News Archive for 01/01/30

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MacHTTP Webserver development restarted

01/30, 10:25pm

MacHTTP Webserver development restarted

MacHTTP.Org is dedicated to the support and ongoing development of the original Mac Web server, MacHTTP. A new version of the application, MacHTTP 2.3b1, is available now, adding a few minor performance enhancements and addressing a few bugs.

New 8x Pocket CD-RW from Addonics

01/30, 10:22pm

New 8x Pocket CD-RW from Addonics

Addonics today announced a "sleek new" 8x4x24 CD-RW that is "barely larger than a standard Compact Disc case." The ultra-slim 14-ounce drive is available with USB ($460), PC CardBus ($460) or FireWire ($500) interfaces. It includes Adaptec's Easy CD Creator and Deluxe CD mastering software.

Betas of new Carracho Client/Server available

01/30, 8:49pm

Betas of new Carracho Client/Server available

Carracho has posted the first beta of its Carracho Client 1.0b1, which allows users to connect to its Hotline-like client/server system (powered by the Carracho Server 1.0b1) that offers threaded news listings, moderated and unmoderated discussions, real-time public and private chats, resumable file downloads, and other community features. A Mac OS X version is also available. [Classic, Carbon -- 0.9 MB]

Adobe affected by US economic slowdown

01/30, 7:58pm

Adobe affected by US economic slowdown

Adobe warned on Tuesday its revenues could be hurt by economic weakness this quarter but it was spending cautiously to meet operating profit goals as the general US economic slowdown was affecting all of its product segments.

MacSlash: Ambrosia Interview

01/30, 7:26pm

MacSlash: Ambrosia Interview

MacSlash has published an interview with Ambrosia Software el Presidente Andrew Welch on everything from game development to the company's plans for bringing their future games to Mac OS X. "We're eager to have apps running under OS X, but some technical issues are making it a bit difficult currently," says Welch. "I'm very bullish on OS X, in fact I'm writing this on a machine that's running OS X -- but the unfinished nature of it is fairly apparent."

MS hires ex-Apple, ex-NeXT Exec for .NET

01/30, 7:25pm

MS hires ex-Apple, ex-NeXT Exec for .NET

Microsoft today announced that ex-Apple Executive Dan'l Lewin has joined the company as vice president of .NET business development. At Apple, Lewin worked to develop the higher-education market for the Macintosh division, and later served as director of all education sales and marketing for the company. He then became a founding VP at NeXT, in charge of worldwide sales and marketing division.

ExtremeZ-IP 2.0 adds optional printing module

01/30, 6:01pm

ExtremeZ-IP 2.0 adds optional printing module

Group Logic today released version 2.0 of its ExtremeZ-IP file and print server software, which includes an optional IP Print Support feature for "unprecedented network performance, time savings, and productivity gains" as well as "a comprehensive, exportable log of all print job results, errors, and other critical data." It offers the ability to configure printers from Mac workstations and support for a wide variety of output devices, including OPI and RIP servers. Pricing is based on number of connected clients.

Poll: Will PB G4 boost Apple's marketshare?

01/30, 5:50pm

Poll: Will PB G4 boost Apple's marketshare?

John Becker notes that there is a Titanium G4 poll on vote.com. The poll asks, "Will the Titanium Powerbook boost Apple's Market Share?" "So far the vote is not going well for Apple."

Lasso ServeNow: one-stop solution

01/30, 5:49pm

Lasso ServeNow: one-stop solution

Blue World Communications and digital.forest have introduced Lasso ServeNow, which provides Web developers a one-stop-shop for all of their product, service and support needs. It includes a specially priced software bundle of Lasso Studio and Lasso Web Data Engine, along with a choice of back-end database, computer hardware and 12-month hosting service from digital.forest.

Winograd updates Hang2000 and Brickles Deluxe

01/30, 5:12pm

Winograd updates Hang2000 and Brickles Deluxe

Ken Winograd and Space-Time Associates have released Hang2000 1.7.4, a $20 small-screen version of hangman-like game Hang3000, and Brickles Deluxe 1.3.2, a $20 game based on Brickles and Brickles Plus, two titles first offered in 1985 shortly after the introduction of the first Macintosh. Both updates only fix minor bugs with previous versions. [584KB -- Hang2000; 471KB -- Brickles Deluxe]

DealNN: iBook for $940, 2 Cube bundles

01/30, 4:58pm

DealNN: iBook for $940, 2 Cube bundles

Today, at DealNN, bargains include a refurbished iBook G3/300 for $940, two Cube bundles form MacResource, a 22-inch Cinema Display for $3,600 and DiskLock or ACTION Utilities for $50 each.

Tech: Consumer confidence, Nokia results

01/30, 4:57pm

Tech: Consumer confidence, Nokia results

Evening tech news: Consumer confidence has slumped this month to a four-year low; Nokia has beaten analysts' estimates by 2 cents, but the company said its sales growth will be slower than expected in the first quarter of the new year; and online retailers did a better job this most recent holiday season than they did during the 1999 season, according to an official at the FTC.

4 Apple products win IF Design awards

01/30, 4:57pm

4 Apple products win IF Design awards

Four Apple products made the Industry Forum Product Design Awards Top 10 for 2001. The products are: Power Mac G4 Cube, Apple Cinema Display, Apple Pro Mouse and Apple Pro Keyboard. The iMac, iBook, Studio Display, iSub and Pro Speakers also earned awards from Industrie Forum Design Hannover.

Sim Theme Park FAQ updated

01/30, 3:59pm

Sim Theme Park FAQ updated

Alex Shapiro has updated his FAQ for Sim Theme Park with a guide to Halloween World. The FAQ previously offered a guide to Lost Kingdom with more theme park guides promised in the near future.

UT Dominator 1.3 Released

01/30, 3:50pm

UT Dominator 1.3 Released

Dominator 1.3 is a new version of the mod for Unreal Tournament which lets you play Domination in a 'Capture the Flag'-like manner. Version 1.3 adds a WebAdmin option for running a dedicated server, new HUD icons, new options in the rules tab and more.

Interviews with Deus Ex Audio Director

01/30, 3:42pm

Interviews with Deus Ex Audio Director

Both DeusEx Machina and Games Domain have published interviews with Ion Storm's Alex Brandon, Audio Director on the award-winning game Deus Ex. "If it's done effectively, I think music can enhance a game tremendously, whatever style is chosen," says Brandon.

New MacMAME improves Carbon version

01/30, 3:32pm

New MacMAME improves Carbon version

Brad Oliver and team have released MacMAME 0.37b11a, a new version of the popular arcade emulator for the Mac. The new version brings the Mac version in sync with DOS build 0.37 beta 11 and fixes a number of bugs including several for the Carbon version.

Updated Febraury virus definitions for Virex

01/30, 3:28pm

Updated Febraury virus definitions for Virex

Network Associates has posted new February virus definitions for Virex owners.

MapProjector 4.0: Carbon-compliant

01/30, 3:16pm

MapProjector 4.0: Carbon-compliant

MapProjector 4.0 is a Carbon-compliant version of the graphics program that can be used to view, alter and process images of global maps. The $20 shareware offers the ability to recenter images, extract specific regions, and convert images to different projections (mollweide, orthographic, stereographic) as well as annotation features such as scalebars, latitude and longitude grid lines and continental overlays.

Genre Poll Results; Video card poll

01/30, 3:09pm

Genre Poll Results; Video card poll

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) topped the list of genres which remain the most neglected on the Mac with 30.08%, according to our most recent poll. That genre was followed by driving with 18.82% and "other" with 12.44% due to our omission of sports and adventure as options. The top three most neglected genres were followed by the remaining choices: flight sims, role-playing, real-time strategy, turn-based strategy, space sims, first-person shooters and third-person shooters. In our new poll we ask, "Which video card do you use for gaming on your Mac?" Please take the time to vote in the left sidebar of any page on the site.

Roundup: Infogrames completes acquisition

01/30, 3:08pm

Roundup: Infogrames completes acquisition

Yesterday we reported on Apple's plans to attend the Game Developers Conference in March, updates to several Quake III: Arena mods including OSP 0.99r2 and Eternal Arena 3.6 and the completion of Infogrames' acquisition of Hasbro Interactive. We published both our review of Oni and the first part our Oni Strategy Guide providing step-by-step instructions for completing Chapter 01: Trial Run - Syndicate Warehouse.

Oni Save Game Editor Released

01/30, 2:58pm

Oni Save Game Editor Released

Oni Shots has released the Oni Save Game Editor for the Mac and PC. The editor allows players to cheat in the single-player only game by editing the statistics at any save point including weapon, ammo, health, enabling cheats, enabling invisibility, adding hypos and more.

BridgeIt FireWire Extension for OS 9.1

01/30, 1:46pm

BridgeIt FireWire Extension for OS 9.1

Fastware.net has released an OS 9.1-compatible version of its BridgeIt FireWire Extension, which supports Mac OS 8.6 through 9.1 systems and supports a up to a total of 4 SCSI drives, MO, and/or removable media such as Jaz and Zip, and offers CD-R/RW support but only via B's Recorder Gold CD authoring application ($80). The company promises in early March a free SIM Extension for all registered users that will support scanners, printers, MO, removable media, hard drives and CD-R/RW via Toast, and most major CD authoring applications as well as a free flash update in April for BridgeIt's firmware to provide support for a full SCSI chain of 7 devices.

Snitch 2.6.6 updater brings OS 9.1 support

01/30, 1:25pm

Snitch 2.6.6 updater brings OS 9.1 support

A Snitch 2.6.6 updater brings OS 9.1 compatibility to the handy shareware for viewing and manipulating file/folder attributes.

Troi Text Plug-in 2.0.1 adds XML to FMPro

01/30, 1:12pm

Troi Text Plug-in 2.0.1 adds XML to FMPro

Troi Text Plug-in 2.0.1, a $29 FileMaker plugin, now allows developers to parse incoming XML data in FileMaker Pro. Version 2.01 also adds several new functions, including retreival of lines in one-text field only, new sorting options, and other enhancements. A demo is available online.

Readers report AirPort base station failures

01/30, 1:07pm

Readers report AirPort base station failures

Jeffrey West writes about AirPort Base station failures, which appear to have a higher-than-expected rate of failure:

Just wanted to let you guys know that a large number of the Airport basestations are failing due to a FlashROM failure...if you check Apple's support discussions there are numerous threads about the issue. A few people have been able to get replacements but those, myself included, who purchased the basestations when released with out iBooks are out of luck. Not only do you pay $50 for a one time AppleCare incident but in the end you are told 'sorry, its a hardware failure we can't do anything about that.' The symptoms include 3 flashing amber lights and an inability to reset the software. Even using a direct Ethernet connection fails. [registration required to view threads]

Fantom Drives Compact Disc Duplication System

01/30, 1:06pm

Fantom Drives Compact Disc Duplication System

Fantom Drives today announced the availability of the new 16x Fantom Drives Compact Disc Duplication System product line, which use 16x10x40 CD-RW drive mechanisms from Yamaha. The new standalone duplication systems are available now in 2-up ($1,800), 5-up ($4845), and 10-up ($6,500) configurations. They can either read a source CD to its built-in hard disk drive for immediate duplication (or long-term archiving) or may be used in "Online Mode", which turns the main CD-RW drive unit into a standard SCSI device when connected to a PC.

New Radeon/Rage 128 Driver Released

01/30, 12:21pm

New Radeon/Rage 128 Driver Released

ATI Technologies has released a new ATI driver for owners of a Radeon Mac Edition or Rage 128-based product. Version 1.11 fixes problems experienced by owners of the Radeon Mac Edition PCI including a black menu screen in Quake III: Arena and display corruption when using the card in a Blue & White G3 with an Apple provided Rage 128 board. The new driver also installs OpenGL 1.2.1; a list of components and version numbers is available in our forums. [updated]

Diablo II Interview: Matt Householder

01/30, 11:57am

Diablo II Interview: Matt Householder

DiabloII.Net has translated a Belgian interview with Blizzard Entertainment's Matt Householder regarding the upcoming release of Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, the expansion pack to the hot-selling title Diablo II. The interview concludes with a question regarding the possibility of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) set in the Diablo world. "To be honest, I can't comment on products that haven't even been announced yet," says Householder, "but I'd be hard pressed to believe that evil would be rendered entirely extinct after this expansion pack."

GAS: Campbell Q&A

01/30, 11:54am

GAS: Campbell Q&A

GA-Strategy has posted a short Q&A with Mumbo Jumbo Studios' Scott Campbell, Lead Designer on the upcoming Myth III: The Wolf Age for the Mac and PC. "Besides just a graphic overhaul," explains Campbell, "we are planning on incorporating a few new controls that will make unit management easier and more robust."

Important PC features came from Apple

01/30, 11:19am

Important PC features came from Apple

An article on Sharky Extreme talks about how many of today's PC features were brought about first, or made successful by Apple: "...Shocking as it may sound, many things we take for granted in today's PC, including everything listed above, either started at or was proven successful at Apple Computer."

OS X: 'great' for running/developing Java

01/30, 11:16am

OS X: 'great' for running/developing Java

Mac OS X will move Java on the Mac from also-ran to serious contender, according to a report from Macworld Expo in the recent issue of Java World.

Forums: ATA/100, 2nd drive in beige G3...

01/30, 10:40am

Forums: ATA/100, 2nd drive in beige G3...

Interesting threads in our forums include: ATA/100 solutions for Macs · installing a second drive in a beige G3 · using 1280x1024 on an iMac · gaming performance on the PowerBook G4 · iBook vs. iBook SE for OS X · the best $1000 digital camera · using AirPort w/ AOL · continued discussion on using a third-party burner with iTunes/DiscBurn.

Public beta of AShare Helper 2.0b

01/30, 9:53am

Public beta of AShare Helper 2.0b

David Bakkers' public beta of AShare Helper 2.0b3 removes the dependency on ASIP Scripter to translate AppleScript to ServerEvents, providing a more direct link to the AppleShare application. The ASIP utility helps maintain servers and provides notifications.

FTP client 3.1.3 updated by Vicomsoft

01/30, 9:51am

FTP client 3.1.3 updated by Vicomsoft

Vicomsoft has posted FTP client 3.1.3, an update to its $40 ftp client that includes the ability to select multiple items to edit in BBEdit, an optional warning alert when transferred items would replace items the same name and a "reveal in Finder" option. It is a free upgrade for users of version 3.0.1 or later and $5 for others.

PowerBook G4 BookEndz coming in April

01/30, 8:30am

PowerBook G4 BookEndz coming in April

Photo Control, which recently purchased the rights to manufacture and market Pilot Technologies' BookEndz docking stations (previously handled by Newer Technologies), expects to release a PowerBook G4 BookEndz in April 2001.

Tech: Gateway gets new CEO, Palm invests..

01/30, 8:25am

Tech: Gateway gets new CEO, Palm invests..

Early morning tech news: Ted Waitt, Gateway's founder and chairman, will return as CEO; Palm has invested in SiPix, a company that makes digital cameras and portable printers; and Microsoft has stepped up its attack on the judge who ordered the company broken in two, saying his "indefensible" public comments about the company raise "profound doubts" about his impartiality.

Strata 3D 3.0.3 improves performance

01/30, 8:25am

Strata 3D 3.0.3 improves performance

3D.COM has released Strata 3D 3.0.3 (formerly Studio), an update to the freeware version of the 3D modeling, rendering, and animation software. The new version speeds up Aura rendering, metaball rendering, and fog with shadows.

Apple cancels New Product Update seminars

01/30, 8:10am

Apple cancels New Product Update seminars

Multiple readers report that Apple has cancelled its New Product Update seminars, scheduled for early February, because the company "will be unable to have the new products on hand for the event." New Product Update seminars are designed to allows Mac fans who were unable to attend Macworld Expo to see Apple's latest products first-hand and discuss them with Apple representatives.

Washington Post praises iTools

01/30, 8:10am

Washington Post praises iTools

Apple's iTools are mentioned in a Washington Post article that discusses free site building/hosting tools on the Web. "Apple provides some basic design templates, but the beauty of iTools is the way it integrates with your Mac—to upload files, just drop them in a folder on the desktop. Another nice touch: the absence of banner advertising anywhere on user sites."

Earthlink reports Q4 financials

01/30, 8:10am

Earthlink reports Q4 financials

Earthlink today reported a net loss of $52.2 million, excluding one-time charges, for its fourth quarter on revenue of $286.8 million. Earthlink, which is Apple's primary ISP partner, closed the quarter with 4.7 million customers, adding 76,000 broadband customers while losing 8,000 dial-up subscribers.

Java FTP server adds features, fixes bugs

01/30, 6:59am

Java FTP server adds features, fixes bugs

Ben Spink's $20 Java FTP server, CrushFTP 2.0b10, adds filtering options to both the log file and server window, log reporting, and display of other relevant "snapshot" info for connected users.

FileMaker plug-in for storing file name/path

01/30, 6:56am

FileMaker plug-in for storing file name/path

The $25 FileMaker plug-in, .launch.it 1.0, allows developers to store any file name and its path in a FileMaker Pro field using a FileOpen dialog, giving users the ability to launch the file and its parent application from within FileMaker.

McSerialnumber v1.3 for tracking sales

01/30, 6:55am

McSerialnumber v1.3 for tracking sales

McSerialnumber v1.3 Shareware Edition, which now supports Mac OS X, allows developers to implement a customer registration scheme in their products and track sales and registrations in an integrated database. Updates to the $15 software are free to registered users.

Apple analyst meeting to be Webcast

01/30, 1:36am

Apple analyst meeting to be Webcast

Apple will host a financial analyst meeting from Apple's Town Hall Center in Cupertino, CA, on January 31, 2001. A live audio webcast of the meeting will begin at 1:30pm PT and end at 5:30pm PT.

Games: Oni Save Game Editor and more

01/30, 1:35am

Games: Oni Save Game Editor and more

games.macnn.com has information on an Oni Save Game Editor, the results of last week's poll on neglected game genres and the debut of this week's poll concerning the video card in your Mac.

Roundup: QuickTime 5.0b8, Ofoto investment

01/30, 12:50am

Roundup: QuickTime 5.0b8, Ofoto investment

Yesterday we noted the release of updated QuickTime 5 components, Apple and HP's investment in Ofoto, notice of PowerBook G4 shipments, and shipment of the Japanese version of InDesign 1.0. Other updates included Proteron's N2MP3 Pro 2.01, PowerLogix's G3/G4 Cache Profiler 1.4b1 for OS 9.1 compatibility, Video Funhouse 1.0 "goo" utility, Mirabilis' ICQ 2.5b for Mac, and Connectix VirtualPC 4.01 updater.

Desktop Consoles Volume 6 available now

01/30, 12:38am

Desktop Consoles Volume 6 available now

Desktop Consoles Volume 6 is a collection of 27 unique original desktop pictures.

Notes on SuperDrive, iDVD, and DVD Studio Pro

01/30, 12:23am

Notes on SuperDrive, iDVD, and DVD Studio Pro

Digital Post Production has posted more information on Apple's SuperDrive, iDVD and DVD Studio Pro, which includes the following interesting tidbits:

1. The Pioneer "SuperDrive," a.k.a. the DVR-103 DVD-R drive, will be available as a separate item from Pioneer in late spring (April or May) with a MSRP of $995.
2. iDVD tops out at one hour of video is because it has a fixed rate of encoding (8 Mb/sec, double the usual rate). This ensures very high quality for consumer/prosumer use, but DVD Studio Pro can override this and use VBR encoding to allow for standard 2-hour-plus presentations.
3. Apple's 1:2 encoding is accomplished by a combination of the G4 w/AltiVec's raw power and the fixed rate of iDVD's video and sound encoding. VBR takes a great deal longer to encode. Again, DVD Studio Pro can change encoding rates for both audio and video.
4. The Superdrive -- even with DVD Studio Pro -- cannot burn dual-layer DVDs, as to date no DVD recorders can, although DVD Studio Pro can create dual-layer DVD-9 DVDs, which can be preserved in the DLT format and subsequently turned into commercial, dual-layer pressed DVDs by a service bureau.