News Archive for 01/03/25

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Roundup: Omni's OS X game ports

03/26, 12:00am

Roundup: Omni's OS X game ports

Late last week, The Omni Group named the four titles that it will be bringing to Mac OS X; Blizzard Entertainment was awarded Game of the Year for Diablo II by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences; Westlake Interactive indicated that Mac users will be able to play third-party levels created by users in Tomb Raider: Chronicles; Westlake also committed to supporting Creative's SoundBlaster! Live for the Mac in a number of upcoming Mac games including Tomb Raider: Chronicles and Escape from Monkey Island; and Blizzard Entertainment released the first screenshot showing the 800 x 600 resolution being used in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, marking the first time that the Diablo series offers a screen size beyond 640 x 480.

Weekend: X release, firmware problems...

03/26, 12:00am

Weekend: X release, firmware problems...

Over the weekend we noted reader reports of problems with Apple's firmware updates from Friday, an iMac price-war in the UK, and the release of ScreenCatcher 2.3.3. osx.macnn.com covered the release of Mac OS X and related news.

Congressman introduces anti-spam bill

03/26, 12:00am

Congressman introduces anti-spam bill

Congressman Bob Goodlatte has introduced the "Anti-Spamming Act of 2001," which would allow the Government to press charges against individuals, and fine them $15,000 and up for the distribution or publication of software that could potentially used for mass, unsolicited e-mail.

Firmware updates issues: RAM not recognized

03/25, 12:40pm

Firmware updates issues: RAM not recognized

Though not universal, several readers have noted that their Macs no longer recognize their non-factory RAM after updating their firmware with Apple's latest firmware updates released last Friday:

[reader 1] My PowerBook is now missing 128mg of RAM that was running fine until firmware 'upgrade' - Apple 'Support' says that 3rd party memory is/may not work with firmware 4.1.8 and users should contact memory vendors regarding problem. Apple will NOT help or assist in restoring prior firmware.

[reader 2] My iMac is no longer recognizing my extra 128 MB RAM. I suspect Apple will do something to correct this, but I don't know how long we'll have to wait for

[reader 3] After I applied this update, my iMac won't recognize the 256MB module that I had added a few months ago. The computer will not boot if that module is installed; all it does is beep, and flash the power light alternately yellow and green. The iMac will now only recognize the factory installed memory.

AppleScript in OS X

03/25, 12:15pm

AppleScript in OS X

Apple has posted an overview of AppleScript in Mac OS X, saying that "customers who have automated workflows can be assured that their investment in AppleScript will continue to deliver with Mac OS X. As with any project of this scope, there's still much to do, but we are excited about the future. We look forward to expanding AppleScript's abilities to incorporate many of the new features integrated into this UNIX-based OS." Apple is encouraging customer feedback at OSX_AppleScript_feedback@apple.com

Installing OS X on 7300, 9600 series

03/25, 12:15pm

Installing OS X on 7300, 9600 series

Ryan Rempel has posted instructions for installing OS X on the 7300 and 9600 series Macs. Ryan also notes that he is working on updating his L2CacheConfig utility, but has "run into some problems with it. So it will probably be at least a week before it is ready. (The "Public Beta" version of L2CacheConfig will not work with OS X Final)."

Removing SCSI cards for OS X install

03/25, 12:05pm

Removing SCSI cards for OS X install

Dennis Callahan writes that removing his Adaptec SCSI card 2906 allowed him to install OS X, after he encountered several problems with the process: "it appears to be working fine. For all of those who have had a hang before the install...make sure there is no 3rd party SCSI card in the system."

iTunes OS X plays nice with screensaver, ES

03/25, 11:00am

iTunes OS X plays nice with screensaver, ES

Clifford Norton sent in a note about iTunes' functionality under OS X:

"An interesting note about iTunes (OS X); it now functions properly with included OS X screen saver and Energy Saver C/P. Previously (OS 9.1), the monitor would stay on and the hard drive would not (obviously) spin down. Now, with iTunes in foreground, playing MP3's, with visuals on the screen saver activates and the monitor blackens as scheduled in the Energy Saver C/P."

RealView 2.7 adds several enhancements

03/25, 11:00am

RealView 2.7 adds several enhancements

RealView 2.7 is an update to the shareware $25 text and image viewer that allows users to "open files of any size, view its content in different modes, change its appearance, perform on-the-fly conversions, search it and save it." The new version offers several interface and feature enhancements.

Two CSM-like Dock apps posted

03/25, 11:00am

Two CSM-like Dock apps posted

On-Core has released AudioCD Player Docking 1.0 [172 KB] and Volume Docking 1.0 [48 KB], two OS X applications that allow users to control audio CD play back and system volume from the dock, similar to the respective Classic Mac OS control strip modules. Both products are free.

Chaotic updates two titles for OS X

03/25, 11:00am

Chaotic updates two titles for OS X

Chaotic Software has released WebTimer for Mac OS X [218 KB], which allows users to automatically download a Web page at specified intervals, ideal for grabbing images from a Web cam, for example. Like the OS 8/9 version, WebTimer for Mac OS X is free. Additionally, Chaotic has posted BioAssistant 1.7.1 [768 KB] for Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X, which allows users to determine probe Melting Points, Molecular Weights, Hybridization, and other information.