News Archive for 01/03/01

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Alsoft DiskWarrior CD updated for new Macs

03/01, 8:50pm

Alsoft DiskWarrior CD updated for new Macs

Alsoft has updated its DiskWarrior 2.1 CD to work with the Power Macs introduced at Macworld Tokyo 2001 and Macworld San Francisco 2001, according to a MacNN reader: "Alsoft's DiskWarrior has been updated with a 9.1 CD that supports the new powermacs and the new Titanium PowerBook. Also with a new updated DiskWarrior disk utility. The upgrade is free to anyone who has bought or upgraded since December."

MacTella 1.03 gets new reflector technolgoy

03/01, 8:25pm

MacTella 1.03 gets new reflector technolgoy

Mactella 1.03, an updated version of the alternative distributed peer-to-peer sharing system, includes a new Clip2 Reflector, allowing low-bandwidth users to connect to a reflector and get most of the advantage of a full network connection (for searches).

Nourison builds interactive multimedia kiosk

03/01, 8:10pm

Nourison builds interactive multimedia kiosk

Nourison, the world's largest importer and manufacturer of fine handmade oriental rugs, today unveiled an interactive multimedia kiosk program for its authorized dealers. Developed in close collaboration with First Wave and Apple, allows dealers to lease a kiosk for their retail outlet to provide consumers with instantaneous access to a virtual inventory of thousands of rugs. The Nourison kiosk runs on a touch-enabled iMac is powered by First Wave's Kiosk Communicator that can be easily updated remotely via phone lines.

4D v6.7.1: Web dev tools revved

03/01, 7:45pm

4D v6.7.1: Web dev tools revved

4D, Inc. has released 4D v6.7.1, an update to its professional suite of application and web development tools. Version 6.7.1 is a "significant release for current 4D v6.7.x users with many improvements and optimizations along with the addition of a few minor new web features."

Computer Town announces restructuring

03/01, 7:40pm

Computer Town announces restructuring

Salem, NH-based computer dealer Computer Town announced today that it has been taken over by Jim Hancock, a "long-time professional in the Apple dealer channel for 13 years." The company says it will conduct business as a premier retailer, business sales, and professional services company for markets nationwide - beginning with southern New Hampshire, metro Boston, and the Phoenix (Paradise Valley) areas and that it is undergoing a rebuilding effort beginning immediately that will include attempts to satisfy national and local debts, continued liquidation of inventory, and repair of customer satisfaction issues.

RPGV: Summoner Elements of the Week

03/01, 7:15pm

RPGV: Summoner Elements of the Week

RPG Vault has posted its fifth Elements of the Week for Volition's upcoming 3D role-playing game for the Mac and PC, Summoner. The three elements this week include two spells, Lightning and Resurrection, in addition to screenshots and a movie showcasing the summoned Posion Elemental. "This summoned creature takes the form of a large two-tailed serpent spirit," describes the site. "It appears in a large green colored mist, and when formed, will bear its massive serpent like fangs."

DR: Hoekstra Interview

03/01, 6:35pm

DR: Hoekstra Interview

An interview with Raven Software's Kenn Hoekstra at Daily Radar provides new details on the as yet unnamed add-on pack for Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force.

Blizzard attacks subside

03/01, 6:25pm

Blizzard attacks subside

Blizzard Entertainment has announced that the recent attacks on its Battle.net servers have subsided except for a continued attack on the US East realm for Diablo II. "The Battle.net team has taken measures to mitigate the service disruption on that realm," notes the company. "We wish to thank you for your understanding during this time."

Master of Orion III site redesign

03/01, 6:15pm

Master of Orion III site redesign

The official web site for Master of Orion III, the Mac/PC turn-based strategy game in development at Quicksilver Software, has re-launched with a completely new design that is easier to navigate and use.

New Shadowbane Media

03/01, 6:10pm

New Shadowbane Media

German site GameSurf.de has published a dozen new screenshots from Wolfpack Studios' upcoming massive multiplayer online role-playing game for the Mac and PC, Shadowbane. In addition, the site has posted a Quicktime movie featuring Wolfpack giving a brief demonstration of the game's features.

Oni Save Game Editor 1.3 Released

03/01, 5:50pm

Oni Save Game Editor 1.3 Released

Tobias Opfermann has released Oni Save Game Editor 1.3, a new version of the cheat utility for editing saved games in Bungie's third-person 3D action game, Oni. The new version adds compatibility with the final, shipping version of the game (all language versions) in addition to adding an option for setting whether Griffin is available in the last fight against Muro.

Thunderwizard releases Zroids 1.0.0

03/01, 5:45pm

Thunderwizard releases Zroids 1.0.0

Thunderwizard Software has released Zroids 1.0.0, a new $10 "fast-paced action game with stunning light, animation and sound effects." The game features 6 levels (and an limited number of custom and user-made levels), 6 ships, 16 weapons and the ability to play between up to four humans and two computer AI opponents for a total of six players.

Deus Ex MP Patch in one week

03/01, 5:35pm

Deus Ex MP Patch in one week

Westlake Interactive has updated its Project Status page with word that the Deus Ex Multiplayer Patch should be available in an estimated one week. In addition, a new "unnamed project" has been added to the game roster.

New WaterRace add-ons

03/01, 5:20pm

New WaterRace add-ons

French Touch Software has released six new free add-ons for its water racing game for the Mac, WaterRace. Among the add-ons are an alien space ship, a mad cow and a star wars racer. In addition, the company will soon release a new patch for the game to fix a problem where the game would not recognize that the CD is in the drive.

Myst III Designer Diary update

03/01, 5:15pm

Myst III Designer Diary update

GameSpot's Designer Diary for Myst III: Exile has been updated by Game Studios' Daniel Achterman. The entry begins with the current status of the 3D adventure game as it nears its May 7 release date...

Console: Commander Keen for GameBoy Color

03/01, 5:05pm

Console: Commander Keen for GameBoy Color

Evening console news: id Software and Activision are teaming up to bring Commander Keen—"the kinder, gentler side of id Software"—to the GameBoy Color this spring; Sony has confirmed that Hot Shots Golf 3 will be released for the Playstation 2 later this year; and Konami is offering everyone the opportunity to potentially have their name be featured on the dog tag of a soldier in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty for the Playstation 2.

Aestiva's HTML/OS 1.9 has new runtime

03/01, 5:00pm

Aestiva's HTML/OS 1.9 has new runtime

Aestiva's HTML/OS 1.9, the latest version of its Web operating and development platform, includes new multi-tasking capabilities, improved database cross-platform compatibility and new tools to help developers build Web-based applications. Version 1.9 now includes both a developmental ($800) and runtime versions ($350).

Calculator 1.02: unique declarative util

03/01, 4:55pm

Calculator 1.02: unique declarative util

Tri-Bar Software has released of Calculator v1.0.2, a new unique calculator based upon 'fifth generation' and declarative programming languages. The scientific calculator allows users to enter an incomplete equation for solving. The latest version includes minor bug fixes, more constancts and support for 68k machines.

Games: In-depth Preview: Tropico

03/01, 3:50pm

Games: In-depth Preview: Tropico

games.macnn.com has published an in-depth preview of Tropico, the upcoming building-oriented strategy/simulation game from the makers of Railroad Tycoon II, PopTop Software.

In-depth preview: Tropico

03/01, 3:45pm

In-depth preview: Tropico

We have published an in-depth preview of Tropico, the upcoming building-oriented strategy/simulation game from the makers of Railroad Tycoon II, PopTop Software. The game pits the player as the dictator of a remote Caribbean island that is faced with maintaining power and prosperity amidst a sea of opposing forces.

Roundup: Elite Force add-on

03/01, 3:00pm

Roundup: Elite Force add-on

Yesterday Raven Software announced an add-on pack for its Quake III-engine game Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force; id Software's Graeme Devine released a new build of Quake III: Arena 1.27h for the Mac; Volition re-launched the official web site for Summoner in addition to new media and music for the game being released; and Apple OpenGL Team Leader John Stauffer pledged to developers initial support and ongoing improvements for Radeon and GeForce products under Mac OS X.

Boston Globe: "a ravishing new laptop"

03/01, 1:40pm

Boston Globe: "a ravishing new laptop"

The Titanium PowerBook would be the one laptap Hiawatha Bray would take on a desert island, according to another glowing review in The Boston Globe that opens by saying "Apple is a personal computer company at a time when that's not good enough any more." (Oddly, the review does note excessive "stuttering and pausing" during DVD playback, which other reviews and readers have not noted.)

audio:box: managing, delivering audio content

03/01, 1:20pm

audio:box: managing, delivering audio content

Media 100 announced "the first" fully-automated stream publishing system for capturing, encoding and managing digital audio content. audio:box can convert audio assets from audio CD, CD-ROM or DVD-ROM to any streaming media format, including MP3, Windows Media, RealAudio, QuickTime and .WAV using Cleaner 5 software.

CineStream: interactive streams authoring

03/01, 1:15pm

CineStream: interactive streams authoring

Media 100 is now shipping CineStream 1.0, a software-based interactive streaming media authoring solution that "provides a unique, software-based approach to creating video programs specifically designed for the interactive nature of the Internet..."

Cleaner MPEG Charger helps MPEG ecoding

03/01, 1:05pm

Cleaner MPEG Charger helps MPEG ecoding

Media 100 today announced the immediate availability of Cleaner MPEG Charger, its software-only MPEG solution for Cleaner 5 that provides comprehensive control over MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 content creation for DVD, Video CD, CD-ROM and digital broadcasting. It includes support for constant bitrate and both single- and dual-pass VBR encoding, both NTSC and PAL ecoding, and support for 4:2:0 and 4:2:2 chromas. Cleaner MPEG Charger is a $500 add-on option for Cleaner 5.

FolderSychronizer 2.0 now available

03/01, 1:00pm

FolderSychronizer 2.0 now available

Softobe's $30 synchronization and backup utility FolderSynchronizer 2.0 boasts speed improvements, background operations, alias resolution, vastly improved memory management, and copying of file/folder attributes as well as custom icons.

Graeme Devine on OS X

03/01, 12:30pm

Graeme Devine on OS X

id Software's Graeme Devine made comments in response to our story yesterday on Apple's commitment to fully supporting Radeon and GeForce products under Mac OS X and to making continued improvements and additions to its feature set. "As someone who has seen builds of OS X as they were made over the last few weeks, I've been more and more impressed with the quality of the builds (using it right now)," commented Devine. "The OpenGL support, through the team led by John Stauffer, is dedicated, and the most hard working group I've ever encountered, if all of Apple is as focused as this team, then there is no doubt that OS X will succeed."

GS: GeForce3 movies

03/01, 12:20pm

GS: GeForce3 movies

GameSpot has posted a variety of movies illustrating the advanced effects capabilities of NVIDIA's new GeForce3 including shader effects, lighting, shadows and more. Among the movies is Zoltar Speaks, the novelty machine featured in the Tom Hanks movie "Big", that shows off the ability of the graphics card to animate faces realistically in real-time.

Understanding Unix File Systems

03/01, 12:05pm

Understanding Unix File Systems

Today, O'Reilly's FreeBSD Dev Center has a great article titled "Understanding Unix Filesystems" that explains the basics of how file systems address disks, read and write files, and how performance is affected by some of the different filesystems out there.

DealNN Bargains for 3/1/01

03/01, 11:55am

DealNN Bargains for 3/1/01

Today's Bargains at DealNN include 128 MB PC133 RAM for $25, ACTION Utilities for just a buck, Refurbished iBook's $889, Newer G3 266 processor upgrade for 7100 and 8100 for $200 and more. The top 10 deals at DealNN are listed at the bottom of MacNN, as well as options to sign up for the DealNN newsletter.

iBuild: preview of multimedia authoring app

03/01, 9:10am

iBuild: preview of multimedia authoring app

Acrux Software's multimedia authoring environment, iBuild Lite/Pro/Site preview 0.9.5, offers improved object editing, new object tools and stationery, an improved window design mode, stack printing, and other enhancements. Version 1.0 is expected to be released in about 30 days.

Convert Flash Win .exe files to .swf for Mac

03/01, 8:40am

Convert Flash Win .exe files to .swf for Mac

The freeware FlashRipper 1.1r is a tool used either to "remove the import protection from Macromedia™ Flash movies (.swf files), or to extract an .swf file from a Macromedia Flash Projector. Version 1.1r works with Windoze Projectors as well.

Graphics chipamaker ATI to miss estimates

03/01, 8:35am

Graphics chipamaker ATI to miss estimates

Graphics chip maker ATI today announced that revenue for the quarter will fall short of initial estimates, at about $230 million. Instead of breaking even for the quarter, as originally expected, the company expects to post a loss between $0.11 and $0.13 per share. ATI cited weakened marketing conditions and a higher than expected cost for memory as the reasons for the shortfall. Last quarter, the company posted a narrow profit on revenues of $350.5 million, while revenues for the quarter last year came in at $413.5 million. Shares of ATI have fallen 75% in the past year.

MacNN Review: ContentBarrier

03/01, 8:30am

MacNN Review: ContentBarrier

We have posted a review of ContentBarrier, the new Internet filtering solution from Intego.

Console: Earthworm Jim on GameBoy Advance

03/01, 8:25am

Console: Earthworm Jim on GameBoy Advance

Morning console news: Earthworm Jim for the GameBoy Advance is based on the classic SNES side-scrolling platformer and is scheduled for release this summer; EA's NBA Street for the Playstation 2, scheduled for release this spring, will include a momentum meter that increases as players perform difficult dribbling manuevers such as fake crossovers and behind-the-back—all realistically animated using motion-capture; and Sony has released new screenshots from its survival-horror action game, Extermination, set for release in Japan on March 8 and in North America in July.

Shareware registration tracker updated

03/01, 8:05am

Shareware registration tracker updated

DXoft's Software & Hardware Tracker 4.0.5 is a maintenance release to the shareware collection of FileMaker databases for tracking software registration information. Licensing fees range from $15 to $50.

Roundup: Mac OS X graphics, Cube software...

03/01, 8:00am

Roundup: Mac OS X graphics, Cube software...

Yesterday we noted the future of Radeon and Gforce products under Mac OS X, Samsung's new 24" LCD, MaxGate's new wireless broadband gateway, the delay in International-English versions of iMovie, differing Cube software bundles, and a summary of recent Apple TILs. Other updates included a new public beta of WebSTAR 4.4b2, PipeLine 2.5.1 proxy server, MacGhostView 2.04, and Intego's NetBarrier 2.02 and ContentBarrier 1.02 updates.

Storeys 1.6 for $30 in limited time offer

03/01, 8:00am

Storeys 1.6 for $30 in limited time offer

ProFunda Software is offering Storeys 1.6, the most recent version of its 3D spreadsheet application, for $30 through March 7. A demo is available online.

Sonnet officially announces price cuts

03/01, 7:50am

Sonnet officially announces price cuts

As noted here several days ago, Sonnet today officially announced price cuts on its line of G3 and G4 upgrades. Crecendo/7200 G3 and G4 PCI upgrades were cut by $100 each to $300, $400, and $500 for G3/400/512k, G3/400/1MB, and G4/400/1MB versions respectively. Additionally, Encore G4-ZIF upgrades were cut by $50 and $200 respectively for the 400- and 500-MHz models respectively.

TDMC releases new, updated system utils

03/01, 7:40am

TDMC releases new, updated system utils

TMDC has released its new SysMenu 1.0, a $15 utility which offers a system-wide, customizable menu with support for submenus, plugins, and other features. It also released a freeware Droplet Builder 1.0, a simple utility to create droplets that modify file attributes such as the Type, Creator, Name Lock, and more when files or folders are dropped upon them. The freeware FileChanger 2.01 for changing file attributes and the freeware WebPad 2.0 (for storing links, comments, and related notes) have been rewritten and updated with new features as well.

FlavorSavers 2.7.2 adds screensaver module

03/01, 7:30am

FlavorSavers 2.7.2 adds screensaver module

Chaotic Software's FlavorSavers 2.7.2, an update to the $25 shareware screensaver package, fixes a few bugs and adds a SimpleBlack module.

iTunes v1.11 patch for Mac OS 8.6 updated

03/01, 7:20am

iTunes v1.11 patch for Mac OS 8.6 updated

A new iTunes patch v1.11 installer, which hacks the application to work with Mac OS 8.6, now supports iTunes 1.0 and now patches for the iTunes extension 1.1 extension. It also includes the CD Authoring Support files that "are part of the iTunes 1.1 installer, but which do not install on Mac OS 8.6 (or even 9.0.4) when you use Apple's iTunes v1.1 installer." A FAQ answers more questions about the patch, but notes that it does not allow you to "burn CDs or connect USB MP3 devices to their Macs under Mac OS 8."

Vsamp 3.1: software sample player for Mac

03/01, 7:20am

Vsamp 3.1: software sample player for Mac

VSamp 3.1 is an update to the $40 software sample player for the Mac that includes functions for creating and playing virtual instruments and a VST plugin for playing VSamp instruments from within a VST sequencer. Version 3.1 adds LFO with its own editor window, a new MIDI Inputs window, a new Reload button to VSamp VST, and the ability to play VSamp banks with 4 assignable stereo outputs.

Dr. Bott now shipping CoolPad products

03/01, 6:40am

Dr. Bott now shipping CoolPad products

Dr. Bott LLC is now distributing (and shipping) the $20 CoolPad, an ultra-thin rotating stand for laptops, and and the recently updated $30 Podium CoolPad from RoadTools, which provides an adjustable keyboard tilt for laptops.

CSM for launching AppleScripts, applets

03/01, 6:25am

CSM for launching AppleScripts, applets

AcutAbove Software has released an update to its $10 shareware, ScriptStrip 1.1, a control strip module that runs AppleScripts and applets from within the Control Strip. The update adds a user-configurable recent items menu and the ability to toggle scripts on and off.

March Virus definitions for anti-virus utils

03/01, 6:25am

March Virus definitions for anti-virus utils

March virus definitions have been posted for Symantec's NAV, Network Associates' Virex, and Inetego's VirusBarrier.

G4 Cube shell converted to 'The KleenexCube

03/01, 6:20am

G4 Cube shell converted to 'The KleenexCube

Jamie Pentland describes how he converted a spare G4 Cube shell to a kleenex box, in what he calls The KleenexCube.

Java-FTP server gets minor update

03/01, 6:15am

Java-FTP server gets minor update

Version 2.1.1 of CrushFTP, the $20 Java FTP server has been posted by Ben Spink, fixing a bug with directory creation and offering better Mac compatibility with ASCII file transfers.