News Archive for 01/03/06

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New Apple ad airs tonight

03/06, 8:30pm

New Apple ad airs tonight

Chris Peterson noticed that Apple is currently promoting a new "Rip. Mix. Burn." ad on its Web site, which is scheduled to air tonight on a variety of primetime shows.

Macintosh Explorer 2.0 preview posted

03/06, 8:00pm

Macintosh Explorer 2.0 preview posted

Macintosh Explorer 2.0pr1 is a pre-release version of the file explorer and attribute editor. The $15 software features a number of new enhancements, including a less cluttered interface, improvements to the backup feature, and the ability to store up to 33 file links.

N2MP3 Pro 2.0.2 allows for free use with Ogg

03/06, 7:15pm

N2MP3 Pro 2.0.2 allows for free use with Ogg

Proteron has posted N2MP3 Professional 2.0.2, an update to its $60 audio encoding solution. The new version gives all users unlimited use of the software for free using the Ogg Vorbis encoder. The full version adds MP3 encoding with the MPegger, Lame, and Fraunhofer encoders, as well as AAIF and MP2 encoding. The new version does not include the recently beta 4 version of the Ogg Vorbis encoder; an update that adds that functionality is in the works.

Tech: MS to lose $2b on Xbox, Macromedia...

03/06, 6:16pm

Tech: MS to lose $2b on Xbox, Macromedia...

Evening tech news: Merrill Lynch says Microsoft is poised to lose $2 billion on its Xbox video game console initiative and expects the company to break even on the deal in 2005; shares of Macromedia fell almost 5% today after the company warned yesterday that it would miss revenue estimates by 10%, while the company expects to close its merger with Alaire by the end of the month; and Palm will acquire mobile software company Extended Systems for $264 million in stock.

Introduction to Darwin: Part II

03/06, 3:29pm

Introduction to Darwin: Part II

Marcus Schiermeier has posted Introduction to Darwin: Part II, at MacInstruct. This part details some of the CLI commands, flags, aliases, and briefly touches on some of the text editors for Darwin and OS X. [download the PDF - 48KB]

Coldstone, PoG progress

03/06, 3:00pm

Coldstone, PoG progress

Dee Brown at Beenox Studios, which is developing both role-playing game creation utility Coldstone and a game created using using Coldstone known as Pillars of Garendall, has updated the progress log for both projects, announcing the release of both Coldstone Beta 3 and Pillars of Garendall Beta 1 to a group of private beta testers. Coldstone Beta 3 mainly includes dozens of bug fixes, but also adds a few minor minor new features. Both Coldstone and Pillars of Garendall will be published by Ambrosia Software.

New public beta of Fetch 4.0 posted

03/06, 2:40pm

New public beta of Fetch 4.0 posted

Fetch 4.0b6 is the latest public beta version of the popular FTP client. Fetch 4.0 is scheduled to be released at the end of March; this beta will expire May 1.

Deus Ex MP Patch later this week

03/06, 2:25pm

Deus Ex MP Patch later this week

Aspyr Media has announced that the Deus Ex Multiplayer Patch for the Mac is expected to be released later this week, weighing in at approximately 35 MB. Our preview of the patch, which describes how the unique elements of the initially single-player only game have been integrated into multiplayer, has been updated with five new screenshots showing the multiplayer game in action.

Game Doctor 1.3 Released

03/06, 2:10pm

Game Doctor 1.3 Released

Inside Mac Games has released Game Doctor 1.3, a new version of the recently acquired $10 collection of hints, cheats, walkthroughs and game enhancements for many popular Mac games. The new version redirects registration for the program to IMG, which acquired the utility last month from Illume Software. The March 2001 update for the utilty includes prescriptions for Oni, Driver, Cro-Mag Rally, Risk II, Rune, The Sims: Livin' Large, Rogue Spear, SiN and Shogo.

VE: Tropico Development update

03/06, 1:50pm

VE: Tropico Development update

PopTop Software President Phil Steinmeyer is quoted on Voodoo Extreme with an update on the development of Tropico, the company's upcoming Caribbean island strategy/simulation game for the Mac and PC. "We still have a couple features to add, but they're pretty minor," notes Steinmeyer. The update also includes a new screenshot of the game in action. (Our in-depth preview of Tropico provides comprehensive details on the game and its characters.)

RuneNews.com: Halsted Interview

03/06, 1:45pm

RuneNews.com: Halsted Interview

An interview with Human Head Studios artist and co-founder Ted Halsted at RuneNews.com includes a few concept sketches used in the development of Rune, the third-person 3D hack-and-slash action/adventure game for the Mac and PC. "[Rune] certainly doesn't merit a toddler's rating, but the mere fact that it uses ancient weapons to destroy enemies puts it in the Diablo/Heretic set of violence-irrelevant "who really cares" category," says Halsted.

AVault: PC Gaming as an Industry

03/06, 1:35pm

AVault: PC Gaming as an Industry

The Adrenaline Vault analyzes "PC Gaming As An Industry" in their latest article which delves into topics such as developer/publisher relationships and personal perspectives from developers on the future of the business. The article's author received a number of e-mails from developers, which he summarizes in the article. "Game publishers lie about their sales stats. Not little lies. Whoppers. That game that shipped 500,000 units turns out to only sell 30,000 copies. Most people don't have access to things like PC Data; that's where the truth is and in PC Data we learn that games that sell more than 50,000 copies annually are extremely rare (like 1% of the titles released each year on the PC)."

CGO: Red faction Preview

03/06, 1:30pm

CGO: Red faction Preview

Computer Games Online has posted a preview of Volition's upcoming first-person shooter for the Mac, PC and Playstation 2, Red Faction. The preview, based on a first-hand look at the game during a recent visit to Volition headquarters, also includes comments from Associate Producer James Tsai. "The first vehicle available will likely be a fast moving jeep with a heavy machine gun mounted on the back," notes CGO. "Parker will be able to run down opponents or simply stop, exit the vehicle, and use the gun to mow them down."

New Unreal II Information

03/06, 1:15pm

New Unreal II Information

The April edition of PC Gamer features a cover story on Unreal II, officially marking the end to the press blackout on Legend Entertainment's upcoming sequel to the groundbreaking Unreal. Voodoo Extreme has published a series of choice tidbits from the PC Gamer article, including details on the game's engine optimized for NVIDIA's new GeForce3. "GeForce III optimized with 10 times the number of polygons for particles and characters compared to UT, with typical enemies sporting 3,000-5,000 polys and your crew having 7,000-10,000 polys. The improved terrain and level geometry will push 100 times the polycount of UT. There's also an improved meshing system that combined with the new skeletal animation allows for awesome character movement."

Judge: Napster has 72 hours to block songs

03/06, 1:10pm

Judge: Napster has 72 hours to block songs

Napster has 72 hours to block all copyrighted songs that are being distributed on its service, US District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel stated in an injunction today. The record labels must help Napster identify which songs are copyrighted.

Console: The Bouncer PS2 ships

03/06, 1:05pm

Console: The Bouncer PS2 ships

Afternoon console news: Microsoft's X-Box will become the first gaming console to include a V-chip-style control inside to allow parents to prevent their children from playing games rated for violent or sexual nature; THQ has released SpongeBob SquarePants: Legend of the Lost Spatula for the Game Boy Color; and Square has shipped The Bouncer, a game combining fast-paced fighting and Square's trademark storytelling, for the Playstation 2.

Custer's Corner: Hardcore

03/06, 12:05pm

Custer's Corner: Hardcore

Custer's Corner has been updated with a new desktop picture, "Hardcore", featuring the ever popular first-person shooter, Unreal Tournament. Like the dozens of other desktop pictures, Hardcore is available in a variety of sizes ranging from 640 x 480 to 1600 x 1200 with special versions created for both the Cinema Display and the ultra-wide display on Apple's new PowerBook G4 Titanium.

GeForce3 poll results; Diablo II: LoD poll

03/06, 11:45am

GeForce3 poll results; Diablo II: LoD poll

After tallying the results of our poll last week, we've found that over 70% of respondents are not interested in buying an NVIDIA GeForce3; 39% might add it to their next Power Mac purchase as a BTO option, 30% think $600 is too expensive for a graphics card and 2% are sticking with ATI. 13% are ready to buy a GeForce3 immediately, 8% will buy one once they have an AGP slot and 3% are not sure. Our poll this week asks, "Which of the two new character classes in the upcoming expansion set, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, are you more interested in playing?" Please vote in the left sidebar of any page.

Deus Ex MP Patch coming soon

03/06, 11:40am

Deus Ex MP Patch coming soon

In addition to noting the "final candidate" milestone of Escape from Monkey Island, Westlake Interactive yesterday updated its Project Status Page with word that the Deus Ex Multiplayer Patch has reached "final candidate" as well and will be released "very soon".

New Rogue Spear mods from *DAMN

03/06, 11:35am

New Rogue Spear mods from *DAMN

*DAMN Gamer has released two new mods for the Mac version of Rogue Spear. The Temporary Tango mod places the player in the role of the terrorist who must keep his hostages, prevent Rainbow operatives from placing bugs and stay alive. Raid Mint adds the original Rainbow Six Mint mission, the original Rainbow Six weapons and 10 new hostage/terrorist skins. In addition, the site has released a new map, Rodion's Rocky Refuge (RRR), which features a large set of hills and rocky terrain placed in the middle of the desert.

Roundup: EFMI Final Candidate

03/06, 11:30am

Roundup: EFMI Final Candidate

Yesterday Aspyr Media announced that Escape from Monkey Island for the Mac had reached the final candidate stage and would be on store shelves within two weeks; new information emerged on the items in the upcoming expansion set Diablo II: Lord of Destruction; Volition's Mark Allender indicated that the company has no plans to release a Mac demo for Summoner; and new benchmarks became available, illustrating that the dual G4/533 is faster than the 733 MHz Power Mac G4.

Shapes II coming March 15

03/06, 11:30am

Shapes II coming March 15

Carrot Software has updated its web site with new information and screenshots for its upcoming puzzle game, Shapes II. The game, which will first be released as a technology preview on March 15, is "a hybrid of a Rubic cube, Tetris, and Candy Crisis, but with tons of original never before tried challenges that will keep you on the edge of your seat."

Olympus announces new consumer digital camera

03/06, 11:20am

Olympus announces new consumer digital camera

Olympus today introduced the Camedia Brio D-100, the first in a new line of point-and-shoot digital cameras. The $350 D-100 features a 2x telephoto lense, a 1.2 megapixel CCD, 8MB SmartMedia card, and USB connection.

ImageBuddy 1.3.1 resolves printing bug

03/06, 11:20am

ImageBuddy 1.3.1 resolves printing bug

ImageBuddy 1.3.1 is an update to the $15 digital image printing application that gives users access to a number of basic image manipulation tools. The update fixes a bug that would prevent unregistered users from printing from the Page Layout panel.

Apple Store: Mac OS X backordered

03/06, 11:00am

Apple Store: Mac OS X backordered

Several readers report receiving emails from the Apple Store informing them that their Mac OS X order is "experiencing a greater backlog delay than originally anticipated" and that shipments could be delayed.

Red Light Runner re-opens

03/06, 11:00am

Red Light Runner re-opens

Red Light Runner, an online store for purchasing Apple-branded merchandise, has re-opened its doors after a three week "remodeling" hiatus. The store has added 40 new Appe collectibles, $5 ultra-thin Apple logo mousepads, and higher resolution images.

Apple offers new 190/5300 trade-up program

03/06, 10:15am

Apple offers new 190/5300 trade-up program

Apple is once again offering a PowerBook 190/5300 trade-up program, allowing owners of any version of either PowerBook to purchase a FireWire PowerBook G3/400 for $1,599. In August of 2000, Apple offered a similar offer but with a $1,799 price tag. The PowerBook 190/5300 series have been plagued by a number of problems that first prompted Apple to offer owners of the systems $1,000 off the purchase of a PowerBook G3 in April of 1999.

Palm takes the wraps off m105 handheld

03/06, 9:00am

Palm takes the wraps off m105 handheld

Palm has introduced the m105 Handheld, a new PDA intended to replace the current Palm IIIxe. The $200 m105 is similar to its $150 m100 sibling, but features 8 MB of memory instead of 2 MB and includes a HotSync cradle (Mac users will need to purchase a USB or Mac serial port adapter to use cradle). Like the m100, the m105 ships with Palm OS 3.5 and cannot be upgraded.

Sonnet updates Tempo ATA/66 ROM

03/06, 8:45am

Sonnet updates Tempo ATA/66 ROM

Sonnet has posted Tempo ATA66 ROM Update 3.1.2, which includes better support for booting OS X and foreign versions of the Mac OS, adds FWB HardDisk Toolkit 4.0 compatibility, and other enhancements.

Mac users remain the most loyal

03/06, 8:30am

Mac users remain the most loyal

Mac users remain the most loyal in the industry, according to Harris Interactive, but others are gaining ground. A survey of more than 140,000 Internet users—more than 6,500 of whom bought a new computer in the first three quarters of 2000—found that 53% of Mac users purchased another Mac. Gateway and Dell rounded out the top three, with 45% and 40%, respectively.

Groopz 2.0: new eBusiness tool

03/06, 8:10am

Groopz 2.0: new eBusiness tool

Digi-Net Technologies has released Groopz v2.0, an application that improves online sales and support by bringing proactive customer contact, online customer interactivity, and real-time Web site monitoring and analysis along with specific business alerts and action based on Web surfers' actions. It also provides firewall and proxy support, customizable theme support, automated responses to customers, customer database integration, visitor profiling, and automatic software updates. The Java-based application is compatible with MacOS X/OS X Server as well as all server platforms.

Games: Custer's Corner's Hardcore

03/06, 8:00am

Games: Custer's Corner's Hardcore

games.macnn.com has added five new screenshots to its preview of the Deus Ex Multiplayer Patch, which is expected to be released later this week. In addition, the site has posted the results of last week's poll on NVIDIA's GeForce3, started a new one on Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, and updated Custer's Corner with a new desktop picture, Hardcore, featuring Unreal Tournament. [updated]

MacZoop 2.5: freeware C++ framework

03/06, 7:55am

MacZoop 2.5: freeware C++ framework

Graham Cox's MacZoop 2.5, a free C++ framework for creating Mac applications, includes a new comprehensive views architecture for creating complex user interfaces, is now fully Carbon compliant, has built-in tooltip support, and other enhancements.

Motorola introduces new automotive PPC chip

03/06, 7:45am

Motorola introduces new automotive PPC chip

Motorola today introduced the MPC561, a new version of its embedded PowerPC processor targeted at the automotive industry. Motorola's PowerPC processors are found in 35 percent of new vehicles and are generally used to control the powertrain system.

Yesterday: AirPort 1.3, G4/733s in quantity

03/06, 7:30am

Yesterday: AirPort 1.3, G4/733s in quantity

Yesterday we noted AirPort 1.3, Power Mac G4/733 systems shipping in quantity, Keyspan's new 4-port USB-to-serial adapter, and the release of PrintToPDF 2.2.1 and Screen Catcher 2.3.1.

Greebles: In Loving Memory

03/06, 5:00am

Greebles: In Loving Memory

Cody Pearson has created a web site dedicated to the now defunct arcade game from Stairways Software, Greebles. "Greebles: In Loving Memory" offers a place to download the free game, a list of serial numbers provided by the company and a place for Greebles fans to "share the fun with".