News Archive for 01/03/27

Choose an article from the archive listing on this page or refine your selection using the controls in the gray box below.

Greg's Shareware Bundle promo extended

03/27, 11:05pm

Greg's Shareware Bundle promo extended

Greg's Shareware is extending its current "Greg's Bundle" promotion through Saturday, March 31, offering users an opportunity to register the popular Power Windows, SmoothType, and Greg's Browser utilities together for $20, half off the combined registration prices. Both PowerWindows and SmoothType work under OS X (in Classic mode) and "Greg's Browser will work under Mac OS X as soon as Apple finishes adding AppleScript support to the Finder."

AppleWorks 6.1 updater pulled; update coming

03/27, 11:00pm

AppleWorks 6.1 updater pulled; update coming

Several readers note that Apple has pulled its AppleWorks 6.1 download, which contained both an update for AppleWorks 6.04 (Classic) users and also installed a preview version of AppleWorks 6.1 for OS X: "Coming soon. Check back for an updated version of the AppleWorks 6.1 preview for Mac OS X."

Outpost.com to change shipping policy

03/27, 8:00pm

Outpost.com to change shipping policy

As of March 28, 2001, Outpost.com has announced it will again revise its shipping policy, offering free Airborne Express 2nd Day day delivery to customers whose orders total over $500. Other orders will be shipped Airborne Express 2nd Day delivery for a flat fee of $9. Customers will be able to upgrade to overnight delivery for a flat-fee of $13. Orders placed before that date will continue to receive free overnight delivery on those orders totalling $100 or more.

Iconographer 2.02: icon editor updated

03/27, 8:00pm

Iconographer 2.02: icon editor updated

Mscape's Iconographer 2.02 icon editor brings icon browser improvements, file saving improvements, and bug fixes to the $15 shareware utility that can both change the icons of items, as well as edit the icon resources used by various programs. It supports many formats, including classic Mac OS (8-bit icons only), Mac OS 8.5+ (32-bit icons with 8-bit icons), Mac OS X (128 x 128 icons in .icns files), Windows (.ico files), and Mac OS X Server (48 x 48 icons in .tiff files).

PandoCalendar 5.6: Carbonized, adds features

03/27, 7:35pm

PandoCalendar 5.6: Carbonized, adds features

PandoCalendar 5.6, an update to the freeware application that places a customizable calendar on the Mac desktop, is now Carbonized and also brings support for simultaneous viewing/editing of multiple daily information windows, support for playback of multimedia files when triggered by an alarm and/or reminder, a redesigned preferences window, and other enhancements.

MacTella 1.05: Mac Gnutella client updated

03/27, 7:35pm

MacTella 1.05: Mac Gnutella client updated

MacTella 1.05 adds Internet Config support, multiple windows (for multiple searches), search limits, and progress bars to the Mac PPC client for the Gnutella file sharing network.

PowerLogix announces OS X compatibility

03/27, 7:30pm

PowerLogix announces OS X compatibility

PowerLogix announced that it has confirmed Mac OS X compatibility with some of its G3 processor upgrades: "Testing with Apple's new Mac operating system has confirmed that the iForce G3 processor upgrades for the iMac rev. A-C machines are already fully compatible and require no updates. Equally compatible are the BlueChip and BlueChip LS processor upgrades for the Wall Street and Lombard PowerBook G3's respectively." PowerLogix notes that owners of PowerForce G4 and G3 ZIF cards will need a new version of the G3/G4 Cache Profiler utility in order to enable the high speed backside cache on these processor upgrades and promises a revised system extension within two weeks. (Both Sonnet and XLR8 released OS X compatibility statements earlier this week.)

More OS X drivers coming?

03/27, 7:25pm

More OS X drivers coming?

Scott Nichol notes the pending release of more OS X drivers: "Just wanted to let you know that apple has updated the driver downloads page for OS X. It now includes a graphic pointing you to your iDisk where additional drivers are available from canon, hewlett packerd [sic], and epson. I loaded up my iDisk and at 1:30 today, the drivers folder inside the software folders had been modified and there is now an Epson folder in there. The drivers inside are exactly the same as those found on the OS X distribution, but looks like they're planning to distribute an update soon. "

Constitution and Government Quizzer v3.0

03/27, 7:20pm

Constitution and Government Quizzer v3.0

John Jobe has posted US Constitution and Government Quizzer v3.1, a $10 shareware drill and practice flash card style quizzer to aide students in learning about the US Constitution and Government.

Reader: less PB battery life under OS X

03/27, 7:20pm

Reader: less PB battery life under OS X

A MacNN reader notes that OS X may lack power management features found in Mac OS 8/9, finding that battery life was not quite the same under the new OS: "I've installed OS X on two Titanium G4s; with 9.1, they had 3 to 4.5 hour battery lives, and now with OS X, they have 2 hours & 45 minutes or less!!"

New Diablo II: LoD screenshot shows Druid

03/27, 7:15pm

New Diablo II: LoD screenshot shows Druid

Blizzard Entertainment's new screenshot from expansion set Diablo II: Lord of Destruction shows the Druid battling a pack of enslaved with his arctic blast skill. The game is expected to ship later this year for both the Mac and PC.

AppleWorks 6.1 offers Office compatibility

03/27, 7:10pm

AppleWorks 6.1 offers Office compatibility

"Abe J" sent us a note regarding Office compatibility with AppleWorks 6.1 (Preview version for OS X): "My updated AppleWorks 6.1 seems to include Office translators when run under OS X. I can save as Word 98, Word 6, Word Windows 97/2000, or Word Windows 6/95. I haven't tried opening an Office document yet. I remember Office incompatibility was/is a huge negative for AppleWorks 6, and I'm glad to see Apple remedied this."

Red Faction t-shirt sweepstakes

03/27, 7:10pm

Red Faction t-shirt sweepstakes

Volition is offering a Miners Unite Sweepstakes where lucky winners will be chosen to receive a long-sleeved t-shirt featuring its upcoming first-person shooter for the Mac, PC and Playstation 2, Red Faction.

IMG: Tips for Q3A, 4x4 Evo on OS X

03/27, 7:05pm

IMG: Tips for Q3A, 4x4 Evo on OS X

IMG has shared tips for getting both Quake III: Arena (Cocoa) and 4x4 Evolution to run on the final release of Mac OS X. Both titles were previously able to play using the Mac OS X Public Beta, but were found to be unplayable for most users in the official release of the operating system.

Palm beats estimates, cuts outlook

03/27, 7:00pm

Palm beats estimates, cuts outlook

Palm beat earnings estimates by a penny and topped revenue expectations in the third quarter, but cut back its outlook for the future. The company, which shipped 2.1 million of its handhelds during the quarter, reported a pro forma net income of $9.3 million on revenues of $473.8 million. Additionally, the company announced it will be laying off 250 employees—16 percent of its work force—as well as cutting 400 contract workers. Shares of Palm slid 25 percent in after hours trading following the news.

Console: Army Men Air Attack 2 ships

03/27, 7:00pm

Console: Army Men Air Attack 2 ships

Evening console news: The 3DO Company is now shipping Army Men Air Attack 2 for the Sony Playstation 2, which offers a fast, furious game of helicopter combat; Microsoft will reportedly include 18 launch titles with its XBox game console in Japan, and the company is hoping to lure more developers with its presence this week at the Tokyo Game Show; and new in-game footage of Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies for the Playstation 2 has been released.

Aspyr's status update on upcoming games

03/27, 5:45pm

Aspyr's status update on upcoming games

Aspyr Media has provided updates today on many of its upcoming games including Escape from Monkey Island (which should ship on Friday), Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, American McGee's Alice as well as Tomb Raider: Chronicles and its bundled level editor...

Tropico Preview. Art Diary

03/27, 4:55pm

Tropico Preview. Art Diary

Intelligamer has published a preview of PopTop Software's upcoming building-oriented strategy/simulation game, Tropico, while PopTop Software's Franz Feszl writes about the creation of the game's art in "The Diary of a Madman" at GameSpy.com. "Tropico is a mixture of both 3D and 2D artwork," said Franz. "All of the units in the game were created and animated in 3D, but then used as 2D sprites. The buildings and plants were the same way."

Games: When will you migrate to OS X?

03/27, 4:45pm

Games: When will you migrate to OS X?

games.macnn.com has updated Custer's Corner with two new desktop pictures, Software Pirate and Ahoy, Matey!, featuring Escape from Monkey Island while its new poll asks about users' plans for migrating to Mac OS X. In addition, the site has information on a new OS X-compatible version of Cro-Mag Rally. [updated]

Cro-Mag Rally Demo becomes OS X compatible

03/27, 4:40pm

Cro-Mag Rally Demo becomes OS X compatible

Cro-Mag Rally 2.0b1 Demo is a beta version of Pangea Software's Mac OS X-compatible 3D kart racer for the Mac. Those who run this version on a pre-OS X operating system are now able to select from a wider variety of different resolutions, including those for the PowerBook G4 and 22" Apple Cinema Display. However, for those who play it on Mac OS X, there are several caveats...

Stomped: WWII Online Interview

03/27, 4:30pm

Stomped: WWII Online Interview

Stomped has published an interview with Cornered Rat Software's Rodney "Hatch" Hodge, the company's marketing and public relations director for World War II Online. The game is a massive multiplayer persistent war game that combines a number of different genres and play styles into a single interactive experience. "With the first release, the command positions will be held by either Cornered Rat Software employees or trusty beta testers who have shown command capability," says Hodge. "This is only until the players earn the rank privileges to take over. From that point on, its all up to the players."

Console: 12-20 XBox launch titles

03/27, 4:10pm

Console: 12-20 XBox launch titles

Afternoon console news: Microsoft's XBox game console will launch with 12-20 titles this Fall, largely comprised of games in the action, sports, racing, and fighting genres; Microsoft will be webcasting the keynote of Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates at the Tokyo Game Show; and the U.S. District Court of Appeals has ruled that an ordinance passed in Indianapolis to prevent children from playing violent games in arcades can not be enforced.

Neon to distribute new Mac VPN client

03/27, 2:40pm

Neon to distribute new Mac VPN client

OEM software vendor Ashley Laurent has released its VPCom VPN client software for the Macintosh platform, offering secure, IPSec compliant remote access for Mac OS users and has partnered with Neon Software, Inc., which will sell both the Mac OS and Windows clients as stand-alone solutions to enterprise customers.

Firmware update problems: explanation?

03/27, 2:05pm

Firmware update problems: explanation?

Reader Harry Zink says the recent firmware updater problems that caused some Macs not to recognize RAM modules is due to "electrical tolerance and compatibility between the two ram modules, which one could describe as a timing issue (most likely related to differing CAS refresh times)." A full discussion with some constructive comments and his full message is available in our forums.

Whisper 2.0: free, open-source

03/27, 1:55pm

Whisper 2.0: free, open-source

Whisper 2.0 is a free, open source, general purpose Mac/Win32 C++ application framework that takes advantage of templates, multiple inheritance, STL, and exceptions and includes numerous debugging tools. Version 2.0 has a more modular design, adds a new COM-like object model, and has rebuilt UI layer: "the widgets are put together in a very modular way and it's trivial for clients to add new interfaces or replace an existing interface."

Dell winning over Apple in edu trenches

03/27, 1:50pm

Dell winning over Apple in edu trenches

"Jobs Strives to Rekindle Sales, Enthusiasm" notes Apple's declining education marketshare, increased inventory, quarterly losses, Dell's hegemony in the education sector, and concludes: "Apple's shares languishing, the PC market in decline, and even loyal fans questioning his strategy, Jobs may not be able to wait that long (for longer term Dell extracts to begin expiring)."

GameSpot UK: Red Faction Interview

03/27, 1:30pm

GameSpot UK: Red Faction Interview

GameSpot UK has published an interview with Volition's Anoop Shekar, assistant producer on the company's upcoming first-person shooter Red Faction. "The vehicles are the Sub, Driller, the fighter Jet, the APC and the Jeep. The jeep is interesting, especially for multiplayer - one player can drive the jeep with the other supporting him on the gun."

Microsoft: FireWire in, USB out?

03/27, 12:55pm

Microsoft: FireWire in, USB out?

Microsoft's support for USB appears to be not quite as warm as it once was, saying that the future of Windows XP connectivity is IEEE 1394 ("FireWire"), and not the next generation of Intel's USB 2.0 standard, according to The Register. "Stork's line suggests that Microsoft no longer sees digital video as a high-end application. Like Apple, it now thinks it's going to be a key consumer application too - Stork even refers to 1394 by Apple's own codeword for the transport, FireWire. He also waxes lyrical about the 802.11 wireless networking standard that forms the basis of Apple's AirPort system. Clearly, Redmond reckons Steve Jobs is onto something here and is out to embrace and extend his strategy. Heck, just look at the XP's MacOS X-esque styling... What was that about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery?"

Thoth 1.1: Carbon newsreader

03/27, 12:55pm

Thoth 1.1: Carbon newsreader

Brian Clark's Thoth 1.1, the $25 shareware newsreader from the author of YA-NewsWatcher, has been updated for the final version of OS X and brings other features.

Webcrossing on Mac OS X in public beta

03/27, 12:45pm

Webcrossing on Mac OS X in public beta

Web Crossing, Inc. today announced a public beta of Web Crossing for Mac OS X. The scalable, enterprise-level software, available as a complete server hosted solution or as a traffic-based, sliding-scale licensed download, offers threaded or linear discussions, integrated newsgroups and mailing lists, email services, secure communications, personal calendar, real-time chat and live event functionality.

New Shadowbane movie: Lizardman

03/27, 11:45am

New Shadowbane movie: Lizardman

New in-game footage of massive multiplayer online role-playing game Shadowbane is available in a new Quicktime movie released by Wolfpack Studios. The movie runs for 16 seconds and features "two stalwart adventurers lost in the Swamps of Irydni."

Daily Radar: Tropico Preview

03/27, 11:35am

Daily Radar: Tropico Preview

Tropico, PopTop Software's strategy/simulation game expected to ship for the Mac on May 15, is featured in a preview at Daily Radar. "Clicking any of [the] people will show their family structures, so it would be possible to learn that Esmerelda's daughter, Luisa, is the great-grandchild of Luis and Margarita Rodriguez. This lineage isn't included just for trivia or to confuse the genealogy-challenged: If a political rival is causing a bit of trouble, removing her will likely arouse the ire of her immediate family."

WarCraft III experiemental music

03/27, 11:30am

WarCraft III experiemental music

Composer Andrea G. Pessino of Blizzard Entertainment is featured on Sibelius with an article on writing music for the interactive medium and conducting the digital orchestra. In the article, Pessino releases three MP3 soundtracks that were used as experiemental pieces in the development of WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos. "At the end, this wasn't the kind of sonority or 'mood' we were looking for, so they will most likely not be used in the game."

Archos delivers five new MP3/CD-RW devices

03/27, 11:00am

Archos delivers five new MP3/CD-RW devices

Archos today introduced five new Mac-compatible peripherals: Jukebox MP3-Recorder, a palm-sized MP3 encoder and player that features a 6 GB drive; Jukebox Studio 20, a 20 GB portable MP3 player; Jukebox CD-MP3, an MP3-CD player; Jukebox CDRW-MP3, "an MP3 CD real-time encoding device that can record music from standard hi-fi analog or digital output" that will be available in USB, FireWire, or CardBus interfaces; and the DEx-CDRW, an external 5.25" CD-RW available in USB and FireWire. Pricing and availability is unknown at this time.

Console: EA's 2001 sports lineup

03/27, 11:00am

Console: EA's 2001 sports lineup

Morning console news: Electronic Arts has announced its lineup of sports titles for 2001 which includes titles for the Playstation, Playstation 2 and Microsoft's XBox gaming console; Microsoft has announced that the XBox will now feature a 10 GB hard drive, compared to the originally planned 8 GB drive, due to the falling prices of those components; Nintendo officials have confirmed that an all-new Metroid game is already in development for its Game Boy Advance handheld, which is scheduled to go on sale on June 11 in North America; and THQ and Nickelodeon have announced the release of Blue's Clues: Blue's Big Musical for the Sony Playstation.

OnStream gets backing from Quantum

03/27, 10:55am

OnStream gets backing from Quantum

Following up on OnStream recent financial difficulties and closure of its US operations, a reader reports OnStream has received financial backing from Quantum, which will allow the company to continue to manufacture and sell its products worldwide from The Netherlands: "The closure of the American office will have minimal effect on the supply of existing and new ADR tape drives. OnStream expects to resume its business activities within a few weeks."

Nikon promises OS-X compatibility in Fall

03/27, 10:45am

Nikon promises OS-X compatibility in Fall

Nikon is promising OS-X compatibility for all of its "USB- and IEEE1394- [FireWire] based software applications compatible during Autumn 2001." The company says that SCSI-connected and serial devices will not be supported under OS X, providing a list of products that will and will not be compatible.

Custer: Software Pirate and Ahoy, Matey!

03/27, 9:40am

Custer: Software Pirate and Ahoy, Matey!

Custer's Corner has been updated with two new desktop pictures, Software Pirate and Ahoy, Matey!, featuring 3D adventure game Escape from Monkey Island, which is currently in production and expected to begin shipping within two weeks. Those who purchase the game will find five exclusive Escape from Monkey Island desktop pictures created by Custer's Corner creator Brad Custer. (Next week's desktop will feature Quake III: Team Arena as voted by our readers.)

Force feedback poll results; OS X migration

03/27, 9:30am

Force feedback poll results; OS X migration

After tallying the results of last week's poll, the majority of respondents, 54.75 percent, would like to see force feedback adopted in future Mac games. 33.26 percent could care less, while nearly 12 percent were not sure. This week's poll aims to find out users' plans for migrating to Mac OS X by asking, "When will you switch to Mac OS X as the main platform for your primary Mac?" Please vote in the left sidebar.

Roundup: RumbleFX headphones

03/27, 9:00am

Roundup: RumbleFX headphones

Yesterday Evergreen Technologies announced the release of its $60 RumbleFX force feedback headphones; Rocket Arena 3 1.5, an updated version of the one-on-one arena mod for Quake III: Arena, became the first version to work on the Mac; and the Marathon Open Source page brought word that Aleph One is in the process of being carbonized for Mac OS X support.

Iomega, SONICblue partner on PocketZip Rio

03/27, 8:45am

Iomega, SONICblue partner on PocketZip Rio

Iomega and SONICblue today announced a strategic relationship for future technology offerings. The agreement will result in SONICblue Rio-branded MP3 players coming to market that feature Iomega's recently announced 100MB PocketZip technology. The devices will be Mac-compatible. SONICblue today also announced two new Rio models: the Rio 800 128MB and the Rio 600 64MB, which come with twice as much storage as the previous versions. The Rio 800 128MB carries a $300 price tag, while the Rio 600 64MB sells for $220.

Symantec to release X-bootable CD

03/27, 8:00am

Symantec to release X-bootable CD

Symantec will release a bootable CD this week that supports Mac OS X on Macs released this year, according to Macworld UK. Current owners of Symantec products will be able to purchase the updated CD for a nominal fee.

IBM introduces 48 GB Travelstar hard drive

03/27, 8:00am

IBM introduces 48 GB Travelstar hard drive

IBM has introduced a 48GB Travelstar 2.5" hard drive for laptops. The 5400 RPM drives features sound-dampening padding that reduces vibration, while the disk's platters spin in a bed of liquid instead of ball bearings, further reducing drive noise. The drive will ship in the second quarter; pricing has not yet been set.

Iomega introduces new network storage

03/27, 3:55am

Iomega introduces new network storage

Iomega yesterday introduced Iomega DataSafe series of mid-range 160GB ($3300) and 320GB ($5000) network attached storage (NAS) servers in a 1U form factor. Developed in conjunction Maxtor, the new line of NAS servers will deliver cross-platform file serving for as little as $16/GB and include a 20- and 50-seat license (respectively) of Iomega QuickSync 3 automatic client backup software. Both models are expected to ship in the second quarter.

Photomover 2.0: OS X, more online support

03/27, 3:52am

Photomover 2.0: OS X, more online support

iView PhotoMover 2.0 is an update to the $15 utility for quickly uploading photos directly to some of the top photo archive sties on the net, including Club Photo, Zing, Sony ImagaeStation, Nikon.Net, FotoTime and PhotoPoint. It adds a native OS X version, support for more Websites, new AppleScript examples, and limited FTP support.

VideoFunHouse 1.1: OS X, Wacom support

03/27, 3:35am

VideoFunHouse 1.1: OS X, Wacom support

Video Funhouse 1.1 is an update to the live video and still image funhouse editor, offering a "palette of easy-to-use tools, you can twist, bulge, pinch and push your face into virtually any shape imaginable, and save snapshots of your work to send to friends and relatives!" Version 1.1 adds native support for OS X as well as Wacom tablet support. [Classic, Carbon--6.4MB]

Mozilla 0.8.1 browser gets new functions

03/27, 3:35am

Mozilla 0.8.1 browser gets new functions

Mozilla 0.81 brings better bookmark functionality, new improved Chatzilla IRC client, a better JavaScript console, a new hierarchical history, preliminary gopher support, better ftp performance, and and other improvements to the open-source browser project.

Quarter of all US school spending on Macs

03/27, 3:25am

Quarter of all US school spending on Macs

A new study finds that U.S. school district spending for instructional technology has declined to $5.6 billion in 1999-2000, down from an all-time high of $6.7 billion in 1998-99. Also according to the report, District Technology Coordinators project that one-fourth of 2000-01 desktop computer purchases will be a Macintosh platform.

Opera licenses Macromedia Flash

03/27, 3:20am

Opera licenses Macromedia Flash

Opera Software has announced the licensing of Macromedia's extremely popular Flash web-animation and interactive application technology. The company will bundle the Flash plug-in with the Macintosh version of its Opera browser, which is currently in a "tech-preview" release. Opera Software currently claims more than 20,000 are downloading its browser every day.

Fire 0.23a works around AOL IM block

03/27, 2:45am

Fire 0.23a works around AOL IM block

The multiplatform messaging application from Epicware, Fire 0.23a (that supports AOL IM, ICQ and Yahoo! Pager communciation), has restored support for AOL IM, after America Online attempted to shut out users earlier this morning. Author Eric Peyton writes: "There is no guarantee on a day by day basis that Fire.app will continue to work, but give [sic] my limited resources I will attempt to continue providing Fire.app to Mac OS X users."

Logitech: no OS X support for some QuickCams

03/27, 2:40am

Logitech: no OS X support for some QuickCams

A support document Logitech's Website notes the company does not plan to provide OS X support for a number of its current QuickCam products: "there will be no support for Mac OS10 or later operating systems. This is because no further development is planned for these cameras."

APC: no support due to lack of OS X driver

03/27, 2:35am

APC: no support due to lack of OS X driver

APC's customer service says that it will not be supporting OS X with software that will provide system shutdown in case of a power outage: "As of right now, we do not plan to support the Mac OS X O/S because, as of last known configuration, Mac O/SX did not have any power driver support. Should this condition change in the future with another O/S upgrade or patch, I am sure our software engineers will be accommodating to it." Concerned readers can contact the company via email or phone.

Fizilla: Carbon version of Mozilla browser

03/27, 2:35am

Fizilla: Carbon version of Mozilla browser

A MacNN reader notes that a new version of Fizilla 3/26, the project for developing a Carbon version of Mozilla browser for OS X, is now available on its ftp site.