News Archive for 01/03/02

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Screenshots: Shadowbane and Red Faction

03/02, 10:25pm

Screenshots: Shadowbane and Red Faction

Evening screenshots: The official web site for Red Faction has five new screenshots from the Playstation 2 version of Mars-focused first-person shooter also coming to the Mac and PC later this year; and GameSurf.de has posted twelve new screenshots of Shadowbane, the massive multiplayer online role-playing game from Wolfpack Studios and Gathering of Developers.

Mac Publishing closes MacWEEK

03/02, 8:00pm

Mac Publishing closes MacWEEK

MacWEEK, a cornerstone of the Mac press for 14 years, has shut down. Mac Publishing today announced that the site, which originally was published as a weekly magazine, will be merged into MacCentral—Mac Publishing's daily Mac news site—in an effort to streamline online operations within the company.

World War II Online sea in summer

03/02, 6:35pm

World War II Online sea in summer

Cornered Rat Software's Chris "Mo" Sherland notes in the company's online forums that the sea aspect of its upcoming massive multiplayer online war combat game, World War II Online, will be added as a free download during the summer. "...when we add ships we'll be adding Subs, DDs, cargo ships and the like, as well as coastal ships," says Sherland. "The plan is for Subs, DDs and above classes to be persistent while the smaller boats will be "spawnable". Persistent ships will need to be "purchased" by countries with resources "saved off" from their infrastructures." Thanks World War II Online HQ.

RPGV: NWN Chat Transcript

03/02, 6:25pm

RPGV: NWN Chat Transcript

RPG Vault has published a transcript from last night's chat with Bioware's Neverwinter Nights development team. Among the questions answered is the company's plans for supporting some of the NVIDIA GeForce3's unique features. "We are using a variety of features to get improved performance," replied Scott Greig, Lead Programmer, "and we are putting in support for several specific features. There will also be support for other video cards too, but I can't comment on the specifics at this point."

EverGlide Mousing Surface V-1 Released

03/02, 6:10pm

EverGlide Mousing Surface V-1 Released

EverGlide.com has announced the release of its re-engineered mousing surface, the EverGlide Mousing Surface V-1. The new design includes several important improvements over its predecessor...

iCamMaster 1.8 for managing Webcams

03/02, 6:05pm

iCamMaster 1.8 for managing Webcams

iCamMaster 1.8, a $20 shareware internet application specialized in collecting, viewing and recording webcams, now allows you to save the current windows state and has other features. Both Classic and Carbon versions are available.

First Targetware add-on certified

03/02, 6:05pm

First Targetware add-on certified

Sickware has certified the first community add-on for its Targetware series of massive multiplayer online flight sims; the first game, Target Korea, is expected to ship later this year. The add-on skin, titled "Paper Tiger", is based upon the aircraft of Capt. Harold "Hal" Fischer of the 39th Fighter Squadron and was created by Mike "Oil Can" Caulk. Players may fly their F86-F30 Sabre in the actual game using this unique skin, or any other provided by Targetware and the add-on development community.

Console: Toy Story Racer ships

03/02, 5:55pm

Console: Toy Story Racer ships

Evening console news: Both InterAct and Mad Catz have entered into a worldwide license agreement with Microsoft to design, manufacture, and market licensed third-party peripherals for Microsoft's X-Box console; Activision has released Disney/Pixar's Toy Story Racer for the Playstation and GameBoy Color; and Nintendo has updated its GameBoy Advance release list with some new titles including Capcom's Final Fight and Super Street Fighter 2, THQ's WWF and Namco's Tekken Advanced.

Deus Ex MP on GameRanger

03/02, 3:45pm

Deus Ex MP on GameRanger

Mac Deus Ex, a fan site for the popular action/role-playing/adventure hybrid Deus Ex, has posted skins for The Sims featuring three of the game's main characters: JC Denton, Gunther Hermann and Anna Navarre. In addition, the site notes that GameRanger will provide support for finding opponents for the upcoming Deus Ex Multiplayer Patch.

DAMN: Rogue Spear maps

03/02, 3:30pm

DAMN: Rogue Spear maps

*DAMN Gamer has released two new map conversions for the Mac version of Rogue Spear: Urban Operations, a popular game among GameRanger users. Jungle Compound plays in the Jungle and gives the player a lot of cover while Shadow World 2k1 is a fiction map only for multiplayer and is well suited for sniping.

RockNES 1.810 fixes bugs

03/02, 3:25pm

RockNES 1.810 fixes bugs

Richard Bannister's RockNES/MacOS 1.810 is a maintenance release of the popular Nintendo Entertainment System emulator for the Mac. The new version fixes over a dozen outstanding bugs.

Screenshots: Neverwinter Nights, Summoner

03/02, 3:20pm

Screenshots: Neverwinter Nights, Summoner

Afternoon screenshots: GamePen's hands-off preview of Bioware's Neverwinter Nights includes four new screenshots of the upcoming role-playing game; RPG Vault has posted 16 new screenshots featuring the Lenele portion of Volition's upcoming role-playing game, Summoner; and MPOG's review of Starfleet Command Volume II: Empires at War includes screenshots from the game that is slated for a Mac release in October.

Napster to block thousands of songs

03/02, 3:00pm

Napster to block thousands of songs

Beginning this weekend, Napster will block 5,600 copyrighted songs that were submitted by major record labels from distribution over its service. The voluntary move was announced at a court hearing today that could determine the fate of the service.

IGN: Summoner Developer Journal

03/02, 3:00pm

IGN: Summoner Developer Journal

Volition programmer Nick Lee explains the difficulties of cross-platform development in pc.ign.com's latest Developer Journal for Summoner, the company's upcoming 3D role-playing game for the Mac and PC. The article begins with a misleading statement from Nick on the support of input devices on the Mac. "...how do you port a program written for multi-button mice to a platform that only supports single-button mice?"

Games: Covert Gaming Corner returns

03/02, 2:35pm

Games: Covert Gaming Corner returns

games.macnn.com has published its first Covert Gaming Corner column since its last edition in July 1999. This new edition features a three-page interview with Pangea Software President Brian Greenstone, talking to the programmer about the company's newly announced 3D action/adventure game for the Mac, Otto Matic.

Covert Gaming Corner: Brian Greenstone

03/02, 2:15pm

Covert Gaming Corner: Brian Greenstone

With today's return of The Covert Gaming Corner, MacNN Games Editor Trevor Covert speaks with Pangea Software President Brian Greenstone about the company's upcoming 3D action/adventure game for the Mac, Otto Matic, announced earlier this week. The three-page interview covers all new details about the game including more on its inspirations from 1950's sci-fi movies, the game's planets and aliens as well as whether it will take advantage of NVIDIA's new GeForce3.

Roundup: In-depth Tropico preview

03/02, 1:30pm

Roundup: In-depth Tropico preview

Yesterday we published an in-depth preview of Tropico, the upcoming building-oriented strategy/simulation game from the makers of Railroad Tycoon II, PopTop Software; Blizzard Entertainment announced that attacks had subsided on its Battle.net servers; Westlake Interactive indicated that the Deus Ex Multiplayer Patch should be available in approximately one week; and Game Studios' Daniel Achterman provided an update on the development of Myst III: Exile, the 3D adventure game set for a simultaneous Mac/PC release on May 7.

Helix 5.01 brings OS 9.1 compatibility

03/02, 1:15pm

Helix 5.01 brings OS 9.1 compatibility

Helix 5.0.1 brings Mac OS 9.1 compatibility to the rapid application development environment. A free demo copy of is available online. The company has also extended its special promotional offer through April 30th, offering $100 coupon at the Chip Merchant with the purchase of Helix RADE ($200) and $200 coupon off the purchase of Helix Server ($400).

Java-based app for Asthma patients

03/02, 1:10pm

Java-based app for Asthma patients

FireLogic, Inc., a software solutions company, announced HealthEngage-Asthma, a Java application that allows users to track their health data using the home equipment by entering vital data onto the HealthEngage secure server, where it is stored for viewing by the patient and his caregiver (i.e, doctor). The Mac version has been optimized to run under Apple's MRJ and a Mac OS X version been announced for availability the first day MacOS X is available. Future versions of the HealthEngage will include Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Diabetes, Hypertension, and Weight Loss/Fitness Management. A 15-day trial is available as well as $20 discount of the regular $60 price through March 15th.

Auction Monitor 1.2 updated for eBay changes

03/02, 1:05pm

Auction Monitor 1.2 updated for eBay changes

Black Magik Software has released Auction Monitor v1.2, an update to its $20 utility for tracking eBay sales that brings compatibility with eBay's latest round of changes.

Adaptec warns of earnings shortfall

03/02, 12:45pm

Adaptec warns of earnings shortfall

Adaptec today issued an earnings warning, adjusting its expected earnings per share to 10-15 cents, short of the 23 cent consneus estimate. Sequential fourth quarter revenue is expected to be down some 15 percent. The company is currently working to reduce expenses by more than $7 million, and will take a $10 million restructuring charge in the process.

Marathon Rubicon trailer released

03/02, 12:20pm

Marathon Rubicon trailer released

The teaser trailer for the upcoming Marathon Infinity scenario, Marathon Rubicon, has been released. The trailer is available in small, medium and large sizes. The scenario features 360+ new textures, over a dozen new characters, tons of new scenery, 8 new weapons and more solo levels than any other Marathon scenario to date.

Console: 4x4 EVO PS2 goes gold

03/02, 12:15pm

Console: 4x4 EVO PS2 goes gold

Afternoon console news: Terminal Reality's 4x4 Evolution—which came to the Mac, PC and Dreamcast last year—for the Playstation 2 has been approved for manufacturing and will be appearing on store shelves soon; Eidos Interactive has released the first video clip of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 for the Playstation 2; and The 3DO Company announced a GameBoy Advance version of High Heat Baseball 2002, joining the Playstation, Playstation 2 and PC versions of the title.

D-Link reduces prices on 802.11b products

03/02, 11:45am

D-Link reduces prices on 802.11b products

D-Link earlier this week announced price reductions on its D-Link Air Series of wireless 802.11b networking products, including its DWL-1000AP Access Point has been reduced to $200. [included software is for Windows-only]

Software creator StimpSoft shuts down

03/02, 10:20am

Software creator StimpSoft shuts down

Macintosh freeware/shareware creator StimpSoft is shutting down as a result of financial difficulties. The site and its software, which are both still accessible, will be taken down within the month.

Tech: Oracle warns, Gateway shifts gears...

03/02, 10:15am

Tech: Oracle warns, Gateway shifts gears...

Morning tech news: Gateway has surprisingly announced it will abandon offering extra services and software and focus solely on selling PCs, which it has lost money doing in recent quarters; Microsoft will shift management of WebTV to its MSN unit; Oracle yesterday issued an earnings warning, blaming the slowing US economy, that sent its shares down more than 20 percent in after-hours trading; and Oracle's warning contributed to a 3.3 percent drop on Japan's Nikkei exchange that closed at a 15-year low.

AP: iTunes doesn't disappoint

03/02, 8:30am

AP: iTunes doesn't disappoint

The Associated Press has published a positive overview of iTunes, citing only a lack of visual plug-ins and skins as the application's shortcomings.

OS X release expected to be quiet

03/02, 8:30am

OS X release expected to be quiet

Apple won't be promoting the March 24 release of Mac OS X in large part due to a number of issues with the operating system that won't be addressed until a later a date, according to a c|net article. These apparent issues range from sleep problems with PowerBooks/iBooks to a lack of DVD support. The article quotes sources as stating that a summer update to OS X, code-named Puma, will address many of these issues.

Roundup: Media 100 updates, ComputerTown...

03/02, 7:50am

Roundup: Media 100 updates, ComputerTown...

We yesterday noted several new Media 100 announcements, including its CineStream interactive streaming media authoring solution, availability of Cleaner 5 MPEG Charger, and its new audio:box turnkey solution for management and delivery of audio content. Other news included ComputerTown's efforts to rebuild itself and an updated DiskWarrior 2.1 CD for new Macs. Software updates included March virus definitions, FolderSynchronizer 2.0, Aestiva's HTML/OS 1.9, and 4D v4.7.1.

OS 9.1 patch for Tenon products

03/02, 7:40am

OS 9.1 patch for Tenon products

Tenon yesterday posted an OS 9.1 patch for its products, including WebTen 3.x, XTen 6.1.6, MachTen 4.1.4 and NetTen 1.4, which replaces several files to bring Mac OS 9.1 compatibility to the aforementioned products.

MicroNet employees look to rebuild company

03/02, 7:35am

MicroNet employees look to rebuild company

Gary Bart, a former employee at the now defunct MicroNet, has posted an "An Open Letter About MicroNet Technology," which solicits user support for rebuilding the company with "new management and ownership" and is actively seeking new investors.

VueScan 6.7.4 fixes GUI, memory bugs

03/02, 7:30am

VueScan 6.7.4 fixes GUI, memory bugs

Hamrick Software's film scanning utility, VueScan 6.7.4, has a few minor changes, including improved cleaning on scanners with infrared channel (Nikon LS-30 & LS-2000, Minolta Scan Elite, ScanWit 2740S) and GUI and memory bug fixes.

EIMS 3.03: update to Mac email server

03/02, 7:25am

EIMS 3.03: update to Mac email server

Qualcomm has posted an EIMS 3.03 updater for its commercial email software package for the Mac, which fixes IMAP and POP3 issues as well as handling of messages with header lines longer than 32767 characters.