mac OS 9.1 and has better support for non-English Mac OS.

First Look: Master of Orion III

01/17, 12:16pm

First Look: Master of Orion III

We have posted a first look at Master of Orion III which offers an in-depth look at the strategy game's features, gameplay and concept art.

Review: Tanks of Terror

01/17, 12:14pm

Review: Tanks of Terror

We have posted a review of Tanks of Terror, the tank combat racing game for the Mac developed by Klink! Software.

GC: Moo3 and THPS2

01/17, 12:13pm

GC: Moo3 and THPS2

We have added Master of Orion III, the turn-based strategy game announced for the Mac last week by MacSoft, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, the skateboarding game announced for the Mac last week by Aspyr Media, to our Game Center. [updated]

Roundup: The Fallen update and more

01/17, 12:11pm

Roundup: The Fallen update and more

Yesterday we published an update on the Mac version of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Fallen, DreamCatcher Interactive released a 1.02 update for Riddle of the Sphinx and a MacNN reader offered his first impressions of the ATI Radeon PCI Mac Edition. We published part 1 of our Women in Gaming series in which we interview "hepkitten" and "emmatheodd", two renowned female gamers in the first-person shooter gaming community. Also, we added both realMyst and Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed to our Game Center.

PowerBook G4 only accepts low-profile RAM

01/17, 12:10pm

PowerBook G4 only accepts low-profile RAM

Unlike the PowerBook G3, Apple's new PowerBook G4 only features support for low-profile SO-DIMMs, according to a developer tech note. The significance of this is only realized when adding 512 MB RAM modules, which cost nearly four times more than a standard SO-DIMM.

OGR: Tropico Interview

01/17, 11:40am

OGR: Tropico Interview

Online Game Review has published an interview with PopTop Software President Phil Steinmeyer on Tropico, the company's building/strategy game coming out for the Mac, PC and Dreamcast later this year. "Tropico is unique, great looking, a blast to play and something that I think a lot of people out there are really going to enjoy," says Steinmeyer.

Quake III: Team Arena FAQ Updated

01/17, 11:34am

Quake III: Team Arena FAQ Updated

id Software has updated the official FAQ for Quake III: Team Arena. The update consists mainly of acknowledgements of known issues with the add-on pack that the company is investigating.

New carrying case for flat panel display

01/17, 11:25am

New carrying case for flat panel display

Willow Design is now shipping its 15" Apple Flat Panel Display Carry Case, which has compartments for the Flat Panel Display as well as two compartments on a lower level for accessories. The $116 carring case has a lifetime guarantee against defects in materials or craftsmanship.

GraphSim President on The Mac Show

01/17, 11:17am

GraphSim President on The Mac Show

The Mac Show, a weekly Internet radio show streamed live via Quicktime, will include a guest appearance by Graphic Simulations Corporation President Jeff Morgan tonight. The interview is likely to cover the company's announcement last week that it would publish both Summoner and Red Faction for the Mac in addition to the latest news on the development of the multiplayer patch for Baldur's Gate and add-on Tales of the Sword Coast. The show begins at 9:00 p.m. EST (6:00 p.m. PST) and runs for two hours.

Minolta introduces 2 color printers/copiers

01/17, 10:09am

Minolta introduces 2 color printers/copiers

Minolta has introduced two color copier/printers: The DiALTA CF2001 and CF1501. The DIALTA CF2001 produces 20 ppm, and the CF1501 produces 15 ppm. With optional print controllers, the printers can be networked. Both copiers have 600 dpi copy and print resolution; 256 levels of grayscale per pixel; Minolta's Screen LIMOS III technology; and tandem technology, which applies all four colors in one pass. Both also have the ability to produce full-bleed 11-by-17-inch originals on 12-by-18-inch paper. The CF2001 is $17,500, and the CF1501 is $14,000. [site not updated]

Apple earnings due today

01/17, 9:00am

Apple earnings due today

Apple will report its first quarter earnings for fiscal 2001 today after the market closes. A conference call with investors and analysts will take place at 5 PM EST and will be available to the public via a live audio stream. In early December Apple issued its second consecutive earnings warning and announced that it expects to post a loss of $225-$250 million for the quarter on revenue of $1 billion, down from an initial estimate of $1.6 billion. Still, some analysts expect Jobs' outlook on the future may not be as positive as it was after the warning was issued.

TitleTrack Jukebox now available

01/17, 8:58am

TitleTrack Jukebox now available

RiverSong InterActive has recently released TitleTrack Jukebox, a $290 complete hardware and software package for controlling the Sony line of music CD changers. Up to 12 changers can be controlled by the product, which inventories, organizes and accesses music collections. Version 2.0, which will be released soon as a free upgrade to registered users, will add the ability to play MP3 with CDs and add an IR transmitter for controlling any component in a user's home-entertainment system.

MacDesktops: Buffy, Cartman, more...

01/17, 8:55am

MacDesktops: Buffy, Cartman, more...

During the past week, MacDesktops has posted 14 new pictures, including angel (still life photos), Apple soda (logos, Apple), Buffy (portraits) and Cartman (animation).

CIP4 elects Advisory Board

01/17, 8:50am

CIP4 elects Advisory Board

The International Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress (CIP4), whose role is to administer the Job Definition Specification, has elected its Advisory Board. JDF is an emerging, open print-workflow standard that is XML-based. Members of the board include Christian Anschütz of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen; Martin Bailey of Harlequin; Johan Berlaen of Agfa; and Paul Gaboury of printCafé.

More details on new G4 processors

01/17, 7:19am

More details on new G4 processors

Semiconductor Business News has more details on the new G4 processors, which were quietly introduced by Motorola last week , including pricing on the new chip. [see our reader comments thread]

Analyst: PowerPC is dead, port OS X to Intel

01/17, 7:07am

Analyst: PowerPC is dead, port OS X to Intel

Bear Stearns PC analyst Andrew Neff yesterday recommended a "massive and immediate consolidation of the major U.S. PC vendors," despite strong dissents among his peers. Recommendations included Dell's purchase of Gateway and IBM's PC business as well as Apple's abondonment of the PowerPC architecture in favor of porting Mac OS X to the Intel architecture.

PlusOptimizer brings OS 9.1, OS X support

01/17, 6:55am

PlusOptimizer brings OS 9.1, OS X support

Alsoft is expected to release PlusOptimizer 1.3 this week to bring compatibility with Mac OS 9.1 and OS X: "versions 1.0 through 1.2 will not function if you are running Mac OS 9.1. This updater updates these versions of PlusOptimizer to version 1.3 for complete Mac OS 9 - 9.1 compatibility and adds enhanced features when running under Mac OS 9 - 9.1. PlusOptimizer 1.3 now optimizes Mac OS X Extended disks. It also recognizes when it is running in Mac OS X's Classic environment."

Email2FMP archives Netscape, Eudora mail

01/17, 6:50am

Email2FMP archives Netscape, Eudora mail

Version 1.7 of Email2FMP, formerly Eudora2FMP, now offers support for importing Netscape Communicator mailboxes as well as Eudora mailboxes. The update is free to registered users of the shareware ($10) set of FileMaker databases that can import and archive email.

AOL IM clone gets buddy list import functions

01/17, 6:43am

AOL IM clone gets buddy list import functions

AIMM v1.2, an update to Jeffrey Rosen's AOL IM clone, offers the ability to import/export buddy lists to the standard AOL IM client, view logs from within the applications, and other enhancements.

Mac OS X terminal to terminate apps

01/17, 6:41am

Mac OS X terminal to terminate apps

A ResExcellence tutorial today explains how to use the Mac OS X Terminal to terminate troublesome applications that don't appear in the Application Manager.

PowerWindows 2.4.5 fixes transparency issues

01/17, 6:40am

PowerWindows 2.4.5 fixes transparency issues

Greg Landweber has posted Power Windows 2.4.5, a maintenance release to his popular $10 shareware window transparency utility that addresses glitches with transparent menus in Appearance themes and in Kaleidoscope schemes without built-in transparency as well as fixes a conflict between PopChar Pro and transparent window dragging.

MP3 suite adds Gnutella client, OS X

01/17, 6:39am

MP3 suite adds Gnutella client, OS X

Chaotic Software's MP3 Rage 3.0 adds a Gnutella client, support for running natively on Mac OS X, a newly revamped player with play lists, support for artwork embedded in MP3s, filename to ID3 tag converter, long filenames support, and other features to the $25 shareware collection of MP3 tools.

MAK 2.5 resolves OS 9.1 issues

01/17, 6:36am

MAK 2.5 resolves OS 9.1 issues

Mac Army Knife 2.5 is an update to Chaotic's $25 all-in-one collection of useful system utilities for MacOS 8, 9 and X. Version 2.5 updates the process manager and resolves some issues running on Mac OS 9.1 with CarbonLib 1.2.

Roundup: MW attendance, Macromedia merger

01/17, 12:47am

Roundup: MW attendance, Macromedia merger

Yesterday we noted record attendance numbers for Macworld Expo as well as the Keynote streaming event, our final Photo Essay from the Macworld Expo show floor, record downloads of iTunes software from Apple's servers, and Macromedia's merger with Allaire. Other updates included Open Door's Who's There 1.0, new Canto Cumulus add-ons, updated developer notes on the new PowerBooks and Power Macs, and Apple's 5-minute PowerBook G4 QT video.

Diskwarrior extension 2.05 brings OS 9.1 fix

01/17, 12:32am

Diskwarrior extension 2.05 brings OS 9.1 fix

Alsoft's DiskWarrior Extension 2.0.5 adds compatibility with Mac OS 9.1 as well as visual indication during startup of whether the extension has loaded: "Older versions of the DiskWarrior Extension will not load when your Mac is starting up with Mac OS 9.1. The DiskWarrior 2.0 application does not need to be updated for compatibility."

WebMerge 1.5 beta adds workkflow automation

01/17, 12:30am

WebMerge 1.5 beta adds workkflow automation

A new public beta of WebMerge 1.5b adds workflow automation options, better HTML generation, support for tab-delimited export formats, Apple event support, and other enhancements to the $70 cross-platform tool for generating static Web pages from database files.

New beta of Screen Catcher, 2.2b

01/17, 12:06am

New beta of Screen Catcher, 2.2b

A second public beta version of Screen Catcher 2.2b, St. Clair Software's screen capture utility, improves support and control of preferences for the file formats as well as fixes a conflict with Chronos Personal Organizer.